Nostalgia, Grandkids, and Sedona

As I read some of the blogs with young grandchildren featured, like Gwenny and her recent visit with Grandma and Grandpa at RV Life on Wheels, I was remembering the times when my children and grandchildren were little.  I have 8 grandkids and the youngest will be 9 in just a few weeks.  The oldest is 23…can’t believe how fast the years have passed.  Chuck and Anneke are thinking about hanging a little closer to their little granddaughter, Victoria, and the antics of Karen and Stevio’s grandchildren are always fun to read about.  Dave and Carol welcomed their first grandbaby last year too.  And let’s not forget Sam and Donna at the Weeb ranch who always seems to have a grandchild or two underfoot.  There are so many others I could mention, all loving and enjoying their little grandkids.  It makes me nostalgic for the time when mine were all younger. 

I was thinking about some of the cute things the grands said when they were younger.   My sister and I have grandsons who are just a few weeks apart in age and they used to play together when they were younger.  When they were about 6 or 7 years old, my grandson, Michael,  fell and cut his head open on a rock and had to have staples put in to close the gash.  It was NOT a pretty sight.

Our family summer picnic was the weekend after this happened and my sister could not understand the reluctance on the part of her grandson, River, to play with Michael.  Finally she asked him why he was ignoring Michael and did not want to play with him.  “Well, Grandma,” said River with a serious look on his face, “You know how I feel about kids with staples in their heads.”  We shared a good laugh over that one, although to the boys, I am sure it was no laughing matter.

Michael dressed for Halloween about age 7

One time Rebekah was staying with me and I was trying to encourage her in some healthier eating habits.  She was about 7 or 8 at the time.  That seems to be a good time to come up with some interesting things to say.  I used myself as the bad example of what will happen if you don’t eat healthy…you get fat like Grandma.  “But Grandma, you’re not fat,” said Bekah.  I assured her that she was being kind but that, yes, I was fat.  Not to be dissuaded from her opinion Bekah declared, “Well you’re not fat to ME!”  Bless her heart.

Bekah and Grandma at California Adventure Oct 2007

Now it seems those innocent days are mostly gone as the pre-teenaged grandkids are much more reasoned about what they say and when they say it.  I adore watching them grow and enjoy seeing the men the older ones have become.  But every once in a while, when I am reading blogs about little grandkids, I feel somewhat nostalgic and wish those precious years would last just a wee bit longer.  They are gone in a heartbeat. 

I guess I tend to feel nostalgic when we are in a holding pattern and unable to travel.  I was remembering our first trip to Sedona – this was pre-RV days.  It was April 2005 and we stayed in a beautiful house we found on VRBO.  It was just down the hill from the small Sedona airport and we had wonderful views of Coffee Pot Rock and other red rock formations, right from our front door.   I was looking at some of our pictures of that trip and put together a little video memory for us.  You can watch it if you like.  I really want to go back to that area.  It is so beautiful…more so than I can capture with a camera.



Okay, I’m going to quit with the nostalgia for now and get back to the present – and hopefully the future as well.  May if involve some travel!!

Busy Sunday

First I want to thank all of you who took the time to reply to my Dilemma.  It seems there are no easy answers but what I took away from the comments is that I have to make the best decision I can for the dogs.  No one can make that decision for me.  So even though it would be nice to have someone tell me the “right” answer, I guess I am going to have to come up with it on my own.  Your input gave me lots to think about.  Thanks again.

I think we are going to try leaving the fur kids at home this coming weekend.  We have been invited to celebrate Father’s Day with our Portland group so will be up there for a night or two.  There will be a crowd plus two cats and two other young dogs so don’t really think we need to throw Rusty and Poppy into that mix.  They know the other dogs and they aren’t enamored of them.  The young dogs are full of energy and want to play and Rusty and Poppy are past all that.  They will be better off at home this time.  That will give us an idea of how we feel about being in the motorhome without them.

