Moving, the photos.

Here are a few pictures of our trip home.

This is what the living room looked like during the packing process, I couldn't pack everything up, because we were still living there and needed to keep things out.


This is the stack of boxes that we took out first, they are full of the things we didn't need for existance.

The blowen out tire.

Aidan flirting with a couple of sisters at a rest stop.

Same rest stop, different girl. (I think my youngest son is going to be a ladies man. LOL)

The train at Klamath Falls. It's an old retired steam engine. Aidan thinks trains are pretty great right now. He still loves trucks and cars, and has decided that dinosaurs and dragons are cool too, but his favorite things are trains.

Our first clear view of Mount Hood. We were on I-84 leaving The Dalles.

Aidan waiting for Grandaddy at the McDonalds in Hood River. He was ready for the trip to be over. :)

I'll post some more pictures I've taken since we got here later.

Giant update.

I intended to update you all about how the move went as soon as we got here. But my Mom and Dad had a dial-up connection and I didn't want to tie up their line for long, and it kept having problems with dropping the connection. All that changed yesterday when I finally got the DSL hooked up and working.

So, we made it to Hood River on May 9th. Everyone and everything survived the trip, although I was not all together sure that it would end up that way during the trip. I tried to keep some notes in my day planner on the things that happened on our epic trip home to Oregon, so here are some of them.

May 4th

We still haven't left! One delay after another, including delays in loading the trailer. I almost worked myself into heat exhaustion trying to get everything packed, loaded, and cleaning up. In the end I left the place in a big mess. The truck was too heavy in the front so that the tongue almost touched the ground, we moved it anyway to a location were we could work on it without being in the street. The guys worked on it until 10 PM yesterday, they got it to work and then we decided to go to the Quality Inn n Merced for the night. I don't think I could have slept on the floor at Jimmy's, every part of my body hurt too much. It's a nice place to stay, but I was too stressed and tired to enjoy it much.

Today everything went along fine, they had the truck and trailer working together fine, but then the discovered a wiring problem so they spent a couple of hours tracking down the problem, and several more fixing it. By then it was 9PM so we went back to the Quality Inn for another night, tomorrow by noon we should be able to finally get out of here!

May 5th 7:23 PM

Well, some progress was made today. We WERE able to leave around noon. The truck is very slow because the trailer is very heavy, we can only go about 45 to 50 mph, but it goes! We stopped at Cody's, one of my brothers, and had a wonderful visit with Cody and the kids. Kelly, his wife, was sick and in bed when we were there. Then we stopped to get something to eat.

About 50 miles or so from Cody's the rear right tire on the truck BLEW OUT! I've never had a blow out before and it sacred me so much it took me almost a half an hour to stop shaking. Everything was fine, I guess I did a good job of keeping control of everything. So now we are waiting for Jimmy to come and help us. He is bring two tires so that we can change both of the rear tires. We have been here for about an hour, and will probably be here for a couple more.

12:30 AM

Well, it took longer than we expected, Jimmy sent his sister and brother down with the tires. Howard had to change them himself without power. But it's finally done. Aidan was wonderful while waiting, he talked and playing in his carseat without giving us much trouble. We moved the truck when it got dark, because I was worried about Howard changing the tires on the shoulder of the Highway. So we were able to let Aidan walk around some. After everything was done we decided to stay at a Motel 6 for the night, it might be the best financial decision, but Howard needs to relax.

May 6th

We wanted to go the coast route to Oregon, we thought it would be easier on the truck. But ... We got lost on highway 16, took a wrong turn, and ended up back on I-5. We got as far as Red Bluff before we decided to stop for the night. It was a beautiful drive, but turned into a big waste of time and gas.

May 7th

We made it to Kalamath Falls. We stopped and looked at a train they have at the veterans park there. When we got back to the truck we discovered that we had a flat on the trailer. We unhooked the truck and I tried to get a tire at Wal-Mart. They didn't have the one we needed and the next closet thing, which would have worked okay, cost a lot more than I had. So I called my Dad to see what we could do. He sent us $100, which I waited around to get at Wal-Mart, and arranged for us to get a tired at Les Schwab on his account. So we are going to spend the night at a Motel, because we are not parked in a place I feel comfortable sleeping in the truck, and because I want to sleep more tonight than I did last night.

May 8th

We had some more trouble with the truck, it died not long after we left Chunult (I'm not sure of the spelling). A nice man stopped and let Howard use his cell phone and we called my Dad. He talked to Howard and had him check the fuel line. It had a clog in it. We did okay but used a lot of gas. We finally discovered a leak, and then later another one. In Redmond we called my Mom and Dad again, the gas leaks had left us with no money and very little gas, so they sent another $50. We are almost there!

May 9th

We spent the night in front of a little store, in a little town whose name I forget. We ran out of gas right there, the store, which had a gas station in front of it, didn't open until 8 AM. It was cold and we were very tired of the truck but we did get some sleep. After that was taken care of, and a really nice guy helped us get it started again, I guess there was an other clog in the fuel line, and then the battery was low from all the attempts to start it. We got here with almost no gas left, and had some trouble getting up the steep hill to my Parents house, but we made it! We are so happy to be home!


So, Aidan and I have been settling in here. Howard is down in Salem, looking for a job. He plans to come up for the week-end. It's been really nice to be back home. Mom and Dad are bonding with Aidan, and he loves them. Pepper, mom's dog, enjoys having Aidan around, but he gets tired of it sometimes. So Aidan is learning to leave Pepper alone when he gives him that little growl. They are doing great.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. LOL I hope I'll be able to post more now that we have DSL here. Take Care All.

This is it.

