So, I really need to catch up on past weekends events. First, Carol's eye is doing much better. She had a post surgical exam and they were so satisfied with her progress that she doesn't have to go back for a month.
Saturday, April 4th, Carol's Children's choir sang for Eggsplosion (our church's children's outreach for neighborhood kids). They did great!!! Then she rushed home, changed clothes, and we picked up Jim & Vonnie Lash and headed for Seattle. We had dinner reservations at Jazz Alley and tickets to see Brian Culbertson. What a GREAT show! And I stood in line to get his most recent double CD and the gentleman in front of me said he'd just come into some money and he paid for my CD.

Back to work on Monday, April 6th. Busy week at work. Couldn't wait for Friday!!! Saturday, April 11th was national work -on-the-cars day. I started with Carol's Yaris...pulled the rear wheels and drums. Vacuumed and blew out the brake dust and adjusted the brakes. Found a nail in the driver's side tire. Threw it in the van and dropped it off to America's Tire Co. Carol & I did some running around and finally got home and I put on the spare. By then they had called the house - the tire was repaired and they'd put it on for her :)  I started in on The Ford Van... replaced the serpentine belt and the tensioner pulley. It was making noise.
After church today, we decided to have lunch at Cannon Beach (Mo's). Oh, boy...fish & chips !!!

We're ready for a new week! Will write more soon.

  

On Friday, March 20th, Carol & I along with Jim and Vonnie Lash, took off for sunny California. At 4:15 a.m. we drove to the airport headed for Ontario, CA. Our plane took off at 6:30 a.m. and we arrived at 8:30 a.m. That left us plenty of time to stock up on chips, diet coke and water. BUT first... we had to go pick up the rental car:

Budget Car Rental had this Dodge Journey for us and it was great! We went shopping and had lunch, then checked into the hotel. We stayed at Comfort Suites in Ontario...and so did a couple of college baseball teams and  Mary Kay representatives. Carol was having trouble seeing in her right eye, so we called her eye doctor in Beaverton and he referred her to a specialist in Ontario that would see her immediately. The GPS helped get us to his office in quick order. He did several tests and dilated her eye. The e-mailed the results and pictures to Beaverton. Carol's doctor said to see him as soon as we got home!!! We had dinner at Marie Calender's and played pinochle back at the motel.

Saturday we got up early and had a little breakfast and headed for Auto Club Speedway. The NASCAR Xfinity Series 300 was set to run at 12:00 p.m. So we had some time to browse the trailers.

And Carol got inside Carl Edwards car #19 for a photo OP. 

Kevin Harvick won the race. We went out for dinner and came back to the motel and played another round of pinochle. Then Sunday was the Auto Club 400. We got to the track early and went on a garage tour. The NASCAR template test was the best!!! Can you see the template over the hood, top, and trunk lid?

After the garage tour we went to our seats and watched the race...it was great! We took Monday off and just relaxed and took in a movie (Mc Farland, USA), and got stuff ready for our flight back on Tuesday. As soon as we got unpacked, Carol called her doctor and he said to see him ASAP. So, we went to his office in Beaverton and he made arrangements for Carol to be seen by a specialist at St. Vincent Hospital. We rushed to the hospital and Carol had laser surgery that afternoon. She had a torn retina that needed to be repaired. Today she's still dilated and her eye is very sore. 

Our deepest "thanks" to all who had patience with us during this time.

More to come soon! 

At the beginning of the year Carol and I decided to take a 4 day weekend in February....and that's this weekend!!! It started on Thursday morning. We packed a few things, loaded the cooler, and headed for Grand Ronde for lunch. They have the best buffet in Oregon! We had reservations at Coho Resort/hotel in Lincoln City. Check-in was around 4:00 p.m.so we decided to go bowling. We love the little bowling alley in Lincoln City. Most of the time we are the only ones there. They only have 8 lanes...and I swear, they slant to the left.  After bowling we checked into the hotel and I'll post a couple of pictures from the balcony:

 

We went swimming and jumped in the Jacuzzi for a while. Very nice place to stay...but, the summer rates are double the winter rates. After breakfast this morning we walked on the beach and I took a few more pics:

We were back in Aloha around noon. Time to wash Carol's car :) and catch up on laundry.

A BIG thank you to Jim & Vonnie Lash for being available to help Mom. And Ron & Linda Rangel for watching Payton. Will post more soon!

 

This weekend started with a good meal and great friends on Friday night. Jim & Vonnie Lash came over and after dinner the girls whopped us in a game of pinocchle :(  Saturday was our TAX DAY...we picked up Mom Peters and paid Brian Laughlyn (our CPA) a visit. We dropped off our paperwork and we ended up missing a few things....so, back we'll go, very soon. Breakfast at Sheri's. Then, wash the van and mow the grass. My work van got "wrapped" last week. It used to be all white...

now look at it!!!

