March

15^th. . .  .I delivered the car to R&R Motors at 8:30 to have them check out the cruise control. They found the server mechanism has failed. The car is so old that finding parts for it is becoming a hassle. They told me they would search for one and phone me when and if they find one. In the meantime I am driving the car without Cruise control. Darn it! I was at the shop for almost two hours and returned home at 10:30. I then started going through my stuff to see how much I could get rid of before stuffing the remainder in moving boxes. By 2PM I felt the need for a break so I

stretched out on the recliner and immediatly fell asleep. At 4PM R&R phoned  to let me know they would have the part and could install it Thursday morning at 8:30. I told them I had bowling that day and they promised to have the job done in plenty of time for me to make it into town by noon. I returned to my sorting and packing until O’Reilly came on at 5PM.

I am amazed at the amount of ‘stuff’ I have accumulated during the seven years I have been here.

March

14^th. . . . I was up early again today, had breakfast then drove up to R&R Motors to have the cruise control checked out. They were short of time but they did check all of the obvious reasons for failure before telling me to please bring it back tomorrow so they can get a more serious look at it. I told them I would return about 8:30 then I returned to the house to continue sorting things out that I will move into the new place. At noon I cooked up a nice little steak, the smoke alarm went off, as a matter of fact one of the smoke alarms that has never sounded in the seven years I have been here wailed at me too. It turned out to be a good meal, with mixed vegetables. . . . . . After filling my tummy I drove to the bowling alley and delivered 629 for four lines. That was great for me, a 157 average! Even the worst game was better than my league average. The big test will come Thursday when I bowl under league conditions. . . .  .Ernie was there too and gave me some add’l help. That is always appreciated. He said that next Monday he will bring his video camera and take pictures so I can see where my failings are. With Dave helping out on Thursdays and Ernie on Mondays I may show some more improvement.. . . I arrived home about 2:30 and had cookies and milk while watching Glen Beck on TV. I also sorted through some more stuff to pack and took a nap. Actually, the nap was during the last half of  the Factor. The phone awoke me and after that conversation I returned to cleaning things out of the closet. I feel good about my bowling results so I think I will score this day as better than usual.

March

.....I was wide awake at 6am and by the time I had the clocks set ahead an hour I was right on schedule. It seems to be very easy for me to adjust to daylight savings time! I got into a bit of closet cleaning and boxing stuff today. I took my time and made an effort to toss out some things that I no longer want taking up room in my new place. Doggie is starting to wonder what is going on and I tried to explain it to him but he still acts confused, sniffing and smelling the things that are spread all over the floor and bed. I am not doing a great job of packing things because my plan is to drive a car load to the new place and take it out of the boxes before returning home to fill the same boxes again. It is still going to be a couple of weeks before all of this happens but it feels good to get started. I am looking forward to the new living space, neighbors and adventures. . . . . .  I searched the TV for NASCAR racing today but was unable to find it, that is the highlight of my Sundays except when I go bowling. Today I got so wrapped up in cleaning out the closet I forgot all about bowling so I plan to drive into Longview tomorrow and bowl a couple of 300 games to make up for it. Well, we have to dream in order to have dreams come true, right?. . . . . This evening I watched a movie without the popcorn and cheese. I broke down and had chocolate chip cookies with peanut butter and a glass of milk instead.. . .  .It certainly was nice to see the sun up so late, now the weather has to get warmer and all will be perfect again. We had a lot of rain today and at one point very high winds with tons of rain coming down, really exciting unless you have a leaky roof.

March

….This was a lazy day, I did get over to see Ron and Caren for a while. I returned some containers I had after they gave me a large part of their dinner the other day. It rained most of the day but surprise! While I had the car out this afternoon it never rained a drop so the car is still clean as a whistle. Is that luck or what?

March

  Today I stopped by to make a deposit on my new abode, I will be moving in sometime after the 25th of March, that is two weeks from now. The owner wanted some time to prepare the place. At the moment he has all of his Christmas lights stored in there and they are not boxed up. I wish he would offer to paint the walls too but I did not hear him say anything about that. Freshly painted walls would really make that place perk up. I was more impressed with it after I saw it for the second time, I had walked away from the first visit feeling that it was just not right for me but after seeing it again I changed my mind. Even the kitchen was located in a different part of the apartment than I had remembered. The total square foot of the place is 961.

    Anyway I wrote out the check and got the key with the understanding that it will be ready for me to start moving in on the 25th. My actual rent date will be the 5th of each month.

    After leaving there I drove into Longview and looked into Telephone, TV and Internet hookup. I may go with Dish or Direct for TV service and Comcast for the puter. I asked Radio Shack about Magic Jack for telephone service but I turned down that Idea because it only works when the puter is on and I keep mine on Standby when I am not using it.

     I started my day by washing the car. It was really in the need of  attention and looked much better after getting cleaned up. The only downer for the day was driving home and discovering that the cruise control is no longer functioning. I will go by R&R Motors Monday and ask them about it.

I stopped by to see Ron and Caren, they told me that the baby has been adopted by a couple south of Longview who also adopted the baby's brother and sister. I think that is a beautiful ending of a wonderful start in that baby's life. She is a  sweetypie.

March

10^th. . . . . Bowling day! But before I went to the bowling alley I had to stop by the hospital lab for a Protime check. Wouldn’t you know it, they were behind schedule and I had to wait until 12:10 before they were through with me. My appointment was for 11:30. Before arriving at the lab I drove by a little house in Kelso that was for rent and later phoned them about it. I found that the rent was $695 per month with a fenced in back yard and they don’t want pets. So much for that. . . . .After leaving the lab I went on to the bowling alley. Practice time started at 12:20 but I got a chance to throw 5 balls before actual bowling. My games were 156-121-140. That was enough to beat my league average and I find that to be very pleasing.. . . . After bowling I stopped by Jiffy Lube and showed them the $2281.00 repair bill for the T-Bird. The manager made copies of the bill and said he would send it on to the people who handle such problems and get back to me. He asked me how much of the $2281.00 I thought Jiffy lube was responsible for and I told him at least $1500.00. {Since the engine was opened up anyway I had had some other work done]. . . . . .I made another stop at Safeway and After arriving home I phoned the Hill’s [ the people who are renting the place on Pleasant Hill Drive] and made an appointment to see them tomorrow. I have decided to take their deal. It is going to be a very quiet place to live and the doggie will have 6.5 acres to run in. I’m looking forward to it.

March

9^th. . . . . .I talked to Bernice, Barbara’s friend who lives in a Senior Apartment complex I was wondering about. She told me they have no empties at the moment but they do take small pets. The longer I talked to her the more interested I became about the place in Pleasant Hill. Tomorrow I will be in Longview doing my bowling thing, I may stop by Pleasant Hill and tell the folks I will take the apartment. I wanted to wash my car today but that darn rain would not stop long enough or warm up enough for me to try it. It really needs a bath and the white wall tires I put on last time just look awful after a month or so of driving. I think when I buy my next set of tires I will not go with white walls. They really look nice on that car but it is just too much extra work keeping them shiny and new looking.. . . . I lost two more chess games today, my rating now is 1775. Eva, my friend in Prague, well , actually in Brno, beat me again. That is usually what happens and the other game was no real surprise because that guy is rated even higher than Eva. I now have only five active games.

March

The car was not ready this morning so I drove the truck into town for the lunch with the guys. There were ten of us there and a good time was had by all. I left there and visited the Seniors Rental agency nearby before driving home. They told me they have nothing available at present and wanted me to get on a list  at a location over the old Columbia theatre in town. That certainly did not agree with me so I told them I would check back later.

    R&R Motors called me at home around 3pm and told me they were on their way to pick me up. I drove the car back up the hill and paid the bill.  $2281.00. The car runs fine, as I would expect. I then drove to Pleasant Hills to see the apartment for rent. It is next to a garage in a guys back yard. It leaves a lot to desire but it is ground level, large enough and the $500 rent includes the electricity, water, and garbage but no garage for storage or my car. It has fridge, microwave and electric stove in the kitchem. It also has an organ in the living room as well as washer and dryer in the bathroom. If there is carpeting in the place it did not strike me as being there but I am not concerned about that. It will be ideal for ChiChi and perhaps I will be able to put in a doggie door. The owner has a doggie door for his own dog. I think I could get really excited about this place, the owner and his wife are Finns, young folks about my age and he used to be a heavy equipment operator, seems like a nice guy.