Today we will be leaving for Oregon. We have a couple of people coming to help finish up all the moving. Yesterday we had another delay, the truck and trailer had to be wired for lights. That took almost all day to get done. At 8PM we loaded some boxes and the two dressers, by 10 we just couldn't do any more so we called it quits. The people who said they would help never showed up. This morning I'm packing up the day to day stuff I had to leave out just so we could be somewhat normal through this. Howard and Jimmy went to do a tire so we can have some extra money. The guys who are going to help with stuff today are supposed to be here at 9. I'm hoping that we can be finished by about noon. I have to take the cable box in and pay that bill, and then go to the insurance office and get the truck put on the insurance.

Well, I guess I'd better go get things done. I'm not sure when I'll be in Hood River, but I'll try to get on line in with an update as soon as I can. Take Care all.

Frustration!

I am so frustrated!!! Almost everything in ready to pack the trailer, except THE TRAILER!!! It needs new axles, the ones Howard and Jimmy got for it were 7 inches too short. Of course they waited until Saturday to get them so now they have to wait until Monday to get the metal guy to add the 7 inches to them. Which means I'll have to wait until Tuesday to even start loading the truck and it has to be done Tuesday! I don't think I can do it in one day even with leaving so much stuff behind. I might just have to let Howard stuff everything from the shed into the trailer instead of going through it all. I don't want to put any of that stuff outside until I'm ready to put it in the trailer, because I don't want it stolen. Every space available if full of boxes so there isn't any space left to put new boxes. So I can't even pack what is left to be packed. GRRRRRRR!!! I want to scream at someone, or throw things, or basically act like a frustrated child. Of course I can't do that, so instead I'm on the verge of tears off and on today. To top it off I'm having a head ache induced by hormones and cramping, which probably explains my over emotional state right now. (Sigh) I'll be okay, everything will get done, and I'll be on my way home in just a couple of days! (Imagine wild cheering here.)

P.S. I know I used a lot of exclamation marks in this post, but I'm hormonal and it made me feel less frustrated. Really it did.

Finally!!!

We finally got the house sold. We had to settle for $700 because we wanted to leave by the third. Now it's a sure thing, we will be leaving by the third of May! Hurray! Now we have a list of things to get done, none of them very hard.

1. Paint the fenders on the trailer.
2. Take the trailer in to get the license.
3. Pack up (I have a plan for this as well).
4. Have dinner with Howard's Cousin Jim and Aunt Martha.
5. Take the cable box in, pay the final bill.
6. Call the phone company to shut off the phone and give them my new address for the final bill.
7. Talk to the insurance people about the truck.
8. Look around for anything we forgot.
9. Get in the truck and leave!

We will stop by my brother Cody's house on the way out to see them. I think we will go the coast route because it will be a little bit easier for the truck to handle than the other ways. Besides Aidan can get his look at the ocean. So, depending on how long it takes us, how often we stop, and how slow we have to drive because of the trailer, we could be in Hood River in less than 2 weeks!

Not much progress

Still no news on when the move will happen. The trailer has fenders now, all we need to do is get doors on it and get it licensed. Then we can start to pack it up. We get money on the third, so maybe we can leave by Saturday the sixth.

Yesterday was a migraine day. I slept from 1:30 PM until 6:30 and still had a headache. It faded after we had dinner, but is still sitting there behind my right eye waiting. I feel like I could sleep all day today too. Of course I won't be able to do that. It's hard to describe the way I feel after a migraine. The pain is gone, but I'm still not quite back to normal. It's like a memory of the pain, or a tiredness like after a leg cramp, that feeling that if I move wrong it will come back. Anyway, today I'm in that almost back to normal phase. I hope that this afternoon it will be gone for good.

Still in California

Yesterday I was sick. It might have been a flu bug or just a reaction to the food I've been eating. (Sometimes I feel sick after eating red meat. My Doctor thinks it's the hormones and/or chemicals that animals are fed these days. They build up in my body and then I have to eat chicken or go vegetarian for a few days in order to feel normal again.) But whatever it was I'm feeling better today. The weather should be good today, and I should be able to get things together to get the permits this afternoon. Then the only thing left to do would be putting the doors on the trailer, putting a second coat of paint on the trailer and packing it up. It looks like it will be Tuesday or Wednesday before we can leave. We might have the car sold, and someone else looked at the house the other night. So maybe we will have enough cash to get home.

I had a dream that we were in Oregon, and it felt so good to be home. It didn't seem to be much of a rush or too much of a problem, but somehow I wasn't with Howard and Aidan. I was trying to catch up with them. I'm not sure what I was driving, or if I was with other people. It's been too long since I woke up, the details are fading. All in all it was a good dream though.

Sometimes it feels like we will never get out of here. But we have to leave the trailer park by the end of May regardless of anything else. So ... Keep good thoughts that we will be back in Oregon before Christopher's birthday on the 10th of May. I know that is almost 3 weeks away, but the way things are going it could take that long.

Trailer and truck update

There has been progress, although not as much as I'd like. The truck got it's carburetor re-built, it still needs a tune up and the timing set. Then I'll go get the trip permit to take it to Oregon. The trailer is almost done. It needs doors and a paint job. Oh and Howard needs to get some bolts to bolt the box down to the sheet metal part of the trailer. I will also need to get a permit for it.

I've been so sleepy the last couple of days. Before we had Aidan I used to spend days like this in bed, sleeping and maybe watching some TV or drawing. Now, of course, I have to watch Aidan, so no all day naps for me.

Email change

Those of you that I actually send e-mail to will soon notice that I've started to change my e-mail address. I won't be using the comcast address any more once we move, so I thought it would be a good idea to get some of it changed over to the new Yahoo address. I'll also be using it for comments on blogs and such. It's the same as the comcast one, it just ends with yahoo. com instead of comcast.net.

