WEDNESDAY

. . . . Just another nice day of sunshine on Pleasant Hill Road. The temperature came very close to 90 but fell a bit short of that. Doggy and I walked to the river again and the poor little guy was showing his extra weight when climbing the hill coming back. I am very pleased with my own hill climbing abilities though. Tomorrow I have some running around to do and again we will have a nice day. I will miss a good part of it because I will be inside the bowling alley.

TUESDAY

. . . . . The river did not look at all inviting today as I drove into town for bowling practice. The color is improving but the level is still way too high for fishing at the fishing hole.. . .  .I can brag about my bowling results today; after ten lines I had a 153 average. I was able to really concentrate each time I threw the ball and as expected that helped a lot. I wish I could get myself into that 'mode' on Thursdays. I guess forcing myself to concentrate is part of successful bowling, after a time it will become part of the automatic procedure. My wish!

MONDAY

. . . . . .Another walk to the river today. The weather was clear and bright but the wind was up and cool. The river is no higher and it does appear to be clearing. Nice weather is due for the rest of the week so perhaps the river will be inviting enough to try fishing again this weekend. Time will tell. 

SUNDAY

. . . . .Last night around sunset three deer walked by my living room window on their way to the field next door. It is always a pleasure seeing them, most relaxing!
I went bowling today, evidently just for the exercise because the scores were terrible. I was consistent though: Not one game was any thing to brag about and my final average after ten lines was 126. I suppose I will try again Tuesday because the river is so high and dirty I will make no effort to get near the fishing hole.

SATURDAY

. . . . . The dog and I walked down the hill again today to check on the river. The weather was really cool with a lot of threatening clouds all afternoon but we got back with no problem. The two miles took about 47 minutes. One of these days I will drive down there and check the mileage on the odometer. It must be more than a mile each way because I do feel we are walking a faster mile than the clock says. But that will be another day. We got back in time for lunch and a nap before the NASCAR race began.

FRIDAY

. . . . .ChiChi and I walked to the river and back this morning. We moved right along at what I felt was a pretty good clip. Doggy was breathing hard at times so I would stop and let him rest a minute or so. I again was surprised at how well I made it up the hill coming back. The river is too high for fishing but the color looks much better. I guess the water level is about two feet deep in the sitting area. Better weather has been promised but you know how that goes around here.

THURSDAY

. . .  .First day of Summer League did not turn out so hot but at least I have a low enough average to perhaps make improvement during the season. My games were 111-167-113 for an average of 130. That puts me seven pins lower than I ended the Winter league with. The 167 was nice but then I fell on my face. Another day at the bowling alley.. .  .The river is high and dirty and there is still a bit of rain in the forecast. Such is life.

WEDNESDAY

. . . . . Another rainy day in Washington, at least Kelso. Certainly not warm by any stretch of the imagination either! I got out of the house for the four steps to the mail box and had a nice nap. Looking forward to bowling tomorrow.

TUESDAY

. . . . . ChiChi talked me into a walk down to the river this afternoon. The color is good enough for fishing but the height of the stream is only a few inches below the floor of the sitting area so I  made no attempt to go fishing. When the water is that high there is no comfortable area to fish from and any passing boats create a wash high enough to flood out the floor of where I sit and read. I did some vacuuming this morning and considered more serious house cleaning but that did not last long.
Comcast sent me my new monthly bill and it went up $25 dollars so I had to get on the phone to get it back down to something I am willing to pay. That is a lousy company to do business with. They boost the cost once a year just to see if the poor sucker will pay it and not say anything. I do not like doing business with that company and have been told it is one of the best to deal with. Such is life. However, I have to say I was not all night on the phone waiting for someone to get back to me  like I had to go through last year. I will have to go through this again next April too, that is what I was told. And they call me a good customer. That is the way they treat their good customers, I guess.

MONDAY

. . . . This was another happy day at the bowling alley. My first five games came to a 142 average and the second five amounted to 148. That created a 145 average for the ten lines. That made me feel pretty good. I also had a burger between the two sets, I feel a full stomach really helps my control. Now I am looking forward to Thursday when Summer league begins.. . . . . Got a note from Natalia today, she mentioned that the newspapers in Mazatlan are reporting that 700,000 weekenders arrived in town for the three day Easter Celebration. The weather is especially hot this April. Pictures attached. She feels the 700,000 is a slight exaggeration, she has heard that 500,000 is closer to the truth. The head of the Army Division based in town is a good friend of hers and he is the one she got her information from. The river is clearing up nicely, if the level comes down I will return to the fishing hole tomorrow. We shall see.

