Hooligan

How to wrap a Christmas Present

2011-12-21T07:35:00.000-08:00

Six steps: elegant instructions for wrapping an elegant present and preserving peace in the home:

1. Prepare the wrapping surface: the dining table:
1a. Move the pile of borrowed books and a Christmas table decoration to a chair
1b. Move the unopened boxes of Christmas cards (to be opened, signed, addressed, and mailed next year?) and another decoration to another chair.
1c. Ribbon-hang the received Christmas cards:
1c(1). Go to the garage for hammer, three brads, and the step stool.
1c(2). If not already in hand, get the three red ribbons. If already in hand, go to 1c(3).
1c(3). Gently tap the ribbon into the pillar, preferably into last year's hole.
1c(4). Return hammer and step stool.
1c(5). Go to office for stapler.
1c(6). Staple cards to ribbons.
1c(7). Return stapler. If you're thinking ahead, get the scotch tape.
1c(8). Recycle envelopes, but save the return addresses if people have moved.
1c(9). While saving addresses, respond to sleeping-flailing-husband's dumping entire mug of mocha in the living room. (Give thanks that it is now hardwood and not carpet; otherwise go through the carpet cleaner exercise.) For brevity, the clean-up steps are not detailed here.
1d. Move other miscellaneous paper, pens, and reading glasses to nook table.
2. Re-warm tea.
3. Stop to blog on how to wrap a present.
4. Take a Tylenol for headache if needed.
5. Remember the cleaning lady is coming; move the extra Christmas boxes to the spare room.
6. Size paper, wrap, tape, label.

Now how easy is that?!? Ready to wrap a second gift. After a nap perhaps.

20 questions

2011-12-04T20:46:00.000-08:00

Brooke said I 'had' to do this.

Words you always misspell typing: I have to watch that I get "manager" rather than "manger," but it's really because that second "a" is taxing the weakest finger (weak hand pinkie, poor thing.)

Words you don't know how to spell: If you throw an uncommon word at me, I might blow it, but otherwise not a problem.

Things that really annoy you: Self-centered people -- really suck the life out of me.

What's that meal you can always eat over and over again? None. I'm fine with leftovers, don't get me wrong. But the third night of something is really pushing it.

Do you brush your teeth at night? Yup, floss too!

Dumbest movie ever: Me and Irene was weird-dumb. Pulp Fiction (I know some people like it) was bad enough that we only watched 30 minutes or less.

What's a song that you would be embarrassed to admit you really like? Embarrassed, no. But you could try to rib me about "Bare Necessities" from the Jungle Book!

Are you capable of eating an entire bag of candy in one sitting and not feeling THAT sick? No, assuming you're talking about a multi-pack like a pound of mini-Snickers. But a regular serving size bag of Peanut M&M's - sure I could do that.

Do you love sea food? Yes, though getting restaurants to get the salt just right can be a challenge.

When you fix meat, are you anal about what you've touched, and sanitize a lot? Yes. I turn the kitchen tap on first because I know I'm going to want hot water in a minute.

Do you put your leftovers in the fridge after dinner in fear of it spoiling or can you wait? After dinner, of course.

Do you use a sponge or rag to wipe your counters? Depends. If it's related to wiping up meat juices, I'll get a paper towel so I can toss it.

What's your favorite Holiday? Does Saturday count ? ; )

What's your favorite pie? Hmm, apple, pumpkin, very good. But marionberry is da' man!

What's your favorite candy bar? Used to be Snickers. Not so much candy bars these days, but a charity selling See's dark chocolate with almonds can sucker me in.

When you pick something up at the store and change your mind, do you put it away? Yes. But I seldom pick up something that wasn't planned for, so I'm not changing my mind.

Do you like raisins in your Cinnamon rolls? Yes. But I prefer them un-raisined. And I really prefer them unfrosted.

Do you shower every day? Every single morning. I don't feel awake until I've showered.

Are your dreams scary? No, though I don't remember them much.

Do you like scary movies? Not my favorite. Mysteries yes, but I think that's different.

Do you like roller coasters? So-so. Brooke made us be in the first car of on that went straight up, then around a loop the other direction and stopped for a moment -- we were facing straight down, with nothing between us and the ground (some 40 feet down?)

Do you have a fear of needles? I'm okay, but still best if I don't watch the stick. And remember to breath.

What's your guilty pleasure TV show? I don't think "Bones" qualifies as guilty pleasure.

What is something you're really stuck up about? I have the cutest, happiest, baby granddaughter.

When you're at a restaurant, can you ask questions about the food? Yes.

Are you a lake or a river person? Ocean. Puget Sound and Canadian Gulf Island passages. Oh, and British Virgin Islands. And Hawaiian Pacific.

Are you a good swimmer? Just enough that I could stay alive for a long time.

Do you like to camp? Used to. It's been a long time since we've really roughed it.

Do you like rodents? Isn't the definition of rodent something like "the weed of mammals, nobody likes, and everyone wants to get rid of?"

Are you afraid of spiders? No. They get smooshed when I see them, but not because I'm afraid.

If you could be an amazing singer or dancer, which would you be? Singer.

ROW80 (round of words)

2011-10-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

julierow80.blogspot.comAt Brooke's urging, I'm picking up writing again.

Supreme Being

2011-08-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

Forgot to post last week that I discovered there is a Supreme Being. Remember my story about brussels sprouts ("b.s.")? http://juliebike.blogspot.com/2009/12/brussels-sprouts.html

Short version: I don't like 'em!

Ben asked me to plant some "b.s". a few months ago, and Mike likes them too, so for my guys I gave up some garden space, planting six starts. This spring/summer was very odd weather, so I kept waiting for the stems to shoot up (the "b.s." grow around a stem, if you didn't know). Waiting, and waiting, and I thought maybe it just won't happen because the weather messed up everything. The plant leaves, however, were getting HUGE.

Last week I discovered they are getting cabbage heads, not "b.s."

There is a Supreme Being after all!

Brat bum

2011-08-18T20:12:00.001-07:00

Kid (early teens) at the bus stop: "Do either of you have money so I can ride up to 99th in Hazel Dell?" I offer him a single-trip ticket. "Uh, no, I can't take your pass. I mean, I need the cash."

Uh-hmm...

N8 and Kylea going nose to nose

2011-07-14T14:30:00.000-07:00

Nate says: "When you are older, you will ignore the boys."

K thinks: "I'm going to eat your nose!"

B3 says it's just an Eskimo kiss.

Hey, something bike related!

2011-07-10T19:13:00.001-07:00

You would think that with a blog "Julie Bike" there might be something bike related at least once in a while.

Your wait has ended!

[Warning: when I told my co-worker, Melissa, about this, I thought she was going to pee her pants.]

Last Thursday I biked to work. There's a whole routine I have to go through the night before so I can just roll out of bed, brush my teeth, pull on the bike clothes, maybe load a couple of last minute items, and hit the road. That evening routine includes:
-Check the tire presssure
-Layout the bike clothes
-Figure out what I'm wearing the next day (unless I've previously dropped stuff off at work)
-Figure out what I'm eating the next day (pack what I can in the bike bags; put fridge stuff in one place to grab in the morning)

I've always worried that I'll end up at work without proper undergarments, then have to wear a sweaty sports bra all day. Yuck. So undergarments always go in the bike bag the night before, too.

Check, check, check, check. All good Wednesday night. And a good ride Thursday morning, a bit of a tail wind, so I am at the office 6:00 am, ready to shower. In my office, pulling the supplies out of my drawer (towel, shampoo, etc.). From the bike bag, undergarments and,

and,

Uh-oh. No work clothes. I picture my pinstripe blazer and skirt, with the red top, hanging outwards on a hanger in the closet. Still hanging there. So I have to call my hero, Mike to bring in my clothes. Of course it will be a few minutes, because he has to get dressed. Fine, fine, half an hour is good because I can go ahead and jump in the shower; I have a fresh bike top I can put on until he calls that he is at the back door.

Epilogue: when we went to the Farmer's Market today, I took THREE sets of clothes into the office!

Parkinson's Disease

2011-07-02T17:31:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to an NPR story on Parkinson's, from a son's perspective.

www.npr.org/2011/06/18/137235480/dad-refuses-to-pass-down-inheritance-of-illness

I thought it did a good job of explaining how Parkinson's Disease (PD) is about so much more than tremors.

Politics again

2011-05-09T20:36:00.001-07:00

So maybe this is lazy blogging, but here's another taste of our local politics, copies from our local paper www.columbian.com/weblogs/local-politics/2011/may/06/the-gift-of-gab/:

During Wednesday's work session on increasing the 911 tax, the men in the room far outnumbered the women. In addition to the all-male roster of county commissioners, county administrator and director of the Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency, there were male representatives from fire districts and other emergency response agencies.
And it was the men who had the biggest reaction to a comment by Commissioner Tom Mielke.
CRESA Director Tom Griffith was telling commissioners why 911 dispatchers can't take on additional work, which would be necessary if commissioners didn't increase the monthly excise tax from 50 cents to 70 cents. Ten dispatchers would be laid off, Griffith said.
Griffith was describing how he marvels at how fluidly dispatchers switch between conversations, as a dispatcher is often carrying on two conversations at once. A dispatcher might be relaying information to a police officer while also taking a call from a citizen who is reporting a crime or calling for medical help, for example.
It's difficult to keep all the facts straight, Griffith said.
"Isn't that the reason we have women to do that work?" Mielke asked.
Well, that stopped the discussion.
Commissioner Marc Boldt looked at me writing in my notebook and said, "That wasn't me who said that."
The rumblings in the room prompted Mielke to add, "That's a compliment, by the way."

County politics

2011-04-02T18:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry, more politics. Our county intranet has a new spot on the county "reconfiguration," and it mentioned a new county mission statement (which we had never heard of, tho' supposedly adopted last year). Here it is. Ready? There's more, but this is just the intro:

Mission and Values In 2010, the Board of Clark County Commissioners adopted the following mission statement:‘To better serve the will of citizens,’ or ‘…the will of the people’

Explanation of Mission Statement The mission statement stems from the first words of US constitution’s mission statement, “We the people…” This is very different than the “We the elite…” wording implicit in so many other founding documents of the past.

Weather

2011-03-30T21:47:00.000-07:00

Ooh, ooh, I haven't posted in over two months (except in my new blog: http://reportergaffes.blogspot.com). So quick make something up. We've only been back from vacation 10 days, so how have ya'll put up with this gray drizzle for most of the last 8 weeks? Nasty.

