Waikoloa Hamburgers

Posted on February 16, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

Greetings from the dry, lava-covered west side of Hawaii. It’s pretty incredible here. Any of you who follow Jewel on Facebook are familiar with the scenic beauty because she post her photos of it all the time. It never gets old. I kinda compete with her on photos because Oregon has some pretty nifty scenes, too. But, she totally outclasses my efforts.

Our journey to get her began at 0500 this morning when Diane’s alarm ignited, creating a dramatic start to this trip. Alarms just aren’t part of our daily routine so it’s a little startling when one goes off, even when you’re expecting it. Getting up that early was necessary in order to make it to the airport in time for our 0720 flight.

As soon as we got to the airport I used a kiosk to print out our boarding passes and they came out with TSA pre-approval. That means we got to skip the really long lines going through security. We still had to go through the scanner, but we didn’t have to empty any of our bags, and didn’t have to remove our shoes. I even wore my heart event monitor through the body scanner with no problem. I don’t know how we got to skip the long line, but I’m not complaining

Once at the gate, I checked with the agent to see if there was a possibility of upgrading seats. The plane was full, however, so it was not likely. After sitting for a bit, the agent made an announcement reporting there were four seats available in the exit rows. I jumped, ran over a couple of kids getting to the agent, and managed to score a pair. So, we had lots of leg room which made the six-hour flight much more tolerable. On the way we gained a few hours in the day because of the time difference which means after flying for 6 hours we arrived only 3 hours after we left. Weird.

We got off the plane pretty quickly then made our way to the Alamo bus to get a ride to our rental car. We got a Chrysler 200 which Diane likes because it’s not real big, but has the same size engine as her Buick. So, it’s pretty peppy.

We took a drive out to Kings Land at Waikoloa, arriving around 1230, or so, to see if by some miracle our room was ready. Of course, it wasn’t, so we had to kill some time. Since Diane was starving we went over to the food court at the mall thing they have on the other side of the resort and ate some teriyaki chicken yakisoba. We really like that stuff. Sadly, it wasn’t very teriyaki-ie so I asked for more sauce. The girl who sold us the plate didn’t have any but directed us to the pizza vendor at the other end of the food court where the counter guy was more than happy to get me some. I still haven’t figured out why I could get teriyaki sauce from the pizza guy, but not from the teriyaki chicken place. Odd.

We were both really tired from the flight so we went back to the resort to just wait for the room. Normal check in time is 1600 so we couldn’t really be upset because it wasn’t ready when we got there, again, at 1300. To fill the time we made a trip up the highway to the next resort to check out their market and see if prices were tolerable enough for us to get a few staples to tide us over for the evening. It was a very nice market, and they had lots of nice stuff, including bread for $5 a loaf. So, there won’t be toast tomorrow, for sure. We did get a couple of bananas, a couple of yogurts, and some creamer (for me). Then it was back to our resort where we decided to just wait things out. Walking around wasn’t an option because we didn’t want to do that. Instead, we sat around, reading books on our respective iPads.

At 1600 I went back to reception and got our keys. Then I went back to get Diane and we went to the room. It’s a nice one. A one bedroom condo. Once everything was in the room we walked, yes walked, back to the reception area where they have a grill. By this time the yakisoba was long gone and Diane was hankering for some ground up dead cow meat. The grill had one that fit the bill perfectly so we got two of them to go and took them back to our temporary home.

Back at the room we discovered why the hamburgers we got cost $15 each. They were entirely too big for normal people. Each of the burgers must have been at least 3/4 of a pound, and extended well beyond the limits of the bun. Take a look …

I watched Diane try to pick hers up to take a bite and suggested maybe it would be better if we just put them on plates and use forks. That turned out to be a good idea and one I was proud to have had. I don’t get many of those … good ideas, that is. Like normal, Diane couldn’t eat all of hers so I had to clean up. I suspect I ate a pound of beef, plus the bun, both of our pickles, and most of the fries. I have no doubt I’ll be tipping the scales a lot higher at the end of this trip unless we just start ordering one meal and sharing it. That’s what we did with the yakisoba and it worked out well. Don’t know why that thought didn’t carry over to the giant hamburgers.

After eating we just lazed around for a while then I had to go clean all the crap off the bed so Diane could retire. Here’s how housekeeping left our bed …

What a mess!

