I LOVE DRAGONBOATS!!

So just a quick update between printing boarding passes for my mom's flight home tomorrow and Stan wanting the computer to look at rack systems for the KIA. We bought a kayak today! Yellow for me... matches the rest of my fleet, lol! Stan ordered a red one for himself which will hopefully arrive at REI in a week to 10 days from now. (He really wanted the "stan blue" one, but they were all out even for special order.)In the absence of a car rack we kind of just stuffed it in the trunk and bungeed it everywhere. (Stan was concerned that we didn't have a red flag to dangle on it, but I am certain NO ONE would be able to claim they didn't see 4 feet of BRIGHT YELLOW kayak poking out the back of the car like a lemon colored land shark.)

We also got much of the shed cleaned out. Shed cleaning usually occurs every time my mom visits. The cars all get extraordinarily clean as well. Anyway, the shed went from can't-get-in-the-doors to can-actually-stash-2-kayaks-and-still-walk-through!

Oh, yeah, dragonboats! It actually got over 60 degrees out this afternoon and THE SUN came out just in time for dragonboat practice! Jeffrey the Blue Heron greeted us at the boat, there were piles of Canada Geese with herds of fluffy, adorable babies, and swallows feeding babies in nests under the Ross Island bridge! Beautiful evening. The river is really high--the walkway to the docks, which is usually at about a 45 degree angle, is nearly horizontal now. The water is up almost to the walkway around Waterfront Park. It's not flooding like in 1996 by any means, but higher than at any time since then I hear.

Stan is hovering...I must go!

Birthday Barbeque Success

Sooooo.... It actually stopped raining for a little while yesterday, and we actually were able to have an outside barbeque for my birthday! At least we managed 1 hour & 18 minutes before the rain started and we retreated to the house. (It was only about 55 degrees out so too cold to hang out under the gazebo once the rain started...) Attending were Natalie, Therese & John, Nick and Stan and Grandma, Patrick and Alex & Alix. Alex & Alix came by on their way back into town from Bend. They went to Bend to see a Death Cab for Cutie concert and had camped at Tumulo State Park--where it snowed! Natalie gave me a very silly pair of wine glasses in a leopard print. I think I will ask her where she got them--those would be great to donate to the cheetah auction in October, along with a bottle of wine perhaps. I think there's one from South Africa that has a cheetah on the label even. Oh yeah! The CCF Gala in Windhoek is on July 15th so Heather will still be in Namibia for it! That according to the event calendar on the CCF website.

Spent this morning watching the Indianapolis 500 which was pretty great this year. I put out my race flag, which is bigger and lighter than most of my decorative flags. So it was fluttering in the wind a lot and Sophie kept growling at it!!

Otherwise have had a pretty lazy day. Took grandma to JoAnn and Value Village and have seen way too much television. Was enjoying America's Funniest Home Videos until she got annoyed that I was laughing. *sigh* Ordered a guide to the Birds of Namibia so I can try to identify the bird photos that Heather sent me. :-) Went to REI with Stan to return a couple items and looked at kayaks.

Nick's out having tea with Lindsay at Townsend's. Stan went to church tonight since we were watching the Indy 500 this morning.

Damien called me from England for my birthday! And Natalie also gave me a pile of refrigerator magnets from England, including a ROYAL WEDDING FRIDGE MAGNET!!!!!

We Don't Need Sunglasses in Oregon. Just Rain Gear and Fleece. In May.

Yes it is the END of May and still 40-some degrees out. Grandma arrived Tuesday. I still couldn't get the top back on the Jeep right so I had to fetch Grandma from the airport in rain and 48 degrees with the top KIND of on and only one window half zipped in. She was actually a good sport about it and just pulled out a scarf to keep her hair from getting messed up!

We've mostly been shopping and cooking and watching TV. Kirstie Alley did NOT win Dancing With the Stars and Scotty DID win American Idol. Oprah Winfrey did her last show. And Sara Palin is talking about actually running for President. That ought to liven up the news if she does!

Got some of Heather's Africa pictures printed out and started a photo album for Grandma. And a scrapbook for here. Needs some Lion King stickers. Definitely.

Grandma wanted to buy clothes for my birthday. (Of course--though I really prefer to get flowers for the yard this time of year.) So we went to Penney's and I found 2 dresses I quite like! I'll be wearing them for weddings and Broadway shows, etc this summer.

Stan just accused me of writing an essay (I'm typing on my phone while in bed) and started reciting the Gettysburg address. I found I could pick up after the first paragraph and recite most of the rest of it--I had to memorize it in 7TH GRADE! My brain is so full of unnecessary stuff!!

