My First National Park Visit

In August, Brandt's mom and her partner came to Oregon. As our first family to visit, we were excited to see them and further explore our new home. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take time off work but after their excursion to the Japanese Garden, we had lunch and I showed them around the office.

Our first trip that I could join was a day trip to Crater Lake. We woke up before the sun was up and began the four hour drive to southern Oregon. The night before, my phone unexpectedly stopped working. Brandt did his wizardry on the internet and discovered it's a known issue where circuits within the phone stop connecting. We were able to get it back on but even after a hard reset (AKA I lost everything that was on it) it wouldn't reboot. With nothing to play with, I spent a lot of the drive sleeping, which was nice since I'm not a morning person.

An example of one type of fire danger signs.

Summer is fire season and especially with the drought that's been going on the last few years. There was a fire near Crater Lake and I'd kept my eye on the news, hoping it wouldn't smother our plans. When we were about an hour away, forest fire warning signs began popping up. All of them had the arrow pointing to red. It's slightly terrifying to be driving with trees towering over you on both sides and the fire warning is as high as it goes.

We made it to Crater Lake without issue but we were greeted by a sign showing where the fire had reached. We were parked where the red meets green on the top left of the map. There is a road that runs around the lake and the part in red was closed due to danger of the fire spreading.

We were at the bottom of a sandy incline and everyone was parking and walking up. We followed and got our first peek at the lake. It was worth the drive!

The National Park's site describes it best, "Crater Lake inspires awe. Native Americans witnessed it form 7,700 years ago, when a violent eruption triggered the collapse of a towering volcano. Scientists marvel at its purity: fed by rain and snow, it’s the deepest lake in the USA and perhaps the most pristine on earth." The water is the most vibrant blue I've witnessed. The photos below have absolutely no editing.

We were a little nervous at first because the smoke from the fire was blowing across the lake. While it was beautiful, the haze across the basin distorted the view. I was a little worried that Brandt's family had come from Kansas plus we had a four hour drive and the view wouldn't be good. Fortunately, as we rounded the lake in search of lunch the smoke dissipated and we could see the lake in its true beauty.

We couldn't drive all the way around the lake, so after lunch we headed back the direction we came with a leisurely pace, making frequent stops. Our first stop happened to be at a waterfall. I saw people climbing to get a better view and I followed. I climbed up as far I as I dared because the "path" up included loose sand between the loose rocks. I was a little worried about how I'd get down. I ended up sliding down on my butt most of the way back.

Our first stop with a pure view of the lake was breathtaking. Without a phone, I couldn't take pictures but Brandt brought his camera. All four of us took dozens of pictures and marveled at the natural beauty. These pictures show a deep blue but even they don't do the brilliance of the lake justice.

I like to get an artsy pic when I can.

Our next stop had no trees obstructing the view. I liked the contrast of looking through the trees to see the lake but this view provided beautiful pictures as well.

The phantom ship is the little island here. It apparently
looks like a sailing ship? Maybe more so in the fog.

I like to take pictures of Brandt contemplating
the meaning of life.

Another stop was off the main road and took us to a higher elevation. It had space to walk out past the barrier for more picture options. Brandt and I took this opportunity to take a few selfies with the lake.

The hills surrounding the lake.

Not much grass but I blame that on the drought.

Me and my love enjoying nature.

There is only one place you can reach the lake itself. It's a steep 1.1 mile hike. It drops about 700 feet during that mile and takes 30-45 minutes to descend. With my asthma, I have no idea how long the hike back up would take. We didn't get tickets to the boat ride on our trip to get lunch (I was getting hangry) and by the time we made it back around the crater, they were sold out. I'd hoped to at least hike down to spend a few peaceful moments at the water's edge but wasn't able to do that.

While we spent most of the day in the car, it was definitely worth it! On our way out and back to Portland, I took one final selfie with the new hat Brandt's mom got me.

Novella Continued: I'm a Big City Kid!

A novella is defined as, "a short novel or a long short story." I thought it applied to this story.

