Rain

This pretty much sums it up!

Diamond and Crater Lake

This past weekend we decided to head on down to Diamond Lake and Crater lake in southern Oregon. We both took Friday off so we could have more time to explore.

We ended up finding a nice spot to camp near Diamond Lake. The main campsite near the water was full but we had plenty of other places to choose from a little further south. It was called Broken Arrow Campground. It was a really nice location. The sites were large and had lots of room in between locations which is always nice. They also had showers that were close and I believe they were fairly new.

The mosquito's were a little on the annoying side and then at night it got down below freezing but the rest of the time the weather was amazing. On Saturday we headed out early to Crater Lake near by. We got there early enough before the park had even opened which was nice. We ended up being the only people for a while at the viewpoints. It was extremely quiet and really beautiful. We drove to a few other places along the rim road and then ended up at the lodge. Its a really old building with wonderful woodwork inside and out.

After we left the lodge we wanted to keep going around the rim but ended up driving down the other side of Crater Lake to Mazama Campground. We didn't realize that the other side of the rim was closed still for the season. It actually turned out to work out going down to Mazama because we were close to being out of gas and they had a self-serve gas station....which you never see in Oregon!

Diamond lake was really a great spot to hang out and enjoy the surroundings. There was a nice bike path the went all the way around the lake which we rode part of one day and walked it on another. We found a really great meadow and creek for Puma to swim in.

On the way home we took the long way through Bend and Sisters and many small towns east of us. I was very happy we took this way since neither of us had been to Bend or through those mountains.

Here are a few pictures of our trip. You can also see more pictures here and see where we drove and stopped along the way here.

Opal Creek

Opal Creek
Originally uploaded by ryan_nowell

This past weekend we decided that since we chose not to go camping because the weather was not going to be too much fun, we decided on a hike. Emma found an article in a magazine about this place called Opal Creek. It's about 40 miles east of Salem Oregon. We didn't really look at the details of getting there and ended up being longer then we expected but the drive was really nice.

When we finally arrived we parked at the end of the trail head. The hike was about 4 miles up to Opal Creek and an old mining town. The old town was really great. Lots of old buildings and equipment from when it was a busy little town. The old buildings have been converted to cottages for people to rent out. They are very rustic but have everything that you would need.

The views along the way were really amazing. The creek was as clear as you can get and all the huge Doug Firs were really wonderful. Here are a few pictures of the trip and of course you can see more here.

One Step Closer

So the medicine cabinet is finally done! Took a little longer then I wanted but I also didn't work on it full time. I think it turned out pretty well for never doing anything like that before. Here are a few pictures and I have some more on Flickr




I still have the other cabinet to build above the toilet as well. Not sure when I will be starting that since we plan on going camping again this weekend.

Busy Busy Bee!!

Ok so it's been a little while since I updated this. We have been super busy and I suppose a little lazy. Last weekend we ended up going on a great trip to Green Peter Lake which is just south of Salem and a little bit east. We ended up meeting up with friends on Saturday and were able to stay until Monday because of the holiday. The weather was great! A bit chilly at times but made the campfire feel wonderful. The lake water was a bit chilly as well but once you got in it wasn't too bad. I will post some pictures as soon as I get a chance.

Last week I ended up working with the folks from my old job. Made some extra money but sometimes it doesn't feel like it's worth it. On Thursday we ended up working from 7 am until 11:45 pm. Made for a very long day. Emma is working nights until August which means we only really see each other on the weekend. I ended up working most of the day on Saturday so that wasn't too fun.

We also had a nice visit from Kari and her boyfriend Gibbs. They came down on Saturday and stayed for the night. Kari was down in Albany checking out a fund raiser for the Boys and Girls club. We went out for dinner at one of our favorite places to eat Fire on the Mountain! Love that place. Best chicken wings I have ever had. Then of course we went out to breakfast the next morning to the Tin Shed. Another favorite of ours. We ended up being lazy all day yesterday which was nice for once. The weather has been warm....in the mid 80's. I know that doesn't sound like much especially since I grew up in AZ but I am really used the cooler weather.

Today I hope to continue on the medicine cabinet for the bathroom. I am still interested to see how cutting the mirror goes.

