Tuesday, December 11, 2012: I actually worked today, editing a Webpage I created for a local abstractor, Patricia Klassen, five years ago. She owns a service business as an abstractor in southern Oregon. An abstractor searches public records for whatever information is there. Visit her Website to learn more, especially if you need a public search in southern Oregon.

Gwen and I have been investigating stainless cookware for a couple of years looking for the best quality, price and the right set. Most sets include items we can't use which runs the price up. We decided to visit our local pharmacy looking for greeting cards. It was our first visit but we should have visited earlier, especially since we like to support local business. They have a nice selection of gift items and we spotted this set of Oneida stainless steel pots and pans. They were on sale at a price we found attractive so we bought ourselves a Christmas gift.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012 (12/12/12): Today is 12/12/12 so there must be something special to do. Our first special day experience was to attend the Escapee Chapter 9 breakfast at Abby's pizza. This happens the second Wednesday of every month. Next, Gwen's daughter Lesa let us know that we could get a "souvenir" from Geocaching if we record a find today so we found a cache in downtown Sutherlin. It was located at the "Feed and Seed" store so we visited the store looking for wild bird seed. We've been feeding the winter birds and need a cheap source of bird seed. Yes! Only $16 for 50 lbs, that's the best price yet and if we don't feed the Stellar Jays, it will last the rest of the winter. Next, we came home to find a doe eating the lawn behind our lot (and I was thinking we needed to mow it). Click the photo to see our guest. Next, I went to work on a new project for my new grandson, Noah, turning a toy train boiler on my make-shift-drill-press-lathe. I turned the boiler from a fig branch but not sure if this will work since it's not dry. I'm afraid it will crack as it dries. We'll see. I'll be showing photos of this project later. Had a nice spaghetti dinner ... that's about it for 12/12/12.

Thursday, December 13, 2012: Hey! Is that PET on a LEASH? We struggle every day trying to "herd" this cat or at least keep her inside. Sometimes she is just too fast or too sneaky and she gets out on her own. Once that happens, she must return on "her own time" because she will not come when called and if we try to catch her, it's a game to her which she always wins. However, lately, the "chairman" of the "Pet Watch Committee" has been out of town so we haven't worried so much about the cat. We've learned she usually goes only a few feet from the trailer, under the truck, sits on the deck with Morgan, under the trailer, or sits in the golf cart. She stays especially close when it's cold or raining. Today, she stretched out on the step in the sun. I'm not a cat person, Gwen is the cat person. There is a huge difference between a PET DOG and a PET CAT. These guys have made a short video to illustrate that difference. If you've ever owned lived-with a cat you will understand this video. Personally, I can't see how anyone would ever choose to live with a cat except that they must enjoy being abused (by the cat).

Friday, December 14, 2012: This was a special day as a woodworker. First, I got an email from Steve Ramsey pictured to the right. He operates "Woodworking for Mere Mortals" and I've watched many of his videos. Today's video was especially interesting because it introduced me to many other woodworkers who produce instructional videos. It also illustrates the sense of humor of woodworkers. If you enjoy woodworking, you don't want to miss this video. Next, Gwen and I went to a birthday luncheon and I got to sit next to Gene, a woodworker in Timber Valley. We talked woodworking and he shared another online source of information, Captain Eddie. He specializes in woodturning instruction and tools. He has created many instructional videos. I've watched a few today and found him very informative. I'm really looking forward to watching more of his videos.

Saturday, December 15, 2012: This is the greatest bread in the US and it's right here in the tiny community of Umpqua. My favorite has become the "Raisin-Pecan". We visit the Lighthouse Bakery at least once each week to get our bread. I added a cup of coffee today. Every table was full except one, just for me. I had two cups of coffee along with a few slices of my Raisin-Pecan bread. It was a fun time watching the folks enjoy a good lunch.

Friday, December 21, 2012: If the Mayan calendar is correct, it really doesn't matter what I write here because no one will read it. On the other hand, other than the stormy weather, the Earth seems to be stable for the moment so I took a photo of the North Umpqua River after five days of rain. The river is normally clear but during stormy weather, it's pretty muddy. The weather continues to be wet and so bad in Northern California, Interstate 5 has been closed at the California border due to blizzard conditions. Around here, the weather is wet and chilly but the traffic is moving. The Umpqua River is the second largest in Oregon (the Willamette is first), apparently the Columbia is not counted as an "Oregon" river since it passes from other states and originates in Canada.

Saturday, December 22, 2012: I've been working on a project for my granddaughter for quite some time. I won't be delivering it until the end of January but I need to get it finished and off my bench to do some other projects. I'm nearly finished with all the wood parts but struggling with the finish. For example, I sprayed some of the parts gray, then smeared another color into the gray in a tiny corner. I used acrylic gray to "touch-up" which was dangerous since the spray gray was oil based and the acrylic was water based and a slightly different hugh of gray. But, when dry, it worked. I then sprayed with polyurethane to seal the flat acrylic and match the rest of the finish. However, the polyurethane brought out the difference between the spray gray and the acrylic gray. So I came up with the idea of spraying the gray into a container then using a brush for touch-up. When I started that, the polyurethane bubbled. Now I must sand and start over again. Oh, and a few drops of gray landed on the blue Thomas body in the photo which will need repair. The yellow circles in the photo are actually window ports on the Thomas body. I sprayed them with polyurethane but they dried stuck to the newsprint so NOW I must sand and repaint. To make matters worse, I've used up all the yellow shade in the photo so must change shades of yellow. This finishing is driving me crazy. I enjoy the woodworking but hate the painting/finishing. I know you can't tell what Thomas looks like in the photo, that's intentional, I'll be showing a whole assembly of photos when this project is finished and OUT OF MY WAY. OH ... in the center of those yellow window ports is a 1" dowel which I made from the not-quite-dry fig branches I trimmed about two months ago. They were exactly 1" when cut but as they dried, shrunk. I'm going to have to knock them out of the center and replace with dried wood. It's all driving me nuts.

