Way Up High

Last month my sweetheart and I spent nine days at a beautiful lake high in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon.  Of course you know a trip like that takes planning and packing and preparing and all kinds of activity.  I thought I would show you what happens behind the scenes when we take my sweetheart’s little fishing boat and our travel trailer, too.  In Oregon we can’t tow two vehicles, as in some states, so we have to be creative.  Someone came up with this idea and they started the company where my sweetheart bought his ‘car-top boat rack’.  Only, it doesn’t go on the car – it goes on the truck!

The first step is to empty the boat of anything that is not ‘nailed down’.  My sweetheart removes the anchor, the comfy seats, the fish-and-depth-finder, the battery and all fishing equipment.  The motor comes off and it all goes into the back of the truck until it's all put back in place when the boat is afloat in the water again.  Then he takes the boat out of the backyard – on it’s trailer.  He ‘tows’ the boat to the street with a tow dolly (done by hand, lots of pushing or pulling).  You may wonder why he doesn’t just back the truck up to the boat.  He’s tried that in the past.  The boat is parked in the backyard and he’s found it’s much easier to leave the truck parked on the street in front of our house. The process begins once the boat and trailer are backed up behind the truck.  The car-top rack is permanently mounted to the truck.  It goes with us wherever we go when we’re out and about – with or without the boat.  Guidelines that are part of the rack are attached to special hardware installed on the boat.  Then my sweetheart inserts his hand-held drill into the gears on the rack, turns it on and away she goes.  She is slowly lifted off the trailer and up in the air.The process doesn’t take very long but, for some reason, I always seem to hold my breath until she's horizontal again!  But, every time those strong guide lines do their job and she just keeps moving into place.Up and over.  I often think she’s just going to crash onto the rails of the car-top rack when she gets to this point.  But she doesn’t!My sweetheart’s hands guide her a bit at this point as the guide lines tighten and she smoothly begins to move down into place. Then, she’s down.  Safe and sound.  Horizontal again.  Upside down.  A few more turns of the gears and she moves forward into place - until a mechanism in the gears has wound the guide lines tight and she comes to a stop. I let out a big sigh of relief!  There she sits – on top.  Safe and sound.  Ready to go.  No matter how bumpy or how steep the road, she stays right there.  And soon, it’s time to go.  Time to head out for the chosen fishing spot.  Plans have been made, things packed, lists checked one final time – and we are off.  Off on our way to somewhere in the beautiful world around us.  Off on our way to rest and relax – and, hopefully, off to get the grill ready for a fish dinner.  Or two.

Did You Wonder. . .

. . . if I came back from the beautiful lake where my sweetheart and I went to camp and fish last month?  Yes, we did come home.  A lot has happened since then but I want to catch up a bit and then I’ll share our trip with you.  And I have other things to share, too, so I’d better get busy and do it!
You may notice that my blog has a new look.  For the past year I’ve debated and thought and debated again whether or not I should change to another blog service.  I actually set up a new blog with another service to see if I wanted to move this blog over, and – after playing with it and giving it much thought – I decided to stay here and give this blog a more simple, clean look.  There are some new features and I’ve removed others.  At the top of my blog, just under the header, you will see five ‘tabs’.  Each of them will take you to information or to a site that is no longer posted on the sidebar.  ‘Home’ is just what it says – it will take you back to my main blog page from anywhere you have gone to read and take a look on this blog.  ‘About Me' is newly updated information about me!  ‘Contact Me’ has information about contacting me personally or finding me on Facebook and Pinterest.  ‘Daffodil – My Vintage Trailer' will take you directly to Daffodil’s blog so you can easily keep up with updates and information as we make progress on her restoration.  ‘Blogs I Enjoy' is a list (with links) to the blogs I read and enjoy on a regular basis.I have added a new accessory to my own personal ‘look’ these days.  I’m using a cane!  Several years ago I fell and injured my right knee.  It healed with the help of physical therapy and life went on.  Over the past couple of months I have fallen several times and my knee seems to be the issue.  Two weeks ago I began to have severe pain and swelling in and around my knee so I saw my doctor.  She did some x-rays and then referred me to an orthopedic specialist.  My doctor gave me two ‘assignments’ to prevent future falls – use a cane to maintain balance until this knee issue is resolved, and install ‘grab’ bars in the tub/shower.  The specialist did about a million more x-rays of both knees (for comparison) and then he gave us some good news.  The joints in both knees look good!  The next step was an MRI to see if anything is torn.  I see him tomorrow for results of the MRI and, hopefully, a plan to ‘fix’ the problem.  That plan may simply be another round of physical therapy – or, it may be surgery.  So, I had to buy a cane.  I didn’t want just any cane!  I looked at vintage canes in a local vintage shop, but they weren’t sturdy enough.  I looked at canes in a store here in town and I didn’t like much of what they had – until I spied a folding cane!  Perfect!  Basic. Black. Goes with everything.  And I have plans to bling it up a bit.  This cane folds up, goes in a little case and fits in my purse if I suddenly need a cane in the future. It works great so I’m using my cane and trying to do what my doctor told me to do.  I’m supposed to ‘rest and elevate the knee’, but she wants me using it!  I sit and rest in my recliner – then I get up and move around!  I’ve been trying to make the most of my sitting times.  I’ve sorted things in my office/creative room.  I can sit on the office chair and roll to wherever I want to go, sort, toss, recycle paper or anything else I find.  I want my ‘sitting’ time to serve a purpose, even if it means taking a nap.  I’m not driving these days because the leg that’s the culprit is my ‘gas and brake’ leg.  So, my sweetheart drives me where I need to go and he is sweetly doing shopping and errands for my dear, little mother and taking care of some her needs that I usually do.There’s progress on my little vintage trailer!  The structural work has been finished and we started moving forward again.  We’re putting her back together.  I’ll share the progress on her blog in a few days.  It’s not a lot yet, but I’m getting excited! 

