Boys Grow Up

This is my boy.

Celebrating in style after completing his Pharmacy Doctorate Program from OSU (Oregon State University).

Out of a class of just over 100 graduates this year, OSU and OHSU (Oregon Health Sciences University) gave away ten awards to twelve of the graduates. My son was given the Most Outstanding Graduate of the entire class.

He has been president of his class, been active in the pharmacy fraternity, attended numerous pharmaceutical conferences and events, helped produce a winning film for OSU about the pharmacy program. He also helped get legislation passed that allows Oregon Pharmacists to dispense birth control to women.

Above and beyond that, he has a mom who has an auto-immune disease. He has seen me actively seek tests and information so I can be as functional as possible. His education, just like medical doctors leans heavily on drugs to help symptoms. He knows I would like to be drug-free for as long as possible and has acknowledged that my naturopath and voodoo hippie doc (chiropractor) have identified what is wrong with my immune system where traditional doctors have failed miserably.

He has seen my awkward health journey and has worked to incorporate it into his training.
He will be doing his residency closer to home next year (residencies are optional) and is very excited to finally be out of school.

 I am so proud to be his mom. He is amazing.

Central Oregon

Putting Together A Puzzle

I started this Thanksgiving Day
 - it's about to implode and take me with it - where I can't stop fitting puzzle pieces until I'm done.



The journaling had become one more thing to do and I had to take some blogging time off.

My work schedule is a bit better next week. I don't have to go in until 11am - I have all my mornings on a consistent schedule. Next week will be different.


Thanksgiving turned out way better than expected. Daughter is in Guatemala for the winter so I had to make do with the son. He was lavished with 10 dz chocolate chip cookies amongst other food items (when do you get over thinking that your child might starve if you don't provide goodies?)


I did manage to meet Pencil Girl at RCT Fabrics in Portland recently. She had a quarter beef for me to put in my freezer. We looked at fabrics, discussed projects, caught up on our busy lives, and then went to coffee.


We both bought this burn out knit, me in the lightest pink, she in the brown. This is the store example with the brown knit 'piping'.



The day job has included too much overtime since June (again) and now we are starting the Christmas rush.

We moved my Mom & Dad this summer - all 45 years accumulation from their 3500 sq ft house on the hill down to a  much smaller single level 1300 sq ft house. They not only changed their address but also their phone number. They are in their 80's and this was a Herculean task.

They insisted on moving the pool table from the basement for the use of the two grandkids who visit once a year from Minnesota. There was a moment when I told my dad, "You are crazy".
Very stressful but their old house sold in 7 weeks, they are ensconced in their new house and finding their way. My sis, the MN whirlwind, came a few weeks ago and helped hang pictures, figure out furniture placement and help meet the neighbors.




I did manage some of the local christmas bazaars.
 
 Above: Paper cones swirled into an ornament.
Below: Magnets made of old maps, origami folded.

I didn't buy much - just looked and enjoyed.






I pinned this folded star trivet and planned on making two for Christmas presents.

 I managed to make one for my MN Sis so she could haul it back in her luggage - (saves me the shipping). So - one more to go.
 
Too busy to snap a photo but it is in similar red and aqua colors.




 
I have ideas on what I want to do with this Sashiko stitching.

 I made two of these! The first one was completed and lost over at my friend's house this summer. She has now found it and will send it to me.
I liked the design so much, I ordered another and it was much faster to stitch the second time around.


Going to camp out in my sewing room this afternoon. Got another pendleton pillow to sew.

80 Years Young

The New Machine Rocks

  My creative friend came over and MADE me take my new machine out of the box last weekend. Hard to believe two weeks have passed since Sew Expo!

I still have the overtime at work - which easily bought this beauty - hanging me up. My mom's 80th Birthday bash is next weekend so some free time was spent arranging the ordering of the cake, getting enough Pepsi to float the boat, and three kinds of easter candy so my great-nieces will have something to eat at the old folks party.

After work and cake stuff, I sat down and threaded my new machine and played - just a bit.

Not sure if I was doing it correctly but the bobbin wound up s-l-o-w-l-y. 

 Maybe you are supposed to wind slowly ( so as not to stretch the thread?) and the machine is gonna make a better sew-er of me! Ha.

 This is a scrap of pajama pant knit that happened to be lying around (who hid the sewing room elf???). I put the dual feed foot down and it stitched evenly on this stretchy knit with no adjustments from me.  Would I even know how to adjust?

