Only Hit my Thumb Once

I only hit my thumb once while the youngest and I finished the new fence. We were going to have Mr and Mrs H come over and help but after Mrs H OK'd our posts for straightness we decided to continue. I must say I think we did a fairly good job. As you can see the WRX made a good truck. We were able to get all of the lumber home. We had to make a couple of trips but that was OK. We still have the Trellis to build. I have most of the lumber except for the lattce for that we need Mr and Mrs H's truck. So I guess the trellis will be my B-day project. I think I can get most of it done except for the lattice and placement since it will take a few folks to hold while someone drills and bolts it in place.

By the looks of Biscuit's garden we should have our first harvest next week of garden fresh radishes.
I have also replaced the barbecue with a new gas fired one. As you can see I have placed it near nothing that will catch on fire like the fence or house.

When WB gets home today we just need to pick out the new kitchen window and get it ordered. Lowes' sells Pella windows which look they will work quite well. They even make a garden window that will fit.

Off to clean house since WB is coming home today.

I am never.....

I am never going to barbecue again. Last night I barbecued chicken and Salmon for dinner. After finishing I close the vent to the top onWeber. And about 4 am we woke up to this cracking sound WB got up and looked out the window. We had set the fence on fire. Not a huge amount of damage but it looks like a new kitchen window, fence and some plants and pond pump for the neighbor. Off to call the insurance company. So much for thinking the coals had gone out. :(

Biscuit's Garden

When Biscuit was over the last time we took some time and planted a garden together. She helped plant the radishes, beans, and squash. As you can see her little garden is doing quite well. We will not have radishes in time for Mothers day but close. She also has two tomatoes plants, Grandpa planted those. I must say her garden is doing better than mine. When I had the landscaping done seven years ago I remember trying to convince the landscaper to put my garden spot where Biscuit's is. But he did not want to ruin his design so it is on the other side of the lawn where there is less sun. Oh well.

I have always been around gardens. Growing up on a farm in Iowa you had a garden. A big garden. Sweat corn was planted in the end rows of a corn field close to the house. Needless to say there was lots of sweat corn. One of my first jobs I remember was shelling peas with my mom for canning. Let's just say it takes a lot of shelling to get enough peas to can. And when we canned it wasn't just a jar or two. There was always the local talk of who did the most quarts, pints and of what. And the always ever present warning from my dad to my mom do not to overheat the pressure cooker and blow it up. Which meant melt the safety plug out which I am sure would have made quite the noise.

As an adult I don't plant peas. And I can't grow sweat corn like we had in Iowa. My sister can, she has a garden that must cover and acre. And she still cans and freezes those peas. She still lives in Iowa.

Back From India

I have now been back from India for two weeks. I must say it was an interesting trip. India is quite the place to visit. As my friends from there had told me there are going to be more people than you are use to. That turned out to be so true. Most of the people spoke good English and even the newspapers and magazines were in English. So it was easy to communicate and figure out how to get around. But the number of people was overwhelming. And in the big cities like Mumbai and Delhi there was just so many people, cars and noise. Driving there was a trip. They all have their mirrors turned back against the car so as not to have them knocked off. They get within inches or less and just honk their horn. The first two nights we stayed with my friend's brother and his family in Mumbai. It was a good way to start they helped us with getting use to the food and showed us around.

We did get to see a lot of India. We saw the Taj Mahal, many shopping areas, the Himalayas and lots of poor people. The little girl in the picture is begging in front of the biggest mosque in India. I don't think you would see that at a major tourist attraction in America.

Once we got to the countryside in the town of Darjeeling there were still lots of people, but it was much more laid back. You could actually look, ask questions, and shop without being hassled to buy right now. It turned out the the fall is when it is best to see the Himalayas but we did have one sort of clear morning after a rain the previous evening. This time of year the haze from the valley just moves up the slopes of the mountains and makes it very hazy and overcast most of the time. The picture of the mountain is the third highest peak in the world Kanchenjunga at 8585 meters.

