Surviving to Live Another Day...

It's nearly 4:30 PM and we have seemingly survived another Christmas. Our neighbor with the ATV and plow rig plowed out the end of our driveway and I spent 1 1/2 hours clearing the rest by shovel. After that, my lady noticed a leak coming in at the top of her window...so it was up on the ladder to knock down ice and clear the low roofs. Another 1 1/2 hours and then it was time for lunch.

Sledding, Lego building, and picture taking later, it's time for a snack.

Here are some pics I uploaded of the fun. I feeling that good kind of tired coming on. Best Wishes to all and Merry Christmas!!!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ViewSlideshow.action?&collidparam=8537530603.812767257603.1230251674003

A (Near) Christmas Story

As the kid says in "A Christmas Story" Oh, I think I shot my eye out! Not really, the kiddo who looks like a pugilist actually got injured in a modern way. He was visiting his Mom's office and using one of the computers to keep out of trouble, when suddenly he felt the urge to jump up and hit his left eye on the corner of a glass shelf that was behind him on his right. Let the joyous screaming begin!!! After a trip to the local fire department for triage, we headed to the local clinic (which was closed for lunch). Patiently sobbing, we got to see a Doc who referred us to an opthamalogist about 30 minutes away. Thankfully, no permanent damage was done, but he has a corneal laceration from mid-pupil down to his lower eyelid.

I might note we took this picture in mirror image to accentuate the look.

The same day before the glass shelf incident, subject kiddo noticed our doggy had weird pouches on the backs of his hind knees. I checked them out and called the vet and scheduled a same day. Since I was occupied running #1 to various medical concerns, Momma took Pippin to the vet. I'm sure the tech had a good laugh when she manipulated the pouches to find out they were simply fur balls the snow had pushed up and made firm.

Got to Get Revved Up

Christmas is a little over a week away!!! The season sure has gotten busy. Between school, church, and work holiday programs and subbing for the school, the whole family has been flying from one event to the next. This week we only have two holiday parties at school to get ready for--we're ready for a few days of rest before Christmas ushers in a new round of chaos around here. Snow has finally arrived for good and the temps are hovering near ZERO -- didn't think I'd see or feel that again unless I was on a mountain top. Such is life in the shadow of the Three Sisters. Time to get back to creating a little holiday magic.

Hope you'll stay tuned.

Gingerbread House Update

The house was finished last night before the Christmas Tree Lighting here in Sisters. Folks can come by and see it in person (and vote for it) as they visit businesses hosting the "Home on the Range" Gingerbread Trail fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity. The kids thoroughly enjoyed their construction efforts which include WALL-E, Sunburst Snowmen and alot of playful candy arrangements on the roof and grounds. Click the pictures to see a larger view.

The Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce is at 291 E. Main Ave in Sisters.

Have a happy holiday season!







WALL-E

Just Because it's Fun

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Guess, We've Really Been Slipping on the Blog

You know, I don't think it was until today I realized how tough it can be to be a stay-at-home-fill-in-the-blank. The kids are out of school and I'm wore out. It's non-stop, they or the dog need something. Makes you wish you were back working for someone...then at least most days you can walk out and take a lunch away.

Tonight, Frau and Fraulein are busy with the Gingerbread house/Gingerbread Nativity.

Local Wood Carving Legend Finishes Massive Doors

Wow! Skip Armstrong has done an amazing job with this project! See what the Nugget Newspaper had to say about this work at: http://www.nuggetnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=65&SubSectionID=105&ArticleID=15176&TM=57782.68

The above picture is what will greet parishioners at St Mary's in Boise, ID in a few weeks. We went out to Skip's workshop in the woods where the doors are having the finishing touches put to them before being shipped to Boise next week. This is world class work by a truly talented man.

Keeping the Home Fires Burning

I used to love burning leaves back East with my family in the Fall--before burning was banned there. Leaves were so much more funb than pine needles. You could pile them head high and ride your bike through them or just jump and play hide-n-go-seek in them. Pine needles are just a hot dirty chore...though initially they smell good. If you do your burning right, there's very little smoke--that's when the fire is the hottest and you have a gentle breeze to feed the fire with oxygen.

