Pink as can be

It was spring break this week. Ellie went to visit her grandparents, and Linda volunteered me to repaint her bedroom. It is pink, a very pretty pink (although not as dark as she wanted). She got to see it finally today. For 3 minutes she was delighted, then she said I wanted dark pink. Too bad now.

Outings that make your feet hurt

You have to take advantage of the moments when Ellie is away. On Friday, Linda and I went to HyVee so she could try pushing a cart. We went down about 3 aisles I think, maybe 4. In any event, it was a good distance for her, probably a record.

We were slow, naturally. Very slow. Old people look fast near us. Still, the kind of distance we went can only be measured as a success.

Other things you do on break

We decided to do a bit of shopping downtown this week. We tried a few stores that people have been talking about for some time. Linda brought her wheelchair so we could go as far as we wanted and takes as much time as we wanted (without getting tired).

Downtown is not really for us, not Linda at least. There are huge cracks and broken pieces of concrete where the sidewalks meet the street. Some of the stores are so cramped you can't go through them without a wheelchair much less with one. Where there are ramps, they are the are too steep to navigate without help.

There was no bar in the bathroom of the used bookstore, so Linda needed me to help.

I know my friends are snobs about Wal-mart. They destroy small business, etc. But you can go into any Wal-mart in the country with your wheelchair and you'll be able to get around. It's flat and smooth and they will have at least attempted to make the bathroom accessible.

You can pretty much get the same guarantee at McDonald's. They even have baby-changing tables in the men's bathroom at most restaurants. That's cool.

The Pizza Hut in Bloomfield, IA on the other hand does not have accessibility bars in any of the bathroom stalls, the men's or the women's. This is despite a "Pizza hut supports people with disabilities" sticker on the front door. Yeah, whatever. I'll be eating at McDonald's next time.