Yes, our Adventures have had some limitations this year...and the great casualty of the evil-twin combo of my back issues and positional vertigo has been any ability to make plans and follow through on commitments. Still, we are trying to do things we enjoy...whenever we can.
One particular thing we have enjoyed is getting our baseball fix by going to Greensboro Grasshoppers games. It's great!! Lots of fun...especially with the mascot, Miss Babe Ruth...shown in the picture below, acting as batgirl...:) And so very convenient, too!
Let's compare...
A Braves game in Atlanta? Drive for 5+ hours to get there (to the general area.) Spend the night. Drive an hour or more to get to a prepaid ($12) parking space that's still 1/4 mile from Turner Field...with more steps to go to arrive at your seat. Enjoy the game...but know that you have to reverse the process to get home...happy, but exhausted...and a good bit lighter in the wallet.
A 'Hoppers game? Leave home 30-45 minutes before game time (depending on whether you need to make any stops along the route). Easy drive down Wendover to Market to downtown Greensboro. Pay $4 to park a block away in the Grace UMC parking lot. Leisurely stroll to NewBridge Bank Park and arrive at our seats behind home plate with plenty of time to spare before the National Anthem. Enjoy the game...and usually fireworks...knowing that you will be sleeping in your own bed tonight...with dollars to spare.
OK, so maybe the calibre of play isn't as great, but the enjoyment factor is far greater in Greensboro. And I find I'm liking the Braves on our big screen TV just dandy...:). Ahem.
Anyway...back to not being able to make plans and keep commitments. I had made plans to attend the state conference of the North Carolina Master Gardener Volunteer Association this week in Asheville. Had even volunteered to help with registration...way back last Fall when I first signed up for it, and before I took that shortcut down the stairs in January. Who knew the Winter and early Spring would be so difficult? Not I.
So I reluctantly cancelled my plans for Asheville for this week because I realized it probably wasn't prudent for me to make that trip alone, much less sit for 4 hours at the Registration Table. Then we had to cancel our plans for Memorial Day/Anniversary in Atlanta because our dog sitter would be at the beach when we were to have been at the Braves. Sigh.
'All things happen for a reason,' "they" say. Of course, "they" are usually right, aren't "they?"
After a real pace-setter weekend, when we had worked like stevedores on our new Rose Garden in the Way Back...and even taking a timeout on Saturday night for a 'Hoppers game and fireworks...we were cleaning up the remains of our hamburgers-on-the-grill-&-veggies-from-the-garden Sunday supper when a call came through on my iPad. "Never a good sign when it rings after nine." That's something else "they" say.
"Mom, I think I may have sprained my ankle," said Missy M. Through the wonders of technology, she flipped the camera and showed me her swollen right foot, and I knew she was probably underestimating the damage.
Seems she had taken her dogs with her on her supper-run to Wendy's. When they got back home, Ella Rae...her little part-dachshund, part-gazelle...made a dash out of the car, still wearing her leash. Missy M gave chase, even though flip flops would not be classified as track shoes in any catalog. She stepped on the wrist-handle of the leash, rolled her foot, lost her balance...and wound up driving herself to the ER shortly after our chat.
Long story short: xrays showed avulsion fracture of the fifth metatarsal with the ankle sprain. Temporary stirrup cast, until she sees the specialist on Thursday. Currently on crutches...and dire warnings about "no weight on that foot." In short, she was in a bit of a pickle. Here's a picture she took in the ER of said pickle.
And so, that's how we found ourselves...with all our dogs (no sitter, remember?)...in Louisville. We drove up Monday after packing in record time. I harvested as much of the garden greens (photo below) as I could before we headed the car toward the mountains and the Parkway.
We aren't certain how long we will be here to help. Mr. T may even have to make another round trip there-and-back before all is said and done, probably sooner rather than later.
Still, it feels good to be able to keep a commitment. One that we made when we became parents 30+ years ago.
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Bear with me. I'm posting on my iPad with all its limitations re: attaching/sizing/captioning photos. I have loads of great pics of the new roses blooming in the new Rose Garden...and I'll post them when I get back to my trusty ol' Toshiba. Promise.
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