To Pick or Not To Pick

The last time we went out to pick blackberries was an adventure indeed.  Every morning we walk through the barn saying hello to all the horses.  From there we walk through the pasture and on to the gate.  Pushing the boards aside we bump through the gate into blackberry haven.  There are few trails.  The trails that are available to traverse are either very bumpy quad tracks or cow paths. 

 And in case y'all didn't know, cows don't make straight or smooth paths.  So along we bump, the kids, the wagon full of buckets, and I.  If you stand still you can probably hear us for miles with the wagon bumping like crazy over those trails.  Once we get back a ways, I park the wagon.  Out comes a bucket that gets to hang around my neck, and off I go.  Thankfully Peaches and Mr O know the routine now and stick close to mom with their pretend play.  They each have a piece of rope as well, and pretend to be cowboys, snakes, pets, and more.  It is so much fun to listen to them as they play!  They have really good imaginations, the sky is literally the limit with what those two come up with.  Well, this particular day when we were bumping our way out, the cows who inhabit the pasture decided to investigate.  They came running at this new sound.  As soon as they saw us humans, they stopped cold and just watched, curious as to what us crazy humans were up to.  Well, we parked the wagon just like normal and moved off the pick.  The bull wanted a closer look at the wagon and so went over to investigate (yes that is a cow in the picture, not the bull, I didn't get my cell phone out fast enough).  Snuffling and whuffing he finally concluded that there wasn't anything there to eat.  That didn't stop him though.  He thinks that since we didn't bring food, he'll provide his own.  All the cows then lay down and begin to peacefully chew their cud.  Between us and the wagon.  There were 10 cows in all.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not particularly afraid of them, but I do hold a healthy respect for them.  As they are quite a few pounds larger than myself and they do tend to get startled and upset about what seems like nothing.  So to get back to the wagon we had to meander through the cows.  There was no other way around.  With a pond on one side and bushes on the other, we were neatly penned in. 

As my bucket filled with berries, and it was evident that the cows were there to stay, the kids began to get restless.  They wanted to chase the cows off.  Thankfully they allowed me to discourage that plan.  Because of that I decided that it was time to move on.  So we carefully walked through the munching bovines to our wagon with them watching our every move.  I grabbed the handle of the wagon which obligingly let out a high pitched squeak and an ominous rattle as we started pulling it away.  The bovines continued to just observe, chewing contentedly away.  The only thing that was really really unfortunate about the whole thing is that I only had my cell phone on me.  I don't take my camera out berry picking.  That just screams juice, seeds, and possibly water getting spilled on it.  So, all I have to remember the cow incident are these horrible cell phone photos.  I'm sure you'll forgive me eventually.

Grumbles

Google hates me, I hate Google.  I'm thinking about moving my blog elsewhere.  Right now it is a huge pain in the backside to put pictures into a post with the "new and improved" blogger dashboard.  No, it is NOT new and improved.  It freakin sucks.  So, this is me, not posting what I want to post because Google hates me.  So....I did have this nice story about kids and cows and perhaps there was a little red wagon in there too, but you'll have to wait 'cause Google hates me and won't let me upload my pictures.

Just Like Any Other Day

So, today.  Today we go out to conquer.  The munchkins and I are going to conquer the back pasture.  You know, the one that has cows and tall grass and lots and lots of blackberries.  Lots and Lots and Lots of blackberries.  So we're going.  With our buckets and red wagon.  Rattling our way out to the pasture with curious cows to pick another 3 gallons of berries to make another 22 pints of jam.  Because that's just how we roll today.

Craziness

so here is a snapshot of the last week in my life (please forgive the crappy cell phone photo, I'll explain later):
1. Picked 3 gallons of berries and then canned 22 pints of blackberry jam.
2. Did 4 loads of laundry.
3. Did two loads of dishes and hand washed the rest.
4. Attempted to make edible food for dinner.
5. Slept way to fast.
6. Repeat steps 1-5.
7. Played with my rascals.
8. Found and helped Handsome fix the broken water main in our backyard.
9. Did more dishes and laundry.
10. Repeat steps 1-5 again with a dear friend in tow this time.
11. Discovered an empty dishsoap bottle, empty handsoap container, empty toothpaste container, and empty lemonaide container.
12. Explained to Mr O that he has no more chances and now he's trading rooms with my sewing room.
13. My sewing room was upstairs next to Handsome and my room.
14. Now my sewing room is downstairs.
15. Repeat steps 1-5, again.
16. I'm still not sure where I'm going to fit all the stuff that is supposed to fit in there.
17. Realized that I'm just going to be frustrated about it, and moving on.
18. Mr O's room is a winner, it's even clean (for a 1st grader).
19. Sewing room still a disaster zone.
20. Make call for a backhoe to come clean out that room.
21. I just want to sew!
22. Discover both munchkins outside with the bucket of animal crackers that were specifically stated to stay indoors.
23. Discover shovels of dirt in the nearly full container of crackers.
24. Walk away.
25. Thank Handsome for taking Mr O shopping to replace all emptied items out of his own money.
26. Find fleas on Four legs.
27. Find fleas in carpet.
28. Find fleas in beds.
29. Start the first of 5 loads of bedding to be washed.
30. spray the carpet, dog bed, and beds.
31. try to catch dog to spray and comb.
32. Give up on catching the dog.
33. Switch laundry.
34. Look at filthy kitchen.
35. Wish for a maid.
36. Clean the kitchen.
37. Wish for a day with no disasters.

