Dreaming What Ifs...

Proof I CAN conquer fear....sort of

A long time ago, I posted 100 little things about me.  One of those things was I have a fear of fish.  Hmmmm....let me rephrase that:   I have a fear that fish will bite my toes.

Sounds silly - but I can't stand to have bare toes exposed in wild water.  Bathtubs and swimming pools are not an issue.  But, I know that lurking in the depths of the river below me, a fish is just waiting to come up and bite my toes while I swim lazily around in the water.

So, when we went boating on the Snake River in Eastern Washington this past weekend, I was forced to face my fear. (as I have had to do every single year of my life.)

And, I do what I always do:

 

DUH - keep my feet out of the water!

I was irritable, but now I'm better

When the temperature soared to 105°F (40.6°C), I pretty much decided to just sit and do absolutely nothing.  We don't have A.C.  Okay, we do have a little window unit in the family room that keeps the temp fairly mild in that room (83°F/28.3°C), but the rest of the house soared into that zone where you'd rather just sit on ice cubes or take a cold shower.

At bedtime, the Caboose was miserable.  His room felt like a sauna, even with the fan blowing full blast.  I tried to give him a cool bath but that just upset him.  When I applied a cold washcloth to his back he screamed "devil music" at me. 

I tried to bring him out to the family room where it was cooler, but his bedtime is so much earlier than everyone else, he was kept distracted from falling asleep.  And everyone knows what happens to a baby when they don't get enough sleep.  Add that attitude to the heat and the scene is not happy. 

All in all, I've been cranky for the past four days.  When the thermometer reads 90°F/32°C at 11am you just know the day is shot.  When people, with A.C., try to offer suggestions on how to cool your house down, my instinct is to lash out in fury.  But, I keep it all inside and just become crankier.

This morning ABC's Good Morning America showed the heat in Seattle, explaining how it NEVER gets this hot.  It is breaking records.  Well, folks - 300 miles South of Seattle is breaking records too and I'd rather have my old temperature of 85°F/29°C.

Today it is cooler.  We won't reach that 100 mark, which is an excellent thing.  By 11am I could tell the difference in the heat.  It didn't feel quite as intense. 

Maybe I'm a wimp.  I do not deal with heat.   I started thinking about all those people living in Arizona (Desert Songbird) and think they are certifiably crazy.  Of course, most people down there never feel the heat, all cocooned into their little A.C. world.  And then I started thinking about all those people living in Africa and the Middle East who have survived centuries of heat without cooling units.  How do they handle the heat?

I am definitely a wimp...but I think I like it that way.  That's why I live here in Western Oregon.  I only have to deal with the heat once in a blue moon.

Mail Call Sunday Post #10

      I've not received a lot of postcards over the past month - I suspect many of the senders are busy during the summer, so are lax in sending out their cards.  I won't be posting every Sunday unless the rate picks up again!

First, from Portugal, Ana wrote a beautiful little inscription:  Portugal, where the wide and blue seas has the mystery of colorful sails, boats laid down in the sun and fishermen weaving lines of wisdom.  And the sea yields up its tales of pirates, of trading and of invasions; the old military fortifications have withstood the beating of the tides and stand of a proud reminder of days when danger came from the sea.

Next, I received my very first postcard from Czechoslovakia.  This place has a special spot in our hearts - as Dave's grandfather, Joseph, came from there illegally at the turn of the century.

 

Birgit sends her greetings from a small village in Bavaria (Germany).  She says she really likes reading Stephen King novels.

This beautiful card arrived form Finland.  Marketta is a 20 year old studying pharmacy at the University of Kuopio.  She loves school but was sad to leave her 13 year old dog home with her parents.

And finally, Shelly, and her dog, Montauk, send this beautiful picture of our National Symbol from New York, where she is studying archaeology in grad school!

In the Know

After reading Kila's post, in which she takes her boys to play trampoline basketball, I decided I had to write a quick post. 

Because I don't want any of my readers to be as unknowing as I was until recently.

Sunday, we had a nice rainy downpour which gave Dave and me a chance to be lazy without guilt.  We sat at the television and channel surfed for anything of interest.  We both stared with amazement at the screen.  Were we seeing this correctly?

Trampoline Basketball - or better known as Slamball.  A completely walled in court, two baskets, about eight trampolines, and very few rules that we could determine.  There was some dribbling of the basketball, but not very much and mostly the guys all slammed in to each other (ah - the reason it is called Slamball).  

"Have you ever seen this before?"  Dave asked.

"Seen it?  I've never even heard of such a crazy sport."  I replied.

But, apparently it has been going for a while.  There are professional teams, commentators, and a fan following.  Once again, I've been out of touch.

And then it occurred to me.  They need a good slogan:   Slamball.  Now, White Men CAN Jump!   

STOP THE PRESSES

This news story just in......

The Caboose has taken his first steps!  

Grandma Pam, Grandpa WR, and cousins were here for a pit-stop on their drive from California to home.  We had all finished eating dinner when The Caboose stood up, gave everyone a smile, and then took two steps.  We cheered, and clapped our hands.  He thought that was great fun, so promptly sat down and clapped too.

We are now awaiting the next steps.

Back to your regularly scheduled blog reading....

The Tale of the Stinky Dog Couch

Dave owned this couch before we met.  He bought it for $100 from some friends.  It remained our main piece of furniture until we moved here five years ago.

At that time, we purchased a brand new couch (one of my requirements to moving) and stuck this old timer in the sunroom.  It was not our plan for it to become a dog couch, but Zeus and Zoe instantly assumed we had put it out there for them.

