Name the Bear!

Ok, here is our newest addition. He needs a Tillamooky name. He was created on the Wilson River and he doesn't need to hold a flag all the time. He just has one because I wanted him to hold one. Anyway, help us name him. S and I would like to call him Wilson, but J doesn't like the name. He says it is a brand name for volleyballs.


On another note, Happy almost Easter! My sis, on her blog about the Diverse Work in Progress, has a great recipe using hollow chocolate bunnies, miniture cadbury eggs, and peeps. It is called an Easter turducken (check it out, if you haven't already. You have to look for it in one of her later March blogs.) S and I are co teaching Sunday school tomorrow and I made 'Easter cookies' or 'resurrection cookies'. It took me until I started to mix them until I realised what they were! My sis made them for 4-H years ago, but they were called 'Forgotten cookies'. Someone adapted the recipe and added scripture to it. We are also making nail crosses from some old square nails that S found in an attic of somewhere around here. (Note, the old stuff blog? It is EVERYWHERE.) We'll hang them on red ribbon. After all that work, I just hope we have more kids than 2!
One very exciting note, I got to see Enchanted finally. I Loved It!
Book of the day (one I got for me for Easter!) by Mercedes Lackey, the Fairy Godmother (again!).

Random Whatevers

I so much wish I could write this from driving in my car. I have the best ideas there and don't remember them when I get home. How typical.

I wanted to metion to everyone a happy holy Easter week. This is my most favorite week of the year as Palm Sunday kicks off the whole reason for the existence and ultimately the death of Jesus. I was working with some kids the Sunday before last and we were talking about His arrival in Jerusalem. Jesus said the rocks would cry out if the people couldn't. Can you imagine that? If you were standing in the street and the rocks at your feet suddenly cried out 'Hosanna!' I have seen muppet rocks sing and tell bad jokes, but this is reality. How amazing is that?

Then, on Monday, we had another fun holiday. Did you know that St. Patrick's Day is a bio friendly day??? It's green!

J and I have been working on a project he is doing for US History. Pretty fun, but it would have been better if he had done it more spread out rather than most at once. It is almost done and is due on Thursday.

More scrappin' photos and one of our many really cool finds! We found most of two of those stoves. And for those who wondered. J is the fuzzy dark spot over the light looking spot near the scrap stuff out in the middle of the field. He is riding his motor bike.

Pictoral Notes

J's puzzle project. Grandpa's first fish of the year!


What S does when he is unemployed!!


J on Jo's old bike J riding in the field--look close!

It appears we have the internet again. It is pretty great..but we can't get the camera and the computer to 'talk' now and so are unable to download the photos from one to the other. One of new connections seems to be in the same place and creating difficulties.

It has been very springy here. I will have to go and get some of my favorite spring quotes! We have had wind, thunderstorms, lightening, hail, sun, rain, and assorted temps. Pretty interesting!

Book of the day: The Dark Hills Divide first in a series about the Land of the Elyon by Patrick Carman. Not sure how it is going to go, I am only in the first chapters. They are kid lit. J is reading the Andromeda Strain to S. Sort of carrying on in his brother's footsteps!

G Notes

G notes are for Great Gilly-whopper Wonderful Things. OK, S still hasn't found a job. There are several out there and he has to choose. (I keep having flashbacks to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade!!! 'Choose Wisely.') But, we may just be getting the internet in the next week or so. For me, that is totally wonderiffic! To be able to add photos to this blog..to be able to go online whenever I want...To be able to go internet shopping!!! (Well, not so sure about that!). Anyway, we have been internet hopeful before, so I am just waiting to see what happens.
T leaves next week for the sand and we are thinking of sending him another electronic toy. The DS Nintendo is my favorite at this time. The screen is small, but it is very user friendly.
J got cold feet as to his solo. He said it sounded better on an alto sax anyway. I was sad, but not too surprised. The trimester has ended and most of his grades are not too bad. Some are and some are not.
Am reading a new book by Robin McKinly (Beauty) and it is not too bad. A little confusing, but I would like to add it to my collection. It is called Dragonhaven and is about a refuge for dragons and all the hoopla there is in creating a refuge for creatures people don't believe exist..although, they really do. The dragons are either dangerous and need exterminated or they are rare and need protected, but you can't rescue and raise any orphans you find...

In like a Lion!

My kids made lion faces today to celebrate March. I can't wait until tomorrow until they can march around the house all day on March 4th (in honor of Mrs. H!!!!). I won't be watching them, but I hope they won't forget to march forth and up and down the stairs! Anyway, it is very cold and a bit windy outside. Not a lamb like day at all. BRRRRRR.
We have made up a resume for S. I printed out a few, however, he found a typo. So, I will need to redo a page. I am convinced that typos appear magically after you proof read. He has some leads and is busy doing little house jobs and moonlighting automotive jobs. Except they are during the day!
Talked to T this weekend. Actually, S talked to him longer. I was sick and J was on a ski trip where he learned to snowboard. T is doing ok, but is ready to move on to somewhere else. Which happens this month.
No new books, I was sick all weekend and didn't even want to read!

