Oregon Living 2024 – Blog #34 – Prep Work Continues & then a Big Wedding!

 

 

Sunday, August 18^th., 2024…… Today is the anniversary of Jim’s passing. Cathye went out to the cemetery to lay flowers on his grave and spend some time with him.

Today was also Charlotte’s Picnic and Bridge Dance! She is our caller and has retired now but always has hosted a picnic at her lovely home out in the boonies. There is a bridge just down the street and it’s tradition to have a ‘bridge dance’ there each year. This time Shaun called and we had three squares going through the motions. It was fun!

After we left and went home, it was time to get into our wedding frame of mind. We still have a lot to do before Saturday!

Monday, August 19^th., 2024…… First up for me today was a dental appointment. Just a cleaning so I was in and out in no time!  Since it was an early appointment, I stopped and got us breakfast and coffee on the way home. Plans today are to clean up some of the flower beds and pull weeds from the gravel drive – again!  Corey will be here later to do all of that. We did have a communication problem about the time. So, it turned out that they got here in time for Corey to work, the kids to play (and help a little), and Vikki to work on her table arrangements. She has colors chosen for the wedding and brought them all to arrange today while out on the patio deck.  She also spent some time working on her nails. But the weather was nice so she could sit outside for that too!  Before that got here, I sorted out the chairs we had and got all of the tarps and poles and popups out and staged in the garages for later in the week. Later, I bbq’d hot dogs and hamburgers and we had a nice easy meal and talked about the final layout and he said they upped the numbers. There are now 69 folks on her list! I will have to rethink the parking! Tv and spa after they left.     

Tuesday, August 20^th., 2024……  Nothing on the agenda today. We moved Rylee’s pool out of line of sight for any wedding pics. In the afternoon, we headed off to our workshop. Charlotte always uses cards for her choreography and today she found some we have never seen! It’s fun and satisfying to go through a series of calls to get back to your partner! Cathye sat out most of the afternoon but did one later in the day. She has been doing ok managing her heart rate. When she gets winded or tired doing anything, she stops! Nothing much for the rest of the day. So I worked on getting the trailer lights working on the little utility trailer that Corey will be borrowing to bring Vikki’s mom’s wheelchair here this weekend. After that, we hung around the house and relaxed for the day and evening.     

Wednesday, August 21^st., 2024…… I was up and out again early this morning. I left Cat and the girls to sleep and left for my labs. I have a follow up with my doctor next week and she wanted them done beforehand. Later in the morning, we left with our little trailer and went off to Cat’s church to pick up chairs for the wedding. Robin met us there (with the keys) and she took 10 for her birthday party this weekend. We ended up with 44 chairs and got them home and the trailer parked.

Thursday, August 22^nd., 2024……  We wanted to set up everything today but the kids didn’t so we will wait for their help. Besides, Josh is coming in (by train) from Portland for the wedding and will be here to help later. But I did get everything down and ready. We have two big swap meet-type tarps, plus three popups. I wanted them out and sorted just off the lawn where they would eventually go. I want to try and mow tomorrow so I need to leave room for now.  I worked this morning on the ramp that Vikki’s mom requires to get in and out of the house for the restroom. I already had one and knew it would work and just had to get it out and re-install it on the front porch. I added some more support for the wheelchair weight and it was good to go.

Later, we had dinner and then headed off to meet Josh’s 8:50pm train in Albany. It’s way easier for him to travel by train. He recently bought a motorcycle and we expect he will be brave enough soon to ride it down and back. We’re not thrilled with that, but it’s his choice. We did spend the drive home asking him about it. He has never ridden before and just completed a training course. He needs to get his license first. Plus he needs to get some safety equipment for the bike (helmet, riding gear, crash bars, etc.) before he gets it out on the road. We got home and settled in for the night. Tomorrow the work starts.  

Friday, August 23^rd., 2024…… The kids were supposed to show up at 9:00am but were running late, so Josh and I got started after breakfast and coffee. I think we had all of the items up except the large canopy, which we needed final layout approval from Vikki, to complete. But all was good and once we got all of the chairs out and staged, and all of the deck furniture under the smaller of the canopies, my job was pretty much done. Corey worked some more on the yard and they went home.  We took Josh and went out to the Le Cirque Café and Confectionary. This is a rather new place here in downtown Lebanon, and is based 

  on a ‘Harry Potter’ theme.

