Astoria, Soccer, Crabs, Clams, Cod, & Cow

Posted on July 16, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Today was a really good one. We drove to Astoria to watch the girls play soccer and to celebrate Jewel’s last day of her antibiotics and her return to semi-normalcy. It’s “semi” because I believe we’re all in agreement that none of are every truly normal. Something is always out of whack in one way or another.

The trip to Astoria began at noon under a dark, cloudy sky with the slight promise of a little rain. We knew the girls would play rain or shine so the weather prospects weren’t relevant. As we neared our destination, Duggar’s in Warrenton, so we could eat lunch first, the sky showed a slim promise of sunshine, but it didn’t last. Thankfully, however, it wasn’t cold.

Lunch was awesome. Lydia had chicken strips and a cup of clam chowder, Diane had a halibut sandwich, Jennie had a Duggar Cheeseburger, Jewel had fried clams, and I had my customary, trip to the beach Crab Louie. There’s nothing quite as good as a crab louie made with fresh Dungeness crab. I’m sure some of you may disagree, but that’s OK. I regret that I failed to take a photo of our meals to share. I do have this one, however, that we ate with Diane’s Mom, Jean, the other day:

It was pretty good, too. Got it from Zhen’s in St. Helens. For folks familiar with St. Helens, and even those who aren’t, Zhen’s used to be Lucky Inn.

After lunch, we went a bit further down Highway 101 to visit Petco so Jen and Lydia could get a halter and collar for their new cat, Beau. He’s all gray and very cute. His new collar has a bow tie on it. I’ll share a photo when I get one. Whether you want me to, or not.

One the shopping was done we parted ways. Lydia had to be at the field by 4 pm but the game didn’t start until 5 Diane, Jewel, and I headed further West to the Pacific Ocean. Jewel has been whining that she hasn’t seen the Pacific Ocean for years, forgetting, apparently, that she lived on an island surrounded by the same ocean for the last 8 years or so. One of us pointed that out and she rephrased her whine that she hadn’t seen the PO from Oregon in a very long time. So, we rectified that. It wasn’t hard for Diane to go that extra step because she makes up reasons to visit the coast. Sadly, we don’t do it often enough for either of us. It’s a great place to be and there’s just nothing quite as pretty as an Oregon beach even on the worst of days.

We drove through Fort Stevens to the very end where the road terminates in a parking lot on the Columbia River side of the park. Along that stretch is a very nice beach that was being put to good use when we arrived. We didn’t stay long because the object, after all, was for us to reach the ocean. Back tracking a bit we stopped at the parking lot for the South Jetty, took a short walk to a viewing tower, and got our ocean fix for the day. Here’s proof:

After the Kodak Moment it was time for us to head for the soccer field so we wouldn’t miss anything.

The game was fun to watch, but not as exciting as normal because it was just a scrimmage between the two teams. They played almost a full game during which the Astoria goalie made some pretty incredible stops. They scored against Lydia once off a corner kick. The reason they scored was because she didn’t have any defenders to help and just before the kick one of our coaches was yelling at our girls to get away from the goal for some reason. Anyway, it paid off for Astoria because they got it in the net and there wasn’t a thing Lydia could have done to stop it. It ended 1-0.

When the game was mostly done, they called it and regrouped for another round but the Astoria goalie shed her gear to play in the field leaving the keeperless. Fortunately, St. Helens has two goalies so one, Morgan, was loaned to Astoria. St. Helens scored against her once and Lydia kept the other goal clear so the day ended in a 1-1 tie, I guess. Then we went home. Diane made me drive.

The day before yesterday Jeff showed up with his three youngest children and we had a great visit. It’s always fun when they are around because they are so full of energy. That’s Gilligan, Baylee, Diane, and Jerrie.

And here’s a sunset I failed to share with you on July 10th. Sorry about that.

Now it’s late and we’re having our final visit with Cedric tomorrow before he ships out for boot camp. He has to be in Portland Monday but doesn’t leave until Tuesday after taking his official oath of enlistment. We get to witness that at 9 am Tuesday, then it’s hands off Cedric until his first leave because once he swears in he belongs to the Navy, not us. We’re all excited for him and he’s ready to go. Has been for months.

I’ll be back when my head gets cluttered with stuff I don’t want there any more.

Edited 7/17/2016: Had to change Cod to Halibut in the narrative to make the story more factual. But, I left it Cod in the title because Halibut doesn’t begin with a “C”.

My Feet, Diabetes Type II, and The VA

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Good news! My feet are in great shape. I know that’s true because a Podiatrist told me so today. He works at the VA and I was sent to see him because I have Type II Diabetes, something relatively new for me, and my primary care doc wanted to ensure my feet were in good working order. You know, not all cracked and bleeding. Sure, she could have looked at them herself, but apparently she’s been trained mainly on things to do with ones innards, not outtards. So, off to the podiatrist.

