Adam has graduated!

Not only has my baby officially become an adult and he does adult things (like driving and working and paying taxes and going to the bank and buying stamps and paying bills), he has graduated high school!  

Adam graduated with Honors (that little medal he's wearing) and I was so excited and happy and proud. 

I had hopes that lots of family would be able to come celebrate with us, but unfortunately it wasn't in the cards.  Gramma Jerye was able to make it though and I'm glad she was.  She's been at a couple of his big events - being born, turning 16, graduating high school.  

And it was a good visit with her - I hope she had a nice vacation.  

In 3 years, Carus is due to graduate... time flies...

Adam and some of his closest friends. 

3 weeks!

Only 3 weeks until Adam's graduation!!

He has turned in his senior project and I'm pretty sure he's given the presentation for that already too.  That reminds me, I want to have him show me the presentation.

His project was being stage manager for a Shakespeare play back in the fall.  He's done stage managing for a few of the plays put on by the drama department at the high school so it wasn't a stretch, but he did have to write an essay and take photos and put it all into a presentation answering certain questions so it was a bit more involved than "usual".

I'm excited for his graduation! And so proud!

And also a bit weirded out.  It just seems so surreal that we're already at graduation for him.

* * * * * * * * *

Our driveway is just big enough for 2 cars. If one car pulls all the way forward we can squeeze in one more and so Adam and I have been playing Car Jenga since he got his car and often being sure to have the first one out the next day parked behind the other.  Most days, he's behind me since he leaves for school and I work at home.  Every now and then we end up having to move one car to let the other out - and it's often he moving his car to let me out so Carus and I can go to the barn.  We have sort of developed a routine.

He backs out and off to the side and I back out lining up next to him.  Carus then rolls down her window (front passenger seat) and makes faces at him or calls him a nerd or such, and Adam is doing the same - making faces or calling her a nerd.

I just wanted to get that written down before I forget because it makes me smile.

Happy 18th (!!) Birthday, Adam!

Adam is 18!

I can't believe it has been 18 years, and at the same time I can. It's gone by so slowly but too quickly. You are officially an adult, but it doesn't feel like you are quite yet. At least to me.  

I'm not sure what will make you an adult.  Will it be you graduating this year? Or getting your license?  Maybe the trip to DC on your own. Or seeing you vote in your first election. 

I am so proud of who you are. Every day and every year I become more and more proud of you. You are kind and considerate, responsible and empathetic, smart and witty, funny and sweet.  Your sense of humor and love for puns and dad jokes are the best.   

You're the best son, brother, friend, and person that I could have hoped for.

Thanks for making us (your parents) look good. 

Timmy

We lost Timmy today.



He became really lethargic yesterday and we took him to the vet.  He was dehydrated and had a very high fever. They gave him some antibiotics and some fluids and then we brought him home and I nursed him through the night. Though I got his fever to break, he was still very weak this morning and his blood work showed he wouldn't get better...no matter how much I nursed him.

Even though he was so sick, he still tried to cuddle us in his usual manner - rubbing his face against ours and pressing his head into our shoulders while we gave him all our loves one more time.

We got Timmy, with Wilbur, from the Oregon Humane Society about 12 years ago. They were just under a year old so we estimate them to be around 13 years give or take a few months.  (Same age/close in age though different litters.)




(Slideshow of Timmy photos)

We miss sweet baby Tim Tim kitty meow meow. We keep looking for him and wanting to see him. I opened the door for the dogs earlier to let them out and when I went to close it I looked to see if Timmy had sneaked out. And then I remembered.

When I went to feed the animals dinner I expected Timmy to come running to make sure he got to eat first. He always insisted that if he could see the bottom of the bowl, even just a little bit, it was completely empty and he was moments from starving. If you put food in the dog's bowls first, he would take a bite of the dog food while giving you a look that said, "look what you have reduced me to."

We expected Timmy to outlast Wilbur and Simba and Yoda, not be the first one we lost.  He was the leader. He watched out for them, even Simba, who he didn't really seem to like.  He would come and get us when Simba or the dogs wanted in and once he even alerted us that Wilbur had got out. Wilbur was very skittish at that time and it took us three days and a borrowed animal trap to get him back - Timmy let us know each time Wilbur came near the door and when the trap succeeded in catching him.

Timmy greeted everyone new that came to the house demanding their attention and made many visitors want to take him home.

You could call Timmy and he would come running, especially if you called, "Timmy buggies" and showed him a mosquito eater. He loved to catch and eat those buggies.

Timmy curled up with the kids when they were sick, purring their germs away. He curled up with us too. He insisted on sleeping between Robert and I every night. If we were cuddling watching a movie, he pushed himself between us. Robert was his special person and that was where he belonged.

If you got a bowl out of the cupboard, Timmy thought you were getting cereal and needed to share your milk with him. He would meow his mostly silent meow and bat at you until you gave in and gave him some "Timmy milks" (which we did occasionally) or finished your cereal and put up the bowl.

Timmy also liked to try to take Cheetos or cheese flavored popcorn out of our hands. Once he was very persistent in trying to get some cheesy popcorn that he was trying to bat at our mouths.

