Renting Real Estate

We recently camped in a peaceful campground off the McKenzie Pass. We shared the grounds with two other campers but we hardly knew they were there. For $12, you can rent a piece of real estate from the U.S. Forest Service with a river running through it for 24 hours. 

The only running water in this campground was the river directly behind our site. I took "Missy" down to get a sip of mountain fresh H2O and nearly lost her to the river. It was deeper and swifter than I thought and the sand gave way under her feet. Luckily, she was still tied to her lead but I had to grab her by the scruff to pull her out of the water. My motherly instincts kicked in and I didn't care if it hurt her to pull her up by her skin. Being timid in this situation would have been deadly for her.  It really did give my heart a scare. I'm not sure I'd ever be the same if I had to watch my dog drown. As I laid my head down, I couldn't shake the awful dread of what might have been. Lesson learned.

The next morning, we woke to quietness and a nice feeling of nobody knowing where we were as the phones were out of range and the only background noise was the river and occasional car driving along the pass. I got some yogurt and berries placed into a cup for breakfast and Gene toasted a piece of rye bread for himself. The coffee got started and we rolled up camp and headed down the road.

It's hard to photograph what it feels like to be out in the middle of wilderness. We go often enough to really appreciate the fresh air and quiet time. I'm hoping I can look back on this post in the middle of winter and know this will still be there the next time we travel. This photo does not really depict just how tall these trees are. They are mammoth. Oregon has some of the most beautiful trees I've ever seen.

I'm thrilled I got to see this part of the state and can hardly wait to go there again. I'm betting Fall would be even more beautiful.  Perhaps another road trip ....

Until then, I'm grounded at the home real estate for now. 

love, susan

 

Lava flow at McKenzie Pass

 

48 Hours

Orange and purple starfish. I spotted them quite a ways down the beach. Doesn't this photo look surreal?

We just returned from a 5 day camping trip to Port Orford, Oregon. It's a place where I try to imagine I could live but know in my heart that I am no longer a small-town girl and it would be a slow torture for a wanderer like me. But I do love Port Orford.

Part of my family lives there and this was our third annual visit for a cousins reunion. It wasn't easy to cram a year's worth of visiting into less than 48 hours. I guess what was left unsaid will remain so. The important thing is we got to set eyes on each other and breath a sigh of relief for those who are still with us and looking good.  It was a very good year for our families. We are survivors.

Laughter was at the center of the big bonfire  and the full moon provided the perfect  backlighting for an awesome Saturday night.  I got to meet relatives I have never seen before and others I haven't seen in far too long. The younger 2nd cousins played together and it was great to see them making memories that will likely be much the same as ours. I wonder how they will re-tell their stories of staying up late and hearing their parents recount decades of childhoods spent playing and working together?

We shared a potluck lunch and later roasted hot dogs on the bonfire. It seemed we would never run out of things to talk about; careers, recipes, antedotes for diaper rash, the death of transients, weather, dogs, and the economy. Thankfully, we left politics and religion for another day.  We drove away and I had the feeling that we would pick up right where we left off next August.  I hope so, anyway.

Before we all left, we gathered for a group photo. Luckily, I knew how to use the timer on my camera and was able to run quickly from the porch/deck down to the gathering spot. That's me all hunched up on the left-hand side of this photo. I was squinting to see when the camera clicked. 

It's hard to believe another year has gone by. We talked about the date we'll meet up again next year. I wonder what news we'll have to talk about then?  

Does your family have a reunion?

Road Trip Eating

Menu from "Our Place" in Hermiston

We are leaving on a 4-day trip on Thursday and I'm needing to prepare myself mentally for it. I've started back to counting points (Weight Watchers) and have slipped back into a very comfortable plan for eating throughout the day. Yesterday, we traveled 35 miles to have new tires put on the car and ended up walking to a nearby local eatery called "Our Place Bakery" in Hermiston.  I had already eaten a small portion of food before we left home but decided to eat breakfast with my hubby. I ordered oatmeal and was able to fit it into my plan. If it had been closer to dinner time, it would have been way more challenging.