Organic!!

So this past weekend we decided to add on to our growing collection of plants growing in the backyard. We went on down to the Farmers Market Saturday morning and picked up a good amount of veggies to plant. Mainly lots of different types of tomatoes and lettuces and other yum stuff. We managed to get all the wood that we needed at the Rebuilding Center near us for $16 which was nice. Was easy and quick to build.



Saving money on the planter boxes of course gave us a nice excuse to go out to eat that night. We headed to one of our favorite places off of 23rd for some Chinese at August Moon. Love the fried rice they have.

I have also been working on the medicine cabinet some. Haven't finished as much as I had wanted. I spend most of my afternoons playing with the pup when I get home.



Plus he gets into trouble if I am working in the garage and he is in the back unattended. Yesterday I looked out the door from the garage and he was rolling in the grass. Not because he had a scratch or was being silly. He was rolling in either a chunk of compost or something dead! He sure smelled like it when I asked him to come over to me. Needless to say he got cleaned up some but Emma could still smell it on him when she got home last night.

Happy Birthday Puma!!!

So today is Puma's second birthday! It's been a year and a half since we adopted him from the "troubled" dog shelter. Ok so he was troubled and was an exception at that adoption place but we didn't have any idea either way. It's really been wonderful having him in our life. He is such a big part of everything that we do. In a couple of weeks we will be going camping with him for the first time which should be fun. We of course didn't get to do ANY camping last summer since we spent the entire time working on the front yard.


Yesterday we went on a wonderful bike ride. It was actually our first ride since we moved into our new house. Sad I know but we just haven't taken the time and ever since we adopted Puma we always chose activities that involved him. This time we took him to his favorite park and got him nice and tired so we could leave while he took a nap. Turns out some really nice paths are set up near us and go for a long distance. We will for sure have to take more trips. We plan on taking a ride each weekend.

The medicine cabinet building has begun. This will be my first cabinet of any kind. I suppose it would be easy to buy one to fit in the space where we took out the old one but I just wanted to try my hand at it. Here are a few pictures of the section that will go inside the wall.

Still Closer

So last night I finally installed the bathroom sink. Was a bit of a pain but its in. Over the weekend we installed the shower door and the rest of the molding around the shower and crown molding above. The shower door was the hardest because we had to drill 6 holes through the tile to mount it. It was slow to drill through even though we had new bits to use. Emma had to spray water as I drilled because it would get really hot. I am glad I read about that before we started. Now I have to learn how to build cabinets!!!

So close!

So its been a month since we started on our bathroom. Obviously it's taken quit a bit longer then we thought but its gone pretty well. Strange to think we thought it would take a couple of weeks but then again we are both working a lot and only have a little time in the afternoon after work to get things done. Also didn't take into account the time to wait for things to set or dry or whatever.

We were able to finally take a shower at home yesterday!! Man what a feeling. Like Emma said, "It's like going from a cheap hotel to a nice Spa". So wonderful to have everything new and clean and not have two shower curtains on each side of you(one was covering the huge window in the shower). Of course we are not done with everything. Still have a good amount to complete but hopefully we can get a lot of it done this weekend. We still have to install the shower door, new sink, finish molding around the shower, install the crown molding, make and install the medicine cabinet and cabinet above the toilet and take out the old fan and light and install a new Fan\Light combo. Ok maybe a few more weeks! Go HERE for some updated photos.

Respect your Toilet!!!

Yes thats what I meant to say. Respect your toilet and cherish the simple act of being able to use it when you need it. Why am I saying this? Well of course because we don't have one at the moment!

Saturday morning we decided to install the tile floor in the bathroom. So of course this meant the porcelain god had to go! We unbolted it from the floor and tilted it to get it loose. Luckily it wasn't so bad to remove or was too icky to deal with.

Emma did a wonderful job on the tile and it is all finished and grouted and looks great! Hopefully later today when we get home from work we can connect the toilet up again and enjoy the freedom that we all take for granted.

The shower is almost ready as well. Still have to get some drywall repair and the trim for the shower installed and we are good to go!! W also bought a new shower door on Saturday but that won't be installed for a little while until we get the rest of the stuff installed in or around the shower.

