Monthly Archives: May 2012

Doors, Dogs, Glue, and Softball

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OK – I skipped a day. Yesterday just wasn’t a good day to write anything. I don’t even remember doing anything yesterday. Oh ya! I went to the Kozy Korner and had coffee with the guys from church. We talked about everything – even politics and religion. I believe we may have solved a world crises or two. Maybe three. I don’t remember which ones, but they were really important at the time.

Oh! Jeff and his friend Tim, I think, came up yesterday and removed the old lawn mower that’s been “yard art” for the last 1.5 years. It quit one day and I just left it where it died. Tim thinks he can fix it, and Diane’s glad it’s gone. A real win-win.

It’s coming back now … yesterday afternoon I built a grid thing for the driver’s area ceiling in the RV. This is what it looks like …

This is what it looked like after I put the “skin” on it and clamped it down until the glue dried (I didn’t have any half inch nails or I would have used those) …

I don’t have enough clamps, and the ones I had were already in use, so I just tossed on all the heavy, and semi-heavy things I could find in the garage. Seemed to work OK until I started drinking the Pepsi. The clamps were busy holding the other grid, for the slanted part of the ceiling …

Today I removed the RV door so I could remove the rotted interior wood, and kinda straighten up the frame a little. I got all new screws to this evolution. I got stainless steel ones because the old ones got all rusty. Very unsightly. I spent hours, literally, taking it apart, making the new inner door skin fit, cleaning up all the metal, and putting it all back together. When it got to be 9 pm I decided I’d had enough and just closed the garage door and called it good. Diane made me go back out and put the screen door in the RV door so animals couldn’t get in and do something bad. I put the step ladder in front of it so it wouldn’t fall out. Made her happy.

Sadly, I didn’t take any pictures of progress on the door, but will take one tomorrow when I install it. Honest. Instead, here’s a pictue of Panzee to make up for that omission …

Breezie snuck into that one. Sorry.

My fingers are all black because I used Liquid Nails to put all the wood stuff together. I have gloves, but didn’t want to get them dirty. Probably a bad choice. I think if I stand in the shower long enough, with really hot water, it will just fall off. I’ll let you know how that works out, if I remember.

News from Connecticut – Lyle is still home. The hospital scheduled his next test for June 21st which really wasn’t a good idea because it made both him and Ruth mad that they moved it out so far. But, his doctor took over and got it moved to next week which makes much more sense to everyone … except the hospital staff, I suspect. The first obstacle was the insurance company becaue they had to get a pre-auth for the test. Glad they’re doing it sooner. More news when available.

Tomorrow the door goes back on the RV, then we take Lydia to Clantskanie to play ball and eat hotdogs. Playing ball is a definite, but I’m guessing at the hotdogs. Maybe we’ll go to Fultanos and eat pizza instead. I think I’m hungry, but it’s 10:30 pm. Maybe a banana …

Speaking of ball, it’s been reported that Maryssa’s team lost a heart breaker 4-3 for the state 4A championship. To get there, they had to beat another really good team and Maryssa did it in the bottom of the 7th inning when she hit a double allowing the runner on first to score. Steffani said Maryssa’s batting average is around .450 or so. She had it over .500 for a while, meeting a personal goal she set. We’re looking forward to their visit in June where we’ll have a chance to watch her play a few games. Yea!

OK … that’s all folks.

Oh, wait! I forgot to mention that my epiglotimus, that little thing that hangs down in the back of my throat, is apparently swollen and is hanging down further than normal. It’s dangling on my tongue. Cool, huh?

Woodworking as an Exercise

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Day One – sruggled through my four assigned exercises this morning with no discernable malfunctions to any of my major joints. It took me 15 minutes. Still remaining is the commanded 30 minute walk which will be difficult because Diane took Jennie to Portland. Since I’m not normally allowed to leave the house when I’m left alone, and she won’t be home until after supper, I seriously doubt that the walk will happen. She left the keys to the PT, as a test of will power I suspect, but cautioned me against attempting to drive it because she knows what the mileage is. I guess she’s afraid I won’t find my way home. Either that, or she wants to ensure I stay home to work on the lists that she leaves laying around on my computer keyboard and my dresser. She used to just put them in my underwear drawer, but I hardly ever look in there so she’s changed tactics. By putting them on my keyboard there’s no way I can miss them. I can, however, at great risk, ignore them. I rarely do that, and never intentionally. I have several scars that serve as reminders should I sway toward the dark side of non-compliance.

