Steve and Elsa

If you've been reading this blog for more than a year, you know that we don't celebrate Halloween in the traditional manner. We don't have neighbors to speak of, so going door to door for candy is a hassle. A few years ago, together with the Farmboy's sister and her family, we started a new tradition that has made our kids completely over-the-moon-happy.

It starts as you would expect, with costumes.

This year we were once again visited by Elsa, this time wearing a dress found at Costco, which apparently is even better than the amazing one I concocted last year.

Whatever.

Queen Elsa was happy to have her friend Steve along for the festivities.

With torrential rain in the forecast (we felt sorry for all those PNW kids out there either braving the elements or stuck trick-or-treating at the mall), we moved our usual celebration from our house, to the roomier house of their cousins.

Ahem, I mean Pikachu and Ariel.

The traditional in-the-dark Easter egg hunt (YES!) was moved indoors, but was still quite dark and exciting. Headlamps? Check! Flashlights? Check! Buckets? Check!

Shortly after all of the eggs were found, we convened on the front veranda where the kids took turns beating on a castle pinata and chasing down flying candy, with a good dose of raindrops and leaves thrown into their buckets for good measure.

And swords. There were swords too. And sword-fighting Disney princesses, no less.

Followed by a puppet show.

At which point everyone was a little rummy from sugar and swords and beating up castles while dressed in costume, and it quickly got ugly with dying seals and other such nonsense which led the responsible parties to break up the fun until the next time.

Cousins are the best.

State of the Garden Address

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:

Last month, I went to the feed store and brought home some of our last seeds to be planted. Together, we offered a final, proud attempt at successful germination. And several hundred gave their lives to damp, cool weather.

We gather this morning knowing that the turning of the seasons have made the garden safer and more likely to foster good growth. (Applause.) For the first time in nine months, there are no falling snowflakes from the Oregon skies. (Applause.) For the first time in six years, the Mama's distraction by infants is not a threat to the health of the Garden. (Applause.)

These achievements are a testament to the courage, selflessness and teamwork of the Family Twist. At a time when too many of our seasonal forces have let us down, they exceed all expectations. They’re not consumed with personal ambition. They don’t obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand. They work together to make this Garden grow. (Applause.)

Think about the Garden within our reach: A Garden that leads the state in feeding its people. A Garden that attracts a new generation of bountiful vegetables. A future where we’re in control of our own pest control, and our weeds and varmints aren’t so tied to unstable parts of the world. A Garden built to last, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded.

We can do this. I know we can, because we’ve done it before. (Applause.)

The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive. No challenge is more urgent. No debate is more important. We can either keep the weeds at bay and the beneficial plants growing strong, or we can allow the mayhem of wild seed to infest our soil. (Applause.) What’s at stake aren’t Democratic values or Republican values, but Gardening values. And we have to reclaim them.

So it is with the Garden. Each time I look at that plot of soil, I’m reminded that our destiny is stitched together like those 50 stars and those 13 stripes. We did not build this garden as individuals. This Garden will be great, because we will tend it together. This Garden will be great because we work as a team. And if we hold fast to that truth, in this moment of weed- infestation, there is no challenge too great; no mission too hard. As long as we are joined in common purpose, as long as we maintain our common resolve, our journey moves forward, and our future is hopeful, and the state of our Garden will always be strong.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

New Old Cupboard

I just adore old blue paint... don't you?

And Robin's Egg Blue is my happy color any day of the week.

It can be pretty hard to come by painted blue cupboards out here in the West, so I made do.

A second-hand-store cupboard with the right style and dimensions...

some new paint (Miller 0689 Atmosphere), a can of brown shoe polish, and an intense amount of elbow grease was all it took.

I bet you can't wait to see where the cupboard now lives and what sits on its shelves...

IKEA Pillow Re-do

Last weekend, after my first-ever adventure to the phenomenon that is IKEA, I found myself with two too-light and too-bright couch pillows. I loved the Jacobean-like embroidery covering the front, but the colors were just as bad in my living room as I expected them to be.

But that's okay, because I had a plan.

First, take the covers off of the down pillow forms, then soak them in some RIT color remover.

Finally, give them a bath in RIT tan dye, which mellowed them quite nicely.

Before:

After:

Now lets pretend they were made from old hand-embroidered bed curtains, shall we?

For anyone who wants to try the same trick, here's a link to the same cushion on IKEA's website.

On My Windowsill

We got another inch of snow after I posted yesterday. After that, it was a non-stop day of snow, wet snow, later turning to rain, but hovering in the 34 degree range, ensuring most of the snow stuck around. I estimate that we got down to about 7 inches before it started to stick again last evening, and now we have a grand total of 12 inches of the white stuff out there.

