Early Up, Lots Of Driving

Last night the Washington Huskies ensured themselves of a Bowl appearance in a not so pretty win over the Arizona Wildcats. A win is a win and we'll take it. Now 6 - 2 overall and 4 - 1 in conference play. The Oregon Ducks loom ahead next Saturday and the Dawgs are currently 16.5 point underdogs. We haven't been there before! Three years ago this team was 0 - 12 and it was really tough to be a Husky fan. Not so much anymore!

This morning we got up early and drove up to Gold Bar to see how the trailer was doing after our adventures in winterizing last weekend. As you'll recall, Zach and I cleaned all the leaves off the lot and washed the roof and the rest of the trailer. When we left it was all clean an pretty. A little wet but as it had rained during the night, but it was okay. We had put the dehumidifier inside the trailer and ran a drain tube into a bucket. Our primary reason for going was to see if the dehumidifier had done its job.

We opened the door and found the trailer air very dry and the dehumidifier wasn't running but there was water in bucket which we emptied. It I looked like we might have to go up about once a month to keep flooding from occurring.

We left and had some lunch in Monroe and headed over to our sons house. He was having a kiddies Halloween party with lots of other babies. We had a ball and left around three to come home and do some shopping. Now just sitting here exploring the Internet before watching 60 minutes and seven.

Hope you are having a great day and enjoy the week.

Be careful out there.

Doctors

Took the day off today because I am scheduled to work next Saturday.

Instead of wasting the day, I made appointments to get some medical concerns addressed.

First of all, I got my annual Flu Shot. Didn't even realize she put the needle in my arm. She was great.

Next I went to have my eyes examined. I needed an adjustment to my prescription and they noticed some slight clouding on both my eyes. Seems I have the start of cataracts. Great, just when I am a couple years from retirement and plan to drive a lot. Oh well, apparently I don't need to be too concerned.

After lunch I went to visit my doctor. Lately I have been having an issue with taste. Seems like a simple thing but my taste just seems weird and I can't really describe the feeling or how it tastes but things don't taste right. They took xrays of my nasal passages, for what I don't know. Nothing was found so I have been referred to an eyes, ear, nose and throat specialist. So I have to call for an appointment tomorrow.

Back to work tomorrow. I am looking forward to it.

Hope the beginning of your week is good.

Updates And What's Up

First of all, let me tell you that our good friend seems to have overcome whatever landed her in the ICU of our local hospital. She has been taken off the machines and moved to a room down the hall. While she is really weak, she has got to be better off that she was the past couple of weeks. The doctors have run several tests and really can give a conclusive answer as to why she ended up in ICU in the first place.

We started the weekend with grand plans to go to Gold Bar and winterize our trailer. We left Saturday morning after picking up our grandson. He went along to give me a hand with the projects that needed to be done. Unfortunately I awoke at 3AM Saturday morning and could not go back to sleep, so by the time I drove to Gold Bar, all I wanted was something to eat and a short nap. I got both.

After my nap and during a fairly heavy rain squall, Zach and I went outside to get some work done. The plans included having the trailer dry enough to install a cover we bought from Camping World last year. I got up on a ladder to inspect the roof and found it covered with leaves and pine needles. So I got out all of my instruments for washing the trailer and proceeded to clean the roof as well as the rest of the unit. While I was doing that, Zach busied himself cleaning the leaves of the gravel on the lot pad with a leaf blower. I washed the whole trailer and rinsed it. We put away all the stuff we got out and went into the trailer just before dark. I was pretty wet.

It continued to rain through the night. We watched some of the Husky/Stanford game and realized it wasn't in the cards for the Huskies. At 8PM PBS was showing an old movie from the Thin Man series so we sat down to watch it. Released in 1936 it starred William Powell and Myrna Loy as a couple who wise crack their way though a murder investigation. Absolutely one of my favorite series from the early days of movies. This series was done before I was born, the last one being done the year I was born, however, I noticed my teenage grandson laughed just as much as I did and in the very same places. I thought that was interesting.

