Knitting

The fall weather has really hit Oregon and what that means in Portland is rain. The rain has begun and with a few exceptions it will continue to rain until about June. That means for us Portlanders we spend a lot of time doing indoor activities. For me that activity is knitting, I have become an exceptional knitter during the past 10 years (or at least I think so).

Being a knitter for me, is all about the process and not actually the final product, which is why I don't really knit many things for myself. I tend to give away most of what I knit, which is a good thing that I have friends & coworkers with children. The past month I have knitted 3 dinosaur hats, a pumpkin hat, and a puppy dog.

This next month, I plan to finish up a toy dinosaur, a knit one or two pairs of socks. Stay tuned for more pictures.

Tiah

Busy Weekends

Weekends have been pretty busy for me this September.

Two weekends ago was the annual Race for the Cure in Portland, which is the largest race on the west coast. I could really tell, as I maneuvered through the crowed waterfront park with my friend. This was our 8th year, and our best time just a little over an hour for 5K's. Which might not sound fast, but when your trying to walk along with 40,000 other people your not usually too speedy. We had fun, came home with a bag full of goodies from local vendors, & raised money for a good cause, and best of all it did not start raining until we finished the race.

Last weekend, my parents visited to help me remove an ugly bush from my front yard. The bush removal was a success and we even managed to have some fun activities. Including a trip to the Portland Farmer's Market & several yummy restaurants.

This weekend I'm hoping for good weather, so I can finish more yard work before the fall rains begin again. I'm also going to try to attend the Annual Oregon Archives Crawl that the Oregon Historical Society is sponsoring.

Tiah

Fall is in the Air

The weather is changing here in Portland - the nights are cool the days are crisp and more often then not there is a continuous drizzle of moisture. So I try to take advantage of those dry & sunny days while they last. I'm trying to clear out the weeds that have managed to grow uncontrollably between the flowers & other plants in my yard.

On one such day, I was attempting to pull weeds in between the holly tree and the hedge separating my yard from my neighbors immaculate yard. And I ran across the largest spider I have ever seen. It totally spooked me & I was just positive that this was some sort of deadly tarantula & that I should probably contact animal control. So I very carefully left him undisturbed to grab my camera. I was able to get my picture & then I realized that the spider had not moved in quite some time. So very carefully with a very long stick I moved the branch that the spider was hiding under. What did I find....well my guess is that the neighbors grandchildren had been playing next to the hedge & left one of their toys.

Luckily I had not called the news station yet.

Tiah

End of Summer Birthdays

The end of summer always means birthday parties galore in our family. I have my birthday at the end of August as well as both my parents plus several family friends. So it always feels like there is another party to attend or be shopping for. Which can make for a really fun and laid back summer moving into fall. We have had several barbecue's and picnics to attend this year and for the most part the weather has held out, not being too hot or too chilly.

This week brings the first day of student teaching for KelliJean in Spokane, and at least here in Portland the first signs of fall crisp mornings, rainy afternoons, and the leaves are starting to change. Around the university buildings are being painted, new signs are being installed, and everyone is preparing for the students to come back in full force.

I hope everyone gets to savor the last few days of summer and are looking forward shorter days, falling leaves, and the smell of baking cookies.

Tiah

Softball World Series

Last week was the Little League Softball World Series, here in Portland at the Alpenrose Dairy Field. My friend Kristine & I volunteered for our 5th year has scorekeepers for the East Field. Normally this keeps us quite busy during the week, keeping score for around 10 games. However, this year we had only 4 games, due to a last minute scheduling change because the team from the Philippines was unable to attend. The coaches from the Philippines were not able to get their passports & VISA's approved & through the proper government channels in time.

So even though we had a small number of games we had a fun time and enjoyed meeting the girls & coaches from Poland, Porto Rico, Texas, New Jersey, & Canada. There was a sportscaster from Texas that gave an amazing play by play description of the Texas vs New Jersey game, which made the game more interesting.

Next year we are hoping to get to work with the folks from ESPN more.

Tiah

Blueberry Jam

This weekend I made my second attempt at making jam. This time I tried making freezer jam and it worked out so much better. I also used the food processor to mash the blueberries instead of trying to do it by hand, which I did with the first attempt, it made all difference.

I got a uniform purple color and a pretty jam-like texture. It was a perfect sugar to berry ratio to make a very good tasting jam. I ended up with 10 jars if any one would like some, just let me know. Thanks!

Tiah

Blueberry Picking

Blueberries, blueberries, and more blueberries.

This weekend I went blueberry picking with my friend Marcia & her 15 month old Mayson. Sunday after church we drove up to Mt. Hood to our favorite u-pick blueberry farm. We enjoyed the "ku-plink, ku plank, ku plunk" sound of the blueberries dropping into the tin pail just like Robert McCloskey's "Blueberries for Sal" Our timing was right in the middle of the season, so we had a good variety of large juicy, berries & small dark purple berries. Mayson ate as many berries as he picked and he was a good sport the entire trip.
We ended up with a little under 10 lbs of berries, which we split between us and giving a little to her father who very generously funded our adventure. The next task on our "summer 2010 to do" list is to learn to make jam.

Tiah