Can it really be this long since I've posted?

Wow! I can't believe I haven't posted in such a long time. Life has gotten so hectic around here. Yes, our friends are still here. They are running around getting things like doctors, dentists, all their utilities ready to be turned on in their names, getting painters to give estimates. I wonder if they realize the house they are buying isn't theirs yet and they keep going over and intruding on the current owners. They are parading 4 different painters through the house so they can get estimates. Now they are trying to arrange for gardeners to be ready to jump in and take over when escrow closes. It just amazes me. I am trying to keep my life as normal as I can. I am going to the gym daily (with or without them and hubby) and I still keep up my Farm Town (of course)but I have neglected going to the grocery store and a few other stores. I have a car full of cans and bottles to be recycled (5 cents each item here in Oregon). I'll be so glad when this is all over with and we can get back to our normal little lives here in Kathy's World. The husbands want to go to Costco today and I would rather take care of my little errands but I will probably go to Costco with the crowd. We took them to a furniture store here so they could look for a new bedroom set and we ended up buying a new dining room table and china cabinet. Go figure!! So now I have my old china cabinet listed on Craig's List. I had two people come and look at it yesterday but neither one bought it. We gave our old table and chairs away to a young couple from our church who are about to move in a house they are buying. They have very little in the way of furniture so we gave them some other items we've been wanting to get rid of too. Well, I hear my hubby getting up so I have to go make him some coffee. Til next time........

All's Quiet Here Now.........

Our friends who have been at our house for the last 2 weeks left yesterday for a 3 day visit to some friends up north of here. It is the perfect break for us. Even though they are not staying in the house with us, (they are staying in their motorhome using our hookups) (our motorhome is down the street at some friend's house) they are in here most of the day. We eat dinner together each night so there is always the conversation over what to cook. I'm used to being the one to decide what to eat for dinner. It throws me off when the husband says to me "I took some pork chops out of the freezer for dinner tonight" I think since the wives are the cooks in the households they should at least have a say in what we are going to cook. I guess he tells her what they are having for dinner on a regular basis. Not so in my house. I ask my husband what he would like for dinner but mostly he just says, "I don't know, whatever you want"

So it is nice to have our space to ourselves again even if it's only for 3 days. They are dear friends but it's hard when you are used to only having the two of you here and suddenly there are four of you. No plans yet for the weekend. We will go to the gym this morning and then maybe come home and plant some ground cover on the slope along the side of our house. I'll take a picture of the new garden hubby put in our front last week. We added two Japanese Maples and a century plant (which is beginning to bloom) and some ornamental grasses. Have a good day everyone.

A Day in the Woods...........

This is some of our group at the top of the falls.

This is me as we took off for our 2 mile hike through the forest and up and alongside the river back to the camp where we were to have our lunch.

This is the bottom of Watson Falls. This was also the beginning of our hike. We continued on to the top where the Falls comes over the mountains. These pictures came out in reverse order. We had a great time. I got a great workout. The first hike was very invigorating on a trail that was steep in places and climbed to the top and then down again. The brochure said it was .4 miles but we all agreed we hiked much further than that. Our second hike was 2 miles and started out on flat land so it was a relief after hiking uphill for the first to the waterfalls. But after a while we were climbing again. It took a little less than an hour and when we got back to the camp one of the couples had brought a barbecue grill and we had grilled hamburgers and everyone brought salads to go with them. We had Tabbouleh, spinach strawberry salad, carrot raisin salad, potato salad, green salad, 2 fruit salads. It was very refreshing. What a fun day. The ride home was much quieter than the ride there as we were all pretty tired from our hiking. I felt like I got a pretty good workout so I didn't feel like I needed to go to the gym. This morning I feel great and I am ready to head out to the gym and then get some planting done out front.

Relief at Last....

I am happy to say that since I visited my doctor and he removed a little of the saline in my LapBand I have found relief at last. No more having to sleep in the recliner or with numerous pillows under my head. I am able to just go to bed and sleep. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to just be able to sleep and not be afraid to take a sip of water after 6pm. The band had gotten a little tighter over time and just needed a little taken out. Ahhhhh!

Today we are going on a picnic and hike with a group from our church. Our friends that are visiting us will be going with us. We are going to a waterfall in our area. Oregon has many, many waterfalls and this particular one we've never been too. I am looking forward to seeing it. I'll take my camera so I can share what it looks like. In our area there are 6 or 7 really pretty waterfalls. We've only been to one of them so now we'll be able to scratch this one off the list of to do waterfalls too. I made some potato salad to take with us and my friend Eileen made carrot raisin salad. After our hike we'll be having barbecued hamburgers and the salads. Everyone is to bring a salad and the burgers and drinks and utensils are being provided. The hike to the waterfall is only 1/2 mile but there is also a two mile hike for those who want to take it. I am going to go for the 2 mile hike since I won't be able to go to the gym today. That way I'll get my exercise in too.

It's been a productive weekend. My hubby put a mound on our front yard and we planted 2 Japanese Maple trees that we've had in large planters on it. We also put a century plant and several ornamental grass plants on it. We put fences around the maples to keep the deer from eating them and the other plants are deer resistant. I'll try and get a picture of it too. We also put a 2 tiered wall around it with stacking blocks. It looks so pretty.

Doctor's visit.........

I went and saw my doctor today. He was a little stumped as to why I was having the reflux I've been having. It's been almost like aspirating. I wake up coughing and have to get up and move to my recliner. He looked at the pictures of my barium swallow taken back in February when I had a problem and said they looked normal so he was reluctant to have me take another one without first trying to remove a bit of saline from my band. He removed a tiny amount and said to give it a week. If after a week I am still suffering from the same thing he will send me for another barium swallow (upper GI) and get a gastroenterologist involved as well. I am hoping I will have a better night tonight.

We went to Costco while we were in the Eugene area. We don't have one here near where we live. They are planning on building one here next year though. Our friends found a house they like and made an offer on it. It was counter-offered and they accepted. So they will be home owners here in another month. Then they will go back and pack up their home in So Cal and move it all up here. They are planning on selling the house in California. I think I will call it a night now. I am very tired.

It's Finally Friday......

It's been a busy week for my hubby and me. We have friends visiting us and they will be here for the next six weeks. After that we will be camping with them for a couple of weeks. The are from southern California and come up this way every summer. This time they are looking for a home to buy here though. It becomes a bit trying after a while since we usually plan our dinners together. Breakfast and lunch we are on our own but dinner we have together. It is fun but it's a bit much having someone here all that time. They are really great people and are doing all they can to not be overbearing. They will be in Oregon until October. They go fishing for salmon at the coast in September. He is a master fisherman. If nobody is catching fish, he is. If everybody is catching fish, he is catching the most. I don't know how he does it but he knows all there is to know about fishing.

Our pets seem to be doing better. Chloe is feeling better and isn't limping anymore and Molly is taking her medicine for the thyroid problem and does seem to be drinking water less and even may be gaining a little weight. I am so glad.

I haven't lost any weight in the last several weeks and it's been frustrating me. I am having a bit of a problem and I think I will be calling my doctor to let them know. My acid reflux has worsened. I get up every night and move to the recliner so that I can sleep. I wake myself up in bed coughing. It seems that liquids come up while I am asleep and I feel like I am aspirating. Sometimes I wake up with a mouthful of liquid. The Prilosec keeps it from having an acid taste but it is still coming up. So I know that isn't right. I am wondering also if I have enough restriction. I am able to eat much more than I could before. I usually don't but I don't want to feel hungry. The thing with the Lapband is it is adjustable and needs to be tweaked to find the right fill for me.

I hope you all have a great weekend. I am hoping to finally make it to our Saturday Market tomorrow and the guys are going fishing so the wives will be no doubt shopping tomorrow.

A good day for fishing.........

Here is the catch of the day. Rainbow Trout. Last week we went fishing and I caught the only fish. We have some friends visiting us from So Cal and the husbands went back to the lake yesterday and hubby caught these 2 beauties. He tries and tries to fish and is always willing to take his friends fishing in his boat. The problem is he is always skunked. Everyone but him catch fish. I don't know what it is but he was so tickled to have caught 2 of them yesterday I had to get this picture of his happy grin. Tonight we'll be having a fish fry.

I haven't been on here much lately between Farm Town and our visitors I 've been pretty busy. Not only that but now hubby got on Farm Town and he is trying to reach my level and surpass me so he is spending lots of time on it. Libby you were right! We all are going to need 12 step programs soon. The weather here went from beautiful sunny and low 80s to a crazy thunderstorm like we never see here in Oregon the other night. It looked like a tornado went through our yard. Debris from the trees is everywhere. Since that night (Tuesday) it's been muggy and warm and overcast. We had more rain last night but it was our typical showery rain. Bring back our sunshine!!

The guys are going fishing again on Saturday and us girls will be going to the local farmer's market here in town. I have every intention of going to the farmer's market every Saturday and for some reason I block from my memory until just before they close and so I miss it each week. This week I will have help remembering it.