Oregon Living 2024 – Blog #26 – Party Time and More Mowing

 

Sunday, June 23^rd., 2024…… Today was the big day!  We started out with a run to get donuts. Ok, two runs!  Last night we discussed the morning meal and the subject of Sugar Vibe donuts came up. There was mention of a donut run but no one volunteered. So, this morning I took off at 6:00am (and saw these guys off the road…) 

 

to go there and also to Walmart for ice and water. But when I got to Sugar Vibes, Mike’s truck was already parked outside. I surprised him when I walked up behind him! He bought the donuts and I headed on to Walmart. So now we had had leftover biscuits and gravy and donuts to snack on.  Later, I got all of the drinks out and in coolers and put on the deck.  After that, some of us played cards while some rested. We were ready! A little before 2:00pm, people started showing up. I had moved the Honda out and the others were in the garage, so people could park in the driveway behind all of them. I cordoned off the septic tanks but allowed parking on the lawn next to them. They went double deep there too! As more folks came, I managed to get them all parked so most could get out when needed. Not counting us and the campers, I counted 17 cars!  I had all of the drinks out so we had plenty of room in the garage fridge for all of the food folks brought.  The party was on!  We played games, and sat around and visited for a bit before I fired up the bbq and got going. Shaun volunteered as sous chef and we got the burgers and dogs ready. With all of the great food everyone brought, I think everyone had enough to eat!  After that, we cleared up and we started the Club meeting. This meeting was the end of Wanda’s term and the start of Signe’s term, so they transferred responsibility going forward.

 

After the meeting, we cleared the deck and Shaun called for us!  We had two squares who danced. 

Cat and I had decided to order special dangles for those who danced at our event. It will say “Terry & Cathye’s Deck Dance 2024”. I have to contact our local badge guy who will help me with design. After the party, with all of the cars out and gone, we all started stowing the tables and taking down the awning.  I had them leave it on the lawn so I could separate all the pieces and get each awning back in storage. After that, the guys started unhooking their trailers and 5^th wheel. Shaun and Lila left first because they had to stop at the dump station on the way back. Plus they live the farthest out and both will have to go back to work tomorrow morning. Mike and Cheryl and Frank and Maryanne left too. That was the last of the duties for us. I will bag the games and get the drinks put away tomorrow. Long day and so much fun!      

Monday, June 24^th., 2024…… Back to our routine this morning. Almost! We decided to skip the gym and stayed home and ate the rest of the breakfast leftovers. I think it took most of the day with us hanging around just vegging, but we did get the awnings put away. There was still ice in the coolers so we left the drinks out for now. I sat down at my desk and drew out some ideas I had for the dangle. I called Sqdini and talked with Bob. I bounced my ideas off him and he said it sounded good and to send them to him and he would work with it. Later, we ate leftover burgers and hot dogs and potato salad and cake. Tv and spa and an early bedtime!   

Tuesday, June 25^th., 2024…… The weather is terrific here now. Temps in the mid to high 70s except for the cloudy days where it’s in the high 60s. Both are great! The plan this morning was to go to breakfast at Roger’s in Albany and then stop by the bottle drop to turn in our cans and bottle recycling and then go on to the battery store to replace Cat’s battery in the Shasta. BUT, Cat got a reminder that we had haircuts in 15 minutes! We barely made it!  So, we would have to put all the rest on hold until tomorrow. Later, we left for the class. Cathye barely danced because she was playing phone tag with someone working with Jamie’s health care. When she did dance, she was exhausted. The girls at class noted this and suggested she go to urgent care. I dropped her off and went home to feed the dogs. She texted later and said they ran labs and vitals and she was waiting for the dr. It took a while because he wanted to see the labs, but said there was nothing conclusive. He would call back later and say he reread everything and said her potassium was a bit low and to eat a few bananas and avocados to help that. He said she was ok to wait until the upcoming echocardiogram next week which will hopefully help find out more. Oh well! I sure wish she felt better.       

