Day 1710

I got up at 8:45 - another late morning.  After pet stuff and breakfast we loaded up the ranger and went shooting.  I didn't do very well.  I've been used to at least a little improvement each time I shoot.  This time there was none.

We'd almost shot up the targets on the card, so we stopped at the club to buy more.  After that we sat and BS'd with people for at least an hour or more.  We didn't get back to the trailer until 1.

Lunch was a turkey and bacon sandwich.  After that it was TV and surfing.  I just didn't feel like doing anything else today.

Ellen fixed steaks for dinner.  After dinner I walked around the course.  I want to try to do that each evening from now on.  It was at least 10 degrees cooler than yesterday.

When I got back it was a little TV and a lot of surfing.

Day 1709

I woke up at 9 today.  I didn't sleep well last night.  I had bad heartburn.  After pet stuff and breakfast it was surfing.  This was another day with nothing planned.

TV and surfing took up most of the morning.  I did take the strap I'd purchased a while back and install it to hold the planter on the counter.  Falling behind the slideout is something we don't want to have happen again.

I also checked the calibration of the water flow meter I bought last time we were at John and Patty's.  It's pretty accurate.  It read 2.9 gallons for 3 gallons of output.  Since it only read tenths, that's just abouot perfect.  I installed it in the input for the black tank. 

That was pretty much it for accomplishments today.  Lunch was a frozen gumbo.  It was OK.  After lunch we went to the Salem farm store for more strawberries.  I also stopped at the Brooks hardware to by a metal strip for future use.  I got a hitch pin, too.  It's a better design than the one I got earlier for the new steps.

The rest of the afternoon was surfing.  Ellen fixed BLT's for dinner.  After dinner it was TV and surfing.  li also took a walk.  Lucy acted like she wanted to go until I gave Devon his chicken heart.  Then Lucy decided she'd supervise Devon.

Day 1708

We got up about 8.  We did pet stuff and breakfast.  Then it was load up the ranger to go shooting.  It was a nice warm morning.

I was getting very frustrated because I was missing things that I should easily hit.  Then I realized that the floater in my right eye was in the middle of my visual field.  I got better when it moved to the side.  It got worse again later.  I figured out that when that happens I have to close my left eye.  I also figured out that I need to shoot trap shots high gun.  My gun mount just isn't as good as it should be.

When we were finished we stopped at the club to buy 4 cases of ammo.  We've been going through a lot of it.  It was getting uncomfortably warm by them time we were finished.

When we got back to the trailer I decided to clean my gun.  The barrel and chokes were pretty dirty.  Everything went well until I decided to clean the ejectors.  I managed to eject the parts twice while I was reassembling the first one.  It resulted in a lot of time spent searching for the parts.

When I was done I went inside for lunch.  I fixed a ham sandwich.

I'd had to clean up a pile of cat shit this morning when I woke up.  I ended up using the last of the paper towels.  So we went to Gervais to the post office and the Dollar store.

When we got back it was TV and a nap.  Ellen fixed leftover tacos for lunch.  After dinner was more TV.

Day 1707

We got up at 7:45.  After pet stuff we loaded up the truck and went to do the wash.  When that was done we drove up to the vet.

The vet is completely Chinese flu rabid.  You drive up and text them.  They come out and get the animal (wear your mask).  They do their thing and call you to talk over what they've found.  Then they bring out the animal (wear your mask again).  It's all an exercise in stupidity.

The vet says Lucy is doing as well as can be expected.  We didn't do a blood test.  If the valley fever comes back it will just be another thing that might kill her.  The treatment sure would.

We stopped at Freddies for diesel and some groceries.  I also picked up the glasses cases I've been looking for.

We ate hamburgers at Nancy's.  There wasn't any mail at the post office.  When we got home it was in the 90's, so we just stayed inside.  I started to watch TV and fell asleep until dinner time.

Ellen fixed a flatbread pizza we'd bought for dinner.  After dinner it was TV until things cooled down.  Then I walked around the course.

After that was more TV until bedtime.

Day 1706

I woke up before 7, but turned over and went back to sleep until 8.  Then it was get up and do pet stuff and breakfast.  Afterwards it was some surfing - we didn't have much scheduled.

Eventually we left for CVS.  I had three prescriptions that needed to be refilled.  While they were being worked on we went to Lowe's. 

The bedroom AC has been acting funny.  It rarely stays on for more than 90 seconds.  Then after a few minutes it would turn on again.  Obviously it didn't do a good job at keeping the bedroom cool.  I finally realized the problem.  Some of the AC vents point directly towards the thermostat.  So it immediately starts to cool and shut down the AC.  So I bought a couple of vent louvers to use to redirect the airflow.

We got the drugs and stopped by the Salem farm store to get some more strawberries.

When we got home I installed the louver on the AC.  It seems to work well, but time will tell.  After that it was surfing and TV.   It was high 90's outside, so we didn't feel like shooting.

Ellen fixed stir fry for dinner.  It was good. 

