Yesterday we decided to take the day off from
unpacking-and-setting up-in our new home; my hands ache from 4 weeks of constant
activity so we just decided to lay back and take it easy until Monday. This
past week I managed to unpack the majority of boxes stacked in every room,
leaving 6 in the back room: not bad at all, and those last ones should be
unpacked and tore down by the end of Monday (tomorrow).
The guys finally finished laying the flooring
and I was able to move furniture into place last weekend while Bob put the
fireplace together and set it in place, which was a good thing because Bob’s mother
and sisters from calimexarabia and Nevada wanted to come and see “Bobbie’s new
home” while they were up here for the annual Family Reunion at Cliff’s in
Oregon. Bob and I worked like whirling dervishes this past week to get the
window shades and curtains switched out too before they showed up Friday afternoon.
Here is a glimpse into what has been accomplished so far:
New flooring and electric fireplace. LIKE IT!
Dining Room area.
Livingroom area; working on furnishing this side of the room - it should be fleshed out the end of summer. The Angel Wings plant will be repotted this week sometime - I have the pot, I just need to find the time ;-) I LOVE all the windows! This place is so white and bright WITHOUT LIGHTS ON, that I am always checking to make sure the lights are turned off. LOL
Curtain detail.
Hubs and I were up bright and early yesterday
and started the day with a walk around the Park to familiarize ourselves with
the layout – it’s a slow mile walk around the outer perimeter of the park and
we have determined to do the walk every day … rain or shine. We started out
from our carport and worked our way back home. The walk was relaxing and
enjoyable: we met a lot of friendly neighbors and learned more about the
community – all good so far ;-)
Heron Pointe Office, 1st playground, and Clubhouse: just a short step away from any home in any direction …
Heron Pointe: the streets look like any neighborhood streets – sometimes it’s hard to remember that this is a Mobile Home Park; it looks more like a neighborhood with ranch style houses. Very nice, and we feel blessed that Elohim opened up a place for us here :-D
Heron Pointe: the backroad in the background is busy with Logging trucks using their jake brakes all day long, but somehow the Park mutes them to a loud purr; that is nice ;-)
Heron Pointe: 2nd playground of the Park. This Park has people of all ages living here. And though the Park does not supply Security, this is a safe place to live because the applications are very scrutinized and backgrounds checks are very thorough; no one with a criminal background is accepted. Heron Pointe is a very coveted place to live because it is so safe.
Heron Pointe: Variegated Mini Hosta. I like hostas and have always wondered what a mini one would look like; now I know what to look for. The giant ones – like we had at our last house - would be overpowering in the small planting areas here.
We are thinking about checking this out; t will be a nice drive for me, and Bob likes bluegrass music.
Before we left Washington, we stopped at the
corner store to grab some fried bacon and I pointed Bigfoot out to Hubs; how he
has managed to miss the beast these past weeks we've stopped here is a mystery to me since it is B.I.G. enough to
be seen on BOTH sides of the building, coming or going … but to be fair to
Hubs, his mind has been pretty occupied lately with more important things than noticing
Sasquatch hovering overhead:
Bigfoot sighting at Baker's Corner; LOL. Its eyes glow red in the dark evenings.
Crossing the Rainer Bridge that spans the Columbia
River and touching down in Oregon, we traveled along the river passing through
the various small towns this side of Astoria. Coming into Clatskanie I happened
to glace to the left and noticed a fancy turret poking up through the foliage high
above town, so knowing we had enough time to make a short detour, I asked Hibs
to “drive up that hill there and let me take a peek at that fancy house up
there”. I love old houses and antiquated building designs. He obliged and it
was a treat ;-)
Clatskanie Castle. Cool.
Castle's front entrance.
The Castle is Clatskanie's Senior Citizen abode! Wow - those seniors are treated like royalty over there...
Most Seniors would not be able to use these regal steps, but it's another nice focal point.
The reunion at Cliff’s was great – like it
always is; we love Cliff, Hub’s Uncle, and yesterday was his 80th
BD, though you’d never know it because he does not look 80 and he does not act
like an old man. We had wondered how he would do after Sharon died of cancer a
couple years ago; but new wife, Karen, is a wonderful hostess and good for him.
Karen is also personable and her kids/grandkids are a good addition to the family
also – very friendly and interested in our family as a whole. It is a good
match :-D
On our way home, Hubs took the Megler-Astoria
Bridge option because of all the bicyclists on the road back the way we came:
they had not yet hit the road enforce when we left earlier in the day, but by 4
p.m., it would have been a nightmare to deal with the hordes of uneducated and
dangerously tired bicyclists that make their annual hell trip every year at
this time. I HATE the Megler-Astoria Bridge, but even I realized the wisdom of
choosing that option. While high in the sky and hardly daring to breathe while
suspended in the air as yet still MORE WORK as being done on that treacherous bridge,
I glanced off to my right – trying not to glance doooooooooooooooooooown at the
water – and noticed that the harbor was chock-full of ships; the ships anchored
practically under the bridge and stretched into the faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar distance,
making the last one a mere but unmistakable pinprick of ship color:
Ships in Astoria's harbor waters. In the 42 years we've traveled this way, we've never seen this many ships anchored in these waters.
I counted ELEVEN ships waiting to be loaded ... or unloaded.
Before heading home, we turned left at the
end of the Megler-Astoria Bridge and made another detour to Longbeach, where I bought several colorful sea shells and 1 dusty blue starfish to add to my bathroom décor …
We got home around 7 p.m. tired from a long
day, but relaxed and cheered by the lazy day and warmed by the comfortable
warmth we always feel at Cliff’s.
