Mary Ann and I visited Portland in April 2016. We flew on Southwest, leaving on Thursday April 7. Mary Ann returned to Phoenix on the following Monday, and I returned on Wednesday.
Bob and Terry, Tony and Christi, and Ricci were all traveling in Europe on a Danube River cruise. We stayed at Bob and Terry’s, and used their car. Thanks much to Bob and Terry for that! We spent some more time with Mom on this trip, since she is needing a lot more care now, and her memory is so bad. We wanted to experience the ‘care giving’ in person. We visited her every morning for at least a few hours. On Friday through Sunday we were the ‘official’ care givers, since Becky wasn’t there in the mornings. We were also there on two days when Kathy, the palliative care nurse, was there (Thursday and Monday).
Other than time with Mom, we enjoyed visits with family. On Thursday Mike picked us up at the airport (thanks Mike!) and took us to Mom’s. On Friday morning we got to see Mallory and Lydia at Mom’s. On Friday evening we visited with Jim and family. On Saturday Bob and Garnet hosted a gathering, which was a lot of fun. We saw the Laws (Morgan, Nate, and Lydia), Jim and family, and Aaron Kenny, along with B&G and boys (Danny and Bobby). The food was excellent. Thanks Bob and Garnet! On Sunday night we had a barbecue at Bob and Garnet’s (after we golfed). Another great dinner!
I golfed twice. Once on Sunday with Bob and Bobby at Heron Lakes, and the other time with Bob at Rose City. It’s always a lot of fun to get some golf in when we visit Portland.
On Monday night I had dinner at Jim and Felicia’s. Felicia is a great cook as usual. Thanks! We watched the new Star Wars movie after dinner.
On Tuesday I had dinner at Mike and Mary Jill’s. Mike had gone crabbing and clamming at the coast over the weekend, and we had crabs and clams for dinner. Mmmmm – very good. Thanks Mike and Jill! Jill also gave Jim and I a birthday present of a framed copy of a telegram that Dad sent to grandma Lester when we were born. Thanks Jill! I had never seen it before, but it was in one of Mom’s boxes. I included a scan of it below.
I did take a couple of bird pictures in B&Ts back yard. They are common birds, but I included them. I liked getting the Black-capped Chickadee because we don’t have them in Arizona (though they are pretty common in Portland). He was singing his beautiful song (not the “chicka-dee-dee-dee” call). It was similar to the following:
I also took some ‘pictures of pictures’ from Mom’s room, which I included below. One is Dad’s Tom and Jerry mix. He used to make it for family gatherings like Christmas and Thanksgiving. Now it is Bob’s job.
Here are the pictures:
