Where were you when the lights went out!

Yesterday as usual I thought I had my afternoon all planned out but circumstances proved otherwise. At about 2:00 pm I was out in the garage doing some anticipated woodworking when my electric drill suddenly went quiet and all the lights turned off. At first I thought I had just blown a circuit breaker but a quick trip into the house proved otherwise. We had no electricity.
Shortly thereafter Laurie went into Jason's room with him as she unsuccessfully tried to coax him into taking a nap. Meanwhile Annalie and I played a game of "Chutes and Ladders" using the fading light coming through our front window to see. Afterword I decided to drive into town with Jason to see what I could see. My hope was that it was just a local outage that would be back on in less than an hour. I turned on the radio and discovered that this outage was much larger than just our neighborhood. All of Gold Beach and Brookings were without power. Eventually our local electricity coop located the problem to a sub station north of Gold Beach. Great news! Then the bad news. The problem was on the Bonneville Power side of the sub station and would require their own crew to be dispatched to make the repair and restore the power. By the time I heard that I knew that we had better start making some preparations before it got dark. We began to gather flashlights, candles, and lanterns. I retrieved our camp stove from the attic and set it up out in the garage. I also hauled 15 gals of water from the creek so we could flush toilets as needed. We ate some warmed up leftover soup with sandwiches for supper. Fortunately the house was warm since we had the pellet stove going for some time before the power went out. Later I took Annalie and Jason into town for another look at Gold Beach when the power is off. Except for the courthouse and the hospital it was mostly just a few windows with small lights flickering in them. I explained to Annalie why they needed auxillary power so they could continue to deal with emergencies should there be any.

Back at home we entertained ourselves with a game of "Hide 'n Seek" since a mostly dark house provided lots of hiding places. At about 9:00 pm we had the perfect excuse to call it a day. Sometime around 10:00 pm the power returned and must say I was glad to see it. Even so we made the best of things and made some good memories as well!!

Jason's New Bed

Hi,
As promised here are some pictures of my new bed as well as my recently remodeled bedroom. As you can see it's made out of logs which matches the rest of my furniture. Unforunately my dad couldn't build this one but I still like it just fine! I spend most of my time on top but if I want I can go below and with the help of some hanging sheets I can also have a dark fort below. Pretty cool!

I've got all my favorite blankets up here now and boy is it comfy. I'm already a pretty good sleeper but this makes it even more fun!

I've also got bear paw prints stenciled all around my room that makes an extra something for me to look at. Try as I might, I can't seem to peel them off of wall either!

Lastly I've had to learn how to get in and out of this thing but it's not too bad now since I've been practicing. I've only gotten stuck once but luckily mom decided to come check in on me and had me rescued in no time. Ahhhh I can hardly wait till bedtime!!

P.S. Don't worry about my red eyes. It's not that I haven't been sleeping. It's just the camera. I've got to get mom and dad to adjust that thing. Good night!

Christmas Lights in Brookings Azalea Park

Yesterday as promised mom and dad took Jason and I to see the Christmas lights in Brookings. I think it's becoming a tradition. Anyway I got to wear my new dress and sparkly shoes and boy did I get a lot of attention.

There were lots of pretty lights although our camera just didn't do them justice.

Dad forgot to smile in this picture but he really did have a good time too! One thing that I've never seen before that we saw last night was a "living statue" of two guys playing chess. If they got a donation they would both move robotically taking turns moving their chess pieces. Otherwise they were completely still and mean completely still. Boy was I surprised when they both got up and walked away to take a short break! Oh by the way the glasses I'm wearing were to refract the lights and make them look even more interesting.

Boy were we ever in for a surprise near the end of our light tour! We met and visited with a real celebrity who just happens to live in Brookings.
No it wasn't Santa! He was sitting inside a small chapel that was built inside Azalea Park in honor of his late wife.

