Motorcycle

So Brian got a motorcycle about a month ago. We were thinking about in CA getting a 2nd car, just an old cheap one that gets better gas mileage then our Durango. So we got thinking about motorcycles because they get great gas mileage (Brian's gets about 80mpg) and cost less than an old car in the same condition. We decided to get a Honda Rebel 234cc because we heard it is great for learning and not too much power. He got a Utah driver's license and a motorcyclepermit that lets him drive but without passengers, at night, or on the freeway. He is now taking the class at SLCC that will give him the license when he finishes, then he can let me ride on the back. He always wears his full face helmet, jacket with armored shoulders and elbows,pants with armored knees, and gloves with armored knuckles. He got some bags to put his pants and other stuff in when he gets to school or work. He also just got a sissy bar which is a backrest for me and a larger bag that slips on the sissy bar to fit his jacket and strap a helmet on top. He gets really good parking at school, his classes are all in the Smith Field house and Richards Building so he parks right next to the building. In driving it around town he has begun to enjoy it, he thinks it is fun to ride. We got a carrier for our Durango that is like a bicycle carrier but the bike is supported under the tires, you use the ramp to push it up onto the rack and then strap it on so it doesn't roll off. We are going to take it to florida with us.

Kindle

I have been talking about getting a Kindle for a while now. I was thinking maybe getting one in July after we have saved up some more but this week Brian surprised me with a Kindle. It is so great. I started reading Treasure Island which was free. All the old classic books that don't have copyright are free. I also found some games like word games and a really fun maze game where the mouse has to get to the cheese.

I just got the Olson family cookbook on PDF and it looks great. The thing about PDFs are that they are usually too small to read because it scales a whole 8 1/2 x 11 down to the screen size but the cookbook is easy to read.

Last night I also sewed a case for it. I had some leftover cotton fabric and bought suedecloth for lining so the screen would not get scratched and some neoprene for inbetween so it would have some padding. The amount of padding or squishiness is perfect, not too thick but enough to protect it. I also made a pocket on the back for headphones or the power cord. It is nice to have stuff like that handy. So with buying all the fabric for the case it ended up costing me only $7 instead of buying a case for like $20-$30.

I also like the internet on it. This is kinda like my substitute for a smartphone sort of. And with this I have no monthly fees like a smartphone but it does not have as many capabilities as a smartphone. Just what I need though. I can check my email anywhere and look at facebook too. Google maps works ok, you can get the written directions but the visual map part of the screen is not very big and you can't zoom or pan. But it would still be very useful in the car if you needed to know how to get somewhere and I don't really like GPS because I want to see the big picture and not have a computer talk to me, that is weird.

I also got the scriptures on it, it is fairly easy to navigate to a certain verse. But I have yet to find a hymns that includes the notes, all of them are just the words which doesn't help much.

I also like that is plays audiobooks so now we can just get some on the kindle instead of cds from the library, we would probably only get free ones though. I can also listen to music while reading or playing games or looking at the internet on the speakers so I don't need headphones.

Well, I like it. I hope to be using it for recipes a lot and for fun too like games and internet and I can read books easily too while laying in bed because it is not heavy.