The Cheyenne's take over.

When we first moved here, there was all this discussion about how we would distinguish which "Cheyenne" we were talking about, since there was- amazingly- another Cheyenne the same age as ours. There's the typical last initial added on, a variety of nicknames that didn't stick (mostly because BOTH girls go by Chey and CheyChey). Little did we know the girls would solve this on their own by becoming nearly inseparable, requiring us to only refer to them as The Cheyenne's.

Are The Cheyenne's going to be there?

Do The Cheyenne's like Peanut butter?

Could the Cheyenne's BE any cuter? Ok, that one is mine. :-)

Our little house is extra full this week, thanks to Cheyenne K's mom needing to spend some time at the HOSPITAL. She lost a battle with her gallbladder, and finally decided that sheer force of will would not cause the pain to go away. Anyway, we have priveledge of hosting not just Cheyenne, but the adorable, unstoppable Lily.

What a treat to have a house full of girls for a change! The Rainey Cheyenne (another one we tried) is IN her element.

Were hoping things go great for their mama, but we are planning on enjoying our week with the little ladies!

Still no cabin fever!

I've been having so much fun here, I barely noticed that the winter soltice passed and the days are now getting LONGER! Yay. On the coast, I think I had to X off the days on the calendar for about 6 weeks because it was so gray and dreary for that time, and for the weeks just after it.
Here, the sky is so....BIG. I mean, we are surrounded with hills, but there is a huge expanse of sky to see all the time if you look up or down the valley. I've been kinda dreading the cooped up feeling we'd have in this tiny house, but it's not been bad at all. Of course, the good friends with regular invites to get out for a few hours doesn't hurt!
We spent yesterday playing a new (to us) card game with G&R. Hugh kicked all our heinies, but I look forward to the rematch.
Hugh finished a NEW website he built for a client, which is super cool, because thaks to that and a small side job he did with a friend, we actually have the funds for a few luxuries. Like laundry soap and toilet paper. :-) I might be tired of being poor, I'll have to let you know later.

My little warm cocoon

It keeps snowing and snowing. That, combined with a holiday week for most folks, has kept me pretty much cocooned in my house, and happily so. Its nice not to have anywhere I have to be, anything that has to get done (although I have been kicking heinie writing a really cool geography course for the kid's school- and in the meantime learned a ton of world geography myself) . I found a REALLY ADDICTING, EDUCATIONAL GAME that turned me onto learning all that. You can select the World, the US, North America, Africa...whatever. So far my highest travel IQ score on the World one is 126. See if you can beat me.

Woefully Unprepared

I have a recollection of warm summer days when I had a few extra dollars in pocket. I remember a conversation where I suggested, casually, that we should get boots, hats and coats BEFORE the cold weather hit. We all agreed. Summer turned to fall, and now fall has turned to winter. I called one of my friends and guiltily confessed to playing the role of the grasshopper in the "Grasshopper and the Ant" fable.

I have no excuse. Winter didn't come early, in fact it was late. We didn't get the plumbing doen for Gina's trailer. We didn't get straw bales around it so it would be tolerably warm. Now Gina is stuck staying in town with Ganny and Skyler, and Hugh and I are sleeping on the sofas in the living room since the bus is a frigid -3 degrees.

But I still love it here. What an amazing group of friends we have have been blessed with! I feel like I have known some of these folks for a very long time. I just hope I can bring half of the friendship and warmth they have shown me and my family back into their lives! Happy Monday.

Grabbing Life by the Belly Fat and Giving it a Twist

That's actually a medical term here in Tonasket. In fact, that's what they call it when a 40 year man (Hugh) races headfirst downhill on a sled that has been dubbed "the Coffin" by a younger, heartier generation, and uses his collarbone to stop his descent on a fencepost.

So now Hugh is wearing a contraption called a "figure 8" that pulls back his shoulders and pushed out his chest so that he will heal correctly. But maybe I should start at the beginning.

The first snow of the year came later than usual here. November was crisp and beautiful. And Busy. Which is why November was lost on my blog here. Anyway, by the time the snow appeared, Cheyenne had been rushing to the window for days hoping for a miracle from the blue sky.

The cold hit first. The temperature dropped and dropped until it was hovering around 10 degrees. Once the flakes started falling, it built up fast. We had about 8 inches of snow by Friday night. Gina starting staying in town with Ganny so that she could be sure and get around and be there if Ganny needed her. The kids were invited to stay with some friends who happen to have a GREAT sledding hill, so it was just Hugh and I Friday night. Saturday, we were going to head over and pick the kids up. We were able to determine very quickly that the van was just as bad as we remembered int he snow. Rear wheel drive + top heavy vehicle = slide-o-Rama.

We didn't even get the van out of the driveway. It settled in the low spot. Fortunately, Kelli showed up in her cape and pulled the van to a level spot where it could rest. She tinkered with the Bronco a bit for us (which has turned into yet another money pit :-) ) and then she offered to just give us a ride to the much anticipated "first snow of the year party" at the same place the kids were stowed.

On the way, we ran a few errands and then went to wait for her daughter, who was returning from a field trip. Her daughter was a couple hours late, and we got bored watching another set of parents smooching, so Kelli drove up to a big flat spot and started spinning her truck in the snow. It was somewhat anticlimactic, so we started back down the hill and noticed her front tire seemed low. Really low. Hugh got out to examine it, and when Kelli asked if it was flat, he replied in typical Hugh fashion,

"Only on the bottom."

