More Randomness

My blogging seems to be getting pulled in different directions, just like my life -- I keep starting projects then getting sidetracked with something else, and nothing ever gets done.

So here are a few completely random photos.

First, it is a well known fact that I'm not a "crafty" person, never have been and never will be. Apparently the solution is to stick to projects suited for a 5-year-old. Melissa and Danica invited me over to make pine cone turkeys, and we had a fun time (see Melissa's blog for more details). I'm kinda proud of how my turkey family turned out.



Danica has fun making elaborate houses for the Littlest Pet Shop animals (please note that these are Grandma's toys, not Danica's) LOL



I like the fact that Google occasionally honors special events, birthdays and anniversaries with a modification of their logo. Since Cookie Monster has always been one of my favorites, I was excited to see this cute one for Sesame Street's anniversary.



We have a very good, very easy chili recipe made from tomatoes, tomato sauce and 4 different kinds of beans. After rinsing out the cans to be recycled, I decided to stack them up for fun, and called it the "Leaning Tower of Chili" i.e. from Leaning Tower of Pisa ("Pizza") to Leaning Tower of Chili -- yeah, I know it's a "stretch" but that's how my brain works.



Lastly, in honor of the Thanksgiving feast, I offer for your consideration "HOW PUMPKIN PIES ARE MADE". I got this in an email from my friend Cathy. I thought it was funny, but some may disagree.

Note that the book he is reading is "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into Texas."

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Oh Happy Day!

My boss Arlene is really into the Hawaiian culture, and several weeks ago she offered me some tickets to a program of songs and dances of Hawaii, which I was interested in seeing, and Clay agreed to go. However........


Neither one of us realized it would be taking place at the same time as an Oregon Ducks football game.


Then why is he so happy, you might ask?


He has just discovered that the game is being broadcast on an FM station of the MP3 player I threw in my purse at the last moment (even though we both thought it was only broadcast on an AM station, which my player does not get). The game went into double overtime, so Clay was entertained throughout most of a fairly long program -- he said he was "multi-tasking" as he could listen to the game and watch the dancing at the same time!

So, we both had an enjoyable evening!

I took mostly movies of the dances, so here are just a couple of pictures..


These little girls were very cute.



Here are a few clips from some dances, in case you're interested (I threw this together really fast, so not very professionally done).


Oh, the Ducks won the game, by the way! :)

The Young Photographer

Problem: Waiting in the gas line at Costco with a somewhat restless 5-year-old.
Solution: Hand her a camera to play with.


The object of this picture was the autumn leaves. (You may need to look closely to spot them).



Okay, now what? Ooooh--let's take a picture of Grandpa's ear!



Oh! What's this? A body hanging out the back of the car next to us!



Scary stuff in the car's windows. (These folks are really into Halloween).



In Oregon, we only let princesses pump our gas.



Not sure what this person was dressed up as?



And of course, the required "self portrait"



Nothing like a camera to help you pass the time!

Shotgun Creek

We went hiking last Saturday at Shotgun Creek, a BLM recreation site about 1/2 hour from Eugene. It was a beautiful day -- just perfect for hiking. Sunny, not too hot, not too cold. We went with our friends, the Jackson family (except for Roy, who was on a hunting trip). We had a great time!

We chose the medium-length trail, a little over 1-1/2 miles. It was the perfect length for our group. We thought maybe Clay would have to carry Ruby on his shoulders for part of the way, but she had no trouble at all keeping up with us. In fact, I think she covered more territory than any of us -- running back and forth between everyone when we got spread out on the trail a bit.

Henry was our leader. He had to hold back a little sometimes for the rest of us to catch up to him. (Notice that the trail marker sign designates this trail as "more difficult" -- pretty impressive, huh?)


Henry is very good at watching out for his younger sister.


We didn't see much wildlife -- just mainly caterpillars and banana slugs (ugh!). I was more interested in avoiding stepping on the banana slugs than taking pictures of them, but I think Carrie got some pictures.

I think Ruby needed to be convinced to touch the fuzzy caterpillar.


A picture of this fallen tree wouldn't be as impressive if we didn't have Ruby there to show how big it really is.


Clay and I wore our "hunting season" clothing -- do you think it's bright enough to be seen? I mean, it would come in handy if I got lost and people were looking for me, right? I want that rescue helicopter to be able to find me. :)


Clay is checking out Shotgun Creek. I had my camera ready in case he fell in, but that didn't happen -- it woulda made a great picture, though.


After the hike, we ate lunch at the nice picnic shelter there, and then the kids were anxious to play in the sand of the volleyball court. Besides the guy mowing the grass, we were the only ones at the park until a family showed up about then. (It's a very popular place during the summer, so we enjoyed having it to ourselves that day).


They filled a sock full of sand, and had fun tossing it back and forth over the net (you can see it mid-air just to the right of Ruby's head).


Henry and then Carrie started digging holes to see how far down they could dig. That sand must go pretty deep, because they were in it up to their shoulders!


There was a nice little playground, too, which the kids enjoyed.


Thank you, Jacksons, for the fun day--and for being our friends!

;)

Happy Halloween

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Random Thoughts Thursday

I occasionally take a photo that I think I would like to blog about, but then I can't think of anything to say about it -- I'm definitely not a writer! So here are a few random photos.

We went for a walk a few weeks ago. Danica had fun riding on Grandpa's shoulders. I had fun pointing my camera back over my shoulder in their general direction and taking pictures -- just to play with the camera.


I caught them pointing at something that impressed them (I think it was a birdhouse). I just find this photo amusing for some reason.


This is simply a pretty sunrise from a few weeks ago. I love taking photos of sunrises and sunsets.


I went to the farmer's market downtown a couple of days ago. I was more interested in taking pictures of the vegetables and flowers than purchasing them (prices seemed rather high to me). But it was a little awkward being in the middle of a crowd, taking pictures of the merchandise, and I seemed to be in the way too. So I only took a few pictures (and bought some corn and a tomato -- yummy!).


This is a random picture from last summer. I call it "10 on a log" -- I have no idea why they were all standing there! :)

Sisters

Yes, I realize I'm becoming a "one-trick pony." I don't blog about anything else besides my granddaughters, because I don't really have anything else worth blogging about. Clay and I haven't taken any fun day-trips this summer. We spend our Saturdays either hanging out with said granddaughters, doing chores around the house, or simply recovering from the work week.

I don't want to blog about work, of course -- who would want to read about that? Nor do I want to blog about the books I am reading (Harry Potter, Terry Brooks' Landover series, Debbie Macomber romance novels, Mary Daheim mysteries, photography how-to books), the TV shows I watch (Eureka, Warehouse 13, The Closer, Psych, and numerous "House Hunter"-type shows on HGTV), or the time I waste on the Wii. Therefore, here is another post on my wonderful granddaughters.

Danica enjoys playing with her little sister, although it's not too easy to "play" with a 2-month old. So Danica was lying on the floor besides Mira, copying what Mira was doing with her arms and legs. Danica got quite a kick out of it. Mira seems to enjoy the attention Danica pays to her.


Danica enjoys giving her sister lots of hugs and affection.


I couldn't decide which one I liked best, so here is another one.


And another one.


I hope they'll be friends forever.