Oregon Living 2022 – Blog #43 – Retiring Again & Pumpkin Carving and Hot Dogs!

 

Sunday, October 23^rd., 2022…… After walking the dogs and having breakfast, Cathye headed off to church. She was asked to do the prayer before communion today so she has studied up on bible verse and wrote out what she wants to say. Good on ya!  I stayed home and watched tv - races, football and baseball – relaxed for the day. Rain is still around but it is off and on. Mostly sprinkles this morning and afternoon. She got back after church and said it went very well. We hung around the house together for the rest of the day. Later, we headed off to watch another Dancing With the Stars episode.   

Monday, October 24^th., 2022…… Our 6-month anniversary! Yaay! Cat had planned dinner at 1847, the restaurant at Boulder Falls Inn where we were married, but they are closed on Mondays. So we will do that tomorrow.  We walked the doggies and then went to go get Jamie and take him to breakfast at Kevin’s. It was a nice outing. Later, we headed off to Walmart and we were both hungry so, needless to say, we stocked up!  Since we couldn’t go out to our restaurant Cathye made stuffed salmon. Tasty. We watched our taped shows before calling it a night.  

Tuesday, October 25^th., 2022……  Today we did work around the house. Since they dug up the grass for the patio deck, we have been left with dirt. Both Rylee and Jama track it in the house. I already wrote about when the guys come over last week and papered it and rocked the area with drainage pebbles, but now we get those in the house too!  Plus, with the rains, we now have mud as well.  So, I vacuumed and Cathye got out the rug cleaner and went over the problem areas. We are still planning on re-carpeting the bedrooms so this is just going to save us some time before that happens. Later, we fed the dogs and then went off to 1847 for dinner. It was early and we pretty much beat the later crowds. Dinner was nice

and so was the walk out to the gardens to “the scene of the crime.”   Haha! 

Wednesday, October 26^th., 2022…… Cathye headed off to SHEM and I went and got breakfast and then worked on my checkbook. Almost everything is auto-deduct but I still like to log everything in the checkbook register, especially those eBay and Amazon purchases, just to keep track. Rains are off and on this week. Chances today were 90% so we changed our pumpkin carving/weenie roast from today to tomorrow when chances for rain are lower. When Cat got back, she told me today was her last day there! She had been thinking about it for some time now and the addition of three new volunteers today (plus one more working Wednesdays starting next week) she feels she has done her duty and it’s time to let others take over.  She only told them today but they still managed to have a little celebration and all said their goodbyes and best wishes. When she got home, she said she was going shopping this afternoon with Judy. They left and got back several hours later with some nice items. Meanwhile, I fed the dogs and hung around the house. She had said that she would fix something with the leftover steak. That would be easy. But she and Judy stopped and got a little something so she wasn’t hungry. No problem – I fixed myself a salad and ate leftovers. We then went into the room with Disney+.  We have been trying to get caught up on our shows so we sat in there and watched another Dancing With the Stars episode.  It’s a shame that it is not on national tv because this season is pretty good. I hope they get terrible ratings and decide to go back to regular tv next season!  Then we moved into the living room to watch tv there until bedtime. Tonight, we chose The Masked Singer. We have had some success guessing this year but neither of us like the format. They unmask two singers after only one performance and make the winner take on challengers the following week. We hope they go back to the original next season.

Thursday, October 27^th., 2022……  We are sleeping in more lately. The days are shorter and sunrise is 7:42am.  It’s dark in our room so we tend to sleep later, I guess. Anyway, we were up and going about 7:30 this morning. We each have massage appointments today. We walked and fed the dogs and Cat started breakfast. She was making breakfast burritos. I finished up and got them assembled. After we ate, we needed to get going. We had a busy day. I went out and got the firepit from storage and set it out on the gravel driveway next to the house. I added a box of wood and kindling and that was done. Then I moved the cars out of the garage and set up our folding tables in there. Cathye covered them and we set out some trash cans. I brought in some of my drills and we were ready for the kids pumpkin carving today!  But beforehand, she had decided to made ‘bloody band-aid treats’ for the kids. She had seen this on Facebook and it was super easy. Vanilla wafer sticks, with white frosting for the band-aid gauze and then raspberry jelly for the blood. They looked pretty cool!

