Oregon Living 2021 – Blog #29 – A Great Date & Working in the Yard

 

Saturday, April 24^th., 2021……  Today was a breakfast date with Cathy.  Wow, I really like her!  We had such a nice time and she is very easy to talk to and we have a lot in common. She has also recently lost her spouse.  We ate and talked and talked and then both of us had to get on with our days so we said goodbye. But there is definitely a spark there and I think both of us felt it!  I went on to Albany and went to Coastal Farm and Ranch and picked up a couple of parts for a cable I am building to attached to a wild seed tree that has sprouted on my island. I actually like where it has sprouted but it’s not growing straight up and needs a little persuasion. What I bought enables me to put tension on it to aid it for a while. I got home and was pretty much done for the morning. Bill and Debbie, my sister’s friends from Calif. are up in the area again visiting family, and are staying with my sister tonight, leaving for home tomorrow. They will be stopping by here and we are planning on going to dinner at Gametime. They got here early so I could show them around. My zero turn and the boat trailer and the flatbed trailer are all new to them so we saw those and then headed off to eat. Cherrelyn joined us and we all had a nice meal. Of course, butthead always enjoys people coming to visit her! After they dropped me off, I settled in for the evening and watched the Nascar Xfinity race and then called it a night.        

Sunday, April 25^th., 2021…… Yesterday, we had made plans for a 9:00am meeting for breakfast at Kevin’s before Bill and Debbie had to head toward home. Just the four of us today, Cherrelyn slept in.  Afterwards they came by the house again. I had Debbie go through Lydia’s clothes and she found a couple of things and then they left to go back to Sis’s house to get their car and take off. I watched the Talladega race and relaxed for the day.  Later that evening, I talked with Cathy again and we continued where we left off yesterday. Again, I am enjoying her very much! She is flying out of town tomorrow and drove up to PDX to stay the night. I will miss seeing her in person but we will be talking while she’s out!

Monday, April 26^th., 2021…… Today the weather was nice. We had a few small cells pass through here and we’ve had some light rain off and on for the past few days. But today the sun was out most of the morning with clouds later in the day.  I heard there were showers around but it didn’t hit here. My sister called and asked me if I would come walk Quincy tomorrow morning. She is still not feeling right and wants to go see her plastic surgeon about concerns with her reconstruction. She has pain that is not going away. They had an early cancellation and can get her in.  I left and went to Albany to go to Costco. I only had a few things on my list but came out with more than I needed!  I found the gazebo that I like for when I remodel my back porch and patio area. So, I took a pic

so that I can design for this size. More cell phone time with Cathy!  Yaay!

Tuesday, April 27^th., 2021…..  I was up early this morning and had Rylee out, walked and fed. Then I headed over to go get Quincy for our walk. We did the long loop this morning so I got two good walks in early!  I got her back in and Cherrelyn was going to feed her so I headed back home, stopping to pick up breakfast on the way. I had that tree project to work on today. I rigged up the system and snaked it through the shrub and got everything hooked up. But when I cranked on the tightening buckle, the connection on the cable I made came loose. So, I am rethinking the process and will try again another day.  I spent some more quality time with Cathy on the phone. I have a previously made date with the lady in Albany for tomorrow and I openly discussed that. I find I feel a little guilty about now. I know I’ve found someone special with Cathy. But I’m not the kind of person to cancel so I’ll just have to see it through. Cathy understands.  That's a great sign!  Virtual hugs and we said goodnight.     

Oregon Living 2021 – Blog #28 – Living in the Dating World & Buying More Shop Tools!

 

Tuesday, April 20^th., 2021……  Again, a glorious day weather wise! Temps this week in the high 70s. Mornings in the mid-40s – all good! I had Rylee out in the sun and we had a nice walk. Funny - as used to the walk up and back on the block as she is - she sometimes finds things that rivets her attention. This morning it was our neighbor’s light post out by the street. They are on brick entrance facades on either side of their driveway and that hasn’t changed, but this morning she was fixated on one of them like it was alive! Crazy dog!

Kirk was coming by today and I went out and met him and Justin and I directed him to one of the island flowerbeds out front that needs some attention. We discussed weeding and maybe some light rototiller work out there to prep for mulch, or ‘bark dust’, as it’s known up here. I want to lay mulch in all of the front yard in the next few weeks. He’s going to get me prices for different types. There are several out there to choose from. The hemlock is sliver free, which is my choice. It comes in a couple of colors and since I did red last time (and it faded pretty quickly to a dull brown!) I probably will go with a dark brown this time if that’s available.

