Category Archives: Church

Cedric Dean Bradley Walters

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Yesterday, Friday the 13th, Cedric was 17. It’s difficult for me to comprehend that he’s really that old. It’s an old cliché that “yesterday” he was really little …

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… then he got really big …

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He’s about an inch away from looking me directly in the eye. With his curly hair, however, he’s about 6’3″. Well, maybe only 6′ even. Much bigger than I as at his age. I think I was only about 4’11” when I started high school and only about 5’7″ when I graduated. After that I kept growing, even after I got married to my first wife at age 24. Really, it’s true. Ask Diane.

Also, yesterday, Cedric was driven to his summer job at Camp Tadmor. His stated goal, at least the last one I heard, was to be a Youth Pastor when he grows up. In my estimation, that’s an admirable goal. Working at Tadmor is an excellent step toward that goal. It’s also a large step in growing up because it will be the longest time he’s ever been away from his family. He’s excited about it and we’re all excited for him.

He’ll do a great job and have a great time, we’re sure.

Just gotta love that kid. He epitomizes pretty much everything that’s good about today’s youth.

Sunday in Nampa

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Today, our last full day here in Nampa, was all about family. Everyone except Tyler, that is. He wasn’t in town because when he learned we were going to be her, he left. That’s not true, of course. He didn’t know we were going to be here so I think he’s living on the assumption that it was just pure luck that he left before we arrived. That could be true.

First thing this morning we had a light breakfast here in the hotel, then we met the rest of the local family at the First Christian Church in town. We chose to attend the 0900 early service which meant we were not allowed to sleep in like normal. That was just fine. On arrival we met Jim & Donna’s friends that we remember from past visits, so it was like old home week, in a way.

The service was great and we enjoyed it a lot. Everyone was happy, the band was good, the Rev. Dr. J. Stephen Perotti gave a great sermon, and I got to hold Jim’s hand. The only down side was I didn’t get to meet Grace. I think Jim alerted her we were in town so she chose to stay home. Either that, or she went to the late service. Whatever the reason, I regret that missed opportunity. I was prepared to autograph her T-shirt, and everything.

After church we retired to J&D’s home where everyone, except me, made a crucial decision about where to eat lunch. The Blue Sky Cafe won. I wasn’t involved in the process because I seriously do not care where I eat. That drives Diane nuts because I won’t tell her. So, every time she asks, I tell her Burger King, or McDonald’s. We always eat at better places because Diane’s OK with those for an impromptu snack, but not for a real meal. Still, she asks me where we should go. Maybe I’ll fool her and suggest someplace really nice the next time she asks. I think I’ll tell her I want to go to Killion’s. The fact that it’s in Ontario won’t be a determining factor. Or, maybe Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck on Oahu. That looks good. North Shore, too.

Lunch at the Blue Sky was awesome. I had breakfast. We all totally enjoyed our meal and had the pea sure of sharing a large table right in the middle of the restaurant, where we had to be on our best behavior because everyone was watching us. They knew we were from out of town and were waiting for any little reason to run us out of town. That’s the way they are in Nampa. Honest. Most of the time. Well, maybe just some of the time. No, they’re never that way. We always feel welcome when we visit, no matter where we go in town. I can say that because when we visit we’re always escorted to various places around town. It’s either an escort, or a guard. Not sure which. Anyway, we enjoy our visits.

After lunch we once again retired to J&D’s home where we pondered all of the dessert choices available in this small farming community. One of the choices was a milkshake at McDonald’s, or maybe a candy bar from Wal*Mart, but we finally settled on a frozen yogurt joint in town. I can’t remember the name and can’t find it on the internet, but it was one of those Yo Something places. It was all good, very similar to the help yourself yogurt places in Scappoose and St. Helens.

Here’s what we looked like after eating about $40 worth of frozen yogurt.
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  • Back row l to r: Maryssa, Daniel, Donna, Bob, and Steffani
  • Front row l to r: Wynette, Jack, Jim, Diane, and Me

Now it’s 2015 and we’re all back in our rooms for the night, planning to get a good night of sleep in preparation for our trip home tomorrow. Since all I have to do is dump one drawer of “stuff” back into my carry-on suitcase, it will be a simple task for me.

Now I’m going to cut my toenails and start studying for my angiogram test on Wednesday.

Grass, Mechanics, Softball, Bad Parents, & Good Kids

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Yesterday we went to Rainier where Lydia was playing in a rec ball tournament, something she’s done a lot of in the past. It was an opportunity for her to reunite with old friends and to play again with many members of the HS JV team. It was a great day and the girls played just great, winning all three of their games. We only watched the first two, then Diane brought me home so I could go end the day mowing my heart out at the church. The last game we watched was against Scappoose which our girls won 12-3. When asked by the coach if she wanted to play in the tournament Lydia said, “sure, if I can play 3rd base.” That wish was granted and she did an excellent job. She hit well, too, getting one triple, that could have turned into a home run, and a triple that did turn into a home run. She was the leadoff batter in all the games. It was a lot of fun, invoking a lot of fond memories of these tournaments, and the girls had a great time.

Once home, I gathered up all my empty gas cans, the pitchfork, two batteries, and the battery charger and headed for the church. Along the way I stopped to gas up the truck and fill the empty cans, to the tune of $99, then headed for the church.

The first thing I did was drive the truck out into the overgrown field where I scraped together about 12 piles of grass. The plan was to pitchfork the piles into the back of the truck then empty it at the mulch pit. Knowing the tank was full of gas, I decided to just let the truck run until I got the piles picked up, and was going to move it. But, it quit again, Just like the day before. This time, however, the problem was deemed to be vapor lock. It was was just too darned hot out to let that huge engine just sit and idle. It wants to get out and run. Sadly, the transmission and engine have differing points of view on that subject. Although it gets from point A to point B OK, it makes a lot of unfamiliar noises in the process. So, it needs to see a doctor. Soon.

So, there sat my truck in the middle of the field. The hood was open and the back was full of grass, ready to be transported, but it wasn’t going anywhere. Not only because of the vapor lock, but because when the engine gets really really hot, the starter doesn’t work well. Probably because the battery doesn’t have enough kick, which is why I brought extra batteries and such. Even with all the extra parts, the only workable solution was to just let everything cool off for a few hours. So, I got the mower out of the shed and went to work, mowing around the truck.

In all, I spent about 7 hours doing that and the only part remaining was where the truck was parked. Then, to allow for more cooling time, I took my time cleaning the mower off and put it away.

Then it was time to take a shot at getting the truck started. Long story short, I got it running, then took it to the mulch pit and turned it off figuring if I could it started once, I could do it twice. I emptied the grass, got the truck restarted, then went home. It was all very anticlimactic, in a way. The only exciting part after the second startup was the interesting noises made by the transmission on the way home.

I was very tired when I got home and was sent directly to the showers, after removing an enormous bag of dirt from the Buick. I think it was the biggest bag of dirt Diane’s every purchased. I’m always amazed about the need to buy bags of dirt when we have an entire back yard full of it. Lots and lots of dirt everywhere.

Then I finished the June newsletter for church and went to bed. And slept.

This morning we made another trip to Rainier to see how the tournament played out. The first game was at 1045 so we were out of the house around 1000. Our girls won that one no problem, then Lydia was asked to fill in on another team so she played another game right away. This time she had 1st base. Immediately after the second game, Lydia switched shirts to play with her first team for the final game to win it all. It was against Scappoose again. If they won it was over. If they lost they would have to play again since it was double elimination.

It was a tight game from the start, very defensive in nature. Not only between the teams, but also between the Scappoose parents and Pete the umpire. It was a pretty ugly thing to watch as the parents wore Pete down, threatening to pull their girls out of the game if he didn’t recuse himself as the base umpire. I learned later that these parents had asked specifically that Pete not umpire today’s game because of perceived bad calls, and a confrontation from the previous day.

In the top of the 7th inning, with Scappoose leading 1-0, St. Helens had two runners in scoring position with one out. Lydia hit a pop up for the 2nd out so they still had a chance to at least tie, possibly go ahead. Then someone in the Scappoose crowd sent Pete over the top. He had heard enough from Scappoose parents, ripped his mask off, gave it a heave, and walked off the field.

Everyone on our side was standing around very confused because we didn’t know what had been going on that caused Pete’s departure. Then the Scappoose coach called all his girls in and said, “we’re done.” It was very confusing because he conceded a game he was leading. After a time it was shared that Scappoose conceded 1st place to St. Helens, but there was no real explanation. Just a lot of questions.

At the end of all games the girls line up and pass by each other slapping hands and offering congratulations, win or lose. That happened this time, too, but it was pretty evident that the girls’ best interest wasn’t considered by those parents who were making all the fuss. Both teams essentially lost today because some parents couldn’t behave themselves.

That’s pretty sad, don’t you think? More sad is that it happens all the time. You’d think they’d learn, wouldn’t you?

For what it’s worth, here’s most of the team with their 1st place trophy …

IMG_0082Right after I took this photo, there was a fitting, poignant end to the day that left us knowing the kids were OK in spite of how some parents acted. One of the Scappoose girls brought a plate of cookies and passed them out to the St. Helens team.

