Changes!!

My goodness, as I was reading blogs tonight I see we have some changes:

Gail and TC’s Travels is now Memoirs of the Trailerhood.

Merikays Dreams are no longer written in Smoke, Her dreams now have Six Wheels. YAY!!

Michael Ultra is selling his house, and it appears that Gypsy BoHo has sold hers (fingers crossed).

Even Al of the Bayfield Bunch is finding that his interests are changing.

And Rick is changing some 2X2’s into something that for now will remain a mystery!

I guess if the seasons can change, people certainly can make some changes as well.  I know we have changed our minds several times lately about where we are going and what we will be doing.  Nothing is ever static and that helps keep life interesting. 

Some changes are easier than others.  Some you choose and some just happen, regardless of any action on your part.  If you are going through changes, hang in there.  Change is inevitable, and can usually lead to something beneficial – if not now then somewhere down the road.

A couple of updates…Rusty dog is doing so much better.  Has his appetite back and seems to be feeling pretty good.  His hindquarters are still weak and his feet don’t always go where he wants them to, but most of the time he is getting around just fine.  He is reluctant to go in the car and makes it clear he would just as soon stay at home.  So we will go ahead and plan on some limited travels in September and October without the dogs and then we will reevaluate and make whatever changes are needed.

About 6 months ago, I had my annual mammogram and had to have a biopsy based on what was seen.  That test was clear, but I was scheduled for a 6 month follow-up ultrasound just to see if anything had changed.  I had that test on Monday and I got the report in the mail today.  I am happy – no, overjoyed – to report that all is well and I can go back to just having the regular checkups.  I just love good news!

I got a photo of the local wildlife the other day.



Yes, we feed them.  Put this little shelf up a few years ago and they love to sit and eat the nuts and seeds we supply.   They get pretty vocal when the food runs out!

Soon many of you will be headed to warmer climes for the winter.  Many of you are already getting thing checked out and cleaned up in preparation for your trip.  The Hollingers, over at RV Life on Wheels, have been doing some maintenance and fixing little things around the RV.  Seems like a lot of change and preparation are  going on right now.  I can feel the change of seasons in the air and it won’t be long until fall, and then winter, is upon us.

I can hardly wait to see what other changes will be coming in the next few months.

Meeting the MoHos and It’s the Berries

I read a lot of blogs and it has been so much fun to meet some fellow bloggers.  I have only been at this for less than a year, but it seems like I have known some of you for a lot longer.  And so it seemed today when we met the MoHos.  They really do have names, Sue and Mo, and the MoHo moniker refers to their motorhome, but to us they are affectionately known collectively as the MoHos.

We met Sue and Mo at Roaring Rapids pizza parlor.  They were on their way home from a short trip north of here and had to go right through Eugene on their way home.  I suggested the pizza place as it is right on the river and it was sunny and warm when we set this up.  Wouldn’t ya know…today was cloudy and windy, with a definite chill in the air.  Not to worry, we had a great lunch and had fun just visiting.  I couldn’t talk them into riding the carousel however!

Here are Sue and Mo at Roaring Rapids with the Willamette River in the background.


Seems like Sue and I are the photo bugs of the group.



And here’s Russ making friends with Abby in the parking lot.

The whole gang …


As we wave goodbye, we know in our hearts that we will see these fine folks again.  After all they are only a few hours down the road, very near to where Russ spent his growing up years.  It was GREAT to meet you, Sue and Mo, and your sweet fur kids.



I am usually a shy person, not given to meeting new people.  But blogging has been good for me.  The folks that we have met thus far have seemed like old friends from the moment we meet.  There is something special about the blogging community that transcends age, political or religious views, gender, full timing or part timing, all those things that could be divisive.  I find myself being more open to new people and differing ideas.  I enjoy meeting and visiting with people who might be termed “strangers," something that has always been hard for me.  I think this blogging stuff is a good thing – I know the people certainly are!

The day was young when we saw the MoHos on their way and so, inspired by Rick, we decided to get some blackberries.  They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so, Rick and Paulette, prepared to be flattered!  After reading your blog last night, I was so hungry for blackberries that I just had to find some.  And, although my "imitation" does not extend to all the magical things Paulette can do in the kitchen, I knew I needed to try making some freezer jam - something I haven't done in years.