I made it to work via the shuttle but didn't know how to get home. They were going to have my car overnight so if I could just get home, Brandt could take me down to Ford and I could get my rental (they're open until midnight, yay for big cities!). I had to have a rental because Sparrow had an appointment to get her teeth cleaned the next day (another story for another post). Brandt gets off work at 6:15 p.m. and I work an hour away from where we live/he works. I didn't want to stick around work until 7:30 so I went for my next option: asking coworkers for a ride. No one lives close to us so that turned out not to be a viable option. I checked with my friend who had just moved but she had already turned in her key and lives in Vancouver now. She was sweet and offered to come pick me up, take me to my place, then drive home but I couldn't ask her to do that. So I went with public transportation. Only one issue there though, I had no money with me. A generous coworker gave me $3 so I could get a TriMet ticket. It's $5 for all day or $2.50 for 2 hours. The trip should take an hour to an hour and a half so $3 was perfect.

The MAX doesn't go as far south as my office so I found a wonderful coworker who could give me a ride to the southernmost stop of the Portland Street Car. From there, I would transfer to the MAX downtown and then a bus from the station closest to our place. I've taken the MAX several times but I've never been on a public bus. There was no public transport in my hometown and the public transport in college and in Wichita were sparse. I'd never needed to take a bus and had no idea what I was doing. It seemed simple enough to take just one bus. I couldn't really get lost with transfers or anything. I checked and a streetcar ticket can be used on the MAX and bus too. My $3 should be enough.

I began my first real public transportation adventure through Portland and hoped for the best. I took my $3 and tried to buy a ticket for the streetcar/TriMet but the machine didn't take cash. It said I could use cash on the streetcar to get a ticket. I recently downloaded Pokemon Go. Yes, yes. I know. I'm not really a closet nerd so it shouldn't be that surprising but I'm still a little embarrassed. I played to keep myself entertained, plus, with more than an hour to get home, I was going to go by so many Pokestops. When the streetcar arrived, I got on and tried to buy a ticket. The streetcar would only let me by an all day pass for $5 or a streetcar-only pass for $2. Neither of those was going to work. I sat down and hoped no one was checking for tickets that day.

I played my game and tried to keep anyone from looking at the screen because I'm a nerd but I still haven't fully accepted it. I was making the best of my journey when the girl next to me asked what level I was. Damn. Someone saw. We ended up being the same level because we rarely play and had something to chat about. I don't like people I don't know but damn it if Pokemon Go didn't force me to make a new friend against my will. She saw my printed directions (because I'm always prepared!) and mentioned she was going the same way. She mentioned I should get off the streetcar a stop earlier than I'd planned or I'd have to double back to get on the MAX.

We got off at the stop she suggested and walked together to the MAX stop. I tried to purchase a MAX ticket there, because I'm an upstanding citizen, but it didn't take cash either. It's like Portland was really trying to keep me from paying them for my rides! I mentioned my frustration to my new PoGo friend and she said she's done it before and I should be OK. She could see how much of a Goody Two-Shoes I am and offered to buy my ticket. I told her I'd give her my $3 and that would earn her a 50 cent tip. My new PoGo friend was already making my life better. We played our games and rode the MAX into Beaverton. I thought she was getting off where I was so when my stop came, I stepped off the MAX and didn't look back until the doors had closed. Turns out her stop was later and I never got to say goodbye. I felt a little bad but goodbyes are awkward any way.

I just missed my bus so I had to stay at that stop for a while. I walked around to get in my steps (work gave us Fitbits and I need those steps!). I took the bus to what I think is the closest stop to our apartment complex and pulled the cord like I saw another guy do. I got off the bus and walked home without issue. I'm a big city kid now!!

Brandt got home about the same time as I did and we got in the car to drive down to Ford. 30-45 minutes later I was in a rental and I treated us to Red Lobster with a gift certificate I'd received a while back from my brothers and their families (thanks guys!). We were both still in our work clothes and the waitress asked if we were there for a special occasion. I looked her straight in the eyes and said, "Well... my car broke down." We all laughed and she said she hoped it was at least getting fixed nearby. Brandt and I enjoyed way too much food and drove home in our separate cars.

