Bless the inventor of this product.
This is SOOOOOO cool! I Love it!
Saturday, September 2, 2017
Friday, September 1, 2017
The Fires are Closer than I had Thought
Miss Jenna is off for the next four days after having gone to school for three. Why not just start school on the 5th?
I left the window open last night. Big mistake. It is not yet three in the morning and my eyes and nose are going ballistic. I should have known better.
I found this map earlier last month.
It maps out 17 different fires that have been burning throughout Washington and Oregon. Since then I have counted over 25 in Oregon alone.
The map shows a cycling path - an event that takes place each year and includes cyclists from all over the world - who come from different states and even other nations to participate. We live approximately where the purple dot is.
I have read that the Horse Creek fire is just twelve miles outside of Riddle. That is not that far.
What ever possessed me to sleep with the windows open? I must be a glutton for punishment.
I left the window open last night. Big mistake. It is not yet three in the morning and my eyes and nose are going ballistic. I should have known better.
I found this map earlier last month.
It maps out 17 different fires that have been burning throughout Washington and Oregon. Since then I have counted over 25 in Oregon alone.
The map shows a cycling path - an event that takes place each year and includes cyclists from all over the world - who come from different states and even other nations to participate. We live approximately where the purple dot is.
I have read that the Horse Creek fire is just twelve miles outside of Riddle. That is not that far.
What ever possessed me to sleep with the windows open? I must be a glutton for punishment.
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Remicing a Picnic April 2016
I forgot to mention the office chair
we had picked up at the yard sale, as the one I have been using seems to be
falling apart. I pushed it across the
street with no problems, but got stuck with the loose gravel in our hillbilly
driveway and stopped before I got to the paved cement walk that leads to the
house.
I was reminded of when we had first
moved in - there were items that had been moved into the house, but the washer,
dryer, and dining set were still outside.
Roland had gone to McDonald's and we pulled the chairs around our
dining table and had a picnic in our front yard
Took these pics of the sunset last
night:
Non Traditional Return to School
Jenna
LOVES to dress up in costume. I had
thought for a while that she had always wished she had blond hair, but she
doesn't see it that way, though she did do chores in order to purchase a blonde
wig which may look real from a distance, but the fibers themselves are
polyester or some other form of plastic.
This is what she wanted to wear to school:
We had tried another bow - partly to
secure the wig, but also to keep the strands off her face. Long hair is just too bothersome right now,
which is why she's had such short hair for almost a year now. I tied a bow in scarf that Ooki had sent but
it definitely did not go with her personality, though it did seem to match her
shirt well
but she did end up wearing the
multi-pastel colored scarf rather than the bandana. She did keep the tutu on all day, but removed
the blond wig before school had even started as it felt too hot to continue
wearing.
She cannot wait for Halloween, which
is her favorite holiday, and she now has enough costumes to celebrate two weeks
of Halloween without wearing the same costume twice. Last night she dressed as a lady bug for a
dress-up barbeque that she had attended.
But I'm getting ahead of
myself. Just before she returned home
from school, a package had been left at our door. A package with her name on it. An unexpected package from her Uncle Paul who
has a talent for carving wood. He had
made several pencil boxes and had filled one and mailed it to her. It was the highlight of her day.
Finding a New Home for the Dogs
On December 24, 2014 my children
decided to do white elephant gifts for what would be our last Christmas in Utah
(only we hadn't planned for it to be our last Christmas together) Jeanie recycled at least one gift that they
had received, possibly both.
They weren't wrapped, but left in
black garbage bags, both huge. One a bit
bulkier than the other. For some reason
I was drawn to them - not knowing fully which to choose. I settled on the flat one, figuring it was a
painting of some sort.
Many people, when drawing white
elephants, will allow a person to choose a wrapped gift or swipe an unwrapped gift from somebody else. I didn't know until later that Jenna had
actually considered "stealing" the painting I had
"unwrapped" but wanted the opportunity to unwrap something
herself. She chose what she considered
to be the worst of all the white elephant gifts: sour cream and onion flavored
crickets.
My daughter-in-law, Rochelle was the
last one to open a gift. She chose the
remaining plastic bag and removed the mushroom.
We all foresaw that it would be a part of her three-year-old's
collection - though the stuffed mushroom appeared to be twice as big as Ester.
