We are moving into spring mode apparently…awake before seven and ready to exercise by seven thirty…I did my Shred and then we walked. It was warmer this morning.
More work on our landscape design today and we made good progress, we finally have a design for both the front and back, now we have to get it all priced out and figure out who we need to find to do the stuff we can’t do, like grade and lay a bazillion yards of road base and put in the patio and trench out all the irrigations lines. It looks like we’ll be shoveling yards of rock ourselves because we are choosing creativity over ease of installation. We want something different and not boring, can’t wait to see how it all turns out!
I got sunburned from the sun and the glare off our expanse of sand in the backyard today! Larry hung my Mexican metal sun today since I finally figured out where I wanted it and he hung my little original watercolor of the desert done by my artist friend Deb Groesser, which I just love to death! Now the living room is starting to look like we live here though I still have a few more walls to find something for.
We did some game testing for our Wii…tee hee. We had Nintendo back when Super Mario was the thing, over twenty years ago I think…so we are a little behind things as far as video games go…VG challenged. They are great for eye-hand coordination, memory and reflexes, but I still have a hard time taking the time to play them.
It clouded up here and dripped a little bit, but was still a nice day.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Planning our landscape 4-29
Brrrr, this morning when we left for our walk it was 33 degrees, but sunshiny with a slight breeze…I just needed to add a knit cap to my morning walk attire to keep my ears warm.
Yesterday we had bought a new toaster oven, fortunately I had a bright idea and we ran it several times at its hottest in the garage to burn off all that toxic stuff that burns off new electrical stuff. A large smelly cloud wafted out of the thing and it took quite a few runs to get it to quit being stinky and being out in the garage the house didn’t stink up.
Today was spent trying to come up with landscape plans for the front and back yards. We want minimal maintenance and xeric plantings…our water cost has tripled here in five years which makes lawn ridiculous on a lot of different levels. We were outside most of the day scraping lines in the earth’s crust figuring out a patio size and placement of boundaries. We had to rein ourselves in, because as always we got crazy with what we wanted to do and as we don’t plan on being here forever we don’t want to break the bank. We spent an hour talking to a very informative lady at the local nursery who educated us on plants for our area and why and how plants do or don’t survive here. We also looked at more rock.
Our plan is to remove the lawn in front and rock the whole thing, but have some greenery and boulders placed around so it is attractive and interesting looking. Same goes for the backyard and we need to put road base down both sides from front to back for the trailers, so we have to come up with a design, plan the execution so we don’t have to say oops, wish we hadn’t put that in the way there and then price it all out…which means finding the people to do what needs doing and the products we need.
I made a pot of killer chicken soup today too from what was left of our rotisserie Costco chicken…yummy!
Yesterday we had bought a new toaster oven, fortunately I had a bright idea and we ran it several times at its hottest in the garage to burn off all that toxic stuff that burns off new electrical stuff. A large smelly cloud wafted out of the thing and it took quite a few runs to get it to quit being stinky and being out in the garage the house didn’t stink up.
Today was spent trying to come up with landscape plans for the front and back yards. We want minimal maintenance and xeric plantings…our water cost has tripled here in five years which makes lawn ridiculous on a lot of different levels. We were outside most of the day scraping lines in the earth’s crust figuring out a patio size and placement of boundaries. We had to rein ourselves in, because as always we got crazy with what we wanted to do and as we don’t plan on being here forever we don’t want to break the bank. We spent an hour talking to a very informative lady at the local nursery who educated us on plants for our area and why and how plants do or don’t survive here. We also looked at more rock.
Our plan is to remove the lawn in front and rock the whole thing, but have some greenery and boulders placed around so it is attractive and interesting looking. Same goes for the backyard and we need to put road base down both sides from front to back for the trailers, so we have to come up with a design, plan the execution so we don’t have to say oops, wish we hadn’t put that in the way there and then price it all out…which means finding the people to do what needs doing and the products we need.
I made a pot of killer chicken soup today too from what was left of our rotisserie Costco chicken…yummy!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Windy day 4-28
Today I did my Shred AND then walked three miles…I am stepping up my exercise.
We were busy all day but nothing too strenuous, we drove out to Fernley and drove all around checking it out…we weren’t wildly impressed. We did some shopping at Lowe’s and Walmart. It was extremely windy today and fool’s us, we decided to walk around looking at piles of rock at a rock yard getting ideas for the yard…I’m a little surprised the rocks weren’t blowing around. We did some driving around the Fallon area and that was about it for us.
We were busy all day but nothing too strenuous, we drove out to Fernley and drove all around checking it out…we weren’t wildly impressed. We did some shopping at Lowe’s and Walmart. It was extremely windy today and fool’s us, we decided to walk around looking at piles of rock at a rock yard getting ideas for the yard…I’m a little surprised the rocks weren’t blowing around. We did some driving around the Fallon area and that was about it for us.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Back in Fallon/Catching up 4-27
So here is yesterday's post; Sunday the 26th:
In spite of not running the furnace all night and it getting down to 34 degrees outside w
e slept nice and toasty…love down comforters and flannel sheets. Keeping our bedroom door closed helps too. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the blackbirds were singing away. We bundled up to stay warm and dashed out into the sunshine; I wanted to get more pictures of our lovely, free campsite in the shadow of Mount Shasta. The snowy mountains were beautiful, the people who are lucky enough to live here have stunning views! 
