March
twelfth, 2013
I haven’t added anything for some time. I just got my laptop back from Todd, and I have spent a lot of time cleaning up the mess I made with the Macintosh hermaphrodite. I also discovered that I hadn’t shared my photos from Iran, so I spent some time learning this new version of Microsoft Word, and I uploaded all my photos, plus, a treasure trove of memories, in a scrapbook put together by Pam. She made a lot of nice scrapbooks, which I hope to make available at a later time. I am also working to clean up biopt2, which is presentable in its present condition, but has photos which are unattached to the text. On Tuesday, I received a priority mail envelope, full of pictures, which I scanned and put up at http://www.petesmemories.com/Dale's%20Album. On Wednesday I received a priority box, and I have begun to upload these at http://www.petesmemories.com/dlsbxpt1. I need to take a break from this and get to work outside.
As I try to write, my puppies are trying to get my attention, and it reminds me that I have to talk about my loving dogs.
My
Puppies
In biopt1 I wrote about my dog, Buddy, and when we lost him, Denise and I were left craving his company. A week without a dog is all we could bear, and we drove to the feed store in Rio Linda, and pulled an ad off the bulletin board. And after one telephone call, forty five minutes later, we had two dogs in our lap.
When we got them home, we arranged to take them to our vet, and right away, we had to pour several hundred dollars into getting them well. They had skin mites, and fleas, and who knows what else? As soon as they were strong enough, we had them neutered.
They are such a hopeless mix of breeds, that even though the female has “Basset” characteristics, they could come from dachshund, and the male has long wiry hair like a terrier. And to top it off, they are brindle???
I have taken so many pictures of them that it is difficult to find some really good ones.
They are in trouble today
(April 19 2013) because they got into Denise’s pigeon coop and killed two
of her birds. Have you ever seen a more innocent looking face?
The puppies love Opie!
March
20, 2013
This is the first chance I’ve had to sit down and write for a few days.
I have been spraying “Roundup” on the foxtails. Buster had to be put to sleep to have a foxtail removed, last year. I’ve been working on them for the last four or five years, and I’m finally getting the upper hand. Denise’s mom has been here, working on the computer, looking for crochet patterns. She likes paper copies, and I finally ran out of ink, so I paid a trip to Costco, yesterday, and spent five hundred and fifty dollars. So much for having a little extra! Most of that was for Cialis, but the large inks are sixty five dollars a set. I always get doggie treats, toilet paper, and butter, and this time, I bought fifty two razors for myself.
Steve’s brother Charlie called me last night, and we did a team view to clear up some of the problems I’ve been having. I do so many things on the computer that no one else does, and I still have so much to learn. Most of my problems turn out to be “beginner” problems.
I wrote a scathing criticism of Google Chrome, only part of which, applies. The part about suggesting the wrong sites to search still stands. The rest was my own ignorance, and I learned how to adjust the page to fit the screen. Todd showed me how to do that once before, but he showed me so many things, I guess it slipped my mind. I’ll remove that from my index page sometime today. There’s a few other things that need to be removed, also.
It is raining today, so I can work on that.
Singin’ Lori talked Denise into taking five pigeons from her. The poor creatures had been locked in her garage for so long, in a tiny cage, and when Denise set them up in a spacious cage, outside, their condition began to improve, immediately. I took her to the “Redneck” pet shop in Rio Linda, and bought a can of “Permectrin”, a flea and mite powder. She put that on them two days ago, and already they have stopped pecking themselves. They are lucky creatures to have her taking care of them.
March
23, 2013
It’s Saturday, and I just finished uploading the last of the photos Dale sent to me.
March
30, 2013
Easter Eve. Tim invited us up to the house for Easter egg hunt, and barbecue. I spent yesterday slow cooking a brisket that I had cured with a recipe I found on line.
By the time I sliced it on my deli slicer, it crumbled into mush, and looked awful, but tasted so good.
I asked Tim if I could snap a few photos of some of the projects I worked on when I lived with my folks.
The first one is the first deck I built, right outside the front door. The second photo is the deck I built outside the back door, from the front yard.
And looking at the back door. I modified the rail for Jim Edens, and poured a pad at the bottom of the steps.
And the octagonal driveway.
And the yard set up for
company.
We couldn’t stay for the barbecue, because we had Singin’ Lori coming with Easter dinner.
