The Not Very Nice, Pretty Awful Day!

We were up early this morning, raring to get going and back on the road again. We had pretty well packed up last night, so just had to haul stuff down the stairs and put it into the car. We decided that except for the food, we would leave clothes and such into the car and take it all back into Auntie Violet after we stopped for the night. When we got to Uhlmann's, we had them fill the propane tank, we hitched up the Toad, we paid our bill (a little over $400 that was not covered by our extended warranty on a bill of over two grand) and we started off.



Forry noticed that one of the inner rear duals (which has a periodic slow leak) was down to less than 90 pounds, so we pulled around back so that Clayton could air it up. As we came around the corner, something went "POP" and the left windshield wiper went flying! (We had been so pleased yesterday that Uhlmann's had a set of 36" wiper blades so that we could have new ones put on.) I hopped out of the rig -- in the rain -- and picked up the whole wiper assembly. Forry had managed to stop just before the front wheel ran over it!


We thought at first that the wiper blade had not been attached securely and had come off, but the whole assembly had broken about three inches from the hub --

It turns out Uhlmanns did not have any of the brackets that fit the Alpine in stock. We waited around while they did some calling to other dealers. Finally, Guaranty RV referred them to a place in Oregon, A.M. Engineering, that actually makes wiper assemblies. Clayton removed the wiper assembly from the passenger side of the RV and put it on the driver's side so that we would have at least one wiper.

We weren't on the road ten miles when that wiper started mal-functioning! It wouldn't work continuously or intermittently at all, but Forry finally got it so that it would give one swipe at a time. (All this going on while we were outside in the rain!) He only used it sparingly when visibility got really bad...

We drove three and a half hours -- in the rain -- to just outside of Jefferson, Oregon. Found the building; couldn't park in their lot as there was a semi blocking it; parked alongside the street; walked a block back in the rain; then had to walk all the way around the back -- in the rain -- to the public entrance. Only to have the guy take one look at the part and tell us that they didn't make any that big! His only suggestion was that we check with Guaranty RV again or with Cummins NW to see what they might have...

So it's now after 4:30 and getting dark. We debated going to an RV park in near-by Albany, but realize that we might be looking for this part for a few days! We gave our son-in-law Todd a call and wangled an invitation to park in their driveway in Hubbard. Another hour of miserable driving -- in the rain -- with the last of it on Oregon's notoriously narrow no-shoulder country roads in the dark. Cold, wet and tired, we found the grand-kids and Todd fixing dinner in their nice warm house. What a treat to sit down for steak tostados with Daughter Dawn and her family when she returned from work!

Good News, GOOD News, GOOD NEWS!

May I repeat, we had GOOD NEWS today!


When we went to visit Uhlmann's RV this morning, they had nothing but good news. The heat pump in the bedroom now works. The suspicious looking spots on the roof have been sealed. The leaking hydraulic cylinder that popped its gasket has been replaced. The AquaHot has a new float. The only thing in/on Auntie Violet that hasn't been taken care of is the inside shade on the passenger side (the new one that arrived was for the driver's side...) which has been re-ordered and will be sent to us somewhere.


We even have new windshield wipers installed! (Ever try to find 35 inch wipers?!)


It was going to be late this afternoon by the time everything was buttoned up. Since we had already paid for one more night at the motel, we decided to wait and get an early start out of here tomorrow morning. When we came back to the motel, we discovered how much stuff we had scattered around over the last nine days! Tonight we will try to get as much as possible packed up so we don't have much to do in the morning.


The weather forecast isn't real great for the next few days, but at least it's calling for rain on this side of the Cascades, not snow! We shall see.

King Oscar Motel

This is the motel where we have been hanging out at for the last week -- King Oscar Motel in Centralia. It's part of a small chain in this part of the Northwest, I think there are four of them in the area.

This is the front office --

And this is the back side where we are on the second floor --

With any luck, we will only be here another day or two. But, we will only know after the guys at Uhlmann RV are able to talk with the factory about the heat pump tomorrow.

My.Garmin dot com

We have two GPS units, one in the Toad and one in Auntie Violet. The one in the Toad is the first one we ever purchased -- several years ago when we were working with MDS in Louisiana. The technology has greatly improved since that first unit. The newer ones not only have larger screens, but give you information about speed limits, lane changes etc.

