Merry Christmas

We are having clam chowder tonight, along with a nice assortment of cheese and crackers for our Christmas Eve supper. Later, we will have a competitive game of scrabble. Other than that, sleep perhaps perchance to dream of a "green" Christmas, like the ones we used to know. Oh, mud. Ah, rain. We miss you so....

Snow, anyone?

This just isn't going to stop, is it? It's snowing hard this morning and we got about 5" overnight...David is staying home today with me....he's been really good about shoveling a path for us to walk up and down our driveway (a guy from South Dakota has snow manners!). He's going to have to do it again today...

Monday morning update

Today's weather is something else - each day surpasses the last as weather excitement.

This morning we woke up to another 5" of snow on top of what we had last night. OHSU Ambulatory services closed the outpatient clinics last night and all of my clinics are closed except for one of my downtown clinics.

Then OHSU closed its administrative services except for essential personnel. I guess I'm essential, so I'm at work now. It wasn't easy to get here - walked 10 minutes to the MAX line in ice encrusted snow (in Roberta's pink boots! they're fantastic!) to find that the MAX line isn't running (because the switches are frozen). There is a shuttle bus and I got on that and rode to the Rose Quarter where I switched to a Red Line train to downtown where I switched to the Portland Streetcar. Rode that down to the Waterfront where OHSU has a tram. Got on the tram with 100 other people (100% full!) and off we went up in the snow clouds. There is so much ice on the tram line that as the tram moves the ice chips and cracks and explodes and is flying all over the outside of the tram cabin. Below is I-5 and Terwilliger on part of the route so can only imagine what the traffic below gets hit with. It took two hours to get here. The bad news is at some point I must reverse this journey and go home. I'm not looking forward to the tram ride down the hill.

....yet more snow

It's snowing again late this afternoon and we're expecting 2-7" of snow this evening. It's these little flakes of snow that are dense and coming hard.

But the dog hates it.....poor Fergie....I keep making her go outside to walk and do her business, and she just looks plaintively at me as if to say 'what in the heck are we doing out here?' I really am enjoying the snow...it never happens in Portland.

Where do People HAVE to be on Sunday AM?

I was out admiring the landscape this morning and suddenly heard people yelling - I look down towards Rosa Parks from my house and people in SUVs and pick-ups are crashing into each other and causing a ruckus, disrupting my previous observation about noiselessness. Sheesh.

Silver Thaw

This morning we have about 10 inches of snow with about a .5" layer of ice encrusted on the top of it. The tree limbs are bowed with ice on them; if it warms up we will have that silver thaw we used to talk about when we were kids. I don't hear that term used anymore...I wonder why???

We still have power - last night was so eerily quiet it made me think of Mom's essay on Noise - which she wrote once when her power went out during a winter storm. I'd say we're at Noise - 1. The power is still on, but the snow (and layer of ice on top of it) keeps people in their homes and muffles all other sounds of the city outside. I was up early this morning with dog, and it felt like I was the only person living on earth it was so quiet....

Roberta's Pink Boots Saved My Life!

Well, not yet, but I expect them to anytime now!

I have a fear (David says an "irrational fear") of being buried alive in this stuff....but I've been wearing Roberta's boots all week throughout this weather, and I'm here to tell you these boots are terrific.

Blizzard

This has been one heckuva week for weather on Omaha Street!

Today it is literally a blizzard....my back yard is so quaint looking!

I Little Slave

One of the greatest things about my job as Department Administrator at OHSU is that I have a fascinating faculty. They write books about their experiences and I am trying to read them all. It's a daunting reading list, but always interesting.

This week's read: "I Little Slave" a prison memoir from Communist Laos by Bounsang Khamkeo, a counselor at the Department's Intercultural Psychiatric Program.

"A haunting narrative of undaunted will"

"Raised in the hierarchical society of traditional Laos, Bounsang Khamkeo earned his doctorate in political scinece in France and returned home in 1973 to a country in political chaos in the wake of the Vietnam War. He worked for the government until 1981 before being imprisoned by the communist Pathet Lao government after running afoul of a politically ambitious boss. I Little Slave is the account of his seven year struggle in prison to stay alive and keep sane in spite of harsh physical privation and endless psychological abuse. Khamkeo's story is a moving and important one at a time when political oppression and crimes against human rights are on the rise throughout the world."

