11-30-2021 November Journal

After such a hot dry summer, and a beautiful sunny October, it was as if someone turned the switch in November.  Early in the month, the rains began and only let up as the month progressed from rain to cold, wet fog.

Mo and I had a few details to attend to with the MoHo, and finally had an appointment with Mock Ford here in town to get her in for a 120,000 mile tune-up and a coolant leak repair.  We had to park the rig outside in their parking lot with assurances that it would be about a week before they could complete the work.  Long story short, after many calls and much frustration, we paid what we owed for the unfinished work and pulled the MoHo off their lot in early December.  We had a trip planned, and determined that we could deal with the slow leak rather than putting up with the MoHo being stored outside on an unlocked lot as the temperatures got below freezing.  We don’t winterize the MoHo because we travel in the winter.  Needless to say, we were NOT happy with the local service, but finding an appointment anywhere seems nearly impossible.  We did finally find a place in Medford that made an appointment for us in early January.  I’ll see how that goes, but I am feeling optimistic.

In early November, the leaves are coming down in earnest, and it is a big annual job to get them off the ground and loaded for hauling to the local compost facility.  Folks often say, “why don’t you compost them?”  Nope, not an option with an acre of oak leaves.  Those leaves have weird tannins in them that hinder plant growth.  Great for piling up somewhere nothing needs to grow, but not in the gardens!  I learned that the hard way one year when the rains kept us from picking up some big piles we had made on the pasture grass.  Nothing grew in those spots for almost 3 years.  We decided that burning all those leaves made too much smoke in the neighborhood. So we haul the leaves.  Every year when the job rolls around, I remind myself what a treasure our huge old oaks are to have in the heat of summer.  I do love those trees, and try not to complain about the leaves…at least not much.

This year I had even less reason to complain because Mo did a much higher percentage of leaf raking than I did, although I did manage to do a bit.  We take about 15 trailer loads to the facility each year, a pretty 20 minute drive along the Rogue River toward the west where it is located.  Amazing what qualifies for entertainment during wet, rainy, foggy November.

Mo had an outdoor project that kept her busy in between the rain.  She added the black lattice screens underneath the new deck extension.  I bought some new small herb plants to plant along the edge to replace the huge plants we had to remove when the deck was extended.  They should catch up in a couple of years, especially at the rate that herbs grow in this area.  Those rosemary plants to the left of the stairway were just 4 inch pots 3 years ago.  Rosemary loves Grants Pass and I love rosemary.

Early in the month the everyday stuff was set aside for a fabulous visit from my friend Jeanne from Vermont.  She flew west to visit several of her friends who live in Oregon and Washington and we were delighted to have her here for three whole days and nights!  We were thrilled that the weather was good enough that we could enjoy a bit of wine tasting, with plans to go to our favorite winery, Schmidt Family Vineyards. 

Even though the website said they were open, we arrived to no one in the parking lot and a feeling of doom as we walked up to the darkened tasting room.  Still, it was nice to walk around the grounds for a bit before we traveled a bit farther south on Upper Applegate Road to the Troon Vineyard.  Happily, they were open and we settled into the heated courtyard for wine flights and a charcuterie board filled with several menu choices.  I somehow didn’t manage to get any photos of that part of the afternoon, maybe the wine was too nice and the warm heaters too delightful.  I had my first taste of some kind of gourmet salami and discovered how much different it was than all the regular Gallo stuff.  What a treat!.

On another day while Jeanne was here, we went downtown to favorite little restaurant, the Bohemian Grill.  There we had fabulous cocktails.  Jeanne loves martinis, the real kind, and her order was perfect enough that she impressed the waiter.  I guess it is a bit like knowing how to order a good espresso from Starbucks.  A love of good martinis is a class level above me for sure.  I’ll take some lemon and lavender with mine, thank you.

After our sweet respite with Jeanne, Mo and I went back to the ongoing leaf raking and hauling until a short little visit to Brownsville broke the monotony.  Daughter Melody was singing in the Albany Civic Theater version of “All Together Now”.  The performance was a collection of Broadway hits that was shown at theaters all over the country to help fund the local community theaters.  For that one performance, the charges for using the music were waived to help support the locals. 

