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The Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge

10/30/2021

Books By Patti Liszkay
Available On Amazon

"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
Available on Amazon.

THE TUALATIN RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

...Continued from yesterday:

On Sunday morning Romaine and I drove a few miles north of Sherwood to the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge,

...to meet up with several of Romaine's friends and fellow bird-watchers.

...who hoped to spot some of the 250 species of birds that thrive in the refuge.
We spent some time watching along the river bank where the birders caught sight of several aerial and aquatic birds and mammals, while I captured a few of them on my camera, including a row of nice-looking ducks;

...this fella - identified by the birders as a grey herron - who apparently preferred the company of the ducks;

...this ratty-looking critter called a nutria - which sounds to me like the name of an energy drink -

...and who somehow reminded me of a Salvador Dali painting (Minus the melting clock).

...along with some shots of the surrounding scenery.

After a while we headed for the walking path which brought us through woods, meadows, and swamps,

...where the birders caught more sightings,

...and I caught more shots, including one of this beautiful blue herron,

...some berries,

...a woolly worm,

...a woody plant that appeared to be doing a kind of reverse truckin' step,

...and some more pretty views.

After our visit to the Tualatin Refuge we headed back to Romaine's house where she fixed us a delicious lunch.

...topped off with yummy blondies and ice cream for dessert.

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The Autumn Leaves Of Sherwood

10/28/2021

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Books By Patti Liszkay
Available On Amazon

"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
Available on Amazon.

THE AUTUMN LEAVES OF SHERWOOD

...Continued from yesterday:
Having always lived among the changing seasons, I've seen many beautiful, balmy autumn days decked out in the gorgeous colors of the turning leaves.
But among the most beautiful of my autumn days must be the Saturday on which Romaine and I spent several afternoon hours strolling through her Sherwood, Oregon neighborhood.

We set off from Romaine's house,

...past the giant redwood that resides on the corner,

...and began our trek up and down the hilly streets,

...at one point catching a glimpse off in the distance of Mount Hood.

The leaves were so vibrant it sometimes seemed as if we were seeing them through a neon filter,

"What is so rare as a day in June?" asked the poet.

I'm betting he never saw a day in autumn in the Pacific Northwest.

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The Beautiful Northwestern Pacific

10/26/2021

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Books by Patti Liszkay
available on Amazon

"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
Available on Amazon.

THE BEAUTIFUL NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC

...Continued from yesterday:

The following day, Friday, Romaine and I drove southwest to the Oregon Coast Highway and on to the beach town of Lincoln City.

We walked down to the beach,

...where we watched the crabbers along the shoreline.

We chatted with a few of them who shared with us that this had turned out to be an exceptionally good day for crabbing and proudly showed us their catches.

It was also a wonderful day for strolling along the sand and taking in the views.

From Lincoln City we drove to nearby Boiler Bay to see the breathtaking panorama of mountains, ocean, and waves crashing against the rocks.

We then drove to the next town over, Depoe Bay, for lunch at a local eatery called the Chowder Bowl.

Romaine ordered a plate of fried oysters and fries,

...with a side cup of clam chowder,

...all of which she declared delicious.
I also had a cup of said yummy clam chowder and a gargantuan fried oyster sandwich with fries,

...most of which, I'm embarrassed to say, I polished off, it was so good.
After lunch we drove back to Lincoln City,

....to have a look at the art on display at the Freed Gallery.

Then we headed back to Sherwood.

That evening we had dinner at a pretty little Sherwood spot called Tree's,

...where we both ordered the very tasty spinach, mushroom. and shrimp salad.

Then we called it a night and headed back home.

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Good-Bye, Kitchen; Hello, Oregon

10/25/2021

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Books by patti Liszkay
available on amazon

"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
Available on Amazon.

GOOD-BYE, KITCHEN; HELLO, OREGON

...Continued from 10/16/2021:
Back over the summer when our kitchen remodeling venture was still in the embryonic stage the project manager gave us a work schedule with a final finish date of October 12.