Moving update.

There has been an other short delay in the move. Howard stressed his back on Saturday and hasn't been able to move around much until today. He's almost back to normal today. So we are behind a little bit with building the "box" for the trailer. I had a migraine yesterday so I'm a bit behind on packing and cleaning. Oh well, things are still good for leaving this week-end. We will see how it goes from here. Even more good news, there is a man who is interested in this place. He says he will have $1000 tomorrow. That will allow me to pay $500 in bills and still have money left for the move. Keep your fingers crossed that he will actually come up with the money, we can use all the good luck we can get.

I think we will take the coast route to Oregon, because the hills are much easier and there is less chance for snow. The weather has been very wet the last few days, with lots of snow up in the mountains. They are saying that the snow level is going up though, so who knows. It will take longer going the coast route, but will be a nice drive and easier for the truck to handle, I hope.

Finally a bit of good news!

Well, the truck (pick-up) finally got here. They fixed a "module" for about $23. The next thing will be a complete go over to make sure everything is in good working order. It needs the timing set and some newer tires. Now we have to get a trailer. We could easily get one that is basically the bed of a pick-up, but that will be too little. There is an other one that we think is big enough, but we are not sure we can get it. Keep in mind this is all free stuff. So it is conceivable that we will be moving by the end of the week. However, I'm not going to hold my breath. Every week since the end of January we have thought we would be able to move by the end of the week. (sigh)

My list of things I'm taking with me is getting smaller all the time. I still need to get into the shed and see what is salvageable. But chances are I'll be leaving most of it here. I want to find my books, and a few other things. But I don't need most of that stuff, I've become accustomed to having it. So I'll be taking my Queen size bed (mattress, box springs, frame and headboard), Aidan's twin size bed (mattress, box springs, frame, headboard and footboard) my two dressers, the china cabinet, filing cabinet, art cabinet, a small desk, 3 small tables, a small bookcase, 2 TV's , computers, 2 lamps, microwave, various boxes of things, our cloths, Aidan's toys, and a few other small odds and ends of things.

Aidan LOVES the truck. The first night it was here he got mad when we brought him in. He wanted to sleep in it! So it has become known as "Aidan's truck". Here are a few pictures of it with Aidan playing in it today.

It's not a very pretty truck.

A few updates.

Here's an update on that weight loss study: My anonymous commenter is probably right, it is a scam. I got a call yesterday, it seems that they are not taking any more people into the study. Now they are offering a discount to actually get all the stuff. Hmm ... If I can't get $150 in order to make $1000 why do they think I'll be able to pay even a discounted price? Oh well, it would have been nice. I would like to loose a lot of weight, and the $1000 would have been great, but since anyone can qualify for the so called test, and they are already selling the product that was being studied just last week (not enough time to collect necessary data) I'd have to agree that this is a scam. (sigh)

I don't know what is happening with the move. I guess there is a 1978 Dodge truck that is supposed to be here any time now. It needs some work, but if the problem is what Jimmy thinks it is it won't cost much to fix it. There is also a trailer, kind of a boxed in truck bed with a roll up door, that we are also supposed to be getting soon. So ... I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, but IF it all works out the way Jimmy says it will, it will be wonderful!

Aidan was sick a couple of days ago. It seemed like everything he had to eat or drink would come back up in just a few minutes. Twice it happened in the car, and once it happened all over me. My stomach was irritable for two days after that and then I had a day of sitting in the bathroom almost all day. Today I'm feeling pretty good, except that I'm tired. Oh and allergies, but those are normal for me around here at this time of year.

Yesterday I asked Aidan to be quiet. He has started to repeat everything anyone says. But when I told him that I didn't feel well, he came over to me, put his hand on my cheek and said "Oh, poor little Mama." It was so cute. He sounded so concerned.

Mommy blog entry.

Yesterday while shopping Aidan was looking at the wall in Food 4 Less, pointed and said "Black Q." You know what? He was right! I didn't know he knew what a Q was! Today I cut a piece of toast in half, corner to corner, and he said "Triangle toast." Wow! I didn't know he knew what a triangle was either. He is finally starting to talk a lot, almost able to hold a conversation, and coming out with suppressing things. He is still fairly well behaved, but is starting to say no or just ignore what we tell him to do. Luckily for him it's only a once in awhile thing.

He only has melt downs when he is tired, but now that he is trying to skip the afternoon nap that happens regularly. He is also starting to sleep in later. No more waking up a 5 AM, he will now sleep until 7, or once in awhile even 8.

Right now he is talking to the TV, it's the Backyardagains. He really likes them as well as Dora and Diego. Of course Sesame Street is always something he will sit still for. (Probably why he knows about Q's and triangles) During most of his "Shows" he will be playing, pretending to read, drawing, or some other activity. This is a new Backyardagains, so he is interested more than normal. The kids are having a race "around the world" they were snowboarding down a mountain and Aidan was telling them "Be careful, don't crash." He had to say it 4 times, once for each of the 4 characters that are in this adventure.

He is counting objects now. Ducks in a book, pieces of tomato, and movies in the book case. He counts in Spanish up to 7 sometimes too, thanks to Dora and Diego. I'm going to see if my Dad would mind teaching Aidan more Spanish.

He brought a stuffed toy to me with a shirt to wrap around it, then he carried it like a baby, patted it on the back and then put it to bed. It was so cute, he doesn't know any babies right now, so maybe it's just a natural nurturing part of his personality. He knows almost all his body parts, and can show them to you as well as name them. His Daddy and I are having a disagreement about the words for his behind and his penis. Howard wants to say Butt and for some strange reason feels weird saying Penis. I want to say Bottom and Penis, because I think they will be more acceptable at school when he goes. Howard doesn't think that the word Butt will get Aidan in trouble. So I guess he will learn both and I'll have to tell him not to say Butt in public places like school and the Grocery Store.