By the time we got to Albany on that Saturday afternoon, Melody was already at the theater.  Melody’s Robert drove us to Albany in his big brand new 4 Runner and we went to dinner together before the show.  The Italian restaurant was just a block or so from the theater and our wait time wasn’t terribly long to get a really nice upstairs table.  The food was fabulous, some of the best Italian I have had since Italy.

The show was nice, and as always I love hearing Melody sing and seeing her onstage.  We slept in their upstairs guest room and were treated the next morning to a great breakfast before we headed back south to Grants Pass.  It was a quick visit, but still great to see Melody once again performing at ACT.  She has been involved with that theater since 2000 or so.

I have to laugh at my lack of photos for this part of November.  I used to have the camera out all the time, and somehow it has become less of a priority.  I have a few of the four of us relaxing in the big recliners in the tv room, but they are definitely not for public consumption.  Didn’t get a photo of the show, of course, because it wasn’t allowed.  And how in the world did I miss taking a photo of our fabulous dinner at Gamberetti’s.

We returned to Grants Pass on Sunday, and on Monday I had a thrilling appointment with a new doctor.  How can a doctor appointment be thrilling?  For one, the new neurologist/neuromuscular specialist I am seeing is right here in Grants Pass, associated with my current doctor at Asante, ten minutes from home.  No more travels to Portland to OHSU for specialist visits.  It was a good visit, with a bit more information about what I am dealing with, a prescription to help with leg pain, and instructions to come back in a year for updated evaluation.  I guess that shows just how much the specialists think they can do for this slowly progressing muscle disease.  Not much.  The prescription is helping a lot with night  leg pain and isn’t any kind of narcotic.  So far, it is helping and no side effects.

I raked the lower pasture under another big oak and Mo loaded up the last of the leaves for our last visit to the leaf dump.  There are leaves in the flower beds we never managed to get up before the rains started in earnest, but not enough to cause any real problems until we can get them up in late winter when the sun eventually shines once again.  Mo mowed the pasture one last time on November 18.

Thanksgiving was approaching and this year it was my turn to have the entire family here for the holiday dinner.  I decided to set up the “Christmas” village before Thanksgiving.  Who says the winter scenes in the bookcases can’t be a Thanksgiving Village.

This year we actually had our family dinner on Thursday, the real Thanksgiving Day!  Melody and Robert drove down from Brownsville. Her children, Axel and Xavier drove in their own car along with Axel’s partner, Py.  Daughter Deborah drove from Shady Cove, and Maryruth and Gerald drove the long distance between our house and theirs, a short mile.  Maryruth and I laughed about all the years we drove to each other’s homes for Thanksgiving celebrations when we were young and often those trips were hundreds of miles.

Grandson Xavier, Daughter Melody, Grandson Axel

A favorite photo of Robert and Mo

Maryruth and Gerald, and Mattie who adores Gerald

Xavier and Deborah

You would never know it from this face, but Mo and I LOVE Robert’s deviled eggs, a holiday tradition.  I had to include the photo so you could see all the pies on the counter, the appetizers and the table set ready for dinner. 

The last photo here is a fun little thing from Py, who brought a Polaroid camera to the gathering.  The photo is tiny and grainy, but so much fun.  I haven’t seen a Polaroid shot like this in yeas.

11-24 to 11-27-2020 Bandon Thanksgiving and a night at Harris Beach

Don’t forget that you can click on any photo if you wish to see if full resolution in my gallery

Site A47 had more privacy than we expected

Between the time we made our reservation and our trip to the coast, COVID numbers began rising in Oregon and the governor once again shut down restaurants for indoor dining.  One of the reasons we chose Bandon over Brookings for this trip was to have an opportunity to spend some time in the little shops and restaurants that make Bandon so charming.  The weather forecast was for rain most of the week, so we wanted to have other things to do than walk the beach.

We traveled north via I-5 toward Roseburg and turned west toward the coast via Highway 42.  However, instead of following the Google Girl directions to stay on Highway 42 all the way to HWY 101 and then back south, we thought the quicker route along 42 S made more sense.  In hindsight, Google Girl sometimes gets it right and we don’t.  I spent most of the time hanging on while Mo navigated the very narrow, very winding road toward Bandon.  It was not fun for me, but I think it might have been for her.  She used to drive a TR7 among other sports cars.

Don’t try this route in a motorhome

It rained a bit along the way, but the afternoon was dry enough that we had time to enjoy a walk along the beach after we settled into our site.

