Christmas 2011

Jon came home for Christmas break from SPU. Adam and Pam showed up late Friday night the 23rd.

So Adam and I have this idea to make Lorelei a hanging pot rack for the kitchen. Just like many of our other great ideas, it turned out to be more interesting than expected. We did some internet research and looked at some designs. We had a branch or two laying around so we stripped the bark and started sanding. The interesting part came in when trying to find the right hooks for the pots. Lowes had no black hooks that would work! So we wound up sanding (Pam did most of the sanding on the hooks!) and painting the hooks. It was fun figuring out how to get the holes straight on a round, uneven branch. We spent most of the day down in the shop working on it and Lorelei was quite beside herself wondering what in the heck we were doing!

Lorelei's new pot rack.

Cody got the felt hat he had been wanting.

Pam and Adam

Lorelei got a pretty bracelet from her sister Penny.

I got a very nice rain jacket!

Jon with his new waterproof jacket.

You can see all the pictures from Christmas day by clicking  HERE
So we had a great weekend. We celebrated Adam's birthday also which we missed the week before because he was out of town. Adam and Pam cooked up some yummy chicken dishes. We tried out our new coffee making machines. It was a great weekend.

In other news around the place, it has been the driest December on record here in the Northwest. Queenie is doing better and she has more energy. Lorelei is getting over her 3rd cold of the season, so it seems she has been sick most of the time. Cody went to the doctor for a physical to play basketball and they heard a heart murmur. The doctor (who wasn't our usual doctor) wanted to send him to OHSU for testing. We are going to take him next week to our usual doctor for a second opinion. So keep Cody in your prayers please.

That's all for now,
Glynn Jr.

Thanksgiving 2011......

Thanksgiving 2011 was much more relaxing than 2010! If you remember, Lorelei and I were in an airport eating pizza last year! This year Adam and Jon were both home. My brother drove in from Phoenix. Great times for sure. Adam spent most of the weekend working on his car (it's almost put back together). Adam wanted to deep fry a turkey for Thanksgiving. Lorelei decided to buy two turkeys and cook one the old fashioned way in case ours didn't work???? I don't know why she would doubt us.....hey......we are Profesionals! It worked out ok but we learned a few things in the process. Dipping a raw turkey into 350 degree oil is not for the faint of heart!
My brother, Cody, Jon, Corina and I got up for Black Friday shopping. Adam, Pam and Lorelei elected to sleep in. We cruised around and picked up a few things at Staples and then headed out for breakfast.

Below, Julia and Corina stopped by on Thanksgiving

Then on Saturday we headed up the mountain to Detroit lake for some fishing. Craig, Jon, Cody, Lorelei and myself crammed into our little boat for a fun day on the water. We caught so many fish it was criminal! We took home (15) but we released another (35) or so. There were a couple of times we had fish on (3) lines at once. We had blood on the bottom of the boat and fish banging around in the ice chest. What a great day of CATCHING!

Below my brother Craig AKA "Uncle" with a nice trout.

Cody with a whopper!

The gang getting the boat ready for the drive home.

 You can see all the November pictures HERE

We had an awesome weekend with the house full of people. It was sad to see everyone leave.

In other news our dog Queenie is doing much better. Apparently she has a heart condition. She has been on a diaretic to reduce fluid around the heart and she is feeling better. Jon will be home next week for Christmas break and Adam will be back this weekend to finish up his car. Between fishing and visiting, I haven't got a whole lot done around the place but that's ok!

That's about all for now,

Glynn Jr.

General November Stuff.....

Well….it’s been too long since I have updated everyone. We have been busy with life and family.

 Adam’s 4^th gear in his car went out a few months ago and he decided to rebuild the manual transmission himself. He brought his car home and lifted it off of the ground under the car-port and the fun began! His car, in a previous life must have lived, submerged in salt water because EVERY bolt and nut on it is rusted solidly together to form an impenetrable bond. This has been the third weekend of transmission 101. Adam has done most of the work, with only an occasional helping hand from me. He and Pam usually arrive Friday night or early Saturday, so it has been fun having them around.

