Monday, February 27, 2006

End The Rain...

If I ask the sky
Will it end the rain
Can the sun break through
Brighten up the day....

by David Christopher

Another series of storms is upon us. The wind knocked over my birdbath last night and screamed around the corners of the house until all hours. If only there were a wind police...I believe that would be considered "disturbing the peace". Actually, as I am sitting here looking at the coastal range, the fog is lifting and the sky looks lighter. It HAS ended the rain! (at least for a few minutes. We'll take the reprieve!)
Another weekend has come and gone. They go so fast.... We spent most of Saturday in St. Helen's at the middle school's final wrestling tournament of the year. Dustin had three matches-lost the first to a kid with a bit more experience and honed skills, won the second and lost the third by one point. Neither boy in the third match got the pin. Their skill level was pretty even up. Dustin was very upset with himself for losing, but it was a very good match. We hope he sticks with it and continues to learn more next season.
Shilo started her new job at Papa Murphy's Pizza on Saturday. So far she likes the job and the people better than her last position. She is very eager to work and earn that money! Since getting her permit, I believe she see's visions of small pickups dancing in her head when she sleeps. I long for the by-gone days of sugarplums dancing in her dreams. They grow up so fast...
Riff and I went to our favorite movie theatre, (The Columbian), and took in the 4th Harry Potter movie. We both quite enjoyed it. What could be better than Harry Potter, beer and pizza. (Oh, did I mention beer?)
My long awaited Queen Elizabeth climbing rose bush arrived from the Michigan Bulb Company, so Sunday found me on my hands and knees cleaning out the flower bed where she is to reside. I pulled out all the gravel the last owners had placed there and was pleasantly surpised to find wonderful, rich soil underneath. A bit of peat moss and I was ready to plant. Riff had given me a miniature pink rose (variety unknow) for Valentine's Day, and the bed is big enough, so Elizabeth and Mini are co-habitating side by side. A couple of my prized rocks and a well placed solar, cracked crystal ball later and WAH-LA (?) a nice new beautiful flower bed right next to the front porch. I will be putting a iron trellis in soon, so Elizabeth can climb to her (and my) hearts content.
I can hardly wait for spring....

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Driving my life away...Looking for a Sunny Day...

Wow, this week has really gotten away from me! Thursday already. Last Friday found us traveling at warp speed down I-5 in the direction of Red Bluff, Californ-I-A. A long overdue trip to visit Dad and Sharon. We ran into a bit of snow over the Siskiyou's, but nothing bad, just pretty. Pulled into the driveway about 4 o'clock after several pit stops along the way. Sharon had a delicious roast waiting for us and smoked salmon for an appetizer. yum....
We seemed to have dragged the chilly coastal weather with us, as Saturday's California sunshine never showed its face and the temperature topped out at a balmy 44 degrees. Sunday was nicer with the sun out and the temp in the mid 50's.
We had a very good visit with the parents and really enjoyed seeing Tommy and Andy. Tommy is 19 now, finishing up his High School Diploma and getting ready for the Marines. He has turned into quite the handsome lad, as has Andy. Andy is 15, a sophomore and enjoyes fishing as much as Dustin does. They spent alot of time together on the banks of the Sacramento river.
We headed for home on Sunday with a turn off of the freeway at Sutherlin to the coast. Up Hwy 101 where we took a much needed break at the Sea Lion Caves. The kids had never been before and really enjoyed the roar of those old Lions. Quite a few babies in there this time of the year. There was about 150 Sea Lions in there taking their afternoon naps. Silly critters!!

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Crazy Drivers...

RUH-ROH!! Shilo passed her drivers permit test yesterday. Watch out one and all.......

It's Thursday, the sun is out, and we are headed to Red Bluff, California in the morning to visit my Dad. Life is good....

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

I Love You...I Love You Not?

I Love You Not
By Bruce Lansky

I love you, I love you,
I love you so well,
If I had a skunk
I would give you a smell.
If I were a dog
I would give you a bite.

If I were a witch
I would give you a fright.
If I were a bathtub
I'd give you a splash.
If I were a fungus
I'd give you a rash.

I love you so much
That I won't tell a lie,
I promise we'll marry
The day that I die.

