Oregon Living 2019 – Blog #10 – More Drs. Appointments, a Birthday, and a New Chair!

Monday, January 28^th., 2019…...  This morning we had some errands to run. Lydia had to do another set of labs. She also had her mammogram to do today. We went off to Kevin’s for breakfast and then went over to the hospital to do the blood work. Her appointment wasn’t until 1:45 so we decided to drive up to Salem to go to La-Z-Boy to check out their recliners. Turns out the recliner I bought 15 months ago is no longer reclining! It was certainly fine up until monster puppy turned into a monster puppy! She always likes to jump up on the footrest and has done that since she was little. But being over seventy pounds, she puts a lot of pressure on that thing! It felt like a teeter totter sometimes. It finally snapped! Granted, it was a lesser quality chair, but I would have liked it to last a bit longer. We found a nice chair but wanted to look around some more plus they didn’t have anything in stock. We came back home via another furniture shop in Albany. We looked there and found they had La Z Boys in stock but not in any color I wanted. We spent just enough time there (I was delayed a few minutes to go outside and help a lady with a dead car battery with a jump start) and we were able to get to the hospital in time for Lydia’s appointment. After she was done, we went back home and plugged in our cell phones and took Rylee out for a bit. We asked my sister to come and feed the dog and we took off again, this time south to the La Z Boy showroom in Eugene. They had the same chairs and I found the one I wanted and the guy said to wait until Saturday for a 5% discount. He did take a deposit plus found one in stock. They will be adding the stainmaster treatment to it and I will be back on Saturday to pick it up. It wasn’t the cheapest chair I could have bought but I think I learned my lesson. This is the last chair I should need to buy. We stopped at Newman’s Grotto and had dinner. We got back home and rested from the long day.           

Tuesday, January 29^th., 2019……  HAPPY BIRTHDAY RANDY!!!! We called and talked with him for quite a long time and had a nice visit. They’re hoping they can get up to see us soon. Today was really nice. The sun is out and there were no clouds in the sky. The temps started out cold (38º) and then got super nice and warm (62º) so I was able to go back out and work on the grapevines again. I got all of the vines cut out of the apple tree so that’s done. Next step is to cut all of the branches off the apple trees to leave just the trunk and then either dig it out or cut it flush to the ground. I have enough kindling from the grapevines. I filled up two barrels of twigs from them that I will use for the shop stove. The apple tree branches I think I will cut and pile up and then trim down for firewood. I can then load the scraps in Kirk’s trailer when he has other debris headed for the dump. He was also here today and worked some more on weeding the blueberry cage. After I was done with my project, I came back in and rested. My poor chair is just barely hanging in there! I only have a few more days to deal with it until I get the new one! 

Later, we had leftover Mexican Crack for dinner and then watched yesterday’s taped America’s Got Talent and later, called it a night.  

      

Wednesday, January 30^th., 2019…... Another nice day!  It started out with frost on everything but as soon as the sun hits it, it goes away. I got Rylee out and walked and then went and got breakfast. When I got back, Lydia told me she heard back from the doctor’s office. They are referring her to a surgeon for a consult. I don’t think they are comfortable with her labs. And she can’t continue to take the antibiotics. So, a colon re-section may be in her future. Not what we wanted to hear but it’s something she has to prepare for.

We didn’t have anything on the agenda today so we decided to take the butthead out for a car ride. We needed to go to Corvallis to the bank and we drove from there past our neighbor, Lou’s, mink farm. We only found out recently that that’s his business, raising mink. His daughter worked there when she was growing up so it’s been in the family for many years. Not exactly the most popular type of business today, given these minks are raised only for their pelts. He said the customer base is now in Asia. The place is discreet and looks like an egg farm so I’m guessing there’s not any pressure from local animal rights groups.

We got back from the bank run and stopped by my sister’s so Rylee could get out and play a bit with Quincy. Last week Kirk redid the bark mulch all around her house and everything looks nice. He’s even added some photos to his webpage. We got home and Lydia ate dinner. Before we left this afternoon, I had the rest of the Coberg Pizza leftovers for lunch so I wasn’t in the least bit hungry for dinner. I just had a few graham crackers as my ‘dessert’. I watched the last episode of The Masked Singer, since the new one is tonight, which I will watch probably tomorrow. I missed Antonio Brown on the first reveal but have figured out the next three. I think I know who some of the others are but we’ll see how it goes as they are revealed in future shows.                 

