Keeping track

Monday, July 13

Early morning arrival 7:15 a.m. of Walter Davenport, to dump off several pieces of heavy plywood to make boxes to hold the cement for the wall footers to be built at either end of the house.
Updates on our remodeling efforts are throughout this blog newsletter.

Nick’s nights off were Mondays and Fridays. Our friend in Nick’s audience presented during those evenings, starting at 5:00 p.m. Those musically-oriented livestreams are ending after the one planned for Monday, 7/20/20, which is a tribute to Benny Goodman. Look down to Sunday this week, where I’ll give you that link. The musical adventures are being replaced on a different day and time to be announced, for future geology of Australia field trips Kathy has started providing.

Meanwhile, here was today’s musical presentation, you can catch in replay.

Kathy presents Schumann’s Dicheterliebe

Her playlist for this evening

The next video John found and asked me to send to Nick. I also looked at it and it is quite well done, but John warned me to warn Nick (and others) not to read the comments, which are filled by a bunch of uneducated crackpots.

Alaskan volcano linked to mysterious period with extreme climate in ancient Rome

Tuesday, July 14

I slept in, and John got up early to work outside while cooler.
Today is my day to awake and keep an empty stomach, with no juice or coffee until I swallow a pill while standing up, and don’t eat or drink anything until ½ hr. later. I can sit down after but not lie down. On Tuesdays, I also have to connect my external backup drive for its Noon hour backup of all new files since last Tuesday, onto the drive. It takes about an hour, and I don’t have to be home. Just leave it turned on, and even if it goes to sleep mode, it will wake up and do its thing.

I invite you to enjoy some great views of the Neowise Comet from different sources as well as different locations within Washington State.

Right here in our Kittitas Valley are photos by Lia Simcox. The top one views it over the Stuart Range and the bottom ones view it spectacularly, fronted by the Northern Lights.
Here’s another unique one from the Puget Sound region:The comet between & behind the peaks of Mt. Rainier makes it look as if it is spewing steam.

Our contractor came today and made the forms with heavy duty plywood to pour concrete for a wall near the front entrance of our house and another on the other side of the house front.

I took 3 bags of clothing and accessories by the Community Clothing Center at the Methodist church before Noon. While there, I found two lower sized pants for me to try – a white pair and a purple pair. I have yet to try them on for size. They are size 12, which I think I may be down to, because my friend Joanie has been altering my 14s with an extra seam in the back to take up the slack.

I went to Safeway for my Coumadin prescription. While there I checked the Just for U specials and found I was entitled to a free pound of Lucerne butter, bananas at 59₵/lb., and 4 Refresh Colas for John at 79₵/each. While there I also got two pounds of nice-looking strawberries, for $1.75/lb. Flyer tonight came from Fred Meyer they have them for $1.25/lb. You’ll see later in the week, on Saturday, John went to Fred Meyer for them and bought 8 lbs. Lots of cleaning up to make ready for the freezer.

Went by Joanie’s house with some things for her, and picked up 3 pairs of pants she altered for me, plus she gave me a special red lace blouse to wear when we play music on Valentine’s Day or at Christmas (if we ever play at assisted homes again). John and I doubt we will be invited back. And the only room that would allow people not to be in such close contact with us would likely be Pacifica Senior Living. It will not be possible to play and sing with a face mask on, so I hope this COVID virus scare is over.
Unfortunately, 3 of our 4 assisted living homes have staff members and residents with confirmed cases. Thankfully, no deaths yet in Kittitas County.

I managed to contact our dentist to check regarding John’ s next appointment for a filling and the amount remaining on our dental insurance until the end of the year, if it has to be repaired before the end of the year with a crown. I’ve now changed it to definitely be a filling, because we have spent all but $150 for him toward a crown. We are hoping the filling will stay until after January, when we will have our allowance back for 2 crowns. We have spent most of our allowance with 2 crowns for me and one for him in 2020.

Called Gerald at the hospital. He’s doing better but still has a way to go before he can return home. He returned home later this week.

Tonight was a special replay, the 3rd in the series, on Tuesday, 5:45 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.
I cannot give you a link for it, because it was an Event for Fans of Nick Zentner hangout Facebook site, and the only access is through the event page with your own Facebook account. It was hosted by Kathy Williams-DeVries on the site she created.

Supper: BBQ pork chop, shrimp, cauliflower with cheese, fried onion rings.

The Renslow Trestle across I-90 at 8:40 p.m., photographed by my friend, Glenn Engels. (Old Milwaukee Railroad bridge, no longer accessible for hikers, bikers, or horseback riders). The trail is available on either side, and there is access on a rural road under the freeway to reach an east bound trailhead. There is parking at Kittitas (6 miles west) for horse trailers.

Renslow Trestle Restoration for recreation is planned and in 2018 received $1.23 million funding from the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program. Since then – silence.

Wednesday, July 15

No idea what’s on tap today except have to put up strawberries and get to feeling better. Slept in until 8:30, and still tired. I was awakened by our dog at 2:00 a.m. wanting to be let out to pee. She has a doggie door to use; guess she’s getting senile. Awakened again at 5:00 a.m. with cats outside demanding food.

I’m not sure how/why this showed up in my feed, but it’s worth a one-minute watch, so am showing here.

Virtual Road Trip to National Parks from USGS (1 min)

This afternoon was the delivery of the ECP (Ellensburg Cement Products) truck with cement to fill the footer walls at two places in front of our house. One on the far right of the front entrance has walls positioned as the edges of a box; the one in front of the front door is straight and rectangular.
Photos of the process:Getting the huge cement truck into the small space was a tough job, but they managed. The top shows the beginning of the turnaround. It was a tight fit along the walkway and the house, and a small fir tree. The bottom photo shows the two walls (on top of footers) on either side of the front part of our L-shaped house that needed to be filled with concrete. Left is Willie finishing up the heavy plywood structure to hold the concrete, and the right picture is of the long narrow rectangular wall near the end of filling it with concrete, and troweling it down to set and fill the space. The one on the right is right by the front door entrance.

