It's been a long, hot summer, as many in the west know all too well. Fires everywhere! Little relief in sight. For the next 10 days our forecast runs between 95-100 for the days, and 64 - 72 for the nights. That's just too hot when the nights don't cool. The 64 at night isn't until about the 10th day.
July 17th found me traveling north with my friend Panda, me in my car, she and her little doggie in hers. I was headed to my aunt's in Oregon, she to her daughter's in Washington. We had a fun two-day trip traveling together this way.
The first two weeks were spent at my aunt's doing the usual summer things we do. The exception to that, was meeting a 4th cousin (to me) for the first time. He lives only a little over an hour away from her, so we met at a restaurant and shared family history information.
There was also a special class reunion. Our class has been exceptional in having a picnic reunion on the 5-year anniversaries, and a full weekend with a casual meeting at a bar (small town, I don't drink but have gone on occasion), nice restaurant dinner the following night, and then the casual picnic the next day for the 10-years. Some make it for all events, others only one or two. This year was special as it was in-between a 5-yr and 10-yr time frame and we chose to invite the class that was ahead of us, and the one from behind us. Our graduating class had only 71 students, of which 5 or 6 have passed away, but but we still had around 20 or more show up. The lower class had only three, and the upper class just a few more than that. Being a small school community, everyone knew who everyone else was. Our next reunion will be a major one...50 years! It's hard to believe!
The better portion of the next two weeks, was spent traveling to Kansas and back. My aunt's oldest granddaughter is attending school there for the next two years aiming for her master's in mathematics. There were two cars and five people going, and one car and four people returning. We went through portions of Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Kansas, and spent a day at Yellowstone. We stayed two nights in Kansas, and a couple hours from the school is the location where my great-grandparents lived. He had been there in 1893, married a gal from Cincinnati, OH in 1902, and my grandmother and her sister were born there at the property in 1904 and 1905. They then sold out and traveled to Oregon around mid-1909.
While gone I missed the every-third-year (paternal line) family reunion, but figured this would be my only opportunity in life to visit Kansas and the original family homestead (maternal line) so off I went.
After spending 10 days in motels and 8-10 hours a day in a car, I rested only two days before returning home to California, spending a night just three hours from home. The drive wasn't bad except for the smoke from the fires, and crossing the border from Oregon, all the way to the inspection station, it was black on either side of the freeway - made me cry! And that wasn't even part of the Carr fire in Redding. Only the smoke from that one could be seen from the interstate. There were signs of many fires that had burned at different places all along the interstate. Rain would be a real good thing about now, as long as it wasn't a sustained deluge.
There were only a couple of days where I felt temperatures were
reasonably cool. One day was spent at the Oregon coast, the other was
the day at Yellowstone. Everywhere was hot, hot, hot, and Kansas had
60%+ humidity while we were there. On the return, we spent the last
night at La Grande, OR. 106-degrees at 5 o'clock at night.
Now I'm spending my days getting caught up after Marty and Nick "bached" it for nearly a month. Laundry is done and I started in on the kitchen only to promptly clog the kitchen drain after putting very old sauerkraut down the garbage disposal...who knew? Marty tried, but didn't have the necessary equipment to clear it so called in a plumber and $145 later, good to go.
On the 24th or 25th Marty heads to Colorado to comply with his late father's wishes for his ashes to be scattered near Steamboat where he had spent much of his life; same time as my sister plans to drive down for a visit for a week and which is the same length of time as Marty will be gone.
Nick will be starting his school year again soon. He continues to work at the pizza joint and seems to be happy there.
This is probably enough update for now. Perhaps there'll be a picture or two in the days or weeks ahead when I take the time to download from my phone and camera to see if any are clear enough to post...taking photos from a car speeding at 80-mph or more isn't conducive to good photography!
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Friday, August 17, 2018
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Holding Pattern
I'm in a bit of a holding pattern again, at least for a day or so. I have a lot to do and I'll be busy, but it looks like I'll be hitting the road again - I just don't know exactly when.
I'll be headed north, but this time not for my dad, though I may visit him. My uncle, the husband of my beloved aunt, the both of whom I stay with when I go north, has reached the point where his days are few. He was taken to the hospital Saturday night with breathing difficulty. My aunt had been saying for days that he was having more trouble breathing and getting up and down, but they had been carrying on as usual after he rallied a bit from using oxygen for awhile. It was a different story upon going to bed Saturday night, so she took him to the emergency room. His lungs were filling with fluid and an x-ray revealed a dark area behind his lung(s) - but unsure if it is pneumonia or what. Up in the air is when he'll be able to go home on hospice care and what exactly that will entail. The hospital (or insurance) there has a maximum "in hospital hospice care", then they have the patient transported home on hospice and on "comfort care". They have a meeting with the Dr. today, so they will be better informed as to what's what with him and his care and the expectations.
In the time since I was last in Oregon, my aunt & I chat daily, his memory issues (he has dementia far more advanced than my dad's) have worsened and his overall health declined. He also has congestive heart failure and another issue that's been treated for a number of years. He is 83 and has led a long, good life. He's a good man. He has a unique, hearty laugh and upbeat spirit, though in recent years that laugh has not been as robust as when he was young and healthy. His example gave me a love for crossword puzzles. He has always been loving and welcoming of my visits. He and my aunt have had 52 years together. He is 10 years older than she. They have three great children, my cousins, and six sweet grandchildren. Some of their kids & grands live right next door, others a mile away and the furthest no more than 20 miles away.
My cousins have been great with helping their mom & dad, but they need to get back to work, so my aunt has expressed her desire in my coming up to help and appreciation for me to do so.
Please, if you think of it, pray for my aunt and my cousins as my uncle heads into his final days, and for him. Also for me as I'll be driving, probably within a couple days. I'll know more later today, but I have much to do, so I'd best get to it!
I'll be headed north, but this time not for my dad, though I may visit him. My uncle, the husband of my beloved aunt, the both of whom I stay with when I go north, has reached the point where his days are few. He was taken to the hospital Saturday night with breathing difficulty. My aunt had been saying for days that he was having more trouble breathing and getting up and down, but they had been carrying on as usual after he rallied a bit from using oxygen for awhile. It was a different story upon going to bed Saturday night, so she took him to the emergency room. His lungs were filling with fluid and an x-ray revealed a dark area behind his lung(s) - but unsure if it is pneumonia or what. Up in the air is when he'll be able to go home on hospice care and what exactly that will entail. The hospital (or insurance) there has a maximum "in hospital hospice care", then they have the patient transported home on hospice and on "comfort care". They have a meeting with the Dr. today, so they will be better informed as to what's what with him and his care and the expectations.
In the time since I was last in Oregon, my aunt & I chat daily, his memory issues (he has dementia far more advanced than my dad's) have worsened and his overall health declined. He also has congestive heart failure and another issue that's been treated for a number of years. He is 83 and has led a long, good life. He's a good man. He has a unique, hearty laugh and upbeat spirit, though in recent years that laugh has not been as robust as when he was young and healthy. His example gave me a love for crossword puzzles. He has always been loving and welcoming of my visits. He and my aunt have had 52 years together. He is 10 years older than she. They have three great children, my cousins, and six sweet grandchildren. Some of their kids & grands live right next door, others a mile away and the furthest no more than 20 miles away.
My cousins have been great with helping their mom & dad, but they need to get back to work, so my aunt has expressed her desire in my coming up to help and appreciation for me to do so.
Please, if you think of it, pray for my aunt and my cousins as my uncle heads into his final days, and for him. Also for me as I'll be driving, probably within a couple days. I'll know more later today, but I have much to do, so I'd best get to it!
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Home Again
After a 15+ hour drive, I made it home around 9:30 Monday night. It took an hour-plus longer than usual as just three hours from home, when I'm tired and most anxious and excited to be getting home, I hit a construction zone. One hour was spent wasted traveling just six miles. There appeared to be one fender cruncher a number of vehicles behind me as I saw a smallish rental truck and another car's driver suddenly get out after everyone came screeching to a standstill after flying low at 80 mph with but a couple car lengths in between, or so it seems. That type of driving is pretty normal on that stretch of highway...scary! Especially with so many semis on the road too.
I sorted through the mail and bills and receipts yesterday. Dear hubby took care of such things in my 6-week absence, but he does so only minimally as he knows I like to look at everything myself, and I'm the one who posts all of our info into Quicken.
Monday night, I brought in only a couple of my bags, then unloaded those things I was able to yesterday morning, then after dark (and after it cooled off), Marty and Nick off-loaded the two small, but too heavy for me, pieces of furniture I brought home. One, a small cedar chest my mom had - I'd filled it with all the Corning baking / casserole dishes Mom had that my dad had boxed up for me. The other is a small oak / glass front curio cabinet. Both pieces fit into my Highlander which was then filled with boxes of paperwork, my sewing supplies that I'd taken with me for quilt camp, and all my other personal luggage I tend to haul with me when I'm gone so long. I made a great attempt to make sure I could still see out the rear of my car via the rear-view mirror as I'm not comfortable with just using the side mirrors....I succeeded. I should have taken a picture, but didn't bother.