The guy from Ford called late the next afternoon and said my car was fixed. It turns out that they drove my car to Salem and back (an hour each way) and still couldn't replicate the problem. Reverse only stopped after a long drive so they tried putting the car in reverse in Salem and then again in Portland. Everything worked fine and the technician parked the car and went inside to tell their lead. The guy went to back out of the spot and he just got a revving engine. (Finally!) They looked into it and it wasn't a miscommunication with the clutch. The lead told me they had to call into Ford (maybe corporate?) and found out it was a computer within the transmission that was broken. They fixed it, replaced it, or whatever. At that point, I just wanted a functioning car and I can't remember what he said. He told me they drove it more and it looks like everything was working. Upon looking into it, this is a known issue in Ford Focus model between certain years, including mine. This really shouldn't have been an issue because Ford knows that the transmission in my car has problems. In fact, a coworker of mine bought a Focus knowing this, and kept taking it in until they "found" the problem and fixed it. I don't know why they couldn't figure out what was wrong with mine.

I was already home when the Ford guy called so I took my car in first thing in the morning, turned in my rental (now covered in white dog hair from Sparrow's harrowing trip to the vet) and got into my car to never look back. As I wasn't looking back, I looked down at my dash. Those lovely Ford technicians left my car on E. I'd had half a tank when I dropped it off. I figured, even though it was on E, I had enough gas to get to work and I'd get gas later. But then I remembered I wasn't going to be paid until the next day and I currently had no money for gas. Oh Ford, this predicament causes my thoughts for you at the moment to involve words not meant for this blog. I was quite out of luck again.

I made it to work and looked through my car afterward to fortunately find $5 to get me enough gas to get home. I filled my tank the next day and hope I don't have to go back to Ford until my next oil change. Over the last 5 years or so, I've been working diligently at staying positive as often as possible. I'm thankful I have a working car and still thankful for that warranty. However, I bought a "certified" pre-owned car with the hopes of avoiding these sorts of issues. I'm a worrier, so I got the warranty. I'm still upset I missed my day to reboot and cuddle chunky dogs on the beach. However, my car is functioning and I'm unharmed. I'm also very glad this is all over.

Ford Focus Fiasco

I took my car in for a routine oil change and mentioned some issues with my car switching gears. When I'd accelerate, my car felt a little shaky; like my old stick shift that needed to shift gears. It really scared me when I was accelerating to get onto the highway and it wouldn't shift into (what I thought was 3rd gear). I was stuck with my engine revving at just under 40/mph. I thought, "Well, I guess I'm going 35 for the next mile until I can exit." I took my foot off the gas, let the rpm's go down, and tried accelerating again. This time it kicked into the right gear with no issue. It didn't happen again so I made a mental note and waited until my next oil change to have them look into it.

When I set up my oil change, I mentioned the issue. I left my car at Ford, took their shuttle to work, and went on my way with my day. I got a call late in the day saying that my car needed a new clutch. At that moment I was very grateful I'd gotten the extended warranty. The guy at Ford said they also found a "nasty" oil leak that they'd fix as well. I hadn't seen any oil on the ground under my car but he didn't mention where it was leaking into. I got a free overnight rental and would get my car back the next day.

I got my car back at no cost and was even more grateful for the warranty. It would have cost me $1,888 to fix my car and that's much more than I had. I took my car back to work and was looking forward to my weekend at the coast. I had been eagerly waiting for a fundraiser to benefit the Oregon Human Society at the coast put on my a corgi group in Portland. It was a day full of Corgis. their fat butts, the beach, and dog stuff for auction and raffle. An absolutely perfect day for me. I'd been looking forward to it for more than a month. I decided to go alone because Brandt was working and the friend I invited was moving. I could be an independent woman and go on adventures alone, right?

I woke up early on Saturday and helped my friend move for a few hours then hopped in the Focus for the coast. I wanted to make it before the raffle ended so I was a bit speedy. I made it to the coast in time but could not find parking. Turns out that Cannon Beach  is a horrible place when it comes to parking. I drove and drove all over that town without locating any parking. I figured I'd be walking all day so I'll park far away and add some more walking. Nope. Absolutely nothing in town. I ended up in a parking lot a little out of town and needed to go in reverse to allow another car through. However, my engine just revved. I found it odd but thought I was in a pothole, since it was a gravel lot with tons of holes. I was able to get around the car without reversing and wrote it off to a pothole.

