On Monday morning we hit the road to Klamath Falls, Oregon, our first "home" the place where we met, fell in love and married. The first part of the journey was on State route 29 which was a winding mountain road through trees and up and down hills and valleys. The morning sun was blinding in places making the going slow. We came out on State Route 20 and then the I-5 at Orland , California.
We stopped for lunch in Chico and then headed up the I-5 to 97. We were in Klamath by 3 pm. We stayed with Steve's Mom and had dinner at the Sizzler Steak House that night. While in Klamath Falls we visited with Steve's sisters and their families, we went to the Kla-moy-ya Casino in Chiloquin, Oregon and spent an afternoon at the movie matinee. We saw "The Help" which was one of those funny, sad kind of movies. It was pretty good and stuck pretty close to the book which I had read before we went. The ending was slightly altered from the book but that made it better and a little more "happily ever after" which the book was not.
On Friday, August 19, we said our farewells, packed up the car again and headed for San Francisco again. Since it was very early I took the wheel and let Steve sleep a little longer. I stopped at a vista point and took these great pictures of Mt. Shasta. I tried to take some on the way up but the car was moving too fast and the mountain was obscured by clouds. I love Mt. Shasta. It is just breathtaking and the perfect example of an active volcano. There is almost always snow blanketing her slopes and she just makes me think of all the good times of my youth and my first real experiences in the great Northwest. Awesome!
The traffic heading into San Francisco was a nightmare as usual. I decided that we will go through Sacramento from now on when we go to Oregon. Sacramento airport is so much easier to travel to and from and the traffic is as nothing compared to SF. I don't know what would have happebned if I had not gotten directions before we left from Mapqwest. We would probably still we driving around trying top figure out where the hotel was! OMG!
We finally did find the hotel which was exactly on the Pacific Ocean. It was gray and cloudy and cool. We walked on the beach and had dinner at the only restaurant near the hotel. The hotel seemed to be in a mostly residential area. I found out that my leg and ankle problems, called "Charko-Marie- Tooth" after the doctors who discovered it, has definitely gotten worse since the last time I walked on the beach. I had to walk slowly and hold onto Steve. My ankles kept turning and that caused my knees to twist too. Not a very fun sensation.
In the morning we discovered that the SF Zoo was not far from the hotel. We decided to spend the morning there before heading back to the airport. It didn't take us long to get through the zoo. It is a little small but it was ok as my legs were still sore from walking the beach. We bought a few t-shirts for the grandkids and then dragged out the map and headed for the airport. Like I said, next time it's Sacramento! We got home without incident at about 10 pm on Saturday night, the 20th.
All is well at home. No one died or starved to death. The weeds grew as if we'd been gone for a month instead of a week. I guess there were monsoon thunderstorms and rain everyday we were gone. It is still hotter than blue blazes. Seems like it didn't bother me as much before I spent a week in cool 80 degree weather. It is good to be home though. As Dorothy said, "There's no place like home!"
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Our second day in Calistoga we visited several wineries. The tasting fee ranged from $10 to $20 per person or you could share a tasting. Some places offered as many as 6 wines for tasting. Since Steve likes red and I like white, sharing was a good option for us.
The nicest distillery that we visited was the Montelena Chateau. It was a real castle with ivy clinging to her walls and a moat and pagoda outside. This particular winery is famous for putting Napa Valley in the world's winery establishment. In 1976, they entered a white wine, a chardonnay, in the world competion in France. It won first place and the French immediately demanded a second judgment. It won again and a third time. I tasted the wine that won the award. I throught it tasted a little grassy, but then my taste is more toward the sweeter wines. I ended up buying a very sweet dessert wine at Montelena. We also enjoyed the grounds with the ponds and flowers. Ducks and swans floated around. What a relaxing bucolic setting.
