Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Friday, January 02, 2009
The Flood of 2009
Well, I know it will be a great year. SIE and I drove to the Wildlife Refuge up near the farm and we got to see some sandhill cranes (my favorite besides the coyotes), a few great blue herons, a huge flock of black birds migrating somewhere, lots of swans, a couple Nutria and several ducks and grebes, and one train! It was SIE's first visit with me and he did real well. He decided I should use the binoculars and he would take photos. I love that digital camera!
I made pierogies from scratch - Yum! And Hapapapa made pork and sauerkraut. No formal meal, just nibbling all day. Kaliedoscope girl had to work.
So after a nice new year's day I was snuggled down falling asleep when the furnace clicked on sounding weird. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep well unless I checked on it. I found a bunch of water flooding the basement. The fire department came to my rescue and by the time they got here the water was above their boot tops and rising. They used two of their big pumps to fight the water, which was broiling in from city drain backups and saturated ground. One of the neighbors came by and told me this happened every year and we both can't believe that wasn't disclosed when I bought the house. The old owner told me the basement was "moist" and needed some work.....but he didn't say it "floods"!!!
The firemen said the water would be up to 6 ft. by morning and waited until they knew that Hapapapa was bringing over a rented sump pump (My hero). Then it was a matter of waking up every two hours to turn it on and check the water level. I think Mr. Beachy had been drinking because he got into his little kayak and circled the basement singing pirate songs, which sound funny sung with a Chinese accent.
The water started going down the drain in the morning and I was able to get some plumbers out to plan what we should do. They will begin some major back-up valve drain work on Monday. We have snow on the ground again and predictions of 7 days of rain starting Monday so I will be happy not to have the flood worry too much longer. By 2pm I was able to get the furnace on again (by myself! amazing!) And thanks to Kaliedoscope Girl's frequent comforting phone calls, I am able to relax.
I made pierogies from scratch - Yum! And Hapapapa made pork and sauerkraut. No formal meal, just nibbling all day. Kaliedoscope girl had to work.
So after a nice new year's day I was snuggled down falling asleep when the furnace clicked on sounding weird. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep well unless I checked on it. I found a bunch of water flooding the basement. The fire department came to my rescue and by the time they got here the water was above their boot tops and rising. They used two of their big pumps to fight the water, which was broiling in from city drain backups and saturated ground. One of the neighbors came by and told me this happened every year and we both can't believe that wasn't disclosed when I bought the house. The old owner told me the basement was "moist" and needed some work.....but he didn't say it "floods"!!!
The firemen said the water would be up to 6 ft. by morning and waited until they knew that Hapapapa was bringing over a rented sump pump (My hero). Then it was a matter of waking up every two hours to turn it on and check the water level. I think Mr. Beachy had been drinking because he got into his little kayak and circled the basement singing pirate songs, which sound funny sung with a Chinese accent.
The water started going down the drain in the morning and I was able to get some plumbers out to plan what we should do. They will begin some major back-up valve drain work on Monday. We have snow on the ground again and predictions of 7 days of rain starting Monday so I will be happy not to have the flood worry too much longer. By 2pm I was able to get the furnace on again (by myself! amazing!) And thanks to Kaliedoscope Girl's frequent comforting phone calls, I am able to relax.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Inanimate Companions
Every family has them. Items that are seemingly insignifigant, that could be replaced, but because of everyday use over time become our friends. An example: I started using a clear plastic measuring cup to rinse my contact lenses. I was 16. It went to college with me, and along on any trip I ever took for lots of years. I don't wear the lenses anymore, and the cup has a crack so it can't hold liquids. It still sits on the shelf with the dishes. I can't throw it away.
Another: There's one fork that I like to eat with that makes everything just taste better. It's history began before my wedding. These were the days you could do your weekly grocery shopping and pick a reward according to how much you spent - like a dish or a piece of silverware. When I got married my Dad gave me a full set of silverware that he had been saving for me. Over the years, bit by bit, pieces got lost. Several disappeared after a Drop Inn Center Pot Luck. One got lost under a bed for a long time. A spoon got run over and flattened by my car. (That happened the afternoon I let SIE eat a bowl of Cheerios while sitting on the hood of the jeep. Later that day as I drove down the road I saw the bowl riding on the hood and wondered how far I could get with it remaining on the hood. My fault! I forgot about the spoon! It fell out at the first stop sign and was as flat as the gravel of the road when I found it) One lonely fork remains. My favorite.
Another companion is "The French Glass". This is a glass our family found under the cushion of our new used car one summer day between 1977 and 1984. You know how most glasses have a life expectancy and break after a couple years? This one has never broken. It is the best glass for Coke or vanilla milkshakes or ice water. When this glass finally breaks it will be a significant omen.
My last example is the reason I'm writing this blog entry. One day long ago, I was walking with a baby in a stroller. I think it was kaliedoscope girl. We used to do a lot of strolling and "window shopping" when she was little in OTR. On this day I saw a tiny sterling silver rosary in a pawn shop window. The next day we went in and asked how much it cost. Ten dollars, a lot for me to spend. A couple days later we went back and bought it and everyday since then I've kept it in my pocket. At night I usually pop it on my next day clothes or on the sink. It's gone through the washer and lost beads. I've repaired the links many times. This week the rosary slipped as I was putting it on the sink and it went down the drain. I was torn - too tired to fish it out of the drain, but fearing this would be the demise of a dear companion.time. I couldn't deal with it. I rattled the drain plug to see if it had gotten hooked. Then thinking it might stay in the drain loop under the sink if I didn't run the water, I went to bed hoping I wouldn't forget. Such drama. The next day the plumbing operation was successful. The rosary has returned to my pocket. Phew!
I want to know - what objects are companions for you?
Another: There's one fork that I like to eat with that makes everything just taste better. It's history began before my wedding. These were the days you could do your weekly grocery shopping and pick a reward according to how much you spent - like a dish or a piece of silverware. When I got married my Dad gave me a full set of silverware that he had been saving for me. Over the years, bit by bit, pieces got lost. Several disappeared after a Drop Inn Center Pot Luck. One got lost under a bed for a long time. A spoon got run over and flattened by my car. (That happened the afternoon I let SIE eat a bowl of Cheerios while sitting on the hood of the jeep. Later that day as I drove down the road I saw the bowl riding on the hood and wondered how far I could get with it remaining on the hood. My fault! I forgot about the spoon! It fell out at the first stop sign and was as flat as the gravel of the road when I found it) One lonely fork remains. My favorite.
Another companion is "The French Glass". This is a glass our family found under the cushion of our new used car one summer day between 1977 and 1984. You know how most glasses have a life expectancy and break after a couple years? This one has never broken. It is the best glass for Coke or vanilla milkshakes or ice water. When this glass finally breaks it will be a significant omen.
My last example is the reason I'm writing this blog entry. One day long ago, I was walking with a baby in a stroller. I think it was kaliedoscope girl. We used to do a lot of strolling and "window shopping" when she was little in OTR. On this day I saw a tiny sterling silver rosary in a pawn shop window. The next day we went in and asked how much it cost. Ten dollars, a lot for me to spend. A couple days later we went back and bought it and everyday since then I've kept it in my pocket. At night I usually pop it on my next day clothes or on the sink. It's gone through the washer and lost beads. I've repaired the links many times. This week the rosary slipped as I was putting it on the sink and it went down the drain. I was torn - too tired to fish it out of the drain, but fearing this would be the demise of a dear companion.time. I couldn't deal with it. I rattled the drain plug to see if it had gotten hooked. Then thinking it might stay in the drain loop under the sink if I didn't run the water, I went to bed hoping I wouldn't forget. Such drama. The next day the plumbing operation was successful. The rosary has returned to my pocket. Phew!
I want to know - what objects are companions for you?
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Of Many Things
Birds
This past two weeks I had several new visitors to the bird feeder. One was a yellow rumped warbler. I don't know how they name these birds. This one has yellow on it's chin and sides, not on it's rump. Same with the red bellied sap sucker - it's head is red, not its bellie. One morning I woke up to find a huge flock of Bushtits ravenously eating everything in sight. I love bushtits. Never saw one until moving to the North West. They are teeny, chirpy, little gray birds. They're about 3 1/2 inches which is just a bit smaller than a chickadee. And they travel in packs. I can just imagine them snuggling together to keep warm during the snow. The Anna's hummingbirds stopped coming by the feeder after the last big ice storm. I'm afraid they all perished.
Pets
Death also came to the menagerie. One day I realized our large, white, mystery snail hadn't moved in a couple days. When I removed it from the tank.....ooo did he ever stink. A couple days later there was a great sea monkey massacre. The latest crop of sea monkeys was unbelievable. So many. One morning I looked at their jar and they were all gone. Except one. One little one. That little one is still swimming around. Very mysterious.
Puzzles
I usually don't buy puzzles from Goodwill because who knows if all the pieces are there. But a few weeks ago I felt compelled to get one. This small puzzle box had openned and sstarted spilling on the shelf. First I started trying to pick up the couple loose pieces to put back in the box. Then I fumbled and had to pick up some that spilled. Then I realized some of the pieces had fallen down to the next shelf and some had gotten stuck in the shelf connectors. Now I had to get them all. After all that I figured I would buy the puzzle to see how many pieces were lost.
This puzzle happened to be a personalized puzzle - someone had ordered a map puzzle with their house at the center of the puzzle. The map extended two miles north and south, and four miles east and west. It ended up being a map of Coos Bay which is over on the Coast. It took a while, but putting it together was fun, as in, mindless activity to do when you're feeling too sick to do anything else, even sleep. There were about 12 pieces missing out of 500. Now I want to order puzzles for all kind of places, like this new house, and the farm, and OTR. Too expensive to order more than one. Where would you want to be the center of your map?
This past two weeks I had several new visitors to the bird feeder. One was a yellow rumped warbler. I don't know how they name these birds. This one has yellow on it's chin and sides, not on it's rump. Same with the red bellied sap sucker - it's head is red, not its bellie. One morning I woke up to find a huge flock of Bushtits ravenously eating everything in sight. I love bushtits. Never saw one until moving to the North West. They are teeny, chirpy, little gray birds. They're about 3 1/2 inches which is just a bit smaller than a chickadee. And they travel in packs. I can just imagine them snuggling together to keep warm during the snow. The Anna's hummingbirds stopped coming by the feeder after the last big ice storm. I'm afraid they all perished.
Pets
Death also came to the menagerie. One day I realized our large, white, mystery snail hadn't moved in a couple days. When I removed it from the tank.....ooo did he ever stink. A couple days later there was a great sea monkey massacre. The latest crop of sea monkeys was unbelievable. So many. One morning I looked at their jar and they were all gone. Except one. One little one. That little one is still swimming around. Very mysterious.
Puzzles
I usually don't buy puzzles from Goodwill because who knows if all the pieces are there. But a few weeks ago I felt compelled to get one. This small puzzle box had openned and sstarted spilling on the shelf. First I started trying to pick up the couple loose pieces to put back in the box. Then I fumbled and had to pick up some that spilled. Then I realized some of the pieces had fallen down to the next shelf and some had gotten stuck in the shelf connectors. Now I had to get them all. After all that I figured I would buy the puzzle to see how many pieces were lost.
This puzzle happened to be a personalized puzzle - someone had ordered a map puzzle with their house at the center of the puzzle. The map extended two miles north and south, and four miles east and west. It ended up being a map of Coos Bay which is over on the Coast. It took a while, but putting it together was fun, as in, mindless activity to do when you're feeling too sick to do anything else, even sleep. There were about 12 pieces missing out of 500. Now I want to order puzzles for all kind of places, like this new house, and the farm, and OTR. Too expensive to order more than one. Where would you want to be the center of your map?
Monday, December 29, 2008
Christmas Week
Started with the great unwrapping where everyone is four years old again and believes all these gifts were left by Santa. It was really fun. Then a great Christmas breakfast and off to see friends and family. (Back home and to bed for sick me - but getting better everyday) The temperature started to rise. 45 degrees on Saturday. Woke up Sunday morning with everything green and wet, just like Portland should be! A new year's coming.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
'Tis the Night before Christmas
It's still snowing here and I'm tired from a cold. Might be the bah-humbug-blues. Trying to decide if I should make another pot of coffee or just go curl up in bed. I dug my car out of the snow this afternoon. The ice packed on the cloth roof was hard to sweep off. I drove around the block hoping the last bits would blow off, but they're still there.The plan is to attend the children's Christmas Mass at 5:30 then to pack up any gifts Santa may have left here and take them over to SIE's tree. Spend the night there. Wake up when SIE does!....but right now I'm so tired I think Santa should wait a week or two before arriving.
But be of good cheer...Here's one of my favorite poems:On How To Be a Manger
Be empty
Be sturdy
Be soft inside
Be still
Be ready
poem by Barbara Steffanus Germiat
MERRY CHRISTMAS to all from the Beachys and me!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Hamster Dreams
This winter has been rough on Hammy. She's done a lot of sleeping and a couple times I've thought she might have died. If I clean her cage she is as grumpy as Mr. Beachy is on days his arthritis kicks in. A clean cage means she has to scrounge around for material and remake her bed. She also keeps a stash of nuts and seeds in one corner hidden under wood shavings. I can see it would be upsetting to dig all over looking for her stash and then find out I've dumped it. On those days I give her an apple slice and it makes up for her inconvenience.
Have you ever seen a dog sleeping and then start kicking or growling in his sleep? Hamsters do that too. I wonder what she dreams about. Her "growls" are just little chirps. Pretty cute.
This week I was sitting near her cage when all of a sudden there was a thump as she fell out of her nest and crashed on the cage floor. I got up to check and she was on her back with every limb flailing about. I thought she was having a seizure and surely it was the end of poor Hammy. I reached into the cage and grabbed her up and held her close. She was chirping, then gradually calmed down and opened her eyes really wide. We cuddled a while and she loved being held close and caressed. Last night she ran on her wheel for hours. Back to her old self after weeks of semi-hibernation.
Have you ever seen a dog sleeping and then start kicking or growling in his sleep? Hamsters do that too. I wonder what she dreams about. Her "growls" are just little chirps. Pretty cute.
This week I was sitting near her cage when all of a sudden there was a thump as she fell out of her nest and crashed on the cage floor. I got up to check and she was on her back with every limb flailing about. I thought she was having a seizure and surely it was the end of poor Hammy. I reached into the cage and grabbed her up and held her close. She was chirping, then gradually calmed down and opened her eyes really wide. We cuddled a while and she loved being held close and caressed. Last night she ran on her wheel for hours. Back to her old self after weeks of semi-hibernation.
Sunday Mornin' Coming Down
Woke up today to a bunch of new snow. It's the kind of snow that Blue and I would have reveled in if we were out on the farm. There is an ice crust on it that is 1 to 2 inches thick. I found out because I went out to change the hummingbird water and sweep off an area to spread bird seed. A line of juncos was waiting for me and I couldn't figure out why they weren't digging in the snow for food. Then I realized the ice crust was so thick there's no way they were heavy enough to dig through it.
If we were on the farm, Blue and I would bundle up and go off hiking in the woods. This snow is the best for walking with sure footing, even if it does crunch as you walk. We would be able to see every movement in the woods and track animals that are heavy enough to make prints. Even little animals would be making swish marks on top of the ice.
As nice as that would be, the reality is that we would have been "snowed in" for a week now and probably out of food and clean laundry and human contact. In other words, by now we'd be a little crazier than usual! Yes! God is good. My cozy little house is the best place for us right now!
I was able to get out for a bit on Friday. Drove over to Goodwill for a little shopping therapy. I love that Goodwill. It's a big one and always pretty clean and bright. I think this is where they send all the estates, because you can find priceless collections there. The kind someone saves their whole life, then whoever is settling their estate just takes them all to Goodwill. You'll go one day and there will be 100 glass swans, or a zillion salt and pepper shakers. Sometimes it will be sad because some one's hand carved boats or boats will be there. They're never all together. Somehow they get spread all over the store on different shelves. Maybe that's my excuse for having to go up and down every aisle when I go over there.
Anyway, I found a great fake tree there. It was in a box that looked like it had never been opened. (Sometimes Target sends boxes of big things that haven't sold - I thought it might be one of those.) I wasn't able to see what the tree looked like so I just crossed my fingers and hoped it would do. As it turned out, it was a used tree that someone had very tidily packed away in the box. SIE spent the night Friday so we put it together and decorated it on Saturday morning. SIE also shared his cold with me, so today my throat is sore and my nose runny. I still need lights, but we found a pack of gold tinsel in my wrapping paper stash and covered the tree with gold. So far I've only had to clean up one cat throw up containing tinsel and hope Waylon learned his lesson. Waylon is disturbed that I'm not watering the tree. I guess Christmas tree water is a Seasonal delicacy for animals!
The Jesse tree will have to wait for another year. I tried to google "Jesse Tree Ornaments" and got a porno site. Yuck!
For those who have asked, I think the Jesse Tree ornaments are flexible. They are symbols and you can use the traditional symbols or create your own. Some people put up a symbol on each day of Advent and use a sampling of bible stories to make up the ornament. Some just do it the last week of Advent and use the O Antiphons - these are short songs from the bible which give names to the Lord. The "O Come, O Come, Emanuel" song is based on those O Antiphons. There's the easy ones like "Star of David" - the six pointed star, and the "Root of Jesse" - which is usually a tree stump with a new branch growing out of it, or "Lion of Judah" - guess what - a lion. I'll slow down one day and make a list and then make the ones I like. STraditionally, some people replace the Jesse Tree with an evergreen tree on Christmas Eve. That's because the Christmas Tree is a symbol of Christ - being ever green, ever alive, ever present. There's lots of interpretations for all this, so it's fine to be flexible.
I think today is the Winter Solstice. I know there wasn't much daylight yesterday. It was dark until 8 AM, then dark again by 4:15 PM. Today seems brighter. One problem with being snowed in is that the only thing on TV is continual weather reports on every channel. So we don't know what's happening outside of the Portland area highway loop. Global warming or the shift of poles might have occured and we wouldn't know it. It may be they cancelled the Winter Solstice this year!
If we were on the farm, Blue and I would bundle up and go off hiking in the woods. This snow is the best for walking with sure footing, even if it does crunch as you walk. We would be able to see every movement in the woods and track animals that are heavy enough to make prints. Even little animals would be making swish marks on top of the ice.
As nice as that would be, the reality is that we would have been "snowed in" for a week now and probably out of food and clean laundry and human contact. In other words, by now we'd be a little crazier than usual! Yes! God is good. My cozy little house is the best place for us right now!
I was able to get out for a bit on Friday. Drove over to Goodwill for a little shopping therapy. I love that Goodwill. It's a big one and always pretty clean and bright. I think this is where they send all the estates, because you can find priceless collections there. The kind someone saves their whole life, then whoever is settling their estate just takes them all to Goodwill. You'll go one day and there will be 100 glass swans, or a zillion salt and pepper shakers. Sometimes it will be sad because some one's hand carved boats or boats will be there. They're never all together. Somehow they get spread all over the store on different shelves. Maybe that's my excuse for having to go up and down every aisle when I go over there.
Anyway, I found a great fake tree there. It was in a box that looked like it had never been opened. (Sometimes Target sends boxes of big things that haven't sold - I thought it might be one of those.) I wasn't able to see what the tree looked like so I just crossed my fingers and hoped it would do. As it turned out, it was a used tree that someone had very tidily packed away in the box. SIE spent the night Friday so we put it together and decorated it on Saturday morning. SIE also shared his cold with me, so today my throat is sore and my nose runny. I still need lights, but we found a pack of gold tinsel in my wrapping paper stash and covered the tree with gold. So far I've only had to clean up one cat throw up containing tinsel and hope Waylon learned his lesson. Waylon is disturbed that I'm not watering the tree. I guess Christmas tree water is a Seasonal delicacy for animals!
The Jesse tree will have to wait for another year. I tried to google "Jesse Tree Ornaments" and got a porno site. Yuck!
For those who have asked, I think the Jesse Tree ornaments are flexible. They are symbols and you can use the traditional symbols or create your own. Some people put up a symbol on each day of Advent and use a sampling of bible stories to make up the ornament. Some just do it the last week of Advent and use the O Antiphons - these are short songs from the bible which give names to the Lord. The "O Come, O Come, Emanuel" song is based on those O Antiphons. There's the easy ones like "Star of David" - the six pointed star, and the "Root of Jesse" - which is usually a tree stump with a new branch growing out of it, or "Lion of Judah" - guess what - a lion. I'll slow down one day and make a list and then make the ones I like. STraditionally, some people replace the Jesse Tree with an evergreen tree on Christmas Eve. That's because the Christmas Tree is a symbol of Christ - being ever green, ever alive, ever present. There's lots of interpretations for all this, so it's fine to be flexible.
I think today is the Winter Solstice. I know there wasn't much daylight yesterday. It was dark until 8 AM, then dark again by 4:15 PM. Today seems brighter. One problem with being snowed in is that the only thing on TV is continual weather reports on every channel. So we don't know what's happening outside of the Portland area highway loop. Global warming or the shift of poles might have occured and we wouldn't know it. It may be they cancelled the Winter Solstice this year!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
O Antiphons Start Today
Still snowed in. But I think I'll try to venture out today. What's the use of having four-wheel drive and super tires if I don't at least try. Blue and I walked around the block this AM checking on a neighbor. Blue was off leash slip sliding along. No one else was out. She LOVED it - run, run, then slide. I walked gingerly in my new hiking boots, which are way cool but feel too tight! I hope they aren't really tight - they didn't feel this way when I bought them. And I had heavier socks on when I bought them, too.
The little Anna's Humingbirds have been at the feeder constantly. I love it! Yesterday when I woke up the feeder had frozen. When I pulled back the kitchen curtains this little hummer zoomed up to the window at me as if he had been knocking on it and clammoring, "More! We want more!" Now I have a routine down so that one feeder thaws inside while the other freezes outside. Soesn't it seem like someone would have invented a hummingbirdfeeder warmer? Like, you know the hand warmers that you can crack and put in your gloves - seems like that would work.
One reason I want to go out today is to find a Jesse Tree. I was planning on getting a fake Xmas tree, but haven't found one I like....then I thought about a live tree. This morning, when I realized the O Antiphon prayers start today, I got excited about making a Jesse tree. If I can find a branch I can start it today and have each ornament hung on it's proper day. I'll have to make them, but I have often thought about making a set of them that would be more permanent. I've made a lot of quicky paper ones. This will be fun.
The little Anna's Humingbirds have been at the feeder constantly. I love it! Yesterday when I woke up the feeder had frozen. When I pulled back the kitchen curtains this little hummer zoomed up to the window at me as if he had been knocking on it and clammoring, "More! We want more!" Now I have a routine down so that one feeder thaws inside while the other freezes outside. Soesn't it seem like someone would have invented a hummingbirdfeeder warmer? Like, you know the hand warmers that you can crack and put in your gloves - seems like that would work.
One reason I want to go out today is to find a Jesse Tree. I was planning on getting a fake Xmas tree, but haven't found one I like....then I thought about a live tree. This morning, when I realized the O Antiphon prayers start today, I got excited about making a Jesse tree. If I can find a branch I can start it today and have each ornament hung on it's proper day. I'll have to make them, but I have often thought about making a set of them that would be more permanent. I've made a lot of quicky paper ones. This will be fun.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Christmas Craft
I don't think I'm going to be able to finish this gift, but thought I'd pass along the idea so anyone who wants can try it out. It's not my own idea, but I think it's great. I saw it some time ago on Martha Stewart and had fun walking around looking for letters and taking pictures.The idea is to find the alphabet in nature, or in architecture, or anywhere (found art) and use the photos to spell out someone's name. Once you start looking for letters you'll see them everywhere. The plan is to use a long frame and frame a name, matting each letter seperately. The letters can be in color or black and white. I still have a few letters to find. Can you see the ABCs in these photos?
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