    I can easily get what furniture I really need from Barb's house so  I expect I will be moving in to the new abode. Before I do that I will check out one more place in Longview that a friend of Barbara's lives in. It is a high rise but I'm not sure they take dogs. I will check that out tomorrow, Wednesday.

March

Well, it's like this, R&R Motors called this afternoon and told me that when they attempted to start the car today they found that the starter motor had suffered too much from the heat and has failed. They ordered a new one and should have it installed in the morning. Tomorrow is the day I meet the 'guys' for lunch so I told R&R I would pick up the car tomorrow afternoon. After getting the car I will drive on up the hill a mile or so and get the address from Bernita of the folks who have a place to rent in Pleasant Hills. I will check on that before driving into Longview and asking one more time about the Apartment in Castle Rock and also ask if they have any listings in Longview I might look at. The rest of this day has been very quiet and without rain. It was cool out but that didn't bother me a lot because I never even walked out to the mailbox. The flag is up but since I know I am going out tomorrow I will wait till then to pick up the mail.

March

6^th. . . .Looks like the pineapple express has slipped south and is landing on the central California coast. Darn it. The temperature was in the high 30’s this morning. . . . . ..I am pleased enough with my bowling for today. My average for three lines was 159 with a high of 175 and a low of 149. I didn't work hard at it and really took my time going after the spares. I got home about 1:30 in time to watch most of the NASCAR race too. Tomorrow, if all goes well, I get my car back from the shop. Of course I’ll be broke for a while, but what else is new.

March

5^th  It is hard to believe that a year ago Terri and I were in Italy, or beyond, that was a fun trip but warmer weather would have been nice.. . . . . The local weather satellite picture shows a band of storm clouds about 400 miles wide coming straight up from Hawaii and hitting the coast of Oregon. We are on the Northern edge of it. The temperature this morning was 40 degrees so perhaps it is helping. I hope it gets warmer. The apartment house I wish to get into has a two bedroom ready  but it is being held for a person who needs help getting around or special needs. I can’t honestly say I have special needs so I am not pressing the issue. They have been told that I am ready to move in if they want to let me have it. We shall see. I would like to move in the next three weeks and I am going to start looking seriously for a new place as soon as I get my car back in running condition. I really hope they change their minds and let me rent the two bedroom. It is two hundred feet from the largest market in town and the extra prices I would pay would be made up by not having to drive anywhere else to do my shopping. It is about time I gathered up some cardboard boxes too. I sure have accumulated a lot of stuff since arriving seven years ago. It seems more like seven months.

March

4th. . .. 

I contacted R&R Motors today and they said the car should be ready to pick up on Monday afternoon. I'm looking forward to getting it back but not too crazy about the bill I am expecting.. . . .This was another quiet day, things are very lazy around here but I don't mind. sometimes lazy is good.

March

3^rd. . . . It was 40 degrees this morning, is winter loosing the battle?

Drove the green truck into Longview today to keep my bowling appointment; 181, 143, 105. I was OK with the 143 because that is six or seven pins above my league average but the 105 was really awful. On the way home I stopped by Jiffy Lube and talked to the Manager about my plugged radiator that they had flushed out two weeks ago. They said they might return my money but they refuse to take responsibility for the junk they left in the radiator that caused the stoppage. Jiffy Lube may not be a good place to take your car, you decide. I’m through with them except for one more trip when I collect on the free oil change I get because of another mistake they made last month. I hope they don’t goof that up and cause me even more trouble. The next oil change is still 3-4 months away so I may by that time decide to not take a chance and let them have their free oil change. I am not a happy camper right now.. . . . I was two miles from the house this afternoon when the next rain storm hit. I almost made it home in the dry. That is difficult to do around here. Any time of year.

March

2^nd. . . . . It was nice to see above freezing temperature readings on the thermometer this morning. There were a few spots of standing snow at various locations on the farm but they were not to last too long. I put a sweater on ChiChi last night, he made no effort to remove it. I had done the same earlier in the winter but he would have nothing to do with it at that time. I decided to drive up the hill to R&R Motors to get my bowling ball out of the trunk of the car. Since the grocery store was on the way I spent a few dollars there on my way back. The news about the car is that the radiator was plugged and unable to allow coolant flow. This just a few days after I had Jiffy Lube back flush the radiator, to the tune of $70.00. Their work ends up costing me a pile of dollars.

March

 

March   1^st. . . . . .I had 410 hits on my blog last month. Interesting. It began snowing as I got up this morning but by evening most of it had melted. Weather radar shows more precipitation is nearing the coast but if we are lucky it will not be cold enough to snow. . . . .I phoned R&R Motors at noon today and was told the engine heads had been delivered to a company in Longview who will check them and prepare them for reuse. I asked if there is a possibility the engine will become an oil burner because of the overheating and I was told that is highly unlikely. I will borrow the green truck tomorrow and drive up there for further information and to pick up my bowling ball so I will be ready to go bowling Thursday. It was another quiet day on the farm.

February

28^th. . . . The snow is gone around here but it looks like it is accumulating at the higher elevations. That makes it rough for the river when the warm spring sun comes out in a few weeks. I did not phone about my car today, I will perhaps do that tomorrow. I don’t want them to forget I am still around and waiting. It was a quiet day, after the snow melted I had absolutely nothing to do. Life is tough sometimes.

February

27^th. . . .  . I shall not worry about bowling today; but if the weather permits Caren has already offered Barbara’s car for the duration of the T-Bird repair time. I also have access to Barb’s green pickup. I may drive up to the repair shop tomorrow and get the ball and go practice. It depends on the weather and my mood.

I attempted to call Eva/Pepik in Prague this morning but there was no answer….. Yesterday I watched Carlos 1 and 2 on TV. Today I will finish the series when I turn on Carlos 3. That movie does a good job of showing how much hatred there is in the Arab community for the US and all its friends. Too many of those leaders have the mindset of gangsters. Too many of them came to leadership positions using gangster methods. It is a French movie with subtitles, Hollywood could never make a movie like that, they would be telling the truth and they are not too crazy about advertising how the Arabs really feel. They wish to bury the facts, trying to 'get along' with that bunch of gangsters. There is no way we are ever going to 'get along' with radical Muslims.

Wow! Such a soapbox! I best shut up before they come to get me.

The above is part of an email I sent out earlier today, I decided to paste it here for others to enjoy or not.. . . .The snow was coming down this morning but the radar map showed it would not last too long. The flakes were tiny but there were a lot of them. By 4pm there was only a thin slush left on the driveway, The melting process is winning the war of winter that has been going on in Barbara’s front yard for the past few days.. . . . I wasted a good part of the day watching NASCAR on TV. Perhaps I should say I waisted a good share of the day. I have been trying hard to not eat so much, I’d like to lose about ten pounds, lots’a luck on that.. . . . .This evening I watched the last installment of Carlos, it turned out to be a good movie. They finally caught him but it was a long time coming. He was another of histories really bad people. The bad part is there are many more just like him out there, see something, say something.

February

26^th. . . . You can read yesterdays posting and get a more exciting report than I can come up with today, it was quiet and I spent too much time in front of the TV. The temperature never got above freezing so none of the snow melted. That is not entirely true, the snow on the septic tank covers and the sidewalk did melt. The driveway does not show a lot of blacktop though.

February

25th. . . . Awoke to a beautiful clear morning. Not a cloud in the sky and about 5 inches of snow on everything. It was colder than the dickens, about 18 degrees and spring was no where to be seen. I opened the drapes on the south side of the house to let the sunshine in. I figured that would help cut the heating bill for a few hours. . . .  .R&R Motors called this morning to let me know they will have to keep the car long enough to go through about $2500.00 of my money. It seems the engine froze up from a coolant leak. That money would be a nice down payment on another Mediterranean Cruise or something similar. I am not going to buy another car because I could never buy another one as nice as that one for that amount of money. I do hate the financial set-back but …………..so it goes. . . .  . I did not bother to walk out to the mailbox today, the snow should be all gone by the time the mailman lady arrives tomorrow. I’ll go out then.

