Thankful X2

I haven’t been on the computer much lately.  Between having some tendonitis problems and just being in a funk, anything on the computer has been pretty sparse.

We had a great Thanksgiving in Portland with our kids up there.  Took Therapy and parked her in the street in front of John’s house.  It worked great.  We were able to be right there with the family and yet have our own space when we felt tired.  Poppy went with us and was a very good dog (like always).  John did most of the cooking with the rest of us just filling in a few gaps.  I put some photos up on FB for the family, or anyone else who is interested.

Last Saturday we had a Civil War party at my sister, Laila’s house.  Along with her hubby, Brian, we had a great time watching the Ducks chew up the Beavers.  Too bad we lost that one game to Stanford, but the Ducks should still get a good bowl berth…probably the Fiesta Bowl.


Us four oldsters decided we had not had quite enough Thanksgiving, so today we got together for another TG dinner!  It was a surprise for Brian and Laila as they had gone out on Thanksgiving and their meal was less than stellar.  We made up for that today.

I had the grocery store cut a turkey in half so that we wouldn’t have so many leftovers and it worked just great.  We had turkey, stuffing, mashed taters and gravy, yams, homemade applesauce, home made cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, fruit salad, raspberry whip (mousse), and yeast rolls.  It was all SO good and it was nice to have a meal with my sister.  I only wish my brother and his wife lived closer so we could have shared with them as well.


It was fun to get out the Christmas dishes and make a big spread, but boy, am I tired!!  Not quite as easy as it used to be!!

No one went away hungry and after dinner, as is our Thanksgiving custom, we watched National Lampoon’s “Christmas Vacation.”  It’s a movie you either love or hate and we just happen to love it.  So freakin’ funny!!



Updates to this blog may be sporadic for the foreseeable future.  Have to come to some decisions about how I want to proceed.  I may not comment as much as usual, but I do enjoy reading and keeping up with what you all are doing out there. 

Have a wonderful holiday season and Happy "2nd" Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving

From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving. 

Free HP Ink

Just a short note today to offer some free ink.  I purchased a new printer and have several left over ink cartridges from my old printer.  If anyone uses HP #02 print cartridges, please let me know and I will be happy to send these to you.  These are genuine HP cartridges, not refills.  I don’t have all the colors but I do have still sealed in the package:

1 black
3 lt. magenta
1 yellow
2 lt. cyan

In addition, I have the new black and yellow cartridges I just installed in the printer a few days ago and all of the ones in the printer with varying levels of ink left in them.  Most are almost full.  You can email me at grandma_kr AT yahoo dot com if you are interested.  I hate to just throw them away but I can’t use them.  I will send them to the first person who wants them.

Have a wonderful day and if you are heading south, have a safe journey.

RIP Printer!!

It’s all the fault of John over at Travelin’ with John.    A few days ago I mentioned my thoughts about getting another dog.  I’ve pretty much decided I can’t handle a puppy and I think I will just do nothing for now.  Then John had to go and send me a picture of Skippy.

Remember Skippy?  He was the office dog at the park John was staying in while he was in Elephant Butte.  He is about the cutest little guy ever and EXACTLY what I want in a dog.



I pleaded with John to drive the 1000 miles back to Elephant Butte, dognap the little fellow and send him to me.  I even said I would pay the shipping.  After all, I wanted to be fair.  But John wouldn’t do it.  Can you believe it???

So all that remained to me and my broken heart was to print this picture and tack it up on the bulletin board by my computer.  SIGH!!!!  But when I tried to print to picture it came out more like this:


Well that little dog deserves better than that!!!  I did all the usual things, checked all the ink cartridges, even replaced black and yellow even though they still showed some ink in them.  Ran a diagnostic, etc.  Printed the picture using another program to make sure it wasn’t an error with PhotoShop print settings that I was missing.  Same result.  So I am stumped. 

The printer is about 6 years old and I’m thinking it will be easier to replace it rather than repair.  I’m looking at another HP at Costco.  It’s a four-in-one for under $100 so I may go with that.  I may have some still sealed HP 02 cartridges to give away in the near future.  Isn’t it crazy that they all take different cartridges?  My computer is HP so I want to stick with that brand.  Makes set-up simple and I'm familiar with the brand.  I don’t need anything fancy so I’m hoping that one at Costco will fill the bill. 

And when I get it, you can bet the first thing I am going to print is that picture of Skippy!!

 

Election Day Thoughts - WARNING: Political post

It’s finally here, the day we look forward to – an end to the the asinine political ads on TV and the endless computer generated phone calls.  However, this year, I fear election day will not end the wrangling that has beset our country and has caused such division amongst our people.  Already lawsuits have been filed in some counties in Florida regarding election procedures.  We haven’t heard the end of this.

It almost seems we are a bunch of kindergarten children, selfishly declaring that I must get everything I want and to heck with the rest of you.  If I can’t have all the best toys, then I am not going to play. 

Unfortunately, in a country with well over 300 MILLION people, no one will EVER get everything to go their way.  No TWO people will agree about everything so how can we expect 300 million to agree?  My point is that grown-ups learn to listen and compromise.  No, compromise is NOT a dirty word.  It is simply a recognition that someone who disagrees with you has as much right to their opinion as you do to yours. 