Now, I knew perfectly well that it was risky on my part to plan a trip to the West Coast for October 14, just two days after the work was supposed to be finished. Still, I opted to take a leap of faith that my kitchen would in fact be done on time, planned my trip, and had my leap fall flat as I took off on October 14 and left behind my unfinished kitchen. (See "The Gremlin In my Countertops" www.ailantha.com/blog/the-gremlin-in-my-countertops).
Hence, my kitchen saga is in intermission for now.
Anyway, on October 14 I left my kitchen drama behind and traveled to Sherwood, Oregon, a town outside Portland, to visit my sister, Romaine.

I zigged and zagged my way through two surprisingly crowded airports; First Columbus, from where I departed,

...then Atlanta, where my flight laid over,

...and where the line for every potential fast-food breakfast spot ran on beyond Zebra.

Fortunately I had packed myself a peanut butter and cherry preserves sandwich for the trip.
From Atlanta I flew into Portland, where my sister picked me up. We drove through the typically rainy, misty fall weather of the evergreen Pacific Northwest,

...catching a glimpse of Portland on the way,

...until we reached Sherwood, where the hardwood trees of this area were beautifully decked out in the deciduous fall colors.

As it was well past noon by the time we arrived in Sherwood, we decided to head directly for lunch. Romaine took us to a cute little restaurant called Clancy's in downtown Sherwood that I'd been to on my last visit.

Romaine had a salad,

...while I had a tasty veggie and cream cheese sandwich served with a side of the most unforgettably delicious homemade potato chips.

After lunch we took a walk around downtown Sherwood,

...and through the park.

Then we headed back to Romaine's cheerful, cozy house.

My room,

...and Sweet Lucy, always holding down the fort.

I took a once-around-the-backyard,

...then we settled into the family room,

,,,and, as my mind has recently been wandering to the possibility of my inexplicably recalcitrant new kitchen countertops being infested by some michevious gremlins,

... we decided to watch "Gremlins."

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Refrigerator Ruffles

10/18/2021

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Books by Patti Liszkay
Available on Amazon

"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
Available on Amazon.

REFRIGERATOR RUFFLES

Last Monday we said adieu to our old refrigerator,

...and bienvenu to our new one..

Like most new appliances, this one arrived shrink-wrapped in plastic, which the Lowe's delivery person was considerate enough to tear off for us. However we noticed that after the wrap was torn off there were still strips of the plastic like ruffles stuck in all the seams of the refrigerator.

Tom asked the delivery person about the plastic wrap that was still stuck to the refrigerator. He gave a cryptic reply to the effect that we could take if off later. Then he was on his way.
We tried pulling, tugging, and yanking off the ruffles but they were stuck fast, the plastic appearing to have been applied to the refrigerator sections before they were put together. We figured that if we didn't want a refrigerator permanently ruffled in plastic we'd need to call for a service person versed in plastic ruffle removal.
But where to call to find such a professional? I thought we should call Lowe's, from where we purchased the refrigerator. Tom thought we should call the warranty number. So I called Lowe's and Tom called the warranty number.
The computer that answered the Lowe's phone number transferred me to the appliances department, where I was put on hold until I finally got exasperated, hung up, tried dialing the store number again, and was again transferred and put on long-term hold.
Tom, meanwhile, called the warranty number and was put on hold for the better part of twenty minutes. A human finally answered and, upon hearing of our ruffle problem, informed Tom that he'd called Chicago and needed to call the Columbus office, to which he was transferred. Close to another twenty minutes later Columbus answered and informed Tom that there were no refrigerator technicians at the Columbus office, but that he might try the Westerville office, Westerville being a suburb of Columbus.
Tom was still on hold for the Westerville office when I finally gave up holding for the Lowe's appliance department and thumped the "end call" button on my phone. I was huffing and puffing and stomping around in frustration when a little voice in my brain said, Why are you putzing around trying to get ahold of someone on the phone? Go look for the solution to your problem in the place where the solutions to all problems are found. And so I looked on the internet.
And what I learned from the internet is that plastic residual ruffles are a fairly common new refrigerator problem and that there were do-it-yourself-solutions offered by online contributors.
After I had gleaned the necessary information I sought out my mate, who was still sprawled on the living room couch on hold for the Westerville office.
"Hang up," said I. "We're going to do this ourselves."
The preferred refrigerator ruffle removal method of the online do-it-yourselfers involved running a razor knife along the edge of the seam, with the blade facing towards the stainless steel and away from the rubber seal. So we grabbed a couple of razor knives from Tom's tool box and got to work,

...being careful to push back the rubber seal.

