SATURDAY

. . . .  .I discovered two deer outside my bedroom window this morning. I find that to be a very quiet and relaxing experience. It is not rare around here either. . . .  .ChiChi and I were at the fishing hole for four hours today, the water was great and the fish bait fresh but still no takers. I saw no other fishermen out there. I suppose most folks are disappointed in their recent fishing results and are staying home. The air was cool and there was a thick layer of clouds but without the wind it was bearable. I guessed the temperature to be about 45f.

FRIDAY

. . . . I was really pleased with my bowling results today. The first five lines averaged 154 and the second produced a 148. Total pins for the ten lines came to 1512. I arrived knowing exactly how I was going to approach the foul line and as long as I continued doing that I was successful. There were two games when I lost my concentration, a 129 and a 139 but as soon as I began really concentrating I did well. I will say that the two  low games mentioned came just before I had lunch. The four lines after lunch averaged 153. I guess the secrete is to bowl with a full stomach and concentrate! I will return Sunday and see how well I remember my lesson. . .  .After bowling I stopped by Wal-mart to begin Christmas shopping and to stock up on fishing gear. One of these days I will surprise myself and catch a fish large enough to bring home. . . .  .I checked on Bob on my way home, we watched the last five minutes of the Washington/Washington football game then the therapy tech came by and took him away for some exercise. I will see him again Sunday and we will decide when he will be coming home. It is my plan to help him out with that but I also have a doctor appointment in Beaverton on Monday and then Vancouver on Tuesday. It'll work out, I'm sure. 

THANKSGIVING 2013

. . . . .I had a great dinner with the Teigens this afternoon; there were almost a dozen people there and all went will. Lots of good food, you can always count on Caren for that, and lots of fine company. I was sent home with enough left overs to keep me going for several days. . . .  .I noticed on the web site that the river has dropped almost two feet so perhaps Saturday I will try another few hours at the fishing hole. The only problem is that bad weather is expected soon. Tomorrow I will try the bowling alley then stop on the way home to resupply my fishing box with a few necessary items I have lost to the river. It was a good day. I left ChiChi home because he is not good with strangers and he was most pleased when I drove in to supply him with his dinner.

WEDNESDAY

. . . . . ChiChi and I were at the fishing hole for four hours today. There were no clouds in the sky and no fish in the river. It was a comfortable day at the edge of the water but I did forget to take my book along so I used the free time as an excuse to grab the idiot stick and clean out the two inches of sand the last high water left on the floor of the sitting area. Those concrete tiles Mel donated and I laid are really nice to have there when attempting to remove the sand. The river water is still high, another foot of water and the sitting area will again be flooded. We are hoping that cold weather will stop the river from rising. The only problem then is that fishing is not as comfortable. I will spend more time at the bowling alley. It is just as frustrating as not catching fish but it is warmer.

TUESDAY

. . . . . I bowled twenty lines again today. Did not do too hot a job of it though. My first five came to an average of 130 and I improved on that during the second five with a 136 average. It was at this point that I threw caution to the winds and started experimenting with my delivery. I did not keep score [I was in no mood]. The last ten lines only produced a 117 average which made my days total a 132. Perhaps I learned a few things during that last ten lines but time will tell. I will try again on Friday. . .  ..Stopped in to see Bob again today, he mentioned that he may get released a day or two earlier than expected and took my phone number so he can call me for a ride home should it become necessary. I told him I would be ready anytime he wished. . . . My plan was to stop by Teigen's today but I was too hungry and tired so I just went home and fed the dog before sitting down with some salsa and chips. [Too much salt, I'm sure].  I purchased a new ten-draw lottery card today, I never win anything but I keep trying. Just like my bowling. Even a steer can try, you know.

MONDAY

. . . . . . Doggy and I got out of the house for an hour today. We strolled down to the river and found it to still be a bit high but clearing nicely. I could tell ChiChi was pleased with the walk because he was out in front pulling on the leash when it was necessary for him to be leashed and doing some exploring on his own at other times. The sunshine was very welcome although it would have been nice for the wind to have died down a bit while we were out. I imagine I will be going to the bowling alley tomorrow but if the water drops a little and the sun is out I will be fishing again the next day. This evening is Monday night football and popcorn, a combination that is hard to beat.

SUNDAY

. . . . . .My hours at the bowling alley turned out well today. The first five lines was above my average at a nice [for me] 139. I was beginning to feel hungry toward the end of the second set of five lines but I still came out of it with a a 147.
After eating a small hamburger and a drink I felt perky enough to try another round of five and that one ended with an average of 148. That means that for the day I bowled a 144 average. Not bad for a young guy! What especially pleased me was the 14the line. That ended up being a 208. That is the first time in over a year that I have bowled above 200. I feel that I know what it takes to bowl better but I have to learn how to really concentrate on each and every ball I throw. If I don't do that I fail too often.. . .  . I stopped in to see Bob again today; he is doing very well and looking forward to getting home on December 6th. This evening doggy and I watched football and ate too much.

