Something funny

We were not intending to stray much away away from our adventures and experiences for the purposes of this blog, but since we know most of the people reading it are animal lovers, we thought you would all get a kick out of this, not to mention these things are made and sold right in Portland Oregon!

No joke, they sell Holiday Butt Covers for your pet in several themes including a holly one... you put them over your pet's tail and they hang in front of their butt to block the view of their... ahem.... business end.

Click Here to See or Purchase the BUTT COVERS

Snow fall

It's hard to explain how I feel about snow. The very first time I saw it, it was snowing and I thought it was gorgeous. It was literally a winter wonderland. I was excited and so overwhelmed. All I wanted to do was play in it. On our recent hike on the PCT, the trail was heavily covered in snow. To the left and to the right of the trail, the terrain was hard to discern because it was white all around. . .in every direction. The trees were enormous. You could tilt your head all the way back and still not see the tops of them.  Only the two of us were out in the forest it seemed. It was quiet and even though I wore a bight orange warning vest to be visible to hunters, we didn't hear a single shot. We hiked upwards through the snow and over streams. Every step was an effort. Our boots kept sinking into the snow and to take the next step was intentional. We didn't make it all the way to the top because unfortunately the sun sets faster when you are having fun. It didn't matter though, the few miles we saw had 360 views of awesome. I wanted to stay there forever. That hike was pivotal for me. I am a logical, rational person. I don't drift easily into imagination or magic. I could never sit through Christmas stories as a child because I didn't understand the foundations they were built on. It sounds crazy, but seeing snow, touching it, feeling it, and hiking through it helped me believe in the intangible: hope. It's such a simple feeling. To answer the age old question, if nobody is in the forest and a tree falls I believe it still makes a sound.

-Ashley

Snow shoes anyone?

Today we hiked another part of the PCT (pacific crest trail). We had to drive out past Carson and Stabler Hemlock about 20 minutes away from the house. Such a pretty drive. The snow got thicker and thicker the higher we drove, peoples roofs and cars were completely covered. We saw horses in their winter blankets and smoke rising from the chimneys on houses. This part of the trail we hiked today looked much different than the other part we explored a couple weeks ago, more than likely due to the fact that it was covered in snow! Ash and I agreed it was the most snow we'd ever seen. Some parts appeared 2-3 ft deep. We were told about this trail by a lovely woman who works at Angus' lodge. She has hiked all the trails in the region and this one came highly recommended. She told us at the top was the most spectacular vista in the area. It is a 4 mile hike up to it but unfortunately since it starts to get dark so early here (4:30pm) we only made it half way. No matter though, we still saw plenty of stunning scenery. This hike is a quiet one, with only the sound of running water in certain parts, and snow dripping off tree branches the rest of the time. The light reflects off the snow giving a very interesting blue quality to the light. The trees are huge to begin with but are made to look even larger when covered in snow. Everything looks and feels different, majestic, the stuff oil paintings are made of. You can see which direction you need to walk but the actual pathway was covered in snow so periodically along the edges you could see where other hikers had clipped ribbons and strings to branches to mark the trail. The only way to find the start of the trail was looking for an unmarked wooden bridge off the side of the road. We were unsure if we'd found the correct bridge but after we hiked in a ways we came to a stream intersecting the path that we had to ford across. We'd been told about this so we knew we had the right place. A ways in further was yet another stream but luckily the park rangers were nice enough to have built a small bridge over it. Initially Ash and I had bundled up in our heaviest cold weather gear but as we hiked along we started to get overheated, so off came the scarves, gloves, and hoods, jackets became unzipped and at one point ash was just down to a t-shirt and jeans. We would have continued to be warm but parts of us had gotten wet from stream crossing and melting snow so we eventually had to put our hats and jackets back on. When we realized our time was up we quickly ate the lunch we'd packed and trolloped back down the mountain. As we descended all I could think of was how incredibly small I felt. Most of the time I go through my life being a bit self centered but I really enjoy the times when it's all put into perspective for me. Being surrounded but trees 50 times taller than me and vast expanses of forest all around can really remind you of your insignificance in the scheme of things. I kind of feel the same way when I'm star gazing. So much out there that very few people actually take notice of. I continued to ponder life all the way back to the bridge. When we first arrived ash and i had played in the snow and made snow sculptures on the bridge railing, they were still there when we left. We plan on going back and giving ourselves more time to see that vista at the end of the trail.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE HIKING PICS

Make sure you click on each photo on the photo bucket page to enlarge it for better viewing!

