Memories

Moving back to NE Oregon felt like coming home, but it was not until we made a trip to the ranch we grew up on that the memories started coming back to the forefront of my thinking.

The creek where I played and remembered being ‘Neck deep’ looks to be closer to “knee deep” to me as an adult. The “Turkey ranch” part of the place where we fed cows in the winter is still there, but the buildings that were standing then, are long gone for the most part now. The “new” horse barn that was put up while we were living there is now looking weathered and has been repaired in one corner. The corral that was so big, with fences so tall I could get above any cow is now falling down in disrepair.

On the other hand, the house we grew up in has been resided, has a new roof, and where the garden was is now an in ground swimming pool! The main house where the ranch owner lived is freshly painted and looking great.

Some of the places we rode for cattle still look familiar after all these years and I remembered many of the things that happened there. The bull that dove in the pond to avoid being loaded in the truck and then swam out and loaded himself into the truck! The fields I learned to drive tractor and the old pickup in are now in CRP and look overgrown and abandoned.

These memories were good ones, even with the changes and differences. What really hit home was that those memories I had as a kid were ones that I could only share with Lynn and James. Joe and my parents were never able to meet each other and I could never show Joe those places.

I know it’s all part of life, and that those events and memories of events are what makes us, ‘us’ but it would still be nice to share it with everyone we love.  Perhaps by sharing some of my thoughts on the subject I am able to do just that.

If any of my family or friends have stories/ memories/ etc. of things that happened on the ranch or at other times, please send them to me and I’ll include them in my list of stories I’m working on adding to my growing list that will end up being a book given some time to put them in order. 

New “temporary” quarters.

Well, we are now settled in our new, but temporary quarters. My brother-in-law has kindly let me take over his shop until we find our new house and shop. The plan is to be set up and sewing by the end of the day tomorrow, Monday.

Thanks to everyone for their patience while we have been moving and know that I will be back to work filling orders on Tuesday morning.

Moving required four trips with a friend’s 24’ enclosed car hauler, one for the 5^th wheel trailer we are living in and the last one with a very overloaded pickup and a U-haul trailer. At just over 5700 miles and all of our belongings I had a friend tell me I was nearly qualified at a Teamster! Ha! Oh, and add in towing a newly purchased 5^th wheel for my nephew and I’m probably pushing the 6,000 mile range in the last 6 weeks! No wonder I’m tired of driving! Good thing I Love my pickup and have a good supply of podcasts on the I pod to listen to! Great company and good conversations with my son helped pass the time as well, so it was not all bad.

The weather held off until we were about 100 miles from Pendleton and greeted us with varying amounts of snow and ice for the last little bit into town. Cars in the ditch to the right of us and cars in the ditch to the left of us, but we kept trundling along until we made it in!

Lynn had her first day of work on Saturday, and thinks her new route will be an Okay route. For those that know Pendleton, her route is on the north hill, above the high school. Not the steepest hill in town perhaps, but not flat by any means. The next week will see things smooth out and soon she will have the routine down.

I’ll try to get back to my normal routine of updating my blog once a week now and keep everyone up to date on how things are progressing on the house hunt.