SATURDAY

. . . . . . Too much football, food and napping today. I accomplished nothing to speak of and should have at least taken the dog for a walk. My bad.

FRIDAY

. . . . .The temperature at the Kelso airport this morning was 26. The sunshine all day was nice to see but I never did leave the house.  I spent time on the 13 Presidents program for YouTube. I have cut out everything except the actual 13 groups of pictures and it still runs over 30 minutes. I will perhaps make a second show of the drive without the Libraries included. Time will tell. 

THURSDAY

. . . . . .Bowling was not great today but I did score one pin above my average. I think we won but not by much.   I had my laundry all caught up and put away before leaving for bowling, that is an accomplishment, for me. Checked in on Bob again today, he is looking good and looking forward to getting home. To his own cooking, not so much. The river is still dirty but this clear weather might change that soon. The barometer read 30.5 when I got up his morning. I marked it with a marking pen because I have never seen it that high since Terri gave it to me a couple of years ago. The temp outside was 30, that is one below as far as I am concerned. -1c . Mazatlan is looking better every day!

WEDNESDAY

. . .  . .I did get out in the sunshine today to wash the car. I can't say much for the temperature but the sunshine and clear skies were most welcome. I will mark the day as an exercise completed one. That is a requirement of my weight scale that I have to get on twice a day. It is hooked to my telephone and the results of the questions it asks are sent on to the health monitor. 'Did you exercise today?' is one of the questions. Mission accomplished. At least for this day. Tomorrow I will use League bowling day as my excuse.

TUESDAY

 . . . .  . . . I spent four hours at the bowling alley today. I stayed so long because I was trying like the devil to bring my daily average up but it never happened, After twenty lines I had only a 131 average and sore thighs. The four 5 line breakdown came to 125.4-136.0-125.4-139.4. The only good thing for the day was that the last five lines were the best. However, the lady only charged me for 17 lines so that was a nice thing too. . .  .When I left the bowling alley I found that I had parked under a street light that the birds use for afternoon pooping and the rear deck of the car was covered in the stuff. Good weather is expected for tomorrow so I will wash the car. It will be good exercise if nothing else!. .  .I visited with Bob for a while this afternoon. A couple more weeks and he will be going home to his own cooking. I am not sure he is looking forward to that part of leaving but getting home is a wish he does have, of course.

MONDAY

. . .  . . .It rained most of the day so doggy and I stayed inside and waited for Monday night football to arrive. I did do a lot of reading and made every effort to not eat too much. I can gain weight just by breathing, it seems. Roy delivered my mail today but he still has a bad cough. I told him to get back to the house and get well. He said no when I offered to take the trash out to the street. Stubborn guy.

SUNDAY

. . . . . This turned out to be a very unhealthy day for me. I did absolutely nothing all day. With the exception of eating too much. It was football and NASCAR. It rained just enough to convince me to not get out and get a couple of miles of walking. The rain is keeping the river too high for fishing, not to mention that that is not much exercise either. Something may come up tomorrow but if not I expect it to be about the same. With a bit of luck the sun will come out long enough for me to force myself into going for a walk. Wish me luck! 

SATURDAY

. . . . I arrived at Mel's place shortly after noon and found both he and Billy unloading the KFC goodies on to the table. Mel found a shoot 'em up movie on the ION channel and we enjoyed an early afternoon get together. I delivered billy to his place later and since I was so close I decided to bowl a few lines. I was interested to see if my luck was still holding regarding my new delivery style. My first five lines produced a 152 average but I fell to a 139 during the second half of the afternoon. The average for the entire session came to 145.5. I was happy with that. The nice part is that most of my games were close to the average, I feel that shows consistency, that is something I need a lot more of. Now to continue that well when I bowl for the team on Thursdays. Time will tell.. . . . On the way home I stopped in to say hi to Bob, he showed me how well he can get out of the bed and lope around the room using his walker. About three more weeks and he expects to be out of there and home doing his own cooking again.

FRIDAY

. . . . Doggy and I were at the fishing hole for a while. Still no fish though. We got there just in time to get comfortable reading when the rain started. I put the book away and pulled ChiChi onto my lap and sat under the umbrella for two hours. My patience finally ran out and we left for home about 1PM. The rain stopped shortly after. Life is like that. As soon as I got inside Roy's wife phoned and asked me to walk to the mail box to get the mail. She said Roy was not feeling well and she did not want him out of the house. ChiChi and I did that although the dog did not venture too far from the house like he usually does; I think he had had enough rain for one day and did not wish to tempt the fates any further. When I got to Roy's back door to leave the mail Ilona met me and said that Roy was on the floor and could not get up. I went inside and helped him get on to the couch, he has a terrible cough and says he will visit the hospital tomorrow if he is not doing better. I suggested he go without waiting but he is as stubborn as I am and said he would wait. I told Ilona to phone me if she needs help again, she said she would but the phone never rang.

