HighFiber: Florence OR

Showing posts with label Florence OR. Show all posts

Monday, July 24, 2023

Going Nowhere Fast

Well, we're still in town. The formerly ours 5th wheel still hasn't been picked up.

The part the buyer needed for his pickup truck has come in, but it still needs to be installed. He will try to get here this week to take our special 5th wheel hitch off to be installed in his truck, and then he will come get the trailer. We tried on Monday to get an appointment to pick up the new trailer on Tuesday, but they were unable to schedule it on such short notice. They need a fairly large block of time to go through and test everything and then show us how everything works. They were willing to do it this week, but we have doctor's appointments, dog grooming and Sandy's neutering planned, so we now have it scheduled for July 31st. For the first night we have a reservation for Armitage Park just outside Eugene with full hookups to check everything out. It's a Lane County Park and looks to be fairly rural. When I checked a couple of weeks ago, I thought they were booked through August, but we were able to get a pull-through site for July 31st. After that, we plan to go to Florence, where Charlie's brother, Jim, still has a large account balance at the place where we stayed before on the Siuslaw River, at the Port of Siuslaw Campground. It's very scenic and we can walk into old town and lots of restaurants.

Jim had paid in advance to stay there while he was looking for a place to buy in Florence, but then he found something right away. They give raincheck instead of refunds, so he offered it to us whenever we want it. We plan to stay there for the rest of the week. If there are any problems with the new trailer, we can stop in Eugene on the way back.

Monday we realized that Sandy had what appeared to be a rock or a small piece of wood stuck in some sap/pitch between the pads of his foot.

On the advice of the vet, we tried to remove it using olive oil to dissolve the pitch. It helped us see the rock better (it turned out to be a rock), but it was going to need clipping of the hair between the toes to get it out, so we made a trip to the vet. They were able to fit us in toward the end of the day. Charlie identified the tiny rock as a feldspar, probably plagioclase (because it wasn't basalt, and the feldspar that's common here is plagioclase). It's a little over 1/4" across in the longer dimension.

We had an appointment for this coming week for Sandy's canine influenza booster, which we had scheduled when we thought we would be gone this whole week, so we got that done while we were there. We also had the bloodwork done for Sandy's neutering, which is now scheduled for Wednesday. It could be a rather involved surgery, as he has undescended testicles. One may be more accessible than the other.

Wednesday we decided to drive to Suttle Lake, a few miles past Sisters, to hike the trail around the lake. Our back deck is being refinished, so the dogs can't go out to the backyard. My toe was a lot better, and the hike went well for the most part. Sandy had his first experience with off-leash hiking. He did very well, turning and checking on us every few minutes, which earned him a reward. Sandy and Dusty took turns being in the lead.

Both dogs got into the water, and when we threw a couple of sticks, they both really got into it. I think this looks like synchronized dog paddle. It's hard to see, but they each have a stick.

Sandy's favorite spot to hang out at home is on the floor of the dining room, in the corner next to where I sit when I use the computer. We had a square seat cushion that was delivered to us by mistake when IKEA brought my Billy Cabinets. IKEA told us to keep it, and they would send a new one to the people who ordered it. It has been under the bed in the guest room ever since, more than four years. I decided it would make a good dog bed, although we have a bigger one in the family room. I thought about making a cover, because I couldn't find a ready-made one the right size and shape, but then I found an Etsy shop, KoveredUp. They make custom crate covers and dog bed covers, among other things. I got the instructions for how to measure the cushion and ordered one. It came on Thursday. Sandy likes it! I could have washed it, and I'm sure the folds would come out if I did that, but it's easy to take off, so I decided to wait until it gets dirty.

On Friday, we decided to walk to the dog park nearest to our home. It was hot, and there weren't a lot of other people and dogs there, but the pups had a good time with each other and those who were.

The back deck is coming along. We hired Josh, who has done several other jobs for us, to refinish it. He spent a couple of days doing repairs and did the sanding on Saturday. It should look good when it's finished.

I made some progress on Soren's quilt. The main body of it is almost done. I plan to put in a narrow inner border and then add an outer border.

I had a chance to work on the Kultainen käki sweater for a few rows. I like how the pattern is coming out. It's subtle, but it shows up.

Some political figures during the week suggested that slaves benefited from slavery. It caused me to go back and look through the book my ancestor kept of his family and holdings. I came across this page in the book, where he recorded the births of slave babies among the people he "owned."

