Oregon Vacation August 2010 - 1st day fishing

Yesterday started out with the tourist thing. We shopped the shops on the old bay front of Newport. We visited the local sea lions. The tourists love them, the residents hate them. I think they are awesome.

Of course, there was dinner at Mo's. We enjoyed the sunshine in the afternoon, yes the sun did shine. Then we accidentally discovered the nearby town of Toledo. It is a pretty logging town with a huge logging mill and really steep, hilly roads.

We walked the beaches where the ocean was nearly flat. I've never seen the ocean flat in Oregon before. Next morning it was off to fishing where I kicked Jay's butt on the boat. He caught 2 rock fish. I caught 6 rock fish and the only ling cod on the boat, I gave my thanks to my favorite boat captain, Captain Steve, for whom my parakeet is named.

After lunch and a long nap, we are set to watch it rain while we sit inside the trailer with the furnace running. All in all a good day.

Oregon Vacation - day 2 and 3

We set up camp for the night at a great campground right in the heart of Big Foot country,

We waited in the dark for hours, but he never came.

So we went to bed. Next morning we ate a hearty breakfast in the comfort of our retirement home. Then after an adventurous trip over the Cascades we finally arrived at our favorite Oregon campground, the South Beach State park. We put down the awning, unhitched the house and took a nap., Again, our favorite pastime. (and yes, we did take a nap.) It was cloudy and cool and not at all unpleasant. Tomorrow we will do the typical touristy things and then it will be fishing every day. Can't wait.

Oregon vacation, Yea!!!!

So, vacation has begun. We hooked up our retirement home and headed down the road. The weather was beautiful. After a horrific trip through Boise at rush hour pulling a 27 foot travel trailer, (sorry Dwight, there was no way we were getting off the interstate), we were finally able to stop at one of those lovely pull outs that the State of Oregon provides. I enjoyed taking some scenic photos while Jay was waiting for Sasquatch. After a great night's sleep listening to the croaking frogs and the babbling river, we had a delicious breakfast of sausage, farm fresh eggs (and yes, two of them had double yolks), and hashbrowns. The first two days were great. We are stopped for the night at a nice campground. We will be in Newport sometime tomorrow, depending on how many times we stop for a nap along the way.

To be continued.

At Last

Jay is home at last and I am in Heaven. We went fishing and it was like the old, lazy days sitting on the river watching the wild life and enjoying the views. Jay caught a big trout. It's nice to have him home.

Oops!

A little blog update. Miss Calliope Catnip is now Mr. Calvin Catnip. No, he did not have a sex change operation. He was just a victim of my apparent inability to correctly determine the sex of a cat. My son, the nurse, gave "him" a thorough examination and informed me that I had made an error when I thought he was female. When I revealed this mistake to a few of my friends and my children, I was quickly reminded of the fact that I had made the same error on more than one occasion in the past. So, from now on, before any cat naming ceremonies will take place, I will get a sex verification from a qualified individual first. It's going to take me awhile to get used to calling "her" "him".

Kira's birthday suit

I got in to sewing last October when I couldn't find a dress I liked for Kate's wedding, so I sewed my own. It was fun. So I started sewing dresses for the girls for birthdays and such. Brie got one, Hannah got one, Paige was in to horses so she got a horse. But, this is Kira's birthday dress. Now, it's a little late (good thing she is 2 and she doesn't really notice) because I had too many distractions with family reunion and Iona Days. But I finished it today. Now, I have a tendency to tackle projects that are way beyond my skill level and I wasn't as pleased with this dress as some of the others. But, once I put it on her and saw her pretty smile and sparkling blues eyes I thought the dress looked much better. Then when I pulled out the camera and she immediately chirped her happy little "cheeeeese" for the camera it looked like the most beautiful dress in the world. I think it had more to do with the wearer than it did with the maker.

