Tuesday - Monday's news

Yesterday Jesse walked across the stage to receive his Master's of Architecture Degree.  We're so proud of him, this is a really big thing.   I won't gush, but our buttons are bursting.

Jesse rode his bike to the ceremonies (I'd have liked to see that!) but Dave and I drove to Autzen Stadium (Go Ducks!), parked and got on one of 5 huge shuttle buses for the ride to campus.  It was filled with proud parents/grandparents/friends and nervously chattering students.

Autzen Stadium

this Osprey is taking full advantage of Autzen's huge light standards

It was a very warm and sunny day.  A good day for the graduation ceremony especially because it was being held outside, rain or shine (and rain was called for).    We found a couple aisle seats and settled down to wait for the graduates to file in.

Is that Mary Poppins under the polka dot umbrella?

It got very very hot sitting in the sun, so we took our chairs and moved to the back, under some lovely trees. Much better, and actually a much better view of the stage.

Erin and Courtney  watching the ceremony

our boy

important moment

YES !!!!!

Sorry the pictures are fuzzy.  I was not close and had to shoot between people who were also trying to get a shot of their child.  His face says it all, out of focus or not.

I have no more pictures of the big day.  Jesse promised to put his cap and gown back on so we can get a more posed shot.  The end of the ceremony was somewhat confused and frantic, so Dave and I got back on the shuttle, rode back to Autzen, and then back to Beluga to feed the dogs and pick up a few last minute supplies for the graduation pot luck at Jesse and Erin's house.

I didn't even remember to take the camera in to his house last night so, once again, I have no pictures of the festivities.   It was a lovely evening, everyone brought food, pierogies, salads, fruit, and lots of grilled goodies.   There were graduates, spouses/significant others, some parents, and a few kiddies.   Great end of a very gratifying day.

Sunday - Saturday's news

We got in late again last night, so today you're reading yesterday's news!

Our friends, Debbie and Scott, followed us into the downtown Farmer's Market yesterday about 10 a.m.  We led them to the site and then separated.   While we were waiting for Jesse and Erin to meet us at the coffee spot we perused the produce and made a few purchases before things started to disappear.

We bought strawberries, the very last stalks of rhubarb, cucumbers, the last two containers of shelling peas,
(sorry Scott....) and two beautiful peonies.  We made our way back to the coffee booth and met up with Jesse and Erin.   We took a few chairs into the shade to enjoy our delicious, low tech coffees and pastries.  Scott and Debbie evidently had had the same idea and they brought their chairs and goodies to join us for some pleasant conversation.

Jesse, Erin, Dave and I left the market with full bags and drove down 5th street to a neat garden/kitchen store to browse (translation - buy) a few things.  I bought two dry corn cobs for our "squirrel foiler" contraption.   So far though, no takers...

Oh Dave....

After lunch, Jesse and Erin brought their dogs over for a quick visit and a trip to the river.  Its easy to access it right from our campground and everyone loves to splash around.   We didn't take our dogs this time and I'm so glad we didn't!   To get to the river, we just follow a short, shaded pathway which opens into a beautiful clearing and then down to the river.     When we came out of the woods, we saw what looked like hundreds of  little round tents all over the clearing.   They put me in mind of warts on a toad's back.  Each tent had at least one or two bikes and most of them had little tow behind a bike trailer thingys parked nearby.
Kids of all sizes and shapes whizzed around on bikes of all sizes and shapes.  It looked like it was an REI sponsored get together and everyone was having a great time.

It would have been Lewis' worst nightmare.  

The river bed was filled with families enjoying the water also.  Ruby and Kikan paid the crowd no mind.   They went about their water business, oblivious to what was going on around them.   Kik dutifully retrieved a stick for Erin and Ruby retrieved a large log and proceeded to turn it into mulch.  She chews so hard and enthusiastically her gums bleed and she's absolutely in her glory.

Ruby's second favorite water related activity is getting toweled.  Notice her furiously wagging tail.

Later on Dave and I drove over to Jesse and Erin's house and we all piled into his car for the beautiful and winding drive to King Estates Winery and our 8 p.m. dinner reservation.   It is a beautiful place, serene and ordered.   The food is just what you want and the wines speak for themselves.  Another of our favorite places.

