Another clear, crisp day. Nice weather for a drive up to Vancouver (Washington) to have Thanksgiving dinner with AD and AS-C. We enjoyed it immensely. The cranberries were especially delicious, this despite the fact that they were actually a mixture of blueberries, blackberries and boysenberries. Yum. After dinner–and before pie–we had a nice walk through a wetland preserve just a couple of blocks away. For dessert, there were two pies imported from Corvallis, one blackberry and one pecan. We all had to try a little of each. November 24 also happens to be AD’s birthday, so he had to tolerate candles on his. M&E later adjourned to a motel to recover.
Friday, November 25, 2022
After spending the night at a comfortably mediocre Comfort Inn, we went out to do some shopping at the Vancouver Mall. It had been twenty years or so since we last visited a mall on Black Friday, so it was time to update. Who knew what we might find? Is this the end of days for bricks and mortar? Maybe or maybe not. The mall was bustling. It wasn’t as crazy busy as we remember from the halcyon days of our youth; but still, there was a lot of commerce going on. And what a mix of stores! A few were familiar, like Macy’s, Penney’s, and Victoria’s Secret. But many were pretty much mysteries to us, shops like Tilly’s, Torrid, Claire’s and Zumiez. The interesting thing was how much the mall is oriented toward young people–not just young compared to us, but truly young like twenty-somethings, teens and preteens. At Zumiez, for example, you can buy Mercer 55mm 99a Skateboard Wheels and RIPNDIP Lord Nermal Purple Lightning Crew Socks. If you find either of those on someone’s wishlist, you know where to go.
Also, the mall was interesting for what it didn’t have: no Apple store, no Tesla showroom, no Anne Taylor, no Lululemon or Williams-Sonoma, none of that. Instead, we saw Maurice’s, Forever 21, Famous Footwear, a knife and sword shop called Highlander and a cowboyish place called Boots and Wear. There are also LOTS of beauty and cosmetics shops, including three or four hair salons, two nail salons, three or four cosmetics outlets, two tattoo and piercing parlors, and two eyebrow threading places. There were two pop up clothing stores (Yea Dat and Cool Loots) plus two pretzel shops, a bubble tea place, a selfie studio and a COVID clinic. Also a branch of the Vancouver public library, a Golds Gym and at least a dozen eateries, including Chick-fil-A, Outback and Five Guys.
So, you may ask, how did we take advantage of this vast selection of goods, services and calories? Well, we bought a couple of things at Macy’s. What with the sales and all, our total there came to around ten dollars. Then E blew another ten on a new chain for her purple amulet. And that was it. What a fantastically frugal duo! If we had had more time, we might have spent more. But we had an urgent appointment–an offer of a tour of the Andees’ new food truck and a free sample. We’ll tell that story in pictures…
Newly made S’mores coming out of the conveyor oven at Nachos for Dessert. After heating, the fried wontons and homemade marshmallows are finished with Hershey’s syrup.
Saturday, November 26, 2022
After a rainy Friday, we’re back to sunshine. M raked leaves in the morning and then, in the afternoon when things were more dried out, he mowed the lawn. (Lawn mowing in late November? Gadzooks.) We went for a walk up the big hill in our neighborhood and generally tried to wind down from having eaten too much in the last few days. In fact we had a modest supper–followed by two kinds of pie. Best to wind down gradually.
Sunday, November 27, 2022
We didn’t do much of anything today, just rested up for the upcoming week, which should be eventful. The bathroom project is nearing the finish. Check out the shower. Pretty nifty, eh?
Okay, so it’s not quite done. But actually, this is progress.
Monday, November 28, 2022
Fun stuff this morning. We made our annual visit to the Clothes Tree to pick out something or other that E might want for Christmas. No photos of that, it’s a surprise.
The bathroom redo continues. The new floor covering was installed today.
Today’s Quiz
1. What type of floor covering is this?
A. Vinyl B. Linoleum C. Marmoleum D. Paramecium
2. Why do you think M and E chose this option?
A. It is an environmentally friendly product and does not off-gas.
B. It was the most economical.
C. It was recommended by their design consultants.
D. They wanted the flexibility of having thousands of cilia.
Monday, November 14
The vanity was installed today. Drawer pulls and countertop will come later.
Mahogany cabinetry by Reid Larsen of Shelter Woodworking.
Wednesday, November 16
We’ve been having beautiful fall weather this week. It’s been in the 20’s at night, but sunny and up into the 50’s in the afternoon. Today we took an afternoon walk in a part of the Finley National Refuge, near the town of Peoria. The blue line in the map below shows roughly the route of our walk. The last part of the walk is a wide path atop an old dike.
Fall on Lake Creek bayou
This video, taken from a spot near the north end of the dike, shows the current in the main channel of the Willamette and the stillness of a backwater.Approaching the south end of the dike on our way back and listening to the sounds of fall.
On our way back we spotted a skunk nosing around in the middle of a bare field, which seemed a little strange on such a bright afternoon. Also, on a power line that crossed the field, we noticed a lot of these:
What are they?
Friday, November 18
In the morning we went up to Salem to sign up for TSA PreCheck. Beautiful day for a drive. Our final destination turned out to be a booth set up inside a Staples store next to the office furniture. The tiny booth was jammed with equipment: a fingerprint scanner, two screens, a photo backdrop, a high mounted camera and, of course, a credit card reader. Somewhere amongst it all, there was also a human, an efficient young fellow who had his routine down pat. The whole thing took maybe four minutes per person. It was a big Staples store and except for a steady stream of trusted traveller wannabes, it was mostly deserted. Kind of a strange scene.
As we came out of Staples, we remembered that there was a Panera nearby. And we needed a bear claw or something.
