Our past winter down in Borrego

 Hello again, we had a nice winter down in Borrego. We are still subject to the affect of Covid 19. Masks are required in any business and its become the norm to wash and sanitize after any outdoor exposure. I have to give San Diego County and the state of California credit for their organization and distribution of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines. Chris and I were vaccinated in March with the Moderna.

We managed to finish our kitchen (thanks to Jeff) and we redid all the floors. It really looks nice and we are very happy with the finished look.

We didn’t do to much outside but we did manage to plant an orange tree and 3 plants in the backyard. I’m hopeful we’ll be able to enjoy oranges when we return next season.

The dogs are good, Murphy is still a pain as he is working through his “puppy” stage. In February we were invited to spend 4 days with Ben & Matt in Palm Springs, we had a blast, it was a nice getaway from Borrego.

We did some FaceTime with Jake, Em & Grace but not nearly enough to satisfy the need to see them in person. Now fully vaccinated and back home, we are hoping to see them in the next couple of weeks. Grace played her first t-ball game last night, she was awesome, - go Dodgers!

Not sure if I mentioned this on my last posting, a friend Jay was moving away from his Lake Cushman home and I bought his small aluminum boat. If I can figure out how to tow it and run it I’m looking forward to enjoying some lake time with Chris. Might even drop a line or two in the water. Jay gave us quite a bit of fishing gear!  

We also got the house painted before we left. We made a slight change in the color, opting for a slightly darker Reddish/Brown. It turned out great and quite happy with how the house looks. 

Well, that’s about it, I always forget something but I think I’ve hit the high spots.

   

The spring, summer and now fall with Covid 19

 Greetings from Hoodsport,

With out a doubt the biggest story and impact on us is dealing with a new virus transported into the US from China. I’m not going to get into too much detail but this virus has forced everyone to stay close to home, wear masks and sanitize everything. It also forced all the trips we had scheduled to be cancelled. Chris and I had a trip planned to Scotland, she had another trip planned this fall to Greece with Carole and it appears that her planned trip to Australia next spring will also be cancelled.

Murphy and Riley are now buddies. Murphy like most puppies has provided quite a challenge, chewing up our bushes and tearing into the yard. Overall he is a good dog and a welcomed member of our family.

One of the highlights of the summer was adding an outdoor kitchen.

We have already had a lot of fun cooking outdoors both Matt and Jacob have taken turns with the BBQ & Komodo. Speaking of Jake, we had Jake, Em and Grace over for the 4th of July and had a blast (literally)!

Not being able to travel has forced us (me) to focus on the yard and I’m pleased with how things look. We still have two large projects left, hopefully, the house will get painted next week and then in a few weeks after that, our roof will get some attention.

Ben and Matt came over a couple of times and while it’s a little different this year to have guests, we had a good time and as always treated to the best food. Ben was commissioned to create a painting by a sister of one of his good friends, she is moving into a new house and this painting will certainly be a focal point. I have a picture of the painting but can’t pull it up.

I played plenty of golf, my game could be better. It was a slow start to good weather here in Hoodsport but he summer was dry and warm.

Well its time to begin planning for Borrego. Before leaving Borrego in the spring, we began to start remodeling the kitchen in our little place. My friend Jeff Johnson volunteered to take charge, unfortunately when the Covid struck, Jeff had to pull back from the project due to his pre-existing condition that made him vulnerable to Covid. Thank god for Merle, he jumped in and we got half of the kitchen finished. Jeff has called me a couple of times this summer and he’s ready to start again this fall. It may all culminate with a new floor as well since the new cabinets don’t cover all of the existing flooring and Murphy managed to eat a couple of sections of the exposed floor. 

                                                           

I’ll post another update sometime from Borrego.

Winter 2019

Hi again, typing this from my new I-Pad Pro. It is December 28th, yesterday was birthday #65. I’m officially an old geezer. A lot of changes since my last post. I’m now retired. Management wanted me to manage the parks in addition to the golf course as a “recreation manager”. It would have meant a full-time position giving up my winters down in Borrego and it just wasn’t that important for me.
   We lost Cooper this past summer, it was hard to have him put down, many things were still working but he had stability issues and his quality of life just quickly deteriorated.

Of course we will miss him, Riley naturally was depressed and doing nothing without his buddy. Chris accidentally ran across a cute picture on a Facebook website and after following up, we purchased our next family member, Murphy.

 Chris had a particularly tough summer, she did an amazing job caring for her mom. We were hopeful that we could bring her to Hoodsport to live with us and although we tried, it became clear that she was more comfortable in Vancouver where her friends and medical care was.  We lost grandma this fall. We did get the opportunity to have most of our family up for a weekend with Luella, she enjoyed the chance to visit with everyone. I’m glad that happened. 

Grace started school this year, amazing! 

Travis left Wisconsin and now lives in Spokane, he’s enjoying being closer to family and see’s Jacob from time to time.  

Ben and Matt had great years and love living downtown Seattle. Ben had a very interesting work year from filming two commercials (New York & Los Angeles) to opening up new Reserves in New York & Chicago. We just spent Christmas with them and Matt’s family in Palm Springs.

Almost forgot, I won the club Championship at Lake Cushman, something I never thought would happen. What’s special about that is the championship is gross, no handicap involved. Pretty Cool.

I think that is it, Obviously got more pictures to download, maybe I’ll try to do this more than once a year.