More politics

2011-01-23T20:21:00.000-08:00

I probably shouldn't post this. I never intended my blog to become a political post, but c'est la vie. This morning's local paper had a story from our county business that I somehow didn't hear about this week. And it seems these comments should have run through the building like a fire storm. Does that mean we're becoming numb to idiocracy? After I read this story to hubby even he (a Republican) said "some Republicans have gone off a cliff."

The link is below; here's a taste:

[County Commissioner] Mielke said his parents took care of him, and he takes care of his family. He said homeless teenagers are "children who don’t want to abide by the rules of the house so they run away."

www.columbian.com/weblogs/local-politics/2011/jan/19/mielke-were-not-china-not-yet/

Horrific and Lucky

2011-01-16T09:30:00.000-08:00

My cousin Rhochelle posted this information on Facebook. See the red VW in the middle of chaos? That is her daughter Lisa's car.

The two of them were at a stop when a SUV ran the red, crashed into another SUV or truck making a turn, and flew OVER their VW. The motorcycle rider was not killed, but three people in the SUV's were. Many other vehicles involved that don't show in this picture.

Contradictions: observations from a government employee

2011-01-04T12:13:00.001-08:00

The elections are over, which just means the next ones are starting. Sigh. But during the lull, I have a few observations to make on regular citizens, and their thoughts about "the government."
My career in public service is at 27 years. Curiously, some citizens seem to spew more vitriol as time passes, although agencies have (I think) become more responsive to requests and even more proactive in citizen outreach. Anyhow, I won't cover 27 years of thoughts here, just recent contradictions:

Overall, some citizens want less government except when they want more.
a. National example: we should let businesses alone, and they will always do the right thing. Then during the BP oil spill, folks wanted to know why the government wasn't doing more.
b. State example (applies to both Oregon and Washington): we should cut our property taxes, and government will have to figure out how to spend less. Then people expect the state to fully support/fund the schools. And roads. And parks. And police/courts/jails. And mental health services.
c. Local example: public employees are overpaid so we should let private businesses do the work. Then when the City of Vancouver extends a contract for a business to operate the wastewater treatment plants, the newspaper readers comment, "We can't Hire/Train local people to do the same job for less than that?"

I previously blogged about voters who went for all the "R"s on the ticket. And that's their choice, but disregarding that the incumbent, non-R, Clerk of the Court (different from county clerks in Oregon) had been with the court systems over 30 years, and the challenger -- the R -- was a purchasing agent for a drywall company. So the voters were willing to "hire," that is vote for, someone and pay them $90,000 a year. Hire someone with no training or education in the position. Seriously.

Oh, and speaking of "overpaid public servants" let's talk retirement. The whole retirement conversation is very complicated, which makes it hard to have a conversation. And every jurisdiction is different, so we don't have the same problems as say New Jersey. Basically for Oregon, when I started in 1983, the design was equivalent to a private company plan (is that a 401(k)?) where the employee contributes 6% and the employer matches 6%. If you do the math on that over 30 years with interest, you can end up with enough to get half of your final salary for the rest of your life. (Really. If you start at say $20,000 per year salary and end at $40,000, and the interest earns on average 8%, your balance after 30 years will let you take out $2,000 per month for 37 years.) But tiny miscues on the design or execution of the plan can compound into large problems over time if not fixed immediately. One problem on the design was that employees could risk a higher portion of their contribution on the stock market, but the employer/agency share couldn't go there, so those years of 20% stock market returns meant the employer/agency couldn't make the matching share. The (reasonable) plan design never dreamed that we would have five years in a row with 20% returns! HUGE problem not really because of the design but because of unimaginable world financial markets. And when I do retire I do NOT get free paid health insurance. I will have access to buy it at market rates, which I think is about $800 or more per month.

There's more, but I've vented so I am okay for a little longer. Two divergent thoughts here -- thanks for your patience.

Christmas

2010-12-26T17:14:00.000-08:00

Food update: only one food was almost left behind. The salad. We don't really have a rule established to deem when one is "almost forgotten" versus "forgotten" so I'm just making one up now: if it's more than halfway through the meal, then we forgot it.

The weird event or discussion of the year: it had to be the pam®. Listen now, I told Brooke she should blog on this, and she deferred. I can't do it justice becausSe I was laughing too hard (complete with tears streaming down my face) to hear parts of it. So here are snippets.

--sorry for all the ® but I don't want to get sued for patent infringement--

JR (my bro): A friend had "Spam®Fest '98" at a house in Manzanita, and JR happened to be in town with his in-laws. JR located Spam® at the local market. Not just regular Spam®, thank you, but Special Edition Hickory Spam®. Knock, knock, "I have Spam®, can I come in?"

JR: "You know Monthy Python invented Spam®."

Mom: "He did not."

JR: "Yes, in my mind, he did because of the xxx episode..."

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8huXkSaL7o

JR: "And there was the time Joan made a whole dinner of Spam®."

Joan: "Well we had to do something with it. Bill keeps buying all these cans of Spam®."

JR: "She made Spam®, Spam®, Spam®, and sausage Spam®."

Another thread: Mom, "There's some place in the midwest that has a Spam® festival." So out comes the smart phone. Lo and behold, there is more than one Spam festival®. One is on the delta (Mississippi? unclear) and “Women dominated the Spam® Festival. The sculpting winner presented a small bear, while another woman defeated a group of men by eating a can of Spam® in under four minutes,” said Joe. “A group of girls also won the Spam® toss.”

JR: "I ordered a special-edition Spam® from Hawaii."

Mom/Julie/Brooke in unison: "But why?"

More than one person pointed out that Hawaii is the top per-capita Spam® consumer, and not just by a little bit.

If you want to know more about Spam® (but: why?), here's a link: www.spam.com/games/Museum/default.aspx
Oh hey! Spam® is the same age as my mom!

note the "aura" shining around the Spam® museum picture.

Group tours of the museum are a popular activity. Seriously?

Update on forgetting food.

2010-12-05T19:52:00.000-08:00

Long ago I wrote about forgetting Thanksgiving food. See: http://juliebike.blogspot.com/2009/11/thanksgiving-and-forgettin-stuff.html

Update: this year it was the cranberry sauce! Yes, near the end of dinner Mike asked, "Honey, didn't we have cranberry sauce?"

Oh, yes. Usually he makes it, but I did it this year. Two batches, one regular and one sugar-free. I put it in the "outside fridge" which means on the table on the patio.

Don't you just love traditions?

Wheelchair

2010-11-28T18:33:00.000-08:00

Mike might be headed for the wheelchair again. In fact, we used it for shopping today. Tomorrow 8:00 am the orthopedic doc's phone is gonna be a'ringin'.

He's using the walker around the house. Taking oxycodone for the pain.

We just talked about whether we'll be able to go to the Civil War this weekend. Plan A, if he can't walk, might be to make it a day trip (camping in the trailer would be out of the question) and we would switch to wheelchair seating like we did last year. Plan B would be to get the tickets to Dianne/Joe.

More later, stay tuned. Oh, and think happy thoughts.

Post-election recap

2010-11-16T15:25:00.000-08:00

Supposedly Clark County has a high percentage of educated citizens. My measure is a demographic that shows 22% with bachelor's degree or higher.

So WHY did the majority (barely) vote in a candidate for County Clerk (Clerk of the Courts) who has NO experience, training, or clue of what the position requires? And he will get paid over $90,000 a year. Of course he says he wants to eliminate the position to save money, but he doesn't have the authority to do that.

(Technical explanation: counties are required to elect a clerk of the courts, unless they have adopted a "home rule charter" which sets out different offices or appointments.)

The liquor store answer

2010-11-16T08:52:00.000-08:00

Yes, Mom gets the prize (XOXOXO). Brooke and I were at the liquor store to buy

...drum roll...

Apple brandy for a recipe, not for general consumption. I've done a lot of different things with apples this fall, so the next natural step was apple butter. Yummy, although it does have a lot of natural sugars in it from the apples, apple brandy, apple cider, and apple juice concentrate. And then we add brown sugar! Although I only used half of what the recipe called for.

Fun "kid" stuff

2010-11-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

Fun couple of days. Last night for Bill's birthday (early) at Tony Starlight's -- a Neil Diamond tribute. Bill, Ayn, me, Mom, Brooke, Nate, Dianne (and other friends of Bill's). He got geeky things for his birthday of course, including one of Leonard Nimoy's books of poetry from Brett aka Tony.

Glad I didn't drink. Had a headache most of today, possibly from MSG in the dinner and/or just plain old being up too late. Or maybe because Mike woke all of us up in the morning with a VERY loud fall in the utility room.

Breakfast was pancakes, fruit. We gave Nate part of his birthday present early, a certificate for tickets to a Ducks basketball game at the new Matt Knight Court. He had to get that one right away, because the arrangements have to be made in less than two weeks.

Dianne and I went to Freddie's in the morning, then later Brooke, Dianne, and I shopped: Target, Ikea, Columbia Sportswear. Oh, yes, then Brooke and I stopped in the liquor store real quick. Hmm, maybe I won't explain that one! Okay it's a deal: I will give my four readers a chance to comment/guess, then I will tell you later the real deal.

We came back and "the boys" were watching the Ducks game of course. The Salem group headed home. Mike and I watched a disappointing loss for the Beavers, literally lost in THE last second.

Okay, almost nine o'clock. It's time to catch up on some sleep. zzzzzzzz

Tooth, sleep, or not

2010-10-22T03:12:00.001-07:00

Mike had a tooth extracted yesterday, 14 hours ago. The clot isn't forming, and of course we're not going to call the oral surgeon at 3:00 in the morning now. So he's sort of sleeping in his recliner, still trying to maintain gauze on the socket. And I've slept off and on in the other chair. I don't think there have been any REM cycles

The morning paper gets delivered in an hour +/-, so then I can do the crossword and sudoku if I'm awake.

Gonna try for some more sleep. We'll call the surgeon's office at 8:00 and see if I should take him back in.

C'est la vie. My translation: Life Happens.

Yes, still out here

2010-09-13T20:54:00.000-07:00

Still here, but I don't have much of a life to blog about these days.

Sharing medical stuff just isn't appropriate (especially when it's about someone else's medical conditions). And I posted the E.R. visit two weeks ago on Facebook, so that's old news now.

Plus someone gets up and looks over my shoulder to see what I'm up to, so that's, um, awkward. Right on cue, he just walked in!

I thought I'd diverse into the weirdness of the brain. Weirdness = not the right word. Peculiarities perhaps. Anyway, I was doing some research on dementia and was reminded how hard the brain works, and how miraculous it is that we function at all. One article explained that the brain is very good at filling in the blanks, like we might do if we're working a crossword puzzle. If a dementia patient knows (or thinks they know) the front and back end of a story, the brain will fill in the rest of the blanks. So that is why the rest of the family members are bewildered when the loved one, very confidently, comes up with the most bizarre series of events in discussions. It can be frustrating to try to understand, "Why is my husband/father lying to us" when in fact they are just relating the story their brain is telling them.