There’s hope after all.

Flags for Vets, Small World Stuff, & Chinese Food

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Here it is, Memorial Day weekend already! Boy do the days whiz by faster and faster when one isn’t paying attention. Thankfully, I belong to a number of public service and military organizations that keep track of those things for me, reminding me via emails and phone calls that it’s time to put up the flags again. All of those people involved know I need that kind of reminding. Some go to the extremes of telling Diane because they, for sure, know I’ll show up. She never forgets stuff like that.

The American Legion, Post 42, is one of the groups I work with. We support the veteran community in a variety of ways but the most humbling, to me, is when we place American flags on the graves of our fallen Military Veterans on holidays like this one. We go out in groups of two, or three, sometimes accompanied by a Boy Scout, with a list, the flags, and a device to poke a hole where the flag needs to go. We don’t rush, but with a large group an amazing number of flags can be placed in short order.

The first effort took place on Friday morning at the Yankton Cemetery out on Pittsburgh Road. There are actually two cemeteries there, on either side of the road, one really old, and the other just old. Many of the birthdays go back to the mid 1800’s and we put flags on many WW-I vet’s graves. My helper during this evolution was a young boy whose grandfather is one of the scout leaders. About mid-point in our efforts he decided the flag hole poker would make a good javelin. We had a talk and finished our assignment.

Yesterday morning we placed flags at Bethany Memorial Cemetery in Warren, next to our church. During this session, Roger, Bill and I went together. I was in charge of the list, Bill was the poker, and Roger placed the flags.

As we made the rounds I pointed out those too whom my lovely bride is related. She was raised in Warren and I’ve always contended that most of the people in Warren are related and that was revealed to Roger and Bill and we progressed. It’s quite amazing to see the connections to Diane and they were duly impressed.

After finishing our flags we stopped to visit with an older couple who were cleaning up their relatives’ stones. Names were exchanged, which I promptly forgot, but when I brought up my theory about everyone in Warren being related, and that Diane is related to the Kallberg and West families.

Upon hearing this, the lady said, “Mel!” to which I replied, “yes, Mel West is my wife’s uncle. Did you know his brother, Gib, who was the local state cop a long time ago?”

“No,” she said, “but I remember Judge Kallberg.”

“It’s Judge Kalbearer,” I replied, “not Kallberg.”

“Oh,” she said, “that’s right.”

“I know that’s true,” I added, “because my brother’s wife worked for him her entire career.”

“Wynette,” she exclaimed! “I know her!”

“Jack!” said her husband. “I worked with him at the Deer Island chemical plant for years.”

“Hmmm,” said I, as I turned to my friends. “See, we’re all related. Well, maybe not all related to each other, as in real relatives, but related in some way.”

Then the guy said, “DeLonais.”

“That’s my Father-in-law,” I exclaimed! “I know him! Mel DeLonais!”

“Jean,” the lady said. “Isn’t his wife Jean?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said, relieved that this was all finally coming out into the open.

With a solid sigh, we bid them adieu, and began the trek back to our respective vehicles. On the way we had a very clear view of the entire cemetery festooned with flowers and flags. It always amazes me how many flags there are. It’s actually a very beautiful and moving sight, knowing there were so many who served their county over the years.

Back at the truck, which I drove to the cemetery, something I didn’t mention previously, I noticed that the headlights were still on so I immediately invoked the emergency rule about no one leaving until I discovered if I could, or not, get the truck started. Before trying, however, I simply turned the lights off and let it rest while we all talked about pretty much everything in the world.

It was good to solve the “things’ that we perceive to be wrong with the world. If only people would listen to us.

After all that ‘solving’ activity, I went home. When I arrived I found Diane standing in the garage, tapping her duster in the palm of her left hand, and was immediately directed to get the vacuum cleaner. Apparently we were going to conduct a good old navy field day.

Then she said hello and administered to me the obligatory greeting kiss, which is the same as the obligatory parting kiss, but different.

I couldn’t find the vacuum cleaner in its customary parking spot in the garage until Diane pointed it out. It was, of course, in plain sight. I took it in the living room and was told to move all the furniture away from the walls so I could suck up the bad stuff gathered there. I did as directed and did such a good job that the furniture moving evolution escalated to the point where everything was moved to a new location. We do this once or twice a year and I’m OK with it because it’s a far better alternative to either moving or purchasing new furniture. Just putting it in a different spot in the living room serves the purpose of making it look like new. Doesn’t cost anything, either. Just a little sweat and a few strained muscles.

We ended yesterday evening by selecting our new places to sit in the new arrangement. This is an important task because it determines where we will be located while eating pretty much every meal. It’s got to be the right angle so we can see each other, our food trays, and the TV without straining our eyes.

