Coming & Going...

At the same time Marymine and grand Lauren were deplaning at PDX, to spend a few days with us, grands J & Miss B were boarding a flight from PDX to So Cal for a week at the beach.

After I picked up Marymine & Lauren, I drove them up to Vista House for a view of the Columbia Gorge.

On to Multnomah Falls we went, then up river to cross over on the Bridge of the Gods, and into Stevenson for a late lunch on the patio at Clark & Lewie's. A group of small sailboats and some guys parakiting provided the entertainment.

We came home via the Evergreen Hwy on the WA side of the river.

The next day we did the Oregon Zoo...

shhh, let sleeping bears lie...

We knew traffic would be bad going home so we decided to wait out the crush at Powell's Books in the Pearl Dist.  After spending considerable time in Powell's lightening our wallets, we did a little window shopping, then went to dinner at Backwoods Brewing Co. (The brew was not what we have come to expect, but the food was really good.) 

Next day, the girls headed over to Milwaukie, OR to get tattoos. (I'm not a fan of tats, but they are.) This is the one Marymine got, Lauren's is much smaller and less ornate.

 right after it was done so it looks much bigger than it is

When they got home, we headed off to a late dinner at Margaritaville with friends. The next day they flew home. It was so good to get to spend time with them. They promised me they will be back and bring the rest of the crew!

Picked up J and Miss B at PDX yesterday, they were sunburned from the beach & surfing, but had a good time. 

We have them for a week before they head home to start school. I'm going to miss them, they keep things interesting, and the music rock'n.

Sean changed out the Chev bowtie emblems on 'the new to me' ride from gold (not my favorite color) to black. Lov'n, as the grandkids call it "Nanny's Badass Ride".

Just so you know, it is not all play and no work around here...  I refinished 10 doors, the kitchen cabinets, and half the staircase.  Should be done with two more doors, the staircase, and baseboards today, right after I get the lawn mowed. On to re-screening a patio door, and a couple other little projects. 

Fine as frog hair...

Not getting a lot done with squaring away my stuff. I'm way too easily distracted by the scenery around here, and enjoying family & friends.

Granddaughter J, Willie, and I took the 'new to me' ride for a day trip to Haystack/Cannon Beach last week. 

 J is a great co-pilot and dog handler.

 We stopped along the way at Camp 18.

 

We made a small 300 mile loop, the 'new to me' ride drove great, it was a good day.

Sean is back from the great Alaska fishing trip. He has stories to tell, and has kept us in awe and rolling with laughter...

just a little envious of his super otter time...

He is seriously thinking about trading the ski boat for a fishing boat. 
"What do you think, Ma?" 
"I think that is a great idea!"

 We had a big friends & family sea bass, fresh from Alaska, taco feed last night, it was beyond yummy!

Sunday we spent the day on the water... all good except for a couple of places on the Columbia that had some nasty rollers. 

lots of houseboats, some are huge.

the bridge to Sauvie Island

a few of the many small vessels

these guys were amazing to watch

lol, my toes requesting a little more speed...

I got to test out what the trailer towing was like with the 'new to me' ride. Smooth as can be.
  
Need to find a name for the 'new to me' ride. Any suggestions?

Sunday, after mass...

Went across town for mass this morning. Much more to my liking, a large, friendly parish, simple building and lots of young families.

Had to put a budget wise hold on my going to IKEA, and promptly found a garden center not all that far from the house.  They have so many plants that I really couldn't raise in Cali, plus cool stuff, and super helpful, knowledgeable staff. 

You don't realize how insidiously restrictive and unfriendly Cali has gotten til you live elsewhere.  Here there is no bag hassle at stores, or straw hassle or water hassle in restaurants or...  There is no lack of staff to help you, staff actually not only ask if they can help, they will take you to what you are looking for and are knowledgeable about what they have. They are genuinely friendly! 

We went to the drags in Portlandia last week. Lots of different rigs racing the clock. Everything from an ol farm truck (my favorite), a funky Subaru, to really hot dragsters. Weather was perfect. Fun evening with lots of friends, food, and a couple of craft beers...

OMG, these people know how to do fireworks!  They were everywhere, in driveways, on the streets, neighbors competing to see who had the biggest bang and block parties galore. 

Sean got home from the build in Arlington on Friday in time to pickup the used upright freezer I found. We need it for the quarter of beef he bought and the salmon & halibut he is bringing back from Alaska. He flew up to Juneau Saturday morning, then on to Eagles Nest Lodge via float plane to fish for four days...sigh. It really is a much needed and well deserved break for him.

I sold Hank, my pickup, and the Rav and found a good rig for me. 2016 with only 15,000 miles. Picked it up Friday evening and I'm liking it, love the Tungsten color. No more vanilla, or grey for me.   Sean likes it too, in fact has mentioned that I could put it in writing that it goes to him when I'm no longer kick'n. LOL...

New territory...

It's official, I'm now a PNW'er. Got my WA plates on the SUV and my WA drivers license.  Feels a bit strange after 70 years as a Californian. 

I am loving it up here, while RB was running a temp of 103-105 it was 87 here. A cool marine breeze comes up in the evenings, making for great sleeping weather.

My bed is almost finished, will put it together tomorrow. A night stand to paint & assemble after that.

While I'm on this painting bender, I've asked Sean if I could repaint my bedroom, which is currently a particularly ugly green.  He said, "go for it, mom!" LOL, I've packed a custom made gallon of paint with me for a few years now. (A friend had painted her dinning room at her new Ft Klamath house with it, and I loved the color.)  So in the near future my bedroom will be "gray horse". Rather fitting for the occupant I'm thinking.

Sean is home for a while, and his oldest daughter, Jacey, has moved in with us for the summer. She is our family soccer player, on a semi-pro team.  J has found a summer job here, and has two more possibles, within walking distance. It's good to have grandkids around. 
Willie is adjusting, and is well loved by everyone. He made a few walkabout trips at first, but has settled in now.

I've been adopted by Sean's friends as Mom. Which means more family. I'm up for that. 

  

Watching paint dry...

I'm slowly getting settled in at my Sean's. He is gone for most of the week, a two edged sword, there is just myself to cook for or not, but there is just me to move furniture and heavy lift. When he's home he is most likely out riding or in the garage wrenching on HD's, out on the boat, or occasionally in the office. 

Went to IKEA to get myself a bed and took my cousin from Portlandia with me.  We got a cart full and headed out to the loading docks. They were full, so we decided to just wheel the cart to my pickup and load it up there. As we were starting to wheel the cart down the ramp, we saw that the ramp with the "red no parking paint" was totally blocked by a SUV. A young couple had decided the rules of the road didn't apply to them and were loading there. They were taking their sweet time about it too, and totally ignoring the two ol gals with a heavily loaded cart.  Finally they got their stuff loaded in their SUV and after dicking around inside the SUV they left.  I looked at their license plates as they slowly pulled away, and said (in a very loud voice), "Wouldn't you know it Damn California drivers."  My cousin started laughing, and whispered, "Don't you still have your Calif plates?"  "Shhh, we aren't near my truck"...

I'm painting my bed in a stipple dry brushed Navajo white.  Not sure I'm going to like it... 

Needs to be top coated with varathane of some sort. Will figure that out as I go.  

Lots of projects to keep me busy and things to see, and sorta out of trouble...  

For now I'm off to dinner at my SIL & BIL's in Salmon Creek. They are just back from two months in France and Italy. Though this is far from their first time there, boyhowdy do they have stories to tell.
You will be pleased to know that I wrote the final checks to close out the estate and sent them on to the attorney for disbursement. As soon as they are cashed, the estate will be zeroed out, and done.