Oregon Living 2023 – Blog #13 – Setting up the Deck, Having Friends Over & Getting Another Quote

 

Sunday, March 26^th., 2023……  Not much on the agenda today so we slept in. I woke up with a twinge in my shoulder.  Must have slept wrong. Anyway, I went in the hot tub for 30 minutes and it felt much better! While I was doing that, Cathye was in and out of the shower and took the dogs out. She didn’t take them for their usual walk but instead they roamed around the blueberry cage to watch Grammy let out the unlucky birds who managed to get inside the netting there but couldn’t get out. Cathye got them out and checked on her blueberry plants. She had added sawdust around the plants bases and that has helped them in the weather. She says there are tons of buds coming out now so we can expect a good batch this year.  With the 5^th wheel out of the way, we can now back up closer to there now to add more sawdust later after we spray the area to get rid of weeds. The grapevines are just now starting to get some green leaves starting to sprout.  She skipped church this morning so we had a nice breakfast and she went into her sewing room to tackle a couple of projects. First one up was our deck chairs. We had bought two metal/bamboo rockers at a yard sale last year and we had picked up some new cushions already. But we still need to work on the chair arms. We bought some fabric from Walmart which Cat will be sewing up and adding Velcro to as well. These will be arm guards as the bamboo is a little worn and scratchy right now. The next task will be to hem the curtains that she bought for the gazebo. The closest size available was still several inches too long. Meanwhile, I stayed in my sweatpants because I didn’t think we’d be going anywhere. I was wrong! She gave up her sewing and we decided to go get the patio set we had seen a few days ago!  It was marked down and the store didn’t have it in stock so we had to drive to Albany to get it. They loaded the big ass box in the truck and we headed home. I backed up to the deck and cut the box open so we could unload the pieces one at a time. We got them staged on the deck and called it a day. I watched my races, posted my blog, and worked on my checkbook register. Later, we watched tv and then after that, went into the spa before bed. It was extremely windy and that definitely made it super chilly especially right after getting out!  We still enjoy it out there though, but it will be even better when it warms up a bit.       

Monday, March 27^th., 2023……  This morning was another rainy one. The winds were lighter and it wasn’t too cold and the sun actually came out later in the afternoon. We spent the morning putting the patio set together. It wasn’t difficult - just cumbersome. We didn’t like the seat back cushions and wanted more color so we hit Walmart and bought some outdoor pillows. We had to go to two Walmart's and even then needed to place an online order to get the remaining four that we needed. They won’t be here until Wednesday so we will wait until then to take pics.  Later, I headed off to Walmart yet again (so glad it’s only ½ mile!). This time l was shopping for Cathye. She is having the girls (Lona, Misty, and Robin) over this evening for shish kabobs and a night in the spa. She needed me to go get button mushrooms and cherry tomatoes for the skewers. I got back and we straightened up around the house and got the deck cleaned up. I had to start the BBQ and run it for a while to scrub the grill since we hadn’t used it all during the deck build. No worries, it works fine!  The girls all got here and got their drinks and then went to the counter and assembled their own skewers, which I then took out to grill. It only takes a few minutes and they were eating. I spent my time in my room watching my Nascar race. It was a fun afternoon/evening!        

Tuesday, March 28^th., 2023…… This morning we were up but didn’t go out with the dogs because it was raining pretty hard. As is almost always the case, it only lasts for a few minutes then clears up. Cathye has been looking for a wicker chest for the deck. She wants to store the pillows and light items when the rains and winds pick up. She had mentioned it to Judy, who searched Facebook Marketplace and sent her a listing for one. Cathye called the lady who lives in Sheridan, which is probably 65 miles from us, but she was cleaning house today in Independence, which is only about 35 miles away, and agreed to load it in her car so we could just go there. We headed out and made the 45 minute drive and found her address and bought the chest. It is all wicker and was in really good shape. 

Not bad for $30!

After that, we hung around the house for the rest of the day. I had called a locally owned rain gutter business here who was recommended by Emily, our masseuse, who recently installed gutters on their home. He would be coming today to give us an estimate for adding gutters for the new patio cover, and maybe even the gazebos if that was possible. He came around 5:00pm and checked everything out.  Yes, they could also do the gazebo so I got a separate quote for those as well.  We need to decide if we want more bids or not.  We like the fact that this a husband and wife business and is local so we will likely choose them. Ben said he would be able to tie into the existing downpipes and the installation would only take a few hours.     

