May 28, 2026 – Thinking Ahead

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Thinking ahead. That title was added spontaneously, not one I’ve given much thought. Normally I consider the course of each post only when my fingers touch the keyboard. I do not ponder about what may transpire. I think everyone is aware of this and are probably as surprised about the title as am I.

So, let’s put this thought aside for a moment and get busy discussing the here and now aspect of my life. I’m sure you are all sitting on the edge of your seats waiting to see what comes next. It’s okay to yawn.

I gave Max his annual bath a few days ago and he’s really happy about that. He kind of forced the issue by digging a giant hole in the side of the pile of dirt sitting in our back yard.

I’ve been told that the pile of dirt will eventually migrate back to the hole from which it came and things will get back to normal. Sadly, having the pile of dirt in the back yard is becoming a new normal for me. When I look out the kitchen window it’s almost as if the pile really isn’t there because my focus is on the creek that is visible on either side.

The dirt isn’t really a problem and it was created with my permission. The big kids had fun with an excavator to make it and the little kids, and Max, have made it known that the pile of dirt must remain until they are done with it.

The purpose of digging all that dirt up was to rid the area from which it was extracted of all the vegetation that covered it. I know, I’ve told you this many times, but I’m invoking my right as an octogenarian to repeat myself any time I want.

During the dirt extraction process they encountered a plastic drain pipe that (we think) is for the water runoff from the roof of the house. All the downspouts around the house go directly into the ground and we always knew it had to go somewhere. Since the yard never floods, it wasn’t a problem so no one pursued the question about where did the rain go. Now we know.

The extraction process resulted in the removal of about 40 feet of the drain pipe which will have to be replaced before the dirt is pushed back in the hole.

This is Max wondering if he’s going outside any time soon.

He can sit like that for a very long time. Eventually he will escalate the situation by adding a very quiet growl. It’s not an aggressive so I let it go. Then he will start patting me on the knee with his left front foot. When he gets to that point I usually put things away and take him for a walk, or I’ll take him out back and hook him to his 50 feet of nylon rope. He had an inferior rope prior to the nylon which he broke twice but getting a long full speed run at it. When he hit the end he barely slowed down as the old rope broke and he kept flying off into the neighbor’s yard.

He came back, dragging about 30 feet of rope behind him. I was surprised he didn’t get wound up in the bushes.

Maybe he figured out how to not get trapped .

May 23, 2026 – Thank You

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I appreciate all the Birthday wishes I received. You are all too kind tor this old many. For those of you who are curious about my age, I’m now officially 82. I made a bold prediction that I’m going to live to 122 so I have 40 more to go.

With that thought in mind I suspect now is a good time for me to start eating properly. Wish me luck.

May 19, 2026 – A walk along the Columbia River

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I got up at the eye-numbing hour of 0700 because it was apparently time for me to be awake. I have mornings like that, but not very often, thank goodness. Maybe my early rising was caused by my decision to make this the first day of the rest of my life. That’s true for all of us, but mine was different because the day for me was the one where my eating habits were going to be dealt with harshly.

In the past I reported that I lost about 35 pounds when my pharmacist switched my metformin to Jardiance. It went away quickly, many months (years?) ago and it’s stayed off. Until recently. That’s because over time my eating habits decided to take over my life and get all that weight back as quickly as possible.

So far I’m winning the battle even though eating was one of my favorite things thigs to do. I discovered that no matter what I was eating, and eating often, I could eat an enormous amount of it. The result has been a slight weight increase over the last few months. So, I’m cutting back on food in general. Nothing specific, just cutting back on everything.

Back to the River …

We got there shortly after 0700 and there was no one around. Max was free to wander around off leash. Even so, he made sure he was close to me for the entire trip. The only time he ventured off the path was when he took a trip down to the water for a drink. Most other days he would have gone swimming, too.

If you look really hard, you can see him standing by the water. The ripples in front of him are from him getting a drink.

Once around the walkway then we headed home.

Once here, I had a short talk with Max to let him know I was going to Portland and he couldn’t go with me. I had tong into have one of the Geek Squad people check my iPad keyboard to we if App;e Care would replace it. Sometimes it works, most of the time it doesn’t.

I checked in with Best Buy, made an appointment with one of the Geeks, then toddled off to Gina something to eat. I found a noodle place close by and ordered something. I forgot the name of the dish, but it was pretty good.