All in all I'd say that Aidan is making a good amount of progress learning things. He may still be behind kids his age in some things, but I think he is catching up fast and is actually ahead a little bit in a few others.

Howard's birthday.

Howard's birthday was Saturday the fourth of March. The day started out sunny and warm. He wanted to BBQ in the park so that Aidan could play on the slide he likes. So he called a friend and invited him and his wife to the park with us. By the time Howard got the hamburgers on the grill it had become overcast and cold. We toughed it out until after we had eaten, because Aidan was having such a good time. And because having people who aren't family to talk to can be interesting sometimes. Howard said that the day was a good one for him, because we were together, Aidan was so happy to be playing in the park, and we had some nice conversation.

Here are some pictures I took of Aidan, my batteries died early, so I only got about 4 or 5 pictures.

Still in California.

Well, there is still not much news about our move. There is a possibility of a u-haul type truck that we could get for next to nothing and we would be able to keep it. But I don't know how that is going to work out. There have been a few people who have looked at the house. Yesterday one lady actually said that she would get the money and come back, but she didn't. I'm hoping that she will come back with the money eventually and that we will get that truck. Howard says that we will be leaving before the end of the month. I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but I really need to get out of here. It took me a while to get to this point. I was looking for another house or something, because we didn't have any money, Howard needed to get a job up there first, I needed more of a long term plan. But now that I've gotten past that particular set of worries, I and very anxious to get going. So far 2 months of wanting to finally leave, and still there isn't much progress. I'm sure that when it's the right time it will happen. Howard has more possibilities for jobs now than he did a couple of months ago. He's talked to people in Coos Bay and Albany, just recently. So maybe it's a good thing.

Worrisom survey results.

It's a little worrisome that only one in four Americans can name more than one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. But more than half can name at least two members of the Simpsons, according to a survey. I'm ashamed to say that I can only name 4 or the 5. I remembered Freedom of Religion, Freedom of the press, Freedom of speech, and Freedom of Assembly, but completely forgot the Freedom to petition for redress of grievances. Could you have named them before today? Do you know what the other Amendments are? If so you are ahead of me, I can't remember most of them. This bothers me some what, because I think we should all know and understand them and yet here I am one of them many who don't know. I'm not even sure if I've ever studied them. Maybe I should study them on my own.

Diet study

There is an interesting study going on right now, about weight loss. They think they have come up with a perfect weight loss program. It sounds interesting, you diet one day and eat what ever you want the next day. They have a vitamin crystal you take on the "Food Days", which is supposed to help with energy. On the "Diet Days" you eat only fruit and vegetables, drink water and eat these wafers which are made from a root and expands somewhat in your stomach. The only exercise you have to do is walk 30 to 40 minutes a day. At the end of the study they will pay all who have made it through the whole study $1000. The only problem I have is they want a $150 deposit, which you will get back eventually, to make sure "only those who are truly serious about loosing weight" get in. I'm probably more serious than anyone else in their study, but I don't have that right now. My credit card is maxed out right now, and ever penny we get we have to either save for the move or get things we need. So I'm not going to be able to do the study. But maybe there will be a second study with a smaller deposit, or maybe we will have money soon and I can still sign up. Oh, if you are interested or know someone who might be interested their web site is http://dietstudy.com Let me know if anyone does it and how it works out.

Things are not moving very fast.

I'm still not sure when we will be moving to Oregon. We haven't been able to sell the house, I don't think any work has been done on building a moving trailer, and Jimmy wants to tow the trailer up there for us, but I don't think I'll be able to afford to pay for gas. I'm getting worried, I don't want to be here any longer, but it looks like we may be here for another month anyway.

But there is a possible bright spot, Howard has talked to someone in CoosBay about a job. It pays about $2000 a month, gross pay. Not too bad, I think. If they like his resume he could have an interview in a couple of weeks. Coos Bay isn't my first choice of places to live, but it's better than here. It's getting depressing not knowing if will be able to leave this month or not. I'm about half packed and I don't feel very encouraged to pack any more. I could get quite a bit packed and still be able to live day to day, but I just can't seem to bring myself to do it.

I am getting rid of a lot of things, well actually I'm just going to leave them here. Maybe someone can use them. We are going to take the beds, two dressers, the china cabinet, the art cabinet, the filing cabinet, computers, cloths, Aidan's toys (although many of the older ones are not going with us), about half the dishes and pots and pans, about half the boxes of things I've been moving with us, the desk, a lamp or two, and maybe the freezer. Hopefully the trailer will be done soon and I can start to move things out there to get them out of the way. If I keep Buddy close to the trailer no one will be getting into it.

I've been feeling very tired a lot lately. I'm not sure why. But I need to fight it, and get busy around here. It's a challenge to do things like pack and clean with a busy 3 year old trying to "help" or thinking he can get away with doing things he would normally get in trouble for. He naps only half the time these days, so I can't count of that time to do things. Howard gets too involved in his computer or TV and doesn't' watch Aidan well enough (or maybe I'm just being too critical, thinking I am the ONLY one who can watch Aidan well enough).

Keep good moving vibes coming my way, okay? I don't want to have to pay rent for March.

Happy Birthday Valentines Boy

Today my sweet little boy is 3! How did the years fly by so fast? WOW 3 years already!

Dear Little Valentines boy,

I love you so very completely. It's hard to believe you are already 3, and yet it seems as if you have been part of me forever. You are growing bigger and bigger all the time, and learning new things every day. You are talking more now days, but still not as much as what I've heard others your age are talking. You know how to make your wants known, you can tell your Daddy and I that you love us, and you have a good memory for people and their names, so I think you are doing pretty well.

