Drinking Too Much

I am really worried about me and my drinking problem. I came home after work and went straight to the fridge for a red beer. I like my red beer half tomato juice and half beer. The problem I have is not what you might imagine. You see, I like about twelve ounces of beverage. When you open a can of beer and mix it with a can of tomato juice, you end up with twenty-four ounces of beverage.
I do not like to waste anything, so I drink more than I need to. I eventually drink at least sixteen ounces before I give up. I do not see a solution to this problem. Beer comes in just one size can. So, if I open a can, I have to drink it all or it goes to waste.
It is truly my problem, since I am the one who likes such a small amount. So, tomorrow morning I will again have to dump a partial glass of red beer down the sink.
The good news is that tomorrow is Pay Day.
Kayak Bandit

Coffee

Are you like me? When I get up in the morning, the first thing I think about is a cup of coffee. Oh, so we are alike!
It is funny how the presence of the cup of coffee is enough. Some mornings, I am agitated until I pour the cup of coffee. But, once poured, I may carry the cup to my favorite chair and set it down. Yes, I said, set it down. I purposefully, did not say take a drink.
How can this be that just possessing the cup of coffee settles my nerves. Weird!
Kayak Bandit

Flag

I could not help but feel uplifted today. I was driving back to the office. I do not like going back to the office, as a rule. But, as I approached the office, I spotted a flag waving above a nearby building. I realized the flag was not on the building, but on top of a crane beyond the building. The breeze was quite strong, making the flag wave very nicely. I was swept with a real sense of pride and patriotism.
As I continued to the office, I was thinking about how nice it is for the workers to rig the flag onto their crane. I am sure every person on the job site is inspired like I am.
Then I looked up at the top of our courthouse. I was again swept with pride, because we are in the process of upgrading the flagpole atop our courthouse.
I hope we always have the freedom we currently have. I think we will if all of us stop once in a while and consider the wonder of freedom. Let's pray for peace around the World while resolving to stand up, when necessary, to the forces that want freedom destroyed.
God Bless America,
Kayak Bandit

Dahlias

Dahlias are a lot of work. Dahlias are beautiful.
Yesterday, I spent a couple hours tying up my dahlia plants. They outgrow their ability to hold themselves up. When planting in the spring, I drive a tall rebar into the ground before I bury the tuber. I make sure the sprouts of the tuber are near the rebar. About three times during the season, I have to tie the stalks to the stake.
To see many varieties of dahlias go to American Dahlia Society website. My all time favorite dahlia is April Dawn. It is much prettier when you see it in person. Photos are never as pretty as real life.
I do caution that you must still stop and smell the roses because dahlias are not known for their good smell. If you think dahlias smell good in a bouquet, it is because the florist sprayed them with a scent or there are other flowers in the bouquet that you are smelling.
I think I will go smell the roses now.
Kayak Bandit

Bear Sliding

Bear would do anything for me and my two daughters. When we would go to the park, Stephanie and Jennifer, loved to play a few minutes on each of the structures. From our home, the closest structure was the slide. They would run ahead and crawl up the ladder and wait at the top. They would encourage their sister to climb. "One more, Jenny. You can do it."
Bear would follow to the structure and as they went up the slide ladder, he would stand on his hind legs and reach high with his front legs. It was as if he was cheering for them to make it on up. Just as one would start to slide, he would race to the end of the slide and greet them as they lit on the ground. He would escort them back to the ladder and it would start all over.
Eventually, the girls started coaxing him to climb up the ladder. I was fearful he would catch a leg as he was falling and be injured. To prevent this, I would stand behind my ninety pound pooch and make sure he did not fall. Little by little, I helped him learn to hook his front paws over the step instead of on the step. We all encouraged him. Soon he was able to make it all the way to the top, as long as I kept him corralled. After quite a while, with no mishaps, I started letting him climb the ladder without staying behind him.
The first few times that Bear made it to the top, he still had the mindset that it was his job to greet the girls as they slid. He seemed confused. One girl would slide to the bottom and the other would tell bear to go. The girl at the bottom would be coaxing him to "slide". With enough coaxing, Bear would run down the slope of the slide. Try as we might, we never taught him to slide by himself. I even tried holding him on my lap as I slid, but it did not work.
When we went to different parks, we had to assure him to climb up a different slide. The girls were good about asking if the slide ladders were safe for Bear to climb. If they were marginal, I would stay with Bear while he climbed. We sure miss Bear!
Kayak Bandit