We only had a few minutes before Cat had to leave for the first of our massages today. Corey and the kids were coming. Robin was coming but had a change in her plans. Penny would be here too.  I left for my appointment a little before noon. I saw Cathye as she was leaving. Later, when I got home, we heard the kids would be a little late. The plan is for them and Cathye to go to the pumpkin patch, like we did last year, and get the pumpkins. Right after they got here, they left to do that

and I hung around the house with the pups. Once we got everyone here, they started in on the carving. It is always fun to watch as they try to figure out what face or pattern to make.

Here’s what we made…

Ok, just kidding. This is what we made…..

 

Once they got everything done, it was time to fire up the pit and roast the hot dogs. We had all of the fixin’s including cheese, onions, and chili, and we all had a nice meal. Once they left, Penny hung around and we cleaned up everything and were done with all of that.  Fun day!

Friday, October 28^th., 2022…… Just a few errands to run today. Cathye has been waiting for some items to come in through Amazon plus her daughter has shipped a box of items they bought when she was there. Some of those were for the kids for Halloween. So far, nothing has arrived. So we wait…

The rains are back again - not major rain - just enough to keep everything wet. Cathye is thrilled that fire season is officially over and, with the rains now here, they have lifted the burn ban. So, we will be able to torch the burn pile. I have never had one before, so this will be a new experience. I had established it way away from any structures but that means I have to run a garden hose(s) out there just to be safe. Once we start it, it will be a full day affair because we have to constantly monitor it. More on that whenever it happens.    

Saturday, October 29^th., 2022……  I thought we needed to do something different today. So, after getting up and out with the dogs, I asked her if she wanted ‘breakfast and a movie’? We wanted to go see Ticket to Paradise, which was at the Cinemark in Eugene, and I thought we could combine it with a trip over to Prairie Schooner, our favorite place for chicken fried steak. We fed the girls and then headed out. Breakfast was excellent and we had plenty of time to make it for the matinee. We even went into the Spirit Halloween shop that was set up in one of the empty mall stores. We played there a while….

And then went to the show.  The movie was excellent! Highly recommended. We like this theater because all of the seats are recliners. Once we got back home, we rested for the day. A nice dinner and then more tv until bedtime.    

Oregon Living 2022 – Blog #42 – Getting Home, Getting Some Sad News, and Spending Time With Friends

 

Sunday, October 16^th., 2022…… Not much on my list for today. Nothing actually. I went and got breakfast after walking and feeding the dogs. Then it was just hanging around the house today watching tv and doing pretty much nothing. I did water Cathye’s plants. There has been no one around here this last week. Cherrelyn is in SoCal, Penny is in New Mexico and Cat is in New Hampshire.  So, it’s just me and the dogs!   

Monday, October 17^th., 2022……  Today was spent on the blog. I was behind and needed to get that going so I could post. I also decided to work on my bills. I also checked on the rental car status for our trip next month to Arizona. We are going back there the week before Thanksgiving for her sister Mary’s, wedding reception. Her and Jim were married a few months ago and have moved to Tucson, but they wanted to have a reception at Mary’s  mobile home/rv park in Benson. We have our flight and hotel already done but I had an issue with the rental car reservation. I did get it resolved but wanted to go online and print out the details just in case. I spoke to Cathye later in the evening and she filled me in on her last day there. We said goodnight and she went to bed early.

Tuesday, October 18^th., 2022……  Cathye comes home today!  Yaay.  They made their way to Hartford and she got on her first flight. Today will be a long one for her. Flight one is only 1 1/2 hours and goes to Dulles Intl. From there she catches the long flight (5 ½ hours) back to Portland. It’s a 2 hour drive up there for me but I will leave with plenty of time to even take the back roads, which I love to drive! 

I got the girls fed and took Jama in the truck and headed out. I left at 4:30pm and her flight wasn’t due in until 8:15pm. I drove up thru Silverton and Molalla and Oregon City, which is slower but more scenic.  Even that way, the traffic was light and I made it up there with plenty of time to spare. Rick and Janie called while I was driving so that made the drive a little easier. I sat in the cell phone lot and read my kindle book until she texted. The flight was almost ½ hour early so that was great!  We got home in record time! Of course she was still three hours ahead of me so she was beat. We played with Rylee for a while and then all settled in and went to bed.     

