This was the last day of 2015. I woke up early (7:30), but just surfed in bed for about an hour. I had every intention of working on the control panel, but somehow it didn't happen. First, I couldn't shoot for crap I had 4 \shots at squirrels and only got one. That one sucked, too. I thought I'd cleanly killed the squirrel, but I'd just paralyzed it. I left it outside for half an hour at least before I went outside, saw it was still alive, and killed it. I HATE that. I was bummed the whole day.
I ran across a cool video on the web. It was a house thief describing how he decided what houses to rob and how he did it. It was 45 minutes long and both Ellen and I found it interesting. We're going to change a couple of things because of it.
Ellen had a doctor's appointment at 2, so that blew the whole afternoon. After the appointment we had lunch at Dan's and then went to yuppie grocery store. We also stopped at the dog cookie store for Lucy. It was good we did, because we didn't run the dog. She didn't seem to mind. I think 6 straight days of running were enough for her.
After dinner we went out and set off the mortars I bought. They were really cool. There's fireworks going off all over. I expect it to last for hours.
The evening is just TV and a little surfing. I'm not sure we'll make it to midnight.
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Day 83
We didn't get out of bed until 10 today (woke up at 8). There just didn't seem to be any reason to. When we did get up I felt guilty. It was too cold to work, so I finally got around to filling out the passport application. Renewing a passport cost $110. That sucks. The for was kind of a pain in the ass also.
I had two shots at squirrels at the bird feeder. I missed both of them badly. I shoot like crap.
Ellen did get hold of the doctor. The insurance company has approved the MRI. Somehow she also got approved for another CAT scan, even though they now have the info from the first one.
I also did a lot of surfing. I was tired of eating out, so I waited around until about 1 to make some lunch. Frozen chicken sandwiches from Costco. They're pretty good. After that it was over to the post office to mail off the application. It was pretty crowded, and we had to wait in line to mail the application. Fortunately there wasn't anything else to do.
On the way back we stopped at HEB for milk, bananas, and a couple of other things. The dog really wanted to go to the park, so we stopped there, too. She ran a whole lot once again. It was 4 before we got home.
I was still feeling guilty. I sat down and worked out how to do a circuit board to complete wiring the rotary switches. I also brought the control board into the house. That way I don't have an excuse for not working on it.
Ellen called the cable company because the internet was really slow. They checked everything out and proved that the problem was the wireless. Ellen changed some setting on it to make it better. I think the house alarm is causing the problem.
The evening was all TV. There's a lot of fireworks going off outside.
I had two shots at squirrels at the bird feeder. I missed both of them badly. I shoot like crap.
Ellen did get hold of the doctor. The insurance company has approved the MRI. Somehow she also got approved for another CAT scan, even though they now have the info from the first one.
I also did a lot of surfing. I was tired of eating out, so I waited around until about 1 to make some lunch. Frozen chicken sandwiches from Costco. They're pretty good. After that it was over to the post office to mail off the application. It was pretty crowded, and we had to wait in line to mail the application. Fortunately there wasn't anything else to do.
On the way back we stopped at HEB for milk, bananas, and a couple of other things. The dog really wanted to go to the park, so we stopped there, too. She ran a whole lot once again. It was 4 before we got home.
I was still feeling guilty. I sat down and worked out how to do a circuit board to complete wiring the rotary switches. I also brought the control board into the house. That way I don't have an excuse for not working on it.
Ellen called the cable company because the internet was really slow. They checked everything out and proved that the problem was the wireless. Ellen changed some setting on it to make it better. I think the house alarm is causing the problem.
The evening was all TV. There's a lot of fireworks going off outside.
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Day 82
Ellen had an appointment this morning. I wanted to see Chandra anyway, since his office didn't respond after we asked about the insurance turning down the MRI. This doctor was the radiologist. He's great. He explained what was going to happen very clearly. He also talked to us for as long as necessary. The other two we've seen wanted to get out ASAP.
We got more action from him and his staff than we've gotten from the other two. They got the CAT scan info from Amarillo while we were there. They are also going to re-request the MRI and talk to Chandra's staff about it. So we didn't go over there.
We went over to Harbor Freight afterwards to pick up a couple of items, a free DVM and a parts box to replaced the one I used yesterday. I went to In-N-Out, but only got a t-shirt. Ellen doesn't want to eat anything there. So we went to the Chinese place instead. The food didn't seem to be as good as in the past but the service was really quick.
We stopped at the yuppie store there and Tuesday Morning. We got a throw blanket there.
After the post office the last stop was the park. It was still in the mid-40's, so Lucy liked the weather. She didn't do as many retrieves as yesterday, but she did more than usual.
When we got home I could have done some work. The problem was that it was cold and everything I need to do is either in the garage or the well house. So I surfed instead.
The evening was TV and surfing.
We got more action from him and his staff than we've gotten from the other two. They got the CAT scan info from Amarillo while we were there. They are also going to re-request the MRI and talk to Chandra's staff about it. So we didn't go over there.
We went over to Harbor Freight afterwards to pick up a couple of items, a free DVM and a parts box to replaced the one I used yesterday. I went to In-N-Out, but only got a t-shirt. Ellen doesn't want to eat anything there. So we went to the Chinese place instead. The food didn't seem to be as good as in the past but the service was really quick.
We stopped at the yuppie store there and Tuesday Morning. We got a throw blanket there.
After the post office the last stop was the park. It was still in the mid-40's, so Lucy liked the weather. She didn't do as many retrieves as yesterday, but she did more than usual.
When we got home I could have done some work. The problem was that it was cold and everything I need to do is either in the garage or the well house. So I surfed instead.
The evening was TV and surfing.
Day 81
It was in the low 40's and windy today, so I decided to find something train related to do in the house. We had a plastic parts box sitting in the corner, so I put all of the components that I'd piled into a cardboard box into it. It took some time, but it was worth the effort. I now have a much better idea of what I have and it's a lot easier to find what I wanted.
After that I used the breadboard to mock up the circuit I'm using for the power supply selection switches. It works exactly like I thought it would. That's gratifying.
It was after noon when I got finished with all of that so we went to the post office. One of the things there was a check for $2,600 from the lawsuit. So we went to the bank and deposited it. We stopped at a pizza place for lunch that we'd never been to before. It was OK, but nothing to write home about.
Even though the weather sucked, we went to the park to run the dog. She thought the weather was great. She hasn't run that much in a very long time. I thought she'd never stop.
We got home about 4 o'clock. I thought that was too late to do anything else, so it was surfing and football for the rest of the night.
After that I used the breadboard to mock up the circuit I'm using for the power supply selection switches. It works exactly like I thought it would. That's gratifying.
It was after noon when I got finished with all of that so we went to the post office. One of the things there was a check for $2,600 from the lawsuit. So we went to the bank and deposited it. We stopped at a pizza place for lunch that we'd never been to before. It was OK, but nothing to write home about.
Even though the weather sucked, we went to the park to run the dog. She thought the weather was great. She hasn't run that much in a very long time. I thought she'd never stop.
We got home about 4 o'clock. I thought that was too late to do anything else, so it was surfing and football for the rest of the night.
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Day 80
There was a small thunderstorm last night, but it wasn't enough to wake us up. When we woke up we let the dog up on the bed to make up for it. It was about 43 degrees, so we were in no hurry to get up.
When I did get up there was a squirrel on the bird feeder. It was blowing and raining so hard that I could open the back door without him noticing. I took a shot, but he ran away. I probably missed.
At least the paper came today.
