Oregon Living 2020 – Blog #67 – Quality Time With Family

  

Tuesday, August 25^th, 2020……  I got up and got going early this morning. Frances’ flight was coming in at 9:25am in Portland so I needed to leave around 7-7:30am. I got Rylee walked and fed and then took off, stopping for McDonald’s for breakfast on the road. I did not hit any traffic whatsoever, so I had plenty of time to veer off the I-5 and take Hwy 99 up through the rural farmlands. But I picked up I-205 further up and made it to the airport with time to spare. Frances’ flight was early and I got the text while I was in the cell phone lot and swung by and picked her up. She immediately had a decision to make. I asked her if she still wanted that Tillamook tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich because we could detour there on the way home. She was ready and willing!  So, we headed off to the Tillamook Ice Creamery that I had put into my gps. Problem was it took us to an ice cream shop in Lake Oswego!  No worries, I got Tillamook in the city listing and we got there no problem. The tours are by reservation only but we didn’t want that and their website showed you could go to the walkup window for to-go food and ice cream orders and there was no line. We got our tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches and went out to the car to eat them. Yummy! Then, we headed home via the coastal route and then inland from Newport. Kirk had already been at the house and sis came by to let Rylee out so all was good. Kirk has recently bought his own new zero turn mower too so he wanted to talk about what to do with the Husqvarna tractor. I will call him tomorrow and suggest that we hold on to it for a while because his business may require that he expand and use two teams with mowers.  Penny came over and Frances and I were already into my project - getting the new curtains strung on the curtain rod. These are scalloped and have to be hung in a specific order. Between Frances and Penny (I held one end of the rod) they figured it all out and we got the 16 panels all in order. We laid it in the dining room for installation tomorrow. We hung around the house and sat out on the front porch and drank wine and visited for a while. Penny went home and Frances and I watched the latest America’s Got Talent that I had taped. We both made our picks for who moves on. We’ll find out tomorrow night on the results show. After that, we both turned in after a long day!  I’m glad she’s here.

Wednesday, August 26^th, 2020……  This morning the plan was to go to Elmer’s in Albany for breakfast.  I was up and had Rylee walked before sis came over with Quincy to spend the day. We all headed off and had a nice meal. Once we got back home, I wanted to finish up on the curtains while they were both there to help. I got all of the mounting brackets installed and then we hung the rod and adjusted the curtains and stood back and admired out work. I think it looks great!....

We didn’t have anything planned this afternoon or evening. Penny went home to get on a Zoom call for a webinar about medicare. She will be signing up soon and wanted to ask some questions. Frances and I watched some taped shows and then I went off to Jack in the Box to get dinner. Frances has a file already of all of the recipes that Lydia had in the computer but has been looking through all of Lydia’s printed recipes to see if she was missing anything. We watched the AGT results show. We got four of the five.    

Thursday, August 27^th, 2020…… After getting up and walking and feeding Rylee and working on my word jumble from the newspaper, Frances came in and mentioned Kevin’s and said she had never been. Every time we tried to go in the past, they were closed. It didn’t take much for me to drop the jumble and off we went!  We had a nice meal. After we got home, we decided to go through the recipes and found one for tomorrow night.  But we still need stuff for tonight’s chicken enchilada dish that Frances makes, so we headed off to the store for that.  For this dish, all I had to do was watch.  It was all ready by 5:00pm and was cooling enough to slice when Penny and Cherrelyn came over with some wine. Poor Cherrelyn has been living in her room for the past few weeks. She is working very long hours but needs to do that at this time. She said she is planning on not working this weekend and will be going up to Washington to see her son and his family who are now in their new home.   She has spent some time online looking at available apartments in the Vancouver area. But Penny is not looking forward to her leaving. I know she has been by herself since she’s moved up here and this is really good for her. I know being alone. Trust me - it’s hard!  I just wish they could spend some more time together while she’s here. Anyway, we had a great meal. Thanks Frances!  I will have leftovers to freeze for another few meals. Afterward, we sat out on the front porch and had some wine and/or beers and enjoyed our evening.    

Friday, August 28^th, 2020……  Nothing on the list today. We did need to go to the store again, this time for stuff to make Lydia’s recipe for chicken pot pie casserole. Sis came by and together we went out with my truck to the back part of the property to pick the wild blackberries that are ripe now. We needed to use the truck bed height to reach over the ditch plus sis put on her rubber boots to avoid the vines for those closer on the ground. We got enough for now. This batch will be just for snackin on! 

