it's Saturday...

Low in the grave He lay,
Jesus my Savior,
Waiting the coming day,
Jesus my Lord...

...to be continued

A New Toy

For years now, Mark has wanted a new riding lawn mower. He used to use his dad's old tractor mower, but that one has long since died. So, after months of careful, methodical research, he settled on a Husqvarna, and it was delivered this afternoon. And of course, it needed to be initiated on our lawn right away. Here it is, in all its glory.
I watched him for a while out the window, and more than once I caught him with a smile on his face. Mark has a bad knee (two, actually, but one has already been operated on), and this little mower will really help save his knee some wear and tear.
Oops! There he goes, around the corner! Have fun, honey! I love you. Enjoy your Husky!!!

Out yonder in the back forty...

Over the course of the past two months or so, we have been doing some work in our back yard. Our home is situated on a lot which is nearly a half-acre in size, but prior to now, about half of our back yard was pretty much unusable, as it was overtaken by brush, blackberry bushes, and assorted piles of debris. We hired a guy to do much of the brush-clearing, and Mark also worked alongside him to do a lot of the work himself. And, slowly but surely, it's taking shape. I don't have any "before" pictures, but for those of you who have been in our back yard, you'll definitely notice a difference in these "after" shots.
Above is a view from Hannah's upstairs bedroom window, looking at the center portion of the back property line. You can see the platform for the tree house. We tried to leave many of the trees, only taking out the rotted and/or junky-looking ones. From the dark line on the grass and beyond that line is where the new grass is growing in the newly-cleared portion -- click on the pics to see more detail. And we love that we can now see beyond our property line to the field beyond. Makes us really feel like we live in the country. Yee Haw!!!
Here is a view of the right-hand side of the yard. Again, the new part of the yard is where the dark line in the grass is, and on beyond that point. The dark spots in the "old" lawn are where we have put additional soil to help level off low spots in the lawn. New grass should be sprouting there soon.
We wanted to fill in some areas along the creek with more evergreen plants. Here are some trees, and a daphne plant, whose blossoms are heavenly fragrant.
This picture was taken from the front yard, where you can see the corner of the porch that is closest to the creek. We planted some arborvitae plants there, which will eventually provide a privacy screen from our neighbors across the creek.
Our dear dog Molly's grave marker was left in place just as it was.
Looking across the creek - you'll see a few more plants we've put in place - our Christmas tree, which we bought live for replanting, and a rhododendron.
Yet another view along the creek. You can see several more new rhodies planted.
A ground-level view of the far-right-corner of the back yard.
The tree fort - as yet unfinished. Some day it could be a fun place for grandchildren to play!
Mark planted two filbert (hazelnut) trees in the back yard, too. It might take a few years before we have nuts on them, but it will be a happy day when we have a harvest!
He planted two camellia bushes, one on either side of his tool shed.
An apple tree on the left side of the yard. Supposedly, this one tree will bear three different types of apples!
More arborvitae along the left property line, again to provide more privacy.
And out front, we put an arbor, with a clematis plant growing up each side. The flowers on the clematis are very lovely and fragrant, which will be nice this summer. So - that's it from the Dorr compound for today!

Our mini-vacation to Southern Oregon

We just arrived home from being away in southern Oregon for three days, where we had a great time. On our way south on Monday morning, we stopped at The Oregon Vortex and the House of Mystery. You would think we would have stopped there before, considering our many trips through the years along the I-5 corridor, but it was a first for us. Apparently, it is an area of naturally occurring visual and perceptual phenomena where a whirlpool of force causes improbable things to occur. We went on the tour, and were actually quite impressed!

