Day 1894

 I woke up at 8, did the pet stuff, and went back to bed to play games.  A note of explanation about doing the pet stuff and going back to bed.  I'm at the point now where I can't piss much when I first get up even though I need to.  Moving around enables me to piss much better.  So I do the pet stuff first.  That amount of movement allows me to piss better.  I'm not ready to get up though, so I go back to bed and play games.  It also keep Devon from meowing  He's locked in the cat room all night because he pisses on the living room floor if he isn't.

After I got up I had breakfast and did a little surfing.  Then I took the cart I'd got last night to the garage.  The poles on the cart were press fit into the top and bottom shelves.  They didn't hole at all, so I put screws in them to make them hold.  Then I put the drill press on the cart and bolted it down.  The result works pretty good, but it's a little wobbly.  I'll have to be careful moving it.

I had to rearrange a corner of the garage to have a place for the press.  That involved moving a plank stand for the chop saw to the play house.  It's bulky and a little heavy.  The result is really pretty nice.

After that I went back to the house.  I surfed until it was time to leave for the Domain.  It didn't open until 12.  Just as we were going to leave Ellen's asshole started to give her trouble.  She spent the next 45 minutes on the can.  We finally left about 12:30.

Everyone was in a hurry on loop 1.  We went most of the way between 70 and 80.  We stopped at REI on the way.  I wanted to look at bike stuff.  They didn't have anything interesting, but Ellen ended up buying a $100 pair of pants and a $160 sweatshirt.  She paid for it with the $300 gift card that the Oregon state association gave her for doing the website.

From there it was about a mile to the Domain.  It was upper 60's, sunny, with a slight breeze.  We stopped at Steak and Shake first for lunch.  Then we spent the next 3 or so hours walking around.  The chances of transmitting the flu or being infected with it while walking around were so small as to be indistinguishable from 0.  At least 70% of the people were wearing masks.  It's amazing how many people will start believing this shit when it's been blasted to them for a year.

We stopped at the bamboo store.  We were really surprised to see it was still in business.  We bought $200 worth of stuff, most of which we really didn't need.

We drove home and got there about 5.  When we went inside Lucy had shit in her box.  For some unknown reason Ellen let her out.  Lucy immediately walked all over the living room and kitchen spreading shit paw prints.  I kept the cats locked up and opened both doors to air the place out.  Then I started cleaning up.

When Ellen got off the can I sent her outside with Lucy to clean off the dog.  She ended up using the hose.  Then I left the cats locked up for another 15 minutes until the house smelled better.

After dinner we watched TV for hours - recorded shows so we didn't have to watch commercials.  At one point I pressed the wrong button and turned the TV off.  When I turned it back on it wouldn't light up.  It's done this briefly before, but not for long.  This time we couldn't get it to work again.  I hate this TV.  There's no user manual and no manual controls.  I pulled the power plug.  I'll plug it in tomorrow and see if it will work.

Day 1893

 I got up at 8 and did the pet stuff.  then I went back to bed for a while to play games.  That way Devon isn't meowing while I'm playing.  After about half an hour I got up and had breakfast.  It was actually pretty warm out, 62.  So after breakfast I went to the garage.

I adjusted Ellen's seat back a little like she said she wanted.  Then I disconnected the supports on my bike's rack.  I re-positioned them on the seat tube and used the Dremel to lengthen the last screw slot.  All of that work gained me about 3/4 inch of clearance between the rack bag and the seat back.  Hopefully that will make things more comfortable.

The next task was to cut up the second bike box.  It was just as much a pain in the ass as the first one.  It started a really light rain just as I finished.  I went back inside, looked at a couple of videos, and had lunch.

Tomlinson's had a sale on dog supplements that ended today.  So we took Lucy there.  We also stopped at the post office.  The last stop was Waterloo because I wanted to sit somewhere and have a drink.  I ordered an IPA and a pancake.  Ellen had french toast.  It was kind of a short time since lunch, but I wanted to order something besides a drink.

Ellen's asshole was giving her problems when we got home.  So I surfed while she sat on the can.  When she finally got off we went outside on the deck and she cut my hair.  She did a really good job.  It was nice there, about 75 degrees.

It was too late to go riding.  Plus I wanted Ellen to recover a little bit more from her falls.  So we bagged riding.  Instead it was videos.  No dinner because of the stop at Waterloo.

The rest of the evening was videos and game playing.  I lost count of how many chick flicks Ellen watched this afternoon and evening.

Day 1892

 I woke up about 8.  It was cold, under 40.  So I did the pet stuff and went back to bed to play games.  About 9 I got up and had breakfast.  After breakfast I watched videos.  It was sunny, so I knew it would warm up in a while.

About 11 I took some garbage out and brought in the cans.  The recycle was empty, so it was time to break up one of the bike boxes.  They are huge and heavy.  I got a box cutter and cut the boxes into 1.5 by 3 foot sections.  I also cut out the plastic handles and removed 72 staples.   The result filled up about 1/3 of the can.  I left the other box alone because we hadn't tried Ellen's bike yet.

After that I had lunch.  By that time it was 65 and sunny.  So we got out the bikes and Ellen had her first ride.  I gave her some advice and off we went.  Everything went fine until we got to the other end of the development.  When she stopped she fell off the bike.  Fortunately she wasn't moving, but it hurt.

As she was getting out one of the people came out.  She said she'd been thinking about getting an ebike.  She and her husband spend a lot of time traveling in an RV also.  We talked for quite a while.  Then Ellen tried to get back on her bike and fell again.  Truth be told the bike is just on the edge of being too big for her.  It doesn't help that she is fat, out of shape, and can't raise her leg much (so am I).

I had her get on the bike, start out, ride in a circle, top, and get off the bike.  She did that about 4 times and fell off one more time.  She's not stopping the bike completely before trying to put her feet down.  She wouldn't do anything more, so we went home.  She did fine on the ride.  I found out later that her asshole was giving her trouble.

We both decided we wanted electronic thumb throttles.  i got on Amazon and found some.  We both chose new hand grips also.  They'll be needed with the new throttles.  I ordered the stuff and it will be her over the next few days.

I actually fell when I stopped in front of the garage.  I stopped on the incline and the bike rolled backwards while I was getting off.  I'm so fat now that I can barely get my leg over the frame.

Dinner was leftovers.  After dinner was videos.

