PUZZLES I FINISHED - JULY 2022

Plymouth - Artist: Eric Dowdle - Dowdle Folk Art - 1,000 pieces

I enjoyed all the different windows, roofs, and colors of the buildings in this one. 

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THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for garbage cans. What's one thing that you're thankful for?

ROAD TRIP TO RUFUS

Two kids are out of town for a few days and the other doesn't need me to be home, so I hit the road mid-day on Monday and spent a couple nights at Tim's home away from home. Sorta. His home as far as being in the town of Rufus, but not the actual four walls he stays in. He lives in a studio apartment, but there was nothing appealing to me about staying in what amounts to a tiny bachelor pad all day while he's at work and sharing a twin bed at night. So we rented a room at the Rufus Hillview Inn that was much better suited for two people. 

We didn't have a ton of time together, as he usually works 11 hour days and ended up working 14 one of the days I was there, but something is better than nothing. It was great to have a few hours at the end of the day to just be us. No parenting or talking about our kids. None of the practical tasks that are unavoidable when he comes our way. No conversation about the parts of our life that are stressful or otherwise unpleasant.

Yesterday was my only full day there and temps are topping out at 109-113 degrees there this week, so I took advantage of waking up earlier than I wanted to by beating the heat and going for a walk at dawn. The hotel is the middle of the tiny town (population 268), so I headed to the sunrise end, wove my way up and down side streets in the middle, walked to the opposite end, and then went back to our room. 

I'm glad I got to see the sunrise. 

You can't tell by looking, but there's a freeway, river, and train tracks on each side of the river in the middle of the picture. It looks serene, but it's a busy area.

I thought this keyhole bridge design was pretty. 

There was also a bridge with all sorts of ceramic decor that was falling apart, but this tile still looked good. Functional art is cool.

I noticed my speed was being clocked as I came down one road. I tried to catch it at 4, but it always dropped to 3 in the time it took me to stop for a picture. I don't think my speed as a pedestrian has ever been caught like that before and it made me chuckle.

Just part of the view across the freeway.

It may not look like much, but this is where I happily parked myself after my walk and a shower. Three hours of reading my Bible and other books, watching the birds fly all over the place to the right of the picture, getting whiffs of the lavender to the left of the picture, chugging water, and grazing on finger foods while I sat in the morning shade. 

I took this picture from my little patio area for a glimpse of the type of work Tim's doing at a wind farm. He's actually working about 40 minutes from Rufus, but a windmill is a windmill and this gives you some perspective on their size. Notice the height of the nearby semi on the left compared to the relative height of the semi on the right, across the river and up the hill. Then, for scale, compare that tiny semi on the right with the height of the windmill in the center, a little farther away and higher on the hill. Those windmills are gigantic!

As I lost shade at our front door, I headed inside to nap (didn't happen, but it was still nice to rest) and read some more. Tim got off work three hours later than expected, so our plan to grab dinner at a nearby restaurant was thwarted because I was really hungry long before he arrived. I ate more of the food I'd picked up on my way out there for my dinner, so he suggested he do the same, then we could walk to the restaurant for milkshakes instead of dinner. Deal. 

We got to the restaurant, but they'd run out of ice cream earlier in the day. I said we could just grab some sort of treat at the gas station market next door, but he decided we should drive to the neighboring tiny town to grab ice cream instead. I love black licorice and a co-worker had told him about a place that has that flavor of ice cream. We arrived and found they'd closed an hour earlier. At that point we went to the closest gas station market, picked ice cream from their Good Humor case, drove around the corner to a spot along the river, and ate our treats while watching the sunset reflect on the water while birds floated on it. Not the ice cream we originally planned on, but a beautiful view we'd have missed if things had gone our way.

I slept in a bit this morning, read outside until check out, then headed home. But first, a quick stop at Dinty's in Biggs Junction to get licorice ice cream, per Tim's request because he hoped I'd like it. I'm cooperative like that when it comes to dessert. I haven't had licorice ice cream since I was a kid and it was a delicious Umpqua flavor that I didn't know existed. 

Time with my husband. Time alone. Ignoring regular life. Relaxing. Enjoying air conditioning. It was a great way to spend 48 hours and I'm thankful I got to go. 

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for budgeting. What's one thing you're thankful for? 

A LITTLE FAMILY TIME WITH TIM

Tim came home for a 24 hour visit this weekend. Much of the time was spent sleeping, going to church, and taking care of practical stuff, but we did squeeze in some time for fun. He and the kids spent a chunk of the afternoon playing several games, then he and I went out for burgers at Nancy Jo's on his way out of town. 