A quick look at the “lean to” I built for the Barbados.
March 30, 2013
The day before Easter, Lori got here about ten o’ clock, and brought chicken for the Barbie, and fresh veggies for stir fry. It was absolutely delicious.
I caught her sitting in the rocking chair that she sold to us, years ago. There is a worn spot on the left armrest where her wedding ring rubbed, when she rocked Ivy to sleep.
As soon as I thought about getting my guitar out, she was gone, and Steve and Kimberly showed up with a “Honey Baked Ham”,
and a ton of fresh berries and other goodies.
March 31, 2013
Russ Farnell snuck up on me today. We always have a good chat, when he is here. I found a few photos to share with him. He updated the text,
which is what got me started going back through everything, again.
April
6, 2013
Just finished a quick edit of bunches 1 thru 23. Started yesterday, and downloaded all of the bunches I put up.
Dale wrote today that he is getting back to work on these, and I really do need the help.
April
9, 2013
Got an email from Todd today. He took photos of the apple trees we planted. His camera was in focus.
Monday
April 22, 2013
So many things have happened since I last made an entry, that I must take time to catch up One of the reasons I’m writing all of this down is because I am becoming increasingly forgetful, and I am having such an interesting life, I want to share it with anyone interested.
About two weeks ago, I met with Craig and Russ. We got together at Denny’s in West Sac. And had a good visit. We are already planning another meeting.
About a week ago John called Denise and said he needed help mowing his place. I went up there with the intention of mowing for him on “his” mower. It turned out that his was out of gas, and all he really wanted was some gas. I brought him my five gallon can and filled his tank. He went to start it and the battery was dead, so I helped him hook up the charger. I took Denise and the dogs home, and I drove my mower back up to his place, and by the time I got there, he was already working on the front yard. I wonder how safe it is for him to drive the mower. It isn’t safe for him to have gas and electricity within a few feet of each other. Maria and Robert don’t communicate with us, so I don’t know how they feel about this. I really don’t even know how Suzie feels about this, except I’m sure she’s glad to have him out of the house.
I went ahead and mowed his front yard adjacent to Dale’s place, and when I finished, I started working on the back. While I was blazing a trail from one pasture to another, I hit a metal channel in the ground, and broke off the left blade bearing housing, so I am in a battle with Home Depot over getting it fixed on the extended warranty I bought for two hundred dollars. I just got off the phone with them for the second time. The first time I called, I got a foreign accent (I’m guessing Russian), and the girl hadn’t turned up the volume on her phone. I had scanned all of my documents, and put them online so they could see my receipts, and the problem parts. They asked me to send an email with all my documents. Then the second time I called, I got the same foreign accent girl, and she wanted me to repeat everything in the email over the phone. I finally got in line to make an appointment for service, and am waiting for another call (from the warranty carrier?????) (to make an appointment for service?????). It’s nice doing business with you guys.
I am out of blood pressure meds, and cholesterol and diabetic meds, also. I am dreading going to the doctor to get my new prescriptions. The last time I went, they insisted they wanted to see me every three months, to have blood drawn. I went across the street to get my labs done, and the girl that drew my blood was sick with the flu, and I caught it, and gave it to everyone that came through my door. It was a devastating two or three days, but was completely gone in six. I am reluctant to go in again, and am trying to decide which day is best to go in as a walk in. It’ll probably be Wednesday, as that will hopefully be not too busy.
We also got our recommendation for cannabis renewed over the phone
I have so many things to work on, so I will close for now. When I resolve some of my issues, I will start another chapter. When my autorecover takes longer than three minutes, my laptop is getting ready to tell me the virtual memory is too low, and as I write this, up pops the warning.
It is almost midnight, but I had to come back and make a final entry that I forgot about, earlier. I contacted Bob Snyder today, and he informed me that Tom Pryor had passed away. He was the guy next door at Oroville. A lady he was caring for (???), Johnette, was the one responsible for Buddy’s terrible behavior, and she passed away about the time Buddy died.