A quick check revealed that the spare tire was missing from the truck bed, so we had to call the back-up superhero, Joel, to bring us provisions. If I didn't already mention it, the wind was blowing HARD and the heat in the truck was questionable. It was basically warming the truck up to freezing.

Kelli's daughter arrived, Joel arrived and the tire was changed out in a matter of minutes. Boy, were we ready for warm drinks and a hot dinner when we finally reached our destination. We'd traveled only 7 miles in 3 hours!

So all the kids were on the hill sledding in the dark. The wind was blowing too hard to keep the Tiki torches lit, and the adults were chowing on Chili and hot buttered you name it. The kids tapped on the back door to ask if they could ride a canoe down the hill and most of the adults objected.

"There's no way to bail out easy" one said.

"You'll end up in the ravine" warned another.

The kids trudged away and then Hugh appeared at the back door. He looked pleadingly in at us with red nose and snow covered clothes.

"We really can't try the canoe?"

The adults broke into laughter, realizing the biggest kid of all was in charge. They loaded into the canoe and we all went out to watch. It didn't work. The canoe sat on the slope, unwilling to slide. Slowly, everyone extracted themselves from it- except Dakota.

Dakota had wedged himself into there so tight, I don't know what he was thinking. Hugh Flipped the canoe upside down to motivate him to try harder, and he eventually emerged.

Anyway, with all that pent up adrenaline, Hugh needed speed. He eyed the coffin and decided to teach it what a real sledder's body looked like. We all headed inside. Ten minutes later, the front door opened, and I heard what i thought was Dakota making the sounds that mean he thinks he is hurt. A sigh...a grunt...a quiet groan. I waited for the inevitable summoning, which came- surprised the heck out of me when it was Hugh.

I thought by the look on his face he was having an insulin reaction, and then he informed me he had broken his collarbone. Having arrived the without a vehicle, and then behaving like I had a designated driver lined up- I was grateful that we had friends to drive us in. Less than an hour and several one liners later we left the hospital, first snow day of the year leaving an indelible memory on our hearts..... and shoulders.

October in Tonasket

I think we have had rain on 3 days this month. It was a sprinkle that lasted a few minutes, and one night it rained for a few hours. Other than that, this is the most beautiful COtober I have ever see. The temperature is usually around 60, the skies are almost always blue and the air is dry and crisp. I think fall might just be my new favorite season.

The boys go a huntin'

The testosterone-based beings in our home headed for the hills to try and score a buck last week; but to no avail. Despite hearty breakfasts, a local guide and plenty of ammo, all they saw were a few dozen doe and some bucks that weren't legal to shoot.

After hearing how fabulous and pristine the views were, I joined them on Saturday for a long hike through McLoughlin Canyon. That was a great experience...amazing views, lots of wildlife, great company and good exercise.

Our Little Tree Huggers

Here's the kids individual shots, or a few of them anyway. Bethany (the photographer) had a really good eye for lighting and shadows and we ended up with a lot of wonderful photos.

Bus-ted

It's been a while since I had a chance to spill about everything that has been going on. I am still delighted to wake up here each day realize that we actually did it! We changed our lives, a lot. The only thing I sometimes miss is having a big house. I actually started that last sentence planning to make a list of all the things I miss, but other than Skyler and Levi, the spacious house was the only thing.

Those of you who know what life used to be like would crack up if you could see my mornings now. Hugh and I sleep in the old bus. Hugh kindly built the bed up high enough so I can see out the windows, so now that it's getting cold at night, the windows are like cold air vents aimed at our heads. I still have plenty of hair, but alas- poor Hugh. Today we will be hanging a blanket to over the windows to help keep a little of the warm air in.

We do have a small wood stove in there. Hugh has had to experiment a bit to get the heat just right. One night, I came out late and I think it was 120 degrees in there. His shirt was soaked with sweat. Like a lobster in a pot of water, he had not realized how warm it was getting. I couldn't even breathe in there. Another time, there was a lot of smoke in the bus and my lungs stung as he lay peacfully speeping (or perhaps on the edge of comatose). We are still working out the kinks. No matter what, by morning, the fire is out and the bus is c-c-cold.

So, in the morning, I wait as long as my bladder will allow and then slide out of bed. Our bed has about a foot on either side of it, but the wheel wells from the bus keep you from being able to walk without climbing over them, so I usually scooch off the end of the bed. I try to do this without pulling blankets off Hugh, AND trying to keep as much blanket as possible on me for as long as I can. Each morning when my feet hit the cold floor, I vow to start sleeping in socks. I also heard that we have some darn scary spiders here, and I don't want my toes to meet one before I have my teeth brushed. In general, my toes are reluctant to make the acquaintance with a spider at any time of day, but particularly so when my brain might not respond as fast as a spider fang. I am getting better about leaving the clothing I need in plain sight, or plain touch as the mornings are getting darker. The darkness is somewhat welcome, as we had previously relied on laws of probability to preven the neighbor from catching glimpses of white heinie. He has 20 acres, and the chances of him being at that particular spot were slim enough that I regularly rolled those dice.

After I have covered and slipped into my shoes (on the mornings I can find them) I stumble to the bus door, pull the handle and try to stabalize myself enough to walk down the stairs without putting so much pressure on the door mechanism that I pop a bolt off and fall out- which has only happened twice. This maneuver is made more challenging by the fact that, although I should not, I regularly wear my contact to bed and the first moments are a race to the bathroom and saline solution before they dry up and pop out of my eyes. I usually make it.