Please notice the scissors on my plate. This is a new utensil I’ve never received at an oriental restaurant, ever. I have to report that they are really handy cutting the noodles up so you don’t have to bite them off and let the fall into your plate, hoping nothing will splash on your shirt. That was a new thing for me to worry about but I’m happy to report I made it through lunch without getting a drop on myself. Diane would be proud.

Once lunch was done I went back to Best Buy. I had to waste about 2 hour after my first visit, waiting for my 1240 appointment. The appointment was, as I suspected, just a chance for the Geeks to confirm what I thought I knew, that there was no coverage for the keyboard. So I spent the next 15 minutes purchasing a new keyboard case, then drove home.

The ride home was epic because I was able to drive all the way through Scappoose without having to stop at any of the traffic lights. That’s rare.

Once home, I replace the keyboard case then typed all of this. So, you can vouch for me when I say it works just fine. I’m happy. Keep in mind, the keyboard has nothing to do with spelling errors. Those are all mine.

I’ll end this with a photo of one of the bushes that surround the house. It’s some sort of rhododendron that looks pretty pitiful. The flowers are pretty, but sparse.

Now I’m going to stop and take a nap.

May 8, 2026 – Doug and his computer

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This is not a dig on Doug but the efforts expended were directly related to his laptop.

Doug is the Financial Officer for American Legion Post 42. As far as I know, he’s the only one that’s held that position since the post was started 135 years ago. Considering the span of years, I could be wrong. If that turns out to be true, I believe I’ll at least be close to correct.

He keeps all his files on his laptop and generally shares his information with hard copies for the troops to review. Post meetings are held in the Moose Lodge and they have three large TVs mounted in the room they use. Someone asked Doug if he could display his files on those TV’s. He told this person, “Yes I can.” Then he called me.

We spent an hour or so at the lodge seeing how things work there and we came up with a solution. The first choice, for me, was to use Bluetooth for connectivity, but that didn’t seem to be a choice. Another option was to connect directly to the TV via HDMI. During our discovery, we were able to do that, but making it work would require purchasing a very long HDMI cable. Since the TVs looked fairly new I figured there must be a better way.

So, we got busy pushing buttons to see what happens. That’s my solution for any computer problems and generally it’s productive. It this case it was so it’s all good. I haven’t been to an AL meeting in quite a while but I agreed to show up at the next one to support Doug and his first effort in front of the crowd. I will, I’m sure, be a target for many reasons but I’m not worried. Doug has my back.

The lodge was not officially opened this morning when we did our work but a lady was working in the office. When we were leaving she asked for help getting into the office because she inadvertently locked herself out. The only way in was via the service window in the hall. Doug has trouble walking and the lady in distress wasn’t up to the task so I drug a chair over to the window and inserted myself into the office. Doing this required me to bend myself in half, literally, and slide in feet and head first. It worked. During the process the lady questioned my age saying, “You aren’t really 81, are you?” I said, “No. I’ll be 82 in 12 days.” She was amazed. So was Doug. I bet he was sure he’d have to find a way to , I extract me from the window and the ledge that I was sliding on. But, I fooled all three of us. I was adlibbing everything I did about getting through the window. I amazed myself. Tomorrow will tell the tale about which muscles I tweaked the wrong direction. So far, I feel just fine.

My only fear about the entire process was that bending myself in half might could easily have caused me to expel some extra gas that I seem to have, all the time. The down side of that is that sometimes, expelling gas sometimes results in accompanying debris and the need to purchase new underwear. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.

That’s my story for today.

April 24, 2026

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Today for lunch I made a peanut butter and orange marmalade sandwich. Normally I use strawberry jam, or grape jelly but I couldn’t find it but the orange marmalade was right there in front of me. I like orange so I thought it would be OK, but it really wasn’t. It wasn’t a good pairing. So, I’m tossing that stuff out and will stick to the regular stuff from now on. I ate the entire sandwich, in case you’re wondering. I did that thinking, with every bite, it’s going to get better. It didn’t. Actually, it was really bad, it just wasn’t normal. I like normal.

It’s a nice sunny day out there so Max is taking advantage of it, laying in the yard, daring that eagle to show up. Oddly, I haven’t seen him since I reported him last time I saw him. I think he’s waiting for me to forget, then he’ll make a run at Max. If he does, I have no doubt he’ll have his claws full of fury and will let him go. Then Max will strut to the back door, look at me and cock his head a little to the right, which means “Did you see that? I was flying!”

I started cleaning up the computer room, finally. It’s a mess. I started in my corner, stacking papers in separate piles for filing, shredding, or just a ?? pile. much of it goes in the ?? pile. Much of the mess was created when I started digging around in the filing cabinet looking for things I needed to file taxes. During that process I got diverted just about every time I blinked. This resulted in many stacks of paper for many reasons. Finally, I just started stacking them in piles by color. Not the paper color, but the color of what every the business logo was.

After a couple days of this it began evident that doing this was not productive so I switched to piles that were set specifically to Diane, specifically to me, and specifically to Diane and me. That was much easier. Then I worked on each pile to separate them into bills that I needed to pay, bills that were already paid, advertisements begging for monetary donations, and ads.

Now there are stacks of paper all over the floor, a lot like there was when I started this job, so now I’m thinking that if I just shred it all I’m pretty sure if there’s a bill in there someone will let me know. I’m not all the way there, yet, but it’s definitely on the table for consideration.

Then there’s Diane’s computer. She complained about that computer all the time but she wouldn’t let me replace it with something she’d like better. It’s not a bad computer, it’s just slow for many reasons. One reason is because she didn’t like deleting her old email. She kept every one of them. Forever. Because of that I have a hard time thinking about doing that myself and passing the computer on to someone else. One of these days maybe I’ll start drinking wine early in the afternoon so I can work up the courage to clean it up.

Maybe tomorrow.

April 27, 2026 – Resting

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Max thought he was going to rest but the look on his little face is obviously letting me know that he didn’t sign up to be a book rest. He told me later that he tried to tell Lydia, but she ignored him. I think he wasn’t really talking to her, just tried to connect mentally.

April 21, 2026 – Bunco Babes

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Yes, those are real people. There are 12 members and a couple of alternates that are called on to fill spots when someone can’t make a scheduled play date. Those happen once a month. If you attended school, and paid attention, you might have performed a little math in your head and realized why there are 12 members. If not, then you’ll just have to travel down this path with me in the dark, wondering about that.

One of the members is blessed with the responsibility of keeping their membership information up to date. To do that it’s imperitive that the annointed one must be closely attached to someone to whom that responsibiity is passed. If that doesn’t happen, chaos steps in ensuring the result is that no one will know who’s turn it is to make Pu Pu Platters.

Yes, Pu Pu’s are a real thing and whether or not you’ve heard that name, you’ve certainly had them once in a while during your time on earth.

During Diane’s time with us she was the Keeper of the Names. Consequently, I was the one to whom she delegated the responsibility for keeping the names current because I have a better computer than she did and I can type stuff. Also, I’d do anything she asked me to do. I’m a handy guy to have around. It’s true, I am.

The Bunco Babes gather en masse at the location of the member designated as the hostess for that month. Generally, this schedule is determined well ahead of time, like in November, for the following year. That’s a rule. Though most of them don’t remember, they voted on it in 2004.

Since Diane was one of the 12, everyone showed up at our house on the designated Monday to roll the dice, drink wine if they wanted, and partake of whatever Pu Pu’s are served. Since Diane left us early, Lydia has assumed her role for this household. At this point, I’m not sure if anyone has designated the delegated responsibility of keeping the schedule. If that vacancy is still open, I suspect that someone will be chosen once at least one of the Babes reads this and goes, “Huh! He’s right. Who does that now?”

In the designated house, the hostess sets up 3 tables at which the 12 will sit to start the game. If you’ve done your math, you’ll have figured out that 4 members sit at each table. This simple formula ensures that no one remains standing.

On the main table there is a bell which is used to alert all players of various events that happen throughout the game. The really important one is if someone has to go to the bathroom, a member at the main table rings the bell, yells “Break!” and all activity is stopped until that member returns to her seat. Then, play resumes with the bell and, “Play!”

The play consists of each member at the table puts the 3 dice into a cup (provided) and dumps them, looking for the current number that ranges, oddly enough, from 1 to 6. The roller does this as quickly as possible, counting how many of the dice show the proper number. If all three dice turn up the proper number, everyone at the table yells, “BUNCO!” There’s a scoring process for each roll that escapes me for now, but I may remember later. Or not.

