The Fall Foliage and Backroads

In my rather premature fall post of Labor Day weekend I was a bit pessimistic about the fall season here. Yes, it's different, but just as glorious in it's own right. It's sort of crept up on me and this past week of gloriously perfect (and almost too warm) fall temps of highs in the low 70's and low's in the low 40's. A lot of trees were doing the typical goldish yellow turn with a few especially bright specimens here and there. The hillside hardwoods were getting easy to spot against the green pines and junipers, often along the gullies where more water and runoffs would support them. Like magic I suddenly looked around and realized it really was fall!

Then last week I went on a somewhat out of the blue backroads "errand" to Hornbrook via Montague with the guise of delivering a few Prop 8 yard signs to some interested homes. (The chances of the last batch of these signs being seen by more than 5 people is definitely questionable and I probably could've used my time a bit better.) My real reason for willingly driving around during prime naptime hours no less, was to take in the fall colors. In high school this was one of my favorite solo escapes: just start driving and see where the road went, find short-cuts or long-cuts or hidden vistas and roll down the window and sing whatever I felt like (since there was no working radio in that 1968 "thank you for not laughing at my car" Volvo).

My route took me along the opposite side of Hornbrook Mountain than I-5. The very route, in fact, that I-5 was originally proposed to follow (a bit flatter terrain) but was negotiated towards Yreka instead of Montague and so Yreka flourished while Montague became a sleepy railroad town. Not sure how true that all is, but it sounds good to me. So I set out to explore this "underdog route". And I was not disappointed.

Up the northern end of the golden Shasta Valley, past the fallow alfalfa and hay fields. As I rounded Hornbrook Mountain (more of a turtle shaped mound, but a very big one mind you), the hillside changed from gray sage and evergreens to a warm canvas of oranges gold and even REDS! The oaks were unfurling their splendor for all they were worth. I was stunned. I didn't expect to see those brilliant reds. As I turned on and off of several side road to my destination and noted how hard it would be navigate these same roads in winter, I could finally respect all the trucks I see around town and understand why you'd choose to live on an isolated hillside to get such a quiet vista of the surrounding hills. It was stunning. (I wished I'd had a camera with to capture it, or rather attempt to capture it.)

Maybe it was just the lighting and the colors or the fact that it was the north side of the mountain so there tends to be a wetter microclimate there to support more hardwoods and less sage and juniper like the dryer south side, but I fell in love with this mountainous place a little more than I had before. Today and this past weekend as I drove up to Medford twice, crossing Siskiyou Summit 4 times, I was glorying again in the beauty that is already fading. But the secret is: the most brilliant colors are off the beaten path, you can't see them flying by on the interstate.



Combine that with the trip we took the weekend before last to Kangaroo Lake with Matt's uncle Doug and I'm definitely getting a better feel for this place. On that trip we drove south of town to Grenada to Hunter's Orchard for some pumpkin picking and frolicking. Then took a backroad up the hills and east to one of the few high mountain lakes you can easily drive to. Its 6,500 ft elevation was impressive indeed. We only stayed for a few hours before decending into the Scott Valley along the river of the same name. The kids loved the lake and having their Great Uncle Doug dote on them. We'll definitely be returning with camping gear next year.



Another nearby mountain lake we attempted to visit together that same weekend was Castle Lake, just above Lake Siskiyou. It was late in the afternoon when we'd met up with Doug at the Sundial Bridge in Redding. We were supposed to be caravan-ing but I got bored and went on my own way figuring I'd call Matt who was driving with Uncle Doug in his car. I did follow the directions, but I was in my impatient "let's get to the next thing" mood that my close family knows all too well. And the turnoff sign WAS hard to see. Needless to say I went the wrong way and lost cell phone reception and although the kids and I saw some pretty scenery along the river we were following, we never got to the lake. But we did see an amazing sunset against Mount Shasta. We'll be going back to Castle Lake again, too. Evalyn was really looking forward to "meeting" the Princess that lived there. :)

Soccer!

Ahh! Keeping up with the BLOGS! I've been so bad lately in reading and posting and commenting. Let's try again... Last week was Evalyn's last soccer game of the season. Her last two games were definitely her best. It was encouraging that it had all been worth it, she had fun PLAYING soccer and got her knees muddy and played most of the time and even tried to follow the ball around: all with minimal amounts of whimpering. Yay! I really had fun working with the kids, too. Just wish we'd had one practice and one game a week instead of two games most weeks with a scattering of practices. Thanks to Matt testing out a nice Nikon D60 DSLR for work, we finally got some decent pictures. It also had made me reconsider the camera purchase.... maybe I'll hold out a wee bit longer and get a DSLR instead. : ) (And thanks to everyone who contributed to that post forever ago. Your insights were much appreciated.)

