Family Visit

We were delighted to have our youngest grandson, Jared Michael, come to visit after the River Romp. He is 12 years old and the next youngest sibling in his family is Deja who is 21 and married to Chris. It was fun visiting with all of our grandchildren and most of our kids at the River Romp this year.

Since Ron had some upholstery to do as soon as we got things unpacked, washed, and put away – I took Jared for a visit to the River Front Park. He rode his bike and I tagged on behind. It was a pretty good ride for him and took us past Discovery Village, the new interactive Fountain, the World, the demolition of Boise Paper Mill – which will make way for wonderful new use of our river front, and the Carousel where Jared enjoyed three rides.



He said it was more fun riding the real horses at the River Romp – but you can see he enjoyed it anyway.

As soon as Grandpa was free we all went to the Santiam River Fishing. Jared brought his fly rod and he and Grandpa both caught their one day limit of 5 trout each. They had a blast!


When they got home – Jared learned to fillet the trout from Grandpa – and did a really good job.

Friday morning his parents arrived and after a visit to the Studio Apartment where Mike presented Jared with a very special memento of his years of Harley Davidson riding adventures – "This is the real deal Do Rag", we all took off for the Spruce Goose Museum in McMinnville for the rest of the day.


Jared proudly served his Mom the filleted trout, showed her his new bicycle seat that he and Grandpa made, and ended the evening by watching the 25 year River Romp DVD.



What fun it was to visit with Vicki, her husband Mark, and to have quality time with Jared. We hope you will all come back soon!

River Romp

Since our anniversary on July 4th the month flew by as we prepared for the annual River Romp which took place this year July 31st – August 2nd. Since this was the 25th event there were lots of special preparations going on. Stina was in charge of the organization and planning this year and she did a great job! Things have never gone so smoothly!!

Tim helped design the 25 year logo for the T-Shirts and coordinated the printing here in Salem. At the same time he was making a DVD to commemorate the Silver Anniversary of the River Romp. He asked me to write the introduction and close and then he filled in with video clips from the many years. In order to take short clips from the video's they all had to be down loaded into his computer so that he could select important memorable clips and still keep the presentation a reasonable length. It was a huge job but it turned out so very well. Then Tim made enough sets of DVD's to share with many family members. This was his way to thank everyone for their contributions to this wonderful yearly event.

Ron & I planned our last big lip sync. It seemed appropriate to use Cindy Lauper's "True Colors" to describe my sweet husband who is the most gentle, kind, tough guy in the world. Yes, sometimes he comes off as an Ogre!

He made his entire costume – including his leggings and gloves of green. It was fun. There were lots of fun acts this year.



We were so looking forward to Mike and Cynthia's special presentation that they had practiced for months – but after spending one night at the River Romp – the heat was too much and Mike had to go home. Cynthia and I had fun swimming for a while before they had to leave. Learn all about Mike's speedy recovery on Cynthia's blog.


All of our grandchildren were there – and one of our great grandson's. They all helped out with the cooking and enjoyed the fun of horse back riding, fireworks, swimming, paddle boats and the sock hop too!

Vicki's youngest son, Jared Michael came home with us to spend a few days after the River Romp.

It's as good as summer can get when we get to enjoy our family and friends. Thanks again to Ulf & Pet and the Kahn families who make it happen every year!

Great Anniversary Celebration

Ron & I had a perfect Anniversary Celebration – from the moment we got up – and looked outside to see a gift placed nicely on Ron's outdoor kitchen counter!

This gift promises a great water fight will shortly ensue. We will try to keep it out of the kitchen (inside) this time!



After I took Ron for a walk at Orchard Heights Park where I was hoping to spot the fledgling birds of prey I had seen the day before (they were gone) we went to the Saturday Market where Ron bought me a beautiful bouquet!

Next we went to the Capitol Grounds for a walk to see the State Flags and beautiful landscape. We haven't been there for a long time. I love the fascinating "umbrella trees".



Then we went home with beautiful fresh garden greens from the Saturday Market and made a perfect salad for lunch. We only had an hour though and we were on schedule to go to the movie – X-Men – The Beginning! Wow what fun!



Ron kept his promise to cook steak, lobster and salad for our dinner. It was great! I learned after the dinner was over that my Sweetie had a very sore throat and had been faking a happy face all day. How Brave! I had a wonderful time and Ron was pampered over the next few days.