You enjoy playing with computers, any computer will make you happy. You like books, trucks, cars, red things, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Grover, you cat named Ti, and your dog Buddy. You are 39 inches tall (at least as far as I can tell with the growth chart I have, when I can get you to pass by it slow enough for me to see it).

You can count to 20 with only a few skipped numbers, a few mispronounced, but you know what they mean. You like the ABC's, but refuse to say them.

You are well behaved, for a child your age, you listen to me and usually do what I tell you to do. You go to bed easily, and sleep pretty good, for your nap and at night. You are trying to skip the afternoon nap though.

I want you to know just how happy I am that you are in my life. You can make me smile when I'm in a bad mood. I don't know what I'd do without you.

Here is your birthday cake, you liked it because of the trucks. You didn't care about the candle or eating the cake however.

Happy birthday my little love!

Childhood memories, updated.

One of the bloggers I like to read, lives in the area that I grew up in, down in New Mexico. She has a flickr photostream as well. Part of me wants to ask her to go and find the place we lived when I was a child and photograph the house. Part of me is afraid that if she did that I'd be disappointed or upset by what she would find. Even if I actually asked her and she should agree I'm not sure I could tell her how to find the place. It would be interesting though, to see how close my memory is to how the house actually is. If it's still there and if they hadn't done much to change it in the ... 32? ... years since we left. I guess it's unlikely that things would be the same as when we left, all these years would have brought changes, even if only small ones. Maybe someday I'll go back there and see for myself, if I could find it that is.

Birthday wishes

Today is The Girls birthday. I would like to be with her today, to help her celebrate.

Dear little Sister-friend,

I love you! I feel so lucky to have you in my life, even though we don't see each other very often. I wish you a day that is as special for you as you are special to me. Have fun, play, enjoy.

I love you!

The big move, an update.

It looks like we will have to wait until next month to make this move. The house didn't sell, and I don't think it will. So now we have to find a trailer, maybe Howard's cousin Jimmy can build one for free. The main problem with that is that he wants to tow it up to Hood River for us, I think he trying to save my car for me. I'd rather have a truck to tow it ourselves. It's very nice of him, if I'm right, to think of letting me keep my car. Oh well, we will see how it all works.

It gives me some more time to go through things and pack stuff up, so maybe a blessing in disguise. If we get the trailer, and a lock, I can load some stuff up early as well.

Still waiting, yuck!

Well, we didn't see them yesterday. We will have to pay the rent on the space when we get paid tomorrow. So they have until tonight and then they will have to wait until the end of the month to get the house, if they still want it. So the search of a truck and trailer is on. Jimmy thinks he can build one for us, and maybe we can get a truck. He also has a King Cab, I think, truck that needs a little work, but he could take us up to Hood River, towing a trailer, in it. Not what I'd want, because I'd like to have transportation once we are up there, but if that is what we have to do then that is what we will do.

I'm slowly progressing with packing up those thing we don't NEED for everyday life. I am also deciding to get rid of almost half of the things I have. Some things will go in the dumpster, some will go to whoever wants them, some we might be able to sell. Of course we will have to speed things up if they come over with the money tonight. (We might have missed them yesterday, because we went around to get my Wheel of the Year photos, so we were gone for a couple of hours in the middle of the day. Then from 6 to about 8:30 we were at Denny's for dinner with Jimmy, his wife, sister and mother.)

Waiting, I really hate waiting.

Well, I will know tomorrow if we actually have this house sold. Keep your fingers crossed for us. I really want to be in Oregon for Aidan's birthday. I don't want to sell my car, which I will have to do in order to get the money to move if the house isn't sold. I'd rather not pay space rent here this month if I can help it. Maybe I can find a truck and trailer to trade my car for. I am really feeling stressed over this. I don't normally stress very much, but this move has become much more than just a move to me. It's a going home. Once I decided that we were actually going to do it now, rather than sometime in the future, it became much more important than any other move I've ever made. Now all I have to do is survive until tomorrow, and then do whatever I have to do to make it happen as soon as possible.

Picture collages I've done.

Moving?

It seems possible that we will be moving back to Oregon next month. We need to come up with $2000 for the move. We might have this old house sold for $1500, and we will have the other $500 on the third. But, the lady who MIGHT buy the house has to talk her daughter into moving into it. And from what Howard said the Daughter is reluctant at best. I might be able to sell my car for $2000, but I'd rather keep it if possible. If we can't sell the house this month, I guess we will just have to wait until March. I'll pay as little as possible on the bills in February and save every penny I can. Hopefully Howard and work enough for Jimmy to get the rest of what we will need.

So I'm pretty sure that we, Aidan and I, will be in Hood River with my Parents before summer. I'm kind of torn about it however. I have been feeling rather lonely lately. I miss my family and friends, and haven't made any friends here except for Howard's family. I also, for the first time, felt like the poor relations who are included in family gatherings only because they are family this last Holiday season. No one was mean or rude, but I felt like we didn't fit in at all. I was sad for Aidan, although he didn't notice anything, because all the other kids have Grandma's and Great-Grandma who dote on them. Aidan had only Howard and I. The other kids got presents from their Aunts and Uncles, we even gave each one a book, but Aidan didn't get anything. It's not that I think presents are important, but more that everyone else was opening presents and Aidan didn't have any. But at his age he didn't notice. If we lived some where away from any family or friends we already have I wouldn't feel so bad. Because there wouldn't be anyone to be compared to. Do you understand?

