Testing Christmas Presents

James spent last night with us. Today he and Parker were out testing James' Christmas presents.


The scooter made several trips between the charger and the driveway.

The boys had a great time doing wheelies with Razor electric scooter.

James with his new Powerwing

Powerwing wheelie?

Parker zipping along, it is fast enough that I am not getting on it.

At noon, Barry and Mona came down to pickup their Bunnies from Bev. Bev, Debbie and Josh brought the bunnies up to our place for the transfer. We had a pizza lunch and a nice visit with everyone.

I did a funny one at the store yesterday, we had brought some groceries at Sentry and were checking out. I swiped my debit card and entered my pin number and it came back denied. I looked at the card and I had pulled an Applebee's gift card out that was next to my debit card.

More Snow!

More snow this afternoon, great big flakes that floated down real slow. James went out and was catching them on his tongue. By the time it got dark we had about an inch. James went to Will's basketball game, when he got back a snowball fight had been arranged with the cousins. They had a great time, David, Laury, Dianne, Auna, Parker, Gracie and Max were out with James. There must be a couple of inches now and it was snowing like mad when I took the pictures.

Sunday 12 27 Flying

I did make it flying today, the sun was shining on the Mt Rainier and Mt St Helens. The only problem was none of it was hitting the flying field so it was pretty chilly. It was not long before I had my new heater out and put on my Carhart Arctic Work Suit. I was real comfortable after that! Four other flyer's showed up also and we had a pretty good day. The winds were light to none all day. I forgot to take pictures of the planes I flew, but I did get some pictures of our excitement for the day. One flyer was testing a new plane and made a high speed dive. We heard a noise and pieces flew off the plane. It had lost most of one stabilizer and one elevator was sticking straight down. After he slowed down the plane flew pretty well and he was able to bring it in for a landing. Needless to say, that part will be lots stronger after he repairs it.


Right after loosing the left stabilizer.

You can see the elevator sticking straight down at the rear.

He made a great landing!

This story will probably get told several times at the field and get better with each telling.

After I got home we made another run up to Vera's sisters and she is doing better. Then it was back home to watch the Seahawks recording, that was a waste of time! I am ready for a new Quarterback and Coach.

Saturday, a busy day!

What a beautiful day Saturday was! I built on my B-36 most of the day. Vera got a call from her sister, she had fallen and needed some help doing a couple of things, so we ran to Chehalis and picked it up. Traffic was a little crazy, everyone gets real impatient going through that area of two lane freeway. We ran up again in the evening and there was still lots of traffic, but they were not driving nearly as crazy. Maybe the darkness calmed them down.

Today is looking good for a little flying after it warms up. Maybe I will have some airplane pictures on here later.

Christmas Day

Mik, Michelle and James Tree.

Two Great Prime Ribs about to come out of the oven

Mik slicing up the first Prime Rib.

We had a great Christmas Day! Mik, Michelle and James made the best tasting Prime Rib. It melted in your mouth! Everyone brought their specialty, so there was lots of good food and treats around. Everyone was in a great mood and it was fun visiting with them.

Vera and I got a set of outdoor speakers, so I am going to have to finish the wiring I put in about 10 years ago. It already runs out to the deck from the entertainment center so I just have to add jacks and a wall plate.

It sure is great when you can spend such an enjoyable day with family and friends.

Christmas Eve

What a great evening! The kids are growing up so fast! The gift exchange sure had lots of laughter during it this year. There were some really nice gifts, I never saw what I would consider a White Elephant. The food was delicious as usual. For a change, I did not over eat. I will probably make up for that tomorrow.

Hope you had a very Merry Christmas!

Alan

Christmas Food!

There is what I did today, sheeted the lower side of a wing. Vera made fudge, a recipe that has honey in it. I got to lick the bowl and I must say it turned out good. Of course that is all I get until Christmas!

We did go out once, made a mail run and picked up some supplies for Vera's Christmas Crab Casserole.

