Have you ever decided to do a little project which seems simple enough but ends up a mess?
I decided to paint the top of the square end table that sits next to my recliner. Everything is dark in the living room and I thought since the top was pretty well scratched up anyway I would paint it a creamy white.
I went to town and bought a can of satin finish spray paint, sand paper, masking paper and tape. Even got one of those trigger tops for the paint can (I've used them before and they work great).
John took the table out to our shed (one of the perks of being a campground host) and I spread out an old sheet and got started. I sanded the top and washed it down and let it dry. I wiped again to make sure I had all the dust off the top. Masked around the bottom and started painting. It became obvious early on that it was going to take a lot of paint to cover the dark brown finish. After multiple thin applications I noticed a lot of what I can only describe as "paint dust" all over the floor....and I ran out of paint. I decided to let it dry overnight and paint again the next day.
John offered to go into town and get another can of paint and to finish the painting. Well...it was a disaster. The paint was rough and uneven and frankly a mess. And...he'd used all the paint....for just a table top!!
So back to town this morning to get yet another can of paint. They were out of the satin finish and since I was not happy with the results anyway I got more extra fine sandpaper and a can of gloss finish in the same color.
I sanded the top smooth....nice but really needed more paint...cleaned everything up and re-masked. As soon as I started painting I knew it was a bust...the paint just sort of turned into a grainy mess. John of course, trying to be helpful, took the can of paint and said he'd do it....now if you know me at all you know I hate having someone take over my project, so I stormed out and after an hour of cooling off John said he figured out what was the problem. It was the trigger nozzle which the paint spray was hitting as it came out of the can and dropping a fine mist of drops...whatever....I am fed up and as of now the table is still in the shed and John is in the dog house. SHEESH...what a mess. I'll take a look at it tomorrow and decide if I can salvage it or junk it and get a new table.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Cove Palisades State Park
We left Champoeg State Park on Sept. 1st and drove south east to Cove Palisades State Park, where we will be campground hosting for the month. The park is a bit off the beaten path, but well worth the 5 mile drive down a winding canyon road, across a narrow bridge and up to the other side. The park has two campgrounds; Crooked River and Deschutes. They are several miles apart. We were assigned A loop of the Deschutes campground, which has approximately 40 full hook-up sites. B loop is for tent camping and C loop is a combination of tents and RV sites.
The first weekend we were here was Labor Day so the campground was full. There were a lot of boaters as well as RV campers and lots of families. Then, on Monday, it emptied out. We had 35 campground sites to clean...yikes...it took us most of the afternoon. Our duties include watering the grassy areas but we couldn't do that until most of the sites had emptied out. The last two days we have spent watering and there are only a handful of campers here now. The campground will be closed for the season at the end of the month.
The weather has turned cooler and it feels like Fall. Most of the trees here are evergreens but a few are not and are dropping leaves....our patio is covered with them. The dogs love the cool weather and spend most of the day outside following the sun on the patio.
The first weekend we were here was Labor Day so the campground was full. There were a lot of boaters as well as RV campers and lots of families. Then, on Monday, it emptied out. We had 35 campground sites to clean...yikes...it took us most of the afternoon. Our duties include watering the grassy areas but we couldn't do that until most of the sites had emptied out. The last two days we have spent watering and there are only a handful of campers here now. The campground will be closed for the season at the end of the month.
The weather has turned cooler and it feels like Fall. Most of the trees here are evergreens but a few are not and are dropping leaves....our patio is covered with them. The dogs love the cool weather and spend most of the day outside following the sun on the patio.
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| Lake Billy Chinook |
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| View of the lake |
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| Our park transportation...fun driving a Gator |
Finishing up the month at The Cove
We took a day trip to Sisters Oregon last week on one of our days off. It's a small town between Bend and Eugene and is best known for their annual quilt fair as well as a large blue grass music festival which was taking place the weekend after we were there. We spent the afternoon walking Main Street, browsing the shops and having lunch. The weather was perfect and there wasn't a lot of tourists. It's a really cute town, and we did a little shopping and bought a new yard spinner; it's a parrot riding a bicycle. I also got a wood sign that says "Whatever happens at Grandma's never happened". I put it up over the window in the bedroom.
When we lived in Sacramento we used to go to a restaurant we called Ben's...a little hole in the wall Chinese restaurant that had the old style chow mien with the crispy noodles and lots of crunchy bean sprouts and celery. They closed about 10 years ago and we have never found that style chow mien again. Since we have been in Oregon we have gone to two different restaurants and had the very same chow mien....absolutely delicious. We went again last night to a little restaurant called Ding Ho...in an old car hop style building...and filled up on pork fried rice and chow mien again.
Maybe it's an Oregon thing; whatever, it's been fun to have an old favorite again after so many years.
We are going to miss the no sales tax shopping when we go back to California; so nice to not have to add almost 10% to everything you buy. John has been wanting a navigation system for the truck and so we took the opportunity to get it without sales tax while we are here. He ordered it from Amazon and so they don't charge sales tax when they deliver it here. He found a local shop to install if for $40...what a good deal. Now he has hands free bluetooth for the iPhone as well as a navigation system; it was a plug and play system and the installation looks like it came from the factory.
The park is almost empty now. We have two or three RVs come in every afternoon and then they leave in the morning and the only people here are the other campground hosts. There are lots of deer who come down to graze on the grass now that there's not many people here, and I'll see 5 or 6 at a time. They aren't afraid of people and even the dogs barking at them doesn't send them off.
We will be packing up next Tues and leaving for Grants Pass a week from today. We'll be spending the night at Valley of the Rogue State Park...using our host pass for a free night....and then going to Brookings on the coast for a week.