Yesterday, I actually could not find my shoes and I stepped barefoot onto the FROZEN ground and dashed, squinting, into the house wondering if I will be doing the run in snow shortly.

Salsa-rific

My new addiction? Tomatillo Salsa! Our friend George gave a us a great recipe and the main ingredient grows right here in the yard! I have been eating it for breakfast lunch and dinner- by the bowlful!

So Skyler lumbers into a small town......

I swear Tonasket was built for just for Skyler. Every quirk make him smile, every pothole made him laugh. The first night he was here, he pulls out a shotgun with a barrel the size his fist and says he want to go shooting.

"We don't have elephants here," I informed him as he rolled his eyes.

"This is for those ugly crickets," he countered, "I don't want them on me while I am sleeping."

The next morning, he did his best Pavarotti impression as the biscuits came out of the oven. Actually, maybe it was supposed to be the sound of the heavens opening..or perhaps a moose mating call. I can't be sure but I think it meant he liked the biscuits. We also had some fabulous salsa from our new friends George and Marilyn. George makes a tomatillo salsa that is out of this world. I eat it like cold soup. We served it over scrambled eggs and I hoarded as much as I could.

Gina K re-told her tarantula story and it freaked me out just as much the second time. I'd share, but it's her story and she tells it better.

This was also the morning that Sky got to meet Joel. I spied Joel out this spring as the one and only older teen male in the congregation and something about talking with him made me think that Sky and he might hit it off. By the end of the week they were finishing each others sentences and freely decimating each others bathrooms. It makes a mom proud.

Wednesday night was a taco night and Tami made a mouth watering pico de gayo salsa that can also be eaten from a bowl. We had soooooo many leftovers because everyone had been munching all day and by the time the tacos got served were stuffed.

At about 8:30 that night we opened up the media room here at the Rainey Estate. Many of our guests had never seen the media room, and may have been surprised to learn that it doubles as the dining room, living room, schooling room and office. Is 'doubles' even the right word if it serves so many functions? I think there were about 16 of us in a living room made for 4 midgets, and the first rule was "Adults get the Sofa's". See Cheyenne's Post for the full breakdown of seat rules. Amazingly we made it through Made of Honor, and even had a couple laugh out loud parts. I think we will always remember the guy in the little shorts.

Thursday, Sky went to Joel's. When he came back I asked what he did and he said they "took a nap". I was wondering if that was code for something, but he said the had played video games, got tired, and napped. I don't personally have any friends that I am comfortable enough to consider napping with as part of the afternoons entertainment. In fact, It took a couple years for me to admit to my husband that I like to nap occasionally.

Having Sky around made me really appreciate how far the kids have come in learning to live and work in a small space. Sometimes every surface of the house had Skyler's "sheddings" on it. Sweatshirt on the sofa, shoes on the floor, bag splayed open and under the table, computer on the table, remnants of the last snack on the end table....I found myself saying "Skyler, you are shedding again!" more than once. In his defense, there was only a total of 9 cubic feet he could have claimed as his own. I don't think he wanted his own territory. He is a nomad. A rebel. An easy animal to track.

Friday night was Poker night for the 4 boys and Joel. He tried to claim he was a newbie, but he and Sky cleaned up and made Dakota to something heinous to buy his way back in. The video is on youtube, but you didn't hear it from me.

Saturday, Chanelle arrived and the meet and greet started again. Saturday night we had another campfire. Sky made his state famous (he called them world famous, but that's a bit of a stretch) smores. Even non-smore eaters like his smores, because he has a trick to make the marshmellow perfectly gooey, and the chocolate soft. That was a late and fun night.

Sunday, with the activities dying down, we were invited to Joels parents house for dinner and there we had some spectacular spaghetti. Jesse ate his weight in pasta, and apparently we need the recipe. We played fun game and the women got thoroughly trounced. There was no excuse. It was pathetic. However, I did come up with the name of the current baseball commissioner and most of the guys couldn't do that! My endless reading of everything comes in handy sometimes. I retain normally useless details and forget commitments.

Monday was the last day. Kinda sad because the cold weather is coming soon and I know I am not going to see a lot of the older boys if the have to go back and forth across the pass. I wouldn't want them to risk it anyway.

I tried to entice Levi to come over for the Autumn Leaf Run in Omak on October 1. He has ran a few races and he does really well, finishing in the top 20 (out of 2000) last time. I also figured I could call him on October 1, and tell him I won the 5k. That would give him a good belly laugh.

Chanelle wins the race!

My sister Chanelle was the first one of my sisters to make it over to the property. I will not disclose what I had to bribe her with, but I was sure happy to see her! She brought my little niece Kailiana and her mom-in-law, Kathy. It was great getting to know Kathy a little better, as we've never been able to talk much before.

Chanelle bought "coastie beer" (anything that comes in bottles from a microbrewery) but she made sure to bring some Busch, too. I am embarassed to say I enjoyed the Blue Moon a little more. I guess I still have some coastie to flush out (no pun intended).

Extreme Sky Makeover

So Tami graced Sky with a Kammeyer special, and boy did he appreciate it!

