violetismycolor

new color...

Bonnie's room has its' new green paint and I love the color.  I can't wait to see the bed all made up in its' new linens and with its' newly-recovered headboard.  Then the curtains need to be hemmed up and hung and voila...gorgeous new zen bedroom for my Bonnie.  I think she is going to love it.

Lake Tahoe...

*click on the photo to see it even larger!!!*

Alas, I (mostly) forgot to take out my camera during my 2 days in the Lake Tahoe area.  This was the view from The Blue Onion, a little restaurant on a golf course, with a lovely view of the lake and surrounding mountains.

The weather was perfect:  sunny, not hot, a bit of a breeze.  John was doing some consulting work for the son of a friend.  Chummy and his wife, Michelle, were both delightful people...about 32 yrs old or so...with two gorgeous daugthers (Michaela, age six, and Caroline, age four). 

We flew in on Friday night with nothing noteworthy to add to that.  Saturday morning, John and Chummy (real name Clyde Prestowitz III...who wouldn't have a nickname?) headed off to the office early.  Michelle and I sat around with the kids for a couple of hours, chatting about motherhood & life and watching puppet theatre, written and acted by 4 yr-old Caroline.  Impressive.

I headed down to the Lake for some wandering time and thoroughly enjoyed a few hours of doing nothing, all by myself.  The day was so beautiful and the little towns around the Lake had some real charm (and good local ice cream). 

We met up with John's niece, Lisa, for dinner.  She just happened to be there at the same time as us.  She was vacationing (from the London area) with her new beau, Kevin.  Nice bloke, as the Brits would say.  John and I, Chummy and Michelle, and Lisa and Kevin went out to a nice pub on the Lake and nattered away for a couple of hours.  Lots of conversation and laughter...fabulous.

Sunday morn, we all slept in...more eating, talking with Chummy and Michelle...then off for lunch (at the Blue Onion, view above) with Lisa and Kevin.  We got all caught up with the gossip about family in the UK and then off we went to the airport and home. 

Ross did a good job of babysitting Cookie, though she refused to warm up to him much.  We will have to do some major dog-boy training once he comes home for the summer, since he will be babysitting when we head off to a wedding in England in July and we will be gone for about 10 days.

John, Ross, and I are having lunch with my MIL soon, then I have to get Ross back to school.  The Memorial Day drivers in Oregon are killing each other right and left, according to the papers, so I will keep my Spidey-sense at full attention.

busy days...

My lovely sis, Marita, dropped into town unexpectedly with her son, Seth, and his wife, Gladys.  Okay, so Gladys?  She is from Taiwan (finally got here 2 years after they got married...that's how long it took to get our country to let her in!) and she chose 'Gladys' as her 'English' name.  Her real name is something like Jeng Ying or something.  She thought that Gladys was a cool name and no one told her otherwise, till she met Seth.  By that time, she was used to it and she doesn't want to part with it.  So, Gladys it is.  She is lovely and tall (5' 9") and very sweet.  She has a degree in journalism and did public relations in Taiwan.  She isn't sure what she will be able to do here, with her skills.

Anyway, we had a fun visit...went to my sis Ann Marie's house...and low and behold, it was Ann Marie's birthday.  When there are 10 kids in your family, you don't pay that close attention to these things. We had a fun celebration.  My niece, Eileen, was just back from Ghent, Belgium...she fences for the U.S. Team.  My other niece, Maria, is home from college and is going to be interning in our Republican U.S. Senator's office this summer.  (Well, she is an 'R' and is a poli sci major, sho that's a good fit for her.)  So...lots of exciting things to discuss. 

Tomorrow, got to go to a Memorial Day BBQ at my MIL's, and then rush down to Corvallis to pick up Ross.  He is babysitting our dog, Cookie, this weekend, while John and I jet down to Reno/Tahoe.  John is doing some consulting for a friend who lives there.  AND, our niece Lisa (from London) just happens to be spending the weekend in Tahoe, too.  So, we get to hang out with her a little bit.  Should be fun.

sharing...

We had been considering taking in a high-school-age exchange student for the next academic year.  We have had students before and the experiences have been pretty positive.  But, they have been short...never a whole academic year.  We had even picked out a student from an organization that had approached us.  Then came the bad news that they hadn't gotten all their paperwork in on time with our school district.  And we sort of forgot about it.

