Mt. Rainier

On Sunday, we went up to Mt. Rainier on a four mile hike.

And when I say "we",

I mean we ALL went.

See?

The hiking part was fun,

and the mountain was even more beautiful the closer we got,

but crossing the snow patches on the trail was the most fun.

(Especially when we got to slide down the snow-covered trail on the other side!)

We saw a buck, two does, a marmot, and a lot of wildflowers.

A lot of wildflowers.

(So many that I got overwhelmed trying to pick which pictures to post.

So you get to see two.

I'm sorry and you're welcome.)

Too much fun and way too beautiful to only go once...

The Bookshelf Saga: Part 1

When we moved from Tennessee to Washington, we had 33 boxes of books, and by the time we moved into this log house, I had collected just a few more.

(Boxes?  Or books?  I'm not telling!  My husband's reading this!)

That collection has grown even more during the years we've lived here, but they're (mostly) for school, and I like to plan ahead, so...

We want to put in some really cool built-in shelves along these walls on the upstairs landing, but in the meantime, my shelves were cardboard boxes, stacked up on top of each other and reinforced with boards between layers.

The shelves along this adjacent wall were even worse:

and there was no improving them.  In the last configuration the box-shelves were five rows tall instead of the three in this picture, with no wooden bookcase and with less uniformly sized boxes.

And the top two rows were starting to lean forward away from the wall.

Scary.

To save our children's skulls and their mother's sanity, we bought some "temporary" bookshelves for the larger wall,

and Mike built "rustic" temporary bookshelves for me along the short wall.

But my husband doesn't do things half way.

He built "rustic" temporary bookshelves for me...

...with built-in lighting on each shelf!

The rest of the story (or at least more pictures) is coming soon!

Chicken Feathers

We lost a chicken.

No one saw it happen, so at first we weren't sure exactly what got it; we just knew that at 5:00 in the afternoon there were two big piles of feathers and only 12 chickens cowering in the chicken run.

Our German Shepherd tracked whatever-the-culprit-was until it crossed the creek, and we were impressed that he found three more piles of feathers along the way.  He had been with us in the garage while we worked that day, so we didn't blame him for not scaring off the predator, but we were very impressed with his previously undemonstrated skill of tracking on command!

The next afternoon around 3:00, I took a break from our garage work because a chicken was making a strange noise out behind the barn.  I walked out to where they were, and found ten chickens huddled together next to the barn, and the remaining two squawking noisily next to the elderberry tree halfway between the house and the creek.  I couldn't see anything wrong, so I walked past them toward the creek, and when I turned my head there was a big coyote just standing there by the creek looking at me.

Wait, did I say a big coyote?

I was wrong.

It was a REALLY big coyote.

So of course I did what any self-respecting country girl would do.

I shouted for Mike.

And threw a stick at it.

It ran away, and when Mike didn't come (because he couldn't hear me over his music), I shouted some more and threw a few more sticks for good measure.  Shouting at an invisible coyote while throwing sticks at said invisible coyote is extremely therapeutic.

The next morning, after many cups of coffee, Mike was upstairs in our bathroom when the dog started barking his special just-let-me-out-of-this-fence-and-I'll-tear-you-apart bark, and two of our girls (upstairs in their bedroom) starting screaming, "Coyote!  Daddy, there's a coyote!"

By the time Mike got to the window, the dog was trying to climb the fence, and the coyote had almost disappeared back into the tall grass along the creek.  There just happened to be an antique Russian sniper rifle loaded and sitting next to the bathroom window, and the screen from the window just happened to have been removed the day before, so Mike squeezed off two quick shots at the disappearing coyote.

He missed.

But that coyote hasn't been back (in the daylight hours) since.

Absence, With a Side of Deconstructionism

The saying "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" is not always true, but in this case it just might be!

This is how the barn side of the property looked a year ago:

It was "complete" with this round pen.

The gate was held on with rubber tie-down straps,

and most of the rails were rotten and falling apart.

 So when boards starting coming apart in our hands, my husband took a splitting maul to the rest of it

(because we couldn't find the sledgehammer),

 and he tore it down! 

Absence (of some things) DOES make the heart grow fonder!

The Loft

Have I ever shown you the neat little loft we have in our bedroom?

It's small, but it's got great light from the skylight.

It was horribly dirty and dusty when we moved in, and the carpet reeked from a decade of dust and cigarette smoke, so I pulled up the carpet a few months ago and the kids helped me clean the floor and railings thoroughly.

We've been using the loft for storage, partly because it was so dirty, but mostly because the only way to get to it was through the pull-down ladder to the attic at the other end of the house.

See? There's a space for a ladder at one end,

but no ladder.

That's where my oh-so-handy husband came in. I showed him the Jefferson ladder I wanted, and he built it.

Now, thanks to this man and his carpentry skills,

I can start working on transforming the loft from storage space into living space!

Survival Essentials: January 2012 Edition

Survival Essential #1: Coffee

We learned that it is possible to grind coffee beans with a wooden spoon. Then when the water finally boils on the wood stove, our little French Press provides us each with a decent cup (or two) of coffee.

Survival Essential #2: Food

On Wednesday, the day before the power went out, I cooked up two huge batches of beans to freeze for future use.

They warmed up nicely in a big cast iron pot on the wood stove for dinner Thursday and Friday nights. (It will be a while before we're ready to have beans again!)

We learned that pancakes cooked on the grill are especially yummy.

(So are fried eggs and pesto-encrusted salmon!)

(But not all at the same time, of course.)

Survival Essential #3: Water

Remember the hand-pump we had installed on our well this summer?

Mike pumped lots of water.

LOTS of water.

For washing dishes, flushing, cooking, and drinking.

Survival Essential #4: Candles

Once it got dark, we all curled up in blankets and quilts in the living room and read by candlelight.

Survival Essential #5: Laundry Tub

Sunday morning I finally gave in and did some laundry.

Some things just can't wait.

Survival Essential, Special Mention: Wood stove

The wood stove was the center of attention. It boiled water for coffee and tea, heated food, heated dish water, dried wet gloves and clothes, kept us warm, and even provided (some) light in the evenings.

I can't imagine these last few days without it.

Sledding

Anya went sledding with her eyes closed:

Jaela and Isaak were still upright when they got to the bottom of the hill:

Macey got airborne:

And Jaela and Mike crashed on the last ride of the day!

Silly Kids II

An Afternoon With the Little Yellow Airplane

This is our little yellow airplane.

She's a 1946 Piper Cub

(and I can't help calling her Stella).

That guy standing next to her is her pilot.

His name's Mike.

He has four kids that have been waiting for days for the weather to be clear enough to go flying.

They drew straws to see who'd be first, and Isaak was the lucky one.

(Mike IS sitting in the pilot's seat. Really!

You sit in the back to fly a J-3 Cub.)

Jaela got to go next,

Anya went third,

and although Macey had to wait until all of her siblings were done, she got to ride along (after her turn) while the pilot did a few extra landings and take-offs.

Who's next?!?

A New Era

It's the beginning of a new era in this family.

Airplane ownership.

According to Isaak, we now have four pets: a dog, two cats, and an airplane.

It's a 1946 Piper Cub.

And I'm thinking about calling her Stella.

Mike's 6:30 a.m. Discovery

My husband is ever-so-thoughtful.

I came downstairs just after 7 this morning,

and as I was drinking the latte he made for me,

he told me he had taken some pictures on his phone of something

I would probably never see for myself in my lifetime.

***

The suspense built, and he pulled out his phone to show me pictures of...

***

...our early-risers doing their math.

At 6:30 in the morning.

(I don't get up that early,

which is why I'd never see it for myself.

Ha ha. Very funny, Mike.)

I am so spoiled!

Over the Weekend

This weekend, while my parents stayed with the kids, Mike and I flew to the other side of the country so he could run a half-marathon with some friends.

It was sunny and almost warm on race day, and 4/6 of our group had fun running their race.

The other 2/6 of our group had fun not running the race,

and after the 4/6 crossed the finish line, 6/6 of us spent the rest of the day having fun together!

A Fair Fishing Day

The kids created their own fishing poles using sticks, thread,

wooden spools, beads, and safety pins.

After a few modifications (including fishing line, real hooks, and worms),

they headed off to the creek to try their luck.

Anya was the first to get a bite, and she and Daddy put their heads together to try to land one.

Jaela's second fishing spot got her a monster of a fish

(and I made her hold it).

Isaak caught his first fish ALL BY HIMSELF,

and Macey's fish was caught and released before the camera person could get to her.

On the way back up to the house, Isaak declared that it was a fair fishing day

because everyone caught a fish!