family – The MoHo and Other Traveling Tales

07-31-2022 July High Summer

July marks the beginning of full-on all the way High Summer. Not quite the dog days just yet, as our lovely summer temperatures in the high 80s have held up until this very week.

High summer means much time spent monitoring the drip irrigation system, checking the well cisterns to be sure everything is working correctly, watering dry spots, and watching some plants that are determined to wilt even when the ground seems to be wet enough.

At the beginning of the month, we broke away from all the home chores to escape for a morning kayak. Applegate Lake (actually a reservoir) has had low water for a long time due to the prolonged drought in the west. With all our spring rains, the bathtub ring around the lake was barely visible for the first time in years, with water levels at 97 percent. The skies were blue, and the temperatures were perfect when we loaded up the kayaks and traveled an hour and a half south to Applegate Lake.

We launched at the no-fee Copper boat launch. There is plenty of parking and a long, gentle, sloped cement launch with a nice, easy water spot on the edges perfect for the kayaks.

We knew from our last trip to this lake that under the bridge is access to a lovely side paddle up an unnamed creek. It was much less crowded with our early launch this time, but by the time we returned to the lake, the kayakers were launching in significant numbers. A few first-time kayakers were hogging the ramp, trying to figure out how to launch and get in their boats., and then sitting on the ramp fishing. We waited our turn because neither of us wanted to be observed getting out of our boats. Lucky for me, there were some willows right next to the launch, and instead of rolling into the water, I just pulled myself up and out, holding on to the trees.
It was a lovely paddle, not tricky and not windy. Couldn’t ask for better. Wildlife was limited to a few ducks and one lone bald eagle perched on a branch on the east side of the lake.

Phone shots are only a way to record that we saw him since my telephoto on the phone simply goes fuzzy.

It was a lovely way to begin the month of July.

Cool evenings on the porch deck are delightful when the sun goes down.

It has been more than ten years since we had such a temperate summer. Until recently, our highest daytime temperatures were in the 80s and a rare low 90s. There have been no fires and no smoke, although a few days ago, there was a small fire about ten miles to the west. After a lovely afternoon, I stepped outside, smelled the all too familiar acrid smell of a forest burning, and saw the giant plume rising. It was terrifying to see it so close to Grants Pass, the Applegate Valley, and a good friend’s home within spitting distance.

It was started by humans, possibly a homeless camp up a creek drainage. The good thing about it is that there were no other fires, no lightning strikes high in the unreachable mountains. They were on it instantly, with a tanker drop, several helicopters dropping water from buckets pulled from a local pond and the river, and five 20-man crews. By the next day, they contained it at less than 30 acres, and everyone was safe.

Finally the riding mower was repaired and Mo and I got up early in the mornings to work on the rest of the gravel project. With temperature rising to the century mark by early afternoon, we could only do hot work like this for a few hours each morning. In a few days, we had all the gravel down and raked. It felt good to check off on more project completed.

The delicate balance of a low producing well and gardening almost an acre requires some creativity. We have beautiful tiny lawns for a soft green place to walk and gravel cover to reduce water useabe, and non irrigated areas that go completely dormant in summer.

After trying for a few years, we have managed to create a wooly thyme pathway. I have wanted a path like this since I first started studying the English Garden style in the early 80s. Somehow in the various climates I have lived in since then, I have never been successful. Until now. The lush pathway tends to cover the paving stones and still gets a few weeds in the thin parts.

I have to weed it and trim the thyme with scissors around the stones. It is an early morning job on my knees that I absolutely love. The smell of the thyme and its extraordinary lush growth amazes me after so many years of trying to get this to work. Some things on our property grow so well that it is hard to keep it all under control. Especially surprising since we have only been gardening this property for less than five years.

Our string of breakdowns from June continued well into July. A bi-yearly check-up with the dermatologist yielded requirements for a biopsy. No big deal, only on my arm, not my face, and it won’t be difficult if it has to get cut out rather than burned. As usual, she found precancerous spots to hit with nitrogen. I sometimes wonder if she does that every time to ensure I am diligent about check-ups.

The next day Mo’s computer decided to act up. The weakest link in a laptop computer seems to be the input for the power cord. Sure enough, that little input was wiggled and loose and refused to take a charge. We managed to run it on emergency power long enough to ensure all necessary files were completely backed up.

Mo found a lovely little laptop with everything she needed, and the following day we picked it up at Best Buy in Medford. I spent the next two days setting it up and decided that it was time to put my ten-year-old Dell desktop to bed. I have a laptop I bought almost three years ago waiting in the wings. Moving everything from the desktop to the laptop wasn’t difficult, but getting all the photos moved and imported into Lightroom took the most time. The laptop is super fast and has 2 terabytes of storage. I have used it when traveling but had no idea how much quicker it was than my desktop until I started using it as my main computer. Geez, why didn’t I do this a lot sooner?!

Toward the end of the month, we began the first real heat wave of the year. Finally, the pasture grass is mostly brown, and I have to watch dry spots in the lawn and hand water early in the morning after the well cistern has filled completely. It is a delicate dance between watering several timed stations that we have set up and how long it takes to replenish the water used for each station.

I barely had the computers up and running when the freezer portion of our LG fridge decided to go on the fritz. Everything was melted, and the ice maker no longer worked. I panicked and called Maryruth, who has a small garage freezer. I emptied everything and stored what I could in our garage fridge freezer, and took the rest to Mayruth’s house before I settled in for the expected long phone call to LG.

The photo is a panorama hence the crazy bend, but it shows how tightly the fridge fits in her space. Would be hard to find another one with that exact fit. After a few hours of back and forth, it was determined that I needed a repairman. The associate informed me that there was no authorized LG technician in my area. I would need to find a local service and make an appointment. Then the local company would have to fill out forms and send them to LG to get authorization to fix the fridge. The fridge was purchased five and a half years ago, and my extended warranty expired after five years. I had visions of an expensive repair at the least and maybe another 3000k fridge. Remember when a refrigerator lasted 30 years?

I have no idea what happened, but the next day the freezer was again freezing, and the ice maker was working. Possibly I had piled too much food against the air intakes. Who knows, but for now, all seems OK. Dodged a bullet there.

Three days later, the winding spring for the hour on Mo’s beautiful pendulum clock broke. After some searching, we found a local clock repairman and took the clock to his home. He had an interesting workroom with lots of old clocks and clock parts. Initially, he said it would be at least two months before he could complete the repair. Still, when we said he would have to keep the clock until October, he grumbled and said he didn’t want it in his space, so he would have it ready for us before our late August departure. $450 bucks! Clock repair definitely isn’t cheap.

Mo bought the clock in 1962 for $125 bucks in Porterville, California, so at 60 years old, it qualifies as an antique.
I miss the gentle chime on the quarter hours. It has become background music that I sleep through without any effort, but we do turn of the clock when guests are here at night. I will be happy when she is back home.

So far, that seems to be the last of our repair needs. Our fingers are crossed. Although we did have another bit of a kerfuffle when we set up the MoHo at our campsite in Brookings. But that story will be continued later in this post.

The monthly book club meeting was held on a very hot evening at a member’s lovely patio. We had a lively discussion about future book choices. Many of us were not particularly enamored with the current month’s choice, a book by Kristin Hannah. Her previous book that we read last year, “The Four Winds”, was wonderful, but this one read like a very predictable family drama with a predictable ending and cliche characters.