Ellen has been having trouble with her recliner.  It doesn't want to fold up.  I looked at it and determined that the right arm is bent out.  It's only anchored to some metal strips at the bottom.  She leans hard on it every time she gets up.  I ended up spending over an hour in the evening fixing it.  The only thing I could do is attach a metal strap to the bottom back of the arm.  It was fun laying on the carpet back there.  Apparently the cats like to piss there.

At least the fix seems to be working.  Again, time will tell.

There wasn't much of the evening left.  I spent it on TV and surfing.

Day 1705

We woke up at 8, did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  We were killing time surfing when the shooting started at 9.  Our registration said it would start at 10.  We quickly loaded up the Ranger and went to our station.  Fortunately we were a B squad, so we didn't delay anything.

The course was 150 birds.  It was super sporting, so it was slow.  It took us 4.5 hours to complete the course.  I shot 80%.  I should have shot a lot better, but I kept missing birds that I should have hit.

We ate lunch at the club when we were done.  I wanted to support the vendor.  After that we went back to the trailer to rest up.  By then the temperature was about 100.

We spent about 45 minutes recovering.  Then we went to the grocery store.  I was out of milk.  Then it was back home. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening on gaes, surfing, and TV.  Ellen fixed tacos for dinner.

Day 1704

We  got up at 8 and did the pet stuff and breakfast.  I didn't shoot until 10:30, so we surfed until it was time to get ready.  The it was off to shoot 20 ga super sporting.

I didn't shoot near as well as I thought I might.  I started off poorly on the first station.  I don't think I shot any stations clean.  The targets weren't hard, but they were challenging.  I just wasn't on.  It was fun though.

We finished about noon.  We ate at the lunch wagon just to support them.  Right after that it was time for Ellen to shoot the 12 ga.  I didn't go with her.  Instead I surfed a little and then played games.

When she got back it was more games and some TV.

Ellen fixed pork chops for dinner.  They were really good.  After dinner she watched chick flicks and I surfed. 

When Ellen went to take a shower the tank filled up.  I'd forgotten to look at it.  I had to drain it before I could take a shower.

Day 1703

We woke up at 8:15.  After pet stuff and breakfast we loaded up the Ranger and went shooting.  The first couple of stations went well, then my shotgun started to jam.  It started doing it almost every shot.  I ended up going home to give it a through cleaning.

The cleaning took awhile.  First, I couldn't remember how to disassemble it.  I got it apart with some help from the internet.  Then I gave it an extensive cleaning.  By the time I was finished a lot of people were out on the course.  That meant waiting.

I was really pissed when the gun still jammed.  I was about to give up when I noticed that the shells I was shooting were labelled FIOCCHI.  They had come out of a Gun Club box.  They were mixed with the Gun Club shells.  The FIOCCHI shells were trainer loads.  I took them all out of my bag and there were no more jams.

We finished up shooting.  I did OK, but I'm not shooting the gun perfectly since it's so light.  I decided to shoot again in the afternoon.  I didn't like the mod choke, so I bought a LM choke.

I didn't want a sandwich for lunch.  I also didn't want to sit in a drive through line.  So we went to Elmer's.  It was pretty good.  Before that we stopped at the post office.  There were some checks, so stopped at the bank.  It's only open for drive through and the line was long.  Ellen used the ATM instead.

We got two packages today.  One was carpet for the bottom trailer step.  It's been bare.  Lucy slips on it, so she couldn't climb the stairs.  We put it on and now Lucy goes up the stairs like a champ.  The second package was the folding foot stools.  They look neat.  I may sit outside and use one tomorrow.

After that we went inside.  We surfed and watched TV for a couple of hours.  About three we went back out to shoot again.  Dave had already shut down the course for the tournament tomorrow.  Dan would never have done that, especially since Dave has 4 guys working the field.

I shot a round of skeet and a few targets on one sporting station.  I like the way the new choke works.  I'm still having some issues controlling the super light 20 ga.

The rest of the afternoon was TV.  Ellen fixed mac and cheese for dinner.  After dinner was more TV until about 9.  Then there wasn't anything else to watch.  So we turned it off and surfed and played games.

Day 1702

I didn't wake up until 9 today.  That's because I played games really late last night.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.  Then  we left to pick up my glasses and a couple of other things.

The first stop was Highway Trailer for a clear sewer connection.  Their shelves were almost bare.  Then we stopped at Wally World and Freddy for the same thing.  Wally World was bare of almost everything.  Freddy's doesn't carry RV stuff.

The next stop was Sportsman's Warehouse for a gun rack.  They were really bare.  It was hardly worth going there for anything.  At least I managed to get my glasses at Costco.  On the way back we stopped at another trailer place.  They had what I wanted.  They were also pretty well stocked.  The guy working there said that the warehouses are empty because no one is working.  Apparently he works hard at keeping things stocked.

The last stop was the Salem Farmer's store.  We got some strawberries and the fixings for stir fry.

