Long week

Whew, what a week we've had, today was a day of rest, we stayed home all day.  Slept in and I read on my book that I picked up this week.  Monster by Frank Peretti.  It's great, I love mysteries and sci fi so it fits both catageories.  We get tired quickly and alot of the time I don't feel rested after sleeping.  Peter sleeps good and can fall asleep anywhere for just a few minutes and feels rested, but I'm not like that.

We've visited with just about everyone as well as got many things done for Peter's mom's estate.  Only thing left is the banks, he will do that tomorrow as well as meet with his sister.

Aunt Cynthis and Uncle Ted came down on friday and met with us, Paul & Michelle and Ana and Costello at the grave site to lay flowers.

We then went out to lunch with them at Elmers, ran around some afterwards and took Paul and Michelle to dinner at Black Angus, yum, and such fun with Mackenzie and Trevor.

Missed visiting with Rachel, Sarah, Jordan and Sage, she never got back to me.  Hope we'll see them again.

Had a great time of catchup and fellowship with Roger and Barb on Saturday, we met at Tebo's in Clackamas.  It's their favorite place to eat and I can see why, the food is great.  Having great company to eat with doesn't hurt either.

I called Rob Saturday night and talked with him about where he is living!! He's down in AZ and loving it except for being lonesome with Julie still up in Milwaukie, OR.   He's doing well, loves AZ, misses Julie, rides his Motorcycle all over the place seeing the country.  We'll be there later this year and will stop in to see him then.

We're finishing up our business here in Portland hopefully by tuesday and heading up to Olympia for the show there.  The following Monday we will be back in Portland, picking up a bicycle for me. I took my Giant into the Bike Gallery and they put a measurement bar on it to see if it was bent and yes, it was off by a full degree.  One of the guys said that no wonder it didn't feel right to me, cause being hit by a car really did bend the frame.  I asked if they could fix it and he said no, it was too dangerous for me to ride.  So I'll be picking out a new frame this week and they'll get it done by the time we're back in town next week.  

We will then head out to Idaho to see Tom and Cheryl and onto Colorado for a great two weeks of Nationals.

Gresham/Troutdale

We're here, what a day, we made it into Portland by 2pm.  Needless to say I didn't make it to the DMV, I'll be calling a taxi in the am to get to the Gresham one.  I'm hoping that being first in line with everything that I need will get me out of there in record time.

I washed clothes today, cut Peter's hair and rested up.  

We had a wonderful drive up the gorge, the river was beautiful, it was great to see the trees of the NW, but once we passed Cascade Locks it started to rain.  We knew we were in the Portland area.

Looking forward to seeing everyone and getting things done.

Another Big Day

We're in Pendleton, OR tonight... what a long day of up and down.  Another 450+ miles today, just think how far we could go if the road was flat!!  It's almost scary to go down some of these steep slopes.  We've never been this way before so it was a first time trip for us both. Idaho was a surprise, I remembered it as being flat and sandy, but I guess not as it's quite beautiful ; rolling hills and lots of creeks.  Nice large ranches, the dogs were very excited to see all the cows!

We saw the little town that Tom and Cheryl live by... very nice.  Looking forward to seeing them on the way back.

The dogs are getting tired of traveling, we stop often to rest and stretch and allow them to potty and get some exercise.  Hoshi and I have been working on her obedience training, even while on the road, it takes a lot of time and consistancy to accomplish this.  Over and over commands, training, praising, working, getting it just right and then working on it some more.  I'm hoping to do competition obedience with her, I think that will be fun and create a real bond between us.

Tomorrow we will pull into Troutdale/Gresham around noon.  I have to go to the DMV and get my license renewed then rent a car so that we can run around and take care of closing bank accounts, paying any bills etc for mom's estate.  

Haven't heard back from Peter's sister, I called her number and talked to her machine twice telling her about her mom but have not received a response.  Peter will call tomorrow and try to reach her.

We'll get to see the grandkids this week, looking forward to that.. they have gotten so much bigger in the last three years.  Can hardly wait to see them, I'll have my camera ready to take bunches of pictures.