I pulled into another spot that was almost a spot but changed my mind, as I was sure to get a ticket or clipped by another car. I was getting extremely frustrated at the parking situation and about ready to just give up. I tried to put my car in reverse and got nothing but a revving engine. My heart dropped. I turned my car off and back on. Nothing. My car wouldn't work in reverse. Fortunately, two people were leaving their car and I asked for a push. They helped me get out of the spot that wasn't a spot and I drove on.

As I drove, I pondered trying to find parking because I was already there or just drive the hour back to Portland. I thought I'd give parking one last try because I'd been looking forward to this day for so long and really needed time to relax. I went down a one-way street, without knowing that's what it was and when I tried a three-point turn in a driveway, I was stuck for good. My car did nothing but rev so I turned it off and opened the hood. I had no idea what I was looking at, other than the washer fluid hole, oil hole, battery, and engine block. Nothing was on fire or smoking so that was the extent of my ability to diagnose my car.

A guy was in the garage of the house I stopped at and he poked his head out when his dog came to greet me. I told him my car wouldn't go in reverse. He said OK, walked back into his garage, and closed the door. I really missed Kansas politeness at that moment. I had a short breakdown in my car and called for a tow. I was 30 feet from the ocean so I walked out and had a moment of zen with my feet in the water. I could see a large crowd down the beach that was the corgi group. I took the opportunity to look at the situation and was grateful I own a car, that it could (probably) be fixed, and at least I wasn't in a wreck. I was still extremely upset about missing the event but I tried to be as positive as possible.

So close to the chunky corgi love.

I waited in my car so that the people in the house didn't think I'd just parked and left. I couldn't find a front door (it was a weird house) but I found a side door on the garage. It was open and I could hear people talking from up a set of stairs (it was like an apartment/house above the garage). I knocked and got no response. I knocked several more times and then yelled up the stairs. Everyone stopped talking. I yelled hello again and got no response. I gave up and said I'd called for a tow and I'd be out of their driveway soon. I got a "Thanks" back and nothing more. That Midwest kindness would have been nice. Maybe a little, "Would you like a water?" or "Is there anything we can do?" Just the thought of not being completely alone, an hour away from home, and half way across the country from most people I know. It's the first time since we've moved that I truly felt the void left from being so far away from everything I knew.

I sat in my car and waited. And waited. A group of four guys around my age came out of the house, got in the car next to me, and drove away. They barely looked at me and said nothing. People here are cold sometimes. No offer to help or ask if I was OK. I waited some more and finally my tow came. The guy was super nice and got my car hooked up. The guy from the garage came back out of the weird garage/house and watched. We talked a bit and I explained why all of the adorable, fat corgis were walking by. It was especially hard watching all of those corgis leaving. It was like being slapped with a reminder of my ruined day. The guy from the garage/house said he got his dog from the Oregon Humane Society and thought the fundraiser was nice. I thought I wish I could have gone.

I hopped into my tow and we headed to Astoria. Why Astoria? Because technically it's closer to Cannon Beach and you have to be towed to the closest Ford when you use their Roadside Assistance. The guy that towed me talked the whole time and gave me a lot of information about each town we passed through and Oregon in general. I was in a terrible mood but he made things better. We arrived in Astoria at 4:30 p.m. and their Ford location closes at 5 p.m. on Saturday. I thought the Ford person I'd called for the tow would inform the Ford place in Astoria I was coming. Nope. I now had 30 minutes to get my car "fixed" because they were closing, couldn't get me a rental because it closed at noon, and they're closed on Sunday. I remembered why I dislike living in small towns.

