Wax?

Yep, wax makes boards slide together much better, I wish that I had thought of it yesterday.  I was sliding 2x6's under the deck and they were a tight fit.  On the third one, I tried oil, it helped a little, but I still did a lot of pounding.  Today I remembered wax makes things slide better, I got a candle from Vera, used the torch to heat the wood and melt the candle.  It went in half way with hardly any resistance, then I had to pound on it a little the last half, but I was done in about 10 minutes!  Vera's new shelves came today, all bent up!  I printed out the receipt and we took them back to Home Depot for a refund.  We picked up a couple of things for my projects and forgot one item we have been meaning to get.  After we got home, I finished screwing down the boards, had dinner, watched some Olympics and went out the do some more organizing in the shop.  It was really nice outside so I decided to fly the little helicopter instead.  I got in two nice flights and then went out to the shop.  I hunted everywhere for my blue masking tape, Vera came out and found it in about 2 minutes.  I must have walked by it ten times!  We got the pressure washer out so I can do the deck tomorrow.  I decided it was time to call it a day and come in here for the evening.

I am always talking about the little helicopter, this will give you an idea how small it is.  It's battery is sitting in the teaspoon, it will fly 8 minutes with that battery.

Winter Wood

After our walk this morning we went to 4 Corners Farm Store and bought a ton and a half of wood pellets.  By 10:30 we had them all stacked in the wood shed and then I started working on reinforcing the porch.  When things quit going my way on that project, I took a break and mowed the lawn.

When I finished that, I sprayed some weeds, filled the ponds, put algacide in the bigger pond and watered some plants.  Our wild flower mix that we had planted by the pond is starting to bloom and the water lilies are continuing to bloom, so it is looking good.  I finally ran out of excuses, so I went back to working on the porch.  I did not get done, but reached a good stopping point for the day.  We watched some more Olympics, then I came in to edit pictures and do my blogs, now it is off to bed so I can get up in time to walk tomorrow.

This cabinet is turning into a big job!

This is the cabinet I got.  I spent the day emptying the old shelves and making repairs to the cabinet.  One of the handles was broken, and I broke another bringing it home, so we made a run to Longview looking for a new one.  No one had anything like them, so we bought a different style.  We went to Safeway for a few things and they had flower pots at half price, so we bought two for Vera's new lavender plants.  By the end of the day, I had put the cabinet in place, but have not filled it yet.  I came in and spent the evening watching the Olympics.

Mountain Mania

We headed down to Mountain Mania this morning and the first thing we saw was Myrna with her tractor.  She uses it in tractor pulls, we have seen her several times at the Toledo Thrashing Bee.

There were lots of flower booths this year.  They had live music and Zumba in front of Bredfield's.

Just as we were cutting through the alley by the library, the Life Flight helicopter came in to land next to the fire hall (first picture), it was blowing tables and dirt everywhere, so it backed up over city hall (second picture) and hovered while they cleared stuff out, then it landed and they put it on display (third picture).

Just as we left there, we ran into Eddie who was going to be driving the old fire truck as they gave kids and adults rides, I have ridden on it several times.

I had not been to the Pastime since the folks left it, things have not changed much.

The Lavender Garden was our next stop, it sure smelled nice there.  Vera got a couple of plants for our deck.

From there we went down to the car show at the Rock Church, we checked out the cars and had lunch there.

We started going to garage sales after the car show, one of them was off Carnine Rd in a development I never knew existed.  The people at this sale were moving to Hawaii and the prices on tools were great so I picked up a saber saw. The picture is of Silver Lake as we left their place.  We saw a cabinet we liked at a garage sale, I came home, did some measuring and went back and bought it.  I spent the rest of the day rearranging my shop where I plan on putting it.

