Memorial Weekend Condo Clean-up, May 22-23, 2009

We left for the condo at the Lake on Friday, May 22. We had errands to run, including driving up to Idaho to check out Derek's land, and shopping for a microwave for the 5th Wheel on the way, so we didn't get to the condo until around 4:00 p.m. After unpacking, we had time for a short 4-wheeler drive down on the beach. We had the place to ourselves. It was quiet and we stopped and watched seagulls and other birds fly over the lake and then land on it. We even saw two pelicans glide in and light on the water. That evening we met Kurt K. and his wife, who are other condo owners. Kurt served on his mission in Brazil with Ted, my brother-in-law. They are friends with Dale K. and his wife, who were bicylcling with him and also with Dale's brother and wife. Dale was a classmate of my sister, Lydia. It's a small world.

Saturday was clean-up day and started at 9:00 a.m. We had picked up some plants to put in our planters we had placed there before our mission and planted with perenials which had subsequently died. We discovered that these big pots weren't getting any water and that is why the plants formerly planted hadn't made it. Therefore, I decided that we needed to take the pots back home and start over with the flowerbed in front of the condo. I spent the morning tearing out all the rocks we had positioned there before our mission. I decreased the rock flowerbed to half its original size, thus re-exposing the rich black soil underneath to plant the new flowers we had just bought. The left-over rocks I placed on the gravel next to the front door. In the pictures below, you can see the work in progress.

While I worked on our flowerbed, Ed wore himself out with the blower, helping with the general condo cleanup. He blew the sand and dirt by the curb in front of the condos into piles and then swept up and put it in the dumpster. Then he went to the back and helped with the weeding there.

We stopped at 12:30 p.m.for a barbeque with the other condo owners. It was really nice to be able to meet and get to know some of the other condo owners. After the barbeque I worked on the flowerbed some more, finally finishing it about 4:30 p.m. when it started to rain. (Good timing.) After lifting and dragging around heavy rocks and moving dirt for several hours, I was pretty tired and so was Ed. We soaked in the hot tub for awhile and I tried swimming some laps. But my legs were so tired I only made it through a few before I gave up.

It stormed that night, so after we ate some supper, we watched the DVD, "The Secret Life of Bees." It was a pretty good movie, and I recommend it.

Farmer John rests for a minute. The blower sits on the ground in front of him.

Farmer Jane is half-way through her project. The two pots on the grass will go back home. The rock garden has been re-pieced, and some of the rich black soil has been re-exposed ready for flower planting that will take place later in the afternoon.

Day After the Trees Come Down, May 21, 2009

We had hoped to leave for the condo, today. However, the tree cutters left two huge mounds of ground up tree trunk (mulch) on top of each place where the trees once stood. They hauled off all the branches and trunk sections, but wouldn't remove the mulch without charging extra. When we awoke this morning and realized how quickly this moist stuff was decomposing, we decided we had better deal with it and postpone our trip for one day.

We raked the entire yard in an effort to eradicate it of dead pine needles that had flown around during the preceding winter months and planted themselves in the grass. We discovered that the mulch from the Austrian Pine was worthless because it was full of needles. Pine needles kill grass and so, we didn't want to use it in the flower beds. Using a pitchfork, we put this stuff in the wheelbarrow and hauled it to the utility trailer to take to the dump later. We had some sand piled up by the window and shoveled that up to be hauled away. Then I raked out the bed around the smaller pine tree and Japanese Maple to get rid of all the needles that had fallen there, mixing in with the bark. I combed every branch of that little Pine Tree because it was covered with pine needles that had fallen from the bigger tree and had become a breeding place for spiders. It seemed to really appreciate the attention. Then I took mulch from the remains of the Locust tree and filled in around these two trees. I gleaned the larger bark from these rakings and threw them back. I worked all day and still have two smaller rakings to sort threw, but these will wait until after Memorial Day.

A round patch of dirt where the Honey Locust once stood.

The smaller pine tree can now show off, and hopefully the Japanese Maple will be able to upright itself and grow more symmetrically now that it doesn't live in the shadow of the Austrian Pine. Grass killed out by the Austrian Pine can now be replanted.

Mighty Trees Come Down! May 20, 2009

As winter was waning and the snow melted, I looked out my bedroom window and saw the pile-up of pine needles covering the ground. As soon as I had the chance, I raked them up, stuffed them in garbage bags and hauled them to the dumpster. A couple of days later, the ground was again covered with needles. It was then that Ed and I noticed that all the lower branches of the Austrian Pine were dead. The tree was dying. We decided that it would have to be removed.