They even have butterbeer on their menu! Josh had brisket mac and cheese and both Cathye and I had the soup flight. We each got three samplers of their soup of the day and liked them. I did swap out my chicken mushroom with Cathye for her chili, which she said was a little too spicy for her taste. Later, it was tv and dinner before calling it a night.

Saturday, August 24^th., 2024…… WEDDING DAY! The wedding is set for 2:00pm. Corey and Vikki and family, plus their attendants got here around 10:30am. Penny got here early to help as well. She has been working on getting a new car and they told her it was in and ready for pickup today. So, she will be leaving after the wedding to go get it. She’s excited for Corey and Vikki, but also for her new ride! Corey and his guys did the draperies and the girls did Vikki’s nails and set up the tablecloths and flowers. The guests arrived for the scheduled start time, but they had to wait. Vikki wouldn’t be ready to come out until well after 3:00pm. But, everything went well and Cat did an excellent job officiating the services. The kids chose the ‘humorous’ option for their script and Cat had fun with that!  And they are now hitched! Here are pics from the day.

 

 

                        CONGRATULATIONS Mr. and Mrs. Corey Elliott-Pierson!

 

The five chairs in the front are for those from their lives who have passed….

 

After the food and cake and music, everything winded down and the guests left. A few of the guys stayed and helped stack chairs and take down the tables and popups and canopies. That was great for me!  I will put the parts and pieces of the canopies back in their bags tomorrow because I need to do some work on them before I store them. We came in and rested from the hectic day. As I said, Cat did a great job as minister and as host, and as requested by me, took it nice and slow for the day. But she was pooped after the long day and we went to bed earlier than usual!

Oregon Living 2024 – Blog #33 – Heading South for the Week

 

Sunday, August 11^th., 2024…… It was a quiet Sunday for us. Cathye headed off to church and I spent most of the day watching tv. We leave tomorrow so I loaded the bikes and parked the Honda in the shop garage where it will be easy for tomorrow morning. I had to remember the locks and chargers and water bottles and helmets but I think I’ve got everything!  I don’t expect to get satellite service at the park so I made sure I had all of my shows ready to tape this next week. Later, we watched some more of our taped shows then hit the spa and called it a night.  

Monday, August 12^th., 2024…… We were ready this morning to get going!  We walked and fed the dogs and I went out and moved the motorhome out and got the car hooked up. I think it was around 9:30am when we left. The trip went well. We stopped for fuel before we left town and then again at a rest stop to walk the dogs and we got into the park and checked in around 2:00pm. Once we got parked and everything set up

we rested for a while, then took the girls out to explore the area. Of course Rylee had to go in the river!

After that, I wanted to pull the bikes off the car and lock them up. Problem was when I went to get the locks out, my bag was completely empty!  We got hit!  We went back through the process of where they were stolen. Could be when we got fuel, or maybe at the rest stop, or possibly when we took a walk with the dogs at the river. Either way, we lost one lock and chain and some tools. Luckily, we had the other lock in Cat’s bag, which was untouched. I took off and went to get another lock and cable and we were able to get both bikes secured in camp. Then, when I was walking around the coach, I had our second shock!  I noticed the front tires!  One was really worn out! I knew I had an alignment or shock issue with the front end, but I didn’t expect it to wear the tires out after only 4,000 miles!  I contemplated going out to search for a local tire dealer to see if I could get it in.  But I thought I would be able to get home ok if I slowed down and was careful. Then I could find a place close to home to get the tires replaced and the suspension worked on.  But I was still worried and it would bother me at night when I was trying to sleep. We also couldn’t get a satellite signal so we had to make due with dvds for the week. We will be checking out a day early because we have a commitment on Saturday, so we have 4 days with no Directv.  

We decided to go out to dinner with our little group here this week. We chose the Black Bear diner and had a nice meal. When we got back, we took the pups out for a walk and then settled in for the night and watched an old Rock Hudson movie (Man’s Favorite Sport). I think we were in bed by 9:30!     

