The Inaugural Pin-A-Thon

 I'm in Albany now, and finally with just enough time and energy to do justice to a post that's been simmering in my blog's (rather crowded) back burner for some time now.

 

Pinterest!  Are you in?  I usually get two responses to this question:  

1. an exuberant "Yes!" followed by details of a latest, greatest pin or 
2. a quizzical "Pin- what?" 

So if you are in the camp of the latter, let me give you a quick rundown on what exactly Pinterest is.

According to the  iTunes App Store:

"Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard. It lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find in your life. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes."

Wikipedia describes Pinterest as:

"...a pinboard-styled social photo sharing website. The service allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections. The site's mission statement is to 'connect everyone in the world through the "things" they find interesting.'" 

Jessica Kantola sums it up:

"Pinterest: you just can't go wrong here."

Living in Klamath Falls has reinforced my understanding that life really is what you make it.  This little-big town of ours is somewhat isolated and can really begin to feel that way unless you take steps to make things happen.  And I am so blessed to have found a group of friends (and a church!) who walk this out daily and know exactly how to make things happen.  These girls know how to have a good time.

After having many conversations centering around the phenomenon of Pinterest, my new friends decided to throw a Pin-A-Thon party - and since it was right before Valentine's Day, it was decided it would have a Valentine's Day theme.  What fun!  And better and better - they invited me to join them as a co-hostess.  And of course I happily did.

Here's the little e-vite I whipped up to post on the Facebook Pin-A-Thon invitation page.

Each lady attending the party brought a yummy dish from a recipe they'd pinned from Pinterest and also a craft (or two, or three, or four) from a DIY (Do It Yourself) pin they'd found on Pinterest.

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW LARGER)

Many of us regularly pin the same pins - or at least see them - so to be able to sample certain recipes in real life was pretty darn cool.

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW LARGER)

The same can be said for the DIY craft pins.  Taking the idea from virtual "pin board" to reality is exciting - and I learned a lot from just watching the other ladies working on their crafts.

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW LARGER)

And of course, when you put a bunch of women into a room with fabulous food, lovely crafts, and vibrant fellowship - you really do get the best of all worlds.  :)

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW LARGER)

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW LARGER)

This party was such a success that it is now a monthly event, with the next one being March 3rd and the food theme is "green."  :)

My home church ladies' group is throwing their inaugural Pinterest Party this next week - and I am very much looking forward to being a part of it. 

I have been so blessed to be able to be a part of such dynamic groups of ladies - in my hometown and now my new town - fabulous women of action who know how to throw down and know how to party down.

Creative Change

 

I am sitting here at my computer, quite composed actually, sipping tea and getting a little thrill at the thought of actually posting a blog post after what’s been a very long (dare I even count the months) dry spell.

I am remarkably composed, especially in the face of the huge influx of busy-ness and change that looms a mere few days away.  My composure could, I supposed, be termed as repression.  Or perhaps denial.  But either way, I am – as I told a dear friend just this afternoon – feeling remarkably, strangely zen.

You see, on Monday – this Monday – after I pick Siennalee up from preschool, she and I (and Gunther the cat) will squeeze into the packed Acadia and will make the trip up to Albany to stay for the duration of my pregnancy.  Jason will join us the weekend before our sweet baby is born via scheduled c-section on Monday, March 12^th. 

Our temporary move back home to the Willamette Valley allows Baby Girl to be delivered by my own doctor at Sacred Heart Hospital in Springfield.  It also, of course, allows us to be near family and close friends while I recuperate from surgery - which is a very nice place to be, especially when living in a new place farther away from said family and friends.

Planning and packing for weeks away from our home here in Klamath Falls has certainly taken over most of my regular routine.  (But seeing as how my routine has become a slave to my rapidly changing body, sleeping/eating habits, and energy levels anyway, it hasn’t seemed like too much of an ordeal.)  I have still managed to the make the most of the opportunities for friend outings and visits that have come my way – much to my happiness!  The joys of making good, kindred friendships here in Lands Unknown have been very welcome and make my eventual return something to look forward to, rather than something to dread.

