Forest Walk to Old Stubby

One of the best things I have done in Corvallis is go on a hike in McDonald Dunn OSU College Forests which is minutes from Gary's property.  Neighbor Kelly loves a particular hike, which passes by a particular tree, which he has named Old Stubby.  Isn't isn't exactly "stubby" in the sense it is not short.  But it is very wide, indicating it is very old.  It really stands out, so much wider than any other tree around it.  It has become something of a touchstone for Kelly.  He took me on this hike and I am so grateful.  I took photos.  These are really just a small sample of all there is to see - trees, creek, wild flowers, even a herd of OSU cattle.  It is fabulous.  The last photo here is a tree with mistletoe growing in it.

The Recumbent and the Upright

I am behind on my blog, so today is the day to being trying to get up to date.  I want to be sure to mention having a couple for dinner that are friends of my sister Debbie.  Their names are Sheryl and Bryon Van Fleet.  Debbie met Sheryl while working at the Oregon Caves in college. Sheryl and Bryon went to OSU, lived in Klamath Falls for a number of years while Bryon taught school, and they owned a used book store.  For me, that would be a dream, to own a used book store.

Anyway, they had a huge adventure with bicycling across the United States, as older non-athletes.  Sheryl wrote a book about it, including some of Bryon's hilarious narratives as well, and it is called "The Recumbent and the Upright: A Bicycle Adventure by Two Retired and Unfit Cycle Enthusiasts, That Grew into a Ride Across the Continent".  It is an amazing story, and really made me laugh in parts.

They have moved to Corvallis, so Debbie made an effort to get me in touch with them.  We had them here for dinner, and it was great to be able to talk with them in person.  I hope we get to see more of them.

Why American History is More Interesting Now

First of all let me say that lately I have been listening to a lot more audiobooks than reading books, because of busy new life in Corvallis.  So my choices are often things that catch my eye at the library in the audiobook section.  One extremely interesting book is "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong" by James W. Loewen.  This book hit home with me.  I have gotten much more interested in history at this point in my life than I ever was in school.  Mr. Loewen explains why.  He points out that the history we learn in school has been sanitized.  The text book companies collude with school boards to not present anything controversial, and particularly not show our country's history in any negative light.  So true! So it is very boring, and really does a disservice to students who might want to really know what has happened in the past.  It also contributes to poor current day decisions, by politicians who really do not understand the past.

Along these lines I want to share some books I have read that have filled in a lot of color on the history of the U.S.  These are ones I also found in the audiobook section of the library.  First - "The Hemmingses of Monticello".  This provides a fascintating view of an interracial family tree, and of Thomas Jefferson, with his strengths and weaknesses.

Another one "Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation" by Cokie Roberts.  I'm afraid I will overuse the word "fascinating" but it truly is.  This includes both women we've heard about and those we haven't.  Their challenges, victories, losses, and profound influence on our country.  It is not sugar coated in any way.  It would be great required reading in our schools, to help boys and girls be aware of the contributions of women.

On to "A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation" by Catherine Allgor.  Before listening to this audiobook I didn't remember anything about the war of 1812.  What a mess.  But it was so interesting to see how Dolley's strengths helped James Madison with any successes he had.  And it gives food for thought on how people of differing views might find common ground.  Something we could sorely use today.

I hope teachers are finding ways to supplement those really inadequate textbooks - to help students find history interesting, and become better educated.

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.