Monday, March 29, 2021: McVay Beach is one of our favorite beaches near Brookings. It is managed by Oregon State Parks but with virtually no facilities. The beach is not sand but pebbles and the ocean is dotted with interesting rock formations. The beach is probably the main draw to this recreation but a second draw is the huge dog park where we have introduced Abby to several other dogs her size. She is very cautious of other dogs both large and small. She is very shy of large dogs so introducing her slowly to just one or two dogs at a time is what we have done with this park. She has met Gracie, a white Labrador who is one week older than she is. She is almost to the point of playing with Gracie. Gwen did her share of pebble collecting. I'm not sure what she will do with her rocks. The beach had lots of visitors today so we didn't let Abby off leash. She still enjoyed the salt water and a couple of freshwater creeks. You can see the clouds have moved on so the ocean is back to blue, a reflection of the clear sky. Click these photos for more views.

Sunday, March 28, 2021: We had a special morning with Gwen's son David just before he had to go to work.

We hiked to the beach after the visit and let Abby run the trail just like we do at home on our park trails. She doesn't go far from us but runs hard and fast.

Click both these photos to see the drift wood treasures at both these beaches. In fact, as we were going down the trail, another hiker was coming up the trail with two interesting pieces of drift wood. I could only imagine turning them into a lamp or some other decorative item.

Fortunately, Gwen didn't want any driftwood so we came back empty handed.

This was an overcast day so the water is gray unlike the blue water yesterday.

Monday, March 22, 2021: My friend, Glen, and I have been watching the Facebook ads for a bicycle which Glen can mount permanently on the Wahoo Kikr trainer he bought a couple of weeks ago. Trainers are pretty hard on bicycles so Glen wanted to put a bike on the trainer other than his "good" bike. Yesterday a lady in Roseburg listed this bike and Glen spotted it right away. She asked $400 which Glen and I felt was a good price considering the components on the bike and knew it would fit perfectly on the Kikr. Another interesting part to this bike, it came with a "dumb trainer" which I could use since REI would not let me use their advertised 20% discount on a Kikr for myself. With a sale like this, the first one to arrive with $400 cash gets the bike. The lady was not available yesterday so Glen and I decided it would be best if I picked up the bike this morning before anyone else had the chance to get it. I already had some shopping to do in Roseburg. I got the bike just after 10 am after looking it over. It is 13 years old but in good shape with really nice components and just the right size for Glen. I put the bike on my bike rack and delivered to Glen's house. I'm testing the dumb trainer myself so I can give back the trainer Glen loaned me. Click the photo to see the bike on Glen's Kikr. The rear wheel is removed and the bike sits directly on the Kikr using the cassette mounted on the trainer. The resistance when riding the Kikr is controlled by Zwift to simulate riding on the road. Resistance increases when riding a virtual hill and decreases when riding a virtual descent, just like real life. So this is a "smart trainer". Glen has a good plan. He works full time so only has the weekends to ride. He likes to get up early however and is usually riding the Kikr at 5:30 in the morning. The plan, then, is to continue riding the Kikr in the morning during the week and his "good bike" on the weekends with our group of friends.

Friday, March 19, 2021: The Oregon State Beavers worked their way into March Madness by winning the last few games. The first round of March madness was today and the Beavers, ranked 12, were matched with the Tennessee Volunteers, ranked 5.

It seemed like the Volunteers never had a chance, the Beavers were always ahead by as much as 20 points and ended up defeating the number 5 Volunteers.

We then watch Liberty play Oklahoma State. Whoever won that game would play the Beavers. It turned out to be number 4, Oklahoma State Cowboys. Liberty came very close however so perhaps the Beavers will have a chance to move to the Sweet 16. Click this photos for more views.

Thursday, March 18, 2021: Today was poor weather again so I decided it was a good day to complete our income tax reports for 2020.

Just like everybody else, it's not a day I look forward to. I've used TurboTax for the last six years which makes the job easier. They do a lot of advertising on TV for FREE tax returns. It has NEVER been free. Two people on minimum wage might be free.

Using TurboTax, the process took me four hours.

Wednesday, March 17, 2021: Our county, Douglas County, is one of only two counties in Oregon labeled "Extreme Risk for COVID" due to the number of new cases each day. Because of that designation, all restaurants may NOT have indoor dining. They may have outdoor dining or take-out. Since we had a coupon, I called the Rodeo in Roseburg and ordered "take-out" for their special. The special is 2 chicken fried steaks plus sides for $20. When we arrived at 3:30 expecting to pick up our meal and drive to a park or to home, we saw they had outdoor dining. So we asked to sit at their outdoor tables. This was a nice weather day, felt warm in the sun, so was very pleasant eating our chicken fried steak in the sun. Tomorrow is forecast to be rain so it won't be so pleasant tomorrow. I feel badly for the struggling restaurants in our county but I believe our COVID designation will be reduced soon since the number of new cases has diminished and the county has been vaccinating people like crazy.

