One Word

Late Night Visitor

It's 12am and I'm alone, reading in bed, in a large house surrounded by lots of bushes. There is a lot of commotion outside the bedroom window: scratching, banging, shuffling. I hear someone shimmey up the side of the house and onto the roof. Then there is a lot of noise as this someone runs all around on top of my side of the house, trying to look for a way in. Repeat initial noises again, as a second someone ascends the house.

With my heart pounding in my chest, I checked the main rooms of the house for extra visitors. Then grabbed the largest flash light I could find and attempted to shine it on the roof from inside. That's when I saw them: the furry, gray haired feet running around. And I realized I had roof-top running raccoons.

It's now 12:15am. Needing a resource, I call my ever so fortunate father. "Dad! Sorry to wake you, but there are raccoons on the roof! How do I get them off?"

In the ensuing conversation, Dad tells me that it's funny and to go back to bed. Hopefully they'll come down themselves...and what do you know they did! (But I did have to go outside in front and in back and shine my flashlight all around. I'm sure the neighbors thought I was crazy....good thing the full moon was out to explain my behavior!).

And all this just as I was reading about how as a society we've so removed ourselves from nature that we have dulled our senses. Well last night, my senses were pretty awakened!

Have a beautiful day!

A Kitchen Afternoon

My first time blanching green beans!

Making pasta sauce:
And then the rest of the afternoon loving on the friend's baby.....wonderful way to spend the day!

Things I've Been Up To...

There's a pear tree in the backyard!

Spending quality time in the yard. Deadheading the roses again, feeding the birds and koi, and attempting to stay on top of the produce; ie giving it to others, making more pasta sauce, etc.

I'm so glad to have the ability to compost! Almost every day I tote this little bucket out to the big compost, dump in the remains of my food, and turn it over in the big bin. It's incredible to see how much gets broken down just in a couple of days!

I find it ironic that after two nights of TV, I have yet to really watch anything on the television. I was pretty excited to have it available, as I always am when I'm on vacation, but other than my regular weekly show-I haven't watched much of anything.

I made a big decision this week. If there's one thing I'm learning it's when a decision lands in my gut I usually take action fairly quickly. So within 4 days of initially really thinking about it, I dropped out of one of my graduate programs. The decision came for many reasons: dis-satisfaction with the focus of the program and with my supervisor, the reality that I will have chances in the future to pursue this again if I so desire, and a potential other research opportunity that I couldn't pass up. However I find it ironic that what takes us months of work to line up for ourselves, often only takes hours to dissolve. I feel much lighter and more focused on my purpose for graduate school, which leads me to believe that I really have made the correct choice. I never knew I'd be so happy to say I'm a drop-out!

So beyond enjoying my time on the property, I spent a good chunk of this last week finalizing the procedures for termination of my program and my practicum placement. I have also re-connected to my passion and desire for my original graduate program in public health. I re-started a great book last night about children and nature. I'm looking forward to two weeks of actual vacation and my trip to the coast to see my parents. I'm hoping to sub in the high school, visit with old friends, and just catch up with Mom and Dad.

Another exciting thing: yesterday I went to the Capitol for a job fair to try to make connections for next summer. While the fair was disorganized, I enjoyed it for three reasons. 1) I spent the day with a great friend of mine, 2) we wandered around and bought produce at the local farmer's market, and 3) on display at the job fair were two alternative fuel vehicles. One was a hybrid State car. The other vehicle was an electric delivery truck out of California which will be sold out of the Salem electric dealership. While it only gets 80 miles on a charge, its a great (and affordable) option for local deliveries. It was wonderful to see these being promoted in Oregon, as the last I'd read they were still only available in California. Now to increase renewable energy (so we aren't using coal sources for alternative transportation) and increase the distance traveled on a charge. Both of which are being worked on.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Would This Please Be My Future?

I've had some next to perfect days in my life, but the last several days have left me relaxed and hopeful that part of my future will include days that are similar to this last weekend. I'm house sitting while my aunt and uncle are away to Europe, although there's a little bit more to it than just the house. There's the soft loving cat, the vegetable and herb gardens, the koi pond, the compost, and the family rose garden. There are the birds, the large trees, the multiple bees pollinating the thousands of flowers, and the constant ripple of water. And while not on my list of "must haves" there is also the hot tub and cable TV.

On Saturday morning I headed out to the garden and after two hours came back with a ton of produce: (The herb garden, the veggie garden, and one days harvest).

I have passed some off to my aunt who lives down the way, the lawn care man, and made pasta sauce for my cousins and myself. I returned with another couple of buckets of produce today, as the zucchini, tomatoes, and green beans are going to town. I am leery though of the corn picking due to a "earwig" aversion, so I have developed my own technique for corn removal. It goes a little something like this: while standing far back, remove outer leaf from corn while on stalk, once bugs have run for cover, gingerly and quickly twist ear of corn from stalk making sure to leave any remaining earwigs behind.

