Oregon properties in need of some lovin'

It just won't be love from me, I am all tapped out! These are all north central rural (obviously) properties. Do you look at derelict properties and think....hmmmmm, I bet I could restore-rebuild-fix that? Thankfully, I am moving away from that thinking. It is too expensive.

You probably can't tell... but the porch has completely separated from the house.  A positive : this used to just be grey weathered siding, looks like someone painted!

We are not tobacco growers here in the Northwest, so I could not figure out
why this barn has so much ventilation.  Hops? Really volatile hay?

OK. Even by my standards this may be a bit too far gone
 (Oh, but think of the stories......)

The Oregon trip- Painted Hills Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds

I am back from my Oregon trip.  It was very helpful.  I was supposed to be figuring out if it was feasible for me to do consulting work in Oregon from my home in Washington.  I am not sure I answered that... but I had a blast.

Also, I found the most amazing re-use stores in Portland.  I felt like I was all starry-eyed and in Disneyland for old house owners. So many doors, reclaimed wood, detailed woodwork, everything.  Normal behavior for me nowadays - an employee gave me his cell phone number so I could call him personally with fir flooring dimensions and base molding lengths that I was looking for.  I am just going to roll with this stuff and call it spring fever. 

Honesty vs. Being a Nutjob.

A friend far away reads this blog.  She commented on my last few posts as being a little wacky, but very honest.  Well, yeah.  I am a little wacky and very honest, and she knows that.  There have been several directions  my life seems to be going, and I am still having issues with not controlling it.  I am so used to figuring everything out with my own skewed logic and brain power it is a challenge just letting things go.  I am not talking not mowing my lawn, not feeding my kids (although if you saw my house right now you would wonder about my letting go of keeping order.) But letting go of my future plans.  Understanding impermanence.  Basically all the crap I have heard about my whole life but made no sense.  Now, NOW, it makes sense.
This weekend I am 'getting away' to Oregon,  something I have not really needed since moving to this house.  The place I go is desolate and a special kind of beauty.  And whenever I go it just settles things.  Plus, my first dog's memory is on a mountaintop there.  And I have told everyone to cremate me and take me to the same place, which always seemed like a far off pie-in-the-sky time period.  It is not so pie-in-the-sky anymore.
While there I have a couple things to calm down about and figure out.  (Wait, did you not just hear me say I need to "let things go" and maybe "go with the flow"?) I am still workin' on that.
1. Someone asked me to watch their 6 month old.  This is not just any 6 month old, she is the greatest baby ever, and I am saying that when I have two kids which I thought were the greatest babies.  Infrequently, during the week.  My problem:  Being tied to my house.  Being tied to a baby, as deliriously joyful as she is.  And that whole caregiver role.  It is all I do. And babies take all your being.
2. I have a huge crush on my contractor.  I have not crushed since I was 19, and that man I married.  This man is just super outgoing, confident and quick minded which is a drug to me.  Well, that and coffee.  I know this will blow over and I will calm down but I feel like a nutjob.  Any tips? I feel too old for this.  My 17 year old should be doing this (not crushing on the contractor --  but being driven by hormones).  Sometimes I think men are more protective of a single female with her hands full.  I know my male neighbors keep an eye out and take care of random stuff without being asked (which makes me batshit crazy) . I have to remember the intent is not that they think I can't do it, but courteousness and being a good neighbor. Back to contractor: I also think he is looking for a great reference.  Like I said, it will all go away and blow over but right now it is a special kind of he** for me.
3.  I need to not avoid the medical field. That's it on that. 
4. I need to update my will and add a whole lot of end of life information.
5. I need to not be tempted to tell my daughter to go live with her dad when I am pissed. 

Oregon usually makes things very simple and clear.  That is what I need at the moment, clarity.

Getting geared up for college visits

My daughter is a bit of a ham. A smart ham, but a ham nonetheless. Univ. of Portland.

 Cricket at Oregon State. 

 Communing with the coyote sculpture at the Portland Art Museum.

 Our only officially led tour - Portland State University.  Rose was getting sick by this time so we cut out early. This was before she fell out of the chair when we were waiting for the chemistry dept. talk. She was fine, no one was there yet, but we both got the giggles.

Reed College.  Rose's favorite campus on this tour.

We spent the weekend touring Oregon's colleges.  Or more specifically, six on the west side of the state.  I didn't have much more stamina than that... having woke up Saturday morn with one whoppin' cold.  A friend asked :why drive down when you can do all the research online nowadays?  I explained... online will give you the physical details, attendance, location, price, student demographics, main focus and grant monies received.  Visiting will a) a very small, almost too quiet campus in a suburb of Portland (Lewis and Clark) b) everyone walking by you either swearing their heads off (Willamette) or smiling and saying "hi" (University of Portland) c) whether there are impromptu cricket games in the main square or informal study groups in the library on weekends (OSU), and what their libraries are like.   Rose and I were particularly drawn to these buildings... frequently the largest on campus, and a visible sign of what was/could be important to the school.  Rose would wander and check out the chemistry section and I would sit in the cushy chairs and try to breathe normally through my plugged nose.  Oh, and always grab the student produced newspapers.  These quick views we took were not an exhaustive viewing of any one college, but just to get the college hunt juices flowing.  Her cousins went to MIT and Stanford so she maybe is thinking a wee bit out of our price range.  We have a couple other states to visit, and at least a dozen schools.    

