And now for something completely different...

Kiddo and I have some weird inside jokes.  I'm not going to share them all with you, because then they wouldn't be inside jokes anymore, but I thought you might enjoy this.  Or, you might find it kinda disturbing.  Your choice.

Anyway, a few years ago, she noticed that there was a Barbie doll on the roof of a house that we pass a few times a week.  The house is two stories, so it would be almost impossible for a kid that lives there to throw the doll onto the roof, except that the house is located in a bit of a valley and a road and sidewalk are directly behind it.  We figured that someone who was walking along the sidewalk just tossed that Barbie over there and the homeowners have no idea it is there.

Summer 2010.    It looks like she is in a rather precarious position.

We started checking the roof every time we went past the house, and sure enough, it just stayed right there.  Somehow, we decided we would yell out "Nekkid Barbie" every time we went by.  (And yes, "nekkid" is a word.  In Texan it means "naked".  Our pastor in Texas used to use it from the pulpit, "The man and his wife were both nekkid and knew no shame."  It's in Genesis.  Look it up.)

After a few weeks of noticing, we started predicting.  We thought that maybe a good fall rain storm or wind storm might just whisk that baby right off that roof.  Nope, she was still there the next summer- although she had slid considerably lower and closer to the gutters.

Summer 2011.   Still precarious but about two feet lower than the year before.

Well, now this was getting interesting!  We thought maybe we should make some bets regarding the date of the ultimate demise of dear Barbie, but neither of us are good gamblers so we just make half-hearted suggestions without committing any money to the deal.  We also discussed driving down the road to the house and knocking on the door to inform the homeowners that there was a nekkid Barbie on their roof.  Still haven't done that.  I'm waiting till she hits the gutter because until then she is doing no harm and she is providing entertainment.

This summer, we rarely drove by the nekkid Barbie site, and when we did I was sans camera, so it was fall when we finally caught another picture of her.  She's turning gray and brown now, and has slid about a foot lower than last summer.  She's closer to the edge of the roof, so after a good rain storm, or a bit of wind, she might end up in the rain gutter.  Homeowners hate things clogging up their rain gutters, so I will keep an eye on it and go tell the owners pretty soon.

Fall 2012.   It's amazing what little it takes to entertain us.
I predict she might be sliding even more during this recent hit of rain.
Poor Barbie.  What a way to go.

I'll update with new pictures as soon as there is something to show.  For now, you can go about your lives as before.

It's raining, it's pouring!

It's AWESOME.  I was smiling this little smile all day- like I had a secret and no one else knew it... it was so wonderful to see the water streaming down my classroom window.  Ahhhhhh...

By 5 pm we had gotten as much rain as in the past 3 months.  It feels so good and fresh and clean.  

I know it will seem dreary in March, but for now it was sorely needed and very much welcomed.

Falling asleep to the sound of rain is always wonderful.  It's doubly good on a Friday night because I turn off the alarm clock and let morning come when it will.  It's delicious.

It's almost here...

The rain is almost here!  I just checked weather.com and it says we have a 40% chance of rain on Friday, 60% chance of rain on Saturday, 50% on Sunday, and 70% on Monday!!!!
I'm so excited I could just burst!!! (They better not be teasing me.)

Oh.  You aren't from around here?  You don't get the whole rain thing?  Well, let me attempt an explanation...

This year, our July through September rainfall was about one-tenth of normal.  One-tenth.  As in, it's been dry, dry DRY.  It was so dry and windy last weekend that when I attempted to clean and sweep out the garage, it all blew back in!  Because of the east wind, the humidity level here dropped to 10%.  That is so weird.

Nothing in town is clean or green- cars, streets, buildings, trees- they're all dusty and dry.  I had a cold last week and I tried to use the humidifier but the air was so dry in our house that it made no difference to my breathing at all.  I'm using up hand lotion like there's no tomorrow.  I kept thinking it might rain, so I forgot to water the pumpkins I planted last spring.  Dead.  The moss, mold, and mildew that live on the north side of everyone's houses are desperate for wetness- if you are quiet, you can hear the tiny screams of dying mildew as you settle into bed for the night.

Everything is thirsty.  This is very unusual.  We're setting records.  There have been 2 or 3 wildfires that are uncomfortably close to town, and more house fires in town in the last month than I can remember in a long time.

Not only have we had very little measurable rainfall, it has also been warm.  Since fall started, every day has been in the 70s.  Nights are in the 50s, sometimes 40s.  Yawn.   Welcome to the Stepford weather.

Some people like this kind of weather.  They live in California.  I live here because I like the clean green that our usual rainfall brings.

I've been checking weather.com every day since school started.  Sometimes two, ten times a day.  School is much easier when it is raining outside.

I. SO. MISS. THE. RAIN.

C'mon, rain!  I'm rooting for ya!  Even if it means the weeds will start to grow in my lawn, at least they are green!!  C'mon, rain!

Maybe I'll go wash my car.  You know, just to be sure...

Why?