Multiple buncos can be rolled throughout the game and the one who has the most is a winner. She gets the big prize. There’s also a Boobie prize for the worst game. If there is a tie for any prize, there is a roll

off between the potential winners. For #1, the best roll wins. For last place, at this time, the same rule applies. However, I think it should be just the opposite for last place. The worst roll should be declared the winner. Just a suggestion. Lydia thinks it’s already that way, but she isn’t sure since she’s never had to roll off for the Boobie prize.

That’s about it for this session. I’m tired and need to rest my weary bones.

Good night.

April 15, 2026 – Taxes

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I reported previously that I did my taxes. Today I’m happy to report that the IRS has successfully pulled the missing money they let me use last year from my bank. Now they can get in there any time they wish and take what they want.

It’s 34 degrees this morning (0730) so summer is officially over, at least for a while. We had a few really nice days so I can’t complain. There will bd more, but hard telling when. It will probably get oppressively hot which will give me another reason to complain. I need to stop doing that … complaining.

Max is making his presence known by slowly walking past me to go stare out the patio door, longingly, at the back yard. When I don’t react, he turns around and hangs his head as he walks back to his perch on a couch.

Since I’m a pushover, I fold and hook him up for a walk and I let him choose the direction. So far, using that approach takes the sting out of his evil eye look.

It’s taken me a lot of time to get this post to this point because for some reason I cannot find my iPad keyboard just quits working. It’s an amazing thing and the fact that it works at all baffles me. There are only 3 connections between the keys and the iPad. I’m not going to go beyond this point with my wondering. It seems to be working OK now so I’m leaving it alone.

I traded my old iPhone 15 pro max for a 17 pro. I didn’t get the max version again because my hand shrunk. The smaller phone is easier to hang on to and I figure there’s less chance of me dropping it. It’s the orange one. Now I need to find a case for it. I decided that i need to be in a store when I do that. Maybe I’ll take a trip to Walmart later.

I took Max to the river for his first walk of the day then we stopped by Grocery Outlet for bread, avocado, and little dog food. He ran out of his crunchies.

Did I mention that I discovered why he sometimes let his Farmer’s Dog food sit around for a day or so before eating it. He likes it warmed up. Giving it 30 seconds in the micro pleases him and he eats it right away. I totally understand and feel bad that I didn’t think of this sooner. I’ve got to be careful about how much I cater to his whims because I suspect he’s thinking about having me feed it to him with a fork. Bottom line for him, I’m sure, is eating at the table with everyone else.

The picture above is a car carrier on its way to Portland. It was riding very high in the water which told me it was empty. I earlier heard that there was a recall on a bunch of cars that were delivered just a few weeks ago so I suspect this ship is going to pick them up. Then it’s going to return them to the factory where the defaults to will be corrected. Seems to me that it would be easier to just fix them where they are instead of sending them all the way back to Japan, or wherever they came from, right? Could have something to do with tariffs. Who knows?

That ship can carry about 8000 cars so I guess they wanted to clear the lot for the next batch.

If you have read this far, and believe any of that, I’d be amazed. It’s pure fiction. Don’t listen to anything I have to say about anything.

I probably should just stop now and call it a day. Hope everyone is well and happy.

Ciao.

April 12, 2026 – Random Stuff

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Recently I discovered that I could recapture some memories of Diane by listening to the voice messages she left me over he years when I failed to answer my phone. I was lost in the recordings for a long time. Hearing her talk, and laugh, was so comforting.

One of the reasons I found this discovery a blessing is because I’ve not had any dreams of Diane since she left. Maybe it’s been that way with me forever, but seems like she would creep into my dreams once in a while. Then, thinking about it, I can’t recall ever having a dream that included Diane, ever. So, not having them now might be perfectly normal. But, I would really like it if she would show up sometime. Until then, I have her recordings.

Most of last week was like a peek at the summer to come. The temps soared into the low 70’s and we had crystal clear days. It was very enjoyable. Max enjoyed it, too. So much did he enjoy it that he spent many hours tied up to a long rope and he didn’t complain at all. He hardly moved. His yard visits started out with him walking a couple feet off the patio into the closest spot of sunshine where he laid down and stayed there until something got his attention. He eventually wound up visiting all parts of the yard before wanting to to come inside.

A couple days ago, just to break up our sunny days, we had a pretty busy thunderstorm. I was sitting in my chair for all of us but I could hear the thunder. When Lydia got home from work around 8-ish, she said she was entertained by the lightening in addition to the thunder. Coming down Cornelius Pass she said was pretty spectacular. Thankfully, everyone made it home safely.