I was near tears from frustration at losing my personal day; having a car that didn't work; having to ask Brandt to drive 1.5 hours to come get me; and THEN not having a car because the only Ford that could give me a rental was the Ford my car was at and not one in Portland, where I was going to be (some sort of semantics about the dealership fixing my car has to be the one to give me the rental). I was going to have to ask Brandt to drive me back to Astoria on Monday, when we both have to work by 8:30 a.m. Things were quickly spiraling downward. I called Ford customer service and they were closed, just like the girl at the counter said. I called Roadside Assistance and began to give the woman a piece of my mind about the situation. Then the girl I'd left my key with came in the room. I hung up and she asked if I'd used my car in reverse earlier in the day. I said yes, before I came to the coast I went in reverse to leave my friend's. She said that the technician was looking things over, got in, and my car went in reverse the first time he tried. The damn thing was just fine.

I said a few words I can't repeat and said thanks. I figured my car had cooled down during the wait and the tow so now it worked. The girl gave me my "options" again and I said, no thanks I'm driving back to Portland. Hopefully it was just the reverse that was on the fritz and I could make it home. If my whole car stopped working, hopefully I'd be closer to Portland than Astoria so they had to tow me to a Ford dealership there instead. I texted Brandt that I didn't need a ride, got enough gas to get home, and began the drive.

I made it home without issue and parked my car. I put it in reverse to see what would happen and got the same result I got at the beach: revving and no moving. The next morning, I called Ford, told them I was coming in, and Brandt stuck around in case I needed a push out of my spot (couldn't back into it the night before). My car went in reverse without issue and I drove to Ford. When I got there, I tested reverse and it worked. I was not thrilled because if this was a one-day thing that they couldn't fix, I had wasted my personal day for nothing and compounded the amount of stress I had.

The guy at Ford said he talked with other techs and they thought it might be that the new clutch couldn't communicate with the old transmission. It had happened to other guys there before but not anyone on his "team." I left my car with the guy and went to get a free rental. While waiting, I realized I'd left my driver's licence and all  money at home. In my beach bag. They couldn't rent me a car without a DL so I took their shuttle to work and pondered how I was going to get home.

This epic will be continued in another post...

Independence Day

I'm going to make a concerted effort to post more often. This is just a quick update to get me back in the groove of the blog world.

Dog Park Adventure Day

It's that time of year again! In all honesty, this Fourth of July wasn't that bad. We hardly heard any explosions and only Sparrow hid in the bathroom. She always has to bark at things, so every once in a while we'd hear a burf from deep inside the apartment but she did really well.

Brandt and I both had Sunday and Monday off and we enjoyed the weekend doing nothing. It was the perfect holiday. We went to the dog park on Monday and Cedric was the happiest curly boy in the whole world. He and Brandt played fetch the entire time and the girls did what they do best: chilled. 

Then we made a pit stop by Sonic. Side note - there aren't that many Sonic's around here, which we both lament. The only one nearby is over by the dog park so it's almost becoming a tradition to stop for a drink after dog park time.

Where did the last five months go?

After the Gala in February I had intended to update the blog. However, in the world of Development, after a fundraiser is often crazy. We check sales, write acknowledgements, make follow up calls, analyze numbers, etc. So February and March came and went. Then I decided April was the time to update the blog. Between going to the gym and working two jobs, it was suddenly May.

After my trip back to Kansas at the end of April/early May, I was definitely going to update this blog with everything we'd been up to. Then as I was volunteering at OMSI's Gala last weekend, my phone freaked out and lost every picture in my camera. Fortunately, I sync my photos with my computer... when I update my blog. So I still have all my pictures, except for the last five months.

I write my blog based on the pictures I have saved, to remind me of what I wanted to share. Now I'm going to make a brief update, as my memory has never been something to brag about.

The Gala

The Gala for work was in mid-February and went fabulously. We raised more money than in any previous Gala and most things went smoothly. No matter how much you plan for an event, something inevitable will go wrong. We only had a few hiccups and those were the kind that the guests don't notice. We received many compliments on how great the evening was and the Development Director did a fabulous job of planning the run-of-show. I was in charge of executing the event and got very nervous right before we started. I think everything hit me that if I screwed up, it could derail the entire event. I had help from a few amazing ladies and we pulled it off. Overall, this huge event was a success and helped fund a good cause.