Before we packed our gifts to take
home, Jenna asked if she could have the painting. Funny, because I was going to ask her if she
wanted it - but I would have asked as a joke.
She was serious. And so we took
that painting and hung it in her room in West Valley. We brought it with us to Oregon and it hung
in her room at the first house where we
lived. We brought it with us to our second
house. It hung in her room. She
had even purchased a dog figurine that matched the painting. It was placed over the painting until the end
of June.
The painting had been removed by
Service Master when they dried out her room.
It lived in the closet in Roland's office for nearly two months while
most of her belongings were a in storage unit somewhere in Winston. When they
returned, Jenna rearranged her furniture and walls and decided she no longer
had room for this large 16X20 framed picture - though she still really likes
it. She was torn.
She took a picture and sent it to
Kylee along with a photo of a chair we had purchased at a yard sale and a more
recent treasure: the hiking bag that had never been used.
Kylee made a trade with her for some unnecessary
stuffed animals. Jenna loves animals - even ugly ones. Not to say that Kylee's animals were ugly . . . I hadn't actually taken a good look. I just know there are a few animals that I didn't find as appealing as she seems to have. Her room is overcrowded with stuffed animals
- which surprisingly did not make it to Winston, but have been in her closet
this entire time. I think Kylee got the
better deal. But that's okay. Jenna is the one who normally makes out like
a bandit. We both love Kylee and are
happy to see her get use out of things that Jenna had already retired.
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Stop Complaining
The
beds are dry
Not
all the river beds
not
all the way
some
have puddles
It's
hard to believe that
they
were near overflowing
just
four months ago.
The
haze comes and goes
Lately
. . . it lingers
hard
to breathe
It's
hot. I think the
smoke
is holding in the heat
I'm
currently washing clothes
It
is hot enough to hang them on the line
But
won't the smoke defeat my purpose of
having
washed them in the first place.
At
least I have a choice to
shut
my door and keep the elements
outside. How horrible for those who
have
to deal with Hurricane Harvey
and
the mess left behind
They
can't close the door and leave
it
outside - the water and damage
are
still in their houses.
Many
possessions and loved ones gone.
Should
we have to evacuate, it
will
be due to smoke inhalation. I
don't
think the fires will come.
Why
can't the elements even out so
there
are no floods, no fires,
no
damaging winds
Monday, August 28, 2017
Keeping Things in the Neighborhood
Shortly after we had moved in, a
neighbor from across the street introduced himself to me. He told me if we ever needed anything we
could call him. I think he was genuine
in his heart, but his poor body was not in great shape. He needed a ramp to get in and out of the
house and was in no condition to climb our hill to inspect the house. He had asked what changes had been done. Because I had never seen the house before it
went on the market, there was really no way to compare it but I don't know that
he could visualize what I had tried to explain.
I could see that he was in pain as he
hobbled out to the mailbox and back to the house. I don't remember seeing him after that. I think his children must have taken turns moving
in for a while as I would see others go out to retrieve the mail or be out in
the yard or what have you. They would
come and stay for a while and then there would be a new set of people. He eventually passed away, though I don't
know how long ago. It appears to have
been fairly recently though.
His house and garage contained items -
lots of items that the family didn't want.
Some items had never even been used before. The family held a garage
sale on Saturday. From 8-4. Their intent was to get rid of EVERYTHING -
even if they had to give it away - which I believe for the most part they did.
If there is a Yard Sale sign in our
driving path, Jenna and Roland are drawn to it - like the yard sale has some
gigantic magnetic force that pulls them in. Roland did not have that much in cash - though
Jenna did. They must have spent 30 - 35
between them. I'm certain that we ended
up with over 200 dollars worth of stuff.
Actually, I KNOW we did. We have
missed our extra fridge and are in great need of defrosting our freezer right
now. There was a fridge on the back
porch which cost 5 dollars. It
works. Currently it is on our back porch
though it is not hooked up.
Getting it across the street was the
hardest part - from his back porch to ours.
But there were others who had stopped to make purchases who helped
Roland with the task. I think that is
awesome. Jenna said she heard they were
from Eugene. Wow! That is a long ways to go for a yard sale.
We have needed a wheel barrow since we
moved in and purchased a small rusty one - I don't know the price. The woman who took the money just gave Roland
an entire bag of unopened soil.
Office supplies for 10 dollar included a
shredder. You want the shredder? Not unless you're willing to take it
all.