Wednesday, October 19^th., 2022…… No SHEM for Cat today. She said she was just jet lagged and didn’t have the energy. I was up and out for my 8:00am acupuncture appointment. While I was there, Russ texted me that he and his guy would be there today to put down cloth and spread some foundation rock which will help when the rains hit this week. When I got home, he had just pulled in and unloaded his tractor. Their first task was to pick up and haul off the dirt that they had previously taken out and stored out back in our field. They dumped that dirt and then brought back a trailer full of rock and spread that. Then another and they were done for the day. He did say the engineers had the plans finally done. They will go get the permit this week and hopefully will start soon – but have to assign workers to the job they are currently working.  Again, not sure when but we wait.  Here’s what they did today…

We have been watching the news both online and on tv. Seems like the I5 (around us) has been busy today!  There was a 61+ car/truck pileup earlier this morning and then a fire involving two semis just up the road a few hours later. Wow, that is news for us up here! Pics from the news....

Cathye had plans for dinner at Judy’s tonight. But she wanted to try out her new ninja air fryer. So, I was the guinea pig!  She made bbq wings. She found that she had to adjust the time to get them fully cooked but it was a learning curve. They were tasty!  I drove her to Judy’s - so she could drink. Judy lives in her old mobile home park which is only 1 ½ miles from us, so that was easy. Later, when she texted, I went back and got her. She said she and the girls had a good time.         

Thursday, October 20^th., 2022……  HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRANCES!  We had a few things on the to-do list for today. One was Cat’s covid shot appointment, which they told her was ready for her this morning. So, we made plans. We’d drive the 14 miles south to Brownsville, get her the shot, then continue on south to Eugene to go to the Prairie Schooner for breakfast. All went well until we got to the I5. This was the same spot that had the pileup yesterday. It was due to fog. Well, today was no different!  When we got close, we saw the Interstate was socked in – so we decided to just go to the local truck stop near the hwy for breakfast and then headed home. Later, when we were home and relaxing for a few minutes, I got a text from Russ (our deck contractor) that the engineer had completed his work and they had sent the file to the printer (in Salem). He also sent the engineer’s invoice ($1500.) for us to pay. I sent him back a note that I would go pick up the prints and would pay the invoice. But I will wait until they ask for payment!  After all, they kept us waiting for 3+ months!  It’s their turn to wait!  Just kidding – I will pay this asap.

On a sadder note, Cathye got a call yesterday from her son in Missouri telling her that Gary - his cousin (by marriage) has been diagnosed with brain cancer. He’s still here in Oregon and in the hospital in Corvallis for more tests. Cathye said she would go see him and took off to do that today. She got back and told me that she was able to get in. Prognosis is not good. Cathye gave Gary a little insight on hospice care both at a facility and also at home. His sister would be there later and the plan was to go back to stay at her house. His mother who lives in Florida (?) is on the road driving here. Sad end of the day…

Friday, October 21^st., 2022…… Today was spent driving for the most part.  We walked and fed the dogs, then headed out. Destination was Salem for the prints. I diverted a bit off the course so I could take her to Original Pancake House in NW Salem. I wanted her to try the Apple Pancake they are famous for. This chain is all around the west coast with some in SoCal, so you may already know about these. They are huge and remind you of an upside down apple pie. We shared one….

After we ate, we drove into town and got the drawings from the printer. On the way home we made a detour to Albany to deposit Jamie’s refund check from his apartment. We decided to just drive to Lebanon City Hall and get the permit ourselves. When we got there, I went in and found out that since we are not in Lebanon city limits, I would need to go to the county office to get the permit. So, we went on home and I dropped Cathye off to do some of her errands and left for Albany City Hall. I found the building office and got everything submitted. They still have to have a reviewer go over them which will take 1-2 weeks (!) but we are moving now! I got back home and rested from the day’s driving excursion.       

