Friends

Well I just realized that its been a while since I posted.  Life has been happening and it just seems to take up your free time!
I have been doing a lot of thinking in the past little while, I have a birthday coming up and I am trying to make some direction in my life by then so I can use the date as a measurement of time.
I know that life is all about choices, choices we make, choices other people make and I have always lived by the motto to make the most of what you have and What will be will be.  A couple of days ago I received a hand made gift from a best friend.  She always seems to know when to send the right thing just when I need it.
I want to share some of what she sent me....

I have many gifts.

haha new friends are good.  

I didnt know Dr Seuss was so profound!  I am who I am and I dont plan to change  for anyone anymore, working on the speaking my thoughts - thats a little tough for me.

Dar and I - the Moto Mamas - we are both very strong diamonds!

So today I am headed out for a drive to the hair salon for a haircut.  A drastic haircut - time for a change and also - to make it easier when putting a helmet on and off all the time.

Then after that I will come home and put my helmet on my new haircut and go for a ride.  I think a photo hunt on RASCAL is indeed in order.

Its pretty awesome the way getting on your bike and just riding can clear the head, chase away negative thoughts and make you feel better eh?

Here is a picture from the moto mamas last ride before Dar injured her ankle.

Dar shows how it is done, pull over, off road, turn off the bike and then you can Text.

OUR crazy me taking a picture of Dar taking a picture of me.

Bald eagle in nest

Kiwi bird buddy finds a perch in a tree.

Is the kiwi bird done yet!!!  lol

So my friends as this week comes to a close, 

Friendships are the best gift we can give each other.  

Beautiful Crisp Sunny day in Victoria

This morning certainly started out very crisp, riding to work was nice.  I was toasty warm in my riding gear and layers.  I rode to work this morning with the sun in my face all the way in.
After work the sun had stayed out and allowed Moto mamas to hit the road on another Scarlet & Rascal adventure.
Today we took a little side trip to the top of Beacon Hill Rd.
As usual, we were acting goofy with our photos and again got the usual shot of taking photos of each other taking a photo of each other!

 Moto mamas in our day time riding vests!  They sure make us more visible.

 Aww Rascal and Scarlet missed each other and they couldnt keep their tires away from each other - its moto love!

 This is how moto diva gets her photos.

 I have my trusty little Kiwi along for the ride today, he will be joined by a certain little moose that belongs with Dar.

 Kiwis will go how ever they can as long as they donts have to fly.

Well my friends, good night and ride safe.

Riding Vacation

So I have been so looking forward to this year now that I have my motorbike, and I have vacation to take this year.  But now that I have the opportunity, I cant decide what to do, where to go and should I go by myself?  Besides I dont have anyone that can go with me.
I think that there are so many options, that I cant figure out what to do first?  Does anyone have any ideas to help me get my riding vacations sorted out?  I havent done this before, so I dont know how long it takes to ride places, I dont know how far I can physically ride in a day.

Yesterday I finally came straight home from work because moto diva is in a lot of pain from her old injury on her scooter riding days.  I hope she gets better soon and they figure out how to fix her up.
So I can home and decided to wash my bike.  Boy washing dual sport bikes are way harder than cruisers!  There are more parts exposed that get covered in dirt!  And trying to clean around the chain without getting black grease and oil all over your hands is impossible, but fun all the same.  I have a gravel driveway and a very muddy path to my bike shed - sooo as you can guess, Rascal doesnt stay clean very long!

 An old shower curtain underneath the bike was necessary as washing on the driveway isnt so great when the dirt splashes back up on the bike while Im trying to clean it.
She certainly looks so much prettier when she is all clean and shiney!

So since poor moto diva is not up to riding, poor Scarlet couldnt come out to play.  Rascal was very loney on our last little adventure.

So we tootled around taking roads we hadnt been on before, and low and behold, we found the part of the bridge that they removed and barged to this location.  I think they should put it in the middle of a park and turn it into a extreme jungle gym!! haha

After this photo stop we went further along the waters edge and took some more photos.

A different perspective looking into Fishermans wharf.

After my photo searching, I decided it was time to start heading back home as the rain was starting to get a little on the cold side.  But one last thing to mention, leaving this location I came across my nemesis, steep hill start from a stop at a red light, straight into a sharp right hand turn!  Oh no, scary, one car behind me.  BUT WOO HOO, I did the hill start and turn in one smooth movement!!  I did it, my instructors would have been proud!  I was.

So to all, its good night for now.  

Sunshine on my shoulder makes me happy.