Skyler rolls into town

After arm wrestling his supervisor for time off, Skyler finally was able to get a week off to come see us. I really wanted him to have a whole week so that he would have time to get over the long drive, and not have to do it again two days later like poor Levi did. Sky's been here since Tuesday night, and the schedule has been FULL. He left straight after, with plans to meet us at the hall. I knew it would be close to 9 before he arrived, but every set of footsteps before that, I had to keep from whipping my head around to see if it was him.

Dakota showed no such restraint. The slightest shuffle of feet and his head swung wildly one direction, and then another. To make matters worse, we were sitting in the front of the hall, so everyone was able to witness Dakota's newfound A.D.D.

Meeting ended a few minutes early, and Dakota raced outide to call Sky. When he returned, his beaming face told me Sky was right behind him and I was right. I got teary eyed and nearly knocked over the elderly in my hurry to reach him. Of course, I had been yapping about is visit for a few weeks so nearly everyone already knew who he was. He shook hand after hand and even got a few hugs.

A Sad Day

Sunday afternoon Ruby, Worlds Best Hound Dog, was hit by a truck and killed instantly. We buried her out back. I intend to plant a small tree over her grave. I will miss her. I have never loved a pet as much as I loved her.

So Levi walks into a small town....

I could see the one-liners sparkling in his eyes as he took in mom and dads new place. From the bumpy gravel driveway to the off kilter garage, it was a whole different world than the one we'd left- and that was without stepping in the front door.

It was about 11:00 on Friday night when he arrived and after a quick hug he observed,

"Your whole town is closed." He drew out the world 'closed' as if to emphasize the total quiet he had encountered.

"Yeah," interrupted Dakota "it closed like 3 hours ago!" as if Levi was silly for even noticing it.

I was a bit suspicious that Uncle Dan had warned Levi to expect some major changes. They'd had several hours for Dan to tell tales of barn cats and hippies. Levi stepped gingerly into the living room and managed to take the whole room in with a glance. From his perspective the last time he'd seen the items in in our living room (Dining table, desk and computers, two sofas, the big screen and entertainment center) they had been spread out over a couple thousand square feet. It must have looked like an episode of "tiny house in the valley" to him. I saw his eyebrows launch upward involuntarily before he took control.

Chibi flung herself into Levi's arms before everyone was even able to greet him, and even Mack noticed the arrival. Ruby, who had not endeared herself to Levi during their brief introduction in Woodinville, received a dirty look and a warning kick.

He barely had time to settle into the guest suite (a.k.a. the sofa) when our next set of guests arrived, the Lewis family. The poor Lewis' clan had been traveling for 7 hours in a packed suburban with a blind (and mentally challenged, I was later told) German shepherd, and Red Australian Shepherd and weekend supplies for a family of 8.

Any hope I had of Levi having an epiphany and deciding to embrace our new lifestyle died about then. The 5 dogs and 8 cats (yes, we are making progress) proceeded to introduce themselves the ways dogs do at at 1:30 in the morning, while the weary travelers traipsed past Levi single file for a chance in the lone bathroom to shouts of "Light a match!"

The next morning, we had a large breakfast planned. We'd invited some of our new buddies as well as the out of towners here for the weekend. In addition to the aforementioned, Paula, Raine and Laraine had bunked at the Junction and were able able to taunt all the Rainey property guests with their fresh, clean smelling selves. We had already warned our clan (and the Lewis' did the same) that a shower was out of the question for 48 hours, as we already had 15 people and one bathroom. (Someday, I will get through a post without mentioning that we have only one bathroom, and that will mean I have truly adapted to life here-it just still astounds me that we have functioned pretty darn well so far.)

After the feast, I had a chance to visit with Levi. He was holding down one side of the sofa and trying to stay awake.

"Hey" I started, "you bored?"

"Yup" he said before the words were out of my mouth.

I told him I really appreciated him making the trip, that I wanted to show him the view from our service territory and that he only had to visit me twice a year to make me happy. A look crossed his face as if I had asked him to wrestle a gator. I could almost hear him thinking "I was going for bi-annual, not semi-annual". Negotiations have not yet commenced.

He did find one thing he really enjoyed doing here.

Sunday after meeting, we had a field day planned (more about that later) and Levi did manage a pretty decent time on the obstacle course, earning him a round of applause.

Monday morning, Levi knew he had one duty left to perform and he did it with his usual efficiency. We took him up the hill to Havillah and tried to spark some enthusiasm for the fabulous views. About then he let me know that he gets really, really car sick. The poor guy had been enduring the trip for my sake and I felt really bad. Unfortunately we were 13 miles into a 25 mile gravel road that didn't get any better. He took it like a trooper and arrived back at the property no worse for the wear.

All in all, Levi showed me what every mom wants to know- that your kids love you. He did something he really wanted to do because it made me happy. I am not just talking about the Monday drive. This was the first weekend Levi has had off in months and months. He spent it driving here, sleeping on the sofa and putting up with a lot of stuff that wasn't all that fun for him. He never offered an unsolicited complaint (although he could have been slightly slower to respond to questions like "Are you excited to get on the road?") and I enjoyed every minute visiting him.

Levi, if you read this, I love you and I am so proud of who you are. Thank you for coming to see us.

More like home than home ever was....

I am really happy and content here. This was such a great thing for the kids, and all of us really. We do so much together, and I feel very comfortable in the congregation. I can't put my finger on one thing that cements it, so I guess it's the whole package. I definitely feel like I have known people longer than just a couple months. It's odd sometimes not to have a history here, like when references are made to things that happened months or years ago, and I have no idea what they are referring to. We aren't wasting any time making new memories, though! We've been swimming and socializing more than the last several years combined. I feel like we are making frineds that we will have for a lifetime, and the "loss" of the family over on the other side is not felt to the degree I thought it would.

