Social Security and the Southwind

I may not get much more than enough to pay my Medicare part B but I am now on the Social Security rolls. Ain’t it grand. I didn’t have enough earnings to get more than the minimum and I have to pay about 60% of that back because of the Windfall Elimination Provision for Civil Service retirees but I ain’t complaining. 40% of a little is still better than 100% of nothing. I think my math is correct there?

So with that windfall we decided to get a new motorhome. We had looked in Portland in the spring and had thought about it then. But at that time financing was difficult if not impossible and it didn’t work out. Now it has. So we have a new 2008 Fleetwood Southwind 35A. It’s one of the two we considered earlier. There was a Winnebago 35A and the Fleetwood. The 35A kind of refers to the floor plan with some minor differences. In the case of the 35A the major feature is the galley or kitchen and lots of counter space. As Kat says, “there are lots of really neat motorhomes with all kinds of bells, whistles, whiz bangs, and wine racks, but no room to make biscuits.” I may have embellished on that a bit but the point is that it is not the case with this model. I (the cook) have a kitchen now and we have lots of other doodads and neat things.

Now all we have to do is get it loaded. I know we have more storage space but when you are continuous travelers like us there’s lots of stuff that has to find a home. There may be more storage but its different and there is the rub. It’s been a week now and we’re still getting things organized. Thank goodness we have the Oyster Shanty. That’s the little house we’re parked next to where we stored a bunch of stuff during the exchange of coaches. But were about done I think. We’ll know in a few days. We pull out on the 14th.

Slight change of plans for our start direction. We’re going to do a little shake down of the new MH and head back through Oregon before we get too far away from the dealer. Then we’ll head on south and east slowly making it back to the RGV for winter. So we’ll get a chance to see all the kids again. And Toni is coming up this way for a reunion so we’ll see her here and in California on our way south. The only thing certain is that we won’t be anywhere that’s cold. Not if I can help it.

So now you’re probably saying to yourself or maybe to me. He didn’t update the blog with new pictures. All in good time, all in good time. Remember I’m a working man right now and need a little time to get things a bit more photogenic. OK, I went to the Olinger website and got pictures that are our MH. Just kind of sterile with none of our personal touch or surroundings. Later.

Oh! And that Social Security. I got my first check before Kat got hers and its killing her. Remember her birthday song and all that. She applied at least two months before I did. I told her I just have better SS people and am more eligible than she. But I wouldn’t ‘rub it in’ or anything. Well! Maybe just a little!

The Scouts

I’ve met some nice folks here at Scenic Beach. Among them are some of the Boy Scout leaders who kayak in here to spend a night about every week. Kayaking is big here on Hood Canal and around the Sound. Or it seems so to me. The Scouts come in from Camp Parsons across the canal. I see Harrison, the High Activity Director frequently. Harrison is a fairly recent graduate of Washington State University. I was relating my experiences as a scout to him a couple of weeks ago and mentioned that I had started as a Cub Scout way back in 1949 or thereabouts. He just looked at me for a few seconds and said……………………….. Wow!
It may have been 1950. But the effect was fun and its nice to see scouting alive and well in some places. Just last week we had a Troop from Oregon City and I met Don. The pictures show the Oregon City Troop leaving after spending the night tenting in the park. They are taken from the bulkhead overlooking the beach and Hood Canal, viewed generally west with the Olympic Mountains and Hurricane Ridge in the background.

Spike

That would be a proper name, not a verb. It’s our name for the young buck deer who has been foraging at our bird feeders. That and eating apples and corn. Kat bought some bird food that has some corn in it and the birds we have here don’t like corn, so I’ve been throwing it in the bushes. The first time he showed up he was eating that corn from the flat feeder and really enjoying it. Spike is really a ‘two point’, I think that is the terminology (?), if not, one of our woodsman friends can correct me. He’s been hanging around for two or three days now and I think we have created a monster. Now he’s hard to chase away. Of course you have to question our motives when at the same time I’m talking about chasing him away, Kat is buying him pears. She said, “well they were cheaper than apples!” He’s been here so much that Jade doesn’t even seem to think its much of a matter.

Some blankety-blank stole the sprinklers

Because of the exceptionally hot weather we’ve been having I have done lots of dragging of hoses and lots of watering. Especially the rhododendrons. I don’t know if Scenic Beach is technically part of the Olympic Rainforest but if not, then its certainly in the shadow. Probably eight or nine months of the year it is very drippy and wet. The other three or four months its just damp. Anyway the hot, dry weather is hard on the rhododendrons and they really get droopy. So I water. Last week I was watering a few areas and every hour or so moving things around. I came back to one area and three sprinklers were missing. The water had been turned off but it was still puddled around the end of the hose so it hadn’t been long. I went to look for the culprit and asked a few people if they had seen anyone messing with the water. No luck! It really set me off. I could just imagine some little pipsqueak liberal, tree hugging, officious, blankety-blank environmentalist deciding that we were using too much water and either stealing the sprinklers of throwing them in the bushes. I was pissed! Kat came by right about then in the guppy (a little golf cart) and I was admonished for my rather loud and profane language. Well damn! I was thinking I’d like to get my hands on the little sucker, but then with my luck the little #%@*%# would be 6’4”, weigh 300 lbs, and have horns and pimples. I told Shawn about it and she started laughing when I said liberal because that’s exactly what she thought. Did I mention that Shawn is a conservative. We have some good discussions. But the sprinklers are still gone.