Thursday, March 11, 2021: We drove to Roseburg today. I sold the string trimmer and the buyer met us at Costco. After Costco shopping we did a bit more grocery shopping ending up at a large nursery after the groceries.

We are look for plants which will grow on our rocky hillside. This hillside is wet during the winter months but can be very dry for months at a time during the summer months. We wandered the nursery to get ideas. The clerk cautioned that we would need to water the plants at least the first summer. We decided we could set up a water timer so we wouldn't have to cancel travel plans.

Saturday, February 20, 2021: I rode as a passenger with my friend, Glen today as he drove to Portland to look at a used Wahoo Kikr. A Wahoo Kikr takes the place of the rear wheel of a bicycle. The drive train of the bike connects to the gears on the Kikr which are attached to a flywheel and electronic resistance. It is a "smart trainer" which means it connects to a fitness program such as Zwift. We have all been riding Zwift together. It is "smart", when Zwift shows the rider ascending a hill, the resistance on the trainer increases as in real life. When Zwift shows a descent, the resistance is reduced and the animated bike speeds up. All metrics such as speed, cadence, heart rate, power and distance are reported to Zwift and the animated character proceeds through the route. The difference between a Wahoo Kikr and the Echelon Spin bike I ride, you are actually sitting on your own, real bike, the same bike you street ride. The resistance is automated with the virtual terrain on the kikr, I must manually change the resistance and rarely do so to match the terrain. I increase resistance to be able to stand off the seat and increase power. So the Kikr is much closer to the real cycling world. It is also portable and can be setup quickly anywhere. I can't easily move the spin bike and certainly would NOT take it on a trip. Glen tested all the functions since this was a used Kikr he found advertised on the Internet. He was very pleased with the quality and condition and is now the proud owner. Click the photo for more views.

Saturday, February 13, 2021: My friend, Glen needed new doors for his house and knew of Discount Windows and Doors in Junction City, Oregon. That's about 1.25 hours away from Sutherlin. He really didn't need help to get the doors but asked if I'd would go with him. We have much to talk about since we ride bicycles together when the weather is good and ride virtually on Zwift when the weather is poor. Glen brought his dog, Rio, with him. Rio likes to do car rides and spent much of the drive in my lap. I didn't know of this retail location but now I do. They have a huge inventory and seemed very busy. Glen told me he had replaced the windows in his house and now a few doors need to be updated. It was a good drive with a friend.

Friday: February 12, 2021: I did a spin bike workout this morning.

Then stained the oak bedroom project to match the cabinets. I had to bring the stain inside to warm it up before applying to the Oak. I've already brought the polyurethane inside to warm it up for tomorrow.

Gwen must rescue a ball which has gone under the couch. Abby is sure it must be there.

Thursday, February 11, 2021: I have a project in our bedroom where I need to make a 90° corner. I bought a new router bit specifically for this purpose. Yes, I could have made the corner differently but I wanted to try something new and I liked this bit.

I did watch a couple of "Lock Mitre bit" videos to be sure I did this correctly. Here is a short video showing how to use this bit.

Click the photos to enlarge.

Wednesday, February 10, 2021: Gwen, Abby and I took a drive looking for the Callahan Mountains. I have been told much about the bicycle riding around the Callahan area. We found the Britt Nichols County Park which turns out to be a "forest park". Forest park means just that, it's nothing but a forest with forest trails. We also found views of the Callahan sandstone peaks, access to the peaks is limited because the trails to the base of the mountains is on private land. We stopped at the Looking glass Store, a historic store in the rural area. We each got an ice cream bowl. I got some ideas about the bicycle riding in the spring and summer.

Wednesday and Thursday, February 3 & 4, 2021: I was with my friend Erik these two day in Portland. He was scheduled for a medical procedure at the Oregon Health Sciences University and I volunteered to drive him home after the procedure. I felt very lucky to get to spend these two days with Erik. I believe we both enjoyed our time together. While he was busy with OHSU I walked many of the streets and paths around the campus. OHSU has a tram to the top of the hill where more of the campus resided. This area is surrounded by high-rise condos and it seemed many of the residents had dogs. I saw lots of people walking their dogs and came across "Dogtopia" (as well as other dog care facilities). Dogtopia is a franchise of doggie day care and spa to take care of those dogs while the owners are at work. I also found a private elementary school for kids. So this neighborhood takes care of their dogs and kids. There were also plenty of coffee shops but due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the coffee shops were open for take-out only. The Willamette River, the longest river in Oregon, passes through this area on it's way to join the Columbia River. The Columbia is longer but it originates in British Columbia, Canada and passes through Washington then through Oregon. Click each photo for another view.

Monday, January 25, 2021: It is unusual for Sutherlin, Oregon to get snow but last night we got a little dusting. It wasn't sticking on the ground but the evidence was on the car and the roof of the gazebo.