Thursday 4/25/13
I went to the Carmichael Clinic this morning. I got up early and showered, trying not to think about it too much. It would be easy to talk myself out of it. I did yesterday! I didn’t sleep well, worrying about it, and I woke up not feeling well. Denise told me to ask for Haq, one of the new P.As. When I got to the desk, the girl was pessimistic about me being seen sooner than three hours. I got called in within forty minutes, and my weight was 194, and my blood pressure was 205/110. No wonder I felt like crap! I waited in a room for another hour and a half. I did ask for Haq, and I got her, and she rewrote my prescriptions, exactly the way I asked, and for over a year, and no labs. They don’t write paper prescriptions any more, but instead she entered them on her laptop, and “E” mailed them to the Costco pharmacy. I could have picked them up on my way home, but I had one dose left at home, so I procrastinated another day.
I got several calls from Scott today, and during the first one, my warranty agent for my mower called and explained that I would have to do some more foot work to get my mower fixed. She suggested that I have “Bliss Equipment” pick it up, fix it and, deliver it. I would be reimbursed for transportation, but I would have to pay up front, and wait to see if my claim would be honored or denied. Still not feeling well, I lay down and took a nap.
So tomorrow I have to mail a cust. satisf. thingy to the post office. There is a copy of the letter in my documents. I also must renew my disability placard, and I will look tonight to see if I can do that on line. If not, I must purchase a five dollar money order, and depend on the post office for the rest. (I am uncomfortable about that.) I should get it within fifteen days. I looked and you can’t renew on line, so I found my old checkbook and put everything in an envelope, and mailed it to Virginia????? My other expires June 2013. Just in time. Then it’s Costco for meds, and come home to make arrangements with “Bliss”. Going to be a busy day, again.
It’s ten after ten, and I feel so much better. I had a huge bowl of ice cream, and watched a couple good movies. I just checked my blood pressure for the fifth time, today. The top came down to one fifty immediately, but diastolic stayed at ninety five for most of the day. Just now it was 105/72. If I take my medicine every day, that is where it stays. Scary day!
4-29-13
I just want to make a quick note here, before I forget. Yesterday was the fortieth anniversary of the train explosion. (4-28-73) It was a devastating event where a train loaded with munitions exploded. It moved most of the nearby buildings off their foundations. John Pibb said the drywall was completely blown off of his house???????????????. The folk’s house was moved off the foundation and all the glass shattered. I still find shrapnel in the yard, and one of the pieces I found many years ago, I gave to my grandson, with a copy of the story I found on line. Then about fifteen years ago, I was coming home from the store, and the CHP had the road blocked just before Poker Lane. I sat in my car for three hours, and couldn’t even drink the beer I had bought. When I was finally allowed to pass, I got home and found Denise watching the news. They had been excavating, and had found an unexploded bomb. I had to wait until the “experts” (blow raspberry here) said it was safe to pass. We watched the news for several more hours, when, they detonated the bomb we could hear it at the house.
I am waiting for a mobile repairman to call about my riding mower.
My blood pressure is really high, (195/110) and I don’t feel good, but the lawn is overdue for mowing, so if I take it real easy, and take a couple breaks, I hope I can finish outside the fence.. This has to be done with a push mower.
Got that finished. I took two breaks and both times I checked my blood pressure. I was exhausted, and I thought it would be higher, if anything, but the first time it came down to 150/95. The second time it was 110/72. Go figger!.
My repairman called today, and made an appointment for tomorrow afternoon.
Denise took some photos of the baby Canadians. I will insert a photo here, and maybe upload a clip to YOUTUBE.
This is the second year that we are aware of that Canadians have hatched here. Six hatched, and five flew away.
They paid several visits and I got several shots of their returns. This time I was able to count eight babies.
I will spend the evening working on “my personal albums”. Everyone’s computer is so much faster, I will start to consolidate some of these pages.
It’s time to hit it. It is past midnight, and I don’t feel sleepy. I got a nice nap this afternoon. If I lay down, I will probably fall right to sleep!
Friday May 17, 2013
It has been a couple of weeks that I have had so much to do that I was unable to sit down and write. I got my mower repaired. I finished mowing,
and started on the pasture. It is nothing but foxtails. No sooner than I had finished mowing, and came in the house, Buster started shaking his head,
so we made a trip to the vet, and he took out a foxtail for the sum of two hundred fifty dollars. They both need a rabies shot, so we got that, too.
I got a few new photos of the baby geese. They are growing so fast that they will be gone before we know it.
A couple weeks ago. A couple days ago.
