My Own Cause

Condensing

2010-04-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

I have too many blogs going on, I have finally figured out. So I am condensing all my stimulating posts to one blog: www.oldestonecottage.blogspot.com

Please bookmark that blog and follow it from now on.

Thanks!

Junque and Stuff

2010-04-11T13:02:00.000-07:00

Man is not keeping in very good touch with the kids. When he has time off from work on the weekends he doesn't try to get together with the kids, he'd rather go yard saling, as I have heard.

What thinketh he, why stinketh he?

I have a job interview in Pendleton tomorrow and it is such a perfect match for me. I hope I get it. And I hope it has insurance. I really have a couple of things I need to get checked out as soon as I can!

Had a yard sale yesterday. Man didn't come to mine. :) He did however, call later to ask the kids how it went and how much he made. Apparently he left a box of stuff in the garage and without communicating expected that we would know to sell it for him. As if!

What earnings I did get went right back out to shoes for the kids, (Eli's were literally falling off of his feet and the soles were separated from the shoe clear back to his heels. I guess I wasn't paying very good attention to him!) I also got Zoey her birthday present early so she would be sure and get it. Also managed to have enough to pay a bill and have gas for the car. Am hoping to have another one in a couple of weekends and also have a couple of Sister Shic sales coming up. I have learned I have way too much junque!

I think I am carrying the weight of my world around on my right shoulder cause it seems to be in a permanent kink and is constantly burning. Fortunately, the kids provide me with some relief with their excellent deep muscle shoulder rubs. The press their thumbs into my shoulder as hard as they can and it feels great!

(with the crash of my computer I lost a lot of great photos and pictures I had been stockpiling to use on my blogs. Now I'll have to start building up a picture library again. Until then, sorry for the boring text only entry.)

Strike three...four....make that five.

2010-04-05T22:33:00.001-07:00

Man moved out, again. And for the last time, I swear it! The kids weren't even traumatized this time because as they said, "he always does..." When he hasn't moved out, he's run away from home for a few days. What a legacy. Why have I put up with it for so many years, and all the reasons for why he ends up leaving? Bottom line is, he is a selfish, self-centered man who really only cares to take care of himself. Well then, go do it. I'm done doing it!

So now what to do with myself? An new venture, new opportunities, possibilities...I may even move out of the immediate area. I am ready for some new faces and places. But then again, I'm just getting settled in here at the homestead.

Lexy has been home for the Easter holiday, working on her trailer, taking part in all the Easter festivities. She is still a kid at heart. It's funny, as much as my kids fight and complain when we partake in one of our holiday traditions, they chastize me if we skip one traditional activity on a holiday. They are all kids at heart!

So far this year hasn't been the best...left a job I had put a lot into, Jeff moved out, the computer crashed, I backed into a pole and smashed my tail light, got a huge ticket by camera in Salem, all things I can't afford right now. And some other stuff...it's time the tide started turning my way again. Fingers crossed.

Look What I Found!

2010-03-20T11:33:00.001-07:00

I had a prosperous week 'finding' things.
I found these treasures at a yard sale this morning. Now I know they might not look like much, but after reading Junk Style, Take it Outdoors this week, these seemed like the perfect compliment to my other junk!

This lovely shutter I found at the "Re-Store", the Habitat for Humanity store that sells basically garbage, but once in awhile I can find something I have to have. Don't know yet what I'll be doing with it, but I'm sure I'll find a purpose!

Driving home the other evening from picking Max up at a friends house, we drove by a pile of wood by the road with a sign that said "free wood." Music to my ears. My eyes picked out this old crown molding right off so I pulled over and loaded all that there was into my car. Again, don't know what I'll eventually do with it, but I've got ideas.

I got this old door at the Re-Store as well. I am always dragging home old doors.

In fact, this pink one hanging on the chicken coop under construction, I found in a pile of junk in Baker City about seven years ago. I drug it home, and have carted it around through at least three moves, and now look at it! I has the perfect home!

And to go with the lovely pink door, I salvaged this tin from the side of the road on the way to Imbler, for the roof of the chicken coop. Free is always good!

Anticipation...

2010-03-07T20:52:00.000-08:00

This photo is full of anticipation....anticipation of spring, blue skies, warm days, new growth, yard sales...ahhh.

I puttered about in the backyard thinking of the warm days to come and about how I wanted to 'decorate' and arrange things. We moved the picnic table over by the garden spot, a metal round table over by the firepit, and started dragging things out of the garage to outfit the back deck for outdoor living.

I was visualizing what I would plant and where, what I would use for trellis', decided to plant some pots this year and put some on the front porch, want to plant some lavender on the side of the house that gets lots of sun, want a pumpking patch and trying to figure out where to put one...I need more yard!

The New Me

2010-02-26T22:47:00.000-08:00

Sadly, this is pretty much what I look like! The hair, the bod, the slippers! But I am loving this new life of doing whatever the heck I want when I want to! LOVE IT! I needed me some good R & R, and during this time I have realized how totally stressed and basically unhappy I was in my last job the last year or so. I've got some plans in the works that I'm way excited about, more about that later. But for now, I'm just breathing easy!

I have plans

2010-02-23T09:50:00.000-08:00

My summer social calendar is booked with plans. Let's see if I can remember it all...in June I am hoping to go the Farm Chicks sale in Spokane, Washington that will be combined with a Sisters on the Fly campout; in July it is a Class of 79 turns 50 class reunion of sorts in North Powder, and Education Week in Rexburg, ID with my roomies Tammy and Tracy; August is Lexy's graduation, we think, and we hope, as well as another Sisters Camping Event near Sisters, Oregon.

Who has time to work? I am hoping to find a job that will accomodate my social calendar!

Oh Canada!

2010-02-12T21:40:00.000-08:00

I'm watching the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics, being held in Vancouver, Canada.

While on my mission in Japan I had three companions from Canada, one of which I am still in contact with, Sara Bursey Cyngot. We are hoping to get to go on a trip back to Japan together some day, had planned to this spring, but my change in job status has put the brakes on that for the time being.

Oh the stories she could tell you about the young sister missionary I was then!

Life is a Highway

2010-02-09T12:05:00.000-08:00

Recognize this area? It's the 45th parallel, half between the equator and the North Pole, as posted just outside North Powder. Salute!

I'm moving on down my life's highway and after being a bit angry about it for a couple of weeks, I'm settling in to the new direction, enjoying it, and even looking forward to new adventures.

I resigned from my last job as Director of a child abuse center. The board and I weren't getting along, and I was out numbered. The whole experience left me vowing to never work with a board again, but never say never.

Anyway, I had been wanting to make a change for about a year but didn't know what to, and the jobs I was looking into were just more of the same thing I was doing. So it's good I left angry and disappointed because it has spurred me to look at new possibilities. Something different.

In the meantime, I am catching up on Martha Stewart, drinking lots of diet pepsi, not getting ready for the day if I don't want to, and whatever else I want to do. I've never been unemployed for long so I'm not real good at it, have had to relax in brief time periods, like parts of a weekend, etc. I am really liking not having to be anywhere in particular for most of the day, though I can tend to be lazy! Shhhh!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T22:50:00.001-08:00

Yeah! 2009 is history! What a difference a day makes! Well at least in my mind. I am so looking forward to a new year, new adventures, new opportunities.

Already this year I've been given a pass on getting a ticket for rolling through a stop sign, and I've been called for an interview for a non-profit in Salt Lake City.

And if I don't get that job, my enthusiasm has been rekindled for my current job and I have a list of ideas to work on.

My kids are all healthy, albeit without health insurance. Jeff has the prospect of a job at the hospital, and for the most part we are pretty dang lucky.

