Summer Fun and Work

We have settled in nicely to Jenn and John's place while they are off gallivanting in Europe. After some adjustment Wiley and Gracie have settled into their routine of ignoring each other but also constantly aware of the other's presence. Shortly after settling in, we took off for a week vacation to Gig Harbor to hang out with my family. Both my brothers and their significant others were coming as well which is a rare thing as we have spread out nicely (Oregon, Utah and Colorado) and are all pretty busy. So mom was excited to say the least.

We started off our visit realizing the tides were low. Being from landlocked Utah, Paul and Heidi were quite interested in going out to do some clamming. We went to a public beach close to some waterfront property that my parents own, and wandered down the beach towards their section of land. Along the way, we mucked through the sand,


Found funny creatures,






and dug for funny creatures with funny names (geoducks). We quickly realized that the beach we were on was not good for the traditional butter clam-digging that my brothers and I grew up doing. But it was rich in geoducks, so we gave it a go despite the fact that we didn't have a license. We had to be very discreet and when we got to my parents' stretch of land, had to stash the ones we got into the woods fearing the boat patrols. Geoducks are really big clams with even bigger necks that burrow way down into the sand and therefore can be hard to get when all you have is a shovel and your bare hands.




We were able to get one that first day, and after Keith fried it up in some butter and garlic until it tasted like candy, Paul insisted that we go back the next day for more. So we did. Day two was spent digging up many more of those not-so-pretty creatures. Of course we went overboard and after all of the hard prep work and cooking back at home, we were all pretty much sick at the thought of more. Ah well, the process was sure entertaining.

Heidi is quite proud of her tenderizing efforts. The rest in the photo don't look nearly as thrilled.


Speaking of geoducks, they are planning a geoduck farm right there on the water at my parents' property edge. Dad is not very excited.


The next major item on the agenda was to complete a project Carl started a while back. Actually it started a few years back when dad was visiting Paul in Utah and picked up three missile boxes (boxes that house missiles) at a ridiculous surplus store by Paul's house. He carted those three huge things all the way back to Gig Harbor, and there they have sat, just waiting to be used. Then a storm came and ruined the float that sits out in the water at my parents' lake property. Finally, a use for the missile boxes. Use them to make a new float! Who wouldn't have thought of that? So the goal while all the kids were home was to complete the float. Before we got there, dad diligently packed each box tight with styrofoam (don't ask where he gets his styrofoam). Then we transported them out to the lake.


Then they had to think for a while about what to do next.


Closer to the water...


Always under the watchful eye of The Supervisor. It doesn't matter how old we get, some things never change.


Guiding it into place...and directing dad to something....probably his coffee.


Well done guys!


My good friend Amy and her darling boy, Jacob, came out one of the days to watch the antics and get some nice R&R lake time.




Other activities at the ranch included highly skilled games of badminton, blackberry syrup making, lots of good eating, and of course some Boggle.




Thanks for having us up, and thanks everyone for making the trip! It was great as always to all be together!


Back in Eugene....
We're moving right along on our house. Keith just finished getting in leveled. Now he just has to re-support it. I take for granted all the things Keith is able to figure out and accomplish. I mean seriously, he just leveled our house! I wouldn't even dream of trying to attempt that. And he did it with car jacks! What does it look like to level a house? I'm glad you asked.




Of course the bulk of the work happens in the hot, spider-webby, insulation-covered crawlspace. This is what Keith looks like when he goes down there. He comes up quite a bit sweatier and probably a few pounds lighter. My excuse for not going down and helping? Oh don't worry, I have plenty.


The dogs are always very interested to know where he is going....


Meanwhile, I tore out the master bathroom. Here is an almost-complete before picture. You get the general idea. Yellow. And a yellow tinted window (which I can't get a picture of because the room is so small) to further accent the yellow.


We used our 10% Home Depot coupon yesterday. Most of it was spent on tile. To tile this house and one Keith is working on in the Corvallis area. Have you ever tried to pick out tile for two kitchens and three bathrooms in one shopping trip? More exhausting than ripping a bathroom out, I swear. We walked out of there with three carts fully loaded and lots of sympathetic glances that said, "Thank God it's not me that has to do all that work!".

We do try for fun once in a while too. We ventured out on our first(!) backpacking trip of the year....so sad, we had plans to do so many more. Where has the summer gone? We set out to do the Erma Bell hike up by Waldo Lake that was recommended by a friend. However, we took the wrong car (we won't talk about whose fault that was), and couldn't get to the trailhead in our silly little Honda, so we had to settle for a different hike. It was all right. Most of it was through a burned area, but it was close to the lake, which is truly a stunning lake with crystal clear water, so we got a couple nice swims in. We had Wiley the Pug with us as well, and we didn't know how many backpacking or camping trips he had been on, so we took things a little easy given his propensity to overheat. We found a beautiful camping spot kind of early on, so we decided to stick with the "keeping it easy" theme and set up camp and had a nice relaxing evening around camp. Wiley was hilarious at night. Not so used to tents so a bit restless, and the moon was full, so he spent a good couple hours sitting up at the foot of the tent staring out the window at the moon. Completely mesmerized.

Our camp looking out towards the lake.


Camp from the other direction (lake is behind me). Not bad, eh?


Whew. Long entry with lots of photos. Until next time!