The video below, records the linear one. Access for the extended tube was challenging.

Video Filling Concrete Footer at Front Entrance

Called Gerald at the hospital tonight and had a nice talk. He’s feeling some better, but they are still treating him.

At 9:30 the circuit breaker for several lights in our house (washroom, den, backyard) went off, John switched the circuit breaker back on, and it stayed on for only a short while, and went off again. So, we left it off.

Our computers and some lights in the house are working fine. So strange. Refrigerator and freezer have power, so no issues. We were not overloading the power by doing anything unusual.
We’re just going to go to bed early. I need to sleep anyway.

Supper: BBQ Pork, Cauliflower with cheese, and fruit bowl with peaches and banana.

Thursday, July 16

Todd arrived at 8:30 a.m. to fix the electrical light problem and make some other adjustments. Will be back in the morning.
Rubin and Tristan are here working with Walter on the walls. They will have 2×6 studs, plywood, and faced with the same stone as the house.

Brunch: Blueberry/pecan pancake with bacon

Just spent a lot of time searching for missing Stimulus check for $1,200 and to no avail. Will likely have to wait to file 2020 taxes in 2021 and claim then that it never came (for one of us). Only half of that allowed was deposited in our joint checking account, with no clue of for which one of us it was meant.

Now going to photograph the putting on of wood ceiling over the walkway. It’s still underway and will be resumed next Monday. Two of the workers were putting a roof on a place 5 miles west of us but the wind got so strong they left, and came here.

I received a call from Dentist to verify my need to come for cleaning at 2:00 p.m. Monday with Tracy. They don’t work on Fridays.

Supper: Chicken, baked potato

Friday, July 17

Ask Todd when he’s back in the morning for finishing the electrical work, about calling him in the future for our electrical needs, or if I have to go through T & T Electricians’ business.
Todd the Electrician called at 9:00 a.m. to say he would not be returning this morning, and not until afternoon on Monday.

I called David at ComputAbility to review the procedure I’m supposed to do each month to empty my battery below 10% and recharge it. And then, I did it tonight before going to bed.

We stayed home today and John worked outside when the temperatures were lower, outside again when shade was provided, and inside on projects. Plus, he got his afternoon nap.

While he was napping, I made a long distance call to customer service at Eagle Creek, to report a problem with one of their neck pillows (normally used for airline usage). Another project is writing an email over this weekend to Eagle Creek in Wisconsin about a neck pillow product. Mine is no longer holding air. It’s a Sandman model that is no longer carried, but they are going to give me a one-time replacement of a new one to use, for no cost. I have to email them a picture (i.e., below), and give them my mailing address, and they will send it to me.
Pictured below is mine.
It’s inflated by removing the black tab on the lower right, blowing into it, inflating the bellows (probably not called that).

This afternoon at 5:00 p.m. is more music from Australia: John Foster, on Trumpet, joins Kathy Williams-DeVries. Program first below and link following is their playlist.

Kathy Chats with John Foster

Playlist for tonight: with John Foster

Saturday, July 18

Interesting email received this morning about a $1 bill that I registered at WheresGeorge.com . Apparently most people do not do this or the bill doesn’t get used very often. Sheffield Lake is 20 miles from sister Peggy, who sat on the bill for a long time, and only spent it ’cause George wasn’t moving. He’s on the road again. John did chores outside early morning — feeding, spraying weeds, moving rocks & dirt. Came in and fixed a late brunch of a cheddar cheese melt bacon sandwich (I helped with the bacon), and assisted making a bowl of peaches and bananas to have with it. Now he’s ready to go to town (just after 2:00 p.m.) for a few things, mainly sunflower seeds for the quail, and some stuff at Fred Meyer on sale (strawberries).

I have continued working on the laptop, mixed with sorting and filing tax receipts, reviewing photos and videos I took this week on our remodeling project I’m trying to document, and other duties involved with assisting with the study group member of the for the continued connections of students of Nick Zentner. He’s currently out of town, but occasionally goes on an impromptu field trip and publishes it for members to join in on his YouTube channel. I’m also sending some of my remodeling documentation to our YouTube channel to share with blog readers.

This afternoon, John called my attention to the twins around the garden with mom. I got a few photos & cool video of the twins leaving the garden (below the photographs).Twins with Mom (facing away)—Deer don’t eat onions.

Twin fawns leaving the scene along with two quail

Supper: Butternut squash, with pecans, brown sugar, and marshmallows roasted on top served with meatloaf and a bowl of canned pears.

Sunday, July 19

Did charge the battery and get the Exilim camera working again. Check the other battery and see if it is dead or needs replaced.
Cool early. John is outside. Our high today at the airport 5 miles south of us, was 94°.
We cleaned a few more pounds of strawberries, cut them, sugared, and got them in freezer.

Brunch: for me a nutrition drink, and a bowl of strawberries and banana.

Walter is here putting the rock face on the walls. It’s getting hotter but finally he’s back in the shade of the front entrance out of the sun where he’s been roasting for completing the last corner wall. I videoed his work over there midday today and will put that below. The stone panels have a metal strip at the top, holes therein, and screws hold it to the wood.

Walter finishing the rock wall facing around the concrete footer

John’s finally napping. Received a scam call from Promark Resort in TX, but I’ve now blocked that number in my phone.

Just started the dishwasher at 2:15. Now to transfer photos / video from camera.
I’m working on the photos and videos taken yesterday and today.

Supper: Beef Stew with carrots in the plans.

Final warning for tomorrow Monday and Wednesday, this week:
Those musically-oriented livestreams are ending after the one planned for Monday, 7/20/20, which is a tribute to Benny Goodman.

Kathy plays pieces dedicated to Benny Goodman

The musical adventures are being replaced on a different day and time to be announced, for future geology of Australia field trips. There is one coming next week via Facebook, as an Event – on
Tuesday, 7/21/20 at 5:30 a.m. (use the Nick Zentner Fan hangout site) on Facebook.
I cannot give you a link for that; you have to go to Events on your personal Facebook site and sign up as going. It’s going to be to Kangaroo Point Cliffs, and the Brisbane Tuffs.

