The Three Ps

Our theme of life right now is “prepare to move.” That means painting the inside of the house – not every wall (I hope) but most of them, including the hard ones like kitchen and bathroom. We are also packing boxes and trying to figure out where to put them so we can still paint and clean. Also figure out what to store and what to pack for a temporary living situation (rental in Salem).

So we are on track to be Salem on October 30, live in the RV for 2 weeks to a month (or more), find a place to rent and then see what the Lord has in store. At some point along here our house will be for sale but not at a give away price so it may not sell quickly. Or it might. We’ll see.

One big item we are working on is how to refinish the kitchen cabinets in the easiest but best way possible. We are not doing expensive things like re-facing everything. Whether or not we can refinish with something similar to what is on them remains to be seen. Stay tuned. If not, we might have to paint them which means lots of work in prep and then in actually doing it.

Mixed in with all the painting and packing is a bunch of medical stuff. Nothing serious but let try to elicite some sympathy with my tale of pain. In August my shoulders hurt after I scrubbed a wall to get it ready for refinishing. That was normal for me because I don’t do a lot of that and I often hurt for a couple days after doing something strenuous. The right shoulder quit hurting after a couple weeks but the left remained painful. I still thought it was overworked muscles. We were gone most of September and during that time I started using some pain relievers to make it a little more tolerable. When I got back I saw the doctor who diagnosed it as bursitis. Imagine, bursitis! And at my young age. I don’t know anyone else in my family who has or has had bursitis. The doc said it had affected the rotor cup and muscles and tendons and all kinds of stuff in there. So I have been going to physical therapy (at this point 3 times a week) and doing my home exercises.

Meanwhile Joyce is scheduled for a colonoscopy in a week or so and is going to the dentist to get a couple teeth crowned. So we are doing our part for the medical community and keeping our schedule complicated enough that we have to refer to the calendar each day to see what we are doing. For instance, tomorrow we will paint for an hour or so, go to a paint store to see about stain for the cabinets, drop off pre-op papers regarding the colonoscopy, take Joyce to the dentist, leave her there while I go to physical therapy, go back to get Joyce, go home and paint some more (or sit back and recover!).

So don’t worry about us. You know where we are and what we are doing. We’re painting, packing, and providing income for the medical professions.

Beautiful Weather

It’s been awhile since I blogged. I believe the last we communicated we were at Glacier Campground just outside Glacier National Park. Of course, the trip must continue but let’s do it in pictures. I didn’t get to show you all our  pictures last time because I wasn’t sure about the capabilities of the WiFi. So let’s back up a little.

The area in Northeast Oregon is known as the Alps of America. I’ve never seen the real Alps but these mountains are magnificent. Nasty weather moved in while we were at the top of the Wallowa Lake Tram. This picture and the one below highlights the clouds (fog?).

This is what it looked like as we descended the mountain. Kind of eerie, isn’t it?

Going north on Highway 3, just before crossing into Washington, we passed this canyon where Chief Joseph of Nez Perce fame as born – or so it is said. The Indians would winter in the canyon because they were protected from the harsh winds and snows. Chief Joseph was born in a cave down there somewhere.

In Glacier National Park we witnessed a multitude of majestic mountains.

This is the only glacier you can see from the Going To Sun Road and it is much smaller than years ago. There are a few on another highway but we didn’t go there. One that you used to be able to walk on has receded so far you have to hike to an overlook – and can’t get to the glacier. The glaciers in Glacier National Park are almost gone!

 

The boat ride on Lake McDonald gave some nice reflections. The Bighorn Sheep and the Mountain Goats were “roadside attractions.”

This is a momma and her kid. Another kid was left in the parking lot just below where I’m standing. It looked like he was eating gravel but maybe he was getting salt from the rocks left from some construction. I don’t know, but it sure looked odd.

Enjoying the good life at Glacier Campground. We had absolutely wonderful weather the entire trip. Yes, there was some rain but, hey, we were in the northwest and this was September! The rain really didn’t hinder anything that we wanted to do and it made for some interesting pictures as you’ll see below.

After Glacier we made a one day drive to Spokane to see some of my relatives. On the left is Ric (his wife Melode had to leave earlier). She is my second cousin. They just bought a new house for both living and business. Of course, we had to visit – in fact we were the first visitors to use the formal dining room! We camped in their yard; Mike and Joann went to an RV Park. I am standing between Howard and JoeAnn. He is my first cousin on my dad’s side.

Then it was off to Grand Coulee Dam. We went to the visitor’s center and watched the evening light show. It is a laser production projected onto the face of the dam. Beautiful. The next day, Mike and I took a tour of the powerhouse at the far left of this picture. Then they took us to the top of the dam. Very interesting.

It was at this point that we parted company with Mike and Joann. They needed to start pointing toward home so they could be at work on Monday. It was 1:00 Friday. They headed south and we headed west on the North Cascades Highway through North Cascade National Park. We stopped for the night in Twisp, Washington. It rained so the next day was a little rainy and foggy.

I don’t know the name of the waterfall but this is Diablo Lake in the North Cascades. Too many beautiful pictures to post all of them. And there is family to brag about.

Our first stop in Western Washington was at Joyce’s sister’s house in Bellingham. Her sister, Sharon, is between us. Next is niece Sharla, and Fallon, nephew Dan’s girlfriend.

Then it was down to Everett for a visit with more of Joyce’s relatives. The lady sitting in the middle is Aunt Margaret. She is 98 years young and insisted on making breakfast for us before we left. The others are various cousins.

A fun side trip while we were in Everett was a ferry ride across the sound to Port Angeles to meet baby Grace. Her parents are Marissa and Josh, another niece.

Then down to Auburn to visit with Rick and Bess. They have been friends of Joyce’s since high school days. We were able to camp on the street in front of their house but what wonderful hosts they are.

On Thursday we drove down to Salem to stay for 5 days. We had lots of fun with Ginger and I attended a board meeting on Tuesday. After the meeting, it was off to home. Wow, we were tired. So this week has been a little rest, a little cleaning up from the trip, and a little painting. The painting will intensify as we get the house ready to put a “For Sale” sign out front. Life is interesting so stay tuned.