Saturday, November 19
In the morning we toured the site of the proposed Oak Creek Preserve, a 144 acre tract of farmland and oak forest just west of Corvallis. The tour was led by the head of the Greenbelt Land Trust, a local non-profit that was founded some 30 years ago by a group of visionaries who were concerned that encroaching development would eventually destroy the natural areas surrounding the city. Their vision was to be able to preserve enough land around the city to form a permanent band of green areas, hence the name “Greenbelt.”
The north edge of Corvallis borders the OSU Research Forest, so a wide green ‘belt” has long existed there. The local GLT began its work focused on the west side of the city. Along with various partners, they have already succeeded in preserving many hundreds of acres and have built and maintained multi-use access trails throughout the area. The area in red on the map below shows how the planned Oak Creek Preserve will complete what GLT calls a “corridor of trails and habitats.”
As their website puts it: With the purchase of this 144 acre property, we have a rare chance to acquire a final missing puzzle piece in the long-envisioned corridor of trails and habitats. We need your help to fund the acquisition and long term stewardship of this iconic site.
The next photo shows a portion of the tract as it looks now. The field in the lower left has had many agricultural uses over the last 150 years. Most recently, it has been used for grass seed production. The oak forest on the hillside above the field seems to have been relatively undisturbed, at least for the last 70-100 years.
The area that has been a grass seed field will be managed as wetland prairie. There are plans to create vernal pools and to build a boardwalk and an observation blind.
This tour took place as part of a fundraising campaign to take advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity. Greenbelt has had its eyes on this site for many years, but it seemed an impossible dream because the landowner had signed a purchase option agreement with a developer. As it happened, however, the developer was not able to pull together the needed resources. Soon after that option expired, GLT was able to secure a purchase option of its own and expects to close on the property in the spring of 2023.
The tour was inspiring, both because of the beautiful views and natural surroundings and also because of the energy and idealism of the Greenbelt staff. They quite literally walked the walk while they were talking the talk. The more we think about it, the more we are convinced that donating to this project is a very positive investment in the future.
We went a few miles out of town and walked again in the gallery forest near where the Luckiamute and the Santiam join the Willamette. Here are some sights along the trail.
There’s not much fall color here in the native forest, but the photographers come out anyway…
Good place for cottonwoods.
Saturday, October 29
We went to a birthday dinner for our longtime friends J and M. They served Thai food, catered by a family-owned restaurant here in town. When the restaurant owners first came to Corvallis, two of the younger generation enrolled in English classes from us at OSU. We’ve always felt a connection with the place and of course by now our students are the ones running things.
It was a lovely occasion, with a nice group if people, some of whom we don’t see often. One special treat was a chance to talk to our old colleague S whom we hadn’t seen for a decade or two.
Sunday, October 30,
The process of selling M’s Porsche is off to a rip-roaring start. The first response came in only seconds after the ad went live. Here it is, in its entirety:
sophiejones sophiejones
Hiya Would you mind giving me your #? Please include the link to your post! Thanks.
M read this message and then re-read it. As a communication regarding the possible purchase of a car, it doesn’t work very well. It’s friendly and polite but doesn’t actually make sense, and its instant appearance strongly suggests that it was sent by a bot. On the other hand, it almost works as a poem. But never mind that. M moved sophiejones to the trash.
A few days later, he received a more serious communication, this time from one Douglas C Cole:
Hi, I’ve been working really long weeks at work. So I won’t be able to meet with you for viewing the car, I believe you that is in good condition. I’ll proceed in issuing a Bank Certified Check, When you receive the payment and confirm it cleared, I will have the movers to come for the pick up at your location. So get back to me with the details below asap.
Full Name:
Address:
City: State: Zip:
Your cell Phone Number:
Last Asking Price:
As soon as this is provided, payment will to sent overnight to you and I will let you know once it’s mailed out with a tracking number sent. I will also add an additional $300 for holding it for me till the Check gets to you in the next 2 Business Days. Also delete the posting that it has been sold to me.
M trashed this message too, throwing away the chance for an extra $300! But why? Doesn’t he know that capitalizing the words ‘check’ and ‘days’ in the same sentence is a secret internet code that guarantees that the sender is trustworthy? Apparently not. Instead, he chose to heed those silly warnings about fake check scams. Sigh.
Halloween Monday, October 31, 2022
A hectic day. In the morning there was consultation regarding the bathroom project and also grocery shopping to be done. Then after lunch M drove to a town 60 miles away to sell the Porsche, only to find that the offer that had drawn him there was “a mistake” and that the dealer’s real offer was considerably lower. “Mistakes have certainly been made,” thought M to himself as he drove away. “I know I made one.”
E, meanwhile, had been on her way to give M a ride home if the deal had gone well. On her way she stopped at a mall in Eugene where she found a couple of needed items that she hadn’t been able to get in Corvallis. So that was good. And fortunately she was still at the mall when M called to say that he wouldn’t need fetching after all.
We both got home in time to have a dinner of walnut loaf and mashed potatoes (yes!) and also to make our modest preparations to receive Halloween visitors. After setting out our lanterns and our buzzy little monster thing, we had to decide which of our two types of candy to give away first. That was important because we were both interested in which candy would likely be left over for us. As it happened, we had fewer trick or treaters than last year, only seven or eight groups this time. There was plenty of candy left for both of us–way too much in fact.
As mentioned, our decorations were modest. But our neighbor across the street loves to decorate. Here’s what her place looked like.
It doesn’t show in this picture, but trust us, there’s a skeleton lurking behind the bush on the right.
Tuesday, November 1, 2022
Today started off fairly normally. E did a Zoom exercise class while M went out to get a haircut and have his dental prescription filled. Pretty mundane stuff. But then M’s phone lit up with a flurry of text messages. It seems that word had spread about some crazy man in Corvallis who was almost giving his car away for the sake of a quick sale. Two of the messages came from the dealership who had rejected the car on Monday. The gist was that they now believed that their original offer was spot on, so let’s talk. Tsk, Tsk. They had their chance. Two other messages contained offers that were a thousand dollars higher than what M had been prepared to accept. M took one of those and bye-bye Porsche.