Hope your week was fine.

Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan

Monday, July 6

Update on remodeling efforts:

This is the changed attached 2-car garage to livable room of our home. The outside front siding is blue painted HardiePlank above stone panels. Part One of the remodel is 99.44% finished.

Nick’s nights off were Mondays and Fridays. Our friend in Nick’s audience presented during those evenings, starting at 5:00 instead of 6:00 p.m. PST. She’s going to continuing musical interludes on the same days, in Nick’s absence (except for NEXT week the Friday will be scheduled to a Thursday, because of her guest’s schedule.

Kathy plays Favorite Funnies Past, as Spike Jones
She’s going to add a playlist of tonight. I kept losing my Internet and was only able to watch parts of it.

She has called for a Party on Saturday to re-watch one of Nick’s livestreams. It will be at the 9:00 a.m. hour, PST. You have to Join via the Nick Fans Facebook site.

Tuesday, July 7

Transferred money from my account to the lumber miller’s at my bank, Umpqua, and then notified the miller Jason and his wife Greta (also his office manager) and Clover Construction Company.

Started late from sleeping in after a late night bedtime and sleep interruptions from cats in the wee hours of this morning. One male cat, Czar, knocked on the window and meowed loudly to be let in, and neither one of us can figure why he didn’t go through the doggie door as he does all the time. The other awakening was from Sue, an outside feral cat, with loud meows and low growls, to let us know she brought us a mouse to the front door. Seems she wants to let us know she earns the store-bought food. She does not use the doggie door; only the two males do.

Finally got up and took my Alendronate on an empty stomach. Plugged in my 5Tb external backup drive for its Noon backup. Been taking care of things with LiveStreaming group.

We had to deal with making an appointment for John at the dentist. Long delayed but cancellations allowed him a next day slot. He had a small bit of tooth (protecting a filling) breakaway, confirmed during the cleaning, with the filling coming out.

Need to finish my note to planning team at CWU Foundation. (James, Charlotte, etc.). I did and the Zoom meeting still awaits a designated time.

Later today we went to town for errands. The first part of our trip was maneuvering a Chip Sealing Operation on the Kittitas Hwy.
Here is an example of the process:

Chip Sealing: The Basics (5 mins)

It was a slow 1.5 mile trip from Ferguson Rd to No. 6 Rd. to turn to access our first stop, 3430 Number 6 Rd to pick up our pots we gave Hens and Chicks to a lady and she planted them this spring.

We went by Bi-Mart to check numbers, picked up Metoprolol from Super 1 Pharmacy, and went on to Fred Meyer for John’s Colas and any Kroger stuff for using our first Tuesday of the month, 10% Senior Discount.

Then out of town by Amy’s to leave box of groceries and some summer squash from our garden. Not much of a crop this year, yet. Guess we’re too high in elevation and with so much wind.

Today we had 43 and 45 mph gusts, making driving difficult with the buffeting, and walking across parking lots even worse.

Wednesday, July 8

Walter Davenport (contractor) was here at 6:45 a.m. working in the new room. He’s got about 5 projects going in the area so the crew moves around as sequencing demands. These things slow completions, and “completion” is what triggers clients needing to pay the balance. Seems this will happen next Monday for the garage conversion.

At 9:00 a.m. there was an impromptu video by Nick Zentner, on a hike to Beverly Creek, where John had assisted Marty Kaatz (now dead) with his debris flow documentation. The storm was a small cell, but intense, thunder, lighting, and rain, above a ridge top at about 6,000 feet elevation. Nick hiked into that basin on a ridge top.

Beverly Creek Hike

John plans to do chores and then come in for his shower. Today he goes to Tracy for his teeth cleaning, which was postponed 10 weeks because of the COVID-19 business closures.

I spent time with the HELP DESK CWU and Paris to get my computer updated. Need to RESTART at least once/week. That will install needed updates, which are not done any other way.

Called and left a message for Lacey about an upcoming end of July of my teeth cleaning and need for antibiotics, and the problems with INR being raised. I need to know when to have it, before, or after. Later, we decided I needed to have my INR draw the next day, so we could adjust the dosage fast, as it was already a little higher than last month.

Watched a noon Lunch Bag Zoom from the AAC with Roxanne Laush talking today on Inspired Health & Wellness Coaching.
Walter came back just before 11:00 with some boards and to fix the screw in the door. He stayed, working on the outside siding.

I spent a lot of time searching for data to fill in the PDF for Form 4868 to apply for our extension notice for 2019 taxes to get it mailed before July 15. I have the pieces, but need to find a Post Card and tape information to the back so they can date and return the card as acknowledgment it was received. I will include a check to pay estimated tax amount owed.

Supper: John made a casserole dish with Lasagna in one side, and butternut squash, brown sugar, and pecans in the other. He had dessert of Cherry Pie and ice cream. I passed on that. I drank orange juice with my dinner.

Thursday, July 9

Shoes on and go out with camera. Back at 10:10. John showed me all around the front of the house and explained the plans and the progress I had not yet seen. He also took me to the garden for some more information and photos of the onions primarily. Then on to the red barn to show me the storage and stacking of the lumber and posts resulting from the milling team. While out there, we went into the hay barn (after shooing out Dawn). Didn’t see her bambi, but imagine it was close by. John wanted to show me a box he said had a photo packed in it with Fondue pots, meant for Sonja Willitts, on their next trip north from South Lake Tahoe. Before that handoff happens we have to locate the box of shot syringes meant for the Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care in South Lake Tahoe, where Kevin volunteers his veterinarian experience. Some photos of this walk to follow in next week’s blog.

