He hit the trail again the next day, and within twenty minutes of being within the Oregon border, it rained. (guess they weren't kidding!) But Eric, along with Abigail who was helping him to drive, continued doggedly up the trail. Enjoying lush green scenic views! They finally pulled their wagon (okay, it's really a truck... I plead poetic license here!) into Troutdale early Sunday evening.
Weather report for Sunday: Rain with a little thunder throughout the day
Monday he headed out for his first day of work. Meanwhile, I called Jene to check on the missing bunny. Fortunately, Jene informed me that he and Anne had taken their bunny with them. There was a collective sigh of relief from the Svelmoe household (both in Oregon and California) that his bunny hadn't become part of the food chain.
Weather report for Monday: Light sprinkles in the afternoon
Tuesday Eric shipped Abigail back to San Diego and had his first real "alone time." Realized he forgot some of his shoes.... only has sandals (ha ha ha!) and work shoes. Ah well.
Weather report for Tuesday: Heavy rain in the morning for about an hour, then clouds started to break up a bit.
Wednesday we continue to pack up boxes, and boxes, and boxes of stuff!! How does a house not burst at the joints with all this stuff? I am truly amazed at the amount that can be in a house once you start packing it. I'm starting to wonder if little gremlins are running around behind me and refilling closets, shelves, and tables that I'm sure I've already got everything out of it?! Our semi-solid leaving date is the weekend of Sept. 6th and 7th. Looks like we're aiming for Friday and Saturday for packing up the U-haul and leaving wonderful San Diego on Sunday morn early.
Meanwhile, Eric is busy searching for a place for us to stay once we all arrive up there.
Weather report for Wednesday: It rained hard all day!
Thursday - apparently when your husband leaves town, that's the time when everything goes haywire?! So the list starts like this... there's this new garage door that I've been trying to get installed. First, they didn't call back to let me know when it had come in and to schedule a time to install it. So, of course, I called them after waiting the week's estimated time. They told me they'd already installed it. I told them I was pretty sure the ugly door I was looking at wasn't the one they would have installed. After checking their records they called back and informed me that they messed up and they would comp. me an extra door opener and give me a keyless entry. Well, that was cool! So, then they reschedule for Tuesday of this week to deliver it. Then they call me on Tuesday to say the people who cut the doors for them cut it too small... and they'll have to reschedule for Thursday... and they comp. me an upgrade on the keyless entry. THEN, (yes, there's more!) the guy comes to install it on Thursday and informs me that they need the inside of the garage cleared 10 feet from the door to install it and they need the driveway cleared also. "Didn't he tell you that?" I informed him that I think I would have remembered that part since my garage was filled with boxes to the very edge of the door, and the popup tent trailer was in the driveway when he came to do the estimate. Of course, being a gracious person, I told him the guy was probably dazzled by my big brown eyes and forgot to mention it. Sooooo, I move boxes, tables, 'what is this stuff anyway', around in the garage for the next two hours... oh, did I forget to mention the kittens that Jeff Hosford found under something in the side of the yard while grabbing junk to take to the dump? Right, so I had to drop those little flea infested fuzzballs off at the humane society by 6 pm. Never, and I mean, never a dull moment around here! Hey, and this is just the saga of the garage door. Let me tell you about.... ah, I'll save that one for another time.
Weather report for Thursday: Rain all morning with slight clearing in the afternoon.
Friday, so finally Tafu the garage man comes to install my garage with yet another comp. of some sort being added.
Weather report for Friday: Sunny, temperatures up in the 80's.
Saturday is the big demo spa day! It all started out so well, and then all the men took their turns handling the jack hammer. Well, Kevin sprung a leak in his body, Dan's hearing went out on him, Sean Suho. decided he liked painting better, Cameron ended up having to work parallel to the floor or not at all, Sean Anderson thought he broke his toe but ended up just having a contusion (it still hurt!), John got a bloody nose, and David Sardanja (sp.) headed back up the hill to L.A. out of harm's way. I'm so grateful for all their hard work... and they're probably just grateful they're still walking (or limping!) Needless to say, all breathed a sigh of contentment when they laid their head's upon their pillows tonight from a long, hard day of work.
Weather report for Saturday: Sunny, temperature around 85.
