Monday, August 08, 2011 Lorraine’s report
What a busy week we have had. Besides the same old same old, throw in other things; like making preparations for my birthday party, a good friends birthday, then the wash machine broke, with clothes in it, and on top of it all was the annual BP Employees Picnic-the 40th Birthday year. It was a whirl wind week and weekend.
Tuesday was Joy’s birthday, and she and Rick surprised us by coming down from Squamish, BC a day earlier than they had planned. We were out doing errands, finished them early when Chuck said we could drive down to La Connor for the gift I wanted to get for Joy for her birthday. I agreed, and off we went driving, not knowing that Joy and Rick had just pulled into Beachwood.
Chuck took me to the little shop I had wanted to go to in La Connor. From there we went over to the Swinomish Casino for the $3.99 Seniors Day Buffet. We had to wait since there was a bunch of old farts all waiting to eat, too, imagine that. We played for a bit, with Chuck coming out ahead of me. Dinner was very good for $3.99, with chicken, a baron of beef, and baked dill salmon as well as a nice salad bar and dessert table.
We were eating dessert when Joy called, saying they had come in a day early, had set up their rig and were heading to the grocery store for food. We played for a bit after dinner, called Joy on the way home, but they were still out. She said they would call when they got home, but they had to eat dinner, so by the time they called, it was a bit late for Chuck, so we made plans to see them the next day.
Wednesday was my annual mammogram check up, and then I had to do labs for my Oncology doctor visit tomorrow. I asked the x-ray tech if the doctor there could look at my pictures and give a preliminary report; I told her we would be leaving the area before I received the results. She came back with good news-nothing new there, see you next year. Yea!
We had more errands to run & were at Costco when we ran into good friends, Barb and Ray. Their daughter, Katie and our daughter, Susy were in Rainbow girls and are good friends. In fact, we hope to see Katie and her husband, Joe when we leave here later in the month in Utah. Anyhow, we ended up eating our hotdogs with them and of course we had a lot of catching up to do.
By the time we made it home, it was after 3 pm, so I called Joy and asked if we could go over to see them for a visit. She invited us to dinner, French dip with a beef roast from their Loggers Rodeo at home, fresh corn on the cob and salad. We spent a wonderful evening catching up and playing Pass the Love. Thank you both.
Thursday was clean the rig, I ironed and made room for our daughter and g-daughter’s visit for my birthday. I changed sheet and was doing up all the laundry, when the washer started making funny noises-not good. It wouldn’t pump out the dirty water. Chuck tore into it, while I loaded up all the rest of the laundry and took it over to the Laundromat. I hadn’t planned on doing that, but oh well. When I finished, Chuck had determined he couldn’t fix the washing machine;it would have to wait, so we went over to visit Joy and Rick before we had to pick up Susy and Kaitlyn from the airport.
Susy and Kaitlyn’s plane was late-2 ½ hours late. By the time we got their luggage, took them to dinner-Taco Time, (since it isn’t a visit home unless Susy has her Taco Time) and made it back to the rig, it was after 10 pm, a very long day for a six year old. We all collapsed into bed.
We were all up bright and early for a trip to the Anacortes Fine Arts Festival. We stopped and picked up Joy and Rick, who also wanted to go along and have a look-see. We had a great time walking through all the booths, and it was a beautiful day. I think we all found a few things we liked, and Susy bought a gigantic elephant ear that we all shared, was it ever delicious. We stopped at the old A& W and had great burgers on the way out of Anacortes.
We arrived home after 4 pm and had a half hour quiet time for Katie. We then headed over to the 40th Annual BP Picnic and Chili cook off. Unfortunately, we were too late for the chili, and Sandy L’s fry bread was also gone. Kaitlyn loved riding the horses, the bouncy houses and of course, more food-hamburgers, hot dogs, ice cream, pop corn, etc.
Richard and Sandy took first place in the chili cook off, the Judges choice and People’s choice. Way to go Richard! The band they hired for the evening dance was really good, but the wind came up off the bay and it got too cold for us so we headed home by 8:30, another long day.
Saturday found Susy and I headed into town for errands, after we started a couple of loads at the Laundromat here in the park. Chuck had Kaitlyn and was taking her through the park wide garage sale. I have to say Kaitlyn really cleaned up with the folks here in at Latitude 49, everyone gave her stuff; she ended up with 5 or 6 stuffed animals, a new Ken doll, a balloon pump for making balloon animals and other “treasures”. She had a great time!
We arrived back in time for a few minutes of art work with K then off we were again, this time to the main BP Picnic; this is BPs 40th year here in the county. Kaitlyn again loved the bouncy houses, the balloon man, the tattoo artist, the fishing pond and the rest of the activities. The BBQ salmon, the BBQ beef (they buy a 4-H cow for this picnic), corn on the cob, and all the rest of the food was great, with a lot of work done by volunteers and the rest catered by Haggens. We left the picnic by 4 pm, came home and again rested; Kaitlyn was pretty tired.
