Visits with Fellow Bloggers

My regular readers, and those who read Our Life on Wheels, know that Jerry and Suzy have been in the area for a couple of weeks.  They are based at Casey’s in Westfir, about 35 miles from Eugene on Hwy 58.  This is a great riverside RV park with all the amenities and a great central location for exploring some of the scenic wonders of Oregon.

We have had some fun times with Jerry and Suzy.  I already wrote about our joint visit to the Saturday Market in downtown Eugene.  That was great fun.  Then Jerry and Suzy came to our house for a BBQ.  I had all kinds of picnic type food planned BUT – it poured BUCKETS of rain so we had to escape to the inside of the house.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures but we did have a fun visit.

Friday, Jerry and Suzy invited us to come visit them at Casey’s and we were happy to do so.  We spent several days at Casey’s last fall and we love the place.  If you are ever in the area, we HIGHLY recommend Casey's.


Although the weather was warm enough for these brave (unknown) souls to actually swim in the chilly waters of the Willamette River, we were perfectly happy sitting in the shade outside of Jerry and Suzy’s RV.





Suzy made a wonderful corned beef dinner and a spinach salad that was about the best I have ever had.  Jerry and Suzy will be on their way again in a few days but we had a few great visits with them.  The best part??  Virtual friends became real friends – how can you beat that?

REFLECTIONS

Poppy HAS to go for a ride every day.  If she doesn’t, she simply cannot settle down and will pester us until we comply.  This is not a bad thing.  it gets us out of the house and we enjoy driving around seeing the rural countryside, and going for walks in unfamiliar places.

If you are a regular reader, you know that Poppy is blind now, or nearly so.  It’s evident by the way she bumps into furniture, trips over small objects, and carefully picks her way across the yard.  She flinches if something gets close to her face.  Whether she sees it or just senses the proximity of an unknown object, we have no way to tell.

But one thing we DO know; Poppy loves her rides as much as she ever has and she at least pretends to be seeing something.  People say dogs only live in the moment and have no way to relate to things that have happened in the past.  I wonder about the accuracy of that statement. 

When Poppy sits and looks out the window in a moving car, is she seeing in her mind the images from long ago rides?

Is she remembering trips in the motorhome and all the places we have visited together?


I know she enjoys just being in the car with both of us nearby. 

She loves to have the window down so she can feel the wind in her face and sniff the delicious aromas of cows and horses!!





She appears to be watching intently as we go down the road, but as we know, she isn’t seeing much. 






But in her mind is she remembering, or is she seeing reflections of travels and rides from her past?

I hope Poppy’s reflections on her past are as as beautiful to her as her reflection in a dark window glass is to us.  I think she remembers.

It’s More Than Just Fruits and Veggies

Okay, I admit it.  I have avoided the Eugene Saturday Market for many years.  Established in 1970, it had a reputation as a hippie hangout, and was mainly arts and crafts.  Often, certain “medicinal herbs” could be found in abundance, if one knew where to look.  So we wrapped ourselves up in our “I’m No Hippie” cloaks and avoided the market all together.

Today, Jerry and Suzy wanted to visit the Market.  What are we to do?  They’re visitors from far away and we want them to experience Eugene!  So we went!


Located in what used to be called the fountain blocks, the market has grown over the years to encompass several blocks.  The fountain hasn’t functioned for years that I know of, but the old-timers still know where it was.  There are many (can’t even guess, but probably over 150) booths containing every manner of craft imaginable. 

 There is a large contingent of local food vendors as well, but it was early in the day and we didn’t pay much attention to the food (yet!).

Shade and grassy areas help visitor and vendor alike to stay cool on warm summer days such as today.  Unfortunately, this venue is NOT dog friendly due to city ordinances.






Suzy found something right away that caught her eye, but I’ll let her tell you about that.  Jerry kept busy capturing all the sights on his camera.


I liked the beautiful display of etched glass and the tiny blown glass wind catchers.









There are many art and tattoo and face painting booths to be seen, each one different from the next.














One of the blocks is reserved for the Farmer’s Market.  There are lots of fresh fruits and veggies here, as well as flowers, plants, baked good, even fresh meat!  We all tried a bit of something and Suzy and I both came home with half flats of berries and boy, are they ever yummy.
















Oh, YUM!!

Can’t leave the market without giving a nod to its origins.


If you want to "get your hippie on,”  there is no place quite like Eugene.

They even had tie dye candles.

Lastly, I leave you with this short (27 second) snippet of a sampling of the many street musicians to be found at the Market.  Most of them were pretty bad, but what the hey, they’re having fun.  The first guy in this clip was so cute and smiley that I had to drop a couple of dollars in his guitar case.



So thanks Suzy sand Jerry for spending some time with us and for introducing us to yet another wonder right here in our own backyard.

Hey Dad, It’s Donna!

