Day 2651

 I woke up at 7:30 and played games for a while.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  As soon as breakfast was over I went outside to haul rock.  Ellen came out to help as I was hauling the first load of rock up to the back yard.

We placed that rock and continued the process.  Finding appropriate rocks was getting pretty hard.  I ended up having to dig them out of the ground based on the small part that wasn't buried.  This was a hit or miss proposition.  A lot of "candidates" turned out to be too small or broke when I dug them out.  We didn't find anymore large rocks like we did yesterday.

The process was speed-ed up by the fact that the portion of the back fence that was left already had rocks in several places.  We finished up in about an hour.  I was still hot and tired.  Ellen stapled some more chicken wire while I put things away and cleaned up a mess I'd made in the well house.  Then she went to the club and I went inside for surfing and a shower.

When Ellen got back we went out to do errands.  We dropped off stuff at Goodwill and then cashed a check at Wells Cargo.  We stopped at the sandwich place next door.  They have pink stuff.  Then it was the post office and Home Depot to replace the wire I'd used on the fence.  

I was basking in the glow of having the yard fence complete.  It was amazing the a week ago we were waiting for the concrete on the chain link fence posts to harden.  That includes getting Hooch's dog.

We both surfed when we got home.  When Ellen left for the club I went out to look at a broken branch in the front and one in the back that need to be cut down.  NOPE.  It turns out there are three in the front as well as a whole tree that need to be cut up and taken away.  It will require some time and the Ranger.  So much for being done with the freezing rain cleanup.

Dinner was leftovers.  After dinner was videos.

Day 2650

 I woke up at 7:30 and played games for about an hour.  After that it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast is was out to haul rock.  Ellen came out shortly after to help.

I did all of the digging for rocks in the area behind the yard.  It mostly involved prospecting for suitable rocks with the pick.  A lot of them were medium size rocks.  About 10 or so were big - 30 to 50 lbs or more.  It took the two of us to load the bigger ones on the cart.

We took all of the big ones over to the fence with the large gate.  We managed to fill up over two panels with them.  It looks impressive.  The smaller rocks were used to fill in the back fence.  We filled in all but two panels of it.  That leaves us with a little over two panels to go.

We'd probably be completely done except for the extra time it takes to find rocks.  Digging out the big rocks takes a lot of time and effort.  I'm going to try looking behind the pink building tomorrow.  There's probably not more than two or three loads there, but it should be easy to fill up the cart.  Ellen won't be helping because of her therapy.

We worked until noon, probably a little less than 3 hours.  Of course we were hot, sweaty, and very tired when we quit.  When I say "very tired" I mean I didn't have the energy to do even one more load.  We went inside and surfed for a while to recover.  Then it was lunch followed by showers.

We got a call from the breeder.  Minnie has Parvo.  She's on IV and antibiotics.  Fortunately they seem to be working.  The breeder wanted us to take her ASAP.  We called the vet.  She said no sooner than 8 weeks (Minnie is 6 weeks, 3 days old).  Apparently Minnie will be still recovering until then.  Besides, we still haven't finished the yard or set up the house.  We called the breeder back and said we'd pick her up in two weeks.

We spent the rest of the day on surfing, videos, and a nap (for me).  Ellen fixed thin steaks for dinner.  They were really good.

Day 2649

 I woke up about 8:15, played games for about a hour, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After a short surfing session I went out to work.

I moved some leftover concrete blocks over to the concrete slab by the former swimming pool.  Then I showed Ellen how to attach the fencing to the new line I put up.  While she was doing that I started collecting rocks and putting them against the fence.  When Ellen finished with the fencing she came over to help.  The finished fencing looks great.

The process of installing the rock was to go behind the back fence, collect a load of rocks, bring them back inside the yard, and place them along the bottom of the fence.  The hardest part was hauling the rock.  It's harder than hauling gravel because the surfaces are so uneven.  Digging the rocks out with a pick wasn't easy either.

Some of the rocks were too heavy to lift into the cart.  I would stand the cart on end,place the rock against it, and then push it into the cart as Ellen tipped the cart.  That worked pretty well.  We hauled and placed rocks for about 2 hours.  When we were finished we'd done about 1/3 of what needs to be done.  We were also very tired and soaked with sweat.

It was almost 1 when we finished.  We hauled the extra fencing behind the well house.  I also took a load of tools to the garage and put them away.  After that we surfed for a while and had lunch.  Then we took showers.  I really needed one, I stunk.

After the showers Ellen cut my hair.  I really needed that, too.  The I walked around the place looking for places to get rocks.  We used up all of the easy places behind the yard today.  Unfortunately there aren't any better places.  This means tomorrow will be harder and slower.  We'll have to go to more difficult places behind the yard to find rocks.  The distance we need to haul them will get longer, too.

A little later we went to HEB.  When we got home it was leftovers for dinner.  After dinner it was videos, mainly dog training videos.  We decided to get some baby gates to block off where the dog can go.

Day 2648

 I woke up at 6 and by 6:15 I was driving Hooch to the airport.  I got him there in half an hour.  Then I drove back home, did the pet stuff, and had breakfast.  It was cold, 44, so after that I surfed for a while.

Ellen had a first aid course at the club in the morning.  When she left for that I left for CVS to get some pills.  When I got home it had warmed up a little bit, so I started some work.

I cut some dead branches that had broken off and stuck in a tree by the garage.  We'd missed them before.  Then I did the same thing with some in the back yard.  The ones in the back yard were pretty large.  Then it was on to fixing the gap in the large gate.  I used a 4x4 attached to the gate post with plumber's tape.

