Reaching for Routine

We're home again, and it's good to be here. The world continues to feel weirder and weirder, and so we're both glad we made the decision to come home and shelter in place...although no such order has been issued in Oregon...yet. This morning saw me heading out to the grocery store and to the pharmacy. Also, I needed gas. I found the grocery store much as expected, and I was able to get everything I need.

One of the first things I did when we arrived home was to check the pantry to see what the situation with toilet paper and paper towels looked like...good to go there too. I was pretty sure I'd stocked up before leaving home just after Christmas. We found 72 rolls when we got home. That oughta last a while.

So let's just back up a bit to when I last wrote. We were in Redding, California. It was sunny and nice the day we arrived. We'd checked ahead for the road report getting over the summit in the Siskiyous. We were promised no snow and dry pavement. Still...the summit is actually after we were to cross the border into Oregon. In California, we found it snowing, with some accumulation on the roadsides and temperatures frighteningly close to freezing. We always fear ice under those conditions.

The snow had stopped and the pavement was dry by the time we crossed the border into Oregon, and man...I can't remember when it has felt so good to be home. Of course, we still had many miles to travel, but we were still happy to be back in our home state.

We spent our last night on the road in Valley of the Rogue State Park, where it was lovely. We got out for a walk late in the day. It was good to see blue skies and sunshine. A nice welcome home.

It was so pretty, I couldn't keep my eyes from glancing up at the sky. There was a time in my life when I would have climbed this tree below...it was an excellent climbing tree.

The Rogue River runs right beside the park, and there was a trail that led down to its banks. Looking left, we saw this:

Looking right, we saw this:

There was a sign with some information about the area. Mike has rafted this river a couple of times.

Before heading out on our final leg of the journey yesterday morning, I finished up all the stitching on the eighth snowflake. Now it just needs beads. I'm hoping to get to that today.

The kitties were dying to get outside when we got home. We first carried them into the house, but then let them roam free for about an hour while we were outside. I was happy to see the daffodils still blooming.

I was afraid they might have come and gone while we were away.

I was most excited to see that all five of my new peonies are growing. Now...let's just keep our fingers crossed for flowers.

Also, I was happy to see the purple poppies from Ireland had survived the winter. I don't expect these to bloom this year since they seem to be a biannual. And, obviously, there is a lot of yard clean-up to do.

Now we're all in our places...Smitty has taken up residence on his pole next to the window where he shouts foul language at the squirrels. Oh wait...I think that was me.

Sadie was stationed at the glass door. They've both been spending a lot of time on their catio.

They're pretty good buddies these days.

Also, I scrambled to put out my St. Patrick's Day table runner. It's a few days late, but it's the first St. Patrick's Day since I finished it. That puppy is going on display for at least a day or two.

And this table topper too.

So that's all the news I have from the Three Cats Ranch. We still have miles to go before we sleep, just trying to get unpacked and finding a new normal. Today I'll be unpacking food and putting things back in the house refrigerators. I moved everything to the garage refrigerator and freezer before we left so we could turn off the refrigerators in the house. Now they're up and running and ready to receive their usual contents. Of course, I need to unpack the RV refrigerator too. I'd like to get the bird feeders put back out too. The squirrels have been urging us to make the place more hospitable now that they've awakened from their winter naps. Today's focus is on food. Tomorrow's focus will be on the rest, and then I'm hoping to get back to my sewing room by Saturday. Wish me luck.