Summertime

It's 83 degrees out and not quite yet noon. Just finished mowing the lawns. It was 75 when I started and it's suppose to hit the mid-90's before the day is over. Tried to balance rising temp with the fact that it is Sunday morning as to when to start lawnmower.

When I was cleaning up, washing off the mower, sweeping the driveway I could hear the sounds of kids playing in the distance. The yelling and screaming. I can't see them, but imagine them running through a sprinkler and splashing in a kiddy pool set up in the backyard as they chase each other around, burning off some of the boundless energy that kids have. I could also hear some crows scolding the kids, adding their voices to the the sounds echoing over the neighborhood.

I put the mower away, that chore done for at least another week, and go rest with my feet up, a cool drink and the tv remote. What more could you ask for?

Yesterday was the second annual Portland Pen Show. We went last year and got good deals on some very nice pens. This year was no different. I scored a Visconti Opera Club fountain pen, Summertime color. Check it out


Looks nice and writes like a dream. A new favorite....

We also got a Namiki fountain pen with a dragon hand painted on the barrel. It will take a bit more practice with the camera to get pictures that do it justice.

Back to work tomorrow. Last two weeks of the fiscal quarter for us. The usual scrambling. Our ISO auditor is scheduled to visit for a couple of days at the end of August. We have started preparation meetings. Time to dust out the cornors, double check to make sure that we have the evidence that shows we follow our procedures. It is also review time. The managers have until close of business this Friday to give us our reviews. Not having anyone working for me, I don't have to worry about giving reviews. I only have to worry about receiving one. The first rule of reviews is "No Suprises". This will be my first review from this boss. Always a little apprehension before a first review.

This Tuesday, besides a staff meeting, and an ECO Review Meeting I'm scheduled to give whole blood after lunch. The Red Cross comes to Etec three or four times a year to harvest. I've been lucky the last several time in that the whole blood donation date fell in the middle between my monthly hemaphersis donation appointments. I believe I'm working on my 21st or 22nd gallon of blood products donated. All I know is it's a lotta time with needles in my arms but for a good cause.

Back Home

Arrived in Portland just before 10 last night. Had a great view of the fireworks going off all over the place, especially on the Washington side of the river. Kind of interesting looking at them from the top down. By the time we got off the plane, collected our luggage, got the shuttle out to the parking lot and ransomed our car we were in the midst of all the people going home from watching those fireworks. Bailey was sure happy to see us! He hasn't let us out of his sight today. Can't says I blame him!

We were about an hour late getting into PDX because our takeoff time had been pushed back from 6:45 to 7:15 to 7:32. And then we were in a long line of planes waiting just to take off. There wasn't any problem for the flights heading west, but the ones going east had to contend with the thunderstorm activity that passed through in the morning heading northeast. We didn't have any problem driving to Chicago, just a bit of heavy traffic that slowed to a crawl several times to give us a chance to gawk at some poor unfortunate souls at the side of the highway with car problems, getting a ticket or exchanging insurance info because of a minor accident.

A thunder storm moved through Milwaukee and woke us up around 3:30 Sunday night. We rarely get thunder storms in the Portland area. Lots of rain but none of the drama. At any rate, it had stopped raining and dried up a bit by the time we checked out of the hotel. We decided to stop at the Zoo after all. Naturally, when we were the farthest spot from the zoo entrance and our car it started raining once again. At least there wasn't any thunder or hail. We were a bit damp by the time we got back on the road to Chicago. At least it wasn't cold, but then the mugginess and humidity isn't something we are used to either.

Sunday evening, after the get-together, Allana found a fireworks display that was going to happen on the 3rd instead of Monday the 4th. We tagged along. We took the round about way to the high school where it was held, but the Wilgus luck held. Dave got a pretty good parking spot, we walked about a block to the school, got a good spot to sit on a little slope, Allana and the rest of the boys found us within 5 minutes and the fireworks started a few minutes after that. Very good timing. It was a pretty good firesworks display too. It has been years since P and I have gone to a fireworks display. Usually we just watch the goings on in the cul de sac in front of our house.

The get together Sunday afternoon was a good chance to talk to everyone and catch up. Here is the obligatory picture:


The crew

It was interesting to hear Bo's take on the No Child Left Behind act, what it means to him as a school principle.
Toni is doing well, with Rachel planning to take the Dental School Entrance Exam this fall and Brooke going to school to become a nurse. The grandchildren are growing like weeds.

The nursery

A nice day today. I went out to mow the lawns so I wouldn't have to do it on my recouperation day when we get back. Here is what greeted me when I went out the patio door:


This is what I saw when I looked for the source of the mess....


There are three baby robins in that nest. They appear to be getting fairly big, about time to test out their wings. Momma was keeping a sharp eye on me as I was taking these pictures...

Had to get up on a stool to get this one: eye to eye

Beer and Brats

Woo Hoo!

On vacation until next Wednesday! Going back to Milwaukee for a family reunion. Catch up on all the happenings since the last one, see how the nieces and nephews have grown, what they're up to now. Even the cousins will be in attendence! A good time will be had, guarenteed!

I took today off even though we don't travel until tomorrow. Figured it would be nice to have a day to do nothing before the hub-bub of traveling, partying and generally carrying on for four days. We will be coming back late on the Fourth so I scheduled a vacation day to recuperate before heading back to work. I'll need it! That will make for a very short week as I'm scheduled to give platelets at the Red Cross Friday afternoon. I'm working on my 22nd gallon of donated fluids: whole blood and platelets. I've got the scars on my arms to prove it too.

The other big deal coming up is the Portland Pen Show, 15-17 July. We went last year and drooled over the beautiful pens, new and vintage. It was kind of overwhelming: too many choices. I kind of know what to expect this time so I've been trying to do my homework, scoping out the pen catalogs recently received. Eye candy! Still too many to choose from. And then there will be all those vintage pens! What a delightful dilemma!

Road Trip

Brother H. et. al. will be traveling west after the reunion in Milwaukee, and will swing through the Northwest. Time will be limited (isn't it always?) so we need to point out the highlights, the "Must See's" as opposed to the Should See and the Nice to See. To that end, we figured we'd better get off out butts and see some of the stuff people had been telling us that we should see. Well, this is what we saw yesterday:



This is called the Vista House. It has been closed for four years for renovations. It reopened two days ago. This is why it is called Vista House:

The view looking east, up the Columbia River Gorge, and

the view looking west, towards Portland.

We proceeded east, up the Gorge to the town of Hood River, known around the world for the quality of it's apples and the fact that the geological configuration of the area creates a natural wind tunnel. It provides excellent wind surfing conditions almost year round. We stopped and watched some of the "Dudes" practice their moves


You can't see it very well, but there are a bunch of guys kite surfing out there.

We've got a nursery under our deck. Not one, not two but three birds nests.
I guess the word got around from the birds that used the ledge outside our computer room last year.

These are robins nests, this year. They get up very early to sing. Like 4:30 am! With open windows and the calm of the morning they are LOUD!