 Stitch #188
Look at #207. The ANT. He might be the clincher on my Pfaff deal.

My mom has always liked pepsi so I thought I would get a variety for her party next weekend.
Did you know they stock eleven varieties at Target???
I managed eight into my cart before I had to go some place else. OMG.  really.

Which is her favorite???
Mom was a little overwhelmed by choices.

And--wait for it -- my sis asked me to get some wine also - which I never do at Target.
Ready?

I'm the middle sister. The wine falls under my "less than ten bucks" rule. And the label Rocks!
First up is a "REBEL RED", then the  "WILD ONE", and finally, "FOREVER COOL"

Not too keen on Merlot so I skipped the Blue top sis. The red is a table wine (!) and the green "Wild One" is a Malbec (?)

tomorrow, a.k.a. Laundry Day: Need to finish taxes.
If it continues to rain, then I can not only play but sew a project. 

Kindles & 78 Year Olds

I've been taking my mom to E-reader class at my public library in Canbyland.
I have a friend who adores her Kindle because it is slim, fits into her purse and she can take it on multiple road trips north and ALWAYS have access to a book.
My mom & dad recently traveled east to visit my sis in Minnesota. I know they packed four books each AND read what was available in Minnesota as well.

Now - I don't want a Kindle - at all  (although I am saving up for a smart phone and a IPAD).
I live in Clackamas county and have free access to all nine libraries in the county system. I go onto the computer (internet) and look for books and place them on hold. When they come into Canby, I go pick them up.
So easy to do.
I thought my mom would enjoy the Kindle because of the ability to increase the font size. Surprisingly for her - this is not an issue with her (yet). She's a little computer challenged and she has not yet learned how to locate books online through her Washington County library system.
My library started offering e-reader classes back in November. I invited my mom to the class and she indicated an interest in the Kindle. But it has been a tough road to learn. From the foreign computer lingo to library talk, from amazon stuff to Libraries2Go, etc. We are working on it one step at a time.

For me - this works with my schedule. The upside is I get to spend time with my mom (alone), take her to lunch and get her out of her comfort zone.
Today's lesson was where to plug the cord into the Kindle (cactus up) and plug the plug into a wall socket so it can recharge.
Last week's lesson: How to turn it completely OFF. If you slide the off button once - it puts the device to Sleep. If you hold the on/off slider for about 10 seconds - it will completely power off - saving battery power.
It's slow, but Mom is coming along. Libraries2Go no longer intimidates her. She accepts that she will get to Amazon.com eventually. And she has deleted an expired library book from her Amazon "Manage Your Kindle" page. Woohoo!

We keep repeating.

When I was thinking about this post, I was trying to formulate words to express why a 78 year old would even want a kindle. Well- I see my mom & dad shutting down in their retirement. Mom goes to her same groups/clubs. A world of if this is Tuesday, then this happens. Predictable. The same, mind-numbing daily stuff. Getting my  mom to pop a few neurons learning new things is a goal for all of us to emulate. Is that why I like blogging? Learning new HTML code? Learning how to replace a background that has gone blank? How to highlight hyperlinks?

Just this morning I wasted spent an inordinate amount of time putting together a music playlist because I saw one on a blog I had just read. In the process (#@!$%##!!!), I learned a few new swearwords I learned some new skills. Now I have an incomplete music playlist to show for it on the blog, but hey, one thing at a time. lol

My mom has never been on the techno forefront but if she is interested, she can learn. We've been spending time together since before Christmas on this project and I anticipate spending  6 months getting her comfortable in placing books on hold via her library website and opening them up in her Kindle. She is really coming along on the new language skills.

She is the designated chauffeur when my dad needs to go to doctor visits and since my dad can talk anyone's ear off (who me?), my mom is sitting in the waiting room for lengthy amounts of times. The kindle can store a thousand books, and doctors places generally have wifi and she can download with her kindle anytime she is near a wifi place.

It's not only the font size which makes reading books easier, it's the size of the device. Plus the little booklight which comes with the case! I confess to falling in love with the case.

