My "O" State Friend Comes To Visit!

Here are photos from my visit with my sweet friend Linda.


Her plane arrived from Tulsa via Denver at 8:45pm.


The next day we made Vanilla Ice Cream with my Cuisinart Ice Cream maker and she enjoyed it so much that when she got home she ordered one.


She sat with Larry and looked through photos of his trip to Africa in 2009.


We visited Vintage Roost, the shop where I sell my cards.


The three of us made a trip to the Coast, we had lunch with my Dad and Phyllis in Florence, OR then headed up the Coast to Newport.


Lunch with Phyllis and my Dad.


Linda and Larry checking out the surf on the North Jetty of the Siuslaw River in Florence, OR.


As we drove up the coast we made a stop near Sea Lion Caves. The lighthouse in the background on the left is Heceta Head (Ha-Sea-Ta).


A zoomed in photo of Heceta Head Lighthouse.


This bridge carries Hwy 101, the coast route. We crossed that bridge, then we made a circle and drove under it to get to the beach where Heceta Lighthouse is located.


Along the way we stopped for a hot beverage and I introduced her to Mexican Hot Chocolate, yum. We liked the way the barista covered the drink opening so nothing would splash out getting it into the car...


Another stop to take photos along the drive.


We crossed over the Newport Bay Bridge into Newport.


One of my shots may make it onto a Studio Meringue card....


This is the Yaquina Head Lighthouse in Newport.

We left Newport and drove east; back into the valley.


We made a quick stop in Corvallis so that Linda could see the "other" OSU stadium. Linda is an Oklahoma University - Sooner fan NOT an Oklahoma State University fan.


Self-timer photos before heading to the airport.


Larry's way of saying good-bye to Linda!


Linda with a new bag our friend Donna made for her.


For lunch we stopped at The Charthouse in Portland. It is a restaurant that Larry and I would pass on our way up the hill to OHSU hospital during my treatments. It was a super treat when I was finally well enough to stop there and eat. We've been back several times and thought Linda would enjoy the panoramic view of Portland. She had Gazpacho soup and the dish is came in was a pretty interesting shape... Neither of us had ever had this type of soup (which is served cold). I tasted a spoonful and it was very good, kind of like eating salsa with a spoon.


Lunch at The Charthouse, Portland


View of Mt. Hood from where I was seated at the restaurant.

So, to sum it all up, we had a wonderful time. Relaxing, drinking coffee, making ice cream and rustic bread, sharing stories and recipes, sightseeing and staying up late talking. Girl things!

flojo

Cookin' Up Some Past Memories

Larry and I had to fill out a questionnaire for our home designer and one of the questions asked was this:
"Describe the physical and emotional qualities of the house and landscape where you grew up."

I wanted to share with you that I wrote about the stove/oven that we had in the house I lived in from 1965 - 1973. The years when I learned to cook and bake. And for some reason after all these years I've remembered that the maker was "Tappan." So for fun I googled Tappan stove with pull out burners.

I love Google; here is what I found:




I think Google said that Tappan came out with this stove in 1959. The drawer of burners would slide in and out and more than once my siblings and I got our fingers pinched while sliding the drawer of burners back in. As a 10 - 12 year old just learning how to cook, I thought this stove was soooo space-age modern!

I learned that a few years later Frigidaire came out with their copy of the Tappan and called it the "Flair." Tappan sued but I don't remember the outcome. Here are a couple of photos of the Flair:


And it came in PINK too!


Happy cookin'
Have a great weekend,
flojo

My Friend From Another "O" State...

I just looked through my blog for a story of when my friend Linda from Oklahoma came to visit. I can't believe I didn't write anything! I was sure I did, but I can't find it so if you've heard this before, you'll know that I must have written about it before! ahhahha

Years ago, when I sold Longaberger baskets, I joined an email group of about 20 women that either sold Longaberger or were LB baskets lovers. About 12 of us still communicate by email as a group. The "Basket Loop" was started in about 1997! (I just know I've written about this before!....) Anyways, a few of us had met when we attended the LB conferences in Ohio back in 1997 and 1998. But a lot of us have still never met face to face. In October of 2004 we planned a trip to get as many of us to meet in Ohio as we could for a few days and go to the LB factory and to the town of Dresden where LB got its start. By the time the trip was upon us, only 3 committed to going. Myself, Linda from Okla. and Meg from Ohio. So we dubbed ourselves the 3 girls from the "O" states. We had a great time together. Meg and I had met before but I had never met Linda. Linda and I hit it off like we had known each other forever. Well, I guess we had kind of known each other for 7 years just not in person!

November of 2010 Linda flew to Oregon to see me. She flew in one afternoon, stayed overnight and then flew back home late that night. We didn't have time to do much, but we filled every hour with talking and visiting with some of the friends I've talked about to her over the years.

She's coming back out to see us next week. We pick her up on Monday night at 9pm, and she'll fly back home on Thursday at 3:00pm. Another quick trip but staying 3 nights, so we are going to take her to the coast for one of the days.

She and her husband and another couple own an oil well drilling supply store in Oklahoma and she's in charge of the office. She's the only one that does the invoicing, so she can't be gone but a couple of days from her job. Here is a photo of us from 11/2010:



Ha! And look, there are Longaberger baskets in the photo too.... Can't wait to see my sweet friend again!

Blog at you later!
Flojo

Six Month Check-up

Last July my numbers were:
White Blood Cells 5600 (4000 - 11000)
Red Blood Cells 3.66 (3.9 - 5.2)
Neutrophils 2.9 (1.9 - 8.0)
Platelets 141 (130 -400)

At my January 2012
White Blood Cells 5800 (4000 - 11000)
Red Blood Cells 3.79 (3.9 - 5.2)
Neutrophils 3.0 (1.9 - 8.0)
Platelets 145 (130 -400)

So everything is inching upwards. Dr. K said that I look fabulous! I have just one more six month appointment, then I go on the yearly plan! In June of this year, I'll be 5 years in remission from Acute Myloid Leukemia! I was thinking yesterday of when I was deep in the middle of it all and had the thought, "It's going to be so crazy to be sitting at home years from now thinking about all this, and time will have gone by so quickly!" And it sure has....

Love, flojo