Thing to do Around the Yard in the Fall - Part 2

Last Tuesday I had my first installment of my to-do list for fall at the request of my sister Sue; this is my second installment. These are not in any particular order as depending on what part of the country one lives might depend on when they might do these things.

Today's topic is pruning and if you are like me, I prune almost all year long sometimes for artistic reasons and sometimes out of necessity. I start out with a list of some of the more common pruning tools, there are many others but these are the ones that most people might have around the house.



Pruning - The Tools You Need

Pruning trees and plants will make your yard look better while also improving plant health and growth. In this article, we’ll discuss the tools to have on hand to prune more easily and correctly. In part two in the next newsletter, we’ll discuss when and how to prune.

The tool you’ll use depends on the size of the branches you will trim and the amount of pruning you will do. As with all lawn and garden equipment, buy the best quality you can afford and then be sure to maintain the items as necessary.

Oil is one of your tools best friends along with steel wool or a Scotch Brite pads to remove sap and rust from the blades. I use kerosene frequently as well, as it contains enough oil to help prevent rust from forming.

If you have an old five gallon pail around the house fill it with sand and then when you have your oil change in your vehicle add about a quart to the pail of sand and stir well. This does a couple things: first it help clean your digging tools, shovels, spades, trowels, etc. and secondly it adds a coat of oil to the tool.

This is especially important if the tool is going to be left in the garage for a long period of time like over the winter. If you make a habit of doing this every time that you use your tools they will give your years of faithful service.

Since we are talking about pruning, be sure to use steel wool or a Scotch Brite pad each time after you prune so that the sap does not build up making pruning much more difficult. Since rust will help to dull you cutting blade on your pruners it is important to add a coat of oil to the cutting parts of the pruners as well as the moving parts. A little oil will make pruning easier the next time you go to use them.

Hand Pruners are small pruners used to cut stems up to about three-quarters of an inch in diameter. There are two types: bypass and anvil. Bypass pruners are a good choice because they have curved scissors-type blades that overlap, making a clean, even cut. Anvil pruners have a straight upper blade that cuts down on a flat lower “anvil”, which can crush stems rather than cutting cleanly.

Lopping Shears function like giant pruners. Their long-handles provide leverage and reach to trim branches on bushes and trees up to about one and three-quarter inches in diameter. Look for bypass blades on loppers.

Pruning Saws are used to remove branches that are too large for the loppers. This saw comes in various lengths with jagged teeth that also can vary in depth and how far apart they are spaced. To handle thick branches easily, choose a longer saw with the fewest deep teeth per inch. Average jobs (branches about two inches in diameter) can be handled easily with any quality-pruning saw.

Pole Trimmers give you the reach you need to trim tree branches overhead that are up to about one-and-a-half inches thick. As their name implies, most pole trimmers consist of a pole up to about 12 feet long (telescoping or set) with a bypass lopper (controlled by a rope) and a small bow saw at the top.

Flower Sheers are small garden scissors with wide steel blades that make clean, precise cuts. They are perfect for “cutting” flowers for a bouquet and trimming dead leaves and very thin branches from perennials.

Manual Hedge Clippers have long blades that help you cut evenly and long handles that give you the reach you need for hedge trimming. Some people prefer manually trimming their hedges because this method is more forgiving than other trimmers where mistakes can happen quickly.

Chain Saws are used for removing branches greater than three inches in diameters to felling trees. Before purchasing a chain saw, consider exactly what you will use it for so you purchase the right size. The longer the blade length, the bigger job it will handle. Keep in mind that chain saws are serious power equipment. Safety must be top of mind at all times.

When to Prune and How to Do it

Reasons to prune

Pruning is done to improve the appearance and health of your bushes and trees, and sometimes the safety of your home (removing tree branches that overhang your roof, for example). Prune to remove dead or diseased branches; tree branches that are too crowded or touching one another; and “sucker branches” that grow from the ground alongside the tree’s trunk or even sprout up from the side of the trunk itself. Bush pruning also promotes stronger growth and can improve blooming.

Pruning bushes

When you prune your bushes depends on whether or not they are a flowering variety. If you have a bush that blooms in spring or early summer – such as a lilac or forsythia – prune them right after they have bloomed. If you wait until late summer or fall, you will remove buds that are already set to bloom the following spring (even though you cannot see them) and you will have a bush with fewer blooms or none at all next year.

Shrubs that bloom in mid- to late summer or early fall - such as butterfly bush, many spireas and even roses – should be pruned in late fall or very early spring while they are dormant.

Bushes used as hedges or borders that are not maintained for their blooms can be trimmed in summer or fall.

Pruning trees

You will want to prune low, overhanging branches above your roof or driveway to prevent possible damage from falling limbs. You also should remove dead tree limbs and thin out branches that are crowding one another. For many tree pruning jobs – especially those that require climbing or using a chain saw – it’s best to hire experts rather than risk injury. A pole trimmer can be used to thin out small branches easily while your feet are safely on the ground.

The type of tree determines the best time to prune. Generally, prune in late fall to winter, when you can easily see the shape of the branches and the trees are dormant. Some trees, such as maples and birches, tend to release sap excessively if pruned in winter. Trim these trees in summer.

Shaping young trees

You can help a young tree establish an attractive and healthy crown with selective pruning. Trim out crowded branches, if necessary, while creating a natural shape to the tree. Some trees will grow with two “leaders” or main branches – trim away one to ensure a balanced look as the tree matures. Pruning young trees will not hurt them – just be sure you prune no more than one-fourth of the branches in any year.

Finishing the First Week of Downstairs Remodeling

This morning I felt a little tired when I got up, which surprised me seeing as I had over nine hours of rest last night. I went to bed a little after 2100 and did not get up until 0630 although I did not get to sleep right away as around 2000 last night my body finally woke up.

A little after 0900 Pat showed up to start on the plumbing and by the time I left for my doctor's appointment around 1000 he had cut out most of the old plumbing for the downstairs bathroom.

Speaking of my doctor's appointment it did go okay today. My PSA level was 0.06 which is the lowest that it has been; the previous low had been .1 and that was a month after my surgery. I still have to go back in three months but I now have some hope that instead of every three months I will be able to do it every six month or even a year instead.

After the doctor's visit we stopped at the credit union so that I could deposit a check and then on to Home Depot to look at Swanstone for our tub surround and also to get some molding to go around our whole house fan.

We did not get back until after noon and by then Pat had most of the plumbing reconnected and moved. One of the things we had him moved was our outside back yard faucet bib; it has always been in an inconvenient spot and now was a great opportunity to have it moved

Where it was before I am planning on putting in a new deck and where it is now it is on the outside of the bathroom...much more convent. Stan was also back from his early morning doctor's appointment and was building up the outside wall of the bathroom.

What was there was not sufficient and some of it was rotten and needed replacing anyway. Now it is well supported although the tub we are putting in is probably a couple hundred pounds lighter than the one we took out.

Monday I think that Stan is going to put the flooring down and then the drywall for the first part of the week. Our new cabinets are in and as soon as the tub comes in Pat will plumb it. This new week we will have to pick up our tile for the floor and walls and whatever electrical outlets, switches, fan and lights that we will want to install.

I had a little more energy today than I have had all week and I felt better, but that is all relative compared to how I think I should feel I still have a ways to go. Well, I am tired even though the only thing I did today was rake the lawn; with both Pat and Stan working in the bathroom I thought that the best thing that I could do was stay out of their way.

Remodeling Continues

Today was one of my worst days as far as energy level goes; I never had any. At one point mid morning Kathleen suggested that I go outside and rake the front lawn to see if being outside would help rejuvenate me but even after raking the front lawn and the back lawn I still could barely get out of my own way.

Luckily Stan was primarily ripping up the flooring today. We took up the particle board underlayment yesterday but the sub-flooring was bad enough that it was easier to take it up so that we could reinforce the beams, which are on twenty-four inch centers (really old code), and add a couple between them for support. We are going to lay down tongue and groove plywood and then hardy board on top of that with the tile to go on top of that.

Our plumber, Pat Bedlion, came over to see what we needed done for the bath remodel. We are replacing most of the plumbing and re-routing many of the pipes. With the floor up and the walls out it is much easier to do it now than it will be anytime in the future.

So tomorrow both Pat and Stan are suppose to be working tomorrow; I also have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning to have some blood work done to check my PSA levels to see what is going on with my cancer. I am somewhat apprehensive that my cancer may be coming back, or more accurately reappearing somewhere else.