Before the Gala dinner.

Friends of Trees

I volunteered at Friends of Trees two more times in 2016. The first one was a gift tree planting at the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge. These are unique because people can purchase trees as gifts and offer the recipients the chance to plant them. They're purchased as memorials, celebrations, and more. The planting was split into two shifts and our first shift didn't show up, so my partner and I planted shrubs. It was raining, but it was an Oregon rain. I pulled up my hood and hunkered down in the dirt. It was humid but as the rain drops fell from the brim of my hood and the mulch wafted into my nose, I was content. It was a perfect moment.

Our second shift consisted of two groups. One was planting two trees in memory of a grandfather and grandmother. The second was a large group planting in memory of a young(ish) girl who had passed away. She was somewhere near my age, judging by the picture. It was emotional and difficult to watch. I offered to help as needed but left them to grieve. We counted the number of trees to their memorial tree so that they could come back and visit as it grows. After they left, I helped plant more shrubs and carried tools back to the truck.

Crew from Jackson Bottom Wetlands planting.

My next planting involved a diverse range of ages. from toddlers to adults. One of the toddlers even had his own baby shovel! Our part of the planting went fairly fast so we helped another group. It was a nice sunny day and I had to lose my layers due to the heat. At first I thought it was odd that plantings are from October to April but after my first year, it makes sense. It's the best time for the plants to take root and the rain helps. Even though it can be chilly, planting in the summer would be difficult in the heat.

Other Volunteering

I've also been volunteering at OMSI (science museum in Portland). I help at events, since I work during the week and then I'm at Target on Saturdays. It hasn't been what I expected so I'm trying different events. Last weekend was their Gala and I helped at coat check. I enjoyed seeing their fundraiser and learning what I could from my limited perspective. I can't afford to attend Galas, so popping my head in to fundraisers where I can is how I learn about what other organizations do for theirs.

Moving?

Another reason for my blog absence has been because Brandt and I were considering moving. We've been in the same apartment for two years and aren't huge fans of it. It's too hot (corner unit, no AC, you've read my complaints) and Brandt doesn't like leashing up the dogs to take them outside. We take turns taking them out but they love to go out and are always wanting to go. Another frustration: they raise our rent every year and we don't receive any upgrades or anything, really. Our lease is due for renewal and since we moved in two years ago, our rent has increased by almost $3,000 per year. For a place we don't much like, we considered picking up and moving out.

The problem is that we have three dogs. Places claim to be pet friendly but they're only friendly to two dogs. The third is the devil and shall not pass. Finding a house, which is what we want so the dogs can have a yard, is damn near impossible. We did our research and couldn't find any place in our budget that would take our three monsters. Some were kind of affordable but they wanted a $900 deposit for the dogs plus $30 per month, per dog for pet rent. Most just said no.

When Brandt did his taxes he complained about the state income tax in Oregon. While we have no sales tax, they try to make up for it in income tax. The state income tax is 9%, while Kansas is 2.7-4.6%. Washington, however, has no income tax but has sales tax. We considered moving to Vancouver. Most of the places I contacted didn't get back to me and I am extremely opposed to driving to/from Vancouver. Why? Portland is surrounded by rivers. We live on the west side of Portland and that's the side of the river that downtown is on. We really never have to cross the river. There are many bridges in Portland and they're quite proud of them. In fact, they just opened a new one next to OMSI that only has the MAX (public transport train), bikes, and pedestrians. Portland also has many nicknames like Rose City and Bridge City, or variations thereof.

Map I found by Will Lund that illustrates Portland bridges among other icons.

This cute map shows the bridges spanning the Willamette and connecting East and West Portland. It's also showing the zoo, rose garden, Timbers stadium (soccer), downtown, OMSI, and more. Even with all of these bridges spanning the river, traffic across them can still be a complete nightmare. Now, what was that about Vancouver? The Columbia River separates Oregon and Washington and there are only two bridges connecting Portland to Vancouver. We're not the first ones to consider moving to Vancouver for the cheaper rent and no income tax and that drive is a nightmare.