The last couple of months of that dreaded 2009 we went from being a two income family (with the stress off of me for a few brief weeks) with full benefits including insurance for all of us, to a one part time income family with no insurance. Of course, that is when one needs insurance, not all the months and years previous. Sigh.

It's been nice just hanging out with the kids for the better part of two weeks. I have needed time to clear my mind and find hope again. And yet how can I possibly complain about my life? Some of my friends are going through some incredible hardships and heartaches right now. So, yes, I am thankful, and hopeful.

Out With the Olde

2009-12-28T21:38:00.001-08:00

Don't know what it is, but after Christmas is over I can hardly wait for the year to be over. The last part of this last year pretty much was a bust. I won't go into all the reasons.
A New Year promises hope for change, new adventures, starting fresh.
I don't even want to start with my list of 'resolutions' or goals yet, I just want to enjoy the fact that the old year is winding to a close and the new year is on the horizon.
I wonder what 2010 will bring? And me, I'm ready to skate out of this old year and into the new, eyes wide open!

Skating out of 2009

2009-12-26T22:22:00.001-08:00

Yep, I'm about done with this year. I'm ready to skate on out of it, in fact.

I'll have a blue Christmas....

2009-12-22T22:19:00.000-08:00

Elvis is in the house and singing 'Blue Christmas'.

I've been knitting again, scarves of course. This one is for one of Lexy's old roomates who lost the one I made for her last year. I'm also making a navy blue one for one of her guy friends at the school newspaper.

I got the idea for this bulb wreath from Rachel Berry's website, and she got the idea from Eddie Ross. It was easy enough to make and looks so pretty. Riley even made one and it, too, turned out great!

These cookies are some of my annual stand bys. I call them snowball cookies and I challenge you to eat one without getting powdered sugar all over yourself!

O Christmas Tree

2009-12-05T19:55:00.000-08:00

We usually go to a tree farm or tree lot to pick out a tree. This year we thought we'd do it the good old fashioned way - drive to the mountains and cut one down.

Normally this plan might seem like fun. And at the end of the day, in hindsight, it was. But the journey was not uneventful.

We had to fill up the car with gas, get a tree permit, and some snacks for the littles. We drove up to the Mt. Emily Road turn off on the freeway, then drove on that road for about two miles and then made a left at the first snow park. We use this same area for mushrooming. Jeff was driving, and though I spotted "the tree" not long after turning onto this road, he needed to look over every next hill we came to, just to make sure 'the tree' wasn't way off the road in some stand of trees that one must trip over fallen logs and rocks to get to.

After everyone was wet and cold, we made our way back to the tree I first spotted, parked, and proceeded to cut it down, put it on the car and tie it down. We all hopped in looking forward to getting warm on the drive home, and lo and behold, the battery was dead. Jeff had forgotten to turn off the headlights.

We made several phone calls trying to find a rescuer and were finally able to get ahold of Stephanie at Wal Mart. She had a bit of a time finding us, but when she did, it was a short jump with the cables and we had power again.

When we got the tree home and in the tree stand it looked a bit Charlie Brownish, but that just added to it's authentic charm.

But next year, back to the tree lot!

Howl 'o ween

2009-10-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

Well what in the world have I been doing? I haven't written on this blog for a coons age. I'll do better. I've been a bit preoccupied with facebook but I'm tiring of that venue, little blips on life are nice to catch up on other folks, but me, I'm a rambler. Don't like limits. Like wide open spaces, like the blank spaces of a blog page just willing me to fill it up!

I am not a Halloween fan, except for the fact that it ushers in the fall season, which is my favorite, and serves as the prelude to the winter holidays. Every year, pretty much, if I dress up, I go as myself, a witch! Love to be myself and look the part! Though in the past I dressed up as a pregnant woman, and apparently convincingly so because men offered me their seats at the school halloween parade, opened doors for me, etc. It was quite fun. Another year I dressed as a homeless person, put on my shabbiest falling apart dress, torn and worn sweater, ratted my hair, smudged my face with dirt, enhanced the wrinkles on my face, etc. The problem with that year was that most people didn't notice a difference! Showed me!

I don't like halloween hanging all over my house, you know, the webs and such. True, in years past I have tied ghost suckers to the ceiling fan, had plug in skull lights and jack o' lanterns, 'enter if you dare' signs on the front door, etc. But I didn't like it. Couldn't wait to take it down. This year I confined most of the decor to the front entry, with a few vintage touches in the house. Suits me better, and the kids seem to be ok with it. Could be that they are growing older.

The pumpkin carving has lost it's appeal for them for the most part. They begged me to carve pumpkins, then Eli quit early cause he was tired, Riley kept whining that it was too hard, Max thought it was too gross (I guess moreso than breaking ducks legs and splitting them open), and Zoey of course kept everyone in line with teasing, badgering, name calling, etc. But, alas, we got it done.

Happy Halloween y'all!

Come Fly Away...

2009-09-07T17:09:00.000-07:00

This week is the Sisters on the Fly Rendezvous in the Wallowas. I think there will be about 10 of us afterall, and I'm getting excited. I've been working on the 'giveaways', making a list of what to take, slowly packing the trailer and adding some decorative 'stuff' I've been gathering. Stephanie, Morgan and maybe Lexy will also be going. Should be fun times and I'll take lots of photos to post when I get back.

How much are those kiddies in the window?

2009-08-17T17:44:00.001-07:00

The kids are looking out at their big sister Lexy to see if she is getting any action. She is dating a new guy and her sibs are quite curious about it all. I thought it was hilarious and had to snap this picture.

Old Dog, New Trick

2009-07-25T23:27:00.001-07:00

So you can teach an old dog new tricks! Riley, who is 8 years old, is teaching her dad, who is 55, how to get on the internet! It was so cute, I had to memoralize it!

Pretty in Blue

2009-07-22T00:08:00.000-07:00

Now here's a sight you don't see very often, Zoey in a dress, and a grown up girly one at that!

Sister on the Fly

2009-07-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my home away from home for a week while I camped with my group of 'sisters' from "Sisters on the Fly". We all have vintage trailers and there are over 1100 in the US. The outing I went on was the Northwest Rendezvous, and it was a blast!

There were around 40 of us and we camped at Champoeg park on the west side of Oregon. It's not the most exciting of campgrounds but it was still beautiful and conducive to all of us hanging out together. We had a lot of campground folks come around to look at our trailers, and even some townfolk from nearby Aurora, Canby and Neuberg who heard we were there and came for a look see.

We cooked in meal teams, which meant we only had to cook once and eat breakfast and dinner prepared for us everyday. My meal team had the Fifties as a theme and I was in charge of getting flowers for the tables.

On the day of our dinner, we went to the Queen of Tarte Barn Sale and then I drove around to several yard sales just following signs. While doing this, I came across some beautiful hydrangas and some wildflowers that I added to some store bought bouquets. We had vintage tablecloths on the tables and dressed in Fifties attire.

Our dinner night was also the night of the auction, which raised $4,800 for a local charity.

Each night was a campfire at someone's camp where we all drug our chairs over and sat around talking and laughing.

It gets referred to as "glamping" because we really do up our trailers for comfort and fun. I haven't got a feather bed yet, but the bed was very comfortable, and with the cool breeze coming in the windows and no kids, pets or husband waking me up during the night, I slept like a baby!

The Traveler

2009-06-23T14:58:00.001-07:00

I recently 'marked' my 48th birthday. I purposely did not say 'celebrate.' Time is going much too fast as the years go by, so I've decided to start counting backwards. Next year I'll be 47, please make a note of that!

