Two busy weeks . . .

It was a bit over two weeks ago when we were on the Hood Canal getting ready to go to Portland. Well we did that and had a wonderful week with Meagan and Roy. We got to pick Meagan up from school every day and she even stayed overnight a couple nights with us in Gus. It was a magical time. Here she is dancing away on the picnic table at the RV park. I missed them both the moment we left and have continued to miss them with each day.

I did get some sewing done while in Portland. I found this wonderful little table that has a height adjustment that works perfectly for the little machine. It is light and very stable so it is great for just this purpose. This part of Gus became my little sewing area. I wish I had purchased a second one of these tables, but I brought this one in so I can use it when I am not working in my studio - either in the house or while traveling. It seems to be perfect.

This morning I just got back from having the invisible braces put on my teeth and they are on now - hmmm - can't see them. My teeth used to be straight, but as I have gotten older (and older and older), they are moving around. I also really, really grind on them at night. So I needed a new night guard and decided a couple months ago that maybe I could get them straightened and then try to keep them straight with a new night guard. I will wear them for about a year with changes every few weeks and they are almost invisible. I think I might also drop a few pounds - always a good thing - as I have to wear them 22 hours a day and night. I must take them out to eat anything or drink anything other than water. And then when I do put them back in, I first must floss, use the waterpik or rinse well. That is a lot of work to do for a cookie, so we will see. It might change more than my teeth.

Enjoy your week and all of your blessings.

Heading south . . .

Well - south to Portland that is. We have loved our time here on the Hood Canal. We had to do some reading this morning and found it is really a fjord that is about 50 miles long off the Puget Sound. This is gorgeous country and we hope to get back out here in our travels.

Gus and Jeepers (we named the jeep) are doing fine - we think. Of course, we are such newbies at the RVing lifestyle, we might not really know. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. We are enjoying our time and are in no hurry to head home. We have a week planned in Portland and we were talking this morning that maybe we should take a few extra days heading home after that.

We are looking forward to seeing our "kids" - our son, Roy, and granddaughter, Meagan. Don't you just love that smile? We are planning to enjoy some ice cream with her soon - lots of ice cream - with maybe a couple shopping trips thrown in!

And most importantly - it is also a day of remembrance.

What a week!

A week ago today, we were home in Bozeman. I have written out our last few days just because I am amazed we survived and Bob has become a great motorhome driver and fixer. The photo is of our motorhome beside that of our friends. Theirs, on the left of the two, is larger and fancier, but we are blessed to be here enjoying good friends and some wonderful scenery.

Last Thursday: We were planning to leave on Sunday morning for our trip to Seattle for a gathering of some of Bob's good college buddies. We were then going on to Portland for a visit with our son and grand daughter. We decided to do the final check of the hook-ups to make sure Gus (the motorhome) could pull the jeep and all of the wiring for lights worked. It didn't! Here is a quick run down of the next few days . . .

Friday: In the morning, we took the motorhome and jeep back to the RV dealer who did the installation to see if they could find the problem. We were still planning to leave early Sunday morning. They couldn't find a quick fix, but felt the issue was with the motorhome wiring not the work they had done. So, we decided to just drive the regular car and "hotel it" for our planned trip. One of our good friends who is a master electrician and long experienced "trailer puller" came to see if he could help in the evening and found the problem with the motorhome wiring issue, but there was still a problem with the connection to the jeep. So we then decided to take the motorhome and leave Sunday morning and just rent a car as we needed while in the Seattle area and/or Portland.

Saturday: Bob and our friend found the issue with the jeep in the late afternoon after the football game and we were on to take the motorhome and pull the jeep.

Sunday: We were ready to leave home about 10 am - oops - no left turn signal on the jeep or break light on the left side. So, Bob did some reworking and got it to work. We headed out about 1. Then Bob didn't like what he heard. Oh, no - the jeep had locked up and we were dragging it rather than having the wheels "freewheel". We stopped - Bob found the problem - lost some rubber on the front tires, but we headed out. We traveled 300 miles through the worst wind and rain we had seen - stayed overnight near the top of the pass between Montana and Idaho.

Monday: Jeep light not working again. Bob tried his magic, but no luck so we went into Coeur d'Alene where we found an Auto Zone open and Bob worked and worked for a couple more hours and we got the problem solved. We continued on towards Seattle. About 50 miles out we hit the rain and wind again and got in to our friends place about dark.

Tuesday: We woke to water on the floor in the kitchen. Bob worked on that and found the problem and got it fixed. He also decided he would be more comfortable with new tires on the front of the jeep so we unhooked and headed to Les Schwab. Now Bob could hear a problem with the right rear brake when he backed up. Well Les Schwab found a small bend in the base plate protector from a rock we had hit or something. It was an easy fix and new tires were mounted and we were off to the ocean with our friends. We then drove Gus pulling the jeep through heavy Seattle area traffic. It was quite a learning experience. We arrived late that night at the RV park near Hoodsport after stopping at a social gathering for the group having the reunion.

Wednesday: Great fun with lots of old friends. We had a wonderful dinner cruise around this little inlet and all seemed to be fine.

Thursday (today): Our friends headed back to Seattle for some other obligations and we are staying put for a couple days. We are in an older RV park right on the water - not too bad. It is a good place to "exhale" which we need. We are heading to Portland, OR in a couple days. For now, we are just thankful to have everything working as expected.

It is Wednesday already . . .

I am not sure at all what happened on Monday - the crud won! I did find out I have viral bronchitis so I am taking "mucinex", drinking lots of water, getting some good rest and feeling better. Yesterday I remember so it was a tie between me and the crud. Today - I am beating it!

We found out yesterday that the problem with the refrigerator in Gus was much more serious than just replacing a simple part. We won't be able to get it repaired until next week after a major part is trucked in. So - no refrigerator - what to do? Do we cancel our special, long-awaited, trip to Seattle and Portland? At first we thought - yup, we need to get it fixed and go later. But this morning we decided we would just go anyway so we have lots to do and I am glad I am feeling better so I can get it done. I think there were over 500,000 people who crossed the prairie 150 years ago and not one of them had a refrigerator. We aren't going to miss any of the fun.

This morning my piano called to me - "come play with me". I don't play much any more, but it was sure fun to sit down and play again - I think I will do more of that. I am going to play some every day.