It’s now almost 6:30 pm and I’ve been alone for over six hours. Diane left at noon. I suggested that I could save them both a trip because I’m prefectly capable of doing toes and fingers. I have wire cutters, files, and lots of spray paint, but the unanimous decision was to ignore me and leave me to fend for myself. Diane texted me at 4:30 pm to ask if I’d eaten lunch and I was able to honestly say “Yes, I did!” And, I really did – I had a delightful PB&J on white, side of milk and 4 pieces of fruity candy that Diane left on the counter. The serving size for the candy is 3 pieces which I thought was absurd, because there are four different colors, so I modified the rule. I had one of each color – lemon, orange, lime, and red. I’m not sure what flavor the red one is. Probably cherry. Now I think I’ll have a dozen or so red vines which are almost universally, incorrectly, called red licorice. All true licorice lovers know that licorice is black, not red. Two notable exceptions are Sambuca (an Italian anise -flavoured, usually colourless, liqueur), and Ouzo (the classic Greek anise-flavored liqueur). Both are typically clear until you throw up at which time they assume the color of the last solid food you may have eaten. Consumed on an empty stomach, the color is normally the same as bile directly from your liver.

I’m not saying Sambuca and Ouzo are not good, because they are. I prefer Sambuca because it has the consistancy of thin syrup, unlike it’s watery cousin Ouzo. In Italy Sambuca is traditionally consumed as an after dinner drink with three coffee beans in it. I’m not sure if the coffee beans are meant to be eaten, but I always did because they have significance – one represents health, one represents happiness, and one represents prosperity. If you get more than three it’s because the waiter either doesn’t like you, and wants to ensure you get a raging headache, and an uncontrolable urge to caress the nearest commode about an hour after you leave the restaurant, or he sincerely believes your blood pressure is far below normal. I know this is true.

 Regarding woodworking and exercise … I believe, in my case, this should serve as a suitable substitute for exercise because I spent much of my time going to, and returning from, the basement to either measure something, or to get something I’ve forgotten. Also, my saws are downstairs so I measure, cut a piece, check the fit, then measure for another. I could write all this stuff down and make just one trip for measuring and one for cutting, but that wouldn’t be any fun at all. Being that efficient does not qualify woodworking, in my house, as exercise. I bet I walked 8 miles today. All up hill.
Gotta quit and look busy – Diane just drove in the driveway. Bye.

VA, Psychology, and Mowing The Yard

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It’s a little late for me to start this entry, 10:36pm, but I feel obligated to provide something to read for those who make it a routine to check this site every morning, knowing there won’t be anything worth reading, unless they’re simply insterested in seeing just how long a sentence can be and still make sense. Typically, I make an attempt to add natural breaks in my narratives, but occasionally become so involved with the topic that I find it difficult to put an end to whatever it is that I’m “saying”. Complicating that is the fact that I really have no idea what’s going to happen. I have no plan. Things just start appearing on the screen. Sometimes I think, perhaps, I’m the victim of a remote viewer who has the ability to take over my mind and do this “stuff” but that doesn’t really doesn’t make any sense because remote viewers are not supposed to have that ability. They can just look at what’s going on. I think it’s something else. Maybe an alien infestation.

I went to the VA rehab clinic today for the first time and met Katie, my therapist. Diane thinks it’s unfortunate that all she does therapy on is body parts – nothing mental, which is something Diane’s been campaigning for since 1989. She thinks I’m nuts most of the time. Perhaps I am, but I’m really OK with it. I’m comfortable in my head most of the time, and I have this blog for a relief valve to unload all the excess bits I no longer need. It’s kind of like cleaning your garage, but I do it every day. I purge. Sadly, it’s not a purge that results in weight loss. Bits don’t weigh hardly anything at all because they’re really tiny. I guess that’s why I have so many of them to unload. I just wish I could find a reason why I wind up with all those extra ones. Am I depriving some other lost soul of bits because I have so many? Or, do I actually have the right amount of bits and I’m actually rendering myself a little bit less capable by getting rid of some that haven’t yet been designated as active? That would explain why some … most of what I share is meaningless drivel. I should be unloading expired bits, instead. But, to bits expire. Somehow, I think not.