Later in the day, I got a call from the lady in King City, which is about 75 miles from me, but easy to get to. We had a very nice conversation and hopefully soon we’ll meet up (somewhere in between our homes) for a meal. Btw – she told me she posted under her middle name.  She is careful and wants a bit of anonymity.  There is also another lady who has expressed interest and lives here in Lebanon. I will be responding to her as well.  Since my King City friend and I talked for over an hour, when we hung up, I decided to order pizza for dinner and called that in and then picked it up. Tv until bedtime.     

Wednesday, April 21^st., 2021…… I checked in on sis by text this morning. She called me right back. Yesterday she said she was down and in bed. I found out she is achy and has no energy to move. She thought it was from shooting her shotgun but something else may be going on because she has chills and is queasy. I took Rylee out for a quick walk, fed her, then headed over and took Quincy out for her walk. Penny said she is going to go to the er this morning to get checked out. Fingers crossed…

Ok, she is back now and went home and rested and then called me. They did at CT scan and said just some pulled muscles, no damage. Rest and pain meds. Randy and Maryanne MarcoPolo’d me and I gave them an update on her and on my dating 'exploits'. Then it was leftover pizza for dinner and then The Masked Singer. Tonight, it was a two-hour, double elimination show. I had already guessed Bobby Brown as The Crab and I agreed about The Seashell when I saw the TnT clue that it was a Mowry sister, but I wasn’t sure which one, so I’ll give myself a half a point for that one!         

Thursday, April 22^nd., 2021……  I really didn’t have much planned for today. I have been busy on Match. They send me profiles and pics of ladies that have the same interests as I listed (hiking, movies, etc.) as potential matches and you either dismiss them or like them. Sometimes it’s hard to decide but after reading their profile, most times I can see where they are in their thoughts and in their life. Some of these ladies scare me – some for obvious reasons, but some scare me away because they have expectations I can’t meet!  But I am enjoying myself and have responded to several as ‘likes’. I’m going slowly now because I’m already communicating with three at one time! Now THAT scares me!  Later in the evening, I was on Facebook Marketplace and found yet another power tool for my shop that I must have! So, I texted the guy and arranged to go look at it tomorrow.  I also asked my lady friend in Albany if she wanted to go on a day trip with me. She said yes and, after some ideas back and forth, we decided to go to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville. That’s where they moved the spruce goose. We set that up for next Wednesday.     

Friday, April 23^rd., 2021…... I had an 11:00am meeting with the guy with the bandsaw. I was out of the house with butthead and then back in with my paper and fed her and read the news. I decided to head up early and take the scenic route. Turns out, this place was about 5 miles from the last one!  Still, it was another 75-mile drive one way!  As I said, this time I was interested in a band saw. I didn’t want one of those huge ones (not yet anyway!) so this one, which is a table top model, for $60. was perfect!

It worked as it should and I bought it and loaded it up and headed back home. I was curious so I drove back down through King City, where my friend said she lives. We are planning on meeting somewhere in between if/when we get together, but I wanted to see how far each of us would drive just to see the other.  I’m so torn about meeting with different women at the same time. I certainly don’t want to hurt anyone but I guess I need to see this through.  I got back home and unloaded the saw and took Rylee out for a while and then rested for a bit. I talked with my lady friend from Lebanon and we made plans for breakfast tomorrow here in town. Tv until bedtime.

Oregon Living 2021 – Blog #27 – Out With the Ladies & Adding More Toys to My Shop

 

Friday, April 16^th., 2021……  I was up early this morning and showered and was ready to go out with the monster doggie. But sis came over with Quincy so I let her out to play with them.

We fed them and then she took Q home. I hung around the house for a bit then went to Albany. Today I was needing to go to Walmart so I stopped at the Albany location. I hit their fishing department and bought a few things and then went to Fred Meyer looking for more artwork, and also at folding step ladders. Sis got one at her last yard sale and it is still here. I like it and I want one like it, except I want a four-step, and I want it made from aluminum. Found one but now I need to check online and compare prices to see if they are cheaper there. I got back home and Butch and Penny were there. They had come over to shoot the shotgun again and were just finishing up when I got home. We visited a while and then they headed out.  I came back in the house and got back with Dominique (via text) and we decided I will go to her home and pick her up to go to breakfast. She has a window of time because she has some kids coming to help her box some stuff later on Saturday. She has to move a bunch of stuff out of her house temporarily so that an electrician can do some work. She’s trying to buy this house from the owner but it’s in bad shape and the lady is only wanting to fix a few items out of her pocket and still wants more than it’s worth. Problem is, houses are now going to bidding wars so they will sell for up to $50k more than asking. She is trying to work something out and will do the work herself IF the price is right. Later, I spent some time on Match. I have been communicating with a lady from Albany, for a few days now. It’s going well and we will probably be meeting up in the next week for coffee or breakfast. We’ll see. Meanwhile, there are a few others that I have heard from that I haven’t got back to yet. I need to decide how to proceed with this….          

