hopeless romantics . . . or rather hopeless at remembering.

 

The other night I had asked Alexa to set an alarm for yesterday morning as we would be picking pears . . . or so we believed.  I had glanced at the calendar and realized that yesterday was mine and Richard’s wedding anniversary.  I started toward the back room to ask him if he wanted to do anything special to celebrate.  I don’t know if I even made it back to the room where he was working on watches.  I am so losing it.  We both are.

          Both of us forgot about it being our anniversary.  We went down to Medford to pick pears which we normally do at the end of August.  No smoke filled the air!  It was great!  But we wondered: Do the pears prefer smoky weather?  I have never seen so many puny pears EVER.  The majority were not even pickable.  What?  It was rather disappointing.  Two people climbed ladders and dropped them down to those who would catch and gently place in their bags.  Rings had been handed out and most pears missed their mark.  I took a few pictures before getting recruited to fold boxes.  I liked that job.

          We did stay longer than normal but have stayed longer if the pears were their normal size.  It wasn’t until we were almost home when we received a text from Ryan wishing us a happy anniversary.  Oh, yea.  Talk about your hopeless romantics . . . or rather hopeless at remembering.

          Facebook reminders of celebrations past . . . many with other nostalgia unrelated to the anniversary itself but anniversary of something else – like the planes crashing into the twin towers just two days after we were married.  Twelve years ago I had gone to Mrs. Cavanaugh’s candies with the second grade field trip. 

Evidently it was “Karen” day one year – I think before 2020 when the name Karen seemed to get a bad rap. That was the same year I put some presidential trivia online for two months.  Ten years ago my mom was dwindling between this earth life and the other side. 

From 80 to 50

     I have wearing my 

sweatshirt the last couple of 

mornings.  

Mist crawls over 

the mountain.  

Fall is in 

the air.  

It would be 

nice if it would 

last always.

Laundry and Electric Communication

 We left the hotel just after 4:00 a.m. on Saturday.  Jaime likes getting breakfast at Denny's and so we went there for food.  Richard and I don't care for Denny's and were each disappointed with our meal - though we had not expected much to begin with. I would rather have McDonald's than Denny's. Jaime said it could be our last time for going to Denny's.  

We drove by way of Boise.  Though we hit almost every rest stop between Salt Lake and Myrtle Creek we seemed to make good timing.  I think it was after 5:00 when we drove passed the sign that indicated we were in Douglas County, but then it took another two hours before we arrived in Roseburg. (I have mentioned how incredibly large our county is) We could see the smoke before we arrived in Glide.

For the most part I don’t check my facebook or email while on vacation.  I’m on vacation.  This is how things looked when I returned

 

Before our backroom was built Richard had hung two clothes lines that came down in 2019 and were never replaced.  I could use the lines 2-4 months of the year.  I could hang about three loads.  Richard has since replaced one line but it is much shorter and holds only one load at best. 

I was able to take in a few more classes of the water fitness before the pool closed for the season.  The last day was August 25th although we had scheduled a pool party for the 26th.  Open swim and party were both cancelled due to the poor air quality.  We had worse in 2017.

When I returned home I had used the dryer as the skies were filled with smoke.  The rain has since chased the smoke away.  It seems pointless to hang the laundry with a chance of rain. 

Better Than McDonald’s

             We learned that Ryan and his family would be doing a tour of the main post office where he works.  We asked if we could join them.  On Saturday morning Richard drove Jaime and me downtown as she was still set on finding souvenirs bearing Utah’s name.  We also went to Trolley Square before driving to the post office to meet Ryan’s family.

It was a nice experience learning more about the structure of the post office.  Here is a more detailed example of what we saw.  Of course not exact.  We were not allowed to take pictures except in certain designated spots. Our tour guide spoke in a very soft voice.  He asked questions and gave out tee shirts for correct answers.  We walked away with two T-shirts and two string backpacks.

Afterward we asked if they would like to have lunch together and ended up going to the Old Spaghetti Factory (putting ourselves at Trolley Square once again).  Emma was most impressed and announced it as her new favorite restaurant.  She said the food was better than McDonald’s which made me laugh.  Well, yeah . . .