Mid-month, I had a chance to do something I have always wanted to try. Paint and Sip events seem to be quite popular with friends here and there. When an entertaining painting was featured at a local farm, I reached out to see if anyone wanted to go with me.

This is definitely not something that interests Mo in the least. My book club friend Lisa has been looking for one to do on a day she was free, and this one fit the bill. Asked Daughter Deborah if she wanted to go, and she was excited to join us.

It was a lovely but hot day and a great experience. All three of us were a bit stressed. (Isn’t this supposed to be a relaxing activity?) For our entry fee, we each received a complimentary glass of wine, a lovely lunch with wood-fired pizza, fresh garden salad, and fresh crusty bread. The only problem was that we were trying to get our paintings completed before the end of the three-hour session and had little time to eat our lunch.

The teacher kept telling us what to do and demonstrating, but it took a lot longer than it would have if we had been a little more experienced. When it was over, she told us, “Well, this was really a more advanced painting and not necessarily a good one to choose for your first time.” Ummm…now why wouldn’t you put that in the ad? We all had fun, and it was interesting to see the difference in our individual abilities to accept imperfection. Lisa was great, fully embracing her painting. I was less so, feeling I needed to do much more work. Deborah was the least accepting, insisting that she would throw her painting in the trash. Kinda fits our personalities, I think, with my precious daughter being the most likely to be a perfectionist and the least accepting of what she perceives as a failure. I didn’t expect this to be a life lesson, but it was. The good thing is that Deborah finally accepted that her painting was perfectly adequate, especially for a first-time painter!

Mo may not be interested in a girly event like painting a picture while drinking and eating with friends, but working with wood is something she has excelled at for years. When she lived in Rocky Point, she saw an example of a huge water wheel in Coarsegold, California. She took photos and then spent a long time building that water wheel on a smaller scale. It was installed out by the small pond and the windmill on the Rocky Point lawn. Neighbors loved it. We loved hearing the falling water and groan of the wheel as we worked outdoors. But we couldn’t see it from the house.

Mo brought the water wheel here to Sunset House when we moved in late 2017, and it languished along the back side of the MoHo shed until this summer. Finally, the time had come when all the pressing repair jobs were finished for the moment, and she could begin the giant water wheel project.

After much sanding, caulking, and painting, it was ready for installation. With no pond here, Mo decided on the rustic country look of a galvanized steel tank to provide water for the pump. Placed up against the west side of the MoHo shed, the sound of falling water and the groaning wheel is a delight to hear and watch as we sit on the deck. Her water wheel was a LOT better than my painting.

Around mid-month, Mo suggested we try to go to the coast for our monthly getaway. I had no expectations that I would find an open reservation anywhere. With so many people RVing, most state parks and campgrounds along the coast are booked months ahead for the summer. Lo and behold, I checked with the Harris Beach State Park website and found two and only two nights open for a full hookup site. It was in Loop D, where we have never camped. We usually go in the off-season, and loop D isn’t even open then. I didn’t hesitate and immediately booked the site for the two nights during the last week of July.

As luck would have it, our trip to Harris Beach was timed perfectly. The cool, fresh summer finally exploded into record heat just a few days before our scheduled departure. I think everyone in the surrounding area was heading for the coast to escape the heat. When we arrived at our campground, it was more packed than we had ever seen, with lots of kids, dogs, and people everywhere we looked.

The park guy at the entrance gate was stunned when I told him I had only found this reservation two weeks ago. He said the park has been booked solid for weeks. Just goes to show that it pays to keep checking back for cancellations, and being willing to be flexible with dates is another plus.

With temperatures in the hundreds from California to Portland in the inland parts of Oregon, the coast was protected by the typical summer marine layer, and the temps never got to 60F during our entire visit. We arrived in a chilly fog and began setting up camp. The site wasn’t very level, so we spent a bit of time juggling the rig around to find the best possible spot. Now for what I hope is the last kerfuffle of the season. While Mo hooked up the utilities, I started opening the slide. About 5 inches from full extension, I heard a deafening and terrifying bang/pop/noise. UhOh. What broke?? The springs that open the slide? Something holding it up? Now what?? The slide refused to extend. We could bring it in without any weird noises, but it still seemed odd. Mo hunted on the floor and tried to see what was wrong. We went inside and out checking and found nothing to give us any idea what was wrong.

What made this especially scary was knowing that with only 3 weeks until our planned departure for a long trip, we would have trouble finding an opening for a repair. I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Well, if we have to travel cross country with the slide closed, so be it.” A few minutes later, after Mo fiddled with the space between the slide, the wall, and the floor, I saw a small piece of white plastic. We both recognized the piece as part of the tv antenna handle assembly that had broken on our last trip. Sure enough, the entire piece of plastic had fallen on the top of the slide, and the horrible bang was the heavy white plastic exploding as it was crushed by the slide. After finding the culprit, the slide extended and retracted smoothly with no more scary noises.

We settled in for the afternoon. Even with the chilly fog, it was essential to get down to the beach to let Mattie get a run and walk on the sand, listening to the surf. Summer surf is much calmer than winter surf, and even high tide was much lower than the King Tides we experienced last winter. The walk was lovely, and seeing the shifts and changes in the beach landscape over time was fascinating. There was a lake where a stream used to be, and the stream was far removed from where we remembered it to be. We were surprised at the number of people sitting in chairs in a row along the water’s edge, wondering if they were waiting for the sunset that was most certainly not going to happen in the fog.

Back home for a beautiful cool evening and a chilly night, using the small electric space heater to keep the rig from getting too chilly. Remember that only two hours away, the temperatures never cooled below 70, even during the night!

The next day brought a visit from our friends, Maryruth and Gerald. They decided a break from the heat was in order and drove the short trip to the coast to escape. We met them outside the park just in time for an early lunch at Catalyst Seafood. Mo and I ate there often in our early days visiting Harris Beach. At that time, it was a small, slightly funky place with three-dollar glasses of wine and fabulous fish and chips for 9.95. How times have changed. It has been remodeled and updated, with a nice bar and outdoor seating. Wine is 8 bucks a glass, and the fish and chips are now 14 bucks, with only fries and no cole slaw. Still, it was a good lunch and excellent fish.

After lunch, the four of us sat by the beach. The picnic table where Judy (the bird lady) used to set up her telescope when she made presentations for the public about Bird/Goat Island was empty and waiting. I saw no volunteers doing anything like what Judy did for the summer she was at Harris Beach. Still, the views were excellent, and we enjoyed sharing one of our favorite beaches with Maryruth and Gerald.

We drove back up to the campground and settled into the long picnic table for a game of dominoes. Our friends left late afternoon to get home to Grants Pass before dark. Mo and I settled in for a quiet evening with leftovers from lunch and some good internet tv, mirrored to our TV from the phone. This is an excellent option if there is a good enough signal from the phones. No data is used to watch movies on the phone for us, and casting it to the TV doesn’t cost a thing. The only time this seems to be a problem is when we are in a crowded RV park with lots of rigs close by attempting to do the same thing. Then the phone sees too many TVs and gets confused. Otherwise, this method works almost everywhere when we have decent reception.

We didn’t have to check out until 1pm the next day, and with temps at 108 in Grants Pass, we stayed until the very last minute. The long morning gave us another chance to walk the beach with Mattie, this time in full, gorgeous sunshine. There was no jacket required at a sunny 60 degrees and no wind.

