Refinancing Online

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

It is done.

It seems like the process of refinancing our home has taken months, but it really only too about a month. I think. I’ve kinda lost track of time during all of this.

This all started when I checked to see if we could save any money by refinancing with a VA loan. Interestingly, we had a VA loan, but it was a Oregon VA loan. Not the same thing as a regular VA loan. You wouldn’t think so, but it is.

One of the differences is that a regular VA loan will provide 100% of the money. Oregon VA will too, but they require Primary Mortgage Insurance, hereafter known as PMI. That little devil is expensive, to the tune of $180 a month for us.

One of the loaners who contacted me about my VA query was Sean at Loandepot. We had a god experience and when it’s all said and done, we have a lower rate, got some equity, and our payment went down $500 a month. Significant. And, it was all done via the internet. We never once met any of those people who arranged everything. Only the appraiser became a real person for us until it came time to sign all the documents. For that, a mobile notary was sent to our house with all the paperwork.

The signing was scheduled for 1900, but Cindy, the wandering notary, had printer issues and reported she would be a little bit late. When she arrived with her husband, Jon, at 1940, she told us the problem wasn’t really her printer, but her internet connection. She came with 220 pages of legal size paper which she went through with us, one page at a time. Jon sat on the couch watching the Blazer game with Breezie getting hair all over his pants. He didn’t seem to care.

We finished in about an hour but it seemed longer. Diane and I were both very tired by the end of it, ready for a nap.

Earlier today I went to Don’s Garage to do some more work on the truck. Done came up with a replacement Quadrajet carburetor which I swapped on the engine. You may remember that the old carb was held down with only three bolts, and that’s the case for the replacement. The difference is that the replacement has a good float so gas can’t just flush through to the cylinders without a little bit of control. The result is an engine that runs smooth, and starts with absolutely no problem. That’s amazing. Jerrie is very pleased.

Now all I have to do is fix the passenger side headlight, make the tail and brake lights work, resurrect the wiper motor, and it will be as good as new. Well, it needs new mufflers, but it’s needed those for a long time.

Now, how about those Trailblazers? They came back from 21 points down, in the 3rd quarter, to beat the Chicago Bulls for their 9th win in a row. Pretty cool.

Now I’m going to bed.

Thanks again, Don.

Get well, Kathie.

Ultrasounds to Big Blocks

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

I’ve been away for three days and might have a bit of trouble remembering everything that happened. It’s going to take a while. I’ll have to check my calendar.

Monday 11/18

I called Don because he told me to do that. It was all about the truck and getting it back in shape. In shape, like running properly. Down the road. I made an appointment for the afternoon for delivery of the truck.
Went to Portland to file and pay taxes, late, in person. Forgot.
The house appraiser returned and left with good news.

Tuesday 11/19

Went to Good Sam Hospital for an ultrasound. My new primary care doctor thought it would be a good idea for me to have one because she thought I was pregnant, and she wanted to check for aneurysms. I’m pretty sure I’m not pregnant, but the aneurysm is an unknown. I suspect I’ll get a call if they find something. She didn’t really think I had one, but said I was “in the zone” because I’m old.
We had lunch at Fultano’s with Pat, Carolyn, Bill, Jack & Wynette. Pat, and Carolyn are cousins who are married to each other and Bill is their son. You all know Jack and Wynette, I’m sure. We’re related.
Went to Don’s and replaced the starter on the truck. Since it was on the lift in Don’s shop, it was easy to do. I had to go get a new one because the other new one I got a few days ago broke. I left the shims out of the new one and it worked just fine. It didn’t start the engine, but it wasn’t the starter’s fault. It was the carburetor’s fault. The float apparently doesn’t float which allows gas to just get pushed right through to the cylinders, much of which doesn’t ignite because there’s too much of it, resulting in very dirty spark plugs and lots of gas in the exhaust pipes which would shoot some impressive flames out the ends. Spark plugs are tomorrow.