We all got our 3rd wind and went over to the pool for swimming until it was the adult time for swimming. Chuck brought home pizza for our dinner. What a great day for my 65th birthday, it was a lot of fun for me. Everyone again collapsed into bed.
Sunday morning was a quiet, laid back time. Kaitlyn & I did some arts and crafts. Susy made plans for us to meet up with her other girl friend from high school, Mandy and her daughter, Kimmie. We met them at the beach at Birch Bay. Kaitlyn and Kimmie had fun in the water looking for crabs and shells. Unfortunately, the water was up pretty high, so they couldn’t play in the sand. Susy and Mandy caught up on each others busy lives.
My birthday party was planned for 5 pm at the Silver Reef Casino Buffet. We had two tables on the patio for 30 people, 21 made it. We all enjoyed some really good food, fellowship and a lot of laughter and fun. Thank you all for making this birthday so special for me! I appreciate each and every one of you! It was Great!
Monday found us up by 6:30, hustling to get Susy and Kaitlyn to the airport to catch their 9:15 flight. It was so hard to let my little grand daughter and daughter leave. We all had tears, even Kaitlyn this time; she didn’t want to let me go and had a hard time leaving, making my heart break for her.
Chuck came home and we put away all the toys, etc. then Chuck worked on fixing the washing machine. Joe came over to help and together they got the pump out, which Chuck took to the dealer. Some how Chuck got it to work after he returned and he ran an empty load and all the water pumped out.
I’m pretty tired tonight and I can’t help but miss my Kaitlyn and Susy. My son, Rick wanted to be here but was unable to get time off from his fishing lodge. That’s it for me….Until next time…Lorraine
August 8th, 2011 Chuck’s report
As we expected, it was a busy week for us but nice none the less. Its always good to spend time with Susy and Kaitlyn!!
Monday was a quite day for us, Lorraine had an appointment at her hair dresser, I worked on some paperwork and computer stuff.
Tuesday we headed down to La Connor, Lorraine wanted to return to one of the shops she was at last week to purchase some birthday gifts. We decided to head to the casino down there for their senior buffet lunch, very good and cheap too. Of course, we had to play the slots for awhile, just long enough for me to win a few bucks, this time more than Lorraine did (actually she lost this time, bummer).
Afterwards we received a phone call from Rick/Joy, they got into town a day earlier than expected but we just couldn’t make connections with them today, sorry about that.
Wednesday Lorraine had one of her doctor appointments, then a trip to Costco was in order. While there, we ran into our friends, Ray/Barb and had a hot dog/polish dog while we caught up on their life happenings. They actually returned back here last December, cutting their stay down South even shorter than ours, we returned in late February. We then went to visit with Rick/Joy and they fixed French dip sandwiches and corn on the cob for all of us, very nice.
Thursday Lorraine was getting ready for Susy and Kaitlyn’s visit, getting all our clothes washed and some ironed too. Unfortunately , our washer quit working, it wouldn’t pump out the water. I tried working on it but couldn’t get it out of it’s spot, I needed some extra muscle so decided to put it off until another day. I tried calling a couple of repairmen but neither of them could come out for at least a week, so much for the lonely Maytag repair. Lorraine took the laundry over to the laundry center here at the park, a bit of a hassle but at least it was done before Susy and Kaitlyn got here.
We then stopped by to see Rick and Joy for awhile before we headed to the airport to pick up our daughter and grand daughter. Their plane was due in at 6:15 but the didn’t even get on board until 6:00 so it was almost 8:30 before the plane got here. Because of the late time and everyone a bit tired, we went to Taco Time (one of Susy’s favorite fast food places) for dinner before returning to the coach.
Friday morning we got moving a bit later than hoped for but still picked up Rick/Joy and headed to the Anacortes Arts and Craft festival and street fair. We spent a couple hours looking things over, the gals enjoyed it more than Rick and I but it was a nice day. We stopped of for lunch at an A & W Root Beer place for hamburgers and root beer.
Later we headed out to the annual picnic at the refinery where I worked and retired from. It’s a two day affair now, Friday being the chili cook off, home made beer judging, hamburgers and hot dogs cooked by the retirees, ice cream, shaved ice drinks and corn on the cob for all. We actually got there too late to sample the chili, salsa and beer contest, first time in awhile we haven’t been judges for the chili and pies. They had horse back riding, bouncy houses, face painting, tattoos and the balloon man for the kids. They also have a band that plays until midnight or so, I don’t know when they stop because after a very busy day, we returned back to the coach where everyone sort of got ready for bed early.
Saturday Lorraine had to do a couple loads of laundry, again at the laundry center here, our washing machine is still out of service. Lorraine and Susy went to town to run some errands, leaving Kaitlyn and me to finish the laundry and check out the stuff for sale at the whole park’s garage sale. Kaitlyn managed to charm her way into some free items, they all said she had a beautiful smile and was dressed so nicely.