The last job was stringing a new cable at the top of the fence by the house.  That way Ellen can attach the sagging fencing to it.  All of the items took about 2 hours.  That's as much work as I wanted to put in today.

Ellen came home about the time I was finished.  We ate lunch and then surfed and/or watched videos.  I got bored about 3:30, so we left to get cat food.  We also stopped at the pizza place next door to order dinner.

When we got home I watched 1.5 movies.  The second one was 2.5 hours long and I only got an hour in before I timed out on movie watching.

The rest of the evening was videos.

We figured out today that the puppy will be ready in about 3 weeks.  That's how long we have to collect and plant a lot of rocks.

Day 2647

 I woke up a little after 8 and got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  Hooch had cereal and coffee.  We talked for a little while and put the dog cover on the car seat.  Then we left for Hondo.

The trip over there was OK except for a minor traffic jam in Boerne.  We drove through beautiful downtown Bandera just so I could see it.  We didn't stop though.  Then it was on to Hondo.  We ate at the BBQ place and also bought enough for dinner.

After lunch we drove though downtown Hondo and then went to the breeder.  She let out the puppies in Hooch's group and we walked quite a ways watching them exercise.  When we got back to the house Hooch went inside to do business.  We stayed outside to be with Minnie.

Minnie is pretty sick. They say it's a reaction to a vaccination.  She wasn't very active.  She's definitely the smallest of the litter.  I'd be happy with that if I wasn't concerned it's because she is sick and not eating.  She spent most of the time sleeping in my arms.

We left Hondo a little after 2.  The trip was OK except for the traffic jams.  There was one in Boerne that wasn't too long.  There was a much longer one in Bulverde, and one almost at long in Dripping Springs.  I have no idea why there was so much eastbound traffic between Dripping and home.  There was 5 times as much as the westbound even though it was after 5.

When we got home Hooch played with the puppy and we watched.  The cats weren't happy, but seemed to adapt.  We ended up talking and watching dog training videos.  Later we switched to Portland news videos.  We went to bed a little early.  Hooch wants to be at the airport at 6:45 tomorrow.

Day 2646

 I woke up about 6 and couldn't go back to sleep.  I played games instead.  That lasted until a little before 8.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast it was outside to work.

I started by hauling some concrete bricks from the archery target over to the deck.  Then I stapled chicken wire around the edges of the deck.  Ellen had to help because the wire wanted to roll back up and we had to fit it between the deck and the shrubbery.

Ellen started to place the blocks while I went to work on the gate.  There was good news and bad news.  With a little work I got the u clamps I bought yesterday to work with the plumber's tape.  The bad news was the lag bolts I was using to hold the two pipe pieces together didn't work.  I had to go off to ACE again to get machine bolts.

When I got back I drilled holes through both pieces of pipe and installed the bolts.  After that it was a matter of positioning the poles and tightening everything down.  The result works really, really, well.

While I was at ACE and working on the gate Ellen trimmed the chicken wire around the deck and stapled it down.  She had a great idea to use the small piece of chin link we had to cover a gap between the pole and the deck.  She worked on that while I put blocks under the gate.  I cut one in half to fit and packed everything down with sand.

At that point we were pretty much done with the west side of the yard.  The last thing to do was get some more blocks and put them around the edge of the deck.  I put some tools away and Ellen took stuff to the garbage.  Then we left for Lowe's.

We bought 14 blocks at Lowes.  Then we picked up a sandwich at Jersey Mike's and also stopped at the post office.  We got home a little after four.  I unloaded the blocks and placed them.  11 went around the deck, two went to stabilize the bottom of the chain link fence, and the last is an extra.  That finishes the work except for possibly doing a little more chicken wire installation.

I tried a couple of ways today to plug the big gap in the large gate.  They didn't work.  I finally found one that did.  I'll implement it the next time we can work.  After that it will be moving rocks.

Hooch has had a busy day.  He was stranded at the airport last night.  Portland had 11 inches of snow, the most since the 40's.  He managed to get a flight to San Fancisco and one from there to Austin.  He's on the second one right now.  It was delayed, but is due in at 11.  That's better than 12.

Day 2645

 I woke up a little before 8, played games for a short while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that it was outside to work on the fence.  Ellen followed me shortly.

The first task was putting up the top rail.  That went really well.  I thought it would be crooked, but it wasn't.  The only hard part was cutting the rail with a hacksaw.  Oh, and by them it was getting hot.  It eventually got to 91.

Once the top rail was in place it was time to attach the fence.  That took some time, chiefly because we'd never done it before.  Ellen had a couple of good suggestions on attaching the tension bar.  Unrolling the fence was a pain because it was heavy and awkward.

We got the fence unrolled and the remainder detached from what we needed.  My using two ratchet straps to tighten the fence rather than a stretcher and a comealong worked perfectly.  It also save a lot of money.  Putting in the second tension bar was easy given we now knew how to do it.

At that point we split jobs.  Ellen started to put the bottom wire on.  I did some cleanup and finished up tightening hardware and putting on the end caps.  Then we went in for lunch and cool off.  It was just at noon.  The fence looks good if I do say so myself.

