Oregon Living 2025 – Blog #50 – Merry Christmas!

 

 

Sunday, December 21^st., 2025…… The weather is getting better. No rain last night but we still have a lot of standing water puddles. I was out and heading off to get us breakfast and coffee while Cat took the girls out for their walk. When I got back, they had been fed. I settled in to eat and Cat got ready to head off to church. It was football Sunday for me and Hallmark for Cat when she got back and settled in. Later, we went off to our class. The new students are doing great and will graduate in a few weeks. I think Shaun said he only had two more calls to teach.  Afterward, we headed over to James Gang for pizza then came home and enjoyed a little tv and spa before bed.   

Monday, December 22^nd., 2025…… Today we have signed up to go to the church to help pack and deliver Christmas boxes for under privileged families in the church and local areas. When we got there, we jumped in and got everything packaged. Next step was to head off with our chosen deliveries. This year, we took 3. We found the homes and made the deliveries. It was very satisfying to take time out of our day to help those who need it have something to help them enjoy a Merry Christmas.  

Tuesday, December 23^rd., 2025…… HAPPY BIRTDAY TERISA! We called and wished her a happy birthday. Remember, she was the one we flew back to New Hampshire in October for, to surprise her for her birthday today!  That was fun!  Later in the morning, we took Jama off to her appointment for surgery. They were going to remove one large fatty tumor on her neck plus get two skin tags as well. It wasn’t until 3:30 when we were told she was ready. They left everything open so we could see the stitches and keep an eye on them.

Here's a pic of the big one on her neck…..

She is a little out of it right now but they said it would be 24 hours before she came out of it all completely. She will be on antibiotics and pain meds for a few days. The rest of the day we spent taking it easy. I went out to Fish Express and got us dinner. Yummy!  Tv, spa, and bed.   

Wednesday, December 24^th., 2025…… Today we have Jamie of the schedule. He has been asking to go to Sizzlers for a long time so we decided to take him there today for Christmas. We stopped and got him and we went to lunch. Jamie is a good eater and loves the salad bar!  He made a few trips there and then got his Malibu Chicken dinner. After a few trips to the ice cream machine we opened gifts. It was a nice afternoon!  Later, we dropped him off and came back to check in on Jama. The doctors said she needs to take it easy so while we were out, she got some good sleep in. Later, we had dinner and then headed off to Christmas mass. This one was at my church. We didn’t know it but they had a special service with a skit!  They had children celebrate the birth of Jesus and it was wonderful!

Thursday, December 25^th., 2025…… MERRY CHRISTMAS!!   A pretty quiet day for us. We only will have Penny and Cherrelyn coming for dinner today. Cherrelyn was going to Washington to see her son but would be here at 3:00pm so we decided to wait until then to open gifts.  Randy called and I missed the call so I called back. He is by himself today because Marianne went off with her sister and boyfriend to Las Vegas for a few days. Her sister, who lives in New Zealand, was supposed to be by herself and they planned on staying home for the holidays. But she brought her boyfriend and Marianne thought it would be a great chance for him to see Vegas. Anyway, Randy was home with the dogs and cats and was getting ready to leave in a bit for his trip to Ocotillo Wells to go dirt bike riding with his buddies.  The girls got here and we had a nice quiet evening. I bbq’d steaks that sis bought us from Costco last week and we had mac and cheese and salad and cheesecake. It was quiet but nice! The girls settled in after dinner and watched a movie.    

Friday, December 26^th., 2025……  A quiet morning. I watched some of my taped shows and worked on my checkbook ledger but that was about it. The weather is just ok. It’s cold (in the 40s) but not raining much. Just mist and sprinkles. I think we are supposed to have one more front come in then it is supposed to be dry for a few days. I didn’t know it but we would have company later today. Heather and Charley were coming down to see family and would be staying here. I didn’t know for how long (but found out later it would be more than a few days!). Meanwhile, I got a call from the vet’s office, checking on Jama. Funny they would call, because we were going to call them. They said to keep an eye on the large sutured area on her neck. If it stays swollen and puffy we should give them a call. Well, it was so I told them that. They said we could bring her in at 2:00pm so they could take a look. I drove and Cathye took her in. When she got out she said they put a compress on her and taped it and it should stay on for 24 hours. Otherwise, no worries. It was healing. Heather and Charley got here around 3:30pm. and settled in to the guest room. Later, I watched football while they all visited in the living room.     