Wednesday 11/20

Back to Don’s at 0900 to clean the plugs and set the timing on the truck engine. Once the plugs were reinstalled, Don helped me set the timing and my hopes were realized because the motor ran smooth, and it started right up. Still need to fix the carburetor. The current carb works fine as long as the engine is running around 3 grand. Sounds pretty good.
Got home about 1230 and had lunch because I was hungry and a Milgard Window Guy was scheduled to come fix an issue with the new patio door we had installed a few weeks ago. Not a big deal, but the glass panels were installed upside down in the frames. Sounds petty, but the seam for the inner seal was right at eye level on both panels, right where I looked each time I opened the door. It was disturbing and the Milgard Window Lady, to whom I spoke about it, agreed it was wrong. So, she sent Vladimir to fix it.

Thursday 11/21

In a few minutes we are going to Portland to the Pioneer Courthouse Square Apple Store to get my new iPad. Yes, the new one broke but it’s under warranty and it’s not my fault. Honest. I made my Genius Bar appointment yesterday. We have to be there by 0900.
It’s 28 degrees this morning. Makes my toes cold when I go to the garage to get my yogurt. Guess I’ll have to start wearing slippers, or something.
Upon return, I need to visit Don and see about swapping out the carb on the truck so I can take it to the dump and empty it.

Here’s the truck getting it ride to the motor doctor, Don.

Here’s the truck comfortably reclined in the doc’s office.

I wrote most of this last night so guessed at what today would bring and it didn’t work out as planned.

We made it to Portland OK, and I got my replacement iPad, but I didn’t make it out to work on the truck. Dang!

On the way home from Portland Diane tossed me off at a friend’s house, Jerry’s, another Jerry, so I could work on his wife’s computer. I sat there for 4 hours talking, teaching, and deleting files to make room on her hard drive, which had been partitioned by some enterprising individual, so that the system drive ran out of space because programs and photos were loaded on it, not the other partitions. We had a good time while Diane whiled away the hours at Goodwill. We left at 1730 and came to rescue the dogs.

They were fine.

Cookie Ladies and Stuff

Posted on November 17, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

Today after church the Church Ladies gathered around a group of tables in the basement to have a meeting before they distributed all the cookies they had baked. Each of the 20 or so ladies gathered around the tables brought 2 dozen of them so there were lots and lots of cookies.

This is an annual event, probably not unique in the world, but meaningful for those gathered because the cookies are placed tenderly in small boxes destined for local service men and women, college students, and those who just can’t make it to church any more. Each person wraps their cookies in bundles of two to facilitate packing, and to keep them fresh. This is a time-tested method that makes packing a simple process.

The ladies know their efforts are appreciated immensely by those who receive them. It’s that little extra unexpected touch of home that lets all those folks know someone cares for them.

“It’s that time of year” seems to be the mantra around … well … this time of year, just before Thanksgiving, so many people feel it’s necessary to put forth a little extra effort to help their fellow-man. That’s a good thing, but sad, in a way, that they only feel that need when “it’s that time of year.”

Why not all the time?

Do you think those who are on the receiving end of this kind of attention would find it unacceptable at any other time of year? I seriously doubt that, as I’m sure you do, too.

This isn’t a new concept, but I’ve got to say it anyway. Let’s just pretend it’s Thanksgiving and Christmas all year long.

Let’s just be nice and giving to others all year long because it’s a good thing.

It’s the right thing.

Safeway & Dockside

Posted on November 16, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

I was sent to Safeway this afternoon to get Diane a bottle of molasses for some cookies she was making for the cooking-packing evolution the Church Ladies are doing tomorrow. When I left, she had everything mixed up, except for the molasses.

Seemed like a fairly simple task, so away I went. All by myself. Alone.

When I got to the store I walked right to the molasses aisle, got my jar, then got in line behind a nice young man who was waiting in the short line. We each had one thing to buy so it went quickly. I had Diane’s Safeway card at earned us 3 points for my purchase.

Since the purchase went quickly, I decided to stop by the local Chevron station to fill up Diane’s Buick. It’s the least I could do since she let me drive it all the way to town. By myself. At the station, I removed myself from the vehicle, as I normally do, in order to extract my wallet, on which I normally sit. Then I did a quick body search for Diane’s Safeway card. It was nowhere to be found. Then I searched the car coming away with the same results. It was becoming more and more evident that I was going to be in HUGE trouble when I got home because the first thing Diane says when I return from a shopping trip to Safeway is, “where’s Safeway my card?” Normally I just hand it to her and I’m safe. This time I wouldn’t be able to do that.

Woe was me.