We visited several other wineries and ended the day with dinner at a local restaurant, the Flat Iron. Steve got bbq ribs and I had fish and chips. We just had water with dinner because we had several bottles of wine back at the hotel waiting for us. The pool and hot tub felt especially nice after hiking around those wineries and the hard tasting choices we had all day. Talk about stopping to smell the roses! We really enjoyed ourselves, tasting wine, in addition to smelling roses!
The next day we packed up and headed north to Klamath Falls, Oregon. More on that later.
The nicest distillery that we visited was the Montelena Chateau. It was a real castle with ivy clinging to her walls and a moat and pagoda outside. This particular winery is famous for putting Napa Valley in the world's winery establishment. In 1976, they entered a white wine, a chardonnay, in the world competion in France. It won first place and the French immediately demanded a second judgment. It won again and a third time. I tasted the wine that won the award. I throught it tasted a little grassy, but then my taste is more toward the sweeter wines. I ended up buying a very sweet dessert wine at Montelena. We also enjoyed the grounds with the ponds and flowers. Ducks and swans floated around. What a relaxing bucolic setting.
We visited several other wineries and ended the day with dinner at a local restaurant, the Flat Iron. Steve got bbq ribs and I had fish and chips. We just had water with dinner because we had several bottles of wine back at the hotel waiting for us. The pool and hot tub felt especially nice after hiking around those wineries and the hard tasting choices we had all day. Talk about stopping to smell the roses! We really enjoyed ourselves, tasting wine, in addition to smelling roses!
The next day we packed up and headed north to Klamath Falls, Oregon. More on that later.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Steve and I just returned from our vacation on Saturday night about 10 pm. We went to Calistoga, California, Klamath Falls, Oregon and San Francisco, Ca. The weather for the whole trip was absolutely gorgeous. We enjoyed sunshine every day with temperatures in the 80s and cool breezes.
I think of our trip in 3 parts so I will report it that way. We flew out of Tucson at about 9 am on Saturday, August 13th. We landed in San Francisco. It was sunny and beautiful but the traffic about blew our minds. It took us about 2 hours to get out of the city and head for Napa Valley and our hotel in Calistoga.
Calistoga is famous for its natural hot springs and wineries. Our hotel had a pool and hot tub. The pool must have been heated by the hot springs because it was as warm as a bath. I got in the hot tub just to make the pool seem cooler. Our room was a small suite with a bedroom, kitchen, bath and living room. We were within walking distance of restaurants and shops. The first night we ate at the only Chinese restaurant in town. It was pretty good. We walked around and took pictures of some of the inns and mountains around Calistoga. It was very relaxing. People were friendly and, compared to Tucson, dressed up!
The second day in Calistoga we drove around and visited some of the wineries. We had been to Paso Robles wineries when we lived in California so we thought we knew what to expect. We were pretty shocked to be charged a "tasting fee" at every winery. Most of them waved the fee if we made a purchase though. I just love visiting wineries and trying their wines. They are usually beautiful establishments and the country itself is breath-taking. I'll post winery pictures next time.
I think of our trip in 3 parts so I will report it that way. We flew out of Tucson at about 9 am on Saturday, August 13th. We landed in San Francisco. It was sunny and beautiful but the traffic about blew our minds. It took us about 2 hours to get out of the city and head for Napa Valley and our hotel in Calistoga.
Calistoga is famous for its natural hot springs and wineries. Our hotel had a pool and hot tub. The pool must have been heated by the hot springs because it was as warm as a bath. I got in the hot tub just to make the pool seem cooler. Our room was a small suite with a bedroom, kitchen, bath and living room. We were within walking distance of restaurants and shops. The first night we ate at the only Chinese restaurant in town. It was pretty good. We walked around and took pictures of some of the inns and mountains around Calistoga. It was very relaxing. People were friendly and, compared to Tucson, dressed up!
