Life in Oregon

Thought I’d post a little note about how things are going since we got here.

We have the RV set up at the RV resort (Premier RV Resort, Salem, OR if you want to Google map it) in spot 156. However, yesterday because of all the rain over the weekend up in the mountains and the valley, we had to move the RV to spot 116 because they were expecting the lower portion of the park to flood or at least take on water. We got it moved and I don’t think we’re planning to move back to the old spot at this time. We are only one “street” over from where we were and we have a brick pad under our picnic table which allows us to step out of the RV onto concrete instead of grass, which means less mud and grass in the RV. So we’ll probably stay put for a while. Right behind our RV is the horseshoe toss area so the dogs can still potty within a short distance of the RV and we’re just a few spots down from the small off-leash pen. There is a larger off-leash pen over the berm down the street from our spot, but it’s currently under about 6 feet of water.
I had noticed on Sun that the river had risen and flooded the walking path behind our RV, which was over the berm and down about 6 feet or so. On Monday morning, it was a tad bit higher and there was no ground between the path and the river anymore. By Mon night the water was only about 4 feet from the top of the berm, which was right behind where our RV was. Most of the rain came from the mountains and the coast since our little creek feeds from there into the Willamette River. In the 7 years that the park has been there, it’s taken on water twice. And it’s not that the water overflows the berm, it’s that it comes up through the drainage grates that feed into the creek.

We are having a moisture problem in the RV. So much so that the walls “rain” most of the time. Condensation is a big problem and we have mold growing on every window sill inside the RV. We got some damp rid type of stuff on Mon to try to alleviate the problem so hopefully those things work well. I opened the windows today when I left in hopes that allowing warmer air to the glass will help but we’ll see. I need to clean the sills off tonight and mop up some of the water. Even tissues feel moist and our towels don’t dry. Kris wonders if a ceramic heater or radiant heater would help dry out the air instead of using the propane only. I will turn the ceramic heater on tonight and see what that can do.

We are still battling Kota’s hind quarter issues. Last week he had a myelogram xray done where they put him under and then use a dye injected into his spinal column to take xrays. Those showed nothing but a partial disk rupture in his thoracic vertebrae that the vet doesn’t think is the problem. Yesterday Kris had the day off and so did I, and Kota went back for an EMG. The EMG is where they measure the electrical impulses going down the leg to determine if there is an impediment somewhere. Normal ratings are in the 60 range and Kota’s were in the 35 range, so nerve impulses are not traveling down the leg like they should. He has a hard time getting up from laying down and sometimes misses when he jumps onto things like the bed or up and down stairs. He falls a lot more often on the hard wood floors at Scot and Amy’s too. The vet also did another CT scan of his pelvis because he felt that something is not right and really wanted a better picture. Now, he did not call us about that first, which kinda made me mad, but I figured he had a good reason. And hey, since he knew he wasn’t able to call us, he gave us a hefty discount. Still expensive but not as much as his first one last summer.

We were supposed to meet with the doc when we picked him up but the doc had an emergency surgery and we had an emergency flooding back home to get too, so we picked him up and the doc called us later. During the call he hadn’t looked at the CT scan yet but told us about the EMG ratings and that he’s looking for something high up on the nerves going into the legs, somewhere around the sciatic nerve and/or pelvis, etc. So frustrating to be chasing this “demon” around trying to find out what is going on.

Shadow is moving slower and slower these days. Her eyesight is getting worse and it’s noticeable when she jumps into the van. She makes huge leaps well beyond what she needs, or she climbs slowly in. Otherwise she’s doing ok, has a little limp after exercise but at least she’s not showing any muscle atrophy like Kota is.

Tasha is doing well but doesn’t like getting in the car anymore. I think she hates coming to Scot and Amy’s where I am working during the day because Marissa picks on her. I’ve considered leaving her at home but I currently go to the shop after work to have microwave dinners with Kris. We have dinner, I help with shop stuff if needed and then head home to feed the dogs. He stays until closing and then comes home about 8pm. If I didn’t take her with me, she’d have to hold it from 7:30am until almost 7pm. Way too long, so she has to come with. I manage the Marissa and Tasha interactions and shoo Marissa out of the room if she begins to be a brat. She’s already made Tasha bleed twice, once on each ear. They are pretty good with just me in the house, but if others are around or managing them, it gets heated quickly. Winston, their other dog, just lays in the living room all day and barely moves.

I’ve been working at Scot and Amy’s in their spare bedroom during the days. I have a little heater in here so I start at 60 degrees and by the time I leave it’s at 75 or so. 🙂 Shadow and Tasha spend most of the day in here and Marissa and Kota come in and out. Right now all 4 are in here. 🙂 It’s working out pretty well so far. I definitely don’t have room in the RV for my computer and filing cabinet. As it is our laundry baskets are up in the front of the RV in the driver seats. lol… Living in the RV isn’t too bad. I miss constant water during a shower and being able to have my feet on the floor when I pee. lol… oh and room in the fridge for stuff. 😉

We did spend all of last Sat at Whalen Island State Park to help with a rescue diver class for Blue Element. Kris was a diver in need of saving and I was shore support. It started out with a light drizzle which was no big deal but quickly escalated by afternoon to blowing gusts and sideways rain. After getting thoroughly soaked at lunch, I retreated into the van with AC and heat running to dry out while they finished up. They lost two pieces of gear which slowed things down in the afternoon. The second one was BC, tank and regulator. That’s over $1000 in equipment, so they spent considerable time finding it. By then the water had waves, the tide had gone out some and the rain was going sideways, so visibility was about 4 inches. I was sitting in the van, parked perpendicular to the wind to create a break for the divers who were out in the weather. I could feel the van being buffeted by the wind. I was glad that Blue Element didn’t have a dry suit that fit me. 🙂 I got to be dry a lot sooner than those guys did!

So that’s my life in a nutshell these days.

One thought on “Life in Oregon”

  1. To be fair, Marissa whupped on Tasha only after approaching her food bowl while eating, ignoring one “stay away” growl, then ignoring the “I really mean it, stay away” snap and then diving her head into Marissa’s bowl, anyway. 🙂

    They are normally slugs during the day, so I can start leaving them out in the garage/studio during the day if you want. Just let them out once if you could mid-day and give them a treat to make up for it. 🙂

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