Forest Hike

Gary is lucky enough to live minutes away from OSU's McDonald-Dunn forest (http://www.cof.orst.edu/cf/forests/mcdonald/ ) where there are many nice walking trails.  But in the 12 years he has lived here, he has never gone on any walks there!

On Easter Sunday I went by myself on a lovely forest walk (photo below from that walk), and decided the two of us should go. 

The day before yesterday, I got him to agree to go with me on the next day, yesterday.

I woke up from my morning sleep (after working the night before) and found a note from him that he was doing errands and would be home by 2:00.  I got myself ready. It was a beautiful sunny day, and I was pumped.  He came home at 2:20 and I asked if he was ready for our little hike.  He said "I was hoping we could do it tomorrow."  I said no.  There was no reason to postpone, and I know if we postponed there would be some other reason not to do it tomorrow.  He said "Well it is raining in Lewisburg" (which is about 4 miles away).  I responded that it wasn't raining here.   He hates the rain and is ready to throw in the towel if it has rained, or might rain on any particular day.  Despite current conditions.

So we drove the 3 minutes it took to get to the closest trailhead. We arrived and he said "I wish we would have brought Lola".  Lola is the midsized terrier mix.  I said it was fine with me to go back and get Lola.  So we did.  Heading back to the trail head, he looked at clouds and said "Our asses are going to get wet."  I told him it wouldn't hurt us if they did.

Finally we embarked on our walk.  I told him I'd be happy with just 20 minutes in and 20 minutes out.  It was great.  Lola loved it.  We definitely need to do this regularly - we'll all be happier for these easy forest walks.  Here are some photos.

Gardening and Dinner Party

There used to be a sign on Gary's property that said "Gary and Kerri's Place".  The story goes that not long after Kerri left, the sign fell down of its own accord, witnessed by the neighbor, Kelly.  Left were two weather treated posts set in concrete, and some deteriorating plywood.  A bit of an eyesore.  Then Gary took a chainsaw to a shrub behind the sign, and the hacked up shrub made it look even worse.  I communicated that impression of mine to Gary.  I was taking a nap, and by the time I woke up he and his friend Dennis had pulled the whole business out of the ground and covered over the holes left.  Yay!

There is a lot of work that needs to be done on this landscaped property.  I said that I would take responsibility for weeding and maintenance of the large bed that you see as you're driving up, and also seen from the front porch.  It is huge, and includes many trees and shrubs.  Also, a rock structure and small pond with lilly pads.  It is obvious that it was beautifully done, by Kerri, but has suffered from lack of attention. 

My first project was to put something where the sign and shrub used to be.  I decided I wanted to get some "yard art", and I had an idea that a Chinese pagoda would look nice there, surrounded by some flowering plants.  Gary took me shopping to Garland's Nursery for my birthday, and I found just the pagoda.  I also collected a few plants.  Here is what it looks like so far:

 Next I started weeding on the section where there are rosebushes on either side of a trellis, which leads into the big bed.  I was squatting down, pulling one weed at a time, and Gary came up and said "That is just silly".  He really said that, "just silly".  He thought it would be better to use Round Up, then rake the dead plants off.  I did NOT like that idea, did NOT want to use chemicals in a flower bed where I want to place other plants.  So I just kept weeding my own way.  It looks nice, but I have a lot more to do.

Next part of my story - which connects with gardening - the dinner party.  We invited Gary's old friends Julius and Sue.  Here is Gary with Julius.

And also my "band mom" friend Linda, and the man in her life, Tim.  We had a good dinner of grilled cod, squash from Gary's garden, and spinach salad.  Plum cobbler for dessert - the plums from Gary's tree which he had frozen.  Gary made rice but we forgot to serve it - I so often forget to serve one dish from a meal I've cooked.  Here is the dinner table with Linda, Tim and Sue.