Saturday, January 23, 2021: Yes, Bernie and his mittens is our special Packer's fan!

Thursday, January 21, 2021: Gwen and I decided to give Abby a treat. We usually take Abby for a hike on the park trail which I did earlier today. We decided to add another hike to Abby's experience. We took her to Cooper Creek Reservoir and to the Cooper Creek Trail. Abby has never been on this trail so lots of new smells, jumps and sights. Click this photo for a view of her on the trail.

Monday, January 18, 2021: Back on January 4, I told you the story of the "bargain" propane tank. Unfortunately, the story has gone on until today. I got the 40 lb tank for free because it was in the discard pile at the park. I thought it could be certified for another 5 years for $20, and it was. However, the valve was leaking and had to be replaced. That fee was $45. So now the "free" tank has cost me two trips to Roseburg (20 miles round trip) plus fees of $65. Divided over 5 years isn't bad. However, the certifier told me his 2021 tags had not arrived and the best he could do was 12/20 meaning I wouldn't get 5 years but would get 4 years and 11 months. I accepted that and took the tank to our park for filling. They have a certification marking system of their own and marked the tank for January, 2020, not December, 2020 because the certifier hadn't marked the month on the new certification tag. So now my tank just lost a year of certification. Today I made a third trip to Roseburg to tell the propane certifier the whole story. On the way I decided to keep it simple and just ask for the correct January, 2021 tag. That worked, no more discussion. So now my free tank has cost me three trips to Roseburg, certification for $20, new valve for $45 and a $6 can of white paint. Still, a new tank is $130 and at the end of 5 years I can get another 5 year certification for $20 assuming the valve will still be good.

Just for the record, I DID ride the spin bike today for 50 minutes.

Sunday, January 17, 2021: Yes, I watched Baker and Patrick play. I was disappointed that Patrick had to leave the game early and also disappointed that the Chiefs won due to a non-penalty call. I also watched Tom and Drew play. Again, disappointed in Drew and his interceptions which gave Tom the win.

My project today was to build a method to protect Gwen's jigsaw puzzles from Abby. Gwen loves to do puzzles but Abby likes to sneak a piece to taste. We tried to cover the puzzles in the past but she always finds a hole in our protection. I cut a piece of plywood to cover the puzzle board with a knob on one corner to make it easy to remove. Abby was confused when all the pieces disappeared at once. Hopefully it will keep future puzzles safe. This one had a couple of pieces mutilated. Click the photos for more information.

Saturday, January 16, 2021: I actually rode a real bike on a real road today. It was an 18 mile ride with cloudy skies but 52 degrees so not too bad. Glad I remembered how to ride something other than a spin bike.

It's Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills moving on to the next playoff game. I'm glad to see both teams moving on.

Sunday, January 10, 2021: Another day of three NFL playoff games. I believe the Cleveland Browns surprised Pittsburgh. Even though the Brown's defense barely played the second half, Pittsburgh still lost and the Browns are moving on. I'm looking forward to the games next week.

Thursday, January 7, 2021: I ordered an Ah-ooga horn for the golf cart a few months ago. I finally got around to installing it today. The horn easily mounted to a part of the frame. In fact, the hole needed to install the horn was already present. The positive line is attached to the switch and then to the positive terminal of one of the batteries. This is a 12 volt horn so the negative wire (in this case, green) is connected to the negative terminal on the battery next to the positive terminal battery. Pushing the button completes the circuit and the horn sounds. Here is a short video so you can hear the horn.

Tuesday, January 5, 2021: It didn't rain today so I spent nearly the entire day making two changes to the golf cart. The ignition switch has been well used, possibly for 18 years and needed to be replaced. The headlights were unusable, I'm not sure how long it had been since they last worked.

The ignition switch was going to be an easy fix but the lights were likely going to be more difficult so I chose to begin with the lights. I decided to replace the two headlights with a single LED flood light. I did my best to use the holes already drilled in the fiberglass. I was mostly successful. I had purchased a wire harness specifically made to power lights on a golf cart which made the change pretty easy. Abby had to help and stole several nuts and bolts I needed to complete the project. I had to trade treats to get my parts back. The headlamp needed to be connected directly to two of the batteries in the battery bank. That lead to a lighted switch on the dashboard. A new hole had to be drilled into the dashboard for this switch. I originally thought the light would be needed because Gwen likes to visit the clubhouse in the evening to play card games with friends. However, the COVID-19 restrictions has kept that from happening. An unexpected need for the light has happened. It is not unusual for our valley to get heavy fog with low viability, I would feel safer with a light on those days.

The ignition switch was just two wires. Unfortunately, the new switch did not fit the old hole so it had to be enlarged. Also, the new switch had four connectors, not two so I had to figure out which two worked for this Club Car. After cutting off the old connectors and installing new, the wiring became easy. I put the dashboard back in place and secured. Everything is working perfectly. Click both photos for more views.

