Day 3633

 I woke up a little after 5 and couldn't get back to sleep.  I played games for along while and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was 44 degrees outside (never got to 55), so I decided to spend the day working out what I needed to get to complete the 5 RC kits I have.

The Audi kit in the spare bedroom is complete.  I went out to the garage and took inventory of the contents of the four kits out there.  I decided that I'd use the Slash motor with a Hobbywing ESC on the BRZ and buy a motor/ESC combo for the Slash.

When I got back to the house I went through all of the pending orders from China as well as the parts that I have stashed there.  It turned out that all I needed to get were the Slash and BRZ electronics.  Figuring that out took a while though.

After lunch I went to Amain.  I spent a long time figuring out what motor and gear ratio I should use on the Slash.  It was really fun doing the analysis.  Then I went through the Slash options and found a couple of other things that I decided to get.  Unfortunately neither the motor/ESC or ESC I wanted were on sale.  I ended up substituting a more expensive motor/ESC that was.  It cost me $10 more, but at least I got a discount.

 I also found that Amazon is selling the Capo for $100 off.  I emailed Hooch about sending it to him and I'm waiting for a reply.

The evening was surfing, videos, and a hour and a half nap.  I'm going to bed early. 

Day 3632

 I woke up at 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  The first order of business was to take Abby to Circle C.  I walked with the for a little while, but my back cut that short.

When we got back I wanted to find out what bearings I needed for the Dirt Cross.  That meant going to the garage, so I took the PPQ I won with me.

This should have been a quick open the safe, look at the Dirt Cross instructions, and got back to the house.  It wasn't.  No matter which combination I used the safe wouldn't open.  After a lot of tries and frustration I discovered that the wheel wasn't turned back all the way.  The combination would turn, but it wouldn't release the wheel.  After a little more trial and error I got the right combination.

I turned the wheel, but the safe door wouldn't open no matter how hard I pulled.  Eventually I noticed that the string from a sock had gotten jammed under the door.  I used pliers to pull it out.  The door still wouldn't open.  I tried to use a crow bar to lever it open.  No luck.  By then I was really pissed.  I started to slam the wheel forward and backward.  The door finally opened.

The trouble wasn't over.  I had to transfer things around carefully in order to fit the PPQ in.  Finally I got to use the Dirt Cross instructions to identify what bearings I needed.  Then I went back to the house to see if I had any.  I only had 3 of the required 10.  I ordered what I needed on Amazon.  I also got Ellen to do a little painting.

I had lunch and then did a mixture of surfing, videos, and a nap.  When I woke up the Amain packages had arrived.  One was at the gate, but I had to walk to the mailbox to get the other.  Amazon had delivered the work table.  It came in a large heavy box.

I went to the back storage and got a hand truck.  I used it to haul the box to the garage.  Then I took it back to the storage.  I opened the box and started assembling the table.  It would have been easy except for two screw holes that were misaligned.  Did I mention that it was 82 degrees?   When I was finished I took two loads to the recycle.

I went back to the house, watched videos, fed the animals, and had dinner.  After some more videos I decided to look at getting a better ESC/motor combination for the Slash.  The Amain sale makes this a nice option.  I have to do more research on that tomorrow. 

 

Day 3631

 I woke up a little before 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  My back is still hurting a lot, but the digestive problems are reduced.

I started the day doing a lot of Black Friday shopping.  Amain had a huge addition to their ad.  There were a couple of other RC vendors with ads I looked at.  I didn't buy anything.  I did email Hooch and tell him to buy me the motor/ESC for the Copa for me for Christmas.  There were a lot of ads and it took quite a while to go through them.

By the time I was finished with the ads it was warm enough to take Abby to Circle C.  Just like last time I sat in the car while Ellen took Abby through squirrel town.  There was another GSP there and the two of them had a good time.

I didn't really have anything else to do, so I went to the post office.  I was hoping that soe Chinese stuff would show up.  It didn't.  After that it was home.

Ellen went out to do some painting.  I put the tags on the flat bed trailer.  Then I went to the garage and put a coat of paint on the Dirt Cross wing.  I think that it's going to come out nice.

The rest of the day was surfing, videos, and a nap.  I am enjoying the reduced drug effects.  I actually had a fairly normal shit today. 

 

Day 3630

 I woke up about 8.  Ellen got up earlier to start working on dinner.  She spent the whole day working hard on it.  Eventually I got up for pet stuff and breakfast.

I spent most of the day in the recliner again.  My back isn't getting better very quickly.  I watched football until I got bored.  Then I switch to videos.  Then I switched to surfing and shopping (didn't buy anything).  Finally I went back to the Prime TV series I started watching.  I got through 2 episodes before timing out on that.

Ellen did a great job on dinner.  The turkey was as good as any that we get at the BBQ places.  I only had some of it and some mashed potatoes.  It's amazing how little I can eat now.  I really don't get super hungry at all any more.

It's Thursday, so the drug effects have died down.  No diarrhea and I actually managed to fart a couple of times without having to sit on the toilet.  Part of it might be because I'm now on a clean living diet.  I hope that the bad side effects are reduced next Monday.

It wasn't a super productive day. 

Day 3629

 I woke up at 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  I ate the normal breakfast even though my stomach didn't feel completely right.  When breakfast was over we took Abby to Circle C.

My back is still causing me a lot of pain.  I sat in the car while Ellen took Abby through squirrel town.  She also took Abby on an abbreviated version of our normal walk.  Abby came back tired.

We made a short stop at Wally World so I could get some rolls.  Then we went to the post office.  The last stop was the HEB on 290.  It was surprisingly uncrowded.  Ellen bought some last minute Thanksgiving stuff and I bought some of the foods that the YouTube video recommended.  We'll see how that goes.

