June Beach Day 1: Sadness

The ODFW (Oregon Fish and Wildlife Dept) had him roped/signed off: do not disturb.

Even so, it did not stop humans from paying him homage and even leaving a small trinket in the spirit of endearment and honouring his departure.

Bunny and Sealion: a meaningful connection?

While the tide races in, Scout takes a minute to climb around on a rocky ridge that will be soon submerged.

...and Scout even found some of her initials carved in the stone.


Last time I was here, I managed to skate around to the other side of these rocks at low tide and sneak back in the nick of time as the tide had turned. Below shows the swift tide change as it races in in less that 8 minutes:

It is now ankle deep.

Psychic? How?

This is at the corner of Burnside and Division in Gresham.
One is compelled to ask one's self:

Who needs to have their "Past" told?
"What just happened?"

And really, WHO needs to have their "Present" told?
"What's going on?"

I mean really!

Church Split

Gah!
Must I live through another one?
At least this time I am not related to anyone involved!
Still...
In the words of a good friend,
who said exactly what was in my heart,

The word comes to mind:

"Unnecessary."
Was the impetus for this
really THAT important?

I thought of the bible verse where
it says something akin to:

"It is a foolish woman,
who tears down her own
house."

And for what?
From where I sit,
although I adore the teachings
of my (former) pastor,
There is a niggling thought
chewing at the base of my brain:
After his "administrative (so called) pastor"
borrowed an obscene amount of money in
order to pay intense church staff salaries, they
suddenly manage to throw up their hands
and leave the church, scot-free, while the
actual congregation is still held
liable for the HORRENDOUS debt
incurred.

This is a grievous sin.
And while I do NOT necessarily hold my
pastor accountable for it in it's entirety, I do
hold him some what accountable as the overall
leader and shepherd of this people. The real fiend in
this is the man who "administrated", and who had
himself (somehow) declared as "Administrative Pastor".
the dude doesn't even HOLD a pastoral degree! He has not
been ordained in any way shape or form.
This man is vile in my eyes and steeped in putresence.
(I call "Mizpah" (It's not a nice sweet lovey thing. See link and then see below**). And I say therefore:
"May God judge between me and thee".
Mizpah should not be declared lightly.)

Fortunately for me, God
has no care for politics.
He is no respector of
tradition for it's own sake.
This is not to say some
traditions do not serve Him, but
there are far too many sacred
cows, both in and out
of the church.

Many do not serve Him.

In such a case, I would
quote to myself:
"As for me and my
house, we will serve
The Lord."

No matter if that looks
foul to the official church,
or if it looks foul to
those not part
of His church.

Screw politically correct,
whether it occurs within
the Church, or within those
who think of themselves
as the Intelligencia, or
modern, or right wing
or left wing.

God is NONE of these things.
Which is why He is hated
and dissed.
May I be like Him then.


** Mizpah was a declaration between two men who did not trust each other because one cheated the other and got away with it. And so one man declared "Mizpah" meaning
"...may God judge between us, which one is truthful and which is a liar." - Michelle Paraphrase)

Bad Fridge

By Blake

Architectural Piece

So I got this nutty piece of antique exterior moulding from a vendor in the store.

It fit perfectly on the blank wall behind the wood stove.
To balance the wall out, I also got a clock.

The Barn Candle(tm) company sells their candles in little mason jars with tin lids.
Once the Barn Candles are used up, I have nothing to do with the lids...
until now: I can use them as candle holders for the little disc tea lights. And place them together in groupings...on top of this moulding is a perfect place.

I needed a couple of "oddments" to also balance out the uh..."wall display"?
So I got one juggling pin, paired with an antique brass hose nozzle (of course!)
And I also got...HER!

What is that sculpture of a woman usually found on the front of a ship?
(Dear Susan, of all people, I bet YOU will know this!)
"Maiden Head?" "Mast Head"? Well, there was a nautical booth at the store.
It had this crazy butt-ugly woman-esque-ish figurine for sale.
I thought, "What on Heavens name is THAT and boy is she coyote ugly!"
I like it.

Dear Orange and Black

OSU:

Dare I hope...but it's possible, that YOU, may receive one of our own?!
All Glory to Oregon's Orange and Black!

Dear Beav's,
May you GO!

Dear All-You-Kids,

Last night was a pretty chill party.
There was loud music.
The girls danced with abandon.
There was food.
There were helium filled balloons, emptied, into lungs to create amusing anecdotes.

If all of YOU (tm) were here, then it would have been heaven on earth.

Even so...
It was pretty danged good.

And my heart is full***.

*** Wish you were here.

:o)

My town part 2: in my town cars and pedestrians share the road with deer and people riding their horses in the middle of town and think nothing out odd.

My town part 1: remember in the 1st Toy Story movie how the clouds were painted on Andy's wall? That was the sky today.