Wednesday, November 2, 2022
E’s daughter came down to Corvallis today to take care of some details regarding her father’s funeral. She’s been working very hard to arrange things properly and in accordance with her vision and his wishes. There will be a religious service on Friday followed by a celebration of life on Saturday. We have been helping in small ways with arrangements for the latter. E also helped with the obituary.
E continues to be in contact with some of her and Roberto’s old Spanish friends. Their sympathy and the memories and love that they have shared have meant a great deal to her.
Thursday, November 3, 2022
A quiet day in Lake Wobegone. Well, it was rather active in funeral preparations, but quiet in the sense that there were no workmen of any sort on the premises. We’ve reached a sort of stopping point. The dumpster has been removed from our front yard, along with the old tub and toilet. The bathroom walls have been repaired and painted. Next comes floor covering; but that won’t happen for another week.
Friday, November 4, 2022
A service for Roberto was held today at St. Mary’s Church here in Corvallis. The Ceremony of the Word service was led by Deacon Chris, a former neighbor of ours. The service mixed readings, live music and prayers and was quite lovely. There was also a video eulogy recorded by Roberto’s old friend M in Spain. After the service we moved to the St Mary’s cemetery for a brief graveside ceremony.
Saint Mary’s is a hillside cemetery. Roberto’s gravesite is near the top…
…not too far from Becca
Saturday, November 5, 2022
Today the focus was on a celebration of life held at the Corvallis Community Center. The gathering began at 1:00 in the afternoon, but preparations began early. The Andees and several friends arrived at our place around 10:30 and began preparing paella according to Roberto’s recipe. They ended up making two paellas, one seafood and one vegetarian. The day was cloudy and damp, but the rain held off for quite a while. Which was good because A was determined to make paella outside on a charcoal grill, the way her father always did.
The cooks had plenty of helpers–including our friend J who came over to help with the vegetarian version. All went well, though we did hear a few cries of distress regarding Roberto’s recipe. Apparently it was a little vague on exact amounts and things. Of course that’s just the sort of recipe that many good cooks use.
Making paella on the patio.
The paellas were served at around 1:30 and there were lots of people there to try them. The older generation included long-time friends who knew Roberto from his very first years in Corvallis. Our friends H, J and R all spoke, as did E, who told the story of her first date with Roberto, during which he took her on a tour of Toledo, which included a visit to the insane asylum, where his grandfather had been Director and within whose walls Roberto’s father had been raised. Alas, there were no stories from Rich, Roberto’s long-time friend and neighbor, who passed a few years back. Too bad. Rich loved Roberto and also loved to tell Roberto stories.
Lots of A’s friends were there, including C and K, who were also Becca’s friends. D and N were there also, as were S and E, with whom A and Becca had shared many a ski outing back in the early days. Roberto’s step-daughter M came also. She is of course grown up now and has two children of her own. A was glad to see her.
Sometimes these events attract people that no one is glad to see. If you’re lucky, they leave early before your supply of insincerity runs dry.
A had prepared a wonderful slide show about her father’s life. She also played M and M’s eulogy again for this group. Besides paella, there were other Spanish foods, including chorizo and manchego cheese. The latter came in a variety of colors, something none of us had ever seen before. For dessert we had fried wonton s’mores from the Nachos for Dessert food truck, which has just begun operation. These feature A’s homemade marshmallows.
Sunday, November 6, 2022
We woke up to a cold, wet world. Despite the temperature (37°F) and the rain (intermittent showers) we wanted to take a walk in the forest. That meant digging out some winter coats and warmer boots. In the woods the maple leaves were turning brown, but the ferns–which had looked dry and droopy throughout October–were now standing tall and showing off their deep, glistening green. The rain was just playing around while we hiked. It wasn’t until we were almost back to the car that the rain started talking itself seriously. Ten minutes later, as we drove back to town, we noticed the the the drops were getting a little slushy. By the time we got home it was snowing.
Lots of snowflakes, but they didn’t stick much.
Monday, November 7, 2022
Continuous hard rain all day and still pretty cold. It appears that winter is really here. We heard that it was 70 degrees yesterday somewhere in upstate New York. That doesn’t seem very likely, does it? Our source is usually reliable, but…
M spent a certain amount of time outside today while he was over in Albany getting a shell put on his pickup. All through the day, no matter how hard or constant the rain, the weather app on his phone kept on calling it drizzle. Here’s what that “drizzle” looked like.
It was a three ring circus around here in the morning. J the builder, G the plumber and Z the plumber’s assistant were all here, plus A the cleaning lady. The bathtub was moved to the front lawn. E and A did windows; E did the outsides while A did the insides. M helped with screen removal and then escaped for a while by going off to Lowe’s to get landscape adhesive and stuff.
Loud pounding and power tool racket all day. Things went quiet around 5:30, but then the non-construction activities began. M made a quick dinner so we could finish eating before E’s Zoom yoga lesson that started at 6:00. Then, at 6:55 or so, E left for her in-person book club meeting just across town. She eventually found her way back home a little after 10:00. What a day.
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Our friend Rick passed away today, after having been in a coma for some time. Just three days ago, his beloved Dodgers were ignominiously eliminated in the first round of the MLB playoffs. We can’t help seeing a connection.
Friday, October 21, 2022
The weather is still unseasonably warm and dry. Our friend J came over today, bringing a son and a granddaughter along. E took them all out to pick apples. Six-year-old S didn’t pick many but got very involved in the sorting once the apples were down.
In other outdoor news, M transplanted an ailing dogwood to a less sunny location. If it survives the trauma, it might do better next year.
Inside, it was another day of pounding and grinding, but progress was made. Drains and feed lines are in place, meaning that all the under floor work is done.
