{"id":852,"date":"2011-09-03T23:14:41","date_gmt":"2011-09-04T06:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rocknponderosa.com\/hultquist\/?p=852"},"modified":"2011-09-03T23:14:41","modified_gmt":"2011-09-04T06:14:41","slug":"saturday-nice-weather-to-be-outside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rocknponderosa.com\/?p=852","title":{"rendered":"SATURDAY — Nice weather to be outside"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted last week\u2019s blog early so we could attend a great birthday party with friends in Maple Valley, WA, a 50th<\/sup> party for the daughter of friends we have known through the Brittany connection (shows and field trials) since 1974.\u00a0 We first met Chris (birthday gal) at field trials when she was just a teenager.\u00a0 Now we have watched her children grow up.<\/p>\n

John picked as many blackberries as he could, but the thorns were bad and it was hard to get to, even though he had a ladder to put over the plants.\u00a0 He picked for over an hour and only managed to get one flat box full.\u00a0 We weighed them this morning, and have 6 lbs, 10 ounces.\u00a0 He had hoped for 3 times as much.<\/p>\n

We did enjoy the party and seeing people we knew from the past, and meeting some new ones (friends of theirs); all their grandkids were there with their boyfriends, so that was nice, and some of the siblings of the gal celebrating her 50th, whom we also knew as they grew up.<\/p>\n

We stopped for lunch in North Bend (Burger King) because the invitation said only snacks and cake for the party.\u00a0 WRONG–there was enough food for 100 people and only about 35 there.\u00a0 They had BBQ (pulled pork and pulled chicken), nice rolls, a couple of salads (Potato and Chinese Cole Slaw), fruit, and then a table with a chocolate fountain on it. (I have never seen one before). \u00a0Like this:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.leileiscuisine.com\/images\/MontezumaFount-MC-purple202.jpg<\/a><\/p>\n

Lots of pieces of things to put in the chocolate, including: \u00a0Bananas, pears, apples, blueberries, large strawberries, blackberries, cookies of small shapes, rice crispie squares, and probably more that I have forgotten.\u00a0 I should have had John take a picture of the tables of food.\u00a0 Wow.<\/p>\n

We visited till after 5:00 and drove home getting here before it was dark, so John could feed the horses in the light. Good driving across the pass; no construction to deal with!! And 10 degree cooler temps with a nice breeze at their place.\u00a0 Very cool.\u00a0 On the home trip, I had a cell phone conversation with a former colleague who moved to Maryland, and she was in the rain of hurricane Irene.\u00a0 We had a nice visit and I never lost reception on the pass as John drove.<\/p>\n

Sunday.\u00a0 We got up early (John did) and played with Rascal and let me sleep another hour.\u00a0 Then we went to pick up Annie. When we pulled in their “yard” parking lot, there was a gal walking a Brittany, and John said, \u201cLook there’s a Brittany.\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cThat\u2019s Annie!\u201d \u00a0So we called to the handler and she brought Annie over.\u00a0 Wow, was she happy to see us.\u00a0 The gal said every time she took her out to potty, she thought she was getting to go home.\u00a0 It’s been a long time since we took her in Wed. morning, so I’m sure she was convinced we had abandoned her.\u00a0 She didn’t know I was calling in every day to see how she was doing.<\/p>\n

We got her home, and she went potty a lot.\u00a0 I wonder if she had gone the whole time?\u00a0 Also, she wanted to be petted and comforted (from my recliner). \u00a0Rascal realized something was different and came over and sniffed her but did not bat her as he had been doing.\u00a0 Then he crawled up into my right hand and purred, while I kept petting her with my left hand.<\/p>\n

John took the others for a run (and he fed the horses).\u00a0 She laid down once on the sofa, but decided to go to her secure spot under the guest bed.\u00a0 She slept there for a long time. \u00a0I imagine she did not sleep well during her time at the vet.\u00a0 She is used to her comfy “love seat” sofa, or under the bed.<\/p>\n