The campground is about a mile from easy beach access at the Coquille River Lighthouse

We were a bit disappointed in the condition of the lighthouse

Adjacent to the town of Bandon, the Coquille River empties into the Pacific Ocean. The river extends inland a great distance and was a natural link to the virgin stands of timber in the area, but the bar at the mouth of the river, formed by the interaction of the river and ocean, was a major obstacle for ships entering the river. At times, only a few feet of water would cover the bar, but vessels still attempted to navigate the river in hopes of reaping the rewards that lay upstream. In 1880, Congress passed a bill funding the construction of a jetty on the south side of the river’s entrance that created a deep channel, resulting in a rapid rise in the number of ships entering the river.

A lighthouse at the entrance to Coquille River was the next logical step for improving navigation. Congress appropriated $50,000 for the project on March 3, 1891, but it would be four years before land was purchased, plans were solidified, and the construction crew was assembled.

In 1939, the Coast Guard assumed responsibility for Coquille River Lighthouse and decided it was no longer needed. An automated beacon was placed at the end of the south jetty, the dwelling was disassembled, and the lighthouse was abandoned. The lighthouse stood neglected for twenty-four years, until Bullards Beach State Park was created on the north side of the river. The grounds of the original eleven-acre light station were included in the park, and the park assumed responsibility for the lighthouse.

Over the years there have been several attempts at restoration, since park funding isn’t sufficient to maintain the old lighthouse.  In normal years, the lighthouse tower is open for visitation from May through September, however at the moment the old lighthouse looked quite sad.

The air smelled so incredibly fresh, and the surf was loud enough that we could hear it in camp across the dunes at least half a mile from the beach where we were camped. 

There were high tide and surf warnings posted for the next couple of days so one evening we drove through town in the dark to the south jetty where we could watch the huge noisy waves breaking over the jetty rocks.  Lots of warnings for “sneaker waves” kept me alert and when a big one came roaring in I immediately jumped back into the car.

It rained off and on that first night and the next morning dawned cloudy and wet. We settled into the MoHo for a cozy morning before driving the a mile south to Bandon to explore the small town.  The rain came and went all day, usually with a downpour at just the moment we would head for the car after visiting a shop.  About half the shops in town were open, with masks and social distancing, and we especially enjoyed the beautiful Second Street Gallery, Winter River Bookstore, and the Coastal Mist Chocolate Boutique, where we had two tiny cups of creamy drinking chocolate, to go of course. 

This photo is from last year when there was still inside service

The rain poured down as we ran to the car with our little cups of chocolate. I also purchased my first ever macaron (not a macaroon).  I wasn’t impressed, although I do think that maybe the high humidity at the ocean makes it hard to make a light crispy meringue cookie. Who knows.  I don’t have to try again.

We then meandered around the famous Cranberry Sweets.  The store has been in Bandon for more than 50 years and specializes in all sorts of cranberry confections.  I learned that more cranberries are grown around Bandon than anywhere else in the west. Although Bandon is referred to as “The Cranberry Capitol of the World”, more research informed me that most cranberries come from Wisconsin and Massachusetts. Five states grow almost all of the country’s supply of cranberries with Wisconsin producing more than half of all cranberries in the US.  Massachusetts harvests another third, and New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington produce most of the rest.  So much for “Cranberry Capitol”.

Still, the shop was charming and old fashioned, with lots of candies and confections behind the counters.  The hostess told me that they usually had lots of samples around the shop but due to COVID we had to settle for a little bag of free stuff. 

I decided it was time to get some fish and chips to go and tried out Tony’s Crab Shack where I was politely told that Tony didn’t fry ANYTHING, and perhaps I might like to try to fish tacos. Made with fresh caught crab and halibut, they were delicious.  Everything in town was take-out only, with all the restaurants closed for inside seating. We returned home in the pouring rain and it continued to rain all night long.  Funny how wonderful rain on the roof of a motorhome can sound, especially when accompanied by the roar of the ocean.  Great for a good night’s sleep!

The next morning was Thanksgiving, and we woke to beautiful clear skies.  I had precooked much of our dinner, and simply had to reheat the turkey, bake the sweet potato, mash the potatoes, and cook a pot of Stove-Top stuffing, and open a jar of gravy.  It wasn’t gourmet, but was completely and totally delicious for the two of us and our socially distanced Thanksgiving dinner.

