May 20

I've wanted to finish painting the house but haven't been able to because of rain. We've had quite a lot lately and that looks to continue for the next week. At least the garden is getting plenty of moisture which is good. Soon I should have plenty of pictures of my flowers. I should even have some nice tomatoes for cooking. There's nothing like the taste of fresh tomatoes you just picked off the plant.
One of the hobbies I've wanted to get back into again is photography. Toward that end I've been shooting some with my new camera phone, and I have a new SLR type digital camera with gobs of focal range on the way. I'll be able to do a good job of capturing some of this years memories for Susan and I.
This should make for an interesting summer. Susan and I are beginning to have a lot of plans. I'm actually quite glad I met her, and that she's part of my life now. I'm thinking I got very lucky :-)

Remodeling.

I've started going through the cleaning process so I can paint the inside of the house. The outside looks pretty reasonable after its new paint job and now the inside appears rather dreary in comparison.
   It's almost like starting a whole chapter, just like the rest of my life. I think my mind is set on a very light blue for the walls, and white for the ceiling. That should tie in well with exterior.

Jello

One of the things I've started having a lot of is various flavors of jello and I'll add fruit to it. This green jello I got on sale recently and I decided to make it up. The little containers are for my lunches.

What I figured would be good for this batch of jello is that pear would be good that's what I've added here. If you're going to put fruit in it you'll need to let the jello solidify a bit first before adding the fruit. For these smaller containers you need to reduce the total time a bit before adding the fruit.

This is one of the changes I've made in my diet. I figured I'd be getting a bit of fruit just about every single day. I've also made a lot of other changes too and my energy levels seem to be increasing.

HOA

The mobile home court where I live got some new owners. They're kind of nice but they created new HOA type rules. Supposedly the rules are meant to maintain home values, etc.
   Anyway, as a result of the rules now being enforced there are some things I have to do to my house. One the laundry list is painting and the paint used must be one of ten colors. In the image you can see how it looked as of Saturday night. Toward the back of the house you can see the brown color it was.
   As of last night I have the west side to do, and the shed. I guess the blue color looks nice, it was the only one of the ten colors I halfway liked.
   Tonight, the shed. I'll have to use the extra thick roller pad to do it.

Story bit

I did quit writing but occasionally a bit will come up and I'll have to write it down. This is one of those.

   Smiling down at Charlie she stood silently a moment. He expectantly gazed at her eyes and held a small box in both hands. She had wanted this day for so long, and yet, a million doubts surfaced.
"What you say Maya? Will you?"
She wanted time to think about it. Given long enough she would have come up with a reason to say no.
The room became filled with painfull brightness, and the window shattered. Fragments of glass pelted the couple. Under them the floor violently shook and Maya fell on top of her beau.

Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum

I've been getting out a bit and the other day I went to the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum. It was pretty cool and the motorcycles were fascinating.

Could you imagine driving this one? It's a 1914 Indian Twin. Having looked them up you had a whole 7 HP.

This 1915 Harley-Davidson Model 11-F had 11 HP and I believe it had a 60 cubic inch engine.

This is a 1965 Harley-Davidson Panhead. It's the first Harley that had an electric start.

This 1929 Harley-Davidson was sure flashy. It had a 750cc engine.

I guess this thing is what my scooter is related to.

A Harley Davidson Moped. These weren't made very long.

This bike caught my eye as it looks pretty cool. I'll bet it's a two stroke but I couldn't find a placard.

This is a Harley-Davidson MT-500. They were built in limited quantities for the military in 1999-2000. They are also only 500cc.

MPG's

 When I went to get my new license I wanted something really cheap to operate, and simple to repair. I got this Taotao 50. It has a 49cc single cylinder four stroke engine that drives it along 35-40 mph on level ground. This picture was taken right after I got it out of the crate it was delivered in. The scooter cost $580 plus $199 delivery.
   Here in Colorado you do have to carry vehicle insurance and you do have to register the scooter. For full coverage I'm paying about $120 per year. My registration is for three years and cost about $6. You get a little sticker you apply just about where the plate would normally be. I will note, at least here in Colorado the odometer reading is not noted on your registration and I made a smaller sized copy to carry along with my insurance card. You never know when you'll get pulled over so it's best to be prepared.

   I will also note that you probably won't find a shop that will work on these. You'd better learn how to repair then including replacing tires. Luckily they are simple to repair.

I got an app on my Droid that I keep track of fill ups, and mileage. Here is the average over the last two months. I will note that I have to take the odometer reading and convert it to miles since the odometer measures kilometers. 

March was the first month the scooter was registered. It was also during the break in period which obviously didn't have the best mileage. 

Now, in April the break in period is complete and now I'm getting full MPG's. They are great!