Some free time…

I’ve caught a cold while I’ve been looking after my folks.

The sneezing, coughing and hacking took the wind out of my sails. My Mom has it too and frankly it’s a lot worse for her. 

I think this is going to be a quick little thing. Last night I was a mess. Today I’m feeling much better although I can’t get more than 10 paces from a kleenex box.

I’ve been able to continue doing the stuff that I’ve been working on. Moving furniture, scrubbing floors and trying to catch up on all the stuff that my folks haven’t been able to keep up with.

I’ve suggested that they get someone to come in and help them with the cleaning and stuff like that. That suggestion went over like a lead balloon. It’s a full time job keeping up with forgotten glasses of water, tea, or diet coke. Plus cleaning up the spills and little messes caused by them not asking me or each other for help.

I’ve been told my halo is getting brighter. My response is that it’s about to burst into flame.

Yesterday I took a couple of hours off, and drove into Tampa. I visited a BMW dealer to pick up an update for my navigation system.

Expensive, but on the trip here there were several times when the navigation system was really wrong.

I’ve been trying to do the updates about every other year. The one I purchased yesterday was dated Jan 2014.

FL roads and highways are a bit strange to someone that has been driving in California for the better part of 30 years.

In California turn lanes are pretty well defined and you’re usually warned well in advance of a Left or Right turn only lane by the striping on the road and a sign.

Not so here!

I was driving along on a main surface street. I knew I needed to make a left turn in less than a quarter of a mile and so I got into the left hand lane. I’m driving along and suddenly I’m in a left turn only lane that leads onto the freeway. Without any warning, the lane I was in just became a turn lane. No little jog to the left, no change in the striping on the road, nothing except an arrow with “only” printed under it. The next lane over was a “left or straight” lane but there wasn’t enough time or warning to get over.

Sigh, no way out! I got on the freeway and just as I was making that turn, I saw the dealership I was trying to get to. 

Briefly on the freeway, then next exit, two lefts later, I’m exiting on the street that I got screwed on. On the second approach I made another left and avoided the left turn only lane this time.

This dealership is cool, think of any European car and they had it. The BMW building was the first, then Porsche, Maserati, Lamborghini, Range Rover, Audi, VW, you name it,  and it was all the same dealership. 

It was kinda like being at a car show. I got to see an Audi R8 up close and personal. NICE!

It was nice being out on my own and I took a meandering path back to the house.

It took me a lot longer than I thought it would but I didn’t care, I was enjoying the down time.

Ya try to be patient, kind and loving, but in the end you need time away.