On our first day in camp I discovered the tsunami evacuation trail.  The path is narrow with signs leading to an area high on a heavily timbered hill behind the campground where people are instructed to assemble if the tsunami warning horns go off.  It would do no good to attempt to drive out of the campground in that situation since most of the highway is in the tsunami zone.

It was a lovely little trail, with moist moss, mushrooms in the duff under the trees.  On this beautiful morning it was a perfect time to share the trail with Mo.  Mattie loved the trail and we enjoyed walking in a place where there were no dogs or people around.  Mattie gets so excited when she sees other dogs and always wants to “play”.  That entails lots of energy and training time, trying to get her to sit and calm down.  Walking around the campground can be challenging sometimes when all I want is a nice simple walk.  The trail was perfect for that.

It was surprising how full the campground was on this holiday weekend.  By the time Thursday rolled around, all sites were full and everyone seemed to be having a great time celebrating.  We even saw an outdoor TV broadcasting a football game. 

After our early afternoon dinner we went for another great beach walk, and were amazed that the weather was so perfect.  There was very little wind and the temps must have been in the 50’s.  Beautiful day. 

Home again to the MoHo where after many years of hearing about it, I actually figured out how to cast the phone to the TV with the included app on my Samsung phone.  We turned on Netflix on the phone, and with our unlimited Verizon plan we were able to watch movies and even live television on the big TV with the right apps.  My daughter Deanna told me about this capability a long time ago, but I never managed to figure it out until this trip. On a chilly evening having some TV was great entertainment.  The Verizon signal in the park was perfectly adequate to stream a movie.

Bullard’s Beach State Park has some beautiful picnic areas

On Friday morning we took our time with a lazy breakfast, a little bit of news, and some reading time before packing up.  Checkout time wasn’t until 1PM, and we only had a little over two hours to travel along the coast south toward Brookings and Harris Beach State Park.  I didn’t make a reservation for Harris Beach, thinking that winter on the coast would be open without a problem.  We planned to arrive around 2 in plenty of time to snag an open site before evening.  Things have changed in the camping world!  When we arrived the park was completely full except for one site, the only ADA site in the park, number 37 in the B loop.

I must say I was grateful for once to have my little blue disability card to hang from our windshield.  We settled in to enjoy our last evening on the beach and Mo built a nice big campfire.  Only problem with the campfire is that the ADA site has a very tall metal fire ring, I suppose so that it is safer.  It took a very long time to get that metal warm and I spent campfire time in LOTS of clothes and blankets trying to warm up.

One of our favorite holiday treats are the wonderful lights at Azalea Park in Brookings.  We knew that this year the big light show wasn’t happening, but the city of Brookings was attempting to do something at least and made arrangements for businesses that usually displayed their lights at Azalea Park to put lights up on both sides of Highway 101 and down into Harbor.  We hopped into the Tracker at dusk to go check out the show.  I must say that it was a bit of a bust.  There were a few nice lights near Fred Meyer, but the rest of them were scattered along the road with lots of space in between displays.  Oh well, at least they tried.  We heard the next morning that someone had stolen one of the big displays on the very first night of the show, the 4 piece Dragon.  So sad.  Maybe that is why so many businesses chose not to display their lights in the unprotected lots along the highway.  Eventually the dragon was recovered.

Here is a photo of the dragon from the park show last year

The next day we didn’t have to check out until 1PM and with no rush to get back home we enjoyed every last minute of park time.  I took Mattie around the campground, and walked out toward the overlook that has such a beautiful view of Harris Beach.  I felt no need to climb down to the water. 

There were so many people on the beach I was amazed.  More people and dogs running around on Harris Beach than we have ever seen even in summer.  I guess as many people have said, RVing is the great COVID escape and everyone and their dog or dogs is on the road and filling up the campgrounds.

We left in brilliant sunshine, driving as far as Cave Junction about 30 miles west of Grants Pass before we encountered the fog.  Grants Pass is often foggy in winter, sometimes without any lifting in the afternoon.  This was one of those days.  I always say, if we must have fog, we might as well have it at the beach.  It was nice to get home to our cozy house, the steamy hot tub, and TV without having to figure out the casting thing.  It was a great four days of ocean time, and a perfect way to handle a quiet Thanksgiving for just the two of us.

