Journal Entry #35 and #36 - Auburn, Tacoma, WA

Thursday 10/3/02                                                

Day Thirty-five/ Day 8 of 3rd leg

Up & at 'em @ 9:00 this morning, and had a simple breakfast after showering. We had previously thought of going to the zoo today, but changed ideas last night to go to the Tacoma RV show. Good thing, too, because it was rainy, gray & icky all day. We arrived at the Tacoma Dome

10 minutes before the show opened at 11:00 am. Had a good time standing under cover watching all the sheep-people stand in line in the rain – yeah, like it’s crucial to have a definitive order for an event like the RV show. We just went because we could, and because we’d always wanted to experience it on a week day vs. a jammed weekend. Aside from having to elbow out a few seniors, it was a pleasant experience. Our current trailer is still tops with us, in looks & price, however we did see a couple interesting developments in the rec’l vehicle hauler style RVs.

Got home @ 2:00, and David started working on the Gold Wing, which he determined during yesterday’s ride to need some maintenance. I did this & that, including discovering Sam’s Club on the internet has an Auction category, and I ended up bidding & winning on a scanner! $25 for a $60 unit.

Joe & Jeannie arrived @ 6:15 to go over some Show & Tell stuff with David re: house mechanics & technical stuff. We finished our pizza after they left. Watched Animal Planet “Water bear”, STNG, and CSI, then to bed.

End of Entry

Friday 10/4/02                                                

Day Thirty-six/ Day 9 of 3rd leg

Not as many errands today. First, went to the Home Show @ 10:35 and left at noon. Didn’t see anything too thrilling except a hot tub framework (took a picture) and a dry sauna (also just for ideas – too expensive to buy) Then, on to Auburn to pick up an address stamp at *MMP and check the port on the back of the Xerox color copier, as David is trying to fit it with a fiery to make it more useful at home (since we’re kind of stuck with it). Turns out we’ll need some kind of port kit. Then to Sam’s Club for beers, and on home.

Talked to Joyce K who invited us over tonight, since she’ll be out of town until just before we head out. Didn’t do a lot until 6:00--David took a nap after working on the computer, and I caught up on some outside plant maintenance.
Dinner was very good – homemade lasagna, salad, gr beans, and chocolate mousse. David ate a little too much and felt a little uncomfortable. We tried watching a little TV after we walked home @ 9:00 but ended up going to bed after 10:00. I slept okay but David was still full & reported yet another night of poor rest.

*MMP: Minuteman Press, our former printing business

End of Entry

Journal Entry #33 and #34 - Auburn, WA

Tuesday 10/1/02                                                

Day Thirty-three/ Day 6 of 3rd leg

Yesterday & today have been filled with errands and packing and personal business via phone, internet and fax. Last night we had a camp fire, and as usual when we’re relaxing, we talked over ideas for “The Ranch” – décor, remodeling, property, etc and of course The Move. We’re pretty pumped up for the whole process, and will look into the possibility of moving the closing date up when we see Joe & Jeannie (the buyers) tomorrow. If that’s possible, and changing truck rental dates is possible, and moving up the closing date in Ohio is possible, then we may be departing here before the 19th!

Today, took care of a variety of personal business like insurance, prescriptions, vehicle stuff, etc. We’re not working too hard, just getting things done. Oh, today I put out the *agility equipment and Vince & Tessa both did great! I was pretty impressed considering the downtime between practicing, and the tight, condensed course. It made me really look forward to being able to spread out a course on our property in Ohio.

David asked me what/where I would like to eat for my birthday dinner; decided to wait until we can look through next Sunday’s paper to get some ideas for a new place to go.

*agility equipment: Vince and Tessa had both been involved in dog agility classes with me as their handler,
and David built us some practice jumps. Agility was very challenging and fun,
especially given Vince's shy nature, Tessa's exuberance, and my inability to remember a course layout...

