Daisies, River Forks Park, Roseburg, Oregon 2011

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Tomorrow is IT...


We're finally back in Roseburg this afternoon, after spending most of July at my mother's. Bless her for putting up with us..!! We went up the mountain to see the house when we arrived, but the carpet cleaners were busily working away, so we'll just have to wait until tomorrow--the official "We Actually Own This House" day. All the furniture is being delivered tomorrow, and the phone and internet are being installed (or whatever word works for getting the services done). Unfortunately, everyone is coming at about the same time...!! Should be total chaos and confusion, but at the end of the day, we'll be pretty much set up. I just wish it wasn't so bloody hot. Roseburg isn't usually this scorching, and I was really looking forward to getting out of the heat of Grants Pass...but apparently that's not going to happen anytime soon.

I'll be off-line now until sometime tomorrow night--if all goes well. I will take many photos tomorrow, and depending on how the day goes, I may wait until Saturday to post again. Saturday is just the Dish guy and Sears with the washer/dryer. So, look for me on the other side of the turmoil. 

Unless I fall asleep in my new bed and don't wake up until Monday...

Monday, July 26, 2010

Whirlwind Trip to California

We drove to California this morning to see the Redwood Forest. It was a spectacular drive, through winding mountain roads alongside beautiful rivers. There wasn't much traffic so we could meander at our own speed most of the time. Unfortunately the biggest Redwoods are further down the coast--too far to do in a day--so we just went to the northern-most tip of the National Park to see the "baby" trees.  Because the trees are so close to the coast, there was lots of fog at the treetops.  Also, they are soooo tall, they are literally in the clouds.

This is one of those baby trees. Mom and Alan standing at the base.  If you scroll quickly, you'll get the whole picture, though I wasn't exactly dead-on with stitching the six photos together.  Whatever.  You'll get the drift.
Some random photos
It's nearly impossible to describe how big these "babies" are. In the photo below, can you spot the man..?? That should give you an idea.  (If you can't find him, he's on the right, wearing blue jeans and a black shirt.  Click on the photo to get the larger view).
Alan, between three mammoth trees.  It was very dark beneath them, so this photo isn't great.  Still.  Look at the girth of the tree Alan is standing in front of.
After leaving the forest, we drove along the coast for 20 miles or so. It was chilly and damp, just like a Summer in Scotland. I had to wear my sweatshirt and jeans. Ahhhh, heaven, after so many weeks of scorching heat in Grants Pass, though the coastal fog didn't add much to my photos.
We left the refreshing coolness behind and retraced our steps into the mountains and back to Oregon. We stopped along the Smith River where I hung over the ravine to get these shots. The water was absolutely breathtaking: clear and clean, in various shades of green.
It was a wonderful day, though we will have to go back at some point and continue the journey south into the heart of the Redwood National Forest...so we can see the "grown up" trees.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Musings and Digressions

I was sitting at the laptop this morning, bleary-eyed and tired as I drank my coffee--thanks to Ozzy getting me up too early for his walk-about (and how glad I'll be to get into the new house where I can just let him out into the backyard first thing in the morning instead of getting dressed and walking him around Mom's neighborhood.) 

Anyway, digressing here.  So, I'm sitting at the laptop, looking at the images on Bing, when this astounding photo comes up.  I nearly dropped my coffee as I gasped to Alan: "OMG, look..!!  We've been there..!!"

Now, to digress again:  We had some choices before coming to America.  Mine were to either stay in Scotland, or move to southern Italy.  Alan wanted America.  We toyed with staying in Scotland but moving to a different area, though I was very clear my preference was Italy.  The deciding factor ended up being the exchange rate between pound sterling and the euro.  Not good.  I frankly didn't care and knew we could find a reasonable place somewhere along the Amalfi Coast, though in the mountains rather than along the sea.  Still, the finances took the day and lo and behold, after many months of planning, here we are...soon to be living in Roseburg, Oregon.

Back to this morning.  Here's the image that filled my eyes and my brain this morning as I choked on my coffee.  For a jaw-dropping view, click on the photo and you'll understand why I wanted to live along this amazing coast.
Image courtesy of Bing.com

Atrani, Italy. My second choice of "Please, please, I want to live here" after Ravello, my first choice and a village further down the coast. We drove through Atrani on our travels down the Amalfi Coast, though didn't have this most spectacular aerial view since we were on the ground in a car hurling along the treacherous road, dodging scooters, peds, cars and buses.