We don't want anything left. Come into the kitchen. We'll give you every item on every counter
for just 7 dollars. Take it all.
There have been times in the past when
Roland and I have noticed an item at an auction that we think we might bid for
and by the time it comes up for bid, it has been toward the end of the auction
when other bidders have been drained of money, or else the auctioneers are
tired, or something. "I have two boxes - no three for the same
price." We've actually found
"treasures" that we have used more than what we had initially bid
for. For example, there was a crock pot
among the boxes of stuff we had bid for - though the crock pot wasn't our
intent. We use it more than anything.
Jenna purchased a boatload of hats and
a really nice backpack designed for hiking
- quite brand new. Roland
purchased a box of western themed books.
More dishes than we will ever need, but most he initially purchased with
the intent of giving to neighbors when he is on one of his baking kicks. "Here, take this plate full of goodies,
give it to the neighbors next door, tell them to keep the plate."
I
don't know how many trips Roland made to purchase more stuff. He said he saw a wooden ladder and purchased
a mirror, brought them back and returned again for a painting.
I know he was thinking of me when he
purchased it because I love how the fog rolls over the hills, and this reminded
us both of that misty smog. And I do
love seascapes.
It is now hanging over
our bed. And the mirror in our front
room makes the room seem a little bit bigger.
Jenna picked through her hats and we
ran about a third of them through the dishwasher. She and Roland hung them on the line as they
didn't completely dry in the dishwasher - but still have their shape - so that
is good.
They've been removed from the line and added to her wall.
There had been a piece of furniture I was interested in but had no idea where I'd put it. But it had been sold already. The neighbors had evidently reached their goal by 2:30. I had looked out the window just before 3:00 and noticed the sign and all the cars gone and the house looked deserted.
We still haven't gone through all of our pictures, nor will I be taking any more pictures, but here are some other free items that we walked away with:
We had started the morning going to
another neighbors to pick apples. They
also gave us cherry tomatoes, onions, cherry jam and apple butter.
Roland topped the night off by making apple pie. He is not happy with it however.
Roland topped the night off by making apple pie. He is not happy with it however.
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Renovation and Makeover
We
knew there'd be problems before we moved in.
I didn't get that the discoloration on the floor meant water
damage. We called the insurance company
who sent a crew out June 28 and stayed with us until July 6 and disappeared.
The
insurance company had wired money to our bank in addition to paying Service
Master. okay, additional expenses like the plumber,
electrician . . . but wait. We still
need more than just a sub floor. . . Installation
We
finally heard back from Service Master on August 11, I believe. It was by phone on Friday and they said
they'd be out on Monday. They
weren't. Roland received a call after 6:00
pm on Tuesday. A representative came to
give an estimate, which Roland tore apart and ended up agreeing to dry wall
only. Oh, and let's not forget the
furnace that has been in our kitchen the last 6 weeks. And please return our daughter's possessions!
Dry
wall put in. Furnace installed but not
connected. Jenna's belongings didn't
arrive until Friday. To save ourselves
some money, we decided to paint and install the floors ourselves. Some pictures
I have posted already. But here is a
synopsis of our lives June 28 through today.
June 27 water damaged floor |
floor ripped up and fans dry out |
furnace lived in the kitchen along side our dining table |
I did try to liven it up a little |
didn't always work out though |
this would be Jenna's room June 29 |
Roland on cat walk fixing breaker switch Jun 30 |
we had pulled out 5 drawers of clothes and
stored them in the tub - it served as a temporary closet
|
washer and dryer lived outside |
July 3, Jenna's room |
furnace hole, Jenna's room, washer and dryer space |
July 6 subfoor |
July 6 Jenna's room |
furnace still not hooked up |
this one appears to be out of order . . . . hmm.
wall connecting to laundry wall July 1 probably
|
washer disconnected Aug 16 |
Aug 16 wall in Jenna's room |
sorting through clothes that Kylee gave her |
Aug 16 |
cutting drywall in our carport |
Aug 16 Roland spackling laundry/hall |
Aug 16 spackling Jenna's wall |
Aug 18 Jenna picked out a really loud paint |
August 20, finally set up for moving back in |
August 22 quite proud of her green wall |
Aug 22, start the flooring project |
our back porch during renovation |
Aug 24 |
our kitchen seems to have taken a dive as well |
Aug 25 All done.
|
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