Saturday, April 17^th., 2021……  I was up early from a text ‘like’ from someone on Match. But I needed to be up and moving anyway because I wanted to be on the road south by 7:30am. I walked and fed Rylee and headed out for my day. I got to Dominique’s house a few minutes early and she was outside with her dog when I pulled up.  She invited me to join their walk around the block then she put her pet in the house and we drove to Prairie Schooner.  We both had the chicken fried steak and she enjoyed it. After that, on the way home, we drove over to Lowe’s so she could pick up some boxes and tape.  I took her home and then headed back home myself. I had to let Rylee out and then came in and rested for a while.  I didn’t have anything else planned for today so I just worked on my blog, which I was behind on, and then watched motocross and Nascar races and then IndyCar qualifying for the rest of the day. I had ham and cheese and crackers for a light dinner and tapioca for dessert and I was good for the day!   

Sunday, April 18^th., 2021…… More races today, so I didn’t plan anything. Typical Sunday. I did have a text conversation with my lady friend in Albany and we are meeting for breakfast tomorrow in Albany. More on that later…

I wanted to work on my fishing tackle bag so I did that in front of the tv. That was about it for the day and the evening.      

Monday, April 19^th., 2021…... This morning I was out early with Rylee. We did our lap and I got her fed. The plan today changed from breakfast to dinner. Same place – Roger’s. So, I had the morning and afternoon free. I knew that last evening so I made arrangements to drive to Gladstone (outskirts of Portland – about 95 miles from me) to look at a Delta surface planer I saw last night on Facebook Marketplace and inquired about. We set a 10:00am meet and I headed up early, given the morning traffic. Turns out it was a lack of traffic, so I had time to stop at the 7-11 and get a soft drink before driving to his place. I ended up buying it, and also got a mounting plate thrown in as well. It runs strong so I’ll be curious to see how well it works. 

           

No plans for it yet except maybe for the barn door I want to build for the pantry. This might do that job!  I made good time getting back and had time to relax for the afternoon. I showered and set out to Albany to meet my friend. We had a nice time and dinner was good too. We ended up sitting there until they came around vacuuming the floors to close the place!  We’re both comfortable enough now after meeting to put something else together for our second date. When I got home I found I also had another one of my “likes” like me back and we texted back and forth and arranged to talk live tomorrow. More on this then….

  

Oregon Living 2021 – Blog #26 – More Trailer Work, Fishing, & Mowing Again!

 

Monday, April 12^th., 2021……  Weather is beautiful again today!  Still very cold in the early mornings, but it warms up quickly, especially in the sun!  I had Rylee out and walked and headed off to get breakfast and watched tv while I ate. After that, I had to get outside, so I moved the flatbed trailer out into the sun and went to work installing those tiedowns I bought the other day. They do take a little work because they are recessed into the decking so I have to gouge out space for them. But after the first one, I had it down.

 

Rather than screw them down, I went out and got some bolts with flat heads just to make them stronger and to make the install look better. I put one of the hold downs in today – the other three I will plan for tomorrow. I came in and rested for the day. I thought about my profile and after sleeping on it last night, I knew what I wanted to say. I got a draft going and then transferred to my new Match profile. I published my profile and set my search parameters and that allowed me to see the profiles for all in those parameters. But because I hadn’t formally registered or had given them any PayPal authorization yet, I couldn’t respond to them or hit ‘like’ yet.  But I guess they could see my first profile attempt and I immediately got 3 likes. Once I got set up, I could view them. This is going to be an experience, that’s for sure!      

Tuesday, April 13^th., 2021…… The weather here is amazing!  It will be in the mid-70s for the week and then will go up into the 80s for the weekend!  SoCal weather!  Mornings are still cold but getting better! Temps in the 40s until the sun is out for an hour or so. I left the house around 8:30 to go to the hospital for labs which they needed before my infusion can be scheduled. After that I stopped and got breakfast and after relaxing at home for a while, I took off and headed over to Ace Hardware to get some more hooks for the trailer. I was back in time to meet up with Kirk.  Today I had him spray all around the perimeters and grass edging for weed control. I always have a hard time keeping Rylee in for that! I think I can mow again this week and sis will come over on Thursday to help with that.  Later, I went over to Walmart and got some fishing hooks and new line for my rods. Since the weather is so nice, I am going to Foster Lake tomorrow!       

