The Mouse Is Winning

I do not know how many mice I have in my house. Any time that I have seen any it has been alone. Today I was eating lunch in the living room when a mouse came up the stairs and behind the old kitchen cabinet that is currently in the dining room. I will eventually get rid of it when the kitchen is done. Adjacent to the cabinet is the kitchen range.
I jumped up from my lunch and grabbed a broom. I was going to get the little shit. I was determined. I moved the stove and then the cabinet. As I moved the cabinet, out came the mouse. I grabbed for the broom, letting the cabinet fall and make a gouge in my new hardwood floor. I took a swing at the mouse and nearly knocked my new chandelier down. I regrouped and continued looking for him, but to no avail. As I moved the stuff back into position, I notice I scratched the floor. The mouse is winning.
Kayak Bandit

Gettin High

I used to install a lot of formica. I remember that formica used to cost a dollar per square foot. Today the going price is two dollars per foot. Formica has doubled in the last twenty five years. At first when I realized the price had doubled I thought that it was excessive. The salesman pointed out how much other things have gone up.
For instance, gas used to be 27.9 cents per gallon. Sugar was ten cents for five pounds. No one even considered paying for water. Have you seen any candy for a penny lately?
Kayak Bandit

Dock

Today I turned on my computer to discover that my friend, Jeff (Stormcrow to letterboxers) , had posted a new letterbox out past Tum Tum. I have always liked that area and chose to skip working on the kitchen long enough to go and get the box and hopefully be the first finder. I translated the clues to discover the spot is right across the highway from the DNR campground and boat ramp.
I was the superintendent for the project back in about 1990 when we build the dock, ramp and concrete walls that line the water's edge. The timing for the project was very critical because the park is next to Lake Spokane which is created by Long Lake Dam. There was going to be a large drawdown of the water for a brief time to do maintenance to the dam. This gave the DNR a chance to have the park redone. We bid the job with the understanding that the work had to get done in the drawdown period, PERIOD. I prebuilt all the forms for the walls and hired my brother Larry to be the lead carpenter for the wall while I worked principally on the dock and ramp.
Larry stayed in my trailer house at the site. One night a bunch of very intocicated locals came down there and started shooting guns and such. Larry was too petrified to confront them since he had no guns. The next night we locked the gate to keep out the problem. This worked very good for the most part. One evening Larry went to town to buy some groceries and when he returned, discovered his glasses were still in the trailer. He could not see well enough to work the combination. He had to walk the mile or so to the trailer and back up to get the gate open.
After we were done with the crane that drove the piling for the dock, they parked it up by the highway to be picked up the next day. Some people broke out all the windows in the crane.
So, back to today. After I found the letterbox, I walked into the park to see the place. It is beautiful. It was fun to sit high on the hill and look at the beauty of our world. Some of the beauty was with my families help.
Kayak Bandit

German

Well, when I last talked to you, I planned to go to the Greek Festival. I did not make it.
I had a crazy day trying to get some things for my kitchen. I spent a couple hours at Home Depot waiting for someone to help me with an exchange of my instahot. I never did exchange it because the difference between the in stock one that I bought and the special order one I want is double the price.
I did buy all my knobs, hinges and drawer pulls for the kitchen. I chose a stainless steel frame with a white porcelain inlay. Not exactly cheap. I also ordered a storm door for my back entry. I know I lost a bunch of heat out that door over the years. I cannot put off fixing that before this winter. I expect heating will cost double what it cost last year.
Home Depot is right next door to Costco. I went in and stocked up on all sorts of stuff. One thing that I bought that sounds good is the salmon patties. I will give them a try real soon. After I found every thing I needed, and more, I stopped at the deli for a German sausage. I do not think an entire Greek meal could have been as good as that German doggie. I ended up with the perfect blend of condiments on my meal in a bun. Yummie. As I drove past the Greek church on the way home, I somehow felt sorry for everyone that was spending more than the dollar sixty seven that I spent. And the soda is included!
Kayak Bandit

Greek

Every year, here in Spokane, the Greek Church puts on a nice festival. They open the Church to everyone to learn more about themselves. One thing I learned a long time ago is how delicious their food is. I was planning to keep working on my kitchen all day today, but every time I think of something that could take me away from home, such as needing some more nails or lumber, I immediately consider how far out of the way it would be to go by the festival. I seem to be obsessed about going and getting some baklava. I am always obsessing about something.
I think I might as well go down there and get it over with. Does anyone know the schedule? If I time it right, I could probably get a meal too. Great idea! Thanks for the suggestion.
Kayak Bandit