We arrived early by design.  We all looked forward to taking a good bottle of Rose outside on the terrace and enjoying the expansive views.

Dave simply cannot pass a rose without sniffing.  Jesse and Erin head inside to the wine bar

Cool glasses of Rose and two special people

Our table wasn't ready on time (we didn't really mind all that much!) but our wait was rewarded with complimentary glasses of a wonderfully bubbly Pinot Gris   I like this place.

As I said in the beginning of this post....we got home pretty late, tried to watch a bit of Saturday Night Live, and promptly fell happily asleep.    Life is good.

Friday - Lewis' collar is too big

Mr. David's Mobile Grooming Salon arrived again this morning to finish the job he started in Florence.
He washed Lewis in the sunny driveway, then I helped by blowing and fluffing.  After lunch we set up the grooming table in the shade of our side yard's trees and the trimming  began in earnest.   We were both surprised at how much better the clipper worked  with new blades!   We were done in no time and the best part was we didn't have to pick up the hair or vacuum the house afterwards - the wind took care of it all!   Some little birdies will have a nice, soft black nest.    Lewis' collar will be too big on him again for another 3 or 4 weeks.

Shortly after we finished, fellow bloggers Debbie and Scott backed their fifth wheel into the site right across from us.    They joined us for a lake gin and some good conversation and catching up.  We first met them at Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood, Az.   Jesse and Ruby arrived shortly thereafter and we had a full house inside our xpen confines.  After a while, Debbie and Scott decided it was time to go back across the street and see what their two dogs were up to so they left with a promise to follow us to the Farmer's Market in the morning.

Dave grilled hamburgers for the three of us and we moved inside to eat.    I was too busy today, I didn't even think about the camera until dinner time.

Lewis is in love with Jesse and just wants to be with him, even at the dinner table.
We don't usually allow that, but we made an exception for dessert tonight.
and, no, Jesse didn't share his lemon tart.

Thursday - BCA

Jesse says this is "Welcome to Oregon" weather......heavy rain interspersed with periods of bright sunshine, back and forth, back and forth all day long.  We did a few errands and met Jesse and Erin for dinner at Belly's Taqueria.   Dinner and margarita (only one) was very very good.   It was really nice to have Erin with us, although she had to get right back to work when they got home.

The new furniture has received the dogs seal of approval and are now valued members of the family

the couch sleeps well

Lewis finds the navigator's chair a comfortable place to keep an eye on the squirrel

                                                             
                                                                Thats all for today

Hi Tracy!!!

Wednesday - anticlimax

So.....I didn't omit pictures of the new furniture to build suspense, or even to tease.   I simply didn't take any pictures until this morning!    Nothing exciting about the new stuff, pretty much the same as the old stuff its  just a slightly different color, smells nice and is really clean!

this new couch has the canine stamp of approval

Actually, this one is a bit different than the one it replaced.  It is a swivel, rocker, recliner.

driver and navigator seats are identical

And there you have it.  No big visual changes, but we're really happy with our new purchases.



The squirrel is still taunting Lewis.  I put the bird seed feeder away a few days ago, but the little darling still zooms around in the tree like he's annoyed with me.  He peers in at poor Lew from time to time.

Mr. squirrel has Lewis' full attention

After lunch we went to Jesse's house to do some laundry.   Dave dropped me off and got the jeep's oil changed and its dusty body washed and vacuumed.   Jesse and Erin did some work while I washed and read.    Ruby and Kikan kept a close eye on me, rumor has it that my pocket holds wondrous goodies.

When Dave got back I was still busy with laundry duty, so Ruby invited him up on her couch for a quick snooze.   Not wanting to hurt her feelings, he chose a spot on the other end and dozed quietly.

Erin was still on deadline, so Dave, Jesse and I went out for dinner.  She'll be done soon and we look forward to her company tomorrow night.  We had a great meal at Belly complete with rhubarb pie.  Take no pictures in a nice restaurant, I'm told, so you only have  my word for the quality of our food.

