Moment of Silence please... smile, I mean I am so sad

THE ROOSTER HAS DISAPPEARED!!!!! Forrest and Gary think I hired the chicken mafia to take care of the nasty bird. Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. The bird was pecking, kicking and attacking me every time I strolled through the yard. Poor Roxanne got beat up by him every time she came over. Kick him, he came back for more. I played rooster and purse baseball, he was a bit stunned and came back at me meaner than before. Really, I don't know what happened to him, I am a bit concerned and would like to know what his fate really was.. No more ruffling my hens feathers. RIP.

Springtime in Dundee!!!

Wow. This is the neighbors vineyard behind the Dundee Property. Caught just in time, they weeded it the next afternoon. Nothing beats a good cloud day!

Update : What is Going On??

Spring is in full swing out here in Dundee. My daffodills are blooming, the iris' I planted are sprouting and are being persuaded to bloom in their first year. Spring Break has passed, Forrest went to Arizona to visit family and pick up some tools. He bought a truck to bring these tools home and broke down in the Mojave desert, he was towed to Barstow, CA where he was stuck for many days figuring out what to do. He has come home with some funny stories that you all can ask about in the future. Maggie, Rosie, Riley and I went to Lincoln City for 2 days. We stayed in the most awesome, frugal hotel ever!!! The Historic Anchor Inn. It reminded me of Ernie Hoods house in West Linn. Covered in kitchy antiques, a mounted bear's bust made of moss, and one of the coolest original retro bars I have ever seen. It is really affordable, takes big dogs, and they serve breakfast in the morning. You can find them listed on my links. We ran the dogs, Riley learned to swim by surprise, and Maglet taught me to felt, my new favorite hobby!!

My dad's cancer treatments are finally working and he gets to lay off a bit on the chemo. We are still waiting to see what is going to be the best route for him to take. It is looking hopeful. My mom and I want to get him better enough so they or we can all take a trip, maybe a Alaskan Cruise. Mom needs a vacation too, caregiving is tough work. I just wish she would quit smoking. I am trying really hard to quit, and can almost never resist when spending time with her. If she were to quit it would make it easier for me to spend more time at their house.

I have been continually throwing my back/right hip out this month. Pain like I hadn't experienced in years took over my body the week before my beach trip and is coming back today. I really don't know if I can take living with that sort of pain. I can take pain, I am a pain princess, but specific pains, yikes!! Poor Forrest didn't sleep his entire week of finals, he had to listen to me screaming and crying from the persistent, sharp pains, while he tried to help me and get some really needed rest. Sorry Baby. It is coming back and I am fighting it, taking it easy, allowing myself to take care of me. Sometimes I get so mad at myself, my body. I want so much from my life, but the Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome keeps getting in my way. I would give anything not to hurt anymore. Anything. Forrest's Mom is really trying to help me. She is a ND, and really good at what she does. Thankfullness for her isn't enough to describe all that she does for me.

Forrest has one term left and he will have his Associates Degree. He just found out that he is the first member of the Arriaga family to acutally have a college degree. Shocking to both of us, but really cool. He came home the other day with a life size poster of himself from PCC. Ever since he did the scholarship speech last year he has been the poster boy for donations and voting in favor of PCC bond measures. He has been working for Freightliner and was lucking enough to still have work, until the end of this week. Forrest is looking for work now, we really hope he can find employment in the industry he has been training so hard to enter into. We'll see.

That's the quick rundown, I gotta go heat pack my hip. Bleh.

Today is My 29th Birthday

At 1:14pm 29 years ago my mother brought me into the world. You can still visit the building where my birth took place, though it has gone through major reconstruction. Bess Kaiser Hospital became an Adidas Sportswear Headquarters. 29 doesn't feel much different from the lower 28 years prior to 1:14pm today. Cruising faster towards 30 I battle the indecision of whether it is better to get older, or maybe best to grow younger. 30 years old. 30 years old means you are an adult, you have history, you have experience you wished and thought you had at 22. But 30 hasn't hit and the cover of blaming my indiscretions on being in my 20's has now, 364 days until expiration.

Noah's Awake & With Us!!

Noah woke up the day after I posted the story of his accident. He is doing well and thankfully is acting quite like himself. He is talking, eating, but still in alot of pain. He has some Rehab to go through and is expected to make a full recovery. He is one lucky dude!!!

Noah Norton's Christmas Accident

My dear young friend Noah was hit by a pick up truck on Christmas Evening as he walked home along the road he lives on from a friends house with his wife and our friend also, Roxanne. The truck didn't stop. Noah is currently in Emanuel ICU with a fractured skull, bruised brain, punctured lung, shattered shoulder blade, fractured knee & wrist, and he is still in a coma. His doctors are hopeful because he is only 20 and super strong that he will make it, and that is all we can hope for. Here's the link for short version of the story from oregon live.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/12/newberg_police_seek_pickup_in.html

Let's all send him good wishes for a speedy recovery. Noah is a kind, helpful, passionate, and enthusiastic person, these things happen to good people and I will never understand why.

Snow Storm of 2008!!

The rooster ventured out during the first sunbreak we'd seen in days.

This is the view over my garden looking west over the filbert orchards during the snowstorm. We had at least 20" of snow, and almost an inch of freezing rain!!