A Nice Day for a Romp in the Surf

While in Oregon visiting Janene's sister, we decided to visit the coast spend some time on the beach. We were surprised when we got there to find that the tide was extremely high and the rocks we can normally walk around looking in tide pools were far under water. There was not really much beach accessible at the overlook. We had to sneak (insert the word "run") around the cliff face to get to where we could walk along the beach.

We had never seen a dead seal on the beach before, but we were treated to one here. The smell was not too pretty. I was reminded of the time I came across a dead walrus on the beach near Point Barrow in Alaska. We continued our walk even though storms were threatening. We were all bundled up in our winter coats and I had donned the rain gear I normally use in the Uintas. While we were taking pictures of the dunes and grasses on the shoreline, I noticed something big out of the corner of my eye. Just as I realized it was a huge wave, I hollered at Janene and Devennie and jumped up on a sand dune just as the wave crashed over us. I turned to look and I could only see Janene's head sticking out of the water. Devennie was nowhere to be found.

As the wave receded, I jumped back down to grab one of Janene's hands to keep her from washing out to sea. She couldn't catch her breath, the water was so cold. Devennie was scrambling up the beach on all fours and in a moment it was all over. The girls were entirely drenched... and laughing as hard as they could.

As we took stock of what had just happened, Janene noticed her new camera was shooting sparks from the LCD screen, Devennie's new I-pod Touch with camera and all was completely full of sand and water, and all their pockets were filled with sand. I would not have been surprised to see a fish fall out of their clothing, so complete was the dunking they took. We hurried back to the car where we had no dry clothing. I gave Devennie my rain gear, which she wore without the wet clothing underneath. We should have headed straight for home, but nothing could stop the girls from heading into Bandon Old Town and visiting Cranberry Sweets for a few bags of chocolate. The moral of the story is - If you want to look fashionable while shopping in Bandon, you have to keep one eye out for the sneaker wave. Otherwise,  just enjoy the trip with sand in your teeth.

The Wailing (and Gnashing) is Over

Janene and I have finally finished our guest bathroom remodel project that Mikey helped us get started. We stripped the wallpaper, repaired all the sheetrock, repainted, added new wallpaper. We were shocked at the cost of wallpaper....and even more shocked to find that a "double roll" is really just a single roll in the world of wallpaper. Me thinks we still were cheated. I did find another roll at NPS that helped ease the burden.

We put in new lighting, mirror and vanity along with new plumbing fixtures and toilet. The fan has been fixed. We no longer need to shout "liftoff" when we turn on the fan. For those who don't know, that is a Davidism that began when I installed a high speed computer fan to replace the old ceiling fan. Some of the plumbing pain was lessened by the findings of plumbing materials at NPS as well.

We even obtained a small stepstool for the vertically challenged members of our family. The final touch was the installation of some of our photography on the walls. Now when Lily says "I want to go in there", she may not be referring to the interior of the wall. We want to thank Brooke and Steve who helped us with the pictures and frames, Mindy for helping us pick out the accessories ( including negotiating a discount with Lowes), Lisseth for getting us the stained glass, Tales for helping us find a light fixture, and finally, Mikey.. who gave us the impetus to start the project. We couldn't have done this without your help.

It is finished.

Many have seen our latest project. What began as a Christmas holiday diversion, ended up taking this whole week between New Years and Christmas. It was a 499 (that is 500 minus one missing) piece puzzle that has been taking up our dining room table and driving us crazy. Janene got it at a second-hand store. She thought it was brand new, but it turns out it was sent there because of the missing piece. We are now trying to decide if we throw it away or keep it with the missing piece. Hmmm?