The ruffles then easily pulled away.

Along with the razor knife I also availed myself as needed of a fingernail scissors,

...and a tweezers.

And so, working slowly and carefully with the razor knife, scissors and tweezers, we succeeded in de-ruffling our new refrigerator.

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The Gremlin In My Countertops

10/16/2021

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Books by Patti Liszkay
Available on Amazon

"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
Available on Amazon.

THE GREMLIN IN MY COUNTERTOPS

...Continued from previous post:
Though we’d been living like this:

...for three-and-a-half weeks – which felt more like three-and-a-half eons – the kitchen remodeling had been humming along, the odd blip or two in the process ironed out along the way and the work progressing smoothly.
The project was slated to be completed this week, one month from the starting point, with the countertops installed last Friday, backsplash and new appliances to arrive the following Monday, and the final electrical trimmings set for a day or two later.
And so by last Friday, on the home stretch of this relatively straightforward if nonetheless somewhat excruciating remodeling journey, we felt ourselves supremely lucky in having dodged any number of bullets that we knew – from experience and hearsay – could plague a home renovation project and drag it out to kingdom come.
But today, a week later, we find ourselves gnashing our teeth that we were so close, so close to the finish line when what I described in my previous post as a "wee glitch" - but was in truth not all that "wee" - popped up in our newly installed countertops and threatened to pull us far back from that finish line that we were almost touching.
The countertops arrived as scheduled last Friday. They were made of a light-colored, delicately veined quartzite called Brown Latte.

Once installed the countertops looked beautiful.

That is to say, they looked beautiful from a distance and in a certain light. It wasn't until the following day, Saturday, that I gave my new countertops a closer look and noticed this:

...a six to eight-inch band of discoloration along the edges.
And this along the corner seam:

   I immediately contacted both the stone contractor and the project manager, but it being the weekend I knew that no one would see my frantic emails or texts until Monday morning. Hence I spent the weekend fretting over the thought of having my brand new countertops ripped out and going months countertop-less and backsplash-less - the backsplash cannot be installed until the countertops are in - while I waited for new countertops to arrive.
  I looked and looked and looked online for some answer to what could cause the stains in the stone but I found none. I looked and looked and looked at the stains and wished and wished and wished them away. Sunday night the backsplash installer called to inform me that he would arrive early Monday morning. I sadly told him not to come.
By Monday morning I wondered if all my wishing was in fact working: I had the distinct impression that the countertop stains were a little lighter. The project manager called me back Monday at 8:35 am sounding none to happy about the situation - this would definitely shoot the project schedule all to heck - but he had no more idea about what could have caused the stains than I or the internet did.
A short time later the stone contractor called me, as cool as I was ruffled. He assured me that those stains were nothing to worry about, that they were from water that had been absorbed by the quartzite from the water saw that was used to cut the stone. He explained that the stone always got wet from in the cutting and normally was allowed to sit for a while to dry out before the countertops were installed. Apparently, in order to stay on schedule, my countertops were installed before the stone had quite dried out. "Just wait a few days," the contractor said, "then the stone will be fine and the backsplash can be installed."
I felt as if I had been granted a miracle. My counters would be fine. they wouldn't have to be pulled out and replaced.
I called the project manager, who was happy for the good news. The electrical work could be done before the backsplash and he rescheduled the backsplash installation for Friday. My kitchen remodel - except for the flooring, which will be a near future project -  would be finished mere days later than scheduled.
However, though the discoloration looked better on Monday than it did on Sunday, it looked no better on Tuesday or Wednesday than it had on Monday. In the meantime my new appliances began arriving.

