Hello again

We have been quite busy in Southern Oregon. We are still working on house stuff. Mostly landscaping, gates, and a bunch of little things that add up to a lot of honey dos.









We did take a break and had a nice visit from Steve & Liz. Here is a photo of a lake on the PCT on a hike called Red Buttes. The hike was actually in California just a short distance over the border. On this hike we saw two huge rattle snakes. The guys seemed to be fascinated by them to the point of throwing sticks and stones to see if the snakes would rattle their tails. They did. Liz and I took a wide berth around the snakes as we continued on the hike.

These guys are amazing. The best of friends. Don't they look so kool. They must be 40 or so.

In the morning after a fresh cup of coffee. These guys know how to party!!!

It was sunny and hot on trail.

Steve was famished. Kool hat though!!!!!

On another hike in the Soda Springs Wilderness, we saw two bear but were not quick enough to get photos. (Fast as a speeding bullet as my dad used to say) I think they were cute little critters though.

Here we have a nest of wild turkey eggs that Gary found. Big Honkers Huh!!!! Just keep them off our lawn!!!!!!!

Boy! Maybe we will scramble some eggs and have a big omelette. Big Honkers!

We also found two newly born fawn in the ditch near our house. They were hidden under a bush and Gary heard them making a squealing noise. We didn't know deer made noise. The next day they were gone so we assumed the doe had hidden them while she tried to figure out how to get into my garden to eat everything.

Our next visitor was Michelle's Dad. He came down with a friend of his that was planning to para glide at an event at Wood Rat Mountain. The event draws over a 300 flyer's from all over the world. Last years winner was from France.

This is a partial picture of about a hundred fliers in one of their contests.

The next event was at the Britt Gardens. Michelle's debut as the Event Coordinator Britt festivals. She is the Best!

The fund raiser included a diner catered by a popular local restaurant, The Jacksonville Inn, and premium reserve tickets to Mary Wilson (The Supremes) and the Funk Brothers.

The event is called Sunset & Stars with the star coming to visit with the dinners. Who is this??? and how old is she.

She was great.

We had 66 people attend. That's the biggest party I've ever had. I think it was bigger than our wedding!

Gary says no way!

Michelle's boss, Carrie. Very nice to work for.

That same weekend we saw Bruce Hornsby & Ricky Skaggs and Madelein Peyroux.

How fast can a Bear run?

They can run very fast.





Got your attention?

Well, he sure got ours. We were having dinner with some friends this last week. We had been talking about bears when one of our guests looked up and said " Speaking of BEARS."

Sure enough this young bear, maybe a year old, came in the driveway and was heading right towards the house at a fairly good clip. I jumped up to get the camera and Gary headed outside. He didn't want the critter tearing anything up. I'm not so sure of the wisdom of that move but Gary is still here and the bear isn't. Unfortunately, by the time I got the camera the bear heard Gary and took off but he didn't exit by way of the driveway. He took a more interesting route down the hill and over the fence. He was sort of a cinnamon color with long legs. The attached photo was taken by our neighbors. He sure added to the dinner conversation. This is the first bear we have seen but I suspect not the last.
This is our temporary gate. We had moved the cars when our dinner guests arrived which cleared the way for the bear. Surprisingly this actually appears to have deterred the deer which is why we have a fence in the first place. In this area you have to decide; do you want a natural yard with all the local flora and fauna or do you want a vegetable garden and plants. We opted for the second choice.

We have been pretty busy working on the landscaping the last month or so. Here we have Mr. Hill a.k.a. Limo Man preparing to pull wire for the gate. Now what are the fireplace tools for?

Improvisation is key around here.

And now stories from the Limo man.

May was a very busy month for the Limo man. There were lots of Proms, birthdays, and wine tours. Service was provided throughout the Southern Oregon area including Klamath Falls, Grants Pass and Ashland. The visit to Klamath Falls was interesting but the town hasn't changed much in the 30 years since the Limo man was last there. The high mountain lakes enroute to K'Falls will be a draw for another day.

Casey's new Limo has been the talk of the town. He bought a Chrysler 300 on Ebay from a private owner in Georgia. Needless to say he spent 4 days driving getting it back to Oregon.