The only useful things I did were look for a present for John and gluing the supports on the ATX connectors. The F1 stuff I want to buy John won't be available until the end of next month. I won't know if the connectors worked until tomorrow when the epoxy dries.
Three thunderstorms went through during the day. One was strong enough to shut down the satellite TV and leave about 3/4 inch of hail on the ground.
The rest of the day was surfing and football. The Packers suck this year, and the Seahawks lost.
When I did get up there was a squirrel on the bird feeder. It was blowing and raining so hard that I could open the back door without him noticing. I took a shot, but he ran away. I probably missed.
At least the paper came today.
The only useful things I did were look for a present for John and gluing the supports on the ATX connectors. The F1 stuff I want to buy John won't be available until the end of next month. I won't know if the connectors worked until tomorrow when the epoxy dries.
Three thunderstorms went through during the day. One was strong enough to shut down the satellite TV and leave about 3/4 inch of hail on the ground.
The rest of the day was surfing and football. The Packers suck this year, and the Seahawks lost.
Day 79
I actually got something accomplished today. As usual we surfed in bed until about 9:30. Then I took a bunch of wrapping paper and boxes to the garbage. The paper wasn't there, which kind of pissed me off. This time of year it probably had nothing but "looking back at 2015" articles in it anyway.
I spent the west of the morning pricing 300 blk uppers. I can't build one for what some places are selling them for. Unfortunately many of those paces were either sold out or didn't use the right gas system. I'm going to wait on it.
Yesterday we thought that one of the things that Melissa bought hadn't made it here. It did, but because it came directly from Best Buy with no card we didn't recognize it as a present. The other thing is Nikon scope rings. They are back ordered everywhere. I'm not sure I'll ever see them.
We went to the post office. We had a whole lot of mail, and a metal model I ordered for Ellen. After that we tried Torchy's for lunch again. The line was out the door again. So we went to Jimmy John's instead. It was good. After a stop at the grocery store for more juicing material we went home.
That's when I really got something done. I went out to the well house and worked on the ATX cables. I cut in half and stripped the wires (all 48 of them). Then I separated all of the layout's power cables into two groups, one for each connector. There are still two power cables to run. I would have done that except that I'd been working for over two hours and it was getting close to dinner time.
The evening was watching football. Finally it was a good game with both teams needing to win to make the playoffs. Unfortunately it was over after about 1/3 of the fourth quarter.
There's supposed to be a big thunderstorm tonight, so we washed the dog so she could sleep with us. It's going to be cold (low 40's) tomorrow, so it may be time to start looking into "kitchen table" projects.
I spent the west of the morning pricing 300 blk uppers. I can't build one for what some places are selling them for. Unfortunately many of those paces were either sold out or didn't use the right gas system. I'm going to wait on it.
Yesterday we thought that one of the things that Melissa bought hadn't made it here. It did, but because it came directly from Best Buy with no card we didn't recognize it as a present. The other thing is Nikon scope rings. They are back ordered everywhere. I'm not sure I'll ever see them.
We went to the post office. We had a whole lot of mail, and a metal model I ordered for Ellen. After that we tried Torchy's for lunch again. The line was out the door again. So we went to Jimmy John's instead. It was good. After a stop at the grocery store for more juicing material we went home.
That's when I really got something done. I went out to the well house and worked on the ATX cables. I cut in half and stripped the wires (all 48 of them). Then I separated all of the layout's power cables into two groups, one for each connector. There are still two power cables to run. I would have done that except that I'd been working for over two hours and it was getting close to dinner time.
The evening was watching football. Finally it was a good game with both teams needing to win to make the playoffs. Unfortunately it was over after about 1/3 of the fourth quarter.
There's supposed to be a big thunderstorm tonight, so we washed the dog so she could sleep with us. It's going to be cold (low 40's) tomorrow, so it may be time to start looking into "kitchen table" projects.
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Day 78
So today was Christmas. We spent the day mainly just sitting around. There was absolutely nothing on the TV and no football at all, not even college.We didn't get around to opening the presents until about noon. We really made out well. I got the new lens I wanted and a Magpul buttstock. John and Patty gave me a really cool old Leavenworth newspaper from 1881 and a military manual from 1820. Imagine, a book that's 195 years old. It's water damaged and the pages don't stick to the binding, but it's cool. I'm going to try to read it. The nieces got me a whole bunch of minions stuff. Apparently they had a great time shopping for it.
Ellen got some pots and pans she really wanted and a bunch of expensive archery stuff. She got a sweater from Pat that she's going to return because she doesn't like the color. It's nice, though.
I called Hooch about 4:00 their time. Ellen and I both talked to various people for quite awhile. It was fun.
I mentioned that there wasn't crap on TV. So we watched some more episodes of Blacklist. We still have half a dozen to go for the first season and then a whole second season. It's interesting. Each episode is 37 minutes long. That means they waste 23 minutes of your life when they broadcast it. Even worse, they're showing you annoying commercials that you REALLY don't want to see.
Ellen got some pots and pans she really wanted and a bunch of expensive archery stuff. She got a sweater from Pat that she's going to return because she doesn't like the color. It's nice, though.
I called Hooch about 4:00 their time. Ellen and I both talked to various people for quite awhile. It was fun.
I mentioned that there wasn't crap on TV. So we watched some more episodes of Blacklist. We still have half a dozen to go for the first season and then a whole second season. It's interesting. Each episode is 37 minutes long. That means they waste 23 minutes of your life when they broadcast it. Even worse, they're showing you annoying commercials that you REALLY don't want to see.
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Day 77
We don't have a lot to do right now, so we've gotten into the habit of waking up about 8 and then surfing until after 9. That happened again today. By the time I got dressed it was almost 10. I decided not to have breakfast. Instead I finished labeling the wires on the ATX cables. Then I figured out what the shorting block was actually trying to accomplish. It took awhile, but I finally did. I wrote a complete description in my wiring notes so I wouldn't have to figure it out ever again.
About 12:30 we took the dog to the park. She did an amazing number of retrieves. She probably won't feel like doing anything tomorrow because Ellen gave her her medicine today. After that it was off to the post office. It was closed, there was no one there, but there was still only 3 or 4 spaces in the parking lot. That proves to me that the temps are taking up all of the parking spaces.
We were going to Torchy's for lunch. It was after 1:30, but the line was out the door. So we went to Fireman's instead. Of course we went to the pet store afterwards and got Lucy a treat and some frosted cookies. The last stop was Lowe's where I bought some brackets for mounting the ATX cables.
When we got home Ellen went out to do some archery. I was planning on working on the cables, but ended up surfing instead. The evening was surfing and watching TV. There was a football game on, but it sucked.
About 12:30 we took the dog to the park. She did an amazing number of retrieves. She probably won't feel like doing anything tomorrow because Ellen gave her her medicine today. After that it was off to the post office. It was closed, there was no one there, but there was still only 3 or 4 spaces in the parking lot. That proves to me that the temps are taking up all of the parking spaces.
We were going to Torchy's for lunch. It was after 1:30, but the line was out the door. So we went to Fireman's instead. Of course we went to the pet store afterwards and got Lucy a treat and some frosted cookies. The last stop was Lowe's where I bought some brackets for mounting the ATX cables.
When we got home Ellen went out to do some archery. I was planning on working on the cables, but ended up surfing instead. The evening was surfing and watching TV. There was a football game on, but it sucked.