Timmy would bat at us demanding attention.  We would pick him up and he would rub his head into our shoulder and his face against our ear, often scratching us just a little bit with that one tooth that stuck out.

We love you Timmy. You were the best Ittie Bittie Timmy Kitty and we will miss you lots.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Xmas from all of us! (Woohoo! Family picture!)

And from Scout and Carus...

And me at the barn!

An outtake.  He started closing his eye like he was falling asleep standing there, Carus started petting his chin and his head went lower and lower and the eye stayed close.  Silly Scout. 

Faire In The Grove

This year I'm going to have a little photo booth at the Faire In The Grove in Forest Grove, Oregon Saturday, May 3rd and Sunday May 4th. 

It's an annual event held at McMenamins Grand Lodge.

Here are a few photos from a couple years ago (I didn't take my camera last year) to give you an idea of a fraction of all the fun stuff there.  The kids love the actual fencing lessons with real swords, foils, and rapiers and the sword fighting arena for the kids where they have paddle swords that allow you to smack the crap out of your sibling and not do any damage.  

The merchants have fabric, costumes, jewelry, candles, soaps, weapons, tools, and more.  I got an amazing hair stick there a few years ago, which I've unfortunately lost.  I put it somewhere I wouldn't loose it. There are demonstrations of how to make beads for jewelry, how they did wood working without power tools, and others.  So much to learn and see and do.  

There is also a battle competition that is always amusing to watch.  

I would LOVE to see all my friends and family come out and have some fun (well, at least those local) - and stop by my booth and have a photo taken with your swag. 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all.  We had a lovely day that began with opening gifts and ended with pie.

I hosted this year, and made lasagna with Carus's help (see below).  Carus got some makeup this year and some nice makeup brushes so she did her eye makeup festive green and red.  I think she did a really great job.


(Ignore the dirty underside of the microwave, I didn't realize it was so gross.)

Carus helping me make lasagna. She can do it all on her own, and usually asks to, but it was a very large lasagna and I wanted to get it done quickly so we worked together.

We had enough for us and in-laws, and we shared some with our frieghbors (friends/neighbors), and put the rest in the fridge for lunch or dinner later this week so I can enjoy my vacation.

Earlier, when I was slicing the apples for apple crisp using my mandolin to save time I sliced my middle finger.  It was the first time I cut myself on it, and hopefully the last.  I've had that mandolin for a year and every time I use it Robert reminds me to be careful lest I cut myself, cause he cut himself easily the first time he used it.  He is not accident-prone; I am.  It wasn't a horrible cut, but the location is right on the tip of my middle finger, which I use for typing.  OUCH!  I'm glad I have the rest of the year off work for one more reason!

Update

My laptop died about 2ish weeks ago. I'm very sad about it. If you follow me on Facebook you will see my hilarious posts lamenting its demise. Well, they're hilarious to me.

I'm doing this update from my phone and am finding it rather annoying (autocorrect doesnt think I mean what I think I mean) so I probably won't be doing it again soon.

I asked the kids to clean their bathroom today to make it presentable to the guests we will be having this evening (cooking a turkey dinner cause we like leftovers)(our neighbor/friends are coming cause they like turkey dinners) and it reminded me of a couple weeks ago when I asked them to clean it last time for company.  After making my request, Carus asked me who was coming over.  "Gramma and Grandpa are for Daddy's birthday."

"Oh, well then we're okay. We don't have to clean it. They don't mind."

Gotta love her reasoning. Ha!

Saturday was a Grand Day

I had a great Saturday.

I started out getting my hair cut and styled.  I'm growing it out, but I still need the occasional trim to get rid of split ends and keep it healthy.  It's down to the small of my back.  The hairdresser straightened my hair for my style for the day.  I've never had my hair straightened before - I'm usually trying to curl it - and I liked it.  Maybe I should get a hair straightener now...

And then!

We went into Portland to meet up with my dad.  It's been 5 years since I've seen him even though he's been in Portland a few times in that time.  He's a truck driver and rarely comes up here and when he does get up here it's only for a few hours and usually during the week when I'm stuck working.

AND THEN!!

I went over to G's house (a friend) to make blackberry brandy with her and her friend A*.  And drink wine (this Scuppernong that is like my favorite) and other drinks.  I tried actual brandy for the first time and though it was a cheaper brand (since it was being mixed with fruit - ginger and lime) it was still good.  It had a butterscotch-y, vanilla-y after taste to it. And A mixed my second lemoncello and cranberry juice and it was more lemoncello than juice and I wasn't able to finish that drink.  And then we played Mexican Train Dominoes and laughed our heads off.  It was a great night and I can't wait for the next one (drinking or not, I'll hang out with them)!

*Their names aren't G and A.  I'm just not sure about how internet famous they want to be so I am giving them monikers to go by.  I'm not being super creative, it's their first initial.  

Last week

A shot from my cake smash session last Sunday.  These babies are so stinking adorable!  They loved their cupcakes - and we enjoyed the leftover cupcakes.



