Thursday, June 30, 2011

Cherries

The new house has a cherry tree. It's about 40 years old, but still produces - and I bet if we had had a proper Spring, and Summer would show it's seasonal face, I would have quite the haul of plump red goodness. Alas, the following photos will show the minimal fruits of my old girls labor.
yesterday's harvest
today's harvest
I go out a couple of times a day and pick up the good ones that have fallen to the ground. Although, there seems to be a critter that gets to them in the evenings. 
little critter bites 
I'm going to leave a little sign out there asking it to please stop eating only half of the cherry. I don't mind sharing, but I'm going to attempt to explain that two halves make a whole, and that if they would just keep eating the one they started with until they were finished, it would leave more whole ones for me. 

Monday, June 27, 2011

Tree views at Dusk

Summer is here and the it's nice and breezy tonight. Lucy and I hang out in the side yard and stare up at the early evening skies.
sequoia to the south
walnut to the west



Monday, June 20, 2011

Summer Term

It was almost exactly one year ago that I went on my trip to Europe. While I was away I thought a lot about my life and changes I wanted to make when I returned to the States. I've put some of those changes into motion, not knowing, really, if they will work or not - but figuring I, at least, needed to do something different than what I was doing before. I wasn't totally miserable in my pre-"three months" life, but I wasn't all that happy either. 

One of the changes I knew I had to make was where I was living. The condo had been a great idea while I was taking care of my Mom, and staying with her through her death - but I was itching to get back into a house with a yard. As seen in previous posts, we can place a check mark next to that item.

Another change I wanted to make was to my career. I have always been a bookkeeper. I wouldn't say I chose that career as much as it chose me. I've been fortunate to have some really great jobs and mentors, and I'm proud to say that I'm a good bookkeeper, never having much formal education around it. I don't mind it given the right work environment (a creative environment!), but it doesn't really make much of a difference in the world, does it? 

Wandering around the beautiful countryside of England, Scotland, and Ireland - I realized I love green! Green trees, green grass, green plants. Green is important to humanity. We need green! I've been a novice gardener and I enjoy growing plants, and, I live in one of the most fertile states in the nation. Could I make some sort of a living, make some sort of difference in the world doing what I had always considered to be a fun hobby? Could I have a farm? The Earth is such an important part of our existence is there something I can do to make sure we don't ruin it?

I don't know that I can answer those questions for myself yet, but I did enroll in college to try and figure out if I can. So far, I can only afford to go part-time - so it's slow going - but, at least I'm going! I figure it will be years before I can place a check mark next to that item.

This summer term will be my third term. I'll be taking Spanish, and Algebra. I think the Spanish will be fun. The Algebra, I dunno...

Saturday, June 18, 2011

The Summer Cut

I took Lucy to the groomers today to get her summer doo. Not that you would know we are in the mid month of June or anything. Portland is rainy, grey, and I don't think we topped 70 degrees today. But, non-the-less, Lucy's coat was getting long and matted, and in hopes of warmer days to come - needed to be cut. I took her to a new place called Zimmers - they were recommended by another Doodle owner, so I thought I'd give them a try. The shop was small, and nice, and some really sweet ladies were there to greet us. My only requests were to not cut her ears, tail, or eyelashes. I figured they would have to shave her pretty close because of a few really gnarly matts, but the ladies seemed to think she wouldn't have to go too short. Well, below are the results, and a conversation that I'm sure Lucy would've had with me, should she be able to form words. 
poor 'lil thing
Is this not the saddest face you've ever seen? The ladies at the shop gave her that scarf, which is really made of some cute material. (I may steal it for a scarf for myself) Poor girl. She was basically shaved to the bone. It's always shocking to me how skinny she is underneath all that hair. I love the way she sits with her turned in hind leg.. so cute.I guess she feels humiliated, and probably wonders what in the hell happened to all her hair. I know how she feels, I've had a bad hair cut or two - but she will thank me in July when it's 90 degrees and all we have is a fan to cool us off. I took the scarf off, and I think she felt a little more normal. 
really?!
I kept telling her that her hair would grow back. As the look above will attest, she doesn't believe me. 
hmmm. maybe..
I told her she looked super cute! (which she does, in a weird bobble-head dog way) Maybe she feels exposed?  I told her she has gorgeous gams (she has nice lean, long legs) and she should show them off a little. 
harumph!
Nothing I say seems to help at the moment. Buck up little camper! Your hair will grow back sooner than you think. 