I do miss Skyler and Levi a lot. I am proud of both of them when I hear about things they are doing, but I miss them a lot. Sometimes when I am having fun here, I feel a little pang of the blues wishing they were here to join in.

On a humorous note.....I was telling one of my new buddies here that I lost my beer snobbiness. She nodded enthusiastically and said, "Yeah, Busch is just a good as Bud, huh?"

The Bounty Begins!

Here is a picture of what we picked this morning....

In case you are wondering, there are about 5 kinds of peppers, pickling and regular cukes, a dozen lbs of tomatoes, OUR FIRST CORN, about 2 lbs of green beans and some basil.

Napquest

The kids have discovered a new past time..the thrilling, exciting, much-sought-after NAP.

Some hot afternoons nothing seems like a better use of your time than a decadent slumber. I do fear that with this evidence posted I am setting myself up for retribution, should I fall victim to the call of the nap.

Playing Hookey and Sleeping in the Bus

As you can see by the local harware store's sign, it's pretty warm this weekend. The general consensus from the locals that this thermometer runs about 5 degrees higher than reality, but it makes us Tonasketites feel tough. I went in field service yesterday for several hours and was able to sit in on two bible studies, which was very encouraging. I love the service here because the incredible views are a reminder as to what our message is in the first place.

I returned later than expected, and the kids were dying because I had promised them a day at Lake Osoyoos. We finally made it about 4 pm and stayed till 8. I have never had a summer where I could spend so much time playing with the kids!

Hugh stayed home, and called because he had been picking tomatoes, and we are finally producing more than we can eat in a day! This is whats lefiotvoer this morning after we all feasted last night. The little grape and cherry tomatoes are sooo sweet and tangy, I love them. Tomorrow, I plan on making a pico di gayo with some of these babies!

Lastly, on the list of "things I never thought I'd love with"....Hugh and I have moved into the bus that was converted to a camper that was here on the property. I still need to attack it with some spray paint. I have to say, I actually really love it. It gives us a place to have a private conversation, and Hugh built the bed frame up so that we can gaze out the windows at the peach orchard next door. At night the moon shines in, and in the morning the sun wakes us up. As son as we finish the cosmetics, I will post a pic of the new "master suite".

The only tough part is the early morning trek to the house for the bathroom. I usually lie as still as possible, wondering if I can go back to sleep without relieving my bladder. I hope we have our bathhouse built by winter so I won't have as far to go.

This Place is Starting to Bug Me

There once was a cricket named Jerry
Whose size seemed to make him quite scary.
When we found him inside,
we were fit to be tied.
He was creepy and crawly and Hairy.

We had to search to find out that this bugger is a Jerusalem Cricket. He was about 3 inches long and looks like a cross between a grasshopper and an ant.

Dakota comes home

At last, our family is complete here! Dakota and Skyler met us in Leavenworth on Saturday. The night before we had an incredible lightning storm like something from a movie. The thunder and lightening came right on top of each other and the flashed were one after the other.

Dakota needs to detox from the craziness he has had the last several weeks. He has actually done pretty well, but the first day, we thought he would go mad! Cheyenne actually kept a 30 minute journal about what he did, and it was hilarious.

We put the boys to work yesterday, as their blogs detail. You can see that they were delighted to be of assistance. The good news is we now have a functional laundry facility! There was a pipe that had been clogged for MANY years and the overfow area was serving as a drain. Hugh and a power snake became best buds yesterday as he cleared the grime and successfully opened the way. We also learned that Gabriel has an amazing tolerance to bad smells (we had suspected this for, uh... other reasons in the past) He was able to stand down next to Hugh, who was breathing only through his mouth so as to not take in any of the noxious fumes, while munching on a snack. Hugh was impressed and disgusted at the same time as he asked Gabe how he could do that. Gabe mutterred something about Hugh being a wimp and dashed back upstairs to avoid the recoil.

Stampede

We trekked down to Omak today to check out the carnival at the Stampede Grounds in Omak. The actual stampede is a race down a cliff by a bunch of of people on horseback. There are often horses and people hurt and killed, hence it's called the "suicide race". Anyway, there's tons of controversy surrounding the actual race, but plenty of good, clean family fun to be had at the fairgrounds.

Mind you, "Good Clean Family Fun" is a subjective evaluation, as some of the things considered normal her are not quite..er...PC on the coast. For Example......

Here, P.E.T.A stands for People for Eating Tasty Animals. I can't imagine a booth like the one we where we saw this...

at the Puyallup Fair. Yes, that was the price for actual furry little faces and feet cut off real animals. there was even a brochure with a pricelist for tanning and preserving everything from faces to scrotums. Seriously. As an aside, can I just say that bobcat fur is softer than I ever would have imagined?

The kids had fun on the rides, and we had fun checking out the scenery. I don't think we are going to make the actual stampede this year.

Hello and Good-bye

Gabe made his long awaited appearance, on the heels of his summer job as an adventure camp counselor. We are VERY happy to have his muscle around and looking forward to introducing him to the wonders of life here on the homestead.


He actually arrived Monday, and we have had a FULL week.