Oregon Living 2019 – Blog #9 – More Grapevine Work and Some Cooler Days

 

Friday, January 25^th., 2019…...  It’s been a few days since the infusion and I’m doing fine. I had none of the side-effects that they listed, and only some additional minor stiffness which they said is common. Lydia has finished the last of her high-test antibiotics. She says she feels better but is nowhere near 100%. I expected more positive results but she will discuss with the Dr. next week to determine next step. This morning I got to sleep in and Lydia got up to feed the monkey butt. I walked her and then went off to get us breakfast. After that, I evaluated the weather and since it was partly sunny and warming up, I decided to go out and prune some more of the grapevines. I filled up the second barrel and then, with Lydia’s help, finished smoothing out the cut I made on the new white barrel I just cut the top off of. I think I have one more day’s-worth of cuttings to go. Then I can start to think about cutting down the apple trees. On the way out to the vines, I let Rylee off-leash for a while and, sure enough, she went out to her runway and made a few mud runs! I tied her up and went about my little task, and when I was done, I hosed her off and toweled her dry and brought her in with me and we both called it a day. We heated up the chicken and rice and then cleaned up and watched tv until bedtime.   

Saturday, January 26^th., 2019……  My sister came by this morning to walk Quincy. I was barely up and showered and was just bringing the butthead out for her walk. The weather is crisp and cloudy but the sun is due out later this afternoon. Rylee did her mud run again and we had to hose her off and dry her up again. Oh, the life of a golden retriever!

Ok, it’s later this afternoon and no sun. Actually, it’s downright cold out there! I was going out to work on the grapevines but not today! We only went out once and that was to run to Jack in the Box to get dinner. Rylee liked the ride even though we were back in a flash. Then it was dinner and tv. I am watching the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona road race. I find this the most fascinating of races. You have a team of 3-4 drivers who take turns going around the speedway/road course from 11:00am on Saturday until 24 hours later on Sunday. This year they have rain predicted to deal with starting early tomorrow morning.

      

     

Sunday, January 27^th., 2019…...  Weather is still cool here. Overcast and kind of foggy. Again, we didn’t plan to go out. I had my flannel-lined jeans on when I walked Rylee and then changed into my sweats and socks to hang around inside the house today. Lydia went to Walmart and said it was cold but not too bad. That’s saying something, coming from her! She worked on the puzzle we have going and I watched the Rolex. Those rains did hit and it caused a ton of wrecks and carnage. It was dangerous driving and they ended up stopping the race an hour or so short. Driving up here in the sprinkles and light showers is bad enough. I can’t imagine having to race in driving rain. Lydia’s trip to the store yielded makings for dinner - Mexican Crack - which was really tasty. This is a casserole with tortilla chips, diced tomatoes, chicken, and other spices. Throughout the day, the pooper dog managed to get me to take her out a few times, but I succeeded in keeping her far away from her track, so she managed to stay dry. 

The other day, when I went to Albany, I had an unexpected delay. I was going through my photo file and saw the pics and it reminded me that I needed to post these. I made a turn to go down a shortcut side road (which I usually take), and found it was blocked up ahead. A lady in a pickup was outside her truck and was talking to the two cars stopped in the road in front of me. She came back and told me that they were running sheep from one field to another and could I hang on for a few minutes while they brought them up the road? Of course!  So, I had to get out and take a few pics of this!..... It was so cool. The little guys are only three weeks old!    

Oregon Living 2019 – Blog #8 – Doctor and Dentist Visits and an Afternoon Out

 

Tuesday, January 22^nd., 2019…...  Yesterday afternoon I got a call from my doctor’s office about my infusion. They had phoned in a prescription for me for Vitamin D and Calcium Citrate. Turns out my labs showed my vitamin D at 8.7 and it needs to be 8.8 before I can do the infusion. It also turns out that the meds wouldn’t take effect for several days. So, I was told to call the infusion center, which I did. Final result is that they got together with my doctor and it’s still a go for the infusion.

So, this morning I headed over to my sister’s. She had her doctor’s appointment and I went over to walk Quincy. I got her walked and fed and then headed back home, stopping on the way to get coffee/tea/breakfast. Once I got home and ate, I walked Rylee. By this time, the sprinkles were just starting. I got her back before we got too wet. Then it was time to head to the pharmacy and then to the hospital for the infusion. This place is inside the hospital but runs independently. They really have a nice place and they put me in a treatment room, with a view of the garden. A few minutes later, they put in an iv and started the infusion. It took 30 minutes. But you have to wait 30 more minutes before you could leave. No issues in the office so I was free to go. I have a list of possible side effects to watch out for. Once I left, I stopped back at the pharmacy and then went home and was done for the day. Later, Lydia came in and said she was heading to Walmart. I went with her and we got a few things for dinner plus fruit and chips and crackers for snacks. She fixed steak burritos and that was our day. We had a nice dinner and then settled in to watch tv for the rest of the evening.    