Monday, January 4, 2021: A motorhome (like ours) always has an onboard, permanently mounted propane tank. (Well some of the newer models are all electric.) The problem with a permanently mounted propane tank, once the tank is low (or empty) you must pack up the motorhome and move it to the propane filling area. To avoid that, I have always installed an external propane tank on the motorhomes we have owned. Here's a discussion of the connection. With an external tank, I simply disconnect the tank and refill then return with the tank, no moving of the motorhome. The external tank we use is a standard 20 lb tank, the same size used on a propane barbeque. During the cold winter days her in Oregon and even during the winter in Arizona we can burn through a 20 lb tank in three days. Here in Oregon, I am envious of my neighbors who have 60 and 80 lb tanks which must be filled every other week. Our park has it's own propane filling station. Propane tanks have an "expiration" date which is ten years from manufacture. The manufactured date is stamped on the valve guard at the top of the tank. Here in the park, when a tank reaches it's expiration date there is an area between sheds where these old tanks go to die. What many don't know, tanks can be "certified" for a fee of $5 - $30. I wanted a larger than 20 lb tank so had my eye on a 40 lb tank in the "dead tank" area. I can't easily man handle a tank larger than 40 lbs. I asked Randy, our park manager, if I could have the 40 lb tank from the dead tank area. He agreed and told me a good place to get it certified. I took it to certification today which didn't take long. The certifier did want me to paint the rusted areas. Fortunately there was little rust. The tank is at the left with a disposable glove on the valve to protect the valve from my painting. This tank, then, is twice the size of a standard 20 lb tank. It will hold nearly ten gallons of propane so I will need to refill it half as often as the smaller tanks. I won't be hauling this tank with us when we travel but it will be great to have it here in Oregon.

Saturday, January 2, 2021: Our day was filled with anticipation as the Oregon Ducks had earned their place in the Fiesta Bowl with Iowa State as their opponent. The odds were stacked against the Ducks. They became the Pac12 Champs because they beat USC after Washington Huskies forfeited their playoff position due to COVID-19 restrictions. Iowa State had played twice as many games as Oregon Ducks. During the second quarter, Iowa State began to control the game. Oregon lost the ball five times due to interceptions and lost the ball twice when Iowa State recovered a punt and kick off. You can't win a game when you give the ball away to the opponent.

Friday, January 1, 2021: This has been a TV day due to rain and the college bowl games. Notre Dame didn't have a chance against Alabama and Clemson just couldn't keep up with Ohio State. Abby was having as bad a time as Notre Dame and Clemson due to the rain. The rain kept her inside so I decided to try "DogTV" on our new Roku receiver. I get a free trail before having to pay. The colors, music, noises and images are specifically designed to be of interest to dogs. It is advertised to help them relax and I'd have to say, helps humans relax too. The colors on the screen are a little off for humans but dogs see blue, yellow and shades of gray so perfect for them. This station is for dogs who must stay home alone while humans leave for work or other projects. That isn't the case for Abby since we are nearly always home or we take her with us when going to the store. However, when she must stay inside due to weather, she gets bored and wants us to play. Hopefully this will help her relax on those days.

Thursday, December 30, 2020: We are normally in Arizona this time of year. Due to the COVID emergency was are staying in Oregon. That has created a TV problem we had not anticipated. We subscribe to DISH satellite network on the "pay as you go" plan which means we have no contract and can subscribe to not-subscribe at any time. We normally subscribe to see college football and the bowl games then stop TV all together. However, the Oregon weather stops our satellite from working about half the time. This didn't happen in Arizona. Additionally, our living room smart TV is six years old so the streaming APPs we can access are very limited. We have been considering a new TV and maybe a better satellite dish because of all these problems. However, since the purchase of the Roku TV for our Gazebo I've been researching what Roku has to offer. The picture quality of our current TV is really quite good. It is actually a 4K TV, we just haven't had a 4K source. I decided to buy a Roku receiver rather than replace the TV or satellite dish. Walmart had them for $39 so I order online with pickup in Roseburg. I has several reasons to go to Roseburg. One of those reasons was Staples to recycle a broken tablet. When I arrived at the Staples parking lot I got a text message from Walmart telling me my order. The photo at the left is my phone Roku APP where I can control everything from my phone. That includes a "mute" button (the headphones) which sends the sound from the TV speaker to the phone. If the phone volume is low or off, the sound is "muted". Otherwise, I can listen privately from my phone speakers or connect Bluetooth to the phone for perfect, private sound quality. Of course I can change channels, rewind, fast forward shows and voice control from the phone. The photo on the right is one of our favorite HGTV shows, Home Town about house renovation in Mississippi. Roku is WiFi, not satellite so Oregon weather does not affect our reception. Click the photos for more views.

