My tiny spot in the world

Otis

2009-06-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

I was shocked at how much I felt the news of his passing. He had an active day and died in his sleep. He was the best nephew dog a girl could ask for. He will be missed.

Aahhhhhh

2009-05-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

Remember when you were young and poor and just out on your own and you drove a car that had no air conditioning but it didn't stop you from driving around in the mind-altering heat? And remember when you'd suddenly drive into the shadow of an orchard and the difference in temperature was always astounding and you could smell the sweet fruit as you sped passed and you hoped the orchard continued for a good long time? I just experienced something similar to that on my bike. Not as intense since it's not mind-alteringly hot outside but just as sweet.

Hot Fun in the City

2009-05-14T11:08:00.000-07:00

This weekend I will be attending the Swedish Festival in my home town for the first time in 6 years. When I was growing up my family and I would get involved in some way or another. Before they had kids my parents made a float (for the parade) of Snoopy sleepy on top of his doghouse over their VW bug. After we showed up my mom put her energy into making us "authentic" Swedish costumes. I think I wore mine every chance I got. When I was in the 3rd grade my small rural country school was celebrating 100 years of existence and my parents made a float to resemble an old school house. My classmates and I got to dress up in "little house on the prairie" style costumes and recite our times tables during the parade.

The Swedish Festival is a wonderful mix of ridiculous cheesiness, greasy festival food and a celebration of everything awesome about childhood. We always start the day with Swedish pancakes in the park. Served with lingonberries, they are some of the best pancakes in the world although they are not as good as my dad's. As we eat the pancakes we watch the runners from the Dala Horse Trot (a 2 K run and yes the name just invites ridiculous jokes!) fly across the finish line. Then the May pole goes up just before the parade starts. Marching bands, trailers carrying Kingsburg High graduates from 40 and 50 years ago and the Basset Hound Waddle all make the parade a can't miss. Maybe I'll come home with a new family member.

Without fail the weekend of the Swedish Festival is always unseasonably warm and this year it'll be 103. Woo Hoo! It's not really a Valley visit without sweltering heat. With all sincerity, I can't wait! My sister's pool is waiting.

A Smooch Overcomes

2009-05-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

He has overcome the waiting and worry about a full-time teaching position! He has been hired at Chemeketa Community College as a film/writing professor and they are lucky to have him. He works very hard for his students and is an excellent teacher and he deserves this job. Good job Justus! I am proud of you!

Let's not forget though that he does eat pizza and vegan chocolate cake sandwiches among other things.

Birthday Stench

2009-05-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

Four square!

Ross brought his broken futon to burn in the fire

One of the birthday girls.........

So, even though we had an awesome fire-pit I have no photos of it. It worked pretty well though. After a bit we all realized there was stench coming for the fire. We all thought it had to be the futon wood burning. It wasn't. I had used some concrete slabs to line the fire-pit and had placed them tar side out. Woops!

A day in the life of Maurice

2009-04-15T17:40:00.000-07:00

This is Maurice

This is his toy cubby

These are all his toys

This blue wig from the dollar store is his favorite toy............

............unless his toy cubby is empty then he likes to sit in it and look at his toys

Maurice is weird

A world of gardens and baby jungle animals

2009-03-24T11:24:00.000-07:00

So far this spring break I've been sick so I haven't done much. I finally started to feel a little better yesterday and went to a nursery with Christie. We drove all the way out to Woodburn to go to Garden World (how can you resist a world of gardens?) only to find that they close the world on Mondays and Tuesdays. Bummer. That'll teach me to look at hours of operation. We considered going to RV World but figured they'd be closed too so we didn't bother. We did go to Portland Nursery once we got back into town. We both bought a lot of seeds and a little green house seed starter kits. Hopefully our gardens will be filled with lots of fruits and veggies this year! The world of Gardens is gettin' a visit from me though. I will enter that world, just not on a Monday or a Tuesday.