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Day 76
We surfed in bed for a little while today. When we got up I decided to complete a few things that have been hanging around. I cleaned up the kitchen table, it was covered with paper. The result was a whole pile of garbage. Then I went outside and finished painting the flamingo. Finally I put the latch on the door of the far storage building. I'm not sure it was really needed. I suspect someone opened it and didn't close it.
After that we went to the post office. There were a whole lot of packages, no mail. Then we stopped for lunch and then off to HEB. Ellen bought a whole bunch of stuff for her new juicer. Then we went to the park. Lucy ran while we talked to a guy who brought a long hair Pudelpointer.
When we got home I did a little more work on how to wire the control board. I got the ATX cables today (they mailed each one separately). I started labeling two of them so I can keep the leads straight when I connect them.
We're watching Blacklist again tonight.
After that we went to the post office. There were a whole lot of packages, no mail. Then we stopped for lunch and then off to HEB. Ellen bought a whole bunch of stuff for her new juicer. Then we went to the park. Lucy ran while we talked to a guy who brought a long hair Pudelpointer.
When we got home I did a little more work on how to wire the control board. I got the ATX cables today (they mailed each one separately). I started labeling two of them so I can keep the leads straight when I connect them.
We're watching Blacklist again tonight.
Day 75
We didn't have much to do today, so we stayed in bed and surfed. That's one of the great things about being retired.
When we did get up we just did some more surfing. I did sand down the flamingo we bought Sunday and repainted it. It looks really nice.
After noon we took Lucy to the park. She did a good number of retrieves considering it was sunny and in the mid 70's. She was a hot doggy when she finished. Then we went to the post office. It was jammed, but I managed to get a space in the parking lot. That's the first time I've done that in over a week. We were expecting some packages, but there wasn't any mail at all.
We had a coupon for Red's Back Porch, but we ended up going to the new restaurant across the street form Harbor Freight. I'd been meaning to go there since they built it last year. They allowed dogs on the patio, so Lucy ate with us. They brought her water, and gave her a couple of dog cookies.
There's a yuppie grocery store in the same strip mall. We went over there to get some Chinese mustard. We ended up getting a pineapple and some Belgian chocolate also.
We stopped at Staples on the way home so I could get a refill for the labeler I use for the train. Of course we had to go to the pet store next door. Lucy scored a z-bone, plus a couple of frosted cookies for later.
When we got home I was going to start wiring part of the control panel. That's when I realized I couldn't remember much about the plan. Unfortunately some of my notes didn't seem as clear as when I wrote them last spring. So I spent some time figuring it out and making a diagram in MS Paint. I still have some more work to do there.
The evening was binge watching the Blacklist. We actually might do more of that tomorrow.
When we did get up we just did some more surfing. I did sand down the flamingo we bought Sunday and repainted it. It looks really nice.
After noon we took Lucy to the park. She did a good number of retrieves considering it was sunny and in the mid 70's. She was a hot doggy when she finished. Then we went to the post office. It was jammed, but I managed to get a space in the parking lot. That's the first time I've done that in over a week. We were expecting some packages, but there wasn't any mail at all.
We had a coupon for Red's Back Porch, but we ended up going to the new restaurant across the street form Harbor Freight. I'd been meaning to go there since they built it last year. They allowed dogs on the patio, so Lucy ate with us. They brought her water, and gave her a couple of dog cookies.
There's a yuppie grocery store in the same strip mall. We went over there to get some Chinese mustard. We ended up getting a pineapple and some Belgian chocolate also.
We stopped at Staples on the way home so I could get a refill for the labeler I use for the train. Of course we had to go to the pet store next door. Lucy scored a z-bone, plus a couple of frosted cookies for later.
When we got home I was going to start wiring part of the control panel. That's when I realized I couldn't remember much about the plan. Unfortunately some of my notes didn't seem as clear as when I wrote them last spring. So I spent some time figuring it out and making a diagram in MS Paint. I still have some more work to do there.
The evening was binge watching the Blacklist. We actually might do more of that tomorrow.
Day 74
Today was see the doctor day. The first one was the surgeon. He was just off loop one at the Parmer exit. He explained a lot about what was likely to happen. He did a short exam and concluded that the cancer is on the border line between stage 1 and stage 2. Not really good news, but it could be worse. The real info won't be in until she has a CAT scan and a MRI. Apparently they don't want to deal with the CAT scan done 2 months ago. And that's why medical is so expensive.
After that we went to the next block over so Ellen could get a blood test. It worked out really well. We had the time, they were in network, and it took less than half an hour even though we were walk ins. Then it was off to Fry's. I wanted to pick up some more circuit board standoffs. We didn't stay long because it was sunny and we had Lucy.
The next stop was the restaurant in the Fry's parking lot. They allowed dogs on the deck. They also have a doggy menu. Both Lucy and I had sliders. They were good. This place is now high on our list of places to eat. After lunch it was time to head south. The second doctor was across from the hospital. We had some extra time, so we stopped at the post office first. There were letters, bills, magazines, and two packages. They have two people working the package line now, so I didn't have to wait long.
The second doctor kind of sucked. Our appointment was at three. They didn't call us in until about 3:15. A PA took some info and blood pressure. Then we waited in the little room for an hour with no one coming in at all. The doctor came in about 4:30. He gave us a lot more info about what was going to happen. The good news is the chemo won't trash Ellen's hair. The bad news is that treatment will take 9 to 10 months. That mean's we'll be here all summer. The radiation is coming in every day for 5 weeks.
With the doctor's delay we had to fight early rush hour traffic to get home. It was really slow from William Cannon to Davis, and then it was relatively OK, even by Slaughter.
The evening was surfing and football. The football game was lousy. Both teams were out of the running, and the game sucked. I turned it off in the third quarter.
After that we went to the next block over so Ellen could get a blood test. It worked out really well. We had the time, they were in network, and it took less than half an hour even though we were walk ins. Then it was off to Fry's. I wanted to pick up some more circuit board standoffs. We didn't stay long because it was sunny and we had Lucy.
The next stop was the restaurant in the Fry's parking lot. They allowed dogs on the deck. They also have a doggy menu. Both Lucy and I had sliders. They were good. This place is now high on our list of places to eat. After lunch it was time to head south. The second doctor was across from the hospital. We had some extra time, so we stopped at the post office first. There were letters, bills, magazines, and two packages. They have two people working the package line now, so I didn't have to wait long.
The second doctor kind of sucked. Our appointment was at three. They didn't call us in until about 3:15. A PA took some info and blood pressure. Then we waited in the little room for an hour with no one coming in at all. The doctor came in about 4:30. He gave us a lot more info about what was going to happen. The good news is the chemo won't trash Ellen's hair. The bad news is that treatment will take 9 to 10 months. That mean's we'll be here all summer. The radiation is coming in every day for 5 weeks.
With the doctor's delay we had to fight early rush hour traffic to get home. It was really slow from William Cannon to Davis, and then it was relatively OK, even by Slaughter.
The evening was surfing and football. The football game was lousy. Both teams were out of the running, and the game sucked. I turned it off in the third quarter.
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Day 73
There was a gun show in Fredericksburg today, so we drove over to see it. It was a pretty good size show. The exhibitors had a real interesting supply of older guns. Some of them were really interesting. There were several vendors with large collections of old ammunition. Unfortunately the prices on everything were really high. One guy had .22 jet for $100 a box. Another guy had a .22 jet pistol for $1,850.
The final show activity was to run the dog. She did an incredible number of really long retrieves. She also crapped twice. We attributed the energy to the half cup of coffee that she ate when I left it in the car when we went to the show.