On Thursday, April 17, 2014 8:52 AM, Clifford Elford <celford52@comcast.net> wrote:

Hola, Natalia!
All is fine here, too cool and lots of rain but that makes the flowers
grow, I guess that makes it all OK!
I am happy to hear you are on vacation, too bad it is not for an entire
month! You could really have some fun then!
That 12 hour per day at work is for the birds! You certainly don't need
much of that! Lets hope it all worked out for you, perhaps the boss was
watching {and Mexico City} and you will be well rewarded!
So as it ended up you did not have house guests? Perhaps they felt more
comfortable with a lot of fancy surroundings and people to wait on them at a
moments notice.
Are those 500,000 tourists arriving to celebrate Easter in a few days?
That many people will surly bring a lot of money to MZT! That is always good
news! What is the reason for changing to four lane and one way on that
street? How long will that last? Which direction will they be going and
what will be the attraction? A Big Parade? Sounds like fun and a good time
to be out of town or home under the bed hiding from the crowd!
I guess that is what a lot of people are planning, from what you said
about buying food, beer and gasoline.
Send me a full report after all the noise dies down!
Doggy and I are fine, caught no fish yet but the river is looking better
all of the time!
Take care, sweet lady!

Cliff.

http://celford52.wordpress.com/
http://www.youtube.com/celford52
http://cliffordaelford.blogspot.com/

SUNDAY

. . . . .An unremarkable day. I did catch up on my reading and eating. I took a nap.
NASCAR  was home celebrating Easter so no races to watch. The river is still too high to wet my appetite for fish so I stayed home from that too. Just one of those happy, quiet days that I enjoy so much. I hope it was the same for you too.

SATURDAY

. . . . .I finally had a good day at the bowling alley. The first five lines averaged 142 and the second five ended up being 153. Not to shabby for me. The river is certainly not in any condition for fishing so perhaps I will return to the bowling alley again tomorrow. That will depend on what time the NASCAR race is on. The weather has been very wet today and not at all warm. Darn it!

FRIDAY

. . . .Had I checked the river level before leaving the house I would never have gone to the fishing hole today. The level was only four inches below the level of the sitting area floor. The water was dirty and moving very fast. Because of the swift current the wash from passing boats did not actually enter the sitting area but it was close at times. There were no fish around but I was able to sit in the sun and read for over two hours. I doubt I will be trying that again tomorrow. Perhaps I'll go bowling.

THURSDAY

. . . . Today was the Bowling league banquet, the food was good, the weather awful, but the good friends made up for it. My team won the Crying towel award because we tied with one other team with low spot in the rankings. We each received a pretty blue towel inscribed with the WBC logo. I think I will carry it in my bowling bag and use it to wipe my ball with during each bowling session. Summer bowling season begins next Thursday. Wish me luck! [I need it!]

WEDNESDAY

. . . .There were a few sprinkles on the way to St. Vincent's and back today; not really enough to complain about.  The Pacemaker was checked to make sure all was in order and to make sure the battery power was still adequate. The Tech's gave it an all clear and I will report back again before Christmas if not sooner. It was a strange feeling for me to drive down that way because usually in the past I was able to meet Terri Lynn for lunch and catching up. This time for the first time I really felt bad that she was not there. There she is off in Hawaii having a great time while the rest of us are stuck in the Great, Green Northwest attempting to enjoy the weather. Fat chance of that, as far as I am concerned.
Tomorrow is Thursday but the annual bowling dinner is taking place so I will attend that then get back on the bowling schedule the following week.  

TUESDAY

. . . . .Doggy and I were fishing again today. My usual fishing luck also attended the festivities. We stayed almost four hours and were lucky enough to have gotten home with only a few rain drops on the windshield.. . . . . Tomorrow I have a doctor appointment at St. Vincents Hospital in Portland. I am looking forward to the short drive but it would be nice if the rain left the scene for the next 24 hours.

MONDAY

. . . . ChiChi and I cleaned up all of the sand in the sitting area of the fishing hole today. What we need now is a powerful rain storm to wash down the rocks and the loose sand that is still sticking to them. I used fish eggs today for three hours and got no response. I feel that there were no fish available because those eggs looked and smelled great on the hook. I might return tomorrow, since there is no bowling this week I won't even practice until next week. Unless it rains.

SUNDAY

. . . . Didn't get to the fishing hole before noon today. I took a nap after breakfast and woke up just in time for lunch. Tough day. Not.  Didn't catch any fish but I did shovel out another half ton of sand from the sitting area. One more day of that and the job will be done. The glass topped table and  plastic chairs are somewhere in the river and perhaps when the water comes down I will be able to see them and perhaps rescue the rascals. Highly unlikely, but heck, stuff happens, sometimes for the best.

SATURDAY

. . . . . .ChiChi and I spent almost four hours at the fishing hole, I shoveled more sand out of the sitting area and read for a while. The doggy never did catch anything, makes me wonder why I take him fishing. He does not know a thing about catching those critters. We got home in time to watch the NASCAR race and then watched "Misfits' on TCM. Great movie, I would like to see it again one day.