Today I decided to finish the baby blanket I've been working on. It came out pretty cute. The fabric is adorable. Thank you very much Bolt! I want some other ladies to find themselves in the family way so I have a reason to make more. In other words, please get pregnant just to please me and my desire to make baby blankest! Ha!

Whole blanket

Close-up

Look at du baby jungle animals

This blanket is for a baby girl but bolt has so many cute prints and so many that can be totally gender neutral.

I don't understand goodreads but I'm totally recommending these books

2009-02-28T12:35:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading this book.

It was so completely fabulous there are no words. Completely fabulous ARE words of course but they just don't cut it as far as describing exactly how good I felt it was and I can't think of any words that would "cut it". Or "wood" cut it. Now I'm just playing around and really no longer making much sense, but you laughed. I heard you! Well, so off I go now to this book.

He really needs to write more. There are very few writers that I just adore and they never seem to write as much as I would like them too (no, see here I won't make a joke about "would vs. wood" because I didn't use the idiom "cut it", pay attention!). However, before I let myself enjoy this novella I am finally going to read this book.

I have become increasingly interested in cooking with and eating natural foods grown on sustainable organic farms. It's hard to eat only food created under these conditions. Time and money are the major barriers but, you do what you can and when you can do more you do. Right now my focus is on unrefined sugar. I have seen t in regular granulated sugar form but have not, until now, found it in brown sugar and powdered sugar. Now if I can only find chocolate made with unrefined sugar my cookies will be increasingly better.

A Valentine's Day at home

2009-02-15T08:47:00.001-08:00

How Obama changed my refrigerator

2009-02-05T11:08:00.000-08:00

This poster has been hanging on my refrigerator since September of 2004. At the time I thought it would only need to stay up for a little while longer.

Unfortunately I was wrong. This poster was made by a 7-year-old girl and is titled "Thumbs down". I kept it on my refridgerator until we were finally rid of "president stinkhead" a term I find to be far to civil to describe our 43rd president. The poster was a daily reminder that the president did not care about the middle class. He did not care about children learning in schools that were falling apart. He did not care about the victims of hurricane Katrina. He did not care for the environment. He did not care that people were having to file bankruptcy because they couldn't pay medical bills. He cared about making money for himself and his friends. He cared about maintaining a facade of social conservatism in order to keep his "base" satisfied. Those are not priorities I share. Every time the poster would slide, scrunch and need to be readjusted I was reminded that I had to stay vigilant of things happening around me and try to change them even if only at a local level. Now we are in a state of a near financial collapse (yes I totally blame him!) and it gets closer and closer to home everyday. I am confident in our 44th president and that things will eventually change for the better. We need to be patient though and be prepared to work hard. I am so glad that my refrigerator now is only covered with pictures of my loved ones. That makes me smile every time I walk into the kitchen.

Getting to know me, getting to know all about me

2009-01-29T10:23:00.000-08:00

I've had a realization about myself and it only took 34 and-a-half years. Well, better half way through my life than never! I've been told that hanging out with me is like hanging out with someone you just met, no matter how many times you hang out with me. I can see how this would be very true. I am a closed off person. I didn't realize this, meaning that it's never been my intention to be closed off. This is how I get to know people. It has not been the ideal way to go about it in the least. Each time I hang out with someone new I learn a little more about them and the more I learn about them the more I can reveal about myself, the more I can be myself. I observe sense of humor, opinions, speaking styles, non-verbal communication and anything else that will tell me about my new acquaintance. I've been married to my husband for 6 and-a-half years and I am just now beginning to become comfortable around some of his family (even though I only see them on holidays and visits home). I see that they may appreciate or even enjoy my sense of humor. I take a risk and say things I wouldn't have 6 years ago. It feels good.

This is why I am so close to my family. I can trust them. They know my idiosyncrasies and do not judge me or if they do they present it in a way that I can hear.

