Brother/Sis in Law

 Out of the blue, I get a call early morning yesterday, just after I got up, from my younger brother.

They were in Vancouver, overnighting with friends, after returning from an Alaska trip.

Their daughter is currently in Anchorage on assignment from the Army so they went up and did a bunch of tourist stuff and got to see her too.

They stayed in an Airbnb, they said, that was really awful.  It came with woman's underwear in the bed and moldy dishes.

Also cameras.  So when their daughter came to see them there, immediately they were informed of charges for an extra guest.   No matter if she simply knocked on the door.  Anyone on the property, even in the driveway would elicit that extra charge.  It was a nightmare, they said.

They visited Seward, where I used to live and work, and Whittier and various other tourist spots.    I think they really enjoyed themselves.  I know I enjoyed hearing of where they went.  

But yesterday morning, when they got here, they looked exhausted.    They admitted they are exhausted.

We met at a restaurant just off the freeway, so they could be on their way again quickly and get home.

I hope they got a lot of sleep after they got home.

No photos, didn't take any, my phone is acting strangely.   Friday it was dead almost all day, but I'd forgotten to charge it.

I'm happy it worked to receive my brother's call yesterday morning!   How wonderful to see them!

 

The Lake and Green River

 I went to the lake yesterday.   Had a blast.

I overdid it, and will pay, but worth it.

The boat ramp was busy but everyone was very nice.  

When waiting for the boat load/launch line to go down, I saw a huge boat launching that was so beautiful and looked like a yacht almost.   Half of it was silver glittered, in color.   

I paddled way up the S. Santiam from the reservoir.   Two rivers enter Foster Reservoir.  The South Santiam, that snakes above Foster along highway 20 and the Middle fork of the Santiam, that comes down from Green Peter dam.    Green Peter reservoir is fed by Quartzville Creek and the Middle fork of the Santiam.  Green Peter dam and reservoir are five miles up above Foster on Quartzville road.   In the winter, thrill seeker kayakers run the S. Santiam rapids higher up, in wet suits or dry suits.   

The south Santiam is slow moving just up from Foster.  In fact, the current takes you backwards--up river, until a certain point.   On the paddle back downriver to Foster, you almost always are paddling against wind, so its much tougher going back.  Too bad its not reversed.   Almost always I get to a point, this time of year, on the S. Santiam, where algae blooms badly.   Same this year.  So bad this year I renamed the S. Santiam yesterday Green River.

I was going to paddle clear up to the rapids but ended up, the algae was so bad, I turned around before then.   

You don't want to swim or even dip your toes into algae like that.

Before the river turned to green, it was beautiful, however.

Found this magnificent fallen monster tree.    These massive trees fascinate me.  I'm in awe.

I got home late and had to scramble to do the cat chores before dark.   I was happy.  My car is running and the heart monitor is mailed off.  I took my first shower in two weeks Wednesday night.     The auto shop where my car was fixed seems extremely competent and I will use them again.

Alsea Falls

 My neighbors sister has been visiting from New Mexico.  She's been staying next door two weeks but leaving today to go home.

Monday they wanted me to join them to find a waterfall.   I couldn't think of any close to a parking lot where the neighbor could easily get to it, since she can't walk far.

So we went to Alsea Falls.   It's not far from here.   I hadn't been in awhile though.

She's not a good driver, the neighbor, and hugged the center of the narrow windy road out, headed west off 99W north of Monroe.   I cringed from the back seat, tried to keep my mouth shut, but these are mountain roads, barely enough room for a car to pass coming from other direction.   If going around a corner in the middle of the road and another comes, you can get slammed into.   We made it.  Whew.

There were a few cars in the day use parking lot.   The neighbor got about 50 feet down a trail slowly with her sister.  I went on ahead to the falls and climbed down the steep part, that includes some railing then no railing and some rocks for steps down to the flat rocks beneath the falls.  

It was beautiful.  I knew my neighbor could not make it down to the flat rocks but her sister could.   I went back up to the top of the trail and helped her come down.   A couple, on a first date, also helped her get down the rock step part.

Then we all helped her back up once she was ready to leave.   But up at the top of the trail, my neighbor was nowhere to be found.  I walked back to the parking lot with her sister, who was becoming extremely concerned and who then stayed by the locked car, which had our water inside.  I was hot from going up and down to the falls twice and now fast walking trails looking for her sister. I really wanted the water I'd brought.  I found some people who had seen her and told me where.  She'd gone beyond the trail branch down to the falls to plop at a picnic table.   She'd told her sister where she'd be but her sister had forgotten.

