The Shed, Part 1

Most of the week has been devoted to two things: getting unsore (like that word?) and working on the shed. I'm happy to report that there is progress. And as usual, no day is complete without an interruption or two but I expect by the end of this week the outside will be finished. You remember, we are building this for our friends, Mike and Joann. Mike's father has been seriously ill with heart problems and has lived with Mike and Joann for the last month or so. Sunday afternoon he died and we are going to have a family remembrance for him at their house on Saturday. So I want the outside (maybe not the door) finished by then. Also... it is supposed to rain the end of this week.

Yesterday we attended worship at Calvary Church where my friend, Ron is pastor. He is teaching through the New Testament on Sundays and the Old Testament on Wednesdays. It was a good message from Romans, chapter 6.


I promised some pictures. So here is the progress.

The floor is down and we are using it to make the trusses for the roof. The "boss" is helping by standing on rafters to keep them from moving while I nail them.


The framing goes up.
Watch out! I'm coming for you. I need help. The siding is on. There is one big door and one little window. The window isn't cut out yet.

The roof sheeting goes on. Now watch for the updated pictures next week. (I write with a lot of confidence, don't I?)


Well you can see this is my world right now. What's in yours?

I'll Live

Oh my! I think I'll live. For awhile there was some doubt. I have spent a week being stiff, sore, and discovering muscles I didn't know I had. This all started last Monday -- a week ago. On Saturday we went to Newport with a stop in Salem to take Ginger a bed. Oh yeah, I haven't told you about Ginger. Maybe I just better start at the beginning.

Ginger left Gary. This had been building for a long time. About a month ago she called because she had discovered some things he had been doing. I asked her what she wanted to do. She said she wanted to move out. I asked when. She said Monday. So that was our emergency trip to Salem. On Monday she went into a temporary place until a permanent one opened up. She will move from the temporary to the permanent next weekend. If you want to know more, ask me personally but this is enough for public reading.

Last weekend (the 20th-21st) we went to Newport and on the way we delivered a bed for her. It was raining so we wrapped the mattresses in plastic like a Christmas present with lots of duct tape. We also took along a young man who might move to Newport to help with the music. We left him these and still haven't heard how (or if) he made it back. Sunday afternoon we went back to Salem and laid our air mattresses on Ginger's living room floor. Monday was the day of destruction! Our friend Joann in Stayton wanted a closet removed from her house. It was between the dining room and kitchen and took up a lot of living space. So after wielding a 4 lb. hammer, tugging, prying, and carting we got the sheetrock off and the boards removed. All this we took to the dump. That began my week of misery. Boy, was I sore that night. The next day we laid some "floating" wood-grained floor over the whole area. Her son helped by preparing the place where we took out the closet, and laying some of the floor. We were done by early afternoon. Home to Grants Pass.

Now it was time to get serious with the storage shed. This is for another Joann -- our friend who lives down the street. Friday we began to tackle this project in earnest. Well, earnest means when we aren't off to some other meeting or task. Everyday this week there is an interruption. But I'm not sure I could stand a full 8 hours. Next week I'll show you pictures but right now we have the walls up and will work on the siding tomorrow. The next blog tells a little more about it.

Tonight is the first night that I haven't felt like dying when I got home. I think these old (I mean, OLD) muscles are beginning to take the hint. But I'm still stiff with plenty of slightly sore spots. And we're having fun. At least, I think we are. We keep telling ourselves we are. Sunday we drove to Roseburg and attended the Free Methodist church there. Had a nice dinner with Pastor Dan and his wife, Carol. On the way home we left the freeway and took the scenic root through Wolf Creek and along Grave Creek to Galice. It was a little late in the season to see lots of colored leaved but there were still enough to make it a beautiful drive. Very curvy and narrow.

Well I've got to rest my fingers. They're needed for holding a hammer, you know. But that's my world. Now, what's in yours?

Life After Mr. Yard Sale

And so famous Mr. Yard Sale passes into history to become part of Mumau folklore. The leftovers are carted off, the garage is restored (almost), and most of the garbage has been turned over to the tender care of the sanitation brigade. (Sorry I didn't take a picture of the front yard). Now, let's spend the money. Okay, how about having a tooth chip so we can go to the dentist. Good idea. Who will volunteer a tooth? And so, noble Joyce stepped forward with a piece of tooth in her hand. And off we went to Dr. Lanahan for a thorough cleaning, checkup, fillings, and crown. And so it goes.