When we got home I had to rush into the house for my third diarrhea of the day.  Fortunately after that I felt better.  The nagging stomach feelings never went away.  I did have a bowl of raisin bran for lunch.

Some LEDs for the Slash came.  I went outside and fabricated some mounts for them.  That was pretty much my useful activity for the day.  My back just takes a lot out of me.  I did manage to clear out a lot of the junk that had accumulated on the kitchen table since we got back.  It's amazing.  The table is made out of wood.

 I spent the rest of the day watching videos.  Dinner was chicken and bacon with rice that Ellen fixed yesterday.  I'm happy that it didn't cause any intestinal upset.

Day 3628

 I woke up before 6 and couldn't go back to sleep probably because I'd slept half of yesterday.  I played games for a long while and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  Breakfast was OJ and a banana.  I was afraid to eat anything else.

My back was KILLING me.  I couldn't bend over.  Standing or walking caused a lot of pain.  Getting up out of a chair was the worse.  I sat in the recliner and shopped Amain on Ellen's tablet.  I ended up buying the Subaru I'd been looking at and some small batteries.

I didn't eat anything until 5:30.  I wasn't hungry and I was scared to.  That didn't stop the diarrhea though.  It was mainly farts that were blocked by liquid.  I shit 5 or 6 times. 

I did accomplish a little bit in mid afternoon.  I went out to the garage and put the last coat of blue paint on the Dirt Cross wing.  I still have to back it with silver. 

I went back to the recliner for videos.

Dinner was two pieces of ham and a couple of slices of raisin bread.  I watched a video on what to eat.  Basically it was drink only water and plenty of it.  Also no sugar.  About half the foods they suggested were ones I might eat.  I won't enjoy any of them.  I might try some sort of protein supplement.

Eventually I quit videos and went to surfing.  Ellen immediately started chick flicks. 

Day 3627

 I woke up at 8, played games,and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  Then I went out to the car and got the new bathroom lights.

Installing the lights took 3 hours.  There were several trips to the garage.  Early on I strained my back.  That made moving, much less climbing on step stools very painful.  I had to drill mounting holes in the new mounting plates.  Wire nuts were of course a problem.  When we installed a light bulb it was clear that they were much too bright.  I was hot, tired, and beginning to feel sick.  We went to Home Depot anyway.  I barely made it home ahead of the diarrhea.  

 I'd developed a nasty gut ache to go with my back pain.  I thought that eating half a dozen Club crackers might help.  Nope.  After about an hour I threw them up.  At that point I gave up.  I took a shower and went to bed at 4.

Going to bed didn't help.  The gut ache disappeared to be replaced by the worst case of shivers I've ever had.  I was really shaking.  Eventually they stopped and I fell asleep.   I woke up after 8.  At that point I was just feeling exhausted.  Of course my back hurt every time I tried to turn over.

I couldn't sleep, so I played games until about 11.  Then I put on the CPAP and went to sleep - eventually.

I'm going to give Mounjaro one more week.  If I'm seriously sick next Monday I'll call the doctor and ask for advice. 

Day 3626

I woke up at 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that we left to take Abby to Circle C.

Abby didn't run yesterday and it showed.  She ran back and forth around squirrel town.  Then we took her for our usual walk around the park.  She spent most of the time running faster than her "I can do this all day" speed.  We kept walking until she finally slowed down.  She did run through the mud puddle at the lower soccer fields.  That earned her a nap.

When Circle C was done we went to Lowe's and Home Depot to look for new bathroom lights.  We found some at Home Depot.  Ellen decided we needed $60 worth of special light bulbs for them.  We also stopped at Best Buy for a new dash cam that doesn't require a reset at random intervals.  They didn't have the ones that Ellen wanted in stock at that store.

When we got home I had lunch.  I was actually a little hungry.  Then I went to the garage and painted the Dirt Cross wing.  I decided that I'd wait until tomorrow to replace the bathroom lights.  I watched videos and had a nap instead. 

When I woke up Ellen and I gave Abby a bath.  This time I was in the shower.

When that was done I checked with Aliexpress on the status of the work table order.  It had changed to a minutes/seconds countdown.  That gave me a bad feeling, so I cancelled the order.  It was good that I did.  Amazon has the table on sale for $50 less than Aliexpress did.  

I decided to look for Black Friday prices on RC stuff on Amazon.  I needed to get receivers and servos for the SIX builds that I have scheduled.  Amazon had the best servo prices and Aliexpress had the best receiver prices.  I ended up ordering all of it.

I did't have much of a dinner - fruit and some crackers.  I spent the most of the evening surfing while Ellen watched Korean chick flicks.  When she was done I watched a few more videos before going to bed. 

 

Day 3625

 I woke up at 7:30, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was too cold to paint, so I surfed until it was time to take Ellen to Costco.  We left Abby at home because she would have had to sit in the car for a long time.

I cruised around Costco with a shopping cart while Ellen had her audio test.  I picked up some water and some grapes.  I saw a security camera that looked nice, but I wanted to talk to Ellen about it.  Ellen's appointment took a long time.  I ended up sitting in the vision area surfing and waiting for her.  We decided to get the camera.  Then we had to wait for a while in the checkout line.  It was busy in Costco today.

We made a stop at Wally World.  I wanted scotch tape and mailing labels.  We ended up buying some groceries also.  The last stop was the post office.

When we got home we both went to the garage to paint.  Then it was back inside for videos and a nap.  When I woke up we went back outside for second coats.  I kind of crewed mine up.  I hope I can make it better tomorrow. 