Smoothie

I have been frustrated for a long time about my table saw. It vibrates really bad when you first start to use it. After a while it gets a little better, but not great.
Another thing that frustrates me is not being able to see as good as I would like to see. I find that when I assemble pieces of my cabinets, I have to feel and double check myself to make sure the boards are lined up properly. And, reading a measurement is tough. I have to be very careful planing boards down to a certain thickness.
Well, I am able to report good progress on all of this. I got a flyer in the mail from Woodcrafters. They had a dial caliper on sale from over fifty dollars down to twenty nine ninety nine. So on my lunch break today, I stopped to buy the calipers. I looked it over and you can easily read accurately to one sixty forth of an inch. I mean to say that it is very easy to read.
While I was there I looked at the vee belts that they sell for my saw. They had this style that is modular. You just twist several links together to create a belt to the right length. The salesman said he installed it on his own Craftsman saw with good results. I could not resist.
I came home after work and installed the belt. Wow!!!!!!! I do not recognize the saw. It is perfectly smooth. It is a real smoothie!
Kayak Bandit

Still Alive

Well, anyone that is worried why I have not posted for a while, stop! I am fine. I have been busy and my mind has not been able to create the blog. Some days I sit down in front of the computer and the words just appear. Not lately.
I was talking to Dick, Red Lion Man, and he said Barb has mentioned most mornings that I did not post. She was a little worried. Speaking of them, be sure to go to the link and see what they are up to. They are on an extended working vacation that sounds like a lot of fun (and work).
Yesterday I took five newbies out kayaking. I am afraid they have the fever. They were talking about going shopping for kayaks and racks for atop their car. I warn you not to try it if you cannot afford to buy yourself a kayak. Almost everyone really likes kayaking. The day was cool until underway. Once you started paddling, you were just right.
I forgot the storage bags to carry the lunch in the kayaks, so we returned to Doug and Colleen's home to eat her fabulous lunch. The day was a perfect success. It may have been the last kayak outing until the eagles show up in December. I love to go out then and see them swooping down to pick kokanee trout from the water. Last year it was so cold that in quiet water there was a skim of ice. It is toasty inside the kayak. I can hardly wait.
My cabinets are progressing slowly. At times I am completely anal about getting them perfect. Where did that come from? At other times, I am down right lazy and slow. I have decided to take the week after next off to work on the kitchen. I want the kitchen off my back so I can play without feeling guilty.
Boy, that was not hard. I should blog every day.
Kayak Bandit

Furnace Repair

I have a furnace again. A kayak friend has a furnace business and he allowed me to buy from his wholesale account. I bought the part and when I went to install it, it was a little different than the old one. I took it back and to my surprise, the correct one was twenty five dollars cheaper. When does that ever happen?
I installed it after dinner and tested the furnace. Another surprise - it worked! Boy, that takes a lot off my mind.
Today, I worked on my custom cabinets. I am building the lazy susans. It is rather time consuming for me since I have not built cabinets for a long time, and never a lazy susan. I keep thinking I am past the slow tedious stuff, but everything is slow and tedious when all the units are unique. I cannot set up the saw and cut a whole stack of similar parts.
I am thinking about going for a bike ride tomorrow. The weather is perfect. My kitchen can wait. What to do?
Kayak Bandit

Last Work Day

Yipee!!
TGIF!!
I know I should not wish my life away, but it is great that friday has arrived. I look forward to the weekend. This is a wonderful time of year. There is the smell of fall, that smell reminds me of past hunting camps.
In the fall, the weather can avoid a hard freeze for a while, or it can freeze my dahlias early. They are looking mighty fine right now. Recently, I planted a letterbox in my garden to invite my letterboxing friends to come see the dahlias.
The smell of fall reminds me to get ready for winter. Last spring my furnace quit working. I used electric heaters until I did not need heat at all. So, I better get it fixed. Yesterday, I bought the part to fix it. It does not have the same number of places to connect wires as the old one. I will take it back today and see what they say. Isn't that the way repair projects often go?
I hope all of you have a great weekend.
Kayak Bandit

Mouse Opinion

My sister Sharon writes:

Yeah!! I'm glad you're clear over there, as I doubt you'll release it in a park by me. If it were me, I'd stomp its grimey little rodent head.

