I drove on Monday!  No problems at all. Parking lot, side streets, main streets, freeway – no problem. It was so great, I got my freedom back. No more annoying others for rides, no more not asking for rides because I don’t want to be annoying. Hurrah!

It had been suggested that I go to a licensed facility to be tested before driving, but when I called a recommended number – not the state licensing bureau, but a medical facility – I was told the testing took FOUR HOURS, three of which included cognition tests, sanity tests, coordination testing, a physical, etc. Then another hour (!) behind the wheel. Plus, it cost $400 – which was not covered by my insurance! I didn’t go. That kind of testing must be for someone who has had her license taken away, possibly after a stay in an asylum. Or prison. My license is secure in my wallet, was never even threatened by removal, and a long way from ordinary renewal.

So Ellen had a doctor’s appointment way up in the northern suburbs and I rode along so we could pull into a dying mall with lots of open spaces where nobody was parking. We had taken my car. I got behind the wheel and discovered my knee in no fashion interfered with my movement from gas pedal to brake. Ellen yelled “Stop!” at one point as a test and I slammed on the brakes instantly. See? No problem. So I drove us home. We stopped at a favorite clothing store and I found out my new dress size (I’m down three sizes!), and I bought a new blouse. It’s a store for plus sized women, and they have had a problem all summer getting their smallest size, which is what I’m wearing now, and sometimes those were too big. So not many choices – but I was so pleased to find I take their smallest size, I wasn’t annoyed.

My tower of flowers is having problems. The “vining geraniums” aren’t vining and the two smaller pots at the top have both had their petunias fade and die. I filled the pots with Miracle Gro soil left over from last year, and maybe that wasn’t a good idea. I replaced one small-pot plant with another petunia, but the top pot, which gets the heat of the sun badly, I bought a hen-and-chicks plant for.  Almost a cactus, it can take the heat.  It’s a really pretty specimen of a succulent – here’s a picture of it. Note the hen has only one chick.

The writing is still coming along slowly, but I can feel the juices stirring, and I think things will open up dramatically pretty soon. I sure hope so, it’s so frustrating to sit and stare at what little I’ve written and be unable to add to it.