Easter Fun....

Okay, Kekoa is sleeping at my feet right now, so I wanted to use this time to play a little bit of catch up. Yes puppy training, playing, and loving is keeping me on my toes right now. But so is all of this Internet stuff. When I canceled our land line and moved the Internet over to the cable, I had to change servers. That meant that I had to also change browsers; sigh...... which means I am in process of building up my bookmarked web pages again. I am working on getting to each blog friend, re-save the site, and then of course reading thru fun lives and say my hellos. I do hope I will be caught up with everyone by the end of the week.

In the mean time, I promised to share a bit of our Easter fun.

The kids certainly are not little anymore so the usual egg hunt is a bit on the boring side. But that has never stopped my mom from creating a whole afternoon of smiles and giggles.

Here is part of our group playing a game called "Pretzels". There were two teams involved. Each team had to have one team member sit in a chair and cover their head with whipped cream. Then the rest of the team mates would throw pretzels at them with hopes of getting as many as possible to stick to their heads.



There was a game called "Password". In that game a team mate had to get the other members of the team to guess a word by using only 1 word clues. For each time there was a wrong guess, there was a consequence to be delivered. They had to do things like mime being locked in a box and figure out a strategy to get out or sing the ABC's backwards.

There was a game called "Crackhead". Each player had to choose one of the twelve eggs located in the special basket. Then they had to choose a friend to crack that egg over their head. 3 of the eggs were secretly hard boiled and the other 9 were raw.

That is Puddin' (a.k.a Rosie-girl for my long time blog readers) sitting there with the funny expression on her face. Even with the protective cap and plastic bag, that raw egg still feels awfully cold and slimy.

Those little blue hats that you have seen in the pictures served as protection from eggs and whipped cream but they were also labeled as their "thinking caps". So they had to have them on before they could give a correct answer to anything.

Doesn't this look interesting? The goal: two teams raced to get their team mate (victim) firmly placed on the garage door. That is my Pippin with the tape over her mouth. She was loudly protesting in shock at being picked as the smallest person on the team and therefore the most logical for wall sticking. Her team mates decided they could work faster if they didn't have to listen to her.

Here is the other team's wall sticker. They won.

It was such an amazing day. All the fun and all the food and all the relationships made it a memorable time for everyone.

Of course, the games and food were not the point of this glorious Easter celebration. They were just an additional perk. Being together in honor of the sacrifice that God and Jesus was the whole point of the day.

He said, "Happy Valentines Day".....

Maybe three weeks ago, my 'Rosie-girl' (who prefers now to be called Puddin' but I am slow to change) went out on a heart adventure with some friends. It wasn't the typical sort of thing one finds teens and young adults doing, but it suited them just fine.

Working together with The Father's Heart Ministry they cooked up a bunch of breakfast food, gathered up clothing and blankets from the warehouse, and set out in search of the familiar faces of those in need.

Puddin' said it was an amazing day for her. She was able to share smiles, prayers, and love with people whose only difference from us was the fact that they had not a roof over their heads.

Along the way, one gentleman came up to her and interestingly enough asked if she had a mom. When she replied yes he said, "I have made something here out of envelopes and it took me quite some time to make. I know if I keep a hold of it in my circumstances...... it will get ruined. Could you please give this to your mom and tell her Happy Valentines Day?"

Isn't that simply amazing?

Who knows the circumstances of how people end up on the streets. At times it is the sad situation of substance abuse, some are there just to take advantage of peoples generosity, then there are the ones who truly tried all that they could but had the doors of economy and hardship slammed in their faces.

And yet, they have joy and beauty flowing from their hearts, just waiting for someone to notice.

(David at Authorblog has honored this post with an award. Thank you so much David for sharing with everyone. )

83 Years Young......

(If my Nana knew I was writing this post and sharing these pictures I would be flogged big time. I would be scolded in Portuguese and threatened to never receive chocolate again. Keep it a secret for me okay so I don't fall off my wobbly pedestal.)

Recently we celebrated my Nana's 83rd birthday. (Thank you Mom for sending over the pictures.)