New flight with Maria Langer (pilot), posted 7-5-20. Overall description by Maria: a tour of the Columbia River Valley downriver from Wenatchee, WA. This is the 7th part of our 2nd flight together and we start just downriver from Wanapum Dam and head upriver, making our way back to Wenatchee. Along the way, we make a detour up Rock Island Creek and over Badger Mountain before landing at the airport. The nosecam footage is stunning and Nick points out many geological features along the way. This is the last (and longest) part of a multi-part series.
Places mentioned in this video: – Wanapum Dam and Lake – Sunrise Highway – Frenchman’s Coulee – Gorge Amphitheater – Mouth of Lower Moses Coulee – Rock Island Dam – Rock Island Creek – Badger Mountain – Pangborn Bar

Helicopter Flight: Nick Over the Rocks Part 7 (33 mins)

Supper: baked chicken thighs and cheesy scalloped potatoes, and yellow squash from our garden.

Friday, July 10

Today is Dee Eberhart’s 96th birthday! We met in 1988 at CWU.
We went to Joanie Taylor and Ken Matney’s house for our invitation to a celebration lunch of Tuna Patty Melts. She served it with Cole slaw and beets, and two pies for dessert: Mincemeat and another new creation cream pie with strawberries and plums.

Go to Super 1 for eggs (special 98₵, only one allowed, for 18 eggs). John also bought ground beef at a good price, and other stuff I don’t yet know about, except I think potato chips and Frito Scoops.

Kathy Williams-DeVries is on tonight at 5:00 p.m.

Kathy speaks with early music specialist Shaun Wigley

Here is her playlist

Saturday, July 11

Guess we didn’t do much today other than the usual.

I’ll start today with a barn photograph:Barn is on S. Willow St, photo by Barb Bailey with permission. She posted this on Kittitas County Visual Delights.

I’ll end with this:

Comet Neowise over Denmark Pond, by Evie Mae Schuetz

Roy Spencer’s Comet Neowise Timelapse

Sunday, July 12 Happy Anniversary Us!
Taken at the Senior Center last year – explanation in link below.

Complete story to go with this photo of our 50th anniversary 2019

John’s back in the house fixing our brunch. He watered pine trees along the driveway. Brunch was an anniversary special.

Mine had a little too much maple syrup on the pancake, topped with cream and strawberries, and bacon on the side.

Supper: Meatloaf and fried cauliflower.

Hope your week was fine.

Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan

Item #1: The perfect birthday present

Or perhaps, an anniversary,I have lots to do, but still I may build a couple of these. Not fond of all white. Either red/white/blue or just natural wood.
Also, the white one seems too straight.
Actually, a covered rustic swing is more my thing. I’ll combine the two concepts. Maybe. Don’t hold your breath.

Item #2: Here’s your sign

Headline: Oregon man driving stolen Land Cruiser crashes into woman driving stolen Buick Regal
Two stupids

You wouldn’t think to make this sort of thing up.

Item #3: That was fast

The work crew, on Tuesday, finished placing stone siding on the lower half of the front wall. On Thursday I noticed the sandstone-like wall had been colonized.
The spot is near the front door so we pass by several times a day. I wonder what happens next. Babies?

Item #4: Critter 2

Wednesday there was a new visitor – – on the board under the front window where the cats like to eat, watch the goings on in the landscape, sleep, and sometimes get petted. At night the light from inside attracts moths. Inside/outside cat Czar will get on the board and swat at the bugs.
The moth moved to the door window, and I took the picture here.
Now gone.

Item #5: Give your dog some space

Prince Edward Island appears to have a problem because dog owners, being told to isolate at home, are pestering their pets.

in most cases the pets are biting members of the family they live with

I think if this is a real thing we will be
seeing more stories of it. There have been a few photos, such as the one used here, suggesting dogs are fed up with owners being isolated at home.
Anyhow, the article from Prince Edward Island seems to be of serious intent.

And that, for this week, is the not so nasty news.
John

We have a young buck deer – first year antlers – that seems to like our space. Also, there is a doe with 2 little ones, and another (a twin herself raised on our property, named Dawn) with 1.

Monday, June 29
Front entrance door and guard rabbit
[ ! false juxtaposition ! ]

Etched sketches and wildlife on paneling: Farmhouse, windmill, turkeys, geese and deer.

Nick’s nights off were Mondays and Fridays. Our friend in Nick’s audience presented during those evenings, starting at 5:00 instead of 6:00 p.m. PST. She’s going to continuing musical interludes on the same days, in Nick’s absence. Tonight was a musical tribute to Astor Piazzolla with Tango music, played by our friend from Australia who is instrumental in the Nick Zentner study group. The music is her (with a pianist), playing her clarinet at gigs a few years ago. Now she primarily plays her recorders.

Kathy plays the Tangos of Astor Piazzolla

Tuesday, June 30

Up at 7:30 and took my Alendronate on an empty stomach. Plugged in my 5Tb external backup drive for its Noon backup.
Called ComputAbility (David) tell him I cannot come today because of my Noon Backup drive doing its thing. Did it in 29 minutes. I needed to take my laptop in for him to remove the battery to get the correct number of the part to order.

Here’s another resource for the study group, relatives & friends – the playlist for Helicopter views with Maria (pilot) and Nick Zentner (interpreting the geology from above the Rocks):

Nick Over the Rocks

We didn’t leave until noonish, to take Glenn Engel’s Swiss Cheese by at our first stop and be able to email him as we are leaving. Made connection, but we missed seeing him waving at us from his new garage (we didn’t yet know the location of) as we were rounding a 90° driveway turn toward his carport location which is where I thought we were meeting. We did connect and exchange the goods.
We drove on to have my blood draw for my INR. Sadly, my favorite phlebotomist Kim was not there. I checked in and indicated my reason for coming.

Wednesday, July 1

Exciting way to start our day at 7:00 a.m., two fawns in our front yard (midst the remodeling efforts):Mom doe and twins top; twins and one single below

Don’t miss the video below (only 1-minute viewing time). See the smallest fawn nursing. My excitement standing in the wind on the front porch so close to them, made my camera work rather shaky.