Brrrrrrr

It's suppose to be the hottest day of the year so far. I'm in my little room here at work with a sweater on. The AC is over compensating until it gets it right. In the mean time I have a very cold draft blowing on my neck and back. I have to get out and take a brisk walk around the halls to warm up. I've taken to washing my hands just to warm them up! It's got to be close to 65f in here.

In other news, the weekend is almost here. A long, holiday weekend. The Indy 500 weekend. Naturally, the weather is suppose to cool off, cloud up and possible showers. It's a long weekend, what did you expect?

It was just about this time in 1977 I got out of the Air Force and drove to Las Vegas. Stay'd with Jay W for a week before heading to Portland with Dan. Twenty eight years! I can remember it (well most of it, there was a lot of partying going on then) like it was yesterday. We were all so much younger, with more energy, more potential, and dare I say, alot more stupid. That assumes that we've learned a thing or two since then.... Of course, if we hadn't killed so many brain cells drinking we'd probably remember those lessons!

P. U.

Someone hit a skunk last night on the road I take to work.

You talk about an eye opener!

PHEW!

It's like it gets into your clothes or something.... you can smell it long afterwards, kind of like the phantom pains people with missing limbs feel. You know it isn't rational yet it sure is real!

With any luck, it will keep on raining and wash the smell away or at least dilute it to the point where you don't smell it when you drive by with your windows rolled up.

And I pity the county road crew worker who gets called upon to pick up and dispose of this road kill....

Lost Time

Woke up to the rain coming down the spout right outside our bedroom this morning. It had been threatening all day yesterday but held off so I could mow the lawn. It was a busy week in the cul-de-sac: the people almost directly across from us moved to a ritzier neighborhood, a house with three garages. And even with three, they won't have space for all their vehicles in doors. Five cars and trucks and an RV between the two of them. The cul-de-sac got a little cramped at times. Now, a retired real estate attorney has move in. He and his two dogs. And his four cars! That's a lot of cars for one person... Our kitchen window has the prime view for all the goings on in the cul-de-sac. It's not like we're nosey or anything...

A couple and their two dogs move into the rental next door to us this week too. They have larger dogs, a labrador and a mixed breed. Larger than Bailey. There was some barking going on at the fence as they and Bailey started working out the pecking order. The squirrels use the top of the fence as a pathway around the yards. I saw the fence shake yesterday from one of the dogs running and jumping on the fence trying to get a squirrel. This morning I was sitting at my computer, still trying to wake up when all of a sudden one of the fence panels popped off into our yard. The dog must have been going after another squirrel! A second later I saw a nose and then a head poke through to sniff and scope out our yard. After a minute or so of looking around he lunged through the opening, popping off another fence panel and took off to the other end of our yard. He must have seen another squirrel. Not exactly the thing you want to see at 8 am on a blustery, rainy Sunday morning while still in your sweats. I had throw on a jacket, get the dog back into his own yard and patch the fence. The dog was surprised to see me when I came out the door. He had his tail between his legs so he knew he wasn't where he was suppose to be, but the tail was wagging too, hoping for the best... I got him back through the hole in the fence and replaced the panels. I did my best to secure the panels. That portion of the fence is getting a bit old and weathered. I was cold and damp and not in the best of moods by the time I'd finished. I do have to say thank goodness for cordless screwdrivers. I'm afraid that if I used a hammer and nails I might have done more harm than good, such is the state of the fence.

How many clocks do you have in your house? Luckily we have a number of "atomic" clocks that pick up the radio signal from NIST or wherever so they are always right. But all the rest have to be set by hand. It is this time of the year that P's Micky Mouse watch collection becomes a liability.

Slap Happy?

Here is an amusing way to waste a few minutes of your time:

Click Here

Change is in the Wind

Just got back from my walk with Bailey. Blustery! Raining almost sideways at times. But that doesn't deter the dog, just spreads the smells around a bit more, have more bushes, trees and clumps of grass to check out. All the blossoms on the trees, well, they aren't there anymore. Now the baby leaves are showing. Another part of Ma Nature's Spring Show. The rain in Oregon, this time of year means only one thing: Spring Break. The weather people say we may have some sunshine by the end of the week. Don't get me wrong. The rain is great! We haven't had nearly enough yet this winter. We will take all we can get right about now. I was suppose to go on another fishing trip with R tomorrow but it was canceled. Not enough water in the rivers! I'm going to have to wait a bit longer before going after steelhead.

Tab heads to the coast this week, with a couple of adults and a gaggle of teenagers. You have to be young with lots of energy for the likes of that. Good Luck Tab!

Eric, Troys son is turning out to be quite handy with the tools. He made his own pinewood derby car for Cub Scouts. And he did a very good job too: his car has won every race it's been in so far. Next stop is the Regionals! (or is it the District Finals... I have a hard time keeping it all straight.) Eric has attended a number of Saturday classes at the local Home Depot and is amassing quite a tool collection. Every job is easier when you have the right tool, you know....

Along with all the kids getting the week off, I get the week off too. A shutdown week for Etec and Amat. While Amat is in the black and beat estimates last quarter, the projections for this quarter are below estimates so this is the way they choose to cut costs, reduce their accrued vacation liability and yet still keep the employees around with out laying them off and hiring them back. The new, flexible workforce... As for Etec, we are getting a lot of interest in our improved tool. Soon, soon.

All that free time on my hands is burning a hole in P's pocket, so to speak. We tackled a couple of closets today. Unearthed some things that haven't seen the light of day in years! Lots of small clothes and other interesting, miscellaneous finds. I still have my highschool LetterSweater: Class of '69, with the white L instead of the usual red one signifying that we had won the Conference Championship. Wow, that was a long time ago. I got that in 1966 for being part of the Varsity Cross Country team. To think that I could run 2 miles in under 12 minutes at one time in my life. Kind of seems like a dream right now!

Lot of memories in those closets.

So, I've made one trip to the Goodwill and anticipate a minimum of one more before the week is over. Lots of treasures for somebody. The interesting part of this exercise, cleaning/tossing/donating, are the decisions: you weren't willing to part with it last time you came across the item, yet this time you are. What changed?

That is the ultimate question as you get older isn't it, What Changed?

Well, if the weather allows, we will be changing the west side of the house. I built a shed next to it a number of years ago. We changed the house color while it was up and now that it has been torn down, that side of the house is still the old color. Going to have to clean it, put on a coat of primer and then the final coat. Of course that side of the house will look great, freshly painted. That means that the rest of the house will need some fresh paint too. This is all part of P's master plan....

Preparation for a nice salad!

Blooming so hard it must hurt!

The Second Act

First Peek

Potential

Before

This is Wrong, just plain wrong!

Here it is, the end of February, and I just finished mowing the lawn for the first time this year. Not only is it sunny today, a balmy 65 degrees, it has been nice enough for long enough to cause the grass to start growing. Growing enough that it needs mowing! And Mother Nature was kind enough to schedule a beautiful day like today on a weekend for a change, just so we could work out in the yard. This shouldn't be happening for another three weeks at least! It should be raining non-stop this time of year, especially on the weekends! Unless things change drastically in the next couple of days March is going to come in like a lamb, not like a lion per its reputation.