FRIDAY

. . . . .ChiChi and I spent three hours at the fishing hole today, no fish but I did get a bit of the sand out of the sitting area. The exercise was the best part of the day because earlier I had driven to R&R Motors for an oil change on the T-Bird and on the way found that the cruise control is on the fritz again. They had repaired it about two years ago but because of the age of the car they had to use used parts. The same is true this time except this time finding the parts will be more of a problem. Twenty year old T-Bird parts are not easy to come by. They will phone me when the parts are located. The river is still high but the color is good so I may return tomorrow and work on the sand that remains.

THURSDAY

. . . . . Bowling certainly did not do a thing for my ego today. 136-116-116 left me with a 122 average. Today was the end of the winter league. Two weeks from now we begin the summer league. My handicap is 74 for the league just ending. I do hope I can make a better showing this summer. Of course hoping ain't getting. Such is life, it sure is nice to stand back and find that my bowling score is the worse thing I have to worry about. .  .  .  I stopped by Wal-Mart on the way home and bought a food blender. I'll report on that soon. I also bought some celery and green apples so I could try to reproduce a tasty drink Natalia introduced me to.

WEDNESDAY

. . . . . .Doggy and I drove to the fishing hole today but found the water way too high for any kind of comfortable fishing. A lot of work is needed to shovel out the sitting area and there really is no spot large enough to set the pole. The water is not as clean as it appeared yesterday so that was one more reason to pack things up and head back home shortly after arriving. I did get up the gumption to go for a forty minute walk down to the rock quarry next to the river near home. ChiChi was happy to accompany me and had a good time chasing whatever he finds to chase on such occasions. No rain, that is always nice to be able to report although we did notice a few rain drops on the windshield earlier in the day. I will make another attempt to not embarrass myself at the bowling alley tomorrow.  

TUESDAY

. . . . . This was a nice day, a bunch of sunshine, no rain and a nice lunch with the guys from the class of 52. After lunch I stopped by the bowling alley to get some exercise. That's about all it was because my scores were in the gutter. 
I think I averaged 127 for the ten lines. Sometimes that is good because I return on Thursdays and do better. So now I am waiting for that big day. The river is looking better, no proof of any fish having arrived but I may go down tomorrow and give it a try, if the rain that is expected this evening clears up by noon.

MONDAY

. . .  .Turned out to be a pretty good day. I had my laundry caught up and put away and breakfast finished by 8:30. Discovered at 9:30 that the NASCAR race that was rained out yesterday was being run this morning so I spent most of the day watching that to the end.  When that ended I found enough energy to back the car out into the sunshine and wash it. I spent some time on the inside too so the old buggy looks pretty good again. I have scheduled a oil change for Friday morning,the car will be ready for whatever I decide to do this summer.  

SUNDAY

. . . .  .The NASCAR race was to begin at 11:30 this morning so there I was sitting in front of the boob tube all day waiting for the threat of rain to go away so the race could begin. It never happened. I ended up pigging out watching commercials all afternoon. I feel like a slug. I'll go bowling tomorrow, hopefully to cure myself of this feeling. Some days you're the dog and other days you're the fire hydrant.

SATURDAY

. . . . . . Bowled ten lines this afternoon. The first five I came up with a 137.2 average and on the second five I improved a tad with 142.6. That left me with a 139.9 average for the day That's almost ten pins away from my goal so I guess I'll stay with it. Stopped by Safeway on the way home and arrived at 3:30; just in time to have the dog remind me it was past his dinner time. Into each life a little rain must fall. Poor doggy.

FRIDAY

. . . . . The dog talked me into a walk today. We didn't get to the river but ended up walking for 40 minutes anyway. There was a slight mist falling as we left the house and I did not want to get caught in a heavy downpour so we stayed close to home to be safe. All went fine and since the walk he has spent all afternoon snoring in the living room. I also got a nap and read for a while. I feel better after walking and if all goes well I may return to the bowling alley again tomorrow.

THURSDAY

............This was a great day at the bowling alley. 149-127-157. In fact the last game was a team best for the day. I feel good about being able to help out the team, we also beat the other team and that makes for more frosting on the cake.  After bowling I stopped by the Teigens to take possession of the new cell phone holster Ron made for me... .He does good work with knives too. I got home about 3:30 and the little dog was all over me because he is used to being fed by 3PM. Funny dog, that dog.

WEDNESDAY

. . . . . . . Some day this was, I had no mail delivery so I didn't even get out for my four step walk to the mail box. I hope to make up for it tomorrrow by at least exercising at the bowling alley.I did get caught up with my reading, napping and TV watching. I probably ate too much too.

TUESDAY

. . . . . .I finally got around to doing my taxes via Tax Slayer [internet] today. I don't know why I always put it off so long, this program works so well for me, things just fall into place. This year my big problem was several stock transfers but once I got started it was fine.. . . . Caren and Ron invited me for dinner this evening, the best pork chops I have had in a long time. Along with Scalloped Potatoes [my favorite vegetable] and a delicious roll. I have to get back on my diet tomorrow morning! Doggy and I were home by 8PM, just in time for cookies and milk before going to bed and reading ourselves to sleep. Off and on rain today but the temperature at bedtime is 51, not too shabby.