Oregon Living 2023 – Blog #33 – Still Working on My Faucet, Seeing Rodney, and Buying a New Car!

 

Sunday, July 30^th., 2023…… We were up and going early. We had the dogs walked and fed. And while Cathye watched Jama eat (you have to stay on her because she is so picky), I left to go get us breakfast. Cathye picked up Lona this morning and they headed off to church. I went over to Sis’s house to help with a printer problem. She rarely prints anything, but does need one from time to time. We tried two printers and they will function but won’t print. I think the culprit is bad ink cartridges. I left and she went to Walmart to get some. She called later to say that was it and everything was working now! Cathye and Lona stayed for the potluck after and she brought me back a plate for lunch. The only thing on my to do list today was to check on the water leak from the faucet pipe. Yep, still there!  I used my new drill-attached water pump to clear the water. As I suspected, it is from the connections I made. I guess when I put the iron pipe into the pvc elbow, I didn’t tighten it up enough.    

Monday, July 31^st., 2023…… We slept in and then got the girls walked and fed and then made our way to the gym.  We were in and out in quick time. We headed over to Kevin’s for breakfast and then stopped by the store for a few things. I also needed to go back and get more fittings for the faucet. When I took it apart, we discovered that the threads were stripped. No wonder it leaked! I got what I needed and we tried it again. Same issue. I need to reassess the fittings I use next time. Cathye watered and cleaned up  

Tuesday, August 1^st., 2023…… Today was another day of repair. I tried one more time with the fittings I have. It didn’t work! I think tomorrow I will need to start over!  On the other side, we heard back from the irrigation guy with an estimate I have been waiting for several weeks for now. It wasn’t too far off from what we expected to pay so we will probably go with the guy. But I have one more question for him to make sure I get all of the items we talked about and we were both on track with what his estimate stated.  This work is for all of the sprinkler controllers and the valves as well as the lines running around the flowerbeds. I’m sure he’s not going to be available for several weeks so I am on my own with the faucet issue. Later, we took a drive up to Aurora (about 70 miles). Cathye has never been inside the architectural salvage business they have there. It’s fascinating just to walk around in there, and we did -

but we were also looking for some wood for a bar for the patio deck. We both had something in mind but we wanted to see what they have that might work. They had a lot of nice lumber but nothing that we wanted. But we saw enough examples of bar tops and counters to get ideas. I think we have come up with a plan. We’ll go looking elsewhere. The drive up and back took several hours but we got back in time to feed the girls before heading off to National Night Out. I understand this is going on all over the country but we’d never been. It was at the same place (Heritage Park) in town that the concert was held last week. But this time, they set up several popups all around. We found out that they were all set up as a community building campaign that promotes neighborhood camaraderie. They had booths with giveaways, mostly for kids. We stayed a bit and then decided to just leave and head over to the Tallman food trucks for dinner and drinks. That was a great choice – until we got there and saw that it was really packed in. Turns out Tuesdays are trivia nights and from what we saw, they are popular! We both chose Mexican food and got drinks from the bar and sat down. We were about half done when a girl came up and asked if we would be staying for the trivia. If not, they would like our table!  Nope, not staying. So, we shared our table and ate and got out of there!            

Wednesday, August 2^nd., 2023……  We slept in this morning. Nothing really on the agenda for today. I am determined to make that faucet work! I went back to Wilco and got yet more parts. These fittings are all plastic pvc pipe and glued together so if you have a leak, you have to cut everything off and start over! I put the new pieces together and we made the last connection under ground.  When I turned the water back on, I heard a loud, “shut it off” from Cathye!  I discovered that didn’t work either. I was back to square one. Or I guess it was square 4 or 5 now! One last trip to the store and after careful connections,  I think we’re good to go. But I will leave the water off for today and check it tomorrow, 

