Oregon Living 2018 – Blog #29 – Olympics and Puppies!

 

Sunday, February 25th, 2018…...    The rain started up again today. It was not heavy but it was consistent all day.  So, we stayed around the house. Last day for the Olympics.  The US did ok, especially towards the end.  It was fun watching the men win a gold medal in curling! First time ever! The women also beat out rival Canada for the gold in Hockey! Yeah!  Later in the evening I watched the closing ceremonies, which are always fun to see.  It was neat to see Ivanka Trump with the US athletes.  The Paralympics will start soon and I will watch those as well. Also, next month both Indy Car and Formula One racing will begin and I’m a big fan of both.  Can’t wait!.....

Also – we’re getting a puppy!  Lydia got a call from Beckie and we agreed that we wanted one of her just born litter.  No pictures yet but we’ll get some and share soon.  She says that it will be 6 weeks before we can come get her. We can’t wait!  We slept pretty good with visions of a puppy playing in the yard!

Monday, February 26th, 2018……  The rain let up today.  Penny came over to walk Quincy.  After breakfast, and since the sun was out, with no rain in the forecast, I went over and put up my sister’s new light fixtures.  We can’t test until the sun goes down but everything is working so far.  Lydia came over and they left for Albany to do some shopping.  I had to go back home. Dana and Tim came over today to drop off some materials.  They said we were close on the cement pour and the guy even said for sure this week.  They are calling him daily and want to do it asap so that pressure may be what the guy needs. While they were here he loaned me some ether (starting fluid) for my tractor.  After charging the battery for about 30 minutes or so, I tried it and it started right up!  Yaay!  Now if the grass would only dry out!  After they left, I worked a bit on the motorhome.  I had already pulled the slides in due to the snow so that was done but I needed to get the inside cleaned up and stuff put away in preparation for moving the rig to clear access for the cement truck when he shows up.  I still have the satellite dish up because I’m still taping in there.  So - I put a big note on the steering wheel to stow it before I move the coach out! Lydia got back later with a few items for the house.  We still have rooms with bare walls so when she finds something she likes, she buys it!  After a nice dinner, we settled in and watched our taped tv programs before hitting the hay.     

Oregon Living 2018 – Blog #28 – A Shopping Trip and More Laundry

 

Friday, February 23rd, 2018…...  No snow today but its cold!  Even so, we decided to go to breakfast.  I texted my sister and she brought Quincy over here to walk her while Lydia was getting ready.  We left and headed by Kevin’s because I got a text saying they were open. I guess it was someone wishing they were open because they are still closed!  So, we drove on out to Shirley May’s and ate there.  We had discussed going back to Kmart soon because we each got a $10. gift card to spend there starting today.  We decided that since we were out, and we both had our cards with us, why not go now!  We headed over to Corvallis and Kmart and shopped.  I found boots there on my last trip and they were still there today.  I also got another charging cord for our cell phones. We drove back through Albany so Penny could look at light fixtures for her porch and on each side of her garage doors.  She wants these to be on sensors to go on and off at dusk and dawn. We continued on to Home Depot to see what they had.  She found fixtures she liked but none that had sensors.  She decided on three and bought sensor bulbs for each.  I get the job to install them!  We returned home and she took Quincy home so they could rest up from the day. Later, Lydia and I fixed chicken tacos for dinner and settled in for the evening.    

Saturday, February 24th, 2018……  Today was rainy, on and off.  Weather is strange up here – it will cloud up and rain, then the sun will come out for 10-20 minutes, then it will cloud up and rain. We’ve seen this pattern now for awhile so we’re getting used to it so we decided to go to Walmart for a few things.  Same story – we went in it was sunny and warm, we came out it was raining, we get home it’s sunny and warm again. But it was still too unpredictable to work outside installing Penny's lights so that’s on hold until Monday. So, we settled in to watch the Olympics. Ok, I did – Lydia hasn’t watched too much of it this year. She finished up some of the laundry while watching some of her taped shows. Then it was dinner and more tv til bedtime. 

Oregon Living 2018 – Blog #27 – Doing Chores and Some Real Snow!

