Strawberry Delight

It is amazing how quickly the garden grows this time of year. All the plants are taking off except of course the ones that need to grow the fastest. The STUMP planter as I'll call it has trailing petunias that need to cover the pot and the stump it is sitting on before we have our garden tour on August 1st. I feel like I'm watching water boil. They just don't seem to do anything. Maybe I'll go out and get a big container of Miracle Grow. Is there such a thing as giving too much of this stuff?

Our two strawberry patches are doing very well. On the East side all the transplants have made it, and the patch in the raised bed has blossomed profusely and is now covered with berries. John has been babying them along making sure to hand water carefully each day. He has been waiting patiently to pick the first ones as they ripen. This morning on our way out the door I heard John use a few choice words and wondered what was up. Otis had apparently beaten John to the berries. He had gotten into the raise bed and eaten all of John's precious strawberries. The netting had been trampled on and the fencing around the bed had been knocked down. Ouch. John was furious!!! He said that if he had caught Otis in the act, he would have strangled him. Am I ever glad that didn't happen! On Otis' defense, I told John that it is not fair to be mad at Otis if on one had we give the little guy strawberries to eat and yet expect him to leave the berries in the garden alone. Besides, we use to let Da Boys pick their own berries in the other patch whenever there were stragglers left on the plants. John did not get this until I used the analogy of giving Da Boys steak treats at the table. If then you go outside and put some in the yard you could not expect them to not eat it. Right, my point exactly!

So now what? I guess if we don't want Da Boys to help themselves to the strawberries, we are going to have to come up with a dog-proof system to keep them out. I know. More work. Otis's new nickname is Strawberry Delight! Seeing a charcoal black dog with a bright red strawberry in his mouth is just too cute. All he needed was a squirt of whipped cream to top it off. By the time we made it to Coos Bay, John had dealt with his anger and was loving on Otis once again. Ha ha. I'm glad John has a soft spot for Da Boys.

It’s a chicken. It’s a turkey. No, it’s a goose! Actually I’m not sure what it was but surely the thing that crossed the 101 (walking) on our way home from Coos Bay was big and in the bird family.

Heavely Summer

I could live in a climate where the weather is constantly as beautiful as it is here today…not too hot, not too cold. Actually, I like it when the nights are just a little on the cool side so that my nose gets chilled sticking out from underneath the covers, and I like having a reason to tuck the bedding tight around me.

Today I started packing up my classroom at CE. How does one accumulate so much junk in just two years…since I last moved classrooms? I am moving back to the basement. I thought I had enough boxes to do the job but I’ve had to call the school kitchen twice asking for more. Once I am packed, maintenance will move all my stuff to my new (old) room so that it’ll be waiting for me come fall. I am NOT going in over the summer to unpack. I am actually not even teaching summer school this year. Yeah! I get a true summer vacation this time around.

Azalea Festival 2009

Da Boys and I got in lots of walking on Saturday. We went for our regular early morning walk (70 min.) and then we walked to town to see the parade, walked around town to see all the booths, and then home again (another 150 min. easy). It was a wonderful day. Excitement was in the air as we watched the never-ending-parade make its way through Brookings. There were horses, bands, dog clubs, veteran, trucks, and all sort of other groups in the lineup. The funniest part was at the beginning when the HP, ambulances, and fire engines came by. Their sirens were going full blast which made Otis howl. He was sooooo cute. He actually has a very deep voice when he howls. The last time I hear him do this was at last year’s parade.

The usual candy was tossed to little kids, but some of the dog clubs actually handed out goodies for dogs that were watching the parade. Otis and Teddy came away with many treats, a tennis ball for each, and Otis got a little beach ball as well. Too cute! The only unfortunately detail was that the sun did not make its début until 3:00PM when we had already made our way home. We all took a nap and later Teddy decided he wanted more food for his spent energy. The Stinker found his way into the garage where he proceeded to go through the garbage. Thanks Teddy for giving me another chore to do. I was afraid that he may up-chuck it all during the night for yet another mess to clean up but he was able to hold his found treats down.

This morning I went to FM to buy John the Sunday paper and a Starbucks coffee, (I lost a bet and this was my pmt.) When I was there I was approached by a lady who saw me walking down the road during the parade. Apparently she thought I was in the parade and wanted to know if I was a cocker breeder. She absolutely thought Da Boys were beautiful. I can’t disagree with her. Sorry John. No paper delivery today… the difficulties of living in a rural community! You’ll have to do without.

ZZZZZZZ

I am soooooo tired! That’s what you get for sleeping with another living creature, or two, or three, that not only fart all night but also kick you in the gut and on occasion lick you face! Enough already. Tonight I want the bed to myself!

So this is why my middle name is tease… I absolutely LOVE teasing those I care about, especially MY Silver Fox. On our way to work this morning John and I were discussing how wonderful it will be to have the option for me to retire next year because we will finally have paid off everything except for our mortgage. He then started to rant and rave on and on about how awesome HE is for working part-time to make that option a possibility. Okay, I though to myself, you asked for it buddy. So, I responded with: “Yea, since you are the one who raked up our debts.” LOL

I am so grateful to have married a man who understands my need to express this aspect of my personality. No ill or malice intended. No desire to put anyone down. Just my way of poking back. I love you John.

A Moment of Panic

Less than thirty days before departure and we are just now looking into what we need to do to prepare for the big event. Seriously! The list is growing. I need to go shopping for all sorts of things including a garment bag which houses the hangers on the inside of the bag…. Holland-America Line orders.