I'm trying to enjoy it for what it is, beautiful, bright, vista-transforming, magical stuff.

I probably should be a good Mama and go make a snow fort or something equally exciting.

But truly? I ended up closing the curtains yesterday (denial!) and started to plan some Summer vacation trips. I'll probably do the same today.

The branch in my window is one that I rescued from under my Crabapple tree after the last storm. It lay there sweetly on the ground, with tight little leaves and buds that I knew would open if I brought it in.

So there it stands on my kitchen windowsill, opening its leaves and forming buds, laughing at its departed companions, which are still attached to the tree just outside, shivering with cold.

Improvisation

I could write about woodstove shopping and chimney repair estimates. Or the coating of snow outside my windows the day before Spring. I could write about car repairs and a kitchen stove that is acting strange, and what its like to scrub kreosote off of hearth stone. I could write about any or all of the little details that make up my life these days.

But instead, I'll write about the kids who have an amazing ability of honing in on any visiting person who has an iphone in their possession. The kids who ask often when THEY will be able to get an iphone (the usual answer is a snort of laughter and a lecture about cell towers and dead zones and what iphones are really for). For some reason, these children have been gifted with a sense of optimism that enables them to forget aforementioned lectures as soon as a new iphone enters the room.

I think you've already guessed the reason why they're so interested in apple technology, haven't you?

Well, I am so pleased to announce that I now have a better answer for them the next time they ask for an iphone. Yep, I hand them a box of Lincoln Logs and tell them why it is infinitely better to be able to design their own Angry Birds towers.

Now, if only I could figure out a non-lethal way to provide a slingshot to a 4 and 6 year old.

Well Hello There...

Is the real world still in place?

This post is brought to you by determination, grit, and a 5000 watt generator.

Since I last posted, we went from this...

to this...

That is greenhouse you see in the background, housing our generator, with the spotlight shining from the front of the kennel. If you look closely, under the weighed down branches of our Anniversary Tree, you can see the two foot deep deep pathway trampled by a thousand treks.

Is it any wonder a giant Douglas Fir tree snapped in half and took out a whole section of power lines and poles?

We have been on around-the-clock gas-up-the-generator-every-two-hours shifts to keep the puppies warm and alive.

We have extension cords snaked all over this house, and have to take turns plugging in the electrical devices that need to be used.

It now looks like this out there...

Roads are clear, rain is quickly melting away the two feet of snow that accumulated.

The power company got an earful this morning, due to the fact that their crew made a small repair yesterday afternoon at the end of the road, then apparently went home, leaving the majority of the damage untouched. They could give us no indication as to just how much longer we will have to wait, but from our appraisal of the damage, it might be quite a while. Big sigh.

It has been nearly two days of interrupted sleep, dirty bodies, dirty dishes, and general inconvenience. We are all learning to be very grateful for the blessing of electricity.

The romance and excitement of being snowed in and having the power go out was immediately erased by the stress and concern of keeping those puppies warm and alive. We are more than ready for normalcy to return.

And I can't stop thinking about how good a hot shower is going to feel.

Sir Topham Hatt and a Ladybug

If you were to ask my kids what they were going to be for Halloween, they would most likely tell you, "we don't celebrate Halloween!" And they are mostly right. We don't participate in going door-to-door for candy. We live out in the woods where almost everyone has a long dark driveway and most likely a shotgun hanging over the door. I also don't happen to be a fan of the holiday, for various reasons, but that is another story for another day.

However, we did go to a Harvest Party on Saturday night, and there will be another party today at school, so costumes and candy have become a part of our season.

The Ladybug suit was super easy... I found it for $4.99 at Goodwill.

Sir Topham Hatt was a bit more of an adventure. I thought to myself, as I set out to find the ingredients, "Piece of cake! Go to Goodwill, pick up a yellow vest, grey pants, suit jacket, white shirt, and top hat... easy!"

Two hours and two Goodwill stores later, all I had was a black vest. No top hat. No grey pants or black suit jacket. Not even a measly button-up white shirt.

But on the drive home I hatched a plan.

The next day involved several hours of cutting, taping, glueing, machine, and hand-sewing.

The end result was pretty dashing, if you ask me. Look at that face... he was so proud of his costume, and didn't seem to mind that next to no one at the first Harvest Party knew who in the world Sir Topham Hatt is.

Hopefully some of his fellow Kindergarteners at the party today will also be fans of the Island of Sodor, and will give the recognition his Mother he is due.