Our friend, Joann, down the street, wants me to build a storage shed. The largest size we can build without a permit is 200 square feet. She wants it as big as possible so we decided on 12 x 16 feet. I drew it out, pulled off a materials list, got a quote for cost, and showed it to Joann. Very good, let's do it. Oops, it won't fit in the spot she wants to put it. Redraw it to a 10 x 14, pull a new materials list and... wait, let's put it in another spot where we have more room. Redraw it back to a 12 x 16 with an overhang for potting plants, pull a new list, get another quote. All is well. Except I don't have any eraser left on my pencil. We'll start this project after the next project. I'll tell you about that one next time. And next time will probably be in two weeks.

Sunday we went to Grace Bible Church. It was a good service but what stands out is the way we were we welcomed. At least 10 people (maybe more) came up to us, introduced themselves and welcomed us to the service. And they didn't know us -- we were just visitors to their church. They could give lessons to other churches.

On Friday Joyce has a CPR class from 7:00 AM (notice that is AM) to noon, work from 2:30 to 4:30, then we have the Pregnancy Care Center banquet in the evening. Former baseball player, Dave Dravecky is the main speaker. Saturday we leave for Newport with stops in Eugene and Salem on the way. And so it goes.

That's my world. What's in yours? Keep in touch if you can keep up.

The Yard Sale is History

Welcome to another addition of this little journal. I know, it has been two weeks since the last entry. I've come to the conclusion that it might be this way occasionally so I'll stop apologizing and just let it happen. The last 14 days have been hectic, tiring and busy with a strong mixture of exciting. After the board meeting and prayer retreat at Aldersgate -- which were good, by the way -- we got home and went to work on the sorting and cleaning for the yard sale. It seems Mr. Yard Sale has taken on a life of his own. Will he ever go away?

On Sunday we went to an 8:00 church service at Calvary Crossroads and then made a quick emergency trip to Salem. Monday evening we drove home at just the right time to get caught in a traffic jam behind an accident on the freeway. It could have been worse -- we only had to wait one hour, some people had to wait three hours. It seems some truck spilled his load of glass all over the road. Jim, Joyce and uncle Ken also arrived on Monday but they knew how to "break in" to the house and make themselves at home. We got home about 12:30 Tuesday morning and went to bed in the RV. Tuesday was a good day of visiting and relaxing. They left Wednesday and then it was back to Mr. Yard Sale. We enjoyed Jim and Joyce being here but it was beginning to seem like Mr. Yard Sale was the guest that wouldn't go away.

Maybe if we schedule him he'll take the hint. So we set it up for this past Saturday. Friday was set-up day -- and it took ALL day. Our whole front lawn was covered with stuff. We borrowed 11 tables from the church (some were old doors set on saw horses) and we still had stuff sitting on tarps on the ground. It was embarrassing to realize all that stuff came out of my house. It was sort of like having a bad cold and filling hanky after hanky with that stuff from your nose. Well, something like that. Okay, it didn't rain, things went well, and we didn't collapse from exhaustion... but almost! The nice thing is that we got rid of most of the big stuff. Some of the other that didn't sell was junk and went into the garbage. The other leftovers will go to Goodwill tomorrow. And it will be over!!!! Mr. Yard Sale has left the premises. Yeah!

Today was recovery day. We did NOT attend an 8:00 worship service. I was hardly conscious at 8:00. But we did attend one at 10:30 -- the Neighborhood Church. The pastor and I always used to joke about the opposite church being the "other" neighborhood church. This is a Christian and Missionary Alliance Church so it was like "going home" for Joyce. They are a small, friendly, family-type church.

Well, projects do lie out there on the horizon. We'll get to them. And this is what is happening in my world. What's happenin' in yours?