Anyone who lives in the Pacific Northwest area, knows the about the ubiquitous blackberry.  They are EVERYWHERE.  People fight them like weeds and road crews routinely chop them down along roadways.  Our favorite picking place used to be the local middle school.  Then they expanded the school, put in some nice landscaping and it was bye-bye blackberries.  Humbug!!

So today we drove a short way to the river and joined some others in the quest for sun ripened wild blackberries.  There were plenty of bushes to be found, but seemed the cooler weather this week had made picking a favorite activity.  The easy berries were picked out and reaching the harder ones was quite a chore.


Russ did his best and came away with a slightly red hand and a wound he was quite proud of (yeah, I know…wear long sleeves!).


By now it was warming up and we were starting to run out of energy.  We tried another place and had a bit more success.


So we got enough wild berries for a good blackberry crisp and I made two batches of freezer jam with the domesticated variety.  Although the ones we got at the farm were large and looked great, the taste was just not the same as the ones we picked by the river.  There is just something about a wild blackberry that can’t be beat.  Maybe we’ll get out again and find a more accessible place but until then, we’ll just do what we gotta do to get them thar berries!!

How Grandpa Lost His Marbles

Yesterday we had the Eugene girls over.  Arwen, our DIL, was working on setting up her class room and Josh, our son, needed to get some sleep before his late shift at the hospital.  So the girls spent the day at our house.

BTW, just a quick shout out to teachers.  They put in so much time that the public never sees and most are dedicated to their profession.  After spending the first half of her day, and most of last week, organizing her new classroom (she had to move rooms this year), Arwen then went down town to our local Eugene Celebration and helped in a Eugene Education Association booth that was giving away books.  Thank you teachers (and former teachers).

So, first stop with the girls was a trip to the farm.  I’ve posted photos of the farm before so didn’t take any this trip.  The girls went to visit and feed the goats while I loaded my basket with fresh produce.  I got sweet corn, green beans, new potatoes, nectarines, peaches, plums, raspberries, blueberries, and a few other things I can’t remember!  Most of it was locally grown and I feel so fortunate to live in an area where we can get fresh local produce.  I really wanted some of their homegrown blackberries but there is just something about paying for blackberries that makes me queasy!  I can go out and pick them for free – now if I just would do that!!

So we had quite a feast for lunch – green beans simmered with onions, new potatoes, and bacon, and fresh corn on the cob.  The girls shucked their own corn and had a great time doing it.  We nibbled on fresh berries for dessert.
.
Grandpa was kinda tired yesterday and I feared he would not really enjoy his time with the girls.  But I was wrong.  Miss Emmie had brought her marbles with her!  She and Grandpa have a thing about marbles…she likes to win them and he can’t seem to stop her!

So the line was drawn in the sand (okay maybe it was carpet) and the shooters came out.  Grandpa’s stash of marbles has become much smaller over the last year or two while Emmie’s just continues to grow.  I told her Grandpa didn't have too many marbles left and she said, “That’s okay, you can just buy him some more.”



Game on!  Of course Emmie has the biggest shooter you ever saw and she uses it like a bowling ball.  Behind that smiling face lies the heart of a true marble shark!


Even though Rusty tried to help, Grandpa was outclassed.


His frustration was beginning to show and Emmie just became more serene!


So while Grandpa and Emmie played marbles, Miss Cailin nestled amongst the quilts and blankets that perpetually adorn my sofa and demonstrated what she has been practicing on the guitar.


And now a short video to show you just how Grandpa lost his marbles.

Okay, I messed up!!  Made the video with no sound track and now I can't seem to get rid of this link.  Grrr...ever have one of those days?  Oh, well...ignore this video, it's the same one as above only silent!

Fort Stevens – Part Two

If you read Carol’s blog, she and Dave just spent the day in the Fort Stevens area today and visited many of the same places that we did. Carol got a real nice photo of the jetty.

Tuesday, August 23

After our lunch and nap, we hit the road again to see what else we could find in the Fort Stevens area.  There are miles of trails and roadways and little stops here and there, trails to the beach, historical places, and small parks.

Russ wondered what this was all about.


And he finally saw a hanging basket he liked.  Said I could have all I wanted of this kind :((



Our first stop was Coffenbury Lake.  We stopped at the North shore park first.  This is a well maintained area with boat docks, nice rest rooms, picnic shelters, lawns, designated swimming area, just everything you could want in a lakeside park.  There were kayaks in the water and the lake was just as smooth as a baby’s backside.



Rusty wanted to get wet, while Donna wanted to stay dry!  Thankfully, they both got what they wanted.


There is also a South Shore park but it was not nearly as nice, although it did have a trail to our loop of the campground.

We drove down to the museum but were too late – it was already closed.  Had to take a picture of this sign…just for Russ.


So, it closed the year Russ was born!!  Hmmmm!

Off to see the cemetery.  Couldn't pass up this sign in front of the guard house.  Russ felt right at home.  There was another sign just down the road as you approached the cemetery.  That one said “Dead End.”  Well, DUH!



Deer were along the roadway almost everywhere we went.


Then we headed out towards the mouth of the Columbia.  There’s a reason this area is known as the graveyard of the Pacific.  The waves coming onshore from the river were like ones you would expect to see on the ocean side.  Add to that the river current, the tidal waters and the ocean current, and you just might have a problem crossing the bar.  We only saw one pilot boat and no big ships.



There is a huge parking lot  here (one other car) and access to both the Columbia River …



…and a wildlife viewing bunker.


I guess the idea is to hide in the bunker and wait for the wildlife to walk by.  The only wildlife I saw here was a nest of starlings (I think) who flew out of the corner of the bunker and scared me half to death.  I think they didn’t want to share their bunker.

We also drove to the beach where the wreck of the Peter Iredale is located but did not make the hike down to see it.  Carol has a nice photo on her blog.

It was getting late but we still wanted to see the South Jetty so off we went.  On the road, Russ hollered at me to pull over – there is NO place to pull over, but he had seen another deer and he wanted a photo.
So I made an illegal U-turn and found a place where I could get off the road enough for him to get his shot.

This guy was a little more shy than the does had been.  I guess he knows as a four point buck he needs to stay hidden!!

The South Jetty had a viewing tower which Russ climbed while I stayed in the car with the dogs.  I watched as the breakers sent spray WAY up over the jetty.  It was getting late but still just a bit too early for a colorful sunset.


If you look closely, you can see two small boys playing on the jetty.  Their mom was taking pictures quite a ways away from them and not paying any attention.  Russ watched them clambering on the rip rap and getting sprayed by the breakers.  Dangerous game!

Back at the campground, Russ had to snap a photo of the Camp Host and his wood wagon, something we had never seen before.  Each night the wagon would make the rounds to sell wood to the campers.  So much easier than lugging it back to camp from the host’s site.  Great idea there!



We had tried to get our site for another two nights but it was reserved.  Turned out to be for the best as Rusty started getting sick and we had to come home on Wednesday anyway.  This is an area we definitely want to return to and spend a week or more.  There is much to see and we rushed through so much of it and other things we didn’t see at all.  Can hardly wait to return. 

Fort Stevens State Park

Monday, August 22, 2011 (written Aug. 26)

We had a leisurely drive from Deschutes State Park in the Columbia Gorge to Fort Stevens State Park at the mouth of the Columbia River.  We didn’t take Hwy. 30, the route along the river, as we had been on that not too long ago and wanted to see something different.  We took Hwy 26 from Portland to Seaside and had a great drive.

We knew that Fort Stevens SP is the most popular SP in Oregon but it is huge with 476 RV spaces, 6 tent site, 11 deluxe cabins, and 15 yurts.  When we pulled in, shortly after check-out time, we found they only had two sites available in the entire park!  We took one for two nights and felt lucky to get it.
Fort Stevens is located in the northwest corner of Oregon, near Astoria.  This fort was built during the civil war and was only fired on once, during WW11.  We did not return fire.  You can read all the history here.



