Day 115

This was an almost completely do nothing day.  I did a little cleanup.  I also took a shot at the squirrel, but I missed.  I put away some of the swag that we collected at the show and got some stuff ready for tomorrow.  That was it.

It rained off and on all day today.  That's going to make tomorrow really suck, just like last month.  So the rest of the day was spent reading, surfing, and watching TV.

Day 114

This was another relaxing day.  We stayed in bed for awhile with the dog surfing.  After breakfast we went out to get spare circuit breakers.  I went to Lowe's because I remembered that the dumbshit that built this place bought everything at Lowe's.  I was the right call.  They had GE circuit breakers (the only kind that would fit).

After that I went on a search for someone to engrave my member number on my NSCA life member pin.  Unfortunately the thing is designed so that there is no place to do that and have it look OK.  Crap.

We stopped at HEB for some dinner stuff and then at Tomlinson's and the bank.  The final stop was Circle C.  It was cool and cloudy so Lucy did a goodly number of retrieves.

When we got home I drilled a few more holes in the control panel.  I'm waiting until I get the new switches to drill the final holes.

I finally got a chance to use the Umarex.  I put a red dot sight on it and took it out to the back yard.  I spent a whole lot of time trying to get it sighted in.  I finally decided on "good enough" and put up a can.  It shoots OK, but a little low.  The sight won't adjust high enough to compensate.  The rock and roll switch is a lot of fun.

After that there was little to do, so the rest of the day was surfing and reading.

Day 113

Today we took it easy (or tried to).

We stayed in bed surfing until after 10.  The dog was nice and clean, so she got to lay with us.  When we got up it was time to tie up some loose ends.  We went through the rest of the mail and paid some bills.  Then I went out to the garage and Ellen went to the trailer.

I'm not sure what Ellen did, but I checked the car's tire pressure and then reset it's pressure alarm.  If it doesn't work now, it's going back to the shop.  I also hung up the feeder that the squirrel knocked down.  He also ate the bag of seed we had while we were gone.  That squirrel is a goner.

I moved the car out of the garage and set up the drill press.  I started to drill holes in the control board for switches and LED's.  That's when I found out that I'd order 25 of the wrong switches.  Crap.  I went over to the well house to get some parts.  A pipe is leaking.  Crap again.  I think it's because the heater was too close to the pipe and melted the cement.  We'll see.

During one of the trips to the well house it's lights quit working.  Crap.  So I spent about an hour trying to figure out what happened.  After checking breakers at the post and the guest house, measuring voltage at the input to the house, and determining that the yard light is on the same circuit I gave up.  The problem had to be in the breaker box, and I don't mess inside those.  I asked Ellen to find an electrician and went back to hole drilling.

Ellen found an electrician who could come that afternoon.  It took him only a little time to determine that the circuit breaker was broken.  Luckily there was an extra one.  He hooked it up and everything worked fine.  The sot was $155, about average.

In the evening I surfed around until I found the switches I needed.  I ordered them.  I may buy some LED's too, but not until I've tested the ones I have now.

Day 112

We are home.  I was planning on stopping at Fredericksburg, but it was only a little after 2 when we go there.  I wasn't really tired, which was a surprise.  So I decided to go home.  It saves money and I don't have to spend an afternoon and evening thinking about parking the rig.

When we got home parking the rig went better than I thought it would.  I had been thinking about last time and set up differently.  It helped a lot.  There was still some rock moving, backing, and filling, but not nearly as much as last time.  The only problem was that the damn thing was regenning.  That meant the every time I shifted into gear it would start, and when I shifted out it would stop.  Damn tree huggers.

We stashed the pets in the house and went to the post office.  There was a ton of mail.  We stopped briefly at the store and then went home.  We unloaded the trailer.  Cleaning will have to wait until tomorrow.

The evening is watching TV and reading mail.

Day 111

Another road day.  There were only two things of note.  First, we got really good mileage.  I think we were above 12.5 for the whole day.   Second, going through town sucked.  We went through at 2 on a Tuesday.  There was a goo 25 miles of traffic.  I spent most of the way hemmed in by trucks so I couldn't see anything in front of me.  It was not fun.

