ah-ha:

So i figured out why i couldn't load the other video... it was too big. on the positive side, Indy loves to dance to "Palabras" so much that i don't have to persuade him to get film, i just have to turn the song on. (i guess it isn't technically "film" anymore, hmmm)

For those who don't feel like reading on to other posts, the recap on this video is this: The trumpet player (Jake) in this band was the brother of my last long term relationship fellow... i spent 5 years living with Jake's brother. Anyhow, a few months back... maybe a year now, but i don't think so... Eric, which is another guy in the band, turned me on to the video that Greenhouse (that's the band) had made years ago. I have the CD, but had never seen the video. Once i played it, Indy was hooked. And of course i am raising a Beatle fan... so Indy's favorite part of the video is of the guys crossing the road... it's not Abbey road, but it IS a road.

He's a Ska Baby now!

If you have a free moment, Greenhouse's video can be found Here click on the little TV "watch" icon once you are on the page... and don't forget the sound.

Palabras

so i have been trying for two days to upload this cute video of Indy dancing to his current favorite dance tune... it wont upload for some odd reason, but you can see the actual music video to Palabras by clicking the link http://music.yahoo.com/ar-281583-videos--Greenhouse

it's Ska Baby!

deletion plus:

so i removed the last post because it seemed very whiny and almost self indulgently depressive. this is better:

We had SNOW falling on Christmas day! that was awesome!
I already have the house back in order... it looks better than before!
Chris liked his golf clubs.
Indiana was a good boy in mass... even his brother said so.

so, mostly positive last few days. it isn't always easy to keep a positive attitude this time of year, but i am trying!

Over Weight and Over Thirty:

for a few years now i have been "heavy". i don't mean the shut in my house, need to pull a wall down and use a crane to get me out, but "heavy". After having Indy i realized that my thin days were over. My teenage years were packed with size 6 jeans and a teenage girls insecurity about being fat. back then i never would have believed the pleasure i have today, as i fit comfortably into an 18 for the first time since before i had the baby (i bought two pairs of the new, smaller size yesterday). I tried on a pair of 16's, and although i could button them, i couldn't breathe afterwards. Last summer, at the height of my weight, i wore a size 24. So, i am still round, but not as round as i used to be and am committed to continuing to lose weight and be healthier for my sons.

The Spirit of Santa...

There is so much anger and debate over Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, Festivus, et al. i am sure i am missing someones holiday, leaving someone out, whatever...
Here's my bit.

Many of my readers may not know of our religious preference. We aren't hiding anything, but honestly, I never felt like it mattered enough to point out our basic Catholic-ness. We aren't particularly observant, and Indiana was never Christened. It bothers me a little that he wasn't, but it's not making me lose any sleep. We attend Mass on Christmas and again on Easter. God understands, at least mine does. I do not particularly care if my friends are Catholic, Jewish, Islam, Buddhist, Mormon, or Wicca (again, i left tons of religions, denominations, classifications etc out...not because i meant to hurt any ones feelers but because if i listed them all here i would need to buy a server of my own... i digress.) you can believe what you want... i do. The point? This post isn't about what religion, holiday, celebration or whatever is right and wrong.

This post is about Santa Claus. Not the person, the spirit.

To me: The spirit of Santa is donating a warm jacket to your local homeless shelter. The spirit of Santa is holding the door open at the mall for the young mother walking up behind you. The spirit of Santa is giving a new pair of comfortable shoes to the senior center. The spirit of Santa is letting someone out in traffic in front of you. The spirit of Santa is giving food or funding or your time to your local food bank. The spirit of Santa is sewing a quilt and giving it to your local children's agency. The spirit of Santa is purchasing the coffee of the man in the car behind you at the drive up coffee place. The spirit of Santa is smiling at the young fellow riding his bicycle past you as you walk down the sidewalk. Really. That's it.