It continued to rain through the evening and in fact rained so hard at one point, we had to turn the TV up so we could hear it over the noise on the roof. I went to bed hoping it would be sunny in the morning.

We awoke to no sun in the morning so we emptied the hot water heat, turned off the propane, emptied the tanks, disconnected the hoses, filled everything with antifreeze, set up the dehumidifier, open all the cabinets, removed the paper and laundry and closed it up. We didn't install the cover because it was still too wet. We came home and it has been sun shining ever since.

We went to visit our friend in the hospital, checked out the Verizon store (really confused now)

and came home to have some dinner and enjoy the rest of our Sunday.

Hope you all had a great weekend.

Take care out there..

Friend and Phones

Well our friend is still in ICU at our local hospital and not doing much better that she was when we last visited her last Sunday. My better half visited her earlier to day and was heartsick as she explain our friends condition to me when I got home tonight. It is so sad.

We are hoping to take a trip to Gold Bar this weekend to winterize the trailer, clean off the roof and put the big vinyl cover over it. I hope Zach is able to come with us.

So, I have a question regarding mobile smart phones. I have a regular cell phone and don't text. I was looking at getting a smart phone that allows internet access and supplies a hot spot. What phones are you using? What carrier are you with? What is your month bill? Do you like your phone and carrier?

Have a great day.....

Friend Is Stable

Just wanted to let you know that Cynthia is what doctors are calling, "stable". This is good news. Please keep her in your prayers and thank you for your efforts.

A Day With My Son, Grandson and Football

We arrived at the campus early after a wonderful breakfast at Voula's on Northlake in the University area of Seattle. We each had an omelet of one kind or another and spent some time catching up as we waited for our meal to arrive. We ate and left to find parking. We ended up parking under Red Square at the campus. It affords us easy entry and exit and gives us the opportunity to walk across the campus as we head to the stadium.

I immediately took out my camera to take some pictures of the buildings and the landscape around the campus. I have more but I like these the best.

There are many ways to get to the stadium but here in Seattle one of the most popular ways is to take a boat. Tailgating on a boat looks like it might be fun. Hope all those boat owners have a designated driver because we spotted at least two police boats wandering through the maze.

The game started and it quickly became apparent that the Huskies might be competitive in the PAC 12. A 52-24 blowout brought a 5-1 record, 3-0 in PAC 12. Seven different players scored their seven touchdowns. The stats from the game.


Team Stats
Colorado Washington
First downs 17 31
Rushing 5 16
Passing 10 14
Penalty 2 1
3rd Down Efficiency 8-17, 47% 8-10, 80%
4th down efficiency 0-0, -% 0-0, -%
Rushes-Yards 27-62 40-295
Passing Yards 207 267
Return Yards 136 98
Completions-Attempts-In 22-38-0 23-30-0
Sacks-Yards Lost 5--47 1--7
Punts 6 2
Punts-Average 40.5 44
Fumbles Loss 0-0 1-1
Penalties - Yards 3-30 6-65
Time of Possession 29:23 30:37


Zach and Jeff enjoy the game.


I hope that you had as great a Saturday as is did......

Friend In Need and Football Saturday

We have a close friend in need of all the prayers you can muster. Cynthia Vice is in ICU at our local hospital and she is unable to do something we all take for granted.....breath. Please pray for her speedy recovery.

I picked up our grandson on the way home last night and he went with us to the hospital to visit the Tom Vice who is sitting in the waiting room devastated as his wife fights for life. I have to say that there is not a lot of good news about the younger generation but my 15 year old grandson makes me very proud. He could have stayed home but instead he chose to go and bring a smile to the face of someone in need. He had helped Tom and Cynthia earlier this year with some projects around their condo. I am so proud of him and the young man he is becoming.

Within the hour, Zach and I will leave to go pickup my son in West Seattle and we are off to find breakfast, tour the University of Washington campus and head to Husky Stadium for the game against Colorado. We are hoping for a win.

Pictures and more at 11......

It's Back

Last year we had one of the soggiest years on record here in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. Today we were reminded just exactly where it is that we live.

