Five Simple Things (August 21)

Hello.

This week has been a doozy of a week. We have had horrible winds and lightning storms and along with that an outbreak of a lot of random fires. Eight, including the one last week, to be exact. There's the Frog Fire, Green Ridge Fire, Indian Creek Fire, P-515 Fire, Lionshead Fire, Beachie Creek Fire, White River Fire, and the Laurel Fire. The two I am most concerned about are the Lionshead and Beachie Creek fires. They are closer to us than the others and causing a lot of issues lately for wildland firefighters. I hope they are able to get them contained before too long. Most of these fires were started by lightning or downed powerlines. The storms we've had here lately are not normal. First, it was the thunderstorm that hit and a lot of lightning bursts hit dry grass and sparked fires, then the winds we had a few days in a row pushed the fires even more. Fire officials say they have never seen a wildfire move as fast as some of these have, and that's alarming to me. The sky here is smoky, and I will post a blog post soon of more photos of the week and throughout the wildfire season here. This is the worst I've ever seen it. It's scary. That aside, still seeing the numbers with the pandemic are heartbreaking. This year has been intense. Here are five things this week.

1. This Kitty.

Eleven has had some issues breathing this week and we all have had quite a difficult time keeping the air quality inside the house cleaner than the outside air. But, she's always had issues breathing, so this week has really been rough on her. Hardy seems to be handling it a bit better than Eleven, but we are keeping an eye on both of them. We keep fans going and the air conditioner off, for the most part, but it's still smoky inside, especially during the day. Hopefully, it gets better before it gets worse.

2. This Laptop.

We've been busy going through things for the past two weeks and getting rid of nonessentials. I told Jeff the other day that this couldn't have come at a better time because now I know what we have and if we have to leave the area because of the fire, I will know exactly what to grab. My school laptop is definitely one of those items to grab. I have thought about writing up an emergency fire evacuation post on my blog about what to do, what to grab, and what to leave behind in the case of wildfire evacuations, but I think that will be something that comes much later. My anxiety is a wreck right now, but authorities assure us that we will get the notification to leave way before the fire gets to us. One of those fires is burning about 30 minutes from us, so I hope they are right.

3. These Miles.

I was able to do the same trek this week and ended up meeting up with Jeff on his way home, each time. It wasn't quite a mile, but it was enough. The air quality right now makes it so hard to breathe. It would be nice to get some heavy rainfall to not only help the fires, but also help take some of this smoke out of the air.

4. This Street.

This street sign always makes me laugh. It's in Multnomah, Oregon, and the next street is Craven Street. They just make me chuckle every time I see them.

5. This Selfcare.

A hot bath is my normal go-to when my anxiety is at a level that I can't seem to control. It's always been my "comfort," so to speak. But, Sundays are my selfcare days. I normally treat Sundays as my "spa days" and take care of my skin, my face, and my stress levels from the week before. We also have a large meal at the table and all of us talk about our past week, the week coming, what we can change, and how we can make the coming week better and more simplified. It's helped a great deal with being able to tackle the coming week without any regrets, or feeling overwhelmed. I will definitely be adding this hot bath combo to my selfcare Sundays.

Positive affirmations this week: "If you could tell someone reading your blog five things what would they be?"

1. Stay hydrated.

2. Don't be a racist.

3. Wash your hands.

4. Wear a mask.

5. Love yourself.

Have a nice weekend.

Our Garden this Year

We planted everything in our garden this year by seed and we only use all USDA organic seeds. Most, if not all of our seeds come from our local food co-op and give back to the community through shopping local. It's the first time that we've planted every plant by seed and we are so thrilled to see how many came up and are doing well. It's nice to see bees and other pollinators enjoying the flowers and blooms, too. Hopefully, we get a good harvest this year. I can't wait for the yellow squash to get ripe because nothing says summer to me like steamed yellow squash with butter, salt, and pepper. I can't cook well, but I can steam a lot of vegetables from the garden.

Zucchini and yellow squash.

Zinnias and pumpkins.

An onion bloom and sunflowers.

Cucumbers and carrots.

Snap peas and strawberries.

Blueberries and raspberries. 

Wildflowers and pollinator mix.

Five Simple Things (August 14)

 Hello.

The weather has not been good this week either. Windy, and dry. It's weird to see the wind blowing and no rain, or any type of chill along with it. The trees have been getting a beating and it's supposed to rain a bit this coming week. We could sure use it. The wildfire in eastern Oregon has been contained, so that's good news. Oregon has been getting drier and drier as the years go on. When I first moved here, March 2004, it was always rainy and cold in the winter. Sometimes we got snow, but mostly large amounts of rain. Then in the summer it was hot, but not this dry hot. Only the last several years do I remember the grass being crunchy when you walk on it. It's just getting warner here; one reason I am a firm believer in global warming. Oregon should be proof that global warming does affect us on a large scale. The United States is now at over 5 million Coronavirus cases. In that short of time and that many lives, it's unbelievable. Just wear a mask and distance yourself from others when out. Here are five things this week.

