Resting and recovering......

8:04 am - Saturday - September 7th - LPG&RVR - 60° F, humidity 48%, wind 1 mph out of the east...high clouds today with a forecast high of 89° F.  On this date in 2022 TLE and I received our Starlink package, and within minutes we had internet.....

The router

The dishy

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but TLE came down with the same cold I have a few days after me, so she's a few days behind me in the recovery timeline.  While I never got a full blown cold, I have been blowing my nose on a semi regular basis the past few days, and have been taking a lot of naps.  It is mostly what I would call a 'head cold'.....no chest congestion, and very little sinus congestion....just the occasional sneezing fit, accompanied by nose blowing.  I don't feel bad, but I am definitely not back to 100% yet, either.  We are both grateful we've had these four days off work to recover.

TLE spent most of Friday resting, napping, and reading in the bedroom.  I ventured outdoors on occasion to begin the disassembly of our dining/gaming canopy/tent.  I managed to pack up the Edison lights, and put the TV back in the trailer, but that's as far I got before it got too hot to be outside.  Saturday morning TLE will assist me in removing the picnic table so we then take down the tent, and canopy.  I also pulled out my Toro blower to blow away a weeks worth of Fall leaves from the 'lido deck' environs.

It appears or last official day of 80 degree temps will be Tuesday.  From Wednesday on it will be 60's and 70's for the remainder of our sojourn here at LGP&RVR.  We begin punching the greens in about 9 days now, so time is short.  We got a few minutes of rain Friday afternoon, but nothing to write home about.

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Customer support.....

7:46 am - Friday - September 6th - LPG&RVR - 59° F, humidity 40%, wind 1 mph out of the east....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 92° F.  On this date in 2016 TLE and I were hosting a beer tasting party at Tahoe Valley Campground......I miss those days....

 One of my least favorite things is to get up before 7 am on non work days, but Thursday was one of those necessary evils.  I had my 6 week follow up appointment with Dr. Fyda at Great Basin Orthopedics in Reno at 10:45 am, and we needed to be on the road by 7:30 am.  It only takes 2.5 hours to make the 140 mile drive, but we give ourselves a large cushion in case of unforeseen circumstances (construction delays, which there were, etc.).  As you will recall I saw him 6 weeks ago regarding my right knee.  XRAYS determined I had the beginnings of OA (osteoarthritis), and some 'bone on bone' in that knee.  He recommended (and I accepted) a cortisone shot, and then physical therapy. 

I was up around 6 am in preparation for our 7:30 am departure.  We had well over 1/2 tank of fuel in the VW so more than enough to make the drive down to Reno before needing to refill the tank.  We arrived in Reno right at 10 am....45 minutes before my appointment, so we spent 30 minutes doing some of our shopping at the local Smith's, arriving at GBO just after 10:30 am.  I wasn't taken into the little room until 11:05 am, and did not see Dr. Fyda until 11:30 am.  At any rate, he was pleased with my progress since he last saw me.  Then I could not straighten my knee, and walked with a noticeable limp.  The cortisone shot I received 6 weeks earlier was a great success, and that combined with the PT allows me to straighten my knee to almost full extension, and to walk 90% pain free now, and the pain is really more discomfort than actual pain.  He was there in the little room with me less than 5 minutes, at the end of which he announced he was releasing me, and recommended I transition from weekly PT appointments to home maintenance as he felt the in person PT had gotten me as far as I was going to go.

From there we headed to a local fuel station to add 11 gallons to our tank for the 140 mile drive home, then over to Trader Joe's for a few things, then COSTCO.  We were on our way home by 1 pm,  arriving back at LPG&RVR at exactly 3:30 pm....again, 100% uneventful....just like we like it.

I haven't written about some issues we have been having with our Starlink.  For the past 2+ years it has worked flawlessly, with the lone exception of the original cable going bad.  I had purchased a spare for just this possibility, so we were without service for less than an hour while I installed the spare one.  This past Saturday while I was typing the blog it stopped working, so I thought maybe there was an issue with the cable.  I turned off the power to the modem, then reseated the cable in the 'dishy', and service returned......for about 10 minutes then it was gone.  I thought another cable had gone bad, but it's only been 9-10 months since the last failure.  Anyway, I removed the old cable, and installed the spare I keep, and got service back for about 10 minute again, before it was gone for good....doh!

Starlink does not have a phone center you can call for help.  You must go through their website and 'open a ticket', and wait for someone to get back to you.  I've heard mixed reviews about their support, but was pleasantly surprised to hear back from them within a few hours.  They decided, based on the symptoms I had reported, that they would send me a new cable free of charge, and refund the money I had paid for the now, apparently, useless replacement cable.  The new cable was shipped via FedEx Tuesday morning, and I received it Wednesday afternoon, and quickly installed it.  Order was restored, and everything was working again, but within 5 hours it quit again, and would not come back.  I opened another ticket explaining what had happened that evening, and by 10 am Thursday morning (the time we arrived in Reno) I had an email from Starlink advising they were going to send me a brand new system (dishy, modem, and cable) free of charge....no questions asked, plus credit me one months service fee for my inconvenience.  All things being equal, I'm pretty impressed with their customer support system, and you will get no complaints from me.  Fortunately, we have decent broadband coverage here at LPG&RVR, so I can use my hotspot as needed to type my blog until the new system arrives in the next week, or so.