This morning we woke up to beautiful sunshine again.  I checked the weather report last night and the 10 day forecast showed lots of sun and just a few clouds.  We were up early and took Therapy to the dump station before 7:30 a.m.  I wanted to wait until I was through cleaning before we dumped the gray water so we could start off with empty tanks.

We got that chore done then back home to finish up a little cleaning inside.  I had a bit more vacuuming to do and then Russ’s bed to be made.  Still have a little laundry to finish up.  After that we washed both Therapy and the Wee Fit so everything is clean and ready to go.  Still need to lube the tow bar and the step.

Then we moved to the back yard where we got the solar panels going and the solar cover on the pool.  Girls are coming next week and we wanted to get the pool warmed up for them.  The cloud cover had moved in by then but it was still pretty  warm outside.  We found a little tiny frog inside the hose reel but he took off – I think he was shy!! 

Therapy was sitting in the driveway soaking up the sun and storing it in her battery bank as well as drying her her freshly washed outside.  I looked outside and told Russ it was time he put Therapy under cover – it had started to rain!!  So much for weather forecasts!!

It didn’t sprinkle – it RAINED.  HARD!  I sat at the computer for awhile with the patio door open listening to the rain pound on the patio cover.  I like to listen to the rain when it’s warm outside.  But I have to admit, I’m a bit disappointed.  Sure hope it clears up and we get enough sunshine to warm up the pool for the girls.

No pictures today – just work.  But we sure got a lot done (for us)!!

Dilemma

This is the Eugene, OR that I love.  This morning was a bit overcast and cloudy, but most of it burned off by early afternoon, leaving only a few puffy white clouds to break up the wide blue sky.  With temperatures in the low seventies, this was my kind of day.

We spent several hours working on Therapy.  After a week living in the MH with two dogs, a thorough cleaning was in order.  I have practically every surface in the MH covered with blankets or throw rugs and even covered the entire living area with a room sized carpet.  Still, Rusty managed to find the very small uncovered space on the bedroom carpet, and that is where he lost his lunch!  As he was trying to get outside when he finished yakking on Poppy’s bed.  All this was several days ago and was cleaned as best I could under the circumstances.  Poppy refused to lay in her bed for a full day until I did some additional cleaning of it!

So today all the throw rugs came out, all the blankets, pillows, sheets, towels, dog beds, dog blankets…it all came out and is in the process of going through the washer and dryer.  Windows were washed on the inside (outside, tomorrow!!), vents and screens vacuumed, mirrors and flat surfaces cleaned, floors swept and vacuumed and mopped.  We are not quite finished but we made some great progress.  We got too tired too soon!!

In the meantime, Poppy was enjoying having access to her favorite napping spot.

Yes, she likes to sleep in the bathtub.  When the fireworks start, as they will any day now and continue for a full month, we turn on the fan to block the noise and she feels safe in there.  I think she likes it also because the tub feels cold on her back.

And Rusty was participating in one of his favorite activities…trying to catch the bubbles from the pump return in the swimming pool.


When he gets bored with that, he continues to try and find a way to get into the pool without using the steps.  A nice, gradual incline would work well for him…he likes to know where the bottom is.

As much as he likes the water, he will not get into the pool.  He fell into the deep end when he was a young dog and I had to rescue him.  I think that did it for him.  Even when a raccoon jumped into the pool to get away from him, Rusty was smart enough to stay out of the water.

So, here’s my dilemma.

Rusty clearly loves his home.  He can come and go as he pleases through the pet door.  He can chase squirrels and birds, play with the pool, sleep on the sofa (or one of his many beds scattered throughout the house), and try to intimidate the cat.  He is never tied up and only needs a leash when we go on walks.  His food can stay down without someone stepping in it, and he has a choice of several water bowls.









These are photos I took of one of my rhodies before we left.  I knew the bloom wouldn’t last long and would probably be faded before our return.