She can sometimes grumble about her age and think her pictures are scary. I guess we are all guilty of doing that at one time or another.

I think being 83 is a wonderful celebration and she looks amazing.

It was a fun day. Every couple of weeks I take her out shopping wherever she wants to go. That day she chose to conquer her list of needs and wants at Costco. With it's warehouse format of shopping in bulk, there is much to look at. I have to laugh that we actually spent three hours there, but at least it gave my mom time to cook much of the birthday dinner without Nana being the wiser.

Here is a sampling of my current favorite yummy.

Can you taste it?

For years we have made a dish called wonton for buffet family events. It has always been oh so good. But being traditionally a fried food, it gets soggy and blah after setting out for a bit. This past year my mom had the great idea of taking the wonton wrappers and baking them in muffin pans to achieve the crisp and then put the filling in to make it out of this world. Doing it this way keeps them fresh for a long time and makes it easy to store left overs without it sticking together. Pop it in the oven for 10 minutes and it is like they are steamy and new all over again.

It was so great to celebrate with the family. The evening was covered with all of us telling stories and filling our bellies with delicious food and laughter.

Nana loves everything concerning angels and we have all helped her to develop quite a collection.

Here are my girls with their Great-Nana after giving her an addition to her collection. Rosie is on the left and Pippin is on the right.

In other news: thank you for your prayers and encouragement with Pippin. She is home again today but doing much better. She can now walk a straight line without my help and even set down with steady hands to do some bracelet beading.

Blessings to you and I hope to be able to visit everyone soon.

Hidden In My Heart....

Every day of being a mom is special to my heart. Though there are times when I am tired, I cherish each moment as a privilege and an honor. It is amazing to watch them grow up, make choices, learn from those choices, and set out to make their mark on the world. Sometimes it is torture to watch them go through the things I went through, and yet I know it is a "right of passage" so to speak. At other times, I see them going through things that I never experienced and then I get to live vicariously through them.
Now is one of those times.

My Rosie-girl, who at 15 years old is still so young in the world but becoming more the young woman every day, is experiencing the beautiful buds of love. (Oh my, just writing that sent a flood of emotion and adrenaline to my heart.) This journey, while still very much in the beginning stages, has been coming about for quite a while; and I have been stashing away the signs, signals, and images in my heart.

When she was 8 years old, my Rosie-girl and I were running errands one day and she piped up with this question from out of the seams of thin air, "Mommy when did you know you were in love?" Sensing her seriousness of the matter I carefully asked questions and gave advice the best I could......mother to daughter and heart to heart.
She blushed as she revealed the boy of her affections. Yes I smiled to myself. He was a nice boy, at 8 years old himself he was already showing serious signs of great character, honor, and integrity.
She relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief as I suggested that at 8 years old there is no pressure of expectations or purpose. I suggested that these growing up years are for building relationships and being friends. Don't worry about anything else for there are all too many times when our emotions take over and propel us forward into things we aren't ready for.
She liked that.......growing in friendship........perfect.

I then found out from his mom that the same sort of conversation had happened in their home as well.
Pause for reflection.....................an 8 year old boy was having emotional feelings for my little girl..........

Time went on and as circumstances do at times, his family and ours lost contact for a few years. Nothing had happened. It was just that usual thing of life pulling in different directions.
An occasional mention from a fellow friend here and there was all the contact available. Life went on.

Last year, circumstances changed and it so happened that we became in contact again.
Over time I noticed little things. It wasn't what they were doing but more of what they weren't doing that got my attention and if I didn't know my daughter so well....well then I wouldn't even have noticed that.

What did I see? Well, they would fiddle foot when they talked to one another. They always seemed to know where the other was in a room and yet there was an invisible barrier wall that kept them from getting too close to each other. For example, when talking to other friends they would each stand at the usual casual friend distance. But when talking to one another, that gap increased by at least a foot.