Then it was time to get dinner started and in the oven. This time I helped in the prep. This meal was good too!  We found that we needed to cook it a bit longer than the recipe called for to get the potatoes cooked, but it was still really yummy and hit the spot!  Cherrelyn wasn’t here today because she took off after work to make the 150 mile drive up to Washington to spend time with her son.  But we went out again to the porch and sat and talked and planned tomorrow. I want to take us to Skyline in Sweet Home for breakfast and we will go from there to the airport in Eugene so no backtracking. We will need to leave here about 8:30am. After Penny went home, Frances and I watched The Book Club which Lydia had taped. I wish she could have seen it! She would have enjoyed it.  It was too cute!   

Oregon Living 2020 – Blog #66 – Getting Ready for Family

 

Friday, August 21^st, 2020……  This morning I woke up to clouds and a grey sky. But it was pleasant temperature-wise. I got Rylee out and walked and back in the house before it sprinkled. But it never really got anything wet. I made myself some scrambled eggs and ate some more of those tasty tomatoes. I needed to go out and repair that sprinkler riser that I broke yesterday. It turned out that it was just unscrewed from the base! It went back in easily and I felt lucky! I came back in and then texted Frances to see if she needed anything from the store. She is planning some meals (Lydia’s recipes!) and I thought I could get started with this visit to the market.  I got her list and took off and got that task completed. Later in the afternoon I headed over and got my hair cut. I’m set now!  Teri said she was heading off to La-Z-Boy. She wants to buy a couple of recliners and they have a two-for-one sale going on. Hope she finds some that are in stock because I’m still waiting for them to get mine in. It takes a while and I was told there were several folks ahead of me waiting for that same chair. Oh well, at least it goes into a room I don’t use that often so I can wait.  My sister dropped off Quincy for another sleepover. She was getting up early to hit the annual Lebanon City yard sale. The chamber of commerce publishes a listing by address of those folks participating and there must have been 80 places on that list!                   

Saturday, August 22^nd, 2020……  Not much going on today. I did manage to get up early and got Quincy and Rylee out and walked and then fed and then went out and got breakfast for myself. After that, I did some cleaning around the house. I had some races to watch and I relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the day and actually fell asleep. Not good for me because that usually makes it hard for me to sleep at night.  Sis came back a little after noon and was done with her yard sale shopping. We sat around and talked for a while and then she took Q and went on home to rest and I finished up watching my races. I fixed dinner and then watched some more taped shows before calling it a night.  While I was watching tv, I saw something on a renovation show that caught my eye so I froze the screen and took some pics. I have plans for the dining room wall now!.....

Sunday, August 23^rd, 2020…… It took a while but once I fell asleep, I slept great!  I had nothing on my list for today except more races on the Sunday schedule. Penny called later and asked it I wanted to go to Dos Arbolitos for dinner, and to invite Teri. She and I drove there and we met Penny and the three of us had a nice meal. I brought Teri back to the house and showed her my new mower. She had only been here once to visit Lydia, so she got the tour again. I showed her the progress on my boat. When I get it finished, I’ll have to invite her out for a ride on the lake!  We sat and talked for a while and then she went home, and I settled in for the night.     

Monday, August 24^th, 2020…… I got up early this morning and showered and dressed and then took Rylee out for her walk. I didn’t have anything planned today except maybe find a poster frame and a glass place to get the window for the boat replaced. I drove to Corvallis and headed north and just kept driving until I got to Monteith and then went to Dallas. That is where Paul and Alice are going to live. Their house is supposed to be done sometime in November. Dallas is a pretty good sized town. I found a Walmart there and stopped in and go the frame. I worked my way back to Albany and went to another glass shop there. They looked at it and measured it and gave me a better quote than the other place in town. This is not actually glass, like the rest of the windshield. This is the piece on the windshield that opens to allow access to the front open bow seating. It’s poly carbonate plastic so it won’t break. But it is definitely pitted and needs replacing. I needed to go back home and remove the poly carbon from the frame and return it to them so they could get it into their schedule for the week.  So, I came home, drilled out the pop rivets, removed it from the frame, and jumped back in the truck and took it back to them. They said probably a few days. Yeah right! I am learning about Oregon time!  I got back home and heard from Frances. She had previously told me was going to surprise me by shipping a case of my favorite burritos (Ramona’s), but that wasn’t working so she will try to bring them with her on the plane. I will bring an ice chest just in case she gets them through TSA! Fingers crossed!

Oregon Living 2020 – Blog #65 – Getting Things Done!