 

Wednesday, February 21st, 2018…...  We didn’t have any plans today but we both got up early for some reason.  Guess we both slept well last night.  No snow but it was in the low 30s this morning.  We get Portland feed via our DirecTV and they reported that they have several inches of snow up there.  We’re watching the scenes where they are putting de-icers and sand on the roads and going out and righting trucks that have flipped on their sides. I’m glad we don’t live up there! Our forecast is for more cold weather and maybe a snow flurry in the next couple of days then a warm up for a few days after that - but we’ll see….

My sister came over for me to walk Quincy.  Her day out yesterday was hard on her sore knee so I took Quince out for a run/walk. She’s found a few active mice areas out by the construction site so she’s hunting for them. Penny visited for a while then left to take Quincy home.  We had talked weeks ago about rearranging our master bedroom furniture. So I measured the bedroom set to see if it would fit on the opposite wall. Yes, it will but we will need to get the DirecTV cable re-routed under the house before we can move the furniture. So that’s on hold for now. We hung around the house today and Lydia did some more laundry and I vacuumed the carpets and dusted the floors. The rest of the day we just rested, ate dinner, and kicked back and watched tv. The Olympics are winding down and most of the medals will be awarded in the next few days. USA had been lacking in medals but we have never been the winter powerhouse that the Nordic countries are. But things are getting better as we near the end.  The US is gaining now!   

Thursday, February 22nd, 2018……  This is what we woke up to this morning at 7:30am!

The weather finally caught up with the forecasts! This was about ½” of snow.  The temperature is now 34º so it’s not too bad out there. Lydia went out and took some pictures for Facebook 

and I went out later and brought in the trash cans. It wasn’t too bad at all.  The sun came out about 10:30am and the snow went away pretty quickly and was completely gone by noon!  We had to take Lydia’s lab sample to the hospital and then we needed to get a prescription filled.  We stopped at my sister’s house and I did a few small chores for her and then we talked about her surgery/chemo/radiation/reconstruction schedule. Lot’s to take in!  But she’s doing well and is ready for it all. We stopped and got the prescription and then lunch and headed home for the day. No dinner, just taped tv shows and the Olympics until bedtime.     

Oregon Living 2018 – Blog #26 – Labwork, Taxes and More Snow Forecast!

 

Monday, February 19th, 2018…...  First off, both of us did ok last night.  We’re not sure what to make of our being ill.  But we’re doing fine now….

I got up and checked to see what last night’s weather brought us. The report says sunny and cold but it’s cloudy and we can see small snowflakes coming down. I got a call this morning from Dana, updating our job status.  Their concrete guys have a big pour to do, then she says we’re next on their list, so depending on the weather, they could be here this week.  Yaay!  I showered and got dressed with the idea that we would go shopping this morning.  Lydia reminded me she was going to do her labs this morning.  Then I remembered that it was President’s Day and she should check to see if they are even open today.  She decided to wait until tomorrow and had breakfast. So, we decided to take a drive to Corvallis and get the car washed. Note – there aren’t too many full-service car washes up here in the northwest – you know, the ones who have the staff to vacuum and clean the inside of your car.  Most everything here is drive-thru style.  The drive thrus up here do have an attendant, who, at the beginning of the wash, brushes the front and back of your vehicle to knock off the worst of the dirt before you drive through the system.  It works but we look forward to someone putting a nice full service one in up here closer to us. After that, we stopped for lunch at Taco Bell.  While we were there, I got a call that our taxes were ready for pickup back in Lebanon.  We drove over to Albany on the way back and stopped by Kohl’s so Lydia could pick up a few items before her coupons ran out, then we headed home, stopping by the tax office to pay and get our paperwork. Good news / bad news - turns out that our tax lady found enough write-offs from our house transactions that we didn’t have any capital gains to pay on (wheew!), but we did still owe on the federal and Calif. state return.  We get a refund from Oregon though, so that helps a bit.  They did an estimated return for next year and if the “Tax Act” and “Jobs Act” go into place, we would get a hefty refund. Once home, we settled in for the day.  Lydia stripped our bed and did that laundry while I set the files up to be ready to pay the two tax bills. We’ll go ahead and pay the federal now but will wait until we get the Oregon refund before we pay Calif. That lessens the pain a bit….    