Darjeeling is well known for it's tea. The picture is of the youngest picking tea and putting it in the basket. Only women are allowed to pick tea. They claim the smaller hands of a women do not damage the tea plant. They need to pick 7 to8 baskets of tea a day for 53 rupees. About $1.05. When the basket is full they walk down the road to the station where it is weighted and they are given credit for what they picked. The tea shops in town are kind of like visiting a winery here in America. They tell you about the various grades and show you how to properly smell the difference. The youngest purchased some Darjeeling tea, in bags. Which the owner told us was tea dust. I did bring home some good tea but have not tried it yet.

I would like to go back again and see the mountains after the monsoon season. I think if I stay in any of the big cities I would stay in the more expensive hotels and take a tour to see the sites. Out in the country it is much more relaxed and easier to feel at ease.

The country does have very good cell phone coverage, Internet and good local airlines. But is has very bad air pollution, you only drink bottled water, and lots of trash. But they do keep things fairly clean they have plenty of people to clean the streets etc. Just not a good system to get rid of the trash. So they burn a lot of it which adds to the bad air. However Darjeeling had outlawed plastic bags and were attempting to work on the plastic waste problem. Everyday they had a small group of folks who swept the streets by hand and put the trash in a wagon. However the trash was just burned or dumped down some hill side outside of town.

I took 360 pictures so this is just a very few.

Later.

Going for Walks

As a kid on the farm I always enjoyed going for a walk or riding my bike. I got the cows everyday so there was one walk or two. And I usually always walked down to the creek and ponds to check out the frogs and toads. When I was about 8 I really liked walking through the hay field with my dad. The hay would come up to like my waist and his knee. But Clover hay sure works great at putting a shine on your work shoes.

Anyway Biscuit was over and we always take a short walk. After saying good bye to Mom and a kiss we were off. She likes walking in the grass, maybe I have passed something along. But we live in a neighbor hood that has all under ground utilities. So there are lots of boxes in the ground with lids. Biscuit had the best time stomping on each and listening for the returning sound. Some sounded hollow others quite full. It was interesting how a 17 month old kid could tell the difference. Smart kid. As I told my sister who has like 30+ grand kids. World's cutest and smartest.

Off for my haircut.

Fun at REI

The photo at the left is of myself and my friend Art. I used the tripod Mrs H made me for Christmas. It works great and Art was impressed with how simple and effective it was.

Well a couple of weeks ago I counted all that lose chain I had. And last week my REI dividend check arrived. So yesterday I headed to the bank with all my rolled change. Deposited some of my savings and took the rest in cash. Than off to REI with my cash and dividend check in hand. I had done my homework for like six months so I had it down to two packs. One from REI and a Gregory. After loading both up with 30 pounds and walking with each around the store the REI pack won. Must say I was a bit surprised, but I think it is going to be a great pack for those less than a week trips. And the best of all I used my 20% off coupon. Of course I did not stop there, new pair of shorts, first aid kit, water purification tablets (for trip), and a new wallet. I think my old one I used for about 20 years.

The new wallet seems good. I have been cleaning house today Biscuit coming Saturday. So I put my wallet Passport and money in my security pouch put it around my neck and have been seeing how it works. Seems OK, I guess if I get totally ripped off in India I will have my C-cards Passport, some money and a ticket home.

Kids and Getting Older

Now that I am retired I can go out with my kayak whenever I want. Like a nice sunset paddle a couple of weeks ago on the Napa River. Going again tomorrow when everyone is at work.
Also now that I am retired I enjoyed reading a couple of blogs everyday. Underconstruction, and Waiting for Naptime. I enjoy reading about the trials of having young kids around the house. It makes me think back to when WB and me had all those responsibilities, like diapers, going for walks to the park, Preschool, soccer and on so on. And of course giving advice. Now we get to do some of those same things with Biscuit. But if I don't want to Mr or Mrs H can change the diaper.

But now I find myself calling Mrs H for advice on cooking, sewing, yard work etc. I am using Mr H's advice on the new lawn mower and how to fertilize my lawn. And the youngest who I am off to see in India in 10 days helps me with the travel end of thing. The youngest has me convinced that I can travel to India with no problem she will take care of me.

I must say I enjoy hearing their advice on things it has made several decisions much easier.

Christmas in Feb.

Picture of Biscuit at the Amgen Tour of California in Santa Rosa.

