Fun in Central PA

Here is the loaded roof.

Not - everything I have touched in the house has gone to s--t, it started last night with the computer. I would try and move the courser it would start to open different windows, randomly with no rhyme or reason. I tried every thing I have replaced the mouse and the keyboard, then I could not get past the security lock. The keyboard would not work at all, it would not even power up and the mouse was frozen in the center of the screen. I unplugged the four plexus form the USB port on the front of the unit and hooked up direct - still zilch. Finally I hooked the four plex to the USB in the back of the computer and yea everything works. The USB port on the front of the computer is shot. The unit sits on the floor directly under the keyboard - I know it is not a great place but it is the space that I have.

The new keyboard is about 3 inches wider than the old one so I had to add a piece to the home made table to hold it up.

The Ford cruise control recall included my Ford - When I called them this morning they told me to bring it in as it was slow and would only take 10-15 minutes. I got there about 8:50 AM left 10 AM, but it is done.
I also had to get the oil changed in the Ford - I had tried to get it done on Saturday at 8:45 AM and there was a 3.5 hour wait time. Today was much better I was out of there in 45 minutes.

I went to the junk yard about 3 PM and we loaded the cut off roof onto the roof rack on the Ford and put the doors in the back. It is tied down with two 2 inch wide ratchet straps, it looks funny. I am going out and try and take a couple pictures. Which I will try and up load later to night. I will deliver the roof and doors at 8 PM tonight and after that I'll take the Dodge out there. Luckily I do not have a run till 12:30 Tomorrow. The fun is going to be getting the roof off the roof rack.


Bob
Be safe out there and be well.

Robert Rodgers
AKA Bob the Pirate, When all else fails take another ship.

van updates and other things

The junk yard called 15 minutes before they closed and told me he gotten the roof cut off and the doors removed. I will pick them up tomorrow and take them to the body shop. It finally looks like all the pieces are coming together.

I did something stupid last night, I left the 12 volt cooler plugged in, so I had a dead battery this morning on the Ford, I now have the charger hooked up and running.

I have the back seat out of the Ford (it has been out since Tuesday, I was suppose to go and get peaches, but they would not do it like they said) I will load the handicapped carts in a short while. Then off to church, I think Betty Lee is speaking and I am platforming (running the program).

We might get some rain this afternoon, we really need it our well is sucking air at times.

I also must pick up a new set of faucets for the tub and shower for the landlord to install.

Bob

Friday 8/3/07

I have been so busy since my last post, We are trying to upgrade our 1993 Dodge to a handicapped high roof van. I have purchased the lift, and paid for someone (a junkyard)to cut the top 18 inches off an other van plus the two doors. we need a 60 inch door opening for the commercial lift. I have a body man lined up to put all the pieces together. We are hopping to have it up and running by the end of August.

Bob

Monday Morning

I have not been able to write much lately as we are getting the libary back up and running. We have over 15 boxes of books that are going to a used book store in State College (Websters Cafe and Books) Doing this is going to allow us to get the front porch cleaned up so we can start using it this winter.

I have to leave on a run at 7:30 AM, it is just to Lewistown to pick up their wedding licence. I should be home again by 10 AM. Then I am going to try and get some work done on the porch. I'll try and write more often.

Bob

Last week

I had a busy week so I did not get to write last week.

I left for Owen, WI. at 12:05 AM Monday, we arrived at 6:30 PM. Then it started to snow, we ended up with a 1/2 inch. The wedding started at 8 AM Tuesday so it was a long day ( I napped most of the day ) WE finally left there at about 11 PM Tuesday and I arrived home at about 8:15 PM Wednesday ( I had an extrat 2 hours dropping off)

Then on Thursday I left for Lancaster at about 4:30 AM. I arrived home about 8:30 PM.

Then on Friday I had local runs, I picked up a family from a bus that was returning from a wedding in the state of Indiana, and took them home. Then I took two family's shopping. Saturday at 7:30 AM I took a group to an auction and left all but one (she went to a grocery store close to the auction) and picked up 3 more and brought them back close to home and at 1:30 PM I left home and picked up the three, that I brought from the auction and took them back to the auction, picked up the group I left at the auction and one extra and brought them home.

Then I gased up and stopped at the grocery store and got some mashed potatoes and saulisbury steak for supper.

This week is booked solid also except Friday which is the day that I take Betty to WalMart for the monthly shopping spree.