Tuesday, February 20th, 2018……  This morning we got up early and got ready for our day.  I dropped Lydia off at our drs. office for her labs.  My sister picked her up from there and they headed up to Salem for Penny’s reconstruction consult.  They were going to have lunch and then hit a mall for some shopping.  I stopped by a fast food place and got breakfast and then did my habitat thing, driving to the Albany and Corvallis Habitat for Humanity stores just to check out new arrivals.  I’m not looking for anything in particular but I like to see what comes in.  Nothing from Habitat but I stopped at the Goodwill in Albany - first visit - to see if our donations have hit that store (not yet) and to check it out. I only bought an alarm clock and a magnifying glass (total was $3.99).  I made it home after a bit and Lydia called later and asked if I was interested in meeting them at the Sizzlers in Albany.  They have the steak and lobster special going. Sounded good to me! I was hungry! They had some more shopping to do and would text when they were on their way.  I ended up only being home a short time before barely having time to go out and get the mail and use the restroom before they texted.  I met them and we had a nice ‘linner’ and then split up and went home. We did stop at Safeway because we’re hearing that there’s a storm coming in later tonight that will be a bit colder and should bring some snow and we didn’t want to have to go out in it tomorrow. We got some fresh veggies and bread (Lydia thinks it was the bread we ate that got us sick so we dumped that) and headed home. We ended up having some fruit and cookies and/or dark chocolate candy for a little dessert and watched tv until bedtime. I woke up about 3:00am to get a drink of water and so I checked the weather – nothing but clear skies.          

Oregon Living 2018 – Blog #25 – First Snow!

  

Sunday, February 18th, 2018…...  Weird day!  We heard last night that the weather was going to be turning colder, and this next storm might bring a little snow to the Portland area.  They showed the road commission getting ready with chemicals, sand and even salt because they expected it to be bad in the city.  Our forecast called for snow as well.  We woke up and Lydia wasn’t feeling well.  She had the chills but no fever.  She got sick to her stomach.  I wasn’t feeling all that well myself.  She said she had some bread that didn’t smell right.  It was buttermilk bread, so it just smelled like buttermilk to me. Maybe it was something else we ate.  My sister texted that it was starting to snow at her place.  We got just a small amount here but a little bit later it came down pretty good.  But it was only just making the ground and then melting.  Nothing stuck.  She brought Quincy over later and walked her and then went in and sat with Lydia for a while.  Eventually Lydia said she felt a little better and got dressed. And I managed to eat a bit and I felt better as well.  Meanwhile, the snow would stop and then start.  Again, nothing stuck.  

Penny left and we settled in to watch our taped tv shows. Later, the sun came out.  Then a few minutes later it clouded up and then snowed again!  We watched as this went on almost all day.  We also got small bb size hail that stayed on the ground and turned things white.  My grass is so thick now that you could barely see it snowed.  The white stuff showed up only in the flower beds. The Portland area news stations showed that they got way more than we got.  There were cars sliding around in what they said was 2-3” of snow.  We’re a little over a hundred miles south of Portland and our valley here didn’t see any of that at all.  But because it’s colder and we got the hail later in the day, it stayed in the flower beds for a long time.

Oregon Living 2018 – Blog #24 – Doggie Duty Continues and so Does the Rain

 

Friday, February 16th, 2018…...  Didn’t have doggie duty today so we slept in a bit.  I showered and was eating breakfast when my sister texted saying she was coming over and could I walk Quincy.  Sure.  I met them outside and took that excited puppy out for her walk! When we got back I fed her her breakfast and the girls visited and then I went in and watched the Olympics and the news. They are still talking about the Parkland Fl. Valentine’s Day school shooting. Sad day… The rains are hit and miss today, but it’s not enough to stop us from grocery shopping. We headed off to Walmart to do our big grocery shopping trip, getting what we needed that we didn’t buy in bulk from Costco the other day. Once that was done and everything put away we each had lunch and then it was relaxing time and more Olympics. Also watched Nascar racing.  The Camping World Series trucks raced today, Xfinity Series cars tomorrow and the Monster Energy Series Cup cars in the Daytona 500 is Sunday.  Bout time!  Come dinner time, neither of us was really hungry so Lydia fixed grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and salad for us for a light dinner. Then it was tv and then bed.

