Oregon Living 2026 – Blog #21 – A Lot Happening This Week!

  

Sunday, May 31^st., 2026……  Nothing until tonight when we go to our new beginner’s class graduation. We have decided to sell the Truckster. We moved it out in the sunlight and cleaned it up and staged it for pics for Facebook Marketplace.

I posted it for $1000. obo. Of course I will take way less. We’ll see if I get any bites. Meanwhile, we worked on pruning and cleaning up some of the trees on the property and used the mule to take them out to the burnpile.  Well, just the little ones around the yard and garden. We still have a couple of large trees out back on the other side of the creek (also our property) that are dead and have busted limbs or have fallen completely. Now I can work on those as well. Just not today. The rest of the day was spent lounging with me watching races and Cat watching her taped programs.  Later, we headed off to class graduation. We only had three students for this one-time spring class so we probably won’t be doing this again anytime soon. We had pizza and danced and they went through their graduation ceremonies, even though it was a poor turnout from the Club. But we all had fun!

Monday, June 1^st., 2026…… Great weather today!  Temps in the 80s!  Yaay!  After breakfast, we worked in the yard for most of the day, taking breaks every so often. We used the new torch I just got and burned weeds around the French drain and along the driveway cracks. We like the torch so much that I have already ordered another one just like it! We have a 5-gallon propane tank strapped to a hand truck and that works really nicely. I found another cart that will work even better for Cat and we have another propane tank all ready to go for the new one!   Later, I got a message with some interest in the Truckster. They would like to come tomorrow to look at it. Fingers crossed! I discovered that all of the lugnuts on the mule are really rusted! So much that I couldn’t get them loose!  I have sprayed wd40 rust loosener so I will have to wait until tomorrow to see if that helps.

Tuesday, June 2^nd., 2026……  The weather is nice today. Temps in the mid-70s. We had the girls walked and fed and had the rest of the day open. I went out and found a makeshift breaker bar and got all of the lug nuts loosened on the mule.  Oh, I have decided to name her.  So, from time to time, I will probably be referring to her as Molly (the Mule). Anyway, next step is to take the side-view mirrors that I have removed from the doors and mount them permanently on the mule’s frame.  I also mounted the new rearview mirror I had just got from Amazon.

Wednesday, June 3^rd., 2026……  Today the yard guy was coming. Cat called him and told him we would be leaving this morning so he arranged he come over a little earlier. They met and talked and settled on $350. as payment for the truckster damage. He paid us $50. cash and will take the rest out in work the next few weeks. We left because I had to go off to Corvallis to the oncologist for a test CT. Today they would run a test scan and use as a base for future treatments. I got three tattoo ‘dots’ on my hips and lower belly area. These are actual ink dots and will be the markers for the upcoming treatments. I have my first one on the 15^th and they said they will have the calendar ready for the next 5 ½ weeks (28 treatments). They asked if I had any preferences for times and I told them early mornings would be my first choice. So, we’ll see.      

Thursday, June 4^th., 2026…… First thing up this morning was to get the four gallons of strawberries out of the freezer to defrost for the dance on Saturday. Next up was to get the mowers out and gassed up for mowing today. It is supposed to rain tomorrow and we really need to mow. We decided to squeeze it in between the dogs and our massages, so Penny will come over and help when she gets out of her doctor’s appointment. We started out about 11:00am and bagged the yard. We were pretty much done before Sis showed up because we weren’t mowing the field this time. We got done and I cleaned up and had some time to rest before heading off to my massage. Cathye followed later. Next up was to feed the dogs, then head over to Rachel’s house to help decorate the parade float. We took the bike and a tub of macaroni salad, which we packed in the storage compartment with no issues. The project went well. I got asked to cook the chicken that Rachel had seasoned and pre heated. All I needed to do was throw them on the bbq for a few minutes to heat them up. All went well with dinner and decorating and we headed home just before dark.     

Friday, June 5^th., 2026…… HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARYANNE! I called her and we sang to her and talked for a bit. She said that she is still planning on coming up with Randy next month.  She says they are still planning on coming up together and will meet Steve and his wife at our house. The girls will stay (not sure how long) and then fly back home and the guys will stay longer and ride their mountain bikes at several locations on the way back. Later in the afternoon, we left to go help decorate the hall for our dances. We have one tonight and one tomorrow. This is also the weekend we bring out our experienced square dance clothes for sale. Plus, Kaynor holds her annual silent auction which starts tonight through tomorrow. Tonight, we also have our bake goods sale. It’s also a silent auction. I made two separate dishes of Death By Chocolate. One for the dinner and one for the sale. Anyway, we needed to set up tables for the sales and for our guests for dinner and the dance. Once we were done, we had time to come home and rest up a bit. Later, we went to the dance. As well as the dessert, we heated up bbq wings in the crockpot and took that. I think the dessert ended up selling for $17.  

Saturday, June 6^th., 2026…… This morning, we were up and going early. We walked and fed the girls and had breakfast and then we began getting dressed up for our parade. Then I got the bike out and we headed over to meet up with the float, which was in position. We took some pics

and then headed out. Oops, I couldn’t get the bike started and we missed getting in line!  Not sure yet what happened but after a minute or two, I got it started and we caught up before they got too far in front of us. The rest of the parade was fun. Even though it was forecast for rain, we managed to dodge that bullet and the crowds as well as the parade walkers and everyone on the floats – and us - stayed dry. We enjoyed the comments and cheers we received from the audience as we drove by in our greaser outfits!

It sprinkled at the very end but we got the float broken down and then we headed home and rested for the afternoon.  Later, we dressed and headed off to our biggest dance of the season. For this dance, the Club always hires a guest caller and we always get good attendance. We brought lasagna for the ‘Italian’ theme dinner. During the dance, both of us bid on a few things in the silent auction that we were interested in. I ended up winning a nice giant sized hard case rolling luggage bag for $27.00! It still had the plastic on the handles. This will be used on cruises. Cat already has one but mine is soft sided and I wanted to upgrade. Cat got some nice items for future gifts and for the house and rv.  Here are some pics form the night

After the dance, we came home and crashed from the long weekend. Tomorrow we will have to go back to the senior center to break everything down and store because we are dark for the summer. Also, I have volunteered to help cook breakfast for the workers. But more on that tomorrow….