This always surprises me...how long it was since my last post. Then someone will nag me and I realize it's been a LONG TIME!. The summer started with a 10-day, 1250 mile motorcycle trip. We basically did a big loop around the western half of Oregon, starting at my sisters house for a couple of days for bro-in-law, Gary's retirement party. Then up to Hood River, along the Columbia River Gorge to Astoria, down 101 to Crescent City, CA and back home through Grants Pass, Roseburg. We only spent about 2 hours total on freeways. The rest was fabulous scenery on secondary roads. We learned a lot about cycling, packing tiny, and how to handle unusual cycling circumstances. We stayed in some lovely Bed & Breakfast Inns. Man, those breakfasts! And the beds...SO soft! Here are some randon shots of scenery along the way, places we stayed, etc.  
   
 
  
We moved to the new hospital 8/10, but the whole summer was spent in preparation. It is frustrating, just like moving to a new home where things are not familiar, but SO beautiful. Here are some photos- This is the main entrance to the hospital but the photo actually shows only half of the front of the building. 
As I said, the view is amazing. I work on the 8th floor, to which I take the stairs every day I work. My blood pressure is down about 20 points! This is (obviously) the Western view from my floor. 
 This is the view of the river to the east.
 This is the kids playroom. It is enormous.
Come watch the sunset with me sometime! The food is great in the cafeteria, which is a big improvement. The old hospital was sorely lacking in that dept.  It finally happened. The last baby flew the coop. We are all happy about it and feel it was good timing, but I do miss living with my good friend, Amanda(and she thinks we only miss her doing the dishes!) She is related to me...more books than anything else.
 Kicking her out
 The good part of her moving is that we now have a pretty spare bedroom...AND a sewing room. We had a lot of fun putting this together. We had to hurry, though, because as soon as we got it done, my mom came and stayed 2 weeks with us. Actually that brings me to the big news this year. Daddy had cardiac surgery and was in the hospital over 2 weeks, what with complication after complication. While they were here, Mother had her own set of cardiac problems and while they are home now we are still very concerned. One of the 4 of us siblings stays with them all the time until recovery is a little farther along. I hate the circumstances, but it has been lovely having that kind of time with them. It's hard to make that kind of day-to-day visiting happen after you are grown and living life on your own.
 Here we are just before the surgery. This was taken at a family BBQ at Roger's house. We do this every August. L-R is brother, Jim; sister,Connie; Daddy; Mother; yours truly and brother, Roger. I have to apologize to spouses, but this one fits and everyone looks good!
The next big event, later this month, is my nieces wedding to a great guy we all love. That's it pretty much in outline form, but when I wait so long to post, it is hard to fill in all the details. | 
