Another Cold, Cloudless Day

Alrighty then! Carey was here right at 0900 to work on the other side of the barn roof ( I just LOVE IT when people are on time!).  While I cleaned out the loft he got the old shakes torn off the east side of the roof and tomorrow we will get the metal roofing on and button up that job!
   Later in the afternoon I drove up to visit Dutch Savage and to meet some of his family. His daughter Mitzi was there with 2 of her children + 1 extra that lives nearby. Mitzis' daughter is named Ashley and her son is named Hunter. Their companion-friend is named Malachi. All 3 children were very well behaved, friendly, and happy. Signs of excellent parenting skills!
  Dutch is looking much better than he was the last time I visited. I hope he keeps improving as Spring Chinook should be in the rivers in about 100 days.
    Kinda' cold around here these days...upper teens/low 20's...but the clear sunny days are nice! No rain forcasted for us until next Wednesday or Thursday at the earliest!

Sunshine, Cold, and Barn Roof

What an excellent day today was! It was very cold & frosty this morning, but my friend Carey Murray showed up at 9.00 A.M. this morning to work on re-roofing the barn at 2278 Larsen Lane. We got 1/2 of it completed and a good start on the other 1/2, which we will hopefully finish tomorrow. This job will end up costing about 1/2 of what I had planned.
   While Carey was working on the roof I transferred the hay that was stacked in the pig pen area into the barn where it is closer to my feeding location. Now the pig pen is available to have more pigs raised in it this spring. I also managed to clean out the ground level of the barn and will work on cleaning the loft tomorrow. There was an area in the field where I burned a large brush pile that had a lot of sticks and burned ends all around the burn line. I got that all cleaned up and re-piled so that it can be burned on a foggy morning where nobody sees the smoke and rats me off to Dept.of Ecology again!
   I loaded the green Dodge with firewood while I was over there. I will unload that in the morning before Carey gets here.
   I spoke to my good friend Dutch Savage today and he seems to be doing much better, thank goodness! I am going to try to get up to his house to pay him a visit late tomorrow afternoon.

I'm Back!!!!

My computer has been in the shop for the last week and that is why I haven't posted lately. Christmas was quite depressing for me but I am confident that next year will be much better. I will post more on here later this evening after I have spoken to my friend Dutch Savage.

Another GREAT Day!

Today was another stellar day. After the "critters" were taken care of, Cliff and I went to Longview to recover the green Dodge from Audio Express. He came home and I went to Wal-Mart, where I finished my Christmas shopping and picked up a few groceries. When I got home I cleaned out the pantry and will soon put up shelving in there so that I can store all my canned goods out there, where they should be. I am hoping to fill some shelves with Spring Chinook as soon as they enter the river, which should begin in March and peak in April.
   After cleaning out the pantry, I finished wrapping the gifts I had bought and delivered them. Ho-Ho-Ho! The sun was out and it was too nice to end the day so I backed the green Dodge up to the feeding area at the barn and loaded it down with cow manure. I then brought the truck back over to my place and unloaded the manure on my most recently-constructed flower bed, which will eventually be filled with hostas and other shade-loving plants.
  By the time I got the truck hosed out it was getting kinda' dark. I came in and cooked up a nice ham that had been taken out of the freezer yesterday. Sprinkled with brown sugar and laced liberally with pineapple slices it turned out excellent!

An AWESOME Day...

Today was AWESOME! After feeding the cows & chickens I took the red Dodge in to Audio Express for a new Alpine sound system.  I left the truck there and went up to Dutch Savages' place to help with the work party that was going on up there to clean up from the last windstorm. Almost every square inch of his place was covered with limbs, blown-down trees, and other debris. By the time I arrived a fire was already going and folks were "hard at it" with rakes and wheelbarrows. I did mostly chain saw work for a couple of hours and by the time I left it looked much better. I went in and spoke with Dutch for a while. He is getting better, hurting a lot, but not really caring due to heavy morphine medication.
   When I returned to Longview the truck was ready and I drove out to Fred G. Meyers' where I found the coolest machine I have seen in a long time. They have a machine that you pour your loose coins into and it counts them and gives you a voucher for cash! Well, I was prepared for this as I had brought along 3 quart jars that I had which were 3/4 full of coins from my pockets over the last few years. Mostly pennies & nickels since when Tammy worked at the jewelry store she would take my quarters to use in the pop machine. Still, I ended up with about $120.00 from that darn machine! So I took my voucher and bought some new CD's to play in the red Dodge on that new Alpine stereo system. I came away a very happy camper and enjoyed my drive home.
   Tomorrow I get a Les Greene haircut so I know it will be a good day!

