Hanging in there at Sea Perch

High tide has come and gone and will come again.  We did not have to move to higher ground.  It's still very rainy and windy.  But five new RVs have come into the park, so I guess they all want to celebrate the new year no matter what.

Rocking and Rolling

Rain, wind, and waves in Yachats.  High tide is at 11 am.  We'll see if we have to suddenly move to higher ground.  We brought in the living room slide just to be safe.  That slide is on the south side and that's the direction the wind is coming from.  Charlie and Pam were going to come here today from Vancouver but they decided not to come.  Probably a wise choice!

I just took this picture from inside the motorhome, but it can't capture the power of the storm:

What the Bible is Not

From Tullian Tchividjian's blog http://www.crpc.org/blog/?p=772#comments
What the Bible is Not
Posted December 28th, 2009 by Tullian Tchividjian:

Contrary to what many Christians have concluded, the Bible does not tell two stories: the story of Israel in the OT and the story of the church in the NT. No, the Bible tells one story and points to one figure: it tells the story of how God rescues a broken world and points to Christ who accomplishes this. In the OT God revealed himself through types and shadows, through promises and prophecies. In the NT God reveals himself in Christ who is the substance of every shadow and the fulfillment of every promise and prophecy. In other words, the OT predicts God’s rescuer; the NT presents God’s rescuer. Therefore, the whole Bible–both the Old and New Testament–is all about God’s rescuer.

Even though it’s a children’s Bible, The Jesus Storybook Bible is, in my opinion, one of the best resources available to help both children and adults see the Jesus-centered story line of the Bible.

Sunset at the beach

While our friends and family in Portland/Vancouver enjoyed an unexpected snowstorm yesterday afternoon, we had a rainy and windy day at the coast.  After one more rain shower around 9 am, we had no rain the rest of today.  Tomorrow morning a high tide event is predicted along with high winds.  We'll move to higher ground if it becomes necessary.

When we were at Newport this afternoon, I took this picture of the Yaquina Bay lighthouse.  We didn't have time to take the tour but we look forward to doing that another time.

Tonight's sunset was interesting.  In just a few minutes the sky changed from the first picture to the second picture:

Sixty-Six Clouds

OK, I admit it, I like to post things that I've seen on other blogs or websites.  This one is really cool.  Really.  Click on this: http://identity33.com/blog/?p=531#comment-443 

Quoted from the website link:

Sixty-Six Clouds is a visual exploration of word frequency in the Bible.  Each book of the Bible was individually imported into http://www.wordle.net/ to create a unique word cloud for all sixty-six books.  The significance of word clouds is that they quickly present the gist of large bodies of written materials at a glance.  Wordle gives greater prominence and size to words that appear more frequently in the source text.  Therefore, the larger the word is in the cloud, the more prominent it is in the text.

Fun in the Rain

As predicted, it's raining today.  One of the good things about Sea Perch RV Park is that they have a very nice clubhouse where we can hang out if friends visit (hint, hint!) or if we each want some time to ourselves.  We've been using the workout room almost every day.  Here are pictures of the treadmill and the bike that we use:

Last night we watched a pretty sunset from our site:

8 Months After Surgery!

It's been exactly eight months since I had my aortic valve replaced with a mechanical valve.  I am feeling great.  I am so happy that I was able to make the walk up to visit Heceta Head lighthouse this morning.  Nine months ago I would not have been able to make the climb because of being short of breath.

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Today's excursion was to Heceta Head Lighthouse which is located off Highway 101, thirteen miles north of Florence, Oregon and about five miles south of Sea Perch RV Park where we are staying.  We went to the wayside overlook area first where they were also doing "Whale Watch Spoken Here".  We didn't see any whales, but we had a gorgeous view of the lighthouse.  After parking at the trailhead for the lighthouse and paying our $3 fee, we walked the 1/2 mile up to the lighthouse. 

The lighthouse was open today, so we took the tour and Dave took this picture of the Fresnel lens:

Lighthouse keeper's house which is now a bed and breakfast run by the State of Oregon:

Cape Perpetua, Oregon

While Dave watched football this afternoon, I drove the few miles to Cape Perpetua and visited Devil's Churn and Cook's Chasm.  No matter how many times we've visited the Oregon coast, there is always something that we haven't seen before.  I'll post just a few pictures, but these chasms were amazing to see.  The pictures don't do it justice!

It was rainy and windy last night.  It's supposed to rain more today but right now it likes like the sun is trying to come out. I took a couple more pictures of the surf from inside the front window of our motorhome:

And here are a few more pictures from Florence:

We have no cell service at this RV park, even with our antenna booster.  Our satellite works great and the park has excellent wifi which allows me to update the blog and to stay in touch via email.  Dave is watching the Raiders play the Browns and I am updating my blog and drinking a cup of Celestial Seasonings sugar cookie tea. 

Today we went to Florence which is about seventeen miles south of Yachats.  We went for a walk around Old Town and had lunch at ICM (International C-Food Market).  These photos were taken outside the restaurant.  It was another beautiful sunny day, but  windy and chilly.  The weather is changing now and it's getting cloudy. 

This is our new motorhome parked at our site at Sea Perch RV Park in Yachats.  The building in the background is the clubhouse for the park.  The ocean is in front of the RV.  I took this picture this morning before we left for Florence. 

                                                          

Today we drove to Sea Perch RV Park which is south of Yachats, Oregon.  When we arrived, the sun was out and the temperature was 60 degrees.  Here's the view out the front window of our motorhome just before the sun set.  (Click on the photo to enlarge):

Here's another view of the ocean:

We should have had Tim and Kiersten take a picture of Dave and me together.  Oh, well.  I'm trying to do this enough times so that I remember how to do it.

Jonathan (on left) at his friend Malissa's wedding in September, 2009.

Tim and Kiersten at our house on Christmas Eve. Kiersten is helping me learn how to add photos to my blog!

A year ago today Dave's brother passed away. He was only 58 and had suffered from cancer for five years. We're all missing him today.

I'm listening to Christmas carols on iTunes, which soothe my soul. My friend, Diane, gave me a set of 4 Ansel Adams Sounds of Christmas CDs. I transferred them all to iTunes so that I can listen to them on it and on my iPod. The set contains many good arrangments of familiar carols.

Tomorrow we will celebrate Christmas with Tim and Kiersten. I finally decided on a menu--lasagna, caesar salad, breadsticks, and for dessert, Tim's request (and Dave's!) pumpkin pie. I made an extra pie for Tim to take home and an extra pie for Dave to eat in the RV.

On Christmas day Dave and I are taking off for Yachats, Oregon. We have reservations for three days at a park right on the beach (Sea Perch RV Park). Then we'll head somewhere else for a few days.

Merry Christmas!

Unpacking from the weekend trip (easy) and packing for the trip beginning next weekend (harder). We are keeping an eye on the weather but hope to go to the Oregon coast. We haven't made any reservations yet, so we'll stay where we can get a spot. We would like to go as far south as Port Orford in hopes of getting some milder, dryer weather. We're also interested in staying in Yachats or Florence.