Video – Mom with Twin Fawns July 1, 2020

Set up for zoom for Patriotic Bingo at AAC. 10:30 -11:30 a.m. I successfully entered and we played 5 games, with my winning one, design was railroads. Nice, as I used to love riding the rails to Guyton, GA from Atlanta, GA (called the Nancy Hanks train) to spend my summers, alternating among Guyton, Savannah, GA, and Sullivan Island, SC.
My winning Bingo game card was the likeness of a railroad; only using the I and G, from BINGO. I already had the Free in the middle circled before the pattern we were seeking was called.

I went by ComputAbility with my laptop, about 2:15, and had David check the battery ID number and order one to install. After dropping that off, John dropped me off at the lab and went to buy a 40-lb bag of wild bird seed advertised on their flyer. None was available in the store. While in town we went to Fred Meyer for the smaller ounce bottles of PowerAde, but while advertised in their sales flyer, they had none in stock in the store or in the back. The bird seed and drinks were not the reason for the trip to town, or that would have been a bummer.

Thursday, July 2

Blast from our past with Cedaridge BrittanysRight with Brittany, is Charles (Mick) McBride holding FC/AFC Sher-loc Shay-Dee Holly, one of our Brittanys, born in 1986. Fun visiting with him after so many years.

Friday, July 3

Went by ComputAbility with my laptop to have my new battery installed, and while there, David got rid of my Chrome and made Firefox my default browser so it would not shut down on me. It’s been working okay since then and I have the battery emptied and recharged (about 2.5 hrs), now at 100%. I have to remember at the beginning of each month to run on battery only down to under 10% and then plug it back in. Also, so it doesn’t get too hot and swell the battery (warping it), I have to put a hard book, or similar, in my lap so the fan air can actually cool the battery.

After that, I went by Woods Ace Hardware to pick up 5 40# bags of Wild Bird Seed, that had been announced on their flyer, but they didn’t have any in the story when John went by on Wednesday. I’ll called at 8:30 a.m. and they set aside the order; and then helped load.

From there to Joanie with a sack of about 6 pairs of pants, she’s going to do some alterations, and cut down the size on so they don’t swallow me. She also puts elastic in the waist, so I can tighten the waist by tying knots, as the elastic stretches. She’ s been my volunteer seamstress for years, for which I am extremely grateful, especially while I was losing weight. All of the really large sized pants have already been donated to others.
These needing altered now are size 14. She and hubby Ken are moving to Spokane, and leave Mondays with a load, stay overnight, and then come back on Tuesday. Her sewing machine is already in the Spokane house.

A new friend from Australia, I met starting St. Patrick’s Day this year, through Nick Zentner’s, “Nick from Home” – – there were 75 episodes. The new friend is Kathy Williams-Devries, and she was taking his off days to entertain our group members with various music activities.

Kathy’s program tonight was a musical tribute to pipe organists around the world with her friend Greg. He will describe each organist for the piece in the playlist, which they have put together and then at the end, were able to enjoy Greg playing his own pipe organ in his home (on an island, off the coast of Brisbane, Australia). While we were listening, to other organists, he was joining in the live chat with the audience watching the videos.
The program went for 10 minutes’ shy of 4 hours.

Kathy Williams-DeVries from Brisbane, Australia with guest Pipe Organist extraordinaire, Chevalier Gregory Hartay-Szabo (He’s a Hungarian knight twice over!)

Link to Kathy’s Playlist of Pipe Organists Videos tonight

Gregory Hartay-Szabo has his own YouTube Channel you may subscribe to, if you like Pipe Organ music. He just started it, and it has two videos as of 7-3-20.

Link to Greg’s YouTube Channel

Supper: very late, with fried boneless/skinless chicken breasts, fried hash brown potatoes, bowl of peaches, banana, red grapes, with wine from White Heron Cellars and Mariposa Vineyard, named Roussanne (a white Swiss grape). Our Brittany is named Cedaridge Vintage Roussanne. She was named for the grape varietal, because she is mostly white and orange. She has an orange heart on her side. (same as in the Thursday photo above of the Cedaridge Brittany pup named Holly has on her side). It’s a trademark on many of our Brittanys.

Saturday, July 4 HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

If you missed fireworks this year, see this:

Illegal Fireworks over Los Angeles from Helicopter

John’s photo from 2019. John went up the driveway early to hang our flag on the post by the road.There’s our flag flying in the wind last year, with me as we came back from playing patriotic music at the Senior Center. We did not have that early celebration this year because of COVID-19.
John’s been outside working a lot today.

I was basically off my computer laptop from 11:30 a.m. yesterday until 5:00 p.m. and then tied up for almost 4 hours with the Pipe Organ Music program from Australia. I missed responding to any emails until July 4 at 9:30, still picking up pieces of my computer laptop changes to installation of a new battery. Not as easy as popping in and starting to use it.

Our major contractor is here today (after a visit to Roslyn and watching a small parade, we think), working on our new room (where the 2-car attached garage was). The inside doors are solid wood pretty pine, one with handles and one swings both ways and re-centers itself. It opens with a push of an elbow or a butt. He is working on the baseboards around the room beneath the paneling, and building a metal frame around the breaker switch box. Others of his workers, and the electrician, will be back Monday to continue work on the room, the carport, and the walkway (wheelchair access to the house), plus the new siding on the house from rock on the bottom to blue HardiePlank® fibre/cement fire resistant siding above that. Plenty yet to accomplish.Photo by EvieMae Schuetz in Kittitas, WA (where fireworks are legal), displaying beautiful colors again this year, without wind!Photo by Lise McGowan with her added commentary: Rising of the Independence Day full moon looking east!! Fireworks to the west!! The end to a blessed day! God bless America! He is watching over us!

Sunday, July 5

My prime chore today is finishing my draft of the blog for John’s editing. It was slow going because of all the conflicts with the Internet and my Browser cutting on and off throughout the day. Reasons unknown. That really hampers creation.

Jason Ireland is back to finish the log milling today with his sidekick worker (roller/feeder/board & post remover), Ernest of the Great State of Texas. They started about 11 and worked until 4:30 – not real hot, but full sun and lots of fine sawdust blowing in the wind. John facilitated a little, as needed, but mostly kept to his own chores. One was making space in our red shed to put the new lumber. Top: Early in the milling process with Ernest and Jason Ireland; bottom the posts and boards cut with slabs in the back.