The unit in the Toad has maps that have become very outdated and I was unable to upgrade them. We have been looking for a new unit that would go into Auntie Violet while we put the newer one that she has into the Toad. I had been checking with Costco and with their online catalog for the new Garmin with the five inch screen, but so far they haven't carried it. This morning I did an on-line search, thinking that there might be some early Cyber-Monday bargains. Sure enough, I found the one we've been looking on sale at Best Buy.

We went to the store to pick it up (along with a sand-bag dashboard stand) and came back to the motel to register it and download the most current maps. Four hours later, it is ALMOST finished! Says it still needs another thirty minutes to "install" the maps.

Oh well, since there is not much but football on TV the last few days, I might as well babysit the computer while Forry is watching the games. And to think I will need to do it again to update the older one in Auntie Violet before we demote it to the Toad...

All I Wanted Was Blueberries....

Costco is a VERY dangerous place! We went there today to replenish my blueberry supply (I had the last of my stash with my granola and yogurt this morning), but they just had black berries...


Forry was on a roll however! I did buy him a set of ear phones for the TV so he doesn't turn the sound up so terribly high. Then HE BOUGHT a new coffee maker, a waffle maker and a set of lights for me to read by in the car! It's like every gadget he saw called his name today...


Now I have to figure out what to store -- probably my yogurt maker and maybe my aero garden.


The fellows at Uhlmann RV weren't able to work on Auntie Violet today -- there was nobody working at the factory where they make the heat pump, so they could not contact them for advice about what to try next. Bummer!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving wishes to all of our family and friends! I hope all of your tummies are full and your hearts as well!


Since my Dad died late on a Thanksgiving Day, this holiday has become bittersweet for me. I always spend part of the day thinking of our vigil at his bedside as we said good-bye to him. I've heard it said that "no one is ever truly gone, as long as someone thinks about them or says their name." If that is true, Dad certainly lives on! My siblings and I have shared how we all sometimes still reach for the telephone to share a spectacular baseball play or an abysmal call by a referee with him.


The bitter cold of the last couple of days let up today and most of the snow is gone. The roads were bare and wet. We drove the Toad to Vancouver today to meet our friends Bill and Leslie for Thanksgiving dinner at Elmer's. Fortunately for us, the restaurant was not terribly busy, so we were able to eat, sit and chat for over three hours. I'm not sure when our paths will cross again, hopefully sometime this winter?!

Good News, Bad News

November 24, 2010

The good news is that the new hydraulic cylinder is installed and working. The AquaHot float is also installed and working.


The bad news is that now the heat pump in the bedroom is now not working at all! It neither heats nor cools -- before it was heating but not cooling. AND the part that arrived for the front shade is for the wrong side! AND, even with a water hose on full blast, they could not find the leak in the roof!


Of course, it was too late in the day to contact the company back east when they discovered the issue with the heat pump. That will get done first thing on Friday. We can travel without the shade -- the part can be shipped to us somewhere and Forry can install the thing (two screws and two wires). If they can figure out the issue with the heat pump, we may be able to start south next week?

Visiting Auntie Violet

When we drove around the back of Uhlmann's RV today to stop by Auntie Violet, she wasn't there! She had been moved to inside the shop! The slide was out and the bay beneath was pulled out so than Len could climb in and work --

All of the parts are finally here and the repairs have begun!

This little hydraulic cylinder is the one that blew its seal, that Len is replacing! It's amazing to think that one like this on each side of the slide is all that holds it up.


The fellows were going to go up on top to see if they could find the source of the leak Forry spotted yesterday, but they said there was a good inch of ice up there! They were definitely going to let it melt before they went looking.

The sun was out today -- the snow just sparkled -- but, it was really cold. It's supposed to stay this way for at least one more day. Sister Roxy sent a note saying the electricity was out last night at their house again. It's back on this morning at their place, but I guess some of the islands especially are still out of power.

SNOW, SNOW, SNOW!

All over the state! The mountain passes; the interstate highways; the city streets; the country roads! Once again, the weather forecasters totally understated what was going to happen. And once again, many drivers have totally forgotten -- if they ever knew -- how to slow down and drive in the snow!


We spent most of the day cooped up in our motel room, watching the weather and news reports on TV. Seemed like we watched one report of an accident after another.


