Tag Archives: life

Apple IOS 18.3.1 Update

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There’s a lot of commotion surround this update and I just completed a session with my favorite son, Jeff, in an attempt to correct the issue he’s having with his phone .He has an iPhone 13 pro max which should have tolerated the update, but he’s been plagued with power issues since the install. As a consequence, his phone deteriorated until it was useless. So, he took a chance and allowed me to see what I could do.

Not having a clue about what I was doing, I pushed a bunch of buttons and cycled the phone on and off until it wouldn’t stay on for more than 5-10 seconds. That’s worse than it was originally. Though it’s worse, it was progress, kind of. After all that, I left the phone alone for a little bit and we talked about alternatives. I do not remember if anything useful that came from that discussion but at the end I decided to try one more time.

I’ve discovered over my copious free time on this planet that if you think good things about an electronic device and talk nicely about them in their presence, even when they’re bad, they will eventually yield and cooperate. It just takes time.

With this knowledge fresh in my mind, I talked with the phone a little while, making eye contact at all times, and tentatively touched the on/off button to see what would happen. Magically, it started to power up! The apple logo lit up and I found myself holding my breath as time progressed because it was nearing the moment when the logo previously dimmed, then went away. Happily, it stayed on and continued to boot up and presented me with the home screen.

Then it went blank.

Thankfully, I kept my cool and didn’t say anything bad about the phone, but it stayed off. Before diving into the hole of self-pity, I touched the screen softly and was rewarded with the return of the home screen. It was alive! There was hope!

At this point, the phone was still attached to a power cord that was not plugged into a power source. It was just hanging on like an overly long umbilical cord and that only disturbed me a little bit.

With the success of attaining the home screen we thought it would be interesting to see what might happen if we removed the cord. Since it was imperative that I not jostle the phone we silently agreed that Jeff should remove the cord. I glanced at him as he tentatively gripped the cord and slowly removed it from the phone. I think at this point we were both holding our breath, waiting for a negative response.

Time passed, and nothing changed! It was still working. We looked at each other and I decided to see if it would object when I moved it. Slowly, I inched my hand down to the arm of my chair, giving my muscles a little rest, and everything remained OK.

It was like a miracle because there was no empirical evidence that we did anything close to defining a repeatable solution. Neither of us had any idea how we got to this point in our troubleshooting exploit, so we just called it a win and Jeff went happily on his way.

I learned later that Jeff’s phone failed again so he pursued a surefire solution by getting a new phone. His was obviously flawed in some way and he was part of a huge iPhone community that had troubles with this particular IOS upgrade. So, he now has a 16 pro max that is immune to failure. I know that’s true because Alibabba.com is selling them for some very reasonable prices,

With that happy ending I will end this and move along to something more interesting like, has President Trump really been a KGB agent since 1987, or was Bob Ross really a political cartoonist and all those videos of him painting happy clouds featured his reclusive twin brother Norman?

Hmmm.

Days 168 – Saturday – Still Home

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Saturday was spent fiddling with the truck, trying to make it run. I failed, but I did manage to get all the dash gauges lit up a couple of times, and made the system ring some bells. I don’t know what they signified, but I made it happen. That little bit of success gave me something to think about because all that happened when I connected my fancy battery charger and put it in “Car Start” mode. All that means is the system is jolted with 50 amps that should work to start the engine, kinda like jumping the battery from another vehicle, like we used to do when we were kids. Everyone had a set of jumper cables. I still do, but I’ve also got AAA. They’ve got longer cables.

That old charger didn’t work, but I wasn’t surprised. It has resided in the battery compartment of the RV for a few years and has been subjected to all kinds of toxic chemicals during that time. I’m sure that wasn’t good for the little buttons that makes it tick. Sometimes they would work, sometimes they wouldn’t, so I figured it was beyond my ability to fathom any other reasons for its to malfunctioning nature.

With this knowledge I took a trip to O’Reilly Auto Parts and got a new battery charger. One that has a 250 Amp kick instead of the measly 50 Amp I had. It also has wheels so I can drag it around and keep it off the ground. Also, it’s too big to fit in the battery compartment so it won’t be breathing all that bad air. It’s staying in the garage.

