A New House

6/14/04 - Signing the Mortgage Papers
It was a good day to buy a house! I was a bit tired after being awoken in the middle of the night by a puppy barking for the first time in its life. It sounded a little like a seal. They have been a pretty good bunch of babies though, with their eyes just open and starting to explore their world. Everyone has enjoyed holding them and checking out the new life. Several have started to try out the cottage cheese that Mommy has been eating to keep up her calcium while she is nursing.

The RV Corral in Coburg, OR

After a good breakfast and about 4 cups of coffee, we stopped by the RV Corral in Coburg to take a quick look at the Newmar Dutch Star. We will be ordering a new, custom appointed coach from this great dealership. They have been very patient, helpful and friendly. If you are in the market for a new or used RV, I highly recommend the RV Corral.

Then we drove to McMinnville via Tigard, which was the long way, but we wanted to check out the Costco in Tigard and see how it compared to the one in Salem. We purchased a heavy duty hand truck and an electric ice chest to help with the move.

We arrived at Western Title Company at the appointed hour and I spent the next two hours signing my name about a hundred times. Vaughn Monagon, our loan officer from Mission Hills Mortgage Bankers was there, as well as our Real Estate Agent, Beth Frischmuth, who works for Oregon Realty. I would recommend both of these professionals who did a great job of finding us a great home, at a reasonable price and at very good terms.

Then we drove to our new house in Carlton

New house in Carlton, OR

After stopping for dinner at Ruby Tuesdays, one of our favorite restaurants in McMinnville, we drove back to Springfield for the night.

6/15/04 - Back to California - Childhood Memories
After another restless night (too many thoughts, plans, etc. buzzing through my head) we packed the car, had breakfast and went back the RV Corral. Today we wanted to check out a few other options and made a few more requests for minor changes. Then they treated us to freshly barbecued hamburgers for lunch. Talk about your great hospitality!

Mt. Shasta from Weed, CA

Then we began the long trip home. I was very tired, so I let my wife drive for the first couple of hours. It was a very beautiful drive and we stopped a few times to take photos of Mt. Shasta, eat some not very good Chinese food in the city of Mt Shasta and enjoy a dusk crossing of Lake Shasta. In retrospect I wish we had not stopped for dinner and gone with our original take-out plan, because driving in the dark is so much less interesting.

The music on the way home was inspiring. I brought about 15 CDs including Carlos Santana, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Celine Dion, various Jazz artists and our new favorite, Kelly Clarkson. Her album Thankful is great! I especially love the title song. I'm thankful for the lessons and the blessings that I've learned with you by my side, I'm thankful for the love and joy that you bring into my life...

Another song from Clarkson's Thankful album is the song that she sang on the final show of the American Idol show which she won a couple of seasons ago. A Moment Like This is a very inspiring song and remembering the significance it had for her that night, brought deep emotion (mostly joy) to my heart.

I decided on a previous trip to Oregon that Kelly's song Before Your Love should be our (my wife and I) theme song. Here are a few lines: I never lived before your love, I never felt before your touch, I never needed anyone to make me feel alive, but then again I wasn't really living before your love...

4Runner milestone

Another high point of the trip home was watching the odometer on our Forerunner turn over 100,000 miles.Not something one sees too often in life. It happened very near Mt. Shasta, so we stopped by the side of the road and took a few pictures.

One of the most significant parts of the trip though was the time my wife and I spent talking about my new idea for Garth's World. My vision is for a website where I can share my travels, ideas, beliefs, photography, software, knowledge, etc. I will also provide a means for feedback from visitors and have some kind of a dialog.

OK, there was one other very significant conversation on the way back to Redwood Valley. My wife asked for me to talk about some aspect of my life I have not often spoken of. So I recounted my high school years, which were one of the very best times of my life.

My four years at Sunnyvale High School were filled with tons of activity. It almost doesn't seem possible that one teenage boy could be involved in Boy Scout leadership (then Explorers), church youth group leadership, theater lighting and light direction, audio recording, A/V equipment monitoring (setting up projectors, etc. for teachers - which earned me a permanent hall pass), concert bank, jazz band, award winning marching band and a brass quintet.

One regret I have in life is that I after high school, I did not follow my heart instead of listening to the misguided reasoning of counselors. Instead of taking engineering classes, I really should have been studying the arts. I would have been much happier. If you are at a crossroads in your life, I encourage you to follow your heart and take a few chances. If you do something you love then work is a spiritual experience rather than a chore.

6/16/04 - New Service Providers
Today I spent most of the the looking for a new wireless provider. In the process I was also keeping a lookout for a better DSL or Cable modem deal, good local and long distance land line service. I finally decided to go with Qwest for local and long distance, Comcast for cable TV and modem and T-Mobile wireless access.

My Faithful Miniature Pincher

6/22/04 - Goodbye Dear Friends
Today we put Fawn down. We drove up to a vet in Willits and he gave her a shot which put her to sleep very quickly. It was a very sad affair. My wife and I cried for several minutes before, during and after the event. Then we drove home and buried her next to another one of our beloved dogs who died a few years ago.

Yesterday my mother, sister and brother-in-law came up to say goodbye and take the large dining room table with 8 chairs that I had inherited from my grandparents. I felt like it was time to let it go and they will put it to very good use. We had a nice visit and then they left us to our packing.

The last week has been spent contacting phone and wireless companies, painters, electricians, people who might help us move, etc. Thursday we pick up a 26 ft U-Haul truck and a 8x12 trailer to load all of our stuff into. It will be a big job no doubt. I intend that we have plenty of help and it all goes smoothly. The first and largest thing we will load is our hot tub.

My Blue American Shorthair

I also said goodbye to my cat Princess yesterday. A friend of ours will take good care of her for her few remaining years. I'll miss her too, but at least I know I can come back and visit her occasionally if I choose to.

Well I guess I better get back to packing now...