Well the sun came out, then the clouds came over and hovered.  Then this afternoon the rain came and came and came, BUT - it stopped so that Scarlet and Rascal could have another one of their adventures.
But today I think it was moto diva and moto mama that had the adventure and the fun.
I wanted to check out the local motorcycle coop, what a cool concept.
Pay a membership and that buys discounts on gear, services and parts.
There are bays available so you can work on your own bike, a place to wash your bikes, and some great owners to spend time with.
I bought a membership and a new pair of gloves.  I was looking for gloves that were not so bulky and a lot warmer and waterproof.  Riding home afterwards the gloves were certainly warmer than my old pair.
Moto mamas had fun checking out the gear and we found  Moto Diva the perfect jacket with red in it to go with Scarlet.  We had some fun and shared jokes and bike information with the owners and some clients.  What a cool place for motorcycle friends to hand out.
So for today, I have no pictures to share as it was so interesting that I forgot all about getting my camera out.
After the trip to the bike coop, Moto Diva and I rode together until we had to depart company to head home.  I continued on around the waterfront, my favourite place to ride.  Then I headed home trying out the new gloves and my fingers didnt get cold.  Yay!!

End all Bullying

Well today was anti bullying day.  I am so happy to see that bullying is now getting the attention it deserves.  It has gone on hidden for way too long.
It breaks my heart to see how young it starts and seeing the kids who are bullied.  
I know first hand about bullying, I have gone through helping my son who was bullied in school.  And why was he bullied?  Because he suffers from ADHD, has an anxiety disorder and suffers from depression.  As some kids in his class discovered this, they would tease and bully him about it.
Also the last couple of years I was also bullied in my workplace. It became unbearable I was absolutely stressed.  This in turn caused me enough stress and anxiety and depression that I went off work for a few months on a medical leave.  I am not afraid to talk about what I went through.  I am not ashamed of it.  It happens to too many people and its brushed under the mat or hidden or just put up with.  It is not right, it is not fair.
Bullies are cowards, take away their power, stand up to them.  Bullies have the problem not you.
One of the hardest things I have gone through in my life besides my marriage of 24 years breaking down, was going through the bullying process.  Lucky for me I had some great co-workers who stood by me and a union who also stood by me.  Going back to work after my medical leave was so difficult to do.  But slowly step by step, it improved at work.  In the end I did get an apology and since then work has been so good, its how it should have been all along.  
Today was a day that made me happy to see how much bullying is being bought into the media focus to help end bullying.  But it was also a difficult day because it bought everything that happened to me right in focus with me again.


So everyone - this is my story.  I am not ashamed of what I went through and I have become a stronger person having gone through it.
Anti bullying is something I am very passionate about.  I would like to have a ride to end Bullying one day.
If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask.  I know this is not my best piece of writing but I just am writing what comes to mind.


So if you see anyone being bullied or you are bullied help or seek help.


Take care and goodnight everyone.

Weekend highlights

Ahh its sunday night - where did the weekend go?  How come they go so fast and the week so slow?  Actually my work week isnt so bad and I do enjoy my job.
But this weekend has been a good one too.
Lets see, friday night my son - whom I hadnt seen all week since he is working and then so busy with his buddies, came to visit me and then went to Canadian Tire for me to pick up my first set of tools that I bought.  I couldnt bring them home on the bike so he went and picked them up. I got a great deal on a socket/wrench set for 75% off the retail price.  Yay I now have tools to learn to fix my bike with!
After that he picked up Tim Hortons chili meals for us and he had dinner with me.
Saturday was a fun day - the first sleep over with my 7 month old grand daughter.  It was such a lazy day for me, sitting cuddling Heather, playing with her, feeding her and watching her sleep.

She cant sit up by herself yet but when I propped her up in the chair, she was able to stay sitting.

Heather really was excited with Gemini, my cat.  Gemini is a good cat but is 7 yrs old and gets a little cranky, but with Heather tugging on her she totally took it all and didnt even move.  This photo to the right made me laugh after I saw it on the computer - I guess Gemini was a little embarrassed with Heathers singing. LOL

Heather had a little heart to heart chat with Gemini and then after that they were best  buddies.

Then later on just before bed, I discovered my middle daughters teddy bear.  Heather fell in love with teddy and even slept with him.
And....Heather went to bed at 8pm woke at 2:15am, had a bottle and went back to sleep until 6:30am, I think she slept better for me than she does at home! Experience works all the time.
Then sunday morning, my daughter came and picked Heather up and took her home and I couldnt wait to get into my riding gear and get Rascal out of the shed.  The sun was shinning and it was beautiful outside.  I messaged Dar and arranged a little tootle around.
I got Rascal checked out and gave her a quick rinse, lubed the chain and checked the oil, then I finished getting on my gear.  While doing my prep, then weather had clouded over!!  I had Rascal running and went to put my Helmet on, I have to take my glasses off to put my helmet on, and so as I put it on I could vaguely see something fluttering in the air! Once I put my glasses back on, there were snowflakes falling!!!  Aargh.  So I decided to go to Dars anyways - I figured I could always have a coffee and come home again.
So off I went, a few more flakes falling, then as I got off my road, the sun was shining again.  Really!!
By the time I got to Dars, as we were getting ready to go riding, moto daughter was very happy to tell us that it was snowing!!  Nope dont believe it.  But she was right.  We sat and had coffee and chatted and next thing we knew it had stopped!  I do believe it was because Moto Diva was so disappointed in the weather that it changed just for her. LOL