Take the time to treat your fellow man, woman, and child kindly. Help them stay warm and fed over the winter, when times are hardest. If you cant bring your self to be charitable and helpful to another human being purely for the pleasure of being helpful, remember... One day it could be YOU standing in line at that food bank.

What time is it?

Christmas Time!

We received my other Christmas gift Saturday! (Some of you may recall that i got an electric fireplace with a pretty cherry wood mantle as the 1st gift)

Sadly, the new pretty clock is relegated to the back room for the duration of the festivities. There just isn't enough room in our front room with the big tree in there. We have a beautiful 8ft. noble fir taking up about half the room, so until after the holiday, here it sits. I look forward to rearranging the furniture come new year's eve!
(I have this minor compulsion that begs me to rearrange my furniture every few months so, i mean it when i say i'm excited about rearranging... and it's even better when i have new stuffies!)

Do you know the muffin man?

Indy's first gingerbread house was a complete success... there is even still some that Indy hasn't found a way to eat!

the holidays are upon us:

We have been off checking out the lights, shopping, putting up our own lights, hoisting the tree, wrapping gifts, and fretting over how much money that we do not have to spend this year. I think that means we are your average Christmas season family. go figure.

Paint!

We have been having a great time painting gifts for loved ones. Indy busily mixes colors, smears, wipes, walks through, rolls around in and generally has a great time flinging paint all over the paper (and the floor and the cabinets and himself)!



The finished product:

The First Holiday Picture of the Season:

Duck and Barbossa pose for me before the new fireplace.

So far this is my favorite holiday picture this year.

(edit: the boy doesn't like the way i spell his dog's name... so i fixed the spelling to his way, now it wont clear the spell checker. sigh.)

38-31 in 2ots

Ducks lose.

For the first time in more than 10 years the Beavs have managed to win at Autzen. sigh.

Civil War '07 :

Ducks vs Beavs

Autzen Stadium

kickoff: 130pm PST

GO DUCKS!

Farewell to a Dare-Devil:

Evel Knievel passed away today.
He was 69.

I grew up watching him do incredible-scary-dangerous-exciting-amazing things on motorcycles. A real "person type" super hero. Sure, some of the things he attempted were just down right crazy, but how often does a fairly wholesome type fellow (hes no saint, don't get me wrong) captivate our jaded nation?


On to a couple of other things:
Congratulations to the State of South Dakota... You are ranked last in the Mental Health Survey of which state is Most Depressed. (probably because i don't live there, hmmmm)
and
WoooHooo, here comes the weather! The weather-guesser type on the news says SNOW SNOW SNOW down here on the Valley Floor tomorrow! Tomorrow is the Civil War football game (Oregon State University at University of Oregon) ... Autzen stadium is a nice bowl shaped venue... no dome on it. SNOW should make it more interesting. Also, for the Oregon Coast this weekend... sustained winds of 50mph-ish and gusts up to 100-ish! 40 foot ocean swells are expected. This would be an awesome weekend to be in a hotel on the beach!

insert catchy title here -->

A bit of beauty to lighten the day.

Indy, as always when he gets a cold, has developed a couple of brilliant ear infections. So, he is definitely not up to par. It is sort of cute though: when asked to do something, he responds with, "but i don't feel very good right now". Poor kid. Anyways, antibiotics for 5 days; doctor's orders.

and the band played on:

Actually, we have had a nice week. We enjoyed a wonderful thanksgiving with our extended family, we got some shopping done on Black Friday, and I got some of our Christmas-y decorations put up! Sure, Indy has a slight cold, but its winter and those things happen.

Last but not least, i will admit the picture has a little bit of "fuzz" to it, but my Lumix camera is so EASY to use that a two year old can do it... and he has in fact done so:

Yeah, that's me... Indy's favorite subject: "mama mama mama mama mama" until I am crazy, hehe. He is definitely my little "mama's boy".