On the other hand, Aidan has a real connection to Jimmy and Buna. He loves them SO much, and he will miss them very much when we leave. I am sad that he will have to go through that, but again he just might not be bothered as much as I worry he will be. It will be easier for him now for two reasons. One, we will be moving up to my Mom and Dad's so he will have plenty of people who are "his". Two, he will be only 3 in just 26 days, so he won't remember much of it, and he's always been an easy going child. He takes change well, so I'm sure he will be fine. I still worry that he will feel sad about it though, and I know that I'll miss them myself. But in the end, I really want to move back to Oregon.

3 versions of the Boy with an apple photo.

These are the pictures I tried to post last month. I still don't know why they wouldn't post, but they do now so here they are.

The first has the back ground blurred a little bit.

The second is Black and White with the apple the only touch of color. The color of the apple is too dark though and I can't seem to be able to fix it.

The third has an old photo treatment done to it, sepia toned, softened a little, blurred edges, and rounded corners. You don't see the rounded corners very well except for the lower right corner.

My Fear and Panic in the fog.

I really really hate fog! It scares me if I have to drive in it. I tense up and get panicky. Tonight it made me cry. We were going to a friends house for dinner and a good visit. The fog didn't seem too bad at first, I thought I could drive through it and I thought everything would be okay. But after missing the exit twice, once going north the other going south, and then not being able to see more than a few feet ahead of me I started to shake, and my hands stared to hurt from squeezing the steering wheel as if that would help me to see better. Finally, when I couldn't find the next road we needed to take I felt I had to give up. We were after all only about 1 mile away from Atwater, about 20 or so away from our destination. So I told Howard that it was over and I couldn't do it any more. He wanted me to let him drive, and I wanted very much to let him. But he is excluded from my insurance, because he doesn't have a drivers license right now, so I couldn't allow it. Finally we were home, we were safe, and I could let go of the tension. I, of course started immediately started to cry. Poor Howard didn't know what to do to make it better. He told me that we were all home safe, and that we could see our friends another time. I am feeling better now, we have been home for about 45 minutes. I'm still shaking a little bit, and my back hurts from the stress, but I'm not overly emotional any more, thank goodness.

Wheel of the year photos.

Here are the photos I choose for the Wheel of the Year project.
The first one is the temperature at 1PM on the first. It was pouring down rain, and the wind was blowing fairly hard. It felt a lot colder than this.

The second photo is of Aidan's dinner plate. This is what we had for dinner on the first. It's a pork, potato and onion Southwestern hash, if you look really hard you can see the steam from his corn.
The third photo is the view out my bedroom window at 6PM, the little lights are about a block away.

The fourth one is of the arbor/arch in the little park down town. It's going to be covered by what I think are climbing roses in the Spring.

The fifth is of our tree, the one in the front yard. It was raining so hard I got drenched taking it.

The sixth is the Moutain range I can see from around here. They finally have snow on them. I took this today, while at the lake.

The seventh is Yosemite Lake. It had more water in it a couple of summers ago when we were there, the water came up to the concrete edge and was about 2 feet deep there. As you can see the level is quite low today. It was a very beautiful day to go to the lake today.

The eighth is my current project as is on the first. It's going to be a hat, if/when I finish it.
The ninth is the main street into the park here where I live. If you turned right here, you would see my house. Taken today to avoid standing in the rain.
The tenth is Aidan sleeping the night of the first, he wouldn't co-operate with a picture of him in front of his growth chart, so ...

The eleventh is an Orchard over in Winton, not far from here. I don't know what kind of trees these are, maybe peach. I took this today. After all the rain it was almost a perfect day.
The twelfth, is a local construction site, I took this on the third while it was still raining.

The list

I think I've finalized my list for the "Wheel of the Year" project. It's been storming here since New Years Eve, so I'm going to have to wait to get all pictures. The outdoor ones are going to be the worst at this point. I think they will all transfer fairly well when we move to Oregon. Here's the list, the ones in Green are already taken as of today, the rest will have to wait for the weather to co-operate a little more.

1) The nearest tree.
2) A sign that shows the temperature between noon and 1 PM.
3) Progress on the project I'm currently working on.
4) What's for Dinner?
5) View out my bedroom window at 6 PM
6) Good Night Aidan (Aidan sleeping)
7) A construction site
8) An Orchard
9) Down the street (a shot taken from the corner toward where I'm living)
10) Mountains (The mountains range I can see from here and then Mt. Hood in Oregon)
11) A Lake or River (The lake here, and probably the Columbia River while I'm in Hood River then whatever river or lake is nearest)
12) The Park

Random updates.

It seems like California and the Holidays together get me sick. Every Holiday season since we've been here I've come down with something. Colds, the flu, sinus problems, and this year I've been slightly sick off and on since the 24th. I've thrown up a couple of times, but mostly it's just feeling tired, achey and yucky. Today I'm feeling almost normal.

I've been playing with GIMP a lot lately. I need to get more batteries for my camera, so I can take some of the pictures I have in my head. And I need to come up with the 12 monthly photos for the "Wheel of the year" project. So far I have . They are :

1) Aidan in front of his growth chart.

2) The closest tree.

3) The view from my bedroom window at about 6 PM.

4) A construction Site.

5) The Walgreens sign around noon with the Temp. displayed. (Or other similar sign if we move to Oregon before the end of 2006.

So I need to think of 7 more things that can be transferred to Oregon if we move. If you have any ideas for me, I'd really like to hear them. (Howard keeps saying that we will be moving the first of the month. I know it won't be this month, because I don't have anything packed, I don't have any boxes to pack, and by the time we do have those things we will have to pay the bills here, because it's going to take me a while to get it done. I have to clean out the storage shed, which has probably leaked all over the stuff I put in there. I will need to have someone watch Aidan while to do that, because there is no way I can keep an eye on him while sorting through that mess. The rest of what I need to do I can do while he is around. It will be quicker and easier while he sleeps, but I can do it even with him trying to unpack whatever I pack. LOL) I know that was a very long winded thing to put in parentheses.