Funny things are everywhere

You know, Dr. Suess wrote a great book about funny things being everywhere..not just on Jake's blogspot!!! (Check out the Stuffed DNA on one of her recent posts). They can be things or happenings and you just gotta laugh.

So, a funny thing that is recent. Very recent. S hasn't really lost his job, but he is not sure he wants to keep it. The shop where he is/was working is closing. The owner wants to move most of the mechanics to a shop in another city, but there was no discussion of pay or where they would work. It is already a very crowded shop. It has been an interesting experience being a part of a place that did their best to get him, promised him one thing and then gave him something else. Tillamook wants him back, but then we would be apart again....It is definitely bemusing. We will keep you posted as to what we are planning on doing now.

J still hasn't had his tryouts yet. Jazz band is a class that takes place on a day for 'special' classes, so when there are assemblies..well, they happen on those days. J said none of the other classes are important..like Jazz band! he gets to go skiing again this weekend to make up for the aborted trip he went on a few weeks ago (they were stuck in traffic for three hours due to an accident).

Gardening here is uncertain now. Mostly because of where we may or may not be. I have never actually planted stuff in this zone. When we were here when T was born, we didn't have much garden that I remember. I think we borrowed the neighbor's! It would be fun to grow watermelons though!

Still reading the Joust books. Am halfway done.

Short Post

Very staccato note!
OK, at the library again, it is loverly outside. We had rain and then sun and it is very nice. I miss the rain. I really want to start a garden...it should be fun, yet a lot different from Tillamook.
Went to the dr today, so had no kids. Dr is very nice and personable, I think everyone will like him.
Haven't heard from T in a while. J does his jazz band tryout this week, last week they had an assembly! He was really annoyed that they ditched his jazz band for an assembly. He is working on a puzzle for shop, it is very cool!!! I was quite impressed.
Still reading the Joust books, I picked up the last one in the series today. That is way fun! I now own the whole series!

Late in Feb.

I am using T's computer, we have not sent it yet and it is not letting me do photos or spell check. However, it is nice to get to go online and hang out for a while. So, maybe he won't get this after all!!!!! No, I will send it tomorrow...unless I can get to the PO before it closes today.
Babysitting has been fun, the dogs are always a joy! (not) They have a tendency to run off and need picked up. They are cute, though. Tiny critters of a mixed breed. We made Sunnypatch hats today (lots of twirled pipe cleaners and bugs that they colored were glued on in a variety of forms. They turned out rather cute.)
My neice has a birthday soon. OK, both of them are having birthdays soon. One will be 4 and one will be 19. Amazing how time flies.
Spring appears to be on the way. There are bulbs up everywhere and they are so purty. Even if they are just shoots. It is still very cold, though. Today it was 29ish this am. BRRRRR. I am going to put together a mulch area this weekend. That plan is in a book I am not sure how to spell the title of and then I have more great ideas from 'Trowel and Error' by Ms. Lovejoy. It is so much fun to read gardening books! But, it will be different gardening over here.
The books I am reading this week are the Joust series by Mercedes Lackey. I ordered the last one with a gift certificate I got for my birthday. It is one of my few series I don't have packed somewhere!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well, it is Valentine's Day and I was told by someone that today is also 'Single Male Awareness Day'. Cute, huh?
Not much going on here. Heard from T, he is playing airsoft in the woods, but it is called tactical something or other in wooded terrain.
I just wanted to let people know that we are still here and putting the best foot forward one day at a time.
Book of the day, the Valentine's book by LM Montgomery, The Blue Castle. I read it EVERY Valentine's Day. It is wonderful!

Still here.

OK, we are still around. Just not able to use the net much. I am at our Athena library now and not much has been going on. Lots of babysitting, but I think I may have gotten the kids to recognize that 'p' is for parrot!!! Cool, huh? Also, for pirate, purple, and pink!
House in Helix is still there. More on that subject later.
It appears T's orders are changed again. He might be leaving mid March. Better than this next week!!!!!! His Sgt told him he needs to relax.
Books of the week are a series by Mercedes Lackey and some one else...The Obsidian Trilogy. The other author is a man and wrote a kids book I recognized. They are pretty good.

a very short note

Thank you for all the prayers for Tony. He really appreciates them and just keep praying. He is supposed to be in a training this week.
Athena has been hammered by snow and ice, pretty fun in a very cold sort of way. I made a lumpy snowperson today while playing with the dog. (I will have scads of photos to load on here when we finally get the internet again!!)
J will be 14 years old pretty soon. Me, well, I will be older, too. S and I are a bit sick, the varied temps and the dry air I think are playing havoc with our systems. I guess we are used to the Oregon coast.
Book of the day: Patricia Wrede's Mairlon the Magician duo and a trio by Mercedes Lackey and someone else. I will write more on them later (after I read them).