Ah...Valentines Day. Shilo came home from school today in quite the mood. Her boyfriend is gone for a week, which made her want to take everyone else's roses and candies and hit them over the head with them. Hmm... maybe anger management is in order!!!

Riff and I celebrated this past weekend with a jazz concert at the Liberty Theatre. The musicians were wonderful. All three have played with and written music for many different stars. I was really a nice concert. We had not been in the Liberty yet, and boy is it beautiful. It is an old opera and playhouse built in 1925 and just recently restored to it original grandeur. What a great job they did!

This past weekend we also put up trim in Shilo's bedroom and painted it "violett harmony". We purchased carpet and Riff is still in the process of laying that. The next step is a new electrical outlet next to her bed and a wall-mounted lamp, then an overhead lighting fixture in the larger part of her room and she will be good to go.

Dustin once again went snowboarding at Mt. Hood with the school. They had a really long day this time. The bus left the middle school at 6 am and returned very close to midnight. He had a great day...

Riff and Dustin took the raft and went fishing on Cullaby Lake on Sunday morning. They witnessed many large fish jumping and having a good ole time, but not a one would give them so much as a bump on their lines. Wasn't for lack of trying!

We woke this morning to a ground covered in hail. By the time I roused the kids, it was actually snowing. We live at the beach -IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO SNOW!!!!

Enough for today-----
May you all be blessed with chocolates.....

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Happy Birthday, Riff!!

"Happy Birthday To You, You Live In A Zoo..."

Riff celebrated ANOTHER birthday on Saturday...He just keeps having one every year! He mentioned that he heard the words "old man" a few too many times in the last several days. Hey, we just call it like we see it!! Shilo and I were recovering from a nasty bought of the flu, so took it pretty easy all weekend. It was fairly blustery (80 mph winds), so went to check out the wave action at the south jetty, but caught it at low tide, so nothing terribly exciting. There was alot of debris on the beach from all the storms of late. Much more than we typically see here.

Riff recieved a new miter saw for his birthday that he got to pick out himself, an Allman Brothers concert on DVD, (Live at The Beacon), and an old Jeff Bridges Movie, (Rancho Deluxe) from me. Shilo gave him the new Dukes of Hazzard movie on DVD and Dustin gave him the biggest Dungeness Crab he could find at the store. He and I also went out to dinner at the Columbian Cafe in Astoria. It is a very small place-3 booths and the bar. The Chef/Owner serves up delicious New Orleans style meals that he cooks on a small grill right behind the bar. It is always served with the house beer bread, then a french bread toast and the three jellies that he also makes. (Garlic-my favorite- Jalapeno & Red Pepper). MMM--good!

Some sunshine the last several days. My crocus' are blooming and the daffodils are poking their necks up out of the soil....Has spring sprung??

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Buckets of Rain....

...Buckets of rain, buckets of tears, got all them buckets comin' out of my ears....BOB DYLAN

It has sure been raining buckets around here lately! Another storm blew in last night and huffed and puffed and blew the electricity right out... Funny how no lights make us feel a little bit insecure in our own homes. Kids go scrambling around for candles and flashlights, dogs need to come in and stare at you as if to ask "what is going on?!", you can't cook dinner on the stove or in the oven (we fired up the trusty old grill and had hotdogs), and OH MY GOSH, what if someone needs to poop!!!! Makes you realize how dependent you really are. We are by far not independant individuals leading our own lives. How silly of us to think that!!

Before the lights went out, Riff and I went to Dustins wrestling meet at the middle school. It is his first year and he is doing really well and enjoying himself. Yesterday they did not have anyone for him to wrestle in his class and weight group, so they popped him up to class 1. The kid he was up against had alot more skill and technique than Dustin had going on and pinned him in the first round. Dustin, of course, was very upset, but we explained to him that it was very good experience for him and he did fight back and wrestled well. So far this season, he has been matched up with 8 guys and has won 6 of those matches. Doing very well....

Shilo has been fighting a nasty cold for a couple of weeks, so took her to the doctor this morning.
Just that, a nasty cold. She has fluid in both ears and has lost her voice, (not such a bad thing, if you ask me and her dad!!), but should be getting better soon. Being 16, it's hard to get her to slow down and rest some. She might miss something, you know!!

And to all - a good(rainy) night....