Merry Christmas from Arizona- Dec.11, 2020

 After returning home in early November, we are settled in for the winter here.  We miss the community activities we enjoyed last year, but we have more time for 'at home' projects; lots of radio for Terry and sewing and reading for me.

Our summer at Silver Falls in Oregon was a little more exciting than usual.  The wildfires entered the back country acres of the Park and we had 20 minutes to evacuate at 6 am leaving our trailer behind.  Thanks to the hard work of the fire crews the fire was stopped and only burned 120 acres.  We were able to remove our trailer to stay in another park for 14 days until the area was safe for our return.  We learned a valuable lesson and now have an 'evacuation bag' packed and stored away.

The fire cloud over the Park - seen from Silverton on the morning we evacuated.

 When we returned to get the trailer, the smoke was very dense.

Our work at the Park seems more enjoyable each year.  Terry gets to drive more equipment and I get to help the rangers with routine tasks that take their valuable time.  This year Terry's brother, Phil worked in the Park too.  They loved helping each other complete jobs and he was there for the evacuation and we were able to stay with him in Vancouver, WA the first few nights.

On our way to Oregon in June we spent 2 weeks at Great Basin NP.  Friends from our host days there, Nate and Anna and family were there too and stopped us as we drove by their site.  We were thrilled to see them again.  What a surprise that we both chose the same week to return for a visit!

View from the Baker Creek Trail on a wonderful hike with another friend at Great Basin, Clare.

  Clare took a great photo of me too on the trail.

Sharing these words and photos of a few of our experiences this year reminds me that in spite of the pandemic and it's restrictions, the value of old friends, family and new friends in our lives can give us so much pleasure.  It may take a little more effort to stay in touch, but it is so worth it!  No matter where we are there are so many little beauties,  simple pleasures and unexpected surprises to enjoy.

We wish you and your family lots of pleasure, beauty and peace for the Christmas season and the New Year!

"Sheltered In"

In January when we ordered and waited for the arrival of the first building on our property, we never guessed how great it would be for the 'stay at home' days we would face in April here.  Our new cottage style shed is now my sewing room, Terry's Ham Radio Station and a cozy, gathering spot with my rocker, a fireplace and a 'custom' bar.  We also have lots of shelves for storage.


Terry's brother, Phil, came in February to help wire the shed, insulate it and put up wall board and the ceiling.  Together they had all that work done in 2 days.  I had to beg them to take some rest breaks.  Without Phil's help, it would have taken Terry and I weeks of labor!

I am very fortunate to have 2  'master quilter's'  as neighbor's and they both introduced me to wall mounted design boards and suggested that I include one in my sewing corner.  So our first project was to cover an insulation board with quilt batting to make a sticky wall.  It took 2 days to get the glued on batting off my fingers, but the board is a treasure in the quilt design process.

Terry surprised me with a trip to the storage unit that resulted in a little sitting area with my rocker, some Laurinburg farm and cabin furniture and a small electric ' wood fire-look' heater.  It brought tears to my eyes to see our new little comfy, homestyle corner.




Last but not least, Terry set up his solar powered Ham Radio Station.  He designed and built a collapsible table, a battery and controls shelf unit, and re-purposed a portable electronics case with his radios and tuner.  It is now the small, efficient space he had always dreamed of for a station and it is totally solar powered.  His 2 antennas are set up at the back of the shed.



We are so fortunate to have this additional space to use now that we will be at home here for an unknown time.  We are still scheduled to work at Silver Falls State Park near Salem, Oregon for July 1- October 31.  At this time all Oregon State Parks are closed.  We don't know if we will be leaving here in June or not.

Through this time of uncertainty, we are holding on --- with daily walks in our beautiful neighborhood below the mountains, cooking lots of healthy food and taking time to appreciate all the 'simple' pleasures of life.  Hold on and stay healthy!

I am sorry that I wasn't able to get any pictures to load with repeated tries and 2 different sources.  So for the 'readers' here is a catch up.