BUT moto mamas got out for our ride....
a short one - but a good one.  We stopped at the Oak Bay Marina.
                                                                      This was one of the stops on our stops on our traffic course we did.

Moto diva leaving moto mama for home.







Then moto mama and rascal made a few stops before heading for home too.

 I stopped at Gyro Park and beach.  Parked Rascal in a large puddle of water!  She is a dual sport so was quite happy riding in the mud!

 Beach at gyro park.                                                              

Then I headed to Brentwood Bay, the Ferry terminal.

 The marina at Brentwood bay.

 I liked the perspective of the loading ramp to the ferry and the sun behind me shining on the yellow bars against the dark storm clouds in the background.

 I rode around a little more and then headed to home.  Got home, got my bike parked in her shed, went inside and got my riding gear off and turned around and looked outside and saw this hail storm.....which went on for about 5mins then turned to snow for about 5 minutes.  The gnomes are used to this changeable weather on Vancouver Island.  They just keep on doing what they always do.

In Victoria if you just wait 5 minutes the weather changes.  That sun we were so excited about this morning was just a big tease!
 

TGTWIH - Thank goodness the weekend is here

Well I havent written for a couple of days, hasnt the time been flying by lately?  I know the drill - the older we get the faster time goes by.
Well a couple of things to report, my dad is doing great on his recovery and is itching to get out to his beloved BSA bike again.  But as to mum, her cancer has spread on her liver, maybe even the lung.  Its not looking great for her - she is starting the next form of chemo and has losing her hair to look forward to.  I really do wonder why my mum and dad have to have so many struggles in their lives.  I am not sure what I will do if anything happens.... its very hard to pick up and head back to NZ when I have lived over half my life here in Canada.  Its a huge struggle that I have.  My mum and dad, one of my daughters and two brothers are in NZ, but here in Canada I have my other daughter and two grand children and my son.
I have a quote from a Doris Day song that I tend to live by - "what will be will be" and then my personal mantra is to make the most of any given situation.  So on that note hopefully a lot of good wishes and prayers will help my mum recover as well as dad is now.

Well like I said this week went by fairly quickly.  Scarlet and Rascal had a couple of adventures this week, the last of which was a VERY WINDY ride down to the waterfront.  We turned off our usual route after battling the wind was a little "more" adventurous than we wanted.  Actually my bike is only 275lbs and so the gusts of wind literally were pushing me and my bike around a fair bit.  Even Scarlet - and I am sorry to says this dear, is a LOT heavier than Rascal, and she was having trouble with the wind too.  Even so we did get to see some awesome rough seas along the part of the waterfront we rode.

This week my tires arrived on the bus.....went to pick them up thinking - I will just put them over my head and shoulder and ride home!  Ahh wrong, for a start they were way heavier than I realized, bigger than I imagined, so the dilemma, how to get them home!  See below my solution.  I love my cargo net - its awesome!

 I think I am going to buy myself another cargo net too.  They can be used in so many ways.  I did just get given and older set of saddle bags that I need to do a couple of repairs on and then I will get them mounted on my bike too.  I can wait to do a road trip and pack my bike.  I have to start down sizing my camping gear too so it will all fit on my bike.

So earlier in the week we had a beautiful crisp sunny day and I bought my camera to work.  I was at a University of Victoria BC.  It is a beautiful campus and it has trees and flowers and birds and a beautiful setting and layout.  I will share some of the photos I took this week.  As the weather gets better I will venture out and get more photos of my work place.

The flag poles with the Canadian Flag, the British Columbia flag and the UVic flag.

Signs of spring!

Some reflected architectural designs and shapes.

Focus on just one blossom and the wind blows every time so its a little blurry.

My favourite picture - managed a not bad shot considering the wind was blowing.

Well its time to say goodnight and I am babysitting my 7 month old granddaughter tomorrow and over night for the first time.  My daughter and her fiance are moving into a bigger place with 3 bedrooms.  So for me babysitting is the best option.  I do not enjoy packing and unpacking.

Well goodnight and I hope you all have a great weekend.