Sunshine?

I must be feeling a little better because this morning I made my own hash browns as I used the last of the frozen ones Saturday and we have not gone to the store yet. Anyway after breakfast I cleaned out the micro-wave again, for some reason something must have gotten spilled on the tray. I just took a wet sponge and put it in the micro-wave and turned it on for a minute and everything just kind of melted away.

While I was cleaning I also cleaned out the crumb tray on the toaster oven. One of the things that I really like about this toaster oven is that the tray comes out really easily so cleaning it is pretty easy.

After doing what I could in the kitchen I decided that it was time to vacuum the downstairs carpet. I think that it had been a couple of weeks since I did that and it was pretty dirty from the construction dust.

Noticing that the weather had cleared up I decided that I would go outside and see if I could get some work done out there.

While I was out there I gave our sword ferns a haircut and also picked up the rest of the beaver board and put it into the garbage can. After finishing up outside I went back inside and cleaned up. Kathleen finally came downstairs around 1245 and made herself some breakfast.

I asked her if she were planning on going grocery shopping today and she said yes, so I got out my coupons and pulled out the ones that we could use and also the ones that had expired.

Around 1330 I felt the bottom drop out of my energy level so I decided that I would take a nap in my easy chair. I finally woke up around 15100 and made myself some lunch. Kathleen still had not gotten dressed and I really did not have the energy to go shopping at this point anyway.

I think that I have felt better today than I have in a couple weeks; maybe it was just the fact that I was able to get outside and work for a while, I am not sure what it was, but I hope that I have turned the corner and start to feeling better.

One thing I know is that I need to be aware of my level of energy and stop and rest when I need to or else I will just get totally drained and it will take me a couple days to regain it again.

That is about it for now; I am watching Fox News and the results coming in from the Florida primary. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel as good as I did today and have my energy last a little longer.

Oh, just so Kathleen does not have to comment on the pictures being of our former pastor and his wife's place up in Idaho that they sent me the other day, but I just thought that they looked like real winter pictures. I am somewhat jealous, but not enough that I would exchange our mild winters for theirs. I like being able to drive to that kind of weather when I want to but I am glad that I do not live in it.

Snow!

Boy was I surprised when I opened the front door to get the paper this morning.

I could not believe my eyes. I knew that they had said that there was a chance of snow last night but I was not prepared for this.

When I finally did wake up and go downstairs to retrieve the paper there was some snow on the ground, but I have seen thicker frost!

I must be feeling a little better because today I actually shook up the kitchen rugs, swept and mopped the kitchen floor. For some reason it feels crunchy when I walk on it even after I have swept it, so I thought that I would try mopping it this time.

I have a feeling it just has to do with the remodeling and texturizing and the sanding that goes along with it. I probably need to vacuum the whole house really well and see if that helps.

We took back our samples of the bamboo flooring this afternoon and looked as some more options for the flooring. We now have a couple trees worth of brochures and I am not sure how close we are to deciding on what to do with the flooring.

Kathleen wants to keep the same theme going for the upstairs and downstairs and possibly the stairs, so there are a lot of things that we have to consider when choosing the flooring. We have asbestos in the tiles under the carpeting in the dining room so we have to have something that we can float in that area so we probably will use the same Click together type flooring all over.

While we were out we also took back the sample tiles that we had gotten when we were doing the upstairs bathroom. While we were there we spent a little time looking at what we might want to do in the downstairs bathroom and the kitchen.

It looks like our weather is warning up a little as the snow level is around 1000 feet now whereas it was 300 feet and lower the last couple of days. I was outside puttering around for a while today and noticed that our spring bulbs are about three inches tall now, they have been popping up now for the last several weeks.

I still had roses blooming a couple of weeks ago and the prime roses have been blooming now for several weeks. It was kind of nice to see them popping up through snow this morning... kind of a sign that spring is not too far off ~ I hope!

Well my wrist is really bothering me so I think that I am going to stop and make this an official blog.

Trying this again after a break

I guess I must have needed a break, I am still lacking in energy, but I feel better than I have in a week or so. My innards have not been very kind to me for the last several days and this morning was not different.

I had gotten up early enough to go to church this morning, but my stomach was really bothering me and my wrists and thumb were really sore as well. I am not sure why my wrists are still sore, maybe it is from the cold weather but I am not sure.

Speaking of cold weather it looks like our week of cold weather is starting to break up a little. Today they were predicting the possibility of snow but all we got was rain. Alyssa said that they had snow up their way but she is a couple hundred feet higher than we are.

There is still a possibility of snow here tonight or tomorrow but overall it is warming up and we are almost out of the snow possibility for this season. Even if we do get some snow from here on out but when it has snowed in the past it usually does not last long.

I did not get much of anything done today; I did three loads of laundry, washed a sink load of pots and pans and made myself a couple meals. I think I spent most of my day in my easy chair dozing off and on. That is probably the only reason that I have the energy to even do this tonight. I think that I have about fifteen minutes worth of energy and then I need to rest.

This is worse than after my surgery; I would not be too surprised if it did not have something to do with the weather and lack of sunshine although this week the sun has been shining more than it had in a month or so.

I think that I will call it quits for today, blog wise that is, and unload the washer and put the clothes into the dryer.

All Aboard…a Reflection back on My Life

I have been struggling for the past week, first from the test results from my latest PSA screening and as I think about that I have to think about my aches and pains and the fact that I am not getting any younger or recovering from what is ailing me, so I have been reflecting a little about my life and some of the stops along the way.

