Saturday, October 24, 2015

BANDON OCTOBER 2015

THURSDAY, October 15
Baker City to Bandon (via West Linn and Salem!)
554 miles

       This was not the most direct route over to the coast and Mom's, but we did stop and see family along the way!  We got away from Baker around 9:30a on a beautiful fall day.  Rick drove to Space Age where we gassed up for $2.15 a gallon!  Lowest we have paid in over a year!  I drove the rest of the way into West Linn and Liz's.  Smooth sailing.
       We arrived at Liz's just as Liz was leaving to pick up Tucker and Tyler, so I rode with her and visited while Rick stayed and chatted with Doug.  We had a quick visit with everyone (Dave came home) and then left at 3:30 bound for Salem and our 4:30 dinner date with Jed.
        We pulled into Red Robin right at 4:25pm, but Jed had gotten behind in leaving as he tried to locate a test he needed to pick up for grading!  He joined us just as we were ordering (we had his order!) around 5:10!  Oh well!  It was a good visit over an excellent dinner.  Afterwards we went out to the parking lot and unloaded the car, so we could give Jed the two sections of railing we had brought over for him.  He is getting a good dose of family as he picks Luke up from the airport Friday and will spend much of Saturday with him.
        Rick drove the rest of the way down to Bandon in the twilight and dark!  The sky was beautiful to the west as we went down the valley - a silhouette of the coast mountains, the sliver of crescent moon, and the orange glow of sunset.  Heading over to Reedsport, I looked up and saw a sky full of stars, the Big Dipper right overhead.  We arrived at Mom's at 10:30pm - she was still up, of course, and offering ice cream right away!  In bed by 11:30.

FRIDAY, October 16
          Yard work, walk for Rick. Sermon work in Dad's office    Mom falls.

SATURDAY, October 17
Farmer's Market, Walk on beach, Cut toe nails, made bread. Stone from Sabra. no sourdough.


SUNDAY, October 18
          Went to church with Mom (SS too!).  Rick went for an extended walk instead.  I took a  walk on the beach in the afternoon, wearing my shoes this time to avoid all the ‘junk’ on the tide line.  Beautiful afternoon. 
           Talked with Mac in the evening.  Discovered Mom had a leak in the sprayer on the sink and we needed to fix it.  Mom took a good nap.

MONDAY, October 19
           Trip into Coos Bay, AFTER we disconnected the water and removed the sprayer hose.  Rick ran up to Ace and bought a new unit which we installed successfully.  Water back on.  Went to BiMart and then to EZ Thai on Main Street in Coos Bay.  Good lunch.  Then shopping at Fred Meyer.  Home around 2:30.  Mom napped, no walk on beach cause it was still raining!  It pretty much rained off and on all day, so a good day to pick to go shopping!     Cleared out the garage with Rick so he could paint the common wall on Tuesday.    

TUESDAY, October 20
          Puttered around house in am and went into town with Mom for a few more groceries (including more Salmon!)  After walk on beach, helped Mom finish reorganizing her shelves in the garage, throwing away some stuff.  Salmon dinner.  Mixed up more bread and baked two loaves….one to eat, one to give to Sabra.  Two more to bake tomorrow!  Finally got in a round of Quiddler tonight and had a +300 score!  Won too! 

WEDNESDAY, October 21
          Wrap up details today!  Mom went down to basement and tried out her sewing machine which I had fixed last Friday, just to make sure she could operate it correctly again.  Rick tackled the cars (wash and wax) today, plus the hedge and a few other cleanup items.  Walk on beach in afternoon.  Baked bread in am.  Made a blackberry pie with Mom in pm.  Mom and I went to chime practice at 5:30 while Rick cooked spaghetti for dinner.  I will be playing with them on the Thankisgiving service.   After dinner Sabra and Mark came over and shared the pie with us. (I had invited them over during chime practice.)  Mom and I had barely begun a game of Quiddler, so they joined in and we had a good time! 

THURSDAY, October 22
Bandon to Prineville via Umpqua River

          We left Bandon around 9:30a, a rather leisurely departure compared to our 6am trips!  But then again, we were only going halfway home!  Decided to travel up the Umpqua and around Diamond Lake for a little variety.  Beautiful fall day for a drive in the mountains! 
We stopped at one of the waterfall trailheads for a bite of lunch around noon (the waterfall was a mile up the trail, so we didn’t hike up.)  Once we got to Hwy 97, I drove up to Bend.  Called Tom and Diane to give them an ETA and then we took a backway east from south Bend up to 20 and Powell Butte Rd to Prineville.  Different drive through juniper country.  Grateful for my phone to locate their house once more.  I think now I could find it without help! 
           delightful evening of conversation.  Got a tour from Diane of all she has done in her yard with the rocks and plants.  She is so methodical and everything is labeled and protected.  Some of the rocks still have the ribbon on them from when they were gifted to her on her CAV birthdays!  Love it! 
Diane made chicken cordon bleu, rice, and salad for dinner.  I added the bread!  Then an orange glazed pound cake for dessert!  Yummy!  We ate around 6 and then sat around the table for four hours talking and solving the problems of the world!  A beautiful sunset over the mountains as we sat down to eat! 

FRIDAY, October 23
Prineville to Burns
EOP Presbytery Meeting

Tom had to leave EARLY (5:30ish?) this morning for a wood cutting expedition with Band of Brothers.  The wood will be donated to veterans for heating their homes during the winter.  I got up around 6:30 to write in a quiet house, watching the sky lighten.  Tom and Diane have a gorgeous place set on the hill with views out to Jefferson and the tips of the Sisters.  Yes, it is juniper country and somewhat barren, but the views are awesome!  We had a quiet breakfast when all got up at a leisurely pace, and Rick and I left around 10am.
It is a beautiful OPEN drive down to Burns through wide expanses of high mountain desert.  We check into our motel in Burns and Rick drops me off at the presbytery meeting.  He takes off for a walk about town and will return later for dinner.  Meeting is sparse at first but people drag in slowly.  A few new twists which I found very positive to how the meeting was run.  We make contacts with Iva and Dale and others we know.  Rick walks home and I drive the car home after worship.

SATURDAY, October 24
EOP Meeting; Burns to Baker City

            Presbytery concluded just around noon, and we hit the road with our quick lunch in place.  Interested to drive up 395 and see what damage had been done by the wildfires this summer.  We saw the evidence as we neared Canyon City.  Salvage logging was taking place, but hillsides along the road were black sticks of trees.  Houses were lost in this area particularly. 


            Home around 4.  Whew.  I’ll be home for almost three weeks now.  
   

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