After lunch we went back outside.  Ellen started setting concrete blocks at the bottom of the fence.  I finished up putting chicken wire on the deck fencing.  It was HOT.  I started fabricating the pipe necessary to allow the gate to close.  That's where I learned that a sawsall is a better way to cut pipe.  Ellen kept on the blocks.  It took some fabricating, but I came up with something that will work.  Unfortunately I didn't have the hardware to attach it.

We called it quits about 3 and went in for showers.  After that we left for errands.  We stopped at Tomlinson's for cat food and dog toys.  Then it was ACE for hardware - they didn't have what it needed.  Then it was off to Home Depot for hardware.  They didn't have what I need either, but they had something that might work.

We stopped at the pizza place by HEB for dinner.  Then we stopped at HEB for groceries and gas.  After that it was home.  The temp was still in the 80's.

When we got home I watched videos.  Hooch started texting.  It sounds like the weather is going to get his flight cancelled, but the airline won't admit.  The people on the arriving jet have been stuck on the plane for three hours.  It's 10 and they're still on the plane.  Hooch is about to give up.  I really hoping that it gets cancelled, otherwise I'll have to pick Hooch up at 2 or 3 in the morning.

Day 2644

 I woke up at 7:45 and played games until 8:45.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast I went out to work.

The first task was to tighten up the wooden gate post.  It had been loosened when a tree fell on it during the ice storm.  I pounded an 18 inch metal stake into the ground.  The I attached it via metal wire to a turnbuckle.  I ran another wire from the post to the turnbuckle.  Unfortunately the turnbuckle was too short.  I texted Ellen to buy a longer one (she was at therapy).

I went onto the next task - chicken wire.  I attached wire to part of the deck railing (there's still a little to go).  I was about to start on the panel by the new gate when Ellen got home.  She hadn't read here text.  I was pissed.

Opening the new gate latch from the outside was inconvenient.  So I tool a little time to attach a wire and a ring to the latch.  Now you can just pull the ring to open the latch.  Then I went to ACE for a turnbuckle.

As I was crossing the street in front of the store two guys ran out.  One was carrying some DeWalt tools.  They dived into their car and drove away fast.  When I went inside I told the clerk and gave them the license number.

When I got back I used the new turnbuckle to reinforce the gate post.  It worked, but not perfectly.  Then I went inside to wait for Ellen to get over the shits.  I needed her to help put up the rest of the chicken wire.  We put it up when she was done.

I gave the remnant of the chicken wire roll to Ellen and told her to use it to patch the fence by the large gate.  Then I took a shower.  That was the end of work for me today.  It was in the mid 80's and I was hot, sweaty, and tired.

I took a shower and the watched videos until dinner.  Ellen went to the club.  Dinner was a frozen thing.  After dinner was more videos.

I'm hoping to put up the top bar and maybe the fencing tomorrow.  I didn't want to do it today because I wanted to let the concrete dry more.

Day 2643

 I woke up at 7:30, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  By then it was 9 and ACE was open.  I drove there and bought a bag of Quikcrete.  I was pretty sure the 1.5 bags I had would be enough.

When I got home I mixed up the cement and cemented the first pole.  Ellen helped by making sure it stayed vertical.  Filling the hole took all of the Quikcrete I had.  It also left me hot, tired, and with a sore back.

We went back to ACE and bought another three bags.  We also stopped at Dunkin Donuts to get a donut and a smoothy.  Then it was back home to fill the second hole.  It only took two bags, so I have a spare if I need it.  After that I was hot, tired, and had a sore back again.  We went inside for lunch and some recovery.

I sat for about an hour and then went out to the garage to fabricate an extension to the gate post.  It turned out to be relatively easy to do.  I spent the most time finding screws that would fit.  I took the extension outside and got Ellen to help me install it.  I think it will work fine.  We also put up another string to use as a top marker and did some cleanup.

Ellen went back to the house and I started to mount the gate.  I'd mis-cut the end of one of the sides.  I had to spend some time sanding it down with a disk on a drill.  After that things went pretty smoothly lining things up and installing the hinges.  I had problems with the latch I'd bought from the fence place.  It's a fine latch, but it didn't have hardware or mounting holes.  I had to use the drill press to drill holes and time to find mounting screws.  The result is great.  The gate closes if it's half open and stays open if you open it all the way.  It was almost 5 by the time I got done.

I went back inside and took a shower.  Ellen fixed stir fry for dinner.  After dinner it was videos.

I'm really happy about the progress we made today.  Tomorrow I want to get the wooden gate post straightened and the top rail installed.  I may wait another day before installing the fencing.  If so we'll probably do chicken wire.  All in all things are moving along nicely.  I'm really tired ans sore though.

Day 2642

 I woke up at 7:30 and played games for about half an hour  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast I went out to work on the fence.

Today's main activity was digging the two post holes.  Ellen helped me lay out where the two holes would be.  Then she went to lay concrete blocks while I dug.  For both holes there was about 2 inches of dirt before the rock started.  I dug a few inches with a pick and then it was all spud bar.  I made both holes 12 inches wide and 16 inches deep.  The first one was almost all through solid rock.  The second was about half solid rock.

I was very hot and tired by the time I got done.  I actually had to stop halfway through the second hole and sit in a deck chair for a while.  It probably took at least 2.5 hours to dig the two holes.  When I was finished I went to help Ellen.  I had to use the pick to bust up rock to set one of the blocks.

When that was done we went inside for a late lunch (leftovers).  After that it was surfing until I felt like I could function again.  By then it was 78 degrees out and about 2:30.  Ellen and I went back out to determine how long the two fence poles needed to be.  That involved a lot of measuring and figuring.  We eventually settled on the lengths.  Then I cut them with a hack saw.  That way we can plant them both tomorrow.

