Oh yes, I’ve moved from Tennessee to Oregon, and I’ve posted about the move, and the months of August – November 2020.
First, we had a national election:
We had a family Thanksgiving, where almost all of us could attend, including a few plus ones.
And just like that, it was Christmas.
Murfreesboro, TN is located at latitude 32.84. Roseburg is located at latitude 43.21. You would think I would have been prepared for what happens in December and January this far north. The sun only appears for a few short hours every day, and when you live on a north-facing slope, with tall timber behind you, the direct sun does not show her face for 2 long months. Plus that ubiquitous PNW rain.
Time for winter projects.
Then: a gun cabinet
Now: a Library
More visits from family.
Cut. Split. Stack. ad infinitum
Beautiful ceiling, but not much light.Winter landscape, before the grading.
This very good day.
Chanticleer, cock-of-the-walk
And one of his many ladyfriends
Scroll back up to: “…but not much light”
And that brings us to March. Stay tuned for more, and Thanks for reading!
First picture on the first day in the new house. Covid hair and all.
Second day. 3 of the 4 kids (plus their boos) arrived to celebrate the move! You knew this was coming. We have a total of 11 in the greater canine Jordan posse.
Roseburg is about 90 minutes from the coast, about an hour south of Eugene, and about 2 hours from the California state line. It’s home to the Umpqua River and Umpqua Valley. The Umpqua Valley is an agricultural, and more recently, wine-growing region.
The house itself was built in 1976, and while it’s not a “fixer-upper”, it has experienced several years of neglect and lack of maintenance.
One of the first and most exciting things we did was to remove the overgrowth of trees in front of the house.
This is what the view looked like in the morning…
And here’s video of the last tree they cleared. Exposed the beautiful valley below.
You can’t live in the cool damp pacific northwest without one of these!
And because I can’t manage without farm animals of some kind, we had baby chicks in the first week, and got baby goats in November!
The cuteness burns.
Glenda holding Pennsylvania, aka Penny, and Amy holding Georgia. Born November 3. =)
Son Sam and sweet squeeze Maddy came for a visit in November, and immediately set to work fencing to contain the goats and chickens. We were starting from scratch so it was a huge project. Nary an inch of fencing on the entire 5 acres when we got here. Now we have 5 contained areas crossfenced.
Sweet Maddy, PhD candidate when she’s not fencing.
The pants and boots tell the soggy story, but Sam got us there.
Then there’s the back deck. You can see the ivy was taking over. After pics to come.
Here’s a view of the side yard in September 2020.And here’s the view from the same spot in August 2021.
There have been some things to adjust to. One week after we moved in, in early September, the big wildfires of the 2020 fire season came. We had about a week of dangerous air quality, and wore masks outside. We even only let the dogs out briefly to potty.
Dramatic and terrifying. This was 10 days after we moved in.
Didn’t want you to forget we brought these guys along.
Bones, we like your choice of spots.
Visit from a precious friend in October.Can’t get enough of this.
Visit from precious family, because I LIVE HERE NOW.
The obligatory pic of the Grand, in his natural habitat.
We’ve blazed a trail up the hillside behind the house and have discovered our own little fairy glen. More pics of that as we work on it.
Some sad news too. We lost this old girl this year. The house is not the same without her snuffling self. We are so grateful for the 10 years we had with her.
Is this heaven? No, it’s Oregon.
I’m beginning to see my mistake. You can’t take a year’s break from your blog and expect to catch up in 2 posts.
I’m up to November 2020 in the telling. I’ll keep it going with more posts, until I’m caught up.
Thank you for playing along, and as always, thanks for reading.
It was my intention upon moving to write a happy blog post about the move out to Oregon, including the car ride with 2 dogs and 3 cats, and my first impressions of the house and town. That was my intention.
Now, as of Saturday, I’ve been here for one year. Yikes.
So this post will be in multiple parts: the transamerican journey will be part 1 and the year in the Oregon house will be Parts 2 and beyond.
PART 1:THE MOVE
I couldn’t have made the move without the kids’ help and support. The backstory is that I lived in Tennessee for 30 years. It’s where the kids were raised and went to primary and secondary school, and 3 of the 4 graduated from college. As they’ve grown into their professional lives, they have all opted to settle in the western US, with a preference for the PNW.