We hit the road just before 9, it was cold most places we stopped today and there were snow patches in the mountains still. Shasta is hard to get a good picture of with the sun rising practically behind it, but I had to try! We traveled south on I-5 then picked up 89 east towards Reno. They had done a lot of work on 89 clearing back the tree line and widening the lanes/shoulders so it is not as shady and it is easier to see so it was a more open, easier drive.
From 89 we picked up highway 44 and stopped at the Bogard rest area and it has been completely redone since the last time we were through there. It was a small rest area, but now it has a large building and good parking and then below the main area are 21 pull-throughs for longer parking, so truckers etc. can sleep and there are even 6 corrals for people to give their horses or other livestock a stretch…a real nice improvement for that strip of highway. With the rodeos in the area and in Reno and Las Vegas and all the ranches in Northern California and Nevada it is smart to add those features, I think. We may end up sleeping over there some time on our way through from Oregon, not in the winter though….to cold, icy and snowy.
From 89 we hit our old, very familiar highway 36 and headed east, Susanville doesn’t look a whole lot different, we stopped there and got fuel and it was cheaper than in Oregon. Then it was onto highway 395 south to Reno…Honey Lake was completely dry (check it out…it is pretty interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_Lake )…it is always a surprise to us…it either looks like a vast desert or is fuller than we ever remembered…it is a strange one.
From Reno it is onto 80 towards Ely then in Fernley we pick up 50 to Fallon. We traveled 296 miles and arrived at the house at 3:34. THEN the fun began…hauling everything inside, we are continuously amazed by what our trailer holds…it is scary when you wonder where to put things from a trailer into a house that is three times the trailers size!
We stay pared down this way though…I went through my clothes and another large bag is off to the thrift store. You realize how heavy stuff is when you have to carry it! It all adds up weight wise, even a blanket can be heavier than you think.
The house fared fine without us for five months…hardly even any dust on anything…there were some weeds but it has still been cold at night so they weren’t as bad as when we came back last summer! The lawns around are anywhere from brown like ours to green, it just depends on how soon people start watering them…but ours didn’t look bad because it matched our neighbors on either side and across the street.
After unloading the trailer of as much as we felt we wanted to do…which was most of it, Larry put it back in the side yard which is very tedious because of the slant of the ground and the narrowness of the gate…all of that is going to change if the house doesn’t sell soon. We were pooped.
Today, Monday, was busy too…it was sunny and not windy so we started the day with our three mile trek…a lot can change in five months, but most of the changes we saw were subtle…not too much new and nothing had burned down or anything.
Then we decided to move the furniture around in the living room, it had been bugging us and we knew we could come up with a cozier, better way…and we did…it just means Larry has to go under the house to run the cables over to the corner where we have moved the T.V., better him than me.
Then it was off to an appointment, then to the store for a few groceries and then back home to get more stuff put away and get the laundry done. I just have my art supplies and some books to bring in, but I am mostly done….I have to find some place to put all that yarn I bought while down in Yuma this winter…Larry was appalled by all the bags covering the guest bed….tee hee!
Larry pulled weeds and whacked down the one strip of grass growing right next to the front porch today, so we have been busy beavers…now we might have to take a day or two to rest…which we don’t do very well when stuff is waiting to get done! We are done outside for the rest of today and tomorrow, there is a wind advisory and I hate the wind and eating sand, glad we didn’t have to drive and unload in that!
e slept nice and toasty…love down comforters and flannel sheets. Keeping our bedroom door closed helps too. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the blackbirds were singing away. We bundled up to stay warm and dashed out into the sunshine; I wanted to get more pictures of our lovely, free campsite in the shadow of Mount Shasta. The snowy mountains were beautiful, the people who are lucky enough to live here have stunning views! 
We hit the road just before 9, it was cold most places we stopped today and there were snow patches in the mountains still. Shasta is hard to get a good picture of with the sun rising practically behind it, but I had to try! We traveled south on I-5 then picked up 89 east towards Reno. They had done a lot of work on 89 clearing back the tree line and widening the lanes/shoulders so it is not as shady and it is easier to see so it was a more open, easier drive.
From 89 we picked up highway 44 and stopped at the Bogard rest area and it has been completely redone since the last time we were through there. It was a small rest area, but now it has a large building and good parking and then below the main area are 21 pull-throughs for longer parking, so truckers etc. can sleep and there are even 6 corrals for people to give their horses or other livestock a stretch…a real nice improvement for that strip of highway. With the rodeos in the area and in Reno and Las Vegas and all the ranches in Northern California and Nevada it is smart to add those features, I think. We may end up sleeping over there some time on our way through from Oregon, not in the winter though….to cold, icy and snowy.