It's a plastic wrapping instead of paint. Kinda like a large decal.

Today we take off for church, then Payton is getting a haircut! Carol and I will be at the coast on Thursday and Friday - make-up date for getting sick on my birthday weekend. Pictures and stuff after we get back.

Don't forget Daytona next Sunday - FEB 22nd.

 

Friday, Feb 6th, I took the day off and we've been waiting for this day for months. We bought tickets in October to see Jeffery Osborne at Jazz Alley in Seattle. He was not disappointing!!! This was one of the best concerts we've attended! The band members were so talented. And Jeffery sang old and new songs...some from his LTD days...some from his new album. He gave history of how some of the songs developed and those who helped him along the way. He came into the audience and said he needed some help with a song and several people helped him with the "Woo Woo" song, better known as "I Need Your Love". Amazing evening, great dinner, super entertainment!

Next weekend we have our taxes done by our CPA :(   Will write more soon!

Where did January go !?! I had several long days at work at the beginning and middle of the month, but ithas evened out since then. Carol and I came down with a cold / flu combination just prior to our trip to Spanish Head. So, we had to change a few plans. Jim & Vonnie Lash came over on Friday, January 16th. And brought me this ice cream cake from DQ:

Mom Peters came over for dinner on my birthday. And Carol had Children's Choir practice at the church that evening. I was in the front room watching TV with Payton...and the doorbell rang...I opened the door, and there stood Kelly and Atienne with a chocolate cake...yelling Happy Birthday, Dad!!! What a surprise!!! They were going to the playoff game in Seattle on Sunday. It was so great to spend some time with them and catch up on what's happening in Ft. Collins. After the game they came back to Portland and spent the night with us. They left at 3:00 a.m. and Carol and I went to the beach - Seaside, OR for part the day and took the long way home. 

 

Last Sunday we had plans to go to Cannon Beach for lunch with Jim and Vonnie. So, I went out to check the van over and get gas...I found a roofing nail in the passenger rear tire. I put the spare on and Firestone was the only store open on Sunday. They said due to the location of the nail, it couldn't be repaired...it had to be replaced. I told them "thank you" and went to NAPA parts store, bought a tire repair kit (emergency type) and plugged the hole. I put 40 PSI of air in it and checked for leaks...I used it for my spare. Off to the beach!!! It was great for winter time...63 degrees..slight wind. Perfect for sitting in our beach chairs and having lunch at Mo's.

 





    Back to work on Monday! When I got home Carol said she hears a loud noise and the garage door would not open...we broke a door spring. On Wednesday (Jan 28th) the garage door people showed up and had both springs replaced and maintenance performed in about an hour (it would have taken me a day and a half). Anyway, back to my tire...I bought the set of 4 from Ford 2 years ago. So, I went back to Ford and they told me the same story Firestone told me. We bought 2 new tires and put them to work on the front end. We'll break them in on the way to Seattle next weekend! Jazz Alley on Friday night to see Jeffery Osborne - cannot wait!!!

I'll keep you up to date.  

First, I want to thank everyone for keeping in contact over the holidays! So good to talk to everyone! Carol & I had a quiet, yet productive Christmas and New Years. Very busy time at work for me, Carol was off for 2 weeks. I know she worked just as hard at home than she does at work! 

We had a new roof put on this week because of high wind damage a couple of weeks ago. So the roof was completed on Wednesday, January 7th. On Thursday evening, after checking on Mom Peters, we smelled something burning in the garage. When I pulled down the attic ladder, Carol said she saw flames!!! I backed the car out and grabbed the garden hose (with sprayer) climbed the ladder and sprayed down the flaming area. After I put the fire out, I pulled out the halogen lamp I was using to put the flooring in. It had fallen from the hook in the overhead when the roof shingles were  being replaced. It fell on house wiring (Romex) and got so hot it burned through the insulation and started a fire in the insulation and caught the joist support on fire also. Carol called 911 and the fire dept. showed up and removed smoldering insulation. The next morning Carol called Cherry Electric and they came right out and replaced all the bad wiring and reset the breakers. Here's a picture of the burned joist:

 

I spent part of the day, Saturday, cleaning up the mess and cutting out the burned section. Then,  I sandwiched new 2 X 4's around the burned section. The read board is 3 feet long for support.

The old wiring looked like this:

 

Anyway, we're glad we were home! And awake! Thank You , Lord for protecting us!!!

Next weekend we'll be in Lincoln City at the Inn At Spanish Head - it's a birthday gift from Carol :)

Write more soon.