Hello from Evergreen – Catching Up

Hello from Evergreen – Catching Up

Sunday Evening ,  February 2, 2014   

Wow, I can’t believe that my last post was November 19, 2013.  Several of our friends have called to ask if we are OK.  Part of the problem is that we still have not sent out our Christmas Letter!

I started a blog on December 13, but never completed or posted it.  Here is what I had written:

Yes, I am back in Kent.  Indeed, I was also here last week as well.  Last week, I taught for three days and flew home Wednesday night.  Actually, I got to the house at 1:15 AM Thursday and the temperature was – 21 degrees!!!

Sunday I flew back out and have been teaching a 5 day class.  The class is on the second shift and I think I like that better than the first shift where I have to get up at 4:00 AM

The weather here continues to be cold (some frost in the morning) and we have had some heavy rain a few days.  As I have noted before, the air is very moist and with a bit of wind, the cold seems much worse than the thermometer would suggest.

I really don’t know where to start catching up.  Both Pat and I were pretty darn sick for all of December and a couple of weeks before and after.  Mine started out as Whooping Cough and went into pneumonia and Pat’s started out as a sinus infection and then pneumonia.  Neither of us remember being that sick for that long.  When I was teaching the two classes in December, I kept getting sicker and by the time I got home I was down and out.  We could barely make it from the bedroom to the living room.  Fortunately we are both doing much better now.

We have had some fun animal photo opportunities the past few months:

 

Elk in the back yard Nov. 24 2013

Fox on the back deck Dec. 24 2013

Elk in the front yard Jan. 13 2014

My teaching schedule has changed significantly.  I was scheduled to do two classes in both Jan. and Feb., but Boeing has halted all training until NTT revises some of the classes.  I am tentatively scheduled for a class in April.  March schedule is unknown.  All thing considered, the change in schedule has not been all bad.  The 2013 schedule was way too hectic.  While the money is good, the travel is a pain in the tail.

During this hiatus, I have started rebuilding my ’59 IHC truck.  I have really enjoyed getting back in the shop doing somewhat creative fabrication.  I also enjoy doing all the “parts research”.  I updated the project page (click here) .  The rebuild will be extensive.  The engine will be updated to a large V8 IH engine, a 5 speed truck transmission, a Brownie 4 speed auxiliary gear box, a 36 inch frame stretch and a period-correct sleeper.  This is a typical Shepherd project {grin}.

Probably lots more that I could add to this blog, but at least you all know that we are alive and doing pretty well.