It is quite amazing how much money kids have to spend on a Limo. For Prom night it may cost $700 for the largest limo, then add on dinner, flowers, and tux rental plus a new dress for the gal.

It didn't take long for Casey's new car to get indoctrinated. A middle age dude was taking his girl friend out to dinner so Casey decided to give him an upgrade. The night started out fine as the dinner was out in the beautiful Applegate Valley at the Applegate Lodge. After dinner the couple wanted to go to Jacksonville and then on to Grants Pass. They stopped at a local bar but didn't stay. Once back in the car the couple wanted to just drive around Grants Pass and then back to Medford. Once on the freeway the car started to bounce up and down and sideways a bit. Needless to say the limo man had figured out what was going on. Casey got to clean the car the next day.

The following weekend Gary picked up a group of women and there significant others for lunch in Ashland and a wine tour. They were all a pleasant group but the connection for all of them was a bit odd. The women belong to a club where they practice pole dancing to stay in shape. I guess this is a new thing in Medford.

Last weekend a group of 10 were celebrating someone's 40th birhtday. I had two pick up spots and then out to the Bel Di's restaurant on the Rogue River in Shady Cove. They drank significant amounts of beer and wine in the car on the way out. After dinner I noticed that one women was especially drunk so I felt it was necessary to warn them about the $300 charge for puking in the car. The drunk women and her husband decided they needed to go home ASAP.

We headed for Jacksonville. As I approached their driveway I came upon a gate. Someone said that he would open it as I was approaching. Before I completely stopped the gentlemen got out of the car. I did not notice as all the dome lights were on really bright. The next thing I know after I stopped the car is that someone said the car was on the gentlemen's foot. I ran back to see what was going on but never got there as someone else said to back up 2 inches. Evidently the guy's foot was stuck under the tire. We got him up and he proceeded to walk over to the gate control to open it up. I was very relieved to see him walk again. I have't heard from him so I guess he is okay. From now on we are going to keep the child locks on for all the folks that do not know when to get out of the car.

After dropping them off I thought I was done but then I had to take the baby sitter home. A couple of the women accompanied me. After I dropped the sitter off one of the women said. "Gary, I have to go to the bathroom" Too much beer! I said I could go to a gas station about 5 minutes away. That wasn't good enough. "I have to go right now. Gary, what should I do? Can I go outside the car? What do you think? Help me. Help me" There was panic in this women's voice but I wasn't sure she was the type to drop trow in the woods let alone on a city street. It came upon her really fast and I could tell she wasn't going to wait. There was fire in her eyes, mother nature was taking over and her voice was starting to crack. Casey never told me about this type of thing and I have never had training in this area. I got out of the car with the women and showed her a nice spot on someones lawn that would work, then I got back in the car. She got back in the car and asked her friend where I was, like I was still outside the car watching.

NO Thanks!

What a night!

One thing I have learned. Every group is different and you have to be flexible and improvise along the way.

click on photo to enlarge

The lawn is still coming in and the big question was do we get a riding mower or walk behind? We decided to get the walk behind as we can always use more exercise.

Our little creek is teaming with life that can clear the fence. These guys make a huge noise for being only about and inch long.

We know we have been lazy about doing the blog. As you can see - things are hopping around here!

The limo man - unplugged

no words can describe.
We have to keep an eye on you know who.

Hydro seeding...

...takes a lot of guys!

This is my favorite sleeping spot - go away!

Hello again

We can't believe it has been almost a month since we posted to the blog. We assure you we have not been sitting on our duffs watching the world go by, however, it is tempting to consider.

Since we last posted we have made a quick trip to to pdx to visit friends and family.

We had a wonderful time in Oceanside with Joven & Mary. Joven is a musician and plays at some large events when he is not working in the mortgage business. Mary keeps Joven in line and lets him know who is the boss when she is not selling loans. They are the best in the business.

They made us feel so relaxed the minute we showed up at their beach estate at Oceanside. We walked on the beach and collected agates although we do not have the eye that Joven and Mary do. We got the grand tour of the ocean beaches and had a nice lunch in Pacific City and dinner in Netarts.

Michelle ran the 10 mile Pear Blossom race (a bit slower than last year).

We had a our very first visitor, Tara and had a great visit even though it was wet and cold.

