Real Legs are Awesome

Well, they are.

At the top of Corrie Fee - knackered and fabulous!

The title of this post comes from a BBC 2 documentary about servicemen competing in the Invictus Games this year.  Specifically I think it was double amputee David Henson that said it.  And it's become one of the little mantras of our house (along with "No boshing, only loves", "Sounds sticky" and other such deep and meaningful thoughts).

So when Sally posted about loving her knees I was right there with her.  Because real legs are awesome.  And my legs are awesome.  Some of the awesome things my real legs have done recently include:

Off to chase a toddler at the park...

Climbing the back wall of Corrie Fee
Swimming a few lengths here and there
Gymming more than a couple of times each week
Dancing for pretty much 12 hours straight
Taking friends for turns on Daisy the tandem
Chasing toddlers around soft play areas and parks

They may not be the most aesthetically pleasing of legs, by the restrictive standards of conventional beauty, but they are strong and soft and real, and that makes them awesome.

Dolphin Hunting I

There are dolphins appearing around the streets of the city.  Wild Dolphins to be precise.  I spotted one last weekend and on Saturday took a picture of another and spotted three more.

This is no 14 - Phospho, also Callanish, left.

There's been quite a dolphin-related buzz around the office, so I'm up for a wee adventure every now and again (especially as we're going to fetch the tandem this week so there will be a new way to go on expeditions).  Perhaps we'll manage to visit all 50 dolphin visitors before the end of August.

Not the new bicycle I was planning on

So, I posted about needing to start looking for a new bicycle.  And I have purchased a new bicycle.  But I didn't pay an awful lot of attention to my previous criteria, although it does have a nice relaxed riding posture and built in mudguards, so that's good.  And it's red.

It also has cupholders.  And two seats.  Whee!

Steed for two

Ladies and Gentlebubbles, I am now the proud owner, via the medium of excitable down-to-the-line ebaying, of half a Schwinn Tango Tandem!

I am thrilled at the prospect of whizzing about with a friend on this shiny machine.  And it has cupholders, so we can get coffee.  There will be adventures.  And cupholding.  Or perhaps the tiny squirrel will sit in the cupholders.  There may well be picnics.  There will have to be a basket or panniers or something.  Heads will turn.  I will wave at small children.  And drink beverages from my cupholders.  I may even learn not to cut through the traffic like a maniac.

This isn't a totally spur-of-the-moment rash decision.  I have had my eye on a tandem for a while as they are just such sociable things.  So when one so stylish and unusual (as far as I'm aware, Schwinn don't sell these outside the USA these days) came along I had to throw my hat in the ring for it.  Especially as red is one of my favourite colours.  And did I mention the cupholders?  One of these days I will offer to pick you up at the station and get even more funny looks riding to town with a missing stoker.  Just a back set of pedals going round and round all by themselves.

So... back to how I need to start looking for a new bicycle...