We only had a few days in ridiculously hot weather ahead of us when we returned home. Dealing with 114F degrees isn’t easy, but it isn’t a terrible hardship for us. We garden outside from 7 am until it gets unbearable around 11 or 12 and then escape to the perfect coolness of our air-conditioned home. So far, so good, with no power outages. I struggle to imagine how impossible it would be to deal with that kind of heat without air conditioning. I see homeless people around town with dogs on their shoulders to protect their feet. My heart breaks for them. There are only a few cooling centers where these folks can escape. It is a scary situation, even worse than the cold of winter. I am so incredibly grateful for the safety, comfort, and protection that we have that so many people do not.

We had just one more happy event to enjoy on July 30th. Mo has some friends who are much like an extended family living in Ohio. The three daughters of these friends, Stephanie, Amy, and Susan, have wonderful memories of Mo from their childhood when they lived closer and visited often. We plan to revisit them as we pass through Ohio in late September. However, Amy, Susan, and their husbands were celebrating their 25th anniversary with a trip to Portland, Oregon. The husbands wanted to see the Columbia Gorge and play frisbee golf and do some other guy things. Amy and Susan asked if we could meet in the middle Between Portland and Grants Pass.

Mo and I chose the halfway point near Creswell, Oregon, just south of Eugene, for a meeting spot. I had read about the Creswell Bakery in the past. I was reminded again when we went to the big Cheese Festival last spring that it was a destination we had yet to explore. The bakery is on a lot of “foodie” maps of places not to miss if you are traveling through Oregon.

Lunch was great, but the laughter and conversation between us was stupendous. Lots of stories of their memories of Mo when they were younger. More stories of their current lives in Ohio, their kids, and their dad, who lost his precious wife Millie a bit over a year ago. The girls were incredibly close to their mom, who was one of Mo’s dearest friends. Their dad Don is a beloved friend as well. We all had great memories of Millie, and the girls told us about Don’s adjustment to life without his wife. It is wonderful that all three girls and their kids are close by, and they spend a lot of time with Don, cooking with him at his home at least three nights a week. Some families have an incredible closeness that is such a treasure.

02-24-2022 From Lodi to Brookings on Highway 1 and other stuff

Our time in Lodi came to an end on Saturday morning. The temperatures were in the low 50s, and the sun was shining when we departed Flag City RV Resort. Fuel at the nearby Flying J was $4.49 per gallon for regular, and I am glad regular gas works perfectly fine in the MoHo. Another little delight at the Flying J is the Cinnabon kiosk. An excellent sugar rush and oh so sinfully good!

I planned one last visit for our trip. My sister lives in Vallejo, California. We don’t see each other often, but it is always a kick. Sally is a true homebody with no desire to travel anywhere, so a trip to Grants Pass for Sally won’t happen any time soon. Sally has good reasons for staying close to home. At 72 years old, she has chickens, bees, dogs, cats, and a horse that she rides almost daily. Sally also quilts and makes all sorts of lovely goodies that she sells to local shops.

In addition, Sally works full time, at home a couple of days a week, and in an office the other three days. I am in awe of her energy, and visiting is always so much fun.Before her current legal secretarial gig, Sally’s job was driving a semi-truck cross country. She managed that one for a few years before settling back in Vallejo, the town where she was raised and lived much of her life. I am still amazed at how Sally has turned a duplex on a city lot into a small farm. It was a fun visit, and we left with jars of honey, homemade peach jam from her trees, lemons, and giant brown eggs.

We had a great visit before continuing our westward journey toward Bodega Bay. Within minutes of leaving Sally’s house traveling Highway 37, we were at a dead stop. Stuck in traffic for half an hour wasn’t as bad as it could have been. I was driving and had plenty of time to check our route, look up the campground reservation, eat a snack, and recuperate from all the wonderful high-energy time at Sally’s.

We arrived at the Westside Regional Park and Campground around 3, in time to settle in and settle down a bit for the afternoon. The weather was sunny, but the cold wind made walking along the bay somewhat challenging. Even Mattie was ready to go back inside after her walk.

Mo and I paid no attention to the coincidental holiday dates when making our trip plans. We landed at Bodega Bay on President’s Day weekend. In California, we discovered it was also President’s Day Week, with schools suspended for the entire week. Happy families filled the park with lots of kids and a good kind of noise. I enjoyed watching the big extended family come to their joint campsite next to us for huge pots of boiled crabs and clams cooking on the big bbq. The families were loud but not obnoxious, and there wasn’t a single noisy motorized anything disturbing the sound of gulls and laughing kids.

After settling into our supper, we fell asleep to the sounds of people laughing and talking around the campfires. When I woke up to the moonlight at midnight, everything was silent. Unlike some horror stories I have read from other bloggers about holiday weekends at regional parks, this was a pleasing experience.

The following day, Mo took Mattie to walk along the bay before we drove south on the spit. The campground is on the bay, but nearby side roads lead to high cliffs with views of the Pacific Ocean in all its wild glory.

The wind was strong and cold, and the steep trails weren’t very inviting. The view from the cliff was terrific. Whale watchers lined up watching for the migrating blue whales that pass by here daily at this time of year.

The sun was brilliant, and the winds were not too strong when we pulled out of the park. Google wanted us to return inland to Highway 101, but we had other plans. Highway 1 is narrow, winding, and gorgeous. On 101, the ocean is several miles west, but on Highway 1, the route is adjacent to the steep, wild cliffs that make for spectacular views. It also makes for breathtaking driving, especially in a motorhome.

In the past, we drove Highway 1 through rainstorms and road closures due to slides. On this day, our drive was beautiful and easy.

Yes, the road is curvy, the pavement can be rough, the cliffs are close, and sometimes I thought ferns hanging off the rocks on the passenger side were cleaning the rig. However, the most challenging part of the drive isn’t the part along the coast.

The stretch from Westport to Legget is not an easy drive over the coast range. The road is steep, and the cliffs are close and crazy winding. We were worn out by the time we reached Legget, just a few miles south of Richardson Grove. We agreed that maybe we didn’t have to drive Highway 1 again.

We had no plan for our day other than meandering along the highway to our night destination. I couldn’t get a reservation for our park of choice near Richardson Grove, and no one ever answered the phone, and there wasn’t an option to leave a message. We took our chances. Over the years, we have parked at Richardson Grove RV Park without reservations several times.

A church group runs the park in a relatively loose manner. When we arrived at Richardson Grove, the office was closed. We were used to this from past experience. A note on the board stated the price for a site and envelopes and a slot for payment. There wasn’t a soul around until we parked, and I walked back toward the office. A young woman appeared and asked if I needed help. The current price for a spot is $56. I questioned if they were still a Passport America park, and she said no, and the best she could do was $50. for the night. The most we ever paid at this park was $18 with our PPA discount. That is a BIG change, but we paid the price, glad for a place to land for the night after our challenging drive.

The following day we took our time leaving to travel north toward Brookings. When we left Richardson Grove the sun was shining, but as we continued north on 101 the predicted clouds began to appear.

I had a bit of trouble making our Harris Beach State Park reservations back in December. There was nothing available, and we decided to take our chances with first-come, first-served sites or a possible stay at BeachFront RV Park in Harbor. Before leaving in February, I rechecked the ReserveAmerica website and found a vacancy.