Tuesday, August 13^th., 2024……  This morning we took the bikes out for a ride. Cathye is trying not to do anything that would exert her too much, and she used the electric assist and had no problems and we had a good ride. The rest of the day was spent just lounging around. There are four rigs in our group at this campout. It is the first time we have been out with The Roaming Gnomes so we are getting to know them. Pat is the organizer and she will be the one who coordinates future campouts. They are heading out in September for a 2-3 week trip through Washington and Canada around the Osoyoos loop. We have too much going on for that long of a trip so we will pass. Next up for us is a trip to the coast to Osprey Point park. We suggested that one so we will go. Jackie and Sheryl are the other two with us this week. Both have camper vans. Sheryl is full time in hers. Not for us, but she likes it. She busies herself going around in a loop visiting her kids scattered around the northwest. Later, we met up with them for a potluck dinner. Pat made tacos and the rest of us brought fixins or fruit or dessert. We went back home and started our firepit and they came down and sat with us for a while. We talked about future trips and Pat shared how hard it has been trying to organize the group trips. We had a few suggestions but don’t want to get too involved because we have so much else going on in our lives to take this on right now.  Later, we took the dogs out for a quick walk, then bed.   

Wednesday, August 14^th., 2024…… Nothing this morning. Cathye was invited to go up to Jackie's rig to paint rocks. I found one earlier that she liked. We had breakfast and hung around the campground and while she was gone, I had Rylee down for a swim again. I stopped by and checked out the rock work. Nice! 

The weather is super nice today, with temps in the low 80s. The water temp in the river is also very nice. There are a few folks using the boat launch here in the park. We saw a couple of guys putting in their little skimmer boats that run the river and race here. They also put in kayaks or float tubes and head downriver. The girls are floating tomorrow. Cathye and I don’t have our tubes this trip but she doesn’t feel comfortable going right now anyway. Later, we all headed downtown to the Hellgate Jetboat Tour bldg. We had all booked a two hour ‘quick and scenic’ tour downriver. We had taken the Rogue River tour from Gold Beach inland, but never have done the river from this end before. While we were getting ready to board, I heard a, “Hey, Terry!” It was Merrilyn, Penny’s long-time friend, with her husband Brad. They were coming back from their Alaska cruise and were staying in another rv park in the area and just happened to book this tour!  They were in line behind us so they sat in another area on the boat, while the five of us took the front row. I took pics of them and they took a few of us.

You can see Brad (with the white beard) and Merrilyn several rows back!

It was super hot while we were loading and sitting at the dock, but it was nice and breezy when we got going downriver. The trip was fantastic! Our driver/guide was excellent, with his 24 years of doing this, and he made the ride a lot of fun. There were enough folks booked that they used two boats. We didn’t see the second one until the trip back. We ended up in the driest seats because we had the front windshield to ward off most of the water that came in! The folks in the back got soaked! Our driver talked about some of the fantastic homes on the water. He said they were in the 4-5 million dollar range. They were sure nice!

We saw eagle’s and osprey’s nests and deer on the ride.

Also, geese and cranes and egrets.

Turns out we ended up right about the same place that Jerry’s boats in Gold Beach come up to. So we now have seen the entire river system from Grants Pass to Gold Beach. We especially liked the area called Hellgate, where the rocks form a canyon with a small area to pass through on the river.

When we were on the way back, the second boat showed up. Our driver and the other boat played, ‘soak the boat’ with each other. It was fun and cooled us off!  

Once we got back to the dock, we hooked up with Brad and Merrilyn and got caught up a bit. We invited them to come by but they had to take care of their dog, who got bit by something and had a reaction. They took her in to a local vet and got treatment. She posted on Facebook to show how swollen Piper was.

After we got back, we rested and ate a light dinner and watched another movie. Tonight, it was Bailey, the Lost Puppy. Another dog walk in the dark and then bed.         

