Goody Gumdrop

A Couple of Days in LA

The last time we visited Los Angeles was for my cousin Marisa's wedding in 2009. She got married in the chapel at Loyola High School and it was beautiful.  Her oldest brother - my cousin Jeff - passed away New Year's Eve and we went down last weekend to attend his funeral.  The service was also at the Loyola High School chapel.  It was beautiful in a very different way.  I've been thinking a lot about death and people's stories.  And how the intersection of your story with theirs might not play out the way you would expect.  I thought we'd all get old together.  Well, we are all getting older but Jeff was not old enough. Neither was our friend Todd who died in August.  They were 39 and 38.

The trip - although it was for an awful reason - was a gift to us.  We spent 2 nights in Bakersfield and saw our parents. Then we stayed at a hotel in Hollywood for 2 nights and the four of us had a mini vacation.  We were definitely in need of a vacation.  I feel like I've been working all the time. Too many evenings and weekends. My love for Los Angeles (which was huge in high school) has been revived!  Maybe it was the 65 degree weather.  Maybe it was seeing things through the new eyes of the children.  Or maybe it was that I saw a bunch of things I had never seen before (Hollywood Boulevard and all the theaters there, the stars, Olvera Street, and Union Station).  We rode the Metro and bus like tourists with our camera and felt like we had travelled across the world to a whole new city.  It was LA from a pedestrian perspective and it was a lot of fun.  Doug is already researching hotels in Santa Monica and Hermosa for our next So Cal getaway.  I want to go more often and spend time with family.  I miss them.  And we could have used at least 3 more days at the beach.

 

 Of course Blythe went to LA too.

A Boxing Day Hike

Did you know there is a Trappist Abbey in Lafayette?  I didn't.  I saw the sign while driving and mentioned it to Theresa and Brian.  They said that behind the Abbey is a network of hiking trails and people are welcome to go explore.  We headed up there yesterday to check it out.  It was extremely quiet and we saw signs of no one.  I think the monks must have been recuperating from Christmas.  We peeked in at the church and it was beautiful.  Natural wood and natural light.  I would love to attend a mass there.

Summer Sewing

Well, it feels like summer is over (which it officially is, I realize).  It arrived too late this year so I'll miss it.  I did manage a bit of sewing before we started the moving endurathon.

The first project was a quick baby quilt for Isaac's first grade teacher.  She was having her baby near the end of the school year and we didn't know whether it would be a girl or a boy.  I shot a quick pic before we wrapped it up.

 
I used one of my Goody Gumdrop hedgehog labels!

 
This quilt was pretty quick (took one or two evenings) because I had a bunch of blocks left from other quilts and I just had to fill in with new fabrics to make it a rectangle.  It was receiving blanket size, with natural flannel on the back. Mrs. B had a baby girl!

The next quick gift was a little book bag for a birthday party friend.  This friend started daycare with Isaac when they were both tiny babies.  He must have been about 4 months old when she started.  They were together through pre-K and then went to different elementary schools for kindergarten.  They reunited for summer daycare after K, and then we moved over to Llewellyn, so they are together again.  They haven't been in the same class unfortunately.  And I think at this point she mostly runs away from him on the playground.  Long gone are the days when she would pucker up her lips through the chain link fence as we got out of the car!  She was the main target of his Age 1 Biting Issue, so I'm glad we are all still friends. 

I have this amazing Japanese Little Red Riding Hood print so I was sewing up this bag as we were supposed to be running out the door to the pool party.  I also got some hand-me-down vintage fabrics from a friend and used a cool retro prince and princess fabric for the lining - didn't get a picture of it due to my LAST MINUTE SEWING.

 
It was an awesome day for a pool party.

 

My biggest sewing triumph was finishing my nephew Vincent's baby quilt.  The quilt top was done before we went to Florida in April.  When I realized it is a pretty constant 90-something degrees outside and a pretty constant 70-something degrees inside and that the boy would never ever need a blanket, I kind of lost my momentum.  But I did want to get it done before he turned 2 so I rallied to finish it up.  I used a free Anna Maria Horner pattern for the Folk Dance Quilt.  I reduced the triangles to 78% or so and counted out how many I would need to make a crib quilt size.  I went to Cool Cottons in hopes of finding some cool BOY fabrics.  I was sort of planning a blue and orange quilt for the Gator-loving family, but the Peter Pan fabric sucked me in.  It turned into a 70s retro green and orange affair.

 
Peter

 
Le Porcelet

 
Frogs and Birds

And the finished quilt:

 
 

With my assistant:

 
My new machine can sew letters so I made a little plaque for the back.  The backing is flannel.

