SATURDAY

. . . .I could not help myself today; I returned to the bowling alley and bowled ten lines. The first five gave me a  143 average and I bowled a 138 during the second five lines. That was not too bad for a kid! I got home about two o’clock and was happy to see that ChiChi did not chew on his splint while I was away. I had decided to test him without the cone around his neck. I will try that again one day.

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FRIDAY

 . . . . .I bowled 15 lines today but only came home with a 133 average. Very disappointing, but I will continue to embarrass myself more or less daily just to see what comes of it all. Doggy is not happy with the cone and fights me each time I put it on him. It is a shame but he has no intention of not chewing at the splint at every opportunity. Eighteen days [and nights] to go, ChiChi.

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THURSDAY

. . . ..  Westport radar displayed a large rain front off the coast this morning. Summer is not going to last too long again! The last 48 hours have been it, I’m afraid. Such as it was. I made the mistake of going bowling today. 106-117-108. I have no idea what is going on. I can do nothing right with that bowling ball. Since it is a light ball and fits my hand so well I have decided to learn to bowl with it regardless of my lousy scores. Perhaps with years of practice I can improve. That would be nice.

ChiChi is trying his best to not chew on the leg splint but I can’t trust him out of my sight. I put the cone on him each time I leave the house. He is becoming more and more unhappy when he sees me getting close with that thing in my  hand. That rain front arrived late afternoon today, light showers before sunset.

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WEDNESDAY

. . . . .ChiChi and I went fishing for a couple of hours this afternoon. I thought I would have to carry him up and down the dike but he mastered the stairs and the path very well all by himself, thank you. He is unable to jump in the car but he jumped out quickly enough when we got home. I removed the cone long enough to feed him and give him water but the minute I left the room he was tearing at the splint again. He always sits in my lap while I watch O’Reilly on TV and I had to lift him again today, of course. He was very uncomfortable and could not find his ‘spot’ but he stayed the whole hour. After I left the chair and started this blog entry he laid down beside me and is snoring at the present. Tomorrow is bowling, I hope to do well but you have heard that story before!

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TUESDAY

. .  ..  .I bowled 12 lines today and averaged only 131. Took doggy to the vet and had a splint applied to his left leg, X-rays showed torn ligaments. He spent all afternoon chewing at the foot end of the splint so I drove to Pet Co for a cone collar to keep him from that little activity. Of course he had the cone removed before we got home so I put it on him again. We will see how long it lasts this time. He had to be ‘knocked out’ in order for the x-rays to be taken so he has not been in a good mood all afternoon. Perhaps by morning he might feel good enough to eat some food, he certainly did not want anything to eat today. Caren and Ron invited us over for fried clams this evening and it was after leaving there around 7pm that I drove to Longview for the collar. At the moment the dog really hates me for the  splint and the collar. He still has all of his teeth, I can count them from the needle points in my right thumb. Poor doggy, I am sorry he has to go through this. He can’t understand he would be in very little pain if he would just not fight it and relax.

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MONDAY

. . . .I just HAD to go back to the bowling alley again today. I averaged 139 with the first five lines and it may have been better but I was trying out another ball Ernie had found for me. I had been complaining about my 12 pound ball not having any ‘life’ so he discovered another 12 pounder that has a more off center weight that creates a bit of a curve when it is thrown down the alley. I practiced two lines with that and didn’t write down the results but I had a total average of 139 after five lines. I then threw five more lines of 139-146-139-171-148= 148.6. Now I am getting somewhere! The truth will be in the pudding come Thursday. There is a 50 Percent chance of rain tomorrow so I might use that as an excuse to not go fishing. I would like to try that ball again.

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SUNDAY

. . . .ChiChi and I spent three hours at the river today. Threw a lot of sand around but never did catch a fish. It was a fine day, broken clouds and no rain until after we got back to the house. Every thing worked out just fine.

