unexplored (and wild) trails: Update June/July

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Update June/July

Here is a random post, just updating the things that we have been doing.

Of course there are family things.

Zeke and I had a science day. I checked out a science experiment book for kids from the library and we had fun with the experiments. Zeke got his green belt in Taekwondo and he participated in the Blender Dash where he got to run 2 miles thru paint powder being thrown at him, thru maintains of bubbles, past zombies to get to the finish line. Micaela danced in her dance recital and did a great job! Most of us ran in the 5K at the balloon festival here in town. And Jeni and I got to treat ourselves to tea at the Japanese Tea Garden, and we went to the rose garden-so beautiful.

We have been making things. I put together the succulent turtle, maybe the succulents will spread-we will see. Anyway the kids named it Yurtle the Turtle after a Dr. Seuss story. We made a fairy village-the kids made most of the houses and ladybugs, with some help, then they set it up. Jim got around to finding a place to hang up his tools that he has been collecting. We got some lights for our deck. And the garden is producing. Here it is July and we are still eating peas, they just keep growing. My broccoli is almost ready to pick. The brussel sprouts are just starting to form on the stalks. The green beans are about an inch long. I have 1 pie pumpkin on the vine so far. I have green tomatoes. We've been picking blueberries and strawberries.

We have been going places. We went to Henry Hagg Lake to fish but didn't catch anything. I did see 4 fish jump and I got a nibble! We took the kids to a local water park. The balloon festival and the 5K run were fun. Hiking at Cooper Mountain was fun-it's a local park. The parking lot is at the top of the mountain so anywhere you go is down hill. And we all know that for every down hill there is an uphill-so it's good hill practice for hiking. At this park at this time of the year there are plenty of wildflowers.

One of our sunsets. So far it has been a mild summer. We are still getting used to the cooler summers-it is very nice not to be hot all the time. Hope you are all having a good summer. I'm sure there will be more adventures to post later.

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Notes to Self...

It's always a good idea to take all the sticky tabs off the replacement ink cartridges BEFORE installing into the printer.

Flannel lined jeans-it only took 3 winters for me to discover them. It would have been better to buy them 3 years ago.

Check weather, especially windspeed, before heading out on the Willamette.

Before cutting off the dripper on the drip system that appears to not be working-check to see if the hose is kinked.

Running when the temps are in the 30s means wearing many layers of clothing-thermals on legs and 2 layers of thermals on top, large sweatshirt, down vest, sometimes a rain jacket, a hat, gloves. Just think when warm weather returns and I shed these layers I will feel so much lighter and maybe be faster.

When wearing all the layers of clothes to play in the snow remember not to lay things down on the ground by your feet...it's hard to bend over to pick them up again.

Remember to bring the net when fishing from a kayak.

When you live in a house with no air conditioning it's important to pay attention to the weather forecast: if a long period of heat is forecast-do some cooking and freezing of dinners to get thru the hot spells without using the oven.

Now I get to learn how to count to ten in Korean-thanks to my grandson's taekwondo classes. And if I forget how-he's always there to remind me.

Snow can "ball up" under my riding boots when I wear my half chaps, I think the elastic under my boots helps the snow to collect down there. Now I know what the horses feel like when snow "balls up" in their hooves.

It's not necessary to cast all the way across the river. In fact it's a good way to lose some fishing gear.

When traveling and depending on Google Maps, it's best to type in exactly where you want to end up. I typed in the name of a Fall and should have typed in the Fall's name plus trailhead.

It's probably best to wear heavy duty gloves when doing major trimming on roses.

Leaving at 5am for a drive from CA to OR isn't that bad.

When having the roof striped off the house, and you have the washing machine out in the garage-with no ceiling above it, just the roof----it's a good idea to shut the lid on the top loading washing machine. That way the pieces of roof that fall won't land inside the washing machine.

When buying a house it's a good idea to take pictures of the yard and all the plants, just in case a previous owner/renter decides to take the plant(s) with them. Of course they may take them if it's written in the agreement, but otherwise they should be staying with the house.

Ammonia, black plastic bags + sunshine=clean stove grates. Now if I could just do that to the whole stove!

It would be nice to remember the sunscreen next time we go to the beach.

Traffic circles aren't so bad, traffic circles aren't so bad, traffic circles aren't so bad, traffic circles.....

A grandchild's smile is enough to brighten my day!

I really don't like packing chairs. They are awkward to pack and packing things around them-very tricky.

Even tho 99% of my household is in a POD and it's easier to clean the house, easier to wash dishes, I still can't find my packing tape, pens, glasses..need to organize what little is left in the house!

I officially love vacuum sealed bags!

It takes a long time to pack a kitchen.

Pretty sure the world is held together by packing tape.

When missing that screw from installing "something"-remember to check the box the "something" came in.

Make a list of things to do when showing the house and we need to be out.

Electric power washers are great until you get tangled up in the hose, electrical cord, and the spray cord. Next time try not to get tangled up.

It's best to hold on to the paint brush when painting

Baking soda + vinegar = cleaner grout