Flags for Vets, Small World Stuff, & Chinese Food

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

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.

70, Family, Friends, Music, & Tall Grass

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

Today is my 70th birthday which means tomorrow I embark on my 8th decade of existence on planet Earth. I’m not yet sure how long I’ve really existed, however, because I have no empirical evidence that I did. Just “things” in my head that surely must be triggered by ancient memories about which I know nothing. Some I’ve shared. Some I can’t because I can’t format my limited words into a coherent statement well enough to describe some of the things I see when I close my eyes. Every time I do that I am treated to proof, to me, that thought is faster than a neutrino. As everyone knows, neutrinos were measured to travel faster than the speed of light, a speed that Einstein’s theory of relativity showed to be an absolute value. Nothing could travel faster. It was a speed limit of sorts. Now it’s been broken. But, the speed of thought can transport me millions of light years away in the blink of an eye.

Sorry about that. I kind of got sidetracked by a documentary I watched while checking this out.

Now, on to more important things like what I did today … first, however, I want to thank everyone who took the time to remember me today. I didn’t know I had so many friends, and family members older than me who could type. You all made me feel very special today. Thank you all!

Doug called me yesterday and suggested I join him and JP for another classic round of golf at the St. Helens Golf Course today at 0930. I said “yes” and told Diane who heartily agreed that I should go and enjoy the day. Besides, she’s working on the election counting board at the court-house today and probably won’t be home until some time Wednesday morning. So, I was released into the wild, free of supervision for an entire day.

At 0915 I headed for the golf course, arriving about 0925. It’s not very far away. Maybe 4 miles on back roads. We sat in the parking lot waiting for someone to arrive to give us a cart because we can’t make it around the course on foot like we used to. That person didn’t arrive until 1000, and the key to the golf cart barn wasn’t discovered until about 1030. By then the sun had risen that extra hour, causing us to be uncomfortably warm. Still, away we went.

It was fun, and we had a great visit. Since it was my birthday, I wasn’t allowed to spend money so my round, and share of the cart, were free for me. What a treat. Then we went to lunch at Fultano’s in Scappoose, something that’s verging on becoming a traditional stop after golf.

Before going to Scappoose, however, I had to back track to home and get some keys that I needed to deliver to the church. Coming in the back way, as I turned down N. Vernonia Road, I saw Diane heading down the street ahead of me as she had just pulled out from our street. I waved, but I’m sure she didn’t see me as I turned toward home.

Since Diane had just left the house, the dogs weren’t the least bit impressed that someone opened the garage door. They couldn’t have cared less, in fact. They didn’t make a peep. I gathered the keys I needed and headed off to church, dropped the keys, then went directly to Fultano’s where I found Doug and JP sitting outside, in the hot sun, waiting for me. I figured they would be inside, but they chose to make me feel really bad for the delay by sitting out there dripping sweat everywhere.

We had the meal and Doug made me feel worse, in a way, because he insisted on paying for my lunch. I didn’t think that was fair since he and JP had paid for golf, but apparently I wasn’t convincing enough and I didn’t want to get into a shouting match with my friends. So, I graciously accepted the gesture knowing that at some point in the future I’ll have a chance to reciprocate.

From lunch I went directly to the DMV to get my new driver’s license. I needed to do that so I can drive tomorrow because my old one expired today. That means, theoretically, if I went some place at 2359 this evening my license would expire at 0000 and I would no longer be able to drive. I’m not sure how that works, like if my arms would just freeze up causing me to miss a corner, or if the vehicle I was in would stop working. Not wanting to tempt fate, I thought it would be best to just get it done.

I walked into the DMV, took my number, and was immediately called to the counter. It was amazing! Normally I have to wait at least an hour or so to be called, but I got right in. The fact that I was the only customer in the place may have had something to do with that, but it was still a treat. Traditionally, the DMV is always crowded.

As soon as I got to the counter, and started laying out the paperwork necessary for my new license, and my new disabled pass, I realized I was missing a crucial piece of ID. My passport. Either that, or a birth certificate was necessary to prove I’m a real citizen and worthy of getting my license renewed. I was given a little stamped piece of paper and sent off to get the passport.

When I returned the parking lot was full and I knew I was doomed to a long wait. However, I learned the little piece of paper was a special front of the line pass and again was beckoned directly to the counter upon entering the office. Another treat for my birthday. Additionally, I was served by a fellow retired Chief Petty Officer named John, who just happens to be Diane’s cousin. That’s handy. We have things in common.

John checked my eyes to make sure they worked, took my picture without specs so the NSA’s facial recognition will be able to detect me if I’m ever kidnapped, or rob a bank, gave me my documents, and sent me on my way. It was about the best ever visit I’ve had to the DMV.

