Oregon Living 2023 – Blog #17 – Celebrating Our First Year!

 

        

Sunday, April 23^rd., 2023……  It was a pretty quiet day. We walked and fed the dogs and then ate breakfast.  Cathye took off for church and I spent time watching my races. Penny did call later in the morning and asked if I could come over this afternoon and talk to Jeremiah who just bought a camper for his pickup. He was asking her questions that she thought I was better suited to answer. He has a nice newer model slide-in camper with some great amenities that we never had in our campers, including a slideout!  I got that done and got back home and rested for the day. Cat made cheese potato soup and we ate the last of the Seattle sourdough bread she brought back. We hit the spa after a little tv and then went to bed after that.     

Monday, April 24^th., 2023…… HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!  We have the trip to SF planned for this weekend but Cathye was going to pull a fast one on me today! She said she had a day planned but I had no idea what it was!  We were up early and walked and fed the dogs. No rain yet today. Next up was the gym. After that we went to Appletree for breakfast. Even sat at our booth from our first date two years ago today!

After that, we came back and waited for an hour or so. Cathye was getting a delivery of something she ordered several days ago. Of course I didn’t snoop and she was very secretive about everything! She had already loaded up the truck so I didn’t see anything. “You can drive”, she said. “I’ll direct you”. We headed south.  I had guessed either Oregon Gardens or the Tulip festival, both of which are north of us – so I was already wrong!  We hit Hwy 126 out of Eugene and went east up into the Cascades. Our destination turned out to be The Belknap Hot Springs. She says she told me about them several times but I don’t remember. She had packed a picnic lunch, in which the main item was a charcuterie box (that was delivered today!). There was wine and cheese and cookies and fruit as well. We parked and walked to the pool area to check it out. Wow! 

 

Then we went back and got the picnic basket and walked over the McKensie River to the secret gardens.

 

 It was magical! And we had the place to ourselves! We enjoyed the lunch basket and then walked back to the truck and exchanged the basket for bags for the pool. Cat had packed everything. We went in and changed and then enjoyed an hour of lounging in the mineral waters which were very soothing! After that, we changed again and then headed back down the mountain towards home. She had arranged for Penny to come let the girls out and then come back later to feed them so we had no time constraints. She said I could pick the place for dinner but we were pretty much full from lunch and kept driving. When we got to Brownsville, I had made the choice to go to Armando’s for Mexican food.

We wanted to go there to try it since they opened last year but never thought about driving down when he had good Mexican in town. But it was definitely worth it!  They had a special peach margarita and we both tried it.

 

Yummy!  Dinner was really good as well and we will definitely go back. And we will remember the hot springs when friends come up to stay for a while. We got back home and we were both tired and we went to bed super early. Thanks, sweetie, for the great surprise and the wonderful day! Love you!  Now it’s my turn - I get to plan some of the surprises for you when we get down to the bay area this weekend!    

Tuesday, April 25^th., 2023……  This morning Cathye decided to join her friends Judy and Lynn and ride with them to the coast for a day of fun. She left here at 10:00am and they left Judy’s shortly after that. They spent time at Newport and then Depot Bay where they had lunch and then did a walk on the beach and then some shopping. She said it was a very nice day!  Meanwhile, I was finishing up watching a couple of taped programs while resting from working out in the shop. I am now putting the finishing touches on the planter box. I am using some of the end cuts from the deckboards for the sides, just to spiff it up a bit. It’s coming along well but I’m going to need a crane to get it out of the shop! It’s pretty beefy!   

Wednesday, April 26^th., 2023……  I think the weather is officially turning!  We have several more rain showers coming in but they don’t amount to much. The temps are getting higher each day. They say we will get into the 80s on Friday! But, I still have no hope in mowing for at least another week – if we don’t get rain.  It’s official, I am the last one on the block to get the mower out this season!  Our neighbor, Jeff, only mows once or twice a season – but he was out today!  I only saw him out there for a short time so I’m thinking he may have done a trial run and found his grass is too wet to finish. Or maybe just did his front lawn for now. Lou, who lives up the street, has left half of his front yard unmowed. Not sure why. But I am ready and willing if my grass would just cooperate!      

