Blog Fodder

Rained Out

Our annual family camping trip was this last (Labor Day) weekend. It almost didn't happen because of the weather report: in the low 60s with rain and showers Saturday AND Sunday. We powered through until about Sunday, then several of us had had enough sogginess and many went home a day early due to the constant rain. You might say it really put a damper on things ... ha! We couldn't sit outside and roast marshmallows or go play in the lake. And when everyone in our party just stayed in their trailers instead of socializing, the purpose of the trip wasn't fulfilled. Still it was great to see everyone and I'm glad we got to use our tent trailer one more time before we have to button it up for the winter.

Our very sad and lonely campfire. (Note the unused boats in the background)

Shopping My Closet

I have been going through my clothes and sorting out things to donate, trying things on to create new ensembles, and making lists of things I would like to acquire. In doing so, I have realized that my Fall/Winter clothes are lacking in a variety of color. I am a "Winter", meaning the colors that look best on me are from the Winter palette such as black, gray, ivory, navy, red, wine and chocolate - which I have plenty of garments in these shades. Fortunately, I look good in jewel tones such as turquoise, azure, raspberry and butter yellow. Which brings me to my coveted color of the season: marigold.

After seeing Sandra Bullock wear a cardigan this cheery and rich shade in The Proposal, I have desired something very similar.

It may be just a temporary want, after all last year I had a brief affair with the color eggplant (that quickly passed), but I just will not be satisfied until I have something this color this season.


OxiClean

Seriously, this stuff is awesome! For example: just last week I bought my daughter a brand new pair of tennis shoes that she needed for school and she wore them camping. Needless to say, they ended up begrimed and unrecognizable. I wasn't going to stand for that! I took a wash bin and filled it with lukewarm water and a little bit of OxiClean. After letting the shoes to soak for a while, I scrubbed at the mud with a brush and popped them into the washing machine. After a run in the machine they were as good as new ... no joke! I also like to use a scoop of it with every load of wash I do.


Foux Du FaFa


With my favorite shows being reruns during the summertime, I have resorted to either watching nothing or exploring my Netflix options. And while at the local library one day, my son picked up a CD by a band called Flight of the Conchords. As it turns out, this "band" (who dubbed themselves as "Formerly New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo") is actually an award comedy act who have an HBO series, and two seasons are available on DVD. After checking out the CD and listening to their comedic tunes I had to see what the show was all about. I am just now getting through the second season and I am quite impressed with all the wit and clevernesss - not to mention the New Zealand jokes. It's about two naive guys from New Zealand who are trying to make it as musicians in New York and they face many of life's obstacles like eviction, girl troubles, an obsessed fan and a not-so-bright band manager.

I'm hooked! So ... when does season three come out?

How I Get My Radiant Summer Glow

Today I look darn good. My face is shining, my hair is staying firmly in place, and my skin is an unusual shade - not exactly bronze, more like Southern Oregon red clay. You too can get this amazing look if you follow these simple steps:

1. The Location

Find the perfect place to spend the next few days for your various summer treatments. I chose a charming establishment called Willow Lake. Sounds serene doesn't it? Make sure your surroundings are natural and organic. The presence of a lot of dirt, rocks, campfire ashes, and flying insects is crucial. And may I suggest consuming a bug once in a while, if you are lucky, a gnat looks like some ground pepper and you don't even notice the difference.

Begin your summer spa treatments with a good dirt bath. Really grind it in!

2. Sleep Deprivation

To properly appreciate a good night's sleep, you must be deprived of it once and a while. My recommendation is to find neighbors who like to blast Run DMC and Country Rock at 10:00 pm. It also helps if they have been drinking all day long to extend the enjoyment of listening to profanity, yelling and loud bodily functions. Disrespect and booze is a winning combination! Then, it's a must to wake up at 7:00 am to seek out another location to allow the relaxing to begin. A hammock is the perfect place to kick back and breath in the fresh mountain air.

