Mary, Hood to Coast Relay, & Spaghetti

Posted on by

Before getting to the cheerful stuff, I’m compelled to report that we’ve lost another friend. Mary Newell-Dickinson depart this mortal domain on August 20th. She was only 68, and passed peacefully in her sleep. Her departure was a total surprise to everyone, especially her husband, Ross. It’s a tragedy, but we rest comfortably in the knowledge that she’s just gone ahead to help us find our way when it’s our time. So, whether or not you knew Mary, please remember her and send healing prayers to Ross.

57bdeffcee2cb.image

Incidentally, Mary was a member of the OMTAAMB (One More Time Around Again Marching Band). Maybe you’ve heard of them.

Our friends Jeannie, and Susan are also in the band. I’ll talk about them on another day.

Yesterday Diane and I chipped in to help daughter Jennifer prepare food for the Hood to Coast walkers and runners. For those of you who are not familiar with the Hood to Coast, it’s a relay race from Mt. Hood to Seaside. It’s about a 200 mile trek for the runners. Walkers also relay but start from Portland. The object of this event is to make it to Seaside before all those who went before you drink all the beer.

Team members take turns and each member normally runs or walks three 5 KM segments. The runners/walkers start in the morning and continue throughout the night with the last participants arriving in Seaside Saturday morning. It’s one of the largest relay races in the world, and they always come through St. Helens. One of the main stops for food is the Columbia County Fair Grounds which just happens to be located on the outskirts of St. Helens. One of the traditions for providing food is for the St. Helens High School parents and Seniors to sponsor the main food service for the Senior’s Safe & Sober program. They make lots of money doing this, but they provide some pretty good food in return. High Carb stuff to keep participants moving.

Diane and my contribution was to make spaghetti for 200. We’ve never done that before so it was an exciting challenge. During our effort we made 8 gallons of sauce and boiled up 10 double packages of spaghetti noodles. The spaghetti noodles were cooked to perfection. I know that’s true because we know who Al Dente is. He lives just down the street.

IMG_0478

IMG_0479

Now, here’s where I must share what learned during this evolution … when stirring either sauce, or noodles, it’s beneficial to have tools with handles that are longer than the water or sauce is deep. Not observing this rule results in repeated, painful burns to fingers when attempting to get stuff from the bottom of the pan. I only burned myself twice before opting for a long-handled spoon to finish the job. In all we had two very large pots of sauce, and I cooked the noodles 3 packages at a time in the same pots after moving the sauce to holding tanks with heaters. The hardest part about doing the noodles was waiting for the water to boil. For some reason it took an incredibly long time. Once it got going, however, it worked just fine so I just kept using it over and over, adding water sparingly to keep from cooling it down too much.

The final vote of confidence for all that work was received from the runners who complimented Jennifer and Lydia on the great spaghetti. And, they sold every bit of it. We did good.

After turning over our spaghetti efforts to Daniel & Jeran, Diane and I made ourselves presentable so we could join some of our Winnebago friends, Cliff, Susie, Carolann, & Terry at the St. Helens Elks Lodge for dinner. These folks park at the Elks a couple of times a year which gives us more opportunities to visit with them. We treasure our time with these folks.

That’s Susie, Diane, Carolann, Terry, Me, and Cliff after the end of a pretty terrific meal served by one of the happiest waitresses I believe I’ve ever seen. As Terry said, “she should smile more.” She couldn’t do that, of course, because there wasn’t a moment when she wasn’t smiling.

IMG_8720

The St. Helens Elks Lodge #1999 sits on a hill with a terrific view of the Columbia River. I don’t have a photo to prove it, but that’s OK. I’m sure everyone believes me. Right?

While Diane and I were playing with spaghetti, Jewel went to the Portland International Airport to meet her daughter, Jessica, and family when they arrived from Perth, Australia. That, my friends, is a very long trip.

Now it’s Saturday, 1530 hours in the afternoon. This morning I mowed the entire yard, as well as one of our neighbor’s yards, edged stuff, and hauled a trailer load of debris to the burn pile. I could do that because it was only in the 80’s. I’m allowed outside when it’s under 90. I don’t know why it matter becasue I sweat just as much either way. But, rules are rules, ya know?

That’s it for now. I have some ball games to watch.

Guess Who Got Specs !

Posted on by

IMG_8308

… and, she got a T-shirt to match. How cool is that?

Baylee has joined the majority portion of the world who wears glasses and she couldn’t be happier. Turns how she’s been having difficulty for a little while at school but it wasn’t noticeable to the teacher until she saw Baylee trying to hold her eyes open so she could see better. The teacher initially thought she was trying to stay awake. Far from it.

Now she sees perfectly, just like the rest of us.

