Strava gets it right, once I've turned off auto-pause.

Walking the loop

Um, where did the map go that I thought Openrider uploaded here?  I had Strava send it to my email server instead.

This app doesn't have a premium level, but not much actually uploads to blogger.

I walked about 5 miles, hoping to get ready for next year's hiking season, though I don't want to be hiking when my blueberries are coming in.

To the estuary went the six in their canoe

Vern, Jan, Suzanne, Jack, Christi, me  Peace

Swimming before the WAshington Democratic caucus, hammock revision for Canoe Auction.

Last night YMCA staff said a great Easter egg hunt would take place in the lap pool for the last hour the pool was to remain open. I left unperturbed, glad for the kids to have fun, intending to awaken early and get into the pool about 7:15 a.m. After a terrible night sleeping I woke up an hour late. I ate a snack bar and went to the YMCA got in the pool and discovered that many of my moving parts didn't really want to play. I did some kicking drills and one armed freestyle, followed by some butterfly drills. The stiff feeling persisted even through breast stroke. Then I swam some one armed fly followed by a few careful full stroke butterfly. Everything seemed to come together. I doubt that I was great but I felt good-- almost like I was flying--I felt like I was no longer a prisoner of the water. It was a good time to get out of the pool. I left, hoping that I could have a repeat performance of that feeling.


Out of the pool at 9 a.m.and home at 9:30.I walked down to Aberdeen high school for the Democratic caucus.  People in our precinct got together several people spoke about their favored candidate and people were permitted to change their vote for president.  Only the person who was undecided changed their vote to Bernie Sanders.  Overall 29 of 51 attendees voted for Bernie Sanders, but that was not enough to give Bernie more than three of the six delegates for our precinct.  Whole process took under an hour. Erik Larson, the Mayor attended, and said he'd address the problem of people parking their cars hogging 2/3 of the sidewalk. Met Tom Quigg early on--he said Stephanie Devaney, anesthesiologist at GHCH, is leaving.

Home again, to re-rig a giant (90x156) tablecloth hammock for the NW Heritage wooden Canoe auction May 13-15@ Lost Lake. I removed the zip-ties I'd used to gather the ends and using the Amsteel loops attached to the cinch buckles in their place. It has a ridgeline to keep each hang as comfortable as the last. I made and uploaded a video to youTube showing how to hang the hammock.

I went back to the pool at 7:30 p.m. Same routine as the morning, but I felt more energetic.

I watched videos and learned about the Becket hitch used to attach hammock to a tree strap, no hardware--thanks, Derek!  (Derek Hansen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXhHBwUbIgI "fast forward" to 4:50)

Kicking butterfly

I woke up! Late! 8:30 a.m.! I'm so lazy and so unashamed!
To the the pool I went, and without coffee,  that wonderful legal performance enhancing drug, with the intent of just swimming meekly. After pretending to swim some freestyle 100's, I got a dose of optimism.  I wasted it on some poorly executed butterfly 25's--I'm sure I looked to the life guard like I needed saving. I sought help from the basic kick drills, doing 8-10 25s.  Doing drills like that helps put the pieces more into automatic execution. That immensely improved the stroke.  Future butterfly sessions demand kicking drills for a good stroke not to be simply accidental.

FYI, pouring a solution of sodium thiosulfate on my hair & skin after swimming effectively takes out the chlorine.

Fixing more stuff

December 1, I flew Vegas to Portland, drove home and slept. Dec 2, I checked the pump in my basement, for which I'd bought a seal bearing assembly and a coupler from zoro.com--some clicking meant I needed to go to work.  I turned the pump motor off. December 3, I drained the heating system, removed the pump and replaced the seal bearing assembly and the coupler.  Performing the repair was strangely therapeutic. Heat's on!

No thanks to Dan at Sunset Air, who still hadn't gotten back to me with an estimate for this repair.  If ever he does call back, will I tell him I just closed off that part of the house?

End of days in Vegas

November 30.

No, Armageddon isn't upon us.

I am just winding up a 10 day visit to Vegas, where Brother, Sis and Mom live.  The amount of daylight here in the Southwest astounds me anew with each visit.

I drove Mom where she needed to go for groceries and where ever else (Brother) Tom would drive her when I was home in Washington.  She's still walking an hour a day--all in the house, doing laps through kitchen, dining room, living room and front hallway, with occasional side trips to the back yard. She used to walk outside in her gated community, but her fear of workmen (gardeners, contractors, etc) and drivers of cars that looked like they belonged in crummy neighborhoods drove her inside.  

Mom demonstrated the exquisite art of exaggeration as she estimated the cost of a repair I performed, replacing a hot water re-circulation pump.  The cost of labor will rise to equal or exceed the cost of the parts, no exception.  She estimated the cost of that repair to exceed $500.  After receiving the pump, I accepted Tom's offer to "help", but when he said he wanted to work on it late in the afternoon two days later, I chose to work on my own. I sprayed the old fittings with WD-40 to loosen them, waited, removed the pump, sweated some copper fittings and installed the pump.   The installation took an astonishingly short time (under 30 minutes).  Instant hot water again!