I'm Due For A Good Day

I'm due for a good day, because today wasn't one of them.
   To start with -- I suck at bowling, o.k.? I know this, but I really thought that I would have improved over last week. No such luck! Uncle Cliff even had a semi-pro bowler on hand to help me out but it seemed that the harder I tried the worse I got. I finally reached the conclusion that:

• Some people are natural bowlers, but I am not one of them.
• The 4 year old in the lane next to us was knocking over more pins than I was.
• I must be using a magnetic bowling ball and the gutters are lined with steel.
• I was just trying too damn hard!
• Next week has to be better.

Tomorrow I will take the red Dodge in to get a new sound system installed. While this is taking place I am going to go up to Dutch Savages' place to do some work up there. If all goes well (and it never does) I will get the red Dodge back tomorrow afternoon.

Quiet Sunday...

It's a pretty quiet day around here today. Chickens & cows are fed. It's cool out side but not too cold, and it is not raining. I called Dutch Savage today and although he is at home, he is feeling pretty rough. It seems that some of the wire staples used to hold his sternum together may have ripped out. This is not good. He will go back to the doctor tomorrow and have it looked at. I am very worried for my friend Dutch. Although he came out of the surgery A-O.K., he has had nothing but trouble since. In my humble opinion, a troubled recovery is not a good indicator of long term healthy living.
    I'll probably go out and work in the shop for a while this evening. I made chicken & noodles in the crock pot this morning, and it might be done late tonight -- or early tomorrow morning.

Not The Best Day....

Today was not the best day, mainly because I was hoping that some things would happen that didn't materialize. I did, however, get some good cleaning done in the house ( I cleaned the cupboard doors in the kitchen) as well as putting in some time cleaning and organizing in the shop. Tomorrow I am going to call Dutch Savage at home and if he is up to it I will pay him a visit. The other thing that I would like to get started on is the construction of a "doggie yard" as I anticipate getting another "best friend" before too long. I will be putting a doggie door in the front door of the house so that my new doggie can "do her thing" without leaving the confines of our "estate".
   The cows are doing O.K. as are the chickens. I am looking forward to a productive next week and hope it is fairly dry towards the end of the week since I have been invited to do some late season archery hunting with a good friend in an area that I have not hunted before.

It Just Gets Better & Better....

Another fantastic rain-free day today! After taking care of the cows & chickens, I went to Longview where I got the red Dodge licensed and titled. Then it was on to Audio Express where I chose and paid for a very nice Alpine sound system and speakers that will be installed next Tuesday. Stop # 3 was Les Schwabs where I had the tires rotated and a leaky valve stem replaced (always free at Schwabbies!) as I munched my breakfast of free popcorn. Upon my return home I gave the truck a nice bath & detail job before putting her back in the garage. Oh-yes....and I made an appointment to get a Les Greene haircut on Wednesday @ 9:40 A.M. A Les Greene haircut is the only thing I know of where you spend ten dollars and when you leave you feel like a million! It's an old-fashion style haircut with the hot lather, the straight-edge razor, the leather strop....the works. I will certainly rue the day when Les Greene is no longer able to offer this service.

Report On Dutch...

I just spoke with Dutch Savages' wife and she says that although he is still in ICU, he is doing much better. Apparently he suffered a minor stroke during that time he was not breathing directly after his surgery but that is nothing he can't overcome. The problem now is that the Doctors say that his kidneys are failing him and they don't know if there is anything that can be done to help him. Only time will tell.
   I picked up Bill Jr.'s bike this evening and delivered it to him. The bike shop did a major overhaul and replaced everything that needed replaced. His bike should be good for many a mile now. That was his Christmas present from me, and boy he sure did appreciate it!
   I attended a 4 hour resume workshop today and learned quite a bit from that. Hopefully I will have my new, updated resume ready next week.
   I got Januarys' column written and turned in to The Valley Bugler this morning, so now that is out of the way.I'll be glad when next year gets here. This past year has been a rough one on Ol' Mountain Mel. Come to think of it, the year before that was no cakewalk either. 2011 has got to be a better year! More fish & bigger bucks!

