A Digging Day

After putting away the dishes in the dishwasher and eating breakfast I washed the frying pans and loaded up the dishwasher with my breakfast dishes. Andrea called and said that she was coming over later in the day, but right now they were in the process of having their old deck, three month old) was being taken down and a new larger deck being put in to take it's place.

After talking to her for a while I gave the phone to Kathleen to talk for a while and I went outside and dug up more of the vines that had taken over the flower beds next to the house in front. Aaron came over while I was working on it with his latest guitar. This one is for someone he use to work with and is all green with shamrocks and a wolf inlays.

My back started hurting too much so I stopped, cleaned up my tools and cleaned up myself and visited with Aaron for a while. He showed me the PDA/GPS combination that he is getting for his flying. Flying has been in his blood since he was a little boy and I hope that he is able to realize his dream. Both his mother and I love to fly so it was no surprise to us that he inherited this desire to fly.

When I worked at Boeing I had several friends who had their own planes and we would go flying quite frequently. There is just something peaceful about being up there and away from the hustle and bustle. It also makes one realize just how small we are when one gets up a couple thousand feet and looks down at the earth below.

I had another friend at Boeing who was a pilot in the Air Force reserve and I took Aaron out to see him and he let Aaron get inside his F-4 (so you can see how long ago that was), and that led Aaron to want to become a pilot in some branch of the military. He was really disappointed when he could not because of his football injuries.

I had mixed emotions about that, as much as I would love for him to have been able to do that I was also glad that he would not have to go into the military. I did not have a bad experience with the Air Force, but I think that my experience was somewhat unusual.

Coming out of an ROTC program I seemed to get special treatment where ever I went. I know that I seemed to make rank quicker than most everyone else and seemed to land pretty cushy assignments...not a typical experience for most people who were in during the Viet Nam War.

After Aaron left I made myself some lunch and then took a snooze in my easy chair as I was really tired. Kathleen just took off to visit one of our friends who has a bad sinus infection. We bought some miniature daffodils the other day and she is taking over a card and a pot of daffodils.

Before she left she made a pan of meatloaf and put some potatoes in the over for dinner tonight. Andrea never made it over here today; she must have gotten busy with the deck rebuild.

Nice Weather Returns

Yesterday was an okay kind of day, not by summer standards, but for an Oregon winter day...not bad! Today was a really nice day by any standard, my iPod tells me that it got up to fifty-nine degrees today, while that is not quite up to summer standards it is still a nice temperature and only about ten to fifteen degrees from my ideal temperature.

While I was checking the temperature I also looked at how my investments were doing and all but two finished in the green and they only finished a total of .82 in the red. For the last couple of weeks they have been up and down like a yo-yo; a little unnerving, but overall they are doing pretty good compared the Dow or even the Standard and Poor's 500 index, so I really cannot complain.

Aaron called and talked to Kathleen for quite a while and then I got on the phone and talked to him. He is excited about starting flying again; I think that he said Monday would be his first flight and that he is hoping to go several times a week. I think he inherited the desire to fly from both his parents so that poor kid did not stand a chance.

This afternoon after the sun dried the dew off the grass I mowed again, and after I mowed I redid the contour of the rose garden...just a little. I made it a little rounder at the arch where the clematis is growing at the entrance to the garden path.

After finishing that up I went inside and cleaned up. Then I made my self some lunch. After eating I loaded up the dishwasher and turned it on then I took a short nap in my easy chair.

Kathleen was out most of this afternoon so I just kind of goofed off this afternoon. Tonight for dinner we had some whole grain noodles and a half of a turkey Kielbasa with a cream sauce and some peas. It must be the German in me because I could eat that kind of thing just about every day.

Working with Wet Weather

This weekend was not too bad, I was able to work outside Sunday for a couple hours edging and pulling weeds around the rose garden and the connecting side of the blueberry patch. My hip had been really hurting for the last couple of days so I thought that sitting out in the sunshine might help.

Well the just sitting part only lasted a little while until I decided to get out my mat and work on the border of the rose garden. It is in pretty good shape now and I hope that I will be able to keep it that way throughout the summer.

I have a few bare areas in the path of the rose garden so I will need to chip up some more branches and fill those in. I also have an area where I changed the direction of the path a little; where I have moved some of the lily's that I will need to add some chipped branches to designate the pathway better.