Tomorrow we plan to visit Kua Bay and, hopefully, see some whales. Then we’re going to Costco to see if we can get some cheap bread, for toast.

Perhaps we’ll run in to Jewel somewhere along the way. She lives just down the street in Kailua.

PDX Embassy Suites – First Stop

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

We finally made it to Portland at 1632 after a pretty grueling start to the day. For Diane the grueling part started out around 0130 when she thought the bit of chili she had for supper last night came back to torture her. She only slept, in the bed, for about two hours but reported that she lost two hours in the bathroom. She either shifted briefly to an alternate universe, or just flat went to sleep in there. She’s not sure. I just know I was up at the normal time for the dogs, then about 0800 she presented herself to me looking pretty rugged, hugging a hot water bottle to her tummy. It was one of those really sad moments where you want to hug them because they look pitiful, but you’re afraid to touch her because you know she might rip your arm off. I left her alone, followed her back to the bedroom, closed all the doors, and left her alone for a few hours. When she emerged the next time, she was fairly presentable and ready to face the day. Since we needed to be in Portland before dark, that was a good thing.

We both had packed our suitcases last night, so that was out of the way. My main challenge was to remember all of the charging cords needed for the electronically gizmos that must travel with us. Everywhere. So we can stay connected, you know?

We stopped by Mom’s house for a short visit on the way, then it was off to the church to participate in the quilt show tear-down. Since I hadn’t eaten all day I took advantage of the left overs and gorged on a very large container of Valerie’s special clam chowder. That and about 15 saltines. I carried it around so when people saw me they couldn’t ask me to do anything because my hands were full. I was really hungry.

Finally, everything was done. We just had to wait a little extra for Nancy to finish vacuuming. If she had been a little faster, we could have left a little earlier.

Jennifer drove us to Embassy Suites and bid us farewell. Upon entering the facility, we quickly discovered that our chosen place to stay was also the favorite place of pretty much every teen age basketball team in the Northwest. Kids with basketballs. Nice. And we have to get up at 0500. That’s just way too early for me, but it has to be done. The plane leaves at 0720 and it’s not going to wait.

First stop after checking in was the restaurant because Diane hadn’t eaten all day. It was time. She ordered a 14 oz rib eye steak. That was good for her but meant I was limited to a cheap pizza because of budgetary constraints. A 14 oz steak, of any kind, was way too big for Diane, but she did some serious damage to it, making me proud. The pizza, for me, was perfect because of all the clam chowder I’d eaten just moments before. It was really great, too. Good pizza. The other half of the rib eye was pretty good, too. I was amazed at how much I was able to eat and still be able to stand up.

I did, however, and waddled up to the room where I am currently sitting on the couch waiting until an appropriate time to go to bed.

Like now. Tomorrow I will be talking from Waikaloa.

Hearts, Haircuts, Quilt Shows & Computers

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

As I sit here, on the verge of yet another adventure, I’m compelled to rid my brain of events from the past few days. The adventure, BTW, is a trip to the Big Island.

When I do this “stuff”, I try to do it in chronological order, because that’s how events should be reported. That doesn’t always work out, however, when the one reporting has a faulty memory module. Thankfully, I have a calendar into which I enter all pertinent data that I’m sure all of you are sitting on the edge of your seats, chomping at the bit, to hear about them.

The calendar works great, when I remember to enter the info. When I don’t, then it’s a crapshoot as to what you may see here.

So, I have my calendar up and here’s what I see …

Wednesday, February 12th, was Lincoln’s birthday, and the day Diane normally submits her Avon order. We don’t typically celebrate Lincoln’s birthday, and didn’t this time, either, but Diane orders Avon products every Wednesday. Without fail. She has a room full of it.

This was the day when I also got connected with my new Cardiac Event Monitor (CLEM). I know, there’s no “L” in it, but I wanted it to sound like a name, you know? So, now it’s Clem. It’s a nifty little device that I wear on my belt, like a phone but smaller, and it has three leads that snap on to those little round patches they use for EKGs and such. I put one each just under each clavicle, and the third goes under my left breast. I suppose you are surprised to learn I have a left breast since I am, I think, entirely male. However, since I heard that men can also get breast cancer, I’ve decided that’s what I need to call them. Also, the old I get, the more tempting it is to start wearing a sports bra.