After that we drove on to Alsea itself.  There's not much to Alsea.  Then we took the extremely curvy highway 34 back to Albany.  It's only curvy going down from the Mary's Peak turnoff.

It was a short but pleasant afternoon outing.

I tried to go to the store later on, and heard a terrible noise coming from the front of the car.  I pulled back up the driveway and looked under the car, hoping it was just something caught.   I finally had to take the front tires off, spin the rotor, to find the source of the scraping metallic noise.  Thankfully a rock fell out of the rotor on drivers side.  Noise was then gone.

However I could not ignore seeing the gear oil leak, still happening, from the repair job before.   I hadn't wanted to look after he allegedly reinstalled it a second time.   I knew I'd made a mistake employing him to fix it. 

 I was angry after that.  I had to get the leak repaired so it wouldn't harm my transmission.

Yesterday I called lots of mechanic shops, got various amounts of times given me before I could get an appointment.  When suddenly!  Suddenly one of the shops said "bring it on over".    So I did.   They had time to check it with a free 15 minute eval early afternoon.  I walked home.

I got the estimate later on, in a phone call, and was told the cause of the leak--bad axle seal.  Of course.  The one he claimed he replaced.  Twice in fact.  Turned out he'd put a seal in for an automatic transmission.  Twice!   

So it will be fixed by noon today I was told.  I get to remove the heart monitor about that same time.   FREEDOM!!!   A working car again and I can go to the lake.

Yes I'm broker than broke, still from the first time paying that con artist.   Now paying to repair what he didn't and what he ruined in the process.

Alsea Falls though, so beautiful and quiet and peaceful out there.   I loved seeing it again.  It's such a short drive from here too.

Boredom

 It was nearly 100 degrees yesterday.   Means doing most things inside.

Early in the day, I went over to Lebanon, to the lady's place who feeds at Waterloo.

Now Waterloo park charges $9 just to enter, so I rode with her.  She has a pass now, courtesy of a donation.

I was a little shocked.  She's fed cats out off another road for a long time.  I've gotten a few fixed that she took in, who are tame.  It's a dump ground plus there are homeless camps.

Now there are kittens, maybe four or five, plus two adults one place, then three young adults another place.

I want to at least get them fixed.   

And, unfortunately, Growlers one kitten never caught, although she tired many times to get her, has kittens.   She's at the very outer edge of the park.  Growler and her fixed adult kitten are nowhere to be seen, likely because the one with kittens runs them off.   Also, when she was showing me, I heard a sound behind me.  I turned to look and there was an orange tabby tux behind me, who vanished into thin air, as the cats do there.  It's uncanny how they vanish.  Cats everywhere.  There are cougar sighted warning signs in the park now, which is not uncommon (the sightings, although signs are rarely posted).

She knows better but also is suffering from a hip that needs replaced while also dealing with job loss (due to Trump budget cuts) and she and her brother are trying to sell the house she lives in.  It's because it was their mom's house and she left it to both of them.  So to be fair and split it, they are trying to sell it.   She and her nephew will try to buy a property out on Brewster.  It's not ideal, but that's life.

She's hoping to to get her hip replaced this fall but has had to wait months to get in to see the surgeon.   Her appointment for that is finally approaching.  She's trying to find a new job, but with looming hip replacement, she's not so sure she'll get one, but if she doesn't get her hip replaced she won't be employable.  These kittens and maybe a couple adults live deep down in berry vines on steep bank of very busy killer road.

One of three young adults

Roaming about ten feet from ultra busy road where people drive like demons from hell

Two more skinny skrawny young adults

Rogue too is failing.  It's sad around here.   Rogue and his one colony mate still alive, Haley, are very old now.  

I give him sub cu fluids, but old age is not curable.

The good news is only two more days with this darn heart monitor on.   Maybe then I can find a way to go camping at least one night.

So Long Slurpy

 Slurpy gently went to sleep for good at the vets' office.

She was suffering badly, open mouth shallow breathing, had another seizure.

Vet said diagnostics could go on and on but I knew likely the end would be same.  He felt she likely had a brain tumor or severe fungal infection.   

I could not stand to see her suffer a moment longer.

To go from not tame to following me yowling wanting in my arms yesterday and through the night, this was not something I was familiar with and had a dread in me, knowing this was her end.

It was a blessing for her to be spared anything further.

She was 15 or 16 or so.  Came from horrendous neglectful situation outside Lebanon.

She had a good life here, had so many friends over the years, so much fun.

Vino, Jenny and especially very elderly Tugs will miss her dearly.  She was kind hearted, welcoming to all cats, also loved her food.   Unlike dear problem child Slinko, Slurpy was the epitomy of kindness.

