Tis the Season of Laughter at Our House

This Wild West

Jeremy and two friends from Brooklyn flew out to Oregon for the week of his birthday. Spreading the time between a quick visit with friends, several nights in Portland with Jeremy’s sisters, and three nights here made the time fly by. Although a camping trip had been part of the original plan, a cold snap revamped the idea into an afternoon trek up the mountain toward J. Lake. They were also rewarded with a clear sky for viewing stars later on. Of course, no trip to the wilds of EO is complete without petting the tame critters, seeing the wild ones in their natural habitat, and hearing the coyote calls at night.

It was really great having Jeremy home and we thoroughly enjoyed meeting M and T. We hope they had some positive memories to take back home with them. Although the trip was a birthday gift for Jeremy, it certainly spilled over into a homecoming gift for the whole family. Thank you so much.

Our Mission

I took Mom back to her house for two nights and three days of gardening. My mission was to make a dent in the overgrown flowerbeds and thoroughly water the yard and flowers. We had some warning from family and neighbors that much needed to be done, but it was still a sad shock to see how tall and thick the weeds were and how patchy, overgrown, and dotted with milkweeks the grass was. These pictures don't begin to show how dismal it looked. This was the first time that I felt it looked uncared for. I felt bad for Mom as we drove up and resolved to throw myself into the task and not let her sidetrack me with inside jobs. As soon as we were unloaded and she was settled inside I began. Thankfully, reinforcements started coming the next day.

Rock Garden

Back Yard

Front Yard

Daughter-Grandaughter Power

Danielle arrived Friday morning and Sarah came in at dusk that night. I think we were drawn as much by that invisible, unnamed family umbilical cord that is rooted somehow in this homestead place even more than by the mission we were undertaking. This house, which is held together by the sweat equity of my parents seems to be our cradle symbol for family.

Armed with tools we began under the watchful eye of Ellie, our director and comrad.