BLACKBERRY PICKING PLUS

Norma, Jose and the kids missed the family & friends reunion, but we both were able to squeeze in an afternoon for a bit of berry picking and barbeque Sunday last.


Jose was scheduled to work, but decided he needed the day off more than the work. He commented on how quiet and peaceful it is here, especially when we walked up the canyon and got into the berry patch. We couldn’t have asked for better weather. Six year old Abbie got something picky caught in her sandals. Help dad!



The berries were fat and plentiful and early this year.


Doug and Jose did most of the picking and we put a quart of berries in my freezer, and another in Jose’s ice chest.


Anthony agreed that berries and ice cream is delicious.


Little miss Abbie had a  good time with some hair ornaments that were headed to the Good Will. She has the most beautiful, lush hair you’ve ever seen. Of course, I’m jealous since I inherited my father’s thin strands instead of my mother’s beautiful tresses.
It was nice to take an afternoon away from a far too busy schedule.  I’m still fielding work progress on the Oregon property. Yesterday, I did a final program on the Quyle Kiln’s 60th Anniversary for Public Access Television. Today, I’ll finish a written piece for Ceramics Magazine. I finished my inventory for insurance, a massive photo project, that took five days to complete between refining the watering system to withstand the water reduction requirements of the drought. (I always take on projects instead of saying no.) And, finally, I can think about what I’m going to pack to return to the Motor Home. I’m looking forward to being back on the road.

A PICTURE PROJECT.

It rained most of yesterday, pleasantly. Jim and I took a walk between raindrops, but mostly I worked on my picture file. After having tossed all of my pictures and getting most of them back, I’m disaster shy and decided maybe I’d like to publish some of my blogs in a book like they advertise on Lulu or Blurb or half-a-dozen other outfits. The save-to-disk feature was difficult and having one of those outfits print your blog for you is a somewhat complicated organizing task. I ended up buying, online, a new laser printer instead. It  will print my stuff out very professionally for less than the publisher could do it.  All of this explanation to get to a bunch of barn pictures that had been lost, now found. The ivy covered silo above caught my eye on a rainy day, somewhere in the east in 2010.

Eastern barns, because of winter weather, are much more substantially made. These were taken with my old camera, and I notice it very much when I prowl around old files.

In fact, most of them were taken through the window while moving down the road.

I continue to think of barns as endangered species, so I expect I’ll keep getting as many pictures of them as I can in my travels. There is a website I used to visit often of a woman who chose barns, gas stations, bridges, signs, I can’t even remember all of the subjects she chose. She would say, “…oh, don’t get me started on another subject!”  She would travel around the U.S. with one subject in mind to preserve it in photos. Her photos will probably be famous some day. That is not my aim, but I think it is a fun idea.  She actually pinpointed where each barn or beach or sign was located and gave the exact date she was there.

If I went back and read my blog for March 2nd or 3rd  in 2010, I’d probably know where I was. Does that make sense?

This barn resembles a California barn and may be a picture I stuck in the same file. I think I’ll  go back to my project and call it a day.

FUN IN THE BANK.

I helped work on the paint job yesterday. I painted five window frames and two doorways,  which required having the doors open to the wonderful, cool weather we had yesterday. My son was having problems with his back and I decided I could do it myself. I enjoyed it, but there are eleven doors in this house and many windows still unpainted. So, we will be at it for two more days, at least.

With open doorways, I decided to get all the projects stowed in boxes under desks and in corners up off  the floor and consider which one to start with. DON’T PUT OFF ‘TIL TOMORROW…  you know what I mean.

A book on brew-tasting I wrote when the craft beer movement first got started. Unsold. I thought I should put it together. Scrapbooks of trips left unfinished. To many to name.

All week long, I’ve washed and sorted through a barrel of wool for rug-making. Braided, hooked and rag rugs are beautiful and long-lasting.

This is an unfinished hooked rug I started too many years ago.

I’ve braided eight area rugs. This one is in my living room. The biggest one I made was four-foot diameter circle rug that I’ve given to a friend.

Two small ones designed to be place in front of chairs so the carpet doesn’t wear down in one noticeable place.

A washable rag rug for the bathroom. It is made of cotton, not wool. I enjoy making rugs and the end result.
I’ll store the wool until cold weather sets in. I didn’t photograph the number of quilts I’ve cut and haven’t sewn. Or art projects unfinished. I’m never bored, as intended. But, I  think I have YEARS of projects on hold. Oh, well. It’s like fun in the bank.

IMPORTANT PREPARATION.

Since I’m detained at home, I’m using my time productively, catching up on neglected chores and projects. Some fun, some not. The house appeared to be in good shape, but it needed painting.
I hired Jube and Joel to do the prep work. Joel worked nine hours one day, and the two of them worked 10 hours the second day. I had forgotten how much work preparation  work there is. Joel would explain, “to do it right, all of this loose paint has to be scraped, sanded and primed. ” Kind of like the seemingly endless medical tests I’ve been undergoing before surgery. To do a good job, they want to make sure you are in good shape. Of course, I want to move things along instead of all this waiting. It’s looking like I won’t be able to fly back to the motorhome and resume travels until after Christmas. (groan).

Yesterday, my son Doug came with his airless and roll upon roll of masking tape and started spraying the eves.

It takes little repairs along the way, some of which Jube and Joel did.

A cracked and rusted spot in the downspout.

The house settles and needs caulking and other stuff here and there I’d forgotten about. I guess the same is true of the old body. I could stand a bit of scraping and caulk here and there along the way and I guess I’ll get it.

The house and I will both be better off for the makeover. And, I won’t be inclined to let things deteriorate so much this time around.
It will be nice to come home to a pretty house when all is said and done. And, it will be nice to think my good health will continue with a bit of an assist. who knows, if it weren’t for the accident in May, I wouldn’t have known I had a health problem at all, as strange as that seems. We have to prepare for the future.