Wednesday, January 23^rd., 2019…… This is the week of appointments for me. This morning was my dental cleaning. I go every four months and today was the day. I sure like Amanda, the hygienist. She is young and friendly has a nice disposition and is very gentle. We talked about gardens and flowers. Of all things!  She was a good friend of our next-door neighbor lady before she passed so she knows our house. I invited her over anytime to take a tour and maybe give Lydia and I some advice about our plants and shrubs. She seemed excited and I think she’ll drop by.  I was good this time with just the cleaning. Next time I get x-rays and an exam from the dentist. Since the weather is still on the cold/cloudy side, I didn’t have anything planned. Lydia got out her swiffer and went around the wood floors, trying to pick up all of the dog hair. I thought dogs only shed in the summer! Guess not!  Later, I took Rylee out to let her run but kept her close by so she couldn’t make her ‘drag strip run’ and get soaked. Lydia got some leftover lasagna out of the freezer and we heated it up for dinner. I have all of my races and auctions watched so I started in on the other taped shows that are building up. The other day we bought a puzzle while we were out and we got that out and going on the kitchen table. Good for a rainy day. 

     

Thursday, January 24^th., 2019…...  The weather has turned for the better. We are supposed to have a week or more without rain. They are saying this is unusual and that this is more like Spring weather. A lot of the flowers that shouldn’t bloom until April/May are starting to open up. I like the rain and all but I get tired of it lasting for several days in a row. So, this is good news! I got Rylee out and walked and then took off to go do my Habitat tour. I took the Acadia so I could get it vacuumed and washed. Albany has the closest full-service (Thurs-Sat. only) car wash and we needed the interior vacuumed to get rid of the other puppy that Rylee shed in there. But before that, I stopped at Roger’s, a ma and pa restaurant in town, and had breakfast. I stopped at Lowe’s and bought a new doorknob for the shop door. I also stopped by Petco. I’m looking for another leash but they didn’t have what I wanted. After I got the car done, I sidetracked on the way home and headed over the bridge and on down to Corvallis. They have the local PetSmart. Still didn’t have what I wanted, so I came home. I didn’t make it to the Habitat for Humanity or Harbor Freight, so those will be saved for another trip. I got home and changed out the doorknob. Butthead was on her rope out there with me so she was happy. Lydia finished her swiffering project and will save the dusting for another day. Later, my sister came over and we headed down to Coburg Pizza. We each still had our scratch-offs plus we also had a coupon sent in an email that gave us a free classic salad with our pizza. Our scratch-off (done in-store when you order) was for a free dessert pizza and sis got a free slice of her choice of one of six specialty pizzas for her scratch-off. We did have to go to the other location (in Springfield) but that was probably only 8-9 miles farther. Our location is still in remodeling stage. We hope it looks as good as the Springfield store. The pizzas and salads were good (same as the other place) and we had to take most of everything home. 

We got the cherry dessert pizza to go. I had found a new way to get to the Springfield/Eugene area and we also drove back that way. It’s a longer route, going through the local towns and farmland, but it’s more picturesque, with some covered bridges and river crossings on the way. We got back and sis went home and we settled in for the night. But not before I had my dessert. I just had to warm it up a bit in the microwave and it was the best!                     

Oregon Living 2019 – Blog #7 – Resting on the Rainy Weekend and Yardwork on Monday

 

Saturday, January 19^th., 2019…...  The weather is still supposed to be rainy and cloudy for the next few days. We slept in this morning. If you can call 7:00am sleeping in! Rylee gets me up around 5:00am to let her out. I guess that’s a good thing when you think about it. But this morning I got to go back to bed and sleep for another couple of hours. She has an alarm clock in her head and always nudges me awake around 7:00am to let me know it is time to feed her. When I did get up and showered and going it was already 8:00am. When I took her for our walk it was wet outside but the temperature was up to 55º and no rain. That’s extremely high temperatures for so early in the morning! But it may change later when the rains come in for the day. Lydia had labs this morning and went off to do that. I have nothing on my agenda today so we’ll see what happens….

Nothing happened. The rain and gloomy day made it easy to just stay in. Lydia got her soup going and simmered it most of the afternoon. She used our new Oster mini oven to make the biscuits.

That little oven has turned out to be a good buy. We use it for small items and she gets an even bake which is something our Dacor oven isn’t doing. We’re still looking at what to do with the Dacor – fix it or replace it. It’s 36” so a standard oven won’t work in that spot. Stay tuned…

The space that we have this little oven in is going to be redone. Walt had a hutch in there.

Lydia wants a mini pantry in that alcove. I will build shelves in there, with space for the recycle and a shelf saved for the oven. It will get a sliding barn door to cover it when not in use. The rains let up this afternoon and I was able to let Rylee out to run. She takes off and runs around and does her Rylee 500! The always end up running through the ditch. It’s got plenty of water but that only makes it better! I had to hose her off again but at least she got a chance to run off some of that puppy energy.   