Don’t miss the video below:

A View of Process of Milling the Logs

Next I need to respond to a couple of things in John’s Not So Nasty News this Friday (which is now below this). We were in our canoe on the Chattahoochee River: He says, “All I remember is passing near the air base at Marietta and having a very large plane pass low over us.” I say, “John, it was a C5A Transport plane from Dobbins Air Reserve Base (outside of Marietta, GA).
C5A Transport plane Note photo above this entry point. That’s just what we saw from the canoe.
Read about our 4th of July trip to Stone Mountain to see fireworks by reading John’s Nasty News from Friday evening. We were on the lake shown below.
Stone Mountain, GAIgneous intrusion pluton granite dome carving on north side. Located near Atlanta, GA-Confederate Memorial Carving.

Geology of Stone Mountain

Carving Description on Stone Mountain

Over the past week we’ve had Pecan pie, peach pie, and now cherry pie (with vanilla ice cream). The weather has been nice also.

Hope your week was fine.

Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan

Monday, Jun 22

Starting this week with photos of the trusses over the walkway to the house (lasted all week and still in progress).

Sent out the CWU Geology Field Trip news to the Nick Zentner study group. Plan readings for Bailey Willis and Oregon Geology.

This is Nick Zentner’s last week of this series of lectures from home, livestreaming on YouTube. We made it through this week to Sunday’s Craters of the Moon presentation. Nick’s trying to tell us the cherry crop is doing fine.

Tuesday, Jun 23

Up at 7:30 and took my Alendronate on an empty stomach. Plugged in my 5Tb external backup drive for its Noon backup.
Here is some progress on the remodeling of the new room, with laying, grouting, and gluing the tile blocks.
Left view through an opening that will have a swinging door to enter the utility room. Water tanks are there but the refrigerator, freezer, and shelving are yet to go there. The tile has not been cleaned yet, but you can see in the foreground and along the right side the “backer board” on top of the subfloor. Right view, with water units of the right, and 2 panels of wildlife (deer, geese, turkey, rabbits) and a few other historic farm scenes. These panels are sort of “busy” and are only on one 8 ft. wall and the one behind the camera. This wall has a door to the outside, and the electrical box – so it is only about 60% paneled.

John drove me to town 10:30, first to the AAC to deliver a donation of books to their library and to give away older ones in theirs to neighborhood street libraries of which we have quite a few. Our downtown library is closed for COVID-19 reasons and so is the AAC (Senior Center), so their donation box is in the front of their building in the parking lot. We dropped off several books, and visited a bit, on our way to more shopping.

I received a phone call regarding my 2020 Census form we supposedly received several weeks ago in our mail. We never received it. So the fellow on the line, working for the Census, but living in Roslyn, WA told me I could fill it out on line and he would help me through the process. It’s not as straightforward as it should be. However, it is an alternative to having them deliver a person to get the information, and I had a computer to access the site: My2020census.gov. I started the questionnaire and he helped me complete the procedure, which took 24 minutes!! (I put my confirmation # assigned through email for submission in my pictures to add to my Tax 2020 folder.

We lost our electricity at 3:54 PM – system wide for PUD customers, with no prediction of time to regain it. Great! I’ll likely miss tonight’s Livestreaming, at least part of it. I’m sure the pre-show stuff has already begun. Outage lasted 3 hours !! [John says they almost always fix it in under 4 hours.] and I missed all but the last 20 minutes of the live lecture. At least it is available for replay.

‘Nick from Home’ Livestream #71 – 6-23-20 CWU Geology Field Trip

Wednesday, Jun 24

‘Nick from Home’ Livestream #72 – 6-24-20 Bailey Willis

Entered new people into the study group data base. Need to finish the readings for tomorrow night’s lecture and send to the study group.
Go to bed asap to get up and leave by 7:40; driving my car.

Thursday, Jun 25

Leaving for White Heron at 7:40, take computer laptop and power supply. I dropped John off and then I went to East Wenatchee COSTCO, another 22 miles.

When I got back to the winery, I took a few photos & some videos of the process. I’ll just put in a couple of photos now. I don’t have time up check the videos and see if they are worth uploading. So, if they’re good, I’ll share in a future blog.Erik, Ray, John, Tanja, Cameron. Very left Erik upends boxes of new bottles and sets them under the fillers. Ray takes full bottles off the line and places them one at a time in the corker. John snags them from the corker and places them on the table to his right. Tanja places heat-shrink caps, then passes the bottles to Cameron who is running the label(s) applicator. Wine, in clear bottles, is Rose’ of Syrah.

I came back and worked on my laptop for about an hour until they finished. Then we went outside to enjoy lunch. We didn’t get away and back home until 4:00 p.m. Returning, we talked with Ethel (102) from the car, for about 20 minutes, until we had multiple basalt cliffs around us.

The evening presentation, actually the early commenters, was about to start.

‘Nick from Home’ Livestream #73 – 6-25-20 – Oregon Geology? (with 3 guests: Marli Miller, Carrie Gordon, and Ellen Bishop)

A long tiring day.

Friday, Jun 26

Started suggested reading for Cinder Cones to send study group.

Tonight was a musical tribute to Weber by our friend from Australia in the Nick Zentner study group, who gives a presentation on Nick’s nights off. She’s going to continue the musical interludes on the same days, in Nick’s absence. (Mondays and Fridays).

Kathy Williams-DeVries from Brisbane, Australia
Tonight’s was Weber Music, via her previously playing on her clarinet, which she no longer plays much, because she now plays her recorders.

