184: Sunny Days Are Here Again!

Monday was cool out, but as long as we stayed in the sun it was pretty comfortable. Nitro kept looking outside wistfully wishing he were part of the Spring, 2013 action. I have, literally, spent years trying to teach various cats to walk on a lead. News Flash! Cats don’t do anything they don’t want to do and I didn't expect this time to be any different.

The front yard had the sun so Nitro and I went out to weed the dry riverbed feature in the lower yard. I weeded while Nitro chased spiders and bees. Leave it to a male to have fun while the woman does all the work.

Apparently during the winter, Nitro had gained some wisdom and when I put him on his leash this time, he actually walked. Not dragged. Not hang listlessly “at the end of his rope”.  Not pull backwards and shucking his harness. He WALKED. He even let me guide the direction he walked. I guess it’s all the car trips he takes, he walks to the house from the car on his lead and may have finally gotten the idea from that.

This is Nitro’s first time in a tree and he looks about as uncoordinated as if it were me climbing
that tree but he really seemed to enjoy it.

Nitro continued his walk and found a branch then walked toward the end like he’s an old pro at tree climbing. Little did he realize that moments he would be hanging upside down from that very same branch like he was a pig trussed to a pole for a luau roast. He was really surprised to find himself upside down and even more surprised when he let loose and dropped the six feet to the ground. Of course he landed uninjured but embarrassed and hanging from the tree by his lead.

Ah, yes. As if you haven’t yet seen enough Mt. Rainier pictures, here’s a picture of the mountain from the SuperMall parking lot. It’s still amazing to me that we have a stray mountain smack our local landscape.  As Chelsea said last time I visited her house,(which also has a view of the mountain). Once you take that view of Mt. Rainier for granted, it’s time to move away!”

Friday afternoon we loaded up the new pedestal sink we bought for the cabin, the cat, and miscellaneous stuff and pointed the convertible towards the beach to enjoy the good weather that had been forecasted for that area.

Saturday morning before I even considered getting up, Bob was shredding the bathroom that’s just a mere feet from my pillow. Lots of clanking and banging to ensure I was given plenty of reason to get up finally did its job. I got up and ready for our day trip down the Oregon Coast to enjoy the sun and the wind blowing (Read: tangling)  in my hair.

Our first stop was Seaside, OR. We were going to park and check it out, but the town was totally PACKED and so we didn’t even try. We did, however, stop at the Seaside Brewing Company for lunch and a beer and watched people from the outside deck. Blue sky and beer. It’s a wonderful  way to spend the day.

We roll south down the Oregon Coast Highway and checked out a couple of thrift shops and stopped at the different coastal viewpoints. We used to stop at parks along the way, but most charge now so we don’t check them out anymore. Whatever happened to the plan that parks were created so everyone could enjoy the beauty of America’s lands whether you could pay or not?

Along this part of the coast there a lot of rock “haystacks” along the beach.  Since I neglected to read the signs provided at the viewpoints, I don’t know how they were created, but they are kinda cool. They remind me of the California coast. This poor homeowner has a beautiful view of the ocean but it is blocked by having a huge rock right in front of the house. You’d think he’d build his house so he could actually see the ocean!

Bob wanted a picture of his Jag with the coastline in the background. Here it is.

And Bob, with the ocean in the background, not finding me taking his picture amusing at all. . .

Another coastal viewpoint. Another view of the coastline. The informational sign says this is part of the original Oregon Coast Highway built with local rocks. A lot of the original rockwork has been removed as the roads were widened or repaired.

0051

The replacement sink looks great. Despite my worries after we brought it home from the used building materials store that it was not white it really is. I even managed to get a new lighthouse decal installed on the base at 11 p.m.  after  we arrived knowing Bob would want to put the sink in at the crack of dawn before the roosters even had a chance to pee.

Sunday is the Loyalty Day Parade in Long Beach and we could see the lineup from the cabin. How often do you see a giant cannon with a bunch of old farts in white knee socks and shorts clinging to it's side from the kitchen window. So the beat-up busses from the VFW, school bands, Lions, Shriners, etc, moved into town...

...we packed up and left town. All of those rickety rigs got into town but it's anybody's guess if they'll get out and I don't want to be behind them before I find out.

 Nitro has gotten over wondering where the roof of his car went and appears to be taking the whole convertible thing in stride. Bob's not too wild about the kitty snot on the windshield. Too bad. Snot happens.

Enjoy the sun this week...and don't forget the sunscreen!

Today the we prepared the bonnet of the jag for undercoating. We hauled it to the back yard again and stood it up against the wall of the "compound" as Kyanne calls it.

First it got really well blown out with air to remove most of the baking soda from the nooks and crannies of the bonnet.

Then he power washed the underside really well. 

The entire area then had to have a vinegar wash--via garden sprayer-- to neutralize any baking soda that might remain. 

After we hauled it into the garage and let it dry for a couple of days, Bob used special adhesive to glue the metal panels back in place. SNAFU in the plan. The adhesive needs to cure for 7 days, putting Bob's finally planned paint timeline in jeopardy. He wanted to have the undercoating on it last Thursday but now there is no chance of that until at least next Wednesday now.