Our site was on a loop toward the back of the park. We have camped in several spots at Harris Beach, but this loop was a first for us. To our surprise, the site was private, and with high trees all around us, we still had late afternoon sunshine. There was no beach view, but we have enjoyed those beach views many times and didn’t mind.

We were awakened by the rain on our first full day at Harris Beach. Neither of us minded much. I made a short run to Fred Meyer for a few groceries. We enjoyed hanging out in the MoHo doing absolutely nothing except catching up on news while I finished a blog post.

The next two days at Harris Beach were relaxing and uneventful. The rains left, the skies were gorgeous, but temperatures in the 40s with the wind weren’t conducive to long hours on the beach. We managed a fantastic walk with Mattie on Tuesday down the South Beach Trail where Mattie could run off leash outside the official boundaries of the park.

On Wednesday we wakened to another very cold, but sunny day. We followed a leisurely breakfast and computer/tv time with a mid morning walk on the northern portion of Harris Beach. The tides were out farther than we have seen in several years. Much of the time we go to Harris Beach it is during the fall and winter during high King Tides. It was fun to walk around the rocks between sections of the beach that aren’t usually accessible to us so easily. The wind was cold, but we found a couple of protected spots to warm ourselves in the sunshine.

\We filled the rest of our days with cards, campfires, relaxing, and reading. Our initial plans included driving a few extra miles to buy fish and chips from our favorite spot in Crescent City on the way home to Grants Pass. By the time Wednesday rolled around, that idea didn’t sound as appealing as it did initially. Instead, we decided to try out a restaurant in the Harbor Area that we often frequented a few years ago.

Catalyst Seafood was preciously known as Chetco Seafood. Mo and I loved Chetco Seafood. The fish was fresh and only lightly breaded, the wine was three bucks a glass, and the coleslaw was perfect. When it changed hands, we never bothered to try it out.

When we first walked in, the change was noticeable. The place was packed, and the decor was very different. The owners updated the pastel decor to dark woods and tables. There was a bar in the back rather than the fish counter. We opted to be seated at the bar where two young men were sitting. They moved over for us, and we mentioned that we often ate at Chetco Seafood. One of the guys said, “My grandfather owned that restaurant.” It turns out his grandfather sold the place to the new owner, the young man’s father. It was fun hearing a bit of the history of the business.

I missed the old place a bit. Especially when it came to paying the bill. Our $8.99 fish and chip dinner was now $20.00 if we wanted cod instead of rockfish, and there was no coleslaw. My Lemon Drop was made well and was a reasonable price at $9.00. The fish was good, but not as perfect as we remembered from the old days at Chetco Seafood. Still, I understand that businesses have to change with the times. Judging from the busy bar and restaurant, I imagine that the change has been profitable for the owners.

We had plenty of leftovers for dinner the next day. We were heading home on Thursday morning, and it is always lovely when dinner is easy on homecoming day.

The only tiny bit of entertainment I enjoyed in town was a leisurely exploration at the “Feather Your Nest” shop. I needed absolutely nothing but still wanted to browse a bit. It tickled me to find a little bit of artsy wall decor for the master bath at home. Hopefully, we can figure out a way to put a ladder in the bathtub and hang it up where it will fit perfectly with my beachy bathroom decor.

A great trip! Easy, no problems, no issues, everything worked perfectly.

11-30-2021 November Journal

After such a hot dry summer, and a beautiful sunny October, it was as if someone turned the switch in November. Early in the month, the rains began and only let up as the month progressed from rain to cold, wet fog.

Mo and I had a few details to attend to with the MoHo, and finally had an appointment with Mock Ford here in town to get her in for a 120,000 mile tune-up and a coolant leak repair. We had to park the rig outside in their parking lot with assurances that it would be about a week before they could complete the work. Long story short, after many calls and much frustration, we paid what we owed for the unfinished work and pulled the MoHo off their lot in early December. We had a trip planned, and determined that we could deal with the slow leak rather than putting up with the MoHo being stored outside on an unlocked lot as the temperatures got below freezing. We don’t winterize the MoHo because we travel in the winter. Needless to say, we were NOT happy with the local service, but finding an appointment anywhere seems nearly impossible. We did finally find a place in Medford that made an appointment for us in early January. I’ll see how that goes, but I am feeling optimistic.

In early November, the leaves are coming down in earnest, and it is a big annual job to get them off the ground and loaded for hauling to the local compost facility. Folks often say, “why don’t you compost them?” Nope, not an option with an acre of oak leaves. Those leaves have weird tannins in them that hinder plant growth. Great for piling up somewhere nothing needs to grow, but not in the gardens! I learned that the hard way one year when the rains kept us from picking up some big piles we had made on the pasture grass. Nothing grew in those spots for almost 3 years. So we haul the leaves. Every year when the job rolls around, I remind myself what a treasure our huge old oaks are to have in the heat of summer. I do love those trees, and try not to complain about the leaves…at least not much.

This year I had even less reason to complain because Mo did a much higher percentage of leaf raking than I did, although I did manage to do a bit. We take about 15 trailer loads to the facility each year, a pretty 20 minute drive along the Rogue River toward the west where it is located. Amazing what qualifies for entertainment during wet, rainy, foggy November.

Mo had an outdoor project that kept her busy in between the rain. She added the black lattice screens underneath the new deck extension. I bought some new small herb plants to plant along the edge to replace the huge plants we had to remove when the deck was extended. They should catch up in a couple of years, especially at the rate that herbs grow in this area. Those rosemary plants to the left of the stairway were just 4 inch pots 3 years ago. Rosemary loves Grants Pass and I love rosemary.

Early in the month the everyday stuff was set aside for a fabulous visit from my friend Jeanne from Vermont. She flew west to visit several of her friends who live in Oregon and Washington and we were thrilled to have her here for three whole days and nights! We were thrilled that the weather was good enough that we could enjoy a bit of wine tasting, with plans to go to Schmidt Family Vineyards.

Even though the website said they were open, we arrived to no one in the parking lot and a feeling of doom as we walked up to the darkened tasting room. Still, it was nice to walk around the grounds for a bit before we traveled a bit farther south on Upper Applegate Road to the Troon Vineyard. Happily, they were open and we settled into the heated courtyard for wine flights and a charcuterie board filled with several menu choices. I somehow didn’t manage to get any photos of that part of the afternoon, maybe the wine was too nice and the warm heaters too delightful. I had my first taste of some kind of gourmet salami and discovered how much different it was than all the regular Gallo stuff. What a treat!.

On another day while Jeanne was here, we went downtown to favorite little restaurant, the Bohemian Grill. There we had fabulous cocktails. Jeanne loves martinis, the real kind, and her order was perfect enough that she impressed the waiter. I guess it is a bit like knowing how to order a good espresso from Starbucks. A love of good martinis is a class level above me for sure. I’ll take some lemon and lavender with mine, thank you.

After our sweet respite with Jeanne, Mo and I went back to the ongoing leaf raking and hauling until a short little visit to Brownsville broke the monotony. Daughter Melody was singing in the Albany Civic Theater version of “All Together Now”. The performance was a collection of Broadway hits that was shown at theaters all over the country to help fund the local community theaters. For that one performance, the charges for using the music were waived to help support the locals.