Saturday, October 22^nd., 2022…… I ran some errands this morning after breakfast then while Cathye was working cleaning up her office, I went out and finished cleaning up my shop. We also put the tarp on the Shasta since the rains are here. It’s under the carport but the tarp really helps. I will put the boat cover on tomorrow since I think we are done for this season now.  Later, we changed clothes, fed and let the dogs out, then took off for our evening out. We are heading to Corvallis to meet David and Omalea for dinner at the Spaghetti Factory before going to the Whiteside Theater to see a Scottish group perform. Dinner was really good and they got us in and out pretty quickly. We had time to drive the 3 minutes and were parked right outside the theater and were among the first to go in. No seating assignments so we went straight to the front row!  The group we saw is called Tannehill Weavers. They have been around for over 50 years. Well one of them anyway. He was the lead singer and had the thickest Scottish accent I have heard. Even though neither of us are enthusiasts of Celtic music, we enjoyed the performance. The younger bagpiper was especially talented and the show was very entertaining.

We were entertained for a couple of hours and left to drive in the light rain back home to the dogs and then bed.  

Oregon Living 2022 – Blog #41 – Getting Ready & Heading Out to Visit Family!

 

Sunday, October 9^th., 2022…… The weather is amazing!  Sunny and 75° today!  We slept in and showered and then walked the girls. By then it was time for Cathye to head off to Sweet Home for church. I worked on my blog and got that posted, then went off to get breakfast. Then it was time to relax and catch up on some more of my races. When she got back, she worked on laundry in preparation for her trip on Wednesday. She is flying out to New Hampshire to visit her daughter and son in law and grandson Felix. I get to stay home and take care of the dogs. I didn’t mean it to sound like that – I would rather she go and spend that quality time with her family. I’m ok with all of that. Anyway, we spent time working on the prep for the trip. She is going to take my kindle so I need to finish up the James Patterson book I am reading. I spent some time doing that later in the day. I’ll be done by Tuesday, I’m sure.      

Monday, October 10^th., 2022……  The weather here is really nice. Temps in the high 70s. No rain in the forecast for this week. I bet I will need to mow again though. The grass is really growing. I just hope to get that done before the weather changes! We spent most of the day working around the house. We also had to make some changes on the airline flight going to Hartford. We got a notice that the flight was changed and they automatically put her on another flight – but that wouldn’t work for her timewise, so we went back online and found an alternate flight with no additional charge that would put her in about the same time and made the change. Anyway, crisis averted.  

Tuesday, October 11^th., 2022……  We went shopping today. I think she wants to make sure I don’t starve while she’s gone!  We hit Costco and then Walmart.  We got everything done and came back and rested for a while. We went out to Seeds for dinner with our gift cards from Penny and Cherrelyn. We really enjoy this place and the food is the best Italian in Oregon! Plus, it’s right down the street!  

Wednesday, October 12^th., 2022……  Her flight isn’t until later tonight. But we have made arrangements with Josh to go pick him up and we will take him to dinner before going to the airport. I have sis coming over to feed the dogs so we can go up early. I got everything loaded – she is doing a carryon so not much to take – and we headed off. We found that the traffic was super light on the I5 heading into Portland so we got to Josh’s place around 4:00pm. Josh said we could walk to this place, so I paid for a couple hours of parking and we headed out. We went to Heroes Café - which we told Josh when we got there that “We have been here before – with Rick and Janie”!  

We had a nice meal and walked back. My parking was about over but we went up to take a look at his ebike that isn’t working right now. I couldn’t solve the issue and we needed to get back on the road. Her flight wasn’t until 10:00pm and we left from Josh’s about 6:30pm or so. I mention all of this for a reason.  Traffic going to the airport was terrible. When we finally got to the drop off point, Cathye said she couldn’t find her purse!  Where was it? I called Josh and he found it in his apartment. Cathye had her passport with her so she could go through ticketing but her wallet and other id and cash and her phone were in that purse!  I told her to go through ticketing but wait by the drop off area and I would drive back and get it. The drive back was pretty easy going the other way. Josh met me outside and handed off the purse and I headed back. I was surprised to see that traffic was flowing a lot smoother on the same road than even an hour earlier!  I got back to the airport and found Cat and gave her her purse and she was good to go! I got back on the road and got back home around 9:30pm.          

Thursday, October 13^th., 2022……  I got updates throughout the flights and she made it with no problems. The drive for Terisa from Walpole NH to Harford, CT was a little over 111 miles but she was there and picked her up with no problems. They ran a few errands on the way home and soon got back to their house with no issues. My day was planned out here. I walked and fed the girls then went out and got breakfast and then drove to Albany to hit Lowes and Home Depot. I was looking for white shelving material. We want to install a shelf in the kitchen alcove above the Oster oven. I had already measured everything so I was able to get what I needed. The build only took a short time and the shelf was in!

