News from Weed.........

We have had a good week............
continuing to open more boxes and find either treasures
we cannot live without or stuff we need to give away!
Meanwhile, the weather continues to entertain us with
a variety of winds and snowfall combined with some
sunshine here and there. Next week the weather is supposed
to get warmer and sunnier.
All the while we marvel over how lucky we were when we moved.
We had two solid weeks of warm sunny days which made it
so much easier for the movers and us!
Soon we will be able to start working outdoors on our
vegetable garden and changing the landscaping a bit.
Over time I would like to replace the lawn with woolythyme
and start putting in lavender, rosemary and Russian sage.
Supposedly the deer and bunny rabbits don't like these herbs.
We shall see!

During the last snowstorm I found this "bunny" shaped snow clump .

The trees have snow stuck to them like a snake skin.
As the sun comes up they will shed this snow.....

I'm still making cookies-this time Ewana's Molasses Gingersnaps....yummy

and of course we are enjoying our dinners with
fresh bread, wine and each other.
Bon appetit everyone!

Eric Alder's Monday Photo Prompt 3-26-2012

Abandoned toys*
Linger in the park
Where are those boys
Who played here til dark?

Gone to new days
Leaving their childhood
Seeking new ways
For creating good

*if one squints their eyes those trucks
look like Tonka Trucks in a big sandbox...

Magpie #110- Narcissism

image: Duane Michals

Narcissism

Self-absorbed
Egocentric fixation
On unreality

~~~~~~~~~~

There was time in our family when a very disfunctional person entered
and was enabled to wreak emotional disaster in our family. Essentially
she permanently destroyed relationships between father
and children and between brothers and sisters.
This image brought out all those dark visceral memories.
Our family never recovered from what had happened.

Tag.... I'm a Lucky Duck !

I am a lucky duck, I was tagged, along with ten other victims
(er, I mean lucky ducks), by Eric Alder
( http://ericalder.wordpress.com/ )
Since I haven't been tagged in quite awhile,
I thought what the heck-I’d play along…

The rules of this tagging are:

1.You must post these rules
2.Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post
3.Create eleven new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged
4.Tag eleven people with a link to your post. (The hardest part, in my case)
5.Let them know you tagged them

The eleven questions I must answer are:

1.What do you really like that nobody else seems to enjoy at all?
This is a hard question- maybe Foreign films that are sub-titled?
2.What thing from childhood (besides youth) do you wish you still had?
My old ice skates-wouldn't fit in them but just as a momento.
3.If you could change just one event in history – what, how and why?
I wish we had never ever gone into Iraq.
4.Favorite pizza toppings?
Fresh tomato, basil,pepperincinis and fresh garlis ...lots!
5.Favorite alcoholic beverage? (Or non-alcoholic)
Cold IPA ale on a hot summer day after gardening
6.Place you’ve never visited but would love to?
Cinque Terre in Italy
7.Favorite old movie?
Auntie Mame
8.Guilty musical pleasure?
Rockabilly
9.You’ve won a huge lottery! Now what?
Don't do anything different for a year. Ponder.
10.Modern convenience you just can’t live without?
Hot water in a bathtub
11.Do you really like question lists like these?
Well now- it's ok-BUT I wouldn't want to do this all the time.

My eleven new questions are:
1. What is your very first memory?
2. If you had a camera as a child, what was your favorite photo?
3. What is your favorite meal?
4. What super power would you like to have?
5. What is your favorite junk food?
6. What book are you reading right now?
7. Who is your personal hero/heroine?
8. Favorite city and why?
9. Your favorite all time movie?
10. Do or don't you like to camp and why?
11. Could you give up your car?

Here are the lucky ducks that I'm tagging:

1. Rinkly Rimes: http://rinklyrimes.blogspot.com/
2. Celia: http://celiasbluecottage.blogspot.com/
3. Logb: http://logb-chiccoreal.blogspot.com/
4. Carrie: http://thewordwhisperer2.blogspot.com/
5. Tumblewords: http://firsttumblewords.blogspot.com/
6. Janice: http://wwwjanblog-janice.blogspot.com/
7. Bee: http://expatbeesblog.blogspot.com/
8. T's Subplot: http://tssubplot.blogspot.com/
9. Helen: http://woonietest.blogspot.com/
10. Kristen: http://www.livinginthemiddle.com/
11. Thingy: http://thingy-thingy-ponderinglife.blogspot.com/

Company for Dinner

We're pretty settled in now-
So I am having fun in our kitchen-
doing what I so enjoy....
feeding friends!

Our dining room
Freshly baked bread, brie and some
of Isabelle's yummy French Pickles
and yes you can see the hammers etc
as we're still hanging art...
After our company had gone home we sat and
watched the trees sway in the wind......

Eric Alder's Monday Photo Prompt 3-20-2012

Cold icy fingers
Stubborn leaves on gloomy trees
Wait for spring