Sunday, December 23, 2012: My mother told us of a friend who had moved from her church to a church in Roseburg. She wanted us to check on her friend Grant Goins who is the Associate Pastor at the Roseburg Alliance Church. We decided to be brave and get up early for the EARLY service (9am). The size of the sanctuary is about 1/5 the size of Mom's church in Lodi. I learned from Grant that he was on the staff at Temple Baptist in Lodi (Mom's church) for nine years before moving to Roseburg. As it turned out, Grant was in charge of the service today, the Senior Pastor was out. Since I attended Temple Baptist for six months in 2011 when my father was ill, I recognized much of the service schedule at this church, very similar to the Lodi church. Today's service was a traditional Christmas service with lots of music and children. Click the photo for a view of Grant with the kids.

Thursday, December 27, 2012: The folks in Oregon are getting excited about the TWO Oregon bowl games. The first is coming this weekend with the Oregon State Beavers taking on the Texas Longhorns in the Alamo Bowl, San Antonio, Texas. Of course that means, the Longhorns will have home field advantage although a number of the Oregon players have come from Texas. Next, the Fiesta Bowl where the Oregon Ducks play Kansas State Wildcats in Phoenix, Arizona on January 3. Today's newspaper entertainment section cover is the photo of two kids wearing Duck hats and looking with "fierce faces". The article, titled: "Bowled Over", tells how the Oregon fans are building up to these two games with hope and expectation.

Meanwhile, it was time for me to check the water in the batteries today. I usually check every 3 - 4 months and that's just about right. I can't believe the folks that spend hundreds of dollars on "automatic" water systems for their batteries. It's easy and quick, just once every three months. I know of at least one camper who lost his batteries because the "automatic" system failed. To me, the problem is, you really need to be looking at your batteries and you won't do that if you think the automatic system is taking care of them. Click the photo to see me checking my batteries.

Friday, December 28, 2012: This day began with a regional power outage affecting nearly 13,000 in several small towns including Sutherlin. Gwen suggested, "The power's out, let's go out to breakfast." (not realizing that the whole area was without power). By the time we reached the restaurant, the power was restored but neither of us had a wallet. I left Gwen at the restaurant to visit with the waitress while I drove back home for my wallet. It was a nice breakfast where we used a coupon published in the newspaper. Once we returned from breakfast, Gwen spent her time making aprons as gifts for friends. I disappeared into my shop and made another tool out of my drill press. I already attempt to use it as a wood lathe (and, of course, a drill press) but now I can use it as a spindle sander too. The spindle table is bolted to the drill press table. There are three sizes of sanding spindles so I created three inserts to fit the three sizes. No, this is NOT a reciprocating drill press. They start at about $350 and mine was used and only cost $45. I can always flip the sanding tube to use both ends. These tubes are 4", a special purchase since most spindle tubes like these are only 2". I need these for the toys I'm building. Click the photo for an enlarged view.

Saturday, December 29, 2012: Sad! Sad! Sad! Oregon State led Texas in the Alamo Bowl until the final few minutes in the fourth quarter then LOST by four points. This is really disappointing to me and to all Oregon State fans. It seemed obvious to all of us that Vaz, the quarter back, was not working well today and OS has a perfectly GOOD backup QB in Mannion. But Mike Riley kept Vaz in the game. Sad! Sad! Sad!

Meanwhile, back on home turf, I'm still trying to finish my Thomas Engine wall unit. I'll show the whole project once it's finished. Click the photo for an assembly view.

Sunday, December 30, 2012: We have a friend, Faye, at the park. She and her husband got their lot about the same time we did but her husband died soon afterward. Later in the year, Faye had some health problems so moved to Medford to be with her son. She was unable to drive her motor home so one of the park residents drove it to Medford for her. Last week we learned that Faye's health has improved and she was anxious to move back to the park to be with her friends. I've not driven a motor home before but volunteered to return it from Medford. Driving time is about four hours round trip. Gwen and I left early this morning then did some grocery shopping in Medford at Winco, our favorite grocery store. We arrived at Faye's location about noon where her daughter-in-law had prepared sandwiches for us. On the drive back to Sutherlin, we stopped at Costco in Roseburg to refuel the motor home. The fuel gauge measured 2/3 full but Faye wanted to be sure she had a full tank so she could run the generator in case of a power failure at the park. So 1/3 of the tank turned out to be 34 gallons, this must be a huge tank. The charge was $100 which reminded me of the times we put diesel into our truck tank. We helped set up the motor home just in time for Gwen and Faye to take off to the clubhouse for games with friends. The motor home was easy to drive but I had to get use to all the rattles from inside the cabinets as I drove. While Gwen and Faye were playing games, I watched the Washington Redskins beat the Dallas Cowboys.