Well Kathleen just got back from the Lowe's and Wal-Mart so I think that I will just close as it is not the cheeriest blog that I have written.

The First Day of the Downstairs Bathroom Remodel

Well this morning I knew that I had to stay fairly awake and pain free as Stan was coming over to start the remodeling. So after breakfast I went out side to start raking until Stan got here, well I finished the front yard and then did the back yard. The back yard was not too bad as the leaves are not falling as fast as the walnut leaves in the front yard.

Since Stan was still not here I picked tomatoes as I had not done that in a couple days and then as I was getting my weeding equipment Stan drove up, so I helped him unload his truck and then let him get settled in as I continued weeding and then pruning the roses.

Here is what the bathroom looked like this morning after I had taken the sink and vanity top off before Stan Got here.



Here are a couple work in process photos:

Here is one with the bathtub almost out; we had to break it up to get it out:

Here it is finally out:

Well, I have gone past my point of exhaustion so I think that I am just going to sign off and call it a day...lots of pain medicine today!

Thing to do Around the Yard in the Fall - Part 1

Some time ago I posted in my blog on lawn care and Sue asked if I would do one on what I do in the fall to prepare the yard for winter so here is the first installment!

It is Not Fall Without Falling Leaves!

If you have trees in your yard, it is time for your annual fall ritual of leaf removal. The key to leaf management is to avoid procrastination. Instead of waiting for all of the leaves to fall, schedule two or three raking (or leaf blowing) sessions during the season. Don’t allow wet leaves to layer on your lawn because they will cut off oxygen and sunlight and eventually will kill the grass. Here are some leaf management tips:

Raking is the tried and true standby for managing leaves. Use a fan rake - wooden, plastic or light metal - and rake lightly over the grass, pulling leaves into several manageable piles. You can then bag your leaves or rake them down to your curb if you are lucky enough to have curb-side removal provided by your municipality.

Mowing over your leaves is an option if your leaf carpet is light (another reason to keep after this task!). You will have to make two or more passes to chop them up enough to leave them on the lawn as fertilizer. If you have a large yard with lots of trees, get a mulching blade for your mower – it will finely chop up grass blades and leaves that can more quickly sink into the soil and feed your lawn.

Using your leaves to make compost is great if you enjoy gardening. The good news is that leaves can be the mainstay of your compost pile. They are classified as “brown material” which should make up about two-thirds of everything that goes into a compost pile. Rake your leaves onto a tarp and drag them to the compost area***. You really don’t need a fancy bin. If you have only a few leaves, you can dig them directly into your garden and let them decompose over winter.

Enjoy your yard and all it has to offer. From raking leaves to your final pass with the fertilizer spreader, know that the time you spend pays off in a more beautiful yard every year.

***How to Start a Compost Pile

Anyone with a backyard can start an environmentally friendly compost pile rather easily. Composting keeps organic yard and household waste out of local landfills while allowing you to create a rich, excellent mulch for your flowerbeds and vegetable garden. Here are some composting basics:

• You may want to create a simple, three-sided compost “box” of wooden boards to contain your compost materials, or you can just create a compost pile in an out-of-the way corner of your yard. Your goal is to create a layered pile of organic material about three feet tall and three feet square. This will allow the organic materials in the pile to heat up inside and decompose.

• Rule of thumb: The more you manage your compost pile, the quicker you will get rich, black compost. Management ranges from simply leaving the pile (everything decays in time, but this method may take a year or more) to turning the compost once or twice a week with a garden spade so the cooler exterior of the pile is turned under.

• Keep your compost pile damp. Depending upon your weather, this may be easy to achieve naturally during some seasons. You can check for moisture by turning over the compost with a spade – the center of the pile shouldn’t dry out. Depending upon the weather, you may have to sprinkle your compost pile occasionally to keep it damp, or cover it with a tarp to prevent it from being soaked regularly.

• The interior of the pile should be warm. This indicates decomposition of the organic materials is taking place.

• There should be both "brown" (carbon-rich) and "green" (nitrogen-rich) ingredients in your compost pile. Brown components are rich in carbon and include dried leaves, pine needles, spoiled hay, straw and paper. Make sure that most of the items – about two-thirds – are brown ingredients.

• Green ingredients are rich in nitrogen. You will want to create a thin layer of green ingredients between thick layers of brown ingredients. Remember, two thirds of your pile should be brown. You can create a five-to-six inch layer of brown, topped with up to two inches of green, then another layer of brown, and so on. Common green components include grass clippings, yard refuse (old vegetable stalks, last fall's flower stalks), coffee grounds, barnyard animal manure and fruit and vegetable kitchen waste (don’t add chemically-treated grass clippings, cat litter, dog feces, or meat/fat and bones). Avoid adding protein sources from meat to a compost bin, as protein tends to smell as it decomposes, attracting pests like raccoons and other creatures. A smelly compost pile means that meat sources were added to the pile. A compost pile using vegetable matter does not produce an odor.

• A few additional tips: You can throw weeds into the compost pile (green material) because the center of the pile heats up enough to kill weed seeds. If you get lots of rain where you live, tarp your pile so it doesn’t get soaked – damp is all you want. Depending on weather, your dedication to tending the pile and the ingredients in it, you can expect rich compost in four-10 months.

Tiring Weekend

Between the wedding on Saturday and then Alyssa's family get together yesterday I got really worn out; it is not like I did anything strenuous or anything close to it but just not being able to keep me feet up very much.

I was tired enough Sunday morning that I did not make it to church; I also wanted to be a rested up for the family get together later that afternoon and I am glad that I did not try to push myself.

This morning I did not feel all that rested and not really all that awake but I got up anyway as I knew that I would not be going back to sleep either. After I ate breakfast Kathleen took off to pick up Linda from Tony and Chucky's as they were both working to day and Linda did not have to be at the airport until 1500.

After unloading the dishwasher I went outside to rake leaves as I had not done them in a couple days and they were starting to cover the lawn. I took the phone with me just in case anyone called and it is a good thing as Aaron called and he and Alexis were coming over to see Linda.

Kathleen was not home yet and I was still in the middle of raking the front lawn when Aaron and Alexis showed up. So Alexis "helped" me with finish raking and then she wanted to go out back to pick some berries. So we picked most of them but I wanted to leave a few in case Linda and Kathleen wanted some when they got here.

After we went into the house I cleaned up and then sat in my chair so that I could put my feet up and Alexis brought a book over for me to read to her. Kathleen and Linda drove up and then stayed in the SUV for a long time and finally I went out to see if they were going in so that Aaron could see them before he had to go to work.

Tami came over after a little while and had Madison with her; Madison is a seven month old that Tami watches three days a week so that her mother and father can work and finish school. They stayed until Aaron had to leave for work around 1230; Tami and Alexis stayed a little longer but not much.

After they left I went into the downstairs bathroom and started ripping out the bath tub surround. While I was doing that Kathleen made some pancakes with pecans, ham and cheese for lunch. Shortly after we finished eating Kathleen had to take Linda to the airport.

When they left I took a nap in my chair and did not wake up until Kathleen came home around 1700. I must have awakened in a start as my heart was racing for fifteen or twenty minutes afterward. She went upstairs and I lay down on the couch and dozed off and on for a couple more hours.

We were supposed to go to our small groups tonight but I was too tired to go so Kathleen took off without me. Well, I think that my brain stopped working a few hours ago so I think I will just go ahead and post this for tonight.

My Golden Years

I have been reading the "Pickles" cartoon every morning for some time and I am starting to relate to it more than I do "Dilbert". "Dilbert" use to remind me of my days at Boeing but it has seemed to changed lately and now I relate more to "Pickles". Some of the topics have reminded me of how my life is going and here is some thoughts that came to mind. It is still kind of rough yet but I just wanted to throw it out any way.

My Golden Years

I have been around about 60 years
Of that there is not any doubt,
I had heard of this thing called the Golden Years
But I do not know if I am in or out.

When I get up in the morning
My knees hurt when they bend,
Is this is the first warning
That I am getting in the trend?

If the aches and pains would go away,
It really would be nice.
But if I want a pinch of gold today
I will have to pay the price.

So now after I am totally spent,
I just rub in the old Ben-Gay.
I am told not to worry about the scent;
As old folks kind of smell that way.

Whenever people talk to me,
They seem as if they are far away.
Sometimes it is hard for me,
To hear what they have to say.

My eyes have lost their gleam.
Because the glasses that I wear,
Without them I cannot see it seems,
Why Me? It is just not fair!

