Oregon Living 2023 – Blog #22 – Lot’s of Yard Work, Remembering Lydia, and a Nice Day on the Lake!

 

 

Sunday, May 21^st.., 2023……  The weather has changed a bit. We went from temps around 82 down to the 70s for today and tomorrow.  Today was a relaxing day. After walking the dogs and eating breakfast, we hung around the house for the day!  Just watching tv and going outside to relax on the deck, or work on some flower arrangements, or maybe a load of clothes – nah! We will do that next week!  We decided to go find the original Book Club on demand and watch that. We are going tomorrow to see the sequel. This time the girls road trip to Italy! Should be fun!  

Monday, May 22^nd., 2023……  More 70° weather again today! It’s just about perfect. We were lucky because today we were going to embark on the grass clipping cleanup today! I filled up the mowers and hooked up the bagger to mine and the leaf/gras catcher to Cat’s and we started in. It took us over an hour just hitting the places where you could see dead grass lying around (about a third of the property). We made many trips each out to the burn pile and finally got everything done. We came in and showered and then rested for a bit. Later, we headed down to Eugene to see our movie. It was very funny and had us in stiches! But I think I liked the original better, just sayin’. We stopped at Five Guys and had burgers and fries and milk shakes before driving back home for the evening. 

Tuesday, May 23^rd., 2023…… The weather continues to be nice, although temps will hit the mid-80s again, starting today. I think I got an extra dose of the grass yesterday. This morning my eyes were puffy and I had some rash on my right forearm.  I have had reactions to the grasses and shrubs here in Oregon and this season they have already started first cuts on the hay fields around here. I try to cover my eyes and nose and wear long sleeves and gloves when handling grass but this time it didn’t seem to help. So, I am on nystatin cream and Benadryl, so hopefully I can get through this bout. 

Cathye has an eye exam this morning. While she was doing that, I went to work and got the boat ready. We are going fishing tomorrow! I needed to clean the battery posts and charge the battery and clean up some of the dust inside (even with the cover on!). I pulled it out and got it hooked up to the truck.

I got our tackle loaded in. We were ready for tomorrow!  I had a late afternoon appointment for acupuncture today so I headed off to that. Tv and spa until bedtime.     

Wednesday, May 24^th., 2023……  Today we fish!  We were up and going around 6:00am. We skipped our showers until we get back. We did walk and feed the girls before we left. One of these times we will take them out for a boat ride to see how they do. But not today. We brought our own coffee for the ride but stopped at McDonald’s and got some breakfast sandwiches to eat before we launched. Cathye has never been in this boat so I wasn’t sure how she’d do when putting it in the water. I backed it in then released it and Cathye drove the trailer out. That went well and we were off in no time. The day couldn’t have been any nicer! Sunny but just enough breeze to make it perfect!  We headed upstream where it was really nice and anchored. We immediately caught fish!  I usually just catch and release but we wanted some for the freezer so I had the stringer out for at least ten. We would release any of the smaller ones but most all of them were just stockers, maybe 10-13 inches.  We moved a few times and the boat performed well. This was not the first time I have had the boat in the water (I’ve been out in it 3-4 times) but it was the first time I/we have ever fished in it!  We had a blast!  Caught fish and made plans for cup holders and trays and fish holders for next time!  The motor performed perfectly and the boat trailer guides made it very easy to reload. We did it in one try! We got back and unloaded the gear and fish and then I backed it in under the carport and we set out to clean fish. 

After making ends meet for this time, I decided that I wanted to purchase a fish cleaning station that I can set up with running water and a trash can. I will check online for that later.  We each showered and Cathye showed me a rash on her rib cage. She thinks it’s eczema because she gets it in that same spot occasionally. Mine has popped up in a few other areas. It’s itchy but the meds and creams help. Cathye is using them now too. Tonight we watched the Survivor finale – or rather part of it since it was a three-hour show! We hit the spa and then turned in after a wonderfully relaxing day!            

Thursday, May 25^th., 2023…… Today is three years since we’ve lost Miss Lydia.  I think about her a lot. The great lifetime we spent together really does tend to overrule the darker times….