With Clem properly connected, the device periodically flashes a very bright green light. Since I’m forced to wear it 24/7 for the next month, the light revealed a point of contention between my need to wear it and Diane’s need to sleep. After the first night she reported that the blinking “lasered” her eyeballs all night long. Thereafter, I ensured the device was tucked under the covers.

Associated with this device is another device that looks suspiciously like a smart phone. Indeed, it’s connected via AT&T to a monitoring facility somewhere in the world where concerned techs keep an eye on things and ensure users are doing OK. That was my understanding, anyway. To test it, I switch the wires around once in a while to see if anyone’s watching. So far I’ve not received any phone calls to ask me what’s going on so apparently I’m either using a placebo device, or no one really cares. I’ve been assured, however, that they will definitely care if I don’t return all the devices to them in 30 days. To the tune of about $2500. This tells me they are at least keeping track of who the device was issued to. The upshot of all this is that everywhere I go, I blink. It’s especially entertaining at night, walking around in our unlit front yard, when I take the dogs out.

Oh ya! My doctor wanted me to get the monitor to see if they could associate my brief dizzy spells to cardiac events, not because I’m having a heart attack. I am, however, in the zone for things like that because I’m terrible about what I eat, and don’t eat, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility. At the last office visit, where she prescribed the monitor, she also told me she wanted a daily log of my blood pressure at our next visit. I’ll tell you about that a little later down the page.

Wednesday was also a day to visit my new physical therapist for an evaluation. As many of you may remember, Diane and I spent a lot of time on the road visiting the VA Hospital, on Pill Hill, in Portland, for PT but the final determination was that my right shoulder, though it hurts, doesn’t really have a problem. It’s muscular. I left that round of therapy thinking I was just going to have to deal with it the rest of my pitiful life, like I do the other pains I have. It doesn’t hurt unless I move it certain ways, so I just don’t move it “that” way. Simple. But, my doctor asked about it, and I had to tell her, so she referred me to a local PT shop. At least it’s not a 80 mile round trip to get it done.

The evaluation determined that my Long Biceps Tendon, and my Supraspinatuas Tendon are rubbing against the Coracoid process. I could take that to mean I may not have a Bursa in my right shoulder, but that wasn’t mentioned. Since it’s not fatal, I will proceed with the new set of exercises and see how things go. I like the new PT guy a lot because he’s got “Dr.” in front of his name and the exercise picture he gave me is of a real person, not a stick figure. That’s quality in my book. So, there’s hope.

Thursday, February 15th, was my normal day for coffee with the MELCA guys. MELCA, for the uninitiated, is Men of the Evangelical Church of America. It isn’t a real group, except for us, because Larry L felt the need to have something to do when the WELCA ladies do “stuff.” We visit at the Kozy Korner, drinking coffee, harassing the waitresses, and solving pretty much all of the world’s problems. It’s fulfilling. Sadly, no one listens to our solutions, except the table full of catholic nuns who also meet on Thursday mornings. We know they listen because they look sideways at us sometimes.

On this day I was late because I paid a visit to my barber who, you may remember, was absent all last week due to a family emergency. Indeed it was. His 84-year-old Mother passed away due to complications from bone cancer. He’s really good at explaining everything. Turns out that all old people, who do not die outright from an affliction, like a heart attack, usually succumb to pneumonia because of the way the body reacts to everything that’s going on with whatever disease they have. So, his Mom didn’t pass directly because of the bone cancer, but because of the complications it caused with her body chemistry. This is good to know, and a really good reason to keep your breathing apparatus in good working order, like, by not smoking.

When I showed up for coffee, just about the time everyone was ready to leave, they all got refills and stuck around for another round of discussion.

Friday, February 14th, of course, was Valentine’s Day. I heard some guy on the radio station I listen to say that Valentine’s Day is a celebration to point out all of those who do not have a significant other, or words to that effect. Kind of self-centered, and not at all in alignment with all those retailers selling candy to anyone who buys it with the hope of making points with pretty much anyone. I take it this person has never tried that and, instead, chose to view it as a direct insult to the fact that he wasn’t attached somehow. I bet he has a dog, though.

Diane and I don’t celebrate days like this any more because candy tends to rot our remaining teeth. We don’t even get cards for each other. However, since this day was also the first day of the 34th Annual Bethany Quilt Show, and Diane is President of the WELCA group, she spent all day at the church while I just ran willy nilly around town.