Thursday, August 3^rd., 2023…… HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICK!  Today was Costco day! We walked and fed the dogs and then headed off to the gym for our workouts. After that, we headed to Albany. First stop was Elmer's for breakfast. While we were there, we called Rick to wish him a happy birthday. Janie was with him and shared that they have booked a cruise. They are heading to the Panama Canal in January. Rick said he is feeling up to it and will be even better by then.  Yaay!  We have looked at cruises there but this might be one we can look into and maybe join them. More later… We left Elmer’s and went to make a quick stop at the social security office in town for Jamie’s ss card. After that we hit Costco. On the way back, we stopped in at Primasing Motors in town. Her long-time friend Donny, works there as a sales manager. He wasn’t in but with Jordan’s help, we looked at the car we were interested in. It’s a 2019 Buick Enclave. Low mileage and it was very well appointed and well taken care of. It’s not the cheapest of those I have looked at online, but we wanted to check it out. We will come back and drive it maybe in a few days.  Once back home, I immediately went out to tackle my long lost faucet friend. Yep, one tiny leak somewhere so the hole is filling up with water. I made yet another run to Wilco and got the parts and got them assembled. No leaks so far, but we will leave it exposed and see what happens tomorrow. We pretty much were done for the day – except we had tickets for a comedy night!  Cathye knows I love comedy so a week ago she got us tickets to Rodney Carrington’s show at the Hult Center in Eugene. She didn’t know too much about him but I quickly told her he is a very ‘out there’ comic and no subject matter is taboo at one of his shows. Matter of fact, it’s adults only admission. But she’s ok with that. We fed the dogs and left for the evening. We stopped at Texas Roadhouse in Eugene for dinner since we had a $50.00 gift card. Wow, what a great meal! I chose the filet medallions and Cat had the sirloin and shrimp combo. Both steaks were ‘cut with a fork’ tender!  Yummy!  But with the homemade bread and cinnamon butter we still had leftovers. No worries – they will go fast!  We got to the theater and parked and got in with no worries. We could see that the crowd was of a more liberal nature and I knew we would all enjoy Rodney! It was as expected. He is really raunchy, so don‘t go see him if you don’t like that kind of humor. We loved it and were in stitches all evening. 

We made it out of the parking garage (got stuck behind a stalled car) and got back in plenty of time to let the girls out to pee. Long day but fun. Crossing my fingers my faucet is good to go tomorrow!     

Friday, August 4^th., 2023……  After sleeping in a bit, we were up and going. After breakfast, we started in on our housecleaning. Today was hot mopping for all of the floors!  The hardest part is moving everything out of the way! While I did that, Cat did both the bathrooms and the dusting.  After we were done and had rested for a bit, I went out to check on my faucet. It’s been a day and no leaks!  Cathye and I came up with a plan. She would go up to see Donny alone about the car, to see if he would work with her on a deal.  We would be trading in the Acadia.  Meanwhile, I made a run to get some pea gravel to fill in the hole. That way, no grass should grow around the pipe and we won’t need to get close to it with the mower anymore. 

Cathye came back with the car to show me. I drove it and it is a beauty! But when she took it back and told him what she would offer including the trade-in, they balked at that and countered.  It was an ok deal, but I said we would need to keep looking so we have something to compare with. I had already found one in Hillsboro (just west of Portland) that is a good deal. We’ll need to check in with that dealership and make arrangements to go up and take a look.  Oh yeah, we also checked into the Panama Canal cruise. Turns out all of the balcony rooms are booked. Rick and Janie got a porthole room with the option to upgrade if something comes available. Not sure if we would even get that offer and – after our Alaska trip - we will not cruise without a balcony room again, so we will pass on this one and go another time.         

Saturday, August 5^th., 2023……  I was up early and went on to the Hillsboro car dealer’s website and sent a message that we would like to arrange to come up and look at their Enclave. We set it up for 11:00am so would have time to get things done here before driving up there. No worries (it was a long drive and the road to Hillsboro was under construction), but we pulled in right on time. They had the car out and waiting for us. Cathye immediately walked around it noting all of the scratches in the paint. This one is a 2021 but has black interior that Cat was not immediately in love with.  I drove it and there was one issue – we couldn’t get enough air in the tires to get the warning light on the dash to go out. Probably a bad sensor. Once we got their offer/deal for us, we knew that we would pass. The price was right but the car just didn’t measure up to the other one. She called Donny and she said we would buy that one if they could do just a little better deal. He and the owner negotiated a little with her and we told him, “sold”. We would stop by on the way back and sign the papers. Driving home, we started talking and I suggested that maybe Robin would be interested in our car. We would rather see her get it than get lowballed by a dealership. So, she called Robin and made her an offer. But she would need to act fast!  She was definitely interested and would need to get back to us. She called a few minutes later. Turns out she accepted! She would need some time but for now we could take the trade off the table with Primasing. Cat called Donny and told him and he rewrote the offer. We stopped in and gave him our info for the paperwork and went home to clean out the Acadia. Because just before we got there, Robin said she would be over with payment later today! So, we went back and made the deal with Donny 

and drove the car home.  