The second day in Calistoga we drove around and visited some of the wineries. We had been to Paso Robles wineries when we lived in California so we thought we knew what to expect. We were pretty shocked to be charged a "tasting fee" at every winery. Most of them waved the fee if we made a purchase though. I just love visiting wineries and trying their wines. They are usually beautiful establishments and the country itself is breath-taking. I'll post winery pictures next time.
Friday, August 12, 2011
The second group of baby swallows is getting ready to fly the coop. They are so cute sticking their heads out over the edge of the nest. My grandson happened to get a picture with the mom landing. He's only 3!
A big hawk landed in the mesquite tree by the pool the same day that we took the swallow pictures. He did not stay long enough for me to capture him on film. Beautiful bird.
It has been cloudy and overcast most of this week but we haven't gotten much rain. It has stayed a little cooler, in the 90s instead of the 100s. So that is something.
I have not been feeling great this week. I have a pain in my side and lots of aches and pains, more than normal. I think that I need to go back to the doctor and have my thyroid medicine re-evaluated. I got a new book about natural cures and the causes of various ailments. I seem to have a lot of the low thyroid symptoms. So we shall see.
My tomatoes continue to grow and produce more fruit. None of them have turned red yet though. I continue to water them every day. Morning glory vines have taken over my other garden area. They are climbing up everything including my blueberry bushes. They haven't gotten any blooms on them yet either. Steve wants to cut them down as he says they are weeds, but I won't let him. We have a pact. He can cut down whatever he wants outside of my gardens but nothing inside my raised beds. Seems to be working ok so far. I would let him cut them down if they were anywhere near the alpacas or goats. Morning glories are toxic. So are oleanders. I thought that was common knowledge but found out it is not. At the Tucson Zoo recently they lost a big male giraffe. It was discovered that one of the zoo employees had fed him and the female a bunch of oleander which is planted all over the zoo! I guess the USDA inspected and now the zoo is removing all the oleander. Thank goodness. You'd think all those zoo officials and biologists would know what plants would harm their animals. Just blows me away! The female giraffe survived and is doing well now.
A big hawk landed in the mesquite tree by the pool the same day that we took the swallow pictures. He did not stay long enough for me to capture him on film. Beautiful bird.
It has been cloudy and overcast most of this week but we haven't gotten much rain. It has stayed a little cooler, in the 90s instead of the 100s. So that is something.
I have not been feeling great this week. I have a pain in my side and lots of aches and pains, more than normal. I think that I need to go back to the doctor and have my thyroid medicine re-evaluated. I got a new book about natural cures and the causes of various ailments. I seem to have a lot of the low thyroid symptoms. So we shall see.
My tomatoes continue to grow and produce more fruit. None of them have turned red yet though. I continue to water them every day. Morning glory vines have taken over my other garden area. They are climbing up everything including my blueberry bushes. They haven't gotten any blooms on them yet either. Steve wants to cut them down as he says they are weeds, but I won't let him. We have a pact. He can cut down whatever he wants outside of my gardens but nothing inside my raised beds. Seems to be working ok so far. I would let him cut them down if they were anywhere near the alpacas or goats. Morning glories are toxic. So are oleanders. I thought that was common knowledge but found out it is not. At the Tucson Zoo recently they lost a big male giraffe. It was discovered that one of the zoo employees had fed him and the female a bunch of oleander which is planted all over the zoo! I guess the USDA inspected and now the zoo is removing all the oleander. Thank goodness. You'd think all those zoo officials and biologists would know what plants would harm their animals. Just blows me away! The female giraffe survived and is doing well now.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
It is hot and humid all right! I don't see why the weather people keep putting us on that chart showing the record highs and dryness the mid-west is experiencing though. It is always this hot here this time of year and we are getting rain. Oh well, what do I know?
The garage roof is going to be repaired on the 22nd. The pool pump was fixed on Friday. It is so quiet out there now when we swim! We can actually hold a conversation without shouting!
