sisters

You may notice my last couple posts got mixed up.  That's cause i goofed up and some became drafts and then i had to straighten it out.
What a beautiful few days i have had.  Beautiful weather, sunny, warm.  80-90's like i said but not to hot for me.  I learned to wear wick a way clothes and man that makes all the difference in the world. They are like exercise wear but look like regular clothes. Its the ticket for me.
The land is beautiful in its own way, some may not think so, but i love the openness and the spacious feeling you get.  The trees are gnarled and have such character, i have gotten some great pictures. Some great texture pictures to use for fodder for quilts.
The quilt show was great, some regular quilts, some amazing use of traditional patterns in unusual ways, some great ideas on placement or borders, some total unique and so great art quilts.  Just a real treat for the eyes.  Color everywhere, on the streets, the flowers, the quilts.  Art everywhere.  The area has grown so much and the economy is so much better here than it was the last time i was here, 8 years ago. The expo had some great quilt exhibits, like the route 66 traveling show, the Hoffman challenges for this year, a long arm exhibit that was really good, and some others.   The QuiltWorks shop had a couple exhibits upstairs too.  One was by some one named Perry i think, it was really good.  She does some really nice animal and landscape quilts.
I saw a young boy in sisters selling signs he was wood burning with a magnifying glass and the sun.  He was only about 8 years old, and i thought it was pretty clever and resourceful of him.  Nothing fancy but he did a pretty good job.
They have some great sculptures down here also.  They have a huge horse rearing up in town that is made from horseshoes.  Sculpture pieces on the top of the garbage cans.  They have some pretty clever deals.  They also have a version of the running horses going across the field, and i took a picture and happen to also get the three sisters mts in the back. Its a great picture if i do say so myself.
On the way home from sisters we stopped at yet another dog park.  it was on the order of green lake with a long trail up and down the hills around the grassy area.  they found a couple dogs to run with so when we got home they were tired.  In fact I am not sure we have dogs here in the RV.  They went with Leroy to sisters and the 4 of them camped out under a tree with a shade tarp and a breeze and had a nice afternoon.  Sitting right by a big open lot so they got to walk around and such too.  Then they met me on the last round i had to do and walked up and down the street and good grief, did people gush over them, so they enjoyed themselves there and that tired them out too.  Poor Diesel was in the pack on Leroy's back and I almost forgot about him.  Once he sees that pack, there is no taking him out of it.  He turns around and jumps back in.  He settles down and sleeps and looks around and feels real secure I guess.
So I have had some really nice days.
Think we will move up to sisters tomorrow for a couple days before we start home.  They have some stuff going on there and I want to look in some of the stores.  There should be room in the city campground by then.
Long post, sorry if some really is reading this.  Ha Ha.

Oregon

Here we sit in high desert.3465ft above sea level.  We can see Mt Bachelor, Mt Adams, Mt Hood from here.  I have letters from a friend of my grandmothers to her from the 1800s.  She talks about homesteading out here and hanging out clothes and being able to see all three mountains.  She was probably in some spot around here.  She also says in one letter that the guy that invented homesteading should have his face stepped on!  So as we drive along I daydream about what it must have been like.  Can you imagine living in a sod shanty out here in this area, not seeing others very often, working your butt off just to survive, being hot in all those clothes they used to wear, eating the same things over and over.  Man those women were something else.  Doubt their marriages had much romance, or maybe even love in them.  Those women of that century paved the way for us today and we should not forget them..\ Leroy points out where there were fires in the last few years, imagine those homesteaders seeing a fire comming, not being able to stop it, hardly able to get away from it.  We have not got the history our here that they do in the east or that they do in europe but our history is hard working people who carved out a country for us.
We have a little one on our trip whos name is Maysen.  He is about 12' tall and made of  paper that is laminated.  He comes from a little nephew who sent him to us to help him travel and send back in time for school. So far he hasn't seen a lot but we will take him to the market and downtown seattle and such, and this weekend he will see oregon and the quilt show.
Just went to the bathroom at Madras McDonalds and met two ladies who are headed to sisters also.  They have a vendor booth at Redmond.  Evidently Redmond has a huge quilt vendor show at the fairgrounds at the same time. And i know Bend has a big arts festival at the same time as Donna and I have been to that.
Lots to do and Leroy is overjoyed, thats a big ha ha!

