Blue Moon

Vera is really liking our wild flower mix, she took this picture of it today.
After our walk, a mail and grocery run, some computer time and a lunch of Vera's home made biscuits, I decided to paint the benches on the deck.

It went pretty good, except for when I had to stop and clean paint off one of the new LED lights, I was able to put the second coat on after dinner.

When I had the brush cleaned, we headed up to the Toledo field to see how it looked after the Threshing Bee.  The tables were all back in place, so I got the plane I had brought out and flew it.  While I was flying, another member showed up, he had a new helicopter that he showed us and then did some testing of it.  Vera and I went over and pulled the club trailer back so the setup can be done.  I put in one more flight with the Blue Moon in the background, it was 8:00 by then and a lot darker than the picture shows.

Tough Loss

The first thing I noticed this morning was the small pond was really low.  I found the filter in the waterfall box was plugged and water spilling over the sides.  After our walk, I took the filter out to clean and refilled the pond.  The big pond needed cleaning, so I decided to do it today.  Just as I was starting I noticed this little frog, it is about a half inch long, amazing how much noise they can make at night.  I got the PondVac out and started in cleaning, that stirred the debris up and it settled everywhere in the pond.  I finally put the PondVac pickup in the lowest spot and let it pump the pond down as I washed the debris to it with the hose and it worked great.  I cleaned all the filters, then refilled it, it has not looked that good since it was built.  I finished up with just enough time to get cleaned up for James' game tonight.

This is James about to take the snap from the center.

After James' buddy Aiden got hurt, James had to take over punting and kick offs, he also played in the backfield, making some good runs and played linebacker on defense.  James played great, but things just did not go their way and they lost.  After the game, we had a bite to eat and headed home, I watched the Seahawks and Wipe Out while Vera read, it was a nice relaxing finish to the day.

Visiting

After I did my blog last night, I went out to lock the shop and noticed the moon was really bright!  I went back in, got the P510 and took a half dozen pictures with different settings.  This one looked the best, I sure like this camera, when I hook it to the computer, it turns on and starts charging.  The software recognizes it right away and knows what pictures have not been downloaded.

This morning after breakfast and emails, I headed over to visit my friend Rex.  Before I made it to the van, I heard the twins out playing at the fort.

Harper (I think) was playing Peek a Boo with me bouncing up and down, I caught her when she was up.  I visited with Steve and Dianne for a few minutes before heading out.  Rex worked at the Fibre when I did and flew radio control planes with me for many years.  Rex showed me around his shop and we had a nice time catching up.  When I got home, I was messing around on the computer when Barry called, we talked for about 40 minutes.  His birthday is coming up, so we will have to get together for our birthday pizza.  This evening I did some updating on the computer as my Internet Security subscription was running out.  Just before I finished, Vera fixed me a great toasted cheese sandwich.

I wimped out!

My knees were both tired today, so I wimped out on walking this morning.  I think they are feeling strange because of all the bending over I did while tuning up the motor home.  This morning, I checked the tracking on the other trailer wheel and it looked like it would be delivered this afternoon.  After checking emails and watching motorcycle racing, I decided to pressure wash the benches on the deck so they would be ready to paint when it was nice again.

 Before I made it to the shop, I heard the girls playing in the sandbox, so I had to go say,"Hi"!  Harper was showing off on the swing, not holding on when Rielee gave her a push and over backwards she went.  She got a hold of one chain and stopped herself from hitting the ground, but she was sure scared and mad when Grandma rescued her.  When I took a lunch break from pressure washing, I remembered the LED low voltage lights I had ordered for the deck, so I checked the tracking on them and they were due in this afternoon, also.

After the post office run and BK for dinner, I got most of the lights where I want them.  It sure seemed like a long time until dark when we could see how they looked.

Tuckered Out

I was tired all day, the 10 hour flying session Sunday really did me in.  We went on our walk this morning and that was it for quite a while.

Late in the afternoon, I made it out to the shop and replaced the aileron servo that the gears got stripped in when I caught the wheels on the limbo ribbon.

Of course I did not have one the same size in the servo drawer, so I enlarged the opening 1/8 inch on one side and on one end.  I also had to change the other side so they would match.  After I was all done, I found 4 of the original servos in a box that I had removed from a plane I sold, isn't that the way it goes sometimes.  Vera and I watched four of our FIA World Rally Championships recordings this evening, I would not want to be the navigator in one of those cars!

A big day of Flying!

Today was the Cowlitz Valley Radio Control Flyers annual picnic and fun fly.  I was up early and got there at 8:00, Mike beat me, he already had his plane assembled.  I had invited the Lewis County Radio Controllers and 7 members showed up.   The event organizer Gary, said that there were 18 people who flew during the day.  They sat up a spot landing area and a limbo, both of which turned out to be lots of fun.