With all of the remaining produce on the counter, I will have to make more pasta sauce, bake some zucchini bread (a couple got out of control) and attempt to preserve as much as I can. I have not even put a dent in the food that was left in the fridge for me before they left.

It has been a pleasure to spend my days in a certain routine. Checking the garden for produce, changing out the bird baths and refilling the bird feeders, watering the plants, feeding the koi, lavishing the cat with attention when desired. My uncle re-installed the laundry line device in the laundry room and I have been able to hang my laundry to dry again.

And I am again reminded that doing basic activities has a certain soothing quality for the soul. I hear the breeze moving through the trees, the chirp of the birds, and the patter of the squirrels. I notice the blending of the grass hopper on the leaf as I pick the green beans and I find the little frog hidden amongst the petals of the rose as I dead-head. I am surrounded by the bees happily feeding on the blossoms of flowers and feel the quick fly by of the hummingbird headed off to its next meal. The heat of the day warms my skin and my arms sting from irritation from the produce leaves; and I feel so alive as I embrace the every day existence of life outdoors.

In a phone call with my granny this morning, I was amazed that although she struggles hearing a variety of sounds anymore, she recognized the rattling of the leaves of the zucchini bush as I picked produce. When engaged in a conversation with a neighborhood member the other morning when I went to get the paper, she asked if my aunt and uncle had been raised by farmers. I said that although my grandparents always had a large garden, they weren't necessarily farmers. Yet thinking about that conversation and the phone call this morning, I've realized that in a sense my grandparents probably could be considered farmers in comparison to the majority of society. How lucky that they ingrained a variety of their skills into their children and grandchildren.

My aunt and uncle have this piece of land in what has now become a major suburb of the city due to their own hard work. At one time they had horses where the garden and another pond now reside, and in my minds eye..I can't help but envision how perfect it would be with a couple of little sheep. :-) The beauty of their property exists due to the hours of time put into it by my aunt and uncle however. They take a pride in their land and the land has in turn provided them with food, with beauty, and with a haven that is enjoyed by a multitude of natural creatures.

Now if only I can replicate their hard work onto a piece of land of my own someday....however that is still plenty far away.

Rambles

A productive day has become the theme, so it was somewhat difficult to motivate myself into productiveness on my free today. However once I got going this morning, the rest of the day took care of itself. I started the morning by cutting my own hair (mainly adding bangs again), as I needed a change and hate shelling out so much money at the salon. Next I spent a chunk of time cleaning up the house. I used the old vacuum that is owned by my housemate and loved it! While I had to put more manpower into it than a newer vacuum and the small space it sucks through is limited, it still was completely fun to use and made me feel connected to all those 50s housewives of the past. It also reminded me once again how durable items of the past were manufactured in comparison to those of today.
Once I had washed the dishes by hand and set them to dry, swept the house and porches, vacuumed the rugs, wiped down the counters, tidied my spaces, and picked up the bathroom, I made a list of the few items I needed to buy from the grocery store. I have only found the bar soap I like to use sold at Trader Joe's, so I decided to head back to my old neighborhood where the Trader Joe's is located. I combined my two grocery store trips into one then and felt pretty good about the deals I found.

Had a classmate from the new program stop by for tea after I had returned, so we enjoyed the backyard and moments of sun and conversation. She has recently moved to Portland and lives fairly close by. After my final thoughts in the last class about current affairs and how I've tried to alter my life to better match my values, she mentioned that she'd like for us to hang out more. So hopefully we can develop a decent friendship during the coming year, as it'd be great to have more low-key gal pals in Portland.

Next my father, brother, and grandmother stopped by briefly on a multi-purpose trip. It was great to have them here as the last week has found me missing the comforts of the coast more than most. They came to pick up the router that didn't work, and to show granny the new place. Dad had also heard we have a leaky toilet, so he checked it out as well. They also came with items: a home-baked blueberry pie from granny (YUM!), home-made soaps from my sis-in-law (she and my sis had a soap making weekend!), my curtain rods, rewritable DVDs of my favorite TV show, and extra yarn so I can knit more scarves for the homeless as winter nears.

The day has wrapped up with hanging my curtains, watching 2 episodes of my show, visiting with my house mate, and making dinner. My house mate is intent on teaching me to be a better and more frugal cook, so I have been working harder at trying to make things from scratch. Last night was my first home-made pesto (who knew it would be so easy?!), and tonight I made a half home-made dinner of pad thai. In both cases there was lots left over for good lunches for my practicum. Next on the list is to conquer home-made soups, and I have to say I don't know that I'll ever go back from cast iron.

So obviously the house mate situation is going well thus far. She's teaching me to cook and to garden organically. This weekend, we attempted to fix the toilet, hung a window together, and she changed out the broken lock on the front door. We find ourselves chatting often and several nights a week eat dinner alfresco together. I'm starting to finally relax more, especially since this evening she told me how much she's enjoying having me here.....

However maybe that's just cause I'll be house sitting for the next two weeks and gone to the coast the week after that....:-) Nah.

Hope you all have had a great week behind you and are in the midst of another as well!