Saturday, February 17th, 2018……  My sister texted me that she was coming over to walk Quincy this morning.  Problem was I didn’t get the text until she was here and gone! We were just getting up and getting ready for the day when she came and went. Our bedroom is on the opposite side of the house from the driveway and garage, so we don’t hear cars pull up. But she did come back later to visit with us.  Good to see that she’s feeling well enough to get out for a bit. The weather is still iffy.  It rained a bit early this morning but cleared up for a while, then sprinkled again for a few hours, then the sun came out for a few hours, then it clouded up again. Repeat for the afternoon and evening. That was our day! We didn’t leave the house today. All we did was hang around and clean up a bit and watch tv a bit.  Oh yeah, I paid bills! Yuuck!

Oregon Living 2018 – Blog #23 – Valentine’s Day, more Visitors, and a Dr’s. Visit

 

Wednesday, February 14th, 2018…...   HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!!                     

Still no word on the concrete pour….  They couldn’t do it today anyway.  We had a bit of rain last night. That only delays the concrete truck’s schedule. Bummer!

I got up and walked Quincy (and ran her too!) and it was nice and dry.  But just after I got out of the shower and got dressed, it started to rain.  It was a steady, but really light drizzle.  It only lasted a short time and then the skies cleared up for a while.  Not sunny but no more rain. So today was just about taking care of business and then relaxing for the day.  I fed the Quinzinator her breakfast and we ate ours and then got ready for the day.  Our friends from Calif., Paul and Alice, are up here visiting their son who lives in Yamhill, just outside of Portland.  Paul and Alice are thinking about moving up here and wanted to go look at properties in Roseburg (which is about 112 miles south of us).  They have a meeting today with an agent and called us enroute, saying they wanted to stop by for a visit on their way down. It was really nice to see them and we had a nice visit and they said they really liked our place. They left on their way and later we set out to Albany to go to Kohl’s and then to Costco (since they are real close to each other). We did some shopping there and headed home.  We stopped at Safeway where Lydia picked up some fresh scallops for dinner.  Plans tonight are relaxed.  Just dinner and tv.  Maybe a little wine….    

Thursday, February 15th, 2018……  We wanted to sleep in this morning, but we had things to do.  I got up before dawn (6:30am) and got dressed and walked Quincy. Lydia had her first appointment with her new nephrologist this morning.  She got ready while I fed Quince and then we took off to find the office building in Corvallis.  I went in with her to the drs. office waiting room and then when she went in to the room I left to go sit in the car.  I did drive around the complex just to see what it had.  This is the Samaritan Regional Hospital and the place is huge!  I made the loop and got back to the ancillary office and parked.  She got done and came out and found me outside and we headed home.  I walked Quincy and texted my sister that we were home.  She was feeling better and came over to visit and to pick up her puppy. After she left, we hung around the house and rested. Lydia said she didn’t sleep too much last night so she napped and I watched a bit of the Olympics.    

Oregon Living 2018 – Blog #22 – Saying Goodbye and Getting our Taxes Going

 

Monday, February 12th, 2018…...  Nothing going on today for the RV garage.  The weather is nice today but we expect rain off and on the rest of the week so I don’t know what is planned as this time. Meanwhile, we planned out our day. I called and made an appointment to have our taxes done. Yuuck! Since we retired, we’ve always had to pay each year.  I’ve always done my own taxes but with the sale of the house, and capital gains, plus having to file two returns, I’m looking for help this time. I’m sure we’ll owe again this year.  Just hope we can afford Hawaii in June! Later, we went over to see the girls before they had to leave for the airport.  Their flight was leaving from Portland (to Vegas) so they had to leave early to get there and get gas and turn in the rental car before check-in.  It was nice to have them come visit my sister, given she is going through chemo right now. They made her days after treatment nicer just by being there.

                                           Danette, Merrilyn, Penny and Diane

Once we got home, we finished up the day watching Olympics and taking care of Quincy.

