Yesterday was nice - see golf blog - but it's back to the rain today. We're off to Medford shortly to have lunch at one of my favourite pubs/pizza houses - Kaleidoscope.
Holly's bounding all over the place - and she wants to chew at everything just now - clothes, tables, chairs - you name it.
Jo's blog showed the boys' masks, but what she didn't tell you was what I saw when I walked down the corridor the other night. Lurking in the dark in the bathroom was this hulk of a man wearing a mask - pretty scary. Scott said he was planning a surprise for the boys, but I'm not so sure exactly what was going on. Suggestions on a postcard please.
Ian R. Stewart Family Blog
Friday 2 April 2010
Thursday 1 April 2010
Washed out in Oregon
It's been wet - very wet - noisy enough on the roof of the trailer to keep me awake. Some people found the noise of the rain strangely re-assuring, but they were mostly the ones who were sleeping under a proper roof. It's been cold too - we had snow on the hills around us yesterday:
Thankfully, it's stopped for now - and we've even had a bit of sunshine - enough to get the shorts back on - but don't be fooled - it still feels like Scotland with the cold wind coming off the mountains. The only difference is that because we're so much further south (Grants Pass is 42 degrees of latitude, compared with Aberdeen, which is 57 degrees) - roughly on a par with Barcelona - when the sun does come out, it's more immediately above us and you can feel the heat from it much more.
Last night at dinner, Cade produced his first efforts at crocheting a beany hat - and Jo couldn't help but join in:
I don't know if you can quite make it out or not, but Cade dropped a stitch which left a very convenient hole for his hair to stick out of - he's very in to the surfer boy style just now and is growing his hair out.
Incidentally, as we finished off Scott's birthday cake - and yummy it was too - we had two types of Blue Bunny ice cream:
In case you're wondering what "Turtle Sundae" is, it's chocolate shaped in turtle shells - lovely jubbly.
I had a bit of a communications disaster yesterday - my Blackberry failed on me at the same time as our works VPN and Webmail went down. It was a new battery I needed - should be no problem to get one for a standard product like Blackberry Bold? Think again - I spent a very frustrating afternoon in Medford going round all the usual suspects - including a battery specialist - but nobody could supply one - although they could order one for delivery in 7 days - and, of course, if it's a new phone you want, or a new service plan/provider, no problem - instantly available and hundreds to choose from. I got back to GP and Scott instantly solved the problem for me with one quick phone call and I picked up the new battery this morning.
Jo and I went shoe shopping this morning - new trainers for her and a pair of waterproof walking/hiking shoes for me - all for only $60, courtesy of a deal that was on, plus a discount voucher Lucy gave us - we would have paid much more than twice this back home. We had lunch at the Laughing Clam afterwards - nice pub and always a good selection of microbrews on.
I've finished another book now - a whimsical one I picked up at Laguna Beach last Friday - all about the bittersweet tale of Jan & Dean's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_and_Dean) late career. I've now started on an old American classic, first published in the 40's - Catcher in the Rye. I always meant to read this but never got round to it. I finished Catch 22 last year and I'll probably tackle Jack Kerouac next year - all of this decades later than I should have read them.
Here's some sunnier shots to finish with:
Thankfully, it's stopped for now - and we've even had a bit of sunshine - enough to get the shorts back on - but don't be fooled - it still feels like Scotland with the cold wind coming off the mountains. The only difference is that because we're so much further south (Grants Pass is 42 degrees of latitude, compared with Aberdeen, which is 57 degrees) - roughly on a par with Barcelona - when the sun does come out, it's more immediately above us and you can feel the heat from it much more.
Last night at dinner, Cade produced his first efforts at crocheting a beany hat - and Jo couldn't help but join in:
I don't know if you can quite make it out or not, but Cade dropped a stitch which left a very convenient hole for his hair to stick out of - he's very in to the surfer boy style just now and is growing his hair out.
Incidentally, as we finished off Scott's birthday cake - and yummy it was too - we had two types of Blue Bunny ice cream:
In case you're wondering what "Turtle Sundae" is, it's chocolate shaped in turtle shells - lovely jubbly.