Gina had used our van so that she could bring another load from "The Coast" as everyone here refers to anything West of the Cascades. I was left in charge of her zippy little Camry, and fulfilled my obligation by losing her ONLY key the first time I drove it. Knowing that 1) she probably had a spare and 2) it had to be here...I wasn't all that concerned until I found out that item 1 was incorrect. I looked a little more diligently, but failed to find it before she returned.


With Paula's departure imminent, it became more important to have the second vehicle and I retraced my steps from the day I drove it and still came up empty. 3 acres is a lot of area to search, and fortunately Gina did have a code that she received when she bought the car that was supposed to guarantee her a matching key from a locksmith. The closest locksmith we could find was in Chelan, so yesterday she and I zipped on down and picked up a replacement. A replacement that didn't work.


I had put off the one one place I was afraid the key had ended up...the trash. The day I had driven it, I had checked the mail and sorted a pile on the table. The majority ended up in the circular file and that was where I figured the phantom key had settled. After the replacement key failed to work, I steeled myself and headed for the garbage can.


Now, for some, that may not seem an impossible task. I however, am cursed with an incredibly weak tummy and just the THOUGHT of opening the trash can had already sent me running for the porcelain god several times. I reminded myself that we do not put very much food in the trash can (thanks to composting and hungry teenagers) and the likelihood of spoiled food was minimal. The good news is, I learned that mind over matter is something I am capable of. The bad news was, someone hadn't listened to the 'no food in the trash rule' . The worse news is that after 30 minutes of delicate scrounging, no keys were found.


After another 30 minutes of scrubbing myself clean, I stood in the kitchen trying to think of where...in this tiny house...the keys could hide. I looked on a couple of the newly arranged shelves with no results.


About an hour later, while Gina was shopping, Hugh asked for the location of the Orange Spark (a powdered caffeinated beverage that you add to water). Although I had had several servings of it over the week, I suddenly remembered that when the drawers and cabinets had been getting painted, a bunch of items had been deposited in the same drawer and I dove into the drawer with wild abandon and discovered the keys.


On a sadder note, we said goodbye to Paula and Raine yesterday. We loved having them here. Wednesday we went with some of the friends we met in the congregation to Deep Bay to swim and BBQ. It was a formal occasion, as you can see.

Worlds Best Hound Dog

When I was a kid, we had several dogs, but none compared to Sampson. Sampson was my moms dog. He was a mixed breed, and I am not even sure what his pedigree consisted of. I know he was part Irish Setter and I think he had some lab or retriever in him. I remember he was beautiful, smart and that my mom loved him. We had a lot of pets, including dogs, over the years. My mom was always great at caring for them and even performed surgery on a lizard that had played the roll of a chew toy with one of our cats. Anyway, Sampson was very well behaved and he loved my mom right back. When he was still a puppy, he contracted distemper and we had to have him put down. We were all sad, but no one grieved like my mom. I was sad too, but I didn't understand the bond she had with her dog...until now.

Meet Ruby. She is a redbone coon hound. We picked her up in Seattle and she is now 5 months old. I just adore this little pup. She trots around the yard and chases birds away (and digs when she shouldn't and barks at the cats) but she just makes me smile every day! I love her big floppy ears and the way she cocks her head when I talk to her.

Irrigation Proclamation

Now that the corn is close to shoulder high, the little sprinkler system we set up (we call it "the irrigation" so we sound like farmers) was starting to lose it's effectiveness at getting the whole garden watered. We've know for a while we needed a 3rd length of the irrigation hose and it finally made to the top of my priority list today. The garden is 50' * 150' (so far) and there are basically 5 rows and 5 columns of garden beds with end beds as well. Each bed is about 4' * 25', with paths between them.

My goal was to move the existing hoses each west a row, and then add a third line down next to the tomatoes. Each line is attached to it's own spigot that is controlled by a valve on the north end of the garden. There is not not a 3rd spigot, so I needed to join the new hose to the old one at the end, and then wrap it back towards the starting point. Every 10-15' there is a Rainbird style sprinkler that is plugged into the hose and attached by a piece of rubber tubing. (this photo is one in the front yard area so you can see what they look like together.

I found a lot of irrigation hose with attachments and parts going in many different directions. My first plan was to re-use the old hose, and add pieces where I needed to. But then taunting me in the corner was roll of brand new virgin hose still in it's shiny plastic.

"How easy to just lay it out exactly as it needs to be, with no old holes and plugs to deal with!" I naively thought.

The first part was attaching the new hose to the one in the garden already. These hoses are made to cut and clamp and punch holes in, they are thinner and made of a semi-pliable plastic. I rustled through the boxes of irrigation parts (see yesterday's post) and found a coupling I thought would work. I unrolled the hose, no easy task as the plastic like to stay in those little loops it had been bound in for who-knows-how long. Then I counted out the sprinklers I had available to attach and, satisfied I could complete the job, I started on the tricky part. There are these tiny little plastic parts with a pointed bottom and a valve on top and on the side. You have to poke the sharp part into the hose and then attach the sprinkler to the top of it. Its hard to push the point through he plastic. Sometimes it just slips right in, but most of the time you make a screwy face and twist it back and forth and bruise the end of your thumb. Or maybe that's just me. There was no instruction manual in the box of parts, but I was happy when all the pieces went together the way I hoped they would.

About halfway through the sprinklers I had all had a Little plug attachment at the hose end. I couldn't get it out, and with the pain the little sharps things were causing me in the first place, I didn't want to pierce the hose, pull the sharp thing out and reinsert, so I just started cutting the end off that had the little plastic valve already on so I could attach them to the shiny new ones I was using. After a couple hours, I had the run completed.