Dog Craziness

It's been kind of a furry sort of week. Last Friday Brian and Jeanine Williams brought their Beagle, Buster, to stay for a few days. Buster is very naughty and likes to run away. So when they go out of town he can't be trusted to be left at home to be cared for, nor can they take him with them. Last time they did, he very unpolitely ate a batch of fresh baked muffins on the counter at their host's home. Buster is therefore no longer welcome there. But, he does fine at my house because of my San Quentinish like containment facilities and the delightful company of Tater, Remy and Moose. I was worried how he would get along with Calli, the new kitten. Buster and Gracie were not great friends, although she did come to tolerate him. My worries were unfounded as Calli found him fascinating and he basically ignored her. On Sunday Steve and Jessica came with their border collie, Sparrow and their Jack Russell Terrier, Jack. Again, I was concerned about the socialization of all these animals, but much to my delight they all got along wonderfully. It was like a dog frat party and Calli, the kitten, had no qualms about playing with them all and none of the dogs seemed to realize she was not one of them. In fact, right off the bat, she and Jack became fast friends and they took naps together on the couch. To add to the fray, Kate brought her Mini Daschund, Lewis, over. Lewis, however, was just a temporary visitor. Now, as if that wasn't enough. Kim, Paul's widow, called me on Monday evening in a panic. Her parents, Bruce and Debi Nyborg live on Boulevard and they are on vacation in Europe. Kim was taking care of Debi's flowers and her two Pugs, Mugsy and Sissy. She had gone over to check on things and the Pugs had escaped the yard and run away. Luckily, the neighbors across the street saw them and captured them and were keeping them in their backyard. They caught Kim when she got there and told her that this was the second time the pugs had escaped. The first time the neighbors had tried to fix the fence where they thought the dogs had gotten out, but that they had escaped again. Kim was worried about the dogs getting out and something happening to them and since she is in an apartment and she and Kira both have terrible alergies, she knew she couldn't take them home. So, she called and asked me if they could board at the Shaw dog hotel for a few days. She thought her parents would be home on Wednesday. So, of course I went right over. Debi Nyborg has been so good to our family there was no way I could refuse. Kim asked me to meet her at the neighbor's house across the street. Imagine my surprise when the "neighbors" turned out to be some old friends, Ken and Dorothy Zaugg, from the 19th ward. I gathered up the two little dogs and took them to meet the crew. Again, no worries, everyone got along just fine. Sissy, the smaller of the two, can fit through the dog door, but Mugsy can't, so I had to lock the pet door so Moose can get out, but then no one can get back in. The Pugs don't like to go outside in the morning so I have to chase them around like little squealing greased pigs to get them outside. They are the snortingest hyperactive little dogs I have ever seen. Kim thought her parents would be home on Wednesday, but it's now Thursday and she has no idea when they will be home, so Mugsy and Sissy will just have to settle in for awhile. Brian did come and rescue Buster yesterday, but he will be back on Saturday so Brian can go to Boise and pick Jeanine up from the airport. I am hoping that by the time Jay comes home on Monday evening we will be back to the somewhat peaceful society of only three dogs and one kitten. I think I spent so many years raising an entire village of children that I thrive on the confusion and variety of having a houseful of animals. However, after I chased the pugs to get them outside, cleaned up a bathroom accident in the basement, crawled around the garage floor to get the kitten from under the car so I could go to work, and then was 10 minutes late to work this morning, even I began to question my own sanity.

Summer Family dinner

Kate hosted her first family dinner. For the 2nd time this summer a miracle has occurred. All the kids were here at the same time. We had turkey dinner with all the fixings on Kate's back patio. It was a blast.

Ozzie, you have got it made with all those girl cousins.

There's mischief in those faces.

There's always a dad around to keep the fun in check.

All the dogs and babies were sleepy in the end.

Please welcome Miss Calliope Catnip

After we lost Gracie we decided to add another member to our animal house. So, I introduce Miss Calliope Catnip. She is not meant to replace our Gracie, but to become a new part of the herd. She is very sweet and she keeps Mr. Moose on his toes. I was worried that she might be intimidated by the dogs, but she acts like she has been around them all her life. Cats are pretty versatile it would seem.

We will miss you sweet Gracie.

A little over five years ago Jay brought home the tiniest little gray kitten you have ever seen from the Humane Society as a gift for Kate. She was soft and furry and she had no tail. Today is a very sad day. Our sweet kitty, Gracie, became very ill about a month ago. I had hoped it was just something minor and she would get better. But, after watching her lose half her body weight, stop eating and drinking and become very weak, I took her to the Vet. After his exam and some blood work, he gave us a less than hopeful prognosis but we decided she was worth it and we put her on some medications and hoped that she would respond and eventually recover. After three days with no sign of improvement, and in fact watching her continue to get worse, we had to make the terrible decision to let her go. Even sadder though, when Katie went to get her to take her to the Vet so he could put her to sleep, she had already passed away. She was alive at noon when I went home for lunch. I talked to Jay on Skype and he got to see her. Then at 3 when Kate went to get her she was gone. My heartfelt thanks go out to Dr. Burr at the Ammon Animal Clinic for his good care of Gracie. I am sure that Moose, Tater and Remy will feel her absence. I know that Sunny and Cap'n Steve will wonder why she doesn't swat at them through their cage anymore. We will bury her in the back yard under the bushes by the fence where she loved to hide and pretend she was in the jungle. Then I will cry for awhile because this makes me very sad.