Later-

We took advantage of the weather to crank up the bbq and burn some burgers this afternoon. I have a little grill that takes the small bottles of gas. It all fits quite nicely on a table on the deck off the dining room. Our deck is off the top floor of our tri-level so when the meat starts burning and the grill gets real smokey, that smell drifts off over the neighberhood. Everybody knows what we're having for dinner. The deck is half covered so I can cook there even when it rains. I bbq'd last Sunday for the first time this year: a couple of marinated pork tenderloins. Excellent! There's something about burning meat over a flame out of doors that makes it taste better somehow. I guess it is not my place to wonder why, just to enjoy it and burp with pleasure.

I thought I'd take the before picture of the garden today. It will be a while before I can really get started on it. I'm sure we're in for frost at least once before mid-April. So here is what I will be working with:


Before

I ran the lawnmower over the weeds when I cut the lawn. The area is covered with pine needles too. I will have to cut back the limbs of the tree just to the left of the picture. This year we will be growing more tomatoes and some corn. I tried with the corn a couple of years ago and got some stalks to grow but didn't get any ears. I want to try some carrots again too. Last time they were too close together and I hadn't rototilled the soil deep enough. We got some carrots but they were itty bitty things, no more than a couple of inches big. Yup, got big plans for the garden this year!

At least it wasn't underwear

Today was Troy's birthday. Yesterday was Scotts. Birthdays are ok, but we really don't want to talk about which one it is. Not so much as to how old the boys are as to how old it means their mother is! This year the gift of choice was shoes. Both boys needed some. At least it wasn't underwear.....

At work the company came out with the last quarters results today: slightly better revenue and profit than expected by Wall Street. Unfortunately, the forecast for next quarter is down a bit more that expected also. The company announced they will be shutting down the week of 28 March, the week of spring break, as a cost saving measure. We can use vacation time or take it as unpaid. It's been all most 18 months since the last shut down week. All part of the swings the chip industry goes through. As for my portion of the company, we are making some progress on product improvements. We need to continue to make more. The sooner the better. We are the leanest we have ever been. As we have no official drafters anymore and the only other people in the company proficient with the drafting software are tied up working on product improvements, I tried my hand at some simple updates to a couple of drawings: note changes. It took me several hours to do what an experienced drafter could have done in 15 minutes. Next time, it will take me much less time! This week is my boss's last week here. He took another job with the company in Austin Texas. We're going to miss him. He was a good buffer between us and management. We're going to have to adjust to his boss until they get the ok to replace him. In the current climate they will delay as long as possible. In the mean time, we and our acting boss will be teaching each other exactly what is important to get done and what isn't. Hopefully it will continue to be a two way street....

Currently on my night stand:
Durant's History of Civilization, Volume III: Ceasar and Christ
Volume 1 of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
The American Scholar Magazine, Winter 2005

Sounds kind of heavy. I guess I'm still in my history phase.

The Big Game

About an hour to the big game start. We're just about ready. Lots of snacks, plenty of beverages and the TV has been warming up for an hour or so. I'm thinking of Tivo'ing the whole game just so I can back it up to all the commercials if need be. Ratine these commercials is serious stuff. I'm sure there will be several web sites dedicated to rating them based on internet votes. I don't have a laptop that I can surf on while I watch the game and my desktop is in another section of the house from the biggest TV we have. I know, I know.... deprived... We will be rooting for Philly, just because they are the underdogs. Most of all, we want it to be a good game!

We watched the movie Ray last night. Good film! Jamie Foxx did a very good job. Very believable. Ray Charles was a creative genius with some ghosts. It was the music. The music kept him going. Exploring, creating, always working for something new, fresh, inovative, entertaining. We enjoyed the movie.

Is it spring yet?

Just got back from our Sunday walk with P & Bailey. A beautiful day today: partly cloudy, low 50's. A number of bushes are starting show their buds. Spring can't be too far? Next Wednesday is Groundhogs day afterall. Paula Fritchie's birthday. I haven't seen her since we left Michigan 50 years ago, but I've never forgotten that her birthday is on Groundhogs Day. Funny what sort of things get imprinted on your mind when you're four years old.

It was only a matter of time before this became the subject of academic inquiry: Click Here.
Thanks to Scripting News for the link.

My boss has given notice. He's found another job within the parent company. He has three week before he has to report to work in Texas. There goes my buffer. I don't know if his boss will be able to replace him. I'm going to have to train someone regardless: what I do and why it is important to the well being of the company. Have to make sure someone in authority knows. I'm the one in between Engineering and Manufacturing, trying to make sure that they each know what the other needs, that the information transfer is orderly, authorized and complete. Getting a brand new boss will depend on what sort of progress the engineers make on improving the latest tool. Consensus says we have 6 to 8 weeks to come up with something to show the (one particular) customer that we do know what we are doing and can come through with a machine that meets their needs. In the mean time, my engineering change work load has dropped off (but it will pick up as soon as the engineering experiments yield positive results.) It's not like I no longer have anything to do.... all those second and third tier tasks are finally making their way to the top of my To-Do list. Can't ignore them any longer!

Now, just because I can, I'm putting in a picture of one of my pens. It's one of my current favorites: a Pelikan 150 with a medium nib ground down to a .06mm stub. This means that it's a little like a nib used for caligraphy. Depending on the way you hold it and the direction of the stroke you will get a wider or narrower line. I have a journal I write in almost daily. This is the pen I've been using most for that task as of late.


pelikan 150

In future posts I will include pictures of some of my other pens. Hopefully I will get better an the display, presentation and photography of them. Just another trail on the path of discovery....

Two weeks ago, Troy slipped on some snow and rebroke the arm he broke last September. The doctor put a plate in his arm back then to facilitate the healing of the bone. Troy bent the plate when he fell this time. The doctor had to replace the plate. Here is why:


Here's another picture of it with a quarter so you can get some idea just how big this thing is. I was supprised how small it was. I mean, it was holding an adults arm bone together, for goodness sakes.




Eric, Troys son, got to take it to school for Show and Tell. Pretty neat show and tell item! Troys arm is in a split cast until tomorrow. The swelling will be down by then and he will get a hard cast to last the next eight weeks.

Winter

It's a good thing its a weekend, thats all I have to say.
We are experiencing a wet warm front moving in from the south and a cold front coming down from the north. They are meeting in our little section of the world. The rain from the warm front is falling through the cold front and if not freezing on the way down, freezing as soon as it hit the ground that is at or below 32 degrees. There's a nice coat of ice on just about everything. I darn near fell on my butt just getting the paper at the end of the driveway! Even the squirrels are having a hard time because the feeders are coated too. The roads are skating rinks. Lots of accidents. By the way, the US National Skating Championships are being held in Portland this week with the finals this weekend. More than a coincidence????

I'm happy to report that Troy underwent surgery this past Wednesday and all went well. He'd bent the metal plate put in when he broke his arm in September. The doctor had to remove the bent plate, set the broken bone and put a new plate in. Troy is home, feeling much better. If the weather permits he may even go to work early next week.