This afternoon Forry went over to Uhlmann's to check on Auntie Vi's progress. They had received a package from HWH -- hopefully it is the hydraulic lifter! He also discovered a "drip" up above the dashboard -- and quickly put the crew to work fixing it.


We had dinner tonight at Country Cousins, a local restaurant, just a couple blocks from our motel. We had their senior meals, Forry's was chicken-fried steak and I had a pork chop. Just right for a cold wintery night!

And So We Move to Centralia...

After spending two wonderful weeks with Sister Roxy and Rich, we moved on this afternoon. We have made arrangements for a "long-term" stay at the King Oscar motel here using their weekly rates. Staying here will enable us to be close to Uhlmann's RV in Chehalis (just a couple of miles down the road) and "push" to get the repairs finished on Auntie Violet. We know that all of the parts have been ordered and that some of them are here.


It snowed off and on all day today; going from rain to snow; snow to sleet; sleet to snow; snow to rain! Not the kind of weather a snowbird wants to be experiencing. That's another reason we want to be close to the RV -- we need to be able to make sure the heat is kept on! Since we live in her full-time, she is NOT winterized (anti-freeze in all the water lines)!


We've gotten a room with a micro-wave, two-burner stove and a refrigerator, so we should be able to fix some of our meals here. In addition, they do have a continental breakfast in the mornings. It's not nearly as nice as Auntie Violet!

PS News Flash -- Congratulations to Rich and his partner who took second place in the racquetball tournament in their age class!

Racquetball Tournament

There's been a racquetball tournament going on in the area all weekend. Our Brother-in-law Rich is an avid player who gets up VERY early every morning to go play with his buddies. This is LA Fitness, Rich's home court, where some of the games are being played.

This afternoon we went to watch Rich play in his first doubles match of the tournament. They were running behind and when we got there, he was still waiting to start --

That is Rich getting ready to serve --

and making a great return --

Rich and his partner won the match we watched, then won their second match later this evening. Rich has a singles match tomorrow morning, but I'm not sure what the schedule is for the doubles.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows

Big day today -- today was the Opening Day of the first part of the last Harry Potter movie, The Deathly Hollows. Sister Roxy's husband Rich had been very sweet, going on-line to get us three tickets for the 12;20 show today. Roxy, Forry and I settled into the first row of the second section of the IMAX theatre and thoroughly enjoyed the next 2 hours and 26 minutes (though I sure made a bee-line for the rest room as soon it was over!).


I had spent a good share of yesterday and the evening before re-reading the book to refresh my memory. I have a great deal of admiration for JK Rowlings, the author. To have written such an engrossing series of books that appeal to an incredibly wide range of ages is an awesome accomplishment.


It's been fun to literally watch the three actors who portray Harry, Hermione, and Ron grow up in the series of movies. They have become very accomplished young adults. This movie was not set mainly at Hogwarts as the first movies were, but instead was filmed throughout Britain. We all come away thinking it was a really good movie!

Another Visit to Auntie Violet....

Well, the best we can say is that all of the needed parts have been ordered... The insurance adjuster for the extended warranty company finally got there yesterday and approved all of the repairs as "being necessary!"

We collected the few things we needed from Auntie Violet and left her still standing there in the rain...


Meanwhile down in Eugene, our friends Bill and Leslie and their motorhome Serenity, have had a very good day. After weeks of trying to get the residential refrigerator in their new-to-them RV repaired (a very long story), they now have a new one! They bought one from Lowes, it was delivered to the RV dealer; who removed the Serenity's window and moved the new refrigerator in -- and everything now works!

Fuzzy Vests, Monkey Bread and Pesky Cats

Today's projects were to make vests out of the cute faux fur valentine fabric for Sister Roxy's grand-daughters and to make monkey bread. There was just too much of the furry fabric left after we made the muffs, so we decided to dig out Roxy's serger and make the little girls each


a vest. If I say so myself, I think they turned out to be quite cute --

I had cut out the fabric yesterday and left it on the table. But this morning I had to go looking for some of the pattern pieces. Roxy found the front part of one of the vests in bed with her...

Because the cats seemed to be so enamored of the fuzzy fabric, we decided to make them some toys as well. (When Roxy figures out where she's hid the catnip, we'll stuff some inside.)

