An Early Night!

Our last walk of 2013, it was a nice morning and we really enjoyed our walk.

Every morning we go by a backyard with this bell in it and we speculate about where it is from.

Here we are at the end of our last walk.  After the walk, we went home and I started loading the motor home for my annual New Year's Day flying.  I decided that I would try and fly as many planes in one day as I could.  I moved the motor home out front so it would be easier to load, charged batteries, loaded some extra planes.  I went to test the generator and it would not start, I ended up having to charge it's battery.

Before I loaded the new Corsair, I did a little test taxi around the driveway.  Vera came out while I was doing that and went right back in to get a camera for a picture.  I got the little Spitfire out and made my last flight of 2013.  We did not do much tonight, watched a little T.V., listened to fireworks around the neighborhood and hit the hay about eleven.

Good Bye Recliner

Our plan for today was first thing we would head down to Waste Control and get rid of the old recliner.  It has been in the back of the van since I got the new one.  I loaded up all the recyclables and we finally got on the road about 11:00.  That was $4.00 well spent!  I had a list of several things I wanted to pick up, so our next stop was Home Depot.  I found a new light for the shop, the one over my work bench had burned out.  Then I found a reading light for by the new recliner to try, and we finally located the waste baskets after asking a clerk.  No more 5 gallon buckets now!  In our travels around the store, we got the cart pretty well filled up with a few other things we spotted.  After a stop at Safeway, we went home and unloaded and I started installing my new light.  Boy is it a lot brighter than the old one.  While I was putting the light up, our neighbor Mercedes and her daughter brought up warm tamales, that took care of dinner for me, they were really good.  After 3 days, I think that the second 3 bladed prop for the Corsair is finally balanced, boy are they a pain!  I had a nice phone call from my friend Bob and we got all caught up with what went on over Christmas.  I got the helicopter out and put in a flight this afternoon.  I had the thought that this is the last flight of 2013, maybe I will have Vera take pictures, I landed so I could get her.  She reminded me that this is not the last day of 2013, but I had her take pictures any way.

Seahawks Win!!

I surprised Vera by showing up for church this morning, she had gone to bible study and when she came upstairs, there I was!  They had the Lutheran Men's Ensemble singing today and they were great!

The church looks so nice with all the Christmas decorations up, they had a very nice service today and it was packed because the Lutheran church members were there also.  We stayed for snacks afterwards and I got to visit with Mark a Fiber foreman that I had not seen since I retired, he was a member of the Men's Ensemble.  I also got to visit with James' piano teacher Polly, she wanted to know all about how James was doing.

OK, here I am all dressed to watch Seahawks football, it must have worked, they won!  Now I have green Seahawks socks ordered to complete the outfit!

A Lazy Saturday

Harper counting how many desserts they had brought me, they can count really good!  My timing was great going over there, they had warm cinnamon rolls.  Steve thought maybe I had their stove vent piped over to my shop so I could smell them.

Ava and Grandma with the play desserts she got, mine were play too, Harper counted 6 of them for me.  I was on the way to the motor home to get a battery so I could check the Corsair's current draw with the new prop when I noticed Steve and Dianne were home, so I stopped for a visit, finding the twins there was an added bonus.  Other than that, we just lazed around home all day, I did lay out my Seahawks shirts and hats so I would be dressed for the game.

Back to Normal!

My Christmas present from Vera was a game camera.  I set it up Thursday morning on a tree across the driveway.  The first pictures from it were a guy coming to pick up a TV cart I had.  I saw his request for one on Freecycle and after checking to make sure I still had it, I offered it to him.  It turned out he lived in Castle Rock, so it was an easy pickup.  He was an older gentleman who goes around to the nursing and rest homes and plays music for the people.  He wanted the cart so he could take a TV along to have the words to songs on it so people could sing along.  He was in the Navy when he was younger, he likes and knows airplanes, so we had a really nice visit.  After he left, we made a run to Bed Bath and Beyond to exchange the White Elephant gift I ended up with, it was a wine rack and since one medicine I take is not alcohol tolerant, I could not use it.  After much wandering around I got a waste basket with a foot pedal operated lid for the shop to replace the 5 gallon bucket I have been using.  it looks so good, that I am going to get another.  James came up and spent the evening with us while his folks went to a party.  The game camera got them coming and going also, but it was foggy so the pictures were not all that good.  We had a good time watching sports highlights and You Tube with him.

Today (Friday) I started editing my pictures from Christmas and getting caught up on my blog.  I also did some work on the Corsair oil coolers, I just did not like the way they fit on the wing, so I am blending them in with filler.  I had a call for my friend Jerry asking if he could stop by for some help with a transmitter.  The picture above is him arriving from the game camera.  I am looking forward to putting it out on the trails and seeing what wild life we have around here.