The mother figure here to all.   The one others went to for comfort.

Slurpy was kinder than most of today's humans.  

There's Slurpy, laid out on back, by window, with her buddy Starry. Calamity, Miss Daisy and Teddy too.   The cats here get along.  That's largely because they all came from large wild colonies, where bonds are very tight.   All of the cats in this photo are now gone, except for Teddy, who is very very old now.

Slurpy

 My dear old Slurpy erupted in a horrendous URI, one of those I didn't detect because, it seems, its sinus. Not usual signs, like snotty nose, runny eyes.  The poor girl has slop and yuk but it doesn't come out in sneezing or runny eyes, rather its running back down her throat.   At least that's all I can figure.

I heard the terrible congestion night before last but wasn't sure who, so I had to be sneaky to figure it out.  The cats are friends here and sleep together so it can be hard to tell.  Yesterday morning, I got on a ladder to get her off the top bunk bed and into the bathrom.   She hasn't let me hold her without hissing, to like update flea and wormer for lots of years.  Since Miss Daisy died.  

Miss Daisy was her best friend and she'd sleep with her and me on the bed at nights.  But after she died, Slurpy went back to the top bunk and ignoring me except for if I petted her on tiptoes, when she was still on the top bunk, me standing beside it and reaching up and over the rail.

I got an appointment for her today at the vet, this afternoon.

It was a tough night.  Something is so wrong, she never wants held by me or follows me around yowling but she did all day yesterday and half the night.  She's now had two seizures, one in the night and one this morning.  They could have been caused by the congestion, causing lack of oxygen to brain.  Both times were when she was sleeping.

Thought about going to the ER vet with her, but a friend was just  there with her cat for five hours I think she said and I thought I can't do that to Slurpy girl.

I will see if vet thinks euthanasia best for my old girl.

Finally I fell back to sleep and will take my old gal to the vet early afternoon.

Best buddies Slurpy and Miss Daisy.  
Slurpy is quite elderly by now.

She's better this morning, eating and drinking, still congested, but you could never tell it by looking at her--no nose drainage or runny eyes.  You have to hear it, and generally at night only.  Its strange.  Hope the vet can help.

She's not athletic and I worry about her desire to be upper deck on the bunk.  There are three ways up but all three require jumps that could, for an older cat, create a fall situation.  Not a long fall but still.  Will work a remedy.   

Good thing I slept all afternoon yesterday, which I'm doing now, to avoid the heat of the day, then I can stay up longer getting done what needs done.  We're about to be in the mid 90's for awhile.

Rose of Sharon

Butterfly Bush

One of the hundreds of Butterfly Bush flowers

Volunteer sunflowers from birdseed

I found this very old video of Slurpy's colony, from 15 years ago.

Have a sunny wonderful weekend!

The Cleaner

 

Gigi and I.   Today I gave her a shave.  She became seriously anxious during the fireworks going off and afterwards and began pulling at her hair she was so stressed still.  It was too long and hot anyhow, so I shaved most of it off and she looks like a teen again and began running around acting silly with all that hot hair gone for now.

 All I do these days is clean clean clean.   I have nowhere I can really go in the heat until this itchy heart monitor is off.  One more week.

Today I cleaned in the garage, put up things I had received, like a very cool 8 x 11 metal cat poster and two cat head knobs I can hang things on.

I'll get photos in the morning.  

I took out all the full water jugs, saved for emergency and I've had to use them and share them at least twice, due to ice storms.  I cleaned them all (they were dust covered) and cleaned out the area under the cat stairs where I stored them.   It looks good, I have to say.

I got rid of junk I never even knew I had, way up in shelves in the garage, real junk, nothing useful to be done with broken old doorknobs dried out caulk, etc.

When I'm worn out, I watch TV or read awhile or text people I know won't respond or call.   I've received exactly one call since I went on break which was a week ago.   

And had otherwise no human contact either, with anyone I know.

Oh, one really aggressive pest control company salesman came by to try to fast hard sell me something I didn't want or need and could not afford if I did.   I have a no soliciting sign up but that didn't stop him.   He would not take no for an answer, but he had to because in the end I had to close the door in his face.  I thought he was scary aggressive.    Trying to sell me something I said I didn't want like that.   No is no.  I hope to never see him again.

I only answered the door because I thought it might be a neighbor needing something.

Those flash floods in Texas look so terrifying and to think little kids had to face that in the dark.   Rest in peace, lost little kids of Texas.  There's nothing anyone can think to make that event seem better.  It was tragic and horrible.