Cathye and I sometimes swap stories about my Lydia and her Jim.  I’ve talked so much about my rv travels with Lydia.  She hasn’t been around the US like I have, but she’s travelled all around the world and her stories fascinate me!  In addition to our future travels here, we longingly hope to get to Europe and also Australia some day in the not-too-distant future!

This morning Cathye has the landscaper coming over. She has the area around the new deck defined for the flower bed. Their plan is to lay fabric and soil to build up around the deck a bit for the beds. Then, when she puts in plants and/or sets out a few pots, Adam can finish the project with bark mulch. It should take a few weeks but at least he can drive on the lawn now since it’s dry out there!  I have work to do today too! I have ordered and received a little extra item for Tiki Joe and got him fixed up today! I think he will look awesome at night!...

I also spent some time working on the deck. I hung some of those plant hanger mechanisms that allow you to adjust the baskets up and down as needed for water, etc.  She immediately had the plant baskets out for me to hang! 

We also re-installed the bottle wheel

that our friends, Pat and Mike, made and gave Lydia and I as a housewarming gift.  Kind of fitting that we installed it today…

Cat also spent some time out in her island garden. She has some of her greenhouse plants to put out there, but wants to get it cleaned up first. The weeds have taken over and she (and Adam) worked to get them thinned out.  Later, after he had gone for the day, we both came in and relaxed and watched our own programs before finishing up the Survivor finale. My favorite (Carson) finished 4^th but I was still ok with the winner (Yam Yam). We were entertained by this season’s show.     

Friday, May 26^th., 2023……  I had my sleep study consult appointment today. This is a follow up from the cardiologist. They told me that sleep disorders can lead to afib and Cathye told them I have snoring and restless sleep and breathing anomalies so they wanted a check. I told them that since the afib, I (she) haven’t noticed any issues. I have been sleeping a lot better and sounder since then. But they still want me to do an overnight home monitor test. They will be scheduling me and I will have to go in to pick up the monitor. Probably two weeks or so. We are still struggling with our poison oak exposure. I have it on my face, top of my head, and spots on both forearms. Cathye has it on her side and spots on both legs. The guys are here today working on the landscape and Johnny says he thinks he found some when he was pulling weeds out on the back island. We thought some about this and remembered that we were both out there last Sunday – I was setting up sprinklers and Cat was pulling weeds. So, now we think we know how we got it. I spoke to Randy today and he said to go get some Tecnu. It’s designed to remove the oils from poison ivy and poison oak. I went to Rite Aid and found some.

So, we will be trying it for sure, along with the antihistamines and creams we already have!   

Saturday, May 27^th., 2023…… With the Tecnu, I am finding some relief from the itch and the redness from my rash (mine popped up on Monday night), but Cat’s looks worse! Hers was noticed around Wednesday.  The guys were here today and she worked with them outside most of the day. Once they were done and gone, she came in and showered and rested. She said she had 17,000 steps on her FitBit today!  She considered going to urgent care but was afraid that Saturday night would be jammed up!  So, she suffered through the night. We are taking a break from the hot water in the spa for a few days so she took some Benadryl and we went to bed early tonight.  She will be going to urgent care tomorrow I’m sure!

Oregon Living 2023 – Blog #21 – Lots of Good Weather so Lots of Yard Work!

 

  

Sunday, May 14^th., 2023……  HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!  I sent Cathye pics of the pups

and wished her a Happy Mother’s Day. She says she’s already heard from her daughter. Chris (stepson) will be calling her later.  She sent me these pics captioned, “me, watching them work!”

Michael made them breakfast and later Cathye will be taking them to dinner to say thanks.  She leaves tomorrow.  They took some time to drive to Uranus!  Yeah, that’s funny!  It’s a tourist trap ion I44 that has fudge and other items for the passersby.

Meanwhile, I spent the day hanging inside the house. Temperature topped out today at 91°!  Tomorrow I will get the pool out and filled up for Rylee. Later in the afternoon, I got some more pics of their dinner.

Tomorrow they leave for the airport. It’s a 100 mile drive and the flight leaves early, so they’ll have to leave early as well.      