Christmas Day

Christmas day we went down to Mik's bother Jim's house for our traditional Christmas dinner and present exchange.  Mik is cooking prime rib and asparagus on the Traegers.  Like last night, everyone brought their favorite appetizers or dessert, so we had plenty to snack on before dinner.

   As usual, Mik's prime rib turned out great, talk about tender, it melted in your mouth!

Bev is working on twice baked potatoes, James and I looked at the size of them, we split one and each took half.

James, Vera and I waiting to open presents.

Jim and Kim had a beautiful tree and many unusual decorations around the house, in this picture, the kids have been passing out the gifts and we are getting ready to open them.

Our hosts, Jim and Kim.

When we left, James was ready to head home also, so Vera rode with him in the Maxima to be his licensed driver, she was really proud of him, he went right up their driveway with out any trouble.  Debbie had to work today and Josh was visiting his grandmother, so they could not make it to Jim and Kim's.  After following James home and picking up Vera, we stopped at their house to give them their presents.  I took this picture of their tree with my phone and the next thing I knew Google + had added twinkling lights to it, so I sent Debbie a copy.  It was good to get home after two big days.

Christmas Eve

The family spent Christmas Eve at Dan and Robin's house again this year.  Cathy had a good idea when she wanted pictures from the loft, I counted 42 including Bob and I taking pictures.

The cousins are growing up, but we have six young ones to keep the tradition going!

Dan and Robin provided a delicious turkey dinner and everyone else brought their favorite side dish or dessert.  I love those kind of meals, so much variety and all of it good!

Santa arrives!

Santa asked Rielee if her parents had been good this year, she is telling him they were "So So"!

The present opening.

The present opening was followed by the white elephant gift exchange.

Here I am making my third selection after my first two selections got stolen.

Lots of fun with gifts going back and forth, after the third steal of a gift, it can not be stolen again.  Robin was the keeper of the steal list and every one kept an eye on it to try and get their favorite.

Baking Day!

I did not feel like doing a blog after the Seahawks disaster Sunday.  Today was much better, William came down and I helped him with a couple of his planes.  We checked the current draw on 3 planes, we had one speed control burn up when we plugged it in, but I had one to replace it that I gave him.  I cut out the parts and showed him how to brace up one plane so the elevator would not shift.  After William's mom picked him up we were getting ready to head to town for baking supplies, when Michelle called and said they were stopping by for a few minutes.  Her vacuum had broken and she wanted to borrow ours.  I had fixed up the old Rainbow, so I sent it home with her.  After we made our run to town, Vera started baking after she finished the apple cake on the left, I went in and made the Wheat Chex dessert I had found on Facebook.  It tastes as good as the pictures on FaceBook looked!  Then Vera made the fudge in the middle and I got to scrape the bowl, it is another winner!  Now I am ready to settle into my chair and relax.

Another nice stay at home day!

I worked on the new helicopter most of the day.  I was really pleased when I got the tail rotor drive completed, it took several modifications, but it works great.  The next issue is the control linkage back to the tail rotor, I ordered some parts today that I will use to make a pitch change lever that is a mirror image of the original.

I fitted it into the fuselage after showing it off to Vera.  I did some research online today for the landing gear placement, I got the body at the last swap meet for $40 and it did not have instructions or plans with it.  I glassed the sub fin on the Dirty Birdy this morning and it had set up this evening, so I was able to spray on a coat of primer before coming in for the night.  I am not sure where the name Dirty Birdy came from, because the plane is very streamlined and should be pretty fast.  Vera made a great chicken soup today, that along with a Feta cheese, tomato and broccoli salad made for a great meal.

A nice relaxing day at home!

A little snow this morning, so I went right out to take a picture before there were lots of footprints in it.  We both felt like a day at home, so we did not even make a mail run.  I finally made it out to the shop about 11, I got the laser level out and fitted the sub fin to the Dirty Birdy.  When the glue had set, I installed the horizontal stabilizer and big surprise, it lined up perfectly.

I did some more work fitting the tail rotor gearbox, the Sikorsky has the tail rotor on the opposite side from what is normal for model helicopters.  I turned it around, right away I ran into a problem, the pitch control linkage will not work, so I will look online for something that will work.  If nothing is available, I will have to modify the existing one.

A day of Surprises

First thing this morning we ran down to the post office and picked up the final present we had been waiting for.  We zipped home, wrapped it, packed it into a Priority Mail box and headed back down to mail it.  I was due for my monthly INR test, so we went from there to Kaiser.  Wouldn't you know it, I have a new phone to play on while I wait, and they called my number right away!  We made a stop at Safeway and they had Pepsi on sale, buy 2 and get 3 free, we are stocked up now!  After we got home, Vera called our retired pastor Bonnie, she had been wanting some help with her Kindle and she came up a little later.  While I was waiting for Bonnie to get there, I flew the little Spitfire.  I was flying over the house, trying to get Vera's attention when I ran into the maple trees.  The wing popped off and it fell down to the lawn, no damage except to my ego!  Not long after I had sat down with Bonnie to show her how the Kindle worked, Ava, Harper and Dianne showed up with the mugs and cupcakes, boy were the girls excited!  Just after they left, our friend Dennis showed up, he had lost our phone number and needed some help with his new plane.  After I finished up helping Bonnie, we went out to the shop and got his plane's programming straightened out.  I worked on the new helicopter, making the changes necessary to fit it into the Sikorsky body.  After I came in for the evening, I took a nice nap in the new recliner.