Wow! That’s just getting way over my head, there. Reminds me of a Child Psychology class I took once. Scary stuff, psychology. BF Skinner was a weird guy, but devoted to his chosen line of work. For that I applaud him. I’m sure his daughter does, too.

I mentioned that I met Katie today. Nice young woman. Tall, lean, and could probably fling me to the floor without batting an eye. She was checking my right hip action because it’s being problematic and hurts most of the time. The preliminary diagnosis by my primary care doctor was sciatica. I think that’s something to do with nerves. Anyway, it hurt a lot most of the time, until my PCD prescribed legal drugs for me to take. I take them twice a day for inflamation. Now my body has an alarm clock that goes off every 12 hours because the next pill is due. My goal with therapy is to get rid of the meds because I have happy places in my head I can access when the pain is too bad, and they constipate me. I know, the last thing you need to know before you begin your day is that Jerrie’s constipated. Too bad. He is. Now you know. So there.

Moving on …

Before going to the VA, I mowed the front yard twice. I had to do it twice at different heights so the exhaust tube to the bagger wouldn’t plug up every 15 inches. The grass is tall because it’s been well watered since the last time I was allowed to mow it. Lots and lots of rain. I did the lower yard for the dogs, too, but could easily have mowed the three foot square area they use. Since Ziva went to live with Jeff, Panzee and Ozzie seem to be lost puppies, so to speak, because they have no one to follow into the field. Especially when it’s dark. I have to hold a flashlight for Panzee and walk down to the yard with her. She doesn’t like the old compressor Jack gave me. It scares her. She came out the kitchen door this morning, saw it on the lowere patio and ran all the way around the house to the front door. There was no way she was going to be around if there was a chance it would start up. Ozzie could care less. He just spins in circles and barks.

I’ve been at this for 34 minutes and it’s time to stop. The leg and hip hurt again and I have to get prone. Please feel sorry for me. I have a list of exercises from Katie that I must do multiple times a day. She said I have to walk 30 minutes every day, too, and walking around the house, and up and down stairs doing “stuff” doesn’t count. The walking HAS to be part of an exercise routine. So, let the walking begin. Tomorrow. Well even take the dogs with us.

Buona notte.

Golfing, Softball and Other Stuff

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On this day in 1941 Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, unleashing the dragon that would ultimately claim victory … no, wait! That’s was December 7th, not May 7th.

Let’s see … what happened on May 7th ?

  • 1901 – Gary Cooper was born. My Dad was a year older than Gary. Gee, Dad could have been an actor.
  • 1902 – Mount Pele, on Carribean island Martinique burying the port city of Saint Pierre within minutes and virtually everyone died instantly.
  • 1915 – A German submarine sank the Lusitania. Of the 1,959 passengers and crew, 1,198 drowned.
  • 1945 – Germany surrendered to the Allies.
  • 1954 – France was defeated at Dien Bien Phu.
  • 1998 – Daimler-Benz purchased Chrysler.
  • 2012 – Jerrie played another terrible round of golf with Doug, but he got one par, and Lydia pitched her second full game, winning 5-1.

I’d show you a gofing picture, but didn’t take any. I was too busy hitting my ball … over, and over, and over. My first shot off the first tee went all of 20 feet. Though it landed in the fairway, we couldn’t find it because the grass was about 1 foot tall. So, I hit another one and it went about a zillion yards, landed in the bottom of the first dip, in the fairway, but we couldn’t find it. So, I hit another one that went about 40 feet and remained visible in the fairway. I was so happy! It took me about 10 more shots to make the green, and I finished with a 2-putt. That’s pretty much the entire story for the game except for the 7th hole. I was actually on the green in 2 and finished with a 30 foot putt for par. It was totally awesome. It was downhill and was barely rolling when it dropped in the hole. It was the same hole I parred last week. Go figure.

Lydia’s game was far more fun. 

Here she is, wearing her favorite eyewear, displaying pretty good form. The girls are a ton of fun to watch. The team they played is from Clatskanie and they’re playing them in a double header next Saturday, in Clatskanie. It will be fun.