Back to gardening, Linda works for the extension service, advising people on gardening issues.  Perfect.  She volunteered that the weeds she was seeing are Round Up resistent.  She said pulling them up is the only way to get rid of them.  I was so glad that she was behind me on this.  Here is Linda:

She also gave us a lot of helpful tips in just the short tour around the property - plants to encourage, plants to get rid of.  She saw 3 shrubs too close together and advised moving one.  Julius and Sue said they'd love to take one home, so here Julius is digging it up with Tim's help:

And here are Linda and Sue, watching:



I had a lot of fun talking with my old friend Linda, and new friends Julius, Sue and Tim. Linda, Sue and I hope to have a happy hour together soon.  Linda said she'll think about my landscaping and come up with ideas for me. I'm excited about that.  And excited about the friendships.

Med Aide Orientation and Body Recall

Two things I have been working toward for a long time ended up coming together and almost colliding last Tuesday.  That was the day, at 2:30, that I was going to have my first informational Body Recall session. (Body Recall is the exercise class I teach which is good for the elderly plus anyone else wanting to retain their strength and flexibility.)  Then it was decided that I could orient as a Med Aide at 2:30 on that day for the evening shift, and 6:30 am the next day for day shift.  I was a little slow to realize I couldn't be in two places at one time on Tuesday.  The other problem is I needed those shifts to make up my minimum of 30 hours of work per week to keep my benefits that I worked and waited 3 months to have.

So I asked if I could orient from 4 pm until midnight, and then come in the next morning at 6:30 for the other shift.  Am I crazy?  Many people think so.

I wasn't sure what to expect for Body Recall, but Pastor Netsie talked about brainstorming if no one came.  It hadn't occurred to me that there might be no one interested!  There were 4 that came to the class - but all 4 did it more out of interest rather than necessarily being future members.  Though you never know - they really did seem to like it.  It was two from their health ministry, plus Pastor Netsie and a woman from the staff named Cathy. There are two more women who expressed serious interest in coming, so I guess that means it is launched.  One in particular is excited, expecting significant benefit, so that is all I need to feel very motivated.

Then I went to work, for my Med Aide orientation.  I worked with Mariah in the long term care area.  I had a great time, enjoyed giving meds and also pitching in a little with CNA work as it made sense.  It was great to see people up and dressed that I usually only see in bed.  During dinner I enjoyed seeing a young male aide who is a bit of a dweeb in real life (he invited people to come to a bar at a bowling alley for his birthday and no one came) doing a great job interacting with some of the crazy folks at dinner.  He joked and helped them have fun and we all laughed together about it all.  This job must be an ego booster for him.  I heard one of the elderly ladies seriously flirting with him later.

 They had a Mardi Gras party and two of my favorite people were named king and queen.  The queen was Inis who is a SWEETHEART, and I also got to meet her son.  She was so happy.  Her roomate, who I also really like, got to be Valentine queen so they were both queens.  The king was Leroy.  I like him because of how when I smile at him, he smiles back.  At the start it took two people to change him, he was scared to turn on his side so he really resisted.  But when I talk nicely to him and smile he cooperates.  His smile back to me just warms my heart.  As his aide was wheeling him to bed, she said "He said he loves you" and I said "I love him, too".  We often have people tell us they love us and I always say I love them back.

I had to work from 4 pm till midnight as I explained above.  It turns out this was perfect because that was when Mariah was going to work anyway.  But it was a short night of sleep because I needed to be back at work at 6:30 for my next day of orientation.  That was in the short stay unit.  I did OK except for my brain feeling a bit fuzzy a couple of times.  I enjoyed the camraderie amongst the aides.  I also got in on gossip in the break room about one aide not pulling her weight.

Again I loved seeing some of my favorite people and meeting their friends and relatives who were visiting.  There is one woman who does not speak, and seems to only be a little aware of what is going on around her, but her husband visits every day all day.  He is as sweet to her as if she were a fully functioning person.  It is heart warming but a little heart wrenching at the same time. 