To make a long story short, it worked. I was able to get enough juice in the battery to the point where the system determined that it was still alive and responded to the button that starts everything. It cranked up and purred like a kitten. I was so happy.

I believe the problem about the battery going dead was caused by the automatic levelling system that lives on the back axle of the truck. There are air bags back there connected to a small compressor that only knows two things; 1) The air bags are low on air, and 2) The air bags have too much air. Actually, the compressor doesn’t know anything. It simply responds to the external stimulus supplied by a magnet, a proximity switch, and gravity. It’s that simple.

The compressor is connected to a switch that is connected to the frame in such a manner that when the air bags deflate, a magnate moves up, or down, in relation to a stable sensor that triggers the electricity to the compressor. When weight is added to the truck bed, or a trailer is attached, the compressor pumps up the bags until the rig is level. When the weight is removed, air is released to make it level. Simple system. The problem is that there’s no way to turn it off. It’s on all the time. So, when it sits idle for 5 months that bag inflation/deflation status is controlled by the weather. In this case it was mainly cold so it was constantly pumping the bags up and did so until the battery was totally drained. That’s my theory.

If I’d had a brain before we left, I should have disconnected the battery, but I didn’t. I suspect I could have installed an on/off switch on the compressor, but that would have been too easy.

The good news is that I can still install the switch, and the truck is back in action. I’ll put that on my TODO list. All I have to do is find it. I think it’s in the garage somewhere..

Our children are happy about the resurrection because they have things they want to move, and the truck is what they need. I’m happy to oblige.

Here’s proof of life for the truck:

I’m happy to report that the snow we outran to get home, has come and gone. Max thought it was fun for a while, as did we, then it went away and we’re OK with that. Here’s the new look around the house.

The creek is a little higher right now because of the melting snow in yonder hills. You can see Max getting reacquainted with the boulders that protect the stream bank. He remembers them all.

Now I’m done.

Day 160 – Friday – Harris Beach State Park Brookings

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I took Max for a long walk this morning and didn’t get a drop of rain on me. Now that we’re almost ready to wrap things up here in Eureka, it’s raining again but it’s OK. I’m almost immune to getting wet and worrying about it. The key word here is “almost”. I’m not a fan of having rain pouring off a roof, down my neck. Makes me very cold just thinking about it.

The trip up Hwy 101 was very nice and actually beautiful. The sky was clear, it didn’t rain and traffic was sparse. Pretty much a perfect travel day. We got to our evening stop between 2-3 pm and Max was excited to be parked. While I worked on setting things up, Diane tethered him to the picnic table and when I gave him an option to get in the bus he just laid down. That’s “no” in Max’s language. I understand. It was very pretty out and he’s been couped up for a few hours.

About halfway here we stopped at a Rest Area and made PB&J sandwiches. I also ate two carrots. It was a good lunch. Eating lite like that made it easy to plan for a big supper in town.

After a brief search we settled on Catalyst Seafood. I dished up Max’s dinner then we headed down to the restaurant. It was a good choice. Diane had fish and chips and I had a crab salad with a bowl of chowder.

After we got back, I took Max for an extra-long walk because he deserved it. We made a circuit of the A loop stopped about a hundred times to analyze the bouquet of odors assaulting his nostrils. He’s very serious about things his nose tells him.

Here’s the view from Harris Beach State Park Space #20. It’s very stunning. There’s even a southern exposure so Dish works perfectly.

Here’s something fun. Did I mention that the light fixture in the bedroom leaks? Yup, when it rains, it drips. One more thing to fix one of these days. It’s a 12VDC light so I’m not too concerned about it. I think I know how the water’s getting in but I’m not going to investigate it until we get home.

Another interesting bit of info is that I’m pretty sure I cracked a rib this morning when I sneezed. For some reason I tried to suppress it and I was bent a little in the wrong direction. Consequently, when the sneeze happened anyway, I was subjected to an extremely painful stab in my back, left side. The pain actually went all the way around, under my left arm and across my chest. It was explosive. Since then, I cannot take a deep breath without recreating the pain. Neither can I blow my nose, or cough without severe pain. If I’m not careful about how I move my arm, like reach for something quickly, it feels like something is not connected properly and I get the pain again. In between those bouts of pain there is no pain, and I forget that it will happen again if I’m not careful. And, I always forget that it’s going to hurt again. I need a chiropractor. Until then, I’m just going to do a lot of sucking in my breath from the pain when I forget. I don’t know, yet, if I can lay down without moaning a little.