I check my email every day;
To see if someone took the time to write.
But there is not any email today,
So I hope that everything is all right.

I make sure to take all the pills,
That the doctor prescribed for me.
They are supposed to cure all my ills,
But for me it is something I have yet to see.

I get out the old Jeep and go for a drive,
and go for a couple miles or so.
It is nice to get out even if I’ve,
Got no particular place to go.

Now as I watch the sun is setting in the west,
Nature paints her picture in the sky.
This could this one be the very best,
Of the thousands I have seen go by?

So I put away all my fears,
Sit down, relax, and listen to my favorite songs.
To enjoy all these Golden Years,
That I have been waiting for so long.

Beautiful Indian Summer Day

Well it is not really an Indian Summer day because we have not had a frost yet but it sure was a great day to be out and about.

I slept over an hour and a half longer than I usually do this morning and so the sun was actually out when I got up. Kathleen came down stairs before I had a chance to have my breakfast so it was something different eating breakfast at the same time.

Kathleen had said that she wanted to take a load of stuff to Goodwill today so after breakfast I loaded up the SUV and then waited for Kathleen to get ready. After an hour I decided that I would go outside and rake the front lawn.

About half way through raking the front lawn Kathleen came out front and said that she was ready. So I finished the front lawn and then put my tools away and came back into the house. It took about five minutes to unload the whole SUV load off at Goodwill and then we were off to the place where we bought our flooring upstairs and looked at their tile both for the floor and for the vanity top in the downstairs bathroom.

After getting a few ideas we came back home and I made myself something to eat. After eating I felt really tired so I went upstairs and went to bed and did not get up until about 1730.

Kathleen made a couple baked potatoes and finished the rest of the salmon for dinner tonight. She also cut up a few tomatoes to complete the meal.

Well, I am still pretty tired so I think that I will close this and call it a day.

Not Much Going on Today

This morning when I got up I felt pretty good, my finger and hand were not throbbing like they were much of yesterday. When I got into the light I could see that the swelling had gone down and not as blue as it has been for the last couple of days which was a good thing.

This morning after eating I changed clothes so that I could meet with the guys at one of their homes at 1000. We finished a little after 1230 and then I picked up a prescription for Kathleen; there were suppose to be two of them but only one was ready and the other one I knew that she did not need right away so I did not stick around and wait for it.

Then on the way home I stopped off at Goodwill and I found a fertilizer spreader for $6.99; my old one broke over a year ago and I have been using it that way for the last eight times that I have put fertilizer down. I am not sure how it happened but the lever that controls dropping of the fertilizer broke off and it was a real struggle for me to keep the lever pulled in.

As my arthritis has gotten worse it became more and more painful for me all the time. This one is almost identical to my old one except that nothing appears to be broken so next time when I need to use it I can test it out to make sure that everything is okay.

Anyway I got home a little after 1300 and then I changed into my shorts again and went downstairs and made myself a Boca Burger on toasted dark rye bread heels with an onion slice and melted cheddar cheese.

AS I was taking some recycling into the utility room I slipped on the floor and when I looked down I noticed that the almost new bottle of fabric softener had fallen off the washer and the cap had broken and spilled out all over the floor. So I got out our commercial size mop and mopped and mopped and mopped; each time wringing the mop out as best I could with sore hands.

Finally when I had gotten most of the fabric softener up I wrung it out one last time and then set it outside so that it could dry. Then I got our smaller mop out and mopped it two more times. Then left it to dry and took a couple Vicodin and went to check my email.

After that I went and sat down in my chair and fell asleep only to be awakened when Kathleen came downstairs. She had been working on Natalie's dress and Alyssa and the grandchildren were coming over for a fitting.

While Kathleen, Alyssa and Natalie tried on the dress I tried entertaining the grandsons. They played with blocks, my remote control Jeep, Kathleen's Bill Bass singing fish and the most fun thing was an empty box.

When Natalie came back downstairs she wanted me to read her some stories so I read her several Bible stories for one of our grandchildren books. Before long everyone had settled down and were either sitting on me or standing next to me to hear the stories.

The grandchildren wanted a snack so I gave them each some black bean chips and that seemed to make them happy for about five minutes. Alyssa found some of her old stuffed animals downstairs and so she took them home with her. When she first came back upstairs she got some graham crackers for them and they munched on them while I finished reading to them.

They left a little before 1900 and so Kathleen reheated the rice and green beans from last night; she also heated up some corn to go with the salmon which we had cold.

So other than mopping the utility room floor I did not get anything done today. I did not get to work outside today as shortly after I ate lunch it started raining and so that pretty much took away the opportunity to accomplish anything outdoors.

Maybe tomorrow I will have a more productive day, but right now I am just going to post this and call it a day.

Wednesday's Weariness

This morning seemed very foggy as when I looked out the living room window and the street light looked like it had a halo around it but by the sun came up I did not notice it being foggy.

This morning after breakfast I went out into the back yard and raked the leaves and then mowed. I decided to start in the back yard because I knew that I would make myself do the front yard even if I were too tired to do it; it is too easy for me to say that I will do the back yard tomorrow and then not get it done.

I was getting pretty tired by the time I finished mowing the back yard but I like having the front lawn look good so thought that I would at least rake the front lawn. So I went and raked it and kind of got my second wind so I went and mowed the front lawn as well.

By the time I finished mowing the front lawn I was really ready to call it quits. So after cleaning up I got the mail and sat down and opened it up; nothing there except my MacWorld magazine and the first installment of the voter pamphlet, everything else went into the recycling.

Kathleen came downstairs as I was finishing up looking at the mail and made herself some breakfast and since it was almost 1300 I opened up a can of sardines and made myself a sandwich.

Kathleen had her meeting with the lady from church this afternoon so as soon as she left I went back outside and got my blower and blow off the gardens in the back as well as the sidewalk, then the driveway, the front sidewalk and the gardens. By the time I finished and put the blower away, went into the house and cleaned up I was really hurting and really tired.

So instead of taking just one Vicodin I took two and then went and sat down in my chair and fell asleep in a few minutes. The doctor's office called and woke me up out of a really solid sleep and said that another couple of Kathleen's prescription had been called in and by the time I hung up I was awake enough that I could not get back to sleep.

Kathleen came home shortly afterward and had brought home some salmon that she cooked for dinner. Well my right hand has started to turn a pretty shade of blue and is pretty swollen and I still have not been able to wash off all of the old scab even though I hand washed my compression socks last night and have washed my hands a couple dozen times today.

Well, I am really tired and my hand is really throbbing so I think that I will just call it a day and say good night.

Not So Good of a Day

It rained pretty good again last night and when I woke up or at least when the sun came up everything was soaking wet but it was not raining. So after breakfast I went outside and raked the leaves in the front lawn; it did not take very long and I was going to rake the leaves in the back yard...but...!

I wanted to prune more out of the apple tree and that is where things started going bad for me. I cut one branch out and it got hung up on another branch and when I pulled it down it took a bad bounce and was headed for my head. So I went to block it with my hand but in so doing I wound up with a nasty scratch from one of the broken branches.

My hand bleed really good for a while and instead of stopping I continued trimming. Somewhere during the process I wound up with blood all over my jeans and some on my tee shirt as well.

I continued working and filled up two large garbage cans full of chopped up branches. I almost passed on at one point when I was bending over and stood up too quickly so I had to go sit down in one of our patio chairs of a few minutes until I felt better.

By the time I finished most of the blood had dried and so I had to wash my hands for a long time to get most of the dried blood off. I never did get all of it off and I still have some of it left even after washing my hands a dozen of so times.

I needed to go to the credit union to deposit a couple checks and we also needed to stop by another granite and marble counter top place, so after I grabbed something to eat for lunch and Kathleen had her breakfast we took off around 1500.

Alyssa had called and wanted to bring Natalie and her dress that she is wearing to Dan's brother Andy's wedding this week end over so that Kathleen could alter it to fit. She had said that she would not be over until after 1600 so we needed to really hustle.

When I got into the credit union there was no line and were three tellers that asked if they could help me as soon as I started getting to the place where you wait; so we were able to get on our way in a hurry.

Getting in and out of the Marble and granite place was not quite as easy, we looked at slabs of stone and then we looked at more slabs and then we looked at the first group some more. Finally Kathleen found four that she liked so we got some samples and estimate for the job and then took off for home.

By the time we got home it was after 1700 and I had not gotten a call from Alyssa and there was no message on my cell. When we got home Kathleen checked the voice messages on our house phone and shortly after that Alyssa called and said that she would be here shortly.