Saw

Do you remember me talking about my freezer going bad? Well, I have a new one now and it is working just fine. So, all the stuff that Jim and Shirley stored for me until my freezer situation was resolved, needed to come back home. I took my ice chest over after lunch today. We got to talking about lots of fun stuff. I bet some of you reading this blog were talked about.
After a while, Jim suggests I look at his new Craftsman table saw. I am a sucker for new tools. I said "let's take a look". What a nice saw. It folds up into a compact package with wheels and handles like a wheelbarrow. You can wheel it wherever you want to go to use it. When you are done, you can wheel it back and lean it up against a wall. When leaned up like this, it takes up very little floor space.
You have to assemble some of the stuff when you take it out of the box. We found a nice shady spot, set up some chairs and a table, and went to making the saw ready to use. Shirley kept laughing at us men trying the hard way to assemble stuff when we could easily read the instructions. But, NO, we had to try without instructions a few times before we did it the easy way. We got it all assembled and adjusted.
Jim wheeled it back to the garage. We moved some other stuff around to make room for this saw. Only after we were all done parking the saw, did it dawn on us that we did not try it out. What were we thinking. I guess we were not thinking.
Shirley offered dinner. That sounded much better than fussing with a saw. We ate a nice meal of barbecued burgers and watermelon. Yum.
I hope you had as nice a day as I did.
Kayak Bandit

Great Buy

Today, I went to Home Depot to make use of a coupon for ten percent off my next purchase. I made a list of all the things I need to complete my kitchen.
I found all the items I needed in short order, including a new air compressor. The old air compressor gave up recently. Then, I decided to look at gas ranges. I have wanted a gas range for a long time. I like the idea that you can adjust the heat and it reacts right away. So, I go in with the idea that they would be outside my budget. There was this really nice lady named Ella, that showed me all the choices. The last choice was a close out, floor model. It's original price was over four hundred dollars, on sale for two hundred ninety seven. How could I resist. I bought it.
I did not plan to buy a stove, so I had to go home for my pickup. I am pleased with my selection. Jenny is troubled that it is a Maytag, but I am okay with it.
Hopefully, I finish my project and we all get together for a party.
Kayak Bandit

Chasing Seagulls

Digging for clams in Netarts Bay is a very fun way to spend an early morning. You see, you have to get up very early to get to the right spot before the tide has gone out. You have to be finding your way to the desired spot while the tide is still ebbing or the bay is too shallow to navigate your boat.
When Stephanie and Jennifer were young and Bear was a member of our family, we would make these early morning journeys. For me, it was fun in many ways. I could be the hero to my family by finding my way to a lesser known spot to dig monstrous Gapor Clams. Gapors are also known as Blue Necked Clams. Another fun thing was that it was okay with Kathy for her girls to get dirty. And we did, including Kathy.
But, the real highlight was the theatrics of Bear and company. Bear would run after the seagulls. The seagulls were hanging around us to find left behind pieces of clams or sand shrimp or other disturbed creatures. So, the closer the seagulls came to us looking for scraps, the more bear would chase after them. At first, I think the seagulls thought they were in peril, but as the day wore on, they realized it was just a lot of fun for Bear. The seagulls obliged by flying just a little higher than the highest that Bear could leap.
This happy time was limited to when the tide started back in. We would have to load up into our boat for the return trip. The seagulls were always sad to see their new friend leaving. Bear was sad to leave his new found playmates. The rest of us were glad that Bear's feet were bleeding no more than they were. You see, he would almost always run so much that his pads would be raw. He would rest up some through the rest of the day and night and be eager to do it all the next day.
Kayak Bandit

Oh Poop

If your dog needs to go out in the night, let him out!!!!
Last night, I went to bed a little earlier than normal. Routinely, I let Bandit outside as I head to bed. It was no different last night. I woke in the night to do some habitual things like looking out the windows for burglars and then visiting the porcelain throne. Bandit was not interested in going outside at that time, so I went back to sleep.
I suspect I made him stay inside too long by the time morning came along. You guessed it. A nice surprise for me at the back door. Yep, I stepped in it.
I am not angry. But, think about this. How does a dog do such a good job of holding himself. He does not get to schedule his poops. Nope, he has only the opportunity he is given. That is amazing to me. If I were asked to keep the schedule we give a dog, Heaven help us.
Kayak Bandit