Wednesday, June 26^th., 2024…… Nothing on the schedule today. Cathye had a good night’s sleep last night and was feeling ok. She went with me to walk the girls this morning but since we didn’t have anything, we had another lazy day at home. I heard back from Bob and we are good to go with my design. He said it will take a few days and then he will mail them to us.  Later, I went out with the zero turn to try to clear a path out on the perimeter of the field. We have a tree down out there and it’s hanging over where the guy will be mowing later this week. My plan was to cut it in firewood size logs and drag the rest of the brush to the burnpile. So, I got out the truckster and we went out and started in. I have a new DeWalt pole saw and that made it pretty easy work.  We made 4 trips in and out with brush and firewood and now the path is cleared for the mowing on Friday. We were done for the day – or so I thought!  Cheryl called and asked if Cathye wanted to go with her and her sister and Mike to Spirit Mountain for the evening. They came and got her around 3:00pm. I hung around the house and later, fed the dogs and fixed myself dinner. For me, it was tv until she got home. For her, it was a relaxing fun evening. No, she didn’t bring back any money but she said she had a relaxing time out!    

Thursday, June 27^th., 2024…… After walking and feeding the girls, we headed out for the morning. We had plenty to do. They had the gym closed for parking lot resurfacing so we went straight to breakfast at Kristi’s. After that, we drove to Albany and dropped off the recycle bottles and cans, then went and got the battery for the Shasta. It’s a special AGM style and was VERY expensive!  The last one lasted 10 years, so we hope this one will too. Once we got home, I installed the battery and checked that everything was working. Once that was done, we came in and relaxed with the pups. We need to mow but neither one of us could drag ourselves out there today. I spent time working on trying to catch up on this blog and Cat relaxed and watched tv and caught up on Facebook. Later, I got a call that our mower was ready for pickup. Good news – it is covered under warranty!  It was too late for me to get down there to pick it up today so we’ll add that to our list for tomorrow.  I got a confirmation text from Mark, saying that he would be here tomorrow with his tractor to get our ‘west 40’ mowed.    

Friday, June 28^th., 2024……  A busy day. I was up and going while Cat slept in a bit. She is still struggling with exhaustion. She is going today for an hour of biofeedback treatment. It’s sort of an electrical charge. I don’t understand it but she wants to try it. Ok, it’s later now and she’s back. She says she feels great! Not sure how long that will last but we’ll see. While she was out, the urgent care doctor called again and said they found an anomaly on her ekg. He conferred with her primary doctor and said someone would be calling soon to schedule a stress test. Finally!  While she was gone, I needed to stay and wait for Mark to come with his tractor to mow the field. I doublechecked his text and saw that he would be coming around noon, so that gave me time to hook up the trailer and go pick up the mower. That went well and I was back home in no time. He said that the pto clutch was burned up. He has never seen one do that before. But, it was covered under warranty so he got paid for his work. I unloaded it and waited for Mark. It was right at noon when he started in. We hung around the house until 6:15 before we were picked up by Cheryl and Mike and headed out to a Luau dance in Springfield. But I had paid Mark and we would finish and go. The dance was really fun. This is my favorite dance floor! It is cork and has a polish on it but is still smooth enough to slide your feet on. We had a good time and got back home around 11:00pm and went straight to bed. Cat was just a little tired. Must have been all that electricity charged in her!     

Saturday, June 29^th., 2024…… Today was mowing day for us. Penny has Jody coming in today so we needed to start a little early. Problem was only the field would be dry enough at 9:00am. So, we all concentrated on that for today. We got it all done in record time and left the mowers out for the next day when Cat and I will tackle the lawn. Since I have the irrigation system shut down for mowing, Cat had to water the flowerbeds by hand. Her raised bed is looking good!  We’ve already had strawberries from there. Marionberries are doing well and tomato vines are getting big! We spent the rest of the afternoon resting. Around 4:00, since we didn’t have lunch, we decided to feed the dogs and head over to The House of Noodle in Albany for a nice relaxing dinner. But before we left, Rylee started barking out the back door. She must have seen the wind pick up the awning on the Shasta and throw it over the top of the trailer! So, we had to go out and do damage control. There were two brackets that came out but no other damage. We cleaned up and left.  We pulled in the drive at the noodle place and saw that they are open from noon to 3:00pm for lunch and then reopen at 5:00pm for dinner. We had to sit outside for 15 minutes. You’d think we’d be the first served when we went in. But, nooo!  They had a large party trickle in and they worked on them. Even some folks who came in behind us got their orders in before us! They were almost done when our food finally came out!  Was it worth the wait? You bet! Cat had pad Thai and I had drunken noodles. Kind of new to our palettes but boy, it was tasty! We forgot about the poor service. While we were there, Penny texted and asked if she and Jody could come over to pick up some tables for their upcoming yard sale. They want to organize and the tables will help. When we got back, we played with the girls and watched tv until spa and bedtime.       

