Monday

. . . . Comcast increased my bill by $20 last month so this morning I attempted to find a cheaper provider and the best I could do was Century Link who wanted three dollars more a month than what I already have. I am staying with Comcast but not because I like the outfit. Big rainfall this afternoon and the river is up a foot. Looks like no fishing for a while.

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Sunday

. . . It was a cool day so I left ChiChi in the car for an hour and a half while I threw six more lines today. My average was 135, a bit better than my last attempt Friday. We got home about 2PM without getting rained on. The radar picture showed a very large rainstorm off the coast this afternoon. It was moving on to land by 8:30PM.

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Saturday

. . . . Billy, my Nephew, has been after me for months to drive him out to my place so he could see where I live since moving from Larsen Lane a year ago. Today was the day. ChiChi and I picked him up at his place about 12:30 and we drove out the West Side highway to Castle Rock then turned south to visit Melvin for a while. For several days I have wanted to check out the river level so I could compare it with the level I found at the USGS site. The river level at present is 36.5 feet at Castle Rock and at that depth it is possible to find a dry spot at the fishing hole to cast out a lure. However that would be the case only if I was positive there were fish swimming by at the time. Under normal circumstances I have decided to not get too excited about going down there until the water level reaches 35.5 feet at Castle Rock. The flow at the moment is 14.600 cfpc and if that lowers I am sure the river will drop. Perhaps I’ll check again Monday. The water color is good and fishing might be OK at other spots. After leaving Mel  we drove to my place and visited for a few minutes before delivering Bill home. We had broken clouds today and the weather may have gotten to 70 degrees, not bad for Cowlitz Valley.

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Friday

.  . . . . I had to go shopping today so I stopped at the bowling alley again to try my luck. My results were a 132 average for six lines. Nothing to brag about. That was the total of my day except for cutting up an already cooked chicken to use in tacos. I have a very streamlined system for getting a taco meal together. Almost everything is prepared ahead of time and I can get it ready in the time it takes to fry a large tortilla in olive oil. I am using vegetarian refried beans so the lard is being eliminated, very healthy meal. Goes great with a Rum and Coke.

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Thursday

. . . . . Went bowling today, 122-107-163; needless to say I liked the last line but it took me too long to find my grove. That ball refused to follow directions even a little bit during the first two lines. Such is life. After getting home I fixed some lunch then fell asleep in my recliner waking up half past O’Reilly. That upset me as much as my bowling scores.

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Wednesday

. . . . . .Again today the weather was threatening rain but we lucked out until around 4PM. By that time we were enjoying a thunder storm; never did notice any lightening though. I put wax on at least half of the car before I pooped out and quit for the day. I will get back to it as soon as the weather clears and I don’t find something more interesting to do. Temperatures were nice enough to create good fishing conditions but the river has gone up about a half foot from yesterday. That means the sitting area at the fishing hole is under water. It’s always something. Tomorrow is the beginning of Summer Bowling League, that will create some exercise. And agrivation.

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Tuesday

. . . .A quiet day, threatening rain but it was a long time getting here, after 4PM. Dog and I stayed inside and did a lot or reading. Succeeded in not loading up on calories while reading. That was my only accomplishment for this day.

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Monday

. . . . The usgs Internet reports the river level is at 37 feet. It has to drop to at least 35 feet before I will even venture down that way to see what the fishing possibilities are. I saw several boats on the river yesterday. The water is clean enough but just too high to access the fishing hole. It appears that I will have more exercise when I do get down there. I’m sure the sand has returned and has to be shoveled out. I drove into town to bowl six more lines today. Averaged 141, which is three pins less than yesterday. After leaving the bowling alley I stopped  for a short visit with the Teigen’s then headed home for some lunch. It was a nice day for a drive but the distance was not long enough; temperature was close to 80 again today. It really would be nice if that could continue for many weeks into the future. Probably never going to happen though. This evening it was commercials with cookies and milk. I am trying to wean myself from the ice cream habit.