Doctor Visits, Golf, Gmail & Outlook, RV Dumping

Posted on by

Last Monday I had a doctor’s appointment but gave it up so Diane could go in my place. Since I don’t go to the doc very often I was pretty sure they wouldn’t notice that Diane wasn’t me. But, they fooled me, and knew it was Diane right away. I think it’s because her hair is longer than mine. Even though they knew it wasn’t me they chose to see Diane anyway because, well, she needed to be seen. My appointment was just for a 2-month followup. Nothing’s happened in the last two months, however, so I was OK not seeing the doc. But, as luck would have it, they had an opening with my doctor right after my original appointment, so all that subtrafuge, though fun, was a total waste of time.

Diane had to see the doc because she developed a mysterious rash on her neck that was driving her nutsoid. She said it didn’t hurt, it just itched. We were concerned that it might be a new episode of shingles, and the doctor was wondering that herself. Diane now has some cream to help with the itch and it appears to be working.

Me? I’m fine. My BP was 117/68 (or something like that), HR 72, and weight 197. The weight, of course, is incorrect. It always is at the doc’s office. I wonder why that is. In addition to  asking all the normal questions about any changes I may have noticed, doc checked my ear to see how the Mohs surgery went. The ear is still a bit tender, but it healed so nicely that you can barely see that anything was done. My surgeon did a fabulous job. I also had photos taken of my retinas to see how my diabetes is going. I got the good news today that it’s all normal.

Yesterday I was forced to go golfing with Junior and Doug and I had one of my better rounds (52). Not bad for a 37 handicap. Yes, that’s how bad I really am. The reason is because I’m no too concerned with trees and just pretend they aren’t there if they happen to be between me and where I want to go. Most of the time it doesn’t work, but the times it does is lots of fun.

After golf I paid a visit to Eva, one of my high school class mates, who was having trouble with adding a Gmail account to her Outlook application. I couldn’t figure it out, but had a great visit. After returning home I went to work on the internet in an attempt to figure out how to fix it. It was a waste of time because I was really wanting to be outside working but Diane wouldn’t let me because it was so hot. Running 90+ I think and I’m forbidden to be outside when it’s that hot. I don’t mind, but hot days are the ones I’d rather be inside anyway so I don’t whine about it. Well, I don’t whine about it every time. Just once in a while, to keep in practice.

No, regarding Gmail and Outlook … I figured it out this afternoon and it’s kind of interesting. I’d explain it to you but I don’t want to. If you’re really interested, let me know and I’ll tell you.

Before doing the Gmail research, I hooked up the travel trailer in preparation for a run to the dump station next to Burgerville. Regarding that … I don’t believe any of the rumors going around about Burgerville using water from the dump station to wash their pans. I think it goes directly into the city sewer system. Honest. The trailer had to be dumped because when we left Big Eddy on July 24th their dump station was no available. So, we just went on home thinking we would do it when we got to St. Helens. But, we didn’t. Instead, we just went home to visit with Jewel and the dogs. Once the trailer was parked, there seemed to be too many other things going on that made hooking up the trailer difficult. Today, however, we decided that it had to be done since we will need to have all tanks empty for our trip to Beverly Beach next week. The dump went well, in case you’re wondering. Didn’t spill a drop. I was a bit concerned that the black tank may have solidified after sitting for a month, and that I may have to get a bunch of Fleet enemas to get things going, but it wasn’t necessary. It was a complete, uneventful evacuation of all tanks. Made me proud.

Upon returning home I put on my outdoor work clothes because I wanted to flatten a portion of the front yard that’s been a lump for years. Despite warnings about temps too high for me to be working outside (98) I went anyway and accomplished the task. then I took a shower so Diane would let me sit in the living room this evening.

For those of you keeping track of Jewel, I must admit that Diane and I are having difficulty helping her gain weight. She only weighs like 12 pounds and nothing seems to stick to her. Actually, she weighs more than that but it’s a secret. She did make a comment the other day that I thought was quite funny. She said she’s just a stick figure with wrinkles. But, she’s healthy and appears to be happy, so we should probably just quit making her eat ice cream all the time and leave her alone.

Hope all of you are happy and well.

Bubble Soccer

Posted on by

Lydia’s team played some rousing rounds of bubble soccer in the high school gym this evening. It was fun to watch. After the girls had a few rounds, the parents got involved to play against their daughters. Jennifer, of course, was the first one on the floor so she could suit up and knock Lydia down. She did, too, but Lydia made her pay by knocking Mom down over and over. Jennie was laughing so hard she could hardly stand up. Everyone watching was laughing, also. Fun stuff.

IMG_0477

I took video but, alas, cannot make it work on the blog. Had to share Jennifer all suited up, though.

Who’s The Happy Guy?