February

24^th. . . . Jiner reminded me that tax forms are available at the Library. I decided to stop by there today and check it out. Awoke to an inch of snow on the ground. . The clouds had thinned out by 9:30 and the sun was out in all of its glory. . . . . .  My haircut was due today and that is up the hill a way so I phoned Bernita before leaving the house to make sure I could get in the driveway. She assured me all was fine so away I went. On the way I stopped at the library and found they were open only noon to 7pm today. I planned on stopping there on the way home from bowling . . . . . .The drive up the hill was uneventful and I even made it as far as her front door before I lost control in the two inches of snow and slid toward a pickup that was close by. Luckily I was able to get my rear fender beyond the truck far enough to not slide into it. After visiting with Bernita for a few minutes and getting my haircut I drove back to the house for a quick ‘brunch’ before going bowling. The one inch of snow that had been on the driveway and hour before had melted. I felt OK about getting to Longview bowling because it is at a lower elevation and the highways would be clear because the traffic would have smashed the snow into water.. . . I was very pleased with my results today, 158-147-157. That may not be the best bowling I have done during league play but it has to be really close. . . The team had a ‘conference’ after and I put away half a beer before deciding to get out of town. The snow was starting to make a serious presence and I knew it was only going to get worse the closer I got to home. I got to headquarters road when I noticed the red ‘ Check Engine’ light had come on. The temperature gage had reached the shut down point so I pulled on to the off ramp and turned off the key. I noticed during the process that there was a very large cloud of steam coming out of the tailpipe. The last time that happened to me was about 1997 when my Nissan blew a head gasket. I had my cell phone with me and called the tow truck. I had the car hauled to R&R Motors up the hill near where I had just been earlier getting a hair cut. It was about 5pm so they checked me in and told me they would phone me tomorrow when they find the problem. The owner drove me home and I got in the house seven minutes before O'Reilly came on…….. Muammar phoned me from Libya this evening, wanted some advice. I mentioned that Brent is getting too expensive and he should get out before someone takes him out. He hung up on me. Some friend he is. I have to say that Mubarak never treated me with that much disrespect.

February

23^rd. . . . We had sloppy snow for a while today. Actually it came down several times but melted away almost immediately. The worse time was while I was driving to the post office to pick up a 2010 Tax guide. They do not have them. The lady told me she was not sure they would get any. I returned home and found everything I needed to know on the puter. Having the book right in front of me is much quicker but with more experience I am sure I will be able to cut the time. . . . . Doggie and I stayed inside today except for the short trip to the Post Office. The weather report still predicts more snow so I am excited to see if it keeps me from getting to my bowling game tomorrow.

February

22^nd…..I reset my pedometer this evening. In the past seven days I have walked 11.35 miles in my slippers. Except for going to the mailbox that is all logged in the house. They are not actually slippers, they are a pair of Birkenstocks sandals I have had for many years.. . . . It tried hard to snow this afternoon but that never really happened. The weather report continues to predict that such a thing can be expected in the next few days. I am hoping it holds off until after I finish bowling on Thursday. . . . .I found my new bed to be satisfactory, with luck it will not wear out before I do. I hate spending that much money all at one time. If things keep going as they have just buying gas for the car will become as hateful.. . . .Charlotte told me about her way of making popcorn and so I find myself enjoying that vegetable more often. She uses a glass bowl with a glass lid and puts a quarter cup of popcorn in it before placing it in the microwave. After it all pops she sprays it with  ‘I can’t believe it is not butter’ spray. That process really cuts down on cleanup time. Barbara’s microwave takes about 6 minutes to cook a quarter cup and in the process of so much micro waving the first kernels to pop come out with a slightly different taste. Even that makes it worth the easier clean up. That is my recipe for the day. Your favorite chef, Cliff.

February

21^st. . .  .The mattress people phoned and told me they would arrive about 3:30 this afternoon. I had started my chili and it was bubbling away by 10AM. I separated some things in the garage that I will be taking with me when I move and caught up my chess games while the chili was bubbling. The wood pile is gone and it won’t be long before that part of the garage will be cleaned up. Actually, the sweeping out has been accomplished but there is still a lot of work to be done in the other 80% of the garage. One day at a time.. . . . The new bed arrived at 3:30 as promised and I found that my form fitting sheets do fit. That was good news, I’d not like having to buy new ones. I had laundered all of the bedding this morning and it was ready to ‘install’ when the delivery was completed. The bed was all put together and ready for a nap by 4pm. However, I didn’t nap, it was too close to “O’Reilly Time” for me to take the chance of falling asleep and missing any part of his presentation. . . . .I also have to mention that I tried my new pot of chili, it is just fine but next time I will use red beans. I used pinto this time, the flavor is different. Next time I will use less tomato sauce too, the tomato flavor is a bit too much for the kind of chili I really like. One of these days I will hit just the right combination.

February

20^th. . . . I talked to Pepik and Eva on Skype this morning. Eva is working on her English and is trying hard but she is a little self conscience about her abilities. We were on camera for about 45 minutes. It was 7pm in Prague and they had something to do so we said goodbye. It was 9am here. Jack Frost had visited this part of the world during the night. The temperature outside was close to 20 when I got up. Brrrrr. I did get to the bowling alley today and was very happy with my scores. I started with a 160 and graduated to a 204 the second game. By the time the third game was complete I found myself looking at a 140. That last game is better than my 136 league average so I ended the day feeling pretty good. I also started a fourth line but I used that only for practice on the seven and ten pins. I should do that more often, they are tough pins to pick up without going in the gutter. On the way home I stopped by Safeway and bought all the things I need to make a pot of chili, that came to $14.00. Looks like I use only the best ingredients in my chili. I was home by 3pm. I put the beans to soak overnight, watched some TV while I had Sunday night popcorn and apple slices and was in bed early. I wonder if the bed will be delivered tomorrow since it is a holiday. They did say Monday.

February

19^th. . . . I spent more time on my taxes today. In a way I wish I had to do them more often so I could remember how it is done. I hate having to read the instructions about things that I have done so many times before. On top of that I never did get a 1040 book of instructions in the mail so I have to dig up the answers to my questions on the puter. And print out my own forms. Is that true of everyone this year?

Tomorrow I will be finishing up my last bowl of chili so it is time to get to the market and buy some more ingredients and start again. This time I will be using real tomato sauce and not that other stuff I used last time. My Stew/Soup is also gone. Perhaps I’ll stop by the market on the way home from bowling tomorrow and get stocked up on all of that sort of stuff.

February

18^th. . . . I knew it!! I was moving my mattress and box springs out of the bedroom this morning in anticipation of my promised delivery of the new one I ordered last week. During the process I thought how funny not it would be if the dealer phoned and told me he could not deliver today. Well, about 9:30 he did just that. I had to put my bed back together for three more nights of use until delivery [hopefully] on Monday. Dirty rats! Not much else to report from Larsen Lane, which is a good thing. If that is the worse thing to happen I figure I’m in pretty good shape. . . . .I did start my income taxes today, with a bit of luck I will be able to get back some money I had sent earlier in the year in anticipation of having to pay. I got carried away and lost all track of time so I find myself posting my blog at 9pm. That is late for me!

February

17th. . . . . Bowling was just great today, 160-140-147 for a 447 series. That gives me a 149 average for the day and one pin better than last Sunday. I really feel good about the way I seem to be improving. I took a conference break after bowling today, our team got together in the bar for a beer. That was fun, I felt comfortable with the group, having a good day bowling helps a lot in that department. I feel I really contributed to the success of the team. As a matter of fact when all of the players factor in their handicap I ended up being the top scorer of the two teams. I'm patting myself on the back.