We left her about 2:00 after John put up blackberries (we ended up with 6 pounds, 10 ounces), and he picked plums (from our tree).\u00a0 We went to Yakima to visit our friend (with Annie’s puppy), who was in Yakima Memorial Hospital, having had a bad kidney removed Friday.\u00a0 He and his wife had come a couple times to visit me while I was in two different hospitals there, and I certainly wanted to return the favor.\u00a0 It meant so much to me.\u00a0 He even came up to Ellensburg, with the older Brittany he had from us to see me in the Rehab center, the beginning of 2010.\u00a0 He brought her right into the room, and she jumped up to the chair beside my bed, laid down and let me pet her.\u00a0 What a sweetie.\u00a0 That was when I couldn’t get in and out of bed yet.\u00a0 That Brittany was born in 1998, and she died a few months after Milly came into their house.\u00a0 So, the timing was good that they had Milly, and now that Annie cannot have any more puppies, I’m so glad they have her.\u00a0 We had a nice long visit and also we first went to Costco for 1\/2 tank of gasoline, and bought some sale stuff too, that we missed last time there.<\/p>\n

John just left to do the horse feeding without taking any of the dogs.\u00a0 We do not want Annie getting her underside dirty in the irrigation ditch.<\/p>\n

Kitty Rascal ventured out the doggie door window, tonight.\u00a0 Previously, he had been out the back patio door only briefly. \u00a0He is an affectionate kitty.\u00a0 He slept the whole time we were gone to Yakima, and when John sat down to have a Pepsi, he walked over (John called him) and he got in his lap.\u00a0 However, now he is in the backyard and wants nothing to do with coming to John.\u00a0 I went out and couldn\u2019t find him anywhere.<\/p>\n

John found a board that had been propped against the fence, and tilted, which apparently knocked kitty over the fence into the wood pile.\u00a0 John found him outside the fence in the wood pile.\u00a0 He ran from John into the hay barn and climbed to the top, but then John turned around and there was a scruffy brown kitty also coming out from the wood pile.\u00a0 John didn\u2019t see the orange kitty that had been with the other a few days ago.<\/p>\n

When Rascal returned he missed seeing the other cat leave and rush to the woods.\u00a0 Then John had to capture Rascal who didn’t want to be caught.\u00a0 He knew there was that other cat around.<\/p>\n

Well.. We\u2019ll see what happens in the future.\u00a0 Not a good sign.\u00a0 We are scheduled to take him to the vet for a neutering (costly) and the rest of his shots, plus rabies on Tuesday.\u00a0 Actually the shots cost as much as the neuter.\u00a0 Whole bill: $99.\u00a0 Oh well, it\u2019s just money, right ?<\/p>\n

Monday.\u00a0 Never left home today, but did lots of house and yard chores, with lower temps and higher winds.<\/p>\n

Tuesday.\u00a0 Started early with taking Rascal for his vet work (Neuter & shots), and Annie for a checkup of her incision.\u00a0 On to the grocery store afterwards and home.\u00a0 I\u2019m going for a haircut at my neighbor\u2019s this morning.\u00a0 Was going to go to town afterwards to get my driver\u2019s license renewed and a picture of the \u201cnew me,\u201d but I called and the agent said, \u201cDon\u2019t come today.\u00a0 This is the worst day of the week.\u201d\u00a0 Wonder why that is; and she said, \u201cCome tomorrow.\u201d\u00a0 I found out they are not open Mondays, so that\u2019s why Tuesday is a bad day.\u00a0 Later this afternoon we pick up Rascal.\u00a0 Wind is howling still.\u00a0 We successfully got Rascal, and he was lethargic until bedtime, when he decided to romp and play and demand attention.\u00a0 Prior to that he was sleeping in my lap wanting cuddled.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t even enter my tax receipts because he was in the way of where I prop them to enter, and then move to my envelope on the \u201cright.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wednesday.\u00a0 Morning came early and Rascal wanted fed again and to harass us both.\u00a0 He jumped on piles of clothes in the guest bedroom, dumping them to the floor, and in our bedroom, doing the same.\u00a0 Guess he\u2019s back to his old \u201cRascal\u201d self.\u00a0 Today it is much cooler again, so that is very nice.\u00a0 I played music at the Food Bank Soup Kitchen, but at the end of the month, there were over 50 people there and not enough food to go around.\u00a0 Wasn\u2019t all offerings left for us when we got through playing music.\u00a0 From our garden, I took yellow squash to four families.\u00a0 Went to my exercise class, and then for the Driver\u2019s License renewal.\u00a0 It went very smoothly.\u00a0 I was in and out in less than 10 minutes; rather amazing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thursday, September 1, 2011, Happy Birthday to Nancy!\u00a0 Thanks for all the cards and wishes I\u2019ve received.\u00a0 This afternoon I went off to play music at a nursing home.\u00a0 My group started with an instrumental Happy Birthday song, and then ended singing it with some of the residents.\u00a0 Pretty cool.\u00a0 The nursing home had a plate of special cookies for all of us, in honor of my birthday.\u00a0 Rest of the day\/night was quiet.<\/p>\n