It makes me feel good that for a few people, when I enter the room they light up - associating me with good care.  One told her friend enthusiastically, "She never minds if I need to use the bed pan!"  I have another favorite, a 99 year old woman with ALL her mental faculties.  It is so rewarding to care for these appreciative people.

My DNS (Director of Nursing Services) told me that I will need one more day of orienting before they would put me on a med aide shift.  I'll just wait and see about that.  I hope it happens, but really isn't a big deal one way or the other since I like what I do already.  I know some consider this weird but I look forward to going to work tonight to see the people I'm caring for, and the people I work with.

Snow

I was hoping for one more snowfall - because I love snow and to make use of my Explorer with studded tires one more time.  I got my wish yesterday.  It was beautiful!  I'm glad I got right out and took photos, because a lot had melted before the end of the day.  Here is our house:

This is Yvette Lane, from the end by our house:

This is Yvette Lane, looking from the mailboxes at the other end:

Here are the mailboxes:

Creek that runs next to Yvette Lane:

I felt lucky to be home, not working, until that night.  And lucky not to have any trouble driving to work.



The Gary and Kelly Show

Kelly and Dana are our closest neighbors, and Kelly is Gary's best friend.  I am calling this post "The Gary and Kelly Show" because they are always up to something and it is often entertaining.  They love sitting out in Gary's workshop, sharing confidences, talking politics, planning their next project.  Gary starts up a fire in the woodstove and they are comfortable.  There is a refrigerator and stereo there also.  They help each other when needed, and watch each other's pets if one is travelling.  They enjoy using Gary's shop for woodworking projects.

Kelly has deeply felt ideas about his impact on the planet.  He planted 1100 Willamette Valley Ponderosa Pine trees on 4 acres of his property.  They will grow to a 20" diameter, but won't be ready for harvest for 30 years.  In the meantime he feels good about making a difference in his carbon footprint.

Gary and Kelly believe in organic, sustainable gardening.  They have a project going to breed red wiggler worms for composting, expecting to have enough to sell. The amount and quality of produce they grow is impressive.  My mother says she hasn't had tomatoes like Gary's since she was in Oklahoma.  It helps that Gary hosts two horses on his property, so they have the horse manure to add to the soil.

They have many stories.  Like the time they were sitting on the deck, and they saw a tornado touch down and lift all the grass off a neighbor's field.  Or once when Gary's tractor was stuck, Kelly got on his with a rope around his waist thinking he could pull it out. Instead he almost got cut in half.

Another time Gary was spotting Kelly up on a ladder as he was helping get Gary's tomato cages down from an upper shelf in the barn.  The ladder shifted on the pea gravel, started tilting sidways, and Kelly started to fall, sideways.  Gary put out his arms, caught him like a baby, and they both went down.  Luckily the ground wasn't too hard, so no serious injuries.  But Kelly said he got a massive blood blister from the overhang of his tummy getting squeezed on his belt by Gary's rescue.  They laugh now about it. 

Here they are, collaborating in the kitchen.  They say they have probably cooked 500 meals together.

Kelly says it is good to see a photo of the two of them to decide, for sure, which one of them is taller.

And here is a photo of Kelly and Dana:

Living out in the country makes it extra important to be on good terms with neighbors.  And we're so lucky to have Kelly and Dana.

Best Weekend Ever

I know this blog is about my life in Corvallis.  But I recently had the most wonderful weekend in Portland and Beaverton, with both of my sons in town.  Jacob was here for a week and a half from Peru.  I hadn't seen him in a year, and I won't see him for another year, so it was a special time.  We started off the weekend with dinner at Sushi Land.  I love the immediate gratification of seeing and taking the small plates.  It is so easy.

Then we went to see "The Imaginary Invalid" at Portland Center Stage, meeting my friend Gererdene there.  Here I am in the alpaca shawl that Jacob brought for me.

Here I am with my best theatre buddy Gererdene:

And here are Nick and Jacob:

We laughed all through the play.

