Can You Come NOW???

What a crazy few days. I knew it would be a busy week anyway. There was the usual volunteer work at the high school on Monday, followed by visits to my dad, the grocery store and my visiting teachers. Then it was meeting with the construction company to go over plans for the new kitchen. That was just Monday!!!
Tuesday I faced the reality of what it will mean to have no kitchen for up to 6 weeks. We are talking no water, sink, oven, cupboards, etc. So we began immediate plans for a temporary kitchen. The plan is to get this all set and ready before the holidays hit in 1 month. Construction will start right after Jan. 1! The obvious choice is what we affectionately call the dog's room. In previous dog years, the dogs actually used this room. But our poor, spoiled Riley sleeps in the house, hangs out in the house and generally goes where we go. To put it mildly, he does not like the outside room! But after so many years of an open dog occupied room, it is to say the least DIRTY! So we began to clean. Not a fun job. Part way through, I went and got Reed and asked for an honest opinion as to whether we would ever get it clean enough to even consider eating in there, let alone preparing food in there! Next step was bug bombs, ordering a dumpster and just getting it done. The old office looks pretty good, but still plenty to do. But all that has been put on hold as the next crisis hit the fan.
Reed's dad had a knee replacement about 15+ years ago. He never got the left knee done, but finally decided that he was going to live, so why not get it fixed. The plan called for having repair done on the orginal replacement with a short recovery this fall and total knee done on the left this winter. When the Dr.'s went in for the repair, they found his femur fractured (don't know when, how, or what happened) and deterioration around the original replacement. What started as a repair became a total knee replacement. What started as a short, easy recovery, became major. Wonderful Jessica offered to go back and help if needed.
By Thursday the family called and asked if Jessica could come - immediately. So today we are running samples in the lab, Reed on the SEM microscope at OSU, doing Jessica's laundry, packing, making airline reservations, rescheduling Dr. appt., and anything else we can think of. Jessica is great for doing this and being willing to go help out her grandfather. We love you Jess!

Too Much Fun!!

This weekend we celebrated Jackie's birthday. She has finally turned 24 and she couldn't even remember how old she was!! It all started with another trip to the coast. I know, you probably think we spend way too much time going to the coast. But hey, Josh had the day off and it was another incredible day at the coast. Besides we're self employeed. So we headed for' Lincoln City to hit the outlet malls. Of course we had to stop at out favorite spot at Cape Foulweather and then off to Mo's for lunch. We love lunch at Mo's! The boys left early to head for home. They stopped just outside of Depoe Bay to let the dog out. Lo and behold there were whales playing in the cove. They saw lots of spouts and tail splashes. The girls left later and witnessed an incredible sunset. Both events were without the camera.

The next day we took Jackie for a pedicure and manicure. The day was toppped off with dinner at the Tokoyo. It is the new teppanyaki grill place. It was lots of fun for everyone, except for Kayden who slept through the whole event. Then it was home for cake and ice cream. Fun weekend for everyone!

A Day At the Coast

Today we convinced Reed to take a day and we headed for the coast. We had Jackie, Zach and the boys meet us in Tillamook at the cheese factory. We had a lot of fun touring the cheese factory and then having lunch together. Afterwards Reed, Jessica and I headed for Cape Meares outside of Tillamook. It is really cool because you start off at the cape above the light house. As you walk out towards the end of the cape you are on level with the light portion of the light house. Today the lighthouse was open and we got to go inside! It is no longer a functioning lighthouse, but it was interesting to see it from the inside. The weather was everything from stormy to sunny!

Reed had quite the hunting experience this week. We both got deer tags since we have a huge overpopulation here this year. They have done quite a bit of damage to our trees, so we decided to try our luck at hunting right here on the farm. Our main motive was to decrease the population and damage, not so much for meat. So the first day of the season, Reed walked out the front door with his gun. As he left, Jessica asked him what he would do if got one. No response since we highly doubted any of us would get it. So as Reed walks down the driveway and got to the garden area and thought he saw something on the lower side of the garden. He took a shot. Up at the house, we heard the shot and waited for the yelling to begin, but nothing. So I went to the window to see what was happening. I saw Reed walking down the road just looking for deer. Was I ever surprised when he turned and shot again to make sure something was dead. He managed to shoot through the fence around the garden and hit the deer in the neck, killing it instantly and dropping it where it was. It was a nice buck. So we now have deer meat that we will be making into jerky and trying in various recipes. Reed has now been named the Great White Hunter!

Next week we meet with the contractor to begin design plans! Wish us luck!