Thursday, January 3, 2013: This should have been the championship game. Oregon played well tonight, NOT how they played against Stanford, awful. Mariota, the Oregon quarterback, is only a freshman so next year may be the year Oregon plays in the national championship. It sounds like Chip Kelly, the Oregon coach, may leave for the NFL ... that's what ESPN predicts. Tonight's game was close until the last minute of the first half when Oregon scored a quick touchdown. Then Kansas received the ball at the second half achieving only 3 and out with that possession. That was the game.

Friday, January 4, 2013: Every Wednesday evening, Timber Valley plays BINGO and this Wednesday I was talked into calling the numbers. Last week I played bingo with the group so I could watch the caller and see how to do the job. It turned out that I was the big winner last week. That was fun. So this week I was ready to deliver the numbers. I offered to call the "needed-number" if the player would only write that number on the back of a $5 bill but I had no takers. Perhaps they didn't think I was serious. I signed up to call again in February if they can put up with me.

Saturday, January 5, 2013: Kristy and Gerry decided today was the day to take down the Christmas decorations on the outside of the clubhouse. Gerry did most of the climbing onto the tall ladder, click the photo to see him at the front of the clubhouse. Kristy and Gwen got all the lower lights and rolled them up for storage. I held the ladder most of the time and took photos. I'm not sure how many in the park realize how much work it is to decorate the clubhouse but Gwen and I have seen the video taken during the construction of the park and no amount of decorating will ever match the hard labor done to create this park in 1988, 89 and 90.

Sunday, January 6, 2013: Today was non-stop activity. I began working on preparing my college business class I'll be teaching for the tenth time beginning tomorrow. I took a break late in the morning to attend a new church, the United Methodist Church in Sutherlin. By "new" I mean new to us. According the folks we talked to, the lady playing the organ and piano at the service is in her 90's and has played more than 60 years for the church. I suspect the church is much older than 60 years. We sang all traditional hymns and I noticed she did not need music most of the time. After church, I returned to continue the preparation of my class. While working at my computer, Annie continued to stare out the window growling an occasional strange noise. I learned it was because the park's wild turkeys were outside our window cleaning up the birdseed dropped under the feeders. Click the photo to see the whole flock. After the my course was ready for new students I drove to the athletic center to continue working off a few more ounces.

Monday, January 7, 2013: My college course began today without "fanfare". I sent out three emails to each of the students but have received only one email from a student. That student wasn't in my course but wanted to register "with my permission" since she was registering late. We'll see how these students do ... there is a lot of reading in this course.

Meanwhile, back in the park and in my workshop, I finished the first train car for the wooden train I'm building for my grandson and grandnephew (one for each). I needed to complete a train car before I build the engine because the engine will have different size wheels than the cars. The height of the bases must match so a good coupling is made. I got the idea to build cars to haul wood blocks. While thinking about this, I was walking into Lowe's and in front of me was a display with hundreds of yard sticks for 69¢ each. I bought one thinking to use it in the construction of the block cars to add interest and education. I really like how it turned out. I cut a very tight dado into the top of the base, glued a portion of the yardstick into the dado then cut out the shape needed for the base. I haven't put a finish onto the cars yet, I'll probably wait to do that last when the engine and one other car is complete. I plan to make this only a yard engine with two cars to begin with, then add cars for special occasions. Of course I want to do a regular steam engine too but we are talking about 3 year old and 16 month old boys. I should have plenty of time to add cars and engines. I'll be visiting them in 3 weeks so I need to get these projects completed. Click the photo to see the bottom of the cars.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013: I'm working full time getting the last gifts ready to go with me to Reno in a week from tomorrow. These are parts to two locomotives, hopefully, they will be finished tomorrow. Then I need to get another couple of projects done. Yike! Time is short.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013: While I'm waiting for paint and glue to dry on the steam train project, I began another project. This one is for my son and daughter-in-law and will involve the two kids too. You'll understand once I detail the whole project. I believe this one will be quick to make but will require painting, a talent I've already explained ... I don't really have. This one is a combination of another idea I had a while back but I've added to the idea to involve the whole family. I'll explain when the project is done. This requires the scroll saw. I used the scroll saw yesterday for an hour cutting out eight windows in the two locomotives I'm building. It was exhausting. I know those who do intarsia, puzzles and fretwork will spend days at a scroll saw. I don't believe I'm up to that and admire their patience and persistence.

Sunday, January 20, 2013: This is today's weather graph for the last three days. The red line is the temperature and the gray line is the atmospheric pressure. "M" is for "Midnight" and "N" is for "Noon". Can you tell when the sun goes behind the mountain to the southwest of our location? Yes, you spotted it, exactly at 3 pm each day. We've had a clear sky the last three days. During an overcast, the point is NOT so obvious.

Hoorah for the San Francisco 49ers! It's coaches Jim and John Harbaugh brothers, east and west, against each other.

Thursday, January 24, 2013: You've heard the saying, "opening a can of worms", meaning, fixing one problem only to discover three more which must be repaired. That was the case today with replacing a garbage disposer for my mother's home. She let me know a month ago that her disposer stopped working, "it was OLD" and was "CHEAP when I got it" she said. Her house is 65 years old, so is the plumbing and electrical equipment. Normally, installing a new disposer is nothing more than removing the old one and attaching the new one. In this case, the switch to turn on the disposer was bad. That required replacement, then I discovered it was wired as a "second" thought with very confusing connections through three separate circuit breaker boxes each installed at a different lifetime of this house. With the switch repaired, I took the wire a better direction to a new outlet box and receptacle. From that point, the disposer install was easy except some of the plumbing now dissolved in my hand because it was old. I finally replaced it all so now everything is satisfactory. Mom is happy, that's what's important. Tomorrow, on to Reno where great-grandma (my mother) and I will baby sit the grandkids for a couple of days.

