Chapter 84 - Takin' Care of Business...

Here's the deal. I have been feeling like, lately, I just haven't been doing much anything. I have the distinct impression I am spending most of my time in the recliner. But trying to put together these blogs it seems like I'm always on the go. Big disconnect here between my reality and my perception of my reality.

Anyway, let's get this thing started. Carl and I went to see a movie at the Bijou. But before we saw the movie, Juliet, Naked, we stopped at this new place, The Grill 1646, for a bite. It's a nice place, a hole-in-the-wall kinda place, really. Set right on the corner with, and this is the part I like, a table that goes around the window with stools to sit on. You can have your lunch and watch all the traffic and humanity flow by you.

And so we did.

It's always fun to eat out. I love the idea of having some hot, tasty food without having to prepare it myself...nor do the dishes and whatever afterwards. Hahaha, my kinda of life. But I realize I cannot afford it either monetarily nor vis-a-vis my health. Let's face it, the food is tasty but it ain't exactly healthy.

Still, it brings a smile to my lips. I had a Philly with home-made chips. The sandwich was good and the chips were...OK. I had expected them to be warmer but these were cool like they had set out for a while after being fried.

It's the little things, right?

And from our perches inside the Grill, I could watch, among other things, the KIA. There she sat, kitty-corner from us waiting to do my bidding and take my anywhere.

Having had a filling lunch and still with maybe 20 or so minutes to kill before the previews started, we went for a walk in the neighborhood. Kinda walk off a little of the lunch. Make room for popcorn.

Maybe two years ago, on another walk, I got a nice shot of these chairs. They had the geraniums growing around and through them at the time. And there was no sign for the cottage either. Still, whenever I walk by I always take a look to see if it is picture-worthy (thank you Elaine) again.

Mostly no but I got impatient and tried a couple of shots. None of them worked and went into the ol' hopper except this one. I kept this so I could refer back to the place and give an example of it. Dull now but once it was kinda of a neat shot.

Oh, and the cottage dates from 1949. It's younger than me.

I timed it perfectly and we arrived just in time to hear the last few tunes of the organist play. Every Monday a fellow comes in and plays the organ there. It's fun and unusual. And he's good, too. You can see him just to the lower left of the Big Screen, working away on his organ and making with the tunes.

And notice the audience. I think the average age is like 75. We do have a large elderly population here. You'd think with all these old people I could find someone to meet and have a beer with and talk some serious BS with but no. They're all on special diets or can't imbibe alcohol or some crap-ass excuse.

I seriously dislike this picture. It's not flattering of me. I look like Santa on a summer vacation. Fat and laid back. Regardless, I posted it on my Retirement X Album just to help the story along certainly not because it was any good, which it isn't.

And yet this picture got the most freakin' likes of them all. WTH!!

Still pisses me off.

We finished the movie and were off. I forget where we were going when I got this picture but I took it because Carol was looking like she had a cowlick up top. Her hair was really sorta wild and it rarely is every out of place and so I got the picture.

Windy Carol

Days are piling up. This day I had therapy, another failed physical therapy run for my back. I ended it with like five out of the 12 authorized visits still out there. I couldn't see wasting the money and it wasn't helping me. 

One morning when I finished and came out it was pouring pretty hard. Before I took off I got this shot through the front windshield. It's an interesting effect but I think it needed some more color to set it off and make it ... interesting. These monotones are, well, boring.

And then another morning I came out and found two two feeding on the bushes near where I had parked. They seem unconcerned with me so I got a picture of the one nearest me, the other was being the bushes.

Yeah, I like the idea of having deer wandering around the city. Makes me drive a bit slower on the city streets. I'd hate to kill one and I would really hate the dent it would put in the KIA. 

Saturday, September 15. Kiwanis Club cleaned up their section of Highway 101. Carol and I have our little section of the road. We know it now and know what to expect when we clean up on it. 

Except this time there was way more trash than I had expected. I had only brought six trash bags. We could have used 8.

But before we started I got a shot of The 101 looking south from our starting point. We'd be heading north. It's really a nice dive on The 101 through the Siletz Bay Wildlife Refuge. Always beautiful there, whether the tide is in and tide out.

Our counterparts on the West side of The 101. Carol and I have the East side for a bout a half-mile up to just across the bridge over the Siletz River.

In fact, we start the southern end of the the Club's responsibility. Our part runs up to Hwy 229. 

Here's Roger. He honchos this clean-up. Gets all the signage and the bags, vests and picker-uppers and then recruits the warm bodies. Finally, he assigns you to whatever stretch of the road you're going to clean. Afterwards, he gets to pick it all up and let ODOT know there's bags of trash on The 101 to be gathered in.

Kiwanis doing its bit to keep the community clean.

It was a pleasant morning, not too cool nor wet. We were ready. But, first, we memorialized the event with a selfie.

Of course.

Haha, initially she was enthusiastic and rarin' to go!! Bring it on!!