Thursday, April 27^th., 2023…… Another bright sunny day!  We had the girls out and walked and the temperature was already in the 50s. That’s good for us!  After that, we left for the gym. Cathye has a sore elbow and I told her she should probably cut her routine down a bit today and also turn down the resistance on the machines that work the shoulders/arms. So, we were out of there in less than an hour and then headed over to Kristi’s for breakfast. After we got home, we both went outside to work on our own tasks. I went back to my project. She is building up potted plants for the new area around the deck. We have used garden hose to lay out the area for the bed. We’re now just waiting for Adam to come over and work it. She wants to use a combination of in-ground plants and pots around the deck. My planter box will go on the far east side, just past the spa. We have designed it to stand tall enough that when she puts in the three (artificial) bamboo trees, it will provide some privacy from that side of the deck. We also talked about getting ‘Tiki Joe’ out and set up here. He was a retirement gift and I made sure to bring him when I moved up here. He’s been sitting away in a corner – bad Joe – for all this time until we could find a good place for him.

I think he will join us on deck soon!  We also have taken some time to pack for Saturday. For this trip, we’re taking the car. It will be a 5-night trip, coming back on Thursday. Saturday we will stay in Napa. It’s a short drive from there down to the bay area. We will be at The Hyatt Centric Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. It’s really close to Ghirardelli Square. I have a list of things to do while we’re there and I still need to check into booking reservations for a few of them.  We have been warned - by more than one person – about the crime and homelessness on the streets in SF, so we will be venturing out only during the daylight hours. The hotel has amenities like a spa and pool, so that will help. This afternoon Kennedy and Sherman came by for a final walk-thru with us. Kennedy will be staying here at night and either she or Lona will come by to let the dogs out a couple of times when she’s at work. Later, we had neighbors Rich and Linda come over to have a glass of wine and see the deck. The weather is nice enough at night now that we can sit out and enjoy the evening.      

Friday, April 28^th., 2023……  We hit the low 70s yesterday. It is supposed to hit 79° today!  But this morning we had to get going early so we didn’t walk the pups. I had an 8:00am appointment with my cardiologist for a follow up after my procedure. We made it there before they did! But we got in and all was good. Because Cathye had told them that I snore and have irregular breathing at night, they are now giving me a referral for a consult with a sleep clinic. But, since my procedure, she says that is not happening anymore (I’m sure I still snore) plus I feel I’m sleeping more soundly these days. Doctor is glad we are active and going to the gym and working on weight loss so that is good. I don’t go back for 6 months.

We left and stopped at Elmer’s for breakfast, hit a spa supply store, and then headed back to Lebanon. I had packed already but have a few things to add and Cat has some clothes to wash before she packs. But we are getting everything ready so we can leave here super early tomorrow morning!  I went out and got the car washed for the trip. We decided to take the Acadia because I just had it serviced. Later, we went out and moved the planter box to the garage floor level. With a couple of dollies and the trailer ramps, it went pretty well. 

I have the truckster’s battery on the charger. The plan is to use it to make a trial run to the deck area by going out and around the perimeter of the property and then come in from the east side. That grass is on a little higher ground. So, if I don’t get stuck, we will tilt the planter box onto the truckster and motor it out and around and into position. But we’ll save that for after we get back from our trip. We finished up the day working around the house, cleaning, and finishing our packing. We are ready!    

Oregon Living 2023 – Blog #16 – Another Short Trip & Help With the Planter Box

 

Sunday, April 16^th., 2023……  The kids slept in and we were up and out with Princess and the Butthead. The plan was to go over to Sweet Home and go to The Point for breakfast. Since it was Sunday, we had to wait a few minutes for a table, but it wasn’t too bad.