Wednesday, April 14^th., 2021……  Today was fishing day!  I was up early and got Rylee walked and fed. I want to take her with me one of these times but will wait until I have another set of eyes to keep an eye on her. I went and got breakfast and coffee and continued on to Foster. I have a special spot that I found and it was empty so I hiked down to there and got set up. I needed my sweats and a sweatshirt for most of the morning because the pine trees blocked the sun and it was windy. I didn’t have the best of luck (caught and released four pan-sized trout) but I was just glad to be out! On the way back, I checked out another favorite spot and will hit that one next time. I got back home and let butthead out while I got all my gear cleaned up and stowed away. I came in and showered and rested for a while.  But before that, I texted back and forth with Dominique and we set up our breakfast outing in Eugene on Saturday. More details on Friday.  While I was texting, I let Rylee outside and she immediately saw this! (you’ll need to zoom in).

She left it alone but her barking scared it off. Later, I went off to Jack in the Box and picked up a burger for dinner and settled in and watched tv. It was the finale of Tough as Nails and I wasn’t surprised with the winner. I picked Scott as one of my two favorites and gave him the edge at the beginning. But sometimes even the toughest player gets into a task that’s not in his/her wheelhouse and they could falter and could get eliminated.  But Scott survived and went on to easily win the final contest. In addition to the money he won with his team, he won $200,000. and a new Ford F150 truck. As far as The Masked Singer went, I had no clue for The Orca. Mark McGrath is apparently the lead singer of the band called Sugar Ray. Don’t know him or the band, so I was lost.      

Thursday, April 15^th., 2021…...  Today was mowing day. I made myself a couple of breakfast burritos and watched some taped tv shows, then went out and got the lawn tractor out and fueled up for sis when she comes. My mower was gassed up from last time. For both mowers, this time I set the blades to 2 ½ inches, down from the 3 ½ inches from last time, and began. I was really surprised how much grass I got from doing that!  I filled up the truck in no time at all so I left two sections of the yard in the front and side for my sister to mow. There is no catcher on that mower. While she finished that up and did the rest of the field grass, I got the tarp on the grass I had loaded and the net over that and got the rakes loaded up and when she finished, we took off and went to dump. While we were there, she looked into yard mix for the flower beds in her back yard.  She will have Kirk get whatever she chooses and he and Justin will get it laid in in the next few weeks. On the way home I stopped at a food truck I hadn’t seen before. They are called 3 Potato More. I stopped and we checked it out. They make potato dishes, like mashed potatoes with any/all of 8 different add-on toppings. They also had a dish which was 3’s - Mac and Cheese served in a potato skin, baked in olive oil and salt with a really creamy homemade cheese sauce and sprinkled with add-ons - pork, beef, chicken, veggies, etc. if you want. We came home and sis went back home and I hung around the house for a while, took my shower, fed Rylee, then headed off to go get a 3’s, with bacon bits. I brought it home and ate. It was delicious and I scarfed up every morsel! Probably not the healthiest dish I could choose – but what the heck, it was tasty!  I watched tv until bedtime. 

Oregon Living 2021 – Blog #25 – Getting Deliveries From Wayfair and Amazon & Getting the Truck Finished

  

Thursday, April 8^th., 2021……  Another gloomy day. It sprinkled last night. There is light rain forecast for this morning. Sis and I are coordinating around the weather to get those two storage cabinets she got at a recent estate sale moved from the temporary location in my rv garage to her house. There was a break in the weather, so I loaded them up in my truck and went over to unload them and set them up in place in her garage. I’m sure they will get filled up quickly. Never turn down storage! Once that was done, I came back home and moved around some rugs. The rug in front of my washer/dryer got moved out to the garage. The bathroom rug got moved into the washer/dryer area. It is a 5x7 and fits that entry area rather nicely. I cut out the carpet where the floor heater register is so it looks like it’s always been there. The main reason for these moves is so that I could put the new rug in the master bathroom. I had picked this online from Wayfair so I was worried I wouldn’t like the color. Turns out it’s exactly what I wanted!

