Monday, August 12 and Tuesday, August 13

One more Portland post!  

Monday was back to the regular morning schedule - sort of.  I packed Brennan's lunch for summer camp, and he and Mike left.  Tasha was still feeling sick, and since she works with food prep we thought it was better for her to stay home. 

Jeremy was back to work!  Most of the time from home, but he also went to the office a couple of hours.  Listening to the way he manages and troubleshoots, I really do not know how they did without him the previous week! 

Later in the afternoon Jeremy and I went to the store to get the ingredients for a dessert.  On the way home we stopped at Christy's house so I could see it.  Jeremy had selected most of her furnishings and decor.  But of course I forgot to take pictures. 

Her dining room window looks out over her deck.  Her dog (a brother to Lily) was watching us.

After the tour we sat on her deck for a while.  What a lovely, peaceful  setting!! 

While we were there Mike texted Jeremy that his throat hurts.  Oh dear!

So the dessert we were making was Jeremy's brainchild.  He thought the frozen berry fluff would be even better with raspberries.  He chopped lots of raspberries. 

He also thought it would be good to have dark chocolate over top of the graham cracker crust.  So Christy melted the chocolate and spread it on top of the crust I had made.  We put it into the freezer to cool off. 

Meanwhile I was beating the egg whites and sugar and raspberries.  The bowl wasn't even big enough!  More about the results later!

When everything was cleaned up Jeremy and I sat down to watch some episodes of a show on Hulu.  We knew it would be our last evening to be able to do this.  I think it was midnight when we finally said goodnight.

But guess who I heard loud and clear at 5:15 am.  "DAD!"  I knew Mike was sick, and I didn't want Jeremy to have a setback, so I got up to see what I could do.  I convinced Brennan to come down to the family room and sit with me on the couch.  We looked through a lot of the videos I have taken.  He loved seeing Elizer, and of course he loved the ones of himself on previous visits.  

Jeremy had an idea.  They had a bloodwork order for Brennan that they had never had done.  We would go to the medical center to do that, then have breakfast at nearby Gateway Breakfast House.  Brennan was delighted at the breakfast idea.  We weren't completely forthright about the bloodwork.  

The medical center was quite empty at that hour of the day, and the staff treated him like a prince.  It did not take long at all, and he was so brave.  And very proud of his bandaid. 

THEN we went for breakfast.   We had a really good time together.  I was so glad to have this chance to be with Brennan.  

Jeremy was very relieved to have that bloodwork order completed.  One more thing off his to-do list. 

We dropped Brennan off at summer camp and went back to the house. 

Tasha was still not feeling well.  Mike went to the preschool where he is the director to get things in place, then he came back home and went to bed.  

Jeremy went to work.

I made rice krispie treats topped with chocolate and butterscotch chips.   Waaayyyy too delicious!  

I did some loads of laundry and then started a pot of Ginger Sweet Potato Lentil Stew.  But I realized I had forgotten a few things I would need to put in at the end.  So after Jeremy came home from work he took me to the store. 

While we were shopping we got two sobering messages.  First Mike texted that he had taken a COVID test and was positive.  Jeremy told him to have Tasha take a test too.  She did, and she was positive as well.  

While he was managing those things with Mike, we got a message from Anthony that Lori's brother Gary had died in his sleep the night before.  I will never forget that store we were in.  

We picked up Brennan from summer camp and came home. I finished my soup, then Christy came for dinner.  Both Mike and Tasha came to the kitchen with masks on to get their soup and took it to their rooms to eat.  I told them the soup has lots of ginger in it, which would be good for them.  And if I could figure out how to put zinc and echinacea in the soup too, I would! 

Then it was dessert time. Talk about fancy!!

The hilarious part was that we had not thought what would happen to that layer of dark chocolate over the crust.  It was frozen like a brick.   The crust was like bark candy - very delicious, but impossible to eat with the fluff.  We'll know after this to just drizzle the chocolate over the crust instead of putting a thick layer over it.  

