Monday July 24

whoops, I thought that seemed a long time in Vancouver! Yes, I will look into Sat, Aug 19th :)

Stress levels building with the no answer from insurance company. DH starts his pre-op diet today, not knowing if he will have surgery or not. We need to see if we can board our dogs. DS#3 says he wants to come with us, so got to figure out stuff for him to do. DH's Dad says he will be driving up from West Virginia. My work is super short staffed this week (planned vacations) so if I do have to travel, we will actually need to cancel some patient's appointments. So much hinging on it all and so much to do and don't even know if it is a go! Breathe Paula, breathe!!!!!

Anxious to hear how doggy mommy #3 is doing. When is the C-section date? Funny pic of the little dog mommy feeding Ella's babies!

Stunning pics again Shel - I would have a field day taking pics out there! Loved the Dr. Seuss flower as well!

Diane O - hope the house sells without a hitch.

Liz, scary about DH getting lost. Glad he didn't seem more upset about it and that he found you all!

BB - how is the morning sickness going?

David - how nice that your kids have you to dog sit, mow lawns and the like. You are a super Dad!

Love to you all!

Yes, stressful. But, everyone knows that the plans are iffy and will shift accordingly once there is word. All fingers and toes are crossed for you and DH! I like to think that out of network approval takes a little longer as it gets bumped up the ladder. So frustrating, considering the whole picture.

Yes, you would get beautiful pic's out here! Just as interesting are the peeps and pooches on the trials. Can't really get pictures of them (awkward!) but I love them all the same.

Good morning!

Gosh Liz, scary about DH! What a worry. You will figure it out.

About food: I need to pull back, I felt terrible last night. In general, too many sliders plus poor quality food during the trip. Yech. Back to the usuals today (taking care of business....) I am sure weight is up, I have not been on a scale. I think I'll add MFP, too, as a security blanket and as a safety rail.

It would be a good day to hike but don't feel like traveling in the car after our quick trip to Crater Lake. So, yoga it is. Tomorrow I am back to work. The trip was too fast, but my brain feels like it got a vacation.

By the way, those pics yesterday were DH's. He is a wonderful photographer. If he is with me, I don't take pictures. I'm going to ask my dad about that plant. He likely won't know since Oregon plants aren't a speciality but he might know someone who does. He was in Iowa State Extension and people asking "what's this?" was a big part of his job.

Crater Lake is all about transformation. Interesting concept to chew on. You probably all know, but I didn't, that it all started when an estimated 12,000 ft volcanic mountain first erupted,then collapsed into itself. Initially, it would have been a moonscape with everything around it destroyed. Over a very long time, a lake developed, fed only by rain and snow. The eruption was 7700 years ago. In my opinion, it is just as amazing that eye witness accounts still survive in the form of Native American oral stories. Loved it all. Very special place.

Keep up the transformation, inside and out. Shel

Greetings adventurous ones:

Love the Crater Lake pix and the plant. Reminds me of an allium plant but I am sure thats not it. My mom's crazy friend is a botanist but can't email it to her because she has forgotten how to work computer. Crater Lake is not that far from us - maybe half day drive. We should go there.

Liz what a scare to lose DH! Glad he was safe. I think there are gps things to keep track of people. Might be a thought.

New car is hot hot hot! Glad you went for it.

Hey everyone have fun in Vancouver. We are going to Los Angeles to see DH family which is pretty much all there now. LA in august. What fun.

Still at 136.5 which is ok. Chicken and asparagus these days though I seem to want to gobble the chicken.

Our old dog is not doing well. She care barely walk. she gets meds for pain and inflammation and seems comfortable. Tough decisions ahead.

Have a safe trip Paula. We will think of DH.

Fingers crossed Diane O for trouble free house sale. We live in wine area too and its certainly a distraction.

Off to the old lady exercise class in a bit. I have missed it for several weeks. Time to get with it. Diane S

I saw that CL wasn't that far from the Redwoods. DH asked what National Park is next on my list and I said the Redwoods and Yosemite. I am rather terrible at geography so I spent some time with maps yesterday thinking about how that might look. One trip or two? Drive or fly? Choices, choices.

But, in 9 days the Iowa trip will be here. I'm looking forward to that.

You might be right about allium. I saw a listing for a wild onion but the picture wasn't close enough to see if it was a match.

Well Shel I think thats two trips unless you like to drive a lot. Redwood National park is about 30 miles south of the cal-oregon border. And about 25 miles north of our house. There is a little airport here with service from Portland. Penn Air. United flies here but not from Portland anymore. ACV is the airport.

Yosemite is south and inland and about a six hour drive from us. Not sure the nearest airport. might be in nevada. Diane s

Wt 218 Liz, glad you enjoyed the concert and that you found DH. Your car is a beauty. Diane O, hope you get a bidding war on your house. Carbon, I need to defrost my fridge. It is the only appliance we kept but it freezes up pretty fast. Paula, breath is right. It is hard waiting. Shell, pics are fantastic! Diane S, hard choices with fur babies. If there had been a vet in town we probably would have put ours down because he couldn't walk very well. He still is stiff when he first gets up but so am I. I did a little wiring today for a 2nd RV hookup. My brother and SIL are coming for a week in August. Now they can plug in. Mixed up some sugar water for my bees. There is not much blooming right now and if you feed them a little they won't eat up the honey. More later, David