When we got home lunch was leftovers.  Ellen reminded me of the gun rack I'd built for the Mobile Suites.  I'd removed it and it was in the shed.  I found new hardware for it.  I also put felt padding on the slots to protect the guns.  It fits perfectly.  I would have built exactly the same thing if I was doing it from scratch.

After that it was surfing and TV.  Ellen fixed stir fry for dinner.  It was really good.  I was going to shoot after dinner, but Ellen's asshole was acting up.  So the evening was TV and surfing.

Day 1701

I woke up at 7 and played games for abut an hour.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.  After that we loaded up the Ranger and went shooting.

I'm making progress, but it's slow progress.  There are still some presentations that I'm having trouble with.  I am making some good shots now though.

After we were finished we stopped in at the club.  We bought a hat, shooting bag, two cases of ammunition, and a vest for Ellen.  Ellen also ordered a new pair of ear plugs.  We figured a little retail work wouldn't hurt our relationship.

When we were finished we bullshitted for awhile.  The sewer guy called about 1, so we went back to the trailer.  When that was done I called Joe.  He was there, so I took the truck over so I could show him what I wanted done.  We talked for awhile.  Then I stopped at the hamburger place for a really late lunch.

When we got back I sat outside reading.  Ellen fixed frozen fish for dinner.  It was really good.  I ate outside.  I continued reading until about 8.  Then I went inside.

The rest of the evening was watching TV and a little surfing.

Day 1700

I got up at 7.  I tried to go back to sleep, but got up after a few minutes.  After pet stuff and breakfast we left to do the wash.

We sat outside again.  It's actually a little more comfortable than sitting inside.  When the wash was done we stopped at Safeway.  I wanted to get Minions cookies before they disappeared.  Safeway only had 6 boxes left.  I bought 4.  They were having a buy 2, get 3 free sale on cereal.  So I bought 5 boxes.  We now have a multi-month supply of both.

After Safeway we went to the French Prairie farm store.  They had a lot of plants.  We wanted another for the trailer.  We found one, but it was poisonous for cats.  We did buy a couple of things just to give them business.

It was hot when we got home.  I put everything away.  Then I drained the tanks.  I also took the battery charger off the Ranger.  I have no idea what the wire I took off does.  Everything still works.  I'll keep working on it.

It was hot, so we watched TV.  I took a nap.  About 5 we went outside and Ellen cut my hair.  For some reason she likes doing it.

Ellen fixed sloppy joes for dinner.  After dinner was TV, mainly movies.

Day 1699

I woke up at 8:15, but played games until almost 10.  Then it was get up for pet stuff and breakfast.  The pets were tapping their feet.

We surfed for a little while.  Then we left for errands.  The first stop was Lowe's.  Some of the flooring patch we installed was coming up.  So we bought some sealer to glue it down.  I also got some on sale tools also (no sales tax).  Then we stopped at the pet store for cat food.  The final stop was the grocery for bananas.

I was going to stop at In-n-Out for lunch, but there were at least 25 to 40 cars waiting in line (I'm not exaggerating).  This was at 2 in the afternoon.  So we stopped at Dairy Queen instead.

When we got home I put everything away.  I also removed another wire from the Ranger.  It's battery is dead, so the radio wasn't the culprit.

The temp was 100 degrees in the afternoon.  So we stayed in the trailer.  I might have napped.

Ellen fixed steak for dinner.  After dinner was TV and surfing.  We were going to cut my hair outside, but it was too hot.

Day 1698

Today started out about 2 AM.  Lucy woke me up having to go.  I took her downstairs.  It was slow because she doesn't walk well when first getting up.  I got her to the door when she turned around and went to the living room for a shit.  It was walking diarrhea.  I took her back upstairs and cleaned it up as best I could.

I went back to bed and woke up at 6.  I wanted to make sure I was downstairs when they discovered what Lucy had done.  John came down about 7.  He takes Cinder on a walk at Jenkins Estate every morning.  I went with him.  We walked around some of the estate and he threw retrieves for Cinder.

Patty had breakfast ready when we got home.  After that she and Ellen cleaned up after Lucy while John and I went outside.  I mainly watched while he laid out things.  After awhile I went inside to surf  While John piddled around.

That describes most of the day.  John piddling and the rest of us surfing.  John did come in to surf for awhile.  He got me interested in converting one of our bikes to electric.  He gave me a couple of books on the subject.  I might just try it.

We left about 3.  I didn't want to get back to the trailer late today.  Traffic was OK southbound.  It was slow to almost stopped from Tigard to past Donald.

We stopped at Arby's for dinner.  Only the drive through was open.  It took almost 20 minutes to get our food.

The cats were glad to see us when we got home.  We fed everybody, unpacked, and ate ourselves.

After dinner was reading and TV.

Day 1697

We got up a little before 8.  Patty fixed breakfast.  Then it was more "overseeing" John's plans.  He would work for awhile and then come into surf.  We mainly surfed and talked in the house.

Eventually Patsy and I moved out to the deck to talk and surf.  Ellen stayed inside with scooter. 