His name is Elmo Williams. Who's that you ask? Let me tell what I learned. Toward the end of our conversation my dad mentioned that we were going to Disneyland next week. Mr Williams told us that he knew Walt Disney and was there the day the park opened back in 1955. He also told us that he designed the "Jungle Cruise" ride at Walt's request. But wait there's more! He was also film editor for several well known films including "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea". He is a very nice man and even at age 96 he held me up so that my dad could take both of our pictures. He won an Academy Award For Editing for his work on "High Noon". You can check out his other accomplishments by entering his name on google.com.

"You've Got A Friend In Me"

Guess it's hard not to be thankful when I look at pictures like these. Although this isn't an everyday occurrence it's wonderful to see our kids playing together and having a good time. Jason often does not know what to do with himself and consequently gets fussy because he's just simply bored. On this day though he and his sister were having fun on our indoor swing and smiles were abundant. It's times like these that give me hope for Jason that he's going to get much better as time progresses. On Thanksgiving Day I assembled a loft bed for him that also doubles as playground equipment for his bedroom. We try to provide things that will entertain him and so far this one has been a big hit! Stay tuned for a picture or two of this newest addition.

Sticks 'n Stones (but mostly sticks) "These are a few of my favorite things"

We've had many warm summer-like days this fall even into November. Earlier this week Laurie took Jason and Annalie to the beach to take advantage of the nice weather while it lasts. The following pictures show what Jason seems to be the most interested in right now (besides food).
Fortunately sticks are easy to come by at the beach so there's plenty of entertainment to be had. This one must smell particularly good! I'm sure he likes the salty flavor as well.
It's hard but occasionally we can get these 2 to hold still long enough for a group photo

Picking, Squeezing, Canning, Drinking

A couple of weeks ago we had the opportunity to get all of our apples harvested before the winds and rains knock them all off of the tree. With the help of my friend Mark and his cider press we produced some 50 quarts of cider. Everyone who's ever tasted it says its "very tasty" and I would have to agree.
After picking the next step is to quarter or half each apple depending on its size so it can fit into the food processor. This step helps to maximize how much juice we get out of the apples. In fact they are so juicy that the juice starts flowing freely from the press into our pail before even applying any pressure!
Anyway after coming out of the food processor the mulched apples are placed into the slatted bucket and the real squeezing begins. Now the amber colored liquid really starts running!
The next to the last step is to fire up the canners on the stove after the cider has been placed in quart size jars and lids have been applied. After being heated to the appropriate temperature the jars are carefully removed and allowed to cool. The final step is to come visit us so you can perform your own taste test!

Cruisin' Down The River On A Sunday Afternoon

The title sounds like and old song but that's exactly what we did this past weekend. The weather was beautiful although it was a bit on the warm side for mid September. First order of business after launching was to find a nearby gravel bar to eat our lunch. My friend Mark who owns the canoe also helped with Jason so that I could eat too!

Jason always rides in front and prefers to just sit on the bow where he can put his feet in the water or bang on the side. Annalie must have felt like she was missing out so she shared the small space for awhile as well. We did not see as many critters as the trip we took in the spring probably because of the heat. Never-the-less we saw deer, ducks, blue herons, otter, seals, and a number of salmon that were jumping clear out of the river. Unfortunately none managed to jump into our boat!

This was Annalie's second trip down the river...about 10 miles and 4 hours on the water. She spent most of her time facing backward except when I coaxed her to turn around for a quick picture.

We stopped briefly to take a closer look at some wild grapes growing along the riverbank. Many people pick these for jams or jelly.

The jet boat tours were also out in force which surprised me a little since we are well into September. Maybe the secret is finally out that some of our very best weather occurs this time of year!

Although his expression may not show it I know that this is an activity that Jason enjoys as much as I do so hopefully we can continue to make these excursions at least a couple of times a year.

This final picture was interesting to me just because it seems to combine the past with the present. The Indian camps are all gone and some million dollar homes now take their place instead. Fortunately the Rogue R. itself still continues to be a beautiful and fun source of recreation for us!