Portlandia

If you ever wanna know what it is like living in Seattle or Portland... here you go.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/205428/portlandia-i-dream-of-the-90s#s-p1-sr-i1

Gotta love it, this place can be over the top. I think my favorite part is when they go to the Portland restaurant and get the personal bio of the chicken they want to have for dinner. The "free-range on four wooded acres chicken" with attached photograph and name (Colin? something ridiculous... because lord knows we name our chickens well... Goldie for the gold colored one etc.) And then they get in their old Volvo wagon and go see where the chicken was raised to make sure it is all okay with them. Omigod. The funny part is that this is not a pie-in-the-sky scenario. It rings true for the NW. Wacky. Love it. (It should be noted we do also have normal people who shop at Safeway and just buy the damn plucked bird in the plastic bag without knowing the name...)
Image courtesy : http://www.ifc.com/portlandia/

Onward to Oregon

My favorite part of the freeway down to Oregon.... when you get to go 76 1/2 mph!
The green trim on the Mitchell Oregon Skyhook Motel. I sat in this chair typing on this computer when last here. When I look at these pics it actually somewhat cracks me up, since this wee little motel looks rather rough and unpolished. In my life it is the people that make anyplace worth visiting. And the owners of the Skyhook and the little town of Mitchell are straightforward small town people. I can do the fancy hotels, with the desk staff that could give a rip. But as I age, I will spend my money gladly at the small cafes, espresso stands, and hotels where the people do give a damn.













Interior, Skyhook. All those things are handmade on the wall. This is also a very clean little place with handmade quilts on the bed. The prior posting on this place talks of the history, of course, I am always a sucker for that.
This is a better place to visit Sept-April. The walls are fairly thin and you don't want any screamers next door. (to be fair, that only happened once in my 15 years of staying here... and mercifully for me, but probably not for his gal, the man was a quick shooter)

Oregon -

Oregon - ghost tales

Having uploaded all my pics finally from the trip, I will slather this blog liberally with them.

The first set is the ol' house the town of Mitchell hopes to (perhaps) turn into a museum. This house looks like it needs even more work than my house... and it is still for sale. If anyone buys it I will donate labor to help you fix it up!

The second is a pic I took on my evening walk of a building that is supposedly haunted. It is the thing way in the background. Not that I am believin' these stories but I was by myself, it was dark, and the building was off the main street, and Creeping Me Out. I had not heard these tales, but when I took the pic there was no cat near me (and it is front and center in the pic) We all know how terrifying cats can be.

Spring?

When I was driving back from Oregon it was 80. When I got to Seattle , it was 70'. Today it was 50's. When it was 70', I thought i was going to DIE. As if it was 101 in the shade. I couldn't think, couldn't work, just wanted to layabout with a cold ice cubed drink. How is that for being a true Washington mossback? That is why when it is sunny here in the northwest, even if it is 50's, we break out the shorts. (I am not that far gone, however, to wear shorts when it is below 65. You can all worry when I do. Hopefully I will be in a "home" of some sort at that time and you can just visit during the appropriate hours and remind me of your name)

Travel-Ory-Gun

Behind the scenes (scenery) tour of the Painted Hills Image Blue Shoe Farm Blog

The Mule and Draft Horse auction in Redmond, OR. They had some amazing wagons/carriages/surreys that went to auction for so cheap! Image Blue Shoe Farm Blog

My home away from home. Painted Hills Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds. Image Blue Shoe Farm Blog.

I love coming home from a trip. But I also wish I had another day in Oregon. Tomorrow all sorts of things were happening in my "second home town". Town meetings, offers of hikes in the backwoods of BLM property that people don't get to go....and on this trip I got two job offers out of the blue! Will post lots of pictures.

Technologically-oriented offspring

Pic-Shipwreck near Astoria, OR
So, we shall see how far this family gets on this blog. Considering I was informed I would be creating a blog about two hours ago, as I was trying to sleep. My daughter was throwing questions "what do you want your url to be" " what should your user name be" with the helpful contributions as I mumble answers... "that doesn't make sense" and here we are.
This is definitely the divide between the younger set, Rose (just rolled into teenager-hood) and Wilder, (elementary school) and the older set, me, (wickedly roaring toward a feisty menopause) of this family. This time consuming, impersonal, two-dimensional realm of computers and mass communication will be fascinating to try out. I am intrigued by the concept of my strange one-sided communications to a world that can remain anonymous.