About noon we went to see Hooch.  He's doing pretty well considering.  He's halfway through the radiation treatments.  It will be months afterwards before he knows if they did any good.  The kids are doing well academically, but they hate summer school.  Hooch has them taking all sort of advanced classes.

We left Hooch about 3:30 and went back to John and Patty's.  Patty fixed dinner and we talked some more.  Eventually we all ended up outside on the deck for more talking and surfing.  We stayed there until it was getting pretty dark.  All in all it was just a relaxing day.

Day 1696

We got up at 7.  We did the pet stuff and breakfast.  We also packed to stay over at John and Patty's.  Then we left for Beaverton.

The trip up went well.  I think we never did less than 5 over the whole way up I5.  I made the mistake of turning off to Sherwood to go up the back way.  There is so much traffic and so many traffic signals that that isn't the way to go any more.

I left Ellen and the dog at John and Patty's at 9.  Then I continued on to the dealership.  I left our car and picked up a loaner.  I just drove back to the house.

We spent the day talking and kibitzing while John planned out his back yard modifications.  Some time in the afternoon I went back to the dealership to get the car.

After some more kibitzing we retired to the deck to drink and talk some more.

Lucy is tired from yesterday.  She still managed to play with Cinder some.

Day 1695

I woke up at 7, did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  Then I put all of the shooting stuff in the Ranger.  We were shooting by about 8.

It was a little cool, but pleasant.  I shot a lot better than I have since I had my eyes fixed.  Of course the targets haven't changed, but I tried to shoot challenging pairs.  I did have a couple of presentations that I couldn't hit on a bet.  Oh well.

Lucy enjoyed herself.  At one point she left the rig to go searching for dead mice.  She walked quite a ways while we shot the station.  When we were done she had 100 yards or more to walk to the Ranger.  She was really dragging and didn't leave the rig for the rest of the time.

We got done about 10.  By then the old guys were showing up at the club.  We stopped there and talked for awhile.  Vandy's father showed me a problem with one of the gun racks I'd made.  I had used carriage bolts in the wood.  He needed to take them apart to do a repair and he couldn't get the nut off because the bolt would turn.

I tried to use a clamp to hold the bold head.  It didn't work.  I had to use the Dremel to cut the nut and bolt.  When I'd cut enough I broke it with a chisel.  It took me at least half an hour to do it.

After that I went home and put everything away.  We left for McMinnville after a little surfing.  The drive was fun.  We even got to sit at the front of the ferry.

The fair was about the same size as always.  They did expand into another parking lot for social distancing.  We bought some strawberries and peaches.  We also bought some brownies.  I left my knife to be sharpened while we went to the bakery/cafe for lunch.  It was good, but we had to sit on the curb because the tables were being used.

When we were done we picked up my knife and left.  The knife is much sharper.  It only cost $5 to sharpen it.

We stopped at the post office on the way home.  There wasn't a package notice in the box.  I asked at the desk.  There were two packages waiting for us.

It was in the high 80's when we got home.  I put the gas struts we got on the trailer door.  Now it opens all the way.  After that it was surfing and TV until dinner.

Dinner was leftovers.  After dinner I fixed strawberry shortcake.  It was great.

Day 1694

I woke up at 7:15 and spent almost 2 hours playing games.  When I got up it was pet stuff and breakfast.

For some reason the router in the shed quit working yesterday.  It still isn't working.  It looks like we'll be using Verizon from now on.  It's working pretty good.

I started to drain the tanks and then went over to the club to get the new grill.  I unpacked it.  It looked really good.  It came with a recipe book.  So we picked out one to grill for dinner.

We left for Costco.  I wanted to order a couple of pairs of reading glasses.  While I was ordering I saw the perfect Serengeti sunglasses.  They were only $57 so I bought them, too.  I wish I hadn't ordered more expensive ones from Amazon yesterday.

We also did some shopping.  We got scallops for the grill, cream cheese for John and Patty, and water.  They had some cool outdoor chairs with builtin tables, so we bought a couple.  We bought the rest of what we needed at Freddies.

We also stopped at Jones Farm.  They had some strawberries.  We bought some along with a couple of peaches.  We went to the post office, but there wasn't anything there.

When we got home I set up the chairs and table outside.  It was really nice.  Even though it was hot, the shade and breeze made it comfortable.  I spent the afternoon out there playing games.

Ellen used the grill for dinner.  It worked well and dinner was good.  We'll be dong more, maybe steaks tomorrow.

After dinner was more gaming outside.  I came in about 8 for TV and surfing.

Day 1693

I woke up at 8.  After pet stuff and breakfast it was off to the laundromat.  There was a delay because I couldn't get my laptop to boot during breakfast.  It was looking bad.  Several attempts finally got me to the boot screen.  I ran the diagnostics and they came out clean.  That's when I noticed that the SD card was partially out of it's socket.  I pushed it in and the laptop booted normally.

We stayed outside in the car while the clothes got washed.  It was just as comfortable as inside.  We went to the outlet stores when we were done.