When we lived in Sacramento we used to go to a restaurant we called Ben's...a little hole in the wall Chinese restaurant that had the old style chow mien with the crispy noodles and lots of crunchy bean sprouts and celery. They closed about 10 years ago and we have never found that style chow mien again. Since we have been in Oregon we have gone to two different restaurants and had the very same chow mien....absolutely delicious. We went again last night to a little restaurant called Ding Ho...in an old car hop style building...and filled up on pork fried rice and chow mien again.
Maybe it's an Oregon thing; whatever, it's been fun to have an old favorite again after so many years.
We are going to miss the no sales tax shopping when we go back to California; so nice to not have to add almost 10% to everything you buy. John has been wanting a navigation system for the truck and so we took the opportunity to get it without sales tax while we are here. He ordered it from Amazon and so they don't charge sales tax when they deliver it here. He found a local shop to install if for $40...what a good deal. Now he has hands free bluetooth for the iPhone as well as a navigation system; it was a plug and play system and the installation looks like it came from the factory.
The park is almost empty now. We have two or three RVs come in every afternoon and then they leave in the morning and the only people here are the other campground hosts. There are lots of deer who come down to graze on the grass now that there's not many people here, and I'll see 5 or 6 at a time. They aren't afraid of people and even the dogs barking at them doesn't send them off.
We will be packing up next Tues and leaving for Grants Pass a week from today. We'll be spending the night at Valley of the Rogue State Park...using our host pass for a free night....and then going to Brookings on the coast for a week.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
A little sunshine, a little rain
I've been on an emotional roller coaster the past two weeks.
The rain: After a long and full life, my Mom passed away on Sunday morning, August 16th. She celebrated her 96th birthday in June, and had been healthy her whole life. Her body just finely wore out and she had a slow steady decline over the past year, finally become too weak to walk over the past month. As I posted earlier, I was able to spend two weeks with her earlier in the month and I felt we had said our goodbyes. She was completely at peace and was sure she would soon join my Dad.
Erin and Jenn spend Saturday night with her so that Bill could get some sleep. He had been staying with her around the clock because the care home attendants weren't allowed to give her oral morphine and valium which were essential to keeping her calm and comfortable.
I am so proud of them for their loving, supportive care. The last 12 hours were rough and Bill said he would have been overwhelmed without them. My Mom was so proud that she had two granddaughters who were doctors, and I know she must have been beaming on the inside knowing they had her full attention. I was feeling guilty about not being there myself, and the girls kept texting me reassuring me that Mom was comfortable and that they would not leave her. That is a gift that no amount of money can buy.
My oldest daughter Kris arrived just after she passed, and the three girls stayed with her for several hours until the mortuary attendants arrived. They fixed her hair and put on some makeup and then just stayed with her.
We are planning to all be at the gravesite in Oct. to bury her ashes with my Dad.
The sunshine: We absolutely love being campground hosts at Champoeg State Park. The work is not hard and we share days on with a very nice couple, Bruce and Janell, who are from Phoenix. We have met some very interesting characters in the park, and can honestly say there hasn't been anything negative about the experience. We haven't had any TV since we are surrounded by trees and our roof mounted satellite dish can't pick up the signal. We really haven't missed it at all. We have several DVDs...3 seasons of Homeland and 2 seasons of Justified....that we bought to keep us entertained if we didn't have satellite reception, but we just haven't wanted to watch even that.
The weather has been nice; only a few hot days, but mostly in the low 80s during the day and cool in the evenings. We haven't had any rain since we've been here and that is a disaster for the state. There are multiple wildfires throughout Oregon, and we had very smoky air for a couple of days but that too has cleared out too.
We both agree that we are so glad we decided to make this our lifestyle. Living in the 5th wheel is truly having the best of both worlds. Our RV is homey and has all the amenities we had in our house, lacking only square footage. Keeping it clean and organized is the secret...at least for me...of being comfortable and content. We both hate clutter, and we work at keeping the inside tidy. I guess if I have to complain about something, it's that there are usually 3 or 4 pairs of shoes by the door...we just haven't figured out yet how to deal with them.
We have signed up to host again here next July and August and so have Bruce and Janell. We will have our same spaces and I already have plans to plant a little flower bed around the camp host sign. I have one tiny little planter filled with pansies....someone before us had obviously planted flowers in it but they were scraggly and way past their prime.
My Mini was delivered on schedule from Sacramento with it's brand new engine. The driver brought it up after a 9 hour drive and then turned around and returned the loaner the same day. I was amazed that he was comfortable driving 18 hours straight but he said he was a retired fire fighter and was used to working 24hrs and it didn't bother him. He told me he works for the Niello company and they keep 8 drivers busy full-time. He drives all the luxury vehicles to buyers all over the western US. That sounds like a pretty fun job except for the extremely long hours.
Speaking of Mini.....drum roll please....we have a new one!!! Here she is:
I had been looking for a 2014 with low miles for several reasons. Obviously I adore Minis but I wanted one with more horsepower. I originally bought the base model and then wished I had spent a little more and gotten the S, which has 50 more horsepower and sport seats, which are so much more comfortable. I also wanted a navigation system, since we are driving in locations we have no familiarity with. We have been using my car for all our local driving and saving the diesel and the wear and tear on our truck, which is a 2008. We want that truck to last us as long as possible since it would be REALLY expensive to replace.
Whereas my white Mini was pretty bare bones, this Mini has almost all the upgrades that Mini offers, including a very cool rear view camera which comes on whenever you put the car in reverse.
Oh, and one more thing, the Grandma LOVES to drive and so I got a 6 speed manual transmission. I would never have gotten that when I was driving around Sacramento in traffic and rarely on the highway, but it's the opposite now, and we take lots of road trips to sight see on our days off. Even John, who loves muscle cars, says this is one fun car to drive. I figure it's probably the last car I will ever purchase so I might as well get what I wanted. And the icing on the cake...it only had 500 miles on it, and because we are now residents of South Dakota (technically) we registered it there and only had to pay 3% sales tax. Of course, Oregon has no sales tax but they added it on and then sent the registration paperwork to the South Dakota DMV.
