2026-07-26 - Another week of doing stuff

Kind of an unexciting week, but we sure were busy.

Dean got some new shoes this week, he really did need some.

Got Kris's Dad a new cell phone.  He doesn't really use one a lot, but the one he had was costing him around $70 a month, and it did not even function it was so old.   That took a bit, as the phone was not working, so could not get a text to confirm we wanted to get a transfer pin so we could switch provider.  3 trips to the Verizon store, and two long calls to the help center, but we finally prevailed.

We have been taking a 2-mile walk every morning for some exercise.  Saw deer, geese, rabbits and a small snake.

Startled this fawn, who ran away quickly

Did not startle this doe, who did not even get up

Snake was only about 8" long, and quickly got off the road after we passed

You can really tell what areas here get water and which don't.   High desert all around, until you water it.

You can definitely see where the sprinkler hits and where it does not.

Kris spent a lot of time going through about 15 boxes of old tax records sorting and cleaning.  Tossing out past years not needed, and making sure all documents were found, labeled and filed for the years that were needed.   Took her about 3 days total to tackle that mountain of paperwork.  She is still working on the office and files to make it easy to find everything, and label all the files correctly, which they were not, and things were filed in the wrong spot.   Not to mention sorting through over 100 pens, pencils, and sharpie markers all stored in the desk.  Plus paperclips, push pins, and more post-it notes than a person could use in year.

Still a mess, but you could not even see the floor a few days ago.

We had some interest in my Dads F-27 Trimaran, so we pulled it out again, and made sure the battery was still charged and the outboard running well.   The outboard ran well, but gas not flowing.   About 4 hours working and diagnosing that issue - fitting on the gas tank - and now it purrs like a kitten on steroids.

We took two trips to the dump, one for recyclables, and one for hazardous waste.  Bend has a nice recycling center, paper, electronics, plastic, and more.  And the hazardous waste is twice a week and no charge for either.

Dean washed our car and Norms GMC Envoy, and Norm got down to polish the wheels.  Dean quickly took over, as Norm's hand was already going numb from the work.

He still tries, but the body just can't handle it anymore.

Norm (Kris's Dad) enjoys doing puzzles, and we were working on a particularly difficult one, when Norm accidentally spilled his coffee on it.   Those puzzle pieces really absorb liquid quickly.  

The puzzle is fully coffee soaked. 

I think we were all a little relieved, as we had many hours into the puzzle, and not a lot of progress. It was a difficult one.

We will head to Boise this coming week for some family time with the Hearst side of the family, before returning to Bend.

2026-07-19 - Still selling, cleaning and organizing

We are still in Bend, Oregon, at Norm's - Kris's 94-year-old Dad's place.  We will be here most the summer.

Going through the house, shop, sheds and garage working with Norm on what he wants to get rid of, throw away, or keep.   

Norm did see a pack rat while sitting out on the porch, and put out his traps - he is a pretty good trapper.  Got two pack rats the first night.

We have been working on jigsaw puzzles as well, finally finished one - Norm did most of this puzzle.

Been watching deer, lizards and rock chucks (marmots).  

Norm got out the rifle to shoot the rock chuck, but early in the morning we heard another neighbor shooting, and haven't seen the rock chuck since, so think the neighbor got him.

Kris found a box of old slides, so Norm and Kris dug out the old slide projector and had a family slide show.  Unfortunately the slide projector kept jamming, and unless Kris held her finger on one moveable part it kept jamming.   Kris's finger and arm was numb by the time the 6 reels of slides had been viewed.

Decided to take some of the slides in to have them converted to digital, but cheapest was almost $2.00 per slide - so Kris went online and looked for other methods and ended up making a custom box to display the slide and take a photo of it on her phone.   

It turned out pretty good - photo below is from Kris's homemade slide to digital box.

Photo from slide using Kris's box.   Kris and sister Kay on their donkey Lucy - around 1976

Have been running a few errands, taking cans and bottles in for recycling, and also meeting people who want to buy things in town, as it is a bit of a drive out to Norm's, so some people don't want to make that drive. 

There is a roundabout - or traffic circle in Bend that Kris always laughs about, and we went by it a couple of times.

Nice bear sculpture in traffic circle.

Kris always giggles at it because from the backside it looks like a bear emptying its bowels, and only from the front view can you tell it supposed to just be sitting.

Not much else going on.   Lots of stuff still for sale, but we have sold 19 items, plus some old sterling silver items - so about $4,000 so far - not bad.

2026-07-12 Cleaning, sorting, organizing in Bend

We had to take it easy for a couple of days while we got over our colds, but by Tuesday Dean was feeling good, and Kris was better by Wednesday.

Enjoyed watching a doe that came to eat in the lawn every morning.  Was not afraid of us at all.

The deer really enjoys the clover in the front lawn

We ordered a new shower head riser and new shower head for the bathroom, as the old shower head height was below Deans chin.  Dean is much happier now he can actually stand under the water flow

Dean holding the old shower head at the level it was, and new one is much better for him

Spent the week cleaning, sorting, organizing, and taking photos of items to put on Marketplace.  Norm has lived in the same place for over 40 years, and things just accumulate.   Dean and Norm did a lot of work in the shop digging out all the tools that Norm just doesn't use or can't safely use anymore.   Welders, lathes and lots of hand power tools.  We got them cleaned, checked and listed on Facebook marketplace.  Kris spent a day in the kitchen, cleaning and sorting to make it easier for Norm to find the minimal kitchen items he now uses.  Gravy boats, platters, cookie jars, candy jars, specialized serving plates - all remnants of a past life that is no longer in the cards.