In other news, the company I work for announced a new program Tuesday: The Talent Mobility Program. Apparently this is something Intel does. When a design project winds down to completion the Engineers on the project are given 60 days to find work elsewhere in the company or be terminated. Well, Wednesday, 25 to 30 people were placed in this program. They have two weeks to decide if they want to go into the Talent Mobility Pool or terminate voluntarily. The company is counting on everyone to be "professional" and work to smooth the transition of duties and responsibilities to the remaining regular employees. If they decide to leave at the end of the two weeks they get a nice severance package: two months pay plus two weeks pay for every year they'd been with the company. If they decide to go into the Talent Mobility Pool they have the company resources: their workspace, computer and email access for the 60 days, to look for jobs elsewhere in the company. If they can't find anything suitable or if they do but aren't chosen for position they've applied for, they will be terminated with the same package: two months plus two weeks for every year of service. They just get it 60 days later.

I'm happy to report that I am still among the regular employees, but there are darn few of us left. Apparently they put the lone documentation person in Hayward on this program. I'm trying to find out what management has in mind for supporting the 30 or so R & D engineers left down there. What, if anything, I might be expected to do.

May we live in interesting times, eh?

Back to work......

I survived the first work week of the new year. Seemed like it was touch and go there for a while until I finally caught up on my sleep around Wednesday.... back into the routine. Start of the new year, lots of report to write, lots of numbers to compile, lots of charts to create.

The state sent me a reminder that my birthday is next month. It's time to renew my drivers license. I didn't realize how old I will be until this reminder informed me that I can not simpley renew by mail, as I have done ever since I got my license in this state some 28 years ago. NOOooooooo. I have to actually go into a DMV office and take a vision test!
Now, granted, I do need a little help with the fine print these days, but for distance, I can see just as good as or better than most. I guess its just that I've gotten to the age where society feels the need to make sure that I'm OK for some activities. It's kind of like when you get to the "Greater Than 35" age bracket for auto insurance, except in reverse. I will be getting a brand new license, with a new picture too. Have to get a hair cut this weekend. That always makes me look younger...

In other, more somber news: Troy slipped on some snow out side a grocery store last night, fell on the wrist/arm he broke about 4 months ago. He has a metal plate in that arm used to keep the bones aligned while they grew back together. The doctor just left it in rather than do a second surgery. Apparently Troy fell on the same arm and the x-rays show that the arm is broken again and the metal plate is bent. I don't know how much. The doctor who initially put the plate in is on vacation until Monday. Troy's going to have to wait until then to see about getting it fixed. It's going to take more surgery and probably replacing the metal plate. In the mean time he's got some GOOD drugs.

2005, The Year of the ?

Happy New Year! Hope it will be safe and prosperous for all. And eventful and interesting....

Once again the neighborhood outdid itself last night. There were some fireworks in our cul de sac but the cul de sac behind us REALLY did it up good. We have a tri-level house, the deck off the dining room has a nice view over most of the houses in the area. It was almost better than the Fourth of July display they put on last summer. And there was some one in the distance who had a bunch of M-80's (equal to a quarter stick of dynamite). VERY loud booms. Bailey stuck to us like glue the whole time. And no such celebration would be complete without the sounds of the fire truck sirens. There is a fire station about a mile away from our house. We can hear them any time they are called out. They were called out a couple of times last night.

One of the thing I did recently that wasn't reported here is the fishing trip I took after Thanksgiving with Randy, my brother-in-law. He is an avid fisherman. It was the first time I've gone fishing in the 20-some years I've been in Oregon. Oh yes, there was that ill-fated deep sea fishing expedition. I don't count that as I was toooooo seasick to even hold a fishing pole. We drove a couple hundred miles to the coastal town of Port Orford the Friday after Thanksgiving. Saturday we were up at 4:30 to meet Vernon, the guide at the Sixes River at 6 am, well before daylight. Apparently you cannot start fishing until there is a certain amount of daylight. And when it does get light, you want to be at your spot, ready to go. Vernon had a light on his hat, like a miner, to keep us off the banks and shallow spots as we made our way down the river. We were in a 15' rowboat, Randy and I in seats in the front, Vernon had the oars and all the rest of the gear behind us. It was about 35 degrees with a bit of wind. Kind of cool. I had on sweats and coats and rain gear and gloves and a couple pair of socks to keep me warm and dry. At least it kept me dry. We got to the spot we were heading for, a bend in the river about 7. There were up to 35 other fishermen in the same area through out the day. Some in a couple of boats but nearly all of them were fishing off the bank or in the river using waders. There were a number of fly fishermen (as opposed to lures and bait) and even one fly fisherwoman. Because the river was low, we were "bobber fishing" as opposed to "trolling". This mean that we anchored the boat, plunked our bait into a pool right at the bend in the river, sat back and watched the bobbers, waiting for them to disappear. There were fish all over that pool, roiling the water, jumping out of the water, catching the line on their fins as they swam by (the bait (fresh salmon eggs) was just above the bottom of the river.) We sat there, feeding the fish nearly the whole day. There were guys not more than 30 feet away from us catching so many that they had to pick and choose which ones (limit two per day) to keep. We got one strike around noon. The fish played with us for about 30 seconds before throwing the hook (he kept the bait....) We sat there.... through the morning mist, some early sunshine, clouds, rain, more wind, more sunshine, more rain. You get the picture. It wasn't until after three when I hooked one. It took a while to land, they tell me. It had a lot of fight in it. Very exhilarating. I think it was worth the eight hours of wind and rain and cold, don't you think?

A nice example of a Chinook Salmon.

That's Pat's brother Randy with me. He taught me all I know about fishing.......

Vernon and Randy pointed out that there should be a second fin on it's back. That means that it came from one of the hatcheries (where the fin was clipped) and released into the wild. I must have caught it on its way back upstream to spawn. The Vernon estimated it to be about 25 lbs. Not bad for a first fish! And, as it turned out, the only fish of the day for us. We got caught in a down pour on the way back. Got thoroughly drenched. So, I've got a lot of salmon in the freezer right now. Tabetha's significant other has a smoker. We'll turn the fish over to them to smoke it. We're negotiating how much salmon it will cost us for this service.... The whole experience was pretty much fun, but would have been better if it had been warmer. I caught a nice head cold too that weekend. The next time I go fishing, it will be warmer, if nothing else.

Big Water

Found this link at BuzzMachine.com to some before and after satellite photos of Sri Lanka.

It is amazing that this type of photos are available, to the public and on-line!
These are similar to the pictures I used to make maps while in the Air Force so many years ago.
They even caught a picture of some of the waves too.
The before and after give some notion of the size of the waves and the damage done.

Harry Colmery

So, its been a while. Christmas is over, looking forward to 2005. Starting to think about the coming year and it's potential. And the obligatory Resolutions.

But first: While I was in the shower this morning (I know, too much information, what a visual....) I was thinking about the 60 Minutes segment on the "Echo Generation". It is loosely defined as the off spring of the Baby Boom Generation. The segment asked who they are and what do they want? So, while I was in the shower my mind moved backwards to the Baby Boomers. (Note: I am a Baby Boomer, born 1951.)

An Aside: I was talking to one of my coworkers about a vacation he will be taking in February. I jokingly made sure that he would be back to work in time for my birthday. He innocently asked how old I would be. He was a little supprised when I told him I would be 54. His reply was "My DAD's 55!"

At any rate, there I was, in the shower, thinking about Echo Boomers. They have never known a world without space travel, without cable tv (or should I say MTV), without microwave ovens, without personal computers (not just computers, without PERSONAL computers), without cell phones. That led to thinking about all those things that were invented or at least productized (read "engineered for the masses") during my life time. A lot of it was done by my parents generation. The ones that fought the war (WWII), came back having saved the world for the "Good Guys" and started getting on with their lives, having familys (the Baby Boom) and going to school courtesy of the Government via the GI Bill. In the first seven years about 8 million people received benifits costing the US Government close to 15 Billion dollars. Quite an investment. Educating all those minds..... something was going to happen! In a very short time they created a much larger base of knowledge for subsequent generations to build on and expand even more. And look where we are now! Was it all for the better? Most would say yes, I think. Even if the ramafications of a lot of the technological advances haven't been worked out, or experienced. But there are the Nay Sayers, the ones who don't believe the scientists and policy makers when they say, "Trust us! What could POSSIBLY happen?" For good or bad, it has sure made our times "interesting"

Harry Colmery? He was a World War I vet, a lawyer and a member of the Americal Legion who wrote the first draft of the GI Bill, signed into law by FDR on 22 June 1944.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a veteren, served in the Air Force. I earned my college degree, finally, in 1986. It was paid for by the GI Bill.

'Tis the Season

Shopping at Christmas time: not for the meek, timid or faint of heart!

Fall

Haven't had a lot going on lately, just keeping the head down, trying to keep from having too high a profile. Don't want to be one of those nails sticking up. You never know when a hammer will come along...

Finished our fiscal year last month. Not as spactacular as we had hoped, but not quite as bad as we feared either. Now, the real challange will be to build on what little momentum we created. I've been tasked with tweeking the old company web page. We use the corporate web page for most things, but our old one still has some useful information on it. With all the downsizing the last couple of years, all the people responsible for maintenance and up keep have been laid off or suck into the corporate IT rehlm. They couldn't find anyone to tag with ownership. I own a small portion of the web site. Apparently a highly visable portion. I'm responsible for the links to the product and business procedures. Any time new procedures are released or existing ones modified, I make sure they get published on my portion of the web sight, but I also send out a global email telling everyone that changes have occured, go check them out! It's this that lead the powers that be to me. I have to make sure the "Company Confidential" mark is on the main web page. And, I think my name has been listed as site owner now, for lack of anyone better. I do have the tool that allows me to edit the files that eventually become the web pages, and I even know how to do a few simple, basic things with it. This is going to be a challange.

Spent some time in the crisp cool fall air yesterday taking care of the first of the leafs our huge maple tree has finally let go of. For all the leaves I blew around and raked up there seems to be at least three times as many still on the tree! At this rate I will be raking leafs well into December! Bailey had fun trying to help me when I was using the leaf blower running around, chasing all the flying leafs.

I've Voted Already!!!!!

Oregon is a mail-in voting state. All registered voters get their ballots several weeks before the election date. You can vote in the security of your own home, with all the information you want available at your finger tips. In the past, the paper would print a sample ballot several days beforehand so that people could make their decisions, note them on the sample ballot and then take the sample ballot to the polling place to jog their memory when they actually voted. Both P and I have voted. Done our civic duty. Participated in democracy. And it's a very good way to cut off the pollers and campaigners who call several times a night. They are too late! We've already voted!!! Now, if that would only work for the political commercials on TV.....

It's not enough that the full moon occurs tomorrow. We're having a lunar eclipse too. That will really bring out the crazys. And this close to Halloween.... Life is strange enough already. Doesn't need any help.

Head Down, Nose to the Grindstone

It's been a busy several weeks. This is the last week of our fourth quarter coming up at work. It's one of those deadlines that a lot of projects seem to be pegged to. And all the paperwork for new part numbers, new bills of material, new drawings and the latest changes to existing assemblies all go through me. (Job Security!) Lots of details to attend to, to keep straight. The days go fast when you're busy.

Eric had his final football game of the season today. We're waiting for a report as whether or not his team was able to score a touchdown. If so, it would be the first of the season. Now, I don't want to say they are bad, but they must have built an AWFUL lot of character.

I ran across this web site earlier. I just hope they open a store in our neighberhood soon.

Aging Gracefully

It's Eric's 9th birthday today!!! Happy Birthday Eric!!!

We (the grandparents) gave Eric and parental units, Troy and Jody, a ride to his flag football game last Saturday. A league for 3rd and 4th graders. I think the opposing team was mainly 4th graders.... they lost: 36 to 0. Eric's team look so small compare to their opponents. No joy in Mudville tonight. Erics team is organized through his school, Portland Lutheran, but they are playing in the local CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) league. There aren't enough Lutheran schools around to form a league apparently. CYO. It's been a long time since I heard that acronym. There were a several Catholic schools around and plenty catholic kids in the neighberhood when I was growing up. Lots of activities for them at the schools and churchs. CYO dances! And the sports leagues. We'd meet in competition every so often. Very tough competitors!!! Eric's team has four more games. If Saturday was any indication, they will be hard pressed to improve on their 0-3 record.

One of the reasons we took Eric and family to the game is that Troy fell a couple of weeks ago and broke his arm, just above his wrist. It's in a cast and a sling right now. The doctors slice his arm open and put a plate in to hold the pieces together. Apparently it was a clean break. That is good and that is bad. Its good because their aren't a lot of fragments and chips floating around. It's bad because the two pieces have a tendency to slide against each other easily. Hence the plate to hold them together until they heal. Just how long does it take for bones to grow? I'll have to get back to you on that one.... Troy is ambidexterous. He writes on the computer with his non-broke hand, but uses the broke one to move the mouse. So he's had to figured out how to use the Accessability features of Windows: he can use the arrows on the key board instead of the mouse now. It's a little bit slower, but then Troy never was the fastest typist in the world in the first place! Thats one problem solved. The bigger problem was that he couldn't drive. At least not until today, when he went back to the doctor for a follow up. They checked his progress, put a new cast on and cleared him for work and driving. Thats a big load off his mind, as he is the only one in the family that drives. And with a wife that works in a different location than he does, not to mention the activites of an almost double digit year old child......not being able to drive put a severe crimp in their life style. Things should get better now. Troy has fallen many time before but he's never broken any bones. This is a first. And he is the first to admit that it doesn't get any easier the older he gets. Each time takes it toll. Each time it takes a little longer for the bruises and memorys of the pain to fade. Betty Davis said it best: Growing old isn't for sissys!