It has occurred to me that my close friends, the ones who I can count on, the ones I trust and love the ones who feel more like my family, they have stuck with me. I am not an easy person to get to know but these people saw something in me that they thought was worth getting to know, no matter how long it took. My friends are some of the most important people to me in my life. This is one of the many reasons why. I appreciate you and you and you and you and you and you and you! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Walk 19 Albina to hilltop loop

2009-01-24T16:54:00.001-08:00

Today Amanda and I went on a chilly walk in her neighborhood. It was neat to see things as I walked past them instead of as I sped past them in my car. I had no idea there was a middle school across from Emanuel hospital. It overlooks the freeway and seems like such a strange place to put a school. I suppose the school was there before the free way was though.

At the bottom of the hill was this little info plaque about the history of Albina. It was once it's own town founded by scandinavians and russians. It was incorporated in the early part of the 20th century.

Amanda enjoys learning. The picture shows Union ave (now MLK) in the 1930's. At that time it had a streetcar running down it that led all the way downtown.

This was also where the Widmer brothers set up shop way back in 1987. They've expanded a good deal since then. The entire block on both sides of Russel is theirs now.

We wandered under the Fremont bridge and up to Mississippi where we strolled and looked in shops. We had to go into Flutter. It's just so irresistible! Even though I've been to the Mississippi area many times this walk had us meandering down streets and alleys I would otherwise not walk down. We saw beautiful houses and more historic sights. The views were once again spectacular which, I guess, is the difference between the hill walks and the regular neighborhood walks.

Sometimes you encounter legs on some steps. It is Mississippi. There's even a sign when leaving the area that says "Goodbye Hipsters". That made us laugh.

It was another enjoyable walk even though it began snowing and was very cold. It's nice to get outside every once in awhile as I wait for summer.

You're Stoooooooopid!

2009-01-23T10:41:00.000-08:00

Why, as a society, do we care more about who sticks their dick into whom than we do about a man stealing millions of dollars in a pyramid scheme? There are actual white collar criminals out there swindling people out of their money, placing these people in difficult financial positions and basically ruining the remainder of their lives. These swindlers are people who actually seem to enjoy hurting others in order to get what they want. Not a big issue in our society though. If it were it wouldn't happen so often. Meanwhile we have politicians fulfilling natural urges in their private lives with consensual partners and they feel like they need to cover up that fact, they decide to lie about it and then ultimately they get caught for the lie and suddenly the act is "wrong" somehow.

Bottom line: I don't care what people are doing in their private lives behind closed doors if it doesn't hurt anyone. I DON"T CARE! Are we really gonna spend tax payer money to see if Beau was 17 or 18 when he slept with Sam? Really? We already know that Beau consented so if he was 17 at the time the likelihood that he will press charges is very very low. So in a time of horrible recession, war and unemployment we're gonna focus our money and our energy on this? Is it really that important? It really isn't. We have more pressing issues to deal with here people. If you're really concerned about this "issue" then you either need to get a job, actually do your job or volunteer somewhere because you are waaaaaaay too bored.

You know you want to

2009-01-20T17:08:00.000-08:00

Three fabulous things happened today.

1. It is my wonderful sister's birthday. She deserves to be celebrated!

2. We have a new president who is not promising the land of milk and honey just competence and responsibility which is all we ever really wanted.

3. We finally settled the contract at work. We now need to vote on it in order to ratify it. We don't know any details about the settlement yet but we will be paid retroactively!

Not a bad day for a chilly January.

Now go out there and celebrate. Celebrate our peaceful transfer of power! Celebrate the fact that our economy may be in the tank but we do not live in a war zone! Celebrate Ingrid's birthday! Celebrate our contract settlement! Celebrate something! Life is too good not to!