Time to stop so I will leave you with our first Oregon sunset since last summer.

Day 158 – Wednesday – Mendocino Redwood RV

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It appears that I’m going to survive my fall. For a while there I’m sure Diane wondered if the damage was permanent. The damage to my glasses is certainly permanent. I do have a spare set of spectacles thanks to Jennifer. The only drawback to using the spares is they were calibrated for computer use. Therefore, distance vision, though a little fuzzy, is better than having the glasses fall off my face at a critical moment. So, we’re going with them. Besides, Diane said she like them better than the bent glasses because they don’t make my face look mean.

We’re heading north, finally, up Highway 101, west of the snow. The snow was a concern because neither of us wants to be driving in that stuff. I do have chains for the bus, which I purchased years ago in the event the road rules dictated that travelers must carry traction devices. Well, I’ve got them, but I have no intention of ever installing them. My plan, if I’m ever in a situation where chains are required, I’d simply turn everything off, hand my keys to some lucky devil, and catch a ride home. I know, that’s a tad radical, and I probably wouldn’t do that, but it’s an option.

Thankfully, though it’s a little chilly outside, it’s a cloudless sky. The sun is shining all over the place. Quite different from the typhoon welcome we got yesterday. That was miserable. My fuzzy shirt is still dripping from that episode.

Thinking back on that fall, both of us are a little bewildered because when I’ve fallen in the past, my knees always took a hit. Like lots of skid marks and sometimes bloody spots. This time, I had on new jeans and there wasn’t a mark on them from the fall. I studied the area where I fell for a long time. The spot where I hit the ground was evident by the dried blood.

At the time, I had Max with me, and he was attached to the long cable tether we use when he is out alone. That’s not ideal for walking him because it doesn’t retract. I figure that had something to do with the mishap, too. So, bear with me and see if this makes sense.

I lifted the dumpster lid with my left hand and deposited two bags of trash with my right. I remember that part. Then I turned to my right and took a step with my right foot. At this point Max found something interesting to my right and lunged that direction. I took another step with my left foot that ended close to the blue bumper. When I tried to keep up with my right foot the bumper was in the way and caused me to go down on my left side but somehow my knees didn’t hit the ground. They must have encountered the white bumper, and the remainder of the impact was absorbed by my right arm which should have caused me to roll left. But, considering the size of the blood spot, I must have laid there a while before getting up. Diane said I was gone about 1/2 hour, and the dumpster was only a couple of minutes away. I obviously did not tuck and roll like I’ve been trained to do.

It’s still very confusing and the mystery remains about why my pants didn’t get dirty. Not even one littler speck to commemorate the event.

Therefore, I proclaim that for some reason I was saved from catastrophic damage at the last second and time stopped for a bit.

Simple as that. Then I got up and went back to the RV, but I have no memory of that trip. My first semi-sentient moment was in the bathroom when Diane was cleaning me up and I suggested she take a photo to document this event. These memories were fleeting as was the trip to the hospital. I recall part of the trip and by the time we got to the first doctor I feel that I was aware of my surroundings just fine. It was weird but it didn’t bother me at all. Also, the pouring rain washed away all the evidence I left in the parking lot as if nothing happened at all.

The doctor wanted to keep me for observation in case something else happened, but we had places to be, so we talked him out of it

Now, about Mendocino County. That’s where Willits is located, our next destination.

The trip very nice, rolling through hundreds of acres of vineyards. It’s very peaceful and easy on the eyes after all the high desert sand. It was nice to be surrounded by fields of green grass interspersed by all those grapevines so perfectly lined up and so well-tended.

It rained a bit toward the end of the 2-hour trip which we drove non-stop. We found the RV Park easily and we were the first people to show up this day. Others arrived later, but the park is practically empty. It’s a very nice park and it’s a little sad we’ll be here for only one night.

After getting everything set up, we left Max in charge of the TV remote and headed into town for something to eat. The chosen destination was Lumberjacks Restaurant. It’s apparently a chain restaurant and it was really good. Diane had a hamburger, and I had a chicken-fried steak. Here’s the only photo taken inside the restaurant.

