Day 2834

 I woke up about 8 and texted Hooch to see what his plans were.  Then I played games while I waited for his reply.  It took a while and several texts, but we decided to get together a little before noon.

It had started raining heavily during the night and continued doing so for most of the day.  We drove to Mt. Angel and picked up the truck.  I told Joe that I wanted to keep the car to drive to Portland.  He was OK with that.

Keeping the car was a good decision. The drive up in the pouring rain wasn't easy.  Luckily we didn't run into any problems.  We stopped at Cabela's on the way to look at dog collars.  The one I want to get looks like it will do fine.

We stopped at the vet to get Abby's drugs.  It was still raining.  We went to Breakside to have a beer and wait for Hooch.  Unfortunately the only food is from the roach coaches and we weren't going to stand outside to get it.  I called Hooch and we met at a restaurant in the middle of Beaverton.

The food was great and we had a good time talking.  I had a mojito.  When we were finished we went over to Tammies to get a metal figurine for Ellen to paint.  Then Ellen and Martha went to Hooch's place while Hooch and I went to the RC place.

The RC place wasn't officially open, but the guy let us use the course anyway.  It was a lot of fun even though either of us could drive.  We left about an hour before it was time to pick up Sophia from school.  We spent the time at a bar and I had another IPA.

When we got home we talked for a while and then I took a nap.  Two beers and a mojito in one day were just too much.

Martha fixed Indian tacos for dinner.  After dinner we sort of planned out getting the dogs.  It's a little frustrating that the trainer doesn't replay to queries very well.  By then it was 8 and we left.

The drive back was a little sketchy.  The construction on 217 made for a lot of standing water that you couldn't see in the dark, rain and spray.  The traffic was heavy, too.  We got home OK though.  I really wouldn't have liked doing it in the truck.

When we got home we watched videos for a while and went to bed.

Day 2833

 I woke up at 8:30.  The alarm I'd set for 8 didn't go off (my fault).  There was just enough time to feed the cats before leaving to take the truck to Joe.

We dropped off the truck at Joe's and went to Silverton.  We needed to go to Safeway and the Silverton Safeway was closer than the Woodburn one.  We stopped at Dutch Bros. along the way.

I bought some frozen dinners at Safeway.  We'd run out and I'm tired of Ellen deciding "no dinner tonight".  Then we stopped at Bauman's on the way home.  We got donuts and a cherry pie for Hooch and Martha. 

I did very little when we got home.  I just didn't feel like doing anything.  I made a sandwich for lunch and then just surfed.  I did use blue stuff to attach everything to needed it to the new table's surface.

About 4 Dave texted us to say there was a package at the club.  We walked over there and picked it up.  We spent some time talking to one of the shooters and playing with his dog.

When we got back it was more surfing until dinner - sausage and hash browns.  Joe called at 6 to say that we should pick up the truck tomorrow morning.  After dinner was mainly videos until time for bed.

Alla in all it was a nice relaxing day.  I enjoyed it.

Day 2832

 I woke up at 8, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that it was load everything into the car and off to the laundromat.

After the laundromat we stopped at Wally World to drop off some old glasses and get a few groceries.  Then it was down to Keizer to get some canned cat food.  We got 24 cans, all on sale.  By then it was lunch time.  We decided to go to a new place that replaced the German place that we didn't like.

The new place was great.  The food was good and the prices were high, but in line with everywhere else.  We sat inside next to an open window (actually a garage door) and it was really pleasant.

When we were done we went to the post office.  We picked up the chair mats and a caouple of small items.  Then it was home.

After unpacking everything I took the chair mats to the shed to unroll them.  They came in tight rolls that were almost impossible to unroll.  It took a lot of effort to get them stretched out flat with boxes of 12 ga at each corner.  It will probably take days to get them to sit flat.

That was the end of the work today.  I went back inside and ordered a slipper clutch for the BBX.  Then I went looking for wheel hexes.  I couldn't find any.

The rest of the evening was videos.  Dinner was frozen pizza.  Ellen's asshole was giving her fits, so she wasn't interested in fixing dinner.

Day 2831

 I woke up at 8 and played games for a while.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast I checked the Amazon order info.  Several things were at the post office.

It was still early, so I decided to clean the car port before going to the post office.  That turned out to be a bigger job than I expected.  It took a couple of hours to move things around, throw away useless stuff, and clean some stuff that I wanted to keep.  The worst part was pulling up a bunch of weeds that had grown at the far end of the car port.  By the time I was finished my back was killing me.

I went back inside and took pain pills for my back.  They actually worked quite well.  I loaded the garbage into the truck and took it to the dumpster.  Then we went to the post office and picked up the packages.  There were 4 - two chairs, the BBX RC car, and a sack with a new mouse (mine is worn out) and some cat treats.