Because we stopped just at the western edge of a time zone there was daylight until after 7:30.  That gave Lucy a chance to do some retrieves.  She was really happy and did a whole bunch.

Day 110

Just a boring day on the road.  We were on the road by 8:15 and at the park a little after 3.  Going through the city was a little bit of a pain due to traffic, but not bad.

The park has some sort of function going on.  Apparently we got the last pull-through available.  We unhooked when we got to the park so that we could go to In-N-Out and gas up.  After that it was watch TV and surf.

Day 109

We decided to stay one more day.  We did the wash in the morning.  I disconnected and cleaned the sewer hose and checked the tires.  Then we took the dog to the park.  She wasn't much interested in doing retrieves or socializing.  It might have been because it was sunny and warm.  After awhile we took her home.

After that we went back downtown.  We had fun walking around and playing.  Ellen even bought a t-shirt.  We stopped by the grocery store on the way back and got some provisions.  When we got back I raised the jacks and hooked up.  I screwed up connecting and knocked the trailer off the front jack blocks.  The cats were not amused.

The evening was TV and surfing along with a little packing up.

Day 108

We took the dog over to the park right after breakfast.  She did some retrieves, but not a whole lot.  She didn't do much socializing either.  In fact, she just acted weird.  It might have been because she had just finished breakfast a little time before.

We took her home and then went downtown.  We had a fun time walking around and seeing the sights.  We ate lunch at a place that was having a breakfast special.  It was really good and only about the same price as IHOP.  When I went to pay the card was denied.  I called them up and found out that there was a fraud hold on it.  It seems that one of the places at the show had done four failed accesses at once (we ended up paying cash).  That caused the computer to shut the card down.  We got it turned back on.

After that we did some more walking and then I got my mojito.  We got the 32 ounce one and shared it.  It was nice and warm by then, so we sat outside and drank.  Unfortunately it wasn't as good as the one I had in the fall.  Oh well. 

We did a little more walking around.  Actually a lot.  On our way back to the truck we passed a Mexican restaurant with an interesting menu.  So we sat outside under heaters and ate.  It was really good food.  I had lobster tacos which were great.

When we got home the dog had gotten into the bag I'd put the stuff we got at the show.  She took out all of the plastic bags and shredded them.  It was quite a mess.

We weren't near as tired as we'd been the last few days at the show.  We just watched TV and surfed for the rest of the evening.

Day 107

This was the last day of the show.  We only had a couple of vendors to look at, so we took it easy.  We joined the NSSF, so we got to use the lounge.  That got us free drinks (water and juice).  We met up with Dave and Vandy and visited a couple of vendors with them.  I told them to order me a CG.  It will probably take a year to get it.

Dave and Vandy took off at noon for the airport.  We didn't do a whole lot more after they left.   I did go on a sort of wild flashlight hunt to try to find a vendor I'd seen earlier.  The show's so big, and we saw so much, that it was futile.

We came home early so that we could take the dog to the park.  She had a great time.  She ran until she really couldn't run anymore even though she wanted to.  She's on the couch now, but she doesn't seem all that tired.

We're going to eat in tonight.  Tomorrow supposed to be windy and warm, so we'll probably go out and take advantage of it.  We'll probably run the dog in the morning first though.

Day 106

I was so tired today that I didn't even log on.  Instead I just sat in the chair and vegetated.  So this is being written on Friday.

We spent the day walking all around the show.  We met up with Dave and Vandy in the afternoon and went with them to some of the vendors that we had found interesting.  We also went with them to the POS vendor so that they could get a bunch of questions answered.

Dave and Vandy were having dinner with some friends, so we left a little early because we were so tired.  We didn't get home in time to run the dog, though.

For dinner we decided to go to IHOP.  Apparently none of the casinos around here have decent buffets.

Day 105

Today we walked the entire lower floor of the show.  We found several good prospects, especially cleaning and glasses.  I really like bringing lunch.  It's much nicer than eating a thing ham sandwich at the show.  That's especially true when the sandwich costs $11.

We were really tired by 4, so we bagged it and came home.  We spent about an hour at home and then we went back and had dinner with Vandy, Dave, and Mark.  We ate at the sushi place with an all you can eat buffet.  It was pretty good, and Mark paid for it.