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SATURDAY

. . . .I bowled ten lines today; the first five averaged 136 and the second five averaged 145 so I came home feeling pretty good about my results. I am getting used to the 12 pound ball but it has no life in it, it only goes in a straight line. But is it light enough to be controlled fairly well and I suppose I will get better as time goes on. Lots of rain today so I was better off bowling than I would have been at the river. Perhaps the sun will be out for a while tomorrow. Maybe I will catch the ‘big one’.

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FRIDAY

. . . . .          My doctor appointment in Portland was to be at 3:30 but the office phoned and asked if I could be there at 1:30. It was no big problem, I had nothing else planned for the day. Actually, it worked better for me because I did not have to fight the commuter traffic when leaving Portland after the appointment. I left the house at noon after having lunch.

While there I had an echocardiogram done to determine the condition of my heart and was happy to find that the deterioration of the heart muscle is not progressing as fast as it was almost three years ago. I surprised myself by walking the stairs to the ninth floor. I did have to stop twice to catch my breath but that only took half a minute each time. I have another appointment in early December just to make sure I will be in good enough health to spend the winter in Mazatlan. I asked the doctor if it would be OK to buy the ticket ahead of time and she assured me she expected no serious problem to present itself. I got rained on driving to the appointment and again while driving home. I’m ready for Mazatlan right now.

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THURSDAY

. . . .Another great day for fishing but I went bowling instead. I should have gone fishing. I bowled 133-153-128, just about my average but better days are coming. I thought I would be fishing tomorrow but just remembered I have a doctor appointment in Portland at 3:30 so I doubt there will be any fishing.

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WEDNESDAY

. . . .The first day of summer and no rain! That is unbelievable for the great Northwest! Doggy and I got to the fishing hole today and found the sitting area under more than a foot of water. The river level was 36.4 feet and had it been two inches higher the area I have been working on would also have been under water.

As it was I decided to throw out a lure and read for a while. I also built up the area with more sand just for the exercise. I did get a strike but he only hit it once and was gone. So, no fish again. It was a great day to be at the river though. The water is high but the color is good and there are fish in there. I might give it another try Friday.

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TUESDAY

. . . . It was too wet to go fishing so I spent another couple of hours bowling. After 10 lines I did worse than yesterday. I got a 138 average. Might have done better but my last line was a 102. That made me feel pretty lousy. The next two days are to be nice so I will go fishing tomorrow but rain is expected by the weekend.

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MONDAY

. . . . . . Winter has returned, at least I felt that way at 6AM. I drover into Castle Rock about 10:30 and was almost washed away in a downpour. I had to sit in front of the hardware store for several minutes waiting for the rain to ease up enough to allow me to get inside. After arriving back at the house I ate some lunch then left for the bowling alley. The sun was out by that time and stayed out the rest of the day. I bowled 10 lines and averaged only 130 with the 12 pound ball. I was disappointed. I really expected to do better than that but it never happened. Life has it down days, I suppose.

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SUNDAY

. . . .Never did get to the fishing hole today. I decided it would be more fun to go to the bowling alley and try out the 12 pound bowling ball I have become owner of. My first three games were 115-115-140. I expected problems because I am not used to such a light ball. The second set of three games came out 159-128-130 which is a tad better than my average for this summer. I have decided  to continue bowling with the lighter ball, it seems to require less effort and I am getting about the same results. I arrived back at the house before 2PM and spent the rest of the day pigging out in front of the boob tube.

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SATURDAY

. . . . ChiChi and I spent 3 ½ hours at the fishing hole today, shoveling sand, reading, resting, anything but catching fish. We got home about 3pm hungry and dirty. I jumped in the shower and as I finished the phone rang. It was Caren calling to invite me over for a BBQ. I was most happy to hear it because by that time I was really getting hungry. I grabbed a Peanut Cluster to hold me till dinner time and doggy and I hopped in the car. The hamburger we had was delicious, Colty was fun to watch running around the place and the strawberries for dessert were wonderful. Caren sent me home with some fried chicken and pea salad. It was a great evening and we got home about 6:30. It rained on the way home but I refused to turn on the windshield wipers. It was another good day!