Day 1891

 I woke up about 8, did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  It was cold last night, almost freezing.  So I surfed and watched videos until it warmed up enough to go to the garage.  It never did get much past 55 all day.

The dealership called and said that the car was ready.  So we took the loaner back and exchanged it.  We stopped at HEB and the donut shop on the way home.  by then it had warmed up enough to work in the garage.  I started by removing the tape on the trailer.  The Frog tape is much nicer to remove than the blue stuff.

I removed the old wrench holder from the peg board and replaced it with the new one I got yesterday.  It's a big improvement.  It also allowed me to move some wrenches that had been hanging into the holder.  That caused me to rearrange the peg board.  I ended up cutting off the end of one of the existing tool holders and repositioning a lot of the stuff on the peg board.  The result is a lot more organized.  It's much easier to find things.  I evne have room to hang more things if I want.

By then it was lunch time.  I had a sandwich.  After that the whole afternoon was videos.  I've completed everything on the todo list.  It will be Sunday before I have anything else to do.  Hopefully the weather will be good enough tomorrow to ride the bikes.

Dinner was a HEB meal that was supposed to be Pad Thai.  It didn't taste like it.  I won't be buying it again.  After dinner was more videos.  we're not even watching the TV any more.

Day 1890

 I got up at 8, did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  We needed to take the Audi in at 10, so we killed time surfing until it was time to leave.  We left the car at the dealership and took the loaner to Bee Cave.  We hadn't been there since we got back.

There wasn't a lot of people there.  It was windy and a little cold, so the first stop was a coffee shop.  Then we went to a sunglasses store.  They didn't have what Ellen wanted, plus they were expensive.  We stopped at a couple of other places, but they didn't have anything either.

We ended up at Dick's.  There was no way we were going to buy anything there, but we figured they might have something to look at.  It turns out they had a bike bag and bottle holders that we liked.  They also had the sunglasses Ellen wanted.  When we left Ellen ordered the sunglasses from REI.  They were significantly cheaper than Amazon.  We also stopped at Barnes & Noble and I bought a ebike magazine.

We stopped at Lowe's for softener salt and then went to a BBQ for lunch.  We had BBQ baked potatoes.  Ellen's was pretty good.  Mine sucked.  At least 3/4 of the "meat" was fat.  Looking at their brisket plates it looks like I got garbage that should have been thrown away.

When we left it felt and sounded like we hit something.  The problem was there was nothing but pavement around us.  The car didn't warn us of anything either.  I drove to the post office.  I looked when I got out and there wasn't any damage.  It was very puzzling.  The only thing we can think of was that I backed up against a low curb.

After the post office and a quick stop at CVS we went home.  By then it was still windy, but a lot warmer.  I went out and put a second coat of paint on the trailer deck.  Then I rearranged some tools to fit the new screwdriver holder I got yesterday.  The new holder is going to work great.

By then it was almost dinner time.  The DVR was acing up again.  I was going to ask for a replacement, but Ellen got back on the web.  It turns out HDMI cables can actually wear out.  Fortunately I had strung an extra cable when we mounted the TV.  Hooking the DirecTV box to that cable fixed our problems.

Dinner was leftovers.  After dinner we watched TV for the first time in several days.  I read my magazine and played games also.

Day 1889

 Cooper woke me up at 7:30 again.  I got up, did the pet stuff, and had breakfast.  It was one of those days where the morning was cold, but it was going to me warm (later it was 73).  So I surfed and watched videos until the temperature got to about 55.  Then I went out to paint the trailer.  It took a while to collect all of the stuff.  Then Ellen and I taped off the trailer.

 It was over 60 when I started painting.  The painting went well.  The paint covered well and it looked great.  The only problem was that I ran out of paint with about 8 square feet or so to go.  So I wrapped up the roller in plastic and we went to Lowe's for more paint.  We also took a faulty can of spray paint back to Home Depot and got a replacement.

After Home Depot we went to the pet store for cat food.  Of course Lucy got a treat.  Then it was the post office and the Italian place for lunch.  Lucy got treats and snacks there, too.

When we got home I went out and finished the trailer.  Of course that didn't take much time.  I'll put on a second coat tomorrow.  I put some salt in the softener and then took a brush, spray cleaner, and a bucket of water to the garbage cans.  The birds had covered the lids with shit.  Since I set packages on the lids I wanted them clean.  It took longer to clean the lids than it took to paint the remainder of the trailer.

Ellen did some more flamingo painting.  They are coming out well.  I watched videos and she went to Hog Heaven.  I had leftovers for dinner.

The whole evening was YouTube videos.  I'm finding a lot of cool stuff.

Day 1888

 Cooper woke me up at 7:30 by standing on my chest and poohahtsooing me.  I got up and fed the cats.  Then I got dressed and had breakfast.  It was 60 degrees, so after breakfast Ellen and I went out to the garage.  I took inventory of the spray paint we had and what we would need to repaint the flamingos.  When that was done we left for Lowe's.

We bought $50 worth of spray paint at Lowe's.  Then we drove down Brodie to give the old vacuum cleaner to Goodwill.  It was too early to go to the post office.  We stopped at HEB for bananas and cereal.  Then we stopped at Tomlinson's for Devon's chicken hearts.  They didn't have any, but Lucy got a treat.

When we got home I started painting the poles by the driveway.  Ellen started painting one of the flamingos.  I had a sandwich for lunch when I was finished with the poles.  Just as I finished Ellen brought in one of the cans of paint we'd bought.  At $8, it's going back.

I went back outside and put a gas prop on the lid of the trailer toolbox.  It works pretty good.  It would have been easy to do except I didn't see that the instructions were printed on the plastic sack it came in.  Also I had to relearn how to use my pop rivet gun.  It has so idiosyncrasies.  

It was warm and sunny when I was finished, so I decided to try out the bike.  I got it out and started up the driveway.  I barely made it because the bike was in high gear.  The throttle took me up it though.  I rode two miles around the neighborhood.  It's going to take some time to learn how to match pedal assist with the gears.  You do get a workout though if you treat it as a bicycle.  I wouldn't have made it half a mile without the motor though.

When I got back I put everything away and watched videos until dinner.  Ellen fixed sloppy joes.  After dinner it was all videos.  DirecTV fixed the receiver, but I'm finding YouTube more entertaining than TV.

Day 1887

 I got up at 8, did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  After a little surfing Ellen and I went out to the garage.  Ellen held the bike while I marked out where the clamps should go on the center post.  She went back to the house.  I installed the clamps.