Tonight’s sunset was striking and we missed it because of all the trees on our west side of the house. These photographs were taken by a former graduate student for whom I served on her Thesis Committee (after I retired). Her thesis documentation: Evans, Jennifer. 2012 (Spring). Incorporating LiDAR and GIS to Model the Presence of Gullies at Yakima Training Center, Washington. (Huckabay). She works at the place where she completed her research. YTC – US Army
She lives across the street from our local hospital, and it is viewable beneath the skyscape. She took these with her phone!!Photos by Jen Evans Yenter, ~9:15 p.m. (bottom is a panorama)

Saturday, Jun 27

I was up earlier than wished with cats, first at 2:45 a.m., instead of coming in the doggy door, Czar went to the window and meowed, loudly enough to awake me. Back to bed. At 4:00, outside cat Sue started meowing loudly and had brought a mouse to the front door to offer me. I didn’t want to be awakened for that, so went back to bed. Finally, awoke at 7:15 a.m. Began the ritual for taking notes of the pre-show comments that start 2 hrs before the program. We knew the program would start early tonight, to allow Nick time to thank people for gifts from around the world. Farthest this morning came from Japan. Some unique & artistic gifts. Tomorrow is going to be a very special morning, and probably a tear jerker. Watched Nick’s penultimate livestream for this session.

‘Nick from Home’ Livestream #74 – Cinder Cones

I had things from COSTCO for neighbor Louaine. Her place was the first stop and then on to town for several things needed at Bi-Mart, Mid-State Coop, and Safeway. We went to Safeway primarily for sales of PowerAde for me and their brand of Colas for John. Also on sale, we got bananas, cherry, and peach pies. We went to Safeway primarily for PowerAde for me and Colas for John, both on sale. Grain for the horses at Mid-State, dog food at Bi-Mart. Bi-Mart clerks and shoppers were 90+% into the face mask thing. At mid-state Co-op it was more of a some-had thing. Some customers had masks and none of the clerks did. No plexiglass in sight either. It’s sort of an open-airy place with much happening outside. Our governor wants us to pay $100 if we don’t wear a mask in public settings.

I am working on the suggested links to send for tomorrow morning’s Nick talk on Craters of the Moon.
We had a nice conversation with our sister Peggy who is 3 time zones earlier. We kept her up late tonight.

Sunday, June 28

There appears to be only one person in the area with a traveling milling machine (band saw). Jason Ireland, and co-worker came late morning and stayed to about 5:30. They cut our pile of logs into 8 ft. sections and stacked them for tomorrow’s make-lumber session. John also had them take out the 3 Tamarack trees that remained – close to the future car-park. Note that the closest tree is dead and cut off, and not in the way.
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The final Nick presentation for this series ended with the highest I saw of 1,584 people watching. There will be a hiatus of unknown duration.
To say thanks to Nick, one of the presents the group constructed was a world map with icons at the location of all viewers to watch his livestreams. Also there is a map of the United States with better resolution.This final program lasted 2 hours. Longest and most attended lecture since March 17, 2020, when Nick started this series.
You can skip through a lot of it and enjoy many different things about the Craters of the Moon National Monument on the Eastern Snake River Plain of Idaho. Be sure to watch the videos in the “cozy fort”.
‘Nick from Home’ Livestream #75 – 6-21-20, Craters of the Moon
Most importantly, look at 1:52 minutes in near the end to see the whole gift book of pictures from a bunch of his viewers.Top is Nick Zentner with the front cover, a painting by Patrick Swan, a 6 yr. old student who was always at the front of the class with his questions of Nick at the end of the lecture. His mom is Theresa Swan, who with the help of 9 others, put this book together in a very short time, and a lot of work. They constructed the maps above too. The bottom photo has friends from Sedro Woolley, WA (Steve, the crafter of the Cozy Fort), John and I at White Heron Cellars Mariposa Vineyard overlooking West Bar, where the Giant Current Ripples are that we had a livestream field trip to a week ago, and in the bottom right is Elizabeth and her pet rat, Zeke. She was raised in Eastern WA but now lives in Cardiff, Wales.

Supper: (John’s creative delicacy: leftover chicken and veggie stir-fry covered by pineapple crisp, with scalloped potatoes, and crumbles-topped cherry pie for dessert.

Hope your week was fine.

Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan

Monday, Jun 15 John took me outside to see a baby deer in our garden. I got two pix before it jumped and scurried off. I wish I’d reacted fast enough to start a movie of the exit. Another deer has been hanging around, who was a twin born here in our barn. It was late in the season, and we thought the female twin was not going to make it through the winter, so we started feeding her and her brother. We named the twins, and Dawn is still hanging around, but she’s never had a baby. We wonder if she is the mom. A couple days later we saw them together, so now we know.

Here’s a beautiful scene from the Kittitas Valley, our nice agricultural irrigated valley in the shrub steppe semi desert:Lovely farm near Kittitas, WA photographed by Evie Mae Schuetz

I’ve been emailing catching up on two days away from my computer (my life-line)!
Supper. Lasagna, pears, and cauliflower.Sunset by Tonieka Kokjer in Kittitas County Visual Delights FB

Tuesday, Jun 16

Nick Zentner’s entering the penultimate week of this series of lectures from home, livestreaming on YouTube, with the first tonight. We made it through this week to Sunday’s Yellowstone Geology lecture.I took my Alendronate on an empty stomach and ate a half hour later. Started checking with CWU library looking for access to Library Archived Faculty documents. I figured out the location of the research on debris flows in the Teanaway that Marty Kaatz did research on, but am unable to gain access because the library is closed. I talked to my friend in the Reference Department and he gave me the email to write to request a scanned copy, from the Archives, but no one there got back to me by phone, or email. Eventually she did. And sent me much information.
I forgot to connect my 5Tb external back up drive for its Noon backup.

Rascal just brought in a Douglas squirrel and took it under the bed. Not too happy about that, but actually would like to get rid of the critters because they get into our shed’s insulation to store their walnut harvest, and make a terrible mess. The walls were not all covered so the stashed nuts have caused some of the batts of fiberglass to break loose. Maybe next year John can clean out this building and make it useful.

Tonight’s livestream is on Landslides of WA and I got my suggested links out at 10:00 a.m. and then realized shortly after that I left out all links to the Oso Landslide in 2014. So, I finished that research and entering the links & description and mailed it at noon to our study group members.