It's not like Yetti and Casa don't already live lives of luxury --

Yetti's favorite place to "sit" when we are eating is on the back of Roxy's chair --

He can't possibly be comfortable, can he?

This morning all I could see under a table in the hall was a tail --

Though when I made a noise, the rest of the cat popped out. Seems there is a heat register under that table --




Our other project was to make some kind of yeast bread. Roxy wanted to learned how to knead bread, so we decided to make monkey bread. I would have taken some pictures of her creation, but it too quickly disappeared!

Power's Out!

So last night we're sitting in the living room of Sister Roxy's home. We're basking in the glow of finally finishing the "puzzle from the nether regions," enjoying the gas fire, and watching the semi-finals of Dancing With the Stars. Suddenly the lights flickered, then came back on; they flickered again and went off; came back on; then there was a boom off in the distance (a transformer?) and everything went off -- and stayed off!


It's amazing on dark it is when all of the lights from all of the computers, cell phones, kindles, etc. are off. After lighting a few candles and a couple of lanterns; it looks like the power is not coming back on, so we head off to bed -- thinking we can read our kindles in the warmth of blankets until the power comes back on.


This morning there was still no power. Roxy's house is very light so it's not a problem -- except you really do need to take a lantern into the bathroom with you! Rich had the generator going for the refrigerator and freezers plus a couple of outlets so that we could charge our cell phones.


Sister Roxy had haircut appointment this noon at a local spa, so she called to see if I could get a massage at the same time. When we got there, they had no power either, but had their generator going, so I started my massage by candlelight. The spa's power came back about half-way through, so the masseuse finished to music.


When we got back to Roxy's there was still no power and she was beginning to have withdrawal from not being able to play her Facebook games (we were not able to get on-line at the place we went for lunch!). But finally at 3 o'clock, the power was back! It hadn't even been off for 24 hours, but it sure was missed...

Power's out! Can't blog...

PYCO

This afternoon we drove the ninety-some miles to Vancouver to Grand daughter Havela's concert with the Portland Youth Conservatory Orchestra. Havelita plays with the 1st Violin section. PYCO is a step up from the group she played in last year, the Young String Ensemble. It was the Prelude Concert, the first one of the season.


Both the Young String Ensemble and the Wind Ensemble played first, then after intermission, Havela's group. They played "American Salute" by Horton Gould based on 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home;" "Prelude to Act I from Lohengrin" by Richard Wagner; and "Roman Carnival Overture" by Hector Berlioz.


Unfortunately, the Portland Youth Philharmonic Orchestra group sells videos of the concerts, so outside cameras are strictly verboten -- so I have no pictures! This is the oldest Youth Orchestra in America, founded in 1924. They seem to be very proud of the work they do with young musicians. The youngsters have to audition to be selected to participate and then must re-audition again every year.


After the concert, we took Daughter Dawn, Grandson Micah and Havela out to a nearby Mexican restaurant for dinner. (Grand-daughter Kyra and Todd were at a gathering of the church Junior High group.) Since Dawn has to be at work in the morning and the kids have school, we made it a fairly early night.

A Visit to Auntie Violet

Today we drove back to Uhlmann RV in Chehalis to visit Auntie Violet. We needed to pick up some more of our meds as well as some more warm clothes (Roxy and Rich keep their thermostat in the house at 66 degrees in the daytime!).


I took my camera and wanted to take a picture of poor Auntie Violet standing there in a line with a dozen other coaches -- all in the rain. Roxy had reminded me to take my camera, but I had left the SD card in the computer! Cameras don't do well without the picture cards...


The parts to fix the RV have been ordered and we are hoping that by sometime next week we can at least move back in, even if we cannot put out the one slide....

Halloween is Over, but...

Halloween is over -- though Thanksgivings is coming -- but I just had to take a picture and share with you the jack-o-lanterns in the gables of Sister Roxy and Rich's house!

They are on a timer that comes on at dusk and shuts off at bedtime.

Roxy has long been the "queen" of the "Christmas House," but other holidays are not left too far behind. At the moment, there are various pumpkins, turkeys and autumn leaves decorating almost every nook or niche in the house!