From 89 we hit our old, very familiar highway 36 and headed east, Susanville doesn’t look a whole lot different, we stopped there and got fuel and it was cheaper than in Oregon. Then it was onto highway 395 south to Reno…Honey Lake was completely dry (check it out…it is pretty interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_Lake )…it is always a surprise to us…it either looks like a vast desert or is fuller than we ever remembered…it is a strange one.
From Reno it is onto 80 towards Ely then in Fernley we pick up 50 to Fallon. We traveled 296 miles and arrived at the house at 3:34. THEN the fun began…hauling everything inside, we are continuously amazed by what our trailer holds…it is scary when you wonder where to put things from a trailer into a house that is three times the trailers size!
We stay pared down this way though…I went through my clothes and another large bag is off to the thrift store. You realize how heavy stuff is when you have to carry it! It all adds up weight wise, even a blanket can be heavier than you think.
The house fared fine without us for five months…hardly even any dust on anything…there were some weeds but it has still been cold at night so they weren’t as bad as when we came back last summer! The lawns around are anywhere from brown like ours to green, it just depends on how soon people start watering them…but ours didn’t look bad because it matched our neighbors on either side and across the street.
After unloading the trailer of as much as we felt we wanted to do…which was most of it, Larry put it back in the side yard which is very tedious because of the slant of the ground and the narrowness of the gate…all of that is going to change if the house doesn’t sell soon. We were pooped.
Today, Monday, was busy too…it was sunny and not windy so we started the day with our three mile trek…a lot can change in five months, but most of the changes we saw were subtle…not too much new and nothing had burned down or anything.
Then we decided to move the furniture around in the living room, it had been bugging us and we knew we could come up with a cozier, better way…and we did…it just means Larry has to go under the house to run the cables over to the corner where we have moved the T.V., better him than me.
Then it was off to an appointment, then to the store for a few groceries and then back home to get more stuff put away and get the laundry done. I just have my art supplies and some books to bring in, but I am mostly done….I have to find some place to put all that yarn I bought while down in Yuma this winter…Larry was appalled by all the bags covering the guest bed….tee hee!
Larry pulled weeds and whacked down the one strip of grass growing right next to the front porch today, so we have been busy beavers…now we might have to take a day or two to rest…which we don’t do very well when stuff is waiting to get done! We are done outside for the rest of today and tomorrow, there is a wind advisory and I hate the wind and eating sand, glad we didn’t have to drive and unload in that!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Lake Shastina 4-25
The following post is from yesterday's journey...we boondocked last night and had no satellite and after two long days of travel and unloading the trailer and getting things put away today (Sunday) I haven't had time to go through my photos or get today's journey written up. I'll add pictures to this post when I post today's entry, tomorrow...clear as mud?!
Saturday, April 25th:
A busy day today, Larry left first thing for Corvallis so he could get new tires for the truck…we had a few more months worth of wear on them, but Larry knew they wouldn’t repair the tire that went flat yesterday with the wear that was on them.
He returned about 11 and we got ready to hit the road…we were hitched up and pulling out just before noon and it was starting to rain. We pulled over to Costco to get some stuff that we wanted to get last thing before we headed out…they were big and we didn’t want to shift things around constantly. We left Costco around 12:40 and headed south on I-5.
Just the week we had been here made such a difference in the trees and grasses. As we headed back over the same country we traveled a little over a week ago there were bright green leaves on the trees and so very many flowering trees in full bloom…white and pink….stunning against the bright green. The sun broke out north of Medford and it was actually feeling a little warm and the passes were beautifully green this time instead of white!
Th
ese stand alone Mounts are so pretty and you feel lucky to see them sometimes because they can easily be covered by clouds. Today it was Mount McLoughlin in southern Oregon and it is 9,495 feet in elevation.
I had bought one of Costco’s cooked chickens and we stopped and ate some of that along the way and made a stop along the Klamath river where there were big clumps of purple blue lupines all over the place, but the sun had gone behind the hill and the light was to dim to get a picture! We got to see Mount Shasta today too.
Our book that tells of places to stay for free or nearly free had a listing for Lake Shastina just a bit north of Weed, California, we found it pretty easily, it was just after seven and got ourselves tucked in for the night. It was refreshing to be outside listening to the wind in the trees with the birds singing, smelling someone’s campfire off in the distance and watching the sunset while being overlooked by Mount Shasta. The silence in the trailer when we aren’t plugged in is such a relief to
the ears. I used to love when the power would go out at our house because all the electrical stuff that hums all the time becomes still, we are constantly surrounded by noise.
So we are a little less than halfway to Fallon…we traveled 299 miles today and a few of those were our detour to Costco. Sorry you didn’t get a posting this morning, but we were enjoying the peace of nature!
Saturday, April 25th:
A busy day today, Larry left first thing for Corvallis so he could get new tires for the truck…we had a few more months worth of wear on them, but Larry knew they wouldn’t repair the tire that went flat yesterday with the wear that was on them.