So, after the tank was full, I went back to Safeway to see if someone had found the card. I could only believe I dropped it when I removed my car keys from my coat pocket before getting into the vehicle. I checked the parking spot first, and talked with a young lady standing there handing out flyers about collecting food for holiday baskets. When I was there the first time there was a different young lady and I took one of those flyers out of curiosity. That’s how I knew what was on the flyer.

Inside the store I went to customer service to see if anyone had turned in a Safeway card. Ahead of me in line was a lady trying to wire money to somewhere in Mexico. The lone person behind the counter was having difficult getting the spelling correct for the city in Mexico so it took some time. Perhaps 20 minutes. All this time Diane was waiting for the molasses, which I had, but I had embarked on a quest to find Diane’s card.

Once it was my turn, I discovered that, yes, indeed, someone had turned in a Safeway card. “Could I please see your receipt to verify the card number?” asked the clerk. Not expecting this, I’d left it in the Buick with the molasses so excused myself to go get it. Upon returning to the counter we discovered that the number on my receipt didn’t match the card they had. So, I was back to square one, and it was time to get the product to Diane and face the music. First, however, I got a new card, forging Diane’s name on the application.

I hadn’t been gone more than an hour, so thought maybe I wouldn’t be in too much trouble. Perhaps she would just be happy that I got home, with the molasses, and that would offset the major crime of losing her card.

On the way home, however, I made one last trip to the gas station to see if anyone found it there, which they hadn’t.

Diane was happy to see me, but quit talking me, so I went on-line to check Diane’s Safeway account and discovered that, gee, the card they had in her name was the same one that was turned in to customer service. So, what’s the deal? The only way to find out was to call Safeway customer service at the number I found on their website.

A little background is necessary, here. Diane’s originally Safeway card was obtained by Jennifer when she was in high school, way back when. Since she’s been married to Daniel for 18 years, or so, it’s evident that she’s had that card for a long time. And, it’s always been associated with our home phone number which, for a couple of years at one point, wasn’t assigned to us. That we got it back is another story.

This means that every purchase made by Jennifer and Diane over all those years, all over the United States, were tied to that number. Then, one magical day, Jennifer, Daniel and kids moved home to St. Helens. Somewhere along the line Diane wound up with a different Safeway card that was tied to the old card, then a couple of years ago Jennifer got a job with Safeway which worked well for us because all those Safeway cards, tied to our home phone number, were eligible for an employee discount. When we realized this, it was brought to Safeway management’s attention but they didn’t seem to mind. Neither did we, so we just kept using all of them.

Then today happened.

One of the reasons I went on-line was to change the card on Diane’s account to the new number, then I had an epiphany, with the help of the nice young lady who answered the phone. Since Diane’s card was at Customer Service, at our local store, and I had a new card in my hand, why not put things ‘right’, and divorce Jennifer’s Safeway card from our home phone number. So I did. Now Jennifer’s card is tied to her phone number, and the new card I got is tied to our home phone number. AND, so is the card nestled in the Customer service desk drawer. Now we each have a card and I’ll never have to borrow Diane’s Safeway card again. Ever.

Jennifer came by the house a little later so I could tell her in person that our Safeway cards had been officially divorced. She took it well, for which I’m grateful.

The cookies Diane made are really good. I got to taste one because I helped her scrape them off the cookie sheets onto the drying rack. I was being really good, trying to help, and she let me. That was good.

Before we knew what was happening, it was nearly 1700, time for our dinner with Jack & Wynette at Dockside. Jack and I arranged that yesterday all on our own. When we arrived, J&W were already there so there was no waiting. Jack had fish & chips, Wynette had shrimp scampi, Diane had lasagna, and I had spaghetti alla Carbonaro, my favorite. I got that even though I wore my red spaghetti shirt and Carbonaro is just kinda spaghetti colored, with lots of bacon.

After eating we talked for a long time and, again, wondered why we didn’t get together like that more often. Funny how that is. We all wish Jim & Donna were closer so we could all get together often. We figure it’s only fair that they move this direction since we are already here and we represent a majority of remaining brothers.

It was a good evening marred only by a brief spat about who was going to pay the check. Who was spatting, and how that wound up isn’t relative. It was all about having a really good time.

Incidentally, I’m the only one who ate all of my dinner.

I deserve a prize.