By the time we got to Albany on that Saturday afternoon, Melody was already at the theater. Melody’s Robert drove us to Albany in his big brand new 4 Runner and we went to dinner together before the show. The Italian restaurant was just a block or so from the theater and our wait time wasn’t terribly long to get a really nice upstairs table. The food was fabulous, some of the best Italian I have had since Italy.

The show was nice, and as always I love hearing Melody sing and seeing her onstage. We slept in their upstairs guest room and were treated the next morning to a great breakfast before we headed back south to Grants Pass. It was a quick visit, but still great to see Melody once again performing at ACT. She has been involved with that theater since 2000 or so.

I have to laugh at my lack of photos for this part of November. I used to have the camera out all the time, and somehow it has become less of a priority. I have a few of the four of us relaxing in the big recliners in the tv room, but they are definitely not for public consumption. Didn’t get a photo of the show, of course, because it wasn’t allowed. And how in the world did I miss taking a photo of our fabulous dinner at Gamberetti’s.

We returned to Grants Pass on Sunday, and on Monday I had a thrilling appointing with a new doctor. How can a doctor appointment be thrilling? For one, the new neurologist/neuromuscular specialist I am seeing is right here in Grants Pass, associated with my current doctor at Asante, ten minutes from home. No more travels to Portland to OHSU for specialist visits. It was a good visit, with a bit more information about what I am dealing with, a prescription to help with leg pain, and instructions to come back in a year for updated evaluation. I guess that shows just how much the specialists think they can do for this slowly progressing muscle disease. Not much. The prescription is helping a lot with night leg pain and isn’t any kind of narcotic. So far, it is helping and no side effects.

I raked the lower pasture under another big oak and Mo loaded up the last of the leaves for our last visit to the leaf dump on November 8. There are leaves in the flower beds we never managed to get up before the rains started in earnest, but not enough to cause any real problems until we can get them up in late winter when the sun eventually shines once again. Mo mowed the pasture one last time on November 18.

Thanksgiving was approaching and this year it was my turn to have the entire family here for the holiday dinner. I decided to set up the “Christmas” village before Thanksgiving. Who says the winter scenes in the bookcases can’t be a Thanksgiving Village.

This year we actually had our family dinner on Thursday, the real Thanksgiving Day! Melody and Robert drove down from Brownsville, with Axel and Xavier driving in their own car with Axel’s partner, Py. Daughter Deborah drove from Shady Cove, and Maryruth and Gerald drove the long distance between our house and theirs, a short mile. Maryruth and I laughed about all the years we drove to each other’s homes for Thanksgiving celebrations when we were young and often those trips were hundreds of miles.

Grandson Xavier, Daughter Melody, Grandson Axel

A favorite photo of Robert and Mo

Maryruth and Gerald, and Mattie who adores Gerald

Xavier and Deborah

You would never know it from this face, but Mo and I LOVE Robert’s deviled eggs, a holiday tradition. I had to include the photo so you could see all the pies on the counter, the appetizers and the table set ready for dinner.

The last photo here is a fun little thing from Py, who brought a Polaroid camera to the gathering. The photo is tiny and grainy, but so much fun. I haven’t seen an Polaroid shot like this in yeas.

07-17-2021 Fun times in Early July

Early July began with record breaking temperatures for Southern Oregon, and for much of the west. For us, the 116 degree temperatures moderated a bit to a livable 100 degrees. Amazing how good that feels even when the thermometer hits 100 several days in a row. So far, a couple of weeks into the month we haven’t experienced those awful 100 teens plus days since that first week. I hope we don’t get them again. In addition, in spite of the seriously hot weather and afternoon winds, we don’t have any fires locally. The biggest fire in the country right now is the Bootleg Fire, northeast of Kamath Falls, but the smoke is heading east and here in Grants Pass the skies are a gorgeous clear blue.

Going to the Lavender Festival inspired me and on the first day of the month I decided I should cut the lavender. The bees weren’t happy with me. They seem to love lavender more than just about anything in the yard, except for the bird bath which they have taken over completely as their very own summer water fountain. I try to be sure it is full every day. Bees need water and these are very sweet friendly honey bees that buzz around like crazy but never bother me.

A photo from my little shop in Wallace, Idaho

I decided it was time to make a wreath. I used to make so many of them when I was making a living growing and selling crafted dried flowers on the show circuit and in my little shop in Wallace, Idaho. After I let that business go to once again make my living digging holes in the dirt, I never made another wreath until now. I tried a small wreath of lavender. It took four full large bushes of fully blooming lavender to finish that wreath. Hanging it on the door, I delighted in the fragrance, if not the tiny little lavender flowers that shed all over the porch every time I open and close the front door. Who knows how long it will last or how long it will keep shedding.

July 4th this year was a treat. Especially after our nothing celebration last year because of Covid and everyone feeling much safer just staying at home. This year I asked Daughter Melody if we could come to her house for the day. She was thrilled, and even gave up the annual Fourth of July party that she traditionally shares with her Albany friends. Daughter Deb was going too, and decided to drive her own car since we had a bunch of “stuff” in our car. Grandson Matthew was going to go but at the last minute he had to opt out due to concerns with the couple that he helps to caretake. He had no one at the house to help and couldn’t leave Karen alone with the blood pressure and heart rate issues she was having. Next year we will celebrate minus Melody, but with a local picnic maybe Matthew will be able to participate. So hard to get everyone in the same place anymore.

The drive north on the Fourth was easy, just 3 hours to Melody’s house in the car. We opted to leave the MoHo at home since there really isn’t any place to park it at Melody’s house. Daughter Melody and Robert did a great job fixing up the guest bedroom with a cooling gel mattress pad, new comfy sheets and pillows, and a big fan in the window. Such a nice retreat it was for us.

By the time we arrived just after 11, Deborah was already there helping Melody lay out the huge feast of goodies she had prepared for the family. Somehow the giant tray of veggies and dip went by the wayside as we all gobbled up Robert’s traditional deviled eggs. No longer just for Easter, Robert’s eggs are a tradition whenever we all get together. Deborah made a delicious guacamole which kept me quite happy.

Grandkids, Axel and Xavier, with Axel’s sweetie, Pi, showed up by early afternoon. Axel and Pi are “new” even though they have known each other for over two years. At 28 years old, it is a good thing that Axel now at last has a solid, good relationship to enjoy.

My grandson Xavier was looking wonderful as well, putting on some weight and working at a job he loves. He is working in telephone sales for Cricket. Indoors, air conditioning, no heavy lifting, and plenty of percs and benefits. He likes it a LOT better than working in the produce department at Fred Meyer, which was the job he had before COVID required that he not work in that unsafe environment. Type 1 Diabetes is nothing to fool with, and he couldn’t risk being exposed to COVID. The entire family is fully vaccinated now and it is such a relief to worry a bit less about exposure to the virus at last.

The day was simple and easy with lots of talking and visiting. Melody and the kids and I walked the two blocks to the city park and the river. Pioneer Park is a popular place on the fourth and many families were camping and enjoying picnics at the big tables in the shade. Mattie went completely crazy with all the excitement of the river, the kids, and all the people. I did not manage to take a single photo of the excitement. It was hot and we were all quite happy to return to the cool living room for the rest of the afternoon.

