THURSDAY. . . .

. . . . . My first two lines of bowling today were fine [138-148] but the third line went to pieces at 114. I ended the day with a 133 average which is close to my league average so I didn't hurt the team too much. . . Ernie, my instructor was on the other team and it has been a long time since I have worked with him so when he brought up my follow through when delivering the ball I decided to try to do things the right way. I know my follow through is not proper and I have even gotten out of the habit of trying to correct it. We both know that I must improve in that area if I am ever to become a Winter League class opponent. Since that is my wish I decided to start working on it while I had him there for feedback. Any way, that is the excuse I will use this week for my poor results. By the time next week rolls around I am sure I will be able to come up with another excuse. Never fear! . . . On the way home I stopped by Bob's Sporting goods and bought a new fishing reel, I hope to try it out on Saturday. The weather is beautiful around here! Reminds me of Mazatlan in January!

WEDNESDAY. . . .

. . . . Doggy and I arrived at the fishing hole shortly after 11AM and since the water was higher and the temperature was lower I decided to finish the book I had brought with me instead of digging the table out of the sand.  About noon Mel showed up with his weed eater to clear some heavy grass around the path beside the river. He was unable to get it started a couple of days ago so he installed a new spark plug and did some work around the house yesterday. Then today he carried it down to the river and found again  it would not start. As he was attempting to get the thing started I walked to my pole and reached for it to reel it in to clear the stuff off the line. I was most unhappy to find that when I had cast the line out earlier the handle had fallen off the reel. I had to pull the line, lure and sinker in overhand and stop fishing for the day. Mel and I sat in the shade for a couple of hours to cool off before we gathered up our stuff and vacated the sitting area. I will attempt to locate a handle for the reel tomorrow after bowling and if that does not work I will purchase a new reel.It was one of those bad fishing days. The good news is I went fishing.

TUESDAY. . . . .

. . . . .I averaged 132 over ten lines at the bowling alley today. It was not a happy day but I am pleased to note that that is the worse thing I have to worry about.. . After bowling I stopped by the house for ChiChi then drove to the Teigens to check up on them and to deliver a book about spiders that I thought Colton might like; but when I handed it to him he shivered and tossed it to  the floor. He told me he does not like spiders. .  .  .Ron applied some 'tire shine' to my cars tires and to the 'bra' I have on it. The car looks great all spiffed up like that.. . . I made a date with Caren to take her to dinner in celebration of her Birthday on the 20th past then loaded up the car with the little dog and drove home.  It turned out to be a very nice day with lots of sunshine!

MONDAY. . . .

. . . . My friend Ben Bader passed away yesterday, may God be with you good buddy! . . . .Ben was a wonderful story teller, it was a ball visiting with him. All that was needed to get him started on an adventuresome story was to ask him a question on any subject. He was ready to turn it into something that at one time or another happened to him.  It has been said by people who knew him well for many years that most of the stuff he came up with actually happened. Ben had a very exciting life.. . . .  .ChiChi and I spent three hours at the fishing hole today working on removing the table that has been buried in the sand since winter. The water is way too deep and each shovel full I remove is replaced by the sides of the hole sliding down into the previously removed spot. The exercise is great but I can't say the same for results. Sort of like my bowling.

SUNDAY

. . . . It was a nice day to drive a freshly washed T-Bird into town this morning. My bowling results were very good, considering my usually poor results on Thursdays. My first five lines came to 154.8 and the second five squeaked by with 148.8. I was happy to leave with a 152 average for the day. My last game was the high for the day, 177. Stopped by the market on the way home and arrived there just in time to feed my dog at 3PM. He was happy to see me because eating is his favorite exercise. 

SATURDAY

. . . . . Another lazy day in Pleasant Hill. Being well aware of my need for exercise I did wash the car though. I suppose the time I spent in front of the TV and eating could have been used for better things but I plan on making up for it by bowling again tomorrow. I did not get to the fishing hole because there was a NASCAR race that I did not wish to miss. I suppose I gained another pound today. My bad.