A light bulb had died in the bathroom light fixture.  Of course it was glued into the socket.  I tried to be careful, but I ended up breaking the bulb and the fixture.  The mess was epic and took a long time to clean up.  I also had to unjam the vacuum cleaner before I could finish the cleanup.  I'm going to have to buy two more tomorrow and replace them. 

 Ellen fixed chicken and rice for dinner.  I ate a little more than usual today, but it didn't seem to cause me any problems.  I'll see what happens after the second dose tomorrow.

 I watched videos for a little time after dinner and then switched to a movie.

Day 3624

 I woke up at 7:30, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  I surfed for a while and had two bouts of diarrhea.  Then I went out to the garage with Ellen.

We talked about what paints we need to get.  I also put a coat of paint on the Opel.  Then we put the dog in the car and drove to Hobby Town.  Traffic was light and we made good time.  I spent most of the trip driving 70 to 80, the same as everyone else.

We bought the paint that we needed.  Some of it is in rattle cans for me and some in airbrush paint for Ellen.  I also got a chance to look at a couple of cars that I was thinking of getting.  I'm not interested in them.

After a stop at harbor Freight to use the restroom (more diarrhea) we went back to Circle C.  The speeds weren't quite as fast as northbound, but it was quick.  There was some sort of thing going on in the median by William Cannon.  There were about 7 police cars there blocking the left lane.  There didn't seem to be any reason for it, no wrecked cars.  Fortunately traffic was moving pretty well in the right lane.

It looked like it was going to rain, so we didn't hike in Circle C.  Instead we parked by squirrel town and let Abby chase them.  There were several to chase.  She ran for a long time while we just basically watched and walked around a little.  We went home when Abby got tired.

When we got home we had lunch.  For me it was two slices of raisin bread.  I'm going to try to figure out what I can eat that won't give me the runs.  After that we both sat down for some videos and naps.  When we woke up we went back to the garage.  Ellen set up the airbrush and started painting the Slash.  I got out the Dirt Cross body pieces and finished prepping them.  Then it was back to the house for the rest of the day.

I did some more surfing and then switched to videos.  Dinner was leftover chicken and potatoes.  After dinner I watched a movie.

Lee called to ask that I watch the house while he went back to Colorado.  He said he'd call me when he gets back. 

Day 3623

 I woke up at 7:30, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  The Medicare people called.  It turned out that the drug plan  have is a good one for Mounjaro.  The first month is $615.  The following months are all $11.  That started the day off well.

After breakfast we took Abby to Circle C.  She hadn't run in a couple of days and she made up for it today.  She got to run farther than normal.  Ellen spent a lot of time in the can, so I got to cover more ground.  Squirrel town had lots of squirrels so she criss-crossed the area several time looking for them.

We stopped at CVS on the way home to pick up drugs.  It's good I didn't stop yesterday because today there were two prescriptions waiting. 

I messed around with RC stuff for much of the rest of the day.  I put to coats of white paint on the Opel.  I think it is going to come out well.  I also made a plan for painting the next kit, the Dirt Cross.  I can paint it with cans if Ellen masks it.

I did some surfing and then went back to RC.  I looked up paints at Hobby Town.  They have what I want and we'll probably go there tomorrow.  Then I went through Amain looking for Black Friday stuff.  I found a Tamiya kit for under $100.  I decided to look on Aliexpress to see how much it would cost to add the minimum options to it.  That came to $30.  I bought them.  I'm going to wait until their sale drops before ordering that.

Ellen fixed sausage and hash browns for dinner.  I ate small amounts of food periodically all afternoon and evening.  That included dinner.  It seems to make me feel better and there was no diarrhea.  We'll see how tomorrow goes.  

It was supposed to rain hard in the afternoon.  It didn't.  Instead it rained a little bit after dinner.  It's supposed to rain more tomorrow.  We'll see. 

Day 3622

 There was no wake up time this morning because I really didn't get much sleep.  I spent the whole night getting up and going to the can with diarrhea.  I got less than 4 hours of sleep.  When I got out of bed I was beat.

I had a doctor's appointment at 9:40.  I didn't eat breakfast because I didn't want to shit in the car.  Fortunately I didn't have to wait long at the office.  The visit itself was brief.  My PSA is back down to high normal.  He'll see me in 6 months.  The best part was that the diarrhea attack that I had as I was leaving was the last I had today.

I stopped at Central Gun Works and picked up the pistol.  It's really nice, but I doubt I'll ever shoot it.  Now I have to find a place to put it.  I also stopped at the post office on the way hoe to pick up a Chinese package.

When I got home I was still feeling poorly.  I had breakfast and then surfed for a while.  I got feeling better, so I went out to the garage and put another coat of paint on the Opel.  Then I used the clips I got from China to hang the Minions cloth hanging in the apartment kitchen.  I think it looks good.

After that I went back to the house for surfing and videos.  I fell asleep after the first video.  Ellen had gotten her hair fixed.  She woke me up when she came home, but I went back to sleep fairly quickly.  When I woke up I was feeling almost human.

There wasn't any dinner time, but I did have another bowl of cereal.  I'm a little hungry, but I'm afraid to eat much more.

Ellen watched chick flicks in the evening while I worked on RC stuff.  I rearranged the wiring on the Typhon Grom so that the body attached better.  Then I looked through 3 of the 4 kits to determine if I needed any more option parts.  I found a few and ordered the from the Chinese.  They are MUCH cheaper there.

While I was looking at parts I checked the status of the work bench I ordered.  It was supposed to be here today, and it hasn't shipped yet.  Aliexpress says that I'll get a refund in 5 days if it doesn't ship. 

Day 3621

 I woke up about 7:15, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  I did a little surfing and then went to the garage to work on "fun stuff".

