Monday, February 23, 2009

Weekend, part two

Our lovely Sabbath repast came to an end exactly as predicted by the weatherman. He had said the rain would move in oh, about 5:00 Saturday afternoon, and I felt the first raindrops at 4:50. Mind you, these were not big, quart-size, Midwestern raindrops; we rarely get rain like that here in the Willamette Valley. Usually it's more of a drizzle, or what I sometimes call "spit." We need rain; we're down about 8" from average for our "rain year," which begins October 1. Hard not to enjoy the drier, sunnier weather we've been having, though! Really makes one think it's spring, especially with buds swelling and daffodils emerging:
It really wasn't doing much precipitation-wise on Sunday, so Rick and Brian got busy in the garden trellising the caneberries, planting some new blueberry bushes, and fertilizing everything. I was playing catch-up housemaid when the phone rang. It was an acquaintance from church, inviting Brian to go bike-riding with her and her daughter at nearby Willamette Mission State Park. Rick and I don't send off our boy without our supervision often, so since Rick was on call, I had to decide whether to say yes and go along. I didn't really have time; taxes (both personal and for my small business) needed doing, along with a job for a client and more housemaid stuff, but Brian needs outings like that and raising him should be my first priority. Taxes, etc., would have to wait yet again.

Said acquaintance stopped by and picked us up, and off we went to the park. Of course, as soon as we got to the parking area to unload our bikes and cross the Willamette River by ferry, it started sprinkling. Oh well; we don't melt, so off we went. By the time we made it around the park, we were all wet and dirty. But the kids were having fun, and were loathe to go home. So after crossing the ferry we hung out on the gravel bar for awhile so the kids could throw rocks and discover empty liquor bottles to pour water. It even stopped raining and some blue sky peeked through the clouds!
Fortunately, I had assembled Brian's favorite "green and white" lasagne before we left, so I was able to call and ask Rick to put it in the oven. By the time we got home, it was hot and ready to serve along with a tossed salad I threw together. Jackson provided dinnertime entertainment, throwing his toy around trying his best to get someone to play with him. Sorry, dog; no rest for the weary. There's still laundry and that client's job to do!
That's it for our weekend at . . .

7 comments:

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Sounds like a really great 'wing-it' weekend. Just going with the flow, living in the moment. That's when the best memories are made, my friend :)

Your photos of the river look so misty and mysterious, too.

And Jackson is a crack up. I can only imagine how impossible it is not to grin from ear-to-ear every time you look at him.
(ps, one of my twinling's names is Jackson)

~Lisa

Anonymous said...

Ohhhh...that sure sounds fun! You live in such a beautiful part of this country! What variety of blueberries did you plant? And, your bread pudding looked really good.

Windyridge said...

I've got snow snow you can borrow to alleviate your drought.

Michelle said...

Mary, Rick finally got smart and planted Blue Crop. A commercial farm we have picked at grows those, and they are good, heavy producers. He had tried some other varieties after being seduced by the descriptions on the tags, and has been disappointed with most.

MiniKat said...

What a great way to spend your Sabbath. I hope someone finally got to play with Jackson for a bit. ;-)

Carol B. said...

Wow. Spring planting already? What a nice climate you have. Jackson is quite a ham for attention isn't he? What a happy addition to your family he is.

Michelle said...

Yes MiniKat, I played with Jackson for a bit. :-) God's Sabbath is such a gift; I don't know why everyone doesn't latch onto it like a drowning man! I know I would certainly feel as if I were drowning if I didn't have that God-given 24-hour respite every week to drop the cares of this world to spend special time with God and family.

Carol, Rick may have been a bit premature as we may get snow on Thursday, but the berries should be okay. The nursery was running out of the best varieties quickly, so he grabbed the Blue Crop while he could!