September 2012

Welcome to the month of September! - hot and cloudy and humid...

I did my stretches and ran a mile and a half.

I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.

I worked editing and proofing.

I rode the scooter down to Border Ave. to get my mail there.

I went for a night run.

Sunday 02- another hot day with temps over 104 and humid...

I did my stretches and went for a walk.

I did some editing of the book.

Monday 03- hot again and very humid.

I did my stretches, ran a mile and a half, lifted weights, and punched the heavy bag.

I worked for a while on the book.

I went for my evening walk with the backpack.

I got caught up with my astronomy reading; it took two hours, but I did it.

I called Terry and talked to her for a few hours.

 Tuesday 04- hot and humid…

I did my stretches, core trainer, lifted weights, punched the heavy bag, and ran up the hill and back carrying 5lbs in each hand.

I went for my evening walk with my backpack.

I did my stretches and went for a night run.

I am still editing my book. I wrote this whole dang book in 18 days and I’m surprised that there isn't too many errors so far. 

I am cutting it off at chapter 15 where I found it to be the perfect ending. 

I'll write and add another chapter, probably on the Sheriff; you will get to know a little about John Mayer in chapter 11. (Yes Carolyn I copied this from the email I sent you ;)

Wednesday 05- still hot and humid…

I did my stretches and ran a mile and a half.

Vern, a neighbor came by to pick up that old septic tank I had lying outside for the past four years or so. I gave him the grand tour of my little home. We yapped about boats and this and that for a spell.

Thursday 06- hot and humid again…

I did my stretches, core trainer, lifted weights, punched the heavy bag, and ran up the hill and back carrying 5lbs in each hand.

I drove to Twentynine Palms so I could send out those books of mine to friends and family. I went shopping at Rite Aid and at Staters I picked up Kelly some food, she is sick and couldn’t come. I also bought chicken and potato wedges for us to eat. I got to her house and gave her her mail and then sat down to eat on these dang chairs that retained water from the last storm and soaked our butts from them.

I worked on my books editing them.

Friday 07- hot/humid…

I did my stretches and yoga.

I worked on my books…

Saturday 08- Same…

I did my stretches.

Kelly is real sick and I had to go to Rite Aid to fetch her prescription and Staters to get her some bland food to calm her stomach.

I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.

I then went back to editing the book…

Sunday 09- same but worse.

 I did my stretches, core trainer, lifted weights, punched the heavy bag, and ran a mile and a half.

Kelly is feeling better and I won’t have to take her to the ER.

I called Family and Friends.

I worked on the book.

Monday 10- a nice day finally!

I did my stretches, lifted dumbbells, and ran for a mile and a half.

On my run I saw Mark and Gloria working on their cabin putting the roof on. So I decided to run on over and visit for a little spell.

I took advantage of the nice weather to work on my carport. I had a beam that needs to be sistered that had broken when I walked across the top; it was warped anyways. It took longer than I thought because the bolts I bought were too long and I had to hunt up a bunch of washers.

I went for my evening walk with my backpack.

I worked on my book. Carolyn Keyes Shaffer finished editing the last chapter of "Rainbow at the End of Tomorrow"! 

I am receiving calls and emails from those I sent my book “Little Desert Home” to, and all have been positive.

I did my stretches and went for a night run.

Tuesday 11- nice day, a little hotter than yesterday…

I did my stretches, core trainer, lifted weights, punched the heavy bag, and ran up the hill and back carrying 5lbs in each hand.

I decided to ride the scooter down to my mailbox on Border Ave. to pick up my mail. I got about four miles from the house when the engine died. I would try to start it but all it would do is idle and if you tried to give it gas it would die. I could hear the fuel pump pumping most of the time which I never noticed before. I checked the tank and there was still gas. I pushed it home most of the way, sometimes it would start running and I’d ride it a few hundred feet before it would die again. I saw Roger Smith on the way and he was kind enough to offer a tow line, but I didn’t think it would be safe. I finally got home and called Honda in Yucca Valley and talked to Chris there. I told him I’ve been starting it every day so the jets wouldn’t clog from the ethanol in the gasoline from being separated. I had just gotten the scooter back on Friday the 31 of August and was still running the fuel they put in at the shop. I told Chris that this scooter is a lemon and I can’t be pushing it all around town at my age. We got into the discussion on the ethanol put in gasoline in California. He said that Honda isn’t responsible for California gas law. I told him that yes they were if they knowingly put a product on the market that is incompatible with the gasoline sold in the state where it was sold and not notifying the buyer about the problem.

I’ve looked into the lemon laws for my state and I am prepared to take Honda to court they don’t rectify the problem to my satisfaction.

Wednesday 12- a nicer day than yesterday, temps around 96.

I did my stretches.

I was gone all day today taking my neighbor Kelly shopping. I got to her house at 1pm and didn't get back until a little after 9pm. First we had to wait 3 hours for her prescription to be filled- we got our flu shots while we waited. We had lunch at KFC and did our waiting there. We picked up her pills and went shopping at Staters Bros. to get supplies. Kelly likes to browse and pick up every item in the store. I just got back from shopping and I am pooped; especially after pushing that scooter 3-4 miles down the road.