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FRIDAY

. . . . .Turned out to be an especially nice day at the river. Didn’t catch any fish but I took my car wax and detail paint with me and worked on that while the fishing pole was cooling itself by the rivers edge. The car is now waxed and ready to sit out the winter in the garage if I end up going back to Mazatlan again this winter. That is my plan, God willing! Doggy and I fished and waxed until about 3:30, later some clouds rolled in; there is a rain front rolling in from the Gulf of Alaska. If it arrives by noon tomorrow I will go bowling. I found a 12 pound bowling ball that I want to practice with, I have felt for some time that the 16 pounder is a bit too much for me, now I will check that theory out. I may have to learn to bowl all over again!

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THURSDAY

. . .  .I refreshed the contents of the refrigerator today after bowling and stopping by the lab for a Protime update. The bowling results were two pins above my average so I won’t complain too much; I am sure I can do much better though. Also stopped by the auto paint shop and got a small bottle of touch up paint for the car, now I have to wait for the mood to do that job. If I depend on the weather I may be a long time completing that chore. It is not warm today but at lest it is not raining, God is good, life is great!

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WEDNESDAY

. . . . .It was threatening rain all morning so I used that as an excuse to stay home and do laundry. When the laundry was finished and put away I still had an ounce of energy left so I washed the car. NOW the rains can start again. I put the car back in the garage. That did not please the doggy a lot, he is ready to jump in and go someplace each time I fire it up. I took a nap this afternoon, that always refreshes one, but me, refreshed, still leaves a lot to be desired. I’m lying, but I thought that was a funny line. I don’t feel I had enough exercise today but I will make up for it tomorrow, another bowling day.

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TUESDAY

. . . . The rains arrived a few hours later than expected but they were in the air as I drove away from the house this morning. Today was the day to meet the ’52’ gang for lunch at 11AM. Lunch went well, as usual and after leaving the festivities I stopped by the bowling alley. That went well also, I averaged 150 over six lines and had I not bowled one line at 109 I would have a much better average. On the way home I stopped by an auto repair shop and ordered a bit of touch up paint for the car. I have accumulated a few scratches that have to be taken care of, I grazed a pile of rocks and put some scratches on the lower right side. Lucky for me there was no denting. The paint will be ready to be picked up on Thursday after bowling. We had mostly light rain today, if I had been home it would have been a good time to wash the car and put it in the garage until the storm passes.

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MONDAY

. . . . .Rain is expected  tomorrow but this morning was beautiful. I felt when I got up that it would be a nice day for fishing. It turned out that I was right about fishing but the catching was no good. It was really a very nice day to sit by the river and read between sessions with the shovel throwing sand from one part of the dike to another. Actually I am widening the steps going down to the rivers edge. I suppose a good share of it will be filled in next winter but that’s OK, I will just have something more to do next spring. . . . . Strange stuff: Last fall I sent Terri some sun hats in Hawaii and they have never arrived. The Post Office attempted to trace them but you know how that goes. On March 19 of this year I mailed a package of plastic dish covers to Natalia in Mazatlan. They have yet to arrive. I did not pay for first class to Hawaii but I thought I should for the package to Mexico. For all the good it did me. I went to the Post Office today but all they could offer was ‘sorry’. I can remember many years ago when the French Postal delivery was the laughing stock of the world, they now have competition. . .  .At the moment there is heavy rain North of Westport, I expect it will be here in the morning. Life is Grand!

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SUNDAY

.. Doggy and I enjoyed a very quiet day. I did get to the 49r Restaurant to meet Melvin and Billy for lunch though. After leaving them I stopped by the Teigen’s for a short visit and to return the container that she sent me home with last week, the one with the meat loaf in it. Hopefully she will refill it soon and invite me back. Mel mentioned that the river is still dirty but I may check it out tomorrow if the bad weather expected does not materialize. I have to get some shovel exercise even if the fish are not biting. It has been a good day, cool but lots of sunshine!