Poppy really doesn’t care about the freedom to go in and out so much but she does like her “safe room” and her bathtub.  BTW, we do have three showers besides the bathtub so we are able to keep ourselves clean without using Poppy’s tub LOL!!!  There are no campfires here (well, not very often anyway and she can always hide in the tub), she can take a nap on our bed when she gets tired of the tub and she has several other beds she can use.  She can have dry food down all the time and lots of water bowls. 

I really love my purple Lupine.

When we bought Therapy, one of our reasons was to be able to travel with the dogs.  I think we should have consulted with the dogs!  Poppy clearly loves to go on short rides and is a great traveler, but she misses the comforts of home.  Rusty is a reluctant traveler, but still very well behaved.  He just wants to be with me and so he travels in order to do that.  All in all, he would rather be home and unchained, and able to go in and out at will.  Rusty gest a little car sick and so eats very little when we travel.  He never knows when the house is going to start moving and so his stomach is never really settled.









This rhodie is actually even more red than it appears here.  The other flowers are some I rescued from the trash at Wal-Mart last year.  I think they’re lovely and deserved to live!




I don’t think the dogs want to travel like we do.  I think maybe I have been selfish in taking them with us.  I love to have them around and perhaps if they were younger, they could adapt more easily.  But Poppy is 13, and Rusty will turn 14 next month.  That’s pretty old for dogs.  Since we are not full timers, we have a few options but none of them are really fun to think about.

We could stay home with them until their lives are over.  For Rusty, I have a feeling that won’t be so very far in the future.  He just doesn’t feel well most of the time and has lost a lot of weight this past year.  The vet says he is fine but we haven’t run a lot of tests on him other than the usual annual tests.  It’s more a matter of he is just getting old.  Poppy has separation anxiety so she would like that staying home option just fine.

We can take Poppy and leave Rusty since she is the better traveler.  But that is not a very happy solution either.

The purple rhodie was not quite all the way open before we left.  It looks better now but I haven’t been out to get a new photo of it.

We can leave both dogs at home.  We are fortunate enough to have my nephew as a pet and house sitter.  He is not a kid (he’s 24) and he does a great job, but he is not “Daddy or Mommy”.  He doesn’t spoil them like we do.  The dogs love him but I know they miss us from their reaction when we come home.  Chris is a college student and piano teacher so he is not here as much as we are.  Yes, my dogs are spoiled, but they are old and they have given us many happy hours and all of their love and loyalty throughout the years.  I feel I owe them the same.

How can I think of leaving them?  It’s a hard choice and one I have not yet come to grips with.  We have a 3-4 week trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons planned for this fall and I just cannot see having two big dogs cooped up in the motorhome for that length of time.  Yet leaving them for that long seems untenable.  I know they will be better off at home and we would be freer to enjoy the places where dogs are not allowed.  I just don’t know what to think.

I know a lot of you have dogs…of all shapes and sizes.  Some of you have larger rigs and more space than we do.  Some may have a smaller space.  What do you do with your dogs when you want to go to a museum or a movie?  Most parks say don’t leave the dogs unattended inside the rig as they don’t want to deal with barking.  Leaving them in a car for long periods of time is not an answer, especially in the summer.  What do you do when your pet no longer wants to travel?  How do you deal with aging pets who are happier at home?  Does anyone have some advice or words of wisdom here?  I know ya’ll are not shy about expressing your opinions so give it your best shot – I asked for it!!

To Go or Not to Go…that is the question

So here we sit in the midst of yet  another Oregon rainstorm.  It has rained on and off (mostly on) again all day.  I have found myself checking the weather forecasts multiple times each day, looking for some glimpse of the sun.  It seems when a sunny day is finally forecast, the next day that sun has disappeared and rain is again in the works.