THURSDAY

. . . . . .Bowling was almost good today. I bowled a 165 and felt great; then bowled a 99 and decided to never bowl again. The third line became a 153 and since my average for the day was five pins above my league average I decided to try again next week.  Visited Bob again for a while before stopping by Safeway to fill the gas tank [$3.06 per gal] and buy some more goodies. There was off and on rain today, I will check the possibility of fishing tomorrow if the rain has stopped. At least the temperature is acceptable.

WEDNESDAY

. . .  .Doggy and I spent three hours at the fishing hole today. It was a nice day at the river but there still are no fish and I saw no others making any effort..  ....The Army Corps of Engineers arrived in a 16 foot boat to check the water level gage that sits on Mel's land. There were three of them, all hydraulic engineers. I chided them about the expense of sending three highly paid professionals to do the job a high school dropout could attend to with one hours instruction. I think they were not too happy with my humor. Of course it was not really very funny and I am sure they would have liked to sit me 'straight' but they didn't. I watched them ride off in their little boat and wondered how much annual salary was represented in the craft. The tax payers are really getting ripped off. And we wonder why the voters never seem to complain. I think I will join the TEA Party. Are there are any Liberals who would join me?

TUESDAY

. . . . .I arrived at the bowling alley at 10:45 to begin my practice for the day. After thirty minutes or so I had a 122 average after three lines and remembered that I was supposed to be at the watering hole to meet the '52' Gang for lunch. I quickly changed shoes and stuffed my bowling bag with the necessaries before dropping it on the counter in the lobby. I told the girl to hang on to the the bag and I would be back in an hour. The lunch was fun but we  did miss Bob, as could be expected. There were about ten of us there today. I stayed for a while after eating but I was the third one to wave good by and leave. Upon arriving back at the bowling alley she told me that she had rented my lane to others but I could have lane eleven and not be charged for the three lines I had already bowled. Sounded like a winner to me. My results for the day after a total of 15 lines turned out to be pretty good. In multiples of three lines each my averages were 120-128-157-151-154. That was good, the final twelve lines produced an average of 148. My final nine  was a phenomenal [for me] 154 average. It will be a very happy day if I can do as well on Thursday; when it really counts. Film at eleven. . . . .I stopped in to see Bob again, he was being visited by a pretty lady we had gone to school with and I did not stay too long after bragging about my bowling results.. .  . . On the way home I went by Teigens place to take a look at the five stitches Ron had in his right hand. He was swinging a long pipe at a cow to get its attention and in the process ruined his hand. The hand looks awful but I am sure it will heal with only slight scarring. Before my leaving Caren filled a large container with enough food for three meals and sent me home with it. Her home cooking sure beats my home cooking. By many miles! Love it!. . .The river looks good, if the weather holds [the barometer is dropping] I will try to catch a fish tomorrow. We will see how that goes.

MONDAY

. . . .  I spent more time on my slide show this morning. I now have all of the pictures in order and edited. Next time I get at it I will be preparing the audio section. My problem is that at four seconds each the pictures take up over 40 minutes. If I add audio I am sure that is going to stretch things out even more. Folks are not interested in watching home made slide shows that last that long. I suppose that will be something each one will have to decide for himself. . . . Doggy and I walked down to the river today. Had I known how clear the water was I would have gone fishing. But the walk offers more exercise so I reckon I did the right thing. I may try the fishing idea again on Wednesday. Tomorrow is Bowling practice again.

SUNDAY

. . . . . My first five lines were not so hot today. 125. I did buckle down though and show an improvement of 140 or so during the second five lines. My final average was 133. Really aggravating but I can only continue with the practicing. Billy had his 44th Birthday today so I stopped in for a minute and visited. He was watching NASCAR and we didn't have a lot to talk about anyway. He, Mel and I will get together next week and share a KFC meal as a Birthday present. KFC is his favorite. All three of us like dead chicken the way KFC prepares it.. . . .I also stopped by to say hello to Bob again. I didn't stay long because I was getting hungry and he was waiting for lunch to arrive. At least there was no rain today, I'd like to wash the car but I am not convinced the rainy season is over. Maybe next June.

SATURDAY

. . . . I was most pleased to see five deer walk by my living room window this morning. That is a very relaxing experience that I am happy to enjoy several times a year. . . . This day was really lazy, I accomplished nothing unless you want to count watching NASCAR as not being lazy. There are a few football games on this evening  I may attempt to watch; they have to be exciting enough for me to ignore the commercials though. If not I will turn the TV off and go read myself to sleep.