Jake wanted 7 random facts. Well, let me think. A random fact is something that is true and yet well, random. OK, 1) I like dill pickles and peanut butter on wheat bread. 2) I used to detest chocolate. 3) I don't like driving (you can pay less attention when you are a passenger). 4) I enjoy reading coookbooks almost as much as my sister (but, I don't take them to the bathtub!). 5) I need a nap. 6) I put cinnamon in almost everything I cook. 7) I like real kettle korn (Papa Llama's from Tillamook, Or)

A quick note

So, for this run of staccato notes, I now have T's address!!!!! It is:
PFC Hansell, Stephen
CMR 411 Box 2074
APO AE 09112
Many of you will also get this along with a photo of T to hang on your wall..just so you can remember what he kind of looks like. I say, kinda, because a friend sent a video of a musical program he participated in last spring and he looked VERY different. The photo will also help you remember to pray for him. His orders, last we heard, were changed so that he will be heading off to the sand in mid Feb and not early March, as we had thought.
On another note, we think we found a house. It is in Helix, Oregon. We will let you know how that goes. I am too nervous to say more at this time. It may or may not pan out. (Sorry, that was a very obvious statement!).
It is super cold here with snow. This am it was 10 above and now it appears to be around 28..in the sun!
The last note today, we don't have the internet yet. The wireless thing from Qwest was a bad idea. It worked not at all. Verizon was better, but not much! So, we will have to look at a satt dish if we stay here..if we move to Helix, they have internet at the house we looked at!
Book of the day: Something else by Grace Livingston Hill. I need some warming bubble gum type books at this time!!!

Just a note

How about a note in C. C the house, c the cat, c the silly catapult that J made, c the loverly day outside!
I did go and look at a place today. It is rumoured to have been sold, but it is totally empty. We kind of looked at it in July, but didn't know if we were moving. It is only 3 bedrooms and appears pretty aged. We are hoping to learn more about it. The land we are looking at by R and Dot's is sitll 'in the hopper' we were told. Thus, it will be at least 2-3 more weeks til it is finished being processed. We will let everyone know what happens when it does!
J made a catapult for his shop class and it is pretty neat. I will post pictures when we get the net at our house again. We had it, but it was super slow. Slower than our old dial up!! We ordered another chip thing and need to get it this weekend.
It is lovely today in Athena, Oregon. Chilly, but not much wind!!! Very pretty with lots of sunshine.
The cats have been lots of fun, too. They are doing well. Rusty seems to have become a housecat! Katie Kat had lost weight..which she needed to do, but looks to have gained much of it back.
Book of the day..actually, author of the week: Grace Livingston Hill. She is very bubble gum and old fashioned, but fun to visit with. My next book will be Countess Below the Stairs by Eva Ibbotson. Or maybe it is under the stairs..not sure, but it is one of my favorite books ever!

Photos

Snow pictures! Who's on top now?



Heart's Haven had a foosball table and T was given an army motif quilt by some friends from church. Cute, huh?



Our last photos with T. I took a couple with my phone (those are such fun bits of technology!!!), but need to figure out how to get them from there to the puter!

Field of Breeze

Yup, that is this place in a nutshell. It is always blowing here and we managed to miss the windstorm from last weekend. Not sure how that happened, but we missed the one on the coast by a few days and this one by a few minutes or so. We did see a grain elevator in Adams that was down and we drove through a brown out for a few miles, but the rest of the way was pretty fine.

The Tillamook visit was fun in spots. We are going to miss peoples so much. I took some photos, but several more are on a camera that we have not used up yet. It snowed on Sunday and when we left Monday, it did take awhile to get to Portland. The house we stayed in was fun. It was a 'quirky' place as one of our visitors called it. Old fashioned, but pretty neat. You can find it under Heart's Haven VRBO using the Google technique. (I am sure Jake could do the clicky thing that lets you go to the site, but I am still a newbie at this.)

It was very hard letting T go. But, on the ironic note, we got back to Athena and he had a jury summons for Feb waiting for him!!! I wrote back and suggested that they might reconsider his name and told them why. I do think a commute from Kuwait and Iraq to Tillamook might be more than the county would want to fork out for traveling expenses!!!

I have started babysitting for some friends and Dot made an excellent dinner this evening. It would go well on baked potatoes, she put it over egg noodles.

It is:
1 lb of hamburger, browned and drained
1 14 oz can of tomato sauce
about a cup of water
1 packet of taco seasoning mix
Combine these items and simmer for at least 15 minutes.
Add half of a bag of Dorito corn chips in your favorite flavor. Stir in and simmer until Doritos are soft.
Top with shredded cheese and serve.