I am looking forward to Christmas and not just for the food.

Christmas Lights

After eating at the 49'er tonight we went driving around Castle Rock looking at Christmas lights. I think we enjoyed this one the most.

Saturday, Jackie came up and spent the afternoon. Her computer is having issues and I tried to fix it without any success. I did get all her data off the hard drive.

Sunday was pretty laid back, football and building models. I came in once and Vera had just finished chocolate chip cookies made from scratch. I got four of them, the rest are for Christmas.

Best day in ages

I had my last day of therapy on Thursday. It is not bothering me now, but I am going to keep up the exercises. I also went to see Dr Turner about my knee. I ended up getting a cortisone shot in it. I can not believe how good it feels today. Hopefully it will last through Christmas and then the next time it flares up, I am going in and get it rebuilt. Thursday evening we went to James first band concert. The kids did great! I posted a video on You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBtmIJRBOVI

Afterwards it was off to Coldstone, I think I have a new favorite, Founders Choice made with Peanut Butter ice cream.

Only 6 more shopping days left!

More therapy

More Therapy today, the shoulder is getting much better. I made up a rope and pulley system like one they have me using. I used it this weekend to workout and I think it helped. Today they had me do some more exercises that I can do at home. After Therapy, we did a little shopping at Fred Meyer and headed home. About 15 or 20 minutes and the knee was ready to quit. I don't normally look forward to doctor appointments, but I am ready to see the orthopedic surgeon on Thursday. I understand the new knees are good for 25 years, 70 + 25 = 95, which would be great!

Hope you stayed dry today!

Weekend

We had a good weekend. James spent Friday night with us, so I got in more practice on the Xbox. Sometimes, I think I am getting it figured out. Jack and Marsha brought over a Christmas gift with popcorn in it that Vera and James made in the old fashion way, in a pan on the stove. It got exciting when we poured it into the bowl as a few more kernels popped and popcorn was flying everywhere. James played his favorite song on the piano several times for us while he was here. I will put a link to it on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-qTI3_pb2I

Sunday we went to James' basketball games and then headed home for a little R&R (watching football), icing the knee and heat on the shoulder.

Today is our Christmas present wrapping day, which went very well and we are all done.

Playing with Ice

I picked up James like normal on Fridays. We had made arrangements for him to stay the night. So we went and picked up his clothes and Xbox. When we got home he went right over to check the pond ice I had been telling him about. It did not take long and he was out on it.

After we ate and James played on the pond some more, he wanted to go see if there was ice on the creek. There was, but not as much as the pond.

With in a minute James was flat on his back, the ice was really slippery! Then he got a rock and worked on breaking some off. He sent most of the piece he fell on floating down the creek.

He busted off this piece from the one behind him by jumping on it. Then he ventured further upstream and tried to break off another shelf of ice. It broke when he jumped on it, but he slipped and went in about knee deep. I told him it was time to head back before the cold set in. As he was climbing up one glove froze to the bridge rail. He thought that was neat so he stuck the other one on there also. I swapped gloves with him so he could drive the 4 wheeler and we headed back. It was a big adventure and we had a good time.

Short video here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfmRhk5DwN4

Sounds like tomorrow may be nasty, be careful out there.

Therapy

More therapy on my shoulder today. I had a new therapist today. For a small lady, she sure is strong. I did not know my arm would go the far up. I got a real workout today! It is helping, I have a better range of movement and it is not waking me up at night when I roll over onto it.

Afterwards, Vera and I went to the Country Village for lunch and then hit Fred Meyer to pick up a few things. The therapy must have tired me out as I sat down to put some heat on the shoulder and ice on the knee when we got home and ended up taking a big nap. Watched the Steelers get beat, not much of a crowd there with the wind chill making it -21.

Hope you got a chance to enjoy the beautiful sunshine today.

Alan

Ice keeps growing and the Duck is stuck

Well the Duck is really stuck now. He is going to be there until it thaws, if that ever happens.