I finally got my hair cut Saturday; I can no longer put my hair up in a pony tail and I have to take in the slack in the back of my caps so that they fit better. I think that the last time I had gotten my hair cut was sometime last summer so it had gotten slightly ragged and long in the back especially.

I was outside when it started to drizzle this morning, around 0915 and so I spent most of the rest of the day inside. I was going to sand the stairs some more, but Kathleen needed to take a nap, so I worked in my office instead. I got my computer desk mostly cleaned off, so at least now I can see the top of it. I also cleaned off the spare chair next to my desk so that someone can even sit in it now. I also picked up some of the junk that had been gathering on the floor around the stationary bike so now I can even peddle it if I get motivated enough.

The weather is suppose to get nice again, with the temperature getting back into the sixties so I am looking forward to that. I still have a lot of yard work to get done, and if I do not get it done now it becomes almost impossible to do especially when I will be having to mow twice a week.

The Return of the "Normal" Weather

It was more overcast this morning when I got up, and as the day went on the clouds became closer together. After breakfast I loaded up the dishwasher and started it up and then went outside and worked on pulling the grass growing in the flower bed on the other side of the sidewalk from the driveway.

After I got the weeds pulled I re-dug the channel to drain the water off the sidewalk into the garden. Once I had that dug I decided that I would start pulling out the vines that have been taking over the flower beds next to the house. I managed to get the west side bed seventy-five done and the other side along the house but my wrists were hurting too much to continue.

After putting my tools away, I cleaned up and then emptied the dishwasher. Then I made myself some reduced sodium soup that Andrea gave me as she did not like the way it tasted. My children know that I can eat almost anything and this was no exception. I actually could not tell much difference in the cream of celery soup that I made today from the regular stuff.

After I finished eating I put my bowl in the dishwasher and then went back outside as I had noticed some ants on the foundation when I was pulling the vines out. So I got my gallon of insect spray out and sprayed the foundation on the two sides and the front. I did not do the back as I need to pull some of the thyme away from the house but I have not noticed any ants on the back side of the house anyway.

After cleaning up I sat in my chair and took a nap for a while. I seemed to have a little more energy today, but still not very much. Around 1600 I heard a car drive by and I could tell that there was water on the street. I had just started raining and so I had to go out on the porch and "smell" the rain.

Even in the "rainy season" it is still nice to smell the rain when it has not rained for a couple weeks. Tomorrow it is suppose to be rainy most of the day; I think that it might be a good thing for the plants that I have transplanted.

Well, I am doing this as I watch Fox News, because I know that if I wait until after we eat I probably will be too tired and it will not get done.

More Nice Weather

This is the forth day in the sixties with now rain either; for this part of the country and this time of year that is unusual. I think it was two or three years ago that we had a snow storm...how times change.

I played out in my garden again today, since I seem to only have a couple hours where I have any kind of energy I might as well take advantage of the nice weather. I transplanted some lily plants that were growing in the new walkway that I have created with the chippings that I made from the branches and other things.

I also pruned the roses a little more, more for making them look better more than any other reason, although a couple I cut just because I could see that they would be growing into the walkway when summer got here.

I also gathered up a couple piles of brush, mostly from the lavender bush that I took out a few weeks ago, but there were also some raspberry stalks as well.

I also fertilized the blueberry shrubs in hopes that we will get another harvest like we got last year. I am not sure if it was the fertilizing or just a good year for blueberries, but I want to do whatever I can to encourage a lot of berries.

After going in the house and making myself some lunch, I went back out and mowed the lawn for the second time this year. I think that my reprieve from mowing has come to an end and I will be mowing at least once a week until the hot dry summer weather stunts the growth of the grass. This time of year the lawn really looks nice all green and healthy.

After cleaning up and sitting down for a while I sat down in my chair and took a nap for a while. Our neighbor called and woke me up, she said that one of my refund checks had been dropped off at her house and wanted to meet me at the back fence to give it to me. I received the first one earlier in the week and when I checked the web site it said that they both had been mailed out so I had been waiting for it.

I did not want to go to the bank and just deposit one of them and was getting a little concerned when the second one had not shown up.

It finally got to be 1745 and Kathleen still had not made it back home today so I reheated the left-over spaghetti from last night for dinner. She called just as I was cleaning up my dinner mess and loading up the dishwasher and said that she was on her way home.