I mainly did this for myself, but I wanted to share it with my family and friends so please bear with me...thanks - Bob

“This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ” Philippians 1:9-10 (NIV)

I am not much for the significance of dreams and I cannot say that I have had any divinely inspired visions. But rolling over in the middle of the night, I began thinking about where life had taken me. I guess, as you get older you spend more and more time looking in the rearview mirror. And as I was thinking about all the places God had taken me, I began to envision my life like a ride on a train.

First stop: High School station, where I got off the train and spent four great years involved in sports and basically having fun with my friends. When I got back on the train, I looked back to see all my buddies waving goodbye from the platform only to pull into College station. More years there and I am back on the train, as it pulls away I am waving goodbye to friends while the train pulls away. Next stop: the Air Force, where I met Kathleen, and after a few years we are back on the train, this time to Ashland Oregon, Southern Oregon College and Ashland Bible Church. More years there and we are back on the train, as it pulls away we wave goodbye to friends while the train pulls away.

This time it stops at Portland, Oregon to go to Multnomah Bible School. After three years there with Alyssa our first child—you guessed it, waving goodbye to all our professors and friends, most of whom we’d never see again. And as the train proceeded, there were more stops ahead as we served at a church, First Baptist, in Oakridge, Oregon, while there we had Aaron our son. We were there a year when we felt that we needed to go back to Portland, so bringing our two children on board with us we headed back home…Portland and Hinson Baptist Church.

We have been here, in Portland ever since, along the way we added two more children, Andrea and then Antonia (Toni). After a long stint at Boeing I have since retired and, and now the train has seemed to have stopped or at least slowed down. We have been at Gateway Baptist Church since 1987 and the Omega class has been our extended family.

What I desperately want to tell you is not about my “stops” on the trip. That would be like boring you with an evening of my home slides or movies! What struck me about my middle of the night “vision” is this: The only people who have gone all the way with me are my wife, my children, and my God. All other involvements, relationships, and pursuits that captured my attention and drove the agenda of my life at times are, in retrospect, only transitory—nice things, nice people, and worthy causes that at the end of the day quickly become a part of history never to be reclaimed. Life is seasonal and only a few precious things are ultimately really important.

Living as though a season of life lasts forever is dangerous. If that’s your perspective, then you will easily ignore what is significant in the long term for what seems important in the moment. I guess that’s why someone once said that on the deathbed of life no one will wish he had spent more time at the office. It’s the treachery of the thrill of an affair, the gain of a life on the road for a company that will turn you out at 55. Living now for everything that seems so important—our friends, our careers, our desires and dreams—if we are not careful, may just mess up what’s really important in the long haul.

When I was young it seemed like life was the slow boat to China and every stop seemed like forever. But now, at my stage of life, I know that life is really like a ride on the Cannonball Express headed full steam ahead for heaven with a few more stops on the way! I live to enjoy the ride with as few regrets as possible. And thankfully, Kathleen and the children are still on board with a bunch of grandchildren added in to spice up the trip. The best part is that my God’s on board, the trip planner and conductor who guarantees to get us safely home.

I guess what I want to leave everyone with or the bottom line is: that only God and a few really important people are going all the way with you. Make sure they get the best part of you!

Saturday's Sleepiness

I did not feel really rested when I got up this morning, but I was not getting anymore sleep so I just got up. I made myself some hash browns and ham to go along with my egg whites and cheese. I also made a couple slices of raisin toast and a fresh pot of coffee.

Before I started breakfast, I went out to the garage and put the Jeep on the charger. I tried doing that earlier in the week, but we were not home long enough for it to get a full charge. So since I thought that we would be home most of the day I would try and get an early start on it.

I could have given it a quick charge, but I like doing a slow charge better, I think that it is easier on the battery. Finally early this afternoon I checked it and it had a full charge on it, so I unplugged the charger.

When I got back into the house I went upstairs and went to bed. I was really tired and thought that some more sleep might help. A little over an hour later I got up and did not feel as sleepy but I did not feel any better.

About 1430 I made myself one of the tofu sausages and veggie burgers. I cut a slice of crushed wheat sour dough bread in half for the sausage and toasted some cheese on a couple slices of dark rye for the veggie burger.

I had wanted to go to Costco this afternoon as there were a couple coupons that I had that expire tomorrow, but between my being tired and Kathleen not getting dressed until late this afternoon we never made it.

After a while I went and sat in my chair where I was half asleep most of the time. Kathleen finally came back downstairs and was dressed but I was too tired to do anything but it was like 1700 by this time. The children were all getting together at Aaron and Tami's and had invited us to join them for dinner, but I was too tired and Kathleen was busy working on trying to decide what to do with the house.

Finally around 1830 Kathleen thawed out some of the left-over lentil and ham soup that she made a couple weeks ago. So we had that for dinner, it has been a wintry feeling couple days and from what I hear it is suppose to remain cold for several more days. We had a few snow flurries about mid morning, but nothing stuck and it was mostly just overcast the rest of the day.

Well this certainly has been another unproductive day for me, but I guess I need to get use to that. Since we have not made a decision as what to do for flooring yet, we will need to call Stan and let him know so that he can make plans to work somewhere else next week.

I think that I have written more than I though that I did today, so I will just say good night.

Frustrating Friday

I got up this morning and went downstairs to make my oatmeal but before I could get started I had to deal with some ants coming in looking for a warmer place to spend the winter. Once I got the kitchen ant free, I proceeded making my oatmeal.

Kathleen came down before I finished cooking my oatmeal so I did not get to read the morning paper. She got up early because of our doctors appointments this morning. So as soon as we finished eating we got ready to go to the doctors.