Friday, January 25, 2013: I've made it to Reno. My first visit was to my daughter's house to visit and see the many change she and her new husband have made to their home. The Oregon Myrtlewood clock I built them found a good spot on one of their walls. Mindy and Scott made a wonder lunch for my mother and I which gave us a good start toward our babysitting duties. That's where Mom and I went next, to my son's house to get our babysitting instructions. My other son, Joe, is joining us for this duty. Hopefully, three adults can take care of one 3 year old and one 16 month old.

Saturday, January 26, 2013: The two grand kids are being perfect and very helpful in teaching me how to change clothes, pick meal menus, which toys are the best and when nap time should happen. Noah plays with his train in short sperts. Chloe loves her new apron (made by Gwen) and matching napkin. She also does a good job of keeping track of the wooden spoon and fork I made her. Click the photo to see her apron. She actually had much more fun popping the air-cushion bags protecting her Thomas train wall unit during transportation than with the wall unit itself, but it's not hung yet.

Sunday, January 27, 2013: The birdhouse clock looks pretty good with the top branch attached and the birdhouses are starting to accumulate. Chloe decorated her birdhouse with colored pens, I wrote her name and date she did the art work on the bottom then hung the birdhouse on the branch she chose. Noah, Kim and Ben still need to decorate their birdhouses. I'm anxious to see the branches full. Click the photo to enlarge.

Monday, January 28, 2013: This was a driving day from Reno, Nevada to Lodi, California then on to Sutherlin, Oregon. I also stopped in Woodland, California to visit the older of my two sisters. The trip and driving was long but the visit with family was well worth the time. The photo is of Mt. Shasta in northern California as I'm driving north on Interstate 5.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013: This was a day of catching up and running errands. First, Gwen and I drove to Roseburg. A doctor appointment for her and a lab appointment for me. Next, a quick lunch then on to Costco to check prices on tires for truck and dog food. Gwen is part of the Valentine Day planning so had to return quickly to the park so she could meet with the planning team. Meanwhile, I visited Les Schwab for another tire quote then to BiMart to check our member numbers for prizes (none-darn!) then to the dentists office. I got a letter from my insurance company telling me that I paid the dentist more than what was due. So they promised a refund (the check is in the mail). Since then, I've been working on catching up with my class while Gwen went to the clubhouse to play cards. The photo is of Chloe, clearing the decks at her Reno home after an over night dusting of snow. The hat she is wearing was a gift from "PaPa and Gwen".

Sunday, February 3, 2013: It looked bad for the 49ers until the lights went out, then a near miracle happened with a quick come-back but it just wasn't enough. The winning touchdown by the 49ers was avoided in the last 2 minutes so John won over Jim and the 49ers lost their first Super bowl. I'm glad it turned out to be a real game. At first, it looked like a Raven run-away. Click the photo to see the Super bowl meal Gwen fixed. All this plus a coconut cream pie and stuffed portabella mushrooms.

Thursday, February 7, 2013: This was a great day to visit Eugene (the "big" city).First, we stopped for breakfast in Cottage Grove then on to several dollar stores and Goodwill plus St. Vincent De Paul for some cheap but needed items for projects both Gwen and I are working on. Gwen had a short list of fabric stores she wanted to visit for supplies for a quilt she is trying to finish. I also had a short list for the dollar stores and for Harbor Freight. I returned the doweling jig I purchased at HFT in Medford two weeks ago. I would like to have made the jig work but I could NOT figure out how they expected this tool to work correctly. The instructions were exactly as I have used doweling jigs in the past but the guide line for matching the two boards to the hole to be drilled was off center. This meant that turning the jig to drill the second board would put the holes in different locations on the boards. HFT sells cheap tools from China but they usually work, at least for a short while. In this case, my evaluation of the doweling jig is defective manufacture. HFT gladly gave me a refund but want to know my thoughts on the defective tool. That's OK, I was able to use two more 20% discount coupons, one for a chuck for bits up to 1/2" to fit the tail stock of my lathe (about $11, such a deal) and the other for very tiny drill bits (.5 mm to 3 mm) to try to clear a clog in the top of a spray paint can. I'm not sure I have a chuck which will hold these tiny bits but that's another problem. There are 30 of them at only $3.20 with discount. The main purpose of the trip to Eugene was to visit Winco Foods, our favorite grocery store. That was the last store before returning. Click the photo to see the "mystery store" we found and enjoyed shopping but not buying anything.