From there I went directly home where I checked the bag I found on the front porch during my previous visit because I didn’t have time to check it then. It contained two pints of grape jelly from our friend Jeannie E who made the jelly from the grapes she harvested from our vines. I’m looking forward to my next PB&J with a strange new desire because of this. Maybe I’ll have one for breakfast.

Yesterday I got a birthday card in the mail from Susan who lives in Connecticut. She’s my Sister-In-Law Ruth’s granddaughter so suspect she some sort of niece of mine. I figure that’s true because she, and her siblings, as well as Sarah, call me Uncle Jerrie. They call Diane Aunt Diane, too, just to reinforce my belief. I also got cards in the mail from PGE and my insurance company. I liked Susan’s the best. I got many other cards, too, but they weren’t delivered in the mail and I really liked them, too.

I sat down on in my recliner for about an hour waiting for Jennie, Cedric, Lydia, & Jeran to arrive with dinner. I was told to do nothing, so I didn’t. They arrived with spaghetti (my favorite), french bread (my favorite) and a tray of cucumber, carrot, and radish (my favorite) slices. We had a terrific dinner and had time to visit a bit before it was made known that they had also arrived with a festive bag for me.

In the bag were cards from the kids, and from Jennie. Both had buttons which I will wear with pride. I’ll take a picture when I do so you can see them. The children’s button says I’m the “#1 Grandpa”. Jennie’s reports that “My Daughter is #1”, which she truly is. I also got a crafty picture frame and a unique rendition of a family tree which Jennie started with her thumbprint in green for leaves. It came with red paint so all the grandchildren can add their thumbprints as fruit. Very cool and especially excellent because it’s home-made.

After the gifts were given, Jennie, Cedric, and Jeran left because Jeran had to be at the high school to participate in his final choral recital of the year. He had to be there by 1830 for the 1900 show. Lydia stayed with me because she had some home work to do and it wasn’t time for us to go yet.

Then Jeff, Heather, Gilligan, Baylee, and Jerrie showed up to round out the day of special events. The girls are such a joy and I love them very much. I love their Mom and Dad very much, too. I was given a tie-dyed T-shirt, that they helped create, proclaiming me to be a “The World’s Best Grandpa, Hands Down”. Then all three girls were given a color of paint which they used to apply their hand prints to the front of the shirt. Since Lydia was here, she got to add hers, too. I will get Cedric’s & Jeran’s the next time they are here. It’s very awesome.

After the visit Lydia and I headed for the high school for the recital. We were a bit late, and the parking lot was more than full, so I parked illegally in a loading zone. It was OK. I was next to someone else who had parked there first. There wasn’t going to be any loading during the recital.

We got inside just as the acapella choir was finishing their opening bit. It was dark, and we couldn’t see right away, so couldn’t find the seats that were being saved for us. Lydia’s eyes adjusted quickest and she led me in. Though I stepped on the toes of a few strangers, no one complained because they just didn’t care.

The recital is put on by choral groups from 7th through 12th grades so there are a lot of kids involved. Jeran is finishing up 8th grade this year so we hadn’t missed him as his class came on as the third group. All the kids were sitting in the front rows of the auditorium and when Jeran’s class stood up to go on stage he was immediately prominent as one of the tallest. They did awesome, as did all the other groups and grades. One advanced group performed a piece that lasted about 15 minutes. It was an incredible amount of words and melodies to remember but they did it perfectly.

For the finale, some of the kids went on stage to the risers, others lined the sides of the auditorium, and the remainder stood and faced the audience as they all sang an incredibly beautiful rendition of “Hallelujah“. Whenever I hear the song I get totally mesmerized by the melody and have never really listened to the lyrics. I have to admit that they don’t seem to fit with the beauty of the melody, but the combination, to me, is very beautiful to hear, especially in 4-part harmony by such a large group. Had I been the least bit aware, and used only a tiny bit of my little used brain,
I would have taken a video of the performance, but all I have is one photo.

Jeran is the tallest one, center, of the row facing the audience. He did a great job. All the kids did a great job and I loved all 2 hours of it.

Now, just for fun, here are some photos of the brownie cake Jennie made, that I didn’t mention …

Brownie Birthday Cakes are awesome!

The cake Nelda made for me last week …The 3-Jerry Group …

Tom swinging in the breeze …

… and a little chronological sequence of the grass battle at the church …

First is from May 10th when Howard jumped in to save me from having to flattened all this with a weed whacker …

Then I used the church mower to chop it down some more, and scatter the grass so it would dry …

… and raked it into piles to load into the truck. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it was brutal.
The next effort will be to load and move the grass using a real pitchfork, then mow and vacuum before it has a chance to grow any more. I’m taking my mower out there to help with that.

OK. That’s all I got for this effort. It’s now 0105 on May 21st, I’m still alone with the dogs, and I’m going to bed.

