Pictures from the Road

Apparently Bob read the owner's manual on their new cell phone during the trip from Clackamas to Baker City. I know this because I received not one, but two picture messages from Bob during his road trip. Oh, did I neglect to mention previously that his new cell phone was a camera phone?! The picture above (Alice driving and Lola performing co-pilot duties) was not the first picture message I received, nor was it the most amusing . . . . .


. . . . this one was!!!!! I laughed pretty hard when I got this picture. I also didn't need to wait too long to talk with Bob. Within 5 minutes from the time I received the messages, I got a phone call from him . . . he was wanting to know if I had gotten the pictures (yes . . . pictures . . . plural.) Apparently, he had the phone turned the wrong way when he took the picture of his eye. Ok, I figured as much. He also realized it at the time . . . but decided to send both of them to me anyway . . . figured I'd get a kick out of it! (You just gotta love a man who can laugh at himself.) He was right . . . I loved it!!!

Haircuts for Everyone

This week Bob and Lola decided they should have haircuts before their trip to Baker. When we walked into the Salon, the dude said it would be about 20 minutes. At Lola's suggestion, I went to Albertsons (a five minute jaunt up the road) to pick up a prescription for her while they waited, thinking I would have enough time to make it back before they even got started. Apparently, things went faster than they thought because when I walked in Lola had already got her hair cut and Bob was almost done! I took this picture of Bob and then he told me to get behind him and take one into the mirror. Okay, but that means I'm in the shot. Here it is, Bob! Just for you!

Techno Savvy Seniors

Believe it or not . . . . Bob and Lola now have a cell phone. Robert decided it would be best if they had one on them for emergency purposes. (In case they went out driving around and something happened . . . then they could call someone.) What actually started the quest, was Bob telling Robert he could hear "very loud and clear" when he was talking to Drew on my cell phone one day. (Drew confirmed later that he was yelling into the phone to talk with Bob.) At any rate, Rj brought one home for him last week. Then, we decided he couldn't hear very well on it, so Robert found a different one. He brought the new one to Bob yesterday evening (the night before they left for their trip to Baker.)
Poor Bob. He had already read the entire owner's manual on the first phone and finally just figured out how to work the darn thing. Now he had to start all over! AND he didn't have much time before they left to figure it out. The important thing we showed him was how to lock the keypad. The new phone is not a flip phone like his old one. It took a couple of times, but he figured it out. It'll definitely give him something to do when he is bored.

Just a warning for those of you that might get phone calls from Bob. He brings up the address book and finds the person he wants to call (yes, all of you important people are in his address book, so you might receive a call from him at any given time!) and he pushes the green button. Then, he watches the screen for a while before he puts the phone up to his ear! So, if you get a call from him, you will answer "hello" and hear absolutely nothing. You will then say "hello" again and still hear absolutely nothing. If you hold on and patiently wait . . . then you will hear Bob say "hell-0." (I know this because I've experienced it many times . . . I hung up on him quite a few times before I realized what it was he was doing.) I called him back once (from my cell phone to their land line thinking it was a celluar connection problem.) I got Lola. I told her Bob had called me and I wanted to know what it was he wanted. She proceeded to tell me she thought he was just going to tell me about an article in the newspaper he had read that day. While I'm on the phone with Lola, my phone beeps and sure enough . . . Bob is calling me from their porch with his cell phone!! Holy Guacamole!!!! So . . . you are now forewarned . . . if you have a call-waiting feature on your telephone, it is entirely possible you might be talking to one of them and get a call from the other one at the same time!!

We tested Bob again last night when he got the new phone and sure enough, once he dialed the number, he was more interested in watching the screen than hearing the voice on the other end! We pointed out what he was doing and thought he understood and therefore the problem was fixed. Or so we thought. (Until I received a call from him today and yet again . . . had to say hello a half a dozen times before he came on the phone.) I don't know . . . maybe you can't teach an old dog new tricks!? We are confident he will catch on (hopefully sooner than later.)

Family!!

Alice arrived yesterday afternoon to get Bob & Lola for their trip back to Baker. We ended up going out to dinner at Applebee's.

Here are Bob and Lola leaving Applebee's. (They actually walked to wrong vehicle and turned around and asked "Is this Rob's car?" . . . "Nope, keep going!")

Pat, Joel and Selena called us while we were still at the restaurant, so they stopped by on their way home from a Cookie Social at the kids' school. We fnished our dinner and went back to Bob & Lola's house.

Alice brought the kids cool hats. Joel's was a horse (spotted) or a giraffe, depending on who you asked. Selena's hat was a cat. Selena's hat matched the outfit she was wearing perfectly!!

Rj and I left so Bob & Lola could visit with Pat and the kids. They still had to pack for their trip so I imagine they were up way past their normal bedtime. Their plan was to leave in time to get Loo to the vet right when they opened in the morning at 8:00 and then be on the road to Baker.

Loo

This is Loo. Not L-o-u. Not L-e-w. Not even L-u. (Their last dog was Wu.) I myself did not learn how Loo was spelled until Bob and I took him to the groomer at the beginning of August and he spelled it for her (Nancy). I don't think there is any specific relevance to the spelling . . . that's just the way they decided to spell it. Interesting.

Loo is a pretty good dog. They got him a couple years ago, shortly after Wu died. He doesn't bark much. When he does, either Bob or Lola tells him "enough" and he usually stops. He follows Bob around constantly. He's quick to go to Lola or Bob for some affection. Once he's acquainted with you, he'll do the same with you. He loves attention and loves to be petted.

At the end of June, Linda, Jerry and Ryan came to visit from the East Coast. They wanted Ryan (their granddaughter) to see the West Coast, so Robert decided we should take them to the beach for a night. As a result, Bob and Rj took Loo to the kennel before they left Clackamas. Loo apparently expressed his displeasure by immediately leaving a "deposit" upon entering the building. (Or as Rj put it to me "he took a dump on the floor.") Too funny! He was not happy and let everyone know it!

