Day 483, A chicken returns

I came home for a late lunch and to get an electric screw driver for work.  It was a beautiful day and I went out in the back yard and I thought I should water the new trees.  To my surprise my Cornish hen cam running up to me.  I thought she was dead but she must have been hiding.  She ran right up to me and I walked her back to the coop and I open the door and she ran in.  The other hens were obviously happy to see her and she ran up the ramp and into the coop and sat in a nest.  I was shocked to see her and happy to have her back.

Starting to decorate at home.

After work I thought I could put the wreath up on the Barn and this year I had a new one.  Last year post Christmas Sale at Lowes I bought a 60" wreath for $7, so I thought I would try it out.  It wasn't do difficult to figure out and after a while I had it all put together.  The trick was hanging it up.  I dragged out my 12' ladder and with some screws and wire I had it in place.  I dropped in on the light above the garage door and caused a little damage, so I will have to replace the light at some point.  Oh well, that's a Spring project.

With the wreath in place I felt I had a start on my holiday decorating and the panic feeling that I wasn't going to get it all done went away a bit.

Day 482, Back to work

The new wallpaper on my iPhone

This week shouldn't be as hectic, so it should be a normal Monday.  The Holiday Village Market and parade were over and the office was a complete and total disaster.  My office spent the morning cleaning up and putting stuff away and we got out our decoration for the office and we decked the halls.  When all was said and done, it was a bit over the top.  I think the less is more concept would have been a better way to go, but we took the excess route instead.

My brother emailed a phone wallpaper app of a great picture of the Norwegian flag and it took a few seconds to figure it out but I downloaded it as my iPhone wallpaper.  I think looks great and a little more fitting of me that previous Ocean wave wallpaper I had.

My workout was at 4:15 pm and it was exactly what I needed.  I always feel better when I leave than when I got there.  The benefits of working out greatly out way the agony of going.

After the workout I stopped off to see the trailer and it was parked in the last stall of the shop.  This should be the last week of crew of Flight Camp working all on the 1947 Westwood and maybe next week the Traveleze will move to center stage and I will actually have something to report.  All of the Traveleze's inside contents have been moved back down to the floor, so they can start to determine what's useable and what will have to be rebuilt.  From the looks of it there will not be much left to use and all new cabinets will have to be installed.

"He took the Roast Beast"

On my way home I stopped off to get stationary for my Christmas Party invitations, the grocery store for cat food and then I was finally ready to go home.  Tonight on TV is the Christmas classic the How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and no matter how old I get I still enjoy watching the program.

Day 481, A day of rest.

I slept until 8 am and I felt great.  A few moments later my folks called and wanted to know how the parade went and how the village did.  I gave them the details of the events and they were very happy for the success these two great events.  My folks had sponsored the first two kiosks and really encouraged the idea of us creating an old world Christmas market like in Europe.

The First Sunday of Advent and the Church all decorated.

At 10:15 am I left for church and picked up my friend Doug; we are both ushers today and we needed to be on time.   We are normally both late, so I texted him that I was coming early.  The Church was all decorated for the season and today is the first Sunday of Advent.  I couldn't help but be in a festive mood and I even wore my red sweater.  The Pastor had been at the parade and he commented to the congregation how great it was and thanked me for putting on a wonderful event.  I was very honored for the recognition in front of the church.

After church I came home and changed into work clothes and headed to my folks house to do their outside lights.  Before I left I let the chickens out.  I was a bit worried but figured the last attack was just a bad day, since I have had the chickens for nearly two years and never lost one.

I fired up the Packard and headed to my folks top down and extension ladder hanging out the back.  It was another warm day and with a hat I felt it was a perfect day a for a vintage convertible.  I plugged in my Ipod and played Bing Crosby and Andrew Sisters Christmas music in the Packard, it was awesome.

I got to work on the lights at my folks and had to run into town to get some replacement stands to finish.  After about 2 hours I had them decked out and the house look great.  I have yet to get my lights on my house but maybe I can take some time off this week and get them up.  I would like to have them up before December 1st, so I'm going to have to take time off or do it in the dark.

Eldorado, MIA

I got home just after dark and went out to check on the chickens. I was missing two.  My two favorite birds the Brown Rose Comb and Cornish hen were gone. All I could find in the yard were a  few feathers, so they to have fallen victim to whatever got the last two.  I will now have to fine them to the pen.

Day 480, The Star Light Holiday Parade

Sister's Oregon and the beautiful Three Sisters mountains.

It was Saturday but it is going to be a long day of work.  I was able to sleep in until 7:30 am which was really nice.  It was a little windy I was worried about some of the vendor tents and if they were staying put. I got up and started gathering everything I was going to need for the parade at 5 pm.  The Holiday Village Market will also be setting up for, day two, which is scheduled from noon to 8 pm.   At 10 am I had gathered all the things I needed and I prepared the Packard to be in the parade too.  