HOW MY MIND WORKS:
When we go on the road, my mind automatically thinks "well, Susan, you're on vacation ... don't worry about what you eat ... that's what people do on vacation." Bad thinking, huh!

MY LATEST THINKING:
I recently started eating 6 times a day (every 2 hours). Sounds crazy, doesn't it? But I've discovered that I am way less hungry in the evenings (my worst time of day) and able to stay within my budgeted point plan.  I don't know why, at age 52, I've never tried this before. I feel less bloated, less hungry, less deprived.

MY ROAD TRIP PLAN:
There is an old saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions but I think it's a good idea to have a plan anyway.  We have a very long road to travel to get to the Clark Cousins' Reunion.  Five hundred miles, to be exact.  9 hours 5 minutes, according to Mapquest.  I should be able to control my craving for a Butterfinger and a bag of bbq chips, right? However, it doesn't seem to matter how much talking I do to myself prior to rolling down the road, there is an extremely loud voice that rises above all the moment we get comfy in our seats. This voice (thought) gets caught in repeat and is so obsessive that nothing shuts it up until we stop to get gas and I find myself in front of the cashier with a candy bar in one hand and chips in the other. We roll down the road and once I've consumed said junk food, I'm disgusted with myself and wondering how did it happen?  

Okay ... so here's my plan. I'm going to make a road trip menu and stick to it. I'm going to ask my husband to help me through this. I'm going to get out and treat my legs to a nice stretch or walk around the block and eat something healthy.  I'm going to freeze my water bottle so I have fresh, cold water to sip on. I'm going to cut up my fruits & veggies and have them readily available so I don't have some lame excuse for not eating them.

It all sounds good, in theory. I'll let you know how it turns out!

In the meantime, if you have any ideas for me, I'm listening!

love, susan

My Summer Vacation, So Far

It has happened.  I think I finally "hit the wall" and am feeling road weary. I've been in this state of mind before. This too shall pass.

So I am sitting here thinking about my whirlwind summer.  In the back of my mind, I know my husband, any day now, is going to say we've hardly been anywhere or done anything all summer.  He says it every fall.  I feel like we've been going non-stop since the first of May. I decided to list all my summer "posts" here so the first time I hear him say we haven't done much, I shall point him to this documentation. Don't you love it?

The Arizona trip

More of the Arizona trip  

Visiting friends in La Pine

Wonderful overnight stay in Winslow, Arizona

A day spent in Kennewick at American K9 Idol

Trip to Hermiston, Oregon to buy a camera

Motorcycle trip to Ellensburg, Washington

Trip to our local Frankling County courthouse, just for fun!

Trip to our local library to check out the garden

Short trip on motorcycle

Perhaps my most favorite motorcycle ride this summer, so far

A short, local trip that took us all afternoon

An impromptu camping and hiking trip

Another motorcycle trip to Ellensburg with friends 

The photos from the Ellensburg trip with friends :-)

Short trip to Portland

A trip to the beach

A day where we just hung out at home

A local trip to listen to a local band

The car show

Another camping trip with grand kids

Local adventure to Vietnamese restaurant

An afternoon visit to our friend's place to watch horses

A random motorcycle ride

Another awesome camping trip

A local trip to several thrift stores

A short trip to our local Farmer's Market

Trip to Vancouver 

A visit to our local park three days in a row 

Today is August 1st and while I was wondering where the last 3 months have gone, I realize we have packed a lot of life into our days. I'm so happy I've had the presence of mind to blog about it. What a blast!!

How have you spent your summer?  I'd to hear about it!

love, susan

July Haiku

Ninety-one degrees.
A lazy day at the pool.
It don't get better.   

love, susan

Old. Man. River.

