STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 21700: Vacating My Vacation

Alas, all good things must come to an end. So it is with this much needed vacation. This is the first time in over 10 years that I have taken more than 4 consecutive days off. It’s nice to do only what you want, when you want for a change. No itinerary, no appointments, no B.S. Now for the daily journal.

Wednesday, Dec 6th:
Today, was a kick-back day. The only thing on the agenda was Beef Stroganoff. I also got a head start on tomorrow’s Bar B Q by making the Deviled Eggs and the Potato Salad. I like them better when they have “fermented” for a day before consumption. Lou made Apple Strudel. I had never worked with Fillo dough before so it was a “learning experience” for me watching her. By the way, the Stroganoff was excellent.

Thursday:
Today was ‘geek’ on the computer and Bar B Q day. After a breakfast of eggs, Italian sausage, and my “world class” fried potatoes, Donald and I went to Fry’s Electronics, conveniently (or not) located a few blocks from his house. I was looking for an extra battery for my cell phone and some Lightscribe discs. My computer came (supposedly) equiped with Lightscribe, a program which allows you to burn labels directly onto a disc (CD or DVD). I walked out with the above mentioned discs and a 120 gig external hard drive on which to back-up all of my music and photo files,etc,etc. The battery for my cell phone was out of stock. When we arrived back at his house, I immediately tried to make a label for a disc only to discover that there is a malfunction in my computer which will not allow printing of the labels. Disappointing!!! I’ll work on it later. I did still make a couple of mp3 discs for the ride back to Vegas tomorrow. It will be so much better with some “tunes” to alleviate the boredom. That took a long time because I have so much music from which to choose that I found it hard to decide what to burn to disc. You can get about 150 songs on a disc in the mp3 format, and I didn’t want any duplicates. Anyway, a little after 1300, I took a break from “geeking” and fired up the grill to commence the charring of animal flesh. I BBQ’ed Steak, pork chops, some hamburgers, hot dogs, Italian sausage, and some chicken. After dinner we made some Pomegranate ice cream. It was good, in fact delicious, but it tasted too much like Strawberry to make it worthwhile to do again unless specifically requested. Niece Dawn spent 2 hours doing the “grunt” work of “plucking” pomegranates, only to have it taste like strawberry. Live and learn. Later in the evening, I had another “computer disappointment”. The external hard drive didn’t work. DRAT!!

Friday:
Today was departure day. I made biscuits and sausage gravy for breakfast (one of my best dishes). The MMM got the last of their bones to gnaw on (Lou buys them each 1 bone for each day they are there) while I packed up the Jeep. I left a little before 1100. I drove to Fry’s Electronics before I left Palo Alto to exchange the external hard drive. I stopped for gas in Morgan Hill, then drove to Casa De Fruita. I walked the MMM and took a nice break. I then drove to Bakersfield where I again filled my tank. $2.39 a gallon for regular unleaded, a bargin for California. Next stop was Kramer Corners where I had dinner at Subway. I arrived back at the WWW a little before 2200. The jeep perfomed admirably. I was concerned taking such a long trip in an 11 year old car with over 115,00 miles.

Saturday and Sunday:
I did absolutely nothing that could even remotely be construed as work. Yesterday, I hooked up the new (different) external drive, and it worked like a charm. I then backed up all my files. I know, I know, so much excitement in one day can be dangerous, but I like to “live life on the edge”. Later this evening, i’ll venture away from the WWW long enough to retrieve my accumulated mail. More excitement, more excitement.
Addendum:
When I checked my mail, I found that I had a package waiting. It can only be the shirts I ordered from Cabela’s on Wednesday when I redeemed the Gift Card. That’s fast service since I didn’t request any “expedited” shipping when I placed the order.