Anyway, as a kid my first allowance was ten cents a week. Growing up on a farm I remember my mom always saying the best things in life are free, and good things come to those who wait. So, I computed that in a year I would have $5.00. I waited and worked that whole year for the dime a week and thinking about what would I buy. My job was to collect the eggs with my older sister. Don't remember what I purchased but I am sure it was great.
Anyway in college I wanted a TV so I saved my pocket change for the TV. I think it took about 1 1/2 years to get the Eighty Bucks. And I still had that TV when Mrs H was the age of Biscuit.

So now as a retired person I still save that pocket change. I have been collecting now in the Oat Meal box for a little over a year. I cash it in about every two years. So last week I counted it let's just say there was more than $200 in change. I went to the bank and got coin wrappers and now I am all set. But today was just like Christmas my REI Dividend check came. Now I can buy that new pack. I have it narrowed down to two after a year plus of thinking. The REI store will be glad to see me finally buy it. I tend to try things out a bit. I think I will use it on my trip to India.

The other thing about being retired is you don't get a pay check. But I also just finished and filed my taxes and GW will be sending me a refund. Most years I had to pay a little or just let them keep it for next year. The best news was I did not have to pay the state of California. First time in maybe 15 years.

Well off to the REI website for a little more comparison shopping.

Free Stuff and an Angel at the Top

Yesterday and today the Tour of California made it's way for a finish yesterday in downtown Santa Rosa. And today was the race start for the ride to Sacramento. Mrs H and Biscuit came over for the race yesterday which was a great surprise since we had just been at Mr and Mrs H's two days earlier to watch Biscuit for the day. It was a fun event and I think everyone had a good time. Biscuit enjoyed watching the helicopter fly over taking pictures of the racers coming into town. There were two big screens set up to watch the race. We did however miss the big crash at the end since we were on the other side of the course through downtown. I will put pictures of Biscuit on my blog tomorrow having issues uploading.

Anyway today the tour departed Santa Rosa and made it's first big climb over Trinity Road. I departed the house on my bike about 1 1/2 hours before the start since it is about 20 miles to the top of the climb using the route I took. It is a three mile climb which took me 30 minutes to complete which I felt was a good time for me. There were lots of folks setting up to wait for the Tour so it was fun riding up the hill they rang there cows bells and cheered you on. But at the top was the Specialized Angel. Quite the sight!! You can see her in the background as the first racer crests the hill about 90 seconds ahead of the pack. I felt sorry for her because it was so cold... I had my winter bike stuff on and I was still very chilled with the wind blowing. But I did get some nice free stuff over the two days. If you ever need bike repairs in Santa Rosa I would go to Santa Rosa Cyclery. They were giving out free water bottles. Great little shop in this hole in the wall location.

More photos tomorrow when the upload works better I hope.

You could have chickens

I ride my bike almost everyday and today I decided to take my camera with. I used the youngest daughter's idea of putting the camera in a sock to protect it. It actually worked very well. Having grown up on a farm I have always liked barns and still would like a place where I would have a barn. Mrs H is always talking about wanting to have chickens. So while I was riding I took a couple of pictures of places that if her and Mr H lived there they could have chickens. And a horse, cow, goats, pigs etc. The barn at the top I think would work great. And Grandpa could buy a John Deere tractor to store there and do tractor things. Like give Biscuit a ride.

I was actually very pleased WB remembered it was valentines day. I think all the TV ads helped.

Started getting ready for my next big adventure. I am off to India to travel with the youngest. Must admit I am nervous. The travel nurse at Kaiser turned me into a pin cushion and gave me 30 minutes worth of good advice of how not to get some dreaded disease. Only one more visit in two weeks for the last shot.

Stay tuned. Off to make dinner for WB.

New Cooking

After looking through the cupboards I came across our old bread maker. I think we have had it for quite some time. So I read the directions and checked to see if we had all the ingredients to make simple white bread. We did, so I made my first loaf of bread. Not too bad. I now have all the stuff to make whole wheat bread my next try. It's not too hard just put in all the stuff and turn it on. And about 3 hours later nice hot bread. I am also going to make my first soup this week.