A few weeks ago we picked up a “new to us” boat. It’s a little bigger and faster than our old boat. I have been busy making little adjustments to suit us. I managed to take it out with my friend Troy a couple of weeks ago and got a salmon!

 Lorelei and I took it over to the coast last Friday and although the fishing wasn’t good, we did manage to bring home some crab. We also got a close up and personal show from the resident sea lion population. Lorelei got these shots as we drifted by their resting spot.

Jon is busy with school and work up in Seattle. He and Corina are planning on coming home for Thanksgiving. Cody is doing awesome in school. Our dog Queenie is not doing well. She had some minor surgery to remove a growth a week or so ago. We think she has cancer and she has trouble breathing and getting around.

Other happenings around the place, the chickens are not laying many eggs. I think it’s time to turn the light on in their coop. Our apple trees did well this year and we have picked hundreds of pounds of apples. Lorelei has made apple sauce, apple crisp and any other recipe with apple in it! We have given away  bags and bags and filled the refrigerator full and there is still more on the trees!

That’s about all for now,

Glynn Jr.

Our 23rd Anniversary......

Saturday, Oct. 8th was our 23rd Anniversary. I got up early as usual and was putzing around on Craigslist. About 7:00 I here the pitter patter of feet. I think to myself, who is up at this hour on Sat.? Lorelei pokes her head around the corner and says "hey, do you want to go fishing"......I thought about it for about two seconds and said "heck yes". So we packed up and headed towards the coast with the boat in tow.

When we got to the boat launch there were plenty of trailers in the lot. We headed out onto the bay and went towards the mouth of the river to see what was going on. We saw LOTS of crab trap bouys and we began thinking we should have brought one along. We cruised around and tried trolling for a bit with no luck so we headed up river. The tide was still coming in and we had no trouble making our way about a mile or so up to our favorite fishing hole.

Cody gets credit for the pic below taken the week before when we were there fishing.

We went all day without a bite! Then in the late afternoon Lorelei is standing in the bow and sets the hook on something. I ask if she has one on and she says "I think so, but it must be a small one" Well....obviously the "small one" was swimming towards the boat and didn't realize it was hooked. I looked over the side and as the fish came to the surface Lorelei saw that it wasn't just a "small one". The fish realized what was going on at about the same time and that's when the fun began! The reel's drag started singing and Lorelei almost fell in trying to hang on to her prize. A few minutes later we had our quarry in the boat and this time (unlike last year) it was a fin clipped Chinook and legal to take home!

We finished up a great day on the water. The tide was low and we had trouble making it back to the boat ramp but along the way we got to see the sea birds fishing and salmon running up the shallows as they passed our little boat. We stopped at the world famous Otis Cafe for dinner on the way home. What an awesome anniversary!

That's about all for now!

Glynn Jr.

Sept. 23rd - 25th busy weekend......

Well this last weekend was a busy one. Jon has worked all summer and I haven't got a chance to spend much time with him. His last day in Oregon before going back to school was Friday the 23rd. and he had the day off, so he says to me, "how about going fishing".....hmmm......"YEP" says I. Cody doesn't go to school on Friday's and he said that he wanted to tag along. Lorelei had to work so just us boys headed for the coast.
We were mainly after salmon but just on a hunch, Jon and I threw in (1) crab pot, as it turned out, it's a good thing we did! We had an awesome day on the water. Temperature was in the 70's, almost no wind. Great day with two awesome young men.

Cody at the controls!

On Saturday it was off to Seattle Pacific University. Jon loaded his little Nissan Sentra and we piled the rest of the stuff in the Camry and North we went! Cody rode with Jon and Lorelei rode with me. We unloaded and helped Jon get settled in.

Jon and Corina

Lorelei thought about hiding out in the closet?

It was another bitter sweet moment driving away and leaving Jon at college. It's awesome that he is out on his own, making his way in the world but of course it is tough on Mom and Dad having an empty spot in the house.