Been a long time since I’ve seen you, Dad, over 25 years now.  But I wanted to wish you a Happy Father’s Day.  I still miss you, but I have so many wonderful memories of you that it makes today a day to celebrate.  It’s been one year ago today that Sharon joined you in heaven so I hope you had a good day celebrating together.

Don’t know where to start with the memories, but some of the best were of family vacations in Bishop.  Remember how all the Indians at the mission loved you?  They had a great birthday party for you one year when we were there on your birthday.

Can’t believe I was such a skinny little kid then.

One thing we were sure to do when we were in Bishop was to go fishing…and you were one of the best.  Back then the limit was 25 fish and you just about always limited out.  We ate fish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner…and enjoyed every mouthful.


Daddy, you taught me how to have fun and to not take myself too seriously.  You sure loved to laugh.  But you could be semi-serious when you put on your preacher hat and tended to the congregation.








Remember that silly little dog of mother’s?  You used to love to play with Cindy and make her bark at you.


Sometimes people wonder where I got my silly streak, Daddy.  I think I got it from you!! 

































No matter how old or how sick you got, Daddy, you taught me to keep that sense of humor going.  I sure appreciate those lessons.  My last  pictures of you were at the celebration of the 50 years you enjoyed with Mother.

You sure enjoyed that party and we did too. 

So Happy Father’s Day , Daddy.  Thanks for giving me life, love, and a sense of the absurd.  See you again someday.

Rock On!

What's more fun than a kid on a rocky river bank?  TWO kids on a rocky river bank!!  Okay, sorry, lame joke, but we really did have fun watching granddaughters Bekah (13) and Anna (16) play along the banks of the Willamette River in Harrisburg, OR today.

I don’t know what it is about water and rocks but I have never seen a kid yet who doesn’t like to throw rocks into the river.  Don’t worry, it was too shallow for fishing right there so they weren’t disturbing anyone.  There were quite a few kids and families and they were all skipping rocks across the water.

Anna winds up for a big toss.


Then I caught Bekah right at mid-hurl – yellow arrow is pointing to rock!!


Did you notice what Bekah has on her feet?  Her bedroom slippers!  Silly girl!

Anna was smart and took off her shoes for a delicious cool treat for da feet.


I don’t know who these boys were but they were sure having fun.  That water is COLD!!


This is a great place for wading and playing as there is a huge gravel bar and the current is slow.  These boys went almost halfway across the river and it never got above their waist.  The Willamette can be dangerous in spots, but this is a relatively safe place to enjoy the water.


Some other folks were enjoying the water ON the water!  I don’t know about that raft though.  Looks like something that belongs in a swimming pool.


This park also has a gazebo for special events and the girls had a great time hamming it up on stage (but I couldn’t get them to sing or dance!).








Poppy has not been feeling very well, but she enjoyed her ride as always, and enjoyed a short walk in the park.


Summer is just getting started good here in Oregon but we are looking forward to some happy times in the sunshine.  It’s off to a good start.

Okay, This is a Medical Rant

Probably shouldn’t write this as a blog but I would like to rant for a minute so I can get over this!!

About a month  ago I went in to have a small spot frozen off my arm.  Dr. Diane looked at my other arm and said, “That’s got to come off too, and it’s going to require surgery.”

So I made the appointment and had the surgery  (in office – not a big deal)  but the results were melanoma.  Not really serious, it is called “in situ” which basically means it is confined to the upper layer of skin and is easily removed.  No chemo or anything is required, just follow-up visits every 3 months for awhile.

The next call she tells me there were no “clean margins” so she has to re-do the surgery and take more off. While I am glad to be getting the melanoma cells removed from my body, I can’t help but think in the back of my mind, ah-ha another billing for Medicare!!

I think we have all heard stories about people who  say they were awake during surgery and felt the whole thing.  The trouble is, they were unable to move or speak to tell the doctor they were aware.  I pretty much viewed such stories with a grain of salt.  Now I’m not so sure.


Today was my second surgery.  It is an in-office procedure with local anesthetic.  She injected the numbing medicine and set to work.  A little slice and then 
“OUCH”!!!  She was cutting where it was NOT NUMB!!!  She injected some more but I could still feel some slight pain at the one end of the incision as she finished her surgery and stitched it up.  That part might have been mental for all I know.

I understand that a doctor may not always get the medicine in the right place but for crying out loud – even a dentist will poke around and make sure you are numb before they begin to work.  What would have been so hard for her to poke a little before cutting to make sure I was numb?  Oh sure, I’ll survive and I’m not scarred for life or anything but it was certainly not pleasant.  Let me tell you, if she didn’t get it all this time, I will be finding another surgeon if a third cut is needed!!

Okay, rant over, I will go sit in the back yard and watch the nature channel for awhile and chill out.  Thanks for listening, I feel better now  LOL!!