Saturday, December 27^th., 2025…… We were up and going late. I volunteered to buy breakfast at Kristi’s if it was open today. It was. We had a nice meal 

and then came back to visit for the day. I left again to go to Tractor Supply (it just opened here in town!) to get some hasps for the doghouse. I think I need to pin the roof closed, especially when we try to move it out in the truckster. I got it all installed and it’s ready.  Justin (Heather’s brother) came by for a visit. He took Charley out for a driving lesson in his pickup truck. I guess she did ok. No crashes!  I’m not sure of their plan for the days ahead but whatever! We didn’t have anything going on (no dances or class) so we would be around. They left later in the day to go visit Heather’s dad.  We went to bed but we left the back porch lights on so they could find their way back in. Turns out they said they would be leaving tomorrow morning to go to breakfast with some friends and then they would be leaving from there to go back up to Seattle. They would be gone when we got up Sunday morning.

 

Oregon Living 2025 – Blog #49 – Dealing With The Rains & Seeing the Family Again!   

 

Sunday, December 14^th., 2025…… Today was a lazy day. We had nothing until the class tonight. So, we slept in. When we did manage to get up, Cat wasn’t feeling well. She had a stuffed up head. Not sure where that came from but she decided to take it easy all day. I was the one to head off to class while she stayed home and took it easy. They needed angels so I was busy and danced in every tip. No after party for me. I came home and checked in on her. As I said a lazy day.

Monday, December 15^th., 2025…… Cat’s feeling fine today. So, we walked and fed the girls and then headed off to the gym and then to Kevin’s for breakfast. After that, we went over to Safeway to get some groceries and a gift card for a present. I went out and painted the wellhouse. It is still pretty cold here so it took a while for the first coat to dry. But I was able to get the second one on and I was done. The only thing left to do is paint the corner trim and nail it on.   

Tuesday, December 16^th., 2025…… We were out and had the dogs walked and fed and I ate leftovers from yesterday. While I was working on last week’s blog, Cathye came in and we looked over our calendar for this week and next. The kids are going to be busy on Christmas so our dinner will be a little light. We made plans to go up there on Friday. We will take pizza and bring our gifts to leave there. Actually, we are giving them clothes for now. After Christmas, we will be taking them all to the Portland Zoo for the lights and animals. Later, she left for a bit, taking gifts over to Lyn and Judy and then stopping at the store for items for tonight. She is hosting her annual girl’s night Christmas party. I think they will have 8 total. After I finished up with my blog notes, I went out and painted the trim pieces for the wellhouse. Once I get them installed, it will be ready to take out and install. Yaay! 

The girls’ party went well. They asked me to come in and read the Christmas Left/Right game for their gift exchange. I think that went well too!

Wednesday, December 17^th., 2025…… This morning we were up and out with the dogs and then left to go pick up Penny. We headed off to Albany. First stop was Elmer’s for breakfast then on to Costco. We didn’t need much but Penny had a list. She got everything and of course we found stuff!. After we got out and headed toward homed, we dropped sis off then headed home. I went out and attached the trim pieces and it is ready!

Cat tried to pick up one end and said it was heavy. But she said she would try it since all we had to do was walk it 15 feet to the truckster bed in the garage. But not today because it was raining pretty hard all day. They say we will have more and more rain and flood watches are in place in the lowlands. We’ll have to watch and see what we get in the next few days.   

Thursday, December 18^th., 2025…… Today was massages. So, we were able to sleep in a bit. The weather is terrible!  We had gusty winds all night. Plus, steady rain. Some light, some heavy but it just seemed to never stop. The area out back that we used to call Rylee’s dragstrip is getting some water in it now. The raised bed area next to the house which is now gravel is starting to fill up and water is pooling there now. Our house is on a foundation and we have a crawl space under it so water can come and go. Problem is that we have thick clay base and drainage is really slow all around the property. We have French drains to route the runway and all of the roof runoff out to the ditch by the street. If everything works we will be ok.  Later, I left for my massage appointment. When Cat got there later, she said she saw a tree down in front of a house out on So. Main, just around the corner from us. It was huge! The thing came right out of the ground roots and all and smashed into their house. I’m guessing the house is now unlivable. I told her when I went by there earlier, everything was ok. I am so glad we don’t have major trees around our house. Those that we do have are smaller and shouldn’t be an issue even if they fall.   