July is here Already

So much has happened since I last wrote. Father's day was so special with a big crowd honoring Fathers at a brunch in a lovely banquet place new to West Salem. Jesse and Alyssa had just arrived so they joined the rest of our children and friends Mike and Cynthia in a wonderful meal.

Jesse and his cousin Alyssa We were hoping Ernie could join us but he was delayed. He came to Salem for a few days to help my daughter and son-in-law with new flooring in their home. He is our expert. It was so much fun having Ernie, Jesse, and Alyssa stay with us for a few days. They took care of everything they could for Grandpa Ron. Jesse helped with upholstery, fixed Grandpa's truck's electrical problem, and helped Ernie go on the roof and plug a leak by the chimney. They are great kids.

Jesse, Alyssa, Ron and Ruth at the Farm to pick cherries

Alyssa said she had never been in such a big field of beans - "Take my picture"

Jesse has no problem telling us how much he loves us! How Special!

Alyssa Loves her Daddy - Can you Believe she is 22 now? Diana wasn't well enough to come along – but I am happy to report she is doing much better now. Her next Chemo treatment is July 8th and we hope it is much easier for her this time. This is a picture from their short visit in March for a relative's funeral.

Ernie and Dee Dee March 2009 On Saturday the 25th Ron & I took a day off and went to the beach! First he won $65 at the casino (lunch money) and then we went to our favorite place near Boiler Bay – lunch at the Surf rider. When I was a wealthy consultant we used to go there every Thanksgiving and include our whole family. What fond memories we have of those days!

Lincoln City had a Kite Festival going on!

Next we made our way to the Yaquina Head where we saw tens of thousands of seabirds gathering for their nesting season. The sound alone of that many birds talking at the same time is breath-taking. The sight of so many on the top of rocks makes this one of my favorite places to go. The Ocean was aqua blue, the wind was strong, but the views were spectacular!

Now we are looking forward to a quiet celebration of our 34th wedding anniversary on July 4th. I asked Ron to cook steaks and lobster for me – like he did when we were dating! What a Love He IS and boy can he cook! Life just gets better and better. Happy Fourth of July to our American friends – and Greetings and Love to those of you who reside else where in the World.

1980's Spiritual Renaissance

I'm going to take you back with me to revisit a period of time that was filled with an abundance of New Age Ideas, exciting possibilities, and thoughtful futuristic movement. It was another of those Life Changing times in our lives.

I was working in administration of a large dental group and several of my colleagues were involved in the concepts of "Holistic Health". I had resources such as "Brain Mind Bulletin", "Leading Edge Bulletin", "Journal of Humanistic Psychology" "Nexus Newsletter" and lectures by now World renowned leaders. I look back and feel so fortunate to have met and actually done workshops with the late Marilyn Ferguson, author of "The Aquarian Conspiracy" which became #1 best selling book in 1980. I never had the opportunity to go to college but the education I got participating by reading psychology, philosophy, history, and human resource development materials ignited my heart and soul with excitement and hope for the evolving human race.
My experiences included seminars by Deepak Chopra, Buckminster Fuller, Marilyn Ferguson, physicians turned Holistic Healers of the time Irving Oyle, and Brugh Joy.

Behavioral and evolutionary researcher Jean Houston, who pointed me to reading the works of paleontologist Teilhard de Chardin , Joseph Campbell master of mythology, Fritjof Capra author of "Turning Point", and one of my favorites to this day "Carolos Castaneda's" books revealing the mystical connection of all things.

I have underlined some of the above and with a click on the name you will be taken to a link with more information about each of these inspiring and captivating people. In 1980 we seemed to be awakening to a "one-ness" that lasted for such a short time. The historical pendulum continues to swing as we learn more about centering ourselves in the Universal Unfolding of things.

To feel alive and connected to something much bigger than myself and to all beings, plants, animals, and Mother Earth is my greatest joy in life to this day.

Ron & I felt incredibly honored to be able to share our excitement for life with a young woman who traveled from Sweden as an exchange student – our Swedish Daughter and love of our life – Maria. We celebrated Maria's 16th Birthday with her in 1980 just a day before Mt. St. Helens blew her top! It was an exciting time indeed.

We always have loved teenagers for their enthusiasm about life and their undaunted faith in a better future. Maria came to stay with her Uncle Ulf and Aunt Pet, in exchange with their son Erik who had stayed with Maria's family as an exchange student to Sweden. When Maria wanted to experience the "City Life" they were so generous as to allow her to spend the last few months of her year long stay with us. We shall be eternally grateful.

Maria, you taught us so much! Even though you didn't succeed in teaching us to speak Swedish – you made our world much larger with your courage and experiences.