    It was fun and I am going to try to remember what it took today and last week to do so well and try to continue with that program. Dave, my instructor, is still by my side and we discuss all of the balls I throw as the game proceeds. That is a great help, he keeps me on target.

    O'Reilly was his usual wonderful self tonight and since Thursday evening is the day 'Big Bang Theory' comes on I think I will stay up and watch that and perhaps have some popcorn and apple slices while enjoying the show.

February

16^th. . . . . . My chess games were caught up by 9:45. It was not until then that I realized I had not had breakfast. I turned to get out of the chair and discovered while glancing out the window that we were enjoying some fat snowflakes with the light rainfall. By the time I got to the kitchen window it had all stopped. Short winter.. . . .BTW, Happy Birthday, Sol!    I decided to do some grocery shopping today. The weather report has snow in it so I decided to get stocked up just in case it gets too deep to drive. On the way to Wal-Mart I stopped at Jiffy Lube and asked about a radiator flush. I told them I was in there last week getting an oil change and was told they would only charge me $70 for the flush. They told me they would do that so I waited while they worked on the car. After they finished I continued on my way to Wal-Mart. Just out of curiosity I checked to see how much they charged me. It was $116.00. I went back to the store and was told they had also changed the oil and filter. After the dust settled they promised me a free oil change next time it is due. I then continued my journey to buy groceries. That came to $44.00. Turned out to be a very expensive day.

February

15^th. . . . . This was a quiet day, with lots of rain and dark skies. I spent the entire day inside [I did get to the mailbox] in front of the fireplace watching the rain come down. . . . .I prepared myself a baked potato with broccoli and cheese  and ate that while watching O'Reilly. There were two good movies on AMC this evening and I started watching one of them but at the first commercial break I decided I was not interested so I channel hopped to AMC HD and found Shaw shank Redemption starting at 6PM. I decided to stay with that one. Do you know what AMC stands for? Always Multiple Commercials.  I tried my best to stay in the habit of walking during the commercial breaks but it was not easy….there were so many of them…..I checked my Pedometer before going to bed, it shows that I walked only 3.104 miles with my slippers on this week.

February

. Happy Valentines Day. The day started with a little earthquake about 10:35, I think. The computer monitor jumped once and that was it. Perhaps others felt it. I left the house about 11:30 and drove into Longview to check with the people I hope to be renting an apartment from. They said nothing doing as yet but I should stay in touch. After leaving there I drove to Beaverton and met Terri in Borders. It has been weeks since we talked so we had a lot of catching up to do. When The Outback opened at 4pm we were right there ordering our steak and shrimp. We talked for another hour and a half before returning to Borders. I then spent forty-five minutes exploring the book shelves for something I could not live without but never found it. So for the first time in months I left Borders without adding to my stack of unread books. I now have 15 sitting by the bed. I’ll get to them. So many books, so little time.. . . . I got home just in time to turn on O’Reilly and as soon as that was over I got to the puter. I had chess games, email, and news headlines that needed my attention. I will answer Obama’s request for help in the morning after getting a good nights sleep. I don’t know why I bother, he seldom takes my advice. Oh well…….

February

13^th. . . .  . .           Isn’t it interesting, Friday the Thirteenth fell on Sunday this month. Wonders will never cease. After the big, bad rain storm last night the skies are clear enough to see where the sun is today. I keep talking about spring coming, for all of the good it does. We have not yet had our first really heavy snowfall.. . . . I arrived at the bowling alley at 1PM and found it rather busy. They did have a lane open but there was a lot of bowling going on in that place. I bowled four lines in about an hour and averaged 148; that is 13 pins above my average. I felt good about my results as the hour progressed, I learned to slow down, that seems to help my accuracy. I need accuracy because I leave too many pins standing with the second ball during each frame. Now I am excited about getting back down there Thursday to see if I can keep it up. I stopped by to see Ron and Caren on my way home. I missed Colter because he was sleeping off a very busy morning. Ron had to chase calves while I was there, they had wandered into the front yard and were walking up the driveway toward the street when Ron intercepted them. Chasing cows, what a job! Barbara had told me many times that that is the reason she took up cussing. I can see why. Cows have been getting smarter every year since 1963. Nineteen sixty three is the year Teachers Unions came on the scene. . . . I would have gotten home with a dry car had I not stopped by Caren and Ron’s place. As it happened the rain was just starting as I walked out the door to come home. So now I will drive a dirty car to Portland tomorrow. I’m going to take Terri out to dinner, unless she pays this time. I’m not sure it is her turn to pay, I think she treated me last time. I wonder if she reads this blog. I watched ‘Paper Chase’ on TV this evening. It was rather late [for me] but it was interesting enough to stay up for.

February

12^th. . . . Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln. . . .  .My chess games were up to date and breakfast was over by 9:30 this morning. The threatening rain was 40 miles away according to weather radar. It sure has taken its time getting here. Maybe this foretells the beginning of real winter. I cleaned up the mess at the base of the woodpile in the garage. Swept the floor of all wood debri and placed it is a paper bag for burning. The garage is looking better for it. One row of wood to go and it will all be gone. Once the estate settles there will be a lot of work to do to get the place ready for whatever comes next and getting rid of that wood pile is just one little part of it.. . . . . .I gave away my queen in one of my chess games so I resigned that one. My new rating is 1818, sad, sad.. . . The rain I have been expecting for days arrived about 4:30 and by 6pm it was really coming down. Happily, it was not a cold rain but I would not be surprised to hear that there is a lot of snow at the higher elevations. With a bit of luck it will pass by quickly and spring will arrive.

February

11^th. . . . . . . Had my chess games caught up by 8:15 this morning. The temperature outside was 36 and weather radar showed rain falling about 100 miles west of here. Infrared tells me I’m sitting in the middle of a very large storm of water vapor. Looks like it might rain. I have decided to not do anything about it……… Donna Bishop, Grandmother of my God child is having her 95th birthday today so I stopped by around noon to say hi. She certainly is doing well, she owns many rental houses in Kelso and still runs the business all by herself. She can not hear very well but she sure can take care of business. After leaving there I drove to a mattress store in Longview and let them talk me into ordering a standard wide mattress but with extra length. Now my fitted sheets that I am using will no longer work. Perhaps I will just buy regular queen size sheets and let that be good enough. The mattress and box springs will be delivered next Friday. I laid on the bed and found it to be fairly firm, it was comfortable. I'm sure it will outlast me but I hope not. The weather was cool and cloudy today but I was able to do my running around without suffering raindrops on my little pointed head……..I was home by 2:30 and had a snack before building a fire in the fireplace. This smaller print is caused when I copy and paste previous writings from my email account. I don’t do it too often but when I do this is the result. Sorry

February

Went bowling today and got home around 4:30. I was hungry so I fixed dinner and ate while O'Reilly was on. I had a fire going in the fireplace and it was warm and toasty, I was almost too lazy to get out of the chair and walk during commercials.

        Bowling went well, 122-148-168- in that order. I was feeling pretty bad about my results during the first game and first half of the second but I then started finding myself in the groove. It is strange though because during my bowling today I was always feeling that I could do better. The 148 was a shock to me when I saw the final score and we won the last game because I did so well with the 168, but again the final score was a surprise. I did not feel I was doing very well at all. The team is now in 19th place out of 22. I think we started the season with 24 teams so perhaps some folks dropped out.

        Perhaps I am too 'hung up' on my scores each week but that is what keeps me trying harder, I see no reason to just throw the ball down the lane and to heck with the results. If I am going to get an average score and be at least an average bowler I want to constantly push myself. Fantastic scores may never happen but I feel better knowing I am trying my best. At the present time the average bowler in this league has a 148 score. Mine is at present 135, I really want to reach the point where I can expect at least 150 average each week. Perhaps I can reach that lofty goal before this season ends, I am going to try. It is fun but at the same time it is very frustrating, overcoming the frustration and scoring well adds to my pleasure.

    I'm stubborn, I am going to make it yet.