BOB

Monday Morning 10/11

I am sorry to report that Betty Lee has come down with Bronchitis, The Doctor call in a prescription yesterday and I picked it up. She is finally asleep. She has had to use her nebularizer quite often the last two days. We fight this every fall and winter, She has such decreased use of her lungs that it gets very worrisome.

I have a run this morning I pick up just down the road at 5:55 AM.

Every one enjoy the holiday
Be safe out there and be Well

Bob

Thursday eveving 10/05/06

There is not much going on with me this week. I took my neighbor to a funeral Tuesday morning and then to upstate NY that night as they missed there ride because of the funeral. I was home again by 11 PM Wednesday.

My broken toe is much better and has almost quit hurting, if I step just right I do remember that it is broken.

I had to order a new Battery charger for the bus/RV, and I also need to get two new batteries for it. Then I can take Betty for a ride before it snows.

Be safe out there and be well.

Bob

10/2/06

Well it is 3:30 AM, I could not sleep anymore for some reason. I do not have much to report this morning, as I have not been able to get much done with this damn broken toe.

Betty is also up so we are a couple of old farts with sleep problems. I did have a winning Sunday, two $50 scratch off winners plus two $10 winners. So I'm up a $100.

I need to get a new battery charger as I was stupid last week and left the cover off the one I presently own is now shot. Rain will do that to electrical equipment. The one I should get is from harbor freight and is $114.95 plus shipping. I am going to check a couple of local parts stores this morning.

The Bus is giving me a rough time, it is a bear to start the next thing is going to be two new commercial batteries at about $150 each. And I just had to order two new nickel cadmium batteries for Betty Lee's handicapped scooter. so the bus will wait a little bit.

I will close for now.

Be safe out there and be well.

Bob

Wednesday evening 9/27

It is 11:15 PM and I am wide awake as I was heading to upstate NY this evening and the person I was going with got sick and I have a broken toe on my right foot which makes driving interesting. I was refilling Betty's oxygen bottles on Monday and when I arrived at Dick's Home Care and opened the door of the van one of the small bottles rolled out and landed on the right foot breaking the little toe and bruising the toe next to it and about an inch above both on the arch. I did not know it was broken till today, I had a podiatrist appointment at the VA hospital in Altoona at 8:00 AM. When the Doctor saw it she said well go get it X ray ed, as I think there is a good possibility that it is broken and she was right.

Soak it in ice water and keep it wrapped in an Ace bandage an wear a special stiffed sole shoe that they gave me, to only use when I am not driving.

So I guess tomorrow I'll try and get the last 6 or 7 boxes of books from the front porch to the library, as the landlord finally has finished fixing the roof. Now he is working on a sewerage problem.

After the yard sale I put a bunch of stuff on the curb and most of it disappeared, I think the landlord took most of it as he works a flea market every Sunday, he mostly sells wallpaper borders but will put out about any thing he thinks he will get $0.50 or more for.

Well it is time to close.

Be safe out there and be well.

Bob

Monday evening 9/25

I have not written much lately as Betty asked me to get a bunch of stuff ready for a yard sale, her quote " I do not have anything to do I'll just sit out there all day" Friday I had about 2 hours sleep when she said lets get set up. Then about 1 PM she said will you take over and went in and took a nap. I closed it up at 3 PM and went to bed. Oh we made a great $12.50 for the two days.

And this morning I was going to get her oxygen refilled and when I got to Dick's home care and opened the door on the van one of the smaller oxygen bottles rolled out and landed on my right foot. Now I have a very black little toe on that foot. If I take my shoe off I can hardly walk, it is bearable with shoe on.

I took a Lidoderm Patch (Lidocain 5%)and cut in in half and put a half on each kneecap for 12 hours. This was Saturday night and this is the first time in over three years that my knees have been pain free. It is Monday night and there is a twinge of pain for the first time. I will probably use another one Tuesday night.

Be safe out there and be well.

Bob

Sunday 9/17/06 10:30

I just got back from Fort Plains NY, Saturday evening I was up helping a friend build a new house before winter as they live in the snow belt. I did not do much except tow an enclosed trailer and took 3 carpenters and 2 women and 3 young children with me. It was on my neighbors daughter and her husbands new farm.

They have 7 children and are living in a 12 foot wide two bedroom trailer with a small attached bedroom making it 3 bedrooms total. I slept a a neighbors. It was 305 miles each way and the Ford hardly knew the trailer was back there. I was surprised at the ease with which that 98 V10 handled the load and it only dropped the gas milage by just less than 2 mpg and on the interstates I ran at 70 mph.