Finally Done

After our walk, a few garage sales this morning and breakfast at the 49er, I was determined to finish up the water line job.  The first thing I did under the house was seal up a hole under the guest bathroom tub that was letting in air.  Then I started getting the plywood out from under the house.  I brought the 4 wheeler over and ran the winch line under the house to pull them out, that went OK until one got hung up  and I had to unhook it and Vera pulled the other two out with the winch.  With Vera pulling and me pushing we finally got them all out.  I took a short break and then put all the skirting back on, closed up the access panel, put the tools away, had a shower, ate dinner and took a nap.

When we got home from our walk, the doe and her twin fawns were having a snack from the plum tree.  I went in and got the camera, but could never get a good picture of the fawns.

Just before I went under the house, I heard a couple of Chinook helicopters, I got a nice picture of the maple tree, but missed the helicopters.  Then I could hear them coming back, so I grabbed the camera again, but they were too far East.  I went over and sat down by the pond, pretty soon the birds came back and started taking baths in the pond bubbler. There were three or four Nuthatches taking baths.

After my nap, I was going out to fly the helicopter, as I went out the door I saw this bunny rolling around on the ground.  I thought for a minute it was hurt but then realized it was dusting itself.  I went in, got the camera again and got this picture of it rolling.

Then it got back up and dug up some more dust before rolling around some more.  When I went to tell Vera it saw me and took off.  I finally got the helicopter and made 5 flights.

Thursday Flying

Right after our walk this morning we headed to the Toledo flying field.  I was surprised when Dick, the club president, had beat us by an hour and a half, he had already flown 6 or so flights.  Leonard and Audrey showed up right after us and Ken was right behind them.  While I was putting in my first flight with the little helicopter, Bob showed up, there ended up being 9 flyers there today.  By 4 it was getting pretty warm out there, so I put in one more flight, then we loaded up and headed home at 5.

All spring we have been thinking something had gotten all the rabbits because we had not seen any.  In the last three days, we have seen them everyday.  This one was in the yard when we got home, it looks like he was enjoying the clover.

Getting closer

Tuesday 7-24

Boy was I sore this morning, I told Vera I was skipping walking today.  I called the nurse about the medicine I am taking to see what was a safe pain reliever to take, it turns out Tylenol is OK.  By the end of the day, I was feeling pretty good.  I installed a new water line to the west side of our house so we could use the hose over there.  I also got all the insulation repaired that the leak knocked down.  I am not done yet, there is at least one more trip under the house tomorrow.

Wednesday 7-25

I slept much better last night after taking the Tylenol.  Vera went to bible study this morning and I watered plants, made up the drain line for the air conditioner and charged some batteries.  After Vera got home, we headed to Longview for my monthly Protime check.  I drew a number at the nurses station and I was the next one, I barely got the phone turned on before they called me, we were in and  out in about 5 minutes.  Then it was off to Home Depot for a fitting I needed for the drain line.  We also ended up with Restore for one of our decks, just what we need, another project.  I was getting low on cereal, so we went to Fred Meyer, we ended up having lunch there before picking up the things we needed.  After we got home, I finally ran out of excuses for not going under the house, so I went under and installed the drain line and sealed up an air leak with foam.  I am going to pull the plywood out next session and button things up.

As I was coming in from the shop tonight, I spotted the moon showing up really well, so I ran in and got the camera with the 42X zoom and tried some different settings to see what I could get.  It turned out looking pretty good with the cedar limbs in the foreground.

The end is in sight!

Saturday

I got that last connection made Saturday so we have hot water every where in the house again.  I spent about half the day getting ready for the club picnic on Sunday.

Sunday

Here I am getting ready for my first flight of the day on Sunday.  We got to the field about 8 and got our shade and tables set up.  Vera unloaded all the planes in the picture for me.  After my first flight, I got the B-36 out, put it together and put in a flight on it.  I flew it 4 times today, which makes about 16 or 17 total flights on it.  The club president took a count, there were 47 planes, 14 helicopters and 37 people at the picnic.  We flew most of the afternoon, I had planned on getting one flight on each of the planes I had with me, but it did not happen as I was having such a good time with the B-36 and the Sukhoi.  I got some pretty good video with the GoPro chasing Steve's glider, now I just need to edit it and put it on Vimeo.