Tile and bathtub are finished!

So here are some pictures of the tile in the bathroom. It turned out really well. Emma did such a great job and even though it was a bit harder then we planned it was still worth it.







Last night when I got home I decided to finally tackle the water damage near the tub. It's not a big place which is nice but its still something we have to address. I managed to cut out the bad wood and figure out a way to patch it up. Of course once I started ripping out the floor I decided to keep going and get rid of the top layer of plywood. Found out that the bathroom had 3 layers of linoleum and some tar paper. Some of that is staying and the new tile floor will go over the top. We will see how that goes this weekend!!!

For the rest of the pictures from the new tile go HERE.

Still waiting to take a shower at home!!

Well this weekend our remodel was put on hold. We had our bathtub refinished and the guy that did it suggested that we stay out of the bathroom as much as possible and to stop all work and leave it alone until today. So we decided to clean up all the stuff that we pulled out of the bathroom and to clean up the garage some as well. I also had to replace another section of pipes that connected the hot water to the bathroom sink. Somehow it started to leak and so it needed replaced. Also found out that we had a hot water hook-up to our toilet!! It was connected to its own valve that wasn't on but went through a copper pipe inside the wall. Had to disconnect that and plug up the connection. Strange that it was like that but it worked out to get rid of it.

Emma helped a great deal to get the garage all organized. I suppose I had my own organization....which didn't exist but hers is much better. Over time after some projects and the accumulation of materials and other items it was getting piled up. But now everything has a place and a good amount of it has been put away.

I will post some pictures tonight of the wonderful tile that Emma finished last week. It really is night and day compared to what we used to have. Next comes the finishing of the drywall and then the floor of the bathroom. Not sure how it will work out with no toilet for a day but we will see!!

Bathroom Remodel

Original Bathroom
Originally uploaded by ryan_nowell.

Here are some pictures from a recent project. Its been a bit harder and has taken longer then we had expected but its going well. We both have taken a crash course in plumbing and tiling and window replacement! Thanks to the library and the internet its been a great learning experience. Now if we can get done so we don't have to head to the gym each time we want a shower!!

Strange thing!

Had something rather odd happen the other day. Emma and I were on our way out to dinner, driving down the street, and I noticed something odd on the side of the street. It was a little girl, not more then 6 or 7 years old, walking along in the bike lane eating some candy. I happen to notice her....for one that she was young and walking along a busy street, but it looked like she was wearing pajamas and slippers. She looked like she was walking with a purpose or rather like she had done this every day.

We passed on by and stopped at the light. I turned to Emma and asked if she had noticed the girl walking down the street and she had not seen her. We sat there at the light and the girl kept walking. She slowly started to come in to the main part of the lane as she came closer to the intersection still sucking on whatever candy she was enthralled with.

Luckily all traffic was stopped going all ways in the intersection when she started to walk across the middle of the road. A small boy and his friend were walking across the street and were watching her as well the entire time. He walked over and grabbed her hand to bring her out of the middle of the intersection. Everyone that was stopped at the intersection and didn't move even when the light turned green until both kids were out of the way.

My only guess is that she was either sleep walking or had something very wrong with her. Was almost like it was from a movie or strange dream!

Love you Granny!!

Today was not a happy day. It wasn't a sad day either. Today we said "goodbye" to Granny. In a way I wouldn't really say that we said goodbye to her since I really don't feel that way. She was and always will be my Granny. It's hard to imagine that she is not with us to speak with and to hug.

She touched so many lives and today it really showed. So many people showed up to the service and some told stories of how she took care and loved each and everyone in a special way.

Recently since I moved away, she would call to say hi and ask how things were going. It was the usual "how is work" and "how is the house" and would always remember so many details about your daily grind. She would always end the phone call making sure that you knew how much she loved you and how proud she was of you and what you were doing.

So even though she is not here to check up on me I know that she will always be watching over me and making sure I am happy, healthy and loved very much. I will miss her a great deal and will so many other people that she touched.

I love you very much Granny!

Snow day

Snow day
Originally uploaded by dougall5505.