Saturday, December 26, 2020: Today was electrician day. Ben needs to move an electrical outlet because the current outlet will be cover by a new cabinet. We also wanted to add another outlet over the top of a closet where Ben has a string of Christmas decorations and lights. It turned out to be an easy install. Click both photos for more views.

Friday, December 25, 2020: Christmas day with Ben, Joe, Chloe and Noah. The kids got more gifts than you can count. The favorite seemed to be a new Geocache APP to search for hidden treasures.

One of the gifts I gave them was some tools to be able to do mechanical drawing or drafting. They are a little younger than I was when I learned but I was hoping to get them started with a different way to make accurate drawings. They both made their first drawing of a block of wood I had prepared for this purpose. I left them with the challenge to do another project from the box of projects I had given them then email me a photo of their drawing. Click the photos for more views.

Thursday, December 24, 2020: On this Christmas Eve day I still had some shopping to do. I eventually ended up in a long check-out line at Safeway. There were no shopping baskets available, all were in use. The gentleman in front of me had his arms full and was kicking more products ahead as we advanced. About this time a customer came into the store pushing two empty baskets. Apparently she had noticed that the customer in front of me needed one. She came next to him, separated the baskets and gave him one. We continued to advance forward. He finally got to the head of the line but then turned around telling me, "I just got a text asking for another item." He left the line to do more shopping. Of course we are all wearing COVID-19 masks. Merry Christmas everyone!

Sunday, December 13, 2020: This was a strange family Christmas gathering. Gwen's daughter, Lesa and granddaughter Courtney live in Klamath Falls. KF is a 2 hour drive to Medford, Oregon. We are also a 2 hour drive to Medford so we chose to meet at the only Costco in Southern Oregon, Medford. They could do some shopping, we could exchange gifts and have lunch together in the parking lot. All restaurants in Oregon are closed due to the COVID-19 restrictions. The food court in Costco is open for take-out. Our lunch, then, was hot dogs and pizza. We ate in the Costco parking lot out the back of Jeff's Suburban. There drive was not as easy as ours. They had to drive through a snow storm while we drove through a rain storm. The photo at the right is pretty funny because it shows them stocking up on toilet paper. Costco has limited one case per customer per trip. We bought a case, which we gave to them, and they bought a case. I think they are ready for the next hoarding of toilet paper during the pandemic. Click the photos to see our family fun times in the Costco parking lot.

Saturday, December 12, 2020: Gwen's son, Dave, lives on the Oregon coast but had business in Chicago this last week. Today he was returning to the coast from the Portland airport. His travel plans are taking he through the little town of Elkton which is only 25 miles from Sutherlin. We coordinated with Dave and we both arrived in Elkton only 3 minutes apart. We spent an hour together in the Elkton coffee shop which also had a large gift shop collection. It was good to catch up with what Dave has been doing.

Sunday, December 6, 2020: Today was final assembly of my project. I still have a few things I need to do to this project but it is 98% complete and assembled. My daughter sent me a photo of exactly what she wanted and this is what I think she intended. Her little girls (my granddaughters) are 3 and 6 years old. She expects the girls to play with castle figures as well as use the shelves for storage of books and toys.

Click the photos for more views. Here is another view of the completed project.

Friday, December 4, 2020: Most of the pieces have been cut out so one of the last tasks is to router all the edges. I made a lot of sawdust.

Once the router task is done the assembly begins. But is must be done in the right order to enable and easy access to the screws to assemble.

Clamps are needed until the glue dries.

Click the photos for more views.

Saturday and Sunday, November 28 - 29, 2020: Continued working on my project. Lots of progress this weekend with sides, dados, part of the back and finishing the top edges.

I'm using lots of tools I haven't used in a while like the rotary sanding tubes, the band saw, dado blades, sabre saw, and many sizes of Forstner bits.

Click each of the photos for more views.

Friday, November 27, 2020: I did a 7:30 am Live Spin Bike class. Only a 30 minute class plus the warm up and cool down but torture for most of the class. The lesson I learned today: the better riders must get up early!

I returned to my woodworking project. This time for measuring, drilling and cutting with a Sabre Saw.

The slot you see in the board at the right is called a "dado". A shelf will be inserted into the dado.

The hole is drilled to be able to insert the Sabre Saw blade into the hole to make the window cutout.

Click both photos for more views.

Wednesday, November 25, 2020: Today started early with my second LIVE class on my spin bike. This one was a 45 minute class which is equal to twice that on a actual bike ride since there is no coasting. All these classes are available "on demand" but not "live". That's how I have been riding until now. There is something about a live class that forces me to do better and stick to a schedule since the class starts at a specific time. I did well today placing 5th out of 93 riders. Pretty good for a guy turning 74 in a couple months. Of course the instructor didn't mention about the other 92 riders wheeling up to their bikes in wheel chairs. She DID mention "RVeCycling", my "Nickname" during the workout.