I have discovered several things by taking these classes with mom:
1. My mom is currently using my library code number to access Clackamas county libraries. She is having a little problem with getting her Washington Co. library card number to work. This means if she has my daughter's card number (FOR MULTNOMAH COUNTY!! the ultimate library system) she can access kindle books from any library she has the card info. for.
2. The kindle lending library is going to teach you how to put books on hold. All the latest books are on hold for someone else. There is a limited amount of available e-books. However, if you have access to other people's library cards - you could use those to see if you can find a better hold number. My mom wants to borrow "The Help". We are currently # 601 out of 771 in the queue. Maybe we can cut the time shorter by putting it on hold in Washington county as well.
3.There are no fines for e-reader books. Once they get to your kindle - you have a certain amount of days to read the book - before it goes back. You can't renew. (You have to re-start the hold to get the book again. And your Kindle will remember what page you left off on!)

Keep your brain on notice. Learn new things. Do your Sudoku, Ken-Ken, cross-words, etc. Leave room to figure out new skills. Stop saying no.

My Mom Had The Funniest Story

Or, is that an anachronism.

We were talking about snotty noses, sniffly ones this time of year. My mom was adding her part to the conversation. She starts off with "I thought it was my lot in life, having a sniffly nose every day.  We used to say - back in school, "See that man walking down the street -- with the stripe running down his pants,"" ( as she motions with her hand).

That's it.  Blank stares. Then we got it.

A  l i t t l e   s l o w e r :
"See that man walking down the street" is said as your hand casually wipes across the nose to a semi-point (down the street). "With the stripe down his pants" as your hand , again casually, swipes down your pantleg. 

Coconut Yogurt

Saturday, my mom took me out to lunch and we zoomed downtown to get birthday gift cards for my daughter's birthday. We parked in the very steep Powell's bookstore parking garage. I gave my mom a thrill ride, an almost carnival-type/octopus ride in that parking garage with my stick shift car.
Then we sauntered - make that carefully dashed across Saturday traffic to the Anthropology store. My mom almost bought this gorgeous shoulder bag. My sister is always badgering both my mom and I to buy more current clothing - that fits. Does the bag count? It had the most delicious pockets. And soft. I think I was petting it.
Maybe the daughter will buy this for her beloved mommy?

Then we went to Whole Foods on the next block to look for the coconut yogurt. I found two types plus one made from Goat's milk. We also snagged some sumptuous (but can't be healthy for you) birthday cupcakes.
Then we dashed back to Powell's to get that gift card so as not to use up our free parking hour.

All in all - a very productive mission - getting my mom out of the house, giving her some excitement in the parking garage and showing her the anthropology store.

A first review of coconut yogurt. The one on the right is a plain version sweetened with agave syrup.
I am interested in repopulating my gut with good probiotics from yogurt, rather than from my non-dairy pill made by Schiff. I'm not certain if the pill is causing a reaction.
This plain yogurt was too sweet and too coconutty. I frequently enjoy a coconut ice cream made by Luna & Larry. It is sinfully rich in chocolate but not overly sweet and there is just a hint of coconut aftertaste. My favorite is dark chocolate and it is sweetened with agave syrup. And I see by their website that Luna & Larry have some new flavors - I'll have to see if my store will stock them.

Unlike most alternative ice creams, Luna & Larry's use just a few ingredients. Like five.

Back to the yogurt: this one is made by Gata foods in Tigard, Oregon (buy local).
They also use just a few ingredients. Less for me to react to.


I have to wait and see if I have a reaction to this coconut  yogurt but  I plan on trying the marionberry variety next to see if the berry shines through and not the cloying sweetness.

Greetings From Oregon

My local library has a display set up as you enter about Oregon. Books about Oregon, books by Oregon Authors, gorgeous photo books about Oregon - you get the picture. Hard to miss as you walk up to the check-out area.

This book caught my eye; GREETINGS FROM OREGON.
Co-written by  Gideon Bosker and Jonathan Nicholas, it's filled with vintage picture postcards depicting the glory that is Oregon.
It actually leapt into my arms because of the name of Jonathan Nicholas. Originally from Wales, he somehow immigrated to Oregon where he was a semi-famous columnist for the Oregonian.
He was one of the reasons we subscribed to the Oregonian. >>Why are all the newspapers deleting their columnists?
If they go, ....

A quick search on-line found this book as low as $2.16. Hardcover!
Greetings From Oregon is a modest 1/2" thick coffee table book with a very nostalgic feel.

I went with Powell's Books because they had two. One for me and the second for my Mom (& dad). I think she would get a kick out of all the old vintage postcards detailing sights around Oregon. Mom is an inveterate letter writer - I think  a better word might be PROLIFIC.

Now - I just have to go pick them up. Too late for Media Mail (bump city at the PO) and too cheap for Priority Mail.