Monday, February 11, 2013: While visiting my daughter a couple of weeks ago, she introduced me to The China Study. This is a book written to promote a diet change for most to improve health and well being. To be fair, I've not read all the other nutrition and diet books but know of them and I certainly know what I've been taught from a baby about good nutrition. This plan stands up to all the others with different, even opposite, conclusions and recommendations. I have read The China Study and want to say a few words about it. If you watch TV, listen to the radio, read the newspaper you are seeing, hearing and reading hundreds of lies usually in the form of advertising designed to convince you to purchase one product or another. The US economy survives on these lies. The economic crisis which began about 2007 happened because the people in the US stopped buying. For whatever reason (loss of job, fear of banking, loss of credit,etc.) but they stopped buying so many companies could not survive long with NO sales (like the auto industry which had to be rescued because their sales fell so dramatically). If a large percentage of the US population were to read, then follow the recommendations in this book (whether the recommendations produce better health or not), whole industries would dry up and blow away. For that reason alone, the ideas in this book will have very powerful enemies who would do ANYTHING to disprove the conclusions. Maybe that's one reason I'm just now learning of this book when it was published six years ago. If the US slowly changes their diet to the recommendations found here, in all likelihood, current agricultural industries would have a chance to slowly change then provide what is needed by popular demand. Anyway, I'm no scientist but I do have a degree in the biological sciences and a post graduate degree in business so what I've read makes much more sense that other "facts" I hear. Professor Campbell spends most of his time in this book explaining why you can't believe what you've been taught about nutrition either from the corporations who want to sell you health or diet related products or from the government agencies who make diet recommendations. In some ways, he gets carried away with those lessons but maybe I'm an easy sell because it's easy for me to believe that the government is in league with the corporations. In any case, having owned my own business for twenty years and taught business courses at the community college level for ten years, it's easy for me to say that EVERY business has ONE top priority, that is to make a profit for the owner (share holders). They don't care about public health, truth in advertising, or being "fair" to the customer unless it improves profit. I'm sure you know of many examples of damages done to the public by corporations because their primary concern is profit. As an informed consumer, it is our job to wade through the hundreds of offers and claims we see each day then make the best decisions we can. Thank goodness for the Internet which makes it easier to research all those claims so we can make better informed decisions and/or write reviews after the decision has been made. It is the same with choosing a diet. There is plenty of controversy concerning the claims made by The China Study. For myself, I'm in the process of changing my diet to match more of what the China Study recommends. At age 65, I'm starting to feel some of the symptoms of aging so I don't think it will take very long to learn if the changes actually make a difference. Additionally, the diet change may be a change in life style but it's NOT poison, in other words, the change can't hurt, it can only help. I once told my son Ben (a Physician's Assistant) that I was going to take Glucosamine, Chondroitin because one of my hips was getting "scratchy". He replied that I was just creating expensive urine and if I did not notice a change after several months, don't waste my money. Ben does not believe in nutritional supplements and I haven't either but this is my first time to be 65 so I thought of trying something new. In the same manner, changing my diet to match this book will not cost me more, in fact, may save me money, will not hurt my health can only have NO effect or improve my health and so I have nothing to lose. I also believe the effects of a diet change can be noticed quickly (I'll give it a year) with the way I feel (hopefully with more energy and strength), with blood tests for cholesterol for example and hopefully with a change in my hip. I have purposely NOT mentioned the recommendations of this book. I'll leave it to Professor Campbell to make the case. I borrowed the book from the library so no-one has made any money from me yet with this change. Anyway, I mention this here just to give you the chance to read the book or not. Remember, the diet change has to occur slowly to the US population or we run the risk of ruining several HUGE food industries so I'm telling only my few readers.

Thursday, February 14, 2013: Valentines Day at the Clubhouse. That means games and treats. This year, Gwen was the chairman of the committee for the party. We had some fun games where we met members of the park we had not known before. We also got to stick pineapple, bananas, and a few other treats into dark chocolate fondue. This was in addition to the valentine cake and ice cream. Some of the game winners got some pretty nice prizes too. That wasn't me. But we enjoyed the fellowship. Click the photo for another view.

Several others attending stopped me to say that "my box had broken open" but I assured them it was only an empty box.

There is no photo behind my photo but there is behind the other photos, so click them see other views. You'll see the kids at the show had fun. Don and I looked at everything but we ended up with only two free items, playing cards from Seven Feather's Casino and a Northwest Sportsman Magazine which I picked up for the advertising.

We DID buy something. It's called BoomBox V2 (a vibration speaker) which attaches to any headphone jack then you attach the other end to a cardboard box (like the one in the photo) or "any object" and the object acts as a sounding board to be a speaker for the music of your device. So it will work with my MP3 player, phone, tablet, computer or whatever has a headphone jack. Apparently a cheap, styrofoam ice chest works best but it sounded great from the box in the photo. Both Don and I were pleased with the show and enjoyed seeing what people spend their outdoor recreation money on. I was really impressed with the aluminum fishing boats with a price tag of $82,000. It's hard to imagine those sitting in a driveway 11-1/2 months out of the year.

Sunday, February 17, 2013: The Finches are beginning to increase in number at our Finch feeder. So are the Juncos, their feeder is empty after being filled only a couple days ago. Gwen counted a dozen Finches hanging on our feeder at one time. Today was a slow day with Gwen and I taking Morgan for a hike into the "back 40" to check out the stream. Of course Morgan found a way into the water and enjoyed a dip for the first time since last fall. I completed and packaged the frame for my daughter and finished then varnished the gadget charging station for my son. Gwen is playing Po-Ke-No at the clubhouse tonight.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013: Back in 2007, when we bought our 36 foot fifth wheel we really felt we needed something that big to travel and live in. And, we do, but it is really difficult for traveling, weighing 16,000 lbs. We certainly enjoy the room and the "apartment" feel of the fifth wheel. Now that we have our "home base" at Timber Valley in Sutherlin, we are considering something smaller for travel. That means leaving the fifth wheel in Sutherlin when we travel. This is not a new idea with us. A lot of the Escapee members with a lot in one of the Co-Op parks leave their "big rig" in the park and travel in something much smaller. Sutherlin only charges $30 per year for parking extra vehicles in the "back 40". While at the Outdoor show, I looked at several travel trailers. This one is only 22 feet long (advertised 22 feet but I think it was longer). I couldn't believe it but thought we could actually make this work for 3 - 4 months of traveling. We'll be looking over the next few months getting an idea of size, layout and price then find something used which we can afford. This trailer, fully loaded, would weigh only 8,000 lbs or less. Our Dodge would hardly even know it was connected.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013: Gwen needed to go to Roseburg today so I went along. While she was doing her thing, I went to the lumber yard for more project lumber. Then I drove to Costco to order tires for the truck. I picked up Gwen and we came home for lunch. After lunch, she drove off to a haircut appointment while I stayed in my workshop the rest of the afternoon working on my next project. We ended the day with bingo at the clubhouse. I won twice. I had to laugh today as I watched the weather report showing hail in Phoenix, Arizona. I think it was warmer here.