This is Ken going under the limbo ribbon, it ended up getting cut a number of times.  I hooked the landing gear on it and it did not break, instead the plane ended up upside down on the ground.

The club provided hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and water.  Many members and guests brought salads and desserts so we had an excellent meal.  Lots of flying went on all through the day.

These are some of the planes I flew today, I also flew two helicopters, the F-15 and the Yak55P, all electric except for the purple one on the left.  It is the fastest plane I have and it is powered by a 32 that has been modified a little.  Another modeler was bringing his Mustang so we could race.  He had a little engine trouble, so we only got one flight together, but it was sure fun.  I finally called it a day and headed home about 6:00.

Football has started

Mark Morris had scrimmage this morning, followed by a barbecue.  James played quarterback and in the backfield.  He had a nice run while being a back, as quarterback, he threw for a touchdown and ran for score on a quarterback sneak.  After the scrimmage, they explained the football program and card sales to the parents and kids, that was followed by a tasty barbecue.  We got home just after noon and I started loading the motor home for the club picnic tomorrow, it's first trip after the tune up.  It was hard deciding what to take, so I took all my favorites.  Well nearly all, there are just too many to fit into the motor home.

Test Drive

Every time we go into town we see these flowers at the North end of town.  Vera wanted pictures of them, so yesterday we stopped and she took some.  Today, I finished up the motor home, I drained the oil, took the filter off and discovered I did not have the oil I wanted to use.  I got Vera and headed to Walmart as they normally have what I wanted.  Right off the bat I ran into a retired Fibre foreman, I had a nice visit with Dick and his wife Pat.  Just as we were finishing up, another Fibre retiree walked up, Rex was an electrician and used to fly radio control planes with me.  Before we were done talking, we made arrangements to get together next week.  By the time I finally got the oil, I figured Vera was probably hungry and thirsty since I was, so I picked up fried chicken and pop at the deli.  When we got home, I finished changing the oil and filter, put the engine cover back on and vacuumed it out.  Then it was time for a test drive, we drove out to Micky Mouse and back, it runs great!  This evening after dinner, I went out and put the deck railings on, the porch is getting pretty close to done.  After changing clothes, I got the camera and wandered around outside.

The sun was just setting, I ended up liking this picture best since it showed what I worked on today.

Trip #4 and #5

The morning walks are starting to have a fall feel.  I stopped to take a picture of a yard with lots of flowers, the ladies were talking and did not realize I was missing for a block.  After our walk, we made stop #4 at NAPA, the carb kit and one gasket were there, but the other gasket was due this afternoon.  I started rebuilding the carb when we got home, it went good and I got it installed this afternoon.  At 3:30, I made trip #5 and picked up the last gasket.  I got everything put back together and had it running before calling it a day.

Our volunteer Fuchsia finally started blooming, it survived the winter sitting out on the deck in it's pot.  We were sure surprised when it started growing.  When we picked up the mail today, there was a big box for me, the new tires for our garden trailer.  Later when I opened the box, I got a big surprise, only one tire in it.  I checked the order and sure enough, I had only ordered one!  The other one should be here next week. 

Having fun now!

Well, not really, working on engines was fun when I was 21, but not now.  I have been planning on doing a tune up of the motor home all week.  I started out by pulling the carburetor so they would be sure and get the right rebuild kit or a new one.  After Vera got home from bible study and lunch was over, we headed down to NAPA.  They did not have a rebuild kit or spark plug wires, but could have them here at 3:30.  I came home and pulled the valve covers which were leaking to put new gaskets in.  I cleaned on them until 3:30, then went down to pick up the kit and wires.  I also needed some cleaner, pvc valve and gaskets.  I came home planning on doing the carb this evening, but the gaskets in the box were completely different from the shape of my carb.  Trip #3 to NAPA, the carb kit was for a Carter and my carb is a Holly, the right one will be there tomorrow (trip #4).  Things were going so good, I decided to call it a day and catch up on my blogs.  I hope you did not have to work on an engine today!

I forgot to mention!