John got on line to double check on some of the other requirements for the tours we have signed up for and called me asking where our passports are. WHAT? They are supposed to be in the PERSONAL folder in our desk drawer. After carefully searching, the passports could not be found. Okay… Nolan gave them back to me when we were in SF in April. I distinctly remember putting them in a SAFE place so that we wouldn’t forget them there. Why can’t we find them.

The suspense is killing you right? I’ll keep it short. My memory is sooooo good! For safekeeping I often put smaller objects in the spare tire compartment, however when I checked my car, I did not find them. Now I AM starting to worry. I re-run the scene in my mind and then it dawned on me. I searched MY car but when we went to SF we took John’s car so that we could pull the U-Haul trailer. I called John and had him check the Rav in that secret place of mine and… VOILA! We are set to go.

I called Macy’s yesterday to see if they have the formal skirt I bought the next size up. The only store that has the one I need is outside of Portland, lucky me. I called them and purchased it. They’ll be keeping it until I pick it up on our way to Seattle. With my bum knee I’ve not been able to exercise much. Yep. That is my excuse for not dropping the 5 to 10 lbs I had hoped to shed. Rather than be afraid of sitting down and ripping my new skirt, I’d rather be comfortable.

I did see the doctor about my knee today. He suggested physical therapy. I’m not so sure that will take care of it but I’ll give it a try. If I’m not satisfied, I’ll take matters into my own hands and cut off my left leg at the knee and be done with it.

Griping Old Lady

This has been such an easy week. Can I have about five more of these…in a row…starting right now??? Testing at the MS level is hard on the kids but nice for me. Basically I’ve not seen my kids all week other than to take attendance first thing in the morning. Instead I’ve spent my time catching up on paperwork.

John is gone for a few days. He promised he’d be a guest teacher in Chelsey’s class and do some hands-on science experiments with the kids. After completing the day teaching, he and Chelsey drove up to Portland last night where she is receiving Cytoxan treatment #3 today. I don’t like being home alone at night ‘cause I don’t feel comfortable having the door to our deck open when I'm by myself. Instead I've turned the overhead fan on high but it does not have the same effect as the fresh air from the outside.

I’m not sure if I can explain why I’ve been feeling so down lately. I seem to be more emotional and sometimes feel like crying for no good reason. I've been nursing a headache the last two days that I'm glad to say is gone today. (Thank you John for all the Dutch Bucks. I'm sure the caffeine has helped my head.) My body is aching but in a good way. I like the feeling I get when I’ve been working out. Although I do have one ache that I do not like in my left leg. I think it may be varicose vain related. I had my right leg treated some 18 months ago and was supposed to have the left done shortly there after, but I backed out after being in more pain than I had expected with the first. I guess I need to check into this again. Can’t it just go away? I am such a chicken! I hate any kind of “procedures.” Okay so this was my "griping" paragraph were I get to sound like the old lady I am staring to feel like.

Today I am having lunch with some girlfriends to celebrate one of their birthdays. I’ve made arrangements for my 5th period HS students to go to another teacher so that I won’t have to rush lunch to get back. Thursday is Tutorial day so there is not much do. TGIF tomorrow. I can't wait for the weekend. John will be home either tonight or tomorrow. Yeah!

Going Once, Going Twice, Going, Going, and Keep Going!

John is in the process of booking up the rest of my life! I think he is going through a rejuvenation process. The one thing that drew us together some 30 years ago is our mutual interest in adventures and I am delighted that we still have that in common despite the fact that neither of us are Spring-Chickens.

The very first trip we’ll be able to check off our BUCKET list is the cruise to Alaska next month. Even though I’ve never been too keen on going on a floating hotel trip, I am becoming more interested as we book two tours that involve action! Kayaking by the glaciers and its surrounding wildlife and a helicopter pick up to take us to a dogsled camp where we get to learn how to operate a team of dogs.

The second trip will be in December of this year when we hope to have the whole family join us in the Yucatan peninsula. Inca ruins, snorkeling, and swimming with dolphins are on that to-do-list.

If that isn’t enough, if John has it his way, we would be going on ALL 50 TOURS OF A LIFETIME, as listed in National Geographic. Plans are being made as I type to go on the High Road To Machu Picchu, in 2010. Another we are looking at for the not too distant future (possibly within the next year) is a kayaking trip (Baja Paddle) that specializes in meeting up with Humpback whales. Yeah! Then of course there is the trip to Tonga in the south pacific- snorkeling with whales. Double Yeah!! And the list goes on. We are especially lulled by the "Active" tours.

Like I told John, we had better stick to working out at the gym to build our endurance. The trip up Machu Picchu is not for the unconditioned. As a matter of fact, it is not recommended for those over 65 years of age. The one factor that would make any/all of these trips more fun than they already sound is sharing them not just with each other but with other family and friends as well. Any takers???

Mistaken Identity

John and I went to Coos Bay to visit with Chelsey, Heather, and 1 ½ year old Myles. I got to play Oma. The best part was when I had a baggie with dog food in my hands. I was getting ready to feed Da Boys when little Myles reached for it and took a piece and proceeded to eat it himself. The faces he made were out of this world and then he proceeded to spit it all out. He apparently thought he was getting some Coco Puffs. Of course, I would NEVER intentionally let him eat dog food! I really thought he was getting ready to give his dog Logan a treat. Mama-Heather quickly came to the rescue with the coveted Coco Puffs.