Saturday, March 2, 2013: I visited the Douglas County Home and Garden show then visited Michael's, the Dollar store, Lowe's, Home Depot and the Burrito Vaquero for lunch. It was the only place I figured I might be able to get a "vegetable" lunch. So I ordered a meatless burrito, whole beans, rice and "vegetables" and NO cheese. The waitress looked like no one had ever asked for something so strange but the cook figured it out and it was very good. While waiting for my vegetable burrito an elderly spanish lady brought me a basket with flowered napkin hiding a single corn tortilla in it. I learned that she was the owner's mother, standing in the corner, hand making and delivering the tortillas. I got the impression that this was a special day for her. It was very good and so was the burrito. Next time I'll introduce Gwen to this place too. The rest of the day went well too except that it began to rain later.

Thursday, March 7, 2013: OK .. to attempt to continue with my new food lifestyle of "Whole Food, Plant Based", I ordered a tofu sandwich at my favorite vegetarian restaurant, Light house Bakery and Cafe. So I ordered the daily special and a cup of coffee with "coconut milk" creamer. About 5 minutes later I remembered that potato chips come with the special and I didn't want potato chips so I asked if I had an alternative. I was told, soup or salad for $1 extra and french fries for 75¢. I chose the soup (corn chowder) because I love corn chowder. So they changed the order. I walked back to my table then began thinking about chowder. I wondered if there might be dairy in chowder but decided to stick with my choice. When the meal arrived, the soup bowl was small, the soup was wonderful and I forgave myself for the dairy which might or might not be in the soup. The tofu sandwich was also great. You can click the photo for another view. I sent Dorana, my sister, a photo of the sandwich. She asked a good question ... "would I make it at home?" "All I needed was sprouts", I told her ... and "yes I would".

Tuesday, March 12, 2013: Well today was another date to remember like the date, April 18, 2007. We are back to our trailer park and tired so all will have to wait until tomorrow. In the mean time, here is Gwen enjoying (and trying to get warm) at our new patio fire pit or stand (whatever it's called). So far we've burned only left over pieces of wood from my woodworking projects. I think it's going to take some real firewood to keep us warm. Or mayby we need to have warmer nights, like those coming in spring and summer. Anyway, it works. Check back tomorrow for the exciting details of today.

Friday, March 15, 2013: St. Patrick's Day is not until Sunday but Timber Valley celebrated the day today with a meal provided by the "men's cooking group". The mean had to be at 4pm because we did not want the celebration to interfere with Po-Ke-No which begins at 6:30. The menu was traditional, corned beef, potatoes, carrots, cabbage and a small cup of ice cream with Irish Cream on top. So how does a vegan eats this meal? Well, I'm only 97% vegan so in my case, you eat it just like everyone else except my portion of corned beef was very small and my portion of carrots, cabbage and potatoes was large. Click the photos for additional views. The view behind the panorama above is of Norm and Barbara. Norm is our official "leprechaun" of the park and today he has a pot of gold which he is sharing.

Sunday, March 24, 2013: The "kids" have made it to Sutherlin to visit for a few day. Gwen's on the left with daughter Lesa, then grandaughter Courtney, then Cortney's best friend, Michaela followed by cousin Bailey. We have moved the new "Great Blue Heron Edition" Alumascape to a rental location next door for the "girls" to campout. So they will be the first to use the new travel trailer. This could get pretty crazy for the next few days so I'm trying to figure out WHERE I could go. There is NO "surviving" this many females all in one place. Click the photo for a wider view of the "girls". I just hope the "Great Blue Heron Edition" survives.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013: For our first camping trip with have only gove a bit more than 100 miles to visit with Ralph and Janet. The two of us are staying at a mutual friends house where he has about 2 acres of land where we can both park comfortably. My weather station pole doesn't fit the Alumascape ladder so a new pole will need to be made especially for this trailer. Our friends Ralph and Janet have decided to live full-time in their RV and sell their house. They have purchased a beautiful Cedar Creek fifth wheel to live in, about twice the size of their little Cougar. This one has lots of extras. Click the photo to see a view of their new trailer. So we had a purpose of meeting up with them, it was to help them move items from storage to a location for a "garage sale" which they plan to do this weekend. They have pieces of furniture and many large rubbermaid tubs full of garage sale items to move. The job is done and all that's left is the set-up on Friday. They had a number of items we needed for our new Alumascape so that's why we have two large storage tubs next to our trailer. The weather has cooperated, but tomorrow it's to turn back to winter weather and tomorrow is a travel day for us, back to Sutherlin. Ralph and Janet are about to get a lot in the SKP park, "Park Sierra" in Coarsegold, California. It is also one of our favorite parks but neither Gwen nor I wish to be California residents. We will settle for visiting often.

