Lavender Festival 2011 in Pics

All I can say is, "Wow!"  I loved being at this year's lavender festival, visiting with friends, sending treasures off to new homes. Purple Ridge Lavender is a lovely, lovely farm owned and run by delightful people. I can hardly wait until next year!

Lavender Festival 2011 ~ We'll Be There!

Starting to prepare for July 9th & 10th. I'll be set up in the fields at Purple Ridge Lavender farm. Last year was so much fun that I'm just going to do it again!  See you there, right? I'll bring old and repurposed treasures. You bring a smile, a camera and some cash.

Check into Purple Ridge Lavender and get the festival scoop.  And maybe a scoop of lavender while you're at it!

Please Can You Spare a Home?

Vanilla found us late last summer. She was half grown and nearly half dead. It was hot and she had obviously been on her own for a long time… So hungry she ate green beans out of our garden and so thirsty she drank 2 bowls of water without stopping. She went home that night to live with Ashley and Zach and turned out to be a cool kitty. She kindly tolerates little kids hauling her around and has never scratched anyone. She loves to visit in the house, be held and petted for a bit then wants to go back outside.

This winter Vanilla got mixed up with the wrong crowd. When she came home she was, “with child” (ummm... kittens).

Fast forward… Vanilla’s family has sold their home and can no longer have pets. We have wonderful landlords who pretty much let us treat their house as our own, but we have agreed not to have pets here, so one mommy cat and four babies are only fostering with us for a little bit. If you’re thinking of adding a kitty (or 4 or 5) to your household, please consider one or more of these.

Mama Vanilla Bean. Vanilla because Ashley said she smelled like Vanilla that hot summer day and Bean because that’s what she was eating, green beans. Pretty blue eyes, sweet laid back disposition. Really wants to please her people. She always seems grateful to have a home, but a little worried that it might not last. She will use a litter box, but prefers to do her business outside.

Skittles is Vanilla’s favorite. She is a wide eyed, wide darkly striped tabby. I expect that her eyes just might stay blue like her mama’s. She’s the largest kitten in the litter. Skittles has the cutest raspy voice! Like her mama she has a very sweet laid back disposition. She loves attention, but is the shyest of the litter. She watches her sister and brothers climb legs and waits for me to invite her to join the game. She loves to have her tummy gently scratched almost as much as she loves her mama. They are usually together while the other three romp and play. I’d love to see Skittles and Vanilla go to the same forever home.

Cowgirl is the runt of the litter with the BIG personality that often accompanies those little bodies. She got her name because of her cow like spots. She is energetic, tough and has a great kitty sense of humor that reminds me of a human cowgirl. She and her brother Crusty are the first ones out of the box to greet us and play. They were the first to eat real cat food and they are a team. It would be really nice if they could live together in their new forever home.

Crusty got his name because there are two little tabby boys in the litter that look a lot alike and this one had a little crusty eye problem. That’s how we told them apart when they were really little. Crusty was the first baby to start acting like a kid cat, not a baby cat. He taught his brother and sisters to wrestle and still comes up with new moves. I swear he watches my face to read what my mood is and whether he should attack my hand, climb my jeans or snuggle. It's hard to get a good picture of Crusty. He moves too fast.

Tiger used to be called Other Crusty. We call him Tiger now because he’s big and kind of regal like a tiger, striped and deserves to have a better name than Other Crusty. He is going to grow up to be a big kitty like his sister Skittles. He’s kind of a mama’s boy and I suspect his temperament will be a lot like hers. He’s always ready to be held and petted. And he's always ready to attack and bite shoes. Especially when they're on feet. I love his grey feet and speckled belly.

These babies aren’t weaned yet, but are all eating some real cat food now. Although they live outside we play with them a LOT and bring them in the house once or twice a day for supervised play time. We want them to be civilized. They and their mama will be wonderful cat friends and companions for YOU for many years.

Let me know when you want to meet them. They will be ready for new homes June 1st.

My New BFF

Grab a cup of coffee. I might ramble.

I have a long standing Jones for old apothecary jars and a new one for old maps. See how pretty they are together?

In March I found another jar. It was all grungy inside, so I filled it with my favorite grunge fighter (distilled vinegar) and set it to soak.

It was sitting sink side on St. Patrick’s Day. Of course our supper was corned beef and cabbage. You KNOW how that smells post meal, right? I’m not sure why, but after cleaning up after supper I set the lid on the jar ajar. In a few hours there was zero, zip, nada trace of funky smell in our kitchen. Could it have been my friend the vinegar? I’ve been experimenting and YES it was! Am I the only woman who did not know this wonderful destink trick?

Alas, my map / bottle / wooden lamp vignette will need to attract a different jar. This one is my new kitchen BFF. For real.

Silliness

I'm ready for some. How about you?

Strolling Main Street USA

Jim and I are fans of small towns and small businesses. We decided that strolling Main Street in our chosen hometown would be a great way to spend some time on the Saturday before Christmas. We visited with old friends, made new ones, enjoyed shopping familiar shops and discovered some new ones.

