While Mark has been laid up with a broken foot, he decided to do some painting. He is a gifted artist, and he utilized his talent by depicting the history of our little town of Philomath. The painting, done in acrylics, was done on an antique cross-cut saw. Click on the pictures to see the amazing detail.
Philomath's history is heavily tied to the timber industry, so the first picture is of a logging truck. Next comes the Harris covered bridge, followed by the original school house.
Next in the lineup is the Moses Brothers store, once located on Main Street. Locals will recognize the name Vina Moses, and it was fun to learn that she was part of the family that owned this store for more than 50 years. (Be sure to click on this one to see the people in front of the store and in the delivery wagon!) The next structure is probably the most recognizable in our town: the Philomath College building. Now housing the Benton County Museum, this is one of the founding buildings in Philomath.
The final two buildings depict the United Brethren Church, part of the denomination that founded the college, and finally the train depot. This project took Mark most of three weeks to complete, and he's decided to enter it in the county fair. But whether or not he wins a ribbon, it's been wonderful for him to be busy painting and using his "down time" in such a creative way. Way to go, honey! It looks AMAZING!

Almost forgot...

A few days prior to Mark's bicycle accident (which caused him to have two broken bones in his left foot), we returned home from spending a few wonderful days in the Wallowa Mountains of Northeastern Oregon. Since the accident, our lives have been busy with x-rays, doctor appointments, crutches, learning to navigate the world on one leg, doing some double-duty around the house for me, etc. And in the busy-ness of it all, I forgot to post some pictures of our trip. We are so thankful we could enjoy that time together before the wheels fell off the wagon, so to speak! :-) It's so crazy that we'd never before been to the Wallowas. We'd heard that the area was beautiful - after all, it's nicknamed Oregon's Switzerland - but we had no idea just what we'd been missing. The fun sign above marked the entrance to the little town of Anatone, which is north of our destination.
Arriving in Joseph, Oregon, we were greeted by this sign.

Frank McCully was the founder of Joseph, and served as mayor for a time in the later 1800s. And we didn't know this prior to our arrival, but the bed and breakfast where we stayed is the former McCully home. That made us feel so historic!
The lake is gorgeous. Sort of banana-shaped, and fed by the water from the gorgeous mountains that tower above it.
This old deer was meandering down the road by the state park which is at the south end of the lake.
We decided to ride the tram to the top of one of the mountains. It looked like it might rain, but except for a very brief shower on our arrival at the summit, it was beautiful.
We had no idea that we would be greeted by snow at the top! But we're tough - we can handle it!

There were so many squirrels - or are those chipmunks? Very cute and tame - not afraid of us at all.



There is a lodge at the top of the tram, with a nice restaurant.
From the restaurant you can see the lake and watch the tram cars arrive.
Mark enjoyed a burger, while I had a wrap.


Riding the tram back down the mountain.

Joseph is a cute little town, full of history and quaint shops. This is the view looking south toward the mountains.
And here is looking north.
The next day we drove to Imnaha, where the only things to see are the store and the post office. But such a cute post office!
Below is the restaurant where we ate lunch.
We tried something new for an appetizer at dinner that night - fried dill pickles! And they were so yummy! They bread them with a light coat of crumbs, deep fry them, and serve them with a dill sauce. Fun!
Below is the bed and breakfast where we stayed.
It's called Belle Pepper's, as the owner's name is Belle, but as I mentioned above, it is actually the old McCully home.
They had a lot of chickens, too. And since we have four chickens, Mark was interested in how they had their hen house set up. We ate eggs from these girls both mornings at the B & B.
A view of the Three Sisters from our drive back home.
If you haven't been to the Wallowa Mountains, we would highly recommend it!

Baby A and Baby A

Over the Fourth of July Weekend, both of our sweet little grandchildren were at our house: Miss Adelaide Grace Dorr (3 months), and Master Ayeresam Jacob Dorr (12 months). We filled our little plastic pool with the hose, then supplemented that cold water with hot water from the house, and the little ones played. Well, Ayeresam played, while Adelaide was a bit more curious and cautious. Very fun times!
Little Adelaide with her Grandpa.
Not much beats the heat like water on a hot day.
Adelaide on the hammock with her Mommy Nikki.
Busy with measuring cups and funnels from the kitchen.
Adelaide didn't quite know what to make of the pool, but she was definitely a styler in her cute ruffled swim suit! Such precious times with such incredibly precious little people!

The Glad Game

June 30th was our 37th wedding anniversary. We awoke with high hopes for a fun-filled time on a beautiful Oregon day. First on the agenda was our usual four-mile walk. However, because Mark had been experiencing some pain in his left arch, he decided to ride his bike along our route, while I walked. We've done this many, many times, and thought nothing of it. When Mark rides, he usually pedals past me as I walk, then does a u-turn and comes back to me, then rides ahead again, etc., since he can obviously ride much faster than I can walk. It was on one of these u-turns that his bike slid out from under him on some gravel, and he went tumbling. Long story short - he broke two bones in his left foot, and will probably be on crutches for about four weeks. No cast, just a soft Velcro shoe.

The main result of his bike accident was the cancellation of our teachers' trip back East to study the Civil War by visiting many battle sites, listening to lectures, hiking the terrain, etc. We had planned to extend the trip on both ends by spending time in Atlanta and Savannah. We were due to leave today. Alas, it was not to be.

The Sunday prior to Mark's bike accident, the pastor of our church shared a story from his own life - a time when he suffered a broken arm the night before an important event. That accident actually changed the trajectory of his entire life. At first he was angry, and questioned God's wisdom in allowing this event to occur in his life. As time has progressed, however, he has learned to embrace the lessons God taught him through his own accident, and to accept the way God used those circumstances to shape him into the person God wanted him to be. Little did we know as we listened to this powerful sermon that just three short days later, Mark would suffer his own broken bones. The irony has not escaped us!

So... here we are. A bit disappointed, because we had SO looked forward to our trip together. And frustrated, because the crutches limit Mark's mobility, he is experiencing some pain, and the lovely month of July will come and go with Mark hobbling about.

Remember Pollyanna? She played the Glad Game. When seemingly bad things happened in her life, she tried to find something to be happy about in the situation. So today, I have been looking for the silver lining in all of this, and thinking about what lessons the Lord might have in mind for us.

We have much to be thankful for. First, the timing. Just the week before Mark's BIG WIPE-OUT, we enjoyed a wonderful pre-anniversary trip to the beautiful Wallowa Mountains, where we hiked in Oregon's "Alps," and spent wonderful time together.

Also, his fall occurred close to home. He is able to be treated by our own doctors and hospital. And this little disaster didn't happen during the school year. Mark has had several surgeries in the past during the school year, and it is SO hard to teach middle schoolers and negotiate the school hallways while on crutches. Sure it's hard to be on crutches during the "off season," but it has its advantages as well.

Second, the seriousness of the injury. Yes, he has two broken bones, but it could have been much worse. He was wearing his helmet, which probably prevented potential injury to his skull. He will be hobbling about for a while, but we thank God for His protection over Mark.

Next - there is definitely something to be said for just slowing down and enjoying life at a slower pace. One minute we were frantically planning our trip east, making hotel reservations and guided tour plans, and the next thing we knew, our entire summer was stretched out before us like a blank slate, unplanned and open. And there's something about that that's just delightful.
And so we count our blessings, and ask God to teach us everything He would like us to learn through this experience. I am praying that God would teach me more about flexibility and patience. And I am SO thankful for God's love and care. Mark plans to do some painting. And rest. And rest some more. And some more. He is a very good patient! ♥