Friends, Family, Gardening, & Pizza

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

Today, even though it was a Monday, was a great day. A terrific day, even. I did all kinds of things that I like to do which is good because I’m so old. In no particular order, I got to say pizza, dig in the dirt, watch a softball game in person, eat cake, visit with friends, ride with Diane for dozens of miles on various freeways, mow the yard (all of it), and something else I can’t remember. Perhaps it will come to me as I get all that in order.

First, I dug in the dirt on the east side of the house, making a space for the five new roses Diane got in the mail a couple of days ago. I took my trusty pulaski out there and dug up about 400 pounds of grass that had to go. Before I could get it gone, however, Diane beckoned me into the house to and ordered me to scrub my body because we had to be in Vancouver for a scheduled lunch meeting with the 3 Jerry group. There’s a long story associated with the group and we three Jerry’s respond to our shouted numbers. Jerry T is #1, I’m #2, and the other Jerry C #3.

Actually, it’s a short story. We all belonged to the TVCC PT Cruiser club for many years beginning in 2000. Since there were three of us, we just numbered ourselves according to age, oldest first. So, there it is.

Then, since we’re all old, and retired, we started having lunch once a month. Others, whose schedules allowed, joined the group to ensure there were enough people to make a memorable amount of commotion wherever we went. Those folks are Vie A, Rick & Jody R, Colleen G, Tom & Linda V, and whoever knew of the lunch dates and could make it. Big Brother Jack and his lovely bride, Wynette, also joined us on occasion. It was all good and we never, not even once, got kicked out of any of the many restaurants we visited over the years.

Today was scheduled a couple of weeks ago and the venue changed, but I didn’t give it a thought. We went to Jerry #3 & Nelda’s house in Vancouver for a pizza party. What I didn’t know was it was also a birthday party for me. Diane set it up and totally surprised me. How fun is that? I went with Jerry #3 to get the pizzas, with some urging from Diane and others. We had a very nice visit and he didn’t scare me even one time. When we got back the cake was unfurled and the secret was revealed.

We sat in their back yard, ate the pizzas, the cake, and had a terrific time visiting. We always have a terrific time whenever we get together. Their backyard is totally unique, very electric, and serene. It’s very difficult to describe. It’s a very large back yard that has a pond in which a fake duck floats, a little bridge, many large trees to which cowgirl boots are nailed, some have teapots attached, many kinds of bushes, a few squirrels, and, reportedly, an unwanted rat. There are large antique chains hanging from sturdy supports, there’s a hammock, obtained in Costa Rica, hanging under a house-like structure, that has lattice for a roof, which Jerry #3 said he has to tear down because his old cat used it to sharpen his claws. The cat, I learned, is no longer able to sharpen his claws because he can no longer move them because he died. I sensed that wasn’t a bad thing, according to the person who told me about the scratching.

Tom told me a couple of jokes I was supposed to share, but they got lost in my head on the trip home. I’m sure they were both inappropriate for a mixed audience so it’s probably OK I can’t remember them. If I had, Diane would have objected because I’m supposed to be nice.

Sadly, 1630 rolled around and it was time to leave. We would have stayed longer, but softball games had been in progress since 1530 and we wanted to watch the second game, if possible. It was supposed to be a JV double-header against Wilsonville, but turned out to be only one because they didn’t have enough players to field a team because they needed them for the varsity game which started when JV was done. Sarah, Lydia, and Abby joined the varsity team after winning their game 4-3. They didn’t get to play because the varsity girls had a defensive battle on their hands, and no one got injured. St. Helens won 1-0. Our pitcher was awesome, striking out Wilsonville girls one after another.

After the game, sometime after 1900, we went home and let the dogs out. They were very happy to see us return. They were alone for over 6 hours. They’re really good dogs.

Then I mowed the yard. Then entire thing. I also mowed one of the neighbor’s yard. Toward the end I was happy that the mower had headlights because I needed them. I think I finished somewhere around 2100.

Now I must take garbage to the street, something I do every Monday night. Then I’m going to bed because I have to get up early tomorrow and go play 18 holes of golf with Jim O at Wildwood. Should be fun. I’ll let you know how that goes. On, snap! While I was type all that, Diane took the garbage out. Awesome!

By the way, today wasn’t really my birthday. That’s not for another 8 days. But, considering my advanced age, Diane thought it would be good to celebrate with our friends because you just never know what’s going to happen next. It was a good idea.

Mornings, Golf, Dead Clams, Stumps, & Mowing

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

This morning Ozzie woke me up at 0530, a fairly certain indicator that we need blackout blinds for our bedroom. It’s getting light earlier and earlier and it’s pretty obvious that’s what gets him going. I learned a couple of days ago that Diane has been playing possum in the morning because Ozzie tries to wake her up first by walking up and down her body. She tuffs it out, however, knowing I’ll eventually get up and let him outside. Then she goes back to sleep for 3-4 hours. Tomorrow I’m going to try that and see what happens.