End of Entry

Wednesday 10/2/02                                                

Day Thirty-four/ Day 7 of 3rd leg

Although we have been sleeping rather late lately, this morning we got up at a decent hour. 

Another day of errands. David’s Dr. and the pharmacy finally got their act together and he was able to pick up his Rx today. He rode the *Gold Wing to the Fred Meyer since I was still at the grocery store. I shop so slow when I’m by myself – not on purpose, but it can take me 1-2 hours to buy less than $80 stuff because I read all the labels, consider alternate brands, check pricing, think about ingredients for future recipes, etc. I’m usually fairly exhausted when I finish grocery shopping.

Made plans to see *Ramona Sat. at 4pm, her house for a BBQ. Jeannie & the carpet guy came at 6:00pm to measure. Watched ‘Enterprise’ and ‘West Wing’.

*Gold Wing: our baby blue, 1990 Honda Gold Wing motorcyle

*Ramona: friend and former boss at Superior Turf Equipment

End of Entry

Journal Entry #30, #31 and #32 - Auburn, WA

Saturday 9/28/02

Day Thirty / Day 3 of 3rd leg

Slept in ‘til @ 9:30 this morning. Tomorrow’s weather is supposed to get cold & wet, so I finished a couple outside projects (more shrub trimming) then started inside with taking down knick-knacks and pictures. David worked on the truck, then started dispersing garage stuff. Now it’s @ 6:00 pm and we’re headed to Ray & Sharon’s for dinner and to force our photo show on them.

Had *clam spaghetti, steaks, salad. First, looked at their finished pond (looks great). David & Ray watched a *Husky rerun while we had apple cake dessert. Headed home @ 9:00. Ray is headed to Florida Monday until Oct 9, so we’ll see them again before we head to Ohio.

*clam spaghetti: a dish made by Ray from a recipe in the Seattle Times. We loved it SO much that we have been making it a few times a year ever since.

*Husky: Ray and David had both been members of the University of Washington Husky Marching Band

End of Entry

Sunday 9/29/02                                                

Day Thirty-one / Day 4 of 3rd leg

Today was a mixture of packing, plant preparation, and Star Trek Next Generation marathon-watching. I made ribs & mashed potatoes for dinner. My dad called and we got an update on the spoiling of Pav. Taking long walks, making human friends, watching the neighbor’s cats through the window, special dinners, own bed in the bedroom, 5:00am bedding shuffle, future playdate with the 3 greyhounds down the street.

Plan for tomorrow: to shop, to All-Pro for $, to Maple Valley to p/u check, Burien re: insurance, p/u film, call insurance re: Rx, p/u Rx @ Fred Meyer, and so on.

End of Entry

Monday 9/30/02                                                

Day Thirty-two / Day 5 of 3rd leg

No Entry

Random List - Hint Hint

Helpful hints I would like to pass along from recent experience:

• Make SURE it's just a crooked stick before you pick it up in the woods...

• Same goes for a brown rock in the horse pasture...

• Never walk away from your rain barrel hose while filling a watering can for the garden, because you may become distracted doing something else and drain hundreds of gallons of precious rain water right before a 4-week dry spell with temperatures in the 80's and 90's...

• Spray the wasps and their nest with wasp killer, not just standard insect spray, so they don't live long enough to seek revenge...

• Using roofing tar paper in a campfire is a good way to let the neighbors know you're having a campfire...  

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Random List - Say Cheese (over and over and over)

Items in the company vending machine that (allegedly) contain CHEESE:

Without mentioning brand names, here are the cheesy descriptions screaming from the chip & cracker packaging:

• cheddar cheese
• natural cheddar cheese
• cheddar and bacon
• cheddar and sour cream
• harvest cheese!
• tomato, basil & feta
• nacho cheese!
• 4-cheese crisps
• cheese danish
• berry cheez pastry

I may update this list after my next trip to the breakroom (breaks are not allowed here, so I'm not sure why there's a room...) in case I missed one.