It's a curse seeing both sides of the coin

My life has been a dizzy array of coronary arteries (some of them blocked), Italian food (as in the restaurant), biking, birds, cats, and dogs. Wait...I don't have any dogs, that's my Connecticut sister. (Her family pet just gave birth to six puppies --> don't delay, spay your pets!) Can't even refer to raining cats and dogs, because there's been no rain for a week. Anyway, in other words, the cath lab has been busy and I've been racking up the hours. In fact, two weeks ago I offered to take the Friday night call of a co-worker who was feeling about 50%. When the supervisor found out about the switch, she hunted me down and said, "Oh no, that's not going to work. You're already on over time." 'Over time'. She said it like it was a bad thing. I dream of over time. I live for over time. After all, I am trying to pay off the restaurant loan in four or five years... So now I'm thinking of the loan, which means I own a restaurant, which means I'm a business owner, which means I know OVER TIME is a bad thing. Hmmmmm, I see her side. God, I hate when that happens! It sure isn't easy to be a business owner in one arena and an employee in another arena. Well, no one ever said it would be easy.

Ralph and Deb have been promoting some new specials at the restaurant and all of them are hits. We are also promoting Pajama Parties, Hospitality Night, and Wacky Wednesday. No, Wednesday isn't wacky because the guys are running the show since it's Deb's day off. Stop in and see what it's all about! (If you order the Trash Pizza, Redd will give you his autograph.)

I had some fantastic 20 mile bike rides lately. It's so amazing, even the weather has been cooperative. On one of my rides, I discovered the reason for the playscape at the professional building parking lot is because they also house a pre-school, which is now open. I still haven't seen any pre-schoolers, but perhaps they are there earlier in the day. On another ride, I almost ran into a very old lady with her dog. I stopped and kindly told her I didn't want to get tangled up with her and her dog. She was quick to lash out and tell me I should be riding in the bike lane in the street. I smiled, waved, and thanked her as I rode away. I should be doing a lot of things, but riding in the street in that area is not one of them. Too many weavers and creepers have almost taken me out in the bike lane. Let's face it, I want to live and a bicycle crash would be really messy. (Closed casket, broken bones, deformed corpse, you get my drift......yes, sick nursing humor.) Plus I'm sure my kids don't want me to die before I pay off the restaurant loan that I mentioned above. 

  

                    Feral kitten                              Setting sun at the end of one of my rides.                                   

I just don't know if the old people are more of a menace on foot or behind the wheel. I know the seniors own the roads, the supermarket aisles, the best parking spots, the front of lines, the best seats in theaters and restaurants, etc. Do they really have to also own the sidewalks? Why can't we share? Why can't we all just get along?

Speaking of seniors, while I was out biking I found the gracious retirement living facility of my dreams. I told Ralph about it and he asked if he could admit me now. No, I'm not ready to go now. Then I pondered how he would manage the plants, yard, gardening, birds, cats, litter boxes, hair balls, feathers, feeding times, etc, in my absence. I told him when I leave I'll take my bike and ride over here once a week to see how he's doing. He pondered all those activities and promptly said he'd be moving out too. Yeah, maybe, but I don't know where he could possibly go with all those pets.

 

Gracious retirement living facility.

Can't say that I saw a beach anywhere. I guess they figure we'd be too old to notice.

I bought new living room furniture, which means I had to get rid of the set I bought circa 1985, when I was a new nurse and started actually having money. It was hard seeing that set on the curb for trash pick up. It served me, and the pets, well over the years. In fact, if Kiki hadn't destroyed it, I would probably still have it. As mentioned in an earlier blog, I form these strong attachments to my stuff. I should get over it. (There's that 'should' word again.) Now I have remodeling and rearranging to do. Not right now though, I think I hear my bike calling me.

                               The carpet will be the first thing to go! That's Gypsy.