I needed to make a quick run to Sisters and pick up my clock which I had serviced and cleaned.  They had called earlier in the week and notified me that it was ready.  If I didn't go to day it would have to wait until next week.  I love the drive to Sisters and I figured I had just enough time to get there and get back before 11 am, so I could help with set up the Son's of Norway kiosk again.

Santa's ride ready to go.

As the morning unfolded the wind died down and it was a beautiful day.  The temperature was in the high 50's which was a good 10 degrees warmer than yesterday.  The venders were in a good mood and so were the shoppers.  We had a local youth choir singing and they drew a big crowd.  At 3 pm I had to get ready for the parade and we set up the registration at the start of the parade route.

One of the lighted entries.

We had 79 entries for the parade and we estimated it would take about an hour and a half to get them all trough. The good weather and warm temperature had the attendance pushing record numbers and it was estimated that between 5,000 and 6,000 people had lined the parade route to view the parade.  Of course the kids were there to gather the free candy.

I had the Packard decorated and I was ready for Santa.  I had removed the back seat of the Packard so Santa could stand and "ho ho ho" at the crowds of people and wave.  I would have 6 kids and Santa in the back and three adults, counting me, in the front.

The parade was amazing, with people pouring into the streets for 7 blocks.  It was official the Holidays were upon us and the previous week of decorating and putting up lights paid off; Redmond looked spectacular.  As I made the last turn at the end of the parade route and headed to the Centennial Park and Holiday Village so Santa could light the tree it became obvious that there was a huge crowd of people packing the park.  The choir was singing and the crowd cheered as Santa arrive to light the tree.

The Village at night at Centennial Park.

Santa got out of his Packard, greeted the crowed and was welcomed by the Mayor.  Santa's trusty elf (me), got the magic switch that lights the tree and handed it to Santa. With a count of five, Santa flipped the switch and the Christmas season was now official here.

I had placed a large wing backed chair from my potting shed, covered it in Christmas table cloth and placed on a red rug, so Santa could sit and greet the children.  Santa gives each one of the candy cane and his trust elf handed each candy cane to Santa as he busily greeted several hundred children.  The event was a huge success the magic of the season was alive.

It had been a great day.  It was sad to see it come to end.  After the clean up I took my two Son's of Norway cohorts out to dinner and we talked about the event from the Lodge stand point.  They felt it was a tremendously successful and where already thinking about next year.

Awesome day!

Day 479, The Holiday Market Village opens.

The Son's of Norway kiosk at the Holiday Village Market.

It was back to work as usual, but this day was not your usual day of work.  Today the Village Market opens and there is always a million questions from vendors and we still had to make sure that each one of them has power and that all the cords were taped down to prevent tripping.

The kiosk at dusk

I had also talked the Son's of Norway Lodge into having a kiosk and selling Scandinavian items and promoting the Lodge.  Joy from the Lodge had agreed and I wanted to make sure she had a great experience and would want to come back.  As the incoming President I want to promote the Lodge help them get better exposure and new members.  Joy and Claudia from the Lodge arrived exactly on time and I helped get them get settled into the kiosk.  My brother who helped build the kiosk with the Redmond High School shop class put in shelves and lighting, so they would be all set.  I brought a CD player, space heater, and table with two chairs from my office. 

The Village Market at closing on the first day.

Both Joy and Claudia were very pleased with kiosk and as they set up their items to sell, they needed a few more things that I was able to help with; securing flag pole holders and attaching hooks to hang ornaments from.  When they were all done merchandising the kiosk look amazing and they were a huge draw with the visitors.

The village looked amazing in the new park and I was pleased with the crowd and so were the vendors.  Tomorrow is the parade and it always draws a large crowd.  The parade itself draws around 5,000 people and the tree lighting is immediately following the parade.  Many of the parade attendees walk over and watch Santa flip the switch and the vendors are crowed with curious shoppers.


We had really lucked out on the weather it was clear and no wind, but a little cold.  Tomorrow is supposed to be 10 degrees warmer but a few clouds.  We are all keeping our fingers crossed that the weather holds.

Day 478, Happy Thanksgiving!

Sleepy Harris

It was nice to wake up not on a schedule and I got up around 8 am.  Harris and Scrappy were completely happy to sleep on the bed all day and from the looks of it they had no intention of doing anything all day.  I started talking down the fall decoration, so I could put up the winter stuff and get ready for Christmas.

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I took down the the corn stalks and fed them to the horses, who greatly appreciated the treat.  I put up the Christmas wreath and the snowman plaque that says "Let is Snow" at the mail box, so the driveway was done.  I got out the greenery for the inside.  I sorted through all the gifts that I have already purchased throughout the year and figured out who I still needed to shop for.  Luckily I'm pretty much done with my shopping which is a good thing it will take me forever to get this all wrapped and shipped.

Starting to decorate the house.

Thanksgiving dinner is at 4 pm at my brothers home.  I had the fresh baked pecan pie and I whipped up some whipping cream just in case we needed a little extra.  You can't have good pie without fresh whip cream.  It's amazing how good turkey and all the fixing taste and as usual I way over ate.  I quickly was under the spell of turkey and needed a nap.