Friday, December 19^th., 2025……  Late last night we had the worst of it. We are good to go I think. What got pooled up has now drained away so we’re good so far. I think the worst is over, at least for us. When we walked the dogs it was dry and just a little breezy. No damage for any of us on the block that we could see. We fed the girls and then left for the show. I had bought us tickets to see Avatar down in Eugene. I chose the 3-D showing and also got us the action seats. We had never tried those before!  When we got there, we had popcorn and soda already delivered to our seats. I had tried that pre-order delivery as an option too!  It was so cool!  We settled into the (heated) recliners and turned on the motion seats and put on our glasses. It was very cool!  When they were flying or swimming, the seats moved with the action. It would also shake and rattle whenever there was an explosion or something. I asked Cat after it was over and she said she enjoyed it. The movie was good too!  Nothing going on after so we made the drive back home (with little rain) and settled in for the day. We only had a brief rest before it was time to feed the dogs and head out again!  This time we were driving north to Salem to pick up the kids from school and join them at their house for the evening. They will not be coming down here for Christmas so we had to do it early. We took the gifts for them and visited with the whole family before ordering pizza for dinner, then they opened their presents. Cathye got them clothes to wear when we take them to the Portland Zoo after Christmas. She bought us all (and Josh) tickets for Dec. 30^th. for the Christmas lights at the zoo. We can’t wait for that since the littles haven’t been there before. Here are pics from the night…..

Once we got home, it was time to rest and watch a little tv before calling it a night.       

Saturday, December 20^th., 2025…… Today Cathye goes to her paint party with Judy, Kristi and Lynn. So we will not be going up to McMinnville with the Club for a class level dance tonight. McMinnville is about 70 miles for us so that’s ok, especially since the weather is unpredictable. I needed to head off to do a little shopping and did that while she was gone but stayed home after that. Once she got back and showed me her painting, 

we were in for the night. Tv and bed.

Oregon Living 2025 – Blog #48 – Decorating & a Visit With the Littles

 

 

Sunday, December 7^th., 2025…… HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAYMOND!! Cat slept in today. I was up, showered, went out and got breakfast and coffee, and fed the dogs before she even got out of bed! She was happy to have some sleepy time!  Later, she put in some laundry and then sat down and reviewed my blog before I posted. The rest of the day was spent working on the new tree. The tree is 7.5 feet so, before we even took it out of the box, we decided to try something new. Our ceiling in the living room is pretty high so we thought we’d use our old - and no longer used - round coffee table as a base to elevate the tree. I took it out to the shop and cut a wooden top to replace the glass one. Then, we assembled the new tree on the table. We’ll get it decorated later….    

Monday, December 8^th., 2025…… After getting up and showered, we headed out to walk the dogs. No rain today and it’s actually rather nice for the season. They say we will have a few dry days but I don’t hold up too much hope that the lawn will dry out enough to mow. Bummer! We fed the dogs and then took off for town. We hit the gym for our workouts and then had breakfast at Kevin’s and then came back home. I worked some more on the well house. It’s close to being assembled. I had to figure out the angles for the roof and got that framed. Next up will be the hinge for the roof. I want that so I can get to the insides to check things out periodically. Meanwhile, Cat worked some more on the decorations. She decided to go through the many totes we have and set aside those that we don’t use any more. She hopes the kids will want them. I think after the day was over, she had three totes! We did have issues with the tree decorations. We couldn’t find them! I made another sweep of the racks in the shop garage and there was a tote I had overlooked! Yep, there they were!        

Tuesday, December 9^th., 2025…… I was up early this morning because I had a 7:30am dentist appointment. It was only down the street so I didn’t have far to drive. Today was only a cleaning and I was out of there in 30 minutes. I stopped and got breakfast and coffee which was good because Cat had slept in!  Nothing else on the agenda today. Cathye got everything up on the tree and it looks great!

I especially like the light control. After the three pieces go together, one control works everything. This one has 8 settings!  We are trying out each one to see which one we like. We also added two new ornaments this year. I had seen this online and ordered a couple for us.

Later, we settled in and watched tv before calling it a night.   