Dinner was really good. I’m looking forward to leftovers tomorrow! We finished the evening watching our taped programs before calling it a night.   

       

Sunday, January 20^th., 2019……   I mentioned that we slept in yesterday. Well, this morning was even better! Even though she got me up to let her out to pee at 1:30am, we both went back to bed and quickly back to sleep. Lydia ended up waking us when she got up. It was almost 8:00am! I like it! My sister was already here with Quincy so I just fed Rylee and then let her out to run with Quincy. Of course, we still needed to do the old hose-job on Rylee to get all of the mud off her. We left the heater on a bit longer to keep the house warmed up so she could dry out. I took off and got coffee/tea/breakfast and settled in to watch my car auction, then motocross racing, then today’s final-day auction. With all of these on tape, it’s convenient for me to watch when I want. Today was another rainy day so it was good to just change into my sweatpants and lounge around the house. Lydia took her time to get out of her jammies. She binge-watched several of her old movies on tape. The two NFL playoff games were today. I don’t care who wins but I wanted LA more than New Orleans. The Dodgers went to the World Series and lost. I think the Rams going to the Super Bowl would be good. Turns out they won. Or rather, the referee missed a crucial penalty, which eventually led to the Rams win. They will play New England in Super Bowl VIII. As evening came around, we heated up the leftover soup and biscuits for dinner, and that was pretty much our day.        

     

Monday, January 21^st., 2019…...  Last night was sure good sleeping. But Rylee did wake me up while she was saying her prayer….

Rylee’s Bedtime Prayer

Now I lay me down to sleep,

The king-sized bed is soft and deep.

I sleep right in the center groove,

Grammy and Grampy can hardly move.

I’ve trapped their legs, they’re tucked in tight,

And here is where I spend my night.

No one disturbs me or dares intrude,

‘Til morning comes and “I want food!”

I sneak up slowly and begin,

To nibble on my Grampy’s chin.

For morning’s here, it’s time to play,

I always seem to get my way.

So thank you Lord, for giving me,

My Terry and Lydia that I see.

The ones who hug me and hold me tight,

And share their bed with me at night.

Actually, this came to us from my sister.  Who knew how close it came to our life with the butthead… Of course, I had to change it up a bit for her Grammy and Grampy….

Today, Lydia was going into Albany to go shopping with my sister. She left and I hung around the house for awhile. It wasn’t raining and I thought I needed to get outside for a bit, so I took Rylee out on her rope, and then tested the ground around the grapevines. It wasn’t too bad so I dragged out another trash can and spent an hour or so out there, cutting more vines. I’m not near done. As you can see from this shot of one of the vines, they aren’t short!

Plus, they are entwined with the apple tree branches.

Eventually, I will get them all out and cut up into fireplace-sized pieces. Then I will tackle the apple trees. They will eventually get cut down and will go into firewood.  Lydia texted me and had me get some chicken onto the defrosting tray. I’m not sure what she’s planning, but I’ll be ready!

She got back and was pooped after her day’s shopping!  She crashed for a few hours and then went in to start dinner. Turns out the chicken was for. It was excellent! I managed to get Rylee out again for another walk before it got dark and cold. Then we settled back in and watched tv. Tonight, it was America’s Got Talent. They are back to try it again against the best of the best.  This show is sure tough on those past contestants who either won or came close. They only take 2 out of 10 on each show. One goes through by the judges, the other by votes from each of the 50 states. I don’t agree on their picks but it’s still fun to watch.      

Oregon Living 2019 – Blog #6 – Some Assembly Required and Lab Appointments

Wednesday, January 16^th., 2019…...  Nothing on the agenda today. I walked Rylee and then let her run with Quincy once they were done with their walk. I went out and got breakfast and then decided to go ahead and get that cabinet assembled. It went together pretty easily and is now awaiting installation. I think we’ve figured out which towel bar style we are going with so now we just have to go get those and get them put up. Another day…

We needed to catch up on some taped shows and since the weather is kind of cold and the sun is not out right now (sprinkles are forecast for tomorrow) we stayed in and watched America’s Got Talent and then The Blacklist. Lydia had a huge roast in the freezer and she’s cooked that up for tonight, along with potatoes and carrots. The good thing is that there is plenty leftover for other meals. I think tomorrow we’re having burritos.     

