Down the Hobbit Trails.....

Since we were in Eugene for the Country Fair this past weekend we decided to make a trip to Florence on the coast to visit one of our favorite places, the Hobbit Trails. Ben and I visited the Hobbit Trails on a road trip from Wisconsin when we were still teenagers, after hearing about it from a friend. It is a very special place for us because it was also here that we discovered we were going to be parents for the first time. This was all 13 years ago!!(seems like yesterday)

The Hobbit trails lead you down through a twisted and slightly spooky forest into thick low shrubs that form a roof over tunnels worn into the sand, after you follow one of the dark tunnels you arrive at a beautiful beach, Hobbit Beach. 

The first time we visited there were not many cars parked in the small turn off of the Highway but things have changed over the past decade and the lot was full and there was a line of cars parked along the Highway. It was a Saturday so that might have a lot to do with it,but I saw that the Hobbit Trails were written about in a travel magazine a few years ago. But Lucky for us there were other folks around when we needed a jump since I left the headlights on(from driving through tunnels) and when we got back to the van we found our car battery quite dead. We found people to help immediately, yay,crisis averted!

Anyways it is a special place, if you find yourself in this area of the country it is well worth the stop!

Oregon Country Fair 2013

 Well, it was a close call but we made it to the Oregon Country Fair again this year.

We headed to the fair just for Friday because we had only a few days and wanted to squeeze in a trip to the ocean as well. The fair was really fun but I wasn't feeling too hot, so one day was enough for me this year.

Here are a few (okay a whole lot) of pictures from our day:

and the journey continues......

Yarn Along: I'm knitting again!!

 

 The knitting in the back is the frogged first attempt.

 I am happy to report that I am finding time to knit again. After a dry spell I was wondering what was wrong with me. Knitting is such great stress relief there is really no excuse to stop knitting....ever.

So I am joining along with Ginny for the yarn along.

I am currently working on a scrappy length wise scarf  after I frogged the first after I made too many mistakes. I am having a difficult time with the linen stitch for some reason, I keep losing track of were I am at. Luckily most of the mistakes I have made the second time around are blending in.

This is a great project for summer.  Portable and simple. 

I even got a moment to knit during the kids swimming lessons! Just like the good old days.

 I am currently reading Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson. I really enjoyed this book from the start, very poetic and lyrical. The story kept reminding me of a movie I have always really liked. I didn't notice until I was over halfway through that it was the book that the movie was written after, that I believe even has the same name. I never knew the name of the movie obviously or I would have made the connection sooner. Although I know the story from the movie I am really enjoying the book.

Wildwood....

Oh how I needed to escape this city. With Ben's job and my lack of desire to travel alone with three kids I have been sticking close to home  and trying to keep my eldest occupied with classes and daycamp. I am not a city person I was going nuts. We had to cancel our plans to go to the coast a few weeks ago and I was so badly in need of some nature.

So on Saturday we spent the day at Wildwood up near Mt Hood along the Salmon River for some hiking and a picnic.

Far enough away for now.......

 
 

ahhhhh, that'll do.

Welcome Summertime!

Welcome Summer! It is mighty hot here in Portland. 

 We appreciate beautiful trees and the shade they provide. We are shady oasis seekers.

 

 We have taken to daily sprinkler sessions in the late afternoon. Goobie is fearless in water, my sweet Pisces babe.  

We have been visiting the parks in the morning to get a little outside time before the heat overtakes the day. My kids are really heat sensitive so we hang out inside during the hottest part of the day.

We have been finding fun things to do inside too. Did you know you can make play dough out of coffee?

and cornstarch dough is so soft and addictive to touch...

We have been enjoying the summer bounty at the farmers market. Some of us go for the honey sticks alone....

I have been eating a lot of what I call "Vegetable mountain" . Yum! Steamed broccoli,cauliflower and kale over fried red potatoes. I use Braggs liquid aminos and Chouloula to give a little flavor. Goodness, I am hungry.

 I am so thankful we no longer live in an upstairs apartment during the heat waves of summer. It was no fun, we never had an air conditioner. Our high ceilings really help with heat.

The other day while I was making lunch I got a paranoid feeling because things were a little TOO quiet....my kids make a lot of noise, they are all screamers..all day long.I found Nalah quietly reading a book in a cozy spot.It was really sweet. I snapped this picture.

I hope you are all staying cool and enjoying summer.

Poverty isn't funny(Rant Warning): I am about to get really real.