Once when my girl was warming up to play on the drums at youth group, she was having a hard time simply because it had been a trying day at school. Sometimes, as much as a girl tries to conquer her emotions and push through, that night she just needed a small cry to set the day back in order. So, she welled up with tears, excused herself, and went to the restroom to breathe and freshen up.
What I saw next brought tears to my own eyes that I successfully covered. He became alarmed that she was upset. He paced and worried when she didn't come right back. He grabbed her sister and urged her to go to the restroom and not leave her alone.......after all she was in distress and NEEDED to be comforted.

For her birthday, he brought her special candy and a beautiful red (her favorite color) scarf to keep her neck warm. (She has worn it continuously since then and that was 2 and a half months ago.) A few weeks after that, he showed up at worship practice with a pair of gloves to match. He said, "I saw these in the store and knew they would match your scarf perfectly so I had to get them for you." She gave him a smile, a thank you, and a hug while he blushed and smiled his sweet dimpled smile of success.

He often shows up to whatever event with her favorite candy.......just because.
She notices too. She said one day, "Mom he makes a mental note of everything I like." That was followed with serious blushing on her part.
His little tokens are always presented with a humble smile and an air of, "really it wasn't a big deal. I just know you like it."

For Christmas, he trudged through the snow to make sure she received his present in a timely manner. On this day my own heart jumped ten fold. This young man had taken opportunity to shovel snow filled driveways in his neighborhood so that he could earn money to buy her ......a real diamond sterling silver cross necklace.
There was no formality in giving it to her. He didn't pull her aside and look deep into her eyes. He simply did his sweet and humble way of, "I thought you might like this."

She had me put it on her that day and it hasn't left her neck since. I often see her fingers fiddling with it as a subconscious smile plays at the edges of her mouth.

As I look at all of these things, sure on the one hand I find little motherly qualms of panic. But the other part of me is so grateful. He is a sweet and honest young man with a depth of character that is hard to find now a days. There has been no pushing of anything. They haven't asked to be alone, haven't kissed, or even held hands and yet there is obviously a deep devotion growing between them.

Now, I know you might think that I am kidding myself. After all I know when I was a teen I did many things that my parents had no clue about. But really, there is nothing going on between them. Either he is here at our house or they are with their youth group. And for all their social events I am the driver....so I am always around. Those are the only times they see each other.

Where will they be 5 years from now?........who knows. That is not for me or anyone else to say. For now, I am so enjoying watching a simple and pure love grow in my daughter.

(Wow! What an honor! David at Authorblog has made this his post of the day choice. Thank you David for sharing my thoughts and enjoying the adventure.)

The World Isn't So Big With Text Messaging......

You are all so good and faithful to me....even when I don't get on the computer all week long. Thank you so much for your prayers, your e-notes, your willingness to 'wear my shoes', and your cheers. Some of you have even added Pippin to your prayer group lists. Wow! Thank you.

You have been wondering how Pippin is doing.
I have received some text messages from her that give me a glimpse of her new world. There is a bit of "boy I could use a mom hug" in between the lines. But mostly there is the incredible-ness of a new world being opened.
She has said things like........
"The children call me 'Madame'"
"I have made so many new friends."
"All the children crowd around and try to hold my hands at the same time."
"We had pizza today but it didn't really taste like pizza."

During the first few days of their tour, they visited a couple of villages, including Hope Village. I was really excited to find that website and informational video. As I watched it, I felt closer and gained understanding. I thought things like, "In a few hours she will be walking on that street or maybe talking with that child." I can't wait to sit with her and hear all the stories and adventures, see the growth and maturity in her eyes that only experience can give.


I have been keeping busy. Aside from one mega headache that made me useless for a couple of days, I have been Christmas shopping and doing all the regular house wife/mom kinds of things. As soon as Pippin gets back from Uganda, our oldest daughter comes into town for a week with her beau and we will be celebrating Christmas early. That means things have to be ready early.

My sweet "Rosie-girl" was so wonderful today. We put up our tree tonight and after I strung the lights she and her girlfriend did all the decorating. I am so grateful.

How is it that at 37 years old I can't balance and multi-task like I did just one year ago? I look back at that ME standing in my kitchen with 4 teens at home, a hubby, 2 dogs, the door, cell phone, and land line all vying for my attention at the same time while bread bakes in the oven and dinner cooks on the stove.......nothing burns....everyone is satisfied, and I wasn't overwhelmed......and I think "Who in the world was THAT woman?"