Thursday 13- fine day with temps of 96 degrees.

I did my stretches. I’m going to rest for a day or so because of the last two days, especially pushing that scooter 3-4 miles on Tuesday.

Aston from the Honda dealership came by to with truck and trailer to pick up little scooter.

I rode the Harley to my mailbox on Border. The mailman wasn’t quite done putting the mail in the slots so I decided to take the Harley for a little spin. I got about a mile down Border when the Harley just quit and I came to a halt. There wasn’t any electric, everything was dead. I took the seat off and fiddled with the wiring harness connections for a spell, when finally it started, I got my mail and then hightailed it back home where I’ll give the wiring a good going over.

I got a lot written and edited today on my first book of scifi!

Friday 14- another nice day with temps of 94 degrees…

I did my stretches, core trainer, lifted weights, punched the heavy bag, and ran a mile and half.

I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.

  

Saturday 15- temps are around 94 with clear skies…

I did my stretches, lifted dumbbells, yoga, and ran a mile and a half.

My laptop’s roller stand broke and I had to fix it with these metal screw straps to hold it together. Now it won’t fall on the floor when I use it.

I called family and friends.

Sunday 16- temps of 96 with a little breeze…

I did my stretches, core trainer, lifted weights, punched the heavy bag, and ran a mile and a half. What a beautiful day!

I went for a walk with my backpack.

I worked a little writing filling in some history of one of my characters in one of my books.

I went for a night run.

Monday 17- a little hotter with temps around 104.

I did my stretches, core trainer, lifted weights, punched the heavy bag, and ran up the hill and back carrying 5lbs in each hand.

I went for a walk with my backpack.

Tuesday 18- temps still around 104.

I did my stretches, yoga, ran one and a half miles, and lifted dumbbells.

I worked some on my book.

I went for a night run.

I got caught up with my astronomy reading.

Wednesday 19- temps still in the 100s.

I did my stretches, core trainer, lifted weights, punched the heavy bag, and ran up the hill and back carrying 5lbs in each hand.

After almost waiting a week Kelly finally got her prescription from her lazy doctor’s staff and we were able to go to town for shopping. Not having lots of money to spend on gas, being of an environmental mind, and living so far from town we try to do everything in one trip and usually go to town twice a month. We picked up our packages at the post office. I got a jar of Wild Plum Preserve from Carolyn Shaffer that she canned herself, thanks Carolyn! Our next stop was Rite Aid to get Kelly’s pills.

We went on to Yucca Valley trying to figure where we wanted to eat; we were both very hungry. We decided on Denny’s, but that turned into a very bad mistake. You every have a strange feeling when you walk into a restaurant that something is out of place but you can’t put your finger on it? At 4:30pm when there should be people sitting in booths, this place was empty. None of the employees spoke good English and our waiter didn’t know the menu and we had a difficult time explaining just what we wanted, but he was courteous. We ordered two hamburgers with fries. When they came I opened the bun to see hamburger meat that looked like it had been boiled, tomatoes that were wilted, and without any kind of condiments; Kelly’s was the same. We asked the waiter for some Thousand Island dressing and we were told that would cost 75 cents more. The Thousand Island dressing did nothing to disguise the odd taste of the burger. We both ate a quarter and quickly put it down. I said I can’t eat this, Kelly agreed saying it was rotten. I just wanted to pay the check and leave. The waiter came over to ask if everything was alright. I said, "no my over here friend says these are rotten meat that was boiled." The waiter went to the manager with our complaint and a few minutes later came back saying we didn’t have to pay. We left hungry to go to WalMart for supplies. That’s when the gas hit. I must have embarrassed myself a dozen times at WalMart and also at Stater Bros. with this gas that would rumble out as I walked down the aisles. Once at WalMart I thought no one was around and I let one slip just as a woman reached around me to put an item back on the shelf I was standing in front of. Kelly wasn’t doing much better.

Before we left for home we stopped to eat some Chinese food and felt much better afterwards, but I had a hard time sleeping because when I’d belch I could taste that lousy burger from Denny’s in Yucca Valley.

I dropped Kelly and her groceries off, but stayed for a spell watching a praying mantis eating flying bugs who would gather around the porch light.

Thursday 20- still over 100 degrees but not bad at all…

I did my stretches, yoga, ran one and a half miles, and lifted dumbbells.

I must have done something else, but I forgot to write it down.

Friday 21- nice but a little warm outside…

I did my stretches, core trainer, lifted weights, punched the heavy bag, and ran up the hill and back carrying 5lbs in each hand.

I got a call from Rocky at the Honda dealership telling me there was a problem with the fuel pump and it wasn’t bad gas and not my imagination.

Saturday 22- weather about the same…

I did my stretches.

I drove the Harley down to fetch my mail down on Border Ave. She started up and ran well.

I called my Dad to tell him I was coming for a visit him in Tucson tomorrow, but had to leave a message instead.

Sunday 23- hot!