So with a fond, melancholy look back at Tennessee, with gratitude for what is behind me and what is before me, I made the decision to sell my farm and relocate to the state of Oregon.
The A-truck crew
Daunting view
The B-truck crew
And off they go
Leaving Tennessee was both a joy and a heartbreak. I left a little piece of my heart behind.
With the cats and dogs in tow, I left my home in Tennessee in the loving hands of the new owner Jacob (freethoughtdonkeys.wordpress.com) on July 28, 2020. And headed south, to spend a couple of weeks with my parents and brothers in Georgia.
One hour condensed into 38 seconds. Parents. Brothers.Same.
Then it was on to the northeast, where my honey was working in NJ.
Celebrated his 70th birthday a few days early.Stopped in Kansas to see beloved friend Darrel. Celebrated HIS 70th birthday a few days early too.
The Dakotas…
Don’t get it. Packed with maskless people and kitsch.
Visited Montana State dorm, where I lived one semester in college. Good times.
Stopped at Ben and Kirsten’s in Wenatchee, Washington. Granddogs River and Suzy.
I’m going to switch up my usual format of kittens, social distancing, nutrition, blahblahblah.
Because this week, everything changed.
I sold my house. I sold my farm.
I’m heading to the Pacific Northwest, to live nearer to my 4 adult children (don’t think you can get away from me that easily, my pretties).
And it’s been a remarkable experience.
I’ve had the house on the market since April. I had attempted to sell it last summer, and tried an auction, since the property is unique, and rural, and hard to comp. That was not even close to successful, not because the place isn’t totally wonderful, but because farm living, in an 80-year-old cottage, is not for everyone.
You have to love the solitude. You have to love the animals. You have to love the land, and the quirkiness of the cottage, and the history of the barns, and the work to maintain it all. I do. And I found a buyer who does too.
Of course, there are a thousand things that can scotch up the deal before it goes through, but that’s universal when the sale of real property is involved.
I’ll post more about the whole process as it develops. There’s no doubt there is a touch of the bittersweet. If you’ve read much of what this blog contains, you know I’ve enjoyed every moment of living here. But I’m beyond excited, ecstatic really, to begin this part of my journey.
In other news, we had a delightful 3 days with the grand. We ordered a 15-yard dumpster to clean out the barns and I’m mortified that we filled it. My honey picked up a new gig in NYC for the next 12 weeks. Did I mention I sold my house?
So here’s this week’s barrage of photos. I know it’s not the usual daily report. I’ve got packing to do.
A little canine on feline canoodling at Freethought
A little Americana with PopPop.
Don’t even tell me you’re getting tired of kitten videos.
Remember this family? The kids are almost grown now.
Sunset walkabout
I like my kittens windowsill-sized
Oh, we’re still in a pandemic, Black Lives Matter, and it’s 141 days until the election.
Start with a carpenter bee. Add its drilled hole in the deck.
I know. The light and angle are terrible.
Add a woodpecker at 6am.
There you have a delicious meal of carpenter bee larva for said pecker.
And a nice little mess on the deck.
That’s how my Monday started.
Tuesday, June 2. Day 79
Need to head back down to Atlanta to check on my folks for a couple of days. You know you’re not going to read a blog post without seeing pics of the kittens:
Helping me pack
Wednesday, June 3. Day 80
Spent the day driving down to south Atlanta. This billboard is in Dalton, GA on Interstate 85. If we flip Georgia in November, I might have to reconsider my belief in the supernatural.
I’ma have to ask for a citation
Thursday, June 4. Day 81
The new phone I had ordered for mother had arrived, and we spent the day getting it set up and getting her comfortable with it. It’s a struggle, but she tries so hard, and was able to order her groceries on the Publix app and get her delivery set up. Progress!
My dad, electrical engineer and retired Delta pilot, would like a book about how iPhones work. I teased him a little, til daughter Glenda found “iPhones for Seniors” available to purchase. Ordered and shipped.
Sweet mother
Friday, June 5. Day 82
Drove back to TN. Listened to My Favorite Murder podcasts all the way back. My honey had steaks on the grill as I rolled into the driveway. Summer has arrived in the south – hot and muggy, and just waiting for mosquitoes. But that also means tomatoes on the vine and lightning bugs, so I’d call it a wash.