On Saturday night Adam came to the house for a fishing trip on Sunday. Him and I got up about 4 a.m. and headed out the door about 5. We traveled light and just took the car over. We walked in by flashlight to our favorite fishing hole. We fished all morning without a bite! Oh well, it was another great day outside on the water spent with my son.

Lorelei has been fighting a cold the past week or so. She has been working steady since the new school year began.
Cody was the leader of the "See You at the Pole" for Amity this year. There were only a handful of people that showed up. I am very proud of his efforts! He brought his guitar and had song handouts for everyone.

That's about all for now.

Glynn Jr.

End of summer......

With the Labor Day weekend coming up, we thought about doing something fun. Hmmmm......maybe a camping trip? Lucky for us we just happen to have a campsite in our backyard! Some friends came over and we had a great time. We camped out for just Friday night.

The campsite

Left to right, Troy, Bridgit, Lorelei, Tyler and Collin

Cody played us some music.

Tyler and Collin cook a late night snack while Lorelei and Cassandra look on.


In the morning we cooked a full breakfast of eggs, potatoes, bacon and sausage....

On Saturday we went to Ashley and Micah's wedding! Below Jon and Corina having fun with the photo booth.

Jon, Corina, Lorelei and Cody

Cody started back to school on Monday. He is an 8th grader this year!

Around the homestead, the garden has done fairly well. We are getting lots of tomatoes and cucumbers. Our blueberries have done awesome! We are still picking lots of blackberries and the apples and pears are ripening.

I failed miserably to complete several chores that were on my list. I did get the roof on the shop coated and I hope to finish up the block wall project this weekend. The only problem is.......it's salmon season! I'm sure that most of the remainder of my projects will take a back seat to fishing over the next couple of months.

Thats about all for now.

Glynn Jr.

ROAD TRIP! Aug 13

Saturday Aug. 13th, Lorelei and I hit the road. Cody was on the annual Bike Trip with the youth group and we realized that Lorelei and I had not had a vacation together for more than (1) night by ourselves in (19) years!

So we loaded up the car and headed south. We only had a couple of goals in mind and the rest of the (4) days we were going to "wing it". What an awesome time we had.

Our destination and home base for Saturday and Sunday was to be Mt. Shasta. We had a nice drive down I-5, taking the scenic route off of the freeway whenever the chance arose. I got to see several of the roads that we always pass by and I always say "I wonder where that road goes".

We got to the hotel Saturday afternoon, checked in and then headed to The Black Bear Diner for dinner....yum. After dinner we still had some daylight left so we turned on the GPS and headed for Siskyou Lake.  Below is one of Lorelei's shots that she got near the lake. As usual she finds the cool stuff! As always click on the picture to enlarge.

                                                                       Lorelei's find:

                                               We watched the sun set over the lake:

On Sunday we got up and headed for Shasta Dam. Now I didn't realize that Shasta Dam was about 50 miles from the town of Mt. Shasta! So about half way there we just decided to turn off the highway and see other sights. We wound up down by the river and had these views all to ourselves. I think this is the Sacramento River.
                     Again, Lorelei's handiwork:

Below: Long story on this shot, but the short story is, Lorelei got it! I have been planning this shot in my mind for years, but she beat me to it!(Of course it was that highly skilled photography tour guide that got her in the right position at the right time correct?) 

Ok.....so the rest of the story about the above photograph. We are standing near the bridge and I was hoping a train would come by. I hear one, but I realize it's coming from the wrong direction to get the engine coming across the bridge. So I stand and watch as the train goes by us and then onto the bridge. As the end of the train goes by, I see that there is an engine on the end of the train too! I frantically start fiddling with the settings on my camera as Lorelei calmly steps up and gets the shot of the engine going away from us, perfectly centered on the bridge......ARRRRRGGGG.

So we had a great time hiking around by the river. We picked blackberries and ate a snack and then we were back on the road. We continued on north and stopped in the town of Dunsmuir for lunch at a great little burger joint. Then again we needed to decide what to do? We had passed the turn to Castle Crags State Park a few miles back, so we decided to go check it out.