He returned about 11 and we got ready to hit the road…we were hitched up and pulling out just before noon and it was starting to rain. We pulled over to Costco to get some stuff that we wanted to get last thing before we headed out…they were big and we didn’t want to shift things around constantly. We left Costco around 12:40 and headed south on I-5.
Just the week we had been here made such a difference in the trees and grasses. As we headed back over the same country we traveled a little over a week ago there were bright green leaves on the trees and so very many flowering trees in full bloom…white and pink….stunning against the bright green. The sun broke out north of Medford and it was actually feeling a little warm and the passes were beautifully green this time instead of white!
Th
ese stand alone Mounts are so pretty and you feel lucky to see them sometimes because they can easily be covered by clouds. Today it was Mount McLoughlin in southern Oregon and it is 9,495 feet in elevation.I had bought one of Costco’s cooked chickens and we stopped and ate some of that along the way and made a stop along the Klamath river where there were big clumps of purple blue lupines all over the place, but the sun had gone behind the hill and the light was to dim to get a picture! We got to see Mount Shasta today too.
Our book that tells of places to stay for free or nearly free had a listing for Lake Shastina just a bit north of Weed, California, we found it pretty easily, it was just after seven and got ourselves tucked in for the night. It was refreshing to be outside listening to the wind in the trees with the birds singing, smelling someone’s campfire off in the distance and watching the sunset while being overlooked by Mount Shasta. The silence in the trailer when we aren’t plugged in is such a relief to
the ears. I used to love when the power would go out at our house because all the electrical stuff that hums all the time becomes still, we are constantly surrounded by noise.So we are a little less than halfway to Fallon…we traveled 299 miles today and a few of those were our detour to Costco. Sorry you didn’t get a posting this morning, but we were enjoying the peace of nature!
Friday, April 24, 2009
Pooped Out! 4-24
No pictures today, I barely have the energy and brainpower to type these words. I took some pictures, I just haven't downloaded them to the computer.
I was awake for some unexplainable reason around 4:30 and didn't get back to sleep until an hour before I got up and then we had Seth here and he was awake after 8 and raring to go, I baked brownies, I killed 50 chickens in less than two minutes while being chased by crazed armed roosters (after many attempts and I have a sore thumb as a result) just so Seth could get the key to get to the next level of whatever weird world he was in, I went shopping and came home with new shoes and four new tops, AND I shopped for groceries....then after enjoying a ray of sunshine we took Seth back to his parents....where I got tricked into driving (Seth wanted to ride in the bed of the pickup so he and Grandpa rode back there until we got out of the RV park...I took the scenic route), after putting Seth back in the truck Larry figured I was already there so I should just drive (I haven't driven for 40 minutes in over a year probably), then as we pulled up to the house our right front tire was expelling air very noisily from a large v-shaped hole and watching Larry change that tire was tiring and we had a lovely dinner cooked by Michelle and came home where it is blissfully quiet and we are going to take our showers and then go to bed. I'll probably read a bit while Larry kills bad guys in the Shrek the Third game he is currently playing. The sugar from the brownie I just ate carried me through that dissertation....Ha-Ha-Ha!!!! The crash is gonna be UGLY! No pictures of that either! Good that I'm the photographer...though now that I think about it Larry got pics of me shootin chickens....hmmmm.
I was awake for some unexplainable reason around 4:30 and didn't get back to sleep until an hour before I got up and then we had Seth here and he was awake after 8 and raring to go, I baked brownies, I killed 50 chickens in less than two minutes while being chased by crazed armed roosters (after many attempts and I have a sore thumb as a result) just so Seth could get the key to get to the next level of whatever weird world he was in, I went shopping and came home with new shoes and four new tops, AND I shopped for groceries....then after enjoying a ray of sunshine we took Seth back to his parents....where I got tricked into driving (Seth wanted to ride in the bed of the pickup so he and Grandpa rode back there until we got out of the RV park...I took the scenic route), after putting Seth back in the truck Larry figured I was already there so I should just drive (I haven't driven for 40 minutes in over a year probably), then as we pulled up to the house our right front tire was expelling air very noisily from a large v-shaped hole and watching Larry change that tire was tiring and we had a lovely dinner cooked by Michelle and came home where it is blissfully quiet and we are going to take our showers and then go to bed. I'll probably read a bit while Larry kills bad guys in the Shrek the Third game he is currently playing. The sugar from the brownie I just ate carried me through that dissertation....Ha-Ha-Ha!!!! The crash is gonna be UGLY! No pictures of that either! Good that I'm the photographer...though now that I think about it Larry got pics of me shootin chickens....hmmmm.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Seth and Playing 4-23
Here in Albany, Oregon it was a cool, cloudy day…late afternoon and early evening it even rained enough to give us a bright, beautiful rainbow.
I did my Shred and Larry did his yoga and stretching and after we finished our toast Seth arrived for the day. He is staying the night with us tonight and tomorrow, then we leave on Saturday. Larry and Seth played Sly Cooper, Thievious Racoonus most of the day…he brought his Play Station 2 over with him so they could play and in between they ran around outside.