When we got home we watched a little TV, surfed, and then off to bed.

Day 104

We went to the show today.  Part of the day was touching base with people we know, part of it was looking for stuff for Dave and Vandy, and part of the day was looking at things we found interesting.  We scored some more grocery bags and some nice shoulder bags for carrying around stuff.

By about 4:15 we were tired and footsore.  So we went home.  Dave called and wanted to meet us for dinner at the Rio.  The traffic getting back was awful.  We still beat them because they couldn't get a taxi.

We ate at the buffet, which was very expensive and very good.  After that we took Dave and Vandy back to the hotel and then went home.  We didn't get home until almost 10.  Time to take a shower and go to bed.

Day 103

Today was a day of rest.  It was cold in the morning, so we just sat around and surfed.  It started to warm up around 10, so we took the dog to the park.  Yesterday she seemed subdued.  Today she really did a lort.  She even went around a socialized a little.

By the time we finished the sun had come out and it was getting warm.  So we took Lucy home.  Then we went out to do a little shopping.  I need a new pair of sandals.  Unfortunately it's the wrong time of year for them, so no luck.

After that we went to IHOP for lunch.  We tried to eat at the Station, but after waiting about half an hour they told us we were in the wrong line.  We left immediately.

When we got home we did the wash.  Then it was TV and surfing for the rest of the day.

Day 102

It was another driving day.  At least this was about 100 miles less than the last two.  It made up for it in pain in the ass roads.  The road was the only problem though.  Traffic was light through the city because it was early in the morning.  I only met two trucks the whole way and neither of them caused me a pain.

We got in early.  So after we set up we went to Wally World to get all of the things I'd forgotten.  It's a place I would have felt safer in if I was armed.

After that we did ate dinner at a buffet and did a little gambling.  We ended up winning $13.  Hot dog.

By then I was really, really tired.  I just made it to Kong time before I took a shower and went to bed.

Day 101

It was up early and away by 8.  Another boring drive.  We got stuck in some traffic at one point because of an accident in the left had lane.  It delayed us maybe 10 minutes.  We got lucky on a couple of other things.  There was another accident and a slow down.  Both were cleared before we got to them.

Mileage was much better in spite of the ups and downs.   We averaged about 12.5 for the day.  That included the slow down and two regens.  We were doing so well that I decided to drive an extra hour.  We started at 8 and pulled in at 4:30.  We covered a total of just about exactly 500 miles.  That will give us a good head start tomorrow.

Lucy is disappointed because she is not allowed off leash.  We are just watching TV and surfing.

Day 100

About 450 miles today.  The only notable thing was that after thousands of miles of Texas roads I finally saw a road killed armadillo.  In fact I saw two.  One was a pretty old corpse and the other was pretty fresh.

he only other thing of note was the mileage.  I was a little low.  Tank readings were between 10 and 11.5.  Prices were around $2.80.  That's down about $.50 from when we drove over here.

The evening was nothing special.  A little bit of TV and surfing.

Day 99

Today was a prep day.  When we got up we moved a bunch of stuff into the trailer.  That took until about 1.  Then we went to the post office and lunch at the Italian place.  It was sunny and 60 degrees.  So we stopped at Circle C and walked the dog.  Of course she did retrieves all the way.  She wanted to swim in the creek, but Ellen just gave her medicine so that was out.  The last stop was to fuel up the truck.

When we got back I spent the rest of the afternoon doing prep.  I washed the inside of the truck windows - they were filthy.  I also put on the new license sticker.  Getting the old one off was a pain in the ass.  I removed all the old grease on the hitch and put on new grease.  I hitched up and filled the tires with air.

That took me until after 5.  After dinner it was TV and surfing.

Day 98

We got up this morning, ate breakfast, and left.  I wanted to get a haircut.  They cut it a little shorter than I really wanted, but then they always do.  I miss Judy.

After that we spent some time in Best Buy.  There really wasn't anything there that I wanted to buy.  Then it was off to Rudy's for lunch.  We bought 2 pounds of BBQ so we would have sandwiches for several days.  We also stopped by Costco for water.  Ellen got a flu shot there, too.