Incredibly busy. Canning lots and lots of blackberry jam. Will update more when I have the time and energy.

Every Once and a While

After years of waking up early I have discovered that I really do enjoy sleeping in. Not every day. But every few days having that extra few minutes, or hours as the case may be, is really so very nice. I love being awake to hear the birds mumble their first sleepy peeps and chirps to the world. I totally enjoy watching the sun come up, bathing the world slowly with its beautiful light. I love the morning smells of dew and rain and damp earth. The freshness of the new day, the feeling that you can accomplish anything simply because it is a new day. That being said, I still like to be lazy every so often. Pull the extra pillow over my head and ignore the fact that the sun is up. Pretend that I can't hear the birds calling or smell those wonderful morning smells. Because every so often it's just nice to lay there and enjoy my bed.

Yet One More Little One

This summer, or what has passed of this summer, has been busy. So busy in fact that most of what ya'll have read has been scheduled posts. Ramblings that I jot down when the mood hits and schedule to post at a later date because I know I'm gonna be freakishly busy. Well, I'm gonna be freakishly busy again. But not for a week or so. Yay. I get to catch up on cleaning and laundry and cleaning...Joy. Kidding, totally kidding! One of the many little trips that we took was one down to a little town south of Salem, OR. Nice little town, not too big, not too small. In fact it is a town that I would love to move to. The schools were small, there were lots of parks, lots of farmland, and everyone smiled and greeted you as if they had known you for years. It was delightful. The event that we had traveled to this tiny town to witness was one that happened way after the kiddos expected bed time, and so my lovely sister-in-law agreed to keep the angels over night. She may even agree to visit us again sometime, if we find a baby sitter for while she is here. So once we dropped off the kids to terrorize, er, delight Aunty R, we made the leisurely trip to this little town. Checked into our hotel, and proceeded to eat at a restaurant that we haven't frequented alone since the night Handsome proposed to me. We've taken the kids, but this was the first time we had gone alone since that night eight years ago. Once our tummies were satisfied we continued on our leisurely way to our destination. A concert. To give you a little perspective I hadn't attended a concert that I wasn't participating in for over 14 years except the occasional symphony. Neither had Handsome. So this was a bit of a refresher for both of us. It's ok to clap to the music, sing to the music, and dance if the urge comes. Sitting in the grass we listened to lovely music for an hour and a half. One of my favorite country singers: Josh Turner. Yes, Handsome agreed to take me. There was next to no coercion from me. Really. All in all it was a delightful experience, one that I would love to repeat again and again as the opportunity, and Handsome, allows.

I honestly have nothing at all to post today. Just random thoughts.
1. Why do the kids have to make wierd noises while eating?
2. They are eating, so for that I should be thankful.
3. I really do love walking barefoot. Really. Everywhere.
4. I have the most wonderful husband ever who paints my toenails.
5. It's better than a pedicure.
6. I actually went to a salon once and had a pedicure. It just isn't the same.
7. Fluffy pillows are the best.
8. Peaches carpet now has a nice run in it, thanks to four legs.
9. I need to get my hair trimmed.
10. this short hair is fun.
11. Not entirly sure, but I think I may like chocolate ice cream.
12. Toppings on the ice cream are nummy, flavored isn't really my thing.
13. I bought a pair of shoes that are too small.
14. Always try on shoes before you buy them.
15. I think I'm done here.
16. Have a great day!

You Only Need a Tuppence

With tuppence for paper and strings, you can have your own set of wings. With your feet on the ground, you're a bird in flight! With your fist holding tight, to the string of your kite! Let's go fly a kite Up to the highest height

Let's go fly a kite And send it soaring

Up through the atmosphere

Up where the air is clear

Oh, let's go fly a kite! When you send it flying up there, all at once your lighter than air!

You can dance on the breeze, over 'ouses and trees! With your fist 'olding tight, to the string of your kite! Let's go fly a kite Up to the highest height

Let's go fly a kite And send it soaring

Up through the atmosphere

Up where the air is clear

Oh, let's go fly a kite!