I was home by 7 pm and started to put up more Christmas decorations.  One of my favorite is a Swedish candle set that reminds me of my grandparents and Danish friends that lived in Junction City. 

Day 477, Decorating the Holiday Village Market

Today the rest of the 7 kiosk arrived and we had all day to string garland and hang the lights on the village in preparation for the market on Friday and Saturday.  This is the fifth year we have had the market and the first year in Centennial Park.   Figuring out the logistic of power for the seven kiosks and 14 other vendors was a bit of a challenge.

The Holiday Village Market all set up and ready to go.

The entire day was dedicated to making sure everything was going to be perfect.  We had great volunteers to help hang the garland and string lights and by 3 pm everything looked great.  The logistics of power was figured out and we all set. 

At 4:15 pm I had my workout and it felt good to stretch and get some flexibility back into some tight muscles.  It was a nice way to end the day.

Back at home the chickens had laid three eggs.

Pecan pies, one chopped one whole.

My project for tonight is to bake the pies for tomorrow. I'm only supposed to bring a pecan, but I love the smell of pumpkin pie in the house so I figure I would make one of me and freeze the other for later.

Day 476, More decorating

The kiosks were scheduled to arrive today at 8:30 am, but it is a little windy, well, actually really windy, so the driver rescheduled for 3:30 pm without asking us.  The only problem with that is the person has three of the kiosks at the High School is not available then so now we have to pick those up on Wednesday.

We spent the day working on putting up lights around Centennial Park.  I'm always surprised how much work there is to getting the city decked out for the holidays.  I also had to walk and replace light bulbs on all the light poles downtown.  Someone had walked the entire length of 6th Street and pulled out one bulb from each pole, which made half the string go out.  I reported the criminal mischief to the police and they took a report of it.  There is also a business downtown who has a camera in front of their store and I'm sure they have footage of the person responsible.

I had to leave work right at 5 pm to attend a Sons of Norway meeting in Bend. These meetings are really socials and they take several hours, which I really didn't have time to give.  There was a nice dinner and we had a productive meeting and I left at 8 pm.

Day 475, Deck the Halls

Placing the tree

Today the town Christmas Tree arrives and naturally it's a little more windy than one would like when standing up a 28' tree.  This is a new location for the tree this year and we have not sure exactly how the tree is going to stand up, without a stand.  There was supposed to have been a stand in the ground but it's just a hole in the ground - a very deep hole!  Public works filled part of the hole in with gravel and secured a metal plate to the bottom of the tree that should keep it from moving in the hole.  With a few shims we think we can keep straight.

After the tree was up and we had the light put on, I had to go paint a kiosk that was just constructed at the High School.  We had about 3 hours to get the job done and it was going to take every bit of that time.  I had loaded up my paint trays and brushes in the truck and even a of grubby paint cloths.  The kiosk turned out really well, but we could have used another hour of painting to finish up the detail work, but it looks good and will be a nice addition to the Holiday Market Village.

Painting the kiosk.

I had my workout appointment and my trainer was just back from a 6 day Yoga retreat in Mexico and she was really in good spirits.  I think she forgot how out of shape I am and pushed me harder than normal, but it felt great.  I'm always amazed how fast an hour goes and I was completely drenched and worn out.

I stopped by Flyte Camp on the way home and they were just finishing up with a film a crew regarding the 47 Westwood Coronado.  The trailer was looking amazing and the hours of hard work showed in the gleaming paint and amber varnish.  This trailer is definitely a work of art.

The completion of the 1947 Westwood.

Next on my list was to go to Tracy's and help  her assemble a cabinet in the garage.  The box weighed over 200 lbs and she had everything laying out on the garage floor.  The directions or lack there of "good directions" intimidated her a little so she was waiting for me.  It took me a few seconds, but I quickly figures how it should go together and  in an hour and half we had it all assembled.

It was a long day and I was ready to get home, it was now 8:15 pm and the wind and rain were just starting up again.

Day 474, Sunday and a visit to the Traveleze and the loss of two chickens.

It was a pretty typical Sunday, with Church at 11 am and my friend Doug and I went to lunch at Mazatlan afterwards.  I put two strands of garland downtown on the two buildings my folks own and lights in the back tree in the alley.  After that I went home, let the chickens out around 3 and then went into Bend to hit Michael's and Costco and to pay a visit to the Traveleze.

I figured Justin and his crew at Flyte Camp would be working late tonight and pulling an all nighter, to get the 47 Westwood Coronado ready for tomorrows big day.  The 48 Westwood was shipped off yesterday to the new owners and now all their attention was being devoted to the 47.  I stopped off at the store and picked them up a dozen doughnuts, who doesn't like a maple bar?!