We had some company yesterday afternoon. A lady that I met at the ST. David Farmer's Market and her husband came to pick up her aprons. They wanted to see the alpacas. As we walked in the pasture the lady stumbled a little as the pasture is full of rocks and sticks and all sorts of stickers and rocks. She took her shoes off and walked barefoot! Wow! I was impressed! She said that was easier than stumbling and twisting her ankles! Said she does it all the time! Ha! Not me! I'll keep my shoes on! Thank you very much! We had a nice visit and she ended up buying another pygora fleece from me too. They live in Tucson right now but have purchased a property in St. David and plan to have a real farm out there soon. I wish them the best and hope that we will have a long association.
The other morning was so beautiful out that I went out with my trusty Kodak and took pictures of some of the wild flowers and stuff that is growing around our property. Keep in mind as you look at these lovely flowers that quite a few of them will turn into really nasty sticker bushes. I also wanted you to see what happens around here when we do get a little rain. Everything goes crazy! The weeds grow as tall as the 4 foot fence lickety-split. There is no stopping them. We quit buying weed killer cuz it is a waste of money. Steve can hardly keep up with the weed-whacker or the shovel. But, bless him, he does try.
The flies are going crazy too with all the moisture. I sprayed Buddy and his little space on the front porch to give him some relief from the pesky things. I also went out and caught the alpacas yesterday, with help from my wonderful husband. He held each one while I sprayed bug spray in their ears and then sprayed their bodies with the fly repellent. I then sprayed a rag til it was wet and rubbed their faces and top knots with that. They really seemed to enjoy having their faces rubbed. Poor babies! I hate to see them shaking their heads all the time to keep the flies away. I noticed they did it less after I sprayed and rubbed them but it is an uphill battle.
It is fairly overcast today. I am wondering if we will get thunderstorms this afternoon. Sometimes as the clouds build up during the day they are so beautiful. Makes me want to just lay down and look up at the sky all day. Can't do that though, gotta figure out what to have for dinner tonight, feed the animals, water the flowers, clean water buckets, straighten up my work area,balance the check book...well, you get the idea.
The garage roof is going to be repaired on the 22nd. The pool pump was fixed on Friday. It is so quiet out there now when we swim! We can actually hold a conversation without shouting!
We had some company yesterday afternoon. A lady that I met at the ST. David Farmer's Market and her husband came to pick up her aprons. They wanted to see the alpacas. As we walked in the pasture the lady stumbled a little as the pasture is full of rocks and sticks and all sorts of stickers and rocks. She took her shoes off and walked barefoot! Wow! I was impressed! She said that was easier than stumbling and twisting her ankles! Said she does it all the time! Ha! Not me! I'll keep my shoes on! Thank you very much! We had a nice visit and she ended up buying another pygora fleece from me too. They live in Tucson right now but have purchased a property in St. David and plan to have a real farm out there soon. I wish them the best and hope that we will have a long association.
The other morning was so beautiful out that I went out with my trusty Kodak and took pictures of some of the wild flowers and stuff that is growing around our property. Keep in mind as you look at these lovely flowers that quite a few of them will turn into really nasty sticker bushes. I also wanted you to see what happens around here when we do get a little rain. Everything goes crazy! The weeds grow as tall as the 4 foot fence lickety-split. There is no stopping them. We quit buying weed killer cuz it is a waste of money. Steve can hardly keep up with the weed-whacker or the shovel. But, bless him, he does try.
The flies are going crazy too with all the moisture. I sprayed Buddy and his little space on the front porch to give him some relief from the pesky things. I also went out and caught the alpacas yesterday, with help from my wonderful husband. He held each one while I sprayed bug spray in their ears and then sprayed their bodies with the fly repellent. I then sprayed a rag til it was wet and rubbed their faces and top knots with that. They really seemed to enjoy having their faces rubbed. Poor babies! I hate to see them shaking their heads all the time to keep the flies away. I noticed they did it less after I sprayed and rubbed them but it is an uphill battle.