The root words of dementia mean "without mind." De=without, ment=mind.

So ... if you use the above pieces of information to fill in the status of my life, have you come up with a truth? Or a possible truth that just happens to fit the blanks? Hmmm. Maybe I was making up the whole thing because I didn't blog at all in August, and this fills in a blank for September. Or maybe it's just late (for me, yes, 9:30 is late) and I need to shut down the whole brain thing for a while.

Washington Elections

2010-07-27T12:39:00.001-07:00

For the amusement of friends and family in Oregon, here is some insight into Washington elections.

1. The primary is next month, contrasted with Oregon which was in May.
2. We are in the Portland TV/radio market, so we get the Oregon political ads. (Side note: does Chris Dudley really only have one ad? That is going to get really old with all of August, September, and October to go)
3. We didn't go to all vote-by-mail in Clark County until the last election two years ago. Crazy. Sure, we had the option to register permanent absentee, but gosh the expense of having polling places. And I believe some counties still have a mix of mail/polls.
4. There is a perpetual candidate named "Mike the Mover." That must be his legal name in order to file for office. He's running for senator. Sorry, no photo or statement submitted.
5. BUT there is another senatorial candidate named "Goodspaceguy." His picture looks like a high school physics teacher from the 60's or maybe the 50's. I haven't been brave enough to try his website (if you dare: colonizespace.blogspot.com) because it is probably similar to his voters pamphlet blurb:

"Dear fellow sheeple, I, Goodspaceguy, object to the billions of dollars of waste that I know about. We sheeple are regularly shorn, but we are the foundation of power. Let's unsabotage our economy. Vote for the small spenders. Big spenders, big government must shear you!
"In solving world problems and unsabotaging our economy, think of your Earth as Spaceship Earth. Think of yourselves as crew members, working to improve Spaceship Earth and building a job/wealth partnership. Abolish the evil minimum wage. The unemployment rate indicates how badly the current power-structure has decreased our jobs. Upward with Goodspaceguy. Study economics."

Luckily we have 13 other choices.

Honey, could you bring me a pillow?

2010-07-22T08:31:00.001-07:00

No, Mike didn't ask for a pillow, but if I could have taken a picture of his predicament (he declined my offer of the photo-op), that's the caption I would have put on it.

The house phone rings at 9:10. I answer, and after Hello (twice), I hear "Hi, it's your hubby, in the backyard. Could you come help me get out of the raised garden bed?" Oooo-kay. He had gone off on an adventure. At dusk. Which also means the mosquitoes are biting. Not a plan I would have endorsed, but I wasn't consulted.

I will take a picture later and add it to this post to show that the terrain is not friendly for someone who is mobility-challenged.

So yes, there he was. At least he managed to fall into the one that doesn't have any plants.

Starbucks

2010-07-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

A family member we recently visited had been a teacher for 30 years, and retired about five years ago. She decided earlier this year that she would try something completely different: Starbucks barista! And once she was working 21 hours or more each week, she would have medical benefits (the cost of which was taking about half of her retirement check).

Chris has a longer story about the types of people who work there, and the juggling of detailed orders. "Vente drip in a tall cup" threw her off the rythm!

But the best story was on her first day, with ten minutes left in the shift. She said to the leadworker, "I have ten minutes left, what would you like me to do?" The assignment: "Pick up the crafts."

Crafts? We have crafts? Chris was looking at the windows and tables, trying to figure it out.

Nicole, the lead, finally put her hands on her hips and explained, "For heaven's sake, Chris, the crafts for the milk."

Chris (the former language arts teacher) did not say anything when she finally understood: carafes. I would have just said pitcher, but Starbucks has to have their fancy labels.

Chris also soon found out they never schedule 21 hours. She stayed eight weeks.

Community Supported Agriculture

2010-06-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

Poor Mikey still doesn't understand our CSA subscription. He keeps describing it to friends on the phone as "...we just went to Julie's son Bill and girlfriend Ayn's place to pick up some of the food from the community garden."

So the three of you who have followed my blog (if you're still out there -- I haven't posted anything in more than a month) probably already know what Community Supported Agriculture is, and the difference from a community garden. And if you heard Mike say we had a spot in a community garden, you might be puzzled as to why we would have a garden at home and another spot somewhere else.

But just for fun, here's the explanation. In short, CSA is grown by a farm, and community garden is grown by you.

CSA is where you pay a "subscription" to a farm, and get a weekly share of goodies. Each farm can be very different in what you pay and what you might get. Here's a link to a good description: www.sightline.org/publications/enewsletters/CSNews/CS_6_05_csa

Our farm is Rainway Farms, in Hillsboro (practically a stone's throw from my old high school). Bill/Ayn pick up at the Portland Farmer's Market on the PSU campus, just a couple of blocks from where they live. We paid about $400 to get 18 weekly "boxes" (bags, really) of food, June through October. They also provide (by e-mail) information on what's in each week's box and recipes.

I've been forced to try some new things. Kale is very interesting. I tried a recipe for "baked kale chips." Oops, yuck. I've found it best to cut the leaves from the stem and just put it in a salad. Turns out that kale is one of the superfoods, and 1 cup has over 200% of your Vitamin A and ascorbic acid RDA, 25% calcium, 10% iron, 5 grams of protein, and only 45 calories!

I put turnip into a root vegetable side dish. The jury is out - maybe pre-roasting them in a bunch of butter, salt, and garlic would help.

Tonight was kohlrabi in potato-chip-like slices, baked with olive oil, garlic, and parmesan. Of course that's going to go down good!

There was another recipe for radish top soup which was great. And to think all my life I've thrown out the radish tops.

Now I have to figure out how to use these fava beans. Very strange.

Oh, community garden: you all know this one, right? Rent space and grow your own stuff. In Vancouver, you can rent a 20'x20' space for $40. Or 10x10 is $20 (with age 60+ discounts, and some low income scholarships). At the old poor farm (and maybe the other locales, I'm not sure there), you can't use pesticides or herbicides.

Any way you do it, here's to good eatin'!

The news told me to call my mother

2010-05-12T17:16:00.000-07:00

Honest, the TV news tonight really told me to call Mom.

Sure, I'm paraphrasing a tad. "If you're feeling stressed, skip the massage and call your mother."

A study out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that girls' comfort hormones (oxytocin) increased and stress (cortisol) decreased just by hearing mom's voice.

Oh, yeah, I have her on speed dial!

Duh-oh, oh no!

2010-05-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

Rats, darn. Good news is that the cement ramp, replacing the front steps, was poured Thursday, and the "exposing" part of the exposed aggregate was finished Friday.

I took Mike to a class on making rain barrels Thursday night. And that is where the "Duh-oh, oh no" part comes in. And I KNEW this: we want to use a rain barrel to capture part of the rainwater coming from the roof, and use it in the flower gardens. This helps make up for our big impervious footprint, where rainwater can't filter back into the groundwater systems like it used to. During this class, they reminded me of what else I already knew that can help: use pervious surfaces.

We should have asked the contractor to use pervious concrete (also known as porous concrete).

Pervious concrete looks sort of like Rice Krispie treats, so it looks a lot like exposed aggregate. Water drains right through it instead of (in our case) runnning down the street and into Salmon Creek.

Maybe I should go out to the worm bin and beat myself with one of the red wigglers. Oh, wait, that wouldn't be kind to the worm.

Group pic (mostly) from Kooza

2010-04-29T14:34:00.001-07:00

J, Di, N8, B3, C, B1, Gma, Gaarbacca : ), Mike

Escheatment

2010-04-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

Escheatment is when property (money) is sent to the state for safekeeping, held in trust, because the original owners/claimants can't be found or checks go unclaimed.

One of our county departments couldn't get a city to take a $150 check (long story) starting in 1995. So after reviewing controls many times in this county department, we convinced them in 2006 they really had to escheat the money to the state.

We did another review yesterday. The check to the STATE never cleared.

So how do you escheat another check to the state because the money was never "claimed?" We've gotten a good laugh out of this one.

Note: we know the City's current finance manager, who changed jobs from the county, so we think the county department can work with her to finally take a check and clear the original transaction completely.

Do

2010-03-31T21:14:00.000-07:00

Mike's progress has been very good the last few days. On Monday he was suddenly up on the walker quite a bit -- yes! And this evening he was talking about being able to get himself to the physical therapy appointment tomorrow. Um, no, I don't think we're ready for that leap yet (no pun intended).

Overall scorecard:

Movement: improving
Pain: well managed
Sleep: still a bit out of whack

So the next milestones I imagine are walking unassisted, carrying something (like taking a plate from the counter to the table or hey, from the table to the dishwasher), stairs unassisted, longer distances (perhaps walking all the way through Costco).

Go Mike go!

Don't

2010-03-31T16:54:00.001-07:00

A few days ago in the guest bath, "Please don't be reaching for the towel bar as a grab bar. This bathroom isn't set up for you to use."

Today I hear "crash," which is just giant sirens in my head at this stage of recovery, followed by, "I'm okay."

So yes, you guessed it, he grabbed the towel bar AND the paper holder, pulled everything down. Evil eye from me, and from him "I'm SOR-ree." I just put the whole mess in the tub, deal with it later. "This bathroom isn't set up for you."

Missed Birthdays

2010-03-23T07:31:00.001-07:00

"The legends of missed birthdays"

Legend #1:
In a great Northwest land lives a wonderful Grandmother who we will call Gma. She has several grandchildren, but we focus on the third, "B3."

Gma and Gpa were pilots, so they had the opportunity to travel quite a bit. In the winter they would often go to Mexico and camp on Baja. (That's the peninsula south of California, for those who need a reference.) In the summer and into fall, they would travel to British Columbia and camp next to one of the wonderful wilderness lakes. (B.C. is in Canada. Google "Canada" if you need to know where it is. Then sue your former school district.)

When you vacation in Canada, they say you are "on holiday" which can be a bit confusing to us Yanks at first. But Gma and Gpa usually traveled around the holidays: Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day. July 4 is not celebrated in BC of course, but July 1 is Canada Day -- and they sing "my country tis of thee" with different words, so strange ; )

Grandchild "B3"s birthday is around Labor Day, and she would feign exasperation, "You're ALWAYS gone on my birthday, Gma." This year, for the first time, B3 will be on a trip during Gma's birthday. Sounds like Cat in the Cradle! Google those lyrics, too, if you need.