Friday was also the two-week follow with my doctor. I printed out my BP chart from the free app I downloaded to my iPad, and presented it to her thinking it was not good. Turns out my BP goal is to keep it below 140/90, which I managed to do almost all the time. It’s always good to visit my doctor because it affords me a chance to say “Hi” to Kristin, my daughter’s, Jennifer’s, sister-in-law. I think that qualifies her as my semi-daughter-in-law. Either way, she’s family and it’s always fun to see her smiley face.

After my appointment, I stopped at Walgreens and purchased some Valentine Peeps for Diane and delivered them to her at church. She loves peeps, especially the little yellow chicken ones at Easter. I also got her two Butterfinger candy bars. The big ones. I knew Walgreens had them because Jack got some for Wynette from there. Walgreens is right next to ACE where Jack works most of the time.

I didn’t get anything … but that’s OK. Really, it is.

While I was at church I made an effort to resolve the issue that’s keeping the office computer from connecting to the internet. There were actually two problems – one with the computer, and one with the DSL modem. I talked with the CenturyLink tech for a while and convinced him we needed a new one. It’s going to arrive Monday, but that’s Washington’s, and Shene’s birthday, so it may not show up until Tuesday. Shene will be 21. I don’t know how old Washington will be. Really old, for sure.

That brings us to …

Saturday, February 15th, the day we fly away to Hawaii. It’s almost 1230 now, and about time to get packed. Jennifer is taking us to the airport where we will spend the evening at Embassy Suites. We’ll catch the shuttle from there to the airport in the morning for our 0700, or something, flight to Kona.

I may add more later, I may not, but I will keep every abreast of our activities over the next week. If it interests you, please read. If it’s boring, share it with someone with whom you have a grudge to settle. That’ll teach ’em to mess with you.

It’s raining here, and may be raining in Hawaii, but who cares? Now I have to go finishing packing.

I’ll leave you with some photos of the quilt show and some of the folks who made it work …

This is Nancy …

Barb & Pat …

My lovely Valentine, Diane …

… and the cooks, Valerie & Mary …

Shoe Litter, and Snow Balls

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

I just received a comment from a young lady, Miss Lou, who has a very entertaining blog. She also likes shoes. I was going to send her the link for my entry where I gathered up all of the shoes from around the house so I could vacuum, as directed.

Instead, to commemorate this entry, my 550th, I thought I’d just touch on that subject one more time. Besides, I can’t find the entry. It would take too long.

So, here’s the photos I took of that memorable day …

These are my shoes I returned to the bedroom. You might recognize the old brown Nike Airs from yesterday. Though the new shoes are very comfortable, I’ve had these things for so long they just cling to my feet.

And, here’s a week’s worth of Diane’s shoe litter. I took all of these to the bedroom, too, but not in one trip. I thought about stuffing them into her shoe closet to see if she would notice, but a sudden burst of clarity overcame me causing me to simply leave them like this.

Yes, she has a shoe closet. It’s cedar-lined, and accessible quickly from any point in the house in case of a shoe emergency. That’s it, at the end of the hall.

Inside you’ll notice that the top four shelves are pretty neat, then the organization descends into chaos. The reason, I think, is because the top four shelves are for shoes that don’t get worn as often as those on the bottom three shelves, and the floor.

Every once in a while she will dig into the closet to find something appropriate for whatever she’s got on, and toss me a question, like, “have you seen those cute little shoes with the mosaic things on top, that tie in the back? I think they’re brown.”

Though she will deny it, this is code for, “Jerrie, please look around and see if you can find those cute little shoes … and don’t stop until you do.” I promptly get on it because I’m a good married man, and, if I don’t, I’ll likely forget which is not a good idea because that’s like ignoring the code.

Not too long ago I would have simply answered, “No,” and gone about my business. Since learning the code, life is a lot less stressful.

Yesterday, Jennifer and Lydia appeared for a brief visit after which we retired to the snow-covered front yard to conduct a minimal search for the hat Gilligan buried the day before. After discovering that the snow had thawed enough to make outstanding snowballs, the search was called off and the battle was on. Lydia cheated and ran all the way around the house and got into their car in the driveway, but Jennifer stuck it out and took a beating. In retaliation, she buried the pullover that she was bringing to me because her mother didn’t think it was a good idea for me to be running around in the snow in a T-shirt. Had I known she was delivering the pullover to me, I would have delayed my attack. Instead, I paid the price.