My hosta is blooming.  The leaves aren't looking that great though.  I have a few plant munching bugs this year and I don't use pesticides (because of my plant eating dog) so I just have to deal.  It's not too bad though.



My dahlias in the front are blooming after taking so long to come up that I thought they didn't survive the winter.



And my lavender bush is doing AMAZING! I don't think it has a lot of bugs that snack on it though so...



My neighbor has a garden bed just over the fence full of wildflowers and these ones are tall enough that I can enjoy them over the fence.



Friday we had a game night and played Blokus, a pretty fun and fairly easy game.  I was red, Adam green, Carus yellow and Robert blue, and because I usually win the game I got ganged up on and lost that round.



Saturday I canned some spaghetti sauce since we've been out for about 2 months now.

Visit

Cheating on my 365 tonight - Robert took the picture because he didn't want to be in it (camera shy and all).

My aunt and uncle had a long layover in Portland on their way to visit their son in Alaska and asked if we were able to come hang out with them at the airport for a bit.  Luckily, we were able to.  It was a nice visit and all too soon it was time for them to head back through security and onto their gate and for us to head home. I haven't seen my aunt since 1995 or 1996, and my uncle since 1998 or 1999.

Happy Christmas!

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Happy Christmas!


Christmas day family photo.

Us with my in-laws, my father-in-laws parents and grandmother.  Pretty good company to have on holidays.




And because I have to show off my creative a bit more today (Carus helped too), behold my veggie Christmas tree!

7 days, day 3

We went to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum today and Carus and I had lots of fun playing around with all the shiny, prime 7 days surfaces.



Can you find us in all the pictures?  Carus and I are in each one.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a lovely day.  Our guests were my in-laws, Barbara and Alan, Alan's parents, Dave and Eula, and grandmothers, Helen and Edna.  This has been the usual Thanksgiving crowd for the past few years.  I wish some of my family could make it, but if I have to holiday without them it's nice to have some lovely company.




Since I was busy with the food, I put the camera on auto and passed it over to Barbara and let her take photos.  I did take the family sitting down to dinner shot that I counted as my 366 and one other shot in the slideshow, but the rest where by Barbara.  Thanks dear!

Wowed by fall

First off (unrelated to my 366 photo for the day) I'd like to say Happy Birthday to my oldest baby brother, Bud.  I miss you!


304:366

While working I try to get up every few reports and walk around a bit.  Sitting at my computer 8 hours a day can be hard.  I don't get much walking done, but the "lap" around the house, occasionally switching laundry over, does help a little bit.  I was walking by the front window this morning shortly after sunrise and was wowed by all the fall color being lit up by the sun peaking through the clouds.  It poured all weekend, and it was forecasted to continue into most of this week so I wasn't expecting to see the sun until late Thursday or Friday if I was lucky.  It was a very nice surprise.  I grabbed my phone and used Instagram to upload a quick shot to the internets.

When it started to look like I wasn't going to get a picture of anything else today, and the sun was still out (why does it not rain on a Monday when I'm stuck inside working?) I grabbed my camera; but none of those images were as good as the phone one from this morning.  The light was just too perfect.

Damn, Oregon. You're doing fall right!

Forest Grove Chalk Art Festival

Each year a local art gallery, Valley Art, hosts the chalk art festival. Last year was our first year attending (see).  Downtown Forest Grove gets blocked off and all the sidewalk squares are up for rent.  With your reserving fee you also get a box of artists chalk.  None of the big chunky little kid sidewalk chalk, although that stuff would be good to have if you need a lot of one color.  The art lasts for at least a month, if not more, depending on how much rain we get.  Some of the darker colors, or thicker colors will last through lots of rain.

Each year the chalk art festival coincides with the corn roast.  I'm thinking they do that on purpose so they are blocking off streets less often. I think next year we'll do more stuff there, we just walked through as we were leaving today.  Elmo was at the corn roast, but he wandered around the chalk art saying hi to all the little kids, and we got to meet him!!

Me, our friend, and Elmo.


Carus, her friend, and Elmo.


Anyhoo.  Unlike last year when it was cool and rainy, this year was warm and sunny!  The day started out nice and cool, but it didn't take long for the sun to pop out and really start to bake us.  I have a little bit of a sun burn to prove it!

Carus chose a sketch out of my sketch book and that is what we did.
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Gramma Barb came out to draw with us.  Here she is with her finished moon.


Things we MUST remember next year:

• Canopy/large umbrella.  Rain or shine, this would come in handy!
• Knee pads or gardening pads.  This year I brought towels to kneel on thinking they would work good enough - they helped but they were not good enough.  My knees are so sore.
• A chalk blending method other than our hands and fingers.  Carus gave herself a couple little blisters on her fingers rubbing on the concrete, and my palms are sore.
• Small broom to remove the dirt and leaves from the square before we start.  I kept getting splinters from bark mulch debris.  Annoying. 

Gramma and Carus took a break after we'd been there about 45 minutes or so and went around taking pictures.  Of course we did not get a shot of every square, but you can see what I did get here or just watch the slideshow below.