| Happy Holidays 2012 |
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Wishing you every happiness during the Holidays and 2013.
This year has been a busy year, from start to finish, with many changes. Much of my year was spent on archaeology research, writing, and home and garden improvements. For a change, I took no big trips nor vacations, albeit Laurie crossed the country a few times, for work, pleasure, and moving Griffin home from college in Maine. Last Christmas I found a free stone source in Oak Grove and started hauling, by hand, van loads of rock. All told, I moved about ten tons of beautiful, individually-selected, black basalt rocks to Luray Terrace. This provided great exercise during winter weather breaks. The heavy loads also broke a wheel and a drive connection! As the weather improved, I restarted work on the garden improvement, planting and transplanting lots of roses, flowers, edibles, and shrubs. Laurie wanted the upper terrace altered from wildscape to landscape, so I regraded for drainage and to enlarge the area. We planted roses, raspberries, lots of bulbs, and some privacy screening. By Fall, after daily attention during the dry spell, it looked well established. The heaviest of the hand-moved rocks became a bench, still near the curb for obvious reasons.
In March, Laurie's 88-year-old Aunt Katherine was hospitalized. Laurie was swamped with work, so I began daily visits with her. When she pleaded to move from her care facility, I invited her to stay with us and surprised Laurie with that news. Katherine's care provider accused Laurie and I of stealing her money the moment she left, so we endured an Adult Protective Services investigation which turned into an investigation of her previous situation. I became her care provider, moved her stuff into storage, and assisted with her appointments and affairs. It was very nostalgic for me, reminiscent of caring for Mom, except more complicated. We found a great assisted-living facility and then I moved her stuff again, into her new home. Here she is happy and relaxing, enjoying a moment with her neighbor Wally, who also became a fast friend.
In late May, my sister Joann visited us. We enjoyed touring all of Portland's best floral gardens, a speed boat river tour, and some of Portland's distinct sights. Joann was able to revisit her previous Portland home, the University of Portland, and spend time at our brother Larry's home. Laurie also visited Joann and Gary in Colorado on her drive back from Maine.
In June and July, with the ground finally dried, i accomplished most of the upper terrace earth moving, did lots of landscaping, and started setting some of the rocks. I scored a chimney demolition, and cleaned and hauled 1,200 bricks—in just two days due to the dumpster schedule. At Laurie's insistence, and with a very sore shoulder, I nonetheless turned to remodeling the basement.I fixed concrete cracks to stop water infiltration, painted, sheetrocked, and installed shelving. I watched craigslist and salvaged great free materials. I found a port salvage warehouse with beautiful but rough-sawn Asian woods. So I bought a planer and finished my own wood. I scrounged recycling stores and found fir louvered doors and clear wood to replane. I was building storage to serve for the rest of my life, so I designed an exceptional garage closet, custom-sized for my boxes and containers, complete with Chinese temple wood framing and melamine shelves. It is also engineered to provide earthquake support for the cracked foundation wall. Just as I was completing all this, Laurie asked me to move out. And she would not even allow me to use the new closet! I moved my stuff into storage and began living in my van. Here is the closet before the finish facing.
In late September, my siblings gathered in the Portland area for my neice Katie's wedding. I had dropped off Mom and Dad's possessions at Larry's, family stuff i had been carting around since Arizona, so they could pick out momentos if they wanted. It was fun to see everyone again. Here they are, my five brothers and sister, plus partners (only Terryl is missing):
In mid-October I moved back to Five Rivers and into a new situation, working for rent next door to my previous home here. Sara Fuller, a friend's mother, bought the old schoolhouse next to the covered bridge She is moving from South Carolina where she taught nursing, to be near her son's family. I'm helping with remodel and general upkeep. It is a big place, and I have a spacious office once again. There are lots of useful outbuildings, a big shop and a garage, a woodshed, a nice garden shed/chicken coop, a 100' solarium, even a ceramics/art studio if I want. We've been busy preparing for winter and beginning improvements. The home needs work and has great possibilities.
I'm really enjoying my friends in the Five Rivers neighborhood, the quiet of this idyllic, remote setting in the middle of the Siuslaw National Forest, the clean air and dark skies, and the great fishing just down the road along beautific streams. The freezer is full of salmon and steelhead season has begun. Also, unlike the shadowy forest of the West Hills, this is a great garden location. Now, instead of attorneys, I have deer, elk, bear, and cougars for neighbors. For recreation, I have a river full of fresh fish in some of the purest water on the planet, and plenty of places to hike and hunt mushrooms. Here's my friend Mike reeling in a 30 pound Chinook salmon at one of our favorite fishing spots, the Pacific Ocean in Yachats. That was our first fresh salmon dinner of the season. In our tight-knit community, the size of the fish matters less than how many people share it!
On the health front, I'm doing fine, running up and down riverbanks and feeling fit. I'm recovered from my 2010 surgery, but this year I've had two skin cancer surgeries, basal cell carcinomas on my face and back. A cortisone injection seems to be helping my shoulder injury. My blood pressure went too high and still requires medication. And, I had to change my diet to lower cholestrol. Maybe I'm getting old? Today on Crab Creek Road, the Fuller home is becoming very Christmas oriented. Sara's family helped put up a tree, the top of a fir that fell across the highway in the recent windstorm. They even brought out a psychedelic fiber-optic tree to brighten my office space.
From my new home to yours, here's wishing you a Very Merry Holiday Season and all the best in 2013.
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