After the post office we stopped at HEB to pick up some milk.  We would have stopped at Circle C, but it was 40 degrees and raining.

At home we started moving things into the trailer.  I put the car in the garage and locked it.  The cats smell a huge kitty rat.  In the evening the dog got a bath.

The rest was TV and surfing.

Day 97

I went back to the Social Security office today at about 9:30 to complete my application.  We stopped at the Donut and Taco Palace so Ellen could get breakfast.  It was packed.

So was the SS office.  After waiting for about 20 minutes they called my name.  As I sat down at the window the security guard came over and demanded that I take my knife outside.  So I had Ellen do it.  There was no point in arguing with an idiot.

After that we went to Wally World for a sewer hose support and Home Depot and for some paint for the control panel.  We also stopped by Spec's and picked up some prickly pear juice and some Texas whiskey.

By then it was late enough to pick up the mail, so we did.  After a stop at the bank Lucy finally got to Circle C.  She ran a very long time.  Ellen and I froze as the wind was blowing and it was in the low 40's.

When we got home I surfed most of the afternoon away.  I did manage to sort through the parts I have for the control panel.  I may have to make another order.

This evening Lucy is really stiff.  I think she over did it.  Ellen went to archery and I surfed.

Day 96

I signed up for the dole today.  There was an amazing number of people there, but I got in in 15 minutes.  I think it was because I just had to sign up.  Unfortunately I didn't have the bank number with me.  I thought I did, but the letter I brought didn't have it.  So the application is still open.  The lady there said to call in with the number.  Unfortunately she didn't return my call, so I'll have to go back tomorrow.

We went to lunch at Jack West.  It was really good.  After that it was HEB to get some bananas and cereal.

The weather was marginally better today.  It was all the way up to 48.  So we stopped at Circle C.  Lucy did a whole pile of long retrieves.  She was really happy to do something after two days of doing nothing.

When we got home it was warm enough to work in the garage.  So I got the old sign I bought at the Tek country store.  That was probably 30 or so years ago (God I'm old).  The lettering advertised Mac II coprocessors.  I took off the letters and cut off a piece to make the control board.  Then I took it inside to mark where the holes need to be drilled.  That's the next step.

The evening was TV and surfing.

Day 95

It was warmer today.  All the way up to 49 degrees.  That's still too cold to do anything, especially since it was raining a little more.

We spent most of the morning surfing.  By noon I was thoroughly bored.  I had to find something to do, so I decided to mark out how to mask the control panel for painting.  In doing so I noticed an error I had made in the design for the wiring.  Hot dog!  Something to do.

The change involved updating the design document and the CAD drawing.  When I updated the drawing I also did a little more "gilding the lily".  At least it was something to do.

I started to watch the Packers/Cowboys game.  It was painful to watch Aaron Rodgers try to play.  I turned it off early in the third quarter with the Cowboys ahead.  Apparently I shouldn't have.  Landry's losers managed to lose the game.

Ellen went to the archery place twice.  In the afternoon she went to get her bow tuned.  In the evening she went back to try it out.

The evening was TV and surfing.

If it's a little warmer tomorrow I think I'll start to build up the control panel.

Day 94

It was colder today than yesterday.  For most of the day it was around freezing.  When we went out to the car it had ice on it.  There were icicles on the eves and on the front gate.  To top it all off it was raining.

I waited until noon to go anywhere.  It didn't warm up.  We went to the post office.  Only a couple of packages were in, so I couldn't work on the control panel.  On the way back we stopped at the Ice House.  I had a craving for nachos.  They were serving breakfast, which was a strong temptation, but I got the nachos.  It was a good choice.

The last stop was Tomlinson's for some cat food and cart litter.  The lady there gave Lucy a whole bunch of treats.

It was so cold that when it was time to get the mail I took the car.  That was a good choice.

The evening was football.  Right now the Seahawks are ahead at halftime, but not by much.

Day 93

Today was really cold.  The temperature didn't get above 38 all day.  And the wind was blowing.  We stayed in all morning and surfed.  About noon we went to Wally World so I could pick up my drugs.  I've learned to make it there before they go to lunch.  After that it was just stop at the post office on the way home.  It was just too cold to do anything else.