Then the high school posted an ad, asking if anyone would take in an exchange-teacher for next year.  A Fullbright Scholar...an adult!  We discussed it.  We got information on the teacher:

Veronica is a chocolatier, that is, she makes chocolate! She teaches chocolate making to her students in Chile!
She loves outdoor activities and going dancing
She is single with no children (however she has a dog named "baby" that she will be leaving with her parents in chile!)
She is an only child
She lives alone in Chile but is looking forward to living with a family here in Portland!
She has a good group of friends in Chile and likes to get together for dinner and other social activities
She is Catholic but is open to living with a family from a different religious background
She loves teaching English in her high school and also teaches night classes for extra money at a private institute for adults
She seems very independent, energetic, open minded and bright. she seems like an amazing teacher!
She is excited about getting to know all of Portland as well as the state of Oregon.

She seems interesting. And so, we are moving forward. We get
'inspected' today, by the teacher that is exchanging places with her.
I am looking forward to learning even more about Veronica today.
Hmm...another reason to get onto redecorating that room...

on a lighter note...

Through all my friends' troubles (and more have come rolling in the the past two days), I have the wonderful levity of reading my daughter's blog writings, when she gets around to it.  Here is the delightful post I found  there when I got up this morning (Warning:  nudity is involved...):

So the end of the semester is drawing to a close and if you're on the Dijon program that means one thing: even more free dinners than usual. Two days ago was our banquet with the host families and tonight was our last group dinner (Monday will be the dinner with the teachers). The restaurant that was picked for tonight was Luna-Sol, a Mexican/Spanish restaurant that some of the group members had gone to before.

Luna-Sol was quite the experience, to say the least. First of all, don't expect to find great, authentic Mexican food in France. I think that one is obvious enough, but another "Mexican" restaurant we had gone to had at let had decent, Mexican-esque food (despite the fact that it was called "Cheyenne" and had a Native American style theme, neither of which has ANYTHING to do with Mexico, but okay). This one didn't seem to know what Mexican was if a taco had come along and bit it. I ordered the "Viva Mexico" platter, six small bowls that consisted of: salad (lettuce, tomatoes, and pieces of hardboiled egg), two little eggrolls with spicy filling, 3 tiny onion rings, guacamole with four (!) chips, chicken kebob and coleslaw. That is just all over the map right there. At least they had the right idea with the guacamole.

And then, THEN came the large table next to us filled with young men and women (mainly men) in their twenties who were at the restaurant for a birthday celebration. They got wasted. WASTED. Which didn't help the fact that the guys were pretty sketch to begin with. It was cool that they kept singing drinking songs, which are cheerful chants with lots of clapping and table slapping (why don't we have drinking songs in the States? We tried to compete in the musical arena and the only thing we came up with was "Build Me Up Buttercup" [that 60's song, "Why do you build me up (build me up) Buttercup, baby/Just to let me down (let me down) and mess me around/etc"] and "O Canada" [which for some reason two people in the group knew]).

What was NOT cool was when they started to get even drunker and sketchier and started wandering over to our table and chatting up the friendliest of the girls. The flirty girls in the group talked back to them (though no one was actually interested in the guys and the girls kept the line drawn at talking), and the rest of us enjoyed our margharitas and danced in our seats to the music. Then, oh then it all just went BAD. Our group had gone into a small empty side room to dance among ourselves (because this group likes to dance) but you could still see into the main room where the birthday group was. And around midnight when some of us were thinking about leaving we looked into the main room and some of the guys were dancing on the tables STRIPPING. And this being France and them being smashed they stripped ALL the way down. This was a fairly liberal, fun-atmosphere restaurant (they never tried to quiet down the drinking songs or stop the dancing) but they had NAKED MEN ON THE TABLES DANCING!!!! And they didn't try to stop them. That was about the time I left. It was a bit of a guantlet getting out because just when the first two guys had put their pants back on and I thought the coast was clear and tried to make a run for it (along with a couple other girls) ANOTHER guy got naked. And, let me just add, these were not attractive men when their clothes were ON.

Ah, Eurotrash. How I will not miss you, even if you do give me memorable experiences.

the world is full of little terrors...

My mom called with the news that my dad's bone scan results were good.  No new spots.  But his cancer in his prostrate had grown some.  Overall, they felt the news was good.  I have to say I agree with them. 

All around me, other people's families are being hit hard with medical bad news.  My friend, Irene, has a 53 yr-old brother who had a 'brain bleed' about a week ago.  He is doing all right but his long-term prognosis is still sketchy.  He is a creative-type who relies heavily on his brain's ability to work right to earn his living.  He is an independent contractor with very little other means of support than this special brain.