We will be leaving a week from today and heading south east to The Cove at Palisades State Park. We have heard lots of good things about the park and look forward to a new view outside our windows. We won't have cell service there, so no Internet, but I'll try and post at least one. It seems we either have TV or Internet but never both!
The rain: After a long and full life, my Mom passed away on Sunday morning, August 16th. She celebrated her 96th birthday in June, and had been healthy her whole life. Her body just finely wore out and she had a slow steady decline over the past year, finally become too weak to walk over the past month. As I posted earlier, I was able to spend two weeks with her earlier in the month and I felt we had said our goodbyes. She was completely at peace and was sure she would soon join my Dad.
Erin and Jenn spend Saturday night with her so that Bill could get some sleep. He had been staying with her around the clock because the care home attendants weren't allowed to give her oral morphine and valium which were essential to keeping her calm and comfortable.
I am so proud of them for their loving, supportive care. The last 12 hours were rough and Bill said he would have been overwhelmed without them. My Mom was so proud that she had two granddaughters who were doctors, and I know she must have been beaming on the inside knowing they had her full attention. I was feeling guilty about not being there myself, and the girls kept texting me reassuring me that Mom was comfortable and that they would not leave her. That is a gift that no amount of money can buy.
My oldest daughter Kris arrived just after she passed, and the three girls stayed with her for several hours until the mortuary attendants arrived. They fixed her hair and put on some makeup and then just stayed with her.
We are planning to all be at the gravesite in Oct. to bury her ashes with my Dad.
The sunshine: We absolutely love being campground hosts at Champoeg State Park. The work is not hard and we share days on with a very nice couple, Bruce and Janell, who are from Phoenix. We have met some very interesting characters in the park, and can honestly say there hasn't been anything negative about the experience. We haven't had any TV since we are surrounded by trees and our roof mounted satellite dish can't pick up the signal. We really haven't missed it at all. We have several DVDs...3 seasons of Homeland and 2 seasons of Justified....that we bought to keep us entertained if we didn't have satellite reception, but we just haven't wanted to watch even that.
The weather has been nice; only a few hot days, but mostly in the low 80s during the day and cool in the evenings. We haven't had any rain since we've been here and that is a disaster for the state. There are multiple wildfires throughout Oregon, and we had very smoky air for a couple of days but that too has cleared out too.
We both agree that we are so glad we decided to make this our lifestyle. Living in the 5th wheel is truly having the best of both worlds. Our RV is homey and has all the amenities we had in our house, lacking only square footage. Keeping it clean and organized is the secret...at least for me...of being comfortable and content. We both hate clutter, and we work at keeping the inside tidy. I guess if I have to complain about something, it's that there are usually 3 or 4 pairs of shoes by the door...we just haven't figured out yet how to deal with them.
We have signed up to host again here next July and August and so have Bruce and Janell. We will have our same spaces and I already have plans to plant a little flower bed around the camp host sign. I have one tiny little planter filled with pansies....someone before us had obviously planted flowers in it but they were scraggly and way past their prime.
My Mini was delivered on schedule from Sacramento with it's brand new engine. The driver brought it up after a 9 hour drive and then turned around and returned the loaner the same day. I was amazed that he was comfortable driving 18 hours straight but he said he was a retired fire fighter and was used to working 24hrs and it didn't bother him. He told me he works for the Niello company and they keep 8 drivers busy full-time. He drives all the luxury vehicles to buyers all over the western US. That sounds like a pretty fun job except for the extremely long hours.
Speaking of Mini.....drum roll please....we have a new one!!! Here she is:
I had been looking for a 2014 with low miles for several reasons. Obviously I adore Minis but I wanted one with more horsepower. I originally bought the base model and then wished I had spent a little more and gotten the S, which has 50 more horsepower and sport seats, which are so much more comfortable. I also wanted a navigation system, since we are driving in locations we have no familiarity with. We have been using my car for all our local driving and saving the diesel and the wear and tear on our truck, which is a 2008. We want that truck to last us as long as possible since it would be REALLY expensive to replace.
Whereas my white Mini was pretty bare bones, this Mini has almost all the upgrades that Mini offers, including a very cool rear view camera which comes on whenever you put the car in reverse.
Oh, and one more thing, the Grandma LOVES to drive and so I got a 6 speed manual transmission. I would never have gotten that when I was driving around Sacramento in traffic and rarely on the highway, but it's the opposite now, and we take lots of road trips to sight see on our days off. Even John, who loves muscle cars, says this is one fun car to drive. I figure it's probably the last car I will ever purchase so I might as well get what I wanted. And the icing on the cake...it only had 500 miles on it, and because we are now residents of South Dakota (technically) we registered it there and only had to pay 3% sales tax. Of course, Oregon has no sales tax but they added it on and then sent the registration paperwork to the South Dakota DMV.
We will be leaving a week from today and heading south east to The Cove at Palisades State Park. We have heard lots of good things about the park and look forward to a new view outside our windows. We won't have cell service there, so no Internet, but I'll try and post at least one. It seems we either have TV or Internet but never both!
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Catch Up Time
It's been a very long time since I posted, so in the interest of not making you read a small novels worth of information, I'll just hit the highlights of the past two months and then try and make an entry every week or two.
Part of the problem has been our lack of internet connection. We use AT&T phones as a hotspot but the park we were staying in July did not have cell service for AT&T. We do have a Verizon tracphone for emergencies but can't use it for a hotspot.
So...here's what's been happening.
July 1 we moved to Hilgard Junction State Park which was 20 miles south-east of Emigrant Springs. It is a small park which is situated along the Grande-Ronde river. It straddles Oregon Hwy 224 with a day use area on one side and camping sites on the other. They are all primitive sites and on a first come first serve basis. They have flush toilets but no showers. The whole park is grass which is irrigated so it stays green all summer (we certainly wouldn't have that in California).