After the show we went to the trade days. I hadn't planned it that way, but they were going on. We walked around the whole place with the dog. She pulled hard for the entire time. I thought she would be tired, but she wasn't. We ate lunch at a roach coach. It was really good. The only things we bought were some soap for Ellen and this cool wire frame flamingo for the yard.
On the way home we gassed up in Johnson City. Its was $1.63/gal. That's the cheapest gas I've bought in many years.
When we got to Dripping Springs we stopped at Tractor Supply for bird seed and HEB for groceries. It was so nice not to have to bring in sacks for the groceries.
The evening was surfing and football.
The final show activity was to run the dog. She did an incredible number of really long retrieves. She also crapped twice. We attributed the energy to the half cup of coffee that she ate when I left it in the car when we went to the show.
After the show we went to the trade days. I hadn't planned it that way, but they were going on. We walked around the whole place with the dog. She pulled hard for the entire time. I thought she would be tired, but she wasn't. We ate lunch at a roach coach. It was really good. The only things we bought were some soap for Ellen and this cool wire frame flamingo for the yard.
On the way home we gassed up in Johnson City. Its was $1.63/gal. That's the cheapest gas I've bought in many years.
When we got to Dripping Springs we stopped at Tractor Supply for bird seed and HEB for groceries. It was so nice not to have to bring in sacks for the groceries.
The evening was surfing and football.
Day 72
We didn't go anywhere today. In the morning Ellen was busy cooking stuff for the party. I went out to the garage and put together a lower. I think I spent over three hours on it. That wasn't because I needed to. It was because I did everything at the slow pace of the instructional DVD. Everything went together well, and I'm happy with the result.
I got done with the lower just as it was time to go to the party. We left the dog at home. We had fun at the party. The food was good and we both had a good time talking to different people. Ellen talked to Dola some about alternative health stuff and gave her a couple of books to read.
We left the party a little after 6. We surfed and watched TV for the evening. Actually the TV was on for noise value more than anything else.
I got done with the lower just as it was time to go to the party. We left the dog at home. We had fun at the party. The food was good and we both had a good time talking to different people. Ellen talked to Dola some about alternative health stuff and gave her a couple of books to read.
We left the party a little after 6. We surfed and watched TV for the evening. Actually the TV was on for noise value more than anything else.
Friday, December 18, 2015
Day 71
Today ranks as the worst day of our lives. We went to the doctor in the morning and he told us that Ellen as cancer. He's set us up two doctor's appointments on Monday. He was singularly uninformative about how bad it might be. I suspect it isn't good since she's being seen by doctors immediately. I'm really having a hard time dealing with Ellen's diagnosis. They say
that we won't know how bad it is until after surgery. She has to do
chemo and radiation before that.
Afterwards we kind of killed time because it was so early. We went to Walmart for drugs and then ran the dog. Lucy did an amazing amount of retrieves. It may have been because it was only 40 degrees. After that we bought Lucy some treats at Tomlinson's and then went to breakfast at the Icehouse. After breakfast it was late enough that Lucy got some good treats. Bacon and eggs and ham and eggs.
After that we went home. Ellen was looking over the papers they gave her and found out that they had given us someone else's papers. So it was back to the doctor's to get it sorted out.
On the way back Ellen wanted to stop at Lowe's. It was 12:45. Traffic was backed up onto the freeway at both Brodie and William Cannon. So we drove to Davis and made a u-turn. I have no idea why. On the way home from Lowe's we stopped at the yougurt place because I had a craving. It was pretty good.
When we got home I went out to work on the train. I finished all of the power wiring for the base layout. All I have left to do is connect the ATX connectors if I ever get around to ordering them. That's quite a milestone.
Ellen is cooking stuff for the party tomorrow. I'm going to read the paper and then watch Gold Derp and zombies.
Afterwards we kind of killed time because it was so early. We went to Walmart for drugs and then ran the dog. Lucy did an amazing amount of retrieves. It may have been because it was only 40 degrees. After that we bought Lucy some treats at Tomlinson's and then went to breakfast at the Icehouse. After breakfast it was late enough that Lucy got some good treats. Bacon and eggs and ham and eggs.
After that we went home. Ellen was looking over the papers they gave her and found out that they had given us someone else's papers. So it was back to the doctor's to get it sorted out.
On the way back Ellen wanted to stop at Lowe's. It was 12:45. Traffic was backed up onto the freeway at both Brodie and William Cannon. So we drove to Davis and made a u-turn. I have no idea why. On the way home from Lowe's we stopped at the yougurt place because I had a craving. It was pretty good.
When we got home I went out to work on the train. I finished all of the power wiring for the base layout. All I have left to do is connect the ATX connectors if I ever get around to ordering them. That's quite a milestone.
Ellen is cooking stuff for the party tomorrow. I'm going to read the paper and then watch Gold Derp and zombies.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Day 70
The doctor called us early this morning. The test results weren't back. We're supposed to come in tomorrow at 8.
When I got up there was a squirrel raiding the bird feeder again. When I went out to get him he was hanging off the far side of the feeder. That gave me time to set up. When he got back on top of the feeder I nailed him. Keeping the barrel off the fence did the trick. Afterwards I let the dog out. She totally ignored the squirrel even though at one point she was within 2 feet of it.
A little later three deer showed up. I let Lucy out. She didn't really even chase them. She just ran out to the feeders as they ran away. About 15 minutes later it happened again. I guess the deer were hungry.
I saw an estate sale ad with an interesting item in it, so we went t see it. It was on 2222, so we planned to go home on 360 to see the tree decorations. Unfortunately the things I wanted were sold when we got there. The trip back on 360 was cool though. There were a whole lot of decorated trees. Some of them were really elaborate. One had been changed into a Santa.
We ate lunch at the Northwest bar so Lucy could eat with us. It was OK. The beer was cheap because they declared it was happy hour. After that we went to the park. I didn't think Lucy would want to go after all her work yesterday, but she did. She did an impressive number of retrieves, but pooped out before usual.
When we got home I worked on the train. I got the last four sets of track switch wires connected. I also sorted out how I'm going to connect the main line wires. That's the next step. The final step will be connecting all of the other power wires to ATX connectors. Then the wiring for the layout will be done. Of course i still have to do the control panel wiring.
The evening is going to be football.
When I got up there was a squirrel raiding the bird feeder again. When I went out to get him he was hanging off the far side of the feeder. That gave me time to set up. When he got back on top of the feeder I nailed him. Keeping the barrel off the fence did the trick. Afterwards I let the dog out. She totally ignored the squirrel even though at one point she was within 2 feet of it.
A little later three deer showed up. I let Lucy out. She didn't really even chase them. She just ran out to the feeders as they ran away. About 15 minutes later it happened again. I guess the deer were hungry.
I saw an estate sale ad with an interesting item in it, so we went t see it. It was on 2222, so we planned to go home on 360 to see the tree decorations. Unfortunately the things I wanted were sold when we got there. The trip back on 360 was cool though. There were a whole lot of decorated trees. Some of them were really elaborate. One had been changed into a Santa.
We ate lunch at the Northwest bar so Lucy could eat with us. It was OK. The beer was cheap because they declared it was happy hour. After that we went to the park. I didn't think Lucy would want to go after all her work yesterday, but she did. She did an impressive number of retrieves, but pooped out before usual.
When we got home I worked on the train. I got the last four sets of track switch wires connected. I also sorted out how I'm going to connect the main line wires. That's the next step. The final step will be connecting all of the other power wires to ATX connectors. Then the wiring for the layout will be done. Of course i still have to do the control panel wiring.
