Home Safe and Sound

It was a long day, but we are home and the RV is empty and Tule has already been in the pool. Elsie's priority was to crawl into her crate. Even dogs have their preferences.

The drive today was so interesting with all the amazing cloud formations to see--and no rain.



















Lake Shasta was the greenest I've ever seen it.






















We drove past what we call the "Lollipop Truck Store". They have every color of truck you can imagine, except plain black or white. The royal blue and lime green ones didn't make it into the photo, but they were there!


















One last interesting tidbit had to wait until we got home. In Fred Meyer in Roseburg, OR we saw the biggest marshmallows we had ever seen. Had to buy a bag. On the left is a typical California Marshmallow. On the right is the Oregon gigantaur Marshmallow. Neither of these is a mini-marshmallow, honest.


Now begins the reality of dealing with the insurance regarding the break in. Sigh.

Yarn Country

Southern Oregon has to be yarn country. We passed a zillion sheep today plus at least 2 dozen alpaca. It was a knitter's dream seeing all that potential yarn scattered along the freeway. The white dots in the field are sheep.

Gary has a quote for you--"Good old Oregon--lowest price of gas on the West Coast and they pump it for you."

Last night we fell asleep to the soothing patter of raindrops on the roof of the RV. Today we drove in and out of rain the whole way to Yreka. The clouds were amazing to see. They were super dark as we approached the Siskyous, then nice and white after we went over the summit. No rain here in Yreka.



































Tonight's entertainment was a rousing game of Cribbage where Gary beat me.


Tomorrow--home sweet home.

Finally heading home

It took awhile to get going this morning. I got up early and made Mom her favorite cinnamon rolls. Then we needed to go to a bank to try to solve a puzzle. We finally got on the road about 1 p.m.

The drive was beautiful, even though we had a bit of rain as we loaded the RV. Mt. St.Helens was out in her full glory as we drove south.

















We decided to stay in Salem and I found an RV park on Astoria St. Had to be good if it was on a street named after Gary's hometown. As you can see by the sign it is the Hee Hee Ilahee RV Park-and they are very fussy. It is new and no RV can stay if more than 10 years old.


































Turns out it has a very nice hot tub so Gary had a nice soak after his long day of driving.


Another two days and we'll be home, ready to hit the ground running on cleaning the rest of the way up after the break in.

Last night at Mom's

Today was a gorgeous day--mountains were out in both directions--Olympics and Cascades.

We went to church this morning with Mom, then shopped to fill her frig.

Her neighbor, Johnnie, came over for dinner.






















Elsie is feeling better so she spent much of the day down by the barn looking at the goat and the horse. Tule had a ball running back and forth keeping tabs on everybody.



It has been a good trip. Mom is doing very well and has a good prognosis. I am pooped and ready to head home where we'll pick up where we left off dealing with our break in.

Merry Christmas?

Lutefisk and Lefse is a traditional Christmas dinner--and that is what we had tonight. It was great--Gary tried baking the lutefisk and it came out perfect and a lot less mess. Three people ate all 4 pounds of lutefisk. I have never seen my mother eat so much food at one setting before in my life! The lefse I made was a hit. We all love lefse. I've never served lefse and had no leftovers before, but it was all gone tonight.





















Earlier today the yellow bird came back and showed us his back. We were able to identify him as a yellow goldfinch. What a beautiful bird. When they fly away, they do beautiful dips and swirls.




We hope to get to church tomorrow if Mom can wake up soon enough. It was a busy, fun day.

Soothing Rain

I love being able to hear it rain. Our house is too well insulated, but the RV is perfect for listening to the rain--and we had a lot of it last night. It was such a nice night.

Yesterday was busy all day long with nothing to talk about--plumbing, getting locks changed, hearing aids boosted, etc.

Today Mom got her stitches out and permission to do whatever she wants except soak in a tub. We also did a lot of errands so were gone almost all day.



These beautiful birds came to Mom's birdfeeder--sorry the photo isn't clearer--when I tried to move closer, they flew away and haven't come back yet. We've also been enjoying watching Mama bird teach baby bird how to feed himself bird seed. Today she decided he should feed himself.


Tomorrow family friends are coming over for Lutefisk and Lefse and Swedish meatballs--got the meatballs made tonight. Now I get to collapse with a glass of wine.

Summer is over

It was a quick summer here in Edmonds--75 degrees yesterday, 59 degrees today.

Gary and Doug enjoyed the cooler weather and played golf today. They look a bit like the Bobsey twins in their matching outfits, don't they?










The most exciting moment of the trip was when the crows started having a very loud fit this evening and we discovered a bald eagle in Mom's tree! The crows were dive bombing it and it just stayed on the same perch. The black blob is the eagle. The close up is fuzzier, but shows the eagle as close as my iPhone could get it. This is the first time we've ever seen an eagle around here!

Summer came today!

It was a beautiful Seattle summer day today--about 75 degrees here in Edmonds. I heard it got to 80 in the U district, closer to downtown Seattle. There were a few clouds, but the view was still beautiful looking from Edmonds past the ferry to the Olympic Mts.










The dogs got to go in the barn to see the goat and horse. They are so cute together--very good friends. Elsie is really intrigued with them. Tule just seems to think they are more dogs, nothing to get excited about.


Mom and I did errands and some shopping today. Gary planted a rose bush and a rhodie for her this morning and now has some bedding plants to put in pots. This is not meant to be a restful trip that's for sure!

