It's 2007! Unexpected Events
What have we been doing since Halloween? One of the big things was to get the amateur radio repeater tower extended and replace the two meter antenna and coax. We ordered the new antenna (Diamond X510) and painted the tower section and finally had good enough weather to get the job done. The climber is Jeremy. The folks on the ground are Dave Leinger, in the shadow of the building. Hari, Bob and Doyle are checking out the new antenna , getting it ready to go up the tower. The tower swayed a bit but is anchored in three feet of concret. By adding the section and antenna the height was increased to around seventy feet. This improved the coverage in the area and allows more local usage of hand held radios. Josh joined us later in the day to help put the necessary connectors on the coax.
The next step was to get the repeater tuned up. To do this we took the repeater out of service for about ten days and transported it to Ben Fisher (a very good technician) in Champaign where the necessary tweaking was done. The repeater was back in service before Christmas.
Thanksgiving was quiet. Our friend Ed and Bob's Dad joined us for dinner. We watched the parade and football games. If you want to know which ones you will have to ask Dad. All and all it was a very nice day.
Just before Christmas we spent an afternoon with Vickie and Mark in Champaign. They had moved in August and we hadn't seen the new digs. We went to lunch and got a chance to see their abode and meet the two cats. They were getting ready for a Holiday party that evening, cooking what they were going to take and putting on party clothes. Vickie was in charge of this affair and had it all under control. The week after our visit they took off for England to spend Christmas with Mark's family.
Christmas as usual found me (Kathy) baking lots of goodies. The only problem is I end up tasting and tasting and tasting------We did give some to folks for Christmas in Danville and of coarse Dad gets his share. Christmas was uneventful, Dad got a weather station and has been having fun setting it up and comparing the readings with the one we have. Bob gave me a Diamond X510 antenna for Christmas. His Dad had a tower that was disassembled behind his house. We brought it home, painted it (to match the house) and will put it up when Bob decides how he wants it done. It could be fifty feet if all the sections are used. I haven't ask what the status is on that project which brings me to the part about one of those unexpected things in 2007.
My sister Pat who lives in Los Molinos, CA found out just before Christmas she needed another hip replacement. This would be her fourth, two on the right and one on the left which was now being replaced. The surgery was scheduled for December 28th. Ed, Pat's son was visiting from Switzerland and was with her during the surgery and stayed until January 6th. I made arrangements to be with her during her recovery.
I flew into Reno on January 4th where I was able to meet with Bob and the kids, Steven, Angel and Cody for lunch before driving down to Los Molinos. It had been a year and half since I had seen them, Steven is now in college, Angel finishes high school this month and Cody is a sophomore. When I flew into Reno it was snowing but by the time I rented a car it had stopped. I drove down the Feather River Canyon which most days is a lovely drive. At one point there was a parked train on one side of the canyon and a moving train on the other side with the river flowing next to the highway. I did have a few snow flurries but nothing like going over the summit on Interstate 80 where chains were being required. It's lucky that there are three major routes out of Nevada to my sister's so I was able to pick the one that I thought would be less trouble.
I enjoyed visiting with my nephew Ed before he left. The weather has been great, sunny and in the fifties until today when it turned colder. I enjoy looking out my sister's window and seeing Mount Lassen and looking at Mount Shasta when driving into Red Bluff.
Bob is holding down the fort at home. He seems to be busy with jam sessions, playing music with a group at Mama's Kitchen, doing amateur radio club projects and going to parties at friends. When he's not doing those things I'm sure the "farm" has lots of stuff for him to do. Mike will be going to Springfield next week to see what the job opportunities might be for him. The computer is great, allowing me to take care of household business without to much of a hassle. So even though you have the unexpected happen, life goes on.
I did splurge last Sunday. I have been watching for sales on laptops and with advice from Ed bought a new Sony VIO. My old unit was getting so slow I was going to sleep waiting for it to load. Maybe I will be able to keep up with the blog for awhile. I did bring my camera.
Pat is doing very well and gets stronger every day. She uses a walker and will not be able to do any weight barring on the left hip for awhile. I don't know how long I will be here. I will probably reschedule my return flight on January 31st to a later date to allow for visiting other family members while I'm here in California.
Posted
at 3:35 PM CST
Updated: Wednesday, 17 January 2007 11:12 AM CST