Ghosts

It is a well-known fact that there is a ghost at the Ranch. It's been there a long time. The ghost has been known to be annoying, but not necessarily unfriendly.

Recently, I received this message from my Mother:

Our resident ghost has taken up some new activities. I am wondering if it has anything to do with the political rhetoric spewing from every TV and radio in the country.

Let me recount some of “SHIMS” activities. For the last couple of weeks my alarm clock, which I have never ever used, goes off at around midnight. Most radios and TVs are quiet at that time so guess Shim wants to arise and is looking for a little peace and quiet. That went on for some time until two nights ago when I suddenly awakened at around 4:00 A.M. A lot of talk seemed to be going on somewhere in my vicinity. My thought was maybe Chesley had arisen early for some reason and was playing his radio. I tossed and turned for a while and finally got up, went to the window, and listened. Nobody talking out there. Next, I opened my bedroom door and listened. The talking was loud and clear downstairs. In my half-, nude condition I tiptoed down the stairs to find what was happening. In the kitchen, the radio was playing loud and clear. Looking around I could see no one so quickly turned the radio off and hurried back to bed. I could not sleep so when I got up for the day I checked the radio; the station broadcasting was the same station I listened to earlier in the day. You know I am inept at running the radio so am uneasy about changing stations.

Last night the same scenario occurred. I have examined my clock and my radio. Tampering of the clock seems to be the problem, as the alarm on/off button seems to be stuck to on. Since the radio is not a clock radio I have no idea how it turns on except to blame Shim. Maybe he/she gets lonely at night and wants to hear a little talk Looking forward to your next visit so you can experience the phenomena I put up with every night.

Old Datsun Pickups

I saw a completely refurbished Datsun pickup the other day; one of the old ones that are small, had round headlights. We had one when I was young and we used to ride around with Dad on the ranch doing chores.

What I remember about this pickup was that we (John and I) would ride with Dad around the ranch doing chores in this pickup. It was sized just right for John and I to get in and out of easily.

I think my Grandfather bought the pickup, but I have no idea what happened to it. (Anybody know? Want to add to this story?) Dad didn't like the pickup; possibly because it was Japanese-made and he was a WWII vet who fought against the Japanese. In those days, anything made in Japan was a joke; it was poorly made and would break down fast. (How times have changed!)

However, John and I loved that pickup. We would sneak away to the pickup because we knew that Dad would sometimes go to the story, buy candy and stash it in the glove box. We would sneak out to sit in it, turn on the radio (which worked without having the engine on!) and suck down those sickly sweet sugar-coated orange slices that Dad was so fond of.

Ahhhhh, now those are great memories....

Tomato Pie

Here's the recipe for Tomato Pie:

One pie shell (uncooked)

A bunch of tomatoes, chunked up.

Mix some fresh basil into the tomatoes and spread in the uncooked pie shell.

Mix up 1 cup grated cheddar cheese, 1 cup grated swiss cheese and 1 cup mayonnaise.

Spread it on top of the tomatoes.

Arrange some basil leaves around the top of the pie. Bake in a 350 degree (F) oven for about 45 minutes; the top will be all goldy, crispy and the pie crust should be nicely browned.

Let cool for a few minutes before cutting (it will be kind of runny). Then, share it with friends or you will get fat. Enjoy!

Mom's Book!

I just ordered my Mom's book off of amazon.com! And you can, too!

It's a memoir of her life and since I helped put it together, may I say a rather interesting tale?

I just love the cover....Order it here

Tomato Pie

I have tomato pie baking in the oven and it's ohhhhhhh......soooooo.......good-smelling! Is everyone making their own tomato pies at home with their scads of ripe tomatoes?