It was so much fun that I think I'm going to wander not only Main Street Hermiston, but other little Main Streets as well in the coming year. I’ll have my camera in hand and promise to share what I find.

Hermiston Drug… Don’t ever visit Hermiston without a stopping at Hermiston Drug. The lunch specials at their lunch counter are famous. It’s an old fashioned full feature drug and gift emporium staffed by some of my favorite ladies! Baby gift? HD has it. Fenton Glass? HD has it. Band instruments? HD has them. I could go on and on.

Our Place Bakery… the new kids on the block. We lunched on homemade potato soup and soft yeasty bread at Our Place. It was so good that I think my eyes rolled back in my head. I know Jim's did. The atmosphere at Our Place couldn’t be more comfortable, homey and welcoming. And did I mention that the food was SOOOOO good? Next time I'm saving calories for dessert!

Hale’s… While we didn’t lunch at Hale’s on Saturday, we have done so many times in the past and will many times in the future. We love Ford and Dana and their staff and we love their food, too!

Kickin’ It Cowgirl Boutique… just made the move to Main from around the corner. More space, more great stuff, more cool cowhides on the floor. I found a jacket there that I really, really want!

Sherrell Chevrolet… How many Main Streets have a new car dealership? Ours does! A really good one. We give gold stars to Sherrell Chev. I think that I’d look really good wearing that black jacket from Kickin’ It while driving that Camaro. Jim is laughing at me.

Branch & Wonders Bookstore… NOT what I was expecting! Two delightful ladies have purchased this former paperback book exchange and turned it into a fully stocked bookshop featuring previously owned titles. They’ve brought artisan jewelry, original paintings and other art works to the building and in the process have created a trendy and hip shop! Kudos ladies!

Andee’s Boutique, IJ Gems, Lucky Endz Gifts and Roemarks Men’s and Western Wear… This block rocks Hermiston retail. Rocks it, I tell ya’.

KC’s Art and Collectibles… It’s all about antiques and art here. Mary is usually doing important agriculture things at the ag research center so it was a happy surprise to find her minding the shop. She is one of the smartest women I know. I went away with a huge 1970s McCoy jardinière and a big smile. I always leave KC’s with a smile and usually with a treasure as well.

Women’s Fitness Studio… It’s nearly Christmas and thanks to WFS I’m more fit and less fat. This fitness studio is nonthreatening, up to date, owned and operated by a mother and daughter team who know their business and it shows.

Main Street USA is all about the folks. The folks who work hard, smile with sincerity and truly make up the backbone of our community and our country. It’s filled with more wonderful places and people. Get acquainted with them. Spend a little (or a lot) of money. Keep it alive.

Frugal

Frugal… The word is often spoken in a hushed and almost reverent tone. I’ve been thinking a lot about it lately. When did “frugal” become so important? When did frugal become a life goal to be obtained? When did just living a normal life, within one’s means become “frugal”?

Here’s what I suspect. I suspect that living within one’s means began to head out the door when we began to make a big deal about every single thing. Now, don’t jump to conclusions here. I LOVE events and parties and making big deals about stuff. And I’m fond of stuff. Junky stuff. Good stuff. Lots of stuff. I’m just thinking some things through here and putting my thoughts into words. Typing them on my big fancy computer. Wondering if I should replace my cell phone. Wishing I had more pairs of jeans.

While pondering frugal I’m remembering Christmas as a child. I was born in 1953, so that was a while ago. My dad, a logger usually had a good Christmas tree spotted on the way to work. I honestly don’t remember if he would bring one home to us or we would go out to cut it. Wish I did…. Anyway, the tree didn’t go up very many days before Christmas. One, because we lived in a 10’ x 50’ trailer house. Two, because the tree stand was boards so no water for that little tree. All of our decorations fit in one wooden box. Opening the Christmas Decoration Box was Christmas embodied for little kid me. We removed the same treasured ornaments every year. Sometimes the tops went missing. Mom would make a replacement hanger with a bobby pin.

Christmas had a rhythm. It was bright and shiny and intimate. It didn’t last for weeks and weeks. It was holy.

The Christmas program at church was the social highlight of my season. It was all about the wonder of God becoming one of us, heaven celebrating His grand entrance to human kind. Attempting to grasp that He indeed arrived just as one of us. We all “spoke our piece” or tried to. Christmas hymns were sung. Herman Wilkinson and other men of the congregation handed out brown paper bags filled with nuts, an orange or tangerine, a candy cane, sometimes ribbon candy. I was never excited about the oranges. Every year Mom or Dad would have to remind me that in the years gone by citrus fruit had been hard to come by and the orange in a child’s stocking was a very special treat. I still didn’t get it. I always hoped for caramel.

So, back to frugal… I’m still pondering frugal. I’m working on the importance of living within one's means, keeping a rhythm to Christmas. Keeping it bright and shiny and intimate. Most importantly keeping it holy.