The inner workings of a lunatics mind

2009-01-17T08:27:00.001-08:00

I love earmuffs. They keep the warm in and the cold out. They are a winter time necessity. I had misplaced my earmuffs and could not find them when getting out all the cold-weather accessories that one needs to survive in the cold. I asked for some earmuffs for Christmas and was surprised with 5 pair total (thanks again Steff!). I was very excited. Finally. I had my earmuffs back.

My ear muffs are especially useful when walking up Burnside against the wind. On Monday Justus dropped me off on the corner of 11th and Holladay as he does most days. This is where I catch the Max. On Monday I hopped out of the car, ran across the street and jumped on the train. Now, I have to get situated once I get on the train otherwise when it's time to get off I have to juggle so many things I would more than likely miss my stop. Here's how I get situated.

1. I hold my coffee between my legs.

2. I get out my ipod, put the buds in my ears, turn the power on, but I do not push play

3. I put my earmuffs on over my ear buds

4. I get out my book

5. I hold my coffee in my hand and read my book.

You see now I'm all ready to go when I get to my stop. Just pop the book back in my bag, press play on my iPod and I'm ready to go. Well, on Monday I sat down in order to begin my situation routine and I couldn't find my earmuffs. I looked and looked but they were not in the black hole that is my giant bag. I thought about where they could be and decided I must've left them at home by my hats and scarves. I made due.

When I returned home I still couldn't find them. I looked everywhere. In other bags, in pockets, in the car, under the couch. They weren't around. I was bummed. Lucky I got 5 of them for Christmas. I figured that they would turn up eventually so I grabbed my second black pair and stuck them in my bag.

On Tuesday Justus dropped my off at the corner of 11th and Holladay. I smooched him goodbye, hopped out of the car and closed the door. As Justus drove away I happened to look down at my feet before crossing the street and noticed a big black pair of ear muffs on the ground. I picked them up (I know!) and felt how soppy and heavy they had become after spending an entire 24 hour period in the same exact spot. My train arrived so I dropped them and ran across the street, jumped on the train and got out my iPod and earmuffs.

One down. Four to go.

Walk 10

2009-01-11T16:51:00.000-08:00

I purchased a book by local author Laura Foster, "Portland Hill Walks". Her books guide readers through different neighborhoods and parks while learning about different historical facts along the way. It's P.E. and local history class all rolled into one. It should totally be a high school class. The students could spend the first part of the week researching the historical facts and then at the end of the week go for a walk. Or, they could go for the walk first, noting all the historical facts along the way, and do a bit more research upon returning and then write a paper a bout it. Either way, that class would rock.

Today Amanda and I did "Walk 10: Multnomah Village to Vermont Hills Loop". We started at one end of Gabriel Park and walked through Multnomah Village stopping to look at the shops. On the corner of Troy and 36th is this fir tree. Planted in 1926 it has three equal sized trunks making it resemble a candelabrum or a harp. It has been featured on "Ripley's Believe It or Not" It must have been a year that they were hard up for some stories.

After that thrilling sight we were sent up steep hills into the neighborhood just above Multnomah Village. It was a beautiful day for walking. No rain and not too cold. We climbed to a peak known as the "Texas Hydropark". The city of Portland was smart and claimed the land at the top of all these hills to put the city's water tanks on. This way gravity can help them out. I learned that when there is more than one tank it's called a "water tank garden". The streets in this neighborhood are all named after states (hence the name Texas hydropark). We could not for the life of us figure out what sort of order they were in though. We had Nevada, followed by Texas and then California. Vermont was after that followed by Dakota.

We enjoyed more steep neighborhood hills that finally led us to the entrance of Gabriel Park. Once we entered the park we were greeted by dog after dog. We met a sweet-no-more-than 6 month old black lab named Dash. He was a Christmas present and was enjoying a walk with his "brother" and "dad".

At the end of our walk we came across what looked like a crazy rock with trees growing out of it but it was really a bulbous looking tree trunk.

We were satisfied to have walked three miles up and down hills while enjoying something new and also historical. I'm looking forward to the next one.

