The weekend was fast approaching when Mia and I decided that the weather was just going to be too nice for us to stay home so we are spending the weekend at the trailer in Gold Bar where the forecast is for low 80's today and tomorrow. Of course it is too early for the pools to be open but we have a lot of stuff to do around the lot, take some walks around the park and Mia is thinking about hiking up to Wallace Falls.
I got a new demo from work last night. Most of the time I am ultra conservative when it comes to cars. Four tires, an engine, transmission and point A to point B. My last car was a very well equipped 2013 Subaru AWD Legacy. It is a nice car. Well appointed and delivers exactly what I wanted from point A to point B even in nasty weather. I happened to say something to the General Manager about getting a Beetle Turbo for a demo but they apparently are harder to sell as a demo than what they actually gave me. I have a black 2013 Volkswagen four door Golf, wait for it, GTI. This car is not only fast but it is extremely fun to drive.
In my past there was time spent behind the wheel of a modified car. I enjoyed some drag racing and really enjoyed timed rallies and autocross. I had a few (very few) modified, fast cars. My favorite was my 1967 Volkswagen Bug (my very first new car) modified to do autocross. I had lots of fun with that car and met my wife while I had it. This new GTI brings back some of the feelings that were attached to that car. It could be trouble....
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Busy Sunday
It started early this morning when I got up and started by cleaning up the kitchen. Yep, I had left the dishes all day yesterday because, as I had said before, I was parked in front of the television watching old Rawhide episodes. Got done and sat down to watch Meet the Press when Honey decided to get up early as well and bug me about going outside. She has a way of getting your attention and forcing you to do stuff you really don't want to do at 6:15 am. We went for a walk and when we got back I didn't see the need to literally watch Meet the Press so I turned up the volume and went to the kitchen to fix breakfast. I ended up having it done and eaten by the time Meet the Press left the air waves. I went upstairs and took a quick bath.
I spent some time in my office cleaning up some old paperwork and empty boxes. I filed them in the appropriate container in the basement then it was off to the store for my weekly shopping for work. Came home and unpacked and quickly left to go get my hair cut and pick up some immune medication. Came home, had lunch, took Honey for another walk and went to DSW for a new pair of work shoes. Then back home and some cleaning in the basement and now I feel like I am done for the day.
I have some paperwork to fill out but other than fixing dinner I'll be laying back the rest of today.
Hope everyone had a grand weekend
I spent some time in my office cleaning up some old paperwork and empty boxes. I filed them in the appropriate container in the basement then it was off to the store for my weekly shopping for work. Came home and unpacked and quickly left to go get my hair cut and pick up some immune medication. Came home, had lunch, took Honey for another walk and went to DSW for a new pair of work shoes. Then back home and some cleaning in the basement and now I feel like I am done for the day.
I have some paperwork to fill out but other than fixing dinner I'll be laying back the rest of today.
Hope everyone had a grand weekend
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Wasted Saturday
I pretty much have to say that I wasted my Saturday. It was a long hard week at work and to be honest I just crashed in front of the TV set most of the day. I took Honey on several walks, fixed lunch and dinner but beyond that it was a nothing day.
I certainly hope to accomplish more tomorrow.
I certainly hope to accomplish more tomorrow.
Weekend Alone With Honey
It is nearly five o'clock a.m. and as Honey is still sleeping I get some quiet time to muse about all kinds of stupid stuff but then that is what old guys do.
Mia left yesterday on a four day trip to eastern Washington with friends in their motorhome to go wine tasting. As you know from my past blogs this is probably a place I should not visit and since it is the end of the month and I can't really be away from work I decided to stay home with Honey.
I believe that Rick has commented on this phenomena before but Anonymous is an intriguing character. He/she can say and do just about anything without fear of reprisal because we have no idea who they are or where they live. Some are great, some are not. Anonymous can make comments about everything. They can be rude. They can be nice. They can pick arguments. They just don't want the rest of us to know who they are. I may not always say the right thing or believe as everyone else does but one thing I will never be is anonymous.
I am off to take a bath, walk Honey, fix breakfast and get this day started. Have a great weekend.
Mia left yesterday on a four day trip to eastern Washington with friends in their motorhome to go wine tasting. As you know from my past blogs this is probably a place I should not visit and since it is the end of the month and I can't really be away from work I decided to stay home with Honey.