It is fairly overcast today. I am wondering if we will get thunderstorms this afternoon. Sometimes as the clouds build up during the day they are so beautiful. Makes me want to just lay down and look up at the sky all day. Can't do that though, gotta figure out what to have for dinner tonight, feed the animals, water the flowers, clean water buckets, straighten up my work area,balance the check book...well, you get the idea.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Here it is August already! I don't know where the time goes! I have been up since 4:45. Steve and Sara left for work about 5:45 and I am waiting for my grandson to wake up! Lucky little guy, sleeps as long as he wants!
We had some pretty good rains lately but the weather people are still saying we are behind in our yearly allotment so the drought is not over yet. This morning it is clear and sunny with a cool breeze blowing out of the southeast. This is in contrast to yesterday morning when it was 70% humidity and to move was to sweat...profusely!
We sent in a deposit to have the garage roof repaired. I haven't heard back yet so don't know when that will be fixed. Then, Steve announced yesterday that the pool pump had seized up. He is taking part of Friday off so that he can be here when the guy comes out to replace that. I'm sure another small fortune will pass through our fingers in order to keep the pool operational. It really is worth it, though, especially when the weather is so hot and humid. So I am thankful for the luxury of having the pool.
The alpacas have been getting along very well lately. The little goats must be getting fed better than at their previous place. They seem to be getting a little chubby to me. I did figure out that they are both wethers for sure. Even though Frankie seems to have his testicles, it is just the sack. The last time we trimmed their toenails, I copped a feel, and there are no hard little rocks in there, just a soft sack. The chickens are laying eggs like crazy. I have a refrigerator full in spite of sending about 4 dozen to work with Steve every week. Buddy is all fluffy and white from all the rain and brushing out his winter coat. I still ought to take him to the groomer though.
The rains have been very good for the plants outside. Steve spent many hours this weekend cutting down weeds with his trusty weed-whacker. The weeds grow by leaps and bounds every time we get even a drop of rain. My tomato plants are huge and finally getting little green fruits on them and my flowers are doing great. My red Texas sage has bloomed several times and is big and gorgeous. (Thanks for that plant Liz! Bet you thought it would be dead by now! Ha!) We did not get a storm yesterday even though there were several around us, so I will be watering all the plants today.
We had some pretty good rains lately but the weather people are still saying we are behind in our yearly allotment so the drought is not over yet. This morning it is clear and sunny with a cool breeze blowing out of the southeast. This is in contrast to yesterday morning when it was 70% humidity and to move was to sweat...profusely!
We sent in a deposit to have the garage roof repaired. I haven't heard back yet so don't know when that will be fixed. Then, Steve announced yesterday that the pool pump had seized up. He is taking part of Friday off so that he can be here when the guy comes out to replace that. I'm sure another small fortune will pass through our fingers in order to keep the pool operational. It really is worth it, though, especially when the weather is so hot and humid. So I am thankful for the luxury of having the pool.
The alpacas have been getting along very well lately. The little goats must be getting fed better than at their previous place. They seem to be getting a little chubby to me. I did figure out that they are both wethers for sure. Even though Frankie seems to have his testicles, it is just the sack. The last time we trimmed their toenails, I copped a feel, and there are no hard little rocks in there, just a soft sack. The chickens are laying eggs like crazy. I have a refrigerator full in spite of sending about 4 dozen to work with Steve every week. Buddy is all fluffy and white from all the rain and brushing out his winter coat. I still ought to take him to the groomer though.
The rains have been very good for the plants outside. Steve spent many hours this weekend cutting down weeds with his trusty weed-whacker. The weeds grow by leaps and bounds every time we get even a drop of rain. My tomato plants are huge and finally getting little green fruits on them and my flowers are doing great. My red Texas sage has bloomed several times and is big and gorgeous. (Thanks for that plant Liz! Bet you thought it would be dead by now! Ha!) We did not get a storm yesterday even though there were several around us, so I will be watering all the plants today.
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