The rest of the day was finishing a grounding rod for the neighbor's emergency generator, taking Abby for a run, getting propane for a long weekend, and checking the cleanliness of the clubhouse bathrooms (my volunteer duty in the park). Then came the hard part. I am responsible for only one food item tomorrow, my Mother's green Jello Salad. Gwen searched the Internet for a recipe. It took three bowls for this simple salad. I don't believe it's exactly like mom's but it does taste good. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Tuesday, November 24, 2020: Today was a trip to Costco for gas and groceries. Then on to Fred Meyer for more groceries and a WiFi extender to hopefully solve a connection problem when riding my spin bike. From Fred Meyer to Lowe's for project materials. The price for what I wanted was too high so I decided I would make what I needed. I also bought a couple of items I needed to help a neighbor with her emergency generator installation.

Our last stop was the new Five Guys restaurant in Roseburg. It has been open only a week. Since it was late in the day, our meal, which we took home, served as lunch and dinner.

Sunday, November 22, 2020: I'm starting the assembly of my Christmas project. This project will require some screws for assembly. I used my plug cutter to make screw hole plugs from the same wood I'm assembling. The advantage is a better match in wood color as well as matching the grain of the wood. Plug is inserted with the grain of the plug going the same direction as the grain in the board. Plugs are cut then released using a chisel. The screws are counter sunk then glue into the predrilled hole. The plug is inserted into the hole. Once the glue has dried, I'll trim the plug to match the level of the board. I believe I learned to do this from my grandfather in-law. Not that I've already put an edge on the board using my router. Click the left photo to enlarge. Click the right photo to see the plugs inserted into the screw holes.

Saturday, November 21, 2020: I worked on a Christmas project all day and still didn't get enough to photograph. Well, I had to make a run to the hardware store and take Abby for her daily run in the back 40. Then Erik and Glen wanted to do an online musical jam. The Oregon Ducks game with UCLA would sneak in every so often. Nice to see the Ducks win.

I had time after dinner to set up our new printer. We have been fighting with the Canon printer since we bought it. We tried to take it back but Staples wouldn't take it. That was about three years ago and so we would moan and groan every time we needed to print something. It would take three times longer due to the paper jams.

This new Epson printer was on a three day sale at Costco. It has ink wells rather than ink cartridges and advertises 7000+ pages on a single bottle of ink. After 25 minutes to "setup" we got our first print with no jams. I also quickly learned we can print directly from our phones and tablets. We are very pleased. Click the photo to enlarge.

Sunday, November 15, 2020: Sunday is my day to cook dinner. I decided to fix a pizza but this time, bake it in the new barbeque. After all, the new barbeque has a temperature thermometer on the lid so it should work just like an oven. Yes, I think it would if I paid more attention to the thermometer reading. Click the photo to see the whole pizza. For some reason, Gwen refused to eat my pizza so I ate most of it. Next time I will be more careful with the temperature setting and the timing. In this case, the temperature was too high and the timing was too long. Unfortunately, I don't believe I will lose my job as the Sunday cook.

Here is a photo hint of the new musical hobby BOTH Gwen and I are going to try. Our first lesson will be on Tuesday. We are both pretty excited.

Monday, November 9, 2020: Abby is ready to start driving just like she drives the golf cart. She loves watching the happenings out the windshield. It doesn't matter if the motorhome is moving or not, she likes looking at the windshield. We spent the night in Florence to visit with Gary and Jeanne but now we must get back to Sutherlin for a Vet appointment. Abby has something going on with her ears and the five vets we called in the Seaside and Tillamook areas would not see us. Abby made sure we were on the road in time to get to the appointment on time.

We learned from Dr. Joe, Abby has a yeast infection in her left ear and a slight infection in her right ear. After $170, the infections are treated and Abby is ready to go home. Now we will all rest from our ten days at the coast. We have arrived home just in time for the rain to begin. I've looked at the forecast and rain should arrive tomorrow morning and won't end for at least ten days. Perhaps we will live up to the Oregon reputation.

Saturday, November 7, 2020: Yesterday, while driving around the Tillamook area, we accidentally came across the Tillamook County Fairgrounds with a sign advertising a Holiday Craft show Friday and Saturday. We returned today to shop. Click the photo to see the room full of vendors. Each of us found something to buy. I bought some local honey, Gwen found some handmade tree ornaments she plans to use as gifts.

After the Holiday Faire, we drove to Bay City a few miles north to our favorite Tillamook County restaurant. I got an Oyster basket while Gwen got a Cod basket. Click the photo for a view of today's catch.

Thursday, November 5, 2020: In our travels today we came across this small herd of Elk. They seem to have found something special in this group of bushes. The certainly look healthy.