Legend #2:
In the 70's, Gma's grandpa-in-law put together a family geneology book, and Gma did all the layout and calligraphy for it. Lots of beautiful but tedious work.

At the end, after printing I believe, we all realized she put the wrong birth year on her youngest child!

And so end the stories of "missed" birthdays.

Oh wait, there is one more:

Legend #3:
When Gma turned 39, a big surprise birthday party was put together. Family and friends came from far and wide. Gpa distracted her away from the house for a few hours, and when they got home she assumed all the cars were some other neighbor having a big party. Then when she saw her brother-in-law skulking around the garage, her first thought was "Why is Tom here and why is he trying to hide behind the car?" Lots of fun.

Later she asked someone (I think Aunt Char), "So why did you do all this for this birthday?"

"Well," Char answered, "because it's your 40th."

"NO I'M NOT, not until next year!"

Oops.

picture changed

2010-03-22T08:25:00.000-07:00

Hey, I changed the header picture. Aren't you impressed. Now to get some quality time, and quality thoughts, for a new entry. Maybe I will share the inside family joke about missing birthdays : )

A story of Brad's passing

2010-03-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

This story is not mine to tell. I will have some of the facts wrong, because it was told to my mom who passed it on to me. But the stories I have, directly, are too heartbreaking. So I will tell this love story:

When a nurse told Heidi that Brad was close to passing, Heidi called her mom (who had their son, Lato) and told her they needed to come immediately. When they got to the hospital, Lato ran in, ran up the stairs and into the room. He hugged his dad and said, "Daddy, Daddy, I love you, I love you!"

After a few moments, the nurse gently said, "Lato can you move just a little? I need to listen to his heart." Brad's heart had stopped. The nurse said, "He gave you his last heart beat."

The chaplain came with a lump of clay and asked Lato if he would make it into a flat sheet, very smooth, and showed him the dimensions. He did, and turned it over to make the other side smooth also. "Now we are going to press your Dad's handprint into this. And anytime you want to hold his hand, you can put your hand here. And as you grow up, your hand will fit into his hand."

Brad used to write Heidi and Lato a note every night, and he would sign it "Brad/Dad." Lato put "Brad/Dad" under the hand print. At the top, on one side, he drew a peace symbol, and on the other side he drew a heart.

(If you are not crying by now, you must not be human.)

And I admit to, and not apologize for, shedding tears while I type.

Ride on, Brad, ride on.
below: Lato, Heidi, Brad, Ocho

Bike ride

2010-03-14T13:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, first ride of the season. Well, not a ride especially; how about a short excursion? Test run? Just three miles round trip to Fred Meyers, very flat. I wasn't sure if I had the legs to do the 8 mile loop, plus it was COLD this morning (about 40 degrees).

So I'm sort of off and rolling!

Next week will seem like a breeze, no?

2010-03-12T20:24:00.000-08:00

This was a very tough week. My cousin Heidi's husband Brad passed away, but I'm not up to talking about the details right now. Luckily our extended families are close and supported, so she and their son Lato have had a huge amount of love surrounding them these last few days.

I've been trying to work on an audit, and totally expected I could breeze through it on a "regular" timeline, unlike my last audit which had major roadblocks and had to be worked on over the course of 18 months. But oh no, the day after the entrance (that's the kick-off meeting with the department I'm going to audit) we found out Mike would be scheduled for knee replacement!

So okay, regroup, I'll get as much done as I can in two weeks and then come back to it full force after being home with Mike for two weeks. But oh no, three days later I confirmed schedules and availability with my assigned liaison, only to send an e-mail the next day and get an out-of-office reply: she is in training for three days. Seriously. Snuck up on her.

So okay, Monday is a new week to really buckle down for at least one week. But oh no, out of the four staff in the area I'm auditing, one has been on leave, one was taking a week's vacation, then a third called in sick!

So working around all this, I met with their counterparts in the City's department one day, and met with the information systems people another day to get briefed on their tracking systems and interfaces, security, back-ups, etc.

Then yesterday their elected official called our elected official with a request for help in a different area. Whatever. I helped on that today, I can do a bit on Monday, then I'm off for two weeks. Paul and Linda in our office will carry on and finish the rest of that special work.

When I come back, I can plow through my original job with fresh energy, right? I am serious, there's no reason not to, and the days will be getting longer, and the flowers will be blooming!

Jerky and cockroaches

2010-03-05T18:49:00.000-08:00

Mike sometimes talks when he naps. He didn't used to do this, and it seems to be related to the Parkinson's and the medications.

Some weird stuff can come out of his mouth. Many times he seems to be reliving some story from his old police life. Some times I can only pick out random, muttered words.

This morning is a great example of weird stuff. And maybe someone can tell me if it's a true story or just a really active imagination. Here's the closest I can come to a transcript (I was driving, so I couldn't capture it at the time).

"Last night on the TV news they were talking about preparing for disasters. And there is some jerky that cockroaches really seem to go after. The silicone plastics on some packages they gnaw, eat right through. So you have to find something to store your food stuffs in that the cockroaches can't get into."

Strange. We don't have any jerky (we do have MRE's, believe it or not). And we don't have cockroaches.

So there you go, random thought for the day.

My bro Michael

2010-02-28T18:50:00.000-08:00

My brother Michael has cancer. Prostate cancer. He said I could blog about it, so here I am, but what do I say now?

Yes the last blog entry was also a medical issue, and I really wanted to avoid getting stuck in that rut. You know, old people comparing their scars or Grandma keeping her gall stones in a jar. I surely hope my writing here is different by just giving a little info (not TMI), a little background, a little prayer.

The few people who I know have read some postings here already know that Dad died from prostate cancer over four years ago. But it is also highly treatable, and we know more men who are survivors than not. And the scans came back showing it has not spread, yeah! Still, it gives us pause. He will be in town mid-March for pre-treatment visits at OHSU, then back in April for treatment.

I know he will be okay, but it's just not fair, you know? He is such a hard worker, and he made a big change a year ago to completely leave the construction industry. Easy choice, since the industry tanked and it had taken a big physical toll on him. He fell into nursing care as a CNA, and I can see he would be just a great personality to gently move people through their daily needs in the facility.

More importantly, he married Julie Ann 18 months ago, and adopted Logan. Logan needs both of these great parents in his life, so Michael will do what he needs to do against this latest challenge.

There you have it. A little info, a little background, a little prayer.

Surgery coming up (not me)

2010-02-26T20:05:00.000-08:00

Mike will have knee replacement surgery March 16.

You kinda get a clue when you're in the x-ray room with the technician, and as the first picture comes up he says to you, "That knee's really shot, isn't it." I know he is not supposed to say that, but it was pretty obvious to me anyway. I should have asked if they could e-mail a copy and I would have posted it. Amazing to see the September picture with normal spacing through the joint compared to yesterday where the interior side is totally mashed down, bone on bone.

There will be four various pre-op appointments next week and one the week after. There was another message on the machine today which I think was taken care of. Lots of paperwork, plus all the leave stuff for my work (I expect to be off work for two full weeks, plus intermittent time after that for physical therapy appointments).

Hey, speaking of PT: at Mike's last appointment, before this came up and canceled future appts, we found out that the parents of his therapist live behind us and down about four houses. Small world. I guess after you see someone twice a week for three months you're going to find some connections.

We're not worried about the surgery. SW Washington Medical reportedly has one of the lowest possible infection rates.

I'm going to go watch some Olympics and try not to think about those poor knees being punished up in the other Vancouver!

Fun calorie app

2010-02-22T20:37:00.000-08:00

Update on the Droid phone: yes we've kept them. So now I'm trying to get the most out of mine.

Today's inspiration: I saw a woman at work who has lost a lot of weight (also a bicyclist), and remembered she was talking a year ago about an app she download (back in the old iPhone days) to track calories. So I went out and found a Droid app that is loads of fun, easy, and I've only started to use it.

Number one cool thing: bar code scanner. If I have a package (box, can, bottle, whatever), the phone can scan and analyze the bar code and return ALL of the nutrition information. So at work I scanned my Quaker chewy bar, and it knew 90 calories, 1.5 fat, 1g protein, etc. Even that it was 2 Weight Watcher's points. Then I just touch an icon to add it to my food diary. Of all the foods I've scanned so far, only one was a problem: my lite yogurt scanned only as low-fat, so it said something like 175 calories when it's really 80. Easy to fix, though.

Second cool thing: restaurant look-ups. A specific drawback I found, though, is it can be limited. I looked up Chevy's (had lunch there last week), but it only brought up four menu items.

Other quick look-ups include brand names, store brands, or just food name ("banana"). And I can save meals, like if I often have chai tea and banana and cereal for breakfast, then I can easily bring that up as a group. Or building a particular sandwich or a homemade dinner dish.

Anyway, I'm having fun with food!

Another cascade!

2010-02-19T17:05:00.000-08:00

Fairly simple project this time:

1. Install a grab bar in the master bathroom
2. Replace the toilet paper holder (also MBR); style was okay, but it will be much better to have a "hook" rather than the traditional style. Also, placement was way off (forward a foot too far!). And because the holder was being moved, I had to fill the old screw spots, re-texture, and spot paint.

3. Install the old MBR paper holder in the guest bath. Previous one in the guest bath was probably the cheapest one available, pseudo-chrome, and the crossbar was a mis-matched gold color!

4. Install a towel ring for Mike's side of our master sinks.

5. Because Mike's new ring is a slightly different style than mine, install a matching one on my side, and move the previous one to the guest bath (yes, it had the same cheap style as the previous paper holder...)

6. Move the previous guest bath towel ring to the utility room.

Ta-da.

While I'm at it: weird lists and cascades

2010-02-16T07:28:00.001-08:00

Have you ever made a shopping list and then reflected on some of the odd combinations? Well I made a mental list yesterday of everything to put in the car for the trip to BandN8's, and here it is:
1. Hubby, which also meant his bag for after PT appointment, wheelchair, and walker
2. Small cooler with turkey soup stock
3. Chainsaw with bucket of stuff (wedges, engine oil)
4. Laptop (with tax software)
5. Granddaughter and her stuff

Forgot one thing, sorry Mom and Brooke. When we were at Mom's last week, she had a ball cap for Nate, so I offered to give it to them. But oops, it is still on the dining table. So I think a goal for today is cleaning off that table. And the cascade effect means: install the blu-ray player (sitting on that table since the day after Thanksgiving); re-texture and paint the wall section behind the china cabinet so I can take items off the table and put them back on the cabinet; figure out which of the new phones receipts and accessory boxes to keep - and where to put them.

You know how it goes.