This morning I was forced awake by Ozzie around 0600. I sense he had been trying to wake me for a while because he was pretty active. He was happy to get out where he and Panzee made a mad dash to the yard, did their thing, then quickly returned to the back door seeking admittance so they could consume their treasured pouch food. Then I assumed my prone position on the couch recliner and promptly went back to sleep until Diane woke me around 0945 asking if I was staying home or going to church. I chose to stay home.

I did absolutely nothing for the next 3 hours.

After church was over, Diane returned home with her Mom, Jean, and two bags of Safeway Deli Chinese food for lunch. It was awesome. There was enough left over for Mom to take home for lunch tomorrow.

Then Jennifer, Cedric, Lydia, and Jeran arrived for a visit. Well, everyone but Lydia was there for a visit.  Lydia needed to use the computer to work on some school tasks. The rest of us visited.

Now it’s late afternoon, and we’re waiting for Jack and Wynette to drop by for a visit. That will be entertaining.

It always is.

Cedric, Jeran, Hives, & Blazer Basketball

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The last few days have been a whirlwind of extracurricular physical activity cleaning up the garage. It’s one of those things we’ve talked about doing for many years, now, like we talk about taking walks. This time we actually did it. Not walk, but clean up the garage. We touched everything in the place, moved it to the driveway, swept the joint out, then put back the stuff we didn’t toss in the back of the old pickup, and the stuff we kept for the yard sale we’ve talked about.

The end result is that we now have enough room to park two cars in there. Honest, that’s true. We have two garage doors so we’ll have to get another opener so I won’t have to get out of the car to open it. I suppose I could call Diane when I’m coming home so she can go out and open the door for me, but I don’t think that will work. She’ll object, I’m sure. So, I’m not even going to ask, even though I open doors for her all the time. We’ll see how it all shakes out once the floor is totally empty. As it is right now, Diane can drive into the garage and her Mom can get out of the passenger side by opening the car door all the way, and walk  into the house without weighing sideways past the shoe rack, the piano, and the vacuum cleaners. Lots less dangerous for her, now.

Friday night Cedric came up to spend the night and have a little down time with us. Before that, however, we all went to dinner at Fultano’s where Jennifer got hives. I know I’ll be told that there’s no evidence she got them there, and I agree it’s pure speculation on my part. But, the fact remains that the hives appeared sometime after she got home from dinner. Another possible place she got it was at Sears where she and Daniel went toward the end of the meal in order to purchase a new lawnmower.

We didn’t now about the hives until yesterday, so Cedric’s visit was very calm and pleasant. Cedric had his pick of movies and chose “2001: A Space Odyssey”, from 1968. We had to admit that the technology used in that movie was pretty darn good, but it was still an incredibly boring movie. That was a unanimous decision. Boring. Back in the day, it was totally awesome but, after watching the new movies with all the action stuff, it was boring this time. But, we really enjoyed having Cedric hang out with us.

Yesterday Jennifer went to Chehalis to shop with some ladies from her church. On her way home, she stopped by the house with her friend, Erin, to show Diane what she got and to share her itchy hives. At the time, no one knew what it was. It took some serious talking to get her to go to the hospital and get checked out. Erin went with her. After keeping her for the required 4-5 hours she was give steroids, Benadryl, issued an epi-pen and sent home. The meds they gave her helped with the itching, but they rash continued to spread.

Today I went to church, like normal, but I had to bail out after communion because Diane thought I had temperature. I admit I didn’t feel real perky, and she asked me if I wanted to stay home, but I chose to tough it out. It was, of course, the wrong decision. So, Diane took me home, then went back for her Mom, then they went out for lunch, a little shopping,  and to Jeran’s annual piano recital. I was really looking forward to that, but couldn’t take a chance of infecting anyone, especially Mom, if I had some sort of virus. Jennifer saved the day for me, however, by sending me a video of his performance. He did a great job.

I had to fend for myself for sustenance. I ate three poached eggs which I prepared in the microwave. I’ve never done that before. It was pretty easy because there’s a button for doing that. Really, there is.

I was all alone for about five hours. During that time I watched a number of saved shows that were on the DVR. Diane got home not too long before the Blazers and Rockets tipped off for game four of this seven game series.Since tip off, my entertainment has been watching Diane yell at the TV as if the refs can hear her explaining to them all their mistakes. I have to admit that they made obviously bad calls, mostly in favor of Houston. As a result, Houston took the game to overtime again. That’s 3 OT’s out of 4 games which is pretty interesting. The Blazers won this one 123-120 and lead the series 3-1. Now it’s back to Houston.