Monday, May 15^th., 2023……  I got updates as the day went on. Her flight left on time from Springfield, a 1 hour flight to Chicago. There she has a 2 ½ hour layover.  She made it to her new gate (quite a hike at O’Hare!) and waited. She would be getting in to Portland around 6:15pm or so. My plan was to leave around 4:00 and stop at Burlington Coat Factory. I need to look for a coat for the cruise when we have to ‘dress for dinner’. I fed the dogs a little early and let them out and then headed out about 3:30. I made the turn and hit the main shopping street in Salem but must have missed the store sign. Oh well, no worries, I can go another time!  I made a slight turn off the path to the airport and stopped at Jack in the Box and got a burger. Good thing I ate it on the fly because when I got to the cell phone lot, Cat called and said her flight arrived early and she was outside waiting for me. I got there and we made the drive and got back home right at 8:00pm. To say the least, the girls were happy and got their hug and kisses time. We got her unpacked and rested and caught up on Survivor and The Masked Singer before hitting the spa before bed. It was a long day and she was exhausted! But I’m glad she’s home!       

Tuesday, May 16^th., 2023…… I wanted us to sleep in a little this morning but Cathye was still on Central time and was up early!  The weather was really nice and comfortable this morning when we took the dogs out for their walk. Temps will get up in the high 80s but right now it was really nice! We got them fed and Cat went out to check on her plants. I got kudos for the job I did – except for the roses! I was under the impression that they didn’t need a lot of water, being in the pots right now.  I was wrong! They weren’t doing well but she says they will be ok.  She will plant them tomorrow or Thursday. Meanwhile, I worked on getting the tiki out. If you have not seen it, pics are below. I received this back in 2011, as a retirement gift from Lydia and we had it out in the back yard in Long Beach. Of course I brought it to Oregon!  But it’s been in storage here for 6 years, waiting for the right spot. The deck was it!  I got it muscled out and on a cart behind the tractor and we pressured washed it and set it out in the sun to dry. When Corey and Vikki get here later, I will use Corey to help get it in place. We headed off to the store to get whatever we needed for the bbq. We settled on hot dogs but at the last minute decided to make hamburgers as well.

The party went well and the food was eaten up!  After dessert, Corey and I went to work and got both the tiki

and the planter box

installed. I just need to add something under the tiki to protect the decking and then screw down the planter box. Tomorrow. The grandkids used the spa 

and we relaxed and visited. Once everyone left, we cleaned up a bit and relaxed from the day. We were both really tired and after a nice soak in the spa, I was ready for an early bedtime!     

Wednesday, May 17^th., 2023……  This morning we had a few things on our agenda. After showering and getting dressed, we took the pups out for their walk. I fed them and Cathye took off to go do labs. At her last checkup, her doctor said he wanted to get more info on how her thyroid meds were doing. So, she’s only several weeks behind in getting that done! When she got back, I had already gone out to get coffee for me, chai latte for her and breakfast for both of us! . Later, we left for our haircut appointment. We usually go at 10:00am but someone beat us to that time today – Penny!  She had already left when we got there for our 11:00am appointment.  We got finished and came home. I think we were done for the day!  I had prepped and painted a base for the tiki and while that was drying, I went out and screwed the planter box down and Cathye added the bamboo trees and a few of the other flowers. We will be adding bark mulch and greenery to finish up that project, but so far, it looks pretty good 

and will provide some screening from the neighbors (not that they would care to see us old folks in hot water!).

Thursday, May 18^th., 2023……  This morning I was up early and walked the dogs, fed them, and went off to the gym by myself. Cathye hung around the house and sat out on the deck and had coffee and enjoyed the sunny morning. We have had weather in the mid-80s all week. They say it will continue like that for a while except for Sunday and Monday. I guess there’s a front coming in which will cool us off a bit. But no rain is expected.  Once I got back, we spent most of the day working around the yard. Cathye has some plants she wants to get from her pots and into the ground so she worked on that. Later, we had a light dinner and watched tv until spa and bedtime.   

Friday, May 19^th., 2023…… Today was mowing day! The grass does have some dew in the morning but dries out by 10:00am or so. I got started – filling up the tanks in three of the mowers.  I made sure I adjusted the cutting height on Cathye’s John Deere.   As I said before, we found her 2 ½“ cut is lower than that on the other mowers. So, I set it at 3 ½” and she ran it so we could test it. Yes, that would work!  Cat and I got started and were working about 10 minutes before Penny got here.  Once she got going, we were done in an hour and a half. Of course there is another step – picking up the grass!  I need to wait a couple of days so the cut grass can die out . making it a lot easier to pick up. This time we will use the grass catcher on the Craftsman pro and the bagger on my zero turn. I think we can get it done faster that way. We’re shooting for Monday but we’ll see.