Our site faced due west which was brutal for afternoon sun. We did borrow an awning sunshade from our host friend Kent which helped. Unfortunately, the first two weeks there were unseasonable hot with highs over 100 most days. The AC ran almost all day everyday. We were glad we didn't have to pay for electricity. We had a nice electric golf cart to take us around the park.
Our job was to sell firewood and set up the sprinklers for irrigation. Sounds simple, but we had to haul hoses and sprinklers to all the campsites because the only ingrained irrigation was in the day use area. There we had to put sprinkler heads into the water outlets and them remove them...not easy to do and stay dry!! We also had to log all the license plates of the campers each nite; nice chance to talk to everyone while we made our rounds.
The nice thing was that we were close to the town of La Grande which was 7 miles from the campground. They had a nice Walmart Supercenter and a very nice Safeway. But I was beginning to have Costco and Target withdrawal and couldn't wait to get over toward Portland in August.
My mother, who is 96 and living in a residential care home back in Sacramento, became ill and it was apparent she was not going to be around much longer. She has been on hospice due to heart failure since May but had been stable up until then.
I decided to go home, and made the 700 miles drive in one day. I left at 5 in the morning and arrived at 6...just in time for dinner at my daughter and son-in-laws home. I spent two weeks there, and it was nice to be able to spend a lot of time with her, as well as the grandkids, Dylan and Massi. While I was there, my daughter Erin and her family stopped to and from their vacation at Lake Tahoe, so we had a house full of grandkids and I got to spend special time with each of them.
Jenn had just started her new position as a staff Ob-Gyn at Kaiser and was still in orientation so she had the weekends and evenings off and we had a lot of time to spend together.
While in Sacramento, I took my Mini in for service since the check engine light kept coming on but not staying on. They replaced a faulty thermostat and gave me a new 2015 to drive while it was there...fun!!! I picked the car up and the next morning headed up to see Mom. I didn't get very far when the check engine light came on again, followed by the water overhead light, followed by the car making a horrible noise, loosing power and dying, right in the middle of a left turn lane. Thankfully I wasn't in the intersection; just blocking the left turn lane. I had to call the CHP to push me into a gas station and have the car towed back to the dealership (it's still under warranty). They again gave me a new loaner, this time a 2015 Countryman, and I waited to hear from them. Two days later I got the news that they couldn't figure out how to repair it and had to have a specialist come in to inspect it. The result of that was that I needed a new engine..it could not be repaired. I don't know engines but they said it was a faulty valve which wasn't seated properly.
Mom continued to be the same; she had stopped eating altogether but was still alert, drinking water, and while weak and bed bound, was able to enjoy having all the family there to see her. I made the very hard decision to return to Oregon after being there two weeks; it wasn't fair to leave John there to do the job of two people by himself, and he was getting really lonely by himself. Mom said "go...we've had a great visit and I don't plan on being here much longer". My brother lives just a few miles from her and he and his wife check in on her daily which is a huge relief.
My car wasn't ready to leave, but I was, and the dealership told me to take the loaner back to Oregon with me and they would send a driver to deliver my car and pick up the loaner when it was finished....WOW, that is amazing customer service. If you are ever looking for a car in Sacramento, the Niello Company (Volvo, Mini, BMW, Audi, Porsche and Maserati) can't be topped for great customer care.
Meanwhile, John moved the Bighorn to Champoeg State Park in St. Paul, Oregon. It is just south of Portland and a very popular and busy park. I was so happy to find out there are all my favorite shopping places nearby (Target, Costco, Fred Meyer). We are one of two couples hosting one of the two campgrounds here, and are on duty Sun-Tues and every other Wed. It's a lot busier here for the hosts. We sell ice and firewood from 8-9am; clean empty Yurts (up to 6) before check-in at 4, clean empty campsites and fiercest, and then sell ice and firewood again from 5-8. We have a gas engine golf cart which is horrible (noxious CO2, backfires, sputters etc.) which we share with the other hosts. I complained to the rangers that they need to get this thing turned up or replace it. I have had a headache everyday I have been driving it due to the CO2 coming into the cab.
So far, every place we've hosted, we've either had Satellite reception or cell service, but not both. Here at Champoeg, we have great cell service but the trees once again block our roof mounted satellite so no TV this month. We do have DVDs to watch and I have been streaming videos on Amazon Prime so it's not a big deal. I'd rather have cell service than the TV, both having both would be nice.
I've now been back a week. My daughter Kris and granddaughter Erin were in Portland looking at colleges and stopped by for dinner on Friday nite of last week. She had brought a friend with her, and we had a really nice time visiting with the girls over a yummy dinner of grilled trip-tip, Chinese chicken salad, grilled bread and a huge fruit salad full of fresh summer fruit. Apple pie and ice cream topped it off and they left for Eugene later that evening.
Mom is now in the final stages of her life....she is no longer waking up and appears comfortable and not in pain but it won't be long before she passes on. I'm glad I had the time to spend with her and I know she appreciated my coming.
Here are a few pictures from July:
Part of the problem has been our lack of internet connection. We use AT&T phones as a hotspot but the park we were staying in July did not have cell service for AT&T. We do have a Verizon tracphone for emergencies but can't use it for a hotspot.
So...here's what's been happening.
July 1 we moved to Hilgard Junction State Park which was 20 miles south-east of Emigrant Springs. It is a small park which is situated along the Grande-Ronde river. It straddles Oregon Hwy 224 with a day use area on one side and camping sites on the other. They are all primitive sites and on a first come first serve basis. They have flush toilets but no showers. The whole park is grass which is irrigated so it stays green all summer (we certainly wouldn't have that in California).