You'll notice by the foot comparison, that my feet have traveled much further than my daughter, Lexy's. My travel worn foot is on the left, sores, band aide, and all!

For the latest on my yardsale finds and creative projects check out my other blog: oldestonecottage.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday Lexy Lee!

2009-06-13T22:50:00.001-07:00

Sister on the Fly

2009-06-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

I'm getting excited! I've got my first 'Sister on the Fly' adventure coming up in about two weeks. It's a camping trip with a bunch of other women with vintage trailers on the west side of Oregon. I want to get a bit more of my trailer painted before the trip. The inside is tripped out pretty comfy and cute, but still more work to do in there as well.

Dad found me an electrical adapter for the trailer to fit my truck so I have lights. Jeff took the covers off and cleaned them all good, changed a bulb in one of the sockets, and now it's good to go. So much better to have blinkers and brake lights that work!

I'm thinking it's going to be a good time. We are supposed to bring an item for auction, a smaller item for some kind of gift exchange, we get put on 'meal teams' and only have to cook once the whole trip, and have an evening of dress up and fun. I am so in need of some time away from it all!

Past Present

2009-06-07T16:45:00.000-07:00

Had quite a trip to Washington D.C. I left from Boise, touched down in Salt Lake City and Boston before finally landing at Ronald Reagan International. Got the rental car, a Chrysler 300, and drove to the hote, Marriott Renaissance, which is just a few blocks from "the hill." The Leadership Conference was so much better this year than last year and I enjoyed every class I went to.

Also got in some sight seeing, took a Duck Tour around DC, a vehicle that tours on the land and water, so part of the tour we were on the Potomac River. It was pretty cool. DC is such an interesting city. It has a real small town feel, but the buildings are massive and ornate, and the sense of history and importance of today is all over the place.

We also looked around Georgetown and had dinner in a Japanese Restaurant. Yummy, but way too expensive, as is everything in DC! We also took a drive up to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, which meant driving through parts of Virginia and Maryland as well. Gettysburg is a quaint little town with tons of New England flavor. I took some shots of the buildings and will post them soon.

We took a driving tour of the battlefield. It was quite amazing to see how much land the famous battle covered, and humbling to know that 51,000 men died in the three day battle! Can you even imagine it?! On the drive home we stopped in a little town called Emmetsville and ate at what was supposed to be a pub, but looked more like a truck stop and diner shoved into a pub. The food wasn't that great, either. In fact, the best food on the trip was from room service at the hotel!

On the way home I landed in Minnesota before going on to Boise. What a big airport! Rivals Chicago. Lots of moving sidewalks thank goodness. And joy of joys, I was singled out for a search on this trip as well. That makes it almost every time I fly. I must have a sketchy face, look nervous and sweating.

A camping we will go...

2009-05-29T16:38:00.000-07:00

For memorial day weekend I took the chillies camping in my old trailer for it's maiden voyage. We went to Red Bridge, not that far out of town, but far enough to get away from it all. It was quite the preparation to get everyone ready, me the littles and the bigs. Even Tobi, our dog, went. Jeff and the cat stayed home.

We passed this rock everytime we walked to the bathroom. Funny, none of the kids noticed it. I thought it looked cool. It looked like I feel, all those age spots!

As you can see from the picture below, Eli managed to chill!

The river was high, fast and cold, and the kids insisted on putting their feet in it. There was no sloping bank to speak of, so the girls sat on this man made rock bank balancing precariously above the swift moving water. I could just see one of them fallig in and being swept away. Needless to say, we did not stay long at the river!

The thrill of the hunt, and other things...

2009-05-16T22:59:00.000-07:00

It was such a beautiful day out today, and it didn't fly by either, which was nice. I got up early to go yardsaling and took Lexy and Riley with me. One of our stops was an estate sale. I got some fun vintage finds there - a red and white metal kitchen cannister set that has four sizes for $1, a yellow garbage can with red flowers on it for .25 cents, and a few other things. My favorite find of the day was at a yardsale we came upon on our way to another one. I got this wonderful old wingback type chair with a raspberry red upholstery on it with fringe even. Adorable! And it was only $5! I got a cute wicker picnic basket that I brought home and spray painted a raspberry red color. Cute, cute! I read on someone else's blog that they never go to yardsales, but rather shop at flea markets and such. I'm thinking they're crazy. Where do they think the vendors at flea markets and shops that sell vintage and shabby wares get their stuff? Yardsales! And it's so much cheaper. It's like a treasure hunt.
I also worked on getting my 'cowgirl cottage' together for it's maiden camping trip to mother daughter outing at the lodge. Measured the windows for the curtains I'm sewing from old linens. Put a cushy mattress on the sofa/bed. It is going to be so cute!
Other events of the day: took Riley to the Dollar Store where I bought candles for the cabin, camp trailer and house, shoe shopping with Max, car broke down - got it charged and home but need a new alternator; to Walmart with Jeff, planted tomatoes and lettuce in the garden, put my old ladders over the tomato plants for trellis'; vaccuumed the chair from the yardsale and put it in the 'cabin', put the bed frame together in the cabin, bbq'd hamburgers, and ended the day outdoors with a fire in the backyard fire pit. I'm falling asleep at the computer, time for bed!

...how does your garden grow?

2009-05-13T23:04:00.000-07:00

My garden isn't growing. Gee, wonder why? Could it be the snow and freezing rain every other day?! I'm going to have to cheat to get any kind of decent garden, and buy plants at a store. So not as fun and rewarding!

Bazaar happenings

2009-05-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

Our spring 'Something Special' bazaar was Saturday before Mother's Day. These are some photos of our 'booth', always a show favorite due to Stephanie's skill at arranging everything so cute.In the background, you can see the front of the line forming, waiting to get in. At our Christmas bazaar we have had ladies literally run to our booth and grab up things they had been eyeballing!

You can see one of the corner door cabinets Jeff put together for me, on the left.

The fruit of my labors

2009-05-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

The fruit of my labors (literally hours and hours of painful labors!), my children, made today a really nice day. They let me sleep in, which was wonderful, then Zoey and Lexy made me breakfast - french toast, bacon, strawberries and pomegranate/blueberry juice. Delicious. Riley wrote a letter for a Mother's Day contest and won a chenille throw and a gift certificate to the Potter's House for me. Eli made sweet flowers out of crepe paper and wrote me a book titled "my supermom". He illustrated it and wrote about all the things he likes about me. Max gave me some plants he grew in the green house at school, and Lexy gave me a farmgirl apron! Yahoo! Jeff gave me a really sweet card and worked hard on several projects for me (corner shelves made from doors, Tobi (our dog) proofing the back yard, and demo on the guest cottage). After breakfast the girls finished cleaning out the guest cottage, swept it and hosed it down. At Lexy's suggestion, we recycled a box that was in the shed to be used as a kindling box by the fire pit, and the work bench that was in there is now a potting bench by the garden. Love it! Next, we took a drive up Mt. Emily looking for mushrooms and found some. It's nice just to get out and enjoy nature, and even better when you find what you're looking for! When we got home I picked the first ripe stalks of rhubarb from the plant we inherited when we moved here, sliced it up and put it in the freezer. Then I packaged up my mom's mother's day card and gift and went to visit her. While there she gave us two jars of peanut butter, and I picked the first ripe stalks of rhubarb from her plant. We dined on chili dogs made by the kids, and then I relaxed on the back deck reading Mary Jane magazines, and watched the kids play kick ball. All in all a most satisfying day.

To Me, Mine and Yours!