Why not remove the messing Honey Locust at the same time. This tree shaded the patio during the heat of the day, but the shade moved to the East in the evening when we usually held barbeques, and didn't help out with shade at that time of day. It was a haven for birds who pooped all over the patio and picnic table, and on at least two occasions, two of our guests were pooped on. In the Fall it discarded two feet of leaves all over the grass and the long brown pods took all winter to drop off. Since we had a beautiful Perfection Flowering Apricot on the west that shades the patio in the early evening from the summer sun, why not remove it also?

So, that is exactly what we did. The day was cloudy and overcast and it wasn't until the sun came out that I felt the difference in the usually cool backyard. This regret only lasted a moment. We are glad to eliminate all the work of the two trees. The removal of the Austrian Pine has opened up the Apricot and the Japanese Maple to sunshine that may help them grow less lopsided.

The first tree to come down is the giant Honey Locust:

The lower branches were taken off first, as the treecutter makes his way to the top.

Much of the tree is gone.


How would you like to make your living in this precarious occupation?

Only the trunk remains.

Work now begins on the Austrian Pine.

This tree has held its ground for many years.
The lower branches come off first.

Down to the trunk!

Section by section....

The trees are gone. Now the work begins to reclaim the grass!

Pictures of our Trip to Portland

Amber's Graduation was the highlight, of course.

Mom and Daughter

Daughter and Dad

Walking along the river.

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Hiking with the family in the beautiful "Rainforest" Park:

Amber, Bryce, Kimball, Kate, and Derek:

Chad hung back with Ed.
Bryce and I took off ahead, with Kimball in tow, of course.

We chanced by a little stream and waterfall.

Val had a good time, too!

The Multnomah Falls!

There's more to see on the trail past the falls.

WE HAD A REALLY GREAT TIME IN PORTLAND!

Hooray for me! I've finally figured out this "uploading" photo thing, and I did it by myself! Hope you enjoyed the show :)

Catching up on the Blog

It has been two months since I have posted. I'm a newcomer to blogging, so there is a lot I don't know, and sometimes that causes me to postpone making a blog.

Highlights of the past two months:

March 15 - Was my birthday. I hit the big 6 -0. The grandkids were here, so we celebrated with dinner together. The kids left for Texas the next day.

March 20 - Ed and I sang in a talent show for the ward trek activity. (The trek is coming up in June.) We sang "When It's Springtime in the Rockies" along with the Sons of the Pioneers CD. I like many of the old westerns they made popular. When we went to Branson a few years back, we attended their show. They have aged and most of the show was boring because they didn't sing everyone's favorite westerns. "Cool Water" was the only one they did sing, so I don't recommend the show.

April 2 - We missed Ed's big missionary reunion, that only occurs once every few years. He put it on the calendar for April 3. It was a big disappointment for him, and for me. We'd been looking forward to it.

April 15 - Ed's blood tests returned to normal and his picc-line antibiotic was removed. Hooray! He has to be on massive doses of oral antibiotics for six weeks, so we are hopeful.

April 23 - Our washing machine flooded the basement, so we had to buy a new one. Ugh! They aren't cheap!

April 26 - We finally got to report our mission in Sacrament Meeting after being home for six months. It gave us closure. About 45 family and friends came from out of town and joined us for the occasion. It was a really nice day.

April 28 - This was Ed's birthday. He turned 64 and has one year left before he has to go on Medicare, which I have read is supposed to be bankrupt in 2017. We celebrated by eating at the Olive Garden with Ed's family and some of our friends.

April 30 - We left for Portland to attend Amber's graduation. The next day Bryce, Kate, Kimball, and Derek flew up to Portland. We stayed with Jane (Janet), Ed's cousin's daughter, and enjoyed her home and hospitality. It rained a lot and was chilly, so I was glad I over-packed and included warm winter clothing.

May 2 - Amber graduated Magna Cum Laude from the College of Nursing and received her nursing pin. She was in the top 5% of her graduating class of 198 students. In the afternoon Ed and I had a chance to hike along the riverfront.

May 3 - We skipped the big university ceremony on Sunday and went hiking that morning in a beautiful rain-forest like park. Then Bryce,Kate, and Kimball left for home. That afternoon the rest of us went to the Multnomah Waterfalls. Both places are really beautiful.

Those few days were nice family time.

May 5 - We drove to Walla Walla, Washington and over-nighted with Mae and Bill.. It was really nice to visit with them and we wish we had stayed longer.

May 6 - We headed for home and a few miles outside Walla Walla had a flat tire. A nail had entered the sidewall and the tire was unrepairable. We had to buy a new set of tires. It was an unexpected purchase. Another Ugh!!

