violetismycolor

Obsessiveness

As I have said in an earlier post, I am a bit of an obsessive personality. This actually helps me to get things done, IF, in fact, I am obsessive about the particular task. I can say that this applies (currently) to genealogy and knitting. Apparently, I am not an obsessive about blogging. I have been a terrible blogger. 

My other issue is that I am a bit...scattered. Maybe a bit ADD. My attention is easily pulled away. Say I am investigating the Vermilyea family (my husband's side). Someone sends me an email via FamilySearch.org and I jump into action to investigate whatever ancestor that person asks me about and, voila, I am on to checking into the van Eeden's or whoever. Focus, Diane, focus!

I will try to change that, a bit. 

So, what is new with me? It's a gray July morning in Portland. I am at my usual coffee shop, spending a hour doing some genealogy. The place is full of people trying to grab some great coffee and maybe a delicious pastry or two. There are never enough seats and it is a little loud, but that doesn't seem to bother me. I block out all the noise around me.

I am trying to focus a little bit more on my genealogy tasks. I am working up my family tree and adding a Life Story for each of my direct (and sometimes indirect) ancestors up my family line. Well, and up John's family line, too. I attach these on FamilySearch, the collaborative family tree that is sponsored by the Mormon Church. It is a free website and a good way to try to find distant cousins who may be working on the same people I am. I also attach those Life Stories to these same ancestors on my Ancestry.com site. That way if someone on FamilySearch deletes the story, I still have it. Oh, yeah, people do delete things...like attached records...without a lot of thought.

Next up is my (obsessive) knitting. I am working on a cardigan that is a variation of the Sock Arms Sweater...same pattern, I am just making it into a cardigan instead of a pullover. I am using a wonderful gold merino by Swans Island Yarns. It is a fingering weight sweater (read: the yarn is very thin and you need a lot of stitches to knit my size). It will be wonderfully drapey and light for the fall and spring. I intend to make a DK or Worsted weight gold sweater for cold winter days.

The garden is amazing this summer. I put this down to the fact that my son-in-law-to-be, Zerek, spread two yards of compost over it for me this past spring...and the fact that we had a rainy spring and early summer that gave it lots of good water.  The weeds cannot do much to get up beyond the mulch and the spectacular growth of the perennials. I am doing far less weeding than I did last summer. 

The thing that is the most abundant this year are the blueberries. They have produced more than they ever have...and they KEEP producing. We can't keep up with them, to the delight of Bonnie and Ross, who are happily accepting "gifts" of blueberries whenever they come by.

We are having lunch with Dominic from Switzerland, who was an exchange student the same year as our own Katharina. He is visiting with his girlfriend. I am going to make a charcuterie board spread with good bread, spreadable cheeses, nuts, salami, olives, etc. with cherries and blueberries on the side. It's not too hard to do and it's delicious. We are planning to eat outside but I am not sure the weather is going to allow it...how is that possible in July?

Last year, the summer here was unusually hot (lots of temps in the 90's and 100's) and/or too smoky from the wildfires in both southern Oregon and British Columbia to spend time outside. This summer has decided to be cool and overcast more than warm and sunny. I have decided not to complain (too much) about this summer's weather because last summer was unbearable.

Anyway, that's a brief look at what's on with me lately. I will try to be better about blogging.

 

back in the saddle...

I have been away from this blog for more than a year, I think.  And life has changed, a lot.

The most significant change has been that I have some sort of heart problem, and with the consent of my cardiologist (I have a cardiologist?), I am totally changing the way I eat.  That means going on an almost totally vegan diet...that's right, V-E-G-A-N!

This is really hard.  Not because I am having trouble giving up white flour, sugar, meat...but because I have to learn a whole new way to cook.  I have to learn about all kinds of new foods (what does one do with Kamut, anyway?).  

This is going to be great for my health, including allowing me to lose some of the weight that I have been dragging around with me since I had babies.  The goal is to get to your high school weight.  I have already lost a bunch of weight over the past few years, so it's not that much of a stretch.  

I was pretty scared about it at first.  After all, I have a husband who has to take a leap along with me...though he can have a chicken breast or a piece of fish or whatever, in addition to the veggie things he is getting to eat with me.  But he is coping well and I am just starting to learn about things like dry carmelizing onions, and it's not too bad.

