Planting Seeds

Wow. It's been a while. Since I have a few posts to add, I think I will mete them out over the next few days in case anyone is actually reading!!

"Our" Spring building project was a planter for the side of the patio. Ok, so it was really MY building project. I tend to get excited when there is building to be done. I sorta take over the putting together part, and relegate Matt to the cutting and fetching part. He doesn't seem to mind too much....



Anyway, it turned out great! I also made better steps for the patio. We tried to level the base together.......Adding a little gravel here, compacting a little there, using a level...an activities NOT recommended for date night.

The project was supposed to house all of my basil I planned to grow this summer. Unfortunately for the basil seeds (that are already two years old - but I know will grow because I have a habit of doing this...) they will have to wait until next year. We visited the nursery, and, well, we bought our favorites.

Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture in its prime, but it is still enjoyable. The violas and pansies were incredible. There were also mist like flower bushes, but they perished at the first hint of heat. I planted a few Godetia (one of my FAVORITE flowers to raise from seed), but we had puny results. I am hoping for at least one blossom at the end of the summer!

Just popped outside and look what I found!



Here is the planter in its current state.



We decided to put the arch trellis against the back fence, thinking that perhaps the vine on the fence would start to grow on it. It did! Very quickly! It was covered within a couple of weeks. I have no idea what this vine is, but it has dark purple flowers that hang down in double bells, and it grows like a WEED. I already had rooting compound ready to get some starts this fall.





All things considered, our little dirt patch has turned out pretty well. We enjoy the occasional breakfast or dinner out here. The hummingbirds, however, dine every night.

Astoria Trip

Matt and I decided that I would take a day off (still working seven days a week between my two jobs) and spend it taking a trip to Cannon Beach and maybe Astoria! Matt had never been to Astoria, and we were itching to get to the coast. So, we loaded up Tills, cameras, and rain gear and headed out!

We had expected rain (and maybe some snow) but we were a little surprised by the winter wonderland we encountered in the pass! Fortunately, we traveled during the day, and it was relatively easy to traverse.

We sure picked a blustery day! We found it hard to believe it was the end of Spring Break for most school goers. We enjoyed traipsing about Cannon beach though, and even found new places we had never been before. The only drawback was the periodic downpours we encountered - not only of rain but of HAIL! We were glad to have packed the BIG umbrella!

After a little shop hopping, we stopped to look at the wind blowing the sand on the beach. Looked like a good way to exfoliate...

Instead of wandering the beach, we decided to drive up to Astoria and check out the Astor Column. We arrived in between a couple of serious downpours, with the wind just whipping at us when we got out. When we got to the door - it was locked. We barely made it to the little gift shop across the parking lot before the rain came again in sheets. They said the column was closed due to high winds. Ummm...yeah. You could say that! We thought the little trailer that serves as the gift shop might take off down the hill!




We were disappointed, but we checked out some historical info from the gift shop and enjoyed driving around and looking at the old houses. We even found the home featured in the Goonies. :) We ended up in an antique store - with actual old antiques. I got to play an old mandolin (sounded AWESOME!) and we found all kinds of gadgets that intrigued us both.

We came back in the twilight. It was a lovely day.

First Spring Morning at the Japanese Gardens

In early April, Matt and I invited a friend from work to the Gardens on a Sunday morning. Because we are "members" we can enter at 8am, whereas the general public has to wait until 10am. We find that when we visit early, we are often we the only ones in the gardenm and it is very beautiful and relaxing. We were hoping to see the cherry trees and azaleas in bloom, as they have almost bloomed out all over town. Apparently, the slightly higher altitude has a relatively significant effect on bloom times, because the cherry was still in bloom, and most of the azaleas had not "popped" yet. There were, however, Camellias in bloom everywhere!! We enjoyed them immensely.

A Walk in the Park (On the Wildwood Trail)

To enjoy this beautiful Spring, Matt and I decided to Take Tills out for a romp.

We recently realized that we haven't had a picture of just us taken in...years. So we took our own - I should publish all of the "misses" - they were hilarious!

Silly, happy, bounding Tillie



As a PNWesterner, I believe that shady places grow the most beautiful things...