I slept on the couch until 0830, when Diane got up. She said Doug had called about golfing this morning so I went out and we teed off at 0945. I took Cedric’s Ping driver to see how well it worked, just for fun. I’ve never hit anything with a Ping club because I’ve never been in close proximity to one of them. Turns out it really does make a “ping” sound when you hit the ball just right. That’s not something I did with consistency, but I have to admit I did manage to whack a few tremendous drives. Straight, and everything. Very un-Jerrie-like.

After a fun, but bad round of golf with Junior and Doug, we went to Scappoose for lunch at Fultano’s Pizza joint. I knew Diane was going to be in Scappoose because she told me. That meant she would be at Goodwill, about 300 feet from Fultano’s so I couldn’t very well go to lunch there without alerting her. I’d planned to do that, anyway, but forgot my phone. So, I borrowed Junior’s to make the call. She agreed, of course. Who wouldn’t? We ate pizza and salad, and visited.

On the way home I stopped by Junior’s place to get some fresh dead clams so I could deliver them to Jack & Wynette. He’s always doing that because they really like dead clams. I was happy to do it for him because he was tired. Also, the story about how he got those clams was pretty exciting according to Doug. He told me that while hunting the tell-tale clam signs on the beach, Junior had to get closer to the ground. Too close, it turns out, because he was tumbled by a rogue wave. If he hadn’t been broadsided, the outcome may have been a little better, but he was. Doug said Junior rolled around in the water for a while, embarrassing him so he had to finally go get him and move him to higher ground. Doug said it wasn’t easy because Junior’s boots were full of water and he was hard to drag up the beach. But, he did it, and he salvaged the clams Junior had painstakingly gathered. That was the important part. So, sharing them with J & W has more meaning because Junior put his life at risk to capture some poor unassuming clams, trying to make a living in the sand. Now they will never see their babies again. If they had babies. Maybe they didn’t.

After visiting with J & W for a while I went home to dig out more stumps. It’s a grueling job, but it had to be done. So, I donned a new set of dirty clothes and went out to getter done.

The chore began in a normal manner but it was terribly tiring. Made me breath hard, like a pretty girl does, or going up the stairs. And I rid myself of a lot of excess sweat. Because of my tendency sweat at the sight of a pretty girl, I’m not allowed to watch any of those Victoria’s Secret commercials, or the Blazer dancers. Any dancers, actually. Especially those nearly naked ones on Dancing With The Stars. It’s a terrible affliction. Honest, it is.

When the sweat ran out, I had to find a better way to eliminate the stumps and decided to use the truck to pull them out. I found the towing strap in the garage, hooked it to the bumper hitch, wound it around a stump and wallah! Out it came, simple as could be, making me wonder why I didn’t think of that before. Such a simple solution, until the truck ran out of gas. I found a couple of gallons in a can in the garage, dumped it in the truck … and the battery was dead. It wouldn’t start. Being a believer in Karma, I took that as an obvious sign that it was time to quit.

So, I did. I quit, went out back and mowed the yard. That went fairly quickly because I didn’t bag it. I had to get it mowed because it’s going to rain tomorrow and I was prevented from mowing it completely because of events a few days ago. Don’t remember what events those were, but they kept me from mowing.

Once I was clean enough to enter the living room, we watched the new “24” show.

Jack’s back!

Portion Control & SHEDCO

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

Portion control, of course, relates to food. In this case, it’s about why it just isn’t an issue when eating meatloaf. That’s what we had for lunch. I was tasked with cutting the left-over loaf and asked Diane if she just wanted to eat half. She said, “No! I just want a couple of pieces.” So, I cut her half in half, and my half in thirds. Apparently that was OK because I didn’t complain.

I earned it, though, and so did Diane. We yanked a bunch of weeds out of the ground in our little fake garden plot. It’s a fake because the main crop is weeds, a stray blackberry vine, and a few walking onion plants that survived the winter. Maybe we’ll plant another tomato plant like we did in 2010.

We worked at this project before and after the epic meatloaf meal. Then we cleaned ourselves up and went to our scheduled Lion’s Club meeting. We don’t go to all the meetings so we’ll never get one of those perfect attendance awards many of the others get. That’s OK because we go to most of them. Tonight was a special night because Mary came to give a presentation on SHEDCO. I’ve mentioned it previously because she was scheduled to give her presentation last month but her spot was usurped by another presenter who was also there due to a communication error. Mary graciously stepped aside to accommodate the other presenter and agreed to reschedule for tonight. It was well worth the wait.