I meet lots of neat people. I talk to Russ and Sylvia, a retired couple, who come often and sit by the play area and enjoy a little conversation. We have lots of Scouts that stay in the park as a stopover or destination on their kayak trips. There’s Madison a senior or Eagle scout and last week I met Girl scouts Stephanie, Heather, Jennifer, Sophie and Becca who kayaked in for the night. Most times the scouts will take on a project to help them earn their merit badges or kind of pay for their keep. I usually take them some firewood and they try to feed me. But as you can imagine they’re a good bunch. The camp host Mike is another conservative and he and Shawn and I have some good discussions. And I have fun at the gate meeting and directing folks.

All in all, not a bad way to spend the summer. I’m not crazy about working but if you have to do it this is a pretty good place to be. And like I said before, its not the work, it’s the commitment and being tied down. But with my last paycheck from the State of Washington I have earned enough to complete what I needed for Social Security. Our first stop with the pay stub was at the Social Security office. I think I’m set. I have a telephonic appointment on the 18th and I believe that I am done. Except, like I told Shawn, a deal is a deal, we’re here through Labor Day.

Why is it that there are firms advertising on TV that they can save people who owe back taxes huge percentages of what they owe to the IRS? I don’t get it! I thought the government was a little short. Too many damned attorneys! “I’m just saying.”

Pike Place Market and PETA

We’ve been to Seattle a couple of times now and done some shopping and eating. Two of our favorite pastimes, although we would probably prioritize them in different order. Both trips we stopped at Ivers and Pike Place Market.

Ivers is a seafood restaurant just a block away from the ferry terminal. And that’s how we get there from Bremerton. We just leave the car and walk on the ferry. It’s about an hours trip. Ivers has a more formal sit down section and a fast-food sidewalk section also. We’ve done both and fed the seagulls. The chowder is just great. Worth the trip all by itself.

Pike Place is the home of the famous Pike Place fish market where they throw fish around. Always a crowed there watching the fishmongers. We didn’t see PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) there, though they have protested the throwing of fish. “Go figure!” But for us, just around the corner is the little mini-donut place that Kat just has to stop at. We always get a dozen. No ‘Calorie Police’ yet. But that may be coming. Speaking of that: we got an email from Fred Meyer grocery that there was a recall on the Tollhouse cookie dough we purchased a couple of weeks ago. Salmonella or something? So, we’re thinking it must be the Club or Rewards card that allows that information to be tracked. Damn! Big Brother is watching! Scary! Is that how they’re going to do the caloric tax? Real Scary!


Our last trip we rode the bus through town to the Woodcraft store to by a couple of things for woodcarving. What I ended up getting was a set of micro tools and case. A must have! He said with a grin.

The Bed and Brain Connection

Many times either going to bed or waking I think of really neat stuff to write about. And I know that I have a problem with remembering what I was thinking about. The ‘Bed and Brain connection’. As soon as I get up the connection is broken and for the life of me I can’t remember what it was I was going to write about that I thought was so neat. I have to get up and write it down quickly or its gone. And I do mean quickly. Any hesitation and I may not even remember that I was going to write something down. I may be stuck with half a thought or one of two thoughts, or something like that. There could be some ‘Old Timers’ disease in there but I think it’s mostly the case that a good portion of my brain really resides in the mattress. Anyway, I try to write stuff down and here’s some of it.

