Absolutely loath going so long between posting as I can't remember what all has been going on. Just some highlights since last posting:

Opportunity Foundation finally hired my replacement mid July. What a relief it is not to be driving over the mountain one or twice a month for a week or more to work. I finished out July and have not been back, even to visit. 

Basically I have been happily unemployed.  I have rewritten several of my genealogy web sites which was a lot of fun. Was able to add lots of new information to each site for researchers.  Still got finish work on a couple of those. 

Got an early Christmas present from Todd. A new "35 mm" digital camera that contains wireless connectivity, such fun and much improved over the smaller brother to this one.

I got it while in Prineville, visiting Mom and didn't have time to really play with it, so first morning home, we had a lovely fog and just enough light from Clark to make a couple interesting photos.  Think I'm going out to play later this morning.

Have Elin started in her Junior year of high school. 17 already, so scary. She is just growing up too soon. Got her through soccer, that seemed like 2 months of pure he-double-toothpicks. Ended up a fairly good season. Now we are into November and the cold.

Todd & I picked out a shelving unit for the deck to put the plants into. Hopefully, I can winter them

over and not have to replace them. Which reminds me, I need to go check them to see if they need water. I have replaced the cardboard with a tarp around the back and a cloth sheet that can be clipped on over the front and sides. So far it is working out great.

Todd's new full time job working from home seems to be working out just fine, except when he has nothing to do, so he comes out to pester me. Telecommute sure means a lot of phone time for him. He doesn't seem to ever run out of words.

A new cousin reunion (with moms) has been scheduled for February. Looking forward to it. Not sure yet if Todd can get it off, but am definitely taking Elin out of school to go.  She has missed out on quite a bit of these kind of trips so it is her time.

Guess I am out of words, as I can't think of what else we have been up to. Did drive down to Cottage Grove to have dinner with Guy and Tammi which was fun. They are renting a cute house, but home to find something to buy.  Thanksgiving will be at Linda's in Hood River, don't know what we are doing for Christmas yet.

SPRING! June 2013

Vancouver has been wonderful! Being semi-unemployed, I've been able to do a great deal of genealogy research.  Spring here was beautiful. Watching the birds, a squirrel, and leaves come on the trees. It is amazing the changes that happened just in the month of May.

Special things that happened since I last posted:

A great trip to Indiana and Illinois with my mom to visit her sisters, see Chicago (pictured - flying into O'Hare). A tour of the parking lots at the Indy Speedway and many other exciting places. I got a couple things taken off my bucket list on that trip. We got to spend a week there visiting and touring. (Think I already talked about this?)

Spent the winter going once a month back to central Oregon to O.F.C.O. for work. My retirement from them lasted to the week before Thanksgiving when they called with several disasters that I went down and cleaned up. Lots of changes happening there that are both good and bad. 2 weeks in December over Christmas and 3 weeks in Feb for more work. And just got back yesterday from another trip down there

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Marlene, Karen, Susan at The Steer for dinner

My next trip with mom was to Iowa for her sister's 60th High School reunion and the "all classes" dinner. She also had her 60th Lutheran Hospital Nursing school reunion.  So, we threw in a Cousin reunion dinner on a Thursday night, then a Heggen/Simpson reunion on Friday night where there were 5 generations, from age 86 to age 1 mo. (This doesn't count the bun in the oven). Another trip that was very fun.

The trip home was not so great, our plane from Des Moines was delayed by an hour, causing us to miss our connection in Denver and we had to spend the night there, I was given the choice of separate room or sharing, so we had separate rooms for the night. Kinda fun :-)

My darling daughter Elin has only another week or so of school and she will officially be a Junior in high school. Holy Cr**! She has 3 days of what they are calling "newbie" soccer this week and also testing at school. Official last day is June 18th. I have to be back in Redmond on the 19th of June for 3 days; 1) to attend a retirement party, and 2) to get some work done.