We took it all home and put the two chairs together.  They are pretty nice.  The assembly wasn't too hard either.  When we got done we loaded the two old chairs into the truck.  We also loaded the two original chairs.  I'd been keeping them in the shed.  I also added the unnecessary stuff from the car port.

We ate a late lunch at AC Greasy.  Then we stopped at the thrift store next door.  They were having a 30% off for old people sale.  I ended up leaving the chairs there.  They wouldn't take one of the office chairs because the carts had torn one corner.

I took the chair to Goodwill but they wouldn't take it either.  We ended up taking it home.  We stopped at Wally World first to get some groceries and toilet paper.

When we got home I disassembled the old chair and put it in a garbage sack.  I had to cut the 5 legs off because they wouldn't come apart.  I put the sack by the car to take to the dumpster tomorrow.  The bottom of the chair was soaked in cat piss.  My hands were sticky when I got done.  When I went back inside I took a shower.

I was really tired after the shower.  I just put the BBX to the side.  Maybe I'll look at it tomorrow.

The rest of the evening was videos.  Dinner was really late - leftover sausage and pizza.

Day 2830

 I woke up about 8, played games for a wile, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It's time to get started getting ready to leave.  I went out to the shed to do a few things.

I packed away some of the crawler course pieces and straightened out some of the shed.  I reorganized the trailer basement so that it had the maximum amount of available space.  Then I moved a few things for Texas into it.  

While I was doing that Ellen finished painting the Baby Yoda model that we bought weeks ago.  It came out really nice.

I went back into the trailer and started to work on a travel plan for going back to Texas.  It starts with picking up Abby in about two weeks.  Two weeks after that we'll leave for Richland.  We'll spend several days there, enough time for me to see about work on the Bronco.

I don't really want to just retrace our steps from this Spring.  I'd like to go through Moab, followed by either Sedona or Page.  I made plans for all three.  I'm going to sit on it for a few days.  Ellen made our reservations for San Antonio and she'll make the Richland reservations tomorrow.

The rest of the day and evening was surfing and videos.  Ellen fixed salmon and rice for dinner.  It was good.

Day 2829

 I woke up at 8 and played games for an hour.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that there wasn't anything to do except drain the tanks.

When that was done I surfed the rest of the morning away.  About 11:30 we left to go to Wilsonville to see Ellen's sister.  We ate at a Thai place.  The food was good land we talked for a couple of hours.  Unfortunately it seems like they won't be coming down to see us this year.  I suspected that would happen because the nephew has moved back home.

After lunch we stopped at Costco for gas and water.  Then we stopped at the hobby store.  We didn't buy anything.  I wanted to stop at Dutch Bros. on the way back, but it was packed.  The line was out in the street in both directions.

It was in the low 90's when we got home.  That meant back to some surfing followed by some videos.

Ellen doesn't seem to be interested in fixing dinner anymore.  I ended up with a TV dinner.  After dinner was more surfing and videos.

Day 2828

 I woke up about 8, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  There wasn't anything pressing to do, but I wanted to accomplish something.

I decided to fix the overlays on the compartment membrane switches.  They were all in rough shape - like falling apart.  I used the supply of replacements I had in the repair parts drawer.  It didn't take long, but getting the residue from the old ones off wasn't easy.  I was going to replace one of the compartment doors with a new type of switch.  Unfortunately I need the pop rivet gun.  It's in Texas.

I didn't want to finish, so I washed the back and side windows.  They are the ones we really look out of and they were both really dirty.

When I went back inside I went on something of a buying spree.  The RC car I want was back in stock, so I bought one along with an ESC/motor combination.  Then I bought desk mats to put under the new table.  I like the new table, but the chairs will rip up the edge of the carpet if we don't do something.

The chairs we have are getting worn out.  I went looking for new ones and found some on sale.  After searching together with Ellen we found some we both liked.  I ordered them, too.  All total I spent a littlel over $1,000 on everything today.

The rest of the day was videos.  Both lunch and dinner were leftovers, perhaps to balance the shopping spree.

Ellen's sister in is Canby.  We're going to go see them tomorrow.

Day 2827

 I woke up about 8, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast it was time to install the new table.

We emptied out the old table and put everything on the kitchen counter.  Then I unscrewed the table from the floor.  It was a little awkward getting it through the door, but it wasn't too bad.  Then Ellen cleaned the carpet on her side of of the table.  Devon has apparently been using it as his preferred cat box.  The whole area was damp.

We moved the new table into position.  It fits perfectly.  Then we put everything from the old table on the new one.  At least almost everything.  We took the opportunity to get rid of a few unnecessary things.  The result is pretty nice and very uncluttered.  I enjoy not being cramped in the small space we had before.  It's going to take some getting used to though. 

