Finally, Hobies for Two!

Randy and I have been talking about kayaks for years, but always put off buying them.  Well this year, we did something about it and are now the proud owners of two new Hobie Mirage kayaks.

Randy's is a blue Hobie Mirage Outback, about 12.5' long and weighs 68 pounds.  His is stable and comfortable.

My kayak is a dune colored Hobie Mirage Revolution 11, 11.5' long and weighs 45 pounds.  Mine is a "sports car" of sit on top kayaks.  It's a little tippier than I'm used to, but I get comfortable very fast on water craft, so I'm hoping it's not going to be an issue.  My kayak is fast and smooth in the water, but not quiet as comfortable sitting position as the Outback.

Both kayaks are sit on top kayaks with Mirage pedal drives.  This allows us to use our leg muscles to get around and have our hands free while sailing.  We steer using a rudder lever next to our seat. It looks a little funny to be pedaling your boat, but I'll go long, further, and faster than a  person paddling their boat.

We ordered our boats in Coos Bay from Waxer's Surf and Skate shop,  after demo'ing two of their boats in the bay one weekend earlier in the month. We picked them up last week, and took them on their maiden voyages to two coastal lakes.

The weather in Coos Bay on the southern Oregon coast was typical for the summer.  Nice in the morning, steadily building wind bringing in the afternoon fog. Because the Willamette valley had temps in the upper 90's to 100's, we were getting socked in with coastal fog and wind by early afternoon. This meant if we wanted to get on the water in the sun and calm, we'd need to do it early in the day.  We took off for the the South Slough Marine Preserve in near by Charleston OR, unfortunately the coastal fog was already socked in and the wind was blowing.  Not a good place to try our stuff out for the first time.
We headed back to Coos Bay and found Empire Lakes near the campus of Southwestern Community College, right in town!  The lake had a nice parking area and a grassy area to get our gear set up in.  The coastal fog was not over the lake, but we could see it on its slow approach our way.  Empire Lake was the perfect place to put everything together and start our learning curve.  We pedaled around the lake for about an hour and half, not much to see, but good experience.  The next day we headed north for Florence.  On the way north we put in at Eel Lake, next to Tugman State Park.

Eel lake is a larger lake with a nice parking and launch area.  Being further north and a little inland from the ocean, the coastal fog was not an issue.  The day was beautiful once again, and we kayaked in shorts and t-shirts. The pictures posted here are all from our Eel Lake trip.

The kayaks are so easy to set up and put away, there's just not much to complain about.  The only thing we keep getting hung up on is seating the Mirage drive pedals in the boats.  Both times we've tried to put the drives in after putting the boats in the water and have struggled with them.  Next time I'm going to try it while the boat is on it's wheels.  

We paddled around this large lake for almost 3 hours, taking a 1/2 hour break on a floating dock to practice self rescue maneuvers.  This involved me finding the tipping point of my boat and practicing how to right it and reboard the yak.  I've reboarded sit on top kayaks, in the warm waters of the Caribbean and Hawaii, on snorkeling trips with no problem.  For some reason, this wasn't as easy.  Possibly it was the life vest getting in the way, or the fact that I didn't have fins on, that made it hard to "beach" myself on the top of the boat.  I'm going to try it with fins next time.  The water in this coastal lake was surprisingly warm, swimming was not a big shock.  

From the floating dock, which was situated in a cove sheltered from the north wind, we could see that the wind had picked up substantually and the channel we had to cross to return to the dock was filled with fast moving wind waves and white caps.  Our crossing back to the dock was going to be a good test of how our boats would do in rough waters.  Adding to the challenge was the that the shortest distance to the protected shoreline was to run perpendicular through the waves.  This would put us in the best position to "accidentally" tip over (can't really be an accident if we knew it was high risk).  I thought the channel was great fun.  I love riding in the waves and surprisingly didn't have much trouble moving through the waves.  The bigger problem was that while practicing the self rescue, my boat took on some water in the interior.  This made my boat more sluggish and hard to control as the water moved from side to side inside the boat. We've ordered a bilge hand pump and will remove the water next time.   Randy's boat was fine in the waves, but it goes through the waves instead of over them, making his trip a little slower and splashier.  That's why I bought the "sports car" model that I've got.