In Memoriam

Linus
October 31, 2001 - February, 2010

Oh, Pooky Bear. I miss you. I have been putting off this announcement because I knew I was going to cry while I wrote it. And I am. I think everyone who loves cats eventually has that one. The one that sees you as "his person." In Linus's case, I was his one and only person; Everyone else was expendable.

Linus came into our life while we lived in Tri-cities, WA. When we moved from Texas, Matt's adopted stray, Hobbes, was very distraught as he had moved from being an outdoor cat in Texas to a permanently indoor cat in Washington. After a few weeks of him hiding under the bed and not stirring except to eat, we decided we needed to do something drastic. I figured that adding another cat to mix might be just the ticket. I was pretty excited about this prospect because Hobbes loves Matt. Hobbes does not love me. He ducks when I pet him. Always has. Probably always will. So...after thinking it over for a few days, I found myself at Costco on Halloween day - which just happened to be across from the humane society. After shopping I decided just to take a peek. I walked into the kitten room, and there were three cages of kittens. One with black and white tuxedo cats - all VERY cute - one with a couple of tabby siblings, and one with two black kitties - one very large, and one very small. I don't know what it was about him. He wasn't one of those cats who puts his paw through the door, or flips on his back to play. He just sat there and looked at me. I have always wanted a black cat (my little panther was one of his nick-names), and he just seemed like his level gaze was saying, "I'm not gonna beg, but if you really like me, I'll be your cat." So I took him out and held him, and he laid across my arms like a little limp bag of sand. I was smitten. I called Matt - a couple of times. He eventually said I could have him. The checkout counter sported a long list of pet names. When I came to Linus, with it being Halloween and all, it was decided.



Once he got home, he began sneezing and showing signs of an upper respiratory infection. We had already planned to sequester him initially to control the cat introductions, but it ended up being a whole month before he met Hobbes face to face. Every day for three weeks I would sit "Indian Style" in the craft room and put a dropper full of medicine in his little mouth - with its little sharp teeth. But he let me, and only left me with only a few permanent scars.

After his month of sequestration we introduced him to Hobbes via the instructions from the cat psychology book (yes, really). I will never forget the look on Hobbes face when he first realized that there was another cat in the house (even though I think he had his suspicions, as he spent hours peering at the craft room door.) He stopped mid-step and then hissed. We started by feeding them on opposite sides of the room (fancy, yummy, soft food), and each day we increased the duration of time they were in the same room, and moved the food a little closer. Hobbes had little use for Linus for about six months, but one day, there they were, curled up on the bed together. Hobbes was considered the dominant cat, and so things worked out.

During this initial period, I had noticed something strange about Linus. When I would be holding him and petting him repeatedly, he would periodically freak out and turn into a whirling ball of claws and teeth. I always felt very maligned, but he would immediately jump back into my lap as if nothing had happened. I was beginning to get pretty offended until I read in a book (yes, same one) that some cats (specifically Siamese) have a neurological disorder that can make them react to over stimulation – petting in this case – in this manner. Once we figured that out, we got along fine.

Linus loved to curl up under my chin – even as an adult – but only if he initiated contact. His interest in being held was pretty minimal, but the couple time a month that he did jump in lap, I learned to take the time to enjoy him. Never in his nine years did he jump up in any one else’s lap and sit. Ever. This was our special time where I felt like he was saying, “I know I am kinda aloof, but I really do love you.”

I’ll skip the many cat adventures, but needless to say we had the usually clawing adventures (resorted to nail caps eventually)– and some others that tend to go with cats that have “character,” as the Welsh woman who we boarded them with in Tri-Cities commented once. But one of his most charming characteristics was that he was not the kind of cat that slept on the bed and encroached slowly until he was almost sleeping on your head. He would lay at the foot of the bed, but if there was one slight jog he would jump down, unless Matt was away. When Matt stayed with my parents for almost a year and only came home once every 6-8 weeks, Linus slept on Matt’s side - every night Matt was gone.

Needless to say, when he started drinking a lot of water and losing weight rapidly, I was sick. I knew it would not be good news, whatever the diagnosis. To hear that it was diabetes was especially hard, because we could attempt to keep him alive with insulin shots, but were concerned about his quality of life. Fortunately, I think, we were not forced to make that decision. He went downhill rapidly, and although our vet put in his own time (and didn’t charge us for the extra procedures), Linus did not respond to the insulin. I was able to say goodbye and know that I was making the right choice for him.

