Christmas in August

Emil just returned from two weeks in Alaska.  He packed up all our stuff and drove it down the highway.  Lost 10 pounds in the process and gained all his beloved tools and such.  It's like Christmas in July!  I open a box (one of many), and I find treasures galore.  We unloaded a 26 foot truck in four hours.  Some went in the house and the rest in a storage unit.  Our house is a wreck, so please no visitors for a few weeks while we sort, clean, and organize.

The back deck area.

Our beautiful dishes back in use!

My wedding bouquet and Emil's boutonniere.  Now in the compost!

The storage unit

Our living room.

Yam

For the two weeks, I exercised two hours a day, socialized with lots of new friends, and kept myself booked all the time. 

Yam?  This is what he did during the time period.  He was depressed with Emil gone, so he slept all the time, except at night!

LoMo Visit

Lori (aka LoMo) traveled on down from Alaska to attend Ukulele University and then hung out for a few extra days!  Late nights playing uke, bar-hopping during Happy Hour, and floating the Deschutes River filled our time.  Even though the weather was warm, we hiked (she dragged me) up Pilot Butte, and we never ran out of things to talk about.

Enjoying libations at Ukulele University

Happy Hour stop #3 - Crux Fermentation

Out of the Sugar Daddy Beer.

Happy Hour stop #4 - Jackon's Corner

She made me breakfast!  Leftover taco fixings with a fried egg.

Chillin' on the Deschutes River

We floated the Deschutes River three times.  What a nice time!  Of course, we stopped in at Dakine Grindz for a shaved ice after one of the floats. 

Next up:  book edits, photo project, keep Yam awake during the day, and chores.  And, back to the diet!  I splurged for three weeks.  Mmmmmm ... chocolate zucchini cake!

Ukulele University

Our second annual Ukulele University was this past weekend.  What a blast!  The event went well, and my friend, Lori from Alaska came down for it.  I conquered my fear of stage fright and signed up for open mic.  A few of us have been working on learning "Roxy's Waltz," so we played it for everyone.

During one of the workshops, we also learned to play "Little Darlin" by The Diamonds.  The workshop leaders, The Refreshments, invited us up to play with them.  Video coming soon!  Emil recorded it.

Check out the pics!

Bend Ukulele Group Welcome Song Set

Bob and Linda - staying cool

Lori enjoying the festival!

Me!  Introducing "Roxy's Waltz" for open mic.

Playing "Roxy's Waltz"

Aaron and Nicole Keim, The Quiet American

Jamming to an almost full moon

Leslie and Denise, The Refreshments

Earl Mullins, workshop leader

Aaron Keim

Nicole and Aaron Keim.  Love them.  Love them.  Love them.

Our youngest BUGs member

Overall, it was a fantastic event!  Quite warm, but plenty of shade and water.  Looking forward to next year!  If you want to see more pics of the event, like the Ukulele University Facebook page.  I've posted tons of pics there.

Next posting:  pics from Lori's visit.  Many floats down the river, shaved ice, and breweries. 

Last day with the family

A fun-filled last day with the family.  I'm very sad to see them leave.  But, hopefully they will enjoy cooler weather at the Oregon Coast and enjoy some local wineries. 

We spent most of the day at the Oregon High Desert Classic.  So cool!  Nice viewing area under tents.  The grounds were spectacular - green grass, no dust, vendors, stables with fans.  Impressive!  We did see one rider fall at a jump.  Scary!  And a few horses refused a jump.

Warm up ring

Wow!

Earl Grey, my favorite horse

Stables

We waited until the hottest day to float the Deschutes River.  Even though it was quite warm, and we acclimated to the water temp, we still shivered just a little bit.  Saw a river otter, girls in bikinis (Tom!!), folks on every imaginable floatie, and beautiful houses.  Thanks to Emil for the drop off and pick up!

Uncle Ron and Dad.  Almost twins!

Looking down the river

Uncle Ron and me!

It's not that chilly.

Nice float tube.  Where's your rod and reel?

Holding on to each other's floaties.

Emil waited on the bridge for us.

Going under the bridge

Now, it's time to de-cat the house before Lori flies in tonight.  She's allergic to cats.  Guess we'll have to spend all our time at Ukulele University, the breweries, and floating the river during her visit. 

What a rough life.

Family Fun

Euchre, Mexican Train Dominoes, Ukulele jam, and more.  There's still one more day left in their epic visit to Central Oregon.  Fingers crossed for a hot, sunny day, and you'll see us with floaties on the Deschutes River.

Euchre - my second favorite card game.

Seasoned Euchre players, Don, and Glencora.

Nora, our wonderful host!  And, she hails from Cincy!

Dad at the clock shop in Sisters

Our uke playing didn't scare them away.  Yet.

Uncle Ron tried out the bucket bass.

Mexican Train Dominoes with the neighbors.  Check out that gorgeous view!

If you need house-sitters a few years from now, my family is glad to take care of your critters and home.  It really worked out well for them to house-sit and visit us.  Thank you so much for Ron and Carrie for opening their home to us, once again!

Okay, looking at my handy spreadsheet, they didn't have time for the following activities:  Benham Falls, Smith Rock, walk the river trail, Oregon Country Fair, Crater Lake, Steelhead Falls, alpaca farm, kite flying in the field, walk around downtown Bend, Tumalo Fall, Deschutes Brewery Tour, stand up paddleboard, Farmers Market downtown, mountain biking at Phil's Trail, Munch and Music, free concert at Les Schwab, watch the triathlon at Old Mill, hike Pilot Butte (Uncle Ron did), and eat at 10 Barrel. 

Guess we'll have to do all that next time.