After that we took the old table to Goodwill and went on to Safeway for some groceries.  On the way back we stopped at the post office.  Lunch was a $3 frozen pizza we bought at Safeway.

It was hot again today, up to 93.  We spent the rest of the day hiding out inn the trailer.  I spent it all surfing.  Ellen watched chick flicks.

Ellen fixed General Tso's chicken for dinner.  After that it was more surfing for me and chick flicks for her.

I'll probably replace the switch on one of the outside cabinet doors tomorrow.  It's about the only thing that I think needs being done.

Day 2826

 I woke up a little after 7, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that I started one of the most productive days I've had in a while.

I went to the shed and finished up the log panel.  I attached the 16 logs that made up the ramp.  I also made some obstacles for the reverse side of the plain ramp.  That officially ends my construction of the crawler course.  I also cleaned up and put everything away.  It remains to be seen if I manage not to build something else.

It was a little  hot and I went inside for a little surfing and lunch.  About 2 the new kitchen table (actually a long narrow desk) came.  I drove the car to the club to pick it up.  The box was large and heavy.  I needed the cart to get it out to the car.  It hung out the back as I drove it back.

I unloaded the box outside and carried the pieces inside.  Then I started putting it together.  The construction wasn't hard, but there was a lot  of parts and some were big and unwieldy.  About halfway through the process the sewer guy showed up.

I spent the next hour or so on the standard sewer stuff.  When I was done with that I went back inside and finished the table.  By then it was after 6.  Ellen was too busy with Scooter tor fix dinner, so I had a frozen one.  After dinner I carried the table boxes out to the burn pile.  Then I watched videos.  I was too tired to remove the current table and transfer everything to the new one.

Day 2825

 I woke up at 8 and played games for about an hour.  Then it was up for pet stuff a breakfast.  After breakfast I went out to the shed to continue work on the log panel.  Ellen took the laundry to Woodburn.

I used screws to attach the tower to the base.  Then I used glue to reinforce the joints that I'd nailed together.  Some of them weren't too steady.  That's all could do until the glue dried.  I decided to add some "bumps" to one side of the teeter totter ramp

I didn't have the right sized lumber to make the bumps.  I got an old strip of wood out of the car port.  It was covered in green something.  I sanded the green stuff off the strip and cut pieces out of it.  The I glued some of the pieces together into 4 bumps.  Again it was time to wait for the glue to dry.

It was a cool day, never above 75.  I didn't feel like shooting though.  I went back inside and surfed until lunch.  After lunch it was more surfing and some videos.  I went out in the late afternoon and finished gluing the tower joints.  I also glued the bumps on the teeter totter ramp.

Tomorrow I'll finish the log panel.  That will end the crawler course project.  I put away everything that I won't need to finish the panel.

I went back inside and surfed until dinner. Ellen fixed BLT's.  After dinner was videos.

Hopefully the new kitchen table will show up tomorrow.  We'll have plenty of time to work on it while waiting for the sewer guy.

Day 2824

 I woke up about8 and played games until almost 10.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  When that was done I went out to the shed to work on the stump panel.

Up until this point I'd glued everything together.  The end of this panel is a tower, so I used the brad nailer to connect the pieces.  I did have to make some more components to assemble it.  When that was done I cut out the platform base and painted it.  I can't do anything more until the paint dries.

By then it was 12:30.  I needed to pick up some drugs so we went to CVS.  On the way back I boiuight some screws that I think I'll use to attach the tower.  On the way back we stopped at Bauman's for peaches and corn.  I also managed to get a seeded watermelon.

We had a late lunch - sandwiches left over from last night's dinner with Hooch.  Then it was a lot of surfing and some videos.

Ellen found some pictures of the kennel on the web.  The buildings are OK, but the training area is toast - literally.  A little later Hooch sent us some pictures from the trainer.  He's taking the dogs to another location to train them.  I'm not sure if they stay at his kennel.

Ellen fixed corn and pork chops for dinner.  

After dinner I watched videos until I got sick of them.  Then I returned to surfing.

Day 2823

 I woke up a little before 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  While eating I engaged in a long entertaining text thread with Hooch.  The upshot was we decided to go up there today.

I loaded the bottles, garbage, and Martha's present into the car.  We stopped at the club as we were leaving to buy some more ammo on sale.  The drive up was fine.  Strangely there was a lot more traffic southbound than there was northbound.

We talked fora while after we got to Hooch's place.  Martha and Alicia are in Sun River.  That leaves Hooch alone with Sophia.  She was actually halfway sociable.  Then we went to lunch at a "waffle sandwich" place in downtown Beaverton.  It was pretty good.  It's amazing how yuppiefied downtown Beaverton has become.  Lots of restaurants, coffee shops and apartment houses.

