Raking leaves and chasing bolts

Today was a beautiful mid fall day in Clackamas. The sun was out, the temperature was near 60 degrees, and the breeze was calm. Jill and I had appointments with the optometrist this morning, and then we took a drive to Tigard, where I had inadvertently left my jacket in a restaurant yesterday after breakfast.

After retrieving the errant garment, we went on to Woodcraft, the woodworker's candy store. I am looking for 3/8"-16X5" hanger bolts for a project I am working on. So far I have failed to find them at Home Depot, Lowes, and today at Woodcraft. The folks there were kind enough to refer me to A-Boy, down the street. Alas, A-Boy didn't have them either. The young lady who waited on us there was very kind and called Oregon Bolt Company for us. She was unsuccessful in raising anyone there, and we concluded that the company must not be open on Saturday. But she gave me the contact information so I can call on Monday. Let's hear it for A-Boy!

We stopped at Costco on the way home and ordered some glasses for Jill. It was difficult for her to choose the frames, because she hasn't worn glasses for many years. She found some really cute frames with the help of the optician, who was immensely helpful. So, now she just needs to muster up the patience to wait for a couple of weeks until her new glasses are ready.

We finally arrived at home around 2:00 PM. The Oregon State Beavers were on their way to beating the Cal Bears, but at half-time, I went out and joined my lovely bride who was dead-heading the roses. I mowed the lawn and raked up the leaves, and then I got into the dead-heading, too. We stopped when we had filled the 60 gallon yard debris bin and two 30 gallon yard debris bags, in addition to the compost bin. It felt good to get some things accomplished in the yard.

Having not yet exhausted all of our energy, we decided to walk Pogo. Along the way we met up with Murphy and his master Dennis, a neighbor whom we hadn't seen for a few months. They are both doing well. Pogo felt better after her walk, as did Jill and I. All in all a satisfying day.