Saturday, October 22, 2022
Andrea’s father died today. E is involved in notifying people of her generation, both here and in Spain. Here’s one of the photos that she included with her announcement.
Sunday, October 23, 2022
M is putting the Boxster up for sale on Autotrader. He knows that fall is not the best time to sell a convertible, but he trying anyway. The ad is here.
Cloudy and a little damp today. Good.
Monday, October 24, 2022
Rainy and cold today. Excellent.
We thank everyone for helping us to identify that yellow stuff that we found in the forest. It’s called Fuligo septica, slime mold, or dog’s vomit. It has a striking color, but it doesn’t seem to have any pretty names.
E continues to be involved with correspondence regarding Roberto’s passing and in helping A with arrangements.
Went for little hike today on the Baker Creek trail. We saw this on the ground. What is it? Anyone know?
Saturday, October 8, 2022
We spent the morning planning an overnight trip to Tumalo State Park, which is about three hours east of us. The idea is to drive over there tomorrow afternoon, camp for the night in a yurt, go for a hike along the Deshutes River in the morning, and then return home that afternoon. Our camp menu includes grilled cheese sandwiches and soup for dinner and pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast. We did a little bit of packing and preparation today–with more to follow tomorrow morning.
Then, in late afternoon we got some bad news about our good friend R. An email from his daughter informed us that he was in the hospital. He is in a coma and not expected to recover. R’s wife passed about a year ago; they had been together since college. After her death, R’s health declined. Yeah.
Sunday, October 9, 2022
A little discombobulated this morning. We finished packing for the trip, but also spent a couple of hours at the hospital. Very sad, yet meaningful to have a chance to say goodbye to R, whether he was listening or not.
Left town around two in the afternoon.
Monday, October 10, 2022
It’s often hard to sleep in a strange place, and M was out for a walk at 5:00 AM. Here’s how the yurt looked then.
A few hours later, things were brighter. Here’s a video from inside the yurt.
After breakfast we hiked alongside the river for about two miles, heading upstream toward the city of Bend. The trail continues into the city for those who want to go that far. But the first two miles might be the nicest. The river runs through a narrow canyon.
The biggest trees are ponderosa pine, but there are also junipers on the riverbanks along with thick stands of deciduous trees and bushes. This is high desert country, so riverbanks are the only places where you see this much green.
Sap flowing from a wounded ponderosa.
We weren’t the only travelers on the trail.
Here’s our lunch spot back at the campground. Forget any rumors you may have heard about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, single malt scotch and Dove chocolate. Here’s what we really ate: just plain water and a small bag of crumbs.
Thursday, October 13, 2022
Lots of warm clear days lately, great days to get outside and hike, work in the garden, or just snooze in the sun. We’re pretty sure that these nice days used to come in September, at least around here. The way we remember it, October days used to be much cooler, mostly cloudy and mostly damp. We worry that this change can’t be good. What is this doing to the flora and fauna? What will become of them? What will become of us? Is the world careening toward disaster? Maybe yes, maybe no, maybe something in between. Nothing like a nice fall day, though. Gotta go for that walk.
But speaking of worry and disruption, we found in our driveway this morning a potent and unmistakeable omen, one that points to hard times ahead. Change is coming; and at least for a month or two, it won’t be pleasant.
Friday, October 14, 2022
We went out to visit our friend L, who has five acres on the edge of the Coast Range, about twenty miles southwest of Corvallis. We took a walk on her newly created forest path, then toured the rest of the grounds.
The big room on the left is a screened in porch.
L likes to find things and arrange them. This “room” isn’t actually part of the house…
…nor is it part of the current century.
Saturday, October 15, 2022
Both of us did yard work today. We also cleaned up the patio and did a few other preparations for having people over. M went to the middle eastern grocery and got some Mehmet Efendi Turkish coffee. (He also got some Loacker Quadratini, but we don’t imagine that the guests will get any of those.)
Sunday, October 16, 2022
Time for the 19th Annual Greek Fest, which we celebrate by eating too much Greek food and then–just for balance–having a cup of Turkish coffee. Of course you can’t drink Turkish coffee at a Greek church party–that would be crazy. So after our group of friends finishes eating at the Fest, we buy some Greek(ish) desserts to take out and everyone comes over to our place.
Here’s where we bought our desserts……and here’s where we ate them.
Monday, October 17, 2022
Work continues on the bathroom project. You can see that there are still a few rough edges.
There’s not a lot of room in here, so we’re trying to save space wherever possible. One idea is to mount the bathtub vertically instead of horizontally. It seems like such an obvious idea; we’re wondering why no one ever thought of it before…
Meandering on the Way has been on hiatus for a while because we were busy doing some pretty boring stuff. Besides a bunch of medical and dental visits, we’ve been focused mostly on organizing the destruction and subsequent renewal of one of our bathrooms. Not that anything has actually happened yet–just a lot of planning and a lot of choosing this and selecting that from among roughly 700,000 options. Just for the record, here’s what we’re trying to make go away.
E has been giving this room the stink eye ever since we moved in.
Monday, October 3, 2022
E’s cousin L came to stay at the Oregon coast for a few days and also had time to give us a visit on her way back to Utah. We met her in Portland today, and brought her down to Corvallis. But first, we had a great dinner with the Andees. L and A hadn’t seen each other for a few decades, but they seemed to recognize each other right away and had a nice time catching up.
Here are L and her Dad along with a previous version of A.
We also got the latest news about the Andees’ food truck, which is scheduled to go live on Oct. 24. More on that another time. And speaking of food, we ate at a place called ParkStone Wood Kitchen + Taps. It’s in Cascade Station (near the Portland airport) and it’s wonderful.
Tuesday, October 4, 2022
Today we took L hiking at Beazell Memorial Forest. It was a lovely fall day, sunny and cool. We stopped for lunch about halfway through the South Loop.