Sharon

As you can all see, there are others in my family that are mean like me!

Kayak Bandit

Mouse Photo

Okay, you can exhale. Kayak Bandit Caught the mouse.
The first thing I did was call Steph to tell the grandkids. Lily was very happy. Lily wants me to turn it loose in a park on the play structure. I am in favor of that. Do you want this mouse released in the park next to your home? You will never know. I am telling no one where I release the mouse.
The mouse has had no opportunity to groom himself since he was trapped in a small space with a lot of peanut butter. He is having a bad hair day.
May little mouse life long and happy.
Kayak Bandit

Runnin on Empty

What type of person are you? Do you let your gas tank get so low that the warning light comes on before you start looking for a gas station? Or, do you fill up every time you pass your favorite gas station even if you have plenty of gas?
I bet you are somewhere between those two scenarios. As for me, I have the mentality that my cars are out of gas if they get to one quarter tank. I get antsy if it gets close or below that level.
So, the next question is what to do about my low level in the "fuel tank" of life. You see, I am running on fumes in the energy, time, motivation and money department. I keep thinking about how easy tasks were when I was much younger. Why, I could cut a couple loads of firewood and deliver it to someone in the daytime and still have energy left to go to the archery range in the evening. I barely have enough energy to get the chainsaw sharpened before I am looking for a resting spot.
My motivation tank, energy tank and time tank are in direct conflict with the money tank. I could hire more of the work except that my money tank cannot stand for it. I have to say that I was mislead whenever I heard people talking fondly of the golden years. I think those people were duped into believing yellow snow is the gold they seek.
Kayak Bandit

Spokanites

Here is a little known secret that does not need to be kept secret anymore. Letterboxers from the Spokane area are the kindest, warmest and most hospitable people ever! Reinbow hosted an evening of conversation tonight. They have a lovely home and opened it up to the area letterboxers. What a fabulous time. The cheese assortment was wonderful. And, the ice cream with home made fudge was to die for.
I cannot say it adequately. It was great.
Kayak Bandit

Mouse

When the grandkids were here last week, we spotted a mouse in my house. Yes, a mouse in the house. A louse of a mouse in my house.
Yeah, I have my striped, cone shaped, flopped over hat on.
Anyway, there is this mouse. I know how to deal with mice. Get a good Victor mouse trap and "snap". Problem solved, right? Wrong. At least that is the wrong approach when grandkids are around. Nick and Lil insisted I not harm the mouse. Are you kidding me. How do you not harm something you want dead?
So I suggested poison. They asked how the poison worked. I told them that it makes them bleed internally and get very thirsty. I think I am right about that. I thought they would then relent and let me use the trap. I assured them the trap would be swift death. Hardly any suffering. Still wrong!
Okay, they are gone now. My grandkids are precious. I hoped to catch the mouse alive and carry it to the woods for release. So far I have caught nothing. Bandit seeks out the trap because he smells the peanut butter. I need to put them out of his reach. I think I will put it under the stove. Maybe, one behind the TV. I am going to give it a couple more days. I so very much want to be able to tell my grandkids I spared their mouse's life.
Vote in my poll. Victor, Poison, Live Trap or Leave Alone.
Kayak Bandit

Gulf

Boy, the Gulf dodged a bullet this time. Everything seems to be pretty good. What a difference from a few years ago.
Have you wondered why those idiot news people insist on standing out in the fierce wind to tell us that the wind is bad. I guess they want it to make a big impression. The thing that impresses me is that their mommy never taught them to come in out of the storm. I like it best when they show the view from a mounted camera. It is usually from a higher vantage point and tells me more than some bozo pretending to be tossed about by the wind. I saw one guy, dressed to the hilt with rain gear, hardly able to stand while he knew the camera was on him. As soon as he finished his spiel, and he thought the camera was off, he was able to walk around easily. How foolish do they think we are?
And, another thing, why does every network have to show the stuff 24/7? Golly, a few days ago everyone had to be talking about the gal that had a child go missing for a month before she reported it to the police. They were all clambering to get the best angle on that. Now that I am interested in that story, no one will tell me about it. Phooey.
Kayak Bandit