        After bowling today I stopped by Jiffy Lube and got the oil changed in the car. It has been a while since I did that, I hope the car stays happy for a few more years. Regular oil changes make that possible.. . . .Tonight I will watch TV until after 'The big Bang Theory' then get some sleep. I see no rain off the coast at the present time but the infrared view of the clouds tells me it is coming on rather quickly.

9th

9^th. . . .I forgot to mention that I checked my pedometer for the week and found that I logged 10.93 miles in my slippers last week. That is what I get for climbing out of the chair at each TV commercial and walking big circles in the house.. . . . .  This was a lazy day, accomplished very little, perhaps I am saving my energy so I can do well at the bowling alley tomorrow. I will have to wait until then to find that out.

February

8^th. . . . .Easy morning, cool outside but no rain, in fact the sun was out for a little while, which reminds me of spring, and that is good. I have to know that good times are coming. Later in the day the temperature reached 55 or close to it…….. I left the house around 10:30 to meet the guys for lunch at Silver Star. One of the guys, George, who lives in South Kelso,  has a two bedroom apartment above his garage. It has no washer/dryer and I would have to park the car out in the elements. The price is right but I’m going to wait a couple more weeks to see about the one in Castle Rock. I think I like it better. It too, does not have covered parking but the washer/dryer is available to all tenants. After checking out George’s apartment I drove to the bowling alley and could not resist throwing four lines. I did not do any better than I did Sunday. At this rate I am going to be a 130 player for the rest of my bowling days. I know I can do better! I know it! Dang it! The rest of the day was spent enjoying the fireplace and commercials on TV.

February

February 7. . . . . Had the fire place going at 9am today, the temperature outside is up to 40 but I doubted it would go much higher. Today turned out to be laundry day and I had that job finished by noon. I challenged a very strong chess player in England to two games today. He is going to really test my ability stay out of trouble and make some kind of showing for myself. I ended the day relaxing and trying not to eat too much. No more football for a while so now I have to wait 2-3 weeks for NASCAR to get back on the TV.

Feb

Feb. 6^th. . . . Today presented a very slow morning, being a weekend I didn’t have many chess games needing attention and no email so I was off the puter by 8:30. I watched a bit of TV news and fell asleep about 10AM. Hunger pangs tore me away from the slumber party and after getting something to eat I decided to get in my Sunday practice at the bowling alley.. . . . That turned out to be a nothing effort, I averaged 122 after five lines. I was throwing pretty fast because I finished the five lines in an hour. . . . . .I go back to the house in time to catch the kick off of the football game. There was a nice warm fire going in the fire place and that really relaxed me. I was about to turn the game off and find a good movie when Pittsburgh scored a touchdown just as the half ended. I decided to stay with it a while longer.. . . . During half-time I discovered my chess opponent from Lithuania had me trapped so I had to resign the game. My new rating is now 1829. It has not been that low for several months. That’s chess.. . . The ball game turned out to be  a thriller, it would have been better if Pittsburgh had scored in the last few minutes but it never happened.

Feb.

Feb 5^th. . . . Finally got out of the house for a while today. I had not talked with Charlotte for weeks so invited her to lunch and we talked for a couple of hours. After a while she got bored and said she had a headache so I took her home. On the way back to the house I stopped by to see Caren and Ron for a short visit. Bill was there too. Lizzy was out for the day and Colton was having a good time with Sol’s little girl who was visiting for a while today. I got back before any serious rain ruined my clean car. It was a good day. Watched a movie called Open Range and was in bed before 9pm.

Feb.

Feb.4 . . . . . It was noon before I finished making my chess moves on the Internet today. These guys are much stronger than I am and it is all I can do to maintain an even position against them. Eight times out of ten they win but once in a while one of them makes a mistake that makes all of my efforts worth while. Some days I am the bug and some days I am the windshield.. . . . . Rain is on the way but I don’t care, the car is in the garage and I am warm, healthy and happy. ChiChi is doing fine except he sticks close to the fireplace on days like this. I didn’t accomplish a lot today but I did get a bit of exercise in addition to feeding the fire place all day. The exercise consisted of not staying in the chair during the commercials while watching TV. We will see what Saturday brings.

february

February 3. . . . . I promised to report my bowling results so here they are, 154-99-131. ‘Nuff said. I did stop by the market on the way home and still refused to buy ice-cream but I did pick up some cookies. The clean car was a pleasure to drive and I got it home before any rain drops got on it. I even took the time to stop by Caren’s place to drop off a piece of mail that came to this address by mistake. They were not home so I was unable to beg some dinner out of them. I got home in time to put away my groceries and watch O’Reilly. Again, O’Reilly was taking the day off so Laura Ingram was sitting in for him. She is OK, nicer looking than Bill but not as tough on the guests who try not to answer direct questions with direct answers. Did you ever notice how few politicians seldom answer questions and are seldom pressed about it? Those people are our employees, they should speak up when asked, I say. But then who am I? A peon taxpayer, that’s all.. . . . Watched commercials a bit later than usual and went to bed.

February

February 2.  . . . . . Any Larsen Lane Groundhog that might have been out and about today would have surely seen his shadow. I did break down and wash my car, lets hope it stays clean for a while. The only way to assure that in this part of the country is to keep it locked up in the garage. Rather than drying it  I took it out on the freeway for a few minutes to get rid of any standing water. It looked very nice parked in the garage.. . . . Had a fire going all day in the fireplace, supplying that animal with groceries makes exercise and that is a good thing.

February

February. . . .First.

Great weather! That is always a wonderful thing to report. And so seldom too. Around here anyway. It is not warm at all but the sun is bright and shiny, that makes this one feel pretty good. I went through my ‘Junk’ mail folder and found stuff from months ago that I had never known I had received. There were pictures there from Jennifer that she sent last summer. My filter, for some reason refused to put them in my inbox. I’m glad to have discovered them. In the future I will check my ‘junk’ file to see if anything else has been misfiled. It is never my intention to fail in answering emails.. . . . When Terri and I went to Europe last year she had suggested I get a small backpack to carry food and water in. I followed directions and bought a SMALL one. After a few days in Europe I decided it was way too small so I bought another larger one and brought the first one home. Today I stopped by to see Colter [almost three] and gave it to him, It fits just fine with room to grow.  I hope he does not wear it out before he grows out of it. . . . .I was tempted to wash my car today but never got around to it. Clear weather is supposed to stick around for a while so perhaps tomorrow things might warm up a bit and tempt me again. I won’t hold my breath.. . . . A few weeks ago I attached a pedometer to a pair of worn out Birkenstocks that I wear around the house. While watching TV I drag myself out of the chair during all commercial breaks and walk around the house. At the end of a week I check to see how many miles the pedometer claims I have walked. Last week it showed 7.49 miles and this week it reported 8.8 miles. That beats just sitting there getting fat-er. The habit is so ingrained that I hate to sit down in front of the TV even more than previously. The walking has helped me get off the BP med so I will continue with it. I hope it continues to work.

January

Monday 31^st. . . . . Took some time going through my closets and dressers today, going to toss out a bunch of stuff that I no longer wear or no longer want around.  I will be moving into a smaller place one day and a lot of unnecessary junk is the last thing I need. I have a lot of camera and video equipment that is no longer up to date and have no idea what to do with…….. I will never use it again since I am now all digital and don’t know anybody who would want the older stuff……Turned out to be a slow, lazy, sometimes rainy day. Not too cold though, that is always nice.

January

Sunday 30^th.      I am happy to report that my sore toe did not get in the way of my bowling today. 149-180-113-140 for four lines. If those numbers were not correct they were very close. My average for the day turned out to be 146 so I was pleased enough. . . . After bowling I stopped by Wal-Mart for some shopping, mostly groceries, and no ice cream. I was home early in the day and spent the evening in front of the TV.. . . . The Pro Bowl was very disappointing so I switched to 48 Hours, and checked in during commercials. At 6pm I found a movie on demand that I liked so I popped the popcorn and sliced an apple to eat for the time it lasted. It was a good day but the ball game was a let down.