And so, since I’ve been regrettably absent from my dear little blog, I’ll leave you with a photo of the latest and greatest creative project – yes, already in progress – that has taken up the majority of my months of blog-silence (photo courtesy of my lovely sister-in-law Anne, or course).

CSA, I think I love you.

Yesterday Siennalee and I picked up our very first box of produce from our very first CSA subscription.

But let me back up a moment.

CSA, for those who don't yet know, stands for Community Supported Agriculture and basically it's when a local farm offers "subscriptions" to its produce.  For a set period of time, once a week you receive a box of whatever produce they happen to be harvesting that week.  This is a great way to support your local farmers and a fabulous way to get fresh, local, and often-times organic produce to your family.  And hey, if I can avoid a trip to the grocery store - I'm pretty jazzed.

I became very interested in CSAs after reading The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball (I highly recommend it) and since we are currently living in our little townhouse in Klamath Falls - and without my glorious raised garden bed back in Albany - a CSA seemed like just the thing for us.  I researched the area and after having a very disappointing experience with one local grower, I discovered Staunton Family Farm. 

Staunton Family Farm is just outside Tulelake, CA, which is about 30 minutes from Klamath Falls.  They have quite a few pick-up places in K Falls and once you designate your chosen pick-up spot, you visit each Thursday to get your little box of veggie-heaven.  We have been traveling quite a bit this summer, so signing on for all the cycles didn't make much sense, but I was able to get us signed up for the latter two cycles (8 weeks) of late summer/early fall.

This was my very first experience with a CSA (aside from my rather disappointing phone conversation with the other grower which really shouldn't even count) and I must say it was a pleasure!  Siennalee and I located our designated pick-up spot, a local church, followed the Staunton Family Farm signs into the church basement and there were greeted by three very friendly young ladies.  Behind them was a horseshoe configuration of three long tables all laden with produce.

As it was my first time picking up a CSA box, one of the gals showed me that one side of the horseshoe was for the half-boxes (which we had requested) and the other side for whole boxes.  She walked along with me and pointed out each different vegetable (all ready for you in bunches or baggies) and even gave me tips on how to prepare them - like fava beans.  She also suggested simple recipes for the odd items such as beets and pointed out the bin where you "donate" whatever veggie you're not interested in and then the other subscribers are able to take extra from the bin if they like.  I added my spinach and took an extra bag of salad greens from the bin.  :)

Siennalee was quite pleased to be able to pick out a small bouquet of Zinnias and shyly said thank you to the friendly trio.  What a lovely experience!  But even better was when we got home.

Behold.  The CSA box.

I just get giddy every time I see this.

Siennalee picked out the bouquet with the most red flowers.  Of course.  She also gave one to the little neighbor girl.  Not a red one though.  ;)

These carrots are so sweet!  They were perfect in the big salad I made as soon as I got the box home.

Lovely beets!

I wasn't sure about taking the beets until the gal walking with me told me how to blanch and peel them, then saute them up a bit with some EVOO and a sweet Walla-Walla onion, then add balsamic vinegar and goat cheese.  Well, I have to say I haven't been feeling so hot lately, so a lot of my favorite foods have been ignored - but in my normal state I absolutely LOVE goat cheese, sweet Walla-Walla's, and balsamic vinegar (all together or by themselves - no matter), and since I anticipate at some point having my normal state of taste returned to me, I took the beets on in good faith.

A zucchini by any other name... is pretty much the same.  :)

This lil guy's name I completely spaced, but it's a type of zucchini and it's grown a lot in France.  I took him because I thought he was cute.