We parted ways after lunch.  Ryan's family had a ward bbq to attend that was different from  the ward reunion that we attended.  It was nice to see some faces from the past although all the visits among us felt quite brief.  Jaime was only five when we moved from the ward and so did not remember many but was able to visit with a few.

 

Family Barbeque

                My whole purpose for going to Utah in the first place was to see my sister’s family and that of my son, Ryan. Initailly I thought I would go at the end of July as Shelly and Shaylynn would have camp and Shelly would need someone to stay with the boys while Todd was at work.  Then I got word of an upcoming ward reunion for August 19^th. I somehow didn’t feel that I would be able to stay that long and declined the reunion. 

Later Shelly informed me that she was released from her calling and wouldn’t be attending camp after all – which gave me opportunity to make arrangements to attend the reunion after all.  And then Natalee (aka Sunny) called to ask if I’d be there this summer so that she could arrange for my sibs and I to get together.  She made arrangements for all of us to get together for a barbeque on the 18^th.  So my initial plan was to take the greyhound on the 15^th and arrive on the 17^th. 

We ended up going earlier and wished for Richard to come with us.  I felt fortunate that he decided to come get us.  He drove all day Thursday and arrived after 3:00 a.m. on Friday.  So he was there for my two primary purposes for being in town.  We kept his presence a secret from Ryan’s family and Shelly's.

The barbeque didn’t start until four or five but we had gone to my brother’s house early.  I don’t think Ryan was planning to attend initially but did arrive before Shelly and Todd.  They were all very happy and surprised to see “grandpa”. 

We had a really nice visit.  Of course we played games.  We started with a game of “spoons” outdoors but Mother Nature had other ideas and pushed us into the house before the night was over.  Such a memorable night.  Thank you all who attended!

Visiting Cousins and Playing Games

 On Thursday morning my cousin Kindra (aka Michelle) and daughter, Aria (aka Melody) drove to Marj’s house to take Jaime and me to breakfast.  We ended up at a waffle house near the high school.  Afterwards Aria had wanted to get something at Fashion Place and so Jaime and I returned to the mall for a second time. After we were through browsing at the mall, Kindra drove us downtown and dropped us off. 

          We were specifically looking for a penny press machine and thought there might be one at the planetarium, but there was not.  

 

Jaime received a text message from Richard while we were downtown.  He had made arrangements for us to check in at a hotel as he was planning on driving in to collect us.  I was adamant about NOT returning on Greyhound.  I had wanted Richard to go with us in the first place specifically for the 18^th and 19^th – my soul reason for even being in Utah. 

                  UTA offered free fare to all passengers riding bus or train on Thursday and Friday and so we did not have to pay on the return.  

We took the train all the way to Sandy and met Natalee who then drove us to Marj’s to collect our luggage and took us back to the hotel.  She offered to take us back to her house and feed us.  But we decided to just rest up.  Jaime and I unpacked and went to the pool. 

Later Keith called to ask if we wanted to play games.  He came and got us and took us back to his house.  We were playing games when Steven (aka Corey) arrived.  Natalee took some really great pictures of Jaime and me playing cards with my brothers. What great memories in the making.

Vacation Barbie

            On Tuesday Jaime wanted to go out to Sandy and hang out with my brother Keith and his wife Natalee.  We called first to see if we could come.  We did not know that it would lead to our becoming another’s house guest.  Natalee had already made plans with a former neighbor of ours.  She and Marj (aka Peggy Bird) were going to see “The Barbie Movie” and had invited us to attend with them.

          To be honest, “The Barbie Movie” was never on my agenda – especially for something to do while in Utah.  I was a bit floored to learn that it was something Marj had wanted to do.  Not only that she had offered to put Jaime and I up during the rest of our stay. Somehow the  wires were crossed and Marj seemed to be under the impression that Jaime and I were sleeping on the floor (which we were not)

          As school was scheduled to start the following day and my allergies had been acting up (I'm guessing the dog hair for one), I decided it would be best to leave Shelly’s and temporarily move in with Marj.  I felt like an intruder but things worked out.  We saw the movie and went out to lunch.  We also went grocery shopping.  Nat picked up some things for herself and Jaime and I did some light shopping for ourselves and for Marj.