The House of Mystery, on the same property, is also pretty amazing. Things are not as they first appear (up seems down, and down seems up, and gravity seems to be defied), and it was fun to participate in the guide's demonstrations.
Later that day we ventured to the pioneer town of Jacksonville. The staff at our hotel in Central Point recommended the Jacksonville Inn for our dinner, and we are so glad we followed their suggestion. We learned that many celebrities have either eaten or stayed at the Inn, so we were in good company. Famous people include: George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Ginger Rogers, Jewel, Kirk Douglas, Joan Baez, Kirstie Alley, Julio Iglesias, Bill Gates, Dan Rather, and the Grateful Dead, among others. And the food was super delicious!
On Tuesday, we headed a bit further south to Medford, where our first stop was the headquarters of Harry and David. Of course their store was full of their products, but I think Mark liked the truck out front best of all.
After that we went on to Ashland, to the Angus Bowmer Theater, where we watched the play, "The Music Man." It was excellent. It was a sold-out performance, and many families with children were in attendance. The play was filled with delightful singing and acting.
The two stars of the play.
And then today we headed back to Jacksonville. We really like that little town! Today we went through the Jacksonville Museum, with its accompanying children's museum next door, and then we toured the Beekman House, where one of the town's founding families lived. The house is fixed up to represent life in about 1911, and is filled with the original family's belonging and furniture. Lovely!
The Beekman House.
It's always good to be home, but we carry happy memories of our mini Spring Break vacation.

A Colonoscopy, or... now I know how a Muppet feels

Warning: this post may contain TOO MUCH INFORMATION for those of you with a, shall we say, ''weaker" constitution!

Oh, the joys of growing older. At my last routine physical in January, my doctor recommended that I schedule a colonoscopy. This procedure tests for colon cancer and other diseases by allowing the doctor, using a colonoscope, to look inside the colon (part of the large intestine), take pictures, and take samples of any abnormal areas. And after age 50, people should have a colonscopy every ten years. Well, yesterday was my day.

The preparation for the procedure is pretty crazy. It involves fasting for almost 48 hours prior to going to the hospital, drinking a LARGE amount of vile, oily stuff, taking pills to "empty" you, and - bonus! - an enema. Mark was very supportive (he'd been through the procedure several years ago, so was very empathetic), and yesterday he drove me to the hospital for my appointment with destiny.

And, actually, once the prep was completed, the rest was easy. The reason is that I was "put under" for the procedure. I'd read a lot about what was going to be done to me, and the doctor explained it to me as well before he did his thing, but I remember nothing after I was given the sedative via my IV portal. Next thing I knew, I was back in the recovery room. The doctor came in soon afterward and told me I have an "excellent colon". And then he said the five most welcome words I'd heard all day: "See you in ten years."

Regardless of the discomfort of the prep for the procedure, I would encourage everyone of a "certain age" to be diligent about getting a colonoscopy. No one ENJOYS a colonoscopy, and I can definitely see where someone might put it off because of the preparation for the procedure, but it could save your life. Colon cancer is the second-leading cause of death (next to lung cancer) for both men and women in the United States.

And that's the end of this public service announcement!

Hey, gals! Ready (or not) for swimsuit season?

OK. It's pouring down rain in Oregon these days, but one quick glance at the calendar will shock you into the realization that it's not too long before the arrival of that dreaded swimsuit season, a.k.a. summer. Are you ready? Here's how to tell: click on this web site and let the fun begin. Create a 3-D model of yourself and personalize it with your own body type and features (you can even upload a picture of yourself if you really want to make it yours). Type in your current weight and your goal weight. You can then try on various styles of swimsuits to see which one best suits your body type. I like the one that claims that "full bottom coverage is butt-slimming," or the one that assures me that I can "bring up the rear with Lycra."

Or maybe I'll try to find one of these hot little numbers like women wore when they went swimming in 1858.

Johanna needs...

So, what you do is go to Google, and type in your name followed by the word "needs." Thus, in my case, I typed in "Johanna needs." Then write down the first ten things that pop up. Pretty funny. Also, it's weird to me to see that there are apparently several other Johannas out there - I thought I was pretty much the only one. Here are my results:

1. Johanna needs your phone number
2. Johanna needs to finish her paper
3. Johanna needs this loan
4. Johanna needs thicker skin
5. Johanna broke her phone and needs numbers
6. Johanna needs a room
7. Johanna needs to add some contacts and favorites
8. Johanna needs new editors
9. Johanna needs a haircut, badly
10. Johanna needs the work

OK, so then I just had to see what my dear husband needed. Here's his list, according to Google:

1. Mark needs a chick (and Johanna says a definite NO to that!)
2. Mark needs an Oscar
3. Mark needs a job
4. Mark needs to breathe
5. Mark needs to look south for inspiration
6. Mark needs your help
7. Mark needs to keep in touch with the people who really matter
8. Mark needs a team
9. Mark needs a new tattoo
10. Mark needs encouragement

I'd love to read what y'all need, too!