Sunday, December 10, 2023

Oregon Living 2023 – Blog #51 – More Dancing & Seeing Santa!

 


                                        

Sunday, December 3rd., 2023…… Today was a busy day!  We were up and out early. Cathye walked and fed the girls while I took my coffee and went over to my sister’s house to help her get her Thanksgiving decorations put away and get her Christmas decorations out. It only took us a few minutes and we were done! Of course she still has to put everything out! I think she plans to go get her tree this week. On the way back, I stopped and got us breakfast. No church for Cat today. We hung around the house until 11:30 or so, then headed over to pick up Lynn and Judy. We drove up again to the Salem Dance Center for yet another beginner’s dance! It was a lot more fun because we are now searching out squares with more angels in them so they can help a little. Of course there is nothing they can do about the speed. These dances are a faster pace than the lessons but they are getting used to that now. We danced there for 2 ½ hours and at the end they asked every class member to come up for a group pic. It’s great to see so many new folks getting into the hobby! In this photo, the top line of people are the callers and cuers. Charlotte Jeskey, our instructor, is on the right. 

We got back home and changed clothes and rested before we had to leave yet again to go to our class. At the end of the day, we were danced out!  After the pizza parlor when class was over, we got back home and got into the spa and relaxed before calling it a night. 

Monday, December 4th., 2023…… Nothing on the calendar for today. Yaay!  The weather was crappy so we were staying in most of today. Plus, we needed a day to recoup after the dancing weekend! We skipped the gym and just went to Kevin’s for breakfast. Yeah, I know – shame on us! 

Tuesday, December 5th., 2023…… We slept in a bit today, but were up and out with the dogs and got them walked and fed.  I went back to Les Schwab and picked up my tire and wheel for the truckster. I got that installed.  That was about it for the morning. Later, we headed off to the senior center for sd lessons and stopped by the library there to pick a couple of names off of the giving tree. I got a person who wanted a blender and Cat took a lady who wanted a shirt and socks.  We will go to Walmart tomorrow to get those.  Later, we watched the first half of Dancing With the Stars. They have five couples left and we have our order. 5) Alyson, 4) Ariana, 3) Charity, 2) Jason, and 1) Xochitl. We will save the second half until tomorrow. Spa and bed.

Wednesday, December 6th., 2023…… Still waiting for the cardiologist to schedule my cardioversion. Back in the first week or so in November, I went back into afib. I have a home test unit so it was confirmed. I check it every day. I reported it to my cardiologist who ordered an ekg from the hospital. After the ekg confirmed afib, the doctor said he would schedule me asap for the procedure. Well, it has taken this long and still no appointment!  I would like to think that they would at least call and schedule me!  Obviously, they know their calendar!  Like I said, I have a home unit to test for that and it appears I am back in normal sinus rhythm again – and have been since the 27th.  The purpose of the cardioversion is to put me back into normal sinus rhythm (and I’m already there) so I’m not in any medical hurry to get their call. But I could have still been in afib and I am not happy!   I have a new Medicare plan starting the first of the year. I chose it because I could keep my same doctors, but since this is not the first time they have dropped the ball, I will definitely be requesting a new cardiologist first chance I get! 

After doing all of our chores, we made the Walmart run and got our Giving Tree gifts. They are now wrapped and we will be taking them in next time we’re in the area. Not much else on the agenda. We had a light dinner and watched the last part of Dancing With the Stars. We had pretty much figured out the finishing order. I was surprised that Ariana finished ahead of Charity.

Thursday, December 7th., 2023…… HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAYMOND! Today I had to get up and take the truck in for its appointment. I have a power steering fluid leak and today was the day. It is literally around the corner so it only took a few minutes to drop it off. The rest of the day was spent inside since the weather is again rainy and cool. Not cold enough to snow here at 340’, but they say we might get there in the next few weeks. Maybe snow for Christmas! I was planning on taking Cat’s truck and going to Lowes for wood for more shelving in my office, but decided not to go in the rain. Cathye went over to Judy’s this afternoon. She and Judy and Lynn are watching square dance videos together and working on their problem calls.