We continue to work on finishing up 'the little details' on the house which includes a big list for our favorite general contractor.

We are also working on the landscaping. We have some trees and shrubs planted and hope to have the lawn hydro seeded soon.

Michelle got a job (finally) and this one should be fun and challenging. She is working for Britt Festivals as a coordinator for their fund raising events. Check out http://www.brittfest.org/

We also get to see some of the concerts!

Gary has had some interesting limo business customers. A couple of weeks ago he thought he was going to have another nice wine tour. Instead the group decided to visit a tattoo parlor instead. They were in their early 20's except for one of their mothers. She was the roudiest of the bunch. Since they didn't have a reservation they had some piercing done instead. My boss wanted to know what they had pierced. I said they all had their nipples pierced and then they had me take their photo. I got a "really that is amazing" from him. It was a group of 7 women. We ended the night at a restaurant in Jacksonville. I am sure they were quite wild in there.

I in turn retreated to my nice quiet limo only to get harassed by the Jacksonville cop. He didn't like my parking job as I was in a bus zone. I told him the buses weren't running at that hour but he didn't care so I moved on. I guess he didn't remember that I helped him find the 400 lb pig that was loose one day in town.

On the way home the girls asked me if I had a DVD player. I said I did and placed the DVD in so they could view it on the back screen. I should have known that it was a porn flick. So for the rest of the trip they used every adjective in the English language plus a lot of slang I couldn't understand to describe some very large body parts. (There were also a lot loud sighs and "look at that......" for the next hour. )

The limo business is picking up a bit now. I had a nice wine tour on Saturday and the group was a lot of fun. They were a little more sane than the week earlier plus I got a big tip at the end.

~~~~~

If you have read this far we have a question for you. Should we continue with the blog now that the house is done? Please let us know. Thanks!

Gary

Meet our new alarm clock

Every morning around 6:00am Gunnar comes to our door to remind us he is there and to tell us to get up. Sometimes it is food motivated but mostly it is his demand for attention. With Karl still MIA he seems to be a bit more needy. We try to forgive his early morning announcements.

BTW Gunnar did not 'spring forward' when we changed to DST so there is no extra hour of sleep - ever.





We woke up to snow on the ground a few mornings ago. I think March is going out like a lion this year.

There are also some amazing rainbows over the valley.

Here is the almost finished product. Time for landscaping. (click on photo to enlarge)

Where's Karl?

Karl is off on a great adventure, perhaps his last. He has been gone about 6 days. We tried to keep him in but he kept escaping under the fence. We have gone searching for him and have put notices out to the neighbors. Gunnar misses him as do we.
We have been in the house almost a month and finally got around to hanging pictures. The first one is always traumatic. Gary likes to use a tack hammer as it is easier on the fingers.

Other chores include painting the shed. The igloo below is Gunnar and Karl's hideout. They love it.

Michelle paints much better than our contract painter. They do have something in common though. Neither of them have a license and that is about it.

Michelle continues to train for the Pear Blossom run and look for a job (in that order). Gary has had some limo jobs. He also did a 7 mile run for the fun of it. He still can't understand why people run. He would rather do a ten mile hike, chase turkeys or clear some land.

Gary has entered a stock trading contest with CNBC.com. He is banking on a million dollar win. This is real money. There are weekly winners of $10K for 10 weeks. About 40 or so get in the final trade contest for 2 weeks if you qualify. Last time he checked there were about a million players or so. As of Fridays results he was in the top 3%, number 8547 for the week. Wish him the best of luck. He will need it. He wishes he had been trading with our real money.

We hope to have some more of the landscaping done next week. We have about 20 trees ordered and need to get the lawn seeded before it gets too dry.

The weather this week has been wonderful. 70 during the day and comfortable at night. We have been sitting out on our patio for cocktails and enjoying our new place.

Michelle's raised beds just got finished today. Two 10x4 containers. Time to start planting!

GT ATC - Care to interpret?

We had a visitor this morning.

(Click on photo to enlarge)




Gary & Fat Tire. (It was a clear the land day and he is tired.)






















Michelle & Fred (and GT) Fun at the creek.






















The kitties are acclimating.
Gunnar likes the view.













Gary is busy doing honey doos and there are lots of them.


meow