2009-01-09T13:57:00.000-08:00

Yeah, that's right

2009-01-05T12:12:00.001-08:00

I'm doing it again! Aren't we all though. Come on, admit it! You too have made a resolution to either "get in shape", "lose weight", or "get healthier". My focus this year is on losing weight and toning up. Hawaii is coming and I'm ready for it mentally. I just need to prepare for it physically. I don't want to feel flabby and pasty on the beach. I want to feel confident in my modest bathing suit that covers the appropriate amount of body for my age. It's true that I have a slender frame which allows me to more easily hide the fat that I have gained but there is no hiding the giant amounts of cellulite that are on my thighs from pube to knee. I would insert a picture here so that you would truly understand the situation but it's lunch time and I want you to keep your food down. Unfortunately no matter how hard you try the cellulite is here to stay but at least I can feel better overall.

I know my friend who has organized this little trip to Hawaii reads my blog every now and then and for that reason I just have to mention this:

His wife has a smokin' bod (in a totally non-lesbian-I'm-really-jealous-of-it kind of way). Maybe she can be my trainer.

Anyway, my plan is simple. I don't have to make too many changes but the changes I feel I need to make are gonna be difficult. Here's my plan:

Power yoga every morning (already do this!)

Power walks or longer walks at least three times a week.

Some sort of exercise activity on the weekend (snow-shoeing, gardening etc..)

Hooping once a week (yes! Finally doing it!)

No more beer, nightly which has been my habit (small bits of wine)

No more constantly shoving sugar down my throat (honey and real brown sugar are fine in tiny bits)

Increase fruit and veggie intake and choose nuts or cheese or fruit as a snack

I am allowing myself small bits of treats I love every once in awhile (like once a week) so I don't lose my mind.

That's right. I'm doin' it!

OMG!!

2008-11-29T08:40:00.000-08:00

Finally got to see Speech and Debate. It's pretty entertaining. Jennifer is great (as usual) but this time the rest of the play is great too. I really enjoyed it. If you haven't seen it yet I seriously suggest you go. Student tickets are only $10! Fun! Do it! Go!!

*edit* I totally forgot about DasVadanya Mama! That play was also really entertaining!

New Year's is coming early this year

2008-11-19T17:27:00.000-08:00

I've already started thinking about all the things I wanted to do vs. the things I've done this past year and am looking forward to this next year. You should read this in order to refresh your memory. When you're done with that you should read this too.

So what did I get done?

1. I did not quit smoking. I did try. J had a pretty hard time of it though and I used that as an excuse to continue. I still really enjoy it. This I know and isn't knowing half the battle?

2. I am totally more fit (ironic since I still smoke, I know!). I took a pole dancing class this last spring and J and I get up every morning (at 5am!) to do this

3. We've been eating more foods that I can grow myself or that are local and less foods out of a box. Hopefully this trend will continue this next year.

4. We did not make it to Astoria. Boo!

5. I did get to visit Ross! Several times!

6. J and I took more than one actual vacation this last year. We made it to New York/Boston and Amsterdam!

7. I made it to the Forestry Center and the Arboretum. The Historical Museum and the Chinese Gardens. I didn't get to go to OMSI but there's still time to go to the Grotto!

8. I didn't do a single thing to my floors.

9. I did not attempt a paint chipping party. I don't want to even think about paint chipping let alone asking other people to.

10. We re landscaped the front yard.

11. and built veggie boxes

12.I didn't get to play too much four square this year.

13. I did get to see the girls some but it wasn't once a month. That one's hard.

14. I did vote for someone AWESOME and things are looking better!

15. I still need to have high tea at the Heathman. Anyone?

16. I want to go sledding so very badly.

17. The Symphony is always magnificent.

18. I'm not really interested in seeing the birds any longer.

19. Snow shoeing!! Let's go!!

So, there are still several things on my list I want to do that I didn't get around to doing. I completed half of the items on my list this year. That's pretty good. It'll be fun to come up with a new list.