I've been doing alot of business as we've been traveling, whenever I've got internet access and telephone access I've been paying bills for the business, making arrangements for shows and rv parking, as well as working with the funeral home to get all arranged by the time we arrive.

It's strange to be back on pacific time after being on eastern and central time, we've almost got jet lag :)

Deer and the Antelope Play

Peter outdid himself today, we left laramie wy where we stayed last night and headed west... he drove and drove and drove.  Over many beautiful mountains up and down hills, we crossed the highest pass at over 8000 feet and then after that it stayed up around 7000 for miles and hours.  Much of the time the RV was at 45 mph sometimes high 30's due to the steep hills... many of the hills in WY coming up to the pass are a nice gentle grade so we didn't notice them as much, but down the other side they got steeper.  The roads are so nice, wide, dry and not very many bumps.  It would be much easier if we had a diesel RV but this one is chugging along.

The scenery was beautiful, the mountains are so majestic; the snow is already melting although we saw some rivers that were totally frozen over.  It was really exciting to see many herds of antelope along the way, really close to the interstate, must not be hunting season.

We entered Utah and thought we were going down into a valley, we did see some beautiful valleys turning north through Ogden, then once we headed further up onto 84 there were more mountains and we're heading up again. 

 The temps are not too terrible, tonight I was able to go outside with the dogs in shirtsleeves and vest.  The dogs were so good today with all the travel, we stopped enough times for Hoshi to do her business and I'd walk her around to get the kinks out, then back into the RV and off we'd go again.  Hoshi slept a lot but Nougat had to watch the road the whole time.  She's now in her crate conked out totally!!  When we parked tonight it was still light and I let both dogs out to play, there's no one else here at this campground so I was able to let them play, they both went nuts with running around and having a great time.

Tonight we stopped at just on the Utah side at exit 7, just over 455 miles today.  We'll be going through Idaho tomorrow,  don't know where we'll stop but have to get to Portland and get everything in order.

We will get to see the kids and Peter's aunt and uncle will be coming down.  We have alot to take care of, and hope to find Peter's sister; she hasn't answered any of our phone messages.

On our way back we hope to stop at Tom & Cheryl's and spend a day... we don't have to be in Greeley CO until the 12th.  I got us a booth at both the Sheltie National and the Austrailian Sheep Dog National and setup is the 13th.  We'll get to see Ellen and meet her beau too, I'm so looking forward to that.

Heading UP

We're in the western part of NE and climbing.. there is faint traces of snow on the ground but lots of trucks on the road warming it up.  And we're following close in their tire tracks.

The sunrise was behind us this AM when we left the KOA in North Platte, not too cold either: I couldn't see my breath. :)

We pulled in there fairly early yesterday.. around 3PM, got some stuff done but it's nicer to just rest and play with the dogs. do computer work etc.

The road is boring today, some cows with calves but hardly any towns or settlements.  Lots of grain fields even with it being so high up.  The sky is totally clear and sunny with some haze in the distance... that's probably the mountains sending off cold waves into the warmer air.. BRRRRRRRR

Day 3

We got up REALLY early this AM, took off before the sun was fully up before 7 central time.  It was getting light really fast when we pulled onto hwy 29.  Then we headed up to hwy 2 * it's the test road paved with 16000 car tires with concrete on top... it has reduced their maintenance as it flexes with the cold*  very nice hwy that took us up to I-80 heading for N Platte, NE.

We've so far seen a flock of wild turkeys, about 30 in the bunch, really close to the road, we could see their red heads and waddles, the calves and foals are dropping, and are out in the world experiencing it.  The land is very flat and has large water irrigation devices on each acreage.  Crops we see are wheat and corn, all cut down now but we can see the stalks.

We expect this to be one of the more boring days due to the lack of changes in the sceenery.  We're getting there though, I called the vendor chair for the Aussie Shepherd national and she said to come!!  It's going to be in Greely CO the 3rd week of April so we will be hitting that on our way to Bucks Co PA which is just N of Philadelphia.

We really enjoy the fact that we can change our plans on the spur of the moment like this.