It makes me laugh. For now the smallest of things jumbles up my brain while days can go by and I cannot account for anything worthwhile being accomplished. I take great joy in the truth of knowing....."and this too shall pass".

(David at Authorblog gave this post an honorable mention in his Post of the Day spot. Thank you David for being so supportive and riding this ride along with me.)

Update.....

My dad is spending the weekend with my brother so I thought I would grab a minute and sit with you. I know you have wondered every now and again about our time together. I really had no idea just how emotionally drained I would be with this visit. It has all been very good. We are slowly learning one another and getting more comfortable as each day passes. We talk about small things and every day things. We haven't talked at all about the past and I don't know right now just how important that is. Maybe we will one day be able to talk about the past once we have a present together.....or maybe it will never be talked about. Right now I am just trying to soak in every moment I have with him.

I take Dad to the airport early on Wednesday morning. I can't believe that 2 weeks has gone by so quickly. A part of me knows that I will need to give myself room to adjust to him NOT being here and growing from that. But then schedules mercilessly do not stop for our household and more company will be here within a 36 hour window.

Of all the adventures, here are a few quick pictures of the past two weeks that I would like to share with you.

This is Dad with my 2 girls at the end of the Lewis and Clark Trail in Seaside, Oregon.

He loves coffee and knows how much they both love a good white chocolate mocha

so he is sure to buy them each one whenever he sees opportunity to do so.

Around here in the northwest...you know that means quite often.

Here is my (little) brother and I posing for a quick hug in Seaside, Oregon.

He always spoils me with his lavish hugs of attention.

When family gets together....food is always involved.

Dad graciously took us all out to Red Lobster one night for every one's favorite yummies.

Here is Dad and I at Bridal Veil Falls in the Columbia River Gorge.
It is one of my favorite places to sit.

Hubby and I were able to load up and take everyone to Long Beach, Washington
for a few days of rest and splendor. Here is the sunrise that greeted me on my
early morning walk before cooking up pancakes and bacon for everyone.

I can't decide which sunrise picture I like more.
I was out walking and thinking about all of the new emotions and thoughts
in my head when the sun rose and bathed everything in glory.
I couldn't help but think how appropriate and symbolic a view it was
considering all of the newness I am experiencing.

The glow, the patterns of tide in the sand...silly me I didn't even think
of taking my camera on the beach at 6:30 in the morning....
but I had my phone so I clicked away while the scene changed minute by minute.

Do You Dare.....

I am absolutely wiped out......but I wanted to share with you about the past 24 hours before I plop on the bed in utter fatigue.

This was the weekend of our last big youth event before school starts. Last night we had a BBQ at a friend of a friend's pool. It was a great time for them. The youth played their own versions of the Olympics as they raced to see who could do hand stands longer, throw through the water hoop better, and dive for the most pennies. Then the evening rounded off with a sleep over....guys at one house and girls at another. The goal was to actually sleep so that they could be bright and chipper to hit the road for our adventure today. No they didn't quite sleep like they should have but did we when we were their age?

So, what was our adventure today? We went for a whole day of extremes at the Salem YWAM Ropes Course. It is a place where you have the opportunity to push yourself farther than you think you can go, work together as a team, and learn a greater appreciation for everyone. I know I am not doing it quite the descriptive justice so check out the promo video on the above link if you are curious.

We did this last year and had a great time. For the most part I had taken pictures of everyone and did the huge 800' zip line at the end of the day. This year I decided to suck it up, not think of myself as "just a mom" (as if that is a bad thing), and completely do each task set before me to 100%+ of my abilities. I didn't let myself think in fear or worry. Here is a secret...I truly am scared of heights but I make myself do things so that my fear doesn't own me.

The whole day was amazing and I really did push myself more than I dreamed I could do. Despite the fact that I am still out of shape and have more weight to lose, I jumped at the opportunity to do the High Rise Extreme Obstacle Course. Though the sun glare doesn't let you completely look at the whole course, here is a what the course looked like......