I forgot to mention in yesterday's blog that I went into the motor home and found that the refrigerator was off.  After a bunch of checking, I found one of the coach batteries had a shorted cell.  After our walk this morning, we headed to Art's Electric for a new battery.  I also loaded up all the old batteries I had laying around and sold them at the same time.  Deep Cycle batteries are not cheap, the 130 amp hour I got came to $150.  Next we went to Fred Meyer to drop off plastic bags for recycling and pick up a few things, Yep, $137 later we were out the door.  Then it was off to Lowe's to pick up a piece of Trex decking for the porch rail I had ordered.  They couldn't find it, it seems the person who received it did not note where he had put it.  The guy who was looking for it looked pretty frazzled when he finally brought it to me about an hour later.  I have been wanting a pair of shoes to replace my squeaky ones, so I went to Big 5 on the way home and found a pair of Nike's I like.  I got the batteries installed once we got home and I hooked up a battery monitor I had started installing a couple of years ago.  About 10, I was really tired, it was all I could do to keep my eyes open.  Then Vera came in and asked if I had a nice nap, so I guess they were not staying open as much as I thought.

Visiting!

After our walk this morning, Vera wanted to go see Marie.  With everything breaking down here it has been a while since we have made it up to see her.  I was going to print out some pictures of John Patrik for her, but the printer ran out of ink right in the middle of the job, naturally the one that ran out was the only one I did not have a spare for.  I loaded the pictures on to a SD card for her digital picture frame instead.

When we got there, Marie's friend Signora was visiting her.  After a little bit, she got out beans that were picked this morning to snap and all the girls pitched in.  Our friend Bob lives close by, so we gave him a call when we left, but he was not home.  We went to lunch at a seafood place and Bob was home by the time we finished.  We had a really nice visit there, also, and got to see his new place.  On the way home, I picked up an ink cartridge at Staples, now I can take some pictures next trip.  While I was out in the shop this evening, I found my long lost dust pan, now I remember sitting it there so it would be easy to find!

Almost a day of rest!

After the big day Saturday, we both felt like a day of rest was in order.  By the afternoon, I was looking for something to do, so I put the trim boards on the deck.  Just a few more pieces and that job will be done.  I did lots of TV watching and surfing the web today.  I had recorded the Seahawks, so I got to see them win.

Meeting John Patrik

We were up early today getting ready to go see our new great grandson John Patrik Patzer.  I ran down to the garage sale and paid Cathy for the table and chairs.  It was a zoo with cars parking everywhere and people loading up with stuff.  We rode up to the party in Michelle's Expedition, she picked up Bev on the way, and we got going at 9.

 This is the garage sale as we drove by on the way to Arlington.  After a couple of stops for snacks and some really slow traffic through Seattle we got to the party about 1.  Right away, JP started getting passed around to Bev, Michelle, Vera and myself, I bet he sleeps good tonight!

This is Michelle burping him after a bottle.  He is so cute and cuddly.

This is Jackie and John opening John Patrik's presents, there were some cute outfits!  We headed back home a little after 4, once again the traffic going into Seattle was slow, the GPS was reading 5.3 mph once when I looked.  After I missed a turn, we had a really interesting trip to Red Robin for dinner.  Everyone enjoyed their choices.  The Mile High Mud Pie is great and we all got to share.  We got home at 9, a 12 hour day on the road.  It sure felt good to get home.

Garage Sale

I think it is a record for us, we walked all five days this week.  When we got home, I cleaned out my closet of some shirts that have not been worn since I retired.  I added them to the other things I had collected for the family garage sale this weekend.  After I priced everything, I took it down to Cathy's and right away I noticed an outdoor set of table and chairs.  I visited with Bob and Cathy for a bit, then set up our table and arranged the stuff on it.  I made a mail and credit union run before heading home.  I told Vera about the table and chairs, we looked at the area where they would go and she said to go for it!  I went down and they only wanted $100 for the set, so I bought it.

I was able to fit it into the van and back right up to the deck to unload.  Three loads later and we were done.  When Rick and I were putting the table in the van, Rick came face to face with a wasp nest that had been built on the tailgate. Boy did his eyes get big, he was back peddling like crazy!  I closed the tailgate very gently, came home and sprayed the heck out of it.  When we were done with the table and I was putting the van back where I park it, there was a bunch of wasps flying around waiting!  Big surprise some went in the seam of the left front door, I opened it carefully and there was a nest hanging off the hinge.  I closed it very gently and plan on spraying it after dark.  Michelle and James stopped by after taking their stuff to the garage sale, we had a great time telling them about our falling book case and wasp nests.  It was another hot day, 96.7 the last time I looked.

Hot!

On our walk this morning, it was just Vera and I, again, so we tried a walking path that parallels part of the river walk.  We probably went the same distance as normal, but we got to see a new area.  It was already getting warm by the time we finished the walk.  Once we were home, I got the trim boards for the deck painted.