January

Saturday 29^th…….By 10:30 this morning I had worked up the courage to look at my sore toe. The toe next to the big toe is the one that looks the worse for wear. At the moment I can’t tell which one hurts  worse but I expect they will both heal with no serious problems, I did not remove the band aid from the big toe. I’m going to leave that alone for a while. It might hurt when I pull on the band aid and the nail wants to come with it. I am not much for pain, you know.. . . .The day was spent napping in front of the TV while watching the news from Egypt. I tried hard  not eat too much because Ron and Caren were taking me out to dinner tonight and I was sure I would over do it at the restaurant. I know I did last night when Bill treated me. The Prime Rib I ordered was just the way I like it and the baked potato was very tasty too. Colter went to dinner with us, he wanted to drive but Ron wouldn’t let him. Ron can be a real spoil sport at times. Colter enjoyed the elevator, he took Ron up and down a couple of times. Ron would tell him which floor button to push and he had no problem. We all had a good time. They dropped my off at the house about 6:30. Just in time for me to jump into my PJ’s and bring my chess games up to date for the third time today before watching some TV commercials. It was a good day.

January

Friday 28. . . . I had a weird dream during the night and in the process of the dream I ended up kicking the devil out of some guy. The first couple of swings with my right foot didn’t seem to do much good so I took another harder one. The last kick woke me up with a throbbing and bloody toe. My right big toe had come in contact with the dresser next to the bed. That was when the dream ended and reality took over. I new it hurt but I didn’t look at it till morning and when I did I found blood on my foot and  on the bedding too. I went to the bathroom sink to clean up the toe and found there was no color in the big toenail. I guess it had been broken at the quick and the blood supply has been cut off. It is a sick blue/gray color. I wrapped a band aid around it and I am sure that when I remove it in a week or so the nail will come with it. There is a bit of pain when I walk but with a little luck it will not get in the way of a good bowling score next time I try. My poor toe has a booboo. Heck of a way to start a new day. . . . .Bill offered to take me to dinner for my Birthday so today was the day we did that. I drove into Longview and picked him up and we had dinner in Castle Rock at the 49ER. I had a pretty good steak and brought enough of it home to have steak and egg breakfast two days in a row. We had a good time driving in a rain storm, it stopped by the time we got out of the Castle Rock area but it was really coming down for a while. It turned out to be a good day. Even with the rain.

January

Thursday 27^th. . . . I did much better bowling today, 153-138-150 for a 147 average. That is 12 points above my league average so I am most happy with my results. The darn chest cold I was complaining about a couple of weeks ago has returned so I didn't attend the team 'meeting' afterward. I did stop by Caren and Ron's place for a few minutes but Caren was not home. She was out running errands with BB. Ron was busy around the house while Colter was napping. He told me Colter is fine again and doing all the things two year olds do. I didn't stay long because I was getting hungry and I wanted to get back in a relaxing mode. I wish there were a lot of exciting things to report from Larsen Lane but not much is happening that I have heard of. Sometimes that can be a good thing. I lost another chess game so now I am down to 1855. Still not too bad for a novice.

January

Tuesday 25^th. . . . I did laundry today. It was on my mind so I got it out of the way before I started working on my chess moves. Time was flying by and before I finished my chess moves the clock above the puter was reading 1PM. Had a fire going in the fireplace and my bowling ball was bleeding oil right beside it. It is surprising how much oil those balls pick up from the floor each week. I wipe it off with a paper towel and turn it about a quarter turn each half hour or so……Phoned Caren a few minutes  ago and was told that Colter is doing fine and is expected to be coming home tomorrow. I developed a slight cough earlier today, I’m going to get some extra rest tonight and hope to nip this in the bud.

This picture of Mom and me was taken about 1965. Madeline and Leonard sent it to me, perhaps I can get them to send some more. I  left all of my old pictures in California seven years ago.

January

Monday 24^th. . . . . Finished breakfast and had the kitchen cleaned up by 9am. I had four chess games waiting for me this morning, they were answered before I did anything else. I like to get to them early in the morning before my little brain finds other things to concentrate on.

I phoned Ron this morning, he told me Colter is doing much better and he will be in the hospital for another day, maybe two. Caren is with him so things are slowly getting back to normal. It was shortly after that that I left for the drive to Tigard. Terri had invited me down to spend the day with her and to celebrate my Birthday at a new nearby restaurant. It served Persian food and reminded Terri of Turkey when she was there visiting. I was on a cruise ship at one port in Turkey and did go on a half day excursion but don’t remember eating anything until I got back to the ship.

Terri picked up the tab and we drove to Borders to check out her new [expensive] laptop puter and learned we did not know how to connect to the free WiFi available there. The man behind the counter was nice enough to show us so all was well. I had Terri home by 6:30 and I arrived back at the house to a happy doggie and in time to catch O’Reilly at 8PM. It was a happy Birthday and I received more Happy Birthday messages via email than I have ever received before, thank you guys, you are the best!

January

Sunday 23^rd.. . . . . . Bowling was much better than I thought it was while I was practicing. Dave and I discussed several points that seemed to help a lot but because I was practicing I did not pay a lot of attention to the score board. I did notice at one time that I was doing especially well so I checked my score for the third line. It was a 207! Surprise, surprise. I have no idea what the other lines were but the final tally was 813 pins for 5 lines so I am pleased with the 162 average for the day.. . .  .I got home in time to watch the end of the Bears football game, I was cheering them on but to no avail. It would have been a great ending for the game had they won. Stopped at the market on my way home and stocked up on groceries. I am happy to report I did not buy  ice cream, first time in months, good for me, I say.. . . The first half of the Jets game was a disappointment, it is difficult to play well when you are limited to an average of 4-5 minutes per quarter. The second half was much more exciting and would have been great if the Jets had been able to overcome the score and win the game.. . . . .Caren phoned me about 6pm and asked me to keep an eye on Lizzy while she and Ron took Colter to the emergency room. They discovered the little guy unconscious on the kitchen floor. She was told it was a diabetic coma, as I write this he is being flown to a Portland hospital. I stayed with Lizzy until one of the other Foster Mothers came by to pick her up. I left the house shortly after 7PM.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b17jD6Q9tVw

January

Castle Rock Jail 1909

Saturday 22^nd……………Lots of clouds today but no rain. My friend Pepik in Prague called me on Skype this morning, it was about 8pm over there. Skype is a lot of fun but it would be better if Pepik used more lighting around his computer, his picture is not as clear as it could be…….. I found a way to retrieve the pictures I had stored on my previous blog so I will now be able to transfer some of them here. I have lost a lot of pictures in the past, I must go through my burned DVD’s to see if any are to be found there. Most of my DVD’s were used to store video though, I can’t remember saving many snapshots. I thought if I kept them on the puter I would have them forever, fat chance, when the puter went crazy last year I lost them all.

I am now the proud owner of a separate storage device I transfer things to periodically…….Resigned another chess game today, he was higher rated than I was but I still lost 12 points. I went from 1868 to 1856.

Cricket, ChiChi's Mother

January

Friday 21^st. . . . Had a fire going in the fireplace most of the day. Sat my bowling ball near the fire and the heat drew oil out of the ball. Every hour or so I would wipe off the oil  and turn the ball a half turn to cook the other side. I have been told it is best to not have an oily ball because it gets too slippery on the oiled woods of the alley……. It was something to do…… I fixed myself a thin New York steak with hash brown and eggs for lunch today. Now, that’s livin’! Everything was cooked just the way I like it. ……I experimented with placing a picture on the blog last night, I may do more of that. Especially pictures from my trip to Nova Scotia. The trip to Europe in March was mostly recorded on video and pretty poor quality. At least not good enough to put in here as snapshots. I still have a few snapshots to add to the blog, I’ll get to that as time goes by. The picture above is about 5 years old, when ChiChi was a nice doggie.

Cannon Beach, Oregon. Couple of years ago, just expermenting with this blog.