Then I went after Lydia in the car. She wasn’t quick enough to lock the door so I was able to flush her out and started lobbing bombs onto her over the car. It wasn’t very successful, but I had her mightily worried for a while.

Oh. Diane went to the doctor today and learned she has bronchitis. She got new meds to ensure she’s healthy enough to fly to Hawaii with me next week. If not, guess I’ll have to leave her home. Hate to do that but, you know, the tickets are paid for.

Hoover Dam, New Blance, & Nike

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

Today I received confirmation that alternate universes do, indeed, exist because I was transported to one of them. In the universe to which I was accustomed, my, and Jack’s, big brother, Jimmie, friended me on Facebook. I believe I mentioned him at points in the past. Remember? He’s the anal one. I know, that sounds bad, but it really isn’t. He just has to have everything, I mean EVERYTHING, neat and tidy. Even the rusty things he has are neat. Plus, he’s the only person I know, in any universe, who can watch TV like this …

Here’s what he looks like standing on the westbound side of Highway 93 on the Pat Tillman Bridge overlooking the Hoover Dam. But, he has sun glasses on so you can’t really tell if his eyes are open or not … you’ll notice, too, that he’s wearing a Scappoose hat. Yes, it does exist.

So, here’s Jim, who only recently discovered that computers had to be turned on to function, they don’t just come on when you enter a room, exposing himself to the world of Facebook. In a million years I never thought that would happen. Donna has been trying to get him more involved with the computer for many years so she wouldn’t have to repeat emails to him, and such. Until now, he’s resisted successfully. Apparently she finally got out the old cattle prod and convinced him sleep would be difficult if he didn’t take that giant step into the present century. For that, I’m proud of them both – Donna for her perseverance, and Jim for finally bending a little. Welcome to the electronic world. I can say that, directly to him, since I’m guessing he’ll be reading this. I am proud of him, too. Good onya, Jimmie!

Now, about sneakers. Specifically, New Balance and Nike kinds of sneakers. This part is for Susan who shared a great photo of her new NB sneakers on Facebook indicating they were the replacements for those she obtained in 2010. She’s been working them hard, getting into shape, and she absolutely wears me out with all the exercisy-type things she’s doing every day. She has the voice of an angel. I’m proud of her, but this is about sneakers and feel compelled to share a picture of my new sneakers that Diane insisted I needed.

She gave them to me for Christmas because she knows I’ll never get them on my own. They are so incredibly comfortable that she got another pair. Now I have two pair! The new ones replaced a pair of Nike Airs that I’ve had for approximately 20 years. They’ve been worn out for a long time, but they seemed to be comfortable to me. I guess that’s true because I just didn’t know any better. Here’s what they look like …

The old brown ones have been good to me over the years but it’s time to let them go. Still, they will make good work shoes, I think. I’m going to keep them.

The new ones, as I stated, are extremely comfortable. For me that’s pertty easy because I’m not a runner. I just walk. That’s why the old ones have lasted such a long time. They haven’t run anywhere. Ever. The new ones aren’t going to run, either. Unless something scares me.

Here’s one pair of them …

… and here’s the other pair …

They are exactly the same, but different.

I figure it doesn’t matter what color I wear so I just make sure I have one right and one left. Lydia approves, I’m sure, because she does the same thing, with socks. In her world it’s wrong to wear matching socks.

Maybe I’m starting a new fad with shoes.

Maybe not.

Messy Drawers, and Little Kids

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

Today was interesting because Diane woke up full of adrenalin and instructions. Fortunately, for me, because I was taking my morning nap during the initial surge, but I was caught up in it when I started to pay attention to the little noises going on all around me.

When I got up, I found Diane in the hall, to the East Wing, staring at a spot on the wall. She had one of our prints in her hand and was trying to determine if where she was staring was a good place to put it. Not being totally awake, I just agreed with everything she said which was the wrong response because she was looking for opinions. Normally I have those, but not when I first wake up, or when it involves hanging pictures on the wall. If left to my own devices, I’d just start hammering nails in the wall and hang everything up. We’ve been in the house for 7 years, now, and not many things have been hung up, yet. I believe today is the beginning of a change. We got one picture hung!

