The Day After

   I woke up the next day with my face so swollen that I my eyes were just slits.  My face looked like I had gone several rounds with the Big Bruiser.  Myh eyes did not want to stay open, so I spent Friday just lying around napping.  Saturday was better.  I was still puffy, but I we still went out to enjoy the sunshine.  R and I are thinking about getting a different vehicle.  We have ruled out a Mini.  So the XB and Prius were next up.  I have driven an early XB ( meaning before 2007) and like them a lot.  The later one sits better and is larger inside and out, but don't know how it drives.  I still prefer the looks of the older model XB. 
   Now the Prius.  I have always been intrigued by it.  I love the idea.  I think the time has come for us to modify our driving machines.  With that in mind, I have been thinking about getting one.  Yesterday, both of us drove a 2011.  It was the base model but still had lots of features. We liked the way it drove.  So the Prius is at the top of our list right now.
   Today we went to Springfield Toyota and drove a 2008 Prius with 40000 miles.  It still drove like a new vehicle.  It is amazing how well the Prius holds its value.  The 2011 we drove yesterday was for sale at $22600.   The 08 today has an asking price of $17995 .  It is a "higher" model with navigation system but it shows that the car holds its value really well.
   The next step was to contact given to me by a friend.  This guy, Jim, finds cars that have been damaged and gets them fixed for a fraction of the "retail price".   Fifteen minutes after I called him he called me back with info about several Prius's that may be candidates for our use.  He is going to check on them and call me back.  I will keep you posted.

Danger in the Backyard

One thing that continues whether you are home or not is growth.  The grass grows, the weeds grow, the ivy really goes wild.  Such is our backyard.  We have a service that takes care of the mowing and edging but not the weeds; not the dead tree branches that have accumulated.  The result is day of trimming and a trip to the place that takes yard debris.  The business takes our yard debris, grinds it up, and converts it to bark mulch.  So, several hours were spent cutting, sawing, and trimming, it was time to think about loading the back of the pickup.  There was just the holly bush to finish trimming.  I clipped the front area and moved to the back side to finish up.  All of a sudden I was under attack.  I felt something flying at my face.  Then, Ouch!  I've been stung!  On my left eyebrow!  More yellow jackets are flying at me!  Now there's another flying around my face and he gets me in my other eyebrow.  Pretty soon I'm moving rapidly ( see running) to distance myself from that area.  No matter, several of the little devils were chasing me around the backyard.  Finally, I ducked into the house, but had to watch out for the single that had followed me.  After we encouraged him out, I could relax.
   After I took a Benadryl, I cautiously back outside to finish up.  I decided to stay away from the back corner of our yard.  The trimming there will have to wait until the weather gets cold and the yellow jackets are asleep.  The truck got loaded and tied down, but it was too late to go dump.  That's tomorrow's adventure.

First week back

   The first week back in our home has been an adjustment period;  adjusting to a bigger space, adjusting to a new routine, figuring out where to store the items that have been unloaded from the truck and trailer. The trailer has not been totally unloaded.  Only the items that needed to be washed or were going to be used in the house, were taken out so much of the clothing ( especially summer items ) were left on board.   Foodstuffs are crowding the kitchern cabinets, and the refrigerator and freezer, but time will take care of that situation.
   The extra square footage of space that the house has over the trailer is nice, but there are rooms that I have not even gone in yet.  Do I actually need to a house this big?  My wife would disagee, but I could live in a smaller place.  It all depends on the layout.  Our house new has a small family room and kitchen together, which we used constantly, and a good sized living room with a dining room on the end that we use only if we have company.  Those two rooms could be lopped off the house and we wouldn't miss them except as place to store some furniture. 
   The other part of being back is the "home work" that is needed.  A home always needs work.  Call it painting a bedroom.  Call it fixing dripping faucets.  Call it yardwork.  The yard is what was calling to me (actually Yelling is more like it ) when we got home.  We have a yard service that mows an d edges the grass for us, but that's it.  The bushes and trees went wild while we were gone.  The grape arbor was totally hidden.  The arbor in the center of the back yard was fully covered by Wisteria vines.  Wisteria  grows at an alarming rate and can overrun a trellis and make a run for something else if you don't keep it trimmed.   We planted it on this arbor with that in mind.  There is nothing close to it to grab on to.  So grabs onto itself and gets thicker.
   So, after one day of intense wacking and another of dragging it into the back of the pickup and hauling it to the place that takes the yard debris, the back yard looks better.  It is not done yet, not by a long shot, but I can look out there and not cring now.
   It looks like half my apple tree is dead so that is my next big project, and the pear tree needs to be trimmed, and the maples out front are starting to drop their leaves, and .........
 
and so we are home..

Home again 10/2/11

The trailer is parked in the driveway.  The pickup has shed its load and is parked at the curb.  The frig is empty and turned off.  Clothes are piled on the floor of the laundry room waiting for a spin in the machine.  I don’t know if it’s good to be home, but we are here none-the-less for the next 3 ½  months.

Last Days at FOVA

    The last day at FOVA have come and gone.  Our last day was just like any other.  If I expected a party or at least a gathering, I was mistaken.  It takes such little effort to make folks feel like they are important.  Just a call or a visit means a lot.

    Our supervisor did stop to see us, at about 3:30pm he knocked on our door and came in for a visit.  He left us with a goodie bag with some mementos such as key lanyards, a stainless steel NPS cup and a few other items.  We had a nice visit.  He did mention that we were invited to return in the future.  There are plans for increasing the number of pads for VIPs.  They are thinking of locating them somewhere over in the Vancouver Barracks area.  In addition to adding the number of volunteers for the Fort, it would provide a “presence” in an area to discourage vandalism.

      It was mid-morning when I hitched up to the trailer and R returned our official keys and our volunteer shirts.  So we became hooked up and unattached at the same time.

The time at FOVA was fun, interesting, a learning experience.  We met some nice people.  We visited some new and some old places.   Fort Vancouver National Historic Park is a great place.  Be sure to visit it if you are ever in the area.  We will visit it again.  In fact, we have reservations for a Lantern Tour the night of Dec 17.  It should be great fun having a costumed guide give our group a tour of the fort by candle-lit lanterns.