Good to be home!

 I spent most of last week preparing for a Thursday/Friday teacher inservice training.  Then worked at the winery over the weekend.  So it's nice to be home.  Today is a bit cloudy, so a great day for harvesting and "puttin' up" the vegetables from the garden. Lots of beans, basil and squash.

A small bit of today's bounty

Pickled gold and red beets

Today was the first day that I did my bee count for the Great Sunflower Project.  Eleven bees came to collect pollen from the one flower that I was observing.

The Weekend in Review

A nice bunch of coho salmon caught outside of the mouth of the Columbia on Sunday.  The first time that we have "crossed the bar" not to be confused with entering a bar.  Thanks to our hosts, Terry and Leonard, on the "On Call".  We had a great trip.  The fish are in the freezer.

We got home last night to find that one of the branches on the walnut trees had crashed.

 I would have liked to have been here to witness and hear the crash of this limb. Our friend Nanette was lazing in the hammock at the time.  What a wake up!

The trees are loaded this year. We should have enough to commercially dry and sell.

And on a different note.....

We have five new baby bluebirds.  These little guys were born last Thursday, so are less than a week old.  This is the second clutch this summer.  The first clutch babies (now adolescents) are about 6 weeks.  They help to feed and clean up after these little guys, learning how to be good bluebird parents.

And on an even more different note:

This most wonderful beaded bag has come to live here.  Thanks to my sweet sister over at Frost Creek.

Here's hoping your fishing is good, no branches fall on your head, and that good things come to live with you.

High Tech meets Low Tech

Old Bread Cupboard

This old bread cupboard has been out in the garage waiting for me and the right weather to make it solid enough to come into the house.  The old loose paint needed to be sanded down.  The inside of the drawers deserved a fresh coat of blueberry blue paint.  Legs and drawers needed nails to be replaced with screws and a goodly amount of wood glue to ensure stability.  Lastly a light coat of verathane to finish it off.

I debated whether or not to just sand it down and give it a fresh coat of paint.  I certainly wouldn't be the first one who did just that, as I found pink, blue and green paint on the little cupboard.  However, I will try it this way, and if I don't like it, I can always paint it later.  (sacrilege to some folk)

I love the juxtaposition of the old cupboard with the espresso machine sitting on it.  Before there was high tech, there was low tech.  The cupboard came first.

Seen-Better-Days Lawn Chair

HELP! This old chair has definitely seen better days, and Mr. Shoulder to the Grindstone thinks that it should now see the burn pile.  Note the arm is no longer attached to the post, and when you sit in it, it's just a bit wobbly.  But I think it is cute, and maybe not really good as a sit-in-it-while-having-your-5 o'clock-toddy-chair, perhaps it could be an "art" chair.  And this is where I need the help.  What do you think?  Any good ideas about transforming this chair into something other than charcoal?

And, one last thing, I have been offered four marble table tops that had been used in the old Newberg High School chem lab.  They are about 30 inches wide and several feet long.  I want them.  I think I will be sorry if I pass them up, but for the life of me, I can't figure out why.  What can I do with them?  Am I a little crazy for wanting them?  Ideas?  HELP again!  

Just Ramblin'

 Isn't this a cutie?  A 1959 Rambler American Supra.  3 Speed On the Column.  Gets 28 miles to the gallon and has the original flathead 6 engine in it.  Living on a long gravel road I don't take it out often.  However, a week or so ago we decided it needed to be driven so we took off for McMinnville.  Got half way to town and the oil pressure light came on.  So we turned around and came home.

Called Fred Mechanic and he said don't drive it with the oil pressure light on.  So we had it carried to Fred on a big tow truck.  Fred called later and told us the Rambler was fixed and it would be $33.00.  Yup, Thirty Three dollars.  Not 133 or 333, but 33.  When is the last time any of us had a car that couldn't be driven fixed for $33.00.  Fred is amazing!

So while the Rambler was with Fred, I cleaned the garage.  I found this rug up in the rafters.  I had known it was there, but had thought that it must be musty, dirty, stained, stinky, covered with cat hair, etc.  Surprise!  It is perfect.  My reward for tackling the messy garage.  Lucky me.

Jury Duty

I'm off to check in for jury duty.

Should I take my camera?