It grew dark and overcast as the wind picked up and had the trees dancing in anticipation. Then the roof opened wide and someone turned on the fire hose and a waterfall fell from the sky.

1.17 month to date for October. I have a feeling that we might be soggy again.

John Denver

I just watched a PBS special on John Denver, the man, his life and music. Of all the singers that I really enjoy, I think I miss him the most. I could truly connect with what he had to say about the environment and the world we share.

Here is a link to a 1974 version of Rocky Mountain High....most everyone recognizes the song as soon as someone starts to play the opening guitar lick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwARpaKHx_w

Sunday

I know I have said it before and I really don't like NFL football but I am having football withdrawals because the Huskies, my favorite college team, had the weekend off. So the wife and I just came back from doing our Sunday errands and while waiting for lunch to get ready I have turned on the second half of the Seahawk football game. They are playing the New York Giants in the Meadowlands. And they have turned the ball over several times and now it appears that their quarterback has gone to the sideline and doesn't look promising for a quick return.

Went to Camping World to get a couple of items, visited Costco for another pumpkin pie and did our weekly shopping while we were out. Planning Chicken ala King with rice for dinner.

It is just after noon and with this much afternoon left I have some projects to work on. I need to measure the base around the new wood floor Zach and I installed last year. I found the baseboard I want to use and just need to figure out how much product I need.

Then there is the fog light install on the truck which needs to be finished by installing some supports, wiring and a switch. A little much for the afternoon since you can't depend on everything going exactly as planned.

I still have a couple of outdoor chairs that need some finish detail sanding and while we were out shopping I bought the Teak Oil I'll be using once I finish with the gritty stuff.

Think I'll just enjoy the game and head downstairs.

Have a great Sunday and thanks for dropping by.

Changing Plans

My wife has a luncheon to attend today and I had made plans to pickup my grandson and spend the afternoon working on some projects around the house not the least of which is the need to finish the fog light installation on the truck. Had it all planned out and he just called to tell me he is confining himself to his room today as he isn't feeling very good and there has been overnight issues that are too nasty to discuss in a family forum. Suffice it to say......he is sick.

So I will move on alone. We had planned to go to Gold Bar this weekend but when I came home last night Mia wasn't very interested in going and she said it was going to rain so I called Zach and made arrangements to do other stuff. Then the call came that he isn't doing well. There is a lot of stuff that needs to be done around the house so I will get up and get to work after my next couple of cups of coffee and reading the news.

Hope everyone has a great Saturday and you team wins. Unfortunately, my team has a bye week.

A Visionary Lost

We have lost one of the worlds greatest visionaries. Lost to cancer, Steve Jobs was without doubt someone who had a vision of what consumers wanted, built it and presented it in a way that made us want it. I have never had the Mac or IPhone or IPad but I do own an IPod and I use ITunes. Now instead of tapes or discs I have a memory that stores 3,000 tunes and I can call up most any of them with ease. And it is stuff I want to listen too, unlike the stuff that gets air time on the radio.

It will be interesting to see how Apple goes with loss of Mr. Jobs.

He made it perfectly clear that you needed to find what it is you love doing and do it. If you weren't doing what you loved then you need to keep looking until you find it. Don't give up.

R.I.P

Great Day

I had a great day today and came home to have a great evening with my lovely wife. Dinner will be ready soon, followed by a piece of Costco pumpkin pie for dessert. It might be raining, dark and dismal outside, but it is warm, light, and great here in my living room.

Hope you had a great day.

Amazing Recovery

Surprisingly you can't keep a good person down....and Grandma is no exception. It is amazing the difference between this evening and last night. She is doing so go we went shopping at Costco after work tonight.

Have a great Tuesday..

Mt Si with Grandma

Yesterday evening during the wedding our grandson reminded Grandma that he was planning on making the 4700 foot climb up Mt Si in North Bend. She got up early this morning and went over to pick up Zach and head off to the trail head.

At around 4pm as I noticed the weather was starting to turn bad (dark, cloudy and rain), i started to try and call people to see if anyone had heard anything from either of them. All I got was voice mail until Zach called me around 4:30pm and let me know they were nearly back down to the trail head. Grandma got home around an hour and a half later and she is not doing well. Lots of stuff hurts and she is thinking maybe it was a mistake.

