Love my Subaru!

My Subaru has been resurrected! Well, it never really died, but with our tight budget lately, it's been parked in the yard awaiting costly repairs and registration while we drove our other 2 cars. Yes, (blush), we have 3 cars! We bought our used Honda Civic hybrid when gas soared to almost $4 per gallon, and my husband was commuting 70 miles a day in Michigan. His big truck gets horrible gas mileage. The Subaru's all-wheel drive is perfect for the Pacific Northwest, and she did an excellent job in Michigan on the snow. I LOVE the hatch back (perfect "kid and dog car"), and the way she handles. The anti-lock brakes and airbags are something I would never want to be without. I keep waiting for Subaru to come out with a hybrid, but with the reliability of my Subaru, I can just keep waiting, and waiting, and waiting...

I bought our Subaru shortly after I got my first job as a medical technologist. I wanted a safe car to replace my Mitsubishi Mirage, as I commuted the stretch of I-5 between Medford and Grants Pass in the pitch black of pre-dawn. This stretch is notorious for it's black ice, and my Subaru quite literally saved me from what would have been a horrible crash one morning when a semi jack-knifed right in front of me.

My Subaru is comfortable, it's a racy stick-shift, it carried my babies in their car seats, and I hope that my sons will some day learn to drive this car. And it's paid for! Last summer it passed 150,000 miles. I took a picture of this moment in time while out geocaching with the kids.



We revived her last week, when my husband's truck failed us, the day after we picked up mom at the airport for a week-long visit. A tow truck ride (thank you AAA), week-end at the mechanic, and over 800 dollars later, the truck is now good as new, but it only took a set of new spark plug wires, a trip to the DMV, and AAA (insurance) for Chris to get old Ruby back to work. She still needs some work (cracked CV boots (?) on the front axle), but I sure did miss her, and am having second thoughts about selling her. She's been a wonderful friend!

sorry, no pictures...

For some reason, I have been unable to post pictures to this website. Any suggestions?????

Spring Forward

I must admit... I am SO tickled to see Spring starting up here in NE Oregon. I wasn't sure what to expect, weather-wise, when we moved here from Michigan. I knew it would be a warmer climate, but I've never lived in such an arid place before, and knew that temperature extremes were the rule.

But the last few weeks have brought lost of pleasant surprises, from flocks of Robins, new birds making their appearances, buds on the trees, grass greening up, and incredibly beautiful bluebird days. Almost T-shirt weather, but not quite for me. My kids, on the other hand have already started wearing their shorts. Once again, their early years in Michigan must play a part. Having been born and raised in the deep South, I still get cold easily. I toughened up considerably living in Michigan, but no shorts or T-shirts for me yet. In fact, I LOVED the fact that in Michigan I could stay covered up most of the year.

But my favorite part of Spring this time around is that I get to start a garden!! We always had a big garden in Southern Oregon, but living in the deep woods in Northern Michigan, I became a HUGE fan of growers markets, as I could never grow much there. I wasn't disappointed, as there were some incredible farmers in Northern Michigan, especially near lake Michigan and in the "thumb" area. But I really missed being able to eat home-grown vegetables and berries out of our own yard. I cherish memories of my young boys eating red bell peppers right off the vines, like apples, or munching happily on cherry tomatoes or strawberries that only "traveled" from stem to mouth. Now we have the sun and the climate for another really nice garden, and I'm really optimistic!

Chris has really made me happy by carving out a spot behind our yard, in our "common" area, fencing it off from the local deer, and helping get the beds ready. We even planted a few seeds already. Since it's our first season here, there will be a lot of trial and error. But I'm ready!!

So here are a few pictures of our new garden, as well as a few signs of Spring that are springing up all around us! I hope you all are enjoying some Spring time weather in your neck of the woods as well!!

Winter Olympics

I LOVE the Olympics!! These Winter Olympics has me thinking not of the nearby Vancouver BC, but of Northern Michigan!