Lydia’s inspiration for playing is her cousin, Maryssa …

… daughter of Steffani …

… Granddaughter if brother Jim …

That’s Jim watching TV. I think I shared a different view of this event in a previous entry. I like this one the best because there was no need for me to use my redeye correction feature.

After the game we came home and I downloaded the 400 pictures I took at Lydie’s game. I had that many because I discovered a handy setting that allowes me to take 4 frames a second for as long as I hold the button down. Nifty. Not many of them were worth a hoot, but they were fun to take. I’m still learning.

Weather Alert !

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It’s early … 10 after 9 on a cold Sunday morning. I was up at 6:30 the first time and actually toyed with the concept of staying up. But, it was cold, foggy, and dreary, emphasizing the reality that all the weathermen, and weatherwomen lied to us again. It was supposed to be nice yesterday with a little rain in the afternoon, but it rained all day, and the ground is still wet this morning. Today it’s supposed to be in the 70’s, but it was 40 when I got up the first time and doesn’t look like it’s movng along very quickly.

I’m going to stop now to rest, and contemplate the remainder of this day. I’ll be back with something more meaningful this evening. Maybe.

It’s “later”, now. Church is done, we’re home, the sun is shining, there isn’t a cloud in the sky, and I’m amazed. All the sudden everything’s dry, too. I could mow the yard except Diane is sitting on the back porch making mud pies …

I think we’re going to have some more flowers to water on the porch, and a tomato plant outside the kitchen window … as soon as I dig up a spot for it. I should do that this afternoon before the baking sun turns the ground into a brick. It would be a good time for me to take advantage of this in between time, between squishie and hard, to edit my ditch a little more. Though it drains OK, it sags in the middle. consequently, it always has a little water remaining there after the flood subsides. So, I need to dig it a little deeper on the distant end, and possibly plumb the output to the drywell in the lower yard.

< > < > < > < > < > < > < pause > < > < > < > < > < > < > < >

It’s been hours since the sun started shining and I’m convinced it’s not ever going to quit. The heat is unbearable and it’s so bright I find myself constantly squinting. Squinting isn’t good because it’s a scientific fact that it causes termination of peripheral vision and shaves about 3 years off a normal life span. I believe the latter is the result of those who were squinting when they rounded a corner and either drove off a cliff, or into oncoming traffic. You will never ever hear a newsperson say that a wreck was caused by squinting because they don’t want people to know. It’s a form of population control and the government wants to keep it a secret. Take note the next time you watch the news and see if you can detect squint lines on any of the people posing for the cameras. If they have any lines on their face at all, it’s from smiling because they know this secret and you don’t.

Another serious hazard is blinking. Don’t get me wrong, it’s OK to blink. Actually, it’s really a good idea to blink, but you have to do it quickly. Prolonged blinks lead to naps and that’s another form of population control. When a reporter reports that “so and so” died because he fell asleep at the wheel, it’s a lie. The problem was that they just took an extra long blink. Or two. You may notice this when you’re talking to people, or when you’re at church. It’s OK to do it then because, technically, the “blinker” is still listening. They may not remember what was said, but they’re listening. I know this is true because I’ve spent a great deal of time researching this. What I discovered is that there are many situations where extra long blinking is acceptable, and other’s where anything above the normal milisecond is absolutely verboten. The most serious offense, in my experience, is when Diane is saying something to me. Even if what she’s saying doesn’t require an answer, or a solution. I do my best but most often fall a little short. OK, a lot short.

Thankfully, it’s still cool inside the house. In fact, it’s so cool that I’m considering changing out of my shorts, back into a whole pair of pants. It’s sweltering on the porch. Maybe I’ll just go halfway there.

I just called Lyle’s hospital room to see how things are going and had a nice long chat with a fellow named Jim. Apparently the hospital kicked Lyle out and installed Jim in his place. Jim sounded like he’s fine so I don’t know why he’s there. I should have asked, I guess, but thought it would be better if I called the Connecticut Cate home. Which I did.

Lyle isn’t feeling all that great but he’s happy to be home and reports that all the tests they’ve run, so far, have been negativer for cancer. They’re waiting for insurance approval to run one more nuclear test on some lymph nodes to see if they’re OK. I think it’s a rule that hospitals have to keep looking for stuff until they find it, whether or not you had it in the first place. We’ll know more about that later this week.

