Vortex

We were a little tired today so we skipped church and took it easy.  I went out and started working on a cowl for the Vortex.  The first thing I did was fill in all around the motor with balsa blocks and this is what it looked like at noon when I took a break to let the glue dry.

This is how it looked at 9 PM when I quit.  There was a lot of carving and sanding involved to get it to this shape,   I have lots more sanding to do before I am ready to cast a fiberglass cowl over it.

Visit from JP

On Saturday John and Anne Marie brought JP up so we could see him and give him his Christmas presents.  They were spending the week in Vancouver with Anne Marie's family.  JP and Chloe spotted the toys right away and kept pretty busy playing with them.  I texted Debbie that they were here, she, Josh and Jordon stopped also.

JP played with the helicopter for a long time loading cars and things into it.  He has hearing aids and an implant now so he is having to learn how to talk.

Here he is opening one of the presents we got him.  He likes the K'nex kits so we got him a couple of big sets along with a set of construction equipment toys.  We got Chloe a doll so she wouldn't feel left out.

This evening I went out and got the Vortex sitting on it's wheels for the first time.

Watching Jordon

We watched Jordon for a couple of hours today.  Vera went to bible study and then got to play with him a little afterwards.  He is sure learning things fast, he spilled some drops of milk from the sippy cup onto the coffee table.  I handed him a napkin and said wipe it up.  He did a great job and got every drop.  I found out later from Debbie that he likes to help clean at home.

Christmas Day

We continued our Christmas tradition of going to Mik and Michelle's on Christmas Day.  This is the tree that Michelle put up without James' help for the first time.

Jordon was a happy little guy today and always on the move, he was gone shortly after this picture.

Lots of visiting went on during the afternoon and Michelle's new arrangement of chairs and stools worked out great.

Of course Bev and Michelle had to do their annual Christmas selfie.

Mik and Michelle are holding  the prime rib and turkey they made.  The dinner was delicious!

That toy drill was Jordon's favorite toy from Christmas Eve, he was packing it everywhere.

With a little help from Rich, Jordon was doing a good job of opening his presents.

Just before we left I held Jordon while they loaded up stuff and Michelle got this picture of us.  I am wearing my new Seahawks jacket I got from Debbie that is really comfortable.  It was a fun day and I am looking forward to next year already.

Christmas

A Birthday Party for Jesus

Sunday the 23rd we went to church which was held in the Fellowship Hall as a birthday party for Jesus.  It was a nice laid back service with singing and stories about people's past Christmases.  Everyone brought treats for afterwards so I was full when we left.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve at Dan and Robin's has became a family tradition with a turkey dinner starting at six.  As usual everyone brought their favorite side dishes and there was lots of great food to choose from.

It quieted down while everyone enjoyed their dinner.

Cathy started taking family pictures in front of the tree right after dinner.

Jordon looked pretty darn cute in his tie and vest.

Here are Josh, Jordon and Debbie in front of the tree.  I am putting the pictures on here in the order they were taken.

It wasn't long before Jordon was cruising around checking out everyone, he is looking at Parker's entry in the the ugly sweater contest.

Mik and Michelle are getting their Christmas picture taken.  Mik got this suit for the ugly sweater contest, most of the people there competed.

After the family pictures it was time for the group pictures.  Cathy and I went up on the balcony to take these.  I counted thirty eight plus Cathy and I for a total of forty family there.

After the group picture they counted the ballots, Bob won the Ugliest Sweater prize, Cathy's was voted most original and Auna's was chosen as the cutest.

Santa arrived next and Jordon handled it just fine.

Jordon really liked this book and a drill he got.

After all the kids were done and Santa was about to leave Michelle got her picture taken with Santa (Mik).

"But officer I only had one glass" is what Mik was saying about his exchange pick.  This is the only picture I took during the gift exchange.  It was fun as always and we headed home not long after it was over.

The retracts showed up!

The new nose gear retract was at the Post Office this morning when I checked the tracking so we ran right down and picked it up.

I had to modify a strut for the new unit, when it was done I figured out where the mount had to be and made up a plate to mount the retract on.  I epoxied it in along with some carbon fiber reinforcements and set it in front of the pellet stove so it would cure faster.  After it set up I glued the whole assembly to the wing and left it to dry overnight.  I had a special treat today, a call from Mike Miller a long time friend we haven't seen for many years.  It was sure nice catching up with him.

A Windy Day

Boy was it windy here today!  I blew the deck off twice and it still has stuff on it.  The Toledo weather station I use for flying had forty eight mph gusts.

I spent a big part of the day working on the Vortex.  I got the rudder slots sanded to size and the motor box is ready for the nose gear retract unit which is supposed to be here Saturday.

Christmas Lights

It was a normal Wednesday for us, Vera went to bible study, I went down to pick up the mail and get a hair cut.  As I was walking back to the Blazer I saw Bob Chastain coming  out of the Post Office so I gave him a shout and we had a very nice visit.

This evening we went for a ride to look at Christmas lights.  This tree on Gassman Road was the first one I wanted a picture of, they did a great job on it.  My first pictures didn't turn out so we had to come back and try again after I got the camera adjusted.

This house is just down the street from the Methodist church.

This was taken as we were parked at the Post Office, we had to wait about five minutes before we got a clear shot with no cars in it.

This is the lights at the North end of town, we have been watching the city crew put them up and they did a good job.  There didn't seem to be as many lights as other years.

The Salzer Christmas Party

We went to church this morning, it was not a normal service instead they put on a play about Christmas.  They did a great job, the ending surprised everyone and provided a good laugh.

After church we headed up to Centralia for the Salzer Family Christmas party at Gus's.  After eating they had the kids open presents, then they had a gift exchange similar to what we do Christmas eve at Dan and Robin's except items are frozen after two steals.

Dean opened three of these food storage containers and they were stolen every time.  He is laughing because he couldn't believe he had picked one again.

This is Vera's nephew Dean and his family.

This is  the other Salzer nephew Gus (on the right) and his family.  The two Salzer nieces live in Arizona now but FaceTimed with everyone during the party.

On the way home we drove by the property that Marie had donated to the Habitat for Humanity and took this picture of the other two houses that had been built on it.  We took our normal slow way home and made it just before dark.  It was a busy day but we really enjoyed it.

Number 2500

It is hard for me to believe, but this is my 2500th post since I started blogging.

On the third Saturday of the month the Cowlitz Prairie Grange puts on a breakfast for five dollars.  The LCRC has been going for several months but today was the first time Vera and I went.  There were twelve from the club there, we had a good time and the food was good also.  After breakfast ten of us went to the field to fly.

I played in Photoshop with a burst set of pictures I took as Brian launched his new plane.  It flies at about 120 mph and wants to torque to the left when it is launched.  It was pretty cold out so I only made four flights and we headed home.

Vera made some great Cocoa Mounds for the party tomorrow.

Catching up again

12-9-2018 The bell choir played today and I videoed it.  Luckily I recorded most of it with two cameras because the one on the tripod had the battery run down.  Here is a link to the video. Castle Rock UMC Bell Choir

Vera is setting up the refreshments we provided after the service.

12-10-2018  I got the elevon servo mounts framed up today.

12-11-2018  Our entertainment today was watching them push Parker's water line under the Spirit Lake Hwy.

12-14-2018 We watched Jordon this afternoon for a couple of hours.  He is so much fun and has a new talent every time.  Today he stopped in front of me, kind of smiled then reached down and untied my shoe.  James used to do the same thing to me.

That evening I got the battery hatch cut out on the Vortex.