Maria had graduated high school in Sweden and came to do her Senior Year in America.
We were amazed at her enthusiasm for learning. We still had our two boys at home with us and they were less enthusiastic about school and learning. Maria became deeply entwined in my work and my reading and studies and when it was time to write a paper for her class in creative writing – she choose the topic of "Holistic Health" and wrote a brilliant paper in her second language – English – that earned her an "A". She became involved in the Ski Club, and brought other exchange students home to meet us. We met Kathy from Australia – and took her camping with us "in the bush". She was surprised to find only deer – no kangaroos in the "bush"! We met another young woman from England who delighted us by carefully eating her pizza with a fork and knife, stating that, "me Mum would kill me if I picked up food with my hands".

Maria made Swedish Meat Balls for us – requiring white pepper and a search for Lingonberry's found only in Sweden but a must to accompany Swedish Meat Balls!

In the years to follow, Maria and her family would visit many times – always blessing us with a greater understanding of the world we share.

The first time Maria left us to go back home – I thought my heart would break! Just before boarding the plane home – she turned back and said, "Think of it this way, you are not losing a Daughter, you are gaining a bedroom!" You were right Maria, that "bedroom" has sheltered many other's since 1980 and we have loved and treasured it all!

Match-Maker Make Me a Match

It was such a delightful surprise last week when I received a phone call from our "Match-Maker" who was in Salem for the evening. In 1974 Jan was one of my very best friends in this part of the country. I moved to Salem in 1968 to work while my first husband went to Willamette University. When I applied for a dental assisting job, it was Jan (the office manager) who interviewed me. We met at White's Restaurant (still on Commercial Street in Salem) just across the drive from that office location at 1111 Liberty Street S E.
I was surprised, but pleased when Jan hired me without even consulting the two dentists that she worked for. They came to eat while we were at White's and she pointed them out to me. I liked her so much I could not imagine that my acceptance of the job would be anything but a great decision. And that it was. I worked for the Wold brothers for 14 years all together – long after Jan moved to Astoria, Oregon where she and her new husband ran an upholstery and home decor business.
These two dentists I found were among the finest and most respected dentists in Oregon. They both took turns as "President" of the Oregon Dental Association and were active in the executive boards of the organization. I learned so much from Jan I could never repay her. After she left I took her place in the "Business Office" and learned full cycle bookkeeping, scheduling, production control, communication skills and all the things that lead to a life long career in dentistry. I was a receptionist, bookkeeper, business manager, group practice administrator, and eventually graduated to run my own consulting business helping dental practices learn the skills I had developed through years of experience.
I retired my business in 1996 after writing 3 books and publishing one instructing dentists in leadership skills. I loved my work and it was so very hard to leave it behind. I grieved for my loss for at least 7 years. But now when I look back at the old pictures and remember the important things – I know that it was not my career that was so important – it was the people along the way. People who gave me so much knowledge – people with whom I struggled – people who challenged me and made me learn and grow. The things I remember as "most important" now are the jokes we played on each other, the laughter, the April Fools Tricks we pulled off together – the companionship we had along that path that defined "Careers". It was the journey along the path that brought the rewards and the greatest joy to my heart as I grow older.
The frosting on the cake, Jan, was that you introduced me to your fine employee and upholsterer, Ron, on a visit to see you at Thanksgiving of 1974. You probably had to twist his arm to convince him to be my date for one evening. You told me he only dated blonds – so when I first met him – I confessed "I'm not blonde, but I'm dumb, will I do?"

I did do and we are happily about to celebrate our 34th anniversary on July 4th 2009.

Thank you Jan, for all you have been in my life – and thanks for coming back to make sure your Match-Making was successful! We look forward to seeing lots more of you in the near future.

Raccoon Visit

Ron & I were swinging on our favorite lawn swing looking over our domain Saturday when suddenly we saw something big running up the sidewalk with such speed we thought sure it's intention was to jump right into our laps.

Realizing that it had a funny mask and ringed tail we decided it may not make a good pet!

Ron stood up and waved his arms and shouted at the animal which then turned on its heels and obediently went up the tree just as Ron instructed it to do! It is obviously a young Raccoon – so we hope it doesn't try to invade Sitka's territory to eat her dog food!
Our garden it planted with 8 tomato plants, 2 zucchini, 2 red bell pepper and two green, cucumbers, and lots and lots of onions!

Ron's favorite snack is ONIONS! Hope they grow well!