Swinging in a hammock helps to take your cares away and is perfect for a good snuggle.

3. Aromatherapy

If mountain air tends be too fresh, it is good to inhale a healthy portion of campfire smoke once in a while. It makes the eyes water, resulting in the necessary removal of contact lenses. Coughing and hacking is bound to occur, as is the persistent aroma of burning juniper that permeates your clothing, hair and sleeping bags.

4. Hydrotherapy

It's no secret that water is important for our well being. After all, our bodies are made up of 70% water. A morning row in the canoe is good for the body and spirit. Build strong arm muscles while taking in the glory of God's creation. Next - and this is most important - drift lazily upon a glassy lake on a giant inflatable killer whale. Take in the views of Mt. McLaughlin, the dragonflies, and the many sunbathers who let their suits sag below the Equator (if you know what I mean!)

This charming couple (who look an awful lot like my in-laws) demonstrate proper canoing techniques.

There is no dignified way to ride an inflatable orca.

5. Skin Treatments

Why people like take a shower every day is beyond me. It's amazing how skin looks after days without a shower and the buildup of sweat, sunscreen and dirt. Scraping your knees on lava rocks and getting gravel down your pants is good for you - it called exfoliation. And don't forget to allow the oils to build up in your scalp, it keeps hair healthy and is the perfect husband repellent.

"What? And? Yeah I'm getting filthy ... it's my job!"

Blog Fodder

Not Exactly Motown

This Labor Day weekend we went to Detroit ... Lake that is! Detroit Lake, Oregon is where we go camping every year with my husband's extended family. I always look forward to this annual event because I love these people, they are all so full of character and have made me feel a part of their clan. I also have never had much of a relationship with my own aunt, uncle and cousin, so I can't help but enjoy being part of a big family.

Usually Detroit is a party lake and tends to get pretty loud between the biker conventions and large motor boats; this year it was unusually quiet. I couldn't quite figure out why until the weather changed and it was windy, cold, and yes ... rainy! It seems everyone else knew that the weather was going to be a bit crummy and went elsewhere. I am glad we have a tent trailer to escape to when it is wet, although the mattress wreaked havoc on my back muscles.

I enjoyed the trip but I am glad to be home. I am still trying to get the smell of campfire out of everything.

Here is my son (left) and his cousin wearing matching hats. It was in the 50s and 60s on this particular camping trip. Brrrrr!

Time Flies

My baby is starting preschool tomorrow - sniff, sniff. She is four and I knew this time was coming, but I can't help but feel emotional about the whole thing. I am amazed at how quickly time flew by and before I knew it she became this intelligent and beautiful young lady. Suddenly I feel old.


Sibling Mischief

My son is quite mischievious sometimes, but in a good natured way. He often will eat his dinner earlier than the rest of us so he is free to roam around while we sit at the table and eat. He loves to slither up underneath his sister's chair and tickle her feet. Then he tries to hide from her as he is giggling. I admit that I love to see my kids acting like typical siblings - he annoys her and she bosses him around. All is right with the world.


The Facebook Mentality

I have been on Facebook now for about a month. I have connnected with so many people and I love to see the photos that they post of their families and read up on what they are up to. I have realized, however, that many seem to want add you as a friend just to rack up the number of friends they have on their profile. They seem to like to nose around on your profile, but don't necessarily want to talk to you. I have mixed feelings about this mentality.

They Should Have Named it Bug Lake

A long exposure of the bugs swarming by Diamond Lake

We arrived at Diamond Lake at about 6:15 pm as it only takes us about 1 ½ hours to get there from where we live. The weather was perfect, the campground was quiet, and the lake was beautiful. Everything seemed to be going so well...then we got out of the car. Mosquitoes!! They were vicious and would attack with no conscience. It seems silly, but I was caught completely off guard by the blood sucking insects. We brought along bug repellent but I still went home with 18 bites on my body, they got me mostly on my shoulders through my shirt. There were pine beetles too, and though they don't hurt anyone, they are UGLY! One landed on my daughter's foot and I can still hear her screams.