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Sunday

. . . . I had a shower and the laundry all caught up by 10:30. I checked the river level via the computer and decided it had not receded enough to consider the fishing hole on this fine day. I decided to wait until after lunch to pay a visit to the old bowling alley. That turned out OK, I held a 144 average for the six lines, even got a 173 out of one of the games. This was popcorn/movie night and by the time I got the kitchen cleaned up it was time to get to bed. The weather was all that could be expected, got close to 80, I’m sure.

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Saturday

Sorry to say but it seems I forgot to post for Friday. That surprises me and I find it to be a bit frustrating.. . . . ChiChi and I drove to the fishing hole today but found the river way too high for such fun so we came home. I visited with Roy for a while then decided to walk down to the pond in the back of the place. I had been there once before but had not climbed up the other side to the fence line. Today I did that with ChiChi following along like the trooper he is. Lizzy, Roy’s dog followed but she is much more overweight than ChiChi so it was more difficult for her. She made the entire round trip though. ChiChi and I sat at the top of the hill for a while and Lizzy didn’t want to wait for us so she went back alone. Poor Lizzy was so slow that we all arrived back on level ground at the same time. I scratched both dogs ears and everyone was pleased with the day. The weather was wonderful, the temperature was 75 and tomorrow promises to be even better. I can handle that.
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Thursday

. . . . Weather radar shows heavy rain south of Portland and we received a slight brushing of the wet stuff ourselves.

I discovered after 10AM that I was due for a haircut at Bernita’s place at ten so I had to rush through my morning ‘getting ready’ for the day and get up there. She has raised her prices, it is called inflation, folks. We are going to see a lot more of that before long, count on it. The American dollar is still King but the king is not in very good health sorry to say. We are spending way too much money and on unecessary stuff at that. I attended the Bowling Banquit at noon today. The food was great as were the drinks, Dave was the only other member of my team that made a showing. This was a great day for a banquit because it was too wet and cold to spend any time at the fishing hole. Perhaps tomorrow will be better. Something tells me this spell checker is not operating correctly. The correct spelling is banquet, right?

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Wednesday

Wednesday…….The weather was nice until I got to the fishing hole about 12:30. Actually it did not start to rain untill about an hour later. I got in some reading then ducked into the little cabin on top of the dike until the worst of it stopped. We were home by 3:30, never did get too wet but the wind was cold. I was wearing my Blizzard suit but that did not protect the back of my neck. I was hungry and it was time to feed ChiChi by the time we returned so all was fine. The high Temp today was about 60f.

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Tuesday

. . . It was too cool to think about fishing today and later on we had rain so I am happy to have stayed home. Doggie too. I tlaked to Pepik and Eva on Skype at 1PM today, that was almost midnight in Prauge, I asked them why they were up and Pepik told me they were watching the end of a championship hockey game on TV. The reason I called so late was because my computer told me Eva was on line and I was surprised at the time of day. A while later she sent me a picture of her other daughter and one of Helenka. Helenka must me close to five years old now. Pepik said he finally got around to seeing my Alaska presentation on YouTube, told me he likes the naration better than music. ChiChi is doing better, I watched him scratch behind his ear with that sore foot today. He was taking it slow and easy but at least he is using it for something if not for walking.

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Monday

. . . I got back from bowling about 2:30. I averaged 138 for 6 lines. When I left home I offered to take ChiChi but he did not respond when I asked him to get in the car. I think he is not much for getting around these days. He really does not wish to put his left rear foot on the floor so I am thinking I must have stepped on his foot one day last week. When we play around and I am rubbing his tummy he has no trouble stretching his leg out full length so I am going to rule out hip trouble. He does not lick his foot like I would expect him too if it were bothering him though. We had a good rain during the night, perhps the storm has passed and I can plan on fishing tomorrow.

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Sunday

 . . . ChiChi waited in  the car this morning while I went in Safeway to stock up on fruits and vegetables again. Tonight is Popcorn  cheese apple night and I was out of apples. Being Sunday I didn’t even try to go fishing because the chances are pretty good the fishing hole would be well populated. When the water is as high as it is there is really not much room for more than two fishing poles and not a lot of places to sit. I spent the afternoon reading and napping, I could have gone walking but didn’t want to do that and leave the dog behind because of his bad leg. He would not be at all happy to have me walk out the driveway without him. I plan on bowling practice  tomorrow.