We currently live where the star is and I work just north of the Sellwood Bridge (the southernmost bridge). The two circles are the only bridges connecting the cities. The drive would be mind numbing. Well, mine already takes 45 minutes to an hour and is pretty bad. This one could be worse. So we are staying in our small, hot apartment for at least another year.

Back to Kansas

Two of my friends had weddings planned for April 2016. I was hoping that they would be within a week of each other so I could go to both, but I wasn't so fortunate. I made the difficult decision based on location and that I hadn't seen my friends from home in two years. I spent the first day enjoying Wichita with my sister and then we went to Topeka for family time. It was great to see most of my family, especially the kids. Kids grow so fast and they're adorable when they're little so I absorbed everything I could.

The wedding was fun and I loved seeing all of my childhood friends again. Everyone is having kids and I was finally able to meet the ones born recently. I caught up with everyone and it was like I was only living in Wichita or Manhattan again; like no time had passed. I'm not a fan of wine, but the wedding was at a winery so I had a glass. They had blueberry (maybe another berry... mullberry?) wine and it was delicious, so I had a few more glasses after that! Definitely sweet but I don't like how tart most wine is.

Kitty-Sitting

A friend of mine went to her sister's wedding; I think it was right after Christmas. I kitty-sat her four felines, which included feeding, loving, and litter box cleaning. She had puppy-sat for us and I was mostly comfortable with her cats. I'm not a cat person but I love all living things. When I first went over to her apartment, all four cats greeted me with meows of joy and rubbed my legs. I thought, "Oh! They remember me and are excited to see me!" I was wrong. After I fed them, we were no longer best friends. However, I still cuddled with the two that are especially affectionate. I even brought Brandt over to play with them. since he's had a cat and knows what he's doing. I know he misses his little guy and he definitely enjoyed kitty time.

I know I had a lot to more to update about, but without my picture reminders, this is all I've got for now.

Friends of Trees

It's no secret, I love trees. Once I got a stable job out here, I began looking for a volunteer opportunity and I focused on the environment. I came across an amazing organization called Friends of Trees. It is their mission to "bring people together to plant and care for city trees and green spaces in Pacific Northwest communities.: I knew it was the place for me!

I signed up for Crew Leader training in the Green Spaces Initiative and went to training on Halloween. We met at Forest Park and spent the morning planting as our crews will and then the afternoon we were taught how to lead crews. Crew leaders arrive early to prep and when the other volunteers arrive, we break out into several teams. 

Everyone in the fall training before we got dirty.

It was fun being able to plant native plants in such a beautiful location. I learned a lot of fun facts, like: did you know that a plant's roots continue to grow in the same direction or configuration they started in? They taught us that if a plant's roots start spiraling, like when they grow in a pot, their roots will continue to spiral. This is a problem because the plant won't be able to stabilize itself or get proper nutrients. You can solve the problem by cutting the root just before the spiral starts, it will grow straight.

We learned many other techniques for digging, planting, and best practices while we lead teams. When we went inside the Audobaun Society's building, to begin learning the "classroom stuff," it started pouring outside. I was very thankful we were inside and not slipping around in the park. We'd gotten wet and muddy already but it was raining so hard it was like a waterfall shower head!

My first planting was the second weekend in January. I didn't want to take a weekend off from Target during fourth quarter, AKA the holiday shopping season. My memory was a little rusty but fortunately, we got a refresher before the other volunteers arrived. The location was in the middle of Beaverton, but it's tucked away near the MAX tracks. There were issues with erosion of a creek and they moved it over several feet. The city is in the process of building a walkway and we went in to plant trees and small plants to help prevent any more issues.

My group of volunteers was a 2nd grade cub scout pack and their dads. We then split into smaller groups and I ended up with three pairs of volunteers. The little guys were full of energy at 8 a.m. and had a blast digging the holes for our trees. Green Spaces doesn't normally plant large trees but this was a special project. It took two dads and me to move the trees into the holes once we dug them deep enough.

When we finished with our two trees and moved on to planting plugs along the slope of the creek. 

The terrain was a little rough in places but everyone stayed safe. There was one spot where I stood too long and almost got completely stuck. I'm glad for my boots because I had sunk so far, the mud was almost over them. I was able to pull my feet out without losing my footwear.

