Good morning everyone!
Didja miss me?
I read all the posts, but I’m sure I didn’t retain anything.
Firstly, welcome back Nellie. I’ve missed you. As others have noted, the fact you are retired doesn’t make your stories or experiences any less relevant! I love your stories and as I have often said, I love the way you tell your stories. Never stop posting.
Congrats to your husband, teelabrown! I hope he can get in the groove and enjoy his retirement.
Beautiful work on the table, Johnny!
Cute pups, sari!
Apologies for anything I’ve missed.
It’s been a very hectic week. I left for Skamania on Monday morning. Skamania Lodge is beautiful. For those of you who are friends on FB, I posted a picture of the sunrise I took from my room. I got up early each day to walk one of the trails and usually had 7,000 to 8,000 steps before 8:00 am, and ended each day with around 15,000 or more steps. The meeting days were long (even the half days), but there was good content. After the official stuff, we would meet for dinner and drinks, so I returned to my room late at night and would be up at 3:30 to start over again. On the day before the rest of the staff arrived, and on the last day, I set up or took down equipment, banners, etc., and helped unload or load up stuff.
On Thursday, I left Skamania, drove to Vancouver, and checked into the Hilton near the waterfront. They are turning that area into a nice place with new restaurants, parks, and hotels, but the homeless camps and people were out in force. A homeless guy was sleeping on the sidewalk right outside of my hotel. My original plan was to stay there for two nights, but I had forgotten how far out Banks, OR was from Vancouver, so I canceled the second night in Vancouver and got a room at Embassy Suites in Hillsboro, OR.
The first afternoon, my sister drove over from Banks in her in-law’s rig, and we walked along the waterfront, went to dinner, and then chatted in my room for a few hours. The following day, I drove to Banks, hung out with her and the in-laws, took her to the dispensary, stopped for foo-foo coffee, went around Forest Grove and Hillsboro, and was astonished at the growth. Forest Grove used to be pretty rural; it’s not so much anymore. We drove to my hotel so I could check in and offload my luggage and work computer, then went back out to the in-law’s place. We left there and drove to the cemetery that the in-laws run to help plant flags on the veterans’ graves. They have a Civil War vet in that cemetery!
After that, we went to McMenamins Lodge for dinner and returned to the in-laws for more chatting. I returned to my hotel around 9:30 or 10:00 and got up early the following day to return home.
I was shocked that they had moved an entire homeless camp, with port-a-potties and dumpsters, out to a more rural area, although that area did have housing developments. The homeless camp was across the road from a housing development, which must piss off the homeowners. And, even though there were dumpsters put for them to use, there was trash everywhere.
I know things change, and I haven’t been out to the area since my kids were little, but it was sad to see the growth (and not for the good) and the extent of the homelessness. We all read about the Portland homeless, but the fact they are clear out in what was and is farm country is just kind of astounding. Also, it was sad to see formerly undeveloped areas with farms and trees and wild areas covered in cement, condos, strip malls and apartments.
But, despite all of that, seeing my sister again was beyond fantastic. It’s going on ten years since we last saw each other. We chatted so much and shared our tribulations, concerns, accomplishments, and lives in a profound and meaningful way. We talk via text and Facebook, but neither of us is a phone person, so we don’t really get into the daily minutia of our lives with each other via electronic conversation. We picked up right where we left off when we last saw each other. It was good to be with her, and it made me realize that I need to make an effort to get down to Texas more often to see her.
I was home by around 10:30 am yesterday. I was exhausted and pretty much spent the day vegging. Today I need to complete the laundry and tidy the house. The kids will be here tomorrow to hang out, so tomorrow morning I’ll go to the grocery store to pick up snacks and ingredients for dinner.
Onward with the day! I’m getting a very late start to my chores!