Shortly thereafter, she went searching for something in one of the floor level drawers in the butler’s hall. I like saying that, “Butler’s Hall.” It just sounds all hoy faloy and uppity. It’s really just a hallway between the kitchen and Man Room that really doesn’t have to be there. I think I’ll knock the kitchen wall down and rearrange everything. I’ll do that one day when Diane’s out shopping at Goodwill.

Back to the drawers, we have three of those drawers, and they are extremely hard to open and close. Especially when they’re full of things we really don’t need. Having a knack for dealing with things we don’t need, and having a new-found desire to rid ourselves of at least some of them, I took over the task of pawing through the drawer innards.

Inside I found a couple of small bags of soft, practice golf balls, six golf tees, 40-50 pens & pencils, a set of nice dog trimming shears as well as one for people, dog and cat flea killer, a roll of teflon tape, 8 furniture glides, a crazy ball the size of a small marble, a wrapped package containing six boxes of sparklers from 1995, three unopened packages containing a dog toothbrush and paste, and many others various kinds of things that get thrown into little used drawers with a sincere belief they will be taken care of at a later date. Proving the latter to be true, I took care of it all. The drawer is now all neat and tidy containing far fewer things we absolutely don’t need. The other two drawers are already pretty neat so I will leave them alone. One of them is the repository or about 75 placemats of varying designs to match virtually any occasion.

While finishing that up, Diane made a wonderful lunch composed of small parts of a dead pig, mashed potatoes, and one of the 35 cans of string beans we have stashed in another drawer in the hall that is difficult to open and close. Dealing with that is an entirely different project.

During lunch we watched a bit of the movie “Hangover II”. The meal was finished before the movie but we didn’t finish it because Jeff, Heather, and girls showed up to play in the snow.

The girls arrived at the door with their boots already full of snow which we learned was from the walk up the hill because the car couldn’t make it. They had a really good time of it and were ready to spend some time inside.

Gilligan, on the right, displayed her normal demure self. She’s always on stage.

Then it was time to go, so everyone got all bundled up and went outside to play a bit before trundling down the hill to the car, and home. Getting the entire group to look the same direction, at the same time, without moving, or putting their hands up, is a difficult thing to do, so this is about as good as it gets. Gilligan is winking, Jerrie is trying to get away, and Baylee is doing what she can to get presentable. Something going on all the time, but at least they’re in one place for a moment.

They tried to make snow angels, but simply laying down didn’t work because there’s a crust of ice on top of the snow and they didn’t sink in. To attain this position we got them to stand up, put their hands up and fall over backwards. Even so, they didn’t get very deep, but they had fun.

Jeff even got into the spirit and did the flop.

… and he made a right nice snow angel.

At some point during all the outdoor frivolity, Gilligan decided it would be an excellent idea to bury her perfectly good had in the snow. When it was time to leave, she couldn’t remember where she did it. We split up, following all the smaller footprints, to check for likely burial spots, but we had no luck. I searched a bit longer after they left, but the hat is still missing and will remain so until the snow melts.

Winter Olympics and Small Town Snow

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

I got in a bit of trouble yesterday because my blog entry was deemed to be pretty scattered with lots of errors. I would gladly allow her to edit them before sending, but she’s never ready to read when I’m ready to send. So, I just send when done and deal with the consequences later. I’m getting really good at that … dealing with the consequences. I’ve tried convincing her to just log in to my draft, correct it, and send it, but she refuses.

It’s been snowing most of the day again today, adding to the 11 inches we got yesterday. It’s only been two days but I can officially report that I’ve enjoyed it enough. It’s really pretty, and all, like a postcard, but I’m tired of drying off the dogs when they come back to the house all soggy. Actually, only Panzee comes back soggy because Ozzie isn’t really a snow person. The first time he went out in it, this time, the snow was already about 6 inches deep and he sunk up to his chin when he walked off the porch steps. He maintained his composure quite nicely, I thought, lifted his leg, though it didn’t accomplish much, and made some yellow snow. Then he turned right around and came back to the porch. He’s been a little leery about going outside since then and needs an escort to the door, to make sure we’re serious about it. Unless there’s something to bark at in the field.

