"We would all like to vote for the best man, but he is never a candidate." - Kin Hubbard

When I grow up I want to be a jazz musician. There are no wrong notes; you always get to say, "I meant to play that."

John Kerry may be a great negotiator but he's a lousy salesman. His combative tone when talking about Congress's  upcoming votes on the Iran agreement are beyond off-putting. Combative. If I were a congressman I'd be inclined to vote against it just to stick it to the jerk. "You're call me an idiot if I vote against it? Well, take this, bud!"

Today is our last in OR until we move up sometime late fall. We made full use of the daylight and got everything done we had on our "gotta" list wrapped up, plus a few extra things.

Here are some before/after pics of the living room, although they're not truly "after" because I still have to put up the trim around the windows & door, and install baseboard & shoe molding. That will happen after we move up.

The guy came and hauled off the dumpster. We'd gotten so used to seeing it there that we both felt like there was a hole in the scenery after he left.

There is a hole where that monster satellite dish stood. A generator, a reciprocating saw, and a hand full of big wrenches got it down, cut into manageable pieces, and ready for the next load of trash to go out...probably next spring. It will require my cut-off saw to take care of the steel pipe and I didn't bring that with me.
Alas, we found yet another dish in the trees behind Barnette, so with this one gone we're still at four total.

Up in the garden area is a single grape vine. But it hasn't been trimmed in ??? so it's HUGE, and spreads for yards in each direction. It's loaded with little baby grapes. Unfortunately, we won't see if their green or red, or if they're good or yucky until next fall. I expect them to be closer to raisins by the time we move up here. Anybody know from this pics what we've got??

And Fred has new clothes. His skirt that protects the foundation posts had deteriorated and those posts are beginning to rot. As a result Fred has a definite list to starboard. This plastic sheeting will protect it from winter rains until I can do a proper repair next spring. That will require jacking up that side of the structure and replacing the posts with solid pressure treated wood. If you're wondering how I'm going to jack up the side of a small cabin...so am I. But I've got time to figure it out.

There's more, but that's enough for now.
And if I've given the impression Pam hasn't been busy let me correct that! The bathroom is spotless, if more than a bit dated and tired looking, the kitchen floor and cupboards have all been thoroughly cleaned and ready for their soon-to-arrive contents, and she's helped me with an extra set of hands whenever I yell, "Honey, come help!"

In addition to tattoos (what should we get?) we apparently need to take up smoking. I can't remember seeing this many people with cigarettes in hand. Part of that is because this is a rural and economically depressed area. The further south you go in Oregon the more the socio-economic level drops. By the time you get to Josephine county it's pretty much a welfare 'hood.
Why are poor and less educated individuals more likely to be smokers? They can least afford the outrageous price tag on a pack of cigarettes?

Right now I'm going to brew me a cup of coffee and take it out to the deck overlooking God's gift to us. This is our last opportunity; by the time we're back here in October or November it will be too cold and wet to enjoy the deck. So excuse me; this is not to be missed.