2026
I guess I'm losing steam on keeping my website up as I'm actually writing this first entry in mid April. So, let's see if I can go back and reconstruct the first 4 months of this year.
I guess my first battle of sorts was with Max. He seemed to me to be cold as I would often find him laying on one of the heating vents or in the sun. I saw these self-generating heating mats for pets where it is their own body heat that warms them up. So, I ordered two - one for Max and one for Maggie. Initially, they were having none of it! I did find Max would lie on one if I had it on my legs, but that wasn't really the idea. I bought some catnip spray and thought that might help. He was more interested in where it got on my bed blanket than on the pad. I tried putting in on one of the recliners that he often frequented because of the two black cushions on that. Nope. He just laid on the other recliner where they were. My poor cleaning lady, Kathy, spends almost as much time getting cat hair off the furniture as she does cleaning the rest of the house. So, we put a blanket over those two cushions and voila' he got on the heating pad! The next two weeks found him rotating between the back of the couch, the chair with the cushions and the heating pad. Sorry Kathy!
I guess the next thing of note is the Coos Singers concert on March 9th. We had it at Marshfield High School again and though attendance wasn't as large as the Christmas concert, there were probably well over 300 people there. We are separating from the college now as they couldn't provide us with a big enough rehearsal space. We're in the process of becoming a 501(c)(3) though it will probably take most of the year to put that into place.
I'm in the front row just to the right of the piano.
And next up is my birthday on March 11th. I've been at the Visitor Center almost a year now and have found that they celebrate everyone's birthday on the closest day you work to your birthday which for me was Monday, the 9th, so I was treated to a balloon, a song and a nice gift card to Starbuck's.
I brought the balloon home and a month later it's still flying high in my bedroom. Wonder how long it will last? LOL
The afternoon of my actual birthday on Wednesday I got to play bridge at a friend's house for the first Wednesday group that I'm in which this month had to be on the second Wednesday. It was a lovely way to spend my 76th.
I also had a lovely assortment of flowers in bloom at home and decided to take photos of everything. I'm amazed at how long the cacti have bloomed and I'm totally impressed by my amaryllis that have bloomed twice this spring.
The hyacinths were a birthday present from my cleaning lady. The orchid is the one I've been growing in water and the rest I've had a while, but they have just blown me away this year!
And the afternoon of April 12th was the Annual Spelling Bee to raise funds for the library. Janet and I participated in it twice and after she died, two friends, Stacy and Gail, invited me to join their team. Gail is an incredible speller. I call her a walking dictionary. We're won this contest at least 4 or 5 times since I've been with them and maybe more. Yesterday was a challenge though. We were down to two teams and neither of us could spell a number of words. You have to spell correctly the word the other team misses and then spell another correctly to win. We went through about 4 rounds of misses when finally we pulled it out. I should say Gail pulled it out. I write the word on the overhead, Stacy pronounces it and Gail is the one who gives it to me to write out. I spelled quite a few of the words correctly, but we would not even place if it was up to me.
So, here's the winning team: Gail on the left, Stacy in the middle and then me. I have no idea where I got that jacket, but it's perfect for this event. I'll put it in the closet now until next year.
The other photo is of two sisters who are the busy bees. They were making all kinds of signs and signals in the back as the teams progressed and when we were switching in and out they were dancing. They were hysterical!
On March 28th I participated in the No Kings rally here. There were over 3000 towns and cities participating and they think we had almost 1000 here. I think that may be high, but it was pretty well attended. I stayed on 101 South this time which wasn't as crowded. They say over 8 million participated across the country.
I'm falling behind on my journaling for this page. It's now actually mid-June but let's see if I can recap May before going on. I don't think I mentioned that I was diagnosed with glaucoma. Dr. Gates had been watching my pressures creep up over quite a few years and they finally got to a point where she felt an intervention was needed. So now I have to put drops in my eyes at night. And I guess that is forever and ever amen. She also told me she was planning on retiring at the end of June and at that time was unsure about someone taking over as a gal who she had hired a year or two ago was out on maternity. So, I went over to the Bay Eye Clinic and got signed up with a very well-respected ophthalmologist there whose name escapes me at this moment.
In mid-May we had an RV rally at Elkton. Last year almost everyone came down with a stomach bug and most went home early. This year we avoided the plague and had a pretty good time playing cards and enjoying each other's company. We even had a beach volleyball game inside the little pavilion. The weather wasn't that great, so ingenuity came into play with tables turned upside down and a hose strung between them for the net. It was pretty fun to watch. I discovered early on that my shoulder didn't like it, so I got on the sidelines.
And of course, we had our nightly games of Square 9 though not for the faint of heart as it got pretty chilly in the evenings. Never fear though, we made it work. I skipped the April rally, but if you want to read about that you can look on our ORVW.org website.
In May I had a big kerfuffle with Jill at the theatre. The result was I quit as Volunteer Coordinator. I stayed away the rest of the month as some very hurtful things were said in an email. We're both pretty headstrong and it just was not working. I started volunteering again on a limited basis in June and I think that will work out OK. The gal who took on the coordinator job is a delight and has a much softer way about her in the emails she sends. I had done it for 12 years. That's enough.
The first half of June had a lot of major bumps. I tried to call my friend Elaine to wish her a Happy Birthday and both phone numbers I had were bad. I sent a letter to her son, in hopes that he would get it and fill me in. I got an email the other day telling me she is now in a nursing home with dementia and macular degeneration. Her memory went bad some years ago after a stroke and when I would call her she would ask where I was about every 10 minutes. She knew who I was and what fun times we had in the past but just couldn't hold on to the present. Add the eye problem to that and now she can no longer read anything. Marsden offered me her contact info, but I decided I just want to remember her and the fun we had from our years together in the past.