Bad News (3) – Good News (1)

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

The truck is stuck for a while. I fiddled with the starter again this morning, inserting shims and making sure all the wire connections were tight. The last problem, yesterday, was that the starter motor gear was not meshing with the fly-wheel. Instead, it just made a soothing grinding noise as it whittled away precious metal required by a proper connection. The shims were a last-ditch effort to make it work. And, it did. I actually got the engine started, but it ran like a one cylinder John Deere tractor and quickly quit when I attempted to let it idle thinking I might have time to dive under the hood and adjust the distributer. Turns out it’s not a one-man job. I should engage an expert, but I hate bothering those guys. I should be able to do this.

During the course of installing the shims in the starter, one of the starter mounting bolts, which was still in the starter, resting comfortably against one of the rigid transmission coolant lines, lost it’s mind and dropped out. I suppose I should have taken it out, but I didn’t want to have to search around on the ground for it when I needed it. So, I left it in the hole. When it dropped, my face was in the way and it bounced right off one of my front teeth. because I had absolutely no way to dodge it. Picture this … the truck is about 8 inches away from the curb, the right front tire is low on air, and the exhaust on that side hangs down a few inches below the frame. That’s the side where I had to go to do this intricate work.

To get under far enough to reach the starter, I had to squeeze myself under the exhaust, and work with it pressing into my abdomen. All the while I’m working I’m sending kind thoughts to all the tires for not going flat because if any of them did, I would have been squished like an unwary ant on a sidewalk in front of a home in which small children live. Seriously. No one was watching me so dropping that extra six inches would have been the end of me. Dumb, I know, but I like living on the edge.

Now, teeth are tough customers and can really take a beating, but the bolt dropped about a foot before it hit. The damage is minimal, with only a little chipping on the biting edge which I smoothed up with an emery board at Diane’s suggestion. That worked nicely to remove the sharp edge of the chipped area making my inquisitive tongue less interested in the damaged area. Funny how that works, isn’t it? Tongues ignore smooth areas, but gravitate to the sharp ones like a magnet, especially new sharp areas. I guess our tongues are really a security system that ensures nothing gets passed them that isn’t authorized by the brain. If it’s sharp, the brain forces the tongue to investigate incessantly until the owner does something about it.

So, here’re the Bad News issues indicated in the title of today’s non-verbal soliloquy.

The truck still doesn’t run
I nearly broke a tooth
I think there’s now a flat spot on the fly-wheel from all that grinding

The Good News? After getting home from this futile effort, I made a sandwich, which will please Diane, and took another tour of the 1968 Truck Service Manual that I happen to have, thanks to Jeff. Way in the back I found an entire section on the windshield wiper motor which wasn’t there the first six or seven times I did this. I’ve been looking for the location of that motor for years because it has never worked. Ever. I just haven’t driven it on rainy days for the last 20 years or so. Then, there it was with instructions on where it resides, how to tear it apart, and everything. To ensure future access, I dog-eared the page.

I discovered where the wiper motor is and how to dismantle it

I’m sure I can fix it.

1968 Chev Custom C-20 P/U For Sale

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

$17,000 OBO

Manual windows
Manual mirrors
No A/C
Heater is Iffy
454 Big Block bored over to 462
New starter
No turn signals
Wipers don’t work
No Glove box
Needs tires
Needs tune-up
Wife hates it
Currently full of ‘stuff’ for the dump which is included in price

What isn’t mentioned is that the truck is currently residing in front of Daniel & Jennifer’s home. Here’s the story …

This morning, after stalling as long as I could, I disconnected the battery charger from the truck, wound up the extension cord, and put them away. Then I got my truck key, walked slowly back to the truck, climbed in, inserted the key in the ignition, held my breath, and turned the key.

Nothing happened.

So, I checked all the wiring to make sure the proper voltage was present at the locations required. My meter told me everything was just fine. The only other problem it could be, since this was a brand new starter, was the control wire at the starter, that receives voltage when you turn the key that little bit extra to engage the starter, was on the wrong terminal. There are two choices, marked R and S. I do not know which one it was on, but I layer on the wet ground and made the change and that corrected the problem.

The starter turned that big engine fast enough to move it down the road at about 27 mph. It didn’t start right away, but I knew it would. It’s been sitting for a while and big blocks don’t like that.