On Wednesday afternoon I called the stone contractor. The countertop wasn't yet dry but the installer was due the morning after tomorrow. Would it be dry by then? The stone contractor told me not to worry. He'd send over a couple of techs with a special denatured alcohol drying rub and a heat gun, the equivalent, I gathered, of sending in the marines.
The guys arrived tout de suite with their equipment, but upon seeing the stains they were immediately skeptical: These didn't look exactly like water spots. What they did look like the techs weren't sure. Still, they got to work rubbing and heating my countertops,

...and were friendly and good-natured about letting me take pictures.

The techs worked for a good long while on my countertops. But the stains didn't disappear. "I'm baffled," the lead tech admitted. "It doesn't look to me like water. I don't know what it is." He called his boss. His boss didn't know what it could be, either, but said he'd come out and have a look. He hasn't made it out yet. The stains haven't gone away. And I'm wondering if gremlins can get into countertops.

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Approaching The Home Stretch In The Kitchen - Or Maybe Not

10/9/2021

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"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
Available on Amazon.

APPROACHING THE HOME STRETCH IN THE KITCHEN - OR MAYBE NOT

On Thursday, September 26, with the cabinets installed,

...the rest of our downstairs still looking like this,

...and a two-week sink-less and countertop-less wait until the next and final leg of our kitchen remodel would happen, Tom and I decided that this gap would be a good time to pull down the remaining wallpaper,

...and do the painting.
The walls would get a re-coating of their current cream color. The color of the woodwork, I decided after overcoming much apprehension, would be changed to white.
And so while Tom prepped then painted the ceiling and walls,

...I pulled down the wallpaper,

...and painted the woodwork.

In fact, I spent my 70th birthday painting woodwork,

(Okay, I didn't only paint woodwork on my birthday. Later in the day Tom, Theresa and I went to Tommy and Emily's house for pizza, birthday cake and birthday pie,

...and to meet their new poochie Ronan).

It took a few days to finish up the painting.
The old look:

The new look (with the refrigerator in the way):

Yesterday the workers returned on schedule to install the quartzite counter tops.

Alas, as it turns out, we have discovered a wee glitch in the countertops which we are hoping can be remedied ASAP, as next week come the appliances, sink, tile back splash, and the last of the electrical work, which would finish the project. However, said wee glitch may - or may not - throw a cherry bomb into the works and blow the so far timely schedule to the winds. We'll soon find out the verdict. Fingers crossed.

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70

10/5/2021

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Books by patti Liszkay
Available on Amazon

"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
Available on Amazon.

70

A few days ago I turned 70. In the days leading up to this birthday I thought not much about it, but on the actual day it hit me as soon as I woke up: I'm now 70 years old.
I know it's common for people to feel something akin to uneasiness, loss, or some other troublesome emotion upon crossing certain landmark birthdays: the 30th, 40th, 50th, 65th. I breezed through each of those years without a thought or even a pinch of trepidation. It was only at age 70 that I was finally hit by the birthday thing.
Not that I'm feeling particularly bad about being 70. Not bad, not good. Just...strange. Different. 70 seems so big. Mountainously big. A mountain of years. Compared to 70, 60 seems like a molehill. I'm in disbelief about being 70. I can't wrap my head around it. There's no denying that 70 years old is old. Which means that I must be...old. And I think that's where the disconnect is coming from for me: I don't feel old.
I've been looking into the mirror more than usual these past few days. This is what 70 looks like, I tell myself.

But then, I'm so used to looking at myself in the mirror that I can't really say how much older that image in the mirror looks now than it did last year or the year before or the year before that. All I know is that I don't feel old. Or at least not as old as 70 sounds.
Sure, I'm not supposed to go running anymore because of the "arthritic changes," as my doctor calls them, that make my feet hurt when I do. And the ophthalmologist is keeping an eye on my optic nerve as my pressure reading numbers have crept up over the last few years. And I've got osteopenia. And high blood pressure. And high cholesterol.
So I walk instead of run, pop in and out of the doctors' offices now and then, get myself scanned, probed, and tested as required, down a few pills daily and go on about my business. Those routines don't make me feel old. They're just the things I do.
And yet, I keep reminding myself, I must be old. Because I'm 70. And isn't 70 old?