 

Last weekend I was heading up to the park for a hike when I walked past something that made me really angry. Well I was only angry for a second, it was quickly replaced by me fighting the tears that were starting to fill my eyes. I have a lump in my throat just thinking of it now.
 What I saw was a sign tacked to a tree left over from a child's lemonade stand. The lemonade stand was a part of one of a neighbors art sale and it read " Children of Starving Artists Lemonade Stand".
 I know the sign was meant to be a joke but it wasn't funny. Not to me. Not at all.
First of all, they are not starving. They have a beautiful home with attached art studio, something I can only dream of ever having. I also know it isn't the only home they own, they have rental homes as well.
Maybe I shouldn't share such private things, but it is my hope there are others out there who can relate. I am about to be brutally honest. Please check back another time for pretty pictures of Oregon and lighter topics, I assure you I don't go here often.
We have been down on our luck now for about five years. Three layoffs and an unexpected pregnancy and a huge rent increase on top of not having any savings at all and no credit cards to fall back on. It has been very hard to say the least on Ben and I, on our marriage and our children.Ben's unemployment for the last six months didn't even give us half of what we needed to meet out monthly bills. We had to rely on luck and odd jobs to fill the VERY large gap. I was really blessed for several weeks with  a really fun creative job that saved us for a brief moment.
 Just living paycheck to paycheck sounds pretty great right now, just having enough for once. Living in poverty is shameful and isolating.Ben and I are very used to doing without, we don't go one dates or buy gifts for each other for birthdays or holidays(we do for the children),I haven't seen my family in about 4 years due to the cost of airfare, we never turned the gas heat on last winter, we had to rely on space heaters and electric wall heaters. Our power bill gets turned off...quite often. The list goes on and on. Despite having a bachelor's degree I have not had any luck finding a job which I am sure is due to my lack of work experience. Being a stay at home mom for the majority of the last 12 years despite attending art college,having a costume design internship,  a job teaching a weekly craft time, and an Etsy shop, I don't have much else to show for it.
Things are looking up though. My husband was rehired by his old employer so that is good news. The only downfall is that he works away from home out of state for weeks at a time which leaves me to care for everyone alone which can be extremely overwhelming. But that is the sacrifice we have to make to get ourselves out of this hole.
 But back to the lemonade sign. We have been down on out luck, but we still have a place to live and we are able to eat everyday. We live in a pretty trendy neighborhood  that gets a lot of foot traffic. Many of the people who frequent our neighborhood are transients and folks who rely on collecting cans out of the garbage to get by. I can't even imagine how they would feel to walk by and read that sign and then look up to see the beautiful home behind it.
I am sensitive to the "starving artist" stereotype and guilty that I chose to go to art school rather than to pursue a more practical career. My husband went to school for sound recording and music and we often joke about our impractical career dreams, we were parents already even way back then.
I feel sad for all the things my children have to do without. My eldest daughter just finished 6th grade and after the last day of school I asked her why they didn't get a yearbook. Well the other kids did, she told me she was afraid to ask me for money for a yearbook because she thought I would say that $20.00 for a book was way too much. That really broke my heart. I would have made it happen if she would have asked me. It is just a little thing, but I still feel so bad.
I got a fortune cookie the other week that said "Quit worrying about money, the best things in life are free." Which I don't disagree with at all but it is easy to say when you have money for rent. A job layoff can happen to anyone, let us be sensitive to others in need. No one wants to live in poverty, to  let their families and children down and make them struggle.
Please fancy house with art studio, two cars, and a boat, please don't joke about your starving children.

I found a great blog post HERE that I think anyone can benefit from reading, despite your financial situation.Saving money and wasting less is good for all of us.

Yarn along: Teacher's gifts and a sock and a half...

 

Joining along with Ginny this week for the Yarn Along.

 I made a few more knit cacti as  thank you gifts for Solomon's preschool teachers. Yesterday was his last day of preschool. Bittersweet, but he will be back at the same school at the end of the summer for camp. I am so excited for because the camp is called box city and they plan and  build an entire city out of large cardboard boxes. If you only knew how much this little guy likes boxes, fort building is a daily event. So is tripping over them when trying to get from one room to another. Thanks Grandma Joan for making that happen for him!

This time I used super chunky yarn and size 10 dpn's so that the cactus would fit the bigger pots that I had on hand. Sollie ended up painting four pots because both sisters accidentally broke one when they were on the porch sitting out to dry. He was a really good sport about it and just kept painting one pot after another.I think they turned out cute. They were much bigger than the others I made back at Christmas time, they stood about 6 inches tall. You can find the super quick and easy pattern here.

 

Well I have made very little progress on my socks. When I have a little time to knit late at night when the wee ones are in bed the dark yarn and the tiny needles are just too hard to see so it has been slow going, a few rows here and there at nap time or waiting for water to boil for dinner. No rush, it is beyond wool sock weather anyway.

I am still reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. I am about halfway through. I have a huge pile of novels to read for summer(thank you thrift store) so I better get a move on. Lately when I read at night my eyes cross instantly from exhaustion. Might have something to do with having three kids and a husband who works out of state. I have been fantasizing of a summer getaway, just me, a cabin near water, and a good book.....sigh. In my dreams.