I started out by putting the first coat of paint on the Opel.  Then I decided to unbox the mini tool chest that I bought yesterday.  I started by putting rubber mats in the three drawers.  Then I removed a lot of holders from the peg board to make room for the chest.  It fits nicely behind the vice.

The pegboard holders had a lot of junk in them.  I spent a lot of time organizing it into stuff for Goodwill, stuff that needed to be sorted out, and a few things for the house.  When I was done it all fit in the chest with room to spare.  It also left the remaining holder a lot neater.  Things are a lot easier to get at now.  All in all it was a great improvement. 

I finished up by putting another coat of paint on the Opel and using a grinding bit to round the corners on the mounting plate for the trailer winch.

I went back to the trailer for lunch.  After that I surfed for a while until I felt like doing something else.  I put a third coat of paint on the Opel.  Then I started working on the Opel lights.  I installed the front and rear lights in their holders.  It turns out that Tamiya doesn't supply the parts to put LEDs in the driving lights.  I'm going to have to cobble something together.

It was getting late in the day by the time the Opel paint dried.  I'll look at it in the sun tomorrow to decide if it needs another coat.  I only have a little paint left.

Ellen fixed pancakes and ham for dinner.  I couldn't eat it all because my stomach was telling me I was full. 

After dinner was videos.

A note on the Mounjaro effects.  I'd been constipated until today.  In the afternoon I took a loose shit.  A couple of hours later I had a case of diarrhea.  I had another after dinner.  Both were the type of thing that happens when you're getting ready for a colonoscopy.  I hope that doesn't continue.  It's a "get out of the chair and run to the bathroom" sort of thing.  I'm beginning to see how the drug works.  It makes eating such an unpleasant experience that you don't want to do it any more. 

Day 3620

 I woke up at 6:30 and couldn't get back to sleep.  I played games for a while and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that I went  outside to finish the trailer patch job.

I put a pad down on the gravel and started spraying the patch with flex seal.  It was difficult to get the spray can in the right position to cover some of the patch.  This made it a messy job.  I ended up with some seal on both hands.  Fortunately I didn't get any on my clothes.  I managed to get everything covered without running out of spray. 

Cleanup required a lot of scrubbing with turpentine soaked paper towels.   That was followed by an equal amount of scrubbing with dish soap to get the turpentine off my hands.

Abby ran around outside while I was working.  She wasn't tired when I was finished, so we took her to Circle C.  We did the whole 2 mile loop and she was tired by the time we got back.  The next stop was Lowe's.  I needed to get salt.  I got 4 bags, which should last use for most of the time that we're here.  We also picked up a couple of items from their holiday sale displays as well as a brine kit for the turkey and a mounting plate and bolts for the winch I bought at Harbor Freight.

The last stop was Doc's.  I wanted to sit outside on the nice day.  I'm really enjoying the feeling of not having any more onerous tasks to do.

I had every intention of working on the Opel body when I got home.  That got sidetracked by some videos and a long nap.  When I woke up there were two cats in my chair.  I ended up watching videos until it was time to feed them. 

Dinner was leftovers.  After dinner I started to watch a TV show on Prime.  I made it through an episode and a half before I switched to surfing. 

I suspect that tomorrow I'll be going something useful 

Day 3619

 I woke up at 7:45, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  Today was the day to patch the trailer, so I went outside to set things up.

I put down blankets on the gravel and made some measurements.  Then I cut the patches I'd made to the right sizes.  With all that ready I got Ellen to come out to help.  I wouldn't have been able to do things alone.  She served a second pair of hands to hod tape, lights, and other things.  It took a while, but we finally got the patches taped in place.  We used all but about 6 inches of the tape.

I still need to spray the patch with flex seal.  It was getting hot though so I called it a victory.  I can spray it tomorrow.  It will be cooler and it's not going to be a big job.  I'm really happy to have the last big pain in the ass done.  The last thing to do is get the truck fixed.  I'll do that after the mower is done.

We went back inside and watched videos.  That turned into a nap.  When I woke up it was more videos.  I didn't have lunch, just a snack.

Ellen had been working on masking the Slash most of the day.  It's going to look good.  I got tired of videos and got out the Opel body.  I painted the lights and the bumper.  I have to wait until the paint dries before I can finish the lights.  I actually had the paints I needed when I searched through all of the old paint collections.

Ellen fixed a nice dinner - chicken, potatoes, and asparagus.  I guess she's going to start doing that when I take the Mounjaro.  I'll do that before I go to bed.

After dinner I surfed and Ellen watched chick flicks. 

Day 3618

 I woke up at 7:30, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that I went outside to do chores.

I took some stuff to the cans and then went to the garage.  I used the new can of flex seal to finish spraying the trailer patch.  Then I took the motorcycle lift back to the back storage.  It took two trips and was a pain in the ass to drag back there.  With that done I decided to prep the area that I'll need to patch.

I brought the slide out in which made access a lot easier.  Then I gut all of the damaged plastic cloth out of the way.  Think a plastic fringe all around the damaged area.  Finally I sprayed the exposed CDX with flex seal.  It was 75 degrees with 90% humidity, so I was sweaty and tired bu the time that was done.

I had Abby outside with me the entire time I was out.  She spent most of the time running all over the place like a crazy dog.  She actually ran so much that she came over and laid down beside me under the trailer. 

I went back into the house and when Ellen was ready we left for Harbor Freight.  They were having a sale with stuff I needed/wanted.  I got better ratchet straps and a winch for the flatbed trailer.  I also got an assortment of small items I needed.  Everything I bought was on sale.