So once again we have snow in Portland. Was a complete surprise to me! I never turned on the news when I was getting ready for work and it was raining at our place when I left. No sign of ice or any cold weather really.....I was wearing shorts of course because it really wasn't that cold out. I headed up the hill on the way to work and I called Emma to tell her it was snowing. All of a sudden around the corner there was SNOW and lots of it. I guess everyone else had seen the news and was NOT driving on the over pass that I take every morning. I only slipped off the road once but of course I was taking it easy.

It's usually the other drivers I am looking out for!!

I did not take this pic....forgot my camera this morning.

Lincoln City

IMG_0213
Originally uploaded by ryan_nowell.

So this past weekend Emma and I and the pup decided to head on out to the coast to relax a bit. It was really what we both needed. I had planned it a while ago to go but it was a Valentines Day surprise for Emma. I told her a while ago that I had surprise but wasn't going to give her any idea when or where it was going to happen. I decided to give her a few clues on Valantines day in the card I gave her. She was pressing me to tell her what I was up to but the clues were easy and of course she figured it out.

We ended up leaving for the coast right after I got off work and stayed until Sunday afternoon.

Our Boy Puma

Our Boy Puma
Originally uploaded by ryan_nowell.

Today we went to the park and Puma hurt his leg so he is resting a bit this evening. Hopefully it's just a muscle but we will keep an eye on it.

UPDATE
This morning he was feeling better and had no limp.

Also this past weekend went well. Emma and I took it easy and hung out around the house and enjoyed a movie or two and some football. Not much else except for shopping and resting up from a crazy snow filled week.

Cold morning!

Cold morning!
Originally uploaded by ryan_nowell.

Well the past few days have been an interesting time. We managed to get a "light dusting" of snow which they predicted but it turned out to be around 4 or 5 inches of white fluffy goodness. Day before yesterday I managed to get stuck once and then sit and wait on the road for around 30 or 40 minutes due to cars that were sliding off the road. They finally opened it up to let us go by but then eventually closed the road shortly after I got to work an hour late. I decided not to chance it on the way home so I called John and he came and picked me up from work and stayed at his place. Of course we couldn't let this sort of weather pass without taking his Jeep out for a spin in the empty parking lots around the area. Was a pretty good time.

If you look at the pictures I took a couple of pics of a smart kid being pulled behind a car on a snowboard. He managed to hold on for about a mile and a half and then turned into a residential area. This weather always brings out the best in people. LINK

Just Maui'd

IMG_0266
Originally uploaded by ryan_nowell.

So our big day finally came! It turned out to be exactly what we had imagined it to be. Lots of family and friends came and celebrated with us and enjoyed a nice vacation as well. The pictures in this set were mostly all taken by Emma's cousin Chad. He did such a wonderful job! Check them out on Flickr

The morning of the wedding, the skies were gray and had the chance for rain. I was a bit worried but knew that whatever happened it would work out. Just a few minutes before it all started the sun broke out and stayed that way for the rest of the day!

The reception afterwards went very well. The food was really great which of course was a must for Emma and I and it was really great to have time to spend with everyone.

Holidays!

OK so I know it's been a while since I have posted but I haven't had much extra time lately. Both Emma and I until recently have been working a lot of overtime and also mainly getting ready for the wedding. It's actually going to feel strange after we get back and have actual "free" time to do whatever which will be nice. Its hard to believe that we have only 10 days to the wedding!! Seems like it took forever to get here but now its here and we are both very ready to get married, see family and take a vacation!!

This past xmas eve Emma cooked up a great meal for the both of us. It was just us and the boy for a quiet evening at home which was very nice. She started out with making coconut shrimp which were out of this world! New favorite food!! I have had it before but this was the best by far!

Then after a ton of shrimp we had a nice salad with greens, Gouda cheese, caramelized pecans that mom sent, and cooked pears.

After that was the main course! We had rib eye steak in some sort of wine sauce with brussel sprouts, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes. The steak was from a local farm and very tasty.

Then came dessert which is always a treat. Chef Emma made Apple Fritters with vanilla ice cream and a caramel sauce!

Trip to London

119-1998_IMG
Originally uploaded by ryan_nowell.