In the near future we will test the waters closer to Florence, including the Siltcoos River trail, the South Slough of the Siuslaw River and the North Fork of the Siuslaw River.

Overall, very happy to be Hobie owners, but beware.... it's alot like being a Harley Davidson owner.  There are many accessories to make your ride better and none of them are cheap.

Stay tuned for more adventures.

Still on my Imaginary Trip to Greece

Here's what we've been up to lately....

Add caption

In this visit we were instructed to use a pen that was not permanent and only add one color.

Virtual Travel

If I could afford to travel all the time, I would.  Since that's not possible, the next best thing is "virtual travel" and this month I'm in Greece!
The last week in April I joined an "Imaginary Trip to Greece" from the website www.imaginarytrips.com.   The website is hosted by Laure Ferlita who is our travel guide and travel journal instructor.  As we hop from place to place Laure sends us information about the area, pictures and a video of how to paint what we see, as if we are on site.  After our video lesson, we draw and paint from one of the pictures and then post it to the class blog site.  From there we get to see what others have done and get tips and suggestions on our own work.  The group I'm traveling with is large and diverse.  It's been fun to see the variety of styles and interpretations , as well as the "ah-ha" moments, that our group is producing.  This is my second trip with Laure, the first was to Paris.

Here's a couple of paintings from my visit so far...

Travel Withdrawl

Ok, I've HAD it with the cold fog.  VERY ANNOYING!!!  The weather anywhere else in Oregon is sunny and cold, if you can get out of the valley.  I miss my Florence condo.  It's always rented at the wrong time.  At least I know what I will do when I'm retired and the fog rolls in.....I'm outta here!!!

Aunt Mary and Dad, Melbourne Beach.  Oh, I miss Florida too.

The three of us on Melbourne Beach.  I wish you all could meet my Aunt Mary and Uncle Dan, they are super people.

Note to self, tilt head down slightly in self portraits.  On a private channel off the Indian River.  The rich people keep their boats in their backyard canal for easy access to the river.

Leaving Cabo.  Oh I miss being on a boat.

A large herd of dolphins, north of Cabo on the way to San Fran.

Manzanillo Beach

Kayaking in Manzanillo, looking at mangroves and birds (Joye)

Pretty fish seen while snorkeling in Manzanillo.

Our guide and Joye in kayaks, everyone else is snorkeling. Top side of the shipwreck, Manzanillo.

A school of fish hanging out at the shipwreck, Manzanillo.

Part of the shipwreck.

View from ship,  in port at Costa Rica.

Seems like the wind is always blowing where the palm trees grow. Costa Rica near the Coribici River.

This is my paradise close to home.

This is where you'll find me in the winter.  

Dancing Paint Brushes...

I have been taking painting classes from local artist Donna Beverly of Philomath throughout the year.  This fall Donna was going to have a show of some of her paintings, as well as juried paintings of some of her students.  I have two paintings that were accepted into the show, the only two paintings I'd finished up to that point.  While they were "finished", the painting weren't what I think of as my best work, so I haven't advertised the fact that they are in a show.  This month I have been working about 6 hours a week in Donna's studio, learning what I can about how to paint with acrylics and what my style might look like.    I've realized that I need to paint daily to get where I want to be.  I already have some good work coming along, and I'll be looking forward to that next show, I'm sure.

An example of Donna's work and the front of the show postcard.

The back of the postcard, with my name on it!