January

Thursday 20^th. . . ..  I lost another chess game last night after I posted my blog, I didn’t lose too many points though; the guy was higher rated than me. Still it is a loss, boo hoo. My car stayed in the garage after getting washed yesterday. Not a drop of rain fell during that time or while I backed out of the garage this morning; but as I turned to drive down Larsen lane it started. Such good luck!! I stopped by the lab for my protime check [3.0] before going on to the bowling alley for my weekly embarrassment. That turned out to be 161-126-117.  My league average is now 135 and today was 134. Dang it! I drove home with a bit or rain following me and got here in time to fix something to eat and settle down to watch O’Reilly. I shouldn’t be complaining, things are going OK.  After all, my chess rating is still at 1868. Life is good! And after his bath the dog does not smell so bad.

January

Wednesday 19^th. . . . .The hoses were frozen this morning but they thawed out early enough in the afternoon for me to wash the car. After coming in after that little chore I discovered ChiChi smelled like cow poop so I gave him a bath too. He knew it was coming because I ran water in the kitchen sink. He was difficult to hunt down and when I did find him he let me know that he was willing to bite me if I touched him. So I grabbed him quickly and waited for the pain. He was bluffing and although he did place his teeth against the skin of my hand he did not bite down. Lucky dog, he will live to see another day and be clean while doing it. . . . .We had a nice day, clear and cold but there was no snow and that is just about the best things can get around here in January. Tomorrow is bowling day, I am hoping I do well.

January

Tuesday 18^th. . . . I started the day on a downer…….Eva, my chess friend in Prague has defeated me, again, for the umpteenth time. I have been trying for years to truly win a game against her but have failed each time. She has gotten herself into trouble once or twice because she did not pay attention and I have won on those occasions but when she really settles down and does her best I have no chance in the hot place of winning. Life is tough at times.. . . . . I challenged her to another game. . . . . . Spent most of the day reading and watching the rain come down. I did get out to the mailbox between the raindrops. ChiChi liked that but he was unable to find any critters to chase. . . .  .I guess we all have our problems…………

January

Monday 17^th. . . . . MLK Day, the only man in our countries history who has a Federal  Birthday celebration all his own. Forty eight degrees in Castle Rock this morning. That means the snow is still melting and filling the rivers. All is well on the farm though, for the moment. I took a letter out to the mailbox today for pickup tomorrow. Had the TV on for a while and dutifully did my exercises while the commercials were on. I feel I did not do enough and attempted to cut down on my calorie intake for compensation. It would not have been a bad day to get out and walk down the road for half an hour but the mood just never hit me hard enough. Sometimes I’m just bad.

January

Sunday 16^th. . . . Still raining. Had my chess games  caught up by 10:30. That was after putting my new batch of chili in the freezer [four large containers] and cleaning up the kitchen and having breakfast.. . . I left at 11:45 to meet my instructor at the bowling alley. I practiced what he preached and paid no attention to the score. Good thing, the score was way down but I did pick up a few 7 and 10 pins that I found to be more important than score anyway.  He had a few suggestions that make delivering the ball a bit easier so I am going to practice that when Thursday comes around. Got home after the Seattle game ended but I guess that was not the most exciting game ever. . . . . . I ate a bowl of my new chili, not too bad but next time I will use tomato sauce and tomatoes instead of Picante. I watched some of the New England game but became disenchanted with the score so turned on a silly movie to watch while pigging out on popcorn and cheese.

January

Saturday 15^th. . . . Had a lazy morning. I did start another pot of chili though, had no tomatoes sauce so I used a jar of Picante in its place. That will change things tremendously, I hope it is edible. It might turn out to be just fine but somehow I doubt it. Drove over to see Ron, Caren and the kids for a while around noon. Caren had invited me for some of her famous spaghetti so of course I couldn’t turn that down. I returned in time to light a fire in the fireplace and settle in to watch the football game. It looked like Pittsburgh was getting kicked around so at half-time I turned on the puter and brought my chess games up to date for the second time today. I returned to the game in time to watch Pittsburgh score twice in three minutes to tie it up. It turned out to be a great game. Tomorrow is bowling practice, I’m looking forward to that.

January

Friday 14^th. . . .I just realized that Friday the 13^th fell on a Thursday this month. . . . . . Had my chess games caught up by 7:30 this morning. I was surprised to find only three opponents had left moves for me to respond to overnight. I challenged a man from Belarus last night and had two of his games waiting for me also.. . . . I left for Portland a bit after 10AM to spend the afternoon visiting with Terri Lynn. She just got back from a six week break in Hawaii. Lucky lady. I delivered her Birthday present  and her Christmas gift  that she missed earlier because she was not around. We had lunch then went to Borders book store and she turned on her new Mac notebook since they have free WiFi and we enjoyed learning how that animal works. It certainly is a nice machine, but way out of my price range. We stayed at Borders until the Friday night traffic subsided. We walked out to the cars about 6:30 and I drove home in time to turn on O’Reilly at 8PM. It was raining very hard when I left Castle Rock but by the time I reached Portland it stopped. On the way home the rain started again about two miles south of my off ramp and I was so disappointed I refused to turn on my windshield wipers for the last three miles home. I watched O’Reilly then decided to check in on the puter to post this before going to bed. I have to be tired but for some reason it has not yet hit me. I expect to sleep like a baby tonight, but what else is new?

Thursday

Thursday 13^th. . . . . .Still raining and the outside temperature  is over 50 degrees. The happy thing is that it can’t snow at that temp. The bad news is that the snow  in the mountains could be melting. That is bad for the river and those of us in the flatlands below flood level. As of this evening the river has come up close to five feet in the past 24 hours.. . . . I went in to town for my bowling exercise today. Bowled three games with an average 12 pins above my usual efforts. It came out to 147 for the day. After  bowling our team had a meeting [Lindy’s Bar] so I stayed around until almost 4PM. After buying some more ice cream I hurried home to catch O’Reilly at 5 O’Clock.

My favorite Thursday night commercials come on at 8pm and I plan on being in bed and asleep shortly after that. It was a good day.

January

Wednesday 12^th. . . . . I was up at 6:30 and was surprised when I looked at the thermometer reading of 40 degrees. Of course I was hoping for higher reading later in the day but that never happened. . . . . .  Anon Amos asked me to share my chili recipe but I have no idea what I put in it. Hamburger, beans, red chili peppers, sometimes a can of corn, usually tomato sauce and or tomatoes, fresh or canned, I don’t know. Perhaps I should pay attention next time and write it down. It tastes different each time.. . . .The rain fell continuously all day, the sky was dark, I needed a lamp on to read even when sitting right next to the living room window. The fireplace was cooking enough to keep the forced air from kicking on. That makes it easier on the electric bill but the back of the house cools off somewhat.. . . . .Rained the entire day, I hope it was cool at the higher elevations so the river will stay inside dike.

January

Tuesday 1-11-11. . . . I have been told that folks are having trouble placing comments on my blog. I have now changed the procedure and would like someone or all of you to at least put a “Hi’ in there letting me know it was done with no trouble. Comments would be appreciated. It was almost 10AM before I realized that I had a lunch date with the ‘52’ group today at 11:00. It turned out to be no problem because I had already done all of my important stuff around here and had time to dress for the occasion. I stopped by to see Bill for a short visit before having lunch and telling lies with the gang. I arrived back in Castle Rock about 12:30 and stopped by the Pharmacy for my meds and found that I needed to contact the doctor about one of them. After phoning them I discovered I had to drive back into Longview for a blood draw. At $3.25 per gallon this gets expensive. I took doggie with me, it is time for him to learn how to obey himself in the car. He did very well but started shaking with excitement when we returned to the driveway and I rolled down the window to retrieve the mail from the box. He was disappointed when the window was rolled up again. He was happy to be home but I am sure he will be ready to go next time too.

January

January 10, 2011. . . . .  Monday morning, broken clouds with promises of showers as the day progresses. It was 10:00 before I had my chess moves all caught up. I have taken the last of my frozen chili out of the fridge. Might be a good idea to make another pot to have on hand when I am too lazy to cook anything else. By noon it was apparent that we were going to have a very nice day sans warmth. I drove into Longview to bowl three lines and came away from there with a 158 average. That was fun and before coming home I stopped by PetCo to buy some potty pads for ChiChi, I am going to try to teach him to use them because when we move into an apartment it is going to become a necessity. After getting home I fell asleep in the recliner for a well earned nap before putting in a load of laundry. By 4:30 that was done and the clothes were put away. All caught up again. Turned on the Oregon football game, pretty exciting! Too bad they lost in the last seconds.