A Day of Digging

Today started out really foggy but as soon as the fog burnt off it turned out to be a really nice day. I think that the temperature got up to around sixty degrees today and there was not very much wind either so that made for a good day. The weather folks are saying that our winter is officially over and do not expect anymore chance of snow of below freezing weather...I like that!

I went outside about 1115 and started puttering around the gardens; I dug up some holy seedlings, and moved them to west of the driveway. I also dug up more fox glove plants and moved some to the west side of the garage and others along the east fence line.

After a while I decided to sit a while in my Adirondacks chair and rest for a while. Even though I had not done a lot of work, I was really tired and I am learning that I need to rest a lot more than I use to.

After resting for a half hour or so I went back to transplanting fox glove plants. Say Andrea you were asking about what you could plant out back; I have several more fox glove plants that I will be moving so if you want any of them let me know.

About 1430 I went back into the house, cleaned up and made myself some lunch. After putting my dishes into the dishwasher I sat down in my easy chair and took a little nap.

Kathleen had come downstairs, so I had her go outside with me to show me which ferns she wanted me to move to the front where I took the Bird's Nest Spruce. So now I have a project for tomorrow if I can muster up enough energy.

Tonight made some Ivar's clam chowder for dinner and added a little hot Hungarian paprika to it to spice it up a little. I only had a bowl as it only made enough for two bowls.

Bye Bye Bird's Nest Spruce

Today is about the eleventh day with the weather in the fifties. The weather has been unseasonably warm and almost dry for the last couple of weeks. I think that it has only rained part of three days and most of that has been in the evenings leaving the days dry and somewhat sunny.

After my walk today; and I cut it short as I could feel my hip starting to get that little tinge to it that usually proceeds it really hurting, I rested a little. Then feeling a little like I needed to be doing something; I decided that I would trim some more off the Bird's Nest Spruce. I reached a point and then decided that I would get my shovel and stubbing hoe out and actually take it out.

It came out rather easily and the roots did not go into the lawn and were pretty small in diameter so that after I chopped a couple of the larger roots I was able to push it over. I think that I will transplant a couple ferns in the spot where it was.

The ferns are smaller and I already have them on the other side of the walkway. I am even thinking about adding another cement stepping stone on the other side of the walkway to give a larger area to come in from the front lawn.

Even though I did not expend a lot of energy digging out the spruce I was tired enough that I needed to take a nap this afternoon. I seem to have just enough energy to complete one task a day...this is getting pretty old.

Later this afternoon I spent some time in the kitchen killing ants; one of the things that I seem to be doing a lot of lately. They seemed to have found an open bag of hard Christmas candy we are talking hundreds of them. So I took everything out of the bottom shelf and wiped everything down and then the shelf down as well. Even after dinner I was still finding a few stragglers but nothing like what I found this afternoon.

A Day at the Doctor's

Last night when we got home, after watching the total eclipse of the moon, around 2000 we had a message on the phone reminding Kathleen that she had an appointment with her sleep doctor. I reminded her that she had also agreed to watch Brandon at the same time, so she called Andrea and Andrea was able to get Toni to watch him.

This morning we took off to Tigard for her appointment. We were there for over an hour and we got home about 1230. I changed clothes and went outside to see about pruning the Rose of Sharon. Kathleen came outside just as I had gotten started and said that she had made an appointment with our G.P., and wanted to know if I wanted to go with her.

So I stopped what I was doing and changed clothes again. We no sooner got seated when the nurse called her in. They did some blood work, a chest x-ray and an EKG and they all looked good. She had been having some pain in her breast bone area and her sleep doctor suggested that she check with her G.P.

After finishing with the doctor we stopped at Home Depot so that I could pick up some Soil Sweet for the lawn and also some ant killer to spread around outside and also some spray for the inside. After that we stopped at Fred Meyer to pick up several prescriptions for Kathleen.

When we got home I put the soil sweet into the garage and went inside and changed clothes again. Then I went outside and put the soil sweet on the lawn and then put the ant pellets around the east side of the house.

We finished the deli sandwiches, cold slaw and potato salad that Kathleen had brought home last night. So we got three meals out of it, not too bad, I can remember the days when we would have finished eating it in one sitting.

Another Almost Nice Day

This morning after making and eating breakfast, reading the paper and emptying the dishwasher I decided that I would try to get the Jeep through DEQ. So I changed my clothes and took off. I passed without any problem but when it came to the paperwork the DMV put the wrong fee on it. I told them that I would pay the higher fee even though they did not have it on the paperwork.