When I take out the older DVD player, I get to figure out where to put it. Maybe hook it up the smaller TV? Or should it replace the VCR/DVD player in the trailer? Or go in the pile of electronics in a spare room? Ooh, maybe I should get on Craigslist and get rid of said pile. Anybody still need to record onto tape?

And texture/paint. As long as I'm at it, I should retexture a small spot around the corner in the kitchen. The previous owners did a smooth-ish patch there, no texture but did re-paint. And of course it's a different color than the dining area (but luckily we have the paint). And as long as I'm at it with that color, the paint around the kitchen door to outside could use just a couple of hits where they overpainted from the white frame.

And while I'm at it in the dining area, I noticed yesterday that the entry table has one Christmas thing that didn't get boxed up and into the storage loft in the garage. And while I'm at it with the entry table, we have a bunch of loose pictures there. I really should scan them and get a digital frame.

Oh, yeah, and I should copy various pictures onto my new-ish 1.5 terabyte backup drive.

Whoa Julie, back to the dining area first. I've also been wanting to take down the light fixture and spray paint over the '80's gold look (odd since this house was built in '95), plus it needs a longer chain so I can put up a ceiling hook and position the lighting over the center of the table. And one of these days re-cover the seat cushions.

Guess I better get at it! Oh, I'm on vacation today if you're wondering why I'm planning all this.

Mayo or Miracle Whip?

2010-02-08T18:20:00.000-08:00

Since my most-commented post had to do with food (remember B.S.?), I thought I would try another.

Are you a mayonnaise person, or Miracle Whip?

I am mayo. Not slathering, dripping, slopping amounts -- see Bill III for a fan of that much goo. But definitely mayo over Miracle Whip. So much that years ago when I ordered a tuna sandwich and found it was made with Mwhip, I only ate half.

Mike on the other hand is a Mwhip guy. Oh, yes, he is also the one who likes the old B.S. Need I say more?

Maybe next time we can discuss mac 'n cheese: homemade or Kraft?

Trance of the Internet Fairies

2010-02-07T09:06:00.001-08:00

Note: the title is a take off on "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies"

Short version: M goes on the computer to find the address of a backyard neighbor. An hour later, he is sidetracked looking at overhead pictures of the neighborhood. I go on the computer and take, oh, maybe 65 seconds to get the site address and the owner's name and mailing address (it's a rental).

TV Shows

2010-02-03T17:59:00.000-08:00

B3 thought I should blog about how I watch "The Bachelor." Really, let's not. I've gotten sucked into it the same as some people watch, oh let's say NASCAR or WWF. Admit it, it is all about waiting for the big wreck, not for any spiritual enlightenment.

Do I like some lightweight shows? Sure. Ugly Betty for one. Quirky. It doesn't make anyone, even Betty Suarez, the hero. Everyone has flaws and problems, whether rich or poor, beautiful or not. One criticism for ABC: seriously, you had to move it to 10pm Wednesday? Seriously? I'm watching it through Hulu now. I can't stay up until 11:00.

Some other favs: Numb3rs. Bones. Sort-of Grey's Anatomy. NCIS (who doesn't love Abby). There must be something else I'm forgetting right now.

I'm not into any of the reality shows. Not desperate housewives or 2-1/2 men or most of what's on the air these days. That's probably good, so I can blog, do laundry, paperwork, crossword/sudoku, little house projects, watch Mike nap into the evening, like right now...

Anyone want to make a case for some must-see show?

What to blah-blah-blog about next?

2010-01-29T18:32:00.001-08:00

Time to vote:
1. Weird things on the hybrid that still make us pause.
2. Food (from philosophy/psych of food to specific recipes or fabulous food finds)
3. Taxes
4. Origin of words/phrases
5. TV stuff (from current favorites to walking down memory lane -- Max Headroom anyone?)
6. Ooh, here's an idea: send me a topic (word/phrase), and see if I can make a blog of it.

But the only things at the top of my brain right now are:
1. Medical (really don't want to turn into one of "those people" who share TMI on medical)
2. House projects (did lots of little project things tonight)
3. Work

And probably none of us want to get started on
1. Politics
2. Religion
3. Sports

Thought for the day

2010-01-26T13:49:00.000-08:00

I love this quote. Hopefully it gives you pause. It is from Bobby Kennedy on what the Gross National Product means and more importantly what it does not mean. Today we measure Gross Domestic Product, but the same concept applies:

"Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product ... if we should judge America by that - counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.

"Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans."

Robert F. Kennedy Address, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, March 18, 1968

Tools and materials for a small project

2010-01-25T21:23:00.000-08:00

I was going to take a picture of them all together, but I don't think they would all fit in the bathroom... My apologies to any tools or materials omitted herein.

Tools

scraper/putty knife (three sizes)
sponge
bowl
wrench
Xacto knife
stud finder
Multi-tool (cutting sheetrock)
Skil saw
extension cord
saw horse
chisel
hole saw
push broom (sweep up the sawdust in the garage)
dust pan
level
measuring tapes (three, really?)
pencil
caliper
drill (had to get a couple of those out too)
drill battery charger
hammer
ear protection
eye protection
drill bits
paint can opener
stir stick
paint pan
paint roller
roller brush
paint brush
edge painter
allen wrench
angle screwdriver
Phillips screwdriver
glue/grout gun
squeegee
vacuum (oh, yeah, had to use two different ones!)
"Dap" cap (silicone edger)

Materials

fabric softener
plastic
2x4
Sheetrock
joint tape
joint compound
sanding
spray texture
Mom's old Miller Paint color fan-stack
paint
silicone
blue tape
wood screws (just needed two; got seven - long story)
wall anchors
wall paper paste
tweezers (two splinters)
one bandage

Gas for car: multiple trips (three to Ace Hardware, two to Home Depot, one to Lowe's, two to D&L Glass, one to Vancouver Mall Sears, one to Lloyd Center Sears, one to Miller Paint, one to Salem - got a free piece of Sheetrock!)

Project: done

2010-01-25T14:44:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm done with the half bath.

And I'm toying with posting a list of all the tools and materials I had to use for this silly little thing.

But first, I realize I didn't have a good "before" picture, especially so you could see what the lower wall paper used to look like. It was a busy pattern for a small room and (no tears from me) had to come off since I was cutting a section of sheetrock 24" x 6", and drilling 1-1/4" holes for the new grab bar. So here you go:

How about I leave you with a happy thought for a change (look close for the message):

Argh - and not in a pirate sense

2010-01-22T07:57:00.001-08:00

Argh, argh, argh. The grab bar and secure mount system that I was sold do NOT go together.

This morning I fiddle-farted with it for a few minutes. (One of my dad's phrases. Now that it's in print, I'm wondering where it comes from. Did he make it up?)

And I can't put the TP holder on right now. I have to drill and tap in wall anchors, but M's asleep. So I should shower and get on down to the store. Or maybe just go grunge, since they messed me up.

Honestly, this wasn't like I picked something off the shelf at Home Depot. It was from a glass company that does a lot of shower installs, so they have a large selection of towel bars and grab bars. The "guy from the back" even came out and walked me through it, and showed me a couple of my options for the bars.

I'm trying to support local business, but I may end up back at Home Depot. At which point I will take down the blind in the bedroom where the drawstring broke so I can have it rebuilt or a new one made.

Always projects...

Or maybe I should take a bike ride on this beautiful, calm, mild morning.

Project progress

2010-01-21T14:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday and today were good progress.

Yesterday I got the holes drilled for the grab bar supports (easy with the right tool from neighbor Andy). Got the two cross braces sawed for the sink support, one notched for the vent pipe, toe-screwed in, taped, mudded twice, sanded. Would have textured yesterday, but my existing spray can was totally clogged. Also went "nuts" and taped/mudded two small settling cracks in other places in the house. And did three loads of laundry and screwed in six replacement planks in the rotting fence and made a grocery run. Oh, and got paint because our existing hall color does not, NOT, go with the remaining wallpaper.

Today got the texture spray and sprayed, took M to PT, started homemade chili in the crock pot, spot painted to seal over all the textured areas, went to Weight Watchers, and silicone-grouted at the baseboards in the half-bath. It has to dry two hours before I can do the finish painting, so here I am blogging. I should be able to get the painting done before C's school band concert tonight. Then tomorrow I can install everything (sink, TP holder, grab bar).

And to top it off, it's turned into a beautiful sunny afternoon.

Projects

2010-01-19T21:52:00.000-08:00

Baby steps forward today on the half-bath project. Left here around 10:30 to make a local trip for supplies. Got back about 1:30 after including a trip to Lloyd Center. Charged up the new multi-tool, made lunch, marked where the sheet rock needed to be cut out, marked where the grab bar will go. Cut out the sheet rock.

Tomorrow I'll cut the 2x4 to lengths for the bracing between studs (new backer for the sink to screw into). One of the lengths I have to notch for the vent pipe - bleh. We don't have the attachment (mandril) for the hole cutter to go on the drill. If one of our neighbors doesn't have one, maybe I can just run to Ace. Otherwise a little longer trip to Home Depot or Lowes or Sears. Then I can get the secure mount set up for the grab bars. Maybe cut the replacement sheet rock, screw it in, tape, and get an initial slab of compound on it.

That would be a lot of good progress. Also have to work in breakfast, lunch, dinner, help Mike with his exercises, run to the grocery store.

I'm really good at taking things apart. Now we'll see if I can get it put back together again.

Camping -- or not

2010-01-14T20:07:00.000-08:00

Okay, this one is for N8. I agree that traveling in an RV (trailer, 5th wheel, camper, whatever) is not camping.

Camping requires cold, wet, uncomfortableness (pretend that's a word and move on). Hard ground. No running water, no shower. Did I mentioned hard, lumpy ground? Reconstituted freeze-dried food. Giant slugs (Vancouver Island, great park and activities, but GIANT slugs). Crows getting into the apples left in a bag on the picnic table.

RV'ing is furnace, warm inside when it's cold outside. Or cooler inside when it's hot outside. Regular stocks of food, refrigerator, stove, oven, microwave, toaster oven. Regular bed. Flushing toilet. Water heater. Shower.

Traveling -- or not

2010-01-08T16:36:00.000-08:00

People have different definitions of traveling. Some people travel out of town for a day to visit friends. Others might say that's not really traveling, and "real" traveling must involve an airplane, or a boat, or at least an overnight away, or a passport, or a different time zone.

Whatever you call it, I would rather be getting ready for our annual "travel." We were scheduled to leave next week and be gone 5+ weeks. But we aren't mobile enough right now.

But I am taking off a week from work (week of MLK holiday). Mike will have a couple of P.T. appointments, and I have a list of things I need to get done in the trailer and around the house.