FRIDAY

. . . .  .There was little rain today and I noticed in the early afternoon that Doggy was acting like a puppy so I decided he might need to get out of the house for a while. He was even more happy when he saw me pick up the leash and start out the door. We walked down to the river and back; he seemed pleased to be out and about. The river is very high, my guess is that it is over the sitting area at the fishing hole so I don't feel bad about not going in that direction. It also a bit dirty so perhaps fishing can be considered a possibility early next week.. .  .I did spend some more time with my Thirteen Presidential Library's project. All of the pictures I am going to use are in order so now I can begin producing a slide show. It has been slow going because I only work on it when I am really in the mood. I think I spend more time on my chess moves.

THURSDAY

. . .  .I feel very unhappy with my bowling today, 122-155-106. When I got home I sat in the rocking chair and had a beer to drown my sorrows. I can not come up with an excuse of any kind, and that makes it even worse. My bad. Needless to say we lost badly. I was low scorer of the eight players on the two teams. . . . I stopped by to say howdy to Bob on the way home. I am happy to report that he is now traversing the halls of that establishment with a walker. While I was leaving I met his nurse in the hall and she said 'good timing, I am my way to give him some execise'. They are taking good care of him. When I arrived home I fed the dog, who is feeling a lot better, got myself some lunch and pig ed out in front of the TV. There was a lot of rain today, I suppose the river is coming up and getting too dirty for fishing tomorrow.

WEDNESDAY

. . .  .ChiChi is showing a lot of improvement today. I did leave him home while I spent four cool hours at the fishing hole. I didn't catch any fish but I feel sure that if there were any there and they liked fish eggs I would have had a strike or two. . . . . No rain today and the wind was not too bad but I never did feel comfortable.

TUESDAY

. . . . . Bowling went well today. The first five lines became a 142.6 average and the second five ended with 153.4 average. That comes out to 148 for the day. I was pretty happy on the drive home. On the way I stopped in to check on Bob and to brag about my bowling. He has one more month and he will be out of that place and home doing his own cooking again. . . .  .I also stopped by Teigens again to discover that they were in the back yard yesterday doing some work while I was there tracking through the house looking for them. Caren sent me home with more of her home cooking. That is becoming a habit I can get used to! She is a good cook! Just like her Mom was!

MONDAY

. . . . . ChiChi has been having coughing spells for some time and since they are not getting any better I drove him to the vet this afternoon. It appears he has fluid on his lungs and the doctor gave him an injection that should clear things up. He also gave me some Furosemide 12.5 mg tablets to administer every 12 hours. I gave him one with his dinner at 3pm but have yet to see him pee'n. I am sure he will be in and out of his doggy door several times during the night. Perhaps the injection has made him lazy because he is doing a lot of napping this evening. I drove by Teigens to drop off some magazines and return a food container but they were not home. The housekeeper was driving the vacuum around the living room so I left the stuff on the kitchen counter and returned home. Home consisted of a movie and some more Football. {Green Bay} The river still appeared to be a bit dirty; I hope it clears up so I can back to fishing.

SUNDAY

. . . . . My bowling showed a little improvement today; my first five lines brought in a 150 but the second five was only 134. I can't complain about a 142.6 overall for the day. I plan on being back on Tuesday and giving it another shot. . . . .After bowling I stopped by to see Bob again, for a few minutes; he was sitting at a table with other 'inmates' and I did not wish to bother him. He is looking good, I believe he will be at the class luncheon on Dec. 12. I also expect to see him at the '52' lunch on the 10th of December. I arrived home in time to catch the end of the NASCAR race and to watch the Seahawks sneak by Tampa Bay by the skin of their teeth. This was 'popcorn Sunday' so I suppose my weight will shoot up another pound or so. At least I forgot to salt the stuff. That was a happy accident. I still used too much butter though. My bad.

SATURDAY

. . . . . . The dog and I spent another three hours relaxing at the river. Still no fish but I believe that could change any day. . .  .The weather was nice, wet, sunny, windy and cloudy several time while we were there. The temperature was acceptable; above 50 at least. The barometer is bouncing all over the place. Gettin' so a person can't depend on nothin' these days.

FRIDAY

. . . . Three hours at the fishing hole resulted in no fish, Sort of like my bowling scores. The weather was beautiful if cool and I started a new book called 'Mr. Shivers'. It is fiction based in the 30's. I am not much for fiction but I got the book at the Dollar Store for a buck so how can I go wrong. Tonight there is a NASCAR race on TV which will take up some time and after that I will go to bed and continue the book. Kinda' boring? You think?