Fun Filled Day with the Peterson cousins

We had a really super day today. Gary's brother's daughters all came to visit--two who have kids brought them. We had so much fun. The girls are all sweethearts and their kids had a good time, two boys, one 4 year old girl and a baby girl.

We fed the horse and goat--thank goodness the rain held back for the day.










Young Alan loves sports and is quite a climber.
























Anders enjoyed feeding the animals in Mom's pasture.



















Solveig is a beauty and has a great imagination.



















Little Abigail will be keeping up with them all soon.



















It was a really cute parade as the kids followed Gary (the Pied Piper?) up to see the RV.



You couldn't ask for a better day!

Baking Day

Busy day today--got up early to make Mom's favorite cinnamon rolls. Then a batch of shortbread for dessert on Sunday. A loaf of white bread followed, also for Sunday. Interspersed was 4 batches of laundry and setting Mom's hair.

Then the real work began--the messy job. It was time to make lefse at Mom's request. She wants to have a lutefisk and lefse party while we are here, with me making the lefse, of course. Gary did the turning and I did the rolling and 23 pieces of lefse was the outcome.


Elsie is still limping, but feels much better on her pain pills. She wanted to play with Tule, which is a good sign. But she will be sleeping in the house again while Tule sleeps with us in the RV. No more stairs for Elsie until we load her up to leave. She's going to think Grandma's house means a trip to the vet up here. Sheesh.

Friday

My sister came over and the two of us went to the Edmonds Art Show--I guess it is THE premier art show in the Pacific NW. She bought two items, I just looked, although these fish tempted me. It was fun to see all the great artwork, much of it with a Pacific NW theme.












Gary got more earrings made from my necklaces. I feel like I am in good shape for jewelry now.







Poor Elsie spent the day at the vet--being x-rayed and getting pain pills. She is limping worse every day. He didn't see anything broken, is hoping it is just a bad sprain, but he is sending it to his radiologist on Monday and we will take his x-rays back to the vet who did her surgery when we get home unless she has a dramatic recovery. She is still doped up, just like Grandma. They make quite a pair.

Mom is doing well, but is sleeping most of the time just like I do after anesthesia. No pain pills since she left the hospital.

Mom

Mom's lumpectomy went well today. We were there from 7 a.m. until 3:20 p.m. Left the house at 6:15 a.m. and got back at 4:15 p.m. Long day and we are pooped. Mom is sound asleep, healing as she sleeps. I had plenty of time to finish one sock and start on another while I waited for the various procedures to finish.


















Poor Elsie had so much fun when we first got here, then somehow she injured the same leg as last time. I guess a trip to the vet is in order tomorrow to at least get her pain pills, if not find out what she did. She is acting more lame every day, poor baby. She has been thru so much this past year.











It'll be early to bed tonight. I'll be checking on Mom every couple of hours all night long.

What a great guy!

My dear hubby worked on my necklaces while Mom and I were at her pre-op appt. today. He took them apart and I now have earrings to match 3 of my necklaces! I am really happy about these. It means I will have matching sets that I can start wearing right away!











The flowers are so beautiful around here--the rain keeps them very happy. This huge rhodie is typical of this area.



Mom's surgery will be at 11 a.m. tomorrow--but we have to be there at 7:30 a.m., which means we need to leave the house by about 6:15. Aaack! I'll be glad when tomorrow is over. I'm taking along a lot of knitting to keep me busy. I hope to finish a few projects.

at Mom's

We got to Mom's before dark and the dogs were delighted. Elsie ran so much she was exhausted. She headed for the barn to see the horse and got her first glimpse of the goat. Wow! Then she barked for the horse to come out (he had already gone to bed in the barn). She was so happy when she finally got to see him.








































Today Mom wore me out driving her to banks, the eye dr, etc. My nephew Stephen brought dinner over and cooked it for us so we had a chance to see him.

Travel Day

Gary drove thru mist and rain all morning. The rain helps the coast of Oregon grow gorgeous flowers. There were rhododendrons in almost every yard. It really is breathtaking beauty.












We stopped in Astoria for lunch with yet more extended family, Gary's cousins, Mike and Julie. Had a great time catching up and planning for our visit with them in August for the Regatta and more of Astoria's 200th Birthday Celebration as a city.

























Gary decided to try a new route so we left Astoria by driving over the big bridge to Washington, then drove along the Columbia River to Longview, past Cathlamet. It was a beautiful route, but very curvy. Elsie wasn't thrilled with our choice of road.



I am really enjoying my iPhone. Right now it is my wifi connection to my computer so I can blog as Gary drives thru Tacoma and on to Seattle. Of course, all the photos on this site have been taken by it, too.

We will be at Mom's tonight, hopefully before dark.

Clouston Family Day

Today was the day set aside just for my brother and his family--and it was Monte's birthday which made it even more fun.










We made it to the beach so those most industrious could climb the sand dune and run back down. That would be Brenda, Josh and Alex. The dots in the photo are people climbing the huge dune.


















Josh had a great idea to use an old toboggan to slide down the hill. Didn't work too well, kind of slid in very slow motion, but Tule learned how to be a sled dog pulling it back to the RV park.





















Then we had the height test photo op--Brenda comes just about to Gary's armpit. She was kind of glad he hadn't done any of the hiking as she stood in place for the photo.




















Came back to our RV's because there was no wind for kite flying and the rain had started. We played Mexican Train until time to go out to dinner to celebrate Monte's birthday, then back for another rousing round of Mexican Train.
























It was a fun day in spite of the rain. We have a great family!







And here's a photo of all six of us at dinner.