I love both the summer and winter Olympics, and even competed and closely followed gymnastics as a kid. But after living in Northern Michigan, I've been favoring, more and more, the Winter Olympic sports. And curling is a sport that the town of Lewiston, where we lived, is well known for. Right there in town is one of the few curling clubs in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, the Lewiston Curling Club. Unlike gymnastics, the sport of curling can be played well into adulthood and even well into the senior years. I joke that I have gills behind my ears, since I grew up in Louisiana, but my boys both definitely have what I like to call "ice legs", after spending a big chunk of their childhood in Michigan. They're not alone. Many of the Winter Olympic athletes I've been watching on TV are also from Michigan. With a winter season that is so long, it's no wonder. Hockey clubs, ice skating and local ski hills are sprinkled liberally all over the state. We learned to love all winter sports while living there, and I sorely miss them now. Oregon does have some winter sports, but in no way does it even come close to matching the ease and accessibility they have in Michigan.

Curling involves "throwing", or sliding a large granite rock towards a target on a sheet of ice. It reminds me of shuffleboard more than any other sport. Team mates sweep a broom in front of the rock to help control it's speed and direction. Oh, and did I mention that the curlers wear a special shoe on one foot that actually makes them slide EASIER? The ice is specially prepared, and is different than traditional ice rink ice. It is finely sprinkled with water droplets and the stone actually rides on top of those ice beads. What I don't know about curling is far greater than what I do know, and as I watched my son practice, I started gaining a finer appreciation of the sport of curling. I would be leaving out an important aspect of the sport if I failed to mention that the sport of curling has to be the most social sport of any winter games, if not summer as well. Loaded with all of this relatively new information and appreciation of the sport, I'm a bit let down at how little coverage it gets on TV.

I always wanted to try curling, but didn't grow up with "ice legs", as my kids did. I took so many nasty falls on ice just trying to get across the parking lots. It took a real effort on my part, as an adult, to learn even how to walk on ice... taking those tiny "shuffle steps", keeping an eye on the ground, carefully looking for that bit of snow or sand to step on to provide a bit of added traction. But I knew that it was the perfect time to get my kids involved in these sports. My oldest was able to take a few months of curling lessons, and both kids learned how to down hill ski while we were there, at the local Treetops Resort, near Gaylord, MI. I even mastered (ha!) the "snowplow" on the bunny hill and am still incredibly grateful for my son's school teacher for teaching me during the school's "ski club" outings, in exchange for chaperon duties. Both boys and I really want to learn how to snowboard, and plan to maybe next winter when we hopefully have a bit more flexibility in the family budget.
So what about you? What are your favorite Winter Olympic Events?

Battle Mountain and Umatilla National Forest

Over the week-end, we decided to take a drive South from Pendleton to Battle Mountain and beyond. Heading South on Hwy 395 we drove through rolling hills, slowly climbing in altitude. About 30 miles South we entered the "Battle Mountain Forest State Scenic Corridor". Grass covered hills gave way to snow-dappled forests of Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pine. We also passed by the entrance of Battle Mountain State Park, but it is currently closed for the winter. As we drove in the cold rain, we saw many groups of Mule Deer, but the elk my husband was looking for weren't to be found.... yet...

We decided to drive further South into the Umatilla National Forest. Taking a Forest Service Road, just North of Dale, we followed it East into the mountains until we found a nice place to park and get out. There's still a bit of snow on the ground higher up, but not much! But the kids and the dog had a blast running free and throwing big rocks off a nearby bridge. There was ice partially covering the creek and my boys delighted in trying to get the rocks to break through the ice shelf. I wish we were all so easily entertained. We all took turns hiking up to a high point to see if we could get some good views, and the boys discovered the thrill of rock climbing. After an hour or so we decided to drive back home.