Somehow we didn’t manage time for games, and by 3:30 Robert fired up the grill for supper by 5. It was amazing watching him manage all the different requests from each guest. Robert cooked filet mignon steaks, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken legs, and four racks of ribs. Everything turned out perfectly, well almost. Some of us thought the ribs were a bit too done, but the kids loved them and took all the leftovers home. Not a thing went to waste….then again I am sure much went to our waists!

After dinner we visited some more. The kids left around 7 since they didn’t want to drive back to Albany after dark. It’s only a 20 minute drive or so for them, but with holiday crazies running around on the highway between Brownsville and Albany they thought it would be better to lay low in their own apartment for the evening.

The five of us ate some more goodies and waited until about 9 to gather up our chairs and walk down to the park once again for the fireworks.

The show was put on by the Brownsville Fire Department and they did a spectacular job. I have seen shows in much bigger cities that weren’t as wonderful as this show. It was also good to know that the fire department was making sure that everyone was safe and no stray sparks were unattended. I loved every minute of it.

The next morning we had a wonderful breakfast with bagels and Deborah’s egg bake casserole and more visiting before Deborah left for home and Mo and I headed south toward our next adventure.

July 5 Visiting Wildlife Safari in Winston

I think I went to Wildlife Safari a very long time ago, when Melody lived in Medford. All I remember is being with Melody and her mother-in-law, Donna, and Axel who was just a little one. I remember the cheetahs behind the fence and how much Axel loved cheetahs. Mo had never been to the Wildlife Safari. It isn’t far from Grants Pass, maybe 80 miles or so, and is a popular place to take out of town guests. Crater Lake, the Coast, Wildlife Safari, and the Hellgate Jetboats on the Rogue are the go to activities for company. Pretty sure Crater Lake and the Coast win hands down. We have talked about going the Safari a few times, and yesterday when I mentioned it again, Mo said, why not tomorrow on our way home from Brownsville.

In spite of the mid day hour, the heat, and the holiday, we decided to give it a try. We were happy to learn that even though dogs are not allowed in your car when traveling through the park, there are nice kennels provided for them to be safely housed during your visit. The kennels are free if you bring your own lock, but they will provide a padlock that you can keep for $5. Not bad to keep Mattie cool and safe while we explored. We decided to do the walkable portion of the park first. The area isn’t too big to walk in a short time and the gardens and shade trees are lovely. Most of the animals were lounging in the shade, too hot to move around much, and often hidden in their dark lairs so we weren’t able to see all of them. The tortoise was slowly meandering around his enclosure with a leaf in his mouth. Such fascinating creatures! The lions were pacing near the feeding area, but too far from the viewing platform to see them very well. The wolves from South America were completely zonked in the heat, very little movement from them.

The rest of the area is geared to families and kids, with a couple of eating establishments for snack food, and some exhibits geared to kids enjoyment. I think we stayed maybe an hour at most before getting in line for the slow meander in our car around the wild animal area where most animals roam freely and humans must remain in their cars.

Some of the animals from Africa, who seemed to be immune to the intense heat, were roaming about. Several were eating in the shade shelters which made photography a bit difficult, but as we rounded a curve to the area where feeding cups could be purchased, the emus, rheas, and several varieties of young deer were milling about begging for food from people in their cars. A lovely rhea poked his head in our window and looked rather disgusted that we had no food for him.

As we approached the cheetah area, there wasn’t a cheetah in sight, but there was a big jam up of cars. People were instructed at the beginning of the tour to stay to the right to let people pass if they wished, but many folks had no clue about how to do that. Drivers of cars full of young kids parked in the middle of the road, with no room on either side for passing.

We finally meandered along with the rest, but not without a few impatient exclamations from Mo and from me now and then. It was hot and many of the animals were not to be seen. We missed the rhino, the cheetahs, the yaks, and the hippos. Actually, we didn’t miss the hippos completely because as we passed I am pretty sure that two large gray rocks were actually hippos.

We enjoyed the Safari somewhat, but I think the most excitement came from Mattie when I picked her up from the kennel.

07-08 Driving up to Recreation Creek and Malone Springs.

With the heat in triple digits for days on end, Mo and I wondered when we might have a chance to get our butts in the boats again. We scheduled a day trip to Rocky Point for a nice early morning kayak after I looked at the temperatures and decided Thursday was the only day that it was to be less than 100 degrees in the Basin. We planned to leave early, and I packed a tuna sandwich lunch for us and we were in the truck by 7. When we travel, the kayaks are lifted on top of the Tracker and tied down. Requires quite a bit of effort, climbing up and down on a step to reach the straps, and getting all safely balanced and secured. We decided that for a simple day trip we could take the pickup. Loading the kayaks is considerably easier with the pickup. They still have to be lifted, but not nearly as high, and strapping them down is much simpler.

The route to Malone Springs, a few miles north of Rocky Point, is easy, and requires traveling from Grants Pass toward Medford, turning east near Central Point and traveling Highway 140 over the High Lakes Pass toward the east slope of the Cascades. Malone Springs is about half way between the Rocky Point boat launch and the northern terminus of Crystal Creek at Crystal Springs. We have kayaked the entire length of the canoe trail from end to end and through the marsh many times. This time, however, we decided to put in at Malone Springs and kayak south toward Rocky Point. We haven’t been in the kayaks since last year, and both of us were just a little bit apprehensive about our ability to get back out of the kayaks at the end of our paddle. We decided on paddling south for just and hour before turning around to be sure we didn’t do more than we could manage.

I was worried about my left shoulder which has been acting up lately with either arthritis or bursitis, legs with muscle atrophy which may or may not hold up when I try to rise from the boat, and now a silly trigger thumb that has been giving me a bit of trouble. Mo had been dealing with knee and ankle issues. It was time to get back in practice and see just how much we could manage. We also wanted to paddle in a place that didn’t have too many people around to witness our attempts at exiting our kayaks.

Nothing to worry about in the least. I was thrilled to be on the water again after so long. The morning was marred a bit by smoky skies from a large fire to the east of the Klamath Basin. Our views were up close, with the distant mountains of Crater Lake and Harriman Peak completely obscured by the smoke. Still, the wocus were blooming, although this late in the season there were only a few blossoms. The creek level was quite low, but not so much that we had any difficulty paddling, and the section of the creek that we followed wasn’t terribly weedy.

The water was clear and we were completely alone for the entire route, up and back. We turned around after an hour and 15 minutes to paddle upstream. As often happens on Recreation Creek, a slight breeze from the south made paddling against the gently current nearly effortless and the return trip was a bit shorter than the trip downriver. The views were limited by smoke and in the distance where we usually see the rim of Crater Lake to the north and Mt. Harriman to the south, we only saw murky skies. Birds were few and far between as well, except for the red winged blackbirds, many little brown twittery birds, a kingfisher and one great blue heron.

The canoe trail sign is very high above the water, indicating how low the water level is this year already. Often those signs are only a foot or two above the water level.

After all that time alone, I was exclaiming to Mo how lucky we were to have the creek to ourselves on this gorgeous summer day when suddenly ten kayaks rounded a curve and entered the Malone Springs area. We looked at each other, wondering if they planned to lunch there, and wondered when we would have the nerve to try to get out of the kayaks with ten people observing! The young woman who was guiding the group said they were leaving, and began loading all their kayaks onto a big trailer. Whew. Mo and I paddled around a bit in the spring waiting for everyone to leave. Along comes another kayaker, with a young lab puppy, and she kindly agreed to wait until we could get Mattie out of the boat.

