Upcoming Events

In anticipation of the

First Annual Gale Family Reunion,
I've been keeping my eye out for fun activities we can all enjoy together.
Whilst perusing the local paper, I came across this little gem:


Oregon Coast Aquarium: The art exhibit installed in the aquarium's
"Passages of the Deep" area features original gyotaku art prints by
Mr. Somebodyorother. Gyataku involves the application of paint directly
onto a fish and transferring it onto rice paper. The pieces will be on
display for a year and are for sale."

I'm thinking this would not only make a great outing but also would
be a fun idea for a little craft project when we got back to the cabin--
There will be all those salmon swimming upriver about then!

Matchmaker, Matchmaker

Have you ever been driving down the road and seen a shoe on the side of the road?
Or perhaps a solitary shoe all alone in a parking lot?
Or maybe the odd shoe kicked aside next to a gas pump at an isolated gas station next to a well-traveled freeway?
I have.
And my first thought upon witnessing this lonely shoe phenomenon is:
"Some Mom somewhere is asking her child what happened to their other shoe."

And you know the child is giving her the usual reply:
"I don't know."
And that Mom is thinking:
"It has to be somewhere--if we've got one shoe, the other has to be in the same vicinity!"
And the child stands there hopelessly holding their one shoe as the Mom instructs them to go look in the place where they found the solitary shoe.
And when he or she doesn't come back with the AWOL shoe, she goes into
Mom overdrive:
"Where did you have them last?"
"How can you lose one shoe and not the other?"
"Surely it must be around here somewhere!"

I bring this up because Seth started out from California with two shoes and arrived in Washington with only one.
What happened to the other one?
Was it tired of the sibling unrest that was going on in the backseats?
Just looking for a chance to jump ship and leave all its troubles behind?
Feeling a sudden case of wanderlust and went looking for adventure?
Was it maybe "irreconcilable differences" with its mate?

We'll never know because the shoe just disappeared without an explanation.
And Seth was left with one shoe. Which is not useful when you have two feet.
So, I'm thinking, someone needs to start a match-making website for lost shoes.
If you find an odd, lonely shoe, pick it up and take a picture of it.
It could be posted on a website for long-lost shoes.
Then, those of us with lonely, single shoes could look there to see if a match was found!

I'm thinking a good name for it would be:
Sole Mates

Morning Constitutional

My favorite morning workout here in Washington is a good brisk walk up the road
by our cabin.

Come along and I'll show you why I love it!

This is the gate that leads to our road, I don't think it has ever been closed--hopefully
the sign will keep the scofflaws out.

It's hard to keep a brisk pace when there is so much to look at...

The road is VERY steep!

This place is for sale--we could be sometimes neighbors.

Looks like the blackberries will be coming on soon.

This sign is to discourage the unauthorized partiers from trying to get to the river from here.

There actually is access, but SHHHHH, don't tell anyone.

Right about here, my calves are really feeling it.
Also right about here, I often see deer--but never when I
have the camera with me.

The road ascends so quickly that I come out of the trees to views like this.

Soon, I'm up where the farmland begins--these grapes are part of
what was once a tidy, well-kept farm. The owner is now
elderly and things are getting overgrown.

Back past the farms and down the road. It's just as
hard a workout going down because it's hard to
keep from tumbling forward on the steep road!

And home again, home again, jiggety jog!

Return of the Bats

You may recall the recent difficulty we had with some bats in our cabin. Just a little disagreement about who belonged in the cabin and who belonged out in the forest catching mosquitoes and other insects.

Who paid the mortgage and who just took up residence without asking.

Who wanted to sleep peacefully in the cozy cabin bed and who keeps flapping around the bedroom all night. Well, we thought we had resolved the dispute and peacefully relocated the bats. (That story is here: http://mamagale.blogspot.com/2008/09/bat-relocation-program.html)

But the minute we left for California...those nervy bats moved right back in!

Each night when they think I'm asleep,
It's Party Time
For the Bats!


My solution is to open the balcony door and kindly
beckon to them:
"Sorry guys the party's over, time to go."
They mostly ignore me and continue to flap their
little wings and swoop back and forth past the open door.
I don't really believe that bats purposely fly into
one's hair to freak one out.
But just in case, I duck and cover my head if they get too close.



My sons and their friends have other solutions.
Don't worry--it just stuns them long enough to escort them from the premises.

Back to the Woods

We took a little trip to our old home state: Washington. It was an 18 hour trip with Andy and I trading off the driving--quite the marathon!
After living in our cabin for nine months, I was ready to get back to civilization.
But as they say: Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder...

It was nice to come back as "visitors".

I'm determined to find the time to try out my Christmas present!

We enjoyed the 4th of July in a state that doesn't go up in flames with just the hint

of a sparkler.

My favorite cozy reading nook.

Ohhhh--this piano. Love this old piano.
Dare I say--more than the baby grand that holds

court in our home in California?

Many a cozy fire warmed us here through the winter.

There is something peaceful and calming about the natural

state of wood.

This table has once again become the gathering place for late night talks.

The beautiful kitchen that Andy created.

Luckily you can't smell the rotting corpse of the dead mouse that

crawled away into some nook or cranny and died.

Just one of the little quirky surprises that keep things interesting

out here in the wild.

Oh--and Shane turned 11.

Moving Mountains

The first order of business upon moving into our new abode, was to get a garden in. It is a little late in the season but hey, it's California--so let's hope it stays warm enough for a harvest of some kind.

Since we live on a rocky bluff, our soil is ground rock--not great for gardening. Luckily, we are surrounded by farms which means plenty of smelly compost for sale.

We had this mountain of fragrant dirt delivered. Our neighbors love us ("Those new people have hardly been here a few weeks and they are already bringing down the house values with big piles of smelly dirt!")Moving the dirt from the driveway to the garden out back became a fun family project.

Fun is a relative term. In this case not related to anything fun at all.

But since I'm a mom I like to try to delude my children into thinking that working together is wholesome family recreation. They weren't buying it. I'm glad to know we have smart kids.

The daunting pile of gravel was more daunting than it should have been, thanks to the generous gravel delivery man. "I got you a full load even though you only asked for 6 yards--no charge!"
He told me that after he had already unloaded the full load onto my driveway.

Sam and Shane worked hard.

Because they are getting paid--cold, hard cash brings out the

best in our children.

Seth: shoveling for fireworks money.

The hopeful, dirt-filled garden boxes.

Will our hard work pay off? Will there be vegetables and berries and flowers?

I'll keep you posted.

My Blah-g

Gentle Reader,

I feel the need to apologize for my neglect of late. I have been out and about doing very physically and mentally difficult things. Difficult mostly because I am getting on in years and my muscles and my brain are not what they used to be.

I climbed a mountain with Shayla and spent the night in the wilderness sleeping on a rock. We filtered water from a stream to cook our food and my tent-mate got altitude sickness and spent the night heaving into the wild and natural habitat that surrounded our camp. We got up the next morning and climbed even higher. Then we packed up and hauled ourselves back down the mountain on the same steep trails that nearly killed me on the way up. When someone tells you you're going to hike something called "Devil's Slide" that should be a red flag! It implies Evil and Steep-- a deadly combination.

But, I was so taken by the amazing scenery and rugged beauty of the California wilderness it was almost worth it. And even without that--it was a pretty cool mother/daughter bonding experience. Although next time we feel the need to bond, I think we'll just go get a pedicure.