Later, Robin came by and paid us and took her new baby home. We’re happy for her – her old van was running but she needed a new vehicle and we know she will love her new car! Win/win for both of us! 

The new Buick is really something. It’s got all the bells and whistles – even the rear bucket seats are heated! We chose the Enclave because it’s still a three-row seating car. So we will still have room for Rylee when we go places. I am still learning about all of the features and will get into the owner’s manual tomorrow while Cat takes it to church.  Later, we watched tv and then hit the spa, talking about the very long but rewarding day!    

Oregon Living 2023 – Blog #32 – Working on Projects, a Wedding Reception & a Concert in the Park

 

Tuesday, July 25^th., 2023…… Pointe Pest Control was coming this morning. They don’t give you a specific time so we were up and going so we could get all of the garage doors open for his access. Cathye also had to go in for her annual physical/checkup. I don’t remember if I mentioned this before but she has a new FNP (family nurse practitioner). He took over when her Dr. moved on to a specialty office. He moved into kidney medicine and we think he is in the office in Corvallis where Lydia’s nephrologist was. Also, her new guy now (Russell Wimmer) came from MY medical facility here in Lebanon!  He treated Lydia when he was there and has now moved on to Cathye’s clinic in Brownsville. She said she really likes him!  Small world!  Cathye got back and said she passed with flying colors. Yaay! And then went on to pack for her overnighter with her girls tomorrow. They are going to Depoe Bay for a night and will spend time on the coast. More on that later. We went shopping to get a few things and then rested for the day. Cathye has been troubled with some nausea and dizziness lately. Her daughter had the same issues and found a treatment. It’s called an Epley maneuver for BPPV Vertigo. It worked on Terisa so she sent us a link to the video. We decided to try it. It took two tries but it worked!  Her dizziness went away and has not returned. Yaay!

We watched tv then hit the spa before bedtime.  

Wednesday, July 26^th., 2023……  Cat’s girls (Judy and Lynn) were coming to pick her up at 10:30am so we had time to sleep in and walk and feed the dogs beforehand. I have a few projects to tackle while she’s gone. The water spigot out by Rylee’s pool has been pooling up with water, coming from underground. I suspect someone must have bumped into the pipe and cracked it below ground. I will need to dig it out and see if I can find the leak. Fun stuff!

Thursday, July 27^th., 2023…… Corey was coming over today to do some more weeding. I was up and out and walked and fed the dogs then went out and got myself some breakfast. Then it was time to head out and dig. Corey was here at 9:30am and ended up working 5 hours.  We talked a little about what more I wanted done, and he started in.  But I had my own work to do.  I dug around the faucet and exposed the pipes as best as I could. There was standing water in the hole and I had the main irrigation line turned off. So, I will need to let the water drain down before I can really get in there and check for the leak. The iron faucet pipe screws into a pvc fitting and elbows out toward the main line, so I think I know where the problem is. Later in the afternoon, the girls got back and dropped Cat off. She said it was a fun trip. They saw whales off the bay but it was so crowded with whale watchers that she couldn’t get good pics. She did get one of a spout but it was off in the distance.

Here are some other pics they took.

 

She said Judy rented a room in a lodge right on the coast and it was very rustic but nice and clean. She will go back. They spent time at the eateries and shops around there and also in Newport and Nye Beach on the way back. She had brought leftovers from pizza and we had that for an easy meal. Then it was tv and spa before calling it a night.     