Saturday, June 6. Day 83
Still no names.
Sunday, June 7. Day 84
The end of another week of social distancing. We’ll continue to isolate, and restrict our interactions. I miss the kids more than I can say, but I chat with them often and they’re all managing as well as to be expected.
The farm is beautiful – garden is blooming, grass and fields are green and lush, birds singing and tweeting, bees buzzing, oblivious to the utter chaos and pandemonium our nation is experiencing.
Totally dropped the ball on the blog this week. But that’s a win for everyone. No mundane posts about how my vegetables are growing or what the weather has been like.
Just lots of pretty pictures. Mostly of the kittens.
The two brothers. No names yet.
These guys have truly kept us entertained this week.
Tuesday, May 26. Day 72
Prissy Princess and her two brothers
Wednesday, May 27. Day 73
He loves them as much as I do
Thursday, May 28. Day 74
While we’re doing an entire week of pictures, here’s my daughter in Vegas with her social-distancing hair. I’m kind of loving it.
Friday, May 29. Day 75
Oh come on! How can you not love a bowl of kitty?
Saturday, May 30. Day 76
And unexpectedly, the honeybees have taken over my hummingbird feeders.
My googling has informed me that while they love this, it’s a less-concentrated form of sugar and dilutes their honey stores.
I’ll try to relocate the feeders to a sunnier spot so the bees won’t be as attracted. I don’t mind feeding them, but nectar makes their honey more appropriate for their winter food.
Sunday, May 31. Day 77
Today, I had the delightful opportunity to help a friend celebrate his 65th birthday, outside, social distancing observed. I ran by the store on the way to his house.
Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
It’s been a rough week. The pandemic, sure, but the horrifying death of George Floyd, and the militarization of the police forces in our cities as our citizens protest this injustice is brutally painful. Blogging about tomatoes and peppers, and how we’re managing the isolation didn’t hold the same appeal this week.
First day of no caffeine for a week. Mild headache, a little lethargic on our daily 3 miles. My honey, however, was a hot mess – headache, achy, took naps throughout the day, really didn’t feel like himself until late afternoon.
We had another showing today – 3 cars and 8 people. They were househunting for a long-distance relative who’s soon to relocate to TN.
Grilled steak and salad for dinner, and a wonderful RfRx session.
Tuesday, May 19. Day 65
Took our morning walk and were back at home before 9am. Decaf coffee again, and we both had a much better day.
Leftovers to clean out the fridge today. Roast beef with gravy, fat pork sausage, and a couple of BBQ chicken thighs.
And here’s a little update from a few weeks ago:
Remember this little family?
Wednesday, May 20. Day 66
I’m institutionalized.
I’ve made the decision to go to Georgia to check on my parents, and I’m an Anxious Amanda (trying to give Nervous Nellie a break).
My brothers live in my hometown, along with my parents, but they are both single, and just to be blatantly sexist about it, they don’t see what I see when it comes to our parents’ wellbeing.
But I haven’t left my house in 10 weeks, and I sure haven’t driven my car on a road trip in that time. I’m being irrationally neurotic – do I have air in the tires? wiper fluid? gas? oil? My car registration expired in April, because I didn’t take it to emissions because they have to get into your car for that procedure. If I get stopped, I’ll have to explain that, and take whatever citation they give.
Then there’s the visit itself. They’ve distanced, I’ve distanced, but we’ll still wear masks and visit on the porch and not share food or utensils. I’ll stay in the downstairs, that has its own entrance, and strip the sheets and clean the bathroom before I leave, in addition to asking my mom not to go downstairs for about 3 days afterward.
Thursday, May 21. Day 67
It hasn’t been too bad. Once I got on the road, and got the heebiejeebies out, I was fine. Turned on a podcast, put on my shades, and 4 hours later, I’m there.
Porch Picnic
They are managing, but not flourishing. Who of us is at this point? Dad’s memory is a real challenge, but between the two of them they get through the days. We do grocery delivery once per week, and have their medications delivered.
Georgia is one of the handful of southern states which doesn’t have a phased reopening plan. Their church is still not meeting, for which I’m grateful, but most stores and restaurants are open.
They’ve moved a couple of folding chairs to the driveway, so that when my brothers stop by, they can safely have a few minutes’ visit.