And this is a picture of me just to prove that I actually did it.

It was very hard in places and I hugged the instructors when I got to the end platform.

But I DID IT.

It was a family affair for our household.

Here is my hubby navigating a section.

Here is my Pippin on the hardest part.

This was the last section and honestly when I go halfway through this part

I locked up and needed some help.

Here is my Rosie-girl balancing gracefully on a tightrope wire.

She was laughing and having so much fun.

So many amazing things happened today and I am grateful for every ounce of it.
The girls took videos all day long so hopefully in the next few days I can post a clip or two.
For now though, my nerves are shot and my energy has left the building.

A Shopping We Will Go....

I had told Rosie-girl that we would go shopping on Monday. She gave a smirk and said that would be cool and we didn't discuss it anymore that night. However, when I got up yesterday morning she was ready to go with sparkling teeth, belly full, clean clothes on and even her little purse slung over her shoulder. She paced around while I got myself together and it seemed like silent torture for her to wait but she endured it all and we were soon under way.

More often than not, we head to the mall for a quick mission and get out of there as soon as possible because all of the high prices and silly gimmicks that make me a bit uncomfortable. But yesterday was different. I had told her that we would really probably find our best deals at the local everything store, but we would window shop at the mall and see what kind of trouble we could get into.

It turned out that we had so much fun walking around the mall and pointing at things. We saw styles that made us laugh and made us wonder. Who would have ever thought there would be such a thing as knee high Converse shoes? She really wants a pair too. At $70 though she will definitely have to earn the money herself.

Rosie loves wearing every day t-shirts that are in a girl cut and have fun things on them like drums and bright colors. So when I found a super deal on some and told her she could pick out a hand full it was priceless. Watching her jump up and down and lavish me with kisses was a thrill.

After a full lap around the upper mall level we stopped for lunch. We had packed pbj sandwiches and little bags of chips in our purses but the smell of Cinnabon was too much to resist. So our lunch was rounded out with a shared Cinnabon and 2 strawberry lemonades.

Later, while walking around the lower mall area we happened on a pair of shoes that were too good to pass up. I don't know who teared up more at her display of affection, me or the cashier who welled up with tears and said my girl was simply too sweet for words.

When I was paying for her shoes, Rosie hugged me around my neck and pecked me to pieces with kisses while stating, "Mom today is the best day ever. I thought we were only going to window shop and that would have been fine. But you got me 6 shirts, a Cinnabon, and now shoes. You are like....the coolest mom ever! And I am not just saying that because you are buying me shoes right now."

Laugh and the World Laughs With You Take 2.....

While Rosie-girl and I were driving home, she said, "Wow Mom look at the sunset. It is amazing."
I turned to look as I was driving and instantly my mind flashed to the night before when the moon showed us a sliver of a crescent shape in the sky. My thought that went with that picture was......"Oh look it is a full sun today."

Yeah I really thought that. We had a good laugh over it when I realized my silliness and shared with her. She said, "Wow Mom at least you didn't share it with a group of people like you were in a real conversation."

No I figure I will just blog it here so that everyone can have a good laugh.

Signal, Mirror, Mirror, Shoulder....

A milestone has been hit in our home. Last week, "Pippin" passed her drivers permit test. I don't know what the rules are in other states or even abroad so let me explain what this really means. For the next 6 months to 2 years she can practice driving a car and learning all types of road handling experiences.........as long as she has a licensed adult with her.

The Oregon DMV laws state that a teen can receive their permit at the ripe age of 15 years old. She will be 17 in just two short weeks so some would say that we are lagging behind with the times. It doesn't matter to me. She didn't want it until now because it represented more of a rush to grow up and she wasn't ready to do that.

I could be wrong, but I think it's a bit different teaching a girl to drive. When my boys were of age to receive their learners permit and subsequent license, I let them drive right out of the parking lot. Crazy huh? Honestly, because they both tinkered with engines and such from their very early days, they were ready for the road when the time came. My instruction was just a formality. My sweet girl handled things very differently though and I knew that without at least a few days of practice in a parking lot....it would simply never work.