Diane will sleep well tonight with tonight’s win. So will I.

This afternoon Daniel contacted us to report that Jennifer’s rash was still spreading, and her tongue was swelling. The meds weren’t working like they should. She called the on-call nurse and was told to get right to the hospital and be prepared to stay the night. They didn’t keep her, but they did give her IV meds before sending her home. She’s in good spirits but we know she’s terribly uncomfortable.

Now I must eat an apple. Maybe a banana. Then go to bed.

Tomorrow I need to get the ’73 Winnebago started so I can move it out of the driveway. Starting it shouldn’t be difficult. It’s stopping it after I get it rolling because I’m pretty sure the brakes don’t work. Should be exciting.

Budgets, How to Save $$, and Lent

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I spent most of today fiddling with my budget spreadsheet, shifting things around so the numbers worked … you know, kinda like statistics. After a while, it all started to click into place which concerns me a bit because I’m a terrible accountant type person. So, the proof of whether or not it’s going to work will be determined when we run our of money on our vacation.

On the upside of the money issue, I got a call today from Hudson Garbage to ask me if I knew I had a large credit balance on my account. I didn’t know that. The lady told me it was in excess of $500 which took me a bit by surprised. Learning this, you may wonder why I’m the one paying the bills, right? Well, turns out the $45 bill I’ve been paying every month, for a long time, only has to be paid every other month, on the odd ones. Plus, the bill is $52 and change, not $45. The lady asked if I wanted to just apply it to the next year’s worth of service. I told her no, just send it back so I can factor it into my budget as newly found money. The question I should have asked is “why did it take so long for you to discover this?” That’s a moot point at this time.

So, for those of you who wish to stash away a few bucks, just double pay one of your bills and let it ride until they figure it out. The danger is, of course, they may never find out, or may to just choose to ignore the overage. It’s a crap shoot, perfect for the garbage company account.

Diane cut her lip today opening a zip lock bag. Now, I’ve injured myself in some pretty interesting ways over the years, but that’s a new one. I must take a step back and humbly bow to one who totally outdid me on creative ways to make yourself bleed. In her defense, she didn’t have to show me, but she did so it’s fair game.

At 1600 I had to get dressed for church to attend our Lenten service. I spent the day in my pajamas. While talking with the Comcast Lady, to arrange a cable install at the church, I mentioned that I was in my pajamas and she proclaimed that she, also, spends most of her work day in hers. We had quite a long, revealing conversation.

Now it’s late. We’re leaving for vacation right after my 1100 orthopedic appointment tomorrow, and I haven’t packed yet. Think that’s going to wait until tomorrow. I can’t tell you where we’re going, or how long we’ll be gone because Diane doesn’t want anyone to empty the place in our absence. Rest assured, however, they neighbors keep a close eye on strangers and they all have guns.

In parting, here’s a picture of the lunch Diane made me. It’s 5 pancakes, two eggs, and three pieces of bacon cut in half. I cut all the bacon in half so it would fit into one of those large ziploc bags.

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Colonoscopys, This & Next, Food, Softball, and Soup

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Yesterday was another crappy day in paradise … it sprinkled a bit early on, then the sun came out and nearly blinded us when Diane drove me to my visit at the Gastroenterology Clinic in Portland. I was summoned, as a prelude to my need for a colonoscopy, in order to see how big my anus is. Apparently they have new HD cameras and needed to know if it was big enough to accommodate the new equipment. I found this interesting because things like that are generally getting smaller, not bigger. Fortunately, due to years of practice at ‘being’ an anus, it was determined that mine could, indeed, receive the probe. I heard someone say they thought they might even be able to insert two probes and take a 3D shot of my innards.

None of that’s true, of course. Truth is, since I will be unconscious during this procedure, they could shove a small chair in there and I’d never know it but I’m pretty confident they won’t because I’m not gonna sign the waiver.

Apparently the meeting went well because I was escorted to the lady who makes the appointments and they had one for next Monday, so I took it. The next available appointment was in May and I didn’t want to wait that long. I brought Diane in to ensure I’d made the correct choice and she assured me I had. So, the appointment Lady gave me a stack of instructions on what I had to do to prepare for this incredible experience. It starts next Friday and involves drinking gallons of Gatorade, water, and a couple of innocent looking pills. I’ve done this before so know what it’s all about. For those of you who haven’t had a colonoscopy, I’ll leave it at that in order to not spoil the ending for you. I will say, however, you will lose a bit of weight. Not much, and maybe only temporarily, perhaps, but you’ll lose it.

Sunday is my day for liquids only which makes enjoying Lydia’s 15th birthday celebration problematic, but I’ll make up for it on Monday. Maybe.