With the clamps installed I attached the cap to the post and put the post on the rack.  The last thing to do was attach the ramp to the side of the rack.  The rack is now FINISHED.  It cost a total of $260.  That's a little more than I thought, chiefly because the post and it's base cost $50.

I was feeling tired, so I went back to the house.  Ellen greeted me with the news that the TV has gone tits up.  I cycled it's power and it seems to be dead.  I really don't know what to do.  Perhaps we can replace it when/if the inlaws come back.

I did a little surfing and then had lunch.  After lunch I did more surfing.  The weather today was like Seattle.  It was about 70 with a heavy mist that soaked everything.  I decided that as long as it was already wet I'd go out and power wash the trailer deck  It's supposed to be sunny tomorrow.  It could dry lout then and I'd paint it on Tuesday.

I also washed all of the front yard flamingos.  They all need painting.  I also washed the poles in the driveway.  They could use painting, too.  I think we'll be buying a lot of paint tomorrow.

I was hot and sweaty by the time I was done.  It wasn't really warm, but the humidity was 100%.  I watched videos until dinner.  Ellen fixed chicken.

After dinner was more YouTube.  There's a lot of interesting videos on a lot of subjects.

Late in the evening the TV started working again.  Apparently it was the DirecTV box that went wonky.  Ellen didn't check the other inputs, so she blamed the TV.  We messed with the DirecTV box for awhile and it seems to be screwed up.  Ellen is going to try screwing with it over the internet.  Film at 11.

Day 1886

 I woke up at 5 and couldn't get back to sleep.  So I got up and did the pet stuff.  After that I went back to bed.  I still couldn't sleep, but I did dose for about an hour.  Then I played games until I finally got up and had breakfast.

After a little surfing Ellen and I went out to the garage.  I marked out the positions for the front tie downs and re-positioned the markings for the second riser block.  Ellen helped put in the D rings for the front tie downs.  I didn't fully tighten them down.  

I also tried out the rubber straps I'd originally bought as front tie downs on the center post.  They are going to work great.  That saves me the $20 I spent on the straps plus whatever I would have spent on their replacement.  I will need a couple of long bolts.

The vacuum broke yesterday and is not repairable.  Ellen found one at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and has a 20% off coupon.  I need bolts and connectors, so off we went.  We got the bolts and connectors at Lowe's and then the vacuum.  We stopped at the donut shop and Randall's on the way home.  It was lunch time so we went to the 5 Guys by Costco.  It sucked.  The hamburgers were greasy and the fries were inedible.  That's weird, because the one on Brodie is good.

I went back out to the garage when we got home.  I fixed the gate wiring.  Then I installed the front tie downs and the second lifting block on the rack.  That was the last drilling, so I swept the entire garage.  I also unpacked the bike repair stand.  It's a heavy duty piece of work.  By then I was tired and called it quits for the day.  I can finish the rack center post tomorrow.

I went back to the house and watched YouTube videos.  I found a series by an interesting motorcycle guy.  Ellen fixed garlic bread for dinner and added it to the left over salad.

After dinner was more videos.

Day 1885

 I woke up at 7:30.  After some game playing I got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was pretty warm - 56 degrees.  I did a little surfing and then went out to the garage to work.

The first thing I did was put the side bags we got yesterday on the bikes.  Then I put the rear light cable on Ellen's bike.  Then it was time to tackle the trailer.  I had to take the brackets I installed yesterday off to rearrange.  For some reason one of the nuts wouldn't come off the bolt.  It wasn't cross threaded.  I ended up having to break the bolt off with the breaker bar.

I reassembled the brackets and then installed the chock on them.  It was nice to have both of the chocks finished.  I also cut a second lifting block and the center pole off the fence post.  By then it was lunch time.  It was also time to do some prototyping.  

After lunch Ellen came out with me.  She held bikes while I  marked out where the lifting blocks and chock cinch straps needed to go.  Unfortunately the things I bought for the front straps won't work.  They can't be positioned correctly.  I'll need to use tie downs and cinch straps instead.

The ties downs meant I needed to go to Lowe's.  I also needed to pick up two packages at the post office.  The gate opened, but it wouldn't close.  I opened up the battery box.  The ants had eaten the insulation of the positive battery wire.  That killed the battery.  I did manage to get the gate almost closed before it died completely.

We stopped at Battery Plus and got a new battery.  They are closing, so it was 20% off.  I stopped at Lowe's and got the hardware I needed.  Then we stopped at the post office and got the packages.  The final stop was O'Reilley's to get a replacement for the fuse holder the ants chewed.

When we got home I went to fix the gate.  The new battery worked with a temporary fix.  I couldn't do a good fix because I didn't have the right sized wire connectors for the new fuse holder.  Crap.

I went back to the garage and continued on the rack.  I put the chock cinch straps on and mounted one of the lifting blocks.  It was 76 degrees outside and hotter in the garage.  I was tired so I quit there.  I'll need to remeasure the other lifting block tomorrow.

I was sweaty so I took a shower before dinner.  Dinner was leftovers.  After dinner I ordered some more connectors.  Then I spent a lot of time looking for parts to attach the bikes to the post.  I came up with several options.

After that I watched TV.  I was tired.

Day 1884

 It was a pretty good day for everyone.  We got up at 7:30, did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  Then we surfed for a little while before going to Lucy's appointment at 9.  We had to wait a little while, but they took her in pretty quickly.  We sat in the parking lot.  They took her blood and we talked to the vet for a couple of minutes.

The next stop was Tomlinson's so Lucy could get a vet reward.  They gave her a whole dinner bar.  With that done we drove to Lowe's.  I needed to get the post and a few bits of hardware.  The final stops were HEB for bananas and milk and CVS for drugs.  Then it was home.

The vert was supposed to cut Lucy's nails, but they didn't.  So we did it.  Of course it was traumatic.  Afterward Lucy got a nail cutting treat.

By then it was time for lunch.  Lucy got a tribute along with the cats.  After lunch and a little surfing I went out to the garage.  I prototyped out the new chock position.  It worked fine, but I didn't have a good way to mount the chock.  Ellen suggested two more brackets.  It was a great idea, so back to Lowe's.  Lucy stayed home, so she got another dog bin treat when we got back.