Saturday, May 20^th., 2023…… We were up early again and had Princess and Butthead out and walked. We fed them, then Cathye made us breakfast burritos and coffee. Yummy! Today, Cathye spent time transplanting her roses. She had planned on putting them under the window outside my office, but the holes she and Adam dug still had water in them! And she knows roses can’t do standing water. So, I helped her fill in the holes a bit - just enough to set the wooden containers – and that way they are above the water table a will hopefully be a little protected. Time will tell.

 

Cathye asked for some help with the watering system for her island. There are tons of weeds that she (or Adam) will need to pull, but the ground is pretty hard. We got an oscillator device positioned and let that run for a bit. I also worked on the sprinkler head for the blueberries. We need to get some water on these plants like now!  This is just an above-ground unit and there was a piece of grit in the line so the thing wouldn’t operate correctly. That took a little disassembly to find the culprit and once fixed, all was good.  We let both lines run while we came in and watched The Book Club. We’re going to see the sequel next week but Cat had never seen the original and I forgot most of the plot. It was hilarious!  Can’t wait to see the new one! I spent the rest of the afternoon watching my auctions and Nascar race. This week and next are jam packed with Indy car (Indy 500), Nascar (Wilkesboro and Charlotte), and F1 (Monaco).  We decided to go out for dinner and chose The Point. We sat outside on the patio and had a nice meal and enjoyed the view of Foster Lake. When we got home, we let the girls out for a bit. Rylee is now waiting for me to go out and open the water faucet out in the yard. She loves to chase the water stream! Of course she would decide today that after getting soaked in water, she would wallow in the dead grass! That took a few minutes to clean up!  But all was good and we came in and settled in and watched tv until bedtime.         

Oregon Living 2023 – Blog #20 – Heading to Missouri for Family Time & Finally Mowing For Me!

 

 

Sunday, May 7^th., 2023……  Nicer day today. No rain – so far. But forecast is for rain later and also all day tomorrow. We took the pups out for their walk and fed them, then I went out and got us breakfast and coffee at Jack in the Box and Starbucks. Cat took off later to head off to church while I watched the motocross race from yesterday. I have to watch this series on the tv in her office because that’s the only tv we have Peacock on. I moved on back to my room and worked on and posted my blog. When she got home, we worked on her itinerary and planned our trip to the airport. She said she should just drive and park at the Portland airport long term since that would be cheaper than making two trips up and back in the car. Doing the math, it’s not. So, I will be taking her early Tuesday morning.       

Monday, May 8^th., 2023……  Cathye has checked with the kids and the weather in Missouri is in the 80s, so she will be packing light.  But here it’s still rainy. We’re ready for the dry! The lawn remains beyond wet – it’s still soggy. On the dryer days, it’s hard to watch the neighbors out mowing. I walk the lawn but still have no idea when it will dry out enough to drive on. We still can work out in the shop and the potting shed though. My planter box is waiting to move. My plan is to load it on the truckster and drive it around to the spot. But it’s way too heavy.  

Cat needed to use her 30% off coupon for Kohl’s and wanted some new shoes so we headed off there. I am looking for a suit or suit coat for the cruise but didn’t find anything there.  Looking at luggage while there, we found a nice carryon on sale and with the discounts, we bought it!  When we got back, Cathye spent the rest of the afternoon getting meds together and finishing some laundry so she could get the suitcase loaded. She was ready!   Tv and spa until early bedtime!

Tuesday, May 9^th., 2023…… We were up at oh dark hundred (4:00am!) and got going. She said she would eat breakfast at the airport so all we took with us was our coffee. I got her there with time for her to have a nice leisurely breakfast before boarding.  Meanwhile, I stopped and got breakfast sandwiches at McDonalds and made the drive back home. Later, I heard she had made it to Denver, her stopover. She was supposed to be there an hour and a half and found her new gate and waited. Turns out it would be a long wait!  There was a storm passing through the area and since there was lightning there, they grounded all of the flights. So, she called her son, who was driving down to Springfield to pick her up, and told him to turn around. It would be a 7 ½ hour wait before the weather let up and she got on her flight. She checked into a motel in Springfield at midnight and crashed after her long day!