Finally I talked the attendant into having his boss make the decision; so after a little deliberation he agreed that I could pay the higher fee without having to go back to the DMV. It would not be so bad except for the fact that the wait is long and I already had to make an extra trip there because the had not put the correct information into the computer two years ago.

I changed to salmon plates two years ago rather than ordinary plates so I have to pay a little extra every time that I renew them. I do not mind it too much because it does go toward a good cause.

Once I got everything signed off and got my new 2009 tags I drove off. As soon as I got to a place where I could stop, I stopped and put the new stickers on the plates. I did not want to drive any more than I already had with expired plates. I had passed a couple police cars on the way to DEQ and did not want to press my luck.

On the way home I stopped and got gas for the Jeep, I had not filled up since last July, so it had been seven months on that last tank of gas. At that rate I almost do not care what they charge for gas, although I noticed when I was logging in my fuel consumption that gas had gone up about twenty cents a gallon since I last bought it. Of course it has gone down and back up in the course of the last seven months.

When I got home the garbage truck had just left so as soon as I put the Jeep back into the garage I gathered up the garbage can, the yard debris barrel and the two recycling bins. On my way back with the recycling bins I also picked up the mail. So since I had the recycling bin, I went in the house through the back door so that I could drop off one of the bins in the back porch.

There seemed to be a lot of catalogs and magazines in the mail today, of course there was no mail yesterday so that might explain some of the extra reading material.

After reading the mail, I made myself some of the butternut squash that I got from Alyssa last week and also had a couple pieces of toast to go along with it. This time I added a little cayenne to the soup...well maybe it was more than a little, and it did give it a good flavor.

I did not get a lot done the rest of the day, I had thought about going outside and working in the yard, but since I put the fertilizer on the lawn yesterday I thought that I would wait until it rained again before doing anything in the yard. Besides it was starting to get a little chilly, the temperature did not make it to sixty today; I think that it only got to about fifty-six degrees or so but there was a pretty strong east wind blowing.

I was going to trim off the rest of the branches from the birds nest spruce, but I thought that I would wait as it will be another two weeks before the yard debris gets picked up again. I spent a good portion of the afternoon killing ants; it seems that the warm weather the last couple of days has had the ants out looking for new digs.

I will leave you with this Pickles cartoon; it is rather appropriate only the one with the glasses on their head is usually Kathleen. Unfortunately the Pickles cartoon has more truth to it in our lives these days, but it is still pretty funny most of the time.

Here is the web address as the picture is a wee bit tiny:

http://www.comcast.net/data/comics/pickles.gif

Taking a Mental Health Moment

I thought that everyone could use a little mental health moment!

Enjoy!

http://docs.google.com/Presentation?docid=dfdwvqns_0dnz4kgdz#

Springtime in February

For the past three days the temperature has been in the high fifties to low sixties, so it has been really a tease as to what I have been missing for the last several months. Tomorrow the "normal" weather is suppose to return, so that means rain.

I have been doing some things the last couple of days, but today I started out by transplanting fifty or so daffodils and tulips that I had in a couple planters. I put them around an old apple stump that is just about ready to fall over.

After I finished that I decided that I would give my roses their spring pruning, so I got out my good pruners and gave them a haircut. I probably will be doing a little more thinning later this spring, but I want to wait until they start to bush out a little before I do anything too drastic.

After dumping the rose clippings into the yard debris barrel, I decided that I would transplant some of my raspberries that were growing in places where I would rather they not. I put them in the rows where the rest of the raspberries where but were a little thin.

I had just about gone in the house when I thought to myself that the weather was so nice and the grass was dry...so I thought I would see if I could give the grass in the front yard a haircut as well.

I was a little surprised at just how much I was cutting so when I finished the front lawn I did the back lawn as well. It is just about this time of year where the grass can really start getting ahead of me; between the grass being too wet or my not having time to do it.

Just to make sure that the grass grows really well, after I finished mowing I decided that I would put down the rest of the Scott's winter fertilizer from last fall. I thought that I would only have enough to do the front lawn, but I had just enough to do the back lawn as well.

My poor fertilizer spreader is broken, it actually broke last fall, but I thought that I would wait until spring to get another one. I still need to do that as it was really hard on my wrists trying to hold down the stub of a lever that allows the fertilizer to drop at the correct rate.