Mary is a University of Oregon graduate (go Ducks) who currently works with the city of St. Helens as a project manager for SHEDCO, the St. Helens Economic Development Corporation. The program is associated with the National Main Street Center which helps cities, big or small, redevelop their core areas. Typically, that means getting folks to rediscover the forgotten areas, and businesses, of their city that have been lost due to traffic flow. That’s a simplistic explanation, and probably doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it’s all I got.

In St. Helens’ case, Highway 30 has always been the way to get to St. Helens. The downtown area, where all the fun stuff is, has been ‘forgotten’, if you will, because of the numerous businesses that have line #30 past the roads that lead to the downtown area. The main street to get there is Columbia Blvd. I’m guessing it was named that because it leads travelers directly to the Columbia River. Back in the day, that’s where boats were constructed. Business was booming. St. Helens was destined to be the main deep water Oregon port on the Columbia River until someone flipped a coin, or paid off some politician, and that title went to Portland. Lots has happened since then and the current program is getting people involved to create a main street that makes them proud and gets folks downtown to fill the sidewalks. Diane and I do that quite often. It’s a great place to just roam around. They even have tours that take people around to the various areas used in the Twilight movie.

So, check out the SHEDCO and see what’s going on.

Now, for the important, breaking news, my Weekend Wound. I guess it really isn’t ‘breaking’, since it happened yesterday, and I actually forget about it until I look at my left hand. That’s where the burns are. I got the first one when I was directed to remove the first pizza from the oven. It was Baylee’s desire to have pizza, so that’s what Jeff & Heather got her. The burn was applied to the back of my wrist, just above where things bend, so it could have been worse. It was just a glancing injury so didn’t blister. It just hurt, really bad.

The second burn was administered to my left pointer and middle fingers when I was directed to remove the second pizza from the oven. You’d think they would learn to not ask me to do stuff like that, wouldn’t you? I mean, 425 degrees is really, really hot. and it hurts, a lot, when you bump your arm on that silver gasket thing that seals the door. The finger burns happened because I changed my approach to avoid contact with that gasket. I reached into the oven, with pads, putting one hand under the pizza and misjudged the distance between the oven rack just below the one holding the pizza. It looked like there was plenty of room, but there wasn’t. Consequently, I made excellent contact with the two mentioned fingers, burning the skin to a crispy light brown, about the shade of a well toasted marshmallow. Or the color of a done pizza crust. It was a 4th degree burn, for sure. I can say that because contact was long enough to make the blister, then burst it and cook it shut, sealing in my bodily fluids.

I’m confident I’ll heal just fine. I always have, so far, and have no reason to think otherwise. Apparently one of the blessings about getting older is that pain like I received doesn’t register in my mind as bad as, say, kneeling then getting back up. Or bending over, then establishing a vertical position. In the first case, knees protest. In the second, it’s the back. Burns? They heal and they don’t really hurt for very long because they kill all the nerve endings. Knees and backs? They’re going to hurt every time you bend then the wrong way, or maintain a position longer than necessary to do simple tasks … like pick up a penny in a parking lot.

Tomorrow Lydia has a double-header starting at 3:30, so if you’re in town, come on over to Campbell Park. After those games we can all go to our house for ice-cream and watch the Portland’s first game in the second round.

Go St. Helens High School softball teams, and Go Blazers!

Baylee’s 5, & Other Stuff

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

Here’s a hodge-podge of stuff for you to ponder. Mostly, it’s photos of recent events about which I’ve posted already. I finally downloaded the pictures from my camera. I was just too lazy to do it before. So, here they are. Perhaps while they are downloading I’ll think of something clever to write about, but no guarantees. I might just add something that’s true. You just never know …

The photos are in no particular order …

This one is from today at Baylee’s Birthday Party. She was 5 on April 30th, but the party wasn’t until today. That’s Jerrie Anne Diane next to her.

The Walters clan gave Baylee a bat, ball and glove which she loved. Lydia gave her some batting tips …

Then Jeran pitched to her and she was pretty good at it.

Lydia pitched a few, too.

Brianna, Michelle (Brianna’s Mom), Jennie (Lydia’s Mom), Lydia. Brianna is Lydia’s best friend. I know that’s true because Lydia told me so.

Baylee ran to thank Jack for his and Wynette’s gift to her. We had to recreate this because I wasn’t quick enough with the camera on the first, more significant encounter.

Here’s Gilligan all dressed up. She picks out her own clothes and goes to school like this. I think it’s awesome. She’s quite the individual.Here’s what the west side of the house looked like after a whacked down the overgrown, unkempt trees.

Then I did this, three times, to get them all down to the burn pile. One of these days we’re going to have one heck of a fire.

This is Breezie, our Holstein cat, enjoying the remnants of a Oregon Dark Cherry yogurt from Tillamook.