Wednesday, May 10^th., 2023……  Michael got her picked up and back to their place in Dixon and they went visiting. I’m not sure who is who back there, but she said it was fun seeing these folks!

They got home and relaxed. Meanwhile, I was out in the shop trying to figure out if I could load the planter box by myself. I would need to raise it about 14 inches to tilt on the truckster bed, but after jacking up the thing, I felt I better stop because it was a little sketchy. I strapped it down and texted Russ to see if he could come by in the next couple of days to lend some muscle.

I moved out the mowers and went out with 3 of my 5-gallon gas cans to get non-ethanol for the mowing. Yes, we can mow!  We are finally through the rain and we are supposed to have 80° tomorrow and into the 90s by Sunday!  I decided to mow around the blueberry and grapes (with the bagger on) and see how that goes. I took several loads out to the burnpile and took the bagger off and tried the lawn on the west side of the driveway. That’s one of the lowest spots and the last to dry out. If I could mow that, I will be good to go...   I made a pass around the perimeter and, hey, it worked. Yaay!  So, I kept going. I got all of the lawn mowed. Yes, there is a ton of cut grass now out there but if I wait a few days for it to dry out a bit and sink in, I won’t have too much to bag next time.  Tomorrow Penny will be coming over and we will do the field together. I snapped a couple of pics - before, during, and after - to send to Cathye.

She was thrilled that I was able to mow!   She called me at 6:00pm my time and said she was in bed (8:00pm in Missouri!) reading but needed to call me because she couldn’t keep her eyes open. Ah, jet lag!  We said our goodnights and she went to sleep. I watched some tv and then hit the spa before calling it a night. Funny, with all of the room on the bed now, Rylee jumped off and went into the living room to sleep! 

Thursday, May 11^th., 2023…… Cathye said Michael had several things on the agenda while she was there. Today, they went to a smash room and a paint room. She said she had a blast! Here are some pics from her day…

Meanwhile, I had plans for today. I was meeting Cherrelyn and Penny for breakfast. Cherrelyn had never been to Kristi’s before, so that would be fun. I walked and fed the girls and then headed off to the gym. I timed it so I could go straight there and join them for breakfast (yes, I cleaned up and changed after my workout!).  After a nice meal, I came back home and got one of the tractors gassed up and ready for Penny. She had to use Cat’s John Deere because the battery in the Craftsman Pro was dead. We got the mowing project done pretty quickly. I did learn that the 3.0 inch blade height on my mower and the JD were not the same!  Penny’s cut was shorter than mine. No worries. Next cut in a week or so and I will be lowering the mowers to cut at 2.5 inches, so it will all be the same shortly. Here are some pics from today. In the bottom one you can see the difference in the height of the cut grass!...

Tv and another spa trip to relax before bedtime.  

Friday, May 12^th., 2023…… Cat’s day with the kids included a spa morning and a trip to Lake of the Ozarks and Bridal Cave. She called me later in the day to let me know how the day went. Fabulous! Here are pics.

                             They also stopped by the house Cat and the kids lived in years ago.

No word from Russ yet. He said he was not in the area this week but might be able to swing by after work today or Monday. No worries – Corey and Vikki will be here next week and he can help. I’m in no hurry. I needed to catch up on my checkbook work and took care of that this morning, then headed off to Walmart. I got some easy items for me to cook (chili dogs, tacos, etc.) and headed back home and relaxed for most of the day. I did go out to the shop to clean up some more. I also have watering tasks to complete for Cat and took care of those as well. 82° today and 91° tomorrow and Sunday!    

Saturday, May 13^th., 2023…… HAPPY BIRTHDAY COREY!  Since Grandma's out of town, we will be having them over on Tuesday to celebrate.  Not much on my agenda for today. I wanted to get all of Cathye’s and my pics downloaded, ready for my blog and that takes some time. I got all caught up and rested for most of the day. Cathye said they were headed to tea in the Audubon Nature Park garden:...

And then home to care for the bees....

For me, as I’d said, not much going on – just tv and watering and that was it. Tv and then spa and then bed.