I did get some good rest while I was up there but the flies were terible, They have had so much rain everthing is water logged and they also have had to do a lot of grading and have put up new sheds and barns. The farm had not been farmed for about 10 years so there was a lot of stuff (rusted junk) that they buried. Plous the had to put in new sewarge lones and water lines so it has been a big project.

But they seem real happy and the women is always smiling and she is 7 1/2 or 8 months pregnant, So it is a push to get the new place to live done.

Be safe out there and be well.

Bob

Thursday PM 9/7

Well the IRS said they mailed my check on the 30 August. I thought that this day and age you could get a piece of US mail to almost any place in the world in 8 days. Not from the IRS though. They did say they had paid me $19.68 in interest That's for keeping it for almost 8 months. No I'm not bitter, right.

My foot is just pink right now and my stomach is back to normal. So I am doing something I should not do, eating everything in sight.

I bought a HumGUS bucks lottery ticket today ($5 ticket) There were 10 winners out of a possible 12 tries, each worth $10 for a cool $100. I have been cold in my bones as of late so I am going to take $50 and buy a heated mattress pad. I do not get much help from electric blankets, but I have been sleeping on a small heating pad for my shoulder, and it is really helping me. Not only my left shoulder but also my upper back and some on my right shoulder.

Betty i really up set as her case worker from the Office of Aging was here today and told her that she might lose her helpers as she will not turn off the oxygen while she smokes. I can not understand her as her favorite aunt burned her lungs very badly doing the same thing. But she says, she had a face mask on not just the nose tubes. We are also having trouble with the insurance that pays for her medicine and I can not even try and get it straightened out till tomorrow.

Well enough for now, I'll try and keep everyone posted a little better in the future, I have been a litle slack of late.

Be safe out there and be well.

Love
Bob

Wednesday Morning 9/6

Well I survived the weekend from hell, it stared on Friday morning actually. As I have said before we have friends that have a tent at the Grange Fair in Centre Hall. I was taking my trailer to the fair to let them load all there stuff. There are like Betty and I, All the children have drown up and gotten married, they keep the tent for the grand children. I was using the 93 Dodge, as the Ford was still in the shop, and when I hit the top of the hill it coughed and quit running. I was able to coast it to the bottom of the hill to a spot that was safe and I was able to get completely off the road. It was 7/10 of a mile from the house, mostly up hill. The walk home almost did me in. Of course there was only one key to the rental car and it was on my belt.

When I got home I called the garage and a tow truck ($45). Called the people about not being able to get the trailer to them. Got in the rental car and went down and unhooked the trailer and transferred the stuff that could be stolen from the trailer to the van and in doing so fell and hit my left shoulder on the asphalt, hurt like hell. Then made my appointment 9:30 AM. Friday afternoon I picked up the Ford and returned the rental car. Then I took Betty and Russ to do the monthly shopping. Saturday was rainy and I spent most of the day in bed with a heating pad under the shoulder, it really did help.

Then Sunday morning Russ and I took the first rear seat out of the ford so we could load the carts. I was not sure how I was going to make it work, as the ramp is built to be used from the rear door of the 93 Dodge. I was able to make it work but in the trial and error process, the wooden floor fell on the arches of both feet. The left one was the only one that was really hurt; there is a 2 inch wide black and blue area that goes all the way across the foot from about half way up the toes to about half way up the arch. We got to church and unloaded but the pain started to make me sick to my stomach so we came home early. I am one of those people that is in constant pain due to the Post Polio, so I have a fairly high tolerance for pain. The pain got so bad by about 1:30 PM I took a perqoset (sp) which was a huge mistake. I had such an allergic reaction, upset stomach and a violent case of diarrhea. I took more Imodium than I should have, but finally got it stopped yesterday afternoon, 48 hours of hell.

I have a non fasting blood test on Thursday morning.

I must close for now and go get Betty some cigarettes.

Be safe out there and be well.

Love

Bob

Wednesday evening 8/30

I got the ramp rail finished this morning. It Seems to work well, I'll know better after I use it for a while. The renal car is a pleasure to drive but I have trouble getting out of it as I do not have much push left in them. For such a small car the trunk is quite large and also has good leg room.

It has finally dried out and tomorrow is supposed to be great but then on Friday the rain returns. We Had 3.7 inches over the weekend and another 3/4 of an inch yesterday and last night. We could also get another 3 to 4 inches this weekend. We are starting to get warnings about high water and flooding already and the storm has not even gotten back over water.