        Jaime had really wanted to spend time at the Valley Fair Mall - opportunity missed on Monday.  I asked her if we could just go to Fashion Place as it was within walking distance.  Thought it was crazy to learn that none of the Malls open until after 11:00.  So on Wednesday we walked over to the mall and browsed around. We did get lunch at the food court and then walked home. 

                 Nat came and took us back to her place for a few hours. They fed us dinner.  We played all of the games that Jaime totes around with her.  Keith taught us the game “Oh, Heck”.  It was good to visit with them.

Going for Nostalgia

 

               On Monday we met with a gal that we had gone to Church with when we lived in West Valley.  She said the ward has now been dissolved.  Oh, that makes sense.  The last time I attended in 2017 the numbers were down and the ward page has since disappeared from facebook.

          Christy teaches at a school in Magna.  We took the bus out there and had a Mexican lunch.  It was nice to visit with her and catch up on some happenings. After we parted ways Jai and I took the bus back to Fairbourn and went to the library and took some pictures – two of which are found in this post 

          Jaime had conned Todd into taking her to see Coraline at the theater. He drove her and his two eldest to meet his niece who worked at the theater and they watched it together.  Afterwards Jaime treated Uncle Todd and her cousins to ice cream at Arctic Circle. I chose to stay home with Shelly and Jerry.  The heat of the day had worn me out and I needed to rest.

Family Hopping

 

We had made arrangements for Ryan (aka Tony) to come pick us up from the bus depot.  He met us at 6:15 in the morning and took us to my sisters house where we would sleep – or attempt to anyway.  We were introduced to the family dogs Sadie and Donny.  Gary was asleep on the couch where we’d be sleeping – or trying to and Jerry asked if we would give him permission to use us in a youtube video.  He then taught us a geography game which I had assumed he wanted us to play while filming for the youtube video.  But that is a far as it got.  Perhaps we weren’t worthy subjects for his channel?

          For the most part we spent time with Ryan and his family while Ryan was off and before the kids had to go back to school.  We played games with them and then Ryan took us all to Dee’s for dinner.  After he brought us back to my sister’s house, we played games with her family.  Playing games with different family members really was the highlight of our being there. 

          On Saturday we helped Todd (aka Bill Jolly) with cleaning the church.  Later Ryan came for us and we went to the park.  It was hot and the kids wanted to go swimming.  Jai or I had suggested going to Fairbourn to run through the fountains.  We drove from the park toward the Fairbourn station and Ryan parked in the lot of West Valley Library. As I was getting out of the car I realized that I had left my backpack at the park.  Thus we did not make it to Fairbourn as we stayed in car and headed back toward Vista Park. So grateful that my backpack was still there when we returned. 

        We chose not to go back to Fairbourn but to the apartment where Ryan's family lives.  He and the kids played in the pool while Jaime and I played games with our very pregnant Chelsey.  Jaime and I had brought our suits to Utah but they were in our suitcases back at Todd and Shelly's house and I didn't think returning for them would be worth the extra amount of driving it would take as       Utah is under construction.  Every spring and summer it always takes longer to get from point A to point B than in the fall.  So many roads.  So many polycones, barrels and signs.  So many detours. We crawled through traffic each time we were in the car 

There was construction on the road, on buildings, parking lots . . . very overwhelming.  So happy I had not driven.

     Todd and Jaime were watching an episode of Star Trek: Strange New World. I was talking to Richard on the phone and excused myself and went downstairs as to not disturb Todd's program watching.  Sadie was down there and had chewed me out for being in her territory.  Fine, I did not want to be there anyway.  Richard said I sounded tired and should get some sleep.    I slept great on Saturday night. Apparently I was out the minute my buttocks hit the couch.