Where the water bubbles up for the pond sure froze into a pretty shape. The birds land on it and get drinks out of some holes in it.

Every day there is less of the water fall showing. I fully expect not to see it one of these mornings.

No one has been out behind the house since it snowed, so about half of it is still there. Quiet day here today, I did a little building on the plane, packed a couple of buckets of hot water out to the pond and scanned a picture of the twins. We had biscuits and honey a little while ago, now that was really a treat.

Stay Warm!

More Ice

Boy did the pond and waterfall develop some serious ice last night. Our low was 6.7 degrees so everything is freezing, I had to empty the small fountain after I poured hot water in it to melt the ice. The pump was making all kinds of noise. I think the cold got to the wireless outdoor temperature by where I am sitting as it reads -85.6 degrees. Now it went blank, it does show sunshine so it is getting something right. I went to therapy on my shoulder this morning, it seems to be helping as it has not woke me up for the last couple of nights. Afterwards Vera and I went to Applebee's for lunch, their 7 oz sirloin on the 2 for $20 is great! UPS showed up again today, we are going to have to start wrapping soon.

Hope you are staying warm.

Building Planes

Boy is it cold, 14 when I came in from the shop tonight. The cold weather did make the waterfall look nice, but it froze the duck in the ice. We have had that decoy forever is seems, we found it years ago while looking for a lost airplane at the Goble field.

What I have been doing the last couple of days when I have time. The right wing for the 108 inch B-36. It is taking longer to plan out the details than it will probably take to build it. Perfect project for these cold days.

Today we did our Christmas cards and got them mailed. UPS showed up with more presents and one of Vera's was at the post office. My team won on Monday Night Football so all is well around here.
Therapy on my shoulder is helping, I slept all of last night without it waking me up. Another appointment tomorrow and then off for lunch somewhere with Vera.

Game Day

James making a basket this morning.

James getting a rebound.

James waiting to go into the Game.

He hustled today, made some baskets, good passes and had a couple of steals of passes. Lots of fun to watch, this being a grand parent is great.

We stopped and picked up a Papa Murphy's stuffed pizza on the way home to try out the new oven. Good excuse! and it turned out great, they were never done even in the old one. It was snowing out a little while ago, small flakes so we may not get much.

Therapy

I am doing this on the laptop, so no pictures today.
Boy was it cold this morning, I had an 8:30 therapy appointment for my shoulder. I ran the van for 15 minutes and still had to scrap the windows. I spent almost 2 hours getting evaluated, doing exercises and getting treatments. I treated myself to a Burgerville Chocolate/hazelnut milkshake afterwards. A little shopping and I headed home and did a little work at M&M's rental (I was a failure, it still doesn't work). I decided it was time to drain the hoses and cover the outlets as most of the lows are forecast to be in the 20's. I am sure enjoying the heat pump and the pellet stove in the shop. I got the parts for my new plane, so it is back to work on it.

Sunday Flying

Sunday I went flying at Toledo. Once the clouds burned off it was a great day for flying. The winds were light to calm all day. I got in 15 flights while I was there. Then it was home to watch the Seahawks I had recorded, good to see them win! My knee was really sore after being on it all day. Ice and heat were the order of the night. I will be glad when the 17th. gets here and I can see the Doctor again.

Black Friday and Saturday

I spent most of Black Friday in front of the computer shopping the ads. Nice and relaxed compared to what I saw when I picked up James. I ended up getting 3/4 of our Christmas shopping done.

James all set to do a little Xboxing. He spent Friday night with us. I played some Xbox with him, hard work I was all tensed up after playing for a while.

Saturday James had a game at Kelso. He had just made a foul shot in the picture above.

James 24 making a basket during their first game Saturday. He had lots of support, Emmy, Steve and Dianne, Mik and Michelle and Vera and I were there watching him. After the game we went over to Mik, Michelle and James for a turkey dinner which was great.