It's good to be home. Nick was very glad as was Marty, but Raven and Flame took until the next day to 'say' they were happy to see me.
I sorted through the mail and bills and receipts yesterday. Dear hubby took care of such things in my 6-week absence, but he does so only minimally as he knows I like to look at everything myself, and I'm the one who posts all of our info into Quicken.
Monday night, I brought in only a couple of my bags, then unloaded those things I was able to yesterday morning, then after dark (and after it cooled off), Marty and Nick off-loaded the two small, but too heavy for me, pieces of furniture I brought home. One, a small cedar chest my mom had - I'd filled it with all the Corning baking / casserole dishes Mom had that my dad had boxed up for me. The other is a small oak / glass front curio cabinet. Both pieces fit into my Highlander which was then filled with boxes of paperwork, my sewing supplies that I'd taken with me for quilt camp, and all my other personal luggage I tend to haul with me when I'm gone so long. I made a great attempt to make sure I could still see out the rear of my car via the rear-view mirror as I'm not comfortable with just using the side mirrors....I succeeded. I should have taken a picture, but didn't bother.
It's good to be home. Nick was very glad as was Marty, but Raven and Flame took until the next day to 'say' they were happy to see me.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
I'm Still Around
In the morning I'll be headed home again, and I'll get to stay for a full month! My last trip home was only a two week stay after having been here for over five weeks. This trip, I've been here about three weeks again.
During that last trip home, Nick began his Sophomore year at the local high school and Marty completed his first 90 days on the new job. This trip home will include being able to celebrate Nick's 16th birthday on Oct. 8th.
Much of what my Dad considers "clutter" - my Mom's decorative items and kitchen things he has no use for and wants gone - has been packed up and I'll be taking home with me though I don't know where I'll store them, maybe I'll leave some of it here in the closet, some has been distributed to my sister, some has gone to others. For me, it's a bit heart-breaking because all too rapidly, the home that was a product of my Mom's tastes is turning into something quite different essentially erasing her presence. My Dad would be happy with four bare walls and only a piece or two of furniture - at least that's how it comes across much of the time. I don't like dealing with his desire to get rid of everything, I think it's rash and try to persuade him to wait as he isn't including some of the other siblings - he has his reasons, but I'll be the one who has to deal with the fallout from his actions when he's gone, and with that in mind, much of what has been packed, though going home with me, is my keeping in mind that there are things others may want "from his estate". I really really dislike this - and my husband jokingly says I'm becoming a hoarder - he doesn't get it, but I know my family and am expecting the worst down the road.
And on that note, I'm going to go finish up those few packing details I've been dragging my feet on. Once home, at least for a month, maybe I'll get in a few more blog posts as I make every attempt to feel "normal" again in a short time.
I cherish prayers for safe travels and no automotive problems.
During that last trip home, Nick began his Sophomore year at the local high school and Marty completed his first 90 days on the new job. This trip home will include being able to celebrate Nick's 16th birthday on Oct. 8th.
Much of what my Dad considers "clutter" - my Mom's decorative items and kitchen things he has no use for and wants gone - has been packed up and I'll be taking home with me though I don't know where I'll store them, maybe I'll leave some of it here in the closet, some has been distributed to my sister, some has gone to others. For me, it's a bit heart-breaking because all too rapidly, the home that was a product of my Mom's tastes is turning into something quite different essentially erasing her presence. My Dad would be happy with four bare walls and only a piece or two of furniture - at least that's how it comes across much of the time. I don't like dealing with his desire to get rid of everything, I think it's rash and try to persuade him to wait as he isn't including some of the other siblings - he has his reasons, but I'll be the one who has to deal with the fallout from his actions when he's gone, and with that in mind, much of what has been packed, though going home with me, is my keeping in mind that there are things others may want "from his estate". I really really dislike this - and my husband jokingly says I'm becoming a hoarder - he doesn't get it, but I know my family and am expecting the worst down the road.
And on that note, I'm going to go finish up those few packing details I've been dragging my feet on. Once home, at least for a month, maybe I'll get in a few more blog posts as I make every attempt to feel "normal" again in a short time.
I cherish prayers for safe travels and no automotive problems.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Winding Down
Round One of my time here in the wet land of the north is winding down. It is of course, bittersweet.
I still find it hard to believe that my Mom is gone from this world, but her memory - good and bad - will live on.
It's been nearly a week since she left and in that time, I've been coming alongside my dad in getting him, at least for now, familiar with his financial picture. He has little to work with, but as long as he controls his spending and can remember to set aside the monies for those things that only bill once or twice a year, he should be ok. Operative word is 'should'.
