A Chilly Sunday Afternoon

My delicious Sunday dinner was ready; I prepared to cut the beautiful golden roasted "Israeli Chicken" and was so sad to see pink juices flowing when I moved the chicken leg. So back in the oven it went. So often my best laid plans fail me.

Then again, sometimes things work out for the best. Will's sister just called him from Idaho, so he is free to have a leisurely chat. So the pressure is off to hurry up and get lunch on the table. (Not that a napping man actually pressures anyone.)


Eric discovered yesterday that his coat of many colors is not only beautiful, it's useful. The front pocket is just the right size for his kitten. They were heading out to visit Molly and her kitty, Oden. Eric brought home a three-story kitty palace/scratching post from her place earlier this week. It lasted a couple of days in my living room before I ordered it out. Now it's in his room. Lucky kitty.

Will and Nick went up to the posse camp yesterday and helped work on a roof. Upon their return, Nick was eager to show me the scrape marks on his stomach and legs from a fall on the roof. Fortunately he caught himself as he slid off the edge and didn't suffer a full-fledged fall. I think my sympathy and dinner at Denny's made him feel much better.

Ok, it's time to try for lunch again.

Weekend Walk

Another gorgeous sunny weekend, although a bit cooler now. The sunshine made our two-hour walk around Tangent yesterday morning much more enjoyable. Will and I went around Tangent putting out Linn County Law Enforcement Levy doorhangers. I found it quite interesting to observe the entrances to people's homes. A few have beautiful fall decorations, a few have spooky Halloween decorations, others are full of cobwebs and dirt. I appreciated the ones with "Welcome" signs and decor, especially after noticing a sign that said "Get the freaking out of here" as I was hanging my flyer on the door. Yikes. I turned and ran off that porch as fast as I could! Some screen door handles were difficult to hang our paper on, and one of us found some creative places to put them, such as in jack-o-lanterns and on porch decor. I won't say who did this, but I myself am a very traditional person. We were relieved to complete our rounds without any confrontations with disgruntled citizens.

Now it's time to go take a non-political Sunday walk.

A Confession

A faithful reader called me last night and mentioned he was shocked as he read my previous post where I proudly boasted of successfully navigating my way to my sister Jean's house in the hinterlands of the south county. I apologize to him and can only blame this lapse on my amazing ability to block and temporarily forget things that I prefer not to remember.

The truth is, as I prepared to leave on Thursday night, I realized my mind could not picture where I should go after taking the Harrisburg exit. I have multiple excuses for this. Sometimes we take Hwy 99, other times we go on I-5. The first time we went, even Will missed a turn. Having full confidence in his ability to find any given address, he did not call anyone for directions; instead he gave us a lengthy tour of the back roads.

Lacking any confidence that perhaps once I was in the area I would recognize and remember how to get there, I realized I needed to get help. It's a little embarrassing to admit I can't figure out how to get to my own sister's house, so first I attempted to get help from MapQuest. Since it was already time to go, I couldn't get it to do what I wanted in a timely manner. So I dashed out to my car and called my baby brother Doug while I was enroute. Doug did not ridicule me for needing this advice. He gave me very clear and simple directions. What he doesn't realize is that for me, it is quite a triumph to go directly somewhere even with clear and simple directions.

So I apologize for not giving credit where credit is due. Without Doug's directions, I would have driven aimlessly around in the dark, become completely discombobulated, and missed all the fun, games and food at Jean's party. It was just one of many times he has cheerfully used his skills to rescue me. Several years ago, he made a house call at 10:00 one Saturday night on his way home from a Beaver's game to solve a puzzling mystery of why water was pouring out of our kitchen lights when Nick was taking a bath in the bathtub above. He has always been there for us to demystify and easily correct all the minor but puzzling plumbing issues we've had over the years.

So here's to my helpful, talented, cute and fun to be with brother Doug. Thank you, Doug. (If only I would have also asked you for directions to return home!)

Update at 7:52 p.m.: Speaking of giving credit where credit is due, I realized upon reading the comment below that I also failed to do that for my other baby brother. I so admired Tom's use of the word "discombobulated" on his blog "Iced Tea Forever" last week that I vowed I must use it soon. Thank you, Tom, for the inspiration and entertainment you provide with your creative use of the English language.

And to all my other brothers, Galen, John, Mark and Dave: space does not allow me to adequately thank you for all that I owe you also. Thank you.

A Utopian Week

Can my fellow Utopians believe how gorgeous fall is here? Yesterday was a record breaking 79 degrees! I had to put shorts and a tank top on to go for a walk after work! I also picked another nice bowl of strawberries. We ate outside last night! The flowers are still blooming, the leaves are a gorgeous array of colors, the sky is incredibly blue, the sunsets are awesome. This is a great place to live!

Once again I have endured a week of being single. Will left for Idaho to visit his family last Saturday and will return Sunday. It's been a much busier week for me, parties everywhere. Niece Jody had a Pampered Chef party Tuesday and Will was happy that I spent money there. He wants my old stuff for the trailer. He believes in getting the best equipment and I tend to buy the cheap stuff. But there will be no more wimpy spatulas for me! He can have them in the trailer!