It was a long wait. Something over two months. Perhaps you know that the VA is offering alternate care for folks who can’t be seen within 30 days. Well, it’s not what it’s cracked up to be. I was called by the folks who offer the alternative care when they were made aware of the long delay, but the trouble is, that was about 1.5 months into my wait. Since the original appointment was just around the corner I told them to forget it. I wasn’t in all that big of a hurry anyway. There’s a perfectly good pair of wire cutters that I use for toe nails and, apparently, according to my Podiatrist, I’m doing OK with them. So, I shall continue.

I had a toenail job at a salon once that Diane had arranged for me, and that was interesting. That was many years ago and I haven’t felt the need to return. The lady who did my toes kind of concerned me when she got into some really heavy breathing toward the end of my treatment. I’m sure she was very into feet. That’s OK, but it was a little disconcerting. Perhaps I’ll give it another try soon, I’m sure, since I have this affliction and it’s way easier for someone else to deal with my feet than me. They seem to be getting farther and farther away.

I have neuropathy, too. In my left foot. It’s not bad. Yet. My Podiatrist told me, and Diane, who was in the room with me, that he has patients who suffer from the burning pain of neuropathy all the time. What I have is actually nothing compared to that. Just a little numbness in spots. The main spot is in the ball of my foot and has caused me concern for years because it feels exactly like my sock is wadded up right in that area. I’ve learned, over time, that no amount of pulling on my sock will fix it. My heart hurts for those who suffer from such advanced versions of neuropathy. It’s pretty brutal. So, Jerrie’s going to take good care of his feet.

I’m one of the lucky ones, so far. I just take pills and make sure I don’t pig out on food that has a lot of Carbs in it. Seems to be working just fine.

I’ve sat here way too long past my bedtime so have to quit before Diane gets cranky with me.

Later

Jess, Our Girls, Calendars, Cookies, and a Mystery

Posted on July 10, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

It’s a cold, dark and dreary Sunday morning, fitting for the day after a solemn farewell to Jess. She was only 38 years old when she died in an automobile accident last month. This event, and the subsequent memorial service is significant because Jess is Ceiarra’s, Enola’s, and Chloe’s Mom. Three great kids caught up in the turmoil of custody battles over the past few years and then losing their Mom before the dust settled.

Another significant aspect is that Ceiarra and Lydia are probably the best friends ever in the world of how best friends treat each other. It’s an amazing bond they have and one, I’m sure, that helped them both absorb the shock of this loss with minimal damage. Jess will be missed, but she will always be loved by those who were dear to her, and she will never be forgotten by anyone who ever had the privilege of knowing her.

Here’s our girls – Lydia and Ceiarra.

Tomorrow’s Monday and I have Physical Therapy on Tuesday. That means I only have one day to do all the exercises I missed since last Thursday. Dang.

Whitney, our neighbor, paid us a visit earlier this evening wanting to borrow oatmeal. That’s what she said. Really, I think, she came over to make the dogs bark. I’m sure I’m wrong about that, however, because they bark at anyone who knocks on the door … or drives by. Or simply walks by … on a street 1/4 mile away. They are very alert. Anyway, Whitney said she’d bring us cookies if she could borrow some oatmeal. Of course we gave her all we had. In about 10 minutes she was back with a plate of hot cookies and the remainder of the oatmeal. I swear it was a trick because I’ve never seen anyone make cookies that fast. I ate two of them right away. Good job, Whitney.

Diane and I share our calendars and it’s become a source of entertainment for me. The only entry for tomorrow is “Remember chicken – freezer to garbage”. So, she puts garbage in the freezer until garbage day. Interesting. I wonder how much of that I’ve eaten in the past while left alone long enough that I had to cook something to eat. Or starve. Maybe I should start reading the labels on that stuff.

Another thing I see, at least once a month, is “Jerrie cleans furnace air filters”. It’s funny because it’s stated like I actually do that. I thought all I had to do was reset the little timer thing that lets us know when to do it. I didn’t know it was an actual job. No doubt I’ll be hearing more about that in a little while.

Next Friday is Jerrie Ann Diane’s 5th birthday. My how time flies. She’s getting to be quite a little personality. Since she has Gilligan and Baylee to help with that, I wouldn’t expect anything less.

And, don’t forget that Gracie’s birthday is coming up next month and, according to Jim, she’s probably expecting a party. I don’t have a photo or I’d add one here.