I needed to pay some bills so I logged on to my credit union account and paid them and then entered then into Quicken. Since Alyssa still had not gotten here yet I decided that I would match up my credit card receipts with my bill and while I was doing that Alyssa and Natalie arrived.

I finished matching them up for the two cards that I had just paid the bill on and since I had Quicken already open I reconciled my bank checking account. I do not use it very much so it was pretty easy.

While they were still here the presidential debate started and Alyssa wanted to watch it so we all went into the living room and watched it. Natalie entertained herself building a village with some building blocks that we have for the grandchildren when the visit.

During the middle of the debate Alyssa wanted to make something for herself and Natalie to eat so she and Kathleen made a chocolate peanut butter toasted sandwich for her and a peanut butter and jam sandwich for herself. Kathleen and I had a toasted chocolate peanut butter sandwich. Natalie asked for another one and this one she put some peanuts on top.

After they left I made myself a meatball sandwich with the rest of the meatballs from last night's dinner. Kathleen had to leave for Aaron and Tami's house so that Tami could go to her class so she will probably not come home until after I go to bed.

Well, I think I need to take some more Vicodin as my hand is starting to throb again so I think that I will put this to bed for tonight.

Fall is Officially Here!

Question: How does one tell when fall is officially here? When the hostas leaves turn yellow and we have more rainy days than sunny days.

This week end was pretty wet around here; it rained most of Saturday and then again on Sunday. I started wearing my compression socks again on Saturday as my feet and legs had really been swelling a lot the last few days.

My legs were really throbbing Saturday from having the sock on for the first time in several days and by the end of the day I was really glad to take them off. I do not think I got a lot accomplished Saturday except sort out some magazine and catalogs. I even throw out a dozen or so.

Sunday my side was really bothering me and so I did not go to church. Kathleen had not gotten up early enough to go either. I took a lot of Tylenol and Vicodin but I never could get rid of the pain all day.

I pretty much sat around all day; although I did go through more magazines and threw out a couple dozen. I still have a pretty good size stack left but I have managed to throw out a sizable amount of them. It is one of those things that I kept thinking that some day there might be something in one of them that I could use.

Of all the magazines that I have been going through I have only cut out a handful of articles. So much of that stuff is now on the internet that it hardly makes any sense to try to find a place to store magazine articles anymore.

My legs felt a lot better Sunday and by the end of the day my side was not as bothersome; whether it was better or the build up of Tylenol and Vicodin that finally was enough to deaden the pain. Whatever it was I was glad to be rid of the annoying pain.

Today the pain was gone so maybe it started getting better last night. I wish that I could say the same for the joints in my wrists, hips and back but at least I have gotten somewhat accustom to that pain.

This morning it was not raining out so after breakfast I went outside and picked up fir cones and branches that had fallen over the blustery weekend. Once I had them picked up I went to work on raking the leaves off the front lawn. I had not done it in a few days but there were not as many leave on the lawn as I would have expected but I think that the wind was strong enough that they blew else where.

I had intended on raking the leaves in the back yard but wanted to rest a while before I did so I went to the rose garden and pruned the roses, and by the time I finished that I did not feel like raking any more so I went into the house, cleaned up and got the mail.

It was a little after noon and since Kathleen had an appointment with her nurse practitioner at 1400 I decided that I would just read the mail and then make myself something to eat before we had to leave. There was just enough of the chicken noodle soup that Kathleen had made Saturday night and we had again last nigh for me to finish for lunch today.

After I heated it up in the microwave I ground up a little nutmeg and crushed up some saltines and had some cherry tomatoes. After I pit my dishes into the dishwasher I washed up and changed my clothes and then waited for Kathleen.

We got out of the office around 1500 and headed to the medical supply house so that I could get another pair of socks. After picking them up we went to Fred Meyer so that we could pick up Kathleen's prescriptions. While we were there we did a little grocery shopping and then finally got home just before 1800.

Well, that is about all I can think of for now...good night!

Something to Think About!

TOP TEN PREDICTIONS NO MATTER WHO WINS THE ELECTION:

1. JESUS WILL STILL LOVE YOU.

2. PRAYER WILL STILL WORK.

3. THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL STILL MOVE.

4. GOD WILL STILL INHABIT THE PRAISES OF HIS PEOPLE.

5 THERE WILL STILL BE GOD ANOINTED PREACHING.

6. THERE WILL STILL BE SINGING OF PRAISES TO GOD.

7. GOD WILL STILL POUR OUT BLESSINGS UPON HIS PEOPLE.

8. THERE WILL STILL BE ROOM AT THE CROSS.

9. THE BIBLE WILL STILL HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS.

10. JESUS WILL STILL SAVE THE LOST.

GOD APPROVES THIS MESSAGE!

And the Rain Begins

This morning when I got up it was already drizzling and it went from drizzling to real rain all day. This morning after breakfast I went outside and raked the front lawn as it was just a very light drizzle at the time, so I thought that I would take advantage and get some of the leaves up.

After I put my rake back in the garage, I cleaned up and got the mail. There was a magazine for Kathleen and a couple for me the rest went into the recycling pile. I thought that I had heard Kathleen moving around upstairs so I went up and gathered up the laundry and took it downstairs and start a load of dark clothes. Kathleen came downstairs after a while and made herself something to eat.

By the time she was sitting at the table eating the first load had finished drying so I took it upstairs, folded and put it away. Then by the time I got back downstairs the second load of laundry had finished washing so I took it out and put it into the drier.

Stan came over to refresh his memory as to what we were going to do in the downstairs bathroom and while he was here the second load of laundry finished drying so I took it out, took it upstairs, folded and put it away.

Then I rejoined Kathleen and Stan to finish going over what we were going to do. Stan and I went outside so that I could show him the color of the trim around the windows and see what he thought as far as color for the windows. I think that he and Kathleen decided that we will go with white windows and then keep the trim color the same as what we have had.

While we were outside it really started to rain hard and even standing under the fir trees I was getting a little damp. After Stan left I made myself some lunch with the left-overs from last nights dinner.

Then Kathleen and I took off to Parr Lumber to order the window glass for the new bathroom window. After Kathleen picked out what she wanted we went to a few counter top shops see what they had and try to narrow down our choices.

The last shop we went to had some really nice granite slabs and we found one that we kind of liked out in the yard and he said that we could have that piece for forty dollars, which was a really good price. While we were looking at the granite it really started raining and my outer shirt and hat got rather wet but there were no fir trees to stand under.

Anyway he also said that it would cost another two hundred and fifty dollars to cut the sink hole and faucet holes; polishing the sink hole and the cut side; that price also included the under counter sink which he would attach for us.

So for about five hundred and fifty dollars we would have a one piece counter top, that is bull nosed and an attached under counter sink.

Well, I have been a bad boy the last couple of days and not worn my compression socks and tonight after I took off my anklet socks I could see the impression from the top of the sock around my ankle so I guess that I am going to have to wear them again.

I am hoping that I can get to the point where I can wear them maybe every other day or maybe wear them two days and not wear then for a day just to get some relief. My feet are still not as swollen as they were before I started wearing the compression socks.

It is now after 1830 and I think that I am going to have to remind Kathleen that it is time for dinner and see what she has in mind tonight.

How My Afternoons Seem to Go

I read this cartoon this morning and it reminded me of how my afternoons seem to go lately except without the grandchildren.

While I am here I thought that I might as well start my blog so here goes. This morning when I woke up it was drizzling a little bit so when the sun finally made it behind the clouds I went outside to pick the tomatoes that were reddish orange or red so that they would not be split by the rain that was on its way.

As it was there were many of the cherry tomatoes that had split already, so when I got them inside and washed I separated the good ones from the ones that had split and put the split ones in a bowl. Then I checked the ones I had picked the other day and took out the ones that had split and put them in the bowl as well.

Once I finished doing the tomatoes I emptied the dishwasher and then toasted some scones that Kathleen had made a few days ago. Along with the scones I also had the bowl of cherry tomatoes and my morning coffee.

After putting my dishes into the dishwasher the friend who we went out to dinner with he and his wife Monday night called and inquired about our antenna and wanted to know if he could pick it up in a little while, so I said sure.

While I was waiting for him I went out front and raked the walnut leaves from the front lawn. He arrived while I was still raking so I stopped and helped him load it into his car and then we talked for a while.

Kathleen came out while we were talking but our neighbor said hi to her while we were talking so Kathleen went over there and visited with her for a while. She finally got home about 1230, so maybe it was more than a while.

