THE DUST WILL WAIT

My husband has influenza. No, he did not get the immunization. He has developed bronchitis, sinus infection, and problems with his Eustachian tubes. Miserable is the best description for him right now. I can hear the high pitch wheeze with his every breath -- the sound of a distant ATV screamin ' up a steep hill. Early tomorrow morning I should be on my way to Spokane. My brother is scheduled for triple by-pass surgery. Nick lost his wife to breast cancer in late September. So, his support group would be his only daughter. With me there, at least she won't have to sit and wait alone. Sacred Heart Medical Center is a wonderful place of healing. He will be given the best of care. Great Auntie-Fern will celebrate her 100 th on Friday. I am the co-host of the 2 1/2 hour open house at her retirement center on Saturday. She was very sick for three weeks in February, but is much better and back to her old self. Pun intended. I took control of her daily medicat...

As the winter months drag on, the little display of fresh strawberries (and sometimes blueberries and raspberries) draws me away from the apples and bananas.  I look, but I rarely buy...as the fruit has traveled from far away lands.   I wouldn't mind pawning my jewels to offset the purchase, but the texture and taste is usually disappointing.  Today I caved.  (I'm blaming it on Sabrina - she posted photos of her little fellow chowin' down  in the middle of a sun splashed U-pick field down in the far away lands of Texas.) After washing them, I grabbed a bowl and sliced into the first one.  Even though a bit too crisp, the scent was a faint but definite berry. Enough to trigger a saliva gland twitch in response. Not every berry was as appealing, however.  I eventually sprinkled sugar over the contents of the small bowl and micro-waved them (slightly) into a softer snack.  There was just too much unripe flesh. When our local fields come ...

Big Horn Sheep, Columbia River Gorge, March 24, 2009 Carmi's thematic quest this week is Drab. His first post on the subject was a photograph taken as he traveled into Toronto's downtown for a presentation. My above photo was shot while traveling, too. However, we were being blown east by a blustery storm towards home. Our 6 hour journey takes us up the Columbia River Gorge as it cuts through the Cascade Mountains. We'd had a fun (but c-c-c-cold) spring break trip to the Oregon Coast. (So difficult to say goodbye to daughters and grand children!) Green has just begun to appear beneath the drab winter browns and grays of the steep and jagged landscape. Enough so that it was easier to spot the drab and shedding coats of the Big Horned Sheep high up on the slope. WR pulled the car into a wide space - I hopped out, toting my trusty little canon power shot with the digital zoom. I had no idea that the result would be the perfect photo for this week's theme ov...

Kim is a special education teacher… and for us a special friend. The former “special” equips her to deal with situations that confound the average person. The latter “special” equips her to deal with WR and me. Recently she flew to Colorado where she and her husband plan to move. While she interviewed for jobs, she stayed with her very best friend who is a live-in manager at another “special” place; a home for people afflicted with dementia. One of the residents became attached to Kim during her two week stay. Kim was attentive and made herself available to help Priscilla find her sweater – a task which needed to be done often. The forgetful lady left her sweater in the dining room, in the sitting room, in the chair in the hall, and everywhere else. Once she realized her sweater was not over her shoulders she would fret, and then accuse others of thievery. One particular morning Kim arrived early in the dining room to prepare for her day, along with several...

I've had enough wise quacks out of you fellow... this style cost me a wing and a web. So, how would you caption my little ducky friends encounter? (added note: These ducks are Common Merganser) Updates! ! Jan said... I'm telling ya, that coyote was huge, just huge! Kitten said... The waves are like Kowabunga Dude! foam said... man!!! couldn't you wait until i was downwind from ya? WT said ... There's nothing Common about me! The Ramblin Irishman said... We are going to have a WHAT??? C said... It's all the rage with the Gothwing Ducks. I am so hip. Jettied said... I said this is MY ROCK so move it before I go Crazy on YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU"! WT said... You think my hair is a shocker, wait till you see the bill! Heather said... Haven't you heard? This is how Paris Hiltduck is doing her hair these days! Masago said... HA! Deslily said... you'd think no one else ever had a bad hair day! Jill said... Didn't I tell y...

Pull it out of the ground. Swallow it whole. Yum. Then just perch in a tree and sing about it. PS. I finished my Scavenger Hunt . Please take a quick look and go vote for me . (After you wipe that silly grin off your face. Puuulllleeeeze, I need at least one vote.....! )

I've been busy doing a million things around here -instead of blogging this week - and figured if I ramped it up a little bit I could increase my busyness to a trillion . You know...get some stimulus going here! Walker at Subtle Oak has c.h.a.n.g.e.d my mind. She directed me to the Trillion Dollar tutorial over at PageTutor.com . You really need to click on the link and view the complete Google Sketchup they prepared. What a perspective! Mr. Red $hirt down here has a million dollars at his feet. Look very closely. Mr. Red $hirt is still there beside this Trillion Dollar Pile. Look again. He's down down here in the right left hand corner. (WT caught me being dyslexic again.)

Carmi, at Written Inc, chose "Transparent" as this weeks Thematic Photograph challenge. He asks: "Why transparent?" Because we often see more when we see through something. We often see something different than we initially exp ected. We're often surpri sed. Pleasantly, even. And we all need a little more pleasant, right? Some months ago as WR and I ate lunch at a small vegan cafe in the valley, we sat next to an old 50's style block window. I could not take my eyes off the view that it multiplied for me. I thought out loud to my husband, "This must be what a spider sees!" Carmi's topic made me think of that day and the fact that I always carry my point and shoot camera in my purse. Sure enough, a search of my files revealed this transparent Spider's View of the World! There are others who explored the theme with Carmi this week. Make sure you get your "eyes" over there to look through them.

We went to the Portland Yard & Patio Show last weekend. It is always so much fun to see what you know you shouldn't spend any money on this year. Karmyn 's family spent the afternoon there with us enjoying the lovely displays that the local nurseries and landscapers prepared. Before we walked out into the rainy evening I took Buttercup into the ladies restroom. We needed to deal with that before catching the MAX back to where we'd parked,. "You go into this stall and go potty," I told Buttercup, "and I am going into this one. " "Stay there until I tell you to open the door." I added that bit of information for her so she wouldn't wander out without me. "Okay, " she replied, and locked herself in. I'd just settled in when I heard her yell out very loud. "Grandma !!" she called me. "Yes, I'm here." I replied without hesitation, worried that something had frightened her . "You see that gree...

Mama had a hard life. Her childhood was spent following the crops; the family joined other itinerants who set up camp along the river banks and made do with very little while they worked. They picked crops to survive. (The “dream” sparkled in her papa’s eyes like sunlight through a prism. Rainbow chasing.) During her teens, Mama and her best friend worked the hop fields in central Oregon. They were renowned for their fast and efficient picking team, but even more for their unique method of summoning the lineman . They sang out the words “Line Down” in beautiful harmony…. to the delight of the other field crew and to the one who answered their call - my dad. He lowered the next row as he admired their work ethic and …Mama. What I know of my parent’s courtship can be summed up in one sentence. Mama was engaged to another when dad approached and asked, “May I throw my hat in the ring?” They married and spent their wedding night in the boss’s guest room. Over the years, ...