Rest In Peace

I arrived at the shop and everyone was busy working on something.  They had put new wheels and white wall tires on it looked spectacular.  The white walls needed to be scrubbed to get the blue protective film off of them.  I had told Justin a while back that the best thing to clean white walls with is an SOS soap pad.  He asked me again and told him SOS.  I knew they were too busy to go get them so I jumped in the car and ran to the store.  I returned moments later and with a cup of water a SOS pad and a towel I had the look the white walls looking fantastic.  I left them to their long list of tasks and go out of their way.

Missing and presumed eaten.

I stopped off Costco after my visit and picked up some more garland for tomorrow.  It was now dark and I headed home around 5:50 pm.  I got home and put the car in the garage.  I then put the BMW and the truck back in and I noticed a of what I thought was leaves in the middle of the driveway.  On closer examination I noticed it was feathers and lots of them.  Obviously one of my chickens had met her fate.  I noticed they were gold so the Buff Orpington was gone.  I went and looked in the coop and I only had 5 hens.  The Silver Penciled Wyendotte was gone too. I figure a hawk, an owl or a coyote had gotten them.  It was sad, but it's life on a farm and I can get more in the spring.

Day 473, Saturday with lots to do

It was still very cold and Fridays snow was still covering the yard. I did my usual chores of cleaning up around the house and folding laundry and I called to wish my mom a happy birthday.

Around 10 am  I headed into Costco to buy garland for work, so we could decorate the kiosks and the Redmond archway. $239 latter I was loading my truck with what looked like a small forest and hopefully I got enough to do all the decorating on Monday and Tuesday.

After Costco I headed over to Flyte Camp Vintage Trailer Restoration to see how they were coming. The 48 Westwood was still there and had not been picked up on Friday because of the snow. It was scheduled to be picked up today, but the driver was nervous of the icy road conditions. The 47 Westwood was a buzz of activity, as it has to be ready by Monday.

The big project Justin has been working on will be finished for the most part on Monday and this the last weekend of them having a deadline. With a little luck and hope my 1950 Traveleze can start getting some attention again. The Traveleze was inside, but it was covered in blue tarps as if it had been prepared for sitting out in the weather. The taillights had arrived for it, so once they start working on it again they should have all the parts needed. I am very excited for the opportunity they have with the 47 Westwood, but I sure want to have my trailer done.

On my way home I stopped off at Lowes and bought a few items for a Christmas gift project and then headed home. I was eager to get started on this project to see how it would turn out. It will be a good excuse for me to use my chop saw, band saw, jigsaw, disk sander and my nail gun. I was really pleased with my first two prototypes, but I was already making plans for a new and improved designs for the next one. I plan to give these out as gifts to my friends, so I have to keep the project a secret until after Christmas.

November Social at the Sons of Norway Lodge in Bend, OR.

At 6 pm I have a Sons of Norway November Social to go to and they are serving lamb and cabbage, aaaah yum?? Hum not sure what to think about the dinner menu, but I'm sure it will be fun and entertaining evening.

As it turned out the food was excellent and the evening entertainment was fun too as expected with readings of old Norwegian fairy tails and showings of clips from Norwegians films that they will be playing in the coming months.

I stayed and helped clean up the lodge and swept and mopped the floor. I got home a little after 10 pm. It had been a long day, but I still had time and energy to apply one more coat of chrome paint to my Christmas project.

Day 472, It's Fraday!

The first snow accumulation of the winter.

I woke up around 5 am and noticed it was extremely light out. Even without my glasses I could tell it had snowed, and with my glasses on could see it was still snowing. Luckily I was able to fall back to sleep, or it was going to be long day of me yawning.

Everything was your typical Friday and the day was over before I knew it. At 4:30 pm my co-worker and I dragged the ladder around downtown and finished up the Christmas lights, so they were all working the way they were supposed too. Next weekend will be the big holiday kickoff, so we still have a few more days if we need it.

I got home about 5:30 pm and I was so "done" for the day. I put on some comfortable cloths, put clean sheets on the bed, made dinner turned on the TV and that was it.

Let the weekend begin!

Day 471, Leadership Redmond

Today is Day 3 of Leadership and I was out the door at 7:18 am.  This is my 8th year facilitating the program so I fill very comfortable with the day and I have double checked with everything so there should be no surprises.

Today's program takes us on a field trip to the airport for a behind the scenes look at the inner workings of this incredible facility.  This is always a well received day and everything was falling into place as planed.  The airport tour was great, the speakers all did a great job.  Before long the day was over I was back in the office at 4:50 pm, just in time to head to a meeting at the City 6 pm.

The meeting at the City was just an open comment period for the public to give input on a new economic development plan the City has been working on and I wanted to be there for support.  The meeting lasted almost exactly one hour with a few comments from the public and I was home by 7:18 pm, exactly 12 hours after I had left.  I walked to the house from shop and it was snowing lightly and I think winter is on it's way.

I was so glad to be home and happy that the weekend was drawing near. Thursdays are also my laundry night, life just doesn't get any better.

They chickens spent the entire day cooped up and laid 4 eggs!  It was the first time they had laid four eggs in one day for months. 

