Thursday, April 02, 2009

One more thing crossed off the list....

Well.

There I was minding my own business, wedged behind my shed chopping back the holly tree, when a voice came out of the tree. It was my friend's husband, one of the "new home" neighbours. You know. The ones with the building sites. The building sites I now appear to be obsessed with. He said....."If you would like to sit in the JCB (the bulldozer-digger-thingy) tomorrow, come round at 12.30pm and I will take a photo of you in it. The driver suggested it."

Now I ask you. What would you have done???Huh???? If I hadn't been wedged behind the shed, I may have tried jumping up and down with excitement.

I said yes thank you, with as much decorum as I could muster at the time. And you can bet I was round there like a bullet ( in my car) at 12.30. I have failed to mention that walking is a little difficult at the moment. My leg is hurting like *************** and I have been walking with the crutch, but I hobbled down the track to the building site. And do you know what that sweet driver-of-the-digger-thingy did?????

He leapt into his cab, and started banging the scoop on a mound of soil. I thought hmmmm....he must be doing something important. Then he roared it over the hill, so the hill was directly under the step! He made me a hill so I didn't have to climb up so high!!!

Sigh. He was so sweet. My own hill. I gave my camera to my friend, and told her to take photos. I have many, but they make me look slightly demented, so you get one. From a distance.

See? The mound above is my hill. Close to the step. And look below....me in the digger.

I can't tell you how much fun I had. The seat swivels round so you get to work both ends. This side (above) is the one which stretches out in a delicate fashion, and it has 2 antenna-like levers and a foot pedal. This is the complicated side, but I did manage to work it a little too.
I absolutely aced the other side. The big side. The one you can see in the top photo. I can make it go up and down, and open and shut. I do believe they were all quite impressed at the way I took to it all. I had such fun.


This is my new best friend. His name is Bob. Bob the Builder. A true gentleman. Apparently he is very protective of his digger, and no-one is allowed to sit in it. I did.
And at this point, I should tell you that I took a video of me making it all move. One small problem.......I turned that wretched camera on the side again, and now I have to lie down to watch it. I have tried to rotate it but for some reason, Windows Movie Maker is not co-operating. It is a masterpiece. I am a star. I may just pop it on here, and let you all put your heads delicately on your desks so you can watch. You may need cushions. But you will see it. David says he will sort it when he gets home next week if I haven't done it by then. I may not be able to wait.
Anyway. It made me grin. Scratch that - I was laughing with delight. And that is one more thing I can cross of the list. I have volunteered to fill in if ever he goes off sick. And I have also added a trip to Diggerland to the list. They really let you dig with JCBs there. I need to go. Soon.
I do realise that this is totally weird to some of you. But we all have secret dreams, so bear with me a little. Mine just tend to be a little weirder than most!
PS..... Don't worry about the leg hurting. I have been told that the pain does not mean it is being damaged, and to move through it. I am trying. I am doing all my physio exercises every day and I have been swimming to do all the hydro exercises ( I will tell you about the hysterical over 50's sessions at the pool tomorrow) and trying to go for at least one walk a day. The pain is always there, so we ignore it. I will also tell you more about what I learned over the next few weeks. I can't do it all at once.
Ok - that's it for now. I am now going to lean over and watch my triumph once again!

15 comments:

Vee said...

Omigosh! I was chuckling at your joy in in manning the digger...Bob looks like such a sweet man...then you describe taking a video of it all sideways, which is just what I did on the last video I took. Yes, put it on...I know how to tilt my head.

Glad to know that your leg is not being damaged to work through the pain. You're a brave one!

Barbara said...

Well that sounded fun. Don't we Grandmothers like enjoying ourselves. Oliver would have been in seventh heaven too. The nearest he has been ins watching them all in the clay pits in Cornwall.
Glad you are doing ok in spite of the pain Linds.

Laurie in Ca. said...

Oh Linds,

Wasn't that fun to do??? I love construction machines and my husband used to drive them all the time. I got to drive a dump truck for one of our friends and back up and dump the load. It was so much fun until I got out and walked to the back to see where the dirt went. I was about 4 feet from the edge of the cliffs over the ocean. OMG! But I was proud of myself. I am so proud of you for getting to do this. Baby bump will love it when she gets a little older. Have a great day Linds.

Love and hugs, Laurie

Butterfly Mama said...

LOL Bob the builder!! How sweet that little hill of earth was for him to make. Sounds like a very exciting day!!!

Hugs,
Heidi

The Bookworm said...

Bob the Builder ... could he fix it?
Bob the Builder ... yes he did!

What a fun thing to do :).

Rosaria Williams said...

You are having some fun days! And meeting new people too.

Susie said...

So glad you had fun with Bob the Builder! Our D used to love watching that show on TV!
Sorry you're having such pain. I know that can make getting around difficult..
xo

Edith said...

Oh that sounds fun! So nice of Bob to allow you to sit in his digger. I'm looking forward to hearing more about what you learned in Bath...Hang in there through the pain.

And the daffodils were wonderful!

Dawn said...

What a nice guy! Apologies - we were all wrong! YOu did what you wanted to do, and I am proud of you.

Needled Mom said...

You must have had such fun handling that big digger. I am glad that you were able to impress Bob the builder. Wasn't that sweet of him to build a hill for you?

Linda said...

What fun and what a sweet man Bob is. You are the first friend I've known ever to do such a daring thing. I would love to see the video - even if it means tipping over a bit.

Anonymous said...

What a great adventure! Hope your knee heals well and recovery goes smoothly.

Ms. Kathleen said...

Awwww... What a gentleman Bob the Builder is and you sure look tiny in that big ol' machine... I hope you heal quickly!

Mary said...

I have a little question if you don't mind? The list? What else is on the list?

So glad that you are embracing new opportunities. I think I might just take your lead and go find myself an adventure.

someone else said...

Maybe your employment opportunities just expanded. ha ha