Sunday Eric has been busy trying to find us a place to live. We've set the date for our leaving for Sept. 14th with massive packing into a U-haul on Friday and Saturday the 12th and 13th. If you happen to be available on those dates to help, do please come, we would so appreciate it. Eric will be flying back into town on that Thursday night so if you didn't get a chance to say goodbye you could kill two birds with one stone (visit and help pack!) I hit the beach this afternoon with the kids with our home group to enjoy fellowship, fun, food, and much needed relaxation! Sean lined up an unsuspecting victim to help with the spa demo Monday. Let's hope he survives. Seriously, "Thank you Sean!!" And thanks to Jeff Hosford for loaning us his jack hammer!
Weather report for Sunday: Sunny in the morning with clouds moving in toward the afternoon.
Monday Jose came over and worked on that spa, with no injuries! I think I can see light at the end of the tunnel. Whoo-hoo! Eric says his job is working out well and he's enjoying it.... and there's plenty of work! The weather report for Escondido was interesting; rain for about a half hour with thunder. Ruth left for Moody Bible Institute in Chicago on Saturday. Abigail moved out to her friend's house today. Eric's still working on find us an apartment. A fair amount of apartments lease for 6/12 months so it's a little challenging since we don't want to be locked into an extended lease.
So, the reason I keep posting the weather report is two fold: there appears to be a belief that it's never not raining in Oregon, and, someone near and dear to us told us that you can tell it's been raining for 9 days straight by the way someone talks on the phone. Eventually I figure it will hit the 9 day marker and I'm just as curious as the next guy. What will happen?!
Weather report for Monday: A light drizzle for a short time in the morning, clearing up afterward.
Tuesday, same old, same old; work on spa, pack boxes, feed kids, bed time!
Weather report for Tuesday: Sunny with temps in the 70's
Wednesday Jose finished jack hammering the spa! Yeah! Now we just need to fill it with gravel, sand, and do the finishing pavers. God's provision of helpers for our move has been amazing! Tom Nauman, a Christian friend up the street, came down to ask if I needed any help with anything yesterday while Abigail was here. He showed up today to work on finishing some painting on the exterior of the house that needed doing.
Okay, I'm skipping some days here... Thursday must have been a blur because I don't remember it.
Friday I'm getting ready to go camping for an annual camping trip to the Laguna's with a bunch of home school families along with continuing to pack, work on the spa, yada yada. Packing for a trip with no other adults is HARD! I finally got the car all packed by 6 pm, backed up the car to hook up the popup tent trailer, Eliot's helping to direct me and just when it gets close to him he looks down and yells, "Stop!" "Hey, Mom," he says, "you don't have the trailer hitch on the car." I think, 'Right, the trailer hitch that's in the car where the jack's kept, UNDER all my packing!' Now, I'm not only frustrated, but feeling pretty stupid. Tom Nauman, who's painting the house at the time, mentions something about 'not being perfect'; I think he's trying to encourage me, so I don't bean him. (Just kiddin' Tom) So, car unloaded, trailer hitch put on, and car repacked, I proceed to finish the job I started; hooking up the trailer. Then, I hook up the trailer lights. Well, that takes three adults and two youngsters and another 1/2 hour to do! So, after a lovely drive in the dark, we finally arrive at the campsite at 9:30 pm. I immediately spy some fine strong strapping young men doing nothing and enlist them in helping me to set up my trailer. And, lickety split, up it goes!
Saturday through Monday I enjoy a relaxing time in the mountains, listening to the breezes blow through the trees, sitting around the campfire singing songs you would never sing any other time, making s'mores, laughing with old friends and new, sharing coffee in the mornings and dinner in the evenings with friends of a well established ritual of comradery. Some of my favorite memories of this trip will be laughing so hard with (and at) Jake, Micah, and Danny cutting up the whole time. Spending time with Caryl and family, and again, laughing so hard with someone who totally gets my sense of humor and is just as funny. Watching the same Jake, Micah, and Danny play with, tease and hug (not Eliot on this last one) Eliot and Lily. And Eliot accidentally falling out the side of the popup tent in his underwear!
Meanwhile, Eric tells us that he hiked the Columbia River gorge and sends some pics via his cell phone. They aren't great but it gives you an idea of the beauty.
Wednesday through Friday I keep busy with trying to facilitate the spa-into-a-patio project, dealing with a sick Lily, having potential renters traipse through the house, and .... packing! Eric found a 3-bedroom house for us this week. Yippee, yippee!
~Another amazing pic from Oregon~
Pray for our home here in San Diego to rent.
Saturday Sept. 20 - We made it! And what's a road trip without a few stories. I'll be updating everyone soon on the many mishaps and adventures on the road. Until then, know that we're here safe and sound in our new home. I have yet to see it rain and I've been in Oregon five days!