The evening is going to be football.
Day 69
When I got up there as a squirrel raiding the bird feeder. I went out to get him, but he saw me and ran away before I could get off a shot. I'll get him yet.
We went to Capitol today. It was cloudy and windy, but not enough to be uncomfortable. It looked like the targets were mainly those left over from the tournament. The people in Oregon would have bitched about a fair number of them. We did the pro course also. It wasn't as interesting because they had used it for super sporting. There was one long teal target that I couldn't hit for the life of me. I went back later and shot it some more. I finally figured out that I was giving it too much lead to the left.
I shot the CG pretty well. It's a little long, perhaps half an inch. Since it had been so long since we shot, much less shot Texas targets, it was hard to determine whether some of the misses were the gun or me. I'm going with me. After the shooting I threw the bumper for the dog. She had been on the leash for a lot of the time because she wouldn't behave. We let her off when we did the pro course and she did better. She did a lot of retrieves, probably because she hasn't run in two days.
It was 2:00 by the time we finished. So we just drove back towards home. We stopped at Verizon to turn off the old Tab tablet. You can't do that on their website. We didn't replace it because they weren't having sales on anything. By then we were really hungry, so we stopped at a burger place in the shopping center. It was OK.
There was a Petsmart in the shopping center. Lucy went nuts when we drove by. So after lunch we stopped there to buy her a treat. People there and at the gun club were saying what a good looking dog she was.
We skipped the post office because it was late. We didn't get home until after 4:00. We surfed and watched TV for the rest of the day.
We went to Capitol today. It was cloudy and windy, but not enough to be uncomfortable. It looked like the targets were mainly those left over from the tournament. The people in Oregon would have bitched about a fair number of them. We did the pro course also. It wasn't as interesting because they had used it for super sporting. There was one long teal target that I couldn't hit for the life of me. I went back later and shot it some more. I finally figured out that I was giving it too much lead to the left.
I shot the CG pretty well. It's a little long, perhaps half an inch. Since it had been so long since we shot, much less shot Texas targets, it was hard to determine whether some of the misses were the gun or me. I'm going with me. After the shooting I threw the bumper for the dog. She had been on the leash for a lot of the time because she wouldn't behave. We let her off when we did the pro course and she did better. She did a lot of retrieves, probably because she hasn't run in two days.
It was 2:00 by the time we finished. So we just drove back towards home. We stopped at Verizon to turn off the old Tab tablet. You can't do that on their website. We didn't replace it because they weren't having sales on anything. By then we were really hungry, so we stopped at a burger place in the shopping center. It was OK.
There was a Petsmart in the shopping center. Lucy went nuts when we drove by. So after lunch we stopped there to buy her a treat. People there and at the gun club were saying what a good looking dog she was.
We skipped the post office because it was late. We didn't get home until after 4:00. We surfed and watched TV for the rest of the day.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Day 68
We didn't get out of bed until about 11:30 today. We woke up at 8 though. I spent a lot of time updating the software on two of the tablets. They each had about 30 apps that needed updating. It took a long time. When it was done I did a little surfing.
Ellen found out that the Tab 2 is now eligible for an upgrade. We'll have to go into Verizon and see about it. Maybe we'll just turn it off. Apparently you can't do that from their website (surprise, surprise).
After a really late breakfast we went to Barton Creek Mall. We left the dog at home again. She's going to think we hate her. We walked around the whole mall. The only thing we bought was a new watchband for my watch. That's what we had come there for. The place wasn't very crowded, but then it was a Tuesday. We ate a late lunch at the Cheesecake factory. It was OK. We left about 3:30. By then the parking lot had a lot more cars in it.
Ellen got a call that the guns were in, so we went over there. Dave hadn't sent any documentation with the CG, so they didn't know what to do with it. I'm glad we went there as soon as they called. Dave included the check with the lowers, so we took it over to Wells Fargo and deposited it. Then we went over to HEB to buy the groceries that we forgot to buy yesterday.
We got home just about 5. So after unpacking I took the dog to the mailbox. She was really happy.
Tonight will probably be TV and surfing.
Ellen found out that the Tab 2 is now eligible for an upgrade. We'll have to go into Verizon and see about it. Maybe we'll just turn it off. Apparently you can't do that from their website (surprise, surprise).
After a really late breakfast we went to Barton Creek Mall. We left the dog at home again. She's going to think we hate her. We walked around the whole mall. The only thing we bought was a new watchband for my watch. That's what we had come there for. The place wasn't very crowded, but then it was a Tuesday. We ate a late lunch at the Cheesecake factory. It was OK. We left about 3:30. By then the parking lot had a lot more cars in it.
Ellen got a call that the guns were in, so we went over there. Dave hadn't sent any documentation with the CG, so they didn't know what to do with it. I'm glad we went there as soon as they called. Dave included the check with the lowers, so we took it over to Wells Fargo and deposited it. Then we went over to HEB to buy the groceries that we forgot to buy yesterday.
We got home just about 5. So after unpacking I took the dog to the mailbox. She was really happy.
Tonight will probably be TV and surfing.
Day 67
We went to the doctor so Ellen could have her colonoscopy today. It took a surprisingly short amount of time, about an hour and a half. The bad news is that they found a mass in her rectum. They are doing a biopsy and we are supposed to see the doctor about the results on Thursday. At first I was a little concerned about the speed of the appointment. Then I decided that maybe that's how it's always handled. Of course it's no use asking the doctor to speculate.
After that Ellen wanted to eat since she hadn't eaten in almost two days. We stopped at this place on Manchaca that we hadn't been to before because the parking lot was crowded. It turned out to be a pace that served coffee and beer. That's all, just coffee and beer. Only in Austin (or maybe Portland). There was a Dan's hamburgers next door, so we went there.
We really needed groceries, so we stopped at the yuppie grocery store. It was just a few blocks away. We also stopped at the dog cookie store and got Lucy a couple of gourmet dog cookies (the dog wasn't with us). Then it was the post office and home.
The dog was sure glad to see us when we got home. She got one of the cookies and she really liked it. It was frosted and she ate it on the carpet. After it was done she licked the carpet to make sure she'd gotten every bit of frosting.
That was pretty much it for the day. A little surfing and TV in the evening along with football.
After that Ellen wanted to eat since she hadn't eaten in almost two days. We stopped at this place on Manchaca that we hadn't been to before because the parking lot was crowded. It turned out to be a pace that served coffee and beer. That's all, just coffee and beer. Only in Austin (or maybe Portland). There was a Dan's hamburgers next door, so we went there.
We really needed groceries, so we stopped at the yuppie grocery store. It was just a few blocks away. We also stopped at the dog cookie store and got Lucy a couple of gourmet dog cookies (the dog wasn't with us). Then it was the post office and home.
The dog was sure glad to see us when we got home. She got one of the cookies and she really liked it. It was frosted and she ate it on the carpet. After it was done she licked the carpet to make sure she'd gotten every bit of frosting.
That was pretty much it for the day. A little surfing and TV in the evening along with football.
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Day 66
It rained lightly all of today, which kind of put a damper on things. We had planned on going to a tournament at Capitol. I'm glad we didn't. Mid-morning it was raining hard enough that it would have been a pain in the ass. Plus it cost $70 - too much if you ask me.
We hung around the house surfing until about noon. Then we went to the post office. There were supposed to be two packages there. One was small and was in the box. The other was larger and there was no slip for it. The larger one was supposed to be delivered several days ago. So we stood in line with a whole lot of other people. We finally got to the front and another guy, not the useless lady that was working there also, found our package. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have been able to.