I tried again to read the book The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I first tried to read it 2 1/2 years ago, but couldn't get into it. This time I not only got into it but couldn't put it down. I read 2/3 of it last night and finished it this afternoon. The story is a grim one about the survival of a father and his young son in a postapocalyptic world. But something inside them keeps them traveling and searching and not giving up. No, I haven't seen the movie but will probably request it from Netflix.

Rain was predicted for today, but we didn't get rain except for some in the night. It was a damp, dreary day, though. No sun, but at least the temperature was fairly warm, around 54 degrees at Champoeg. We went for a walk around the campground and had lunch at Biscuits Cafe in Canby. I wrote a bunch of Christmas cards in the afternoon and have decided that we should always come to a peaceful state park to do Christmas cards. I listened to Christmas music and it was oh, so pleasant!

We are camping at Champoeg State Park now, which is south of Portland and Wilsonsville, OR. It's still a nice day, not a lot of sun, but no rain. There's more than a dozen RVs here, along with three sets of [brave] tent campers. I went for a bike ride but we didn't bring my big bike, just my little fold-up bike, so it was a somewhat uncomfortable ride, but better than no ride. Dave played golf this morning before we left Vancouver, so he didn't need to get any exercise this afternoon. Now we are looking forward to having a cozy evening in the motorhome. One good thing about this park is the Discovery Season prices--$16 per night for full hookups with 50 amp! The Oregon State Parks may be raising their rates, like a lot of other parks have done, but they haven't done it yet, at least not here.

I just finished reading an interesting book, The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. It's a fictional account of the true story of Ann Eliza Young, who was Brigham Young's 52nd out of 55 wives. She became famous when she divorced him and helped to bring about the end of polygamy in the Mormom church. The book had an interesting mix of historical stories along with present day fiction.

Yes! 51 degrees at the moment and the sun is trying to peek out. I'm tired of cold weather and I'm tired of rainy weather and winter isn't even officially here yet.

I am definitely over my flu bug, if that's what it was. Interesting that now that our rainy, slightly warmer weather is back, I'm feeling better.

The water filter on our motorhome broke during the freezing weather, and Dave was able to replace it today. Hmmm, $15 at Uneek RV or $150 for a whole new system at Camping World. Which one do you think he bought? We're going to Champoeg State Park for a couple of nights to test the new rear heat pump that finally got installed and also to test the electric water heater which broke on our last trip. After Christmas we are planning on taking a nine day trip to the Oregon coast, so we want to make certain that everything is a go for that trip. Not that we are expecting perfection on the trip or anything. ;-)

Last night we sat down and looked at the map and the calendar and began planning our spring trip to Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, St. George, Utah, and Zion and Bryce National Parks. I am excited! We may go to the Los Angeles R.C. Sproul conference, too, if we can work it into our travel plans.

So far, so good! I didn't have to go back to bed this morning and I just finished my indoor exercise, which consists of treadmill and exercise bike. Maybe I am on the mend!

This has been an interesting weekend. I'm still feeling poorly with symptoms of fatigue, achiness, stomach problems, and a bit of dizziness. But it's not an overwhelming, need to stay in bed type of illness. I keep trying to push through but I've been having to go back to bed after breakfast and rest for a couple more hours. Then I feel a bit better.

Yesterday we drove to Tim and Kiersten's house in Tigard to lend them an air mattress. Since we were down that way, Dave wanted to go to Fry's to get backup software for Windows 7. He suggested that I look at laptops because mine is five or more years old and I've been complaining that it is very slow. I found one I liked, a HP Pavilion, so we bought it. Dave has been loading it with all my "stuff". I am trying to get used to using Windows 7 which is quite a bit different than the XP system I had before. So far, so good, but I would never be able to do all this without Dave's assistance. This computer is MUCH faster than my old Compaq and I am liking that part!

One of these days I will get at doing my Christmas letter and cards. I had intended to do them yesterday, but our excursion to Fry's took longer than I expected. Today I didn't feel well most of the day and we ended up cancelling our home church tonight. Instead, Dave and I listened to an excellent podcast from White Horse Inn. It was titled "Is Living Like Jesus Enough?" and featured Dr. Michael Wittmer. http://www.whitehorseinn.org (Look under Listen Now).

Here is another gem from a good, very active blog that I follow: http://www.geneveith.com/

Evangelism Without the Gospel

"Have you seen the “Receive Jesus” ad on national television? (I can’t find it on the web. If any of you can find it, please post a link.) It has a rather cool-looking guy with a goatee and a black t-shirt against a white background. He says how life is hard. But that Jesus can make an amazing difference in your life. He tells viewers, wherever they are, to “receive Jesus.” It’s rather well-done, better than my description makes it sound.

But the ad nowhere includes the Gospel! He doesn’t say anything about sin or forgiveness or who Jesus is or what He accomplished for us on the Cross.

This is not uncommon, trying to be evangelistic while leaving out the evangel. Just telling someone to “receive Jesus” and encouraging a rote prayer to that effect without proclaiming the Gospel doesn’t make anyone a Christian, does it? I’m sure the makers of this ad do believe that Jesus died for sinners and that His death and resurrection grants forgiveness. So why did they go to all of the expense of this ad without saying that?"

What's up with this? The last two mornings I have had to go back to bed after getting up and having breakfast. I am so tired and my body aches. But yesterday I finally got up again and went out to get groceries so that I would be stocked up before we get our big freezing rain storm that's predicted. And today I got up again so that Dave and I could go for a walk around Battle Ground Village and the new houses there. We had lunch at the new Laurelwood Pub and Brewery at the Village. I was fine on the walk and during lunch, but now that I'm home again I'm tired and achy again. The temperare has warmed up to above freezing which is a nice change. Now my body needs to get into gear!

The gospel is good news, not good advice
“The heart of most religions is good advice, good techniques, good programs, good ideas, and good support systems. These drive us deeper into ourselves, to find our inner light, inner goodness, inner voice, or inner resources.
Nothing new can be found inside of us. There is no inner rescuer deep in my soul; I just hear echoes of my own voice telling me all sorts of crazy things to numb my sense of fear, anxiety, and boredom, the origins of which I cannot truly identify.
But the heart of Christianity is Good News. It comes not as a task for us to fulfill, a mission for us to accomplish, a game plan for us to follow with the help of life coaches, but as a report that someone else has already fulfilled, accomplished, followed, and achieved everything for us.”
—Michael Horton, The Gospel-Driven Life (Grand Rapids, MI; Baker Books, 2009), 20

Tonight Dave and I watched a Netflix DVD about Great National Park Lodges. We saw Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce National Parks. A few weeks ago we watched Mt. Rainier, Crater Lake, and Oregon Caves. This is a spectacular series (from around 2002) and better, we thought, than the new Ken Burns series about the history of national parks. Dave built a fire in our fireplace for the first time this season and it was so cozy on this very chilly evening to sit in front of the fire watching a DVD about the national parks that we've either been to or want to visit in 2010.