After Lowe's we also stopped at Costco.  We needed water and also got a few groceries.  When we got home I went back out to the garage.  I prototyped the new version of the first chock.  It worked great.  So I built it.  By then it was after 5.  I was getting tired and hungry.  I wanted to have a good start tomorrow, so I attached the brackets to the rack.  Then I quit.

I still have quite a lot to do.  I have to finish mounting the second bracket.  Then I have to mount two raising blocks (at least they're cut).  I have to cut and mount the center post.  Finally I have to mount the front and back tie downs.

When that's done I 'm still not finished.  I have to work out how to clamp the frames to the center post.  That's going to take some time.

Ellen fixed some kind of chicken thing for dinner.  It was OK.  After dinner was a collection of surfing, TV, and game playing.

Day 1883

 I woke up at 7, dozed and played games until 8.  Then I got up, did the pet stuff, and had breakfast.  It was raining.  That precluded going out and working on the trailer.  So I watched YouTube instead.  One described a cool bike work stand.  It was on sale for $100 off, so I bought one.  Of course I looked at every other one Amazon had first.

Eventually the rain stopped, but it was cold.  I went out anyway to work on the trailer.  I opened up the junction box and changed around the wires.  Then I buttoned it back up.  I went back in the house for a short time.  Then we left to go to Lowe's.  I wanted to get the braces for the cargo rack.

Before we left I hooked up the truck and we tested the trailer lights.  They worked perfectly

When we got to Lowe's I stopped to ask about the fence post.  I'd lost the email saying when it would be delivered.  They looked it up and said it was scheduled for two days from now.  I bought the bracket and another can of black paint.  It was lunch time so we stopped for Thai food.  We also stopped at the post office on the way home.

When we got home I went out to the garage.  I degreased the brackets and sanded the rough edges.  Then I painted on side of them.  That's all the work I can do until I have the fence post.  When I got back inside the house there was an email saying it was ready for pick up.

I spent the rest of the day on YouTube and shopping.  Ellen fixed tacos for dinner.  After dinner I got tired of surfing and watched TV.  It wasn't recorded, so I played games during the commercials.

We have to get going in the morning.  Lucy has a vet appointment at 9.

Day 1882

 We got up at 8, did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  Ellen had a doctor's appointment at 10:30, so she killed time with Scooter.  I did some shopping.  One of the items I ordered was delivered today.  Amazing.

Traffic was light again.  Maybe the Chinese flu has one good effect.  We were a little early.  Ellen was out by 11:30.  We stopped at the post office and Mickey D's on the way home.  When we got home I backed up the truck to the new trailer.  When I hooked up the lights everything went crazy.  Nothing worked the way it should.  I had no idea what was wrong.

I asked Ellen to look up 4 and 7 pin pinouts while I went to the garage to work on the cargo rack.  That didn't go any better.  It turns out that the bikes are too long to fit on the rack.  I don't know how I missed it.

I had Ellen come out to help me by holding the bike.  Eventually the two of us came up with several ideas to solve the problem.  None of them worked.  I'm going to have to relocate the chocks by using brackets.  I'll also have to raise them by mounting them on spare sections of the center post.  Crap.  I'll get the brackets tomorrow, but I won't be able to do anything else until Lowe's gets me the post.

I was discouraged when I was finished.  I had high hopes of accomplishing quite a bit today.  Until it was nothing but backward steps.  When I got back in the house I looked over the pinouts Ellen found.  It turns out that the color code used by the 4 pin trailer connector is not the same as the color code used by the 7 pin truck connector.  Of the four wires in the box three are connected wrong.  I wouold have gone out to fix it, but it was raining.

I spent the rest of the day and evening surfing, shopping, and game playing.  Ellen fixed chicken for dinner and watched chick flicks.  She doesn't really watch them, she plays with scooter while they are on the TV.  Sometimes she "watches" the same show more than once.

Day 1881

 We got up at 8, did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  Ellen's surgery was at 9:30, so we killed a little time and then left.  We were still there about 15 minutes early.  Because it was Buckwheat's birthday traffic was very light and moving at 70+.

I left Ellen and the parking lot and went over to the HEB parking.  I played games and read.  That got boring, so I took Lucy to the Tomlinson's in the same strip mall.  She was pleasantly surprised and got a duck foot.

Ellen was done a little before noon.  I stopped at the post office on the way home even though it was a holiday.  We had one beg letter from Saturday.

I put Ellen to bed when we got home and fixed a sandwich for lunch.  Then I went out to install the junction box on the trailer.  The install went well all in all.  The Klein wire stripper and crimping tools worked great.  I wish I'd bought them years ago.

After that I went back to the house to read.  I may or may not have fallen asleep.  By 3:30 both Ellen and I were surfing.  At 4 a package showed up.  It was the front tire clamps for the cargo rack.  I couldn't resist going to the garage to try them out.  They work perfectly.  I'll install them tomorrow.

Dinner was a frozen dinner.  After dinner I started shopping on Amazon.  I looked through their bargain department and also looked for a second bag to install on one side of the rack.  I found several candidates.  I also looked for another way to hold water bottles.  I've got a possible solution if I decided to do it.

That was pretty much it for the evening except for some more game playing.

Day 1880

 I woke up a little after 7 today.  I played games for a while and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was another cold morning, so I surfed for a while and looked for a receiver on Amazon.  I found one at Best Buy.  They only had one and it was the only one in Austin.

The garbage was getting high, so I took it out.  To my surprise there was a box at the gate.  I was even more surprised to find that it had the bicycle racks in it.  They weren't due for another week.  Best Buy was going to open in half an hour, so I just put them in the garage and we left.

We got the receiver at Best Buy and then stopped at Tomlinson's for dog food.  I think that was three stops in three day.  Lucy liked it.  She liked having lunch at the Italian place even more.  We also stopped at HEB for some needed groceries.  Then we went home.

We unloaded the car and then I went out to the garage.  I replaced the old receiver with the new one.  The new one works great.  The hardest part of the process was climbing into the attic to get the old box and put the new one away.  I packed up the old receiver in its box.  I'll take it to Goodwill.

I had music while I installed the racks on the bikes.  The process went smoothly.  I did use the Dremel to open up the slots on the front braces.  I might not have needed to, but it made the installation a little easier.

After that it was back to the house for TV.  Dinner was leftovers from the Italian place.  After dinner was more TV.  Two more boxes arrived.  One was a ramp for the porch steps.  The other was a junction box for the trailer.