It will be used for cookbooks or ?  I got everything cleaned up and was done for the day. I watched tv and hung around the house for the rest of the day.    

Friday, October 14^th., 2022……  I was up early. Cathye called me at 7:00am my time (10:00am her time) and we talked about her time there. She is having so much fun with the kids and Felix. He is three now and is very active. I’m sure he will wear his Grandma out quickly!  I heard from her later in the evening. They are doing tons of stuff and keeping busy.

getting stickers!

Tait, Terisa, Daniel, Felix

Saturday, October 15^th., 2022……. I heard from Cat again at 7:00am. She also facetimed me when I was out walking the dogs a little later. The plan today was for them to go to Daniel and Terisa’s friend’s campground for a bbq. I had been there so I knew where this was. Cathye called from there and told me it is beautiful with all of the fall colors starting to come in!

Meanwhile, I had my task today. I mowed the lawn again! This time last year I let it go too long and the rains hit. So, the grass was left untouched for the season. Come spring, it was super tall and thick, and I didn’t want that to happen this year.  I set the blades down real low to get a shorter lawn but realized I was skinning the grass and moved it back up a little. Since the field grass is pretty much dead now, I only had to do the yard, which only took about 45 minutes. Of course I still have the grass to go back and get but that will only take a short amount of work. I finished up and was done for the day. I watched my races and auctions the rest of the day.   

Oregon Living 2022 – Blog #40 – Mowing, Errands & A Party!

 

Sunday, October 2^nd., 2022…… Today was mowing day! The rains are definitely out for the next week or two so I only have to worry about the morning dew on the lawn. I checked it yesterday around 2:00pm and it was still wet. But I’m hoping the sun will come out early this morning and will help. Cathye and Jama headed off to church and I had some time to relax and catch up on some of my races. I went out later and got the mowers out and gassed up, then string trimmed the areas I needed to do before we could mow. Penny came over and we got started and Cathye got home from church and we all were our there. With the three of us working, we usually can get the job done in an hour and a half. But today I had to go really slow because the grass was really high and I didn’t want to bog down. The field is no problem and the girls went through that with no issues. Brittany brought Brandon over so we could watch him for a few hours. He has asked for work so he can buy a book so she found him some tasks he could do in the gardens. But we were pretty much done at that point. Cat found some work for him to do to help earn his money!  Corey came later and after they left, we ordered a pizza and hung around the house for the rest of the evening.      

Monday, October 3^rd., 2022……  More errands today. We needed to go to Costco and we decided to go to breakfast in Albany and also to take the 5 bags of recycling in. We went to Roger’s and had a nice meal then went to the recycling drop and got $79.60 for the bottles and cans,

then headed over to Costco – where we spent 3 times that! We also went by the post office and then stopped by the vet’s office for flea meds for Jama. We went back and I put the frozen food away while Cat headed over to Walgreen’s to pick up a prescription. I think we are done for today! Oops, not quite!  I had to go out and bring in the fall decorations! She says she is going to go through them this year and get rid of some. Actually, she has to make room for all the things she bought with Penny last week! They are already up – both in and around the house. She added some of the stuff from the bins for Halloween and the rest will stay on the porch for later.  There is room on the deck right now. because there is no word yet on the deck contractors. The latest is that they are still waiting for the engineer to finish the plans. Yeah, right! He was here back in June and had all of the info he needed. They tell us that he is very busy and hasn’t gotten to it yet!  But it “looks like it will be 2-3 weeks more”.  So, we wait…

Tuesday, October 4^th., 2022…… As I said, Cathye has decorated the house and it looks good. All of that stuff came from the shop garage.  We have all of Jamie’s stuff put away in the rv garage and all we need to get to him is some more bedding and have his stereo and computer ready whenever (?) he asks for it. But it’s accessible. I went online and made Cathye an appointment at Walgreens for tomorrow to get her flu and covid booster shots. Later, we settled in and watched tv. More taped shows. We are now watching Dancing With the Stars which is on Disney+ and that is only on the tv in Cathye’s office. We have come to like the show despite the host so we wanted to catch up on this season’s show. It's still exactly the same (except that Alfonso Ribeiro is co-host) so Tyra is more mellow so far.  I sure hope their ratings go way down so they put it back on primetime tv. But we’ll see.      