There was a brief lull in the rain this afternoon so I decided to make a dump run. I covered the junk in the back, cranked the engine, then drove off. Though the engine idled OK, it doesn’t do well when under load, like when it’s in gear. It has no power, but it was chugging along. Sounded like it was running on 2 cylinders at times. Really running rich and I’m sure the plugs got terribly fouled and it finally quit at 4 Corners, where N. Vernonia Road crosses Columbia Blvd. I was at the stop line and had to get the truck out of the way. The only way to do that was to push it backwards and get it to the curb.

So, I got out, stood with my back against the driver’s door jamb and started inching the truck backwards one painful inch at a time. I got it back about 10 feet before I had to stop and direct traffic around my efforts. Everyone was very willing to follow my suggestions that they drive around me and not stop to give me a hand. Then, two young ladies passed me going the other way, turned around and got out to give me a hand. With their assistance, the truck was moved quickly out of the way.

I have no idea who they were. It was a very welcome anonymous gesture of good will. They just wanted to help, did the dead, then went on their merry way. It was awesome and I couldn’t thank them enough. They were well aware, too, that many members of the male gender had already passed me by so their effort had more meaning. Their efforts, reaffirmed my belief that there are still really good people around us. The girls saved me from having a heart attack, I’m sure. At least from having one right away. Maybe later.

Once the truck was out of the way I called Diane to come get me. She did, then I got tools and she took me back so I could see about working on it and, perhaps, resurrecting it one more time. That wasn’t to be, so she called Jeff to come give me hand getting it either home, or over to Daniel and Jennifer’s. We decided on D&J’s because it was a pretty flat trip, and just two corners. Corners were important because the truck has power steering and it’s totally hard to turn corners when the motor isn’t running. Takes a lot of muscle power, something that is fleeing from my aging body a little bit every day.

I didn’t all D&J to ask permission to park the truck in front of their house for a bit but they were kind enough to not tell me to move it along. The plan is to engage one of Jeff’s friends, who is a mechanic, to see what he can do to make the truck run.

OK – that’s it. I’ll add the end of this part of the “Truck Story” tomorrow.

The “For Sale” offer is bogus, of course, unless someone really want’s to pay $17,000. The OBO will be honored, too, with the understanding that I have a reserve amount in mind. I suspect that if you were inclined to invest $10,000, or so, it might be work $17,000. It could happen.

One of the interesting things about today’s activities is that both of our children asked why I didn’t call one of them first for help. I had to give that some thought because it was a very valid question. Why didn’t I call one of them first? After devoting an extraordinary number of brain cells to this question, I believe I came up with a valid answer but it requires a little bit of history to ensure it is understood in context.

When Diane and I were married, our first home was on the tiny island of Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands which are located between Japan and Taiwan. For me it wasn’t a big deal because I’d been there before on a ship, but for Diane it was life-changing. She left the comfortable surroundings of her youth and embarked with me on an adventure that is still in progress today. Because we never lived close to home, where we grew up, we learned quickly to rely on each other to solve our problems. It became a way of life for us, and just became routine. When one of us needed help, they called the other. It worked then, and it works now. Even though we’re living in close proximity to our children, we still rely on each other the most. It’s still a habit, hard to break. We know they would help at the drop of a hat, and there have been times we’ve had to ask, but we look at it from the perspective that they have their own families to take care of now and don’t need us to add to their work load. That’s just us and we hope they understand. One of these days they will be essential for our survival and I’m relying on Jeff and/or Jennifer to change my diaper, as needed until I can’t coherently string more than 4 words together.

One of these days I might just start mumbling to see of that works. Just for fun.

Honestly, if I were them, I’d willingly hire someone to do it of me.

All of this chatter about diapers reminds me that Jennifer gave us a mason jar full of chocolate covered peanut clusters. Yes, that’s a terrible comparison, but just so you know, the clusters are really good. She made them with chocolate bark of some sort, she said, and I’ve learned that I like it a lot. It’s almost gone so she can have her jar back, probably tomorrow.

PTs, Trucks, and Swedish Music

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

Today was an adventure in auto mechanics of various kinds spanning vehicles from 1968 to 2001. Actually, it was only two vehicles. I worked on the 2001, first.

It’s our old PT Cruiser that used to look like this …

Oh, gee! That one was taken in Nampa, Idaho across the street from the art work created by one of my brothers who lives there. He’s the one who doesn’t ‘do’ computers. But, he can handle a torch and bend some metal.