Mount St Helens is acting up again. It's been almost 25 years since the last eruption. I remember it vividly. What a show (from a safe, 50 miles away)! It's hard to believe it's has been that long. Why is it that the older you get the harder it get to believe how long ago things happened. Sure didn't seem like that long ago!
Lots of earthquakes under the mountain, lots of steam being vented. The "experts" believe there is magma working it's way up from the earths core and expect it relieve the pressure somehow sometime soon. And soon could be any where from 12 hours to 12 weeks to 12 months. Ma Nature will put on the main show when she gets good and ready.

It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature......

Fall is Officially Here

It's getting cooler. It's dark now when I get up in the mornings. I turn my headlights on for the drive to work. This morning a string of Canadian Geese, must have been 15 of them all in a row, flew over the house in a southwesterly direction with the occational honk while I was squeeging the dew off the truck windows. It was gray out, over cast with a bit of light fog. If I hadn't known fall had offically started on Wednesday, I would have sworn that it started today. This was the scene waiting for me when I arrived home this evening:



Last of the bloom on the flowers, dead leaves blowing up onto the porch already. And on clear nights, when the wind is blowing in our direction, we can hear the marching band practicing from the high school two miles away.

Where does the time go?

I didn't realize it had been so long since I wrote anything in here. I've been having such a good time doing???? What???? The little details of life, I guess.
Weather has cooled off, it has rained a bit, school has started, football has started: Troy's son, Eric, is playing football this season. Flag football but with pads and the whole nine yards. Learning the Vince Lombardi lesson, ya gotta play with the small pains! And Tabetha's daughter, Tyfini is in High School this year, and is a cheerleader!


School Spirit!!


They changed the laws regarding school zone speed limits recently, just in time for the start of the school year. It's 20 mph all day, every day, around grade schools. For middle and high school zones it's only during school hours, and they have flashing lights going, just in case you have trouble telling what time it is. No matter which way I go to and from work, I pass a school. Have to add that into the work travel time calculation....

Who would have thought, twenty some years ago today, that these people would end up like us?


We went back and forth about whether it was 22 or 23 years, and decided that regardless, it was a long time ago! A completely different time. What an "Adventure Extrodinaire" it's been. And no sign of letting up any time soon. Fasten your safety belts.....
In celebration we will brave the predicted rain on Saturday (this is Oregon, after all) and head downtown to see what sort of trouble we can cause.... We will end up at Hubers, Portlands oldest restaurant for a Spanish Coffee or two. A good time will be had by all.


A note on house keeping: should you see a misspelled word or feel the need to tell me exactly how you feel about something I've written here, just click on the "Comment" at the end of any post, just after the "posted by docdroid @6:32 PM" Then click on "Post A Comment" and a box should appear. Just type in whatevers on your mind.

What I saw on Mulberry Street

Bailey and I took a walk today. Later I went back and took some pictures of the wonderful show Ma Nature puts on this late in the summer. I'm not so sure Bailey appreciated the same things I did. His walk probably looked totally different from mine. I know it smelled different!

This looked like a path for the bees to follow through a garden: the yellow brick road, so to speak.



And at the end of that road:



They kind of look like daisys, but I'm not so sure they make daisys in any color except white.

It took a while to get the picture of this next one. It's on a very slender vine like stem. The slightest breeze sent it bouncing around.



I have know idea what this next flower is. I have never seen one like it before. I found it on a plant that was climbing over a fence, trying to seduce anyone walking along the sidewalk. Well, it got me!



Please let me know if you know what it is.

If you look closely you will be able to see two bees at work.



Well, it is the Labor Day Weekend....

The Weekend in Review

It isn't good to start with an appology, is it? Well, here's my story.....

I've spent the last three evenings working on my truck. I went to drive it to work last Monday morning and the darn thing wouldn't start. Sounded like a dead battery. I even pushed it a bit, trying to start it by popping the clutch. I worked up a sweat and ended up parking it in front of the neighbors house. Monday evening I got it started by getting a jump from from another car. I drove it around to charge up the battery some. It hadn't been driven since last Thursday. I parked it in the drive way. I tried to start it again, just to make sure, and it wouldn't even turn over! @#$%^&***!!! Tuesday I worked on it to no avail. I thought I'd have to buy another battery because I had the jumper cables hooked up, charging it with the other car for quite a while and it didn't seem to be holding enough charge to turn the engine over more than once. Last night I got serious, bought some new battery terminal connectors and cleaned everything real well. After I got it all back together I tried it before going through the trouble of hooking up the jumper cables again. The darn thing started right up! It wasn't the battery, it was the connections to the battery! I'm glad thats fixed. There's nothing worse than not having reliable transportation.

So, back to the weekend at the coast. We had beautiful weather the whole time we were there. We were in little cottages overlooking a small parking lot for people using the beach. Our window faced almost due west. This was the view in the morning



This is how it looked in the evening



And that's exactly how it looked: a little blurry. The sun had been over the yardarm for some time by then.

P and I drove down the coast a bit Saturday, looking for some property a friend from work had just bought. We drove right along the coast. A lot of beautiful little bays and inlets. Eventually we found the his property. This is the view he will have when he builds his retirement home



I suppose you could get used to something like that.... after a number of years. It looks like a great place to watch storms hit the beach too. It's high enough and back far enough that he won't have to worry about the waves. Unless it's the big one.

We saw a lot of nice homes, but this one left us wondering: who would want a home with an 8' fence topped with barbed and razor wire? And why?



Are the natives really such bad characters to warrent razor wire?

And, being the beach, we saw some interesting, creative housing



We took a walk along the beach at low tide and met some of the local residents





They were just hanging out in and around the tide pools, waiting for the tide to come back in.

A good time was had by all.

Now, the Labor Day weekend is upon us. I do believe a BBQ is called for. And whatever else we do, it will involve the least amount of time on the highways as possible!

Go west, young man!

I'm off!

I'm taking a long weekend that isn't tied to a national holiday, company mandated shutdown day or sick day. I got to choose this one all by myself! A small thing, I know, but important to some of us....

So, you're wondering, what exactly am I going to do with all this extra free time?

I'm glad you asked!

We will be spending the weekend in beautiful Oceanside, Oregon. It's a small town due west of Tillamook. Now, with luck, the weather forecast of overcast but no rain will hold. We will be staying in a cottage with a view of the ocean, I'm told. Pictures will be forth comming upon our return. There is a very nice resteraunt in Oceanside so we will have at least one good meal. I expect that we will do some exploring up and down the coast, enjoy the views and investigate the stores and shops along the way.

I hope to get a little quiet time too. I've just started Vol III of Churchills History of the English Speaking Peoples. William of Orange has just accepted the Crown (William II) and is preparing to do battle with Louis XIV. A major figure of the time is the Duke of Marlborough, one of Winston's ancestors. I want to find out how it ends.....

It is starting to dawn on us that we will be without net access for the weekend. A day without using a computer or surfing the internet? I can't remember the last time that happened. This will be different!

In other news:

The granddaughter in Washington (Tyfini) start school on Monday! The school year is spread out with larger breaks at the traditional times. High School! She has already won a spot on the Freshmen Cheerleading Squad. School Spirit!!!

The grandson (Eric) has started football practice. Flag football, but with shoulder pads, helmets and the whole works. I understand he has a few sore muscles.