Once Lorraine and Susy got home, we once again headed out to the refinery picnic. Saturday is more of the same stuff they have on Friday plus it’s the big meal, Bar-B-Q salmon, beef, pork, salads and such, a full meal deal for sure. After a hearty meal, we took Kaitlyn out for some more playing in the bouncy houses and such before coming home in the late afternoon. Another very busy, nice day.
Sunday Lorraine, Susy and Kaitlyn headed out to the beach, they were to meet with Susy’s best friend, Mandy and her daughter Kimmie. I putzed around until they returned. A few hours later we headed out to the Silver Reef (lovingly referred to as the Silver Thief) Casino for a get together with some of our family and friends for a 65th Birthday celebration for Lorraine. We had a good meal with good people and a very good time. Only drawback is the seating arrangement wasn’t too good for everyone to visit but we made do. Thanks to everyone who came out to help us celebrate her birthday in style, it was much appreciated. Plus all the folks at the refinery picnic who wished her a Happy Birthday, the folks who called and the folks who sent emails. Thanks to all.
This morning, Monday, Susy and Kaitlyn were due to leave, headed back home. We all got up a bit earlier than we would have liked, got everything packed and headed out. We got there in plenty of time for them to get checked in, check their baggage, go through security and get to the waiting gate. Kaitlyn was a bit unhappy to be leaving Nana, even though she was heading home to see all her school buddies and back to her normal routine. They called a couple of hours later to let Lorraine know they made it back home ok, yea.
After we got back from the airport, I tackled the washing machine once again. This time I got it part way out when Joe stopped by to see if he could help, yes. With his expert help, we managed to get it out of it’s hole but couldn’t get it out of the coach though the entry door, it’s to big. So we tilted it enough to pull the bottom plate off, exposing the pump and drain hoses. I drained the water into a bucket, pulled the pump and took it to a repair shop in town. He tested it and said the motor was good and would run “IF IT HAD A GOOD SIGNAL AND POWER”. He wished me good luck and said call him if I had any more questions. Thanks a bunch, huh?
So once I got back, I decided to take the pump apart to see it there was anything obviously wrong, you know, something plugging or something broken. I took the case apart and found the impeller was not connected to the shaft, the motor would turn just fine but the pump didn’t do anything. A quick push, turn and lock put the impeller back on the shaft, I put the pump case back together, reinstalled everything and called Joe to see if he would help me put it back in place. He, of course, came right over and together we managed to stick it back in it’s place. Once back in place, I turned on the water and flipped the circuit breaker on and asked Lorraine to run a load without any clothes, just wanted to check the sequences and make sure it pumped the water out correctly.
Well wonders of wonder, everything worked! Yea, last week it was the dish washer that developed an error code, I managed to clear that, dried everything out and it worked and now the clothes washer. Sure hope things aren’t starting to wear out already, the coach is only 4 years old after all. But at least it’s only appliances, not anything in the engine or transmission (sure hope I didn’t just jinx us).
We are still trying to decide if we want to head out to Leavenworth for a Lewis and Clark rally or stay here and attend the Lynden Fair. Loretta Lynn moved here shortly after she and Moony were married, way before she made it big time. She returns to the fair every few years and she will be back this year for one day plus Tracy Atkins will be there one day too. Oh the decisions we have to make, it’s really tough being retired and wanting to do everything, ha.
We are trying to finalize our plans for the remainder of the summer, looks like Utah for sure. We plan of seeing some of the National parks I’ve heard about and seen pictures of. We will probably be in Utah for just about a month, I don’t know if that is enough time or not, we’ll see.
After that, we will stop in Las Vegas for a bit, hit Laughlin for two weeks then head to California in time to go Trick or Treating with Kaitlyn on Halloween.
So now to add some pictures and get this posted, a day later than normal but full of lots of busy days.
Rick and Joy the day after her birthday, better late than never. Happy Birthday, Joy.
Kaitlyn running to greet Nana at the airport on their arrival. In the car with goodies from Nana.
Susy has to have Taco Time as there aren’t any back home.
Back in the car once again.
We head out for the Anacortes Arts and Craft street fair.
That’s a big elephant ear, even with all of us taking our share, it was almost too much.
The annual picnic at the refinery where I used to work. Lots of activities and lots of people.
Kaitlyn getting a painted tattoo on her leg.
Richard won first place on the chili cook-off.
Kaitlyn riding the ponies. See, Richard didn’t use horse meat in his recipe.
The sun sets on another busy day.
Back for another day at the picnic.
Swimming at the park where we are staying.
Kaitlyn at the beach with her friend, Kimmie.
Lorraine’s 65th birthday party, a buffet dinner at the casino. Two tables of folks to help celebrate.
That was supposed to be a carrot cake, someone else got more than they bargained for and we got this one.
Lorraine has some help opening presents and cards.
Can’t tell who was more excited.
Back in the car on the way to the airport to go home on Monday morning. Miss them already and it’s only been a few hours.
Thanks Chuck
1 comment:
Happy Happy Birthday! looks like a wonderful party with friends and family.
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