Amazing Phone

I put the picture of the Christmas tree by the Castle Rock Post Office on Google Cloud and it sent me this edited one with flickering lights added.  Between the new phone and Google it is pretty awesome.  I did not sleep worth a darn last night, so I felt tired all day.

We had a nice visit and lunch at the 49er with Bev.  While we were visiting with Bev, UPS showed up with my new helicopter, now I have one for the Sikorsky fuselage that I got at the swap meet!  I had a meeting that I had planned on going to this evening, but I was still tired, so I stayed home.

When Michelle and James delivered the presents the other night, this hanging was part of Vera's present.  Michelle hung it on the chimney and told Vera not to tell me so they could see how long before I noticed it.  Well, I noticed it tonight!

110 Years!

Today is the 110th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight.  In 2003 on the 100th anniversary, Barry and I got together at Olympia to give James his first ride in a light plane using Barry's Piper Pacer.

James was a little timid when he first took the controls, but Barry talked him through a couple of turns, then he flew us to Centralia, banking and turning when ever he wanted to look at things.

While we were waiting for the the weather to clear and Barry to get the plane ready, James and I went to the Olympic Museum of Flight.

When ever James and I went flying or to a museum, I would give him a camera to take pictures with, it is amazing how interesting it is to look at those pictures later.

Here is the one he took of me that day!

It was 36 degrees when we left home for our walk this morning, but there was not much wind, so it was an enjoyable walk with lots of conversation.  I had skipped breakfast, so we stopped at BK for their special and a hot chocolate on the way home.

When we got home, I started doing this year's Christmas cards and writing a letter to go in them.  That ended up taking most of the day.  Finally after checking the weight of the cards, I have gotten bit on that before, we headed down to mail them.  This picture is the tree by the post office, Castle Rock has the business district decorated pretty nicely this year.  We drove around for a while looking at lights and taking pictures, this link is to the house on 3rd Ave. with animated lights.
https://vimeo.com/82161812

On the way up the hill, I stopped and took a couple of pictures of Bob's lights, they look great every year.

Way to go Seahawks!

My day got off to a great start when the Seahawks shutout the Giants!  I did some painting on the Corsair, I like to paint the linkages so they don't show as much.  I also watched the Cowboys/Green Bay game, Green Bay made an awesome comeback to win it by 1 point!  I was out in the shop watching the game, working on the Dirty Birdy, when in walks James.  They had come up to deliver a present Michelle had made for Vera, they also brought a tin of peanut butter cookies, they are delicious!  We had a nice visit, James is trying out my new recliner and raiding my pistachio stash, I have plenty, so no problem!

I finally went online and found "Grandma got run over by a Reindeer".  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfSb6J4jhcU

Grandma got run over by a Reindeer?

OK, I woke up this morning and that song was running through my mind and I laid there trying to remember all the words.  Every time I stopped doing anything that kept my whole attention, there I would be trying to remember the words!

No picture today, so I hunted up one from 2001 about this date.  Jackie and Debbie were playing in the loft of my shop and rigged up this bucket so I could send up snacks.  Would you believe, it is still there after all these years!  I was looking at color schemes online for the Dirty Birdy, when I noticed the sub fin was missing!  Then I discovered that the dorsal fin was missing also.  I could remember fitting it to the vertical fin right over by the bandsaw. I looked for it for quite a while before deciding I had to clean up the benches to have any chance of finding it.  I worked on cleanup for several hours before deciding to call it a night.  I walked over by the bench one more time and there the darn thing was!  I set it on top of the fuselage where I should be able to find it tomorrow and headed into the house.  I never did remember the words to "Grandma got run over by a Reindeer" today, maybe I will hear it on the radio soon.

A nice day for a ride!

I puttered on the computer all morning, finally about noon I asked Vera if she wanted to go for a ride.  We picked up the mail and then drove down to Lions Pride Park so I could see how the phone's outdoor pictures turn out.

Then we drove down the I5 frontage road and I spotted several ponds that were still frozen, so I gave the phone another try.

Christmas cards are arriving everyday now, that means I should get to work on ours.  While I was taking pictures, the one of Vera's nativity scenes caught my eye, so I had to try getting a picture of it.

Of the four I took, I like this one best!  I put another coat of primer on the Dirty Birdy today and I finished shaping and balancing the 3 bladed prop for the Corsair.  The balancing was a test of my patience, it took several hours.