Ellen put the ramp on the steps.  For some reason Lucy won't use it.  I think we'll have to show her how.

Day 1879

 I woke up at 8 today, did the pet stuff, and then went back to bed for an hour.  Then it was get up and have breakfast.

It was cold again this morning, so I spent some time surfing.  I just cruised through YouTube again.  I'm ignoring the outside world.  It warmed up pretty quickly, so I went out to the garage.  I started by installing the mirror on Ellen's bike.  It looks pretty nice.  Then I moved on to hooking up the new FM antenna.  That didn't go so well.  I ended up climbing all over the attic looking for a good place to put i.  I ended up with one that wasn't perfect, but "pretty good".  

I installed the tail light extension cord on my bike.  It works fine

Then I got to work installing the center post base on the cargo carrier.  I got out the drill press and drilled a hole in it to mount the post.  That press is VERY heavy.  Then I attached the base to the carrier.  I had to get out Dad's old vise to crush down the u-bolts.  I also had to use the Dremel to cut a couple of links in the expanded metal.  The result looks very sturdy.

It was just after noon, so I didn't want to stop for lunch.  I took all the stuff out to the trailer instead.  Some of the bolts were too long to work, so I cut all eight bolts (it looks better) and installed them on the trailer.  By that time it was after 1 and time to eat.

I had a sandwich for lunch, relaxed a little, and then went out to the finish the job.  Tightening the bolts didn't go well.  My 1/2 in wrench didn't fit the nuts on the "5/8" bolts very well.  Finally I wised up and got a 13mm wrench.  It fit perfectly.  The assholes that wrote the instructions didn't give the right bolt size.

The rest of the install went well except for some problems installing the pins on the Clevis pins.  They were this weird design that required two pliers to install.  When I was done the ramp wouldn't stay down.  I had to mess with the springs (as per instructions) to get it to work right.  In the end it works fine, but you have to hold it when lifting or it will band into the back of the trailer when it goes upright.

The last thing I did was paint a bunch of rusted spots on the ramp.  Essentially everywhere they welded the expanded metal it was rusted.

The antenna wasn't working again.  I tried to fix it, but no luck.  I'll probably buy a tuner.

Ellen fixed ham and mac and cheese for dinner.  After dinner I ordered a few minor bike and trailer things.  Then I watched bike videos for the rest of the evening.  One had a neat mode to our bikes that I'll do to Ellen's if she finds it hard to steer it

Day 1878

 I woke up at 8, played games for a little while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was a little cold,so I surfed for a while waiting for it to warm up.  I've totally abandoned reading about current events.  It's too upsetting.  Instead I watch YouTube videos about anything that catches my eye.

Eventually it warmed up enough for me to work in the garage.  I took the new bicycle seats out there and installed them on the bikes.  The install went well and we both like the results.  Pretty soon we'll have to ride them.  When Ellen came out to fit her seat we spent some time with the bags and bike locks.  The locks just barely fit in the bag's side pocket.  The other side pocket easily holds the cable.  That leaves the center section for whatever.

I felt like doing more, so I got out the Gorilla lift for the trailer.  I laid out the hole positions and started drilling.  The 1/2 inch bit I was using lasted one hole.  I tried several others.  None of them would drill through the trailer rail even if I drilled 3/8 pilot holes.  I gave up and just drilled the pilot holes.  Then I put everything away.

Lunch was leftover pizza.  After that we went to Home Depot, the post office, and Tomlinson's.  I got a $20 drill bit for the trailer and a 3.5 inch bolt for the cargo rack.  

When we got home I couldn't resist trying out the new bit.  It drilled the 7 remaining holes with no problem.  It's good to have the right tools.  It was too late to do anything else, so finishing the lift will have to wait until tomorrow.  It shouldn't be too hard, but there is 2 more holes to drill.

We had tacos for dinner.  After dinner I spent the whole evening reading bike forums and shopping.  It was fun, maybe more fun than riding the bikes.  We'll see.

Day 1877

 I got up at 7, dozed until 8, fed the pets, played games, and finally got up about 9:15.  Then it was breakfast.  After that and a little surfing I went out to the garage.  It was warm enough that I didn't really need my sweatshirt.

The first job was installing the new DVD player.  I got it all hooked up.  That's when I discovered that it wouldn't power on.  I put it back in the box.  Then I drilled holes in each leg of the chocks.  When I bolted them in the new bolts mad the chocks a lot more stable.

I couldn't do any more on the rack without some more hardware.  So I mounted the storage box on the trailer.  That went really well.  The new box looks nice and fits really well.

When I was finished we went to Best Buy to return the DVD player.  They didn't have another one.  Target had the same player, so we bought on there.  Ellen read some reports on it.  Some people claimed it was hard to start.

We were down to a quarter tank, so I drove to the Standard station on Brodie.  After filling up we went to the donut place on Brodie.  I was actually going to Evangeline's next door.  We had the gator bites appetizer.  It was great.  Ellen had the jambalaya and I had the gumbo.  They were both good, but different from Cypress.  They had more spice and less thickener.

The last stop was Tomlinson's.  I felt bad that Lucy was at home.  We bought cat food, litter, and dog supplements.   I got duck feet and yogurt for Lucy.

I went back out to the garage.  I put weather stripping on the trailer box.  I also moved some sockets from the set I bought at Amazon to the socket holders I bought a while back.  I still need a few, mainly metric deep sockets.  I also went out to lubricate the gate.  It needed it.  The recycle was empty, so I took out the boxes that hadn't fit.  The can was 1/3 full by the time I was finished.

I made a cold cuts sandwich for dinner from the snack tray we'd bought at HEB and the croissants from Costco.  It was good.  After dinner we watched TV.  I was tired of the computer.  About 9 three large boxes showed up at the gate.  They contained the bike seats, locks, and helmets.  We're almost fully equipped now and I've got a lot more cardboard for the recycle.

We did a little more surfing and watched some more TV until bedtime

Day 1876

 I got up today at 8 and played games for awhile.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.  It was cold again this morning, so after that I surfed.  About 10 it got warm enough that I went to the garage to work on the cargo rack.

The work started out badly.  The radio wouldn't work.  The antenna had fallen down and apparently broke.  I decided to us the CD player instead.  It was broken, too.  So no music.

I bolted the two chocks to the rack.  That took awhile due to hardware sorting and positioning the chocks (Hah).  When I put one of the bikes on the result it didn't fit.  The chocks were too close together.  Their legs needed to be cut to move them apart.