I didn't feel like going home, so I started driving I drove down Lamar, up Congress, and down 1st.  I just wanted to see what had changed.  We didn't see anything that we wanted to stop at.  By then it was lunch time, so we went to the donut and taco palace for lunch.  Then we stopped at the post office and the pet store.  After a short stop at HEB we went to Circle C for the dog.  She'd run so much this morning that she didn't want to do much more than look for squirrels. 

The car's software is still doing weird shit.  When we left it wouldn't initialize.  Ellen had to manually reset it.  I also screwed the radio a couple of things. 

When we got home I sat down for videos and fell asleep.  When I woke up I was sick of videos so I put the window masks on the Opel.  I'll probably paint it tomorrow.  I also brought in the Slash body so Ellen could plan out how she's going to paint it. 

Dinner was something frozen.  After dinner I switched from videos to surfing. 

Day 3617

I woke up a little before 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast I went outside for some chores.

I started by taking three bags of garbage to the can.  It was quite a load.  Then I put the TexTag on the Audi.  I also got the cable holders for it and installed the dash camera.  Then I went to the shed to find the model number for the mower.

I went back inside and called the mower repair place.  They said that they fixed Toro and could have what I wanted done in a couple of weeks.  I took a few minutes to order my prize from Nationals ($30 gift card).  Then I got Ellen to help and we hooked up the flatbed trailer.  That went pretty smoothly.  Nothing else did.

When I tried to load the mower it wouldn't go one because it hung up on the ramp.  After repositioning the trailer I got it halfway up the ramp and lifted/pushed it the rest of the way.  When I tried to tie it down the ratchet strap was all tangled up.  It took some frustration to fix it.  I had to unpackage a second one.  The damn thing was held onto the package with a screw.  I had to go down to the garage to get a screwdriver.  Then I noticed that it and another lacked hooks.  I threw them both away and got one out of the garage.

Mercifully the trip to the shop was uneventful.  However the parking in front was tight for a truck and trailer.  I got the mower unloaded and did the paperwork.  Getting out was a problem.  There was very little space.  I couldn't see the trailer.  Ellen "helped" me by giving me conflicting and erroneous directions.  Eventually we got it out.

We stopped at HEB on the way back and Ellen bought a bunch of stuff for Thanksgiving.  When we got back I parked the trailer by the burn barrel because that was easiest.  Then it was a ham sandwich for lunch followed by videos and a nap.

 I didn't wake up until it was almost time to feed the animals.  Ellen fixed steak for dinner.  After dinner was more videos.

A can of flex seal came today.  I'll probably try to fix the trailer tomorrow.  That would be the last "big" task to get done before Thanksgiving. 

Day 3616

 I woke up at 7:30, played games and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast we decided to go shooting.  I loaded up the car and we left.

There were less then 10 people shooting when we got there.  The weather was great - not too hot with a light breeze.  The targets were great.  Most of them were medium hard or harder.  A couple were really hard.

Abby ran around for a while when we first got there.  After that she mostly wanted to ride in the cart.  Ellen said that it was too hot (80).  I think Abby was just lazy.

When we were done we at sandwiches at the QT, stopped at CVS to get the Mounjaro, and them went home.  I had every intention of working on the Opel.  However I sat down to watch a couple of videos first and fell asleep.  When I woke up I no longer felt like working.  I did finish spraying the fiberglass cloth, at least until I get some more spray.

Ellen fixed frozen Pad Thai for dinner.  It was surprisingly good.  After dinner I watched videos until I got bored and switched to surfing. 

Day 3615

 I woke up about 7:30, played games for a while, and then got up.  I fed the pets and then my phone alarm went off as I was getting ready for breakfast.  I misread the alarm and thought that I only had 20 minutes to get to the urologist.

I hurried out to the car and took off to the doctor.  I actually could have made it in 20 minutes except for traffic.  There was a short slow down at the 290 exit from loop 1.  There was a much bigger one at the 1st street exit.  I ended up taking 25 minutes.

That's when I discovered that I was an hour early.  Luckily it was only a blood test, so the just sent me in.  I waited for a couple of other people and then they took my blood.  I was on my way home by the tie of my appointment.

I had breakfast when I got home.  It was warming up, so we took Abby to Circle C as soon as I was done.  She had a good tie doing her usual squirrel hunting, running around, and searching in the woods.  Afterwards it was lunch time, but we decided to eat at home.  I stopped at CVS on the way to pick up a new drug.  It was a paste that Dr. Cox had prescribed for my head.  I'm going to use the shampoo I've already purchased instead.  The paste has nasty side effects and isn't supposed to be put on your head.

Ellen fixed grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch.  After lunch I set the garbage cans out.  Then I went to the garage to do small tasks.  I put some stuff away.  Then I cut the fiberglass cloth for the trailer patches and sprayed them with flex seal.  I took the bases from the rusted 20 ga shells and put them in a plastic bag with water.  Finally I cleaned all of the rust out of the shell carrier that I'd had the 20 ga shells in.

I took the Opel body back to the house.  My intention was to put the paint masks on it.  I decided to watch videos first.  That turned into a nap.  When I woke up I didn't feel like working on the Opel.  I did go out and put a second coat of flex seal on the fiberglass cloth.  Then I returned to videos.

That was pretty much it for the rest of the afternoon and evening.  Dinner was leftovers.

I got a text about 4 that the Mounjaro was in.  I'll get it tomorrow.  I haven't decided when I'll start using it. 

Day 3614

 I woke up a little after 7, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was cold, but warming up.  We put Abby in the car to go to Circle C and then do errands.

Abby found a dog to run with.  They had a great time.  Eventually the other dog's owner wanted to leave, so we took Abby on a walk.  We didn't take her as far as usual because she'd covered so much ground with the other dog.