Well, it is late afternoon, but I though that before I got too tired I would jot down a few notes. So that is all that I can remember from today.

Beautiful Weekend

This certainly has been a great weekend...well at least for the middle of winter. Yesterday I roto-tilled the garden; it took a couple hours; most of it was cleaning out the tines of mud. It really was kind of gumbo like, but at least now it will have a chance to dry out a little so that it will be easier to do the next time.

After I finished roto-tilling I went into the house and took a shower as we needed to go pick up Natalie before going to Andrea and John's. My wrists and fore arms were so sore from rototilling for several hours.

We had a good time celebrating Chucky's twenty-eighth birthday and had lots of good food to eat. The grandchildren had a great time playing with each other and it was amazing that six children can get along so well and play without fighting.

By the time we got home last night I was too tired to do much beside go to bed. It tool me a while to get to sleep as my body was so sore that it was hard to get comfortable, but when I finally did I slept well.

This morning I was still pretty sore and so I did not try to go to church, Kathleen did not wake up until after noon, so neither of us made it today. Then this afternoon I started feeling better so I went outside and transplanted about a hundred fox glove plants a couple roses and one hydrangea.

After digging and transplanting for a couple hours I set up my Adirondack chair out and sat out in the sun for a half hour or so. It sure felt good to sit in the sunshine for a while. There is something that I do not get to do much in the winter.

Then tonight Kathleen made some stir fry using the left over duck from Gustav's the other night and she added some rice, carrots and broccoli. There was enough left-over for me to have it again for lunch some day.

Well, I am sore again tonight from all the digging, but it is a good kind of sore and I would much rather be sore from working outside in the sun and fresh air than just being sore for no good reason. I think with all the fresh air, I should be able to sleep well again tonight.

Days with the Grand Children

In the last three days I have seen all of our grandchildren. First Andrea and Brandon stopped by for several hours to see us on Wednesday; they yesterday Aaron and Tami stopped by with Becca and Alexis and I gave them their Valentine's Day chocolates; and then today we stopped by to see Alyssa, Natalie, Zander and Hayden and give the children their chocolates.

We were out in Gresham at the DMV getting the paperwork that I needed to take my Jeep through DEQ, so while we were there we thought that we would go visit the other grandchildren. Dan was at Mount Hood Community College where he teaches part time and so we did not get to see him.

Alyssa gave us a large freezer bag of butternut squash, so when we got home I made a pot full and had it for a late lunch along with a glass of organic buttermilk that she gave me as well. I had not eaten since breakfast, so by the time that we got home around 1630 I was more than a little hungry.

Tomorrow is Chucky's birthday, so we should see almost everyone again as we are all meeting at Andrea and John's to celebrate. Tomorrow is going to be a little busy for me as I have men's breakfast in the morning and then later in the afternoon it is off to Andrea and John's.

We have not gotten to do anything with the remodeling lately, we need to get busy and finish priming the upstairs so that we can put the sub floor down and then paint and put the flooring down. Our upstairs rooms are full with all the things that we took out of the hall way and landing so we need to get those things out so that we can use the other rooms.

Yesterday I took Kathleen out to Gustav's German Pub & Grill in Clackamas for dinner. She had a roasted duck in apricot sauce with green beans and mash potatoes and I had three kinds of sausages with sauerkraut, red cabbage and German potato salad. Then for desert Kathleen had a chocolate mousse and I had a dark chocolate cheesecake; we both had a cup of decaf coffee to wash it all down.

When we were done the just rolled us out into the parking lot and then we drove home. By the time we got back I was too tired to blog so I thought that I would just wait until today to do two for one.

I guess that this is about enough for today; I think that I have run out of words for now.

Vegetarian Hash

Well, I did not get much done today; I was out in the garage this morning and saw that plates on my Jeep had expired last December. For some reason I never got a renewal notice. I called the DMV and explained to them what was going on and for some reason they had it expiring in December 2005.

But I was looking at the receipt that I had and it showed that I had gotten a new license plate in October 2005 and it listed the new tag numbers, so I do not know what happened. Anyway I need to go to the DMV and get a form and then take it to DEQ and get it passed through there and then I can get my new tags.

I was working on my taxes when Andrea called and said the she and Brandon were going to come over around 1100. She and Brandon got here a little after 1100 and stayed until around 1730.