Day 470, Wednesday

Today is going to be crazy.  I need to finish up all the little details for tomorrows leadership class and at noon I have a site visit with a sporting event that is interested in learning more about our area and possibly having their event here. 

At 11:30 am I was off to the Expo Center to pick up my cohort in this site visit and then off to the airport to pick up our guest. They arrived exactly as scheduled and they hadn't eaten, so the first thing on the agenda was to feed them.  We had a great lunch and then showed them the city, and the facility.  It had been a long day for them, so I dropped them off at the hotel at 4:30 pm.

I was able to  head back to the office and load my truck for Leadership tomorrow.

Day 469, Tuesday and more lights

Today was back to the streets, stringing up lights and wrapping all the light poles on Highland, Glacier, Evergreen and 7th Streets.  We also got the Plaza strung up with lights and all the trees around the office.  This normally takes us 3 days, but we manage to get all done in 2.  Next week we will have the town Christmas tree to decorate and all the kiosks for the Holiday Village Market all in preparation for the big holiday kickoff weekend and parade the Friday after Thanksgiving.  It was a miracle that the weather was holding out and it made the process a lot more palatable.

At 3:30 pm I was finally able to take a lunch hour and I needed to run a clock into Sisters for service.  I had been on a waiting list for 6 weeks and they were now ready for my clock so I needed to get it in before I lose my place.  I had just enough time to run there and back and then attend a Business After Hours at 4:30 pm.

By the time I got home around 6:45 pm I was exhausted. It was already really cold with the temperature around 23 degrees.  I went to check on the chickens, refill the water and food and collect two eggs.  Most of the hens were sleeping in the small coop, but one was sleeping in the new insulated coop.

Day 468, Getting ready for the Holidays

It's hard to believe that next week is Thanksgiving and that means we have to have the downtown ready for the big Starlight Holiday Parade the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  What this means is that we have to hang all the lights on all the trees on 6th Street and wrap every light pole on 6th, 7th, Highland and Glacier Avenue.  This is a huge undertaking which I could do without the help of my great volunteers.

I spent most of the day hanging lights and finally called it quits at 3 pm for the day.  We were able to get all the trees and light on 6th Street which is the parade route and tomorrow we will hope to get the majority of them done.  This is usually a 3 day project and the rest of the week will depend on the weather. 

A week from today the town Christmas Tree will be arriving.  I had ordered it two months ago and confirmed it's delivery.  The next day, Tuesday we will delivering 7 kiosks to create a Holiday Village atmosphere for the holiday weekend and each kiosk will need to be decorated and covered with lights.  We also need to get the office decked out and the City will be constructing a new ice skating rink next to our office starting the first week in December.

Today is also my workout day and trainer is still in Mexico at Yoga retreat, so I will be working out with one of her former interns.  He is young and in extremely good shape.  I'm seriously concerned he will kill me as his workouts outs are killer.  Today he wanted to know if I wanted to go for a run and I was up for it.  He runs a little faster than I do, but I tried to keep up and I know he was going way slower than he would run.  It was a bit cold out, but after a few minutes I was plenty warm.  In all we ran a little over 4 miles with no stops and I never lost my breath.  I have come a long way.

1948 Westwood getting ready to go to a new home.

On my way home I stopped off to look at my trailer.  It was sitting outside in the cold and I'm starting to worry it might get caught in the snow or rain.  I know they put it in at night, but I don't like to see the raw wood being exposed to the cold temperature.  Inside the crew was working on both the 47 and 48 Westwood's.  The 48 has new celebrity owner and will be leaving on Friday.  The 47 was off having some paint work done and they were busy working on interior components for both. 

It was a great day and the chickens again laid 3 eggs.

Day 467, Sunday and a Christmas card photo

Today is the day we are taking the picture for our office Christmas card.  Each year we try to do something unique and creative that reflects the feeling of the season.  We have been very fortunate to have some amazing cards and each year we have to create something that holds par with the rest of our cards.

Setting up for a Christmas card photo.

The picture today is going to be taken in my neighbors driveway and a friend of mine is going to bring his 1937 Buick Century over for us.  The look and feel of the photo will be a cross between that of a Currier and Ives print and a Norman Rockwell picture.  I hope it will turnout and with the magic of our photographer I am very confident he can capture what I'm looking for.

I spent the afternoon working in the yard.  I raked big piles of leaves up in the garden, I put away the patio furniture for the season and then blew out the sprinkler system.  I felt I the yard and house is now ready for winter.

Day 466, Saturday and painting the hallway.

The back hallway before painting

I slept so great and woke up wide awake and ready to start the day at 7:30 am.  I wanted to get a start on the hallway and spend my morning cutting in and painting the angled wall.  I was using more of the dark brown that was picked out by my interior decorator and I had to text her again to confirm this wasn't going to be too dark.  She knows I was nervous about making the hall to dark, but she thought it would be striking.  I trust her wholeheartedly, so I kept painting.

