Sunday, September 6th, 2020…… Didn’t sleep well last night. I
think it’s a combination of the heat and things on my mind. But I still got up early. Go figure! I got Rylee out and walked and fed. I was
planning on going to the store for tomorrow’s dinner but after checking in with
sis, I think everything is covered. I did go out and pull out the old ‘revival
tent’ to set up. This thing has been used for many, many years for multiple
occasions and has made it up here. I didn’t have any reason until today to set
it up. There will be five of us for dinner tomorrow and while the table on the
porch is ok for three up there, it needed to be moved out in the yard where we
could spread out more. I got it all moved out there and hosed off and wiped
down and left everything to dry while I got the parts and pieces for the tent
going. It’s really easy – if you’ve done it a few times – so I managed to get
everything done by myself. It’s 12’ x 24’ so that will give us enough room to
have the table plus some nice chairs to relax in under the shade. Temps are
supposed to be in the 90s tomorrow so we’ll see if we can even use it! After that, I came back in and relaxed and watched
tv for a bit, then cleaned up the house and made sure I had all of my items
ready for tomorrow. Good to go!
Monday, September 7th, 2020…… The weather is sketchy but I put the tablecloth out on the table anyway and everything was ready. They said we could expect severe wind this afternoon, but right now it was just getting hot!
Today it would be me and the girls - six of ‘em! Rylee, Quincy, Penny, Cherrelyn, Teri, and Janice. I was outnumbered by far! Guess I need to behave. Yeah, right! This time I decided to do something Lydia had done with the ribs in the past – bake them first. I followed her instructions and had them going around 2:00pm. The scalloped potatoes were also my responsibility so I had that ready to go as well but that could wait. Everyone showed up around 4-4:30pm and I had the ribs out and resting by then. After everyone got their drinks going, I went out and fired up the bbq. Sis had brought veggies to grill so it worked out. The center two burners weren’t on so the ribs got indirect heat in that spot and finished cooking. But the outside two burners were perfect for the veggies! Of course, now was the time to add the bbq sauce, for slathery wet ribs - which everyone wanted.
We got all of the other
items ready and settled in. They all decided it was way too hot to even
consider eating outside so we moved the party into the dining room. Everything
was excellent. Of course, the wine and beer and tropical drinks also helped and
made for a fun afternoon!
As we ate, we could see the sky outside get heavy with smoke. The winds were blowing in all of the smoke and ash from the fires to the northeast of us. They said this would last well into the night. After cleaning up later, everyone said their goodbyes and headed home while sis and I took the tarps off the tent, fearing they would sail away later. I can take the frame down tomorrow. I came in and rested and watched tv until bedtime. A good day with good people! I needed that!
Tuesday, September 8th, 2020…… Last night was an adventure! The winds howled and Rylee couldn’t settle in and relax. It was after 10:00pm and we were trying to sleep but kept hearing all kinds of noises. She had to pee but I didn’t want to let her out because of the smoke and the winds. But she needed to go so I got up and let her out on her rope but stayed out there with her. She barked when she noticed this pink thing – which was her empty pool that was waaay waaay out in the field and I guess it spooked her. When we got back to bed, I found out that I need to have Kirk’s guys trim back the shrub that is outside my bathroom window because it was slapping the glass pretty hard. That bothered Rylee too. But around midnight it settled down and we were both able to sleep.
This morning it was so thick with
smoke that you almost wanted to wear a mask! Sis brought Quincy over here
because her house was making all of the creaking noises in the wind and even
with drugs, Q was restless most of the night. Plus, she would want to be
outside today with all the creaking and popping and she wanted her to enjoy a
relaxing day inside here on my bed, so she brought her over. We did manage to
pull apart the frame to the tent and got that all stowed away before she left.
I took off and made a breakfast stop and then drove to the Walmart in Albany to
look for some metal tumblers I wanted. The Walmart in town only had two the
other day and the Albany store had cases on their upper shelves so I got lucky
and found what I wanted. I also bought some more kitchen towels so I can cycle
out the older worn out ones I have now. I found colors I was looking for and
bought two packages of those as well. I also hit their fishing section and got
a few more items for my tackle bag. The whole time driving there was eerie. It
was so dark and gloomy from the smoke. But after I came out of the store, I
noticed the sky was a bit lighter, so hopefully it is clearing up a bit.
I got back home and settled in and
relaxed for a few minutes then went out and retrieved butthead’s pool, and put
enough water in it so it wouldn’t go bye bye again and freak her out. Of
course, she helped me with the water and I had to dry her off before we could
get out of the icky air and back inside to cooler temps, where I spent the rest
of the day. I didn’t have lunch but did have me some nice leftover ribs and
scalloped potatoes for dinner. Plus, eclairs for dessert. Teri came over and
helped with the feast. Yummy!
Wednesday, September 9th, 2020…… I sure don’t know what to do about not sleeping. It’s not physical. I guess there is so much going on in my mind that it’s hard to relax. I took some Tylenol pm and that helped but I am still tired today. So, I just hung around the house and didn’t do much of anything. Plus, we still are inundated with smoke from the nearby fires. I checked in with Tim and Dane, who live in Sweet Home, to see if they were in any danger. They are ok. Louise is down near Grants Pass, where fires have even closed down the I-5, and I have texted her but haven’t heard back. They are saying we have 35 fires going on in Oregon right now, none of which are even close to being contained anytime soon. The skies here are an orange color its very dark all day, like dusk would normally be. I don’t want to sleep during the day because that won’t help at night so I got up and ended up doing laundry and then, later, fixed more of the ribs. I have my annual physical and flu shots coming up next week and tomorrow I go in for labs for that. I tried to stay busy until settling in and watching the AGT results show. They are in the semi-finals and will move 5 of the 11 into the finals tonight. I got all five right.
No comments:
Post a Comment