Here are s
ome more pictures from the Oregon Garden.
ome more pictures from the Oregon Garden.Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Cooler Day 4-22
Yesterday’s high was 78 and today’s was 64, our lovely weather is over, it was cloudy and breezy too. 
Today was pretty uneventful…I cleaned the bathroom and Larry set up his Wii. Then we spent most of the rest of the day learning how to play. We walked up to the corner and gave the Chinese Restaurant’s lunch buffet a try…it was really good and then we drove down to Michelle’s to have dinner with them.
We have been trying to figure out where we will be going from here and the route we will take…it is looking like we will be going back to Fallon for a few weeks. It is time; we have things we need to get taken care of so we can be free again.
These are more pictures from our excursion yesterd
ay.
Today was pretty uneventful…I cleaned the bathroom and Larry set up his Wii. Then we spent most of the rest of the day learning how to play. We walked up to the corner and gave the Chinese Restaurant’s lunch buffet a try…it was really good and then we drove down to Michelle’s to have dinner with them.
We have been trying to figure out where we will be going from here and the route we will take…it is looking like we will be going back to Fallon for a few weeks. It is time; we have things we need to get taken care of so we can be free again.
These are more pictures from our excursion yesterd
ay.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
A couple hours at the Garden 4-21
Another stellar day here in Oregon, we took our three mile walk, had our toast and then
headed north to Silverton to see the Oregon Garden.
Larry wasn’t too excited to go because he knew it was too early for the big bloom that 
would be seen in another month or so, but me being a lover of plants and flowers AND a photographer I knew I would probably find something to take a picture of, there is always something or other in bloom in a garden in spring. I ended up taking about 150 pictures and we both enjoyed the sunshine and the garden paths and when we got back we relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the day because the weather will be changing.
On the way home we stopped at Costco to look for something and had their hotdog for
dinner and their frozen yogurt for dessert…yum.
Hopefully tomorrow I can get some more pictures of the Garden edited and posted, I just threw in these five for now.
Spring and growing things means bugs and every time we head out somewhere we end up clobbered with bugs…Larry has washed the truck two days in a row now.
From top to bottom:
Lungwort
Pasque Flower
Redbud
Dogwood
Tulips
Violas
headed north to Silverton to see the Oregon Garden.
Larry wasn’t too excited to go because he knew it was too early for the big bloom that 
would be seen in another month or so, but me being a lover of plants and flowers AND a photographer I knew I would probably find something to take a picture of, there is always something or other in bloom in a garden in spring. I ended up taking about 150 pictures and we both enjoyed the sunshine and the garden paths and when we got back we relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the day because the weather will be changing.On the way home we stopped at Costco to look for something and had their hotdog for
dinner and their frozen yogurt for dessert…yum.Hopefully tomorrow I can get some more pictures of the Garden edited and posted, I just threw in these five for now.
Spring and growing things means bugs and every time we head out somewhere we end up clobbered with bugs…Larry has washed the truck two days in a row now.
From top to bottom:
Lungwort
Pasque Flower
Redbud
Dogwood
Tulips
Violas
Monday, April 20, 2009
Another Stunning Day 4-20
Sir Seth didn’t fall asleep until almost 11:30 last night so consequently he didn’t deign to arise until after 9:00 this morning. Larry took his walk and was back while Seth was still sleeping, I washed my hair and did a bunch of stuff and never even disturbed him. When the boys stay over they sleep next to the dinette where the lights from the “living area” aren’t as bright when they go to bed and we won’t step on them.
Just more of the same today, except I went shopping with Michelle at Costco…she had never been and wanted to see if she would like it there…seeing as the basket was full when we got to the checkouts I would say she found a few things she approved of….smile.
Another sunny, stunning day here weather wise…we just haven’t seen that many up here unless it is the dead of summer.
Just more of the same today, except I went shopping with Michelle at Costco…she had never been and wanted to see if she would like it there…seeing as the basket was full when we got to the checkouts I would say she found a few things she approved of….smile.
Another sunny, stunning day here weather wise…we just haven’t seen that many up here unless it is the dead of summer.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
A Rare Oregon Day 4-19
An almost perfect weather day here in Oregon today, there was no wind and it topped out at 75 degrees and the sun was out.
We were up around 8 with Seth and after pancakes we headed off to the park that is adjacent to the RV park and slogged across the wet cut field and through the muddy bog to get to the play ground equipment. Seth played there for quite awhile and then we walked over to the Linn County Veterans Memoria
l where we found this nest that some crazy mallard had laid right in the middle of a planter.
We just had a lovely day playing with the Boy…playing video games, watching him ride his scooter and various other boy activities. When he finally falls asleep our ears ring with the silence…he never quits talking…NEVER. We are going to need a vacation….laugh!
Tomorrow will be more of the same…Michelle will be picking Seth up after she gets off work to take him home so he’ll be with us all day
.