Oregon Living 2024 – Blog #25 – Party Week!

 

Sunday, June 16^th., 2024…… HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!  It would be a busy day! We were up and going early. Cathye made breakfast burritos while I walked and fed the dogs and went to Starbucks for coffee. A bit later, the boys loaded their bikes and drove back up to Black Rock for another mountain bike adventure.  They will be back before 4:00pm when I throw the steaks on the grill.  Meanwhile, Cathye went to church and I had the house to myself. I relaxed and watched a couple of my taped races and got caught up from yesterday. More being taped today but I most likely will wait until Monday to watch those! Penny and Cherrelyn came over and we started drinks and I fired up the grill. This would be the first time I have used the grill with the new burners and grill top. I guess it turned out well because all of the steaks I cooked seemed to be enjoyed by all. We had the sauteed mushrooms as a topping and Penny brought a canister of cheese she bought from the Northwoods Inn in SoCal which we used for the potatoes. She also brought a triple berry cobbler. Needless to say, we were stuffed. They shared some pics and videos from their ride,

and then Steve entertained us again until everyone went into a food coma and the party broke up. Tv until bedtime. 

Monday, June 17^th., 2024…… The kids have decided to take the rv out and head up to Washington. Randy has heard about and researched a few mountain bike trails up there and is anxious to ride them. They will drive today and stay overnight tonight so they can get a full day’s ride tomorrow. But first up was the gym. We walked and fed the dogs and headed out. Once we were done, we met them at Appletree for breakfast. Cathye remembered that she had a 10:00am appointment to take the Buick in for service (oil and filter change) and she had missed it. So, we scurried back home and she went to drop it off. She called me and said she told them, “I’m here for my 11:00am appointment”, and they never batted an eyebrow, just took the car in. Whatever works!  I picked her up and we came back to see the kids off. After that, we kept watch on the grass. It was overcast today and we needed the sun to come out to dry the grass a bit so we could mow. The Club party is Sunday, but we have three rvs coming on Thursday and Friday, so we need to get the area cleaned up in the next few days.  

Tuesday, June 18^th., 2024……  We are still busy today trying to get everything together for the folks coming on Thursday and for the party on Sunday. We did a lot of clean up around the house and yard. I think we are ready – except for the mowing. Still too wet. Maybe this afternoon after we return from our class.

Yep, when we got home, it was dry enough to get it done! We still only have two mowers and bagged everything this time, so it took a bit longer than usual. But, it is now done!  I know it will grow out a lot between now and the party, but we don’t care - it’s good to go for now! We will wait until Saturday to put out the yard games. Nothing else on the agenda so we cleaned up the mowers and came in and relaxed for the day. Tv and spa until bedtime.  

Wednesday, June 19^th., 2024…… No mail today – Juneteenth! We fed the dogs and left for breakfast and then to Aurora. We stopped on the way to have breakfast at one of my favorite places – Covered Bridge Café – in Stayton. The plan was to go up to Goby Walnut Products and pick out the bar top we have been looking at. But, when we looked up their hours online, we found they were closed for the holiday too! Bummer. We came back home disappointed but at least we saved the drive up there! Plus, we had a nice breakfast!

When we got home, we needed to go to the store for a few more things for the group when they get here tomorrow.     

Thursday, June 20^th., 2024…… We were able to complete our Thursday routine – gym, breakfast and then made the drive up to Aurora. We found what we wanted and ordered it to be cut and notched.