Today we had a lovely treat! We met one of my dearest old friends for lunch in Tumwater at the Lemon Grass. Mary, who is Washington State's Secretary of Health, and I have been friends for about thirty years, dating back to our work together creating Washington's Rural Health Association. Roxy and I had sent her a note asking if there was time in her schedule to have lunch with a couple of retired nurses, and to our delight she was available! (We thought at first we might have just a hen party, but there was no way Forry was going to miss time with Mary!)

After lunch we checked out a few shops in downtown Olympia. I was looking for a particular game called Tsuro, the Game of the Path, that I wanted to get for my grandson. It's one that our friend Leslie has in her extensive game collection that I thought would appeal to Varick. They didn't have it at Windup Toys, but the lady was kind enough to call other game stores in the area to see if they might have it in stock. She was unsuccessful. I know that I can order it on Amazon, but it would have been nice to buy it locally.

I did make a wonderful find however in another rather unique shop called Radiance. I have sorta of been looking for a rice filled "log" that could be heated in the microwave and used on my neck when it's sore. (The massage therapist I had in Sundance had suggested it when she was working on my tender occipital region.) Radiance had a wide one filled with flax (with aromatic lavender) that also has ties on it so that you can tie it on, either to your shoulders, neck or back.

WORK Day

Today was a WORK day at Sister Roxy's. Roxy's friend Dorothy came over and we had a busy sewing day. Yesterday we had bought lining and notions and today we made dress-up capes for Roxy's little grand-daughters. (Dorothy worked on her quilting project while we played with girlie stuff.) We had two different colors of washable velvet that we lined with the variegated starry fabric we bought yesterday. We made them reversible --the little girls can wear them with either side out.

Then there was this faux fur fabric with the hearts. Roxy wanted to make it into muffs for the little girls. While we were playing around with it, we started talking about the fact that our little grand-niece Ellie is going to have her first birthday in a week or so. We called her mother Becky to get a head measurement and made her a little ear band to go with the little muff we made for her. The only thing about that fake fir is that it is bear to sew. I think I managed to break three needles on the machine before we were done!

Then there was this cat! Yeti seems to think that all of the sewing we did was just to provide things for him to play with...

Life at Sister Roxy's

This morning Sister Roxy and I went to JoAnn's Fabric Store and bought some lining for capes for her little grand-daughters and the notions to make them some muffs. She had a couple of pieces of washable velvet in burgundy and purple that someone had given her that are just about big enough for a short cape for each of the girls. And she had a hunk of delightful white faux fur with pink hearts that we'll use for the muffs.


We went from there to Borders where I bought Roxy a copy of the America's Test Kitchen cook book as an early birthday present (only a month!). She wants to learn to make bread and I thought she needed a cookbook with good pictures and explanations.


Tonight the household is quite ambitious. Sister Roxy is trying to do her farming on Farmville, but is getting a bit of competition for the warmth of the computer on her lap --



Forry's struggling with the gosh-awful puzzle that Roxy and I started yesterday --



And Brother-in-law Rich is in the den --

As you can tell by the pictures, I am definitely the only one really working...!

;-)

And Not Such Good News...

Well, we drove back down to Uhlmann RV in Chehalis late this morning (I hadn't packed up my coumadin when we left to come to Sister Roxy's yesterday...) and talked to the guys at the shop. It was not real good news. Seems that no one has the necessary parts in stock for the lifter and H & H has to manufacture them...! Sounds like it may take three weeks ;-(


When they finish the other repairs, we should be able at least to move back into Auntie Violet for the wait. Just won't be able to put the slide out. At least Sister Roxy doesn't seem too unhappy about having house guests -- we're already planning a trip to the fabric store tomorrow!

Not the Best Day

When we were on our way to Vancouver last week, we had stopped at a rest area and I noticed that the slide on the passenger side was sticking out about an inch. Forry let it out a few inches and then retracted it again and it was fine. Today we left 99 RV Park on our way to Uhlmann RV in Chehalis to have a couple of things taken care of before we leave for points south.


When we parked at Chehalis, the slide seemed to be fine, but by the time we unhitched the toad and the crew drove Auntie Violet to the back side of the shop, the slide was out a couple of inches again! When Lew (one of Uhlmann's crew) saw oil dripping, he opened the slide and oil just poured out!


Lew and Forry emptied the bay and Lew crawled in trying to figure out where the oil was coming from --

He couldn't see the source, but he ended up with a pretty good pan full --

It took some checking inside with a flashlight and some moving the slide in and out, but Lew finally spotted shiny oil on the hydraulic lifter on the side behind the cover. It seems the seal on the lifter had blown out.