While writing about “next” Sunday, and “this” Friday, I’m compelled to share my belief about all of that, and why I think everyone else in the world is wrong about how those words are used in conjunction with identifying days of the week.

For example, if Diane were to tell me that I needed to do some “next Friday,” I would do it “this Friday” because, in this context, this=next to me. I mean, next Friday means the very next one I encounter. The word “this” shouldn’t even be allowed in the same sentence with days of the week.

Being slightly educated, however, I know that when Diane says “next Friday,” she really means the Friday “next week,” not the next one in sequence. In her parlance, that would be “this Friday.” Additionally, “a week from next Friday,” since today is Wednesday, actually means the third Friday from the day after tomorrow. Had the speaker meant that, however, they would have phrased it as “a week from Friday.” In this case, the “this” is silent.

All of this interpolation about which day is really being referenced makes my head hurt a little, so I’ve simplified the process by asking the speaker to clarify themselves. Normally I get an incredulous look that means, “surely you must be kidding?” I’m surely not. I need to know if “next” Friday is really the next one, or is it the Friday after next?

Conversations like this quickly deteriorate to the point where Diane explains that I’m a little bit mentally unstable and it’s not a good idea to continue the discussion. So, it ends. I admit that I’m totally aware of what the speaker means, but the play on words disturbs me and I find it necessary to do my part to educate the masses on how properly use the language. Jack and I practice this all the time, when we’re in close proximity, by doing what he calls “Correct Speak.” It’s all about taking everything literally, which is really simple for us.

I suppose there’s a lot of history involved with mixing ‘this’ and ‘next’ with days of the week, but I’m not going to bother doing any reasearch on it. Whatever it may be isn’t something I’ll agree with so I’ll just stick to my guns and do it the correct way, at least to me.

On the way home from the hospital, we stopped by Curtis Trailers and picked one out for future use. They had 2014 models, but we’ll need a 2016 version. That’s when we decided to buy one. We’ll wait.

Then we hightailed it to St. Helens to watch Lydia’s first high school softball game. She’s on the JV team so they played on the Campbell Park fields not far from our home. Diane dropped me off then went home to check on the dogs.

It was an exciting game that our girls, the Lady Lions, lost 9-7. Lydia played 3rd base and made a number of outs. She was the 2nd batter in the lineup and the coach had her bunt every time she was up. She moved runners around, but never got on base. Hopefully the next game coach will let her hit away. She can do that. Next game is next Friday, or ‘this’ Friday if you’re one of ‘those’ folks.

That ends yesterday.

Today I made phone calls to clarify ‘things’, made a trip to Comcast to change our programming package, a trip to CRPUD (Columbia River People’s Utility District) to get our billing on a program for equal monthly payments, and a visit to the local Chevrolet dealer to visit with my friend Steve.

When I got home, I discovered that Diane had been busy cooking, and treated me to another one of her wonderful concoctions. It was a stunning tuna, cheese, peas, and onion casserole. Just great! I love pretty much anything with noodles in it. Considering it had melted cheese in it, I asked Diane if, maybe, we could shape some of it into squares, let them cool down, and make sandwiches out of them, but she didn’t think it would work. Since she was the cook, I’ll leave it at that. I’m still curious, though. Bet it’d work. A tuna casserole sandwich …

After that, Diane and I sat face to face for a couple of hours but never once saw each other’s face. We’ve rearranged the computer room, pushing our desks together, so we’re no longer back to back. My 27″ iMac blocks pretty much everything in front of me so I’d have to stand up, or slide way right, to look Diane in the eye. She’d have to slide way left.

This evening we attended another Wednesday Lenten service preceded by soup and bread. Sandy made some excellent potato, ham, and cheese soup.

I’ve just used up my quota of words, so need to quit.

Safeway Deli Food, Panzee, Insurance, Silverado, Cardio, & Golf

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It’s been four days since I’ve propped myself up at this keyboard and a lot has happened. That doesn’t mean this will be jammed packed with interesting information because the memory problem remains a factor. I do, however, have a calendar into which I’ve recently begun to add events so I can recall. Now all I need to do is figure out the code I used in the shorthand.

Let’s see … Sunday was normal. No change, there. We went to church, brought Mom home for lunch, and watch “stuff” on TV. We did change it up a bit for lunch by getting Chinese food from the Safeway deli on the way home. It’s pretty good stuff. Broccoli Beef, Orange Chicken, Fried Rice, Noodles, and Spring Rolls. Really, really good. That’s all I remember.