The Dance (part 2):

I have a huge thank you going to Dee Jay for teaching me how to get my teenage son to dance with me. Teenagers can be prickly, but this tip is fool-proof (and fun)!
So, Go Ahead... check out the post below to see "the dance".

Dancing with the Duck:

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!now that wasnt so bad, was it!?!

Get Well Soon!

My Dad hasn't been feeling well for a while now. So, between his doctors visits, he found time to visit with Indy and receive the "get-well-soon-grandpa" card that Indy made for him. The card was very colorful, and while delivering it, Indy chewed a corner off... But, we are hoping the crayon bright card will help Grandpa's road to recovery be a rapid one!


We all hope you feel better soon, Donnie!

thus, the Dyson boy:

Indiana enjoys helping around the house!

Now i KNOW this phase wont last long,

if the teenager is any model.

So, i am taking advantage of it while i can.

We even give him an allowance.

you like me; you really like me!

A very special thank you is going out to Sleeping Mommy for creating this very special award!

Last week, after reading her post on why she had won this very prestigious award (which we can award to ourselves), I decided to share with her my reason for receiving the BM award. Now, I have decided to share it with you all:

Sailor Mouth:

All of our children at one time or another deign to use potty mouth. Our way of handling this phenomena at this time is to ignore it so he doesn't think it is a big deal and moves on. Sometimes it is hard to keep a straight face.

A few weeks ago, as Indiana and I were climbing the stairs, heading for bead, when a large BANG sounded from somewhere below us. Indy, startled, jumped, turned to me and said:

"What the Hell was that!?!"

It gets worse.

Lazy arse that i am, i asked the two year old to get me a soft drink from the refrigerator. Indy dutifully takes off to the kitchen where he retrieves the Coke, slams the fridge with a bang, and returns to the living room where i am. He hands me the can of icy cool refreshment and says to me:

"Here's your Damn soda!"

There are several such incidents, but those two are the funniest. Like I said, sometimes its hard to keep a straight face. So, thank you, I will take my bows now. #1 BM, and well deserved! You Like me; You really like me!

you call that wind!?!

well, we shut the computer off for nothing. The wind blew a little, a lot of leaves fell, and a few of the neighbors have yet to recover their trash cans from down the block, but honestly... that was it. not as exciting as i was expecting. So, we put the candles away, and the flashlights. The extra blankets are all repacked into the trunk. Maybe next time!

Winds a Blowin'

A nice early-winter wind storm is on its way. (For those unfamiliar with our location.. we are between Salem and Eugene in the Mid-Willamette Valley on Interstate 5) Currently sustained winds here are about 30+ miles per hour. The news type folks are warning of higher winds to come.

This is not Indiana's first wind storm, but this is the first he has been able to enjoy so thoroughly. He is chattering at the leaves as they fly past the window, and giggling at the neighbor's unsecured trash cans and recycling bins as they sail along the back parking area. So, as the wind howls outside our windows, the leaves are blowing, the trees swaying, and the power lines are rollicking precariously. With higher winds expected later in the day, we are shutting down the computer and unessential power using items and battening down for the storm to come.

We pray the only damage from today's wind is a few dented garbage cans.

sketches:

my mother is very talented. perhaps i have mentioned it before. She can paint, draw, sew, and do any number of crafty type things. She is brilliant with color. A few of you have seen her garden, and her photography... she used to blog fairly regularly.

I have a beautiful oil painting (done by my mother) of Harry Truman and the beginning of the eruption of Mt St Helen's hanging in a place of honor in my home (we were in Kelso, Washington for the eruption and recovery so the Mountain is special to me) . I have a few other of her things as well, hung here and there. I have always been exceedingly proud of her talent.

Anyways, she asked me a few days ago, if i would like something from the heart for the holiday this year: sketches of my sons. She warned that she hadn't picked up a pencil in years. I agreed that i wanted pictures so fast and with such delight, she seemed surprised.