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Saturday

. . . .ChiChi and I spent three hours at the fishing hole today. I got a lot of exercise shoveling out the fire pit and the dog spent some time chasing Tippy, Mel’s dog who came down for a while to visit. When I arrived home I discovered that NASCAR racing was just starting so I grabbed a snack and porked out in front of the TV.

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Friday

. . . .Mother Nature was throwing lightening bolts and thunderheads at us this evening. I was expecting rain but never saw any. I drove to PetCo this afternoon to buy some NaturVet Naturals Glucosamine Soft chews for the doggie. Nine ounces cost me $18.00 and the dog does not like them! He hauled one of the chews off and I found it later in the bathroom. I suggest in the future that I take the dog with me and get a taste test before paying such an outragous price for doggie chews that dogs don’t even like. Do you think I can get my money back? I don’t usually do that but in this case and at the cost of the item I will try, I suppose. What a rip off! He is still carrying his leg around but I have noticed that at times he fortgets and puts it on the floor, perhaps it is getting better. Poor, picky doggy.

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Thursday

. . . The high tempeture for the day was 55 on my thermometer and I could not talk myself into going to the fishing hole or taking a walk. I think that if I was sure the fish had arrived I might have gone but that is not the case at present. I could have gone for a walk today too but that cool wind was not for me. I did get out to the mail box though, that is about 600 fet round trip. Doggie followed me all chipper and happy to be out but still carrying that back leg. I spent a short time working on my picture project too. Later this afternoon I did walk down the ‘hollow’ to the pond in the backyard and ChiChi followed me on three legs. It didn’t seem to bother him a bit. The exercise was good for me too but it didn’t last long enough. Today is ChiChi's Seventh Birthday.

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Wednesday

. I wish I could report some great accomplishment today but alas, that is not the case. I can’t even brag about taking a nap this afternoon. I did work for a while on my YouTube presentation but got bored with that after a while. ChiChi is still carrying his leg around, will not sit it on the floor and I can find nothing wrong with it. His ‘knee cap’ appears to be a bit sensitive though, I have no idea what might have happened. He does not act like he is in any pain, just refuses to stand on that one leg. I will just have to keep an eye on the little guy.

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Tuesday

 .  . http://youtu.be/Iia76uDwoFc This is the link to my Mazatlan Pictures Part One. Enjoy! Tell me what you think of them. I went to lunch with the ‘52’ gang today and had a good time seeing them all after missing the past two months. Bob was the only one who asked if I had a good time, It was fun answering his questions. I was home by 2PM and posted the pictures around 3:30.. . . Doggie is still carrying his left rear foot around. I gave him a very small  amount of pain pill and he seemed to be feeling better but the leg still stays off the floor. Teigens little Foster baby is going to her permanent home tomorrow so I stopped by this evening to say good bye the dthe little one. She is a sweet little redhead going to join a family that already has 5 kids. She will have a lot of people to love!

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Monday

. . .  ChiChi awoke this morning favoring his left rear leg. His hip is sore to the touch but as long as he carries the foot off the floor he is able to get around. I hope it is only arthritis, I can put aspirin in his food and help him that way. I took him to the fishing hole with me today but I had to lift him into the car because he can not use that leg to help him jump that high. We were there almost three hours before I mentioned ‘home’ to him and he let me know immediately that he like the sound of that. When we got back he ate a little then went to his bed in the bedroom and relaxed. I spent some time reading email but by that time I was feeling hungry too so I got myself something to eat then wasted the rest of the evening in front of the commercials on TV. ChiChi joined me and sat beside me in the chair but I had to lift him, he could not make the jump.

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Easter

. . . Radar showed a 300 mile long band of rain about 100 miles off the Oregon/Washington coast this morning. We may have a great and sunny day today but it did not look good for Monday. I checked again when I got back from bowling practice and found the rain has dissipated off the radar. That pleased me. My bowling was not quite as pleasing though: 113-114-125-189-142-142= 137. I do have my problems. I am becoming a spot bowler and when I hit the spot I am aiming for the ball goes right to the target. My problem is hitting the darn spot. Practice and patience, or so they say. Tonight I enjoyed popcorn and a movie, there seems to be no rain in the area.

