Starting off this week with the Harvest Moon.
Harvest Moon over Kittitas Valley by Lise McGowan. (Mt. Rainier)
Monday, Oct 14
Today’s display is another Sandhill Crane photo from my friend, (see last week’s pair fly over):
Nice take-off, Sandhill Crane from a lake in a local park in Michigan, captured by Maude Buzcek, my friend since 6th grade.
We are scheduled to be at the foot doctor in Ellensburg at 8:30 a.m. for a scheduled toenail cut. We picked the early time so we wouldn’t have to wait a long while. Hope it’s is worth the effort. It only took 15 minutes, once the doctor arrived, but we were accepted as we walked in, and placed in a very cold room.
Once home I received a call from Yakima Heart Center’s, Medical Assistant, Kim that Dr. Krueger wants labs drawn prior to my Nov. 5 appointment. They’ll be in the mail. All scheduled for 10/29, with my other standing order, so one blood draw will satisfy all.
On the phone with Vanguard getting help on Date acquired, form 1099-B on the Turbotax form. It’s missing on my form. Turns out it was because the dates acquired were split in several places, and impossible to divide. I just used the skip over and accept anyway, without.
I delivered messages about the passing of my friend to the people in the community who were involved with her, after receiving the okay from her son. I called Brad & Burke with my credit card # to pay my invoice for the recent winterizing checkup. The receipt is being mailed to add to my records.
Crazy busy with tax form and getting help from John. He is not good at writing down the volunteer trips, although they go on the hard drive as he schedules them. Log book in the car is another matter. He says, next week he will explain the term “log” as used in this sense.
Tuesday, Oct 15
Here is a beautiful way to start your day, with this autumn leaves photo of a lake in our town. I love the water’s reflection.
A winning photo of Carey Lake by my friend, Evie Schuetz.
I’m staying home all day to work on taxes, so I need something beautiful to view.
Got through to Brandy at Umpqua bank and she’s ordered what I need for Mortgage Interest that was not properly sent on a 1098 Form. It should have come by Wednesday, but it didn’t. Maybe Thursday. Still wasn’t back by Friday, but they checked another source in their bank records, and found the information I needed.
Also, I contacted Vanguard, and know how to digitally transfer funds from our checking account to investments portfolio, securely, at no cost. I need to show the procedure to John. We have been too busy to sit down and go through it.
I’m working on taxes, but took a break to follow a noise outside and saw John mowing, or actually going or coming to where he did now. He came in & fixed us a brunch: Ham, eggs, and a blueberry-pecan pancake.
I soaked and loaded dishes. Dishes we dirty and dishes we clean. Continuing process.
Called Gerald Gordon and remembered to wish him a happy 70th anniversary. Quite an accomplishment.
Supper tonight was roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, with corn-on-the-cob.
Wednesday, Oct 16
Speaking of Big Horn Sheep – This will put a smile on your face to see the smile on this face. 
A beautiful animal “captured” by Tony Bynum
My day started too early, and I never got a nap this afternoon.
Wrote ladies at ECCC about clothing removal & my friend. Haven’t heard back yet. Have contacted another church group, and I hope this may work out.
I fixed a protein drink for lunch and got ready for Food Bank music.
Afterward, I went for my INR at KVH. The INR was 2.4. I shall go for recheck in 2 weeks, when I can combine with the labs for my Nov 5th visit with my Cardiologist.
I was having trouble with my TurboTax Premier software, being unable to get the tax form to insert correctly in the step-by-step procedure. I finally got through to an agent who was very helpful. The first 15 minutes of frustration had to be spent with a robot spelling out our long email account, and be understood. I was speaking clearly and slowly. God, I hate those front end answering machines when the end is a person I could have started with originally.
I’m very tired of tax preparation. I realize now I should be picking a day every month for putting receipts into an Excel spreadsheet so the tallying is easy by keeping every month up-to-date, throughout the year.
Supper was leftover roast beef, potatoes, gravy, and adding asparagus+cheese, and pears.
It’s raining again (and has most of the day).
I worked a lot on mileage for medical and volunteer service tonight. Need to add John’s WTA mileage, and that will push it up higher on our volunteer service donations. Mine is mostly music, occasionally 3 days/week, on the 3rd week of the month.
Thursday, Oct 17
All normal morning inside and outside activities.