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SATURDAY

. . . .The river is definitely not the right color for fishing and water is in the sitting area of the fireplace so I decided to go bowling. The only good thing about bowling was when the fifth line ended I decided to really crack down on myself and concentrate on one more line. I bowled a 156 and left feeling a little better. The average for the 6 lines was 126 and I have no idea how it got that high.  

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FRIDAY

. . . .The high water has washed over the sitting area of the fishing hole again. It was raining too much to even consider going down there today anyway. I did get brave and stopped by the bowling alley though. I came away feeling good because of the nice last two games. 130-154-120-140-117-126-133-141-159-159= 134.5. I made a change in my delivery during the last two games and have decided to try that again the next time I get down there. It took me two hours to throw 10 lines and I was not as tired as usual for some reason.

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THURSDAY

. . . . . .Another rainy day in Western Washington. My first bowling game left me with a score of 119 but then I returned with a 166 and a 156. That turned out to be 10 pins better than my average for the three games. I felt good about myself but I noticed that two others on my team scored 200 or better on each of their games. Sometimes I am the bug and sometimes I am the windshield. More rain due tomorrow.

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WEDNESDAY

. . . . . . . . .ChiChi and I spent three hours at the river today, didn’t see any fish but the weather was nice, a few raindrops but no cool wind. I did get in some shovel time with the idiot stick and feel good about that. The river is up a bit again and not as clean as it has  been.

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TUESDAY

. . . .  .I felt it was just too cool to sit by the river today so doggie and I stayed home and got fat. I considered going bowling again but decided I would let the good results from yesterday hold me for a while. While the rest of the country is enjoying summer we in Western Washington are doing the best we can to keep things out of winter mode. There is a possibility that last remark is an exaggeration so to speak. However it is the way I am feeling at the moment. I am sitting in the house wearing a sweat shirt watching a too cool breeze rough up the trees outside my window. Life is really tough some times.

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MONDAY

. .  . .It was too cool and wet to bother going to the river today so I paid a visit to the bowling alley. 149-213-155-144-118-140= 156 average. Not bad for my abilities. If history is any lesson I will fall far short of those results come Thursday. I was most pleased with the last game because I was fighting with myself to make an improvement over that 118. When I really pay attention I can deliver the ball correctly, but that takes a lot of concentration.. . . . This evening Caren phoned to tell me she had made a meat loaf and I should come get some. I had already eaten but I did drive over there to get a container full for tomorrow’s enjoyment. I was home by 8pm in time to catch my favorite fluff on Monday night TV.

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Sunday

. . . . Spent another three hours at the fishing hole. No fish but I did get the news when I got home that Ben is home again! He is one tough o’ guy! Sunday evening, time to cook up some popcorn and find a movie free of commercials!

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SATURDAY

. . . .Doggie and I spent another three hours at the river today. It didn’t do us any good though. Par for the course, of course. Got a message that a good friend and Terri’s Uncle [Ben] has been taken to ICU with a heart problem. I may drive down that way tomorrow and try to cheer him up, poor guy. I know Ben would love to spend some time at the river with me but his health has not been good enough for him to make the trip. ChiChi and I got home about 4PM today. I ate dinner and spent the rest of the evening watching TV and catching up with my email.

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FRIDAY

. . . It was a warm 62 degrees when I got up this morning, the day looked promising. It had started to sprinkle when ChiChi and I left the house and only got worse as the next hour progressed. I managed to get the lure in the water and sit under a tree for a few minutes before a large Scotch Bloom limb caught my line and forced me back into the rain to retrieve my lure. I ended up loosing hook line and sinker. I became discouraged as the rain continued so after creating a whole new set up I decided to not even cast it out. ChiChi and I came home. The rain stopped as we pulled in the garage. The inside of the car smelled like wet dog. I couldn’t tell if that was me or the animal. That was our adventure for today. It only lasted one hour, tops.

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