I took everything apart, cut the legs, and reassembled them.  By then it was past lunch time and I wanted to do errands.  I left drilling four new hols in the chocks and putting bolts in them for tomorrow.

During lunch searched for CD players and antennas.  Amazon only carries expensive CD players any more.  I decided to use a DVD play.  Most don't have analog audio out which I need for the receiver in the garage.  Ellen found one at Best Buy and ordered it for "one hour pick up".  Best buy doesn't have antennas, that will have to come from Amazon.

We stopped at the post office.  It still hadn't been an hour, so we went to Costco.  It was well past an hour when we got to Best Buy.  They didn't have the order ready.  The clerk had the player in his hands, but "the computer was behind".  We hung around Best Buy for almost half an hour.  The shelves are pretty bare.  Finally we went back.  The order was ready, but we didn't get a notification.  What a cluster fuck.

We stopped at HEB on the way home for some needed groceries.  We got home after 5, just in time to feed the pets and start dinner.  There was a package waiting for us.  It contained the box for the trailer.

Dinner was HEB pizza.  After dinner was more surfing.  I'm continuing to look for accessories.  Two more packages arrived later.  One had the rear rack bags in it.  The other had some plastic card protectors for Ellen.

The rest of the evening was surfing.

Day 1875

 I woke up at 8 today, played a few games, then got up for breakfast and pet stuff.  Then it was surfing.  It was pretty cold last night with a layer of frost on the deck this morning.

About 10 we both went to the apartment to assemble the second bike.  The assembly went better then the first.  We knew what we were doing and the bike didn't have any problems with the brake or aligning the fork.  We got done in about an hour and I have.  I guess this will be my bike, because I installed the mirror I bought on it.

When we were done we went back to the house.  Ellen looked for a mirror for her bike and I watched bike videos.  I also ran into a set of videos on Chinese factory work.  Their jobs aer brutal, repetitive, and mindless.

After lunch I went back outside.  It was only 50, but that was perfect for hauling rock.  I cleaned out the area that became part of the driveway when John and I  moved the rocks to park the trailer.  I also added a couple to make it look better.  They are big and heavy.  Then I hauled 3 loads of gravel to cover the area.  I'm glad it's done.  It's been bugging me since we moved the rocks.

After that I was tired and my back hurt.  I went back to surfing.

Ellen fixed waffles and sausage for dinner.  After dinner was more videos until it was time for bed.

Day 1874

 It was cold again this morning.  I woke up at 8 and played games for about an hour.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.  A bike was to be delivered today, so all I could do was sit at home.  That as OK, there was still snow on the ground and it was icy.

I spent all of the morning surfing, mainly on bike and truck websites.  I don't go to the news ones, they just piss me off.  FedEx kept sending me text notifications of the bike deliveries - one today and one tomorrow.

The FedEx guy showed up about 2.  He had both bikes, a good surprise.  I had him deliver them to the garage door.  He was in shape.  The boxes were big, bulky, and weighed 80 to 90 lbs apiece.  He moved them around like they weighed nothing.  It made me feel old.

I dragged one box to the living room and the other to the garage.  Then I started to work on the one in the living room.  It as way too cold to work in the garage.  I took the tablet so I could watch the assembly video and follow along.  I needed Ellen to lift the bike out of the box.  She decided to stick around for the whole assembly.

The build went OK except for a couple of relatively minor hiccups.   They just cost time.  The whole thing took about 2 hours.  The bike worked when we were done.  At least it turned on and the rear wheel turns when you apply the throttle.  It's way too cold to test ride it.  I put that bike in the kitchen and dragged the second bike inside.  I cut open the box and stopped there.   T hat was enough bicycle assembly for the day.

We went back inside and surfed until dinner time.  Ellen fixed chicken and french fries.  After dinner we spent  a couple of hours deciding on racks and rack bags.  Ellen liked my choices, so I ordered two of each.

That took most of the evening.   The rest was some more game playing and surfing.

Day 1873

 I woke up at 8, but there was no point in getting up.  It was 32 degrees and raining.  So I played games for about an hour.  By the time pet stuff and breakfast were done it was snowing.  It never got above 33 the whole day.

It snowed for most of the day.  We got about 2.5  inches total.  Some of it was still on the ground in the evening.  That meant no going anywhere.  The cats had fun sitting in the windows watching the smow though.  It actually came down fairly steady - a real snow storm.

I spent the day shopping for bike things instead.  The items were helmets, bike locks, and deciding on a box for the trailer.  I spent a lot of time researching.  Eventually I made purchases.  I'm a little concerned about the seat choice.  It's something that is better purchased in person.  Unfortunately Austin bike shops are owned by idiots.

So far I've spent about $750 on bike stuff.  I still have to buy racks, bags, and tire liners.  Thats probably another $400.

I also played a lot of games on my tablet.  There's only so much of this research/shopping stuff that I can stand at one time.

FedEx tested me saying the bikes will be here tomorrow.  The website has been saying Tuesday (it's Sunday).  It still does.  Who knows.

That was pretty much the whole day.

Day 1872

 A sad day.  John and Melissa left about 9.  Hopefully they will be back in March.  We'll see.

It was cold in the morning.  There was ice on the Audi when we woke up.  We stayed in about 2 hours after they left.  I spent the time looking for bike shops in Austin.  There are quite a few, but  not many near us.  Then we went out to visit the stores I found.  The closest one in Circle C is Covid crazy.  Only one person in the store at a time.  I won't ever patronize them.

The first store was on Manchaca.  It was closed with a sign saying online only because of Covid.  Idiots.  The second one was on Lamar.  It was open, but  they wouldn't let you in without an appointment.  I see the pattern.  Bike shops, at least in Austin, have their heads up their  asses.  Why would I go to one when Amazon is available?  I won't be going to any others.

There was an urgent care place next to the bike shop.  Ellen insisted I go in there to have my finger looked at.  I waited a short while and then saw a doctor.  He said it wasn't serious.  He put some glue on it, bandaged it, and told me to keep the bandage dry and take it off in two days.

After that we gave up and headed for home.  We stopped at the dog store on Barton Springs just so Lucy could get a treat.  Then we stopped at the Cajun place for a very late lunch.  The last stop was the pet store next to Fireman's for dog food and another dog treat.