It should be ready sometime next week.  We are excited to say the least. We easily got back home before the guys showed up. Frank and Maryanne pulled in with their 5^th wheel and Mike and Cheryl were right behind them. We parked Maryanne close to the house because she has mobility issues. We decided to have Mike pull their trailer all the way behind and around the rv garage. 

That would put them on the east side on the grass. That way, Shaun and Lila could park on the rv pad on the west side when they come in tomorrow evening.  We got everyone power and we settled in for the day. We had pulled pork sandwiches for dinner and played card games. They showed us 2500 and I taught them 7’s. It was a fun night.      

Friday, June 21^st., 2024……  Mike ended up going home late last night. He needed to drive his daughter to the coast today to pick up their granddaughter from summer camp and since it would be an all-day thing, he wanted to get an early start. So, it was breakfast for five this morning so we had breakfast burritos. My favorite!  After we ate, Frank and I got out all of the awning bags and we started in. Cathye and Cheryl helped and Maryanne supervised. We got everything up and then brought out the 2 16 ft. tables which fit nicely underneath the awning. I brought out all of our lawn chairs in case folks needed them on Sunday. Maryanne had made stew in a bag. They actually looked like Hershey kisses!

I got them on the bbq even though we didn’t know how long it would take to cook. Mike got back and Shaun and Lila got here. I got them parked and hooked up and then went back to the grill. They were definitely done! I would have liked to have them on for a few minutes less, but they were still delicious! The boys got back from their Washington trip and made it back in time for dinner too!  We convinced Steve to play a bit

then Shaun set up his equipment on the deck and called a tip to test sound. 

We got Steve up and taught him a few calls. He did great! 

                           These were taken from a video so they are a little grainy...

Randy has been around square dancing all his life and politely said, ‘no thanks’! After the dance, some called it a night. Others played cards.   

Saturday, June 22^nd., 2024…… This morning, the breakfast was eggs, and biscuits & sausage gravy. We had toast with homemade jam. All were very good! 

Later, we headed off to Brownsville. Since Shaun was calling today, he drove his truck, while the rest of us piled into our Buick. We were all headed to Pioneer Days at the local park in town. We got in and used Maryanne’s handicap placard to get close parking. We all spread out and walked around the grounds and enjoyed the day. They had many vendors and exhibits and entertainment on the stage. But we were there for a dance later in the afternoon. The Sweet Home club does this every year. The dance is free to all and they open the doors for visitors to come in and watch and see what square dancing is all about. Shaun did some basic calls whenever they had newbies in the squares. 

Did I mention it was hot! This rustic old timey room is used for barn dances and such but for us, it was just super-hot! So, we sat out more than we danced! When it was over, we headed back home. We had all eaten at the park, so all we did this evening was hang out by the fire! 

Some played cards later, while some called it a night.  

Oregon Living 2024 – Blog #24 – Birthdays and Family Time!

 

Sunday, June 9^th., 2024…… A beautiful day!  We are getting temps in the 80s now. I like it but it can get warm and we are not used to that yet! After we walked the dogs, I went out and got breakfast and drove out to Waterloo, about 6 miles up the road. I was meeting with Frank, who was meeting with a couple who were selling some table model tools. They had an old table saw and also a planer, both of which Frank was interested in. But when they showed us where they were stored (under a tarp out behind their barn, I had my doubts! We went over them pretty closely. They are both 220 so we couldn’t power them up. They were both moving so nothing was seized up or anything. After examination, Frank felt he could make them both operational and made an offer on both and they took it. The guy had a skid steer with forklifts and made quick work on loading them for us. Didn’t need me for too much I guess. We both headed back to our homes. Cathye was at church so I had the morning to myself with the dogs. Lynn and Judy and Kristi came over. Judy had previously asked me to look over a 37-pg. proposal for a ‘forgivable loan’ grant that could apply to individual as well as the property improvements to upgrade their residences in their mobile park. I had spent three days going over it and had two pages of notes and comments and thoughts and questions, all good for her to hear from a third party.  After they left, we took off to go to the last class for the Sweet Home club!  They are graduating 5 new students. It was fun. We all got helper’s badges for being there for the class. They are trying to rebuild their Club, and even though it wasn’t as many as they wanted, they are happy to get started. More classes are planned in September and will coincide with our class here. Once we were done, we came home to rest for the day. We had leftovers for dinner and settled in for the evening.   