         

It looks really nice in there. It’s 5x8 and just fits lengthwise from door to tub, which I like. I got the house cleaned up a bit because Dominique was coming by to say hello. She was one of Lydia’s home care providers and we both took a liking to her right away. She was ending her workday here in Lebanon and texted asking how I was doing so we set up a time to meet. I remember fondly when she stopped in last time right after Lydia’s passing to check on me. Penny and Jody were here then and after we talked for a bit, we asked if she was interested in looking through Lydia’s clothes because they were about the same size. At that time, she got a small wardrobe which I was extremely happy to see. Today, we talked for almost two hours. It is so nice to have someone in the house that isn’t related, just to talk to! I asked her if she would like to look through what I have left of Lydia’s clothes and get some more items. She found a couple of pairs of shoes and a few tops that she liked that fit her well. I know Lydia would have been very happy to see her get these – rather than giving them to a goodwill or a salvation army store. I will eventually do that, maybe teen challenge or something similar, but I want to see what her friends in Calif. might want when they come visit. Anyway, we had a nice visit and I will be inviting her to join me for breakfast next time I go down to Eugene where she lives.      

Friday, April 9^th., 2021……  Today I had my scheduled acupuncture appointment with Bonnie so I was up early and walked Rylee so I could go do that. After the visit, I headed off to the Toyota dealership in Corvallis to get some clips for the new bumper. These are plastic and are going to replace the old ones that are now 20 years old. When I inquired, the seller on Ebay said the clips would not be included in the order, so I thought I’d see if Toyota stocked them. I got six and found they were pricey at a total of $25.24!  When I got home, I found I had received a UPS delivery. I received another JCPenney's order and also the grill showed up! I opened the packages of clothes from Penneys and got those in the washer. I rested for a bit and then went out with the grill and checked the fit. Turns out those plastic clips were included, so I will be taking the others back for a refund! I think it took me about 30 minutes to get the grill and the remaining sidelights installed and everything was looking good!

             

I just need to check it at night to see if the headlights need any adjustments or not. Later, sis dropped off Quincy for a sleepover. She and Janice were heading off early tomorrow morning to an annual yard sale in Salem, so I got Q for the night and tomorrow.          

Saturday, April 10^th., 2021……  Today, the weather was cloudy and threatened to rain, which was in the forecast. I took both Q and the butthead out for a walk/run before it was too wet for that. I got them both fed and then headed off to Eugene. It was short notice and Dominique wasn’t available for breakfast but I stopped anyway at my new favorite place – Prairie Schooner – for chicken fried steak!  This was the place Butch took us to last month and I was going to Jerry’s hardware just down the street anyway so why not?  It was as good as I remembered,

but this time I just couldn’t finish the steak.  After that nice meal, I headed to Jerry’s and looked around. I was going to buy rock salt but remembered that I had just stocked up, so I just walked around and looked. They have the best tool section I have ever seen! They have table saws on display that cost $8,000.00!  I don’t need one of those but hey, I can always look!  They have every electric tool known to man plus even stock Festool, which is a highline tool brand (that I can’t afford!) that you don’t see anywhere except on the tv remodel shows. I looked at their DeWalt display but turned away without anything. I left there and stopped at Tractor Supply on the way to Corvallis, where I returned my fasteners at the Toyota dealership. One more stop at Coastal Farm and Ranch where I had seen tie-downs for the new trailer that I spotted a few weeks ago, so I picked those up.  Once back home, I relaxed and watched the newest Mecum Auctions, which started Thursday from Houston. Sis came by later and got Quincy and I fixed Rylee’s dinner and then went out to the Hangry food truck and brought back a baked potato with chili and cheese for my dinner. I watched more tv until bedtime. Nascar races were rained out and will be on tomorrow.

Sunday, April 11^th., 2021….. No rain today and none forecast for all of this coming week!  Yaay!  I don’t need to mow quite yet but I will keep that in my plans for maybe the end of the week. I made myself some ham and eggs for breakfast and hung around the house all day. The races were back on plus I had motocross from yesterday plus the rest of the auctions to watch – so I wasn’t bored! I made a couple of sandwiches for a late lunch and later put a chicken pot pie in the oven for dinner. I won’t eat again until tomorrow morning after my upcoming labs which are required prior to my infusion. My doctor has also asked for a full panel prior to my upcoming visit with him, so they have added that to the blood draw.  Oh yeah, I got a letter yesterday from my doctor saying he is accepting another position within the group and will be cutting back on his patients. Yep, I’m on his cut list!  I have now been assigned to an FNP – a Family Nurse Practitioner. Not quite a doctor but FNPs are allowed to exam, diagnose, and treat - very similar to a doctor. I guess I will go to my already scheduled appointment and meet her and see if I am comfortable with her moving forward. Options are to keep her or ask for a new provider.   