Anyway, we've cleared our lawn for the second weekend in a row and cleared up the backlog when left over when the burn season closed early last spring. Now it's just a matter of clearing up in the woods before the rain or snow flies.

At least it got us outdoors and enjoying the sun and warm Fall temperatures. Time to take a walk and see how the rest of our neighbors are doing.

Can You Say Rocks!

Cellular Biology

Who'da thunk biology could be delicious and fun! This was Doug's idea 100%.

Snow is in the Air

Old Man Winter is begging to get back into the action. We've had two straight days of flurries in the air--it's way too early! On top of that, the kids are off today--teacher training day, and we're getting caught up on all that quality time stuff, each person is in front of their own screen at the moment. Well, I guess I'm being a little facetious. Anyway, the squabbles up 'til three seconds ago were short lived and everyone was in their own world of bliss. Don't get me wrong, we have plenty to do today, like help set up the Book Fair at school and possibly attend a trail building seminar at the Brewery tonight. The changing seasons are always alittle unsettling and it seems like there's too much to do before winter sets in.

I finally signed up for the "How to Start Your Own Business" course taught locally by the community college. I don't see many downsides to not starting it (minimal start-up costs--it's a personal service) and I'm not ready to cave in and fit myself back into a corporate setting working long hours. Fortunately, my lady is patient with me and economic times as bad as they are, we are surviving. Guess that's the impeteus, we're used to more than surviving, and we want to get back to that lifestyle as soon as we can--just complimented with work we enjoy doing.

Have a great Columbus Day Weekend!

Survival of the Fittest

The cute little guy above is a recent orphan and probably won't survive...how sad. Yesterday I was getting wood from the stack and he comes hopping up to me. I didn't know what was going on, was he being fed by a neighbor? Or was this a sick animal to stay away from. I called the little girl of the house out to take some pictures and then we followed him around the yard for a while. On the way home from church we had seen a large squirrel that had been recently killed by a car--might have been Momma.

But wait, the story gets worse. Under our deck is another little guy. This one is either very sick or catatonic (turned out he was dying) and he is curled into a little ball but still moving when gently probed. His little brother or sister stayed under the deck with him for the rest of the afternoon--until I want out for more wood. Then the survivor follows me about 20 yards back down to the wood pile and climbs a tree, and that's where he stayed the night. Haven't seen him this morning, but we're not to sure he's a good forager. We laid the other guy to rest.

In other news, Pippin the Wonderdog just has a mild case of Kennel Cough. Yup, he caught it his first (and only) day at Doggie Daycare, despite their strict vaccine policy. It's good news because it's relatively easy to treat (Julia was envisioning dangerous and expensive surgery to remove a Lego from his trachea.)

Volunteering gets Complicated

Pippin at Doggie Daycare.

Can you say, American Legion, School Site Committee, Garden Club, Book Fair, Walkathon, Local Option Committee, etc. Guess we're getting immersed and those are just some fun things we're involved in. I thought we'd put our planners away, but it looks like that was just a pause.

In other news, the working one received a raise (oh yeah!) and the other guy subbed at school for the secretary and librarian for several days last week. The kids seem to be taking it all in stride and are busy developing huge Christmas lists--guess they think Santa is not affected by all the bad economic news.

Not to leave Pippin out of the discussion, we're off to the Vet today--he's got something making him choke every 5 or 10 minutes--made sleep near impossible for us. I suspect they won't find anything and we'll just have to tough it out until whatever passes.

Kayaking Three Creeks Lake

My son and I, adventurers that we are drove up to Three Creeks Lake which is only about 20 miles from the house. Once the pavement ends on Forest Road 16, the driving gets really slow because the road is so rough you worry about bottoming out on your oil pan. The lake is picturesque and calm. It is located in a glacial cirque, below Tam McArthur Rim, which was probably last occupied by glacial ice about 13,000 years ago during the Canyon Creek advance of the Cabot Creek glaciation. The outlet stream from the lake flows northward and is joined by two other streams to form Three Creek. See the slideshow below. Click it to go to the album for a larger view.