Friday.\u00a0 Up early for John to take off for the hills.\u00a0 He joined a WTA work party (trails) at Old Wagon Road Trail for the day.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.wta.org\/go-hiking\/hikes\/franklin-falls<\/a><\/p>\n

He hasn\u2019t been able to participate since I got sick the summer of 2009.\u00a0 I know he has missed it, so I\u2019m very happy he could participate today.<\/p>\n

I went in for my first therapeutic massage.\u00a0 It went well.\u00a0 My shoulder and back and neck muscles were very tight.\u00a0 He worked on me an hour.\u00a0 His suggestion \/ recommendation at the end was to consider alternating with acupuncture, which would help free up the muscles.\u00a0 My insurance will cover 8 sessions, and so I decided to go with it.\u00a0 Next week, however, I will go again to him for a massage.\u00a0 They couldn\u2019t work me in till the following week for the acupuncture.\u00a0 I called my family physician to be sure with my Coumadin and situation that I can expose myself to acupuncture.\u00a0 He said, \u201cNo problem, but be aware you may have some bruises.\u201d\u00a0 I also found some positive comments on the Internet from M.D.s that were not advertisements from natural health individuals.<\/p>\n

On my way home, I stopped off at one yard sale.\u00a0 There I bought some towels for a dime each, a fold-up small umbrella for a quarter, some washcloths for a nickel each, and a ladder (6 ft, wooden) for $5.\u00a0 Then they gave me a loveseat-sized sofa that has two recliners side by side.\u00a0 When John got home, we went back to town in the truck to get the sofa and ladder.\u00a0 These folks were getting rid of their parents\u2019 stuff, because they had moved into Hearthstone Cottages.\u00a0 They wanted to clear out the house, and they thanked us for carting off the sofa.\u00a0 Now we have to clean up the den, especially the table that is loaded again with stuff, so we can remove the current (worn out) loveseat and replace with this, using the back patio door as access.\u00a0 That will be a lot easier than moving in through the front door and having to make a sharp corner.<\/p>\n

When I left the house about 9:15 a.m., Rascal was nowhere in sight.\u00a0 When I got home, he was sleeping in my chair.\u00a0 I took my chair away from him, and he ended up on the loveseat.\u00a0 He stayed there most of the time till John got home.\u00a0 Then while John was standing near the living room, he saw Rascal come in through the doggie door window.\u00a0 That was the first we knew of him coming back and not just going out.\u00a0 He brought a moth in with him, and then left again, to sit on the \u201cveranda\u201d while we went to pick up the ladder and loveseat.<\/p>\n

John had such a good time working trail today, he plans to return tomorrow and work another day. \u00a0Two volunteer days earns a full year\u2019s Northwest Forest Pass.<\/p>\n

Today is Saturday, and I’m a little sore from yesterday\u2019s massage on my back, arms, shoulder, & neck.\u00a0 Also I\u2019m not used to reclining on a table (even though padded), on my stomach. They did put cushions under my legs, and beneath my shoulders, but it still was awkward from what I’m used to.\u00a0 My head was face-down on a cushion, but I had to leave my eyes closed, and I didn\u2019t like that. \u00a0Later, I turned over, (under a sheet the whole time), and he worked on my head\/neck.\u00a0 I would have liked to have had a pillow under my head, but that was not possible until later.\u00a0 He moved my left shoulder back and around and put pressure against it, with my having to return the same move toward the resistance.\u00a0 While on my back, there was a cushion roll under my knees.\u00a0 Maybe some of you understand this, but it was my first ever professional massage, and the whole thing was a brand new experience I\u2019ve managed 68 years without.<\/p>\n