We had nothing to worry about. I decided to exit my boat on the side opposite the shoreline in knee deep water. It was perfect. I didn’t even have to roll into the water as I did last summer to get out of the boat. The knee deep water did a great job of giving me the extra boost I need to rise from a sitting position. Mo tried the same maneuver and did just fine. We are now much more comfortable with our planned kayak day with family during the first week in August. No matter how understanding folks might be about our ungainly attempts to exit the kayaks, it is much nicer to not have to look silly in front of everyone.

After loading up the boats we settled in to the nearby picnic table for our packed picnic lunch. Malone Springs is known for having hordes of mosquitoes and yet with the heat and drought this year there were very few around to bother us.

We returned to Grants Pass, happy that we could do a simple day trip to find good kayak waters. Of course, being in the outdoors triggered the need to check for possible reservations available at any of the many campgrounds in the Cascades, or even perhaps farther east. We try to be sure to get at least one trip away in the MoHo each month and July was passing quickly. Lo and Behold…everything was blocked out and reserved every place I looked, except suddenly an opening appeared at a campground we have visited in the past and loved. The reservation was open for three days beginning on the 12th, giving us just two days to make the decision to go.

But that is for the next story….

06-30-2021 Better Write About June Before it Disappears

Hot. It is Hot. A simple three letter word that at the moment seems like it should be a 4 letter word. We do sometimes get hot spells in June, but not this long and not this hot. As everyone out there not living under a cool rock already knows, we in the Pacific Northwest have been experiencing an “unprecedented” wave of record breaking heat caused by a phenomena called a Heat Dome. Hot air is mounding over several states and most of British Columbia, held in place by high pressure and winds coming from the east instead of our usual cooling flow from the Pacific.

We are laying low, with a few short hours outside in the early mornings. Our hottest temperature was 116F degrees on Sunday afternoon, June 27. On the hottest day the temperature never went below 70F and by 8am it was 84F. We aren’t used to that out west, with our nights cooling to something more comfortable even on the hottest days. Word has it that the heat dome is made worse because it has come so close to the summer solstice, with long days adding many hours of heat buildup.

It seems like a very long time ago that Mo and I celebrated the Memorial Day weekend at home in Grants Pass. Things were somewhat normal back then. Our lovely city once again celebrated a 62 year tradition with the annual BoatNik festivities, including a parade, a carnival in the park, hydroplane races, and fireworks. Everything was cancelled last year due to COVID, and with vaccination levels increasing in Oregon and cases going down, the rules lifted. Just two weeks prior to the celebration, permits were granted and it was a “go”. Everyone involved received high praise for putting on such a great combination of events with such short notice.

On Memorial Day weekend we packed up a chair and my handy dandy walker chair and drove downtown for the parade. We parked just a block away from the very center of town, and had no problem locating a nice spot in the shade. If I remember right, it was even a bit cool. Although remembering “cool” at the moment is somewhat difficult.

The parade was a good one, with many displays celebrating the troops, the country, the police, all the good parts of what makes a community run well. Sadly, there was only one marching band, the bagpipes at the very beginning of the parade. We knew that for more than a year, school bands weren’t able to practice and I missed what I consider to be the best part of a parade.

However, toward the end of the parade, we were treated to quite a spectacle with 12 huge tow trucks stacked up end to end behind one big tow truck. No clue how they did that, but it was impressive. Daughter Deanna said that those tow trucks that can move semis get 10 to 12 thousand bucks per tow and with I-5 so close to us, I guess Caveman towing gets lots of calls to pay for all these fancy trucks that cost about 500K each.

After the parade we drove to Riverside Park and found an easy spot in the parking lot reserved for people with the proper blue hang tag. I am not happy dealing with this leg thing, but that hang tag does have some perks now and then. We were within feet of the busy carnival with rows and rows of “fair food”. The smells reminded me of my childhood at the fair. We bought a hot dog for Mo and a corn dog for me, my evil “notgoodforyou” favorite. The sounds of screaming kids on the big rides and happy people were actually fun. After months of not being around people it felt good to be in a crowd, especially when we didn’t have to wait in line for anything and could leave whenever we felt like it. For us, that was about an hour at most just wandering a bit.

We skipped the boat races, hearing the roar of motors rising from the river all the way up the hill to our home. We also skipped the fireworks, although I did watch a live video of them that night after Mo went to sleep. They weren’t all that great, but with just two weeks notice and not a lot of money I was impressed that the show promoters even managed to do that.

On Monday, I set an alarm so I wouldn’t miss the F-15’s from Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls flying over the city. We took our drinks, set up our chairs in the yard and I had the camera ready. Lots of noise and not a plane in sight? Geez!! I guess I later heard that they flew very low close to the river and then west toward Brookings. After a few minutes, without warning, they suddenly appeared flying back toward the east high enough to see them, but of course I didn’t have the camera ready.

I stole this photo from someone who was down by the park during the flyover and sent me the photo after I commented that we missed it.

Love those planes in spite of everything. Yes, I know, lots of money, lots of fuel, but they thrill me. I miss the sight and sound of their weekly training flights low over my home in Klamath Falls. Mo’s brother Don was an F-16 pilot in the Air Force, so that adds some special interest in the fighter jets.

We decided to give ourselves a small treat mid week, driving half an hour south into the Applegate Valley to visit the Red Lily Vineyard. There are so many lovely wineries in the Applegate Valley in addition to a many more throughout the Rogue Valley near Jacksonville, Medford, Ashland, and Central Point. It will take us many years to visit them all. Especially when we tend to return to old favorites like Red Lily and Schmidt which are so close to home.

We took a picnic, homemade quiche and cucumber salad, bought several bottles of wine to take home, and ordered a bottle to drink at our picnic table. The tasting room was closed for tasting due to COVID, but we were still allowed to go inside to order our wine and make sure that we could sit by the river for our picnic. The people at Red Lily are so welcoming, opening our bottle and offering glasses and an ice bucket. We had brought our own but it was a nice gesture. We enjoyed sitting by the river in the cooling shade.

During the next week I spent time preparing for guests, making sure things were spiffy and that there was plenty of food to share. Wes and Gayle James, our friends and neighbors from the old days in Rocky Point were traveling south from Portland and we invited them to stay with us. We greeted them with some homemade snacks and a pitcher of bloody Mary’s.

It was a lovely time sharing memories and stories, and enjoying a lovely dinner of fajitas made with tender New York steaks. We thought we might play a game or two, but somehow eating, visiting, and relaxing together didn’t lend itself to games.

The next morning we had an eggs benedict casserole, with a favorite family recipe from daughter Deborah. I didn’t find out till later that Gayle didn’t often eat eggs, but she liked it enough that she asked for the recipe. Last week she said she was making it for company. I love those types of recipes that can be made ahead for a group.

The day after Wes and Gayle departed, Mo’s brother Dan came south from BeaverCreek to pick up a piece of equipment that Mo wanted to give him. Mo and Dan spent most of the afternoon fiddling with some lights on the MoHo before Dan offered to take us to dinner. We went down to the Taprock Grill, right on the river. This time we opted for inside seating at a table by the window since outside deck seating was at a premium. Eating in a restaurant seems so very unique after so many months. I find that I enjoy being around other people in a way I never imagined. I don’t know them, but the ambience of happy people, conversation going on around me, and excellent food that I don’t cook is more fun than I ever remember it in the past.