When that was done we drove to a pinball place somewhere near the Hillsboro airport.  Things have changed so much that I didn't recognize how we got there.

The place was amazing.  I was filled with pinball machines and video games.  It was play all you want for $20.  There must have been 75 or more pinball machines, all of them in excellent shape.  There were old video games and new ones.

The four of us started out play a 4 person shooter game.  After that we split up.  I went to the pinball games, they went to video games.  We all ended up switching between the two for hours.  I finally found Ellen and we got into a two person shooter game that you sat in.  I was tired of standing.  It was really fun, but I was pretty much timed out by the time we left at 5:30.

We drove back to Hooch's place.  I fixed their wind chime with my brad nailer.  Then we went to Jersey Mikes to get sandwiches.  We took them back home and had dinner on the deck.  By then it was almost 7:30, I was really tired, and we left.

The trip back was fast.  Once I got on 217 I drove 10 to 15 over the limit the whole way.  It was great.

When we got home I unloaded the car and then watched videos for a while before going to bed.

Day 2822

 I woke up about 7:30, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was in the low 50's this morning.  I wore my sweats when I went out to the shed.

The log ramp I made worked out great.  I marked out a base for the log ramp panel, but didn't cut it out because I wasn't sure how long it would need to be.  Then I started to cut out the components.  It took a lot more wood than I thought.  I had to go scrounging in the burn pile three times.

About 11 Ellen came out to tell me two things.  First, Gerry was coming to shoot at noon.  Second there was a big fire threatening the kennel Abby is at.  Of course we couldn't contact the trainer and the news wasn't any help at all.  They were broadcasting meaningless talk with no details on what was actually happening.

We had fun shooting with Gerry.  At first I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.  I got better over time though.  The targets were really good.  It was cooler today, in the low 80s when we shot, but it got up to 93 eventually.

When we were done shooting we went back to the trailer and had lunch.  I did some surfing.  Eventually that got old and I went back out to the shed.  I continued cutting components.  I also finalized how I want the finished panel to look.  It finally got too hot to work, plus it was dinner time.

Ellen fixed stir fry for dinner.  After dinner I watched some videos followed by a movie.

Late in the evening Hooch texted us.  They got the dogs out yesterday.  It's unclear whether or not the trainer's place is still there.  The fire was very close and of course there are no details on the news about what's actually been damaged.  I hope it survives.

Day 2821

 I woke up about 7:30 today and played games for a while.  It was much cooler than it was yesterday.  Then I got up, did the pet stuff, and had breakfast.  After that it was out to the shed to work on the next obstacle, a "log" ramp.

Before I started the ramp I set up the new dog holder.  I think it's going to do great.  I also made a couple of more pieces for the wave panel and glued them to the panel.  Then I made a couple of more pieces for the stump panel and glued them to the panel.  That completes both panels.  It also means that I've built everything that I originally intended to build.

I don't feel like stopping and I saw another obstacle on the web that I really like.  I decided to build one.  It will consist of a log ramp and a staircase made out of stumps.

The first step was gathering materials.  A fairly large branch fell in the house's back yard.  They haven't cleaned it up, so I cut some pieces off of it to use for the panel and ramp.  Then I built the base of the ramp out of popscicle sticks.  Finally I cut 16 4.75 inch pieces of branch for the ramp.  After that I couldn't do anything until the glue dried.  Besides, it was lunch time.

Lunch was a sandwich and some surfing.  About 2 we went to Safeway.  I needed milk and bananas.  We bought a couple of other things, but not much.  Then it was back home.  By then it was 87, cool by the standards of the last few days.

I surfed until dinner, frozen pizza.  Then it was a little more surfing until a little before 7.  By then it was pleasantly cool.  I went back to the shed.

I used the hack saw to cut notches in both ends of the 16 branch pieces.  Then I glued the two end pieces to the ramp base.  Again, that's all I can do until the glue dries.  I went back to the trailer and surfed the rest of the evening.

Day 2820

 I got up a little before 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was hot again today, (eventually 103) so I went out to the shed to work on the wave panel.

Structurally there wasn't much to do.  I needed to fabricate a few pieces and glue them down.  The big time sink was trying to find a way to provide two exits on one end.  After a lot of experimentation I came to the conclusion that it was not possible.  It was getting warm and it was almost time to leave to meet with Gerry and Travis.  I glued down the pieces I'd made and went to the trailer.

