House Number 35

Well - the week has been a continuous stream of houses to drive by or visit. We think we are starting to get a handle on the market, and thought a couple of times that we might have found "the house".

The pictures below are from the one that so far has survived all of the cuts, but we are certainly not sure if we should look at more places or not.

Almost Free Lunch

We have discovered the new cornerstone for the baby-boomers in Bend - the Senior Center.



The best part, which I in particular intend to make the best of, is the $3.50 hot lunch! This is NOT a light snack but the full-meal-deal that is our birthright as old people!

National Lampoon Christmas - Bend Style

Well - it's been a sucky day, I won't get into the details as it involves the rental properties that we own up here. Suffice to say that it falls into the category of "you won't believe this".

So to lighten the mood: a view of Christmas Bend Style! Click on image for a better view!

Thanksgiving at the Boller's

Our hostess and her administrative assistant (Tinkerbell) met us at the door.


Prior to any festivity it is important to be properly groomed. Since Tinkerbell did not meet the minimum requirements a trim was in order.


After snacks the girls decided that a walk was needed - of course the guys opted for the football game.


Robert fires up the deep fryer.


Safety first - the master starts the process.



The final product and the table of plenty.



After dinner we played a game of Monopoly (the contractor version) and Robert committed the social error of winning over his guests! It's just a good thing that Mr. Bill is such a gracious looser.

Our thanks to Robert and Diane for a great meal and their friendship! We always have a great time with them.

Day 4 - Lot #4

Well day 4 in Bend - cold crisp air with fog hanging over until noon - then beautiful blue sky with snow capped beauties! Ahhhhh!!!!
We set out to look at old neighborhoods that we admired on our last visit and investigate new ones. One that looked intriguing last time that had "plastic thatched roofs", a take on the Hobbits homes in Shire - pretty much was at a standstill, will probably not make it. However the roofs still looked good and interesting. I will have to go back and take pictures for a later post.
However, my dream lot "Lot #4" (quilt in the making called "Moon over #4") was still there and still a wonderful view.... and still way beyond our means! The photography is not that good, I didn't refocus and the mountains are a little blown out here, but image the view! That is Bachelor on the left and Sisters on the right!



Tomorrow is Turkey Day at the Boiler's - a relaxing day watching football and cooking. I am sure we will eat too much, relax too much - but we will enjoy a day with friends that we treasure. And to all reading this may you and your family and friends have a wonderful "Thankful" Day!

Tuesday - And the Confusion Continues

Well - again no picture, but there is news; but first background:

You may or may not know that we have friends here, Robert and Diane, that we own condo property with. When we planned this trip both of the units that we own with them where rented for the remainder of the year so we are staying in a unit that they own on their own that they are trying to sell.

Well - (yeah I say that TOO much), being the entrepreneurs that we are, we had the opportunity to sub-lease the unit today for three months, now we have no place to stay after the 27Th but we are going to make a pot of money on the deal (but don't tell them!).

More later...

PS - Jennifer, don't worry we have a sleeping bag for you and there are few reservations at the park this time of year!

Monday - Let it Snow

Saw our first snow today, OK there wasn't much of it but it was exciting anyway. The sky turned dark and ugly and the next thing - white stuff. Fortunately at the time we where about to enter Target to buy some stuff and realized we needed a better window scraper for the car than what we had.

Met with a mortgage broker today to talk about a loan and where pleasantly surprised with the information we received. Need to talk more detail but it all sounds promising.

No pictures - maybe some tomorrow?

Oregon or Bust (Saturday Redux)

A stop in Twin Falls for breakfast on Saturday was a learning experience. While checking out Snake River, we discovered that this bridge is the only legal "free base" jumping bridge in the US! And the mound of dirt here is the the remains of Evel Knievel's attempted jump over Snake River in the 70's? Did he make it? Can't remember! Pretty impressive area.






Oregon was a welcome site! Rolling hills as we made our way across on the east side of the state, highway 20 - not much traffic, and very few houses. Cattle every now and then and a few sheep, mostly sage brush and velvet covered foot hills. It wasn't until we started to descend into Bend that we realized we had been on a plateau - we thought it was just flat, like parts of western KS and Colorado!






Oregon has some strange trees, they bear some unusual fruits! (It must be an Oregon thing, Bend has one too)

We understand that this is the extremly rare Oregon Shoe Tree!




Of course along the way, what should we find? A Quilt Shop! We had to stretch or legs! And purchase a couple of fat quarters! (Nice shop, lots of fabric!)



We arrived in the dark, but then it gets dark early up here - around 3:30 you would swear it is time to start dinner - so we are still adjusting and have enjoyed the socked in grey day with drizzle all day long - felt like snow a couple of times, so we are hopeful for a snowy Thanksgiving.
All for now, we will add photos later this week as we putz around town!

In BEND!

We have arrived! Exhausted! More on today's journey tomorrow! Going to bed - zzzzzzzz......