That is just what we did. I started her out in a barren parking lot where she could get familiar with the art of brakes, steering, accelerator, and turn signals. Harnessing and controlling the power of a V6 engine was a daunting task for her but one she was willing to conquer. We turned every ending isle into a mock intersection as she practiced weaving up and down thru imaginary traffic. The next day she graduated to a half full lot and I made her drive where cars were pulling in and out and pedestrians were walking around. She was scared at first but swallowed and did it. She did so well that yesterday she moved out onto the local roads. The title of this post has become our chanting motto as she goes down the road and I have her practicing lane changes when no one is around.

I must say she is doing very well. She is aware that a lot of responsibility rests in her hands and is taking every bit of my advice to heart. Tomorrow I am taking her to Cannon Beach for a 2 week stay. She wants to drive part of the time but I am not so sure about that just yet.
Here is what is really funny. My "Rosie-girl", who will be 15 in October, is already studying for her test. She wants it bad. The time might come very soon when I will have two permitted learners to teach at the same time.

I am having fun though. I rather enjoy giving driving lessons. It is a thrill for me to teach them safe rules and watch their confidence build.

What Did I Order......

Last week Rosie-girl and I were running errands and decided to stop at the local Wendy's restaurant for lunch. As we were sitting there eating and talking, one of the employees came out to do clean up patrol. He was a happy go lucky type of guy with a string Hispanic accent. He came over to us and asked, "Excuse me but have you seen a mouse running around here anywhere?"

Shock played across my face as I processed what he said and evaluated the implications.

Then he laughed and said, "I am only kidding. I am talking about that funny mouse in the Disney cartoon. You know he was in my hat and now I can't find him anywhere."

'haa haa funny joke', I thought. 'good for him for having a fun sense of humor. Don't know if his manager would feel so light hearted about it but whatever.'

So today Rosie and I were again running errands and figured we would stop at the same eatery for cheap food that is advertised as being more healthy and wholesome.

As I opened my smart choice of a grilled chicken wrap......a green bug crawled out to inspect the world. It looked just like this little thing below. Silly me....though my first nano-second thought was 'wow that is a pretty color to photograph', in my shock and panic state I didn't think to take a picture.

I covered the food and bug with a napkin and carried it all up to the food counter. The employee was shocked. I listened to the eeks and shrieks of the other employees as she carried it back to show the manager. She came back to me and said, "My manager says sorry and told me to give you your money back.....or do you want another sandwich?"

Okay I give grace to tons of people. After all I need it myself and who am I to judge. but what kind of question is that? Of course I don't WANT another sandwich.

She gave me my money back....a whole $1.50 and told me to have a nice day.

Rosie of course didn't want to finish her lunch after watching the green thing crawl out of my food. I don't blame her.

Who knows what important thing the manager was doing during my little crisis, but they couldn't even come out and talk to me? I am not one of those get them for all they are worth kinds of people. If you burn yourself with your coffee it is because you should have known that hot coffee would be hot. It is not the fault of the food vendor. But live bugs in the food.......how about a coupon or better yet just give me back the whole $5 I spent there in good faith.

Yeah, we are not going to eat there anymore.

(Recommended as Post of the Day at David's Authorblog. )

Some Memories of the Week....

Memories of the past week.....

I took the girls to see the midnight premire of the new Batman movie. When I was picking them up, it was fun to watch all the people coming out of the theater that had dressed up for the occasion. There were Jokers, capped superheroes, and masks everywhere. The only thing I couldn't figure out is why a group of 5 young men walked out carrying tennis rackets.
~~~~

Pippin shared with me one of the many adventures of the Gaggle Beach Week. As the girls were walking along one day, they were stopped by a group of older Harley-type bikers asking where the nearest bar was. What would possess older grown ups to think that a 15, 16, and 17 year old would know the answer to that question? Without missing a beat the girls answered in unison, "Yes", "No", and "I am not sure". Then the girls looked at one another and each pointed in a different direction....north, south, and east for a possible location.
After that, the bikers rode away with perplexed expressions. Maybe they will think twice next time about who they ask for bar directions.
~~~~