One More Photosynth

Here is the view of the Three Sisters and Patterson's Elk Ranch in Sisters, Oregon--a view we see everyday going to and from town to our home.

Photosynth -- Sea of Lava

I made another short trek today. This time west of the homestead up Highway 242 to the Sea of Lava. Note Mount Washington in the background of this Synth. Be sure to look at the image full screen to see the whole effect at the world of PhotoSynth at: http://photosynth.net/Default.aspx Search for "242".

Enjoy!

Photosynth is Pretty Cool!

Checkout the collage of the Three Sisters I made using the new technology by Microsoft at:



This Synthy was made with 207 pictures I took in about 5 minutes on the way to grocery shop this morning. Be sure to use the arrows to look all around and zoom the image. I look forward to bringing you other sights around Sisters soon...

Western and Native American Art Festival

What a smile!

New Blog Up!

I created a new blog for our organization at school...much like a PTA, but not quite as formal. See it and related pictures at the SPTC link to the right.

Sisters Doll Parade and Ice Cream Social

We took part in the Doll Parade today. Over 70 little girls and their dolls...plus Ice Cream, what a mix. Some of the older girls talked about their dolls--there were a few there close to 100 years old. See more pictures by clicking the album below:

Sisters Doll Parade and Ice Cream Social 8/20/08 2:14 PM

One Fish, Two Fish, Black Fish, Blue Fish

We went adventuring at Camp Sherman today and were intending to go for a walk along the Metolius with Scott Blau.

The kiddos got antsy, so we headed up the road a bit to the Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery.

I did not know there were such a thing as blue trout! Apparently they are a the result of a genetic mutation similar to albinoism. Learn something new every day...

Next we headed to the Head of the Metolius...the place where geology has resulted in the birth of this river. It's a little overgrown these days...

Chippy the Chipmunk was patrolling the park and soliciting up close for donations.

Got Pickles?

The house chef prepared and canned a few quarts of pickles while the rest of us went back to school shopping for supplies and the last toys of summer. Lego, Barbie and Yu-Gi-Oh! were the winners.

Projects Part 2

Julia made a new dress for Bridget and her American Doll this afternoon.

This morning we attended the new fire station dedication. Fire engine rides and tours of the station. The kids wanted to go down the two poles they have...but had to be satisfied with jumping up on them from below...

Busy with Projects

First, there's another episode of Don't Call Me Martha in the works (check at the link to the right), Let's Make Pitas.  Second, we've been making progress on the kids play area removing big rocks...pretty amazing as it's done with a 6 foot pry bar and a shovel.

See the Pics below:

Don't Call Me Martha Update

New episodes of Don't Call Me Martha are available on her blog link to the right. See if you can hear the family sound effects in the background.

Ciao

Happy 10th Max!

Lonely King

The lone buck in the area settles in for a warm morning in the sun.

Sisters 33rd Annual Outdoor Quilt Show

Click Picture to enlarge and see detail

1,200+ quilts is an overwhelming number of pieces of art to try to see in one day, let alone do it in the few hours we spent there this morning. With more than 20,000 people roaming the town and tour buses trying to jam in more, vendors and quilt artists were pleased.

We rode our bikes into town early while it was still cool. The Girl Scouts are manning water stations throughout town and J&B are manning the one at Habitat for Humanity Thrift Store. We boys chickened out and escaped the madness to the comfort and quiet of home. See some of the beautiful quilts in the link to our Newest Albums at the right ==>

The official web site for the show is at:

http://www.sistersoutdoorquiltshow.org/

Flowers We See

Some of the beauty we see here in flowers...more in the albums to the right ==>

The 4th

Our 4th of July was a little more tame than last year at Mary's...in fact we didn't go see fireworks anywhere. Instead, we were invited to a community party at Cyrus Pond and had a great afternoon sharing the sun and cool waters of the mountain stream-fed pond with some of the kids schoolmates. See more pictures in the album links at the right ==>

In the Local News

How could I fail to mention the lady of the house also made the paper this week. Gentle reader go to the following link to read The Nugget Newspaper and see what she does for the fine City of Sisters, Oregon.

http://www.nuggetnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=7&SubSectionID=88&ArticleID=14649&TM=68134.15

New Stuff to See

Lots of deer around the house lately eating clover,

The kiddos checkout a new swimming hole at Scout Lake...