12-08-2020 Writing About November

It seems that as we travel through almost a year of COVID-19 life, I am lucky to get in one blog post a month.  It isn’t as if I don’t have time.  It has to do with inspiration.  Every day runs into the next, bleeds over from the previous day, moves slowly through time only to completely disappear into one long running sentence.

I realized a few days ago that I hadn’t even processed the photos that I took throughout the month to mark the changing of the seasons.  The leaves remained on our huge old oaks long into November, and now in early December there are still some clinging to the branches.  Sitting in the hot tub in the dark, we see one or two flutter down, illuminated by the nearby Christmas lights.  They look ever so much like lighted butterflies.  The next morning there are more on the ground, slowly littering the work that Mo completed the previous day.

Mo seems to be the one doing almost all the raking this year.  I have managed a bit here and there, and we travel together to the compost facility to empty the trailer, but raking times for me have been rare.  I try to make up for her extra effort with house chores but it isn’t much of a trade in my opinion.  Leaf raking really needs to be a two person operation. 

Early in the month we needed to make a quick trip to Portland to meet with the new neuromuscular specialist at Oregon Health Sciences University who will be taking over my case.  We are lucky that Mo’s brother Dan and his wife Chere live in the Portland area and are kind enough to let us stay at their home.  We arrived in time for dinner, which I provided as a way of saying thank you and spent a great evening visiting and laughing together. My visit at 8am the next morning went smoothly and the drive through morning traffic in downtown Portland wasn’t difficult.

In mid November, restaurants in Oregon were still open for inside dining with social distancing.  We decided to take a chance and made our annual trek to Applebee’s to enjoy Mo’s free dinner for veterans.  We wore masks, as did everyone else entering the restaurant, and the servers were all masked as well.  There were plexiglass barriers between booths and every other table was unoccupied.  I was a bit nervous at first, but it seemed safe enough.  We had a simple meal and enjoyed it thoroughly.  We don’t eat out all that often, but when we can’t, I notice how much I miss that small bit of entertainment.   It was a good day.

The weather was till nice enough mid month that we were able to plant the tree that the girls and I bought to mark my son’s passing last year.  We chose a beautiful sweet gum tree will honor his life. Deborah and Matthew were here to help Mo and I dig the hole and set the tree, but with COVID rampant in Oregon and Washington Deanna and Melody decided that they would stay home and stay safe.

(The funny part about this part of the story is that we actually planted the tree in late October and I somehow lost track of the day and the photos until now)

We originally planned a small Thanksgiving dinner celebration at daughter Melody and Robert’s new home, looking forward to her turn to host the big family dinner. Then COVID reared it’s ugly head in a more personal way, with Robert required to travel by plane to Texas for his work two weeks prior to the holiday.  All plans were put on hold.  There wasn’t time for Robert and Melody to quarantine before Thanksgiving Day.

Mattie LOVES Robert  and Melody and LOVES being at their home

Mattie has learned to be calm around the cats and they do great together

Instead, we made hasty plans for an early celebration on a Saturday before Robert left.  Mo and I drove the MoHo to Brownsville, where the city administrator was kind enough to let us park overnight in the city recreation parking lot, right in front of the “no overnight parking” sign.  Deborah came, but her son Matthew couldn’t make it at the last minute, so we had a lovely turkey dinner with just the five of us.  Melody, Robert, Deborah, Mo and me.  We enjoyed all the yummy traditional foods with an extra dose of sweetness because we knew we were lucky to have even this small celebration.

Wonderful table with Melody’s Spode China

We got a lot of laughs getting this photo is the big dining room mirror

Melody and Deborah enjoying the front porch on Sunday morning

Deb stayed in Melody’s guest room, and Mo and I returned to the MoHo where a sheriff was waiting for us in the pouring rain.  Somehow he hadn’t received the message that we were approved to stay there.  It was a little bit of a touchy moment, but he smiled and said all was good and we could stay.  The pouring rain kept us company throughout the night.  The next morning Mo and I joined everyone for a wonderful breakfast and some more visiting time before we returned home to Grants Pass. 

