Giving HD A Chance...

DDT (12)

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Posts: 4112

Sometimes ya just gotta go...

Winter Springs, FL - Occasionally...

Giving HD A Chance...

« on: February 07, 2022, 05:22:20 AM »

Giving HD A Chance…

Why not? When life throws curveballs at us, we alter our swing and deal with it. Occasionally life can toss a spitball in our direction, too, and... we must make adjustments for that as well. This coddiewomple detour is not exactly what I'd had in mind, at least not this soon, but it did appear wise to just Hunker Down for a spell, so that's just what we've done...

There are occasions, when one rides all the time, that we simply can't get there from here, so... We improvise and make-do the best we can with the limited choices available. Naturally, more robust adventurers might call us out for the apparent wimpishness over some of my calls, and that's OK. I have no one to impress and nothing left to prove, especially to any who still feel the need 'to make their bones'.

This is proving to be a rather exceptional winter. Alarmists are making much of the weather extremes we're experiencing and claiming it's all validating their beliefs. That just might be true, too, but I'm not going to be able to do anything about it, so... To this bystander, the more relevant and pressing issue is how does this directly impact us?

We've made our play... for now. We've rented a house down in Brownsville, TX, for nineteen nights, and we figure to just sit in a warm place and see what develops next. Yeah, I could have gone home, and that would probably have been the more 'sensible' choice. Or, we could have simply taken a different, unknown route... which is what we did instead...

This choice includes a few calculated risks and lots of unknown stuff coming our way: strangers everywhere we turn, a few language challenges, unfamiliar territory to explore... A completely new experience rather than simply falling back on old familiar routines just in order to kill some time. Sort of a 'path less traveled' thing, I guess. Part of the sheer magic of such a lifestyle is the constant discovery present in virtually every aspect!

Most of the choices we make are neither right nor wrong for the most part, only different with different experiences and newness at every turn. ‘New’ instead of ‘routine’ is our mantra, with curiosity consistently driving us towards the unknown. It sure ain't a life for everyone, but it sure as heck suits this couple to a tee!!! Our girl rests comfortably in the garage right now wondering what might come next... When the writing of this tale/post was begun, this ardent experimenter had just concluded breakfast... Yet another adventure!

Perhaps you already knew, but… I am not a cook! Nope, yet another skill at which I have no business attempting to employ. True enough, but I’m not one to give up easily either. Nope, I gave it another go just that very morning. I really had to after what all it had taken to get us in position to undertake such a… near felonious folly. I’m going to add a little something here to sort of set the stage…

The day before had been the appointed day for this rental to begin. It was completely overcast, but only a dozen or so drops of rain ever found us; although, it never actually rained, the threat was always there. It was also probably the coldest day they’ve had around here this entire winter so far! The wind was howling at 15-20 MPH and cut right through this tenderfoot Floridian chilling him to the bone. It seemed not to matter which way we headed after making a turn, the wind was still in our face or on one of our front quarters! We only needed to travel eight miles or so, but I’m still mighty glad I’d hooked up the Gerbings!

Most of the complexities and intricacies of self-check-in were handled without too much difficulty, resulting in a very small but growing feeling of confidence that was over-taking this simple old-school rider/wanderer. I kept reminding myself, “Patience, grasshopper, above all do no harm!” Our girl was unloaded, some essentials were unpacked, a serious look around was accomplished to see where ‘everything’ was located, then a grocery shopping list was compiled…

Having located the thermostat right away and making the necessary adjustment, we by the time the list was complete (to the extent that is ever possible) were able to mount our girl and head towards the grocery store already observed on the way in. It was still plenty cold to us, and the wind was still in our face… both ways! Reminded me of the incline to and from school back in the day…

I enjoyed the stares I got as I pushed the buggy up and down the aisles. Wearing leather chaps and jacket, it was obvious to onlookers what we were about… I thought to myself, you need to watch me load the bike after I buy a bunch of stuff! A true art, and one I’ve progressed a great deal towards mastering over the many years of living this way. As I gathered most of the stuff on the list, I also made mental notes of things I’d forgotten to jot down… I knew I’d be coming back in a couple of days anyway, so no pressure to get everything… just the bare essentials.

Once back at the house, the stuff was put away, starting with the ice cream in the freezer… It was still quite frozen! Meats and other stuff needing refrigeration were next, then the rest. Pretty successful venture, I thought to myself, as I took a well-deserved break to explore the TV remote and available programming. Nothing I couldn’t handle OK, so it was a relief to learn boredom would not be likely due to that.

A ham sandwich sufficed for dinner… well, that and some popcorn later… No stretch there at all, but cooking a meal was soon to present me with my next great challenge. Yep, the following morning I was still excited with all the newness, so I decided to just go ahead and see how this non-cook might do with the gas range in the kitchen. I’ve only been around gas to amount to anything once before, in a house I rented about fifteen years ago… I never got the hang of that oven back then, but I did manage to use the stovetop burners OK…

My confidence, however, was severely shaken right from the start that first morning there. Following a great night’s sleep on a fine bed, I stumbled into the kitchen for that critical first cup of Joe… Not to be! I never figured out how to make that doggone Keurig thingy work, and I couldn’t find any secret incantations mentioned in the guest guide left for me… Just at the point of desperation and near emotional breakdown, I did discover a jar of instant coffee in one of the cupboards, so life instantly became livable again. Another item for the next shopping list!

I fried up some pan toast (I hadn’t noticed a toaster anywhere) and a couple of eggs, and I also fried some sausage patties in another skillet at the same time. I wasn’t going to try the oven just yet… I wanted to ‘wade-in’ rather than go total immersion right off the bat… You know, get the feel of things, and take the measure of that stove and all. I did OK with the eggs and toast, but the sausage patties… well they weren’t regulation size by the time they’d shrunken, but they would have qualified as hockey pucks otherwise. Oh well, I ate it all anyway, and I felt just a twinge of pride…

I started this story, watched some TV, napped, and generally took plum sorry the remainder of the day. For dinner, I stuck some beef stew in the microwave to warm… The rotating plate jumped the track and dumped half the stew on the inside of the device, so… I chose to look at it as merely an involuntary dieting technique, so I proceeded to clean up the mess, then dined rather sparsely. Ice cream later for dessert…

My SIL at ‘home’ had always provided us with some great meals, and life was rather good down there. I could have returned for more of that, but… I would have missed all the adventure now surrounding me… I love my family, but… I also truly love discovering all the new stuff that keeps coming my way!!! I’m going to continue doing this sort of thing as long as I possibly can… YAAA-HOOOO!!!

DDT


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