VIsta & Vineyards

This summer I participated in a local en plein air art group.  Beginning in the spring we met weekly at various locations around the valley to paint outdoors and then have a critique afterwards.  This was my first year being involved in the group and I really enjoyed it.  I wasn't able to attend all the outings due to work, and was most disappointed to miss the trips to a lavender farm and a vineyard.  This year I painted at Garland Nursery; Old Mill State Park in Tangent; and OSU Sheep Barns.  Part of the learning process was figuring out how to pack your supplies so that you could easily set up where your favorite view was. At Garlands, I did pack my stuff into the nursery, but decided that was too much work for future outings.  I took a page from Kris Mitchells' playbook and worked out of the back of my car for the next locations.

Some of my past art instructors, as well as some of my favorite local artists (Tom Allen, Donna Beverly, Carolee Clark, Kris Mitchell, Lauren Ohlgren), are often seen on the outings.  It's so strange to find myself in the company of these artist, as a peer.  In spite of the talent present, the group has been supportive and friendly to us new comers.  I can't wait to do it again next year.

The view from my Garlands outing.

The view of my Old Mill State Park painting location.

My unfinished painting

How others were painting outdoors at the sheep bar.

In car painting set up at OSU Sheep Barns.

Lots of people showed up at the sheep barns.

The view I was painting

My painting as it was at the end of the day.

Just part of the paintings involved in the critique.

Joan Jett and The Blackhearts

August 27th we went to Albany's Art and Air Fair to see Joan Jett & the Blackhearts in concert.  I love the venue, the grassy hillside surrounding the lake with the stage on an island across from the crowd.  This venue allows people to picnic on the lawn with food, friends and alcohol.  We usually have a pretty big group and this year was no exception.

Those of us in attendance were Candi and Joe, Kris, Randy and myself, Jim and Charlene Burke, Joye Fukuda and Sarah Buhler.  Notably missing were the Valcenia's, Tom and Wendy.  Hopefully they rectify that next year. Not many people missed the concert as an estimated 23-25K people were in attendance, the largest ever to see a concert in Albany.  People reportedly came from California and Canada to JJ and the Blackhearts.

The food, friends and concert were all great.  Including the wonderful fireworks display after the concert, the best we've seen in quiet a while.

Time, time, time. See what's become of me....

While I look around for my possibilities.....

I need more time, that's what I'd like.  I'm thankful my life is so full, but I can't manage all that I want and need to do. My poor blog suffers because I'm so busy. I love Simon and Garfunkel BTW!

If you are a long time listener of Rush Limbaugh, cue up the old time "update" theme music...dut, dutta, lut, dutta, lut, dutta, lut......

Kitchen update:  Mostly done!  It's usable, but we haven't been here a enough to use it!  Ha ha!  When we are here, we've BBQ'd of course.  So I haven't had a chance to get used to the gas stove or oven.  That will have to be my October project.
I still have to primer and paint some new dry wall and add the tile back splash.  I haven't decided fully on the tile design and haven't had time to check out my options.  That will probably be a September project.
The refrigerator and garage are still a mess with things not in place from the remodel.  Those will be our first project, starting "soon".  :-)

The space we gained in the corner next to the refrigerator is my favorite place in the kitchen.  My Keurig sits in the appliance garage and is ready to make coffee when I get up in the morning.  I can make my cereal and coffee from that one space in the kitchen, as my cereal and raisins are in the "pantry" cupboard right next to the coffee maker.  I just have to remember to take my cup bowl and spoon over there.

Hickory cabinets with a "honey" stain.  A deep two bowl sink, in sprakly black granite.  Tile backsplash to come.  You can see some of the tile taped to the wall near the knife block. 

