#151 1946....a good year

Our friend, Rick, was born in 1946....and so were Jack, Pat, Jim, Carmen, Janice, me and tons of other friends of ours. Rick was sans wife on his birthday so we had a Birthday BBQ for him. It was 94° with a sky filled with thunder clouds.

Then the rain started and the sky opened up. Luckily, the cookin' had just finished when the rain began. I teased Rick that if the power went out, we'd just light all 63 birthday candles. Actually, I just had one in his "European mousse" dessert.

Temps dropped to 76° in a matter of minutes. Crazy.

#150 My dog, Hook

I know, I know. Hook isn't a dog. But sometimes, he gets mixed up and follows me just like a dog and wags his tail like a puppy. On this particular day, he followed me all the way down to the horses and along the way, he had to investigate what Jack was doing in the woods.
(Danette, have I told you lately how much I love this cat?)

#149 Flowers the deer won't eat!

Wild Oregon lilies.

#148 Here come the thunderheads!

It is going to be 94° today with possible thunderstorms. Yesterday afternoon, the clouds arrived. They kept growing and growing and stacking up towards the west. This morning, there isn't a cloud in the sky.

#147 Okay...the real story

Okay, I'll come clean...when I said Jack kept giving me "excuses" as to why he couldn't start up the rototiller, it really wasn't excuses. He is honestly too busy, (except for today, he's going fishing!) This is how his ONE project is coming along. It's a new entry gate to the drive up to our house. It's going to be pretty snappy and high tech!

#146 To the Barns

This is my horse "barn" or stalls and tack room. Dessie is awaiting her treat.
This is our big "barn" which is really Jack's wood working shop and an apartment we built and lived in while we built our home. These wild poppies were planted about 18 years ago.

This is Buckshot. Our little pond is behind him; enlarge the photo and you can see it behind the telephone pole. The pasture is about 6 acres. Nice size; now if it only had grass growing instead of noxious weeds.

And this is sweet Dessie. Both horses have wonderful ground manners. I can't ride her because her feet cause her a lot of pain.

#145 No Garden This Year

I give up! I've asked Jack so many times to fire up the rototiller so I could get the garden tilled but he has had so many excuses. One day, he got it running and I was all excited, then he wouldn't let me run it. In the 18 years we've lived here, I have only once been "allowed" to use the rototiller.
So this is the state our garden is in. He won't hook up the watering system so I've been watering the strawberries and tayberries by hand before I go to work each day. Why, I don't know because they will be in full swing when we leave for Mexico.

...................................Here are the tayberries........poor things.

..............The clover and weeds do better than the berries.

The rubber snakes are to keep the birds out of the berries. The only thing they consistently scare is ME! Every single time I focus on one of them, I jump and let out a yelp!
Can you tell I'm in a grumpy mood? I just wanted a place to grow my flowers, some lettuce and some tomatoes. I have the "place".....I guess I wanted too much in addition to that...like the water and the tilling. I would even use a shovel to turn it all over, but without water while we are away, there isn't any sense to putting in the labor. (sigh)

'guess I'll have to go visit Amy and help her pull weeds and can beans!

#144 Faked me out...

This geranium leaf faked me out. I thought it had bloomed and I ran and grabbed my camera to document another flower the deer had NOT eaten yet. To my surprise, it was a backlit leaf.
(My camera refused to focus on the front leaf so I took the photo anyway.)

#143 Where have all the subscribers gone?

Less than two years ago, these were full every morning when I passed by. No longer.

#142 The "Village"

Down town Shady Cove, looking north in the first two and south in the last one. Population about 2,500. 3 motels, 3 gas stations, 2 markets (1 like a 7-11, the other with 7-11 prices!), 2 taverns, 2 car washes, 2 laundromats, too many raft rentals to count, 1 movie rental, 2 pizza places, 1 Mexican restaurant, 1 fancy restaurant, 1 Subway inside a gas station, 1 deli inside a fishing shop, 2 unidentifiable food restaurants with varied hours, 1 library open 3 half-days a week, 2 medical clinics, 1 dentist, 1 coffee drive-in, many thrift shops, 3 auto mechanics, 2 gift/floral/flower places, 1 chiropractor, 3 beauty salons, 1 fitness place (tiny), 1 quilt shop, tons of little gift shops and 0 traffic lights and 0 cross walks. I'm missing a ton of tiny businesses, but hey, they change so frequently, it's hard to keep up with all of them.

It's a small town. We moved here with a population of 1,000 so we've seen a lot of changes.

#141 Leader of the Pack

Our first rose. It's a big deal to have flowers around here because the deer eat everthing and I swear they wait for them to bloom before munching! They will even bite the tulips off and spit them out!
But.....we live in the woods without a dog so we celebrate the flowers when we have them. This is a climbing rose so it is out of reach of the deer, (to a point). I'll share a photo when this is in full bloom.

#140 Bargain of the Day

I don't know why this photo came in sideways but the idea is still there. Jack went garage-saling and found these bargains for me at 10cents each!

#139 Kids!

We have a leadership class at school where the kids learn traits of leaders and learn to become leaders themselves in various situations. They broke into small groups and each group had to make a poster about a particular character trait of a leader including examples of people who exude that trait.
Those posters hung on the wall for months and I finally got closer and read them. My name was on every single poster! Of course, their worlds are sheltered...I mean I was up there with Nelson Mandela, our president, Ben Franklin, Donald Trump, Rosa Parks and I don't know how many others. I laughed so hard I almost cried.
I hope each of these kids will have the opportunity one day to leave our little town, our valley, our county and see the world. Several of them don't remember being further than an hour away from home. Ah....a gift of experiences....would certainly change their lives and the way they look at the world.
Until then, move over, Donald Trump, here comes Sandee Krueger!!