I bought a new pair of shoes to replace the summer ones I'm wearing that are wearing out.  I stopped at three sunglasses shops.  Only one had a pair I liked.  They wanted $350.  No way.

We stopped at the Italian place on the way home.  It was OK, especially since I was craving Italian.  The new dash cam mounts were at the post office.  When I got home I used them to finish a mount for the cam.

After a little surfing I sat down to watch TV.  That turned into a nap.  At 4:30 I listened to a web seminar on prostate cancer treatment.  It was some good information.  There's another next week.

Ellen called Joe for some reason.  I talked to him for a while about the new truck.  He said he'd be able to mod the exhaust.

Dinner was leftovers.  After dinner was surfing and shopping online for sunglasses.

Day 1692

 I got up at 7:15.  After pet stuff and breakfast I went out to spray the place.

Things didn't begin well.  When I started the sprayer the spray handle had a huge leak.  It turns out I'd left water in it last year.  Over the winter the water froze and cracked the handle.  I went to Coastal.  For $17 dollars I got a replacement that was better then the original.

My plan had been to spray around the buildings and the trailer by hand and do the rest by towing the sprayer.  The new handler worked great.  Also the sprayer needed to be taken apart to attach it to the Ranger.  So I ended up doing everything by hand.  I got done about 11.

I took a long, thorough, shower.  I was tired, so afterwards I surfed until lunch.  After lunch we had to go to Portland to pick up the tax return.  We also stopped at the post office.  The shower seals were there.  When we got home I surfed and watched TV.  Did I mention I was tired?  I may have napped.

Hooch called.  He's in Seattle for proton therapy.  He's going to be there all week.  I guess we'll see him next week.

Ellen woke me up for dinner.  It was chicken and mashed potatoes.  After dinner we watched TV for a while.  We got bored, so we went to Wally World to buy TP.  The place was thoroughly picked over.  You'd think it was during the panic, except all departments were picked over.

The rest of the evening was TV and surfing.

Day 1691

We woke up at 7.  Then we played games for two hours.  The pets were happy when we got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  We didn't have anything to do today, so most of the day was surfing.  I didn't even do any shopping.

After a while I got guilty for not doing anything.  So I went out to prep for spraying tomorrow.  That's when I found out that the sprayer battery was dead even though it's been hooked up to a charger/maintainer for days.  I changed out the charger/maintainer for a straight 6 amp charger.

I did some homework on what concentration of herbicide to use.  I also planned out how I'd handle the spraying.  That led me to move some stuff that would be in the way tomorrow.

I've been feeling guilty about tracking down the current leak in the Polaris.  So I removed two of the wires for equipment I'd installed.  I'll see if that helps.  If it doesn't I'll try another two.

That pretty much took up the rest of the morning.  Lunch was leftovers.  After lunch was surfing.  About three Ellen couldn't take it any more.  We needed milk and bananas, so it was off to Roth's.  They are expensive, but I like to support a local firm.

When we got back is was a little surfing followed by dinner.  Ellen fixed Thorny Dean's and pancakes.  It was really good.

I took Lucy for a walk around the club after dinner.  She did pretty good.  I stopped at the club and bullshitted with the people there for awhile.  I thought it was the political thing to do.

I checked the sprayer battery after it had been charging for 6 hours.  I's not full, but it is taking a charge.  It should be good to go tomorrow.

Day 1690

We got up a little before 8, did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  I did a little surfing to kill time and then we left for Tri-county.

Of course we got there almost an hour early.  After signing in we sat around and socialized with the people we haven't seen in months.  The weather was great - sunny and warm.

The course was the best I've seen Reggie set.  It was hard, but nothing was over the top.  It also had some good variety except for a lot of trap shots I could live without.  I totally screwed up the first 4 stations.  After that I just enjoyed myself.  I even managed to start shooting better.

We went to Cabela's when we were done.  The gun and ammo sections were as bare as the panic was said to make them.  We walked around the store for quite awhile without buying anything.  We also stopped at the pizza place next door.  They have great pizza.  They also have outside tables so we could eat with the dog.

It was low 80's, too hot to stop anywhere else with the dog.  So we just went home.  I did a little surfing and then sat down in the recliner to watch TV.  Of course I fell asleep.  The next thing I knew it was 5.

Dinner was leftovers.  After dinner was more TV.  I did a little shoppig, but didn't find anything I wanted.

Day 1689

I woke up at 7 and then went back to sleep until a little after 8.  I'd intended to get up at 7:30.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.I went outside and cut a piece of scrap wood to put under the new stairs.  Then I used a tie down to hold it to the stairs.

By then Ellen was finished with breakfast so we went to Harbor Freight to buy a bottle jack.  I got a $30 one to make sure we could balance the stairs on it's end.  Then it was back home.

Removing the old stairs wasn't hard.  We did have a little trouble removing a couple of the bolts.  A hammer was involved.  That's when I discovered my work on the new stairs was in vain.  The tie down interfered with the placement of the stairs.  So I removed it and we just stacked it on a board.