Then there are girls in trees … this is Brianna, probably from Easter. I don’t think any of the kids ever make it past that old tree without climbing it. It’s a source of joy for them all. Lydia’s above her but I couldn’t get a good picture because she was obscured by branches.That’s all I’ve got except to report I spent the better part of yesterday, before it began pouring rain, mowing the church lawn. I even edged it, too. I did that as an incentive to edge our yard at home. it’s been a while, and needs it badly. Once the rain started, it drained a whole bunch of clouds throughout the night, and got pretty brutal this morning. Thankfully, it was nice this afternoon so the kids could play outside.

It was a good day with the kidlets and we got to see Jack & Wynette. We talked about Jim & Donna like we always do when we get together. We do that because we’re pretty sure they talk about us, so it’s only fair.

After everyone left, and quiet descended, our friend Doug came up to retrieve the laptop I worked on for him. He would have picked it up days ago but he was at Long Beach, WA killing clams. He and his brother JR do that a lot. Kill clams.

Time to quit so I can watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Dump Run, Trees, Softball, & Dead Chicken

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

The dump called my name this morning and I was compelled to comply. To do so required that I fire up the old truck, hoping that the John Deere syndrome had somehow magically disappeared during the night. It hadn’t, but the truck ran and I was determined to get it emptied. So, in order to avoid an additional $15 fee at the dump, I covered everything with a $20 tarp and headed down the road. I’m sure the engine is only running on 6 cylinders, at most, and it makes the whole rig kinda bounce down the road. But, we made it and I backed it safely into stall 4 as directed at the scales. At that point we all weighed in at 5800 pounds which temporarily confused me because I thought the C20 was only a 3/4 ton vehicle and here we were almost at 3 tons. It was temporary, like I said.

As is my habit, I toss things into the back of the truck with no consideration for what kind of items are added. I should consider it, however, because I can unload any kind of metal for nothing. So, logic kinda dictates that I put all the metal parts in one place, right? Well, that doesn’t work out well because it takes me a few months to get it full enough for a trip and there’s no way I’m going to remember where I tossed that last piece of metal. Just saying. So, everything just goes wherever it lands.

Consequently, at the dump, part of the process of emptying the truck is to separate the metal from the trash because the metal bin visit will be after the dump visit. That’s OK, and it worked OK. As I staggered around in the back of the truck, the people next to me were sure I was going to fall out, but I assured them I’d be fine and that, if I did fall, to not try any heroics, like catching me, because I’m insured. That eased the pressure on them and I didn’t make it worse by falling. I did good.

Our dump also allows us to dump old computers, computer accessories, and TVs for nothing, so I did that, too. I had two old printers, a scanner, and an old analog TV. Lots of stuff made its way out of the basement this morning.

Upon returning home, I went to work on the mound of trees that I dropped yesterday. I cut long pieces off the bottom, then tossed the remainder in the back of the truck for a trip to our burn pile out back. It was grueling work because today was in the 80’s, our hottest day of the year so far and I sweat profusely. Diane insisted that I wear sunscreen, like she always does, even though I told her it burned my eyes. “What,” she asked? “Why would you put it in your eyes?” So, I had to explain that I really don’t put it in my eyes, but when I sweat profusely, like I’m prone to do, it runs off my forehead into my eyes, and it burns. That’s the truth. It really does burn. But, I put it on anyway. If I go blind, it’s her fault.

I was able to get one truck load delivered to the burn pile, and half filled the truck with the next load before it was time to rinse and scrape my body in preparation for a ride in the Buick to Park Rose for another one of Lydia’s softball games. We took Jennie with us because she’s still a bit under the weather and really shouldn’t drive that far. It was an interesting trip because Jennie used her Mom’s phone to navigate with the Waze app. It’s pretty cute for commuters, and it’s really good about re-routing us around bad traffic. That makes sense because it’s made for commuters. We, however, use it for all our travels and it works wherever we go. Pretty nifty.

It was another good game and our girls won 9-2, or something like that. Lydia laid down a nice bunt and almost beat the throw to first, moving a runner around the bases, but the throw was high and she wound up on second base. She also had a nice hit to get on, and she was out on a called third strike, which really wasn’t a strike. But, as I said, they won.

After the game, and the teams paid their respects, the Park Rose team called our girls over and gave them all treats which they’d brought specifically for them. Apparently it’s an old tradition that they always do when St. Helens visits, and our team is the only one they do it for. That was pretty special. The reason given was that it was started because St. Helens was always a fun, respectful team to play against, so they just started bringing them treats. Now the pressure is on for when Park Rose visits St. Helens. It’s going to be epic.