Here’s another one right after we got the trailer that we no longer have. We had a lot of fun camping in that and traveling all over the place showing it off.

Nice ghost flames.

The PT still looks pretty much the same except for the road rash from 12 years and 200065 miles of driving. But, it’s still ticking along and the only thing that’s gone bad on it is the timing belt and the rear suspension bell crank. Oh, and the driver’s seat belt tensioner failed. Jack fixed that, and the bell crank. There are some noises I need to investigate, and clean it up.

On that last item, to simplify things, I just ripped all the coverings off the dash that I could get off without something making that “breaking” sound. Most of it just pops right off. All the things in the next picture are just hanging by the wires because I removed all the screws I could find so I could clean them.

Here’s some of the stuff I removed to clean … all I have to do, now, is figure out how it all goes back together and find all the screws. They’re in there somewhere, I’m sure.

Then there’s the truck that has looked like this since the day I bought it …

Just so happens that this was another starter event from a different year. The starter is what I worked on today. While I was working on the PT the sun came out and all the clouds just went away for a few hours. I looked at the truck, bull of ‘junk stuff’, and decided that I needed to get it fixed and get it emptied before the rain starts in earnest. Won’t be long before that happens.

I got the started out, swapped it for a new one at NAPA, and installed it. But, I couldn’t test it because, guess what! The battery was dead. So, I ran my handy-dandy extension cord from the garage and hooked up the battery charger where it will sit until tomorrow morning. Then I’ll try it and it better start. I’ll let you know how that goes.

We had dead chicken for supper. It was really good. Diane takes very good care of me and I appreciate it.

After supper we sat quietly, watching NCIS and NCIS Los Angeles then it was time to choir practice at church. We sang two songs I actually know, and two I don’t know. The one I know best is ‘Hosianna‘. It’s the only Swedish I know. I’m usually the only bass in the choir which is sad, but we get through it. Like normal, we went in to it cold tonight and everyone made it through just fine. The song is so complicated (for me) that I had to memorize it because I could either read the notes, or the words, but not both. Oddly, I was able to do that many, many, many years ago, and I’ve never forgotten it. Kinda like the Morse Code I had to learn when I went to Radioman School right after Navy boot camp. Those of us going to the school were given all night to memorize the code. It’s amazing what can be accomplished when prodded by fear. I’ve never forgotten the code, either.

Now we’re home and it’s time for bed.

Buona notte.

Mechanics, Tacos, Church, and Kids

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

Today I decided to do a little work on the PT Cruiser. The battery died a long time ago because of a fault that caused the fog light indicator to say lit 24 hours a day, key or no key. Odd thing is, the fog lights are totally disconnected – the wire harness is sitting in the back of the car. So, why does that sneaky little light stay on? Well, I figured it was the switch I installed in 2001 when I installed the fog lights, so I took the cowling off the steering column behind the steering wheel, and disconnected the headlight switch. Then I charged the battery for a couple of days to make sure it was full to the tippy top.

I may have mentioned that I still had the original headlight switch somewhere around the house, but I hid it so well I couldn’t find it anywhere. Then, for some odd reason, I opened the back hatch up and there it was, lying right there in plain sight. Go figure. So I fixed it all by putting the old switch back in place.

Now the headlights don’t work, so I have another trouble-shooting event planned for tomorrow.

Diane worked at the Senior Center today serving lunch, so I took her Mom, Jean, on a date to check out the food. It was roast beef, and it was really good.

I drove the PT because the Subaru has a dead battery. It seems to be going around. So, all the work I did on the PT was mostly this afternoon.

Then I took a shower while Diane conferred with the local Taco Bell about dinner. I had 3 crunchy taco supremes, like normal, and a steak burrito supreme. I used to get dead chicken burritos in the past and think I’ll revert back because the steak thing is just too HUGE. It must weigh about 3 lbs, and it’s floppy which disturbs me. Chicken burritos aren’t floppy.

Directly after eating all of that, I went to Church Council for our November meeting. I had to take Diane’s car because the other two are broken. The meeting lasted 2 hours. They always wear me out because I have to act like I know what’s going on the entire time since I’m the president. The other members insist that I do a really good job but I’m sure they only say that because none of them want to do it. I know that’s true because I used to be one of them. Then, all the sudden I was president. I’m still not sure how that happened. I think I may have volunteered.