Loo is pretty smart. He goes to bed about 6:00 every evening. All Bob has to do is say "Loo, it's time for bed" . . . and he heads to the laundry room (where his bed is.) If Bob gets busy with people visiting, Loo will come and get his attention . . . usually just by sitting in front of Bob until he notices him. Bob will then say, "Oh, do you want to go to bed?" and Loo immediately heads there. He stays there until about 9:00 when Bob lets him out to potty before he and Lola go to bed and then Loo is back to bed until morning. It's an amazing thing to watch.

Bob says "a dog is the best companion." After watching him with Loo, I'd have to agree. Loo and Bob are best buds.

Jeff to the Rescue!

When Robert and I remodeled Bob & Lola's house before they moved in, we noticed there was leakage where the roof of the house met the roof of the porch. (In other words, when the previous owner added the porch on, they didn't put flashing between the wall and the roof.) Jeff (my sister, Jen's husband) is a sheetmetal installer. (Robert and I call him the "Tin Man.") Robert talked to Jeff about the problem and Jeff said he'd take care of it.

Bob (of course) got pictures of Jeff when he came to the house last week to install the flashing. I'm sure it didn't surprise Jeff when Bob was taking pictures. He lives with a scrapbooker and he's used to seeing me with my camera in hand. I think Jeff is realizing more and more each day that he's surrounded by photoholics!! We thank Jeff for all his efforts!

Shop 'Til We Drop

Today we ran erands. We started at the post office then filled my tank with gas (since Bob pointed out I was almost empty immediately upon entering my car.) From there we went to Lola's doctor's office in Milwaukie. We picked up a prescription and made a follow-up appointment. We decided to stop at the Dollar Store since we were "right there" at Milwaukie MarketPlace. Bob found some reward stickers and upon showing them to me commented that he should get them and "give one to Rob every day. . . . then when he gets a bunch, I'll tell him he can take the day off!" Pretty funny, Bob! He definitely cracks himself up . . . on a daily basis!

Our next stop was Winco where we shopped for a "few things." I lost track of Bob, although he had let me know five minutes earlier that he was ready and informed me . . . "I'll go look for Lola." I found Lola at the front of the store
and we waited for Bob, and we waited, and waited . . . and waited some more. I finally decided I would check out and when he appeared, I would help him bag his groceries and told Lola to wait for him. Lola waited, and waited, and waited . . . and waited some more. At one point, she yelled to me "Let's page him!" (NO! Bob couldn't hear it even if we did page him - and besides I was confident he would turn up - there's only one way out of the entire store.) When I was done checking out, I traded places with Lola and went to look for Bob. After a trip around the entire store and not spotting him, I found him up front waiting to check out! This picture is actually a rare sight. They go their separate ways once they enter a store and occasionally meet back up to check on what items each of them has in their baskets. It works for them . . . rarely has one of them "doubled up" on what they need.
I don't think Bob ever noticed me taking his picture inside Winco. He did when I took it of the two of them leaving the store. I always tell him. "Take your camera with you everywhere . . . then you won't be saying 'I wish I had my camera.'" I was so proud of him today. He had his camera!!

We stopped at US Bank (drive through) so Bob could make a deposit and then headed for home. All in all, a pretty productive 2½ hours!

We were in the Dollar Store when I discovered Bob had brought his camera along with him. He took of picture of me taking a picture of him!

A Busy Day

Bob and Lola spent the day on Sunday with Pat and Joel. They were treated to lunch at Hometown Buffet and then went to see some art pieces Pat's company has invested in. Bob took a ton of pictures of different bronze statues. They also did some shopping at Best Buy. Pat bought Bob a 2GB memory card for his camera and two extra camera batteries. Bob will be able to take a TON of pictures when he returns to Baker City at the end of the month!! (Bob received an invitation to the dedication of the new National Guard Armory in Baker City. Alice is coming to town to pick them up and drive them back to Baker for the dedication.) When Rj and I stopped by their house in the evening, they were tired from their busy day!

The $20 Fix

The passenger side seatbelt thingy in Bob & Lola's car was broken (had been for quite some time.) It's one of those funky motorized seatbelts attached to the door - seatbelt opens when the door opens and wraps itself around you when the door closes. Before they left Baker, Bob took the car to the Ford dealership to find out how much it would cost to get it fixed. He was told $700 to start - and that was just for the parts! Bob figured the car wasn't even worth $700 (a lovely 1988 Ford Tempo) so he told him to forget it. Good call, Bob! The kid did give him advice on how to wrap the seatbelt behind the seat (apparently his own vehicle had the same problem.) Robert got lucky and found a 1988 Ford Tempo in the second junk yard he visited. They charged him $20 for the part. After 3 hours, 2 trips to Napa Auto Parts (the second one because Rj bought the wrong size tool the first time), a bunch of joking ("we'll fix it so it'll wrap itself around your wife's neck and strangle her . . . then you'll have nothing to worry about") and a lot of sweat . . . Wah-Lah !! . . . AND, most important . . . it works!! For now.

Lola came outside to watch the progress and ended up in the shed looking for things she said Rj was "hiding" from her when they moved in.

Next on the To-Do list was the refrigerator Lola said was making a lot of noise. (Better not be . . . it's brand new.) We figured it was the ice maker lever (which was being held down by food items.) Once that was lifted, all was well. Bob then told us to go home . . . so they could "think of something else" for Rj to come fix! He thought he was pretty funny. All Bob could do was laugh hysterically when Rj said "You're beginning to be a pain in my ass!" Bob knows the joke is on Rj!