2009-05-09T21:39:00.000-07:00

Down and Out, Whine Flu

2009-05-07T22:41:00.000-07:00

I don't know what I had, but whatever ailed me knocked me on my butt for three days! On Monday I was in the Tri-Cities with Lexy, Zoey and three of her friends on a shopping trip. By afternoon I could tell I was getting sick, and on Tuesday morning I was down and out. Couldn't do anything. It didn't feel like I had a cold, and it didn't feel like the flu, it was kind of a mix of both but different. Yep, hard to describe. I had planned to work on projects for the bizarre all week but haven't mustered much energy except finally today I was able to work with Jeff on putting a couple of door corner shelves together. I sat on a chair while helping, but still, it was something. Well, I might not have had the swine flu, but I definately have the whine flu!

It's been rainy every day, which was actually kind of nice while I was sick. Kept the house feeling cozy.

My Stash

2009-04-29T16:25:00.001-07:00

This is what it looks like behind my computer at work. It seems I have a drinking problem!

My Favorite Signs of Spring

2009-04-23T17:22:00.001-07:00

"Cotton Candy" trees in bloom
Asparagus
Strawberries
Tulips
Spring sports
Warm weather
Peony bushes growing
Lilac bushes leafing out
Garden dirt
The first mow of spring grass

Easter Morning

2009-04-21T19:05:00.000-07:00

The Chillies on Easter Morning. Aren't they a cute bunch! They look deceivingly sweet in this photo!

Red, White and True Blue

2009-04-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

I am such a rebel. Let me tell you all about it. Awhile ago I joined a group called "Sisters on the Fly", a group of women who rehab old trailers and take off on road trips towing them behind.

Recently I joined a group called "Farmgirls." Yep. I'm an official hoe. And not only a hoe, I am starting a chapter in La Grande so I'll be the 'hen hencho', so to speak. The only uniform required is an apron. Look at me, still sowing those wild oats!

Last week I went to my first protest ever. Not just any protest mind you. I went to the local 'tea party', like the other tea parties staged across the nation on tax day to protest the ever rising taxes. Isn't that cool? I participateed in an historical event, a rendition of the Boston Tea Party written about in history books.

I never cease to amaze myself.

I am such a fun gal!

Hello, Goodbye

2009-04-11T09:35:00.001-07:00

Gareld's mom, Phyllis Smith, died this week. She was a fixture in North Powder for years. Everyone knows the Smiths. Her funeral was yesterday, and I don't know why but I thought it would just be a lot of old people I didn't know that well. I had forgotten how loved and known Phyllis was. It was like old home week. I saw so many people I hadn't seen in years, and some I hadn't seen since high school.

Funerals have a crazy way of being a really nice time to reconnect with people and enjoy a reunion of sorts. About a third of my high school graduating class was there. That might sound impressive until you know my graduating class numbered 18! Still it was fun to see everyone, and I was put in charge of our 30 year reunion to be held this summer in July, to coincide with the Huckleberry Festival in North Powder.

I climbed this water tower in my youth. On the drive into North Powder I started in on all the old stories I guess I tell, because Lexy and Zoey chimed right in mocking me and the many times I have told them about the many places we were driving by, all the roads I had run on and all the people that I knew there. At least I knew they had been listening to my ramblings and reminiscences (sp?)!

Springing

2009-04-05T22:44:00.001-07:00

This guy could have been in our yard last week, but today, today it was a glorious 50+ degrees! Still if you look at Mt. Emily you would think it's the dead of winter.

We had some ugly shrubs in the back yard, you know the ones, green, prickly, smell like a cat litter box...I hate 'em! I was watching a show the other day called 'Desperate Landscapes' and they wrapped a chain around a bush and pulled it out with a truck. Jeff said we could probably do that with the shrubs I hate. Did I mention I hate them?

So today was the day.

Jeff hooked up a strap, Zoey drove, and I sat in a wicker chair supervising! They came out, one by one, some harder than others. But oh the joy to see those ugly things gone! So much more yard and garden space now.

My Dream Truck!

2009-03-27T10:12:00.001-07:00

I love this truck! Does it look familiar? Like the one at the top of my blog? I saw this one on the streets of La Grande and swung around the block to get a photo. The guy who owns it was wondering what the heck I was doing. Dude, I just think you have the coolest truck ever! Seriously!

Weary Bones

2009-03-22T13:39:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty tired. It's 'grant season' at work, which means there are a million grants all due by the end of March. Also, our National Children's Alliance Re-accreditation application is due this month, and they give you 6 months to work on it. It took every last hour. The final product is a 3 inch three ring binder full of documents to submit. I had to review and revise the Union County Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Team protocols, develop a Safe Center personnel policy handbook because we didn't have one, revise the Safe Center protocols and guidelines, answer a million parts to the 10 NCA standards, each with a zillion attachments, etc., etc. I have to get it in the mail on Monday and then dive right in to the other grants I've had on hold to finish the re-accreditation application. Feel sorry for me would you?

Paisley Party Trucks

2009-03-06T09:08:00.003-08:00

I had a trip to Pendleton the other day and saw five semi trucks at the truck stop that apparently are with a Brad Paisley tour. I stopped to take a photo.

Baby Madison Michael

2009-03-06T09:00:00.001-08:00

We finally had no kids sick and no evening activities on Tuesday so we went out to Mike and Darcy's to see baby Madison Michael, pictured at the left. She is a cutie. In person I didn't see the resemblence to her sister Kaitlyn, but in this photo I see it. She does have the Pedro forehead, of course! Zoey is holding her, and she was sure interested in Zoey. When it was my turn she started crying. That's a first cause kids usually like me holding them. We hit the visiting window just right because now Zoey has started baseball, Riley has a cold, and Eli sounds like he might have croup. It's always something.

The Maxinator

2009-02-26T11:26:00.001-08:00

Lexy was home over President's weekend, and Max had a wrestling tournament in Baker City, so we made the drive over to watch him. He had three matches, two of which he dominated. The picture on the left is of Max on top pinning a guy, and then at right he's happy but tired! The third match was the best, they went the full three rounds and Lexy and I were on our feet in the stands cheering. People were looking at us like we were a bit over the top but it was exciting. He did very well his first season and is thinking about continuing wrestling through high school. It was nice just to see him wrestle guys his own size for a change. He is always trying to wrestle Riley and Eli and they aren't so thrilled with it.

He also had his Scout Klondike campout up at Anthony Lakes and survived it without getting wet and cold. But he came home pretty wiped out and slept most of the rest of the day.

He's been struggling in school lately so it's nice to see him enjoying himself in other areas of his life.

Sleepy and Dopey?

2009-02-16T11:42:00.000-08:00

You give one little chore to these guys and you'd think they just ran a marathon!

This Old House

2009-02-10T10:26:00.000-08:00

Here's our new house! Just kidding. Actually this is the house my Grandpa Lee built years ago in Pendleton. The main house, the original structure, was built from rocks taken from the nearby cliffs that my siblings and I played on when we were kids. The front part was added later and is all cement. No formal forms were used because the stairs and flooring on that addition aren't level. Believe it or not, people still live in this house, some of my relatives actually. I spent a lot of time as a kid visiting my grandpa in this house, sleeping in the upstairs room, listening to the trains go by outside just feet from the house, exploring the storage sheds in the back yard and climbing on the rock cliffs nearby. Memories of grandpa rolling his own cigarettes, the smell of coffee on to perk on his heat stove, and a chart of our growth on the wall. He taught us to play cards, and one of his favorite sayings was "girls be girls but don't be foolish." Obviously my sister Stephanie and I fought a lot, even back then!