Friday, July 28^th., 2023……  Since Cat wasn’t here yesterday morning for our regular gym workout, we decided to go this morning. We always see the same ‘gym rats’ there so it was no surprise to see them again today. There were a few new faces. But we don’t have conversations with anyone – we just get in, do our routines, and get out!  Of course we still went to Kristi’s for breakfast after!  Last week Cathye had made an appointment for another massage to have Emily work on her vertigo problem. It was fixed but she decided to go anyway!  Duuh!  I found the leak was the 45 elbow that was cracked. I cut off the feed pipe and headed off with the old parts to replicate. I found all of the fittings and connections and the pipe with no problems. I found that I could just replace the whole steel water hydrant assembly (for $81.00) so I opted to add that in as well.  I was out of there and came home and glued up the pieces and installed them, supporting everything with the remaining stakes in the hole. I had Cat watch and I re-opened the shut-off valve. There was an overflow drain valve pre-installed that was designed to allow standing water to drain from the assembly to prevent freezing during winter months. It was shooting water out at a high rate to drain the assembly as designed, but that drain would be covered up and would just flood everything again.  So, I went back and bought a plug for that line and we were in business. I still will need to let all of the water drain from the hole to double check for leaks but I think it’s good to go now. Later, after showering and resting, it was time to dress for Teri and Ron’s wedding reception. They weren’t getting married until tomorrow, but it will be a small venue at her mother's farm with mostly family so she wanted friends to come celebrate tonight.  She is a partner in a local winery with some friends and she chose to have it there. They had pizza and cake and pies and of course wine! Terri and Cathye used to work together and a lot of their mutual friends were there so it was ‘old home week’ for Cat! 

We got back home and changed into comfortable clothes. Corey and Vikki (and Brandyn) were here and worked some more on the weeds. I have decided to have him come by on his days off as he can and continue more weeding (and other chores) to make some extra money, which everyone can use. He is a good worker and I don’t mind paying him for his time.  He worked until it got too dark. After they left, we settled in and watched some tv and then went out to the spa for a while before bed.       

Saturday, July 29^th., 2023…… Nothing on the agenda until tonight. We are going to an Alzheimer’s fundraiser (we have gone every year since this one is special to Cathye).  They are having a Fleetwood Mac tribute band playing so it should be fun.  But first up was some work around here for us. We wanted to weed some around her Shasta, so we both put on kneepads and gloves and set out for an hour’s worth of work. We made a small dent!  I remember when I had the gravel spread out around the carports being told that “no weed will grow through that stuff”!  Yeah, right!   But we did have a very wet winter and spring and everything just took off – weeds included! Like I said, we did a nice large patch but Corey has a ton more to do and we just made a dent. But we will eventually get a handle on it and I will start a schedule for spraying to help in the future. Oh yeah, I noticed earlier that the water in the hole around the new faucet is not going down! I have to leave it open and maybe even draw out the water to see if I have my connections tight.     

Ok, it’s later now – we went to the town square and got parked and Judy had saved us places. We found Penny and Maraglee in the shade.  They ended up moving over to the alcohol only area a bit later. You have to stay inside there if you are drinking. In the pic below that Cat took, you can see I am the lone guy!

                      Front row l to r: Judy (with her eyes shaded), me, Cathye’s chair, Lynn

                                  Back row l to r: Barbara, Nance, Lona, Misty, Robin

The main band was called Taken by the Sky. They are a Fleetwood Mac Tribute group and they were pretty good. The female singer sounded pretty close to Stevie Nicks!  

They had the crowd up and dancing!  In this pic, you can see Cathye (in the turquoise top), with Judy and Lynn dancing just off to the left of the stage.

We made our donations to the Alzheimer’s fund in the form of tickets and food and settled in and enjoyed the concert. We left early but we found out they only played a few more songs after we left. We got back and let the dogs out and rested and checked Facebook. Teri had posted a pic of her and her bridesmaids. Very nice!

They will be coming over next week for a bbq so we’ll have time to visit more with them all.

We watched a taped show (Restoring Galveston) before going out to the spa for a bit before bedtime.

Oregon Living 2023 – Blog #31 – Fun Time With Family, an Anniversary, and More Trip Planning!

 

Wednesday, July 19^th., 2023……  Today, Cathye had an adventure with her girls. They were going over to Harrisburg to get peaches and lunch. But first up for me was getting up and going. I needed to go back to Emily’s massage studio to pick up my prescription sunglasses that I had left there yesterday. She wasn’t in today so she hung the glasses on her doorknob so I wanted to get there before the bldg. got busy. Cathye walked the girls so I stopped at Starbucks on the way home to get her a chai latte from Starbucks!  She left before 11:00am and left me to work on my blog. They stopped at Dietrich Farms to get fresh peaches. But they weren’t quite ready yet so they ended up with a few other items, including some really delicious nectarines. She also brought me a mini blueberry pie. I would eat that later after dinner!  They stopped at the Junkyard Extreme Burgers and Dogs for lunch. Guy Fieri put this place on the map several years ago.