And the lady of the house tries out her new scheme to make cash the residual way.

Checkout more pics at the Blog and Album links at the right!

New Roles

Perhaps you've noticed the silence of late.  Momma started a new job last Monday and we're all learning our new roles.  She's working for the local Chamber of Commerce in Community Relations and is in charge of running the Visitor Center and managing the volunteer corps.  She gets to meet interesting people everyday wanting to learn about the area and is picking up tidbits about the successes and demises of local businesses.  As for Dad, he is experiencing summer with the kids who need much pushing to get out the door to do something other than watch TV and play video games.  We plan on several hikes and swimming/kayaking in some of the warmer mountain lakes near by.  In the meantime, the search goes on for the ideal business niche or job... Stay tuned...

They're Back!

The new playmates are here... 

Post 101! & Rodeo in Sisters

The much awaited rodeo weekend is here in Sisters and it has been fun! We went to the Les Schwab Family Night and enjoyed the show and all the Rodeo characters. Today was the biggest parade of the year here. We had our own rodeo clown trumpet player marching as well as our Daisy scout and Mom. Here are a few sample pictures. There are hoops more in the Picasa Public Albums at the links to the right -->

The Last Day of School

Sisters Oregon does the last day of school right. Student assembly in the morning (rodeo performers visit, farewells to staff and awards), picnic lunch, afternoon field day including a visit from the fire department and rooftop water balloon barrage. See many pictures of the fun found by clicking into our Picasa Public Album in the link under our favorites to the right.

Tomorrow night it's off to the rodeo...can't wait to see that! http://www.sistersrodeo.com/

3rd/4th Grade Field Trip by Bike to Cold Springs Campground

See the pics for the trip at the links list to the right. Suffice it to say it was a cold Oregon day...

Pet Day at Sisters Elementary

Click the Link in our favorites at the right to see a few pictures of the pets at Pet Day.  There were new kittens, snakes, hatching chicks, giant dogs, tiny dogs, frogs, turtles, rabbits, horses, and much more...

New Guys In Town

We are not the new guys in town any longer...these guys are.

This afternoon I was walking up the road with the wonder dog Pippin. He didn't even notice the deer to our right as we passed by. Then something weird happened...the deer followed us. Pippin noticed then but was good and did not make a sound. I turned to face our trailing buddy now only a dozen feet away t o see what was up. As I turned around, I noticed the new family members about 50 yards away nursing in our neighbors yard. Pippin and I quickly took our leave and went home. I grabbed my camera and approached Mom and the kiddos from downwind. I was still about 50 yards away when I snapped these. Our other deer buddy never approached me even though when I took the bottom picture I was closer to the kiddo than Mom. Guess she didn't consider me a threat. When I left, I made sure she saw and heard me leave.


BTW, another little milestone, we finally got Oregon tags for all our cars...a year after leaving the D.C. area we no longer appear to be outsiders.

Playtime at Home, Field Trip, and a New Brownie

A busy week here. Guess which picture goes with which event.

Memorial Day

The bagpipes played to remember the fallen in a Memorial Day ceremony commemorating a new monument Monday in Sisters. Note the boy in the red jacket in the far right side of the photo--you may know him. He can also be seen twice in this TV News clip covering the event:

http://www.kohd.com/article.aspx?id=37464

Princess' Birthday

The cake!!! View more pictures of the party courtesy of Kodak Gallery here:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?UV=582918266521_210820990603&conn_speed=1&collid=8537530603.264820990603.1211592215517&mode=fromsite