After they were painted, I cleaned up the area and raked out the gravel.  My plan was to put the trim on this evening, but it was just too hot!  I did some sorting for the garage sale this weekend and some more cleanup in the shop.  I watered the flowers a couple of times and mainly tried to stay close to one of our air conditioners.  Both of our thermometers hit 100 today!

It has been a busy couple of days!

Monday

We were back to walking today.  When we got home, we started sorting the recycling that Vera had generated cleaning the storage room.  When we got done, we headed down to Castle Rock's recycling area only to find the mixed paper bins full.  Mixed paper was most of our load, so we decided to run down to Kelso's recycling at Huntington Jr. High.  Before we got to the highway, I remembered that Lexington had one, also, and it was a much more pleasant drive down the West Side Highway.  I spent the rest of the day pressure washing the sidewalk so I could paint it Tuesday.

Tuesday

Right after the walk today, I started putting the first coat of Restore on the sidewalk.  When I finished the sidewalk, I put a coat of paint on the trim boards for the deck.  By the time I could put a second coat on the boards it was too hot to paint, so I waited until they were in the shade again to put on the second coat.  I did some more organizing in the shop while waiting to do the second coat.  I also fixed the light in my bathroom.  After much checking, I found out it was unplugged!  When the boards were in the shadows again, I put a second coat on them.  I bumped into the F-15 this morning and knocked part of the intake and elevator off, so I got them glued back on this evening.

Wednesday

We took a nice long walk today.  We started at the North end of the River Front Trail and walked on the pavement until we were past the dredge spoils, then we went over to the river bank and followed it back.

Once we got around the bend in the river the trail got pretty narrow!  It meanders along the river bank clear to the PH-10 bridge.

In some spots you don't want to step off the trail, because the river is right below!  When we got home, I put a second coat of Restore on the sidewalk.  The trim boards were a little damp from the dew, so I decided to wait until this afternoon to paint them.  I worked out in the shop most of the day, doing more organizing.  When I was replacing the hot water lines, I was sure that I had a plastic pipe cutter, but I couldn't find it, so I bought one.  Well today I found it, so now I have two.  I wonder what the chances are of me finding one next time.

55th Class Reunion

We went to my 55 year class reunion today.  Jerry and Karen's place is right on the Cowlitz River and it made a very nice setting for the reunion.

We had 17 class members show up, it would have been nice if some who live close by could have come, but  I had a great time seeing the ones who were there.  I took about 200 pictures, so I should be able to find a few that I feel are really good.  When it came time to leave, quite a few people pitched in and helped take things down, so we were done in nothing flat.  It was fun, but it sure felt good to get home, sit back and relax.

Fresh Corn!

We headed up to Toledo this morning to fly and also to bring home the club mowers.  Every year when we tear down the field so the Grange can have the Threshing Bee, I have been bringing the mower and roller home.  I change the oil, sharpen the blades and do minor repairs, since the club now has two mowers, it took two trips, one for the mowers and one for the roller and  barbecue .  The Barbecue has not been getting hot enough, so I thought this was  a good time to check it out.

Our friend Bob had a new Spitfire that he brought out today and I got to test fly it.  It flew great, just needed a couple of small trim adjustments.  It was pretty windy today, so we spent most of our time visiting.  When we left, we came home on the West Side Hwy. and stopped at Jerry's place to drop off canopies for the reunion tomorrow.  We helped set the canopies up, set up the tables and chairs, then had a nice visit.  We showed Jerry and Karen the planes in the motor home just before we left.  Jerry offered us a batch of fresh corn, we accepted, so he picked it out of the garden.

After we made our second trip to Toledo for the roller and barbecue, Vera fixed the corn along with potato salad, fried chicken and watermelon for dinner.  The corn was so sweet that it was almost like having dessert.

More Restore

We skipped walking again this morning and I got an early start at painting in between the boards on the deck.  It went slower than I thought it would and I did not finish until Noon.  After a quick run to town for a BK lunch, the mail and some groceries, I started putting the final coat of Restore on.  It went on much faster than the first coat, so I had time this afternoon to do some cleanup and charge some batteries for flying.  After dinner, I heard a badminton game going on at David and Laury's, so I took the camera over to see what kind of action shots I could get.

 This is Auna returning a serve, the camera can be set to take 5 pictures in a second, then all I have to do is pick out the best ones when I download them.

Steve going back for one, the trash talking is getting so bad during the games that Steve is wearing barn boots to play in.  It was fun watching them, Steve and Dianne ended up winning.  I am tired of watching Olympics, too much talk and too many commercials, so it will be some Wipe Out tonight.