We met Gerry and Travis at Red Robin at 1:00.  We had a long social talk (service was slow) and then a good lunch.  After lunch we sat and talked business.  Of course we're a little poorer than we used to be (FUCK BIDEN), but it's not bad.  We've drained one of the IRA accounts and it's time to decide how to replenish it.  Of course Gerry wants us to but another annuity.

Interesting fact: I've just withdrawn as much from my annuity as I put in.  From now on I'm living on the interest that it's earned over 10 years.  That's better than I thought it was.

We got his report and asked Travis to make up a proposal for an annuity.  Then we made plans to shoot together and parted ways.  There was a See's candy store by Red Robin.  Ellen and I stopped there and bought candy for dessert.

It was very hot when we got home.  We watched videos until dinner (Red Robin leftovers).  After dinner was more videos until I go tired of them.  Then it was surfing.

Day 2819

 I woke up about 7:30, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast I went out to the shed to work on the RC course.

I made a lot of progress on the wave panel.  I started by making the components for a second linear obstacle.  Then I attached the components for the two linear obstacles.  Finally I attached the entry components at the other end of the panel.  All of this took some work and considerable planning.

I still have a lot to do.  However, it was 11:30 and too hot to work in the shed anymore (eventually it was 103).  I went back inside, surfed a little, and had lunch.  After some more surfing we left to go get more cat food.  It turned into a little bit of a safari - pet store, Dutch Brothers, Freddies (gas and groceries), and the post office.  There was a bunch of stuff at the post office.

It was 99 degrees when we left and 102 when we got back.  The power was off when we got back.  I went outside and cycled the breaker at the post, all of the breakers at the pole, and finally the breaker for the panel.  The meter was running, but nothing seemed to be working.  Miracles happen though.  By the time I got back to the trailer the power was on again although the voltage was low.

The rest of the afternoon was surfing and videos.  Ellen decided that we should replace the kitchen table.  I agreed and started looking for one.  I found one on sale and ordered it.  I think it will be a great improvement.

Day 2818

 I woke up a little after 7.  Ellen got up, too.  She fed the cats while I had breakfast.  Then she left to do the laundry.  I stayed home because I wanted to work in the shed before it got too hot (eventually 102).

I went out to the shed and finished work on the plank bridge  I have a little more to do on the stump panel, but I decided to postpone that.  I really don't know what I'm going to do with it.  Instead I worked on the what I'm calling the wave panel.  I also drained the tanks.

I'm calling it the wave panel because the major obstacle is a couple of wavy boards that really stress articulation.  It took a while to draw it out and then fabricate it.  I needed to make a template to mark how to cut it out.  The result isn't perfect, but it is functional.  I also figured out how to position the obstacles at one end of the panel.

I still have some planning and fabrication left to do.  I just got tired of working on it.  Also, it was getting very hot.

I went back inside the trailer and surfed until lunch time.  By then it was well into the 90's.  After lunch was videos - GSP's, Ukraine, and various other things.

Ellen fixed shrimp and tater tots for dinner.  After dinner was more videos.

The hot weather is supposed to last until the weekend.  I guess I'll be watching a lot more videos.

Day 2817

 I woke up at 7:30 and got up to do the pet stuff and have breakfast.  Then it was get ready and go shooting.  We wanted to do it early because it was going to get hot.  Eventually it got to 104 degrees.

We only shot half the course.  By then it was mid 80's and felt a lot hotter.

When we got back I went out to the shed to work on the RC obstacles.  It wasn't actually too bad with the fan on and my shirt off.  I got some more sticks from the burn pile, but didn't use them.  Instead I cut mounting blocks fore the plank bridge hooks, installed the hooks, and glued the blocks onto the bridge.  I also spent some time tightening the bridge cables.

I started to do some planning for the next module, but it was getting over 90 and too hot.  It was only 11:30.  I went inside for the rest of the day.

I did a little surfing and the some shopping.  Lunch was leftover tacos.  After lunch was videos.  After lunch it was videos for the rest of the day.

To think we came up here to escape the heat.  It was 103 in Austin today.

Day 2816

 I woke up at 7:30, played games for a while, and got up for breakfast.  Ellen had all ready gone to shoot.  I looked at a couple of videos on building crawler obstacles.  One gave me an idea for connecting all of the items I'm building together.

I went out to the shed and luckily found the hardware I needed to duplicate what I'd seen on YouTube.  Unfortunately I needed to undo a lot of the work I'd done on the wire bridge.  I dismantled the old stuff and started to construct the new stuff.  The new stuff entailed metal cutting, hole drilling, and a lot of Dremel work.  It also took time.  It was worth it though.  The new stuff is much better.

When that was done I started to modify the stump field.  It had come out great and part of the mod was easy.  I couldn't finish it though because I need more stumps and the shooting meant I couldn't get the branch I needed.  Also, I'd run out of the hardware I needed.

