Two Days and a Wake up (12/24/14)

   Yesterday was the day to work outside.  Lubed the fifth wheel hitch.  It is the type that teeters both front to back and side to side, so areas need grease smeared on them.  There is no way to accomplish this without getting grease on both hands and sometimes your clothes as well.  Plastic throw away gloves help a lot.  So that is done.
   Hooking up the trailer was fun.  It meant that time was close.  Time to hit the road.  Now if the snow gods will hold off until Friday night, we are good to go.

 

3 days and a wake-up

Yipes !   Time is flying by.  We are in the midst of packing.  I have all of my clothes packed, I think.
R is getting there.  The front of the trailer is packed, so that I can close the bedroom slide.  Then I will hook up and pull the trailer out and park it in front of the house.  Then we can pull the dining room slide out to finish loading the food into the kitchen cabinets.  Food takes the longest because of all the little stuff.
  Better get to it. 
       Can you hear the trailer calling to me.   "Hurry up and get the truck.  I"m inchin' to go!"

Nine days and counting

    So when do I pull the trailer out of the spot along side our garage and onto the street where I can totally open it up?  It sounds like rain is going to be with us for the next several days so waiting for a dry day is out of the question.   Living in Oregon it's not like we haven't been in rainy conditions before.
    Clothes can start being packed as well as equipment.  Food is a different matter.  Freezer stuff yes.  Staples sort of.  Milk, butter, bread etc. not until the day.  We have started to stage some items in a certain place in the garage and in the closet to help us. 

In the loading process there are several rules of travel that will happen, 
     1  There still will be last minute packing on the morning of...
     2   Some "important" item or items will be left behind.
     3   Several items taken will never be needed or or even touched during our entire summer.
     4   One or two new items will be added to the mix during our travels either as replacements for    ones broken or as something we previously didn't know that we needed.

  

Getting ready to get ready

It's Monday Dec 15, 2014 

    Ten days until Christmas, eleven until the rig heads south.  Wow!  It does not feel all that long ago that we parked the trailer in the driveway after being at Fort Vancouver for August and September.  It is not raining and actually some sun is showing so I will pull out the bedroom slide and start checking items that go in the closet and under the bed.  Because we are only staying at ORPI for 3 months and then coming home for the month of April, I don't need as much warm weather clothing onboard. We plan to park the trailer in the Reno area after ORPI and come back to Canby for about a month and then pick up the trailer and drive uphill to Lake Tahoe.  Our stint there begins about May  11th so we will arrive the weekend before.
  Anyway, the call is,  " Let the packing begin".

Dog part 2

    My next door neighbors have a new dog, Lady, that they found at the pound.  As I perused the Clackamas County Animal Services webpage, I noted that the facility had a Labadoodle.  Wow!  We met some folks from New Mexico who had one and it was very smart and loving.
So yesterday we drove to the facility.  Three corridors of lonesome dogs.  Heartbreaking!
    We walked all three while many sad eyes watched us.  There were many chihuahua-types and many pit bull types and many "heinz 57" types.  The mixes are OK but I don't want either of the first two.  Jake, the labadoodle was cute, but sported a "I've been adopted" sign so we moved on. 
    Near the end of the next row was Nigel.  He was one of the few dogs that was not barking.  A lady was talking to him and he seemed to respond.  He sat when she commanded and licked her fingers.  She moved on and we approached.  He came right up to us as we talked to him.  After a few minutes the worker stopped by and we asked if we could take him for a walk.  An hour later, after starting to fall for this big guy, we decided it was time to see how Mollie would respond.  I fetched  her from the car and we introduced them.  Of course, Mollie was her usual self when she meets another dog,  she is all gruff ( short barks, hair up) and then it usually subsides.  Nigel was not aggressive, but was VERY excited to meet her.  Too excited probably.  He was so much bigger that her. 
  Between her reluctance and Nigel's large size and the danger of him hurting her, just in playing, we decided that Nigel would not be a good fit for us.  It is funny how quickly we became attached to this creature.
     If you are thinking of getting a dog, try this place.  It is clean and the staff seem to really care about their canine friends.  The staff has a say in who they allow to adopt their dogs.  I applaud their devotion.  I am going to inquire about volunteering when we return home.
   Donations of food, dog beds, leashes, or money are always needed, by the way.

 http://www.clackamas.us/k9man/adoptpet.jsp  Nigel

A Dog

"A Dog or not a dog, that is the question".  Actually, it is another dog or not another dog.  We already have Mollie, but do we get another and if so, what should we get?

  1.  First of all, rescue only.  NO breeder dogs, there are too many others out there that need homes.
  2.  What breed.
         Mollie is a Doxie.  We know what to expect with them. 
                   Stubborn,  existin bad habits may exist and a challenge to correct, loving, small and easy to carry, good lap dogs, short hair, little sheddin, small piles in the yard.
        
         Greyhound - Had one before, Winnie.  Wonderful dog. loving, tender, easy to pet ( did not have to bend over)  large dog so more space required, some training needed if adopting a ex-racer, big piles.

         Mutt  from the Pound. Unknown breed (you get what is available)(mixed), unknown background,  various sizes available.  Plenty of love and affection.  Some training needed no doubt. More piles.

3  When to adopt
        It would be unfair to bring a new menber into the family and into our home and then hit the road in a week or two so we have decided to wait a while. 
        Either in April when we will be home for a month, or in October when we get back from Burns for the rest of the year.
  It would be better to wait until then but I don't think I can wait that long.

Thursday Dec 11, 2014 Where have I been?

    I am sitting here at my desk watching the storm as it blows the clouds rapidly in our direction.  Twenty minutes ago it was sunny  Now it is windly and clouds have covered the sun and are taking over the sky.  The weather people this morning made it sound like a Nor-Easterwas coming but it is coming from the southwest.  High winds, lots of rain.  Oh boy!
    It has been a while since have typed at this keyboard.  With a smart phone, a laptop isn't needed to check emails, look up information, order something on Amazon.  Also I can do it from the car, the backyard, or the family room and not go to the den and fire up the HP. 
   In addtion, there were many chores ( there still are ) that needed to be done outside and so in this country, if the weather is ok, you better get it done now because it may rain tomorrow.  So the fence got repaired, the fruit trees trimmed ( actually since they have not been trimmed back for many years, they got cut Way back ), gutters cleaned (twice), chalking done and the shed finished. 
   The shed was a major project. Athough nicely finished on the outside, the interior was bare bones.  Just the outside wall and 2x4s.  After numerous trips to the Habitat for Humanity "Rehab" store, the walls and roof had been insulated and the walls and ceiling covered and painted white.

There is an upper cabinet high up on the the far wall and bathroom sized vanity cabinet supporting a workbench along the wall under the window.  The wall opposite has shelving along most of it. 
   The end result is that I have a building that is not as cold in the winter, not as hot in the summer and stores twice as much as the unimproved model.  Next year I will do something with the plywood floor.