 

After that, we came home and rested for a bit.  Later, Cat took the kids to the train depot in Albany and I stayed home and tried to catch up on my races. We had leftover hamburgers for dinner and settled in and watched tv until spa and bed time.  

Monday, April 17^th., 2023…… Another gym day. After that, we went to Kevin’s for breakfast and then drove over to The Bark Place. We got a pickup full of wood chips. The guys will be over tomorrow to spread them out in the blueberry cage. The rains hit right after we parked the truck. We came in and did a few things around the house and then it was time to head out. We are going to Philomath and then to Omalea and David’s for lunch. She is also giving Cat a bunch of flowers today. We drove Cathye’s truck with the shell so they would pack in and stay dry. We wanted to stop at Habitat for Humanity in Philomath first. I always like to stop when I’m in the area. They always have a lot of interesting things. Cat had never been. But, when we looked up their hours, we discovered that they were closed on Mondays!  We left the house on our way but called because it was really windy and rainy! Omalea said it was just cloudy at their place so we went on.  When we got there, the weather and wind had let up significantly.  Lunch was very good and we enjoy spending time with those guys! Cathye got a ton of things from them for her and the guys to plant this week or next.

Or whenever – I just work here! We left and made the drive home. Oh yeah, it started raining just as we got down the hill and into Philomath! But not windy so we made it home with no issues. We fed the dogs and relaxed for the evening. Neither of us wanted dinner so we settled on sandwiches and chips. We watched tv and then went in the spa for a while then went to bed. 

Tuesday, April 18^th., 2023……  Today was supposed to be another rainy day. But it was ok when we walked the girls. Pointe Pest Control was due here for their scheduled maintenance and Jason got here early to beat the weather. He was working on the house when Adam showed up. He went straight to work on the wood chip project and had that done pretty quickly. Because he wants to build up the thickness, we will need to go get another load of chips. Cathye says she will go back out and spread them out so we don’t have to get more.  After that, Jason left and Adam and Cathye went to work on the flowers and got them all planted.

It doesn’t seem like it made even a dent out there!  But, I’m sure she has plans for more and more… I spent some more time working on my planter box. It’s coming around and I can officially say it will weather the storm! This thing is beefed up – with carriage bolts instead of nails or screws. It will get even heavier when I put the fascia around the box. I’m using the remnant Fiberon deck boards and they are stout! I figure I’m going to have to put it on a dolly just to get it out there and set up!

Wednesday, April 19^th., 2023……  No plans today. So, I was able to spend more time working on my project.  I made a run to Wilco and Cat took Jamie his money for the week and then went shopping for a backpack for her trip tomorrow.  She got things ready for that but that was about all we did. Oops, I forgot ! – Brandyn was coming this afternoon for a visit. Brittany was dropping him off - but then she texted to say that she got called in to work so would grandma be able to go get him from school?  No worries, she was able to go and get him. Brittany said she would alert them that his Grandma was coming today and that turned out to be enough so all was good. Grandma had plans for them for the afternoon. They decorated Valentine’s cookies. Yes, it was a little late but he couldn’t make it sooner so they worked on decorating 5-6 cookies, which were very pretty! 

He also came out and helped his grandpa work on the project and was very helpful! Plus he got some climbing and balancing in as well!