News flash!  -   I have been giving some thought for a while about going on to a dating website, maybe Match or eHarmony. It’s coming up on eleven months now so I think it’s time - and a lot of folks like me are feeling that we’re close to getting back out there regularly again soon. Plus, most folks my age will have already had both of their covid shots. I checked out Match and read up on their policies. I think I may put together a profile in the next few days. Tv until bedtime. 

Oregon Living 2021 – Blog #24 – Finally Getting to Mow!

 

Sunday, April 4^th., 2021……  HAPPY EASTER!  Another really spectacular day! I was up and out with Rylee and made myself a nice breakfast. I really had nothing planned for today. So, I decided to take a drive up to Foster Lake. Now that the boat is ready, I wanted to check out the water level and the dock area. Even though the day was beautiful, there were hardly any people on Foster. The water level is way down right now. Shoreline areas that I usually fish from are now 10 feet farther from the water! I drove on past and went to Green Peter Reservoir (yeah, that’s the name!). This one is way bigger than Foster and runs into it via a dam. They still have the lake level up close to normal but it looks like they are about to let it out to go to Foster pretty soon. The problem here is that at the one launch area that I like, they, for some reason, have pulled the boat dock out of the water!  I will have to go back and check on it before I bring the boat up there. I got back home and rested for the day. I decided to go get dinner out today. I chose Jack in the Box and came back and ate.  Tv until bedtime.  

Monday, April 5^th., 2021……  This morning would have been my acupuncture appointment with Bonnie but she called last night and said she was under the weather. We rescheduled. I was still up early and showered and got out with Rylee. Then I went off to get breakfast and kept going. I wanted to go get some treats for butthead, so I headed off to Corvallis to go to Pet Smart. I also needed to go find a spark plug for my McCullough chain saw, so I stopped at Home Depot for that.  I didn’t have the plug with me so I will have to come back! Duuhh!  When I got back, I walked the yard again to check on the mushy-ness. It was looking better! I thought I would get the zero turn out and test it on the area just outside next to the garage. Problem was the truck is out of commission for now, so what would I do with the clippings?  I re-visited that truck issue again and decided that since the light assemblies needed to go on first, I could just install those for now. Then it would be legal to drive. So, I finished that up and moved the truck out and got the plastic tarp put in the bed. I needed to string trim around the perimeter first and then got the mower out and cut the grass. I have a three-bagger system on my new zero turn and was surprised when I emptied it that two out of the three were full from just that little area!  I’m probably going to have to make a few trips to the recycle place with the grass when I mow for this first time!  I got everything cleaned up and was done for the day. I plan on mowing tomorrow. Tuesday, April 6^th., 2021…… I rested in bed for a few extra minutes this morning but eventually got up and going. It was chilly out on our walk but the sun was already out and there were no clouds so I knew it would warm up quickly. I waited until about 11:30 or so and then went out and did some more string trimming prior to mowing. Yesterday was the first time I was able to use the new DeWalt 20v trimmer that Randy got me for my birthday last year. Out of habit, I put on my eye and hearing protection but didn’t need the ear protection because this is a quiet electric motor! It made quick work of the task today and I was ready to mow. But first, I had to get out the long extension ladder and get it set up for Kirk. I was going to have him clean out one section of my rain gutters that have taken on their own life!  There are plants and small trees growing up out of the dirt in one corner of the gutter next to the house! 

I had seen this last year but it recently just took off.  Now it needs to be cleaned out.  So, I got the extension ladder out and set up. I decided to go take a look and climbed up there. Turns out it was just a section about 18 inches long and was super easy to just roll out! I carried it down and took a picture of it to show Kirk.

 

Then I started in on the mowing. It took me about 2 hours to get everything done. I turned up the cut on the mower so I wouldn’t kill the grass. That was also a plus because I didn’t have too much grass to dump. I got everything loaded up in the truck just as Kirk came back. He and Justin had another job and were using Justin’s dump trailer for lawn debris. He said they would take my grass too!  They moved everything from my truck to theirs and headed off. I put a $20.00 bill in his truck so they could got get lunch. I was done for the day.      

Wednesday, April 7^th., 2021…... This morning the weather changed a bit. It was so nice yesterday and then today was cloudy and cooler. I knew this was coming so that’s why I mowed yesterday!  I walked butthead and then took off to get breakfast and then went on to Albany to Lowes and Home Depot. I was looking for a spark plug for my chain saw (yes, I had the old one this time!) and also a board to use to build a shelf in my office. Later, I worked on straightening up in the shop after my truck light project in there. Still waiting on the grill to arrive (scheduled for Fri.).  I came back in and read my email from my doctor about my Reclast infusion. They have had such problems getting this coordinated!  I called the infusion center and they hadn’t seen any orders from the doctor, so back to them again! It’s unusual for this to happen because they have always been so organized.  I made grilled beef and cheese sandwiches for dinner and settled in later and watched Tough as Nails and The Masked Singer. I am holding strong on Bobby Brown as The Crab and Nick Lachey as Piglet. I have been waiting for Nick Cannon to emerge and figured he would show up in some corny way, so when The Bulldog came out and sang, I thought it was his voice. I was sure I had figured it out when there was no voting. Niecy Nash, who was filling in for him as the host, said she would eliminate the singer tonight. That was my sure thing!   After watching both programs, I called it a night.    

