Why we’ve been so quiet

We’re not in jail and we’re not hiding out from the IRS. We haven’t joined Al-Qaeda. We’re not hidden away in monasteries. We aren’t climbing Mt. Everest (well, maybe Bob and Claire have considered that possibility!) We didn’t fall off the edge of the earth or lock ourselves in our closets. We just had to take a break…

I want to thank our old and new visitors for sticking by us these past couple of months. There are a few die-hard readers that check in from time to time, and we still get a lot of hits from first-time visitors. This traffic is surprising considering the fact that we’ve put very little new up on JustOneOpinion.com since Christmas. It’s clear that some of our articles have gone well-past their “do not sell” date.

My excuse is that I’ve simply been overwhelmed for the past three months due to construction work going on in my home. Just before Christmas we had a hard freeze here in Oregon that resulted in frozen pipes bursting all through the Willamette Valley. In my home, a pipe froze and burst in mid-day causing minimal damage to my garage. A few hours later, it burst again in another location while we were away, effectively destroying the garage and doing extensive damage to our laundry room, tiled front entryway, and our hallway.

While we suffered a rather alarming loss just before the Christmas holiday weeks, we were able to get plumbers, restoration contractors, and other craftspeople out to the house to help us. This was in spite of the fact that the freeze damaged hundreds of homes and businesses in the area, most as a result of broken pipes, leaving homeowners scrambling to find any available contractors to repair their homes.

Our insurance company gave us immediate and excellent service so that we could get everything cleaned up and repaired. This is not a paid plug, but an honest testimonial for Ameriprise Homeowner’s Insurance, the company that provides customer service and underwriting for Costco here in the western states. I have nothing but good things to report about how their claims representative, Scott Miles, handled our account, immediately paid contractors for the emergency work that had already been done, and then quickly cut us a check that was fair and representative of the repairs we needed to get everything back to normal.

We were also fortunate to have a great local contractor referred to us by our Realtor, Rhonda Marshall. Eric Sorenson exceeded our expectations by making absolutely sure that everything was completed in an organized, timely, and professional way. His dedication to high-quality work was commendable, his quotes were reasonable, and he made sure that everything that was done met our expectations. The walls and ceiling work in the garage looks great and the updated flooring in the entry-hallway and laundry room give our home an entirely new look.

But for me, it has been three months of demolition, restoration, installation, and reconstruction going on right behind my head. That’s my main excuse for why my recent productivity has absolutely sucked.

I’ve been working with Dick Kelly on a book project since last summer and my goal was to have my part completed by Christmas. Finally, just after Thanksgiving, I told my wife that I wouldn’t shave again until I’d completed the project - and I haven’t shaved since. She hasn’t left me yet, but if this project isn’t done within the next few weeks, one of us will be sleeping in our new garage.

On the other hand, being creative is very difficult when you have hammers, saws, nail guns, staplers, paint sprayers and what-all making noise just a few feet away from your office door.

Although most of the blame sits squarely on my shoulders, the other contributors to JustOneOpinion.com have also been quiet over the past few months. Everyone seems to have a lot on their plates these days.

Dick Kelly has been finishing up his sequel to his first book, Growing Up in Mama’s Club. He and his wife have also been living with contractors working in their home in Tucson during the past six months. I hear that they had much of the interior redesigned and updated. I can’t wait to see the results.

Craig Bieber is finishing his new book and hopes to have it published later this year. He was able to take a break and contributed a most interesting article about his Christmas trip to New York that continues, even at this late date, to get a lot of hits from our readers.

Bob and Claire kept us entertained as well as on the edge of our seats during the fall. Their trip all over southeast Asia was exciting and nerve-wracking for all of us during the several weeks they were gone. Not only did we understand the danger and complexity of the trip that they were taking, but we’d also worry every time they would go completely silent for several days. Eventually they would come to a village or city where they could once again access the Internet and finally send us some updates, photos, and videos. They are home now and resting up for their next grand adventure later this year. I’m hoping that they can swing through central Oregon and pay us a visit for a few days.

In the meantime, Bob and Claire are sharing some of their favorite recipes on their website at NewBohemians.net. Go check them out.

Chi Newman maintains a busy schedule with speaking engagements and her usual rounds of bridge parties and other social activities.

I hope that we can all get back in the writing groove over the next few months and expand our readership again. I realize that we’re no Huffington Post, and probably never will be, but we do have a great number of readers and fans – and we thank them all for their patience.

I’ll try to do better over the next few weeks – now that I can hear myself think. Please come back and check us out.