Almost there

Typical - 4 days to Christmas and Jo and I have contracted what, so far, are minor ailments - head and chest colds. Mine has persisted for 10 days - more annoying than anything, although it's uncomfortable when sleeping.  Jo has now started with similar symptoms - we wish they would go away - ideally before Xmas but certainly before we head to Oz in just over 2 weeks' time.

Since my last post I've attended our cycling group Xmas lunch and the monthly golfers' beer night. That was then followed by a day trip to Edinburgh for lunch at La Bruschetta (https://labruschetta.co.uk/) with Barry, Helen and Dawn then another lunch at the lovely Fish Shop in Ballater (https://fishshopballater.co.uk/). I forgot to take any photos in Edinburgh, but here's the other ones:

All the meals were excellent - La Bruschetta was randomly chosen, mostly for its convenient location near Haymarket station, but the Fish Shop is locally very well known - and a classy place - it has the same owners as the very upmarket Fife Arms in Braemar, which is a bit of a celebrity haunt.

So it's been a fairly heavy week for me - I need some respite before it all starts again next week.

Today is the Winter Solstice - apparently it's a moment rather than a full day - 9:21 this morning - so, in theory, the days are already getting longer. Not before time too - we currently have just under 7 hours of daylight. It has been relatively mild this week, however - the freezing conditions of the previous week have gone and are not forecast to return for a while, it seems.

21st December was also Dad's birthday - he's a virtual 104 today.

I keep most of my activity stats on the Strava app - cycling, golf and hill-walking. Every year, Strava sends a summary of what has been recorded and this is this year's:

I feel my activity level has substantially dropped off in recent years - especially since the lockdown years and also with my left knee steadily getting worse. I am definitely playing much less golf now and hill-walking has diminished and even cycling has tailed off. However, when I checked back to previous years' Strava stats, the difference is not as much as I thought it would be. Maybe I didn't record everything in previous years?

Jo and I recently treated ourselves to new i-Phones - our old ones were failing. We've both now got i-Phone 15 Plus - not the latest release from Apple (i-Phone 16), but we chose the slightly larger Plus models. Jo also replaced her activity watch - the previous one was failing. I'm in a similar situation - I think I know which one I want but just haven't pressed the button yet.

This morning we had to renew our worldwide travel insurance. Every year we have to pay age-related premiums (over 70's) plus medically related premiums. Unsurprisingly, each year it's getting dearer but given, the long holidays we have and the distances we travel, it's still worth it - and it's essential - but there will come a time when it may be prohibitive - possibly at age 80?

So, with that cheerful thought, I'll sign off. Have a good Christmas everyone - hopefully we'll manage to reach out to a few of you on the day.

December update

Not a lot to report - we had a couple of days in Renfrewshire with Brian, Mary, Julie and the boys. I even managed a rare round of golf when Brian signed me in to his "other" club at West Kilbride and we had a fine take-away curry at Julie's afterwards.

On the way back we detoured to Edinburgh to see Ross, who had recently lost his job so we persuaded him to come home to Banchory with us. We crammed some of his belongings in to the back of the car and the 3 of us headed north. As it was the last day of November we wanted to avoid another month's rent so there was a return visit to Edinburgh early the following morning. This time, to ensure maximum room for the rest of Ross' belongings, only 2 of us could go back. Jo was adamant that the flat needed a full clean before handing the keys back so it was Ross and Jo that made the return trip.

At one time it looked like there were only going to be 3 of us for Christmas this year but it now looks like there's going to be 5 of us - that's a bit more festive. Luca had originally planned to head south over the Xmas holidays to see his cousins but now that he's starting a new job he doesn't have time to go away.

Talking of Luca, he's passed the theory part of his driving test so now it's the practical one. He'll be 18 at the end of this month and will be out on the roads independently early in 2025 hopefully.

Meanwhile, down in Oz, Miller's and Asher's school made a film recently - "Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies". It was professionally done and there was a red carpet event at the local cinema for the launch of the film:

Unfortunately for Kelly, she was in New Zealand on work when this happened.

Next week, we are meeting up with Barry, Helen and Dawn in Edinburgh for lunch. We had originally planned to stay overnight but now that Ross is back here, there's no need. We had booked in to the Tynecastle Hotel at Hearts' football ground as it is very close to Ross' flat but then we heard yesterday there's going to be a match on that evening so that was another reason to cancel our overnight stay and just come back on the train that evening.