Wednesday, December 10^th., 2025…… Today was a Costco run. So, we walked and fed the dogs and headed out, stopping at Rogers in Albany first for breakfast. Next stop was America’s Best so Cat could schedule an eye exam. When we were last at Costco, she found out they would not take our insurance and her attempt at going back to her last optometrist wasn’t successful – they said their next appointment wasn’t until January! – so she went where I went to get a test. She goes back tomorrow. We stopped at Lowes and I got a piano hinge and some drywall screws for the well house. Then we went to Kohls. She wanted to pay off her Kohls card and did that. Of course we shopped there too! Then we finally went to Costco. This was our cheapest trip there so far this year. She tried to get an appointment for a hearing test and was told it wouldn’t be until April!  Wow!  Anyway, we got everything done and came back home for the day.     

Thursday, December 11^th., 2025…… This morning was my appointment in Corvallis Hospital for my heart echocardiogram. It was another 7:30am appointment but I was there in plenty of time and was out in quick order. The guy said everything looked ok but I will wait until the results come in later today. I got back home and found Cat had another sleep-in morning!  She got dressed and fed the dogs then we left for the gym and Kristi’s for breakfast. Later, I got the results. Of course they were in medical terms and showed some abnormalities (mild dilation in right atrium, mild regurgitation, mildly thickened valve leaflets)  but those were what we wanted to have checked again, and overall they seemed ok. It goes from there to my doctors so I should hear from someone if there’s an issue(s). Later, Cathye took off to go do some shopping. I worked on the well house and got the hinge on roof and it works well. I also got all of the siding on. Next up will be the roof and then the shingles and then the insulation. After that, it can be painted and will be done!  Cat got back and we relaxed for the rest of the day. She also told me that Corey and Vikki and the kids will be coming over tomorrow for Lasagna dinner and will get their totes. They are coming down to check out an adoption for a dog from a shelter close by here, so that saves us a trip up to Salem!  Later, Tv, spa and bed!

Friday, December 12^th., 2025……  Today is Jama’s vet appointment. We wanted to have the fatty tumor removed since it’s on her neck right along her collar line.

We left with Rylee too because I wanted to put her on the scale at the vet’s office. When we got there, I put her on the scale in the lobby. She weighed 90.9 lbs. That’s 1lb. short of the vet’s goal for her ideal weight. So, the absence of treats seems to be working – although Rylee’s not too happy about that!.. I took her for a walk when Jama went in. Later, when she was done, Cat brought out the estimate to remove that tumor. They drained it and found it was mostly water but it will go the lab to check.  They said it will come back unless they remove the sac in there. Since it’s in the neck area, we went ahead and scheduled it for 12/23. They will also remove any other skin tags and such at the same time. When we got back, I cleaned up around the house while Cat put the lasagna in the oven. The kids got here a bit later and we played until dinner.  Later, after dinner and playtime, everyone left and we settled in to tv and then the spa before bed. Here are pics for the evening....

Saturday, December 13^th., 2025…… This morning we were up early and walked and fed the dogs. I took off in my truck to head to Albany to go to Habitat for Humanity. I was looking for roofing material for the wellhouse. I stopped and got coffee and a breakfast sandwich and drove over. Habitat had a lot of stuff!  I hadn’t been in some time and was surprised to see the inventory had grown! I did find three-tab shingles for $25. a bundle but they didn’t have any roofing paper for the underlayment. So, I decided to skip buying there until I went to Lowes to see what I could find. Turns out they had a partial pack of solid slab shingles that I was able to get for $28. after my military discount. I ended up having to buy a whole roll of roofing paper ($35.) just for 4 feet! Plus I got a 4x8 sheet of foam board for insulation.  I came back home and put everything away. Later, I went out and finished the roof and got half the insulation done. 

Cathye went to work on our new 'Charley Brown' tree.  Kinda funny.....

I came in and rested and have dinner before it was time to go the Christmas Dance in Corvallis. We had a nice meal and danced for most of the night. My back is still giving me fits so I took it easy for the most part. After the dance, we headed back home and got in the spa for a bit before going to bed.

Oregon Living 2025 – Blog #47 – A New Fridge, a New Tree and a Great Dance!

 

 

Sunday, November 30^th., 2025…… Today ended up very busy. Cat walked and fed the girls while I went out to get breakfast. Randy called while I was in line at Tony’s tacos. We talked for a while. He wants to plan a trip up here soon. His buddies are both recovering from mountain bike crashes but are healing slowly. After breakfast I got out the fridge dolly and the ramps for later. Cathye and I had already moved everything out to the garage fridge and freezer and she had already cleaned out the shelves. So, it was ready for me to take some pics. I took 3-4. Justin brought Skylar and the three of us went to work. We tried the front door but it wasn’t going to work. We tried the door into the garage but that wasn’t going to work – until we took off the door. That worked and we got the fridge moved out and set up in the shop garage. I have even left the ice in there so they could see it works!   After they left, I sat down and worked up an ad for Facebook Marketplace. I had found that they were selling anywhere from $300.00 to $500.00 in this area. So, I listed it for $350.00 and posted the ad.

It wasn’t 15 minutes before I got a response wanting to come tomorrow to get it. She asked for dimensions as did several others who responded. We left later for class and I spent more time there answering even more inquiries. I think there were 6 in total. One guy wanted to trade and I asked him what he had (just curious because you never know!). He sent a list of maybe 30 items! But the lady (Rachel) who wants it gets first look tomorrow. We talked to Mike and Cheryl and asked them to be on my procedures committee and set a date and time for our first meeting. After class we went on to pizza before coming back home to watch tv and then go into the spa. Like I said – a busy day!

Monday, December 1^st., 2025…… We were up early and got the dogs walked and fed. Costco has been communicating with me about the refrigerator delivery, which would be 12:00pm to 2:00pm today. But we still had time to go to the gym and then breakfast. I needed to stop by Walmart on the way to pick up some more dog treats, but we got everything done and were home in time for Cat to leave again to go meet up with OmaLea for lunch in Philomath. The driver called at 11:30am and said he was about 10 minutes out. No word from Rachel. I had everything ready and the guys used their mover’s straps to carry the fridge in. They connected the waterline and we were good to go.

We can’t put food in it for 24 hours and we knew we were supposed to dump the first load or two of ice.  But it looks good and I think we will be happy with it! Cathye will need to read the user manual and we will decide what to use the FlexZone drawer for (veggie or meat crisper most likely). I few minutes after they left, I got a message from Rachel saying they were just leaving Springfield and would be here in about 45 minutes. I was ready. But when they got here so were they! They had a nice trailer with sides and she brought a friend to help. She liked it and never haggled – she just handed me the cash! He brought a fridge dolly and got it strapped on and covered nicely and then got it loaded and tied down on the trailer. And they were off! Cathye got home before they left and came out to say hi. Easy peazy! I immediately took it off Marketplace so I wouldn’t get any more inquires. We came in and started pulling off all the tape and shipping packaging on the shelves and such and got them washed and installed. We weren’t quite sure how the icemaker worked but in about 4 hours we heard the first chunks hit the ice tray!  Turns out we have two bins of different sized cubes.

Later, tv, spa and bed.    

Tuesday, December 2^nd., 2025…… Today is haircut day. We like to get her first appointments of the day (10:00am).  So, we had time to sleep in and walk the dogs then eat and then go for that. Afterwards, we came back home and worked around the house – laundry, blog, procedural manual) and then kicked back for a bit. Later, Cathye posted our old Christmas tree on a local free site. We also were able to bring in everything from the garage freezer and fridge and load it into the new fridge. Cat got a text back later in the evening from a lady saying she was in town shopping and would like to swing by and pick up the tree if that was ok?   We said sure and went out and got the boxes off the racks in the garage. When she got here, she loaded them up and left. Easy peazy!   Tv and bed.    

Wednesday, December 3^rd., 2025…… More laundry today. I spent time finishing up my manual. We have a meeting here tomorrow night and I wanted copies. With the add-on workbook for the Strawberry Festival there are over 60 pages in this one now! But I got 4 copies made and I am ready for tomorrow. More on that later….    

Thursday, December 4^th., 2025…… Today was spa day for the girls!  Jama doesn’t like being away from Grammy and Grampy but Rylee loves being treated like a queen. Later, when they got home, they were exhausted and sacked out for a sleep while I was working on my blog. 

Meanwhile, Cathye was working on a Christmas tree pull-apart to serve tonight for my meeting. Later, everyone showed up.  We had a small committee but everyone had things to say and I think we accomplished a lot. We made some on-the-spot changes tonight. Next steps are for the committee to do a deep dive into the manual and then we will break it out to the respective board and committee chairs to edit for their specific roles. Oh yeah, Cat’s snack went over well!