I believe that Rick has commented on this phenomena before but Anonymous is an intriguing character. He/she can say and do just about anything without fear of reprisal because we have no idea who they are or where they live. Some are great, some are not. Anonymous can make comments about everything. They can be rude. They can be nice. They can pick arguments. They just don't want the rest of us to know who they are. I may not always say the right thing or believe as everyone else does but one thing I will never be is anonymous.
I am off to take a bath, walk Honey, fix breakfast and get this day started. Have a great weekend.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Where Is Spring And Road Trip
The days are passing slowly in an overcast mode with rain falling at times and sunshine beaming down on other occasions. With just 367 days left until the retirement I am beginning to study the weather patterns around the country to get a feel for the best times to travel through the different regions. Here in Seattle we are experiencing rain and while some feel that we have had enough, we actually are just about average at this point. Spring came a couple of weekends ago with the arrival of Easter and for the first time in a long time we had a sunny weekend with temperatures in the upper 60's. Some where looking forward to a long stretch of warm, sunny days but they forgot where they live. This is Seattle.
While I long for sitting at the trailer in the bright sunshine and enjoying a cold drink as I read a book, I must come to the reality that we live in Seattle. In Seattle we seldom get those warm, sunny days at Easter and while we think we should have them in most cases they don't show up until June and even then there are weather issues. I can count on one hand the number of 4th of July days that didn't have rain over the past 10 years. Rain comes to us often. Too often. But that is the price we pay to live in one of the best places.
There is nothing like Mt Rainer on a clear day, standing tall and looking down on us. I am sure there are other sites just as wonderful but I don't have to travel very far to see this one. Every cloudless day on the way home it stands there watching me inch down I5. It helps the keep one sane as we deal with the little struggles of life.
Mia and I are going on a road trip. No trailer or Honey, just us and the truck for around 1500 miles. We are going to try to make the trip in two days leaving Federal Way on a Thursday morning in late June arriving in Watertown, SD sometime Friday evening. We have a wedding invitation to my cousins daughters wedding and we have not seen these folks since they visited us a few years back. I have told you about my cousins in Lewiston, ID and about the elderly patriarch of their family. Watertown has one of their own and I believe she is now in her 90's. She is a wonderful lady and her family are great people. We have enjoy knowing them ever since we found out about them and made first contact.
When we first visited them the young lady who is getting married was playing baseball in Jr High. I think she was 13 or 14. Her mom is a wonderful lady who has a great sense of humor. The whole family is great. Watertown is middle America. People do for themselves and others.
Fifteen hundred miles in two days across four states. I am thinking that Mia and I will be alternating the driving and we will drive until we can't drive then find a motel, sleep and drive some more. Don't want to miss the wedding. It doesn't look like we'll have a lot of time to enjoy the open road as we travel through Washington, Idaho, Montana and South Dakota. Not sure if Mia is looking forward to two days in the truck but I am...
While I long for sitting at the trailer in the bright sunshine and enjoying a cold drink as I read a book, I must come to the reality that we live in Seattle. In Seattle we seldom get those warm, sunny days at Easter and while we think we should have them in most cases they don't show up until June and even then there are weather issues. I can count on one hand the number of 4th of July days that didn't have rain over the past 10 years. Rain comes to us often. Too often. But that is the price we pay to live in one of the best places.
There is nothing like Mt Rainer on a clear day, standing tall and looking down on us. I am sure there are other sites just as wonderful but I don't have to travel very far to see this one. Every cloudless day on the way home it stands there watching me inch down I5. It helps the keep one sane as we deal with the little struggles of life.
Mia and I are going on a road trip. No trailer or Honey, just us and the truck for around 1500 miles. We are going to try to make the trip in two days leaving Federal Way on a Thursday morning in late June arriving in Watertown, SD sometime Friday evening. We have a wedding invitation to my cousins daughters wedding and we have not seen these folks since they visited us a few years back. I have told you about my cousins in Lewiston, ID and about the elderly patriarch of their family. Watertown has one of their own and I believe she is now in her 90's. She is a wonderful lady and her family are great people. We have enjoy knowing them ever since we found out about them and made first contact.
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| Downtown Watertown |
Fifteen hundred miles in two days across four states. I am thinking that Mia and I will be alternating the driving and we will drive until we can't drive then find a motel, sleep and drive some more. Don't want to miss the wedding. It doesn't look like we'll have a lot of time to enjoy the open road as we travel through Washington, Idaho, Montana and South Dakota. Not sure if Mia is looking forward to two days in the truck but I am...
