"Rot Your Brain" Day

School finished in our neighborhood last Friday. It took about 20 minutes for boredom to set in.

But because it is the beginning of summer vacation and because I don't have the day off to loll around like some people, I declared today "Rot Your Brain Day." Yep, contrary to every bit of parenting advice, today there is no limit to screen time - video, computer, TV, hand held games - it's all good. (At least until 6 o'clock. I'm still a mom after all.) It was amazing the spontaneous shows of affection that erupted after my announcement at supper last night. And even more amazing is the silence in my house today.

I expect them all to be cross-eyed and cranky by the end of the day, but at this point...

totally worth it.

Do the hustle...

Toddler legs are some of the cutest things God ever chose to make. My kids are growing and now it's only a fond memory or an afternoon with someone else's kids that let me enjoy those chubby little knees and inverted ankles.

But, let me be frank, there are many stages of those younger years that I do not miss. Many, many stages that I don't miss. And because they're pretty safely behind me, I can laugh at other mom's that are living with them. Not too loudly, of course, and with the hope that the twinkle in my eye is taken for empathy should I ever get caught.

Case in point - I was at Starbucks the other day (laugh - I know - not a coffee drinker but there I sat) waiting for a friend that I was also interviewing for a magazine article. Two grown-up sorts of activities. As I waited, I tried to figure out how to duplicate the ceiling panels for our church, smiled at the too friendly and obviously over-caffeinated staff, and ran over some notes for the interview. And I briefly noted a young mother visiting with a friend in the corner while two little blond toddlers played on the floor.

Then came those electrifying words "Mommy, I have to go potty."

She didn't even stop to finish her sentence. "Mommy" dashed across the coffee shop to locate the restroom door and then stood there doing a "hope-we're-on-time" dance of her own while her small son tried to run behind her with his knees locked together to avoid the inevitable. They disappeared from sight before the dent in her chair cushion had even had a chance to start relaxing.

Gotta tell ya...

Don't miss those days.

You've got mail

My mailbox lately has been an assortment of junk mail envelopes. Occasionally, something I actually want will show up so, of course, I have to sift through it all.

The president of my credit card company has been writing me personally to let me know that there's more ways to get into debt at a ridiculous interest rate;

I can have my windows tinted at home (I have blinds) or in my car (already tinted) (Do you suppose they could tint my car windows in the comfort of my home?);

my 1-year magazine subscription is expiring in 8 months (!) and it's time to renew;

the Sierra Club wants me to join and in the interests of preserving nature is sending me a free plastic narrow calendar to stick on my keyboard;

a make-up company who's moisturizer I like has 3 FREE GIFTS if I order within 10 days (I deal with them online);

Oh - here's a new one: The Dalai Lama is writing to me! Now understand, I have nothing against the Dalai Lama. He's a sharp dresser. He always manages to look calm. And I expect the cause in the envelope is a worthy one. But I just think that somewhere in the chain of command, someone might have said "Do you really think the Dalai Lama should be sending junkmail?"

Ed MacMahon and his million dollar check are starting to look better and better...

Strolling through my garden

I mentioned that I've been working on our yard. (We - have been working on our yard. Sorry, sweetie.) It's coming together very nicely and I'm quite excited about getting those finishing touches done. It will most likely be a summer long project in some areas but I'm still excited because some of the big hurdles are behind us too.

And the flowers are cooperating nicely by starting to put on their show. Here's some highlights I found when I took a break the other day...


I love the color of this iris - It reminds me of a plant I had that came from my grandmother's garden in Ontario. Unfortunately I couldn't bring it across the border with me and my sweet mom has tried to preserve a piece for me in Canada but she's moved a few times herself since then. Regardless, this one still makes me think of them both.

Azaleas don't scare me nearly as badly as they used to. I find them a little fussy but anything this pretty is bound to be higher maintenance. (I have a friend with the same problem. )

This rose bush badly needs pruning but it is smothered in these beautiful roses. I haven't got the heart to do it right now.

I caught the verbena doing a balancing act after I'd watered them.

My "kitchen" garden - this poor lonely chive plant that is waiting to join the tomatoes and peppers and beans. This and one strawberry plant were the only two to survive the renovation on our house.

That's it. I hope you've got flowers to make you smile around you, too.

An update(s)

Whew. It's been a while since I posted any blogs. I could say its because I've been so busy pulling Bermuda grass out of my flowerbeds (and that would be partly true). I could say it's because I'm a slacker (and there might be an element of truth to that). I could say it's because I've had nothing interesting happen (not entirely true). So I just won't tell you.

But one thing I did notice as I sat down to check my email this morning was...

an update notice.

Do you get these? Little pop-up windows telling you that your anti-virus protection has a new update available? Reminders that your music software has a new version? Requests like "Do you want your printer to check if there's an update?"

They're like little Jack Russell terriers popping up all over the place!! (Yes, I left out a word there, SG.)


I generally leave updates to SG. There are too many things that alarm me about trusting a machine to restore itself to the configuration I am familiar with. So I ignore...evade...click on "remind me later"...generally avoid them. I figure updates are like housework. Completely thankless and often pointless because it NEVER STAYS DONE!

Am I out of date? Well, that sort of goes without saying if you ask my kids. And I sit down at my computer with the knowledge that there out there somewhere just waiting, kind of like my neighbor's cat used to sit and stare through the screen door, just waiting for a chance to slip in even though she knew she wasn't welcome.



So in an effort to be up to date (hmmm, that might be what prompted the hair cut too) yesterday I decided to shut the computer down and let the flock/herd/bevvy of little terriers in through the screen door. Took a few minutes, I had to remember a few of the necessary steps on my part (like turn the computer back on), and what was the first thing I saw?

A little pop-up in the bottom right corner of the monitor:

"There are updates ready for your computer.
Would you like to install them now?"

Argh!! I'm going to do the dishes.

The Avenue of the Giant Boulders

Since we probably won't be able to take a Canadian vacation this year like usual ("I wanna punch the economy in the face!"), we've finally been taking time to get to know our neighborhood. Oregon has many wonders we have yet to behold.

For Mother's Day, we went to hike an area just north of here that I'd visited once before and wanted to share with the family. It's a gorgeous and rather nerve-wracking spot called The Avenue of the Giant Boulders.

The Rogue River cuts through and around (and under, in a few spots) the mountains and at this spot, the gorge narrows and the water comes racing through. In spite of the danger signs (there's a dam upstream so you have to be aware if they let loose the river - they say there's a siren and I hope you can actually hear it over the river), its a gorgeous spot. The hike is relatively easy, you're at the elevation where poison oak isn't as happy to hang out, and it's a cool spot when the valley temps start to soar.

Here's a few photos from the hike. We started at the Avenue of the Giant Boulders and worked out way down stream to Mill Creak Falls and Barr Falls (pictured below). It's hard to tell you just how BIG these rocks are so there's a little hiker thrown in for comparison. And they are all stacked up and around and worn smooth by the force of the river running past them down out of the mountains. Some spots you only get about 18 inches between the boulders to get through. Up on the edge or the river gorge, it's much easier going but let's just say, I won't be posting photos over the edge at the falls because it's a LONG way down by the time you get there.

Another Tim Hawkins song