On the way to the car we walked by a Eugene original - Voodoo Donuts!   I didn't have my camera, so Jesse took a couple shots with his phone.  These donuts are over the top on every level.   Size, color, toppings and shapes.

bacon maple bar, donuts covered with fruit loops, one shaped like a red ice cream cone and.....

hmmmm

Nightie night.

Tuesday - an expensive day

Monday - yesterday - we got Beluga ready for her new clothes.   Jesse came by and helped Dave do a few things and we then we went out to a great Thai restaurant for dinner.  Dave took a muscle relaxant at bedtime and slept like a baby, but the jury is still out on whether they work or not because he didn't take any today in preparation for driving Beluga up to Junction City for her "appointments".

GASP....we had to set the alarm to make sure we woke up in enough time to make it to Les Schwab Tire by 8:30.  The only other times we used the alarm on this trip were to make tee times!   Tough life, I know.

barefoot Beluga

four brand new sticker tires waiting to be mounted and fitted to Beluga's dainty feet

We can't say enough about the service we received at the Les Schwab shop in Junction City.  They were waiting for us, took us right in and started work immediately.  They worked fast, efficiently and cheerfully and we were in and out in about 2 hours.  We are Family Motor Coach members so we were able to use their tire discount program and saved a good bit of money on 4 new Michelin's.  Every penny helps.

Next we went to Countryside Interiors for our furniture removal and installation.  We left Beluga in their care and took the dogs to the river for a bit of exercise.   We sat in the sun and read for awhile,  until our bellies told us it was lunch time.  Max Porter's sweet little cafe to the rescue.  Then we simply sat in the jeep in Countryside's parking lot and read, dozed and talked the rest of the afternoon, waiting.

unbolting furniture

my recliner/computer chair is gone

no more chairs

Dave bids farewell to our old couch

The old furniture was donated to Habitat for Humanity, but the couch was too far gone so it was disassembled and recycled.

We were back at Armitage Park around 5 p.m. to settle back into our site  and then we met Jesse at LN (Lucky Noodle) for dinner.   A really nice, casual restaurant than can't decide whether its wants to be Italian  or  Asian.  The menu is divided right down the middle - Italian meals on the left, Asian offerings on the right!   Its all good.

The sunset was looking so beautiful on our way home, we detoured a bit and walked over the river to try and get a shot over the water.    Then, home to bed - NO alarm for us tomorrow morning!

beautiful, lacy bridge over the McKenzie River just outside  our park

Sunday

We had a quiet day yesterday.   Dave's back is still acting up so we just tried to lay low and see what happens.     Lewis didn't rest - he kept the vigil.

our nemesis

Squirrels are having their way with our birdfeeder.   So much so that I finally took it down, sorry birds.  The one in the picture above took the lid off and just hung in it upside down cramming his little cheeks full, hand over hand!   Then he dropped to the ground and ate what he knocked onto the grass below.  You can see the top sitting at his feet.     Lew spent most of his morning, after our outside second cup, standing in Beluga's open door, watching.......     We've a payback in the works, stay tuned...

Around 4:30 we went to Jesse and Erin's house for dinner.   Jesse and I ran out to Market of Choice to pick up some steaks and a few accompaniments then started on our dinner.  Dave tended the charcoal,  grilling asparagus, steaks and roasting a head of garlic.  I did prep work, cleaning, slicing, chopping, grating.  Jesse worked his magic and produced a  wonderful potato, leek, gruyere and morel gratin.   We drank a special bottle of Tempranillo he's been saving for just the right occasion.   I think this graduation classifies as one, don't you?    Poor Erin was still glued to her computer - school isn't quite over for her yet.
She finished in time to join us at the table, dinner was complete.

I took no pictures.  We were all to busy making the meal and afterward, too busy eating it!  You'll just have to imagine how good it looked and tasted.

part of the clean up crew

This morning we finally bit the bullet and called Dr. Tan for some muscle relaxants for Dave.  I hope they give him some relief.  Once again, finger's crossed.

This afternoon Jesse will come over to help us unbolt my chair and clean out Dave's "pantry" under the couch in preparation for the new furniture's arrival tomorrow.