The weather was pretty cool and rainy when we arrived and we were tired, so other than a walk around the loop, we didn’t do much.  Had some rain off and on throughout the evening and into the night but Tuesday morning dawned bright and clear and warm.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

This is an area rich in both history and nature.  The first thing Russ wanted to do was see Fort Clatsop
 
and so off we went…doggies in tow.  Fort Clatsop is just a few miles from the SP and includes a replica of the fort where Lewis and Clark wintered in 1805/06.  This is a National Historical Park and has an entry fee of $3 if you don’t have the National Parks Pass.  We forgot our pass in the motorhome but were more than willing to pay the $3.  Well worth the cost.  Unlike most National Parks, this one welcomed the dogs as long as they stayed on leash and didn’t go into the buildings, so they got to tour the fort also.  The dogs are not allowed in the rooms of the fort but human type people can go in and look around.  There are beds with deer skin blankets and tables and furnishings such as there might have been in 1805.





There are folks in period costumes throughout the park talking and giving various demonstrations.  There are many trails, all easy with only a little elevation change.




This tree reminded me of some of the giant redwoods…well almost.  Not nearly as big around but pretty darn tall.  If you enlarge the photo, you can see the woman in the background getting a similar shot.  She looks mighty small up against those trees.





Walking down to the river, we spied this tree.  I don’t think I have ever seen one with such a tangle of branches.  There were several like this but this one was the biggest.






We walked down the shaded trail to the Netul River Landing, partly along a raised boardwalk.




The sign at the end of the walkway asked, “Why are Those Poles in the Water?”  Without skipping a beat Russ said, “Because they ran out of Swedes?”  Now don’t go getting all offended…he was only joking.  Here is the real reason for the poles.



There is also a gift shop and a theater at the park. We didn’t watch the Lewis and Clark movie as the dogs were getting tired and it was too hot to leave them in the car. Russ did find a cool magnet though! He’s doing it again- every magnetic surface in our house is covered in souvenir magnets and now he’s started on the motorhome. Not much metal surface inside though. We aren’t even safe on the outside. Lazy Daze siding is NOT fiberglass, it is METAL! Oh well, if he enjoys it…at least he’s not collecting big rocks.

We left the park and drove a short way to a picnic area along the Netul River.  Nice area with covered picnic areas, rest rooms and a kayak launch.  This one is for you Sue and Mo:



The Netul is a small but scenic river and the clear blue skies created a perfect reflection of the river bank.


We went home for lunch and a nap (yeah, we’re that old) and in the evening went out again to see Coffenbury Lake, the mouth of the Columbia and several other stopping place.  Come back tomorrow and I’ll tell you all about it.

This beautiful creature was just relaxing alongside the main park road, watching the cars go by.  We backed up, pulled over, rolled down the window, and said hello while Russ snapped this photo.  She smiled, said she was fine, wished us a good day, and welcomed us to her park!

Rusty is Home and more on our trip

First I want to thank you all for your kind comments and positive thoughts and prayers for Rusty.  We just got him home.  He was on IV fluids and antibiotics all day and seems to be doing better.  The vet thinks he maybe got some bad water but most of his tummy problems were likely caused from stress.  He said Rusty should not be traveling on long trips.  Even though he wants to be with us, it is painful on his spine and that in turn sets up a stress reaction and causes intestinal distress.  The vet said Rusty has great heart and lungs so he should be good to go until his back legs give out.  No way to tell when that will happen.  The X-rays show some marked narrowing in his cervical spine and that is no doubt pinching some nerves and causing some instability in his hindquarters.  He does NOT recommend surgery on Rusty at his age.  We will most likely stick closer to home this winter as I do not want to be so far away and leave Rusty with a sitter for months at a time.  He is more important than our travel plans.  We will still take some shorter trips when we can.  Rusty is fine here with Christopher (our long time house sitter) but I want to be able to get home in a hurry if he takes a turn for the worse. 

 Also, we have not had Internet or TV except the first night we were gone.  I was so sorry to hear of the tornado near Al's place in Canada.  Thankfully it missed Bayfield, but nearby Goderich had some bad damage and even one death due to the tornado.  Al has some pictures of the storm up on the last several of his blog posts.

