Our Cabin in the Woods...and an unexpected ending.

Linda and I are headed for a three night, four day vacation at a cabin on the McKenzie river. Far enough away to be away, but not an onerous drive. It's the 29th anniversary of our first date.

I haven't decided yet whether it's going to be a reading and relaxing trip, or if I'm actually going to try to write. I'm going to try to talk Linda into turning off the internet and the T.V. for the whole trip, but not sure if I have the gumption myself.

Anyway, I can already feel myself relaxing, even though we haven't left town yet. I lifting of the spirits. A dropping of the burdens.



While waiting for Linda to come back from a supply run, I started gardening and it was very pleasant. I regret losing another weekend of gardening, but it does give the plants a good start. If I start too early, I might lose some seedlings.

Most the the forget-me-nots didn't survive the winter, but I'm finding little seedlings, so maybe I'll end up with enough plants to transplant into a border again.



Got to the cabin in late afternoon and it started raining. It rained all night. I told the renter that we'd want our money back if they didn't turn off the rain-machine.

The cabin is small but very cosy. We sat and listened to the river and read.

The cabin is right on the river, and the deck is right over the bank. The river is running high and wild, and there is a picture in the bathroom of the 1989 flood, where the waters actually lapped over the deck.

Not completely reassuring to go to bed with the flow running so high and it raining hard.



Woke up Saturday morning and the sun is shining! A few hours of drying off and I think we'll be able to sit on the deck. Meanwhile, it turns out we do have wifi, so I'm of course surfing the net.
We watched Grimm last night, and we'll watch Sherlock on Sunday, and hopefully that is all. (We have satellite, but none of the premium channels). Still did more reading than usually last night, and have already started reading another book this morning.

It cooled off again until late afternoon, when we went for a walk and sat on the deck. I've already finished two and half books since I got here, so I guess my question of reading versus writing is answered. I had an upset stomach yesterday, so didn't stray far from the cabin.

We're going exploring today -- we want to take a picture of the cabin from across the river. What I'd really like to do is take a picture of Linda on the deck from the other side, but first we need to see if that's possible. She's having great fun with her iphone, taking pictures of everything -- I do mean everything in sight.

Weirdly, there isn't another soul up here. There's a dozen cabins, but no people. I mean, I like that, but it's kinda strange since the weather isn't all that bad.

There are some kids having a lightsaber fight across the river -- I had to watch that movement through the trees for a few minutes before I figured out what it was...

It got warm enough for shorts and sandals, and we went driving up to Cougar Lake and up in the hills and walked around. I read three books on this trip.


So, here's where this post takes an odd turn.

We got a call from Bend Villa Court at 5:15 A.M. that Dad had died.

We knew he was declining, and hesitated to take the trip which we scheduled a month ago, but all the siblings said, "Go! Get out of town." And honestly, I didn't expect anything to happen. Dad had been hanging in there a long time.

Last three times Linda and I saw him, he was napping. As we headed out of town, we were told he was napping, so we kept going.

It's weird. I'm not sure if this was fast or slow. His stroke was many years ago, and his physical decline has been steady. Looking back on it, I think the break was losing his front teeth and refusing to do anything about it. And the stomach infection that sent him to the hospital.

We struggled with the decision as a family about moving him out of self-care, but almost immediately after moving, he was unable to move around much without falling. He was bewildered, I could tell. He wanted to go in his sleep, and think that's what happened. (We didn't ask any questions at the 5:15 phone call --not sure that was necessary, but a stupid thing to complain about.)

I'm glad he had 24 hour contact at the end. Linda said, "I knew if we left town this would happen." Apparently, Meghan, the nurse, has said she thought death was 'imminent.'

I was thinking he'd fight his way back, the way he usually did.

It's sad, but not unexpected. He was a good man. I'm still absorbing it.

I think my siblings will mostly take it from here.