Tuesday, November 3, 2020: I tried to take myself to the Cannon Beach Bakery. I arrived early but was greeted by all these signs. In the small letters I found "Closed on Tuesday". I quickly looked on my phone for an alternative and found another bakery about 3 miles down the road, The Sea Level Bakery. They had good banana bread but no bear claws.

Down the street from the Sea Level Bakery was more of the Cannon Beach Beach. This time with a view of the famous Haystack Rock. Click both photos for more views. You'll find a view of Haystack Rock in the distance on a stormy day behind the Sea Level Bakery.

Monday, November 2, 2020: My son Joe and I went shopping in downtown Seaside, Oregon right after breakfast.

We found the Carousel Mall with shops surrounding a carousel.

We found several antique malls where we actually found a few items to purchase.

Joe has a World Mark membership which means he always gets to stay in a "condo" anytime he travels. Seaside has a huge eight story World Mark right on the boardwalk and beach.

Somehow we wandered into the candy store by mistake.

Click all the photos for more views.

Sunday, November 1, 2020: This time we take Abby onto the Seaside beach. This is near high tide so Seaside has a very large beach for people and dogs. It must be a little chilly for beach walkers today because there aren't many folks on the beach. The weather for us seemed good, little wind and lots of sun. We are looking forward for son Joe to arrive. I'm thinking we will walk the town of Seaside but Joe says he already has a plan. We'll learn of the plan tomorrow. Click these photos to see more of the beach.

Friday, October 30, 2020: We have arrived at the Circle Creek Campground RV Park 2 miles from Seaside, Oregon. We are here because my son, Joe will be vacationing here for a week and we plan to spend time with him. We can hear the ocean at night, but not see or hear it during the day. The spaces are large and plenty of grass for Abby to play. This must be an OLD park because all the sites are 30 amp only. That is a huge difference from the 50 amp circuit our coach is wired for. A 50 amp RV is TWO legs of 50 amps each so really 100 amps. A 30 amp RV is ONE leg of 30 amps for a total of 30 amps. Our electric heater is 15 amps. Add the refrigerator, TV and electric water heater and the 30 amps is

out. Just remember to turn off the heater before running the microwave. This park was the best in Seaside and really is a nice clean park. It does have a large fenced dog park for Abby to run but she is taking her time getting use to a new area. She really misses her golf cart. Click this photo to see a very expensive tent trailer. The fee for this park is $33.75 per night including all utilities. That price included several discounts, an off season rate, a weekly rate and RV club rate.

Monday, October 26, 2020: The area behind the shed has been made impossible because of the drain rock in the ditch. The drain rock is awful stuff. It varies in size from 1" is diameter to 6" in diameter and very sharp edges. It is very difficult to walk on. Our clothes line is located back here as well as the extra storage bin.

My original idea was to build a board-walk over the top of the drain rock thinking it was impossible to set all the extra blocks we have onto this drain rock. However, today I decided to give the blocks a try since I don't want to spend any more money on this lot, especially when we already have lots of blocks.

I started early this morning and quickly learned with enough raking and hand placing of the drain rock, it was possible to place the blocks. I placed each block one at a time and ended up placing blocks all the way to the clothes line. Click the photo to see the final project.

Thursday, October 22, 2020: We made a long drive today to Portland and back for a health checkup. These views are from the 9th floor of building 2 of the Oregon Health Sciences University. Abby went with us and did excellent on such a long trip. Gwen knew right where to go so we drove straight to the parking garage with very little traffic. The building on the right is one of the Mirabella towers, a very large senior retirement and care facility. They have 1 and 2 bedroom apartments to rent. Click both photos. Behind the Mirabella photo is an outdoor dining area on the roof of the building between the two towers. I would imagine Mirabella is quite expensive.

Monday, October 19, 2020: I have finished the rails for the golf cart. They are on brackets so they can be easily removed when needed.

On our trip to the "back forty" today, we found an abandoned half wine barrel planter, a treasure. We loaded the treasure into the pickup bed of the golf cart and drove it home. I'm sure this is the first of many treasures we will find with our golf cart.

Click the photos for more views.

Sunday, October 18, 2020: I started the next project today. The golf cart needs side rails in the case we carry a large garbage bag or yard trimmings. I'm making the rails easily removable. The wood is rough cedar. I'm not sure if I will use sealer on the boards or not. I could have finished this project today but need to wait for the glue to dry before I can proceed. I'll finish it tomorrow. Click these photos for another view.

Wednesday: October 14, 2020: We are free again! The Alpenlite fifth wheel has left our lot (probably just in time before the manager told us to get it out of here) and now in Roseburg. We can think again of our own projects.

Something disturbing has been happening in our neighborhood. These signs have been going up on many of our neighbor lots. Having Trump as our President these last three years has been very traumatic for us. It has caused me to wonder what has happened to our wonderful country to approve of a person so hateful and destructive of our environment. His policies benefit only rich and corporations while sacrificing our planet to improve corporate profit. I can't imagine his administration has benefited any of those around us with support signs on their lot. My view of Trump, he makes a very poor human being and even worse President. Yet, many of those with support signs have been our friends for years. We have dined together and occasionally work together on common projects. Now their signs have caused us to question their judgment. I can't imagine the state of this country with another four years of Trump as President.