The tree the scouts and I planted.

It was a very muddy location!

Planting plugs along the bank will help keep the soil from eroding.

My second planting was at the end of January. It was a completely different area! There was a stream but we weren't near it. They had been working on this site for a while. In the picture below, you can see the ugly brown plants in the distance. They are an invasive, non-native species that completely covered the area before Friends of Trees began working in the area. While there was very little mud the ground is what I describe as "squooshy." It was mushy and my boots mad sucking sounds each time I took a step.

I had another scout troop and they were psyched to start digging. We planted shrubs this time, which was much easier for the kids. Basically, you put the shovel in the ground and wiggle it back and forth to make a pocket. Then you drop the shrub in, ensure the roots are under the ground, and fill in the pocket. It sprinkled a little and started really raining right when we finished cleaning up. 

I liked experiencing the vastly different locations that were both hidden in Beaverton. We only plant native plants and it's rewarding to see the land slowly changing back to what it's supposed to be. It's also rewarding to see the volunteers getting into the activities, especially the little ones.

You can't tell, but the spots without grass
are where we planted our shrubs.

We planted almost all the way down to those houses.

Goodbye 2015

Holiday Season

The end of 2015 was uneventful and that's just what we wanted. We finally spent our first Thanksgiving together without either of us working or in the hospital. Brandt made ham and plethora of other delicious foods and we spent the day together with the dogs.

We had a potluck at work again to celebrate winter holidays. I made adorable, edible spider webs for Halloween so I thought I'd try another creative dessert. I've been wanting to make melting snowman cookies for a while and gave it a try. They were a hit at work and also tasted pretty good.

A friend of mine had an ugly sweater party a few days before Christmas. I love to dress up but didn't need another ugly sweater. I wore the same ugly sweater I had a few years ago and added a twist. I found a sweet hairdo on Pinterest to up my game. I'm definitely going to use this idea again... I just need the right excuse and to figure out what other animals I can make out of my hair.

Christmas was also uneventful and wonderful. We both had the day off and enjoyed more of Brandt's delicious cooking; this time a roast. We watched Elf and A Christmas Story while opening presents from each other and love ones. Brandt's birthday is the next day and we ate the traditional ice cream cake. He even got the day off and did a little shopping with gift card money.

Giving Back

I ended my year by giving back a few more times. First, I stopped and made an in-kind donation the week after Christmas. I had a lot of socks I didn't need, a comforter with white in the design that needed to be washed too often because of our dingy dogs, and other items. I was going to take it all to Goodwill, like I always do, but then a coworker mentioned that the homeless shelters always desperately need socks. I hadn't considered that before and took everything they'd accept over there. I also donated a few old pillows as well as toiletries I'd never used and probably never would. The best part about stopping by Transition Projects was when the guy opened the closet to add my donations. The closet was absolutely stuffed. It made me happy to see that they had so much support. I can only hope the closet is that full all year, not just around the holidays.

I also donated blood for the second time since we moved. The Red Cross brings a bus by work a few times a year and has a mini-blood drive. I was in and out in just 30 minutes, when it normally takes an hour. It helps to be the last person of the day! They also had free shirts, which I'm always a fan of.

On my way to work the day before New Year's Eve, OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting) was running a one-day, year-end donation drive. I'd always meant to donate to KPB when I lived in Kansas and I knew I should quit putting it off. I became a sustaining member and they're going to plant a tree in my name. I was able to support two things I love at once!

Hello 2016

I chose to stay in on New Year's Eve and end the year calmly. Brandt and I played our 3DS's and cuddled with the puppies. I went to bed before midnight and it was another perfect holiday.

2016 began much more eventfully than 2015 ended. We got snow and ice! It was our first winter weather event since we moved out here in 2014. Oregon is woefully unprepared for ice: no salt allowed on the roads and very few snow plows. I spent my first day "back" at work, at home. I worked from the couch with three personal space heaters, AKA the dogs. Cedric loves the snow and I will end this posting with a picture of my snow puppy.