Staunton Family Farm includes a newsletter each week with a brief note to members, a list of the current offerings, and recipes.  The girls were quick to tell me that this was a fun newsletter and not typical.  I wondered at this a bit until I got it home and saw the extra humor peppered through it.

Classic.

Very cute.

This week's offerings were: lettuce salad greens, spinach, beets, carrots, green onions, zucchini, varied squashes, snap peas, snow peas, a sampling of cherry tomatoes, wax and string beans, baby potatoes, basil, and parsley.  Perfect.

Today I pulled up my big girl boots and ventured into the kitchen (a place that has not been my favorite haunt lately) to make some late-summer vegetable soup with a good portion of the vegetable selection from the box.  

One of my favorite recipes - and freezes beautifully too for those winter days when you miss the flavor of late summer.

Sorry Jason, there may not be enough left for dinner.

I'm already looking forward to next Thursday!

A New Era

This past weekend, we officially turned over a new leaf for our little family.  Bicycles.  We started the whole journey on Siennalee's 4th birthday when she got her very first Trek bike, a little pink and white number complete with training wheels and ribbons - and a girly basket, of course.  But let me back up.

Once upon a time, Bachelor Jason had way too much money on his hands and bought one of the nicest bikes on the whole dang planet.  A Trek.  And it was spanky.  Fast-forward to Bachelor Jason meeting and falling in love with Nearly-Spinster Jessica, and the Trek story takes a dark turn.  Newlywed Jason moves up to Oregon to attend the University of Oregon's MBA program and, unbeknownst to him, settles down smack in the middle of Bicycle Theft Capital, USA.  On the first day of school, the Trek is discovered - in the apartment complex's not-so-secure bicycle barn - totally stripped.  Undeterred, Jason re-outfits the bike and spends the next two years faithfully riding - through rain and, well, rain - to classes.  Then, at the end of the MBA program, very close to graduation, the bike - in its spanky entirety - disappears.  And that, my friends, is how the small Eugene Kantola clan donated way too much money to the Eugene Bicycle Theft Madness.

Fast forward to happier times, as Jason has moved his little clan to Klamath Falls, Oregon.  Hike and bike trails abound.  Work is a tantalizing 5.5 miles away.  Bicycle dreams once again began dancing in his head.  And so we ventured to Medford, to pay a visit to Rogue Valley Cycle Sports.  There we outfitted both Jason and Jessica with road bikes, also adding a small trailer bike for the Sweetheart who cannot yet ride so well on her own (and also keep up with us).

We took the bikes out the very next day for their maiden voyage.  And it was heaven.  We rode down a good portion of the paved part of the OC&E Trail that runs though Klamath Falls (fantastic bike and hike route!).  Siennalee did wonderfully on her little trailer bike which we attached to my bike.  She pedaled faithfully and kept up a steady stream of chatter as we passed fields and cows and many birds out enjoying the evening bugs.  I told Jason it was the most I've enjoyed exercise since playing volleyball in high school.

It was a little nerve-wracking to get back on the "horse" - and by "horse" I mean super light road bike with 45 pounds of excited and unbalanced Sweetheart trailing behind.

My goodness we're cute.

I just love my Sweetheart's little face here.  She's making me laugh as I'm riding.

Of course, since we learned the hard lesson of living in Eugene - that sometimes, sometimes people may feel entitled to a bicycle that is not their own - our bicycles are now our roommates in our sweet little townhouse.  Jason did a great job clearing out our downstairs hall closet (aka, the Garage) and while we're still quite cozy, we are also quite content.  New eras are good.  Life is good. 

Faithful

Despite chilly mornings and stubborn snow flurries,  

spring is stirring.

You have been more faithful than the changing of seasons 

                                                         ~Skillet

Beyond the Burt's Bees

We've been living in our new digs in Klamath Falls for nearly two months now and overall it's been just wonderful.

However, there have been things we've had to get used to.  Making dinner every night, driving in snow/ice, creating a routine that doesn't involve dropping everything to show your house, just to name a few.  But one of the biggest adjustments the Sweetheart and I have had to make is the environment itself.