“If we are deeply moved by the sight of his love for us, it detaches our hearts from other would-be saviors. We stop trying to redeem ourselves through our pursuits and relationships, because we are already redeemed. We stop trying to make others into saviors, because we have a Savior.”
- Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2009), 45.

We arrived home just in time for the cold weather. Temperatures are in the 20s and 30s and may get lower. Snow is possible. We could live in the motorhome in cold weather, but we would use up a lot of propane trying to stay warm.

Have you heard of the Manhattan Declaration? While I agree with what it is trying to protest, I'm not sure that it's an effective way to do it. I read this information today and now I know why I was hestitant about signing the Manhattan Declaration. Check this out: http://www.whitehorseinn.org/archives/250.html I respect Michael Horton and believe that he has a lot of wisdom about the Gospel.

Home again, home again. We arrived home safely after an uneventful trip. We're already looking forward to the next trip, which will be after Christmas.

Today is our last day in Port Townsend before heading home tomorrow. It's been a fun trip and a good chance to check out all the systems in the new motorhome. We have to get our electric water heater fixed. We smelled an electrical burning smell one night and the next morning our electric water heater didn't work. Dave thinks it's a circuit board malfunction. Other than that, everything has worked. Our heat pump has trouble heating the rig once the temperature dips into the lower 40s, but that's not a malfunction. Luckily our propane furnace and water heater work just fine, so we've been able to stay showered, warm, and cozy.

We took two walks today. This morning we drove to Fort Worden again and walked around the buildings. There are 95 buildings still remaining from the original 440 buildings. And there are 12 batteries with 2 guns each, of which we saw two. Today we walked around the "forest" campsites and yesterday we walked around the "ocean" campsites.

After lunch in the RV, we went for another walk, this time along the street with all the shops. It's nice to be staying in a park that's located in town rather than in the outskirts.

Out our window today we saw one inbound freighter ship, a couple of barges, and a ferry boat on its way from Seattle to Victoria.

We moved our motorhome from the best site at Point Hudson to the second best site. Someone had reserved the site we were in. Our new site is very close to our old site and we still have a magnificent view of the water. Today has been a busy day for ships. So far today, we've seen two navy ships going outbound (west), two car carrier ships going east (inbound), two inbound container ships and one outbound container ship, plus the usual ferry boat going back and forth.

We took our walk at Fort Worden today. It's a very nice state park and also a good place to camp, except that they usually turn off the water hookups in the winter. We visited the battery while we were there. It was built in 1902 to protect Admiralty Inlet and Puget Sound. It was operational until the 1950s. Two movies were filmed at the park, An Officer and a Gentleman and The Ring.

Point Hudson and Fort Worden are near each other. We can see Fort Worden and its lighthouse from our motorhome and when we walked at Fort Worden we spotted our motorhome. We always enjoy our stay at Port Townsend because there is much to see and do!

Yesterday, in the rain, we drove to Sequim and Port Angeles and had lunch at a place in the ferry building. In Port Townsend today the sun is out and the sky is blue.

"What binds us together is not common education, common race, common income levels, common politics, common nationality, common accents, common jobs, or anything else of that sort. Christians come together . . . because . . . they have all been loved by Jesus himself . . .. They are a band of natural enemies who love one another for Jesus’ sake.”
- D.A. Carson, Love in Hard Places (Wheaton, Ill.; Crossway Books, 2002),61.

We are now at Port Townsend's Point Hudson Marina and RV Park. We have a waterfront site with 50 amp power, satellite and free wifi, so we like this site. After two days we'll have to move over a few sites to a 30 amp site because this site is reserved. It's a gray, overcast day and the water is choppy which makes it all the more interesting to look at. The ferry boat to Whidbey Island (Keystone) is passing by. And a big container ship just came round the corner by Fort Worden State Park and lighthouse and is passing right in front of us. It's probably headed for Tacoma or Seattle. Behind the container ship is another smaller boat which kind of looks like a salvage ship.

Today's quote: “To run and work the law commands,/Yet gives me neither feet nor hands;/But better news the gospel brings:/It bids me fly and gives me wings.”

- Attributed to John Bunyan, quoted by Jason C. Mayer in The End of The Law(Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing, 2009), 2.

This morning Dave got up early (5 am) to go to the pre-game meeting for his semi-final football game at the Tacoma Dome. The game went well, and Dave got some good comments from the state evaluator. Lynden High School beat Archbishop Murphy High School which is located in Everett, WA. Dave got back to the RV around 1:30 pm, had lunch, and is now taking a nap. I am waiting for some laundry to finish and then I am going to run an errand and explore more of the town.

This evening we are going to see the Christmas Zoo Lights at Point Defiance Park. It will be cold, but should be a fun evening if the rain holds off.

We decided to stay in Bellingham until this morning so we were able to spend Thanksgiving with Jonathan. He had to work from 5-10 am and came over to the RV at 11:30. We ordered a turkey dinner with all the trimmings from Fred Meyer. Jonathan delivered the box to us and I was surprised when he came in carrying a wrapped whole turkey. But it was already thawed and already cooked, so I just had to put it in the oven for 2 hours. Still, that's a long time to use our propane oven. I was able to fit the dressing in the oven, too. I heated up the gravy on the stove and heated the mashed potatoes and green beans in the microwave. I brought cranberry sauce along as well as whipped topping (a must!) for the pumpkin pie. We have a lot of turkey left over but not much of the other items. Dave and Jonathan watched the end of the Detroit-Green Bay game and then watched the Raiders lose. After the game we played a rousing game of Rummikub and then Dave and Jonathan played Blackjack while I got the rest of the food ready.

We left Bellingham this morning around 9:15. We breezed through Seattle and Tacoma and got to Gig Harbor RV Resort at 12:15. The park is located in a forested area, so we can't get satellite. They have free wifi, though, which we always like. After lunch (turkey sandwiches, of course) we drove the 1/2 mile to the Gig Harbor waterfront. After exploring the area by car, we parked and went for a 75 minute walk along the historic harborfront. It's a hilly area, so we got a workout!

Today's quote:

“Christian! the only thing that makes you differ from the vilest being that pollutes the earth, or from the darkest fiend that gnaws his chains in hell, is the free grace of God!”
- Octavius Winslow, Jesus, Full of Grace

We are making good use of our time in Bellingham. Yesterday Jonathan and I both bought new phones at the Verizon store at the mall. We both had "free" upgrades and I needed a phone that would work with a hands-free Bluetooth device. Washington, Oregon, and California all now require hands-free cell phones while driving and those are the states where we travel most.

Also yesterday we and Jonathan met Tim and Kiersten for brunch at IHOP. They were on their way home from a hockey weekend in British Columbia, Canada. It was good to have all five of us together again, which hadn't happened since Jonathan was home after his graduation in June.