No litter too big or small for us!!

One of the neat perks is that we get to walk along The 101 and see parts of the Wildlife Refuge everyone else sees going 55 MPH roaring down The 101.

Like this Egret we spotted on a log, hunting.

This fellow, without taking flight, moved along with us as we slowly made our way north toward the bridge.

Surprisingly, the section we cleaned was more cluttered than we had ever seen it before. It was lousy with trash. There was a lot of bending down and towards the litter to pick it up. That all adds up, quickly, and with Carol it all centered in her back. Mine too but I was doing a bit better than she.

We have it worked out where Carol goes first and then I follow along and get anything she might have missed. Plus, I have responsibility for everything on the road side of the guard rail.

And, hey, I even got my picture taken by Carol. Doesn't happen often but when it does I appreciate it. Not a lot to look at but it proves I was there.

This time there was lots of balloons. Popped balloons of all colors. I think I picked up over 25 and I know Carol probably got more than that. And a lot of the ribbon you used to tie up presents with...or tie onto your balloon.

The small lake by the homes on the west side of The 101. Kinda pretty, eat!?!

I've already mentioned the egret. It was interesting watching him as we cleaned up The 101.

Then, and I've seen this before, he went into his attack mode. I could tell he'd spotted something  tempting as he froze and slowly edged his head closer to the water...

...and then struck!!!

And, yeah, he got himself some breakfast.

We continued moving up The 101 and continued enjoying the sights. This is all part of the Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge. This area had been drained and turned into grazing fields for cattle but they've reclaimed it and have slowly returned it to it's original state.

And it seemed Ol' Mr. Egret was keeping pace with us. I had noticed that he never took wing. Just kept moving, walking on up towards the river with us.

And the river was busy this Saturday morning. Lots of dorys filled with fishermen out there plying their lines and hooks in the water of the Siletz River.

And there he was, again.

Last picture of him, honest. But it's kinda cool to see this wildlife in its own environment.

By now we'd made the bridge but we still had to clean across it and down to the intersection where 229 t-bones into The 101. So I left Carol at the end of the bridge and finished the rest by myself. 

And, while I was walking and cleaning along the sidewalk on the bridge a couple of fishermen going by to deeper water in the Bay hollered up their thanks to me. Hooah, y'all.

I made it to the other side of the bridge. Not much more and I'd be done. And a good thing to as I was on my last bag and it was getting heavy. Again, I was surprised at the amount of trash along the road. More than I've seen in the 4 or 5 times I've done this.  

Walking back I got another picture of the activity on the river. This is looking east, inland. Behind me the river empties into the Bay and the Bay into the ocean.

Picking up Carol we began our walk back to the starting point where I'd left the KIA. Every-so-often we'd get a friendly honk and a wave from the folks driving by on The 101.

And we saw the berries were out. There were loads of them along The 101. Covered in car exhaust.

Ah, there she is!! Ready and willing to take us back to the LCO. And, honestly, I was ready to sit down.

A job well done, y'all!!

But before we could rest we checked out the South Taft Firehouse. 

Well, there were two reasons we were there. Reason #1 was they were having an event to prepare the public for any kind of disaster, natural or otherwise. Mostly natural but you know, you gotta be ready for everything.

They had different agencies there to show us the resources available should we ever need them. And to, hopefully, educate us, the public, on what we should do in the event of...all Hell breaking loose.

And Reason #2. I wanted to see the Classroom here at this station. The Cub Pack currently meets at the North Station but they'll be undergoing renovations come December and we'll be out in the cold. Literally.

We're trying to come up with a new place to meet and I wanted to see if the classroom here would be adequate for our needs. We've been growing so much as a Pack we've almost outgrown the Fire Station anyway.

I got to see the classroom and, unfortunately, it's just a tink larger than the one we're currently in. We could use it in a pinch (and if they let us use it), but we honestly need a larger meeting area. And so the search continues.

they just brought in a new show at the Chessman Art Gallery so we stopped by to see that.

It's from a group called The Casbah. They were the first artists to display in The Chessman when it opened several years ago. Kinda of a Reunion Tour.

There were a number of artwork displayed but I just included a few of the ones I particularly enjoyed. Some of them were hits and, for me, some were misses.

This one artist, and I'm sorry I don't have her name, (I've already established that I am incredibly lazy and thoughtless so this shouldn't come as any great surprise) seems to be caught up with rowboats.

Colorful rowboats.

As you can see, I sorta liked them, too. They were the best in this show, for me.

And my next-door neighbor, Kirk, had some of his work on display in the hallway.  He's an accomplished photographer.

You'd think I would have had enough by now but, no.

I've been wanting to shoot at night but sloth and a lack of inspiration have kept me from doing so. Well, doggone it, the night was clear and that probably won't happen again soon, I thought, so I wrestled myself off the recliner and set off downtown LCO.

Such as it is.