Klamath Falls sits at a respectable 4,099 feet above sea level.  The Willamette Valley, from which we came, is right around 430 feet above sea level (give or take depending on where you go in the valley, of course).  This significant change in altitude means some significant changes - and not just in baking.

As we were first settling in the townhouse, the outdoor temperatures were settling in the single digits and the snow appeared to be settling in for the long haul.  It was dry and frigid outdoors. 

And indoors, with our geothermal forced air heat, it was warm and dry.  QUITE dry.  I quickly noticed my Sweetheart's tender little mouth drying out and cracking.  Inside her wee nose, too.  Both places on her little face would itch and bleed.  One day in extreme frustration, she came to me with her little eyebrows knotted together, little hands out in exasperation and wailed, "My nose is falling apart!"  With my own hands chapped, mouth cracking, and face and scalp flaking and peeling off, I knew it was time to take action. 

I began running a humidifier in Siennalee's room each night and washing her face with Cetaphil followed up by a Cetaphil lotion.  And Burt's Bees, of course.  Gotta love Burt's Bees. 

While she slowly began healing, I began to notice I was having problems with my contacts.  Constantly blurry, I changed them, cleaned them, and finally abandoned them.  A call to my optometrist confirmed my suspicions: the dreaded dry eye.  I began to wear my glasses, which had broken this summer and were tenuously fixed with a glob of hot glue.  (Classy, I know.)  Give your eyes a break, my doctor had recommended, they should adjust in time.

So I began drinking as much water as possible, taking salmon oil, using re-wetting eye drops, and continuing to forgo my contacts.  To combat the dry skin problem, Aveeno was added to my routine and Burt's Bees, of course.  Gotta have the Burt's Bees.

This past weekend we got a humidifier for the master bedroom and I have high hopes of the extra air moisture assisting me in regaining my contacts and - one day - seeing without one eye constantly blurred.

These adjustments are a pain.  I dislike wearing my hot glued glasses.  Even more do I dislike having continuously blurring vision.  I dislike having skin flake, peel, and bleed and seeing my daughter so chapped and uncomfortable. 

But I am confident this adjustment season is just that - a season.  And all the pain and discomfort we might feel now is making us heartier, stronger, and better able to thrive in this new environment.  

Life isn't static.  Even if it isn't a whole new sea level to face, there are still changes that come, welcome and unwelcome. 

And the quicker and better we are able to embrace the change and let the adaptation process sweep over us, the quicker we can move on to the blessings beyond the pain of the adjustments. 

Because the blessing is always there -  sometimes just beyond the Burt's Bees.

New Year's Visit to Crater Lake

We decided to take a trip to Crater Lake National Park while Mom was down visiting for the New Year holiday.  Despite living in Oregon for over 35 years, this was Mom's very first visit to Crater Lake and we were pretty happy to be able to take her.

Crater Lake National Park is about a 45 minute drive (depending on the weather) from Klamath Falls and we bought a season pass to be able to go whenever we want (however, we discovered in that in the winter there's no fee to enter the park.  I guess they figure if you can make it up there through the snow/ice/weather/nutty drivers then you deserve to get in for free).

Upper Klamath Lake is fairly shallow and will ice over and thaw very quickly.  Here you can just see the cracks scarring the ice surface of the lake. 
 

 I love this barn.  The wide angle lens on my camera can't quite capture it the way I want, but it's gorgeous.  The mountains rising in the background and the snowy fields - just breathtaking.  At some point I'll return with a lens that can catch the view juuust the way I want it.

 The drive up to the Park is gorgeous, especially with the (huge) snow pack and the giant red Ponderosa pines with green branches frosted with snow. 

 The snow pack on the sides of the road grew to where we could hardly see over it.  It was a little intimidating.  (Glad I wasn't driving!)