But I still haven’t been!  They got back and Cathye showed me all of her purchases. We pretty much settled in for the rest of the day. Early dinner (blueberry pie) and tv until spa time. While we were relaxing, watching tv, we got a text message from Randy saying they had made it to Klamath Falls and had a little ride. Now he was in the ER with Steve, who has some kind of bite or something. He was swollen but feeling ok. He would text me later in the evening to say they didn’t think it was a spider bite (good news!). They gave him an antibiotic and they were on their way. Long day but good news for all!  

Thursday, July 20^th., 2023…… I had acupuncture this morning so I was up and out of the house, leaving Cathye to walk and feed the dogs (again). The rest of the day I was pretty much home. Cat left to go take Jamie out for a haircut and lunch. He is doing well lately at his home. She says he has told her he is getting out of his room more now and is socializing with other residents, which is good to hear. After that, we hung around the house for most of the day. I filled up Rylee’s pool the other day for her and the kids, but now it’s pretty green. I also have discovered a leak in the outdoor water spigot by the pool. It’s probably coming from a leaky pipe but I won’t know until I dig it up.  Next week.    

Friday, July 21^st., 2023…… Today is mowing day. Penny would be coming over at 10:00am but we had work to do before that!  We were up early and had the pups out for their walk. We fed them breakfast and then we started in on housecleaning. Cathye dusts the house and also cleans the bathrooms, while I do the vacuuming. We had cleaned it before Bill and Treasa were here but not since, so it was pretty dusty. I finished up the rugs and floors and helped do a little dusting around the offices and the living room.  By the time we finished, it was close to 10:00am, so I went outside just as Sis got here. I had to get out all of the mowers and gas them up so we were a little late in getting started. Of course Cat got the first run on her new Cub Cadet!

Penny mowed the field (without the bagger) and we started in on the yard (with the baggers). I had just started in when I lost drive to my zero turn!  Penny and Cat stopped and we tried to figure it out. We pushed the mower forward after crawling down and looking under it. I noticed a large spring in the grass and we set out to find out what it was and where it came from. Either way – it was broke!  I took it up to Cascade Outdoor and they said it was a tensioner for a pulley on the cutting belt. He showed me where it came from, but most important was that he had one in stock!  I was back in about 20 minutes and we got it installed and I got going again. Cathye had kept going and had most of the yard done. Penny finished the field and I took over the yard where Cat had worked and they rested while I finished up. It was a hot day and I’m glad we got it done early, before it got really hot! Thanks, Sis.  We can always count on you for help!  Later, we heard from Randy that they got home ok and were doing well.      

Saturday, July 22^nd., 2023…… HAPPY ANNIVERSARY RANDY & MARYANNE!  We were hoping for an early start today. We were going to the Farmer’s Market in Corvallis. We thought they opened at 10:00am so we loaded up the dogs and left with time to stop by McDonald’s for breakfast.  We got there and tried to find a parking place. Turns out they open at 9:00am! But we found one and walked through it all with the pups. It was super crowded but we weren’t looking for too much so we didn’t need to stop at every booth. Cat was looking for zucchini for bread, and we always look for bread and fresh fruit and veggies! We found everything we needed and got out of the crowd and back to the car and headed back home.

While we were at the market, we did a Marco Polo for the kids anniversary. We heard back later from Maryanne.

Sunday, July 23^rd., 2023…… We had plans today!  So, we were up early and walked and fed the dogs and ate breakfast. We left around 9:15 and took my truck to the car wash. I wanted it clean (since the boys had put a lot of trail miles on it last week!).  After that, we headed up to Portland. Josh has moved out of his apartment and into a room in a house in Beaverton. He will be sharing it with two other guys. Good news is that it’s way cheaper than his apartment and he also will have his own bathroom. We picked him up and headed over the river to the Hawthorne district (east Portland) known for eclectic shops and small bistro type restaurants. He took us to Tea & Tea Boba Shop, where he knows the two owners. We all had bubble teas of some type. Tait Ubered over to meet up with us for tea and then a walk down to the local Italian place for a nice lunch. Thanks Josh!  