       

Thursday, January 17^th., 2019……  The weather is now officially back to gloomy! We’ve had overcast days and today the rains are back and are expected thru the weekend. Oh well, that’s life in Oregon!  I did get monkey butt walked and ran in to Lou while we were out. Today is trash/recycle pickup day and his recycle bin had got knocked over and he was out there picking it up. He said he had a great time in Hawaii and told me he appreciated us taking care of the dogs. He said he has plans to come by later this evening. Later, I went off to the hospital to do labs prior to my infusion next week. The process, done only once a year, is for my osteoporosis. I took Lydia out with me because afterward we wanted to swing by Bi-Mart and then Walmart for a few things. Bi-Mart had a couple of end tables that were just the right size for our living room. We liked them and they were on sale so now I have another thing to put together. Walmart had a few things she needed for soup for tomorrow night. I picked up ink for my printer. When we got home, we were able to get lunch fixed and then we relaxed for the rest of the day. As I said, she whipped up some of the beef into burritos. Yummy! I’m in the process of watching the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auctions, going on this week in Scottsdale. It always amazes me how much people love to collect cars. These are always some of the best cars and some are in the millions. Way out of most people’s league but they sell. There are also some good bargains to be had if you know what you are looking at. I do have room for a car now… hmmm!  Nope, just dreaming. I have other things to spend money on besides a collector car.     

     

Friday, January 18^th., 2019…...  This morning we got up and got an early start to our day. I took Rylee out for a quick walk and we were on the road by 7:00am. Lydia had an 8:15 appointment at her gastrologist in Corvallis so we loaded up butthead and took her with us for her car ride today. The visit was short. They are still watching her tenderness and with the heavy duty antibiotic only working for a week, will wait another week to reevaluate. She has to go in tomorrow for more bloodwork. But that’s local. The weather here is back to Oregon winter – that is rain and/or cloudy skies. We got back before it rained this afternoon. But that doesn’t stop us from going out. I asked if she would like to postpone her homemade soup until tomorrow and we could go to Skyline for dinner. She was up for that! My sister was coming over anyway so she went too. It rained on us both going and coming but it was worth it. Dinner was really tasty. My sister picked up the bill. Thanks Sis! We got home and fed muttley and Penny went home to feed the Quinz.  Then it was relaxing and watching tv until bedtime….     

Oregon Living 2019 – Blog #5 – More Dog Duty, Septic Work and New Lights

Sunday, January 13^th., 2019…...  I slept in this morning. Last night I went to bed about 10:00pm and couldn’t sleep. I had some leg pain so I took a couple Tylenol pm. That was about 11:00pm and taking those makes me sleep well but I feel groggy unless I get enough sleep. So, Lydia got up with Rylee and let her out then later fed her breakfast and I stayed in bed! I got going about 8:45am and got cleaned up and dressed and then took the butthead out for her walk. When we got down to Lou’s, two dogs came out from around the back and started toward the fence. Turns out they were Taylor’s two labs that they brought down with them but I didn’t know them so we turned around. Luckily, they stopped at the fence. Later, I got a text from Lou, asking me to take back over feeding duties starting Monday morning.  Apparently, Taylor had talked to her dad and said she saw me and wanted me to come back because the dogs were friendly. They weren’t out again but we never did go back out on the road again. I did go out later to the workshop and work on that barrel I bought the other day. I cut out the top with my sabre saw. I still need to clean up the cut but it came out nice. I may end up with a couple more of those!    

Most of the rest of the day was spent watching auction and football. Mecum auctions ends tonight but Barrett-Jackson starts on Tuesday and I wanted to watch and delete what I have taped. Before heading off to bed, I had done just that so we’re good to go.  Lydia tried out her new induction cooker for dinner tonight. It works as described and is easy to clean. They say that the cooking surface shouldn’t get hot but it does. It’s ok though, and will work well in the rv when we travel.

       

Monday, January 14^th., 2019……  I needed to go back this morning for one more time to feed Bailey and Lucy. Taylor fed them yesterday afternoon before they left to go back to Portland. Lou will be back sometime later today and will take care of them tonight. I did manage to take a couple more pics that show them (just) a little better...

After that, I went home and got monster puppy out for her walk then went off to get our coffee/tea/breakfast. I then started on the security lights on the garage walls. I really liked the old lamps that were there but they are worn out and unreliable. I thought about using the guts out of the new ones but that would have taken too much custom work because things didn’t match up. The new ones say they are waterproof and I won’t compromise that.  They went up in a couple of minutes each and I was done. They don’t look that much different and later that night, they both worked and the light is about the same so I’m happy. 

                                                 Old….

                                                New….

While I was working on the lights, Eric, our pest control guy, showed up for the 3-month service call. He did his thing and found nothing out of the ordinary and was gone in a short time. Later in the afternoon, I went to Walmart and bought some tortillas for tacos for dinner tonight. After cleaning up, it was tv until bedtime.   