May 10 - Mother's Day. Ed bought me a corsage and a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Derek gave me an MP3 player and showed me how to download stuff on it. It will be great to have when I walk or hike. I've wanted one for a long time. Now I can record the conference talks right after conference instead of waiting months for the tapes to come out at the Distribution Center. We fasted for Bryce and the new eye problem that has developed. After church, we went to Bryce and Kate's home for a potluck dinner with her family. We also celebrated Derek's birthday, which is May 11. Kate made him a cake.

After dinner, we drove to Ed's mom, Cheryl and Dennis' house. We stayed longer than we'd planned due to the strawberry and angel food cake dessert she had planned and forgot about until we were leaving. It was worth remaining for, the strawberries were very red, and we had a nice visit with the two of them.

Ongoing: We are working hard to get things ready so we can go camping. We finally have the vinyl and leather parts cleaned, as well as the upholstery and carpet of the truck. It has been a lot of work. We've had to repair more mechanically than we originally thought and one of the bearings is bad, so we have to take that back to be fixed. I'm trying not to be discouraged.

We now have to tackle the cleaning of the 5th Wheel. We hope to be riding our four-wheelers in Moab soon. I'm battling a sinus infection and we both have hay fever. The weather is warming and the pink blossoms that have loaded down the Flowering Apricot tree in the back yard are floating down and making a pink carpet on the grass, as well as flying into the front yard with the wind. Kimball was enchanted by the spectacle when I tended him yesterday and took him outside for a look.

Good News Week!

Ed's 3 week check-up on Tuesday brought good news. His infection is decreasing and he got his stitches removed, so now he can shower and he can start putting weight on his left leg. We were so up-beat after the visit that we went and checked out Forest River Toy Haulers. Yes! We really think we will be able to start using our four-wheelers in a few months.

The grandkids came from Texas. Since we couldn't go there, we brought them to Utah. We are playing lots of games with them. On Wednesday we took them to a Grizzley Ice Hockey game and bought them new T-shirts. The best part was when the Grizzlies scored and lights started flashing and a big train went through the E Center (well, it felt like it. The whistle tooted and the sound of the chu chu made the seats rumble.) Wednesday is $5 night for students and families. They also have $2 hotdogs, fries,and drinks. I bought Kimy and Karston T-shirts of Utah's Grizzley Hockey team to take back to Texas.

Also, that same day, I foiled Kimy's hair in about 65 foils. We figure it's a $200 job (at $3 a foil.) She went darker than last time with red highlights. It shimmers red in the sun and bright lights.

Today we tended Kimball and Bryce took time to play a few rounds of Settlers of Catan with us. Tonight I cooked hamburgers and the kids friends came over and they watched a movie.

We get to have them for six whole days before spring break ends and they have to go back. What a fun time we are having!

Watching a lot of movies and other stuff...

We took Ed to the doctor's twice this week. The first time was to have an ultrasound on his left leg to see if the constant pain he is having was caused from a blood clot. Negative!

The second time to Dr. Rasmussen to see if all the redness and hot tissue in his incision area might be a new concern for infection. Negative, again. The doctor felt it was normal for what Ed's body has gone through. So, now we wait until Tuesday when the stitches come out. Ed will be glad when he can take a real shower, again. We are hoping for a good report that the staff infection is lessening.

We watched two really great movies this week and I highly recommend them. One was "Australia." Bill and Barbara came over and watched it with us. It's nice that Ed can make the descent into the basement so that we can watch movies with a big screen, surround sound, and all of us sitting in recliners. The other movie was "The Bucket List." Both are the heart-warming type. Another movie we started late on a dreary day earlier this week was "Minority Report." It was long and drawn-out and rather dark, so we stopped it 45 minutes from the end, before we got too depressed. Now, I think I want to know the ending, so I may rent it another time unless someone has seen it and can tell me how it turns out.

I finished reading a book for the ward bookclub, "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy," by Gary D. Schmidt. It is a juvenile novel, easy reading, but well-written. Another high recommendation.

We got to tend Kimball two times this week. He is so sweet and it is so much fun to hold him, love him, and take care of him. I tend Kimball while Bryce hibernates in the basement and studies for his big test that is coming up in June

I spent a good part of today preparing for my Sunday School lesson. The week has gone rather quickly. Derek comes tomorrow for the weekend and then the grandkids come on Tuesday. Next week should be a fun-packed one for us all.

Every couple of weeks I spend a few nights watching Hannity or Bill O'Reilly to see what's happening in the nation. It's interesting for awhile and then I get tired of it all, and them, and I stay away from it for awhile. A steady diet of that stuff is too much and can get too depressing. Nothing we can do about it anyway, although I do think it is good to be somewhat informed.

For the most part, life isn't too bad. We have settled into a certain ebb and flow.