I crocheted a knee warmer/brace for Howard. It fits tight enough to give him support and keeps it warm so it aches less. I also started a hat for Aidan. I know he probably won't wear it, but I like the pattern and wanted to make it so I am. LOL

Here are three of the photos I've created today. The all started the same, this first one I blurred the background some to hide the mess on the table as well as focus your attention on Aidan.

This second one is a black and white version with a touch of color in the apple, unfortunately the apple is very dark and doesn't make the impact I'd like. I'll have to play with things and see if I can highlight the apple more.

Well, I can't seem to get the other two pictures to post, so I'll have to try later.

Christmas Pictures.

The Moose that Grammie and Grandaddy sent to Aidan. He loves it.

The cool new truck!

Aidan with Mommy, in the new jacket Grammy and Grandaddy sent.

With Daddy and Little Ti.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Cool Kid, an altered picture

Wheel of the year photo project.

Over at Perwari's Prattle she's set up a photo challenge, she's calling it "Wheel of the Year".

"Here's the rules:

Step 1: on January 1st, take 12 photographs around your neighbourhood. These locations must be places that you can get the exact same shot of throughout the year - so make a note of exactly where you stood, the composition of the shot, etc.

Step 2: on February 1st and each 1st of the month throughout 2006, go back to those same 12 places and take the exact same photo as you did on January 1st.

Step 3: by December 1st 2006, you should have a 12x12 grid of photographs recording the changes of the passing year in your neighbourhood. Upload it to your webspace of choice and if enough people are interested, I'll arrange for a page on this site where you can post your links so you can see everyone's compositions, otherwise just stick the link in the comments of my Dec 1st, 2006 entry.

Important considerations:

Choose your locations carefully. You've got just over a month to think through where you would like them to be. I suggest local and fairly close together, mainly because you're committing to retracing your steps every 1st of the month. If you've spaced them too widely or made them awkward to get to, then you'll have an excuse to give up half way through, or fail to get them done on the right day dosen't really matter, if you're a day early or a day late one month due to personal circumstances, but would be more satisfying to have them on the 1st each month.
Get other people involved. These sorts of projects are so much more fun if lots of people get involved - would be fantastic if we could see the change of the seasons all over the world.
Remember variety is the spice of life. 12 tree pictures would be fairly dull, although a landscape in at least one of them should probably be compulsory! Be creative with your ideas. "

I think it's going to be interesting. I'm not sure what I'll do my pictures of. At least one group will be of Aidan, maybe in front of his growth chart. Maybe my tree out front, a construction site down the road, the intersection by the school, art projects, farm land, or ... I think I need to think about this a little more. LOL We might be moving back to Oregon this year, which may actually be 2 or 3 moves depending on exactly how we decide to do it. So maybe I should pick things that will be easy to find some thing similar where ever we go.

Another picture post.

Here is an edited picture. I removed the original background and added this Christmas/Yule themed one. I think it worked out ok. His right hand and lower arm are kind of strange, because in the original there was a plastic jar with a green lid there, I removed it along with the background, so his arm and hand are a little cut off. But I don't think it's really noticeable, what do you think?

The year in Review.

Find the first entry for each month of 2005. Post the first line of it in your journal, and that’s your “Year In Review”. "Purple Goddess" has this on her blog, so I borrowed it. Here is my year in review.

January: While Aidan still isn't talking as much as I would expect him to be at 22 months, he did pick up a couple of new words over the Holidays.

February: My visit to Oregon was very nice. The wedding was beautiful, I saw family and friends that I haven't seen in awhile.

March: My Mother-in-law is in the hospital. She wasn't taking her meds correctly and got neumonia.

April: A closer look at Aidan using an old laptop.



May: I've been noticing how different things are raising Aidan than it was with Christopher and Allen.

June: I'd like to say that something exciting has happened, or that I've had some kind of epiphany.

July: My toes are doing much better. I still think the middle one is broken, but it's healing.

August: Allen, Belinda and Xander are going to be in Oregon today!

September: I was playing around with the photo editing program that came with my printer/scanner and added text to some of them.

October: This is proof that Howard is teaching Aidan bad habits.

November:I finally found a photo editing program with clear directions on how to do what I really wanted to do. And it was FREE! So here is my favorite so far.

December: Dear Xander,
I wish I could call and tell you how much you mean to me.

Philosophy

There's been some discussion lately about saying "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas", and whether or not people are or should be bothered when someone uses the wrong one. I am hearing that it's usually Christians who are feeling the most put out over the whole debate. They feel that by saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" their religion is being slighted. The Christ is being taken out of Christmas. The Pagan or other non-Christians who has stated that it bothers them when someone says "Merry Christmas", seem to be the younger people, and/or the ones who are newest to their religion. Are the young usually more militant?

On a slightly related note, if you found out that your favorite shop/restaurant/store supported groups or philosophic that are diametrically opposed to your own beliefs, would you stop going there and giving them your business? Would you feel guilty for shopping there before you knew? How much research do you put into such things?

Happy Birthday!

Dear Xander,

I wish I could call and tell you how much you mean to me. But I can't do that, so I'm hoping that your Mom will see this and let you know that I'm thinking about you today. I know that we don't know each other very well, and that makes me a little sad, but I know that you have a wonderful Mom and Dad, who love you even more than I do.

It's hard to believe that you are already 7 years old! I remember hearing that you were on your way into the world seven years ago. I was thinking about you and your parents wondering if you had been born yet. I was filled with love and joy when I heard that you and your Mom were doing well. It's interesting to me to think of how much I love you, my first grandchild.