First I am off to get all my shots for my trip to India. By 1:00 pm I will know how Biscuit feels after her shots. I think I am getting four shots plus two prescriptions. And a list of helpful hints from the Kaiser travel nurse. I bought my ticket so it looks like I am for sure off on the next adventure. I found this little hotel in National Geographic Adventure magazine in a town in India where you can see Everest. I emailed the hotel and the owner e-mailed me back wanting to know how I found him and how to make a reservation. I e-mailed back that his hotel was in Adventure magazine. He e-mailed back that he would like the article so I am off to copy and mail it to him. Later.

New Toy

After much thinking, like six months. I finally broke down and purchased a new photo printer. The free shipping and $40.00 instant rebate got me. I must say I am very pleased. Printed two 5*7 prints of Yosemite today and they came out quite nice. Started working with that Histogram stuff in Photo Shop Elements. I must say I find it rather fun. Nice to learn new photo stuff. My little Sony camera has more features than I had thought.

The other big event of the day is I finally decided to go and visit the youngest in India. Should be an adventure. My good friend from MDT who grew up in India had several good suggestions of where to go plus his brother lives in Bombay and he may help us get around. So it should be a good adventure.

Off to make nice vacuum lines for WB and Mac and Cheese. Not out of a box.

My Disneyland

The week after New Years is the time to go to Yosemite. It had the fewest people I have ever seen. At 9:00 am on Tuesday I only saw one person on the trail to Lower Yosemite falls which is right by Yosemite Lodge. Quite nice. But also quite chilly. We even got our act together and made reservations a whole year in advance for next year. As you can see by the picture of WB the Cross Country Skiing was good.
Not a lot of snow for this time of year but a good ski for the first time this year. On this trip I tried to work on using my digital camera. Fairly early Tuesday morning I went out with my film camera and my digital to take some pictures as the sun was coming on over the mountains. It not real clear but upper Yosemite falls has a faint rainbow in it. My film camera's exposure is better but not by much. I still need to learn more about how to get the correct exposure using the histogram thingy. I checked out some photos being sold in the Ansel Adams Gallery $38.00 for a matted 8*10 and $28.00 for a 5*7. So I came home and ordered a new photo printer from Epson.com. It was on sale with free shipping. I had been looking at it for about a year. It also will work for WB since you can put your memory card right in the front.

Still working on am I going to visit the youngest in Asia somewhere. Yosemite has a sister park in China. The name of the park is Huanqshan National Park. And my new National Geographic Adventure magazine came it had an interesting trip in India to the foothills of the Himalaya's. I think I made the youngest mad when she called because I could not be more definite about any plans. Hopefully I will get my act together and figure it out soon.

It's finally starting to warm up so time for a bike ride. WB is in San Francisco today with her friends.

Christmas in a Box and Great Presents

On Christmas day this year it was just WB and myself. So when we were at the local Safeway a couple of days before Christmas WB noticed that they had a complete Turkey dinner with all the trimming's for a good price. Just pop it in the oven and in less than two hours it would be done. So, we departed Safeway that day with Christmas dinner in a box. Needless to say on Christmas day we followed the directions put the Turkey in the oven and an hour later the mash potatoes and dressing. When it was all done I must say it was very good. The Turkey was nice and moist and done to perfection. The mash potatoes were great but the dressing left a little to be desired. Dessert was pumpkin pie and quite tasty.

So fast forward to New Years Eve day. Mr and Mrs H plus Biscuit came over to celebrate Christmas at our house. As I had said earlier it was the year of socks. Everyone got socks. I did need them however. I was given four pair of biking socks. Very nice ones to boot. Two pair of low cut hiking socks, and six pair of Costco white athletic socks. Plus some handlebar tape, new bike inner tube, Nalgene Water bottle, plus splash guard. And two books one on bike touring, and one from National Geographic on Digital Photography.

But the best present was this ingenues device pictured above. Just the day before on my last bike ride of 2006 I was wishing that someone would get me this little tripod that you can hook on things using these Velcro straps. But Mrs H out did that with this little wonder. It is a bolt, some electrical tape, and three strands of copper wiring. As you can see it makes a great little tripod for a digital camera. And very versatile notice how you can wrap the wire around an object such as this chair to steady the camera. Needless to say I was very pleased. WB also got a great gym bag made by Mrs H. Also very nice. I checked it our thinking I could make one. Bags of that size come in very handy when going camping. Maybe I can get some clues on where to find a pattern.

