Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #108 – Christmas Stuff is Done! Plus - a Time To Reflect

  

Saturday, December 30th, 2017…...  I did my wait thing this morning to see if my dog walking services were needed but Penny texted that she’s still doing ok (yaay!) so I wasn’t needed.  I spread out the day between watching college bowl games on tv and moving all of the Christmas stuff from the porch to the shop.  I sure am glad I have put up all of the rack shelving out there in the shop.  I took a picture before pulling it all down so I can get it back the same.  Even with all of the shelving space I am looking at adding even more. It’s just nice to have all of the room to do that. 

       

Sunday, December 31st, 2017…...  LAST DAY OF 2017!  I always said that we kick back on the weekends.  But today we did some more cleanup around the house and shop.  Lydia worked on cleaning and dusting things we couldn’t get to with all the Christmas stuff out.  I went out early to the shop and got all of the boxes and crates stored back up on the racks. So that’s done. The rest of the day we just rested and watched tv.  No plans tonight – I don’t imagine we’ll even make it to midnight. 

So now it’s time to reflect about 2017 a bit.  I won’t go into the world’s issues here – just our year in general.  We ended 2016 with a plan – to make a life changing move.  After living all of our life in So Cal it was time for a change. Yes, we were ready.  We evaluated our current lifestyle.  Yes, we had a good life in Calif. with a bunch of great friends and a busy (at least to us) social life. But after much thought, we made the decision to make the move to a different location and a new stage in our lives. Oregon was our choice after our many years traveling all over the US in our rv.  We didn’t want frozen tundra nor more snow than we can deal with nor did we want to live in barren desert.  We like green, not brown. We did want seasons. We also didn’t want a tract home, next door to neighbors but we didn’t want to be isolated from civilization either. With all that in mind we decided that the Willamette Valley in central Oregon fit our needs. A bit of rain, maybe some snow (not yet!), but definitely seasons and most importantly – not in California. We were tired of many things in Cali – traffic, crime, smog, crowded stores, long lines, rude people, and, sorry, not meant to be prejudicial but so many folks we have no cultural ties with. We found folks up here to be a breath of fresh air.  Everyone we have met has been friendly and welcoming (contrary to beliefs about Californians moving here!). Yes, we have rednecks and crime and some homeless, and even some traffic if you’re in a larger city during rush hour. But the skies are clean and the air is crisp and we love life up here!  We made the right choice.  We’ve seen the weather at it’s worst and we’re ok with it so far.  The rain is nice (even though it holds me back from being outside when I want to).  No snow yet but we’ve experienced black ice (although not a lot). Everything is what we’ve expected and we’re thrilled with it all.  The hardest part of being here is that we’re not close to the friends we’ve made in Calif. Plus family can’t just run up and visit when they want (900 miles one way from Long Beach to Lebanon & 3,163 miles one way from Ft Myers FL to Lebanon). But, hey, we have an rv and can travel too! So, back to our year. Now that we’re in and operational, we are working on fixing up and improving on what we have and what we want. We bought my riding mower, a utility trailer, some new tools and tables and cabinets for the shop and some new furniture and carpet runners for the house. We’ve gotten our landscaping jump started with new plants and mulch and new sprinklers and our fruit trees and shrubs in good shape. Our rv garage project is in progress.  And most important, we are both healthy. So, all in all, we are moving right along with our new life in Oregon!  We love it! Happy times! 

To all of our friends - we’d like to wish all of you a safe and prosperous 2018!   Please think about coming up to visit us.  We have plenty of room for you, be it in the house or out on the property in your rv.  You’re all welcome and we look forward to your visit!  Happy New Year!

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #107 – Another Round of Chemo for Sis and another Visit to the DMV for us!

 

Thursday, December 28th, 2017…...  This morning I woke up early and took Quincy out for a nice long walk.  We wanted to do a full lap around the property but I stopped short a bit because Ollie, the neighbor’s Goldendoodle, was out.  Quincy is a cool dog but is not very social so we haven’t introduced them yet. After that I came in and showered and we headed out to check if Kevin’s was open yet.  Still closed so we drove into Albany and tried a new place that we have seen a lot of cars at.  It’s called Pop’s Branding Iron Restaurant. It was pretty good.  We’ll go back if/when we are in that area but we’re not gonna be frequent flyers there. On the way home, we stopped at Sam Fitness and got our cards.  We waited because we were told that UHC was changing their Silver Slippers cards to something else.  We have received nothing to date so we went and got registered.  We won’t have to pay either way so we’re good. We also stopped at the DMV to check on what is needed to register the motorhome. Our other three vehicles are owned outright but we have a lienholder on the motorhome. The tags expire this month so we wanted to get going on it.  Ok, follow this if you can –  we need to pay $7.00 for vin number verification (no other inspections required) now and can bring the coach in to them to verify anytime.  We need to contact our lienholder (USAA) to let them know we are sending them a packet.  We then have to write a check payable to Oregon DMV for the fees (total of $468.00) and MAIL it in that packet to USAA (yeah!), along with the request for Oregon registration form filled out.  The DMV gave us a letter to enclose explaining the process to the financial lender.  They are required to verify the check as payment and then they have to send it back to the Oregon DMV along with my current Calif pink slip (that they of course are holding until I pay off the loan).  Oregon DMV will process the paperwork, issue them a new Oregon pink slip naming them the lienholder again.  When all is done, I will get an Oregon registration with my name and theirs on it just like Calif. plus my new Oregon license plates. When I called USAA, they said they were certainly familiar with this process but they said that Oregon was the only state that does it that way!  Go figure.  It was a lot of work but, hey, my tags last year in Calif. were $584.  The $468.00 in Oregon is for two years so this is way cheaper and well worth the extra effort!

Penny got back later in the afternoon, with no issues and feeling fine.  She took Quincy and was planning on stopping for some takeout on the way home.  We also had Dana come by this afternoon with our (rv garage) contract to sign.  They are ready to go but to date the permit hasn’t been received but the county offices were closed for the holiday and when they were in office, it was with reduced staff. That’s the lightning speed that things are done here in Oregon!         

Friday, December 29th, 2017…...  I got up early this morning and showered and got ready.  I was expecting to get a text from sis to come over and walk Quincy but when she did text me she said she was feeling ok and was heading out for the walk.  I was already out and went off and got coffee and breakfast before returning home and beginning the day working on the rest of the Christmas storage. I got all of the containers out and on the back porch. Lydia still has to

work on getting things back in the tubs.  I cleaned up the yard lights and the porch stuff and got all the garland down inside so that’s all done.  Our Christmas village still needs to be reboxed but that’s about all that’s left. 

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #106 – Visiting and Then Saying Goodbye

 

Tuesday, December 26th, 2017…...  Wow, what a nice day yesterday!  Family, friends and food!  (and gifts!).  We got up late and had a breakfast of leftovers but everyone was happy with that. The girls had plans today to drive over to Corvallis for some shopping.  Randy and Arjan took off to go riding.  I have Jeff’s mountain bike up here and Randy had left his from his last visit so it worked out.  I stayed home with the dogs and after letting them out for a nice walk/run around the yard, I took off to pick up Penny’s chair that was in and took that to her house and set up. Then I came back home and walked the dogs again and then started taking down some of the Christmas decorations.  Those of you who know me know I usually get everything put away within a day or two after Christmas. Sorry – just my way…. The girls got back – the guys got back and we fixed leftovers for dinner.  Plus, we cooked the dessert pizza that Maryanne went to get Christmas eve.  It was not quite as good as fresh out of their oven but it was still yummy!

Wednesday, December 27th, 2017…...  Even though they stayed up late last night, the kids got early and started loading up the Hummer for their trip home.  They came up Interstate 5 but were thinking about going across the Cascades via Santiam Pass and going down through Bend.  But Randy decided that that would delay them by 3 hours or more plus the weather could change. So, they left around 9:00am and went back via the 5.  They texted a few times and then when they got home (about 12:30am). No problems – just a long day! It was sure good to see them and Arjan was a nice guy and very interesting.  So, after they left, I did a bit more work on getting the Christmas decorations down and things unplugged.  Tomorrow we will bring in the bins and get them going. The rest of the day we just vegged out.  Penny called and asked if we wanted to meet her at Ixtapa for dinner.  After that we drove to her place and got Quincy for a sleepover.  She wanted to drive in for her third treatment tomorrow and had to be there early so I got the Quinzinator for the walking duties. She will call us if she’s not up to driving and we will go pick her up. I walked Quincy and then we settled in for the night.  Boy – the house is quiet!

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #105 – Merry Christmas!

 

Monday, December 25th, 2017…...   MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!  From our family to yours – we wish you the very best this special day!

Our day started early – ok we got up when we got up – some of us earlier than others!  No worries, we all waited until everyone was here (Penny made it pretty early) and everyone was awake and had coffee, hot tea, or hot cocoa in their systems! 

Then we all had a nice time opening presents. 

Afterward, we watched Christmas movies and football – pretty typical in the past and what we do now! Of course we had a few Christmas libations – champagne, Bailey’s and my favorite, Fireball!   Dinner was terrific.  We had a smaller turkey this time. We opted for a smaller one because we also had ham. As I said, it was all delicious! 

A very very good day!  Hope yours was too!  Best wishes and love to you all….. 

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #104 – A Coastal Trip Plus Christmas Eve Celebrating!

 

Saturday, December 23rd, 2017…...   This morning we all slept in a bit.  No plans today.  The kids wanted to go over to Bend to see one of Randy’s riding buddies.  He was busy today so they will wait for another day.  So, they decided to head over to the coast to go check things out.  We were there just last week so they enjoyed the day on their own. We want to put an electrical outlet in the floor between our chairs. So, I headed over to Albany to buy a floorplate so Randy could crawl under the house and wire it up.  We ate a late lunch and snacked a bit later after they got home.  We ended up crashing and watching various tv shows until bedtime.     

Sunday, December 24th, 2017…...  Nothing on the agenda today, except dinner plans.  Randy went under the house and checked things out.  Turns out all the electrical comes down from the attic – bummer!  We still can get it done – just not routed from the crawlspace. Just not today. I watched football and they all watched movies and taped programs until dinner. Lydia planned to make lasagna and worked on getting everything prepared and in the oven.

Maryanne helped.

The guys and the puppies rested! 

The kitchen smelled so good!   Penny came over and we all sat down to eat.  But before that, we played a game called crackers where you tug on a toy and it pops and the winner gets a hat and a toy.  Lydia got miniature cards and I got a hair clip! Then we enjoyed too much delicious food!

We all relaxed and enjoyed the time together before hitting our beds early so we could get up bright and early for Christmas!

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #103 – Family Time!

 

Thursday, December 21st, 2017…...   Today we woke up to fog.  The weather turned last night and it’s COLD this morning – down to 30º! The fog makes the ground wet and the low temp turns the wet into black ice. Not everywhere but enough to make you take it easy when walking on any hard surface. I brought in the trash containers and then went to Walmart to get some curtain rods for the craft room.  I got those up and we ate lunch and cleaned up the craft room and put up the air mattress.  Randy and Maryanne are due in later today and they will be in the guest room, but they are now a plus1.  Maryanne’s sister’s fiancé is visiting this country and staying with them for a bit before heading south into Mexico. They are bringing him up here so we need to set up the craft room as a bedroom.  I got that done and relaxed a bit before getting all of the wrapping paper and stuff put back into the shop storage racks (sure glad I put those racks in!).  The kids got here about 7:00pm.  They were tired after the long drive but said it was a lot better with three people sharing the driving.  It was sure good to see them and have them here for the next week. Penny came over for a visit and we had a few drinks and laughs before everyone called it a night.   

Friday, December 22nd, 2017…...  Today’s plans were to go out to breakfast and then go over to see Penny’s place.  We picked her up and drove to Skyline Diner in Sweet Home.  Really good breakfast, enjoyed by all.  Thanks, Arjan! We drove back to Penny’s and they stayed while Lydia and I came home to walk Chuckles and Bella.  We saw our neighbor, Jeff, out so we went over to give him some pumpkin bread and the plans for the rv garage. Since we were already stuffed from breakfast, no one wanted lunch. So, later, we took off to our favorite pizza place – Coburg Pizza – for linner.  I get emails with points awarded and special freebies and we had free wings with our pizza.  Of course, we ordered a couple of dessert pizza before we left! Another must when we’re there!  We got back and Penny went home and we all collapsed after a full day!  

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #102 – Table and Coach Work Both Finished!

 

Tuesday, December 19th, 2017…...   After breakfast this morning, I went out and worked in the shop and I finally got the table finished!

This new work table will also serve as a runoff table for my table saw. Next up is going tomorrow to see if a table saw I liked at the Albany Habitat for Humanity is still there.  If so, I will upgrade mine. They have different discounts each day of the week and tomorrow is 25% off tools.  Later, after bit of cleaning, we wrapped a few more presents. Most everything got sent out already. The kids (Maryanne & Randy) will be driving up on Thursday.  Not sure yet if Frances will be able to get time off.  If so, she will fly up for a few days. Andrew (and his new wife Christy) and Raymond won’t make it due to work schedules.  Maybe next year. Wish Jeff and Krista and their family could afford time off and come but they are both busy and with our three grandkids plus Florida being far away, every buck counts this time of year.       

Wednesday, December 20th, 2017…...  We slept in a bit this morning and after I got showered and ready and while Lydia was showering, I spent a few minutes prepping documents for the neighbors.  Tim and Dana gave me a layout for the new garage and I have a picture of what the finished product should look like.  We’re told that we should let the neighbors know what we’re doing, not so much for their approval (the county will send them a notice) but more as a courtesy so they know that workers will be coming and going plus we’re not putting up a shanty or something that would not fit the neighborhood. We will go around and knock on doors and visit with them (and give them Christmas cards and pumpkin bread) so it will be nice. Plus, we haven’t met everyone yet - these are five+ acre lots so we’re not exactly right next door to everyone - and only pass each other occasionally. This will give us that chance.   The plan this morning was to go out to breakfast at Kevin's  We had left a gift card and pumpkin bread for Kathee, our paper carrier and we stopped at the box to make sure she got it. Yep. We haven’t met her yet (she comes super early!). Walt must have paid for a year’s subscription for the Albany Democratic-herald and we’ve really enjoyed reading it daily and learning about news and happenings in the local area. I’m sure it will end soon (and I will continue under my name) but I wanted to make sure she knew how much we appreciate her.  I also checked the weather today. For the past week I have wanted to get the lawn mowed before anyone got here.  Unfortunately, the grass has not yet dried out enough to do that.  Oh well, at least it’s still nice and green!  The plan was to go to breakfast in two cars.  From there, I would head to Albany and Lydia would go to her nail appointment.  But once we got there, we found that Kevin's was still closed for their renovations after a small fire.  So, Lydia left from there and I took off to Albany and got a breakfast burrito there and then went and got my table saw (10" Rockwell saw for $56.25) and returned and got it set up.  Pretty good deal and it runs great but needs a little cleaning (that's another project), but at least I got it before someone else did.  While I was out,  I got a call that my coach was done so I waited for Lydia to get home from her nail appointment and then she dropped me off in Sweet Home.  I spent a few minutes going over what they did and any issues they found.  No problems plus I learned that come spring, I can take the rig back to them and they will de-winterize it for me for free. Yaay! Since I wasn’t sure how to do that and would have to learn, that was good news! I brought it back home and tried to park it in a grassy spot just off the driveway.  Problem was, I sunk the front wheels in the soggy grass and dug up a big divot on the way out.  So, I'll have to park on the driveway while the garage work is being done.  You'd think that with almost 8 acres, I wouldn't be so pressed for space, huh!  But I can't risk getting the big heavy coach sunk out in the grass! 

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #101 – RV Garage Start is a Go!

 

Sunday, December 17th, 2017…...   I forgot to mention in the last post that Penny left Quincy with us yesterday.  She wanted to go grocery shopping and do some Christmas wrapping and that way I could have Quincy here to walk, saving her some time. I got up and got dressed and went out.  The weather has been warming up a little each day.  When it’s dry, it’s cold – when it warms up, it gets rainy.  We’re hearing that pretty soon both might sync up and it will be cold and the rain will turn to snow.  They did get some measurable snow here a few times last year.  Nobody is used to that here and Tina, our mail lady, said it pretty much shut down the town. I don’t care so long as I don’t have to go out and drive in it!

I went out and checked the stakes that my guys put out for the cement pour for the garage.  I’m having it built right at the end of the driveway, between the house and the shop.  I think that will give us a nice bit of room to park the rig plus room on the pad next to that for a guest rv to park and hook up. Next step is for Tim to file Monday for permits with the county.

The rest of the day I relaxed and played with Quincy and cleaned up a bit in my shop.  Lydia reorganized her craft room and got her chair in place (and I got her old one out to use in my shop).  She also started in on her annual pumpkin bread batches.  We won’t see too many folks this year so she won’t make as much as in the past but I still look forward to her delicious goodies this time of year!    

Monday, December 18th, 2017…...  I went out this morning and got going on my shop table project.  I had to go get some hardwood for the band and found poplar at Home Depot.  I cut and mitered the pieces but before I could get them on, Tim & Dana came by.  They were coming back from the county office where they filed for the permits and came over to get any updates or changes from us. We also gave them the first progress payment. They said they expect it to take a week for the permit to get approved.  Meanwhile, they are wrapping up on another job. That will put the date after Christmas before they start to bring in equipment and start prepping the area for foundation - but still, we are starting to get excited about getting this going!      

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #100 – RV Garage Started and a Trip to the Coast

 

Friday, December 15th, 2017…...   Wow, 100 blogs from the start of our Oregon Adventure!  Thanks to those of you who have been following all this time.  We realize that now that we are pretty much settled in up here, my posts aren’t really that exciting.  I’m sure you’re not too concerned to know what we have for dinner each night. I know I wouldn’t want to read that over and over. So, going forward, I’ll try to only capture those special meals or something Lydia wants to share. Comments are always welcome and encouraged on any of my posts!  If you have wanted to comment but couldn’t, you have to go in once and register a profile with Google. Those who have done so have reported back to me that it was pretty easy and had no issues.

Great night sleeping last night!  I got up around 6:45am and showered and got ready for the day.  I planned to head over to Albany to look for an office chair.  For these chairs, I take off the back and use it as a work stool in my shop.  Problem is, I brought the one I had into the house and Lydia now uses it as a footstool for her tv breaks in her craft room!  So now I need another one!

This morning Penny came by to walk Quincy and told me her recliner was in.  I was headed to Albany anyway so I told her I would pick it up.  I stopped for coffee and a breakfast burrito in town and then headed over. I stopped there and turns out they had expected it on the truck but the 4 chairs backordered didn’t show up.  Next time they will only call her when they have it in front of them!  I visited Habitat for Humanity but didn’t find any chairs today.  I headed home and stopped at a thrift store in Lebanon and found some potential chairs but wanted to see other places first. I came home and relaxed a bit before going back out to the shop for a while.   

Saturday, December 16th, 2017…...  Today’s plan was to head to Newport to do a little more Christmas shopping.  We wanted to leave early and stop for breakfast but I got a call last night from Dana and Tim (our rv garage contractor) that they were coming over on Monday to stake out the area but they needed to come by this morning and double check the well and septic lines. So, we ate in and waited.  Penny came over to go with us and after they decided to measure and stake out the area today, we left them to do their thing and we took off.  We drove over to the coast to Newport and found Scott, the craft vendor we dealt with before when we were there in the summer.  We found what we wanted and headed back.  Nice drive and the weather cleared up and it was sunny and warm for the most part. We stopped at Habitat for Humanity (we both found a few items we couldn’t pass up) and then went to Block 15 in Corvallis for linner.  Then we made one more stop at the Teen Challenge Thrift Store in Lebanon and I picked up a chair I had seen there yesterday.  Nothing else on the agenda tonight other than tv. 

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #99 – Motorhome Work & Building Stuff

 

Wednesday, December 13th, 2017…...  Sis came by this morning to walk Quincy over here.  It’s better for both of them as she can run and run.  Quincy, not Penny!  Penny can just walk her own pace and not be drug on a leash. For me, today I had two things on my to-do list.  After breakfast, I went back to work on my electrical outlet.  I rewired it and it worked first time! That done, I went out and got the motorhome ready to take in to the shop to get some service work taken care of.  First up, I needed to get it winterized.  Second, I had a mouse get into my aqua hot diesel burner’s exhaust pipe wrap, putting a small hole in it.  Lastly, I also have a torn fresh water inlet hose that has been leaking for some time. Neither of these is a biggie, but while in, I might as well get it all done, right? I got going about 9:00am and drove to Sweet Home RV Center.  It’s not much of a center really, just a small time rv parts and service business.  Hopefully they can get everything done with no issues. Lydia came out a bit later and picked me up.  We stopped on the way home and she picked up a ham that she had pre-ordered cut in half and was told it was ready.  She dropped me off and went to get Penny.  They were going to Corvallis today to do some Christmas shopping.  I stayed behind and went out and cleaned up where the coach had been parked.  I still haven’t been able to mow - still too wet – but I picked up some of the junk laying in the field and filled in where the coach wheels had sunk in over the last five months.  I then went out and prepped my worktable for the top that I still have to go buy.  I came in a bit after that and relaxed and took a break and watched tv for a while.  Lydia got home after a bit and we texted Tim asking where we where on our rv garage project.  He texted back that he is expecting the plans tomorrow and will come over to get things ready to go to the county for permits. I drove up to KFC and got us dinner and we watched Better Late Than Never and then Survivor before going to bed.          

Thursday, December 14th, 2017…...  I had a terrible night sleeping last night.  I don’t know if it was something I ate or drank that kept me up but I only slept a couple of hours so I’m dragging today.  I headed out after breakfast to Ace Economy Hardware to get material for my shop tabletop.  I like this place even though it is a little more expensive than Home Depot or Lowes.  They have better quality lumber/wood product and it’s stored correctly instead of being laid across a couple of bars on a shelving rack. I found extra thick 1- inch plywood as the base and I bought hardboard as the top piece.  This table will also be used as a runoff for my table saw so I wanted something smooth and slippery.  Getting those cut to size was next and was pretty easy and then I screwed the plywood down and then screwed the hardboard top to that.  Next up is an edge band to wrap around the whole thing to finish it up but so far, it looks good.  I came in later and relaxed a bit and watched tv, trying not to doze off.  I want to be able to sleep tonight! Since it was a sunny day, Lydia was out working on her flowerbeds. She trimmed up some of the dead branches on the bushes and plants and small trees and got those cleaned up and looking better and ready for the spring.  She same in a bit later and tried to figure out what to make for dinner.  She used cut-up chicken, shredded potatoes, mushrooms, corn, peas, onions, and browned it all in a skillet and added a couple of fried eggs at the end so it was a breakfasty hash browny plate.  Write that down, dear – it’s a keeper!  

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #98 – Walking the Dog & Electrical Issues

 

Monday, December 11th, 2017…...  I woke up early this morning thinking I may get a call for my dog walker job.  She texted me about 7:40 and I headed over.  The walk today was cold! We headed out a different way this morning and did another 1 ½ miles or so today. When we got back Penny was there to feed her.  She is feeling a bit better but didn’t need to go out in the cold. I got back home a bit later and got out the griddle and Lydia made us pancakes for breakfast.  One of my favs!  We spent a bit of time online shopping this morning.  We found out that Frances started a new job recently and may not be able to take time off to come up so we ordered her gift online.  Afterward I worked a bit on my landscaping project.  I have a walkway we are not happy with.  It starts at the back porch and goes to the driveway headed to the shop. Walt did a nice concrete walk, but – for some reason - set part of it up with flagstone rocks with tiny white gravel bits around them, in a curved border.  It doesn’t fit anything so we want to alter it a bit, maybe straighten it out and get rid of the little gravel. The future plan would be to repour the area and widen it enough for an rv to park there next to it.  Problem is – the ground’s too cold to work right now.  So, all I can do is rope it off and maybe think about how to remove the gravel.  Maybe my shop vac….. 

Even though it warmed up nicely this afternoon, I came in to the warm house a bit later and called it a day. Tonight Lydia made spaghetti for dinner and we enjoyed a quiet night watching tv until bedtime.   

Tuesday, December 12th, 2017…...  This morning we got up and moving early.  Penny felt better and took Quincy. But after my shower I discovered that we didn’t have power in either of the wall outlets in the master bath.  Tripped GFCI – right? Wrong.  I tested the GFI circuit and found it was working.  But the two outlets past it were not.  ???  I went to Ace Economy Hardware and got a new GFI outlet and replaced it. I wasn’t sure if that would do it and it didn’t.  I will have to get a regular outlet just to test the wiring. Meanwhile, Lydia left to go get her hair cut.  It’s ‘$10.00 Tuesdays’ at her place! I fixed myself some leftover spaghetti and bread and was full later in the day when she asked about dinner.  So, she made chili dogs and had chips.  That means I have the leftovers of that for tomorrow! I love chili dogs!     

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #97 – A Quiet Weekend

 

Saturday, December 9th, 2017…...  The weekend usually means no real plans. Today was no exception.  Lydia worked on her email for a bit and I worked on my cubbies in my office.  I have rearranged my room and actually moved the tv and its room divider/storage cubby into the closet.  I have double folding doors so there was room. By moving it I have made two things happen – 1) I freed up some space which makes the space roomier and 2) I moved the 65” tv further back for safer viewing. The storage below the tv has fabric drawer units that I need to organize, and that was what I worked on today.  Lydia saved me from this ‘fun’ project by asking if I wanted to go grocery shopping with her. We got that done and things put away and then she fixed leftovers for dinner and then it tv till bedtime.  

Sunday, December 10th, 2017…...  We slept in this morning.  Penny texted me as I was getting up.  She wasn’t feeling up to walking Quincy and asked if I could come do it. I got dressed, bundled up, and headed over, stopping to get some coffee on the way.  Quincy sure likes her walks!  We covered about 1 1/2 miles today but it was all on the leash and I think she still had more energy when we returned. Penny fed her and then she rested and I went back home, stopping for breakfast and chai latte tea for Lydia. The rest of the day was uneventful. I watched some NFL football and Lydia watched her tape of the Pentatonix Christmas show.  I watched some of it as well. Those guys are sure talented! We had got some nice thick pork chops and Lydia made fried potatoes and gravy and peas to go with them.  Wow!  Back to football and taped shows till bedtime.  

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #96 – Cold Days and Fixing Email

 

Thursday, December 7th, 2017…...  PEARL HARBOR DAY   Very cold today!  Here is the mailbox from this morning…

Ok, it’s official – I am now in long pants!  The girls got up early and left for Salem for Penny’s chemo. I walked Quincy and had to bundle up to do so.  It was down to 27º this morning. Both cars are garaged but I have been leaving my truck out at night.  My plan today was to go down to Eugene and do some Christmas shopping but I had to scrape ice off the windshield so I could see. I did get going and stopped in town for breakfast.  Our favorite place, Kevin’s, is closed for a few days.  He had a grease fire that caused a little damage and he’s going to shut down and do a deep cleaning before reopening. I hit Jerry’s, Harbor Freight and Habitat for Humanity before heading back home.  Once there, I walked Quincy again and then went out to work in my shop a bit.  The girls got back and they were hungry so we went up to the local food truck – Stick a Pork In It – and got dinner.  Then it was relaxing and tv till bedtime.    

Friday, December 8th, 2017…...  Nothing planned this morning.  Penny felt up to walking Quincy and felt good when she returned.  We ate breakfast and I worked on getting email back on my phone.  I still try to use my verizon.net email address but since Verizon got out of the email business and Frontier (which we are no longer part of here) decided to support their email through AOL, my phone email goes out every now and then.  I managed to get it all operating through pop3 so all is good now.  I put my truck in the garage last night so I didn’t have to scrape the windows.  Penny is here and put a cover over her windshield and that helped.  It is sure chilly but it warms up pretty quickly and that makes it so nice up here!  We’ve been watching the fires in LA area.  Wow!  It’s making the news even up here! They could use some of our rain.  Penny went home for the afternoon and left Quincy here for the day. I walked her again and then worked in the shop and Lydia worked on laundry. Penny came back and said she was doing well so she picked up her dog and went back home. Lydia fixed a Birdseye Pasta and garlic chicken and veggie stir meal.  It was ok. We watched tv and went to bed.   

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #95 – Laundry and a Christmas Light Show!

 

Tuesday, December 5th, 2017…...   Today was laundry day. I fixed breakfast and then helped Lydia get the clothes out to sort for her loads and then went out to the shop for the morning.  Just organizing and cleaning up a bit. Not much else going on.  I stayed out there even though the shop was a bit chilly.  I do have a wood stove in there but I’ve haven’t used it yet. Maybe tomorrow.  It’s supposed to get down in the low 30s.  We’ll see….

Lydia got her laundry done and I helped put things away and then we fixed dinner. Ok, she fixed dinner. She made chicken fried steak with corn and baked potatoes.  Very good.  I behaved myself and even saved leftovers for lunch tomorrow!  

Wednesday, December 6th, 2017…...  We woke up this morning to frost on the ground!  The temperature is 34º!  I have a water hose laying out by the garage and I check it each morning if there’s frost.  It was ok (and there is no water line connected to the coach) but just in case I’ve decided to have the motorhome winterized when I take it in next week!  We went into town to have breakfast and then went over and got signed up at the fitness center.  They told us they are open 24/7 and we now have cards to swipe whenever we want to go work out. The only thing I don’t care for is that they don’t have locker rooms. And there are only two shower rooms. Everybody wears their workout clothes to and from.  I’m used to changing there so something to get used to.

This afternoon Penny (and Quincy) came over around 2:00pm.  The plan was to go to the Oregon Gardens and she would stay the night.  Tomorrow is her next round of chemo and she and Lydia can leave from here and I will have the dog already.  We headed out and made the 40-minute drive to the gardens.  The tickets I bought online ($3. ea.) were only good for the lighted Christmas event which starts at 5:00pm.  We got there about 3:00pm and since none of us had eaten anything since breakfast we decided to continue on to Silverton and find a place for linner.  We settled on 310 Water Restaurant.  This place was terrific!  I chose the halibut croissant sandwich with avocado, Havarti cheese, tomato, and slaw.  It was excellent! Lydia had the fish and chips and Penny ordered the blue cheese burger and all of it was very good.  After the great meal, we drove back to the park. We paid the park admission ($5. ea) and got shuttled up to the entrance.  We had to wait until 5:00pm to get in but it wasn’t too cold yet. We walked around the entire gardens and thought it was really well done. The weather got colder once the sun went down completely but they had firepits where you could warm up a bit as you walked through the lighted displays.  

If you were to compare this to some of the glamour displays folks now set up at their own homes, it would be just so-so, but up here, it was really well received.  We ended up spending about 1 ½ hours walking through and then headed home.  It was a fun experience. But we are planning on going back sometime again in the daytime just to see the gardens again.

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #94 – Christmas Shopping and Just Puttering Around

 

Sunday, December 3rd, 2017…...   It’s Sunday, so we had nothing planned today.  The weather was really nice and I decided to go out to the shop and work on my work table project for a while.  I also took some time to go out to the motorhome and catch up on some taped shows. I also ran the coach for a while to keep the batteries charged up.  I will have to move it, hopefully next week or the week after, when the guys show up to start surveying for the new rv garage. At that time, I plan to take it to the rv shop in Sweet Home (or elsewhere) to get some work done.  I also plan on stopping at the DMV to get it registered while I’m out.  I spoke with Janie this afternoon. She told me about our annual club (Camping Squares) Christmas campout this past weekend.  We both really miss camping with our friends! We plan to get back down there but not anytime soon.  We’ve invited any/all of the Club members to come up and visit us.  So far, we’ve had the Moores and the Myers here on two different occasions. Hopefully, others will come up and visit. After it got chilly in the shop, I closed up, came in, and called it a day. I went online and did a bit of Christmas shopping and also went to The Oregon Gardens website and got tickets to the park for Wednesday.  Penny will go with us.  More on this after we go….

Later, Lydia got the rest of our Christmas cards done and I got them stamped and in the mail for pickup tomorrow.  She defrosted some ground turkey and we made burgers and tater tots for dinner and I watched football and she watched Christmas movies.         

Monday, December 4th, 2017…...  We left early this morning and stopped to try the Sweet Home Café for breakfast.  It was ok but we like Skyline there better. The reason we went to Sweet Home is that they have an rv shop there and I wanted to check to see if they would/could work on my coach.  They think they can so I made an appointment to take it in for next week for them to look at.  Hopefully it will coincide when my guys show up here and I have to move it out of the way for the excavation for the rv garage. That done we stopped on the way back at Walmart and exchanged some curtains and then headed home. I went out to the shop and worked on my island/workbench. I’ve now got it raised up about 3 ½ inches and positioned on the shop floor above my sawdust collection system so I can now think about where to put my table saw. I still have to clean up some of the drawers and get them back in plus think about what kind of top to put on it. But the weather is nice (just a bit chilly) and it’s supposed to be clear skies and dry for the next 5-6 days so it was a good time to get this done. Also, I can’t think about mowing the lawn for a few days yet.  It’s still soggy from the recent rains and needs several days to dry out.  Lydia worked on the curtains and we got them hung. Then it was time for dinner. Tonight was chicken and black bean burritos.  One of my favorites! We watched Carol Burnett’s 50^th anniversary show (taped) and went to bed.   

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #93 – Shopping and a Bazaar

Friday, December 1st, 2017…...  I left early this morning and headed to my sister’s.  She needed some help getting down her Christmas decorations. That done, we headed off to Albany while Lydia stayed home and rested. I took her to a favorite stop of mine, Muchas Gracias, and bought us both breakfast burritos.  Next stop was Harbor Freight, then Big Lots, then Costco.  We headed back home and unloaded stuff (she bought a new recliner) and then I headed home.  I had received a call saying my trailer was done and I could come get it.  I stopped by and looked at it and brought it home. They didn’t take credit/debit cards so I went back and gave them a check.  They put on a new axle and new fenders so it is now road ready.  I still want to replace some floor boards and replace the wiring but that will be done when I get time. Lydia fixed a chicken casserole for dinner (and enough for leftovers, yes!) and we settled in to tv and bed.          

Saturday, December 2nd, 2017…...  Penny texted me this morning, asking if both of us or Lydia wanted to go to a Christmas Fair/Bazaar. I passed and chose to work on putting up the rest of the garland and doing a few other projects around the house, stopping to watch college football now and then. They spent most of the day shopping and having lunch and got back early afternoon. Lydia sat for a few hours to rest her sore legs from walking all day. Later, we worked on Christmas cards for awhile and had leftovers from last night plus the garlic knots and salad Lydia brought back from their lunch this afternoon.  We each watched some of our taped shows before calling it a night.  

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #92 – Shopping & a Movie

 

Wednesday, November 29th, 2017…...  Plans today included getting the rest of the Christmas stuff done and the boxes put back into the shop.  That took several hours but we’re done.  Almost. We went to Lowes and Home Depot looking for a few more things.  It’s funny – we had a place for each and every decoration at the old place – like garland that went around each interior door.  This house has taller doors so we need to regroup and rethink.  We ended up finding what we needed but they were out of stock for some of it.  I will go back on Friday. But we got the rest of what we wanted and got it all installed.  So now except for the garland for the doors, we’re done! We drove back through Corvallis to go to Bed Bath and Beyond looking for a replacement for Lydia’s credit card holder thingy.  No luck.  I’ll look online when we get home.    

Thursday, November 30th, 2017…...  This morning we decided to go to Eugene for breakfast, shopping, and a movie, not necessarily in that order. We stopped at the Kozy Kitchen for breakfast. We’d been there for dinner and it was good for breakfast as well. We then caught the matinee showing of Daddy’s Home 2 at our favorite theater (the one with the reclining chairs).  It was only $5.25 ea. Then we stopped at Kohl’s, Cabela’s, & Sears and got a few things.  Then we drove over to Jerry’s Hardware.  I wanted to show Lydia their Christmas section which was awesome!  Didn’t buy anything, but she found ideas for next year!  We had skipped lunch so we were hungry.  We stopped at home just long enough to get our card for Pizza Schmizza, which is in town.  We hadn’t been before but got the card at Beerfest so we decided to try it.  They have about 45 specialty beers and good pizza, reasonably priced.  It was all very good and will go on our return-to list. We came back home and turned on all the lights.  With battery switches on some of her angels and snowmen, plus the Christmas village, and the lighted window snowflakes, we have 19 lights to turn off and on.  Only the tree is on a timer. Guess I need to find the rest of my timers! We watched tv and headed off to bed after a long day.

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #91 – Visitors Again & Getting Ready for Christmas

 

Monday, November 27th, 2017…...  This morning we got going early. I was tired but got up and moving and felt fine after a bit.  We left for breakfast at Kevin’s and then headed to the Sam Fit fitness center to check it out.  Part of our insurance package allows us to use any/all of the participating fitness centers here in town.  Lydia had seen Sam Fit in the same building as Good Samaritan Urgent Care. This place is NICE! Even though they use a key card to get in, we managed entry and met their staff leader, who gave us a quick tour.  We had seen the other fitness centers in town and this was by far the best so we will be back this week to sign up.  I sure miss going to the Boeing Fitness Center back in SoCal so I’ll be glad to get into this place. We left there and went over to Penny’s so I could put in her new control box for her garage door opener. I also installed some tie backs for her bath curtains.  Bill & Debbie came back by on their way home to stay the night with Penny.  We visited and then left for home.  Once there, I started getting down all of our Christmas decorations.  We have to decide what to use and what else we need to buy.  Walt left us three lighted snowflakes he used in the upper windows in the entryway.  I tested them and two worked fine.  One has half the bulbs out.  We put up the new (to us) Christmas tree.  Penny was getting rid of it and it’s pre-lit so we thought we’d sell ours and buy hers.  It was a smart move – no lights to hang and easier to put up!  Lydia went to work and got the tree decorated 

and then it was time for dinner. The rest can wait until tomorrow.  We fixed tacos and then cleaned up and went to Walmart.  Lydia says I’m not allowed up on this roof to put up lights.  I did not argue!  So, we bought a couple of the star showers advertised on tv. When we got home I set one of them up, and we found we were not at all happy with the projected look we were getting.  Tomorrow we will return them and look for something else.  We did find new lighted snowflakes that will go up tomorrow as well.     

Tuesday, November 28th, 2017…...  First thing this morning I took the star showers back to Walmart. Later, we went over to get Penny, Debbie, and Bill to go to Elmer’s in Albany for breakfast.  They had never had German pancakes so we couldn’t resist taking them there. We had a nice time visiting with them before they headed back south to home.  They are now thinking seriously about moving up here. On the way home, we stopped at Costco for a few things.  I found they had new laser star showers for the yard so I bought those.  We returned home and continued getting our Christmas stuff put together.  I had found a third star shower we used for our motorhome so I set out all three and that worked well.  We worked on the rest of the house throughout the day/night but still didn’t get it all done.  We ate a Costco roasted chicken which we made quesadillas out of.  Yummy.  Lydia had been on her feet too long today so we rested and later called it a night.   

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #90 – More Stuff For the Shop & a Lazy Sunday

 

Saturday, November 25th, 2017…...  I got up early today. I had plans.  I walked Quincy and showered and left for town.  I stopped and got coffee and drove over to Habitat for Humanity.  I wanted to be there early to try to buy the island I was looking at a few days ago. Today cabinets are 50% off, and it was still there, so I bought it and only had to pay $32.50.  It was super heavy, made from plywood, and I had to have help loading it, but hey, I got it!  I stopped on the way home and had a breakfast burrito from a local taqueria in Albany.  Once back home, I managed to get to the drawers and doors and get them removed, making it a lot lighter to unload.  Penny feels better today and came outside with Lydia and together we all got it slid off the truck.  Right now it’s sitting upright on a big dolly on the cement slab in the front shop. I think I’m going to build up the bottom so it sits higher for me and now’s the time to do that.  Just not today.  That done, I moved the truck and came in to rest and watch tv for a while. The girls sat around and planned their day.  I don’t think they plan on doing a lot but I don’t know.  Penny felt better this afternoon and went out and walked Quincy and then, after a bit, they went home.  We spent the rest of the day just lounging around.  We each fixed a late lunch so we really didn’t feel like dinner.  We finished the night with a bit of tv and went to bed.  

Sunday, November 26th, 2017…...  It was raining this morning so we stayed in.  Lydia made sausage and scrambled eggs and we sat around the house and ate and watched the skies. Good thing we stayed in because later in the morning it REALLY came down!  The wind was blowing so hard the rain was sideways!  Good thing was that it only lasted about six minutes.  Then it stopped completely and the winds died down too.  The rest of the day was just light drizzles.  It is supposed to be clear tomorrow.  Again, we ate lunch later in the afternoon so neither of us wanted a heavy dinner.  So we fixed what each of us wanted.  Lydia made herself nachos and I had cheese and crackers. I spent the day watching football games and fell asleep.  Those who know me well enough know I don’t usually take naps during the day.  Sure enough, when it came time for bed, I couldn’t sleep.  I got up and watched tv until midnight before trying it again. It still took some time to fall asleep.  Bet I’m tired tomorrow!

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #89 – Turkey Day! And Black Friday

 

Thursday, November 23rd, 2017…...  Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I got up early and found the weather was pretty nice.  The last couple of days we had rain showers off and on but it was actually warmer than normal.  This morning it was 54º at 6:30am! I gave Quincy a nice walk and then wiped her feet and brought her in and fed her her breakfast. Lydia had taken out the (really small chicken size) turkey she had bought and it was thawed out already.  We were not scheduling dinner until we heard how Penny was doing.  But she got all of it ready to go into the oven when we knew.  No worries. She was doing well and came over early and we spent the day watching parades and football. I got Quincy walking duties and it was drizzling every time I took her out! Dinner was turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, sweet potatoes, rolls and pumpkin pie.  The girls even cleaned up.  Except dog duty, it was a lazy day for me!    

Black Friday, November 24th, 2017…...  Neither one of us is a black Friday shopper so we kind of hung around the house today.  Penny spent the night so I got up and walked Quincy and then came in and took a shower and had breakfast. The girls hung around the house and Penny hung around the bathroom.  She is still not feeling quite right.  The medicine has left her queasy, but not sick. Everything is passing right on through! She did eat some solid food so we’ll see what happens.  She went back home to get her mail and pick up a few things.  She will stay here at least another night.  I worked on some stuff in my shop.  I have decided to cover most of the west and north walls with pegboard so I worked on one of the panels and got it installed.  That was in between rest breaks watching some of the college football games.  It’s rival week across the country so each team is playing their rival and has something to prove.  The big thing up here right now is the Civil War game.  That’s the BIG game between Oregon and Oregon State.  University of Oregon campus is in Eugene and Oregon State is in Corvallis, about 30 miles away so folks up here pick their team and are adamant supporters of that team. You’re either a Ducks fan or a Beavers fan!  Neither team is going to a bowl game but Oregon has a way better team most years.  But OSU comes to play each time so we’ll see. They play tomorrow afternoon.

Dinner tonight was turkey tetrazzini.  Lydia keeps some turkey for sandwiches but cuts up some for this dish.  I know I’m weird but I actually like it more than the original Thanksgiving dinner!  Yesterday we had pumpkin pie, today she made an apple pie. Later, after another walk with Quincy, we rested and watched our taped shows.            

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #88 – Some Assembly Required and a Doctor’s Appointment

 

Tuesday, November 21st, 2017…...  We both slept in this morning (7:30am). Didn’t go over to Penny’s.  Bill and Debbie are staying with my sister so she didn’t need too much from me today.  After Bill walked Quincy they went out to breakfast and toured the city a bit.  The plan was to go over there at 3:00pm and take them to Sweet Home and a tour of that area before going to Skyline for dinner. So, while Lydia went in to get her nails done, I ate a quick lunch then went in to finished up the assembly of the fireplace cabinet. It went together pretty easily and looks good. 

Next up is a bigger tv for that room. I watched tv for a while then it was time to go get them.  We took off and showed them the sights in Sweet Home, including Foster Lake.  I crossed the dam and found a patrol car sitting in the lot at the T in the road.  I made a u-turn and went all the way around him!  I think he thought I was crazy but he didn’t follow me so that was good! We went over to Skyline and Penny treated us all to dinner. Thanks Sis! We drove back home and visited with them for a while and then went home and waited to watch the finale of DWTS. I had made my predictions for the last six dancers and I only missed on Drew and Victoria, who I had reversed.  Otherwise, I got them all in order. We were happy to see Jordan win the mirror ball.  Also glad to see Lindsay get her first win as well.     

Wednesday, November 22nd, 2017…...  Today I was busy.  So was Lydia, who had to go to her new dermatologist for some spots to be frozen off.  No worries, they said only one was of any concern and if it doesn’t clear up, they will test it. She has a follow up appointment but not until 2018.  Meanwhile, I took off and made the rounds at the Habitat for Humanity stores in Corvallis and Albany.  I found a couple of table saws I was interested in but didn’t ask about prices.  I did find a workbench out in their yard on my way out.  It’s nothing fancy, but I have plenty of space and it was only $13.25 so I bought it!

I went to Lowe’s and bought a few items for the house and headed home. Later, Penny called and asked if I wanted to come over and walk Quincy or bring her back for a walk at our place then a sleepover. That way, she could sleep in tomorrow and then come over and the dog would be there already. I went and got Quincy and by the time I got home, Lydia had spaghetti and meatballs and hot bread just about ready.  The perfect meal for the long day! Quincy got a few bites of the meatballs (minus the sauce) and then I cleaned up the kitchen and went in to work on my bills (yuck!).  We watched tv and then called it a night.    

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #87 – Dinner Guests for Us and Visitors for Penny

Sunday, November 19th, 2017…...  First thing this morning I got a text from my sister asking if I could come over and walk Quincy.  She wasn’t up to it as the drugs were working out of her system.   I met up with her and Quincy near the Santiam River, just around the corner from her house.  

She took my car home and me and the Quincydog finished up the walk.  I made sure they were doing ok and then headed home.  We had planned to go to Albany and get that entertainment center today but we got lazy and postponed it till tomorrow and decided to stick around the rest of the day.  I watched the last Nascar race of the season. I was rooting for Truex Jr to win the championship and he did! We spent the rest of the day just hanging and also picking up the house a bit before our guests arrived.  Penny called and said she was going to pass on coming over so she could rest some more. Lydia did go out to the store to get beans for dinner. Aimee and Jason came over around four and after a tour of our home, we sat and talked a bit and then had dinner.  It was a really good meal and a fun evening. After they left, we cleaned up and put leftovers away to get to Penny tomorrow. We watched tv until we got sleepy and then headed off to bed.    

Monday, November 20th, 2017…...   This morning we took off to Albany and first went to Home Depot and bought and loaded up the fireplace/entertainment center in the car. Then we headed over to Elmer’s for breakfast (german pancakes). Then we went to Costco but since they don’t open until 10:00am we went down the street to Kohl’s where Lydia bought a new purse. We finished up at Costco and then went home.  Penny was doing a little better but still not back to normal.  She said she was going shopping but Lydia wanted her to wait for her just in case she needed any help.  So, after we got home and unloaded the car, Lydia got all of our yesterday bbq leftovers together and took them to Penny.  Actually, they met up at Safeway.  Penny’s childhood friend, Debbie, and her husband Bill, were coming today to visit and stay a few days on their way to Vancouver for Thanksgiving with their family.  They made it to her house and rested while Lydia came home.  After a bit, Penny brought them they by our place for a visit.  Then after a tour they went back and then rested and then heated up the ribs and mac and cheese and bread for their meal.  Tomorrow was left up in the air, but, depending on how Penny is feeling, I think we will go get them tomorrow and give them the 25ȼ tour around the area here.