 My pretty little Mommie.

 Taking it all in.

 Gorgeous Crater Lake.

Beautiful Mom.

The Lodge and Bookstore/Cafe - nearly buried in the snow.

Hello SNOW!

Jason pulled over to, um, sample the snow pack.

Mom was full.

Siennalee got her chance to snag some snow, too.

 

Snow: pretty - and tasty, too.

The Long Road Home: Part 2

After an hour of no movement in our line of cars on HWY 58, and the only cars coming back our way were either giving up or willing to chance a back road, we too turned and headed back to Oakridge.  Siennalee and I needed to visit a ladies' room, Jason was making calls to family with knowledge of Oakridge back roads, and I wanted ice cream for me.  In short, we had become those willing to chance the back roads.  We had also called our sister-in-law Anne who had checked tripchex.gov and saw HWY 58's status had gone from "Expect a 20 minute to 2 hour delay" to "CLOSED."

Anne then put us in touch with her aunt and uncle who have a cabin up around Oakridge.  They told us of a back road that would lead us back down into the valley.  We were losing daylight and decided to chance it.  After a brief visit to the DQ restrooms and a fresh Goodnight pull-up on Siennalee (no way was I putting my kiddo in a way to have to sit in a urine soaked carseat for the next several hours - and we have yet to master the "pee-on-the-side-of-the-road" skill), we drove off to locate the road.

Turns out, that back road?  It's a local secret.  After searching turned to doubting, we turned around to head back to the city when an older gentleman - okay, he was a typical 50-something Oregonian male with a long white beard, an old Subaru AWD wagon (that had most definitely seen some action) and all the assuredness of guy who's lived and driven through those mountains his whole life. 

"Ya lookin' fer the road t' head back t' Eugene?"  he hollered at us.  At our assent that yes, we were indeed looking for that road, he grinned, gave us a funny look and yelled, "Follow me!" 

And we did.  I realize that usually at this point in the movie the audience is up out of their seats screaming, "Don't follow him!  DON'T FOLLOW HIM!"

The aging neighborhood road gradually diminished into a tightly winding, uneven little lane heading up into the pine forest.  At first we were uneasy at following a stranger into unknown woods.  We are informed movie watchers, and we well know the perils that can follow along story lines such as these.  We grew chagrined at how often our leader pulled over to the side of the road to let oncoming cars (and there were plenty - either word about the secret road had gotten out, or people were desperate enough to follow anybody not sitting in a line of cars lit up with brake lights). 

"Be patient," I encouraged Jason, soothingly. 

"Jessica, I don't like heading up into the woods with some guy who for-all-we-know could be a serial killer," He replied, edging our car up closer behind our leader who was once again pulled half off the road so another line of cars could pass.

"Or," he conceded once the serial killer's car started moving again, "he could be our guardian angel."

It was like that for some time: the road grew narrower, the stops more frequent, cars with lights on kept coming.  And daylight faded into the shadows of the trees. 

But then we began to recognize that our serial killer/guardian angel was actually just biding his time - once the line of oncoming cars had passed, he'd hit the gas and take off to gain as much distance as possible before the next line of cars snaked up to us.  The road disintegrated into some of the deepest potholes I've ever seen.  Our over-packed car groaned and shook and muttered motorized-curses. 

We squeezed by a tow truck and then his quarry: a commercial van which had slid off the road and was resting with two wheels on the sloping river bank and the other two wheels in the air, pointing back at the road as if to will themselves back down.

The road narrowed to barely a lane's width.  We stuck close behind Mr. Serial-Killer-Slash-Guardian-Angel and followed him to hidden turnouts and unseen shoulders.  Potholes haunted us and struck at unguarded moments.  Siennalee rode happily through the whole thing, contentedly watching a princess video on our portable DVD player (BTW, the portable DVD player: a must-have for traveling with small children.  They should make them a mandatory purchase for anyone having kids).