SO, yesterday she calls me up on the telephone and says "hey, check your email, they aren't finished yet, but i wanted your opinion"...
my opinion?!? it was hard for me to give it, with the tears in my eyes... "those are my boys mom, thank you".

fun with photoshop!

nothing to say,

just wanted to share this picture.

bleh:

i wanted to post some cute picture of Indy, with a witty bit of commentary to go with it; I am not going to do so because i left the camera in the truck, thus i don't have a good new picture, and i am not really feeling very witty anyway.

How's that for a run on sentence.

signs, signs, everywhere signs:

Across the street from our home is a city park.

In said city park is this sign.

Considerate Citizens Pick Up After Their Pets

In Albany It's The Law!

This sign says to me that everywhere else in the world kind people are removing doggie surprises left behind by their pets... but here, in our lovely town we, as people, suck so bad we had to make pet doodle removal a law or we would be overrun by Ca-Ca.

I have been ruminating over this sign for several months as we sit on the porch, the sign, in its full glory standing proudly in our view.(there are friends there with me... real friends... not like talking to myself, taking medication, visiting a hospital type we)

So... what do you think? In Albany, it's the LAW!

take 2: Halloween!

i was all finished writing this Halloween post and was just rearranging the pictures when Internet Explorer had an error and had to close! sigh. here we go again: (i like the above picture because Macy looks like a spirit in the mirror, since she is missing from one view and not the other)

"Boo!" or "Peek-A-Boo!"

So, Here is our own little stinker! Our little skunk is finally old enough to go out and ENJOY Halloween. He has gone out the last few years, but nothing like this year as he smiled and said trick-or-treat! He was alternately bashful and gleeful. I am so glad that Duck asked me to go along.

Duck actually "blew-off" a party with his peers to take his little brother out on the town. What a great brother! Duck even put Indy up on his shoulders when Indy got tired, walking in the neighborhood. Indy nearly fell asleep with his head pillowed atop his brothers!

At any rate, we had a fantastic night and sincerely hope that all of you, ghosts and goblins, big or small, young or old, had an excellent scary night!

DragonFlight:

i take good pictures and send them to my mother.

She makes my pictures great (with photo shop) and sends them back.

i liked this one:

Halloween is tomorrow.

What are you going to dress up as?

What do you think Indy is going to be?

(hint: Indy is not a dinosaur or dragon this year)

keeping our room clean:

I rearranged the furniture in Indiana's room for the winter. The heater was behind his bed and needed to be accessible now that we are having some cold nights. The new position of the bed was directly under the big toy hammock. Indy pulled said hammock off the wall and now there is a pile that is a few feet deep of stuffed toys.
The local FD and PD used to take "stuffies" like these and hand them out to children in scary type situations. They seem to only want brand new ones now, so perhaps the homeless shelter?

Do you have any ideas who might want a few dozen gently used stuffed animals??

Captain Morgan:

Drink Rum: It boosts morale AND fights scurvy!

Actually, in case you cant tell because of the way it is lit, this is Brother Duck, ready for Halloween. I think he looks like an advertisement for Captain Morgan's lovely Spiced Rum. If he wasn't only 15 i would probably send it in!

For the record: he didn't drink any, and he was upset because the bottle came out of the freezer and it was cold, but i made him hold it for the photo.

doors.

A week or so ago i was visiting my blog-friend Carmi ...he had an interesting picture (and post) about doors.

Thus inspired, I caught Indiana enjoying the back door. It seems that the fascination for doors just might be lifelong... opening up new horizons of adventure and joy.

to visit Carmi's door post Click Here

Paint!

One of the great things about art is that it can be nearly anything, nearly anywhere. Young Picasso here, err rather, Indiana, loves sidewalk chalk and sidewalk paint. I prefer the paint to the chalk. The feel of the paint squishing through my fingers makes me feel happy.