 

We got back to his place and loaded up a few things he wasn’t going to need and headed back home. The drive was long and it took a while because we hit that usual congested spot on the I-5 in Wilsonville where the traffic really backs up.  But we made it a 5 ½ hour day and were home in time to let the dogs out and then relax for the rest of the day.

Monday, July 24^th., 2023…… Corey and Vikki were coming over at 9:00am this morning to do some yard work in payback for some insurance funding. So, we needed to walk and feed the dogs, go to the gym, eat breakfast and be back by then. No problem – we were done with time to spare! Turns out the kids would be delayed and would come this afternoon. No worries.  But meanwhile, Cathye helped me with my new plan – I wanted to move out all of our trailers and carts and put them in the field, since it’s been recently cut back. The areas around the trailers and carts were overgrown with weeds and needed to be worked. 

Trust me - there is a boat trailer in the grapevines in that picture above! That was the task I wanted C&V to work on today. I also decided to go out and dig around the water pipe to try to find the leak. The plan was to leave the water on so I could see where it was leaking. But as I dug, the water kept filling up the hole!  So, I shut off the irrigation system and will need to wait a few days until the ground dries out a bit before continuing. Did I mention I hate yardwork!  Later, Cathye made her zucchini bread and I got a hot slice! Yummy! I worked on my checkbook and matched up the charges from the cruise and stuff I have ordered on Amazon. We also spent some time booking our next adventures. This Wednesday, Cat and Judy and Linn are going over to the coast for an overnighter but that’s already booked. She talked to daughter Terisa and set up our next Boston/New Hampshire trip. We are going the first week in October. They also made plans for an overnighter for us while there for an additional side trip to the Mount Washington Cog Train in the northern part of the state.  Plus I want to schedule the Kennedy Presidential Library and a Fenway Park tour while we are in the Boston area.  Fun stuff and we got rooms and a car and airline tickets all completed and confirmed today. While she was working on that, I also booked us a trip closer to home. I got a reservation for a motel close to Crater Lake. We are doing that 3-day adventure the third week in August. We plan to take our ebikes and ride around the lake.  Of course we had to reserve our time with Penny, who will come over to watch the house and take care of the dogs for both trips. 

Oregon Living 2023 – Blog #30 – Family Time and our Annual Vintage Trailer Rally

 

Wednesday, July 12^th., 2023……  We were up early and had the girls out. I spoke with Mark, who was here today working on cutting back Rich & Linda’s field. Rich told me he was coming this week so I contacted him and he will be coming back here on Saturday to cut our field. We fed the dogs and then ate breakfast. After that, we headed out to the trailer and got everything ready to go. We hooked up Cat’s truck and she loaded some stuff in the truck bed and I loaded other things in my truck. We set off to go park the trailer. I followed her and took a quick pic! 

When we got there at around 9:30am there were already 20 trailers in place. Wade said they opened the gates at 8:00am and there were folks who were parked there at 6:00am. Anyway, we found a spot (same as last year) and got parked and leveled and hooked up. 

We unloaded everything and as we were leaving, another trailer came in next to us. We met John and Tammy and welcomed them as our neighbors. He wasn’t sure if he had enough electrical cord to reach the junction box so I offered him my extra which I wasn’t going to use. And we left. We got back home and did some chores. We will go back later with a few more items we forgot and see how many more have some in. They accepted 132 trailers this year. That fills up the area but doesn’t make it congested so folks have room between trailers. The main grassy field was still open when we got there but they are mostly filled with highly restored trailers. We call it the hoity-toity row! Campers with attitude!, so, we didn’t want to park there. I’ll add pics of that area later. 

We do plan to put up a for sale sign on the trailer while there. Cathye is ready to sell it. She says we don’t use it enough and wants someone else to enjoy it. She won’t give it away, so we’ll mark it at $12k and see what happens!

We got back to the park after we watered and did some other chores around the house. Boy, it got busy and filled fast while we were gone!  Events don’t start until tomorrow. We’ll come back with the dogs after breakfast in the morning. When we returned to the house, I did have a chance to work some more on our new tractor. I cut the wooden crate away from the wheels so it would be easier to just drive off the bottom section. That worked well and I cleaned up the mess. Then it was time to start her up!  I had already added gas and I spent some time working on the battery connectors. They don’t give you a lot of wire length to work with so I had to maneuver the hot wire around a few times to get it to lay in there just right. But, when I got everything done, it started up right away!  Cat came out and took a turn around the driveway. This is actually her tractor!