To close, another photo of Kendall - pinched from Audrey's FB page:

This brought back memories from nearly 40 years ago of little Ross sitting in a very similar car.

One more bit of news - "fence war" is back on. We had hoped that as our neighbour had now got her fence up, that would be that and we could all move on - but no such luck. Yesterday we received yet another long letter from her - hand delivered and also by recorded delivery. Merry Xmas!

Winter is coming

After a fairly prolonged mild late autumn, the temperature has dropped substantially this morning and we've been told we're now facing a week of frosty mornings and perhaps even some snow. I had to scrape the car windscreen for the first time this morning.

I got over the S & D bug I caught on the plane home from USA but I had my winter vaccinations on Monday this week - flu in the left arm and covid in the right. I got my usual adverse reaction to the latter - for the 7th time in a row. It's happened with Astra Zeneca, Pfizer and Moderna - it doesn't seem to matter which one. It was like a short dose of flu - a couple of days, then tiredness for a couple more. I need to think hard about whether or not I take the spring booster next year.

A major development in the saga of the fence. One morning, a contractors' van appeared in our neighbour's drive and a team of workers set about erecting a fence at the back of her garden - a job that the fencers we used refused to do because they felt the shifting embankment would soon bring it down. This was the scene after day 2:

The job is now complete and her contractors took away the remnants of the old fence. It's all very tidy and secure now but it looks a bit like Fort Knox. We never thought she would ever get round to making her mind up and getting a contractor to do it - but there you go. I think our action in putting our fence in annoyed her so much it jolted her into action.

We guess she must have been arranging everything when we were in USA. Anyway, so far it's all quiet - and we hope it stays that way.

Luca's got a new full-time job - starting next month at Scotbeef in Inverurie as a packer. He's also got an appointment in a couple of weeks for his written driving test. Gary's also changed employer.

I travelled to Glasgow 10 days ago for another reunion with my old school pals. Nice afternoon when I finally got there - despite Scotrail's best efforts to scupper my trip.

We spoke to Kelly on Friday - they've now taken on another rescue dog. It's just over 7 weeks now until we fly Down Under. I haven't heard any more about my knee operation but even if I get a letter tomorrow, it'll be too late. I'll have to go through the pre-med again as the last one has expired now and then there's a wait after that for the op - not to mention the fact that there has to be a 6-8 week gap before flying long haul. Looks like it'll have to be next spring/summer.

We're arranging to meet Barry, Helen and Dawn in Edinburgh for lunch when we go down to see Ross next month. Before that, we're heading to Elderslie to see Brian, Mary, Julie and the boys.

To close, a couple of wildlife photos I took on a recent walk up Scolty and a cycle:

First week back home

Our long journey home started in Oregon on Thursday and we arrived back in Aberdeenshire on Saturday afternoon. Gary picked us up at the airport:

We were pleased to be home at last but the last part of the journey had been a bit tricky - not just the usual jet lag etc, but I had picked up a bug on our travels. Without going in to too much detail, it was coming out of every orifice - I can't recall ever throwing up as much as I did that night.

I spent the next few days in bed and by midweek I was starting to recover. Unfortunately, that was when Jo started to feel worse - she was convinced she had picked up my bug and was going to go through the same symptoms. Thankfully, that turned out not to be the case.

We're both a bit better now - not 100% yet, but getting there. We weren't able to travel to Julie's fund-raising do yesterday in memory of Guy, but we're planning to join Gary and Luca for a light lunch today (Sunday).

Anyway, I'll close with a photo from the Chicago - London BA flight:

Getting ready to head home

It's Wednesday 16th October and, for the first time since we came to USA the weather has suddently turned autumnal. We had some fairly heavy rain overnight and earlier this morning but it seems to be drying up now and the temperature, although well down on the 80's and 90's F that we've seen so far - "just" 70 F (21 C) this afternoon - is still very acceptable for mid-October.

Anyway, we'll be organising our packing today as we're now leaving tomorrow (Thursday) - one day earlier than initially planned. I changed our flights last week, so, instead of flying Medford - Denver - Chicago - London - Aberdeen, leaving here at silly o'clock on Friday morning, we're breaking the journey and are stopping overnight in Chicago tomorrow, leaving Medford on a much more civilised afternoon flight.

Now to the diary:

Wednesday 9th October

Cade duly arrived and attended his eye appointment then helped/watched as Scott bled his car's brakes. He stayed overnight as he had an appointment with the tattooist on Thursday.

