Look No Hands!

Well a squirrel figured out how to get around the dome on the Sheppard's hook and get to the bird feeders. I added a second dome above that one and he still got up because I left too much room between the two. I lowered it down about 6 inches and so far today it is a success.

I went over to see what was new with the twins today and had great time watching them. Ava has really turned into a speed crawler.

I painted on my eurofighter this afternoon and got the bottom done. I went out and did some stairs on the deck this afternoon and discovered the knee has gotten stronger. I went up and down the stairs without holding on to the rail. Up until this time, I have always used the rail for a little help.

Finally more flying weather!

We headed out early this morning to do some flying at Toledo. The sky and clouds were beautiful all day. You can see a couple of my planes and the helicopter on the bench. Against the cloud at the top center is Leonard and Audrey's Moonraker.


The Moonraker on final to a landing. Mt St Helens was visible all day, while we hardly caught a glimpse of Mt Rainier. Five other fliers showed up to fly with us. I put a video camera on one plane, but must have pushed the wrong button as I did not get any video. I guess it is time to get the directions out again.

There was lots of activity at the Toledo Airport all day. There were two jump planes taking up skydivers continuously. The picture is a tandem jump, two people on one chute. They were towing a glider up with a vehicle most of the day, it does not look like they are high enough to make a safe landing some times, but it always came back up later.

When we got home and unloaded, Vera and I were pulling some weeds and messing around with the bird feeder when I saw the Wild Iris was in bloom. Time to whip out the cell phone and take a picture.

Again the knee held up good, less swelling than other trips to the field and no soreness. I used to ride home from the flying field trying to find a position of the knee that relieved the pain. Since the operation, No Pain even after a six hour session of flying. I sure have lots to be thankful for!

Hope you got to enjoy the sunshine!

Blazer Day

Well not the Portland Trailblazers, our S-10 Blazer. I spent the better part of the day under it.


I got the right half shaft disconnected and the noise was still there. So I pulled the axle shaft out of the front differential. No problem with it, turns out the problem is with the vacuum actuator for engaging 4 wheel drive. Of course it is located under the battery box, so the battery has to be pulled along with the box. With any luck, I can get one tomorrow and start putting it back together.

Here is a picture of the Eurofighter I have been working on. The nozzles in the rear swivel to direct the thrust so it will do some wild maneuvers. It is made of foam, so I am putting fiber glass over it to make it more dent resistant. I went out and did the bottom of one wing tonight after I quit on the Blazer.

The knee held up pretty well to all the up and down to the creeper and going for tools. I swear by the time I am done, all my tools will be out there. Standing up doing the fiber glassing bothered the knee more than anything else I did today. The doctor was right again, at one of my visits he said standing was the hardest thing on it. I didn't see how that could be since it is not getting moved much, but it sure is.
Hope your day went good and nothing broke down on you.

Doctor Appointment

I went in for my first checkup today. Things went great, they X-rayed it and then the doctor checked me over. He was real happy that I can straighten my leg completely. He said that is very important to walking with no limp. He showed me some exercises for a stiff tendon. Now to work on getting full extension. I have about 100 degrees in the morning, but it stiffens up a little as the day goes on. He showed us the X-rays and explained how everything was installed. I had my camera and forgot all about it as the X-rays would have been interesting to put on here. Afterwards, we had lunch at the Country Village, did a little shopping and headed home. After all the activity my knee had swelled so I put ice on it and promptly fell asleep for a nice nap. I did a little work in the shop this afternoon. We got some bad news this evening, Vera's brother Clifford passed away this morning. Nice guy, I always enjoyed talking to him.

Hope you had a chance to enjoy the nice day.

Trimming the Roses

Well, it wasn't Vera or I trimming the Roses, the little deer that has been hanging around was out there doing a great job today. Good day for the knee, the swelling was down and I slept the best last night that I have since coming home. I did my exercises today for the first time in a week. The knee has been so swollen that I could not get through them. I did plenty of icing and elevating today and hope to get two sets in tomorrow. Big deal this morning was bending it 90 degrees, one of the goals. Next is 100 degrees, doesn't seem like much, but sure is! Of all things, I am getting to be a fan of Lets Make a Deal! Shows what laying on the couch will do to you. Hope you stayed dry and warm today.

Only 12 days to go!

Scanned this picture in tonight from my first operation on my knee in 1956. I had that cast on for 9 days. This time it is out patient surgery for a knee replacement. Only 12 more days to go.

Monday was pretty laid back except for an emergency run to Longview. We were out of Pepsi and Bananas, there is no Pepsi One in this town. Plus, it is 3.66 a case down there compared to 5.97 or more here if they had it. Well, we had a few other things we needed to get in Longview so maybe the pop was just an extra. The rest of the day was mostly spent taking it easy on the knee.

Today, Vera went up to see her sister. She is getting better and they went for a walk in the halls. I spent most of the morning with the heat pad on my knee. That plus some time in here on the computer is about all I did.

Wow! What a beautiful day!

What great day! We started out the day by going and picking up the paperwork for my surgery. Pleasant surprise, it is an outpatient surgery. I got my blood work done at Kaiser, had an EKG and preregistered at St Johns. Funny thing at Kaiser, she poked my arm, filled the vial and pulled the needle. Oops forgot to fill the second vial, another poke and lots of laughter. She was a little red, we had been talking about a test she thought they wanted. Turns out it was typed in wrong, once they got that straightened out. We had went back in and that is when needle got pulled before we were done. Then it was off to lunch at JT's Steak and Fish House. First time for Buffalo burgers with bacon and blue cheese. Not bad, but not something I would have every time. While we were eating Vera asked if I wanted to drive to Vancouver and get my birthday present from her. Nice day so off we went and the weather only got better down there. Only got lost once, but the GPS saved us again. I took the shot of St Helens on the way back.


Coming up on Carrolls Bluff, the sky and clouds look so nice I had to take a picture. Perfectly legal, I wasn't texting.

A little further up, it looked interesting so it was time for another picture. It looked nice to the West, but the camera decided it needed a rest and quit working?? When we got home it had turned it self off and was fine. The sunset was kind of nice after I had put my present together so I took this final shot.

Only 24 more days til surgery

Went for a Walk

I went for a walk today and found my path blocked by a tree that had came down last night. Wow did it blow last night, I went out with the spot light about 11 and looked at the tree tops, boy were they whipping around. We had been hearing things hitting the roof so I decided looking from the door was close enough.


The root system does not look too good, it appears to be a little rotten. Of course I caught my left foot on a branch taking this picture and the knee hurt the rest of the day. The things I go through to get pictures for this!


Well, the lawn was clean until last night! Not as bad as some other times this winter. I will just let them lay, as the weather man says that we may be getting a worse one Wednesday night, something to look forward to. Dianne, Parker and Auna did a great job on the driveway, hope the wind Wednesday doesn't ruin their work.

Getting my Birthday Present

I will be getting my birthday present a couple of days early. Today I went down and started the process, if everything goes as planned I will get a new left knee joint February 15th. With any luck I will be out of the hospital for my birthday. The cortisone shot helped me get through Christmas, but any amount of activity and it gets pretty sore. Forget stairs, they are something I take one step at a time. At least since the shot it does not wake me up at night.