     

Tuesday, January 15^th., 2019…...  Took monster puppy out for her walk this morning and bundled up for that. It was 27º again!  Because it is not raining up here now, we just get the cold. But once the sun comes up, it warms up pretty quickly and is pleasant. High today is expected to be 56º. I fixed my breakfast and figured I would put together the bathroom cabinet we had ordered. But before I could do that, I had a phone call to make. Yesterday we had heard a buzzer going off and finally tracked it to the septic warning alarm in the garage. I shut it off and it didn’t come back on, so I thought we were good. This morning it went off again so I ended up calling Lisette at Affordable Septic Sys. They were the ones who did the inspection before we closed escrow and I liked her and kept her number. She sent out Misti and Dallas about 45 minutes later to check it out. They determined that the alarm sensor, that was attached to the pvc pipe with zip ties, had slid down on the pipe and was at an angle that caused it to go off. They reattached it using newer clamps. Upon inspection, they found that the sensor was cracked so I had them replace it before it failed. Lisette had said we needed a new one last year but we never called them back out. Anyway, it’s fixed now and the whole job with parts cost $150.00 so I think we got off cheap.

Kirk came by and worked on pulling weeds. He also sprayed weed killer in the blueberry cage. He had already weeded a foot or so around each plant last time but had to wait to spray when we had 3-4 days of dry weather.  Lydia took off later to get her hair cut and I hung around and rested and ate lunch. I did get the cabinet out and ready for assembly tomorrow. It won’t go up for a while so I’m in no hurry. Because it goes where a towel rack is now, we will wait on the install until we get the new towel racks bought and installed.       

Oregon Living 2019 – Blog #4 – Helping Neighbors and Friends

Thursday, January 10^th., 2019…...  HAPPY BIRTHDAY SANDIE!!!  Lydia called her this morning and we wished her a happy birthday and they talked for a bit. I had already been down to feed the dogs and had Rylee walked and was settling in to watch an hour or so of Mecum Kissimmee. Today, the sun is out and there’s not a cloud in the sky. My kind of day! After a while, I went back out to the shop and worked out there for an hour or so. I checked the ground around the apple trees and grapevines to see if I could go back out and work on the vines again. No luck, it’s still too wet. It’s mostly grass under and around the grapes and apples (blueberries are in a fenced-in cage). But in the patches of dirt around the grapes, there are tons of deer prints! We don’t mind seeing the deer and they haven’t affected the screen around the blueberries like we were told they would do, so we’re happy to give them a snack when they show up.  With the warmer weather, I was able to take super pooper out for a good run today. We have to go out to the field though, and it’s still almost too wet out there. But she enjoys her time out. We have a low area out there that holds about 4-5 inches of water if it rains for a few days. Rylee has found it and now it’s her ‘drag strip’. She takes off and runs 50 yards to the other end and then runs back and then plops right down in the water!

Of course, we have to hose her down afterward because she’s half white and half brown! But she has so much fun, we just can’t keep her from it. She’s definitely a water dog!  

I got Lou’s trash cans back to his garage and went back later and fed the pooches. Here are a couple of pics.

Lucy is the little one. They are both sweeties and are now meeting me at the door. They are 11 and 12 and they don’t run and play but I know they miss Lou so I try to give them some attention before I leave. His daughter, Taylor, is due in tomorrow to stay at the house so I have the weekend off. I’m assuming she will go back home on Sunday so I will take the duties back over after that. Lou is due back sometime Monday.     

       

Friday, January 11^th., 2019……  Both of us had a great night’s sleep last night. Lydia is doing well with her new antibiotic. But, it’s only day two. She last had flagyl seven years ago and got violently sick so, naturally, she was concerned. As directed, she’s taking the pill during a meal, and so far, so good. Sis came over to run Quincy and I went down and fed the dogs and left Taylor a note with info for her. Then we all went to Kevin’s for breakfast. After that, I headed off to Albany to go to Habitat for Humanity. I bought one trash container and three bags of rock salt. Total for all was $3.61. I also stopped by a house where the guy had these big white 55-gallon containers out front for sale. I have the same one at the house and they are really sturdy. He said his were from car washes and had soap in them. He wanted $10. ea for them so I bought one. I still have to figure out the best way to cut the top off. Once I do that and it goes well, I may go get some more. Later, we decided to have leftovers for dinner.  

Turns out Taylor didn’t get here until sometime after five so we headed down and fed the dogs one last time. She texted me that they got hung up in traffic coming down from Portland.        