 

Wednesday, August 19^th, 2020……  This morning I set out to paint the wall finally! But when sis came by with Quincy, we decided to go to breakfast. Kevin’s was closed (no reason just a locked door) so we drove out to Shirley Mays and ate there. Once she dropped me off at home, I changed clothes and got the new can of paint out and stirred up and brought the big extension ladder back in so I could reach the high area and went to work. Penny came back over and we got the first coat on. We rested and waited for that to dry which was about an hour. In the period, she decided to go to Taco Bell for lunch because she ate a light breakfast. I just got a chicken quesadilla. Then we started in and got the second coat on. Again, we rested and later saw that it was dry, so I started removing the tape. We made quick work of that and I cleaned up the brushes and roller and she got the tarp off the floor and folded up. I left the stepladder because I wanted to touch up some spots that bled under the tape. I will have to go search for paint to match the eggshell on the adjoining walls and ceiling.  I did a quick-vac on the floor and we were done. I so much like this tint of green better than the first attempt!  It’s hard to see but it looks right in the light and better matches the green in the entry alcove across the room. I’m sure glad to get that done. I just wish I would have done it way sooner when Lydia could have seen it because I know she would have liked it! 

I still need to get the new curtain rod installed and the weird scalloped curtains figured out but I will wait for Frances and my sister to help sort that out. Frances is due in on Tuesday. No Raymond this time but it will still be nice to have her visit.  After that, I went out and started on the assembly of the bagger for the zero-turn. It sure had a lot of pieces but it went together and on the mower, pretty easily. I finished about 90% of it.  All I need to do is to add the counterweight to the front but I will get to that tomorrow morning because I can’t mow until the grass dries out from the morning dew anyway.  I dumped Rylee’s pool but still let her chase the water from the garden hose. I can shoot it out about 60 feet and she loves running and trying to ‘eat’ it!               

Thursday, August 20^th, 2020……  Today was mowing day!  But first I had to get the weight bars installed on the zero-turn. But even before that, I had to fix my Facebook account because Teri and Frances both texted me to make me aware that they received a friend request from me – and, of course it wasn’t from me.  I was hacked!  I sent out a post to warn everyone not to accept a friend message from me then I called Frances because I needed a little help to maneuver in FB, trying to find my security settings. Even though I didn’t know Lydia’s FB password, I have her phone still active so they sent me a code which allowed me to go in and change it. I also got some advice from other FB friends and changed some settings to lessen the chances of this happening again. I do remember Lydia having these issues from time to time so maybe this will help.  Everything seems to be working as it should.  Now, I could go out and work on the mower! But wait! I had gotten a call last evening that my pressure washer was done so, after walking butthead, I headed off to go pick it up ($69.35 total for a new carburetor and install) and also got breakfast to bring back home.  I made the decision to do the touchups on the paint this morning so I could get the ladder out and the room straightened up a bit.  I found some white paint/primer that I had used in the dining room and decided to try that. It worked and looks a lot better now. I got everything cleaned up and the wall plates and pictures back on the wall.

So, now I could finally go out and get the weights hung. I also gassed up the zt and the tractor. When Penny got here, I used the tractor to mow around the grapevines because I didn’t think I could get the zt in there between the grapes and the blueberry cage. Then, I turned it over to her so she could go out and mow the field grass, and got on my new toy!  I must say it was a real learning curve in the way this thing works. Each rear wheel has its own transmission and it controlled by lever bars that you push and pull for throttle and forward and backward movement. It’s called a zero-turn, because you can literally turn the thing around like a top!  I was doing ok – for the first 5 minutes – until I came up to a sprinkler riser just in the flower bed at the edge of the lawn. I saw it too late and yanked the levers in the wrong direction and knocked it right out of the ground!  So, now I will need to put that on my list of things to do before I turn the timers back on for the sprinklers!  But that was about it and I learned pretty quickly how to make my turns and everything went well. It cuts great and is a lot quieter than the tractor (still wear ear muff protection though) and it cuts a wider path. You wouldn’t think that the difference between a 54” cut and a 60” cut is a lot, but it makes for lesser trips around the yard – and that saves time!  I appreciated the bagger but I wasn’t used to not seeing clippings on the lawn as I made my passes. We are in the later season and the grass isn’t growing as fast as in the spring, so there wasn’t much in the way of clippings. But what I had went into the triple bags on the mower and was easily dumped right into the regular trash can. I ended up with a load and a half and that included half of the field grass which I normally wouldn’t pick up anyway.  