On a parting note, I must share a pretty special thing that happened this morning. As previously reported, Jewel is residing with us. This morning she came out of her room holding a penny in the palm of her hand and asked us if we had lost it. She found it laying on the rug in her room as soon as she got up. But, we don’t go in her room, and that rug had been vacuumed more than once in the past week. What’s interesting is it was a 1913 penny. Both of our Mom’s were born in 1913 and they graduated from High School together in Nebraska. Jewel and I were both born in 1944 and graduated from High School together in Scappoose. Neither of our Mom’s were aware that they lived only a few miles apart for many years until my brother, Jack, figured out the relationship between them. What a surprise. So, the question is, how did the 1913 penny wind up on Jewel’s bedroom floor? And, what does it mean?

I leave you to ponder that as I prepare myself for bed.

G’nite.

Aunti Jo is 95, My Friends Larry & Larry, Hillary, and Weed Whacker Back

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

I went to coffee today, in the old truck, and had a nice visit with my friend Larry and my other friend Larry. I arrived early and was delighted to find Jack, my brother Jack’s brother-in-law. He was sitting with Jerry H. who wanted to know what Jewel and her husband did with the 1957 Corvette they used to have. I knew the answer but gave him Jewel’s phone number instead so he could ask her. Just so you know, she traded it in on a VW bug. I think.

I, Larry, and Larry solved many of the world’s problems between sips of coffee from cups that never ran dry. One of the big topics was Hillary and how she got away with lying to Congress and making supremely bad decisions as USSOS (United States Secretary of State). Our friend, James, said,

“While the FBI had found that Mrs. Clinton and her aides had been “extremely careless” in their handling of classified material, there was no clear evidence that anyone intentionally mishandled information, obstructed justice or appeared to be disloyal to the U.S. in the process.”

Makes me wonder how many people are in prison for doing exactly the same thing. The difference, of course, is those in prison are not privileged members of our society and don’t have the means to fight for their own cause.

The unwillingness of the FBI Director, James Comey, and our esteemed Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, to follow through with some sort of punishment for Hillary’s actions is proof that our laws are enforced using double standards that favor certain people.

Enough. Sorry.

Jewel has been very busy weed whacking and raking the remains off all the berms around the house. Today after my physical therapy session I joined the effort by doing some weed whacking of my own. I did so much weed whacking, for so long, that I literally burned up my plug-in whacker and thereby causing an end to my efforts for the day. I know it was burned up because it was smoking. It’s probably still under warranty but I have no idea where the receipt is. Thankfully we have one of the WORX 56V units that provides enough power to weed whack for more than enough time to cause damage.

As a result of our efforts, both Jewel and I have Weed Whacker Back, a terrible affliction that only certain kinds of wine and cheese can resolve. Since I don’t drink wine, I’m stuck with just cheese so my WWB won’t fade nearly as fast as Jewel’s.

While working on our WWBs Diane was busy doing laundry and cleaning the entire house with her trusty Shark Vacuum Cleaner so she wound up with a severe case of HC&LB (House Cleaning & Laundry Back). Still, she whipped up a tasty meal of left over chicken and beans, and added mashed potatoes, salad, and cream corn. It was pretty awesome. I also got a piece of Aunt Jo’s birthday cake that was served at the party honoring her 95th year on earth. Pretty amazing and she’s still going strong.

Now I must make my way to the living room where the TV is on and see if I can convince the owner of the remote to switch to something besides HGTV for a little while.

Cheers.

Hope The 4th Was With You, and Toilets

Posted on July 5, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

It is my sincere hope that all of you who celebrate the 4th of July with fireworks wound up with the correct number of fingers, toes, eyes, and ears this morning. There are many who dwell among us whose common sense, when lighting explosive things, fails them due to the influence of alcohol or other drugs of choice. When they wake up missing digits they will lament their decisions, just like all of those who served as bad examples before them. It’s amazing, don’t you think? History repeating itself over and over. I believe the prime reason for this kind of behavior is nature’s way of improving the gene pool.

We had a festive group at our house for a BBQ yesterday. The Walters Clan, The Cate clan, and new family member Jewel attended as did Diane’s Mom, Jean, who, if you remember, broke her wrist a little over a week ago. The brace provided by the orthodontist she visited helped a lot but we suspect her upcoming visit to an orthopedist will provide her with better broken bone management. She’s been told it may never heal, but what do orthodontists know. Teeth. That’s what they know. Not bones.

After all the eating was done we older members of society sat back and listened as the din of conversation subsided a little with each person who left. When all those who wear younger clothes were gone there was a brief sense of loss before the quiet seeped in. Then one of the neighbors set of a stick of dynamite that set off a bunch of car alarms.

Regarding dynamite. It’s apparently legal in Oregon. Only fireworks that leave the ground are illegal. So, of course, the majority of those exploding around us were airborne. Pretty, but totally illegal. Making it more fun is the uncut hay-field just below us. Thankfully, nothing caught on fire so I guess you could call it a successful 4th celebration.

