Fall is here!

So excited! Fall is here, the rains have poured (literally) and the air smells completely refreshed. I waited outside this afternoon for C to get off the bus, yes he's in school AND riding a bus, and the breeze picked up and it was sooo cold but crisp. Absolutely wonderful!

I get pretty busy in the fall. I love the age old tradition of preserving foods. Don't know how or why that particular bug bit me but it has and it is fun. My mother in law and I put up 39 pints of salsa in a day, with help from my father in law and my mom, since it was so well received last year. We had fun but boy did my back scream at me that evening. I've made my regular freezer jams and canned a few syrups....really proud of how the Huckleberry Syrup turned out, and put up 48 pint jars of Bartlett pears, C's favorite.

I've been challenged by a few new things to can this year, it was my first time putting up 17 pints and 4 quarts of chopped tomatoes and then approx 14 - 1/2 pints of zucchini relish (half made with jalapenos). I truly enjoyed canning that with my mom! Her and dad used to make it with some friends of the familys when I was a kid...and boy did I remember that smell when we cooked it up before putting it in jars!! Yum yum. (I don't remember liking it as a child and the phrase "more for me" from my mother rings in my ears at the moment). But I like it now and tonight I'm busting out more relish...although this time it's going to be regular sweet pickle relish, which is also new for me. Making cranberry sauce and canning it up is next, gotta use the crans that are in the freezer, then possibly head to Long Beach for more.

All in all this has been a busy month! The canning, having my car repaired after someone backed into it and C starting Kindergarten. Then this week he also lost his second tooth and my chickens started laying eggs. It's been busy but oh so fun and adventurous!

I'm enjoying my life....it all has it's tribulations and there are times when devastating news reaches us....we pray...we hope, and keep those loved ones in our prayers. We think positive thoughts for a wonderfully positive outcome!! There is always hope...and love prevails.

Ahhhh...some days to play catch-up

It's been crazy busy around here. AND terribly hot. The high today was suppose to reach 105 and the last time I checked our thermometer it read 103!! Tomorrow is to be the same.
We didn't go camping last weekend like we'd planned....was going to be in the 90's and that is just too hot. So B (my hubby), C and I took a trip over to Multnomah Falls.

BTW I have no idea who that girl is in the photo with my guys, but I should've taken a cue from her....then maybe I'd be in some of the pictures that were taken that day.


B and C are TROOPERS I tell ya! They made it to the top. There was no way our boy was turning around and coming back down until he made it all the way. I gave up on switchback 3 of 11. I should have kept going....oh well. I had a spectacular time just people watching while the guys were hicking.

I finally took the plunge and got some chickens!! Four beautiful Black Sexlinks. All girls....they're not laying eggs yet and are called pullets until they are a year old, then they will be hens. No way could I get a rooster...he'd be dinner the evening of the first morning he crowed and woke B up...so it's better to not test those waters just yet.

And this is the wonderful new hen house my dad and B built (hey I pounded A LOT of nails myself!!)


They are moved in now and loving there new spot. It took the place of their temporary home...the dog house:

The heat is getting to them though...my son thought it very interesting that they pant like a dog to try to cool down. Those chickens adore him! He would spend uncalculated amounts of time talking to them and feeding them leaves when they were in the temp pen. Now they have a lot of greens to eat, but when they hear him...they are beaks to the fence, waiting for their treats from the little 5 yr old boy.

Busy, busy.

As I said previously it's been a very busy spring for us. C decided to have his bedroom downstairs so there was painting and moving of furniture and all that goes with the rearrange hubbub.

Easter was nice, we did the family brunch at The Quay. Food was okay and the prices outrageous as usual.

Wacky weather and all that goes with it too. We've had days that had a mix of everything. In one day we had rain, snow, thunder, hail and sunshine...it was all very crazy.

Still taking pictures. The bug has snagged our son too!


He's really having fun with it and enjoying the 'nature hikes' we take so he can use his camera. C's a very quick learner and his pictures turn out quite well. I'll try to post some soon.








He also acquired a new toy that is taking up his spare time with his daddy. It's pretty fun to watch him ride, although I have heart-stopping moments here and there and he's not been taught any gear other than 1st!



Thank goodness spring is here. Been busy cleaning flower beds (with C's help of course) and mowing the lawn. I'm ready for get-togethers with friends and family though and bonfires and bbq's all the way around!! Enjoy the sun if you're lucky enough to be getting any.

Neglected....

...that's my blog, totally neglected. But I must point out that I've been extremely busy. So to those of you who do read this I apologize. I will be back VERY soon to update...until then I'm off to enjoy our 85 degree weather and mow!

Sweetness

Look at that! Piper really can be a sweetie when she wants. But take note, no one is touching her and she's lying down. C took this photo of her earlier today and was impressed with himself. I thought it was pretty good too, so decided to post it here.

I also thought it was an opportunity to point out that she has two incredible sides. Mean and witchy and sweet and semi-lovable. BUT knowing our cat as well has I do I can almost read her mind in this photo: "Get that camera out of my face kid. And if that flash goes off one more time I'll not be held responsible for what happens to you."