When we were out the tire pressure alarm on the car went off again.  I checked the tires, and they are all OK.  It may be going back to the dealership.

When we got back I felt sorry for the dog.  So I went out in the back yard and threw 40 retrieves for her.  They weren't super long ones, but she enjoyed herself.  I didn't.  It was cold and windy. 

Then it was back inside for some more surfing.  I also put a screen protector on the tablet.  Ellen refused to do it.

I walked out with the dog to the mailbox.  It was really, really cold.  There wasn't any mail.

The evening was spent surfing.

Day 92

It's colder today than it was yesterday.  We woke up at 8, but didn't get up until 9:30.  When we did, it was to surf.  It's way too cold to go outside.  I made up another Amazon order.  I spent a lot of time looking at stuff - I didn't have anything else to do.

After lunch we went to the post office.  There were three packages there - all from Amazon.  We also went over to the dealership to pick up the license plate frame (it's too cold to put it on).  We had to hurry because Ellen had a late afternoon doctor's appointment.  There was no way we were going to take the dog to Circle C.  It was way too cold.  I forgot to go get my drugs.

When Ellen came back she brought in a slip from the mailman for another package.  We have to go to the post office to pick it up.  The weather is supposed to suck tomorrow - freezing rain.  We'll see.

The evening was TV and surfing.

Day 91

I spent most of the day today in front of the computer.  I refined the layout for the train control panel.  I finally got to the point where I was just gilding the lily.  So I quit.  It was sort of like coding, but I sure don't want to code again.

In the afternoon we went to the post office.  We also went over and got the oil changed in the truck.  The last stop was Taco Cabana for a really late lunch.  The food was OK, but expensive.  The guy running it was an ex pro football player.  He was a lot of fun.

After lunch it was late, so the Mopac was packed.  That meant going home on Escarpment.  The temperature was about 40 and there was a strong wind.  Lucy wanted to do retrieves.  So we stopped at Circle C.It was really cold, but the wind made for long retrieves.  We quit before the dog did.

At home I made an Amazon order for some stuff for the train project.  Then it was TV and surfing.

Day 90

We got out of bed late again.  We just surfed instead of getting up.  We surfed mostly until about 2 in the afternoon.  We were waiting for either Staples or the car dealer to call.  Neither did.  At 2 I decided to go to the post office and take a chance on Staples.  The chance was a good one - the cards were ready.

When we parked in front of Staples the dog went crazy.  She really wanted to go into the pet store.  So after Staples we took her in and bought her a treat.  The next stop was HEB for milk and cereal.  We ended up buying a ham and some other stuff - $70 total.  I blame Obama.

The last stop was Circle C.  It was sunny and above 70, so Lucy didn't do a lot.  I think she did plenty, though.

When we got home I started working on the control panel layout.  I had started to do it by hand in the morning.  Then I realized that it was already a model in a CAD program.  So I spent most of the rest of the evening (all the way until midnight) relearning how to run the program and entering the switch and LED positions.  Everything is to scale, so it should fit.  I've got most of it done, but I'll do some fine tuning tomorrow.  The weather is supposed to suck.

Ellen went to archery in the evening while I was doing CAD.

Day 89

We woke up at a normal time today, but then the dog came to bed.  It was so nice having her in the bed with us that we didn't get up until 11 or so.  After breakfast Ellen designed some business cards for the show.  When she finished we went out to get the mail and order the cards.

An aside: yesterday when we went out the tire pressure alarm in the car went off.  The back left tire was down to 20 psi.  I filled it up and we went on our way.

When we went out to the car the first thing I did was check the pressure in the tire that had been low.  It has lost 10 psi over night (part of that might have been temperature change).  So while we were driving to the post office Ellen called the dealer.  They said to bring it in right away.  So we did.

After quite a wait they came out and said they couldn't find anything wrong.  I told them that I was sure there was a leak.  It had been down to 20 psi and lost 10 psi overnight.  So they went back to take a second look.  After another long wait they came out and said that there was a very small nail, the size of a staple, that had caused the problem.  They said they had to pump it up to 70 psi and put it in a tank to find it.  That's great service.  They believed me and took a second look.  The whole thing was covered under warranty.