A Voters Pamphlet arrived at Delsie Drive:

It's a huge exercise in democracy - over 100 pages outlining details of all the resolutions being discussed at local and national level. Admirable - but the size of it makes me wonder how many people actually read it and respond. There are regular adverts on TV about a couple of the local proposals - introduction of a sales tax in Oregon and a proposal for proportional representation.

Thursday 10th October

Cade returned with his new tattoo (on his back) feeling a little tender. Audrey and Kendall arrived for a few days and in no time there were toys everywhere and Kendall was in her element:

I took a ride to refill one of the growlers.

Friday 11th October

I went out on the bike again, stopping at The Haul to rehydrate with a rare pint of cask ale - it's 95% H2O isn't it?:

Scott was on the BBQ again - ribs for dinner - even Kendall joined in:

Saturday 12th October

The day of Audrey's (slightly premature) birthday party with family and friends arriving in the afternoon, but, first, Scott and I had an early appointment with golf. Scott's friend, Stan, picked us up at 7:15 am and drove us to Stone Ridge golf course. It was a surprisingly cool start to the day but, as usual, it heated up by mid-morning. The wildlife was plentiful - lots of deer and large wild turkeys which both seemed to co-exist quite happily:

Here's Scott and Stan watching playing partner Steve tee off:

We made it back from golf before 2 pm - well before most of the guests arrived. The Oregon Ducks were playing an important (American) football match so many of the males present gathered round the TV while the girls sat at the dining room table:

I managed to get the family 4 generations together for a photo - only Cade was missing:

Sunday 13th October

The big fridge/freezer in the kitchen had come to the end of its life and needed replacement so Scott and Lucy headed off to Medford mid-morning. Kendall was on her nap but when she awoke Audrey drove the rest of us down the I-5 past Medford to Phoenix and the relatively new Phoodery (https://phoodery.com/), a street food type place. Scott and Lucy met us there and we had lunch and beers:

Monday 14th October

Sadly, it was time for Audrey and Kendall to return to Salem but before they headed north, Audrey kindly set up a photo shoot:

(Lucy still wearing her dawn dog walk gear).

Scott took his mother to her hospital appointment and then to lunch with her while Lucy took me and Jo on a Jacksonville area wine tour. First stop was the beautiful Hummingbird Estate (https://www.hummingbirdestate.com/) where we discovered they had a brewery too!:

Next stop was Rellik (https://rellikwinery.com/):

There was some lovely home-made ice cream there and we shared a pint of the Turkish Coffee flavour.

The 3rd and final stop was Dos Mariposas (https://dosmariposasvineyards.com/). We parked the car and walked through the vines to the tasting room:

Tuesday 15th October

Scott's father, Bill, arrived early to pick him up for their annual 2 week hunting trip. They would be on the road for about 9 hours, including stops - still in Oregon. All of a sudden the house was quiet again - no Scott, Audrey or Kendall.

It was Audrey's 25th birthday today - I'm 3 times her age!

Jo chose today's activity - she wanted to go back to the Jacksonville Woodland trails (https://jvwoodlands.org/) that we'd been on last year:

The return trip to Grants Pass took us through the Applegate Valley and past Pennington Farm (https://www.pennington.farm/). We had to stop for a quick bite - pear and apple turnovers and a cookie, plus another takeaway family strawberry and rhubarb pie for dinner - lovely.

That's me up to date again but to close this post here's a few more random photos:

Philly - lovely to look at but sometimes her enthusiasm gets the better of her

From a recent camping trip that Scott and Lucy took. Note new, smaller trailer and Lucy's Jeep

Kendall loves to do this with Lucy

Table Rock - Upper, I think

Hot off the press - we thought we would see Kendall walking before they left on Monday - she was so nearly doing it - but yesterday Lucy sent flowers to Audrey. Kendall loves flowers so Cade tempted her to come and get them - and she did, taking several steps to get there. Another milestone.

Another GP diary update

Friday 4th October

Jo and I decided to take a walk to downtown Grants Pass but first we drove down to Tussing Park, cutting off the more boring part of the journey. We crossed the pedestrian bridge over the Rogue river, stopping first of all for the obligatory photo:

Along the river path then through the suburbs - now time for ice cream. The Soda Fountain did the job.