Aside from the bugs we enjoyed the weekend camping with my husband's parents, or Boppa and Meemaw as my daughter calls them. The adjoining sites were spacious and ours was near the bathrooms – which is very handy with a four-year old. We ate great food and enjoyed chatting by the fire. That first night was a little rough sleeping in our trailer. There were no water or electrical hook-ups so we couldn't run the heater. We were up half the night trying to make sure the kids were warm enough and re-evaluate our sleeping arrangements. By the second night things went much better and we all stayed warm and slept well.

The next morning we thought it would be fun to take a walk on the path down by the lake. It was a great day for a walk but, uh oh, more bugs! There were swarms of tiny bugs, I don't know if they were midges or gnats, but their were millions of them and it made it impossible to see or breathe. So we wandered around the campground instead. After a light lunch and nap time we packed up and headed to the boat ramp and resort area. We rented a paddle boat and hung out by the water. I was amazed at how many people were there.

After we packed up on Sunday we headed over to Crater Lake, it was only ten miles away! There were no mosquitoes at that altitude thankfully, and we had lunch and wandered around the rim a little bit. All in all we had a great time, although you wouldn't know it by the expression on my daughter's face. It was like she was four going on 15 on this trip. Moody, whiny and emotional (as you can see from the photos below). At least my son appeared to enjoy it. I bought him some Hot Wheels and he loved to push the black Audi around and make car noises.

I'll give Diamond Lake 4 out of 5 stars. It loses points for no hook-ups, but it isn't it's fault there were so many bugs!

"I don't want to walk anymore Mom!"

"I don't want to go out on the boat!"

"No, I won't smile!"

"I don't want my picture taken!"

"Life is great! I love Crater Lake! Camping is fun!"

Adventures in Camping

I enjoy camping. Though I am not one for roughing it in a tent in the middle of nowhere, I do like staying at different campgrounds and heading down to the local swimming hole. Yesterday we just got back from a two-night stay at Willow Lake, Oregon, and there is much to tell.

It was our first time camping in our tent trailer since we bought it a couple of months ago. My daughter was so excited she could barely contain herself! It only takes an hour from where we live to get to the campground so it was still light when we got there. It didn't take too long to set things up, and we were sitting by the campfire in no time. There was a strange smell in the air that was a combination of smoke from the fires in Northern California, blazing campfires, and people cooking. It smelled oddly of what I can only describe as carnival food. Greasy and smokey, and not in a good way. But the weather was warm and pleasant.

Despite the beautiful weather and views of Mt. McLaughlin, we would be in for a rough night based on the rowdy crowd in the sites next to us and across the road. Parking wherever they wanted, our self-absorbed neighbors were blasting music from their nearby trucks. First it was heavy metal, then country, then reggae, all genres I don't particularly care for. Oh, and it got so much worse! They were drinking heavily, shouting, cursing and even thought it would be fun to have a bon fire in their campsite by throwing a pallet on the fire. Let me tell you, the flames were so high when they did that it was insane. Then there was the drunken domestic argument at 3:00 a.m. that lasted for an hour, complete with profanity. Due to all of the disturbances, we were allowed to move to another site, an upgrade with a view of the lake, free of charge. Then the fun was able to begin.

The trailer was great to sleep in. It was warm, off the ground, and there was plenty of room for the four of us. Our son loved it when we brought him to our bed in the morning. Cooking on the gas stove went wonderfully, and I even got to have my morning cappuccino! We went to the lake and the water was cold but tolerable. We rented a paddle boat, which our daughter LOVED, and our son enjoyed hanging out on the shore on a blanket.

Brrrr, the water is cold ... for Daddy!

What a great day for lounging around in shark shorts.

Captain Mama and her first mate.

This face says it all!

By the time we headed home we were filthy, tired and satisfied. Over all, it was a great trip!