Lucy had really wanted to go somewhere when we left the house. She was woofing with joy when we put the cats away. The rain had mainly stopped, so we went to Circle C. It was dry enough that she could run. She did a whole bunch of long retrieves. You could tell she was having a great time. We lucked out and the rain didn't start up while we were finished.
When we got home I started searching Amazon in earnest for connectors for the train power leads. Nothing looked good until I stumbled onto ATX power connectors. They're perfect. They are 24 pin and already have wires crimped in. Plus, they're cheap. Two should do the trick. I didn't order them because I wanted to order something else at the same time. The problem is I can't find anything that I want. I'm waiting until tomorrow to order.
The evening was just watching TV. We both seem to be in a slothful mode.
We hung around the house surfing until about noon. Then we went to the post office. There were supposed to be two packages there. One was small and was in the box. The other was larger and there was no slip for it. The larger one was supposed to be delivered several days ago. So we stood in line with a whole lot of other people. We finally got to the front and another guy, not the useless lady that was working there also, found our package. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have been able to.
Lucy had really wanted to go somewhere when we left the house. She was woofing with joy when we put the cats away. The rain had mainly stopped, so we went to Circle C. It was dry enough that she could run. She did a whole bunch of long retrieves. You could tell she was having a great time. We lucked out and the rain didn't start up while we were finished.
When we got home I started searching Amazon in earnest for connectors for the train power leads. Nothing looked good until I stumbled onto ATX power connectors. They're perfect. They are 24 pin and already have wires crimped in. Plus, they're cheap. Two should do the trick. I didn't order them because I wanted to order something else at the same time. The problem is I can't find anything that I want. I'm waiting until tomorrow to order.
The evening was just watching TV. We both seem to be in a slothful mode.
Friday, December 11, 2015
Day 65
We kind of stayed in bed a little late today. When I got up there was a squirrel at the feeder. I went outside and had a perfect shot at him. Only I missed. There has to be something wrong with the rifle's sights.
After breakfast the first thing I did was call the insurance company. The guy said he'll call Camping World and try to get the ball rolling. I hope he does. A little after that I saw two squirrels out at the feeder. They ran off before I could get the gun.
After that it was more surfing. I looked on the web and found one nearby estate sale that looked interesting. I was basically killing time until it was reasonable to go to the post office.
We went to the estate sale first. There wasn't anything there we wanted. That may be because the sale started yesterday. The house itself was a mess. It would need all of the flooring redone and a complete coat of paint to make it even halfway livable. They had already ripped up the carpet in one room. The place stunk, literally.
After that we went to the post office. The parking lot was filled again, but there wasn't a lot of people in the place. I'm not sure what was going on. There was one package waiting, but there should have been three. After that I didn't want to go home, so we went to Costco. The excuse was to buy some water. We had Costco dogs for lunch there. That's the last time I'll do that. I guess Costco dogs are like pepperoni, permanently off my list of foods.
I didn't stop at the park because Lucy did so much yesterday. She didn't seem to mind.
When we got home I put a target up on the fence to check the rifle zero. It was fine. It shot a little high, but every shot would have hit a squirrel sized target easily. Then I had an idea. I had been steadying the plastic end of the rifle on the fence when I took my shots. When I tried shooting with the plastic end on the rest the shots wouldn't even hit the paper. Problem solved. Next time I won't do that.
That was pretty much all I accomplished today. It was warm, almost 80. So I didn't want to work on the train. I just surfed instead. I watched Gold Derp and the zombies in the evening.
After breakfast the first thing I did was call the insurance company. The guy said he'll call Camping World and try to get the ball rolling. I hope he does. A little after that I saw two squirrels out at the feeder. They ran off before I could get the gun.
After that it was more surfing. I looked on the web and found one nearby estate sale that looked interesting. I was basically killing time until it was reasonable to go to the post office.
We went to the estate sale first. There wasn't anything there we wanted. That may be because the sale started yesterday. The house itself was a mess. It would need all of the flooring redone and a complete coat of paint to make it even halfway livable. They had already ripped up the carpet in one room. The place stunk, literally.
After that we went to the post office. The parking lot was filled again, but there wasn't a lot of people in the place. I'm not sure what was going on. There was one package waiting, but there should have been three. After that I didn't want to go home, so we went to Costco. The excuse was to buy some water. We had Costco dogs for lunch there. That's the last time I'll do that. I guess Costco dogs are like pepperoni, permanently off my list of foods.
I didn't stop at the park because Lucy did so much yesterday. She didn't seem to mind.
When we got home I put a target up on the fence to check the rifle zero. It was fine. It shot a little high, but every shot would have hit a squirrel sized target easily. Then I had an idea. I had been steadying the plastic end of the rifle on the fence when I took my shots. When I tried shooting with the plastic end on the rest the shots wouldn't even hit the paper. Problem solved. Next time I won't do that.
That was pretty much all I accomplished today. It was warm, almost 80. So I didn't want to work on the train. I just surfed instead. I watched Gold Derp and the zombies in the evening.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Day 64
We got up early again this morning and went to the Chevy place to get the tire replaced. It took them two hours to do it. Lucy was really good. She just laid on the floor and slept. She even let a couple of rugrats pet her.
I called the insurance company and left a message. They didn't call back.
After that we went to the IHOP on loop 1 for a late breakfast. It was OK, standard IHOP.
The place is close to Zilker, so we went there. We haven't been there since last spring, but Lucy started to get excited while we were still blocks away. Lucy had a great time. She did retrieves, socialized, and looked for squirrels. She's a tired doggy tonight.
After the post office we stopped at the bank to get checks for Dave. Ellen went into full bitch mode, so I just walked out without any checks. I tried to write a check when we got home, but she wouldn't let me. Instead she did some sort of EFT that fucked up my balance. I hope Dave at least gets his money.
I went out and worked a little while on the train. I connected three wires for one of the upper levels. I started to do the last four, but decided I'd done enough.
The evening was football.
I called the insurance company and left a message. They didn't call back.
After that we went to the IHOP on loop 1 for a late breakfast. It was OK, standard IHOP.
The place is close to Zilker, so we went there. We haven't been there since last spring, but Lucy started to get excited while we were still blocks away. Lucy had a great time. She did retrieves, socialized, and looked for squirrels. She's a tired doggy tonight.
After the post office we stopped at the bank to get checks for Dave. Ellen went into full bitch mode, so I just walked out without any checks. I tried to write a check when we got home, but she wouldn't let me. Instead she did some sort of EFT that fucked up my balance. I hope Dave at least gets his money.
I went out and worked a little while on the train. I connected three wires for one of the upper levels. I started to do the last four, but decided I'd done enough.
The evening was football.
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Day 63
Yesterday I had plans to get something accomplished today. That didn't happen.
We got up at a normal time, but after breakfast I just surfed the morning away. I kept thinking about working on the train, but didn't. I did get a shot at a squirrel. I think I hit him, but he ran away.
About 12:30 we went to the Italian place for lunch. Of course we stopped at Tomlinson's for treats for the dog first. After that we went to the post office. It was a pain in the ass. We had two packages. The package line only had 5 people in it, but it took 45 minutes to get the packages. The regular line went through dozens of people in that time.
After that we went to the barber so I could get a hair cut. Then we went to Best Buy. We just looked around and didn't buy anything.
When we got home one of the packages had the Minions lights in it. So I replaced the palm tree lights with them. Hopefully they'll last longer.