MAD MAX

2009-02-03T15:21:00.000-08:00

Max started wrestling this year. He tried it several years ago when he was just a little guy, and decided to give it another try. He was quite excited to get his head gear and 'singlet'. He said he was going to get a mohawk for his head gear, and wear his singlet to bed. Well, I wouldn't let him get the mohawk, but did say he could wear his singlet to bed.

In other news, we finally finished moving January 31st at noon! We took every single day of January to move. Ugh! Moving itself is not a fun venture, but moving in the bitter cold and snow of January was really unpleasant! Who knew we had so much stuff! But now that we are finished moving we can concentrate on finding a spot for everything and settle in. Where we are now is so much quieter and private from where we were before. Very relaxing. The kids aren't all that hot on living so far out from town, but in actuality we are closer to their favorite spots, Wal Mart, Mc Donalds and Primos.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-03T17:01:00.000-08:00

We've been getting a LOT of snow the past couple of weeks, so on New Year's Day the kids wanted to try a new hill over Meacham pass. It was pouring rain in town but we figured it would be snowing in the mountains. Nope. It was pouring rain, but that didn't dampen the kids's spirit. They sledded for almost two hours and I took this photo when they were done. They are soaked!

Snow Fun

2008-12-15T11:11:00.000-08:00

Finally! The first real snow of the season began falling Friday night and continued through Saturday. The kids were determined to get out and enjoy it. We went to the eighth street hill by the college, the same hill I sledded down as a youngster. Jeff had called in to work because of the weather and I talked him in to joining me and the kids for the fun. Perhaps I shouldn't have, because he went down the hill in a 'train' with Max and Eli, and they hit a bump really hard, injuring Jeff's tailbone and ending his fun for the day. I tried to capture a picture of Max but he was too fast for me and I just got his head. Riley tried snowboarding and was actually quite good at it. Only fell once as she headed down the hill.

'O Christmas Trees

2008-12-04T19:55:00.000-08:00

We decided to have two trees this year as we have such a big house and lots of room to fill up. One is the 'fake' tree with all the kids ornaments and a country flair. The other is the 'real' tree and is decorated in silver, white and green, though this photo doesn't do it justice.

The kids are worried Santa won't know which tree to put the presents under. I figure it doesn't matter, as long as there are presents. Right?! I'll take more pictures of our glorious decorations and post them at a later date. I'm sorry to leave you waiting in anticipation. Go look at some lights or something.

2008-11-26T12:57:00.000-08:00

Alexa is home from college for Thanksgiving break and informed me I needed to update my blog. So I figure that meant to add pictures of her!

As per usual when she is home, she likes to make a mess, which is usually difficult to notice in the normal everyday mess of her younger siblings. But she gives it a good college try. Thankfully the most recent mess included something to eat at the end of it.

Morgan and Lexy got together to make popcorn balls. The top photo doesn't look that appetizing unless you know it's marshmallows melting. Otherwise it looks a bit like vomit.

This next photo is of the kids working with the hot, gooey stuff, shaping it into balls, and the last photo is the finished product, which by the way was delicious!

2008-11-08T20:10:00.000-08:00

It's Spider Man and the Good Witch. This was taken before we headed out to trick or treat. Max went out on the town with some of his posse, and Zoey and a friend of hers went with us. We went downtown to the merchant trick or treat, then to some neighborhoods, then out to the ward trunk or treat. They all had plenty of candy by the end of the night.

It was the warmest Halloween I can ever remember. We've seen rain and snow and frost and bitter cold before, but this Halloween was down right toasty. No wind even. It made for a pleasant evening.

We had our usual pumpkin carving a few days before halloween. These pictures are the before, during and after. As you can see, everyone got in on the carving. My job is to separate the seeds and toast them to perfection.

It's been such a beautiful autumn, but the snow on the mountains tell me it's not going to last much longer!

2008-10-23T20:43:00.000-07:00

Zoey, Lexy, Max, Riley, Eli

(clockwise)

There's a new pumpkin patch that we have been going to the last few years since our old favorite "Windy Acres" people closed up and moved away. The new place isn't nearly as good, but they do have a really cute store and a nice long hay ride and hay bale maze. Picking out a pumpkin isn't quite as fun as it used to be but still better than the grocery store or Wal Mart.

It has been such beautiful fall weather the last couple of weeks. We had our first frost the other morning and the tomato vines, eggplant and pumpking vines all withered. The trees are beautiful in blazes of color from yellow, to orange to red.

Lexy came home for the weekend for Riley's baptism. You can see from the photo I'm apparently the black sheep of the family. Grandma, Steph, Gareld and Morgan, Mike, Darcy, Hailey and Kaitlyn, and some ward members were all there. Riley had been quite against getting baptized because she didn't want to go under water, but after practicing with our home teacher she decided she could try it. She took right to it and looked really cute in her baptism outfit. She thought she looked like a karate kid.

Medford Meetings Mania

2008-10-11T22:05:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning at 6 am I headed out of town for my quarterly Director's meeting, this time in Medford. It was a loooong drive, but so beautiful this time of year.

I stopped down and back in Troutdale at the Chocolate Factory to get a carmel, chocolate and pecan apple. So delicious!

Wednesday afternoon I had a Regional Center meeting from 3-5:00, then a Network Board Executive Committee meeting from 7-10:00 pm. The next morning we started our regular Network Director's meeting at 8 am and went until 5:00 including a working lunch. Then the group of us went out to dinner and I got back to the hotel around 10:00. Friday we started the day again at 8 and met until noon. I headed right out after that and got home after ten after stopping for gas and restroom breaks a couple of times.

Such a long and busy trip but I always learn alot at those meetings and come back with two or three pages of 'to do's.

Pampered Pets

2008-10-01T11:06:00.001-07:00

You have to look close to see our dog Tobi lying on his back taking a nap in his little bed. It's not really his bed, grandma gave it to Riley with a doll to play with, but the dog thinks it's his bed and we often find him there in blissful slumber.

We also have an annoying cat, as you'll see, who likes to stretch to her absolute longest and take up as much room as possible. It doesn't even look comfortable.

I've never been much of a pet person. My kids would bring one home and a few days or weeks later I'd be waving at it in my rear view mirror after dropping it off on some country road near some houses so it had a chance of finding a home. I even left food and a blanket to sleep on. I'm not totally heartless. But these two critters don't even bother me. Which surprises me about the cat cause I have absolutely hated cats ever since I worked for an old lady who had literally hundreds of cats popping out of cupboards and drawers all over her house.

But these two get away with a lot around our house. I never thought I would be an old lady who pampers her pets, but looks like I'm headed that way!

Happy Birthday to Riley

2008-09-26T21:30:00.001-07:00

Today is Riley's 8th birthday. She took little cupcakes to school to share with her class, and we had a family party after we ate dinner at KFC buffet. We were too full to have cake and ice cream but she blew out the candles and opened her presents. She got a charm bracelet from Grandma, money and a cute hello kitty box from Stephanie, money from Grandpa Lee, a big piggy bank from Jeff, a pink BYU t-shirt, pens and a notebook from Lexy, a Hannah Montanna comforter and pillow case for her bed, and a Jonas Brothers magazine. After a couple of hours we were finally able to have some cake and ice cream.

Now we have her baptism to look forward to on Oct. 18th, and she'll get her own set of scriptures. Happy Birthday smiley Riley!