It is called a Dorito casserole recipe, but it is more of an entree mixture to add to a meal. Have fun with it and let me know how it turned out.

Book of the day: I read my friend's book about the baseball. It was wonderful and a tad hard to follow, it also had a confusing title. Cutting Loose was it, I think. I am now reading one my sis sent about a cat who came for Christmas. It was the only thing I had as most everything else is still packed!!!! I am pretty sure I have it in a box, but as Jake's was not packed. It is the one that is more important.

Of note

When one is baking one must remember all the ingredients. And sometimes it is very hard to add them later! Especially, when the mixture is complete and baked and done. I had thought that my chocolate chip cookie dough looked funny and then they baked really odd, but hey...they were chocolate. After they were all finished, I ate one and immediately realised I had forgotten...THE EGGS! Ah, well. Happy New Year, eh?
Other than that, I did some projects today and won a game of Scrabble. Actually, J and I were playing together and I had no idea we won until I used the back of the score sheet to write a list on. I was pretty surprised. Teddy got to go up to the Mtns with S and T and J. When we get the photos on the computer, I will try to load some on. My mum and my sis called today and that was fun.
We are just hanging out and not really looking forward to the day when T leaves (Monday). I did hear from another friend who is headed for the Ukraine. Mailing him letters will be as interesting as it was when we sent them to B when he was in jail!! We get to send him what is called a pouch letter. I have to read up on them, they sound unusual. Kind of makes me wish I had sent him some when he was in Utah!
Well, hope everyone had a good start to the new year and I am not going to recap this year as Jake did. It has been pretty long and full of many corners. Our family is just looking forward to seeing where the next one will take us.
Book of the day: Finally finished Hans Brinker and am planning on starting one that I put down somewhere that is about baseball or something. It belongs to a friend.

We'll see

It appears that we now have the internet. It has only been a few hours since it was hooked up and it is very spotty. However, it seems to work fairly ok.

Here are some photos of T's visit home in November and a few friends and some other stuff.

Moses fell asleep between the blankets I was using for my bed when I we had moved almost everything.

We got back to Athena and it had snowed. J made a horned snowman using the antlers from the deer he shot this year!

T came back for December and he and some of his friends were taken (somewhat unwillingly) to a fancy tea spot called La Tea Dah in Tillamook.

Once in Athena again, we hung out and then eventually had Christmas. T got some more models, J got some music from Nana, and Grandma and Grandpa H got a fisherbird made from a shovel and spatulas and a shoe stretcher!

Fiddlesticks!

OK, I finally got a hold of the Dr's office. They called the Athena number today, even though I specifically gave them my new number on Monday. At any rate, it appears that the MRI I had done showed that things were completely normal. But, I still can't see properly. They want to have me come back in two weeks. I am so annoyed. We spent lots of monies for something I could have just dealt with on my own..as I have been!
I know, J always tells me a fiddle only has one stick, but what if you have a spare? I am working on a project..it also takes sticks. I am making the snowman kit that I made for our fair. (I don't think I took a photo of that ribbon winner) Only, I am doing 3. I will deliver them on Friday. I have had to purchase stuff to create them, as I left some items I needed in Athena. You know, paint, paintbrushes, needles, thread, mini cutting tool, and so on. On the other hand, I probably couldn't find them anyway! It has been fun, even if I can't see as well as I would like. I think it gives them a lopsided look of authenticity!
T is out with friends. (See Prom post) He was kidnapped by the three and they are out playing. They might have picked up more peoples. I don't know. I kind of hoped he would come back to change from his ACU's into play clothes and then I could see the friends. But, they haven't yet. Besides, ACU's are sturdier than most play clothes.
Book of the day: How can the heart forget Emilie Loring and Starship Troopers by Heinlein. I wanted to re-read The Golden Compass, but mine is packed somewhere and all the library copies are checked out.

Tuesday in Tillamook

Well, the THS concert last night was fun. Jazz band was a little off, the rest went pretty well. Also got to visit the creamery today and listened to the THS VEnsemble. They are fun to listen to. And I got to hold sweaters and purses and even a phone! I felt like I belonged again!
Just for Jake, the Cry of the Icemark by Eric Hill (I believe) is an excellant book. It is a great story of coming of age and change and just plain fun characters.
Looking at some modular sticklike houses. Not that much in Athena right now. The one we really wanted got snatched up by the new policeman..their house in a previous town burned down and they have small kids. Ours, here, still hasn't officially closed.
That's all for now.

Differences

T and I are back on the Oregon Coast. It is so different here. T was disgusted that he had to unpack his cold weather gear when he got to his grandparent's house. It was 28 there. Above, not below, but much colder than Tillamook.
I have some photos, but need to ask the people we are staying wiht how to get them through their computer onto the net. They have many filters and protectives. They are a good idea, though.
At any rate, J's snowman was still up when we got there--it is bashed into ice lumps now. I tried to get some holiday photos of Moses--not an easy task. The Christmas flowers were fake and had been on a cake iced with whipped topping stuff. He tried to eat them from where I had arranged them on a sock. T did some projects and I did a few things also.
Am reading the last Potter book again. Icemark is better!