 

 

garden helpers...

  Any time I spend time in the garden, I have little elves 'helping' me...well, not elves but my pets, Biscuit (above) and Cookie (below).  Biscuit helps by taking dainty bites out of my catmint, thus 'trimming' it for me.  Cookie fertilizers the garden with her own unique bits.  Cookie has not yet figured out that I don't like her to walk across the plants, but around them.  Hmmm...maybe better training of my assistants is in order.

it's Facebook's fault!!!

I have been totally addicted to spending time on Facebook instead of recording life in my blog.  

Bad, BAD blogger!

We got an exchange student from Burgos, Spain on July 1st and he will be here all month.  Enrique is 16 and a real delight to have around.  He is enjoying his 'American experience'...today he is at the beach.  They are dodging our 90+% weather with cool breezes and a freezing cold ocean.  Lucky them!

We took Enrique to the St Paul Rodeo on the 4th of July weekend, which was a real eye-popping introduction to the American West.  We bought him a cowboy hat, which we insisted he wear all night long, so that he would meld into the country crowd, which he did.  We went with friends that also have a Spanish exchange student, a lovely girl named Lucia, from Madrid.  She ALSO got a hat, and wore it.  Photos follow:

I love this photo of feet...this was a man and his son, also both named ENRIQUE! I wanted a pair of those frog shoes for myself!

The action was pretty thrilling, too.  The bucking broncos, the raging bulls, the cowboys and cowgirls.  It was a great night...

That was on July 3rd.  On the 4th, we took my mom, Ross, and Enrique to the small town of Monmouth for their annual parade.   We have a friend that gives an annual BBQ during the parade, as he lives right on the parade route.  We sat under the shade of his front yard trees, ate burgers and dogs, and watched as all the locals paraded by.  It was alot of fun.

americans? over-reacting?

I am watching Meet The Press, and it keeps aggravating me and making me yell at the TV screen.

Question:  Are Americans over-reacting to the flu crisis?

Answer:  People are trying to do their best with the information they have.  (That's your answer, Janet Napolitono and Kathleen Sebelius?)

Observation:  Okay, David Gregory (Meet the Press Moderator)...the NEWS MEDIA is freaking everyone out by talking about it non-stop (including YOU, since this is the first story that you cover this week and spent more than 20 minutes chewing it over).  What about the HUGE deal it is that Obama has the Supreme Court nomination to decide?  What about Senator Arlen Specter becoming a Dem?  What about the risk of letting the Taliban re-engage in Pakistan? 

People (with NO symptoms of any illness) are coming home from trips to Mexico are going straight to emergency rooms to see if they have the flu.  Conclusion?  Americans can be idiots.

Here in Oregon, a single sick student (who may or may not have the flu) caused the ENTIRE campus of Western Oregon University to cancel all classes and activities for at least 4 days.  Overkill?

A flight from Munich to Washington DC stopped in Boston when a passenger complained about feeling ill.  How much further is Boston?  A mere 30 minutes more is required to fly to Boston.  They couldn't wait an extra 30 minutes?  Really?  All those people on the plane would already have been exposed for HOURS to any germs this woman was carrying.  Does this make ANY sense?

Are Americans over-reacting to the flu crisis? 

YES.

Cherry Blossoms galore...

This is for all your cherry-blossom-lovers out there.  You know who you are!

Our house looks so nice with all that blue sky, sunshine, clouds, and blossom.

Our three trees out front are gorgeous!  Late (they usually bloom at the beginning of April, not the end), but incredible. 

 

And then, of course, there was Cookie...getting all diva-ish and insisting on getting involved in the photoshoot!  But cute, as always.

little flakes keep falling...

Oh snowy Portland...don't you know it's almost March?

Indian food, barns, and birthday boys...

 

I made this yummy Chicken Tikka Masala, with Basmati Rice and Cucumber/Tomato Raita.  It turned out so well.  I am definitely going to make it again.

While driving to Corvallis to pick up Ross, for his birthday weekend, I was impressed with the beauty of the Willamette Valley.  I always think it is so breathtakingly beautiful.  I see scenes that are photo-worthy all the time.  This time, I actually took a photo.