I’m going to Pacifica this afternoon for music, and this evening, we’re going to the Kittitas Audubon meeting to hear a talk on Habitat Restoration, by Scott Niccolai. I’ll film it.
I picked up 2 crispy chicken sandwiches from Burger King on the way home for our early supper.
For the KAS Meeting, I took my dues and camera with tripod. We got there early to set up.
The meeting was late starting as the expected talk was preceded by a half-hour club meeting.
Scott Niccolai-KAS, 10-17-19, Habitat Restoration
The presentation was Habitat Restoration by Scott Niccolai, who has been a Habitat Biologist with the Yakama Nations for 28 years, spoke about the Kittitas Valley/Yakima River watershed. He has had projects most recently in the Teanaway, the Yakima, and other smaller streams. The emphasis will be on fisheries, but he’ll have lots of other information (and pictures) on birds and wildlife to share as well. After all, we are all interconnected! Scott is a Central Washington University graduate, with a Masters in Environmental Management from Evergreen State.
Scott Niccolai-KAS, 10-17-19, Discussion
Ending this with reminders of our wealth of knowledge acquired this evening:
The Swift Story (you’ll have to view the video to learn of), and the connection to our town.
A few riparian restoration issues (left), with Gloria Baldi greeting Kenneth Hammond. Ken was a professor when Scott was in college here.
Friday, Oct 18
We spent the day working on taxes, mostly on mileage for medical-related services and for WTA volunteer activities.
We had a brunch of ham & scrambled eggs with cheese, toast.
John completed his normal outside activities. I worked inside on mine.
Supper was left over (from the freezer) pizza. Dessert will be cookie dough frozen pie, (now thawed).
Saturday, Oct 19
This morning, I’m uploading a video to YouTube from Thursday night. That ruins the web connection for other activities, so John worked outside packing his truck with garbage bags to take to the transfer station (aka the dump). He paid $22 to dispose of 400#. Also went by Knudson’s to buy some concrete blocks for his loading dock he’s building – for uses to be determined. Maybe load the big lawn mower for travel. Otherwise, the volume behind the front will be a depository for busted concrete and some of our over abundance of rocks. As well, he bought more Senior Equine pellets and some crushed corn, Black Oil Sunflower seeds, and a 50# salt block with Selenium {a necessary trace element; toxic in excess}.
I went to Briarwood to play music and we were served a fantastic food fare: Lee made chicken soup with carrots, celery, huge pieces of white chicken, with noodles; salads (fruit salad, orange Jell-O chiffon, and a green pea and ham salad. Jo Ellen gathered the items on the dessert table, contributing several kinds of cookies she made (ginger, peanut butter, sugar, and someone else made chocolate chip, another made little white fancy pinwheel sugar cookies with orange and black sprinkles (for Halloween)—the whole room was decorated for the last day of the month, and Lee added some homemade pumpkin bread and banana bread to the dessert table.
On my way home, I went by Fred Meyer for a special 3-day sale on Red Baron (Supreme) pizza, Jimmy Dean (Regular) sausage rolls, and Progresso Chicken & Wild Rice soup. I bought the limit of 5 each of the pizza and the sausage for $1.99 each, and got the soup for 99₵/can by buying 8 (otherwise, $1.49/can). Our survival pantry is good for a major earthquake or snowstorm. I also bought a gallon of vanilla ice cream because we are almost out. It rained on me coming and going all the way home, where it had not yet rained, but did later!
Been working some on job announcements after ignoring that process need for 2 days.
Sunday, Oct 20
John drove to the Kittitas Highway to load 6 wood pallets, being given away. Not that we need them. Projects?
Search images for wood pallet projects and see multi-possibilities.
Returned to fix us a brunch of a blueberry/pecan pancake, peaches, maple syrup, and shaved (thinly sliced) ham, from a rugby ball-shaped mass inside a plastic package. How do they do that?
Now he’s out picking up Annie-poo and cutting back raspberries; and the rain has resumed.
We thought Izzy might be stopping by for the bucket of pine cones today, but that is looking less likely at mid-afternoon.
Supper crafted by John was a chicken & veggie casserole with elbow macaroni, mushroom soup, and French’s-like crispy fried onions. Dessert after the cookie dough pie is eaten, will be a fruitcake from Christmas past John found while cleaning out the chest freezer.
Hope your week was fine.
Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan