Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #76 – Puppies and a Win & a Loss!

 

Saturday, October 28th, 2017…...  Today was an easy day.  I did do some minor work on the house and then kicked back for the rest of the day.  Lydia called to let me know that she heard from our breeder about an available English golden puppy.  We will pass for now and wait until her girls have their next litter(s) around February.  By then we will be done with the construction and maybe we can figure out how to fence the yard for containment.  We are also thinking about the invisible fences like our neighbor used for their Goldendoodle.  I have been filling in the day with little projects that won’t affect my back.  I’ve really been taking it easy but my lawn is getting long!  Hmmmm.  Nope, no way right now! I watched Nascar and college football and then Dodgers world series baseball.  Yaay, we won tonight!  That means no matter what happens tomorrow, there will be a game 6 in LA and we will have home field advantage which is important! 

Sunday, October 29th, 2017…...  Today was a cloudy overcast day. I didn’t go anywhere or do much of anything.  It was a very quiet day.  Lydia called and said that later she would be sending me some pics of Jeff’s leg and some of the kids. I made some coffee and ate a light breakfast. Penny came by with Quincy and they walked around and played ball for a while.  She stayed and visited.  Oh, she wanted me to correct my last post – she only has cancer in the one breast, my error. After they left, I read the paper and cleaned up the kitchen and picked up around the house at bit. I was going to go out for a bit and explore Crawfordsville. My contractor gave me the name of their tax person and I wanted to go see her office. But I decided to save that for a better less gloomy day. I did get a call from someone who said I called her number and awarded some kind of a bid.  She said I had a wrong number!  So I called Tim’s cell and spoke with him about getting the job.  We talked a bit about the timeline and next steps and he answered some of my questions.  It was reassuring to hear about it.  I’m excited that we are in process!   I filled in the rest of the day and evening watching some taped shows and then football, Nascar, Formula 1, and then game 5 of the world series.  My Dodgers make me nervous! They went back and forth and made a great effort but lost tonight.  Next game is Tuesday at home and they need to win.   

Here are pics of Jeff's leg. Yuuck!

Here are the grandkids, Shelby, Kate, and Jacob working on pumpkins and Jacob 

visiting the Halloween Spirit Store.

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #75 – Surgery and a Decision!

 

Thursday, October 26th, 2017…...  I had a busy day planned today. I had talked to Lydia this morning and she said that Jeff’s varicose surgery went well.  They did 43 pokes/stabs in his right leg plus the one main problem vein was attached to in two locations and removed.  He is home and resting with not much pain so far but the anesthetics will wear off shortly.  They said he must take the prescribed pain meds (he doesn’t like to take any drugs except maybe Tylenol) because he will be extremely hurting for the next few days.  But at least he has his mom to look after him and make sure he gets up and walks as directed and follows orders!  She already promised to make them all her pumpkin bread so he better do what she says if he wants any! 

After the call, I went out and hooked up the trailer.  I had visited my fab shop and my axle was in.  They can’t get to it right away but they want the thing there as fill-in work when they can.  Rocky wants to come by and get my electrical situation squared away so he can get me a better quote.  My sister had talked to me a few days ago but I didn’t want to share until she said so.  Her biopsy came back positive for cancer in both breasts.  She has been on the phone with several doctors, care givers, counselors, etc. who are carefully taking her through the process.  They have more tests to schedule but she will be going through chemotherapy and then radiation soon.  She has a positive attitude and that’s going to help but please keep her in your prayers. She was here and left Quincy so she could go meet with Kirk to get plants and flowers for her place.  His local source, Garland Nursery, has a sale going with 70% off some of the things she wants so it made sense to get going on that today.      

Friday, October 27th, 2017…...  Rocky was a no show yesterday with no phone call so I think I will be getting with Tim to let them know they are my guys.  I want to head into Albany and get some more cabinet hardware from Home Depot plus I want to go get that recliner.  I got rolling early and called my sister and went and picked her up for the day. We stopped at Shirley May’s for breakfast.  I’ve taken Lydia here before but not Penny.  She ordered 1 pancake with scrambled eggs and bacon. Shirley and I told it was a big pancake!

Afterward, we headed over to Albany and stopped first at the tax office in the Albany courthouse so she could pay her property taxes.  We just sent a check in but she wanted to use her card to get points so she did it directly at their office.  Next, we went to Big Lots. My recliner wasn’t going on sale any time soon and I was tired of using Walt’s old one in my room and this one fit me and was very comfortable and the price was right and they had it in stock, so we took one home. I used help (and my belt) to get it loaded and Penny helped get the old one out and the new one in at home.  It looks good and fits in my room! Now I can watch the Dodger game in comfort. 

Oh, they lost again tonight. Bummer.  It looks like their bats have gone to sleep.  They better get it going and even up the series tomorrow! Earlier, I called Tim’s office number and left a message that he got the job and asked him to get his schedule together and inquired as to what exact date he wants payment number 1.  So, pending his availability, it’s on now!  They have to submit plans to the city and get all the necessary permits, which will take some time.  Plus I need to get a copy of their plan so I can take it around to my neighbors for their “ok”.  I’m told it’s a minor formality and more of a courtesy to the neighbors.  I would want that as well if/when any of them ever do a project like this. I’ll be talking to Tim later and get a timeframe for all of this but I’m getting excited!  Whenever they can start I just hope the weather stays good in batches so they can get the site prepped and concrete poured. Tim says he and his crew work pretty much year round and will work in the rain as long as they can. 

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #74 – Lydia’s on the Move!

 

Tuesday, October 24th, 2017…...  I stayed up/slept in my chair last night because we had to get moving around 2:30am!  I slept off and on but was able to get enough sleep and managed to wake up without an alarm right on time!  We got out on the road by 3:15 and made the drive to Portland Intl Airport by 4:45am, plenty of time for her to check in and make her way to boarding.  I hit the road and made my way home, stopping for coffee and breakfast along the way.  I got home about 7:10am and napped for an hour or so then headed out to Corvallis and then Albany.  Stopped at Kmart and bought a couple of flannel shirts, and went to Home Depot for rock salt and cabinet hardware, and then headed to Albany to check Habitat for Humanity to see if they had something to compare to the cabinet I found at the thrift store in Lebanon.  I want it for my bench grinder in the shop.  Nothing there.  I headed to Harbor Freight to get more hooks for my pegboard in the shop, then to Big Lots to check out their recliners.  Walt’s leftover in my office is really starting to bug me.  It’s not comfortable and it makes it hard on my back getting in and out of it.  I don’t need anything fancy and they had one I liked.  Might go back in a few days and get it…. I also went back to the thrift store with a tape and measured that cabinet.  In the end, I think I will pass on it.  Even though it’s nice and sturdy (made with good sturdy heavy duty wood from days past) l think it’s too big for what I need.  I will keep looking. Penny brought her friend Jareth over so see our place. She’s an old friend who flew up from SoCal to see her.  They left Quincy with me and went to Sweet Home for dinner.  I opted out to watch the Dodgers play game 1 of the World Series. I heard from Lydia as she made her stop in Houston and then finally when she got picked up by Krista and the girls in Fort Myers.  Glad the flights went well but I’m sure she’s tired.  I’ll have to text them to let them know not to overwhelm her with too much too soon.  I also spoke to Bobby, my finance guy, to get him ready to get us 1^st installment on the payment for the rv garage.  I meet with Rocky (bidder number 3) tomorrow morning to answer a question he has about electrical. I should hear back tomorrow on his bid.  We’ll see. Back to baseball….. My Dodgers got off to a great start with a win!  Hopefully, they can keep this going.       

Wednesday, October 25th, 2017…...  I went to bed early last night.  No doubt I was tired but it’s very quiet here, even more than usual so it was hard to get to sleep.  But once I did I slept through the night.  Rocky did not come by as promised.  He did text me later with a quote, which was a close but still ballpark number, and was a bit higher than Tim’s, so I told him that and he needs to firm up his quote and that I still had one item left from my other guy.  I made it to my doctor’s appointment.  I previously had a had a mole scraped and tested (it’s benign) and he wanted to freeze the rest of it off today.  No worries and I was home in no time.  Penny asked me to ride along with her to Eugene to take Jareth to the airport. They came by and I drove my car (more comfortable for my back).  We dropped her off, said our goodbyes and headed over to Jerry’s hardware to exchange an electrical outlet I had bought a month or so ago.  That done, we stopped at Lowe’s for her to return some items and then we headed to Newman’s fish house for lunch. She treated since I drove (thanks Sis!).  That was good enough to hold me for the night.  Almost! I did have a piece of chocolate pie they had brought me yesterday from Skyline. I finished up some work on my trailer and ended the night watching the Dodger game. They went into extra innings but we came up short tonight so now the series heads to Houston for the next three games.  Hopefully we’ll do better there! I worked on my bills a bit and then watched Survivor (taped) and called it a night.

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #73 – Great Weather and Changing Colors

 

Sunday, October 22th, 2017…...  The rains have gone for a while and it’s a nice sunny day today.  It’s still nice to see the rains come and everything look so clean and crisp, although I’m sure there will be a time coming when I want sunny skies more than rainy ones!  This last rainstorm showed us our drainage patterns around the property.  Our whole neighborhood, 7 houses on our cul-de-sac, are all in a meadow/marshy area and our property is the lowest of all.  Walt had french drains put in several years ago to help channel water off the lawns and that is working well.  We’re hoping that continues throughout the rainy season. But it was nice enough today for us to move out and about.  I spent some time out in my shop but didn’t get too much done – still babying my sore back – so I took it easy.  I cleaned up some grapevines and picked up some apples that were blown off the trees.  The apples are about done, some have worm holes or have been chewed on by birds, but we will pick one more time and cut up what we can for applesauce or pies.  Grapes are gone. The blueberry bushes are changing color now to deep red.

Kirk is pretty much done with the landscaping.  If he hasn’t already ordered bark for the last of our flowerbed islands way out toward the back of the property, we are going to stop him and maybe do that last one next season.  The rest of day we just kicked back and watched taped shows, races, and football.  Lydia didn’t get anything out for dinner so we drove over and got Taco Bell to bring home to eat and watch tv.       

Monday, October 23rd, 2017…...  This morning Lydia is working on her packing.  Her flight leaves out of Portland (100 miles) at 5:45am tomorrow morning so we will be going to bed super early.  I probably will just stay up in my chair and nap because we need to be on the road early early early.  She has everything out and is trying to figure out how to pack it all!  We are also going over plans for my week. I have a few errands plus I need to get my financial guy going on funding for the rv garage construction.  Still waiting a few days to pick the contractor but they all want progress payments so I need to make sure I can get him paid in the increments he needs as the job progresses. I’ll keep her posted but she needs to concentrate on her visit and help Krista take care of Jeff and also relax and enjoy her time with our new daughter-in-law plus our new grandkids!     

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #72 – Groceries, Bids, and Trip Plans

 

Friday, October 20th, 2017…...  We had a few things on our agenda for today.  First up was to go eat!  We went to Kevin’s in town but they were packed. I guess folks have nothing else to do when it rains but go eat! Anyway, we drove up towards Albany and stopped at Shirley May’s place.  This is a tiny little place that Rick and I went to when they were here visiting.  Lydia had never been…  We got seats at the counter because this place was full too!  Shirley waits tables and she has one lady cook and one person for the dishes. The cook makes each order start to finish so we had several ahead of us.  We could see them being worked one at a time so we knew it would take a while.  Tough part was sitting for so long on the barstools with no backs!  I had to get up several times to stretch my back. But the food was good when we got it and we were happy that it stopped raining in the time that we were there.  From there we headed to Walmart for some serious grocery shopping.  We got home and put the stuff away and went over to Penny’s to take her some items she wanted.  She is still sore from yesterday’s biopsy. I also put up curtain rods in her living room and fixed some drawers in a cabinet for her office. Afterward, we came back home to rest.  I spent the afternoon calling my other 3 contractors letting them know if that still wanted to submit a bid, they better get it to me soonest!  I already had that astronomical ($117k) bid from Jeremy (number 1). Later that afternoon, I heard back from Arron (number 2) who gave me a rough bid over the phone.  I asked him to not work on it to get the final number as he was higher on the pole barn than Tim (number 5) was for a stick built structure. I would rather have the building made conventionally (stick frame) as opposed to a pole barn (poles buried in the ground and walls and roof made from trusses) because I’m told stick frame construction lasts longer.  Still waiting on Rocky (number 3) and Kenneth (number 4) but it’s coming on the weekend so I’ll wait until next week and if I don’t hear from them I’m going with Tim.  Lydia picked up stuff for chicken and rice soup for dinner and she got that going.  We were going to have cornbread with it but our stove is still giving us fits.  I’ve got the owner’s manual in my office now and am reading it in hopes that we can sort it out.  Brian – we need you to come visit and bring your expertise!  But we did have homemade banana pudding for dessert and that was really tasty! Later, it was tv then bedtime.   

Saturday, October 21st, 2017…...  Last night was exciting!  We had some serious winds, the highest we’ve seen since we’ve been here.  We had a plastic chair blow right off the porch last night. We have no trees close to the house but when we woke up this morning there were leaves all over the lawn from the trees waaay far away! But no damage so that’s good.

Today was a lazy day.  We had nothing on the agenda today, plus it was raining, so we spent it around the house. I did the vacuuming and then we got out some luggage for Lydia to choose from.  She wants to do carry-on all the way but she is going for 7 days, plus I don’t want her lugging a suitcase on and off the plane or in Houston for her stop, so I think she is better suited to just take a larger suitcase and check it all the way to Fort Myers. She also washed clothes and bedding so I won’t have to worry about that while she’s gone. Plus, she wanted some of the clothes to pack. We ate a bbq rib dinner and watched tv and talked about the trip a bit before calling it a night.    

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #71 – Housework, Labs, and World Series Bound!

 

Wednesday, October 18th, 2017…...  Good night’s sleep for both of us last night!  I’m hoping we are both on the road to recovery.  Just to be safe, I’m still taking it very easy.  Lydia picked up stuff around the house and I vacuumed. It’s pretty easy though, with the central vacuum system.  All I have to do is plug in at three spots around the house.  I’m getting spoiled! The area rugs and the hallway runners were also easy to vacuum. While we were resting, our latest contractor dropped off their bid.  It was exactly half of the only other bid we received.  We were thinking that that guy really didn’t need (or want) the work so he decided to come in super high. We won’t decide on this last one until we get at least one or two more from the three contractors who have been here. But it looks good so far!  Later in the afternoon, we met Penny in the old town (downtown) area to walk around a bit.  Both of the girls have been chomping at the bit to check out the little shops on Main St.  Me, not so much but we were going out to eat later so I was in.  They found several antique shops and some boutiques and I went in to the Teen Challenge thrift store here and found some things for another visit. Afterward, we went in to Conversion Brewing, right on Main St., a place I was hoping to get to, and had linner.  The food was pretty good and the beer was excellent!  We got back in time to watch the Dodgers play. They didn’t win today though.  Maybe tomorrow. 

Thursday, October 19th, 2017…...  Another great night’s sleep! The rains are coming in. We woke up to the pitter patter on the roof.  Looking at the national map, it looks like Oregon/Washington has the only rain at this time. Oh well, I guess we better start getting used to it!  Lydia went out to get her nails done and then later we rode along with Penny to Salem for her consult with her doctor. She had her mammogram this week and she has a lump they wanted to talk about.  They ended up doing a biopsy which will come back next week. She was sore from the needle so I drove us all back to Albany where we stopped for dinner at Sizzlers.  Then she dropped us off and went home to rest.  We watched tv.  Oh yeah – my Dodgers are going to the World Series!  Not sure if we will face New York or Houston – but we are in the World Series!  Yaaaaay!   

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #70 – Doctor’s Appointments & Dodger Baseball !

 

Monday, October 16th, 2017…...  Today was our doctor’s appointments.  They made them for us one after the other so we could go together.  This is our first meeting with this new guy.  He wanted an hour for each of us for consult so that was a good sign.  We’ve already filled out most of the forms they need so we were ready.  The appointments went well and we both liked our new doctor.  My meeting was pretty short.  A quick exam, vitals, medical history, prescription updates, a flu shot, a mole burned off my temple, and no need for a follow up.  Lydia’s appointment took more time, given her health issues and all her meds she needs to get ordered. She got her flu shot and also a referral for a nephrologist.  So that was done. Now we can relax for a bit and get her appointment set for the kidney specialist.  We drove around for a while because they were calling ahead to Walgreen’s for our immediate prescriptions.  We got back into town and stopped at Jack in the Box and had a light meal, got our prescriptions and then went home and finished up with tv for the night.

Tuesday, October 17th, 2017…...  Today was Penny’s doctor’s appointment.  She had to drive to Salem so we told her to just bring Quincy over on her way.  I walked her and then we ate breakfast.  Lydia made breakfast burritos (my fav!) and then I went to Wilco to pick up some bolts for my workbench.  I’m lucky that Walt left me a perfect spot where he had his chop saw for me to use for mine.  I had to cut out a bit off the sides but that was easy.  I bolted mine in place and all that’s left is to get a vacuum hose to hook up to the system I put in a few months ago.  That involves crawling under the workbench which will have to wait until my back feels better.  Lydia got some more lidocaine for her back and that is helping somewhat.  I hope she feels ok by this time next week because that’s when she flies out to Florida to see Jeff and family and be there after his surgery.   Penny got back and by then our pest control follow up treatment appointment guy was here and gone and Kirk had come by with more bark to put down.  He will be getting more for me but will just add it to the order for Penny’s house scheduled tomorrow. Lydia fixed Costco tamales (and chili) for dinner and she went to the living room for her tv shows and I headed to my office/tv room to watch baseball.  My Dodgers won yet again!  One more to go to get to the World Series!  

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #69 – A TV Weekend!

Saturday, October 14th, 2017…...  This morning Penny brought Quincy over for her run.  She loves having free reign in the yard and field.  It was chilly this morning – there was frost on the grass! My weather station showed it got down to 33º. I sure wish I would have started the contractor bidding on the rv garage a lot sooner.  It might be a while before we can get the motorhome under cover!  While she was here, Penny got a call from Maryanne so we got to talk with her and Randy for a bit, which was nice. Afterward, we just spent the rest of the day laying around the house.  Still nursing shingles and back pains.  We ate an early dinner (beef and gravy over mashed potatoes) and decided we felt well enough to go to Saturday evening mass at St Edward Catholic Church. We found chairs behind the pews so I didn’t have to kneel which sure helped my back! We liked the folks there and so when we got home I went to the church’s website and registered us as new parishioners. After church we came home and I caught up on the taped Dodgers game.  We won!  Yaay!

Sunday, October 15th, 2017…...  Lydia had a terrible night.  She’s been ok the last couple of days just taking Tylenol and having me rub lidocaine on her affected areas from her shingles (mostly on her back).  She was ok for a while but woke up later and couldn’t sleep and got up at 3:45am this morning and sat up for a while.  Finally, about 6:30am she took a Vicodin and went back to bed. I just stayed up to let her rest.  I went in and fixed my breakfast and she slept in till about 10:00am and woke up feeling fine.  The rest of the day went well, just lazing around.  She watched her taped shows and crocheted and I watched Nascar, football, and later, more football (my Broncos – they imploded and lost big time!) and finally, baseball (my Dodgers!).  We won again. Yaay!  Lydia fixed a hodgepodge dinner – spaghetti for her and ravioli for me – but she only had to make one sauce for both.  With garlic toast the meal was excellent!  She has no pain but is still tired so we went to bed early to catch up on lost sleep…     

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #68 – A Better Day and Then Trip Plans and a Party!

 

Thursday, October 12th, 2017…...  Health update – my back feels a little better today.  Not nearly back to normal yet so I am still taking muscle relaxers. And I’m not doing any work around the house as yet but walking better than yesterday with less pain.  Lydia is still hurting from her shingles but she says each day is better.  We’ve both had shingles before and we know it’s a slow process before the pain goes away.  She has moments where she needs Tylenol.  So we’re a couple of sickies this week.  Both of us have doctor’s appointments on Monday.  Hopefully we will get back in good health soon.

We had another appointment today with yet another contractor for a bid on the rv garage.  This guy came as a reference from my metal welding shop guy.  He and his wife have been contractors in the business for many years.  He started out working for his father over 40 years ago.  He and his wife work as a team and bring in help with heavy work plus they sub out specialty work like electrical and such.  I gave him all of the details and they asked many good questions and before they left gave me a very promising rough estimate. So, depending on his final number (coming in the next few days) they are in the running.  Interesting sidenote – as they finished and got ready to leave they went back to their truck only to find that he left his keys in the ignition and she left her purse on the floor and bumped the lock button on the door.  So they were locked out!  I first cut a coathanger and then a heavier metal rod which he shaped into a hook and eventually taped it to a broomstick and got the keys out of the ignition and hooked them.  His wife and Lydia sat in the warm house together while we worked for 40 minutes out in the rain. Lots of fun!  While we were working out there, Tina dropped off our mail, which included Ethyl! For those who don’t know, Fred and Ethyl were the Rustler mascots for the last 4-5 years.  The Club is downsizing and cleaning up things in storage so we were asked if we wanted one of them and Ethyl made it up here today.  Here is the text of the letter that accompanied her:  Dear Terry & Lydia, Fred and Ethyl are getting a divorce.  Fred wants to continue to live in the city but Ethyl wants to move to a ranch. We suggested that living on your acreage would be best for her.  She will love the West 40!   Plus, this way she will be halfway across the country from Fred (he’s moving to Ohio) and there will be no more fighting. Take care of her.  Best wishes, Bill & Treasa – Official facilitators of the divorce.

We are happy to get her and will be sure to give her a good home and plenty of feed and will let her have free run of the property.  Maybe she will scare away the field mice!  Thanks for sending her to us. Please tell Fred we are sorry and surprised – they seemed like such a happy couple! Hope he likes his new life in Springboro!   

Later, we went out to Carl’s Jr. for a quick and easy dinner and then came back to watch tv (and feed Ethyl).  

Friday, October 13th, 2017…...  We got a call from Jeff last night.  He’s found out he needs outpatient surgery (for varicose vein removal) and wants us to come be with him.  We talked about it and I decided that even though his surgery is in 13 days, I shouldn’t try to travel 7+hours on a plane with my back out. It may be better then but it’s ok if just she goes.  We called them back and Lydia said she will go alone and he was ok with that.   So, after the call, we went online and looked at our options. Turns out that with the high prices on flights back there, it is best that only one of us go anyway. We also discovered that flying from Portland (with one stop in Houston) into Ft Myers, FL was way cheaper and faster than going via Eugene.  Flights from Eugene went through 2-4 stops (and took 11 hours or more!) plus they all cost much more. So she booked through Portland.  We also chose to add flight cancellation insurance just in case.  Since it was late she sent them a text with her flight info.  She’ll talk more with them later today. We didn’t do too much today.  We went to breakfast at Kevin’s and then came home and did odds and ends around the house.  Both of us went to our medication docs in our computers and updated our meds.  This time we added the supplements we take in case the doctor wants to know for interaction effects.  That done, it was time to go to our realtor’s office party.  Penny came over and Jeff called and we talked to him for a while then we headed off to Harbor Freight for some parking lot sale items and then to a place called Wheeler Dealers where I had seen carpet runners for our home.  We bought two and a wheelbarrow tire and then went to the ReMax party. Aimee’s team puts this party together at this time of year with games for the kids and fall photo ops for families and such.  They served desserts which we saved for after dinner plus gave us a free pumpkin.  It was a really nice setup and a lot of fun! We stayed only a short time and then went next door to Sweet Waters Family Restaurant for dinner, which was excellent!  We came home and put the rugs down

and then kicked back and relaxed for the evening. 

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #67 – Back Issues Again!

 

Tuesday, October 10th, 2017…...  We are supposed to get rain this afternoon so I went out early to get gas for my mower and got it ready in hopes that I could mow before rain gets to us. I waited as long as I could for the grass to dry from the dew.  I first went out with the new lawnmower (this was the Honda that I had picked up with the trailer) and did he rain culvert first.  I had a hard time with it on the uneven slope even though it is self propelled.  I then got the tractor out and managed to get the rest of the lawn all done before I got wet! Problem is I can now hardly walk!  The back muscle that was sore was doing so well but now I have a different set of muscles in my back that have tightened up.  I think it was the new mower plus the sitting position and the bouncing on the tractor.  I am seriously thinking about going to see a doctor if it’s not better tomorrow.  Lydia put chicken pies in the oven and I got in and out of my recliner a few times before going in to stretch out on the bed.  I took some more muscle relaxers and called it a night.

 

Wednesday, October 11th, 2017…...  Today was a little better but I didn’t do anything except sit around all day.  I have a doctor’s appointment on Monday so we’ll just go day by day….

Lydia stayed around and watched over me today.  She fixed linner and I took some muscle relaxers and Aleve and ended up napping most of the day. So I’m up late watching tv and am wide awake.  I’ll take some Tylenol and try to sleep.

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #66 – It’s Definitely Fall!

Sunday, October 8th, 2017…...  This morning we decided to go out to breakfast.  My sister came over early to give Quincey a chance to run a bit.  She brought over her food, fed her, and we headed off to Skyline in Sweet Home.  As we get into fall, you can definitely see the colors changing!  Of course there are the evergreens but even those are different shades right now.  The large number of other varieties of trees in this area make it so beautiful.  When we returned, the sun was out so we decided to take pics both in the back of the property as well as part of the front yard.  You can see the reds, yellows and greens of Fall.

After Penny and Quincy left, we kicked back and watched tv (Nascar, Formula 1, football, baseball, and Mecum auction for me), an Elvis movie, Silence of the Lambs, Will & Grace, etc. for Lydia). She fixed stuffed (w/crab & shrimp) salmon and a veggie casserole for dinner (very good!), and we went back to tv. Oh, yeah, our deer are back.  It’s a mom and her two young ones.  They hung around for 45 minutes just grazing in the back yard.  At first we only saw one of the youngsters but the other one was behind the motorhome and around the apple trees. There are thick woods toward the southwest of our property.  It’s actually fenced private property that has never been developed and we suspect that’s where they spend a lot of their time. I sure hope they stay close around here (no hunting allowed) so they will be safe come deer season!

 

Monday, October 9th, 2017…...  This morning started out really cold.  I ate breakfast and went out to the garage. I could see my breath!  But later, the sun came out and took the chill off of everything.  My plan today was to work on my pegboard rack for the shop.  I cut it to size and put 2 x 2’s behind it and got it mounted to the wall behind my worktable. Looks good!  About the time I cleaned up, Scott came over with my old axle.  He unloaded it for me and pretty much set it in place all by himself!  That saved my back! We talked about the timeframe for the order to arrive.  All I have to do is take the trailer there when everything gets in.  Probably a few weeks so I don’t have to hurry getting the axle buttoned back up until my back feels better.  Next up was to mow the lawn.  I checked and it was still too wet so I came in and took a break.  That’s when I discovered my phone took a dump!  Turns out it was the battery.  I bought one back in June of 2016 when we were in South Dakota from Batteries+Bulbs.  I found they have one in Corvallis so I headed there prepared to find out it was not the battery but rather the phone.  The clerk wanted to test it for 24 hours but since the battery was swollen it was enough to convince the manager it failed.  I had told them I bought it from their chain and that was enough for them to just exchange it!  No cost to me and it fixed the problem!  I returned home and missed out on doing the lawn.  I will head out tomorrow to get more non-ethanol gas and hope the rains hold off so I can get everything mowed. Lydia fixed spaghetti for dinner and together we worked on understanding the nuances of the broiler.  The Dacor stove has gas burners and an electric oven for baking but has a gas broiler.  We’re not used to that but I think we’re starting to figure it out.  We’ll have to try different broiler temps and move the racks until she gets comfortable with it. Too bad Brian is so far away, otherwise he would have a service call to do!  After dinner, we kicked back and watched tv for a while.  My Dodgers played game three in Phoenix tonight.  They won!  Next up is either Washington or Chicago. Go Dodgers!  

