I had the most amazing and magical knee scooter adventure today! It’s been raining here, but the sun peeked out for a little while this afternoon, and the clouds parted. It’s not hard to talk my boyfriend Savoy into taking me to the path by the Mackenzie River. Not the Willamette as we thought.
Photos and collage design created by the author on the Riverside trail in Springfield, Oregon
He loves rivers and this is a big one. It’s also a five-minute drive from Carol’s house near Riverbend Hospital. I love the river and the trees. And the geese we saw on the river too.
These are my last few days on the knee scooter because the cast comes off my foot on Wednesday! Three more days! Then I’ll have a walking boot. I was able to walk at least a mile with the walking boot and one crutch with no trouble last time around. Sometimes further. I will miss the knee scooter for the times I’m able to cruise, but I don’t care for being 100 percent dependent on it. I can even cruise here in Carol’s house and I still feel that momentary thrill when I’m cruising.
Hanging out by the MacKenzie River on the Riverside trail.
This time we entered the Lyle Hatfield Riverside trail from the other side. The billowy gray clouds promised rain in an hour or two. But not now.
photos taken by the author on the Riverside trail in Springfield, Oregon
I rolled down a small hill towards the cypress, Douglas firs and spruces, and the sound of the river. There’s a bench right by the river where the water goes around an island and then meets again.
Photos and collage design by the author
Further down the trail, there’s another bench with a beautiful older Douglas fir next to it. I sat there for a few moments next to the tree and the baby tree. I felt so content sitting there and I could still hear the river. All felt well with the world. I felt grateful for the trees and the river and even the rain.
Selfie of the author with a beautiful Douglas fir tree behind me. Soon I’ll traverse on the woods trails once again!
Savoy had gone ahead, and he told me about the circle of trees. A semi-circle of older trees is just a little ways away. I became excited, and I wanted to see that circle of trees, but Savoy said he had already seen them so I set out on a journey through a more tactical part of the trail with my trustee knee scooter. I took it slow and sure. It didn’t take me long to find the circle of trees so beautiful and amazing. I was curious about them. Did someone plant the trees here on purpose or did they just form on their own? so many questions. I was in awe of the beauty, the trees.
Photo by the author of a semi-circle of trees. This is just part of the semi-circle of Douglas firs.
I wanted to get closer to the trees. I surveyed the terrain and thought, it doesn’t look so bad. I could probably make it to at least get to one tree. 🌲 I slowly descended from the main trail towards the trees and almost made it when I hit an uneven surface, and, as if in slow motion, my knee scooter tipped over and yes, I fell to the ground.
The Knee Scooter Mishap
I wasn’t hurt at all. I had fallen into a bed of pine needles and soft soil. I had to smile as I sat on the ground next to my fallen knee scooter, because I somehow knew that the trees would not allow me to get hurt maybe fall off my knee scooter, but I was fine.
I managed to push myself to the big tree closest to me And work my way back to the knee scooter. 🌿🌲🌲✨🌿🌲 It took a little while, but somehow someway I was able to do it. Thanks to that big tree close by. by the time Savoy called me to see where I was. I was already back on the knees scooter and the regular trail.
The Circle of Trees is beautiful, but I'll come back soon!
Good-bye trees! Cruising out now on my knee scooter down the trail! Photo was taken by the author
I only had myself to blame because I broke my own rule to never leave the main trail. Always stay on it no matter what but I just couldn’t resist. So now I know.
I didn’t realize until Savoy saw me that there were pine needles in my hair and on parts of the knee scooter hanging from the bottom of my cast as well. But I felt just fine. It was like a major adventure. Probably the biggest adventure I will have well healing from major foot surgery.
Easter 2023 With the Grandkids (day before I drove down to CA)
In Cobb — Happy Easter!! I’m so thrilled to see my grandkids having fun on Easter just as we did and my kids. I’m driving down tomorrow to see them, and I can hardly wait! It’s been almost six months since I’ve seen them. They’ve all grown up to do much. Sigh.
Scrunch is still suspicious of the Easter bunny and Jeremiah wouldn’t do the Easter egg hunt yesterday. He’s almost 12 after all? But he did participate when it was just the family. Charlotte showed off her cute dresses and I love how she wears her cowgirl boots with them! I also just learned that Crocs are super popular among the kids in Jeremiah’s age group. In fact, he’s wearing them and I’m like what? When did this happen? Obviously, I haven’t kept up with the trends!
See you soon my loves! Oh yeah, I got to sing and play Peter Cottontail for Easter!