Waking Up in Idaho

Well - we made it to Twin Falls Idaho last night. About 100 miles (?) from Boise. Helen is still feeling like >>> so we are thinking of finding a clinic for her this AM.

Hit rain for the first time last night - not good for driving as both of us have begun to have a hard time with depth perception at night. Is that an OLD thing?

Anyway, we have seen some great scenery, and a raft of wildlife - which has also added to the white-knuckle syndrome when driving at night. Some examples:



Helen tells me that we have loyal followers of this BLOG that are complaining that we are not posting enough. My apologies to those followers (all 1 of them?) and will try to do better - but don't hold your breath!

Wheatland Wyoming

Laramie River Power Station

was the largest project that I worked on during the electrical engineer part of my career at B&McD. It was over a Billion dollars in construction costs in the 70s - I don't know what that is in 2007 dollars but it still must rank in the top 5 projects the company ever designed.

In many ways it was the high point of my career and it was a pleasure taking some time out to see it again.

Travel Day 2 - If It's Thursday it must be Colorado or Wyoming or...

Since we would like to prove that we are actually on the move I offer up these photos at to track our "stately" progress.

Goodland KS and the Magic Trashcan

Note: These photos have NOT been approved by the subjects!

Well we arrived at Annette and Jerry’s about 6PM Goodland time last night. They have done some remodeling to open up the kitchen and it looks great! Their two dogs where happy to see us, but Jerry pointed out that they are happy to see everyone so not to take it personally.

The evening was highlighted by good conversation an excellent meal and the Magic Trashcan – every time you walk near it the top opens! OK this may not seem all that cool but retirees get their entertainment wherever they can get it!

Sleeping under the stars is of course always the highlight! Thank You Stephanie for your room and your glow in the dark stars!!!!!

On the Road - day 1

Well it's 6:30 AM and we are NOT on the road yet, but getting there... more later!

T - 1 Hank Attack

Well, Helen started feeling poorly last night. She is blaming it on Hank, Susan's baby (I believe this is tongue-in-cheek) - they where at the quilt show over the weekend and Helen held Hank for an extended period. Is Susan herself possibly a carrier? Having three kids (all boys!) there is always one of them sick - kudos to her for keeping a positive frame of reference, also whipping Helen's butt into shape every weekday morning. (Susan acts as the physical trainer for Helen and Suzanne - they start at 6 am on most weekdays.)

As far as preparation for the trip - the pile of junk we are taking has grown to the point that we may need a mini-van to take it all along. I've talked Helen into taking just one sewing machine and limited the sewing materials to 5 medium size boxes. She will have to hit the Columbia Sportswear outlet in Bend for clothing as she opted to fill her suitcase with thread and other essentials. Thankfully there was room for undergarments...

T - 3 New BLOG Look!

As a part of her "anti-boring" campaign, Helen has revamped the look of the BLOG. Thanks to her for helping keep the gray out of my life!

Picture is an action photo of her considering the change to be made!

T - 4 John/Sophie/Devin Visit

J S & D came over for dinner last night. We burned a few ribs and Devin had the opportunity to use some of his endless energy to entertain us - cute kid!






Cleanup was easy - those guys know how to do dishes. Note that John is letting us know that all of our efforts where most excellent by flashing us the "we're No. 1" sign!

T - 4 The Quilt Show

You probably won't be surprised to hear that our life, or at least Helen's, revolves around artistic endeavors - esp. quilting. The last two days there has been a quilt show where Helen submitted two of my grandmother's (Chartrand) quilts. The one shown in the picture has biblical scenes embroidered in each of the blocks.

The quilt was in the closet at Uncle Bob's and he thought that Helen would appreciate having it. He remembers working on the quilt as a child so it probably was made in the 30s. Thanks to him for passing it on to us - it's a great remembrance of Grandma.

T - 5 days

Well - our house sitter was here last night to get a more "detailed" overview of the place and our expectations. She is looking forward to having her own space for a couple of months and will also use the time to regroup on finding a new job - sounds like she got a raw deal at her last place.

Anyway, it's nice to know that someone will be looking after the place during our time away.

T - 6 days

Well - it's 6 days until the "great road trip"! The details of being gone for an extended period of time are making us even more crazy than usual. The oak trees are starting the process of shedding the zillions of leaves - and clogging the gutters on the house. Clogged gutters = overflowing gutters, overflowing gutters means potential water in the basement, so part of Helion's tasks will be working on getting someone lined out to clean out the gutters every couple of weeks - not something that our house sitter can do.

Today:

• We head for Costco to load up on drugs for the trip - antihistamines, antacid, maybe some peanut M&Ms!
• I will attempt to move my ITunes library from the tower of power to the laptop that will be our lifeline for the trip.
• We will be looking for white elephant presents for the party we will be going to in Bend OR in December - our friends there belong to a Harley bike club.
  

Sorry - that last stuff looked a bit much like a Powerpoint presentation, apparently reverted to business mode for a moment!

More later (tomorrow?)....