We watched the Olympic Games opening ceremonies today. Just a few brief comments and I’ll leave this one alone. I loved the technology they used to get it all done, but I could have gone a long time without the ballet and the opera. I understand that those things are a huge part of Russian culture, but I just don’t care. Guess I’m a bit insensitive. I remember being in grade school and having to crawl under my desk during drills to avoid being demolished by the evil Russian atomic bombs. Made sense at the time, and it was scary. So, I guess you could say not caring much about Russia is a learned trait from my 1950’s childhood.

As we watched the countries enter the arena and critiqued the uniforms. The only comments I can recall is that one of country’s uniform colors looked like a lawn chair I lost, and that many of them looked like candidates for yard sales in the spring. We agreed that our favorite was Latvia. We liked The Netherlands, too. Both of those countries used earth toned colors which I really like. The USA and Russian teams were very festive, and colorful, but I don’t see them being worn anywhere but the Olympics, this year. That’s just me, of course.

Then there’s Norway with their mind-altering redwhiteandblue zigzag print. Wow!

I just took a break and walked Panzee down to our mailbox to see if we had mail. She’s a good walker because she doesn’t need a leash. When I turned around to go home, she was off and running, not wanting to have anything to do with being out in the snow. Although it’s been snowing for the better part of two days, we still only have about 12 inches. I attribute that to the fact that it’s a bit warmer, the snow is more dense, and it’s all compressing. Kinda like me … the older I get, the shorter I get.

Part of the mail was a box that had “Keep Frozen” printed on it. I thought, perhaps, someone sent us a steak, or something, and that we might be able to eat dinner after all. But, it was only a pair of sneakers Diane bought from Goodwill. They deliver, you know, and they just use whatever box is handy.

Before I quit I’ll add some photos to ease your mind, in case you figured that I forgot how to use my camera, or that I lost it …

First is one of the Doug Fir trees in Diane’s Mom’s back yard next to the River Milton. Actually, it’s Milton Creek, but River Milton sounds more classy.

This is the back of her house. Her heat pump is directly below the ice cycles.

Then there’s Panzee trying to figure out what I meant when I asked her to check how deep the snow was. This is from yesterday.

I must also add that I have power that I didn’t realize I had. Considering the dangerous weather conditions, I decided to cancel church services for tomorrow. Oddly, everyone I called agreed. Even Pastor. I hope this doesn’t go to my head and make me difficult to live with.

Now, I’m done. Hope everyone is safe and warm.

Driving in the snow

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

I’m actuality pretty good at doing that, driving in the snow. To test my naturally imbued skills, I took a drive today. I had to because we used the last bit of Panzee’s pouch food this morning. She’ll want more of it in the morning. If I don’t have it she’ll just make my day totally miserable. I know. She’s done that before.

I ran out once before and had to use a pouch of Ozzie’s food as a substitute and she was absolutely incensed for being downgraded to, well, an actually pouch of food. Her’s, you see, actually comes from a can. She knows this, and is convinced the can keeps the food in a more tasty manner than an actual flimsy pouch. Ozzie doesn’t really care. If it isn’t crunchy, he’ll generally eat it, after a bit of investigating.

First stop, on the way to get dog food, and bananas, was ACE Hardware. I didn’t really need anything there. I discovered that he was working today and just and to stop by and say Hi. So, I did. I was dressed very warmly, because the temp is still low 20’s, so I didn’t stay in the store for long. We did, however, have time to share stories about the favorite wrecks we’ve seen over the years. It was entertaining, and we had a good visit.

Yes, I needed to get bananas, too. For us, and for Diane’s Mom, Jean. I forgot that part.

Getting to ACE wasn’t very difficult, even though the side roads around us do not get plowed. The Buick, however, couldn’t care less. I backed out of the driveway, scraping away all the snow above the 8″ level as though it wasn’t there. There was no hesitation then, or at any time during the entire I was gone. So, I will not dwell on the trip. It was very uneventful as everyone I encountered seemed to be on their best driving behavior. It was a very nice drive in the snow.

After ACE I went to Safeway for the bananas. I got them quickly and was back on the street within a matter of minutes even though here were a considerable number of people in there shopping.