After everyone left, we relaxed for the evening and watched tv.

Friday, December 5^th., 2025……  Not much on the agenda today. We have been hoping for a few dry days so we can get out and do one last mow for the season. The grass is really high and we don’t want to let it get any higher! But, it doesn’t look good! Rain for the next several days. I was asked to go over to Grace’s house this morning to get out some of the clothes totes in the Club trailer and put them in her garage. She also needed  a few racks to be brought in and assembled. She will go through the clothes and get them on hangers for pick up tomorrow for the dance. I got that done and headed home. Later, I went out to the workshop and worked some more on my water pump doghouse. I need to figure out the roof angle and I think I have that. I also worked on a ‘backstop’ for the figures that will go up around the foyer alcove. I made three pieces and got them up there. While I was on the ladder and up in the alcove, I went ahead and put out the window lights and then the string lights that go just under the figures. Cathye helped me line everything up and we were at least done with that for the year!  

We decided not to get out the Christmas village this year so that will mean less boxes to drag down and back up when we get to that stage!    

Saturday, December 6^th., 2025…… We slept in this morning and then got going. I went out and moved the truck and tractors so I could get to the racks. We first put back all of the Thanksgiving totes and then selected those that were not Christmas village boxes. I got those to the back porch and Cat will go through them really quickly today just to find our Santa hats. We will need them for this afternoon’s Christmas dance. Later, I dressed and headed off to Grace’s to meet Mike and hook up the trailer so he could pull it to the senior center. Grace had asked me but when I looked at the trailer, I had second thoughts about pulling it. It is rather large and I think the tongue weight is more than either of our trucks can handle. Mike tows their camping trailer, so his truck will work. Turns out not!  When he got there we hooked it up. No provisions for safety chains but that wasn’t the problem. It turned out that he locked up the trailer brakes!  I called Frank and he said he wasn’t sure that the trailer even had brakes. Mike wasn’t happy but took off anyway. I wanted to follow him but was on the phone so when I left, I didn’t see him. When I got to the hall, he had already unhooked and was gone!  At the dance later, he told me that his truck’s system sensed the trailer and went into rescue mode until he hit override. But it worked and he got there. We unloaded everything and the ladies got the clothes out while Cathye and I worked on setting up the food table because we had kitchen duty. The dance was pretty well attended and I think everyone had a good time. Our beginners need these dances to get their feet wet and see what all we do a t a dance. After the dance, we held a gift exchange. I had volunteered to lead the endeavor and had everyone grab a gift and get into a large circle. I believe we had 25-30 folks play! I read from a page called Christmas with the Right Family. As I read from the script, each person had to pass their gift to the right when I said right or to left when I said left. It took a few minutes to get the rhythm but it was fun! Cathye wants me to do again for her girl’s night Christmas party next week!  After we cleaned up the kitchen and got all of the clothes and racks stowed away in the trailer. Mike hooked it up and while the others went off to Ixtapa for an afterparty, he and I went over to Grace’s and dropped off the trailer. It went quickly – Mike pulled it in and hit the mark on one try! We unhooked it and joined everyone at Ixtapa’s before saying goodbye and coming home for the evening. Cat shared Vikki’s new post with me. The family went to visit the Grinch!

Oregon Living 2025 – Blog #46 – A Great Health Check and Celebrating Thanksgiving with Family!

 

 

Sunday, November 23^rd., 2025…… Cathye doesn’t have to go over to my sister’s this morning, so we slept in. Maybe until 8:30am! Since the weather is still pretty lousy right now (apologizes to those in the east!) we didn’t plan to go out too much today. We only have class tonight. We went off to that and then went on to pizza afterward. Tomorrow night we are going to see Wicked For Good, so we decided to watch the first one which I taped last weekend. Cathye said she was glad because it gave her a reminder so she can go forward with the story easier now.  We still had time to go to the spa for a bit tonight before bed.

Monday, November 24^th., 2025…… We were up and going today. I walked and fed the dogs while Cathye left to go to Penny’s. I would meet her at the gym in a bit. After that, we went to Kevin’s for breakfast and she continued on to Walmart, while I came back and worked on this blog and got it posted. As mentioned, we went off later to Sweet Home to go see Wicked for Good.  Cathye had bought us reclined seating. It was a nice way to relax and watch the show. We want to say that if you watched the original Wicked, you need to watch the sequel for closure!  I think we both liked the movie although it will make you look at the original Wizard of Oz movie in a different light when you watch it again!  