You see all those wonderful generic versions of Ny-Quil and Day-Quil?  Gorgeous, aren't they?  All snuggled up in their blister packs, just waiting for someone to come along and pop them out and get relief from the dang cold that has taken up residence in their nose.

Yup.  Beautiful.  Beautiful but lacking.  You see, there are 5 pairs of capsules in each card.  That is how they are sold.  BUT- there is a space for a sixth pair of capsules.  So, WHY isn't there a sixth pair?

It only makes sense.  I get a cold once a year.  I need about 6 days/nights of medicinal intervention each time I get a cold.  Theoretically, I use up one card of each color per cold, so a box of 2 cards per color SHOULD last me two years.  It doesn't.  The second year I always end up short on drugs and debating whether I can somehow stretch the effects of each pill so I don't have to go to the store and get a whole 'nother box of 4 cards of green and orange salvation.  I don't want to go to the store, I want to go back to bed.

It's really quite irksome.  It's not like there isn't room for a 6th pair- you can clearly see that the cards have room and there is plenty of room in the box.  It's basically a conspiracy.  I am being forced by the manufacturer to go out and buy a new box way too early in the sickness/medicine continuum.  It's a waste of gasoline.

My math brain really can't handle this lack of completeness- especially with no explanation.  I don't care if they charge more for the cards with 6 pairs instead of the cards with 5 pairs.  They should charge more.  They shouldn't leave me high and dry and coughing through the night.  

I just want to know... WHY???????

Field Trips, part 1

In June, Ab's school let out about 10 days before mine.  My folks jumped in with activities and field trips in order to save me some day care $$$$.  Three cheers for grandparents!!!

Field trip #1 was to Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch in central Oregon.  The ranch was founded by Troy and Kim Meeder to rescue neglected and abused horses and provide a place for disabled kids to learn to ride.  They give tours and have a weekly dinner and worship time.  Read more about the ranch at their website or through one of Kim's books.

Here are the scrapbook pages I made to document their wonderful time together:

As you can see, Ab really likes animals of all kinds.  I can see her working somewhere like this when she is old enough.  

Our town.

Last summer was all about travel and learning and Anne of Green Gables (see any post titled "THE TRIP"), but this summer was all about staying close to home and just enjoying our town.

We joined an athletic club and logged many hours in the pool and the sun, traveled to a few regional places of interest, and cleaned out and re-did the laundry room.  Rather a productive summer, if you ask me!

One thing we both like about our town is the local burger chain.  They serve very fresh food- all from nearby ranchers and farmers.  It costs a bit more than Mickey D's, but it is so worth it.  Every season they showcase a different fruit or veggie- sometimes they have asparagus (which I hate, but I am using as an example of their creativity), or fresh blackberry shakes, or, my very favorite of all, onion rings made with Walla Walla Sweets.  Every July and August they bring out this amazing snack, complete with a variety of dipping sauces for our dining pleasure.  Every year I tell myself that I am only going to enjoy one order for the season.  But then, I tell myself that it's vegetables...  I wouldn't want to keep myself from vegetables, would I?

This is an order of three rings.  They are amazingly hot and crispy and sweet and oh so huge!  We always have to share- even when there are only three!  The ranch dipping sauce is good, but not quite as good as the parmesan garlic sauce they used to offer a few years ago.  That was straight from sauce heaven!

And then there is a little manufacturing plant/retail store that sells outrageously good hot chocolate mixes.  They have about 16 kinds of hot drinks for you to sample as you wander through the shop and try to decide on the many flavors to purchase.  You can sample mint hot cocoa, toffee hot cocoa, coffee hot cocoa, raspberry hot cocoa, bacon hot cocoa (yeah, you read that correctly, BACON.  It's not bad- kind of smokey...), and even white hot cocoa which is kiddo's all-time fave.  

Their reader board outside has a daily winner announcement with a different name flashed up there every day.  One day when we drove by, we noticed that we had hit the jackpot!

On the screen before this, it read, "Today's Winner"

And on the next screen it told the winner to come inside to claim their prize.  

She got two free packs of hot cocoa mix.  Her choice?  Belgian White.

We hope you had a relaxing and interesting summer, too!  

Tell us, what do you like about YOUR town?

THE TRIP- leaving PEI

Our last day on PEI.  My friend and I snuck out in the morning and visited the graves of L.M. Montgomery, her mother, and her grandparents.  

Then the cars got packed and we hit the road for the drive to the Confederation bridge.  It was overcast and rainy, but we still got some good shots of the landscape (and some churches) of the island.

L.M. Montgomery grave.

Maud's Mother (left) and Grandparents (right).

Canola fields

Church

Church

Church

Church

Rolling hills

Cows.

The bridge.  Look at that sign.  It is free to cross onto the island, but it costs $43.25 to cross back to the mainland.
$43.25!!!!! 
I call PEI the "Hotel California" of islands, because you can check out any time you want, but you can never leave. (unless you have a credit card!!!)

The Confederation Bridge.

Bye bye, PEI!   Someday, I will return.  And, I might not bring enough money to ever leave...