Here’s an example of what transpired off to the south of our back porch.

Ziva, our black dog who enjoys lounging in bushes while outside, was very vocal about all the noise. Eventually she got used to it and only complained about the really loud ones that she could see and hear at the same time. She had a really good time, as did we.

This morning I visited my new physical therapist, Bret, who has already made my pain less. But, the day is not done.

My mission for today is to install our new tall toilet in my bathroom for Diane. She has trouble with short toilets. This will probably be an all day affair. I know because I’ve done it before and it always takes all day. For normal people it’s about a 30 minute job. Not me. I make it last because it’ so much fun. Last night I asked Diane if I should take the new toilet out of the box and put it in the bedroom so she could practice sitting on it, but she declined. I think she was afraid she might trip over it in the middle of the night while on her way to the short toilet. I would like to put the short toilet in the yard so we can use it for a Redneck BBQ and beer cooler combo … like this …

She’s not a fan. She won’t even consider making a planter out of it, like this …

Now, tell me. Who wouldn’t want something like that sitting on your front porch? I find it very welcoming and pleasant. But, no, we’ll just have to find someone in need of a short toilet and pass it along.

That’s about it for today.

Have a safe 5th as you finish off all those fireworks left over from yesterday.

Cedric’s Party & My Big Blue Yoga Ball

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

I gave Jewel my favorite Apple ear buds to use while working in the flower beds and the first thing she did was cut the cord with a pair of scissors. Consequently, she was tuneless for a while.

Diane and I were going to be camping at Big Eddy Park this week, but her Mom, Jean, decided to live on the edge last Friday and broke her wrist in 15 places. Trying to pull an unwanted tree out of the ground. To make a bad situation worse, it’s her right hand, the one she uses the most. So, with her right arm splinted and wrapped, she’s learning to use her left hand for all her needs and is doing a very nice job of it. Not bad for almost 89. It was only broken in one place and it’s not a complete separation, but I’m sure it hurts like one. Tramadol is making her life much easier and is also helping with her back pain. Mom is doing great and we could probably have gone camping but we’re more comfortable sticking around in case she get adventurous and breaks something else.

Yesterday was Cedric’s farewell party. He doesn’t leave for boot camp until July 17th, but the party had to be held early to ensure all of his friends could make it. It was well attended by all members of the family, many friends, and at least one new friend who recently arrived from Hawaii. We all ate a bunch of Subway sandwiches and had a great time. We even saw Cedric a couple of times as he passed through. He was a busy guy.

One of the highlights for me was that Ceiarra hugged me back. Made my day. She hasn’t done that in the past.

I had a new chair for my computer. It was a huge yoga ball and, surprisingly, it was very comfortable. It actually got me high enough that my keyboard was in an ergonomically correct position. Less tiresome to use for Jerrie’s little arms. Plus, I could bounce up and down a bit while working which satisfied my whimsical side. Everything was just great until about an hour ago when it blew up and dropped me about two feet to the floor. I landed on my little 72-year-old elbows, the back of my head (against the wall) and my skinny-ish butt. It was pretty exciting, I must admit. For about 1 second I was in total free fall so now I know how an astronaut feels in outer space. Really. I do. However, I bet their elbows, back and head don’t hurt once gravity returns.

I didn’t get up right away because I wasn’t sure if everything would work. This caused Diane concern and she wanted to call 911. I declined. I got up all by myself and don’t limp any worse from my sciatica than normal so I guess things will be alright. Until tomorrow morning, at least. My left elbow is already starting to swell from the impact so Diane will probably make me go to the doctor.

She’s gonna have to drag me there.

Cedric, Jewel, Diane, Doug, Junior, & Taylor

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Gee! It’s been a week since my last post and I can’t comprehend that amount of time slipping past me without registering. Just a blink of the eye and it’s gone. Perhaps I had a bunch of naps which could account for some of that time, but certainly not a week. I don’t think. Now I must reflect and see if anything interesting happened. If not, I’ll make something up.

First up is Cedric. He was 19 years old last Monday, the 13th. If you’ve read a few of these, you may already know that he’s poised for a trip to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center next month to begin boot camp. He enlisted on the Delayed Entry Program (DEP) a few months ago but had to wait for a spot. He’s excited about getting on with his life and we’re happy that he is finding his way. There will be more news about his progress as information is made available to me.

Last Monday, the 14th, was a double duty day for me because I was out of the house shortly after 6am to go help put out flags around town. Why did we do that, you may ask? It was Flag Day. One of those days that not may folks know about any more. So, now you have it. Keep that in mind for next year. It’s not a paid holiday, but one that gives us another opportunity to pay tribute to our Stars and Stripes.