While Kathleen was visiting the mail came so I got it and went through it and all but a magazine for Kathleen and a L.L.Bean and a Lands End catalog for me just about everything else I filed in the box for recycling.

I think I will leave this for a while to see if I get anything else to write about later on today.

Well after I left off writing my blog Kathleen made herself breakfast, and since it was a little after 1300 I decided to make myself some lunch. There was a little bit of the mashed potatoes left over from last night’s dinner so I had that and made myself a sardine sandwich. I offered to let Kathleen dunk her English muffin in the left-over sardine juice, but she declined, so I cut off the crust from my sandwich and sopped it up myself.

After we both finished eating I put our dishes into the dishwasher and then went into the living room and sorted out the magazines and catalogs that had been gathering next to my chair and on the trunk next to it.

I wound up recycling a couple dozen catalogs and a few magazines; I mostly sorted out the magazines and I am planning and will go through them and cut out the articles that I want to keep and then recycle the skeletons later.

Well, that about does it for me today; for some reason my thumb joints have really been bothering me today, maybe it is from the change in the weather. I guess it must be time for some more Vicodin.

What Me Overdo? Or was I just Giving My Vicodin a Real Workout Today!

How can this be October already? I am not sure where June, July, August and September went, but any day now we will be starting our rainy season which will probably last until next July.

Well, this morning after eating breakfast I went outside and decided to rake the back lawn seeing how I had not raked it yet this leaf dropping season. Raking was a little harder than it should have been because I had not mowed the back yard in quite a while either.

So as I finished raking the lower level I mowed it and then did the same for the middle and upper level as well. By the time I got to the upper level I was getting pretty tired but I pushed through and finished as I wanted to get it all done before it started raining in the next few days. Once it starts to rain the leaves get really hard to rake up and get heavy as well.

After I finished mowing the upper level, I rested for a little bit and then took my rake and mower up to the front lawn. There were not a lot of leaves on the front lawn but I wanted to rake them up as my old push reel mower does not mulch up the leaves very well.

So by the time I finished mowing the front lawn my hip was really starting to give me fits so when I got into the house and cleaned up I took some more Vicodin and after a while I was feeling better.

Kathleen had her meeting with the lady from church today and so after she left around 1315 I went out and got my blower out and blew the garden area and sidewalk in the back yard. Then I blew off the driveway, the front sidewalk and then the gardens in the front yard.

I noticed that our neighbor's driveway was getting covered with debris so I asked her if she would like me to blow off her driveway and sidewalk, so I did that as well. Once I finished her driveway I put everything away and went into the house and cleaned up.

Since it was now about 1430 I decided that I should make myself something to eat for lunch. So I made a brat on a whole wheat bun and had it with a dozen cherry tomatoes.

Most of the rest of this afternoon I kind of rested, and I am pretty sure that I am not going to get much of anything else done today. I think that I will take some more Vicodin, close this thing and call it done.

Common Sense Plan

I copied this from the Dave Ramsey website and it sounds like a good answer to the financial crisis that is looming large today. Here is the website address and a link to email your state senators and representatives if you are so led:

http://www.daveramsey.cometcfed_bailout3_steps_to_change_the_nations_future_10928.htmlc?ictid=sml

Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three steps:

Common Sense Plan.

I. INSURANCE

A. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity.

B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things:

1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.
a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes.
b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while
working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives.

2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs.

C. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal.

II. MARK TO MARKET

A. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate.

B. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.

III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX

A. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.

B. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down. This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to
stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.

Catching Up

Well, I took a little time off from blogging as I was wearing myself out during the day time and too tired to think clearly when it came to writing my blog so I did not. So let me try to compress the last few days into a quick blog.

Friday I met with the guys and after that I went to Fred Meyer to pick up a prescription for Kathleen and while I was there I picked up some Cheerios, shredded wheat and bananas for myself as I had run out of my favorite breakfast food.

It seems like that was all I got done that day at least I cannot think of anything else I did at this point in time, so whatever else I might have done it must have been rather insignificant.

Saturday I had a bad headache and my hip was bothering me, but one of the guys had said that he needed to get an antenna for his TV and I said that he could have ours. It had been up on the roof for about twenty years and we had not used it for over ten years. Kathleen had asked me to take it down several times but it was one of those things that I just never got around to doing.

So after four or five trips up a thirty-two foot ladder and another five trips down to the basement I finally had it down. I had to take the antenna down, the rotor, the two poles and two brackets attaching it to the side of house. It probably took me as long pulling the wire for the rotor through the basement and up through the living room floor than it actually did to take the antenna down.

I think that must have been all I accomplished Saturday I know that I rested quite a lot that afternoon. I think I went through two shirts that day as I had worked up a couple pretty good sweats.

Sunday I went to church by myself as Kathleen could not wake up and get herself out of bed. in the afternoon I took out some more of the boards in the bathroom; the only ones left are the ones that I will need to take the medicine cabinet out and take the toilet take off to get off so I will wait until we take the toilet out and the vanity and medicine cabinet and then do it.

I also removed some more of the metal tiles that was behind the boards. After I cleaned up the vanity counter a little I started to put all the bottles and things from the vanity into boxes; I filled up three cardboard boxes and two plastic boxes with all kind of things, but the vanity and all the shelves are now empty.

The only thing left in the shower is my soap and shampoo and the only thing left on the vanity is my medications, shaving stuff and my tooth brush and paste which I will leave there until next week when we start the destruction.

Today after breakfast I raked the leaves from the front lawn, took the garbage and yard debris up front for tomorrows pick up, pruned the roses and trimmed the apple tree so that I could fill up the yard debris container. After I finished that I went inside and rested for a half our or so.

By this time it was a little after 1300 so I made myself a brat on a whole wheat bun and the left-over Bush's baked beans and then decided to finish pulling up the linoleum from the bathroom floor. That took an hour or so and after sweeping up the mess and cleaning up I took a nap.

Then tonight around 1730 one of our friends called and wanted to know if we wanted to go to dinner with then down at the Marina Fish House on the Willamette River. We sat out on the upper deck. It was really nice sitting outside in the breeze and enjoying watching the boats go in and out of the marina. There were sail boats, jet sleds, kayaks, dragon boats, and yachts.

Then after we finished eating we took a walk along the river front and saw the Spirit of Portland take off on its dinner cruise. We finally got home a little before 2000.

So today I had a pretty busy day and now I am tired so I think I will call this caught up and this a day!

Tired of being Tired

This morning it looked like it was going to rain just about the whole morning, so after eating, washing the pots and pans and putting the dishes into the dishwasher I noticed that the sun looked like it was trying to come out. Since I also noticed that not many leaves had fallen since I last raked I decided to take a walk instead.

I felt pretty good when I finished my walk so I got out my garden tool and reset the stepping stones that I had put down the other day. I removed the top stone and put more dirt underneath where it was to raise it up with the ground. When I got it to the point where it looked pretty good I went and got my level and made sure and then made a couple adjustments until the bubble was on center.

Next I laid the level out east and west and got that level with itself; once I had it level east and west I leveled it out north and south. Once I had the first stone level I leveled out the second stone with the first one and then followed the same procedure as I did on the first stone with the second and following stones.

When I finished the bottom stone was a little higher than the ground to the east of it so I started dumping dirt around that stone to make it a gradual slope from the east and then level on the west, north and south sides. Once I had that done I dumped more dirt on the remaining stones and made the stones level with the ground around them.

I also took the birdbath apart and placed a stone under where the birdbath was to go and leveled it out and then reassembled the birdbath and then filled it with water. While I was filling it up I also washed down the area that I had been working on to settle the dust and also to help the dirt to settle in better.

Then I put all my tools away, went into the house and cleaned up. Since it was around noon I got the mail and opened it, as usual there was not a lot worth keeping. Kathleen did get a prescription and something from the sleep doctor but I think that the rest went right into the recycling pile.

By the time I took care of everything it was about time for me to make myself something to eat for lunch. I heated up the rest of the fried rice for yesterday's lunch and had the last of my brats on a whole wheat roll.

After putting my dishes into the dishwasher I went and sat in my chair and promptly fell asleep. There seems to be some connection between taking Vicodin and sitting in my chair and falling asleep. Kathleen woke me up when she came downstairs around 1430.

It took me fifteen or twenty minutes until I was able to get my mind functioning again and then I did I asked Kathleen to come outside so that she could see what I had been working on. So she put one of my old flannel shirts on over her PJ's and put on her Crocks and went out and toured my work in process. While we were out there we munched on some raspberries and then I cut some more roses for the house.