Diane took this to show everyone how well my eye is looking. I’m mending quite well, and it should be invisible by the time we get back home in Oregon.

The weather looks pretty good so it’s on to Eureka tomorrow.

Day 136 – Tuesday – MCAS Twenty-nine Palms, CA

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We vacated Quartzsite early this morning and headed west to California. Our next stop was the Marine Corp Air Station at Twenty-nine Palms. When we pulled out of our RV park, a left turn would take us to Parker on Highway 95 and a right turn would take us to I-10. Diane’s GPS had her turn left, and mine had me turn right so we got separated in the first 2 minutes of today’s trip. Diane thought I was going to follow her, but the RV GPS is a trucker’s Garmin that computes routes based on the size of our RV. That’s why I turned right. It was a risky move on my part and caused considerable anguish for a while.

We both stopped within a few minutes and started calling each other to find out what to do. We eventually reconnected before getting free of Quartzsite and got headed the same direction.

The road was long and mostly straight all the way to Highway 177 where we turned right and headed north to Highway 62. Had we both turned left from the Quartzsite RV Park, and driven to Parker, we would have turned left on Highway 62 and arrived at the corner of Highway 177 and Highway 62 fifteen minutes sooner.

Highway 177 was very straight also, and I could see how the road slowly climbed on the other side of the valley. It was about a 20-mile stretch, straight as an arrow. If the wind hadn’t been blowing so hard, I probably could have taken a short nap or two.

Once on Highway 62 Diane took the lead and got us to Twenty-nine Palms at 1311 (1:11 pm) and drove on base about 1331. The park is adjacent to some of the base housing and is pretty nice. We’re in space 72 next to the only dog area which is handy. Max was more than ecstatic to have grass to run on for the first time since September. His little toes have got calluses from walking on rocks and asphalt all that time. Poor little guy probably couldn’t tell how soft the grass really is because of his crusty feet.

Each parking space has a small Tuff Shed and a carport. So, we have a place to park the car our of the sun and we can empty the car and all the basement cubbies into the shed just for fun. I could also install a rack to hang clothes and use the shed as a closet.

Our supper was from Wendy’s which is on the base. Back in the Bone Yard they had Burger King. After the Wendy’s meal we learned that it has BK beaten for flavor.

I don’t know if I mentioned that Diane lost one of her favorite earrings on Luke AFB. We searched everywhere for it but it just wasn’t there. So, guess what! She found it here in California. Isn’t that amazing? She was pretty happy, as was I.

Getting the bus into its assigned parking space involved a lot of bouncing around because of the curbs we had to cross. This caused a great deal of commotion with everything that wasn’t tied down inside the coach. It was just nature’s way of shaking things up to get everything on the same level, and filling spaces that needed filling. It was very annoying but nothing broke, which is amazing. It was a very noisy process. Amongst the tosseled items were many containers of various spices that escaped from one of the overhead cupboards. Two of the small ones saved themselves from the terrifying fall by hanging on to the shelf and allowing the cupboard door to hold them in place until they could be rescued. Boy, were they lucky.

I took a few photos of the trip but none of them were interesting. Just a bunch of cars, trucks, and lots of desert. So, I looked back a couple of days and found this one of Diane sewing up Max’s favorite toy, a long green worm. She’s done this a few times. He finally wound up destroying the first one and I was happy to find an exact replacement which he adopted right away. It’s his favorite, as you can tell as he waits patiently for Diane to finish so he can commence destruction once again.

This day is done.

Day 134 – Sunday – Peoria, AZ

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This morning I turned on the new heater because it was so cold. The fake fireplace heater was already running but I was curious to see how much quicker the bus warmed up with both of them running. What I learned was that they worked well together until I turned on the coffee pot and popped the circuit. I actually found the problem quickly and fixed it. It was the circuit breakers on the inverter which is located in the outside aft starboard cubby. I reset them and went back inside just as Diane did the same thing. So, I went back out and reset them again.

Then the coffee pot wouldn’t start. I fiddled with it a bit and convinced it start like normal, then everything was OK, but I can’t deny there was just a little moment of panic when the pot wouldn’t brew and much joy when it was resurrected.

Can’t have two heaters running and make coffee at the same time. I might need to make a sign.