Oregon Loves Canada

I heard the sad news that our Canadian friend Tricia is being asked to leave the US for awhile, because she's been here "too much" according to the authorities. Well, pooey on them! We love having Tricia around. Why are our dear Canadian friend being asked to leave, while we seem to have a plethora of weirdos from the Middle East here who absolutely hate this country.

So, I have figured out a way to let Tricia stay here as much as she wants and, in return, provide Oregon with great rewards! Oregon secedes to Canada, becoming its next Province. How many Provinces of Canada are there now? I don't know. We gain a decent health care system and Tricia isn't a "foreigner" anymore.

We can call Oregon in the new Canada: Oregon B.C. We'll all take a trip to Ottawa to check out our new Nation's capital. We'll drink better beer. We'll start loving hockey. I've even designed our new flag:

Long Live Oregon B.C.!

Canning

So my plum tree outside my kitchen window has ripe fruit and I went out picking yesterday morning to do my annual jam test....for some reason I can't seem to make the right consistency of plum jam - it's either too stiff or too runny. This year I am determined to get it right.

I went looking for my boiling water canner, but then remembered what we used it for last winter. It has a pinhole in the bottom (probably from our misuse last winter) and is of no further use to us now.

So I splurged and bought myself a new canner! They're on sale these days, anyway at Fred Meyer's. I canned my first ever six pints of plums off my tree...I just did enough to test out my canner and make sure I was using it correctly. It worked!

We're Done!

Hi everyone - the deck and fence crew finished officially on Monday, but the trash and extra lumber is still outside waiting to be picked up. But the pictures tell the story - they did a great job. It's a much nicer back yard with more privacy for the pool. We love it!

If anybody is looking for a great fence/deck crew, this is the place to find them!

Storms over Portland

The weather has slowed down progress on our backyard project, somewhat. The pool is mostly finished, except for one leak in a hose that existed prior to the changing of the pool liner that will be fixed tomorrow.

The deck is going in now. It is a work of art.

Pool Guys

Since Tricia is so interested in the Pool Guys, I will share with you this little story.

There was a crew leader and two younger men installing the liner. The two younger men didn't have shirts on. One of them had a very dramatic tattoo down his side. I didn't have my glasses on and as I squinted at the artwork down his side, I thought it was a carrot. I said so.

There was a moment of silence and then the guys burst out laughing. "It's a Spear!" the young man protested loudly. The crew leader was laughing the hardest. "These boys are native Americans," he explained, "they get tattoos of warrior images on them."

Halfway Through

This weekend, the workmen are off, but lots has been accomplished in the first week.

The pool has a new liner and is filled again. Although the chemicals haven't been adjusted, the water is swirling and being filtered through the pump.

The deck folks have framed out the steps and garden box that we wanted done.

The Pool is Filling!

They're Working on the Pool!

OK - the pool guys have arrived and they've taken out the liner and are preparing to install the new liner. Here's the progress in pictures.

A Beautiful Fence

So, the first fence installment is done this evening - this is so beautiful. I'll just let you see the pictures.

Construction Day 2 - continued

Today has been a great day. And we're not done yet, but I wanted to show off the progress made. It doesn't look like much, but I am just so impressed by the craftsmanship of these workmen. They not only know how to build fences, they are really creative about it.

And hard working.

Today they took out this stump by hand, plus an old holly tree that was needing to go.

They filled in the holes these trees left and leveled the entire area.

They are busy rebuilding the fence sections between our house and Karen's this evening.

We tore down and rebuilt the shed on both the East and South sides today and I helped!

And now David (the workman) is putting corner pieces on the shed. I painted them both with house paint I had left over.

Well, back to work!

Construction Day Two

Today we are taking down the fence between us and Karen's house next door. Her dogs are penned up so we have to work fast to get the fence between us taken down and rebuilt.

As of 8:21 AM the fence is gone. They're grinding some stumps down of trees we had to remove and by this afternoon there should be a fence rebuilt here. Stay tuned...

The Deck and Fence are GONE

OK - now this is what my yard looks like without a deck and back fence.

Yes, it is a mess. But the die is cast and we are now in motion to make something beautiful!!