Instead I modified the two ramps I'd made for the wire bridge.  Eventually they will be able to be used on the stump field and the other module.  By then it was getting hot (102 eventually), Ellen was done, and I was hungry.

We were out of cold cuts, so we went to Safeway in Woodburn.  I also stopped at the post office and the hardware store to get more hardware.  We got sandwiches at Domino's.

By the time we got home it was 99.  We ate lunch and hid out in the trailer for the rest of the day.  Most of it was watching videos.

Day 2815

 Ellen woke up at 7 to get ready to shoot at 8.  I stayed in bed for half an hour and then got up.  After breakfast and a little surfing I went out to the shed.

I put away all of the stuff from the work I'd been doing and drained the trailer tanks.  Then  I started to work on the "stump" obstacle.  I removed the masking tape I'd put on stump positions and used the Dremel to remove additional paint from them.  I was about halfway through this process when Ellen finished shooting.

We got in the truck and drove to Albany.  The truck was due for a regen.  We got lucky.  The regen ended just as we got to our destination.  It was an RC race.  Unfortunately it was too early for anything to be going on.  We went back north and stopped at a RC store located in a mall.  It's in an old Sear's store.  It has a so-so pro shop and 6 large tracks covering everything from crawling to drift cars.

There was also a Hobby Lobby.  Ellen wanted some airbrush stuff.  They didn't have that, but we bought presents for Mitchell and Julia.  I got a baby Yoda poster.

We stopped at a Burgerville for lunch.  It was $33 for two hamburgers, small fry, onion rings, a milkshake, and lemonade.  That's the only time we'll be stopping there.

We drove back home and I went back to the shed.  I finished the stump obstacle and started to layout the climbing obstacle.  I quit because it was getting really hot.

I surfed for the rest of the afternoon.  Dinner was leftover pizza.  After dinner was videos.

Day 2814

 I woke up about 7:30 and played games for a while.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that it was outside to work on the RC obstacles.

I finished cutting the "stumps" for the stump course.  Then I masked the mounting areas and painted the base.  I also painted the base for the other crawl course.  I started building obstacles for it.  However, I needed some stuff, so I decided to go to Keizer to get it and lunch.

We stopped a Michael's to get beads for the plank bridge.  Then it was Lowe's for paint (I'm running out) and wood for the bridge.  I also got a toilet brush to clean out the view pipe in the trailer sewer connection.  We wanted to go to the pizza place for lunch, but it's gone tits up.  I didn't have my Audi key, so we had to use Ellen's.

We went home and had sandwiches for lunch.  I did a little surfing and found the Audi key under the recliner.  I'd put the key in a pocket with a Velcro closure, but it still fell out. Eventually I went back to the shed.

I cut 14 "planks" for the bridge.  Then I drilled holes in them.  Finally I strung them on a "rope" with two beads between each plank.  By then I was tired and it was past 6, so I went inside for dinner (frozen pizza).

After dinner was videos.  I finish the plank bridge tomorrow while Ellen is shooting FITASC.

Day 2813

 I woke up about 8, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After a little surfing it was time to take the cats to the vet.

The trip up was fine except for a little slowing on 217.  We got to the vet 3 minutes early.  She said the cats were fine, but Devon needs his teeth cleaned.  After a quick stop at Freddies for some groceries we stopped at Arby's and then went back home.  All in all it was one of the most pleasant trips up there and back that I've made.

When we got home I went out to the shed to work on the RC obstacles.  I put the teeter totter and wire bridge together.  I think that they came out well.  Then I started planning the next two obstacles.  I cut out base boards for both.  One is going to use pieces of tree limbs for obstacles.  The other will use blocks.

I went out to the burn pile and got a couple of tree limbs.  I started cutting them into little pieces and positioning them on the board.  I got about a third done with that when I ran out of ambition.  I went back to the trailer and surfed the rest of the afternoon.

Dinner was leftovers from Arby's.  After dinner was surfing.

Day 2812

 We woke up about 8, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  The sewer guy was coming today, so there wasn't anything to do except wait for him.

I went to the shed to work on the RC course stuff.  I painted the teeter totter parts and then strung the wires for the wire bridge.  That worked fine, but unfortunately the bridge frame isn't stiff enough.  I cut some dowel to reinforce it.  Of course it needed painting, too.

It's time to start something else, so I went back inside to look for ideas.  I found some good ones, but didn't feel like starting one.  I ended up spending some enjoyable hours looking for servos and electronics for the BBX that I'm planning on buying when it becomes available.  I've pretty much decided on what I'm going to buy.