Tuesday, November 25^th., 2025…… Today was sis’s post op. meeting. I was at her house with enough time to make it to the appointment. She got x-rays and then we waited. Her doctor was way behind so it would be an hour and a half before we got in. But, he said she was doing great and everything was on track. She can drive again and shower so she is getting her independence back again! I dropped her off and went home. Cathye spent the day prepping things for Thursday and hosting Justin, who was coming over today to do some more yard work for us.  Justin and Amy (and maybe Skylar) are now joining Penny, Josh, Jamie and us. Corey and Vikki and the kids are supposed to come over for dessert because they have other plans for dinner.

We have decided to buy the Samsung Bespoke refrigerator.  I called Lowes and found that they do not allow military discounts on sale items. So, I went online and got it from Costco. I was surprised that at checkout, it was $300.00 less!  Yaay!  It will be delivered on Monday.

Justin will come over on Sunday and help us move the old fridge out to the shop garage. I am looking on FB Marketplace to get an idea what it will sell for so I can get it posted next week.

Wednesday, November 26^th., 2025……  More prep today. Cat is planning on serving a recipe for yams in tangerine shells. So, she has been removing the insides of cuties and saving them. She will combine the cutie pulp with the yams and restuff the shells and then bake. Not sure yet how these will turn out! I ran to the store and picked up a few items she needed for her prep. The turkey is in the fridge and ready. The roasting pan is ready. I think I’ve done my jobs to help but she is really stepping up to get everything done!  

Thursday, November 27^th., 2025…… HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!  Cathye got a call this morning from Corey. They have changed their plans and are coming here for dinner now!  I was tasked with going to pick up Jamie. Josh got here and then Penny came over. The kids showed up and had a friend with them. So, we are now at 12 for dinner. Justin and Amy came later and had dessert so we had a total of 14 here today! 

Everything was delicious but Cat was exhausted and was glad when Josh and Penny and I worked on clearing the tables and washing the pots and pans and loading the dishwasher. When everyone left, we relaxed and watched tv. I think we ended up going to bed a little earlier tonight.  

Friday, November 28^th., 2025……  No one was going out for Black Friday sales today! We slept in. I got a call back from our new travel agent. We have decided to join another square dance cruise. This one is organized by Rhythm Records, a square dance label that has been around since I started dancing!  The new owner, Adam Christman has 7 other callers on the label and they are all joining the cruise. It’s an Alaskan cruise and will be in May 2027 on Quantum of the Seas.  They have really good block pricing (although the rates are for obstructed view balconies). So, I did some research (yeah, you know me!) and found out we would be on deck six just behind the lifeboats. After speaking with the cruise director this morning, she gave me a list of the rooms and where they were on the ship. There are a few that are on a higher floor but they also have obstructed (unknown) restrictions and are either way forward or way aft. So, we secured our room and gave her our refundable deposit. I also went online to the Royal Caribbean app and got us a Crown Anchor Sailing id no.  That allows me to search through the shore excursions so we can decide what we want to do while there. Ports are Sitka, Skagway. Juneau and Victoria. Skagway is new but we can at least look at the others and plan something we haven’t done yet.  I also searched a little on goggle for anything on our room on the ship. It sent me to a Utube video that showed a couple doing a walk thru of that exact room!  It was pretty cool, especially when they showed the view from the balcony. Turns out our room is right between the lifeboats!  I froze a shot from their video...

so I don't think it will be too bad. Later this afternoon, I went out and spent a few hours in the shop working on a doghouse for the well head. I have already designed it in my mind and today cut and built the basic frame. I stopped because I next need to get a piano hinge for the roof section.     

Saturday, November 29^th., 2025…… Nothing on the agenda until this evening. We are planning on driving up to Salem to help out at the beginner’s dance up there tonight. So, after walking and feeding the girls, and making breakfast, I looked on the cruise app some more this morning searching for excursions.

Later, we took off to head to Salem. We drove by the senior center and saw no one was there to carpool. So, we drove a bit then pulled over to check out the email Kaynor had sent about the dance. We found out that the email was for a regular dance and the beginner’s dance would be tomorrow. So, we drove home but stopped by Robin’s for dinner before heading home. We watched some tv and then hit the spa before bed.