Monday, June 10^th., 2024…… Gym and Kevins today. I didn’t start any projects and Cat was feeling on the outs so we took it easy. Stephen and Cenia were coming by this morning to pick up their half of the strawberries we bought a few weeks ago.  Later, I headed down to the Eugene airport to pick up my sister, who was flying back home today from her week in SoCal. She said it was nice to see everyone but she was glad to get back to her own bed!  Cathye went to Walmart but decided she didn’t have the energy so she gave up and came back home. Not sure what’s going on so I will keep an eye on her. We’re still waiting for the echo cardiogram which won’t be until July. If she feels any worse, I’m taking her in to the er.

Tuesday, June 11^th., 2024……  Not much on the agenda today. So, we got to sleep in this morning. I walked the dogs while Cat made breakfast. She has called a guy (a young man) from Facebook who was looking for landscaping work. He came by. They worked out a scope of work for pulling weeds and he will be here on Friday. Meanwhile, we decided to go to Elmer’s for breakfast and then on to Costco. We needed to stock up for this weekend and next. On Saturday, we are having a bbq for Cherrelyn’s birthday 

and another party/bbq on Father’s Day. Next week is the Club party/potluck/meeting and I will again be cooking for that. So, Costco got a good piece of our hard earned income today! Once we got back and unloaded and rested, it was time to head off to class before we came back home and found we were definitely done for the day! Spa and bed.  

Wednesday, June 12^th., 2024…… Randy was due in today. He is driving up via 395 and will stop in Bend where he is meeting up with Steve, and they will both be coming here for a visit. Steve was here with Randy last year and they both love mountain bike riding in the Oregon forests, so they planned another trip for this month. We spent the morning cleaning the back deck and the front porch. Cathye planted more flowers and plants and I blew off the deck and then ran the pressure washer on the front porch. It had been a while and there was enough dirt and dust to warrant me getting the machine out and giving it a good cleaning. I vacuumed the chair cushions and when everything dried, got it all back together and ready for visitors. Randy texted later that he and Steve had met up in Bend and would be in late this evening. I already had the rv spot ready and when they got here, he got plugged in and set up pretty easily. They were both tired because of all of the driving today, but they came in and we talked for a bit before calling it a night.   

Thursday, June 13^th., 2024……  Today was gym day so after we walked the girls, we headed off. The plan was to call the kids when we left the gym so they could meet us at Kristi’s for breakfast. Both of the guys enjoyed the meal and were full and ready for their day. Today they were riding up in Alsea, which they both really like. Before they left, they helped us take the cover off the Shasta and back it from the carport. I moved the Truckster out as well. Cathye’s new laborer will be weeding around that area tomorrow and this would make that task easier. Later, Penny came by and then the guys got back and we had dinner. Tonight was salad, bbq ribs, and mac and cheese. After Penny went home, we sat around for a bit. It turned out to be an early night for all of us.   

Friday, June 14^th., 2024……  This morning the weather was iffy. It was supposed to rain today so we hung back to see what would happen. The worker dude (and two buddies) came (an hour later than they said!) and worked for 2 hours and got most of the weeds pulled from the carport and shed areas. They will be back next week. ?  Meanwhile, our boys took off to go to Black Rock for the day. Cathye had decided she wanted to have her vintage metal chairs powder coated and had gotten an estimate. They said they would be able to do a better job if the chairs were apart so I was tasked with that today. When these chairs were restored 10 years ago, they painted everything – nuts and bolts included, so I would have to drill out each bolt head to get them out. It took a few hours but I got it all done. We drove half way to Corvallis to the powder coaters and went in and she picked out what she wanted from the wall of colors. They were one blue and one pink last time. This time we chose turquoise and yellow because she wants a pop of color out in her ‘happy place’ garden. They said it would be a week or so. We stopped on the way home at 4 Seasons Market. We had heard great things but we’ve never been and now was a good time. We bought a Santa Clause melon and some shitake mushrooms and one giant tomato!  The guys got back and Cat started dinner. Tonight was ham steak and fried potatoes and green beans.  