I also read of the approach of Hurricane Irene.  Hoping for the best for all of our east coast bloggers.

I also read an interesting post from a lifelong PC user who just bought his first Apple iMac.  Mike seems to be a convert to Apple.  I'm still a PC person but I liked the info in his post.  And Rick talked about how to avoid roaming charges on the iPhone...so I got caught up on some good techie info.  Now if I just had an iPhone and an iPad I'd be in business!  I am still wondering what to do about internet when we travel.  And speaking of iPad, Kate sent me some great photos from her iPad today and she had some wonderful photos on her blog.  Thanks Kate.

And now, here's what I would have posted on Monday, had I had internet!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

We left the KOA in Culver and headed for the Deschutes State Recreation area for our camp-out with Russ’s family.  As we left the park we had a great view of Mt. Jefferson – another reason to like the wide open spaces of central Oregon.


Like Sue recently said as they drove up Hwy. 97 on the first leg of their trip to Alaska, there’s a lot of desolate country between here and anywhere you happen to be going.  But even that has it’s own stark beauty.

We passed through the little “Ghost Town” of Shaniko but it was too hot and crowded to stop.  It was only about a block long of old stores and such and there were several rigs already taking up most of the parking.

The town has an ice cream parlor…

…a general store…



…a post office, restaurant, and a few other buildings and that’s about it.



However, we did find a retirement cabin for sale that we could afford.



We bypassed the little town of Antelope, OR but it has a VERY interesting history…full of intrigue and malicious plots.  You can read about the  bioterror attack ... lots of drama for such a small town.

As we traveled we saw stunning views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams.  Clear blue skies made the mountains stand out in stark relief.

I set a course on the GPS for the Deschutes park we were going to.  When we got to Moro, the GPS said turn on 4th St.  Okay…did that.  We didn’t see a sign that said anything about the Deschutes Park, but the GPS said turn and so we did.  The first hint of trouble was the sign that said, “No Through Trucks.”  But it didn’t say “no motorhomes” so away we went trusting in Sam to get us where we were headed.  The road was a typical country lane, but it was paved and wide enough so we figured it was just the back way into the park…besides there was NO PLACE to turn around.

We continued on to Foss Lane as the GPS instructed and when we arrived we saw it was nothing but a gravel lane.  There was a house on the corner and a hayfield across the street and that was IT.  The GPS said 20 MORE MILES on this road to the park.  NO WAY...we could tell by dead reckoning that we were no where close to where we should be.  So, looking at the road, the clear area in front of the house, and the hayfield, we figured we had just enough room to turn around.  Russ started the turn, missed the mailbox, went a few feet into the hayfield, and OOOPS...no way could he continue the turn.  Nothing to do but unhitch the toad, get turned around, re-hitch and get the heck out of there.  

As we drove away, Russ waved to the old lady who had been sitting in her deck chair watching the whole process.  Bet she has something to laugh about all week.  Spread the joy where you can!

We were still looking for signs to the campground but didn’t see anything.  Made it to I-84.  I asked Russ to call his sister and find our which exit to take.  “Don’t worry,” says Russ, “You can see it from the road.  Besides, there’s bound to be a sign.”  Famous last words.  We crossed the Deschutes River and there was no sign.  In desperation I called Alice and asked her which exit to take.  “Number 97,” says Alice, “There’s a sign.”  Exit 97 was coming right up but the sign said Celilo Park” …nothing about Deschutes Park.  Took the exit anyway and THEN there was a sign – but it was after the exit and no way to see it from the highway.

But we were there!  And it was blistering HOT.  102 F, which is HOT in anyone’s language!  Don’t you just hate getting set up in that kind of heat?  And no sewer hook-up (which we knew) and no dump station (which we did not).  We were 1/3 full on both tanks so wanting to preserve our resources, we opted to use the camp facilities.  After all our wandering around looking for  signs, we were ready.
 
