Travel Update and a Sand Storm

Our wheels have been turning. 

We spent about a week traveling south through Utah.

Our first night was in Ogden parked on the street near my childhood friend's house. Susan Beem Beery and I have known each other since Sunday school and church camp days. After a nice visit with Susan and her husband, John, we met my cousin Phil Coulter for a breakfast time chat. 

Our first travel adventure was to Timpanogos Cave Nat'l Monument. To get to the cave you climb 1100' in 1.5 miles. The scenery was spectacular. 

The cave formations are great but my iPhone camera does not do them justice so I won't bother with those. 

Moving on we headed to Fremont Indian State Park. 

 A quiet place in a canyon surrounded by gray hoodoos. We explored the petroglyphs etc in this area where the early Fremont people lived until 1300AD. 

We moved on to Cedar Breaks NM. NM = Nat'l Monument, I was corrected on a FB post that Cedar Breaks was in Utah not New Mexico. As I am typing this I see what caused the confusion. We explored all of the overlooks and took a 4 mile hike. 

I love Bristle Cone pine trees. These guys at Cedar Breaks are about 1700 years old! The trail passed through a grove of these ancient beauties. 

 

 The rougher their environment the longer they live. 

Yesterday we drove to a diapered camping area by Lake Powell. 

We were at a place called Lone Rock. This photo makes it look like we were all on our own, but in reality it was a very long shoreline with mobs of people. 

When we first arrived we were aware of the dark cloud south of us, but didn't give it too much thought... 

 We relaxed near the lake for a bit, then all hell broke loose! Wind & blowing sand like crazy! The first hit blew all kinds of beach toys and gear into the lake all around us. We holed up in the camper and spent the next several hours cleaning sand out during the brief calms. 

 Many gusts felt like the camper would blow over. Between some of the waves of storm a tour group of kayakers launched near us. It was well after dark before they returned. Their laughter sounded as if they had a fun adventure through the storm. 

By morning all was calm and peaceful. 

Advice from a Bristle Cone Pine

"Sink your roots into the earth

      Keep growing

   Weather adversity

It's OK to be a little gnarly

       Honor your elders!"

jb

Threads Daze

We are traveling again so it is time to wake up my blog. We spent a week in Sisters, Oregon working on a couple Habitat homes with some fellow Care-A-Vanners. 

Here is our crew. We were strangers when we arrived and 6 days later, we had become a true team of friends. 

Dan and a few of the team built front porches for the two homes. The majority of my time was spent on siding. A pleasant surprise when we arrived at the meet & greet potluck was to find a past friend and neighbor from Salem had moved to Sisters and we got to work together on Wednesday. 

We were finished with work by 2 in the afternoon so I spent a bit of time most days at my sewing machine. 

These are the first few blocks for a baby quilt I want to get put together by December. 

We left Sisters on Saturday and are heading generally east and then south. Our first night was at Chrystal Crane Hot Springs near Burns, Oregon. We had a nice late afternoon soak, although the water was not as hot as we would have preferred. The morning temp was a chilly 34 degrees on Sunday. 

We stopped in Rome at the Lower Owyhee River boat launch. Just over 33 years ago we set off on a family boat trip from here and this is the first time we have been back. 

We drove on to spend Sunday night at C J Strike Lake near Grandview, Idaho. Being a holiday weekend we were not sure if it would be hard to find camp spots, but we were lucky. 

Today as I write this we are camped at Stone Reservoir. A little lake in southern Idaho a few miles from Utah. 

 I was able to quilt with a view for awhile before settling done to write this post. Tomorrow we will visit a friend I have known all of my life who lives in Ogden. 

This interesting spider web picture was taken by my friend, Cathy; I like thinking of the web of folks in my world. New friends, old friends, and friends I haven't yet met. When I titled my blog with the word "Thready" in it I was thinking of my quilting, but I was also thinking about the threads that connect us all. 

"I want to spend my soul, playing it out like sticky string into the world, so that I can catch every last thing I touch" from "Are You Saved" by Linder Unders. 

If you are reading this I am grateful for whatever threads that bind you and I together. And together, what can we weave?

jb 

Home Sweet Home

Here is Dan back in street clothes ready to get back to life. On Saturday morning the doctor said we could look at leaving the next day. Both of us were startled, the last we had heard was a target of being discharged on Monday. At first we were a bit fearful. But, by this morning we both realized there wasn't anything we were getting at the hospital that we couldn't take care of at home. Just after noon we had the paperwork completed and Dan was ready to be wheeled out. 

We were home by 2:30. Dan settled into his new recliner and took a much deserved nap. Meanwhile I stocked up on some healthy fresh food and supplies. I think we are ready for the next phase of healing. 

So once again, all is well. 😊

Normal sort of...

I have a habit of catching my favorite guy catching some Zs...

Mammoth Cave, Kentucky:

Hobbs, New Mexico:

Red Rocks State Park, California:

OHSU in Portland Oregon Saturday:

Resting & recouporating. 

He is getting ready for a real shower. Looking at being discharged Monday at the soonest. so much for that estimate... see next post!

A Good Kind of Boredom

I am hanging out in the family lounge for a little enjoying the above view of Portland and Mt St. Helens. Dan has taken 4 floor walks and done lots of breathing exercises. Now he is sleeping, Martha is also napping in his room. It is wonderful to have our daughter with us. I have been quilting, but was ready for a little break. 

It is one of those times when no news is good news. It just takes time for Dan's body to recover from the trauma of having hands in his chest. We are good. Thanks for all of the prayers and good wishes. jb

All is well

The patient is tucked in for the night. He is recovering as expected. I'm pooped, so I am tucked in also. 

jb

Oddest Word in English Language

Today is a long day about being patient & being a patient. I don't really have any news. Dan & I said our good-byes about 7:30 in the pre-op preparation area. I think Dan was more concerned about parking passes and security of our belongings at the B&B than about the surgery. I went back to my lodgings for a coffee and a tasty breakfast. 

 I returned to the hospital & settled into a sunny spot in the atrium at the top of the tram to quilt and wait. The OR nurse called at 9 to let know things were fine and they had started the operation at about 8:45. I don't expect to hear anything else until after noon. 

It got too warm in the atrium so I shifted to the "Surgery Waiting Area" where it is a tad cooler and there is power to keep my phone charged. 

The newest member of our family is named Thoedore Scott; so I couldn't resist making a Teddy Scott quilt for him. 

Here is the whole picture. I am hand quilting while I practice being "patient".

Thank-you for all of your messages which I have passed on to Dan & for your continued prayers. 

jb