#138 Car Washing Day

It was car washing day and I thought how lucky we are to have good vehicles. Our 1999 Acura is the newest, then our 1997 Ford pickup and my 1972 Chevy van.

Every year about this time, we look over the car ads and search the details for a vehicle that would get super mileage. Then we pencil it out and it is still cheaper for me to keep driving the van to work every day. I drive about 35-45 miles a week. So we just paid for the registration for another two years....guess that takes care of any decisions for now!

#137 Late or Early?? You Decide!

...

OK, in 4 weeks, we will be in the Yucatan & I'll be fumbling for my Spanish dictionary!
I about panicked when I realized how close we are to leaving and I hadn't packed yet. So I'm packed andI got the chance to finish cleaning my closet in the process, what a nice bonus.
Anyway, I always pack weeks and weeks prior to lengthy trips and at least a month or more prior to short trips. I need the time to consider if I really need all the stuff I crammed into my duffle bag.
This drives my sis and bil crazy because they both have been known to go to Europe and throw things into their bags the day before they leave! (I am sure she was adopted.)
I've already realized something I'd forgotten to pack...my pj's. So this month will be dedicated to my unpacking, repacking, adding and subtracting from that duffle bag until I am sufficiently satisfied that I haven't forgotten a thing.
Now all I need to do is find my passport...hmmmmm

#136 Woman Overboard!

No, I didn't fall off of a boat...I just went overboard at the library! I rarely get there now that they are only open three half-days a week, but when I do, I get a little crazy. I love books on tape so I can quilt or clean as I listen to a story but 3 at once? Not to mention the beginning Spanish and intermediate French tapes. I need to learn some conversational Spanich MUY PRONTO! And we never have intermediate tapes available in French so that was exciting. Lastly, is a movie with Mikhail Baryshnikov...I just hope he dances in the movie....I'll see. Oh, I also bought two books from the sale rack. Next trip to the library, I'll have to take a shopping bag with me!

#135 The New Mini

"Little Feet" is a miniature horse ranch down the road a piece from us. I noticed a new foal resting and just so happened to have my camera with me.
I bet some of you, (Warren and Ina), thought I was going to show a photo of a flashy little sports car! (My sis and bil (brother-in-law) each have a cute Mini-Cooper.)

#134 Like a Deck of Cards....52 of 'em

I pass by these mailboxes on my way to work. One of these days, I may just paint a sweet little watercolor of them. 52 in a row!

#133 Hippie Corn

This photo doesn't show the depth of the pan the popcorn is in....but it is HUGE and is filled with "hippie" popcorn. My daughter taught me how to make it: popcorn, Bragg's amino spray, nutritional yeast and dill weed. (Ah, maybe that's why it's called "hippie"....the "weed"!)
Anyway, I took some to school for myself one day and made the mistake of eating in front of the kids. I had a few bites and had to share the rest. ;o)
Ever since then, they have been begging me to make more. So today is Hippie Corn Day!

#132 4-Leaf Clover of My Own

I have been searching for a 4-leaf clover all school year. One morning, I was hooking the electric fence at the horses and looked down to find my very own 4-leaf clover! (Maybe there is some prophetic lesson here.) I'm glad I snapped this photo as Jack weed-whacked it down a couple weeks later!

#131 A Spot in the Woods

I look forward to seeing these leaves or whatever they are, sprout from the trunk of this tree each year. They freeze and die in the winter, or just shed. Obviously, I have no clue. I merely enjoy the beauty of this spot as I walk from our house to the horse barn.

#130 Fashion Show

The 2nd Annual Fashion Show and Tea was yesterday. I'd like to say it went off without a glitch, but there were several. Of course, they most likely didn't matter to anyone other than me, the organizer, you know how that goes.

The kids did a super job purchasing outfits at their favorite thrift store. The tables were set with glassware purchased at 2nd hand stores. Each table had a business sponsor and was decorated by the kids in honor of that sponsor.

It was a fun afternoon and I'm glad it is behind me, yet again. The main thing is the kids had fun.

#129 Jack's Wood Working

Jack is busy with so many projects. This is one of them: a bathroom vanity for our daughter's new addition. He will be making built-in book cases too and maybe some other work. We never know, with his talents! So here is his work shop with the vanity in progress.

#128 Spirit Week

Well, it was spirit weel and one day was "dress like a teacher" day. Many of the kids consider me a teacher, and I know I am, but just not a certified one. (Certifiably nutzo!)

So here are 3 of the kids who chose to dress up like me. (Yes, I wear peace signs of some sort every single day - have ever since we the day we invaded Iraq. Guess I'll be wearing them until the day we leave Iraq.)

#127 The Reason I Don't Sleep at Night

Loaded to the gills, that's the state of my ole Chevy van. With what, you ask? Items for our Thrifty Fashion Show and Tea, which is this Saturday. We will be potting plants into the tea pots and pitchers today, then setting up the gym tomorrow and pulling the show off on Saturday.

The craziness doesn't really come from the stuff in my van, it comes from the kids. One minute they are in the show, the next they aren't. One minute I have 32 models, the next I have 43. I can't type the program because it changes so fast. One minute two kids are walking out together and the next minute they are "enemies" and couldn't possibly walk out together!

They truly are driving me nutz. At least the event has already made money for the school. We got businesses to sponsor tables at the event so we are "to the good"!

#126 Testing 1-2-3

Well, my test did not work. I took 5 photos and "stitched" them together for a panoramic view. The photo turned out perfect, but it won't upload. Oh well. Here is "our" little creek running again. It is seasonal and had already dried up; but after our recent rains, it is back and our pond is full again.