If you look at the dates, you will see that Vilet gave birth to five children in a little more than five years. The entry at the bottom is a different woman, Mary, who gave birth once and died four days later. This started me thinking about another ancestor of mine who came from Senegal, most likely as a slave.

I have a lot of difficulty responding to comments to my blog posts because of technical issues beyond my control (my lack of understanding of how things work). Message me on Facebook, Ravelry or Spoutible if you need information.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart" in Children's. Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil and Mariah, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Still the Kultainen käki cardigan and the EmPower People Kerchief (hibernating).

What's on my loom: I didn't make much progress on the placemats.

What's on my sewing machine: Still quilt blocks.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Outdoor Fun, another rerun. The four girls leave off watching a movie on the tablet and find some interesting things to do outside in the fresh air.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to Die Unendliche Geschichte by Michael Ende. Just when you think the story is over, it continues on. Well-named, but it's fine that it goes on, because I'm enjoying it.

What's in my wine glass: 19 Crimes "Sauvignon Block" Sauvignon Blanc 2022 from South Eastern Australia.

What's my tip of the week: Some salad greens come in thin plastic boxes, and mushrooms often come in smaller plastic boxes. These boxes usually can be recycled, but they also are useful for organizing storage drawers and shelves. We plan to use some of them in the new trailer, which has some storage but no drawers.

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with a few changes.

Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is available from BookBabyBookshop and other booksellers worldwide. The stories are Little Green Greatcoat, The Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.

Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are also still available from booksellers. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories in Emil are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The three stories in Mariah are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

<a class="blsdk-follow" href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/highfiber-7365001" target="_blank" data-blsdk-type="button" data-blsdk-counter="false">Follow</a><script>(function(d, s, id) {var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) return;js = d.createElement(s);js.id = id;js.src = "https://www.bloglovin.com/widget/js/loader.js?v=1";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, "script", "bloglovin-sdk"))</script>

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/7365001/?claim=kkvctsdtf4n">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Monday, August 22, 2022

Go West! Go East!

Well, the trailer rugs are done and on the floor. I finished the rugs with hemstitching on the first night and the next morning and trimmed the fringe to roughly the same length. I've decided that I like having all three of them in the trailer.

They're handy to have, because they collect any dirt or sand that gets tracked in, but they can be shaken out and even washed, if needed. It reduces the need for sweeping.

Our trip to Florence didn't take as long as the last time. It makes a difference when you know where you're going. We got hooked up at the Port of Siuslaw Campgrounds and Marina when we got there. During our stay, we spent the better part of two days at the beach with the dogs. First we went to the one north of town, Hecata Beach, where we went last time, then to one of the parks south of town, South Jetty, which is a fee area, but we were able to use one of our Golden Age Passports (we each have one). Parts of the route to get to the beach were difficult with the stroller because of the deep sand, but we pulled it rather than pushing when the going got difficult, and that worked better. I started the Walk for a Dog app at the first parking lot where we stopped for the rest room, then put it on pause and forgot to start it again until we were partway to the beach. Oops! We still recorded a pretty good walk, though. I think it would have been about a mile.

Dusty loves the beach, because, with the Chuckit, a person can make the ball go a long way. There is nothing Dusty loves more than to chase a ball. It's fun to watch the ball disappear into nothing with Dusty running after it until he disappears, too, only to return with the ball in his mouth.

Rocky rode in the stroller for most of the "walk," but he got out to wander around on the beach after we got to it. He seemed to be enjoying himself. Interesting smells never lose their appeal, I guess.

He was ready for a snooze on the way back.

Dusty, on the other hand, didn't want to leave. He was having too much fun. He ended up swallowing a lot of sand from carrying the ball, but he got rid of it the next day.

We did manage to wear him out enough for him to appreciate nap time, though.

On Wednesday we took Jim out for lunch to celebrate his birthday, which was in July. He was supposed to be in Bend over that time, but changed his plans because of the excessive heat. We ate at a place called International C-food Market Restaurant (say it out loud, and it makes sense). It was outdoors, of course, or we wouldn't have gone to it, but the weather was very pleasant, so it was especially nice to be outside. They allow dogs in the eating area. Every table has a water bowl, and the waitpersons keep them refilled. In the photo, you can see Dusty under the table and Rocky in his stroller behind Charlie.

I had New England Clam Chowder, which you can get with a salad and toast. Charlie had fish and chips, and Jim had fish tacos.

