102 degrees outside …. much fun inside

Monday a group of co-workers, brown-bag lunches in hand and escaping the heat, met at Nancy’s air-conditioned house to learn a new craft … beading. This was a whole new world to me. Have you ever shopped at a bead store??? It was very overwhelming to me … so many choices!
I picked out my beads a few days before and Nancy, being the expert, helped me fashion them into wonderful additions to my earring collection. I am so pleased with the results. Hoping we can get together again … not only to make jewelry … but also to spend some time together. After eating lunch as a group for nearly 10 months it’s kind of lonely not seeing them once in awhile during the summer break.

Sale away, sale away, sale away ...

This weekend Mom and I got to stop by an amazing garage sale in a condominium community close to our home. We found some great items at unbelievable prices. I found some great things for my home, scrapbooking, and for the school library. But the best deal of the day ... Nike hiking boots ... Ice Lake here I come! I was just starting to look at ads etc. for the best deal and there they were ... fit perfectly and at the right price.
I hope to have more opportunities this summer to browse the garage sale want ads and get out and find those bargains! Let me know if you see a good one : )

Summer Break

Friday, June 23rd @ 11:00a.m. ... the official start time of my summer break :)
I have so many plans for the time off: a time to read, a time to scrapbook, a time to rest, a time to "do", a time to garden, a time to re-connect with friends ... will there be enough days to accomplish all that I want to do???? Most importantly ... a time to be refreshed physically, spiritually, mentally and socially.
Probably the saddest day in the summer calendar is flipping the page to July 1st. After only a week of starting my summer break, the stores bring out school supplies and all the back-to-school ads! Oh, no!!!!!

Harvest Maid

In the early 80’s I received a Harvest Maid Food Dehydrator for my birthday. During that time I was canning and drying most of the summer months. Our favorite Wallowa vacation treat was dried bananas. I couldn’t dry enough of them … they were like candy and so much healthier than other snacks. Friends would share their garden bounty or I would u-pick /shop at Sauvie Island farms for fruits and veggies. We made some wonderful fruit leathers. The only bad experience ... I dried trays of green pepper, onion and garlic on the same day. It reeked and we had to air out the house for days!
Today while Michelle & my mom were here to celebrate Father’s Day and Matte’s birthday we got the dehydrator out of storage, cleaned it up, turned it on and amazingly it still works. We did an assembly line of banana slices and for the next 10-12 hours the house will be filled with the familiar aroma from my past.
During my “soccer mom” years I didn’t have much time for food preservation … I was always in the carpool van :) but lately I have been yearning to get out the canning jars and make some things from scratch. During those years I was less wasteful and our food seemed healthier. I also have another motivation … wholesome snacks for Colin.
With Wallowa around the corner I guess I’ll be watching for sales on bananas. If you see a good price, let me know!

School's Out For Summer ...

G' Pa

Colin loves to spend time with his G'Pa. Grandpa's awesome ... he can make great sound effects like missles exploding, speeding cars etc. and loves to swing Colin high in the air to "fly." He lets him sit in the parked car on his lap and "drive" and experience the thrill of the slide at the park. What great fun they have together ... but I wonder who enjoys the slide more ... Colin or G'Pa?!?!? :)

Wedding Bells Are Ringing ...

Wedding bells have been ringing in June. This month we had the pleasure to share in Eric and Whitney's wedding. What a beautiful ceremony ... and a good looking Best Man. Great job, Matte!
Matt met Eric in elementary school and over the years he just became a part of the family ... like a fourth son. He fit in so well with the boys and brought a lot of laughter to our home. Whitney became a part of his life the summer before his senior year and as Sean mentioned in the ceremony, she just brings light and joy to those around her. What a great "team"!
Tomorrow we will be celebrating two weddings ... kids we spent time with as youth coaches in church youth group. Suddenly I'm starting to feel a little old :)
Congrats to these friends and newlyweds. Wishing you much happiness.

A cousin is a ready-made friend for life

What a treat is was to spend a weekend with our California cousins. Since it had been seven years since we last got together there was much to catch up on ... sharing our joys and struggles, reminiscing about family, looking through photo albums and old pictures, worshiping together, and much laughter and joy. It was fun to spend some time with the "girls" and nice to finally outnumber the guys around here :)
Seven years is much too long to wait for another visit. I'm looking forward to more opportunities to get together...they are not only family but very dear friends. Thanks Cindy, Annalisa and Rachel for spending the weekend with us!

Washington Park Rose Garden