WHO'S THAT KNOCKING ON OUR DOOR??

 It was our friend, Karen, from Port Orford!!  After a number of delays we had a lovely visit..........and it was a thoroughly delightful couple of days.   After Karen arrived and after showing her our new home, we traveled north a few miles to Oakland.  Had a good lunch at Tolly's.  If anyone get  over that way, they should try to stop by....even for just a look at this great refurbished business.  It was once a pharmacy although it looked like it was more.  Done in old Victorian decor now with a gorgeous winding staircase to the dining room upstairs.  They have some very good art hanging on the walls, cupboards of beautiful old china and dishes, lots of vintage old photos of past business, homemade pies and cakes, bread, quiches, and all kinds of other yummy foods.  I think the chatter with Karen never stopped as we caught up on all the old, new and future news.

My photo album on Facebook held all my photos of our remaining afternoon as we toured by foot, Oakland.  All the spring blooms were out along with the sun.......the fragrances, the charms of old well kept Victorian homes and cottages........surrounded by cottage gardens was a joy to the senses.  Dogs, birds, kitties, alleys that reminded me of the French Quarter in New Orleans and lots more.  It was a great afternoon and my camera went crazy with the clicking.  If you want to see anymore of Oakland, take a look            https://www.facebook.com/donnas1/media_set?set=a.10152541640583243.1073741847.741743242&type=3  

Our next day we went to a park that I've been wanting to check out for quite while.  Lots of all kinds of water birds.  So.........even though my forte is not photographing birds, there were enough and they were tame enough that even I couldn't miss!  And I saw my first nutria...........not the most beautiful of animals, are they?  But that Mama loved her baby that was hidden (sort of) in the reeds........Mama kept a close eye on us for quite a while.  and we kept our lens on her....All in all, it was a long overdue and wonderful visit with Karen.  I had traveled with her on a cruise to Alaska a couple of years back and we dream of a trip to Ireland some day.

I can hardly believe I'm half way through my VA Hospice training already!  It continues to be fascinating.  Last week was particularly a good one......on Spirituality.  My opinion is that spirituality encompasses the entire Hospice concept.  There are so many various aspects, feelings, and emotions that are drawn from that one topic and everyone in our group had something to add to the training.  It was said that when any of us, as volunteers, come across a possible spiritual need of our patient, that our own experiences (or lack of) pertaining to that need, will tell whether we can actually relate in a positive and meaningful way or not.  That might be anger, guilt, fear, etc.   And that really applies to any of us, I'd say.  And there is the difference between truly wanting to help the patient and coming from the heart or talking so as to boost our own egos, just wanting to fix things that aren't ours to fix.  Lots to ponder......letting our own experiences and discoveries from those experiences do the teachings.  Things that can't be taught from a book.  I love this training!!

Well, Easter is just around the corner and I wish you all a Happy One!!

A DAY OF SUNSHINE......

 We had a pair of our long time friends from Port Orford stop by for lunch last week.  So good to see them again!  We caught up on all the coast news.......unhappy though a lot of it was.....I sure don't miss that negative atmosphere, but all our friends.......ahhhhh.  Like a breath of fresh air.  The lovely couple above is Jim and Karen Auborn.........Karen has a lovely art gallery and is a marvelous artist.  I have a number of her paintings, which I treasure.  Karen has also done wonders in working for the Main Street Project in Port Orford.  Jim is mayor and I believe will be next year's Rotary president.  His plate is full!   Both are dedicated to working for the good of the city and it's citizens.  And I hope we see more of them on their way between Port Orford and Portland.........

 These last photos are sort of an experiment of setting flowers in ice and trying to get some interesting effects.  I don't know.......I think it needs a bit more work!   I got the idea from another photographer whose work I follow on Facebook.  His name is Mo Devlin, in case you want to look up his photographs.  I think you'll be impressed.....

The planting in the back yard is proceeding quickly......we had nice day the other day where I found out I still have some arthritis in my back..........But I got a number of seed packages planted......and 4 plants that I ordered from Michigan Bulb.  Those plants did not arrive in great looking shape.  If they don't make it, I'll be sending them back.  This has happened before so I should have known better than to order from them again.  But, who knows, they might make a beautiful comeback and be the best in the garden.

I've had my second week of VA Hospice training.......third coming up on Monday.  It's really a lot more different than civilian hospice that I've been in before.  But just as fascinating.  And the other day I had to have the VA Police try their hand at getting my fingerprints.  In case any of you might remember, I went through 6 different Curry County deputies, each trying to get acceptable fingerprints about a year ago...no luck!  So, I expect the same will happen here.  They still need to send them in to where ever they go, to give me a number, then I'm sure I'll be hearing from them again asking me to come in for ink prints........which will again be an effort in futility.  But who, I ask, would have the same scars along with what's left of my fingerprints??  It just seems very silly to me and a waste of time........at least all these multiple attempts.  The saga will continue.......

Part of my Hospice reading was this tome for HIPPA.  It's dealing with the Federal laws protecting privacy and security of patients.  After reading it 'forever', I'd deem it an excellent replacement for Ambien.  Boring, boring stuff..............Thankfully, that's over and the rest will be great.  The other volunteers in training all seem to be really nice people.  Some are already involved the health field and others have had family in need in the past.  They now want to extend their knowledge and experience in a meaningful and very much needed way.  Like I said.......Really nice people~!

Well......the weekend's coming up and I hope you all have a good one.  With enough in between possible rain showers to give you a breath of spring!