More Adventures With Ice and Company

It's been snowing on and off, melting away then accumulating again. We've had some good fun with it, and learned some new lessons about life in snow. See Exhibit 1- why you should always give yourself 30 extra minutes to get anywhere in the morning after a snow: (we've learned how to put videos in the blog, so thankfully no more having to go to you-tube! Just press play below.)

Scraping off the snow and ice without a scraper and warming up the car.

(we will be investing in a scraper soon!)

See Exhibit 2- Things are only temporary in the snow:

We have had some experience now with driving in the snow, and we've learned that up here they don't put salt on the roads due to environmental concerns. The salt would melt with the ice and runoff into the river affecting the natural habitat. To help with the traction on the roads they spread this reddish material called scree, which is ground up volcanic rock. Happy to say it works quite well, we haven't had any slipping or sliding at all while driving.

All in all for the little annoyances snow and ice bring, their positives make them welcome in our lives anytime!

Was your Tofurkey Turkey day good?

Ours was! We relaxed and got to video chat with family members which was really nice. It doesn't take the place of being there with them, but it sure beats a regular phone call. After that I cleaned the house and Ash cooked up a storm laying out a delicious spread of Tofurkey stuffed with wild rice stuffing, roasted veggies,  fresh rosemary buttermilk mashed potatoes, almond herb gravy, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce.

We noshed, laid around for a bit trying to recover from the post food coma, loved on our furry cat children, and then some friends came over and we visited and relaxed for a while. I believe this was our first holiday away from "home"... and while it was a little sad, we still felt a great sense of accomplishment that we are starting to make our own traditions and our own new sense of home.

Winter Wonderland

It started to snow all around us last week, and then it descended upon Stevenson a few days ago. The landscape was transformed from colorful reds, oranges, and golds, to white! I'd only ever experienced small amounts of snow in the past, nothing like what we're seeing now. Not that it's been a blizzard, bu there's definitely been enough to play about. We'd hiked up the hill behind us last week and Ash got to see snow for the very first time. It was like another world up there. Soft fluffy snow drifted slowly from the sky and landed silently all around us. I was amazed at how quiet it was. All the tree limbs were weighed down heavy with the stuff too. We crunched around in it, threw it around, and generally made a fool of ourselves like little kids. I'm sure to people from the north we looked out of our minds but to us it was like we'd landed on another planet. What made it more unusual seeming was that at the time there was no snow at our house. It was hardly even cold, yet less than 10 minutes away we were being covered in the stuff. I'd forgotten how wet snow is. You see it and it just looks like the powder flakes used in movies, but playing out in it results in looking like you've gone swimming in your clothes. We had to make ourselves a coat rack to hang our jackets on to dry. I also invested in a pair of the long john type thermal underwear because in snow, jeans just don't keep you dry. strangely enough the air doesn't feel cold enough to warrant all this white stuff, and as you will see in the video ash was quite comfy tromping around in it with a t-shirt. In addition to snow we have had icicles, which I actually find more amusing than snow. I just get giddy when I can break an icicle off a roof or object and lick it or chase people around with it like it's a dagger.. I know, I just turned 5 again.. but it is loads of fun seriously, try it some time. There was also a frozen puddle in the driveway that looked like a wee frozen lake. I stared at it and imagined tiny people ice skating across it's surface. Then I tried stepping on it. Apparently it was only frozen on a top layer because it cracked and I could see bubbles and liquid sloshing around underneath the surface. I know what you're thinking, and don't worry, I would never actually try to walk on a real frozen lake in this way, I have watched TV you know...  Today there was enough snow and ice on our little road beside the house to get the idea to try sledding down it. We only had a lid from a huge rubbermaid storage container but we tried our best. I wouldn't have called it a success necessarily, but it was a heck of a fun time. I threw all the snow drenched video clips together in a montage of silliness for your enjoyment:

CLICK HERE TO SEE FOOLS ON ICE

The Simple Things

We arrived here to an empty house that we have steadily been turning into a welcoming home. The staggering beauty of our natural surroundings outside has kept us mostly occupied but we've made time every day to work on projects inside and they are all starting to come together now. It started with a coffee table and an end table, then a couch and dining table, now book shelves and a tv stand. Throw those together with some paint, elbow grease and patience and you start to see something really rewarding. For only a few bucks and a little creativity we are ending up with a living space that looks like it would have cost an arm and not one, but two legs. It's still a work in progress but we're getting close. I have been all warm and fuzzy with feelings of accomplishment and pride over what we are creating for ourselves. Here's a sneek peek at some inside features of our house as it's being completed (video tour coming soon):

 

 This was an old brown table from the goodwill outlet bought for $10.
Now it's a chic modern nod to 80's and early 90's music culture.



























This was a sweet IKEA craigslist find for $10. It actually didn't need any work at all.

 Another $10 treasure from the goodwill outlet. This tv stand just needed some paint touch ups.

This is my favorite $10 find also from the goodwill outlet, the swanky blue swivel chair! Miguel the stuffed sheep really likes it too.

The couch was a $15 craigslist score which I painted.. yes painted... the grey/blue color. It was originally the color of the pillows but had some discoloration and cat scratch damage. You can't tell now though!  The coffee table and side table were also craigslist finds, a "splurge" at $30 for the pair lol. Well worth every penny! They weren't the right color though so they got sanded and repainted. You probably noticed too the wall mural. That is really the focal point of the room I think. It was a culmination of on sale and abandoned leftover paint from the shed, 3 days of work, and a roll of masking tape.

 

This is a little informal sitting area we placed across from the dining nook. We already had the papasan chairs and the steamer trunk from before, but we scored the red IKEA rug (actually 2 of them) for $6 at the goodwill outlet, and the pet bed from CVS at $4.99.

 Last night Ash and I were hand sewing two curtains for the kitchen from cute fabric I found on sale. 

I had never sewn anything of substance before. It was simple yet so rewarding. I'm currently working sewing a curtain for the bathroom out of different fabric too.

 Yesterday I made a cheeze-tastic and tasteless bird feeder out of an empty cat litter jug and some recycled craft supplies I salvaged from other projects. While the concept of a strip club for birds is somewhat unsavory, I couldn't pass up the opportunity for puns and double entendres.

Being self sustaining and hands on is truly a feeling like no other. Day before yesterday Ash and I went down to the apple tree, this time with our ladder. We picked about a dozen of them and Ash cooked them up into a delicious warm apple crisp. She also baked from scratch organic chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. We shared it all with our new friends who have been so generous and kind to us. They have been inviting us down to the pubs in town to chat and meet other locals. The pubs/bars here are nothing like back in FL. These are well lit, usually serve food, and you can't smoke inside. They seem to be designed for conversations and they don't play their music too loud, a nice change. Last night one of the bartenders had her cute little Pomeranian in there and everyone was playing with it. Socializing has been a blast as everyone we've met has been intelligent, interesting, and friendly. They all seem to know each other too and that makes for a very open and relaxed atmosphere. So far we have chatted with a groovy political science professor, a local resort lodge owner who is a long distance kayaker, a  professional photographer from Poland who has traveled all over the world and who hand built a gorgeous wood house down the street from ours, a slightly mysterious and elusive but sweet government employee who works in the sustainability department, an eccentric local coffee roaster/distributor, a woman who works with birds of prey and belly-dances on the side, a sprightly bar tender from a local award winning microbrewery called "the walking man", and many other local business owners and colorful characters that make up the residents of Stevenson.

 

On a closing note for this long blog, it snowed all around us a few days ago, and you could see it on the mountain tops. How pretty is that??!!! We were just thrilled! They are predicting a little snow later this week in town, hard to believe since it really has not seemed cold enough for that. I can't wait, it's gonna be so fun! The locals told us they close the roads in town when it snows any appreciable amount (which very rarely happens they say) and they go sledding down the streets and snowboard to their jobs in town whatnot. We got such a kick out of that. The locals are really excited about the prospect of it snowing here, listening to them talk about it reminds me of hearing people in florida talk about the rare times it snowed there, its like an excuse for a play day. 

Stay tuned!

~Kris