 

Ross spent most of the weekend trying to put together his computer, after getting a new motherboard, processor and video card for his birthday.  Unfortunately, the Bios on the AMD processor and the motherboard had some sort of compatibility problem, so he had to leave it at home for our computer guy to fix up.  Here is what I saw Ross doing all weekend long.

oh no...

This is what you DON'T want to see when you get home from being out of town for a few days!

my front door...

How beautiful the hydrangeas are here!  It's a joy to walk up to the front door.

photos of bed/bath remodel...

The bedroom/bath/office has gone from 80's mauve-and-blue to soothing latte brown (Devine paint color 'Grain") with red and green accents.  I love it. 

The bathroom originally had raspberry red tile around the tub and sinks.  The side of the tub also had the r.red tile and a couple of steps but the steps were taken off, and the tub sided with oak. The tile was replaced with Silestone, which has the benefit of never having to be sealed!  The floor was orginally carpeted in front of the sinks/tub, but there was water damage under the carpet and we decided to retile with Travertine Marble, which matches the tiny floor tiles in the shower bottom. 

The toilet was replaced with a water-saving model that has 2 flush modes.   And my favorite of all was that the light above the shower was replaced with a skytube, which brings in the natural light and also comes with a light inside for at night.  It has really changed the way the room looks, bringing in that soft, clear light. 

The rug was a real deal at Home Goods for only $39.  I kept the sinks and tub, but added new fixtures, which I got online for the half the price that I would have paid in Portland.  I also bought the toilet online, saving about $100 from the prices I found here.

There used to be a long, plain mirror above the two sinks and it was replaced with two smaller, gilded mirrors...also from Home Goods, and only $39 apiece!  I changed the lighting from a bar of 4 lights to individual fixtures above each mirror, with our own switches to turn on our own individual lights.  Hopefully, also an energy saver.

Throughtout the rooms, I had crown moldings installed, to give it a more polished look.  The carpet was replaced...it had not been properly stretched before and it had a rolling look.  And it was old and worn.  I made new drapes and have to yet have the blue chair recovered. 

All in all, I am extremely pleased with how it all came out.  It feels so much more restful to me.

you've got no mail...

I look forward to getting mail every day.  I do.  I sort through the junk, hoping beyond hope that something interesting will find its' way into my little black (locked) mailbox. 

What happened today?

My new neighbors, who I love by the way, are having new gutters installed on their house.  Fine.  Don't mind the construction noise for a day or so.  What I do mind is that my persnickety mailman didn't deliver mail to either me or my neighbor today.

Why?

I can't be absolutely certain, but I believe it's because the mailboxes were blocked by the contractors, who had their long gutters on sawhorses, measuring and cutting as they went.  The stuff was there ALL day, and here it is 5:26 pm and NO MAIL!!!

Not happy about it, not happy at all...

house destruction...

My bedroom is Under Construction.  Which means that I am not sleeping there.  John and I are now in Adam's bedroom.  The good news is that he has a really comfortable bed.  The bad news is that we have to step over, around, and through construction debris every day to get dressed.  Yuck.  And now that they are tiling the bathroom, we need to take a few days worth of clothes out, because we won't be able to get to them, otherwise. 

We are going from 80's mauve-and-blue wallpaper and raspberry red tile to light tan silestone (quartz in it is a variety of shades) and Travertine marble bathroom floor and latte-colored walls.  I also had some crown molding installed, which gives it a nice, finished look.  There's more to the change than that, but the biggest deal is that the whole color scheme is changing.  The colors we had just didn't say "Rest here, relax here"  and the new colors will...we will have red and green accents in the bedding and accessories.

MY biggest project is making the drapes.  Not hard, but the materials are always somewhat bulky, and overlarge.  And I don't have a gigantic construction area for the cutting, etc., which makes it a little awkward.  Pictures to follow next week or so. 

I spend a lot of time in my room, which contains my office, so I am really looking forward to moving back in.  Not that it will be completed much before we return from Bonnie's Colgate graduation on the 19th.  Veronica will be living with the construction zone, but she is mostly in another part of the house, anyway. 