And so we continued for a white-knuckled, stomach-dropping, stop-and-go hour along the road which was at most times little more than a muddy, graveled, hugely potholed, one laner twisting and turning through back-wood hills and along a river ravine and then reservoir.  Mr. Serial-Killer-Slash-Guardian-Angel actually eluded us for a time, going so fast we could hardly catch him until he had pulled off once again to let another car or two pass.

The evening got darker and the road grew worse.  Then suddenly, asphalt!  Ahh, asphalt.  You could almost hear our car go, "Ahhhhh, that's the stuff."  More twisties and turnies, and then we began to see signs of civilization again.  Then we were in the town of Lowell. 

We pulled up beside Mr. Serial-Killer-Now-Guardian-Angel and rolled down our window.  "Wuddn't thata ride?" He crowed out to us.

Indeed it was, Mr. Guardian Angel, indeed it was.

Images from The Long Road Home: Klamath to Albany

Oh yeah, she's packed in there

(Time for a bigger vehicle, Mommie and Daddy?)

But seems to be okay with it all.

Everybody deserves face time with the camera.

(I love Siennalee in the background - pure joy. Behind her is a stack of migrating household goods.)

The picture is a bit dark, but you can still see how undaunted she is by the winter weather lurking just outside our car.

The Long Road Home: Part 1

Friday before last, we packed up two weeks of living in our rustic little Klamath Falls apartment and headed back up to Albany.  

The usual drive of 3 hours, 40 minutes through high mountains, a mountain pass, one mountain tunnel, several bridges spanning rivers, and intermittent seasonal weather (snow and rain) surprised us by adding another 2 hours and change. 

We left K Falls late.  We hate doing that, especially when we're due to meet weather through the pass.  Snow and ice over roads that climb and dip with sudden stomach dropping turns are not fun outside of Disney Land.  So we grumbled as we began the trek back.  And we were on empty.  Not just empty, but that lit-up-gas-tank-icon was flaring at us like it was on fire.  And we had no idea of any gas stations in the proximity that we needed one.  So we did the typical "Oh please Jesus let us find a gas station before the fumes run out" prayer and drove on with eyebrows knotted and fake laughter to keep Siennalee at ease.  Although I doubt she'd have worried.  She's pretty sure we're super heroes.  Gotta love toddlers.

Anywhoo, we finally discovered a gas station hidden away in a teeny-weeny town called Chiloquin and paid $3.30 per gallon (a feat which had us fondly reminiscing of the Summer of 3's when gas suddenly became like gold, or at least espresso) to reach a whopping $50 full tank.  And you're quite welcome, Chiloquin local economy.  It was either that or a nice little chunk of cash to your local towing company.

We hit the road again and were pleasantly surprised to find the weather not at all what we'd expected.  The roads around Crescent Lake are always a little hairy during the winter, but we made it past that, up over the Willamette Pass (hi skiers!) and down to Oakridge where we stopped for dinner at Dairy Queen.

Ah Dairy Queen.  How we love you.  However, we don't sense much reciprocated love when you hand us our meals, complete with a kid's meal, and overlook giving us any napkins.  To be clear: NO NAPKINS. 

But no worries, we were over half-way home.  We tucked into our burgers and fries (I did my very best to ignore the steady transfer of ketchup from my child's kid burger to my child's face) and happily drove on.  We came around one of Highway 58's infamous hairpin turns and saw break lights.  A line of break lights.  We slowed and stopped - something that feels so odd and so wrong after tooling along at 55 mph. 

Time went by.

Jason and I quickly ran out of guesses for what was the cause of the stop.  We knew directly ahead lay one of the worst turns on HWY 58, right under a train trestle.  It was evident by the immobile traffic that whatever was ahead was bad.  Very bad. 