FRIDAY

. . . . . ChiChi and I arrived at the fishing hole about 11 AM. Didn't catch any thing but I did dig around the table that fell into the water last winter. Mel came down and watched the operation after discovering that his weed eater would not start. He wanted to clean out the path leading to the sitting area but that will have to wait for another day. In the course of the digging I found that his fish net was tangled in the rope that was also wrapped around the table legs. I was able to remove the net from the water for Mel but in the process I lost my balance and fell backward into a foot of water and a sandy bottom. I knew the water was cold because I  had been working in calf deep water but that sudden soaking up to my belly button was a shock to my system! I was on my feet immediately and heading for my chair when the dizzies hit me. I am happy that the chair was there because without it I would have fallen to the sand. It took me about three minutes to stabilise my system, cold water is tough to accept plunging into! It was not long before I was back in the water to continue digging the table out. I think the river will have to come down at least two feet before I can be successful with that chore. Mel feels that the river might reach that level at some time in the next two months so I will continue working on it. When I got home I put my wet clothes in the washing machine along with my other laundry and watched a movie while that was processing. By 5PM the laundry was finished and put away. There seem to be no lasting effects from my earlier 'dunking'. 

THURSDAY

. . . . Turned out to be a good day: It began with a haircut this morning and my pro time check around 11AM. I arrived at the bowling alley about 11:30 and had a hamburger to fortify myself for the league bowling that started at 12:20. I was happy with my first two lines of 157 and 166 but I fell into bad habits on the third line and walked away with only a 134. The final result was 152 for the day and since that is 14 pins better than my league average I had to be happy! . . . .After bowling I stopped by Safeway for some groceries, gasoline and cash from the ATM, I am now set for the rest of the month. Life is good.

WEDNESDAY

. . . . . .I guess the fifteen lines of bowling yesterday took more out of me than I had expected; I slept for almost eleven hours last night and had two more naps today. My plan for the day was to go fishing but the falling rain in the morning created a mood for reading and napping. After lunch the rain seemed to be letting up but that did not last very long and when it began again I returned to my book and another nap. It was just one heck of a lazy day. Lazy days can be good though!

TUESDAY

. . . . . .We had rain for a while before I left to go bowling but happily it stopped before I left the house. I bowled five lines and was not happy with the 125.6 average so I buckled down and tried another five: 142.8.  That average for the day was not really good so I stayed around and bowled another five: 144.8.  I felt a bit better after that but my total average for the day only came up to 137.7. That was not very nice either. What was nice was to see that the weather had cleared since arriving at the bowling alley and the short drive home was very comfortable. Tomorrow I will try fishing again. I hope the little rain we had has not made the river dirty again.

MONDAY

. . . . . Doggy and I arrived at the fishing hole at 11AM and we caught nothing of course. I did take off my shoes and waded into ankle deep water to work on digging that table out of the mud/sand. Naturally the sand fills in about as fast as it is removed but when the river comes down another foot or so I believe I will be able to recover the thing. My question is will the top still be attached? I feel that it is because I uncovered enough of the legs that had they not been attached to the top it would have been lifted off the mud. .  .  .  I will continue with the project. I might add that that water is cold! I can't believe that folks on inner tubes actually have a nice ride down the river. To each his own, as they say. 

SUNDAY

. . . . . . I was pleased enough with my bowling results today; the first five lines averaged 150 and the second five gave me a 158.  The grand total for the ten lines was 154.4. I must learn how to relax and do as well each Thursday during league bowling. . . . Today was Caren's Birthday, Colton said she is about 17 but he is only five years old so what does he know?  .   .   .   .   She had invited me over for a BBQ this afternoon and I arrived about 2:30, just a few minutes after Ron and his Mom had left for the hospital; the hospital had phoned earlier and ask Lila to come quick so they did. Rudy had passed away suddenly from a possible blood clot in the heart. We will miss Rudy, he was fine member of the family and a great Dad to Ron. Ron phoned Caren about an hour later and asked her to be there too so the party ended at that moment. Rest in peace, Rudy.

SATURDAY

. . . . The annual Cousins Lunch went very well this afternoon, about a dozen people showed up at Ken and Junes place in Longview and a good time was had by all. We could never have asked for nicer weather. The food was fantastic, thanks June, for all of the work! I left around 4 PM and went home to take a nap but found a NASCAR race on TV and enjoyed that until it ended at 8PM.

FRIDAY

. . . . . .No fish again today, I didn't even see another fisherman on the river. It turned out to be a nice day sitting in the shade reading but I wore heavy clothing because it was cool down there until 2PM or so. 