2008-11-13T10:31:00.000-08:00

I looked down at my hand and my thumb was all red. I thought perhaps it was the strawberry compote from my yogurt so I licked it off. It was not Strawberry compote but blood. Turns out a piece of flesh on my thumb had been gouged out. I poked at the open wound part right on the knuckle and couldn't feel a thing. So weird. I have no feeling in my left thumb.

iphoto makes me remember

2008-11-11T09:53:00.000-08:00

The newer version of iphoto on our newish computer is kinda nice. It's easier to find specific photos and the layout looks great. I enjoy it. So, because of this new iphoto I've been looking at old photos and found some that I had completely forgotten about. This reminded me of exactly why we take photos and why they are so great to have around.

Remember when my basement was this clean!?!

Remember this tiny tiny kitchen!?! I don't think you could open the refrigerator and the oven at the same time.

Remember the craziness of Amanda's slumber party!

It's fun to remember.

Second sick post of 08-09 school year

2008-10-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

This is the second illness of the school year. Seriously? WTF? This post is exactly one month after the first sick post. If I keep this up I'll have 10 illnesses this year and that is just not right. This is exactly the same sickness I had last month. Sore throat in the morning moving to stuffy stuffy nose in the afternoon. My eyes feel swollen and are stinging and I am so dizzy I can barely concentrate. I'm moving slowly slowly very slowly. I feel like sleeping. A lot. Bedtime tonight will be 8 pm, well, if I can stay up that late.

These posts will serve as my documentation of frequency of this year's sicknesses.

Sit in

2008-10-27T16:33:00.000-07:00

Here I am outside the superintendents office showing support for our bargaining team. We still have no contract and it's beginning to look kinda scary. We have been asked to make picket signs at the picket sign making table. That suggests a possibility of a strike. It just may be time to contact the parents and let them know we may be in need of financial support so we don't lose the house. I'm sure they'll be down.

It looks like as oregonians we are headed for some tough times. I would just like to say I blame Bush. It's his fault, this mess we're all in.

The greatest

2008-10-22T07:54:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have those ridiculous moments where what you're doing (or where you are) fit perfectly with a song that comes up on your ipod? That totally happened to me on Monday morning. I was riding the max to work sitting backwards and the song "the greatest" by Cat Power started playing. Everything was grey and cold looking outside and I happen to be riding past the more depressing part of the ride when it came on. Strange.

Vampire fan

2008-10-15T08:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was doing my end of the day check out with a 1st grader. I go into his room and have him practice his sound on the floor in the corner. There are about 5 kids in that room that have a few minutes to check out with me at the end of the day. One of the more precocious 1st graders came and sat down and as I was turning my binder pages to his name he said,

"Are your earrings for killing vampire's?" (I was wearing my little vampire stake earrings given to me by my husband and expertly crafted by my wonderful friend Ms. A-M)

"Why yes, yes they are for killing vampire's!" I said blown away by his observation. Not even adults know what they really are. I asked him if he watched any shows with vampire's in them;

"Yeah, Scooby Doo and the vampires."

I see some Buffy in his future!

I have a special power!

2008-10-13T08:27:00.001-07:00

Last night I woke up after having a nightmare about my assistant not coming in to work on Monday. I couldn't go back to sleep my brain was thinking about so many things. Today, my assistant called to tell me she was sick and wouldn't be coming to work. What a way to start a Monday!

You should try this

2008-10-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

Sometimes on Saturday mornings I want to wake up with a cup of coffee and some couch time. Unfortunately, I usually have nothing to watch so I watch the local home improvement show. It is TOTALLY cheesy but every once in awhile I learn something pretty useful. Take for example this;

To keep your drains clear of gunk, prevent them from clogging and keep them from smelling this is an awesome monthly treatment. Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda followed by 1/2 cup of white vinegar and let fizz for ten minutes. Follow up with a cup of boiling water. I did this to all my drains and it really works. It's fun too to watch the baking soda and vinegar react!