When we got home I spent the rest of the evening researching bike locks.  I have several good candidates and just have to make a decision.

Day 1871

 I got up at 8, played games for a while, and then got up to do the pet stuff and have breakfast.  After that it was bike videos.  I'm getting addicted to them.  It sure beats all the political stuff on the web.  It was too cold to do anything else.

Melissa came over so she and Ellen could make another batch of Japanese potato chips.  I took that opportunity to run some errands.  I went to Harbor Freight and bought a front jack for the trailer.  The one that comes with it sucks.  I also went to the post office and CVS to buy Ellen some diapers.  I brought home some kolaches from the Taco and Donut Palace for lunch.

When I got home it was still a little cold.  I went inside and we all ate lunch together.  After lunch John and Melissa went to HEB.  I went out to install the jack.

Everything started out well until I used my knife to cut a zip tie in the packaging.  The knife slipped and I cut two fingers on my left hand.  One was a small cut.  The other was a pretty big slice.  It bled profusely.  It also hurt.  I had Ellen help me get bandaged up.  I had to bandage the one finger twice because the first bandage was immediately soaked in blood and leaking.

When I got bandaged I went back out to finish the job.  Interesting note: a drop of blood landed on the trailer rail.  It ate through the paint immediately.  John came back and supervised.  He actually made a suggestion that made the job a lot easier.  When I was finished I gave him the old jack for his trailer.

John went out to walk the dog and came back with three packages.  They had bicycle things.  He took the Gorilla lift to the garage because it was so heavy.  It may be too cold to install it for a while.

I went back in the house and started looking for a box for the trailer.  Almost all of them were too big.  The three I found were too flimsy according to the reviews.  CRAP.  That took until dinner.  Drumsticks for everyone and Rudy's for me.

After dinner we talked.  It's the last dinner we will have together.  We adjourned at 8.

I went back to looking for a trailer box.  I tried looking for ATV boxes and found a couple that might do.  I'll see about ordering one tomorrow.

Day 1870

 I woke up at 8, did a little game playing and then got up.  After pet stuff and breakfast it was a little surfing.  Then I went out and worked on the cargo tray.  I cut a length of threaded rod and tried to install it.

The install did not go as planned.  I wanted to run the rod the length of the tray.  Unfortunately that wouldn't work because there wasn't enough room between the main bar and the tray deck.  Time for plan B.  John and come out to watch/help.  I decided to use half length rods and mount them using angle brackets.  John thought that would still give the tray more strength.

By then it was about 10 and time to pick up the trailer.  For some reason neither Ellen or Melissa wanted to go.  I turns out that Manor is only a couple of miles from the club.  The trailer place was about 4 miles to the east of town.  Unfortunately neither the truck navigation or John's Google gave us good directions.  We made it eventually though.

The trailer is really well built.  I'm really impressed.  The only fly in the ointment was the deck is unfinished.  I was planning on painting it anyway.  Of course the truck didn't even know the trailer was there on the way home.

I had a lot of trouble trying to park the trailer.  First, I'm not good at it.  Second, some of the big rocks on the far side of the road were in the way.  John and I moved them enough that I got the trailer partially into it's parking space.  It was lunch time so I gave up and just unhooked.

After lunch I went back out.  I used the grinder to round off some sharp corners on the trailer.  Then I repainted them.  Then I went to the garage and installed the brackets and rods in the cargo tray.  Finally I cleaned up and put the tools away.

I went back to the house and surfed with everyone else.  John was talking about a backup camera for his van.  I found one on Amazon that replaces his rearview mirror.  It's only $100.

We had sausage and mac and cheese for dinner.  After dinner we talked for some time.  Eventually it devolved into everyone surfing.  John and Melissa left at 8.  Afterwards we watched TV until bedtime.

Day 1869

 Today started off bad and got worse.  I got up about 8, played games until 9, and then did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  That was all OK.  Then it went south.

I logged on to read my email.  FedEx says it will deliver the bikes on Monday.  That's when Ellen is having her surgery.  John and Melissa will leave on Saturday for Isaac's birthday.  SHIT.  I tried to use FedEx's website to delay the delivery, but "their system is down".  SHIT again.

I left to get the cargo tray at Harbor Freight.  When I got there they couldn't find one even though their computer system said they had two.  I stood cooling my heels quite awhile before they came up with one.  It was fairly heavy, but they wouldn't let me use a hand truck to take it to the truck.  I had to park by the entrance and then load it by hand.  SHIT again.

I went to the post office on the way home.  I got into a conversation with someone.  That's when I learned the Democrats had stolen the Georgia Senate seats.  That gives them a majority.  The next two years will suck.  SHIT again.

I stopped at Home Depot and Lowe's to scope out galvanized pipe for the support for the cargo tray.  The stuff is hideously expensive. $13 just for the base, $4 for a 3 inch nipple.  SHIT again.

When I got home John helped me put together the cargo tray.  At least that went well.  After lunch we went to Tractor Supply to get a bunch of nuts and bolts to add stuff to the tray.  I bought 2 lbs of fasteners for $8.  It would have cost me more than $50 at Home Depot or Lowe's.  At least that was a win.

When we got home I didn't feel like working anymore so I went in to search Amazon for pipe.  While I was doing that the trailer place called.  The trailer is ready.  Apparently they'd lost my phone number.  At least that's the story.  I also found some metal railing parts on Amazon to use as a support on the cargo tray.  They'll be nicer than pipe and cost much less.  At least that was two wins for the day.

We went to Rudy's for dinner.  I bought enough that we'll have some more the next couple of days.  We stopped at Michael's on the way home so Melissa could get some painting stuff.  I got cat food while she was doing that.

When we got home we talked until 9, past the usual 8.  I ordered the parts from Amazon.  We decided that all of us would go to Manor to pick up the trailer tomorrow.  We may also go to another BBQ place.

Day 1868

 I got up at 8, but played games until after 9.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.  After that I went back to looking at bicycle things.  After looking for a couple of hours at different options I had a plan.

I'm going to use the Harbor Freight cargo carrier as a base.  I'm also going to use 4 of their motorcycle wheel chocks to hold the wheels.  I'll use some bicycle straps from Amazon to hold the wheels to the chocks.  I'll use a metal pipe and a base plate to make a vertical post.  Finally, I'll use bicycle clamps from Amazon to hold the frame to the post.  If necessary I'll loop a ratchet strap from the bumper to the post to stabilize it.