That’s what I’ve been up to.  I have some blog posts about ready to share.  Tomorrow I will show you how my sweetheart got the boat ready for our trip to the lake.  There’s a process – one that catches the eye of people passing by when he’s loading the boat for a fishing trip.

 

I’ll update you on the diagnosis – and prognosis – on my knee.  I’m getting pretty good at hobbling around, but I sure do get tired of saying ‘ouch’!  Until there’s more news, I am grateful for each moment – and for your friendship.

Still Here

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I’m still here, even though I haven’t been posting for awhile. Life has just gone in some crazy, hectic directions and I’ve not been able to slow down long enough to put a post together.  I have a lot to share and hope I can post more often again.  Thank you for the emails asking if I’m still here and for your prayers and thoughts and the care you have expressed.  It means a lot to me.

My sweetheart and I have ‘escaped’ the routines of life for a week.  We are at a beautiful lake high in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon.  Our little cabin-on-wheels is parked right beside the lake and my sweetheart’s boat is just a stone’s throw away for easy access when he wants to fish - or take me for a boat ride on the lake.  I’m taking photos but I didn’t pack my magic piece that transfers photos from my camera to my computer so they will have to wait until I get home.  I don’t have internet access unless I go to the lodge at a beautiful resort on the other side of the lake.  That’s where I am for a bit today. 

I hope to check in again while we’re here.  In the meantime, we are resting and relaxing and reading and walking – and doing a bit of dreaming – and enjoying a break from everyday life.  It’s a sweet time – a gift from God to our hearts!

Strength

Isaiah 45:5-6

Spring Days

I’m still here!  Life has been a bit crazy around our house for awhile.  Our daughter and her four children returned from life in another state.  They are staying with us until housing is available for them.  She is waiting to hear the status of a nice place that will be available soon.  In the meantime, my sweetheart and I are adjusting to life with active kids in our home each day.  Mornings remind me of school days long ago – but I’m not the mom this time!  After-school times are fun with reports of things said and done.  Baseball and soccer practice and game schedules are crazy but rewarding.  Having a sixteen-year-old, a thirteen-year-old, an eleven-year-old and a busy four-year-old living with us has helped create memories that will last in our hearts forever.  We will miss them when they move, but they won't be far away.

Things continue to change with my dear, little mother.  She recently turned ninety-one.  We mark each occasion with joy and try to remember to cherish our time together, even on the rough days.  Mother’s Day was a treasure we won’t ever forget.  My sweetheart single-handedly prepared an amazing dinner and dessert that overwhelmed us.  Even I was surprised by his accomplishments!

Work continues on Daffodil – my little, vintage trailer.  We had planned that she would be finished by now but a ‘surprise’ discovery revealed that her structure needed strengthening to prevent problems on the road.  While we are disappointed that she won’t make her maiden voyage to a girlfriend campout next month, it is a good thing we found the problem now.  In the next day or two I will share an update and photos on her blog.  My sweetheart is working hard to put her back togetherBut today my sweetheart and I are running away for awhile!  With all that is going on in our lives we try to get away together every Friday.  He will be at the beach this weekend with a group of men from our church for a special retreat time so we decided today is our day away.  We are going to a special place we've heard about.  It's a special place - a beautiful place - and I will have my camera with me.  I’ll share it with you after we come back to ‘real’ life!

The flower at the top of this post is our state flower -  ‘Oregon Grape’.  It was growing in a beautiful state park we visited on one of our recent outings.  I'll be back soon!

I Serve A Risen Savior

 

He is risen – as He said!
Matthew 28:6

 

Happy Easter.

I Bought A Lighthouse!

Last week my sweetheart and I went away for a few days.  Our travels took us to a place where we lived many years ago - a favorite place of mine.  We spent time with family who recently moved near there.  One day we travelled a few miles from their home to show them where we lived so long ago.  One of the special things I couldn’t wait to see again was my favorite lighthouse.   It’s on the Southern Oregon Coast – very close to the home where we lived back then.  The Umpqua River Lighthouse, just across the Coquille River from Bandon, Oregon, is definitely my favorite.Our current bathroom is decorated with beach decor.  Many years ago I saw a little replica of this lighthouse that had a light inside.  Since then I’ve dreamed of having one in my bathroom.  I knew it would be the perfect nightlight!  I’ve looked everywhere on the Oregon Coast to find one and, finally, right there - in a little shop in Bandon - I found exactly what I was looking for.  So, I bought a lighthouse!  It came home with me and now it sits on a special jewelry box my father-in-law made many years ago. The light shines bright at night and lights up the room.I smile every time I walk into the bathroom and see this little lighthouse.  It’s a nice reminder of times past and our recent trip to the beach.