At 80, he has some memory issues, and some minor (?) health issues, so while I'll be heading home this coming Monday morning, I'll only be gone for a week to take care of my own personal business, and then come right back for another month, or two, or indefinitely.
It would be easier if I had great confidence in even one of my four siblings' abilities, but they have jobs and such and can't be here. I'm not sure yet just how well my dad will do entirely alone even if I can get him on board with processing his own paperwork/bills/checks, and he has no confidence in the other sibs to do the things that need to be done. Definitely a difficulty of living nearly 900 miles away, but I can be here for now, though it's hard on Marty and Nick.
My daughter will fly in on Sunday afternoon, and drive back with me; I am so looking forward to seeing her, and we're keeping her very brief time with us as a secret surprise to Nick. We haven't seen her in over three years!
I still find it hard to believe that my Mom is gone from this world, but her memory - good and bad - will live on.
It's been nearly a week since she left and in that time, I've been coming alongside my dad in getting him, at least for now, familiar with his financial picture. He has little to work with, but as long as he controls his spending and can remember to set aside the monies for those things that only bill once or twice a year, he should be ok. Operative word is 'should'.
At 80, he has some memory issues, and some minor (?) health issues, so while I'll be heading home this coming Monday morning, I'll only be gone for a week to take care of my own personal business, and then come right back for another month, or two, or indefinitely.
It would be easier if I had great confidence in even one of my four siblings' abilities, but they have jobs and such and can't be here. I'm not sure yet just how well my dad will do entirely alone even if I can get him on board with processing his own paperwork/bills/checks, and he has no confidence in the other sibs to do the things that need to be done. Definitely a difficulty of living nearly 900 miles away, but I can be here for now, though it's hard on Marty and Nick.
My daughter will fly in on Sunday afternoon, and drive back with me; I am so looking forward to seeing her, and we're keeping her very brief time with us as a secret surprise to Nick. We haven't seen her in over three years!
Friday, January 31, 2014
Travel Planning
It's been eight days since my mom was admitted to the hospital, and seven days since her surgery.
I've had many conversations with my dad, and several brief ones with my mom, one of which was very disconcerting just this evening, and I was still not feeling at all confident that they don't need 'help' in some way, shape or form. With that, I grabbed the bull by the horns tonight by firmly telling my mom that I needed to find out what was going on. I'm more assertive in this arena than she is.
I spoke with her nurse on duty at the time, and she answered some of my questions, and then she had the doctor call me directly for answers she wasn't at liberty to share. I then called my dad back and let him know and we pretty much decided it couldn't hurt for me to travel north.
The emotions in doing so are a mixed bag due to other family issues but I'll cross those bridges as I get to them if need be, and due to weather forecasts for driving. I'm keeping my eye on the weather forecasts for the higher elevations - I'm not experienced in snow/ice driving so I'm a bit fearful of that, even though I'll be traveling a major interstate highway that is heavily traveled. Now, to determine the precise day/time to go. It could be as early as 2:00 or 3:00 Sunday morning, or a day or days later. I need to pack and decide what to take that I can or will work on during those times of just sitting and waiting or keeping my mom company in the hospital. She will likely remain in the hospital for another week according to the doctor and if things don't improve in that time, possibly yet another surgery.
There's much to arrange before I go, so I think I'm off to la-la land for a good night's sleep.
I've had many conversations with my dad, and several brief ones with my mom, one of which was very disconcerting just this evening, and I was still not feeling at all confident that they don't need 'help' in some way, shape or form. With that, I grabbed the bull by the horns tonight by firmly telling my mom that I needed to find out what was going on. I'm more assertive in this arena than she is.
I spoke with her nurse on duty at the time, and she answered some of my questions, and then she had the doctor call me directly for answers she wasn't at liberty to share. I then called my dad back and let him know and we pretty much decided it couldn't hurt for me to travel north.
The emotions in doing so are a mixed bag due to other family issues but I'll cross those bridges as I get to them if need be, and due to weather forecasts for driving. I'm keeping my eye on the weather forecasts for the higher elevations - I'm not experienced in snow/ice driving so I'm a bit fearful of that, even though I'll be traveling a major interstate highway that is heavily traveled. Now, to determine the precise day/time to go. It could be as early as 2:00 or 3:00 Sunday morning, or a day or days later. I need to pack and decide what to take that I can or will work on during those times of just sitting and waiting or keeping my mom company in the hospital. She will likely remain in the hospital for another week according to the doctor and if things don't improve in that time, possibly yet another surgery.
There's much to arrange before I go, so I think I'm off to la-la land for a good night's sleep.
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