The Haircut

You would think it would be a simple, uneventful task?
No.
So there we are in PDX.
We've Off loaded Scout's stuff at the apt, and loaded up the worlds biggest plasma screen TV to take back to Sisters. We've gone to the Hot Cake House at the bottom of the Ross Island Bridge and stuffed ourselves to the brink of vomitting.

And Blake says,"hey, while we are on this side of the river, wanna go get our hair cut at that really GOOD Supercuts?"

James and Jeremy agree.
So we go.

They enter and Blake announces loudly, "we are here. At the best Supercuts ever!" It's me James and Jeremy here to get our hair cut again. It's the Trinity!"

All stylists in the salon are now chuckling.
Except the old crabby one. (But she kinda lightens up at the end.)

"Let's all get the exact same haircut!" they decide.
"We all want to look the same."

Stylists eyebrows go up.

And from there...
a verbal comedy routine/party/banter is launched.

Blake's stylist looks at me and says, "is he always like this?"
"Yes" say all of us at the same time.
But see, James is no less a slacker in the yakkity comedy BS dept.

They filled this poor salon to the ceiling with their B.S.

A good (if not exhausting) time was had by all.

Facts and Aftermath.

So in the week following her completion of school, and before the actual commencement
ceremonies, Scout has moved to PDX to live with Blake, James and Jeremy, (brother, and friends from Camp).

Worrisome bits:

-She is in the exact middle of change of medications, the effects of change should be showing up anytime now.

-She has never driven in the city. And certainly not on any of the freeways.

-Can become overwhelmed and over tired with too much change going on. I don't know that Blake will be able to recognise the signs of her overload. I barely can.

-The boys are all pretty chaotic. She needs some sort of order.

-She will either share a bedroom with her brother, or won't get one at all (pending). She needs a bit of private time.

-Needs a job.

-Almost got run off the road yesterday because she refused to merge and allow another car in between hers and mine. Repeatedly. In excess of 60 mph. I hope she doesn't get in a car accident. She really has no experience driving on freeways.

When Blake first moved to Portland, he stayed with camp friends, but they were all living with one boys family. (Mom Dad etc) I knew he was going to be fed at least 1 square meal a day and have a safe environment. This is different. Not that Blake, James and JEremy are unsafe - they are safe - but they are 20-23 yr olds. Every minute of every day is one big adventure, and if not, they make it into one. Even yesterday, going to get a simple hair cut turned into a hilarious, spontaneous media-esque event. Scout needs some "down time" at some point, or she will 'pop'. (Especially in the midst of a med change from Zoloft to Selexa.)

I hate this "worry" part of the transition.

ADDENDUM:
I had a lengthy texting conversation with Bryan today. Bryan is a long time friend and a dad. During the course of this convo I came to the conclusion that I am only just small. I should remain alert and yet at the same time, knowing that although I adore my kids, God loves them FAR more and dude! HE is able to be EVERYWHERE. I sure can't. So I have to trust. And pray, and just remain open and available.

Ugh!

I don't want any (ANY!) of "My Kids" (tm) to experience unnecessary pain or discomfort.
(Are "My Kids" (tm) hearin' me?!)
And yet...such is the stuff of normal life.

So I pray.

Dear Season of Flip Flops...

...how I LOVE thee!
Please bless me with your presence and linger long, after other seasonal guests depart.
:o)

Carpet Stain Mystery Solved

So I thought all the stained carpet areas beneath the chair where my dad sits for dinner were a result of maybe clumsiness or poor eye-sight, or deteriorated hand-eye coordination on his part.

Not so.

I saw it last night.
I witnessed it.

He throws morsels from his dinner, to the dog - who cannot catch to save her life. She lets it fall and then eats it when it is no longer in motion.

(sigh. *slaps own forehead!*)

I am going to slap him!

New Favorite Beach

I found it Friday morning and since I was unsure if the tide was in or out at this time, I decided to check back later in the day. It is a bit of a rocky beach at times, and there are lots of them jutting up out of the water, making it an interesting walk. (Note the waterline)




Yes Virginia, there is a low tide. (Again, make note of the green waterline areas.)





And these are what one finds around the other side of it...









All of the above are part of a horseshoe shaped cave/bowl that during high tide is entirely submerged. Next time I go back I will try and shoot enough to stitch up a panoramic so that you can see how huge the enclosure is. When you see it and stand here, on the dry land and realise that it is entirely buried underwater everyday, it is a bit awe inspiring.


And there it was, further down the cut-off part of the beach:

It's really starting to break up now.

The time it took me to walk from the gap in the big rocks to here was approx 7 minutes. In the time it took me to come through the gap, take this photo and get back to the gap the tide was already moving in at an alarming rate. If I waited another 20-30 minutes, I bet I wouldn't be able to cross back through without getting fairly wet, if I would be able to pass through at all. I was stunned at how quickly the tide races in.

