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!