Tuesday, February 13th, 2018……  Having Quincy here with us is working out.  I had been getting up and dressing and then taking her out for her morning walk and then showering and getting ready for the day. Today I got up before dawn and showered then took her out.  No big difference either way. We went off this morning to our tax advisor meeting.  After looking our paperwork over, she said it looks like we will be able to avoid capital gains for our transaction.  That’s really great to hear!  So, it’s now looking like we just have to work through the regular tax filing, which, for us for the past several years, has been on the paying side rather than the receiving side.  I expect it to be the same this year especially knowing that Oregon has higher state tax liability than Calif.  This year we have to file in both states, so having an advisor is better than me trying to do it myself. We’ll know next week or so. Later, we came back to relax a bit then have lunch. It’s still a little cold outside even though the sun is shining brightly today!   So, I didn’t have any projects planned.  I’m still hoping to be able to add another concrete pad closer to the house for extra rv parking, although I may end up either doing blacktop or compacted crushed stone.  Either way, I need to take out the walkway flagstone pavers so that’s on my to-do list. I also have a bunch of logs piled up toward the back of the property.  Walt told us he cut down a big tree out there many years ago and I’m guessing these logs were just piled up and left there.  He also dumped some pallets out there so those will be hauled out and the area cleaned up.  I’ll leave some logs to be used for seating along with a bench or two (once I find them) to go around a fire pit of some kind. Might be nice to use as a gathering area when friends show up and the weather is nice enough to be out. Both of these projects are on hold for now because I can’t get any vehicles out on the soppy grass without tearing it up.  I might try a wheelbarrow for the flagstones.

Later, Lydia went to Walmart to get a few things for dinner tonight.  We’re planning on driving in to Albany tomorrow to go to Costco for more shopping but this will do for tonight.     

Oregon Living 2018 – Blog #21 – Touring Oregon and Olympics and Nascar!

 

Saturday, February 10th, 2018…...  No work on the rv garage site today. Not sure of the date yet for the concrete pour.  The weather is nice and sunny, with a few clouds.  Temps are down though – into the low 50s.  We ate breakfast and then got a text from sis asking if we wanted to go to breakfast and then to the Farmer’s Market.  She found that the one in Corvallis doesn’t close for the season – but rather just moves indoors.  So they ended up eating at home and we picked them up and headed out to the Linn Benton Fairgrounds in Corvallis.  Of course we didn’t see any tomatoes or such, but they had squash, all kinds of greens, and some potatoes.  We bought some giant carrots.  Penny, and the girls spent more time shopping than we did but it was still fun for all.  Afterwards, we toured Corvallis and then drove to Albany to Loafers Bar & Grill for lunch.  Turns out it was linner because we filled up on burgers and hoagies and all the trimmings. We brought leftovers back to Penny’s and then we drove out to Sweet Home and then on to Foster Lake.  On the way back, we stopped at A&W for root beer floats. Thanks Penny! Once back at her place, we visited for a while and then headed home for the evening.

Sunday, February 11th, 2018……  Today, being Sunday, was a lounge around day for us.  Penny and the girls didn’t do much either. She is feeling ok but after yesterday’s adventure, her knee is swollen and she can’t put weight on it. So, everyone stayed around our houses and watched tv and rested.  I am watching the Olympics and enjoy it very much although some of the events don’t interest me at that much.  I’m not into figure skating or curling although I do appreciate the talent that these competitors have. When we visited the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs in 2016 we saw how much training these folks put in to be the best the US can provide! Watching the games feels special because we got that inside look into their dedication and training. While the United States sends a large delegation to the winter games, we seem to struggle against the Nordic countries and do not do as well as in the summer games. But it’s still fun to watch as they only compete every four years.  On another note, for me, I am happy because Nascar is back for the 2018 season!  The cars got on the track at Daytona for practice and then qualifying and then ran a no-points warm-up race today.  There are five points races coming up in the next week. I’m happy!       

Oregon Living 2018 – Blog #20 – Doggie Duty and More Visitors

Thursday, February 8th, 2018…...  This morning I had doggie duty.  My sister had a chemo treatment and brought Quince over early.  Penny headed out and Quincy and I finished her walk and brought her in and fed her breakfast.  Then I took off to get my breakfast.  Shortly after I returned, the McCravens arrived here and got to work on the pad. Before the end of the day, they got everything done up to the point of calling in for the inspection ok to pour the concrete.  I’m told the inspector is due out here sometime tomorrow morning. Of course, we’re dealing in ‘Oregon time’ so we’ll see.   Lydia did another round of weeding although she has run into an area that was apparently missed by the weedkiller sprayed last year so she didn’t make too much progress. Meanwhile I took Quincy out to the back of the property and spent some time re-staking a post so I could tie back the large leaf maple tree that Walt had planted there two years ago.  He staked it because it was leaning and then the last wind we had broke the string.  So I roped it and it’s good to go now. 