Now, i have no talent at painting or art or crafts either for that matter. My mother is this fantastic oil painting, charcoal drawing, pencil sketching seiously artistic talent; She can sew, she can do crafts, she is brilliant. I think maybe it has skipped me and gone straight to Indiana. He can always be found drawing on something that he isn't supposed to be drawing on (like the wall!) We actually have dry-erase pens on the fridge so Indy can draw on it whenever he wants!


Oh, and as a side note to those who read the previous post... i took about 20 pictures of the new davenports and dint like any of them so i will try again tomorrow.

Free Lunch?

So, I got new sofa's again today. I have a motto... "there is no such thing as too much furniture". Actually, i replaced the Victorian set that we bought back in March with this new set. We had about a zillion payments left on that set (we leased it) and this wonderful new set i got for free.

I realized something odd as i was writing this... I started this blog as Indiana was born. Looking back in the two and a half years i have been writing this is my 4Th set of sofa's! (all well photographically docummented on this blog) I wonder if i have a "problem"!?!

So, anyways, the picture here is of my mom's blind cat, Braille, looking for his lunch at the bird bath. Apparently he too, prefers the free sofa; err i mean lunch.

donald duck

We do not know what we will be for Halloween yet. We were thinking about Caesar. We were thinking about doing the dinosaur again. We were thinking about Spiderman. We were thinking about Donald Duck.

Too many choices.

we yet live!

I assure you, although i have been somewhat indifferent lately about getting posts done, we are still very much alive and doing well.

Lately:

Indy has recovered from his first ear infection of the year.

I have been back and forth to the dentist, with yet another visit coming up in a week.

Chris has been working hard, mandatory overtime.

Duck is busy with school, working on projects and busily learning to drive all over the place.

So, anyways... i give myself this disapproving look:

(look courtesy of John)

I promise to post more soon... maybe.

Autumn and a personal bit:

Fall is coming on hard and heavy in our valley.
The temperatures have plummeted.
Rain is in the air every day.
Beauty is in the clouds of silver and grey.
Peace is in the leaves of green, red, gold and brown.

I have had a lot on my mind in the last few weeks and am finally feeling better for talking with my mom. Now, normally, i try to keep this stuff to myself, but recently i had been sharing with a close friend and kind of got into the habit of talking again. I had forgotten what a help it is, a relief really, to be able to just talk about what ails you and still feel loved. Sometimes a strong person (or one who struggles to be strong) forgets that its OK to share her burden. Needing a sympathetic ear isn't a weakness. It humanity. It wasn't lowering at all, to share my concerns, it was liberating. I still am under a great deal of stress and still have a lot going on in my mind, but now i don't feel alone. Thanks mom, I needed that a lot.

tour stop x2:

the last two stops on the whirlwind tour included the Oregon Zoo (formerly the Washington Park Zoo, but the management, in their wisdom, figured folks wouldn't know the Washington Park Zoo was located in Oregon not Washington and changed its name) and also the Multnomah Falls. The zoo was fun, but honestly, how many pictures of the zoo do you really want to see when the falls are much much grander?

So, the Falls are located in the Beautiful Columbia River George in the northernmost section of the state:

This particular view of the gorge was captured at a little old rest stop (by old i mean the place was built in 1919) along the scenic highway called the Vista House. If you ever get the chance, don't miss it!

The falls themselves are enormous. This is the full view (mostly)... upper falls (above the bridge)...lower falls (below the bridge)...

looking straight down from the foot bridge at the lower falls...

So, actually the visit went very well and i think over all we showed Oregon off quite nicely. We have been busy with "family doings" in the last week... Indy had an ear infection and Duck had a birthday and the husband has mandatory overtime for a while and my best friend suddenly has a girlfriend and doesn't seem to have time for us anymore and Indy is playing at an indoor toddler co-op play group thing now and loving it and oh we try to stay busy...

see ya again soon.