Happy Halloween!

Have a fun night!

(This is an illustration I did for Illustration Friday last year...)

the beauty of fall...

I absolutely LOVE the season of fall in Portland.  It is cold today, only 56 degrees.  But it is so beautifully clear and sunny.  The leaves sail in the wind like snowflakes and rain down on the roads while I drive around.  The colors are all reds, oranges, and yellows...gorgeous.  We had such a miserable September that I feel as though I am being rewarded with a nicer October.

Bonnie is coming home next weekend...she is going to work the college fair here, representing Colgate, along with Admissions Director, Gary Ross.  She has to work part of 2 days, but will be able to spend time with us.  Ross is coming home for the weekend, too, and we are going to do a birthday dinner for me (Nov 8 is my birthday).  What luck for me.

paper frenzy...

Lots of paper is going to be leaving my house in the next couple of days. 

Some to the landfill.  Like all the wallpaper/backing/paste that I have been pulling off my downstairs-powder-room-wall.  (Oh, how I hate that job when it comes to the 'paste' part!...but it will save me $150 to have done the taking-down-part myself.) Which will then be replaced by new wallpaper/backing/paste.

Then, this is the new faucet set I ordered.  I found it here in Portland first but it was $405!!!  So, I went on the web and found it for half of that...yay for the internet!  I love the shape of this faucet; it is called a teapot faucet.  It does indeed have that sweet shape.

Some other paper is going to shredder-heaven...like all the boxes and boxes of paper from John's old companies that we no longer need to store in our basement, thank God.  And, which will NOT be replaced.

push me...

I notice that a little push goes a long way with me, at least in order to move projects up to the front burner.  I got Adam's room done last December with just days to spare before his winter break.  Ditto for Bonnie's room this past month.  I had to hustle to get it ready for her to sleep in...

Now, I have my book group coming to my house on July 7...which means that I have to race to get all my garden beds cleared, do fill-in planting, and trim everything up.  I have SO MANY WEEDS!  I spent about 5 hours out there today and there are many, MANY more hours that will be necessary for it to look the way it should.  Luckily, I have done the front yard and the two side yards, and only have the back left.  Of course, I am OLD and so after 5 hours, I am totally racked out and exhausted.

I was most amused by Cookie taking on the lawn mower in a very aggressive way.  while I was mowing, she was running back and forth, barking away.  After I was done, she barked at it for another 5 minutes, just to let it know who was boss!  It was very funny. 

What was not funny was finding Cookie digging up a number of the plants that I had just put in the ground.  She was banished to the house at that point.

The good news is that my plants over-wintered pretty well and the garden doesn't need a whole bunch of fill-in.  I did find some lovely dahlias today and they grow pretty big/are prolific flowerers, so they are great for said fill-in.  I planted my lantanas and they are gorgeous color spots, also.  I wish they were a perennial here, as they are in California, but they're not.  I am finding lots of orange flowers that I like, which I find really lovely when mixed with blue-violet flowers, like common annual salvia. 

I really do get an artist's joy out of putting together my garden.  So, though the work is tough, it is very rewarding.

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.

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...

clean and purge...

Oh, how I love to clean and clear out cupboards.  Being trapped for days on end in the kitchen/family room with my velcro puppy (as in...she sticks to me like velcro), I have taken it upon myself to go through all my cupboards and sort them out.  It is enormously satisfying.

And I find cool stuff that I forgot that I had.

Like some old family videos of the kids when they were 5, 3, and 1.  Absolutely awesome.  I sat and watched them today and laughed and laughed at how darned cute they were.  How precious and young and wonderful.  It almost made me cry to see them. 

In one scene, there is a birthday party being given (at my sis, Ann's, house) for Adam (turned 5), Bonnie (turning 3), and their cousin Maria (turning 2).  Adam received a "spelling tutor" game...a sort of electronic thing that required batteries.  And he says, "Put it together, Mommy.  I want to learn to spell!"  As if he could learn immediately.  It was so CUTE!  I wanted to call him up and Scotland and tell him how awesome he was! 

And he is, of course...

What a gift it was to find this. All thanks to my velcro-dog, Cookie!