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Saturday

. . . It was cold out this morning! My thermometer read 33 and that is as close to freezing as I want to get in April. Or at any other time for that matter. Things warmed up nicely later so and ChiChi and I walked to the river and back. The river level has dropped considerably and the color is good. I just might make a trip to the fishing hole tomorrow and check things out.

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Friday

. We had a nice day today, at times the sky got pretty dark but there never was any rain that I noticed. ChiChi and I walked for almost an hour and he ate a large dinner tonight, perhaps the walk caused that. The rest of the day was spent playing on the computer, wrestling with those Mazatlan pictures.

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Thursday

. . .  .It appeared to be a nice day so I decided to wash the car. I can rack it up to good exercise and if my luck holds it will not rain for a week or two. I wonder what the chances are of that happening. That was at 10AM, by the time I left the house at noon to go bowling the rain was coming down, not heavy but it was coming down. My bowling was not so hot, 102-162-127. This was the end of the season and the team I am on ended up last out of 22 teams. And again this week, I was the only one to show up. Out of all those bowlers I found that my average is 11^th from the bottom. The league Dinner is in a couple of weeks and then we can start the Summer games. I will improve, I hope. I was home early because the other team was short a person too so there were only four of us bowling, things go pretty fast in those circumstances.  

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Wednesday

. . . . . My Wednesday was really quiet, most of the time was spent on my pictures, I never did get a nap, that was a surprise. Tomorrow I will be able to write about my bowling scores. It would be nice to do as well as I did Monday! Most of the day we experienced rainfall so I never attempted to go walking.

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Tuesday

. . That was a funny thing about ChiChi being locked in the car yesterday but I later decided how it happened. Usually when we get home and drive in the garage he is out of the car and gone in a flash so I don't pay a lot of attention. This time we had been to the drive up teller at the bank and the lady as usual delivered him a doggie biscuit. He did not jump out of the car when we arrived home but began to chew on the treat, I didn't notice and locked him inside.

He got back at me this morning though, I attempted to give him a bath, actually I took him in the shower with me hoping he might be more pleased with the shower than the kitchen sink. Never happened, he was a very nasty little rotten dog while I was trying to rub in the dog shampoo. He bit me several times but he was very careful not to draw blood, he knows his limits but I really don't think he is going to be able to hold back so well as he gets older. I will have to begin bathing him wearing heavy gloves.

I didn't accomplish a lot today but the laundry is all caught up including the dog and myself so the day was not a complete loss.

Monday

. . . .I am very pleased with today’s bowling results. 237-130-167-131-136-161=163 average. I was really pleased with the last line because I really buckled down and paid attention even though I was tired. To have bowled a 161 under those conditions made me a happy boy. After bowling I stopped by to visit Ron and Caren for a while. I had had a nice lunch before bowling but I started getting hungry so I drove home to eat again. I have been doing a good job keeping my weight down since getting back home so I am watching it. ChiChi was also hungry, mainly because he will not eat the dry dog food that is always in front of him unless I mix it with canned dog food too. Spoiled snot dog. After eating he curled up on the dog bed under the heater vent and went to sleep. That reminded me that I did not get my nap today. I will sleep twice as long tomorrow to make up for it.

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Sunday

 . . I discovered after breakfast that I had no popcorn left in the house and since this is Popcorn night I hopped in the car with ChiChi in tow and drove to the Castle Rock Market. I was also out of peanut clusters so I picked up a pound of them too. When I got home I carried the stuff inside and since I did not see ChiChi follow me I left the kitchen door cracked open so he could return easily. Later when I got hungry for lunch I fixed myself a taco and sat down to eat it when I realized ChiChi had never come back in the house. After finishing the taco I went out and called him a couple of times with no response so I returned to the kitchen and cleaned up the dishes. It was after I finished that that I decided to check and see if the little nut had never gotten out of the car. Sure enough, there he was. He is usually pretty good about staying put when I ask him to but this is the first time he did not jump out when arriving back at the house from an outing. We did not go walking today because the rain, although light, never really stopped long enough to go for an excursion. I was happy with that. As the sun gets lower in the sky I notice that the clouds are making room for some sunshine to get through. That makes a nice ending for this Sunday.

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