Overcoming Brain Fog

My forgetfulness last Wednesday was somewhat entertaining, even to me. The picture attached shows the gift my friends offered to me on Thursday--it was very fitting: this sports drink which would make me, "ALERT". I gulped it down, and you'll have to ask Barb if it helped. We were having absolutely monsoon type rain that evening. We travelled through the rains from north of Tillamook to Lincoln City, where we needed to do some grocery shopping before supper at Fallons. I walked out of Safeway ahead of Barb with a cart full of groceries so that I could get a head start on loading them...but I couldn't find the car. Yes, I forgot where we parked. First I went out one Safeway door, then second-guessed, and back-tracked toward other door, then walked through nearly the whole parking lot (in the downpour!), until I found the car right near the first door I started going out (Barb arrived at the same time). I was laughing like a mad woman as I finished loading the groceries and returned the cart. I was SOAKED!!!! We got to Fallons and poor Peggy didn't know what to do with me. She wiped off my face and glasses with a kleenex, as the water continued to nearly pour down from my wet hair. She gave me a towel for my head. So...after a couple of hours, we were off to Bible study. We got there at about 7:28 (approximately 15 minutes later than our normal arrival time), and I was enjoying looking through the Bible that I borrowed from Ken and Peggy (oh yes, I forgot I would need my Bible that evening and packed it in my suitcase earlier in the day, so it was BURIED in the trunk)....yes, I was enjoying this borrowed Bible with tiny, neatly written notes here and there, I noticed it had once belonged to Peggy's daughter Marilyn. "How nice," I thought, "Maybe I should start writing tiny, neat notes in my Bible some year....oh, it's 7:35, I'm surprised Barb hasn't started the meeting yet. Well, it's a small meeting. Looks like she's praying. OH! I am supposed to lead the meeting tonight!!! Well, Barb's praying, should I wait some more, or start??....she's probably doing some deep breathing and hoping that I'll eventually remember it's my turn." Okay, I decided to go ahead. So this Wednesday as we decided which homes we would go to for Bible study, I asked, "Where were we last week for Bible study?" Barb looks at me and says, "You don't remember???"

The good news is that I can now do a yoga headstand. Yes, this is BIG news!

After hearing the news and seeing evidence via web cam during a skype conversation,
Kari, from Alaska says:
Wow, you do that so gracefully. It's almost as graceful as your eating-a-hot-dog-while-hula-hooping trick.

Mom says:
Be careful, if you fall you might land on your feet.

Barb says:
I'm sure those rocks in your head help you balance.

Congratulations to me! I've been working on this trick since Barb and I were together five years ago...not constantly, but nonetheless, it has been a goal of mine for over five years to be able to do a headstand. Any time I tell my friends this, they promptly try it and succeed on their first attempt....yay for them! But it doesn't come that quickly for someone with my ultra cautious approach to things. This pose is supposed to help clear up brain fog, because of the increased circulation to the head. And, obviously, I need all the help I can get. : )

O yasumi nasai

I don't know how my Japanese spelling is, but I remember very well how Emma would say this, "O yasumi nasai...rest well" just before she wrapped some piece of clothing over her eyes and went to bed. Then I would practice saying it back to her, and she told me that I had good pronunciation and would probably do well learning the language. Of course, I think she had already taken her hearing aids out, and she would never think of criticizing any efforts to speak Japanese! Our dear Emma passed away last month, and I was glad I could be at her funeral. There are many of you who would have liked to be there and couldn't, so I thought you would like to see her memorial card. My original idea was to copy it and send it to you...but in case that doesn't happen during this century, here are the photos. If you click on the photo of the inside of the memorial card, it will open up in another window full size, then you should be able to read it.
For those of you who didn't know Emma, she spent over fifty years sharing the Gospel in Japan. She loved the Japanese people very much, but even more she loved the Gospel, and she loved sharing what she loved with those she loved, and with anyone who crossed her path (because she loved them too!). It was inspiring to think of a life so completely committed to such a worthwhile cause.

Beaver Fever

This has nothing to do with Oregon State football, though I do happen to know a little bit about how the Beavers are doing this year, thanks to Barb. Welcome to Beaver, Oregon. Home of Fox Grocery and Firearms. We have spent most of the last week and a half with friends in this little community, on the Nestucca River. It's a great place to hang your hat, or your rifle, or both. Bears have been damaging the apple trees at some of our friends homes, so they were very glad to get this big black bear the other night. Steve was not only brave enough to face that big black bear, but more than that--brave enough to come into Stella's house (his mother-in-law) after 11:00 PM, as Stella, Barb and I were all sawing logs...and start knocking on doors asking if we wanted to see the bear (which was now in the back of his pickup with a bloody nose). We were so glad we didn't miss out on seeing him! They figured he was at least 400 pounds. Beware, some mildly bloody photos follow.

Be sure there is a place for refinement in this community too. The ladies we've been with love to have tea, and took us out to La Tea Da while we were with them. Barb, Julie and Stella are having their palate-cleansing bite of sorbet in the following picture.

Steve and Julie have a regular deer reserve on their property. The deer don't even think about moving when you walk into the yard. Unfortunately some hunters ventured past the "No Trespassing" signs the other morning, right onto their property. When three shots rang out Steve darted out the door to find the source. The hunters took the big buck that has been hanging out in their orchard. Steve could have called the cops, but let them off with a warning this time. I was glad I had postponed my pre-breakfast walk that day. Since then I invested in a reflective vest for my pre-dawn walks, like construction workers wear. Hunting season is almost over, but it just seems like a good idea.