Thursday, April 4, 2013: Last night Ralph, Janet, Gwen and I visited one of the best pizza locations in Medford. Gwen and I haven't been there for many years. Gwen and I had a vegetarian pizza with no cheese while Ralph and Janet had the Mt. Ashland, lots of meat and cheese. It was excellent pizza.

Today, Gwen and I had many stores to visit. Grover's, a plumbing and electrical supply, Lowes, Wal-Mart, Harbor Freight, Petco, REI, and Trader Joes. Click the photo to see the new Medford Trader Joes.

We ended up getting some misc. items such as a replacement faucet for the Alumascape kitchen sink. I also got some electrical parts to fix some electrical problems in the bathroom of the Alumascape.

We left Medford at 3 pm and are now back in Sutherlin.

Thursday, April 11, 2013: The winter snowbirds are beginning to return. Next year WE hope to be one of the snowbirds heading to Arizona during the winter months. Some of our snowbird neighbors do NOT like animals and either complain to us or to the office about the animals. Morgan is no problem, she minds and is easy to keep track of. Annie is a problem. She can wander were ever she pleases. Last year we DID have a neighbor complain to us that Annie was sunny on their car and getting cat tracks on the car. So we had to fight with Annie every time we entered or exited the Cameo. This year we decided to build a cat cage. She prefers to be outside and we prefer to HAVE her outside so I spent the day building a cage for her. Our plan is to stock the cage with a litter box, and water ... not sure we will put food in the cage ... I think it will be better to keep her food in the Cameo basement. I put one of our collapsible garbage containers in her cage, I think I'll put the litter box inside. I'll also provide shade when it get warmer. It will be interesting to learn how long it takes her to figure a way out of this cage. Click the photo to see Annie's first experience in the cage. I was able to use my pneumatic staple gun to attach the wire fence. That made the job MUCH easier.

Friday, April, 12, 2013: This morning I decided to try garage sales again. After getting excited about garage sales when helping Ralph and Janet with theirs I started looking around Sutherlin for sales. Yesterday I found an estate sale advertised in the newspaper and on Craigslist and it was only two miles from our location. Last week, I tried garage sales and learned that the rule followers miss out. Last week the ad said "no early birds" for a 9am start so I arrived at 9am to learn that all the good stuff had already been sold to the early birds. So this time I decided to show up at 8:30am to a 9am start estate sale.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013: I knew Oregon was "God's country" but this evening I got proof that God DOUBLE approves Oregon or maybe double approves of Timber Valley RV park. Eat your heart out, California, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, New Mexico, Texas .....

Click the photo for another view.

We've had showers today, then sun breaks. This double rainbow happened about 7pm during a surprise shower.

Thursday, April 18, 2013: Ralph and Janet have just received their lot at Park Sierra. Yesterday Ralph sent me a text message telling of "weed whacking" for two days around his new park. To not be over done by Ralph, I decided the steep yard behind our trailer and six other trailers needed to be mowed. This portion of the lawn is so steep, it would be too dangerous to mow using one of our three riding mowers so I used the Honda powered walk-behind mower. It does have driving wheels which assist. Without that assistance, I'm sure I wouldn't be doing this. I really didn't wear my weed-whacker helmet and visor while mowing. I DID wear my hearing protection. However, I got hit in the face a couple of times and bonked in the head too from limbs I was trying to duck. I decided from that to wear my helmet with visor and hearing protect next time. I talked with Tom yesterday about doing this mowing because he is the landscape supervisor. He asked if I'd driven any of the riding mowers. The park has one John Deer, deck mower and two zero clearance mowers. I've driven all three. Tom exclaimed, "I'll put your name on the LIST. Those on the list are doing four hour shifts." "Wait, Wait! I was thinking. "OK", I said. I needed to get this mowing done today because I'm going on a ten day trip beginning tomorrow to visit Mom and my kids. Click the photo for another view.

Sunday, April 21, 2013: While visiting my mother in California, we worked together to find a vegan recipe we both thought might taste good. Mom is not vegan but wanted to serve me something considering my new diet lifestyle so I found a recipe online which we both thought would be quick, easy and good. I had no idea what "Orzo" was but my mother knew. We picked up a package at the store for the Saturday evening meal. It turned out to be tiny pasta the size of rice grains. Mom said it was usually found in pasta salad. It cooked quickly and the whole meal turned out to be a great success. We like it so much, we did it again on Sunday but added Tofu this time. Click this photo to see the Tofu dish. Mom said she liked it so much she might become "vegan", but I think she was joking.

Monday, April 22, 2013: This was a travel day from California to Reno, Nevada to visit my adult children and grandchildren. But to be fair, I must share the vegan meal my sister (in Sacramento) made for me yesterday evening. This is a "Hippie Loaf" from The Happy Herbivore, a recipe book for vegans. My sister got it from her local library, a place where she spends a lot of time. It's a replacement for "meatloaf" so we treated it like meatloaf and added ketchup. It was also excellent, just like Mom's!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013: The major project my son Ben wanted help with was all new lighting for the kitchen. Most of the lights had failed and the previous owners had not install good lights anyway so everything needed replacement. Ben and Kim decided on recessed lighting with dimmable LED, 50,000 hour lights. We installed (12) 6 inch lights and (4) 4 inch lights. All are LEDs so about 1/5 the watts for the same amount of light. Ben and I worked as a team. He, marked the location of the lights, cleared the insulation above the ceiling then cut the holes. I prewired all the "cans" and hauled them into the attic for installation. Three recessed cans were already in place but they were 7" diameter so the LED lighting fixtures had to be modified to fit. Our ACE hardware helped us do that and provided the parts we needed. Each of the steps was time consuming. Making the holes, wiring the cans, installing the cans, connecting to power, installing the LED lights and cleanup all took considerable time. However, Ben and I finished the job in one day. Click the photos for other views.