Our final night for this trip was spent at Three Rivers Casino Resort (still in Florence), where they let you park your RV in their big RV lot overnight for free, just for coming in and registering. To stay longer, you need "points" showing you had participated in the gambling. We stayed in and watched Missing Link, which I had stored on my iPad. I had brought the DVD player that attaches to my laptop, but it was Charlie's job to pick out the DVDs to take, and he forgot, but I had forgotten the pickles, so I think we're even. We hadn't seen "Missing Link" for a while, so it was nice to watch again, and we enjoyed it. (Earlier in the week we watched The Secret Life of Pets, which I also have stored in my iPad.)

We saw a lot of interesting wildlife on this trip, including seagulls, seals and this egret, who was always in this patch of grass. He/she seemed to imply ownership.

The meals were mostly very basic. We had homemade TV dinners for supper two nights, this pizza (a basic Costco frozen cheese pizza embellished with fresh vegetables by me) and some salmon burgers with potato salad I had made ahead of time.

Breakfast was bagels, bran muffins or cereal. I had brought eggs to cook, but the timing didn't work out for that. Lunch was sandwiches and fruit.

Two of the dolls got to go along, so I could take photos and work it into a story for next week. I handed out a few cards to people with children and dropped off a couple of my books at the Books 'n' Bears in Florence, walking distance from where we were staying for most of the week.

On the way home on Saturday, I discovered this stowaway walking on my leg. I got him onto this piece of used paper towel and gently slipped him into a sandwich bag I had in my pocket for dog poopies. When we got to Sisters to visit the dump station, I released him onto a rock.

I have no idea what kind of bug this is. I hope it isn't a pest.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart" in Children's. Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of our first book, Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, it would help if you left an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Still the Hinterland Pullover and the emPower People Kerchief. I took the pullover with me and now have a few inches on the first sleeve. The Kerchief is still in hibernation.

What's on my loom: Waiting for...placemats?

What's on my sewing machine: Its cover.

What's in my hoop: Same as always.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Pippa and Pauly find a snake in the garden and ask Emil to come and talk to it for them in A Snake in the Garden.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to Come a Little Closer by Rachel Abbott. Barely started and didn't get to listen during the trip.

What's in my wine glass: Monte Planus Breedekloof Pinotage 2020 from South Africa. Yum! At least fresh out of the bottle.

What's my tip of the week: I have a lot of trouble getting the tops off of cooking spray, so once I get them off I leave them off. However, whenever I take it with me when we go camping, I put the top back on, so I don't end up with cooking spray all over the inside of the cabinet in the trailer.

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with few changes. Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is now available for preorder from booksellers world wide. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is also available. The three stories in the first book are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less.

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/7365001/?claim=kkvctsdtf4n">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Monday, July 18, 2022

Led Astray But Still Fun--Mostly

Well, this first photo is just to show I've made a bit more progress on the Hinterland Pullover. Just a little less than two inches to go before the bottom ribbing.

On Monday, we drove out to the coast to visit my BIL, Jim, in his new digs in Florence. I thought I might get a lot done on this project during the trip, but it was not to be. (I did get a few more rows done while we Zoomed with our daughter on Sunday, though.)

I worked on another project (a sweater for Pippa) for part of the drive, but I had to help navigate, and then Rocky became stressed, so I had to comfort him. We ended up going way out of our way to the north on the way there. It took an extra two hours, including stops for us and the dogs.

We followed Jim's directions to his new home. It's a manufactured home in a gated community. The house was a real mess when he bought it. It was covered with some kind of black moss, as were the statue, wishing well and bench out in front. He pressure-washed the outside of the house and the other things. Then he had the house repainted, a new back deck put on and the house reroofed. The landscaping was also a mess, of course. He spent a lot of time on that, as well. Inside, he needed to do a lot of repairs and pull up old carpeting in the great room. I think it looks nice on the outside now, and he will get the inside in shape with a bit of time.

Monday's supper was a simple but tasty meal, with a bottle of bubbly to go along with it.

Here's a look at mine. Some salmon, a wild rice dish and three-bean salad, all prepared by our host.

Tuesday, we went to the beach, but it was "blowing up something fierce," as they used to say in the old movies. Not exactly gale-force, but too strong for the beach to be pleasant, so we put the stroller back in the car and drove in to Old Town Florence. We took the stroller out again and strolled up and down the main street. We saw the RV campground where we plan to stay in August, if we can ever figure out how to get there more directly than by going almost to Portland. (More about that later.)