Thursday, August 15^th., 2024……  Today, the girls will go floating. Like I said, we couldn’t go this time, so I volunteered to watch Pat’s dog. She brought him over and then I drove them in Pat’s car down to the put in point above the bridge in town. We filled up the tubes and they got going. I took a couple of pics...

and then they were off.  I took her car back to the park and we waited to hear from them if or when they had any issues getting back to shore at our park. No problem and they showed up earlier than we thought and walked back to their rigs. Later, we all went out to Casa Flores for Mexican food. We had been there before so we wanted to go back and enjoy the food and drink. It was tasty.  TV and relaxing with the dogs...

then an early bedtime.

Friday, August 16^th., 2024…… We were up early and got going. We head home today. I had already put the bikes on the rack and got a lot of the gear put away last night, so today was pretty easy. I think it was 8:30am or so when we left the park. I was really nervous because of the bad tire, but the farther we traveled, the more I felt we would be ok. We got home around noon and unhooked the car. I backed the motorhome in and we unloaded everything. I found we were lucky because I now have metal cord showing on the inside of that one tire!

But at least now I can search out a place to take it for repair and new tires. As I said, we unloaded and Cat got laundry started and I got the bikes and bike rack off and put away. We came in and rested for most of the day. Next on our list of priorities now is prepping for the kid’s wedding here. That will start tomorrow. We spent the rest of the day resting and watching tv. We settled in our own rooms and watched our own taped programs. For me it was racing and little league games. I got some watched but I’m not near caught up. Cathye did a little to clear her list too. Then we got together and watched America’s Got Talent. Of the eleven acts on the first round, we picked our favorites. Tomorrow we will watch the results show to see how we did.   

Saturday, August 17^th., 2024…… As I said, we have the wedding to work on today. But first up is our backpack giveaway. We try to do this every year. The local churches and volunteer organizations around Sweet Home collect funds and buy school supplies for the low income/underprivileged kids in the school district. They host a day at the high school where they have all kinds of booths and giveaways for the school kids. Our church does the backpack truck. This year they a U-Haul truck loaded with crates of backpacks. The kindergarten through 6^th grade kids get a filled backpack, and the jr. high and high schoolers get an empty one. I am told they will all get Chromebooks when their classes start. Cathye and Penny worked the little kids and I had the older ones. It was interesting to see the enthusiasm (or lack of in some cases) of the kids coming in with their parents to get their packages. After a few hours, we got relieved by the next shift, and headed home. Thanks, Penny for all your help today! Cathye got a little overheated and was happy you stepped in to help out for a while!  

When we got home, we sat out on the deck and made plans. We are getting chairs (and a dais) from the church but we will wait until Wednesday to get those. I wanted to put the fire pit on dollies so I could check out the gas connection. We want to move it out to use that section of the deck for the wedding party. Turns out I put it in with a quick-connect and was able to move the fire pit out of the way pretty easily. Then I figured out a way to lower the flex line under the deck and I put a cover over the hole so we can use the entire area now.

 

I put away all of the sanding tools for the bar and got that area squared away. We originally wanted to have the bartop epoxied and finished to use as a serving table at the wedding. But I am worried that the coats of epoxy will not entirely cure in time. So, we have decided to just use it as-is for the reception. Later, I went out and got us burgers and fries from Jack in the Box. We watched the AGT results show. We did ok but were surprised by a couple of the viewers votes. We skipped the spa and went to bed. We were both tired but I think we are still catching up from day and the trip.  

 

Oregon Living 2024 – Blog #32 – Another Busy Week!

 

Sunday, August 4^th., 2024…… Another quiet weekend. Still hot. Cat walked and fed the dogs while I went out to get us breakfast. I hit Tony’s today and got us breakfast burritos. Then Starbucks. For some reason both places were slow and they each took some time to get through. Oh well, nothing planned today and Cat was able to head out to church in plenty of time. Meanwhile, I went out and checked the batteries on the motorhome. Yep, dead. So, I pulled out the charger and will have to let that go another day before I try again. We leave next Monday for 5 days at Schroeder Park in Grants Pass. Cat texted me that the school supply giveaway, sponsored by her church, is next Saturday. So, we will now cut the trip a day short and come back on Friday instead. I will need to check on a refund if that’s possible. Before she got home, I worked on putting everything back the storage compartments in the motorhome. We had tables and chairs and such that we have used for other trips that needed to get put away. If you know me, you know they HAVE to go back! When she got home, we went out and cleaned up the inside of the motorhome. We still had Luke’s blowup bed out there and it needed to be deflated and stored away. We put clean sheets on our bed and then came in for the day. I spent time on the blog and posted and then spent the rest of the day watching tv. Olympics of course, but also the regionals for Little League Baseball are on tv today. I think I have them all taped, going forward. So, between the Olympic events, and auctions, I have plenty to watch!  Cathye is working on menu items for our campout. We know about one potluck but we still have the other days to plan for. I still need to get the bartop done because we will need it for presents for the wedding. I will plan that for tomorrow. Leftovers for dinner. Tv and spa until bedtime.