After flags were in place, I made a trip to the St. Helens Golf Course for another round with the Peal Boys, Doug and Junior. That’s always a fun time. I actually played a pretty good round, too. Had two pars, one of which was a potential birdie. My drive made it to the green, something I’ve never done before. What fun is that!? Jimmie O wants to team up for a round at Wildwood soon so I’ll have an opportunity to see if I can survive 18 holes. There will be a report on that later, too, if I do good.

After golfing, we had a McBurgerville lunch then Doug dropped me by the doctor’s office for a scheduled visit with my cardiologist. This was the followup regarding the cardiac event I had a few weeks ago. I think it was a few weeks ago. I forget. Perhaps some of those brain cells that help me remember stuff got messed up somewhere along the road. That happens, and it’s OK. We all forget stuff. The one thing about forgetting stuff is where I am doing something up stairs and find I need “something” that’s in the basement but can’t remember what it is when I get down there. When that happens I walk around in my work shop and talk to my tools, and random pieces of wood, trying to get some help from them to remind me what I’m after. Generally I remember and find what I want, but sometimes I just find something else more interesting that what I was previously doing. When Diane discovers that I’m missing, she gets me back on track to finish the original task. She knows I forget, and I told her that it’s really only going to be a problem if I rush from the living room to the bathroom than can’t remember why I went there. I believe she has a stash of Depends somewhere to assist when that moment comes.

Thursday morning I had coffee with my friend, Larry. My other friend Larry played hooky so we didn’t have a quorum for the weekly meeting. Got to have three in case something comes up for a vote to ensure we don’t wind up with a tie. I believe the rest of that day was spent slumbering. I’m not sure. Diane may know. You’ll have to ask.

Friday we made a trip to Scappoose to pick up Jewel, our new gardener and dog sitter. She’s been on Hawaii, the Big Island, for the last 38 years, or so, (I’m guessing, of course), and is pretty much a native of Kailua/Kona. Coming back to the NW is like coming home for her. Thankfully the weather has cooperated, giving her a warm welcome. The sad thing about her return is that when we visit Kona we won’t have her to visit with. Because of that we may just not ever go there again. The good thing about her being here is she likes our dogs and she likes to pull weeds so we are applying a lot of pressure on her to just come live with us, like forever, or at least until she gets settled. She and I graduated from Scappoose High School together and it’s fun getting reacquainted after all these years. Because she was our Prom Queen I didn’t have a chance of ever dating her and now, look! We’re living together. It’s ok, though, because she and Diane are long time friends.

Friday afternoon we all went to the Riverfest Beer Garden down by the old court-house where we attended a OLCC training session about checking IDs for folks entering the area. We had to do that because Diane signed us up for a two-hour stint Friday evening. The training we received amounted to someone reading us a brochure that indicated the necessity of ensuring only competent adults were allowed in to drink beer then quickly shifted to “Signs of Visible Intoxication”. Here they are:

Bloodshot, glassy eyes
Slurred speech
Spilling drinks
Rambling conversation, loss of train of thought
Difficulty handling money, picking up change
Lack of focus and eye contact
Difficulty standing up
Stumbling
Swaying, staggering
Speaking loudly, then quietly
Difficulty remembering
Slow response to questions

After that list is a reminder to the trainee that drinking while on duty is against the law because serving alcohol responsibly requires a clear head. That kind of got me because we weren’t serving alcohol. We were just checking IDs. Still, it was part of the training. After that little pause, another bulleted list of “More Signs of Visible Intoxication”.

Can’t find mouth with glass
Mussed hair
Disheveled clothing
Loud and unruly
Urging other people to have another drink
Annoying other guests or servers
Aggressive or belligerent
Making inappropriate comments about others
Foul language
Sullen, moody

After having all of this read to us I was convinced that the list was made specifically for me because I have almost every one of those problems without ever consuming alcohol. The first set of bullets apply to me from the time I get up in the morning until after I have my afternoon meal. After the meal, the bottom set of bullets apply. Except for the foul language. I don’t do that. Can’t say I’ve never been guilty of that, but I don’t practice that form of communication any more. It’s not productive. Diane said.

While at Riverfest, I had a chance to greet Taylor and find out how school in Las Vegas is going for her. She was working in her Mom’s Yo Place Frozen Yogurt trailer.

Yesterday was a fun day in the yard for all of us. Jewel is a gem, no pun intended, and a hard worker. It’s to our advantage that she loves digging in the dirt. Diane decided that she would try mowing the lawn which turned into an adventure for both her, and me. I found some really good face masks that allowed her to be in the open air, covered with grass clippings, and still breathe normally. Without it she would have been so choked up she’d’ve had to stay in side. Grass is her main nemesis. That and strong perfume.