Sights in the time of corona
Mother’s 4-year-old iphone is deteriorating and she can’t access data, which is a hardship because it’s the only internet they have (for Facetiming and Zoom calls with the family, as well as streaming her church services). We’ve ordered her a new one, and I’ll zip back down when it arrives to get it set up for her.
Friday, May 22. Day 68
I mentioned my brothers live in our hometown. My older brother was out of town, but has recently had his kitchen rehabbed, so Mother and I took a trip over to see it. It’s gorgeous, but then this happened:
Prissy prissy Princess. Not me, the kitty.
He had a litter of kittens in his garage, and because I’m losing my 2 grown cats back to their rightful owner (my grandson), it was perfect timing to adopt this pile o kittens:
The grey point is female, b/w both male
After driving back home, they’ll ensconced in my bathroom for a few days of adjustment. No names yet – we’re watching their little personalities develop first.
Saturday, May 23. Day 69
Goofy pic of the best part of staying home. Steak and Truly don’t hurt.
Sunday, May 24. Day 70
Here it is Sunday again. Memorial Day weekend. Spring is about to transition to summer. We’ll continue our hunkerdown strategy for a while yet.
First zucchini of the season, just left of center.
Totally forgot about the No Caffeine week. I dropped the effort in my visit to my parents, but my honey continued, and his blood pressure has stayed a little lower than usual. He thinks he’ll continue it for a while.
3 showings today. Can’t get anything done, but it’s a good problem to have.
People seem to love the house (how can you not?), but still no offers. Living in an 80-year-old house is not everyone’s dream. That’s far more made up for by the glorious 8 acres with barns and pond and peace and quiet.
Corona hearings in Congress, listening in live to the Supreme Court arguments. All politics, all day.
I’m trying not to go off on rants here too much, so I’m going to just let this go. But it was cool as hell to listen in on SCOTUS oral arguments today.
Wednesday, May 13. Day 59
I’m the Executive Director of an international non-profit, Recovering from Religion. Our mission is simple and straightforward: To provide hope, healing, and support to those struggling with doubt and non-belief.
In the midst of the pandemic, we have implemented a new program we are calling RfRx: A Prescription for Coping. We have a guest presenter each week, and earlier sessions are available to watch on our Youtube channel.
If you are social distancing with religious family, and feel like you need a little help and support, please visit our website, call or chat with a trained agent, check out our Resource tab, and please join us on Monday evenings at 7pm central.
Thursday, May 14. Day 60
Tech people. I need you.
I need an app that lets me take over my mother’s iPhone. She’s 82, and tries very hard to manage her phone. She likes to play crosswords, she reads her church email to her, she can text, Facetime, and talk on the phone. She’s trying to learn to order her groceries, but that’s been a challenge. We just do that over the phone. She gives me her list, I Instacart, they get delivered.
She gets stuck. That’s her word for when she can’t figure out what to do. Sometimes an ad has popped up on her crossword and she can’t x out of it. Sometimes she gets into the wrong gmail tab. They’re all simple things to fix, but with her isolating in Georgia, and me here in Tennessee, it becomes a huge ordeal.
First, when she has a problem, I have to get her to put me on speaker so she can look at her screen while I talk her through the problem. They still have an old-school landline but it’s corrupted and sometimes it works and sometimes not.
Then we have to talk through getting to the problem screen.
Press the Home button.
The what?
The Home button – the button at the bottom that controls everything.
Oh, I remember that.
Now let’s find the app. Swipe left.
What?
Swipe left. We’re looking for the crossword app.
I don’t see it.
Ok, mom, describe the screen you’re looking at.
It’s the one with all the little symbols.
Can you find the one with the crossword symbol?
Of course, why didn’t you say that?
….
….
And on and on and on.
I’m making light, but it really is her line to all of the rest of the family, and if I had the phone in my hand it would be sooooooo easy to get her out of whatever she’s gotten into.
Friday, May 15. Day 61
Peonies!
Saturday, May 16. Day 62
Facetiming my girls in Nevada and Oregon. This I’m sure hasn’t been the longest I’ve gone without a visit, but I can’t hardly wait to make a trip out to see them!