Saturday 5th October

I decided it was time to get out on the bike again and so I went for another wander round GP, stopping at Riverside park for a quick selfie:

Then it was downtown again - it was Saturday Grower's Market day:

It was a busy day downtown because it was also the annual Art on the Rogue day when streets are cordoned off and artists are invited to use the tarmac as a backdrop for their chalk - and occasionally, paint - work. Scott, Lucy and Jo hadn't seen this so we all went back in the afternoon to walk round the ever-expanding exhibits, after which we drove out to Applegate bridge and had dinner at a beautiful spot on the patio at the Lindsay Lodge, overlooking the river and the steel box bridge:

Sunday 6th October

The day of the annual Wine Walk in aid of breast cancer charities at Del Rio winery. Lucy's pal, Shari, had to pull out so Jo was the super-sub. We dropped them off and Scott and I went for a few holes of golf nearby:

A little surprisingly the girls finished before we did and by the time we got back to Del Rio to pick them up at least one of them was a little squiffy - and chuffed that she'd managed to complete the 3 mile hike round the winery and not (quite) be last!

Monday 7th October

Quiet day. Jo and I went to the 11:30 am showing of the latest Joker movie. When we arrived we thought the cinema must be closed - there were no cars in the car park and little sign of life until we entered the building. We bought our tickets and a Diet Coke to share. Jo had made up a couple of sandwiches for us as the food there is pretty gross, and she had put them in the bottom of her back pack with her jumper on top. Jo must have been feeling a little guilty as she then asked for a small carton of popcorn. Sure enough, one of the staff asked to look in to her bag - company policy she said - but Jo bluffed her way through it and the two of us then skulked in to a completely empty movie theater - the first time either of us had watched a full film at the cinema with nobody else present.

We decided to drive down to Medford after the movie to get a gift for Audrey's birthday next week - and one for little Kendall too.

Tuesday 8th October

Back to Table Rock again but this time Jo and I took on Lower Table Rock, which sits almost adjacent to Upper Table Rock which Barry, Helen and I had hiked. The names are a little confusing - they don't refer to the height of the plateaus, but rather to their location along the Rogue river. Both are just over 2,000 feet above sea level - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_and_Lower_Table_Rock - but the actual height climbed, according to my Strava stats, shows the Lower one had 242 m of climbing while the Upper one had just 228 m. Certainly, the Lower one is a bit harder as there are more straight uphill stretches whilst the Upper one is virtually all gentle zig-zags.

Anyway, with the promise of a visit to Dairy Queen, Jo successfully made it to the top:

We did a drive-through at Dairy Queen and each had a medium "Blizzard" - Jo's being the seasonal Pumpkin Pie flavour. We never learn - they were very nice at the time but we really should have just shared a small one as we suffered a bit afterwards.

Wednesday 9th October

We await the arrival of Cade today - he's coming down to Grants Pass for an eye test etc and while he's here, Scott's going to do some maintenance on his car - bleeding the brakes etc. Cade goes back to work tomorrow and Audrey arrives here for a few days, including a birthday party for her on Saturday, with Scott's family joining too.

Grants Pass update

Monday 23rd September

Quietish day - Scott and Lucy back at work while, apart from me doing a short growler fill cycle, Jo and I spent most of our time at Delsie Drive.

Tuesday 24th September

Lucy was off work today but Scott did a few hours in the morning, after which we all jumped in the truck and drove across to Medford to meet Barry and Helen. We picked them up at the airport then nipped over to nearby Kaleidoscope (https://kaleidoscopepizza.com/) for pizzas and beer.

Barry and Helen did the reconnaissance tour back at Scott and Lucy's, unpacked a little and settled in for the evening, looking forward to 5 clear days in Southern Oregon.

Wednesday 25th September

After breakfast all 6 of us plus the dogs - Philly and Buster - set off for a short hike at the local Cathedral Hilla trails:

Now the decision was - which outlet shall we go to for drinks and pies - nearby in Grants Pass at Powderhorn Cafe or out in the Applegate Valley to Pennington Farm (https://www.pennington.farm/)? The latter won and we had lunch there, each couple sharing a savoury and a sweet pie - and, naturally, we took home a large strawberry rhubarb pie for us all to enjoy that evening.

Back in GP, I decided I needed a growler refill and Barry joined me in a short cycle downtown. While I was in PNW getting it filled, Barry stayed outside looking after the bikes. He chatted to a passing stranger who then jumped in to his car, then stopped again to engage Barry in further conversation about the monarchy. He was pretty opinionated and sounded off about Charles and Camilla and enquired about the Stone of Destiny. His next move alarmed Barry a little as he picked up his gun from the front passenger seat in a demonstration of what law-abiding Americans required.