While she was here I washed, dried, folded and put away two loads of clothes. After the second load finished, I noticed that there was still water in the utility sink, so I took the plunger to it. It took a lot longer to clear than I would have expected, but I finally got it cleared. After I got the water to drain normally I mixed up a batch of my drain cleaner and poured it down the drain.

I mix 1 Cup of baking soda and 1/2 Cup of salt down the drain followed by 1 cup of hot vinegar. I heated the vinegar in the microwave before adding it to the drain. Then I wait 5 minutes before flushing the drain with 2 quarts of hot water. This whole thing can be repeated a few times if it is necessary. I did not because the drain was running freely before I did the first one.

I am not sure why the drain stopped up as it had been running fine or at least I did not notice it being slow before today. Anyway I think that I spent a little over two and a half hours working on it. When I finally got to sit down I noticed that my wrists were really sore from using the plunger so much.

After Andrea and Brandon left I sat and rested for a while and then I made myself some vegetarian hash. First I added some olive oil to the frying pan and then added a block of tofu (about 12 ounces), then I sliced up some onion and diced it. While that was frying I grated a couple potatoes, leaving the skins on. I kept stirring the mix until it had all started browning and then I stirred in some Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce.

I let it sit a while to brown and then I turned it and let the other side brown. Then I put it on my plate and added a little ketchup...not bad even if I do have to say so myself.

Well, I am tired so I think that I am going to call it a day.

Sunshine + Warm Weather = Spring Flowers

I was really sore and tired yesterday from working out in the yard Saturday so I did not do much of anything except sit around and read the paper. We both made it to church yesterday, I think that is the first time in about two months that Kathleen has made it.

She stayed up late last night so she has been really tired today. I gathered up all the cut tile from our upstairs bathroom. I had just left them laying out by the garage where I had cut them and was going to get rid of them when Kathleen said that she might want them, so I put them into a couple boxes for her.

This morning when I first got up I emptied the dishwasher and then I picked up the rugs in the kitchen and swept, mopped the floor. After a while I also vacuumed the downstairs carpet...gee, I guess that is the only place where we have carpet left.

I have been noticing that the spring flowers are popping up all over. The heather and primroses are blooming and it will not be long before the snow drops pop open as well. The other bulbs, crocus, daffodils and tulips are all up and getting pretty big, so it should not be too long before they start flowering. Spring must be in the air; the weather has been in the fifties for the last three days and Saturday it was pretty close to sixty.

I got our credit union statement in the mail today so I reconciled my checking account as well as our savings account; I always like it when it reconciles on the first try. I also got my monthly statement on my investments; I wish that I could say that I am making a killing, but I do not think that anyone is right now.

Well that was pretty much my day, I think that I will call it a day.

Sunny Saturday + Feeling Good = Yard Work Gets Done

Our wireless system was having issues last night, so I did not get to blog as I did not get back up and working until almost 2300 last night. Kathleen ran out and bought a new wireless router about 2000 and by the time she got back and I installed the new one and hooked up to it I was too tired to even think about working on the computer any more so I just went to bed.

I did not sleep in as long as I would have liked to but I was awake and felt pretty good so I just got up. After making my hardy Saturday morning breakfast, I read the paper and finished my coffee. Then I put my dishes into the dishwasher and washed the pots and pans that had been in the sink for a couple of days. I was just too tired to do them and they did not get done.

The mail came after a bit so I got it, not much of anything worth bothering with, so I went outside and ground some of the branches and fir cones that have been collecting in a pile under the fir trees. I gathered up enough to fill three barrels and then I drug the barrels into the back yard so that they would be close to my chipper.

I took the chips and poured them on the pathway in the large rose garden. It makes a nice soft pathway and also helps keep the weeds somewhat at bay. While I was chipping the branches I was listening to CCR on my iPod...good music to work by, or just listen to for that matter.

Just before I was about ready to call it quits I noticed that the battery was getting pretty low, so I went back into the house and put it on the charger. I only had about another half hour before I was finished and I thought that I could probably make it with out my tunes.

Listening to the music helped cancel out the noise from the chipper and it made the time go by a lot faster. By the time I put everything away and got cleaned up it was about 1600. I surprised myself a little as I actually stopped before I was too worn out and before it got too dark that it made it hard to get everything put away.