Tuesday, October 13, 2020: Yes, it was raining today but that didn't stop me from installing the new batteries into the golf cart. I took photos of the wiring and had to use those photos. I drew a wiring chart and had to use it too. Before the installation of the new batteries, I pressure washed the compartment. The red liquid around the terminals is corrosion prevention. I took about three hours to finish this project.

I learned the old batteries were purchased multi-years from 2011, 2012 and 2015. No wonder the batteries were causing problems.

No, I haven't tried the golf cart after the installation. The instructions were specific. "Don't use the golf cart the first time until the batteries are fully charged." They weren't fully charged before dark so we won't go for a ride until the morning.

Click the photo for a larger view of the battery installation.

Monday, October 12, 2020: This is the next project. Replacing the old golf cart batteries with new batteries from Costco. That's $89 each times six batteries. They should last 5 years. Everyone still thinks we got a good deal on the cart. I've watched the YouTube videos to learn how to do it correctly. It is forecast to rain tomorrow so not sure this will happen until Wednesday.

What is a golf cart used for at a large RV park like ours. Gwen will use it to drive to the mailroom for the mail, she will drive to the clubhouse for games, she will drive to friends and she will "walk the dog" using the cart. I will use it to take the garbage to the bin. Then I will use it to take yard trimmings to the back forty. I will also use it to take the propane tanks to be filled then retrieve them. We will both participate in the July 4th golf cart parade. I guess we need a HORN for that.

Sunday, October 11, 2020: Multiple tasks today. I ordered a golf cart cover since we have no way to keep it dry when not in use. I also considered pulling all the batteries in preparation for new batteries. I learned Costco will provide a battery strap with the purchase of the batteries which would save about $10 if I were to purchase the strap. I chose NOT to buy a strap and pull the batteries today but wait until I make the Costco purchase to get the free strap. Click the golf cart to see the bank of batteries.

I connected one of my propane tanks to the Alpenlite and learned the stove works. In fact, it is one of the nicest RV stoves I've seen. It is a better stove than the one in our motorhome. It has a beautiful oven too, looks unused. The furnace also works. I have not been able to get the refrigerator working on electricity or gas. I've not been able to test the water heater because there is no water in the tank. I also rolled out the two awnings and both are in good condition. To see the huge, door side awning, click the stove photo.

Saturday, October 10, 2020: Yes, it's raining today but that didn't stop me from completing the fifth wheel cleaning of the outside. Compare these photos of those below. The Alpenlite is ready for Paige to clean the inside.

Click on all the photos.

Friday, October 9, 2020: Paige has purchased the 30 year old Alpenlite fifth wheel. Alpenlite is a reputable brand name even though they are no longer in business. Other brands would have fallen apart at this age. The fifth wheel looks pretty crusty. Consider these the "before" photos. I'll post photos as I tackle the "crust" on the outside. The inside actually looks pretty good and with some serious and deep cleaning it can be a really nice living space. Of course, I've been living in an RV full time since 2006 so perhaps I see something others would not.

Rain is in the forecast tomorrow so we will learn if the Alpenlite has any leaks. We looked carefully for evidence of leaks and didn't find any. The cleaning starts tomorrow as well as checking the systems.

Friday, October 8, 2020: Our friends, Bud and Anita, dropped by and mentioned our friend, Joy, wanted to sell her golf cart at a good price. Gwen and mentioned only the day before how she would like to have a golf cart to run around our RV park. Since we are spending the winter in Oregon, it sounds like a good idea. This is a 2002 electric model. It has good tires and a "pickup" bed but needs new batteries and a new canvas enclosure.

I think it will be something we can use but it definitely will be another machine which will need a lot of maintenance and repair. Click these photos for more views.

Sunday, October 4, 2020: I was able to make some progress today on the gazebo assembly. I got some of the roof panels installed. I decided the roof panels are the most difficult part of this assembly. I was able to spend about four hours in assembly. Click on the photo for a wider view.

The most important part of this day, however, was a 39 mile ride with friends. A great Oregon ride in warm weather.

Thursday, October 1, 2020: Erik is my bicycle riding buddy and a solo performer. He was performing tonight at the Old Soul Pizza Restaurant in Roseburg, Oregon. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic he must stand in the parking lot to perform to eight outdoor tables. I happened to get a tiny table up front which made for good photos and a short video. Pass your pointer through this photo for a "rollover".

The pizza was good and so was Erik, I especially like the way he plays the guitar and often ask for guitar solos.

After pizza and Erik I went home to ride my trainer. Somehow I beat 137 other riders, they must be pretty weak.