 
Here's baby Vince with his new playmat!

 
I love him.

I would love to make the Folk Dance Quilt with Anna Maria fabrics for our bed.  I love the zig-zag. And her fabrics are amazing.  I have to finish Isaac's quilt first though.

The rest of the summer was dedicated to packing and moving and unpacking and organizing.  A whole lot of this:

 
 
And moving into this:

 
Clean slate, new life!  I'm so excited about our new house.

Hamma Hamma Means Stinky Stinky in Salishan

We have a new favorite Forest Service Cabin.  The Hamma Hamma Guard Station was built by the CCC in 1937.  The pictures on the website don't really do it justice at all.  They need to employ and HDR camera with a wide angle lens like all of the real estate agents do these days.  Actually it was so nice to be so pleasantly surprised.  The cabin was designed by an architect and had a really lovely layout.  It also had an indoor bathroom (unlike all other forest service cabins except the Imnaha Cabin outside Medford).  Unfortunately all indoor plumbing was disconnected except for the flushing toilet because of the safe drinking water act.  What a drag!  I should probably write to the ranger station and suggest a low-fi sand filter.  It's fresh spring water....give me a break!  Couldn't a 'use at your own risk' sign suffice?  Heating water to do dishes feels like more of a pain when you know there's a hot water heater in a closet right around the corner.

The cabin had a book on the CCC and I learned a lot that I had not known before.  I think we could really use a program like that again now.  The details were amazing - down to the hand forged door latches and the open trusses in the master bedroom ceiling.  It was nicer than most of the houses we've viewed in Sellwood recently.  Move-in ready!  The living room has 180 degrees of windows, which is really necessary in the dark and gloomy Olympic National Forest where it rains for most of the year.  The kitchen nook with its built in shelves and eating bench were lovely.  There was an assortment of items on display from past visitors.  The cabin fell into disrepair after funding ran out to maintain it.  Vandals broke the windows, stole the wood stove and just generally trashed the place.  A local girl scout troop worked for a year and a half to restore it so that it could be used in the cabin rental program.  There was a photo album showing the progress of their efforts.  What a great experience.

A rare species of bats roosts behind the shutters of the cabin.  A posted sign says not to move the shutters but Brian missed that and opened one when he heard some squeaking.  A tiny bat fell out and because it was in a state of torpor, just layed there.  While it was unfortunate, it was also an amazing opportunity for the kids to all check out a mini bat-mouse.  After a good look we got a couple of pieces of wood to build him a little cover.  Later on he was gone so I assume he made it back up to his roost.  At twilight the bats would come shooting out from the shutters and the eaves of the roof.

We took a bunch of nature walks along the stream by the cabin which feeds into the Hamma Hamma River.  We also drove up to Elk Lake and hiked a lakeside trail before having a picnic.  We drove down to Hood Canal and shucked some oysters on a beach that was littered with them.  The kids loved that.  Hood Canal is just such an awesome area.  The forest, the salt water, the lakes and hikes.  Apparently the Lena Lake trail must be a good one.  Our trip was on Memorial Day weekend and there must have been 50 cars parked at the trailhead.  We passed but I think we will try to get to Hamma Hamma again sometime.

 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Winter Recap

Well with a whopping 57 inches of rain since October 1st, you better believe we are ready for summer over here.  And it better involve some SUN this year.  This has been the first week we have opened the windows in the afternoon on a regular basis.  YES.

I downloaded a bunch of pics off both cameras so here's a recap of months and months of photos.

Boys in Ties.

 

Boys in snow.

 
 

All of us in snow

 

More time at Laws.

 
 
 
 
 
A teensy bit of snow in Portland.

 

And then we went to Florida!  And it was amazing. 

Boating with 8 kids & one 3 month old was a blast.

 
 

Pick your spot on Egmont Key.  The island is only accessible by boat and has ruins of a fort from the twenties.  It is also a wildlife refuge.

 
 
 
 
 
 

We love lighthouses!

 

Summer and Blythe and Blythe! (Her name is really Blythe. I was so excited.)

 

The structures were burned down but the brick roads remain.

 

Day 2 at John's Pass.

 

And then to the Bon Aire for pina coladas and burgers at the beach bar.  The kids can run and play.  So perfect!

 

I'm really convinced I want about 3 more kids now. Don't they look like they're having fun? They had so much fun.

Brian, Molly (holding Vince), Shannon, Mack, Blythe, Ava, Isaac, Summer, Ebin. 

 

And then we went to the Happiest Place on Earth!