At first we tried to keep them off the couch.  Dogs are NOT allowed on the furniture!  They have dog beds and rugs for sleeping.  But, for some reason, they believed this couch was theirs. 

So, we quickly gave up and let them have the soft cushy sofa for their very own.  I tried to keep it clean and covered it with a sheet.  But, Zoe had a knack for twisting the sheet off and using it as more bedding for her own.  I tried to keep it vacuumed but quickly gave up as the hair kept multiplying and I got tired of dragging the vacuum out into the sunroom.

After a few years, we realized just how stinky and hairy the couch had become.  Dave pulled out the duct tape and completely covered the bottom (underneath the cushions) so the dog hair couldn't creep underneath. 

Last spring, after my mom completely ripped off the old urine-soaked batting from underneath I knew it was time for the sofa to disappear permanently.   The couch was removed to the garage. 

After a thorough cleaning (cushions machine washed, and the entire sofa steam-cleaned) I tried to Freecycle the couch.  I received one response.  She never showed up to claim it.  Summer started and we became busy with all our many projects. 

Last week I'd had enough.  I put an ad on Craigslist.  I put my nose to the sofa and didn't think it smelled too bad.  Really!!!  I sprayed Febreeze and we sat the sofa in the sunshine for a day.  Dog odor was barely noticeable.  I figured a couple of college guys wouldn't care - as long as they had a free couch.  And hey - it was still quite comfortable!

I received a glorious 6 responses for the couch.   The first guy was very excited.  He planned on coming after work.  By 8pm we knew he was a no-show.  He called the next morning apologizing and said he got held up at work.  He'd come at noon.

He never showed.

I called the next girl.  She was very excited and planned on arriving in an hour.  Two hours passed and Dave called her to find out why she hadn't arrived.  She had some lame excuse about not having a truck to borrow.

I called the next man on the list.  He was very excited and planned on arriving later in the day.  He never showed up.

At this point I got angry.  It was one thing to show up and decide they didn't want a stinky dog couch - but to not even show up at all?  HOW RUDE!!!

I called the next man on the list.  He was very excited.  He said he'd be at our house at 7pm to get the sofa.  I told him the couch would be in the driveway.  I had no nope.

Last night at 7:15pm I heard Zeus bark.  Then Zoe made some fuss.  Not wanting to believe it, I looked out the window....barely hopeful.  I watched, just in time, to see a white pick-up pulling away with our couch firmly sitting in the back.

And then - I felt REALLY guilty for giving my old stinky dog couch to someone.  I hope they can handle the smell.     

Busy Busy

This picture has NOTHING to do with my post.  The Caboose LOVES beets. They are probably one of the most messiest of foods after spaghetti and berries.

We are in the middle of summer projects:
1 - Painting the outside of the house (I'm hand-painting all the trim and it is taking forever, especially with a 13 month old).

2- Cleaning out the garage (I have tried to give away our old couch 3 times and each time the person failed to even show-up....how rude is that?  I would understand if they came and said they didn't want it after all, but to not even show up???  Blows my mind at the rudeness).

3 - Re-roofing the shed.  (I'm not involved with this project except to hand up shingles when needed.  For some reason it seems to be taking a really long time.  The neighbors are starting to talk).

4 - The annual garden.  (I'd like to say more about this and show off all my vegetables, but the deer think we have a free salad buffet.  They are horrible this year - eating more than ever before.  We are looking into possible ways to scare them off.  I told Dave he needs to camp outside with the kids for a week - sleep strategically between the garden and the deer's pathway).

5 - The ole Snip Snip!  (You didn't hear it from me - but Dave has the paperwork and is looking at his schedule.  It will be done by September!!!  I am more excited about this than anything else - except our trip to Hawaii in August).

And then there is the list of all the other stuff that constantly needs to be done - sweeping, dusting, dishes, laundry, diaper changing....it goes on and on and on.

Something Fishy on the 4th

We spent the 4th of July way up in Northern Washington (a few miles from the Canadian border) visiting my dad and step-mom.  They live in a small community, right on the Puget Sound, surrounded by the Lummi Indian Reservation.  All fireworks are legal....yes, L.E.G.A.L.  No holds barred.  It was a spectacular show, as almost every single neighbor let off a light show worthy of Disneyland. 

When we drove home on Sunday, I asked my two oldest what their favorite moment was over the weekend.  I figured they'd mention the fireworks or Grandpa's mini cannon (which is loud enough to shake a house and take my breath away).

"Fishing"  was their prompt answer.

 
Jammin' had already caught a crab and two of the bullheads.   As you can see from her expression, Buttercup was just as excited when a fish tugged on her line.

Those two couldn't be prouder.  They've already asked Dave to take them out again.  He's planning their next fishing event.

When I asked about the fireworks they quickly agreed those had been a favorite too.   But for some reason fishing sticks with a person. 

Big Girl Moment

I've been quite busy the past week working on projects galore.  (painting, Flat Peanut, cousin birthday parties, Mafia Wars, Scrabble games, and more - which I will blog about in due course).  But, we had ONE huge event that needs to be told:

The Training Wheels were Removed!

At 5-1/2 she was ready and it was past time.  Buttercup wants to keep up with her big brother.  Those training wheels hold her back.

It was a bit dicey at times....

It was a little hairy at times.....

But in the end - she was successful! 

Go Buttercup Go - there is nothing holding you back now.