On Monday I had a 1000 appointment at Midway Vet for Panzee for some shot updates and an exam. It was all good, although we had to sit and wait until almost 1100 to be seen. That was OK because Panzee was the best looking dog in the place so we were just fine sitting there looking awesome. She’s a sweetheart and very well-mannered. In dog years she’s about 85 which may account for all of that. Doc said he thought she was between 5-7 years old in people years, but she’s really 12-13 and in terrific shape.  Now, if she were only bald so she couldn’t shed.

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Tuesday I met with Heather, my new insurance agent who runs American Family Insurance here in town. I switched from Allstate who has been our choice for 20-25 years. AmFam beats them hands down so I switched everything to them. It was a good choice. Heather already seems like a family member. Could be because she also insures Jennifer and family, and has been friends with Jeff for years. That, and she’s got the same last name as my barber, though they claim to not know each other.

After working with Heather, I stopped by Emmert Motors to look at Diane’s new pickup. It’s a 2014 Silverado 1500 High Country that was just put on the lot. All the right colors and bells & whistles. Yes, Diane’s been wanting a pickup for a long time but we’ve been fiddling around with these old Winnebagos for too long and have decided it’s time to be more reasonable and divest ourselves of those projects. That also applies to the old 1968 truck, if anyone’s interested. We are parring down in preparation for another leisurely trip around the USA. News at 11 on that.

From the pickup I made my presence known at the Legacy Health Clinic for my 1430 appointment with my new cardiologist. We had a great visit and he learned a lot about what makes me tick. As a result, he’s scheduling me for a stress test in conjunction with an echocardiogram. I get to watch my heart beat during the process which he said is “wicked cool.” I really like him and trust that if he manages to give me a heart attack during this process he can bring me back from the brink. It that does happen, I suspect I will be able to witness the event in living color. Don’t know when that will be, but I’ll be sure to report on it.

Later in the day on Tuesday, my good friend Doug dropped by to talk about some American Legion “stuff”, and to report that Wednesday, today, was going to be the nicest day of the year so we had to go play golf. He, JP, and Lyle were teeing off at 1000. Knowing we wouldn’t be able to finish a round in just two hours I had to beg off because I had a 1200 PT appointment for my shoulder. So, he made a command decision to move tee time back to 0900.

This morning, at 0730, Doug called to say Lyle couldn’t make it at 0900 so I agreed to just join them at 1000 and leave when I had to go for my PT. On the way to the golf course, I stopped by the PT place and inquired about changing my appointment due to conflicting engagements. Crystal and Terry were happy to oblige, so I was good to go.

It was an incredibly beautiful day. Clear, sunny and warm. Just perfect. I started off pretty good and finished the first hole in single digits. That’s a goal I don’t normally achieve. From there I kinda fiddled around, hitting the ball badly like I usually do, then something clicked and I started swinging slower and actually watched the ball throughout my entire swing. It’s amazing what happens when you do that. The ball actually went straight, and I started to look like a real golfer. I kinda felt like one, too. Turns out I was the only one in the group to par a hole, and I bogied 3-4 others. When the count was done Lyle and I tied at 52, JP had 53 and Doug had a 54. Very unusual because I never beat, or tie, those guys. This is for nine holes, by the way. We don’t do 18 like real golfers because it’s just too far. And, for us, low 50’s is good, especially for JP and me because we have 36 handicaps. We’re really that bad. But, we have a great time.

After the game we headed to Fultano’s in Scappoose for lunch. I called Diane to see if she wanted to join us, but she was having a good time pawing through ‘stuff’ at the senior center store in St. Helens and declined. Then I called Jack’s cell, which he didn’t answer, I was sure, because he was working. Then I called his house and got Wynette who confirmed that. So, I asked her out to lunch and she accepted.

Lunch was great and we had a good visit with all the Peal brothers, Jerry, JP, and Doug. Then I took Wynette home and went to work on Jack’s laptop. I was supposed to call him yesterday afternoon, but forgot. He called me while I was getting dressed after seeing the cardiologist and literally caught me with my pants down. I suppose I could have ignored the call, but didn’t, and asked if I could call back, which I didn’t do.

He had a unique problem which baffled me for the entire time I was there. He has a Verizon hot spot for his phone and internet because he’s too far away from any kind of reasonably priced cable installation. It works really well both at home, and on the road. I couldn’t, however, get his computer to connect to it. The little wireless light just wouldn’t turn the correct color, white, indicating connection and internet access. I tried everything I could think of and wasn’t having any luck at all.