Remember back when there were restroom signs with actual WORDS on them like ‘MEN’ and ‘WOMEN’?  Now all they have are those funny little pictures and symbols, which can be confusing if you are old and in a hurry.  Russ saw the handicapped accessible symbol and thought it was a unisex restroom.  He kinda wondered why there were several stalls and no urinals but didn’t think too much about it.  When we took a walk later he was telling me how weird the restrooms were and I pointed out  the sign with the skirted stick figure on it.  “That means women,” I told him.  OOOPS!   He did say that someone else came in and used the facilities while he was in there but at least the stall door was shut and the person probably had no idea she was sharing with a man!  Oh well!

The campground was pretty enough, right on the Deschutes River and lots and lots of very lush grass.  They keep the sprinklers running almost all the time in one area or another and it looks like it would be a very nice place to stay.  But we just could not handle the heat.  One night was all we could take.  It was so hot I just was not even motivated to take out the camera and get a photo.  Maybe next time – like in the late fall or winter!

We are now on the Oregon coast at Fort Stevens State Park.  More on that later – I have gone on WAAAY too long.

We're Home Early - Rusty not well

We had to leave Fort Stevens State Park early this morning to come home - how we got to Fort Stevens instead of the Deschutes campground is another whole story but I will tell it at a later time.  We loved Fort Stevens but will also write about that in a few days.

We came home because Rusty is not doing well at all.  He has been having a lot of trouble with his back legs and last night he woke us up with a scream of pain.  Couldn't see anything wrong but Rusty has NEVER made a noise like that in his entire life.  He is in the hospital tonight while the vet runs some tests and tries to figure out what is going on.  We thought it was just his back - and yes, that is the biggest part of it - but the vet says there is something going on with his intestines and he should get the blood work back tomorrow.  In the meantime, he cannot treat his back with medication as most of those drugs tend to be hard on the intestines.

So right now Rusty is floating on a cloud of anti-anxiety and muscle relaxant meds and according to the vet, resting comfortably.  He wants him to just chill out and not move around much tonight so I had to leave him.   THAT WAS HARD!  The vet did do an exam on his back legs while we were there and said Rusty has paraparesis in his hind legs - basically, his brain no longer knows where his hind legs are.  It will eventually lead to full paralysis.  Rusty has been getting more and more clumsy with his hind legs for some time and shows marked weakness when he gets up and down.  He often crosses his hind feet when he walks has a hard time getting up steps.  Sometimes he has a hard time staying upright when he lifts his leg.

The vet says he is not ready to give up on him yet and neither am I.  Rusty is 14 years old but he is a medium sized mixed breed and that might mean a longer life span than for the larger breeds.  I will not see him suffer but if he can be treated and at least have a little mobility, I cannot let him go yet.  Just not ready.

I do think that Rusty's travel days are over.  I can see where riding in the motor home makes him so tired and sore.  His routine is upset and that's hard on old guys.  I tried to point out a little garter snake to him on Monday and he just couldn't see it.  He saw the movement of a squirrel running across the trail but then the squirrel sat still on a log and Rusty could not see him.  It is so sad to see him deteriorate so quickly.  Seems like only last month he was running around having a great time.  I know old age has been coming on, but it just seems to have speeded up lately.

I will write an update on his condition when I know more.   Travel blogs are on the back burner for a few days.

We’re in Therapy!

We did it!  We loaded up the old tin wagon and hit the road.  Had a wonderful drive today and stopped for the night at the Culver KOA.  That’s about mid-way between Redmond and Madras on Hwy.97 in Oregon.  We are head north tomorrow for a five night stay at Deschutes State Park with some of Russ’s family. 

For a KOA, this place ain’t half bad!!  It has an interesting store and even some flowers in front.



I have fun looking through little stores wherever I find them – even in KOAs.  This one had a little of everything – even artificial Christmas trees!



They had lots of neat signs and one section just for grand parent signs.  They must get a lot of Boomers in here!  Click to enlarge the picture and you can read some of the signs.  They were clever but I didn’t buy any.



The surface roads in the park are hard packed crushed rock with grass, a picnic table, and a fire ring at every site.  The sites are typical for a commercial campground but we did not feel crowded.  We paid $37 for FHU.