With the walk over we went to the post office because there was a package from China there.  We went to Petco next.  We got dog food.  We were going to give Abby a bath, but it was closed.    She was stinky, so we went to the pet store by Fireman's and washed her there. 

The next stop was CVS.  I told them that it was OK to order the drug.  It should be here tomorrow.  It's going to cost me a little over $150 a week.  No insurance covers it.  The last stop was the gas station.  The car read 1/3 full and took 11 gallons to fill.  It will be nice to have a car with a little bigger tank.

When we got home I sat down for videos and a nap.  When I woke up I went outside to assemble the RC stands from China and install the trimmer head that came today.  I also measured out the size of the patches I'll need to fix the trailer.  

I assembled the headlights for the Slash that came from China.  Then I sat down for videos.

Dinner was frozen pizza.  After dinner I watched a bunch of videos on Mounjaro.  It seems like it won't be too bad and might get me off some other drugs.  Weight loss is solely based on not eating as much due to depressed hunger.  We'll see how that goes.

If the weather cooperates I'll start getting the trailer patches going tomorrow. 

Day 3613

 I woke up at 7:30, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  I had a text from Audi saying that they were fixing the car.  After that it was time to go to the doctor.

The doctor wanted to change my medication.  I said OK.  He also gave me a list of 5 different shampoos that he wants me to use in a rotation.  WOW.  He'll see me again just before Christmas.  

Ellen played Frisbee with the dog while I was at the doctor.  We decided that wasn't enough and we went to Circle C.  We walked around a little longer that the last two days to make sure Abby was tired.  The truck was down to 1/8 tank.  We went to Walgreen's for the shampoo ($45) and then put 15 gallons in the truck across the street.  Then we decided to go to Culver's again.  While we were there Audi called to say that the car was fixed.  I also got a text from CVS.  The new drug costs $617.  CVS wants to talk to me before they fill it.

We drove to Audi.  They said that the error was a communication error that caused a check engine.  They installed a software fix that was supposed to fix it.  We decided that I'd drive the car home, and that we would stop at CVS on the way there.  Unfortunately CVS was at lunch when we stopped, so we just went home.  I looked and the shampoo was much more expensive at CVS.  One good thing is that the radio worked on the way home.

When we got home I decided to take the rest of the day off.  I watched videos for a couple of hours.  Then I decided to install some steering parts in the Typhoon GROM.  It took way longer than it should have.  I also discovered that my 2mm hex wrench is worn out.

I had something frozen for dinner and then started watching Monday night football.  I read during the game and still got bored.  

I looked for drug insurance that covered the new drug.  Apparently there isn't any.  I also ordered replacement wrenches at Amazon.  By then it was time for bed. 

 

Day 3612

 I woke up a little before 7, played games, and got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  Then we put Abby in the truck and went to Costco.

The truck started to regen before we got to Escarpment.  I just kept driving North on Loop 1.  I went all the way to Windsor before turning around.  I had to go all they way back to Escarpment before the regen ended.  The soot level was at 0 when it was done, so hopefully this regen is a "thorough" one.  Then we finally went to Costco.  

We needed water, gut pills, laundry soap, and eye drops.  It was a little crowded even though we were there on a Sunday morning before the "normal" people could get in.  We basically just got what we needed and left.  We wanted to get to Circle C before it got warm.

I stopped for coffee before we got to the park.  With tax and a $1 tip it cost me $8.  That's crazy.  When we got to the park it was pretty empty.  It was still cool, so Abby had a great time running.  We basically followed the same route as yesterday.  Abby was running in I could do this all day mode by the time we were done. 

When we got home I started the list of small chores that I wanted to get done today.  I hung the quail on the outside wall.  Then I replaced the deck railing.  It turns out that it had been destroyed by the Wisteria wrapping around it and wedging it up.  I moved the Wisteria.  Then I got a trowel and went looking for the buried sewer nozzle.  I found it quickly and uncovered it.  I also repaired both of the sewer valve inspection tubes with Gorillas tape and a new top for one of them.  I also taped the tops down.  We'll see how that works.  Finally I bagged up the 20 ga debris and took them to the garbage can.  I still have to deal with the primers.  It felt to get all of these little things out of the way.

After that I went back to the house for lunch.  After that was videos and a nap.  That's getting to be a pattern.  I didn't wake up until a little before cat feeding time.

Ellen fixed orange chicken for dinner.  It tasted a little funny because it's been in the trailer freezer for many months. 

I cleaned out the shampoo bottle that I need to replace the one I broke.  I should be able to use it tomorrow when it dries out.  The rest of the evening was videos. 

Day 3611

 I woke up a little before 7, played games ad then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was in the 60's, so we took Abby to Circle C.  She really needed the run.

We walked at least 2 miles around Circle C.  Of course Abby went a lot farther.  I made sure that she had a lot of opportunities to run through the wooded areas.  She always came back in a timely manner.  There were lots of kid's soccer games going on.  She always obeyed when we called her back or whistled.  I did have to buzz her when we were walking by other dogs and she was supposed to be heeling.  All in all she did great.

When that was done we went to Lowe's.  I bought a 2x6 to repair the deck railing and an inspection box to repair the sewer fixture that I ran over with the mower.  Then we mad a short stop at HEB and then went to the post office.  By then it was lunch time and we ate at Culver's before going home.

When we got home we noticed that one of the stick on numbers on the address light had fallen off.  Texas had killed the adhesive.  I unloaded the truck and then took double sided tape and scissors out to the light.  I took all four numbers off and backed them with the double sided tape.  I tried to work in the shade, because it was in the 90's.