Pictures

I should have included pictures with recent posts. Here are some of the pictures that I missed:

Picture of my rug from Sewing Rags


Picture of Bandit sleeping in a child lawn chair



Two grandsons fighting for glory

Good Dog

Don't ask me to be your huckleberry guide. I am a total failure. Joanne and I failed to find even one huckleberry. Some would say our day was a total flop. Okay, but let me tell you some of the offsets to it being a flop.
We had no more than started out when Joanne started pointing and getting very agitated as we approached this sign beside the road. It was a rather rude sign posted at the end of a driveway to a beautiful home behind a iron gate. Joanne announced that she had always wanted a closer look at this home and the "Garage Sale" would serve as a good excuse.
I had to turn around to get pointed into the driveway. It was no time at all before Joanne and the wonderful ladies hosting the garage sale were best buddies. Joanne negotiated a good deal on a horse themed trellis. Before we left, we were allowed to pet their horses. They were gentle and polite horses. I believe they are for sale, if you are interested.
We continued on. Bandit was, sort of, coughing enough to convince us that he was thirsty. We stopped beside the Ponderay River, north of Newport. I pointed to the river and Bandit ran about half way to the water and turned around, obviously looking for me to throw a toy to him. He would not go on to the water without assurance I would throw a toy. So, I threw his ball out into the water many times. He had a blast, but did not drink once. I think he intentionally misled us so he could play. What a manipulator!
We continued on to Marshall Lake where we enjoyed the view of the lake and several nice conversations with people there for recreation. It seemed to those we talked to that the berry picking was over. So, we decided to find a spot to have lunch. We chose the Newport City Park. Here we enjoyed a nice lunch prepared by Joanne as Bandit endeared himself to everyone else in the park. He would go to a different person and solicit them to throw his ball. It was fun to watch him convince the new person to throw it. He would run to them and drop the ball at their feet. If they did not reach for the ball, he would nudge it closer to them with his nose. This tactic always convinced them to throw the ball. Amazingly, he did get tired enough to lay down and drop the ball.
We found two more garage sales, Joanne made new friends, and traveled new roads on our return trip to Spokane. At every stop, I would open the back door of my Jeep, and ask Bandit to "Stay!" This impressed Joanne and others. I was likewise impressed. I think Bandit is a VERY "Good Dog".
Kayak Bandit

Big Dog, Little Dog

Bear was a very large dog. We surmise that he was half Setter and half Newfoundland. His head was large, proportionally to the already large frame. I think he weighed about ninety pounds.
I think you already know that I took him with me to work most days. Well, I was remodeling a home for a friend of mine. They had this small, and I do mean small, miniature Chihuahua. I swear that you could have lain him on a dinner plate all stretched out and none of his body would have hung over the edge of the plate. The two dogs played endlessly. It was so funny to see Bear trotting, slow for him, behind this other dog that was running as fast as he could till his legs were blurry.
This one very hot day, I decided to go to the Orient Store for a pack of Pepsi. Since the store was easy to go into and back out in a hurry, I decided to bring both dogs along. I parked my Dodge Van, leaving both windows open and found what I wanted. As I was returning to the Van, I saw the most precious thing ever. I will try to paint a word picture to do it justice. I did not have a camera.
As Bear would always do, he was watching for my return. He was standing up with his front feet in my seat and his back feet on the engine hump. When he stood in my seat he had to lower his head from normal height in order to look out the side window. As I said earlier, his head was very large and it took up most of the window. What was so hilarious, was that every so often, this little tiny black head would pop up over the bottom of the door into view and then fall back away. You could see that this little dog wanted to see what Bear was looking at. He was so small that even standing on his tip toes he could not stay high enough to gaze out the window. Both dogs had this "glad you came back" look on their faces. It was so precious. A real Mutt and Jeff, if ever there was one.
Kayak Bandit