Now I need a good shower to get all the stuff off my body that is going to start irritating my allergies. I could tell that I had been on my feet more than I had been use to as my feet are really throbbing...another thing that a shower is going to help.

Kathleen reheated the roast and mash potatoes with shins from the other night, she also heated up some peas for a vegetable. I think that I am going to have several pots and pans to clean up tomorrow. Well, I think I will end this for tonight so that I can take my shower before my eyes get so irritated that I cannot see the monitor.

No Rain + Working Outside = Tired Bob

After a rather stormy evening and night I was able to get an almost normal amount of sleep last night. After breakfast, coffee, reading the paper and cleaning up the kitchen I decided to go outside and pull some more weeds along the driveway.

This time of year there are a lot of weeds around here that pop up and if I do not get them pulled before they go to seed they spread all over the place. These weeds actually are "spring loaded" and when they get brushed against or one tries to pull them they spring their seeds all over; that is why I try to get them pulled before they get a chance to flower and go to seed.

This time of year the weeds pull up pretty easily the problem is getting them and the associated mud off ones fingers and into the can that I use to gather them up before putting them into the yard debris barrel.

About the time I was noticing that I was getting a little sore and tired it got very over cast and a storm looked eminent. So when I got done with the area that I was working on I dumped the bucket of weeds and put my tools away. Then by the time I got back into the house and cleaned up it really looked dark outside.

Later on I noticed that it was raining out, although not nearly as bad as it looked like it might while I was working outside. I did manage to actually lay down and take a couple hour nap today and I felt better once I got up again.

My eyes have really been teary the last few days; it must be "spring-time" allergies starting to work their thing on me. I washed my hair and face with baby shampoo. I like using baby shampoo because it is not only easy on my hair but I can also wash my eyes an face with it to help get rid of things that cause my allergies to flair up. Washing my eyes seemed to have helped for a little while but my eyes are starting to tear up again...maybe I am just a sensitive type of guy!

Not Enough Sleep + No Energy = Really Tired

For some unknown reason I woke up around 0300 this morning and after tossing and turning for a couple more hours I decided that I would get up. I knew that I would be really tired later on today, but I actually felt pretty good considering that it was so early.

I read the paper and made a pot of coffee, then after reading the paper I put the oatmeal, that had been soaking, into the micro-wave. After putting my dishes into the dishwasher I sat down in my chair for a while.

Around 1000 I went outside and pulled weeds and raked the front parking strip as it had gotten pretty chewed up from vehicles driving on it. By the time I got everything done and in the house and cleaned up it was almost noon.

Kathleen had an appointment at 1330 so after she left I made myself some lunch and then sat back down in my chair. Kathleen called from Winco around 1600 and woke me up. I dropped the phone three times trying to answer it I was so groggy that I could not coordinate my thought of answering the phone with actually picking it up and pressing the talk button.

I was suppose to meet with the guys tonight, but I am still so tired that I do not think that I can safely drive tonight. I have a harder time driving in the dark than I use to so unless I am feeling really well I try to avoid it whenever possible.

I seem to have some energy about every other day and I think that today was my day for energy. It was kind of nice that it was somewhat nice out today, although it was still pretty mucky to work out in the garden. My Muck Boots were pretty well caked with mud by the time I finished working in the garden.

I think that I have pretty much run out of steam tonight; who knows maybe tomorrow I might have energy!?!

How True

http://www.arcamax.com/newspics/4/451/45173.gif

This was in the paper a couple of weeks ago it rang so true that I had to cut it out and put it on the refrigerator. Pickles has become one of my favorite comics, I find that I sometimes have more in common with that cartoon than I like to admit.

Dilbert is another comic that I enjoy although I do not relate as much to it as I did when I worked at Boeing. So much of what was in Dilbert looked like it might have come from someone that I worked with it was uncanny.

I felt better this morning when I got up, my headache was gone and my stomach felt better as well. I even got a few things done today; I did a load of towels, a load of dishes and I straightened up the front porch a little bit. It still has a lot of lumber on it so there is not a lot that can be done with it.

I reheated the leftover whole wheat noodles and added a can of sardines to it for my omega 3 dose for the day.

Tonight Kathleen sliced and diced some potatoes and added some of the pot roast and onions from last night for dinner for kind of a roast beef hash kind of meal.

Well, I need to get the dishwasher emptied and the dinner dishes loaded into it, so I am going to end this for now.