Sunday night we took Jonathan out to dinner at Olive Garden. It was great to see him!

Today Dave and I went on an excursion to Steveston Village, BC. It's located south of Richmond, which is south of Vancouver BC. Richmond is where the 2010 Olympic speed skating will be held. Steveston is an old fishing village that has been updated into a tourist destination. We ate lunch at Boston Pizza and on the way home we drove along Marine Drive in White Rock, BC, which is across the water from Blaine, WA. We crossed the border both ways at the I-5 Peace Arch crossing and waited only a couple a minutes each time.

Also on the way home to the RV park we stopped at a hardware store in one of our favorite towns, Lynden, WA. It's such a clean, nice town. Dave's football game at the Tacoma Dome is between Lynden and Archbishop Murphy high schools.

Hello from Bellingham RV Park. We have good WIFI at this park. Dave is watching the end of the Raider game on satellite while I catch up on some computing.

Here's a gem of a quote from "Of First Importance":

Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands

“The good news of the kingdom is not freedom from hardship, suffering, and loss. It is the news of a Redeemer who has come to rescue me from myself. His rescue produces change that fundamentally alters my response to these inescapable realities. The Redeemer turns rebels into disciples, fools into humble listeners. He makes cripples walk again. In him we can face life and respond with faith, love, and hope. And as he changes us, he allows us to be a part of what he is doing in the lives of others. As you respond to the Redeemer’s work in your life, you can learn to be an instrument in his hands.”
- Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands (Phillipsburg, NJ; P & R Publishing, 2002), 16.

We had a good trip to Cape Disappointment last weekend. It was strange to be camped next to our old motorhome. I think Charlie and Pam enjoyed the trip, too. Their dog, Dakota, seemed to enjoy the motorhome. We had lots of wind and rain during the weekend, but we got out for a walk every day. We visited the North Head lighthouse on Saturday which we always enjoy. I was surprised that it was open this late in the year. We went to the Ilwaco Marina but didn't stay too long as it was starting to rain and was cold. We also drove up to Ocean Park and drove past the property that Pam's parents used to own.

On our drive home from the beach on Monday, Dave and I stopped for lunch in the RV at the deer viewing area between Skamokawa and Cathlamet. When we started the motorhome again, the windshield wipers didn't work. After spending some time trying to get them to work and making some phone calls which didn't help, Dave VERY carefully drove all the way home in the rain with NO windshield wipers. We were praying hard! By the time we got to I-5 south, the rain let up and it was dry the rest of the way home. Thank you, Lord!

This morning Dave got the windshield wipers fixed at Olinger in Troutdale. It turned out that the linkage from the motor to the wiper blades had gotten stuck. Dave now knows how to fix it if it happens again.

After he got home, we went to DMV to get the new license plates for the motorhome. We are official now!

Every Moment of Every Day

“It’s no wonder that self-help books top the charts in Christian publishing and that counseling offices are overwhelmed. Our pride and our neglect of the gospel force us to run from seminar to seminar, book to book, counselor to counselor, always seeking but never finding some secret to holy living.

Most of us have never really understood that Christianity is not a self-help religion meant to enable moral people to become more moral. We don’t need a self-help book; we need a Savior. We don’t need to get our collective act together; we need death and resurrection and the life-transforming truths of the gospel. And we don’t need them just once, at the beginning of our Christian life; we need them every moment of every day.”

--Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson, Counsel from the Cross (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2009), 30.

Today we went to Portland to see Tim's new office. He is technical director at The New Group, a digital marketing company. We went out for lunch with him at Macadam Bar and Grill which is located near his office. Yummy food, good conversation. The only thing missing was Kiersten!

Dave and I are going to Bellingham to celebrate an early Thanksgiving with Jonathan. Then we will drive the motorhome down to Tacoma (Gig Harbor) because on Saturday, November 28, Dave will officiate at a semi-final 2A varsity football game at the Tacoma Dome. His game starts at 10am and his pre-game meeting starts at 6 am! There will also be a lengthy post-game meeting. The Tacoma Dome games are a big deal. And then Dave's football season will be officially over for this year.

The day after the big game we plan drive to Port Townsend, WA to spend a few days at Point Hudson Marina and RV Park. The park isn't the greatest, but the view of the Juan de Fuca Strait is spectacular!

This Friday we are going to one of our favorite Washington state parks, Cape Disappointment. Charlie and Pam, who bought our old Bounder, will camp next to us and we will give them the official walk-through and training about the RV. It should be a fun weekend, despite the rain that is predicted.

Okay, I'm over my rant of yesterday. Dave is out in the pouring rain doing a CCYF football game and has another game today, a varsity playoff game at Camas. His rain angel finally failed him.

I just baked a bunch of little loaves of bread. They smell so good. I just have to eat one and then the others will go into the freezer to use for communion. I make the dough in my breadmaker and then divide it into 8-10 small loaves and after they rise again, I bake them in the oven.

I am incensed! We have just had what is probably the worst Islamic terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11/01, and the mainstream, er..., excuse me, "lamestream" media is blaming it on our foreign policy in Afghanistan. Give me a break. People, please quit listening to the lamestream media and tune in to Fox News. I hope I am proved wrong. I hope it wasn't an Islamic terrorist attack. Time will tell.

Last Friday I wrote about reading the book In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and it held my interest to the end. Tonight I just finished watching the DVD version of the book. The movie came out in 1975, so the quality wasn't great, but I was SO disappointed in the movie version of the story. It was so condensed and so changed that I was appalled. Even the names of some of the characters had been changed as well as many of the scenes in the book. Don't waste your time watching the movie, but the book, in comparison, is rich in detail and very absorbing.

This morning I had to wake up early and go to dependency court for a review hearing for my CASA case. Each case is reviewed every six months and oftener if needed. It turned out that neither parent showed up, and the social worker wasn't there because she's on vacation out of the country. So it was just the judge, the assistant attorney general who represents the state, the court-appointed attorneys for each parent, and me. For once my case was heard early and I was done with the whole thing by 9:50 am. That's a new record. Sometimes I have to sit there all day waiting for my case to be heard.

After I got home from court, Dave and I decided to go for an early lunch at Olive Garden. We like their soup, salad, and breadstick lunch special. Well, Dave doesn't like the salad, but I do.

Now Dave is out on top of the motorhome trying to install the dual LNB on the satellite dish so that it will work with our Tivo. Yes, life is tough while camping. Tivo, washer-dryer, convection oven, etc--all the comforts of home. We still need to get the bedroom air conditioner swapped for a heat pump/air conditioner. That is being ordered from the factory and will need to be installed as warranty work which we hope to get done in Troutdale, OR.

I am reading a fascinating book, In This House of Brede, by Rumer Godden. It was originally published in 1969 but reissued by Loyola Press in 2005. It's the story of a woman in who enters a cloistered Benedictine community at the age of 42 after a successful life as a businesswoman in London. This fiction book rings true and this statement from the back cover sums up the book: "Rumer Godden penetrates the mysterious, inner heart of a religious community--a place of complexity and conflict, as well as joy and love." I'm not Roman Catholic and never have been, but I've always been fascinated by stories about nuns and convents. After I finish this long book (656 pages) I would like to read more of Rumer Godden's work. From the biographical introduction included in the book, her story is almost as interesting as her fiction.