On my way to California! I picked up cute stuffies and a unicorn pooper? Also, a tie-dye rock art kit!
April 10 — Road Trip to California
I made it to California. I stopped at Vistapoint to look at Mount Shasta. I will look at her again when I get to Weed, California. Always beautiful. I also took a couple of pictures of a pretty Madrone tree at the Rogue River rest stop where the bathrooms are closed, yikes!
Check out the “halo cloud” hovering over Mount Shasta! How trippy is that?
I always feel like I’m home when I cross the border to California. Though I live in Oregon, and I love my neighborhood and the woods, California is always home to me. Always will be.
There are patches of snow on the pass, but very little considering it was over 70° when I got to Ashland and Medford. I turned my air conditioning on for the first time since the end of last summer. Road trip! See ya!
Okay, I took a pic of Mount Shasta, went to the restroom, and came out and there’s this trippy cosmic-looking cloud over the mountain! I’m like what the heck? I had to stop again and check it out! so trippy! and Lake Shasta is now full to the brim! Tried to get a photo but couldn’t figure out how to do it safely. Now I’m in Redding getting gas at the TA. It’s 78 degrees here. Today it’s 48 and raining in Eugene Oregon. Just a couple more hours to go. My cute little car made it all the way from Eugene to Redding on one tank of gas! yay!
I made it to my destination in California earlier this evening. My grandkids were happy to see me, and it was craziness and fun. Charlotte and Isaak were choosing which babies to sleep with and doing their staying-awake exercises and Jeremiah was chilling and looking at Tiktok on his phone. Even the dogs Klaus and Jeager were excited to see me.
April 11 — Day 2 at the Cabin in the Woods
Charlotte and me. Wearing similar necklaces! Charlotte says she will keep hers until she has kids and grandkids! I believe her.
Playground and Cleaerlake at Lakeport
Charlotte made a friend and Jeremiah told me the water of the lake now covers the Sandy beach. I told Charlotte about how trees can communicate with one another! She was fascinated by that. The kids love watching the ducks.
In Cobb — Day #49 of 100 Days of Ukulele 2023 — You Are My Sunshine.
This song was one of Charlotte’s requests. Wait until you hear the song, we’re doing tomorrow night! These are my two younger grandkids Charlotte and Isaak (aka Scrunch). It’s so much fun to sing with them. I hope I can get my almost 12-year-old grandson Jeremiah to sing a Beatles song with me (don’t let him fool you. He still knows the songs!)
There was an Earthquake tonight. It shook us up a bit, but we’re all okay.
Doggies playing and Jeremiah is up to something!
April 12 — Day 3 at the Cabin in the Woods
More fun with my grandkids at the cabin in the Woods. I love my little fairy and dinosaur, and the almost 12-year-old is working on a much more serious project, having to do with the remnants of a barstool. And a hammer do I dare ask?
Also, the doggies love to play with things that look like a ball. It once was a large ball but now I’m not sure what it is. All I know is they still love it, and they want me to throw it and they both want to choose it, Jaeger has no interest in playing his own game. He wants to play with his brother Klaus even thou Klaus always gets the ball. They followed me back and forth around the yard as I sauntered along just because I needed to walk a little more and both were so excited every time, I threw the ball or the remnants. I love the property around the cabin because it’s filled with Douglas firs, my favorite, along with some Madrone trees, and a couple of redwood trees. I can smell Douglas fir trees.
I read Dog Saves Duck to Charlotte and Isaak and Jeremiah messing with his Dad’s guitar.
I finally got to read Dog Saves Duck to my grandkids Charlotte and Isaak in person! They’re four and five years old. My older grandson Jeremiah took the photos. They loved the book all over again and we agreed that the kitty was just like my kitty Guinness who is not a hunter and gets along with other animals. Then I showed them the videos of Beau and Dot the Duck on TikTok, and they were delighted! They had to look at the book again to compare. Thank you again Julie Perkins Cantrell for this fabulous book, now special to all of us!
Day #50 of 100 Days of Ukulele 2023 — LOVE a. With my special guest five-year-old Charlotte. Yay! We’re halfway through!
Charlotte requested LOVE originally sung by Nat King Cole in 1957. She learned the song at school. My son Jeremy knew the song because of the Little Rascals movie. I barely remembered the song, so I listened to Nat King Cole sings it and found the lyrics and chords in the first Santa Cruz Ukulele Club Songbook. Then the song kind of came back to me.