Restore

This morning, I skipped my walk so I could get an early start putting Restore on the deck.  I had planned on walking, but I got a call last night that they needed help putting up the tent at eleven today for my reunion this weekend, I just barely got done in time to go help out.  I had a nice visit with several classmates after we were done.  When I got home, Vera had a book shelf fall over while I was gone.  I helped get it put back and secured to the wall.  I needed more paint, so later we headed to Longview, I was suddenly really hungry, so we stopped at Izzy's for dinner.  Then it was off  to Penny's for a new shirt for the reunion and then to Home Depot for the paint.  When we got home, I decided it was time to get caught up here.

Sweets Day!

I was all set to paint the deck benches this morning, but the first thing that turned up missing was the roller.  I finally spotted it hanging behind a couple of other things in the shop.  Then I started looking for the paint tray, I never did find it, so I decided to run to town and get a new one.  On the way home, the Chocolate  Bismarks at the bakery were really calling to me, so I stopped and got a couple plus a cake doughnut bar.

As you can see, one of the Bismarks did not make it home.  The funny thing was, when I pulled into the driveway, there was Steve, Rielee, Ava and Harper.

They had brought over some of Dianne's cinnamon rolls to me.  Boy were they good, nice light dough and great flavor!  I probably put on a pound or two today!

Right after I took the pictures of my treats, I noticed Steve and the girls over at the swing set, that 42X lens works great, as this was taken from our deck.
I spent most of the rest of the day painting the benches on the deck, then we spent another evening watching the Olympics.

Monday and Tuesday?

OK, another of those "What the heck did I do Monday and Tuesday?", I shouldn't put off doing this for more than a day at a time.

I know for sure I wandered around taking pictures of flowers about 11:30 Monday, good thing the camera puts the date and time with each file.  I also sanded down the benches on the deck on one of those days.  We watched the Olympics both evenings, if anything else comes to me, I will add it later.

It only took about a half hour for me to remember that we ran to town Tuesday for paint and some lumber that I needed.  We stopped at Mik's for a minute to drop something off and he sent us home with some of the Jerky he made, it is so good, I hope he makes more.

Flying at Goble.

I headed for the Goble field early this morning so I could get in some flying before it warmed up and the meeting started.  This is part of the planes that were there today, mine don't show.  I had a good time visiting and flying  I got a call that the president couldn't make the meeting, so I would have to run it.  The meeting went very well, and we were done in 16 minutes.  I put in a couple of more flights before heading home by way of Fred Meyer for some gas, it is 50 cents a gallon cheaper than at the bottom of the hill.  We were invited down to Mik and Michelle's for dinner, so I hustled to get everything done before we left.  We had a really nice visit with Mik, Michelle and James, Mik had fixed ribs and asparagus on the Traeger, boy was it good!  Thank You Mik!

We took the slow way home via Pleasant Hill Rd., when we came into Castle Rock the sun was just setting, so we stopped at Lions Park to take pictures.  I took pictures for about 5 minutes, then the color went away so we headed home.

95.5 Degrees!

I am sure glad we have air conditioning, my shop recording digital thermometer showed a high of 95.5 degrees today.  If the air conditioner in the car would work, things would have been great.  It was kind of a warm ride down to Margaret's surprise birthday party at Pie@Trio's and a really warm ride home.  Margaret was really surprised!  We had a good time, everyone was in a great mood, we met some people from Mik's family we had heard about, but never met.  The pizza was good, the cake was made the way I like them, chocolate, with chocolate filling and chocolate frosting.  After we got home, I downloaded my pictures, edited some and then went to the shop for some more cleanup.  I saw Steve walking back and forth in front of their cars and couldn't stand it, I had to go see what the heck he was doing.  It turned out he had a new 100 foot hose and was unwinding it.  I visited with him and Dianne for a bit, finding out how the twins birthday party went.  About 7:30, I decided to come in, do my blog and watch some Olympics.  I hope you stayed cool today!

8/5/2011 Here is a late addition, just before going to bed, I looked out and the moon was making it almost like daytime.  I got the camera and took a bunch of pictures of it, this is the best one.

Flying at Toledo

After our walk this morning, we went to the Toledo flying field to help with the mowing and do a little flying.  Big surprise, it was all done, Ken must have done it yesterday.  I was making my first flight when Leonard and Audrey showed up with the same idea as ours, help Ken!

This is Audrey getting ready to fly her T-28.  We all put in a couple of flights, then it started getting really warm and windy, so we all decided to call it a day.

When we got home, I was watering the plants when I noticed how good the roses smelled, they look pretty good also.  I did a little more arranging in the shop, but came in early to watch the Olympics. The Kayaking and Beach Volleyball were pretty exciting to watch!  The finish of the Japan, Brazil soccer match was especially exciting, Japan won 2 to 0.