After we got to the end of the task, I turned it over to sis to see if she liked it. She was very much intimidated (as I was) and only did a small patch of grass, but I think she would easily get used to it. For now, she is very much content to use the tractor and will want to do more of the same in the future.  We got the grass blown off both machines and she parked them in the shop garage and we were done. The good part is I don’t have to go out tomorrow and pick up the grass clippings!  We are done until next time!  Sis went home and I came in and showered and then headed up to the farmer’s market in town to pick up some more honey. I have been taking one teaspoon every day for some time now and I find it helps with my allergies. They say that the pollen from the local bee hives (as close to where you live as possible) will help in giving you a small immunity from the environment in your area. With all of the field work done here, and all of the grass and clover and pollen and such in the air, I need all of the help I can get!  Very few days with a runny nose and I sneeze a lot less now so I want to keep on this regiment.  Once I got back, I relaxed and watched tv for a while. I had a Jack in the Box breakfast burrito plus I tried a Starbucks bacon and egg and gouda muffin sandwich today, so I was not hungry for lunch or even dinner. Believe it or not but my dinner was 4 pieces of Texas cheese toast and several cherry tomatoes (from one of Penny’s neighbors). That was it. I spent the rest of the evening working on my checkbook and also on this blog.  Then it was tv for a bit then I headed off to bed. A busy day and very productive!   

Oregon Living 2020 – Blog #64 – Getting Through the Heat, a Nice Outing, & Finally Getting My ZeroTurn!

Saturday, August 15^th, 2020……  It’s going to be hot today!  They say temps are expected in the high 90’s !  I had Quincy today. Sis was going to help work for her friends Linda and Chuck, at their yard sale. She wanted Q to be able to relax in my house. I decided to paint today – or at least start masking off the windows. I had already brought in the two ladders and set the extension one up and tested it. I was comfortable enough by bracing it against the loveseat to just go ahead and paint the upper section today. So, I did that and got two coats on so that section is now done. I can use the step ladder for the rest.

 

It's really too dark so you can barely see the color change up at the peak.  

I finished up the day by taping off most of the rest of the windows and door jambs. I ate my squiggly noodle casserole for a late lunch and took monkey butt out for another cool off before settling in for the evening. Cherrelyn texted asking about maybe going out to breakfast tomorrow?  Of course, I said yes!  I called Teri and asked her to join us.     

Sunday, August 16^th, 2020……  Didn’t sleep too well last night. I tossed and turned until about midnight and then got up to take some Tylenol pm. That eventually worked.  

We are supposed to have another hot day today. They say it will be the hottest day of the year so far, maybe even reaching 100º.  Wow!  But, thankfully, it is supposed to get cooler tomorrow.  Even though I was lacking some sleep, I still managed to get up and going early (around 6:30am).  It was only 64º when I went out with Rylee. After I got her fed, I took off and picked everyone up and we headed off to Sweet Home to go to The Point for breakfast. It was really pretty up at Foster Lake today. There were boaters coming by every few minutes, heading off to the boat launches, getting ready for a relaxing day on the lake. We thought we reserved the veranda but we weren’t showing on their list so we had to sit inside. But they gave us a nice room to ourselves and all was good and we had a really nice time. Cherrelyn said she was happy to be out of her room and enjoying a day off!  And Teri said she is glad to be getting out and socializing and also had a great time too!  The food was just ok - not as good as we were expecting. But we made up for it by ordering their specialty Bloody Mary’s. Mine was garnished with pepper bacon, asparagus, and green olives. Different.

Afterward, we toured around the lake and passed a car club who had about a dozen cars out on the lake’s point parking area. It sure was a nice sunny day for that. After the drive back, I dropped off the girls at their house and then took Teri home. I came back home and took Rylee out and then settled in to watch my races. I ended up crashing for a few hours. I usually don’t take naps during the day because it keeps me up at night, so we’ll see….

I don’t think we made it to 100º today – at least not in this area – because we had some cloud cover which cooled things off for most of the day and into the evening. I ate the rest of my rice leftovers and watched tv until bedtime.              