Friday, June 17, 2011

Land of the Dinosaurs!

I experienced something super fun tonight! A "B" movie shown with live actors, live foley, and live music. 


It was amazing! Here's the link  - check it out!


http://filmusik.com/

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Yard Finds

Because I moved into this house in the winter, I really have no idea what kind of plants and trees I have purchased. Here are few pictures of the plants I have found so far, plus a few other things that I have come across. I told myself I was going to wait through all seasons before doing any major landscaping, just to see what pops up. I don't know if I can wait that long...
plumb tree with ewe tree branch in foreground
The view from the kitchen window is of the street lined with non-fruiting plumb trees. They are pretty in the early spring, but I'm not too impressed with them otherwise. 
pear blossom
There is a pear tree, and a cherry tree in the side yard. So far I haven't seen any fruit, but both have pretty blossoms, so I am hoping they will develop into something. The neighbors say they have seen fruit on them in the past. Fingers crossed!
yellow rose of Portland
I have three rose bushes in the beds next to the driveway. They are all fragrant and in need of a hard cutting back this year, but, I will enjoy the flowers until that time comes.
pink
This pink rose will last up to 2 weeks once cut. I think they will be good for drying out.
deep red
These rose bushes will keep the house smelling sweet all summer long. There's nothing like the smell of roses on a hot summer day. I always keep some next to my bed - it's a nice smell first thing in the morning.
 the view if you are lying down on the picnic table 
My neighbor to the west has a black walnut tree (the tree on the right hand side) and the neighbor to the south has a giant red wood (the top of it is to the left). The side yard of my house is mostly open, all the trees are on the perimeter, so there is lots of sky to view.
night view
This picture was taken of the full moon just after a full eclipse (again, from the picnic table - the center of my universe at the moment). The space ship didn't stick around too long. I think Lucy scared it off.
moles or armadillos
A not-so-good yard find... If I were in Texas I would say I had armadillos - but I don't think they have those here. I'm guessing it's a mole. They are cute, so I won't go "Caddyshack" on it. Yet...
egg shell
I found this sweet little egg shell out by the laurel hedge. There are tons of Robin's that live in there, so I think this lil' thing belonged to one of the fledgelings. I will keep with my hummingbird nest that I found at another house. 



Bloggity Blog Blog

I haven't posted to this in a while, I guess I've been in facebook land. Facebook land is starting to be too much propaganda from "friends" I have not chosen - So, I am going to try this platform again to ponder and muse and post stuff about my life. 


Since my last post in December, Lucy and I have moved to a house. It's a small home built in 1945 on a big lot. Both the home and the lot have lots of potential and I plan to slowly make that potential materialize over the next several years (that's how long it will take me to afford it all). 

the front
I bought it in March, so the trees are leafless. There is lots of grass, which will eventually go away to make room for planting beds and meandering pathways. I also plan on building a rock wall - like those I took many, many, pictures of on my European trip. 
the original kitchen
I kind of like the kitchen like it is. I will eventually get rid of the formica counter top, get a new sink, and refinish the cabinets, and get a gas cook top. I may keep the oven, I mean, how can I get rid of the Harvest Gold?! The rest of the house is pretty normal - two bedrooms, one bath. Nice windows and light. But the best part, and one of the main reasons I bought the place was the fireplace. I LOVE a good fireplace!
fireplace - Lucy's bed next to it!
I had a fire on the second night we were here. It needs to be cleaned - but I had to make sure it worked! This little place is a fixer, but Lucy and I are slowly getting settled. I've got the living room and kitchen/dining room done and the bedrooms are coming along. Between school and work, I'm pretty beat. But I figure I've got nothing but time - so my time I will take.