We were up around 8 with Seth and after pancakes we headed off to the park that is adjacent to the RV park and slogged across the wet cut field and through the muddy bog to get to the play ground equipment. Seth played there for quite awhile and then we walked over to the Linn County Veterans Memoria
l where we found this nest that some crazy mallard had laid right in the middle of a planter.
We just had a lovely day playing with the Boy…playing video games, watching him ride his scooter and various other boy activities. When he finally falls asleep our ears ring with the silence…he never quits talking…NEVER. We are going to need a vacation….laugh!
Tomorrow will be more of the same…Michelle will be picking Seth up after she gets off work to take him home so he’ll be with us all day
.Saturday, April 18, 2009
Hanging with Tornado Seth 4-18
We actually saw sunshine today and it is warming up a bit. Larry took a walk, I passed. 
We did our laundry and did some chores and then headed down to the kids. That is Michelle our youngest and me.
We brought Seth back with us for two nights and two FULL days…woe is me. It is 10:30, Seth is still awake, we are pooped and Larry says…two nights? I’m sure we’ll survive…he is just a whirlwind and we wish we could find half that much energy! We’ll tie him to a duck in the park tomorrow and see if we can tire him out…..laugh.
We did our laundry and did some chores and then headed down to the kids. That is Michelle our youngest and me.
We brought Seth back with us for two nights and two FULL days…woe is me. It is 10:30, Seth is still awake, we are pooped and Larry says…two nights? I’m sure we’ll survive…he is just a whirlwind and we wish we could find half that much energy! We’ll tie him to a duck in the park tomorrow and see if we can tire him out…..laugh.
This magnolia opened here in the park today…so very pretty and I have never seen this variety before. 
Friday, April 17, 2009
Shopping and More Shopping 4-17
It rained over night and this morning. I did my Shred for the first time in a couple of weeks, it felt good but I was pooped afterwards. We had our toast and did some chores and then hit the stores.
We went to Costco and stocked up on stuff and we bought a Wii, we had so much fun with Andrea’s we decided we would enjoy playing too. Then we found the salon that carries the stuff I use on my face and I restocked on my moisturizer. We then went to Kohl’s and I found a few much needed item’s there…40% off…gotta love a sale. BUT, those up to 60% off, going out of business sales are bunk!!!!....beware. Gottschalks is going out of business after 105 years BUT their prices are higher than when they have a regular sale…very deceiving. We went to Radio Shack and a few other places…it was a very productive day and no sales tax. We had a lovely dinner at Appleby’s, fueled up the truck and went home to stow all the “stuff”.
Then Michelle picked me up and we were off to our 5 p.m. hair appointments; color, cut and style. We of course look gorgeous…no pictures though, I didn’t have the camera with me. After having chemicals on my head and all that shopping we did today my brain is tired so this blog entry is dull and boring....
We went to Costco and stocked up on stuff and we bought a Wii, we had so much fun with Andrea’s we decided we would enjoy playing too. Then we found the salon that carries the stuff I use on my face and I restocked on my moisturizer. We then went to Kohl’s and I found a few much needed item’s there…40% off…gotta love a sale. BUT, those up to 60% off, going out of business sales are bunk!!!!....beware. Gottschalks is going out of business after 105 years BUT their prices are higher than when they have a regular sale…very deceiving. We went to Radio Shack and a few other places…it was a very productive day and no sales tax. We had a lovely dinner at Appleby’s, fueled up the truck and went home to stow all the “stuff”.
Then Michelle picked me up and we were off to our 5 p.m. hair appointments; color, cut and style. We of course look gorgeous…no pictures though, I didn’t have the camera with me. After having chemicals on my head and all that shopping we did today my brain is tired so this blog entry is dull and boring....
Thursday, April 16, 2009
In Albany for a week 4-16
We awoke to a cold, but sunny morning. We hit the 
road at 9:40, we stopped at a rest area midway to Albany and had our toast and arrived at Blue Ox RV at 11:55 after traveling 101 miles.
road at 9:40, we stopped at a rest area midway to Albany and had our toast and arrived at Blue Ox RV at 11:55 after traveling 101 miles.
We got all set up and settled in, we’ll be here for eight days, we leave on the 25th. Then we headed down to see Seth. He was very excited to see us, we got a couple of special hugs over the course of our afternoons visit…he told us he missed us lots.I
t was a lovely sunny day and we played video game, took a walk while Seth rode his bike and played with him on his skateboard. I fixed dinner and we visited with Darel and Michelle after they got home from work.On our way south on I-5 from here to Michelle’s we saw a Bald Eagle sitting in top of a 
tree surveying a grass field for lunch. The Bald Eagle must be making a pretty good come back because we see more of them every year in places we’ve never seen them before…or with traveling so much we are just in the right place at the right time.
tree surveying a grass field for lunch. The Bald Eagle must be making a pretty good come back because we see more of them every year in places we’ve never seen them before…or with traveling so much we are just in the right place at the right time. The flowers were at Aunt Millie's.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
In Sutherlin, Oregon 4-15
First….Happy American Tax Day, I hope you all got you papers filed!