I was going to make up the extension for the gate post, but I was too tired.  Instead I walked up to the mailbox to pick up a package.

Hooch called.  It's supposed to snow in Portland on Wednesday.  He may come in on Tuesday instead.

I watched videos until dinner (frozen pizza).  After dinner it was more videos until an early bed time.

Day 2641

 I woke up at 7:30 and played games for about half an hour.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was cold outside - 35 degrees.

I decided it was too cold to work outside, so I went to the garage to build the gate.  I cut the 2x4's to length outside and did the rest of the work in the garage.  Building the frame wasn't hard, it just seemed to take me a long time.  Putting on the chicken wire was a long, pain in the ass, project.  The finished result doesn't look great, but it should do the job.

It was 1 when I finished.  Ellen opened the garage door just as I was done.  The temperature had risen to low 50's and she'd gone out to work.  She laid all 20 of the concrete blocks along the fence.  They looked great.  My back was killing me from bending over the gate while I was working on it.  We went back into the house for lunch - leftovers.

After some surfing I decided we should get some more blocks.  Before we left we went out to fix the part of the fence that doesn't have blocks yet.  I used one of the tension bars for the chain link fence and two ratchet straps to straighten it out.  Ellen helped and we restapled the fence.  It looks pretty good except for a small hole that will have to be patched.

We left for the post office, Home Depot, and Petco.  Traffic at the Y was the worst I've seen it in a long time.  We got 20 more blocks and another roll of chicken wire at Home Depot.  We also got some puppy food at Petco.  It's hideously expensive - $73 for 25 lbs.

After that we went home.  I unloaded the 20 blocks.  I was tired, but not as much as yesterday.  I also buried the block Ellen had put under the gate.  For some reason she just didn't want to set it so the gate could open.  It only took about 5 minutes to do.

It was after 4 by the time I was done.  I tried to watch videos, but it was hard to keep my eyes open.  Dinner was more leftovers.  After dinner I found some videos that actually kept me awake.

Day 2640

 I woke up at 7:30 and played games until 8.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After a little surfing we left to buy fence parts.

The place was at Montopolis and 183.  It was pretty easy to get to.  They had everything we needed and even told me that I didn't need one of the things I had on the list.  The good news was everything fit easily in the truck.  It turns out that 50 feet of 5 foot chain link isn't as heavy as I thought it would be.  It is heavy though.

We drove the truck back home and unloaded everything we'd bought.  Then we left for Home Depot.  There we bought some hardware for the gate, some Quikcrete, Two 2x4'ss for the gate, and 20 concrete blocks to put by the fence.  The blocks are REALLY heavy, at least for my 70 year old body.  We loaded everything into the truck (with help) and then went to Doc's Backyard for lunch.  They enclosed the patio and it's really nice.

We stopped at HEB on the way home for some much needed groceries.  When we got home Ellen unloaded the groceries while I unloaded the truck.  Twenty of the blocks is as much as I can handle at one time.  I loaded them into the garden cart and hauled them to the fence at the far side of the house.  That was not fun.  I had to stop and rest for 5 minutes before I could do the last trip.

We saw two neat animals at the place today.  The fox ran across the yard while we were unloading the fence stuff.  A really big road runner was standing in the yard in front of the front door while I was unloading the cement blocks.

It was after 3 by the time I was finished unloading.  I was sore (knee and back), and VERY tired.  I went inside and watched some videos.  It wasn't long until I moved to the recliner and took a long nap.  Getting old takes a lot out of you.

Ellen fixed mac and cheese with ham for dinner.  After dinner it was videos until an early bed time.  Tomorrow I'll start work on the fence while Ellen starts on placing the cement blocks.

Day 2639

 I woke up about 7 and played games for about an hour.  Then I got up to do pet stuff and have breakfast.  Then I went back to planning the fence update.  I reworked the chain link fence plan (actually I worked on it several times today).  I also went outside and measured how many concrete blocks we'll need.

I put everything in a spreadsheet.  That way I'll be a lot more organized when I go to the fence place.  There are 16 different items I need to get and some of them I need multiples of.  The whole thing will cost a significantly over $200.

It was mid 40's and very windy outside.  I decided it was time to work on the Ryft's wheels.  I had some glue solvent, so I used it to remove the tires from the old wheels.  It was still a lot of work.  I didn't try to put on the new wheels because the tires were wet with solvent.

I also went over the will, something I've been avoiding for a long time.  The lawyer wants to get the papers signed.

Instead I got the broken windmill from outside.  One of the trees that fell in the backyard fell on it and bent it.  I worked for a while and bent it back into shape.  It isn't perfect, but it works again.  Unfortunately the second windmill is a loss.

After that is was videos for a while.  It got a little warmer, so I went outside to clear up the branches I cut yesterday.  So much for this being a rest day.  It only took half an hour and three Ranger loads.

Ellen went to the club and I went back inside for videos and a sandwich for dinner.  After dinner was more videos.

My knee is killing me.  I couldn't walk when I got up this morning.  I had to grab onto things until it loosened up a little.  It hurts every time I get up after sitting.  Then it loosens up and eventually doesn't hurt.  I don't dare try to do anything that would put strain on it.

Day 2638

 I woke up a little before 8 and played games for quite a while.  Today was a rest day.  Eventually I got up for pet stuff and breakfast.