          On Sunday we went to my sister’s ward.  There was a youth that gave the closing prayer in Sacrament meeting.  What an awesome prayer.  So refreshing hearing a youth give the prayer in Sacrament meeting.  There are two wards that meet in the building.  Each ward has their own sacrament but will combine for the second meeting to account for more activity.  That is a brilliant idea!  Wish we had that option.

Greyhound: Never Doing That Again

                You think I may have learned from my last Greyhound excursion (here) that it wasn’t that great of an experience from Portland to Salt Lake.  But I decided to give them another shot.  I thought it might be a fun experience for Jaime to try.  It would be the first time I brought my own companion on the bus. I had never done that before.

          I had purchased the tickets online. I decided the word “Flixbus” means “small”.  Searching the internet further leads me to believe it is the Flixbus that is the coach bus (with more leg room offered than on airlines) and the Greyhound is a petite upgrade from school bus. I have ridden coach buses before and I have ridden school buses.  The bus from Portland to Salt Lake was closer to school bus as far as the amount of space for passengers.  It was definitely smaller than three of the buses Jaime and I took to get to Salt Lake three weeks ago.  But still . . . There was only one coach bus.  The seats are marked with this sign

Yea, right!  Unless the passenger buttocks is the size of the average middle schooler, there is no flipping way a seatbelt is going to fit across a person.  Get real!

 I had ridden the bus before.  I’d gone back to Virginia on Trailways at the time Greyhound bought them out.  I don’t recall the bus size being so smooshed as opposed to eight years ago or three weeks ago.  But then I was a lot smaller in 1987 than I was eight years ago to currently. 

Eight years ago I caught the bus in Roseburg at a gas station where there were benches outside.  This year it was at the parking lot of an abandoned grocery store.  There was nowhere to sit.  No one to talk to.  Nowhere to pay.  What the hey?

          The bus lines would like passengers to believe that there is a restriction on size and weight of luggage – but for the most part we (the passengers) were required to put the luggage on and take it off ourselves.  Driver did not enforce the size or weight regulation. Doesn't seem to matter whether one specifies assigned seating as that isn't enforced either.

          We did ride a Coach Bus (the Flixbus that wasn’t marked as a Greyhound)  from Hermiston (not mapped) to Boise.  Why is it that we had to take four buses?  And why through Seattle instead of Portland?  There was a bus in Hermiston going to Portland, so why not from Portland to Hermiston?  Why the tour of southern Washington state?  Granted, it was pretty – but it was 8 – 12 hours we could have been in Utah and not on Greyhound's upgraded equivalent of a school bus.

          We had a four and a half hour layover in Seattle. 4 1/2 hours! Theoretically the station wouldn’t open until 5:00 a.m. and we had arrived just before 4:00.  Fortunately someone came to open the doors at four.  My bladder was most grateful for that call.

          Before we left the house, Richard had told me to fill my pockets with change.  I had selected a pair of shorts that seemed big on me without the weight of the change – but with all that money in my pockets, I definitely needed a belt so that my pants wouldn’t fall off my body. It was in Seattle where my change came in handy as there were vending machines that offered snacks and Jai and I were both hungry for something other than what we had brought with us.

          We did have some good experiences and some not so pleasant moments – but we were safe and we were grateful.  I had looked into other options for our return as I really didn’t wish to return the way we came. But because of all the fires that happened while we were away, we may have not had that option anyway.

More Fun Watches

 I had grabbed 19 or 20 watches 

before Jai and I left for Utah.  

I ended up giving eight of them away.  

Tony and his family made for five.  

His youngest is four and claimed the 

watch with the smallest band.  

From the moment he put it on 

he'd announce 

"It's time to take a bath," 

"It's time to eat lunch" 

"It's time to go to bed."  

Upon our return I discovered

some new watches in the 

back room.  Richard has

talked about selling to local

merchants or putting some on

Ebay.  It's been fun all of us.

Smoke is Drowning out the Mist

 

Up this morning at 2:15.

Returned to bed.

Hot.

Got up.

Opened a window.

Started to play games

on my kindle.

Sneezing

eyes itching

I realize that the

skies must be filled

with smoke.

Shut the window.

Went back to bed.