A Productive Day...

Today was a productive day. After feeding the cows & chickens I went to Worksource in Kelso and applied for 3 different jobs. Tomorrow I am going in for a 4 hour resume writing class so that I can upgrade my resume and learn how to properly account for the 12 months that I was locked up.
   After my stop at Worksource I went over to Bill Jr.s' and picked up his bicycle to get some much needed repairs done. It will probably get a new back wheel, maybe new brake pads...whatever is needed. This is my Christmas present to him.
   Upon arrival at home (it wasn't raining...yet) I got out on the corner of Larsen Lane right where my property line starts and cleaned up all the debris in the road from our recent stormy weather. There were also a lot of leaves that needed raked. By the time it was all cleaned up I had been hard at it for over an hour. It was a good workout for me and one that had very visible results.
   I spoke to the administrator of moms estate tonight and she was able to tell me that finally tomorrow bank accounts will be opened and bills will be getting paid. That was very good news. I will be very happy when this is all settled and everyone can get on with their lives.
  

Mission Accomplished

I was able to do what I set out to do today, and that was to get the wiring fixed on the green Dodge and get my boat hauled to the repair shop at Cathlamet. It was rainy off & on all day today, but we have it much better here than most of the rest of the country.
   I steamed a chicken tonight to use for tomorrows Chicken Helper dinner. I also hard boiled 15 fresh eggs for snacking on. The eggs from these Welsummer chickens are sure pretty. They are rich brown with dark brown terra-cotta spots on them.
   I also built a fire in the shop today & tinkered around out there for a while. I hooked the red Dodge up to the battery charger and checked the air in the tires as it will be getting worked on next week in preperation for the drive to Indiana this spring!

This Just In....

Dutch Savages' wife, Willa just called me. She said that Dutch came through his surgery just fine. He was in the recovery room talking to the nurses and squeezing their hand when they asked him to... and then they removed the tube that went into his lungs and his lungs flooded with fluid and he could not breathe. He is now on life-support and we won't know any more until tomorrow. The big concern seems to be that he may have suffered brain damage during this lack-of-oxygen ordeal.

At Least I Bowled...

Bowling was all I got done today. I think that I was a good luck charm for Cliff, as he had a good day of it. If I would have quit after 4 games I would have bowled a 289. Yes, a 289. That was my total score after 4 games! I am confident that I will improve next week when we go again. Uncle Cliff is a pretty darn good bowler. I razzed him a little today when I told him that next to me anyone looked good!
   It still rained quite a bit here today and about 7:40 tonight we had a real cloudburst. It came down hard enough that it knocked out my satellite for a short time.
   I haven't heard from Willa yet as to how Dutchs' surgery went today. I sure do hope that all is well.

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Yep. it rained all day today. The river is currently just over 40 feet and it is till rising. I'm not worried about flooding here where I live, even though the river is only 100 feet away. Before I flood here, all of downtown Portland as well as all of Kelso would be flooded. The biggest problem - as I see it - is the potential for landslides in hilly areas, as the ground is thoroughly saturated.
   I did get a pickup load of woody debris hauled off today, and that was a good thing. I also completely cleaned out the refrigerator today, and that was a real good thing! Last fall when I was brining salmon to smoke I spilled a bunch of the brine in the fridge. My brine consists of rock salt & brown sugar, so I have had the chilled brown sugar catastrophe living in the bottom and on the shelves of my fridge since last October. Ahhh....the joys of Bachelorhood! But I finally got that whole mess cleaned up and the fridge is now good as new, even if it is kinda' bare.
  Seattle got beat badly in football today, but that isn't really news. Professional sports teams from the Pacific Northwest suck! We play some good college ball but when it comes to pro teams we suck.
   On the agenda for the upcoming week:

• Monday is bowling, a stop at Worksource, cleaning in the shop.
• Tuesday is getting the lights to work on my boat trailer & hauling the boat to Jacobs Marine for a minor repair.
• Wednesday is back to Worksource and help Bill Jr. get his bike wheel fixed. If I can, I want to go check on Dutch's house.
• Thursday is more shop cleaning and re-arranging, with a possible trip to Waste Control.
• Friday is hopefully working to "shore-up" the ridgeline in the barn at 2278 Larsen Lane.

I have just about all my Christmas shopping done, so maybe at some point in this next week I will get my gifts wrapped.