Betty and I plan to go to the Grange Fair tomorrow I am going to plug in the carts as soon as I finish this. I will try and remember to take the digital camera with me. WE have friends that have a tent there and need help moving out on Friday and Saturday. I am going to talk to them and see if I can leave my trailer Friday morning so they can fill it and I can pick it up Saturday morning and tow it to there house and leave it till I have more time to pick it up and they will not have as much pressure to get it done in a hurry. They have the same problem I do,We are not as young as we were.

It will knock our sugar way out of kilter, To many bad things (real good tasting junk food) to eat and you just do this once a year like Thanksgiving. Yea I'll just eat a salad on Thanksgiving, Not.

Well I must close for now as Betty needs the heating pad as she has developed lower back pain. I think it is because she has started to walk to the bathroom and to her bed, and she has not used the muscle's to that in over two years. She has had to increase the use of Aleve to the point she gets afraid to take more.

Be safe out there and be well.

Love

Bob

Tuesday night 8/29

I am going to let Jared's mother worry and do the set up on and with Jared's blog.

I am not home enough to really do the necessary supervision of him and it will be restricted to friends only with close monitoring. So everyone that is concerned about his safety will get a better feeling.

I picked up the third rail for the ramp yesterday and will try and do the final fitting in the morning. It pored off and on all day, every time I got to a time I could do it, down came the rain. So I have been puttering, right now on the table behind me, in my office/library, is the wooden silverware drawer from the kitchen. I have taken part of it apart and applied a heavy amount of Elmer's glue and clamped it and added extra support strips on the front and left side. Which are also glued and clamped. I'll know if all the work paid off in the morning.

Ill finish the ramp in the morning and get to the bank in State College before my 1:30 dentist appointment in Lamar.

Be safe out there and be well.

Love

Bob

Helping Jared get his blogger account

Jared is sitting at my elbow as I try and write this, so if I do not make sense you will understand.

I am trying to show him how things work like the spell checker, he is rteal smart as far as comouters go.

Tuesday Morning 8/28

We had 3.7 inches of rain in the rain gauge yesterday morning an we had rain again last night it showed another .5 inch and is still raining and is suppose to for most of the day. I am of to pickup 5 prescriptions for Betty Lee. I also must go by the bank at the bottom of the hill and cash a small check I recieved in the mail yesterday. I must also check with a neighbor about a new rail for the van to streghtin the ramp. After I get it I will need to drill another hole to fasten it to the floor at the door.

Well I guess I had better finish getting dressed and even put on some shoes.

The rental car surprised me in that it had just under a 1/2 tank when I picked it up. By last evening it had hit the red mark. So I put in $20 and it almost filled it, I had filled the 93 Dodge on Sunday ($87) big difference.

Be safe out there and be well.

Love

Bob

Monday Afternoon 8/27

I have a pretty, fire engine red Dodge Neon for a rental car. It is costing me a huge $0.76 a day. I am really trying to get the R/V started. My charger does not seem to get enough charge in those big batteries. I changed where I put the connections from the charger, I hope this helps. The batteries do not turn the engine over fast enough to get that big diesel started.

I have finally figured out how to work the spell checker on this post writer. I also changed the look of my blog let me know if you like this one better or should I go back to the first one. A couple of people yhought that it was hard to read because of the dark colors.

Be safe out theree and be well.

Love

Bob

Monday Morning 8/28

Well it is 7 AM and have had a cheese omlete, made a pot of coffee, checked my sugar (149) and taken my medicine. I did sell the Dodge mini van for $50 last night. I was very lucky, taking out to Woodward. As I went through Millheim some one kept blinking his lights behind me, so I pulled over and he pulled up besude me and hooered "check the ladder on your roof" I had forgotten that I had put it on the roof when I cut the grass, it was not tied down. I put it inside and said a prayer of thanks that it had not fallen off.

I am off to the Ford Dealership in about 20 minutes. Betty just got up so I am going to quit this and feed her.

Be safe out there and be well.

Love

Bob

Late Sunday night

I just upgraded to the new Beta version of Blogger. The say there is a new spell checker but I not figured out how to use it. I finally found it, it finds the missed spelled words but does not give you options on replacements. So I guess that I'll continue to write in MS word and cut and paste to the blog.

Be safe out there and be well

Love

Bob