So there you have it. More next week on how it went plus pictures. We will be taking the camera this time!

Fruits of our labor (with an assist from Ma Nature)

The sun has been doing it's magic on our tomato plants! We have had a couple of the early ones on salads this week (for quality control purposes, of course!) Just a little review for those who haven't been paying attention:

Early May

Add sun, rain and some Miracle Grow...


Early July

Lots more sun and an assist from the local water district and you get this:



And this



And some romas


And in a couple of days


Luckily squirrels and raccoons don't particularly care for tomatoes or they'd be long gone by now.
Next year we will be expanding the garden some. Some beans perhaps, some corn, a squash or two.
Sounds pretty good now, but we will see next spring when the time comes to start preparing the plot. When the work really starts...

The annual air show is at the local airport this weekend. The Blue Angles are in town, shaking the dust from everything as they go screaming by at low level. Spooked the dog the first couple of times but now he sleeps right through it. I don't know. Just something about something that powerful, that fast, that close. Makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

Next week Antique Roadshow is in town. Have to find something old to take to the appraisers. After that we are planning to take in the Titanic exhibit and IMAX film at Oregon Museun of Science and Industry (OMSI). I guess they give everyone a name of a passanger when they go in and at the end tell you if that person lived or died. Sounds interesting.

Gotta go to the store for some bacon. We're having BLT's for lunch, with fresh tomatoes! Care to join us?

The Wait is Over

I've been ISO audited!



And I survived!




Time for a celebration!







Thanks to the Freedom Monkey House for showing the way to a great way to celebrate

A Dam Fish story

Had a nice time last Saturday, took a little day trip up the Columbia Gorge. Saw the falls, Multnomah Falls that is. We'd been out to see it years ago. Lots of years ago. We are happy to report that it is still quite impressive. I would post some pictures here but SOMEBODY forgot to pack the camera when we left the house. All you have is my word as to how nice and impressive all this was.... Soooooo, do you trust me? Well, do ya?????
We proceeded to the booming metropolis of Cascade Locks, location of the Bridge of the Gods, the first place to cross the Columbia into Washington outside of Portland. It's a toll bridge. We had lunch in a local resteraunt with a view of the bridge. There was a brisk wind blowing. Just like it does nearly everyday of the year we were told. A great spot for wind surfing. On our way back to Portland, we stopped at Bonneville Dam. Quite impressive. A campaign promise by FDR in the late 30's that seemed like a boon doggle at the time, but when the war rolled around turned into a pretty savvy move. It was able to provide the electricity for the Portland shipyards that were turning out a ship a day by the end of the war. The dam was built and is run by the Army Corp of Engineers. It consists of a spillway, a couple of powerhouses, a lock and a fish ladder for the salmon that need to go upstream to spawn. The fish ladders have windows where you can watch the salmon and lampreys work their way up stream, against the flow up the river. We took the mini tour of the facilities, incuding powerhouse. Impressive. LARGE scale engineering, especially to someone used to dealing in nanometers. Just outside the Dam grounds is a fish farm. A very nice park like setting with lots of fish ponds for seeing the fish up close: beautiful large rainbow trout - up to 24" long, and some 6' to 8' white sturgeon. BIG fish! Not to be confused with Sturgeons Law.
It wasn't too crowded either. That made it quite nice. The "Wilgus Luck" held: we got very good parking spaces everywhere we stopped. It was a very nice day.

HOT!!!!

It's hot. It's freakin' hot

It's DAMN HOT!

How hot is it?

I'll tell you how hot it is:


It's a heat wave! 


 

Waltzing to Work

Had a very nice, long weekend. Took MAX (the local Light Rail) to the Exposition Center for the largest Antique Show west of the Mississippi if not the whole country. We (P, Fred and Diana) had to switch from the Red to the Yellow line when we got downtown. While we were waiting we scoped out the Sand Castle building competition at the Pioneer Courthouse Square. Amazing what can be done with a little water and TONs of sand. Diana has a cell phone with a camera in it she got from her daughter, but doesn't know how to take pictures on purpose. Apparently she has taken some inadvertent pictures of tabletops, the floor and odd cornors, but never of something she wanted to take a picture of... yet. Shes still getting comfortable with the whole technology thing.

We proceeded to the Antique Show. Acres and acres of antiques, treasures and some just plain junk. We didn't even see the half of it before we gave up. We went through most of the outside areas and then discovered that the exhibit halls were full of booths too! Lots and lots of people. Very few places to rest. Thats what finally convinced us to call it quits: we couldn't find any place to sit and rest. Next time we will get some of those folding chairs that break down into a little cylinder that you can sling over your shoulder. Then we will be able to "take a load off" when ever we want. For all the stuff there I was the only one to purchase anything. I found Parker 21 fountain pen for $5. So we headed back to the MAX train just to sit. And it was air conditioned too. Saturday it was suppose to get into the 90's but I don't think that happened. It was overcast and we actually felt a few rain drops walking back to the train. The train line went through neighborhoods that both P and Diana had lived in when they were younger. P shortly after she got married and had her children, Diana grew up there. They talked about all the "good old days" and the way things had changed. Landmarks missing or moved, business changed and new buildings and developments. You can't go home again. We refueled at a resturant downtown before heading to the first ever Portland Pen Show. The first pen show I ever attended! Pretty cool! 50 tables full of pen: new pens, old pens, (vintage) pens, pen parts, books about pens, books to write in with pens, tools to work on pens, inks of every sort and color. It was great! I was able to see and handle pens I'd only looked at on-line or in the catalogs I get from the big pen stores. I was able to show P some of the pens I'd been drooling over. Theres nothing like holding a limited edition pen worth thousands of dollars, seeing it up close in all its detail and beauty, to realize that the price may not be all that unreasonable. There were some good deals there, and we took advantage. I got an Pelican GO pen for everyday, knock about use, a lipstick pen (ballpoint) for P, a couple of bamboo looking pens (one for P, one for me) because they were half price, and I got an Aurora Talantum, again for half price. Very nice! Writes like a dream. A big pen.
Also got some dark brown ink to use in these new writing instruments. (Right! got all these nice pens and what am I doing? Writing about them on the computer!)
************************************************************************************************

I gotta start sooner when I want to write a lot. Here it is Friday, three days later and I haven't been able to get back to finish this.

So, the point of the title to this entry goes like this:

It was a good weekend.
I was up later than I'm used to Sunday night.
I was not fully awake and alert when I got into my truck for the drive to work.
Apparently I'd turned the radio up a little louder than normal on my way home the previous Friday because when I turned on the vehicle the very beginning of the Blue Danube Waltz came from the radio. Not blasting, but loud enough to occupy the space between my ears for the ride to work. A beautiful piece of music! I remembered the use of it as part of the sound track to the movie 2001. The ride from Earth to the Moon: slowly drifting in space in a graceful, elegant manner, the music pushing you forward, onward.
The song lasted right up to my arriving at work. It was the only song I heard, not even an announcers voice, just the song.

