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.