At the booth of the ranger station we began talking to the nice gentleman who asked if we were going to go for a hike? No says we, we were just passing by and we wanted to take some pictures. Well says he, if you go into the park I have to charge you eight dollars (as I begin reaching for my wallet) but he continues, I can tell you where you can get some better pictures, outside the park. So the adventuresome, do it yourself , wanting to go and find my own pictures, side of me keeps reaching for my wallet. Finally the guy gives me this look that said "I know what I'm talking about, just keep your money and listen to me please". Okay, so we drive out of the park and onto this narrow mountain road. 3-1/2 miles up and turn around and WOW the guy did know what he was talking about.
We got out the camera gear and Lorelei and I had a BLAST for about an hour. We talked about exposure, depth of field and HDR (high dynamic range). Below are a couple of shots that we came away with. You can find more on SmugMug.

By now it was getting to be late afternoon, so we headed back to Mt. Shasta. A quick stop by the hotel room and we took off walking to town. It was approaching 5:00 p.m. and most of the shops were closing up, but we strolled up and down main street and then back to a pizza place near the hotel. We had a great salad and pizza and by the time we were done recapping the great day we just had, it was approaching 8:00!

On Monday one of our goals for the trip was to ride the jet boats in Grants Pass. After breakfast a quick call to the jet boat company assured us a spot on the 2:00 trip.
We had a leisurely 100 mile drive to Grants Pass, so we took a couple of side trips along the way.
The jet boat trip was awesome! We got soaked and it was a challenge keeping the camera dry.

We left the jet boats and headed across to the coast (ok it was kind of down and over, there is no easy way to the coast from Grants Pass). After about an hour I made some reference to California, and Lorelei says we aren't in CA. Hmmm......says I, then what about that sign right there???? We were getting hungry because we had only snacked since breakfast but we still had some miles to make, so we pressed on through the redwoods (although I REALLY wanted to stop) and on into Brookings OR where we found a Subway.

Back on the road we nearly flattened a skateboarder who decided jumping the stairs at the local Holiday Inn out onto Hwy 101 would be kind of cool!

We continued north, our destination for the night was Gold Beach, however it wasn't long until another road leading to the ocean was calling our name. We had this beach nearly all to ourselves and we spent the evening walking and exploring the tide pools.

The sun was setting and we still had more miles to make, so back on the road. We ended up pulling into Gold Beach around 9:00 in the evening. We got a great room overlooking the ocean where we could hear the surf.

                                                     Below: our view from the room.

Tuesday the 16th was our last day of this trip and we still had about 250 miles of sight seeing to do. We stopped in Port Orford which has a very interesting "port". Seems that they decided to build this giant flat area on the leeward side of some rocks out in the ocean and then just lift the boats in and out of the water as needed. So it's about 40 feet down to the water and all the boats are dry docked until they need go fishing. So Lorelei is over on the seawall getting the picture below:

And I say to her "Hun, you need to see this" she says "I'm busy", I say "no hun you REALLY need to see this" so she walks my way and says "OH MY is that safe?"

We spent the rest of the day casually driving north along the coast. We stopped for dinner at our favorite fish and chips place in Lincoln City and then home around 7:30 in the evening. It was one of the most relaxing vacations we have taken. Great weather, greater scenery and even greater company.

Trip stats:

Total Miles- 968

Moving Avg-48.2 MPH

Moving Time- 20.06 Hrs

Max. Speed 84.3 MPH (?? the GPS must have malfunctioned) 

You can see all the pictures from the trip  HERE

Some of you have expressed interest in the pictures we take. The best results in obtaining the high resolution files, is to go to SmugMug and open the picture. Down at the bottom of the page you can select the picture size. If you haven't already, choose "O" for Original. The picture will open full size, you can then "right click" and "save as" there you have it, a full size copy of the file.

That's about all for now!

Glynn Jr.