After breakfast I started to plan out how I would build a fence to close the gap where the swimming pool used to be.  I did some measurements and then priced out a chain link fence.  It was very expensive.  Ellen found a fence panel at McCoy's that priced out cheaper.  We went there to pick one up.  It turned out that it didn't roll up, so there's no way for me to transport it.  We went back home to find a plan B.

Ellen found a fencing place on Montopolis that had really good prices - much lower than Lowe's or Home Depot.  It priced out a chain link fence at under $200.  We'll probably go over there tomorrow.

All of that investigation took until about 3:30.  Ellen had to go to the club today for a special training session.

When we left for the McCoy's I noticed that we'd missed three large branches in the front yard.  Crap.  I decided to get something concrete accomplished today, so I went out to put the new chain on the pole saw.  That took a while.  When I took it apart it was completely filled with junk.  It's a wonder it worked.  Also, the instructions for putting on a new chain weren't clear.  It took me three times to get it right.

Of course I had to try the saw out when I was finished.  I used it to cut down the branches we'd missed.  It worked great.  I was going to cut up the branches with the chainsaw, but I ran out of gas and it was a rest day anyway.  I went back inside and took a shower.

Dinner was leftovers.  After dinner was videos.

I mentioned that my knee started hurting a lot yesterday.  It hurts just as much today.  I can barely walk until it warms up.  I'm probably going to have to start using the cane again.

Day 2637

 I woke up about 6:30 and couldn't get back to sleep.  I played games until about 7:45 and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  I was outside working before 8:30.

Ellen had therapy at 9, so she didn't help me with the fallen tree.  I started by moving all of the stuff that I'd cut yesterday to the refuse pile.  Then I started cutting again.  I would cut until I had a small pile and then take the pile to the refuse pile.  As I cut I revealed three large branches from another tree that had also broken.

One branch had broken cleanly.   The other two required the pole saw.  They were a pain in the ass to cut.  Surprisingly the main trunk wasn't hard at all.  I just started at the top end and cut 16 inch pieces.  As I got towards the end that was reduced to 12 inch pieces.  It took a little over 2 hours to clear everything out.  I was really tired and sore.

Ellen came home just as I was putting things away.  I was sweaty ad covered with sawdust.  I went inside and surfed for a while recovering.  When I had, we both went out to cut the stuff by the street. When I got up from the table my right knee hurt so bad that I could hardly walk.  I just kept going because I knew it would get better if I walked on it.

There were two trees to cut.  We loaded three loads of stuff on the Ranger and hauled them to an existing pile near the gate.  The last work was using the chainsaw to cut some branches that were overhanging the road.  Unfortunately the chain came off while I was doing that.

I took everything back to the garage.  I got the chainsaw manual and read how to fix the problem.  When I took the saw apart I found that the inside by the sprocket was jammed with junk.  It was also VERY oily.  I cleaned everything out and reinstalled the chain.

I went inside and took a shower followed by lunch.  All of my clothes went immediately into the washer.  After that we drove over to Audi to pick up the car.  After that I drove home and Ellen went to the post office.

The rest of the afternoon was a few videos and a lot of napping.  Ellen fixed spaghetti for dinner.  It's good not eating leftovers.  After dinner was more videos followed by and early to bed.  I am really sore.  I probably would have declared tomorrow a rest day, but THE CLEANUP IS FINISHED.

Day 2636

 I woke up at 7:45, got up, and did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  I was outside working on the downed tree limbs by 8:30.

Things went pretty well today.  I cut everything down and apart.  Then I got up on the ladder.  Ellen handed the limbs to me and I threw them over the fence.  It took about an hour and 45 minutes to clear out all of the fallen limbs.  All of them were pretty large.

We got done just in time to leave to get the Audi serviced.  It was supposed to get an oi change and a recall.  When we got there they said it would be two recalls and they would need the car tomorrow and maybe the next day.  It was good that we'd brought the truck.

The guy we bought the car from was back working at Audi.  We ended up talking to him for over an hour about buying a new A5.  They really couldn't locate the car we wanted exactly.  The deal they offered us was MSRP and a really low trade in value.  We said we'd talk about it.  Later on we decided it wasn't for us.

We went home after lunch at Mickey D's and a stop for drugs at Walgreen's.  It was about 3:00.  We went back out and started work on the damage by the pink shed.  I cut down the two limbs that had landed on the roof.  I cut them up and we hauled them to a new brush pile behind the shed.  Then Ellen went inside because I'd promised that that would be all she had to do.  I stayed out for another 45 minutes cutting limbs off the fallen tree.  There were a lot of them.  I hauled a few away.

There's a lot of work to do.  There are more limbs to cut, and then cutting the large trunk.  Finally it all has to be hauled behind the shed by hand.  It will be another day's work.  I'll have to do most of it myself because Ellen has therapy.  However, when it's done we'll be finished except for a little work in the front on the other side of the fence.

When I got back inside I took a shower.  After that it was a little surfing before dinner (left overs).  After dinner was surfing and videos.

Day 2635

 I woke up at 7:30, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  The it was outside to continue cleaning up the fallen trees and limbs.

Today's target was the area around the well head and well house.  One of the trees had been uprooted and two others had lost some big branches.  The chainsaw made quick work of all of the large branches and the tree trunk.  There was still a lot to haul off.  I lost count, but there was at least 10 loads of stuff.  Ellen speeded up things by using the sawsall.   She did almost all of the cutting except for the chainsaw work.