Yesterday my 14 year old, Rosie-girl, said "You mean we are picking up pizza AND going up to Grandma's house? This is such a cool day!"
~~~~~

My brother was hanging up a ceiling fan in the hallway and called to Dad, "Hey this hardware is supposed to be good just the way it is but do you think we should put some nuts right here?"
Before Dad could answer I pipped up with, "It is an idea but those cashews are really too soft I think."
Okay that was about as punny as things could get but I thought my brother was going to fall off the ladder from laughing so hard.
~~~~~

I got the okay to redecorate the front bathroom this week. We live in a manufactured home that has the typical decorative fixtures for this kind of house. That means papered wood looking cabinets and vinyl covered sheet rocked walls. About 10 years ago I decided to decorate the bathroom and try my hand at wallpapering. I hung a deep green marbled wallpaper and accessorised in roses and elegance. It was a fun project and I felt better knowing that I gave it "my personal touch". There was one problem though......steamy bathrooms and vinyl sheet rock aren't conducive for keeping wallpaper hung. Can you picture the scene? It has been a funny sort of eyesore for quite a few years now.

The other day the girls and I set out to rip off all of the existing wallpaper. That was a super easy job. It all came right off with practically no leftovers on the wall. My supplies were great too. I wanted a textured wall and figured I would have to learn the art of 'orange peel'. But the wonderful assistant I had at the local 'everything builders' store showed me a product that I could mix with my paint to get the texture while painting. Yahoo! Two steps in one. I liked that idea because whenever I start a project I obsess about it until it is completed.

In picking out my current decorative taste, I sought the help of my girls. They are as different as night and day and so much fun for me. My ever practical Pippin said, "Whatever you like will look good Mom. Besides, it is a bathroom. How much can a bathroom be decorated anyway?"
My artistic Rosie-girl on the other hand did her best to find complimentary colors and what would feel just right. The problem with that is I love flowers and she doesn't. Well, she thinks they don't belong in a bathroom anyway. In the end I chose what I wanted and she helped me pick the paint to match. Ultimately she said, "Mom you do what you want but all of these flowers are really going to make it look like an old lady's bathroom."
(note here that nothing bad is meant by this term. 'Old lady' and 'Mom-ish' are terms that I throw around for myself when I am seeking to clarify if I am decorating, dressing, or acting not my age.)

Now the front bathroom is a cheery spring sky blue. The shower curtain is a light and airy blend of morning glories, butterflies, calalilies, and dragonflies. There is one small corner that needs my hubby's touch....sheet rock that rotted out from water build up. Once he is able to replace that small section then I can finish painting and have a 'new' room.
I have tried to take pictures but it is such a narrow room that I haven't been happy with anything shot. I even tried the 'What would David at Authorblog do?' approach but still didn't get a result I liked. I guess if you are really curious, you will just have to come visit.

Over the River and Thru the Woods....

The past few days has found me walking ...... a lot, 17.5 miles in all to be exact.

Horse Tail Falls, Ponytail Falls, and Oneonta Falls on Sunday: 4 miles

Cannon Beach with my friend Barbara on Monday: 4 miles

Neighborhood walking with my friend Wendy on Tuesday: 3 miles

Eagle Creek Trail with Rosie-girl on Wednesday: 6.5 miles

It has been thrilling and something I always say I am going to do but never get to it enough. I am a bit sore right now and by my own personal diagnosis figure that I had a bit too much heat yesterday. All the same, I have really enjoyed every mile and have fallen in love with the Great NW even more. I love the aroma of the warm earth mixed with ripening wild berries, moss, water, pines and fir trees. Here are just a few highlights......

Oneonta Trail off the Old Highway in the Columbia Gorge.

Hiking the Oneonta Trail was exciting and beautiful but really a challenge for me. These silly lungs of mine really rebelled at the steep incline after a couple of hours. I kept on being stubborn and pushing thru but towards the end I must admit to entertaining a bit of panic. Goodness it has been so many years since I have felt like that. Hubby got me calmed down and I got to the bottom with a smile. So embarrassing....but at least I did it.