Posted on by

Just a quick note to report that Cedric is doing well in Navy boot camp. His letters are up beat and plentiful. Having been there I know the satisfaction of sending lots of letters in the hope that the receivers reciprocate in kind. His Mom & Dad, Jennifer & Daniel, and siblings, Lydia & Jeran, ensure he gets mail. I’ve only written once and need to do that again.

You can tell by the photo that he’s pretty relaxed and actually happy to be there. He’s learning a lot and we’re very proud of him.

IMG_0474

He graduates next month, a moment he’s ready for now. I understand. His Mom & Dad, and Jeran will attend. Diane and I were going to go also but we’re already committed to a trip to the East Coast a few days after his graduation and just couldn’t justify the extra cost ($700+) of backing up our ticket 4 days. So, we hope to visit him in Ft. Lee Virginia, his next stop on his way to the top.

Mr. Pajama Pants

Posted on by

That’s apparently my new title, bestowed just this morning, as Diane & Jewel departed to visit a local optometrist to have their eyes checked.

Seems kind of contradictory, don’t you think, to call me names while on the way to have their vision checked?

But, I must add that I wear it with pride. I stay in my Lucky Charms Pajamas just as long as I can before putting on my work clothes for a trip outside so I can drench them with gallons of sweat.

Today, and the next few days, may see me in my pajamas from dawn to dusk because it’s going to be triple digit heat out there. This option has been blessed by my boss because she doesn’t want me to fade away somewhere in the yard. I think that’s because it would be too difficult to drag me up to the front of the house to meet the ambulance, even though I put a new battery in the mower and she knows how to start it.

It could also be an option because she Loves me a little.

I’ll go with that …

The Old Truck, Panzie, Bamboo, & Fire

Posted on by

Yesterday I tempted fate by driving the old, brakeless truck to visit Justin to see if he can fix what’s wrong. He’s a friend of Lydia’s and is a pretty good mechanic. So, having a vehicle that needs the attention of a mechanic on a regular basis, I feel it’s my duty to give him all the opportunities I can to further his education. The last time I used his services was to get the flex plate installed. Since he did that I’ve had no problem starting the truck, at all. That’s been many months ago. Haven’t had to charge the battery, either, probably because I replaced the belts allowing the engine to turn the alternator at a speed fast enough to generate enough electricity to replenish what was used to get the engine started. Whatever the reason, I’m a happy guy and will be until I find out what it’s going to cost me this time.

I didn’t work in the yard until this afternoon because we had to take Panzie to the doc for a scheduled appointment. She needed a shot and a checkup. She’s just fine for an old dog.

IMG_2262

After we got her home, and past the welcoming committee who were happily yapping, I donned my work clothes and headed for the back yard. My goal was to install bamboo cross members between two 4 x 4 posts I had originally planned to use to support a door to no where. Just seemed like a good idea at the time. That was years ago, of course, because no way was Diane going to let me install a door between those posts. The door I had in mind was burned up years ago. So, I got out my handy-dandy hammer drill, the one that tried to kill me a few years ago, installed a spade bit, and gave it a test run. Then I measured six-inch increments up one post and used my level to add similar marks to the other post. My original plan was to drill holes completely through both posts then pull the home-grown bamboo through both posts. That didn’t work because the joints in the bamboo where branches were removed wouldn’t fit. Last night while I lay dreaming, the solution came to me. All I had to do was drill the holes on the insides of the posts, deeper on one side than the other, then cut the bamboo between the joints so they wouldn’t be a problem. When cut to the proper length, I pushed the bamboo in the deeper hole, then pushed it into the shallow hole on the other side. worked like a charm. So simple.

Then, after looking at it for a while, I thought it should have some vertical elements and started adding them. After I ran out of pieces that would bend around the horizontal members I just cut a small stalk, plucked all the leaves off it and stuck it on. Kinda weird, but Diane likes it. That’s the important part.

IMG_8203

The trellis is going to be used for a clematis that will envelope the entire thing.

To end the day, I flattened out a spot that use to house a Rhododendron and built Diane a fire pit. She’s always wanted one of those. I just happened to have a bunch of big rocks lying around doing nothing which was handy.

IMG_8202

Diane doesn’t think it’s an adequate fire pit. I thought it looked ok.

Now I’m clean and tired and the beeper just went off telling me the spaghetti is done, so I must terminate and ingest food.

Sports, Crab, Cod, & 54248 Kalberer Rd

Posted on by

Soccer in Warranton – Most of the victorious team. That’s our Lydia in front. IMG_0470

The Lady Lions varsity team won all three of their assigned games quite handily. They are always fun to watch. I’m sure glad I figured out some of the rules so it makes sense to me. Off sides was the tough one to get the handle on. Now they will shortly be on to league play when school starts.

Diane and I got up fairly early Saturday morning and took a walk on the beach. In spite of all the volley ball nets strung up, and people smacking their balls back and forth, it was a quiet, uncrowded walk on which we got to me some nice dogs and their people on the beach. I even found a rather normal rock, very similar to many I’ve found digging around in the back yard. I kept it anyway.