Sleeping In

This is the latest that I have slept in a long time. Bandit woke me up about five and wanted outside. I got up and let him out. Usually, I will do that and then make a pot of coffee. But not today. I went back to the still warm bed and slept soundly until eight.
As I look outside, the sun is shining bright. I don't lower my eyes to the ground, because I would be reminded that my lawn needed mowing a week ago. I has gotten taller in the ensuing time. Let's see. If it is two months until the first frost- - -I guess I cannot use that as an excuse to let the lawn grow. But, I read somewhere that your lawn survives winter better is you do not cut it right before it freezes. Drat.
Okay, I have decided to attack my projects today and play tomorrow. I will put the last of the camping stuff away, clean up the kitchen, mow the lawn, throw the frisbee for Bandit, tie up my dahlias, set out my berry picking supplies and then go grocery shopping. That should be enough for one day. It may even leave enough time to visit with some neighbors.
Tomorrow, I and some friends are headed to the mountains north of Newport to get huckleberries. I hope the timing is right. I was too early for the huckleberries on my trip to the coast. It will be a fun ride whether or not we find berries.
Kayak Bandit

Sewing Rags

My aunt Mary had a loom. I suppose she made other things, but I remember the rugs that she made on this loom. I was interesting how she would feed the varied supplies and shift levers and tamp things into place as she created these rugs.
Aunt Mary was related to me because my grandmother and Mary were sisters. And another way she is related is that her husband is a son of my grandfather's brother. In other words, two Dearholt sisters married Hess'. One Hess was the nephew of the other.
Back to Mary's rugs. Mary would make the rugs using homemade yarn. When someone wanted a rug made, Mary would make the rugs and keep half for herself and half would go to the person that made the yarn.
My mom taught me to sew the yarn. I loved doing this. We would use old clothes. First, you would cut away all the hems around the outside of the big pieces of cloth. Then you would figure out which way the remaining cloth would make the best strips and cut nicks into the edge about one inch apart. Next, you would tear at each of the nicks and the cloth would make these strips one inch wide.
The sewing came next. You needed to sew the ends together to make a continuous one inch strip. You would place one end over the other and fold a third of the overlap from each side to make three double layers. Next you sew onto the beginning of the overlap and sew to the end of the overlap, reverse to the beginning and then sew forward to the end again. When you got to the end, you would stop sewing just as you were about to go off the edge. This allowed you to sew from one joint to the next without raising the presser foot.
It was fun to keep going with more and more yarn pushed off the back of the sewing machine onto the floor. Some times the pile would get all the way up to the level of the sewing table.
After sewing the ends together, we had to tug at each place the sewing machine ran off the one seam onto the next to break the string. We would roll the end product into a big ball of yarn.
A few years ago, my mom pulled one of these old worn rugs from a drawer and presented it to me. She explained that it was the last one known to exist. She felt I was the person that deserved to keep it since I had sewed more rags into yarn than anyone else. It is one of my prized possessions. The last I know, my cousin Dorla ended up with aunt Mary's loom.

Camp Firewood

Kids and a dog! Boy does that bring back memories. But then, my dog, Bear was not your ordinary dog. Bear would do anything I wanted him to do. He would have killed himself to do things my daughters dreamed up for him to do.
As a young family, we often went camping. It is no different today that firewood is very expensive if you wait to buy it at the campground. To save that expense, I would always haul a supply with me in the back of the pickup. I pulled a travel trailer and Kathy followed with the car and boat. We liked to launch the boat with the pickup, so as soon as we got to our camping site, we would unload all the stuff from the back of the pickup.
I was amazed at how the two daughters could con Bear into carrying all the firewood from the pickup to their chosen spot to pile the wood. His tail would wag like it was the best thing ever. One daughter would be in the back of the pickup and the other at the wood pile. Bear would run to the back of the pickup and put his paws up on the tailgate. He would accept the wood in his mouth, turn and trot to the wood pile and drop the wood onto the ground. This played out until all the pieces were in the stack of wood.
Recently, I suggested that one of my daughters should write about this memory. I was surprised that they do not remember this story. Stephanie accused me of early stages of dementia in a recent blog, so I could be off. I think it makes a great story even if my memory is over active. I think both girls will acknowledge that Bear was a willing helper and a wonderful dog.
Kayak Bandit