Our site faced due west which was brutal for afternoon sun. We did borrow an awning sunshade from our host friend Kent which helped. Unfortunately, the first two weeks there were unseasonable hot with highs over 100 most days. The AC ran almost all day everyday. We were glad we didn't have to pay for electricity. We had a nice electric golf cart to take us around the park.
Our job was to sell firewood and set up the sprinklers for irrigation. Sounds simple, but we had to haul hoses and sprinklers to all the campsites because the only ingrained irrigation was in the day use area. There we had to put sprinkler heads into the water outlets and them remove them...not easy to do and stay dry!! We also had to log all the license plates of the campers each nite; nice chance to talk to everyone while we made our rounds.
The nice thing was that we were close to the town of La Grande which was 7 miles from the campground. They had a nice Walmart Supercenter and a very nice Safeway. But I was beginning to have Costco and Target withdrawal and couldn't wait to get over toward Portland in August.
My mother, who is 96 and living in a residential care home back in Sacramento, became ill and it was apparent she was not going to be around much longer. She has been on hospice due to heart failure since May but had been stable up until then.
I decided to go home, and made the 700 miles drive in one day. I left at 5 in the morning and arrived at 6...just in time for dinner at my daughter and son-in-laws home. I spent two weeks there, and it was nice to be able to spend a lot of time with her, as well as the grandkids, Dylan and Massi. While I was there, my daughter Erin and her family stopped to and from their vacation at Lake Tahoe, so we had a house full of grandkids and I got to spend special time with each of them.
Jenn had just started her new position as a staff Ob-Gyn at Kaiser and was still in orientation so she had the weekends and evenings off and we had a lot of time to spend together.
While in Sacramento, I took my Mini in for service since the check engine light kept coming on but not staying on. They replaced a faulty thermostat and gave me a new 2015 to drive while it was there...fun!!! I picked the car up and the next morning headed up to see Mom. I didn't get very far when the check engine light came on again, followed by the water overhead light, followed by the car making a horrible noise, loosing power and dying, right in the middle of a left turn lane. Thankfully I wasn't in the intersection; just blocking the left turn lane. I had to call the CHP to push me into a gas station and have the car towed back to the dealership (it's still under warranty). They again gave me a new loaner, this time a 2015 Countryman, and I waited to hear from them. Two days later I got the news that they couldn't figure out how to repair it and had to have a specialist come in to inspect it. The result of that was that I needed a new engine..it could not be repaired. I don't know engines but they said it was a faulty valve which wasn't seated properly.
Mom continued to be the same; she had stopped eating altogether but was still alert, drinking water, and while weak and bed bound, was able to enjoy having all the family there to see her. I made the very hard decision to return to Oregon after being there two weeks; it wasn't fair to leave John there to do the job of two people by himself, and he was getting really lonely by himself. Mom said "go...we've had a great visit and I don't plan on being here much longer". My brother lives just a few miles from her and he and his wife check in on her daily which is a huge relief.
My car wasn't ready to leave, but I was, and the dealership told me to take the loaner back to Oregon with me and they would send a driver to deliver my car and pick up the loaner when it was finished....WOW, that is amazing customer service. If you are ever looking for a car in Sacramento, the Niello Company (Volvo, Mini, BMW, Audi, Porsche and Maserati) can't be topped for great customer care.
Meanwhile, John moved the Bighorn to Champoeg State Park in St. Paul, Oregon. It is just south of Portland and a very popular and busy park. I was so happy to find out there are all my favorite shopping places nearby (Target, Costco, Fred Meyer). We are one of two couples hosting one of the two campgrounds here, and are on duty Sun-Tues and every other Wed. It's a lot busier here for the hosts. We sell ice and firewood from 8-9am; clean empty Yurts (up to 6) before check-in at 4, clean empty campsites and fiercest, and then sell ice and firewood again from 5-8. We have a gas engine golf cart which is horrible (noxious CO2, backfires, sputters etc.) which we share with the other hosts. I complained to the rangers that they need to get this thing turned up or replace it. I have had a headache everyday I have been driving it due to the CO2 coming into the cab.
So far, every place we've hosted, we've either had Satellite reception or cell service, but not both. Here at Champoeg, we have great cell service but the trees once again block our roof mounted satellite so no TV this month. We do have DVDs to watch and I have been streaming videos on Amazon Prime so it's not a big deal. I'd rather have cell service than the TV, both having both would be nice.
I've now been back a week. My daughter Kris and granddaughter Erin were in Portland looking at colleges and stopped by for dinner on Friday nite of last week. She had brought a friend with her, and we had a really nice time visiting with the girls over a yummy dinner of grilled trip-tip, Chinese chicken salad, grilled bread and a huge fruit salad full of fresh summer fruit. Apple pie and ice cream topped it off and they left for Eugene later that evening.
Mom is now in the final stages of her life....she is no longer waking up and appears comfortable and not in pain but it won't be long before she passes on. I'm glad I had the time to spend with her and I know she appreciated my coming.
Here are a few pictures from July:
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| Selfie of me driving to our new assignment at Hilgard Junction |
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| We had to go to a local park in La Grande to use our computers. |
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| Massi and me at the movies on our "treat day with Grandma" after having Pizza for dinner. Gummy bears are in the bag. |
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| Dylan and me on our "treat day with Grandma" at Sunsplash Water Park. Yes, I wore a bathing suit all day in public...the things we do for our grandkids. We had a great time. |
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| Mom on the day I arrived..she tried to smile. |
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| My brother's grandkids, Nathan and Corey. Corey and her parents, Heather and Andreas, came from London to visit. They were playing in the yard of the care home where Mom lives. Nathan lives in West Sacramento with my niece Laura. |
Friday, June 19, 2015
Campground Hosting 101
We have been campground hosts now since the first of June and we are really liking it. Our main "job" is to clean the rustic cabins when they become vacant. There's not much to it. The cabins are 13x13 with covered porches and they have bunk beds and futons with heavy vinyl covered mattresses; a table and chairs and a waste basket. They also have small refrigerators and an RV stove enclosed in a stainless steel cabinet.