     

Saturday, January 12^th., 2019…...  This morning I walked Rylee and was ready for my day. I was going over to Janice’s place while Lydia and Penny took off to go to Albany to go shopping. Janice had asked me to cut and install some plywood as a top for a workbench in her garage. She had already bought two cabinets from Habitat for Humanity and had them set up where she wanted. I just had to measure, cut and screw two plywood pieces on as the new top. It wasn’t finished carpentry - it’s in her shop - and was exactly what she wanted. It only took an hour and I was done. I was glad to help her out. Then it was home and after putting my tools away, I ate some lunch and watched Mecum and then football for the rest of the afternoon. Lydia got back after a bit and brought some teriyaki for me for my dinner that she had picked up when they went to their lunch this afternoon. Then, later, since the weather was so nice (mid 50’s), I took Rylee out for another walk before settling in for the evening.     

Oregon Living 2019 – Blog #3 – Birthdays and Taking Care of Dogs and Cats!

Monday, January 7^th., 2019…...  We had some rain last night and it puddled up in places on the driveway. The temps came down to 30º and that was enough to make all of that water freeze and make black ice. Even though the sun was out, the driveway and all of our street was still really slippery. Monster mutt started out and did the slip and slide for a foot or so and that got her attention! But she didn’t blink after that and was fine for our walk. The temps came up and we only got a few minutes of rain all day.  Lydia and I left a little later and went first to my sister’s (to help her move some furniture) and then to Walmart for some shopping. Among other things, we got some ciabatta bread for bbq sandwiches for dinner tonight. Once we got home and got everything put away, I got caught up on some of my taped shows and she did some swiffering around the house. We have decided to try another location for the dog’s food and water. We had it under the window in the dining area, off the kitchen. It was on our hardwood floor and we are seeing some delamination of the varnish coat. We’ve got the feeding area covered with waterproof carpet but she’s got a pretty good sized ‘slop zone’ after she drinks. We’ll try the laundry area because that’s laminate. Around 4:45pm we drove down to Lou’s and I showed Lydia how to feed Bailey and Lucy. We checked their water and fed the cat on the way out and we were done. We will do that each day until Friday afternoon.      

Then we came home and she put together our bbq sandwiches and she headed off to her tv and I settled in to watch the College Football Championship game. Go Clemson!

       

Tuesday, January 8^th., 2019……  Happy Birthday to my Sister Penny! She shares the same birthday as Elvis! (and David Bowie, Bob Eubanks, and Kim Jong-uh among others!). Imagine - Elvis would have been 84 today! She and Quincy came over for their walk and then I took her down to Lou’s to help me feed his dogs. After that we took off to Kevin’s for breakfast. But when we got there, it was closed. Not sure why – will have to check. I drove us to Brownsville and to the Pioneer Truck Stop out on I5. I had been there before and I liked it. They have the best bacon! Nice and thick! We came back home and after Penny and Quincy left, we hung around the house for a few minutes and then we left and took Rylee with us and headed off to Corvallis for Lydia’s gastro dr. appointment. She’s doing better but they are still concerned that the area is still sensitive and she’s still passing a filmy substance (which is coming from the inflamed area). So, they are going to try stronger antibiotics (flagyl). Lydia has had a reaction to the flagyl in the past but she’s willing to try it again if it will knock this thing back! As of this evening we’re waiting for the pharmacy to fill it and call us.  Later, Penny came back and we left for Coburg to have Pizza for her birthday. Plus, we each have scratch-offs and can win free food or even cash. Problem was when we got there it is still closed for renovations. They were supposed to be finished by now but guess not. So, we went to Bronco’s Saloon, just down the street. Lydia and I had been there before and liked it. The meals were really good and we even had room for bread pudding for dessert! We drove back home and stopped at Lou’s house and fed the dogs again. They are happy to see us and both dove in to their dishes pretty quickly. I’ll take pics tomorrow morning. Then it was back home and tv and quiet time (sorry – that’s not possible with monster puppy in the house!) until bed. 

     

Wednesday, January 9^th., 2019…...  This morning I got up a few times – just couldn’t sleep – and went into my office to watch tv and/or try to sleep. I did this a few times. Back and forth from bed to my recliner! I feel fine for now but I will probably be taking a nap or two sometime today. I did all of my duties this morning, though. Fed Bailey and Lucy, walked Rylee, and went and got us breakfast.  I even stopped at Walmart for a few things and got the truck gassed up on the way. Once home, we settled in and ate breakfast and I started watching Mecum Auction Kissimmee which starts today. I broke it up by going out to the shop for a while. Lydia left and went to get her prescription and then to do her labs. The weather is just ok. No rain but it’s cloudy. Forecast is for rain today only then sun and no rain for the next seven days. Yaay! We like the sun! We decided to go to Costco today and get a few things. While we were there, we saw my sister, who just got her new tires installed and was headed off to Corvallis to get the front-end alignment done. While we were in Costco, we ran across some outside security lights. We had seen them at Lowes and were going to buy two there (at $75. per light) but we saw these. They were virtually the same thing and they were $29.99! so, we added those to our shopping cart. We got back home and I took Rylee out to the shop with me. She needs to get out and I had some more of the Christmas stuff I needed to get put back up on the racks. My sister called later and gave us an update on a missing lady in the area. The story has been on the news for a few days now. She went to work early Monday morning and never made it to work. Her truck was found in the Willamette River, just across the road from the HP facility in Corvallis. They think she hit black ice (same as we had here on Monday) and skidded over the embankment. Penny said on her way to Corvallis, she went by the site and they were finished with the recovery. Boats are now out on the river, and divers are searching. They think she drowned but no body as of yet. Sad.