Sister Jean had a Home and Garden party last night. I had better self control there. Or perhaps the temptation was less because of fewer essential items and more lovely items. My decorating genes are dormant right now. As always, it was good to talk to my sister Hope, the only person I know who has as many ditzy moments as I do. She makes me feel pleasingly normal. When we were growing up, I always thought I was the mature responsible one and she was the ditzy one. But over the years, maybe that's leveled out a little!

The half-hour trip down there with the sunset glowing along the horizon above the mountains was enough to make me want to drive on forever. I feel quite proud of myself that I made through the back roads of the unfamiliar south county to her country home with no wrong turns. On the way back in the blackness of the night, I only made one wrong turn. But I realized I was going the wrong way and turned around long before I got to Eugene! However, I did not honk and wave at my sister and nieces as I passed them later on the freeway, because at the time I was foolishly feeling a little embarrassed about my little detour that had put me behind them instead of 10 minutes ahead of them where I should have been, and kind of hoped they wouldn't notice it was me.

Tonight Nick has some friends over for a pizza and movie night. He and his friend were behaving like fairly well-adjusted and normal 14-15 year old boys before the two girls got here. Even though the girls are long-time friends, the boys behavior changed dramatically upon their arrival. Actually, shortly before their arrival they started trying to impress them by making sure they were out on the street doing cool things on their bikes. They became much louder, trying to outdo each other with silly attempts at humor. I guess they're trying to be especially cute and fun to be with. I'm just shaking my head. I think they are much more likable when they just act normal. But they are getting a lot of laughs.

The girls got to see the first screening of the video the boys completed today, a four minute "horror movie" entitled "The Tangent Scooter Handle Massacre" that involves a lot of running and screaming by neighborhood teenagers. They had a dilemma because one of the extras uttered a bad word during the filming, but talented big brother Eric came to the rescue. The screen momentarily goes black as Eric murmurs an expressive "Oh Dear" that is just perfect for the moment and completely eliminates the offending word. The opening and ending credits are impressive. Garrett is listed as "Captain Killer" and Nick is billed as "The Important Guy".

I hope you're not sadly shaking your head and thinking what a bad parent I am.

That was life at our house this week.

A Sunny Saturday

What a gorgeous fall day! I am enjoying the sunshine and flowers while they last. There is much work yet to be done, but too many things are still blooming to cut them down.

I strolled around the yard looking things over today and also lounged in my comfy chair with my feet up, enjoying the view. Ate a few delicious red strawberries and need to take a bowl out tomorrow to pick them again. If anyone wants cosmos next year, come get some flowers for seeds now! They self sow very enthusiastically!

He's Back!

Will arrived home today after spending the past week on his annual fishing pilgrimage on the Rogue River with his friend Dave Dean. It has been an unspeakably dull and dreary week around here without him. Nothing to blog about since Nick's bleach incident. (The black dye did very little for the sweatshirt by the way.) I can't stand for him to go out in public in it, so I bought a new sweatshirt for him. There's a lot of yardwork that he can help with this time of year.

To celebrate Will's homecoming, I prepared a pot roast in the oven with all the accompaniments. Nothing is too good for the returning dominant male of this household. We spent dinner time catching up on all the important events. Here is the condensed version:

Nick: Got a new cell phone due to his dying and me giving him my upgrade, much to my relief because I didn't want to learn to use a new phone. ("Mom, I'm so glad you don't like technology!") Nick also was pleased to announce to his father that he had successfully configured the household laptops to wirelessly print from our printer.

Eric: Got a haircut and sideburn trim to be presentable for his senior portrait sitting which occurred yesterday. He was told that when he smiles his eyes go shut, but when he tried to keep them open while smiling, he was told not to look surprised. (Can you think of any Troyers with that problem?!) Can't wait to see them! We had to raid his father's closet because his clothing options are quite limited. A tie dyed shirt with jeans might be fine for a picture with his guitar, but we needed a little dressier look as well.

Me: I went to my boss's wedding in Salem on Friday night with three of my co-workers. While at a stoplight, one of my companions pointed out the gentleman in the car next to us, who had an index finger up each nostril. After flicking the results of that exploration away, he inserted his pinkie and tried again, completely oblivious to the four women hysterically laughing at him in the vehicle to his left. But the wedding was lovely. How often are you going to get a perfect warm evening for an outdoor wedding on September 29?

Will: Enjoyed a quiet week with his only friend whose hearing is worse than his own. (Oops, not his only friend.) Spotted a bobcat in camp several times, woke up from a nap in the trailer to see a ground squirrel on the countertop helping himself to cookies (lucky the bobcat didn't come in the open door for a snack as well!), and viewed a bear up the river.

The highlight of our dinner, which I was quite excited about, was dessert. I picked the strawberries in my raised bed today, and was quite pleased with the yield. I made them admire the bowl of berries for a bit. I was also quite pleased with the bouquet of hydrangeas and roses which I cut today.
I have never had strawberry shortcake on October 1 from fresh strawberries in my back yard. I have had these everbearing strawberries for three years, and I wish I knew what variety they are so I could recommend them to you. They yield a nice sized bowl of berries about once a week from July through September.

It was delicious and enjoyed by all! No leftovers! Yes, Tom, that is iced tea in the glasses! Molly and I are drinking mint, the rest of the family likes it plain.