Spring 2019

Hi from Borrego, we are entering our last few weeks down here, in fact Chris will be back this Saturday. A cooler/wetter winter down here, still miles better than home. It’s nice now with temps in the mid 80’s. Played a lot of golf, worked one day to get my golf free at The Springs. Played several times at the resort and was a fill-in Marshall at Rams Hill.

I ran the men’s club (coyotes) this season, it’s a great group and we had a great season.

Riley & Carter are both still with us, they have issues but they enjoy it down here.

One of the tough sacrifices we make coming down is not getting to see Grace. She’s amazing, so smart and just a joy.

 This is a picture from a park on my visit to Spokane on my way down to Borrego.

I did retire from Lake Cushman. Officially on the payroll through the end of the year but was done at the end of September. It’ll be interesting when I get back to Hoodsport to see if I miss work.

 Ben & Matt came down twice, we spent Christmas together at the ole DeAnza house.

Memorial Day

It’s been a while since I’ve Posted anything. Still working at the golf course and it seems the new GM & I are getting along. Weather has been great and Chris is doing a nice job with the flower pots & weeding. I’m beat from the holiday work but I’m excited about driving over to Spokane with Chris to celebrate Gracie’s 4th birthday.

I’m annoyed that I can’t access my photos to the blog page. One of the reasons I haven’t been blogging.

We had a great 5 months in Borrego. We didn’t do to much to the place, we built a privacy fence that turned out great. Played a lot of golf and enjoyed the weather.

Another update, it’s now July 8th, another long but prosperous holiday week is finished. That means only one more holiday (Labor Day) until I head back to Borrego. Will I go down as golf course manager or newly retired guy?

The boys & I are relaxing out back. It’s warm but not too hot. The big surprise this summer is how well the mariners are playing. As of this post they are 23 games over 500, pretty amazing!


We had Marvin paint our exterior doors and the shakes this summer, had the doors painted white after the clear transparent finish has lifted and peeled in the direct sunlight.

Time to catch up on the family...Grace turned 4, we went over for her birthday party and really enjoyed ourselves. Ben & Matt bought a new condo right down in pioneer square, across the parking lot from the “Clink”. We just had Grandma Stanley here for a week. Chris has several “girl trips” planned with Carole this fall including another trip to Italy, she’ll be busy.
The dogs are getting older, Carter just turned 12 but are in good spirits. I’m not sure if they like it here in Hoodsport better than Borrego?

Labor Day Weekend

   Ben and Matt are in Palm Springs with friends this weekend. They don't let any moss grow under their feet! Tomorrow morning is our fantasy draft, I don't know how many years we've been doing this, maybe 5 or 6 years. Travis is the commissioner, I think he enjoys organizing it. It's an all family affair, 10 of us, Jake, Em, her dad Chris, Travis, Dillon, Jeff G., the Bonds & me.

                                                                    

   Greetings from the patio. I'm here with Riley & Carter. Beautiful evening, working the last of my holiday weekends at the golf course. Before I know it, we'll be packing up for Borrego. Lots to do before then. I've got budgets, cart path & parking lot paving projects to complete plus a variety of fall projects. Looks like I'm going back for a 6th year.


   Our dogwood is in full bloom this fall. Didn't bloom much in the spring. It must like hot weather because it's been a very nice summer and we still scheduled to get temps in the 90's next week!
 
    Even though I didn't get to Jake & Em's much I miss them being so far away. They really seem to be liking it in E. WA and Jake seems to be in his element as a sales rep. I am heading to Spokane in a couple of weeks to see Gracie and of course, the new digs. Looking forward to some time off, haven't taken any time since coming back to work.

    Chris & Carole are in Italy, they've been there several times. Probably revisiting their favorite places. Think they are taking a cooking class.

    Only five weeks to go before we leave, right in the middle of our paving project. Things seems to be going real good. Budgets pretty much done, inventory complete and we got the greens artifice. Just got to get through the clubhouse opening and most of the heavy lifting is done.

Always like to include photos but I can't get them to load.

Summer Time in Hoodsport

Start to another summer, very wet spring has given way to some really nice warm summer days. Some big changes are coming. Jake got promoted to a large sales territory in Eastern Washington. Just this week he & Em bought a home in the Liberty Lake area of Spokane.

We also celebrated Gracie's 3rd birthday on June 3rd at the children's museum in Everett. A very fun day with family & friends.

Chris & I have been busy at our work and in our spare time working out in the yard. Never enough time!

Some sad news, Chris found out that her mom has cancer, its early in the discovery process, we don't know much at this time. We all should have a good idea about her condition later this summer.

We are excited for Jake & Em but it is hard to imagine Grace so far away. I think our summers will now include a week in Spokane. The home the kids bought has a full apartment downstairs, perfect for a visit.

Ben & Matt are great and doing very well. They've come over a couple of times around Mother's Day & Father's Day. They cooked wonderful meals, we had Carole over both times, Merle & Donna joined us in June. Ben, once again amazes us managing to do so well at Starbucks & paint as well. I'm attaching a beautiful painting he did as a project for Howard. Several employees painted pictures to be given as gifts to the board of directors @ Starbucks. Ben had the privilege to do a painting for former New York senator and NBA Knick great, Bill Bradley. Unbelievable!!! They also processed their white wine also called Fate, it is very good, enjoyed by all!