Monday, August 17^th, 2020…… Again, a tough night sleeping. I knew that nap would hurt me later!  My plan today was to finish up the painting.  But, as I was getting things together for that job, I got the call I was waiting for!  The mower was in! They said they would have it ready after 1:00pm this afternoon, so I called Chuck and he was available and came by around noon with his flatbed trailer, and we headed down to Junction City.  They were just about finished with the assembly and put some gas into it while I paid for it and took care of the paperwork. They drove it on the trailer and Chuck got it and the bagger (still in the box) tied down to his satisfaction. We headed back up for home, trying to find a place to stop so I could buy his lunch. We found one place that didn’t have enough parking for the trailer and then the Tangent Inn was our next stop but turns out they are closed on Mondays. We ended up at Shari’s back in Lebanon and ate there. Once we left there, it only took a few minutes to get it home and unloaded. I drove it around a bit but parked it in the garage

so I could work on putting the bagger together and getting that installed on it.  But I wanted to come in and rest and once I got back in the air-conditioned house, I decided to just go ahead and get my painting done. I could go back out later and work on that bagger.  Then I had a thought! (yes – I know they are rare!) about getting the curtains out that we had bought way back when. I wanted to double check to see how the new paint would go with the curtains. It was ok but I was not as happy as I thought and wanted another opinion. So, now that project was back on hold today. I also needed to contact Randy to ask him to go check with the folks at our old SoCal house. Turns out the online order I recently placed with Haband for a couple of pairs of my favorite sandals, was shipped to my old address in Calif.  It was partly my fault because I didn’t closely check the confirmation email that they had sent when they shipped it last week. After all, I have been getting their catalogs ever since we moved up here three years ago!  But I guess I shouldn’t have assumed that the shipping address would be different from the mailing address.  Duhh!  Anyway, Randy will have Perrin go down there from his house and check with them tomorrow.  So, between all of this, I just stayed in the house and did pretty much nothing for the rest of the day!  I didn’t even fix dinner and only ate a few pieces of ham and some crackers and that was it. Sandie called and we had a nice talk and got caught up.  I always enjoy hearing from her and other SoCal friends!  Then it was tv for a while and then bedtime.

Tuesday, August 18^th, 2020……  Slept way better last night!  Yaay!  Today was jam packed with things on my to-do list. First up was doing some laundry. Since I was hanging around doing that, I decided to finish the scanning project. I only had about thirty more photos and finished that up and was putting those in the powerpoint slideshow file when I ran out of time. I needed to be at the nail salon for my 10:45am appointment for a pedicure that my sister had made for both of us. I haven’t been there in a while and needed some better attention paid to the toenails that I am able to do by myself.  Penny will always help with the trimming when I ask but this professional attention was way overdue. Jenny and her husband Brian are doing a great job with their shop now. They have plexiglass up in front of the pedi-chairs that hangs down between you and the foot area. Really smart!  Jenny worked on me today and she is very gentle and does a great job with my one problem ingrown nail. I really felt relaxed and ready for the day when we left there! I asked sis to follow me home so she could look at the color match and advise me. She agreed that while it was an ok match, I probably would be happier if I got another color for that wall. So, I took one of the curtains as a sample and maybe as a color match, and headed back to the Albany Sherwin Williams store. I did find one that really works with the curtains but unfortunately, I had to have them start from scratch with a new can to mix that color.  Too bad since I barely used any of that first can at all - but I think I will eventually find a use for that paint color somewhere around here….

Kirk and his guys showed up while Penny was here and we were looking at the new mower. We made plans for mowing as soon as I get the bagger finished. I was planning on doing that now - but a few minutes later, the mail lady came by and guess what – she had the Haband delivery for me! It looks like the folks in Calif. refused the shipment because there was a new address label over the old one. So, I called off the troupes down there so they would not have to do any more searching for me. Then Rich, my neighbor, came by to drop off some mail for me that was in his pile today. That led to a nice conversation about lawnmowers and boats and deer and eventually to a project that we will be tackling together – getting the ditch out by the road in front of our houses cleaned up so that the water flows better on its way to the main drainage line. All of that totally put an end to my work day. I managed to get Rylee out for another swim/run in her pool but that was about all I did in the afternoon. But bright and early tomorrow morning I will definitely be on that painting job!  I finished up the evening with leftovers from Shari’s yesterday and then settled in to watch America’s Got Talent before calling it a night.

        

Oregon Living 2020 – Blog #63 – Running Errands, Working on the Boat, & a Fun Outing on the Coast!

Tuesday, August 11^th, 2020……  I got up early this morning and got Rylee out, walked and fed. I made myself bacon and eggs and then loaded up the pressure washer and headed off to Cascade Outdoor. They can fix it but told me the problem was most likely caused from using regular gas. I read the instructions back in November when I got the unit and it only said to use 87 octane or above. No mention of non-ethanol as being ok to use. The good thing is that, even if I ruined the carburetor, it would only be $25-$30 for a new one. I left it and they will call me. Kirk’s guys came today and I had them concentrate on the west side of the driveway. They are now just starting to catch up with the summer weed growth. Maybe next week I will have them work on the front yard east-side island which needs serious help.  The weeds there have taken over everything!  Once they left, I went to work in the shop. While I was there, the FedEx truck showed up with the boat seat pedestals. Cool!  Dinner tonight was a chicken pie and then I kicked back and watched tv until calling it a night.  