We clean the stoves and ovens if they've been used (not very often), wipe down the beds and furniture with a disinfectant spray, clean the windows and mirror with Windex and then spray air freshener inside. We also check the fire pits and take out any trash that's been left behind. We have a golf cart that we drive around and it's pretty fun.
There is another host in the park who is in charge of stocking and selling firewood as well as stocking the restrooms and showers. We both rent out cabins to people who don't have reservations and just generally be helpful and answer questions.
We were told that our host assignment is the busiest of all the assignments and they are worried we will burn out so they are having us move to another campground, Hilgard Junction, for July which doesn't have cabins. It is right on the Grande Rondo river. It's about 18 miles south east of here. We were scheduled to go there in August but they are sending us for July and we may have a choice of going somewhere else for August or staying there.
Our job there will be sell firewood, stock the restrooms (no cleaning) and tidy up the campsites of any litter left behind. We'll have a golf cart there too.
The weather has been just about perfect; high 70's during the day and low 50's at night. We've only had the AC on once since we've been here.
I ended up making three trips to the dentist over the past two weeks. I did get my broken filling replaced and it isn't causing me any problems. The dentist said I will probably need a crown on it but as long as it isn't bothering me there's no rush. I think he did a great job because I've had no pain at all and it isn't even sensitive to cold. I also had my teeth cleaned and it was the most gentle cleaning I've ever had. I may have to come back here every year for my dental check ups since I really like this office much better than my previous one at home.
On one of my trips to the dentist I picked up a new vent cover for the RV from the local RV dealer who happened to be across the street from the dental office. They had a large display of LaFuma recliners so of course I had to try them out. I had read on the RV Dreams blog that Howard and Linda had replaced their old La Fumas with new ones last year and about how comfortable they are. I told John about them so we went into Pendelton on our day off last week to look at them and decided to get two. Our old outdoor recliners were 8 years old and getting pretty worn out. These new ones are wonderfully comfortable and should last us a long time. We've been spending a lot of time outside in our new recliners, reading and napping most afternoons.
That's about all that's new here; I am loving retirement and RV living and have no regrets about deciding to become full-time RVers.
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| Emigrant Springs rustic cabin |
There is another host in the park who is in charge of stocking and selling firewood as well as stocking the restrooms and showers. We both rent out cabins to people who don't have reservations and just generally be helpful and answer questions.
We were told that our host assignment is the busiest of all the assignments and they are worried we will burn out so they are having us move to another campground, Hilgard Junction, for July which doesn't have cabins. It is right on the Grande Rondo river. It's about 18 miles south east of here. We were scheduled to go there in August but they are sending us for July and we may have a choice of going somewhere else for August or staying there.
Our job there will be sell firewood, stock the restrooms (no cleaning) and tidy up the campsites of any litter left behind. We'll have a golf cart there too.
The weather has been just about perfect; high 70's during the day and low 50's at night. We've only had the AC on once since we've been here.
I ended up making three trips to the dentist over the past two weeks. I did get my broken filling replaced and it isn't causing me any problems. The dentist said I will probably need a crown on it but as long as it isn't bothering me there's no rush. I think he did a great job because I've had no pain at all and it isn't even sensitive to cold. I also had my teeth cleaned and it was the most gentle cleaning I've ever had. I may have to come back here every year for my dental check ups since I really like this office much better than my previous one at home.
On one of my trips to the dentist I picked up a new vent cover for the RV from the local RV dealer who happened to be across the street from the dental office. They had a large display of LaFuma recliners so of course I had to try them out. I had read on the RV Dreams blog that Howard and Linda had replaced their old La Fumas with new ones last year and about how comfortable they are. I told John about them so we went into Pendelton on our day off last week to look at them and decided to get two. Our old outdoor recliners were 8 years old and getting pretty worn out. These new ones are wonderfully comfortable and should last us a long time. We've been spending a lot of time outside in our new recliners, reading and napping most afternoons.
That's about all that's new here; I am loving retirement and RV living and have no regrets about deciding to become full-time RVers.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Little Girl Lost
Yesterday morning one of the campground visitors found this sweet girl in a park restroom. We have no idea how long she was in there. She had no collar and looked like she had recently nursed a litter of pups. She was very friendly. No one in the campground recognized her. She stayed up in the shade under a picnic shelter obviously waiting for her owners to come back.
I called the park rangers and told them I was going to try and locate a bulldog rescue and fortunately I found Pacific Northwest Bulldog Rescue based near Portland. A wonderful lady named Christie and her two daughters stopped to use the restrooms and the dog jumped right in their car. They wanted to help and after a couple of phone calls Christie agreed to take the dog to her home where Kidue from the rescue would meet her and pick up the dog.
This morning I got a text from Kodie saying she has her and she is safe. She will have her checked by their Vet and see if she is microchipped and to check her health. If no one claims her in 30 days Christie and her daughters want to adopt her. I hope it all works out and I will never understand how someone can just dump their pet like that. At least they left her where she was safe and I'm glad we were here to help her.
I called the park rangers and told them I was going to try and locate a bulldog rescue and fortunately I found Pacific Northwest Bulldog Rescue based near Portland. A wonderful lady named Christie and her two daughters stopped to use the restrooms and the dog jumped right in their car. They wanted to help and after a couple of phone calls Christie agreed to take the dog to her home where Kidue from the rescue would meet her and pick up the dog.
This morning I got a text from Kodie saying she has her and she is safe. She will have her checked by their Vet and see if she is microchipped and to check her health. If no one claims her in 30 days Christie and her daughters want to adopt her. I hope it all works out and I will never understand how someone can just dump their pet like that. At least they left her where she was safe and I'm glad we were here to help her.