Kris's Dad testing out an old folding bike, still works good.   Not bad for a 94-year-old to be out bike riding, although he did fall over in the loose gravel, but got right back up and kept riding.

Tools and miscellaneous set out to sell

Most anything that takes gas, needs to be fixed from lack of use to make sure it still runs. Time-consuming, and probably not worth the time to fix.

Kris and Norm working on a weed eater.  Just one of the 4 that he has.

Kris's sister Kay, and her husband Pat drove over for the day.  Had a good visit, and Kay and Pat took some items away with them which is great that they will get used versus just sitting around.

Kris, Norm and Kay

We all went out for a nice dinner before Kay and Pat left for the 2.5 hour drive back to their home.

Out for dinner at Olive Garden

We will continue to try to clean, organize and hopefully sell some more items.  The main goal is to just get rid of things Norm is tempted to use when he shouldn't to prevent injury and accidents.  Also, to make those things he does use easier to find and get to.

2026-07-05 Bought a car, and travelled to Bend - both of us sick

Sunday we hung out, and spent time with Derek working on his efoil board.  

Monday we did some errand, getting our photos taken in order to renew our passports - which we only need to do, as we have run out of room for country stamps - and most the Caribbean Islands stamp the passports.   

Getting the new passport applications ready

 We also went and looked at about 6 different cars.  

Testing the fit of several cars.  Hard with Dean being 6' tall, and Kris a foot shorter - finding a car that fits both comfortably is a chore

Ford, Subaru, Honda, Toyota, Lexus, Acura - and more all on the list of SUV's to check

Monday, we both started feeling the change in climate.   From 80% humidity, to humidity below 50% really does a number on your skin, and sinus.  We are starting blowing our noses and coughing a lot, but overall still felt good

On Monday night we got a call that the car we thought we would buy was ready to look at, so Tuesday morning we went over and test drove it, and it was fixed, ran well.  However, one speaker was still broken, and we suspected that some more damage than was listed in the car fax had happened at one point due to some minor paint blemishes.    Dean really liked an Acura RDX we looked at, but Kris felt like she sat too low, so we went to Walmart and bought a "booster seat" - a foam pad and took that back to the Acura and Kris decided with a booster she would be comfortable driving so we decided to buy it.   Now the owners of a 2014 Acura RDX, which looks like it is maybe a couple of years old.

2014 Acura RDX

Kris's booster seat for now, might try a different one later

Wednesday we did a few errands and had a nice snorkel at the Scheels store in Boise.   Just kidding, they have large salt water tanks in the store.    Got some new sunglasses

Scheels is a huge sporting goods store

Reminds us of the Caribbean

Scheels also has lots of statues out front, that are quite nice

We also had a nice lunch out with Deans Mom, his brother Lee and wife Edie, and Derek and his girlfriend Emma - nice to have the whole group together.

Thursday we drove to Bend, Oregon where Kris's dad Norm lives.   This will be our "home" for the next few months.  

View from the road near Kris's dads place.  Mt. Bachelor, Broken Top, South Sister, Middle Sister, North Sister, Mt. Washington, Mt. Jefferson, and Mt. Hood all visible on a clear day.

Thursday afternoon, was cleaning day, as Norm is 94, and his eyesight and mobility is a bit limited.  So cleaning the guest bathroom was a priority.   We also cleaned the front gutters, swept the walk, and cleaned off the back deck.

Cleaning the gutters after a heavy rain

Dean did a great job cleaning the back deck, this is where we hang out a lot

Friday saw more interior cleaning, grocery store shopping.  Kris also went through the guest bedroom closet, emptying out over 7 old wool blankets, 8 pillows, 10 quilted or woven throws, 3 boxes of home decor, and other miscellaneous, so we would have room to store clothes.    After 54 years in the same location, a lot of stuff has been accumulated.

Saturday we started on the boat.  Norm has a Corsair F27 trailerable trimaran that he bought in 1996.  He used it a bit, but mostly stored in his large shop where it has sat unused for the last 15 to 20 years.  Of course first we had to start the tractor to move the boat - which didn't go as planned, as an electrical issue prevented it from starting.   So while Kris worked on that, Dean and Norm went to start the Chevy Duramax diesel truck to use that to move the boat - but that did not go as planned, as the battery was dead on that.  So then the Chevy Envoy was used, the boat pulled out of the shop and Dean started scrubbing the outside with many years of dust accumulation.  

Kris working on the tractor while Norm supervises

Pulling the boat out of the shop

Just a bit of dust to clean off the boat

That irritating sniffle has turned into a full-fledged cold - and Dean was down for the rest of the day, just not feeling good at all.

Kris got the tractor fixed and then spent the rest of the day removing items from inside and cleaning it inside and out in preparation to sell.  

Sunday was more boat work for Dean, as now Kris was down with the cold.   Worked on getting the outboard started, without much luck, so some new fuel and fuel line is in order.

We will continue to work on getting the boat ready to sell, along with other items, and hopefully this nagging cold will go away, and our bodies will get used to this dry climate.

 

Oh, by the way July 5th made it 35 years of happy wedding bliss, well at least some of that time was :)