Nothing But Rain

Nothing but constant rain here today, and they say that the worst is yet to come! I just went out and fed the cows and chickens, and brought in a wheelbarrow load of firewood.
   I was surfing the internet earlier and I see that Solomon Teigen now has some family who is living "Courtesy of the Governor" in the state corrections system. I see that Sol has been transferred to the Cedar Creek facility near Olympia and Ron Teigens son, Kyle, is at the intake/processing facility in Shelton. Boy, I sure am gald that I completed my time and got out of "the system". I didn't like it there. Some people seem to adjust to prison life better than others and I didn't "adjust" to it at all! I was not a good inmate, and never claimed to be. But at least hopefully I learned my lesson and won't ever go back. I am quite happy being a one-time-learner and not a repeat loser!
   Today I fried up a mess of onions and potatoes along with a package of venison backstraps for vittles...mmmmmgood!
Nothing left to do now but watch John Wayne movies and listen to the rain on the metal roof.
   I'm looking forward to bowling with Cliff on Monday.

Some Good News!

I went to Vancouver to visit my friend Dutch Savage today. Shortly after I got there, his doctor came in and shared some very good news with us. It seems that the artery that they thought needed to be bypassed is actually ok, as is one of the valves that they initially thought would have to be replaced. What this means is that on this upcoming Monday, Dutch will have 1 heart valve replaced with a valve from a pig heart and at the same time will have a double bypass procedure done. This is much better than having 2 valves replaced and a triple bypass.
  When I got home I grabbed up my Hoyt and went for a walk up on Barnes drive, as late deer season is still on until next Wednesday. Wouldn't you know it, I didn't see any deer but I did manage to locate a herd of 13 elk that were bedded down. There was one 5x5 bull in the herd, as well as one smaller bull. Elk season in that unit ended last Sunday...
   By tomorrow evening we should be experiencing torrential rains in both western Oregon and western Washington. They say we could get as much as 3" of total rainfall. Yes, Virginia, the drought is over...

Sad News

I recieved a phone call this morning from the wife of my good friend and fishing buddy, ex-pro wrestler Dutch Savage. It seems Dutch has had a major malfunction of his heart and the arteries surrounding it. He is presently at SW Washington Medical Center in Vancouver, where they have stabilized him and when he is strong enough for surgury he will have multiple bypasses and 2 heart valves replaced. He is as strong as anyone could be for his age (70's) and that is definitely in his favor but this will be a MAJOR operation. I am going to go visit him tomorrow afternoon.
   In other breaking news...THE DROUGHT IS OVER!!!!!
It rained hard here all day and the Cowlitz River is rising rapidly. It is supposed to let up a little tomorrow but saturday is supposed to be a real drencher.
   I stayed inside and kept dry most of the day, which was the smart thing to do. Monday I am going to start bowling with Uncle Cliff. I am really looking forward to this.

My Lovely Wife

For those of you who do not know, my wife, Tammy, has gone back to Indiana where she recently bought us a beautiful 3 bedroom brick home in southern Indiana, just north of the Kentucky border.  The house is only 3 years old and although I have only seen pictures I can tell that it is very nice! I will be moving back there to be with her as soon as moms' estate is taken care of. It is looking like I will rent moms' house out via a property management firm and Uncle Cliff will be living in our log cabin. I am going to finish-out the shop so that Tammy and I have a place to stay when we (or I) come back out here for fishing and hunting seasons, or just to visit and check up on things.
   Our new house in Indiana is right in the heart of excellent deer and turkey hunting. Once we are all settled in back there, I hope to be looking at buying a small (80-100 acres) farm to keep me occupied and also to have a private place to do my hunting and a little farming.
  Obviously the new job that Tammy has found is a good one, as she told me yesterday that she has traded in her blue Toyota and purchased a 2010 Subaru Outback.
   I will post pictures of the house and the car as soon as I can figure out how to put them in the proper format for this blogsite.
  Have I mentioned lately that I have the greatest wife in the world? And smart, too! (she married me, didn't she?).
   I Love You, Tammy!

A Good Day Today...

