Monthly Archives: July 2024

The Olympics

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Diane and I just finished watching our recording of the Opening of the Olympic Games. We agree, as I’m sure pretty much anyone who watched it, that it was absolutely spectacular. If I’m wrong and you disagree, that’s OK. You have the right to be wrong, too.

For us the entire ceremony was very emotional, building as it progressed to the end when the Olympic Flame was ignited. What a show.

If you missed it I encourage you to seek a source and watch it all the way.

Today I was going to watch the USA Ladies play basketball but, for some reason, it didn’t record. However, they won without me watching, so it’s all good.

It turns out that Ladies rugby was recorded so I decided to watch it since I missed basketball. On a happy note, I’ve learned it’s a fun game to watch. There isn’t any real competition for watching women play football without pads. Additionally, it’s a game that doesn’t appear to have any specific rules. Either that, or they make them up on the fly.

Here’s the way it looks to me.

Opposing teams line up and one team kicks the ball. I’m not sure how that’s decided but no one argues about it. After kicking the ball it’s a free-for-all to see who can get possession. The one person who gets the ball starts running toward the other goal unless the other team can divert her then they run toward their own goal until they come across one of their teammates and they can lateral it to them. This goes on and on until the runner is consumed by the opposing team. Once on the ground, the fight for possession begins when the ball is pushed out of the group of players toward the opposing goal. Once clear of the downed runner, a team mate puts her hand on the ball and no one moves until the ball is pulled from the turf. It’s amazing because that’s the only time they aren’t fighting for the ball. I mean fighting, too. They aren’t gentle with each other at all.

Another little quirk of the game is when there is a change in possession, the person doesn’t advance the ball until they drop the ball and kick it back up. Kinda interesting.

I suppose if I watched it long enough, or actually read the rules, I could figure it out and it might not take any longer than it did for me to discover exactly what constitutes an off side in soccer. That took me years before I finally figured it out.

Here are the rules.

Basic rules of rugby for beginners:

  1. Rugby is played with two teams of 15 players each.
  2. The objective is to score more points by carrying or kicking the ball across the opponent’s goal line.
  3. The ball can only be passed backward.
  4. Players can be tackled but not blocked.
  5. Tackles must be below shoulder height and players must wrap their hands around the opponent

Happy Summer Solstice

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Once again it’s time to say farewell to the current spring weather and welcome, with open arms, the rush we get from the exceedingly hot summer we’re projected to have. It’s already hot, so it won’t be a surprise.

Max has been banned from running willy-nilly in the neighbor’s yard so I’ve tethered him to one of the patio posts so he can reach most of the yard. He doesn’t seem to mind and he finds fun stuff to do. Like this morning. I found a baby mouse, adorned with copious amounts of dog-slobber, laying on the patio. It was about 1.5 inches long and still kicking, but not in a running mood. It may not have been able to run. But, it did react to my touch. Tiny little thing. I’m such a sucker for tiny little things.

I gathered him up with the thought I’d put him out of harms way. I know, we set traps for their parents, but when they are so tiny they seem to be quite harmless.

Today is supposed to be pushing 90 degrees. Right now, it’s noon and the heat is definitely upon us.

So, I started writing this on June 25 which just happens to be one month ago. I have an excuse for that and I’ll be happy to share it with you as soon as I remember what it is. For now, I’ll just ramble on like normal.

Max got me in trouble yesterday so he can no longer roam freely about our back yard. He’s miffed, I’m sure, but we’ve had this talk more than once. He has this uncontrollable urge to run as fast as he can to our neighbor’s yard so make sure there aren’t any deer lingering around the feeding station erected just for them. Dogs aren’t allowed. I’ve been working with him to control that urge in favor of a tasty treat, but yesterday he just couldn’t help himself.

I went after him right away to get him back, but I wasn’t fast enough to keep him from running off 4 baby deer. I didn’t see them personally, but my neighbor made sure I knew what a vile thing Max had just done. In his defense, he’s a dog, a little dog, and likes to chase things. Deer are the most fun because he likes the way they just bounce up and down when fleeing full speed. Squirrels are a close second. They stymie Max because of their climbing prowess, and they know Max can’t climb trees. Yet. But he’s working on it.