Friday, April 12, 2013
Real Camping
Listening to the radio on the way home the other night and the news was about a man who had been nicknamed the North Pond Hermit. Central Maine legends tell of a man who would sneak into campsites and sometimes jimmy locks to obtain camping equipment, supplies and food. He never did any damage and never stole any money. For 27 years the legend continued until a Pine Tree Camp, one of his favorite sites to rob, installed security cameras. Last week the legend was caught trying to steal once again.
Apparently Christopher Knight, now 47, had spent the last 27 years camping in the woods in central Maine. I don't know about you but I could spend a night outside in a Seattle winter. I can't even begin to imagine what a Maine winter would be like with nothing but a tent, tarp and sleeping blankets.
But that is exactly what he did. Entire winters in this campsite with no human contact. He said he wouldn't leave the campsite in winter for fear of being tracked.
He stated that he only had human contact once during the 27 years when he passed a hiker on a trail in the nineties.
Can't condone the thief, but this guy was a "real" camper.
Apparently Christopher Knight, now 47, had spent the last 27 years camping in the woods in central Maine. I don't know about you but I could spend a night outside in a Seattle winter. I can't even begin to imagine what a Maine winter would be like with nothing but a tent, tarp and sleeping blankets.
He stated that he only had human contact once during the 27 years when he passed a hiker on a trail in the nineties.
Can't condone the thief, but this guy was a "real" camper.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
A River Runs Through It.
I was hoping to go to Gold Bar today, but it looks like the weather has other plans. I awoke to the loud sound of rain pouring down on the condo. I got up for my Sunday morning dose of Meet the Press and looked outside to find a small river running down the street in front of our place. According to the news this morning we have flood watches in place. So much for Spring and going up to open up the campsite. And I was kind of looking forward to the day in the park.
My grandson is on spring break so I plan to put him to work this coming week. We have a lot of stuff that needs to get done and I think it is great that he wants to earn some extra money while helping the old man out.
As I head into retirement I am finding myself increasingly concerned about the future. As a young man (baby boomer) growing up I knew I had to make some provisions for my future and set aside for retirement. While we are not as destitute as some individuals I know, we know we must carefully plan each move once we retire to conserve our resources. That is why the discussion about the cuts to Federal programs is of such concern.
Years ago, most companies discovered that pension plans would put them in the poor house if they continued them so they did away with them. It hurt to see pension plans disappear. We put monies into them in hopes of having a future. We got money back but what do you do with it? How do you manage it? We chose 401k and when I switched jobs took that money and put it in a popular form of pension plan IRA. The IRA began something called Roth IRA which looked like a better deal so we moved our monies there using one of the larger financial organizations to manage the money we put in. Like I said, we are much better off than many people we know but after working all our lives to have one of the pieces of our financial pie being messed with by the Federal Government it is getting a little scary.
What scares me the most is my kids generation. They are still putting money into a program that doesn't look like it will last long enough for them to enjoy it and they have no choice. I think younger people should be given the opportunity to divest themselves of the mandatory pay in to the social security program and be allowed to do their own thing. What are people going to do with all their medical bills? The cost of insurance for an individual is astronomical. Retired people can't afford to purchase medical insurance so they become a burden. No wonder so many people die just after retirement. The worries you had while working are nothing compared to the future in retirement.
As I head into retirement I am finding myself increasingly concerned about the future. As a young man (baby boomer) growing up I knew I had to make some provisions for my future and set aside for retirement. While we are not as destitute as some individuals I know, we know we must carefully plan each move once we retire to conserve our resources. That is why the discussion about the cuts to Federal programs is of such concern.
Years ago, most companies discovered that pension plans would put them in the poor house if they continued them so they did away with them. It hurt to see pension plans disappear. We put monies into them in hopes of having a future. We got money back but what do you do with it? How do you manage it? We chose 401k and when I switched jobs took that money and put it in a popular form of pension plan IRA. The IRA began something called Roth IRA which looked like a better deal so we moved our monies there using one of the larger financial organizations to manage the money we put in. Like I said, we are much better off than many people we know but after working all our lives to have one of the pieces of our financial pie being messed with by the Federal Government it is getting a little scary.
What scares me the most is my kids generation. They are still putting money into a program that doesn't look like it will last long enough for them to enjoy it and they have no choice. I think younger people should be given the opportunity to divest themselves of the mandatory pay in to the social security program and be allowed to do their own thing. What are people going to do with all their medical bills? The cost of insurance for an individual is astronomical. Retired people can't afford to purchase medical insurance so they become a burden. No wonder so many people die just after retirement. The worries you had while working are nothing compared to the future in retirement.
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