Rest For The Weary

Sunday, Dec 3rd:
After taking most of Saturday for myself, I set to work early this morning preparing for my upcoming sojourn to Palo Alto. There was much to be done. The MMM needed grooming, the Jeep needed an oil change, a good check-up and some new(er) tires, and I had to pack. I also needed to install a radio and cigarette lighter. Both “fritzed” about a year ago, and, having a ‘black belt’ in procrastination, I hadn’t yet quite got around to replacing them. It helped that the groomers called at 0830 and said they had a cancellation and I could bring the MMM in early. Their appointment was for 1430.
After I dropped of the MMM, I went to a locally-owned tire shop. I found a matched set of used tires for $40.00 each. While they were changing the tires, I noticed that my front brake shoes were virtually non-existant. After they finished the tires, I had them change the “shoes” too. Total bill for the new(er) tires, balancing, and the brake shoes was $267.00. By the time the Jeep was ready, so were the MMM. I dropped them off at my truck in the WWW parking lot, then went to get the oil change. The first place I found open was a Terrible’s Car Wash that also did oil changes. They did a good job, and as a bonus, they included a coupon for a full service car wash with every oil change (a $12.00 value). After the oil change, I took my ’baby’ for a bath. With the coupon, I upgraded to an “ultimate wash” which included among other things, tire dressing for my new(er) tires. Total bill including the oil change, a new air filter and the wash was about $50.00.

Both the MMM and the Jeep after “grooming”.
Next on the agenda was installing the cigarette lighter and the radio. I managed the get the lighter installed (partially) but the radio will have to wait. It won’t fit into the existing opening without some trimming. Darkness won out, so I decided to wait until I arrive at brother Donalds and do it there.

Monday:
Today was travel day. I left Vegas about 0730. I traveled at “vacation pace” to Bakersfield. I had a leisurely lunch at Bill Lees, then set of again. I drove to Casa De Fruita. I stopped here for an MMM break and to see if they had fresh cherries. They didn’t, but I learned something new. I was unaware that brussels sprouts were a “stalk” vegetable. I always thought that they grew like cabbages. Anyway, I drove the rest of the way to Palo Alto arriving at about 1900. I missed most of the rush hour traffic. YEAH!  They had already eaten dinner, so I made a cheese omelet and some fried potatoes for myself, then just ‘vegged’.

Tuesday, Dec 5th:
Today, brother Donald and I finished the radio and cigarette lighter installation. It was much easier with 2 people, especially re-installing the cigarette lighter to its proper place. I made a nice Shepherds Pie for dinner. It was my first attempt, but it was excellent.

Life Day 21692: Vacation Bound

Wednesday, Nov. 29th:
The rain subsided overnight, but it was bitterly cold. After I was loaded, I left KC, MO about 0930. I drove to Newton, KS. It was drizzling when I left, but it soon turned into freezing rain. The road was treacherous. I had to stop in Emporia to knock the ice from my windshield wipers. I had lunch in Newton, then drove to Guymon, OK. The roads were much better from there. It was clear sailing to Guymon. I had dinner at the truckstop restaurant. It wasn’t bad. When I walked back out to the truck. it was blowing snow. I decided to stay for the night. I walked the MMM before it got much worse, then went to bed. Once again, my “nanuk of the north” hat came in handy.

Thursday:
I left Guymon at 0800 and drove to Santa Rosa, NM. On my Pre-Trip I discovered that I had lost both mudflaps on my truck during the storm yesterday. Both brackets snapped off at the mount, probably from ice build-up and freezing temperatures. I replaced them myself, purchasing the parts from the Shop at the TA. I then drove to Milan, NM. I took a quick break for the MMM here. At 1800, I finished my day driving to Winslow, AZ.

Friday, Dec. 1st:
I left Winslow at 0830 and drove to the consignee in Kingman. I did the drop/hook, then settled in to wait for a PrePlan. About 1300, I recieved and accepted a load from Flagstaff, AZ to Hermiston, OR. I arranged to T-Call the the load at our drop yard in North Las Vegas. I had breakfast, then set off for Flagstaff. I did the drop/hook, then headed for NLV. I arrived about 2200 and dropped the trailer then headed to the WWW. I’m going to take a week or so off. I haven’t had a real vacation in years. Hopefully, my new truck will be ready when I get back. I’m going to Palo Alto for an extended visit with brother Donald and family. I’m leaving Monday if I can get the Jeep in shape over the weekend. It needs an oil change, new(er) tires and a good check-up. I’m going to finally install a radio. I haven’t got around to it since it “fritzed” about a year ago. I have a couple of spares in my storage shed, so i’ll dig one out. I also have to get the MMM groomed on Sunday.