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| Mission accomplished! |
Note to self – schedule our next project at Rian’s in
Sacramento BEFORE the temps start hitting triple digits! Ugh. We arrived at Rian’s
on Saturday, 6/14. Luckily, she has a moochdock with 30amp electric, so we
could keep the coach cool for the pups (and us!). The first (and most brilliant)
thing we did on the project was head straight to Big 5 for the largest shade canopy we could find.
It saved our bacon or at least helped to keep us from frying it. Lol. We spent 16
days with Rian and worked on the project all but two days. Now don’t think we slaved
away all day, every day. (You know better than that! Lol.) We made time for some
fun stuff and the heat ensured we didn’t work too hard for too long.
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| Why, yes I am a lapdog. |
Even though the Raney alarm clock goes off every morning between
6 and 6:30am, at home our days tend to start slow. Given the brutal Sacramento
sun, we had to crack the whip and get working before the day heated up too
much. We usually started around 8am and called it quits by 2 or 3pm.
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The materials were waiting when we arrived. To get a deck add
blood (just a little), sweat (buckets!), and tears (substitute curse words). Lol. |
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| Forgot to take a "before" pic, but this one is close (7/16). |
Rian and I managed to fit in some estate sales and
thrifting, one of our favorite activities. We scored on the last day of a
couple sales, one was fill a bag for $5 (Yes, we filled multiple bags!). At another
everything was a $1. We boxed up probably 15-20 items and they gave us everything
for $5. We don’t always get that lucky. Lol. But it sure was fun!
What else did we do? Father’s Day was celebrated at Jackrabbit
Brewery. We’ve been wanting to visit for ages, since they produce some
excellent sours. I tried all of them and they did not disappoint! We also hit
two of my favorite ice cream shops – Leatherby’s and Handel’s. One advantage of
sweating off all those calories. Lol.
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Happy Father's Day!
Jackrabbit Brewery. |
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| Ice Cream!!! Another fan favorite in Sacramento. |
On Saturday, 6/21, we went for an outing with Rog’s
sister, Nancy, and her family on their ski boat. We met them at a public boat launch
in Elk Grove and had a lovely cruise on the Sacramento River. Rog’s nephew,
Max, showed off his wakeboarding skills and offered to coach us. Nope. Drowning
was not on my list of things to do that day. I was content to sit in the
sunshine and enjoy the breeze.
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| Rog's sister Nancy, her husband, Dave, and Max. |
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| Max has the moves! |
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| Rog and Nancy. |
And now for some really sad news. When we got back to
Rian’s later on Saturday, we saw that several of her friends had come by to say
farewell to Rian’s dog, Floyd. Dog is inadequate, read that as furry child and
soulmate. Floyd had been dealing with some debilitating medical issues for some
time. He had Cushing’s Disease and some mobility and neurological issues which
were getting worse. After multiple visits to the vet, it was clear there wasn’t
anything more they could do. Rian had made arrangements for the final at-home
vet visit on Wednesday, and then moved it up to Sunday, 6/23, when he stopped
eating and drinking.
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| Floyd. |
To give her peace and quiet, we didn’t work on the deck
Sunday. Rian spent all day with Floyd and we said our own goodbyes before the
vet arrived late that afternoon. Rian wanted privacy while she held Floyd until
he was gone. I don’t think there are words to express how hard it is to make
that call and say goodbye to a beloved member of your family. It was especially
hard on Rian because Floyd has been her constant companion for nearly ten
years. The loss of the unconditional love and emotional support they provided
each other was heartbreaking. Rest in peace Floyd and know that you were loved
beyond measure.
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Rian with her Floyd.
The best loved and most photographed dog in the history of the universe. Lol. |
Floyd's passing was hard on Rian and it was hard to see our baby hurting. Especially when there
really isn’t any way to ease that pain. We offered what comfort we could and Raney and Riley offered cuddles with a side of dog hair and drool. (Please note this is the very first time Riley has ever been enticed to climb onto the bed! He loves his sissy.) Floyd may have been small, but he had a big personality and left a huge hole behind. When the time is right, I know that Rian will find another special pup who couldn't have a better dog mom.
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| The support team. Free cuddles. |
So, on Monday, 6/23, we got back to
work on the deck and slowly but surely, we made progress. Rian chose TimberTech
decking material. The edge boards are screwed in and have color matched plugs
that make the holes nearly invisible. The main body of the deck was installed
with a clip system, so no holes at all. I have to say, it looks great! Rian was
very happy with the end results, and it gives her almost 500 ft of outdoor
living space. She is already looking at patio furniture and décor to make it
her own.
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| A masterpiece in progress. Lol. |
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Magic plugs. There are two holes in the top board too.
Can you see them? |
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| Rian and Rog hard at work. |
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| Ta-Da! We are done!! |
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| The proud deck crew. |
We swapped moochdocking sites, leaving Rian’s on Monday,
6/30, and returning to Rog’s Mom’s in Redding. The heat in Redding made
Sacramento look positively balmy, but hanging out in the pool instead of sweating
buckets over a deck project made it bearable. Lol. We stayed three nights and had
a nice visit with Barb and Ed. I had to laugh because less than five minutes after
parking, Riley was in the pool. Yay, Grandmaland.
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Look Ma! No Legs. Lol.
|
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| Dip in the pool Relax in the shade. Rinse. Repeat. |
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| Happy pups in Grandmaland. |
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One last picture before we head out.
Rog with Barb and Ed. |
We left on Thursday, 7/3, for Ashland, OR. We’ve always
wanted to spend some time there and Rog found a resort with mineral springs that
had campsites available and we booked tickets for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Woohoo!