We stopped in the little town of Ukiah, OR, mostly because of pure curiosity on my part. My husband had been there numerous time during elk hunting seasons past, and a few of my Michigan friends had also lived there prior to moving to Michigan. We always seem to hit the local towns on a Sunday, and as a result, they're frequently very quiet. This was no exception. This is however, the home of the North Fork John Day Ranger District of the Umatilla National Forest, and a place to stop for information about the forest, as well as gas, food and lodging. The Blue Mountain Scenic Byway also goes right through Ukiah, but parts can be closed in the winter, so I'm saving this much-anticipated drive for Spring after the snow is gone and the wildflowers come out.

As the shadows started lengthening we started our drive back to Pendleton, and just as we were driving over Battle Mountain, we spotted a large herd of elk right next to Hwy 395. I was able to grab my camera and take this video. Please excuse the background noise of a loud radio and excited dog. No doubt this was the high light of the day.

Who dat!

I just wanted to say thanks to the New Orleans Saints for giving me a few hours of unadulterated bliss last night. My family and I watched from home and greatly enjoyed their victory along with so many other Saints' fans across the nation. It's hard to describe what this victory stands for for so many of us who have lived in New Orleans and who have been through so much sadness. Just to make it to the Super bowl was such a cause for celebration. The victory last night was truly icing on the cake.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a sports fan. I was raised in a family that wasn't big enthusiasts, but did get to go to the occasional college baseball game with my dad growing up as a kid. Last night really changed things for me. For a few hours I was able to escape, root for the only professional team I ever knew about growing up and was able to celebrate their victory with so many friends across the country via the Internet.

So thanks Saints! I DO believe!!!

On a more somber note, I've been having a particularly challenging time with my computer lately, and haven't been able to upload any photos to any websites. I've tried a bunch of things, but just don't have time to play around with it much more. I enjoy blogging because it's one of the few opportunities I have as a stay at home mom to do something mentally stimulating. It's also a way to connect to others which I enjoy. I also got offered a job, albeit volunteer, to do some writing from home, thanks in part to this blog. But until I can get the picture-thing figured out, it's just not as much fun blogging. So this may (or may not) be the last post here. Thanks for your interest and support.

McNary Dam and the Pacific Salmon Visitor Information Center

My birthday was a week ago, and on the way from Pendleton to Tri-Cities, WA to enjoy a celebratory day with the family, we decided to stop at the McNary Dam Visitors' Center, just off I-82 at the Oregon, Washington border, or the Columbia River. For those of you who don't know, there are a series of hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River and this is one of them. Since it is winter time, there were no employees present at the center and the fish ladder viewing room was, sadly, closed. The Pacific Salmon Visitors Center was open though and we were able to view the exhibits, as well as climb up to the top of the viewing platform to see the river and dam. There is also a short movie to view in a small theater that we got to enjoy, as well as a fish sorting room, although no one was working the day we visited.

All in all though it's an excellent (and totally free) place to stop and view the dam and to learn about the Columbia River, it's dams, and the efforts to protect the fish that now must navigate the river through man-made ladders and barges. Yes, that's right, barges. As the young fish leave the headwaters, there are screens along the turbines that divert the small fish through huge pipes over the dam into waiting barges that take them downstream. Many fish die during the process. It's of course a very controversial process and reminds me that renewable "green" energy comes at a high cost.

I must admit though, that the whole concept of making energy from running water fascinates me. I even found out that there's an event February 20th at the Bonneville Dam, Great Electrifying Event that I'm hoping to drag the family to.

I can't mention salmon on my blog without mentioning my friend, Jeannine, a fish biologist who let me tag along with her many years ago to help her do fisheries research. She's really the person who introduced me to the underwater world of fish. I also spent a few afternoons working with another fish biologist when I was working at the BLM finding fish "redds", or nests that the fish dig out in stream beds to lay their eggs. It's amazing to see these and to think of all the work these fish performed to reproduce.

I also have to mention that there's a current exhibit at the local Tamastslikt Museum, near Pendlton about the Pacific Salmon, "A Litany of Salmon", that's there from now until April 18th. I plan on going to see it soon, and hope to make it to a book signing and lecture there if I can on Feb. 13th.

Below are a few pictures I took of the dam. Enjoy!!