Gone a little nuts . . .

I'm going to have to run back to Habitat for more junk wood as I am running low after my creative binge. If you have any ideas for signs, let me know - the first 5 people that respond to this request with a unique idea will be rewarded with a handpainted sign (of your choice).

This is a knock-off from a PB item that I loved. I was cutting this out this morning while the kids were sleeping on the deck. A sleepy Sten came inquiring about the full service wood shop in the basement and wished to file a noise pollution complaint.

Big Wheels keep on Rolling . . .

The garbage truck caravan has crossed the border into New Mexico! Scott fails to see why this state is thusly named "Land of Enchantment". What can possibly be enchanting about a dry, hot, flat, rock and sagebrush filled desert?

The girls are not used to Scott being away from home in the evenings and they are finding these few days agonizing. Maren cannot understand WHY he has to be gone! I don't know how she has had time to notice with her full social schedule. Little Miss Friendly is invited to another birthday party today . . .

Johnson Laboratory

The girls were invited to this "mad scientist" birthday party today. They were greeted by fellow party-goers in white coats, gloves, safety goggles and crazy teeth. The Johnson and Johnson lab was staffed with former teachers and it felt a bit like summer camp. Hmmm, I think I'll drop them off tomorrow at the same time and see what the activities will be?!

Birthday Boy (minus a few chompers) admiring his gooey blue worm

What a crew!

Mrs. J had everything meticulously organized and they conducted several experiments.

Cake (made of cupcakes) that looked like a bubbling beaker

U-G-L-Y

I may be fired soon from my occasional "parts runner" assignment as I tend to get distracted. This U-G-L-Y headboard was also a freebie at Habitat (in LaPine) and was a quick stop (honest). I contemplated what to do with this beauty all the way home and with the coming surge of Country fans to our area due to this, I decided a Western style would be good . . .


Another product promotion - I think this stuff is made for women who are tired of waiting for their husbands to help them attempting to complete projects on their own. I used it to attach the barn boards to the headboard - but I'm pretty sure I could build a house with it.

Saved from the kindling pile, for now.

We grabbed a bunch of old wood off Craigslist, and I am trying to use up every lineal foot with hand lettered signs. I have many that are duds, but this one turned out cute.

Log'n some Miles

This morning, Scott and Eric (our business partner) headed to New Mexico in garbage trucks. This is not their preferred method of travel, but our trucks are rented for several months in Albuquerque. Road trips are great, but 1375 miles in a trash truck does not make for a giddy ride.

Painting the world RED

This ugly little chair has a twin and I passed them by at Habitat for Humanity. When I walked by them again, they called to me - begging to be released from their two-tone paint job and hideous seat cushions. I succumbed mostly due to their timeless design, sturdiness, and dirt cheap price tag ($2.00).


Magic in a can (this is my favorite brand - great coverage and easy to use). Armed with a can of spray paint, I began the transformation.

Who could resist this adorable sitter?

I always scavenge in the "free" bin at Habitat for Humanity, and this little wooden drawer was waiting to be repurposed. A quick coat of Colonial Red, and it is ready for it's next life in high style.

Elephant Ears, Pigs, and Face Paint . . .

"Patriotic Pearl"

These fair - goers found a talented face painter. I've never seen such an impressive job - almost a shame to wash it off

"Flutterby Fibi"

On the way Home . . .

I like taking the backroads. Tonight I was alone, enjoying the scenery down a favorite country lane and stopped once to snap a photo - this led to another stop and yet another. Because I didn't have impatient passengers, I was not concerned that a 30 minute drive stretched into 90 minutes.

Off in the distance is the tallest peak in the Oregon Coast Range, Mary's Peak. After living within an arm's reach of Pikes Peak at over 14,000 ft - poor little Mary is not too impressive at 4097 ft, but she looked pretty tonight as the sun was setting.

Something about that John Deere green makes a girl's heart go "pitter patter".

Good Morning Sunshine

Summertime means sleeping on the deck around here - and I think Danner enjoys it most of all. Can't you just smell the bad breath?

Celebration!

July 11th is Sten and Maren's birthday - we're considering changing Milah's birthday to the same date and we'd have them all done at once. We ran to a park this evening and a few special people joined us. Maren is 7 and Sten is (eek) 15. This means that we will soon be headed through the doors at the DMV and soon after, Sten will need large amounts of duct tape to keep his mother quiet in the seat beside him.

Extremely fancy cake with delicately and creatively arranged candles

Enthusiastic partygoers, and an awesome shot of "the goat". Scott seems to have a follicle adventure of some proportion every few years - this time it's the facial hair. I think he's headed for some plaiting and beads, but I'm not real certain - stay tuned . . .

Reese and Carsten "towing" Milah

Mike and Rhonda

Community Service

This project began with a phone call from a friend requesting some help with a stage design. The theme was "Down on the Farm" and what better place to start but a barn . . .

John and Scott scratching their heads and wishing I would keep my "bright idea" moments to a little smaller scale. After the frame was fastened together, we then stretched drop cloth over the frame and painted it.

Western Style building


Ain't she adorable?

I grabbed a few farm things that were laying around, "borrowed" the cow for the week from someone's yard (who thought I was crazy), and of course used a few fresh bales of hay (do you think they taste better than the old stuff?) I think it turned out perfect, but I'm not too sure that I'll volunteer for this again. I did not paint the doors or loft on the barn - a girl that is an amazing artist helped me out - I think I'll be calling her again.

Hey there, more Hay

The bad thing about hay is it just doesn't jump on the trailer and stack itself in the barn - therefore we must recruit more hay boys. This is not our barn - but one of the coolest ones around for sure.

We even have some hay girls - Susie is head operations and transportation coordinator. Milah is "turn the bale over so the hay boys can grab it easier" girl.

Skins -n- Shirts (and one blown out pair of pants)

Independence Day

Tailgate party for the 4th. Pretzels, m&ms, pistachios, and iced tea hot cocoa. It wasn't too warm this evening - we were huddled in blankets for the fireworks show. Johnsons "supplemented" the Oregon fireworks with some crowd pleasers from South Carolina.

Head Pyro

Pyro in training

Satisfied spectators

Pay to Play

While we were having fun at the lake, Sherman raked the fields and they were ready to be baled. We beat the rain and everything ran (almost) perfectly.

Oops, we've got a problem - service truck to the rescue

When Sten was learning to talk, he couldn't say the /f/ sound when it was at the beginning of a word. One of his favorite activities was "sixing" things. So here he is "sixing" the chain on the baler (for the 4th time - grrrh).

Camping

Once upon a time, three little boys sat in first grade together. . . about 6th grade, an adorable blond girl joined their class and one of the boys fell madly in love. Flash forward a few years, and they still enjoy each other. Much of the time we are entertained by stories that Mr. Speedo Senef recounts and, as always, it is amazing to see how much the kids have grown. In all, we consumed a lot of food, used up every stick of wood, (some even jumped off bridges) and we shared more than a few laughs.

A few kids were missing, as Brad and Kathy came alone.

Skipper, Toby
Tyler

Sten

Josh

and everyone shared a few spills

Katie gets the award for enthusiasm and determination

Susie, on the "all nighter"

Brad and Maren. Maren was in her element as there were many laps to sit on and people to snuggle with -

Maren seemed to really cozy with Tyler (who had poison oak), so we'll see if he rubbed off on her.

Buddies, Mitchell and Milah