On thing I noticed about the Manzanita beack is how much debris is strewn about it now. Not just driftwood and kelp, but pieces of structures, and lumber etc. Every beach I went to had the same story - of course some of them I had never been to before so I had no previous reference, but the Manzanita beach is usually VERY clean, save for the driftwood and kelp.

Weirdness.

Dear Beach

I can't WAIT to see you in 2 days! I am bringing ALL of my camera's, including the
Fish-eye...although if you blow sand on me like last time (which I LOVED-don't get me wrong),
I will be forced to use the cheapest, crap camera = Ye Olde Minolta.

I will be searching for some old Ghost towns on the Washington side as well.

So far it looks like it's just going to be you and me!
I don't think I have EVER been able to have a one-on-one visit with you before.

Dear Beach, I can't WAIT to see what you have planned!

How does it feel?

How does it feel, on one of the first sunny days on the central Oregon High Desert, when you fill the Studebaker up with people and run into Bend for Bacon Burger Baskets at the Sonic (where they rollerskate your food out to your car still)?

According to Kristina Coulter: it feels like playing hookie.

Yes.
It does.

Status Update;

Dear God,

I like how you are both Not a Freak, and also, a Total Freak,

simultaneously.

It was Katherine Hepburn...

who was my all time favorite actress.
She is still numbered with the greats in my heart, but for actresses living,
I must say my current fave is Meryl Streep.
She is SO amazing! Her range and depth and abilities are beyond comparison.

Among similar greats:
Dame Maggie Smith
Dame Judy Dench.

Hopes:
May Kate Blanchett carry out her current course.
I believe she is racing at a galloping run, toward the
halls of greatness.

Wacky Royal Hats

What is the deal with the Royals
and their odd love of

Outlandish Hats ?

Narcissus, Op. 13, No. 4

When we got the player piano, we got more than 100 rolls of 1900-1930 music. Here is a sample of
one of those songs:

Narcissus Op.13, No. 4.

If you will close your eyes, and imagine that you've gone back in time, to 1910-ish,
you may find this song utterly charming.

April 28th Snow!

I LOVE it!
It's the end of April and we have just dropped a 1/2 inch of snow in the last 15 minutes!
What a DAY!

It's awesome!
:oD

New Things!

1). I think we may get another house guest! A friend of Scout and Kenz may be coming to stay
with us for a while in the Japanese room. Who knows...maybe she will come to stay long term! :oD

2).I have new love: Netflix!

3). I may have found a new fun place to shoot portraits. A hidden ravine/dump in the back end of Madras. I can't wait to hike the ravine and the abandoned railroad to see whats there.

4). And piggy-backing on #3, it will soon be spring (ever so briefly May 3ish thru May 20ish) on the Central Oregon High Desert. This means we will go back down into the canyon and shoot the caves in spring time.

Desperately Seeking Midwest Food

So now there are traces of radiation showing up in milk along the pacific NW Coast and even trackably as far inland as Spokane - although that was from one report - and has been poo-pooed by grocers and others locally.

I am not taking any more chances.
Normally, I feed my family locally.
Not now.
Milk-I have started buying in powdered form from a big chain such as WalMart where the likely hood that its been-

A). sitting on the shelf for a while and
B). come from an inland source

gives me a little better protection from the Pacific radioactive goodness.
If push comes to shove, I would buy Soy Milk as Soybeans (I think) come from the midwest and the south.)

Cheese - I buy an off brand that has likely come from inland or the midwest.

Fruit is a quandry:

-South American and Mexican produce is available, but they are also pacific coast nations.
Hmmmm....what to do about that.
Buy off brand frozen berries and canned fruits that have more likely come from the midwest and south?

Meat - I gotta buy inland...so that means a big chain maybe like Costco or Walmart that pull product from outside of my region. The worry there is that they bring in seafood from China etc. So I will have to find a seafood supplier who is Atlantic.

Heh! And I thought crafting a menu plan for pre-diabetes was tricky!

ugh!

I love you so.
I lay awake at night, thinking of ways to offer you
choices by which you might fly, in the own trueness
of yourself, as God has made you alone to be.
I pull my heart out of my chest and divide it into
pieces in case some of them might give you a leg up,
as stepping stones, that you may see your own
wonderfulness, and that you are appreciated.

You pull out the baseball bat.
You club me over and over and over again.
The bleeding, pulsating remnants of my being
lie on the ground. oozing what life might be there.
Hoping it will leak, in a trail, to your feet...and some
how, impart encouragement to be you.

Sometimes...
I get REALLY tired.
And wish for death.
But that is not my call.

1 Day can make all the difference in a life.

And for me, it is this day.
If it were not for THIS day:
-I would have a mess of a life.
-I would have no children.
-I would have no hope.
-I would have no life.