Wednesday, October 5^th., 2022…… We were up early this morning. After we walked and fed the dogs, Cathye headed off to SHEM. We had loaded up all of Jamie’s bags of unwanted clothes so she could drop them off there as well.  I left and got breakfast and coffee and came back and went through some Boeing pension paperwork. When Cathye got back, we hung around the house until she left for her 2:45pm Walgreens appointment. She got back pretty quickly though. Turns out she didn’t have her shot card plus she never received a verification of her appointment from them so she assumed that since there were so many others there, she was not going to get in. Besides that, she wants to go to her doctor’s office in Brownsville. He is moving on and she wants to say goodbye. It’s a walk-in clinic so she will get her shots while there.  Tonight was Amazing Race and Survivor and Masked Singer. We also have taped the new series Love Boat. We can’t watch it all but will catch up soon.    

Thursday, October 6^th., 2022……  We took the girls to their groomer’s appointments then headed off to Brownsville so she could see her FNP and get her shots. She got the flu shot but they didn’t have her vaccine (Moderna) so she will have to come back. Ian says he’s sad to leave but this is a step up for him.  He also said he knows the new guy coming in and that she should wait to meet him before she chooses a new doctor in her plan.

Friday, October 7^th., 2022…… The housekeepers were here today. So, we decided to eat breakfast out. We took Jama with us since she’s so nervous when the vacuum’s running. We decided to drive out to Sweet Home to go to The Point for breakfast. We parked where we could see the car but Jama just curls up on the seat and goes to sleep! No worries!  After that, we stopped at a yard sale that Julie and Nancy were helping out with. We bought a few things then headed back home. The ladies were not quite through with their cleaning so we went out to the motorhome and watched tv for a while. Once they were done, we went back in and worked in our own offices for the afternoon.    

Saturday, October 8^th., 2022……. The day started out sunny!  There has been no rain this last week but it’s been kind of overcast each morning. That meant the grass stays wet and so we couldn’t run the mower over the lawn to pick up the clippings. Until today.  We walked and fed the dogs and then had breakfast. We hung around the house until 11:00am or so to give the grass a chance to dry out from the morning dew. We have a system when we pick up grass clippings.  Cathye takes her chair out to the burnpile and lets the dogs explore that area while I make a run with the zero turn and fill the mower bags. I drive out to the burnpile and she helps me dump. And we do it again and again until we are through. This way, it only takes about an hour to complete the task!  After we got that done and the mower cleaned and put away, we came in and cleaned up. We were going over to Penny’s today!  She is celebrating our birthdays (mine and Cathye’s) and having a housewarming for Cherrelyn at the same time. Penny is making tacos so I was asked for my expertise in that. I even will be bringing my tortilla skillet to make the shells in. Butch was there and her neighbors were there too and we all had a great time. We had come in separate cars and I had the dogs with me. Cathye left a little early to go to another party. This one is in Albany and is for her ex-boss, who was recently fired. She was not liked and was the reason that Cathye retired early so needless to say, the boss will NOT be there! After Cat left, Penny took a fall coming in from the back door and broke a plate and had a cut under her chin. She didn’t feel it too much today but we’re betting it will hurt tomorrow!  Here are some pics from the party (before the fall!)…

 

 

Later, I brought the dogs back home and got them fed and then settled in to watch my races. Cathye got back about an hour after that. She said they had the best time and it was so nice to see some of her ex coworkers again!    

 

Oregon Living 2022 – Blog #39 – Visiting Family, Seeing Hamilton & Finally Getting Jamie Moved!

 

               

 