It was a great Christmas lots of great useful gifts and lots of quality time with Mr, Mrs H and Biscuit plus lots of photos of the events.

We had ham for dinner, but not out of a box.

Thirty Seven and Counting

Well as of today WB and I have been married thirty seven years. And as usual I remembered it was our anniversary. WB usually remembers when she wakes up or the night before, but not this year. She was printing pictures of Biscuit and watching Gilmore girls last night and not a word about our up coming anniversary. So this morning while she was in the shower I put the card with the ear rings on her hair dryer. When she went to dry her hair it hit her. She had forgotten. It is kind of fun since I have always remembered. But this is the first year that I think WB really forgot. But I am sure she will take me out to dinner tonight.

My friend and her eight year old daughter make the ear rings. There little craft company is Bumble Beads. I bought them at a craft fair a couple of weeks ago. She makes nice stuff just Google her business name and it should find her Web Site.

Adverbs and such...

Did I ever tell you that I had to pass this essay exam thing to graduate from college. Well writing has never been my thing. And at Iowa State you had to write a 500 word essay in on of those little blue books with no more than 5 errors. Well I started as soon as I could the first Quarter of my Jr year and finished the last Quarter of my two years as senior. I took every stupid study class for writing Iowa State had, but I made it finally. Needless to say writing is not my thing. WB let's me know the errors I have made in the Blog but nothing to big. Just spelling and dangling this or that. I think I was around forty when I figured out what, too, really meant. I just used it where ever, spelling was correct not big deal.

But I did it this year I wrote the Christmas letter. That's me holding the result. Not bad uh. It took me a couple of edits, Mrs H one edit and WB around four or five. The last on being just before printing so it was on the computer. WB loves Word and computers a couple of minutes into the final edit. There was the I hit something and it's formatted all wrong. I had told WB miss it up and you have to fix it. Oh well a couple of clicks here and there and things were OK. Thank God I can do a few things.

So if you struggle figuring out what I am saying. Just deal with it.

I think Christmas is finally figured out. Party at Mr and Mrs H on Sat. Get to stay over night. Fun with Biscuit on Sat, stocking shopping, and Party at Mr H's parents house on Christmas eve. Than home.

Our Christmas with Biscuit and Mr and Mrs H the next week on New Years eve day or New Years day just need to hear from Mrs H. Could stay overnight and celebrate New Years eve with two (too) old folks. I pointed out to WB that any last minute gifts could be bought at the after Christmas sales.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. And if things work out I may do the letter again next year.

Cleaning Pays Off

The middle of the month is when I pay the bills. Well today I while balancing the checkbook I decided I should clean out the envelope I keep the ATM receipts. After slowing going through the thick envelope, reviewing old gift receipts from Christmas's past. It happen a $100 bill wow. I wonder how long that had been hiding in there. Now what to do with it. Save it. Buy that Epson printer I have looking at. I will have to think very carefully. Nice touch to the day off to make nice vacuum lines.

The Year of Socks

The Christmas tree is up and complete. I put on about 30 ornaments this year. A record for me usually WB does all the decorating. I finished putting all the decoration boxes back out in the garage. The garage is getting very full and not in a very neat and orderly.

I did write the Christmas letter this year.

This year just about everyone asked for socks. WB did not but she wanted new red pots and pans from Walmart. They are just waiting to be wrapped and put under the tree. Everyone else wanted socks, son-in-law, oldest daughter, and me. So there are now lots of socks under the tree. With the youngest in Asia she just wanted money which she got just before she departed at the end of November.

I finally backed up all my photos on my early Christmas present and external hard drive. Which I bought on sale the day after Turkey Day. I just have an empty wrapped box under the tree. I thought this will be a quick 10 minute back up. Well I guess I had a few more photos than I had imagined. Photo Shop kept asking me to back them up every time I opened the program. So, today I did, 1 hour and 30 minutes later all the photos were backed up on my new 250 gig external drive. All Two thousand and four hundred and forty one photos. Not sure but I would bet about 50% are of Biscuit.