THURSDAY

. . . . . My bowling results today were as follows: Stinky, Stinky and really stinky.
My average for the day was 134 which is 4 pins below my league average [which will now go down because of today's results. . . . .After stopping at Safeway and putting away groceries I went to Roy's house and removed the new printer they had me install a few days ago. It seems it is working way too slow for them to be satisfied. I explained that perhaps we could speed it up by changing the quality of the results to a lower sitting but Iona said she wanted to return it.  I also told them I knew a guy who might be able to speed up their computer [it is very slow] so she agreed and I delivered it to Tom, my computer guy. They are going to tell me when they get the machine back and I will hook it up for them. Tom said it would be ready tomorrow but I told Roy to not bother asking about it until about Monday. Tom is not too quick about working or keeping his word but he does a good job when he finally gets started.

WEDNESDAY

. . . .  .This was another nice day to sit at the river and enjoy the breeze as it tumbled through the leaves above me. I did have a short nap and for exercise I discovered the ropes buried in the sand that were attached to the two anchors that were lost last year when Mel's boat capsized. I was able to bring the anchors to  shore so now the only thing that I might be able to salvage is the table. At the moment the river is too high for me to safely attempt to retrieve it but perhaps the situation will change enough next month for that to happen. We hope the glass top is still in the mud and it too can be brought up, highly unlikely though. I am sure it must have settled away from the table itself when it went under. It was another good day!

TUESDAY

. . . . I arrived at R&R Motors at 10AM this morning just as Chris was finishing up with his first appointment of the day. He had the new Cruise control Amplifier installed in less than ten minutes and I was on my way. I decided to drive the freeway into town just to check out the cruise control. It sure is nice to have that feature operating correctly again. Of course I am working with used parts but with any luck at all it will last a lifetime. I stopped by the doctor's office on my way to the bowling alley and was told they had sent in my prescription request last month, they said I should phone the outfit in San Diego and find out why I had not yet received the med. After I got home this afternoon I did that and was told that the only request they had ever received was dated at 10:30 this morning. The meds are on their way. Someone is telling fibs, big time!. . .  .I was very happy with my bowling results today. The first five lines came out to a 154 average and the second set amounted to a 159.  The actual total for the day was 156.2.  Now the challenge is to do as well on Thursday. The weather is fair to good, I may return to the fishing hole tomorrow.

MONDAY

. . . . . . I phoned R&R Motors this morning and arranged to have my cruise control repaired tomorrow morning. This will be the time we discover if the used part I purchased will do the job. . . . . My plan was to go fishing today but Mel phoned and asked me to stop by his place and help him go through all of the pictures he had inherited from Barbara when she died. He was having trouble deciding what to keep and what to give away. I worked on it with him for 2-3 hours and finally got it all broken down to our satisfaction. Most of the stuff we will deliver to Caren for her inspection and very little was tossed. After leaving Mel I did drive by Caren's house and left two suitcases filled with pictures on her back porch. A lot of the photo's were taken by my Dad and really brought back some memories. Many of them I have never seen because I spent most of my life in So. California. It is a tough thing to do, going  through old pictures.

SUNDAY

. . . .  My bowling went well today, I'm happy to report. The first five lines came out at a 153.8 score and the second five ended with a 152.4. It appears I was bowling consistently well, for me, and with a better than usual result. The river looked nice when I drove into town this morning so perhaps tomorrow I will try again to catch a fish. The Salmon are not expected for about a month but I can always hope for an early one.

SATURDAY

. . . . .I hooked a twelve inch squaw fish today, tossed it back of course. They are the last thing I would ever wish to put in a frying pan. The rest of the day was just fine, I even fell asleep once at the river. The book I am reading is coming along just fine too. I think there is something going on at the bowling alley tomorrow so I will phone them early to see for sure. I may end up fishing again. .  .  .  The part for the cruise control came in the mail today so I will contact R&R Motors Monday morning and try to get that installed. The good weather is holding, that is strange for this part of the world. 

FRIDAY

. . . . .Another fish less Friday, but the reading and relaxing by the river was nice. 
          The river is still not clear and I pick up a lot of weeds and stuff on my line. I reel in about once an hour to clean it off. There was a small trout doing some acrobatics at the surface but no sign of any serious sized fish.When the wind came up it got a bit cool at times. Strange weather around here!

THURSDAY

. . . . . I was happy with my final bowling results today but the first line was a weak 129. Luckily enough I came back with a 157 and a 150 to end up with an acceptable 145 for the day. It was also nice that we won over our opponent. That is a rare thing for our team, but it just shows to go ya' we can do it if we buckle down! Stopped by the market on the way home and it was nice enough out to keep the windows rolled down all the way.