A couple of days ago we ran across his little guy. His name is Rocket and he’s also a rescue. After a lengthy investigation they determined that they weren’t related. Even though there was a hint of recognition between them they decided that something just didn’t smell right, and we went on our own ways. They could pass as brothers. Kinda freaky.

 Yesterday I caught Diane digging around in a cupboard she normally leaves alone because it’s out of reach. It was a handy place for me to hide “stuff” until she found the 1950’s step stool.

I’m going to have to move that thing to the garage so she won’t fall down and break something. Now I must find a new hidey place for my secret stuff. I don’t know why I’m going on about hiding things. If there was ever anything on that top shelf that I put there, it’s a sure bet I can’t remember what it might be. On the upside of her investigation, she found my Cheerios. I’ve been looking all over the house for those.

Here’s a sunset from a couple days ago.

The weather has been pretty warm late into the night but has cooled off some. We had quite a few 100+ days and a lot of 90+ days. We’re down into the mid 80’s now but we hear it will be going back up again. Half the state is on fire, the mid-west and eastern states are suffering from horrible weather. We feel blessed to be living in the right part of Oregon where hot weather seems to be the only problem we’re experiencing and that’s not really a problem. If it gets too hot, I’ll just go lay in the creek with Max.

Here’s Diane’s new tow car for the RV.

It’s not really new, it’s a 2020. And, it’s not really a tow car yet because I haven’t added the parts it needs to make it one. I have them sitting in the garage, just waiting for me to get into the right mood to do it.

Today I finished turning the fluorescent lights into LEDs in the RV. It’s a simple process, really, but it took me 3 days to figure out how easy. Once I did that, it was a snap. In all, I replaced eleven dual bulb fixtures with sticky strip LEDs. All the work I did, of course, was above my head which isn’t something my arms are fond of. Plus, one of the last two times a stumbled and fell, my left shoulder took a beating and isn’t behaving well at all. So, most of the work was done with my right arm. Kind of tricky when it’s a two-handed job.

That’s all I’ve got for now.

Ciao.

It’s Been a While . . .

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Although I’ve been missing for only 11 days or so, I feel like it’s been a lifetime. Really. A lifetime. Having “said” that I figure it’s only fair that a lifetime is different for all living things. In my case it’s the lifetime for a the Powderpost Beetle. My extensive research on these critters revealed that their average lifespan is about two weeks which means that at least some of them check out in 11 days, or so. Considering there are 540 species of these guys suggests there is a lot of negotiating room to justify my supposition.

During those eleven days we managed to get the truck delivered to a body shop to repair damage obtained at the Good Sam Hospital parking garage, and the motorhome to the diesel guy in Deer Island for an oil change. He also fixed the problem with the dash air in the RV, a problem we’ve been working on for most of a year. I honestly don’t think it was ever working, but it works now.

Oh, and we visited with our friends when we all gathered together in Newport, Oregon. Max loves the beach. That’s the only reason we went.

Not true, of course. Diane loves the beach, too and she’s the primary reason for the trip. Seeing and visiting with our friends were a bonus. They all stayed in their RVs at South Beach State Park while we occupied a facility in town that accommodated all 12 of us for a sit-down dinner on our night to cook. It worked so well that we did it twice.

During this time one of our favorite cousins drove all the way from Arizona to have a heart attack and we can only ask ourselves “why would he do that?” I need to call him and see how he’s doing. Last I heard he had weathered the heart attack like a pro and was doing well. Still, I need to call him.

If you keep track of weather patterns you are probably aware of the heat wave cooking the west coast over the 4th. It doesn’t affect me very much because I spend most of my time inside. Oh, I take Max on a leisurely tour of the neighborhood a couple times a day, normally, but we’ve cut back on the amount of time spent outside. Diane’s afraid he’s going to cook his little toes walking on the asphalt. So far that hasn’t been an issue. Me, however, all I do is sweat profusely which helps keep me slim, for a little while.

Another event was put on at our house once we returned from the beach. Siah, our youngest Grandson, is now 3 years old. It was a rollicking good time for those the 2-300 in attendance. Of those were the members of both our children’s off springs and a couple of extras. Always fun.

Time to stop. Diane went by and strongly suggested that I visit the shower so, that’s what I’ll do because I always do whatever she tells me to do, no matter what tone of voice she uses.

Goodnight. Hope everyone had a safe 4th.