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #65 – Pumpkins and Baseball!

special note for Thursday’s blog - I forgot to mention that Thursday she and Penny went shopping for pumpkins.  They had each gotten a card from our realtor for a free pumpkin (up to 10 lbs.) at Grandpa’s Gardens in Albany so off they went. Lydia got one a little over ten pounds so it cost her 23 cents! They both wanted to go to a real pumpkin patch where you can go out and pick your own.  They had one all lined up with acres of pumpkins on the vines but the last time they went by, the field was harvested and they were plowing over everything!  We’ll keep checking - maybe there are others we can find.     

Friday, October 6th, 2017…...  I was told by the boss that I couldn’t do much work today – “no lifting and relax your back” so said. So I puttered around the house and shop today.  I was doing pretty well, just straightening up a bit. Then Penny called and wanted my 8’ ladder for her contractor who was caulking the outside of her house today and didn’t bring any of his own ladders (duh!). It was easy to load my ladder from the shop and drop into my truck and unload next to her garage (no strain) so I was ok.  Then I went to Economy Hardware (Ace) and bought a sheet of pegboard and three 2 x 2’s to build and hang in my shop.  It was loaded for me and all I had to do was drag it off the truck into the shop (no strain).  All in all, I did pretty good today!  No pills and less pain than yesterday.  Getting better!  Lydia baked a Costco tamale casserole and we had that. It was tasty but a bit spicy for us.  I watched baseball (Dodgers vs Arizona – we won) before going to bed.      

Saturday, October 7th, 2017…...  This morning I had plans to go to Albany to Habitat for Humanity and to Harbor Freight for a few things.  I stopped at Walmart then Starbuck’s on the way.  That done, I headed home.  It was sprinkling a bit when I got home but it stopped long enough for me to put new windshield wipers on the Acadia and on my truck. Again, a light day with no lifting (doing good Dr. Lydia!) and my back feels better yet. Lydia spent the day knitting and watching a bit of her taped tv shows.  Also, today the guys came and put sod in my sister’s back yard. It looks great! She has to water it every day as it gets started to take root.  

It is overcast here now.  Lydia was curled up drinking tea but decided it was time for dinner.  She is making hamburgers and heating up some tater tots.  Maybe a bit of ice cream for dessert!    Then it's time for Dodgers baseball!

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #64 – Sewing Table and Another Garage Bid

Wednesday, October 4th, 2017…...  I woke up this morning feeling tight and took some Tylenol to help. After a while I went out to the garage but didn’t do any work this time.  I took off with the axle and one spring with me to the metal guy.  I have decided to order a new axle, springs, and fenders all at one time so Scott can get them welded in place.  $350 plus labor but I’ll have a whole new suspension so I’m, doing it.  The springs need new hangers and the fenders need to be welded so I have to get the old axle back in just to get it to the shop.  Scott said he will stop by tomorrow to help so that’s good.   I also have another appointment tomorrow with another contractor for the rv garage so that’s good as well.  We went to Albany later in the day to get a piece of white laminate for Lydia’s sewing table. She wants an extension and I can do that for her.  We also needed to go to Sherwin Williams to buy the paint for the dining room.  We stopped at my sisters on the way to help her with a few projects.  We put her dresser mirror on and added some door sweeps to her French doors. After getting back, it was time to rest for the day.  We ate leftovers and watched tv till bedtime. 

Thursday, October 5th, 2017…...  I went out this morning and got some bolts for my trailer springs.  Scott is coming over today to bring back the axle just to bolt back in so I can get the trailer back to his shop for the install of the new axle and springs and fenders. I stopped and got breakfast out and went to Ace Hardware and then went over to pick up the other leaf spring I had left at the shop.  Turns out Scott is off today and the rest of the week so I guess he won’t be coming over today! Dang! One thing I found out is that up here time kinda runs in the slow lane.  Priorities seem less of an issue.  Very laid back and relaxed. I like the lifestyle and for myself, well I’m still trying to slow down too but it isn’t easy.  The guy who is coming over for a bid on my garage was called over 3 weeks ago and is just now returning my call! That’s Oregon time! My metal fab/welder guy didn’t make it but the other contractor did.  He is friendly enough and asked all the right questions and I gave him the same criteria as I did the others so we’ll see what he comes back with. I have a hunch that he will come back with a value bid.  We’ll see…  Before he came, I worked on Lydia’s sewing table and got the extension table put on.  I hinged a 24” x 48” piece of laminate (same as her tabletop) to the back of the table.  I added swing down legs and we both think it came out pretty good. 