Wednesday, August 12^th, 2020……  I wanted to start up and move the motorhome and so today was the day. I didn’t really need to put in the slides or unhook the power or water lines because I was only going to move it forward and back 1-2 ft. to make sure the brakes are still free. I only needed to unhook the satellite cable and the exhaust escape tubing and move my grass catcher out of the way. That went fast and easy and I was done in ½ hour.  I plan to take it out again sometime soon and the next time I will drive it to give it some exercise but I will need to add air to the front tires.

 Thursday, August 13^th, 2020…… Not much on the agenda for today. I decided to work some more on the boat. This morning and afternoon I went out and removed the seats and all of the oars and life jackets and got everything else out of the way. There is a metal strip, kind of like a 3/8 quarter round strip that runs all the way down the center of the boat. Not sure what this was for.  It got painted when they did the interior and I figured I would remove it and re-install after I put down the carpeting. But there is no seam or anything there indicating it was just there for looks. I can always put it back but for now, I don’t plan on it. I vacuumed and it is now ready for the carpet…

 

I decided to make one of my favorite dishes tonight for dinner - squiggly noodle casserole. I opened up Lydia's recipe file on her computer but didn't find it, so I went to the next step - looking through her cookbook files. Luckily for me, she had a glassine folder with a bunch of printed recipes and it was in there!  I had all of the stuff and put it together and got it in the oven. It was yummy!  I ate more than I thought but I will still have enough for lunch tomorrow!

Friday, August 14^th, 2020……  This morning I slept in (until about 7:00am) and then got up, showered, dressed and got Rylee out for our walk. I fed her then went to find the color chips we chose for the back wall of the living room. It is mauve now and we wanted to paint it the same green that will match the entry hall walls.  I chose the color chip I liked and headed off to Albany to Sherwin Williams, stopping on the way at Mickey D’s for breakfast. But before I went to get the paint, I first I got the truck washed. Our realtor, Aimee, had given me a card good for a free car wash so while I was there, I decided to use it since it was just around the corner from Lowes, where I went to get some adhesive and aluminum trim for the boat carpeting. I got both of those items and the paint and headed back. I am going to pick up Teri this afternoon. She has a rare Friday afternoon off and asked if we could do something today, including dinner.  I chose a drive to the coast and a seafood ‘linner’.  But before I left, of course, I had to pay some attention to the butthead, especially if I wasn’t going to be around this afternoon! I took her out to her ‘waterpark’ and she ran until she flopped into the pool, exhausted. I have asked my sister to come by this afternoon to feed her.  I picked up Teri and we headed over to Newport. She initially had a place in mind (Gracie’s Sea Hag), but we found it was up the coast in Depoe Bay so we changed our minds and went to a small place down on the waterfront.  Mo’s is the famous place there (it’s a chain and it’s everywhere up and down the coast here) but neither of us care for their chowder so we went to Seadogs, 1) because neither of us had been before, and 2) there was no waiting. We chose an outdoor table and the weather was perfect and we had a nice meal.  Our bonus was a hilarious server. She cracked us up!  Teri insisted on paying. Not expected but very nice. Thank you. That was sweet!  Afterwards, we walked around for a while and visited a couple of shops. Didn’t buy anything. Oh wait - we found candy and bought some for later! I will remember to take pictures next time! On the way back, we stopped at a glass blowing shop. They have personal tours where they take you in the shop and make items for you. It usually is with audience participation but they can’t do anything with personal contact at this time.   She made an appointment to take her granddaughter and plans to do an overnight-er with her. That will be fun!  We had a nice drive home, talking about anything and nothing and everything that came up. It is so good for me to just get out and have fun.  Maybe we will go again and next time go up and find Gracie’s.  We got back to her place and went in and ate our candy and talked some more.  After a bit I left to go home. Rylee was missing me (and her pool time) so I took her out for a run in the water.  Once we got back in and I had her mostly dried off, she settled in and chewed her bone….

and I settled in and watched tv until bedtime. Fun day!     