Good grief.

We are in Tillamook again..at least, T and I are. It is awesome to be with him and see him and have him around somewhat. (He is with his friends a great deal already!) S and J drove back to Athena and I already miss them.
While in Portland S and I joined the modern era and got ourselves cell phones. A very scary purchase, but somewhat neccessary. I have learned how to take photos, one friend helped me do a voice dial thing, another friend showed me how to add people and stuff, and it seems like it will be more fun than not. So, that is what we got for Christmas! I did get Steve's parents a Christmas sock..now if I can only find ours!
I am pretty tired, but I am doing lots of projects this week. I need to finish a few of them so I can start more. I am turning over a new leaf. I aim to finish things before starting others. Books, not included!!!!!
Book of the day: Alas, Babylon and Cry of the Icemark

More news

It is now Monday the first one in December and it is icky out. Very windy and wet and not lots of fun to walk in. I hear it is ickier in Tillamook, though. So, I am glad we are here.
S got our computer up and running, but we still are not on the internet. I will see if I can post pictures next week from our friends house. They are pretty fun, but then again, T will be home next week and everyone down here will get to see him!
I have a spot of eye trouble, it appears that for some reason I have lost vision in one eye. Not sure why, but there you have it. I visit a dr tomorrow to see if the specialist has any idea what is up. It is a very interesting perspective on the world.
Other than that, not much is going on. Thinking of everyone and getting ready to find the stuff to get our Christmas cards out!

In Athena

OK, We are in Athena now. It only took us a zillion hours to get here. We were stuck in a non moving line of traffic in the Dalles area for 3 1/2 hours. We ended up getting to Athena around 430 in the am. We unloaded for an hour, took a short nap, got up and did the rest before S and J had to go off to work and school. It was very long. The cats were sedated, but obviously, the meds wore off long before we arrived. We left Tillamook around 7ish pm. and it was totally storming. Very nasty weather all around. We had rain and wind on the coast and ice and cold the rest of the way. I even got out during the 'break' we had and made a snowman that was tiny enough to sit on a gaurdrail post. I am at the library and will post photos of T and his surprise visit home as soon as I can. Have to leave for now, keep smiling and have a great end of November!

Our last week

This is what happened at our house this week. Then, on Wednesday T called and said he was coming home for a few days! And we are almost out of here!

What a week!

This week has been full of the longest days ever. It started on Monday (most weeks do, I guess) with an amazing rain and wind storm. It was raining in circles! Well, it was also the day I was taking two cats to the vet for feline lukemia shots. I had gotten Katy Kat in a carrier (we only have one) and decided that since I couldn't find the harness and leash for Moses, he could just ride freestyle. I would stop and get him a carrier at a local store. Teddy decided he needed a walk just before I left, so I reluctantly got my wet stuff back on that I had worn earlier when I was doing some outside chores. Moses wanted to go outside, but I didn't want a wet cat in the car and tossed him back inside. After the walk, I got Katy caged (she was not impressed and vocalized her annoyance as I left her in the dining room to look one last time for Moses harness and lead) and got them both in the car, Moses was without a restraint. I drove to the neighbor's to do something and she loaned me a carrier. (Remember it is pouring and blowing outside). As I put it in the car, Moses snuck out! There is a rhododendron near the driveway by my neighbor's house and that is where he decided to hang out. Oh, he moved around a bit here and there, but for the most part hunkered down and ignored me as I called and called him. About 10 minutes later, my neighbor noticed I was still in the driveway and helped keep him contained under the bush. We were both concerned he would wander off somewhere else in the garden in her yard and I would have only one cat to take to the vet. Eventually, he inched his way closer to me and I was able to dive through the branches of the bush and snag him. He was not happy and tried to get away, but I was wet and grumpy and he was NOT going anywhere. My neighbor got the car and the cage open and he was incarcerated in the back. My drive to town was rather noisy until I turned on some Christian music. That seemed to distract them for a bit.


On Tuesday, I took two more cats in for shots. This time they had to have complete exams. A very spendy process. One of them messed in the new carrier I had purchased as I was driving to town. That was icky! I mailed a box to T full of cookies and brownies I had made on Monday and that was spendy, too!


Later this week I worked and planned on going to EO on Friday. As of today, I am leaving in the morning on Saturday. There is more daylight then. I started a project the other day that I should have done ages ago and ended up with only 10 flax seed warmers for my PT neighbor. I need more flax! I had 25 pounds and the pile of pillows packs in the picture (check out that alliteration!) has most of them. I did lose a few ounces when I filled a pack and held it up, only to discover there was a hole in one of the seams. I have about 6 more 'snakes' to make for her.