Monday

Right after our walk this morning, we headed to Longview for materials to rearrange Vera's book room.  Everything went like clock work and we were back home at 10.  I added casters to one of her cabinets and installed a new shelf in the closet.  We also moved a set of shelves into the closet, boy was that a battle!  We also have a new set of shelves on order for the closet, once they are here we can finish up that project.  We made a quick recycling run this afternoon as we cleaned up and got most of the scraps taken down for pick up tomorrow.  I took all my tools back to the shop, cleaned them up and charged all the batteries.  Now I am ready for the clean up under the house tomorrow.

Hot Water!

Not many pictures this week, I spent most of it under the house running new hot water lines, I don't think there is much interest in pictures of pipes, floor joists and insulation.  The new hot water heater was a tight fit but I finally got it installed.  We decided that it would be best if we replaced all the hot water piping.  I have run all the lines now, just one connection left to make, I have to crawl about half the length of the house to get to it, maybe tomorrow I will do it.    One evening I was relaxing outside flying the little helicopter when I noticed this rainbow.  I landed and ran in to get the camera and luckily it was still there when I got back.  Today I took some time off, went up to Toledo and helped mow for this weekend's picnic.

The high point of today was finding our #3 water lily had bloomed.  After the mowing, I flew a couple of times and we headed home.  I did a little maintenance on the planes this evening before coming in here.  It was sure nice to have a day off.

This job is getting bigger!

This is Vera by the Cowlitz River at La Wis Wis State Park on Saturday.

We decided that as long as we were repairing the water lines, we would replace the water heater.  After taking some measurements of the compartment it goes in, we headed for Longview to get one.  First, we stopped at Fred Meyer for gas, then we headed to Searings.  I had checked a while back and I liked the ones they had best.  We got an Energy Share 50 gallon one that qualified for a PUD rebate, it was only an inch too big for the door into the compartment, but I figured the door could be modified.  I got a pan to go under it, which also needed to be modified as well.  After a little wrestling match (the old one was a tight fit through the door!) I got the old one out.  I had to saw out one board so the new one will go through the door.  Next, I had to go under the house and cut off the lines so I could fit the pan to the available space.  That job went better than I expected as I only had to change one corner of the pan.  After drilling the new holes for the pan's drain and new holes for the water lines, we cleaned up and called it a day.  After dinner, I got caught up on the blogs as I was 3 days behind.  Now I am off to watch a little TV!

No Church, No Flying!

No pictures either, it was a day of rest for us after Vera's reunion.  I downloaded the pictures and the videos I took at the reunion, and worked on the Mustang repairing a landing gear after a hard landing.

Audrey took a picture of it just before the landing, so I borrowed it off of the lcrcers.com website, "Thanks Audrey"!  I don't normally land the Mustang at that steep an angle, but the wind won!  I finished installing the new landing gear on my J-3 Cub and I am looking forward to trying it out at the next flying session.  Cathy had a party to celebrate Rick getting his masters in teaching.  I had a good time down there visiting with everyone.  I finished out the day with a little TV and went to bed early so I would be ready to tackle the water line Monday.

Reunion

Vera's 50th class reunion was today at the Cowlitz River Lodge in Packwood.  We got there a little early, we were riding around looking at the sights when Vera spotted some elk on a hillside.  It was an excellent time to try the new camera's 1000 mm lens.  I was sure surprised when I saw the radio collar on this one.

 They had asked me to take pictures this evening, so I took about 150 during the reunion.  They had a quiz made up about their senior year that everyone seemed to enjoy filling out, there was a little peeking at other people's papers and the annuals going on, kind of like during school.  There was a choice of chicken or prime rib for dinner, Vera and I had chosen the prime rib, they were very generous pieces, I was really full after mine.  There was prime rib left over and they offered it to take home, which we did.  It was a nice evening, there was lots of visiting and catching up done.  There were classmates from as far away as Sekiu, WA and San Blas, Mexico that attended.  There were 48 when they graduated, 14 have passed away, there were 46 at the dinner, including spouses, 1 grandson, one teacher and two who did not graduate with them.  They had a short program after dinner that got lots of laughs.

