AUGUST 2011

This month started off with another terrible tragedy. Our sweet Elmo, our youngest cat, passed away on the 7^th after a short bout with increasing constipation, followed by a total blockage and possible twisting of his intestines. We’re so very, very, very sad. Our sweet, sweet baby. I loved him so much…

We buried him at Cape Sebastian. 

                                   

                                                           

Despite this we try to celebrate our 11^th anniversary on the 19^th. We're going out for pizza, have a campfire and spent some time looking through pictures of previous years. We’re getting old!

                                                                                                             

I also worked a few days in ‘housekeeping’ which means I helped cleaning cottages. Not my most favorite work but they were swamped and the extra hours pay for firewood, propane, electricity that we use ‘over’ our allotted amount and anything we like to buy in the store like beer or ice-cream. We might also use them to leave a little earlier at the end of our ‘contract’.

We're starting to think about staying in Oregon for the winter. Since we would like to go to Alaska next Spring it kind of make sense to not go all the way South to Arizona as was our plan but stay North and save a bunch on the gas that it would take us to drive there and than back up again.
Also, James brother Doug as well as his brother Todd and his aunt Esther could use James to do some work in and around their houses in Newberg, Vancouver and Whidbey Island for a couple of months so he can make some money over the winter!

James has started to work in the office on Tuesday evenings on his ‘group-stuff’ and picks up the phone from there until 9.30, which we have to do once a week, so I don’t have to do it at ‘home’. This takes a lot of stress of my back because I really hated to have to do that. I’ll never agree to something like it again!

One of our weekly day-trips brought us to the small town of Sixes this time, about an hour north of us. We took a look at the cute light house, the Cape Blanco lighthouse, build at the most western point of the USA and visited the nearby Hugh House, a beautifully restored Victorian, build in 1885.

On these drives and walks around the neighborhood and as close as around our own RV we’ve noticed that the blackberries are finally ripening!

The campground is practically surrounded by them and we started picking them every couple of days or so.  They’re great on cereal, yoghurt and ice cream and because there are so many of them (!) I ventured into baking blackberry pie, cobbler and buckle as well as muffins and scones! Yumm!

There goes our waistline!

                                                           

We also visited the Curry County Fair at the fairgrounds here in Gold Beach in the company of Phyllis, Cal and Carolyn.

It turned out to be your typical greasy food fest with some small town carnival rides and the inevitable blue ribbon display for some bored and sleepy animals, canned pickles and homemade oat meal cookies and a section with crafty quilts and crocheted toilet paper holder covers.
I think I'm quite done going to these events from now on.

At least I had some fun trying out a different spinning wheel, an Ashford traveller. I think I keep my traditional, I didn't like it very much. Not as smooth.
And I almost forgot the hilarious pig races!

JULY 2011

The foggy, wet spring has slowly made way for steady clear blue skies and somewhat higher temperatures. The wind never seems to let up though, at times the sand on the beach really stings your face and ankles.

The fourth of July is coming up and so is James’ Dad’s Birthday on the 1^st of this month for which we travel to Newberg again. We take a slightly different route this time and pay a visit to the Wal-Mart in Coosbay and Campingworld in Junction city.

That evening the whole family gathers at Dad’s bedside in the nursery home to sing Happy Birthday and eat ice-cream pie made by Brenda upon request of the Birthday boy. Dad is visibly enjoying himself, although he seems very weak and has difficulty speaking. We all get to exchange a few words with him and he eats a whole piece of pie!

Doug and Brenda leave the next day for Washington and we will hang around for a few more days to take over their daily visit routine to Dad.

It also gives us a chance to visit the famous St. Paul Rodeo which takes place each year around the 4^th of July weekend. It’s my first rodeo!

Before the evening show we roam the fair-grounds and have some nice and greasy food as is customary at events like this.

What about these ‘curly’ fries?

                                                                               

And these cute ‘cow-girls’?

                                                                               

During the show I learn that most bulls and horses get to ‘perform’ only once a year for about 3 minutes and live the rest of there lives on huge open ranges in the Midwest, like these mustangs,  to keep them as ‘wild’ as possible. I hope this is true!

I’ve always been hesitant to go to a rodeo because of the possibility of animals being hurt for my entertainment but this information puts my mind somewhat to rest.

For all we can see this evening is cowboys making horrifying crashes and limping away where as the discomfort for the animals seems to be very short and without it resulting in any injuries.