The first attempt to attach the new stairs failed because we ran out of lift on the jack.  We sat the jack on the step stool and that worked fine.  The only other problem was that the threads on one of the bolts were damaged when I removed it.  I managed to get it to work though.

Once the stairs were installed we couldn't get them to open.  Remember, there were no instructions.  I finally figured out that there were two shipping bolts that had to be removed.  Then everything worked fine.  When we extended them Lucy walked up into the trailer with no problem.  The safety pin didn't work though.  The holes for it don't line up. 

Gerry walked up while just as we finished.  We talked for awhile.  Then we told him to go out on the course and we'd catch up with him once we'd put everything away.  We met up with him on station 4.  I actually did a little better today.  I just have to get more targets under my belt.

We finished about 3.  We hadn't had any lunch, so we went to AC Greasy.  We also stopped at the hardware store and picked up a clip to use as a safety.  It isn't ideal, but it is a good stop gap.

When we got home I loaded everything into the car to go to a shoot at Tri-county tomorrow.  I don't really want to go, but I needed to shoot some competition targets.

The camp table and the mounts for the dash cam came today.  The camp table is perfect.  The mounts had the wrong size balls.  After a lot of searching I came to the conclusion that Kenwood just used non-standard balls.  Luckily I could wrap tape around one of the Kenwood mounts to make it work.  I still needed to order another mount to make everything work.  I also ordered a small case for the Nikon and a strap to hold the plants

The rest of the evening was surfing and TV.  Dinner was leftovers. 

Day 1688

We got up about 8:15.  After pet stuff and breakfast we went out to weed.

It was a long session, probably an hour and a half.  I was really tired when we were done.  It was worth it though.  The pad is now completely weed free.  We even pulled the weeds underneath the trailer.  The next step will be to spray it.  I'll probably wait until Monday so I can do it when there's no one around.

Did I mention I was tired when I got done?  I went back inside, did  a little surfing,and sat down in the recliner for a nap.  It was nap and TV for the rest of the morning.

I recovered about 1.  I got out the shooting stuff.  Then I took Ellen's gun out to the shed.  I took off the stock to try to figure out why it was doubling.  I couldn't see anything wrong with the mechanism.  However, the stock was loose when I removed it.  The inside of the stock looked like there might be a little interference in one place.  So I used a file to take off a small amount of material on the stock.  Then I put everything back together.

We then went out shooting.  I must have done something because Ellen's gun didn't double once.  We shot a little over 250 rounds.  Dave has a really nice course set up right now.  I had some moments of brilliance followed by moments of suckage.  I do seem to be making some improvement though.  We spent $800 buying 1,800 targets and 5 cases of shells.  I hope by the time it's gone I'll be shooting like I used to.

When we stopped at the club the new stairs for the trailer were there.  I was surprised.  They weren't due for a week.  That gives me something to do tomorrow.  I'll have to buy a bottle jack first though.  The stairs weigh 60 lbs and I have to raise them about a foot in order to install them.

When we got done shooting it was time for dinner.  Ellen fixed a pizza from HEB.  It's some of the last of the Texas food.  After dinner was TV.  I watched a DVD we had with episodes of Tripping the Rift.

Day 1687

We got up at 7:30, did the pet stuff and breakfast.  Then it was out to do more weeding.

We spent a little over an hour weeding.  We got a lot done.  This was because the weeds were less thick and were growing in the main gravel pad.  That made them much easier to pull.  I think we'll be done in one more session.  It's really nice to stand by the shed and look towards the trailer.  It's quite a transformation from when we got here last Friday.

I was really tired after that so I went back to the trailer and surfed for a little while.  Then Ellen had to leave to meet Bob to work on taxes.  I had to stay at the trailer because the sewer guys are supposed to come "some time".  They are charging us $85.  If we have to do this each week it's going to run into lots of money.  Fuck the club for removing the sewer tank.

One of the screen door latches still had a little problem.  I decided to fix it once an for all.  I took it all apart and partially redesigned it.  I took a while because I had to search for applicable parts.  At least having a full set of tools made things easier.  I'm hoping that this is the end of working on the latches.

I took the charger off the Polaris and started it up.  It started immediately (yeah).  I let it warm up while I raked the leaves out of the car port.  The only rake I had was the dog shit rake.  It worked fine.  I took the garbage that we'd piled in the back of the Polaris to the dumpster.  That's all the driving I want to do until I get some more gas.  Then I gave it a bath.  It was too filthy to even sit in.  Based on the number of cobwebs I think an army of spiders decided to live there.

I was done with everything by 12:30.  You can get a lot done when you wake up in the morning.  I still have to work out why the battery keeps dying.  That's for another day though.

I didn't have anything else to do except wait for the sewer guy.  So I surfed.  Ellen came home and brought me a new job.  The replacement light for over the recliners came in.  I removed the old one and wired in the new one.  It's definitely an improvement.

After that it was more waiting.  I might have taken a nap.  The sewer guy showed up about three.  I managed to get the tank completely clean.  The guy was perfectly happy to let me take my time flushing it.