Super Bowl XLII

I felt somewhat decent this morning when I got up so after eating breakfast I got ready for church. Kathleen was still sleeping when I was ready to leave at 0915 so I left by myself. I was not feeling as well as I was when I first got up; my insides just did not feel quite right and my head was starting to develop a headache. My eyes were also watering quite a bit and I thought about turning around and staying home...but I did not.

About half way through Sunday School my headache got worse and I could hardly keep my eyes open. Then a little while later the worship team for the second hour started practicing and since our class meets right below them the heavy drums did not do my headache feel any better. It got bad enough that I had to leave before it was over.

By the time I got home I was really sick to my stomach; I think from the pain in my head and eyes as much as anything. I took some Tylenol as soon as I got home and took a quick nap in my chair when I did get up I felt somewhat better. My head still hurt and my eyes were watering but my insides felt better.

After eating something I sat down and watched to Super Bowl, I was glad to see the Giants win. It was a rather uneventful game mostly a defensive struggle, but a good game anyway. I would much rather watch a close game than one that was really lopsided.

For dinner tonight Kathleen made a pot roast with "dot" noodles and green beans. I did not eat a lot as I still was not feeling good. If I were still working I would consider this a wasted weekend as I did not get anything done; but since all my days are like a weekend I guess that it was okay.

With that said I think that I am going to call it a day as my eyes hurt to look at the computer screen; they hurt no matter what I am doing. Right now I am just hoping that they feel better in the morning. This is two days now that my eyes have been giving me fits.

Happy Groundhogs' Day!

Well I guess Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today, so I guess that means six more weeks of winter. I also read that Gen. Beauregard Lee, Punxsutawney Phil's counterpart in Lilburn, Ga. Beau did not see his shadow today so that would mean that spring will come early. So I guess it just depends on where one lives. I am not sure whether our groundhog saw his shadow or not but we did have snow all morning,
but none of it stuck at our house. Alyssa and Andrea both reported that it has stuck but was melting. Aaron said that depending on where he drove there was snow in some places but driving a little further he would run out of snow.

It has been a pretty uneventful day here, I did get the dishes washed, unloaded and put away but that is about all I did today. I did spend a lot of time on my computer looking at flooring web sites to see what I could find out about the flooring but I did not really accomplish much and probably could have taken a nap and done myself some good.

I made myself some hash browns and added some of that onion, and pepper mix that we got the other day. I even added some of it to my egg beaters for my omelet and had a couple veggie sausage links and toast for breakfast.

Tonight Kathleen made some rice and chicken in a cream of chicken sauce. After it was done she added some apple slices and I added some raisins on top of that. It was pretty good. Kathleen thought that it needed something red to go with it and since we did not have any cranberry sauce I opened a can of pickled beets.

Kathleen did not have any of the beets so I wound up eating the whole can myself. I am not sure why I like beets but I think that I always have. I do not know too many people that do like them, so I do not eat them as much as I would like...usually only a couple times a year.

I sure would like to start feeling better pretty soon, I am really getting tired of not feeling well. Some of it may have to do with the weather and not being able to get out and work in the yard at all. Even on dry days the ground is so soggy that I cannot do anything; that plus the fact that I only have about ten minutes of energy a day.

Well here is to six more weeks of winter!

Bob's Fabulous Food Friday

Alyssa posted her Fabulous Food Friday today and I got the idea to do one myself. I originally posted this as a comment to her Super Bowl Chili recipe but here it is again:

Sometimes beans do not agree with everyone so here is a different take on your Super Bowl Chili.

Ingredients:
* 1-1/2 pounds ground beef, ground turkey or whatever
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
* 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed chicken gumbo soup, undiluted
* 1/2 cup ketchup
* 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
* 3 tablespoons vinegar
* 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
* 1 bay leaf
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 12 sandwich rolls, split

Directions:
In a large skillet, cook beef or turkey, onion and green pepper (you can buy a mix of onion, red and green pepper in the frozen food department, I bought it at Winco and it was made by Flav-R-Pac) over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain off grease.

Stir in soup, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, horseradish, bay leaf, salt and pepper.

Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Spoon onto rolls.

This should make about twelve servings.

As a suggestion to make this a more complete meal, serve them with baked beans or potato salad, and dill pickles.

This way is someone wants beans they can have them otherwise they can just have the potato salad and pickle and have the option for bean or not.

Enjoy and I hope you like it; let me know what you think

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!