Friday, December 8th., 2023…… No rain today. Actually, we had several hours of sunshine!  It was a little chilly but all in all, a nice day!  We drove to Albany and, on the way, stopped and dropped off our gifts at the senior center, then went to Elmer’s for breakfast and then to Lowes for some wood for the shelves in my office.  After I unloaded them, I went out and hooked up a charger to the batteries in the motorhome. The plan is to get it running again so we can take it to the Mid-Winter Square Dance Festival. It is a three-day event at the end of January and is the biggest event of the season here in the area. I have been to these weekend festivals before so I know to get a reservation in early in order to get hookups. But not until I know for sure the motorhome is ready. More on that tomorrow. Cathye went back over to Judy’s and they worked some more on their troublesome calls. I’m so glad they are eager to learn all of the calls and get them down so they can dance comfortably at dances. We go again tomorrow to another beginner’s dance. Tonight we decided to head over to the Linn County Fairgrounds for their Storybook Land Exhibit. We have been before, but it was a while back. They have these mini exhibits side by side winding through the building that you walk thru. There has to be hundreds of them! Some of the decorations are amazing.





It was fun and at the end we got to get a pic with Santa!

Once we got back home, we had dinner and watched a little tv, then the spa and then bed.   

Saturday, December 9th., 2023…… A chilly start to the day! It was 36° when we walked this morning! Temps are supposed to get to the mid-40s today. Pretty chilly even for us!  I went out and started the motorhome with no issues. I’ll leave it on the charger today though. So, that was the go-ahead for me to make reservations for the rv camping at Mid-Winter. Camping at Linn County Fairgrounds is separate from the festival so you have to go to the fairgrounds website to make your reservation. Good thing is that they have real rv spaces. I got one with 50 amp and water. No sewers. If the weather is questionable (below freezing), I will only hook up the electric so no worries.

As I said, we have another beginner’s dance tonight!  I applaud the square dance council/alliance here in our section of the Willamette Valley for getting together and planning these dances for the September classes. Speaking of class, last Sunday, we officially completed all of the 69 calls at the Basic and Mainstream levels. Charlotte will now just be reviewing those that are giving the dancers trouble. Cat blanks out on Scoot Back and confuses Spin the Top and Spin Chain Thru (as do others in her class). So they ask for her to work on those among others. They passed out applications and we have Cat’s ready to turn in. She will officially be a Club member soon!  Also, this was the first time Cathye has dressed in full square dance attire!  I still had some (maybe 1/10th!) of Lydia’s clothes and all of her many petticoats, and Cat already has her own square dance shoes. She looks great! Plus, she enjoys the foo foo! Tonight we picked up Lynn and Judy and then went and picked up Rod and Ginger at the senior center and headed up to Salem. As mentioned last time, that dance center is home to several clubs. Tonight it was the Independence Wagon Wheelers. Daryl Clendenin is their club caller. He is nationally known and I have danced to him many times in SoCal and at National Conventions. Great caller (one of my top 5). I was surprised to see that he held back for his beginners. He still showed that he has great choreography and that made the night fun. Of course we had several squares that struggled but like I said before, we are learning to get a matchup with other experienced dancers in our squares whenever we can. It was a fun night and Cat said it was the most fun she has had so far. I know it’s because she’s getting pretty good at the calls and feels more at ease now!  This pic is before the dance…

I forgot my phone so that was all of the pics we had from the evening. The dance went until 10:00pm and we stayed for the whole thing!  Over the course of the dance, they had a silent auction and had over 50 items!  The money was for a local shelter so we did our share of bidding. They made $495.00 (and we together spent $60.00!)  The girls were pooped after the night ended and were glad to get off their feet for the ride home! We dropped off Rod and Ginger and then Lynn and Judy, and headed home to let the girls out. We decided to brave the cold and the late hour, and had a nice long soak in the spa to soothe the achy muscles before bedtime!  Fun day!     

 

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