If I were the only human being, throughout the entire history of
man's existence, who was ever imperfect, God Himself STILL
would have come and endured all that He has, in order to provide
a way for me to avoid the eternal penalties for my choices
(aka damnation), and to have a sane, family-filled, hopeful life
that will last for all eternity.

I am not perfect.
I am in desperate need of forgiveness, (because I do
and say stupid things every single day whether
I want to or not) and I need a Saviour who
can change me starting with the inside first.
I can not perfect myself.

When it all boils down, I am truly rich.
Whether my earthly possessions reflect it or not.

No matter what, I will always have Him and His life.
No matter what else I appear to have, I really have
nothing else.

And I am good with it.

Dear God,
Thank you for You.

Bad Fridge Update

Mostly by Scout.
(with a couple of words by Mih)

by Mih

Cleaned out the Garage

I should have taken a photo BEFORE I started.

Scout came in from extricating her bi-fold closet doors from the mess that was the garage.
"Mom, it's a hazard out there", says she.

So yesterday I tackled it.

The BEFORE pic would have shown no floor space, as one was forced to walk ON TOP of everything in there including but not limited to camping gear, broken jars, various tools, an old ripped blue piece of tarp clothing, boots, mis-matched shoes, sports equipment, and other unmentionables.

In any case, the debacle that was, has now been tamed to this:

The front half of the garage:


And the back of the garage is the "Cube" aka the "Boy Lair" that my son and his friends inhabit when he comes home to visit:



Last night I was in SO much pain I could not do a thing. I actually resorted to taking a
Flexeril - which I do not like. I don't even like to take Tylenol or Ibuprofen. I don't like pain meds. The main reason for my pain, I believe, is due to moving the "Golden-Food-Bot" (shown below) from its entombed state within the bowels of the garage, up onto this dolley, almost singlehandedly. (Scout helped by holding the dolley in place while I lifted, scooted and pushed the Food Bot into its place.)

"I have been spray painted with metallic gold paint."

Today is only a marginal improvement, as I still had "loose end" tasks to complete in the aftermath of this grand clean out.
Tomorrow is Easter.
I will rest between cooking tasks.

Bad Fridge Update

By Mih

By Scout

Dear Inhaler, where are you?

ok so after a 4 day trial, hoping that my asthma might be an aberration on my part, I have come to recognize that it would behoove me to invest some man hours seeking out my errant inhaler.

Is drawing a breath a privilege or a right.

No matter, it is def a necessity, if one is to continue pondering that concept.

2 Month Slap?

Ugh!
You know it's been a fair two months since I deleted my facebook account.
I sincerely do NOT regret it, and yet there are moments, when I wish I could just reach
out and blab and see what others are blabbing about...
and yet I know that..for me...it's not a good thing.

Suffice to say, I miss MANY awesome knuckleheads (who know who they are (tm)). ;o)

How was it that more of my posts from several years ago seemed (at least to me) to be FAR more amusing than my posts of today?

What is different?
Am I still me?

Apparently, back when I was at "my most pithy" was when I was working full time, as an executive secretary. Surrounded by people 8.5 hours a day, and subjected to the crazy whims of an elite commercial real estate developer boss, I seemed more able to gain access to a sense of the absurd.

Maybe it was the fact that I was inescapably surrounded by human beings, and had ample fodder for ridiculous commentary?

Perhaps it was that my direct supervisor, Donna Kightlinger, possessed a razor sharp mind, wit and quick tongue, and her witty repartee propelled my own creativity?

Frankly I think the latter, combined with a sprinkling of the former, was to blame. Also, the fact tha I have become old, dismal, hermit-like, and take care of an elderly old coot who makes me crazy, and then of course, I also care for my elderly dad. ;o)
I suppose these things suck the creative spirit right out of me.
:o)

Anyway. I hoep that by barfing out a plethora of words on a daily basis will remedy the situation and perhaps I will find my old humour again.

I know it lives.
I see it every day in my kids - not that their humour is mine, but I see glimpses of myself in them and it inspires me to accept myself more.

Scout Discovers Time Machine

Ok well this did not happen today, but several years ago.

At the time, it was such an "out of the blue" genius thing for a 12 year old to say, that I blogged it.
This is one of the things I found while reading the old blog posts this morning.

It is right HERE.

Started Reading Backwards

So on a whim this morning while I was waiting for my coffee to be ready, I took a peak at some blog stats and then...clicked the last link on the Past Blog Posts Archive list. It started off in the winter of 2004 when the site was called "Blog Biscuit."

It was kinda fun to look back nostalgically and read some of the the goofy-funny bits as well as some of the difficult times surrounding Mysteria plannings and play productions and kid stuff. Of the time when Donna and I used to prank each other at the office, and plot pranks for Dan - which we never carried out of course, the time Donna suggested the Frozen Turkey Purse solution, and the locating of a second time machine/portal in the house. (The first one was found by Scout and turned out to be the Microwave.)

Sometimes it is really good to look back.

And remind ones self.

by Blake (back in Nov 2011)

by Scout

Bad Fridge Update

Blake modeling with his and Jeremy's most
recent Bad Fridge submission.

Bad Fridge Update

by Scout

by Blake, James and Jeremy

an abuse of the original above, by Blake, James and Jeremy

by Blake, James and Jeremy.
And Mih

When you think of the first missionary that ever was, you might think of Paul or Peter. Actually, it was The Lunatic.

Isn't it funny? If you say you really don't know what you're talking about..people think you know more than you're letting on. And vice versa.

Game Lounge Still Lives Thanks to Video Surveillance Cameras!

I think I may have gained the upper hand on this horrific respiratory thing!
Finally!
Just in time to volunteer some hours at the Game Lounge.

A friend of mine, who already runs a perfectly good business servicing computers, started up a second business - a game lounge.

Our town desperately needs this game lounge.
In a town with a population of less than 2000, there are not so many options for entertainment during the winter months especially. Our kids NEED something to DO rather than drugs and vandalism and generally getting into trouble.

So the # Peaks Game Lounge opened Christmas break. They charge $5 per hour to play games (inlcuding use of the pool table), and if you just want to come in and hang out and "lounge" around watching without playing, then you only have to pay $1 cover charge. $20 gets you in for an entire day of game play. Since that 1st day they have barely made a dime, even though there is almost ALWAYs someone there. Well, with the potential of permanent closure looming April 1st, my friend decided to watch the video security cam tapes.
Lo and behold, he discovered he was being robbed. On a daily basis! The responsible parties were arrested and jailed, but that didn't solve the problem of the deep financial hole in which the game lounge came to rest. Permanent closure still appeared to be looming on the horizon. Local parents were appalled and students and parents alike came forward to volunteer man hours in order to keep the game lounge running and allow it to recupe some of its losses.

The beauty of the security camera's allows there to be no argument as to blame no matter what is going on at any given time 24-7. For security, I am SOLD on video surveillance. It was all there in glorious black and white. No question. It was obvious who the guilty parties were, and due to the multiple angles of all the cameras there was no way a person could turn their body to hide or shield what they were doing.

Video security ROCKS!

So anyway... today is my day to volunteer. Actually, Thursday night was also my day to volunteer but I didn't figure he wanted me in there with a raging fever so my friend went in instead.

There is renewed hope for the game lounge in Sisters.
It's pretty cool.

Maybe I will take some photos of the interior tonight so you can see how warm and homey it is in there.

When ur sick with a fever there is no comfort food like a good old movie. 2nites fare: Hitchcocks "The Birds", with Tippi Hedren.

First day and already done!

After battling sicknesses in 3 other family members, I have finally succumbed to this hideous head and chest cold. It's the first day of this cold (for me) and I am already tired of being sick.
I may not be able to rest as Scout may need to make another trip in to the Doctors. This will be the 3rd trip in 3 days. Scout is right: the 21 mile drive from here to Redmond really IS the most boring stretch of road on the planet. (Next to Eastern Alberta and Saskatchewan).

Perhaps Job may still Be Me?

Well because of the commitment restrictions mentioned in the previous post, however, there seems to be an ongoing need for a flexible, office/jacqui-of-all-trades/Nanny McPhee sort of person that can be of help in an ever changing way.

Today, for example, my employer/friend's new baby was up all night, colicky. She needed sleep. So I got to be "Nanny McPhee" (as I am now known in this capacity) to the wee lad while my Employer Friend got an ever-so-brief nap in. That and I can do office and errand type stuff, it may be possible for me to create/morph into a new support position. When working for some one, one's base M.O. must be implanted deep within their brain before they ever fill out an application: how can I serve this person/business? What are my unique abilities, experiences insights that I can give to help grow/support in this situation? In my case just now, in all honesty i had to turn down the position my friend was offering me because it may not suit her needs in the long run. How ever, after observing her other needs and concerns, its possible that I can serve in another way. The original job offered was for more pay than I am proposing in this new, morphed and additional version. But a job is good to have, even if it pays less than another one. And it is MOST important to provide VALUE to the employer.

So there is where it is today.

I am Nanny McPhee, Baby Crooner/Rocker, Office Diva and Errand Girl Friday.
(Hopefully).

I am NOT job.

Ugh!
So I go to work.
Day one: great day. happy times.
Day two: Early AM dad is very sick, His A.M. Doc appt nearly makes me late to
work. Potential pneumonia or brinchitis, he needs nebuliser treatment 3 times a day for the next week. During the course of the work day, my friend / employer asks me if I am truly interested in the job? I am like "yeah!"
"Good!", says she to me, "because I need someone who can be here for some years and if I train some one I don't want them to quit in like 6 months and I have to train some one else."
Understandable, and yet...
sirens and red lights begin to go off inside my head:
-Can I predict the future?
-If my dad falls 2 months from now and breaks a hip I'm going to halt everything in order to take care of him. Its a no brainer. I can't bloody predict the future.

I say this to her.
She says well, think about it and let me know by Monday (this being last Friday).
I said, "Well if its a 100% commitment without waivering that you seek, then I can answer you right now: I can't give you that promise. I am the caregiver for my elderly dad. He must be my priority in such a case."

She was upset and so was I.

That night I stressed and tossed and turned and woke up with the WORST migraine I have had in 15 years.

Thoughts mulled over during the nights wrestle:
-I can't bloody predict the future, and while I understand the dire need, I am thinking perhaps that might have been an unfair question for her to require an answer to, however she just had a baby and post-partum freakyness can be partially attributed.
-After only 2 days of emplyment by this person I am already experiencing enough stress and turmoil to give me the worst headache I have had in 15 years. And a sleepless night to boot.
-Rather than have peace about the situation, I have surprisingly, a deep inner sense of trauma and turmoil.

I think I am going to find my friend some one who can fill her need but also be able to make the commitment she seeks - even though part of me says, "Girl, don't mention the promise to work for you for 4 years" clause. You will scare them away."

So instead. I will be "Nanny McPhee" to her baby for the month while she finds and trains a new person.

I updated my brother on my dads condition and all of the above. He thinks its a good idea to perhaps check out as to whether the state my pay for my hours as I take care of my dad... and possibly in the event that we don't meet the state criteria, my brother thinks it would be good idea to approach my dad to just pay me out right from the proceeds of one of his annuities. This would keep him home and not in an elder facility, which he disdains (even though he would enjoy the social life there, he has this stigma attached to it), and it would allow me to keep the simple job I have, and supplement what I am not
able to find for work outside the home because of his care needs.

Anyway, tomorrow will be my first day back to work with her, since we came to the uncomfortable realisation that I will not be able to be her "End All, Be All Go-To Girl Friday."

I am feeling MOST awkward and uncomfortable.

Krap-tacular.

Kitchy Jazz from the 60's

I FOUND a sampler of the music that Kristi got me to play in the Studebaker!
at nutsie-dot-com you can find samples of the "Ultra Lounge" CD series.
By visiting the site, it automatically starts the music.

Anyone who has ridden in "The Stude" so far, has agreed unanimously that :
"Gay Spirits"from the Ultra Lounge Space Capades CD is it's theme song!

Also, the song "Power House" , and "Holiday for the Strings" are particularly memorable. I would say, sample all these tunes because they are a hilarious romp through the 1960's and 70's horrible parental music we heard. This is a series worth collecting.
Other titles in the series include:

Ultra Lounge: Organs in Orbit. (Think Hammond and Wurlitzer.)
Ultra Lounge: Crime Scene
Ultra Lounge: Bachelor Pad Royale

To name only a few of the Ultra Lounge treasures, which can all be sampled here: nuTsie dot com

(PS- I am thinking that "Ultra Lounge: Tiki Sampler" is going to be my next purchase!)

The Eatin' O' the Green

So far today I have inadvertently managed to eat only green things:
celery & 3-cheese peperonccini dip, pickles. Time for something orange.

I am job

Start another new job today

Well, it appears that in my ever failing search for jobs, one has actually come seeking me.
A designer friend of mine from the old Multnomah Publishers days, now runs a Wildland fire fighting company and tree falling service. She needs additional hands in the office, and she said my name kept coming to mind.

It's a LOT of new stuff to learn, and eventually dealing with State/Fed Wildland Incident Response coordination and bidding/proposals etc. Fire season starts (in the office anyway) in April and cooks right along through the summer. So this will supplement my other 2 days at Heritage.

I swear these girls are going to be the death of me yet.

Someday...

Morning Edition:
Someday, I will live in a place where there is peace and harmony, and people do not extreme-prank each other, to the point where the cops get called. :o/

This week's "Stude" update:

Thanks Gardner, for snapping the pic in front of Sisters Coffee!
:o)

Mark F. installed the CD/MP3 player and so now I can play the CD's Kristi Miller got for me:
"Ultra Lounge: Space Capades", and "Ultra Lounge: Organs in Orbit". The first thing I put in was an old David Bowie CD and listened to "Rebel Rebel". I also did my next gas-up experiment in this thing: 60 miles = 3gal. It was all in-town driving, so I can't believe it...but I think I am getting around 20 miles per gallon in this crate? Of course, I do coast around in neutral a LOT. once this thing gets up to speed it manages to coast for a pretty fair distance at a good clip.