Moses has objected to many things this week. He was especially annoyed with me for something earlier this evening. He didn't tell me what, but I didn't get him off my lap (where he had jumped on his own!) fast enough and he bit me on the cheek. Now he wants out, but he peeked outside and noticed that the door into summer is missing, so he has curled up by the door on a mat.
T graduated as a Calv Scout today (ok, yesterday, Thursday. I hope he got the box. He called and left a message. He sounded depressed, so I don't think the cookies came. Unless they did and he got in trouble!).
Book of the Day: Richard Peck's The Librarian Lies Here

Finding the strangest things

We decided that since we were moving plants today, we needed to uproot my garlic bulb. J was amazed and said that even though the ones at the fair were taller (8 feet or so !), mine had the biggest bulb. It is now drying for use in flavorful dinners. (J has become a teen. His clothes are AWFUL!)
It looks a bit sad around here. The plants in pots have been moved, the hanging bird feeders are down, and the welcome sign is off the door. The worst part is the garage. It is finally almost empty! Sigh.


Book(s) of the day: Something by Emilie Loring and The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer.

Fall at 27015 Trask River Rd

Here are my fall pictures. They are much prettier in real life! I thought I had gotten more of the apple tree.

J had his first concert tonight and S thought it was great fun. J said they made some really bad mistakes and Mr. C would have been mad at them. He was disgusted with the kids, too. He also said the place had horrid acoustics. S, as I said before, thought they were great. Both of them agreed that the orchestra was wonderful, though.

S's dad did come home today. He went down to the basement and cracked walnuts, went to a Legion meeting, and then went to bed! That was a lot for his first afternoon home!

Actually, he came home on Tuesday. I tried putting the pictures on and they wouldn't take. So, I decided to try today!

Book of the day: (Fairest was very good and so were the last chapters of The Amber Spyglass, which I needed to reread for old times sake!) In Times Like These by Emilie Loring is my today book.

Pretty soon!

So much is happening! We might have the house sold for sure, T will be home in a few weeks, and all in all, we have tons to do. It is a time for hurry up and wait, but it all happens pretty soon!
I will go home and load on the photos of fall at our house, it is very pretty. I only hope the new house will look this good.
S's dad gets to come home from the care center today! He is excited. So is everyone else.
Last weekend I went to the TAPA play and said something that was a bit of a joke, but not really. Someone overheard me and suggested it was an incredible truth that they never thought they would ever hear a person admit to. I was telling a person I was working with that someone else was arriving to take over my job. Then, I suggested that I had discovered that I was not entirely indispensible. And that is when the lady touched my arm and made the comments above. As I drove home I was thinking and you know, that is so true. I may be missed if I was not here, but someone somewhere would always be able to do what I do. Or do a reasonable facsimile of what I do. It was a humbling car ride home.
I tried the spell check feature and it didn't appear to work, any words not spelled correctly are not my fault. I did try!

Book of the day: Fairest by Gail C. Levine

PFC S Hansell

T sent some photos to a friend and she got the negs to me at the THS Fall concert. T will be at the same address (see Mrs. Henderson's Choir blog) until the first week of December. Then, he will be coming back to Oregon. (YIPPEE!) These photos were taken during the weekend after they 'graduated' from basic at the end of September. They had a weekend leave and they took it! Finishing that weekend, they went back to FT Knox and will be completing their IET (Initial Entry) course November 15. After that they continue at Ft Knox for Stryker training, which will end in December. Phew! So, here he is. (They were shown around THS, so anyone from there already saw these and many more!)

I call this last one "FEED ME!" a direct quote from Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors!

Wonderful Days

Well, it has stopped raining and is absolutely lovely outside. I would post some pictures, but they are still on the camera. I will get around to it eventually.
Went to the THS fall concert last night. It was great fun. (see Mrs. Henderson's site) Kristen played a couple of great trumpet solos and they also had a young lady play violin for a couple of songs. There were a lot of people there and even a few 2007 graduates. One of the girls that T has been writing to brought me negatives to some pictures which I got to look at! I will post a few of them as soon as I get my scanner back. I am so annoyed that I decided to pack the scanner. I don't really know what I was thinking. I miss that more than I miss my cold weather clothes! I will pick up the photos tomorrow and will most likely get the scanner this weekend. Unless S forgets it. (He'd better not!)
T's letter this week had enclosed in it a sharp shooter medal. He gave it to J as he said he had gotten a new one! J was incredibly impressed and wrote T a letter, finally. He actually typed it on my old electric typewriter! He is so retro. He also loves record players (they are very interesting machines). I will let people know when he (T) will come home. He is still not sure when he will land where ever.
Note: I can see why single persons eat frozen foods so often. Meals for one are kinda boring to eat (although, a good book helps them go down better!) and hard to make!
Book of the day: Alta by Mercedes Lackey.

