Relaxed to the Max

We've both been working pretty hard this summer. Mike has been working hard because he's newly retired, and he's been putting stuff off in anticipation of his new free time for approximately six years. As for me...well, I just need more hours in my day. Period. And so we're enjoying this day of forced inactivity with several more days on the horizon.

Before I go on, I need to tell you the most important news. There was just enough time before completing my packing yesterday to finish the hand-quilting on Mumm's the Word. Excuse me for just a moment while a jump for joy.

It was fast on its way to becoming "The Thing that Wouldn't Leave" in my sewing room. Now, all that's left is the binding. I can hardly wait to get home and finish this one off once and for all.

We had an uneventful trip up to Lake Mayfield...always a good thing. It's about an hour from our house to the Oregon-Washington border where one crosses the drawbridge known as the "Interstate Bridge" (that's I-5) over the Columbia River.

About three-fourths of the way across the bridge, you see the sign telling you you're entering the State of Washington.

Another 66 miles up the road, we turn east on US Hwy 12 and head for Lake Mayfield. I took this next picture to tell you that Spiffy's restaurant has kind of a special place in our hearts. Because we've been coming to this lake for decades, we remember when Spiffy's was nothing more than a road-side stand. They are also a bakery and they have the most amazing cinnamon rolls. They've been a large Denny's-style restaurant for a long time, but we always get a yen for their delicious cinnamon rolls every time we pass by. And this time...we did pass by.

Of course, I took pictures of barns all along the way. If you're new to this blog, you should know that when you travel with me, you see a lot of barns.

Also, at various spots along the way, one can get a glimpse of Mt. Rainier. Mt. Rainier is a huge mountain and it's also designated a national park. It is, however, surprisingly difficult to see it practically until one drives right up to the gates of the national park. Nevertheless, I caught this image of it. It's so big, we can see it from our house, approximately 200 miles away.

When we arrived, we let the kitties out of their kennels right away. They were fine, but they were in full-on escape mode. Smitty actually escaped out the door once, but when he got outside, he looked completely confused realizing he wasn't at home. Then, he turned tail and ran for the door of the camper. I doubt he'll be running out again.

Little Sadie has poorer judgment, however, and so we're watching her like hawks, getting a good grip on her whenever we open the door. As extra insurance, we have a squirt bottle stationed outside so we can squirt her back if we're trying to get inside and she's there trying to get out. Think of it as a mini-fire-hose treatment. We haven't had to use it yet, but we will. Oh yes. We will. 

As an aside, I have an appointment to have her microchipped when we get home. Smitty already has a chip, and I've re-registered him and paid for a year-long maintenance contract with 24PetWatch.com. Unfortunately, Sadie will be with a different company, but it will work just the same. We'll also be putting collars on them with tags indicating their microchip numbers and a telephone number to call the associated companies. It seems extra insurance for when we make our multi-state trip this fall.

Eventually, the kitties settled into nap mode, and now all is mostly well. They'd still like to escape, I think, but they are more relaxed. They've eaten, had a drink, used their potty box, scratched at their scratching pad, and explored all the nooks and crannies, and generally given the place a once over. I know they have some things they want to tell you, and so I'll give them a chance to write a blog post a little later.

We had a little trouble with the screen on the catio window. In the fifth wheel, the window and screen slide to the side, and so it works just fine. With this new window in the camper sliding up, however, the screen doesn't want to stay in place. The Resident Engineer is going to fashion a hook for it from a wire coat hanger when we get home. For now, a rubber spatula is working well to prop it up. This solution brought to you by the Kitchen Engineer.

Here's a satellite image of the area where we are. We're in the little town of Harmony, Washington. You can see Lake Mayfield right in the middle of the image.

We're in a beautiful lakeside spot. This is the view through the window from our table this morning.

There is a steep embankment and a fence. Just on the other side of the fence, there are wild currants growing. These actually grow all over this area, and so even though these are out of reach, there are plenty all around the campground.

Overhead...tall trees. Being a military brat, we traveled back and forth across the country many times in a little tiny camper trailer. I never feel more at home than when I look up and see this sight.

Only now, I'm with my sweety of many years. He was 18 and I was 16 when we met, which means we've known one another for 47 years. He wasted no time planting his butt in his lawn chair, cool beverage in hand.

This is his view.

Smitty was none too happy about being excluded from cocktail hour, a time he generally spends with us when we're at home.

A little later on, we walked to where our boat trailer is parked. Mike needed to get a quick-release hook off the trailer, which I'll explain in a minute. Along the way, we noticed the lovely gardens in this park, including this hibiscus. I wouldn't think these would grow in our cool climate, but there you go.

Also, this blooming yucca plant putting on its most spectacular show of the season.

Upon check-in, we were told that the man who lived her and tended these gardens for 35 years passed away recently. Now there is a new gardener who's only been here a couple of months. Apparently the gardens aren't as pretty as they usually are, but they seemed beautiful to us.

Our 21-foot boat (the one in the middle on the left) has only a 14-foot slip where it's docked. Mike did a little bit of rope engineering to protect it from banging against the dock. Now, we can just throw off the ropes and drive away, but he wanted a quick-release hook from the trailer for the bow. He was attaching it when I took this next picture.

Looking left, this is what you see from where I'm standing.

Looking right, this is what you see.

On the way back to the camper, we saw this little cottontail.

We slept well last night, even though the kitties were a little restless. Someone's car alarm went off in the middle of the night, and it took them a minute to get it shut off. How embarrassing. Glad it wasn't us. Smitty got under the covers and slept right beside me, just like at home.

Today's agenda is thus:

1. Have Breakfast.

2. Take an after-breakfast nap. (Mike only.)

3. Write blog post (Me only.)

4. Kitties take morning naps.

5. Be lazy.

6. Go boating.

7. Have lunch.

8. Take after-lunch nap.

9. Go boating.

10. Have dinner.

11. Be lazy.

12. Go to bed.

As you can see, there is still much left on today's to-do list. Time to get going if we're to fit it all in.