Not sure how many retailers are doing this Christmas but I will say Apple should have a good year. I wandered in the local Apple store in the mall two weeks ago and was looking at a new Mac computer when the sales guy came over. We talked and I had quite a few questions so he suggested I use there new program where I could make an appointment on line for a future date with the stores Mac specialist. So I did. Yesterday was my appointment. Off to the mall after my workout at the Gym. Memory stick in hand with those PC files, photos and a few other files for fun. The guy's name was Chris. Very helpful, that new Mac read all those PC files and could make them open. After about an hour I have to say my next machine will be a Mac. They do seem to be easier to use and more intuitive. Just a few odd things like on a PC the little red X is in the upper right on a Mac it is on the upper Left and it's a little Red circle. But he claims only four known virus out there on the net to worry about. But they are a little pricey. But was that store busy, i-pods were flying off the shelf. But I did notice a couple of unhappy i-pod folks back trying to solve problems. But they are ready to sell each sales guy has his little ear phone and wireless reader just waiting for your Credit Card. But they were very helpful. Best Buy now sells Mac and the guy in the local store was also very up beat about the Mac. Oh well next year. Really hoping WB will buy me an i-pod.

That's all for now.

Christmas

Every year we struggle with doing the annual Christmas (brag) letter. Well this I am going to do it for the first time. That should be interesting. It will be fun to see how many edits WB decides are needed.
I also have decided I need to post on my blog on a more regular basis. I noticed I have not put anything on it since October. I am using Google's new beta version on e-blogger they said it was improved but I do not see any difference yet. But I can restrict who sees it which would make WB happy.

This should be a less expensive Christmas than last. The youngest is in Cambodia, and has her Christmas checks deposited. I put in for socks, and to have my external hard drive, box and National Geographic book wrapped and put under the tree. WB wants new pots and pans from Walmart. Oldest daughter wants socks. And Biscuit I am sure will get a large amount of WB finds. Just need a list from my son-in-law and we should be set.

Well it's off to start the letter.

Done and Old Guy Arms

I took the ladies advice at the sewing machine repair store and bought some new thread. She commented when I took the machine in and read the label on the thread that it had been a long time since thread cost 30 cents. I guess she was correct the two spools pictured cost $7.31. The machine runs like new. I can't sew very straight but the machine works great. As you can see I have finished my Camelbak water holder for my backpacking adventures. It is true I could have actually saved money by purchasing the Camelbak version for 40 bucks. But I had fun and I feel it turned out fairly well all things considered. My own design complete with velcro attachment points on the back.

Now on to the other discovery today. When I helped with the Russian River clean up I shared a canoe with my friend who is 65 and retired about 4 months ahead of me. He is a guy who use to run the Western states 100 and other ultra distance events. So to say the least he is still in very good shape. While we were paddling I kept thinking I wonder if I will start to wrinkle that much over the next five years. Gravity seems to move everything downward. Since retiring I have almost hit the same weight I was when I graduated from High School just .8 pounds more to go. But low and behold while doing my weight routine at the Gym today I noticed that when I bent my arms wrinkles appeared just above the elbow. Old Guy arms are here. I wonder what the next five years have in store. Oh well I feel great had my best ride in a long time up to Sugar Loaf Ridge state park last week. So I guess all the exercise etc is paying off.

I got to watch Biscuit this week. I must admit I was fairly nervous since 11 month olds can be very active. WB was going to come with and get me started on the day but when she determined that she had to drive herself home she backed out. But, Biscuit and I had a good time. I told my oldest sister this summer that Biscuit was the world's cutest Granddaughter. She has 22 plus grandkids. She said she had a couple she thought could compete. Now I think I need to tell her Biscuit is the world's smartest Granddaughter. She could really get me to do what she wanted. I did not know we could make so many trips between the family room and the other end of the house. When we were eating lunch anytime she heard a plane fly over she would point outside and up the in the air. On our walk all of a sudden she leaned way out of her stroller and was watching her shadow. She had discovered that she could make her shadow move by wiggling her feet. I thought that was pretty smart for an 11 month old kid. At least it impressed Grandpa. We had a good time and she kept me so busy I did not get any pictures of her for WB.

I need to get on to the next project, presents for Biscuit's b-day. And WB's b-day four days later.