Two steps forward and one step back!

I decided to wash the motor home this morning, I had just gotten one side done when Vera called me over to listen to a strange noise.  It was water spraying against the skirting of the house.  I got the access panel open and right away knew it was a hot water line because of the steam.  I turned off all the valves and then turned them on one at a time until Vera heard it again.  It was the hot water line coming out of the water heater.  I got my gear and went under to take a look, the leak was in a terrible spot and everything was wet, so we decided to wait until next week to fix it.  I went back to the motor home and finished it, then I washed the car so it would look nice for tomorrow's trip.  I have been wanting to change out the motor home's clearance lights for LEDs, so I spent the rest of the afternoon doing that.  We spent the evening getting ready for tomorrow, making sure all the cameras were charged and watching a little TV.

He is home!

The big news here was that our great grandson John Patrik got to go home from the hospital today.  Jackie was really excited when she called to tell me the good news that everything had went great the last 24 hours and he should go home today.  Later, I texted her just as they were checking out, we were glad to hear that.

This evening we went down to Vancouver for James' game in the district tournament.  We made a stop at Costco and Burgerville before the game.  He played the whole game in the out field, here he is making a catch of a fly ball.

James on first, Mik coaches first base.  They made quite a few errors and ended up losing the game.  The sunset was sure pretty on the way home, but I never had a chance to get a picture of it.

The First One!

As we were leaving to walk this morning, we went over to check on the water lilys and one of them had bloomed!

Later we made a mail, grocery and lunch run to Castle Rock, when we got back the water lily had opened the rest of the way.  There are several more buds coming to the surface, I can hardly wait to have a bunch of them blooming!

After lunch, I finally got to the weed eating and then mowed the lawn.  Of course in the middle of the job, the right front tire went flat.  It had a small hole that I had plugged, now it is bigger, I got it sealed again but this time it took 2 plugs.  I guess it is time to put on the 2 new front tires I bought last year.  I spent the evening working on the J-3 Cub and Spacewalker.  Vera checked the water lily and it had closed up for the night.  I just finished a plate of cookies Vera made tonight, a new recipe she had not used before, they tasted petty good!

Big Plans!

We walked this morning, then I watered the flowers as it was forecast to be 80 (it was).  We made a mail and recycling run to town and after we got back I heard the twins outside and went over to say, "Hi".

I had planned to weed eat and then mow, that never happened, instead I decided to change out the faucet in the shop sink.  I turned off the water and started disconnecting lines, then while I was loosening the clamps that hold it in the water heater started making a sizzling sound, not good!  I turned off the breaker for the bathroom and it still made noise, I finally ended up with all the breakers turned off and finished the job with a flashlight.  I did some work on a couple of planes and then went in and watched a little TV

Another day of Flying

The club president had asked me to run the meeting today if the vice president could not make it.  It turned out the VP was not able to make it, so I headed to the field early today.  I got all set up and put in several flights before the meeting at 10:00.  I did not think there would be many people there, but just before 10 a bunch showed up so we ended up with 15 club members and 1 guest at the meeting.  The meeting went good and was over at 10:20.  Not long after the meeting Rob flew his new helicopter with a Coast Guard body on it, after watching it, I really want to get my Cobra going again.  I had a good day of flying and headed home about 5:00.  It sure felt good to get home again and settle into my chair.

Time to get caught up.

Thursday July 5th

No picture today.  After our walk, I decided to clean up inside the motor home as I was having trouble finding things.  I got some areas reorganized, washed up the rugs, then washed and waxed the floor.  The van has been looking pretty scroungy, so I got out the bucket and washed it while the wax was drying.