Oregon Living 2021 – Blog #23 – Working on the Trailer and the Truck

 

Wednesday, March 31^st., 2021……  The plan today was to go find the locking pins for the trailer. After walking and feeding Rylee, I drove off to Albany and went to Lowes and then to Home Depot. Nothing there so I went to the Walmart in Albany. Nope. I headed back home and stopped at the local Walmart. They had what I wanted but didn’t have two with the same keys. At Home Depot, I bought a six-foot piano hinge and was ready to design and build that mirror system in the house garage. With the two-car garage, one door is almost always open and the other almost always closed. It’s hard to explain but with the mirror, I will be able to see out from my doorway and, with the mirror, will be able to spot a vehicle in the driveway. The piano hinge is because the mirror will be adjustable plus the electrical panel is on the wall behind it so I will need access to that. I got the hinge partially installed and then called it a day. I heated up the leftover ravioli and watched Tough as Nails and then The Masked Singer before calling it a night. I had no clue as to Grandpa Monster.  Logan Paul - some YouTuber or somebody.  I think The Piglet could be Nick Lachey. I don’t remember who guessed Bobby Brown as The Crab but after hearing his voice, I’m sure they are right. I’m still working on the others.   

Thursday, April 1^st., 2021……  Sis came by early this morning to walk Quincy. She has a 9:30am appointment today for her second covid vaccine. We had enough time so we went to Kevin’s for breakfast. While we were there, I texted Randy asking him where he got the lock for the trailer. He said he stopped and got it at a Camping World on the way up. After a nice meal, we got back home and Sis left Q and I worked on my latest blog while she was gone. After that, I worked on my bills and then went on to MyChart to inform my doctors that I have had my covid shots and also to ask about getting my osteoporosis infusion. Later, I took off and headed down to Camping World in Eugene to look for the locks. They didn’t even have one in stock!  So, I decided to go check the Eugene Walmart and managed to find them there. Yaay! I got back home and rested for a bit. Before long, it was time for dinner. I don’t know if you’ve seen those 3-packs of u-bake sourdough bread at Costco or not, but I decided to try them. Back in my Boeing Records Center days, we had this guy and his catering truck who would come around to our building in the mornings and his cook would make the BEST fried egg and sausage sandwiches. She used baguettes of sourdough bread and they were humongous! And delicious. So, I decided to try to make one tonight. I baked the loaf per the instructions, and cooked up some turkey sausage and fried an egg. I cut off a generous hunk of bread and assembled a huge sandwich. It was very tasty. And filling. I settled in and watched tv until calling it a night around 10:00pm.       

Friday, April 2^nd., 2021…… This morning I woke to another beautiful day!  The mornings are still a little chilly but warm up quickly. Today, it was going to get to the high 60s!   Rylee’s drag strip is now dried up. That means the lawn is getting closer to being mowed. Just not quite yet. With the nice sunny weather, I wanted to work outside for the day. So, I finished putting the hinge on the mirror and got it to the garage and in position to install. It is pretty heavy so I had to prop it up before filling in all of the screws on the wall bracket. I managed to get it installed and adjusted. I can now see out from the entry door. I parked the car out in the driveway in front of the other door so you can see my view out from my door steps. You may have to zoom in to see more... 

 

Next task was to add some power strips to the shop garage. I chose to put them on the steel racks and drilled them out and screwed to the beams. Then I headed in to the workshop and installed a new work light above my workbench. Those new 4' led shop lights work so well, I think I might add some others throughout my shop! After that, I cleaned up the room a little (still more to do) and brought Rylee in and we both rested a bit. I cut up the rest of the sourdough and had that for lunch. Later, for dinner, I only wanted something light, so I ate the remaining cobb salad before it expired.     