Lyle shared with me that he’s found a cure for crotch itch, not that any of you have that issue. But, if you do, Lyle said that applying Vicks Vapor Rub in the conflicted area is a marvelous solution. As with many things I learn, I had to run right to the East Wing of the house to give it a try, although I was not experiencing the affliction at the time. I applied it anyway and found it quite exhilarating in the extreme. It only burned for a short while then settled into a pleasant cool sensation that’s lasted, so far, for about three hours. The aroma is quite pleasing, too, as it clears my nasal passages nicely. I believe this method of using Vapor Rub for clearing sinuses is better than simply applying a bit to the inside of each nostril. It’s certainly more exciting. Thankfully, I did not have to urinate before I had a chance to wash the Vicks off my handsor it may have been more excitement that I could’ve handled. As it was, I think I only screamed like a little girl for a few seconds before catching myself and lowering it to a more manly moan and groan. I probably shouldn’t have applied it again so soon, I guess.

Now that we have all the health issues out of the way, I bid you adieu.

Photography Knowhow

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For those of you looking for something serious, you should close this and find a better source. Photography Knowhow isn’t something I have … it’s what I seek … I need a muse.

I’ve read the books on my new Nikon D5100, I’ve taken about a zillion pictures, and I think I’m a wee bit closer to figuring out how to turn it on quicker to capture a picture that just pops up begging to be shot. That’s about it. Oh, and I can change the lenses, too, without dropping them. That’s a really important step since doing that generally costs $$ to rectify the damage. I’ve become fairly adept at stopping falling objects with my right foot, lessening the chance of terminal dents and dings. The left foot has come through in a pinch but isn’t the foot of choice when expensive things drop for absolutely no reason at all. The lenses are safe because I’ve discovered some miniature bungee cords that I’ve connected to each lens and to the strap which faithfully goes around my neck. Every time. So, I can just let the lens not in use just hang from the strap. This is, however, problematic when I use a tripod because the strap hangs too close to the floor. I’m working on a solution that involves a rack system for all attachments that connects to the tripod instead of to the strap. It involves routers and table saws and, no doubt, wheels of some sort to cart everything around. Hey! I’ve got a golf cart that may fit in there somewhere! I’ll let you know how that goes.

The camera came with a Nikon School book and DVD. As I said, I read the book, but haven’t yet watched to the DVD because I’m afraid there may be a test in there somewhere, it being “school” and all. Tests never worked for me. They’re too complicated. One of these days, when Diane doesn’t have anything for me to do for a few hours, I’ll watch the DVD. Until then, I’ll just be randomly pushing buttons to see what happens.

One neat thing I did actually figure out how to do, is select a color in a scene and when the shot is taken, everything is monochrome except that color. Kind of like some of those old Gatorade commercials. It’s very cool. One day I may have a chance to use it in the real world after I discover what monochrome is. I think that’s black & white, but the explanation uses the “M” word.

That’s about it for today. I didn’t see much of Diane becasue she locked herself into her sewing room and refused to come out. Still no word about Lyle so guess things are OK. I’m going to call tomorrow, for sure. I am!

Random Thoughts

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Random thoughts, you’re thinking. What’s new there, right?

I fiddled with my new camera a little this evening and froze my beanies off standing on the porch. It’s clear and cold. I should have worn shoes. And a jacket. But, I figured out how to take nifty pictures of the moon

Here’s a brighter one where you can see the craters along the bottom edge.

Here’s a strawberry Diane was cleaning just to show you that the moon really isn’t all that big. We had strawberry shortcake, and played uno with the kids to celebrate, belatedly, Daniel’s birthday. As you may recall, he was 37 3 days ago. I think I mentioned that.

No news about Lyle today so will have to call Ruth tomorrow unless I invoke the “no news is good news” rule. I might do that.

Today Diane took the church quilts to Portland. She and the other church girls boxed them up yesterday. They turned in 32 of them for Lutheran World Relief. A few of the ladies meet every Thursday throughout the year and quilt for a few hours. They sell a few at the annual quilt show, but wind up giving most of them away. I had to go to the church to load the boxes in the car for delivery, then I wandered home to work on the RV. It’s becoming the never ending project since it has to be “perfect” for our trip to Moses Lake next Wednesday. I’m working on getting the driving compartment area refinished. Before we got it it had leaked severely all across the roof. I stopped that, but the damage had already been done, so I ripped out all the bad wood I could find. Now I need to replace it. Got the parts cut and kinda fitted, but need help with the final install. I took a chance and used my table saw while Diane was gone, and it worked out just fine. Didn’t bleed or anything.