The evening is all TV. There was one reality show about drugs in Austin. It was neat to see the shots of the town.
We got up at a normal time, but after breakfast I just surfed the morning away. I kept thinking about working on the train, but didn't. I did get a shot at a squirrel. I think I hit him, but he ran away.
About 12:30 we went to the Italian place for lunch. Of course we stopped at Tomlinson's for treats for the dog first. After that we went to the post office. It was a pain in the ass. We had two packages. The package line only had 5 people in it, but it took 45 minutes to get the packages. The regular line went through dozens of people in that time.
After that we went to the barber so I could get a hair cut. Then we went to Best Buy. We just looked around and didn't buy anything.
When we got home one of the packages had the Minions lights in it. So I replaced the palm tree lights with them. Hopefully they'll last longer.
The evening is all TV. There was one reality show about drugs in Austin. It was neat to see the shots of the town.
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Day 62
We got up early and drove to the Chevy dealership to get the pressure sensor fixed on the truck. After two hours they come back and declare the tire bad. They wanted to sell me two more "because they had to match". I told them one of the tires only had 3,000 miles on it. Match it with the new one. They're supposed to have the new tire tomorrow.
The dealership is huge. We walked the lot. There was only one diesel truck on the lot. It was white with a black interior.
We stopped at Jack in the Box for a late breakfast and then the post office. The package still wasn't there. Tomorrow I'll ask about it.
I called Camping World and the guy called back. He said he called the insurance and left a message. Apparently he's waiting for some stuff from them. I asked him to call if they didn't respond and he didn't call back, so maybe they returned his call.
The last stop was the park. Rather than throw the bumper we walked over to the garbage cans. That way Lucy got some unstructured time. She liked it, but by the time we got to the cans she wanted the bumper. We turned aroiund and she retrieved about half the way back. Then she wanted to explore again. It was sunny in the mid 70's, so she may have just gotten hot.
When we got home Ellen went out to do archery. I went to work on the train. I built up the connection boards for the upper level switches. I also installed some connection blocks for the power wires on the upper level. After that I felt like quitting, so I did. Lucy spent most of the time out there with me. She lays in the bed in the well house.
There's no football tonight, so Ellen will probably watch chick shows. I got a new gun magazine today, so I'll read it.
The dealership is huge. We walked the lot. There was only one diesel truck on the lot. It was white with a black interior.
We stopped at Jack in the Box for a late breakfast and then the post office. The package still wasn't there. Tomorrow I'll ask about it.
I called Camping World and the guy called back. He said he called the insurance and left a message. Apparently he's waiting for some stuff from them. I asked him to call if they didn't respond and he didn't call back, so maybe they returned his call.
The last stop was the park. Rather than throw the bumper we walked over to the garbage cans. That way Lucy got some unstructured time. She liked it, but by the time we got to the cans she wanted the bumper. We turned aroiund and she retrieved about half the way back. Then she wanted to explore again. It was sunny in the mid 70's, so she may have just gotten hot.
When we got home Ellen went out to do archery. I went to work on the train. I built up the connection boards for the upper level switches. I also installed some connection blocks for the power wires on the upper level. After that I felt like quitting, so I did. Lucy spent most of the time out there with me. She lays in the bed in the well house.
There's no football tonight, so Ellen will probably watch chick shows. I got a new gun magazine today, so I'll read it.
Day 61
It's finished! I sprayed for weeds today. That officially ends all of the stuff I have to do each time we get back here. It feels really good not to have that as an "incomplete".
The bad news is that the guy from Camping World called to say they are still waiting on the insurance company. I called the insurance company, they say they're waiting on Camping World. Hopefully they will get together tomorrow.
We went over to the post office because I thought there was a package there for me. There wasn't. Maybe tomorrow. We also stopped at Home Depot to pick up some hardware I've been meaning to get for weeks. Lucy was disappointed - no magic aprons.
We stopped at Fireman's because I was dying of thirst. Then we went to the pet store next door because Lucy was disappointed at Home Depot. The last stop was the park so Lucy could run. She had a great time as usual.
When we got home I was still tired and feeling yucky from the spray. So I read and surfed until it was time for football.
The bad news is that the guy from Camping World called to say they are still waiting on the insurance company. I called the insurance company, they say they're waiting on Camping World. Hopefully they will get together tomorrow.
We went over to the post office because I thought there was a package there for me. There wasn't. Maybe tomorrow. We also stopped at Home Depot to pick up some hardware I've been meaning to get for weeks. Lucy was disappointed - no magic aprons.
We stopped at Fireman's because I was dying of thirst. Then we went to the pet store next door because Lucy was disappointed at Home Depot. The last stop was the park so Lucy could run. She had a great time as usual.
When we got home I was still tired and feeling yucky from the spray. So I read and surfed until it was time for football.
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Day 60
Two months away from Salem. It was a nice day, sunny and almost 70. So after breakfast I went out to work on the train. I hooked up all of the rest of the bottom switches. It took about an hour and a half. For some reason my heart wasn't in it, so I quit after that.
Lucy was really cute. She came out and laid down on the doggy bed I have in the well house. She really wanted to do something.
After lunch I watched the Seahawks for awhile and then we took Lucy to the park. She was very happy. After that we made a short stop at HEB we stopped at Tomlinson's. They gave Lucy a lot of treats, so she didn't get any of the hamburgers we bought her.
When we got home I sat down and read the Sunday paper. I'll watch football while Ellen goes to archery tonight.
Lucy was really cute. She came out and laid down on the doggy bed I have in the well house. She really wanted to do something.
After lunch I watched the Seahawks for awhile and then we took Lucy to the park. She was very happy. After that we made a short stop at HEB we stopped at Tomlinson's. They gave Lucy a lot of treats, so she didn't get any of the hamburgers we bought her.
When we got home I sat down and read the Sunday paper. I'll watch football while Ellen goes to archery tonight.
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Day 59
This was a stay at home day. We spent some of the morning surfing and building toys. Ellen did a model airplane and I did a miniature ball maze thing. It's really entertaining to watch.
After that I went out to work on the train. It didn't start out well. I had to replace some of the mounting screws because the standoffs were to big. Once that was done the connection board mounted really nice.
Then I started connecting the track switch wires. There are 20 switches, 40 wires. Only three switches are close enough to the connection board to reach it without needing a wire extension. I did a total of 8 switches. It took until 4:30. I've got a system down now though, so the rest should go faster. There are 5 more switches on the bottom board. The rest are on the two plateaus. I'll have to run wires from the connection board to the area below the plateaus. I'll wire in connectors there so that the switch wires can be disconnected if I want to remove the plateaus.
It feels kind of good to get some of the wiring done. I might finish the power wiring when I'm finished with the track switches.
That was about it for the day. It's either TV or surfing tonight.
After that I went out to work on the train. It didn't start out well. I had to replace some of the mounting screws because the standoffs were to big. Once that was done the connection board mounted really nice.
Then I started connecting the track switch wires. There are 20 switches, 40 wires. Only three switches are close enough to the connection board to reach it without needing a wire extension. I did a total of 8 switches. It took until 4:30. I've got a system down now though, so the rest should go faster. There are 5 more switches on the bottom board. The rest are on the two plateaus. I'll have to run wires from the connection board to the area below the plateaus. I'll wire in connectors there so that the switch wires can be disconnected if I want to remove the plateaus.
It feels kind of good to get some of the wiring done. I might finish the power wiring when I'm finished with the track switches.