I was hoping that this would be the time where I could change from an appointment every six months to one a year but instead it change only now it is every three months again. I was a little disappointed that instead of my PSA going down it has gone back up again. Not much but it is opposite of the direction that I was hoping for.

After finishing at the doctor's we headed to the AT&T office so that I could buy another $100.00 worth of minutes for my cell phone. I still had around $80.00 worth of minutes from last year but I needed to do that so that I could roll over the minutes that I did have.

After taking care of the phone we went to Ikea and spent the rest of the day there. I was ready to leave after a couple hours, but Kathleen probably could have spent another couple hours there.

While we were there we each had their meatball lunch around 1530, it was not too bad, although the meatballs were a little plain but okay. We finally made it home around 1800 and my feet let me know that I had been walking on concrete all afternoon.

Other than being a little bummed out from my PSA results and my feeling rather worn out today I have been feeling pretty good. Well, I think I am going to warm up Kathleen's left-over salmon from last night, she said that I could have it as she did not feel like doing dinner tonight.

So good night for now!

Finding Flooring

I must have been really tired as I did not get up until 0730 this morning and I probably could have slept longer but I wanted to get up so that we might get an early start on looking at flooring.

Since I went out yesterday and had scrambled egg beaters and ham I decided that I would have my oatmeal and flax seed today. After breakfast I read the paper and then cleaned up the kitchen. I scrubbed down the counter next to the stove and also the stove. I was a little surprised at how sticky the knobs were on the stove and also the top of the stove where the controls are.

Kathleen came downstairs around 1100 and made herself some raisin toast. It had been long enough since I had breakfast that I made myself a couple slices. While the bread was toasting the mail came so I went out and got it. There really was not a lot there I think that the only thing that I kept was one of my magazines.

Finally around 1330 Kathleen was ready to go and we took off around 1345. About two miles after we got on the freeway the traffic started building up so we got off and took a frontage road until we could see that the traffic was flowing again.

We went to the same place we were at Tuesday; we had to take the samples back and also we wanted to do a little more looking. We finally left there about 1615 so that we would avoid some of the rush hour traffic. We got off the freeway a couple exits early because the traffic was starting to back up.

When we got home, about 1700 I changed into my shorts again and then made myself a Limburger cheese and herring sandwich to hold me over until dinner time. Kathleen made the Trader Joe's Mojito Salmon (wild Pacific salmon, tomatillos, tomatoes, red bell peppers marinated in a tangy Mojito sauce) and rice for dinner which was ready around 1830.

I thought that it really tasted good; Kathleen even liked it so it must have been pretty good. Well we brought home two of the samples that we had Tuesday; they were both a darker bamboo, only tonight we brought home the two darker ones as well as a lighter one.

I am looking at fused bamboo because it is a renewable resource and also because it is about as hard as Brazilian cherry. Kathleen did not like it at first but the more she sees it the more she likes it. It is a little more expensive, but there will be less waste and also the install time will be less. Also because it is a click joining system; there is no gluing or nailing, so a single piece could be replaced more easily if needed.

Well, hopefully we will be able to decide on something pretty soon; the next thing that we need to do is prime the upstairs hallway, stairwell and also the bathroom which never got done. I cannot think of anything important to write about so I will just say good night.

Workless Wednesday

Well today was one of these days where I did not get anything done around the house. To start out, I had breakfast with one of my friends, we met at 0830 and left about 1020 and we could have stayed and talked longer but I had a 1030 appointment with our associate pastor and a couple of people to discuss the discipleship of some people who had requested some one-on-one discipleship.

I went home after the meeting and Andrea and Brandon where there. Andrea had stopped at Taco Bell and picked up some lunch for herself and Kathleen. While they were upstairs doing something I let Brandon play with one of my toy Jeeps that I got for when the grandchildren come over. It was rather comical to watch Brandon push it around. He did it for fifteen or twenty minutes and was pretty content doing it.

After Andrea left I heated up the rest of the macaroni and cheese from the other night and had a Tufurky Italian Sausage with sun-dried tomatoes and basil. It was pretty good; it is made from tofu and is suppose to be a healthy alternative to meat. I have gotten so that I like the veggie products almost as much as the ones made with meat; they are certainly healthier.

After a while Kathleen asked if I would take her to the hospital so that she could drop off her one days sample to the lab so that they will be able to analyze it for her Friday appointment. She had a bad headache again today and did not feel well at all. So I changed my clothes and ran her there.

We did not do anything else as Kathleen did not fell well and I did not feel too well myself, in fact I fell asleep in my chair and Kathleen had to wake me up for dinner. She heated up the stuff we got at the deli last night and also the left-over chicken noodle soup that she made a few days ago. The refrigerator looks somewhat empty now that we used up about seven containers tonight.

So as you can see, I did not get anything done around here today. Partly because I did not want to make any noise that would bother Kathleen's head and partly because I was not feeling well myself and I did not have any energy today.

Tomorrow maybe we will get back to looking at more flooring and Friday we have our appointments in the middle of the day so that pretty much limits what we can get done that day.

As I cannot think of anything else to write about I am just going to say good night.

Finding Flooring

I got another good night sleep last night, so when I got up I poured the half cup of coffee into my cup and then made another pot of coffee. Then I made some hash browns with onion, mushrooms and pepper, veggie sausage and topped it all off with some egg beaters. After finishing cooking the breakfast I poured myself a fresh cup of coffee and sat down to enjoy it.

Kathleen came down as I was eating breakfast and made herself some hash browns and egg yokes. Then she looked at the paper, so since I could not read the paper I cleaned up the kitchen and washed the pan that we used for breakfast and then took out the trash.