Also went to a meeting for Los Embajadores, which Sharon Stevenson is apparently still chaperoning but Steve is not. Officially registered for classes at Mt Hood Community College for fall. Read with the 2nd graders. (Mostly they were practicing reading mass parts because they were in charge of the school mass the next day.) Had dragonboat practice in cold drizzle on a high river with a racing current and a lot of wind. That was a good challenge actually. The kind where it wasn't boring but I didn't crash or fall in. Aaaand I continue to shovel out the house. Tomorrow I must really get on that as Stan is having a barbeque for my birthday on Saturday. But of course it's supposed to be cold and rainy.

Oh, yeah, Natalie came home from her trip to see Damien in England to find that her boyfriend Phil had moved out. Then she got laid off from her job. So starting next week we have plans to get together during the days and get some serious exercise.

Now the day sums up with my heater on, the windows open, the cat curled up on a blanket beside me and I'm typing a blog on my phone while at the same time trying to discuss who is Arab and who is not in the Middle East with Stan. I feel it would be helpful to have Liz's input. Or at least Google's. GOODNIGHT!

Then the Whole House Exploded

So the main task for the last few days has been shoveling out Heather's room, which was filled to the brim with stuff removed from Claire's house at the last moment before the house sale, boxes and suitcases of stuff Heather sent home from school, and random extra furniture. Except for the game table, all is removed from Heather's room enough that Grandma will be able to use that space now. HOWEVER, we now can't use much of the rest of the house.Note where Sophie is... *sigh* She's SOOO predictable!

So now I have a Jeep full of stuff to take to Value Village on the way to the airport to pick up Grandma.

Oh, btw, while I was going through Claire stuff I did a little research on two oil paintings she had. On the back they have a date (October 16, 1930) and some other writing in a foreign language.

Found out they are paintings of a couple of landmarks in the town of Hoorn in the Netherlands. There doesn't seem to be an author's signature anywhere, but it says (I think)"Baart's Kaashandel" where Baart seems to be a surname and kaashandel means a cheese merchant! So the mystery is still not completely solved...

The Hoofdtoren (a tower from the 1500's)

Oosterpoort, the last remaining city gate, also from the 1500's

Dinner with the President

Stan is eucharistic minister at church this morning so we had to be at church a half hour early so I'm blogging in the bathroom at church, lol! Anyway, yesterday I had coffee at Starbucks with Therese. It was great to see her for the first time in a LONG time, and super exciting that Starbucks had COCONUT LATTES back after a 4 year absence! I actually did a happy dance. Therese ordered one, too, and the barista says, "But you're not QUITE as excited about it though?" And Therese says "Actually I am, but I'm a bit more shy".

Then it was off to dragon boat practice where I didn't crash or fall in and we ran two practice races. We were the last boat out and had to haul in the practice flag buoy which was a bit of an adventure. Never did that before.

Then in the afternoon we headed up to Mt. Hood to the Mazama Lodge for a dinner and show. They had an actor who plays Teddy Roosevelt doing a dinner speech. He was very good and it was a very enjoyable evening. Max was all dressed up and playing maitre'd at the door. The food was fabulous of course. There's still snow up there, btw...

Soon-to-be FOUR College Students in the Family...

After driving to PSU with Nick (his driving practice) I spent the morning doing Mt Hood Community College's online orientation and then drove out to MHCC to meet with an admissions person, take my college transcripts so I don't have to do placement tests, etc. I wore my Boston sweatshirt which the admissions advisor was very excited about as she is from Boston! Anyway, I can officially register for Fall term next week now.

It's a Jeep-top-down kinda day! Though I did have the top down AND the heat cranked this morning as it was still in the upper 50's. Probably pushing 70 and sunny now and I'm working in the yard again. Planning out a walkway to the gazebo and shed from the deck. Sophie's napping in the shade.

Got an email from Colleen today. She had her visa extended a month so she can do some traveling in Chinaafter she is done with her job at the end of May. She's been reading Heather's blog, too. (Blog, Baby, Blog!)

Got some wildflower seeds, from Norton, Massachusetts btw, that I think I will fill one of the raised beds with. I liked having wildflower bouquets handy last year!

This weekend it's. supposed to rain again, so then it will be time to clean up the "guest room" for Grandma's arrival next Tuesday. It's kinda stuffed full of random stuff from Claire's house mostly ...

But for now enjoying the rare Portland sunshine!

I'm a REAL tiller now!

Yeah.... I managed to get dumped in the Willamette at dragonboat practice last night! Exact same spot that Keegan did it, pulling out of the dock where the wind and the current suddenly kick in. The good news is that it was almost 70 degrees out, and the only real injury was to my ego!

Otherwise I have spent most of the last couple days working on the yard, weeding and planting as it hasn't been raining.

About to put the top down on the Jeep and go run some errands. I think I need to go to a really far away grocery store today... Nick wants to make Monte Cristo sandwiches tonight, and we're pretty much out of all the staples so gotta go!