1. This Sunset.

I've said it before, Oregon has some of the best sunsets I've ever seen. 

2. This Videocall. 

Coming back from the hospital this week, Skylar started a videocall with me to make sure I was okay. I had a panic attack and thought the pains were more intense than normal, and it scared me. I went in to get monitored to make sure it wasn't my heart causing it. I haven't been given the all clear with my surgery, so I panicked myself even more. But, everything checked out and again it was a panic attack cause by my anxiety. But, it was nice to see Skylar and Eleven and go home again.

3. This Selfie.

Trying to get better about this. It's hard.

4. This Moment.

I don't know what this is from, or even who took it, but the moment just makes me happy. Just the shear moment of being in the rain and enjoying the moment. May seem a bit hippie-ish, but nature does have a way of making us feel better.

5. This Rose.

Portland is known as the Rose City and even down south of Portland we get some of the best roses. I can't stand the smell of a rose, but I do love how pretty they are.

Positive affirmations this week: "What is one thing you strongly believe as a parent?"

Your greatest contribution to the world may not be something you do, but who you raise.

Have a nice weekend.

Five Simple Things (August 7)

 Hello.

We've had some crazy wind this last week. A bit of rain, but mostly windy days. I woke up a few mornings in a row to the neighbor's trashcans rolling down the street. The rain yesterday was hitting the windows sideways. We always get some strange weather here lately. Mostly around June we get thunderstorms, so having this now is just bizarre. There's a wildfire that sparked from a fallen powerlines in eastern Oregon (Neals Hill Fire). As much wind as we've been getting here, it is worrisome. We've also have nine more deaths with the Coronavirus pandemic putting our state number now at 348 deaths. We aren't one of the higher number states, but it's still sad. Worldwide numbers are almost five million. That's unbelievable. Here are five things this week.

1. This Sky.

Wasn't kidding about the skies here lately. Storming, yet at time there's no rain, just thunder and lightning. I think the sky is beautiful, but with the lightning happening, it's causing me to have a bit more anxiety. Jeff is keeping us informed about anything that's immediate danger to us, at least.

2. This Kitty.

One thing we learned about Eleven over the past several years is that she is afraid, or startles easily by thunder. I don't think she knows what it is, so it puts her on edge. Every time there's a thunder sound, so stops, gets all tense, and looks around. We try to comfort her as much as we can, but we can only do so much. And, the thunder lately and the wind, as been loud. So loud it's even startled us a few times.

3. These Miles.

Logged more miles in this week. I can feel that I'm getting stronger every time I take a step out of the door. I am looking forward to when I can walk more, or run more, without feeling so tired afterwards. My surgeon said this is normal and should fade away with more time. 

4. This Balloon.

 

  

Oh, how I love creepy things. When we were traveling along some back roads here outside the city, this balloon was traveling down the road. I loved how creepy it was and just had to stop and take some pictures and video of it. 

5. This Sign.

Ridiculous. Even in jest, this is just wrong. Ace Hardware needs to do better.

We did get a chance to watch the SpaceX Dragon Endeavor return to earth and splash down in the ocean on Sunday (August 2), so that was really cool to be able to watch it live.

Positive affirmations this week: "What are some quotes that hit you hard and make you think?"

Oh, there's several:

1. "If you absence doesn't affect them, your presence never mattered."

2. "Once you start using your phone on silent mode, there is no going back."

3. "Stop waiting for everything to be perfect to be happy."

4. "If they do it often it's not a mistake; it's just their behavior." 

5. "You can be optimistic and realistic."

Have a nice weekend.

End of July 2020 (1 Second Every Day)

 

Cooling off in the Santiam River

There's a small foot trail at the back side of a park here named Waterloo and we always called it out secret trail. But, recently we've noticed a lot more people have discovered the trail, as well, and are leaving trash and other debris around the area. We decided to cool off in the river and pick up a lot of that trash and make the area a bit more environmentally friendly. It's upsetting that people come into a natural area, destroy it, and leave as if the world owes them something. It makes me angry to think how many times that's happened and we, or anyone else, wasn't able to pick it up in time and it ended up in the water ways. Leave no trace is a phrase we fully embrace when we are in the outdoors. I wish other would abide by that, too. On a positive note, we were finally able to get out, clean up nature, and enjoy a dip in the Santiam River. It was a nice day. There was still a bit chilly, but overall, it was nice to be able to kick back and relax for all the stress from the last few months.

Skylar even helped out some river floaters that got stuck on the rocks. When they floated past us they yelled, "thanks a million! Cheers!" And, raised their beer cans. ha!