Since my table saw is in the basement, I’m a little sore from walking up and down the stairs with large pieces of lumber, but no blood. It’s good exercise, so I’m told. Maybe if I did it more often I wouldn’t be sore.

Now I’m tired. I took a shower a while ago and it wore me out.

Good News / Bad News for Lyle

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Good – Lyle’s stomach mass biopsy is normal, and the masses in his colon were not Oregon slugs as I had previously postulated. I know, it wasn’t a very good postulation, but it was all I had at the time. My concern was that his doctors were missing an opportunity to diagnose a PICA eating disorder. That’s when people eat odd things like money, chalk, paperclips, keys, etc. I don’t see any reason why slugs couldn’t be in there with the exception that they are soft and squishy whereas none of the other things are. And, it’s really not realistic to believe that a slug could hang around in someones intestinal tract for more than 6-8 months. Unless you take Nexium. Then all bets are off. PICA is also a specific size of type setting, but that doesn’t relate to people. Just typewriters. I think.

Bad – Lyle’s doctors won’t let him go home until they biopsy another “bump” they found outside his colon. Bad for the hospital is that they got on both Ruth’s and Lyle’s last nerve when they presented this information around 8am this morning, telling them the surgeon would tell them more, but he never showed. As I understand, “someone” showed up 12 hours later to relate the news the Lyle had to remain in the hospital and the surgeon would deal with him on Friday. It’s not good to get on the flip side of Ruth. At the moment, it’s OK to get on Lyle’s flip side because pretty much everyone in the known univers can outrun him. Apparently the “someone” was a fake doctor who just happened to be passing by the room and heard that they were looking for answers. Hoping to avoid a lawsuit, the hospital administration decided to accept this person as a bonofide surgeon helper, letting his decision stand. So, now we wait until Friday to see what happens.

Ruth is very tired, but a lot less stressed about all of this. I’m pretty sure Lyle is, too. Benign is a very good thing to hear.

Now on the sporty side …

Lydia played in her first softball game of the season this afternoon. She pitched all but one inning of the game. Though she didn’t get any hits, her team won 16-9. It was a rocky start because she didn’t have a backup pitcher in case things went south, so she was understandably nervous. More nervous, however, was her mother Jennifer. I thought she was going to throw up for a little bit. Thankfully, she had to leave after a couple of inning, Lydia’s worst, to attend to another commitment. Diane and I stayed to make sure Lydia won. It was a fun game to watch, but the other team came out strong, giving us cause for concern. Lydia was worried about the other pitcher, Abby, who everyone thought was pretty hot. She did throw lots of strikes early on, but faded in the stretch. Lydia, however, started badly, hit 3-4 batters, then got her stride and was stronger at the end. She was relieved in the 4th inning by a teammate, Gabby, who wasn’t expected to show up because she’s been sick for a week. She got through one inning before having to quit, so Lydia returned.

Here’s Lydia batting …

And here she is on the mound …

I hear Diane rising from her recliner in the living room so it’s time for me to stop, take my last dose of medication, and go to bed. I’ve been trying out some of the old medicine I found under the sink last week. It doesn’t seem to cause any problems, but I’m not sure what they are because the label is smeared. I’m not even sure if they’re for me. But, they were in my bathroom, so they must be mine. Just don’t know how they got under the sink. I suspect, maybe, someone, maybe me, tried to toss them in the waste basket and missed. That would be easy enough to do because there’s no waste basket under the sink in my bathroom. I suppose I should start being a little worried, but as soon as Diane finds out she’ll worry enough for us both.

Good nite.

Happy Birthday Daniel !

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Greetings Humans.

Today is Daniel’s birthday. He’s our son’s, Jeff’s, brother-in-law. He’s also Tiana’s,  Gillgan’s, Baylee’s, and Jerrie’s Uncle Daniel. He’s 22 now. That’s a lie. He’s 37. If he was 22 he would’ve been 8 when Cedric was born. I don’t think 8-year-olds are allowed to have kids. Not in Oregon, anyway.