Though both E and L are smiling, it’s pretty clear that neither of them is about to give up her grip on that bar of chocolate.It’s amazing how well the two cousins get along, especially considering that they have such totally different styles…
Wednesday, October 5, 2022
In the morning we had time for a quick turn about the boardwalk at the Jackson-Frazier wetland just at the edge of town. As we pulled into the parking lot, E thought she saw something moving in a nearby field. All M and L could see was a dark lump. Then the lump moved. But what was it? It wasn’t until we got out the binoculars and the zoom lenses that we could tell.
By noon it was time for L to catch the airport shuttle for the first leg of her journey home. Before leaving town, the shuttle passed through a part of the OSU campus. At that point L texted us and said that she had just got a glimpse of another Oregon creature: an OSU Food Service delivery robot. She didn’t have a chance to get a photo of that one, so we’ll include a picture from our friend J, who once happened upon a whole herd of the critters.
J took this photo in the early morning when the robots are mostly inactive. The one L saw was on the move.
It’s been a little bit fall-ish lately. It’s still in the 80’s in the afternoon and the earth is still parched, but the nights are chilly and noticeably long. Today we got weather alerts about high winds from the east and extreme fire danger in the Cascades.
But it was also the weekend of the 42nd annual All British Field Meet car show. So in the afternoon we packed up and drove north on I-5, through Portland almost to Washington. There are one or two fires burning out east and smoke was in the air. We stopped at a Best Western, where a generous benefactor had gifted M with a two-night stay. The motel was just half a mile from Portland International Raceway, where the car show was being held.
Saturday, September 10, 2022
We woke to dull smoky skies and an orange disc of a sun. We got to the show at about 10:30 and started meandering through the mass of cars parked in a large grass field. The cars were grouped by brand–or marque as the Brits say. Within each marque they were further sorted by year and model. There were about 800 cars in the show, mostly from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s but also at least one from every decade from the 1920’s to the 2020’s Restoring, maintaining, and driving older British cars is a labor of love, especially since some of them weren’t all that reliable to begin with. Serious Britcar aficionados are a special group.
The most common marques in the show were MG, Triumph, and Austin-Healy, all of which sold quite well in the U.S. some sixty years ago. But there were also a large number of other cars, some of which were never imported in volume but which somehow made it to our shores. How many Morris Minors have you ever seen in one place? At the ABFM there were twenty or so. There were also Austins, Cortinas, Lotuses, Morgans, Rovers and an Isetta. And of course there were a fair number Land Rovers and Jaguars–marques that are still for sale here.
It was because M once had a Jaguar that we learned about the ABFM. We had attended once before, back in 2015 when M put his XKR on display. We didn’t stay long this time–just long enough for M to see examples of the four different British cars that he has owned over the years.
At age 16 M bought a 1959 Triumph TR-3, very much like this one.
At 27 he bought a 1964 Triumph TR-4.
At 35 he bought a 1969 Austin-Healy Sprite. His car was red with a black racing stripe. The stripe was ironic; the Sprite was fun to drive, but definitely not fast.
At 50 he bought a 2004 Jaguar XKR. It was fast.
At no age did M ever own a 1958 Isetta Great Britain LTD/300.
After the show we went out to lunch at the Island Cafe on nearby Hayden Island. The area is notable for its long rows of floating houses and houseboats, and the café is in fact a floating building. (Floating buildings are on the water but are never meant to be moved. The have water and sewage connections to the Portland systems.) The people we saw in the restaurant were tanned and seemed affluent; the floating homes were beautifully maintained; a marina provided moorage for dozens of sailboats, both large and small. No one was walking on the streets.
Our hotel was a mile or two away from the river and also closer to the interstate. Next to our hotel, there was another one, a bit larger. The people we saw in the parking lot and in the breakfast room seemed pretty normal, or maybe just a little odd–like the couples in their tiny old British cars and the old men who talked about overheated radiators all during breakfast. And then there was the couple in the parking lot charging up their electric car–a Tesla to which they had attached a Ferrari badge. Why exactly? In this neighborhood, there was a fair amount of foot traffic, including a number of homeless people going to and fro from nearby camps.
Very near the hotel, there were two chain restaurants, a Burger King and a Shari’s Cafe and Pies. (There was also an empty building that was probably a nicer restaurant once upon a time.) For various reasons, we didn’t want to drive very far, so we decided to eat our dinner at Shari’s. That didn’t work out very well. It was understaffed, as in just two people on duty, one cook and one waitress/cashier. The waitress was very nice, but we could see that it was going to take forever. Also, most Sharis are open 24 hours, but we noticed that this one was set to close pretty soon. We decided to try Burger King instead.
As we neared the Burger King, we could see that people were eating inside; but how had they gotten in there?. There were four entrances. Two were locked and one was broken and boarded up. It turned out that just one door was open, which was, naturally, the last one we tried. The unlocked door was also the door nearest the bathrooms and was not visible to the counter staff. Interesting. Once we were inside, it was fine. E had an Impossible Whopper, which she found delicious.
But what about dessert? Being at Shari’s had put us in the mood for pie, but our Shari’s was closing. So we ended up driving to another Shari’s. The building and décor were identical; but this one, in addition to being open, had four or five people working. The innocents abroad.
Sunday, September 11, 2022
On Sunday we split up. M, nursing a sore tooth, headed back to Corvallis on the airport shuttle. E went shopping at Macy’s before heading over to her daughter’s place. From there, daughter took mother kayaking. E had only been in a kayak once before, and that experience was only 3 feet from shore. She was a little fearful of the real thing, but still determined to try. She ended up having a wonderful time.
They went to a lake near Camas, WA, and paddled around for a couple of hours. It was quite peaceful with not too much boat traffic. The few boats that went by provided entertainment in the form of waves that were fun to float over. The two paddlers spent part of their time rescuing bees which were foundering in the water. After scooping them up onto their paddles, they drifted over toward the shore to let them climb to safety on tree limbs or rocks. Their wings were too wet for them to fly, but E and A are hoping they dried off and lived happily ever after.