Sister on the Fly

2008-09-26T21:08:00.000-07:00

Several years ago I read an article in Country Living magazine about a group of women that went on road trips together, pulling vintage camp trailers behind them. I tore out the article and saved it, wanting to find a vintage camp trailer of my own to redecorate and travel with, hang out with these adventurous women. It had to be just the right trailer and I would know it when I saw it. The years passed, I couldn't find a trailer, and when I did see one that might work, I didn't have the money. But the dream wouldn't die. Recently I started looking again. I even told my sister Stephanie about my hunt for an old trailer, and lo and behold, about a week later she called me from her yard saleing to tell me she had just seen a trailer that might fit what I was looking for. I hopped in my car and went to have a look. Sure enough, I had found my trailer. I called the guy, negotiated a more reasonable price, and met with him a couple of hours later to seal the deal. Gareld hauled the trailer home for me and I started cleaning it out. I am so excited. I got on the internet to look for my vintage trailer gals and found them. They actually had an official website, "Sisters on the Fly", and even had several photos of vintage trailers and their owners, along with instructions on how to join the Sisters membership. I christened my trailer the Shabby Shack and have all kinds of plans. It is a 1959 Aristocrat and will be painted in chocolate, vanilla and strawberry on the outside, and vanilla and floral on the inside. A true Shabby Chic Shack! Isn't she just beautiful! You might not see it yet, but she has great potential!

Flying Toilets

2008-09-26T21:00:00.001-07:00

This sign greeted me as I entered the women's restroom at the end of the concourse in the Denver airport. My gate was at the very end, of course, five or so moving sidewalks from where I deplaned from Colorado Springs.

As I'm going in, I'm thinking several things: why would a tornado shelter be at the end of a concourse which would seem the most vulnerable area, dangling out in the wind as it were; do people know to run to the restroom in the event of a tornado? I only saw this notice as I entered, and saw no other references to tornados as I made my way along the 95 gates to my gate; do they really have tornado's in Denver? I never heard of such a thing; and lastly, would one really want to seek 'shelter' in a room full of flying toilets, each heavy and hard enough to kill one with one hit? Silly planners.

Rocky Mountain High

2008-09-26T20:43:00.000-07:00

Last week I had a meeting in Colorado Springs, with the National Children's Alliance for Re-accreditation "Boot Camp" as they like to call it. It's an intense two days going over the requirements for meeting the 10 national standards for becoming an accredited or re-accredited child abuse center. As intense as the meeting was, the setting couldn't have been more beautiful. We met at the Penrose estate, pictured above. On the left is the entry to the estate, and the foyer is larger than my house. The center picture is the dining room where our lunch was set out buffet style on that long table. We filled our plates and went outside to dine 'al fresco' at tables located under the portico where the arches are in the garden photo on the right. It was truly like being in "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" for two days.

I met some people from all over the country, met up again with some I had met at other meetings across the country, and genrally had a good time. Came home with a long to do list, as usual!

A funny thing was, people were quite enthralled with the deer that would hang out in the lawn area out front. But to me, they were just sunflower head and garden eating pests! But they were beautiful.

Pop Art

2008-09-25T11:38:00.001-07:00

Someone obviously has a drinking problem! This is the side table by my chair in the living room. It was looking a bit ridiculous so I had to preserve the image! I kinda like diet pepsi!

The Last of the First

2008-09-12T14:14:00.001-07:00

Here it is, the last of the first days of first grade. Eli's first day of first grade marks the end of a very long era! All the kids are now in full day school for the first time in 21 years! Wow!

To celebrate Jeff and I took the day off to play. We kind of forgot how and couldn't figure out what to do with ourselves. We went to a mortgage lender to look into buying a house, picked a card out for Jeff's aunt and uncle whose daughter recently passed away, went out to lunch, and then went to the storage unit to get some things out. Yippee!

As pathetic as that day sounds, it was a significant marker in the timeline of our family. And just look at Eli. Doesn't he look raring to go?! Quite a different stance from his first day of pre-school. He insisted he wanted to go to pre-school but would cry and cling every day when I took him. He entered his first grade classroom without a hug, we had to chase him down for one and he barely glanced our way when we left. He came home from his first day and said "man, first grade is tough!" I'll say!

2008-09-06T18:13:00.000-07:00

The dang deer ate the heads off of the smaller sunflowers by the tomato plants. That must be why Tobi was barking crazily the other night. It is so frustrating in this town. No matter where you live, there are deer that come through and eat at your yard and garden buffet.

The littles wanted one last swim in the river before summer was over. So we loaded up and headed to Riverside Park. I took my lawn chair and some magazines and the littles strapped on their life jackets and got in the water. It didn't last long though, and soon they were out and wanting to change and play at the park because the water was "too cold".

It was a beautiful autumn day, sunny but not hot.

Woman...is a Verb

2008-09-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

Governor Sarah Palin is one of my new role models. I hadn't heard of her before McCain announced her as his pick for his Vice Presidential running mate, so I did some research on her. Then I heard her speech last night at the Republican National Convention and she blew me away. I was totally impressed, and finally excited about the election.

She's not a role model because she's perfect, but because she isn't. She has a family she loves and a job she does well. She is moraled and principled. She's one to watch.

From Small and Simple Things...

2008-09-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

Look at what a little seed can do! The tomatoes are coming on regularly now and I've been enjoying eating them. They have so much more flavor than the ones in the stores.

And look at that sunflower! The head is just now starting to come on it and when it's finished it will be huge, full of seeds and drooping over, in time for fall decorations!

When you think of how a little seed grows and becomes a mighty plant, or a human egg grows into an intelligent human being, I say "prove to me there isn't a God".

2008-08-26T15:40:00.001-07:00

It's official. The beginning of the end of summer!

I just took Max to his first football practice of the season, and school starts next week. We are going school supplies and clothes shopping this weekend.

There is even a touch of fall in the air. Can't quite describe what that means, but you know it when you feel it and smell it.

I love this time of year!

Fruit of the Vine

2008-08-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

Oh happy day! I picked the first tomato from my vines today! Several more are coming on. There's nothing like the taste of fresh tomatoes from the garden! It's amazing how a little seed can turn into a flowering bush with globes of heavy 'fruit' on them. Mmmmm.

Out and around 'The Hood'

2008-08-14T16:16:00.003-07:00

Yesterday was another down and back trip to Salem for me. It was a beautiful day out, and this is the view I had of Mt. Hood most of the day.

I'm getting to be pretty good friends with I 84 and I 5!. Trips to Salem, Portland, Coos Bay, next Medford, then Salem again....

Yesterday was a bit crazy. A truck loaded with hay was sparking fires all along the freeway and he didn't realize it until finally he noticed his load was on fire. His truck disintegrated pretty much and traffic was blocked for hours on I5 north and south. I had to drive up through town to Keizer before I could get freeway access heading north.

All in all, though, it was a fairly pleasant day, albeit it looooong!

A hint of things to come

2008-08-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday it was cooler than it has been in weeks, and a neighbor offered us some of the apples growing on the trees in their back yard. I sent Zoey and Mckinna to get a couple of bags full and then we set about making pies. We made a rhubard boysenberry pie, and an apple pie. There was flour all over the kitchen. Lexy and Randy came over to 'help', and managed to get plenty of flour on themselves. The kitchen smelled delicious, and a cool breeze was floating in the dining room window. It was a hint of my favorite season, Autumn! I am so glad we are in the downward slide of summer. I like so many things about fall; school starting up, harvest foods, cooler air, changing leaves....it's wonderful!

Well Fed

2008-08-05T07:47:00.001-07:00

Last week I had the opportunity to attend Education Week in Rexburg, at BYU-Idaho with my roomate Tammy from back in the day when we were Rick's College students. It was, as always an amazing experience. Not only is it nice to just get away from it all, but to be so well fed spiritually and physically is an experience not to be missed.

Of course we are up early every morning in line at the cafeteria for breakfast, where we are offered a smorgasbord of choices. Then off we go for a day of classes where we are offered a smorgasbord of information on a variety of topics from awesome teachers.