We finished a little after noon - about 3+ hours of work.  The place looks a lot better now.  I was really tired, but not as tired as yesterday.  After a little surfing I had lunch and then took a shower.  After the shower we did errands.  We stopped at HEB for some needed stuff and then got the mail.  Then it was home for surfing and videos.

I also took a little time to look over the work left to do.  The other uprooted tree and the limbs on the doll house look straightforward, but it's still going to be work.  The limbs in the corner of the back yard are going to be a lot of work.  Dog proofing the backyard fence is going to be another big job.  The existing gates need work and I have to build on for the deck.  I also have to put chicken wire on the deck railings.  The big job will be lining the bottom of all of the fence with rocks so the dog can't dig it's way out.

Over the last couple of weeks Cooper has started to chew on all of the stuffed animals.  He's done some major damage.  I bought him a toy today, but he doesn't seem to like it.  Figures.

We have to take the car in tomorrow.  That will put a dent in the tree work plans.  I should be able to get a little done in the morning, but not much.

Day 2634

 I got up at 4:30 and took Hooch to the airport.  It was a quick trip.  I got him there before 5:15 and was back home a little after 5:30.  I took my clothes off and went back to sleep.

I woke up again about 8:30.  I got up, did the pet stuff, and had breakfast.  Then I went out to the garage to get started on the fallen trees.  I put oil in the chainsaw and pole saw and warmed up the Ranger.  Then I started work on the mess in the front yard.

I did most of the cutting with the pole saw.  Ellen did some with the other saw.  For a while she was cutting while I loaded and drove the stuff to the back.  Eventually we got down to nothing but the big limbs the couldn't be cut with the pole saw.  I got out the chain saw and made short work of them.  Then I went over and partially cut apart the fallen tree by the well head.  The chainsaw made quick work of that, too.

It took until a little after two to get all of it done.  Now the front yard is cleared and the flamingos are back in place.  It looks like we should be able to clear the area by the well head tomorrow.  It will take a lot of work though.

We went inside.  I was too tired to do anything except sit in front of the computer.  I ordered a small coffee pot for Hooch.  Ellen ordered a pink bed for the dog.

Eventually I recovered enough to get leftovers for lunch and take a shower.  I felt a lot better after that.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent watching videos and surfing.  I didn't have dinner because of the late lunch.  Instead I had a snack.

It looks like I'll have to complete the backyard fence for the dog.  That will mean building a gate, putting up some chain link, and putting up some "chicken wire" to plug holes below the fence.  That will be some work, so I want to get the tree stuff out of the way ASAP.  It should be done by Wednesday.

Day 2633

 I got up at 8, played games for a little while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast with Hooch.  Ellen went to her therapy.  Hooch and I surfed until she got back.  I looked for dog beds and he looked at dog pedigrees.  He's really worried about the error in our dog's pedigree.

We left for Bastrop when Ellen got back.  The first stop was Buccee's.  Hooch was suitably impressed.  We spent quite a while there and ended up buying a few snacks.

From there we went to downtown Bastrop.  There is a restaurant there that overlooks the park and the river.  It had really good food and excellent beer.  We ate and then spent quite a while there talking.  It was just a nice place to hang out.  I bought the t-shirt.  It says "eat pizza, drink beer, pet dogs".

We did accomplish one thing.  I agree to name the dog Minnie instead of Josie.  It's official name will be Minnie Pearl, or Minnie the Moocher.

From there we went to the Slaughter BBQ.  Hooch was suitably impressed by all of the horror show paraphernalia.  The guy behind the counter was talking with a customer who was a real horror show fan.

It was after 3 when we started to go home.  Because it was Friday we ran into some slow downs at 290 and I35 and again at 290 and loop 1.  It wasn't too bad though.

When we got home Ellen and Hooch went back to pedigrees.  I watched some videos and took a short nap.  We all just picked our favorite leftovers for dinner.  There's plenty from the last few days.

Hooch's flight is really early.  I'll have to get up at 4:30 in order to get him to the airport on time.  That meant got to bed at 10.

Day 2632

 I got up at 8 and did the pet stuff.  Then I did a little surfing and sat around and talked with Hooch until Ellen made it up.  When she did we went to Jim's for breakfast.

After we finished breakfast we went looking for puppy stuff.  We bought a couple of toys at Petco.  We also went to Petsmart, but didn't find anything we liked.  We have to get at least a pink bed and a crate before the puppy is ready.

By then I was tired of looking for puppy stuff.  We went to Central Market and got some shrimp and steak for dinner.  Then we went home.

It was a nice sunny day.  Hooch and Ellen went out to the deck.  I got out the TRX4 and the Ryft and started charging up batteries for them.  Then I went out to the deck, too.  We spent a couple of hours there, then Hooch and I went to play with the cars.  I had him drive the TRX4 over the rocks for a while.  He really liked it.  Then we switched to the Ryft.  He was having fun with that too until the tires started coming unglued.  I'm going to buy beadlock wheels for it.

We went back inside.  I packed up the RC stuff while Hooch and Ellen reviewed the breeding documents we have for our pup.  Apparently there is an error.  As near as they can figure the breeding is actually better that what the breeder supplied.

Hooch made travel plans for picking up his puppy while Ellen made dinner - steak and shrimp on the Traeger.  He almost had the family convinced to all come down, but now I guess it will only be him.

After dinner we all watched videos, mainly of people doing incredible things.