On the way home we had to stop and feed Lydia because she needs to ingest something every couple of hours or she gets cranky. So, we stopped at the Village Inn, one of our favorites near the Lloyd Center. Lydia ate a huge chicken fried steak sandwich, Jennie had a traditional chicken fried steak dinner, and Diane and I shared a sandwich just like Lydia’s. For each meal we also got a piece of pie. Lydia ate her sandwich, Diane ate 1/3 of ours, Jennie ate about half her dinner, Lydia ate about half what was left, plus part of her pie, and I ate whatever was left over. When the our kids were growing up I always cleaned up the plates when we ate out because there was no way I was going to let them throw away perfectly good food.

When the meal was done, we made our way back to St. Helens, dropped Jennie and Lydia at their house, then came home just in time to watch the Blazers lose game 5 in Houston. So, now it’s 3-2 in favor of the Blazers and the next game is at home. The crowd is really going to be pumped up for them on Saturday. It will be supremely noisy.

The dogs were really happy to see us, as we were them.

Now I must slumber. Gotta finish removing remnants of the forest tomorrow and that’s going to be brutal because the temp is supposed to be near 90. I’m prepared to sweat some more, and I’m sure it’s going to make my eyes burn.

Wish me luck that I don’t contract heat stroke, or something.

46 Years, Lions, & a God Moment

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

Yesterday was Easter so after church we had our traditional free for all lunch for anyone who wanted to show up. Pretty much. In attendance were Jean, Me, Diane, Jeff, Daniel, Jennifer, Cedric, Lydia, Brianna, Alyssa, Jeran, Gilligan, and Baylee. Those are family members. You may question, Brianna, and Alyssa, but we count the kid’s friends as family. Also there was our friend Ron, from church, and our friend Gretchen who stopped by on her way home from Rainier. Gretchen and I worked together at PGE for many, many, many years. She’s still there, working hard.

The bigger kids, including Jeff, scattered candy filled plastic eggs all over the yard, front and back, for Gilligan and Baylee to find. There was no method to the distribution process, and no one had any idea how many of those eggs were scattered around so I have just cause for believing eggs will be showing up the next time I mow. After everyone left yesterday I found two. Today I found a couple more. I’ll get a better count with the mower because they’ll make a lot of noise as they go flying up the grass catcher tube.

Yesterday was also Adolph Hitler’s birthday, in case anyone was wondering.

The absolutely best part of yesterday, however, was that it marked the 46th year of wedded bliss for Me. Yes, just me, because I’m sure all those years weren’t blissful for Diane. Most of them, maybe, but not all. I know that’s true because I’ve been told. Thankfully, for Diane, the blissful part has been mostly on this end of the calendar. It just keeps getting better. Really, it does. Ask her.

After all the activity yesterday, it took us a while to wind down, then we watched the Blazers beat the Rockets in overtime. That caused an emotional outburst of adrenalin that didn’t go away until after midnight. So, there we were, laying in bed with our iPads at 0004 this morning. Diane’s checking her Facebook and I’m reading my book. I hear a little ding from my iPad and a little note pops up from Diane wishing me a Happy 46th. We’re like 15 inches apart, and she sends me a text. It was great, and I answered her back. Getting old and knowing how to use technology is quite fun.

Today I pulled weeds from the flower bed out front. We’ve both been working on it during the sunny days, a little at a time. This morning, when Diane told me today was the last sunny for the next week, I donned my pulling weed clothes and got to work. Diane stayed inside because that kind of outside activity isn’t kind to her immune system. Additionally, our neighbor was mowing his yard which is worse than simply touching weeds. So, I was on my own, and that’s OK.

I got everything pulled across the front, but not all the way around the corner. That was my goal, actually, so started gathering all the tools scattered in my wake so I could put them away. The net results of my efforts filled the little trailer I pull around with the mower when the grass catcher isn’t attached. I do that for fun sometimes. Just hook it up and pull it around the yard. Sometimes I put something in it and move it to another location. Just for fun. Really. Makes me feel like a real farmer.

Just as I began gathering my tools, it started sprinkling. That’s the rain that wasn’t supposed to arrive until after dark. So, thanks to Karma, I chose the exact right time to end my task.

Another good reason for ending it was because we had a Lions club meeting to attend. Diane was scheduled for the program and had Mary from SHEDCO lined up to speak. So, we got there early in order to be there when she arrived.

Shortly after we arrived a strange gentleman arrived so I introduced myself. I do that. His name was David. Expecting Mary as the only stranger for the evening, I asked about her and he said Mary had to cancel. This led me to believe that he was filling in for her as the SHEDCO speaker.

Then Mary showed up and threw both Diane and I into a momentary fit of mental frenzy as we tried to figure out what was going on. The reason turned out to be that Diane and Andy swapped program dates because we weren’t going to be in town on Diane’s assigned date. So, Diane wound up with today, but Andy forgot and arranged for David to come speak. David, or Dr. David Krier, founder of Volunteer Voyages, LLC, came prepared to give us a pictorial presentation about his organization. All he needed was some A/V equipment. But, we don’t have anything like that. All we had available was a screen that’s always there in the back room of the Village Inn Restaurant where we have meetings.