So on Friday, on a whim, I asked if I could go pick up Scout Miller from school, because she loves all things retro, and she hadn't had a ride in the "Stude" yet. So it was a total surprise for her on Friday. The sun was out, so we could roll down the windows. It was a good Friday. Kristi and I dropped Scout at her next class and then cruised the town. When I got back home at the end of the afternoon, I remembered that I had originally gone in to town to do some errands - which I had completely forgotten to do ANY of them at all!
Oh well. It was still fun.

And in stumbling through the site stats this morning I stumbled upon this old post from the
Uhaul trip from RI to OR. Hah! Kinda funny to look back on. Apparently people are still reading this post, cuz it popped up in this weeks stats.

I guess people need to commiserate about their own nightmare journeys.

Bad Fridge

By Mih
(This only makes sense if you have some French.)

Bad Fridge Update

By Scout

By Scout

Addendum By Kenz

Studebaker Update

BArring any oddities, I think the next steps with "The Stude" will be to locate the following items and then have them installed:

-Shag carpet/headliner deal
-CD Player
-Weather Strip Kit
-Gas Gauge Sending Unit.

Max said he is going to the swap meet in in Portland this weekend and that he would keep an eye out for the sending unit.

Jeremy at the body shop said he would help me buff it out really good this summer and clean up the chrome.

Mick at the gas station insisted that I let him fix the broken visor.

Through Kristi, I've gotten some amazing old 60's lounge jazz which will be perfect
to play loud with the windows rolled down this summer! I am hearing the theme from the Peter Seller's movie, "A Shot In The Dark" blaring down the main highway through town! Maybe during rodeo parade even!

Max found the horn! Its under the dash to the left of the steering column.
It is a deep rich, 'old' sounding horn!
It is perfect.
Now I can terrorize people with it.
I should collect the sound and save it as a wav file.

Where ever I drive in the Stude it seems to make people smile.
It really IS a goofy looking car!

It is funny how so many people have come out of the woodwork and are willing to help me do really neato things to this car? Some won't even accept payment?!

It is kinda a happy car.

:o)

Going AWOL and Amber Alerts

Funny, it seems there are a lot more people jumping the FaceBook ship lately.
I am hearing reports of people "not being there, where did they go?"
That particular post I referred to about how to completely delete your account - not just deactivate it has gotten the most hits in the last month of any post on the site.

Interesting...

1 steak CAN serve 3 people

1 steak = broil it. If you want, marinade it before hand. What ever.
3 servings of lettuce-esque/spinach sort of greenery is a must.
3 servings of pasta should be cooked and cooled. Use a fun shape in order to distract eaters.
You will need to add in some other veggies/ingredients to fake eaters out:
-tomatoes are good
-cucumbers
-bacon
-feta, goat cheesed or other similar artsy-fartsy cheese
-pea pods, groomed with their ends cut off. (Ow?!)
-If you had shrimp on hand, you could fake them out, telling them its a surf-n-turf salad!

Use italian dressing or other olive oil/garlic/vinagrette-ish concoction.

Some assembly required:
Lay out greens on plate
Toss meat(s) and veggie's and cheese(s) with dressing.
Pour over greens.
Toast up some old bread - I mean "crusty" bread, drizzle with olive oil or garlic butter, or onion butter, or heck - even just plain butter.

Call it dinner.

Tah-DAH!

Bad Fridge Update

This weeks installment of BAD FRIDGE includes some new ones as well as some more old ones I found today:

By Mih

by Blake

By Blake

I think this was the first one Blake ever did, using only one full set of letters.

Friday and Saturday

Yay we had more snow! It's awesome! We got another 8-10 inches and now it is going to be clear and cold! (As evidenced by this mornings temps). Highs in the 20's and low 30's! Oh sure, you can complain, but I love it! This is why we have no troubles with fleas on our pets in the summer! Love it! LOVE!

And since Stu and Scout work the majority of the day and into the evening today, the girls celebrated Stu's birthday last night, with home made pizza's and German Chocolate cake.
Nobody here actually likes German Chocolate cake...except Stu. So the cake will be his and his alone.

The girls are awake. How do I know? They are in the kitchen this morning while I make blueberry pancakes:

Kenz: Mom! She's choking me!
Scout: no I'm not. I'm hugging you.
Kenz: And throwing me to the floor!

Aahhhh, the gentle and delicate ways of girl children.

Addendum to the morning:
I have just made the MOST Gi-Freaking-Normous pancake. In retrospect, as I look at it, I have NO CLUE how I am going to flip it.

Cooking for Gleaners

Well it appears that we now have a "Gleaner-Like" entity here in Sisters Yay! Its about time.
It took me a couple of weeks though, the remember how to "Do" this gleaner thing.

Basically it is an organization that has members who collect up the ready-to-expire produce, dairy and baked goods, from local grocery stores who are willing to participate. Often, Gleaner-Style Organizations have a tax write off (501-C3?) status allowing the stores to write off the potential spoilage as a charitable contribution.

