Back-log #1 - Fisher Family Visit in July 2010

In July our friends John and Connie and their two kids Natalie and Kai came through town and stopped to say hi. Connie had been staying in their home in Spokane with the kids while John worked at a new job in California. This visit was the beginning of a few summer weeks where they would all get to be together. The kids were excited.

I'm Back!

July has been an eventful month! As most of you know, I have been working two jobs for the last 18 months: a retail job and an HR job. Together I was pulling about 60-70 hours a week, and for the first year I didn't have any days off of both jobs! In January I kept the same hours, but managed to arrange to have Sunday off. In April the store announced that they would be closing our location and that the last day would be on July 14th. So, I am down to one job, and I am finally getting around to the many things I have been wanting to do.

I have managed to have a LITTLE bit of a life between work hours, and I have managed to document most important events with photos. As my blog is essentially my journal, and because I think some of you might be interested, I am going to post "back-logs" every couple of days until I am caught up. Some of them are from last year....

Life Bird 240

Life bird 240 came to visit the suet feeder today. I was beginning to think that I had the the most "life skills challenged" birds in the neighborhood because the suet feeder, which contains my premium, homemade, lard, peanut butter, oat and cornmeal mix, was totally ignored for the first three weeks that I put it out!!! Fortunately, the cold weather convinced a few birds to have a go, and now I have Juncos, fox sparrows, goldfinches, and a BEWICKS WREN all taking turns. I was surprised that I hadn't seen a Bewicks yet - but upon further reflection, it makes sense, because most of the Wren's I have spotted were either in Texas, in an ancient caldera located in Malheur, or in a Marsh. So, I have the Carolina Wren, the Rock and Canyon wrens, and the marsh wren - which I wrecked a brand new pair of tennis shoes to get a good look at because it WOULDN'T hold still!!

Bird 239 was the bushtit which I have spent countless hours hunting, and never gotten a good look at (although I am SURE I have spotted them flitting about several times.) This also occurred in my postage stamp sized back yard. I was watching the feeder absentmindedly when a flock of "frolicking" birds overtook the cherry tree for about three minutes and then moved on. They were unmistakable, due to their behavior and general color and size, but I did get a good look at a couple - FINALLY!

The birds I am currently hunting shouldn't be too hard to find, but have eluded me so far include:
Barrows Goldeneye
Ruddy Turnstone
Mountain Quail
Barred Owl
Western Screech Owl
Virginia Rail
Gyrfalcon
Merlin (identified by ME)
and various warblers, peeps and shorebirds

I am hoping to schedule in a few Audobon outings here in the spring. I know that there are SO many hotspots in this area that I am overlooking! I can't wait to get out there again!

New Reads

So far this year, I have tried to fit in a little reading each evening and sometimes during my 1/2 hour downtime between jobs Tues, Wed, and Thurs. Last year my reading was a little more sporadic and focused on Biology topics (which I still LOVE), but this year, I am starting with the classics that I should have read at some point in my academic career, but didn't.

The first book I read was Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck. I enjoyed the intro which really helped me better understand why I was reading a story about a Chineese family written by a white woman. I found the book both intriguing and disturbing. I was surprised to find that I am a farmer at heart :) I loved the relationship that the main character had with the land and his descriptions of how growing crops and even just handling the soil gave him joy. The role of women in the story, however, I found disturbing. I thought Western culture had the monopoly on the oppression of women, but I was wrong. I found it interesting that as I reflected on the story, I found myself oddly sympathetic to the main male character, even though his treatment of his "wife" was so...unfeeling. It has made me want to read a novel that portrays life in modern China. Anyone have any suggestions?

I have started 1984, and so far, I have found it very..."the opposite of subtle." It many of what Melinda used to call "Hemingway Hints," which are very brick-like in nature. I am only about three pages in, but already I have a better understanding of some social references that I only vaguely understood before. Big Brother, for instance.

Not sure what to read next. I think I may try The Scarlet Letter. I am open to suggestions. FYI, my favorite classic novels are: Wuthering Heights, Anna Karenina, Jane Eyre, and The Chosen (and the rest of the series by Potok). I have hit most of the Newberry's. I find Dickens a bit slow, and frankly boring at times. I enjoy a little C.S. Lewis, but, again, find he takes way too much time to explain something and then tends to "re-explain" it 2-5 more times before moving onto a new subject (especially in his religious works). I love Faulkner's ability to provide exquisite descriptions, I like a little of the macabre (A Rose for Emily is my favorite short story), and my guilty pleasures (which, incidentally, can all be categorized as juvenile literature), that I have read at least 20 times, include the Anne of Green Gables series, The Secret Garden, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and The Witch of Blackbird Pond.

Sew Fun

I have been enjoying working on all sorts of sewing projects lately. In addition to the many aprons I have attempted, my two new sewing projects are an elephant pin cushion and a "pinafore bag." I saw a finished model of the elephant at work one day and I HAD to have one. Of course, I have never learned how to do anything "small," and I soon had about 20 elephants cut out! I decided that this would be one of my primary Christmas gifts this year! I love the little details. The flowers are cut out of wool felt, and the centers are embellished with seed beads.









After the elephant, I found this bag pattern. Unfortunately, the details are hard to see in the photos, but they really make the bag. The bottom corners have darts, creating a nice, open, roomy feel, the front part of the bag has rows of decorative quilting (just lines - but they look cool), and there is a pleat in the middle of both sides of the bag.



Additionally, the handles have two rows of stitching detail. I fell in love with the picture on the pattern, but I like my fabric even better :) I like an aqua and brown bag.... Shocking isn't it?









The other fun project I have been working on is felting ornaments. Birds are the easiest, and I have managed to make a few that I like. This one went to Matt's dad at Christmas.



Chickadees are my next project..

Resolutions

I am not one of those people who thinks that the new year is a silly time to start trying to improve oneself. I think it is a perfectly respectable time. Especially since waiting until the new year to try and implement self betterment projects generally means that I can eat what I want during the holidays. Generally, this works out pretty well for me. I gain a pound or two during Christmas, and then, after the sight of chocolate makes me grimace, I quit eating it for a while, and the pounds come off again! Of course, attaining goal weight is not the only, or the most important goal of the year. I also have found a way to have Sundays off so that I can attend and enjoy church again, I plan to spend time USING the cool craft stuff I have, I want to write letters to people I care about on a regular basis (the REAL kind), I plan to make the most of the time while I am not teaching to create cool lesson plans in my spare time, I plan to read, read READ!, I plan to calendar in birding time, and I plan to continue to make family a priority. Basically, this should all easily be accomplished by having a real day off each week. After having worked at least one of the two jobs I have every day of the week (and both half the week) for the last year, I finally have a day off. Ahhhhhh.... the possibilities are endless.

I also want to keep up my journal (um, I mean blog) more regularly. So...I will catch up the fun things I did last year periodically, but I decided that if I keep waiting until I can catch up, I will never post again.

For anyone who still visits my blog, I wish you a very happy, peaceful, and prosperous 2011.