Tonight, Nick will be joined by Karl Lillquist, a physical geographer whom I taught with from the time he arrived on campus in 1995); one of his concentrations is mass wasting issues (debris flows and landslides).

‘Nick from Home’ Livestream #66 – 6-16-20 Landslides in Washington, guest Karl Lillquist

Wednesday, Jun 17

Morning work included John and Walter bringing in the water softening unit and holding (pressurized) tank. We were supposed to have water back today around noon, tried at 12:30 p.m. and it was wired wrong. Sparks flew when the circuit was switched. The pressure switch is comprised of an internal spring mechanism which is connected directly to electrical contacts. Walter is a builder, not trained as an electrician or plumber. When the sparks flew, the contacts fused so a new pressure switch was needed. A “smart phone” photo sent to the real electrician, Todd, allowing him to bring the proper switch. He was able to come at 2:30 and we had water by 3 PM. I was very thankful. Six days without running water has been miserable. We always have filtered water in 2 L. bottles, and John carried irrigation water for flushes. Just above the level of wilderness camping. Well, we have had electricity.

Worked on emails, adding 3 new study group members from last night. At 10:00 a.m., I sent out the 6-17-20 General letter to 6 new members.

‘Nick from Home’ Livestream #67 – 6-17-20 Thomas W. Symons

Thursday, Jun 18

Things got changed this morning for tonight’s lecture, so I had to create a new list of materials to send for a different lecture. I had material for a trip to the Geology Department at CWU, but Nick changed it and went instead to the Thorp Prairie on a field trip. I worked until 2:00 to find background material.

I had to plan to be ready to take photos of the raising of wood beams (trusses will sit on these) over the future walkway. Because the structure is angled, actual measurements could not be done until the roof over the “header” was removed. The initial estimate was about 9 inches off and the beam that much too short. A new one will be cut (in EBRG) and ready in the morning. [The just-a-bit short one will be used over the back patio.]
Meanwhile, look below in John’s Friday column, Not So Nasty News, and see the photo of the beginning of the walkway. Note his “nasty” comment about me and the dog. She’s really the one avoiding it because she fell off the original version into the hole mentioned. I was walking the plank fine.

‘Nick from Home’ Livestream #68 – 6-18-20 – Thorp Prairie field trip

Filled up my meds for the week.
We had pizza for supper.6-18-20, Noctiluscent cloud by Theresa Vandenberg, ~10:00 p.m., looking toward NW, from S. Ruby St, Ellensburg, WA

I really got into this, and found these videos below to entertain yourselves as they did me, all the while learning.

Noctilucent Clouds Explained • Aug 16, 2016 (3.5 mins)

What are Noctilucent Clouds? • Jul 2, 2018 (1 min)

Saved the best for last, with true moving videos in action of the progress of the “night clouds”:
The Noctilucent Clouds (NLC) 4K – UHD • Jul 8, 2016 (5 mins)

Friday, Jun 19

Recovering from a sleepless interrupted night (with cat demands, mostly), after being up late working on projects. So I slept in until 9:00 a.m. (except for normal 5:00 a.m. issues).
Now working on more unfinished projects. John’s outside.
I went out to take videos of lifting the first beam for the walkway cover.

Tonight was a musical tribute to Mozart by my friend from Australia in the Nick Zentner group, who makes a presentation on Nick’s nights off. She is a clarinet player for the longest part of her life, and included that at the beginning tonight, but mostly we have heard her music on her collection of recorders.

Tonight’s was Mozart music, with her explanation of the instruments played at the time, combining a performance by a large group of men on the instruments of the time period—actually she provides the complete playlist with titles & links in the descriptive part of the video below.

Kathy Williams-DeVries from Brisbane, Australia

I left this music after about an hour to have a phone conversation with a University of Idaho friend since the 1970s. John and I met Bill Rember (Paleogeologist) almost as soon as we arrived at the University. He now lives on his own fossil site near Clarkia, Idaho, 40 miles NE of Moscow.

I cannot get access to the video of his talk (48 mins), except through a web page in the archives at the University of Idaho that has a link to the video. His presentation is on the history and description of fossils in lake bed sediments from about 16 million years ago. Once you get to the link, you can watch the video on a full screen and see it a little better.

Bill Rember

Description: Paleobotany & Stratigraphy of Lake Clarkia Presented by Bill Rember, Department of Geological Sciences. Univ of Idaho, 48 minutes to Malcolm M. Renfred Interdisciplinary Colloquium, 2015

Supper: Shrimp, Butternut squash & beans, pears, and Fruit Tart for dessert.

Saturday, Jun 20

This morning’s field trip to view the Giant Current Ripples at West Bar, began with a thank-you acknowledgment of a gift Nick received from two viewers and admirers (who are wood crafts people). Here is their unique gift.Representative memory of Lost Rock Hammer incident at Drumheller Channels Columnar BasaltsNick on top with his rock hammer

Blooper on camera

LiDAR image of field area reported on this morning

‘Nick from Home’ Livestream #69 – Giant Current Ripples

Lunch: Soup for me.

I am working on the suggested links to send for tomorrow morning’s Nick talk on Yellowstone Geology. Sent late afternoon.
Walter came over and laid a bunch of tile in the new room. Need to check it out, tomorrow. Have a few pictures for later viewing.

Sunday, June 21 FATHER’S DAY

This morning’s video had the highest number of world-wide watchers that we have seen (1,434). This one went 115 mins., which is the longest.

‘Nick from Home’ Livestream #70 – 6-21-20, Yellowstone Geology

After it was over, I finished adding dishes I’d started last night, and turned on the dishwasher. It was still running, when John left for town to get some groceries at sale prices, and to pick up steel washers needed for a garden gate.

When John got home, I had my lunch of Top Ramen soup with chicken & Cheez-Its added. Now to work on the blog. I started working early afternoon, and now it’s late afternoon, with little accomplishment. My Chrome keeps hanging up and crashing – very stressing.

Supper: Roast, potatoes, and gravy (mushroom, corn, onion).

Hope your week was fine.

Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan