One Down!

Yesterday I finished one of my projects that's been in the works for months now. This is a moment to celebrate because I actually believed it would never be finished. Some of you might recall that I bought a couch for $25 soon after I moved in here. It had a vinyl cover and looked like a couch that you'd see in a nursing home, doctor's office, or hotel lobby. I made an attempt to cover it and found a light beige suede feeling fabric, but the couch looked blah. I figured I'd put it out on the curb. That's what you do in Portland if you want to give something away. No matter what it is, it's usually gone by the end of the day.

While waiting to find someone to help carry the couch out to the curb I found a piece of red fabric that I thought would make a cool tablecloth. I spread it on the couch to see where I wanted to position the pattern, and really liked how it looked. So that started the dilemma of whether to continue with making a tablecloth or use the fabric for upholstery. If I used it for the couch I'd need more fabric, but I wasn't sure how much, so I measured and went to the store to get more fabric. They had sold out of that pattern. They reordered it, but I'm very impatient so I tried to use a couple other matching fabrics. That didn't work. It took a few weeks, but the red fabric arrived and I bought another yard. Of course that was 2 - 3 inches short, so I saved every scrap and skillfully pieced it together leaving the beige cloth on the back of the couch.

All this began sometime in March or April. Many days I thought I'd just throw the whole thing out. It's just one of those projects that you have to sit down and do and there never seemed like time. I had planned a small dinner at the beginning of October and invited a family with a two year old. In an effort to child-proof the house I was determined to finish the couch and pinned all the fabric in place. SIE had become an expert at removing the straight pins during these months of upholstering so I figured it would be a class one hazzard if a two year old saw them. I tried to get it all sewn in place before the two year old arrived, but it became a choice of a covered couch or a cooked meal. The night of the dinner I was scrambling to cover up the pinned section with throws and blankets. Lest it sound like I am blaming little kids for my inability to complete a project, let me mention the animals in my house who get onto the couch to groom their claws or nap. You probably know that a proper nap can't be taken unless the area is scraped and roughed up before turning around three times and settling in.

At any rate, my couch is now stitched and beautiful and comfy and if I ignore the cost of fabric and time, I can still pretend it only cost $25.

Thanksgiving's Past, Thanksgivings Past

Thanksgiving is past. It's the morning after Thanksgiving Day and very laid back. I'm taking care of kaleidoscope girl's two dogs while they are at the Coast. The 3 dogs are maniacs when they're together. I made the mistake of giving them each a chew bone thinking that would be a nice treat. They spent most of last night defending their bones and taunting each other with them. The family left after dinner and hopefully didn't get too tired driving in the rain. It was pouring here. This was my 5th Thanksgiving in Portland. Really hard to believe that time has spun so fast. Kaleidoscope girl and Hapapapa have an "extended family" of friends that have shared Thanksgiving Dinner together for years. I've joined in since I've been here and it's really nice to see the group together each year. Usually the host family makes the turkey and everyone brings something. Stories are that for the first few years there was no turkey...I'm glad those days have passed!

Thanksgivings Past I was remembering back to past Thanksgivings and there are many that have been really nice, but a couple that cross my mind every year. One was in Chicago. I don't remember a dinner, but I remember a slender nurse on my floor (I was a ward clerk at Billing's Hospital for a season). I probably worked that night and this nurse told stories of her Thanksgiving turkeys and how every year except this one it seemed she was pregnant. She would be in her eighth or nineth month and as big as the turkey itself. Everyone would crack up as she described herself trying to get the turkey in and out of the oven.

Another Thanksgiving that crosses my mind each year is my first one in Over-the-Rhine. I moved there in the spring of 1969 and my official roomate, D.G., had a job split between youth work at Prince of Peace and senior work at the OTR Senior Center which was located on the corner of 13th and Race St. across from Washington Park at the time. I say she was my "official" roomate because there were many people in and out of our apartment that summer. We were the ones who paid the rent. Everyone but me returned to school in the fall, and I was hired by the Senior Center to replace DG. For Thanksgiving, DG decided she wanted to cook dinner for all the little old people who usually came to the center. It would have been closed for the holiday and most all of the people would have been alone.

I had never cooked a turkey or made stuffing or anything like this. DG had taught me how to drive; now she was teaching me how to make the best turkey and stuffing. The turkey was huge. I think we used two or three bags of bread, a pound of butter, and an entire jar of poultry spice making the stuffing. Then it was up every hour through the night to check on it and baste it. The smell of turkey in the morning was wonderful and the dinner was a huge success. And one of the best parts was making the little elderly Italian cook, who was quite a curmudgeon - especially when we helped in the kitchen, sit down and eat without doing a thing! They all loved it.

The Beachys are Back!

Yay! Mr. Beachy, Peaches, and Soon are back from their l-o-n-g trip to China. They arrived last night all grumpy and tired out, but very happy to be home. They visited every relative in the Beachy extended family. Peaches said she didn't get to hold Soon for more than a few minutes the entire trip. Everyone thought she was the perfect baby. How could they not? Mr. Beachy is glad to be back in time to cook Thanksgiving dinner. He tells me everyone cooked for them while they were gone and they never ate so much food in all their lives. But they've been en route for three days and are happy I filled their fridge with their favorite American foods.

Early this morning Mr. Beachy was outside inspecting the yard and scolding, scolding, scolding me in his old familiar way about things I missed caring for in the garden. The weather has been cold and rainy, but that is no excuse. If Soon hadn't started fussing he would have given me an earfull! Peaches was all cheerful this morning, laughing that Soon couldn't let her take a shower without such a fuss. "Want to be with mama all the time! So many people in China; now all alone in big house. New colors, new sounds. Good while gone, now naughty. Baby Soon remember old house and be happy soon."

It's really great to have them back all safe and sound. I confess I was a little worried that they might decide to stay in China. Mr. Beachy knew I'd been thinking that might happen. He scoffed at me and muttered, "No, no. Chinese people all good with gardens. I go where needed most."

Analyze This

I had a dream last night. Not a "biggie", but one that was detailed and long. I don't know where this one came from, so if you can figure it out, let me know!

In the dream I was me, but younger, maybe 30. I had a friend who was supposed to be a bridesmaid in a wedding. For some reason she just couldn't be there. She gave me her dress and, despite much resistance, talked me into taking her place. I didn't know the bride. What I figured I'd do is find the other bridesmaid (the maid of honor) and explain the situation to her and get the dress to them so they could find another of the bride's friends.

I headed to the church which was a little brick church somewhere near Bishop St. in Cincinnati. It's not a church that's really there - just in this dream. There was a long tight driveway around to the back of the church and a lot of trees and bushes in full foilage. And I was driving a semi. It seems that driving a semi was my profession. I had a bit of trouble parking it and finally left it blocking some of the cars because I figured I'd only be there a minute.

Explaining the situation to the bridesmaid was futile. She didn't care. She just wanted me to hurry up and put on the gown so the wedding could begin. I wasn't even sure it would fit but we hurried up a softly lit wooden staircase to a second floor dressing room and put it on. She already was dressed and frantic to get me in my dress. I realized I didn't have a slip so we tried a couple ideas and finally cut a white pillow case to use as a half slip.

There was a delay in the start of the service so I got to hang out with the bride and bridesmaid while we waited. The bride was relaxed and finally her maid of homor calmed down, too. It was getting late and I had to move the semi. That was a little tricky trying to get up into the seat with the fitted skirt. It turned out I just needed to back the truck up a bit and scooch into a spot recently vacated by a couple cars.

It was dark now and the wedding still hadn't started. The bride, bridesmaid, and I decided to go on a walk. The night air was warm and smelled beautiful. It was pretty late and wasn't too long before dawn. We walked along one of the roads near Spring Grove Cemtery. I knew a way to cut into the cemetery. The main gates would be shut for another hour or so. We would have to slip through a small space between a chicken wire fence and some rose bushes. I agreed to climb up to see if the path was clear enough for our dresses to sueeze past without tearing. But I couldn't get up this small incline. I ended up with my hands and feet trying to get some traction. My feet just kept slipping out from under me. They started walking down into the meadow on the other side of the road, so I gave up and caught up with them.

The meadow was lit up by the moon and we noticed some activity around a trailer. The bride decided to ask at the trailor for a ride back to the church. It turns out the people in the trailor were filming a movie and asked us to wait till they finished this shot. We were seated on a long white bench and got to watch the end of the scene. The director had the cameraman take a short film of us sitting on the bench to use in his film. We were leaning up against each other and I was sitting with my legs stretched out on the bench. We felt like: "A-aaa-ah."

So how does a brain manufacture that dream? Maybe I'm just falling asleep with the TV on too much! Any other ideas or dreams out there? Maybe Mr. Beachy will know.

It Was A Dark and Stormy Night . . .

The fog enveloped everything in sight. Only the sound of the ocean could be heard beyond the beckoning wind. She walked closer. Soon she would disapear . . . . .

A-hem

Mr. Beachy stopped by today to tell me to get on the schtick and get back to blogging! This has been a busy month and there's lots to write about. Right now I'm sitting in a very warm room in a house that looks like I'm still moving in. There's chaos everywhere, but it's too hot to do anything except sweat.

My three children were in town to visit this past week. The time went so fast! But we did get a chance to spend two nights at the Coast. Kaliedoscope had reserved a great room with a loft and a balcony looking out over the beach in Newport. The weather was in constant flux and a blanket fog kept rolling around with one morning that was clear and sunny. Besides loving the fact that all three of my girls and one little grandson were with me, I loved walking along the beach. Blue loved running. There are so many soft colors. The sand takes on many patterns. Little creatures scurry along the rim of the waves. The sky is huge when the sun was out, and mysterious when the fog covered everything. The wind was chilly but felt good to me. The sand was warm.

And here I'll have to close because I'm too weary to write more. My mind and heart are full to the brim and, yes, Mr. Beachy, I'll try to write all about the visit soon as I can. Thanks for stopping by!

Monday Morning Blog

OK, I know it's been a while. I am exerting great discipline in sitting down and writing this morning. Waylon has been sitting in a ray of sunlight for 45 minutes without moving and that just seems so lucious. I'd like to do that, too. It seems I've been caught in some cyberspace trance where all I want to do when the computer is on is follow various news items or catch up with other people's blogs. My friends are returning from Israel and Zambia so that will cut down on time spent reading their blogs.

Yesterday I traveled to St. Paul, Oregon and found more roses than my yard can hold! That cuts down the internet search for roses. It's not really rose buying time in Portland. Most of the nurseries have only the left over tattered roses no one wanted. But I am ready to plant roses and wanted to find a couple that I'd cared for at St. Boniface. In my stack of old rose catalogs I found a long forgotten one from "Heirloom Roses" and discovered it is located just 40 minutes from here! Since this is the Pauline Year for Catholics, I decided a trip to St. Paul, Oregon would be an appropriate adventure. The Heirloom Rose Garden rivals any rose garden I've seen so far....and that is saying a lot for someone from The City of Roses. Even the map of their garden layout is 25 pages long! (No pictures - just mapping out where each rose is located) They have a greenhouse full of rose starts and I picked out 9 to take home. Ballerina and Sally Holmes and Play Girl were three of the starts I'd been looking for. The others are variations on old single roses that I hadn't seen before. One is Kew Rambler and another is called Summer Wine. I picked out one called Mavourneen just because of the name and can't find that rose's description anywhere. But you know it's got to be good with a name like that. They gave me a "mystery rose", too, so I'll have a couple surprises next summer.

Blue and I drove up to Ridgefield one day. I was feeling sick but too restless to stay home in bed. We were the only ones at the Refuge. Got to see the American Bittern I saw on my very first trip there. Maybe it was the same. They are such a funny looking bird. I'll try to post a picture if I can find one. Also got to watch a bald eagle fishing. He was great. Usually I see immature eagles which still have brown plumage and don't look so regal. This one had his whites and definitely ruled.

Then we saw our coyote! He was almost invisible. Crouched down in the middle of a recently mowed field, he looked just like one of the clumps of hay. We stopped the car and watched him for an hour or more. At first I thought he must be a young coyote waiting for his mom to come back from a hunting trip. Every minute or so he'd pick up his head from the ground and look around. He got up once and stretched, then turned a circle and lay down again just like any old dog. Finally I spotted another coyote moving along the fence line. Our coyote jumped up and chased that one off so far and fast it was amazing. Then he proudly sauntered back to his watch spot, so satisfied - an accomplished guadian of his territory.

My next blog will be entitled "Ghost Stories". SIE and I have been playing camping. Lately it's involved scary stories around the campfire. Stay tuned!

Bits and Pieces

Today was the kind of melt-in-your-chair type day that made me feel slower mentally than a slug. It's the kind of day that you just want to hop in and out of the shower all day long. Our only outside activity was walking across the street in the early AM to look at a rummage sale, then to move our car to the shady side of the street, then to water the plants in the evening. A friend stopped over with her two dogs, so I guess we were outside then for a few minutes.

Yesterday was also hot and I took a really long nap, then drove over to Reed College so Blue could have an off-leash run. Reed College is the beautiful kind of college that makes college life seem romantic and idyllic. The buildings are brick and would probably be ivy covered if ivy wasn't an invasive species here. We are a no tolerance state in that regard. There are rolling green lawns and old, old trees with concrete benches under them. Dr. Egeria was here a few weeks ago for a conference - that's how I came to visit this place for the first time. She stayed in one of the dorms and they even had a firplace in her room. That's like High Church but in educational terms.

Blue and I went over there armed with a campus map. We found the "canyon trail" and went around the long 1/2 of the lake. It was a nicely kept trail, but I kept getting spider webs in my face so it might not be well traveled. There were ducks and ducklings and so many crows that it could have been a scene out of The Birds. I have never watched crows play in water before. They were quite comical dive bombing into the water or landing on fallen logs then diving in, crowing with wild abandon. I guess even crows like to cool off on these super hot days. Blue almost caught a couple squirels. There was a father and his two little daughters on the path across the lake so we weren't totally alone. But it was an eerie place to walk - seemed like the kind of place to dump a body. I also kept hoping not to see a coyote. From a car I love to watch them; on foot I really don't want to get close. This part of campus definitely was wild enough to have coyotes and more critters that aren't exactly urbanites. There was a bench with a college couple sleeping on it and at one turn someone had set up a folding table with a lamp and long extension cord leading back to a dorm window. If you have enough bug repellent, I guess this would be a wonderful study spot.

Bits and Pieces was an early 60s song by The Dave Clark Five,I think - an English pop group rival to the Beatles.

And now, my friendlies, I'm melting! I'm melting. m e l t..i n g g g................

Stand Back Steven Speilberg

It took a lot longer to download this video than it did to take it. It might take all of 30 seconds to view it. Make sure your audio is on. Miss Ingu is striking out into new realms of art. I hope it works!

Lucky Is Home

Just an update to let everyone know that the dog we found last week is home and happy. It was a Saturday all-consumed with finding the dog's owner. Kaliedoscope Girl and I had posted a few notices about a lost dog on-line. People would call and tell me their dog's name and I would try to call her but she never responded. It seemed like she like being called Lucky - at least that name got her attention.

So Saturday morning..... I cleaned the carpet in the little room and reassured all involved that he fireworks were over for another year. Then I folded up the back seat of the Jeep and loaded in Blue and the stray dog. Blue took her usual front seat. Captain Bogg aka Lucky needed a collar and a boost up to get into the back of the Jeep. She must be a well traveled dog because she got herself comfortable and because she is big, could watch out the window with ease.

First stop was Dove-Lewis Animal Clinic in the NW where they said they would do a free micro-chip scan. They were so very nice that I would recommend them to anyone looking for emergency pet care or for a donation destination. There was no chip to be found, but one of the clerks called several places checking to see if this dog was theirs.

Then we drove to the Washington County Animal Shelter. Portland is made up of 3 different counties. I never heard of that before moving here. I thought cities made up counties. We had to find the shelter closest to where we found the dog, hoping that that was the shelter her family would check first. And it was a l o n g drive out to the Hillsboro/Beaverton area. It reminded me of driving out Rt 125 in Cincinnati with all the businesses and car dealerships lining the road. Oh! But wait! There is a Goodwill. Must remember to stop there on the way home.

We arrived at the shelter and I took the dog in....leaving Blue with a deserted look on her face....as if CB and I were going to Graeters without her. I was filling out papers when one of the clerks came up and asked me if I was the one who had posted the lost dog photos on Craig's List. I was. Her owners had just been there and flipped through their file of lost dog notices and they were 100% sure that this was their dog. They were so excited that they took my phone number but didn't leave any info about themselves! OH NO. The shelter thought I should leave the dog there and then when these people called just tell them where she was. The only problem was that the shelter was closing until Monday in just a couple hours and who knew if I could get home in time to receive and return a phone message and if the people were close enough to pick her up in time.

It all worked out. I arrived home to two messages from the grateful owners and called them back in time. And here is what they told me. The dog is 11 years old and lives in a little country town about 10 miles from the shelter. She was frightened during the lightening storm on Wednesday night and had run "over the hill". When she didn't come back they started looking and calling and posting signs. Several people called to say they had seen her running. It turns out that a lot of the neighbors in that town had helped raise this dog and her sister. The summer she was born, the mother dog got into some elk meat left out by a neighbor and was poisoned. She left 9 puppies that had to be hand fed and even tube fed until they were strong enough to suck. The vet showed them how and because the couple worked, neighbors took turns feeding the pups every couple hours. The vet helped them find homes for 7 of the puppies and they kept the 2 sisters. The people told me that the sister dog had been beside herself without this dog. So our over-night guest was reunited and called by her real given name - "Sissy". There's more - Guess what the sister dog's name is....."Lucky".