Jade and Mutt
Shawn the Ranger has a big old dog named Bo who roams the area and ain’t too crazy about interlopers, which in this case includes cats, which includes Jade (people are OK),. But Bo and Jade have been formally introduced now and things are pretty much OK. Bo comes by now and then and lays on our rug looking for handouts or pees on the bushes, just to keep Jade honest. Jade turns her back or climbs on a chair or the picnic table to demonstrate her lack of concern. But somehow she manages to convey the point that she’ll rip off Bo’s face if he tries any funny stuff. They have learned to cohabitate.
Downy woodpecker and the paranoid Jade
I have no earthly idea what I was thinking! Kind of proves the point huh? It may have been a Hairy woodpecker anyway. They’re a little bigger.
T. Tommy Tucker and friends
Really it’s just Tucker. He’s a Golden Retriever belonging to Linda, a very nice lady who lives near here and does some volunteer office work for the park and walks Tucker here every night. Tucker has allergies and has to have special food and treats. Shawn (or maybe it was Linda)bought a bag of potato and duck treats just for him. Thanks to Shawn this is a dog friendly park. Shawn is able to ‘talk to the animals’ especially Bo (see above), but not just Bo. So unlike lot’s of parks this one is quite animal friendly. We have treats and most dogs get a welcome at the gate too. Not a problem for me! Anyway, I have explained to Tucker, who really is a pretty boy, that his secret is safe with me. I won’t let on that he gets potato and duck treats and ‘oh by the way’ carries around a pink floppy eared bunny named ‘Bubby’. While I’m on dogs, one of my jobs here is to explain to park visitors that the big black dog named Bo that belongs to Shawn the Park Ranger, that I’m shooing out of the park, does not belong to the Park Ranger, but is really just a neighbor mutt. Really Bo stays home real well but every once in a while he likes to visit the park. Shawn lives right next door to the maintenance area and the whole place is pretty much empty except on summer weekends so it’s not a problem, but when it does happen and there are people around, Shawn is too embarrassed to go get her dog. She just starts laughing and asks me to go get the neighbor dog out of here. That’s when Bo becomes the mutt! As a point of interest, this is the Golden Retriever capitol of the world or so it seems I think every fourth dog we see on a leash here is a ‘Golden’. No exaggeration! Still on dogs! Kat, not my Kat, but another Park Aide here, has a dog named Willow that is mostly wolf. Kat hales from Alaska and so does Willow. Not too long ago I was down in the park near closing time and it was getting a little dark and I’m busy doing something and sense this presence behind me. I turn to see a ‘freakin’ wolf standing behind me. And that was my thought. “There’s a freakin wolf standing behind me”! As you already know it was really Willow but I hadn’t met Willow yet. You go stand in the woods when its getting dark and have a dog that looks more like wolf sneak up behind you; “see how much you like it!” OK so maybe it wasn’t getting dark and maybe the dog is 14 years old and can’t see very well. It was still a little scary.
After reading this last I realize it wanders a bit and you may get lost somewhere in my discussion of dogs and who, and what they are, and to whom they belong . Just live with it! I’ll entertain questions but it’s too late to change it.
The Sunseeker Couple
Just yesterday an older couple came in and got a camping spot for the night. For some reason I couldn't take their payment right away and explained the self registration process which is to go pick a spot and come back an put the payment envelope in the box. They said, ‘oh, couldn’t we just pay in the morning or something because we don’t want to walk all the way back’. I could see they had no tow car so I told them, better yet, why don't I drive by and find them and pick up their payment later. Which I did! But that is not my point, even though it does demonstrate that I am a pretty nice guy. My point is, that when I got to their site they were setting up and pulling out their lawn chairs, and I thought ‘how neat is this, a nice spot in the trees and nothing to do but relax’. And with a little more reflection I realized I/we’ve been doing this for several years and still I was a little jealous of them. Making the real point. I am still just enjoying the hell out of our lifestyle! And it made my day!

The Why On Scenic Beach?

You may be asking why I’m working after 11 years of retirement? I’ll ‘splain! Very briefly, I need some earnings to qualify for Social Security benefits. I didn’t get any (earnings toward SS that is) while working with the P.O. And I’m a world class procrastinator. Now I have the age and not the credits. A summer here ought to do it. But every time I talk to them (SS) I get a different response. “I mean I don’t hardly get the same answer once”. First I can, then I can’t, then its GPO, then its WEP (they’re both provisions to reduce annuities for Federal retirees who didn’t pay into social security or who make too much money or both or something like that?). I use to need two credits, now its five. And I’m somehow getting Medicare through my late wife’s account. Who knows? I have an appointment with a benefit person on Monday. Maybe we can straighten it out. So I hope my earnings count anyway.

Well I had that appointment with SS. Tiffany in Silverdale WA was very nice and assured me I only need the two credits. Rest assured that I will be going back to her with my earnings statement as soon as I have enough and get her to ‘sign me up’. When she told me I only needed the two credits I made some comment about getting the answer I wanted to hear and “could you put that in writing”? And she did! So like I said I’m going back to her, because I want to be like Kat. Kat just became eligible for SS benefits and has been walking around singing a song about getting a SS check. She hasn’t yet but she’ll start getting them soon and she is really enjoying it. I guess its one of those rare times when you can celebrate getting older. Lots of LOL’s. Unless of course the liberals in power determine we’re just having too much fun and they need the money more than we do. I guess that’s just a part of the new ‘Hope and Change’ Is this really what so many people voted for on Election Day? How’s it working for you? Looks like Socialism to me. Which reminds me, I wrote to my people in Washington DC and said "no" on Obama Care but only got a response from Merkley, Oregon’s junior senator. He wants to do something with health care so unfortunately he’ll go along. It’s probably already too late for Oregon. It has already turned to the 'dark side'. Or more correctly it turned to the 'dark side' some years ago.