I would have done more work outside, but it was really hot.  I went inside for videos and a nap.  That lasted until dinner (leftovers).  After dinner it had cooled off, so Ellen gave me a haircut on the deck.

The rest of the evening was videos and a little surfing. 

I've been working hard all day to not obsess about the A5.  There's nothing I can do about it.  It's been a battle though. 

Day 3610

 I woke up at 7, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that I went outside to mow the lawn.

Mowing was just as long as usual.  The only things of note were that it was hot (scheduled for the high 90's) and really dusty.  In most places the grass was a little lighter than usual.  In a few it was very heavy.  I kept plugging along at it until I was about halfway through the back yard (the last bit).  Then the belt slipped off when I was removing the belt tension.  It's something that has to be done each time you put the mower in reverse or the mower dies.

I drove the mower to the garage and then hauled the motorcycle lift from the back storage to the garage.  I took a while to figure out what was wrong.  I put the belt back on the pulley and drove back to the back yard.  The belt slipped off again, so back to the garage.

This time I noticed that the guard/guide had lost a bolt.  It took quite a while to find an appropriate replacement.  I put the belt back on the pulley, replaced the bolt and went back to the back yard.  The belt slopped off again.  Back to the garage, reset the belt, and back to the backyard.  This time I finished the yard without removing the tension.  When I was done and tested the belt, it slipped off again.  I don't know how to fix it.  I'll have to take it into the shop.

I put the mower away and got out the trimmer with the new head.  It works like a champ.  I'm going to buy a second one for the Dremel trimmer.  By then I was hot, dirty, sweaty, and the temperature was in the high 90's.  I finished that and finished up by cleaning everything up with the blower.

I went inside and took a shower.  I had to scrub my whole body twice because I was so dirty.  When I got out Ellen said the guy from Audi called and recommended that I don't drive the car.  I left him a message and he called back later.  I asked for a loaner.  He said he'd tried to get one.  I never heard anything else.  There's no estimate on when the "factory guy" will show up to look at it.  I'm going to wait a week before raising a stink.

I'm really tired and bummed out about the car.  I spent the rest of the afternoon on videos and napping.  Ellen fixed fried ham for dinner.  I ordered the stuff to fix the trailer, but it won't be here for a few days.  After that it was more videos. 

Day 3609

 I woke up at 6 and couldn't go back to sleep.  I played games for hours before getting up for pet stuff and breakfast.  I surfed for a little while and then called Audi.  The service guy said that they were just starting to look at the car.

I went outside to put gas in the mower and start it.  Surprise, surprise, the battery was dead.  I put it on the charger.

I decided to cut dead branches on the trees bordering the parking area.  That will make mowing easier.  I ended up cutting 6 or 7 armloads.  I was tired when that was done and went in to have lunch.  

When lunch was done I went back out to the garage and attached a new string head to one of the trimmers.  It would have been easy if I'd known what I was doing.  I didn't.  I ended up taking a lot of the trimmer head apart that I didn't need to.

The first mower battery wouldn't take a charge.  There was another in the shed, so I put it on the charger.  Then I went inside to see if it would take a charge.

While I was waiting Audi called.  They said that the problem requires a software update that hasn't been released yet.  At least it's OK to drive the car.  They suggested that I wait until tomorrow when thay get confirmation from Audi.  I said OK.

The second mower battery wouldn't take a charge either.  We went to the battery store for another.  We stopped at Sonic for drinks on the way back.  We also stopped at HEB for a lot of groceries.

When we got home I went out to the garage to put the new battery on the charger.  Then I used the Dremel to dissemble the 100 20 hunting shells that had been ruined when water got into the plastic bag they were in.  It to 2 hours and left me coated with plastic dust.  I went back inside and took a shower.

Ellen fixed steak for dinner.  It was good.  After dinner I did a little RC parts shopping, watched some football, and then surfed.

I'll mow tomorrow.  It's supposed to be a record high temperature. 

Day 3608

 I woke up at 7:30, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that I surfed for a while before it was time to go to Audi.

We made good time getting there, about 25 minutes.  We told the service writer our woes and left.  He said he would contact us in the afternoon (spoiler alert: he never did).  After that we stopped at a gas station to get gas for the mower.  We also stopped at the donut shop.  We got donuts and croissants for lunch.  We also stopped at Randall's for cornbread and orange juice.

The last stop was Circle C.  We took Abby to the middle of the park so she could run through squirrel town.  She chased one, and then found another.  The second one made it to a tree about 1 step in front of Abby.  We walked around some more letting Abby run in the cover and the woods.  It was hot though, so she only wanted to walk/run in the shade.

We went home and had the croissants for lunch.  I started a mix of surfing and reading.  I decided i had to get something accomplished, so I went to the garage and put away all of the stuff piled up there.  I even cleaned up the stuff that I left on the workbench before we left.  I brought a few items back to the spare bedroom, but not much.

Ellen was watching chick flicks, so I did some reading.  We switched to videos and I fell asleep.

Ellen fixed mac and cheese with sausage for dinner.  It was good.  After dinner I watched videos until I got bored and started shopping on Aliexpress.  I didn't buy anything. 

Day 3607

 I woke up about 7:30, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  The first task was to take out three bags of garbage from yesterday.  When that was done I started putting stuff away.

I had brought a lot of stuff into the house yesterday.  There were two boxes of stuff as well as things on the counter.  I started emptying the boxes.  Some stuff went to the garage.  Some of it went to the spare bedroom (mainly RC stuff).  The rest went to whatever place in the house it belonged.