And so we have sat and watched and waited…and all we have accomplished is…well… NOTHING!!  We finally decided we are through waiting and watching so tomorrow come rain or shine, we are GOING.  Not sure where, just going.  We will be in Oregon City on the 9th for a granddaughter’s graduation from middle school but other than that, we are going to follow our hearts.

I missed an opportunity today to say what I really thought about Rick’s recent brouhaha.  Kinda reminds me of Al’s Lemongate blog this past winter.  What I see as similar to both incidents is the ability of people who know neither of these folks to pass judgment on their actions.  I learned a long time ago that it was time for me to put down the gavel.  I am neither judge nor jury, nor do I wish to be.  We all have opinions about myriad subjects and we should feel free to share those opinions.  I certainly am not shy about sharing mine.  But I realize that my opinion is just that: MY opinion.  I do not expect to change anyone else to think the way I do (how boring!) but I do welcome a give and take of ideas.  My point is, to respectfully share a difference of opinion is one thing…to attack and judge is something else entirely.  I found it especially ludicrous that any type of comparison would be made between letting your dogs run off leash and driving drunk.  I saw someone at the grocery store today leave their cart in the parking lot without putting it back into a cart rack.  OH MY…I wonder if they were going to drive drunk as they certainly had no respect for the sign which read, “Return Carts Here.”  Okay, off my soapbox now and through sharing MY OPINION…but seriously folks, unless you are wearing the judge’s robe, put down the gavel.
Remember my story about strawberry shortcake the other day?  I don’t mean the part about Russ but the part about me wanting it so badly and then not being able to eat it.  Well, that situation has been remedied.  I made strawberry shortcake the other night and it was absolutely DELISCIOUS.  It really hit the spot and could possibly be the best I have ever made.  Some things are worth waiting for.  Then the next morning I used the leftover strawberries and had strawberry waffles.  Again a gastronomical delight…however I think I am done with strawberries for a while!!

We had to take Poppy to the vet today.  We have been fighting hot spots on her for a long time.  With her heavy, dense coat, it just seemed like we could never get her cleared up or even find them all.  So yesterday we took the clippers to her.  We thought we were going to shave around a couple of spots.  By the time we were done, her entire back and some of her sides were shaved.  Poor baby looks like a half-shorn sheep. She seemed to get some relief right away just from letting the air get to the spots.  We feel like the worst doggie parents in the world, even though we were doing everything the vet told us to do.  So we wanted him to have a look and see if there was anything else that could be done.  Dr. Browning said shaving her was probably the best thing we could have done and he prescribed a 30 day regimen of antibiotics and some special shampoo.  Said we should notice a big improvement in a few days.  I sure hope so.  So Poppy is going to look pretty funny until that coat grows back in but at least we feel we are finally doing all that we can to get the hot spots cleared up.

That’s all for now…hopefully I will have some pictures of us enjoying the sunshine in a few days. 

Just a Quick Update

In case you didn't see it on my other "trademarked" site, I did need to set up another URL for my blog.  I changed the name on the title page but of course that did nothing to change the URL - which is what would pop up if someone did a search on travel therapy.  There really is a New York travel writer with trademark ownership of this name so ...mea culpa...I should have done more homework than I did.  She was nice about it but she meant business.  I understand that if a person fails to "vigorously defend" their trademark, they can lose the right to that trademark.  I don't understand all the ins and outs, but I'm okay with it.  Keeps me sharp to have to figure stuff out!!

So this is what I did today (other than working on my site!).  I found a lady bug on my kitchen counter.  She was on her back waving her little legs all around so I got her to grab onto a paper napkin and took her outside and put her on a bush.  I was worried that she was not going to make but I wanted a picture so I ran back inside and got the camera.  By the time I got back, she had flown away so I guess she was fine.  I am sorry to report that the spider I found in the bathroom did not get equal treatment!

Tomorrow I hope to get back to writing about some of our past travels.  No word yet on the motor home.  Russ has picked the 2nd as the day we will get "The Call".  My date has already passed so I guess I lost the bet.