Just a few days shy of five months since this job assignment started, I'm struggling with it now. Although I'd never choose to live separately, I was fine with this temporary season right up until his last visit. Suddenly, I wasn't. It's hard.

I'm thankful he's employed, likes his job, and gets paid well. I'm thankful he has a good attitude about long hours and challenging living situations. I'm thankful that all assignments, but specifically the ones with hours or locations I'm not crazy about, are temporary. We'll survive and life goes on. And I'm not complaining about it anymore. 

PARADE & DANCE PERFORMANCE

Our kids were recently invited to join our orthodontist's float in the Robin Hood Festival Parade. Devon was an immediate no, Naomi was a solid maybe, and Tyler was an enthusiastic yes. This morning Naomi and I dropped Tyler off in the staging area with the Senestraro Family Orthodontics crew, then walked down the road to take care of an errand. On the way back she made a last minute decision to join her brother. I found a place to sit, visited with some people sitting nearby, read a book while I waited, and then watched the parade. 

We skipped the other festivities because we all happen to be in spending freezes with our personal fun money budgets and headed home after the parade. Tyler read, Naomi and I napped. 

A couple hours later we headed over to the Woodburn Public Library for one of their summer reading program events, a dance performance by Paradise of Samoa. It was gray outside when we arrived, but the sun eventually broke through. Tyler and I made our way to the shade, but Naomi opted to soak up some rays while she watched the show. 

There was one song where the group invited kids to join in the performance. Tyler and Piper, a friend of ours who happened to be there, both went up on stage. They're on the right side of the back row.

 

He had fun dancing and was pretty happy to get an unexpected handful of candy after the song. 

It's been a fun day!

COOKIES FOR FRIENDS

Some friends passed through town today with hopes of stopping by for a short visit with our family, so I baked cookies to send them off with. Once we realized it wasn't going to make sense for them to stop, we made a spontaneous switch to a quick meetup in a parking lot near the freeway to give them a bunch of cookies for the rest of their trip. Five minutes with friends isn't much, but it's definitely better than no time at all. And cookies are always a good thing!

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for medicines that fight infection, relieve pain, stabilize mental health, and stop allergic reactions. What's something that you're thankful for?

MUSIC IN THE PARK

Music in the Park, a free summer concert series in town, is one of my favorite parts of the season. I love sitting in the shade on the library lawn, listening to live music from various genres, visiting with people from town we only see at the concerts and with friends who show up, and reading a book while I listen, if that's what I'm in the mood for. 

Tonight was the first concert of the series, preceded by a brief city council meeting on the lawn and a free bbq dinner.  Naomi treated me and Tyler to Kona Ice, choosing flavors for me that gave me my favorite colors.

Part of the bbq festivities was free face painting. Tyler got a ninja on his cheek and Naomi opted for a phoenix on her arm.

We got a quick picture together before we headed home as proof that we'd been out together. 

It was a fun way to spend the evening!
 

FRIDAY WITH THE FAM

The kids and I made a spontaneous decision to spend the evening hanging out in our front yard. I pulled out snacks and we all played corn hole, ladder ball, tetherball, and Connect 4 while listening to music and watching a pretty sunset. 

And we tried doing headstands. Let the record state I did one, but it wasn't captured on camera and I fell every single other time tried. Of course. 

 

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful that moving some plants around a while back means I have roses blooming directly outside my bedroom window this summer. What's one thing that you're thankful for?

FAMILY & FIREWORKS

Tim, Devon, and I spent the morning splitting and stacking firewood, but then we all headed to Centennial for fireworks and festivities. The event hasn't happened the last two years, so it was great to enjoy it again. Tim and I were engaged on the 4th of July, so I like to joke that our community puts on quite a bash to celebrate our proposal anniversary.  

CHANCE ENCOUNTER

Oh. My. Word! I'm waiting for a prescription to be ready and decided to just sit in the car instead of wandering through the store. I hadn't been here more than a couple minutes when my childhood pastor and his wife walked right by the passenger window. I jumped out, called their name, and got to spend a few minutes talking.

I'm FB friends with two of their daughters, but other than a brief encounter maybe five years ago, I haven't seen them in probably twenty-five years. They asked about my dad, recently listened to a recording of my mom's memorial service, shared what they always appreciated about her as our church pianist, and said I had good parents. What an awesome surprise to run into them!

I'd just told Tim that I was frustrated my plans for productivity today weren't working out and told the kids I wish I hadn't forgotten to bring a book with me. But if I'd been working on what I planned on doing, decided to wander the store, or had been engrossed in a book, I'd have missed this moment.