It has been exactly six months since my heart valve replacement. I am feeling great except for a little minor chest discomfort, mostly at night. My weight loss has slowed down but I am still plugging away at it. I try to exercise each day and to watch what I eat.

We just got back from a one night RV trip to Champoeg State Park, which is located southwest of Wilsonville, OR, a little over an hour from home. The only downside to the trip was that Dave caught a cold and didn't feel well. Today we woke up to lots of rain. We are still learning about the new motorhome and getting it loaded with the stuff that (we think) we need. While Dave napped yesterday afternoon, I took a long walk around the park. Very nice!

Around 6:30 pm, Tim and Kiersten came to visit us at Champoeg and to see the new motorhome. We had a good visit with them and got caught up on their activities. They gave us a gift of a lilac candle for the motorhome. Thanks, guys. Love you!

It's dark and dreary and raining today. It looks like it will be an all day rain. It is making me sleepy!

This morning we were too efficient. We went back to the DMV after receiving the title to our new motorhome on Monday. But today we learned that Olympia is still doing its search on the VIN number in order to make sure that all is well and that it's not a stolen vehicle. That search will take three weeks or so and we have to wait until then to go back to DMV to get our Washington title.

After that errand, we went to the Vancouver VA Clinic so Dave could get his flu shot. I got my flu shot (for seasonal flu) two weeks ago at Kaiser. Neither place has the H1N1 flut shots available yet and I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to get that one. This morning I read in the paper that they are running out of the seasonal flu vaccine.

Our final errand was to Camping World. We went to the newest store which is located at Olinger RV, east on I-84. It's closer than the store in Wilsonville. We bought vent covers for our three vents, a side window visor for the driver's side, and some small stuff including an indoor-outdoor thermometer.

Tonight we caught up on the last three episodes of The Amazing Race. (Thank you, Tivo!) It's an interesting show and we enjoy seeing all the countries that the teams visit. In Dubai, they went from the desert to an indoor ski arena. Amazing!

I got some good information at the End Times theological conference on Saturday. Hopefully, I am now better prepared to defend the position of amillenialism.

This morning we took the Honda CRV to the dealer to get the body work repairs done. We'll be sharing a car for the next five days.

Tomorrow, Saturday, October 17, the Harwoods and I are going to attend a conference to be held at a church in Estacada, Oregon, which is about an hour south of here. The topic is "Awaiting Our Blessed Hope: A Biblical Look at the End Times." The speaker is Dr. Kim Riddlebarger, a pastor and host of the White Horse Inn talk show. The conference is sponsored by The Reformation Society of Oregon. From the conference flyer: "Dr. Riddlebarger will carefully untangle the confusion surrounding the Antichrist and the end times."

Today we went to the DMV to register the new motorhome. We had to pay a little more tax because (gasp) our sales tax in Washington is a little higher than where we bought the RV in California. We will have to go back to DMV when the title arrives in the mail in a few weeks. For now we have a two-month permit. Since we don't have a back window, the permit has to be displayed in the left side bedroom window.

I measured all the inside cabinets today and will look for containers to hold stuff. We have a lot of inside storage, but it's configured a bit differently than in our old Bounder 31W. I need to install rubber anti-slip matting so that the stuff doesn't move around while we are driving.

We are home from California. We didn't have any RV problems today until we got home and the steps wouldn't go down. Dave called the dealer and got another fix for them. Also, the car battery was dead after towing it. We have learned to keep jumper cables in the car, so Dave was able to use the RV to start the car at Fred Meyer where we went to unhook the car and get gas for the motorhome. That's when we discovered that the steps wouldn't go down. This new motorhome is huge and barely fits in the spot we have for at at the side of the house. We can't quite extend the bedroom slide all the way because it's a much deeper slideout than on our old RV. Despite all the problems, we feel thankful and blessed to have gone on and returned safely from this trip and to have our new (paid for) toy to play with.

The saga continues. This morning we left De Martini RV around 9:20 am. Dave enjoyed driving and noticed that he had more power than in our old motorhome and that the wind and trucks passing didn't bother him. We didn't have rain until we got to I-5 at Red Bluff. Just south of Mt. Shasta City, our troubles began. The windshield wipers got entangled. Dave was able to get them untangled (in the rain) but the passenger side didn't work after then. Then a few miles later, someone motioned to us that our electric steps had come down. The steps had been on our list of things that got fixed while we were at the dealer's.

Dave called DeMartini talked to a service person who suggested that Dave solve the step problem by banging on the magnet. Strangely enough, that worked. The windshield wiper problem was solved by tightening the bolts, which had to be done again later in the trip, too.

Then just north of Yreka, CA, the outside propane storage compartment door flew open. That compartment is required by law not to have a lock on it. The latch usually is sufficient to keep it closed, but not this time.

We made it to Seven Feathers Casino RV Park in Canyonville, Oregon around 6:45 after no further problems. We were fortunate that all three problems were able to be fixed by Dave and that no further damage was done to us or to anyone else.

Tomorrow's drive home should take about five hours if we don't have any more problems. And that's how the story goes when you buy a movable house called an RV.

"Just Give Obama All the Prizes" from the website http://www.geneveith.com/:

Yes, President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. But why didn’t he win the Nobel Prize for Medicine, seeing as how he is trying to reform American health care? And the Nobel Prize for Economics, since he is trying to fix the collapse of the economy. And the Nobel Prize for Literature for his book and speeches. And the Nobel Prize for Physics for trying to make something out of nothing. And the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his chemistry with foreign leaders. I’m personally offended that our president is not getting the international respect that he deserves.

While we're waiting for the new motorhome to be serviced, I have been catching up on reading some of my favorite blogs. Here's a gem from http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/

Why You Need to Start Talking to Yourself More
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression, pp. 20-21:

Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them but they are talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man's treatment (in Psalm 42) was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. "Why art thou cast down, O my soul?" he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, "Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you."

Sunny Grass Valley is not so sunny today. We had sprinkles around dinnertime yesterday and then during the night, it started pouring and hasn't let up. We purchased the new motorhome yesterday which took until about 3:30 by the time the coach was detailed in and out and we went through the walk-through. We were able to stay overnight on the dealer's lot in a site with full hookups. We found a number of (hopefully small) things that need to be fixed, so the motorhome is in the service bay now and Dave and I are sitting in a conference computer connected to Wifi.

We weren't able to try the washer/dryer yet because we have no hot water. (Also no showers for us, boo hoo.) The ice maker works great, the 4-door Norcold refrigerator is nice and we finally discovered where to put the milk. The bed and hide-a-bed are both comfortable (we tried them both). The hide-a-bed comes with an air mattress like the one we bought for our old motorhome. Dave test drove the new RV and it performed well accelerating up a hill from a near stop. We're still getting used to the storage space and where all the light switches are located. I love the ultra-leather seats--very comfy.