Anyway, I got her moving on the lawn mower, after jump starting it, then turned her loose. Since I forgot to show her about putting the ignition key in the correct position for mowing in reverse, I had to drag a battery and cables to her and get the mower going again. Then she did an absolutely perfect job mowing the front yard. Things went south when she moved around to the side yard and she discovered that getting around trees posed a problem for novice lawn mowers. First, she ran into the holly tree and killed the engine. That required another jump-start. Then she dropped one of the front wheels into a hole and killed the engine for another jump-start. The last one was when she got tangled up in the grape vines and couldn’t extract herself. Another jump-start. It got to the point that whenever I heard the mower stop I just deserted my blackberry vine eradication efforts and took the batter to wherever she was. The most entertaining episode, however, didn’t involve a killing the engine, but almost killing herself, so to speak. She was mowing around a low hanging forsythia, thinking it couldn’t be all that hard to slowly mow under the dangling branches. I just happened to look up and saw her flying out from under the branches at full speed, leaning back as far as she could to avoid contact, and it looked like she was riding a bucking bronco. All she would have had to do was put one hand in the air to prove she wasn’t hanging on with both hands. What happened was when she leaned back she pushed the forward hydrostatic clutch lever all the way down and didn’t realize it as she fought to extract herself from the scratchy branches with minimal injury. It took her a good 30 feet to stop because she was going downhill, and when I got to her she was in hysterics, having a great time. It was really funny, and I’m glad she didn’t hurt herself. Just wish I could’ve had a video camera at the ready when I saw her take off.

Since nothing can top the mower episode, I’m going to quit. Diane’s looking forward to finishing up the back yard tomorrow. I’ll be standing by with the camera this time.

Cheers!

Good News, Bad News, and Just News

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Yesterday was a lot of fun, sad, and brutal. Contradictory terms, I know, but it’s all true. Fun because, well, I was able to attain a vertical position, again, we were able to stay up until eleventy-thirty for a farewell visit with Ashlee and Mike, and the Walters clan joined the fray in to regain custody of their vehicle which they loaned Ashlee and Mike for the duration of their apartment hunting visit. Sad because we were saying goodbye to the newest members of our extended family. Brutal because we stayed up until eleventy-thirty then had to get up Oh-Dark-Thirty (2:00 am) for the trip to the airport.

OK – that’s all done now. Diane and I dropped Ashlee & Mike at the United sign, got goodbye hugs, then returned home around 4:00 am. We were in bed by 4:01 and both of us slept like logs. Well, one of us did. I was up at 7 to feed the dogs, who were confused with all the commotion, then went back down until 11:30. Diane remained prone until 12:30. She always has to outdo me on things like that. I can’t prove it, but I’m pretty sure she knows when the dogs wake up but pretends to sleep so I’ll get up and feed them. Her fitbit backs her up so I can’t really challenge her about that. Besides, it’s the least I can do, get up to feed the dogs, when she feeds me so well. I really don’t mind. Honest.

The really good news about the A&M visit is that A found an apartment to rent and will be returning soon to take up residence and begin her doctoral studies at Pacific University. Here are a couple of pics taken to commemorate the visit – Mike & Ashlee are the young ones, in case you didn’t know.

This is of all the ‘kids’ who were left standing at the end of the night from tallest to smallest.

Since we got up late enough to have breakfast for lunch, and it’s pouring buckets of rain, I’ve been given the day off. Can’t mow, can’t pull weeds, can’t trim “stuff”, can’t weed whack, and it’s too humid to mow anything so I’ll just fiddle around. So, I read the news.

With all the news about Muhammad Ai passing, a sad loss I confess, but there is a lot more happening out there in the world. And other places.

NASA’s Juno spacecraft, for instance. The JUpiter Near polar Orbiter was launched on August 5th, 2011 and is scheduled to enter orbit around Jupiter on July 4th, a mere 24 days away. That’s quite a hike. I can’t help but wonder what the citizens of Jupiter will think when they see our JUNO buzzing around their planet. Will they be happy? Will they feel threatened? Will they retaliate? Guess we’re going to find out.

Then there’s the knucklehead, and his knucklehead sister, who wandered off a designated path and fell into a very hot acidic pool in Yellowstone National Park. I wonder what their drug of choice was that caused them to think it was a good idea. There was no further news about the sister, and her brother’s death is purely speculation because there was no body left to recover. He’s probably headed for Arizona where he will hide out while his sister waits the required seven years to cash in on the 2 million dollar life insurance policy she took out on her brother just a few days before the plunge. That’s a guess, of course. It might be 3 million.