I had a pretty darn good day today. Breakfast was pancakes & eggs, then a long, hot shower, a Rockstar for the road, and off to town.
    First stop was Bill Jr.'s, where I fixed his bed and helped him find out why his bike was making strange sounds. It seems that his rear rim is slightly bent and each time it goes around it rubs on the brake pad. I'll try to get that fixed in the next couple of days.
   Next stop was at the place where I found my wifes' Christmas present. I have been searching high & low for this particular gift, because it is something that I know she will love and will use it every day of her life. After I found the gift, I had to figure out how to ship it, because it doesn't come "in a box" so I went to the U.P.S. store and they assured me that if I could get it to them, they would contain it and ship it!
   Then I attended a 12-step meeting in Kelso, just to keep my head on straight. After the meeting I headed back to Castle Rock where I found a very pleasant surprise in my mailbox. After depositing my "pleasant surprise" at the Credit Union in Castle Rock I went back over to the 2278 residence (moms' place) where I fed the cows & chickens & gathered the eggs.
   Finally I made it back to my place, where the green Dodge truck recieved a much needed washing. For dinner I put together an excellent pork roast that came from the pigs I raised last summer. Celery, onions, carrots, potatoes, garlic, some spices, and into the oven for just over an hour. Boy-Oh-Boy!!!! It was excellent!
   For evening entertainment I played Jeopardy on T.V. and am now watching a show about Sturgis and the Full Throttle Saloon. I think that when moms' estate business is all settled, I just might want a Harley...

Busy Morning

This morning I got a bunch of paperwork filled out and sent to Olympia, deposited money in my checking account, purchased a new pitchfork, finished cleaning up the leafy mess under the Magnolia tree, fed the cows & chickens, hauled in a load of firewood, caught a mole over at the yard at 2278 Larsen Lane, did dishes, and cleaned up the kitchen.
   It was cloudy all day and finally started to rain this evening.
 On this day in 1941 Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was bombed by the Japanese.
   This afternoon I contacted Whites' Boots in Spokane to find out that they are going to replace the boots that I bought this summer and stretched out of shape in 3 months. I was glad to find that out!

I'm Off To A Pot-Stirring Start!

I spent most of the day in Longview, doing errands and running around. I picked up a new piece of glass for the front door. Last summer my lovely wife tried to swat a bat (with a tennis racket) that was perched on the window and smashed out the window (yes, she got the bat).
   While at the glass place I noticed a copy of The Valley Bugler there. It had a picture of mom on it and made reference to some article so, of course, I read it. It is a piece submitted by Caren Teigen about mom, and over half of the article is a story that I had written some years back about mom & dads' trip home from the Chehalis Livestock Auction. Caren had turned this in for publication (without my knowledge) and tried to take credit for it! How Fucking Lame!!!! I stopped in and talked to the editor about it and they are not happy with her plagiarism at all. 
  I explained to the editor that Caren has been this way"ever since that house landed on her sister".
  It's kinda' funny....mom and I had a running joke that we shared back and forth about Caren. "you can always tell when Caren is lying, because her lips move". I can't even begin to remember how many times mom & I laughed about that one!

Plan For The Day

Well, my plan for the day is to be a couch potato, watch some tube & maybe an NFL game or two, drink a 36 ounce Rockstar, and do some housework.

I'm hoping to start a new "Improve Mountain Mel" program tomorrow where I will have more scheduled activity and hopefully not only get more accomplished but most importantly improve myself as a person. It seems like I keep waiting for my lifes' situation to change and I guess that maybe it is up to me to change it. Do ya' think?

http://www.playlist.com/user/53565884/dashboard now, this should play my music, but it won't happen automatically yet.

Sold The Hay Rake

I just helped load my old hay rake on a trailer for the man from Toledo who bought it. I'm real glad to have it sold. The $100.00 will look good in my bank account.

Oh- Yea!

I'm happy with what I have so far..I'll dink around with this a little each day and try to make improvements as I go along. One thing I would really like to do is to be able to add music to this. I think that there must be a way, I just have to find it. Spell check would be nice too... Ok...just found spell check, and I also found how to add a pic to my posts. If I can figure this out, ANYBODY can figure it out!

Now, I'll try this in a little bit easier to read font & size...so this adds to it...

This Will Take Time

I'm getting the feeling that this is going to take some time to set up the way I want, but at least I am started. I would appreciate it if you would please respond to my blog, so at least I know it is working. Thanks much, Mel

Getting Started

I'm trying to start a new blog site. I'm sure it will take some time, so please be patient, but I hope to have this up & going soon.