Now I’m home, it’s almost 2200, I’m tired, and need to make the bed. Then I will rest a bit then go lay in it until the dogs get me up tomorrow.

I don’t have any new pictures to share so thought I’d just toss in a couple of old ones. These are mainly to embarrass Maryssa and Lydia, but Maryssa mostly. Lydia is a freshman this year, here in St. Helens, and Maryssa is a senior way over there in Nampa, Idaho. She recently committed to Eastern Oregon University on a softball scholarship. Cute, aren’t they?

Then, there’s this, just when you thought they were such angels …

Now we know why kids need braces when they get older …

Congratulations, Maryssa.

Veteran’s Day 2013

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

It’s Veteran’s Day, so I took the day off because I am one.

All I did was charge the battery on the old 2001 PT Cruiser. I also took the turn signal/headlight switch thingy apart to see if there was anything noticeably wrong with it that might cause the fog light indicator to remain on all the time. It eventually drains the battery which is a real bummer.

Oh! I finished painting the ceiling of the top porch, too. I did that this morning after helping put up flags with the Lions Club. The flags went up at 0700 so I didn’t get my nap like normal.

Diane fixed me grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for lunch. That’s excellent cold weather food.

Speaking of the weather, today was absolutely gorgeous. It got almost to 60 which is balmy for this time of year. That’s why I did the painting, because I knew it would dry. Tomorrow is supposed to be the same so guess I’ll have to find something else to paint.

A little while ago I drew some lines on a board, but forgot why. I think I was going to cut it. I just put it all away and quit for the day. The reason will come to me in the night. If I remember I’ll do it, whatever it was, tomorrow.

Diane is going to play Bunco at Jennie’s tonight so the boys, Cedric and Jeran will be with me. They are here to keep an eye on me because they’re way too big, and old, to babysit.

Here’s what today’s sunrise looked like.

Kind of redundant, huh? Wish the beach was close so I could take cool pictures of waves, like Jewel does.

Church, Movies, Ravens, and Jeans

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

First, I must share yesterday’s sunrise with you …

Not bad for rainy old Oregon, huh?

Today is Sunday so you all know what we did. Yup. We opened our house up to all the homeless people in Warren, Oregon and fed them all a good meal. Since there aren’t many homeless folks in Warren, it’s really not hard to do. Actually, to my knowledge, there aren’t ANY homeless people in Warren. That may cause you to question who we actually fed today, wouldn’t it? Like most other Sundays, we brought home Diane’s Mom, Jean, and fed her a Hebrew National hot dog. She had a choice – one dog or two. Diane had one, too. They each had one. Me? I ate left-over lasagna with 1/4 of the remaining baguette which I heated up on the “pizza” setting in the stove. I still have 1/4 left for my favorite sandwich, which I will make tomorrow, of ham, cheddar, and butter. Maybe a little mayo, but mostly butter.

In church this morning I was the lone greeter because Diane and her Jean took that time to set up the stuff they made for coffee hour after service. Since there were only about 33 people in church, it wasn’t difficult, but it could’ve been. One just never knows how many people are going to show up to be saved.

Diane and Jean tried to take their normal seats behind Nancy, but Larry and Shirley were already there, so they sat a row back. Being uncomfortable sitting behind Larry, I chose to be a “Left Side” churcher this morning and sat by Ron. It was a pretty good seat because I didn’t have to swivel myself to the left in order to hear the sermon. I could just stare almost straight ahead. It was very nice. I may sit there from now on. Sitting with Ron also gave me an opportunity to suck him into helping me with he offering, one of the tasks to which greeters are appointed. I had the right side, as you walk up the aisle, and things went well until I got to the third row where Nancy and Lisa were sitting. The second row is a short one, making room for a wheel chair, so the kids love it. Today it was occupied by Lisa’s daughters, Sarah and Dani. The girls indicated they had something to place in the offering, so I stepped in to let them make their deposit. I also noticed that Lisa had something in her hand that seemed to be destined for the offering plate, but she was busy giving instructions to the girls about something. I stood there for a long time, waiting to get her attention until I just couldn’t stand it any longer, with everyone staring at me and all, so I rapped her on the knuckles with the plate to get her attention. Which it did. I immediately regretted it. Honest.