We used to get together in Syracuse, go out to dinner and then the next day shop at Costco. She also came to my house in Watertown where we would lounge by the pool. This was around 1990.
Janet and I visited her when we went on our cross-country trip back around 2006. Janet loved to hear me play the piano and Elaine and I had fun with duets, especially this one Haydn symphony.
The last time I went east was for my 50th high school reunion in 2018. I made a huge circuit to see friends including Elaine. This was our last time together and I remember saying to her that it was probably the last time we would see one another. It was.
The next thing that happened was I got an email from my ex telling me that his sister just passed away a couple of days ago. She had been ill for a while and had several amputations though I don't know the circumstances. What I realized after receiving that letter was three of the five gals in my wedding party back in 1974 are now gone. Where have all these years gone?
And then, to top it all off, I had to send my beautiful, little shih-poo Maggie over the rainbow bridge on 6/10/26. She had been failing for some time, and the last week had eaten almost nothing. She was a food hound, maybe not for dog food but for people food, treats and the occasional spoon of canned cat food. These last few days I couldn't get her to eat anything and she was vomiting bile. So, I took her to the vet and Dan ran an ultrasound on her and found that she had many lumps, probably tumors, throughout her body. It was time. She was 16 1/2 and came to live with us after Laura, Janet's niece, had passed away back in 2014. She was by far the nicest little dog I ever had the pleasure of calling mine and she will be greatly missed.
Went to the No Kings Protest on Drump's Birthday (6/14). It was very hot here - 85 according to the thermometer in my car as I headed home. So, it was not as well attended as some other protests. Someone said around 75 people.
Now I'm home and the thermometer by the hot tub says it's 90. It'a 80 in my room. Too damned hot! I changed the water in the hot tub today. It's probably been over 2 years. The water was amazingly clear and very cold. The algae growing in it had dropped to the bottom of the tub, just like the algae in the orchid vase.
The 4th of July was relatively quiet. Yeah!! I heard some fireworks down the block, but nothing right next door like last year. Max got a bit freaked out and went into hiding. When he reappeared, I blocked the dog door for the night and set up his litter box. About 2 AM all was quiet so I unblocked the door and let him out. There was a pop or two on the 5th, but once again, nothing compared to last year.
The weekend before the 4th, Janice and I went over to the Sawdusters show in Coquille. It's corny, but fun once in a while. She had never been and it's been several years since I went. It will be several more until I go again and she said once was enough for her. There's only so much melodrama one needs in one's life.
The Oregon Coast Music Festival started with a band concert in the park on the 11th. I went to it and ran into Janice, so we sat together. I was also next to a lady I didn't know but who looked familiar. After a couple of tries I asked if she was in the Community Choir and she said yes. I said I was too, so we laughed. We were both cold (who knew you could freeze in mid-July) so I went back to my car and grabbed a couple of blankets. It also helped me get more steps in which I am trying to do since Maggie passed. It was a good concert and enjoyed by all but it didn't hurt my feelings that it was over in an hour!
Then on Saturday the 12th, Janice, Jan and I went to the Little Old Opry on the Bay for the 50's concert. They do an outstanding job and I am constantly amazed at all the talented vocalists who live in this area. I'm not a fan of country music which is what they have on next week. Next winter they are doing a production of Jersey Boys and previewed one number at this concert. It was fabulous so I'll be sure to go to see that!
The next RV rally was at Casey's down near Oakridge. It was a midweek rally (M-F) because they won't rent to us on weekend in their summer season. It's a lovely campground and clubhouse, right on the river though I'm not positive which one. The change in days messed up my internal calendar but good! Getting old I guess.
Stupid me, when I got there, I realized I had left all my hanging clothes in the guestroom! That included the easy dry shirt I just got as well as the hoodie I bought for the sewing project Paulette was doing with us. We trace animal shapes onto fabric, she stitches them onto our shirt and we cut out the in-between fabric revealing the design. I've made several shirts before but this one was going to be an otter, and I was disappointed until I realized I could use an old hoodie I had hanging in the closet. Mine was the last one she stitched so she even did the cutting out for me! Love that woman!!
More people did the project than she was expecting so she spent most of the rally sewing! It's really become popular to have one of the shirts.
In the past, they've had rafting trips right there and on the rapids but that company went out of business. We found another one that was on a different part of a river where it would be a float. We had to carpool into Springfield and they picked us up and took us to the launch site. It was indeed a float - never had to lift a paddle which was good for me with my bum shoulder. It was about 2 hours which was a bit long, but over all very pleasant.
Our car elected to go back to the park right after the float instead of going out for lunch. Lucky we did as there was an accident on 58 between an RV trailer and a dump truck pulling an extra trailer. Those who stayed behind were stuck for between 2 and 3 hours while they waited for a tow truck capable of moving the heavy rigs.
And of course, we had our nightly Square 9 games. Some gals also went hiking on some of the local trails but walking back and forth to the clubhouse was enough for me!
The week after the rally our Square 9 group had a double birthday to celebrate with Jan on July 20th and Cathy on the 21st. Sherry got a Boston Cream Pie which they had both requested and we played our usual nine hands. Jan cleaned up winning a couple of hands and the big pot to the tune of about $10! She had said she wasn't going to come - too many people. I'll bet she's glad she did after that afternoon of cards!
And that same week, the orchestra for the Oregon Coast Music Festival rolled into town. Karen Hilley once again stayed with me for the week. She's a delight, but camera shy so I only got a shot of the orchestra.
As it turns out, she is barely visible just to the left of the conductor. LOL