After a while she finished the paper I took it and went into the living room and read it. When I finished the paper I got out my sander and started sanding the stairs again. I have eight and a half steps pretty much done with the belt sander. Of course I will have to go back over all of them again with the random orbital sander and then maybe even with the palm sander and or doing some hand sanding.

I stopped when I had finished only half of one step because I was generating so much sawdust that I needed to sweep the stairs so that I could see where I was suppose to be sanding.

Kathleen had gotten dressed and wanted to go to the place to look at flooring, so I stopped after I finished vacuuming the downstairs landing. I then cleaned up and changed clothes, but it was about 1330 before we got out of here.

We stayed and looked at different flooring until the kicked us out at 1700. Then we drove back home. On the way home we stopped at Safeway so that we could pick up some Gjetost cheese, some Limburger cheese, and some instant coffee that Kathleen likes and then we picked up some food at the deli for dinner.

Well that was my day, for some reason I feel rather tired, I have not done that much today, so I cannot explain it other than getting old. So I guess that I will call it a day and say good night.

Extra - Extra FREE Raspberry Pants

This is for my children who would like raspberry plants. Now would be a good time to plant raspberry plants, I have several that are available; just let me know how many you would like or you could come over and I will show you where you can dig some up.

I also have de-nailed the flooring that I took out of the upstairs so now would also be a good time to come and help yourself to some free fire wood. I have a saw available if you want to cut it into smaller pieces, but most of it is pretty small already.

There is also an abundance of kindling available. Come and get it soon as I have had several people stop and inquire about it but I told them that I was saving it for my children. Knowing some of the past history around here it is libel to start disappearing in the middle of the night as things have been known to happen before.

Call before coming over though, just to make sure that we are going to be home.

Muddy Monday

After a pretty good nights sleep I got up around 0630 and went downstairs and emptied the dishwasher, mixed the flax seed, oatmeal, brown sugar and water in a bowl, reheated up the rest of yesterdays coffee and read the paper. While I was reading the paper I turned the coffee pot on; I had added the water and the coffee grounds last night and so it was ready to go this morning.

After finishing the paper I made my self my oatmeal in the micro-wave. I have found that after sitting for a little while before nuking it, it turns out better. Years ago I use to mix it all together the night before and then I just had to nuke it in the mornings. Back then I did it to save time, but it also softens up the flax seed a little more.

After nuking it I added a half of a banana, some wheat germ and soy milk then I sat down and enjoyed it. After finishing breakfast I put my dishes into the dishwasher and then did the pots and pans from last night. I had noticed that the house plants had started looking a little dried out so I gathered them up and soaked them in a container of water.

Then I decided that I would gather up the trash from the various rooms and then take it out for tomorrows pick up. I must have made a little too much noise and disturbed Kathleen because she came downstairs after a while and made a comment about my noise.

It is hard for me sometimes to find something that I can do that does not involve some noise in the mornings, but it seems like every time I make a little noise she wakes up. I can only do a limited number of things with out making some noise especially when we are trying to get things done upstairs.

So after the fog cleared out a little more I went outside and plugged the front lawn, which is where the muddy part came about. It only took about an hour, but I was really tired after I had finished. It had gotten to be 1330 and Kathleen wanted me to go to the hospital with her and then run a few errands afterwards. So I made myself some lunch and then changed my clothes.

We finally took off and went to the hospital lab and then to her nurse practitioner; which took longer than the lab work did. We finally left there about 1530 and went to Home Depot to look at flooring and kitchen cabinets. We did not get out of there until about 1830 so I was really hungry when we left.

Kathleen made some macaroni, cheese and ham from scratch, simple but tasty. While she was making dinner I spent a little time sanding on the stairs. I had picked up some coarser sanding disks for my random orbital sander to see if I can remove the old whatever it is that is on the stairs.

Well, that was my day, I hope that maybe tomorrow we will be able to go and look at flooring as I have been getting calls from people wanting to schedule some of my time now that they know that I took this week off from working on the house. Then Friday we both have appointments with our urologist.

I think I might sand a little more and then call it a day, so good night!

Sunny Sunday

After getting up this morning and making myself a bowl of cereal, I got dressed for church. Kathleen was still asleep so I just left without her. When I left our house the sun was shining, but by the time I got up the hill a little I could hardly see for all the fog.

The closer I got to church the foggier it got until I could barely see twenty feet in front of the car. I had turned the headlights on before I left the house and there were some cars that did not have their lights on and I could not see them until they were really close to me.

Kathleen was up when I got home, at least she was on her computer, I am not sure that she had made it downstairs as I had not seen any signs of her being downstairs...like the lights on or breakfast dishes in the sink.

After I went upstairs and changed my clothes I went back downstairs and read the comics and the paper. Then I made myself a sun dried tomato, basil & mozzarella Panini and the rest of the green beans from last night for lunch. Kathleen got dressed and took off to exchange some of the towels and bathroom rugs that Toni and Chucky had given her for Christmas.

I was going to go outside and work in the yard as it had turned out to be a rather nice day today, but yesterday I sliced the middle finger on my left hand and it was really stinging today. So since I could not really use my left hand and since my right thumb has been bothering me a lot lately, I decided that I would be better served in the long run to just stay indoors.

Kathleen came back and had not been able to exchange the towels as Toni did not have the receipt with her so she will have to go back another day. After she got back I sorted laundry and washed, dried, folded and put away the three loads of laundry that I had done. I also vacuumed the downstairs carpeting and washed the dishes from today’s use.

For dinner tonight Kathleen made some spicy chicken soup, it was really good. I added a little Caribbean Tabasco Sauce to mine, more to give it some color than anything else, but it was really spicy.