More oregon

I have starts this and lot it three times again, so lets hope this time it goes thru.  We got here wed, tho I keep thinking thurs.  it seems I lost a day somewhere as it was tues to me.  We were tired but I still cleaned the RV and washed clothes and then it felt good to sit down. Thurs we got up and we went to a dog park in the am and a diferent one in the pm.  We started quilt store hopping but then the realtor called us to go look at a couple of houses.  Nothing good but gave us some ideas of what's available and costs and such.
Houses and taxes are cheaper than I would have predicted but for now we are just looking.  Mainly just trying to get ideas more than anything else.  We like the high desert area and have to say tho it has been in the 80-90's and tho its warm it seems not that hot.  It's pretty dry here and humidity does make a difference.
Dog parks, man they have more dog parks than you can count here.  That and trails.   There are so many dog parks we have been lucky not to find any at busy times.  The dogs have been having some great times with all the new things to sniff at.  They have been pretty pooped the last few days.
Leroy got his camera he has been saving for and got it here and paid no sales tax. So he will have a bit of a learning curve with it but he will have hours of enjoyment with it. I like to have trials and training runs videoed to see how to improve so now he can do that. Seems I will get something out of it that way.    Then my camera went belly up about a week ago.  My little pocket one.  Thought it was the battery but finally found a place today an they said, you don't need a new battery, you need a new camera.  Oh we'll, I used it a lot and hard so it was old and guess it paid for itself.  I just loved it tho.  So today I went to fredmeyer and found a similar one tho more updated after all these years and it is even thinner and smaller and it was on sale!! So I have a little pocket size camera and it's neon pink.  Shouldn't lose that.  Need a camera for tomorrow for the quilt show.
Today we hit two more dog parks, early and late.  We hit some quilt stores.  Then we went to redmond and I went to Oregon quilt expo.  It was the first year and guess sisters hasn't helped support or advertise them but at least hasn't shut them down as they have some.  That's the gossip I heard today anyhow.   Well it was small 60-70 vendors but great.  I got one on one lessons on appliqué, embroidery, machine appliqué, needle turn appliqué.  I learned so much in those few hours, all geared to what I needed to know, great people teaching me.  It was so great....  I can hardly wait to put them into practice. Purchased a few small things and an add on table to use at home but mainly here in the RV.  So it was a great day.
We had gotten some bagels.  We left the car for. While and the bagels were hidden.  When we came back and opened the passenger door , there was diesel on the floor with the bagels. he looked up at us like, Oh Shit!!!  The look on his face was so funny.
Tonight when we got back home ,of  course we heard an owl or hawk get something, and I hate that sound.  Not a nice to end the day. But we are out in the middle of the desert.
Don't know how such a fun and exciting week can come out so boring on paper.  Must be my writing abilities.  As I said, traveling with Leroy is always fun cause he can usually answer all questions and if he can't his answers are so goofy you have to laugh. It's like driving around South Dakota in our little old jeep.  Those were the days.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

We are leaving Rufus Oregon this am.  Just a grease spot in the road but a good spot to catch up on sleep and cool off.  I slept and slept and slept!  Feel good so far today, just stiff from being in bed so long.  It is just a grease spot in the road pretty much..  But i decided you could just enlarge your driveway, put in some services and bwala you could bring in extra money. :)
I just had the screen open on my window and my little felted birds were trying to fly outside.  Man, things sure come to life don't they.
 This is the colombia river gorge. For those of you who haven't seen it it is just sides on each side of the river that are just brown and kinda baren with windmills churing away on the washington side.  Wind surfers on the water and woops, in the water, and fisherman fishing with line and some with nets. The cars on the washington side lookk so little, as i imagine we do to them.  it has its own kind of beauty, and Mt. Hood is sticking his head up.
Diesel sits in the front window until he is so hot his tongue is handing out so far i didn't know it was that long. But he will not give up.  Yesterday because the window was open and he could hear sounds as well as see he decided that semis scared him when they went by. So we had to battle that for a while but he seems better about it today.  Isn't that stupid for a dog named Diesel..
We are on our way out of the gorge and a big wind came along and hit us broad side as we are going up hill on this narrow road and i almost had to change my underwear it scared me so bad.  i still remember that truck on the deception pass bridge. whew.

Man am I tired

Well I am sure all the wild rose quilters are tired today.  From our late nite outings at the playground, to late nites sewing, and late nites due to fireworks, and late nites due to kids making noise in the poark till three am.  We made it to the Columbia river and we are spending a nite at a "RV campground".  It's a large parking lot next to her house with about 5 pull thurs, ha ha.  Oh we'll, good thing we are flexible  and not to picky.  So we stopped early enough so we could cool down with the ac and I could unpack.  Pretty drive down here and Leroy kept me interested in the topography talking about a book he had read about this area being carved out by a huge flood.  Always nice to travel with a history buff.  So I am unpacked, drank as much water as I could, we ate supper, took the dogs for a walk which wasn't on their agenda and now I think I will go to bed and read.  It was cloe to 100 here today,   I am eager to sew again tho.

Pets

Speaking of cats.  I was so Worried the cats wouldn't do well in the RV.  Well surprise surprise! 

Except for Sidney's little venture out they are fine.  Move around in the RV while we are driving, sleep different places and seem totally relaxed.  The birds love it.  Dogs are fine, except for Iris.  Since that fender ended we were in a year ago she still gets nervous in cars.  She finally got so she will ride in the car again ok recently but she still stresses in the RV.  Will be happy when that passes.

More catchup

More on the Argus show.  Sallee did really well for Leroy and did well for me in obedience but her handler (me) screwed her up.  Annie did well with her dog and also got a Total Dog award one day.  Sam her sister did well but only in one class but she got lots of ribbons and was happy.

The quirks to the show were, iris took a bad fall off the dog walk, not watching where she was going and walked off the side so sun she was limping and we pulled her from what she was entered in.   And out on our fri nite walk with all the dogs, diesel got a tiny sticker in his foot, we removed it and we must not have gotten it all out and he was so dramatic it was ridiculous.  It finally festered and we took care of it and it healed up.

The day after the show we took the RV up to Burlington and got the tow part out on that and picked up the car.

From there we started out and went to millersylvania state park where we stayed.  On the third Jeff and Donna and our friends Bernie and Linda came and I had the greatest birthday ever.   Had a barbecue and visited and in the evening I raced a bunch of less than 10 yr old kids around the traffic circle in the park on my bike.  Then when I got tired Leroy did it and then we turned my bike over to a dad and then the kids had to try it and we had a blast and laughed our heads off.

Donna and I then left on the 4th to go to a quilt retreat. The retreat was in Orting at the Wild Rose and we had a blast.  One of the best I have been on.  I got a fair amount done and figured out or planned, we went down slides at 10-11 at nite one nite, laughed our heads off at stuff, went for walks, went out to eat a few times, shared coffee and friendship,shared quilt knowledge, more theirs than mine, in general had fun, relaxation and became even closer friends.

Mon Leroy picked me up, he had move to a campground down the road from Orting on the 5th, and 

we packed me up and we hit the road.   That is, after we had a scare, couldn't find Sidney, and figured out he had gotten out. Went looking for him and found him snooping not far away.   He let me pick him up and take him back. I was so scared.  Couldn't imagine going on the way with out my handsome boy!  So we hit the road and got a site from on line.  It was quiet and people were nice but it was mostly a campground used by the Mexicans who are working their butts off to get by and I felt guilty for all I have and the fact I am not working any more.  It was nice tho and have nothing bad to say about it tho.  This morning we see that there was a traveling tourist one across the road that was beautiful.  The Toutle river campground in castle rock for future reference

I am so mad, i lost a bunch of posts that didin't go on and weren't saved in the drafts.  Will try to briefly catch you up.  We left Oak Harbor, went up to Burlington.  Left the car (the little old Kia Sportage we bought to tow behind the motorhome) to be fitted with tow stuff.  Then after a nite there we headed to Everett where i saw my md and picked up the girls (Annie and her sister Sam).  They followed us in their car to Argus Training Ranch in Auburn where we went to a three day dog show we hit every year.  Its a big deal for us.  Iris got a Total Dog Award one day (which we have been chasing for 5 years)  which means she placed in a conformation class (she has one of 5 needed to get her Grand Championship) and she placed in a performance sport (agility and rally). Its hard to do and its a meaningful award.  Annie did the conformation, i did the rest and Iris did it all. :)
I will post more tomorrow.