Flannel Shirt

No news is good news

But it doesn't fill up a blog. The kids flew out last night. They changed planes in Chicago and the one they were supposed to change to had problems with its brakes, so they got back to North Carolina really late. 

Here in Portland the air is officially unhealthy. We've got another couple of days of this, from trees burning in British Columbia and everything burning in eastern Oregon. We are doing even less than normal because of the air, but soon the winds will shift and we'll get cooler and cleaner air. More air conditioner. Every time we open the windows one of us starts coughing. 

Izzy is getting spoiled by the neighborhood, especially at the gas station. When we walked past there this morning she kept trying to pull me off the sidewalk and into the cars pulled up to the pump. I didn't see the woman who's her friend/fan. I managed to steer Iz past the pumps when one of the guys who works there came running up. He needed to give Izzy her dog biscuit. I may lose some weight and get into better shape from these walks but with all the treats people give her I think Iz is going to get a bit pudgier.

Sunday is Funday

Lucky that one grandpa owns a gym. 

The heat is back. The kids are flying out of here tonight, back to North Carolina. While they were here they did lots of work, cleaning up the garage and emptying a lot of unneeded, no longer wanted stuff from the basement. It is clean enough now so we can get at the rest of the stuff. 

The lady at the gas station gave Izzy three (!) biscuits on the walk today. It was still cool with a little breeze in the morning so we took a few more blocks. This afternoon there was a breeze too, but it was so hot it wasn't refreshing at all. We took the kids out for Vietnamese food at our favorite local Pho restaurant. Then Joan drove them to the airport and things weren't quite so spooky for our dog. Good visit for Joan and me.

 

Beating the heat

The heat is coming back again. It's not yet as bad as it was, maybe Monday and Tuesday. Dog and I did our walk this morning and she said hello to the lady at the gas station. I think she searches her out because she gives Izzy biscuits.

With all the tomatoes we've gotten Joan made a Caprese salad to go with dinner tonight. 

The folks across the street must have gone down to the beach to beat the heat. 

Meanwhile, the folks (the couple that work for breweries) next door are having a party tonight. The woman came over this afternoon and promised not to be too loud, and they haven't been. Izzy's not very happy, but I do believe she's gone to sleep. The heat is supposed to stick around through Tuesday and then it goes down for awhile. Then maybe we'll have a normal September. 

 

(night off)

Took Izzy to the dog park. Good times. She's tuckered out tonight. Me too. 

It was 83 degrees today

It was actually a rather pleasant day today. Kate took Iz on a walk in the morning, I took an extra long walk with her this afternoon. Yesterday's trauma of being drugged and going to the vet's was long gone from her memories. All the junk that the kids took out of the basement has either gone to Goodwill or is sitting on the curb tonight waiting for the garbage trucks in the wee hours of the morning.

While we were out I tried to take a picture of Izzy and a strange evergreen I'd never seen the likes of before. Big tree too. Tonight I tried to download it so I could put it here, but it wouldn't download. Then I checked the camera and I apparently didn't actually take a picture. Well, one of these days.

I do have a lot of pictures of you know who, and if the email is working that's where you'll find him.

 

Izzy's big, scary day

Today was Izzy's vet appointment. She needed a couple of updates for her shots. They gave us a dog tranquilizer which we managed to give her a couple hours before we went. She was a little loopy, staggering a little walking to the car. It was not something she wanted to do. We got through it, though. She was nervous and when the vet came up to her Izzy, as is her way, peed all over her. But she got her shots and we came home. She's been doing a lot of this afternoon and tonight. We took an abbreviated walk this evening. She didn't have the usual get-up-and-go so we cut it short. She's kind of dozing next to us tonight. 

We didn't quite hit ninety today, so the record number of ninety-degree days is still just tied. 

Otherwise, things are quiet. Football is only three and a half weeks away. 

More hot

The heat is still on. Tomorrow we're going to set a record for most 90-degree days in Portland. And we still have half of August and all of September. 

The air is pretty bad, filled with particulate matter from all the fires. Currently the wind is blowing down from Canada and we're getting smoke from forest fires up in British Columbia. But there are fires to east in the state, fires in Washington State and fires to the south near the California border. It makes for great sunsets, if the sun actually cuts through, but not so much for breathing. Lots of sinus problems and burning eyes. For Joan's 70th birthday present Kate and Andrew are helping to clean out the garage and basement. We got a big dumpster from the garbage company and it's pretty much already filled. 

This evening while the kids were out Joan made fish tacos. Instead of lettuce there was a brussel sprout slaw, a yogurt sauce, guacamole, and, oh yeah, fish. They were actually really good. 

Izzy keeps making friends, one on the morning walk, one on the evening walk. My dog. 

 

Nothing

Nothing. 

No pictures, no activities, nothing to report. 

Maybe tomorrow, although we are back in the heat after a pleasant weekend. Tomorrow we'll be flirting with a hundred. 

 

The princess of 51st Avenue

Sunday was the last day for Joan's seventieth birthday celebration. Last year for Christmas Robin sent us a hundred-dollar gift certificate for Salty's, a high end seafood restaurant on the Columbia River. And everyone ate well. That's what we did. I had fish and chips because the surf and turf was just way too expensive to justify. But the fish and chips were high-end, and I had a side of fried artichokes which was good too. Joan had grilled steelhead trout, and Joan's kids got good stuff too. The picture is of Joan's older daughter Kate and her partner Andrew. They're out visiting this week from Asheville.

Above are the folks from across the street. Up here in the Northwest having fried chicken and waffles is a thing. I don't know if it was originally a southern thing, but I've had it once. And it is what it is. I like chicken and I like waffles. And I like them together, but I wouldn't make a habit of it. 

In any case, that's the food tour for the day. 

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