What has happened to civility?  Why can we not work with one another to effect the changes we desire without having to run rough-shod over anyone who disagrees?  I fully advocate standing up for your individual ideals but recognize that others have ideals that, while they may be different, are just as closely held.  We can engage in civil debate and discourse without alienating those with whom we disagree.  We can work within the system to change those things we think need to be changed, while realizing that we will not get “our way” 100% of the time.  And we can be civil about it.

Congress has set a terrible example for our citizens by refusing to reach across the aisle and work together to get things done.  Our citizens have embraced this ethic to dig in their heels and refuse to listen to anything other than their own party’s rhetoric.  We have become selfish to the point where we can see no other point but our own.

I am not saying that we should lay down “arms” and discontinue fighting for what we believe in.  I am only saying that we need to recognize that compromise is inherent in a democracy.  You will not get everything you want because everyone has rights that are just as important as yours.  In a democracy where everyone has a say in how our country is governed, nothing will get accomplished unless we are willing to sacrifice some of our desires in order to see others come to fruition.  And we need to do it with civility.

With that in mind I am making this declaration:

If my candidate wins, I will not gloat, but will be gracious in victory.

If my candidate loses, I will not pout, but will accept defeat with honor.

I will respect the office of the President, even if I disagree with the politics or the person in that office. 

I will replace the energy I waste on tearing down an elected official with working in a positive manner to see the changes made that I believe in.  (I wonder what we could accomplish if all the time and energy directed at making political jokes, false accusations, sending out disparaging emails, were instead turned into positive and productive action?)

I will not abandon my beliefs or my desire to see change but will work to effect that change without rancor towards the “other side.”

I will engage in debate when warranted but will remember to LISTEN as well as speak.  Perhaps someone who disagrees with me will have a valid idea (what a novel thought!)  Debate is not bad, lack of civility is.

I will educate myself on issues and candidates and will not allow the media to dictate my choices.  I will read, I will listen, and I will decide.

Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Wanna Go to the Coast?

We did just that today.  Sun was shining, sky was blue... why not?  Spur of the moment ride over to Florence, OR.

First stop was the Three Rivers Casino.  Russ liked the look of the grass at the top of this dune and the way it contrasted against the very blue sky.


Poppy got out and walked around a bit then we went into the casino.  We were going to have lunch but it was too hot to leave Poppy in the car, even with the windows down.  There was very little breeze to keep the temperature down inside the car.  So we just made a quick pit stop and went down to the waterfront in Florence.

We found that we had a choice of which Florence we wanted to visit.

Since it was already well past lunch time, we decided Florence, OR would have to do for today.  We had lunch at Mo’s.  Some of their famous Potato Surprise Chowder.  The surprise is when you find a clam!!  I liked it anyway!!  Russ was happy as a clam with his platter of strips.


Whatever you think of the food at Mo’s, you have to admit, it’s in a great location right on the Siuslaw River.



After walking along the pier and inspecting the pilings underneath Mo’s, I think I might want to go on a diet before I go back!


There was a lot of rot in many of the pilings but I am sure they are inspected regularly and are as safe as can be…



The pier goes for quite a way and made for a pleasant after lunch walk.  There were several boats tied up and Poppy acted liked she wanted to board.  She was getting tired and I think she was hoping to find a bathtub to relax in!!






This old gal found a perfect perch to watch for any stray food that might be dropped on the pier.






In addition to the pier, there is also a long boardwalk with benches strategically placed to allow one to wander or just sit and watch the water.


We didn’t spend a lot of time exploring the many quaint shops in Old Town, but Russ did spy this Whirl-i-gig for our John Deere loving friends.



The sun was getting low in the sky and the haze was starting to roll in as we walked back to the car.  I wanted to try a couple of backlit shots and this is what I came up with.




And so as the sun sets slowly in the west….we headed east back towards Eugene, happy that we had listened to our inner child and took a spontaneous drive to the coast.

It’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Would you believe 73F and blue skies?  Yup, it really happened here in Eugene, OR today. 


A great day for a ride.  First the lake, or what there is left of it.  I always think the docks look so lonesome just sitting there in the mud.

Actually, it is a huge lake and there is plenty of water, just not in the marina at Orchard Point.  It is drawn down in preparation for the winter rains. 

If you look closely, you can see a lady in a blue jacket out on the boat ramp.  She had the cutest little Mini-Aussie pup.  I talked to her and she told me where she bought the pup.  It was so cute – I was too busy getting loved on to get a picture.  So that encounter resulted in a drive along the road where the puppies grow!

We didn’t find the puppy house (didn’t have an address) but the lady called me later with a name and website.  Not sure I want another dog but it will be an Aussie if I get one.

We didn’t find the puppies but how about this for a sight you don’t see very often nowadays?


I used to say I loved the smell of sunshine on the laundry – I think I like the smell of fabric softener and dryers a lot better!  That’s a lot of work to hang those clothes on the line like that.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, it appeared that the wet weather we have been getting, combined with the warmer temperatures of the last couple of days have resulted in an invasion of other worldly fungi.  None so colorful as what Al gets in Bayfield, but interesting all the same.




This looks more like someone laid a clutch of eggs in our grass!


This is not home-grown but was grown in the flower department at our local Fred Meyer Store.


Thank you, Russ, for my beautiful “Get Well” bouquet.  Hope you all remembered to turn your clocks back (except you Arizona and Hawaiian rebels!) and that all my USA friends remember to vote on Tuesday if you haven’t already done so.

OUCH!!

Toothache…

Dentist…

Cracked tooth…

BAD infection…

Bye bye tooth…

No more toothache…

FACE ache!!

Pain pills…

Good night…