This year we stayed in Biddulph Hall, a boys dorm, but it is actually our favorite place to stay. The rooms are comfortable, air conditioned, in room sink, lots of closet and desk space, and the beds aren't five feet off the ground, as they are in the girls' dorms. This was my corner for the week. As you can see, we also have in room microwave and refrigerator, conveniences not offered in a 500 dollar a night room in Washington, DC.

Saturday evening, after Ed Week was over, I went home with Tammy to Lava Hot Springs, and spent the night there, then headed back to Oregon Sunday. I came home relaxed and refreshed, with a notebook full of good ideas. My kids have no idea what's in store for them!

Ice Ice Baby

2008-07-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

We got a donation of stuffed animals at work the other day, so I had Lexy sorting through them for laundry, throw away, etc. (She's doing some work at the Center) Tucked under the sweater of one little bear she found a folded up sandwich baggie with what looked like some rock salt in it, so she brought it to me.

Naieve as I am, even after all I have seen here, I thought a little kid might have had a snack and tucked the baggie inside the sweater and forgot about it. I stuck my finger in and tasted it. Definately not rock salt. So we looked up on the internet what crystal meth looks like, and it quite resembled what we had in the baggie.

I called our detective that works with the Safe Center and told him what we found and what I had done. He sent his drug team over, who tested it and sure enough, we had a nice half ounce of crystal meth. We had to throw away the entire donation because of residue and cross contamination. Thank goodness it didn't get into the hands of a child here! But what was I thinking!

"Beach Bums"

2008-07-18T19:04:00.001-07:00

I had an Oregon Network of Child Abuse Intervention Center's Directors meeting in Coos Bay this week. My hotel and gas were paid through The Network, so I loaded up the car with my five chillin's, our dog Tobi and our new kitty Lili, and made the eight or so hour trek down here. It was a loooooooong drive but all the littles traveled quite well.

While I spent a couple of days indoors, the kids went exploring. About half way through my first day of meetings I got a phone call from Lexy saying the car steering was locked up and they couldn't get it to unlock. Through several phone calls I had her try asking a couple of friendly men at the beach for assistance, call Grandpa, call Legacy Ford in La Grande, where I bought the Expedition, and call the local Ford dealer to inquire about towing, etc. When nothing was working and it looked like we might have to have the car towed, I borrowed a car from a co-hort at the meeting and headed down the road 'to the rescue'. Lexy got out of the driver's seat and into the passenger seat, and that new perspective was all it took. She quickly realized she was trying to start my car with her car key. They look alike, so I figured she had put my key on her key ring, but she realized my keys were in her bag and she fished them out. Easy fix, thank goodness, and in the end, good for a laugh.

I made the drive back to my meeting and the kids went about their day exploring. The man who loaned me his car ended up winning over $1000 at the Casino that evening. He chalked it up to the good karma he got from helping me out.

The Max Comes Marching Home Again...

2008-07-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

Max returns from Scout Camp tomorrow to mixed reviews. On the one hand we have missed him and have hoped he has been having a good time and is safe. On the other hand, it has been a welcome break not having the littles tormented and teased unceasingly all week!

I'm looking forward to his stories and seeing the pictures he took. It's a long time for him to be away from home his first time, so I'm hoping he handled it ok and enjoyed himself. Thank goodness he went with friends and good leaders who will look out for him.

And the Heat Goes On

2008-07-06T14:26:00.001-07:00

We spent yesterday at Wolf Creek Reservoir near North Powder, with Mike and Darcy and a passel of family folk. It was such a beautiful day and the reservoir was as full as I've ever seen it. I took Lexy, Zoey, her two friends Tawnie and Hannah, Riley and Eli. (Max left for Scout Camp in Washington the same time we left for Wolf Creek.) Eli was a bit worried about the clouds and was nervous about getting in the water, but he ended up finding a friend from school there, strapped on a life jacket and didn't come out of the water for hours. He even hitch hiked a couple of rides on a boat! Riley loved jet skiing and bummed rides with Mike, Lexy and Zoey. Mike and Darcy's two little girls love the water and weren't a bit afraid of it. They had on life jackets and went for it. There was lots of good company, good food, good drink, and was a relaxing, beautiful day! And thank goodness for the clouds Eli had been worried about. They provided some relief from the heat off and on throughout the afternoon.

The Zoenator

2008-07-02T20:14:00.000-07:00

Zoey finished her softball season tonight. The pink uniform is her All Stars Team uniform, and the neon green is from her regular season. Both were not to be missed on the field!

She finished the season with two amazing catches in a row that got two outs on the opposing team, and the crowd went wild! One man told her afterward that they were the most amazing catches he had ever seen. And they were. Good season Zoey! You are an All Star!

Mother Daughter Outing

2008-06-29T11:24:00.001-07:00

This bridge spans Catherine Creek at the Lodge where mother/daughter outing is held. Zoey and Lexy were otherwise engaged so Riley and I went up. Riley says 'it is the most fun thing ever."

The river was runnig high and fast and no one ventured dipping even a toe in it, which if you had seen photos from years past you would know how unusual this was. I even took a chair out in the middle of the stream one year and let the current cool my feet while I read.

It's kind of a long way to go to get smoke in your eyes, but it's nice to get away from ringing phones, blaring TV's and myriad of activities that take up every day. It was warm and peaceful and a nice, relaxing getaway, if even for only a few hours.

Summer Lovin

2008-06-28T20:08:00.001-07:00

Sitting at the ball park this afternoon watching Zoey's softball game I imagined the same scene being played out across rural America. Hot summer sun, kids playing baseball, parents chatting with eachother and cheering on the kids.Later, hot dogs on the grill, kids running through sprinklers, dogs barking at thrown frisbees. If you've never lived abroad, you don't quite get just how lucky we are to enjoy the simple pleasures of every day life in America.

National Treasure

2008-06-19T16:36:00.000-07:00

I wish I had a bowl of popcorn. After a day of looking around the National Archives, seeing the actual Declaration of Independence and other Charters of Freedom, we're in the mood to watch 'National Treasure 2'. We want to see how the places we have seen in person look on film, now that we are oh so familiar with them. This has been an amazing experience. Washington DC would be an exciting city to live in if one was drawn to politics and/or journalism. What is amazing is how archetecturally huge and intricate the buildings are that make the spaces they house inside seem small by comparison.

Our Nation's Capital

2008-06-18T09:49:00.000-07:00

I have been to "the hill" several times now. Yesterday I got to meet with Senator Wyden, and with staffers from Senator Smith and Rep. DeFazzio's offices. We walked from one building to the next in an undergound tunnel. That was kind of cool. After our appointments we looked up Hillary Clinton's Office cause one of the women I was with is a big fan. This morning I had an appointment with Rep. Walden and took Lexy and Zoey with me. I was there to talk about the future of Child Advocacy Center's in Oregon, funding concerns, etc., as part of our Hill Day activities with the National Children's Alliance. I have to say, Senator Smith had the best office overall, a huge marble fireplace, elegant furnishings, but what I noticed right away was a photo of him with President Hinckley hanging on his wall. This has been a really great conference and great experience overall.

I'm not old, just my oldest child is

2008-06-14T18:11:00.000-07:00

Today is Lexy's 21st birthday. The flags were lining main street waving their birthday wishes as we drove to a late breakfast. Of course every year we have to tell how when she was little she thought the flags were put up specifically for her birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEXA!

My children grow older, but I just keep getting younger. Funny how that works!