I got dressed and jumped in the Cougar to drive to Tucson to see my family. I left at 8:45am and arrived at 3pm. No one there at my Dad’s so I walked across the street to Audrey’s but was only met by barking dogs. I walked back to Dad’s and sat for a spell in the heat before calling my brother Kevin to come over. He came about fifteen minutes later to open the door only to find Dad standing in the hallway. Found out he didn’t get my message that I was coming and he was out in the backyard and couldn’t hear the doorbell anyways because it was broken.

Paula and Mark came over to help Dad get the spare room in the back fixed up for when I would come, but of course I was already there. I helped and we chatted while we got things squared away. I had brought Mark’s laptop that I took home to repair several years ago; so he finally got that back. I never got it to work and my next visits to Tucson were by Harley. They left after a short visit.

Dad, me and Kevin sat for a spell yakking when Audrey came over. She said that she was in her backyard too and didn’t know I was the cause of her dogs barking. She had a call from John her husband that one of his truck’s brakes had locked up coming down some mountain and needed help getting it home. I said I’d help, put John’s big floor jack in Audrey’s Jeep and we drove on up to where he was about a quarter of a mile from the paved road. John had the truck jacked up, tire off, brake unbolted and held to the side with a plastic tie, tire back on and we were headed back down the road in no time.

I got back to Dad’s and Kevin was still there and we continued to yap our Dad’s bedtime; 9:30pm.

Monday 24- hot in Tucson.

I did my stretches.

Kevin and me went out to McDonalds for breakfast. Afterwards we went for a short visit to see Crystal, my niece, and Mark and her three kids. She just had a baby last month and it was nice to see the baby! The two other kids were running everywhere, climbing up onto the piano to play it standing up with their tennis shoes! Somehow we got all the kids together and had them sit in my brother's lap and be still for a split second while I took a picture of them all... After they all left and there was peace and quiet we went back to Dad’s kitchen where we sat around swapping stories until it was dinner time. I drove Kevin to Boston Chicken where I purchased a nice big roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy.

Audrey came by and sat with us while we ate and jawed about all kinds of interesting stuff. Kevin left an hour later and I had Dad all to myself. I kept my Dad up way past his bed time (9:30pm) listening to his colorful stories of what he did throughout his life. He finally went to bed a little after 11pm! It feels good to be here with him and to learn these little bits of his history. I have only known him for six years and I still have a lot of catching up to do...

Tuesday 25- cooler today in Tucson…

I did my stretches.

My sister Shiela rushed over ten minutes after I left a message on her phone. Kevin showed up and we all yapped about Kevin’s wild adventures when he was a child; sticking his hand in a fan; building a ramp and climbing onto the freeway; escaping Shiela on their ship bound for Germany to be found in the ship’s engine room; Crawling out the porthole only to be saved by a ship’s steward before falling into the ocean below.

Wednesday 26- nice day in Tucson…

I did my stretches.

Kevin came by and we sat around jawing; we do a lot of that around here. Then the three of us went shopping for sandals for Dad and Kevin.

Crystal, Mark and her three kids dropped by to jump and play on the piano. Then Paula and Mark also came by so the house was pretty full with kids running here and there.

Later me and Dad watched Abbott and Costello “African Scream” (1949)

Thursday 27- nice weather…

I did my stretches.

Kevin and I went shopping to get him a laptop computer. He ended up buying an ASUS…

We stopped off and bought some cheeseburgers at Carl’s Jr. and ate them for lunch at home.

Crystal came by, without the kids, to say hi.

We watched a new TV show about a submarine and then a western.

Friday 28- nice again…

I didn’t do much of anything but sit in the kitchen and yapped with Dad and my Brother Kevin.

Later that night Dad and I went over the errors he had found in my book which I sent him a few weeks ago. I corrected them on my laptop before I went to bed.

Saturday 29- seems to be heating up in Tucson.

I did my stretches. I really don’t feel like running and exercising in the bad air they have here in Tucson. Everyone else seems to be used to it, but I can use the time off to rest my weary body and wait till I git home.

I went across the street to Audrey’s house for a visit. She was out watering the grass when I saw her. John woke up and we sat around the kitchen yapping; seems like the kitchen is the main gathering place for folks in Tucson.

Me and Dad decided to go out and get an apple pie. I forget the name of the pie place but it was over there by Fry’s supermarket. So we had pie and ice cream for lunch and dinner.

Mark and Paula came by to say hi before I left and to give me back my copy of my book I written. Paula found a few errors which I’ll correct later. Mark said I have an evil mind but liked the book.

That night we watched a DVD of Red Skelton shows from the fifties. I even remember seeing a couple of them when I was very young about 4-5 years old.

Sunday 30- around 100 degrees in Tucson and Copper Mountain Mesa…

I woke up at the ungodly hour of 4am and put everything I brought to Tucson into the Cougar and drove for six hours all the way back home.

Once home I watered the plants, and checked and filled the batteries to the house which were very low.

I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.

Around 1pm I must have been mighty tired because I took a nap for about an hour and a half.

I spent the rest of the day catching up on emails and my friends on Facebook.

Goodbye to September; you been a very hot month this year!