Monday, August 5^th., 2024……  More Olympics today. This will continue all week. Little League games all week too, so I will be bouncing back and forth to stay caught up. Today is Cathye’s stress test. We won’t have time to go to the gym this morning because of that. They didn’t get the order approved for a chemical stress test, so she took the physical one on the treadmill. She made it to get her heartrate up enough to get a reading, which we will find out about later today. We stopped by and got breakfast, and came home for the day. Later, she read the report on MyChart. It indicated ischemia was present. That’s restricted blood flow to one or more arteries.  Her friends and family said she is most likely needing angioplasty. She made an appointment with her doctor for later in the week to discuss. All of this is still prior to her 1^st. visit with the cardiologist, later this month. Meanwhile, we booked skydiving for September 14^th. Yes, we are both going – unless she is told otherwise!  Randy is looking at coming up to with us. More later when he knows….

The kids and grandkids came over today to do some work around the backyard and to discuss more details for the wedding. Corey burned the dead weeds down that we had sprayed last week. It looks really good.  While he was working, I shared my ideas with Vikki for the canopy, tables and chairs setup (one of my only jobs!) and then got a little frustrated after hearing what she wants – but it’s her day and we will do whatever!  

So, I sanded the bartop down with 600 again, this time working on the edges. One more time and it should be ready for epoxy!

You can also see where Corey worked on the weeds in the gravel!
 

Later, we called in to our zoom meeting for more updates on the Australia land tour which follows our cruise. We know the schedule, but Lyndee (and David and Dawn) needed to go over some updates and give us timelines for payment(s). We will have 86 on that section of the trip, which means we can fill two buses which spreads the costs out to the minimum. We got weight restrictions for the whole trip. We have pretty much unlimited weight on the ship, BUT we have limits on the air part. We did find out there is no square dance attire required and consensus is that everyone is happy about that! Means a lot less clothes to pack and haul around!  From the end of the call, we know we got some of our questions answered but we still have a few things to do from here – 1) payments for what we have deposits on to date, 2) one more tour to look into – we want to do the bridge walk in Sydney. It’s not part of the tour so we will have to schedule it on our own on the open day before we leave to fly home. But we know we can pack and keep the weight down for all legs of the trip!          

Tuesday, August 6^th., 2024……  Olympics and baseball this morning. Square dance workshop this afternoon. Cat is not going as she is being told by everyone to take it easy for now. I went and helped out. When I got back, we talked a bit more about yesterday and the test and then about the wedding. Oh, yeah, we leave next week for a motorhome trip with our rv club! We need to plan for that too!  

Wednesday, August 7^th., 2024…… Today was a light day. Cathye had a scheduled lunch with Jamie. When she got back, we worked on the yard some more. It’s super-hot these days so we stayed in for the most part and watched the Olympics (and baseball for me), going out for short periods.  

Thursday, August 8^th., 2024……  Today was my doctor day. I left this morning and headed off to Corvallis to meet with ‘the electrician’! This was a referral from my cardiologist because I am a good candidate for an ablation procedure. It was explained to me about the electrical charge that they use once they get the line to my heart. I’m doing ok now with normal sinus rhythm but this procedure with allow stability and will hopefully reduce my meds – which is always a good thing! So, I opted to have it done. Will have a bit to wait for scheduling though.      