Thursday 26th September

It was decided to take a longer drive today and go up Mount Ashland. The first part of the journey on the I-5 was easy but then we began to climb the winding mountain road. Finally, we arrived at the ski centre, some 7,500 feet above sea level where we had spectacular views across to still snow-topped Mount Shasta (14,000 feet) in neighbouring California:

The Pacific Crest trail - like the I-5 - goes all the way from Mexico to Canada - some 2,300 miles. Well, we managed 0.1% of that before jumping back in the truck and headed back down to the lovely town of Ashland for a spot of lunch and a stroll round the town.

Friday 27th September

A much shorter drive today over to historic Jacksonville, but without Jo who had a bad night with a rasping cough and aching limbs. The rest of us took the historic trolley ride round the town then had lunch on the balcony at La Fiesta (https://www.lafiestamexicanor.com/), a place that Jo and I had been to last year. On the drive back, we took the more scenic route through the Applegate Valley, stopping to sample one of the many wineries - https://redlilyvineyards.com/. We took our samplers - in test tubes - down to the riverside:

The drive from there took us past Pennington Farms again - we couldn't resist a quick pit stop to pick up another family strawberry rhubarb pie.

Saturday 28th September

Just 3 of us on today's adventure. Scott and Lucy had other matters to attend to and Jo still hadn't recovered sufficiently. Table Rock was the plan but we stopped on the way to take in the Ti'lomikh Falls:

We got a bit confused between the 2 Table Rocks but eventually made it to the trailhead at the Upper one. Very nice path - new stones and an easy zig-zag to the top where we took a walk around the lava-covered plateau with turkey vultures riding the thermals above us and with terrific views of the pointy Mount McLoughlin (9,500 feet):

One penance that had to be paid - it was Barry and Helen's first visit to USA after all - was a visit to the Oregon Vortex/House of Mystery (https://www.oregonvortex.com/). It's a bit weird - Helen likened it to a school physics experiment.

For our penultimate meal as a group, we decided to eat out back:

Sunday 29th September

Still without Jo, who was a bit better but opted for another recovery day - a wise decision in hindsight - 5 of us headed out to Hellgate Canyon and beyond Galice for a hike out to Rainie Falls. We had hoped to take Barry and Helen on the jetboats (https://hellgate.com/) down the Rogue River to Hellgate Canyon but the rides had stopped earlier than usual this year. We were able to stop at a spot en route overlooking the narrow canyon where films and TV shows had been made:

Next stop was Rainie Falls:

The walk to the Falls was 2 miles out and 2 miles back along a fairly narrow, dusty and eventually rocky, path. I had ditched the old sports shoes I had brought on holiday, thinking I could get one more year out of them, and was today wearing a pair of Scott's trainers - they definitely helped but my poor old knees struggled. I managed in the end - just:

Back in Grants Pass, Barry and Helen had insisted they wanted to take us all out for a meal - mostly to thank Scott and Lucy for their hospitality. We'd had a number of excellent meals at Delsie Drive, with Scott, as ever, the barbecue king, and Lucy on full support with salads, sides, wines etc. Now we were all dining out. After one false start we ended up at the Horny Goat (https://hornygoatgp.com/), which describes itself as a gastropub - and it pretty much lived up to that.

Monday 30th September

Scott and Lucy had a full day at work so they said their goodbyes to Barry and Helen, while Jo and I drove them to Medford airport and saw them get checked in and through security safely before we headed off on a shopping expedition to get me a new pair of shoes:

Tuesday 1st October

Barry had kept in touch and by the time we had breakfasted they were back home again. Jo and I had an easy day at Delsie Drive while Scott and Lucy were on catch-up hours at work.

Wednesday 2nd October

It was laundry day - including bed linen - but we had enough time in the afternoon to take the fairly short walk down to Schroeder Park and the Rogue river:

We used to do this walk regularly but didn't do it last year, nor in the 3 previous Covid years, so were amazed how much housing had been completed in our absence - it threw us off course briefly.

Thursday 3rd October (today)

Jo, feeling a little better, agreed to go for a walk this morning. We returned to the trails at Waters Creek - another place we hadn't been to for a few years. The start wasn't very promising:

We took heed but carried on, making sure we made enough noise to warn animals of our imminent arrival:

There may be a slight look of relief on my face at the end:

So that's it - a mammoth post, but we're back up to date again.