Then, around 1630, Diane texted me asking if I’d run off into a ditch or something because I’d been gone for about 7 hours. It was a reasonable question, and I was amazed that so much time had passed by unnoticed as I fought with Jack’s laptop. Then, right as I answered Diane’s text, apologizing for not letting her know what I was doing, Jack’s laptop connected and everything appeared to work just like normal. It makes me wonder, a lot, if only Diane had texted me earlier, if the laptop would have worked then. It was like magic. I walked away without a clue about what made it finally work, except for Diane’s scathing text.

From there I went right to Church for our Lenten Service. Diane made her excellent vegetable soup.

Kathryn showed up with chicken noodle soup, and three guests … her son John, his fiancé Brittany, and her son Dominick. I sat next to John and, obeying my inquisitive nature, inquired about the musical note on his hand asking if he was a musician. “Percussion,” he said to which I replied that “I played the snare drum in my high school band.” Just one drum, not a set like he surely does. This conversation continued to reveal layers of substance. Then I mentioned the Trojan Swamp Monster band that our son Jeff is working with. Turns out John knows Jeff, Logan, and Shene, and visited our old house down by the river at some point in the past. I do not remember meeting him, but apparently we did.

Just one more “Small World” indicator for me. For Jeff, his name is John Wold. Remember?

Now it’s late and I must reattach my heart monitor and retire for the night.

I’ll leave you with an image that just never gets old. This is looking back up the 5th fairway with Mt. St. Helens gleaming bright. Life is good.
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Spelling, In General …

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OK, I admit I’m far from the best speller, and I probably couldn’t get very far in a Spelling Bee with a bunch of 7th graders, but I take a lot of pride in limiting the errors I make. So does Diane. I’ve recently learned that she needs to read everything I’m ready to submit before I Push That Button. She’s made that pretty clear. It’s really good for her to have my back, to help me correct potentially embarrassing errors from reaching the public’s eye balls.

Both Diane and I read news articles with a critical eye to spelling and errors jump out at us all the time. I bet most of you readers do the same thing. Maybe not intentionally, but errors do pop out, don’t they?

I was just reading an article on Fox Sports about Ritchie Incognito beating up his $300K Ferrari with a baseball bat in which they mentioned that a “neigbor” noticed damage to the vehicle. It’s understandable, in my opinion, that Ritchie released his rage on his car, but not so much when you learn he did it with a baseball bat. Why didn’t he use his Dolphins helmet? Oh, wait! He doesn’t have that any more, does he?

I guess I can forgive Fox Sports for spelling neighbor incorrectly because they obviously misunderstood the new rules regarding the use of “gh” in most words. In neighbor, it’s silent so why bother using them. It’s a waste of time and bandwidth to add them to words where they don’t make sense. It should simply be neibor. The new rules also apply to all words containing “ough”, like tough, and rough. They will simply be spelled phonetically, as all words should be in the first place.

I must admit that I’ve ignored the new rules myself and named one of my dogs Ghydeaux, and I’m not going to change it.

I could go on and on about spelling, but the longer I do that, the more prone I will be to error. So, I must get off that subject. Besides, why did God allow someone to invent spell checkers if he wanted us to be good spellers? Spellcheckers open up an entirely new arena for discussion regarding grammar, another favorite of mine.

I had coffee with the MELCA guys at the Kozy again this morning. In attendance was Larry, Larry, Jeff, and Jerrie. I know you knew I was there, but had to add my name so it rhymed. Once again we solved many of the problems threatening the world today, as we do every Thursday. Since I was missing last week, I don’t know what was solved last Thursday. They wouldn’t tell me and I wasn’t going to guess. Again. It gets me too excited, like Hammy in “Over The Hedge”. Remember him?

After all that coffee I went to our church to retrieve Diane’s Mom’s card table and clothes rack, and to change the sign board out front. It was still advertising the quilt show from two weeks ago. Now it isn’t.

While resting on the couch next to my lovely bride she asked, “guess what would be really good for dinner tonight?” With barely a pause I said, “Chinese food from the Safeway deli!” Her eyeballs lit right up like she couldn’t believe I was correct, but I knew I was. She mentioned that a couple of days ago, and I remembered! Now that is significant.

I offered to go get it, which she allowed. I drove down there, went in and hardly had a chance to look over the choices when a clerk popped up, like out of nowhere. I started rattling off what I wanted then reached for the wallet that wasn’t in its customary spot in my back pocket. Excusing myself, I went back home, getting the mail along the way, and delivered it to Diane, so she would have something to do while I went back to Safeway, retrieved my wallet and phone from my couch table and calmly walked away. Although it really didn’t need to be said, she did it anyway, asking if I “forgot my wallet.”

That was my chance to end the day on a positive note and I blew it. Forgot my wallet. Guess I need one of those biker wallets with a chain on it.

PDX Embassy Suites – First Stop

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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.