Both of us had a late lunch so we each had a few light items for dinner (Lydia had soup and I had some little Babybel cheeses and a few mini cinnamon buns – can you tell we’ve been to Costco!).  We each are watching our programs now.  

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #63 – Back Issues and Trailer Issues

Monday, October 2nd, 2017…...  This morning the plan was to get up and going to 1) breakfast, 2) drop off my trailer for axle work, and 3) Walmart for grocery shopping.  I hooked up the trailer and off we went. We had a nice breakfast at Kevin’s and then met with Scott at the metal fab shop in town.  He looked at the axle and immediately showed me a crack in it and said he wouldn’t be allowed to make repairs – not safe even with welding.  I need to get my axle replaced.  I will be taking it apart and taking it in to them to measure and order and weld/install.  Once we know which one to order I will order online for delivery to them for the welding/install. That will save some money.  I figure for the $500. I paid for the trailer, lawnmower and edger figured in, I have about $350. in the trailer.  This axle work will run me $300. which still makes the trailer less than $700.  They are out there for over $1500.  So that figured out, I brought it back home and put it up on jacks/blocks.  Problem is – I wrenched my back lifting it up there.  As Walter, Jeff Dunham’s puppet says, “Dumb Ass”!  Yeah, that was me.  I pulled it pretty good. I am so sore now and I can’t stand up straight.  This happens every so often so I know the drill - take it easy and take muscle relaxers and pain meds for a few days so I can get going again. The trailer is on hold for now….  We ate an easy dinner and watched DWTS before calling it a night.

Tuesday, October 3rd, 2017…...  Today I felt a little better so I went out and crawled under the trailer and got the axle out – didn’t hurt too bad.  Kirk was here working today so I had him help me load it in the truck and went back to work on taking the leaf springs out.  The bolts are rusted/welded so I had to cut them off. Again, it was ok laying on the floor – not much pressure on my back there. I managed to get one off so I could take it in to use to order replacements.  Lydia and I talked about dinner at another Mexican restaurant we found in Sweet Home so we drove there.  Besides that, I wanted to go to the BiMart there and get another timer for the other island sprinkler system.  The restaurant (Casa De Reyes) was excellent!  Plus, Tuesday is $5.00 4-beer-sampler night!  I tried some different 4 oz. tastes – three I liked, one not so much, but hey, I know next time what to order!  We came back and watched taped shows.

Oregon Living 2017 – Blog #62 – Plane Trip and Paint Prep

Saturday, September 30th, 2017…...  We woke up this morning to cloudy skies.  We are supposed to get showers today.  We’ve had enough light sprinkles in the last week so start to see a little green starting out in the fields. The lawn is really green and is growing so much I’m thinking about mowing again next week.

Before the rain got going, I went out and picked the remaining grapes off the vines.  We only have about 20 feet of vines growing, and this is my second bucket that I’ve gotten.  Not a ton but they are really tasty!

Today is Jody’s last day in Oregon.  She has a 1:00pm flight home (St. George, UT) out of Eugene.  She and Penny came by on their way to the airport to visit a bit before they had to leave. We all said our goodbyes to Jody and they took off.  It sure was fun to see her and spent some good quality time with her.  She is more like a sister (to both of us) than just Penny’s good friend. Hopefully, she (and Charlie) will get back up here to see us again soon! They are welcome anytime!

The sprinkles showed up early this morning and stayed steady for a few minutes.   So, we spent this rainy day inside.  I went back to work in the dining room and cleaned up after all my sanding.  That took a while so I think I am done for the day! Next step is to wipe everything again with a tacky cloth before paint. I have a few holes to spackle and it will be ready for the wall paint.  We have chosen the color for the walls (gray) and for the wainscoting (white) but still have to go buy the paint.  Jeff still has an account with Sherwin Williams and he is in the database so even up here I can use his account to get his contractor’s discount when we go in to buy the paint. Penny stopped by on her way home and I gave her a couple of bags of grapes to give to her neighbors. We spent the rest of the day cleaning around the house and resting and re4laxing and watching tv.  Lydia made steak burritos for dinner and I cleaned up and we watched tv before calling it a night.  She is still trying to relax and take it easy.  Her shingles are still causing her a lot of pain.  I feel bad because I know what she’s going through! She’s had them before and says it’s not quite as bad as the first time but still….

Sunday, October 1st, 2017…...  Bad night for Lydia last night.  She was tossing and turning in a lot of pain.  She is out of her pain meds from the Urgent Care but she has Vicodin and took one and finally got some sleep.  We’ll stay in today and do nothing but relax.  We fixed a Bird’s-eye one step skillet dish and had that. Easy cook and easy clean.  We watched our races/ncis tapes and went to bed early.  Lydia was restless and got up to watch tv.  She was watching when they broke in with the news of the Vegas shootings.  Terrible thing – we are so sad.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims and their families.