Trailer: take the bi-fold shower door out, so we can just use a shower curtain. Maybe wash it (the trailer that is, not the shower door), if we get a half-dry day (oh yeah, I live to climb on top of the fifth wheel!). See if we (I) can secure the new flat screen TV differently/better. Get one of the tail lights working. Make the bed. Put the new license tabs on the plate. maybe even put the cover on the whole thing (we've only had it two years and never used it).

In the house: like usual, general cleaning. Remove and resilicone the master shower edges. Re-grout some of the glass block wall. Oh yes, how could I forget the guest half-bath: M pulled the pedestal sink out of the wall. So I need to take it completely out of the room so I can: remove the lower-half wallpaper (it has separate top and bottom patterns with a border strip in the middle), cut out a section of sheetrock, install a nailer board behind where the pedestal sink will re-attach, re-sheet/mud/texture, while I'm at it install a grab bar in front of the toilet, paint the lower half of the walls, reinstall the sink.

In many ways, that's more of a vacation to me than driving 300 miles a day for 4 days so I can lull around for a few weeks. But I will miss the sun, and our friends, and a chance to ride my bike everyday : (

Gotta go. One of the light bulbs over me needs to be replaced, which reminds me that one of the outside garage lights went out yesterday too!

I'm so glad I'm mobile, even if I'm not on the road.

More gardening

2010-01-04T18:33:00.000-08:00

What I miss most in the winter: stepping outside and eating a handful of strawberries (all summer, ever-bearing), and a handful of blueberries (shorter season). Fresh tomatoes. Apples in the fall.

So I'm going to pour a small bowl of applesauce right now.

Gardening

2010-01-03T18:14:00.000-08:00

Gardening in winter? Sure. On New Year's Day, I went out and cleaned up garden areas: pulled dead geraniums, fuscias, and cleaned up the raised bed vegetable garden boxes. And since we won't be gone for our 5-6 week trip south, I'm looking at what I should start from seeds indoors. Germination time, how fast they grow, aiming for April 1 outdoors planting for some cool-weather tolerant plants, like peas. "C" discovered last year that she doesn't hate peas after all, just the cooked-to-death ones which are way different from fresh off the vine, crisp, sweet peas.

Also have to keep the neighbor cats out of the boxes, if you know what I mean. So I need to get back the big roll of weed barrier I loaned to a friend. Or have him cut off three 4'x8' pieces.

Need to plant some pansies in the empty pots for a little winter color.

Not gardening related, but could turn into it: I need to call the concrete guy who did lots of work for us before. Can we modify our entry from three sets of two steps into a continuous slope from driveway to front door? Well, sure it can be done. The real question: how much will it cost? And how fast can it be done? Because as soon as he finishes, Mike will probably be completely mobile and not need the change.

And, bringing the blog back to gardening, then Mike can get back to helping with yard work!

Bill III story

2009-12-30T17:43:00.000-08:00

Hey, I've had a couple of stories on Ben and Brooke, but not so much for Bill (except his natural inclusion in the nickname blog).

Speaking of natural, the natural story might be one to talk about his brain power. Off the charts. But we'll save those -- and there are LOTS of brain stories -- for another day.

This story is when Bill got contact lenses. I think he was 16. He has had glasses since grade school (yes, sorry for passing those genes along, buddy). So I was fine with him getting contacts, no big deal. When the doc put them in, the doc left the room, "We'll just let those settle in and check back in a bit."

If you haven't had contacts, they are a like putting a little piece of gravel in your eye. Bill had a funny reaction, not complaining of pain, but laughing, from embarrassment I think because his eyes were making a lot of tears. This laughing got weird, short breaths, then he asked, "Why are my fingers going numb?" Heck if I knew. Why would your fingers go numb from contacts? I got a nurse.

"Oh, he's hyperventilating and he's about to pass out."

Maybe that's why one of my favorite phrases for people under stress is, "Just keep breathing. Deep breath in, deep breath out."

Plan B for vacationing

2009-12-27T01:55:00.000-08:00

At this point, Mike and I were very tentative for making a trip south. He has not had the "Synvisc" shot yet. I have been reading on-line, and I have more information which the doctor's office had not told us: I see that he will have three shots, one week apart.

So the math does not work out for us to leave and join our friends in sunny Southern California: even if he were to get the first shot on Monday or Tuesday, his third shot would be about the day we are supposed to leave. And we don't even know if the med will work for him. He is in the wheelchair most of the time right now. If he was full-time on the walker, like he was a month ago, I would say we could still go.

Our plan B is to cancel this trip, and maybe take off one week a month for the next five months for more local trips in the fifth wheel (assuming he is mobile!).

More technology

2009-12-23T08:04:00.001-08:00

Should I get a Droid? That's the Verizon competition to the iPhone, and it is made by Motorola. It uses the "Android" operating system.

cons: I understand you have to close the browser before you can make a call. Cost, of course, although the add-on to our current plan is just $30 for unlimited data. Learning curve. Have to figure out how to program it to the car's bluetooth (or I guess it's really re-program the car?). Also reprogram the other bluetooth headsets (to use in the truck/van).

neutral: touted for Google maps / GPS features, but not so important for me (I generally know where I'm going).

pros: combine my current phone, PDA, and mp3 player. Add a really good camera (5 megapixel, I think?), so eliminate Brooke saying "Get a new camera, Mom." Web browse when we are traveling, and eliminate the problem of RV parks not having wireless internet (or having a weak signal or low capacity, and some not having secure networks). Eliminate Scott pointing at my poor little HP-iPAQ and saying, "Are you still using that thing?" Eliminate calling Bill to have him look up something for me when I'm running around.

Holidays

2009-12-19T10:11:00.000-08:00

Gee, no one has commented on my anti-smoking snowpeople cartoon.

Not much new to entertain ya'll with. I just wrapped two gifts. Mike is napping, then he wants to do some final shopping -- I get to pick out a Swarovski for myself!

Scott, Helen, and Ender are stopping by tomorrow and we are planning on going to dinner before they continue on their journey to Salem.

Just think -- a week from now Christmas will be over.

Happens every year, just like that!

Insurance and doctors

2009-12-16T17:55:00.000-08:00

Can't live with them, can't live without them. Or so we're told.

Sixteen days ago, Mike's visit to the knee doctor: he's had all the cortisone he can, so they're going to try a different viscous-type shot. Has to be pre-approved by the insurance company, and they've already checked that shouldn't be a problem because they have tried the other pre-requisite steps/treatments to date. It also has to come from the insurance company's pharmacy, so overall it will probably take two weeks.

Mike called the doctor's office today to follow-up. They had not put the order in. Don't know why.

Cue the primordial scream.

So not only is he primarily in the wheelchair all this time, the complicating factor is that my employer is changing insurance companies January 1. So might Aetna stall just long enough...

You betcha.

Shopping

2009-12-13T19:23:00.000-08:00

I don't like shopping. I went today with "C" and the first two stops were fine: Ace Hardware (got a guy-type gift for the family gift exchange) and Powell's Books (to send to nephew Logan for Christmas).

Then off to Lloyd Center. Ugh. Luckily, it didn't seem terribly busy/chaotic/weird.

And luckily we weren't at Washington Square. The two times in my life that I have passed out have been at Washington Square.

The first time was shopping for Christmas! Overheated (wearing a heavy coat), very crowded, walking behind someone who was smoking (yes, my dear Brooke: people used to be able to smoke everywhere), and it was all downhill from there, culminating in the crowded Sears tool section.

The second time was after I got my ears pierced. In hindsight, I was probably holding my breath during the pokes, and walked out of the store okay -- but not very far!

So we will call this shopping trip successful. Some measuring stick: Grandma didn't faint. The smell inside Macy's door (I think they call it "fragrance") was obnoxious, but I didn't faint.

Bicycling and Ben

2009-12-12T06:25:00.000-08:00

The Ben-bicycle story is from 2006, my first Livestrong ride. I got Ben signed up too. The starting point was Delta Park/Portland Meadows, riding out Marine Drive to Troutdale, up to Mt Hood Community College (technically in Gresham?), and back.

When it was finally time for us 40-milers to leave, Ben darted out with a yell, "I'm gonna beat you, Mom!"

Just before the halfway mark, one of his pedals came off the crank arm. The support team didn't have a replacement or a way to makeshift something, so Ben got vanned back to Portland Meadows.

Funny his breakdown occured right before the big hill, rising from the Sandy River up to MHCC.

Bicycling and Brooke

2009-12-10T18:47:00.000-08:00

Okay, here is the quick Brooke-bike story.

I was driving home one afternoon, early for some reason, when Brooke was in about fifth grade.

Here's the road (if the link works) I was on, Browning in Salem. No shoulder except some gravel, no bike lane, no sidewalks.

And I pass my beautiful daughter Brooke bicycling home, NO HELMET!

Fourteen years later, I think her ears are still ringing.

Bicycling

2009-12-09T18:39:00.001-08:00

Well, I thought it was about time I post something on bicycling, since you are looking at "JulieBike" blogspot. (I have already posted some nickname explanations, including the Hooligan thing.) I'm not a big-time rider like cousins Rick, Fernando, and others. I haven't done the Cycle Oregon. I don't race. I don't do the big group weekend rides. Or crazy stuff, like Portland's Bare Naked Ride or the ZooBomb (is that the right name?). I don't ride year round in the dark and rain -- I have been in the dark or rain, but those are future stories.

We used to bike as kids, back in the good-old safe days, after school, in the summer, just out and about. As an adult, I only biked occasionally. Brooke tells me she was scared when I put her on the child carrier seat, the original kind where the kid was riding over the back wheel. We did not have the kid trailers back then. Sorry Brooke!

(Oh, maybe tomorrow I will give you one short story about her cycling as a grade-school kid...unless she recognizes where I'm going and posts it first!)

I got active again almost four years ago. I saw an article about the Livestrong ride (not a race) that was going to be the second annual fundraising ride, 2006, in the Portland area, one of three nationally. The first year it was held, Mom and Dad went down to the end of the runway to watch some of the riders go by. That was September 25, 2005, four days before he passed away. So I signed up for 10 miles and had three months to prepare for the June 2006 ride.

Started "training," short rides (couple of miles) in my area. Then a longer 8-mile route - funny how I don't notice how steep the hills are when I'm in the car. And I soon found out there's a reason cyclists wear those funny padded shorts or pants. 'Nuf said on that.

Figured out how to load the bike on the front of the bus, so I could bus to work in the morning and bicycle home (8.5 miles).

For the Livestrong ride, I switched when I picked up my registration packet: 40 miles instead of 10! Woo-hoo! Not as much to brag about compared to the people who were doing 60 or 100 miles. In fact, it was very sobering, humbling, to be passed by people who had the sign on their back, "I am a Survivor."