Lawn Chair Sleeping

During our trip to Deception pass, we spent a lot of time around the campfire. Sadly, for the dogs, they had to be tied behind us with short enough leashes that they could not entangle the chairs. The dogs always seemed sad with this arrangement.
After a while, Bandit resolved that it was the way it was and he would lay down and curl into a snug little circle with his tail over his nose. To me, he looked like a sled dog. What are those? Malamute or Husky? Bandit would get all excited if he was released from his leash and could pick up stray popcorn or other dropped food pieces.
Well, one evening, the kids coaxed him into a child's lawn chair. It was much too small for him to fit into comfortably. Nonetheless, he had a look of contentment. His back end was hanging over on one side and his face was resting on the chair's arm on the other side. One of his front legs was helping balance by dangling to the ground. It did not look comfortable to me. Yet, he was so very happy to be in that chair.
The next evening, the kids again invited him to that chair. Bandit eagerly got into it. He stayed in the chair until time to go to be. The kids had long ago gone to bed and it was only adults around the fire discussing why the dog liked the chair so much. We supposed that he was honored to be where the action was.
We talked about it quite a bit. Eventually, I got a larger lawn chair and positioned it near the fire and invited Bandit to lie in it. He was likewise, eager to get into this chair. He could get comfortable in this chair and stayed until bedtime.
Well, when I got home, I brought the same chair into the house. I set it up at the foot of my bed. I invited Bandit into the chair. He did not even try to get comfortable. He just sat there until he thought I was not paying attention and got down onto the floor and curled up there. I again invited him to the chair and stayed with him to assure him it was okay to be up on furniture. (He normally does not get to be on furniture) Eventually, he laid his head down. But again as soon as he had a chance to get down he took the chance.
So, what do you think the psychology of all this is? Does he really like the chair when at the fire, or is it that he likes to be in the circle by the fire with us?
Kayak Bandit

Bridge Racing

The bridges of our farming community were almost all made the same way. They were not very long because our streams and rivers were not very wide. They could almost always be spanned from bank to bank. At the edge of each bank was a concrete wall called an abutment. The bride sat on top of these two abutments.
The bridge itself was made of many pieces of steel all riveted together in a crisscross arrangement. The sides of the bridges were rather high above the height of the roadway. Starting at the abutments, the sides went up at a steep angle. Once they got to the right height, they were level until they met the equal angle coming from the other abutment.
The really cool thing about this style of bridge was the flat surface on the top of the angle section and the level section. Both sides of the bridge were exactly the same. I found that this exactness of sides was perfect for competition. One boy could not complain that his side was longer or higher or more rough. I do not remember ever disputing the exactness of the race course.
Now parents had a problem with this form of competition. We solved the problem by never mentioning that we raced from one side of the river to the other by running across the bridge railing. I marvel at how simple it is to solve major problems.
I suspect, in retrospect, that the only way we would likely have gotten caught was if one of us died when we fell to our death. The one that died would be immune from punishment, and the survivor would not admit to racing. Simple. Yep, Stevie was just climbing up there. We all told him to stay off. With the problems associated with funerals, I doubt any of us would have gotten punished. I am not saying I would do it again. Actually, if asked to bridge race, I would say forcefully - - "Heck No!!!"
It is amazing the things we survived. This is not the worst thing we thought up to do. I hope my mom does not read this. She might still give me a good switchin'. Even at age eighty four. Did I mention that I was her favorite?
Kayak Bandit

Home Again

Some things will always be different than home. I could not have been happier than showering in my own shower. I know exactly where to turn the knob to get the right temperature water. And the shower aims where it gets you wet like you prefer. Nice.
But the most welcome part of returning home was sitting on my own toilet. I did not need to check if there was paper before I sat down. If for any reason the paper was all used up in the dispenser, I could reach into the close at hand drawer where the extra rolls are. I do not believe I have ever ran out of paper in a public rest room, but, imagine if you were to do that. What would you do? Hey mister, could you check in the next stall and round me up some toilet paper. How embarrassing. I think I will continue to check before I sit down. That is, away from the comfort of home.
It is not just the paper issue. Things work better sitting in a familiar spot. Don't you agree? A bathroom session just goes smoother at home. It may be the lack of embarrassment to the varied body parts.
All this to simply say. It feels good to be home. Vacation with the family was great, but it truly feels good to be back home.
Kayak Bandit

Deception Pass--as I see it...

Hello everyone! This is Stephanie of the Balladone Bunch. My dad (the Kayak Bandit) has been telling you all about our family camping trip to Deception Pass State Park. I thought I'd give you my side of the story. You know how those ol' folks with dementia setting in get...they can't remember anything correctly...or maybe it's the loss of hearing and/or seeing that prevents them from gettting the real story in the 1st place.