Although losing him was so hard, I am very grateful that I had his company for while. He was a special cat. One of a kind.

Valentine Cards

This weekend both Matt and I were recuperating from a nasty cold which are both pretty certain we obtained from the urgent care clinic we visited last Sunday for my cut finger and subsequent tetanus shot.

We were finally beginning to feel better, so I convinced Matt to bring a bunch of card-making supplies to the living room, and for four hours I made cards! I have found that being required to make models for the store QUICKLY has helped me improve both my conceptualization and construction efficiency. With these cards, I had fun focusing on playing with dry embossing texture, inking techniques, and utilization of scrap papers!!

Homemade Pasta

Matt and I have been enjoying the pasta maker he got from my parents for Christmas. These are pictures of his first attempt. Through repeated practice we have learned we like the super thin setting for fettuccine, that flouring before the last pass allows you to easily separate individual noodles, and that canned, diced tomatoes, instead of tomatoe sauce, are FABULOUS on top!!

New Year's Day - Year of the Crow

When I got my work schedule, I was very happy to see that I had New Year's Eve and New Year's Day off. Usually my days off are separated, so we decided to take advantage of our fortune and spend the new year with Gram and Candy! We arrived about three in the afternoon. The weather was wet and rainy...as it should be! We arrived to all kinds of yummy food (thank you Candy!) and enjoyed the company of Diane (Terry was ill) and Chris. There was a challenging puzzle to attack, yarn to knit, and Crib to play. Unfortunately for me, I think I had the worst crib hands of my entire Crib career. And I was playing Uncle Chris, who won THREE games in a row that evening!! Chris stayed for the traditional ball drop and then we all went to bed!


The next morning Candy, Matt and I took a trip up to the bar to check out the waves and do a little car birding on the way. Of course, like a fool, I forgot to shield my eyes from birds until something interesting showed up, so this is the year of the crow (better than the year of the starling) as that is the first bird I saw in Gram's front yard. Saw most of the usual suspects (including lots of pelicans), and some incredible waves. We took pictures through the car window between windshield wiper swipes. Only Matt braved the elements, but it was just a short trip out of the car to inform the family that had just sauntered onto the bar (three kids and two adults with thin jackets and cameras in tow) that the waves were big, snuck up on you, and it wasn't a safe place to stand! Fortunately, they listened. We actually ran into them at the oyster factory later, and they thanked us. New York license plates. The bar REALLY needs a sign.

The view from the jetty was impressive. The waves were coving the south jetty and shooting up to what looked like about 10-15 feet in the air.


The big bird in the center is one of the many pelicans we observed.




I didn't manage to catch any really high waves, but they were getting pretty close to the car!


The view of the headland.



Since I didn't have to work the following day until later in the afternoon, we opted to stay another night. Hoping to redeem myself, I pulled out the Crib board. This time I even had back-up with a partner! Let's just say my gambling fortune for the next year isn't looking too bright! Ouch! We played three more games, and finally, on the last game, Candy and I (partners) we ahead and just a few pegs from the end. Matt and Chris would have to peg like maniacs to beat us because Candy had first count. So, Chris got six points..., and then Matt went out with THE LAST CARD. Arghhhhh. We had fun though, and really enjoyed everyone's company.

Saturday morning before we left, Matt and Candy went down to check on the park memorial plaque dedicated to Gramps that had been spray-painted to see if they thought they could clean it up. After a little research, they headed out armed with brushes and acetone. Turned out that the paint could be chipped off the letters, but that the textured surface was a different matter. Candy decided to call the manufacturer to find out what products would remove the paint and not damage the sealant the following week. The only disappointing part of the trip was finding out that the graffiti had been done over a month ago, and the city had not followed through and cleaned it up, although they had been made aware, and indicated that they would.

That aside, it was so nice to start the year at the coast and with such enjoyable company. We are hoping this is a year of exciting new experiences, including a teaching job for me. Best wishes to everyone for a peaceful and happy new year.