Busy, busy, busy.

J and S were here last weekend. It was loads of fun, except I have been sick with a cold since then. In spite of that, I have been subbing and am booked for all of next week. J helped to several things while he was here. One of them was driving my car (bribery) to help take some wood to the neighbor's. S is practically almost done with the bath. No dancing in the streets yet.

S did J's parent teacher conferences (I was very proud of him) and J is doing very well. He has 8 classes and is getting 5 A's, 2 B's, and one C-. The C- is mostly because he just doesn't turn in the work. His last test in that class (pre algebra) was an A- and it was a good thing he got that. His grade before that was a D-! Not sure about all those minus grades. I haven't had a teacher give those in ages. S said J's band teacher couldn't say enough about how wonderful a student J was. He said his prior teachers in music gave him an excellant grounding and he would love to make clones of him!!! (I don't think so!!!!!!!!) He said J is always aware of where he is in the music, pays close attention, and shows great understanding in class. So, Kudos to Mrs. Henderson and Mr. C for forming another musician! He is even playing louder, which I believe is Bethany's kudo (she gave him a few lessons before school started).

Other than that, if you are in Tillamook, you know it is raining cats and dogs. Nope, I take that back. It is saber tooth tigers and Mastedons! It has been really windy (both of our for sale signs were blown over!) here and T is experiencing Tornado warnings and watches in Ft Knox.

pix

Trying to do something and not sure how it is working. This blog is only a test.

I was trying to post a profile picture. I wanted the one I finally have on there. The other is NOT a self portrait..J took the picture and there is a dog in it. However, the dog was not impressed about having his photo taken and I cropped him out of it. So, that is all this blog is. Just a test. And a rather good one at that!

Sew much fun!

Well, I don't have any cool costumes to make, but look what I got from a friend!!!!! I am going to make her some curtains. S wasn't impressed. He didn't know what I needed another one for! I only have 3, I have a friend who collects them..but I am not sure how many she has either. Several, though. This machine is a White and looks pretty simple. Not like my Husky, but hey, I am going to have FUN. The fabric is for her curtains.

J and S are coming home tonight, so I should have more interesting things to chat about after this weekend. (although, the pigs were pretty funny!) J has said he is going to put the wood stove back together for me (those little brick things inside come out!!) and S is finally going to finish the bathroom! (Dancing will commence in the streets upon completion!)

Esio Trot-ter??

Not sure how many of you have read that clever story by Roald Dahl, Esio Trot? Well, today I kept thinking of it, even though we have nary a tortoise in the neighborhood. Although, we just might and we haven't seen it yet!

It has been a misty rainy sort of weekend (the week was just rainy and stormy in spots) and one has to continue doing chores in spite of the weather. So, I did a bunch of errands and got some supplies to do a few things and came home. I managed to get soaked while arranging Teddy's dog house (we have to leave him outside now as it will be easier for the realtors to get in when I am not home.) and ran into a few difficulties. I couldn't find the zip ties..they were much higher than I could easily reach, but I managed. I couldn't find the staple gun..I finally got it off the highest shelf by climbing on a milk crate and stretching. When I got it down, it needed staples and so, back up on the shelf I went. Eventually, it was done and I came inside to dry off and change clothes. Then the neighbor came over. He is selling a cord of wood for us and wanted to load it on his truck. So, I got my wet things back on and started to help. However, we got some unusual visitors while we were loading wood. It wasn't the little pig that stayed home or the little pig that had roast beef, it was probably the little pig who went to market and got lost on the way and the one who went wee wee wee..but didn't go home (I am betting he is the one with the collar). Pigs are very cute, but rather tough on yards. They are like little roto tillers and I had to stop helping our neighbor and keep chasing them from my yard and our other neighbor's yard. Then, Teddy was inside and very upset about these odd looking creatures in the yard..and he got out. Oddly enough, he saw a dog and forgot the pigs for the moment. I finally caught him and put him back in the house (this time I closed the door firmly) and after much longer, the pigs were finally corralled by a lady down the road and taken back to her home. Where I hope they stay!
Yesterday was not fun either. I decided, as it was the nicest day in the next 5, to primer the door. It needed done ages ago, but sadly it wasn't. So, I did it. It wasn't hard until I tried to put the knobs back in. Very bad idea to take knobs out. Especially if you close the door. In order to open it I had to put the knob partially back. (I hadn't taken the little latchy thing out) They are in now, but not as well as they were..which may be why Teddy was able to get out this afternoon. Unless, I just forgot to close it. That could be the correct answer.

So, Jake, I hope this sastisfies your cravings for news. I definitely hope I don't get a day like this for a very long time!

Too much stuff!