This morning, Diane went to the commissary, which is literally right next to the Fam Camp we’re in, so it was a short trip. While she was gone, I took Max for a long walk because he was assigned guard duty for the bus while we went to visit Julie & David in Peoria. Julie is Diane’s cousin, and she grew up in Warren, Oregon, just like Diane did. Kinda handy, right?

The drive over was nice. It was about 10 miles away and many of the roads in and around Phoenix are long and straight, so we only had to make about 6 turns to get there. You could almost take a nap between turns.

This is Julie and David.

They live in a 55+ community and it’s pretty nice. They actually have grass in the neighborhood which is a treat. Their home is beautiful and there is one entire wall of mirrors that is quite stunning.

One of my favorite features were a couple of windows. This is looking out.

This is from outside.

We had a wonderful visit and got to know David a little better. Previous visits have been short. This time we had time to actually visit and learn stuff about each other. The fun thing I learned about David is he has a very large family. Here’s proof.

His mother is in it on the left side, row 12, 26 to the right. He put his finger on her briefly so I’m really guessing about her position. She had dark hair in the photo. She doesn’t have it anymore because she’s 90. I know that’s true because we got to meet her.

Max was alone for about 4 hours and he did his best to make us feel really bad about it, but he was OK. He generally sleeps while we’re gone. He gets over our absence quicker when he’s given a treat, a good back scratching, and a long walk.

That’s it.

Day 122 – Tuesday – Happy New Year

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I’m getting that out of the way up front, because I’m old and won’t be awake when the ball drops. Here in Tucson, they have a Taco Drop. I suspect that’s downtown where we won’t be going.

A lot of fireworks have been going off for the last couple of hours and I assume it will build to an astounding climax at the stroke of midnight. Can’t wait.

Max is really distressed by all the noise which enforces our belief that he was subjected to violence in his past. I offered him a trip outside, and he refused. So, he’s inside till it’s over.

Today was a busy one for me. My one and only task was to fix the bus door so it will open easily. I’ve done this in the past and it seemed to be fairly simple and I actually remembered how to do it. Unfortunately, my experience the first time involved only the bottom strike plate but this time I had to also include the top one. This was new territory for me.

To access the area I needed to adjust required me to remove the front panel and the piece of metal that holds it in place. Seems simple enough, right? It is, and I quickly got to the proper 7/16″ nut I needed to tighten. After doing so, I checked to ensure it still seemed to work like it should.

Then I shut the door. And then it wouldn’t open.

Diane was still inside but she couldn’t open it either.

With the door closed it was extremely difficult for me to access the inside portion of the door. Thankfully, I had the driver’s window open so could Max visit with the neighbors when they come and go. I got the ladder I purchased somewhere in California, after losing it in the Valley of the Rogue RV Park when I went over an exceptionally tall speed bump, and used it to climb in the window.

Getting in was easier than I thought it would be. I attacked the door with the screwdrivers I brought with me but they didn’t help. So I had to crawl back out the window to get different tools. That was the tough part. Getting out. I fit through the window OK but getting onto the ladder was tricky and I almost fell a couple of times. With more tools in hand, I went back in. I wasn’t as easy as the first time. The neighbors were keeping an eye on me in case an ambulance was necessary. I had to get in and out a few times and wound up with new hematomas on my arms and legs, but I didn’t fall.

Finally, I found a guy on Utube who had the same problem, but his door was open. Turns out there’s another 7/16″ nut on the top striker that needed a few turns, too. Getting to it was tricky because the window frame in the door had to be loosed to access it. Once there I was able to release the top latch and get the door opened.

Diane was happy because she could now go to the commissary and get us more food. That was important. Before she got back, I was able to get both nuts tightened and the door worked like brand new. I was very happy and enjoyed reinstalling the 35 screws that were still laying around. I found most of them and got most of empty holes filled and replaced some of them in the window frame with new shiny ones that I got from Harbor Freight last week for some reason. How handy was that?

Diane showed up shortly after my happy dance and I helped her restock the shelves with new food. By this time, I was pretty sore from all the banging around I did crawling in and out of the window and I’m sure I’ll find more bruises tomorrow. But it’s done. And it works.

Now we can go to bed because we watched the ball drop in New York. That makes it officially 2025.

