Mark and I were comparing our day today and we had two very different experiences.

Mark:  Today Mark went to our realtors office and got the keys to our new house.  Our realtor told him who our propane delivery company is so that we can have heat and such, and she also told him how to turn the water off to keep our pipes from freezing in the winter.  The electricity is in our name.  We have well water and a septic tank (hopefully a long distance from each other!).  The only service Mark hasn’t contacted yet is the garbage company.

Then Mark started to move some stuff from our RV to the house.  He moved all his tools to the garage, and he noticed his bow saw and decided to cut a branch where he plans to park our RV.  His elbow was sore tonight.  He’s gotten a little out of shape.  I can only imagine how out of shape I am after having an office job the last few months!

Mark went into the house and it was cold and our propane tank is too low to heat the house.  The propane company will come tomorrow and fill the tank.  So Mark thought it would be fun to try out our new wood burning stove.  He opened the door of the stove and found that newspaper and wood had already been laid in the stove for us to light for the first time.  The former owner is so thoughtful!  Mark lit the fire and he said it warmed the house nicely.  He also said that there is a wood pile in the garage, so we’re set until things warm up a bit more!

The best story Mark told me tonight was about when he went to get us signed up at the post office.  The post master for Ellison Bay had him fill out some paperwork, and when she saw the address he had put down, she said, “Oh, are you the ones that bought the Brandt house?”  That alone was enough to impress Mark, but he had also put down that he will be receiving business mail at our house.  She looked at the business name — Fuller RV Services — and she said, “That name sounds familiar.  Now, where have I heard that before?”  And then she said, “Oh, I know!  I’ve been delivering your mail to Wagon Trail Campground!”  Mark was grinning from ear to ear when he told me the story.  How wonderful to have a post master who knows everything that’s going on in town!

Denise: My day was quite different.  Late this morning while I was at work, we heard some sirens nearby and saw people with their phones out taking pictures toward the south of us.  A little bit later, Tom’s wife called to see if we were being evacuated and if he needed her to come and pick him up from work.  I asked her what was going on because all we could see was that the opposite side of our road was taped off and there were police cars with lights flashing.  She said she had heard on the news that there had been a fire and a building in our area had been evacuated for fear of it collapsing.  As it turns out, the part about the fire was untrue, but there was a building a block away from our building that had, indeed, been evacuated for fear of it collapsing.  Here is a link to a news story with pictures:  http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2017/04/crews_investigating_reports_of_1.html

There is never a dull moment in downtown Portland!