Later, Cat made shrimp fettuccini and Brandyn ate with us.  Brittany came after work to pick him up. After that, we settled in and watched tv, hit the spa, and then went to bed. Busy day tomorrow…

Thursday, April 20^th., 2023…… Several things on the agenda today. First up for me was acupuncture. I had an 8:00am appointment so I was up and out early. I stopped at McDonalds and got coffee and breakfast and made it with plenty of time to spare. Meanwhile, Cathye was up and out with the dogs and then got them fed. When I was on my way back toward town and about ten minutes out from the gym, I called her. She was just leaving the house.  We met at the gym and did our workout and then she left to go pick up her prescription and I went back home. Her train wasn’t leaving the Albany station until 1:23pm but we left around noon so we could stop and get lunch at Arby’s to take to the station. We ate in the car and then she went to wait on her train while I started back to Lebanon. I had a 2:30pm appointment for massage so I had a few minutes to kill and stopped at Harbor Freight before leaving Albany.  I made it back in time and saw Emily and got my massage.  I got back in time to feed Princess and Butthead.  I had bought extra sandwiches from Arby’s so I heated up a couple for an easy dinner.  Cathye said later that Tait had made it ok to the Portland station and joined her. 

They were due in Seattle around 7:51pm. She had booked them in at the Embassy Suites, right next to King Station so they were in their room shortly after that. They got a nice room on the 11^th floor, overlooking the city to the north!

Not sure about dinner for them, but she said later that they were heading down to the spa.  She called later to say goodnight and told me they had ordered Chinese door dash so they were eating late.  We talked for a few minutes and said goodnight and the pups and I headed off to bed.    

Friday, April 21^st., 2023……  Got a text that they were up and getting ready for their day. Heather and Charlie will be coming in to town to join them at the hotel for breakfast

and then all four will walk back to Heather’s and Charlie will go on to school and then the three will go over to the federal building so Tait can apply for her passport.  I’m anxious to see how fast-tracking for a passport will work.  The plan is to use whatever time is left for sightseeing around Pike Place Market

The famous fish throwing place!

before the train leaves this afternoon. It will drop Tait back in Portland and Cat will get back in Albany just before 8:00pm.  Meanwhile, I was up and out with the dogs. I made my breakfast and settled in for the day. No rains yet so I hope to be able to go outside and work some more on the planter box.  Ok, it’s later now. I did go out to the shop and spent some more time out there. I decided to cut and fit and then only tack the Fiberon boards on for now and then put them on later when I get it moved out there. This thing is heavy enough now as is!  Later, I fed the pups and then ate leftover fettuccini for dinner and relaxed for a while before loading up the girls to go get Grammy from the depot! The train was pretty much on time and we got back home around 8:45pm and settled in for the evening. Of course we had to hit the spa before bed!  It has turned into a pleasant routine and we find we both are falling asleep a lot quicker these days!  

Saturday, April 22^nd., 2023…… The weather is better. Still rainy on some days but the clear days are now sunnier and warmer. We still have grass that is way too wet to mow!  Plus, we don’t have too many days in a row with no rain so it can’t dry out!  Bummer!  We had the girls out and walked and back in and fed. Then we started in on our housecleaning tasks. Today was another hot mop day for the floors. This time I did all of them except the dining room. That just needed a quick run-over with the baby Shark. I was able to try out the new battery I just received for the Shark. It’s an after-market item but it seems to hold a charge well and fits perfectly! Now if I run the battery down I can just switch them out!  Anyway, we got our jobs done and then it was time for a short rest before heading over to Gametime for lunch with Penny and Cherrelyn! We hadn’t seen her since she got back from her trip to Calif. So it was fun to catch up again. After a rather long wait, we got our food. All were pretty good except Cherrelyn didn’t care for hers. She had been sick with ? and her taste buds had gone away so food is just now getting some taste to it. Cat took her leftover steak salad and Cherrelyn’s  Philly cheese steak home for leftovers. Cherrelyn followed us back to the house so she could see our deck. She brought her suit so we went in the spa for a bit. Penny came by later and sat with us. We got to talking so much that none of thought to take pics!  Sorry! After that, it was leftovers and tv until bedtime.      

Oregon Living 2023 – Blog #15 – A Quiet Easter, Hitting the Gym, & a Deck Party!