General life update:  Randy and I've been to Florence twice in the last few weeks and it was fabulous over there.  Warmer temps and not much wind.  Very relaxing.  There was lots of wildlife activity on the river...seals, seagull chicks and pelicans. We took another visit to Cape Perpetua, which I love.  Fun to hike the trails and climb on the rocks down to the tide pools.
We also spent a lot of time at Honeyman Nursery.  They have a very nice set up and I like looking at the plant displays and playing with the nursery's 6 cats.  George is my fav, he will climb all the way up you until he is up by your face.  What a sweetie.  This last visit we brought the truck so that we could return home with some rocks that we have been eyeing for a while.  This proved quite the challenge.  If a rock requires a fork lift to put it in your vehicle, it might require the same to get it out.  But not necessarily, it just won't be as easy.  It only took us two hours to move big rock about 25 feet.  Most of that time was spent trying to get it in the yard cart with jacks.  We ended up using 2x4's to lever it up and roll it, also some sliding/pushing on cardboard once we made it onto the grass. We were both exhausted, sweaty and sore by the end of this move. This rock is not leaving it's current location until one of us can't remember how hard it was to move.  That will be me, and Randy will say "as you wish".  :-)

One of our 2 new "glacial boulders".  Not as heavy as you'd think.

Oh yea, I want some of those...

Now THIS one weighs a lot!  They used a front loader to put it in the truck.

These guys weren't hard, they lived right here until we put them in place.

This big guy took us both 2 hours to move from the back of the truck to this location.  Randy says if we move, it's not.

Aaron Tippin at the BC Fair.  Great concert.

On July 30th Annie and I participated in our first triathlon together, the All Women's Blue Lake Triathlon in Fairview. The race was 1/2 or 1/4 mile swim, 12 mile bike and 3 mile run.  This was my first open water swim and I was very nervous about it. Especially after I saw how far I had to swim, OMG.  The swim totally kicked my butt, I didn't freestyle for very long before sidestroking.  Annie swam her 1/2 mile just faster than it took me to "swim" my 1/4 mile (my race had a shorter distance).  She rocked her swim, being the fastest in her age group.  The bike was fun, I love rocking on the bike after the swim.  Because I am so slow in the water I get to pass a lot of people on the bike. :-)  I had nothing left in the tank for the run and walked most of it, except when I saw the photographers pointed in my direction. My dad even showed up to watch the first part and take pictures.  All in all I had a great time.

A little bit more summer to come.  Stay tuned.

Kitchen Remodel 2011 - Day 24

Ok, it has not been 24 days since we tore apart our routine, it just feels like it sometimes.  Really ready to be able to find things and have a normal schedule. I have been so busy lately that I haven't had time to post. I've spent a lot of time running around trying to find things that it will now take too long to order. I stalled on my sink purchase because I just couldn't bring myself to spend $544 on a sink, no matter how cool it was.  I should know by now that when I stall on making a decision, I'm not totally happy with it.  So I took an hour in sink aisle of Home Depot and went through my "process" to find my sink and faucet.  I need to spend time looking at everything and considering the pro's and con's.  Usually I put an item in my cart and then take it out, and repeat.  After all this time and consideration I am perfectly happy with my decision and that is what took place with my sink.  I love it!  I always pictured it as dark brown or black, don't know why, just did. I bought a metallic black quartz sink that has all the features I love.  This happiness spread to other decision areas....I see the hardware color now and an overall scheme is coming together.  I can move forward with paint, cabinet pulls and light fixtures.  I'm creatively unclogged!!!!
Today the guys are here and I've had my first look at my full sized cabinets, the wood and stain.  Awesome!  Going to go pick up the cabinet pulls shortly....

I don't know why, but I can't post pictures to this post. You'll have to stay tuned for the results.

Kitchen Remodel 2011 Days 3 & 4

Day 3 I was at work, so I didn't get to watch as the day progressed.  I know that the hole in the floor was filled in.

Day 4:

• The drywall sections on either side of the family room opening were put into place.
• Proper venting for the over the range microwave was finished.
• Insulation was put in the kitchen walls.
• Ceiling drywall was hung.
• Some kitchen drywall hung.

Unfortunately the guys had to spend a long time at Home Depot getting supplies.  The store just doesn't have enough people to help you when you need it.  

Charlie the site supervisor.  It looks good to him.