At 1 pm I was ready for a change of pace and I wanted to take the memory foam back to Costco as well as stop off at the Son's of Norway to see the children's Christmas craft program they had going on.  To make the trip just a little more unique I fired up the Packard and drove to Bend with the top down. 

Painting the hall

I got to Costco with the foam and the box, and the gal said they could not take it back unless it was back in the box.  She then started to laugh, as there was no way you could ever get it back in the box.  She made me chuckle and they returned the foam no problem.

At the Son's of Norway Lodge there were lots of children learning how to make traditional Norwegian Christmas crafts and even I had to try my hand at making something.  It was fun to see the kids learning something new and carrying on a tradition.  The Packard drew a lot attention in the parking lot and to my surprise it started to snow.  I quickly put the top up as the sunny day had quickly turned to a snowy afternoon.  Luckily the snow did  not last.

The back hallway painted

Back home I spent the rest of the evening painting the hall and surprisingly I was very happy with it turned out.  I knew I would like it but was surprised just how much I liked it.  It is masculine and has the lodge feel I was hoping for.

Day 465, 11, 11, 2011 Veterans Day

The Veterans Day Parade

I am so glad to see Friday roll around and it's Veterans Day.  Our local VFW hall puts on a parade at 11 am and my office always goes out and supports their efforts.  The parade has been getting bigger each year and it always fun to see the parade.

The day moved along steadily and before long it was that favorite time a day, 5 o'clock!  I really had no plans for the evening but I was glad to be going home.  The first thing I did was take a quick nap, I was so tired and 20 minutes later I was ready to go.  I had tossed the sheets in the wash and they were now ready to go in the drier.  I have not happy with my mattress, it is too firm, so I thought I could drive into Costco and buy a memory foam mattress top.  An hour and half later I was back home with the memory foam and ready to put it on the bed.  It made the mattress 15" thick and the bed seemed so much taller.  I like the look of the bed, it seemed lofty and comfortable. I would find out tonight how it was to sleep on.

I still had some energy, so I decided that I had enough time to start painting in the hall.  It needed a second coat of paint in places, so that's what I spent the rest of the evening doing.

As for the chickens, they had laid 3 eggs today, so the light in the coop is helping and their moral was going up or at least their production.

It was now 11:30 pm and I was ready for bed.  I pulled back the covers and jumped into bed.  Surprisingly the memory foam was very hard.  I laid there and began to sink into it.  I felt like I was laying on wet concrete and slowly sinking into it.  When I got ready to turn over I felt like I had to clime out of hole and then the edges of my body indentation hit me harder some areas until it gave way and fit my body again.  This was not a good purchase.  After 20 minutes of laying more uncomfortable than every I got up and unmade my bed and took the memory foam off.  It also had a strange smell and I just wanted my old bed back.  20 minutes later I was back in my bed and so happy to be there. 

It was the weekend, and I was very happy.

Day 464, Something to pull the Traveleze.

A 1949 Packard Deluxe Club Sedan.

I stopped off to look at the Traveleze after my workout and there wasn't a lot of work done on the body, but they had bought the propane tanks, which will now be powder coated and chromed. They had the sink refinished with new porcelain and the tail lights were purchased and being shipped.  Once their big project with the 47 Westwood is done they will be able to get to work on the Traveleze, which should be after Thanksgiving.

The back end of the Packard

In the mean time my hunt for the perfect tow car continues.  I have found a 1949 Packard Deluxe Club Sedan which might and it's located here in Oregon.  The current owner has had the car for 39 years and just had it repainted in Champagne Gold, which is close to the Anniversary Gold used on a handful of the 49 Packard's to celebrate their 50th Anniversary.

The original interior of the 49 Packard.

The car has a great shape which compliment the rounded shape of the Traveleze and I'm planning to go look at the car over the weekend.  My only hold back is that it's not a Super or Custom Packard, but still it is a nice car with all original interior.

Day 463, Wednesday and a long day

It's Hump Day and we are half way through the week.  Today I have two meeting after hours and I'm anticipating getting home around 8pm.  I'm not even sure I will have time to run home and let the chickens out I hope to be able to take a lunch and run home to let them run free.

New Airport Fire Truck

As it turned out I didn't have a chance to take a lunch and the chickens were going to be stuck in the pen all day.  My first late meeting was at 5:30 pm and it was the Airport Commission.  We had just received a brand new Class C fire truck and it was pretty cool.  The truck was just under $800,000 and looked pretty futuristic.  We were given a tour and able to climb into the cab, it was truly state of the art.

The second  half of the meeting was a speaker from the City and I have already had the opportunity to hear the presentation 3 times so I skipped out.  The timing was perfect and I was able to go to my second meeting at the VFW Hall where I was asked to judge speeches from High School students who were participating in the "Voices of Democracy" program.

In all there were 7 speeches we listened too and it only took about an hour to listen and rank each speech.  I was surprised that I was able to actually be home by 7:30 pm.

Finally home I checked on the chickens and they had laid 2 eggs.  At least now I am averaging 2 eggs a day instead of 1 and the eggs are coming from more than one or two chickens.  The last two days I have actually had two white eggs.