Day 2631

 I woke up at 7:30 because we were planning on leaving at 8:30.  About 8 Hooch came out to say that the breeder didn't want us to show up until 1.  Oh well.  I did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  Then we sat around talking and surfing until we left at 9:30.

It was 44 degrees and raining.  Perfect Oregon weather.  We took 290 to 281, 281 down to Bulverde, 46 over to Boerne and Bandera and then 173 to Hutto.  Bulverde is now a pretty big town, a couple of miles long.  Boerne has a lot of new suburbs.  Bandera and Hutto seem to be old small Texas towns.  The trip took until noon.  The rain had stopped and the sky had cleared by the time we got there.

We stopped in Hutto and had some really good BBQ.  That took about 45 minutes, so we got to the breeder a little bit early.

The place is amazing.  There's a lot of room to train dogs.  They have two large kennels for grown dogs and two good sized pens for puppies.  Everything was full.  Hooch was in hog heaven looking at the parents of the puppies he was looking at.  He spent a lot of time talking to the breeder about bloodlines and playing with puppies. Of course we played with the puppies, too.

All of the puppies in the outside pens were spoken for.  I was disappointed because I really liked one of them.  There was one more younger litter in the house.  We looked at all of them.  I was feeling pretty sad.  Given that we hadn't got a dog in Oregon, the Brittany people seemed like a bust, and no puppies were available here.  I resigned myself to no more dogs.

Hooch looked at the puppies inside and decided on one from the outside.  I was more disappointed because one of the inside puppies was a small female.  It was just right.  We were about to leave when I learned that it was for sale.  We bought it.  I had to make a second choice though in case another person claimed it.  I hope not.

The puppy won't be available for another 5 or 6 weeks.  That's OK.  We left about 4:30 with everyone feeling happy.

The drive home was faster than the one over because the traffic around Boerne and Bulverde was less.  It took longer though because we stopped in Bandera for frozen yogurt.  We also stopped in Dripping Springs for fuel and dinner at the pizza place.  We didn't get home until after 8.

Ellen and I don't agree on a name.  I want to call the dog Josie, for Josie Wales.  Ellen wants to call it Minnie, for Mini-me.  That's what the breeder calls it.  Hooch played an Austin Powers movie over his phone when we got back to convince me for Minnie.  It didn't convince me, but I'm going to lose anyway.

Day 2630

 I woke up about 8:30.  I hadn't got to bed until about 1.  I got up, did pet stuff, and had breakfast.  Then it was surfing.  There wasn't anything else to do.

Hooch got up a little later and had breakfast.  I got the chainsaw out of the car and unboxed it.  It looks cool.  Also it came with a 6AH battery instead of a 2AH battery.  Yeah.  I can't use it until I have some chain oil.  We ordered some, I doubt there's any in Austin.

After that it was waiting around surfing and talking until noon.  Then we left for Ellen's colonoscopy.  It was clear up at Mopac and Parmer.  We dropped her off and went to the restaurant across from the old Fry's.

The place is now a fish place.  It was pretty good food and beer.  We ate, talked, and had a couple of beers.  We stopped briefly at the hobby store when it was time to pick up Ellen.  We were back on the road by 3:30.

Traffic southbound sucked.  It was stop and go in the toll lane.  That really sucked, as it cost $5.25 to go from 183 (not Parmer) to the river.  Of course it was slow from the end of the toll road all the way to past Costco.  It's one of the worst drives I had on the Mopac, and would have been a lot worse without the toll lane.

Nobody felt like doing anything when we got home.  We just sat around watching YouTube on the TV and surfing.  I forgot entirely about dinner.  I fixed Hooch a sandwich about 8.

We're getting up at 7:30 tomorrow to go to Hutto.  It's 125 miles away.  It will be a long day.

Day 2629

 I woke up about 8, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that it was out to work on the trees.

It was necessary to clear out a big tree that had fallen into the drainage ditch by the light pole.  It was VERY bushy.  I just waded in cutting 2 to 3 inch branches.  I had Ellen pile them off to the side because I didn't know if the Ranger would start.  The final part was cutting a couple of pretty big limbs down to side.

The Ranger started with just a little hesitance.  We loaded it up with branches and took them to the back brush pile.  I looked at the back storage building on the first load.  It came out with no problems.  It took a total of 5 or 6 loads to clean up the tree.

After that we started cleaning up all of the debris piles we'd created.  It took 2.5 loads for the tree at the bottom of the driveway and another 2 for the one by the trailer.  We also did a load picking up some stuff from the middle area and a limb by the side of the road.  The last 3 loads came from trees that were farther up the driveway.

The chain on the pole saw was loose and probably needs to be sharpened.  I took it partially apart and tried to tighten the chain.  I'm not sure I accomplished much.  I didn't seem to have chain oil.

By then it was time to stop.  We took showers and then went to do necessary errands.  We stopped at Lowe's for softener salt and chain saw oil.  The salt was twice the old price and they didn't have any oil.  The next stop was Fireman's.  Ellen can't eat because she has a colonoscopy tomorrow.  I ordered a large sandwich for lunch and dinner.  Then we stopped at the pet store next door for cat food.  We were almost completely out.

The last stop was Costco.  We got four items and we needed all of them.

When we got home Ellen started taking the colonoscopy drugs.  I had a really late lunch.  After that was a few videos and a nap.

I actually had a frozen thing for dinner.  After dinner was some more videos and a little looking at some RC parts.

Day 2628

 I woke up about 8, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  We planned on going shooting, but decided to do some tree cleanup first.