~~~~~~~

Missing Link-Magpie #109

image: Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison

Somehow this inventor just doesn't think
That this is how his zippers should link
Trying as hard as he might
These gears just aren't meshing right
Perhaps I need to use a new device
With teeth chomping up so very nice
Else they will be returned in a sack
In care of me- Mr Gideon Sundback

http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/zipper.htm

Thanks to Tess Kincaid for this splendid blog and
for more takes on this image go here:
http://magpietales.blogspot.com/

St. Patrick's Day in Dunsmuir California....

Our St Patrick's Day in Dunsmuir, California.....

Sign behind Dunsmuuir Brewery Works bar....
Everyone there was kind....and friendly!
We chose to have a cup of their fabulous clam chowder
and the 1/2 pound grilled burger....
delicious pub grub...with good ale choices...
http://www.dunsmuirbreweryworks.com/

Live Celtic music featuring George and Anwyn Leverett
www.aroundthehearth.com

George played a variety of instruments including
the harp,flute and fiddle. Anwyn played the hammered dulcimer.
Lovely toe-tapping music.

Eric Alders Monday Photo Prompt 3-13-2012

Zipping along going sixty-five

Hurrying to work to stay alive

We see that Smoky engine ready

We slow down keeping our hands steady

He nods his head and smiles a bit

His job is done-the brake lights are lit....

for more takes on Erics fine image go here:
http://bifocalunivision.blogspot.com

Magpie 108-Spring Routine

image: Uzengia Aleksander Nedic

Time travel
Groping sleepily for the clock
Spring forward

Eric Alders Monday Photo Prompt 3-7-12

Breaking news across the wires.....
The Harbinger of spring has been spotted.
Is it the Red Breasted Robin-
The State bird of Michigan?
Or the gorgeous Red Cardinal?
Only the keenest bird watcher can say....
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Magpie #107- The Eyes Have It !

There once was a chap named Bing
Who pasted billboards for a living
Staring at those eyes
He soon surmised
That his hat needed a good flinging

OR...........

Eyes stare
Ask him to pretty please
Lose the hat

image by Sarolta Ban
provided by Tess Kincaid
For more takes on this image go here:
http://magpietales.blogspot.com/

Our move and how we're doing......

On February 15th we left Lake Oswego,Oregon to begin
a new chapter in our lives: Russell calls it having a new
adventure and I'd agree with that!
We emptied our 2700 sq. foot home and did a lot of dispersing
of personal effects and furniture before the movers arrived
on Valentines Day to pack up what we couldn't pack ourselves.
They filled 2 20' long trucks and off they went to arrive
as planned on Thursday morning.

We have now been here unpacking our belongings for a little
over 2 weeks and the garage (thank god for the garage) is
still full of boxes of belongings we don't have room for.
Most of it is the vast art collection we amassed over the
last 23 or so years.
We drove old cars and had art payments
instead of car payments.
It's obvious we'll be building a system to
store and rotate our art.


Such is our life right now- and it may be a bit chaotic, but
it's our adventure and we'll figure it all out!
Meanwhile our surroundings are so beautiful and serene-
complete with a lot of snowfall for a few days.
We don't regret moving here one teensy bit and look forward
to our new life here.
~~~~~~~~