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Eagle Creek Trail outside of Cascade Locks in the Columbia Gorge.

This was a fun day hike for Rosie-girl and I. We had lunch at Punchbowl Falls and then headed onward and upward to High Bridge. Maybe it was the heat and our desire for a soft seat and ice cream, but we didn't think that the bridge was quite worth all the hiking. All the same, we had a perfect day just being together.

The only bummer about the day was that when I was wading around Punchbowl I fell and dropped my camera....in the water. I grabbed it really quick and dried it all out. It took pictures for me the rest of the day but now it is going thru this funny power cycle thing....even when I have it turned off. It is an old digital camera (a Fuji FinePix S3000 3.2 megapixel.....yeah ancient) but it is all I have for now and can't replace it. Maybe the little gremlins will decide to leave soon and I can nurse it along for another year.

If you would like to see all of the pictures, you can go here.

Rizzly.....

Today I drove a "turn and burn" to Cannon Beach. Well, maybe not quite so much burn since I chose to hang out with my friend Barbara for 6 hours before hitting the road for the drive home.
It is now after 11pm in the evening and I am smiling at a day well spent.

The reason for my 90 mile drive (one way) was because it was time to get The Gaggle together. Not all were able to gather for the beach trip, but I succeeded in getting 4 of the 6 together for the day. They say that their mission for this week is to reek mayhem havoc and chaos on the town as they giggle, write stories, giggle, run to the corner for coffee, giggle, watch movies, and did I mention giggle? As my friend Kitem once put it....Tout le monde! Vive les Gaggles!

As they toured the town today, they stumbled across this little guy, who obviously once had an important job making some sweet child happy but by a twist of fate....had been left on the sidewalk face down in lonely despair.

They looked around for possible owners and found none. Their hearts went out to him and they decided to give him a home as their mascot. He is in the process of getting a bath now and has been named Rizzly (like grizzly without the g)...because that was the name on the license plate of a car down the street where he was found. See how happy he is now?

Meanwhile, my friend Barbara and I had a wonderful time doing our own share of walking. We toured the local library, which happened to be having a book sale (always a dangerous thing for us book lovers) and Barbara blessed me with a treasured copy of Sonnets From the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Poetry....AND my Portuguese heritage......I am excited to dive into it.

We enjoyed the sunny weather and ocean breeze as we walked 4 miles of the coast line and talked of recipes, movies, family, hopes and dreams. Along the way, a gentleman asked if I could take a picture of him with his sweetie on the beach. When I said yes, she stopped her sand drawing and jumped towards him so I could snap the picture. They were so happy....with the picture, with the day, with the beach, with each other. When our walk brought us back to their spot, we found her picture complete.

Barbara and I had fun trying to figure out what the 7 3 8 represented. Those aren't date numbers because today is July 7th. Was it to mean that they had kissed 738 times? Did it mean that it felt that they had known each other for 738 years? Or maybe after 7 minutes and 38 seconds they chose to believe in love at first sight.

Right about that spot on our walk we stopped to contemplate the power of the waters as it crashed over the rocks. It amazes me. Water has no form of its own and yet is strong enough to bring beauty or devastation to any surrounding. It made me think if the scripture passage where God commanded the oceans to have boundaries. It is all an incredible and beautiful thing.

Sometime during our exploring, we stopped at a new little cafe' and sat outside on the walk for tea and dessert. Everything was natural, organic, and even vegan if one chose to go that route. I opted for a delicious licorice tea blend and then set my sights on a piece of chocolate chip bread pudding.

It was so delicious.....and so rich......I could not bring myself to eat even half of it. Instead it was boxed up and is now sitting in my kitchen for future delights.

Rosie-girl and I are home safe and sound, feeling sleepy. The Gaggle...I imagine is still giggling away while attempting to shush one another and not bother the adults. My sleepy eyes and happy heart say that it has been a good day indeed.

(note: Rosie-girl took the photos of Rizzly)