Day 2

We left rather early this AM, before 8:30 and headed west on first 370 and then 70. e The light was out on the brake controller so we found a trailer sales along the way and they showed Peter where the fuse was, that fixed it.  We also picked up a nice little trailer tongue BOX to hold the extra gas in for the generator.  It's just the right size; doesn't hang over at all; and we got it for 10% off, plus the kid there screwed it onto our trailer tongue just in front of the trailer.  Very nice to have this, I'll be able to put the extra gear for the hitch (wheel chock, wheel foot, chains, etc) into it as well as carry the gas outside the trailer.

We're on the road heading for Kansas city and have decided to turn north there to catch I-80 up by Omaha, NE.  We're going to spend the night at Rock Port, MO and I'll start working on my shelves in the trailer. 

 We have alot to ship out too, have to get a "walky Dog" off to Belgium.  I have been selling a few of them internationally through the internet.  I've picked up two new products in the last three weeks of dog shows, illuminated collars and leashes and garden flags that have dog heads on them.  Both items are very nice and will be a good addition to my booth.  Neither of them take up alot of space but should bring in a good percentage of the total sales.

The biggest seller that we have is the leather that Peter is making, he does such a beautiful job, people can see the difference between what he does and what the others do.  He measures each cut from the previous one, and most of the others eyeball it... makes for a big difference in how the leashes look. I get comments all the time about how his looks so professionally made, they believe me because we do custom orders overnight.

The Missouri countryside is beautiful, no leaves on the trees yet but with the bare rock and the brown leaves on the ground with green peeking through it makes for great scenery.  There was alot of flooding in the eastern part but here in the west side of the state the hills let all the water drain off quickly.

We talked to some people from Oregon who came out here and bought a partially underground house.  The roof and one side is above ground, there are quite a few underground houses in this area.  Peter and I have been talking about living underground, we'd like to get a silo and renovate it but they are currently going for about 1/2 million.  So that's a dream but we like to talk about having a house like that with all the electricity that we can generate with wind, water, solar panels etc.

1st long day

We left at 9am this morning, it took forever to get through Evansville, IN... they are always working on the roads and blocking traffic.  It was nice using the KY parkways and then we went N to I-64.. poor Peter had to drive for a long time today... got here to the rv park just w of st louis and gave him a good dinner.

We're working on the phone and fax to get all the data to the funeral home to be able to get all things done for the cremation and internment for Mom.

The dogs have been very good traveling all day, we did stop a couple of times, giving them a much needed break to stretch their little legs.

The RV is driving nicely, we are seeing alot of flooding in the fields, we crossed the Mississippi, Ohio and Missouri rivers today and each were flooded.  We saw houses and barns stranded, roads going off into the water with no end in sight.  All the water is muddy and there is lots of debris; consisting of logs and branches floating though and under the bridges.

The weather is great, up into the 70's today, of course we're down south to a certain extent, but now we're going out on I-70 toward the mountains and I'm sure it will get colder as we go.  I told Peter that he'll have to pull out his warm pants and stop wearing shorts.

Looking forward to seeing my newest grandson and also the other grand-children too.

Big Trip

We have decided to take the RV, we've spent the last few days researching all the options, and have come to the conclusion that if we bring the RV we can go to a couple of shows on the way back to help pay for the trip, making this trip a business expense.

We like our house on wheels, and hate to be in hotels and strange transportation. 

We are currently in Bowling Green, KY and will head out tomorrow, our first stop being around St Louis, MO... then we'll take hwy 70 west to Denver, then head N to I-80 all the way to Salt Lake City... then change to I84 into Portland.

Peter figures it will take us 8 days to get to Portland, some days we will travel more than others, but we will be able to rest completely when we stop (in KOA's)

We got some work done on the RV, our sway bar was completely broken and our front air bags were bad, one had burst.  We also got new house batteries as they had bit the dust.

We will also be able to continue shipping to customers without a 2 weeks hiatus that could hurt the business.

Looking forward to seeing Rachel and Paul (he will drive up from K-Falls) and Ted and Cynthia are driving down from Seattle (Cynthia is Peter's Aunt on his dads side)... we will go to the cemetery together and lay flowers.

Ana called today and has the flu, she is upset over loosing Erika but is thankful that Erika is no longer in pain.