Generally E was impressed with the clever design of kayaks and all the accouterments that go with them, and even more impressed with the strength and expertise of her daughter as captain and purveyor of the expedition. A even lifted and loaded the kayaks onto the car with very minimal assistance.
Another treat for E today was having a personal tour of the newly refurbished food truck that was parked in A&A’s driveway. Soft opening is rumored to be only weeks away…
Monday, September 12, 2022
A lovely, cool day, even more like fall. We did yard work. And one of us did yoga. Also, M found a buyer for his Sony camera and lenses! Oh frabjous day. Callooh! Callay!
We have made a potentially momentous decision in regard to TV watching. Black Money Love (Kara Para, Aşk) is still on Netflix and we’re thinking of watching it again from the beginning. So tonight we tried out Episode 1. It was pretty good.
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
We watched episodes 2 and 3 of Black Money Love. Still liking it.
Our heroes are Ömer and Elif, played by Engin Akyürek and Tüba Büyüküstün.
The main villains are the truly evil Tayyar, played by Erkan Can, his not quite totally evil son Metin, played by Saygin Soysal, and Elif’s false friend Bahar, played by Tuvana Türkay.
Wednesday. September 14, 2022
M’s car cover also found a buyer. Good. He’s done enough merchandising for a while. E also got rid of some stuff, deleting 9,000 old messages from her Gmail account.
We packed up the Porsche and headed for the coast this morning, all due to the kindness of our friend P, who had offered to let us stay in her cottage in Yachats. We took Highway 20 west and it was top down weather all the way. From Newport we headed south and stopped in Waldport at the Pacific Sourdough Bakery, a place that we had heard a lot about. It’s incredible–so many different breads and pastries. How do they make it all? There was a long line of customers waiting outside, but it moved fast. We ended up getting a little more than we really needed; to wit: a raspberry puff, a pecan sticky roll, a potato knish, and a lavender lemon sourdough boule. They all turned out to be delicious. We must go there again–except that it’s 65 miles away…
We arrived in Yachats just before noon. P’s cottage is in a lovely spot just at the mouth of the Yachats River, a short walk from the town center. Yes, if there’s a tsunami, it will be the first to go, but it’s awfully nice now.
The weathered deck was beautiful. The coast at this latitude is an awesome place for things to grow.
Later on we went out on the deck to see the sunset.Some neighbors wading across the estuary, returning to their house at the end of the lane.
Sunday, August 28, 2022
After a breakfast of Chambeck espresso and Pacific Sourdough pastries, we went for hike on what they call the Amanda Trail. The trailhead was only half a mile from P’s cottage, so we decided to just walk the whole way. We found that the first part of the trail runs just beside the coast highway. Not terribly pleasant. Soon, though, it crosses the highway and climbs up onto a forested mountainside. From there the trail continues south with some nice views along the way.
Eventually the trail turns deeper into forest and descends into a steep valley at the base of Heceta Head. A suspension bridge crosses the stream and leads to a very strenuous trail up to the Heceta Head viewpoint. We wandered out onto the bridge, just to see how it was…
Our destination, however, was just beside the bridge. A wooden stair, which can be seen in the upper right of the photo above, leads down to a park-like meeting area dedicated to the memory of a Native American woman whose English name was Amanda.
Amanda was a blind Coos woman who was discovered by an army patrol and forcibly relocated to a camp known as the Yachats Sub-Agency. Since conditions in the agencies were disastrous, the “relocation” policy was in effect genocidal. Our knowledge of Amanda comes from the diary of Corporal Royal Bensell, a soldier who was a member of the unit that apprehended her. We will not tell her story here. Better that our readers examine for themselves the relevant excerpts from Bensell’s diary.
This ancient stump overlooks the shrine.
After the hike we rested and in the evening went to the Drift Inn for dinner. The Drift Inn is a fine place for dinner–or lunch or breakfast probably–but that’s only in its latest incarnation. For most of its long life the Drift Inn was a bar, a bar of the sort that caused some people–it is said–to cross the street rather than walk past its doors. You can read its colorful history here.
Sunday, September 4, 2022
Back in the valley, we celebrated Labor Day with a great dinner at K and J’s place in Salem. The Andees were there as well. J made elote (Mexican corn on the cob), chicken mole with lime rice, and some extraordinary margaritas. Dinner was served in their back yard, which is small but exploding with life.
Tuesday, September 6. 2022
In the morning we met with a woman named Yaddi in Lebanon and bought pre-paid cremation plans. Yaddi is a rare marketer–more interested in finding out what you want than in describing what they sell. In the afternoon we had even more fun. M had a root canal and E got stung on the foot by a yellow jacket. (Maybe we shoulda died yesterday–less painful.)
Wednesday, September 7, 2022
Just a normal day. A walk in the forest. A trip to the Co-op. E made potato salad and soaked her foot. Then the patio umbrella blew over despite the 150 pounds of sand in its base. With much effort, we got it back into place. Later, E went to see her seamstress. We ate the potato salad and washed it down with Argyle, a wonderful Willamette Valley sparkler.