No matter what I think?

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Hooray For School Dance Sneakers!

10/1/2021

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Books by Patti Liszkay
Available on Amazon

"Equal and Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
and the sequel, "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
Available on Amazon.

HOORAY FOR SCHOOL DANCE SNEAKERS!

While scrolling through my Facebook feed the other day I came across these pictures posted by a friend of her daughters and their friends at their high school Homecoming dance (which appears to be taking place outdoors, a smart choice of venue for the time).

At long last, thought I as I perused the pictures, girls have finally been liberated from those dreadful high heels!
My heart sang. I rejoiced. Not for myself; this great breakthrough was too late for me. Well, not that I went to that many dances back when I was high school. This is because back in my day people were required to have a date of the opposite sex to attend a school dance, and, not having a boyfriend, I usually didn't have access to to a dance date. (Though it didn't occur to me at the time, I suppose the upside of sitting at home on dance night was that I didn't have to spend the evening dancing in uncomfortable dress shoes).
This improvement in acceptable school dance foot ware likewise arrived too late in the timeline to benefit my daughters - well, not my daughters per se: My oldest daughter once actually did wear to a dance a pair of the chunky-heeled sneakers that were briefly in vogue in the 1990's with pink socks to go with her pink thrift-store dress.

(Unfortunately I didn't get the sneakers and pink socks in this shot, but the sneakers looked like this):

And then another of my daughters might have worn sneaker the time she and her friend decided to go to their junior prom together dressed as fairies, her friend wearing the same thrift-store dress as worn by my daughter in the above picture.

And then there was my youngest daughter, who wore white Keds to her first communion with the pants suit I made for her because she refused to wear a dress:

So anyway, as my own daughters' feet were perhaps not always bound by convention - I suppose because my daughters were not always bound by convention - it's more my daughters' generation to which I refer.
But my daughters' and son's daughters' generation will, at last, be free to wear sneakers or any other comfortable shoes, such as these dress crocs, which, I see, were likewise being worn to the Homecoming,

...to proms, Homecomings, and, one can only hope, all future dress-up events, thanks to these liberated young women,

... who've paved a more comfortable road for the feet of girls and women down the way.
As for me, I've been ready for a while now.

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Books By Patti Liszkay​Available On Amazon

​​THE TUALATIN RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Books By Patti Liszkay​Available On Amazon

​​THE AUTUMN LEAVES OF SHERWOOD

Books by Patti Liszkayavailable on Amazon

​THE BEAUTIFUL NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC

Books by patti Liszkay​available on amazon

​GOOD-BYE, KITCHEN; HELLO, OREGON

Books by Patti Liszkay​Available on Amazon

​REFRIGERATOR RUFFLES

Books by Patti Liszkay​Available on Amazon

​THE GREMLIN IN MY COUNTERTOPS

​APPROACHING THE HOME STRETCH IN THE KITCHEN - OR MAYBE NOT

Books by patti Liszkay​Available on Amazon

​70

Books by Patti Liszkay​Available on Amazon

​HOORAY FOR SCHOOL DANCE SNEAKERS!

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Books By Patti Liszkay
Available On Amazon

THE TUALATIN RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Books By Patti Liszkay
Available On Amazon

THE AUTUMN LEAVES OF SHERWOOD

Books by Patti Liszkay
available on Amazon

THE BEAUTIFUL NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC

Books by patti Liszkay
available on amazon

GOOD-BYE, KITCHEN; HELLO, OREGON

Books by Patti Liszkay
Available on Amazon

REFRIGERATOR RUFFLES

Books by Patti Liszkay
Available on Amazon

THE GREMLIN IN MY COUNTERTOPS

APPROACHING THE HOME STRETCH IN THE KITCHEN - OR MAYBE NOT

Books by patti Liszkay
Available on Amazon

70

Books by Patti Liszkay
Available on Amazon

HOORAY FOR SCHOOL DANCE SNEAKERS!