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Emigrant Springs SP
We arrived at Emigrant Springs SP on June 1st after driving in a huge storm complete with pebble sized hail and almost zero visability. By the time we arrived it was just raining intermittently and got settled into our assigned campground host site without getting too wet. The hail did put some dents in the roof of the Mini which I'll have to see about getting removed at a later date.
It is a very nice space, on a corner facing NE. We get shade all afternoon on our patio side. We are surrounded by tall pines and the park is well maintained and the rangers and other campground hosts have been very friendly and helpful.
They gave us a couple of days to get settled in and then on Wed. we started being "on duty". We have a golf cart to drive around and our assignment is to clean the six rental cabins in our area when they become vacant as well as restocking the restrooms as needed and keeping the fire pits cleaned out after campers leave...it takes maybe a hour or two a day for each of us.
The dogs have been a huge hit with the campers. It seems like everyone stops by to greet them and they are loving all the attention. We have our X-Pen enclosure around our patio site so they can be outside with us and not be tied up. We have 4 X-Pens that we strung together to make a very large enclosure and we've got a 9x12 mat inside as well as our camping chairs and recliners.
The first day we were here I had a crown pop off when I was eating a frozen Snickers bar (a very bad idea I have come to find out) so I had to make a visit to a dentist in Pendelton. The good news was he was able to glue the crown back on...yeah!! They offered to clean my teeth and since I haven't done that in a year, I decided to go ahead and do it. Lucky I did because the hygienist noticed I had a broken filling and so they x-rayed it and I have a huge cavity above the filling. I have to go back on Wed and he will try and drill out the decay and re-fill it but it is so close to the nerve and bone that I may end up with a crown, root canal or worst yet an extraction. Luckily the tooth isn't sensitive at all so the nerve may survive the drill and fill...fingers crossed on that one.
I talked to my Mom on the phone today and she is doing quite well all things considered. She will be 96 on June 18th and is living in a residential care home in Sacramento. She's lived there for 6 years and gets excellent care. She was recently hospitalized with acute renal failure but has bounced back pretty well. My brother lives a few miles from her and is able to visit her frequently and take care of what needs taking care of (and thank God for that). It was a hard decision whether to leave for the summer or not but she told me to go and enjoy my life and I knew she was sincere.
We have been walking a lot and trying to get our our of shape legs back in form so we can start riding our bicycles. The park has a lot of nature trails as well as excellent paved roadways where we can ride. We are at about 4000ft altitude and I had a bit of an adjustment the first week but am doing much better now. I've had several bouts of acute asthma over the past couple of years and I am more sensitive to altitude than I used to be (I lived at 6500ft. for 3 years but that was 20 years ago).
I'm so glad we are able to spend the summer here and I'm looking forward to what the other parks will offer. We will be moving to Hilgard Junction SP the end of July and then will finish up at Cove Palisades SP near Bend, OR. in September.
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| Following in the Mini in a hail storm |
It is a very nice space, on a corner facing NE. We get shade all afternoon on our patio side. We are surrounded by tall pines and the park is well maintained and the rangers and other campground hosts have been very friendly and helpful.
They gave us a couple of days to get settled in and then on Wed. we started being "on duty". We have a golf cart to drive around and our assignment is to clean the six rental cabins in our area when they become vacant as well as restocking the restrooms as needed and keeping the fire pits cleaned out after campers leave...it takes maybe a hour or two a day for each of us.
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| Our Host camp site |
The dogs have been a huge hit with the campers. It seems like everyone stops by to greet them and they are loving all the attention. We have our X-Pen enclosure around our patio site so they can be outside with us and not be tied up. We have 4 X-Pens that we strung together to make a very large enclosure and we've got a 9x12 mat inside as well as our camping chairs and recliners.
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| Lola and Ava enjoying the RV life |
The first day we were here I had a crown pop off when I was eating a frozen Snickers bar (a very bad idea I have come to find out) so I had to make a visit to a dentist in Pendelton. The good news was he was able to glue the crown back on...yeah!! They offered to clean my teeth and since I haven't done that in a year, I decided to go ahead and do it. Lucky I did because the hygienist noticed I had a broken filling and so they x-rayed it and I have a huge cavity above the filling. I have to go back on Wed and he will try and drill out the decay and re-fill it but it is so close to the nerve and bone that I may end up with a crown, root canal or worst yet an extraction. Luckily the tooth isn't sensitive at all so the nerve may survive the drill and fill...fingers crossed on that one.
I talked to my Mom on the phone today and she is doing quite well all things considered. She will be 96 on June 18th and is living in a residential care home in Sacramento. She's lived there for 6 years and gets excellent care. She was recently hospitalized with acute renal failure but has bounced back pretty well. My brother lives a few miles from her and is able to visit her frequently and take care of what needs taking care of (and thank God for that). It was a hard decision whether to leave for the summer or not but she told me to go and enjoy my life and I knew she was sincere.
We have been walking a lot and trying to get our our of shape legs back in form so we can start riding our bicycles. The park has a lot of nature trails as well as excellent paved roadways where we can ride. We are at about 4000ft altitude and I had a bit of an adjustment the first week but am doing much better now. I've had several bouts of acute asthma over the past couple of years and I am more sensitive to altitude than I used to be (I lived at 6500ft. for 3 years but that was 20 years ago).
I'm so glad we are able to spend the summer here and I'm looking forward to what the other parks will offer. We will be moving to Hilgard Junction SP the end of July and then will finish up at Cove Palisades SP near Bend, OR. in September.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
We are on our way
Friday was a bittersweet day. It was my last day taking care of Dylan and Massi (my grandsons) and it was John's last day at work (Bloodsource). Jenn took this picture of me and the boys this morning. Dylan was very unhappy with me because I am leaving as you can probably tell from his expression.