M decided to get himself a take-out pizza for dinner. (Wed. is double stamp day!) So he called in his order and was told it would be ready in half an hour. He used that time to wash some lettuce and put together a salad. He already had a beer in the fridge. When he got to the pizza place his order wasn’t quite ready, so he paid and sat down to wait. Just a couple of minutes, they told him. The place wasn’t busy, just one person finishing in a booth and another who looked like he was also waiting for a take-out. And sure enough, after a few minutes a pizza came out of the oven and that other fellow got his pie. At this point things were looking pretty good for M. The next pizza out of the oven would surely be his! From where he was sitting the oven was partially visible, so as soon as it came out he would know. He could taste it already. Soon he saw the counterman turn and open the oven. M couldn’t see exactly what happened next but he heard a sort of muffled flopping sound and at the same time a strangled groan. He could see the counterman looking down at the floor. Not a good sign. M didn’t bother with denial or anger; he just went directly to despair. And then, perversely, a kind of joy. This had never happened to him before. It was a new experience…
Thursday, August 18, 2022
M is off on another overnight campout. He’s picked out a spot near the coast where the weather ought to be cooler. And yes, it’s another place, he thinks, to which tourists do not flock and for which locals have no use. As he nears his goal, he is struck by how different this forest is from the one in the Ochocos. The trees here are huge with an impenetrable understory of shrubs and berry bushes. The lush growth pushes in from both sides of the road, narrowing it considerably and threatening to scratch the sides of the new truck. The real problem, though, is that there is no place to park and pitch a tent. Just this endless, narrow one lane road. His map shows him a number of spur roads, but reality tells another story. In the end, though, he comes to something…
Hmm. What’s that little jog off to the right?
It’s a closed off road! With enough space for truck, a tent, a chair and a table.
It looks like a nice grassy spot, but when he tries to drive tent pegs, M is soon reminded it’s really an old gravel road with just half an inch of soil on top. He ends up anchoring the tent by tying it off to a couple of logs he finds nearby. When he finishes he looks at the logs again. How did they get here? How is it that they are exactly the size this purpose requires? Someone has been here before.
That’s leftover pizza, by the way, that M is cooking.
La hora de cenar y de estrenar la nueva mesa portatil.
You can’t tell from this, but that setting sun is way out over the ocean. The shore is less than ten miles away.
When the sun went down, it got dark fast. M stayed in his chair for a while, musing in the gloom. It was very, very quiet, as it had been ever since he arrived. He could hear his heart pushing blood around and for a short time he could hear a roaring sound from the south that must have been wind in the trees. As it got darker that sound faded. Then, at 9:34, when it was really quite dark, suddenly a tree or large limb came crashing to the ground somewhere nearby, something heavy and partly rotten collapsing down to rest.
Friday, August 19, 2022
Back in the Adirondacks, the annual “Cousins Week” reunion of the Chambers family is just winding up. As a final event, the family staged a re-enactment of an 1950’s photo of E, her parents and her three brothers. Some of the original participants are now departed, but Jesse, Tom and Henry–three younger members of the clan–graciously agreed to fill in for them. We regret not being able to show Henry’s handsome face, but his elegant handstand will go down in history. Photo credit to Anne, Henry’s mom, who has had years of experience dealing with the Chambers antics. Andrea and apprentice out-law Andy were also there to cheer them on.
Chambers family photo at Lake George in the 1950s. Left to right: John, Marvin, Ruth, Grant, Jim and Honey. E remembers that her mother–the upside down one–said that this was the only picture of herself that she liked.
The 2022 re-enactment. Left to right: John, Marvin/Jesse, Ruth/Henry, Grant/Tom, Jim and Eve/Honey
In the afternoon brother John transported E from the lake down south to the Hillbilly Fun Park, where he handed her off to Mrs H, who had driven north to pick her up. Did they have ice cream cones while they were there, you ask? Oh yes. Stopping for ice cream on the way to and from the lake is a Chambers family tradition. From her childhood E remembers her mother insisting upon it even though it made her father grumpy. On this day many years later, our three overage youngsters broke the HFP house rules by sitting in a pavilion bearing a sign saying “FOR SEEING EYE DOGS ONLY.” No one seemed to mind.
M’s Friday started at 2:00 in the morning when he woke to hear a few tiny drops making gentle landings on the roof of the tent. Very few in number and just barely audible, you wouldn’t think they were loud enough to wake a person. M’s brain must have left a few cells on watch while the rest slipped into dreams. What to do, what to do? M lay in his sleeping bag for a while listening to the drops, realizing that he really should get up and put the fly on the tent and maybe put his chair under the truck…
The rain sounds continued all night and into the morning. When he got up, M saw that it wasn’t really rain at all, just fog off the ocean jettisoning tiny bits of itself as condensation now and again. He had no trouble cooking his breakfast and eating it out in the open. Kinda nice out there amid the big, damp trees.
Saturday, August 20, 2022
On Saturday the Andees left the lake and headed down towards the Albany airport to depart for home. On the way they stopped to see E and Mrs H, who were delighted to see them and served them a lunch of Harts’ pizza and homemade cake.
Back in Corvallis, the large and bulky air mattress found a buyer! Another $50 gets added to our vast hoard of cash.
Sunday, August 21, 2022
Sunday was the big day for the reunion of The Ev–as E was known in college days–and her friend Botany. In between bouts of laughter, they polished off a fancy Greek lunch followed by American ice cream cones, then spent some time thinking of ways to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their friendship. Botany, aka The Plant, presented Ev with a copy of Michael Pollan’s book, The Botany of Desire, and kept another copy for herself. Although far apart, they will be able to enjoy the experience of reading it and comparing notes after each chapter. The day flew by.
Monday, August 22, 2022
Today E went to Saratoga to visit again with J & J. In order to gain entry to J’s senior residence, E needed a recent Covid test. When she arrived, they gave her a kit and told her to go back to her car to administer it, wait the required time, etc. Later in the day, she went to see her high school friend F for another happy reunion.
Twenty-five hundred miles almost due west, M went to take the garbage out and found this…
Tuesday, August 22, 2022
M thought that the Porsche needed exercise, so in the morning he took it for a spin over to the coast.
In the evening he drove the Mazda up to the Portland airport to pick up E. Her Delta flight was on time and we arrived back in Corvallis just before midnight. All four of the flights on this trip were on time and no luggage was lost. You know what they say: Ida y vuelta, vuele con Delta.