Oregon Living 2020 – Blog #62 – Tractor is Coming & Buying a New Recliner

  

Friday, August 7^th, 2020……  Today I had some errands. After fixing bacon and eggs and cleaning up, I wanted to go back down to Tractor Supply Company in Junction City, just to check in with them and see where they were with the delivery. David wasn’t there but he called while I was driving back home and said that he got word that the shipment truck was just crossing the eastern Oregon border and was scheduled to arrive in Eugene next week. That means a possible delivery to TSC the middle of next week. Things always happen slowly when you’re anxious!  I left there and hit Jerry’s hardware, to see if they had any outdoor carpet. Nope!  I got back home and made some lunch and relaxed for a while. Kirk came by and got the orange mower for a job later today. I did some straightening up around the house and then got the tools together to put up the curtain tiebacks. I will do that tomorrow. Today I just hung around the house and relaxed and watched tv and took butthead out to her pool. I fixed a linner and settled in and watched the Nascar truck race and then other shows until bedtime.   

Saturday, August 8^th, 2020……  I really had no plans today – UNTIL my sister came over. She has decided she wants Lydia’s La-Z-Boy chair. It’s way too small for me so it wouldn’t get used and I wanted to get a larger one for the craft room. She said today would be good for the move so we loaded it up and took it over there. She will sell her old one and has asked me to store it for her, but for now it will go back in my craft room until I can get another one. After she left, I called Erik at the LZB store in Salem to see if he was working today. He was so I headed up there and ordered the one I wanted. They are on sale so I am on a wait list. It looks like it will be a couple of weeks. So, I am glad I moved the other chair in there for now.   I also stopped at the Salem Home Depot and they had the blue carpet I wanted for my boat so I had them cut me a piece of that.  Once I got home, I rested for a bit and then went back out and laid the carpet out so it would flatten. Once I cleaned up, I fixed bacon and had sandwiches for dinner and settled in for the evening. 

Sunday, August 9^th, 2020…… A couple of things on my list for today. I wanted to add the tiebacks to the bathroom curtains. I think they look pretty good…

                                     

The other thing for today was a bbq later.  I asked but sis didn’t need me to go get anything. I had potatoes to use up so I got those out and prepped for baking later.  I watched my races for the most part of the day. I did go out with Rylee and let her run in the water. It’s still hot here – in the 80s most of the time. They say we will have this weather for many more days with no rain in sight so I have turned the sprinklers back on. They got here around 3:30pm and I already had the potatoes done. I fired up the bbq and cooked chicken, brats, and steaks. I’m pretty good with most everything on the bbq, but chicken still gives me worries.  It has to be done but not super done – tricky for me. But everything was really good and we enjoyed the meal. Cherrelyn cleaned up my stove and hood while she was sautéing the mushrooms. Thanks girl! Come back when you want to clean some more!  We sat out on the porch after to rest up and relax and have a few drinks. Once they left for the evening, I came in and cleaned up the bbq and put the cover back on and then went in and watched tv until bedtime.     

Monday, August 10^th, 2020……  This morning I had planned on power washing the driveways. I needed to use up the old gas and did that pretty quickly. I got most of the area in front of the shop garage done.  You can see the before and after below….

 

I did finally run out of gas and went to get more. Problems started when I filled up the tank again. I had a gas leak which I couldn’t spot easily. I took the air breather off and that started the issues I have now. The leak is in the carburetor but not something I can fix. I will be taking it in tomorrow to Cascade Outdoor Power to have them fix it.  So, for now, the job out there is only partially done. Oh well.  I came in and cleaned up, and except for playing with Rylee, was done for the day   

Oregon Living 2020 – Blog #61 – Mowing and Visiting and Shopping

  

Monday, August 3^rd, 2020…… Today was spent working on the boat and also cleaning up the shop. It had been awhile since the shop had seen a vacuum so I took care of that today. I did also finish up the painting on that cabinet for the garage. I got that installed and the fishing tubs are all now in their new home. I want to mow but will wait until tomorrow when Kirk brings back the second lawn tractor. I have not been spending much time on the photo scanning project. I think I burnt myself out on round one! But since I am about 75% complete, I will need to get that going again.

I fixed another light meal and that was it for the day. Tv until bedtime.    

Tuesday, August 4^th, 2020……  I got up early this morning and had Rylee out and walked pretty early. Sis came by and brought me some fresh eggs. She also brought Quincy to spend the day because Linda was coming today to clean her house. She left her here and then I left to go get breakfast. I hung around the house for part of the morning and then went out and got the black tractor gassed up and ready. Kirk and his guys showed up (with the orange tractor) and I texted my sister that that mower was here now. She came over and got on it and did the field for me while I did the lawn. Easy job today. It wasn’t that long ago that we mowed, and the field is now drying up from the summer temps so we really didn’t have that much grass to pick up tomorrow. Mostly on the lawn area. Tonight, I decided to make a rice dish for dinner and Rylee helped dispose some of that. I do still have some for lunch for tomorrow though!