On Wednesday, we took the dogs to an open area near Jim's home so they could run. The houses are built on dunes that have become compacted over the years. The trees and bushes seem to have really deep roots. Dusty loves chasing a ball.

This is Rocky's idea of "going for a run." He seemed enjoy it. New smells and feeling the sun on his back were undoubtedly pleasant.

On Thursday, the wind had died down enough that it was pleasant on the beach, at least during the morning. The guys (two-legged and four-legged ones) enjoyed a walk on the beach, and Dusty got to chase the ball a bit more.

I was surprised that Dusty didn't chase the birds, but he was happy just going after the ball.

My main objective in going to the beach was to get some photos of Pippa and Pauly on the beach. Even though the wind had let up a lot, there were still gusts that gave me problems. Pauly seemed to know how to keep his hat on, but Pippa's hat went flying several times, and I had to chase it down the beach. I also had to chase the bag I used to bring the dolls in, along with the two plastic newspaper bags I had them in to protect them. The angle of the sun was still fairly low, so I had to deal with my shadow when taking photos with the sun behind me and the bright sand causing the dolls to be backlit when I took photos from the other direction. The photos are pretty much OK with some editing, however.

We came across this empty crab carapace when we were walking back up the beach to where we were parked. I think it's a Pacific Rock Crab, but you really need the legs and underbelly to identify it for sure. (It found its way into the story.)

Friday we drove home. We tried to go a different way, but somehow missed a turn without realizing it and got off the road we planned to use. I asked Siri for help, and she directed us from there. Again Rocky was unhappy, so it wasn't a pleasant trip. It was better, though, than it was for someone. We passed this wreck. I've been trying to find out what happened to anyone who was in this car. No snow or ice at fault, so I can only guess it was either the driver's negligence or another vehicle (now gone) was involved.

This is where we were when we encountered the flipped-over car, on Hwy 58. This road brought us back to the main road through Bend, but we got on it quite a ways south of town. We think we have our mistake figured out for our trip next month with the trailer. (Fingers crossed.)

I'm planning on asking the vet about Rocky's distress. Maybe he was car sick because he can't see where we're going, but he never threw up. If his ears hurt from the elevation changes, they stopped when he got out of the car, so maybe not that. It's puzzling. He has always been a good traveler.

For some cuteness––or maybe some silliness––here's Johan, ready to go to PE camp. Not silly, you say? Just give him a few minutes.

This week's plan is for a partial bathroom remodel in our master bath. This shower stall is going to be removed and made into an additional closet. The workers will just rip this one out, and we will hire someone else to finish it as a closet. My plan is for cedar lining.

Where will we shower, you ask? We're having the big soaking tub removed and replaced with a classy new shower stall. Here's the "before" photo:

The piece of tile broken off is from the asbestos test, required by state law. The person who removed it also drilled a couple of holes in the wall to test other places around the existing tub. Apparently they found no asbestos, because they are ready to go (we think). It's costing us extra to use this space instead of the existing shower, but we think it will be a much nicer shower, especially with the window. Stay tuned for updates!

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: The Hinterland Pullover, Pippa's Seattle Sweater and again no progress on the emPower People Kerchief this week.

What's on my loom: Still the Trailer Rugs, no progress this week.

What's on my sewing machine: Maybe a bathing suit for Pauly is needed..

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: In The Balancing Trick, Veronika shows Billy and Jolena how The Writer fills out a check and keeps track of the checks she writes.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: We finished listening to The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin. We started it when we drove up to Beaverton in February. We didn't have too much trouble figuring out where we were. It was a great book! Still listening to The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone on the Audible app. I'm a little closer to the end of it. It's good, too.

What's in my wine glass: Arriccio Merlot 2019. Pretty good!

What's my tip of the week: We often use olive oil in place of butter on our bread, sometimes mixed with a little granulated garlic and some herb mixture like Penzeys "Justice" seasoning, a little salt and maybe some pepper. It's great for dipping, but it can be messy if you pour it on. I like to mix it up first in a small jar, then put it into the fridge until it solidifies. Then you can spread it nicely. You have to leave it refrigerated until you need it, then put it back in the fridge, though, because if you leave it out, it will "melt" (or return to its liquid state).

Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is also available. The three stories in the first book are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less.

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/7365001/?claim=kkvctsdtf4n">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>