I tested my hard work with a twist of the valve and was immediately disappointed to see that ALL of the new ones failed to function. Not a single sprinkler broke forth with a satisfying tick-tick-tick of spray. I waled up the malfunctioning row, thinking that perhaps the little blue valves were all in the "off" position. A couple of the sprinklers (out of 20) seemed to respond a bit to this and give up a teeny trickle of water- still not strong enough to activate the sprinkler heads. When I reached the original coupling, I saw that it was leaking pretty bad. Bad enough that it was possible water was all being lost at that point in the hose. Off to the hardware store for a piece.

The hardware store has an aisle and a half of irrigation parts; metal, plastic and hybrid. I actually found a hose coupling that was 1/2" on one side and 3/4 on the other, and a few small clamps to ensure no water escaped the coupling that wasn't supposed to. I even picked up the CORRECT tool for punching the holes on the holes. The box called it an "irrigation hole puncher".

Back to the house, switch out the coupling and race to the valve to see how well all the new sprinklers work.

No change! The news ones all failed to spray. I again traced the line back to the new coupling and started messing with the first sprinkler. On my way there I remembered that there was a little toll with different gauge wires attached that was for clearing the sprinkler heads of gunk. After adding that to my arsenal, I trudged to the line and stared sternly at it, willing it to behave the way it was supposed to. Like the kids, it was not intimidated into compliance that easily. I wiggled the base of the attaching line, reached out to touch the sprinkler head which came off in my hand as a stream of water headed directly for my face. Startled, and a little wet, but happy that water HAD made it through my coupling, I put my mouth on the bottom of the sprinkler head and blew (a technique described by the previous owner to check if they were clear) and was rewarded with a stinky gooey blob of something shooting out the other end. Immediately horrified that I had so freely placed my mouth on the end of something so heinous, I was still rather delighted when I returned the sprinkler head to it's place (while fighting the stream of water that would soon go through it) and the tick-tick-tick broadcast across the corn.

The next one was not quite so simple to solve. Removing the sprinkler head yielded a slow drip, and as I messed with the valve it did not improve. In fact, I couldn't really tell which direction was "off". I ended up pulling the entire valve out of the hose and, as it sprayed me mercilessly, I tried in vain to clear the line that was supposed to run between the hose and the sprinkler.

You get the picture. Every single sprinkler and line has to be cleared or cleaned to some extent. Some had to be completely replaced, and some were fine as soon as the tips were cleared. Apparently the pile of sprinklers laying in the pile with irrigation stuff had been irresistible to all manner of critters and dirt. Some had rocks in them, some grass. It was puzzling how items so large had gotten crammed into the sprinkler heads, but one by one they were reborn.

In the end I was one sprinkler short, and soaking wet from the trail and error method of fixing each unit.

Most of all, I was pretty darn satisfied that I had figured it out and solved a problem for the garden.

When cats attack

Back when I was studying my real estate courses, there was a section about things that can actually be part of a property transfer that are not considered "real property". When you purchase a home, you are actually purchasing the LAND and everything attached to it. Like the house (and items attached to that), trees etc. What you don't automatically get are things like the furniture, potted plants, yard implements and such. Back in the metropolis of woodinville, that sometimes led to interesting conversations when sellers wanted to remove officially "attached" items (light fixtures, shower heads, flowers) and I actually had a deal flip when the seller refused to leave a dining room light and the buyer insisted that she would not accept payment and installation of an exact replica as sufficient. But I digress.

At the time of the study, It was hard to imagine why you'd buy all of somebodies old stuff anyway. This little taste we've had of farm life has changed my mind completely. Someone who has lived and worked on the property ends up with all kinds of useful tools and sets things up to work efficiently for the property. Going in and setting up all new systems (like irrigation parts) would be considerable expense, and if the seller took the pieces they had bought for your particular property, they likely would not work right at THEIR new property. So in addition to an impressive array of sprinklers and pipes and hoses, we have a ton of great tools and yard equipment that were part of our deal here.

One of the necessary tools here is a "barn cat" (or several) to control the rodent population. We don't have a barn, but to balance the deficit, we have 16 barn cats. Or 19, depends on who is counting. These cats don't live in the house and they subsist on the scraps that get thrown to them as well as a hearty supply of field mice and birds. The queen kitty is raising her second batch of kittens for the summer, and the first batch has yet to find homes. It was rumored that the natural enemies of the cats would 'thin the herd', but unfortunately these kitties have several new protectors that look suspiciously like the kids.

Nearly from the beginning, the kids began naming the cats and kittens, much to the chagrin of Hugh and I who have a hard enough time naming pets we wants to keep. One kid or the other will rush in bright eyed and ask "Do you know what penelope just did?" or "Goliath's eyes are open!". All such reports are met with a stern "We are not keeping any cats!" We were told we should have at least 3, so with our resident transplant kitty (who actually was barn cat from here once upon a time) Shadrach, we can keep two more. It's been a constant rotation of nominees from the kids as to which lucky cats we will keep. I prefer the natural selection method; in which the kittens will be given away until only the most hideous specimens are left to patrol the premises. This is how Hugh and I once ended up with a kitten named "Little Ugly".

It is my hope the the two homely cats will be so grotesque they will cause other felines to vehemently reject them as mating candidates. In fact, I hope the cat community begins to believe that there is toxic waste here and they flee from the sight of the property as if their future generations depended on it.