These cats/kittens will only think about coming close if you offer food. I tried to tame the little white one in front....he's SO CUTE! But if he treated my fingers like he treats any scraps I offered--OUCH! I didn't get a chance to find out, because he never came close enough to touch.
Steve and Julie's two youngest daughters, Emily and Shannon, play for the Nestucca girls' volleyball team. They are undefeated and go to Forest Grove for the State Championships this Friday and Saturday. Go Bobcats!!!

Dad and Susan's visit

Michelle and I got to spend some time with Dad and Susan in the first week of September, and we had a great time together. Our long-time family friends, Dean and Bonnie, rented a van and we six spent the day touring. We started out in Olympia, and our first stop was Michelle's apartment in Seattle. Then we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island, spent a lot of time in the little town of Poulsbo, and this picture is from one of our favorite stops of the day, Nash's Farm Store in a little berg just out of Sequim. In case you're wondering who's who above: Michelle, Bonnie, Dean, Dad, Susan.

This was at Nash's too. : ) Love these dogs.

The view as we left Seattle. See the Space Needle?

Dad and I in Poulsbo.

Dean and Bonnie.

Couldn't resist this Kodak moment.

There we are--four of us all together, that hardly ever happens!

The goodbyes always come too soon. (Check out Dad's cool shirt that one of his favorite daughters got him in Miramichi, New Brunswick!!)

Sand in my toes

Barb's been giving me a great introduction to life on the coast. This was our first walk on the beach after arriving in the field in mid-September. Lincoln City.
Peggy Fallon joined us for that walk, and we couldn't keep up with her! She was running most of the way, and often skipped over logs, etc. I was so glad I caught a picture of her in action. : )

Near Bar View Jetty.

I think Dr. Suess got some of his inspiration for his illustrations of trees from sea palms.

My first haircut! Not really, Willie did this himself, I was just shaping it up a bit. Getting some practice in case Tom needs a haircut at preps next year...he'll be sure to ask someone else...ANYONE ELSE! : )

Ta Da!!
Willie finished the job later, in case you're wondering. : )

Barb has taken me the scenic route whenever possible, and one day this included Cape Meares Lighthouse. It was cloudy on our way there, but as soon as we arrived, it cleared up and was gorgeous!

One of my favorite dogs in the field so far...well, sorry folks, probably THE favorite, but there's room in my heart for the others too. This is QT (belongs to the Jacobsens). I decided while we were there that lap dogs are REALLY COOL! I call her The Lick Meister. She loves to lick, Barb was trying to get her to demonstrate for the camera. : )

Barb's looking pretty Smart, eh?

Barb, Ann, Jan, Reta and Linda. We had a great time with these ladies recently."The ocean waves you bye..."

...and we wave back. See ya soon.

Weekend with Mom

Mom came to visit this past weekend. (Wow, I'm blogging something recent!) We had a great time. Barb arranged for us to meet up with Bernie to go sailing in Yaquina Bay Friday afternoon. It was a gorgeous day.

You might not be able to tell in the following picture, but Mom is running the tiller. She did that most of the trip. Bernie was quite impressed with how quickly she caught on. Good job, Mom!
Mom and I went to the Kite Festival in Lincoln City. It was really neat. I loved the kite flying that was synchronized to music...totally awesome. The group i-Quad was really impressive. If you want to see a sample of what they do, check out this link.
Ebony came with Mom, and she had never been to the beach...she's a little afraid of water, but I think she could get used to it and really love it.

Sister time

The first weekend in September, I spent the weekend in Seattle at Michelle's. It was great to be with her. I learned recently that even if our parents had 300,000 billion children, it's unlikely that two would be exactly the same. Wow! So, my sister is like one in 300,000 billion (or more). I'm enjoying our differences more all the time, and finding lots to admire in her...like all the things I laughed at through middle school and high school (what a bratty little sister I have sometimes been). Michelle took me on a walk through Ravenna Park, just up the block from her place. It was an awesome day.

Hanging out under the bridge












One of these pictures is me, in case you can't tell, but I'm wearing her very cool skirt, which she gave me before I left!

















Playing frisbee. It wasn't exactly ultimate frisbee, but Michelle got plenty of exercise running after my miscalculated throws. : )














This guy, Michael, joined us for some frisbee. He taught us a few throwing methods too. He could throw it so that it started out right-side-up, but flipped in the middle to upside-down, and then floated down...it was really cool. He didn't even try to teach us that one.

Introducing Toast:












I've been telling people about him ever since I returned from Michelle's. He's the cat she adopted this summer. His name described his condition when her friends found him. We don't really know his history...how did he lose his left front leg?? He is quite well-loved in Michelle's apartment building. Notice the green floor in Michelle's apartment!













He was very generous in sharing the bed with me and Michelle. Not the first time the two of us shared a bed with an orange cat. We did that for a while in high school too...and survived.














We ate at a Brazilian restaurant in Michelle's neighborhood, and the musicians were awesome. Food was great too.










Michelle brought me breakfast in bed! Salad for breakfast! Yeah, some people would that think that is weird, but I felt spoiled rotten.













Sunday we ate lunch at Suzette's with Shauna and Stacey. Then Shauna and I headed back home to Oregon.

Time has gone by quickly since that weekend, but I'm still enjoying the memories. This blog used to be "chronological", but I think that there won't be any logic to the order of things for the next little bit.