So I recently uploaded some pictures from when Lance and I took a trip to London 3 years ago. We had a great time and hopefully we ALL can go back sometime. I would love to show Emma all the places we got to visit. I was only allowed to upload a certain amount so not all the pictures were uploaded. I will send the rest when I get a chance.

Getting Closer!!

OK so I have to say that the wedding has taken over my mind!! All I think about is leaving my work and getting on a plane to go a nice warm place. The time has flown by but now it's creeping along and driving me crazy. I know it will come soon enough but I want it NOW!!!!

Ok now that I have that off my chest. I found this picture the other day searching the web for pictures of Makena cove. This is the entrance to the beach from the street. It's pretty hard to see and when we first got directions we tried 3 times to find it. But now it will be easier. We will be sending out some directions to this beach and the other locations of the night before the wedding and the reception.

Interesting drive this morning.

So this morning was an interesting one for sure. It started out with noticing that the car was frozen when I took Puma out to play. This of course changed my plans to play longer with him and set up a short time before I leave to turn the car on and let it warm up so I could drive. I also decided to leave a bit earlier since the drive might be slower. Sure enough it was.

I turned the corner to get on to the St. John's bridge and I noticed that a lot of cars were backed up and moving slow. Didn't think much of it at first until I got closer and tried to slow down. Yep that's it, tried to slow down!! The front tires hit the ice and locked up. Luckily with my intense parking lot training with John a few years ago in the snow I remembered to let off the brakes and let the tires steer where I needed to go. I managed to stop the car just before the car in front of me. I then looked in the rear view mirror to see if any cars were behind me about to do the same but fortunately nobody had followed. A few seconds into driving across the bridge at about 2 miles an hour, I noticed in the rear view that the cops had blocked the road behind me. I thought....well great timing....about 20 seconds sooner and I wouldn't have the luxury of trying to cross the ice covered monstrosity in front of me.

So I continued, tires spinning and the car sliding to the large curb on the right hand lane. The car in front of me was worse off then me. I noticed that the tires were pretty close to being bald and being a Dodge Neon and having the wind pick up on the bridge wasn’t helping him. I managed to stay far back letting him show me the more icy spots on the road ahead and give me enough warning as to when the traffic would be coming to a stop.

I managed to make it to the top of the curve of the bridge and then it was all down hill!! I thought well I am half way there. This is when it got tricky! I kept pumping the brakes and letting the tires steer me on all while keeping an eye on what the driver was doing in front of me. I stopped for a second to let them get ahead and just then the Neon hit the brakes and slid to the curb scraping the side of his car to slow him down. I decided to drive in the middle of the road to give me more room.

I finally made it to the bottom of the bridge were traffic was backed up each way coming from East and West. Luckily the cops had stopped the traffic waiting for the cars in front of me to finally get off the bridge since we pretty much couldn’t stop. We all made it across the bridge without becoming bumper cars or a jumbled mess of cars.

I found out after I arrived LATE to work that they had just reopened it after putting down a deicer and some gravel.

I wonder what the rest of the weeks travels will be like with the high hovering around freezing!!

Parents visited

So this past week my parents came up to visit and to work. Some friends of ours (Paul and Kristin) are remodeling their basement and needed an electrician to do some work since they decided to do it themselves. I happened to mention that my dad does electrical work and they suggested having him come up to do the work. So they came up last week and dad worked on it until yesterday. All went well except for a few weather issues along the way. The eelctric company was supposed to turn off the power on Monday so dad could hook up the new box but with the weather as bad as it was they were busy taking care of power outages around town. They finally came yesterday and dad was able to hook it all up with no problems. He even helped me....well did the work....on adding a few extra plugs outside in the front yard and helped with moving our light up in the bathroom. It really is amazing how fast he moves. No wonder he wired an entire basement in a few days!!

47 DAYS until the big day!! Can't wait to see everyone and enjoy our time on vacation and of course get married to the best girl in the world. All the plans are coming together. It's the small details that we will have to worry about soon enough.

I am still sick for those who knew. I can't seem to shake this cold or flu that I have. It's just a bad cough but it's enough to make me crazy. At least it came a week early this year instead of like last year when I was sick for Thanksgiving.