Breaking News:

please read on to the next post for the continuation

of our "State of Oregon" whirlwind tour

-thanks

Brother Duck has received his State of Oregon Provisional Learners Permit. Any of who may live in the mid-Willamette valley in Oregon are encouraged to stay in your homes and off of the highways, byways, streets and sidewalks... the oldest boy is driving!

gratz Duck, we love you and (as always) are very proud!

Woot!!

3rd stop: Central Oregon Coast!

What is it about the beach that demands writing? Is it our desire to place our mark upon a landscape (errr oceanscape) that makes us feel so small? The desire to be contected to the vastness perhaps? Indiana has put his own mark on the beach. It shall wash away in the neaver ending surf, or perhaps be blown and dusted away by Oregon's capricious Pacific wind... but never fear, next time, Indy will make his mark again. Random bits of beauty from the Newport, Beverly Beach, and Cape Foulweather areas:Oregon is beautiful, no doubt. The diversity of just a few hours drive is amazing. From high desert plateaus to the vastness of the pacific; from the extreme heights of the cascades, to the fertile Willamette Valley, the multicultural delights of a thriving metropolis (Portland) and the rural appeal of small hamlets nestled in the midst of spraling farmland or cradled in foothills, Oregon has it all.

2 more stops on our two coming up!

On a different note... I love dandelions picked and presented by my handsome mister.

2nd stop: Crater Lake

So, the itinerary went like this (and we thought this was a good idea for a toddler...) :

1)Leave our home at 10 am. Drive an hour to Foster Lake/Reservoir. Take a few pictures like this one:2) Dive on another near hour and stop at a pull out along Hwy. 20 at a small wayside and Pier to take a few more pictures. Like this one:3) Drive SEVERAL more hours into eastern Oregon turning from Hwy. 20 to Hwy 97 and following it south through several very small towns. Arrive in the "lava and pumice fields". Take yet more pictures, like this one:(note how life finds a way even in this harsh and unforgiving yet thoroughly beautiful landscape)4) make our way to the Oregon's own National Park. Crater Lake.A brief history lesson will tell you that once a long time ago (when my dear blog friendHoss was a young lad in leading strings... OK maybe not THAT long ago) a very very large volcano name Mount Mazama exploded, leaving a heck of a mess and a 2 thousand foot deep crater, which filled in with glacier melt, rain water and assorted other moisture to become the deepest freshwater lake in the nation. It is now an amazing national park that attracts visitors from all over the world who go there to see natural beauty, and of course freeze our "bums" off:(incidentally... after that trip i wish the temperature gauge in the truck was less accurate... i didn't need to know how bloody cold i was) On the positive side, the Florida boy whom we were escorting around on this whirlwind tour got to see his first snow. There was a very small amount on the ground and it did "spit at us" a bit as well.Oh, and of course, here's a bit of the lake and the famous Wizard Island. Wizard Island is actually the "cinder cone" of the old volcano.

5) Drive our freezing cold behinds out of there via the longest route home possible without backtracking. We found a place where we once again pulled off, parked and explored. I think it was called Clear Water Falls. Should have been called COLD water falls. We got a few more pictures including these (one from the top; one from the bottom):6) On the road again for several more hours, traversing some even-numbered hi-way (even s go east/west odds go north/south) out to beautiful downtown Roseburg where we caught 1-5 Northbound for two more hours home.

Fortunately, the windshield wasn't to filthy and i was able to shoot this out the front window of the truck as the sun set over the middle of nowhere:We arrived back home around 1130PM. Indiana wasn't as happy arriving as he was leaving. But of course, he and his daddy had a great day. (as did I and the Florida boy)(you didn't think i would have a post this long without a good shot of Indiana, now did you!?!)

for more information about the Lake check out Crater Lake there are other great resources out there, too! It is interesting and beautiful and although we spent 13 hours in the truck with the car sick toddler, it was worth it. Oh and i will admit of one last mommy bit... Indy made the entire trip without an "accident", telling us when he had to "go" and "holding it" until we got to a restroom! way to go Indy!