Well, that is about it for today, we are suppose to have a little rain tomorrow evening but the rest of the week is suppose to be clear and sunny. I think tonight will be an early to bed night, so I will just say good night.

Stable Saturday

When I got up this morning I poured myself a cup of coffee and read the paper. Then I made some hash brown potatoes and added some onion, mushroom and ham. When that got sufficiently browned I added some egg beaters and mad myself a nice omelet. While I was waiting for everything to cook, I made some toast, washed the dishes that were in the sink and emptied the dishwasher.

After cleaning up my breakfast dishes I took the kitchen vegetable scraps out to the composter and since it was reasonably nice outside I decided to cut up some butterfly bush that I had cut down last fall.

By the time I got done doing that it was 1230 so I went back inside and decided to install the double towel rack for the upstairs bathroom. Once I had that installed, Kathleen put some of our new towels on it and it really looks nice.

Then I went back downstairs and made myself a veggie burger with onion and melted cheddar on a couple slices of dark rye toast. I had not had these for a while and it really tasted good. I had been having them two or three times a week, but I have either not been having lunch or having some left-overs.

Since we were going to some friends for dinner tonight, I did not want to get into anything that would take too long or get me too dirty so I settled down and watched the Packer/Seahawk game although it was not much of a game even with the Packer's spotting the Seahawks 14 points in the first quarter.

Kathleen took off for Winco to pick up some fresh green beans as she was suppose to bring a vegetable to the dinner tonight. When she got back I shaved, showered and got dressed as we wanted to leave around 1700 to be there at 1730.

We had a really good time and of course the food was great as well. We finally left around 2045 and got home a little after 2100 that is why this is so late getting done tonight. Well that in a nut shell was my day; I think that I will turn in now, so good night!

Friday'sFussings

I slept in this morning until almost 0800, it felt kind of good and since it was raining outside I knew that I would not be able to do anything outside. Kathleen and I had planned on going to Contract Furnishings Mart to look at flooring and I had hoped that we could also make it to Lumber Liquidator's as well...more on that later.

Anyway, when I finally made it downstairs, I got the paper and heated up the rest of yesterday’s coffee in the micro-wave. Then I made another pot of coffee and mixed my oatmeal and flax seeds in a bowl and then read the paper. When I finished the paper I put the oatmeal into the micro-wave and poured myself a fresh cup of coffee.

The phone rang for Kathleen around 0900 so I went upstairs to see if she was awake yet, but she looked to still be asleep. When I was telling South Tabor Physicians office that she was still asleep she signaled that she was awake, so I gave her the phone.

After she finished she came downstairs and I reminded her about going to look at flooring and she said that she was still planning on it, so I went upstairs and changed my clothes and then went back downstairs.

She was still not ready at 1330 so I went in and reheated up the Trader Joe's Chicken Serenada that Kathleen did not eat Wednesday night. The about 1345 Aaron called; I talked to him for awhile, but I was in the middle of eating so I hung up and let he and Kathleen talk.

I went back upstairs about 1430 and she was still on the phone, so I changed back into my shorts and decided that since the place closed at 1700 it would be too late to go when she finally got ready. So rather than not get anything done today I decided that I would dust off the shelves in the new cabinets in the upstairs bathroom and start putting things away.

I managed to get all the shelves filled with the plastic shoe boxes that we bought to sort things into to put on the shelves. The just fit sideways so we labeled them according to what went in them. We have one for cold medications, muscle pain, pain reliever (aspirin,Tylenol, etc.), my shaving stuff, tooth care (floss, tooth paste, extra toothbrushes, etc.).

Once we had that cabinet full we put our towels into the other one. This replace the existing cabinet we had but is totally new. With all the things I put into the cabinets, I can now get into my dresser without having to move a stack of plastic boxes and bins. I am down to just one stack where before there were four...progress!

For dinner tonight Kathleen stir fried some left-over ham, a chicken breast that she thawed last night and some potatoes. Pretty good tasting, I added some Lea & Perrins to mine and Kathleen just poured on the salt for hers.

Well, that just about covers it for today, I doubt that we will get to look at flooring tomorrow as we have a dinner for eight tomorrow night at 1730, so unless we get a real early start we will not have the time to do it. This is one reason I thought that it would be better for Stan not to plan on working here next week.

Time to call it a day...good night!

Texturizing Thursday

This morning Stan did not get here as early as I thought that he might, so I went out to my wood pile and pulled nails. I managed to get all the nails pulled out of the flooring and stacked it in neat piles. Note to children: if you want so nice dry fire wood/kindling let me know and you can pick some up.

Stan got here after I had gone back in the house and cleaned up so it must have been after 10000. I was just about ready to call him and let him know that I would be going with Kathleen to her sleep doctor's appointment that she had at 1100 across town, but it was a good thing that I stayed here and helped Stan.

When he got here Stan sanded the mud he put on yesterday and then I helped him put paper in the recessed lighting cans and tape up the outlets and switches but then when he was spraying on the texture I stayed downstairs. After a while I made myself a toasted ham and cheese sandwich for lunch.

Kathleen called around 1400 and said that she had been looking at flooring but was coming home. She got back her in less than a half hour because she left before the traffic started building up from rush hour, (more like three or four hours) which would have started if she had waited much longer.

Since Stan really could not do much until Kathleen decides what kind of flooring she wants I told Stan that if he had some other jobs that he needed to get going on now would be a good time. So probably for the next week or so Kathleen and I will need to pick out flooring and at least prime the ceiling and walls.