I Feel Like We've Won the Lottery

It seems like it's been ages since I blogged anything (besides last week). Or maybe it's that I have about 10 different things I've wanted to write about but every time I go to sit down and blog, my attention is needed elsewhere. Or I'm too tired or want to veg and read a book or there's so many other things going on that it just doesn't happen. Just the same old same old. :) Really, though, how DO you ultra-mommy bloggers out there do it? Tell me your secret formula for keeping up with the dishes, laundry, nurturing kids, serving in church or other volunteer activities AND writing thoughtful interesting blog posts often with fabulous pictures to accompany them? Just a hint or two will do.....

To the title of this post, I finally figured out why things have been a little tight money-wise lately. A few months back we decided to get serious about our finances and stop using our credit cards for those "not sure how much I have left in my checking account so I'll just put it on the credit card" and "I want this now and don't feel disciplined enough to save for it" purchases. Plus we used our cards a lot last fall/winter while we were moving and in between paychecks, etc. It was painful yet liberating at the same time to take that $5,000 chunk of cash I was hoping to upgrade the bathroom with and pay down our CC balance. So way before any of the recent Wall Street crisis stuff was going on, we'd had our own little crisis when we realized we needed to reign things in a bunch. We weren't living frivolously, but realized we could be more frugal in some key areas. Yet at the end of each paycheck I kept wondering, what is going on? Things shouldn't be this tight!! It was getting to the point where I was considering finding some contract work using my GIS skills and doing some night/naptime work hours.

Finally I got around to looking at our income tax withholdings (well duh!?), remembering that we'd been getting some pretty big refunds lately and probably hadn't adjusted for having three kids, etc. WELL, here's where I feel like we won the lottery (and pretty sheepish for taking so long gettin around to checking on it). Turns out when Matt changed from USDA to US FWS that they automatically put him down at a withholding level of Single with no Exemptions/Allowances. This means that we've already overpaid the Fed (um like, back in May) and can stop our withholdings the rest of the year. WAHOO!! Life is suddenly rosy again because I CAN spend more than $100 a week on groceries and household supplies. Because lemme tell you it wasn't really working out. I don't have to cut our DSL connection or DirecTV (although I did get some really good discounts when I called and tried to cancel). We can very quickly pay off the lingering balance on our last credit card. And most importantly we can turn our stress level waaaay down.

The other good thing about this is that along with stopping the credit card usage we've also started on the Dave Ramsey financial plan (7 Baby Steps to Financial Freedom, Total Money Makeover). It's kind of like healthy eating/diet for your finances. We got the book for Christmas a few years back (thanks Roy!) and a friend had also recommended it (thanks Jerry and Angie!). I kept meaning to read it. But it wasn't until things were tight and my mom had recently borrowed our unread copy and gave it back saying "you really need to read this" that we finally did. We didn't actually READ it, but skimmed and got the gist of it. Like most diet/exercise books, the whole thing usually only needs 5 pages to tell you what you need to do but it's published as 100+ pages so you feel like you're getting your money's worth. Or something. Oh, and it also features large in your face photos of whoever wrote the book. Usually that's a big turn off for me. The whole personality selling the product thing. In this case though I'll make an exception. He has a really good plan and it's exciting to hear success stories from others. We Tivo his show and watch some of it a couple of times a week.



Anyway, my point was that because we've already been living rather frugally lately, we can now give ourselves a bit of breathing room and then completely put the rest of our income (that we'd been giving to the Fed interst free to hold on to for us til early next year!) to paying off our remaining debts. Our car loan in 2 years instead of 5. And then our student loans and then the big goal is our mortgage. But we'll work on the 3-6 months of savings first before we tackle THAT behomoth. :) Oh, and food storage/emergency preparedeness. Definitely need to build up that supply. But it's exciting to think of being in the position of having more cash than we have debt. And, mortgage aside, being in that position long before the kids are approaching college.

So this little financial adventure has been taking up a good chunk of my mental energy lately. I'm so happy to have my mind and optimism back. I'm still pressing forward with trying to master meal planning and bread making though.

I Capture the Castle

On Saturday morning I sneaked in an hour after breakfast to finish reading a book I'd started a couple days previously, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. It's one of those stories that draws you in, a stay up til 4AM reading it to find out what happens next (okay, so that's how almost all really good books for me because I have such little self-control when it comes to reading). I retreated to my room, fluffed up all the pillows, locked myself in and savored the last 50 pages of a fabulous book, read by the fresh morning light. Mmmmm. A lovely way to start the weekend off.