My friend, Sandy, came in this morning and said her mom had fallen and hit her head on the bathtub (in the middle of the night) and had not regained consciousness.  Her brain was also bleeding, and though her middle-of-the-night surgery didn't kill her, her prognosis is not good. 

Stories of friends and family with these sorts of problems are all around me and so I am feeling very good about how healthy we all are.  Even a little growth in a prostate tumor doesn't upset me.  I am feeling very blessed right about now.

and then my dad's birthday...

Today was the day to drive to Woodburn and see both my parents.  Yesterday, of course, was Mother's Day.  Since my mom had my brother (Brian) and wife along with their SEVEN kids there....AND....another brother, Bill, and his SIX kids there, I didn't go down there.   Too crowded.  I went today.

A second thing, it is my Dad's 83rd birthday today.  So, Happy Birthday, Daddy. 

I brought along a coconut bundt cake from my favorite local bakery, Baker and Spice, for a little personal celebration of both events.  So, we started out with coffee and coconut cake...then LOTS of talking.  Finally, at about one o'clock, my mom noted how late it was and we headed out for lunch. 

Believe it or not, my folks did NOT know what was in a quiche.  I explained, when I saw the quiche, blue cheese and walnut with greens salad, and fresh fruit plate on the menu, what it was that I intended to order.  So, we all ordered the same thing.  And they really, really liked it.  So, now...in their early 80's...they can finally order quiche. 

My dad told lots of great stories about his childhood on the dairy in L.A. County (the same one I grew up on till I turned 12) and I learned alot that I didn't already know about him.  That was great.

Tomorrow, they go to hear the results of his bone scan.  He has prostate cancer and about 5 months ago, they found some cancer on one of his ribs.  He has been taking some new meds and we are hoping that his scan will not show new growths. 

It wasn't until hearing about Elizabeth Edwards and her 'breast cancer on her bone' that I realized that having cancer on a bone was not necessarily bone cancer, but was a very specific OTHER type of cancer.  Cross your fingers for me that the news will be good.

happy mother's day!!!

The happy news is that I got to speak to each of my children today...a nice long conversation with Adam by phone, a short and tired conversation with Bonnie-also by phone, and a nice IM conversation with Ross.  All good.

Bonnie didn't get back to Dijon from her 4-day weekend in the south of France till very late and we are going to talk in the morning.  I am anxious to hear what she has seen.  She is SO lucky to be able to travel around so much and really get the most out of her year in Europe.

We took my MIL out to dinner at an old Portland-area-landmark, Tad's Chicken 'n Dumplins in Sandy.  What a fabulous meal!  And we got a perfect table in front of the window, with a perfect view of the Sandy River.  The sun came out at the end of the afternoon, so we had lovely weather.  There were lots of people down on the river.  We saw fisherman, kayackers, canoers, and rock-skipping-couples.  We probably shouldn't have started out with the yummy but fattening onion rings, but we did.  They also gave us salad, delicious rolls, a relish tray, and then the BIG guns...the chicken and dumplings.  Dumplings the size of my fist!  And two of them!  Lots and lots of rich, thick chicken gravy.  And then, when we really didn't have any room left in our tummies, we shared a Bread Pudding with Whisky Sauce.  Ah the delicious agony...

A perfect way to enjoy Mother's Day... 

room remodel...

Suddenly, I realize that Adam and Bonnie are coming home in the first week of June.   And that means that their rooms MUST be in order.  Adam's room looked great (till this morning), since it was totally redone last fall, in time for him to spend Christmas break there.

Bonnie's room, on the other hand, is a 12-year-old, purple-loving-girl's delight.  And that is NOT who Bonnie is, anymore.  She and I discussed re-doing the room while she was home at Winter Break.  And what has happened since then?  I bought a new duvet and dust ruffle.  I bought some fabric for recovering her headboard.  I painted swatches of color up on her wall.  I took down 'some' of the stuff she spent 18 years hanging up.  What do I have left to do?  TONS.

So, the list:

• take down rest of stuff off of walls (done this morning)
• remove cute-sy butterfly border from top of wall
• spackle  all holes in walls
• remove items from shelves, store in Adam's room ('some' done this a.m.)
• remove bookshelves to Adam's room (standing in hallway, awaiting some help)
• take all throw-away items to Goodwill
• have desk top redone (millions of watermarks live thereon)
• recover headboard
• prep walls for paint
• paint walls
• move all BACK INTO B's room

I have four weeks till Bonnie is home, but only 3 weeks till Adam is home and it must be done by then.  I'd better get moving...

spicy brown...