Ah the life of a cat!

Nobody owns a cat....

So, any of you who know our cat will appreciate this picture. This is Piper, she's 7 years old and...well...to be kind in a word, cranky. Man is that putting it mildly.

She is an "on my terms only" kind of cat. Although we understand that nobody actually owns a cat (they run the house) we do say she is ours. BUT only when she wants to be.

Frequently people come to visit and if they have never met her before they think she is a beautiful specimen. We are very quick with our warnings, "Don't pet her, she bites and scratches so be careful".

She'll only allow herself to be petted when it suites her. Not when she's napping, which is most of the time. Many friends and relatives think it's okay to pick on her. She lets them know most of the time that this is not the best idea in the world. Even innocent bystanders have been put in their place.

But when she wants attention she is absolutely SHAMELESS!

C loves getting out this makeshift toy and playing with Piper. She immediately heads for the stairs. And this is what we get:

Because he can...

First I must start this by explaining that I really, really hate mopping. I'd rather scrub a toilet if that tells you anything. Which I did plenty of after the flu bug reared it's ugly head in our home.

That being said, C has recently taken to volunteering to mop for me. Don't ask me why, and before you berate me for taking advantage of him let me say that I do explain to him that he doesn't have to help me do house work. He wants to! Why? Because he can (and "Then you don't have so much work to do Mom".) Enough said.

I don't look gift horses in the mouth!! I take him up on it whenever he offers. Too soon the little man will be a towering, hormone raging teen that will hide out in his room and probably refuse to clean anything. But until then he did this for me this morning:

Aren't I the lucky mom!! (No he's not for rent.)

I apologize

Sorry for not posting more lately. Been fairly busy then came down with the flu. So please bare with me while I recover. I'll try to post something interesting real soon.

What more could happen in 20 minutes?...

First I'd like to say that our son has always been a fairly sure-footed fella. Our house in perched on a slope so our yard is pretty steep in certain areas. But that never stopped him, not since he learned to walk. When most kids would have tumbled down the yard, he ran.

Now I know his face has had a few run-ins with the ground. Yikes boy do I know (remember I'm up to a count of 4 times now!). But really he's not toooo accident prone.

That being said, he does have his moments.

Last week the weather here was beautiful! C had gone to preschool on Thursday as usual. His buddy N was coming over and they wanted my niece to come over after school. So when I went to get C and N when preschool was out we decided to stay for the half hour and wait for M.A. and just take her home with us instead of making her ride the bus to my house.
Things were going good, but shortly after taking this wonderful shot of C running I hear him start crying and he limps his way towards me. He'd twisted his ankle.

But being the tough little nut that he is it was right back to playing for him.

So he and N and another little school buddy got on the slide so I could take some action shots. They were really cheesing it up for me. Enjoying being in the spot light. Then one (I'm not sure who the guilty one was) decided it would be a great idea to go down the slide head first.

Then this happened. Apparently the plastic slide needs a good coating of wax. C's upper body stopped short of the bottom of the slide, but well, as you can see, his feet didn't. Being the human being that I am I couldn't help but find the humour in this and started laughing. Until, that was, C's body finally made it too the bottom and he started crying because his back hurt. Ah yes, two incidents within about 10 minutes of each other. Poor kid.

Oh wait, I'm not done. Like I said, he's a tough nut so he had a bout of self pity and pain for a few minutes then was right back playing with the other boys. They decided that maybe the small slide would be a good idea instead:

So I'm snapping more shots, getting a real 'feel' for the camera ya know when C emerges from the hole at the top of the slide.

And--take a close look at the photo---notice where is knee is and where his head is in proportion to where it should be to make a successful run down a slide--he takes a head dive to the ground!! I didn't get a photo of the actual fall. And after all those accidents it may be a good thing. Amazingly he popped up off the ground, laughing and telling me how 'that one didn't even hurt'. UGH. I laughed with him while shaking my head, and putting the lens cap back on the camera.

So I'm thinkin' maybe I jinxed him in some way by having the camera there. That must be it, because really, really he is usually such a sure-footed boy.

Learning

In the past few days I've learned a few things.

1. I'm pretty positive I'm addicted to flickr.com

2. We all have our clumsy moments....even it it's a truely moment by moment by moment event

3. I'm in love with my new camera--I think it's mutual

4. I love re-connecting with family members and friends

6. and I've learned that this friggin' house does not clean its self!!!!

Experimentation

I find myself really enjoying my new camera! Over the weekend I messed around with it a bit and read some of the manual that came with it. It's so great, now if I only could devote every waking minute to becoming one with the little black beauty I would be in photo heaven.

This picture I took intrigued me a bit. I was at my friend MM's house and her son had a few toys out....I had to shoot. Well, I couldn't take anymore shots of the people there---they were getting a little tired of my camera antics. So I got down on the floor and snapped this one of a Kenworth semi. Now if you just happen to glance at this photo you might think it was a real truck. I like that. I was messing around with the macro setting and I'm liking the results.