We are still having enough roses so that I can keep the house pretty well stocked with fresh roses. That will be ending in a month or so, but we are enjoying them while they last. Pretty soon I will be doing my fall rose pruning where I trim them back to three or four branches and about two feet from the ground. In the spring I will cut them back a little further and then thin them out as needed throughout the summer.

Well, it is 1800 and it is time for me to check with Kathleen to see what and when she is planning for dinner.

Lunch with Some Old Friends

This morning was another really nice day so like just about every other day I went outside after breakfast and raked the front lawn. After I finished raking this morning I worked on the pathway from the main part of the back yard to the vegetable garden and the raspberry patch.

I found some round pavers that I dug the ground out for and then set them in place so that they would be somewhat level with the ground around them. After I finished doing that I realized that while they are level with the ground around them there is quite a drop from one end to the other so I will have to raise some of them up so that they are a little more even in relationship to each other.

Then I went inside, cleaned up and sat in my chair for a while. While I was resting one of my old employees called me and wanted to get together for lunch. He was out visiting his parents and is now living and working in from North Carolina.

So he, and two other friends got together and Kathleen and I had lunch with them. It was good seeing them all and going over good old Boeing times. I helped get them better jobs because they had done such a good job for me when they worked for me in an entry level position.

As it turned out they all wound up working for me again as I asked for them as I needed someone that would really work hard and get the job done without me having to keep an eye on them all the time.

Anyway lunch lasted about an hour and we talked for at least another hour before we decided that we needed to get going. We all ate family style where we just ordered food for the five of use and then we all ate some of everything. When they worked for me we use to have pot lucks just about every Friday and that is pretty much how things worked back then as well.

-

After Kathleen and I left the restaurant we stopped and looked at faucets and then looked at tops for the bathroom vanity. At first we looked at a granite one and then we went to a place that specializes in marble tops and brought home a couple samples. The marble is rather expensive but it sure is nice.

There was so much food left over from lunch that we took three take home containers home and had it for lunch. We still have about a container left if we combined them which would be enough for me for lunch someday or part of a dinner for the both of us some day.

Well, it has been a long day for me and I am starting to get rather weary.

A Really Nice Autumn Day

The weather folks had said that we should expect morning fog this morning, but I never noticed any. The ground was pretty wet from rain but the sky was pretty clear. So after breakfast I emptied the dishwasher and then went outside to rake the front lawn. There are just enough leaves falling that if I do not keep at it every morning they get really heavy when they get wet and make it really hard to rake up.

Another reason is that it does not take that long if I do it everyday and I have some energy left to do other things. So after I finished raking I got out my ladder and cleared off the pollen pods and fir needles from the valleys on the front of the house. There are four of them and three of them get really full of needles and pollen pods.

Kathleen had gone to church to do some knitting with some other women for different projects that they donate the things they make to.

The gutters on the front corners of the house also still have to be cleaned out as they were the only ones that I could not get Leaf Guard gutters put on since they were only at the corners and not enough room for the product. But even with that I only gathered out about seven gallons of goopy needles and pods where before there would be twenty or thirty gallons every couple of months.

The best part of it is that I do not have to climb up thirty-two feet in the rear of the house to clean out that gutter any longer. I was able to get everything with one section of my small extension ladder. That made it much easier getting set up and I was not as tired after putting everything away.

After I had the gutters cleaned out I got out my blower and blew off all of the sidewalks, then the driveway and then around the gardens in the front yard. By this time though I was getting a bit tired, but not as tired as I had been a few weeks ago so maybe I am doing a little better.

Best of all my back and hip did not give me any grief either so that was a added bonus! Not wanting to push my luck I went into the house, cleaned up and then sat down with my feet up and rested in my chair for a while.

Before I knew it, it was almost 1300 so I figured that I would make myself something to eat. Today I used some Talking Cow cheese on some wheat bread with sliced up tomatoes and then broiled them in the toaster oven. The cheese was pretty old so instead of spreading it I had to slice it up and put the slices on the bread with the tomato slices on top of them.

After eating I checked my email and then went and sat down in my chair for as I was more tired than I though that I was and my eyes were bothering me; probably something irritated them when I was cleaning the pollen pods from the valleys and corner gutters. Kathleen called while I was resting and said that she was going to go to Bi-Mart and wanted to know if I needed anything; I reminded her that I needed a pair of rubber gloves to help me put on my compression socks.

The rubber gloves were a trick that I learned from the fitter at the medical supply place where I bought them. I had been using a pair of Kathleen's but they were a couple sizes too small and with the arthritis in my hands I had a really hard time putting them on.

So when she got home I tried them on and they go on much easier and should make putting the socks on a little less painful.

Kathleen was watching Becca and Lexis tonight while Tami takes a class; I am staying home as I have been going to bed around 2100 lately and we would not be getting home around 2230 of so.

Well that just about does it for me tonight I am starting to get a little tired and my brain is not working as well as I would like right now.

Autumn has Arrived Right on Time

Well, today marks the beginning of autumn and the temperature and weather certainly has made it official. The temperature only got to the mid sixties today and yesterday and last night we had some rain, not a lot but a definite change from all the dry weather that we have had the last three months or so.

Since it had rained sometime last night and everything was still pretty wet when I went to have my cereal I did not pick raspberries to go along with it so I used raisins instead. I did go out later and picked some just to eat but many of them had gotten too mushy to be picked.

After eating I went out and raked the front lawn; there were not quite as many leaves as I would have though there would be after a rain but that was okay. After raking I went out back and pruned the spent roses and after that I grabbed a few raspberries before going inside.

When I got cleaned up I picked up the rugs in the kitchen, shook them out, swept the floor and then mopped it. While I was waiting for the floor to dry I read for a while and then put the rugs back in place.

By this time it was time for me to think about lunch so I cut up several tomatoes and smeared some Limburger cheese on some wheat bread, put the tomato slices on the bread and then toasted them to really bring out the aroma of the Limburger. Doesn't that just make your mouth water?

After eating I sat in my chair for a while and took a nap; when I got up I decided to gather up some things to take to Goodwill and wrote it down for tax purposes. I got three boxes and four bags of clothes, books, coffee mugs and general junk. Now we just need to get it to the Goodwill drop off.

Kathleen and I had discussed doing some more shopping for things for the bathroom remodel but when 1600 rolled around I decided that it was too late to do much and I was too worn out to do much wandering around. She agreed so I guess we will have to do it some other day.

It has been a rather uneventful day, but at least I have not injured myself and my back and hip is feeling better. If I can gather up the energy I think I might try to box some of the things up from the downstairs bathroom so that I will not have to worry about that when the time comes to start the remodel.

Well, it is a little after 1800 and I think that I will see if I can get Kathleen to reheat something for dinner tonight. We have a couple containers in the refrigerator from a couple nights dinner that should be enough for at least one more meal.

Still Tired even After a Weekend when I did not get much done.

Well, while Kathleen was celebrating Tami's birthday yesterday I got tired of sitting around so I got out a couple of my pry bars and went into the downstairs bathroom and started pulling off the wood paneling from the wall where the sink and toilet is. I did not get all of it taken out because I did not want to take the toilet tank off or the vanity top off just yet.

I did get about twenty boards off, it is really pretty nice wood; tongue and groove, but I threw it all away as it had been treated with some kind of varnish and since I did not know what it was I did not think it would be good to use as fire wood.

I also resisted storing it because I might need it someday; I have been trying to turn over a new leaf and actually throw things away instead of hording them for some time in the future as I am learning that they usually take up more space than they are worth and then when I do need something I either cannot find it or it is not usable for what I need.

Anyway as much as it hurt I broke it up and threw it away; but underneath the wood was some metal tile, some of it had some contact paper on it that had a "velvet" design on it. It was kind of a turquoise color with a darker green "velvet floral (?)" design on it...really lovely! Here are a few pictures of what I am talking about:






That pretty much did me in so after making myself something to eat I took a shower and was in bed by 2100.

Today I woke up with my back and hip hurting, so I am not sure if it was something that I did or what but I did not make it to church this morning. I kind of sat around most of the morning and then finally around 1300 I went out and raked the front lawn. While I was out there I weeded a little in the gardens in front of the living room and then moved some of the stepping blocks that I have off the front porch so that I can get to the outdoor water faucet without getting full of dirt or mud.

By this time I was getting a little tired so I went inside, cleaned up and heated up the plate that Kathleen brought home for me from Andrea's for Tami's party. Then I got out the laptop and updated it and ran a virus scan to make sure that nothing was there that I did not want. I also ran a spy ware check to clean up any spy ware that I might have picked up, there was only one that was found so I cleaned it out.