Since the weather here has been warm, I decided to do a little improvement on my lawn tractor. It just needed some air conditioning so I designed and installed this……! 

                                          

 

It works great – just hard to steer!  Just kidding. I found this on facebook and wanted to share.  But I am getting excited about getting the new one now. Don’t have an eta yet but soon, I hope!       

Wednesday, August 5^th, 2020……  I waited until the grass got dry before going out and working on getting it picked up. I didn’t have enough grass in the field to bother with and only got one load from the yard so I did that by myself and all of that went into the trash so no yard waste run for me today.  I texted Teri and asked her if she wanted to go to breakfast with me again. She said yes so I will be picking her up to go to Elmer’s tomorrow. Later, Penny called and said they were going to dinner at Conversion Brewery and asked if I wanted to go. I had a late lunch but who can turn down a brewery!  I was in and left and met them there. They had light meals and we all tried their brews. They also tried a dessert pizza. It was ok but Coberg Pizza’s is way better!

Thursday, August 6^th, 2020……  I got up early and walked Rylee and then showered and did some laundry before leaving to go pick up Teri. We said she wasn’t working until noon so we had time to go on a little road trip. I chose Elmer’s in Albany and we headed there and had a nice meal. It’s nice to get out and visit with people now and then. Once we got back and I got back home, I played with Rylee and gave her a treat and then headed back out to Albany. I was looking for boat seat pedestals and tiebacks for the curtains I had installed in the master bath. I was also looking for boat carpet. I found the tiebacks at Big Lots but neither Home Depot or Lowes had the carpeting. I found two pedestals at Coastal Farm and Ranch but I need four, so I will probably order those online. I got back home and rested and had a late lunch and watched some tv. Later, because I wasn’t starving, I had sandwiches and chips and a couple of fresh pears for a dinner snack. I went online to Walmart.com and found the boat pedestals and got them ordered. I also worked on some more photo scanning. Then it was tv until bedtime.     

Oregon Living 2020 – Blog #60 – Boating and Trailering

  

Friday, July 31^st, 2020…… Not much going on today. Weather is still hot but getting better. They say next week will be in the 80’s again. Kirk came by this morning to pick up the mower. I will be needing it back again for next Tuesday. He and I will be going out tomorrow morning to take the boat out to Foster Lake. I hooked up the boat this afternoon. The trailer lights don’t work but I’m not spending any time on them since this is the last time I will use that trailer anyway. I just need to be careful and have him follow me there and back. I went out once today in the truck to get the tables back from that yard sale. I hear she did ok. They sold my lights for $30.!  I got back and got everything put away and then had Rylee out in her pool when the Fed Ex truck pulled in. He had my new trailer tires and wheels!  So, I spent some time and changed them out.  It was way easier today because the boat would be on that trailer tomorrow so the timing was perfect!

Light dinner and then tv until bedtime.     

Saturday, August 1^st, 2020……  I left it up to Kirk who had one lawn job to do today. He could come here before or after. He chose to come early. He stopped and brought us breakfast and we hooked up the trailer to his truck and we both took off.  We only had one or two boats in front of us so we got in the water pretty quickly and with no issues. I took us around the lake and we had a nice time. There are tons of places I will be trying when I come back to fish now that the boat and trailer are good to go!  We got back to the docks and Kirk brought the trailer down. I struggled a bit getting it lined up but we did it and headed home. We put the boat in the garage and took off to Bigfoot Grill for lunch. I wanted to thank Kirk for all of his help today. He needs to get his fishing license and we can go again. After getting back home and resting up a bit I went out and checked out the trailer. It needs a few adjustments and maybe an alignment railing system of some kind to make trailering the boat easier. 

Now I can concentrate on the inside of the boat. I want to put carpet in and change the seat pedestals and maybe add a bass platform seat up in front.  Fun projects.

I had to take Rylee over to her pool and play with her. I also plan to take her out to the lake soon and get her used to the water and swim a bit. Maybe she will like the boat too!

I made myself a light meal and settled in watched tv until bedtime.     

Sunday, August 2^nd, 2020……  Nothing on the agenda today. Sis texted and asked if I wanted to go out to breakfast. We went out to Shirley May’s and had a good meal. Once back and by myself, I decided to move into the sewing room and watch my race that I had taped in there.  A relaxing day. After dinner, I spoke a while with Sandie and then settled in for the night.