This was my last dinner picture.  

I spent the rest of the evening finishing my packing and arranging my Lyft ride for the wee hours of the morning. 

I took this picture of the downstairs family room because I didn't take one the first day I came.   Notice those socks in the foreground?  That's where I put all those unmatched socks, haha!  I guess I should tell them!

So we of course wondered if perhaps Jeremy actually had COVID after his surgery when he was feeling so horrible those first few days.  Who knows?  We were really glad Tasha had stayed home from work Monday and Tuesday.  After finding out she had COVID they told her to stay home the rest of the week.  

I just wanted to get out of there!  At the same time I really didn't want to.  Jeremy and I both felt very sad when we said goodnight.  

Saturday August 10 and Sunday August 11

 

On Saturday, August 10, I was awakened very early by Brennan.  Yes, a Saturday morning!  When he wakes up it's hard for anyone to sleep because he talks very loudly, closes the bathroom and his bedroom doors loudly, walks down the steps loudly.  You get the idea.  I decided to see if I could do anything to help, and I found him and Jeremy already in the living room watching Olympics.  So I watched with them. 

That was ok for a while, but he was just not in an agreeable mood.   For most of the day.   He wanted Jeremy to cut his hair, so when that took place it made him happy for a while. 

His babysitter came to do something with him, but he was unhappy that she had not brought her nephews along. 

In the afternoon we took a little road trip to Salem for an appointment with their prescription subscriber.  Brennan did pretty well in the car. 

When we got back home I made Thai Chicken Peanut Noodle Salad for dinner.   Christy joined us for dinner.

In the evening Allison came over and we watched some exciting Olympics on the porch TV.

Brennan woke up as happy as could be on Sunday morning.  He helped me to make pancakes.  

After breakfast we took a walk to Tom's house so I could see it.  

 

Would you believe Tom took me through his entire house and I did not take one picture of it, not even the outside??   I did take this picture of Brennan playing with one of his French bulldogs.

And I took this picture through the front window.  I was being a stalker.  There is a Hallmark movie actor who lives across the street from Jeremy and Mike.  They know him personally.  So while we were visiting at Tom's house one of the guys said, "There goes..."  I knew my sister Doris loves Hallmark movies, so I tried to get a picture of him - pushing his child in a stroller. 

When we got back to Jeremy and Mike's house I took these pictures.  This is their house.

And this is their cute front porch.  This rocker was bought for Mike's mom in 2017 when she lived with them the summer before she died, so it's really special. 

Tasha was sick that day and pretty much stayed in her room the whole day.  Brennan's babysitter and her nephews came to play with Brennan.  I'm not sure where she took them.  

Christy had four tickets to an outdoor opera concert at a winery she's a member of.  Jeremy was feeling pretty good, and he wondered if I would want to go.  YES I wanted to go!  Mike said he would rather stay home and cook.  

So off we went!  We picked up their friend Claire along the way.  I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Christy and Claire.  They are around Lisa's age.

When we got to the winery it looked like we would need to park way out in a field.  Jeremy said, "My mom has trouble walking."  The guy said they have special parking for "that kind" close to the venue.  That cracked us up and they referred to me as "that kind" the rest of the day, hahaha! 

What a LOVELY setting it was!!  

The weather was perfect too.  The girls had brought our own little charcuterie board - actually a blanket, haha! And there were samples of wine of course. 

We were late and had missed the first half of the show, but that was ok.  I was just absolutely happy to be there and enjoyed myself immensely.  

When the concert was finished we stopped in at the nearby winery where Jeremy and Mike are members.  They had taken Dick and me there on our 50th anniversary a few years ago.  Most of the outdoor seating was already filled up, so we sat indoors.  We got a bite to eat and we talked and talked and talked.  Like I have said so often on this trip, I'm so thankful for the friends that are like family for Jeremy and Mike.  Jeremy has always been a "gatherer" wherever he has lived. 

 

When we got home the house smelled AMAZING!!  Mike had beautiful flowers in vases and candles burning.