Some related activities happened.  I hung up a picture of Abby that Pat had given us.  I put the new license sticker on the truck windshield.  I also unpacked and put the new gun case away.  Ellen assembled the new flamingo spinner.  I took the old one to the garbage.  Ellen also put away a lot of her stuff and did some paperwork.  Overall we made a big dent in the task.  I only have about 15 or 20 minutes more to do. 

One good thing happened.  I unpacked the Swarovski Cheshire Cat that I'd bought this summer.  I'd thought it was a duplicate of the one I already have.  It wasn't.  It's kind of the same cat, but in another pose.  I'm glad that I didn't waste the money.

About two I decided to take the car and go get gas for the lawnmower.  I got about 1/2 a mile before the check engine light went on.  I drove back home and called Audi.  They want me to bring the car in tomorrow.  We'll need to take both vehicles.  Hopefully they can do something about the radio also.

After that I was too pissed to do anything else.  I sat down to look at dead Russians.  After a little while I was asleep. 

Dinner was something frozen.  At least I know that the new microwave works.  After dinner was more videos. 

Day 3606

 I woke up at 7, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that I went outside to work in the trailer.  Ellen went out to trim plants.  My goal was to get the trailer completely ready for winter.  However I got sidetracked by other tasks.

I started by draining the hot water heater.  When I opened the box with the water accessories I found that everything in it was corroded.  I spent quite a while cleaning them off with the bench grinder.  Then I blew the water out of the lines.

 I then started going through the entire trailer looking for things that we don't need to have in there.  There were a lot of places to look and a lot of unnecessary stuff.  Things like booze, old cups and water bottles, extra clothes, etc.  I took them all to the house and had Ellen package them up for Goodwill. 

I got tired of having to carefully walk up and down the trailer stairs.  I got out the lawn cart to collect some rocks to build up the base under the stairs.  That's when the lady from the eye doctor called.  I had the typical fruitless conversation (no changes, everything's fine).  Then I waited on hold for quite a while to make an eye appointment for December.

 After that I got back to the rocks.  I collected some thick flat ones.  I used the biggest to build a sturdy "landing" for the trailer steps.  I used the others to make an area in the front lawn boundary that I could drive the truck over without having to move them.  I should have done that a long time ago.

After that I went back to cleaning out the trailer.  Eventually I had everything stacked for removal.  That was several trips to the house.  They were made easier by the new stair landing.  I'll have lots of stuff to put away tomorrow.

It was lunch time, so we went on errands.  I picked up the new gun case at the post office.  A Chinese package was there, too.  Then it was over to Doc's back yard for lunch.  The last stop was Goodwill.

When we got home I put a few things away and sat down for videos and a nap.  That was it for the rest of the afternoon.  Dinner was leftover pizza followed by a football game and reading.  The Cowboys lost.  Yeah. 

Day 3605

 I woke up at 6 and couldn't go back to sleep.  To make things worse it was time change day, so I was really waking up at 5.  I played games for a long time before getting up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After some surfing I went outside to move the flatbed trailer out of the car port.

Ellen went with me to spot.  The parking place is tight and I didn't want to hit the carport with the back of the trailer.  The backup camera on the truck made hooking up to the trailer easy.  Putting it in the parking space took some backing and filling, but it wasn't hard, especially compared to the 5th wheel.  The big problem was unhooking.  The hitch wouldn't release.  It took a long time and some work to discover that the trailer has to be raised only a little to allow the release to open.

After that we decided that Abby needed a spa day.  We took her to the fields in Dripping Springs.  She had a great time running all over.  When that was done we went to Tractor Supply for DEF, bird seed, and a dog bath.  Abby is much whiter and softer now.  The last stop was The pizza place by HEB.  They don't have mango margaritas any more, but the strawberry ones are pretty good.

When we go home I was tired and a little intoxicated.  I sat down for videos.  It quickly turned into a long nap.  When I finally woke up I didn't feel like doing anything.  I surfed while Ellen watched chick flicks.  Then I switched to reading.

I finally acquired some ambition.  It was too late to work outside, so I got out the RC tools and fixed the broken arm on the MT10.  I hit it really hard.  Not only did I trash the arm, but I also bent the mounting pin.  I had to take the pin out to the garage ans straighten it with the vise.  It isn't perfect, but it's serviceable.

It was almost 8 when I got finished.  I sat down to watch videos with Ellen, but ended up surfing for the rest of the evening.  I didn't have dinner, only some snacks.

Day 3604

I woke up after 7, and played games until 8.  Ellen called the vet about Cooper pulling out his stitches last night.  They said bring him in immediately.  We got up, got dressed and went to the vet.  They replaced the stitches and gave use some antiseptic wipes to use to keep it clean - no bandages.

After that we went to the post office to get the mail.  There was my package from the CPAP people.  Then we had breakfast at Wendy's.  By then Best Buy was open and we bought another microwave.

 When we got home I started on the chores I had planned.  I cut back the Wisteria by the porch so that it wouldn't set off the porch light.  The I looked for a backup light fuse on the truck - no luck.  I also took down the Halloween lights on the gate.  After that I started to unload the trailer basement.  There was a lot of stuff in there.  I took RC cars to the garage along with car kits and a box of parts.  I also took a lot of RC stuff to the spare bedroom.  The other stuff was mainly stuff for the pantry.  It took quite a while to get it all moved.

When that was done I had leftover pizza for lunch, followed by some surfing and videos.  Eventually I got back to work.  I got the new microwave out of the car and replaced the old one.  I dumped the old on in the garbage and the box in the recycle.  I had to get a hand truck out of the back building to move the old microwave.  

After that it was back to videos and surfing.  Dinner was a BBQ turkey sandwich.  Then I went back to videos and surfing.  I think that we'll try to take Abby to Circle C tomorrow.