Yummy. We would go sit outside and listen as Steve played and sang for us.

Saturday, June 15^th., 2024…… HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHERRELYN!  The guys again headed out to ride. They headed back to Alsea again. We told them we’d have dinner going at 4:00pm so to plan accordingly.  Tonight it was pulled pork sandwiches and coleslaw and baked beans with chocolate cream pie for dessert. Cherrelyn and Penny both came to celebrate.  

Once we ate, we cleaned up the kitchen and then it was time for us guys to head out. The girls would stay home and drink and watch movies while we went over to the Willamette Speedway for racing! Tonight it was the winged cars. They are part of a popular West coast circuit and because it was also Father’s Day weekend, the track was packed!  We managed to get sandwiched in a parking spot and got in and seated. The races were great. These cars are super-fast and squirrely. We saw several flips and crashes throughout the night but luckily no one was injured. 

Once the races were over, we (well Steve) wanted to see a little bit of the concert they were doing afterward.  Tonight was Jessie Little, a young country western singer. After the first song, he was ready to leave! We had an easy exit and got home in a few minutes. I think it was close to 11:00pm but Cathye waited up for me. We each shared our nights and then called it. Long but fun day.   

Oregon Living 2024 – Blog #23 – Birthdays and Mowing

 

Monday, June 3^rd., 2024…… I was up early this morning, letting Cat sleep. I showered and dressed then left to go get coffee and breakfast for me. I needed to be at Sis’s house by 7:45am to pick her up. She is heading down to SoCal for a week to visit friends and family. When I got back home around 9:30am Cathye was up and had fed the dogs. She has a stuffed up head and was happy to just lounge around the house today. I worked a little on the blog and waited for our air duct cleaners to make it here. They showed up at 1:15pm and got to work. It took them a couple of hours and they were done. Problem was they couldn’t clean out the dryer vent because we discovered it was not connected to the house vent. He said it was venting under the house but that would be ok. They took that portion off the bill and I paid them and they left. It was 20 minutes later when I remembered that we both forgot the vacuum system!  We contacted them via messenger but so far no response.

Later, the rains came. Now I have to go out and turn off the irrigation system! We ate leftovers and watched tv and hit the spa before calling it a night.  

Tuesday, June 4^th., 2024……  The weather is cloudy today. I think we are over this last batch of rain. But I still want to keep the irrigation system off because we need to mow again. We just will need several dry days. Nothing on the agenda today except our class/workshop. Cathye spent some time working on the raised bed. It’s looking good!

Wednesday, June 5^th., 2024…… HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARYANNE!!  We decided to head up to Salem and then on to Aurora this morning. So, we walked and fed the girls then headed out. Our goal was to stop at The Original Pancake House and have breakfast (we always share the apple pancake!)

 

While we were eating breakfast, we called Maryanne and wished her a happy birthday. We will be seeing Randy when he comes up next week, but since it’s a mountain bike adventure for Randy and Steve, Maryanne will be staying home with the senior doggies who don’t travel as well as they used to.  

After we left breakfast, we drove up to Aurora to find Goby Walnut Products, the new store there that sells live edge wood. We’re still looking for a piece for the bartop on the deck. These guys just moved to Aurora so they could expand their space. It was set up well, with tons of slabs to look at!

We found several slabs that we liked but we were looking for a piece that was 14’ long. They had a bunch of stuff that was 10-12’ but that was too short. Or so I thought! Read on! Before we left, the guy said he would check his yard to see what he had and email me with pics. I also asked if they could make the slot cut outs for the posts. Yes!  When we got back home I measured the exact number of inches in between the posts. It was 133 3/8 inches. Each post is 5 5/16 inches. Yep, that meant that the total length is only 144 inches!  So, I immediately called him back and told him it wasn’t 14’ we needed, but rather 12’!  That makes it a lot easier to find what we want. He said he will get back to us in a few days.

When we got home, we rested for the day. Later, we called in to a zoom meeting for our cruise. 