I was ready for bed by 9 pm.

Day 462, Another day

Vintage tail lights for the Traveleze

I received an email from Justin with a set of vintage trailer lights are available on eBay that he believes are the correct tail lights for my trailer.  They look good to me and they look like the tail lights I have seen in pictures.  I emailed him back said buy them or I would.

Norman Rockwell's "Merry Christmas Grandma"

Today was busy with a Board meeting at noon and I did a little preparation work for office Christmas card, which I hope we are able to shoot this weekend.  Our Christmas Card has become much anticipated and each year we have to try to out do the previous and I think we have a good shot at it again this year.  Our inspiration this year is cross between Currier and Ives print and Norman Rockwell's Merry Christmas Grandma Plymouth picture.  We hope to blend the look and feel of the two and come up with something memorable.

The chickens laid two eggs today and spent the entire day in the pen.  It was dark by the time I got home, so they were sleeping in the old coup when I went and checked on them. 

It was nice quiet evening and I enjoyed the time to just relax.

Day 461, Busy Day

I love the kind of day that is so busy it flies by in a blink of an eye.  I was absolutely shocked how fast the day went.  I have my workout today and didn't take a lunch as usual.  It seemed like it was late morning and then the next thing I knew it was time for me to go workout. 

On my way to the gym I stopped by Flyte Camp and my trailer was sitting outside in the cold.  I wanted to drop off the three CD's on vintage trailers advertisements I had bought and a old, but never used instant under the counter water heater.  I wondered if it might be something we could use in the Traveleze.  I didn't have time to stay so I just dropped it off with one of the workers and headed to the gym

My work out was great. I didn't have any issues other than a sore elbow and was able to run on the treadmill with no issues in breathing.  She had me focus on upper body and chest and my favorite pull ups.  I am amazed how many pullups I can do now, since just a year ago I could hardly do one.  She has me do a slow steady pull up and a slow let down.  They are killer but I can tell I am much stronger.

After the workout I had a finance meeting with the Sons of Norway treasurer and Tracy who is the newly elected treasurer for the Lodge.  We spent about two hours going over the books and getting familiar with the thought process and the budget.  I think Tracy was shocked at the lack of process and procedures there are and I know she will implement many needed changes.

I got home by 7:30 pm and turned on the TV as cleaned up the kitchen.  I had no idea Justin Beeber was caught in a love child scandal and I really don't care.  This is why I don't have cable TV. 

Day 460, More painting

I spent the morning setting all the clocks back an hour, that I didn't catch the night before, and then I got ready for church at 11 am. The message was all about time (how appropriate) and how we choose to use what little time we have here on earth.  I found it ironic that the Pastor ran long in his sermon by 15 minutes.

Painting the Hall

When I got home I changed into work clothes and started cleaning up in the yard.  I took down the Halloween witch and cats, took down the "Sleep Hallow Pumpkin Patch" sign and tossed out the carved pumpkins.  The robins have been eating the berries from the juniper trees and getting drunk and then sitting in the big locus tree by the front door and pooping.  The front steps were covered in bird droppings, so I took the garden hose and spent a lot of time hosing off the steps and front patio.

My Sunday even was spent painting the long hallway which required a very tall extension ladder.  I made dozen of trips up and down the ladder inching my way the length of the hall.  It was a rather time consuming project which took about 3 hours.  By 9 pm I was done for the day and ready to kick back and mentally prepare for a new week.

Day 459, Big Brothers Big Sisters Comedy Auction

I was able to put a second coat of paint on the kitchen wall and touch up areas that need a little extra attention.  I also ran to Lowes to buy a replacement rope light for the top of the cabinets.  Rope lighting on top of the cabinets make for a great lighting element and super easy to put in place.  I have them plugged into a remote lighting system that allows me to turn on and dim most all of the lights in my house.

New paint in the kitchen

With the rope lighting in place I was able to put everything back on top and clean and dust everything.  It was a huge task just to clean everything and put it back in place.  I was very pleased with the wall color and even more happy to have the mess cleaned up.

At 3 pm I started cooking a spiral ham for a party at 5 pm and it smelled wonderful.  At 4:50 pm I headed out the door to pick up Tracy and put the ham on a big platter with foil and set it on the floor of the truck.  By the time I picked up Tracy and got to the party the ham had leaked all over the floor mat.  Luckily it was high ridged rubber winter floor mat so the mess confined to floor mat.

At 6:00 pm Tracy and had to leave for another event at the Tower Theater in Bend, for a night of comedy with the Big Brother Big Sisters organization.  This is their largest fundraiser of the year and they had outstanding auction items and I even found one item that I really wanted to bid on.  A local painting company had offered 8 hours of painting.  I could have them finish up my bed room or wait until Spring and have them paint my shop.  At the end of the even I had the high bid on the painting and was thrilled with the thought of not having to paint the shop next spring.