Today we are in sunny, Grass Valley, California. We were able to check into our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express, when we arrived in town around noon. We had lunch at Cousin Jack's Pasties. I have always wanted to taste a Cornish pasty (pastie?). I had an 8-oz "Jenny size" beef pasty. I thought it was a bit dry and had more potatoes than meat. Dave had a banger sausage in a bun. I'm glad I finally was able to order a pasty but I wouldn't rush right back.

After lunch we headed to DeMartini RV Sales. The man that we need to see won't be there until tomorrow, but we were able to see the Bounder 35E and sit in it and check it out. So far, so good. The motorhome was in the service bay as they appear to be fixing a few minor things and we hope that it will be ready for purchase tomorrow. We also need to test drive it. If it's not ready tomorrow we'll have to stay one more night in a hotel.

Now we're back in the hotel and Dave is watching the 49ers game. Around 5:30 we are heading to Auburn, CA, to have dinner with Pam and the girls (Dave's brother, Terry's family).

We are on our trip to California to look at a new motorhome. Tonight we are staying at a Holiday Inn in Redding, California. The temperature was in the 80s when we arrived and it's still very warm outside. The low temperature in Vancouver was supposed to get down into the 20s this weekend. We had a good trip today with good weather. The trip goes faster in the car! We ate dinner at Marie Callender's which is across the street from the hotel.

We decided to sell our motorhome. We have been thinking about upgrading and actually put in an offer on a couple of different motorhomes within the past two years. Neither of those deals worked out. Dave was recently approached by a friend who mentioned that he was interested in buying our 2000 Bounder 31W. After scrambling to see if we would be able to find a replacement, we located two possibilities: a used 2006 Bounder 35E in Everett, WA, and a new 2010 Bounder 35E. The 35E is our preferred floorplan, and in 2006 they upgraded the unit to 50 amp instead of the previous 30 amp electric hookup. We like also like the 35E because it has a washer/dryer. (I know, I know, not a necessity for camping, but it would sure be nice to have when we travel for several weeks at a time.) The 2010 Bounder is located at a dealer in Grass Valley, CA, so on Saturday we are heading down there in the car to look at the motorhome, and if all is well, buy it. We are loading the car with stuff to load into the motorhome in case we buy it. We have to be back home a week from Friday so that Dave won't miss his varsity football game. ;-)

We've spent three days cleaning out the old motorhome and we'll deliver it to its new owner tomorrow. I worked on unloading the inside cabinets and Dave worked on the outside storage. What a big job! I had two injuries: yesterday the bathroom medicine cabinet door gouged the top of my head, and today I got stung by a bee. Not fun, but all part of the job, I guess.

Tonight I'm working on writing my CASA dependency review report for court on November 3. The report is supposed to be turned in a few weeks before then so that copies can be distributed to all the parties involved in the case. I always put off writiing the report because things keep happening with the case, but once I sit down to write the report it comes fairly easily to me. It's kind of fun to summarize what's been happening during the last six months. Hopefully, as it is with this case, things are improving and soon the children won't be in dependency court any longer.

Christianity in a sentence:

"The essence of the Christian religion consists in this, that the creation of the Father, devastated by sin, is restored in the son of God, and recreated by the Holy Spirit into the kingdom of God."
-- Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 1

We managed to get away to the beach for a few days. We are in our motorhome at Cape Disappoinment State Park near Long Beach, WA. We've had rain off and on but went for a long walk on the beach in between rain showers. This is one of Washington's best state parks--full hookups along with the roar of the ocean in our ears. It's hard to get away during football season, so we'll be back home Friday afternoon in time for Dave's varisty football game.

This has been a month of unexpected expenditures. We had to get new rear air brakes for the motorhome installed yesterday and while they were installing the brakes they noticed that one of our rear tires had some chunks missing from it. We got a new tire this morning at Les Schwab before leaving for our beach trip. This was our first time using this repair place for our motorhome. It's Lemon Aid in Camas, and we are pleased with their work and grateful to them that they told us about the tire problem. It turns out that we've probably had the tire problem since our last trip to Sacramento in late December for Dave's brother's memorial service. God has truly protected us during all these months.

I enjoyed the Renewing Your Mind conference this weekend. It was very uplifting, with much food for thought. I enjoyed the Hyatt Regency Hotel which was a wonderful place to attend a conference. We were within a block or two of many fine restaurants and shops, even a second floor IMAX theater and bowling alley, all accessible by sky bridges. I enjoyed the company of the Harwoods, especially since Dave had to stay home to work some football games. We ate at P.F. Chang's one evening which was the first time I had been there.

The only problem with the trip is that on the way home I got off I-5 to stop at an outlet RV sales place near Chehalis. On the way back to the freeway, I looked at an RV park. I had to back into a driveway going downhill in order to turn the car around. While manuevering, I hit a post that was there. At first I thought the damage to the passenger side of the car was minimal, but now we see that the car will need some major body work. We haven't gotten estimates yet, but it will probably cost well over $1,000, especially if they have to paint the car. Ouch! That makes it a very expensive conference!

Friday and Saturday I will be attending an R.C. Sproul conference in Seattle. It will be held at the Bellevue Hyatt Regency. Dave can't go because he has football games all weekend. Also speaking will be Alistair Begg (Truth for Life) and Michael Horton (White Horse Inn). The overall topics will be related to "Is There Life After Death?" I'm trying to think what to take with me since we usually stay in the RV, not fancy hotels.

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day." -- 2 Corinthians 4:16

Today was Dave's birthday. Happy 61, Dave! In honor of Dave's birthday, both of his NFL teams (the Raiders and the 49ers) won their games today. We celebrated with the Harwoods by going to dinner at Rib City before meeting at our house for home church. As usual, we had a rousing discussion about Reformed theology. I'm reading a very interesting and well-written book called "Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists" by Collin Hansen.


Last night we celebrated with Tim and Kiersten. It's always good to get together with them. We tried to go to TGI Friday's but they were out of business. These days we never know what will be closed next.


Our son, Tim, got a new job at The New Group in Portland. He's going to be doing IT and system architecture. He's been working there as a consultant at the same time he was still working at his old job, Innovative Asset Group in Wilsonville. The old company did intellectual property rights work and the new company does digital advertising for all kinds of clients, two of whom are Jenny Craig and Adidas.

I've lost 41 pounds since mid-April. It seems slow, but I keep plugging away at it!

The tree trimmers are here today. Lots of big equipment has arrived. I am going to escape by going out for a bike ride and then grocery shopping.

Here's a cute license plate surround that I saw: Eternity--smoking or non-smoking?