Once home again, we returned to our daily schedule of raking and hauling leaves, and Matthew and I started the annual Christmas lighting project. This year we opted for replacing our white icicle incandescent lights with old fashioned looking lights, modernized with LEDs. We replaced 13 strings of hundreds of lights with 8 strings of LED’s and according to the packaging, our power output was about 10 percent of what it had been in previous years.  It is a good investment and will help considerably on the power bill.

LED Christmas Lights 2020

Christmas Lights from 2018

I also decided to put up the Christmas Village even before Thanksgiving Day.  Usually it doesn’t go up until early December. Deborah stopped by for one of her Sunday visits at just the right moment, and was a great help with unpackaging  and placing all the little “stuff” that makes the village so charming. 

It started with just the village, but within a few days the house was filled with all our Christmas decor and the outside was sparkling with lights on all sides of the house.  It makes for a bit of cheeriness during the darkest time of year, both literally and figuratively.  I love Christmas lights and decorations, and it matters not that there will be no visitors this year, once again, COVID is keeping our family celebrations to a minimum.

Mo and I decided that rather than sit home for Thanksgiving, we would pack up ourselves, the dog, and our Thanksgiving dinner and head for the Coast.  We made reservations at Bandon, where the choices were slim. There are three loops at Bullard’s Beach State Park, and 2 are closed for the season.  We were lucky to get a spot on the inside of the loop, something we usually avoid. 

It was a great way to spend a few the holiday isolated in our MoHo  Next post will tell the story.

11-24-2018 Thanksgiving at Sunset House

I love Thanksgiving.  I love the cooking and the family gathering from all over to share the holiday.  It is better than Christmas to me.  No worries about presents and such, and complexities of family commitments for different people can be easily handled by having our holiday on Saturday instead of Thursday. 

That works great for family members who live a bit distant, and need to deal with working schedules and such.  Also works for other family members who have other family celebrating on Thursday and it is hard for them to be in both places. 

Grandsons Axel and Xavier

We had just moved in to Sunset House last year when we had our first family Thanksgiving in the new house.  I thought maybe we would go somewhere else this year, but happily for me, that wasn’t to be and I got to do Thanksgiving two years in a row!

Melody and family drove south from Eugene early on Saturday morning.  Both grandsons Axel and Xavier were free from work and school that day.  Axel lives and works in Albany, and Xavier is attending college in Eugene.  Axel brought his roommate Oni along who has shared holidays with us over the last few years.

Grandson Matthew and Daughter Deborah

Mo and I also decided to invite the neighbors from across the street who have family in distant cities.  Karen and Glenn were so good to daughter Deborah when she lived in our little cottage back before we tore it down to build this house.  Deb has maintained her friendship with them and we enjoy inviting them over now and then, especially when Deb is here.

Daughter Deb and her son Matthew joined us as well, and Deb got to take her famous creamed veggies to two Thanksgiving celebrations this year.  Everyone agrees it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without Deb’s creamed vegetables, and Melody’s apple pies.

I do so love the traditions that are made more wonderful by the years of repetition.  Melody sent a photo of Facebook of her apple pies that were ready for transport and said, “Here is an apple pie for Mo”.  Mo loves Melody’s apple pies.  Right around that same time I got a Facebook memory notification from 8 years ago with a photo of Melody’s apple pies and a note saying “Here are the apple pies for Mo”.  Traditions are such a sweet thing.

Left to right: Neighbor Karen, Grandson Axel, Grandson Xavier, friend Oni, Grandson Matt, Daughter Melody, Melody’s Robert, and Neighbor Glenn

We had a lovely day, good food, and instead of games and puzzles, we spent a long time sorting the gorgeous tumbled stones that Melody brought.  She lives in a small house, loves to collect and tumble rocks and has no place to put them.  Lucky us, we get a huge stash of tumbled stones from all over the northwest to grace our gardens here at Sunset house. 

Mattie loves it when the house if full of people, friends, family, workers, anyone.  She loves people to be around.  Of course she also loved it that most people will slip her a treat during big family meals.

None of the family could stay for the night this year as they sometimes do.  I bought a stash of plastic containers with the holiday shopping and made sure everyone had a good selection of leftovers to take home.  Everyone left in time to get home before darkness set in.

It was a long and lovely day, and once we were alone again, Mo and I settled into the quiet, enjoying the fire and sneaking a few bites of leftovers.  Perfect Thanksgiving.