They gave us updates and more info. We have most of the items done already but we were surprised to see so many that haven’t done anything. Some were very upset because the shore excursions they wanted to take are now filled and they will have to wait until January now to see if they might add any more. We have ours all reserved, bought and paid for!  We learned that we will need to get visas for both countries but we can’t do that until we get closer to our dates. We will also need some currency exchanged to both NZ and AUS dollars for some of those places where we will need cash. They DO NOT take US currency! She says around $100. for each country would be normal.    

Thursday, June 6^th., 2024……  Nothing on the calendar for today except for massages this afternoon. We slept in a bit then made our plans. We walked and fed the dogs and then headed out to the gym and to Kristi’s for breakfast. They are located right on Main St. where the parade was last Saturday, but they were closed and said that they got away from the area!  So, they missed us going by on our float. (:  

After breakfast, we drove over to Lowes in Albany and Cat shopped for plants while I found a new air compressor. I had taken the broken one apart to get to the manifold so I could try to identify it so I could order a replacement, but found that they don’t have any in stock. So, now it’s scrap metal! We got the new one home with the plants and then, later, we each left for our massage appointments. I went first and got back and fed the girls while Cat finished up and then walked next door to pick up teriyaki to bring home for dinner.  Oh yeah, we've been following the exploits of this little guy!  

He is in love with the mirrors on our truck! It's been several days now that he sits out there. He'll move in on the side mirrors and peck away at the little blindspot mirrors on each side. We read up on the species. It's a red-winged blackbird. They are common up here and protected. He's either looking for a mate or he's protecting from something that looks like him!  Either way, we wish him well but we sure don't like all of the birds*it on the truck! Tv and spa before bed.

Friday, June 7^th., 2024……  HAPPY HEAVENLY BIRTHDAY LYDIA!!  Today we had a full plate. We were cleaning house, getting gas for the tractors, mowing, going to our senior rvr’s meeting, and later, we were going to dinner with Cherrelyn to commemorate Lydia’s birthday. After we got the house done, Cat went out to work in her garden and I took off to get paperwork for the air compressor that I left in the store yesterday. I took the gas cans and got them filled before I came home. We made it to the rv meeting and reported back on our thoughts about camping in the greater Grants Pass area. No to the fairgrounds but yes to Schroeder Park, just a few miles away. We showed them a brochure and gave them our opinions.  Guess they liked it because they immediately decided to add it to their calendar for the middle of August.  So, knowing that each of us needed to make our own reservations, and since this spot was right on the Rogue River and was very popular, we jumped online while we were in the meeting, and secured one of the sites that we saw and liked when we were there.  We still want to talk to our square dance friends who have rvs to maybe start up a group going out once a month or so. When we got back from the meeting, it was time to start mowing. The grass was again super high so we had to cut it without bagging. That meant it went faster but we ended up stopping after we did the lawn and surrounding areas. We will do the field area tomorrow.  We came in and rested and then showered and changed for dinner. We had originally planned to meet up with Cherrelyn at Gametime but when we got there, it was jammed (Friday night!). So, we did and audible and had her meet us at Dos Arbolitos where we had drinks and a nice meal and shared stories with Cathye about Lydia.  Busy day….

Saturday, June 8^th., 2024…… We were out mowing pretty early this morning. Temps were definitely cooler than yesterday. We could have waited a bit longer though, because the grass out in the field was still damp with morning dew. When we both concentrate on one area, we can get it done pretty quickly. Afterwards, I hosed off the mowers and then came in and showered. Tonight was another last-of-the-season dances for our Corvallis friends. Tonight was their luau night. I like that because it meant I could wear shorts and sandals! Cathye did the same. We wore some matching Hawaiian shirts and it was good that we did because the place was really warm! We had picked up Frank and Maryanne and Mike and Cheryl and carpooled there and back. On the way there, we talked about our Club party at our house on the 23^rd. Before we knew it, it turned into a campout. They are coming over on the 20^th. with their rvs and will camp out here. That way, they can help us set up the tarps and tables and games and such.  It will be a lot of fun.  The dance was fun. The lady in this picture always makes a volcano lava cake. 

She set it up and pretty soon it was sending lava out all over the place. After the dance, we headed back and dropped off everyone before coming in and calling it a night.