I'm Full

Today, we met the family at Noon for dinner at the Mansion.
The view of SW Longview from the Mansion.

We were on the Sun Porch and it was real nice, there were walls on 3 sides of us so we were not bothered by other groups.

My girls, everyone was in a great mood today.

James and Gage, they were having a great time with the camera taking strange colored pictures.

Mik and Elle, I think she wore out his knee bouncing. The food was great and there was lots of variety. I had lots of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, I did put a few broccoli and cucumbers on my plate to make it legal. Talk about desserts, I had apple tart, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate cake and another piece of pie that was real good, but I don't know what it was. I missed some, but there was just no space left in the old tummy, I am still full 6 hours later. Probably no evening snack for me.

Hope you had a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Alan

Starting to look like Christmas

We got our first decoration today. A nice Poinsettia for Vera from Mik, Michelle and James. I took off early this morning and met one of the flyers for coffee (well Coke for me) at Burger King in Longview. He had a transmitter I was thinking about buying, but it turned out to be the wrong model. After visiting for an hour and a half, we went out to Willow Grove and flew a few flights. What a nice day by the water. Then a stop on the way home to visit Michelle and James as they started their long weekend. Since then, it has been a pretty laid back day, mainly in my recliner reading. Boy are there lots of Black Friday Ads from everywhere online, 35 or so in my inbox at Yahoo.

Turkey tomorrow at the Mansion with the family, I am really looking forward to it.

Have a nice Thanksgiving!

Alan

Beautiful Day

What a nice day to be outside! I mowed this afternoon, well really I bagged leaves, maple seeds , fir limbs and cedar branch's that had blown off. There are not many leaves or seeds left after the winds of last week so this may be the last mowing for a while. As I was mowing the thought came to me that I should have taken a before picture to go along with this after one. Vera blew off the decks and we both worked on cleaning the pond. Then it was off for a bite to eat, get the mail and take a short drive sight seeing. We ate at Lions Pride Park and watched the river, it is real pleasant there. The knee was a little sore so I sat down to put some heat on it when we got home. That turned into a big fat nap!

Hope I can sleep tonight!

Finally!

It took most of the day, but I finally got all 46 ribs for my new plane cut out. I got the building board out and laid out the plans for one wing so I could look at them and see how they are going to fit. Watched a little football and recorded the Seahawks, but I will probably just delete it after seeing the score. Texted with James for a while this morning, their power was out. It sounded like we were surrounded by outages.

Knee

Every time I took a step today, I was thinking about my knee and how much better it felt. I was on it quite a bit today and no major problems. Hope it continues on like this. I started on a diet, nothing special just smaller portions to see if I can't take a little load off the knee.

I had a nice visit with Barry on the phone this morning. He may have mentioned a couple of time that he was outside enjoying the sunshine and that it gets up into the 70's. We will really appreciate it when we finally get some next year.

Thursday

Up early for a doctors appointment, even set the alarm(dang I hate that thing). The knee has been feeling pretty good so I tested it yesterday and managed to get it a little sore. I am looking into a procedure that restores the joint fluid. I have another appointment in 4 weeks when I hope to start on it.

Power was out for a while this afternoon, the wind has really been blowing! I puttered in the shop rewiring some batteries and testing a new battery charger. This week I started on one of this winters projects, a 101 inch wing span B-36. The first step is cutting out 46 wing ribs, I am about half done. The picture is the plane with it's designer.

Sports Sunday

Sports Sunday, that is about all that went on here today. I watched three football games and we went down and watched two of James basketball games. The pictures are a little grainy as I shoot them at a high ISO (3200).


James during his third game today at Monticello Middle school. They almost pulled this one out at the end.


James shooting a foul shoot. He did good today, he makes awesome passes. He is seeing the whole court. I enjoy watching youth basketball, in fact it is the only kind I watch.

Doctors appointment tomorrow, maybe they can find out why my knee is bothering me so much.