Christmas is over and Diane’s snowmen have been packed away .

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Day 117 – Thursday – DVR & Toenails

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This morning, I apparently, magically, fixed a DVR issue with our Dish. As you may know, we’ve been binge watching NCIS and last night watched season 9 episode 22 from 2012. At that point in the menu NCIS stopped and gave us SWAT. Up to this point all the episodes have been in sequence so it was perfect for lazy people to keep up. We needed episode 24, but it wasn’t showing on until Saturday. At 0700. That meant it needed to be recorded.

Any attempts to set the DVR to perform that duty failed because the DVR was not recognized. We knew that was only partly true because we could till watch shows that have already been recorded, but we couldn’t set new recordings. That meant today my primary objective was to make it work again.

I’d already reset the receiver a couple of times, but the results didn’t change so I got on my phone and started a chat session with Dish. I like doing the chat instead of phone calls because I can understand the written word better than the spoken word. That’s not always true, but statistically I have better results with chatting.

I got someone on the line before I gave it one more try. By the time I was all signed in I discovered that somehow the problem went away last night, and it now works perfectly. I thanked the chat person and ended the session. Then I gave the remote to Diane who promptly called up the desired date/time/show and set it to record. She did this from her seat at the dining table, a full 25 feet from the TV! That’s another win for me because until a few days ago the Dish remote barely worked from 5 feet away. Amazing what new batteries can do in situations like that.

Now that the DVR works again, Diane can add to the library of Hallmark Christmas movies that have been recorded previously. She’s a happy camper and will probably be smiling throughout the day.

Pretty much as soon as Diane got up this morning, around 0900 or so, her feet have been marinating in a solution of hot water and Epson salts. The purpose for this was to make her toenails soft enough for me to shorten then with the new wire cutter she got me. She will disagree, of course, because it came wrapped in a container that clearly marked it as a nail cutter, or trimmer. But, they look almost exactly like a small version of the wire cutters I have in my tool bag. She won’t let me use them, however, even though they are easier to hold and manipulate.

The signal for me to start working my way down to the floor to work on her toes is when the water gets cold. It got cold somewhere around 1030 or so. By then I was poised to work on the toes. First, I had to get back on my feet and dump the water in the toilet. Then I had to reassume my nail cutting position near the sofa. Before I started I remarked that I probably should have pulled the trash can a little closer and she agreed. So, I got back up, got it, then back on the floor. I suspect you’ve realized that doing Diane’s toenails is physically demanding on old bones. That’s OK. We’re saving $50 and she’s getting them trimmed exactly the way she wants them, not the way a paid whittler would do it. I suppose I could ask her to pay me but it’s really not necessary because she slips me a few dollars every once in a while, just for fun. That works. I hardly ever use real money, but it’s nice to have a cushion in my wallet in case I fall down. Again. I don’t know why I consider that a proper cushion because I never fall backwards. It’s always forward. I’d be better off wrapping my hands and arms in large pool noodles. On my knees would be good, too. Sadly, that’s the kind of things I consider as I’m falling. It’s been a while, so maybe I’ve advanced beyond that stage of my life.

I finished Diane’s toes successfully without even once making her bleed or yelp in pain. Except the one time I ventured too close to an ingrown nail. Other than that one foo-pah, I did good. She said so. I would have taken a photo but she’s very serious about keeping her toes anonymous. Even so, I’ve secretly named each one of them.

The only other things that happened today was a trip to the commissary for Diane, and a trip to Harbor Freight for me. I needed long screws for a repair project I can’t discuss and waited for Diane to return before venturing out on my own. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do that but the commissary was fresh out of long screws. So, Diane drove me to HF. Max was delighted because he loves car rides. If we let him out of the bus and gave him the choice of running willy nilly all over the park, or going for a ride in the car, he takes the car every time.

By the time we returned home it was time to cook dinner, so my screw project was deferred to another day. It might have to wait until next year. I’ll explain once I’m done and have achieved success.

I broke out the handy-dandy George Forman cooker and paninied 4 hamburger patties. Two of them were for Pat and Laurie next door. They were very thankful that we included them in our meal planning. Diane brought home a platter of good-looking patties from the commissary, and we wanted to try them. They seemed to cook up OK, but Diane and I found them lacking in smash burger flavor, so we won’t get them again. Pat and Laurie thought they were really good which made me happy even though I’m sure they were just being nice. Still, we’ll take the win.