Fossils and Eggs

We have come to the conclusion that God was demonstrating his great sense of humor when he created eastern Oregon. After leaving Cascade Locks last week, we traveled up the Columbia River Gorge to Arlington. Not very far but we stopped there so we could go either of two directions -- we ended up going both. We have friends who live in Umatilla and, as it turned out she was in California but he was at home and would love to have company. So we left the 5th wheel at a campground in Arlington and soloed up to visit Ken. They have a wonderful place at the end of a dead end road overlooking the Columbia River at McNary Dam with deer walking through their yard and beautiful sunsets to the west. I could learn to live like that!!!

The next day we turned south and pulled up out of the gorge onto the high plateau of eastern Oregon (or maybe it is still central Oregon). Rolling hills. Up and down. Wheat country. Joyce and I had always heard about this part of the state but had never seen it. We stopped in Condon for some ice cream (don't tell my doctor). To give you an idea of how sparsely populated this area is... Condon is a wide spot in the road with a population of 770 but is the county seat of Gilliam County. Fossil has a population of 460 and is the seat of Wheeler County. Fossil is where we camped for two nights. What a fun place! Our campground was on a bit of grass behind the Fossil Motel and RV Park. With deer -- lots of deer -- walking through the town and the fields behind us. We used Fossil as our base to go see the three units that make up the John Day Fossil Beds. One down by Dayville, one over by Mitchell, and one up by -- well, not by anything, but between Fossil and Antelope. If you want, you can find all this on an Oregon map south of Arlington. The scenery is so fascinating and so changing. We actually have painted hills in Oregon. They are gorgeous in the afternoon sun. We have funny shaped hills and lots of odd rock formations. I think God was really feeling good when he got to Oregon... "Hey, I think I'll make these rocks look strange and see if I can get these to stand on top of each other." Well, maybe. He might have!













The intrepid hikers looking at some of the strange formations











One of the painted hills -- one with white in it.
Our campground in fossil.

From there we traveled west and ended up at Richardson Ranch just north of Madras. That is a well known place where you can dig for opals and agates and thunder eggs. They also stock lots... no, make that LOTS of beautiful rocks from all over the world. I've never seen so many different rocks in one place. We parked the RV in their yard and drove about 7 miles back up into the hills to dig for thunder eggs. We found the spot, got some instruction from another digger, and went to work. It was easy to find them. In fact, too easy because it only took us about 30 minutes to get all we wanted -- which was only about 18 or so. According to our new-found friend there is a way of telling (kind of) which ones will be interesting and beautiful when cut open so we didn't keep all we dug. We had two cut and they are "ok" -- not really great, but not too bad. All this costs money so we went a little conservative. Now to find someone with a rock saw to cut the rest of these.

We have come to the conclusion that campgrounds are supposed to be noisy. The "really nice" one in Cascade Locks was 100 yards from a train track -- with a crossing nearby which meant the engineer had the privilege of blowing his horn at all hours of the night. Same at Arlington. Fossil was quiet but then at Richardson Ranch... No train for miles. Just cows. A hundred feet away, right across the fence. Apparently they had just taken the calves away from the moms so they mooed all night. Cows are weird. They would be really quiet, then one would start in and all the rest would join like a gospel choir. And they would move from one end of the pasture to the other -- just following each other to... they didn't know where, just follow. Some of that time was right by our RV. But other than that is was quiet.

From the rock hounding we went to Aldersgate Conference Center near Salem, left the 5th wheel and soloed to Newport for the weekend. We stayed with friends, visited with Willy and Angel plus some other friends and returned to Aldersgate today. I have a board meeting tomorrow and a Pastor's prayer event tomorrow afternoon and Wednesday. Then we head for Grants Pass. All that sounds exhausting when I read it but it was really a lot of fun. Now its back to work.

And so, that is what is happening in my world. What's in yours? Love to hear from you.

Now For A Little Fun

Okay, I guess this is me in my new life. At least that is what the website said. A friend pointed out http://simpsonizeme.com/ so I had to try it. What do you think? A good likeness? Be careful how you answer that!! Go ahead. Try it yourself. See what you look like. Be brave.