So we sat in our over-packed car and waited.  Siennalee and Daddy enjoyed melty DQ ice cream sandwiches - did I mention we had no napkins?  Yes, and since Siennalee is nearly potty trained, baby wipes have fallen lower down the travel priority list.  So no baby wipes either.  No napkins tucked away in the glove box.  No box of tissues.  Nada.  We watched our child turning into a small ice cream sandwich with pigtails and Jason crunched his ice chips from his drained DQ soda.  She soon finished and then held out stickily shining hands in growing concern.  She looked at me, little ice-cream-sandwiched face wrinkling in sticky angst.

"Don't touch anything!"  I instructed while desperately scouring the car for something.  Anything.  Well, not anything...

Crunch crunch crunch.  Pause.  "You could use a sock," Jason said finally, indicating a random small pink sock by my feet.  I looked at him, not wanting to understand.  He crunched his ice and looked back at me.  "You could use some ice chips and that sock and clean her up."  Erg.  Yes I could.  I closed my eyes and breathed deep.  Crunch crunch crunch.

"Alright!  Give it to me."  I turned in my seat and got on my knees, reached over and grabbed an ice chip from Jason's empty cup, got the pink sock, and reached back toward my incredulous toddler who kept looking from the dripping ice chip hand to the random and questionably clean pink sock hand.  "Be still," I advised her, darkly.  Yes, it worked.  In the end, she was clean.  Albeit questionably.

You never know what drama is going on in the cars around you.  Especially at those endless traffic stops.

Households and the Mother of Invention, Part 4: Going Dark

Jason and I are big fans of the show 24.  We DVR it and watch it together on the weekends when he’s home.  One of the past shows had Renee Walker (woohoo!) under deep cover in a Russian Mob Syndicate (no worries – no real spoilers coming if you’re behind on your episodes - make that waaay behind, which coincidentally, we are) and communicating with Jack Bauer using an ear com.  One dramatic moment had Renee suddenly advise Jack Bauer she was “going dark” just before she took out her ear piece and dropped it down a sink drain.  She was no longer “plugged in.”  She could neither hear nor talk to Jack.

Aside from the whole Russian Mob thing, and the perilously fragile thread of life-and-death communication with Jack Bauer, the “going dark” feat felt strangely familiar to me.

Life in Klamath Falls - or I should say our week of life in Klamath Falls - is very simple.  And I like that.  Most of the time.  The apartment is quite Spartan (um, have I mentioned this?); toys are only the favorites brought down by the Great Week in Klamath Falls Migration, meals are all planned and ready to go, no laundry to be done except the absolutely necessary.
 
We also have no television or internet.  Our Week of Life in Klamath Falls can feel very much like we’ve just Gone Dark.

There are definite pros and cons to Going Dark (i.e., having no television or internet).  The biggest pro is a lovely peace from information over-stimulation.  I love my shows and my sites and online friends, but there’s something to be said for quiet days listening to my daughter play and reading books with her, making simple meals, and reading or writing.  It’s sort of like a spa visit for the soul.  Sometimes I can let myself get so frenzied with checking email, sending email, checking blogs, writing blogs, checking Facebook – it’s nice to have time where I just can’t.  Can’t do any of it.  Now don’t get me wrong – email, blogs, Facebook, it’s all my choice and I very much enjoy being part of it.  I CAN always say no.  But there is a certain freedom in having the choice made for me: no logging on, no tuning in.

The biggest con to Going Dark is pretty much just that; having no tv or internet.  Now, we do have a DVR at home in Albany (allow me to say: a DVR is SUCH a must, especially for a family – but that’s another blog for another time) so we don’t miss our important shows; we just watch them later.  But Siennalee does miss being able to watch her regular programs during her daily routine.  Little Bear.  Little Einsteins.  Those are the two big ones.  We get around this by bringing DVDs (we do have a tv and DVD player – we’re not totally in the Stone Age, okay?) and having some “tv” time during the day.  Siennalee’s a great independent player, but sometimes it’s nice to veg a little.  We all need that occasionally.  I try to get new DVDs at the library, but this last time I ended up buying a couple: The Muppets Take Manhattan and Little Bear’s Movie.  They have both turned out to be excellent choices.