 

Sunday, April 9^th., 2023……  HAPPY  EASTER!   & HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUTCH!  We slept in a bit before showering and getting ready for church. Because it was raining and because we had dressed for church, we didn’t walk the dogs this morning. But they were ok with going out in the back for a while. We fed them and then headed off to church. They were serving breakfast beforehand. There is a parishioner in the church who owns the local supermarket in Sweet Home and she (and her late husband) for many years have provided all of the food (bacon, eggs, pancakes) for a wonderful breakfast! It was yummy!  After services, we headed home and relaxed for the day. Later, Cathye went over to Lona and Misty’s who were having a few friends over for dinner. I stayed home with Butthead and Princess and watched my races. I had leftover steak bits and Red Lobster biscuits for dinner. A nice quiet Easter.  

Monday, April 10^th., 2023…… Today was gym day. Monday and Thursday for now. More rain this week. But they say we will get drier days and this weekend may even get up into the 70s!  Yaay!   We made the rounds on the treadmills and bikes, then hit the machines. I showed Cat how to use a couple of them and she did a few reps after me and we were out of there!  We headed to Kevin’s for breakfast but he was closed so we went over to The Appletree. Not my favorite but ok. After that, we came back to the house to rest for a bit. Turns out we stayed in most of the day and watched our own taped shows because it was wet and cold outside.  Cat has made Mondays ‘girl’s night’ here. She has Lona, Misty and Robin over for dinner and spa. She made beef stroganoff from the leftover steak and they brought salad and a dessert. Yeah, I do get to eat – so I am ok with it!  They hit the spa and then headed home. We watched tv until bedtime.    

Tuesday, April 11^th., 2023……  Sunny weather this morning! Don’t know how long it will last, but Yaay!  We both had a few things on our agendas today. But first we were up and walked and fed the dogs. Cat made breakfast and then I headed out. I took the Acadia in for an oil change. I still had miles left on the odometer before I needed to get it in but we had a headlight out. A few years back, I tried to replace one on this car and found that you need to access it through the inner front fender and must remove 6-7 screws and then try to contortion fit your hand up in there to get to it!  I gave up and took the car in to the oil change place and they changed it.  So, I went yesterday and bought the lights from Walmart and took the car in for the oil change this morning. It took a few minutes longer to get in and out, and cost a few bucks more, but now I have two brand new headlight bulbs installed! We can make the drive to San Francisco and have both headlights!  Cathye had her own tasks. She went and saw Jamie and gave him his allowance and then took him to lunch. They met Lona at The Appletree and ate.  Jamie loves the patty melts there. She also had to stop at the vet to get Jama’s flea meds and while she was there, made an appointment for Rylee’s yearly shots. We go Friday for that. All this time, the sun was out. But when we both got back from our outings, the rains hit. It lasted for a few hours and then the sun was out again. Later, I went out and made a count on material for a couple of raised planter boxes. They will look something like this…

I hope to use the remaining pieces of deck board for the outside of the box but we’ll see if I have enough. Later, we had leftovers for dinner and then settled in to watch tv and hit the spa before calling it a night.    

Wednesday, April 12^th., 2023……  After walking and feeding the pups, we left for Albany. The job today was to go to Elmer’s for breakfast, then go turn in our cans and bottles, and then hit Costco. All went well and we were back home in record time. I went out to the shop to work on my project. I already had the dimensions of the new planter box written down, so I just needed to find the wood and cut it to size for all of the pieces. We had seen the one pictured above at a local business here in Dallas and I wanted to make ours the same, complete with the through-bolts which I thought was a great idea!  I will be using the old deckboards for this and hopefully can also use the new decking to finish it off. I got all of the legs and uppers cut for the sides. Cathye will have to give me the final decision on the depth but I was able to assemble both sides. They are pinned for now until I can go get the carriage bolts, washers and nuts.  The weather is turning a bit. No rain. Mostly sunny and temps in the high 50s and low 60s. Cold for my Cali friends but it feels so good to us right now! We can go outside and work in the yard and in the shop!  Cathye has been working on her plant layout for around the deck. I told her I needed to make the turns sweeping so I can mow without getting into a corner. So, she layed that on paper.  Later, we had spaghetti and after some more time in the shop and yard, we came in a watched tv. Tonight was Survivor and The Masked Singer. Didn’t get The Lamp (Melissa Joan Hart) or the Dandelion (Alicia Witt). No worries – it is still fun to watch and guess!   