Needless to say, this is a very fun hobby. Especially when I don't have to pay to develop a whole roll of film to find only one good photo. Now, any of you want to share your shots???

Intimidated

Okay so I have to say...this camera is...WOW! I'll be posting a few pics soon. As soon as I figure out this thing that is.

There is so much to work with, so much to learn. I'm dedicating myself to this very thing today. Okay, maybe there are a few things I should get done around her first, i.e. laundry, bills, taxes, filing, feeding the kid, letting the dog and cat out, letting them back in, back out, in, out, in......Argh! I'm trying to convince the hubby to just install a revolving door.

So, off to do all those things and more. I'll update hopefully later today. Stay tuned...

I love old photos. I do. I spent a few hours the other day going through old family albums at my in-laws. Brought a few home and this is one of the ones I picked to scan, it will eventually find it's way into a frame and onto my wall.

The people in this photo are my husbands great, great paternal grandparents and this shot was taken in 1917 shortly before the man passed. The man's name is Sam and rumor has it (there are records I guess) that he opened the first post office in Scio, OR. There is so much character in their faces! I've scanned more and will be touching them up slightly, but they really are frame worthy just as they are.

I'm also hoping to be taking some of my own 'frame worthy' photos soon. YES, the wonderful Canon Powershot SX10 IS is on it's way to me as I write this. I am one pumped up person.

Giddy really.

So for now I'll settle with playing with photo editing software and old photos....until my new camera arrives. (Or maybe I should be cleaning house and paying bills.....nah, but it was a thought.)

A day of angst

I'm so glad that my son is only 5. Right now he doesn't know what it's like to not receive a Valentines from someone he really likes. It's coming though. Today is his first Valentines party at preschool. I recall the angst of not getting a card in the box I had made from that cute little boy 3 rows over sitting by the coat rack. Or those girls that I so wanted to be friends with but who shunned me because....well I'll never know the exact reason.

It's things like this that I would love to protect my son from. Then I wonder why I feel that way. I'm fine, I made it through and only have a small fraction of scars on my soul from it. I think we tend to coddle our children too much. I believe they should learn from rejection and loss. Sure I don't want him hurt in any way, but that's inevitable and I'll try to be realistic about it.

More angst for me though. I'm waiting to see if I'm the winning bidder on a camera that I've fallen in love with. Only 1hr and 40 minutes left.....arrggghh.

Then this morning I'll be driving my mother to her sister's house in Portland so they can be together at the hospital when my uncle (their brother) goes in for open-heart surgery. It's going to be okay.....it's got to be okay. Last year mom lost a brother, sister in-law (wife of the brother who's having surgery) and an aunt. Not a great year for her.

So I sit here anxiously waiting for the auction to end so I can either be giddy with anticipation for being the proud owner of said camera OR sad because I'll have to go on the hunt again........I digress.....I need more coffee!

Burnt Buns in the Snow

No, I did not run into some renegade beach bum with speedos on with blistered 'cheeks'. No, instead as I was doing laundry this morning I looked out at the beautiful snow scene and the blanket of white covering our back deck--again. What caught my eye was neither human, nor consumable...

It was quite literally burnt buns in the snow. The other night I had made hamburgers. Dear hubby likes said buns to be 'toasted' under the broiler. Well, like the good wife I am I got distracted and when husband bounded out of his chair I then noticed the smoke billowing from the oven. Needless to say, this is where he put the charred little buggers--not even the birds will touch 'em.

A start...

Oh, I am so longing for the days when we can run outside and play in the warm sunshine. Instead we stoke the wood furnace, scrape ice from the windshield and hope it won't snow too much tomorrow.

"Keep it real," I tell myself. It is still winter after all. This photo makes me long for summer though.

It was partly sunny today, so on the way into a dr.'s appointment I cranked the radio and belted out some great tunes. But during an especially loud rendition of 'Lucille' by Kenny Rogers I had to chuckle to myself as I recalled lyrics from my childhood. You see, in the line 'you picked a fine time to leave me Lucille, with four hungry children and a crop in the field' my young ears had heard 'four-hundred children'. I clearly reasoned this by thinking the man in the song ran some kind of orphanage. Oh, so many songs that our ears misinterpret, I could go on about his topic for pages....but I won't.

Today was pretty good all in all. The assistant at the clinic was a little grumpy but I'll forgive her considering I was told her dog was being put to sleep today so I can sympathize. But things went well until our son "C" (little guy in the photo) decided to fall and bite his tongue.

Now, anyone who knows C has probably lost count on how many times this little man has fallen on his be-dimpled face, knocking teeth loose and splitting lips. Okay, well mom kept count and we're up to four!! This time he ended up with a nice trio of puncture wounds on his tongue. Needless to say I could NEVER be a nurse considering the fact that the bleeding and screaming about did me in.



Nice of mom to take a picture huh? Well, it really looks worse in person and now he's complaining that it's bleeding again---off to try to play nurse momma again.....