And FOOD ready to eat! Chicken Masala Pasta, honey butter carrots, and a salad.  Isn't he something?  He was definitely in his happy place!

And this is how I found Brennan after an afternoon of playing hard.  He was already eating his dinner, but was having trouble staying awake.  What a dilemma!  He loves to eat!  And he did - with his eyes closed most of the time.   I sat by him and nudged him awake a few times for the next bite.  

He finished all his food and wanted more!  So we gave him a bit more, then helped him to get his teeth brushed, etc and in his bed.

Friends Tom, Evan, and Christy joined us for dinner, but I didn't think of taking a picture.  We had all this left over, but later Tasha came down from her room for some.  She loved it, and all the leftovers were mostly gone by the end of the next day.  

We were starting to feel sad that I had only two more days.

August 8 and 9 in Portland

This post will be about two days. 

On Thursday, August 8, I had a really active day!  I did a major cleanup/reorganization in Brennan's bedroom, and washed and folded many loads of laundry.  For some reason my right thigh decided this would be a good day for pain.  UGH!!  They live in a split level, so there are steps down to the laundry (and my bedroom and the family room) and steps up to their three bedrooms.  So I went many, many steps, often carrying laundry.  

At one point in the morning I did take a little while to sit on the back porch with my feet up.  It was so lovely outside. 

Here's something that someone had posted on Facebook.  I really love it and want to be able to find it, so I'm putting it here for you too. 

Also in my pictures from that day is this recipe which several FB friends had asked for.  I may or may not have sneaked a piece (or two) in the morning to make sure it was okay to serve as our dinner dessert, hahaha!  (See my previous post to see the picture of it.)

Jeremy thought he was feeling a bit better and wondered if I wanted to go for a little walk with him after lunch.  Of course I did!

Some pretty flowers we saw along the way.

This is the back of their friend Allison's house, just a few doors away from theirs. 

For dinner Mike picked up a Gyro kit from Cosco.  We still had so much of Mark's scrumptious tzatziki dip to use up, which would go perfectly with gyros. I quickly browned the beef and the wraps.  They were SO GOOD!!  Here's a picture I found on a Cosco review.  Now I want another one!

And then of course, we had frozen strawberry fluff for dessert.  And I had to confess that I had already had some in the morning, haha!  

Jeremy FINALLY had a call-back from his surgeon's office staff.  They gave him the number of the doctor that was covering for him.  That doctor listened to the concerns Jeremy had and determined that he might have a respiratory infection and prescribed an antibiotic which Mike also picked up at Cosco.  

We were very thankful for that as his fever got higher in the evening and he was feeling really horrible.  

After the others went to bed, Jeremy and I watched a couple of episodes of Call the Midwife.  

Friday, August 9, was Bianca's 10th birthday!!  I made this collage for FaceBook.  She is so beautiful and fun and FUNNY!!

I sent this sweet picture to Jenn and Steph and Sammy.  I had taken it the day after Bianca was born.  SO PRECIOUS!!!!!

Shortly thereafter Steph sent me this hilarious picture!!  I could NOT stop laughing!!!!!  These kids are an absolute hoot!!!!

Can you believe how kids grow in just ten years??

Again I took some time to sit on the back porch after the morning rush was over.  So serene and peaceful!

I washed another load or two and finished folding everything.  In the end I had all these unmatched socks, hahaha!!  

I went to the dogs that day, lol!  When I was eating lunch dear Lily wanted some so badly, but she is very self controlled.  She was satisfied with licking my face after I had eaten!  Watson jumps up for lap sitting and blanket cuddling as soon as anyone sits down. Actually, Lily does too.  They are both so sweet. 

Jeremy felt well enough to join us at the table that evening - first time all week!  Their friend Claire had taken Tasha out for a birthday dinner after work, so the rest of us ate some of the many leftovers in the fridge. 

Jeremy said it hurt to smile, but it was so nice to have him at the table.

It definitely did not hurt Brennan to smile!