Kathleen's headache has gotten worse so she heated up a can of beef and barley soup but since we split it I also heated up some left over ham and yams and also made myself another toasted ham and cheese sandwich. If nothing else I am getting the refrigerator cleaned out.

Well, this is about it from me tonight. Before dinner I had fallen asleep in my easy chair, so I know that I have reached my limit as far as energy level goes. So with that said I say good night to all.

Wall Street Wednesday

I emptied the dishwasher the first thing when I got up this morning and then read the paper while I let my oatmeal soak in the water before I nuked it. After I finished my first cup of coffee I made a new pot and then put my oatmeal in the micro-wave.

Kathleen got up after I had finished eating and I reminded her that we had to be over in Tigard to meet with our financial advisors at 1300. While I was waiting for her to get ready I striped the bed and loaded up the washer. I wanted to leave early as I wanted to do some running around in Troutdale and Fairview before we left.

Last Friday I had paid for some knee pads and they were not in the bag when we got home and we had not had the opportunity to get back since. I also wanted to stop at Lowe's and pick up a new random orbital sander. The one Kathleen bought a few years ago is not made any longer and we needed a new one.

We finished up around noon so we just took off for Tigard. We got to our advisors about twenty minutes early so we just took a seat. But we only had to sit about five minutes and our adviser called us. We spent a couple hours going over our portfolio and agreed on making a couple changes to pick up a couple more aggressive holdings to try and increase our performance.

After finishing up there we went to Trader Joe's in Beaverton and picked up a few things that we needed. After we finished there we stopped at Scandia Imports to pick up a new cheese knife as the handle is coming off our old one.

We left there about 1730 and hit the rush hour traffic. We finally got home about 1830 and I took all of our purchases into the house. Then I went upstairs and changed clothes and came back downstairs and put the bed linens in the dryer.

Kathleen heated up some of Trader Joe's Chicken Serenada. It is a couple chicken breasts in a Coca Caribe Sauce with Poblano peppers. She also nuked a couple potatoes. I liked it although Kathleen did not in fact she only ate a few bits.

It looks like I will be having it for lunch one of these days. After putting my dishes into the dishwasher I took out the linens and made the bed.

Well I need to mask off the window and the attic fan tonight so that Stan will not have to tomorrow morning. So I guess that I will call it a day and go do that before I get too tired. Good night for now!

Tuesday's Tumbling

This morning I made myself a ham, mushroom and onion omelet, I would have done it a little differently if H had know that Stan would not get here until about 0945. I thought that he might get here as early as he did yesterday, so I just did something quickly.

Anyway once Stan got here he sanded and re-mudded the ceiling and walls so while he was doing that I gathered up, shook out, washed, dried and put down three loads of throw rugs from downstairs. While those things were in the washer and drier, I swept and mopped the kitchen, bathroom and laundry room floors. I also swept the stairs after he finished sanding and then vacuumed the downstairs.

He finished mudding around 1330 and Kathleen had an appointment with her Endocrinologist at 1400. I would have gone, but I needed to get cleaned up and that would take too much time, so Stan and I hooked up the flexible vent from the upstairs bathroom fan to the vent in the roof so that the moisture will be able to vent to the outside.

After we finished that Stan took off, so it was a short day for him as it was only about 1430. Tomorrow Kathleen and I have our quarterly meeting with our financial advisors so Stan will not be coming over.

Then Thursday he will texturize the ceiling and walls of the hall upstairs and the stairwell and then Kathleen and I will need to paint the ceiling and walls. After that is done we will have Stan come back to put down the flooring. I am also going to try and sand down the stairs and see if I can get most of the paint off them rather than replace them.

There is at least one that will need replacing and maybe up to three, but the stairs run from about $15.00 to $25.00 per step so if I can save replacing all but three of them that would be a $150.00 to $250.00 savings. So for that reason I though it might be worth a try and all I would loose would be a little time and right now my time is really cheap!

For dinner tonight Kathleen reheated the scalloped potatoes from last night and also heated up some peas. The scalloped potatoes tasted better tonight than last night, I think it was all the flavors having a chance to blend together and also the liquid was all absorbed into the potatoes.

Fortunately the only tumbling done today was done by the drier so that is a good thing. My wrist and thumb feels better today as I did not do anything that would cause them to hurt. I guess that is my day, a good night is now in order.

Monday's Miracle

This morning Stan got here about 0845 he started sanding on the mud that he had put up last week; while he was doing that I went outside and pulled nails from some of the flooring. I am getting the pile down so that now I have more boards without nails than boards with nails in them.

After a while I decided to stop because I could feel my back tighten up and my thumb had been bothering me the whole time. It feels like and electrical shock going the whole length of my right thumb. This is just something that has started since I fractured my wrist a couple months ago, and it is really starting to bother me.

I have been thinking that I need to go see my doctor about it but I keep hoping that it will stop but no such luck. Today Kathleen said that I need to go see the doctor about it so I guess that I will have to break down and see the doctor.

After going back inside I gathered up the throw rugs from upstairs and loaded them into the washer and then after a while into the drier. It was getting to be around 1230 so I heated up the ham and lentil soup and had that for lunch. After finishing lunch I loaded up the dishwasher and started it up.

By this time Stan had finished sanding and re-mudding the ceiling and walls, so we installed a plug next to Kathleen's side of the bed. Stan went up in the attic and fed the wire down to me and then I hooked up the outlet and put the cover on it. While I was doing that Stan connected the wire to a junction box in the attic.

There was still a little time left so Stan cut the holes for the two remaining recessed lights and installed them. So not we have plenty of light in the hallway. One of the recessed lights that we installed to day was over the stairwell and it is on a separate switch so that we can just turn on the stairwell light and not have the six other lights in the hallway on.