I guess what I'm musing on today is: Will the house in the clouds be a worthy substitute for Italy..?? For Scotland..?? Should I work harder on the Zen of "living in the moment" and stop yearning for what isn't..?? What if the moment you're living isn't the moment you want to live in..?? Is this all too bloody esoteric for a Saturday afternoon..?? Has my brain melted into a blob of Jell-o inside my head from the scorching 104* heat today..??

Or maybe it just boils down to this: We've been on the road for over six weeks now and I just need to be in my own place, sleep in my own bed, stop living out of a suitcase and get back to my life. In America. Not Italy. Sigh.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Miguel's

We drove down to Shady Cove today to find Miguel's, the Mexican restaurant. It was a lovely 30-mile drive with lots of mountains in the distance and many large, rambling cattle and horse ranches. We followed the Rogue River for most of the drive; a beautiful, white-water river, though I couldn't take any photos of the rapids or waterfalls as I was driving and there was nowhere to pull off the narrow road.
 
Miguel's was right on the Rogue, with at least three outside patio areas.

Because it was in the mid-90s today, we decided to eat on the patio with the covered deck. The river is right below the railing, though the camera didn't pick up the water very well in this photo.  Alan and Mom, enjoying those Margaritas.

It was a wonderful Mexican restaurant, with lots of atmosphere, good music, great waiters, delicious Margaritas and ice-cold Coronas--since I was the designated driver, I only got to have the one Corona, boo hoo. Alan had a steak Fajita, which he said was absolutely perfect. I ordered the Chimichanga, with just-made guacamole and sour cream...oh yum, yum. Mom had a Tostada but said the Margaritas were the best thing on the menu. We spent a great couple of hours watching people rafting by on the river, enjoying the food and the drinks, and all in all, spending a very pleasant afternoon in "sunny Mexico."

Thursday, July 22, 2010

New Look

Here's the new, and hopefully improved, blog. Until I settle on a specific main photo, I think I will just follow the theme of my blog (meandering), and randomly change the picture as the mood strikes me. We are going on a day trip Monday to the Redwood Forest and I will surely want those majestic trees posted. In the Fall, Alan and I will head off to Crater Lake as well--after tourist season--so between trees, lakes, and our new house, stay tuned for some brilliant photos.

Besides the Redwoods, we are also going to take a little jaunt to this place called Shady Cove (about 20-25 miles from Grants Pass), where we have heard there is the best Mexican restaurant this side of the Rio Grande.

Oh, and here's a very cool thing.  Yesterday we stopped at this great antique store/trading post and Alan found me this adorable creature. It's handcarved from wood (duh), and I just love it.  It stands about 11" tall, and is that a great face, or what..??
This morning I finished all the final prep for moving: calling the water, garbage and electrical services, so now it's just a matter of waiting.  My least favorite thing to do.  Still, if we can do the Redwood drive and the Mexican drive, maybe the week will just fly by.  Right..??

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Making Progress...

We have nearly everything lined up for next Friday (July 30th) when we move into the new house. It's been nothing short of complicated and exhausting dealing with all the details, delivery schedules, and fine tuning, but I think we're as organized as we possibly can be, considering how much is now out of our control and in the hands of others. Yesterday we signed the papers, paid the money, and now own our house in the clouds.

I'm still feeling very surreal about things--like any day now the holiday will be over and we'll be getting back on that jet plane to come home. I'm going to have to change the format of my blog, too, because every time I sign in to post something, I'm looking at this:

The most glorious view of Edinburgh, the Firth of Forth, Arthur's Seat and the Salisbury Crags, taken from Inchcolm Abbey last year. It kills me.  

Then there are the moments:  The other day all I wanted was to go to Ocean Terminal and have a coffee at Costa and a slice of their luscious Lemon cake. It was painful. I really miss everything, and everybody. (Except for the airplanes flying over the house, of course.)

So, one of these days, very soon, be prepared for a totally new look on the blog. It will go along with the totally new life. The totally new life I will have to believe is real one of these days.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Short Ketchup...

See..?? Even in this wretched heat, I can still joke.  Or maybe not..?? 

It's still in the high 90s here in Grants Pass at my mother's, and with our three journeys to Medford this week--where the temps have been even higher--I am tired, too hot, and living for the day we get into the new house and can settle down.

Our labors (and sweat) however, have paid off, so even if my brain has fried and my body melted, we have completely furnished the new house, which is a small miracle in itself.  We only have a few items left to find, like lamps and a washer & dryer set, but overall, on July 30th when we get the house, we will be good to go.  I've even scheduled the television, phone and internet to arrive on the same day, so it will be a flurry of activity on the mountain at the end of this month.  Once we get everything in place, I will post photos of our new digs. 