By then it was after lunch and it was too hot to work in the shed.  Hooch had been texting me about Tony.  Apparently Tony came back to talk to Hooch yesterday.  He was off his meds and ranting.  Eventually he left.  Later on Hooch got a text from Yo saying that "Tony can't live here anymore".  Deja Vu.

The sewer guy got here about 4:15.  With Ellen washing out the tank from inside it only took about 15 minutes for him to drain the tank.  It took me another 45 minutes to do the last flushes and put everything away.  I think the tank's pretty clean though.

Ellen fixed BBQ pork and rice for dinner.  After dinner was videos.

All of the parts for the RC course stuff is complete now.  I should be able to assemble it all tomorrow.  Then I'll have to decide what to do next.

Day 2811

 We woke up about 8,played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that it was off to the laundromat.

I stopped at the hardware store while the wash was being done.  I bought a couple of pieces of wood for the RC course build.  We didn't go anywhere else.

When I got home it was out to the shed to work on things.  I painted the wire bridge.  I have to do that before installing the wire.  The rest of the time was working on the teeter totter.  I constructed the tower pieces and then put everything together.  After that it was a lot of slow handwork.  Because i don't have a drill press I had to mess around with the alignment of all of the holes.  I also had to use the Dremel to carefully sand down the mounting block for the ramp.  Finally I finished the rest of the painting on the wire bridge and taped up the teeter totter parts for painting tomorrow.

All of that took a large part of the day.  Somewhere in the middle was lunch.

Ellen fixed sausages for dinner.  After dinner she watched chick flicks and I watched videos.

Day 2810

 I woke up about 7:30, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  I called Tony to find out about his plans.  He said he didn't want to come.

That was a problem.  I called Hooch.  He was pissed because the girls had rescheduled things to meet Tony.  I called Tony back and he agreed to come down today.

We decided to go shooting and then go to Hooch's place.  Unfortunately by the time we got out it was hot.  We shot about half the course and quit because we were hot, tired, and it was getting late.  We both took showers before leaving to see Hooch.

We spent about an hour at Hooch's place and then loaded everyone into his truck.  We went to Tigard to play at an arcade place.  It was fun and both girls liked it.  We had Tony meet us there and he had fun, too.

We stopped for take home pizza on the way home.  Everyone had a nice dinner at Hooch's place.  After dinner Tony wanted to talk.  We let everyone else go inside and Dan and I listened.

Tony went on about not wanting to take the psychic drugs because they raised his blood sugar.  We just let him run down on that one.  Then he got on religion.  Apparently he's now an Episcopalian.  I guess he wanted to justify the change.  Unfortunately he came across as saying that Catholicism was wrong.  Of course that pissed Hooch off.  I managed to cool that down and we all ended up looking at doggy pictures.

It was 10 by the time we got home, but I'm glad Tony came down to see us.

Day 2809

 I woke up about 8, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After a little surfing I went outside to work on the crawler obstacles.

I spent most of the day working on the obstacles.  I started by redoing the teeter totter ramp that I messed up yesterday.  That was all the work I could do on the teeter totter because the rest depends on the ramp being done.

I spent the rest of the day working on the wire bridge.  I cut pieces for the ramp pins, attached them to the ends, and then installed the ramp pins.  Then I attached the ends to the base and glued on the wire guides.  I also cut the dowel for the log ramp and made attachments for it.  Then I did the construction of the flat ramp.  Finally I cut braces for both ramps.

All of that took most of the day with two breaks.  We went to Woodburn for fuel, milk, and screws for the wire bridge.  The other break was dinner (tacos) followed by videos until it cooled off enough to go back out to the shed.

Day 2808

 I woke up about 8 and played games for an hour.  Then I got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that it was outside.

I drained the tanks and went to the shed.  I soldered the connector I'd gotten to the battery charger lead for Hooch.  Then I wrapped up both the car and the battery charger.  I put them in the trunk of the car for Monday.  

Then I got to work on the teeter totter.  I glued the last pieces to the rails.  I also drilled the mounting holes for the tower.  That was all I could do right then, so I started to work on the wire bridge.  I found wood for the base and uprights.  I cut them out and then sanded the pieces.  By then it was lunch time.

We left for lunch.  First we stopped at Brooks for a couple of hardware pieces for the wire bridge.  Then we stopped at the breakfast place by Harbor Freight.  It was very good.  We stopped at Harbor Freight and got the little knives Hooch wanted.  I got some, too.  The last stop was Roth's.  We mainly bought things that they had on sale.

It was hot when we got home.  I surfed and Ellen watched chick flicks.  She fixed stir fry for dinner.

After dinner it was more surfing until 8.  Then I went back to the shed to work on the teeter totter.  I glued the rails together.  I also cut grooves in the wire bridge uprights for the cables.  I'd just finished that when I realized I'd glued the rails wrong.  I barely got them apart.  I'll try again tomorrow.