Next step is to install the bagger, which I did. I still need to speak with Home Depot about the seat. It’s got two small fray marks in the upper back part. I want to find out if they will just do a swap out for me. That means I can’t install the armrests until I get that resolved.  

Thursday, July 13^th., 2023…… We were up and going pretty early this morning. We already had most everything at the park but there were a few other things to load up. We took the Acadia this time because we needed room for the butthead. We got there and unloaded the dogs and the other items and took stock of what we had and what we forgot. Needless to say, I went back once more. I have been coordinating with Mark, my lawn guy to mow the field and he said he would be there on Friday to do a partial and leave the mower, but might be there finishing up the neighbor’s fields. He wasn’t there yet.  I had no problem getting back home and loading up some of the things we had left. Good thing it’s only 11.6 miles from our garage to the camp site! We have her truck and the Acadia at the park and they are right across the road from our space. We have one of the shadier spaces and folks have been driving by looking for spots in here as well. They don’t allow you to park your tow vehicle at your site unless it's vintage. There’s one guy with an old suburban who has parked it in front of his trailer right out in front of us, but it’s still pretty open for other vehicles to get in.  That nice lawn area with all the ritzy trailers has filled up. Here is a pic at night and also one with some really nice old vehicles. I like the Studebaker truck the best of anything I saw this weekend!

Later in the day, Judy and Lynn came over for dinner. I cooked hot dogs and chili and we had a nice easy meal!  After they left, we walked around a bit then took our chairs and the dogs over to the area where they had set up a movie screen and projector. If you look past the screen on the left in the bottom pic below, you can see our trailer!

I think this was the first time they had tried showing movies They chose Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which brought in both kids and adults. It was cute but the mosquitos were out in force so we came in early and settled in for the evening. Rylee has taken claim to my bed!

It is still warm at bedtime but I found I would need to close the windows when it got chilly later in the early morning.  Of course, Butthead had to get me up to pee so I took them both out at 3:26am! Too bad I didn’t see anyone around because we found out next day that Wade, the event organizer, found that his ebike was stolen in the night! Bummer!  But he said he was tired and just put it in the storage area and forgot to lock it.     

Friday, July 14^th., 2023…… Wade was by this morning and told us the news. We suggested he go out to the homeless camp just out of town and check there. Sorry if that sounds judgmental, but they have a reputation of prowling this park looking for articles they can use or sell. Still pretty sad though.

Randy is due in today sometime. He and his riding buddy, Steve, spent some time riding mountain bike trails on their drive up here from SoCal. They stayed last night in Ashland and got up and rode this morning before heading on up. He called later in the afternoon and said they got to our house and were going to get the motorhome unloaded and set up.  He said they would come visit later.  He also said that there was a guy driving up our driveway with a tractor. Yaay, Mark was there!  Mark got unloaded and started out on the perimeter around the field. Randy and Steve got the motorhome hooked up and they got my truck out and drove down to visit. We already had Rylee out in the Calapooia River swimming and having fun. Plus, it is really hot outside (90°) so it was refreshing for all of us. We even had Jama in the water!

We were back at the trailer and relaxing when the kids got there. Penny had come by a few minutes earlier to join us.  We did another round of chili dogs and then they left for the evening to catch up on some needed rest. I had a few beers and then later, we opened up the apple cinnamon whiskey and had a small drink before bed.   

Saturday, July 15^th., 2023…… I was up and out around 9:00am. My plan was to go back to the house and touch base with the boys and with Mark. Plus I needed to pay him for the field work.  Neither were there. The kids went out again. There are trails all around this area and I forget where they go each day.  I got the cash for mark and put it in an envelope and used painter’s tape to attach it to his tractor, which he had left way back behind the rv building. He said later that he was called away but would be back later to finish. He only had 1/3 left to do and it looked great!  I needed to remind him to scoop up on each lap, the previous grass in my pile so he could spread it out as he mowed (I saw later that worked well). I headed back and we joined the neighbors for the ‘open house afternoon’. They give you a sign – one side says open, the other closed. Anyone who wants folks to peek inside leaves the open sign out. Since we have a for sale sign on ours, we got some interest. We wanted to see if there was someone who might really want to pay up for one at the rally. So, we marked an, “I really don’t want to sell it” price on the sign. No one has yet made any offers but they said they have friends who were looking and may call in the future. We’ll see. No worries, we can store it away and, maybe we’ll change our minds and fix it up (either a complete or partial restoration). Who knows…   

Anyway, more drinks and visits with campers and then we called it a night. We did start putting a few things away in prep for leaving tomorrow morning. It was a nice outing. 