There was still some downed branches in the center part of the back yard.  I cut them up and threw them over the fence to Ellen.  She stacked them in the second waste pile we set up yesterday.  Then I took the pole saw to the other side of the fence and cut two broken branches that were hanging over the fence.  On the way back I gut a couple of more very large ones.

The original plan was to clean up the broken trees in the back of the yard.  However, the branches I cut were laying on the fence.  We decided to tackle them.  They were very big - 6 inches or more.  They were also very bushy.  It took along time to cut them up and throw them over the fence.  When we were done the second waste pile was almost as big as the first.

Our plan was to work an hour and a half and then got shooting.  We worked for 2.5 hours.  We were hot, dirty, and really tired.  We went inside to take showers.  After that we were too tired to go shooting.  It's bad when you're so old that 2.5 hours of work is all that you can do.

When I got out of the shower I went outside to take out the garbage and hook the Ranger to a battery charger.  When that was done I noticed that a tree next to the light pole had broken and was filling up the drainage ditch.  It's a big tree that's filled up at least 10 feet of the ditch.  It's going to rain in a couple of days, so that's tomorrow's high priority task.

After that I went back inside to watch videos. Of course I fell asleep.  I woke up in time to feed the cats and have dinner - leftovers.

After dinner was more videos.

Day 2627

 The power was out when we woke up.  We got out of bed, fed the cats, and got in the truck.  We hooked up all of the devices for charging and drove to the Home Depot at Slaughter and 35.  They were supposed to have a chainsaw, but they didn't.  We went to the one on 51st and 35, they didn't have one either.  Bothe were listed as "low stock".

We stopped at the post office on the way home.  Our devices still weren't charged, but at least they weren't totally empty any more.  We settled down to another powerless afternoon and evening.  The power finally came back on about 12:30.  I prepared to do some cleanup.  Then it went down again.  After about 20 minutes it came back on and stayed on.

I got out the ladder, saw, and pole chainsaw and went to work on the backyard.  Ellen helped (a lot).  I cleared out two large tree branches that were partially blocking the driveway.  Then we attacked the back yard.

We cut up the branches from the tree by the birdhouses.  Most of them had broken off.  Then we cleared four big branches that were hanging over the back fence.  Ellen hauled the small stuff while I hauled the big stuff and did the cutting.  Some of it had to be done with the pole chainsaw.  Everything got moved to two piles near the boundary fence.

By then it was 3:30 and we were hot and tired (it got up to 72).  We went back inside and took much needed showers.  After a little surfing we fed the cats and left for the grocery store and dinner.

Day 2626

 The power was still out.  It didn't come on all day.  I spent the morning reading in the cold.  About 11 I drove Ellen to Belterra.  I had to cut part of a tree down before we could leave.

I tried to find a place to eat and charge devices while Ellen was at therapy.  Dunkin Donuts was closed.   Torchy's was packed - no spaces in the parking lot and no tables inside.  I ended up at the BBQ place.  I paid $22 for a sandwich, fries, and a drink.  At least there was a place to charge devices.

Ellen came over when she was done and ordered lunch.  We sat there for a long time trying to get electrons into our devices.  It was slow work.  We left at about 2, back to the cod and dark house.

The rest of the day was a repeat of yesterday.  Sitting under a blanket with Cooper and reading.

Day 2625

 The day started out well.  The power was on.  It was cold and rain was causing ice to still form.  It wasn't much though, so I went outside to clean up a little of the mess.  I'd only been working a little while when Ellen came out to say that the power was off again.  I did a little more and then came back in.

The rest of the day was dark and cold.  The power never did come back on even though PEC's website said it would.  We couldn't surf much because we didn't have battery.  I ended up reading a SciFi novel.  Cooper and I spent a lot of time in the recliner under a blanket.

We slept fully clothed with the heavy quilt on the bed  it was pretty comfortable.

Day 2624

 I woke up at 6, because the power had gone out.  It was still dark, so I went back to sleep.  The power was still off when I got up for pet stuff and breakfast.

After breakfast I went out to check on things.  There was about an inch of ice on all of the trees.  A lot of trees had broken branches.  I'll be spending a lot of time cleaning up when it gets warm again.  As I was walking around I could hear tree branches breaking all over the neighborhood.  We couldn't have left the property if we wanted to, the gate opener was frozen shut and frozen to the gate.

I was worried about two trees.  One overhangs the well house and looks broken.  The other is in the front yard and overhangs the house.  I can't tell if it is compromised.  I might even be coming out of the ground.  I used ratchet straps to try to stabilize both of them.

I REALLY needed to shit.  I couldn't use a toilet because there's no water.  I went into the garage, put don some paper towels, and shit on them.  Then I bagged everything up.

I couldn't use my tablet because I hadn't plugged it in.  I tried to use the emergency radio, but it was dead.  I ended up ordering a new radio and an USB adapter for DeWalt batteries.  After the order I managed to resurrect the radio.

By then it was getting chilly in the house.  It started at 60 and eventually got down to 57.  I got a blanket and sat in the recliner.  Cooper sat under the blanket.  I did a fair amount of reading and then switched to surfing and watching videos on my phone.

The original estimate for restoring the power was 11:45.  It finally went back on a little after 5.

The temperature never got above 31 all day.  The TV weather guys can't say whether or not we'll have more ice tonight or tomorrow morning.  They did say that the afternoon temperature tomorrow should be around 40.  Hopefully that will start to unburden the trees.