Oregon Living 2026 – Blog #27 – Quiet to Very Busy!

 

Sunday, July 12^th., 2026…… Another quiet day. Cat walked and fed the girls while I went off and got us breakfast and coffee. We spent the entire day just lounging around. I think I needed it because I haven’t been sleeping well these last few days. But last night was great and today the rest helps! We watched our taped programs. For me, it was the Tour de France. I have watched it from the start and this year it is amazing. These guys are racing 100 – 120 miles each day in 99°+ days!  

We watched a few of our combined programs together before bed. Tonight, it was more of World War II with Tom Hanks. It is amazingly done and we are both learning new things about the war and it’s time line and strategies.

Monday, July 13^th., 2026…… Treatments 21 thru 25 this week. I have gotten used to the time frame to get up, get showered and dressed, and get to the clinic in no hurry!  Got more pics today from the kids. They are around Port Angeles and are having fun exploring and riding. Looks like the weather is nice up there too! We are in the low 80s right now. Expected to go up to the high 80s later this week. I will attach photos from their entire trip when they get back later this week.

Tuesday, July 14^th., 2026……  I received a call yesterday saying that the machine I am on for my treatment is down. So, no treatment today. Later this evening, we are heading off to Concert in the Park. Tonight, it will be Reed Fokley, a country/western artist from, Nashville. Penny will be going early to stake out a spot in the shade. She goes quite a bit and knows where to sit. I got another call from the oncology center again this afternoon. Yep, still down. They have extended until Thursday. They have also given me appointments for next Thursday and Friday, which will complete my 28-treatment schedule. It will be tough since we will still have family visiting, but it’s out of my hands and I will take it in stride.

Ok, it’s later now.  We got back from the concert and went in to watch some tv before bed. The show was very good. He played some of his own songs (didn’t know any) but also did songs from other artists. Penny had got seats. She met up with her friends there too and we took a selfie…

Here are a couple of pics form the night….

Wednesday, July 15^th., 2026…… Our yard guy was supposed to be here today but his schedule is not the same as ours. He comes every two weeks, so I guess I’ll have to adjust my calendar to match!  Meanwhile, Cat continues to work on her plants and waters and prunes them. She also has picked pretty much all of the blueberries this year. Next step is to add sawdust to keep down the weeds.   

Thursday, July 16^th., 2026…… Back to treatment this morning. This is no. 22 (of 28). Getting close!  I met Cat at Kristi’s and we went to Walmart on the way home. When we got home, it was about time to drop Rylee and Jama off at the groomers. It’s their spa day! Cat went off to visit with her friends and go to Shawn’s yard sale.  Randy, Maryanne and Steve got back today. They said they had a great time! Here are pics from their trip….

 

Later, after Penny came over, we all went to Pizza Schmizza for dinner. It turned out Thursdays are trivia nights. So, we named our team The Kinkys and participated. It was fun! They had several categories. Some we knew – some we didn’t. We finished in second place though!      

 

Friday, July 17^th., 2026…… Today was a busy day!  I headed off to my treatment. The kids left for the day and went riding. I think they went to Black Rock again. Cat went off to lunch with Judy. Later, she went down to Springfield. Maryanne took my truck and went off to Albany to play pickleball. Cathye and I had seats at the yearly Haitian fundraiser. But she thought it would be better for me to stay back and take Randy and Steve out for a ‘boys’ night’.  We chose Schmizza again. This time we ordered pizza! No trivia tonight. It was fun. When Maryanne got back, the truck sounded funny!  It had been squeaking for the last few weeks but I thought it was just a fan belt. Turns out it was a water pump! Randy and Steve said they would fix it tomorrow.  Cat got home and brought bracelets from Haiti for the girls. She said she thought the fundraiser was a success.  Here are pics from her night....

Saturday, July 18^th., 2026…… We all decided to go to breakfast this morning, so the five of us piled in our car and we drove to The Point for breakfast. On the way home, we stopped at Napa Auto Parts and I bought a new water pump, hoses, gaskets, and anti-freeze. When we got back, Steve would leave to head off to the coast to visit friends before heading back to Scottsdale. Randy and I took out the fan shroud but when we got that off, we discovered that we would need to remove the timing belt assembly just to get to the pump. Randy wasn’t comfortable with going into the timing, so we buttoned everything back up. Now I will need to call my Toyota guy to see what he can do for me. But next week we will have more family here (Cat’s sister Mary and husband Jim).  Maybe next week after all the family is gone. Randy decided that Cat's potting shed roof needed work. There are glass panels there of which some had slid out of place. He devised a safe way to slide them up and I helped secure them. 

Once we had everything cleaned up, we rested. Penny came by and we watched the soccer 3^rd place game. The kids left shortly after that because they planned on making it home tomorrow before the final game starts. As for us, we rested for the day.  And from the week!  

 

Oregon Living 2026 – Blog #26 – Family In and Out!

 

Sunday, July 5^th., 2026…… I went out to the campground with my truck and found that Cat had already loaded a lot of her stuff in the car. We broke down the canopy and took that away from the kids. But they were also getting their things stowed so no worries. We headed home and got everything unloaded and stored away in a short time. Then we had the rest of the day to ourselves. Being it is a Sunday; I spent the rest of the day just resting and watching my races. Cat relaxed from her weekend and rested and napped a little during the day. Pretty stress free now! She still has a lot of rash all over her body!  We’re not sure what it is but I’m guessing she will call her doctor tomorrow to try to get in.       

Monday, July 6^th., 2026…… Yep, she called her doctor’s office first thing this morning and got an appointment at 2:00 this afternoon. Meanwhile, I am starting on my third week of radiation. No noticeable complications so far. I meet with the dr. on Tuesdays but I don’t have too much to report or ask. I guess no news is good news! Later in the morning, I got out the mowers and gassed them up. Penny is still in SoCal, so today we will be doing it with just the two of us. We made the decision to keep the baggers on and mow everything that we want to be neat and clean. We did the lawn itself and around the blueberries and grapevines and dumped all of that in the new grass pile since Mark had already spread all of the old clippings when he mowed the field last week. And we were done for the day. I did take the baggers off and the plan now is to go out and do the field tomorrow.  Cat took off for her appointment and when she got back, she was told it was not shingles (whew!) but more likely an eczema of some kind. She has been rather nervous these last few weeks. What with dealing with me and my treatment program, as well as her grandkids and Corey’s issues, it’s does feel that may be the problem. Also, in the past, she has had eczema as well. She got a prescription for prednisone as well as a topical and came home.

Tuesday, July 7^th., 2026……  After I got back from Corvallis, we started in on the mowing. It took a lot less time than I thought and we were done for the day!  Randy and Maryanne will be here today!  They started out from their house yesterday and drove all the way to Ashland (OR). Also, Randy’s friend, Steve, is joining us here later as well. He dropped his wife off at the airport in Redmond this morning and will drive across the Cascades to meet up here. Ok, it’s later. Randy made it and later Steve got in. Randy set up his motorhome and Steve has a cool awning on his hummer and also got that set up. The kids will sleep in their motorhome and Steve will sleep in our motorhome in the garage.

Later, Penny came over and we went to dinner. I chose to take them all out to High Caliber and we weren’t disappointed! Cat was still itchy and wanted to relax at home so she skipped on the dinner. Later, we all sat out on the deck and talked until everyone decided to call it a night.     

Wednesday, July 8^th., 2026…… The plan today was for the kids to go ride Alsea Falls. They were still here when I returned from treatment. So, after they left, we had the day to ourselves and decided to go shopping for dinner tonight. Cat chose lasagna and needed a few things for that. When they got home, she was just about ready with the meal. It was really good. Cherrelyn came over and Penny did too (but Penny already had dinner). We had a bunch left over and the plan – when it gets finalized – would include giving it to them for their next leg. Later, they figured it out – they will head out tomorrow morning and head northwest, with stops at Tillamook (and the creamery) and rides in that area. Then they want to head north through Astoria and make their way up to Washington and to the Olympic Peninsula where they will ride the trails there. Then into the Bellingham area. Cathye is doing way better now with her rash. I think the medications are definitely helping!  

Thursday, July 9^th., 2026…… Again, I was back before the kids were packed and ready to head out!  We really didn’t have anything planned because of the kids, so, after they left, we worked around the yard. I am still feeling tired and get winded easily, so I took it easy but we got the vines around the wellhouse cut back and that made me happy! Later, I got pics from Randy and Steve from their day which I am posting here.

Friday, July 10^th., 2026…… I thought I would try to take a picture of the machine I have been in for the past few weeks. It's pretty impressive and is actually not uncomfortable!. The bed section slides back and the arms on the machine open up and the radiation is tuned in to where it needs to be. The whole process takes about 8 minutes! 

Cat had a lunch date with Jamie planned for today and she went off for that. Later, she also had a dinner party with some of her fellow retired health care workers and she said that was a lot of fun!

Saturday, July 11^th., 2026…… HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN HEAVEN JEFF! He would have been 56 today. I sure miss him! I texted Cherrelyn and Penny, inviting them over for a bbq chicken dinner and a toast to Jeff. It was a relaxing evening. Nothing from the kids so far today….

 

Oregon Living 2026 – Blog #25 – HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

 

Sunday, June 28^th., 2026…… Today was our Club’s board meeting, which will be held at our house along with a potluck bbq. Cat had the chicken cooked yesterday and all I needed to do was heat up the grill and finish it and add bbq sauce. As mentioned, we didn’t have anyone camping here this time but we had 20 or so for the potluck/meeting later in the day. I went out early and got us breakfast and coffee then stopped by Walmart and picked up ice and a few other things and we were ready for the day! Folks got here at 2:00pm and some played cards while others sat and talked. I fired up the bbq and it only took a few minutes to cook and we were ready to eat at 3:00.

After the meal, we set up for the board meeting, which went quickly. And just like that, we were done with the weekend!  It was pretty easy set up and take down and we were back inside in an hour. We relaxed for the rest of the evening.  

Monday, June 29^th., 2026…… Start of week 3.  This morning when I got close to town, I called to meet up with Cat at Kevin’s for breakfast.  We had nothing on the agenda for today after that, so we took it easy and rested for the day. I did receive the bird house (it’s more of a condo!) from Amazon that I had ordered. I will need to put it together, which is on my list for tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 30^th., 2026……  Cat has been having to get up and walk and feed the girls and today was no exception. Today they went for a longer walk all the way up our road. My appointments from now on are at 8:00am (instead of 8:15) so I am home earlier. Once I got back, I went out and worked on the birdhouse. I got it completed in a few hours. I bought the larger model, which has three levels of six ‘rooms’. The major complaint online was that this thing “takes forever to put together with tons of parts and poor instructions!”. So, I was ready for the task and found it went pretty easily. Yes, there were a lot of pieces but after I got the first section (with the roof assembly) together, the others went quickly. I did note that nowhere did it say that the assembly was supposed to be attached to a pole. I had planned on attaching it to the dead tree stump, so I will have to think this one out for a bit. I settled on putting in a pvc pole to build the assembly and I had about 8 inches on the bottom after completing. That will work!  I only need to drill a 1 ¼” hole into the top of the stump and then go from there.      

Wednesday, July 1^st., 2026…… I was back from treatment early and stopped by Tractor Supply to get a spade bit because I didn’t have one the right size. Later, I loaded up the birdhouse and everything I thought I might need to attach it. I hoped to screw the base to the tree but turns out that wouldn’t work. But the spade bit worked well and it seems like a pretty snug and secure fit. Maybe I will come back with gorilla glue to add to the base or maybe some other way!  Hmmm. Either way, it looks good, even from the house!   

Thursday, July 2^nd., 2026…… This morning, I was up at 1:30am because I needed to be at Penny’s to pick her up to take her to the Eugene airport for her early morning flight out to California. It was a pretty easy run and I was back home and in bed by 3:45am to get a few more hours sleep before my 8:00am appointment in Corvallis. Once that was done and I was back home, I spent some time working on my bills (insurance is due this month!) while Cat went about her business gathering up items for her campout. We loaded up my truck with everything and went down to Pioneer Park. Lona had found a small space and we started setting up. She has a small motorhome now and had that parked with room in front and to the side for the tents and tables. Cat chose where her tent will be and we just laid it out. She won’t be staying so if it was up, she’d be charged for the night. We saved room for Corey and family and left for the day. Later, Cat went back with a few more items but just visited for the evening and came back home. She has a rash and is itching like crazy! Not sure yet what it is.     

Friday, July 3^rd., 2026…… Cat checked in and it looks like everyone is in camp – except her.  I left for treatment and Cat stayed home because Mark was coming early to mow the back field. He was out working when I got back. Cat headed down with the car and will be there thru Sunday morning. Mark will be here for most of the day. He is also doing two of the neighbor’s fields and will either start today after me or wait until tomorrow. Either way, because we have the space, he will be leaving his tractor and trailer here to stage for everything.

He got finished a little after 4:00pm and will be back tomorrow to work Rich and Linda’s field. Cat called me to let me know how things were going. They have a big crowd this year and it’s packed!  But all of her group has made it for the weekend. I didn’t get a count but with Vikki’s friends popping in and out, it’s a rather large rowdy group. There is, of course a lot of chaos with them trying to discipline the kids. Frankly, I’m glad to have the reprieve of being home with the dogs. We did have some fireworks going off this evening and Jama went bananas! Rylee is a lot calmer and slept through most of it!  

Saturday, July 4^th., 2026…… HAPPY 250TH ANNIVERSARY!  My job today – after walking and feeding the girls – was to gather up stuff for the potluck this afternoon. I was told we would be eating at 1:00pm and I had to be there a little after noon to bring Cat’s blueberry cobbler plus heat up her beans and bring those. I was also asked to bring Jama’s trazadone for Robin’s dog, who is pretty excited with all of the activities. I left and had everything I was asked (except I didn’t bring the cool whip!). The meal was chaotic. We had to wait for the kids to go shopping and get their chicken and potatoes for the meal, but once we had everything on the table, it was a good meal. I stayed for a bit, then excused myself and left for home. I got a few updates on the rest of the evening. The fireworks show was well done and enjoyed by everyone. Cat is still miserable with itching. I brought her out several creams and sprays but she is still suffering. I watched David Muir and the network’s 24-hour coverage of festivities all across the country. I especially liked some of the special features they did (national sparks, statue of liberty, etc.), I taped most of them for Cat to watch later. As for our noise levels, it was a lot longer show at Cheadle Lake than normal. And when it was over, most everyone went out to their cars and did their own shows!  So, it took a while for everything to quiet down. But once it was over, we had a good night’s sleep!