So.  Today we took the grandkids to the "Playground of Dreams" in Kennewick. The park has a really neat water sprinkler system for kids to run through to keep cool. They definitely needed to stay cool today because it was nearly 90.  I enjoyed sitting in my comfortable lawn chair watching all the happy kids running non-stop.  The day was all about them and it was nice to just let them play for as long as they wanted. I hope we're making some great memories for them.

While there, I watched a caregiver push an old man in a wheelchair and sit him in front of us. His wife was along on the visit.  He was quite frail and probably in his late 80's. He kept looking over at us and I tried to catch his eye but I'm not sure if he was really with us. I couldn't help but smile at the effort to get him out of the house and into the sunlight. I wondered if he was enjoying being there or if it was painful. Painful to be old and confined to a wheelchair. I hope if I live that long, someone will care enough about me to take me out so I can breath fresh air, watch little children playing in the sun and be among the living. 

For lunch we ate fried chicken and watermelon and then decided to go to another park closer to home. The kids played in the wading pool for quite some time and then they were hungry again. I'm exhausted. We have one more day to go.

Every day that goes by, I know I am closer to old than not. I sure am enjoying my waking moments. On a daily basis there are new people to cross paths with that make life interesting. When we got ready to leave, I smiled at the old man and waved goodbye to his wife. She looked exhausted too. 

love, susan

Switching Gears

I've been corresponding with a friend from my past who is in the fight of and for her life. She is battling colon cancer.  I've been following her blog and she recently posted a challenge for someone to come along with her on her journey to eating better, losing weight, etc.  She has totally changed her diet and as I sat here at my computer I had a revelation. Being the selfish and self-centered person I can be sometimes,  I've never been one of those folks who would get their head shaved to support someone going through chemo but I sure could stand to change some very bad eating habits. So I decided to take her up on her request to have someone come along on her journey.  She has gone vegan. I can't do that.  That's okay though. She's just happy to have me along.  My goal is to get white sugar out of my life, once again. I've done it before and it's not easy. 

We've been emailing back and forth and she came up with some great ideas to help me with that time in the evening when I am at my weakest. So, I'm going to try, once again, to blog at night.  

Change comes hard to me but I'm willing to keep trying.

Have you had to make any changes lately?  I'd love to hear about them.

love, susan 

Musings

My new favorite photo!

Just returned from a 3-day trip to Vancouver, Washington. We took a different route to get there on Sunday which took us over a mountain pass and on some country roads.  We got to see Mt. Rainier, a deer in the road and this awesome butterfly. We stayed with a family member ~ and had the nicest visit.

While in Vancouver, I had lunch with a high school classmate.  The last time we saw each other was more than 10 years ago but less than 20 (I'm so bad with timelines), when another high school classmate and I took a dusty road trip from Fairbanks to Central, Alaska to see her. She and her then-husband were running a gold dredge.  The things I remembered from that trip were that she had to bake everything from scratch, she had 5 young boys, and a great big wolf/dog. I remember her telling me to not look directly at the wolf as it had "issues". I hope to find the photos from that trip and maybe post them.

Mt. Rainier

Susan and Joanie ~ Class of '77

We had a great time visiting and I was just so happy her schedule allowed for a late lunch and great conversation. There are some people who just age well ... she is one of those. 

I love going on road trips but I always love coming home.

love, susan

I Heart Summer

Two-man street band ~ Richland, WA

"Music is my religion." ~ Jimi Hendrix

We took a stroll through the Friday Farmer's Market yesterday in Richland. It's a much larger market than the Saturday market in Pasco.  There were far too many people and I had a little anxiety but I just kept moving and got through it. We came home with some beautiful yellow summer squash, a big fat zucchini and a couple of fresh cucumbers. 

There was a two-man street band that caught my attention. They were singing an Eagle's tune and I'm pretty sure I could have sat there for an hour or two and just listened, letting the crowds walk right on by.