Generally, the recipients of Gleaners-Organizations can be homeless, or out of work families, or even just families trying to make ends meet.

Some organizations have you pay dues (on a sliding scale), volunteer to pick up food divide food for families in the group or be a host for people to come and pick up the food. Generally volunteers have less dues, and sometimes, no dues at all. Same for income levels of individuals or families. the homeless generally pay no dues.

I remember now...how to process such foods:

-Everything that can go into the freezer goes there immediately.
-Anything that needs t be eaten immediately, is eaten within 24 hours
-Any fruit or vegetables that can be, are baked, roasted, simmered into sauce and then frozen after the fact. Apples: apples sauce. Tomatoes - duh! etc.

Dairy products are always a gamble - use immediately, and nlu after checking for still-goodness. If goodness is even questionable - it goes to the rubbish bin/composter.

As a consumer, when I see businesses that donate their perishables to these organizations, it has teh affect of amking those same people - needy or not, want to turn around and spend what few hard earned dollars they have, back at the participating store.

It is a beautiful, reciprocal thing.

Comments now being moderated

When you now post a comment, it may not appear until I've had time to be notified and approve it. so be patient.
I am trying to open up more options for people who wish to, to comment, while reducing the risk of spam comments.
We'll see how this goes.

Aquaria: Controlling Pond Snails.

My aquarium cam set up. Gotta love Coca-Cola Products! (This could NEVER work with Pepsi!)
;o)

So I moved the 55 gallon aquarium this weekend. I think the only casualty was one of my assassin snails. He was looking a little bit feeble. I think he got beat up little bit by some rocks being scooped out.

How to control an infestation of Pond Snails:
This is my remaining assassin snail. They have become my favorite part of my aquarium. When I got this one, he was half the size. In my 55 gal aquarium, I try to keep at least 2-3 assassin snails going to keep the pond snail population at bay. Pond snails often come in to your system with new fish or live plants purchased at a pet store. Once you have them, you really can't rid yourself of them. Chemical treatments harm the fish and the only other way I know of is for you to break down the entire system - completely new filter, new rocks, new plants, new furniture and disinfect the glass tank. Frankly, buying some assassin snails is a lot cheaper, less hassle, and kind of entertaining.

Assassin snails don't reproduce like pondies do, so you don't have to worry about THEM growing unconctrollably. They are able to overtake a pondie, flip it over with that big foot and suck the pondie right out of it's shell! Assassins don't need to molt their shells and get a new one, instead they grow larger patches on their shells, which is kinda cool to watch in process.

Drawbacks: Empty pondie shells seem to contribute to a need for more frequent, thorough cleanings of your aquarium because of the decomposition/ammonia releases. I was cleaning my filter and doing a 10-25 % water change every 2 weeks. Since the pondies have come (and are now being killed) I think I need to bump up the gravel vacuum and 10% water change to once a week. Still watching that one.
Also, if you DO have to break down your aquarium for any reason (like I just did in order to move the thing) it is easy to injure, kill (or lose) your assassin snails. So take extra care, maybe to gently remove them first and put them in a bowl of their own water.

Summary: I LOVE my assassin snails! In retrospect, i am kinda glad the stupid pond snail infestation occurred, because now I have a REALLY cool critter(s) to watch.

you gotta be careful...

You gotta be careful sometimes, when you are speaking the truth to some Christians.
You gotta be careful so as to not upset the box that they think their God wants everybody to be living in. If a circumstance can't be stitched neatly into their little box then, odds are they're gonna decide there's something wrong with YOU, because obviously God does everything the same with everybody, and He never does anything new.

Of course I say that all with much sarcasm.

Their God is too small.

My God knows everything I have done, am doing and will ever do.
My God knows every tho9ught I 've ever had, and ev3r will have.
Likewise every word I have spoken or will speak.
All of it, whether for good or for ill.

And He still loves and accepts me.
And He still loves and accepts you too.

But that doesn't mean I have to treat you like my bestest buddy-ol-pal, nor do I have to sit around and accept, or subject myself to abuse from you.

Yes we are to forgive.
But there is nothing ungodly about standing up to someone.
That is not engaging in dis-harmoy or dis-unity, or what ever you call it.
It's not.

Family Christmas Gift

So Stu's parents, my dad and Stu and I, for the family, got a player piano for Christmas.
It came with 140+ rolls! Half of these music rolls were produced between 1910 and 1040.
The roll I have selected for today is from the teens; "Jolly Robbers Overture".

Bad Fridge Update

This weeks installment of BAD FRIDGE includes some new ones as well as some old ones:

By Colin, Jason and Scout

By Mih

I think this was a Scout and Jason endeavor.

By Scout

By Mih and Blake