Evalyn had finally discovered my hiding spot and gotten bored with Daddy's entertainments. I unlocked the door and she came in all chitter chattering away. I stepped into the bathroom to get a drink and when I came out I found this sweet little scene.



Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? She was so cute cuddled up in he spot I 'd vacated for not even a minuteI scooted down the hall to grab the camera before I lost the moment. It melted my little heart to see her cuddled up in "Mommy's spot" like that. Oh how I love my precocious girl. She was my shadow all morning long, taking a shower in Mommy's shower after I'd had mine (I think she washed her hair four times before she was finally done).

I love it when she's in a pal around mood. Makes me feel like I'm the sun in her universe instead of the dark cloud I can sometimes be (ie bad mommy days). Or that I'm her "rock star" as Matt used to say when Evalyn was a tiny baby. She only had eyes for me. I got the smiles and coos and excited looks from her whenever she'd catch a glimpse of me passing through the room. I was simply the coolest thing she could imagine and her most favorite person to be with, she couldn't get enough of me.

Linnea Turns One!

Linnea turned one last Wednesday. We finally got around to celebrating it this past Friday. (such is the fate with being the youngest) Matt was out of town and it was our first chance to mark the date. On Wednesday morning the kids and I woke her up with singing and a candle in a yummy breakfast muffin. (alas no pics) We had a fun day at our playgroup co-op and opened a present from Grammum that the kids had been drooling over for a few weeks. They were so excited to find peek-a-boo blocks and accessories inside. A big hit for everyone. Thanks Grammum!



That evening we had cake and candles. Linnea was initially only interested in touching the candle. It took her a bit to actually get into her cake. Once I gave her some utensils though, she was all about smashing and wacking. I think her favorite part of the day was having the bathtub all to herself. This girl loves the water.




In remembering her birth, I thought back to last year and re-read her birth story. There was a lot going on at that time besides having a baby. But even in the midst of that we were able to have that peaceful bonding time together. Linnea is such a sweet resilient baby. Rarely is she not smiling. And what a smiler! She is very friendly with people and melts hearts by reaching out to be held by others we greet.

She loves playing outside, climbing onto stools/anything, playing with water, taking baths, chasing balls, emptying and filling, playing in the canned goods cupboard, sitting on little chairs, finding hats, playging with animal magnets on the fridge, looking out the window by her crib, reading books and cuddling with her blanky and paci. Every day there is something new to discover or try. We sure love you Baby Nea!

The Circus comes to town!

Took the kids to the circus tonight, giving Holly a well deserved night off -- at least a quasi night off. Here's what happened.

Arrive at Circus at 6:40 for a 7:00 show time. I tell the kids there will be animals we can look at. I told Evalyn when I was a kid, my mommy took me to the circus, and I got to ride on elephants. But upon arrival, no animals, 'cept for the $2 pony rides. We passed on that.

We Get to the gate and the kids get in for free. I pay $15

6:34 -- We find our seats, inside a large pavilion at county fair grounds. We sit in the top row, though there were only about 7 rows. There was a large center ring in the center of the dirt floor pavilion. The ring appeared to be canvass material with a red and white bulls-eye design. I presume it was meant to mimic a one-ring circus under the Big Top. The seating was ordinary aluminum bench seats not unlike those you would find at high school football field. The seating was only on one side of the pavilion.

6:45 - the Carnie-in-Charge comes out at and announces that they are running late so the show will start at 7:15.

Kids are really tired and we decide to kill time by eating cotton candy for $6 bucks. Evalyn starts crying for no apparent reason. I ask what's wrong and she says that she misses mommy. I tell her its mommy's night off and the animals will soon come out.

7:15 start time comes and goes.

7:20 - Carnie announces that the concession stand will close when the show starts. But it would reopen for the intermission but we have two minutes to buy our Coca Cola and Sprite.

7:25 - The carnie comes back to the PA system and plays the traditional circus music. Henry dances, Evalyn still misses her mommy and her Pink (blanket for sleepy time).

7:30 -- Henry starts picking stuff off the now crowded grandstands and putting things into his mouth. I hope it was our cotton candy debris but I fear for the worst.

7:32 -- Carnie comes on and says, "Pony Rides are wrapping up. Last call for a pony ride. Two Dollars only, Boys and Girls."

7:35 -- The grand beginning....finally. The Carnie begins, "Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls...blah...blah.blaah..blaah..blah!

7:36 -- The Amazing Juan comes on. He's ten and dressed like a cross between vintage John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever era and the the Lone Ranger. His act is okay. He climbs on a platform that looks like a large circular cocktail table. He stands on a balance board and rocks back and forth. He goes on for about 10 minutes, each minute he does something more challenging. He slips a couple of times but the crowd cheers, anyway. Evalyn and Henry like this act. They clap and get into it. Finally, I am getting my $21 dollars worth, I think to myself. The young performer ends his routine by jumping down from the platform and does a couple of flips on the ground as he makes his exit.