So about the near fatal accident. It is true that we were talking boxing (letterboxing that is), but what he failed to mention was that I'd almost single handedly got my family packed, loaded, and transported accross two states to get to our camping spot that day. I was flat out beat! But...I couldn't resisit dragging out my letterboxing stuff to show off my latest efforts (carvings, finds, trading cards, etc.) and when I couldn't keep my eyes open another second, I gathered my stuff and headed off to bed. I remembered that I needed to step over a huge log, but forgot about the big rock. Oops...that was one painful mistake. To add insult to injury, it was the same leg that had a skinned knee from when I dropped my cell phone in our swimming pool, and the same leg that I scrapped the side calf when hooking up the trailer. Needless to say, I've been wearing long pants ever since. I mean really, what grown woman can show her face with pathetic injuries like that. Worse yet, a few days later, I ran into some stinging nettles. And yep, the same darn leg again! I guess it must be cursed or something.


There's another thing that probably should be set straight and I'm the perfect person to do the job. You see, I'm impartial and a true & fair judge when it comes to animals. Now my dad might say that his dog, Bandit, is the best dog in the whole wide world, but then there's my sister and her husband who might say that their dog, Bailey, is the best. They are great dogs, that is certain, but the best dog is the imaginary dog that I hope to have someday. He never knocks over innocent kids, barks unnecessarily, whines about wanting a ball being thrown, shakes out stinky lake water onto logbooks, needs his poop scooped, or does other unmentionable acts. He is the perfect dog, at least he is until he actually comes into existance.


I love letterboxing, that is a known fact. My kids even love letterboxing, although not as much as me. I managed to convert my dad and now he's in as deep as me, but my brother-in-law thinks I'm absolutely crazy. He just doesn't get it. This wouldn't be a problem, except for the teeny-weeny fact that I've got his son hooked. He is the best letterboxing companion ever and I really wished he lived closer to me. I'd take him out "treasure hunting" any day. His latest obsession (and that's putting it mildly) is Indiana Jones. He doesn't go anywhere without his hat and bag, complete with a whip, notebook, and other important things. You can always tell where he is...just follow the humming. What is it that he's humming?...well, the Indiana Jones theme song, of course. Back in January, when I first introduced him to letterboxing, I carved him a stamp and made him a logbook. His trail name was DJ. But, when I learned that he had changed identities (if you ask him, he'd tell you he IS Indiana Jones) I realized he needed a new signature stamp and trail name. His new trail name is Indiana Jones of WA. I am SO proud.



Well, my time here is limited (time on the computer that is), because the camping-Nazi (aka Gregg--the city slicker) might accuse ME of being a computer geek/city slicker, so I best get to the highlights of my family vacation:

*Hiking at Fort Ebey with my dad and four kids. It was a beautiful day and we found 4 boxes.

*Watching my kids laugh and playing at the lake. They can build some awesome sand creations, swim like fish, and still have energy left for kayaking.

*Sitting around the campfire with my family...

*Learning that telling someone that he/she has "stinky" in their "winky" is the worst kind of insult.

*Seeing Gregg FREAK out over a stolen hat and the ruckus that insued.

*Snuggling with my kids in the dark during a raining night in the tent.

*Eating Aunt Jenny's to-die-for chili.

*Letterboxing on my own for an hour or so, while my dad watched my kids

*Creating and Planting an Indiana Jones series of letterboxes for my family.

AND last but most definitely not least

*Spending time with the best family in the world.



I'm already counting the days until next year's campout...Fort Stevens, here we come!

P.S. The highlights according to my kids, my niece, and my nephew:

Kaitlyn--"singing around the campfire and walking the dogs"

Sophia--"not bringing a toothbrush"

Lillyanna--"playing at the beach"

Nicholas--"getting to roast marshmallows"

Dylan--"well, let's see...uh...playing with Nick"

Claire--"Popcorn!!!!"

Deception Pass - - Last Day

I am leaving in the morning to return to Spokane. We are in the middle of getting dinner before dark. I will probably not blog again until I am back in Spokane.
Stephanie said she will write something pretty soon, maybe tonight. Check back in a little bit.