Friday, August 9^th., 2024…… We have haircuts on the agenda today. Also, Cat has her appointment today with her doctor, so we will take both cars and she can go directly there to make it for her check-in time.  She has read through ‘Dr. Google’ and wants more info. After my haircut, I went home and prepped the mowers for later today. When Cat got back, we spent time talking about her visit. Even though he is not involved in the heart treatment, the doctor carefully explained to her what to expect next. She is a lot less nervous now. Yaay! Plus, he said she was good to go skydiving because, other than nervous adrenaline, it wasn’t strenuous to her heart.

Penny came over and we got started with the mowing. I did the lawn with the bagger while they both cut the field and areas that didn’t need bagging. It went quickly and Cat didn’t have to work at dumping grass!  A win win for her!    

Saturday, August 10^th., 2024…… Since we didn’t get breakfast out this week, we went out to Kristi’s this morning. After that, we stopped and got the Honda washed before our trip on Monday. We also picked up some new meds from her last visit. I spent some time working on sawhorses for the guest table for the wedding. The store bought sawhorses work but they are just a little too high and you feel like a child reaching up to the table! The ones I built should work fine. I also got the bike rack on the Honda. I will wait until tomorrow to load them though. We ate leftovers and watched tv and then hit the spa before bed.   

 

Oregon Living 2024 – Blog #31 – Olympic Games and a Wedding Announcement

 

Sunday, July 28^th., 2024…… A quiet Sunday. We walked the dogs. Cathye fed them while I went out and got us breakfast and Starbucks. After we ate, Cat hurried off to church and I worked on the blog – all the while with the Olympics in the background. I also snuck in the only race on the calendar during the games – F1 racing. The rest of the day and evening was spent lounging and watching tv and hitting the spa.

Monday, July 29^th., 2024……  We got rain today! Ok, last night I guess. When we woke up this morning, it was coming down as a light drizzle. They say it will be off and on all day. That’s ok, we can use it. Not sure if it will help the fires in the area because at the light rate it falls, it just turns to steam before hitting fire. But we’ll take it! Plus, we don’t have to water.  

Tuesday, July 30^th., 2024……  The rains have stopped. So, it was time to get the car washed. We have swallows flying in and out of the garage when either of the doors are open. The little sh#ts are trying to build nests on our lights! It makes for a nice mess on the cars!

 

So, I have to move the cars out, unscrew the lights, and clean them off every few days. We try to keep the doors closed but sometimes we forget. Hopefully the nesting season will end or they will find another garage to hit!  We left for the square dance workshop. Today, there were only enough of us for one square so Cat had to get through the whole time. But she did well. She has her stress test next week so hopefully we will find out more after that.

Wednesday, July 31^st., 2024…… We slept in this morning. I think it was the latest to date! We were out with the dogs and fed them and started in on the Olympics. Because of the date/time differences between the US and France, the evening events are in the morning for us. Of course we could watch the primetime event in the evening and get the highlights, but we like to see them firsthand. We tape everything but wait a few hours so we can watch and fast-forward through the commercials.  So, that gave us some time to work outside. Cathye watered and I sanded some more on the bartop. I have it down to 400 grit and it’s looking pretty good.

But, I broke the palm sander. No worries – I found a 20v Dewalt on Amazon and it will be here later today!  Yaay – a new tool!  Before that, I went out and got Cat set up on her sanding project for her cutting board. It took little effort to get it smooth.

Once I get the 600 paper on the new sander, she can finish it off. We will put a couple of coats of cutting board oil on it and we think it’s going to be really pretty!  I hope the bartop, also black walnut, will look as nice! Of course, that one will get epoxied with a super high gloss finish.

Thursday, August 1^st., 2024……  Today we have massages on our calendar. The weather here is hot, hot, hot! Temps today expected to be in the high 90s!  It was only in the 70s when we walked the girls so that wasn’t too bad. After the gym, we went out to Kevin’s for breakfast today since Kristi’s is closed this week. But I wanted to get back home early today to work on the bartop before it got too hot. The sander came in yesterday and I had already bought the hook and loop discs and did a 600 grit sand on it. Cat also did a 600 on her cutting board. After cleaning it, we put cutting board oil on it and it’s good to go!  I still will need to put some rubber bumpers on the bottom but for now it’s done.