After supper Max got a long walk then we watched a Hallmark Christmas movie and called it a day. It was getting very cold outside, so we closed all the windows before retiring. Normally we leave at least one window open a little so the bus can breathe.

A gift from Pat, our neighbor, her task while recovering from COVID. It’s very pretty.

Now, I’ll stop.

Day 78 – Sunday – Lazy Day

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We didn’t go anywhere today so I don’t have a lot to write about. Also, I only have old photos to share, so don’t get your hopes up.

It was a cold 42 degrees this morning. Made parts of me shrivel up a little. Max didn’t care. I think he’s immune to cold. I guess that means I’m more fragile than him. I think it’s time for Max to say what’s on his mind since we’re going to be spending most of the day inside. So, here’s Max.

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Hi!It’sme,Max.Iknowwhat’shisnamealreadyintroducedme,….let me start over.

I forget that I don’t have opposing thumbs and need to slow down so I can use one of my other toenails to hit the space bar. For the convenience of dogs everywhere, who know how to type, there should be a custom keyboard that has little space between the R & F, and the U and J keys. My little toenails will fit right in there with a little practice. Life has been a little hectic for me lately because Mom and Dad have been driving all over the place. That means I’ve spent a lot of time parked in the little bed they call my throne. I don’t know why they do that. It’s a bed. They bought it so you’d think they would know that, right. Anyway, the little bed isn’t really uncomfortable, but I’d rather sit in someone’s lap with my head out the window. I don’t think that’s going to happen for a while since I lost my mind for a moment in Bisbee and tried to jump out the window so I could catch that cat. I’m sure Dad has told you about that little episode. I really don’t know what I was thinking. On my last walk I ran into the neighbor who wears a beanie all the time. Her name is Laurie. She was walking a little black dog. I heard she has 3 of those dogs and this one is the oldest. Something like 84 years old – 12 years old in people years. She’s a French bulldog and she has an attitude. So, I gave her attitude back and got in trouble for my efforts. Laurie gave me bits of bacon treats anyway. She always has that stuff in her pocket, and she always gives me some. It’s really good. My Mom and Dad don’t get me stuff like that. The only treats I get at home are denta things for my teeth. They’re OK, but they aren’t bacon. I’m going to quit now because my toes are getting tired. They aren’t used to being used independently. First, here’s a photo of me when I was new to the family last year. It was before my hair went nuts and got all curly.

For comparison, here’s a more recent photo of me.

OK. He’s a quitter. I probably should have taken a photo of him working on the computer, but it didn’t occur to me.

Maybe next time.

Day 63 – Saturday – Couch Potato vs. Thrift Stores

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You all have one guess as to who did what. Tic tock tic tock tic tock.

OK, time’s up. You’re all wrong. Diane was the couch potato today. I went thrift storing.

Diane stayed home and watched all the football games I was interested in while I went shopping and made an honest attempt to purchase things I know she would like. For instance, in one store I spent a couple of hours sitting on a couch going through a large box of Christmas cards, picking out the really cute ones I knew she’d like. I also found a couple of really nice shirts for her, and a really handy little cooler. I didn’t get anything for myself.

Diane’s main goal was to watch the Oregon vs. Michigan game so she could fill me in on what happened. Unfortunately, she fell asleep before half time so missed a pretty good game. Thankfully, it was set to record so I was able to watch it after I got home.

She didn’t even wake up when I returned and that was OK. She’s having difficulty sleeping about every other night. Usually, it’s because Max sleeps crossways on the bed. That never bothers me because I generally don’t sleep well anyway. That’s why I crave naps in the daylight hours but rarely get one.

After a brief respite upon returning home, I cooked dinner. Diane suggested hamburgers, our go to meal when in doubt. They were pretty good. We even had good fries using our handy dandy little air fryer.

After dinner I took Max for his evening walk, and he got to visit with Ally for a bit. They’re great friends.

Ally belongs to Dawn, the legs on the left below. The legs on the right belong to Linda.

We whiled away the evening watching fun things on TV. Then, all the sudden, it was bedtime again.