Thanks for stopping by!

Winter hiatus?

6:23 am - Thursday - September 5th - LPG&RVR - 54° F, humidity 44%. wind 1 mph out of the east.....clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 94° F.  On this date in 2018 TLE and I were enjoying the view from the top of Cadillac Mountain near Bar Harbor, ME with Glenn and Laureen (TLE's sister)....Glenn took the picture.....

At last, a day for sleeping past 5:30 am!  As is the case with many workamping jobs we've had over the years, even ones we really love, we begin to get restless, and think about changing our view.  We've just 4-5 weeks left in our current sojourn, and getting up at 5:30 am on work days is getting kind of old.  Thoughts of our upcoming winter hiatus from work (we will not have a winter job this year) lurk fondly in our subconscious.  So, what will we be doing this winter?  That's a good question, and it will not be long until you know.  It will be something quite different from anything we've done in the past, so stay tuned.

I had a PT appointment at 11:15 am, so there was no rush to get up and out the door.  I enjoyed the fact that my summer cold is waning, and that my energy is returning.  We were out the door by 10:45 am, arriving at Modoc Medical Center PT around 11:05 am.  My therapist, Michelle, really puts me through the paces each week, and I am glad when the 45 minute session is over.  The good news is my range of motion is getting close to normal for someone my age.

While I was doing my PT TLE ran around town running a few errands, and was back at Modoc Medical Center just before I exited the building.  After a quick stop at the Mexican food truck in Likely to acquire some street tacos (3 carne asada for moi, and 2 pollo asado for TLE) we were home before 1 pm.  The high temp of 90° F was fast approaching, so we turned on the A/C and hung out inside most of the afternoon.  Yes, the street tacos were wonderful, as always!

We've got temps in the 90's for two more days (Thursday and Friday) then it's into the 80's for a few days, and then the wonderful 70's.  We'll begin to take down our dining/gaming canopy/deck on Friday, and soon the 'lido deck' in preparation for our departure.  This summer season has flown by quickly, and I'm pretty sure we've been having a good time.

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Turning a corner.....

 8:27 am - Wednesday - September 4th - LPG&RVR - 54° F, humidity 28%, wind 1 mph out of the east.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 90° F.  On this date in 2015 TLE and I were watching the sun set at Cape Blanco, OR....

Day 4 of our four day work week, and day 3 of my cold.  Both have gone quickly, and now I am sitting here at my laptop enjoying the fact I didn't get up until almost 8 am.  Even though this cold is passing quickly, I still find myself with a lack of energy, while feeling much better than I deserve.  Colds used to torment me for a week, or two in the past, but since I started taking ZICAM at the first sign of symptoms, years ago, the duration has been truncated significantly to just 3, or 4 days.  I'm feeling like I've turned the corner rather quickly with this cold, and that is the best news ever!

Tuesday was the slowest day here at LPG&RVR in sometime with just 6 golf cart rentals.  On my first round of the course I raked all four sand traps, and was back at the Clubhouse in time to begin mowing.  I had a lot of mowing on my plate......the back in sites, all 15 of the pull through sites, both 'buddy' sites, the parking lot grass, and the employee sites.  While I was mowing the back in sites down near the meadow I noticed how dry the grass was getting so after finishing I opened up the quarter turn 4" valve at the base of the pond dam to flood the sites, including all the tent sites.  It was around 11 am when I turned on the water, and it would run all afternoon, and overnight (just turned it off a few minutes ago).  Should be good now for another 10+ days.

By noon time I only had three employee sites and the tee boxes at 3, 15, 16, 17 & 18 left to mow, but first TLE's lunch break.  At 1 pm I began the slog around the course to mow around the aforementioned tee boxes, and was back the employee row by 2:15 pm.  By the time I finished mowing the last 3 employee sites it was 2:40 pm, and time for me to begin washing, and stowing golf carts.  I was home taking a long, hot shower by 3:30 pm.  I sat down in my recliner to take a nap around 4 pm, and didn't wake up until 5 pm....I guess I needed that nap!  I arrived at the Clubhouse just in time to pick up TLE, and head for home to begin our 4 day weekend.

As I write this morning I feel the best I've felt in a few days, and am seeing steady improvement by the hour.  Tomorrow TLE and I drive down to Reno for my 6 week follow up at Great Basin Orthopedics, so that will be a long day.  Otherwise I will be resting...there may be golf on Friday depending on how I feel.  We have one last heatwave (low to mid 90's) passing through the Pitt River Valley, but by next Thursday we'll be back in the 70's for good.  The trees are changing colors much more rapidly this year than last, so fall is definitely upon us.

Thanks for stopping by!

On the mend.....

 5:43 am - Tuesday - September 3rd - LPG&RVR - 44° F, humidity 55%, wind 1 mph out of the south....clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 84° F.  On this date in 2015 TLE and I were in Bandon, OR having fish tacos at Tony's Crab Shack....some of the best fish tacos ever.....