Day 2807

 We got up at 7:15 and took ou time getting ready.  At 8 we met Hooch and we all walked over to a restaurant several blocks away.  It was a nice breakfast place.  After breakfast we checked out and hit the road.

We drove straight through except for a gas stop in Boardman.  We didn't stop for lunch because the breakfast was so big.  We listened to (and I watched) a Netflix show on Hooch's iPhone.  That and the newspaper made the time go pretty fast.

Tony called when we were on the road.  He wanted to come tomorrow, we said fine.

Things got slow before 205.  It was slow all the way until we were on 26.  It must have taken over half an hour to get that far.

When we got to Hooch's place we all had leftovers for lunch.  Then we sat on the deck, surfed, and talked.  Eventually Hooch and Alicia started to play cards.  I surfed and watched.

Hooch ordered Chinese for dinner.  We all ate together and talked more.  We left about 7:30.  Tony called as we were leaving and rescheduled for Monday.

The drive home was fast.  I was driving over 80 for most of the way after Tualatin.  We got over37 mpg for the whole trip.

When we got home we unpacked and fed the cats.  I did a little work on the teeter totter and Then read mail and watched videos.

Day 2806

 We got up at 5:30, fed the cats, and put the dog in the car.  Then it was up to Portland.  Then trip was OK, with only a little bit of slowing at Wilsonville.  We got there right on time.  Unfortunately the dog barfed 5 blocks from Hooch's house.

After a little time at Hooch's we hit the road.  The traffic through Portland was a little slow, but not too bad.  After that it was smooth sailing.  We stopped at Ritzville for gas and lunch.  We got the trainer at 1:30.

We talked to the trainer for a while and then left.  The dogs seemed quite happy to be there.

We drove to Spokane and stayed at a Davenport Hotel across the street from the old one.  It was half the price and just as nice. Ellen called her brother to set up dinner.  We sat around for an hour and then left for dinner.

Her brother has a really nice house.  We talked for a couple of hours and then had dinner.  After dinner we talked for a couple of more hours.  Then Hooch came to pick us up.  We stopped at the Japanese gardens on the way back.  They were beautiful.

We had a drink in the bar and then went up to our rooms for bed.  We were really tired.

Day 2805

 I woke up a little after 7 and played games for a while.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After a little surfing I called Hooch and we set up logistics for tomorrow.  Then I went out to the shed.

Before I got started Ellen brought Abby out.  I did retrieves with her and then we did recall training.  She did pretty well on both.

I started out by building up the teeter totter ramp a little more.  It's slow work because it made of glued together Popsicle sticks.  Then I started working on the base.  I cut out the bottom part.  Then I cut out braces for the tower legs and a mounting block for the ramps.  The worst part was drilling a lengthwise hole through the block.  I managed to get it almost right.

I mounted the braces to the base and sanded all of the pieces.  That's all I can do until I've completed the ramps.  It was lunch time when I was done, so I went back to the trailer.

After lunch we went to CVS to pick up the drugs that they didn't have yesterday. We also got some yogurt.  By the time we got back it was really too hot to work in the shed.  I surfed and watched videos until dinner - a frozen one.

After dinner was more videos.  I went to bed early.  The alarm goes off at 5:30 tomorrow.

Day 2804

 The dog woke us about 6.  I turned over and went back to sleep.  I managed to sleep for another hour or so.  Then it was up for pet stuff and back to bed to play games.  Eventually we got up for breakfast.

After breakfast it was the laundromat.  That was followed by a trip to Safeway for a few things.  It was 11:30 before we got home.

It was hot today, eventually into the mid 90's.  It wasn't quite that hot yet though.  I drained the tanks and went to the shed to see about packaging up Hooch's Christmas gift.  Unfortunately I didn't have the right kind of connectors to make a connection wire between the mini-b's battery and the charge.  I did package everything else though including the charger and battery bag.  Since the charger battery box is the same as the one my new double charger came in the repackage looks like the charger I'm giving him is NIB. 

I did a little work building the teeter totter, but by then it was getting really hot.  I went inside for a late lunch.  Then I went on Amazon to look for components for the crawler course wire bridge.  I looked at several alternatives and settled on one.  I ordered the components and the connectors.  I also wrote up the design for the bridge.

I've got the stuff necessary to start several things for the course.  I just need time when the shed isn't boiling to work on it.

The rest of the afternoon was surfing and videos.  Ellen fixed bacon and hash browns for dinner.  After dinner was more videos.  We did take Abby out when it cooled off for call training.  She'd been driving us nuts all day because she was bored and hadn't had any exercise.