I have no idea how, but I found this cool site for t-shirts and such.  The art is very Japanese/anime. When I first saw their wares, I knew it would be perfect for my daughter, who loves all things Japanese.  She is thinking about teaching English in Japan for a year or so, after she graduates from Colgate next year.

Since I bought something at the site, of course I am now on their permanent mailing list.  Not that I mind.  I love to see the funky art that is displayed on their shirts/bags/etc.  It gives me ideas of my own for drawings.  I love the fact that the art is amusing.  I love 'amusing'.  I wish I were more amusing.  I wish the world were funnier, not so very serious and (let's face it) deadly, sometimes.

I mean, who couldn't laugh at these?

allergy testing...

I went into the allergy clinic this morning for testing.  I have a long history of problems with my probiscus. 

I always had allergies growing up, and then when I went off to college they really got bad.  I had an incident my freshman year where I woke up with my airways all totally stopped up.  I got down on the floor and did sit-ups, which I knew cleared me up.  I went straight to the student health clinic the next day to get some treatment.

They tested me for about 20 kinds of molds and I was allergic to ALL of them.  I was also allergic to cats (I owned a little white kitty) and cows (my dad was a dairy farmer), and all sorts of other things. 

I went through about a year of allergy shots and that seemed to do the trick.  I was allergy free.

When I hit 40, I started getting allergy symptoms again.  They have recently gotten really, really bad.   I am almost always constantly stuffed up.  I lose my senses of smell and taste on a regular basis.  John has really been bugging me to get diagnosed and treated.

Hence, today's appointment.  And what is it that I tested positive for?

Nothing.  Not one thing.

The doctor came in and said that if I wasn't actually allergic to anything anymore, it had to be nasal polyps.  Lovely. 

He looks at my nose with his scope and says, "Yep, I see some."

Then, he sent me off to get a CT scan of my sinuses. 

Now, I have to go on a regimen of prednisone and nasal steroids for a couple of weeks, which should shrink the polyps and clear up the problem without surgery.  I like the whole 'no surgery' thing, but not necessarily the prednisone thing.  It can make you really, really cranky.  I'm hoping that this is not a side effect that I am going to have.  The side effect that I wouldn't mind is 'excessive happiness'... whatever that means. 

I intend to take my prednisone tomorrow and get excessively happy.  Yes, that's the plan.

where did it go?

So...on Friday, I headed south to Oregon State for Mom's Weekend.  I had my little Tomtom fired up to direct me to my hotel, the Corvallis Inn:  1550 NW 9th Street. 

I pull up, hearing Jane (the high-class Brit voice of my Tomtom) say, "You have reached your destination."  I look over.

Hmmm.  No Corvallis Inn. 

Did I get the address wrong, I wonder?

I check my paperwork...my confirmation email, that is.  That WAS the correct address.  But there is NO hotel. 

I head to the hotel next door.  I walk in and ask about the Corvallis Inn.  "It's gone,"  they say.  "We watched them tear it down in January."

"I made my reservation in January,"  I say.  "Mom's weekend and all, you know."

"You're not the first person to come in this weekend looking for that hotel."

What?  No hotel...and then I find out that there is not a room available in either Corvallis, or the town next door (Albany). 

No time to freak out.  I get on the computer and book the Eugene Hilton for 2 nights.  It's a 40 minute drive on the back roads, so not TERRIBLE.

Seriously, folks.  I have booked a lot of hotels in my day.  Maybe they lose your reservation. But to tear down the hotel and NOT tell you? 

The rest of the weekend was fun.  Ross and I had a great time, and I was step-mom to his roomie, Brandon, whose mom didn't come.  But the hotel story will be one for the books...

funny conversation...

At coffee this morning, my garden-loving-barista, Joy, and I were talking plants...

Barista:  I planted an old wheelbarrow with summer bulbs and seeds.  I covered it with a mesh to keep the birds out, but raccoons ripped it apart last night.

Me:  My problem is with squirrels; they dig up new tulip bulbs when I plant them.

2nd barista (male):  Really?  Do they plant them elsewhere?

Me:  NO!  They eat them. 

2nd barista:  That's just uncalled for behavior.

I totally agree...but I've never had it put that way before.

big night on tv...

New episodes of Gilmore Girls and House...all on ONE night.  From goody-two-shoes girliness to that mean man; it's schizophrenic fun...I love it.