Second, I better get caught up before I fall further behind. We are in Sutherlin, Oregon, we arrived yesterday and compared to where we have been, it is really cold…green, but cold.
Monday we pulled out of Ukiah at 8:24, it was a beautiful day…sunny and no wind. We found a nice turnout overlooking Clearlake to have our toast and for me to make my.jpg)
coffee…I had to take a few pictures of course.
We arrived in Williams on I-5 at 10:55 and we pulled around into McDonalds RV/Truck parking lot to wait for Daryl and Vickie Stockdale with the fresh from the factory communications trailer. Larry and Daryl were meeting to design the inside so it could be outfitted at the cabinet makers to their specs.
Daryl called just as we arrived and they were still a ways out so we took a walk around.jpg)
Williams, we have driven through it for the past 20 years and with a lot of small towns it seems to have stalled at small and tired. Their old main street buildings appear to be around a hundred years old. As we walked we found some gorgeous roses in bloom and this large Victorian house back off the main drag. Granzella’s seems to be the biggest enterprise in town and in all these years we have yet t.jpg)
o ever set foot in it. We thought it had gone away but it had moved and seems very popular, it is a deli and Italian restaurant.
Daryl and Vickie snuck in next to our rig out in the parking lot while Larry and I were in McDonalds picking up a little “snack”. Vickie and I spent the time visiting while the guy.jpg)
s brainstormed. That cute smiling face is Bodie the Pug…isn’t he the cutest? Being at McDonalds we let them do the cooking for our lunch!
It was 4:20 when we headed north from Williams, we weren’t sure if we would make it that far, but we were trying to reach the last rest area in California on I-5 north of Yreka on the Klamath River. I had read that it was an okay place to sleep over for the night.
The drive was so pretty with all the different greens of the trees, and grasses and.jpg)
everything in between leafing out; there were lots of flowering trees and wildflowers too in places. Lake Shasta had more water in it than the last time we had seen it, which was good and I got several great pictures of Mount Shasta as we were driving down the highway..jpg)
We made it to Yreka as it was getting dark to fuel up and hit the Randolph Collier rest area at 8:30. The rest area is below the highway so it isn’t as noisy and has lots of truck/RVparking pull-throughs. We were lucky to find an end one with a planting area on the driver’s side so we could put our slides out as needed and not be in anyone’s way. We had gone 399 miles and we were tired so we rustled up some grub, showered and hit the feathers.
So yesterday we woke to the sound of rigs heading out and it was COLD. We have a lovely down flannel encased comforter and with flannel sheets and two afghans we were toasty, but as Larry had suspected our batteries were shot and didn’t hold their charge much past our bedtime. They are only three years old which makes Larry cranky that they didn’t last as long as he thought they should and we have solar panels so they are always getting a charge, but Larry just had to brave the cold and fire up the truck and we were able to get the forced air furnace going to take the chill off. The low was 35.
.jpg)
It was cloudy and looked more and more like rain or snow the further north we traveled. Every mountain pass we climbed was cold and snowing, but the roads were clear…it was 27 degrees at the tops. We just take our time and Larry always lets the transmission hold our descent speed steady which saves our brakes. We would be in green spring countryside and then climb up into snowy winter and then go back down into spring and then back up into winter, it snow flurried on us all the way to Roseburg in between the occasional rain shower…gotta love Spring!
.jpg)
We arrived at one of our favorite RV parks…Timber Valley Escapee Park at 11:55 and of course it started pouring. Larry dislikes setting up in rain…who wouldn’t, it being Oregon rain is just liquid sunshine, but it let up after we got checked in so Larry only had little sprinkles to set up in. We had traveled 153 miles.
We spent the afternoon relaxing. We took a walk in the evening as the sun was setting but it was really really cold…we still have warm Yuma blood. I couldn’t bring myself to put on my winter coat so I wore my knit cap, gloves, scarf and shawl with my heavy overshirt and I was okay until the sun sank away, but we pressed on a few more rows before heading back…we needed the exercise. I think the high was like 53…brrr. We saw the turkeys, deer and jack rabbits on our walk, but no people…they were all tucked in their warm walls.
This morning we were awakened by the gobble gobble of turkeys going under us. Larry did yoga and I didn’t do anything…I have gotten out of the groove of exercise for right now. We spent a few hours visiting with my Aunt Millie and Uncle Marty…they were both recovering from nasty respiratory infections and are stubborn and don’t take instruction well. We told them not to go to any trouble, but we had beans, cornbread and ham for dinner and dessert. We got all caught up on the family. I took a lot of pictures on the way out to their place and of the flowers that were in bloom in their yard. You’ll see those later…I haven’t had a chance to go through all of them yet. We are a couple of weeks too early to see the full flower display that they have every spring. We stopped at Walmart to pick up a few things we needed and headed home.
So, I should get this posted, and maybe a few of the pictures I had planned but raw and unedited, so I apologize, though I think they are still pretty good.