Cooper got out while the pumping was being done.  Luckily we found him pretty quickly.

With the pumping done we went into Woodburn.  I bought 4 gallons of premium for the Ranger.  We also got some lunch meat at Safeway.  The stuff we had was old.

When we got home it was time for dinner.  Ellen fixed tacos.  After dinner we took the Polaris for a drive around the course.  I wanted to mix the new gas with the old.  The Polaris ran really well.  I think it likes premium.

After dinner we watched a couple of old western movies.

Day 1686

We got up at 7.  After breakfast and pet stuff we went out to attack the weeds.

Ellen took on a big patch of clover.  I took on the patch of big weeds in front of the carports.  It took us about an hour to clear both of them.  This pretty much clears out the area we use for getting the car in and out.  We still have the area where we park the truck to go.  Luckily the weeds aren't as dense in that area.

The other morning task was to unwrap the car.  It was nice to see that the mice had left it alone.  The car started up immediately.  The only thing is it's complaining it needs an oil change.

We loaded the car with stuff for Goodwill and went shopping.  The first stop was for a full tank of gas.  I wanted to dilute the old gas in the tank as soon as possible.  Then we dropped off the stuff at Goodwill.  The next stop was to pick up herbicide.  Then we stopped for face masks for the car.

We needed dog food, so we went to the store in Keizer.  Unfortunately they didn't have it.  So we went to the Salem store.  They did have it.  By then it was time for lunch, so we went to Hops and Drops.  They actually let us inside to eat.

We stopped at the Salem farm store and Baumann's before we went home.  We got some fruit.

I didn't feel like doing anything when we got home.  So I spent the rest of the afternoon surfing.  Ellen fixed BLT's for dinner.  After dinner I took Lucy for a walk around the club.  She did a pretty good.  We'll see how tired she is tomorrow.

The evening was TV.  First was a chick flick and then car shows.

Day 1685

It was another 7:30 wake up time.  After breakfast and pet stuff we went out to dig weeds.

We dug for a little over an hour.  I was really tired by the time we were done.  We managed to clear off most of the remaining weeds by the carport.  We also cleared most of the area between the trailer and the shed.  We've got one more hard days of work and then two or three easier days.

After weeding it was time to wash clothes.  I actually ran out of underwear today.  We talked to the owner for awhile.  He's actually been doing good in spite of the flu.  We sat out in the car instead of in the laundromat.  It was much more comfortable and maybe safer.

When the clothes were finished I had a craving for french fries.  So we went to Mickey D's.  Then we went to the outlet stores.  We spent quite a while walking around.  We got plates, the thing we came for.  We also got a t-shirt for Ellen.  There were quite a few empty stores in the place.  There was a fair number of people, but the stupid governor has limited the number of people in a store.  We skipped a couple because I wasn't going to stand in a line.  The line outside the Nike store had to have 40 or more people in it.  I'm not interested in ever buying their stuff.

When we got home I went out to the shed to fix the plate holder.  I wanted to add barriers so the plates don't fall out again.  I had to modify the old big plate holder to match the new plates.  Then I cut up a bamboo box to make parts for the small plate holder.  It took quite a while to make.

It was dinner time when I finished.  Ellen fixed the bacon wrapped chicken we'd bought at Safeway.  After dinner I surfed for a little while and then went out to clean the shed.  Ellen was watching chick flicks when I got back.  I sat down in the chair and fell asleep.

I woke up a little before 9.  I wrote up the blog and then went to bed.

Day 1684

We got up at 7:30.  I'm going t try to make that the standard getting up time.  After pet stuff and breakfast it was time to do yard work.

The entire trailer pad is overgrown with weeds.  In some places it's sparse.  In others it's really heavy.  One of the heavy places is right at the entrance to the car port.  I watered the area and we started there.  We worked until we'd cleared a ten foot square area in front of the entrance.  I took at least 5 big arm fulls of weeds to the dump area.I also cut the weeds on the outside of the storage building.

We plan on working sections of the pad like we did today until it is all cleared.  Then I'll spray poison on it.  While we were standing admiring our work we pulled a couple of weeds in the dry area in front of the trailer steps.  They came up easily.  So we spent some more time pulling up the weeds on the door side up to the front of the trailer.  That made things a lot better.

We won't be pulling weeds tomorrow.  We're going to John and Patty's.

After the weed pulling we did a little surfing and had leftover Chinese for lunch.  Then we put the dog in the truck and went shopping.  The first stop was the Salem farm store.  It was closed on the 4th.  So we went to Lowe's so I could buy the stuff I needed to fix the step Ellen broke.  We also stopped at Bed, Bath, and Beyond looking for dishes to replace the ones that fell out of the cabinet yesterday.  They didn't have any, but we bought some glasses to replace some we have that aren't really useful.

We got cat food at the pet store.  We stopped at Target for dishes.  The place has lots of empty shelves, just like the other two we've been in lately.  I think Target is in deep trouble.