Now, all I have to worry about is that I won't be so worn to the nub I can't appreciate how far we have come in just six weeks.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Saturday Miscellany

I'm back on line...and without having to go to the Internet Laundromat.  We realized yesterday that since I would have to get a router for my wireless laptop when we moved into the house, there was no reason not to purchase it now.  Alan set it up for me last night and we're good to go.  Yippee...

It's a blazing hot day in Grants Pass today...92* and climbing. We took Ozzy down the road from Mom's to a lovely park and just let him ramble in the shade and grass.  This park is just a 3-minute drive from my mother's house, though too long to walk in this heat, plus there are no sidewalks so we would have to bake Ozzy's little feet on the pavement.  And yes, I will confess: we have air conditioning in the car.  Shut up.  I don't care.  I've spent 10 years in Scotland and can't adjust to this heat in just a matter of days.

Schroeder Park...
The Rogue River...
I mentioned the other day that Alan and I bought Mom a garden bench for her birthday.  I took a photo of it, then forgot to post it.  It's the cutest thing.
We're going shopping for furniture next week as the people selling us the house have found their own to move into, and we may (crossed fingers) be able to get into our new house sooner than planned.  If we don't hurry up and get motivated, we'll be sleeping on the floor before we know it..!!  We heard from the shippers that our belongings won't even arrive in America until the 18th of August, then will have to survive a customs inspection before the container is trucked up to Roseburg.  Which means we might not have our stuff until September.  That's a far cry from the 6-8 weeks we were told.  Oh well, at least I'll be able to hang up my clothes in the closet and stop living out of a suitcase.  

Ozzy will be so pleased when those cases are put away.  He might just believe we have stopped moving and are settling down.  Maybe I'll believe it too...

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

No Bears...Just Bliss

What an amazing cabin we found in the woods. Honestly, it was the most peaceful, serene place we could have possibly wished for...and then some. I took tons of photos, so be prepared to nod off at some point.

The first bunch of photos are of the drive from Grants Pass to the cabin. This is the "real Oregon" as we used to say in my younger days.
Then we began climbing into the mountains, which took about 45 minutes, before we got to Remote, and the cabin.  


The photos are self-explanatory, so I'll just post them before I get into some other photos of the scenery around the cabin.
 And now for the inside...we had no cell phone service, or internet access, though we had a really good HD satellite TV.
The back deck...
And the river view from the back deck...
The front porch...
The view from the front porch...
Random photos, taken over the three days.

The bed, at night.  And this was THE most comfortable bed I have ever slept in.  I wanted to buy this bed and take it away with us...
Morning coffee never tasted so good...
The Coquille River...at our doorstep...
Miscellaneous shots that caught my eye while walking Ozzy...
The kitschy lamps in the cabin...which were hilarious and wonderful.  The "wilderness" was definitely the theme, from the quilt, to the rugs, to these...
Sunday...having breakfast on the back deck, the sound of the river, and birds.  I looked up and saw this totally amazing sight.  Not wanting to disturb these two, I didn't get closer to them, but instead used my Macro lens.  It's hard to remain steady with a Macro, so the red on their heads looks a bit blurry.  Still.  How cool is it to see a pair of Woodpeckers over breakfast...??
With much regret, we left our little cabin and returned to Roseburg this afternoon.  It was a perfect mid-70s in the mountains, and a blistering 85* in Roseburg.  Ugh.  Ozzy and I want to go back.  Alan, for some reason, revels in the heat.  Go figure.

We met with Lu, our realtor, at the house, with the inspector at 3:00pm, and were relieved to find there is virtually nothing wrong with the house.  I was waiting for this inspection before I could believe the house was truly going to be ours.  Alan and I sat in the living room, amazed as always at the stunning views.  Ozzy conked out on the couch and acted like he'd lived there for years.

Tomorrow we head back down to Grants Pass to stay with my mother for a bit...where the temps are to be in the high 90s and low 100s.  Too hot for me.  Good grief.  I've just spent 10 years in Scotland, waiting for a decent Summer...!!  Because Mom doesn't have wireless for my laptop, I found an internet cafe in GP, though it's across town from her place.  This means my postings will probably be irregular for a few weeks.  Plus, the internet cafe is in a laundromat.  Seriously.  I have yet to try it out, though in the heat, I can't imagine sitting in a laundromat trying to write.  We'll see how it goes.

And yes, I already miss the cabin.  Sigh.