Joyce and I left Grants Pass Thursday late afternoon, "camped" in the street in front of Ginger's house in Salem and then went on the Portland the next day. Ginger drove her car and Joyce rode with her. We camped at Pheasant Ridge RV Park in Wilsonville and then went to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) together. They are showing a display of plasticised (sorry about the spelling) human bodies. The bodies are donated but the plasticing process makes them look, well... like plastic. You have to keep reminding yourself that they are real. They are posed in both scientific and artistic manners -- set you can see the muscles or organs, the bones or blood veins, etc. It was a good display. How awesome God created us. The infinate detail so everything would work together correctly.

Ginger drove home Saturday and Joyce and went to the End of the Oregon Trail display in Oregon City. My opinion is that it is just "okay," and probably really good for someone who knows nothing about the Oregon trail. This morning we attended church at the Gladstone Free Methodist Church (near Portland) and are now in Cascade Locks. Tomorrow we will move on toward the John Day Fossil Beds, circle around and end up back at Aldersgate Conference Center near Salem by the weekend. This our time to get away. We need it! We worked hard for four straight weeks!!!!!!! Wow!

And after today, no cell phone or internet for a few days. So our world is one of investigation again. What's happening in yours?

Moving Along

We are keeping busy! Oh, yes we are!!!! ...taking care of all the little things so wonderfully entangled with the big things. Last week we had overnight guests. My uncle, Ken Park and his son, Jim and wife Joyce were on their way north so they stopped to say hi. They live in Tucson, Arizona where we are planning to visit sometime this winter. Ken was a pastor in the Oregon Conference and then lived in Newberg for many years. So he was on his way back to visit his son and old friends. Jim and Joyce were going on to Bellingham to visit their son and family. They'll stop and see us on their way south in October.

The sorting for the One Great Yard Sale keeps moving forward. The pile on the deck is getting bigger and we filled another recycle barrel. But there is light at the end of tunnel, er... garage.

I want you to know I'm a real go getter. Joyce worked 2 days last week and will work one day this week -- at the daycare. I take her there and then go get her (get it, go get er. Oh never mind). Beside that, she has put in quite a bit time here at home getting the crafts ready. She even enlisted me to help a few times. We are trying to upgrade her "It's In The Bag" presentation. I made her some half pages with those words and some pictures as a logo. Now we are typing the directions for each craft. If you haven't guessed, she delivers the crafts in a paper grocery bag, thus the name.

The pickup was in the shop for a day last week. The "service engine soon" light would come on, go off, come on, go off. So they fixed some wires or something. Not cheap! I took my bike when I dropped of the truck so I could ride it home, then rode it back when the work was completed. I was proud of myself that I made it without feeling like I was dying.

And so we keep at the little stuff... sure seems like there is a lot of it. I've repaired a security light, fixed the barbecue, worked on the RV, cut up some scrap wood, and so on. So many little things have been let slide for so long it will take some time to get caught up. Well, those little things are my world right now. What's yours?

Sort, Recycle, and Toss

"It would be easier to sell the place as is and move," I told Joyce in the middle of cleaning 15 years of accumulation out of the garage. We are getting ready for a yard sale -- probably a massive JUNK sale. The only problem is that there is so much stuff to go thru I don't think we can have it until October. Hope the weather holds! Joyce has gone thru her craft storage room and tossed, sorted and rearranged. We are still working the garage and have part of the house to do. WE HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF!!! The deck has a huge pile on the middle of it covered with some old blankets. That is the yard sale stuff. We have filled 3 big recycle barrels with more to go. And that isn't saying anything about the garbage. I'll probably have to make a dump run to get rid of all of it. Lots of work yet to do and we will be gone for a couple weeks later in the month. More about that when it happens.

Did you see the lunar eclipse last week? I went out and looked at it as it was just beginning. Then when it was almost total, I awakened Joyce and we went out and watched the last sliver of light disappear. I got out the binoculars and looked at the total eclipse. The moon sort of glowed, like it was translucent with an inner light. Kind of awesome. I don't remember ever seeing a total lunar eclipse before -- maybe did, but I don't remember it. I'll remember this one.

In our continuing quest to visit all the local churches, we attended Redwood Christian Church last Sunday. They have two worship services and the one we attended didn't have very many people there, but it was Labor Day weekend.

Well, I need to get back to the sorting, tossing, cleaning, and boxing. This is my world right now (deep in dust!). What's in yours?