We left Sacramento Friday afternoon and headed to Sparks, NV where we spent the night. We had a nice BBQ dinner at a restaurant across the street from the RV park we were staying at and then hit the road Sat. morning. We drove to Lovelock, NV to spend a few hours with John's sister and brother-in-law. They were in charge of a car show in the town square so we hung out there, enjoyed a BBQ brisket sandwich and visited with John's family.
We spent Saturday night in Winnemucca at a no frills RV park (all gravel) and then left this morning for Ambassador RV Resort in Caldwell, ID. This is a very nice park with gravel slabs, concrete patios and grass strips between the spaces. The spaces are very generous in size and most are pull throughs. They have a nice pool and hot tub and I'd definitely recommend this park for anyone staying in the Boise area.
Tomorrow we will travel 180 miles to our summer destination. We have a two month stint as campground hosts at Emigrant Springs State Park.
The dogs have been excellent travelers and are riding with me in the Mini as we follow behind John and the Bighorn. While the truck and RV are gulping diesel my little Mini is just sipping gas...I'm averaging about 35MPG.
We left Sacramento Friday afternoon and headed to Sparks, NV where we spent the night. We had a nice BBQ dinner at a restaurant across the street from the RV park we were staying at and then hit the road Sat. morning. We drove to Lovelock, NV to spend a few hours with John's sister and brother-in-law. They were in charge of a car show in the town square so we hung out there, enjoyed a BBQ brisket sandwich and visited with John's family.
We spent Saturday night in Winnemucca at a no frills RV park (all gravel) and then left this morning for Ambassador RV Resort in Caldwell, ID. This is a very nice park with gravel slabs, concrete patios and grass strips between the spaces. The spaces are very generous in size and most are pull throughs. They have a nice pool and hot tub and I'd definitely recommend this park for anyone staying in the Boise area.
Tomorrow we will travel 180 miles to our summer destination. We have a two month stint as campground hosts at Emigrant Springs State Park.
The dogs have been excellent travelers and are riding with me in the Mini as we follow behind John and the Bighorn. While the truck and RV are gulping diesel my little Mini is just sipping gas...I'm averaging about 35MPG.
Monday, May 25, 2015
Pinch Me!
It's hard to believe that a week from today John and I will be in NE Oregon, beginning the first of our campground hosting positions for the Oregon Park Service.
It's been a long time coming but we are ready to finally put our working lives behind us and venture out into the life retirement as full-time RVers. This will bring a lot of changes to our lives, not the least of which is being away from our family and not having almost daily contact with them.
So, I am going to attempt to document our travels as well as our thoughts on this new lifestyle. I hope our family will feel a bit like they are on this adventure with us and will enjoy seeing what we are up to.
Thankfully, this is the age of unlimited possibilities for instant communication and I fully intend to take advantage of face time, instant messaging and Skype to stay in contact with family and friends.
A little background for any readers who aren't familiar with us, John and I have been married for 22 years and have been camping in one style or another from the very beginning of our relationship. We started out buying a tent and camping gear after only knowing each other for several months. We got our first RV in 1997 (a 24ft travel trailer) and then moved up to a 5th wheel in 2003. In Sept of 2014 we traded in our 5th wheel for a new one, this time a 2015 Heartland Bighorn.
We moved out of our manufactured home in May and have been living in the Bighorn in a local RV park while John finished out his job. He officially retires on Friday, May 29th. I have been the daycare provider for my two grandsons since the oldest was born in June of 2008. The boys are now 7 and 5 and will have their Mom home this summer with them before they go to school is the fall.
I am going to miss them terribly, but it's time for Grandma and Papa John to spread our wings and enjoy life free of obligations, schedules, alarm clocks and all the other constraints of working life.
On Saturday morning we will hitch up the Bighorn to the GMC truck and Lola, Ava and I will follow in the Mini Cooper as we head towards Le Grand, Or. We plan to stop in Lovelock, NV and spend a few hours visiting with John's sister and then spend the night in Winnemucca, NV before heading towards Boise, ID and then on to Emigrant Springs campground near Le Grand, Or.
It's been a long time coming but we are ready to finally put our working lives behind us and venture out into the life retirement as full-time RVers. This will bring a lot of changes to our lives, not the least of which is being away from our family and not having almost daily contact with them.
So, I am going to attempt to document our travels as well as our thoughts on this new lifestyle. I hope our family will feel a bit like they are on this adventure with us and will enjoy seeing what we are up to.
Thankfully, this is the age of unlimited possibilities for instant communication and I fully intend to take advantage of face time, instant messaging and Skype to stay in contact with family and friends.
A little background for any readers who aren't familiar with us, John and I have been married for 22 years and have been camping in one style or another from the very beginning of our relationship. We started out buying a tent and camping gear after only knowing each other for several months. We got our first RV in 1997 (a 24ft travel trailer) and then moved up to a 5th wheel in 2003. In Sept of 2014 we traded in our 5th wheel for a new one, this time a 2015 Heartland Bighorn.
We moved out of our manufactured home in May and have been living in the Bighorn in a local RV park while John finished out his job. He officially retires on Friday, May 29th. I have been the daycare provider for my two grandsons since the oldest was born in June of 2008. The boys are now 7 and 5 and will have their Mom home this summer with them before they go to school is the fall.
I am going to miss them terribly, but it's time for Grandma and Papa John to spread our wings and enjoy life free of obligations, schedules, alarm clocks and all the other constraints of working life.
On Saturday morning we will hitch up the Bighorn to the GMC truck and Lola, Ava and I will follow in the Mini Cooper as we head towards Le Grand, Or. We plan to stop in Lovelock, NV and spend a few hours visiting with John's sister and then spend the night in Winnemucca, NV before heading towards Boise, ID and then on to Emigrant Springs campground near Le Grand, Or.
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