Ashland Fire on Oak Knoll

Who would believe that in a small town with an over abundance of Police and the latest and best fire department coverage, that a simple fire started accidentally by a homeless man would get out of control, jump the Interstate and roar up our street demolishing 11 homes and damaging 4 others. When the firefighters finally got to our street, 3 homes were already engulfed in flames and we were running to get our car keys to get out!!! It was about 10 minutes before the first truck got there along with 3 helicopters! Within the hour there were 16 Ashland & out of town fire depts pumping water as fast as they could. As Esther and I walked back, everything was blocked so I circled back of our house thru the golf course and on the street behind our house and the smoke was so strong it appeared that our place was on fire. There were two firetrucks directly in front desperately trying to save the houses directly across from us. The only house still standing is the flat roof house across from our front door. The photo of the trucks I took at the corner where you go to the golf course. If you look thru the haze, behind the trucks are the large pine trees in our front yard. You can see the burnt spot on our front walk that nearly fired up the two pine trees that border the street and our walk to our front door. The firemen shoveled dirt from our yard to put out this spot fire. The huge pine tree back by our patio has been seared and the damaged needles are now blowing over everything. This seems so insignificant as we are reminded every time we go outside of the heartache our neighbors are experiencing. Tomorrow is trash day and I cannot make myself put our trash out in the morning amid the piles of burnt memories and debris from our neighbors losses. You realize in a hurry that material things are so unimportant when your running for your lives. Jesus said, "Don't be attached to this world" . . . I understand that better today. I'm sure Shawna, Dan & Sheila's daughter, also understands since she too lost all her possessions this year when her apartment burned while she was at work. Like our neighbors, all they had was the clothes on their backs and no bed and place to go home to. We haven't heard any whining or complaining only concerns about their temporary housing and dealing with insurance and rebuilding. Today some came back and looked again and wondered. . .as the reality sinks in. Remember the Oak Knoll folks in your prayers.

Portland, OR at Dan's

Last Monday & Tuesday, we joined Dan and Sheila in Portland to get acquainted with Wes, Jaime's husband and their daughter Celeste who will be 1 year old Sept. 3. Celeste is our 2nd great grand daughter and another wonderful addition to the Freed clan. Wes is now mom and dad while Jaime is in training in the U. S. Navy at Great Lakes, Illinois. She has just entered her first training session after boot camp and gets no breaks or leaves until Christmas. Wes has stepped up as dad and is giving Celeste lots of tender loving care! As you can see, Celeste is getting plenty of attention. Even Aunt Shawna manages some motherly moments! Naturally, Esther & I are proud to add our love and support!

After Holly & Joe's Wedding

Lori was also busy taking photos and captured Esther & I with Roly after the wedding. She then departed the next day for Boulder Dam, Sedona and the Grand Canyon. Adam & Amanda along with her boyfriend Will took in more Vegas Strip sights then on to Arizona for a few days to take in some of their natural wonders. They had a great time sliding down the rocks into natural pools. . .although a little rough on the behinds!

Holly & Joe Wed in Las Vegas

July 17, we all gathered in Vegas for Holly's wedding in Paris! The Paris Hotel's Chapel provided a wonderful setting for their special day. Holly and Joe became a Pair at the Paris. They wanted a small wedding and about 35 family and friends attending. Everyday is beautiful in LasVegas and everyday is hot in LasVegas. . .114 degrees all week-end! Thank goodness for great air conditioning! Roly & Candy were delighted and were great hosts. We even had a special pool site on Friday and we all enjoyed the cool pool. The wedding went well and the hotel minister did an excellent job making this wedding personal and just for them. His admonition was benefited us all. We then walked to P. F. Changs for the reception, about a block away - thank goodness it wasn't far! We all enjoyed a wonderful lite buffet and celebrated this memorial event. CONGRATULATIONS HOLLY & JOE!!! Holly is now Holly Pair!

Note: We could not use flash, so photos are not the quality I wanted.

Roses in Ashland

We're lover's of Roses and have 35 rose bushes mostly in front of our house. This year they had a hard start. . .Sending shoots in March and trying from then well into May between cold spells and warm days finally are hitting their stride the middle of June! But they're well worth waiting on. We are thoroughly enjoying them both outside and inside. Esther has her tricks on feeding and spraying and I do the pruning & most of the spraying. Because of the 35 varieties, we have name stakes on them all. And the nice thing about roses, they bloom until the first frost! And to be sure they do, I have installed drippers on each bush which waters them twice a day and all with a battery operated valve on an outdoor hose spigot!

And, Ashland has a long history of July 4th celebrations. We have a large parade and along our famous Lithia Park, vendors set up food stands and craft shops where 1000's gathered for a festive day! We enjoy a walk among the bazaar sights and tried several food stops. We were reminded that all food vendors get top dollar as we tried a $2 Taco. We could hardly see it. I've never seen a 4 inch taco with a tablespoon of meat! . . .but we sat by the creek and enjoyed all 3 bites along with a $2 snow cone that was worth 50 cents but was cold and wet. It was a wonderful day of remembering and being thankful for our freedom!

Morels in June

We have never hunted mushrooms in June but we've had colder weather this year and had snow the last of May. So our grandkids wanted to try on Sat. June 12!!! I figured it was a lost cause but 6 of us headed for the hills. We decided to check some of our favorite spots and found several morels close to the side road we parked on. Suddenly I heard my name loud and clear! I knew it was Adam, who told me to hurry! On the way I spotted a very nice yellow morel! And when I finally reached Adam, he told me to look across the road and I couldn't believe my eyes. . .two of the biggest yellow morels I have ever seen! . . .the size of 2 softballs! 10 minutes before, I had walked thru this area because several years ago, we had found a nice batch here, but I failed to look on that side of the road. What a find for Adam! Their weight was 12 ounces! We ended up at another favorite place where we hadn't found much this year or last and with the kids and several friends we found a few here and there when Amanda hollered and we all gathered to help. It was a great patch of large grey & yellow morels. By the time we finished, we had found 6 1/2 pounds!!! Today, the weather has turned even colder so I'll probably try again this week!

Kids Baseball in Eugene

Baseball just ended in Eugene and Jana & Paul's kids were involved every week-end. We drove to Eugene on a rainy Sunday and saw Derrick and Brady run the bases. Derrick is in the T-Ball stage and Brady now faces a pitcher. Both boys hit the ball and got on base and scored several runs. . .exciting for everyone. Brady even got to pitch part of the game. It was a great time for all including Payton who just got her first cell phone! . . so texting is all she does now except while in school . . .no cell phones allowed. Do you remember what it's like to lug the kids and all the stuff to their games?

After the game, we headed for Burger King where we all had Burgers and hot out fries except Derrick, the first grader, who still has to have his Chicken Tenders!