Week-End: Things that made my week awesome (Extras: Water coloring and July's book choice)

It's Sunday, which means it's the day to relax and do absolutely nothing. Well, actually we are going to go for a hike after lunch and enjoy McDowell Creek Falls. We always seem to go for a bike ride on Sundays, so today we decided to mix it up a bit and take a hike. I have a lot of photos to share next week of our recent excursions, including our recent golf trip. But first, here are the things that made this week awesome!

1. This skyline

The pink skies here in Oregon never get old.

2. This night shot

Moons like this always remind me of the Cheshire Cat smile on Alice in Wonderland. 

3. This little doggie

Happy sixth birthday, little PITA.

4. This charcoal stick

The city water here is so hard on our stomachs that we literally avoid drinking it most of the time. We've tried tap filters, pitcher filters, and even water delivery and nothing seems to help cleanse the water enough to where we can drink it, and the costs of those really add up over time, too. We have heard about charcoal filters in the past, but never took the time to try it out on our city water, until now. It has helped cleanse a bit of the taste in small glasses of tap water, but in large pitchers it needs a week to sit and really work. The city water here just doesn't taste refreshing enough to us to drink on a daily basis. We use the water to cook with after it's sat in the charcoal filter, but as far as drinking it, it tastes too contaminated for us. We have ventured out to boxed waters though and found that this brand is great! It comes from our local coop and we always stock up when we go for our weekly shopping trips there.

5. This wide eyes

For the last two weeks we've had some visitors in the tree behind out house. PITA goes nuts over them, but are happy to have a bit of wildlife activity in the city. They've been back a few times over the last two weeks, but this week we got a good view of them. 

Extras:

1. Summer bucket list: Take a class at the Brit+Co Shop.
2. Portland Apothecary.
3. 3 Days of Peace, Music and a Concierge.
4. Water coloring.
5. Preserving food.
6. Zombie training for soldiers?
7. Clothing organizing.
8. Frozen bubble. Frozen experiment with a water bottle.
9. Cleaning a cutting board.
10. July's reading selection from South North South. Check it out here!

Have a great week!

What happened this time last year?

Road Trip: Trail hike near the South Santiam River

With the warmer weather here in the Valley we decided to get out and about and take advantage of it. The dogs really like going to the river and dipping their paws in and we like to take a small hike near the river on a well travel path. The trail leads right to the edge of the South Santiam River and it's always a fun spot to see a full view of the Willamette Valley.

We all couldn't believe that PITA jumped into the water like he did. He doesn't normally dive off the edge into the water, but he does like to chase things. We are thinking the little fish swimming around the bank was too tempting to resist. The water wasn't too cold, but I think once he was in it he decided it wasn't a good idea and came promptly back to us. 

The wildflowers were on full display.

Baz loves to walk with us, but he prefers going without a leash so he feels free. He turns 16 this year, but he is full of life still and we take him whenever we can. PITA has sort of become his "service dog" in a way. Baz can't see or hear well, but PITA helps him a lot more than he realizes. 

The train trestle that reaches across the Santiam River near Gill's Landing.

Pigeons roosting on the trestles.

Pigeon egg under the bridge.

Such a great area to hike around and enjoy the area. If you're a geocacher, there's a few geocaches hidden in the area, too. 

You can read about this area here and here.

What happened this time last year?

Week-End: Things that made my week awesome (Extras-Covered bridges and first aid kits)

Whoa! This week has been full of ups and downs, but all good things in the end-I hope. Yesterday I found out that Examiner.com has shut its doors for good. I have written for them for over seven years and it was a hard blow to take. I know that the owners, writers, and investors have a lot better plans for the future, but for now they are closed. Examiner.com has been picked up by AXS (A subsidiary of AEG TV). With that said, this is not a bad thing, but a way for me to have the time to pursue other ventures. One positive is that I will have more time to put 100% into other outlets, like South North South. I am looking forward to that. Can't wait to share all of the great things that are coming in the future. It's exciting! Also, if you follow me on Instagram you saw what The Mr., The Bean, and I did last night. If you don't follow me, check it out here! In the meantime, here are the things that made this week great!


1. This Moment


This picture is always a great reminder of how powerful family is. It's an older photo, but means so much to me. This is a picture of my brother's first visit to Oregon and him sticking his feet into the Pacific Ocean with me. It's a picture that I have looked at a lot lately. With all of the news of the death of law enforcement I hold this picture of my brother and me close to my heart. My brother works in law enforcement and every day I think about him and his safety. I hope the violence against law enforcement stops and the violence against each other comes to an end. It's heartbreaking to know that families are having to bury their loved ones for such senseless acts. I can't imagine the pain and heartache families are going through and I hope desperately that it never hits our family.


2. These Cellphones

The Mr. and I have been staying on a steady pace minimizing our possessions. It's kind of liberating to know that the things you are getting rid of you just don't need. It's even more incredible to know that at one time you thought you did. These old cell phones of ours we thought we needed to hang onto. But we donated them and realized we are a lot better off not hanging onto them.

3. These Animals

I let The Bean get some pill-shaped water beans the other day and as they dissolve they have sponge-type creatures that appear. He may be 12, but he is still a kid at heart. I love it!

4. This Homemade Chalkboard

The Bean and I have been trying to figure out the best way to place a sign on our door that we are a homeschool classroom. After finding a scrap of wood, we figured it out! The Mr. can drill a few screw holes into the wood and drill it into the front of our house to display. We can change out what the sign reads, from time to time, and display whatever we would like for the sign to read for that day, or week. The Bean and I are pretty excited to see how it all turns out.

5. This Lavender

The lavender is growing like crazy here and we have been on a mission to not let any of it bloom and collect it. I've been pulling buds from stems all week and my hands, arms, and house smell wonderful after I'm done. There's going to be a lot in the shop for purchase, so take a minute to support our little family and pick you up some great lavender products.

Extras:

1. Beer cheese! We ate at a few pubs last week and loved their different ways of making beer cheese. We made this recipe at home and it was gone in a matter of 30 minutes!
2. Head to Seaside, Oregon.
3. The Roaring River Fish Hatchery Road Trip.
4. Mission Geocache! Do you geocache?
5. Covered Bridges of Oregon.
6. Support local and police and police nationwide.
7. 310 Shake.
8. Fruit Loop marshmallow treats.
9. kidSTAT First Aid kits.
10. A new way to bake asparagus. 

What happened this time last year?

Road Trip: Roaring River Fish Hatchery

Roaring River Fish Hatchery

Here at the fish hatchery you can actually feed the rainbow trout that are bred here.

The larger holding tanks contained rainbow trout that where in between small and and the largest.

I was amazing how many rainbow trout came up the sides when we threw the food into the water.

The smaller rainbow trout didn't fight as hard for the food and in some cases the food was too big for their little mouths.

Beautiful watching them swim around. The pink on their sides glowed in the sunshine.

The spawning tanks.

There was another tank for just steelhead, but at the time we were there the tank was empty. We were looking forward to seeing some of the steelhead, but they were all released in the Santiam River.

The Roaring River Fish Hatchery is near the Roaring River Park.

The park is located on donated land and the it was beautiful the day we visited. We ate a small picnic lunch and headed out to explore the area.

As we were hiking we came across the bridge that spans over Crabtree Creek.

On the way back from Roaring River we drove over Larwood Bridge. Originally built in the late 1800s, parts of the bridge were redone in 1939 to fit with today's highway standards for Oregon.

Oddly enough, the Roaring River is the only river that dumps into a creek, which is the Crabtree Creek.

It's a popular swimming area still today as it were in the 1800s.

What happened this time last year?