That’s enough news. I’m going to quit, now, and maybe draw something. Diane bought me a $60 set of water-color pencils (for $4 at Goodwill) and I have a new drawing pad, so should give it a shot and see what happens. Could be interesting. Never done anything like that before. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Home At Last, and Other Stuff

Posted on June 9, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Yes, we’re home. At last.

After a leisurely transit of I-84, an overnight stay at the Wild Horse Casino in Pendleton, and past the site of the Oil Train Fire in Mosier, we reunited the dogs with a great deal of happy barking. It quickly became annoying because we haven’t heard if for over a week. Once they sensed our displeasure from our repetitive request to stop, they stopped. I suspect, however, they stopped simply because they wanted to do. We had no influence on their decision.

Before stopping at Wild Horse Casino we made a stop in La Grande to get gas and visit our Niece-Niece Maryssa who is attending Eastern Oregon University which, happily, is in La Grande. We had a nice visit sitting in our trailer, near the tennis courts on Sixth Street. It would have been nice if we could have enjoyed lunch together but we had the Big Black Dog (Ziva) and it was too hot to leave her alone in either the trailer or the pickup. As a lunch alternative, and a farewell gesture, we gave her all the frozen food remaining from our trip. I believe that caused a little remorse for all those times she ignored us when she was 6-12 years old. That’s an incentive to bring her food every time we see her. We’re making plans now. Something about strawberries I think.

Pendleton to home was uneventful except for an extremely windy 20 miles or so before exiting the Columbia River Gorge in Troutdale. It’s always windy there. I didn’t worry about it because Diane was driving. If the trailer had tipped over, it wouldn’t have been my fault. Wouldn’t have been her fault, either, but, you know, she was driving.

We got home on Monday, as planned. Then yesterday Diane got up early so she could make it to PDX by 0900 to get Ashlee and her fiancé Mike who flew in from Wisconsin. I couldn’t do it because I had to visit my dentist, Dr. Grim and get my teeth cleaned by Cheryl at 0900. Ashlee is half of a set of twins belonging to Lars & Barbara; Lars belongs to Butch & Margo, our long-time friends who live in Wisconsin. Mike and Ashlee’s flight arrived early so we all got home about the same time. The reason for the visit was for Ashlee to find living accommodations while she attends Pacific University to get her PhD in physical therapy. Mike is a Manufacturing Engineer seeking employment in the greater Portland area.

Today I went golfing with the Peal brothers. Diane insisted. It was a good day for all of us because none of us died out there on the course. I informed Diane of the agreement we golfers have in case one of us bites the big one while out there having all that fun. No matter which hole it happens on, we will finish the round. The two remaining golfers will play best ball for the deceased member who will be strapped into one of the carts we use. I initially thought we would have to drag the non-playing member from hole to hole, but Doug suggested just putting them in one of the open seats. Bungee cords are now part of our golfing equipment to ensure we have enough to hold a body on the cart. Then, once the round is complete, we will call 911 to report the loss then go hold a memorial lunch at Burgerville. If one of the married guys check out, the losing wife will be notified so she can attend the lunch. It’s the right thing to do.

We all made it through our standard nine holes so it was a successful day. I couldn’t attend the lunch that normally follows our golf game because I had to be home in time to take Ozzie to his hair dresser at 1300. I also had to get some drain cleaner for the kitchen sink. It’s been running a bit slow and finally jammed shut this morning. I figured we’d need to wash dishes some time this evening so it was necessary to visit ACE. That’s my first trip to ACE in a couple of weeks which is a modern-day record for me.

The cleaner worked and the sink now drains just fine. I’m sure you are all happy to know that. I can smell the chemical at the top of the basement stairs so the Pro drain cleaner I used may have eaten a hole in one of the drain pipes. I looked around down there but couldn’t find any evidence of a leak but I don’t go down there very often so I don’t view it as a problem. Diane’s washing machine, dryer, and ironing board are down there, however, so will let me know if she discovers something amiss. She has to go to the basement because it’s her job. I’d help but she won’t let me. Apparently that chenille sweater I dried in the dryer 8 years ago, and subsequently extracted most of from the vent filter, ensured I wouldn’t have to do laundry for a long time.

Since I’m not making a lot of sense, and because my right foot hurts, I think I’ll just terminate this. My foot hurts because I have a bout of gout in the large toe. We don’t know why. No doubt it’s something I ate but, since I’ve eaten a lot of “stuff” lately it would be are to pick out one thing that may have caused it. So, I will just continue to limp and eat whatever Diane gives me.

It’s 2000 now, and we haven’t seen Ashlee or Mike all day. We were considering that it might be time to start worrying when Ashlee texted Diane to let her know they were on their way back to St. Helens. That’s a good thing.

Now I’m eating popcorn for supper so I really gotta quit.