I truly enjoy the incredible horsemanship that is shown at the various competitions that take place over the evening like barrel racing, calf roping and the inevitable bronco and bull-riding.

                                                                            

On the 4^th we watch the neighborhood parade and have a BBQ in Doug’s backyard in the evening.                                                       

Two days later Dad passes away.

We’re sad but mainly happy that his suffering is finally over. Unfortunately he was in a lot of pain in the end.

At his memorial service on the 14^th we meet with a lot of family and friends we haven’t seen in years. Everybody tells us what a great guy he was and there are a lot of fun and happy memories shared by all. He truly was a wonderful man, we loved him dearly and we will miss his advice, his generosity, his humor and his love.

Back at Gold Beach we take a look at some of our monthly expenses and decide there are a few we can do without or at least postpone for a while.

Since we never watch TV in the summer we cancel Direct-TV until October and since the campground has a whole lot of DVD’s we also postpone our Netflix membership until the winter.

We’ll also cancel our 2^nd blackberry in January when the contract is expiring since I seldom use it. It all ads up and not knowing what the future will bring we opt for as little financial commitments as possible.

We make a day trip to Cape Sebastian and hike to Myers beach from there. The weather is gorgeous, although windy as always and the scenery is absolutely breathtaking!

                 
                                                                                             

                                                                               

Sadie is getting older, she’s 12 now, and we realize that we cannot have her walk this far anymore, she barely makes it back.

I’m still having fun spinning. I now have my own drop spindle. It’s a beauty, from Spinolution. By adding more or less of the little copper weights in the ‘whorl’ it is suitable for all kinds of wool.

                                                
                                                     

Elmo really likes the pink wool I got; he buries his nose in it and tries to eat it. I guess it looks (and tastes?) a little like cotton candy. I also give my supported spindle another try after having given up on it a long time ago since I couldn’t get it to work. Guess what, I have no problems with it this time! I’m actually trying some of Sadie’s hair on it. I know, that’s odd, spinning your own dog!

JUNE 2011

                                                                      
The weather until now has been quite rainy and cool, nothing new for Oregon I guess, with foggy mornings and a few days with some good down pours.Fortunately, we seem to be ‘water tight’ and are keeping snug and warm with our little heater.

Since we work at Turtle Rock we all have gotten free tickets for a Jet boat tour on the famous Rogue River and we decided to join Cal and Phyllis and Rose and David when they signed up to celebrate David’s birthday!

Departing by jet boat from Gold Beach is the only way to have access to the pristine ‘Wild Section’ of the ‘Rogue’ and a 104 miles round trip brings you through lots of white water rapids to beautiful sceneries of the rocky shores and the forest beyond. It is not uncommon to see black bear, although we didn’t, eagles (yes, we saw several bald ones), beavers, otters, turtles, or deer.

This trip is one of the ‘must do’s’ when you find yourselves in Gold Beach, don’t miss it!

                                                        

I’d baked David a Blueberry Buckle (thanks for the recipe and the blueberries Doug and Brenda!) He’s a cookie-and pie-‘monster’ so it was greatly appreciated!

                                                           

We have several potlucks and spontaneous evening-campfires this month. Our neighbours Candy and Lee are having happy hour every evening (as it turned out until the end of the season) and everybody is invited!

                                                         

I drove to Langlois for my monthly ‘spinning-group’ get-together. I learn to spin on a drop spindle which I really liked and on the ‘Great Wheel’ as it is called, which is a whole lot more difficult! It is a ‘walking wheel’ so you stand up while spinning and walk back and forth drafting and taking up. You will walk a couple of miles if you do this for a whole day like they used to do!

                                                           

James worked a lot on the 2 projects he is still finishing up for Lake Arrowhead. We’re happy he still has the work which means money coming in, the economy is worse than ever.  His ‘office’ works out fine, its amazing how little space you need to get by!

We do some more sightseeing on a beautiful sunny day and drive to Brookings where we walk around the harbor and eat fried clams. Yum!

On the way back we take a look at the tidal pools at Meyer’s Beach.  

‘Tide pools are rocky pools by oceans that are filled with seawater. Many of these pools exist only at low tide. Tide pools provide a home for hardy organisms such as sea stars, mussels and clams’.

                                                          

We also visited the ‘Natural bridge’ and hiked to some breathtaking viewing points through the beautiful green coastal forests.