Sunday, September 25^th., 2022…… Mary and Jim had set their alarm for zero dark hundred! They wanted to leave around 5:00am so they could spend the day with Heather and Charley. We woke up and sat with them while they had coffee and toast and said our goodbyes before crawling back into bed for another hour or two. Later, when we were up and going again, Cat went out to see Jamie. She needed to alert him that the home housing he was going to might be delayed. Seems there is a snafu on her accreditations/certificates. The state denied his residency until she completes the proper paperwork/licensing, which could take some time. For that part of it, Cathye has been working with the advocate as well as the home to push the issue. After all, we did nothing wrong and followed all the instructions and requirements and we are getting punished! Fingers crossed and prayers were said at her church for Jamie and us. I had the morning free and used it to catch up on my past blog and got that posted. Then it was time to head off to Eugene!  We were going to see Hamilton! We were attending the matinee performance at 1:00pm so we left early enough to be able to go find a place for lunch. We cruised around the Hult Centre and found a place right across the street. We got into the parking structure and walked outside just as they were putting up the parking charge board. So we saved on that!  We went to the 6^th St. Restaurant and Sports Bar. Well, we can say that they definitely were NOT catering to theatergoer’s schedules today! It was crowded with folks doing the same thing as us. There were empty tables but they were reserved. We ended up waiting 20 minutes and then moved some glasses and took seats at the bar!  We ordered a sandwich and fries to split and we each had a drink. But they waited too long so we decided to settle our tab and leave – but that was just as the food came out!  We asked them to give us a to go box and we ate it while we walked across the street and got in line to go to our seats!  Funny thing – it was the best tasting burger we have had in a long time!  So, despite the service, we will go back there again!

Once we got to our seats (we were in the upper orchestra section) we noted that this was one of the easier theaters to get in to. The play was pretty good. I just still have a hard time rationalizing a black Hamilton and a black Washington, and, well, you get it!  Plus, everything was in rhyme and/or rap, which I guess was well received by the Broadway elite, but I still struggled with it a bit. I looked around and saw that the crowd was a mixture of different ages so I kept thinking, “What’s the 83 year old lady in front of me thinking?” “What are they saying?” Also, do the younger generation in the audience (who probably dig the rap) know anything about the history portrayed in the play? My guess is they haven’t a clue!  Anyway, we enjoyed the presentation. The cast was tremendously talented and they did an amazing job with the production.  

We got out of there and back in the car and got back to feed the dogs. We ate a quick bite and relaxed for the evening and watched tv until bedtime.       

Monday, September 26^th., 2022……  This week was dedicated to chores. Mostly, to get Jamie’s move going. We are still waiting for Peter and Alma to get their acts together. So we wait. Meanwhile, today Cathye went over to Jamie’s to work on packing. Robin has been a blessing and while we were gone, she did 90% of it for us.  They have divided up everything into piles – keep, store, and donate. Cathye brought several bags of clothes back today. These were all going to be donated to SHEM. But first they needed to be washed. That would be my job for tomorrow. I unloaded 8 bags and put them in the garage.  

Tuesday, September 27^th., 2022……  We are looking at a little measurable rain this week. They say it won’t be much but it’s needed so we will live with it!  Can’t mow the lawn though. I started laundry and worked on my blog.  Meanwhile, we both had haircuts today at 10:00am. I started laundry and we walked and fed the dogs and had breakfast and just hung around before heading over to Diana’s. Once that was done, we talked about plans for the rest of the day. Peter called and said that the paperwork was close to being done, and that they were good to go to Alma’s! Talk about great news! We ended up going back to Jamie’s to load up the boxes that he will be keeping. They don’t have room at his place so we will be keeping them here. There is also a dresser and a bookcase that will go in with him but it still can be moved out now. That all goes in the corner of the rv garage. His place looks better and better and better each time!  We had to go back there at 7:00pm to meet with a guy Cathye was dealing with on Facebook Marketplace who wanted to buy the washer and dryer. But he was a no show. Ghosted us! So, we headed back home. If there are no other offers, she will just leave them there. Since they both work, we don’t think they will mind them being left behind.   

Wednesday, September 28^th., 2022…… I needed to be up and going for my 8:00am acupuncture appointment in Corvallis and I was waiting for Bonnie when she got there. Once I was done with that, I went over to McDonalds on the way to Jamie’s. Cathye and Brittany and Corey were coming to move out some of the heavier items. The plan was to get the bed and frame out and load up any of the other items he doesn’t need right now. We took the tv, computer and other items and loaded them in both trucks. The truck pulled up with the guy that is contracted with the apartment association to pick up items left outside the trash bins, and he said “bring out whatever, I will take it!” We quickly disassembled the bed and got that out. The tv stand and other odds and ends were quickly loaded. The only thing left today would be the sofa bed, since Jamie will be sleeping on it tonight.  Again, we don’t care if it stays or not. We already determined that there was no way they would consider anything we do to the place to be acceptable to be eligible for the cleaning deposit back, so why worry about leaving the couch! I left with my truck and got back to the house and unloaded everything and waited for the next truck and we got that stuff in the rv garage with no issues. We were done for the day and one step closer to getting everything done!  Later, I headed over to Safeway for my #5 covid shot as well as my flu shot. Yaay, both arms! When I got home, I took her out to dinner at Seeds and we ran into Lona and her friend and they joined us. After that, we went back home and rested and watched tv. The Masked Singer, Survivor and Amazing Race have been taped and we were behind so we finished up with the finale of Master Chef and then watched the Masked Singer and Survivor season premiers and then went to bed. It was a good day!       