Today was a fun day. Dave had to go to Tigard, OR, to help Tim and Kiersten install molding in their master bedroom. So I decided to go for a bike ride. I put the Dahon fold-up bike in the car and first drove to Sports Authority to buy new biking gloves and some new biking shorts. Then I drove to Gresham, OR, and rode east on the Springwater Corridor Bike Trail. I rode for about 45 minutes. After the bike ride, when I got near the I-84 West and I-205 North interchange, I saw a sign that there was an accident on I-205 near the airport. So I changed lanes and stayed on I-84 through Portland and took the I-5 home. I decided to stop and ride the Vancouver waterfront bike path along the Columbia River. I rode that path for another 45 minutes. Now I'm home again and Dave has still not returned from Tigard.

The only bummer was that I found out that I missed a CASA wraparound meeting this morning. Of course, I didn't know about the meeting, so I couldn't have gone to it. Luckily someone called me afterwards to tell me what happened at the meeting. Not being informed about meetings happends oftener than you would think. Like I said, it's a bummer.

New washer working well. I'm glad we bought it!

Our new Maytag Centennial washing machine is home and installed and is busy doing its first load. After almost one week without a washer, our laundry has really piled up. Home Depot couldn't get us a washer until at least a week from today, so I went to our local Best Buy store and found one and had to drive to the Clackamas store to pick it up. The repair man came this morning and said that it would be $330 to fix the old one, so we decided to get a new one instead of fixing the old one. We didn't have to pay for the service call, yay. We saved the sales tax because of picking it up in Oregon. Thank you, Dave, for removing the old machine and installing the new machine. Now I am back in the laundry business!

I just can't resist sharing some of the good quotes from the website "Of First Importance.":

Ah! believer, it is safer always for you to be led of the Spirit into gospel liberty than to wear legal fetters. Judge yourself at what Christ is rather than what you are. Satan will try to mar your peace by reminding you of your sinfulness and imperfections: you can only meet his accusations by faithfully adhering to the Gospel and refusing to wear the yoke of bondage.”
- Charles Spurgeon, Morning & Evening, September 6

Tomorrow morning we head back home to Vancouver. Yesterday it rained a lot, so we took a drive to Silverton, Mt. Angel, and then to the Wilsonville Camping World. We were looking for a regular-sized fold-up bicycle that also had some gears. They had a retro-style one speed fold-up bicycle which we didn't buy. After that Dave put some air in the tires of our small-sized fold-up bike and we took turns riding around the RV park. We did that again this morning and then our friends, the Harwoods, came to visit us for the afternoon. We went out for dinner with them at The Original Roadhouse Grill on Lancaster Road. We always enjoy our visits with the Harwoods! We had a mini home church meeting with them and listened to a (podcast) sermon on prayer by Martyn Lloyd-Jones. We had a good discussion afterwards.

This weekend we planned to take a motorhome trip to Salem, OR. Rain was forecast and when we woke up this morning, it was raining hard. We almost cancelled the trip, but decided to go anyway. We didn't bring our bikes because it was raining too hard to load them. We have one fold-up bicycle which we did bring.

We got to the Salem RV park (Hee Hee Illahee) around 2 pm, which was later than we intended to arrive. We had a massive amount of traffic when we transitioned from the I-205 to I-5 south. After the Woodburn exit, the traffic abated. Evidently everyone in Portland was headed to the Woodburn Company Stores for some fall shopping.

Yesterday Dave worked at Green Mountain Golf as a golf marshal and then had to referee an evening varsity football game in White Salmon. He had a very busy day yesterday and didn't get home from the football game until after midnight. So, after arriving in Salem this afternoon he wanted to take a nap. I napped, too, and we didn't wake up until almost 6 pm.

Then, because it wasn't raining, we decided to go to the Oregon State Fair, even though we got a much later start than we intended. We liked the fair, and even though we were only there for 3 1/2 hours, we saw everything that we wanted to see. David Cook was performing tonight, and when we rode the Fair View sky cages, we could hear some of his music and the very enthusiastic audience. Our fair tickets cost $10 each because we bought them at the gate instead of ahead of time, and there was no charge for parking. The sky ride tickets were $5 each for a round trip, and we thought the ride was well worth that price, especially since we waited until dark so that we could enjoy seeing all the lights of the fair.

Tomorrow it's supposed to rain again and be windy, but we'll go for a ride in the car, or stay inside the RV, or take a walk if it stops raining. We really enjoy all of our motorhome trips!

Please pray for a miracle for our friend, Jeff Kasten! There may be some good news on the way because the doctors are "confounded" now that his brain surgery is over. Here is a tribute to Jeff that a friend of the Kasten's put together: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI2EyUNROaY

The following two quotes were found at a website that I discovered today: http://firstimportance.org/

“The Law is for the proud and the Gospel for the brokenhearted.”
- Martin Luther, quoted on monergism.com

God requires two things of us: punishment for our sins and perfection in our lives. Our sins must be punished, and our lives must be righteous. But we cannot bear our own punishment, and we cannot provide our own righteousness. Therefore, God, out of His immeasurable love for us, provided his own Son to do both. Christ bears our punishment, and Christ performs our righteousness. And When we receive Christ, all of his punishment and all of his righteousness is counted as ours.”
- John Piper, This Momentary Marriage (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2009), 46.

Here is Jeff and Tracey Kasten's new website: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jeffkasten
They are keeping everyone posted about Jeff's progress through this website. Tracey recently added photos of their family to the website. Jeff's brain surgery is on Monday at Stanford. Our prayers are with you, Jeff!

Well, summer is winding down and Dave's football schedule is ramping up. He officiated at scrimmages last night and tonight, and is evaluating some officials tomorrow afternoon. While he was gone I got caught up on watching some DVDs. I am still enjoying the series "House of Eliott" that I mentioned before. It's about two sisters who open a clothing design business in London in the early 20th century. Very interesting to see the clothing and hairstyles from that time period, as well as the change from horse and buggies to automobiles, etc.

I have been exercising inside during the last week, so I haven't gone for any more interesting bike rides. We were hoping to take our bikes to the beach next weekend, but the forecast is for rain, so that plan may not work.

I am reading an excellent new fiction book, The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton. It is an interesting saga about a young girl who was abandoned on a ship headed for Austrailia in 1913. By using back flashes and forward flashes through the years, her story is told in a style that reminds me of some of the Dickens books. I have read 1/4 of the book, so I hope the rest of the book is a satisfying read.

Another 10 miles on my bike! I've ridden more than 75 miles on my bike since the odometer was installed two months ago. Today's ride was the easiest since I don't kow when...probably about 3 or 4 years ago. Even the small inclines didn't bother me at all and I used to huff and puff up those little hills. It's been almost four months since my surgery and I feel way better than I did even a month ago. The chest discomfort that I used to feel at night has almost totally disappeared. Now if the neighbor's dog would just stop barking!

I would like to request prayers for our friend, Jeff Kasten, who was just diagnosed with two malignant stage 4 brain tumors. He has a wife, Tracey, and 3 young children. He will be travelling to Stanford for a consult on August 28 and surgery is scheduled for August 31.