I felt a little bit better Monday morning, and any improvement is always a welcome sign. High winds were forecast later in the day, so most of our golfers went out early.  In all we rented ust 7 golf carts, and 3 of those rentals came back early due to the winds being in the mid 20's.  I can attest to the ferocity of the winds as each time I made a round of the course I was buffeted to and fro.  It was difficult to keep my bucket had seated on my head.

As the day progressed I felt better and better, and by the time I headed home at 3:30 pm I was feeling the beast I had felt in 3 days.  I've continued to take ZICAM several times a day, and just as in the past, it is getting positive results.  

The folks in the large pavilion left Saturday so it was time to hop on the Husqvarna 2 bag mower and mow the grass around both pavilions, the grass between the Clubhouse deck and the putting green, the grass around the tee boxes at the 10th hole, plus the grass at the large group picnic/firepit area.  That's all I felt up to doing Monday, but I will still have the rest of the mowing at the other tee boxes for which I am responsible, as well as the tent sites, and the back in sites.  Not sure how much of that mowing I'll get done, but we'll see how I feel Tuesday.

By 3:30 pm 4 of the 7 carts had returned.  One of the carts not back at 3:30 pm was the #4 Club Car electric, which meant I would need to return at 5 pm to make sure it got washed, and connected to electricity.  When I did return all the carts where there.  It took me just a few minutes to wash, and stow them.

Jose, the course superintendent, set the date for beginning to punch the greens, and that will be September 16....just 2 weeks away.  It will probably take us 8 days spread over the final two weeks of September to get them all done.  Additionally, Dennis announced that LPG&RVR will not reopen until May 1st of 2025 giving us an extra 3 weeks before we report for duty.  The weather in April is almost always miserable, and we have very few customers then, anyway, so it makes sense to me.

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Am I getting a cold?

 5:45 am - Monday - September 2nd - LPG&RVR - 55° F, humidity 50%, wind 5 mph out of the south by southeast.....clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 84° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were volunteering as docents at Cape Blanco Lighthouse located between Port Orford and Bandon on the southern Oregon Coast.....

I woke up Sunday morning feeling achy with a tickle in my throat.  "Gee, I think I'm getting a cold" I heard myself saying....neither TLE nor I have had a cold since 2018 when we worked at Amazon the last time.  I felt sluggish all day, but Sundays are easy days anyway, so I toughed it out.  As I have done in the past I started taking Zicam, and it seems to have arrested any progress in the cold, but as I write this morning I am still feeling achy, but not as much, and sluggish, but not as much.  As I have written previously, neither TLE nor I have had the flu since 2013, and that was me.  I think I've had 3 previous colds over the past 12 years, and each time we were working at Amazon.

At any rate, I staged 10 carts to begin the day, and over the course of the day we ended up renting 20 carts....not bad for a Sunday when folks are heading back to their workaday lives.  I made numerous trips around the golf course as marshal, and had to, again, warn several customers to keep their carts on the green grass....this has been one of those weekends.

By 3:30 pm I was completely 'out of gas', but I was able to get 16 of the 20 rentals washed and put away.  Next I headed for home, took a long, hot shower then sat down in my recliner to take a much needed nap.  TLE arrived home around 5:15 pm and woke me up....not on purpose....the door opening woke me up.  She made me tomato soup, and a grilled cheese sandwich which was just what the doctor ordered.  I took 4 Zicam in all Sunday, along with regular doses of Tylenol.  I was in bed by 9 pm, and slept very good.  My nose has stopped running for the present.

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Brevity.....

 6:03 am - Sunday - September 1st - LPG&RVFR - 55° F, humidity45%, wind 3 mph out of the east by southeast.....partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 90° F (yesterday it hit 96° F).  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were in Spokane, WA visiting my sister, Hilary, and her family.....having dinner on the rear deck....good times.....

The first day back at work after a 4 day weekend is always difficult for me, especially when it it 96° F.  Frankly, it fell warmer than that.  It being a Saturday meant there would be no motor driven equipment used.  Just stage those carts (around 20), marshal, and wash/put them away at the end of the day.  This is the Labor Day weekend, and marks the end of our busy season.  Within 2 weeks we'll begin to 'punch' and 'sand' the greens (18 on the course, the sod farm, and the putting green), which will take about 8 days over two weeks.

I made several marshaling rounds of the course throughout the day, and had to deal with several folks who like to treat their carts like ATVs, but otherwise it was a pleasant day, which ended with the weekly putting contest.  I never know which 'Clarke' will show up at these events, but Saturday was a good day for me.  I made it through 7 rounds before I was eliminated just one round short of the final.  I sank 5 'hole in ones', with two coming on one round.  Ultimately, the match I lost was a one putt playoff with my worthy opponent lagging his ball one inch closer to the hole than I.  We didn't finish until almost 6 pm, so that one one long day for me.  I went right from cleaning carts one minute to putting the next.

Sorry for the brevity today, but I am still recovering from our anniversary trip to Klamath Falls, and am tired.

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