When we got back I went to work fixing the step.  I cut out the broken part of the under tread.  I replaced it with a piece of square steel tubing.  I put a couple of screws in the middle of the tubing to support the tread.  I think it will work fine.

When i was finished I fixed myself a celebratory drink.  It was good.  Then we watched TV for the rest of the day.  Ellen fixed BLT's for dinner.

Day 1683

We got up at 6:30.  I was going to have breakfast, but the milk was rotten.  We packed up the trailer and were on the road by 7:21.

We stopped at Baker to fill up.  Then it was on to Salem.  The truck did a magnificent job.  It handled the hills without any strain.  Going down emigrant hill was amazing.  I turned on the exhaust brake mode and just let the truck handle it.  I had to tap the brakes a couple of time to tell the computer to slow down.  I also had to touch the gas a couple of times to tell it to speed up.  All I really did was steer.  The truck did everything else.

We got a little over 9 for the whole trip.  We would have done better except for a strong headwind that started at Pendleton and didn't stop until Troutdale.  That meant that we had to top in The Dalles.  That was OK.  Fuel there is 40 cents cheaper than it is in Salem.

We hit 205 a little after 1.  We'd averaged just less than 60 mph.  Traffic on 205 was a little crowded, but it was running at the speed limit or a little above all the way to I5.  I5 was clogged, so we got off at Stafford and went to Camping World.  They didn't have the struts I wanted, but they did have a 2020 Next Exit.

We got back on the freeway which was clear below Wilsonville.  We stopped at the post office on the way to the club.

The pad at the club is a disaster.  It's overgrown with weeds.  We're going to have a lot of work clearing it off.  Then I'll spray it.  We couldn't get out the Audi because Ellen didn't start the insurance.

After setting up we went to the club to socialize a little.  Then we went to Safeway to get milk.  On the way back we stopped at Wheeler Dealer and got a couple of weed digging tools.  We also stopped at the Chinese place for takeout dinner.

When we got back I got the DirecTV going.  The cable to the DVR was bad.  Ellen has been watching chick flicks ever since.  I spent the evening on Amazon spending money.  I spent almost $1,000.

After a little surfing it was bedtime.

Day 1682

We got up about 7:30, did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  Then I connected the sewer hose to the trailer.  I wasn't going to dump the tanks after fishing.

I made my millionth attempt to fix the latches I put on the screen door.  I think I may have gotten it this time.  We'll have to use it for awhile to see.

We went over to Dan's about 9.  I took his can and went to get gas.  I filled it and also put some in the Bronco.  It's non-ethanol gas.

We left for Holcomb.  It was a beautiful day - not too hot and almost cloudless.  Dan went a long way, all the way to the dam.  We fished in several spots.  Dan caught one fish.  Nobody else caught any.  That was fine with me.  I was having a great time looking at the hills with my new eyes.  I was seeing all kinds of detail that I'd never seen before.

When we got back Ellen and I went to Halfway in the Bronco.  I just wanted to drive it a little before putting it away.  We dropped off some stuff for the thrift store and returned.

We put the Bronco away when we got back.  Then I dumped the tanks.  When that was done it was time to go back to Dan and Patsy's.  We talked for a couple of hours.  Then Patsy fixed the steaks we'd bought for dinner.  She added potatoes and a salad.  It was good.

We talked for awhile longer and then said our goodbyes a little after 8.  When we got back to the park I backed up the truck so it's lined up in the morning.

We went to bed after some surfing.

Day 1681

We got u at 7:30 again.  Then it was pet stuff.  I went to the storage unit to check the battery.  It was toast.  So I removed it and put it in the back of the truck. 

When I was done with that I went back to the trailer and found a place in Baker that had a new battery ($199).  Then we went to Dan and Patsy's.  I put the battery in the car she was taking to Baker City.  Then we went to the Shorthorn for breakfast.When we got done we talked with Dan for about an hour.  Then he left to run the dog and Patsy left for Baker. 

We went to the hardware store to buy stuff to clean the battery cables.  We also stopped at Thorney's for sausage.  Then we went home and I cleaned the cables.  I also spent some time looking through some of the boxes that are in the unit.  I found a couple of more things that I want to take to Texas.

I did some surfing and we had lunch in the trailer.  Eventually we went back to Dan and Patsy's.  We talked with Dan for quite awhile.  I might have napped.  We went and got fishing licenses when Dan left to run the dog.  Lucy is really tired today.  She can barely get up.  So she wasn't going.

We were supposed to go to John's place to eat with them and Dan and Patsy at 5.  Patsy showed up at 4:30.  I took the battery and the dog back to the park.  I put the battery in the Bronco.  It took awhile because the new battery is bigger and the battery holder wouldn't fit.  I had to unbolt some stuff to make it fit.  Then I fed the animals.

I drove the Bronco to John's.  It started right up and ran as well as it ever did.  We had a nice dinner.  After dinner John, Patsy, Dan, Ellen, and John's wife played pool while I surfed.  They played until 10.  Then we all went home.

When we got home I gave the pets their snacks, took a shower, and went to bed.