Apparently, I messed up on the rhythm in a couple of places because I was told by both Charlotte and her dad that I didn’t hold the E part long enough. We redid the song a few times. For some reason, my grandson Jeremiah found this hilarious, and it was hard to record with his snickering and laughter. Charlotte offered to use a hand signal where I’m supposed to draw out the note. Did I mention that Charlotte is five? After a couple more mishaps, we finally decided we were done with the song, and I sang and played a little bit of Twist and Shout. Here’s one time through with L.O.V.E. and a short snippet of me playing Leavin’ on a Jet Plane on guitar.
April 13 — Day 5 at the Cabin in the Woods
At the playground with the giant slide!
We started off the day with a stop at Taco Bell to have a picnic lunch near a giant slide structure. Though Jeremiah had other items, they forgot his chimichanga. We heard about this issue for literally hours, and he was upset. I suggested we return to Taco Bell and get it for him, especially since we paid for it. But he was a little too upset about it, I suppose. He finally warmed up and played with his younger siblings at the giant slide structure.
Day #51 of 100 Days of Ukulele 2023 — Lady Madonna by the Beatles.
It’s late and the kids are in bed. So, it’s just me tonight. I can relate to this song so well as a long-time single mom with four kids. But now the kids are grown, and I have three grandkids whom I love with all my heart. I’m here Saturday so just one more night after tonight. The week just flew by. #100daysuke2023 #100daysofukulele2023 #ladymadonna #thebeatles #thebeatlesforever #familylove #adventureswithgrandmamary
April 14 — Day 6 at the Cabin in the Woods
On the trail in Middletown with the Grandkids, the doggies and Erika
We had a fun adventure yesterday on a trail and at the creek. It was warm and sunny, well 65 degrees with no shade seems warm to me! But that didn’t diminish the fun we had traipsing down a trail with the kids and doggies. I even found wild irises out there! And of course, lots of poppies and buttercups as well.
Charlotte loves flowers! She found the wild irises I love so much.
Charlotte loves flowers. We had to cross a swampy area to complete the loop which we managed to do successfully with Jeremiah leading the way!
Checking out the terrain on the trail.
We found a small lake and the views of the mountains in the distance were spectacular!
On the trail by the lake where we had to cross a muddy damp area.
The kids had fun at the creek nearby throwing rocks and the two little ones played with their cars. We’re having so much fun!
Playing at this cool river.
Day #52 of 100 Days of Ukulele 2023 — ABC and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with Isaak and Charlotte.
This was fun though it was right before bedtime when they’re super hyper! I love them so much.
Day #53 of 100 Days of Ukulele 2023 — Drive My Car.
Speaking of cars, I am now back home in Oregon. Today was a major driving adventure! But first, I gotta take care of business and post day 53 with Charlotte, Isaak and I recorded last night. I’m not sure if right before bedtime is the best time, especially for Isaak, aka Scrunch who is quite active. Charlotte was being her adorable self. It is always hard to say goodbye to my grandkids. I had so much fun hanging out with them!
Monday, April 17 — After an Amazing Week with my Grandkids
I feel like the luckiest mom and grandma in the whole world right now and grateful for my family. When I visit with my grandkids, we make new memories for the family and the youngest generation. I only have one concern. My two younger grandkids don’t know the Beatles songs as Jeremiah does. They might not know who each individual Beatle is. That’s my fault. Grandma Mary needs to fix this as soon as possible!
Charlotte and Isaak and I sang songs together and they danced and did their hyper-staying-awake exercises, and we hung out. and I was reminded of a time when their dad and his siblings did the same thing. Jeremiah will play with them and make them even more hyper. He’s now a brooding preteen, but he’s also a great big brother as well. It’s the little things that count like when he helped Charlotte and Isaak get across a swamp on the path when we went for a walk the other day or gave Isaak a hand climbing the ladder at the playground. I’m in awe of how grown-up he is now.
We went to the park while Jeremiah and Jeremiah got their haircuts, and the cherry blossoms were blooming.
We went to the park when while waiting for Jeremy and Jeremiah to get their hair cuts.
Jeremiah got a haircut with his dad on Friday. He always wants his hair cut like his dad’s, even now. Erika and I took the little ones to the playground by the lake in Lakeport, which I love too. It’s a beautiful park filled with trees including redwoods and some amazing cherry blossom trees as well. I didn’t want to leave any more than the kids did!
Sometimes I will accidentally call Jeremiah, Stevie, and Charlotte Megan or occasionally. I’ll call her Melissa. That’s just the way it is all I know is I love my grandkids and my family.
I Did not get a chance to visit anyone because I stayed at the cabin the entire week. I felt a good visit with all three of my grandkids was way overdue, and it happened to be their spring break, but I will be back in California soon.