The stairwell light will also turn on the light directly over the stairs, but we have not installed the light fixture yet. We have it but we want to add texture the walls and ceiling before putting it up. Stan finished around 1730 and I helped him load up his truck.

Kathleen made some scalloped potatoes for dinner using some of the left-over ham from last week. There is still enough left-over for another meal although we finished more than half of it tonight.
Tami sent an e-mail to us saying that Becca asked Jesus into her heart today, so that was their miracle for day. So that made today a great day for us. Well on that note I think that I will just say good night!

Sleepy and Sick Sunday

I got up and got ready for church this morning but when I got ready to leave Kathleen was still asleep so I left with out her. I felt pretty good and Dr Laney spoke this morning in church and then Dr Allen spoke in Sunday School. About halfway though Sunday School I started to develop a nasty headache so I left when there was a break in the action.

It was one of those headaches that just keep getting worse the longer they go on, so I took some meds for my sinuses and it got to feeling a little better. My eyes got to watering and I started to get really tired. Andrea came over for a while with Brandon, but I felt so bad that I did not really enjoy their visit.

Andrea wanted Kathleen to trim a little off her hair, just enough to make it a little more even. Kathleen had gotten up by the time I got home from church but she had not gotten dressed until when Andrea and Brandon got here.

After they left, I sat down in my chair and fell asleep until around 1900 when Kathleen woke me up to eat dinner. We had ham and lentil soup that we had frozen from one night last week. We froze several quart freezer bags of it so we still will have plenty for some other meals.

When we froze it, it was pretty concentrated, so when we unfreeze it we have to add more liquid to it, so that makes it go even further. Hot soup is always something that tastes good on a cold day or evening. We still had about another bowl left-over from tonight, so maybe I will have it for lunch in the next day to two.

Well, I did not get much of anything done today, I do feel better now, so hopefully tomorrow I will be back to "normal" or at least my lately normal. Good night for now!

Spouses Sleepy Saturday

I got up around 0630 this morning and made myself an egg beater omelet, a slice of ham, some hash browns and a couple slices of cranberry walnut toast. Then I read the paper, emptied the dishwasher and washed the pots and pans from last night.

I talked to Mom and Sue for about an hour this morning; it was afternoon back there and they were surprised that Kathleen was still sleeping, but I told them that she is usually either still asleep or just getting up around this time.

We bought a new mailbox yesterday so I put it up; it is much larger and easier to open than our old one. We had had it since we moved in here and while it was pretty good size the way it worked magazines and things would usually get caught up and torn, so I have wanted to get a different one for a long time. The new one also has the capability to be locked, so that if we are going to be gone for a while we can just leave the mail in it.

Then I loaded up the SUV with all the things that we needed to take back to Home Depot; it pretty much filled up the back end. With this load of things we will have pretty much cleaned out the house of all the extra things from the remodel. Now we even have some room to move around in the living room.

Andrea called and wanted Kathleen to trim her hair for her, and she was a little surprise that Kathleen was still asleep. So since Kathleen was still not up so I went back outside and picked up fir cones and small branches that had come down in the wind last night.

After getting back into the house, I went upstairs to check to see if Kathleen was up yet but she was still asleep. Since it was about 1230 I finished the other half of the hamburger and fries from last night and added some water to the lentil soup for my lunch.

I did not want to do anything that would make any noise because I did not want to wake Kathleen up before she was ready to get up so I decided that I would watch one of the bowl games, I do not even know which one it was.

Andrea called again and was surprised that Kathleen was still not up and it was 1330. Finally around 1340 she came down stairs so I told her that Andrea wanted her to call when she got up, so she did.

After getting something to eat and getting dressed she was ready to go around 1530. We returned all of our stuff and then did some shopping. I saw Stan and his wife doing some shopping as well; and finally got out of there around 1750. We needed to get to Fred Meyer as Kathleen needed to drop off and pick up some prescriptions; in all there were four prescriptions. Since Kathleen was not feeling well, she wanted to pick up
some frozen food for dinner.

Well, that is about it for today; I think I will just say good night and call it a day!

Friday Fun

Since Stan was not coming over today, I took my time with breakfast. I read the paper and emptied the dishwasher. Kathleen had a nurse practitioner appointment today at 1015 so she was up a little early. After she left, I went outside and did some pruning on the arborvitaes I filled two cans. This week I get to use two cans as they did not pick up today due to the New Years holiday.

They also are changing so that our yard debris is now picked up on Tuesday along with the recycling and garbage, so I only have one day to remember to bring the cans and bins to the front.

Kathleen got back a little after noon and I loaded up the SUV with the returns for Lowe's and Bed Bath and Beyond and then waited for her to be ready to leave. Well I fell asleep in my chair waiting and woke up about 1445 when she decided that she was ready.

Our first stop was Lowe's; after we took care of the returns; we shopped around a little until almost 1700. Then we stopped by Harbor Freight to get a couple items that were on sail. Since it had gotten so late we stopped by Burgerville and got a couple hamburgers, Yukon fries and shakes.

Once we had satisfied our hunger we were on our way to Bed Bath and Beyond. There again we did some shopping and what we bought was less than what we brought back so we wound up getting a credit on my American Express card.

We finally made it back home about 2000 and after I unloaded the SUV I changed my clothes and put some of the things away. Well, that was my day; it was really nice not to have been working on the house today. The sun came out for a while, so I was able to go out and do a little yard work, not much because the ground was just like a sponge but a little just enough to satisfy my need to do yard work for a while.

Since I cannot think of anything else to say, I am just going to close with a good night.

Taking Time Thursday

I had a real brown egg for the first time in a couple months this morning. Usually I have egg beaters or Kathleen's egg whites for breakfast, but this morning I did not have enough egg beaters thawed out and Kathleen did not have any egg whites in the refrigerator so I finished the last egg in the older dozen egg cartons.

Stan got here a little after 0900 and left around noon; he finished taping and mudding the upstairs, so now everything is taped and mudded and we will let it set until Tuesday when Stan will sand and reapply more mud.

While Stan was working upstairs I went outside and pulled nails from the scrap lumber that we took out of the upstairs. I only stayed out there a little over an hour as it was cold and the cabinet that I was using was really low and my back was starting to hurt. Once I got inside and moved around a little my back started to feel better.

Then after Stan left I sanded the old patch work from twenty years ago. It is so much brighter up there now that one can really see how uneven it was. I did not do that much more than an hour as my wrists were still not what I would like as far as strength goes.

Most of the rest of the afternoon I spent reading magazines and looking through catalogs that have come in the last few days. One day I got nine catalogs or magazines. I was hoping that we could return some of the things that need to go back to Home Depot and Lowe's, but Kathleen was too tired. Maybe tomorrow!

For dinner Kathleen made some potatoes, ham and yams, really good stuff. Kathleen even finished all of hers so I did not get any extra tonight. There was some ham and yams left over, but I thought that it would make a lunch some day, so I just left it.

Well, I am starting to cough pretty good from the dust from the sanding that I did this afternoon. I cannot think of anything else to say so I am just going to say good night!

What Day is this Wednesday

All day today I have felt like this was a Monday, I knew that it was not, but since we met with out Sunday School class for five or so hours yesterday it seemed like Sunday. This morning, I read the paper, emptied the dishwasher and then made myself breakfast.

Stan got here about 0900 and we started moving the things off the front porch so that we could get to the dry wall. Once we were able to get to the dry wall we move it upstairs so that we could work in a dry environment.

To make a really long day a little shorter, we now have dry wall on the whole hall, landing area and stairways. This is the first time since we have lived here that that has been the case. Up until now there haw been a mix-match of drywall, plywood and paneling.

After getting the drywall all put up Stan started taping and mudding it, but it got pretty late, so he decided that he would come back in the morning to finish taping and mudding it. He was going to work at his parents place, but he wanted to get this done so that the mud could dry and then next week he could sand and re-mud it.

Kathleen made some bean soup with ham hocks for dinner tonight. I started smelling it while upstairs working and could hardly wait until we stopped so that I could enjoy it. I really like soups and stews in the winter time, they kink of warm ones innards.

Aaron and the girls came over after dinner while Tami was at a meeting at church and they stayed for about an hour and a half. The girls wanted to see our new bathroom and hallway. After looking at it they came downstairs and colored and drew for a while until Tami called and said that she was home.

Well that is about it for today, it has been a long day and I am rather tired, so good night!

Happy New Year - 2008

Well I did not make it to welcome in the new year, I fell asleep in my chair about 2045 and when I woke up I brushed my teeth and went to bed and slept until a little after 0700. After reading the paper and eating breakfast, I emptied the dishwasher and then added the breakfast dishes and what did not fit in last night when I washed them.

Then I took a couple of things upstairs that Kathleen had left in the kitchen last night and saw that she was up and on her computer, so I gathered the trash from upstairs and added it to the bag in the kitchen and took it outside and brought the can up toward the front.

Then I went back upstairs and finished cleaning off the surfaces that we are going to put the drywall on tomorrow and then swept up the mess. After getting the bigger pieces I ran the shop vac over the plywood to try to get as much of the drywall dust and sawdust up as possible. Once I had the upstairs swept, I ran the shop vac on the stairs as far as I could reach from the top of the stairs.

Then I went downstairs and got my vacuum and swept the stairs from where I had left off all the way down to the first floor. After the stairs were reasonably clean I vacuumed the downstairs. It is amazing how much construction dust there is around the house. I think that I have been vacuuming once or twice a day for the last month or so.

After I finished cleaning, I went back upstairs and put the door knob on the bathroom door. I was going to do that several weeks ago but Kathleen said not to as she was going to paint the door. The yesterday she asked me to put it on. I was too tired last night to do it so this morning after she was up and I had cleaned what I could I did it.

Then I went back down and went through all the receipts for Home Depot that I had sorted through last night and separated the items into 9ndividual bags or boxes so that when we took them back it would be easier to go through the returns desk.

By the time I finished I was time to go upstairs and change my clothes and get ready to go to our classes New Years Day gathering. We got there about fifteen minutes late and once we got there they prayed and then we ate. So much food and so little time...I tried watching what I ate, but every once in a while I put some in my mouth as I was watching the game on TV.

There were around fifty or so people there or a good portion of our class. I probably spent more time talking to people today than I had in a long time. It was good getting to know some of the folks that I had not known so well. Even our former pastor and his wife came. They were in town visiting so they stopped in for a couple hours and it was nice to see them again.

We got there about 1215 and left about 1715 and by the time we got home I was glad to be able to change into my shorts and tee shirt their house was a little warm for me. Kathleen's headache was really bothering her so she was anxious to get home as well; usually I am ready to leave and she wants to stay, but this time we both were ready to leave.

Well, other than eating I did not get a lot done, but I did get a few small items accomplished and checked off my list. Well, that was my day; I hope that you all were able to enjoy yourselves and the new year. It was a little chilly here today but clear, so it was nice. Tomorrow it is suppose to turn wet again, so it was nice while it lasted.

Good night and I hope that you have a great New Year!