The weather today was absolutely fabulous! After we exercised, Dave and I drove to Battle Ground to visit the new library there. As always with libraries, I found books to borrow, including a More-With-Less cookbook that I read this afternoon. It's a Mennonite cookbook and was interesting to read, whether or not I ever try out any of the recipes. We also went to the Battle Ground Farmer's Market which was being held next to the library.

This afternoon we went to Oregon on a search for Diet Code Red soda pop. For some reason, it's not available in Washington, except at Jonathan's Fred Meyer store in Bellingham. We had good luck and found a few cases at the Target store on Glisan. It was even on sale.

Dave helped out a couple of clients today and found a quick fix for their fiscal reporting woes. Now before it gets dark he's doing some yard work.

Are you ready for another earring story? Today was six weeks after I had my ears pierced. That meant that I could take out the original earrings that I have been wearing day and night. I was looking forward to wearing one of the 3 new pairs that I had purchased at Crater Lake. First, I had trouble getting the nuts off the posts of the new ones. Then I couldn't get the old earrings out of my ears. I tried to get Dave to help me but he said his fingers were too big. So I waited until I was having coffee with my friends, Jackie and Diane, at Barnes and Noble this afternoon. Diane was able to get my old earrings out, and I was able to put one of the new pairs in. I still have to keep earrings in, even at night, for six months total. What an ordeal! But it's totally worth it, because the new earrings (emerald-colored blue) look very snazzy.

I had CASA court this afternoon. At first I didn't get a chance to speak, but then our case was called back in and I got to put in my two cents worth. The outcome of both sessions was good. Now I remember why I signed up to do this kind of work!

Congratulations to Jonathan! He passed the panel interview portion of the Washington State Patrol application. Later this week he will be scheduled to take a polygraph, which means he gets to drive back down to Tumwater from Bellingham again. After the polygraph comes the background check, which can take up to six months. We are proud of you, Jonathan!

Today was Dave's annual checkup for his lung cancer. It's been 4 years since the removal of one of his lobes. We went to the Portland VA Hospital for the checkup and he got another good checkup and a clean bill of health. Today he had an x-ray and a CT scan, but next year he just needs to get an x-ray after next year (if all is well) he only needs to be checked every other year. He has had a few problems when he's at a high altitude (like Crater Lake) and it was recommended that he take an aspirin a day for a few days before and during the visit to high altitudes. This is important because we want to go to some national parks next year which are at high altitudes. Praise God that the cancer has not come back!

We are back home again tonight after our trip to Yakima. I went for a nine mile bike ride this morning while Dave was at his football meeting. Dave won a shirt for scoring the highest on his football certification test. We had a good trip. It's good to be home, but I'm sad that the trip is over. We have only one more trip planned now that football season is almost upon us. We are going to Cape Disappointment State Park for three nights at the end of September.

Another 10 mile bike ride this afternoon! For a while it was looking doubtful about even going for a ride. I waited for Dave to get back from his morning conference, and then it was too hot. And I didn't feel well after lunch. But about 4:30 it had cooled off a little and I felt a lot better after eating a snack, so we went for a ride. We rode to the west on the Yakima Greenway this time and it was a very nice ride. We had to ride 3 miles on the east part in order to get our ten miles done. We felt so good after the ride!

10 miles! My doctors and cardio rehab nurses would be proud of me. That's how many miles we biked today in Yakima. The fabulous greenway path is easy to get to from the Trailer Inns RV Park where we're staying. The first five miles were easy, but the return five were much harder as the wind hit us and it was slightly uphill the whole way back. But I made it back after some grumbling.

Yesterday we stayed overnight at Taidnapam, which is a Tacoma Power Park. It is a nice park which was built in 1994. Our site had full hookups, and was a pull-thru site, but it was the darkest site we've ever stayed in. The rain started in the early evening and it was still raining when we left at 9:40 this morning. We took Highway 12 east after we got off of I-5 north and it took us exactly 2 1/2 hours to get to Taidnapam from home. It is located about 5 miles east of Morton and then another 4 miles or so to the park.

Today we drove to Yakima, our final destination. Dave registered for the referee conference and then we went out for dinner at Outback since he didn't want to eat the convention dinner. He has a session tonight at 9 pm and a session on Saturday and Sunday morning. It got even more windy here as the afternoon went on and we had to take the RV awning down. Now the wind seems to have calmed down a bit.

The wifi at this park isn't working, so I'm at the park office using a hard-wired modem connection. Grumble, grumble, but at least I am able to connnect!

I had a late, long lunch with my friend Sandy today at Sweet Tomatoes. The visit was great, but now I need to go pick up a prescription at Walmart and then get the rest of the packing done for our trip to Yakima. That's one disadvantage about RV trips--we have to think ahead about food as well as clothes.

Yesterday it rained and this morning it rained some too, and also this afternoon. We haven't had rain for a while, so it was a welcome change. Dave didn't have to go to his golf marshal job this morning because they weren't busy because of the rain.

My warfarin numbers came up a little short this time, probably because I've been getting more exercise. I have to increase my pills just a little bit but I was assured by the person that helps me manage it by phone that exercise is a good thing. Rats, can't use it for an excuse to slow down. I have to get it tested again in two weeks.

Chez Jose restaurant in Portland had really good food. We didn't have any trouble finding the place once we went the right direction. Driving in the rain in rush hour traffic was interesting. That's why we usually stay on our side of the river! It was fun meeting Tim and Kiersten there for dinner. I had a yummy beef taco with a side salad in place of the rice and beans. I don't think I overate or ate too unhealthy. The place was very busy and very noisy, so it was a little hard to talk. A fun experience, especially since we don't usually go to Mexican restaurants. (Dave had a hamburger and fries.)

I just came home from an appointment with Dr. Angel, the cardiologist. He gave me a thumbs up on my new baseline echocardigram. I won't need to get annual echos any longer, just on an as needed basis. I complained to him about hair loss and fatigue, so he sent me to the lab for a check on my blood count and my thyroid. I also had to get a Pro-Time lab test done on my coumadin level. He said that use of coumadin can cause hair loss. He said that I can gradually stop taking the beta-blocker Metoprolol. I'll need to monitor my blood pressure and email him if it goes up after stopping the small dose of Metoprolol that I'm on.

Tonight we are going to take Tim and Kiersten out to dinner to celebrate Tim's birthday. Tim chose Chez Jose in Portland.

Happy birthday to our son, Tim. He is 27 today! And Jonathan's news is that he completed the initial six-hour testing for the Washington State Patrol and passed! He has an interview with them in Tumwater on August 18.

Just returned home from a Portland Festival Symphony concert in the park. We always enjoy these annual concerts which take place on the first three weekends in August. Last weekend was too hot to attend the concert. Tonight was just right, even a bit cool. We stopped at Subway first so that we could eat while we listened. We also stopped at Camping World so that Dave could buy a new strap for our RV awning. Now he gets to figure out how to attach it.