Oregon City, Oregon - Week 1 - January 4 - January 10, 2021

Oh - I really liked typing our 2020...so easy to do....but the year was so hard in so many ways, so I will be happy to change it to 2021

I have set out a course in the woods that is a mile long.  I mapped it my "Map My Walk".  It crosses all of the bridges that I built and the one Malcolm made.  The trail is only walked twice in one place, but the trails cross in several places.  Kathryn Wilson came over and was the first person to walk the whole course with me.  She loved it, as do I.

Our hot tub is broken  - the computer doesn't work and the cover is so heavy it is nearly impossible to life up.  We've had the cover ordered (and paid for) for weeks.  Ditto on the new computer.  Don't think the pandemic has been good for hot tube companies when you have to wait for month for service and parts.  

The hot tub had me thinking about how we drain the hot tub.  Dad is certain that the drained water goes into the drain system in the house - the tubes of which go out the the woods at the west end of the barn.  I disagree - my recollection is that we found a drain pipe in the area of the hot tube and just stuck the hose into that.  So, we decided to test the situation.  Dad uncovered the controls for the hot tub.

While I went out to the end of the tubes........nothing.....not even after a long time.

Then he put the hose into the drain around the house, and water emerged at the end.  So I am likely right.  I think the exit is somewhere on the edge of Sector 2, but we probable won't be able to find the spot until the ground is dry when we might see seepage in the soil.  Pretty exciting, no?

Our poor little ATV was worked so hard over the last nine months that it really needed servicing.  It was so caked with mud that it took several hours to clean it up.  Then we took it to Mt Hood Polaris in Damascus.  They say there is a two week waiting line until it can be worked on.  I'm hoping the cost will be under $1000.00.

I'm starting to clean up the fence on the north property line between us and Chisolm.  For us who know the names of the sectors, it is the north boundary so Sector 6.  The bottom line of barbed wire is either broker of dangling in the soil, so eventually I will have to cut it completely off if I want to use the brush cutter to keep the area clean. In one place a tree has fallen on the fence and knocked it down.  I cut up the tree and cleared the area.  I have a lot of fence yet to go.

 

Today was Bjorn's farewell in his Orem Ward.  It was live broadcast to all of his family here in Oregon.  I feel badly that we couldn't go, but we are planning, this summer, but we planning a trip to visit some from (from Kazakhstan) who live in Nagadoches.  Who knows, we may happen to drive through whatever city Bjorn is in and see him on the street and honk and wave at him.

In this photo, he had just finished saying that their first effort at teaching a lesson is Portuguese turned into a train wreck.

Here is a message for the world from our Second Grade Science Class.....from Abby.

Oh - I forgot to mention that this week on January 6, the US Capitol Building in Washington DC was besieged by a mob of Trump supporters who had been "egged on" by Trump & Company -  "fight strong", "We will walk to the Capitol" and "Trial by Combat".  I worry for our country and our new president.  What evil people Trump and company are, and what stupid people who follow him.