The next night Nick had a gig, so Jacob went with Gererdene and me to "Dissocia" by Third Rail Rep.  That play was pretty amazing in terms of staging, and left us with lots to think about afterwards.  I was happy that Nick got to see it another night.

On Sunday evening we invited anyone who wanted to see Jacob to come over.  We collaborated on food to serve. It needed to be a buffet which could last, as people were coming at different times.  Jacob came up with a wonderful Peruvian dish.  It had layers of mashed golden potatoes, chicken, and avocado.  Topped with slices of hard boiled eggs.  We had red cabbage with a peanut vinaigrette, Gary's home made applesauce, and a green bean/corn/tomato/chipotle pepper dish I came up with.  I made squash pies. 

The whole idea of this party was a little wacky - some family, some friends, people coming at all different times, and I asked Nick if he would play his Joanna Newsom pieces that he adapted for piano and his voice for anyone interested, later in the party.  My temporary housemate, Donnell was there.  Here he is talking with Gary.

And a new temporary housemate, Stevie, had just arrived from Boston, so she was also part of the party.  She is very cool.  She designs neurofeedback machines for people to help with various conditions.



It happened to be SuperBowl Sunday, so we needed some cheeseheads - Jeff and Amy:

And other relatives and good friends:  Here are Matt and Amelia with Jacob:

Alex, Liza, and Rod:

Gererdene and Pam:

There WAS interest in Nick's piano music.  He performed a wonderful Joanna Newsom piece and also an original composition.  Amy who has known Jacob and Nick since birth (literally!) joked that she taught Nick everything he knows.  Liza also does some piano/singing entertaining, so she had that in common.

It felt like a JUST WONDERFUL evening to me.  Guests left, which left Jacob, Nick, Stevie, Donnell and me still in the house.  I love having a full house.  And seeing these photos reminds me I really am attached to my Beaverton house.  I hope I can continue to have my cake and eat it too, with life in the country in Corvallis and trips back to my other home.

Grace Lutheran Church

I was hoping to find a 'church home' as well as a place to teach Body Recall in Corvallis.  I noticed a float in the Christmas parade that had some really rocking music, from Grace Lutheran Church so I made a mental note to check it out.  I saw this church while out driving one day, and on impulse stopped in.  They have a married pastor couple, Pastor Wendell and Pastor Netsie.  Pastor Wendell was in, and saw me right away, which made me feel good.  He was encouraging to me about the possibility of teaching Body Recall there.  It has taken awhile, but looks like it will happen in March.  I saw that they are a "Reconciling in Christ" congregation, welcoming gay and lesbian folks, which gave me a good feeling.  Plus I just like the idea of anything with the word "Grace" in the title.

I finally went to services this morning.  In my Methodist and Presbyterian backgrounds, we do not get down on our knees.  Here you have the option.  I like the idea of being able to get on my knees.  If one is having very serious thoughts about something, being on your knees gives that appropriate feeling of seriousness.

I am used to communion where we first take the bread as we receive it, and wait for the juice to drink together.  Here, you are handed the wafer which you dip into your choice of juice or wine.  Wine!  That definitely has a more serious flavor than juice that I am used to.  But I ate my wafer before dipping, not knowing about the dipping, so Pastor Netsie gave me another and discretely explained.

Their choir was small - just 8 women and 3 men today.  But they are very good - the had the sound of a larger choir.  I also stayed for the contemporary service which had a worship band of 7 and the music was enjoyable.  They have a Steinway grand piano, and a man played a wonderful Beethoven piece.  After the service I told him how much I enjoyed it.  He told me that he was the one who raised funds for the piano, and they did it in just 4 months.  That was impressive.

Several people were friendly to me.  I am interested in many of the church activities, so I think this is going to work out.  Plant a peace tree at an Islamic Center.  Chinese School Lantern Festival.  Holden Village Retreat.  Mission trips to Kenya and Mexico.  How about a field trip to the lambing barns at OSU?  Sign me up!