You should try it.

First sick post of the 08-09 school year

2008-09-30T07:57:00.000-07:00

Blaehck! Yes. It's true. It got me. I was hoping to make it to January without getting sick but alas it came much earlier than I had hoped. I forget how debilitating this sinus pressure can be. I feel very groggy and I can't think (except about my bed). Here's the silver lining though, once the sinus pressure starts the sore throat pretty much goes away.

An Early Anniversary

2008-09-25T17:38:00.000-07:00

The other night I was planning on making some Picadillo for dinner (Yum!). I mentioned to Justus that I needed to puree the tomatoes in the stupid blender since our food processor broke. I went upstairs to put on my evening wear (T-shirt and sweats, fancy, I know) and when I came down I found this:

In the part of this blog where it asks "about me" it just says I have a good life. I truly do. I have a fabulous husband. It's good to just stop and remember that I think. I truly have a good life and you have something to do with it. Now to blend a bunch of stuff up!

Charter schools and better teachers

2008-09-09T07:44:00.000-07:00

This is Barack's answer to improving our public education system. Did he take a symposium on education from the republicans? He's spent so much time with the american worker but how much time has he spent in a school? Not enough if he thinks the solution to our education problems are better teachers and more access to charter schools. Or he hasn't spent enough time in the right schools. The ones where he could actually see the ceiling falling down from water damage. Has he visited the kindergarten classroom that has the un-potty trained boy, the emotionally disturbed girl and the number of autistic children all in a class of more than 30?Yeah, it's the lack of qualified teachers. That's our problem. I don't work with a single unqualified teacher who is not 100% invested in these kids and their needs. If he thinks he can find someone who is more "qualified" to do this job than the dedicated teachers we already have then he is mistaken. I just lost hope.

Happy birthday to a wonderful Smooch!

2008-08-25T09:11:00.000-07:00

A tiny bird in the toaster

2008-08-07T09:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had the front and back doors open to get a nice cross breeze and to let the cats come in and out. I was sitting on the couch with the computer watching Tyra (yes, Tyra, she's hella entertaining) when Justus came into the room and said,

"Smooch, why is there a bird in here?"

I looked up and sure enough there was a tiny bird perched above the window. We spent some time trying to get it to fly out of one of the open doors but it just flew back and forth. It eventually landed on top of the built in book shelves and so Justus opened the front window (sans screen) and we got it to fly out. Few. No more bird. Until............

Three hours later it was time for the babies to come inside. We wrangled them up and closed the doors. About 5 minutes later I felt a draft go over my head and noticed the bird again and this time I yelled,

"Bird! Bird!"

This got Justus to come racing into the living room where he found me trying to keep the cats from mauling the poor little guy to death. We figured that the bird did not in fact fly out of the window earlier in the day but hid behind some picture frames only to be coaxed out later by Maurice. We got the bird to fly into the kitchen and were trying to coax it out the door but at this point in the day it was not flying too well so it would fly from perch to perch in the kitchen. It finally landed on the toaster and then dove head first right into one of the slots (this was a tiny style bird). We quickly unplugged the toaster and I carried it outside, turned it upside down and gave it a little shake and out come the bird. It flew to the fence in the backyard where I am hopeful that it made a full recovery from it's traumatic experience.

Maurice spent the following 30 minutes looking behind the picture frames to see if any more birds would fly out. None did.

No suburbia for me

2008-08-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

Last night we watched "The end of Suburbia" which I totally recommend by the way. Basically, we have reached the peak of oil extraction from the earth and we are on our way down. We can no longer live the way we do. We need to move to local economies now. It was really eye opening. Things I can do:

*try to get a job closer to home

*continue to grow fruits and veggies for consumption

*get some chickens (I mean if I had to I could eat veggies and eggs)