 

Look at Ebin's first glimpse of Mickey singing and dancing.  (Mickey's Clubhouse is Ebin's favorite tv show.)

 
 

 
 
 

It was a fantastic (long and hot) day.  I can't wait to do it again with the kids. 

We finished up our trip with an amazing dinner at Walt's Fish Shak at John's Pass.  Walt's whole menu is on a chalk board and when he runs out of something, it gets crossed off.  Fresh fresh seafood with an awesome view and the most amazing island rice I've ever had. Mr. Adventuresome Eater Isaac ate all my scallops too. (We also had conch soup, beer steamed shrimp, blackened grouper, and fried grouper. Yum.)  Who wants a root beer?  And who wants a real beer?

 

 
It was so much fun to see Tamara and Brian's life and meet our nephew Vincent.  He is a LOVE BUG.  Happy baby.  He has non-stop action to behold.

 

Thanks are due to our parents for both of the great trips.  We are lucky people.

Now we are doing baseball, working a lot, and pounding the pavement trying to find a house in this sweet neighborhood.

 
 

You never know what you might find.

 
But I can't wait!!

The validating stove

 

Tomorrow is Love Day

Isaac said.

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

 

 
 
Time to bust out your reddest rose dress and cherry tights!

Hello, Twenty Eleven

I love reading other bloggers' end of year recap posts.  I really couldn't write my own and be as inspiring or funny.  2010 was a white-knuckler of a year.  Some things didn't quite pan out as planned, and a few other things exceeded my wildest expectations.  I think I'll just focus on those good things and try to forget about the rest. 

I have not managed to blog very often these days, but maybe I can remedy that in this new fresh start of a year!  I certainly feel optimistic what with the amazing sunshine (and fierce cold) we had today.  Maybe we'll get where we are going and enjoy the journey along the way. 

My other new year's resolution is to get a new camera.  I love my iPhone camera (which met an early death on Saturday...weep!) but my camera situation is frustrating unless I am in broad daylight and no one is moving. I feel like I'm missing out on major chapters of growth for the boys, without proper photos. (Rainy winter in Portland?  There is no 'broad daylight')  I have my eye set on an Olympus PEN but reading reviews it doesn't sound like the most responsive action camera.  (Those boys- they don't stop moving.  Pictures are tricky.) Anyway...something to save for.  But first! I need a new iPhone.  I couldn't even find my way to the AT&T store by my office today without the handy GPS.  I had to actually ASK someone!

So 2011.  Onward and upward!

The most amazing driveway

Doesn't this look amazing?  Imagine coming home to this drive every day.

 

This was next to the tree farm we visited in McMinnville a couple of weeks ago.  It was up on Fox Ridge Road - a great small family tree farm with a spectacular view.

 

We had 4 happy kids running willy-nilly through trees and playing games.

 

I love decorating for Christmas.  It was so exciting to have a *real* mantle to decorate this year.

 

 

 
 

Merry Christmas!!

The New House

It's not ours but we are taking care of it for Georgeann.  It's lovely and we are snug as little bugs in a rug here.  Actually, more like bugs in a bigger, roomier rug.  But now that it's gotten colder in the mornings, it feels cosy.  We are all enjoying the house.  I took a few pictures in the back yard in September.

Get a load of this tree house!  Boy heaven.

 

I'm not looking forward to raking up those leaves.  There's no grass back here.  Lots of shrubbery and it is pretty shaded except for midday.  I think we are going to put in a flagstone patio before it all turns into a muddy dog pit.  Georgeann is amenable to us doing things.  She said we could paint if we wanted.  After unpacking, I don't want to do anything.  It's been nice just to BE here this month without feeling the urgency of organizing things or trying to find something critical in a box somewhere.

Here's the back of the house.

 

 
Lola likes it here.  The rats like the open sides of the big compost bin, and after touching maggots on the side of the swinging compost bin, I'm not sure I can handle that.

Georgeann has all sorts of cool rocks and things in the back yard. She had a lot of potted plants in the back and some happily thriving tomato plants in the front.  I think it's time to yank them.  I'm sick of tomatoes.  The acorn squash is getting powdery mildew and we already ate the one big daddy it grew.

 

What is this spriraled plant?  Do I need to bring it in for the winter?  There is also what I think is an amyrillis bulb.  Do I need to bring that one in too?

 

I can't wait to see what kind of bulbs come up.  Patches of muscari have already sprouted.  Tomorrow I think I'll do a round of fall cleanup and weed pulling here, and hopefully have some time to putter in the sewing room.  It'll be another beautiful sunny day!  Today was perfect.