After that we went to Staples to order the cards and Costco to get some water.  The last stop was Circle C.  Lucy did a respectable number of retrieves, but nothing spectacular.  We didn't get home until 4:30.

Tonight is TV, surfing, and watching the Tarheels loose.  Crap.

Day 88

This was another wake up relatively early, surf in bed day.  After we got up and ate breakfast we went out.  I needed a battery for the living room fan control and I wanted to go to a hobby shop for some paint.  Ellen wanted to go to JoAnn's.  So we did.

I got my paint and a battery (at Radio Shack).  Ellen didn't buy anything - they were out of what she wanted.  We ate lunch at Steak and Shake (I love coupons).

I thought the dog would be really tired, but she wanted to stop.  So we did.  She really surprised be.  She did a whole lot of retrieves.  She stopped one retrieve before I was going to call a halt.

When we got home it was football time.  Unfortunately the Cowboys won again.  I hope the Packers wipe them out.  The rest of the night was TV and surfing.

Day 87

We stayed in bed surfing again this morning.  It's so nice just to wake up and then stay in bed for awhile.

When we did get up, we didn't do anything except surf and eat breakfast.  Ellen took the jerky out of the dehydrator.  I haven't had any yet, but Lucy liked it.

I wised up.  We left before noon and went to Wally World to get my drugs.  I also needed to get a battery for the flashlight I got on Friday.  While looking for the battery I noticed that they sold fluorescent lights for $1 less than Lowe's.  So I bought two. 

It was sunny and 60 so on the way home we stopped at Circle C.  She was amazing.  We walked to the creek, throwing the bumper all the way.  The water at the creek was murky, but not muddy so Lucy got to swim.  After that we walked back.  We stopped on the way at the corner and threw A LOT more retrieves - at least 40.  A road runner watched us for much of it.  Then we went back to the car throwing the bumper all the way.  Lucy finally stopped retrieving about 100 yds from the car.

When we got home I replaced the last two garage lights.  I moved one of the old ones to the well house to replace to the non-working one there.  I took the two old ones out to the garbage can.

After that I was tired.  So I went inside.  I still wanted to accomplish something, so I made up some full size templates for the train control board.  After that it was time to get the mail.  That ended today's worthwhile activities.

Lucy was really stiff.  I'm sure she thinks she overdid it.  She did get some extra munchies as well as some treats after the bath.  She needed the bath because the creek wasn't clean.

The rest of the day was reading, football, and surfing.

Day 86

We didn't do a whole lot again today.  The weather is still crappy - low 40's and raining.  We stayed in bed surfing until almost 11.  Then we got up, ate breakfast, and surfed some more.  I had to get some more pills, so a little after 1 we went to the post office and Wally World.  Bad move.  The pharmacy at Wally World is closed from 1 to 2.  I knew that, but didn't remember it.

So we dicked around at Wally World for 40 minutes waiting for the pharmacy to open.  I dripped off the prescription and then we left.  I didn't want to wait another 45 minutes.  We ate lunch at the Thai place and then took Lucy to the pet store even though we didn't need anything.  She had fun walking around and met a couple of friends.

We didn't do anything else.  We just went home.  I watched a couple of streaming movies.  Now I'm wating for Gold Rush.  I really need to accomplish something soon.

Day 85

It was cold last night, just about freezing.  So we let the dog sleep with us.  That was kind of a mistake.  We both woke up in the middle of the night with a set of doggy claws poking us in the back.  I don't think Lucy will be invited back.

Today was the first - take down the Christmas tree day.  I also had to replace a bulb in the living room fan.  The whole process was fun due to the weather.  It was 36 degrees and raining.  I had to towel off the outside light strings before I could put them away.

After putting things away I discovered that Chelsea was playing.  I gave up at halftime when they were behind 4-1.  They lost 5-3.  I switched to football.  The team I wanted (Baylor) blew a 21 point lead in the fourth quarter to lose.  Fortunately Oregon kill Florida.  Now Alabama and Ohio is on.  I don't care who wins.

That was pretty much the whole day.