We didn’t eat lunch so Lydia got an early start on dinner (spaghetti) and then we went over to feed Lou’s dogs and check the house. Then it was back home and rest and tv until we called it a night.    

Oregon Living 2019 – Blog #2 – Getting Out & About and Getting an Assignment

 

Friday, January 4th., 2019……We are both much better today! I can actually speak! Still kind of croaky but much better! I got up early and got showered and dressed and had Rylee out for our walk. The rains are back but it wasn’t raining while we were out. I left later and got breakfast. Meanwhile, Lydia was getting ready for her day. She had a nail appointment at 10:00am so she headed off for that.  I needed to sit down and pay some first of the year bills. For 2018, I only had one more bill to pay, for Kirk for last month, and then I can wrap up the year’s expenses. We started our new medical coverage this week. Boeing, our provider, shut down the United Health Care HMO in Oregon and we had to move over to the UHC PPO. The monthly rates went up so we have to adjust for that. But we, like everyone else, got a slight increase in our Social Security this year, so that helps a bit. We now have to make sure that we give our new cards to the dr. so they can update their records. Our mail-in prescription service (OptumRx) stays the same so that’s a good thing. We’re told we may even get a break in those rx prices but we’ll have to wait and see when our prescriptions go in again.

Even though the weather was yucky, I went out with Rylee to the shop and worked out there for a while.  Later, we just had leftovers for dinner and then watched tv.  Lydia spent time in her craft room, catching up on some shows in that room. We have DirecTV but have opted not to use Genie, where you have a master box and small slave boxes in other rooms. With Genie, you can tape and watch in any room you choose. The reason we don’t use that and have full size boxes in each room is that we want to take 1 (or 2) of those receivers to use when we travel in the rv.   

       

Saturday, January 5^th., 2019……  Today was pretty nice. No rain and the sun was out for a bit. I had Rylee out and back when my sister was here with Quincy. Of course, Rylee always zeros in on the Quince and wants to be let off her leash so she can go play. It’s so good that they can run even though the grass is soggy and they come back to the house a mess! After they went home, I left and got breakfast. Then it was just kicking back time. We usually don’t go grocery shopping or to any of the big box stores on the weekends even though it’s no way near the crowds you would get in the stores in Cali on a weekend. Besides, neither of us had anything on the agenda so we just stayed around the house. If you know me, you know I keep logs of the races and the car auctions, complete with dates and times. That way I can make sure to get them all recorded for later viewing. I have been getting all of those  schedules off the websites and getting them printed and in my book. Motocross starts tonight and I’m ready! Lydia has been catching up on all of her saved shows now that she’s watched all of her taped Christmas movies. So, we were both kicking back most of the day. Later, we ate a nice bbq rib dinner and settled in for the night.

     

Sunday, January 6^th., 2019…... Again, nothing on the schedule for today. It was really windy last night. Butthead was super nervous so I took her out to the yard where she could watch all of the leaves swirling around and the branches moving. Didn’t help. She wouldn’t go off the porch. We settled in bed later and she was ok but got me up about two hours later and had to go out. Our plastic lawn chairs that were out by the rv garage ended up next to the house and that spooked her. So, I got shoes and pants and a jacket on and took her back out there and showed her and she was ok after that. We got back to bed and luckily, we were able to sleep in a little later this morning. It rained a bit last night but it was nice and dry when we went out for our walk. When I came back in, I got stuff out to make egg and cheese and ham sandwiches for breakfast but Lydia said she could make scrambled eggs so I deferred to her. Duuuhhh, that’s a no-brainer! After I cleaned up, she got showered and dressed and we hung around the house and watched tv. Later, in the afternoon, our neighbor, Lou, came by to ask for a favor. He is leaving tomorrow for a week in Hawaii and asked us to feed his dogs until Friday, when his daughter is supposed to take over. We are glad to help out. I went over with him and he showed me everything and I was set. We will start tomorrow afternoon and then go over twice a day after that. We talked a bit and I came home and later, took off and got us dinner (Taco Bell) and came home and we watched more tv until we called it a night.