Second, I better get caught up before I fall further behind. We are in Sutherlin, Oregon, we arrived yesterday and compared to where we have been, it is really cold…green, but cold.
Monday we pulled out of Ukiah at 8:24, it was a beautiful day…sunny and no wind. We found a nice turnout overlooking Clearlake to have our toast and for me to make my
.jpg){kind=spacer}
coffee…I had to take a few pictures of course.We arrived in Williams on I-5 at 10:55 and we pulled around into McDonalds RV/Truck parking lot to wait for Daryl and Vickie Stockdale with the fresh from the factory communications trailer. Larry and Daryl were meeting to design the inside so it could be outfitted at the cabinet makers to their specs.
Daryl called just as we arrived and they were still a ways out so we took a walk around
.jpg)
Williams, we have driven through it for the past 20 years and with a lot of small towns it seems to have stalled at small and tired. Their old main street buildings appear to be around a hundred years old. As we walked we found some gorgeous roses in bloom and this large Victorian house back off the main drag. Granzella’s seems to be the biggest enterprise in town and in all these years we have yet t.jpg)
o ever set foot in it. We thought it had gone away but it had moved and seems very popular, it is a deli and Italian restaurant.Daryl and Vickie snuck in next to our rig out in the parking lot while Larry and I were in McDonalds picking up a little “snack”. Vickie and I spent the time visiting while the guy
.jpg)
s brainstormed. That cute smiling face is Bodie the Pug…isn’t he the cutest? Being at McDonalds we let them do the cooking for our lunch!It was 4:20 when we headed north from Williams, we weren’t sure if we would make it that far, but we were trying to reach the last rest area in California on I-5 north of Yreka on the Klamath River. I had read that it was an okay place to sleep over for the night.
The drive was so pretty with all the different greens of the trees, and grasses and
.jpg)
everything in between leafing out; there were lots of flowering trees and wildflowers too in places. Lake Shasta had more water in it than the last time we had seen it, which was good and I got several great pictures of Mount Shasta as we were driving down the highway..jpg)
We made it to Yreka as it was getting dark to fuel up and hit the Randolph Collier rest area at 8:30. The rest area is below the highway so it isn’t as noisy and has lots of truck/RVparking pull-throughs. We were lucky to find an end one with a planting area on the driver’s side so we could put our slides out as needed and not be in anyone’s way. We had gone 399 miles and we were tired so we rustled up some grub, showered and hit the feathers.
So yesterday we woke to the sound of rigs heading out and it was COLD. We have a lovely down flannel encased comforter and with flannel sheets and two afghans we were toasty, but as Larry had suspected our batteries were shot and didn’t hold their charge much past our bedtime. They are only three years old which makes Larry cranky that they didn’t last as long as he thought they should and we have solar panels so they are always getting a charge, but Larry just had to brave the cold and fire up the truck and we were able to get the forced air furnace going to take the chill off. The low was 35.
.jpg)
It was cloudy and looked more and more like rain or snow the further north we traveled. Every mountain pass we climbed was cold and snowing, but the roads were clear…it was 27 degrees at the tops. We just take our time and Larry always lets the transmission hold our descent speed steady which saves our brakes. We would be in green spring countryside and then climb up into snowy winter and then go back down into spring and then back up into winter, it snow flurried on us all the way to Roseburg in between the occasional rain shower…gotta love Spring!
.jpg)
We arrived at one of our favorite RV parks…Timber Valley Escapee Park at 11:55 and of course it started pouring. Larry dislikes setting up in rain…who wouldn’t, it being Oregon rain is just liquid sunshine, but it let up after we got checked in so Larry only had little sprinkles to set up in. We had traveled 153 miles.
We spent the afternoon relaxing. We took a walk in the evening as the sun was setting but it was really really cold…we still have warm Yuma blood. I couldn’t bring myself to put on my winter coat so I wore my knit cap, gloves, scarf and shawl with my heavy overshirt and I was okay until the sun sank away, but we pressed on a few more rows before heading back…we needed the exercise. I think the high was like 53…brrr. We saw the turkeys, deer and jack rabbits on our walk, but no people…they were all tucked in their warm walls.
This morning we were awakened by the gobble gobble of turkeys going under us. Larry did yoga and I didn’t do anything…I have gotten out of the groove of exercise for right now. We spent a few hours visiting with my Aunt Millie and Uncle Marty…they were both recovering from nasty respiratory infections and are stubborn and don’t take instruction well. We told them not to go to any trouble, but we had beans, cornbread and ham for dinner and dessert. We got all caught up on the family. I took a lot of pictures on the way out to their place and of the flowers that were in bloom in their yard. You’ll see those later…I haven’t had a chance to go through all of them yet. We are a couple of weeks too early to see the full flower display that they have every spring. We stopped at Walmart to pick up a few things we needed and headed home.
So, I should get this posted, and maybe a few of the pictures I had planned but raw and unedited, so I apologize, though I think they are still pretty good.
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