I had a bit of a communications disaster yesterday - my Blackberry failed on me at the same time as our works VPN and Webmail went down. It was a new battery I needed - should be no problem to get one for a standard product like Blackberry Bold? Think again - I spent a very frustrating afternoon in Medford going round all the usual suspects - including a battery specialist - but nobody could supply one - although they could order one for delivery in 7 days - and, of course, if it's a new phone you want, or a new service plan/provider, no problem - instantly available and hundreds to choose from. I got back to GP and Scott instantly solved the problem for me with one quick phone call and I picked up the new battery this morning.
Jo and I went shoe shopping this morning - new trainers for her and a pair of waterproof walking/hiking shoes for me - all for only $60, courtesy of a deal that was on, plus a discount voucher Lucy gave us - we would have paid much more than twice this back home. We had lunch at the Laughing Clam afterwards - nice pub and always a good selection of microbrews on.
I've finished another book now - a whimsical one I picked up at Laguna Beach last Friday - all about the bittersweet tale of Jan & Dean's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_and_Dean) late career. I've now started on an old American classic, first published in the 40's - Catcher in the Rye. I always meant to read this but never got round to it. I finished Catch 22 last year and I'll probably tackle Jack Kerouac next year - all of this decades later than I should have read them.
Here's some sunnier shots to finish with:
Tuesday 30 March 2010
Monday afternoon/evening
The boys arrived home in the school bus - were they pleased to be home? You bet:
Amidst gathering storm clouds we set off to give Holly her walk. Have you ever seen Jo walking so fast? Me neither:
Amidst gathering storm clouds we set off to give Holly her walk. Have you ever seen Jo walking so fast? Me neither:
Monday 29 March 2010
Sun no more
Saturday was but a brief early glimpse of spring in Oregon it seems. Since then, it's got cool and rainy - and it's forecast to stay that way all week. Never mind - we'll amuse ourselves somehow, but it looks as if the tans will be washed off by the time we get back.
On Sunday, Scott drove his truck over to the coast to deliver the truck canopy he had borrowed back to his Dad, whilst Jo and Lucy went to church and I babysat the boys. It was a quiet day and we just had Lucy's home-made hambone soup for tea - and very nice it was too.
Today it's back to the old routine for the Lesinas - school and work holidays are over. Jo and I went to the Y for the first time - Jo did 32 lengths and I spent some time in the gym. It's Scott's birthday today, so we picked up a cake for tonight on the way home to let Holly out of her cage. I'm watching the Man City - Wigan match just now and the pack will soon be home - we have to be waiting for the school bus at 2:30 pm - Braeden has to be seen to be passed over to a responsible adult - do we qualify?
Anyway, some photos perhaps? First of all, when we had the beautiful sunshine on Saturday, the boys couldn't wait to get out on their trampoline:
Daddy was pretty excited too - he'd just bought a dirt bike (I think that's what you call it) and was up at the crack of dawn putting new forks on:
Scott says it's to keep the boys company when they go on theirs - but we're not so sure, are we?
On Sunday, after sitting around the house all day, I felt I had to shake myself out of my lethargy so I jumped on Scott's bike for a short run round the estate and down to the river:
Today, it's just Holly and us just now - she's a cutie all right - with boundless energy:
Of course, one word from us and she does what the heck she likes:
On Sunday, Scott drove his truck over to the coast to deliver the truck canopy he had borrowed back to his Dad, whilst Jo and Lucy went to church and I babysat the boys. It was a quiet day and we just had Lucy's home-made hambone soup for tea - and very nice it was too.
Today it's back to the old routine for the Lesinas - school and work holidays are over. Jo and I went to the Y for the first time - Jo did 32 lengths and I spent some time in the gym. It's Scott's birthday today, so we picked up a cake for tonight on the way home to let Holly out of her cage. I'm watching the Man City - Wigan match just now and the pack will soon be home - we have to be waiting for the school bus at 2:30 pm - Braeden has to be seen to be passed over to a responsible adult - do we qualify?
Anyway, some photos perhaps? First of all, when we had the beautiful sunshine on Saturday, the boys couldn't wait to get out on their trampoline:
Daddy was pretty excited too - he'd just bought a dirt bike (I think that's what you call it) and was up at the crack of dawn putting new forks on:
Scott says it's to keep the boys company when they go on theirs - but we're not so sure, are we?
On Sunday, after sitting around the house all day, I felt I had to shake myself out of my lethargy so I jumped on Scott's bike for a short run round the estate and down to the river:
Today, it's just Holly and us just now - she's a cutie all right - with boundless energy:
Of course, one word from us and she does what the heck she likes:
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