Thursday, April 13^th., 2023…… We headed out together for the gym. I think we’ve figured out our routines now so we can finish up about the same time so we only need one car. Of course, we had to go to breakfast after. Today we chose Kevin’s. Yummy as usual. We stopped at Walmart on the way home to get supplies for the party on Saturday. We are having some people over for a bbq on our new deck! I thought I knew how many were coming. Turns out I was wrong!  Cat has mentioned it to several others I didn’t know about until this morning!  Of course, some may or may not show up. Possibly 19 of us if everyone shows.  And that means we need to have enough burgers for everyone. No worries, we have a bag of chicken wings and legs that we will cook up as well.  We needed other items and took care of that at Walmart.  We got back in time for Adam’s meeting with Cat. They were going over the plans for the deck landscaping project and came up with a timeline for this portion of the work.  Later, we headed off to the dog groomers to drop off the girls. We came back and rested for a bit until we got the call to go get them. She always adds bows for both dogs and since Rylee’s only lasts for a day or two, I needed some quick pics!

Penny came by later and dropped off Mr. Quackers!  She and I have followed ‘Charlie the Golden’ on Facebook for many years now. Charlie has his collection of stuffed animals and she posted that she gets them at Walmart around Easter time. Penny had found this guy at Walmart in the after-Easter-sale bin and he was only $5!  You can see that this a true big-dog toy!

But Jama would still love to get her teeth into it!   Later, I made a trip to Wilco and bought enough hardware for the planter box. I got both sides bolted up and just need to figure the final width and I can go on to assembly. No hurry though. Dinner and tv and then spa time and then bedtime.         

Friday, April 14^th., 2023…… This morning we had the girls out and walked and fed and we were working around the house and yard prepping for our party tomorrow. We were supposed to meet Cherrelyn and Penny for lunch at Schmizza but Cherrelyn texted that she wasn’t feeling well. No worries – the three of us went anyway!  After a nice meal, we followed Penny back to her house in my truck and we loaded up some palm fronds that her gardener had cut and piled up.  Penny asked if I could take them for the burnpile so we made quick work on loading them up, hauling them back home, and adding them to the pile. Hardly made a dent! Still too wet to burn right now so that will have to wait a few weeks.

Saturday, April 15^th., 2023…… No rain this morning. It is supposed to be clear and nice and warmer. Temps in the mid-60s. That’s perfect – except that the sun took forever to come out!  We spent most of the morning cleaning up and bringing out coolers and recycle and trash bins and drinks, and in general prepping everything for later today. We had that done and came in and cleaned up inside and then rested until the afternoon when Cathye had to go to the Albany train station to pick up Josh and Taitum. They are staying the night with us and will go back up home to Portland on the train tomorrow afternoon.  Tate is in Portland now, staying with her brother there for a while and working for the same company. They got back and had some time to kill so they jumped in the spa and relaxed for a bit. Later in the afternoon, everyone started showing up. I had the bbq going and the chicken on first. Burgers followed that. We ended up with 12 as the final count. Misty, Lona, and Robin had  come from a birthday party so they had eaten already. I think everyone enjoyed the food. I had no complaints!  We sat out around the fire pit and enjoyed the afternoon sun and evening sunset. It was a really fun day!     

 

                     l to r: Lona, Misty, Josh, Vicky, Corey, Robin, Tait, Cathye, Lynn, Judy

                                   Terry, Corey, Josh, Vicky, Tait, Cathye, Lynn, Judy