Wallow Lake, Nampa, Oil Trains

Posted on June 4, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

As I write this portion, I’m sitting in a 26-31 foot travel trailer in Wallowa Lake State Park with my First Wife, Diane. The 26-31 foot reference is because Oregon DMV and the seller were at odds as to how long the trailer really is. Of course we went with DMVs 31 foot guess because that allows us to pay more for license plates. But, I tricked them because I invoked my right of licensing one vehicle using my VA entitlements and chose to transfer them from Diane’s pickup to the trailer. Saved me $200.

For those of you who aren’t acquainted with Oregon, Wallowa Lake is just south of Joseph, Oregon in the NE corner of the state, and the Wallowa Lake State Park is at the extreme southern end of the lake. Unless you want to travel on some unchartered roads, there’s one way in, and one way out. On that road is Joseph, Oregon which is named for, and the burial place of, Chief Joseph of the Nez Pierce tribe. We stopped to ponder our shadows in the stream that runs through the town. That’s Ziva on the left, Diane, then me.

The lake is beautiful, surrounded by mountains known as the Little Alps by locals. From the distance, say I-84, the Little Alps are always visible and almost always topped with snow. Very pretty. They are also visible from the lake and I’m here to tell you that the nice warm days don’t turn into nice pleasant nights. I gets down to freezing this time of year. That’s true because the Ranger told me so, and I went out side at night to see for myself. It was cold. Made parts of me shrivel right up.

The trip to get here from our designated domicile took about 9 hours. In a car it would have only been around 6 hours but we were towing a trailer, and we had Ziva, the big black dog, with us. So, 3 hours were spent stopping for gas, stopping for the bathroom, and stopping to eat.

Ziva is a very good traveller who didn’t whine one time for us to stop, and never once asked “are we there yet?” Then, after we arrived, she was perfectly content to just lay on her new cushion in the trailer all night and didn’t wake anyone up at all. Because of that we figure that Ozzie is the culprit who instigates the 5 am rise time. The big girls are OK, but he wants out so everyone has to get up. Here in the wilderness, Ziva finds the dog exercise area lots of fun. No leash to ruin whatever mood may strike her.

She also thinks hanging out in the trailer is pretty OK.

Here at the lake, Diane’s been treating me with some very fine meals. No doubt I’m going to get fatter. Currently, I don’t care. It’s all very tasty. All meals have been totally consumed, then today we had hot dogs and chili. The chili was all consumed, but there was a minor accident when I discovered some mustard had spilled on my Dickies. Fortunately, I was able to scrape and scrub it off before our trip to Joseph this afternoon. I was happy I wasn’t wearing Levis because Dickies is far more fun to say.

… here’s a pause …

It’s been a few days since I started this so please forgive me if specifics get a little jumbled and out-of-order. Then, again, it’s kind of normal that way, isn’t it?

Since I messed up my Dickies, things have happened. If I’m lucky I might remember some of them.

From Wallowa Lake we motored to Nampa, Idaho where we wound up parked in the driveway of a long-time friend of Gracie H. It’s my understanding that they’ve known each other for more years than most people have been alive. I’m sure that’s true because our hosts were pretty specific about that. Now, I’m saying Gracie is old, but it doesn’t matter, anyway, because she’s at least older than me. Considering my limited seniority, that leaves a lot of wiggle room for corrections.

We’ve been here in Nampa for two days and think our hosts are trying to tell us it’s time to move along down the road. Instead of sitting on their back patio, our chairs were moved to the front, next to the trailer. Looks like a pretty specific suggestion to me.

I took three naps on Friday (yesterday), and had a great dinner at Honkers to celebrate Bob’s birthday. No one knows how old he is so I’m just going to guess he’s 40-something. He just has the look. I ate steak, Diane and Daniel had French Dip, and everyone else had Steak Fingers. Sadly, Gracie was unable to make it so we just sat around and talked about her.

After dinner we returned to the trailer and began the process of shutting down for the evening. It’s getting really hard to visually determine bedtime because it doesn’t get dark until 10:30 pm here.

Around noon on Friday an oil train, the kind that explodes and kills people, derailed in Mosier, Oregon which sits next to I-84, the desired way to get home. Reports are that the freeway will be closed for at least the next 3 days while officials can deal with the fire that ensued after the derailment. Fortunately, no one was injured. One person, it may have been Bob, speculated that some oil official probably caused the accident so they could raise the price of gas. Wouldn’t surprise me.

Today, Saturday, Diane discovered that I-84 has been opened to traffic both ways, “with restrictions.” Perhaps by tomorrow, our required departure date from this driveway, those restrictions will have been lifted. We’ll see. Our hosts are going to church in the morning and we have been instructed to be gone before they return.

Perhaps next time we come to Nampa we’ll just stay with Gracie.