After Dan and Jen visited briefly this morning, it was downhill for me because I went golfing with Doug. Golfing with Doug is always fun. I golfed terrible, like normal, but I beat Doug on one memorable hole. It was # 7 and I got a par. First one in the last 15 years. The rest of the holes summed up my typical game by being double par efforts. I actually hit the ball more times than that, but you can’t count more strokes than double par. For 9 holes I got a 68. That’s pretty darn good for someone fairly compentent for 18 holes. So, I play the equivalent of 18 holes whenever we hit the links. Like I told Doug, I’m getting far more for my money than he is because I get to hit the ball more often. As for the par, I have no idea what happened there. I just wasn’t myself for the 4 stokes on that hole. As a result of that stunning effort, I’ve ensured that my handicap remain at 36. Pretty sad, huh? Good thing I’m not serious about it.

After the game I returned home to an empty house because Diane took her Mom, Jean, to the eye clinic in Portland where they both had exams. I didn’t get to go so I have to keep my old glasses. In a few weeks I just know I’ll be walking down the street and my perscription will expire and I’ll go blind. Hopefully it doesn’t happen while I’m driving. That’s unlikely, of course, because I’m rarely allowed to drive by myself, and never while Diane is in the vehicle. Unless it’s the RV. Somehow that just doesn’t make sense to me because the RV can cause way more damage than the car. I told her she’s going to have to learn how to drive it just in case something happens to me. Like I forget how to drive it myself, or my glasses prescription expires. Or she’d rather have me clinging to the passenger seat in abject terror instead of her.

Good news on the RV, by the way. It must have rained about 5 inches today and not a drop got inside. I was ecstatic! My drainage ditch was a veritable river, too, keeping the water out of the garage and most of the driveway. That’s a major coup. But, the floor drain under the washer backed up again. Just a little, nothing like last time. Still, I need to get some more of that nasty drain cleaner before it gets really bad. And, I may have to pour it all over the laundry room floor first, so it will all be clean like the large area that got cleaned the last time I used it. It absolutely sparkles, as much as cement can sparkle.

This afternoon I did some running around town to do some things I needed to do. I can’t remember what they were but I came home with a burrito from a taco wagon that’s been parked along the highway for a while now. Good thing, too, because I was hungry and I knew Diane would’ve been cranky if I didn’t eat something before she got home. It was almost gone when she arrived, so I was safe.

Diane’s in shopper’s heaven now that Scappoose has it’s very own Goodwill store. That’s her favorite place to shop and where she gets all my underwear. Most of them are pretty clean, too. She spent $8 and got a whole bag of “stuff” that she had to have.

I don’t have any pictures from today’s events, but I do have some from yesterday that you haven’t seen. First is my yard trailer that I decorated for the St. Helens Parade … Diane said it won’t last until July so I just drove it down to the burn pile and decorated that. Kind of festive, don’t you think? I’m going to hate torching that until all the blossoms turn brown. And, here’s a picture of 3 or 4 of the 35 rhododenrons surrounding the house.

These aren’t bad, and I imagine most of the others were “cute” when they were little, and only 2 feet apart, but now they’re overgrown and in need of an introduction to the dogwood limbs on the burn pile. As soon as my handy dandy electric chain saw battery is chaged up, and Diane’s gone somewhere, I’m going to do some thinning. There aren’t really 35 of them – more like 15 or so.

Next is some of the many calla lillies that were apparently planted to hide things. When we moved in they weren’t doing their job very well, but have begun to prosper since we cut down all the “stuff” that hid them from any possibility of getting daylight. Now they’re doing quite well and will, one day, cover the gas meter, and the furnace exhaust (not pictured).

As I was snapping the last picture, Diane arrived so I had to hurry back in the house to finish my burrito. This is Diane arriving … just before she started quzzing me about what I had for lunch.

I was happy I had anything left of the burrito because it was on one of the many tables surrounding my computer. The big dog, or the cat, had plenty of opportunity to liberate it, but they didn’t. Ozzie didn’t have a chance. Too high up.

Diane says it’s time for me to go take a shower, so I’m off to scrub various parts of my body. She said I have to use soap this time.