Home at last!

Well, I'm home in Oregon! It's all new to me, but it's home anyway. My family has been taking me for drives and showing me around. I didn't get to see much at Christmas time, and this place is really pretty. We may be moving to a place called Gold Hill. It's right on the Rogue River, and I found out there are salmon in that river! I can't wait for my hubby to go fishing!

We went for a walk today on the walking/bike path. It goes from Ashland all the way to Medford. Maybe even past Medford, but I'm not sure. Anyway, we walked from Talent to Phoenix to a little park there. We let the kids play while we rested, and then walked back. All together, about 5 miles. Wow! Was I tired! My legs are still tired, but my feet don't hurt. I got some new Shape-up shoes and they are really comfortable to walk in. My feet didn't hurt at all until I stopped. Then they started hurting. But as long as I was walking, they did great. My hips were another story. They are getting worse and worse, and sometimes I think I can't walk another step. I told Chuck it was Disneyland all over again, but there was no electric wheel chair! By the time we got home, I was pooped. We didn't eat before we left, either, so we were all starved by the time we got back at 11:30, so I fixed brunch. Pancakes, eggs, bacon......good stuff. And I think it tasted extra good today because of all the exercise before hand.

Tomorrow we go to Gold Hill to look at a house we're trying to get. We've only seen the outside because the renters were still living there. We may not even like it, but if we do we're going to try to get it. We've already filled out the application so keep your fingers crossed for us. We need to get a house, because 6 of us in this 27' motor home is rather crowded. We do OK but more room would be wonderful. And some privacy, too. If we don't get this one, then we'll spend the day looking for another one. At the right is a picture I took last time we went to Gold Hill. There are more VW buses here than anywhere I've ever seen! At least since the 60's. And a lot of them are painted like the 60's, too.

Well, it sounds like we're going to be joined by a daughter and her two boys. Amanda is just waiting for her tax refund and she'll fly her dad up to Montana to drive her and the boys down in the Budget truck. Which, by the way, is a lot less expensive than U-Haul. A LOT! She has some health problems and is tired of being so far away from her family, so she's going to come here. Now there will be three of us looking for work. Oy vey! But again, we'll make it work. I love having my family around.

An update on the book. The night before I flew home, we worked until 3 am to get it finished! But we did it! It is now at the printer in Phoenix, AZ. I left for the airport at 4:30 am and actually stayed awake on the flight! I finally crashed at about 8 pm and didn't get up until 8 am. Finally got the ISBN numbers and called them in to the printer, so now its a waiting game. We expect to have it back about the 15th of March if everything goes well. I keep saying book but its really books.....plural, as in 2. This volume was about 1300 pages, and that's just too big, so we split it into two. I never thought I would be involved in a project this big, but I'm proud of the finished product.

Well, gotta go. The battery is about to go and I need to plug in the laptop. Which means, it has to move to another place. I will be job hunting big time starting Monday, but I'll check in every once in a while. And I'll have some really nice photos of this beautiful country for you. Keep your head up and your socks matched! Gramma G.

Happy New Year!

Well, Christmas is over and life is about to return to normal, whatever that is. The kids will be going back to school and I will be headed back to Nevada soon. I have been involved in a project for quite some time now, 6 years to be exact. I have been co-authoring with another woman, a book on the history if the valley we used to live in. (Me , I mean.....she still lives there.) It's called Muddy Valley Reflections: 145 Years of Settlement. Anyway, Volume 1 was finished in October and Volumes 2 and 3 are almost finished. About 2 weeks more and it should be ready for the publisher. The last of the corrections need to be done, along with the dedication, acknowledgements, etc. And my partner's story. She has lived a very colorful life. She was the first female investigative coroner for the state of Nevada, as well as being on the Clark County Fair Board for 25 years, and a few more things. When these things are done, I get to come home to Oregon to stay.

Walking with my hubby.

I am looking forward to being here full time. I need to get a job so we can get out of debt. We need to find a house to live in. I need to get back to my family history and volunteer work. Lots of things to do! I'm also looking forward to the spring. If the photos of fall are anything to go by, spring should be absolutely beautiful! And there is so much to do, too. Festivals and Farmer's Markets and all kinds of events. I can't wait.

I hope you all have a great year to look forward to. These last few years have been lean and hard for us, and I hope this next year is better. I don't ask much, just enough to keep our heads above water. We have done more sinking than swimming this last year, and I hope its time for that to change. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me things would get better, they'd be better already. Anyway, enough of that. I'm not much of one for boo-hooing over what could have been. I like to see the glass as half full instead of half empty. We survived another year and that's what matters.

I wish all of you the very best new year possible. May all your dreams come true and all your socks match! And remember, new years are the start of new journeys, and you can become anything you want enough to try. 'Night, Gramma G.