Forry had seen a few drops of oil in the bay earlier this summer, but couldn't figure out where it came from -- and then never saw any more. We are extremely thankful that when it finally totally gave way, it happened right at the repair shop! Someone is watching over us!

We had planned to meet my Sister Roxy and her husband Rich for dinner tonight. When I told her what had happened, Roxy invited us to come and stay with them at their home in Olympia while we wait for parts to arrive.

Today's Project...

For the second time, part of the wooden frame around the closet broke loose when Forry brought the slide out last week. We think it caught on the drawers of the bedside table which had come partially open while we were driving (we had been on some extremely rough and rutty roads). At least this time I wasn't the one opening the slide...

We had gone to Hubbard to Zion Mennonite for church this morning and when we got back to 99 RV Park, our friend Bill came over and helped Forry glue and clamp the frame back in place.

Forry will leave the clamps in place overnight and then put the closet door back on in the morning before we head up to Uhlmann's RV in Chehalis to have some work done on Auntie Violet.

This evening we walked with Bill and Leslie and his daughter and her friends over to the shopping center a couple of blocks from the RV park and had dinner at a roadhouse there (we decided that the definition of a roadhouse is any place where you throw peanut shells on the floor). I ordered the "senior" plate of BBQ'd ribs that was still more then I could eat.

Grandson Micah's Soccer Game!

This morning we ate breakfast with our friends Leslie and Bill, who arrived at 99 RV Park with their RV Serenity last evening. We went to a restaurant called Elmer's in south Vancouver. They had eaten at this chain before and highly recommended it. If nothing else, the portions were huge -- and the food was good too!


We were on our way to the Middle School in the little town of Colton, where our Grandson Micah was playing a soccer game at noon. His Dad, Todd, coaches the team of fourth grade boys.



There are eight boys on the team --

This is the first time I have ever used the 55-200 lens that came with my Nikon camera -- and the first time I have used the sports setting. It was quite different to try to snap quick shots. I got some good pictures of Micah -- when I didn't chop his head off! This is the goal-making kick that Micah made! (I got so excited that I didn't quickly get a shot of the ball actually going into the goal...)

In this shot, Micah's playing defense --

Awaiting the kick-back by the opposing goalie is serious business --

And a guy just has to keep hustling --

Gotta keep that ball moving --



There's a good kick!

The kids from Hubbard and the boys from Colton had a pretty even game during the first half, tying it up 3-3. During the second half, Todd's boys showed their stamina, making another four unanswered goals.

After the game, we went back to Daughter Dawn and Todd's and had lentil soup and biscuits for lunch. Grand-daughter Kyra had been given a copy of "Rabbid Go Home" for their Wii. It's such a silly stupid game -- you just had to chuckle at the kids' antics as they attempted to get their "rabbids" to the moon.

Fort Vancouver

Today we went to explore reconstructed Fort Vancouver along the Columbia River. It's one of the National Park Service Historic sites. They have a really great audio tour that walks you around the restored fort. Established for the Hudson's Bay Company in 1825, the Fort was the fur-gathering center of the northern Pacific Coast.

This was the Chief Factor's Residence where Dr. John McLoughlin and his family lived. McLoughlin has come to be called the "Father of Oregon."

This is a view of the Fort and the palisade looking across the kitchen garden, planted with the same varieties that were grown during its heyday.

The British flag of Hudsons Bay Company flying in the breeze this afternoon --

We toured the bakehouse, the carpentry shop. the counting house, the dispensary, the Indian Trade Shop, the jail, the blacksmith shop (where two volunteers were actually working), and the bastion (the corner building that is two stories high and houses the cannons that were used to salute arriving ships). By then I was tired! That's a LOT of walking!

Just Out Walking...

99 RV Park is an older park that has probably been here beside Hwy 99 for many years. As we walk about, we can't help but notice that the trees are quite aged and beautiful.

As we were walking about, we noticed this sort of ring around the sun -- I think it's called a "sun dog."

The trees vary from shades of orange and red --

or shades of gold --

or yellow?

I'd say this one was actually shades of bronze --

What ever color you might decide any one of the trees is, they are gorgeous!