I just love the view from back here...

I LOVE TILLING A DRAGONBOAT! Last night we had our first practice at flag catching. Three runs with three different catchers and we got all three!! I also managed to get out of the docks without incident AND parked without having to draw! :-)

This morning I let Nick drive to school, then treated myself to Starbucks. By that time it wasn't quite so drizzly so I've been planting and weeding the yard. A bunch of the stuff in the planters at the end of the driveway have died off so I started to replace them. Found out why they're dying off-- the planters are filled with sand instead of dirt!! So I have to dig them out and fill in with dirt first. Aaaargh! That will happen another day for most of it as it's raining again now.

Now for an exciting afternoon of laundry and housecleaning... Then I'm cooking a chicken peanut satay stir fry for dinner. A little different even though it's technically stir fry and rice AGAIN....

While Heather's on a plane...

After several days of packing, sorting, mailing, and foisting Heather's posessions off on various roommates, we finally headed off to Logan Airport this morning. ("Morning" is used in the technical sense... 3 am doesn't feel like morning!) After she checked bags and headed for security, I had a good portion of the day left in Boston with a rental car. So I decided to head off to the Concord/Lexington area. I've never been there before but have often intended to.

First I needed to find a gas station. I tried to use my GPS but had a really hard time navigating in Boston with it. There are so many layers of roads, overpasses and tunnels that it all looks like spaghetti on the screen! Anyway, I did manage to find a station before I actually ran out of gas . It wasn't the one my GPS intended me to find, but as a bonus there was a Starbucks next door!

By the way, I didn't have any trouble with traffic in Boston-- I don't know what everyone complains about! (Ok, so maybe it WAS 6 am on a Saturday morning...)

So with my Caramel Macchiato in hand I headed to Walden Pond! I sipped my coffee beside the peaceful, morning-misty pond with only the birds and a couple fisherman around. I spent about an hour strolling all the way around the pond and checked out the site of Thoreau's cabin. It is nice and pretty and peaceful but not in any way remote! There's traffic noise, airplanes flying over and a train going by periodically near the site of the cabin. Apparently that train was there when Thoreau lived there as well! He would walk about a half hour along the tracks into town to visit his parents most days.

Then I headed off to Concord and Lexington, where the first battles of the Revolutionary War were fought. Both towns are typical New England towns, with Colonial houses, a picturesque downtown with a small common and a bandstand. There was a plant sale going on in Concord with some tempting offerings, but yeah, how would I get them home? There was a little cemetery nearby that I poked around in a bit. Most of the headstones actually predated the Revolutionary War! Most of them were engraved with the winged death head familiar from the old Puritan graveyards in Boston.

I headed toward Lexington through the Minuteman National Historic Park. The visitor center had a really great multimedia show describing the events in detail about the battle that took place along the road from Boston to Concord and back again. Then I headed back out to actually see some of those sites. As I was pulling off the road to stop at the site where Paul Revere was captured by the British while on his "Midnight Ride", the radio station on my car radio randomly played "Stars and Stripes Forever"!! Awesome...

The flight home was extremely uneventful and I spent all day Sunday being LAZY!!! Now I'm off to plant some flowers that I bought before heading to Massachusetts.

Cheetahs, Dragons and Babies... Oh My!

Spring finally arrived this weekend! (Our annual 2 days of it...) I am finally spending a little of it outdoors. I have tilled up the raised beds in the backyard and discovered that the hummingbirds are still around. Stan mowed the lawn and is now vacuuming out the cars.

Stan had a good time at the St Martins dragonboat race in Olympia. He even came home with a medal! (Ok, so apparently everyone got a medal...) St Mary's Academy was there, too, but Missy was not. I had thought to get my paddle back. Anyway, there is a girl on our team this year named Nana who usually paddles on the Hampton Woods team. They aren't paddling at Rose Fest this year so she joined PCC. Stan was talking about you being on the SMA team and she says, "Oh I think that's the team we ran into during a Rose Fest race a few years ago". LOL!!!!

Today I went to JaCivas for cake decorator Lonielle's baby shower. She got some really cute baby clothes. There was a tiny t-shirt that said "I Still Live with my Parents" and a onesie that said BUDDAH BELLY and had a picture of that statue like the one at that Chinese restaurant we frequent.Her mother-in-law raises alpacas and had a tiny beanie had made from alpaca wool. She also got a denim western shirt style onesie from the feed store in Battleground, lol!

Turns out Lonielle's sister-in-law is a travel agent and about to graduate from Mt Hood Community College in the same program I'm thinking of doing next year. It was good to pick her brain for a bit.

I already told you all about the cheetah thing so I won't repeat it here since this is a bit time consuming to type on my phone!

Think I'll sign off and go get a beer. Goes so well with thinking about yardwork...