Sick Day

Eleanor had a fever the first two days this week so she stayed home sewing, reading, doing some artwork, and sitting by the fire. 

Eleanor's Laundry Delivery Machine

Eleanor and I talk about machines and this summer she started creating makeshift, pretend machines out of the recycle bin.  Here and there, all very pretendy, nothing attempting functional parts.  But recently she busily went to work making a laundry-in-the-basket machine in her room, so self driven I didn’t know anything about it until I stumbled into one night.  She crafted what were essentially pulleys, but as they were made from corks and cardboard they didn’t really work.  However, the concept was solid and really exciting to see come out of her brain.  Anyway she hooked this elaborate thing up across her room from the top bunk to the laundry bin in the closet (this is the second rigging system in her room, so it’s a bit like a spider’s den in there).  She couldn’t make it work exactly, as you might imagine with just tape and yarn and crappy supplies.  So one afternoon I bought a couple of small pulleys and some strong twine and left them in her room.  Just to see what would happen.  We came back from a date that night and Mikey + Joseph (Laura's boys, they were babysitting) had helped her reconstruct the whole apparatus into a semi-functioning "machine" that delivers laundry from the bed to the hamper.  You'll note from the video that she hasn’t figured out how to get the clothes to reliably fall off the line on cue, so if you have ideas speak up. 

Night of the Shark and Our Timeline

One weekend in early September (while Mike was at the Badger game in Corvallis), Eleanor, Sabina and I headed across the bridge to historical Fort Vancouver for "Night of the Shark."  Fort Vancouver was the British fur-trapper trading hub for this area way back in the day before American settlers started coming in, then it was one form of settler and military outpost.  Night of the Shark is a night-time reinactment of life in 1846 = an electricity free zone with kitchens that use giant wood fires, blacksmiths that use cool, firey blacksmith stuff and all of it is done by candle light and torches.  It was so great!  The night was cool and clear, and the kitchens were actually cooking so they were warm and smelled fantastic.  The blacksmiths were actually at work so the shop was warm and smelling of hot steel.  The volunteers were all in period dress and in character, as they were preparing to take in the refuges from the shipwrecked Shark downed near Astoria.  I couldn't get good photos of the coolest of these night-happenings, but before the sun went down the girls and I milled about the Oregon Trail settlement camps outside the fort, where they got to do laundry and play with period toys.



This whole evening was well worth the time and the throwing off of our nighttime schedule.  And, it was the final straw that launched our timeline project.  Eleanor likes historical auto/biographies, fictional and non-fictional alike.  From Oregon Trail diaries to Laura Ingalls to Johanna Reiss to Kit Kittredge.  I keep trying to tie other events we learn about to the timeline that runs right through the people she knows through these autobiographies, so we finally put marker to butcher paper and laid it all out on the wall.  We'll add as we go...

Another tooth gone

Back to School Night

Back to school night here is open-house style, without any formal presentations.  You visit the school, meet other families, and see what your kid is up to all day.

A Portland Summer - Always Too Short!

So we pulled into our driveway on July 15, I think.  By Monday Eleanor was already headlong into a full week, full day engineering camp at OMSI.  We added daily swim lessons and a clay class and LOTS of great playdates with her friends.  I immediately launched into pruning, cleaning, neglected maintenance, unpacking, and getting lost.  I came very close to loosing my mind.  Barely two weeks into being home for the first time in 6 months, I had to pack again!  This time, Wisconsin, but more on that great trip later.  August took us to Wisconsin, out to eastern Washington to see the Persiad Meteor shower (and Saturn through the big telescope at Goldendale). Birthday parties, Enchanted Forest, playdates, Ft. Stevens, Gnome Camp... and that is about what summer looked like.  Packed.  Fun.  We are sorry to see it go. 

Being back home means I am moving into the new building finally.  Slowly.  And it is moving into my heart, too.  Here are two of my new favorite things about my house:  My bike/garden shed (attached to the driveway side of the studio building) and my little slice of Texas.  (Karia, AJ, Alison and Dan bought me one of the Lone Stars I've coveted for so long.  They picked out a very tasteful one specifically because it wasn't too Texasy.  Then, as we were about to leave Texas I got a little panicy and had to bring home one of the Too Texasy types too!  Forgive me, my tasteful friends!)

bike/garden shed



my space

First Day of School 2012

Eleanor is an eager second grader!  Believe it or not Oregon schools didn't start until today, Sept 5th.  I think our Phoenix friends have been back in school for a month now, and our Texas friends have been in at least two weeks.  Surprisingly, I'd take this extra long summer every year if I could.