End of Day 9……

Friday, February 9th, 2018……  Today there was no action on the job site.  The inspector came about 3:00pm and signed off on everything with no issues.  Tim & Dana got here just before he did so they just did a little cleanup and we talked for a while until the guy pulled up. After he was done, they left to get more supplies for the next phase after concrete.  They said we are on the schedule but they don’t have an exact date due to the fact that when the weather is nice the concrete companies are working on the backed-up jobs in order.  Sometime next week is when they are expecting them to show up. Meanwhile, we spent the day working around the house.  I put some more robe hooks up in the master closet and then picked up a bit in the motorhome. We also did a final sort of all of the items we had put aside for donation to Goodwill.  My sister came by and took a few items before we loaded them in the truck and I dropped them off. Later, she came back with her good friends from SoCal - Diane, Merrilyn, and Danette - who came up to visit for a few days. We gave them a tour and visited for awhile before they left to go back to Penny’s home and get some rest from their trip. We went out and picked up some fast food and came back and watched the opening Olympic ceremonies and settled in for the evening. 

End of Day 10.....

Oregon Living 2018 – Blog #19 – Rebar, Yard Work, and Surgery Update

Tuesday, February 6th, 2018…...  This morning we woke up to a cooler but beautiful day.  It’s been in the 60’s during the day and that’s good for the garage work.  Today we got a gravel delivery and they got the back half of the garage packed and rebar laid down there.  The next load of rock comes tomorrow morning and I think they will have all of the rebar done then.

End of Day 7……

Meanwhile, Lydia worked pulling weeds in one of the front yard flower beds, this one closest to the driveway.  I got the job of picking up after her but we got ‘er done! While she was doing that, I took the tv out of the guest room and installed it in my shop.  It’s the right size and fits right into the space I made in the corner of the shop and it’s the oldest big screen tv we have so I won’t worry too much if something happens to it. We’ll get a new one for the guest room soon.  Lydia likes her new Hisense tv so we’ll likely go with one of those, only in a smaller size for that room. After her gardening work, I told her I’d take her out to dinner – her choice.  She chose Chinese food and we both had wanted for some time to go into Albany to Ping’s, a place we’d been by several times and always had cars out in front – so tonight was the night!  There are two places in Lebanon that we’ve been to that are ok.  I liked this better than both of them!  I’ve always been partial to Panda Express down in SoCal and it turns out there is one up here (in Albany) that we’re also going to try some time.     

Wednesday, February 7th, 2018……  We slept in a bit.  Penny came over later to walk Quincy and let us know about her consult with her surgeon.  The date will be in March sometime but is not yet set 100%.  He told her that things are looking good and that she is doing all the right things and the surgery should be on track.  Lydia waited until the afternoon when the weather warmed up a bit to go out and do round two on the flower bed.  The team was here and the rest of the gravel was delivered so they got the pad a little closer to the concrete pour.

End of Day 8……

I helped with the flower bed cleanup and we rested for a while.  Lydia made dinner tonight and we watched some taped shows while we ate. Later, we watched The Amazing Race.  I always tape these shows and we have the timing down so we know when we can start to watch them and be able to fast forward through the commercials and still finish up about the time the broadcast ends. 

Oregon Living 2018 – Blog #18 – Watching the Eagles Soar and the Work Go Slowly

Sunday, February 4th, 2018…...  Today is Super Bowl Sunday.  Our plans are simple. Penny is coming over and we are having some snacks and then a light dinner for before and during the big game. I am not a Patriots fan so I’m rooting for the Eagles. I didn’t have much faith because New England is such a powerhouse and Philly is ending a season with a lot of injuries and backup players.  BUT, I’ll be darned – the Eagles pulled it out. Yeah! It was a really great game.  Some NE fans will be questioning some of Philly’s touchdown rulings but, hey that’s the way it works. Sometimes you are on the winning side sometimes on the losing. Turns out we only snacked during the game.  So, Lydia will save the steak burritos for tomorrow night.

Monday, February 5th, 2018……  Today was day 6 on the jobsite.  At the end of the day, more of the footing walls and monolithic slab pour were readied. 

They will be getting more rock for the base and then the rebar can go in.  It’s tough for us to watch.  But it’s necessary because this is the slow and steady work they need to do to make sure the foundation is exactly correct. We can only watch and wait….

Penny and Lydia decided to cook up yesterday’s planned burritos tonight for dinner.  It was an easy night for me!  Lydia cooked, I ate, Penny cleaned up! We watched tv for a while and sis went home and we stayed up for a while before calling it a night.