Friday July 6th

 It was the nicest morning for a walk, no jacket or vest needed.  We went right to Longview afterwards as we had several errands to run.  Of course we forgot one thing, maybe next time!  We had a nice lunch at the Country Village, I had Carrot Cake Ala mode!  After we got home, I went back to work on the motor home and got things arranged pretty nicely.  I also got all loaded for flying on Saturday.

Saturday July 7th

The first Saturday of each month the Methodist Men have a breakfast at the church.  This morning I remembered it, so I went before flying.  Biscuits and Gravy, Ham, Quiche  and Waffles are much more than I normally have for breakfast, but they were great!  I wasn't hungry for quite awhile at the flying field.  I had a good day of flying, which means, no crashes even though I had a couple of equipment malfunctions!  The rudder servo on my SU-29 quit in the air, but I landed OK.  I bounced a landing with the Super Cub and one of the bungees broke, and as I was getting ready to fly the SU-31 I noticed some loose covering where the wind could get under it and make it tear off.  I flew anyhow, but I was pretty careful not to go very fast.  I got all of them repaired this evening so I am ready for the next session.

On the way home I noticed lots of farmers taking advantage of the warm weather to do their haying.

The 4th of July Flying

This is some of what I flew today, we did not have anything scheduled today and the weather report was promising so we went flying at Toledo.  It turned into a great day and I got in lots of flying and visiting.  11 other club members showed up to fly and enjoy the day.  We put in almost a 10 hour day of flying, it doesn't get much better than that!

No walk today, but I still got a work out!

It was raining this morning, so we decided not to walk.  I had made arrangements with Bob to pick up the mower he donated to the LCRC so I hooked up the trailer and we headed out about 9.  The picture is as you come up the driveway to his place, it is a beautiful setting.  After loading the mower and a short visit with Bob, we took the mower to the Toledo field.

After unloading it and putting it in the barn, I put in one flight on the Spacewalker.  Only one flight because I broke the prop when I misjudged a landing and landed in the tall grass.  After a stop at home for lunch and to put the new Dish receiver in the house, we decided that since the trailer was hooked up we would run down and get more rock for a short path Vera wanted by the pond.  When we got back home I hooked up the new receiver and packed up the bad one to send back.  I ran down to the UPS drop it off in Castle Rock and they looked at the tag and informed me it was a Fedex label.  Why did it come UPS and then have to go back Fedex?  I had a nice laugh with the clerk.  When I got home Vera reminded me that we were going to town on Friday and I could drop it off then.

Next, I went out and washed off the new rocks, then I loaded them into the wagon and I couldn't budge it as all four tires were flat, 350 lbs of rock were a little much for tires with hardly any air in them!  After I pumped them up things went much better and I laid out the rocks to get an idea how they were going to look, once we are happy with the layout, I will level them up.  Moving those rocks was my work out for today!  I got in 4 flights on the helicopter before the mosquitoes started bugging me and I called it a night.

I just wanted to hold it!

After our walk today, we headed to Longview as we had several errands to do.  While we were in Fred Meyer shopping, I told Vera that I wanted to go hold the new Nikon P510 which was not a good idea because I came home with it.  I spent the rest of the day trying it out, taking pictures of different things.  It is a 16 Meg camera with a 42X zoom, so far I am really happy with it.

This is the top of the Cedar Tree just East of our house.  I got in a bunch of flights on the little helicopter today and puttered in the shop a little.  Dianne had been gone all day, but when they came home, I was right behind them to show off my new camera.

Flying at CVRCF

I was up early and headed down to the Cowlitz Valley Radio Control Flyers field at Goble.  The club had a meeting scheduled for today at noon and I was planning on some flying before it began.  I put in a couple of flights on the little glider and got the programming in the radio all straightened out, it flies great now!  I did not take any pictures of my planes today, this picture is of Gary and Mike's planes.  I ended up staying until about 5 flying and visiting with the other club members.  After filling up at Fred Meyer, I took Pleasant Hill Rd. home and got behind a little scooter that would only do about 30 mph on level ground and about 20 mph up hill.  It made for a nice relaxing trip home, it was a good thing that I was not in a hurry.