 
They had an ice cream social tonight – $1 a scoop - so we all had some.  Poppy was upset over the smell of fire and wouldn’t eat hers but Rusty made short work of his vanilla ice cream cone.

It has been years since we have been over this way and I have never been past Redmond on hwy 97.  And Redmond has certainly changed from the way I remember it.  We didn’t explore, just drove on through, but we plan to come back next month and have a closer look.  It was an attractive small town, from what I could see, with a population of just over 26K.  It seemed clean and well kept and just had a nice “feel” to it.  I liked being able to see the mountains and the wide open spaces.  Although I love the greenery and all the trees in Eugene, there is something about wide open vistas that is also appealing.

I probably won’t have internet the next several days so if you don’t hear from me, know that I will be having a great time just kicking back and taking it easy.  I’ll see ya all on the flip-side.

Clarification and the End of Summer

In re-reading my post of last night and the comments that followed, I just wanted to make sure I was not leading anyone astray!  First, thank you all so much for your supportive comments.  The encouragement is much appreciated.  I have a feeling the next few months/years may be a challenging time for us.

Yes, we definitely want to sell the house but we are NOT at this time planning on becoming full-timers (although nothing is outside the realm of possibility!).  We just really need to downsize and get something we can manage from our physical and financial resources.  I still feel the need of someplace I can go home to, but who knows what a year may bring.  We have learned to never say never!!

And now on to the end of summer.  It feels like summer is ending all too quickly this year…perhaps because it just got started??  We had the Portland girls, Anna and Bekah, for their last visit of the season last week.  They were only here for three days and we took them home on Wednesday.  Now we are busy getting the motor home waxed and stocked and ready to roll this Saturday for a 1 week camping trip.  Really looking forward to that.  After that we are home for about 10 days and then off on our long September trip.

So here’s what our last few days were like.  We tried to pack in as many memories as we could knowing that this may have to last a while.  We went miniature golfing on Sunday.





It’s a great miniature Golf Course – our favorite river-side pizza parlor is at the back of the lot, but the neighborhood is not the greatest.  This is what is across the street from the golf course.  Glad it was closed on Sunday!!  Click to enlarge.


And a couple of doors down from that wonderful shop is the building where Russ worked many years ago.  This used to be the headquarters for a local petroleum company, before the Big Guys put all the Little Guys out of business.  Russ was the controller for Sunny Service Stations for about 7 years and he is still friends with the former owner of the business.  It was a great local company for many years and probably Russ’s favorite job ever.  The neighborhood was nicer then too!!



After golfing we had pizza at Roaring Rapids but I have posted photos of that before so didn’t take any new ones.

Monday we went to a movie and then roamed the mall for a bit.



The girls wanted to try out the massage chairs in the middle of the mall.



It was fine until Grandpa decided he wanted to join them.



Tuesday we had a final girl’s swim – probably the last one of the summer.



Several years ago, when my first two grandsons were small, I bought a 3/4 size guitar.  I always wanted to encourage the kids in the pursuit of music and Mike showed great promise in stringed instruments.  However, he never really took to the guitar so I got it back.  Over the years it has gone from one grandchild to another and no one ever liked it enough to do much with it.  I was ready to sell it on Craig's List when Cailin decided she would like to give it another try.  This has been quite a few months ago and I haven’t seen any evidence of her continuing interest in the guitar.  HOWEVER, just when I was about to give up hope, Cailin’s Uncle Barry (on her mother’s side) came from Texas for a visit last weekend.  Seems Uncle Barry is quite gifted on the guitar and after a long weekend, had taught Cailin a few things.  She brought her guitar over on Tuesday to show me what she had learned in a few short days.  I was so impressed and SO HAPPY that someone was finally getting some use out of the guitar.  So take a look at a proud Grandma’s video of Cailin showing me what she has learned.  She is already quite good on the piano and I think she has a lot of promise on her second instrument as well.  Remember, last week at this time she couldn't play anything on the guitar!



And another talented youngster…I swear there are no special effects here other than the sound effects I added!!  I know, it's just too precious for words ...


So although it’s been short, it has been a great summer.  I don’t know what next summer will bring, but whatever it is, I’ll be ready…and you can be sure it will involve family.