Just going to have to support her and hope she gets better quickly.

Weddings and Football

Yesterday my wife and I attended the wedding of the son of a very close family friend. My son has been friends with the groom since we moved in next door to his family when he was four. His family became very close friends and I suspect they are a good portion of the reason we have a lot at Gold Bar. They had been there for years and kept trying to get us to join them. When the kids were young it was a fun family place. The wedding was wonderful and we wish the bride and groom the very best for years to come. It was a very long day for me as I was up at 2am to go to work and start the process of ending the month of September.

Unfortunately the Huskies had to play a late game yesterday. The wedding started at four and so did the game. Luckily others attending the wedding had various types of wi-fi phones and I was able to keep pretty good tabs on the game as it progressed. The Huskies came out victorious and are now 4-1-0. Very happy numbers if you are a Husky fan. Week after next my grandson, son and I will attend the Colorado game at the old Husky stadium for last time. Next year Husky stadium will be redone and the Huskies will play in the Seahawk stadium in the Sodo district of Seattle.

As a sports fan of a baseball team that has seen its share of ups and downs I have to somewhat sympathise with the fans of the Boston Red Sox team now officially eliminated for the run to the World Series for 2011. At least THEY made it to the playoffs. You should hear the banter about the Mariners here in Seattle. The manager of our team says he is "confident of the future of the Mariner organization". Where have I heard this before? Oh well, as most baseball fans will say, "there is always next year".

Music

I have loved music since I was a kid. My mother used to love to listen the classical music and especially loved to listen to MALE (not females) tenor singers. She had an expression for female singers that wasn't very nice and I really don't think I should post in on a family oriented blog.

I learned to listen to everything. I enjoyed classical and even took up the Viola in junior high. I enjoyed (still do) singing and stood in front of an audience and sang "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" in a grade school talent show. I sang in the school choirs and during church (when we went). I should tell you....I can't sing for beans. When I was younger (grade school) I had a high voice and could carry a tune but I never invested much time in studying or learning to sing. Did I stop, hell no. Ask my family, I still sing even though most agree, I can't. But I love the music...I really love the music. All kinds of music. I can listen to pop, rock, country, some rap, classical, classics, instrumental, blues, jazz and the list goes one. I love to sing along to a lot of different songs and I have always loved the singers who sing for the song and the singing. Those that use glitz, explosions, lights and all the extra stuff that fills stadiums doesn't really get me going. There are a few artists who do all this stuff that I do enjoy but I believe in the end they are truly in it for the music and the showmanship comes when they have to pay all those bills for all the equipment and people that move around the country with them.

I know, get to the point. Well my wonderful wife and I watched a movie the other night and I was impressed. Even though movie got stinky reviews and didn't do well in the box office it serve to remind me of times gone by. I am speaking of "Country Strong" a movie where a singer doesn't sing and the actors do. The acting is really thin but the story brought back some memories and made me remember that it used to be for the music. I really think that Gwyneth Paltrow was an alcoholic singer that has long forgot why she is doing what she does. Ms. Paltrow has a wonder voice. I offer this link as proof. She sings with Vince Gill at the 2010 CMA Awards Show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctknlgZfXN8

But I digress as usual. What reminded me of the singer, his instrument and the music was a co star played by Garrett Hedlund. He plays a singer who is in it for the music and just enjoys singing in the bars and dives with no glitz. He gets roped into going on tour but is never really happy with decision. But the music he sings reminds me of singers gone by. Those that sit in a small auditorium and with their guitar in hand, make personal music for their audience. Don Williams, Ed Bruce (he was in Country Strong and didn't sing), Waylon Jennings, Bonnie Riatt, Bob Dylan, Sinatra just to name a few. Anyway, here is Garrett singing in the movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBCXvTKeVhM&feature=related

I love music...sorry to bore you to death with this stuff.

Off to do errands, clean up and go to a wedding..

Have a great Saturday