It soon got too hot to be outside.  It hit 99° on the deck this afternoon! Needless to say, we stayed inside after that!  I did go out and clean butthead’s pool and we gave her a chance to run and cool off!  Jama is content to stay inside and watch!

The big news right now – Corey and Vikki are getting married. Corey called his grandmother and asked if they could have the weeding here. Oh, and they want it on Aug. 24^th! Three weeks! He also asked her if she could officiate it! Wow!  So, after the call, I went online and found it was super easy to get her ordained online. I think it took all of 10 minutes to get it all done!  She will get a mailed packet which will have her certificate and credentials plus marriage licenses. I read up on all of the requirements (not many) to conduct a wedding, one of which is to check in with the local courthouse to see if there is anything they might require (unlikely). We know she will have to turn in the correctly completed and signed marriage certificate, which the kids will need to apply for. That’s pretty much it. Next up was the planning. We have a little idea of what they want. 30 or so in attendance. Guests on chairs on the grass. The wedding on the deck area. Tents in the yard set up for food and such. Food/cake table. We are supposed to meet them tomorrow for breakfast in Salem where her family/grandmother will meet us to discuss more details. She called Robin to see if she can borrow the old chairs stored in the church. They also have a pulpit she can use, so at least that is covered. So, we are sneaking up on this. The bad part is that we are leaving the week before in the motorhome for a 5-day camping trip with our rv club. So, we want to get organized asap!   

Later, we watched taped Olympics. I am keeping count on the swimming gold medals. The US and Australia are in a slugfest to see who’s going to get the most golds. I know the US is expected to lead in total medals (especially when we get to track and field) but China is leading in gold and France is really doing well. It’s fun to watch and when I tape the events, I can fast forward through the dull spots as well as ALL of the commercials!  Cathye is watching as well, but she is interested in the gymnastics for the most part. Simone and the US team is doing great so far! We watched taped shows until bed. We skipped the spa tonight since it was so hot outside and we had the house nice and cool.    

Friday, August 2^nd., 2024…… Hot again! Not as bad as yesterday but still in the 90s. We are supposed to get some rain but they said it would only be sprinkles and it was a small cell and didn’t come this way so we didn’t see any of it. Needless to say, we are watering like crazy. We walked the dogs and then left and ran a few errands on the way to Salem. Vikki’s grandmother, who is helping out with the wedding, met us and the kids at Sybil’s for breakfast and a meeting. We really liked this place. It is a ma and pa restaurant and they were so nice to let us eat and talk for longer than most. Plus, the food was good.  So we will put this on our list. The ladies talked and got some more details hammered out. They gave us our invitation plus Penny's and Cherrelyn's too. 

So much more to do. Oh yeah, the headcount is now moved up from 30 to 58!  I guess it’s best we know this now because it affects the layout. They are coming over later to go over more details.

Ok, it’s later…. Cathye got a call from Corey that Vikki has lost her phone! Long story but they won’t be coming today. We had a few options tonight, one of which was to go square dancing. I hesitated because of Cathye’s current issue, and we just took the night off and stayed in.  

Saturday, August 3^rd., 2024…… HAPPY 80^th BIRTHDAY RICK!! I called first thing this morning but only got a voicemail. Will try again later.  Cat went out to get eggs from our supplier lady and then went on to Walmart for a few things. I got the batteries for the Pedegos out and charged up. I was outside later putting the batteries on the e-bikes when Rick called me back. We had a nice talk. Cathye came back while we were talking so she got to talk to him too. I got the bikes out and aired up and test drove them. They are ready for next week. I was in and out watering the one spot where we still don’t have sprinklers, and watching tv. Nothing done on the bar today. It was a pretty lazy Saturday.  We did get Cat's papers in the mail today. All she needs to go now!

Later, Cat asked me if I was still interested in going to the Benton County Fair tonight to see Sawyer Brown in concert. Earlier in the week, she had made plans with her girls to go. I said, “no, you go. I’m not into going into a fair and parking and then sitting in the grass and sun, so I’ll stay home and relax.” The girls picked her up at 4:00pm and I fed the dogs and then put all of the bikes and stuff away and came in for the day. It was tv until bedtime. She got home around 10:30 or so and the dogs woke me up so we talked. She said it was fun and he was very good.