January

Sunday 9^th……It was 9:30 before I had my chess games all caught up today. Some of those guys are much better than me and it makes it very difficult to produce a good showing. I decided to drive into Longview for my Sunday bowling lessons but found after arriving  they were having some kind of big doings taking place. All of the lanes were full so I climbed back in the car and came back to the nice warm fireplace and a very happy doggie. This evening I watched a movie with Robin Williams and enjoyed some popcorn and cheese.

January

Saturday 8^th. . . . . Lost another chess game this morning, I resigned about 4 moves from defeat. My rating has dropped to 1847, boo. It was almost noon before I had my games caught up, I had eleven moves to make and it took a while…… Terri just HAD to phone this morning to remind me how wonderful the weather is in Hawaii these days. She added that she is flying back on the 12^th, I told her she will get here in time to enjoy a nice snow storm. That didn’t take any wind out of her sails, how can anybody care about stuff like that when they are in Hawaii? Let the truth hit when she lands in Portland. By 2pm I had won a game that brought my rating back up to 1859. I was riding high! Seattle played a fun game of football this afternoon, that was nice to watch. I hope Barbara got to see it.

She might be busy campaigning for Mayor of Heaven though.

January

Friday 7^th. . . . .Another lazy day, visited Bernita at 11 am for a haircut then stopped by to see Ron, Caren and the kids for a while before coming home. The rainy weather gives me a good excuse to stay home where it is dry and warm. Last night a critter got into the garbage sack that was in the garage. This happened after I went to bed and doggy ran him off into a tree behind the house. I got out of bed to investigate all the noise and that just seemed to cheer ChiChi into more barking and carrying on. I cleaned up the mess inside and today after picking up more trash in the back yard I installed a screen over most of the doggie door leading into the yard. I was told those critters can get through any hole ChiChi can get through so perhaps it is a lost cause. Time will tell. The exercise was good for me, I’m sure.

January

Thursday 6^th. . . . .I was out of bed by 6:30. I have no idea what that was all about except perhaps because I had an unfinished blog from yesterday to be posted I was unable to stay in bed any longer. It is darker than the dickens at that ungodly hour, you know? I had two pieces of toast and a glass of orange juice before sitting down at the puter to catch up on the doings of the world. The last chess game I had to address was studied and the move sent off to wherever, Iran I think, by 9:30 am. I then got myself cleaned up and dressed for going out. I turned on the Senate debates and fell asleep waking up at 11:50, just in time to be too late to get to the bowling alley. No games had started by the time I arrived so no harm done. My bowling scores were all over the place, 104-175- 112. That made me three hairs under my average but I was still unhappy because I know very well I can do a lot better than that. I left the bowling alley and drove to the Wal-Mart Super store for some more grocery shopping [I’m almost out of ice cream again] and got home after 4pm. After putting away the groceries and preparing dinner I watched O’Reilly while eating. When that was over it took me a while to clean up my mess in the kitchen and get my pajamas on. As I write this it is 6:30 pm and I am pooped out. There are a couple of shows coming on TV at 8PM I hope to stay up for; I’ll use a bowl of ice cream as incentive to stay up. I usually eat the ice cream while my favorite shows are on. Someone told me it is less fattening that way.

January

Wednesday 5^th. Woke up to rainy weather, as expected. Looks like it will continue for a while. At least the next six months. I forgot about posting my blog on this date so here I am the next morning trying to remember all that went on yesterday. Caren met me in Castle Rock about 11:30 and introduced me to the manager of an apartment house that looked promising. The places are small and they take little doggies so I was interested enough to complete an application and submit it for their approval. I have no idea when or if I will hear from them but I am certainly in no hurry so the wait will not be a bother. I delivered the app. To the office in Longview and was home again by 2pm. The rest of the day was TV commercials and reading.

January

Tuesday 4^th. . . .The PUD man stopped by this morning with a final notice on the electric bill. Evidently there has been a mix up regarding the way the bill is to be paid through the estate. I drove into Longview and paid it. It will all get straightened out when the estate finally settles. I was home again and had my chess games caught up by noon-thirty. The morning really went fast, I was getting hungry and was surprised so much time had gone by since breakfast. For the first time in many days the wind chimes on the front porch are moving. Not moving enough to tinkle, but they are moving. Rain is falling about 30 miles West of the mouth of the Columbia River. Could be here soon. Present time is 12:35 pm. I made another blunder in one of my chess games, the story of my life. By 3:30 the little wind movement we had has died down, the fire is crackling along in the fireplace.. . . . By bedtime the storm has rain falling about 30 miles north of here but it looks like our rain will arrive later, fine with me.

January

Monday, Third. . . . This has been another day without wind, no air movement has been reported at the airport in Kelso for about 5 days. This is, I am convinced, the calm before the storm.. . . . . It took me until 11:30 to get my chess games caught up. All of my opponents are stronger than I so the time needed to stay even with them becomes more and more difficult to find. My birth defect has an effect on my chess games too: no brain. .. . . . . Went bowling again today, wanted to see if Dave’s suggestions helped. My first game was a 161 and I thought ‘Wow’. The next three were not as good so I ended the four lines with a 545, 136 average. I feel I can do much better so I will continue in the hopes my feelings pay off…..This evening I watched my favorite commercials on Monday night TV and was in bed before 10PM.

January

Sunday 2^nd. . . . Another frosty and almost clear morning. I lost another chess game so my rating has dropped ten points to 1852. I can remember a few years ago when I wished I was as good as 1850. The game takes a lot of perseverance and no one has perseverance like a man who sells insurance. Or so I have been told.. . . . . Went bowling today, really did not do well at all. Dave, my instructor showed up sometime during my second line and watched for a while. He had a couple of suggestions that I tried and found very awkward but he said I was doing better so I continued. After a while things started to jell and he left. My last line was 154 and I felt better about things. My average for the day was 126. I might go down there again tomorrow to continue with Dave’s suggestions. Since I am a member of the league it is cheap enough to practice; it costs more for gasoline than 5 lines of bowling. I made a stop or two on the way home and still arrived before 4:30. The garage door surprised me by shutting down automatically when it closed. It has not been doing that; perhaps my cussing at it the other day had some effect. Like my doggie, I expect it to fall back into its bad habits any time.. . . . Watched Seahawks football tonight while enjoying my popcorn and cheese. I was thinking of Barbara while the game was on; she would have loved watching Seattle win. It was the only football game this season that kept my attention to the very end.

January

Happy 2011 Saturday 1^st. . . . As I turned on my puter this morning I was surprised to find Eva and Pepik calling me from Prague. They are the couple Terri and I spent a few days with last March while we were passing through. I met Eva several years ago via the chess site we both belong to. I find Skype to be a fun way to stay in touch but I do wish Pepik could get a better picture out of his camera. I don’t know what my video looks like at his end but he says it is a great picture. I introduced them to ChiChi through the camera this morning, now they know what I am talking about when I mention my killer dog. The call lasted about 30 minutes and cost nothing more than the Internet hookup. . . . . It was cold out this morning, close to 18, from the reading I got outside the kitchen window. That thermometer always is high because it is so close to the house. It was too cold for me to walk out to the open thermometer on the back porch. . . . . Although I did venture out to the garage to take a look at the broken spring. My plan was to check the temperature to see if I would be comfortable in my ‘Blizzard’ suit while working on the repair. One thing led to another and before I knew it the spring was replaced with a rusty one I found hanging on the wall and except for a bit of adjusting it worked just fine. I went inside to stoke the fire and warm up a bit before continuing. Never did put on my cold weather gear. I went out later to correct the fact that the door does not stay closed automatically. After it gets to the closed position it opens again. I have to do some tweaking, I guess.. . . .It was a cold day, but dry. That beats cold rain or snow.