My sign: "In memory of Dad."

Brussels Sprouts

2009-12-07T20:01:00.000-08:00

Brussels sprouts? How can she blog about brussels sprouts?

Most of the family knows this story. So read along and let me know if I'm embellishing over time. Or skip off and clean the bathroom. Your choice.

Dad trained me to not like brussels sprouts. That was not his goal. I was about fifth grade, I think, and the vegetable for dinner one night was B.S. (My apologies if the initials offend you, but I don't feel they deserve the energy it takes to spell them out every time.) The rule was, you have to try everything at dinner.

I tried, but I gagged on the little buggers. Literally, could not chew and swallow one little B.S. Dad decreed, "You can go after you try one, but until you do, we're staying right here." My brothers were excused, Mom was working around us to clean up, and it was showdown time.

Really, I tried. I brought home good grades, I did what I could to please my folks. But those weird green things? And how do you describe that taste? Maybe it was just that smell, where your brain says, "Whoa, kiddo, something with that smell was not designed to be eaten and enjoyed."

And we sat.

And Dad fell asleep at the table.

Mom said I could go.

Technology and "proprietarian-ship"

2009-12-06T11:17:00.000-08:00

So now I have a techno project. I wasn't planning on having a techno project.

The project I want to do is take out the shower door in the trailer, and just put up a rod with shower curtain. The shower door is an accordion, metal frame, glass panels door. I would post a picture, but that's part of my problem.

I want to send a picture(s) to a friend to get advice. I took a few pictures, then realized I needed the flash to be off (too much glare reflecting from the metal frame). So that took quite a few minutes.

Note to self, next time take the reading glasses, even when there is "no reason" I'm going to need them.

So now I just need to upload the pics, attach to an e-mail, and go do something else exciting for the day, right? No-ooo. This cute little laptop doesn't have the Canon driver loaded. Go to canon.com, and there is no driver for Vista operating systems. So I need to fire up the desktop and do the upload there.

Properietarian-ship? I just coined that word. Why should I even need a driver? The camera should have a nice little .jpg or .bmp file, and I should plug it in through the USB, and I should be able to transfer it just like I'm dealing with any other drive partition. But Canon has it set up so I have to use their proprietary software to get to my own pictures. Except they don't have the software I need for my machine!

Some day, eventually, I also need to flash-drive pictures (not so much of the shower, but all our other treasured family pics) to this laptop so they can go to the 1.5TB backup drive. That is so very much not happening today.

I love computers. I love number too -- a post for another day about the evil numbers I have been wrestling lately. Really, they are possessed.

Okay, off to the evil desktop PC. Hope your bits and bytes are behaving themselves!

Telemarketers

2009-12-04T23:42:00.000-08:00

Ooh, here's a common enemy to unite the troops!

First, you've probably heard this tip: register your number at donotcall.gov. Very easy, and now it doesn't expire -- you used to have to re-register about every five years. We very seldom get calls, mostly the ones that are exempt (charity, political ads, research polls).

I got the all-time most annoying call a few weeks ago. "I would like to speak to Mr or Mrs Jackson." My standard reply is, "Who's calling please?" The answer this time was in such a thick accent I COULD NOT understand one word. So I simply hung up.

A few seconds later, the phone rang again! Really, I thought, you have got to be kidding me.

"Mrs. Jackson, why did you hang up on me?"

"I could not understand a word you said, and we are on the do not call list."

"This is not a marketing call. If you did not want to be called, why did you mark the ballot?" Then a bunch more unintelligible words. No, I have no idea what he was talking about with a ballot.

I cut him off. "I cannot understand you. Do NOT call again." And he didn't.

Do you have a good story?

Nate's birthday

2009-12-03T21:36:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday to Nate. His Oregon Ducks gave him a great present. And may I emphasize that they had to come from BEHIND to win?

Today is also Nate's dad's birthday.

This is your birthday song. It isn't very long. Hey!

Ben's birthday!

2009-12-01T21:29:00.000-08:00

Ben is 26 today. So really quick, here are three of my favorite Ben stories.

1. Call from Salem Hospital 3:00 in the morning, need permission to treat Ben. He was found drunk in the middle of a street. He was about 16 at the time. When I went in to the emergency room, the first thing he said (or slurred) was "Please don't cancel my snowboard camp." Oh, and it was the day before Mother's Day.

2. Call from Sprague High. Ben had been hanging posters for some garage band's upcoming performance. He was told he needed to have permission, needed to take them down, he refused, was put in the "Options Room." Okay. Then the secretary took a breath, "And now he's chained himself to the desk in protest." I laughed. [Admit it, you did too.] She wasn't so happy. I tried to control my giggles and squeaked out, "Um, is there something you need me to do?" "No, we're just required to let you know." Later his friends put up signs, "Free Ben Bolen, prisoner of free speech." Brooke was mortified (a year behind him in the same school).

3. Call from my Dad. Notice all of these are me getting a phone call from somebody. Anyway, odd that Dad calls me. "Hey, Dad, how are you doing?" "Not very G** Da***d well. I just saw my grandson getting arrested on TV." During the war protests, crowds were ordered to stay out of the street. Ben stepped off the curb to see what was going on down the block. Charges (disorderly conduct, I think) later dropped.

Our free spirit, kind hearted, vegan, charitable Ben. Happy Birthday. I love you.

My dark post

2009-11-30T19:24:00.000-08:00

Warning: I know in advance this is going to be a dark post. If you want light and breezy, go to a different day than this one. I just have to unload these thoughts. Then I can return to blah-blah-blog tomorrow.

I had an opportunity to talk to one of my (many) cousins yesterday, and we ended up on the topic of dads -- and sometimes moms -- who don't stay around. She was one of the kids who went through it, as did mine.

Then on the way home, the radio news was talking about the latest domestic violence homicide. I think it was the fifth time in about five weeks all in Washington County. Every time these start up again, these waves of violence, I'm taken back to early 1989 when I was divorcing, and I wasn't feeling safe, and the county had three murder-suicides within two months. I even went to our security department and my agency director to tell them there was a possibility of trouble. Not probable/likely, just possible. They told me, more than once, if I felt like things were turning bad, to not even think about staying, but to get out of the house and just get away, deal with it later.

As a community, I hope we can get that message out. If you know someone whose relationship is on the edge, tell her (or maybe 'him') to find a safe place. I told a co-worker once that her niece, who was getting a restraining order, could come to my place anytime with no notice. I had never met her, so it would have been difficult for him to trace her. She didn't have to take me up on the offer.

And we need to get a message out to the guys. This message really has to come from other guys, and it goes something like this: "Dude, this is not a case of win or lose. Yeah, maybe this is a change you didn't ask for, and yeah maybe it sucks. But don't get all butt-ugly attitude on us, don't embarrass yourself, and don't go breaking things or hurting people cuz it ain't gonna make it any better. If you think you're losing your mind, come talk to us and we'll share our limited brains with you, and figure out what you need to do to move forward."

I don't know how guy-speak really works, so consider that a working draft.

I could talk more on the subject (example: we lost a co-worker about five years ago to a murder-suicide), but this is more than enough.

Back to your normal programming tomorrow. If you stuck with it, thanks for reading.

Nicknames

2009-11-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

Looking at my last post, N8 is Nate, if you hadn't figured it out. B3 (more on her later) also calls him Neighbor, Nate-Bear, Bear. So today the topic is nicknames.

First, what is the source of the word "nickname?" Middle English, about 1400 or so, "an ekename" became misdivided in speech to "a nekename" or "a nickname." Eke is to stretch out, as in eke out a living. An ekename was an additional name, but can also be thought of as economizing as we so often shorten the name.

First: my name and nicknames. Dad bestowed the Julie = Hoolie = Hooligan moniker. When people ask, "were you really a hooligan," my stock answer is, "Well, I'm not the one who put cars in ditches!" Another nickname is Jewels, most fondly coming from my Aunt Char.

Brother Bill is William, Billy, JR. The cousins still call him Billy. In high school, a neighbor dubbed him JR because he was too old to be a Billy any more, and of course he was a junior, so two Bill's in one house was two-too confusing.

Lordy, so what do I do but name my first son Bill! In family referencing, when someone needed to distinguish him, he became "Little Bill." Still Bill to me, definitely not little at 32 years old and about six feet tall! And with three kids start with the letter "B," my shorthand for Bill is B1 (not to be confused with thiamin!).

Brother Michael has always been just Michael. Not Mike. A couple of cousins used to enjoy going back to school after the holidays, when they could say, "I had dinner with Michael Jackson." Oh, and add to the confusion that brother Michael is married to Julie Ann, and I'm married to a Mike!

Husband Mike is usually just Mike. Sometimes Mikey.

Son Benjamin is Ben. B2 (not to be confused with riboflavin). Like most kids, his in-trouble name was the long version. You know, to get attention, it's "BEN-ja-min." But the I'm-running-out-of-patience is "Ben-ja-MIN." Some of the fun versions are Benny, Benjer, Ben-german (he has more of the German look from his Grandpa George).

Daughter Brooke is mostly just Brooke, B3 (not to be confused with niacin). Brookie, the rookie of the family, the youngest. Lots of fun to have discovered the brand "Brookie's Cookies." N8 just calls her "B."

Scott has also been known as Scooter (Scott R). Dianne used Scotty once in a while.

Dianne sometimes gets lengthened to "Di-ann-ie." Brooke calls her monkey (I don't remember the origin, back in middle school I think).

Granddaughter "C" could have many short versions of her name, the long version is always used.

Grandson Ender is named after the hero in the book series "Ender's Game." That character's given name was Andrew. We'll see what nicknames develop over time -- he's only two months old.

Nate's 30th birthday

2009-11-27T12:23:00.000-08:00

N8 turns 30 next week, and "B3" is collecting stories (goal: 30 stories). He doesn't blog or read blogs, so I figured it would be safe to post my thoughts here. Ssh, don't tell.

I have more of an observation than a specific story. I appreciate that N8 is very handy. He and Brooke helped her Grandma so much while they stayed with her, from installing a retractable screen door to mowing and pool maintenance. Their own house has been an incredible project for almost a year; I'm especially impressed with the wall-removal, railing-install craftsmanship. Brooke found someone who's a bit like her Grandpa, and I mean that as a compliment to Nate! Love you, and happy birthday!

Thanksgiving and forgettin' stuff

2009-11-25T20:59:00.000-08:00

Our family Thanksgiving tradition: forgetting something.

I know that the only people reading this already know the secret. But somewhere in posterity it needs to be recorded and will become very important. Or not.