I'd just finished deciding on that when John and Melissa showed up.  We immediately left for the olive oil place.  When we got there we ate lunch.  It was pretty good, but not great.  Then we did some shopping in the store.  They got oil and wine.  We got oil, maple syrup, and a Texas map puzzle to replace the one the cats destroyed.  We stopped at HEB for bread on the way home.

When we got home Melissa painted, John read, Ellen played scooter, and I did more bicycle related surfing.  I got an email saying the bicycles had "left the facility".  I'm glad they actually had them in stock.  I did an order of a few of the bicycle things that I wanted.  There's a lot more I need to order but I want to wait until I have the bikes.

John and Melissa came for dinner.  We had BLT's using the bacon from Halfway and the bread (dipped in olive oil) from HEB.  After dinner we talked until it was dog treat time.

After dinner I did a little more bicycle surfing.  I pretty much know what I want to buy.  Now I'm just watching videos I find that are interesting.

Day 1867

 I got up at 8, but played games for about an hour.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.  When breakfast was done I ordered the bikes.  I didn't get the $200 or $100 off coupons from the web.  I did get $50 off from Cliffy's referral.  The sales tax was over $250.

I spent the rest of the morning looking for motorcycle racks that I could use as bike racks.  No luck.  I did get an idea to use a cargo platform and convert it.  I was just beginning to investigate that when John and Melissa came over for lunch.  It was leftovers, we had a lot.

After lunch the wives went grocery shopping.  John went out on the deck to read and I continued on my bike rack quest.  I settled on a cargo platform from Harbor Freight for $100.  I figure I'll need $100 to $150 more in parts.  That's a lot better than $560 and I can get it tomorrow.

Dinner was New York strip steak from Central Market.  It was great.  We talked for hours before and after dinner.  For once the phones were put away.

They left at 8 again.  I wrote a long email to John Miller about my ebike decision.  Then I went back to locating parts for the bike rack build.

Day 1866

 I got up at 8 - Lucy needed to go outside.  I did the pet stuff and then had breakfast.  It was a little cold out, so I started to continue my search for ebike accessories  I managed to locate some videos and a RadPower forum that gave me a lot of options.  This whole thing is going to cost a lot of money.

About noon John and Melissa came over.  We talked for a little while.  Then I suggested we go to the winery that Bella wanted to take them.  It wasn't far away - Driftwood.  When we got there there was an impressive restaurant.  We ate there because we couldn't find the winery.

It turns out the winery was next door.  It's building is smaller and the sign is hard to see.  The food at the restaurant was great though, so it was a good mistake.  After that we went to the winery and they bought a bottle of wine.  It's good we ate where we did, the winery had a limited menu.

Apparently there's quite a story.  The property was purchased jointly by two friends.  Somehow there was a falling out (probably family members).  Now the restaurant owners don't like the winery owners.  There's signs at the restaurant saying no winery parking or consumption of their wine.

When we were finished we went home.  John and Melissa went to the apartment so Melissa could paint.  We went home and surfed.  I did more accessory searching.  John and Melissa came over about 5:30.  No one wanted to eat, so we talked for awhile.  Eventually it was really quiet because everyone was surfing.

They went home at the customary 8.  I finished surfing.  I'm worried about getting a bike rack.  There are very few that will handle ebikes at the back of a 5th wheel.  The best is back ordered until the end of March.  Crap.

I finished my searching about bedtime.  I'll order the bikes tomorrow.

Day 1865

 I got up about 8:30. After pet stuff and breakfast I went out to the garage to work on the Ranger.  I took apart the back panel.  It didn't allow access to the side filters.  I put it back together and tried to remove the back of the front seat.  I took out four bolts that I thought were holding it.  It turned out it was also bolted to the back of the cab.  The bolts are probably accessed through the panel I just reattached.  I put everything together again in disgust.

As I was checking through the manual for other things to do I ran across the instructions for the side filters.  They are nothing more than the fabric covers glued to the cab.  All I have to do is wash them.  Crap.  The only other things to do require the tool I have on order.

I did get the rubber cover on the battery terminal.  It took 5 minutes.  I also checked the battery.  It's at full charge, so the battery disconnect works.

Ellen came out and we checked what size bike she can ride.  The ones I want to buy are too big.  They're too big for me actually also.  So I'm going to buy my second choice even though it's motor is less powerful.  I need to buy them in the next three days to get a $200 discount.

With that decision made I spent the rest of the day looking at accessories for the bikes.  John and Melissa got back from Waco about 4.  We talked until dinner.  Ellen fixed lamb chops on the Traeger.

After dinner we talked until almost 9.  Then they went home.  I played games and surfed for the rest of the evening.  Ellen watched a chick flick.

Day 1864

 We got up about 8, did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  Lucy shit her bed last night, so that had to be cleaned up.  As soon as all of that was done I went over to the apartment and got the boxes to put the Christmas tree, lights, and ornaments in.

Ellen started on that job while I went outside to fix the Traeger.  I started by looking for the missing bolt.  No luck.  Then I took the insides of the grill out because I thought I'd have to take the pellet feed apart.  They were filthy.  It took a while, but I found a bolt to replace the missing bolt.  That's when things went to shit.

Melissa came out to say she'd left the front door open and both cats had gotten out.  I dropped everything and went out to look.  I found Cooper almost right away.  He hadn't gone very far and didn't try to run away when I found him.  No sign of Devon.

All four of us looked for hours, walking all over the property and calling his name.  I think everyone walked the entire property at least twice.  About 2 I gave up and went back to fixing the Traeger.  At that point I thought Devon was coyote food.  I sifted through all of the pellets to make sure that the bolt wasn't in the hopper  There was no need to take apart the feed because it was enclosed.  Then I spent quite a while cleaning the grill and the inside.

I was just starting to put things away.  I was walking back from the well house when Melissa said Devon had been inside the house the whole day.  Apparently he has a new hiding place we're not aware of.  That was really good news.

We all met at the house.  We told John and Melissa that we'd take them to a very late lunch because they worked so hard trying to find Devon.  We went to the restaurant in Belterra.  The assholes in Austin have closed every restaurant in Austin until the 3rd.

When we got home Melissa played games while the rest of us surfed.  After a while she went to the apartment to paint.  Ellen watched chick flicks on her computer while John and I watched Roadkill for hours.

About 9:30 John went home I surfed for thee rest of the evening.