E has already started packing for her Wednesday trip to New York. She has several places she wants to visit and communications are flying as she tries to finalize dates and places. M is planning a solo camping excursion closer to home. He’s not at the packing stage, but earlier this week he had a vision of packing, which revealed to him that he needs a new duffel. That arrived today.
Sunday, August 7, 2022
Dinner with B and B at Momiji in North Albany. They’ve been busy as usual, with guests coming and going. Momiji is nice, and their menu has lots of photos to help you make sense of the sushi selection. E and M shared a large bottle of Kirin. Does everybody know that the Kirin logo was based on a long ago traveller’s description of a giraffe? Doesn’t look like a giraffe…
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
After spending an hour at the dentist, M went out to visit K and L and see about buying their old suitcase style solar panel. They don’t need it anymore since their new travel trailer has built-in panels on its roof. But will their old one work with M’s new Jackery battery pack? Initially it refused to cooperate, but M took it home anyway to fiddle with it.
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
M got the solar panel working by asking the Internet for advice and getting a simple answer right away. E finished packing, which was not simple but was very organized. Now she has to actually travel. There are all kinds of air travel horror stories going around. Airlines are cancelling 900 or 1,000 flights a day and apparently there are vast numbers of bags out wandering around trying to catch up with their owners. “Damn the torpedos,” says E, “I’m going to the lake.” Her first flight leaves Portland at 11:00 P.M. We put her on the Corvallis to Portland shuttle at 5:45.
Thursday, August 11, 2022
M packed up the new duffel and threw it in the truck along with the refrigerator, battery pack and solar panel. He headed east toward the Maury Mountains. He’s just guessing, but he expects that the Maurys don’t attract many visitors. He also expects that his route will take him right past the Sisters bakery…
While M was still in range of a cell tower, E texted to say that she was safely ensconced at Mrs. H’s place in Glens Falls and eating cookies. Both her flights were on time and no luggage was lost.
M was in Prineville at this point, where he stopped for gas. Yikes, guess what else stops at the Prineville Sinclair?
It’s a Hispano-Suiza, H6B. H6B’s were made between 1919 and 1929, so this car is at least 93 years old and possibly 103. It was running quite nicely. In 2020 a car very similar to this was sold at Amelia Island for about $250,000. Is the owner a movie actor or other celebrity? This being Prineville, probably not. More likely a tech nerd with heavy responsibilities in one of the cloud server barns just west of town.
From Prineville M heads for Post, Oregon, which is said to be the geographical center of the state. There are no giant server barns in Post, and no cell service either. And in fact there are no actual residences. At one time, though, it appears that there was food::
The first two lines say HOME MADE and FOOD. The third line could be AND. But that last line is tough. What goes with homemade food? Is it A) supper, B) supplies, C) supermarket, or D) strippers?
The featured dish sounds good to M..
And there it is: the Post, Oregon house of meatloaf! But as we might have guessed…it’s been closed for a while.
From Post, M went up into the mountains and found an out of the way spot to set up camp. The solar panel worked like a charm, putting out enough current to run the refrigerator and re-charge the Jackery battery at the same time. Once the sun went down the battery took over and kept things going till dawn. With this system, a person could just hunker down there on the mountainside and run that little fridge forever. Of course that’s about all a person could do. No water, no bathroom, no cell service, not very many stars
The solar panel is in the middle there, sitting up on a pack box, generating its last few watts of the day. The fridge and battery are in the back seat of the truck.
Why not many stars? Well, the night of Aug. 11-12 was a little strange in that it never really got dark.
The sun went down in the west like it was supposed to….
…but then the east started to light up as a strange looking cloud wafted in from the south.
And soon enough, the moon appeared. It must’ve stayed up all night…….because there it was in the morning.
Saturday, August 13, 2022
M is home now and having a hard time putting away his camping stuff. There’s no room in the garage. He needs to clear some space for his new stuff by getting rid of some of his old stuff. He starts making Craigslist ads for a car cover, an air mattress, and a radio controlled tank.
Sunday, August 14, 2022
E travelled with Mrs H to what they call the north country–the area not far from the Canadian border–to visit E’s aunt. She reports a wonderful visit with N, D and H in Malone, NY. Cousin H made the world’s most delicious cake in honor of her visit. One key to its success was an enhanced proportion of light fluffy sweet frosting.
After that, E and H also visited their long-time friend S, in Saranac Lake.
Monday, August 15, 2022
E arrived at the hamlet of Huletts landing on Lake George today, just in time for a happy hour reunion at Baby Brother’s cabin. Niece M served sumptuous hors d’oeuvre on a century old tea wagon. Nephew J and his wife L were also there along with A&A. After a lovely time, E and the two A’s headed back to their rental cabin, which is down by the post office.
In case you’re wondering if we’re making all this up, here’s a picture of Baby Bother himself at his actual house.
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
Lots of swimming today. A swam from BB’s dock all the way around 2 peninsulas back to her rental cabin. It was an hour’s swim, with Andy paddle boarding along beside her. E swam over to the dock at nephew T’s rental house, but there was no one there; so she started swimming back to BB’s dock, only to be overtaken by T in a kayak, who accompanied her the rest of the way. They sat on the dock and had a long catch up chat. Soon E noticed another figure swimming towards them. It turned out to be T’s 16-year-old son, H, who came to join them.
After all that exercise and chatting, E took an inspiring nap in the loft of BB’s new cottage. Here’s a photo of the view from the loft bed. In the background is the main house.
E committed a serious error by not texting her whereabouts to her daughter, who became worried and issued a silver alert to various family members, one of whom reported that E was safely napping on the loft bed.
E contritely walked home and upon arrival found best son-in-law in the kitchen preparing dinner. Not a bad day: family, food, swimming and beautiful scenery. Meanwhile, M’s Craigslist offensive has stalled. The tank went fast, but no action on the other things.