Sunday, May 17. Day 63
Beautiful powerful rainstorm came through today. Sitting on the porch swing, watching it roll in, covering up with a blanket with the wind blows the rain toward me, hanging baskets swinging, chickens racing to get in the coop, grass and plants soaking up the drops, made this the highlight of the day.
We’ve been doing nutrition experimentation while we’ve been sequestered, because it’s been so easy to control our environment. So far we’ve done an Egg week, a Carnivore week, and our usual go-to, Keto. Next week we’re going to try a little caffeine-free experiment. We’re switching to decaf, but keeping our morning bulletproof coffee in place. We only usually drink one cup a day, sometimes 2, and we don’t drink soda with caffeine, so it may not be a huge difference.
When we closed out the week last week, we had just had a massive storm blow through middle Tennessee. I posted a couple of photos of limbs down and patio furniture strewn about. Today was clean-up day, so my honey and I got to work. I’ve taken about an hour’s project of chainsawing and wood-gathering and condensed it into this little clip:
Tuesday, May 5. Day 51
Another day of gardening and yardwork. 8 acres is a lot to maintain, even when 6.5 of it is pasture! I’ve mentioned I’m getting the house ready to sell, so it gives me a reason to justify my gardening habit.
Last month, after the late April frost, these little pansies were clearanced at Kroger – they’d been bitten by the frost (I guess they leave their outside plants out in the weather?). When I bought them they were pretty sad-looking and at less than $1 per pot, looked like they were destined for the compost pile.
Sweet little pansy faces
But they’ve all made beautiful progress – I didn’t even know the colors (still don’t on the last holdout), but they’ve become the brightest splash of color in the front garden!
Wednesday, May 6. Day 52
The highlight of my week is forever the weekly family meeting. As I zoomed and watched them in their environment, daughter Glenda in her art studio, painting as we chatted, Aden the Grand playing video games with his brothers, Amy at work in her office, Sam screen-sharing some research he had done, Eliott and I in the same room on different devices, and Ben not able to join because of his important public-defending, my heart aches to see them all in person.
Thursday, May 7. Day 53
The house went on the market at 10am, and we had a showing at 1pm! It ended up being only a realtor, but it still felt good to have a little action on the house. And we have another scheduled for tomorrow. I have loved this house – I often say if I could scoop up all 8 acres and take them to Oregon with me, I would. I hope the next owner will find all the joy and peace we have had here.
Friday, May 8. Day 54
What the hell, Tennessee.
I grew up in Georgia, and the saying there was Don’t Plant Til After Tax Day. In Tennessee, I’ve modified that to the 20th of April. Here’s what the ol reliable Farmer’s Almanac, said:
So I got to spend the early evening doing this:
Looks like a Scout Jamboree.
And here’s the thing: mid-30s is not just tonight – it’s for Saturday evening as well.
Here’s why I think I’m more than frustrated about it. In the midst of the StayHome effort, I’ve put so much into the yard and garden this year. It’s been delightful, and is a true pleasure, but it’s taken on more meaning this year. Any other year if we’d had a weird, late-season, crazy frost, it would just be a pain, and an ominous reminder of climate change. But this year it feels…more personal, I guess. Like, I can’t see my kids or friends, or do normal things, and I have to risk my pretty flowery and food things too? I know it’s an overreaction. Just the nature of what we’re going through.
Edit, post-Friday: Yes, it did indeed frost. Nashville recorded 33, but it’s always cooler out in the country, and there were frost on all the sheets just after sunrise this morning. Left everything on the ground to cover again Saturday night.
Saturday, May 9. Day 55
A clear, warm, sunny day. Hard to believe 2 nights of freezing temps bookended today. More mowing, planting, mulching, and generally soaking up the sun and spring. We relocated the hammock to the furthest part of the back yard – a delicious little spot to grab a moment to nap.
Sunday, May 10. Day 56
Mother’s Day.
Chatted with my mother, talked about what we would do if we were together. Brunch, shopping, sitting on the porch. *sigh*
Peonies, the Mother’s Day bloom, is just a couple of days behind, I’m sure because of the cool spring. We had a couple of showings today, so we’ll see where that goes.
Another week comes to an end. Still no plan. Governors, mayors, city councils, businesses, and families are having to make decisions about what their plans are in the absence of any federal action. We’ve chosen to continue to isolate, unless something changes with the house.
Happy. Healthy. Heathen. 