She almost leaped out of her seat, catching herself at the last-minute, looking at me with a wild look in her eyes like, maybe, I was in some deep kimchi or something. Believe me, if you are ever going to be knee-deep in something you don’t want it to be kimchi.

Instead of standing up to slug me, she made her deposit and I made a hasty retreat before she could change her mind. I apologized later, but it was as if she had no idea what I was talking about, like what I did was normal. God bless her. Lisa works in the dental office where I’m a member so I’d hate to get on her bad side. She has access to needles and lots of other pointy objects.

Coffee hour went well. Since the cheese, an entire 5 lb loaf, was first in line it was devoured in no time. Just a few pieces remained. Cantaloupe was next. I cut up two of them yesterday and am happy to report there is enough remaining for a snack tomorrow morning. Jean made all the sweet stuff like rice krispee squares, brownies, and cup cakes. There were a few of them left, too, so we brought them home to nibble on after they ate their hot dogs and I ate the left overs.

After eating, we sat in the living room and watched a couple of movies Diane had recorded from the Lifetime channel. Pretty much all they show there are “Chick Flicks”, but she had “The Bucket List” with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. I’ve seen it before, and it’s a good movie, but it’s not a chick flick at all. Maybe it wasn’t a Lifetime movie. During the movie I got a call from our friend, Tom, and talked with him for a couple of hours. I like talking with Tom because I always learn something new. Tom is the one who, not long ago, was hooked up to life support and pretty much written off as a goner. He fooled everyone, though, and made a miraculous recovery. Today he told me that last year when he went to the gun show in Hillsboro he had to use a wheel chair. This time he walked it all with just one cane. That’s amazing to me, and to a lot of other people. Tom’s also the guy who tried to staunch the blood flowing from a leg wound with a kotex. It would have worked well had he unwrapped it, first. Linda straightened him out on the proper use of a kotex. He will never forget that one. Nor will I.

Diane had a second movie which none of us had ever seen and it was good. For sure this one was a Lifetime Channel movie because it had commercials. It was definitely a Chick Flick, too. I actually like those kinds of movies because they end happy. Diane and I are alike in that manner. Like, if it’s a Bruce Willis movie, bad language seems to be more acceptable. Or, if it’s an action movie, something better blow up near the beginning or we lose interest. With CFs, their going to be a bit sappy, but problems are solved, and good things happen. All without bad language. That’s a plus.

Now the movies are done and we’re winding down. Me by doing this, and Diane by watching HGTV.

The Carolina Panthers won today. We follow them because Cam Newton’s backup QB is Derek Anderson, a Scappoose native. He gets to play when Cam gets hurt. Derek has played for other teams after being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens. His best year was with the Cleveland Browns in 2007. He owns a restaurant across the street from the Scappoose High School and he brings his NFL friends back to town every year to put on a football camp for the kids. One of our friends, Beth, was one of his teachers during his formative years, like maybe the 1st grade, who comforted him about his huge feet telling him that he’d grow in to them eventually. I know that’s true, because Beth told me that personally. He did, too, but he had to grow to six-foot-six to do it. Big boy.

Another little factoid is that Derek’s Grandpa live just around the corner from Diane’s Mom. We always know who Derek is playing for because Grandpa flies the appropriate flag in front of his house, along with the Oregon State Beaver flag where Derek set all kinds of records.

Oh, and Jean, the piano player, did you notice that the Panthers beat the 49ers today?

It was wrong of me to do that because Jean, the piano player, is a die-hard 49ers fan, her being from Modesto, and all. She went to high school with George Lucas there. Yes, “that” George. He’s only 6 days older than me so I guess that means I could have been a famous movie guy. I mean, we both know Jean, after all. She and George almost got married, I think, but she didn’t think he’d amount too much and moved to St. Helens. I’m guessing there. She may have only rubbed elbows with him once or twice, but I like my version best.

I heard from Idaho today and learned that all is well. It was terrible of me to shame Donna into communicating, but I couldn’t contain myself. The result was welcome news and worth the possibility of being shunned. That didn’t happen, however, and I believe it’s still OK to cross into Idaho any time we get the chance.

I think that’s about it. You all have a great evening.

Oh ya, Jewel. Here’s the sunrise that greeted me this morning …