Wednesday, March 29^th., 2023…… We were up and out early with the girls this morning. No rain for the next two days. Yaay! After we fed them, we left to go to Kevin’s for breakfast. He was closed (maybe for spring break?) so we went around the corner to Kristi’s. They had no one in there and Reese said it has been slow all this week so far. We got back from breakfast and I went out to the shop and opened the boxes with the roll up awnings we had bought last week at Costco. These will be installed on the East and West sides of the patio where the sun will be hitting the seating area on the deck. I got everything ready and will install the clips for now but will wait until Cathye gets back before we put up the 8’ awnings. She went over to meet up with Judy and Lynn. They were all headed out for a day trip to the Garland Nursery in Albany. I got each of the three brackets installed for both sets of awnings and then came back in a rested and watched tv for a while.  Then I went back out and installed the shades by myself. It was really easy! 

Cathye got back and saw what I had done and wasn’t too happy because I was up on the ladder! But all was good! Later, we ate dinner and watched The Masked Singer and Survivor. We are not getting too many of the singers these days. Most everyone is a newer generation so we have no clue as to who they are. Out of the 12 unmasked to date, we have only got 2 – Sara Evans and Michael Bolton. But we should have got Dick Van Dyke and George Wendt and maybe even Howie Mandel!  We still have a few left to see and some we have ideas for. We think The Doll is Dee Snider from Twisted Sister. He never could sing but he knows how to move around on the stage. We think The California Roll is Pentatonix. I think The Gargoyle is a football player, either from the Rams or the Chargers.  And our guess for Macaw is David Archuleta. I only watched bit and pieces of American Idol when he was on it but I think one of the judges mentioned him and we are making a guess that it’s him.  Survivor is also getting good. Next week the tribes merge and that’s when the game gets better! Fun stuff. Spa time then bedtime!     

Thursday, March 30^th., 2023…… I was up and out early this morning. I had an 8:00am acupuncture appointment in Corvallis to get to. I also stopped by Home Depot to pick up some hooks for the deck areas. We need hooks for robes and towels and also to tie the curtains back on the gazebo.  We were able to get past the rainshowers today to get the pillows out and the rugs down so we could take a few pics of the completed areas.  

Of course, they had to get picked up later because the rains came again! I’ll be so glad when Spring finally hits up here and then the summer months come and it dries out and warms up a bit! While I was out getting poked, Cathye texted that today was a burn day!  But she would wait until I got back before she started. By the time I got home, she already had the water hoses connected and ran out to be staged in place. She had her wagon out so we could haul the farm diesel and the propane torch out there to get things going. Ok, a long story short and as you can see from the pics below, it was a futile attempt!  She thought that if she could get a hot enough flame going, it would burn anything in the pile. But, as she discovered, it was just too wet deep down in the pile to efficiently burn much at all!  I even dressed the part and 'pitched' in to help!  

But, even after Penny came by and we tried and she tried, we still didn't make too much progress. And we only have a short window. I think Cat said she thinks we only have until the middle of April to burn. I'm thinking they will extend that but we'll see!

Friday, March 31^st., 2023…… Cathye had a few things going on today. She needed to go see Jamie and then went on up to Salem to visit with Diane, an ex-co-worker for lunch and a visit. I stayed home and did laundry. Today I started in on our mudroom closet. Among all of the jackets and coats, that’s where I keep all of my flannel shirts. It was time to get them all out and washed. I ran 3 loads before quitting for the day. Three more tomorrow.  Cat got back and brought me back a cannoli and a Napoleon she had got at lunch. They were both yummy!  She made bean soup and put it in the crock pot to cook all day and then we ate and watched tv before going out to sit in the spa for a bit.  We sat out there talking and planning our trip to San Francisco at the end of this month. Since we are driving, we want to stop one night somewhere in between. She looked into staying in Napa but they don’t offer spa packages unless you book at least two nights. So, we will come up with somewhere else, maybe Sonoma or Clear Lake, or ? Either way, we want to book it sooner than later.    

Saturday, April 1^st., 2023…… Pretty quiet day. I worked on my blog. Cathye hung around the house and watched some of her shows, then went in to sew up the hems on the gazebo curtains. The weather is trying to clear up, then it clouds up, then it sprinkles. They say there are some heavier storms north of us and the snow level at Mt Hood and the Cascades will get down to 700 ft. Good skiing if that’s your sport! We’ll stay in and relax, thank you! I’m waiting for boat weather! Later, we ate leftover soup and then it was tv, spa and bed!  Oh, yeah, we did see some young deer come through behind our shop garage and head down the fence to the street. There were three of them but Rylee spooked them off before we could get better pics!