7:45 -- next act. This is simply a man dressed in a dog outfit...sort of looking like McGruff the Crime Dog, only this dog is more rust colored. Henry finds this act amusing and really likes it. Evalyn was afraid of the mascot as soon as she saw him be introduced by the carnie. Evalyn crawls behind me and wedges herself between my back and the chain link fence that served as the top row guard rail of the bleachers. McGruff comes over to our section and Henry gives the pup a high-five. Evalyn, peeks out from behind my back and McGrufff pats her on her legs. She is uncertain what to think.

7:50 - Next up are the clowns. Only they were not in make up and did not have a distinguised red nose. Very plain. They just sported baggy blue clothes, clown shoes and undersized hats, as is typical of clown haberdashery. Two clowns come out. One is a boy of 8 or 9 years, the other is a grown up, looking to be upwards of 40 years old. They don't say anything but communicate through ear piercing whistles. The kind referees blow. The routine suggested a playground for corrupt traffic cops whistling at congested cars in NY City. The cadence of the whistles were sort of on point, but not really. It was hard to follow. Then some dude of about 20 years old comes out in plain old street clothes. He was a performer but he could have been a disgruntled concessionaire for all I knew. Anyway, the dude starts taking away the Clowns' whistles. But each time the guy takes a whistle the other clown pulls a new whistle out of his baggy pants. The dude keeps taking the whistles and every time his back is turned, one clown or the other breaks out another whistle. This goes on for another ten times and finally ends.

I quit looking at my watch. Next act -- Carnie comes out and introduces his "circus agents" - who are 7 and 8 year old girls who sell generic coloring books to the crowd for $1 each. The carnie explains that during intermission kids can get the coloring books autographed by the performers. This takes about 5 minutes.

Carnie introduces the next act -- "From La Paz, Bolivia...please welcome the Hula Hoop Maven (?) . She is dressed in a pink leotard and it sparkles and Evalyn likes her right away. She is fast with the hulas and can even make them go upward, which I have never seen before. I was impressed. Then she does 20 hula hoops at a time -- or as the carnie helpfully explained, "She will do 20 hula hoops simultaneously -- meaning she'll do 20 at the same time." Well she did 20 and it was good while it lasted -- all of 4 seconds.

8 pm (roughly) -- Carnie comes back out and says, we have special peanuts from South Carolina that we want to share with you. I thought this was quite random and did not flow well with the rapport between the Carnie and the audience. "These are not just your everyday peanuts...these are traditions," he continued. "We want you to have them for just $1. But this will last for two minutes and two minutes only." The grown up clown from the earlier act cames back out with a box of small brown paper bags with the peanuts. The carnie explains that there are tickets in some of the bags that can reedem for free cotton candy or a colorful balloon. But not all bags, he reminds the audience, contain a winning ticket. For a minute no one goes down to buy the peanuts. I am thinking, this could get interesting if this little drama continues to unfold this way. But, alas, some little girl goes down and gets her peanuts and, you guessed it, she got a lucky ticket. She won a balloon which triggered a hoard of other little girls and their moms into action. This takes about 8 minutes.

8:10 -- Daddy, Henry, and Evalyn are ready to call it quits. "Where's the elephants, daddy?" Evalyn asks. "There are no elephants, sweety, this circus is lame!"

But we stick it out for one more act. Carnie comes back to the PA System and announces that Hannah Montana impersonators comprise the next act. For some reason, I felt it rude to get up and leave in the middle of the act so I tell the kids we'll go when the girl is done dancing and lip syncing to very scratchy music. The kids are growing impatient. Hannah Montana impersonator is about 12 years old. Then a 4 year old girl is announced and the Carnie calls her "Mini-Montana." Then a toddler comes out -- no older than Linnea, I guess, and she starts dancing. The Carnie announces her as Miley Cyrus. Then our friend from the first act -- the 10 year old Travolta look-a-like comes back out -- this time vintage Grease Travolta. And he starts lip syncing. They finally end the act and I get up and leave with the kids. All three of us are eager to go. Evalyn had been asking for a drink but I refused to pay the 2 bucks for a can of coke. So she is happy to be going home for the simple pleasure of drinking some water.

On the way out, the carnie says: "well folks, that brings us to our intermission. We will resume in 15 minutes....get your cotton candy and snow cones and Coca Cola products (Coke and Sprite -- nothing else) for just $1 now.

I was the first one out the door and by the time I got the car -- many others were leaving.

Fun times, Holly....sorry you missed out!