Lovely Luna

Note to self: I tried to post a blogger video but gave up after an hour. Making do with two photos instead. Will have to read blogger help - crap.

Luna likes to stretch her legs and zip around for a while before she crashes.
She climbed all the way up the bookcase and my sewing mannequin before making her way down again. She does smell a bit but it might have been more pronounced because she wasn't used to being snuffled by giant Labs in the middle of the night.

She will sleep for eight or nine hours at a stretch. She is very curious.

Luna enjoys anything that resembles a tunnel. At first glance, she appears a little chubby back there but surprisingly, she fits into anything her snout leads her into.

Her cage at OSU is a quite roomy three foot by four foot. We are working on a traveling guest house for when she returns at Christmas break. So we don't have any more Lab moments.

Brian arrived home late Wednesday night - after I had already gone to bed. My husband and Brian decided to lock the cageless Luna in the bathroom for the night - where the dogs couldn't get to her.
Except, when I got up at 5am (I slept in!), the door was ajar, not open all the way it usually is. I knew something wasn't right.
Going in, the shower curtain was pulled. Bedding was strewn across the bathroom floor. It all gave me the willies. I could not look behind that shower curtain.

Apparently, she slept in the bathtub all night. Apparently, the dogs gave her a huge snuffle and no one got nasty. Apparently, I've got to find a guest house for Miss Luna so I can rest easier next time she visits.
She spent the remainder of her Thanksgiving visit in our laundry room, barricaded in.

We Have A Guest

Can you guess what kind of guest?

Just staying a few nights. It will then go home to Corvallis.
The dogs gave it a good snuffle the first night.
It sleeps most of the day.

Sunbeam

I forgot to add this photo

In the frenzy leading up to a show - or a bazaar,
Robyn always remembers how to merchandise.

Now if I could figure out how to take a good photo
of a glass ball with snowmen earrings inside.

Bazaar Time

All pretzels are sold out.

Also Sold Out

Peppermint Bark Whacking Time

                     Serious OSU Fans.

My Favorite of Suzi's

Sun Visor CD Holder

U of O

Another Suzi Creation

                     Suzi & Robyn Jewelry

                     Dress up your dish soap

Clothespin Hamper.

Bazaar Woman

Dealing with work, last-minute creations and a cold, it's Wednesday night and official set-up night for the Baker's Acre's Holiday Bazaar.  Whew.

Bazaar starts tomorrow in Canbyland. Thursday, Friday & Saturday.

The Brazen Head

Eating in Ireland

I keep running into this conversation where the person I am talking to knows this other person who is so vegan, so allergic, so *insert trendy food disease* , that the afflicted person cannot travel out of their comfort zone.
Despite my dietary restrictions, I am choosing not to be so constrained.
Because of my job that often requires me to work over the course of 12 hours, I have found several foods that are always with me - just in case. Those are the foods I took with me to Ireland for the week. Fresh Cameo Apples, fruit roll-ups,  fruit & nut bars and my dairy-free, soy free chocolate.
I chose to think of the food I was bringing not only as insurance but to create a empty space in my bag to bring home treasures and souvenirs.
Bear in mind that it's not easy. My goals to try and eat 1000 cal. every day and to work on identifying when I am hungry are very serious. Food made me sick for so long that I have lost the ability to tell when I am hungry.

I had such a day when we traveled to Galway on the west coast of Ireland. We had probably walked over 20 miles each of the previous two days in Dublin -looking around and being tourists. We got distracted finding a place to eat breakfast. When we did, the only protein they had was yogurt. We then met up with my daughter and friend and got more distracted, then we hopped a 2.5hr. bus to Galway. Getting there with about an hour or two left of daylight, we decided to explore the town. I let myself get tired and I did not watch my protein intake. I was stopping and looking for somewhere to eat but my sister wasn't hungry yet. I was too tired to insist on eating and then it went too far. I shut down, going back into survival mode. I was only able to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. No street signs in Galway meant we didn't quite have our bearings - where was the hotel? I finally got what my brother-in-law had said about my sister making little bee stings.

But I have been to survival camp before. Albeit, its been over 10 months. Am I really that close to being there again? Have I not made progress? All-in-all, a somewhat frightening concept.
Looking around and finally being able to vocalize that I needed food, now the irrational part took over and rejected this place at 25 euro as too expensive, this place - nothing I could eat, this place - yet another salad. I needed protein and preferably warm.

Finally eating (warm mediterranean salad (chicken)), we were just a few blocks from our room. I went straight to bed and could remember those survival times when I was so tired I would go straight to bed without eating anything. I did get some serious sleep. Luckily, the hotel included breakfast and they cooked to order so I had some bacon (like our Canadian Bacon) and scrambled eggs. I felt better immediately and we were able to continue on our way - taking the great tour with Desmond to the Cliffs of Moher.

Lessons learned: I have to pay attention to eating on a schedule. I am not well enough to get distracted.
It is possible to travel easily to another country where the fish & chips (breaded and potatoes) are everywhere. One can also travel and not go on and on about your particular health maladies.
Get out of your rut - test the waters. 

One evening (in Ireland) with my daughter's friends, we ate at the Brazen Head - the oldest pub in Dublin. Here's my meal - roast of the day. It looked to be the most edible for me. I had already tried the fish &chips and a half-glass of guinness earlier in the trip and was terribly bloated the next day. I stuck with whiskey as the distillery process takes out more lectins than the guinness process. All that guinness barley is -sad. Really. :(
Here were the vegetables - peas with all of their starchy lectins and carrots which are more moderate for me.
The pork was good. I left the gravy and potatoes.

Men Who Stare At Goats.

We are proud to announce the arrival of our new movie theater in Canbyland.
Weighing in at 8 screens, the new movie place is a gem.

We saw this movie.
Our review? Hysterically funny in places. George Clooney was a great straight man. Won't tell you about the ending. Overall - good Sunday afternoon matinee.

Teeth Cleaning and Crystal Balls

This is just a tip for you folks out there. Our prediction for the Willamette Valley winter?
It will be mild.

No crazy snowstorms where we find out Oregon owns three snowplows. No frigid ice storms trapping us with no power in our glad we built a fireplace homes.

It will be mild.
How do I know this?

Because I was lying down in the dental chair with my mouth wide open and sharp implements sticking out when the hygienist asked her questions.

I mean, you can't lie in this position. The hygienist knows.

 

Care to weigh in?

Ireland slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Why we didn't drive in Ireland

Stunning. Amazing. Wow.
There are signposts everywhere in Ireland - at every intersection. 

God help you if the post has fallen down.

It's only 2 1/2 hours to drive west from Dublin over to Galway. If I had driven, maybe 7 hours. The bus started out on a toll road, switched to road construction detours and went through numerous round-a-bouts. All with signposts leaning every which way.
This particular bus went straight through - no stops.

Such a small distance compared to Oregon. 2.5 hours, for me, is just past Eugene, not quite all the way to Bend. From Dublin north, past Belfast to Derry is only about 3 hours. That's it. Small country, easy to get around, lovely people and, of course, I want to go back.

I had wanted to rent a car - just to say I did. Driving on the wrong side with the stick shift in my left hand. All the guide books tell you to do so, but parking is expensive, fuel is expensive and it was only 10euro to get across the country - even cheaper booking on-line. I can see getting one of those new small laptops just to travel with - to make reservations, to find out about sights suggested by the locals - to deal with mechanical problems with the plane at Schiphol Airport - Amsterdam.

Internet access was easy to find most places and we even uploaded photos from our camera at one stop to send home.

And street signs? Occasionally spotted on Dublin streets high up on the second story (1st floor). No street signs in Galway.