I had done the same with my desktop computer earlier in the day. Right now I am doing a defrag on it to see if I can open up more space on my hard drive.

Well, I am starting to get hungry so I think that I will post this and see if I can get Kathleen to fix something for dinner.

Five Simple Steps to Prepare Your Lawn for Winter

I am not feeling all that well tonight and so I thought that I would just send out some ideas for finishing up your lawn in preparation for winter. I have been following Scott's lawn care fertilizer plan for several years and I think that it is a good one, at least it works for me. This is just the winterizing part of what I try to do in mid fall.

Now that temperatures are beginning to drop and the growing season has faded to memory. But that does not mean your lawn chores are finished...and you should not let your lawn settle into a long winter's slumber without properly tucking it in, either.

Fall is arguably the most important time for lawn care. Here are five steps to take if you dream of a green healthy lawn next spring.

Step One: Mow until your lawn goes dormant.

You will know it has reached this phase when the grass stops growing.

When mowing late in the year, lower the blades to cut your lawn 1 inch shorter than your normal cutting height. This will give you a little cushion before you have to mow next spring.

Step Two: Pick up debris on your lawn.

This includes leaves, sticks and anything else you might find scattered about; give it a good raking. Debris left on the lawn over winter will block sun from reaching the grass and will trap moisture, encourage moss, snails and slugs. This increases the risk of disease or even the die off of your lawn.

Step Three: Reseed bare areas.

Fall is an especially good time to plant grass (overseeding your existing lawn) as conditions are ideal for the seed to take root and since the sun does not cook the seeds they actually have a chance to grow. Also by planting now, you eliminate space for weeds to grow in spring.

Step Four: Aerate your lawn as needed.

This procedure removes small cores or plugs of soil from your lawn. It should be done if soil is compacted or to break through thatch that's deeper than a 1/2 inch. Thatch is the build-up of dead grass, roots and stems that collect on your lawn. The resulting holes allow roots to breathe, improves drainage and helps your lawn absorb more nutrients. I have also raked in a thin layer of sand at this time; this of course depends on what type of soil you have as the sand helps break up clay type soils.

Step Five: Apply a final feeding.

Fall fertilization will give the lawn better fall and winter color, earlier spring green-up and strong root development. Apply fertilizer to cool-season grasses (fescue, bluegrass and ryegrass) in late fall, before the grass goes dormant, and to warm-season grasses (Bermuda and zoysia) in early fall.

For cool-climate grasses, look for a slow-release winterizing fertilizer with a high nitrogen content, like a 20-5-15 ratio. Warm-season grasses will thrive if treated with a fertilizer that has more potassium, like a 5-5-25 ratio. Such formulas are designed to help your grass survive the winter and emerge with a healthy resistance to disease. Before applying any fertilizer, however, it is important to conduct a soil test first to see exactly what amendments your soil might need. This is pretty easy to do; simply fill a old quart jar about three quarters full of water and then put about a half of a cup of soil in it; put the lid on and shake it up well.

If you have a university extension service near by they can check it out for you or most good garden shop or nursery should also be able to tell you what type of soil you have. Of course you could probably go on line and check it out as well.

Spread fertilizer evenly, I like using a drop type spreader as it allows for a more even spread of the fertilizer. However you choose to spread your fertilizer following the label instructions, and water it thoroughly afterward to prevent burnt turf.

First Day with the Compression Socks

Today was quite the change in the weather going from high eighties or low nineties to mid seventies and from sunshine to overcast the whole day. When I first got up and saw it overcast I figured that it was just going to burn off in a couple hours but it never did.

After eating breakfast I went outside and raked the front lawn; of course before I went outside I put my bib overalls on so that I did not have my white over the calf compression sock showing with my shorts.

There were quite a lot more leaves on the ground this morning than there has been so far this season so I got out my collapsible container out along with my rake. Then after I finished raking I watered the gardens in the front yard.

After finishing the front yard I went to the back yard and watered all the gardens back there. Then I dug out one of the pesky blackberry bushes that had started popping up in my iris garden along the back fence. When I finally got the root dug out I could see that the root was coming from the other side of the fence so I pulled out as much as possible from the other side as well.

By the time I finished and got cleaned up it was after 1200 and so I went out and got the mail. There was not anything worth keeping except my auto renewal policies for our vehicles and also a note from our insurance agent advising us about the possibilities of changing the structure of our policies.

I called his office as I was finishing lunch but he was out to lunch and his assistant said that she would have him call me back when he got back. But about 1530 Kathleen was ready to go look at fixtures for the bathroom remodel, so we took off and he called back while we were gone and by the time we got back it was after hours so I will have to call him back tomorrow.

We did pick out a tub, sink and toilet; the sink and toilet are the same as we have upstairs. I had to order the toilet as the assistant manager told us that there was about a five week leed time on them. They just came out with a new flushing system and they did not have any in stock yet. Along from the new flushing system came a hundred dollar price increase, but I guess everything is going up in price.

My legs feel better I guess, my feet are still sore and my back still hurts although if I keep up on my Vicodin it is not as bad as it use to be.

Well Kathleen is making a tuna and macaroni dish for dinner tonight and it is just about done so I think I will wrap this up and call it a day.

Tired and Sore

This morning after breakfast I took myself for a walk and about the point where I could either turn to go home or walk around another couple blocks my hip started to bother me so I went home and did not walk as far as I would have liked to. By the time I got home it was feeling better, but I decided that I would do some yard work instead of walking some more.

I got out my tree pruning equipment and started cutting large branches out of the tree, mostly those that were hanging over into the raspberries. Kathleen came outside just about the time I was finishing up and she noticed right away how much I had trimmed out of the tree.

I spent about two hours hacking away at the tree and cutting up the branches. I basically did one of three things with them; the really little ones went into the yard debris container, the medium sized ones went into the barrel to be chipped and the really large ones I stacked to be cut up for fire wood at some time in the future.

After cleaning up I called the doctor's office as they had not returned my call from yesterday and then I made myself some lunch. They finally called me back around 1330 and since they were not given the information that I left with who ever answered the phone I had to give it to them again. They called me back around 1430 with the answers to my questions; my doctor wants me to continue my medication and he also wants me to get some compression socks for my feet swelling.

So Kathleen and I took off first to the doctor's office to pick up the test results which I had requested yesterday, but again when I got there, there was nothing for me. So I signed a release form so that they could mail them to me.

Next we stopped at the credit union so that I could deposit a refund check that I received last week. Next we stopped at Fred Meyer's to pick up some compression socks because the doctor's office said that I could get them at a pharmacy.

Well, Fred Meyer did not carry them any longer and gave me the name and address of a medical supply company that would carry them. On the way we stopped at a Walgreen's to see if they might have them, but they did not have them either.

So we got to the medical supply company a little after 1700 which was lucky as they closed at 1730. The manager there spent a lot of time with me explaining the difference in the socks as far as support firmness and height. She recommended an over the calf pair and a medium tightness.

She also said that they have a certified fitter and she would be able to fit me with a different kind that goes up to my thighs if the over the calf ones are not sufficient.

When I got home I put them on and for someone who does not usually wear shoes or socks it was quite a shock. I have had them on now for over three hours and my legs and feet do feel better. I got white ones as I though they might be a little cooler than the navy or black ones but they look a little silly with my shorts.

My left eye has been really bothering me this afternoon; it kind of feels like I got poked in the eye and my vision is a little blurry. On top of that I have a dull headache and I have been taking so much Vicodin and arthritis Tylenol and neither one seems to be doing much good.

Well I think that I am going to end this as I am having a hard time focusing on the monitor and concentrating on what I am saying.

Test Results and more Questions

Ugh! This morning after breakfast I went out front and raked the leaves from the walnut trees and then went out back and dead headed the roses and picked tomatoes and raspberries. I ate all the raspberries that I picked and a few of the cherry tomatoes but the rest of the tomatoes I brought into the house.

I had used about a dozen cherry tomatoes in my hash brown potatoes and also mixed in some yellow pepper and green onions and I put some hot salsa on top of my egg beaters so I got plenty of vegetables in my breakfast.

After I took the tomatoes into the house I changed into some shoes and took my self for a walk, but not until I took some pain meds. This was one of the first walks that I have had lately where I did not get really sore about half way through my walk. I did feel a little twinge but nothing too bad and by the time I finished with my walk it was not bothering me.