That was about it for the day. It's either TV or surfing tonight.
Friday, December 4, 2015
Day 58
Nothing really useful was accomplished today. We did go all the way up to Loop 1 and Parmer for an estate sale. It was a good one. We picked up some wood for Lawrence. I also got a some balsa for train scenery. It was worth the trip.
After that we stopped at Fry's. We got some phone screens and Bluetooth mice. It was about $80 for stuff we really didn't need.
On the way back we stopped at the Chinese for lunch. It was crowded, but the food came quickly and it was great. Then we stopped at the yuppie grocery. It's the only place that still has pears. We also got a couple of presents at the store next door. It always has interesting stuff. After the post office the last stop was the park so Lucy could run. She did a fair number of retrieves, but not as many as the last few days. She probably needs a day off.
This whoe adventure took all of the day. We traveled over 70 miles total. Tonight will be TV and surfing.
After that we stopped at Fry's. We got some phone screens and Bluetooth mice. It was about $80 for stuff we really didn't need.
On the way back we stopped at the Chinese for lunch. It was crowded, but the food came quickly and it was great. Then we stopped at the yuppie grocery. It's the only place that still has pears. We also got a couple of presents at the store next door. It always has interesting stuff. After the post office the last stop was the park so Lucy could run. She did a fair number of retrieves, but not as many as the last few days. She probably needs a day off.
This whoe adventure took all of the day. We traveled over 70 miles total. Tonight will be TV and surfing.
Day 57
There's just days I don't feel like writing stuff, so it gets put off. Today was one of those days.
I did get one thing accomplished. I put up the outside lights and then put the decoration box back in the apartment. It didn't take long, and the light looked great tonight.
The thing is, after that I didn't really feel the necessity to do anything else. So, when all else fails, surf for awhile and then go to the post office.
For some reason we didn't eat lunch. So after stops at the post office and the park we went to Fireman's for lunch. It was 3:00. The day was nice though, so setting outside with the dog was comfortable. After lunch we took the dog to the pet store next door for a treat. Of course she loved it.
When we got home it was more surfing and then football. The Packers seemed determined to lose the game to a lousy team (Detroit). Then, on the last play of the game, Rodgers threw a 70 yard hail Mary pass that was caught in the endzone for the win. Amazing.
I did get one thing accomplished. I put up the outside lights and then put the decoration box back in the apartment. It didn't take long, and the light looked great tonight.
The thing is, after that I didn't really feel the necessity to do anything else. So, when all else fails, surf for awhile and then go to the post office.
For some reason we didn't eat lunch. So after stops at the post office and the park we went to Fireman's for lunch. It was 3:00. The day was nice though, so setting outside with the dog was comfortable. After lunch we took the dog to the pet store next door for a treat. Of course she loved it.
When we got home it was more surfing and then football. The Packers seemed determined to lose the game to a lousy team (Detroit). Then, on the last play of the game, Rodgers threw a 70 yard hail Mary pass that was caught in the endzone for the win. Amazing.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Day 56
We got up, had breakfast, surfed, and then went to the car dealership. They were really busy, so we were there for an hour and a half. The place was empty when we left. They said there wasn't anything to test about the gas mileage, so they did a little checking of obvious things. They were really trying to make sure I was satisfied. I am.
After that we went to the gun store on Manchaca. They really didn't have anything too special except for an Enfield pistol dated 1938. That means that it was certainly used in WWII. The gun is worn, but appears to be mechanically sound. I bought it.
On the way back we stopped a Steak n Shake because I had a hamburger craving. It was good. Lucy got a trip to the pet store and ac couple of treats. We stopped by the post office and picked up a package. Then we stopped at the bank to replenish my cash stash. The teller made an appoint for us to talk to the banker about reducing our rates.
The last stop was the park. Lucy did a wonderful job retrieving. She did plenty even though she ran yesterday. The weather was great - 70 degrees and sunny.
When we got home Ellen did archery. I unpacked the package. It had some UTG stuff in it. All of it looked well designed and finished. I actually installed a sling attachment. The rest will wait until the next build. I also cleaned the Enfield. The barrel was a little dirty and the cylinder was a lot dirty.
I put out the garbage and got the mail while Ellen packed up. She's going to archery after dinner and I'm going to watch TV. Maybe I'll get to the lights tomorrow.
After that we went to the gun store on Manchaca. They really didn't have anything too special except for an Enfield pistol dated 1938. That means that it was certainly used in WWII. The gun is worn, but appears to be mechanically sound. I bought it.
On the way back we stopped a Steak n Shake because I had a hamburger craving. It was good. Lucy got a trip to the pet store and ac couple of treats. We stopped by the post office and picked up a package. Then we stopped at the bank to replenish my cash stash. The teller made an appoint for us to talk to the banker about reducing our rates.
The last stop was the park. Lucy did a wonderful job retrieving. She did plenty even though she ran yesterday. The weather was great - 70 degrees and sunny.
When we got home Ellen did archery. I unpacked the package. It had some UTG stuff in it. All of it looked well designed and finished. I actually installed a sling attachment. The rest will wait until the next build. I also cleaned the Enfield. The barrel was a little dirty and the cylinder was a lot dirty.
I put out the garbage and got the mail while Ellen packed up. She's going to archery after dinner and I'm going to watch TV. Maybe I'll get to the lights tomorrow.
Day 55
This being sick thing is getting old. I'm at about 80% and don't seem to be getting any better. I get tired easily during the day, and the body temperature control is all out of whack during the night.
After breakfast the first order of business was to call up and make an appointment to get the car's oil change. I'll ask them about the gas mileage also. Then it's Dec 1 and time to put up the tree. I hauled everything over from the apartment and set up the tree. It took awhile to figure out the weird cable connections, I'd forgotten them and the instructions have vanished.
By the time I was finished with that, I was pooped. I just don't have much stamina. So I collapsed in the chair while Ellen hung the ornaments. I was going to do the outdoor lights, but I was too tired.
After lunch at home we went to get the mail and run the dog. We waited until 2 to leave so there wouldn't be a repeat of yesterday's post office parking problem. The day was cloudy and cool, perfect for the dog. She was really happy to run after so many days on the couch. She had a great time.
I was still tired when we got home. I was looking forward to some inclined surfing when the living room ligt bulb blew when I turned it on. Crap. Out to the garage for the ladder, replace the bulb, put the ladder back.
After dinnrer it was TV. We watched two episodes of Blacklist. I am purposely limiting it to two a night in order to keep from getting burnt out.
After breakfast the first order of business was to call up and make an appointment to get the car's oil change. I'll ask them about the gas mileage also. Then it's Dec 1 and time to put up the tree. I hauled everything over from the apartment and set up the tree. It took awhile to figure out the weird cable connections, I'd forgotten them and the instructions have vanished.
By the time I was finished with that, I was pooped. I just don't have much stamina. So I collapsed in the chair while Ellen hung the ornaments. I was going to do the outdoor lights, but I was too tired.
After lunch at home we went to get the mail and run the dog. We waited until 2 to leave so there wouldn't be a repeat of yesterday's post office parking problem. The day was cloudy and cool, perfect for the dog. She was really happy to run after so many days on the couch. She had a great time.
I was still tired when we got home. I was looking forward to some inclined surfing when the living room ligt bulb blew when I turned it on. Crap. Out to the garage for the ladder, replace the bulb, put the ladder back.
After dinnrer it was TV. We watched two episodes of Blacklist. I am purposely limiting it to two a night in order to keep from getting burnt out.
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