Day 458, TGIF

Painting the dinning room wall

I was so glad it was Friday, it had been a long week and I had a stress knot in my neck shoulder that need professional help to get rid of.  Luckily I was able to schedule a message for tomorrow morning, so I had something to look forward to on Saturday.

Painting the kitchen wall

It was nice to have nothing planned for Friday night and I was ready to kick back.  I started looking at the dining room and kitchen walls and I really needed to painted them.  The next thing I knew I was in paint cloths and had all the pictures off the wall and furniture moved and I was painting. 

The kitchen all painted

I painted until midnight and the walls looked great.  I have rope lighting on top of my cabinets and a sections was out, so will have to run to Lowes tomorrow to replace the strip.  I have so much stuff on top of the cabinets and it all needed to be dusted off and cleaned. 

I finally got to bed around 12:30 and I was tired but pleased with accomplishment.

Day 457, Thursday back to work.

I woke up feeling better, but with a knot in my neck and shoulder from stress.  I was happy to have yesterday behind me my entire office felt like would could back to work.  The holidays are fast approaching and we have a lot of work to get done in order to have the town ready for the festivities.  I also have Leadership Redmond to coordinated so that was my focus for the morning.

At 3 pm I left the office to run some errands and then to head to my workout in Bend.  My trainer was very happy that mood was better and that my blood pressure was more normal.  This didn't keep her from giving me a full workout and was sweating like crazy by the end of the hour. 

I had a some time to kill after working out, before my Sons of Norway meeting at 7 pm, so I headed over to see the trailer.  There was no one at Flyte Camp, so I headed to my next option, Costco.  I did a little shopping and grabbed a hotdog for dinner and then headed to the Lodge.

Tonight's meeting at the Lodge elected the new Officers for the Lodge and I was voted in as President.  I couldn't  help but wonder what I had gotten myself into, but I enjoy the group and hope I can help them out.  I had also invited a new potential member who I met at the cell phone store.  I was in the store the other day and recognized his name as being Scandinavian, so I asked if he was Norwegian and had said no Danish.  I told him he should come to the Lodge and thought that sounded interesting.  I had emailed him the membership application and told him we meet on the first Thursday of the month.  To my surprise he showed up and instantly connected with the many Norwegian and Danish speaking members.  By the end of the evening he was completely hooked on the Lodge and had signed up to do story telling during the holiday festivities.

I got home a little before 9 and went to check on the chickens, no eggs!  It was cold and I needed to drag my garbage can to the end of the driveway.  It was beautiful out with the moon and stars and the crisp cold winter air. 

My bed was going to feel good.

Day 456, Wednesday and The Meeting

My stress level was slightly elevated when I got work and climbed steadily all day. I had a presentation at new with our local Kiwanis Club, which went well and by 5pm I was pretty much reserved to whatever is going to happen is going to happen.  I know my job very well, and my office performs very well and achieves great success on a very conservative budget.

At 5:40pm I headed over to the meeting with the City and I had lots of support from my board and staff.  The meeting started off well, the presentation which was designed to lead us through a discussion worked great and by the end everyone was very complimentary.  All the stress and worry about how this meeting was going to go seemed to have vanished.  There were no mandates or directional shifts recommended and everyone seemed to be on the same page and feeling positive.  The meeting was over and that was it.

I went home, exhausted and with the feeling of an instant huge relief.  The only thing I was mad about was me.  I'm in control of my life and my stress level and I need to remember no one else does.  This was a valuable lesson and I hope I can remember this for a long time to come.

I was done with today and going to bed.  I was so glad all went well.

Day 455, Stress on top of stress.

To say today was stressful would be an understatement, the demands and the unrealistic expectations of a few have consumed my mind and I have been completely unable to stop focusing on the negativity.  I'm usually pretty good and letting things roll off my shoulders, but for some reason not this time.

I had meetings and emails that just kept multiplying the focus on the negativity and I was completely unable to not take it personal.  By 4 pm I was late for my workout, but was going, I needed to get away and out of the office.  At the gym I changed into my workout clothes and I could tell my blood pressure was extremely high and I could actually feel and see my heart beating in my eyes.  I needed to calm down and let this stress go.  I told my trainer and she said we should do some Yoga and relax. 

By the end of my hour I felt much better and was able to move on to happier issues and finally was to disengage my brain from thinking about it.

Awaiting its time.

I stopped off to see the trailer on my way home and it was sitting outside.  There hasn't been any work done on it for three weeks.  I talked with Justin and he was almost as stressed out I was with his projects and told him not to stress about the Traveleze.  I told Justin I was ready to crack and he said don't it's just not worth it.  I said I would try to hold it together but if they found me wondering the fields and drooling to lock me in a padded room and he could keep the trailer.  I also told him he had to take the two cats and seven chickens too.

Next on way home I needed to stop off at Costco to buy a spiral ham for a party on Saturday night.  This would be my only time to get it, so I figured now was as good as any.  I found myself wondering the Christmas decorations and rows of toys and for a moment I was completely just lost in make magic of the upcoming holidays.