Wednesday, September 16th
Here’s what our house looked like in 2017 when we moved in. We didn’t think much of the color. The paint was in good condition though, so we couldn’t justify redoing it.
We soon changed the trim color to white, which helped a little. By the summer of 2026, the whole house was faded and starting to peel.
We called upon Equilibrium Painters for assistance. Prep work started today; color goes on tomorrow.
Thursday, September 17th
We went down to Eugene today and had lunch with our friend S. Just last week, she had her house painted. We commiserated with her about what it’s like to have all your windows covered with plastic.
Friday, September 18th
The painters have been busy. The base color is done already. Trim and accent colors will have to wait for next week. Luckily, the weather forecast is good.
Monday, September 21st
We learned today that E’s cousin Ross has passed away. It’s a sad moment, but given his condition, it comes as a release. E is glad to have had a visit with him last month.
Tuesday, September 22nd
We went back to Eugene today, this time to take our EV6 in for some recall fixes. The Kia dealership is one of six car dealers located out near Valley River Center. While they worked on the car, we walked up Goodpasture Island Road a few hundred yards and went walking in Delta Ponds Park. It was a pleasant surprise to find a lovely piece of nature hidden away so close to a highway and a shopping center.
As for the car, the technicians were only able to finish part of the needed upgrades. They had to order a part for the fourth one. Sigh. There was also a strange vibe among the service reps, an undercurrent of hostility as if they were in the midst of some bitter internecine struggle, one that required all their energies and left little time for such mundane matters as actually helping people with their cars . We’ve dealt with three different Kia dealerships now; none have impressed.
But the big news of the day was that we got back home just in time to celebrate the completion of the painting project! We’re happy now.
Wednesday, September 23rd
We went down to the OSU campus for a walking tour given by Dan Blanchard, the curator of the OSU Campus Arboretum. The 435-acre central campus is home to over 65,000 individual trees and shrubs. Dan didn’t show us all of them, but we did see plenty. Some were familiar, like the trees that form the lower campus Elm Walk, which dates from 1906.
But he also showed us dozens of lesser known plants, that have been brought to OSU from around the U.S. There were 14 of us on the tour and several sharp participants could identify many of them without Dan’s help. Here’s one that was a little tricky:
Kudos to anyone who recognizes it as a Silverleaf Oak, Quercus hypoleucoides, native to the Southwestern United States and Mexico. And yes, it does produce acorns, although we did not see any on this day.
Friday, September 25th
E went with her friend H to the Methodist church basement to see a Best Cellar Coffee House performance by Sharon and Dave Thormahlen, a harp and guitar duo. Besides going clubbing in the evening, E has been walking in the forest most days.
I would so love to go on that Arbor walk!! I can tell you most of the northeastern trees, and I have my handy dandy dendrology book from college, but we concentrated on what we would encounter here. The exception was several professors had gone to school in Moscow, Idaho and brought back some ginormous pine cones and other fruits and seeds from trees from there so we got a crash course in tree ID from them. Do i remember? only a very few, among them lodgepole pine which fascinated me.
E, so sorry for your loss of Ross. I am so glad you were able to visit with him, and I’m sure it gave him a lift to have you there!!
Love the new house color…it’s beautiful!!
Back to the tree thing…. I got a surprise package in the mail on Tuesday. it was a big package,….and it was packed FULL of acorns!!! Mind you I have tried to grow oaks here before. E’s brother J kindly sent me 20 acorns, but none, sadly, were viable. They were older, and dry. My son D brought me a baggie full from his yard in Connecticut last fall, but, again, they were brown and dried up. So, since he was visiting I asked him for more…and didn’t think twice when they didn’t materialize. When I called him in delight after receiving this forest-making FULL box, he said some were from his yard and some from work, since I had asked him for “green, heavy for their size” ones. and he wasn’t sure which color green I preferred. So I’m going to begin the oak experiment. Hopefully the fact they are from much warmer CT doesn’t matter, plus I don’t know the exact type of oak. Northern hardwood forests are Beech, Birch, and Maple…and I have tons of each. So, will oak grow here? Wish I had Mr. Dan Blanchard here to tell me. Of course, I COULD go ask one of the nursery or dendro professors at my college, but what would be the fun in that???
Anyhow…enjoy your forest colored house…it’s beautiful…and I hope your car gets fixed by the not so welcoming car fixers!! (my daughter had a kia, too..and had the same feeling!! must be a kia thing!)
I LOVE the new house color; it’s a beautiful shade of PLANT GREEN!! KUDOS!!!!