It was a great way to reset my mind and attitude for work. It clearly separated home, and the weekend from the pressures and personalities I would have to deal with once I crossed the parking lot and went into work.

And what a week it's been.....


Can you say preparing for an ISO audit only two weeks away?

The Fifth of July

Sure, the Fourth is great, fireworks, cook outs, all the rest of the hoopla, but what the majority of Americans are REALLY looking forward to is the extra day off from work!
At least, that's the consensus around this household. And not just an extra day to do chores! I mean, a feet up, porch swing, lemonade sipping, watching the world go by relaxin' kind of a day.

Saturday was a full day for us. We drove to Salem with friends. Had lunch at a "Tea House", a bit of England transplanted in Oregon. Walked it off by browsing through some of the antique malls and shops. Lots of interesting junk. And every place had the same smell to it. Old stuff smell. After several hours of walking up and down all the aisles I found a Parker challenger fountain pen that looked like it belonged in my collection. A button filler. It doesn't have a clip and almost looks like it never did. Have to check into that. It's going to take some cleaning. I'll have to figure out how to include pictures in this blog now to show you what it looks like.

Lets see if this works....


Parker Challenger 

Cool! Watch out, I'm dangerous now!!


The obligatory nib close up. More fine than medium. 

More dangerous than you could ever imagine......


Some front porch flowers! 

Threw that last one in just because I could. I've been practicing my picture taking technique on anything that will hold still. It took me a while, some explaining from P and a bit of the Users Manual to figure out how to get a half-way decent closeup.

Ok, one blogger trick/technique down..... Many to go!

Once I made my purchase the wind seemed to go out of everyone's sails. Tired, but not quite cranky, we made the long walk back to the cars. Sure didn't seem that long going the other way! We stopped a Wal-Mart on the way back to town. This is one of their SuperStores with the grocery store too. We wandered around for a while trying to remember what was on our list and looking for anything we simply could not live without. Must have been an off day for us.... We got out of there for under $100. From there it was back home to sit back, take the shoes off and put the feet up. Whew! It took a while to catch my second wind. I had one more job for the day: mow the lawns. A job that should have been done last Tuesday. It was so long (how long was it?) that it was tickling the dogs whizzer when he ventured across the back lawn. After cleaning up the lawn mower and then myself, I was pooped! A long, busy day but I got it all out of the way. It's celebrating and relaxing for the rest of the weekend. The weather has been very nice as of late. Lots of sunshine. Our tomato plants have responded nicely:

The tomato plants 

They were planted too close together. But they are all doing quite well now. Almost too well. We are going to have a LOT of tomatoes in three or four weeks.

Some beefsteaks 


And the first roma 

There will be plenty for lots of Bloody Marys!

Rites of Passage

This evening P and I are going to the Granddaughters "graduation" from middle school (eighth grade for those who aren't used to that particular system of school divisions - I went from kindergarten to grade school directly to high school. There was no middle about it). I put the graduation in quote marks because, technically, she will not be getting a degree or diploma. She will be receiving a certificate of completion if I am not mistaken. A small detail, but the cause of a lot of discussion, especially when it came to whether or not the term "Graduates" could be used on banners to decorate the school for the ceremony and dance after. (It was allowed.) Heady times for both mother and daughter. We will be taking the station of doting grandparents along with the rest of her extended family. So, graduation and dance this evening and tomorrow she leaves on a class trip to Washington DC/New York for four or five days. This is very big doings! Her mom reported that preparations included pedicure, manicure, hair and what else I don't want to know about. It's obviously different for a young woman. For my eighth grade graduation I had to take a shower, polish my Sunday shoes and wear a tie . Took me all of 20 minutes, probably. Of course, I was the fourth child in the family to go through this particular rite, so it may have been special for me, but I knew the routine. Besides, it meant getting out of school! The beginning of Summer Vacation! Being able to stay up later! Not having to try to weasel out of doing homework. Baseball, hanging out at the public swimming pool, hanging out with buddies at the corner store, riding bikes all over the city. And meeting girls....

My next oldest brother was going into 12 grade the next year, a senior. I was going to be a Freshman. He was co-captain of the Cross Country Team. That summer he mapped out a one mile course through the neighborhood to run to start getting into shape. I remember going with him on late night runs (10:00 or so because it was cooler then and also dark and late: most people were inside by then). I ran because I was going to try out for the Cross Country team. It turned out that only two or three freshmen tried out for the team that year.
And, by the end of the season I had managed to progress from being last on the team to second last. Not much progress, but progress none the less. Being on the team with mainly upperclassmen gave me a different set of people to hang around with that first semester of high school. I earned some acceptance with a wide range of people in that little society called high school.

Saturday Morning/Evening

Woke up to the sound of the squirrels banging the lid of the new feeder. They push it up with their heads, reach in for some sunflower seeds and then pull back out to eat the seed. And do it all over again. It takes 'bout 3 seconds for this cycle. A nice wood on wood "clap". At 6:00 in the morning. I'm sure the neighbors are REAL happy we put that feeder up.

I started this post this morning, obviously. Well, now it's dusk on Saturday evening. It was my turn to get the mid-evening snack, ice cream. We live on a cul de sac in a tri-level. Our kitchen window overlooks the cul de sac. There isn't much that goes on that we can't see. Well, as I was rinsing the ice cream scoop I noticed some flickers in the house across the way. When their front room drapes are open we can see right thorugh to their kitchen. There are at least three candles that I could see, lit and flickering. No other lighting that I could see. Never having noticed this sort of thing before, just off hand, I'd say someone was in for a romantic evening. And if they don't close the curtains.......

Too much information!

Busy, Busy, Busy......

Been quite busy lately. A good thing, I guess. This is just a quick note about a conversation I had with a co-worker..... he was looking at a book I have at work while I made some data entry changes for him. In our subsequent talk while the computer did it's thing, he told me that he's a reader too, that he doesn't have a TV. A strange comment. At first I thought he ment himself personally. Like I call the tv in the family room, where my computer is, one of the 5 tvs we have in the house, the one I watch while doing my 2 miles on the treadmill every morning, I call that tv mine. That's what I thought he ment. But he went on to clarify: His parents had a tv when he was growing up. He apparently was not real impressed. His wife did not have one when she was growing up. When they they got married and set up household, they decided not to have one around. So they don't! (is that legal? should I be notifying someone about this? (Max Headroom??))Not having met their children, I can't gauge the affect it has on them. No doubt they adjusted to it long ago, so it's no big deal now. I didn't think to ask him if his children expressed any inclination as to their preference once they move out on their own. And it's not as though they're technophobes. He does have a computer. Just no tv.

Very interesting.

I know the Receptionista at Hammer and Peg joined in the Turn Your TV Off For A Week campaign (see link... I have to figure out how to embed these things in here one of these days). She went through withdrawal but found she got a lot of other things done that she'd been meaning to do for a long time.

I don't think anyone would salute that flag if it were run up the flagpole at home....

Come Together!

Found this at 2hrlunch. I agree, it's pretty cool. Thought I'd use it here, propagate it a little further into the world.

Rain, rain go away. Come back another day. Little Johnny wants to play......