Trivia and Fall River

For months, Emil and a few friends have attended trivia at The Lot on Tuesday evenings. I've skipped out of trivia due to ukulele jam, but I've joined them the last few times. They were consistently third place, then second, and finally last week, they won first place. Now, first place has a few perks. You get to hold a super cool trophy for five minutes, and you have a reserved table the following week.

Francis and Maisy

The dream team. All Alaskans!

Tom and I have been hanging out the last few weeks now that he's around more. Our plan is to do one item a week new to each of us. It can be a new restaurant, new tourist attraction, anything. Two weeks ago, we tried out the Indian restaurant. Meh. It was okay, but nothing to write much about.

Last week, we went to Fall River. It's a few miles past Sunriver and an absolutely gorgeous clear river. Emil would never fish this river. If you can see the fish, then the fish can see you.

We did see a fly fisher, and he was having great luck. I filmed his graceful casting. Sorry I can't share it with you here.

We're both super busy the next few weeks, so we'll have to play catch up. I'm rooting for something else outside, so we can take advantage the nice weather.

Well, I better return to writing. I'm about 27,000 words into the sequel. My goal is to publish by Christmas.

Parents Visit to Bend

My parents, uncle, and his girlfriend came to visit right after my brother and his wife. What fun! I said the visit went well once I realized I can't boss my parents around. I think I figured that out about day two of their vacation. Mother, Dad, and Uncle Ron were here last year, so they checked out a few new places here. But, they really enjoyed their time house-sitting in a gorgeous house in Sunrise Village. It was hard to get them to leave the backporch overlooking the Deschutes River.

What impressed me the most was my mother. She's not much of a dog person, but she really liked the dogs they were taking care of. She even bought them homemade doggie treats from the Northwest Crossing Farmer's Market! Ah-mazing!

Bonta Gelato

Lava Butte fire lookout

Lave caves. A balmy 42 degrees!

Obsidian Flow

Mother and Blitzen

Enjoying the ukulele jam

It was a lovely visit, and I'm thankful they traveled all the way to Oregon to see us! Good times had by all, and I miss them very much!

Looking at my iPhone photos, I'm almost caught up! Sure, I've left a few things out, but I highlighted the summer fun. Thanks for sticking around!

July Guests

I'm skipping June activities because I can't remember what I did. I do remember the weather was warm, and I was tempted to plant my garden early. Okay fine. I got up and looked at my calendar. Looks like I catered a few events, went fishing at Paulina Lake, attended my first book club as the guest author, started exercising again because my knee was feeling better, and went to see the Indigo Girls for free here in Bend. Is that enough excitement or what?!

My brother, Ted, and his wife, Karla, came to visit the third week of July. It was their first trip to Oregon! We went all out! Lunch at a hip restaurant in Portland after we picked them up from the airport all the way to paddle-boarding. Ted was impressed and kept saying he wanted to move here. I told him repeatedly, "our life isn't really this exciting. We're dragging you all over town to do stuff. Sometimes, we just watch TV at night. Actually, that's how we spend several nights a week." He didn't believe me.

How many people does it take to strap a paddle-board on?

Ted and Karla

Great weather at the lake

Hiking at Smith Rock. It was 90+ degrees, and we didn't eat lunch. Oops.

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Ted floating down the Deschutes River

On top of Pilot Butte

Drinking a craft beer

Wow! What a visit! It was so much fun to spend time with them and show them beautiful, Bend. They flew out the same day my parents, uncle, and his girlfriend arrived. Time for the next round of guests.

Catching Up Part 1

The summer has flown by! Fastest summer ever, I swear. The last thing I remember was finishing up work at Mt. Bachelor at the end of May. I have no idea what I did in June. Now, it's almost Labor Day.

I'll post a few pics from the highlights of the last few months. They are totally random and probably out of order, so please bear with me.

Josh aka Jack, in my book came to Bend for a wedding in May. I agonized on where to take him for lunch. He likes beer and good food, plus a hip atmosphere. Finally, I decided on Crux. A little chilly to sit outside, but we managed.

The horse races in Prineville are so much fun! Betting is only $2, and there are twelve races each night. Last year, I walked away with over $125. This year, I lost about $45. Oh well! It was fun, plus I needed a reason to buy a big bag of kettle corn.

My friend, Kathleen, and I went blueberry picking in Leaburg, about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Bend. The bushes were huge and plentiful. We wanted to get our money's worth, so we picked for four hours. Kathleen picked fifteen pounds, and I left with thirteen pounds. Blueberry baking galore! Looking forward to a blueberry pie this winter!

Kathleen strapping on the bucket.

Heavy bucket around my neck!

Her booty of blueberries!

I'll post another update tomorrow. Lots of fun pics to share with you all. Thanks for your patience during my summer break!

I've also updated my website www.sararishforth.com with a few blog posts. Check it out!