Monday, November 30, 2009

Well, the store is open. Now we face the next major hurdle-- keeping it open. There are many challenges ahead of us. Opening sales are not strong. The mall hours are long.

But, the store looks great. And some of RO's friends and family are volunteering for the store until it takes off. It looks promising.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

It's Thanksgiving Day. RO, Matt, D and I have been at the store all day trying to get it ready for tomorrow. I'm not sure we'll make it. There is so much work to do.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I am thankful for my friends and my health.
It's Thanksgiving Day. RO, Matt, D and I have been at the store all day trying to get it ready for tomorrow. I'm not sure we'll make it. There is so much work to do.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

MA died.

MA was a local popular bear. Two nights ago he died of a heart attack.

The bear crowd that I know is hitting their mid 40's. Very few of them take their fitness seriously. They are bears and bears are over weight. I don't like thinking about it, but I know we will be hearing of more deaths in the future. It's that time of our life.

Friday, November 20, 2009

I don't like the new look. Out with the new. In with the old.

Today is RO's birthday. Happy Birthday RO. Love ya!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Some bad news. The hot water tank is leaking. It's a slow leak. We spotted it before it did too much damage. It's a bit unsettling. I know that dealing with the the occasional leak is part of the joys of home ownership. That said, it makes condo living more attractive.

The hot tub, which has been off for months, was repaired today. Last summer it started shutting off almost daily, flipping the GFI and setting off safety lights. We drained it and turned it off.

When summer ended we decided it was time to repair the tub. Finding a hot tub repair guy was difficult. The store that I bought the tub from is out of business. It took weeks of googling and calling around to find a repair guy who knew my line.

This guy wasn't great on followup. We first contacted him at the beginning of September. He stopped by once for an estimate and to collect a cheque for needed parts. After that he never returned our calls. RO finally got a hold of him about a week ago. He showed up today.

He said some of tbe safety sensors had started to leak and fail even though the hot tub was fine. This is common for older tubs. He also pointed out that the electrical on the hot tub was not professionally installed and that a lose ground wire was probably causing the hot tub to turn off often.

I didn't tell him that I did the electrical.

He replaced the sensors, cleaned up the electrical, installed a new lid and raised the hot tub six inches so that the lid would close properly.

And now the hot tub is heating up.

Monday, November 16, 2009

My cousin's suicide has caused much family fighting. Her death was strange. She crawled along the support scafolding on the underside of a small bridge. There she tied the rope to a girder, and then sliped a noose, with less then 12 inches of slack, around her neck.

Why kill yourself that way? The bridge is out of the way. There are plenty of trees and poles around that are much easier to get to and every bit as private.

Murder you say. Why kill that way? Make her climb along the scafolding underneath a bridge and hold still while you put a noose around her neck.

My cousins brothers and sisters and fighting with her husband. Each blaming the other.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Nine years old. This blog is now nine years old. A gave the blog a new look as a gift.

It's strange to to skim over nine years of postings. People I thought would be great friends forever have come and gone. People I once had crushes on no longer matter. So much of what I've done is now just a distant memory.

Sunday, November 08, 2009

Yesterday a cousin committed suicide. It's a little shock to the family. She hung herself from a bridge not too far from my parents' farm.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. She was always the black sheep. Arguably, her whole family was a little off kilter compaired to the rest of my cousins.

I don't remember much of her. I recall that while we were growing up, we didn't get along. We lost touch by the end of high school.

Friday, November 06, 2009

DR is an 80 year old woman that has been friends with RO for years. She was strong and indepenant. She volunteered for many things; the police, the Seattle Men's Choir, organizing farmers markets. She frequently helped out at our store.

But, in the last six months something has changed. She has problems remembering what she's been doing. She is frequently confused.

She has no children. Her nephew and her brother recently took her out of her apartment and put her in an old age home. She hates it. She's almost completely lost her Independence and has vowed to escape.

I'm don't see how this will end happily.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Mom and I drove along the Green River. This winter, the Green river may flood. The Howard Hanson dam, which controls the Green River water levels, is weak. To prevent the dam from bursting, they are letting out water as fast as they can. If we have too much rain this year (Army Corps of Engineers says a 1 or 4 chance) then the river will over flow its banks. Miles of sand bags are being setup along the river to contain the water.

There are *many* houses along the Green river.

I looked at some of the flood plain maps. For even a small flood, the old store would have been under about a foot of water.























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