WEDNESDAY

. . . . . I got a bit of exercise at the fishing hole today. The pathway from the sitting area to the pole holder needed some attention so I cleaned things up a bit with the shovel. Also during the winter the table and chairs were washed away but I noticed some time ago that the bottoms of the table legs are reaching upward toward the surface of the water. I attempted to dig some of the sand from around the thing but it did little good. Sand falls back into the hole as fast as I dig at it. Perhaps if the water goes down a foot or more next month I may be able to retrieve it. I have no idea where the chairs are. . . . Lots of reading today and no fish. The weather continues to be peachy-keen, just the way I like it. It reminds me of Mazatlan in January and February.

TUESDAY

. . . . . I was a very happy boy as I left the bowling alley this afternoon. I was very consistent with a 152 average over the first five lines and a 154 average during the second five lines. . . . I will try to do as well on Thursday, league bowling day. . . . Before bowling I had lunch with eight others from the class of '52' and had a nice time getting together with them again. Spring has sprung....the weather was exceptional this afternoon. I will try to catch a fish again tomorrow.

MONDAY

. . . . . No fish again today but as usual the quiet was nice and the weather was acceptable.  Just a great day to be alive!

SUNDAY

. . . . . The river looked inviting this afternoon as I drove into town to try that bowling thing again. My first five lines averaged 136 and the second five came out at 150. I felt sort of OK about the results but I knew that had I concentrated as well during the first set as I did on the second I would have done much better for the day. Most of my problem is failure to concentrate, I keep telling myself that all I have to do is walk up there and toss that ball. I am slow to discover that bowling certainly is not like that. . .  . .This afternoon I wasted away the time in front of the boob tube. My bad.

SATURDAY

. . .  .Doggy and I spent three hours at the fishing hole reading and napping. We arrived back at the house before three o'clock and had a light lunch and watched a movie.  Five o'clock found me driving into Teigens driveway and hopping in their vehicle for the drive to South Sound Raceway for the evening. That was really a lot of fun for a 3/8 mile track, those cars really get to speed in a short distance then slam on the brakes just in time to make it around the turn before hitting the gas again. The main event was 125 laps with lots of excitement all of the way. The races ended about eleven PM then they had their annual Fireworks Display. I got home at midnight and posted my blog before settling in with a couple of chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk. It was another great day!

FOURTH OF JULY!

. . . . This turned out to be a good day except that Ron and his Mom were in Portland awaiting the results of Rudy's, Ron's Dad , stomach surgery. I spent the afternoon with Caren and Colton while we all celebrated the day with a couple from Caren's past.
The races we were planning on this evening turned out to be not this evening but tomorrow so we will get together again tomorrow and go to the races. I left Caren's place about 7PM and Ron had not yet phoned about Rudy's condition. The weather was nice, Colton spent the afternoon making soap bubbles while the rest of us told tall stories and lied a lot. It was a good day. Remember your prayers for Rudy.

THURSDAY

. . . . . It looked like rain when I left for the bowling alley this morning but it never happened. Didn't hurt my feelings at all. . .  .My three lines of league bowling were all above my average so I felt pretty good as I walked out. Made a stop at Safeway for a tank of gas and a few goodies that I just can not live without. It was  a good day and I expect the same for tomorrow. Caren phoned and asked me to join them tomorrow for a BBQ and a trip to the auto racing in the evening. Sounds like fun!

WEDNESDAY

. . . . . I phoned the supplier of old auto parts this morning and after getting their email address sent them five pictures of the cruise control amplifier I am looking for. They phoned back within the hour and told me it was being shipped out today. I have an appointment for next Wednesday morning to have it installed. It will be nice to have cruise control again but the price of the labor is terrible for all of the time it took R&R Motors to find the problem. . . . . .Spent 4 hours at the river today, no fish but again a great day to be there. 

TUESDAY

. . . . . .This day helped prove that summer does occasionally come to Washington. I am sure the temperature got above eighty, I like that!  Bowling was nothing to write home about but I did average above my league average at 140. This evening Roy asked me to help his wife install a new printer for her computer. It took a couple of hours but most of that time was showing her some basic things about computer operation that she knew nothing about, drag and drop and basics like that. It was fun and she did appreciate the help. I also gave her my copy of Computers for Dummies that I am sure she will get a kick out of. The river did not look very nice as I drove by today but I may try some fishing tomorrow. Sitting at the river reading is not hard to take on days like this, fish or no fish.