I hope that your day is as special for you as you are to me. I wish I could be with you, to hug you and play with you. Aidan would have so much fun with his big friend Xander. Grandpa Howard told me to tell you that he hopes you have a great birthday. We all love you very much!

Kiss your Mom for me.

Love,
Grandma

Thanksgiving food and 2.75 year old melt down.

I made a Pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving. It turned out really good. I'm not sure is anyone else liked it, but Howard, Aidan and I did. I also made a pumpkin bread, I KNOW that the kids liked that!

unfortunately Aidan had a major melt down just before dinner. I think it was a combination of too much action, not eating at the normal times, and missing his afternoon nap. But he was screaming, hitting himself, kicking his feet and crying. He wouldn't calm down for almost half an hour. Howard took him outside and just let him do it. He stood there to make sure he didn't really hurt himself. Things got worse whenever Howard tried to talk to him, or tried to calm him in any way, so all he could do was sit back and watch. Finally I went outside, it must have been the right moment because Aidan came into my arms and calmed down a little. He was still crying, as if he was extremely sad. We decided that it was time to take him home, and gathered things. By the time we left, Aidan was almost normal again. Once we got home, he ate a little, and went to bed. It was about 45 minutes earlier than normal. He's been fine since, so he isn't coming down with anything. (Thank Goodness!) This is not normal for him, I can count the melt downs we have had to go through on one hand. I wish I could have stopped this one. I'll have to be sure that Aidan gets a nap before we go over for Christmas. And I need to remember that when they say 2 or 3 as the time to arrive that it's more likely to be 5 or 6 before everyone gets there and we are able to have dinner. SO I need to make sure that Aidan is rested and has had something to eat BEFORE we get there. Oh, and we won't be going over until 5 or so. I felt so bad for Aidan, he must have been so overwhelmed. And now everyone has this image of him that isn't even close to how he really is. On top of that, all the other kids spend time together so they know each other well, and they had their GrandMother and Great-Grandmother there to be on their side and think they are the coolest, best and cutest. Aidan had his Daddy and me. Which is normally enough, but he didn't have anyone SPECIALLY his. Maybe if Jimmy and
Buna were here it would have been different. Maybe not. At least he isn't old enough to really notice the differences. Am I being overly bothered and worried about this?

Whining and self pity.

I'm still feeling very emotional. I miss my family and friends SO very much! Maybe it's my hormones causing this unusually sad feeling. I know that things are changing inside me, I think I'm getting closer to menopause. So I'm likely to be feeling kind of... off... for awhile. I just feel so alone here, I don't have any friends that are not Howard's family. My family are all so far away. Even my brother Cody is kind of out of reach for the most part. Well, at least Aidan is here to help bring my mood up a little. And Howard has been pretty understanding through it all. He wants to move back to Oregon even more than I do, so I guess it's pretty easy for him to understand how I miss home.

Thanksgiving

Howard and I have been a little sick the last couple of days. I think that we are finally on the mend now though.

Tomorrow we will be going over to his Aunt's house for Thanksgiving. I'm making a Pumpkin Cheesecake for the pot luck type dinner. I hope it turns out well.

I miss MY family and friends very very much. This time of year it seems to get worse, maybe because I have more time to think about them. I want you all to know that I'm thinking of you, I wish we could share Thanksgiving. I love you all.

Aidan and bed time.

We've had a few really busy days lately. Aidan isn't getting naps in the afternoon very often any more, which means he is more tired in the evenings. On Saturday we were out most of the afternoon, we are running the truck while Jimmy is on vacation. Aidan got to see some cows at the a dairy we were working at, and ran around and had a good time. We had dinner around 5, and then watched a little TV. Aidan got up from his chair and wandered off into his bedroom. I could hear him playing in there. After awhile I noticed that I hadn't heard him in a little while. I thought he had some how gotten into my bedroom, he loves to go in there for some reason. So I got up to check on him. But he wasn't back there. I looked in his room and he was up on his bed, covered up, and snuggled with his Elmo, fast asleep. (Elmo used to be mine, The Girl and Hennifer gave him to me, but Aidan fell in love with him so now Elmo is his. I hope they don't mind.) That is the first time he has ever done that. He did wake up around 11, but a diaper change and Pajamas, and a hug and kiss did the trick. He slept the rest of the night. Lately if we ask him if he is ready for night-night, he will go get Elmo and go to his bed. Well, if it's about 8 o'clock or there abouts. No bed time problems yet, thank goodness.

Another knitting post.

Well I actually did it, I got some wonderful yarn and made a sweater for Aidan. It's not really high quality yarn, but it's really soft and it looks good. I made it with Lion Brand Homespun yarn in "Montana Sky" which is a nice blue, kind of bumpy yarn.

It's too big, I had to knit it when he was sleeping so I just did it. LOL The sleeves and the lower edge have a roll built in. It's hooded, and should have a pocket on the front but I ran out of yarn before I got that far. He likes it ok, but since the sleeves are so long it's a bit of a problem, even rolled up the sleeves tend to slip down over his hands.

I got new glasses

Three or four weeks ago the right lens fell out of my glasses and broke. So I went in for a check up and to order new glasses. They arrived a couple of days ago, but I didn't get the notice until today. So here are a couple of pictures of me with my new glasses. They are the smallest lenses I've ever had, except maybe when I was a small child. The color in the photos is kind of poor, we were inside and didn't want to use the flash. I'll get some better photos soon.

Photo editing.

I finally found a photo editing program with clear directions on how to do what I really wanted to do. And it was FREE! So here is my favorite so far.

It was really very easy. The program is GIMP. There are a few other things I want to do, one of which is to change the back ground.