The sweetest thing that happened mid month was a beautiful cool soaking rain that lasted for 2 days and nights. With everything so terribly dry from the extended drought it was so very sweet to see the plants and grasses respond to the gift of moisture. All the watering in the world can’t do the same good that a full soaking rain can do. Now, two weeks later, that rain is a distant memory. We probably won’t get another one until fall. In this climate, we have winter rains, and long periods of no rain during July, August, and September. The nice thing about that soaking rain was that it didn’t have thunder and lightning, the evil precursor to fires. I loved the sound of it and kept the windows open all night to soak up the sound and the softness of the rain.

Mo spent a considerable amount of time during the month creating some lovely stepping stones using concrete cement and more of her antique Batchelder tiles. It was a slow process, but by the time she had made a dozen stones she had the process perfected. I love the colorful tiles used around the property in ways that limit walking on the gravel.

Mo and I had a week of time on our own between Dan’s visit and a scheduled trip to Portland. Once again I had to go to Oregon Health Sciences University for more tests. Once again Dan and Chere opened their home to us to make the long drive easier. We drove up on Wednesday, arriving in the afternoon in time for drinks on the front porch before I cooked the main dish for our supper and Chere made a salad. A recipe for Tuscan Chicken with sun dried tomatoes and basil and cream served over angel hair pasta is always a hit and this was no exception. It was the least we could do to say thanks for letting us stay once again.

I wasn’t concerned about the EMG scheduled for the next morning since I had one last fall which wasn’t terribly difficult. Little did I know. This time Dr Chahin, who is head of neuromuscular medicine at OHSU conducted the test and he made sure he hit every nerve he could find. After 11 needles in my legs and groin with electric shocks to test the nerve I was a crumbling mess. I will NOT do that test again, no matter what. Never. I am still waiting for his evaluation of the results. Still a diagnosis of IBM, but still wanting to know “more”. Do I really need more? No drugs work, no treatments work, there is no cure, why do I need to know more? Ugh. Mo drove back home and I couldn’t stop crying for no reason whatsoever. I felt weak and stupid. As I said, won’t be doing that one again.

We were back home by Thursday afternoon, and Friday morning I had more excitement in store. Phil and Joanne Hartwig were at last coming to Sunset House after a few aborted attempts over the last three years. They live in Eugene and we have visited them there, but the two other times they planned to visit something came up with family and they had to cancel, and of course last year COVID intervened.

Just a bit of history: Phil was the first soil scientist to train me in 1977 on the finer details of digging soil pits, describing soils, and making soil maps in Northern Idaho when I was a brand new soil scientist. We worked together for a few years, camping for weeks at a time at Priest Lake coming home on the weekends to our families. We built a solid friendship, and in the process I became friends with his wife Joanne as well. Through Joanne I got to know a large group of women in Northern Idaho that became my main support group during that time of my life. Phil and Joanne remember my husband Lance with love, and my kids when they were young. I knew them when their children were born and shared so much of life with them. Joanne and I talked about how incredibly wonderful it is to have ‘old’ friends with a shared history. Such a treasure.

This time they made it, pulling into the driveway with their rented RV early in the afternoon. Joanne was adamant that she wanted to arrive in time to go to Schmidt Family Winery for wood fired pizza, wine, and live music. She has seen my photos of our outings there and it was top on her list of things to do. We had a lovely time, once again enjoying the space full of happy people and good wine.

The next day we had a late breakfast before heading downtown to check out Grants Pass. Joanne kept exclaiming that she loved our town. Her friends in Eugene call it Gramps Pass and she had no idea it had so many great eateries, cute shops, and a lovely historic downtown great for walking. Once again we were treated to dinner by our guests, this time at the Twisted Cork, another favorite of ours. With several tables under umbrellas in front of the restaurant, we opted instead for the quiet air conditioned comfort of an inside table. Arriving at 4 pm for an early supper was smart since by 5 the line of waiting people was quite long. Lately that has been my favorite. Late breakfast, early supper.

On Sunday morning we had a leisurely breakfast and bid goodbye to our guests as they departed for a few days camping near Jedediah Smith Redwoods. The heat was building here in Grants Pass, and our friends were enveloped in a thick marine layer of fog that kept their temperatures below 60 degrees for most of their 3 day coastal visit!

We had just a couple of hours to regroup before another pair of friends were due to arrive. Merikay and Craig are in another category of friendships. Not “old” friends, but friends we made through our blog. We have enjoyed having them visit us in Rocky Point where we went kayaking. They stopped by Sunset House 3 years ago as they were traveling through, and I set out a decent salmon supper and we played some games before they returned to their camp at Valley of the Rogue State Park. This time they wanted to treat us to dinner, and Merikay rescheduled their original plans to leave this area earlier and added two extra nights to their stay in town at a local RV park so they could visit with us. Yes, once again we were treated to dinner out. Once again we decided to go to the Taprock Grill, hoping for a nice outside table on the deck overlooking the river.

We arrived within minutes of each other at the restaurant, taking the time while we waited for a table to wander the lovely parklike grounds along the river. It was hot, very hot, but Merikay was still thinking it might be wise to eat outdoors rather than indoors. By the time our table was ready about 45 minutes later, as we walked into the cool restaurant, Merikay changed her mind. We didn’t have to wait another minute and they seated us at a nice 4 top in the air conditioned space. We could still see the river and it was a welcome respite from the heat that was continuing to build in the Northwest. Thank you two for a lovely dinner and taking the time to meet us and treat us!

Mo and I ended the month with a visit to the English Lavender Farm celebrating the annual Lavender Trail Festival that was cancelled last year due to COVID. There was no charge for visiting, but we were required to make online reservations in order to keep the number of people within the current COVID restrictions. I made the reservations a month ago, not knowing the the Heat Dome was arriving on the very Saturday that we planned to visit the farm.

That morning I got a notice that restrictions were lifted and reservations were no longer required. We wanted to go on this day specifically because a vocalist /pianist that we enjoy very much, Sarah Dion Brooks, was scheduled for the afternoon entertainment. By the time we arrived at the farm, there were a few people walking in the brilliant sunshine, cutting small bundles of lavender. I didn’t need to buy lavender since I have plenty ripening right here at home. But the smell of the fields in the hot sun was delightful and we wandered up the pathways between the blooming lavender to the only piece of shade in the fields.

The shelter was red, very red, as were the plastic Adirondack chairs. We managed to snag a couple and enjoyed baking in the heat under the red shade and watching the people and their kids as they explored the fields. Finally completely overcooked, we headed back down to the main shop area where there was lavender sorbet, lavender lemonade and thankfully, some misters under the porch.

We enjoyed the music but the heat finally cut our visit short and we decided to leave. The temperature then was only 106F. This was the Saturday before the 114F degree day that we had last Sunday.

It was a nice way to end the month of June, something to remember besides the relentless heat. At home we are babysitting the well, the cisterns, and the drip irrigation systems, juggling water supply with water needs that are higher than they have ever been this early in the year. Using a sprinkler only rarely for missed hot spots. So far, so good. The rhododendrons show signs of leaf burn, the oakleaf hydrangeas wilt in the afternoon, and the hot tub refuses to stay at the 97F degrees I have set, returning to 99 or 100 after the heat of the day.

I do hope that this is just a bit of an anomaly and not a precursor to a record breaking summer. It has only just begun.