The most frequent con to Going Dark appears when I’ve finished whatever book I’m reading or I’ve hit a stall in my writing.  Sometimes I just want to log on and see what everybody’s doing.  Sometimes I’d like to know if there’s snow or ice in the forecast.  The worst con to no internet is when my sis-in-law Anne needs me to design and send something ASAP for her photography business.  We can *get to* internet, but it’s sticky.  McDonald’s is one of the smart-and-super-cool businesses which paired up with our internet service and offers wireless internet access away from home at no extra charge (yay Mickey D’s!).  We’re pretty lucky to have a McDonald’s about a quarter mile from us, up the sloping hill upon which sits Oregon Institute of Technology, one of K Fall’s claims to fame.  Load up the computer (hopefully with full battery), get in the car, drive up the hill, park in the McD’s parking lot, log on… wait… still logging on… wait a little more… check the local radio stations… still logging on… consider calling your mom or sis-in-law… still logging on… pick up the phone to dial your mom or sis-in-law – and you’re online.  Just like that.  I tell you, I am pretty darn grateful these days to be able to just sit at my kitchen table in my Albany home, open the laptop, and TAH-DAH!  Internet!  Just like that.  Wow.  No driving to McDonald’s, no logging on… just internet.  Amazing.

When we get back home to Albany, it sure is nice to be able to switch to a different program, maybe switch back again, run through my DVR’d show list, or get online without visiting the golden arches.  But overall, the week of life in Klamath Falls mostly finds me reveling in the peace and simpler pastimes.  There’s definitely an upside to Going Dark.

Households and the Mother of Invention: Part 3

Gaps in the Week-in-Klamath-Falls Migration Planning don't always mean Household splurges.  Sometimes it just means I have to get a little more clever in my inventive thinking.

For instance, rice is part of tonight's dinner, but I've overlooked packing a sauce pan and lid.  The only thing I have on hand which is along the lines of what I need is a cast iron skillet and foil (by the way, foil?  Excellent, excellent invention.  One of the best inventions ever.).  I'm not about to go out and waste a precious household splurge on a rice cooker, so here is the result - which by the way, worked very well:

  

 

Perfect rice.  Some of the best I've ever made.

Not quite a gap in the planning, but a hole, for sure, is laundry.

While we do have access to a coin operated washer and dryer, I rarely remember the quarters needed to run them.  I suppose I do  keep the apartment's laundry area in the back of my mind for catastrophes – which are not unlikely given we are still in the final throes of potty training – but for several little things dirtied, meet my K Falls no-coins-necessary clothes washer: 

The Listerine did manage to sneak in a cameo, but is not a part of the process.  ...Although things would smell mintily germ-free.

Hot, hot water and soap.  Swish swish swish.

 

More hot water.  Rinse rinse rinse.  No fabric softener though - haven't gotten that clever.

As for the dryer, I use an old technique my mother taught me for delicates that require air drying.  After rinsing the articles, I wring them, lay them flat on a towel, roll the towel up – sandwich wrap style – and then proceed to step on it.  Step, step, step, STOMP STOMP STOMP.

 

 

Please ignore the unpainted toenails and the house pants.  Yoga pants and a pedicure - that's all I ask.

Then the little things are hung with care in the spots of the house most likely to assist with their drying.  

Yeah, I wonder about the neighbors.  But they wonder about me, too.

In this colder, wetter season, prime drying real estate is on the drapery rods, directly beneath the heating vents.  The example above is the living room picture window.  When not being used as a dryer, it gives us nice little views like this one:

  There are a family of pheasants that live in this little cove of trees.  We've been able to watch them quite a few times.  They don't say much to us; I secretly wonder if they frown on my clothes line in the front window.