Sunday, July 16^th., 2023…… After a nice night’s sleep – yes I do fit in there and now actually I find it quite comfortable for sleeping! – we were up and going around 7:00am. We fed the pups and I loaded them up in the car and added a few things that would fit there with them and made a run home. Cathye relaxed and had coffee and then worked on getting things ready. The kids were out for yet another ride. I unloaded and headed back. When I returned, Cathye had the truck out in front of the trailer 

and we hooked up and loaded up the rest of the stuff and I drove the trailer home and she took the car. We got back and I backed the trailer back onto the gravel driveway and found we were pretty much done. Did I mention it was hot!  We removed the perishables and I did a few more little things and we came in and relaxed for the rest of the day.  We were planning on going out to dinner later in the evening after the boys got back from today’s ride. I think Randy says he has tracked over 85 miles in the three days here!  Later in the evening, Penny met us at Tallman Brewery for dinner. This is our local food truck court so each of us picked our dinner truck. Cat and I chose the new seafood truck and had their shrimp boil. It was pretty good and you got a ton of food!  We all sat inside and had beer and hard cider. Pretty relaxing. Later, we went back to the house, and Steve, who has been a musician almost all of his life, pulled out his guitar and entertained us for a few hours.

 Thank God we only had to walk in the house! Needless to say, we were asleep in a few minutes.     

Monday, July 17^th., 2023…… The boys left early to head to Eugene to ride in Oakridge. They spent all day there, so I had time to relax and recoup. But I did take the seat off of the new tractor and took it in to Home Depot. Yeah, that went well! NOT! Their customer service person told me I would need to contact the manufacturer myself to resolve any issues. She said to call, quote “Club Cadet”!  It’s Cub Cadet, you moron!  When I came back to tell Cat, she assumed I went off on the lady, but I did not. I was frustrated but I held my tongue. I did as she suggested, called Cub Cadet and ended up on the phone (on hold for one hour and 7 minutes between routed calls!) with two very nice people who eventually took my model and serial number and said the seat was in stock and a replacement would be shipped within a few days. Plus, I can keep the old one, which isn’t really that bad. So, now I have a spare! Later in the afternoon after the boys got back and cleaned up, Corey and Vickie brought Brandyn and Bailey over for a bbq. They brought pork loin and we already had New York, so we had plenty of meat. Steve got out his guitar and played more songs, some of them just for the kids! Lot’s of fun!      

Tuesday, July 18^th., 2023…… Today, we were split up for most of the day. Randy and Steve headed off to Salem and then to Black Rock to ride. I went off for my massage and Cathye went in as I was leaving. Later, when the kids got back, Penny came over and we left for dinner at the Point. Cathye had tickets for us for the movie The Sound of Freedom, playing in Sweet Home. But, since the boys were here, she took Judy instead, so I could go with the rest. We had a nice meal and then made a loop around Foster Lake and then around some of the areas around town that Steve had never seen. He was especially excited to see the monster rainbows in the holding pen at the Santiam Fish Hatchery! There were only a few salmon around that had come up the river and I was able to point them out headed to their birthplace. We came back and they went out and fixed the driver’s window on my truck that had lost a bolt and fallen off the track. A 5 min. fix. They also adjusted the headlights that they said were way too low. I don’t drive the truck much at night so I guess I never noticed!  Thanks, guys! They leave tomorrow.  Since they were planning on a super early (5:00am) departure, they both stayed in Randy’s motorhome. So, we said our goodbyes and turned in. It was sure nice to see Randy. Maryanne is planning on coming up later in the summer. Randy is also planning on coming back up again as well. He wants to order us a new ac unit for the house. Ours is working but it’s getting louder and he says is old enough to be replaced. He can get one at cost in Calif. and he and Perrin can come back up and install it. Yaay us!