Until then, the far-tamer-than-usual barn cats are gracing me with lovely displays like the one above. I believe this is the one they call Tumbleweed.

I think she likes it here

This is why I wanted to do this. For these moments when I am blessed to actually be here for a happy moment with the kids. So many years of late nights, distracted dinners and interrupted vacations. I quality of my time with the kids has increased exponentially the last 30 days. We have so much talking to do, and I love hearing them develop opinions based on experience.

Today we were at a local nursery, Kings Garden. They have bedding plants and we actually bought the majority of our tomato plants from them. We were there for a few flowers to liven up the front entry (Paula's idea, of course) and the kids all came with and had an appreciation for the surroundings that I knwo they would not have had a month ago. In fact, when we were done, Jesse asked Annie (the owner) if he could walk through the garden to see the plants. I am sure that is a request he never would have made before. When they were done walking, he admired her patty pan squash and she gave him one!

We also had a visit from the local agriculture manager. I guess most of our apple trees are pretty infested with coddling moths so we have to destroy the fruit and wait till next year. We have a few trees that are minimally infected, and we have to start spraying those every week with alternating types of organic pesticide. He had a really great suggestion about starting a small, high density orchard with a variety of fruits for next year and the years to follow. It will be up on the discussion block, I think.

Done with the drive!

Hugh and I made the drive back to Woodinville again yesterday, and we drove back to Tonasket today. We took the North Cascades Highway home, which is BEAUTIFUL, but I am soooo burned out on the drive that it was hard to appreciate it.
We were reading the new John Grisham paperpack, Playing For Pizza . Its about a 3rd string quarterback for the NFL who ends up playing for a season with and Italian team playing American Football. John Grishams writing is, as always, exceptional. The story was not as captivating to me as his other tales. I enjoyed his previous forays into different genres than the one he is famous for (like Painted House and Innocent Man)but this one I did not find quite as captivating. However, it did make my mouth water the way Andrew Zimmern usually does as he detailed the the 4 hour meal at an Italian trattoria.

What we NEED

When I was packing up the Woodinville house, I felt like I was pretty brutal in my decisions as to what we "absolutely, definitely would not have room for in Tonasket". I labeled several dozed boxes with the instructions such as "books we need but not right away-STORE" or "to sell in Tonasket". The latter means we did not need the item, but that I had failed to dispose of it intelligently prior to packing.

I am embarrassed to admit, we also brought a contingent of boxes labeled "misc. crap" These boxes contain the last things that were left in the home, many of which remained until last because they are necessities, but some of which were so so hideously useless they defied categorization. One of these MC boxes contained the following: 6 expensive cooking knives, a bottle of dish washing liquid, a stack of current bills, cat food, two bottles of Belikin beer from Belize, 5 dirty socks, a model of Galileo's thermometer that had been a family day gift several years ago, a screwdriver, 3 unidentified computer cords, an order from for Levi's graduation photo, a pillow that had lost it's shape and has been floating around the house for weeks being used as a weapon of assault by the kids, and a half empty jar of facial moisturizer...oh, and a dremel-like tool from the time I decided to try and do my own acrylic nails. These boxes defy categorization even now. Do we store them? Sort them? Burn them? Do they have priority of the dozens of boxes marked NEED, which were supposed to indicate the plethora of items that no Rainey could be without.
The front and back yard of the house are still piled with boxes, many of which are marked "NEED", and they silently mock me as I live longer and longer without the items inside them. A few boxes have been cannibalized as we sought one specific item that WAS truly needed. Mostly, though they sit silently waiting their placement in our museum of STUFF.

It gives me pause for thought at our pursuit of things and our attachment to them. Why are we driven to posses more items than we can actually use? Why do we need 45 shirts when 3 would give us a nice rotation without taking up the space? Why do I keep books, hundreds of books, most of which will never be read a second time? How could I have chosen to BUY the books rather than checking them out from the library where someone else could continue to store them for me and I could have spent the ten bucks on a nice shirt? Now I am faced with paying for space to store these hundreds (ok thousands) of books for Lord-knows-how-long, until we have home again that will contain them.

Jesse's Booty

Jesse would like the "booty" pic to be something less appropriate than what follows:-)

Today's stroll through the garden yielded our first ripe green beans. We also found out the cukes I planted 3 days ago are already up! Also pictured are 3 pickling cukes, a zuccini, a summer squash and Jesse's rarely seen smile for the camera. Gotcha!

Paula is Here!

Paula and Raine arrived last night and are staying with us for 3 weeks. They had the finest guest tent reserved, the one with the extra cushy air mattress. Paula and Hugh have been working since breakfast outside, and (as I am still nursing a nasty patch of sunburn) have busied myself indoors. The kids got up at 5:00, went JOGGING, had breakfast, went swimming and now after that exhausting morning, they are holding down the living room sofa with all their might.

A few pics

The view

Yesterday I spent the entire day in the garden. There are so many projects here that need attention, yet for me the garden addicting at a level I could have never predicted. I find a lot of pleasure in just sitting on ther damp ground, plucking the invading weeds until what remains is just the chocolately rich earth offering it's prize up; the single plant that has been given that spot as it's own.

The garden is large for a bunch of beginners, but I am anxious to expand it's borders. I envision the entire back hill covered in full beds of prolificly producing varieties of vegetables.