Hells Bells

2008-06-12T20:26:00.000-07:00

Well hells bells, the s--t hit the fan this week and splattered all over me! First, my work computer hard drive crashed, taking with it my brain. Everything I do at work is on that hard drive, and like a fool driving without a seatbelt, I didn't back up my info. That was on Monday. I couldn't even think for hours, didn't know how to operate, how to go about my day. This from the woman who when told a few years ago that computers would manage most of our lives, scoffed in disbelief. Well, there you are. It came true, and I was left helpless on the side of the road.

On Wednesday, I had an early morning meeting, which I coordinate. I was running late cause my tired old bones just didn't want to get out of bed. When I got to the driveway I discovered that my car had a flat tire. We're talking rim to the street flat. That threw a wrench in my day.

Today, I took a much deserved day off. I've been working hard and needed a physical and mental break. Well, I didn't get it. My car got towed. Yep. Just like you see on TV. The guy pulled up, didnt' even have to get out of his truck, hooked onto my vehicle and sped a way. No kidding. There are skid marks in the gravel where he spun out. Then the anal void had the nerve to call later and tell me I could get my stuff out of the car for $30.

Can't wait to see what the rest of the week brings me! I'm holding my breath in anticipation.

Who'd a thunk it?

2008-06-10T15:08:00.001-07:00

Enjoy this photo, it may be the last glimpse of Spring you'll see from these parts cause it snowed this morning. Yep, you read right. Snowed. As in big white flakes that stuck to the ground. Several inches in the mountains. Chains required over Meacham pass. Snowplows out. CRAZY!

These lupine are growing in a flower bed in front of the house. They are hearty no matter what the weather has thrown at them. 'Summer' is fast approaching, or at least the date on the calendar designated as the start of summer. Usually the last few weeks of school the kids are dying from the heat indoors because the schools don't have air conditioning. Classrooms break out fans and open windows to try to stave off the heat. Not this year. Sweatshirts were needed, even on the last day. Its been that cool.

This weekend I head to Washington DC with Lexy and Zoey. While I spend the days indoors getting educated, trained and conferenced, they will be out enjoying the sites. I did reserve an extra day after my conference to take in some sites with them. I think it will be a fun trip! I'm sure there's a tattoo parlor or two around that I can maybe get my kanji tattoo at. And no doubt, the weather there should be quite a bit warmer!

The End, Begin Again

2008-06-07T21:44:00.001-07:00

This week saw the end of baseball season and the end of the school year. I have yet to have time to enjoy these endings because we have been as busy as ever with student led conferences, a yard sale, Hog Wild Days and the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show. The kids all did well, worked hard to the last day and they all get to move on to the next grade! Believe me, there were a couple of times when we had cause to wonder!

And then there's work. We saw 22 kids for abuse assessments in May. That is an all time record for the Safe Center. Before May, the most children we had seen in a month was 16. We also have had some good news. We were awarded the Healthy Start Program, which previously was hosted by Oregon Health Sciences School of Nursing on Eastern Oregon University campus. We are also being awarded a Commission on Children and Families grant for our Girls' Circle Program, and a grant from the Department of Justice to provide Regional Services. Phew! Lot's to do!

As for the weather and my attempt at gardening, my poor tomatoes are languishing. We haven't had a warm day since I planted them, and today was so cold I thought it would snow, which it did in the mountains. Still, they haven't died yet, and the zuccinni and peas are hanging in as well. I liked a talk in stake conference a couple of months ago. The theme was on being prepared and one woman gave a talk on gardening. She said in her early attempts her goal was to get one green and one yellow vegetable to grow. I'm with her! Only my colors are one red and one green.

Time to relax and watch some Forensic Files. :)

On the Road Again...

2008-05-31T14:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made a down and back trip to Salem for an interview with the granting committee for our Regional Center grant. It had to be face to face, so I bucked up and made the twelve hour round trip, and decided to enjoy it. It was a beautiful day, so I stopped along the way to and from to enjoy the sights and take some photos. This is of Crown Point in the Columbia Gorge. Beautiful!

The interview went well so I decided to treat myself and get a tattoo at a shop I saw on the way to the Department of Justice, where the interview was held. I wanted to get the Japanese symbol for 'Love' on the back of my neck, about half an inch in size. I think that is one of the most beautiful kanji characters in the Japanese language, and of course has beautiful meaning as well. Unfortunately, the tattoo 'artist' was a no show to his shop an hour after the supposed opening time, and I couldn't wait around all day, so I ended up not getting it. Dang! Next time!

I did eat at a Mongolian BBQ before I left Salem, and bought a chocolate, caramel apple at the Chocolate Factory in Troutdale. Mmm, delicious!

This Old Hag

2008-05-28T17:14:00.000-07:00

Yep, today is my birthday. I plum forgot until my husband wished me a Happy Birthday as I rushed out the door this morning.

My birthday anthem is "...another year older and deeper in debt..."

I probably should check into the show "Ten Years Younger" or even "What Not to Wear." Definately!

The good news is I am counting down rather than up, so I'm now 45. Salute!

And yes, I will be eating a big piece of cake with a huge scoop of ice cream on the side!

Happy Birthday to Me

2008-05-28T11:41:00.000-07:00

Birthday wishes from my girls!

Mushroomin' Bounty

2008-05-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

We went mushroom hunting this afternoon after church. Headed up toward Meacham through pouring rain, thinking we wouldn't get to hunt afterall. After driving through the rain clouds the sky cleared and we decided to go for it. We turned off the freeway at the Mt. Emily summitt exit and drove for a couple of miles to a spot we've hunted with success before. On the way we passed a whole camp of 'shroomers', which kind of deflated us a bit, but we pressed on.

All we wanted was enough for a dinner, and we were lucky. We found several 'calf brains' and a few morels that got missed by the shroomers. Tomorrow we'll have fried mushrooms, fry chunks, asparagus, and rhubarb pie. I love enjoying the earth's seasonal bounties!

It was so beautiful, too. Low hanging rain clouds, patches of blue sky, greenery springing out everywhere. The mountains smelled so clean and fresh.

WOMAN...is a Verb

2008-05-20T22:27:00.001-07:00

I heard an old Helen Reddy song tonight that took me back a few years, but also describes how I think about my life today. I've learned recently that some things, and some people, are "better as a memory".

I AM WOMAN

I am woman hear me roar
in numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back and pretend
Cause I have heard it all before
But I've been down there on the floor
And no one's going to keep me down again

You can bend but never break me
Cause it only serves to make me
more determined to achieve my final goal
And I'll come back even stronger
Not a novice any longer
Cause you've deepened the conviction
in my soul

Oh yes, I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes I've paid the price,
But look how much I've gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong, I am invincible, I am woman.

Summer Lovin'

2008-05-18T18:10:00.000-07:00

Old people can be counted on to comment on two things, the weather and their health. Lest I sound old, let me just say, a turn in the weather like we have had deserves comment. It went from nice Spring weather in the 60's to a hot summer 90 plus. My arms got so sunburned outside yesterday that I'm wearing white shirt sleeves, even when I'm not wearing a shirt! I planted a row of tomatoes, four varieties, and am using old wooden ladders as trellis' for them to climb on. Looks so cute, and yes, curbside rescued and shabby country! I'm really looking forward to gardening this year, and to creating a welcoming summer heat retreat on our back patio. Stay tuned for edge of your seat updates!

Spring is a Verb

2008-05-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

After a long winter, I had forgotten how beautiful this valley is in Spring. The trees are blossoming with popcorn and pink cotton candy and the air is scented with green grass and flowers. All this new growth makes me feel like anything is possible. Some of my Spring favorites are:

Lilacs

Yardsales

Rhubarb pie

Mushroom hunting