Thursday, June 4, 2009

Seekin' Hide

So, that anniversary hide got moved up on the priority list. Company's coming. Pops' folks are arriving on a jet plane (no, not their own, I just like that jet plane song...) today! So, last night we worked on a few finishing touches to the house. We have kind of been doing that for the past week. I had purchased a few odds and ends that needed to be hung or put together or whatever. Since we have company coming, that is the perfect impetus to get our act in gear!
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Pops got out the 24 foot ladder and braved climbing up and down the beast. No pictures of him actually up there - I was trying to be "good" by holding the ladder. 
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The 9 foot (left front leg to right back leg) hide was stretched and pulled and secured and finally, the ladder came down.
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When was the last time you saw a Hereford Steer/Heifer splayed out across someone's wall?
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Hail, yes!

We had a big thunderstorm!! This is exciting news to me. I am definitely a midwesterner at heart. I enjoy a good rumbly thunderstorm. To me, that rumbly thunder is comforting. I am not talking about tornado producing storms, severe electrical storms, damaging storms of some variety at all. I just like to curl up in a chair and listen to thunder as the rain pitter patters on my window.

It is a common belief that because we live in Oregon, the Pacific Northwest, we get rain. A LOT of rain. All year long - rain. Every day - rain. Well, I hate to be the one to pop that bubble for you, but that doesn't happen across the southwestern portion of the state of Oregon. We get a fair amount of rain throughout the winter months, a bit in the spring and seemingly none in the summer and fall - although there might be some in the fall and I just forget! Because we really don't get much rain in the summers in our area, we also aren't experiencing thunderstorms. I had recently been wishing for a good rumbly thunderstorm. 
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Well, wishes DO come true and I was lucky to hear a good many rumbles yesterday!! There was a little bit of lightning and quite a bit of hail. We didn't experience any damage, so all that extra on top of the thunder worked out just fine for us.
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About an hour and a half after the storm had cleared, I got a phone call from "unknown caller unknown number." I figured it was Pops in a normal dropped call area. So, I picked up and heard, "Hello, I am calling from the National Weather Service at the Severe Weather Center. I am hoping that you can answer some questions about the weather system that just passed through your area."

"Uh, ok. Sure."
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We went on to chat for just under ten minutes about the hail, rain and wind that our little town received. I didn't realize that there were surveys done regarding weather. Have you ever been called by the National Weather Service? 

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

These Eight Wheels

This has been my "trusty steed" for the past seven years, a Ford Windstar Sport.

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Strangely, I liked it. 
  • It is red. I love red. 
  • It is spacious. We seem to need space. 
  • It rarely, if ever, needed anything done to it other than an oil change and a fill-up. I probably should have ran it through the showers more often.
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Here's my new stallion, a Chevy Tahoe.

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I hope it becomes my ol' trusty steed!
  • I like that its color is "charcoal." Pops has nicknamed it Kingsford. Interesting on many levels.
  • I like that it rides like a truck. I like being higher and bigger than the "green" Hondas that whizz by.
  • I like that it has one more seat. Seems we might be needing that extra seat soon to be able to carry the same loads.
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Monday, June 1, 2009

Destination: Crater Lake Lodge

Gorgeous Crater Lake National Park was the secret destination! We stayed at the historic Crater Lake Lodge and enjoyed delicious NorthWest fare at the Lodge Restaurant. The view from the room was, of course, beautiful. Sometimes it is nice to just sit and stare at God's amazing creation. Pops was on camera duty and I was pleased to just enjoy myself and not constantly look for the next best photo!!

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1934 would have been a good year to stay at the lodge, I think.  Too bad the rates haven't stayed constant!!

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I must tell you that we had a great big laugh Friday night. There were no telephones or televisions, so Pops had "thought ahead" and brought an old shoe box. The shoebox was filled with all the letters that I had sent him while we were dating. I wished he had told me and I would have brought along my pretty box of letters from him... Instead, we had a good laugh at my expense! What a crazy fool in love I was! Not that it has changed all that much... I just don't say such cornball things filled with sap and sugar! We came home and I dug out my box and read a few of his... so sweet! I didn't torture Pops for any real amount of time. I've decided to take him up on waiting for our 20th anniversary!! OH, I can hardly wait!!!