Castles in the Air

Probably the funnest thing (yes I just used a word that isn't really a word at all) to do while at the beach is to build. Build things out of sand. Sand is not very sturdy and can be compared to building castles in the air, they always come tumbling down. But the great fun is in the building. Filling the pail with damp sand. Packing it tight. Choosing the perfect spot upon the sandy frontier. Up-ending the pail of sand. Tapping the plastic sides to be sure of a good separation. And then pulling the pail away to form the first portion of the building. Each building, castle, and town is different. The people building each one is different. Building Castles. Enjoying the feel of the grit between your fingers. Getting down on hands and knees to do the finishing touches just right. Loving the way each piece fits together to make a cool building. Standing back to get the big picture. Then watching the waves come inexorably closer and closer to what you built. Eventually crashing into the weak walls and bringing the sand once more into submission to the great power of the ocean. Only leaving ripples behind. So lets go build another one!

Only Two Wheels

To help Peaches solidify a wonderful thing, we packed up all the bikes and took them with us while we were camping. Peaches is a wonderful little girl. She is quite a lot like her daddy. When she decides on something, she sticks to it. Call it pigheadedness, mulish, or just plain stubborn, she's got it. Well, for the past few months Handsome and I have been trying to convince Peaches that riding a bike without training wheels is totally cool and safe and something that she can do. Well, you know Peaches. She got it into her head that she wasn't going to ride a bike with two wheels. And that was that for a while. She rode her scooter and that was fine by me. So, Handsome decides to get her past this bump of thinking that she couldn't do it. Packing up the bikes he headed over to the park. There, while Mr O rode around in circles proving that it could be done, Handsome got Peaches onto her bike and helped her balance. After a productive forenoon, they all came back for lunch, having successfully gotten Peaches to ride all by herself. So back to loading them up to go camping. At first Peaches was still a little scared about this new thing that she could do. Balancing on Two Wheels. But with cousins and grandparents, aunts, uncles, and parents giving lots of positive reinforcement, she gained confidence. Until finally Peaches was asking to go on bike rides, rather then us convincing her to get on and go. Yay!

Just a Few Steps

The day had been a typical one. Gone to work, got home, talked to the awesomest man on the planet. Who decided to take me out. To a nice place that we'd never been to together. A nice dinner by the window in lovely padded chairs (I want one). I could tell that Handsome was a little nervous about something, but I didn't bug him about it. He obviously wanted to surprise me. Away we drove, in that good old Honda, out to the beach. We parked in a ways, so that the ranger wouldn't lock us in when he closed the gate at dusk. We walked hand in hand. Talking about nothing and everything, like the young people in love that we were (and still are). Arriving at the beach it was nearly sunset. So we sat on a log to watch as the fireball sank inexorably into the depths of the ocean. It was a beautiful sunset, all yellows and oranges and fiery reds. Finally it faded to pinks and purples, slowly letting the color seep away into the greys and black of night. Before the final fade out, my then boyfriend pulled something out of his pocket. An envelope and a small flashlight. Handing them to me, he instructed me to read the letter. So I opened the envelope, and pulled out a single sheet of home-made paper. Written upon the paper, in red ink, was a beautiful poem asking me to be his wife. As I turned to say "yes, Yes, YES!" to the man that I loved, I found him on one knee with a ring in his hand. I never will be able to remember the walk back to the car. I was in such a daze of happiness. As we walked I do remember watching the pinks and purples finally fading into greys. Watching the first stars dot the sky.Just recently we were given an incredible opportunity while vacationing with family. We were able to walk the beach at sunset again. The first time since the night that Handsome proposed. It was a different beach, different sights and sounds, but the beauty and timeless quality was there. I felt as though we had stepped back in time. The ocean's waves seemed to say "welcome back." The incredible happiness that I have known with this wonderful man.

Seriously

There are some things in life that Guys, or Men rather, take very very seriously. Working on cars, for example, is very serious work. There is a lot of concentration on where to put the pieces so that they fit together correctly and then ultimately work together in harmony. Pumping fuel is another very serious job. One must not smile or laugh or make funny faces at children while participating in this ritual. You must lean up against the vehicle that you are in the process of refueling and stare at the numbers as they climb. I nearly forgot, hammocks. Laying in the hammock is also a serious job. You must lay still with a serious look upon your face, even if you have kids crawling all over you. And lastly, cooking marshmallows. One must not smile or crack jokes. One needs to stare at the marshmallow lest it catch fire. One must also be sure to turn the marshmallow at just the right speed so that it browns nicely, but no talking. Or smiling. Or fun of any kind. Smores are very serious work.

Air With Flavor

When waking up in the morning while camping at the beach there was a particular tang to the air. As if the air itself was excited for a new day. Each day brought its own adventures and things to do. Each day was so much fun! Each day brought us that much closer to having to go. We've had a lot of fun. We didn't want to come back, but the lack of clean clothes is something that mommy doesn't do well with.