Seaside Beach Volleyball, as I mentioned, was the deal of the week and the entire town was hopping. People everywhere. Parking places hard to find. But, the mood was always festive and we didn’t encounter any unhappy people to ruin our day. After Saturday’s game Diane and I went to Dooger’s in Warrenton to get our normal fare on trips to the coast. I had my crab louie and Diane had her fish and chips. It’s always good.

We got home late yesterday afternoon to a fleet of barking dogs. Apparently we pulled in just after Scott & Whitney returned from their weekend away as they were working on backing their trailer into their yard. As we stood talking, Kiah & Brooklyn backed their pink jeep out of the garage and headed on down the street, toward town. Whitney said no, she just sent them down to get the mail. How handy. Kiah is 5 and Brooklyn is 3. This is Kiah preparing to park her jeep back in the garage.IMG_0469

Diane and I are thinking about having them get our mail, too. How handy is that?

This morning I woke up at 0250 and couldn’t go back to sleep so took my little self to the recliner and read for a while. I’ve been reading “Inferno”, by Dan Brown, because I just learned they made it into a movie. I forgot that I already read it, but that’s OK. I’m reading it again. Fun stuff. When Diane got up I pried myself off the recliner and prepared to do some yard work for a little while. Couldn’t do it for long because it got hot fast and I don’t do well when it’s hot. I run out of sweat way too fast. Besides, we had a lunch date with Jack & Wynette after going to view their home. Their empty home. It’s listed for sale and they hope to sell it quickly so they can move along down the road to Surprise, Arizona. So, if you know of anyone seeking a secluded home, pass this along.

After the viewing, and some visiting, we headed to Scappoose for sustenance at Ichabod’s where we ate and visited some more. Tom Anderson, from Wynette’s class stopped to say hello so we had him sit with us. I don’t remember him but, then, he was an upper class man. That means he’s older than me. It’s hard telling who you’ll run into at Ichabod’s. Sit there long enough and you’ll usually see three or four old class mates.

The heat is finally going away for the night so we can open some windows and doors for some fresh air before we head for bed.

Apples, Flowers, & Weeds

Posted on by

It’s August 12th, almost 10:30 am and I’m already sweaty from my morning chores. I was up at 5 am, like normal, fed the dogs, then napped a little on the couch. The nap was terminated when Diane reported that it was 9 am and made me get up and peel about eleventeen apples for apple sauce.

IMG_0466

IMG_0467

Immediately after finishing the apples, and getting the pan on the stove I was encouraged to wax the truck. Thankfully it was only 86 degrees in the garage or it would have been the end of me. Still, I’m happy that my assigned tasks were indoors.

Diane did her part, too, by taking her little squirter thing into the yard to kill all the dandelions. And, we have a bunch of those thanks to all our up hill neighbors. This time of year they aren’t too bad because everything pretty much dies, or goes dormant to escape the heat.

IMG_0468

She uses a holistic mixture of Dawn soap, vinegar, and epsom salts which actually almost smells good enough to taste. I like vinegar.

Our friend, Jewel, was up shortly after me this morning and got busy in the yard right away watering all the plants we stuffed in the ground yesterday. In case you forgot, here’s what we did:

IMG_0464

My job was to poke the holes. Where the holes were to be poked was generally decided by a conversation that went something like this;

“Jewel. Where should I put this one?”

“I don’t care.”

Moving it a bit, I’d ask, “How about here.”

“Looks good to me, but move it closer to that rock.”

“This rock?”

“No, that one over there.”

“OK,” I’d say, then proceed to poke the hole with my Pulaski.

“Maybe it would look better by that other rock, the one that’s poking up into the air.”

It went on like that until holes were poked all over the place just waiting for something to be stuffed into them. It worked out nicely in the end. We’re a pretty good team as long as I mind.

You know, of course, the foregoing is mostly a fabrication.

Oh! I also shaved this morning because we’re going to the beach for the weekend. Jewel has agreed to dog sit while we go watch Lydia play in a soccer tournament in Warranton. We wanted to take the trailer but apparently everyone has heard about what a hard time I have parking it so denied us entry. She finally found an overpriced motel in Seaside we can use, but we have to be out of our room during daylight hours so they can rent it to their regular hourly customers who agreed to free up the nights for us. We thought that was pretty nice of them. They also promised to change the sheets which was an unexpected bonus.

Staying in Seaside will give Diane a chance to stick her toes in the Pacific Ocean, something she loves to do. The beach is where she feels her best and I’m happy for that. I love it, too. There’s nothing quite as magnificent as the Oregon Coast.

I spect I should end this and get ready to leave. I’m sure Diane is busy packing her “stuff” already. Maybe she did it last night.

Be safe.