Well, S and J were here for a brief visit and took more stuff back with them. This was mostly S stuff, wood and boards and oddments. They did take my bike, which I won't use here as it is too dangerous to ride a bike on the Trask. S got the floor done in J's room. It looks very nice, although some of the boards seem a bit faded. He finished it late on Saturday night and when J got up Sunday morning, the first thing he said was,"how come the boards don't match?" We were not impressed, as we hadn't even noticed. It does look good in spite of the change in color, though. Now the walls seem funny because they are still the regular walls they have always been there and everything else is new and pretty. J took out the shed in the back, which was pretty exciting. J said when he was pounding the metal a pack rat ran out from under the shed. He also said he had to use a mask because of all the rust. I would have preferred him to use eye protection, too. (But that is mom stuff.)

Phones are back!

WooHoo! Our phones are back and our connection is a tad faster than usual. I am very thankful and hope they stay on for longer than a week. (It is just a tad faster, photos still take ages to load!)

My family (well, S and J) are coming home this weekend!! I am so excited. I made cookies (added too much flour, but they are ok) and a cake (forgot the oil and after 10 minutes took it out of the oven and scooped it into a bowl, added the oil, cleaned out the cake pan, put the batter back in and it cooked up pretty well-I was very glad as the ingredients were ones I had just run out of! (poppy seeds) I would post photos of the food, but I am not Better Homes and Gardens. (LOL Jake!) Although, my house is really clean. We showed it again today and I fianally decided that even if we still had debris around here, I could tidy it up. However, now I have to remember where I put it all. I am pretty sure the lightbulbs are all in the bathroom along with the cleaning supplies (or at least, most of them!) and the spiders are happily making new cobwebs to replace the ones I tore down. It is the season of the spider. EWWWW.

Last week or so, I got to visit the THS choir and was able to take some interesting photos of students. I wonder how Mrs. H manages to keep from gray hair?

Note the similarity of some of the sillies in these pictures? And now for Moses, who supposes he wants to be a football player! I wonder if I could make him a tiny THS jersey to wear?

Phones are out of order..for the time being

If anyone has tried to call, the phones are not working. I am at the library, finally. I was told they might be working today, but we'll see. Not much to say. I volunteered at the library today, so that is why I am here. Check out the Tillamook Library page. It is a great library and I will miss it.
T called, or tried to on Saturday. He sounds tired and grown up and he would love to hear from people. He finally got some ice cream and a brownie. He misses sweets.
Not much else going on. I have been a bit isolated with the phones out. More on the later.

School has started and all's well!

J has started school and really likes it so far. He is the only bari sax in 50 kids, but the bari is 'generic'. He likes English and Earth Science and thinks it is cool that after 4 days of school, they get 3 off for Pendleton Roundup. He said the bike lanes have cones and are used by the horses. He also said, "everywhere you look there are horses or something a horse left." He is riding his bicycle at Grandpa and Grandma's and is looking forward to getting out his 'real' motorcycle. (it is the big one that we got from some friends in a trade.)
S is busy, but he doesn't get Roundup off like some people! His dad has surgery this weekend on a valve. There was a discussion in church concerning S fixing it for his dad. S fixes valves all of the time and we were told that arteries needed snipped with wire cutters, which is a tool S uses all of the time. I was creeped out. Eeeew.
We showed the house today. It was kinda scary. I am not going to stay here the next time. I will just let them in and leave! Did the windows and am going to paint them tomorrow. (paint the spaces between the window and the storm window, although, if I painted the window it might always be sunny!).
It clouded up today. That is the weather on the coast. Here are the beach pictures. Note that one has some sun and then less than 10 minutes later, the other is foggy. J is the speck near the logs in the last photo. He is walking between two of them. Our maybe he just went over! He was looking for rocks.

Labor Day Blues

Labor Day is done and gone. Moograss is over (FUN experience, I was there on Sunday for the first time ever and it was pretty awesome), S is gone to Eastern Oregon with J, and T is having fun at Basic.
This last letter he said that they experienced a tornado warning (it was kinda cool, they lost half a tree by a barracks!!!), had several really fun lightning storms (we don't really get lightning here on the Oregon Coast), and got dropped off in the middle of the base to do navigation skills. I only wish he could stay there and not get deployed to someplace dangerous!
S and J are learning new things. J keeps saying the school is huge and yellow. There are lots of stairs and a really long wheelchair ramp. He gets tested tomorrow. S is adjusting. It is lots different from TMC. He has to take lots of his work debris back to his parents as there is no room for it at the shop he is in. Between all of us, we have too much stuff.
I am here waiting to get stuff clean and mended. And I need to pack a bit more. I told a friend that my epitah should say 'I need more boxes'. Even if you can't take it with you, it sure helps if it is packed because someone has to move it!
Took J to the beach for his last day. I haven't loaded the photos on the computer, but it was foggy. Every other day was nice, though. Typical.