This morning at 7:00 a.m. John took off again for working on trails in the hills. \u00a0He enjoys that.\u00a0 I was left to sort plums he picked last night, but I just picked out six good ones for us to eat, and arranged with my neighbor to come pick up the bucket (plastic from ice cream), full, to use for plum jelly, and also to put some in his mom’s dehydrator for us.\u00a0 They had borrowed our aluminum one for a granddaughter to use, and we do not believe we ever got it back. \u00a0John thinks it was in poor shape when we loaned it, so maybe it died.<\/p>\n

I need to pick up some receipts from the unsorted pile on the table and get them into an envelope.\u00a0 Also, do some dishes, and wash some clothes.\u00a0 Have to make some headway while John is off working.\u00a0 The animals are resting, but Shay just went out the doggie door window, and started barking in the backyard.\u00a0 That awoke Rascal, and I think he went outside too.\u00a0 He’s probably chasing moths or bugs.\u00a0 He is back inside on the loveseat, sharing it with Meghan.\u00a0 He’s been out already this morning, but had come back in for a couple-hour nap.<\/p>\n

John will be back in the afternoon, leaving there after 3:00 p.m. and will be back home before 5:00, hopefully. \u00a0Yesterday had VERY bad traffic on the I-90 corridor with people leaving the Puget Sound region for mountains, rivers, EBRG Rodeo and other places-east for the long weekend.\u00a0 He was not happy.\u00a0 What normally takes a little over an hour took 2, and he came to a stop several times, on a 2 to 3 lane Interstate.\u00a0 No fun.<\/p>\n

Our neighbor has come and gone; took the plums we had and brought a long handled picker and picked more.\u00a0 He left it for John to use.\u00a0 There are still a bushel of plums at least, on the tree, but all are not yet ripe.\u00a0 This was a good year.\u00a0 If we pick more, the family will dry some plums for us and for them in their dehydrator.\u00a0 That\u2019s nice.\u00a0 John took 2 plums and 3 cookies for his lunch today, but dried ones will be nice through the winter.<\/p>\n

New addition, Saturday at just before 3:00 p.m.\u00a0 Good thing I was here.\u00a0 Got a phone call that our Harobed load of hay was being picked up from the field and would be on its way to us shortly. The second method here:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1nwPlE1_SLc<\/a><\/p>\n

I got out and took down the two gates (pole and cloth rope), to let the driver in.\u00a0 Put two dogs out front to warn me when he was coming down the driveway, and so I went out and met him and told him where to stack it.\u00a0 It was in a different place from last year.\u00a0 Now when John arrives home, he will have yet another chore, to move it by truck to the barn \u2013 because our barn is not large enough for the loader.<\/p>\n

John just called from the pass Franklin Falls parking lot, at 4:00 or a little after, saying it was loaded with people trying to get in and many (like him there early) blocked from getting out.\u00a0 I hope he makes it before midnight.\u00a0 Actually he got home about 5:35, and surprised me.\u00a0 He\u2019s been out the past hour plus, unloading some of the hay from the stack, into the shed.\u00a0 He moved 13 of 56 bales (100+ pounds each). \u00a0He\u2019ll finish in the morning. \u00a0The kitty came back in from under the wood pile outside the fence, so he has access (known only to him) to and from the backyard (6\u2019 chain link fence).<\/p>\n

Expect this blog will get finished and posted tonight, because we plan to drive to the lower Yakima Valley tomorrow to visit friends in Zillah.\u00a0 From yard sales we have several \u201csun faces\u201d<\/p>\n

http:\/\/kathysceramickreations.com\/images\/albums\/NewAlbum_c8d38\/tn_sun_bird_feeder.jpg<\/a><\/p>\n

to deliver to the folks that run Paradisos del Sol Winery:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.paradisosdelsol.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Now for dessert \u2013 bye!<\/p>\n

Nancy and John<\/p>\n

on the Naneum Fan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted last week\u2019s blog early so we could attend a great birthday party with friends in Maple Valley, WA, a 50th party for the daughter of friends we have known through the Brittany connection (shows and field trials) since 1974.\u00a0 We first met Chris (birthday gal) at field trials when she was just a teenager.\u00a0 … Continue reading “SATURDAY — Nice weather to be outside”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-random-issues"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p72iNf-dK","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rocknponderosa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rocknponderosa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rocknponderosa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rocknponderosa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rocknponderosa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=852"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/rocknponderosa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":854,"href":"http:\/\/rocknponderosa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852\/revisions\/854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rocknponderosa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rocknponderosa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rocknponderosa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}