I quickly discovered that there isn't much of interest to shot in Downtown LCO. Not much at all. Really, there's just three things that are lit up enough and interesting enough to point a camera at.

Maxwell's, a restaurant. The Bijou Theater. And the Old Oregon Saloon.

But it was a glorious night and that alone was enough to make it worthwhile.

Here's the corner restaurant, Maxwell's. 

And our own fingernail Moon.

These are two nights worth of pictures. Yeah, I know. I was surprised I had enough energy to do this twice within three days, too.

Point is, I've gotten them mixed up so I'm going to treat them all as one unit. They're of the same thing anyway.

And, LOOK!! There's Maxwell's Restaurant. How interesting!!

And that's The Grill, there with the red trim. The owner is an Eagle Scout and so we quickly tapped him for whatever support he could give us. He promised us a great discount on the catering if we used him.

Hmmmmmm, can you say, "Blue and Gold Banquet"?

Hooah!!

Hey, look!! It's Maxwell's Restaurant.

And our own, Bijou Theater.

Looking west towards the setting sun and the Pacific from downtown on The 101.

Just me trying to be artsy-fartsy with two night lights set off against each other.

And the Old Oregon. It was still rather light out when I shot all these.

But I like the Old Oregon. It has a familiar feel. I don't spend much time there but, on occasion, Carol and I will stop in for lunch. They do have some bodacious Fish 'N Chips when the right cook is there.

And that sunset, again.

I like the idea of shooting city scenes at night. Unfortunately, LCO doesn't have much in the way of a city scene. The 101 is busy enough and I tried here to compress some of that busyness into a picture. 

Looking south down The 101. That's the Cruise Inn, the blue building on the left.

What the...!?! Well, I never. Another shot of the sunset. 

Whoda thunk!?!

The sidewalks don't actually roll up but there'd be few around to complain about it if they did. Except for the three I mentioned previously, everything else shutters down at dusk.

I'm a bit of a sucker for still lives. Especially those seen in shop windows.

And the evening dusk set off by the Bijou.

From the other side. I was reaching to get the sky with the fingernail moon in it.

Yeah, I kid but, really, there are times when these sunsets just knock your socks off.

Takes your breath away. We're getting to the time of the year for those kinds of sunsets.

And our downtown. Ain't much to it.

There's The Grill. Catering. Scouts. Uh-huh!!

Kinda nice, though, isn't it?

And I saw the sunset in the window. And I shot it. Actually, I went to the window because I was attracted by the neon 'Bakery' sign and then realized the sunset was there, too.

Here's what I originally had in mind. But the sunsets nice, too.

then I turned around and decided to get this picture of the moon. 

When I downloaded it, I was sorta pleased with it and the way it set off The Grill. And so, well, let's just say you'll see this picture again in a minute or two, OK?

I had taken off the monopod and was putting everything away when I saw this long view. So, what the heck, it looked picture-worthy. 

Hand-holding the camera and leaning against the side of the KIA, I shot this picture. and, yeah, I like it. It really is just about the whole of the downtown for LCO.

Oh, there's stuff just behind me and more further down but, really, this one block with the Bijou is the heart of the downtown. It's essence. 

And I sorta caught it.

When I got back to the Dump there was still enough light to get some sunset over the ocean shots.

Here's one I rendered in B&W. No, I won't ever give it up. Don't ask again.

I liked the large area of standing water on the beach.

Then I played around and got this shot. Same thing but I set the camera to its 'Creative' setting. Here it takes six random shots. And by random it uses different settings and features to create six different pictures of the same subject.

This one is a 'Poster' effect, I think.

Kind of chromy and metallic looking.

And now that you've see it different, here's the regular setting.

And then one with 'Vivid' color.

Another night and another stab at immortality.

I deliberately used the Hardy Boys Mystery House and the bluff to frame this sky. Give it something concrete to bounce the wispy, ethereal sky off of.

The clouds seem to reach out from behind the Mystery House

A different sunset. They're so easy to shoot. It's a matter of framing...seeing the picture within the scene that is the hard part.

And framing the sky again with the moon over the Mystery House and the bluff.



Reaching out. Trying to find the right picture.

And missing.



One of my little joys is to make Quote Pictures. And, sometimes, to have some fun.

Here's my lame attempt at some humor. You have to sing the song to make it work. Killer Queen, by Queen.  Have you got the tune? OK, then, sing it.

Hahaha, I try.

And, finally, this. I sent this to the owner of The Grill. I thought they might enjoy the picture of their business. And they wrote back. It's nice when people express their appreciation.

Final thing was, I made a comment to the effect that they could feel free to use it if they wanted to.

And that felt good.

And so this chapter ends. No Quote Pictures for this one. The two pics immediately above satisfy that need for me.

Keeping busy and trying to do some good. Not be too selfish cuz, really, I've got my health and just enough money to enjoy myself...but not too much. And so I've got a lot. It's enough.

Hooah!!