Thursday, September 29^th., 2022……  We both have scheduled massages for today. One at 11:30am and the other at 1:00pm.  Cathye headed over to Emily for the 11:30 massage appointment and then went directly to Jamie’s to get him and also to meet with Peter to sign the last papers. They had agreed to all meet at Alma’s at 2:00pm. Her home is a 5 bedroom residence and is only about 2 miles from us here in Lebanon. Jamie got all settled in and they called me right after I got back from Emily’s and asked me to bring over the tv. I got to meet everyone and see his new place. It is awesome! He seems to be very happy, which makes us all feel a lot better! I got his Xfinity hooked up but we still need to find his missing remote and get that back to him. But he still can use the controls to watch most of the stations for today so he’s good. 

Friday, September 30^th., 2022…… Plans today are to get the apartment in Albany cleaned up so they can turn in the keys. Again, we don’t expect any deposits back but still we want to leave it as clean as we can. Cathye took off to do that. Brittany and Corey would meet her there to help. I would come over later and disassemble the sofa bed so we could get it out to our trash pickup guy. So, I spent the morning working on my checkbook and catching up on my paperwork.  I got a call a bit later from Cat, saying that our guy was just pulling up. She told him about our plans for the sofa bed and he said he would just haul it out himself. The guy was amazing and she said he muscled it out by himself. He is our hero! One less thing to worry about. She came back home and we loaded up the rest of the items for his room and took them over. She had stopped at Walmart and bought a universal remote and headsets for the tv in case they say he’s too loud. When we got there, he already had the two remotes working and didn’t need mine. They also said they could not hear his tv so we’re good there too! So, now we are at peace again. He is in and happy, the apartment is done and all of his things are in place at his new home. Well, we still need to set up his computer but Corey will be doing that next week. Now we can get things done around here. We need to hire a new gardener, we are not excited about it, but have made the choice to subscribe to Disney+ so that we can watch one of our favorite shows, Dancing With The Stars, which is not on regular channels this season. We’ll be a few weeks behind but it’s a streaming service so we can get caught up quickly. Cathye got that going but we still have to go in and watch it.

Saturday, October 1^st., 2022…… Nothing on the agenda for today. The rains that hit us this week are over so we are watching the lawn and waiting for it to dry out enough to mow.  So, after walking the dogs, we drove to Elmer’s in Albany for German Pancakes. When we got back and I upheld a promise I made to Cathye while we were on our SoCal trip – to install the new faucet we bought a few months ago! I already had the items out from under the sink and got to work. It was actually easier than I expected!  The old faucet really wasn’t that old and came out with no issues. The install on the new faucets is pretty easy and we had it up and working with no issues. She got everything back under the sink and we were done!  

Penny called and asked Cathye if she wanted to go hit Hobby Lobby’s 70% off fall sale and came and got her a few minutes later and they were out of here! I worked on the blog for a while then settled in to watch some taped Nascar races.

When Penny came over she gave me some info on the Brewfest in town. They aren't doing the big street thing like in the past, so Conversion Brewery decided to have it at their place. We decided to meet her there at 5:00pm. Her friend, Janice, is visiting and would stop by for a drink with us. We got there and got oriented as to how it worked. Food was available either through Conversion's kitchen or you could go out to the food truck on the patio. We ordered beer and got extra tasting tokens and then found seats out on the back patio. We chose the kitchen and ordered their chicken quesadillas. The only complaint I had was that they looked like appetizers!  I wanted more because they were so tasty!  Janice and Penny came by and we had a great time. 

We said our goodbyes and went back home and rested from our day/evening. It was sure a busy week!