The Dynamic Duo

UltraMom here. Having watched UltraBob’s nearly idiot-proof (translation: UltraMom proof) video on how to post with this new system, I think I’m ready to get my feet wet. No, I’m not sitting outside with me feet in my pond, though of course I could be if I wanted to what with my oh so portable macbook. That was just a figure of speech. What I meant was.............aw just forget it.

I have had several momentous events n the past month or so. We could choose from a virtual smorgasbord of family fun. There was ‘Johny comes for a visit”, “We go to Howe to start gathering up our junk” “We go back to Howe to finish gathering up our junk and try to sell our Idaho house” “ Going to Boise to pick Johnny up from the airport”, and my personal favorite: UltraMom has Another Birthday.
I could put my posting subject up to a democratic vote, but as this is an autocratic computer, none of your votes would count anyway. So without further ado ( I know, I know, way too much ‘ado’ already)

UltraMom was anticipating a very special birthday this year. Not only would she be turning the very interesting age of 54, but she would be joined by UltraDad and the two youngest UltraSons, whom she didn’t often get joined by. Johnny had recently come out from Tennessee for an UltraMom sponsored visit. I was having quite a nice time, in spite of the constant nagging from Johnny-sponsored driving instructors “Ten and Two” who spent most car rides reminding me of safe driving positions for my hands on the steering wheel. I have since heard that those particular hand positions are no longer the recommended ones, but try telling that to “Ten and Two”!
UltraMom had been contemplating trying a new activity this birthday; something she had never done before. She considered canoeing or kayaking, but finding a place nearby where such conveyances could be rented seemed unlikely. LIkewise, skydiving and bungee jumping. ( wasn’t seriously considering those anyway:) What to do? The guys were depending on me to come up with a fabulous idea. And then I had it: we could go to Ely and take the old-timey, historic train ride!
Ely Historic Train Ride
We would be going on Saturday, July 12th, which was actually the day AFTER UltraMom’s birthday, but I never mind getting a little (or a lot) of extra mileage out of my special day.
It happened that July 11th was the day UtraMom had signed up to take her state of Nevada Board CNA test at Great Basin College. Johnny kept reminding me I had best be studying if I didn’t want the ignominy (and wasteful expense) of having to take the test over again. He even went through my homemade flash cards with me, shaking his head ruefully at my dismal performance. He wished me luck and the look on his face told me, in his opinion, I would need plenty.
Of course, in the end I did just fine, scoring a 98% on both written test and practical skills test. The written test is a 54 question multiple choice test taken on the computer. The questions are chosen randomly from a testing bank. The one I missed had to do with how upright should be kept a patient with a feeding tube. Turns out it is more than the 10% gradient I guessed and less than sitting bolt upright. I hope I never have need to personally find out the importance of this. Two out of three of my randomly drawn skill tests were actually the same ones I had tested on in my class: Changing an occupied bed, and perennial care. The third one was upper range of motion exercising, or guiding a patients arm through an array of movements. The bed-changing and ROM involved a student volunteer; we, of course, used a mannequin for the perennial care.
This testing was a lot different than the end-of-class testing where helpful Jo Dean, our CNA instructor, gently reminded us of forgotten steps and we joked about our mannequin’s missing arm as we pretended to check her wrist ID. My tester said not a word after reading me the test guidelines, until all procedures were completed. I missed only one step: forgetting to state that I would have washed my hands at the end of my first skill. I did not forget again.

In a combo-celebration of me passing my test and of having a birthday, UltraDad, Johnny, Jimbo and I had lunch at The Star, where, as I may have mentioned before, they serve the best steak sandwiches and fries in the entire world.
That night I was in for an even bigger treat as Jimbo made his famous chicken tacos, complete with tater tots and his secret ingredient, which I believe is Yoshida sauce. Perhaps not so much of a secret as he thought.... We finished off with the strawberry cake I had selected from Walmart’s bakery earlier in the day. Another highlight was going to the park and playing a little frisbee golf with two of my favorite sons.

Getting this MacBook is my birthday/Christmas/St Patrick’s day gift from UltraDad for several years to come. Johnny and the ULtras got me an external hard drive for easy backups, and Jimbo got me a shield and case for my new ipod touch. Heather gave me cash for a shopping spree. Thanks, guys. You rock!
Saturday, we drove the 3 or so hours to Ely for our much anticipated train ride. We ran into some rain, which gave the air a nice fresh smell. We had purchased our tickets online, and easily found the depot. Unfortunately, we had just missed the tour, and the main museum was not open on Saturday, but we still found lots to look at.
My research indicated we would be riding in a closed passenger car with lots of windows, but the conductor had a surprise for us. “Usually it costs an extra $10 to ride in the caboose, but today you get that upgrade free. Or you can ride in the open flatcar.” The passenger car, as it happened, was being prepared for the special ‘Wine Tour” for that evening and would not be available for our little ride. I had to admire the positive spin the conductor tried to put on this unexpected turn of events as we informed the dismayed family-with-small-kids that there would be no restroom facilities or snacks for purchase.
There were two cabooses, but only one also gave you flatcar accessibility. Everyone chose that one, and most rode, with us, in the open flatcar. It was interesting listening to our guide tell us about the history of the Ely trains, railroads and historic events. We went through several tunnels, one quite old. I found myself wishing I could experience riding up in a cupola in the caboose, but these perches had seemingly been homesteaded by a couple of kids. When we reached the turnaround point, I asked the conductor if we could move to the other caboose. The answer was ‘yes’, as long as I realized I had to stay there for the rest of the ride. In the end, UltraDad and I moved and each had our own private cupola (and largely mute volunteer conductor) for the trip back to Ely. The boys elected for remain in the open flatcar. At one point, our personal conductor pointed out to me a handle within my easy reach. “You see that? Whatever you do, don’t pull that. That will stop the whole train.” Well, before he told me that I had no intention of doing any such thing. And of course I didn’t, but I did think about it. Later, when I was telling this story to the boys, Jimbo had a thought. “If you had pulled it and stopped the train, I’m not sure we would have noticed the difference.” He had a point; the train was moving pretty slow. All in all, a great time with people I love.
So, there you have it: my birthday post, only a month late.
Turns out even the new MacBook can’t make me post more frequently.

UltraMom