Last night, we rode our motorcycles downtown to meet with some friends. On the ride home, we took the river route and drove past a place in the park where they were showing "Smoovies".  This is an outdoor movie screen they move between two parks. They always show a kids' movie right after the sun goes down on Friday nights.  I hope our grand kids will be here for it next week as I've never been to "Smoovies" and it seems like it would be really fun. What a nice family event.

We attended an awesome bbq/pool party today with about 60 other people. It was a great time and I was surprised at how fast the time went by. I didn't go in the pool but I did sit on the edge of it and dip my feet in the water and got to visit with some really outstanding people. 

We're off to Vancouver tomorrow for 3 days. The weather forecast is for sunny skies and perfect temps over there.

Until then ... I hope you are having a peaceful, easy feeling ... wherever you are.

love, susan

 

Keeping It Real

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." - Thomas Carlyle

I am bored. This doesn't happen to me very often but I'm afraid I am in Day 2 of boredom and I'm certain relief is right around the corner. My husband says that boredom comes from a lack of imagination and I tend to agree with that. So, I wonder where my imagination has gone?

Growing up, if I said I was bored, mom would immediately say "go clean your room".  Actually, even though she has been dead for 10 years, I can hear her say it  exactly this moment as if she were standing right here in this room. As I write this post, I have dishes sitting the sink, my office looks like a cyclone hit it and I have laundry waiting for me.  I just can't seem to get motivated. 

Yesterday, I wrote quite a few cards to friends that went out in the mail today. Writing provided some relief from this restlessness. I talked with my son on the phone for nearly an hour and was so happy for the distraction from what was otherwise kind of a lazy day. And, I can't forget to mention I met a sweet friend for lunch.

It isn't that I don't have enough to do. A set of our grand kids are coming over to visit next week and there are a few things I need to do to prepare for that. It's going to be a ton of fun having them here, especially since I'm not bothered by going off to a job. I can give them 100% attention, which is what grand kids deserve.

I don't know. I think we've been just going and going and the "down-time" is hard to sit in.

Guess I'll go do the dishes.  

signed -- Eeyore

 

My Lamest Blog Post Ever

I have been dying to share some new found knowledge I picked up when we were camping a couple of weeks ago. I feel like such a dumb blonde but I have to share this in case there is just one other person out there who doesn't know this.

Did you know there is a little window on those fire starters that shows how much fuel is left in it?  See the little "window" in the handle?  Well, I did not know that until the electrician I sleep with pointed it out to me.  We've had this fire starter for quite a few years now and for some reason it was not firing up every time we hit the button.  This caused a little panic as we were getting ready to cook dinner on the cook stove, miles from any decent restaurant. I didn't have any extra "fire" with me so if it had not worked, there may have been chaos. Anybody who knows me, knows that when I'm ready to eat, there is a short window of time before I turn into a Tasmanian devil if not fed. Hypoglycemia is no joke, people! The symptom I am (and my poor husband) most familiar with is irritability (possible aggression). In other words, I'm a hungry bear.

I imagine there are lots of little things like this that I have no knowledge of ... yet.  So, here's another one that I'll bet makes you get up and go to your car to check out.

Did you know the little picture of a gas pump on your gas gauge in your car indicates what side of the car your tank is on?  I didn't know that until I read it in a very informational and silly email someone sent me last year. 

Now to some of you, this may not matter. But, we've had four cars in 10 years and the gas tanks are never on the same side.  This information is also useful if you happen to rent a car. This is particularly helpful when you pull into a gas station that only allows you to pull through in one direction.  This can be total chaos if your tank is on the wrong side, know what I mean? I want to hear from you if you ran out to your car and looked at your gas gauge! 

 

Okay. I'm so glad I got this information out of my head and onto the screen. I'd love to hear from anyone who has had similar "aha" moments! Or, am I the only one who didn't know these things?

love, susan