Oregon Living 2018 – Blog #17 – TV Works and More Form-Setting

 

Friday, February 2nd, 2018…...  We didn’t wait for Tim & Dana to show up this morning.  We had a slight time crunch.  We took off to go to Walmart in Albany to get that tv.  We then stopped at Shirley May’s for breakfast before heading home.  We needed to get back before 10:00am so Penny and Lydia could head off to a quilt show in Albany. We had enough time for Lydia to help me carry in the tv. I was able to get the hookups done in a few minutes. But guess what?  This one wasn’t working either!  I tried everything (or so I thought – read on) – still no sound.  I had sound on the smart tv apps like Netflix, Vudu, Amazon, You Tube, etc. Just nothing from the Directv box.  So before calling Hisense, I called Directv. We went through a few steps, most of which I had tried already, but then she asked me if I refreshed the receiver.  Duuuhhh!  That was my problem, both for this tv and the one we returned yesterday!  It works great now and we’re happy.  I then took off to Albany again, this time to get rock salt from Home Depot.  I also decided to take three of the seven bags of plastic bottles I have saved for recycle.  Walmart has a couple of recycling machines outside their store here in Lebanon but I don’t like that they are always busy. I had been to one in Albany that I liked better so I went there.  Even though you have to put one item in at a time, I got through the three bags pretty quickly. I ended up with $42.30!  Plus, I still have four bags left!  I got home and got the rock salt bags put away and was out talking with Tim & Dana when Lydia got back from the quilt show.  She went in and checked out her room. She sure likes her new tv!  So, now we have one more to buy for the guest room.  I will take the old one we have in there now and put it in my shop. Meanwhile, the McCravens got a lot done today. The worksite looks better and better as they get going.  This is a shot at the end of Day 5…..

Saturday, February 3rd, 2018……  Tim told me yesterday they are working today.  But Dana said they had things to do Saturday, one of which was an archery club banquet.  Guess who won!  So, nothing today. We spent the day (ok, only a few minutes) working around the house.  We’re working on a wedding wall.  We already have two frames with photos of Randy and Maryanne. Lydia went to Walgreens to print the last photo (from her cell phone) from Jeff and Krista’s recent wedding.  She mounted several pictures in two frames and I hung those four and that was about it for the day.  I did spend some time searching through my home papers.  I’m missing a receipt from the kitchen remodel we did last year in Calif.  I need all of our home improvement receipts/totals for taxes when we get ready to do those in the next few weeks. I have everything ready except for that one receipt.  I’m sure it’s around somewhere….

Lydia met Penny at the local Safeway to get things for our Super Bowl snacks and for dinner. We had a quiet night just watching our taped tv shows.

Oregon Living 2018 – Blog #16 – Work Goes On and a New TV

 

Wednesday, January 31st, 2018…...  We got up early expecting the crew to show up early too since the weather was really nice.  They work ‘Oregon Time’ so it was 3:00pm before they got here.  Turns out Tim spent a lot of time prefabbing the forms in his shop both yesterday and today. But when they did get here, they used their transom and got the grade shot and made sure everything would be level and then they got that first form set. This was Day 3.

Not sure yet when the rest of it will be worked on.  We left before that to head to Coburg Pizza for dinner.  Both sis and I had scratchers plus she had her birthday coupon good for a free pizza. My scratcher got us a free dessert pizza so we had a nice meal.    

Thursday, February 1st, 2018……  Day 4.  This morning we got up early again, expecting them back early too. They got here about 9:30 (not too bad) and got going.  The pictures don’t show it, but I think it was a productive day.  The rest of the forms on the trailer should go in tomorrow.

While they were working, we decided to go get Lydia a new tv for her craft room.  I had been researching them and knew the ones I didn’t want.  I liked the reviews on the Hisense 4k Smart tv and the 55” was on sale at Walmart ($378.) so we went and got one.  We got it all hooked up but discovered that I couldn’t get the sound working.  I ended up calling their customer support line and we worked it through the steps and only got the dvd player to work through its own cords.  Still no sound from the Directv box.  He wanted to set up a house call to sort it out but that would be next week.  He said we could always take it back so we did that.  The local Walmart only had this one in stock so we got our money back and will go tomorrow to the Albany Walmart to see if they have any.  Fun stuff!