Sunday, April 28, 2013: Today was a back roads drive from Reno, Nevada to Sutherlin, Oregon. I've done this drive many times but still think it is one of the most scenic. From Highway 89 you get this view of Mt. Shasta. It's as if you will drive straight into the mountain but instead, you climb the south slope then drop down into Interstate 5 and Mt. Shasta City. Click the photo for a view of Mt. Lassen about 50 miles to the south of Mt. Shasta. The view is from Highway 44 which connects Susanville, California to Old Station, California on Highway 89. Mt. Lassen erupted about 98 years ago (May 22, 1915) and still has hot springs and boiling mud pots from the vocanic activity still present. Lassen also had a small ski area which has been permanently closed. The area is now mostly used for cross-country skiing. The driving time from Reno to Sutherlin was only 6.5 hours, very little traffic on these back roads. It was a fun visit and much was accomplished but I'm sure glad to be home.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013: I'm enjoying my Adirondack chair and stool while treating myself with the vegan cookies my daughter Mindy made for me while I visited Reno. Yes, Gwen prefers to hang dry the laundry and it's getting warm enough in Oregon to begin using the line dry technique. Annie is at the base of the clothes line and really loves the deck. Our view of the mountains is unobscured because we are on a ledge above the other trailers.

No, I didn't relax today. Instead, I mowed the 30 degree slope behind our trailer (and six other trailers) with a walk-behind mower. Then I noticed Tom was mowing across our street with a riding mower but couldn't mow the slope. I took my mower across the street and mowed the slope there too. It was three hours of hard work. It will probably have to be done again in a week. I use to laugh a folks in "real life" having to mow lawns while I was riding my bike. This IS a "co-op" park meaning residents should help maintain the park in some way.

Finally, I get to be on the Douglas County Oregon Jury pool for the month of May. I'm juror number 694 and required to call the "code-a-phone" everyday for the month of May to learn if my service is needed. Tomorrow, jurors #1 -100 are required so I won't be heading to the courthouse tomorrow. I've learned that NO electronic devices are allowed in the courthouse so no interior photos if I'm called to duty.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013: Today was a busy day with preparing some ground for Gwen to plant some of her bushes. Then, mid-day we attended a surprise birthday party for Delores, our across the street neighbor. Her next door neighbor is Ken. Ken planned and arranged the surprise and it sure seemed to work, Delores was truly surprised. All of a sudden, there were lots of people on her deck.

After the party, I joined the Umpqua Velo Bike Club for a short ride in Roseburg then a presentation by club members who rode around Italy last year for about two weeks. That's as close to Italy I will ever get.

Monday, May 6, 2013: Gwen had a desire for waffles and I was anxious to use our new food processor so I made the waffles. First I had to look up what to use instead of the two eggs the recipe called for. The easiest solution was a banana. The recipe called for water but next time I think I will use almond milk. I heated up real maple syrup purchased at Costco. Heated syrup is one of the stars I give restaurants, many don't earn that star. The waffles turned out very good. Gwen prefers to cover her waffle with Adams peanut butter, click the photo to see her waffle.

Thursday, May 9, 2013: While I was cleaning out the shed, Randy and Greg showed up to install a new door. Gwen had requested one about two weeks ago because the original door was beyond repair. The park takes care of the storage sheds so the new door is part of the service we get as leaseholders in the park. The door trim and hinges were also replaced. This is a pretty heavy door for these little hinges. Also the screws used to secure the door were just long enough to catch the pine trim. I'm pretty pessimistic that the door will be operational for very long (without sagging). I believe larger hinges with longer screws are needed. Long enough to catch the 2 x 4 behind the trim. One positive however, these hinges are stainless steel and so were the screws. The park also supplies the paint for the sheds but Gwen or I must do the painting. I hate painting, but did it anyway this evening when the weather was cooler. Click this photo to see the "happy painter". Yes, Randy and Greg used my tablesaw to hold up the new door and as a tool rest. They also threatened to take it with them to the park maintenance shed. At least I'll know where to look for it if it goes missing. When you click the photo, notice who is on her deck watching the painting operation.

Monday, May 13, 2013: This is the Timber Valley office. Our flag has been at half mast for three days because a park member and a good friend has died suddenly while shopping at Costco. Ron and Theresa are the members who left last fall to spend the winter in Arizona and while they were away, loaned us the use of their golf cart. While in Arizona, they found the perfect travel trailer for the many miles of traveling they planned to do. They brought it back to Timber Valley to complete a solar installation and put air suspension bags and new tires on the tow vehicle. Ron and Theresa were at Costco ordering new tires when Ron had a massive heart attack. Ron was well known in the park so his death affects us all. I remember being afraid to plan anything during my working life or at least getting too excited about the plan. The fear was that something would happen at the last moment to change or cancel the plan. This loss brought back those memories. Our friends had not finished their traveling days yet and had many plans for cross country trips. This makes me wonder if it's "safe" to make plans. But after thinking about it, I've decided, rather than be afraid of making plans, instead, enjoy and appreciate every single moment in the present. Plans are OK, but enjoy making them as much as executing them. I'll bet Ron and Theresa did.