I have called Peter's sister a couple of times and left messages but no response... we're hoping that she get ahold of us.

Anyone reading this, please pray for us as we travel that long way, it will be long days across big distances, we hope to make it in 8 days, maybe sooner, but Peter can only drive so much.  I'll get my license renewed when we get to Portland, then maybe he'll let me help drive occasionally.

Mom died

Peter's mom died this AM just after midnight.  We mourn her loss but are thankful that she called us yesterday to say goodbye.  It was a sweet moment, and we miss her alot.  We are thankful that she went peacefully in her sleep.

Goodbyes

Peter's mom called tonight to say goodbye.  She is dying and not expected to last more than a few days, possibly going even tonight.  She told us that she loved us and to take care.  Only God knows what is in her heart, we have prayed, preached and prayed some more for her.  Hospice has taken over and is giving her as much morphine as possible to ease her pain.  The tests show a large mass in her lungs, suspected cancer and she didn't want to go through any further tests due to her age.  She's 81 this year and is very tired due to the pain she's been putting up with.

We are expecting to drive out to WA to close her estate in the next couple of weeks.  We can't really afford to stay out there very long due to working our business for our financial well being.

It's sad but true that we need to keep working to keep paying the gas prices and feeding ourselves.

Louisville, Kentucky

Peter is doing better today, he's had a rough week with nausea, headaches and stomach problems.  The headaches are still with him but he's getting over the nausea.  He's very tired all the time and sleeps alot, I've been taking over the RV responsibilities as much as I can, plugging in the electricity, and cable, putting the trailer up and down, (the electric switch went out!)and getting the levelor up and down.

He catches a nap whenever we stop somewhere to shop, he never comes into stores with me, it's just too tiring.  He stays in the RV most of the time.  His blood sugars are slowly coming down... They are now down to 200 most of the time and still dropping.

His mother is going downhill very fast and that is putting a real strain on Peter, he knows it's time for her but is stressing out just the same.  She now has possible lung cancer as the dr's found a mass in her lungs.  She's been in extreme pain and insisted that she go to the hospital to help get some management for it.  The dr's thought she had neumonia but instead when doing a scan found the mass.  If they do more tests they will be obligated to treat her which she doesn't want.  She is tired of all the pain and her quality of life is really low right now.. Ana and Costello are taking wonderful care of her but she is sleeping alot and can't move much besides all the pain even with the drugs.

I have been doing better, Hoshi and I are using the bike daily and I think I see a difference in myself, clothes are fitting looser all the time.  I am a real klutz, coming out of Flying J after paying for the propane, I stumbled on a small crack in the pavement and went down hard on both hands and one knee.  I've gotten arthritis in the right wrist and that didn't help it any.  My feet are doing worse, all my toes except for the big one are numb little rocks most of the time, I have been wearing some warm boots as I am continually cold in the feet.  

Here in Louisville we've been having great weather, today was up in the 70's ... funny they just had a huge snow storm last Sunday!!!  We can still see the dirty snow piled up along side the freeway!  Tomorrow is supposed to rain but it will be a welcome rain due to the fact that this has been a dry winter, even with all the snow.  The rivers are still very low out here, people are not looking forward to another drought of a summer...

Hoshi

This morning we're in MO, and just changed the clocks back so it's dark and cold outside when we get up.

I've gotten dressed and done my stuff, Hoshi come out into the living area, starts to talk (she vocalizes without barking, ahrah ahrah) and grabs the corner of her heavy coat and brings it to me.  She's ready to go outside and do a potty, and knows that it's cold and she needs her coat!!!  What a good girl, so smart. 

It is dark and cold, yesterday it was 6 degrees when we got up, no snow, but terribly cold.  I bundled both of us up in layers, (Hoshi has a sweatshirt that goes below her heaviest coat) and took off on the bicycle to go to the building about 1/4 mile away.  We arrived very cold and not very sweaty, but the building was alot warmer... probably in the 40's and made it possible to warm up.

Trevor Cole Soldan

What a sweet baby, so much dark hair... Just looking at him, I can smell his sweet baby smell... I miss not being there... I'd love to cuddle him for hours, but then hand him to his mom when it's time to change dirty diapers... LOL