For Thanksgiving dinner, something is always forgotten. Not on purpose. There's so much food, it is just not missed. The rolls were left warming in the oven. Or the vegetable was still in a steaming pan on the turned-off stove (amidst other now-empty pans). Or Ben's vegan dumplings never made it out of the freezer.

So this week was the usual routine. Made cranberry sauce on Sunday. Mike went through all of it by tonight, so I made another batch.

Last night tried a new recipe for a sweet potato - pineapple bake. Pretty easy, healthier than the brown sugar - marshmallow concoctions. We'll see how it goes over.

Tonight I also prepared a breakfast casserole to put in the oven first thing in the morning (Scott and Helen are spending the night before continuing on to Salem tomorrow).

Made a vegan pumpkin pie. Then as I was taking it out of the oven and sliding in the apple pie, I thought, "Darn, I was supposed to make a regular pumpkin pie too. What was I thinking? So should I make it tonight? Tomorrow morning, but will it set up in time?"

Then, "Oh, yeah, we already have it. We bought one of Costco's this year." doh.

Called Ben to see which basting he wanted for the Tofurkey (he chose the orange juice - soy sauce).

So I continued on with a new recipe for a fruit salad. Had to cut up a fresh pineapple, which is a pain. Then two mangoes, which are just the worst. Then two kiwi, but someone finally told me the trick on those. Don't try to peel the stupid little bugger. Cut it in half (around the "equator" so to speak), then scoop it out with a spoon.

Tomorrow I'm sure I will remember to pack all of that, along with the fixings for the green salad, veggies for Ben's meal, the three types of whipped toppings, napkins.

For now, I'm off to slumberland.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I'm ready to kick back and enjoy 'the kids' company.

It's Easy Bein' Green

2009-11-24T21:43:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm challenging Kermit the Frog. It is easy being green. Or at least, it's easy to start being greener step by step. I'm a little better than some, but I will admit right here what I do and don't do:
I do recycle like crazy.
I don't cut back on buying stuff as much as I probably could.
I used to ride the bus and bike for more than 50% of my commute miles
I don't ride the bus right now (weather, time, change in routes/timing, emergencies with Mike) nor commute on the bike (same things, plus it's dark and I had a couple of close calls last year that convinced me to wait again until spring)
I do drive a hybrid
I don't have an alternative to the diesel pickup for pulling the fifth wheel trailer, at 11 mpg
I do compost food scraps into my home-made worm bin ("C" and I built)
I don't grow all my own food
I do have a solatube for an interior bathroom (LOVE it)
I don't have solar power or solar hot water yet (except the fifth wheel has a solar panel)
I do use tap water (not bottled water)
I don't have a good routine for buying local, seasonal food
I do have solar accent lights around the back yard
I don't have xeriscaping (taking out grass and putting in drought resistant, native plants)
I use non-phosphate dish and laundry soaps
I still have plenty of other chemicals around

Oh, that reminds me, gotta go. I saw that Mike threw some empty pill containers in the trash. I need to move them to the recycle bags!

C's birthday

2009-11-23T19:31:00.000-08:00

So granddaughter "C's" birthday party was yesterday. She really has a BIRDday birthday this year (on Thanksgiving), but she will be with her mom, plus there's the whole holiday interfering with friends schedules thing. We went to Tony Starlights, where they were having a Johnny Mercer tribute (wrote "Moon River," "Tangerine," "Jeepers Creepers," and a hundred others). And the night was also a benefit for the NW Down Syndrome Association.

Oh, why do I use the "C" for her name? Just for protection. I mean, no one is reading this blog anyway (Hi, Amy!) but she is a minor and there are creeps out there. I trust her dad is watching her facebook settings.

Back to the celebration. Lots of fun. She was pulled up on stage right away to be recognized, and she got to play percussion for one song. Okay, it was a cowbell, and she hit it three times when he signaled her. "I'm an old cowhand from the Rio Grande." Yee-haw!

'Nuf for today; gotta take out the garbage. Maybe tomorrow I will post an antithesis to Kermit the Frog, because I believe it IS easy being green. Curious? Stay tuned.

Oh Mom: I changed the settings for comments so you can leave it as anonymous if you can't get it to work right for you. And I took off the "word verification" routine. So give it a shot again.

Oprah who?

2009-11-20T18:13:00.000-08:00

Honestly, I can't say I ever watched an Oprah show. Yes, I know who she is, of course. But since I work, talk shows in general are just not my thing. I am not against her show, and more power to what I understand Oprah has done in getting people to read, taking control of their own lives, taking care of others.

In general I am not into girly stuff. Or so-called women's magazines. Or shopping. Or hanging out with six women where five are talking at once (what is WITH that?). Or 3" heels -- I'm already 5'7" and my husband is shrinking to the point where he's an inch shorter than me.

Mom said once, "With Julie, what you see is what you get."

I'll take that as a compliment!

Employment

2009-11-18T16:38:00.000-08:00

Brooke works at Oregon's Employment Department. So I am inspired to write about employment today.

Oregon's unemployment numbers were released Monday (11.2%) and Washington's numbers yesterday (9.3%). We in Clark County have the unenviable, #1 unemployment in Washington state: 13.7%. In part that means our residents are still looking for work (Oregon reported a flat trend, they said, because many people have given up).

Our county government is hurting. We are going through another round of cuts. Does it impact me? Only that our pay is still frozen. I've had two years at the same pay, and next year will be the same. But at least I'm still working and have insurance coverage. I know three people in one department were terminated last week. A woman I know in another department will lose her position at the end of this month. One woman in our larger department of the Auditor's Office is seeing her position cut in six months, but she has been cross-training and filling in for someone who is on disability leave, and that person will probably take permanent disability soon.

It would have been very easy to cut the three of us who are internal auditors. Mike and I would have been fine. Luckily people see value in the work we do, so I'm going to keep earning that respect, repaying the honor of serving all county managers and the citizens of the county by doing my best work every day. I'm not the one to turn to for touchy-feely, morale building, or hand holding. But give me a task, and I will get it done. Maybe with some dry humor thrown in.

Aging in place

2009-11-15T19:21:00.000-08:00

One of my goals in this blog is to stay away from whining on and on about health issues. I have read other people's TMI emails / postings and asked, "Wow, what were they thinking in posting all that stuff?"

[If you are thinking in horror that you sent me an update and I reacted with the above question, then you probably did NOT send too much information. It's the clueless folks who don't see themselves as pushing the edges of social ineptitude.]

Yet I cannot ignore the fact that Mike has Parkinson's. As we looked to move to Clark County, our number one criteria in buying a home was for a single story. I told Brooke that we would only stay in the house we finally bought for two years or so, because of the front steps. She said "what steps?" There are three sections that have two steps each, which you don't even notice if you're a 'regular' person. You just walk up the walkway. Brooke reminded me of this story recently, as we were comparing stories of when the limited mobility really sunk in.

Lately I've thought a lot about the need to plan for aging in place. Mike's daughter, Dianne, has a degree in health care administration, emphasis in long-term care. I'm hoping she can give me ideas of what we need to think about. There are a lot of different scenarios. More immediately, we need to have a plan in place if something happens to me, even short term (say, I blow out my knee again).

Side note: when I mentioned this to Mike, his response was, "Well, you have been keeping lots of healthy food on hand. I open the fridge and you have things like grapes, sugar-free jell-o, yogurt."

"Wow, Mike, I'm really not talking about food."

That is as far as we got.

So if you have tips and resources, bring 'em on.

Beaver Football

2009-11-15T16:50:00.000-08:00

Our home season is over, and thank goodness for decent weather. The first game had showers right up to game time, but then stopped for all of the play. In our regular seats it wouldn't matter, because those are under cover. The wheelchair seating is much lower (row 39 instead of 63), but just into the rain exposure.

I'm also thankful for the special ADA shuttles with the wheelchair lift. We had the same driver (out of three possible) for all but one run; I think her name is Kimberly.

Go Beavs!

Here's me being quiet for a couple of days

2009-11-13T13:23:00.001-08:00

No blogging for a couple of days. Off to the Beavers last home game tomorrow!

Miracle cure for baggy eyes?

2009-11-12T21:52:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I went for a facial. As Angela was doing "magic stuff" around my eyes, she said, "This will help with puffiness and bags."

"Really," I asked, "it's a miracle cure to help Mike sleep all night so I can sleep?"

The boss's hubby

2009-11-11T06:53:00.000-08:00

My boss, Linda, called yesterday morning. She was scheduled to be at the VA all day with her husband's appointments. When I saw her number on my phone, I picked up with, "Hey, you're not supposed to be thinking about work today."

"Well," she said, "we're being admitted."

Obviously Vince was being admitted, "But it feels like us." I don't have permission to disclose what he was going through, but his chest pain was not from a recurrence of pneumonia. So Linda was a bit put out, especially since she had tried to get VA to see him a week ago.

My hubby came to the office at 4:00 because we had a flu shot clinic (regular seasonal flu, not H1N1 yet). Afterwards, we trondled off to the VA campus. What an adventure. First I had to unload the wheelchair and leave Mike at the front door while I figured out parking. Then there was no information desk open, so we had to ask at Emergency where to find Vince.

[side story: Vince last name: Richard. Mike last name: Ramsby. So as we are leaving the E-room, who are the calling next? Richard Ramsey. I kid you not.]

They are very concerned about the flu up there. Signs, "Restricted Access. No visitors under 15." Surgical masks available. Hand sanitizer every other step. The wing we were going to had three doors, and it seems like each were labeled, "Restricted, use other door." Anyway, we finally found them, he's looking good. He's an active 80 year old, by the way. Mike and I left in time to still use the carpool lane on I-5 north (hey, that can be a whole blog). Went to Olive Garden for dinner, then home in time for NCIS.

Anyway, think happy thoughts for Linda and Vince. Linda can always use any "calm Karma" you send her way -- ooh, another future blog!

Do I really have anything to say?

2009-11-09T18:39:00.001-08:00

So what in the world can I blog about? All our great kids, of course. Gardening, but everything's dormant now. Work, but that might turn into whines. Holidays -- need to get Thanksgiving figured out, and also remember birthdays for Christine, Ben, Nate, Sonja, and Dianne before year end. Ooh, weight loss, always an exciting topic. Do you want to vote? Anyone out there besides Brookster?

Two months later

2009-10-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

So if I come back to this once every two months, I will have something readable by ... 2020?

Figuring it out

2009-08-15T18:35:00.000-07:00

So I'm starting this and have boo-booed already. Need to save this before I go to another tab. Let's just get set up and come back later to talk about gardening, family, cycling, work, etc.