From Safeway I drove straight across Highway 30 to Wal*Mart where the less expensive dog food lives. That’s where we normally get it. The parking lot was just a mess of packed snow but, as I said, the Buick didn’t care. There was a female employee out front doing her best to collect shopping carts from the parking lot, but they were almost impossible to maneuver through the snow. A very tough job. I spoke with her a bit and wished her well with her task.

Inside the store I navigated unobstructed to the pet supplies and only missed the correct location by one aisle. Once located, I loaded 16 cans of Panzee food, and one 12-pack of Ozzie pouch food into the cart I captured upon entry. Back at the front I discovered a cashier who was unencumbered with a customer and was more than happy to ring me up and accept my money.

As I left the store, I left the cart by the front door and carried my purchases to the Buick because I did not want to add to the shopping cart employee’s burden. It was the correct thing to do. I’m sure she would have appreciated it had she been there to see, but she must have been out retrieving carts used by less considerate customers.

From Wal*Mart I put my sights on Grandma’s House. That would be Diane’s Mom, Jean. We all call her Grandma, although to the majority of related humans in the area she is Great Grandma. That’s OK because she is already trained to respond to Grandma so we’ll stick with that.

Her driveway was a pristine sheet of unadulterated snow. No foot prints to betray her promise to not attempt, for any reason, to go to her mail box. Her driveway has a little slope to it so going down it in the snow isn’t something she should be doing. But, she will, given the chance.

Seeing no foot prints, I went to the mailbox to retrieve what was left, and it was empty. I was nearly stunned. Not quite, but almost. When I got to the front door Grams met me and explained that some wandering children were kind enough to retrieve the mail for her. I delivered her bananas, visited a bit, then headed on home.

The trip up Pittsburgh Road was going to be the final test for the Buick because it is notoriously bad, even on a good day. It proved to be no problem, as did the small hill on Hillcrest Road leading to our house.

When I opened the garage door the dogs began their greeting ritual that only ends when the interior door is opened and they are released into the wild. Generally, they run out into the driveway, then into the yard, where Panzee relieves herself in her special spot. Ozzie turns onto the sidewalk and makes three stops. One at the flowering Lenten Roses, another at some Lilly of the Valley he doesn’t like, and that I’ve been trying to kill since we’ve been her, then again at a bare spot that always seems to get his attention. The Lenten Roses, incidentally, always seem to be in bloom, year round. I don’t understand that. They should die like everything else when it gets cold, but they don’t.

After the ritual, we return to the house and settle down for the rest of the day, no matter if it’s morning or afternoon. Panzee’s greeting ritual is always a joyful event because she talks to us. It’s not a bark, or a howl, but just her voice which she wavers by rolling her jaw. It’s very entertaining and such a happy sound.

Diane’s better today. She’s been sick for a couple of months. First a bad cold, then a bad stomach ailment. Next week we’re going to Hawaii. I’m sure she’ll be perfectly OK by then. If she isn’t, we’re not going. That’s her incentive to get better. I’m sure if she isn’t, she’ll lie about it.

For lunch Diane made chicken noodle soup. It was my idea to use spaghetti noodles and it turned out to be way better than Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup. Great stuff.

For dessert I, by myself, made raspberry sorbet. I’ve never done that before. We had all the necessary parts because Diane found a recipe in one of the dozens of magazines she gets each month and bought then. I dug them out, she rediscovered the recipe, and I simply followed the directions. Did you know that making sorbet takes about six hours? I’m sure the sorbet served in restaurants are created using a really big machine, but doing it at home is an exercise in restraint. It was all I could do to not grab a straw and just slurp it all up. I knew that if I did that, however, that Diane would never forgive me, and I would have to let my doctor know so she could just go ahead and write out hat prescription for insulin.

I think that’s about it for the day. All that’s left is to watch the end of the Portland Trailblazer’s game against the Indiana Pacers. As of this moment, Portland is ahead by 6 points.

Sorry, 8 points, with 6:46 to go.

Oh, and it’s snowing again, adding to the existing 11 inches. Supposed to keep it up all night and lots of tomorrow.

Wheee!

OK. So they lost in overtime. Big deal.

One Stud to Another …

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

Here’s one putting studs on his car in our driveway …

It’s been snowing hard and steady for about 8 hours now. It’s running about an inch an hour. Since today was originally considered to be the prelude to three days of bad weather, tomorrow and Saturday should prove to be very interesting. If the power doesn’t go out, I’ll let you know how it’s going.