Saturday, April 3^rd., 2021….. Nothing on the agenda for today. But I wanted to be outside again so I chose to drill out the trailer for those locks. That went pretty easily

 

so I started in on taking the Toyota headlights out and installing the new ones. You can see the difference from old to new…

          

     

I decided to go ahead and order a new grill while I had everything apart. It should be here on Friday so I won’t plan on driving the truck until then.  Once that was done, I came in and kicked back for the day. There are no races or auctions (or anything else!) this Easter weekend, so I was able to catch up on some of my taped programs. I have started watching reruns of the 2015/16 series - The Librarians. The library annex that they use in the show is supposedly in the pillar of an old bridge. That bridge is the St. Johns Bridge and is here in the Portland area. I did some research and found they also shot many episodes in the local area. So, I have been watching with a renewed interest, paying attention to the locations. The latest one I watched was shot at the power plant at the Willamette Falls in Oregon City. This is a very picturesque site that I always show folks on the way to the Portland airport. 

For dinner, I decided to go out to Taco Bell. Once I got back and ate, I settled in for the evening and watched tv until bedtime.    

Oregon Living 2021 – Blog #22 – Enjoying the Sunshine and Working Around the House

 

Saturday, March 27^th., 2021……  Another stunning day! I was up and out with Rylee and did our walk. The sun was out and the winds were non-existent so after I got back from getting my breakfast, I loaded up butthead and we drove over to Cheadle Lake for another adventure. This time we went from one end to the other (probably 2 miles round trip).  I still have more to take in but I’ll save that for next time.  After relaxing a while, I went out and pulled the boat out of the garage (into the sunlight!) and put the last two seats in. Then I cleaned out the tools, loaded back the anchor and ropes and the life preservers, and re-installed the bimini top, and then covered it up and finally moved it back under the carport, where it belongs. I re-installed the jack on the new trailer and that was done. I just need to get some material to wrap the trailer wiring into a harness.  I hosed down Rylee (again) and came back in for a while.   My neighbors all are out working in their yards. Three of the six are mowing today!  Dang it!  My grass is way too wet for that. I’m always the last one on my block to get to mow. Oops, I forgot about one - the neighbor to my right in the Victorian, who doesn’t mow at all and always waits until the end of summer to have someone mow his three-foot-high weeds! I watched my auctions and then turned on the tape of the Bristol Nascar truck race. Only I found out they are having trouble with the dirt that they added for this weekend and they won’t race until they figure out how to not blow the right rear tires off of the vehicles which sliding around on the dirt will cause. It’s on hold until tomorrow along with the Cup race. I hope they figure it out! But I still had plenty of hours of Barrett-Jackson to watch. I ate leftover pizza for a late lunch and just had a salad for dinner.       

Sunday, March 28^th., 2021……  Nothing planned for today. I made coffee and had scrambled eggs for breakfast and hung around the house for most of the day. Rain is forecast but not anything big this time. I think we’ve seen the last of the large fronts. I hope anyway!  I need some time with clear skies so my yard will dry out! My Nascar races were rained out today and rescheduled for tomorrow morning.

Monday, March 29^th., 2021……  I had a few tasks to complete today so I was up and out early with Rylee. I then headed off to Albany to Lowes and Home Depot and Harbor Freight. I was looking for ramps for the new trailer. The ones that were included are four foot long. They are heavy duty and store well under the trailer, but just don’t make it easy for the tractor to load on. The blade assembly, even though I can adjust it up as high as it will go, will high center when it gets to the top of the ramp. A longer set of ramps will make the angle better. Harbor Freight has them so I picked up a pair. I got them home and was going to assemble the angle iron on the end but didn’t like the hex bolts as you have to run over them. I thought carriage bolts would work better. I will head off tomorrow to get those.  Nascar races and taped programs until bedtime.

Tuesday, March 30^th., 2021…… I took off again this morning and went to Walmart for a few things. After that, I drove back to meet up with Kirk. I was going to have him clean the gutters on the house but couldn’t remember that so I had him and Justin clean up my compost pile in the woods behind my property. It actually is part of the property but is on the other side of my little creek. Over the years, I have had the guys dump all of the clippings and weeds out there where it would just blend in but they mostly piled it up just over the creek, so I asked them to go back and spread it out, Kirk says I have a ton of usable compost so my sister will want to come get some for work she is planning for her flower beds in the near future. I came back in and rested for a while. I had decided to go ahead and hit Wilco to get those bolts for the trailer ramps and came back and drilled out so they would fit. They are done and should work well. You can see the difference from the short one.   

I just need to figure out a way to lock them on the trailer bed. I thought about it and will get some coupler locks like Randy bought for the trailer hitch on the trip up here. They should do the job. I came in and rested for the day. Later, I made spinach and lobster ravioli for dinner. It looked good and tasted great!

 

Tv until bedtime.