So, we had two presentations available: David, who had a flash drive but no A/V equipment, and Mary who, gee, had a laptop and a projector. David and Mary had a little discussion and cleared things up as to who would present by determining who came the farthest. That would be David who lives in St. Paul. The one in Oregon, not Minnesota. Mary lives in St. Helens.

So, the double booking worked out great for everyone, even me. David gave his presentation using Mary’s equipment, and Mary sat and watched. The real upside for me is that I was able to secure Mary as the speaker for our May 5th meeting. That’s the day I’m responsible for the program. She was a really good sport about the circumstances.

We call things like that a God Moment.

Dealing With Adversity

Posted on April 19, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

Today we had a terrific time visiting with new friends Nickie and Mary Louise (not their real names). I call them new friends because before today they were more like “friendly people we know.” I can say that, because it’s really true, but Diane has more of a long-term connection with them. Today, however, all that changed when they visited us so Nickie could loan me his a book … “The Frozen Shoulder Workbook” by Clair Davies, NCTMB which was published in 2006. I readily admit that I have no idea what NCTMB stands for but I’m confident they mean something important because the letters are all upper case, like MD, and unlike PhD, or Dr.

Nickie brought it to me because of the problem I’ve been having with my right shoulder and he wanted to share with me the story of his own shoulder. It was a generous thing to do and, after our visit, made me understand that it’s just the way Nickie is. I mentioned that Diane has more of a connection and that’s because her parents knew Nickie’s parents. They all lived in Warren and it’s common knowledge, in Columbia County, at least, that everyone in Warren knows each other. Part of that familiarity is due to the fact that most of the older residents are related to each other.

We visited for a long time in our living room. This is a rare event for us because that’s where the big TV is and it’s almost always on when we’re home. Sitting there, visiting, each in our own comfy chair just talking, was just great, and very informative. I got Nickie’s story and it is amazing. Not only does it involve political intrigue, it’s about overcoming incredible frustration caused by terrible medical care that’s the result of government control of an insurance company that dictates required treatment in order for someone to return to work. It’s intentionally complicated, in my opinion, in order to force patients to extract themselves by the most expedient means possible.

Nickie’s journey started with a fairly simple issue with his shoulder that escalated over a few years to a complex series of medical issues. That he’s relaxed, and pretty stress-free, speaks volumes about his fortitude. During this time, Nickie was admitted to the hospital a number of times as the result of doctor visits, and also because of emergency issues. He kept his wrist bands to document this tumultuous time in his life, and attached them to a metal ring normally used for making wreaths. He ran out of room so attached more of them to a long chain.

Maybe my words aren’t very convincing, but this should be …

Amazing, right?

We talked through lunch and finally made a unanimous decision to go out and get something. Burgerville was the choice where we all got Tillamook Cheeseburgers. Have I ever told you how good those things are?

It was a very good, very informative day. At the end, I decided that the little pain I have in my shoulder isn’t really a big deal.

However, I’m still going to read “The Frozen Shoulder Workbook”.

Girls High School Softball & Chicken

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Jerrie Cate

This morning, taking advantage of a dry spell, we did some more gardening around the front of the house. It’s always easier to do after it’s been raining for a while. The weeds kind of just jump into your hands, like they’re afraid of dirt all the sudden. It’s a dirty adventure, but pleasing to get things looking nicer. Still lots to do, and there always till be. Cleaning up weeds around here is a little bit like painting a bridge. As soon as it gets done, it’s time to start over.

This afternoon we went to Hillsboro Stadium to watch Lydia’s team play their second league game. Their first one was last Tuesday, which they won 6-0. Today’s battle was a little more intense with the girls making mental errors, allowing the other team to score. In the end, our girls won 12-11 so it was pretty exciting. The other team was last up, bottom of the 7th, and managed to get two runners on base with only one out. The next batter hit right to our first baseman who caught it and tagged the runner trying to get back to the bag. Game over.

Lydia did awesome. She was 4 for 4 on the night … two doubles and two singles. On defense she’s the left fielder and claims that it’s boring. I can understand why because, so far, no one has hit that direction. But, she’s ready.

So, the Lady Lions JV team is 2-0 in league play.

For Maryssa, if you see this … tonight’s game was played on the same field at Hillsboro Stadium where you played a game after demonstrating your massive talents to a vast array of college coaches. Nice facilities.

After the game we all trekked to Home Town Buffet for dinner. I ate 5 chicken legs, a series of popcorn shrimp, corn, potatoes & gravy, and a soup bowl bull of ice cream covered with hot fudge. So much for portion control.

It was a good day.