Moral to this story I guess is stay doped up! I do not like having to take so much Vicodin, but right now it seems to be the only way that I can function to any degree.

Speaking of medications I got called back today about the blood work and everything looked pretty good except my potassium is a little low so I need to double the potassium-chloride that I already take. So not instead of taking one 20MEWQ only in the morning I now also have to take one 20MEWQ in the evening as well.

I guess that some of the problems with my chronic radiation proctitis (kind of like Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) has caused low levels of potassium. The radiation proctitis produces conditions that can cause potassium deficiency like diarrhea, excessive sweating, and use of diuretics (for my blood pressure). I also may have to cut out coffee for a while as I understand that it helps deplete the potassium level, bummer!

The same conditions that cause potassium deficiency also effects the magnesium levels in the body and magnesium and potassium go hand in hand so I might need to take a magnesium supplement as well. I guess that is something else that I should talk to the doctor's office about.

Right now I am waiting for another call from the doctor's office to see what he wants me to do about the Lotrel that has probably helped cause me feet swelling. Well, I need to get my feet up again so I will wrap this up for tonight.

More Hot Weather

I know that in a couple months I will be wishing for a few sunny days but right now I could really go for a little rain. It has been in the mid eighties to mid nineties for the last couple of weeks and the only hope in sight is a chance of some rain come Thursday. Tomorrow it is suppose to be in the mid nineties again but the weather is suppose to drop to more seasonable temperatures in the next couple of days so that will be nice but we really need some rain.

We are almost five inches of rain short of our average for the year which ends in October so hopefully we will not drop any further down because so much of what makes this part of Oregon so nice is all the greenery which needs rain to stay that way.

I was just kind of worn out this weekend, partially from the heat and party because my body does not feel too good. My legs and feet are still pretty swollen and that really makes them uncomfortable. Yesterday for church I wore regular socks and when I got home and took them off I could really see where the elastic was as the rest of my leg looked swollen and there was a dent in my skin that took quite a while for it to go down.

Last night we really had a beautiful harvest moon and we are supposed to have another one tonight, with the clear skies the moon really stands out. Although I was outside about an hour ago and the sky was almost orange from the pollutants in the air.

I had gone out to pick tomatoes, I had meant to do that this morning but got busy and forgot. I picked six dozen cherry tomatoes a half dozen roma, three early girl and a couple beefsteak tomatoes.

After I brought them inside I had about three dozen for a little afternoon snack and to get some of my vegetables in today. While I was out there I picked a couple raspberries to snack on before going back inside.

I had picked several earlier this morning to go with my cereal; I also cut up a banana so I have gotten my daily requirement of fruits in today.

This morning after I ate breakfast I went out front and raked the walnut leaves off the lawn and then I watered the gardens in front. The front porch has been collecting a lot of "junk" so I took everything off the porch, swept it and then threw out and recycled a lot of stuff, It does look a lot better although it still has a lot of wood there but if we start remodeling in a couple weeks we will need some of it.

After finishing in the front of the house I went into the back yard and watered all the gardens in the back yard. After I finished watering I gathered up some more flower pots to be recycled and straightened up a little more under the apple tree.

By the time I got back into the house it was 1230 and since I went outside around 0830 I was pretty tired. I was also tired so I made myself a sandwich and then sat and rested for a while.

Kathleen took off to meet with the lady from church today because the lady and her husband are going hunting and would not be around for their regular Wednesday meeting.

Well, has kind of been my day, my feet are bothering me so I think that I will put them up again and see if that helps.

Another Doctor's Appointment

This morning I took my cereal, coffee and the paper outside and sat out by my gardens and enjoyed the cool morning and the birds singing. After I ate I went out front and watered the gardens around the front of the house and then raked the front lawn.

After I finished in the front yard I went to the back yard and watered all the gardens and then pruned the spent roses. Kathleen came out while I was watering and sat in the sun for a while. After I finished watering I sat in one of our Adirondack chairs for a while and watched the birds and squirrels enjoying themselves.

After cooling down and resting for a while I went back into the house and got the mail; although other than one magazine there really was nothing worth keeping so most of it went either into the recycling or got shredded. I have been shredding everything with my name on it; I use to just shred things that had an account or some other important information but I have heard that identification thief's can get important information off almost anything that has a name and bar codes on it.

While I was in my office shredding I decided that I would reconcile my credit union accounts as I got the statement yesterday but since we were gone most of the day I did not get a chance to do it yesterday. Both my savings and checking accounts checked out fine the first time through, it usually does but sometimes I forget to put information into my Quicken checkbook or some of the automatic monthly amounts change and I need to update them when I do my reconciliation.

Anyway by the time I finished it was getting to be close to 1300 so I made myself some lunch and then when I finished I went and took a shower before my doctor's appointment. I usually like to take my showers either first thing in the morning or just before going to bed at night.

When I have a doctor's appointment, other than ones that are first thing in the morning I usually wait until just a little before my appointment; that way I can get some work done and not have to worry about needing a shower when I am at the doctor's.

I made an appointment because my back and hip have been bothering me enough so that I do not go for walks or exercise as much as I should and when I sit too long I can hardly get up. Also my feet have been pretty swollen the last couple of months.

The doctor said that my back is not going to get any better on its own but unless the pain starts going down my legs there is not much to worry about. He did prescribe some Vicodin for me which I went and got filled.

He said that the swelling was probably as a result of the Lotrel that I have been taking for several years and he said that it finally caught up with me. One of the side effects is Edema which is retaining fluids in organs and the skin is an organ.

Just to be sure he had a blood draw taken and several tests run so now I have to wait for the test results to come back to find out what my next course of action will be. I do not wait well so it will be a long weekend and I asked Cory the doctor's nurse and she said that the results would not be back until Tuesday or Wednesday.

After leaving the doctor's office I went to Fred Meyer to have my prescription filled; since I had to wait twenty-five minutes for them to fill it I went out to the garden area and looked around and before I knew it a half hour had passed. By the time I got back to the pharmacy and waited on line it had been over a half hour, but the good thing was that my prescription was ready for me.

Since I had not gotten gas for my Jeep since last February and I paid 2.979 a gallon; today I paid 3.539 a gallon and cost me fifty dollars but when one figures that it had only cost me fifty dollars over seven months that is not too bad.

By the time I got home it had been two hours since I had taken off for the doctor's office and I was getting pretty tired by then. So after I changed clothes I came back downstairs and checked my e-mail.

Kathleen had a woman’s dinner at church so around 1830 I made myself a hoagie sandwich with some slice deli turkey, ham and roast beef. We still had some left-over tuna and macaroni salad and a deli salad that Kathleen bought last night so I had some of each to go along with my sandwich.

Well I think this is about all that I have the energy for today.

9/11 Never Forget!

9/11 always causes me to think back to seven years ago and all the emotions that raced through my mind. I was at work when they announced over the loudspeaker that an airplane had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York.

With so many of my memories from my youth being in New York and several relatives living in New York City my thoughts quickly turned to them and I sent up a prayer that they would be safe and that this was just a hoax like the "War of the Worlds" many years ago in the radio...but alas it was not!

Over the years as I have been watching birds I watched how the mothers care for their young I have come to appreciate their loving care for their young. 9/11 has never been the same for me and here is something that kind of puts things into perspective for me!

4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day (Psalms 91:4, 5 NIV)

On this day we remember the unprovoked attack on America by Muslim terrorists. Despite attempts to make the country more secure, the threat remains scarcely abated today. So what should our response be? In Psalms 91 we see that we have no cause for fear. The physical danger may be real, but our Lord promises protection in tender words likened to a mother bird's care for her young. Our ultimate deliverance is guaranteed by His sure promises. Trust in His power and truth sustains us as surely as would a shield and buckler.

Our hope cannot ultimately rest in our own military might. God does not promise temporal safety to us, for there have been millions who have succumbed to undeserved violence. Our last hope is of a different order, firmly grounded in "the LORD, who is my refuge" (Ps 91:9 NIV). He responds to our trust and worship with the promise "With long (read here eternal) life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation." (Ps 91:16 NIV). God is much more interested in our response to troubles than in our deliverance, He desires us to believe and serve Him, all the while trusting Him, even in perilous times.

A New Testament application of this principal can be found in 1 Peter; "But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.”Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." (1 Peter 3:14 NIV); “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect," (1 Peter 3:15 NIV).

The Lord Jesus Christ is our example and inspiration. "Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:3 NIV). Fixing our eyes upon Him, we have no cause for fear, but it is good to remember.