Five simple things

Wow, this week has been crazy for weather.  One day we got rain, just straight rain all day, no letting up and the following day we had sunshine all day.  The next day was scattered showers and then a huge thunderstorm rolled through overnight.  It was nice to fall asleep by, but the rain hammering the windows sounded like little beads hitting the glass.  We aren't the only ones with rain issues though.  Talking with my sister on Thursday night and they were getting quite a downpour in Arkansas too.  And poor Louisiana.  I am ready to see some springtime sunshine for longer than 24 hours and I'm ready to get outside and get to work on our gardens. Here are the things that made this week awesome, as we were stuck inside on rainy days.

1.  This Sign of Spring.

We didn't get a chance to go to the Daffodil Farm this year, mainly because of the rain, but we do see signs of spring making an appearance.  Daffodils are always my first sign of spring, along with the cherry tree in the backyard showing white blooms.  The cherry tree blooms aren't quite in full display, but next week I will share it's wonderful snow-like performance.  

2.  This House.

This house is called a Spite House and it's located near Rockaway Beach, Oregon.  Spite Houses are homes build out of spite, such as land issues, spacing issues, blocking light, or another building, or even out of spite of someone else.  I think they are awesome for their size, but there reasoning is a bit hilarious.  You can read about Spite Houses here.  

3.  This Rainy Window.

We've had a lot of rain this week.  Some storms rolling through, but it looks like it may be letting up.  I'm ready for spring and to see the sunshine a bit here and there.  No matter where you live, or who you are, constant rain is a bit annoying after awhile-Even if you're British.  

4.  This New Growth.

Our living Christmas tree, the Colorado Spruce, has new growth signs showing this year.  We are pretty excited to see them too.  We are hoping to plant this beauty in the ground once we move to a new location with some land.  We've been babying this little tree and The Bean's Japanese Maple too.  Both are potted right now.

5.  These Aprons.

These aprons are still for sale at The Peppermint Bee and ready to ship.  They are hand-painted and the green one is perfect for Saint. Patrick's Day.  They come ironed and pressed and ready to give as a gift, or keep for yourself.  Check out the wonderful aprons here.

Extras:

1. Chest pain; Could be anxiety.  If you have this, you aren't alone.
2. Astrid, what a cute name.
3. Concrete Table Top.  Very doable and might be something we tackle soon.
4. Our Secretary Desk we bought for our classroom is back in stock at World Market.
5. We are looking to downgrade our refrigerator from a full-size to a small-size.  We are looking into stainless steel options to match our oven.  Thoughts?
6. On a hunt for the Forrest Gump Soundtrack.
7. This cow print.
8. This boat cleat will work perfectly as a hook outside near the pool for towels.
9. This.  I've already started my seeds this year, but next year, for sure!
10. Clever, clever.  This is going to work wonderfully for math problems too.

Have a wonderful weekend.

What happened this time last year?

Five simple things

Boooo, the rain is back.  So ready for spring here.  It was a nice day yesterday and the Mr. and I worked in the yard.  We planted some seeds in our "make-shift" greenhouse in the house.  Just a sunny room off the kitchen where the classroom used to be.  We have a lot of new seeds to try out this year and things are moving along with our garden plans this year-can't wait to share them soon.  Hopefully the rain will let up a little this weekend and we can do more cleanup outside.  So here are the things that made my week awesome!

1. This Bottle Tree.

This bottle tree is a southern tradition.  It's used to keep out bad spirits and bad karma.  I've wanted one for awhile, but I could never find one that would hold up to the Oregon rain and wind.  I finally found one after years of searching.  I love it so much that I decided to purchase another one for the front yard.  If you're curious, this is the one we purchased.  It's well-made and holds 12 bottles.

2. These March Printables.

Every month will be something new here at SNS for printables.  Check the link above titled:  "Printables" and snag what's new for the month.

3.  This Geocache.

If you follow me on Instagram you know that we are avid Geocachers.  This Geocache was found in a town called Idanha, Oregon along a the side of a creek.  The town is small with less than 200 residents and is just a spot you drive through on your way from east to west in Oregon.  This Geocache was a nice way to bring attention to the town and the area.  It was part of the Leap Day event from February 27-29.  We found this geocache during that time to earn a souvenir.  

4.  This Building.

If you follow me on Facebook you've seen this photo as my cover photo for the last week, or so.  It's a photo of a building in a town called Crabtree, Oregon.  There's a lot of buildings throughout the Crabtree area that are supposedly haunted and this one is one of them.  I won't tell you what it is, but you can read a lot about the haunted areas throughout the Crabtree, Oregon area here and see if you're own town made the list for anything that's haunted.  I'm not sure if I believe this stuff, but it sure is fun to go and check out these old places.  Some will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

5.  This Southern Meme.

Being in Oregon, which is kind of the north of Arkansas, I always laugh when people make fun of the way I talk, or how I pronounce things.  My southern accent is what makes me different than most here.  I've been told that southerners are slow with their words, or that people might start talking like me if they're around me long enough, or even had people repeat my words in a more southern tone, making fun of it.  I just think, how silly of them and bless their heart.  Ha!

Extras:

• These minimal office products.
• This canvas tote.
• This hat.
• Become an Earl or Countess.
• An underground refrigerator?  These would make good storm shelters too.
• Semicolon Tattoos have more meaning than ink on the skin.
• Can't get enough of these cookies!
• Airplane travel tips. 
• This contest.  Hurry, it ends on March 15, 2016.
• This letter bag.

What happened this time last year?

Road Trip: Cascade Mountains and Sisters, Oregon

Two weekends ago we took off over the Cascade Mountains to do a little exploring.  We were just going to travel until we found some snow, but ended up going all the way over to Sisters, Oregon.  It was an impromptu road trip that ended up being an overnight stay in Sisters at the Ponderosa Lodge right in the heart of Sisters, Oregon.  Here is a bit of a recap of our road trip.

We stopped halfway up the Cascades to hike a small trail that lead to a bend in the Santiam River.  As you can see from the signs here, the area was known as the Santiam Wagon Road/Oregon Trail and was the road that held the first Transcontinental Automobile Race.  

Because of all the recent rain the water flow was quite fast.

The dogs were in no mood to get wet on this trip, so they both hung out on the rocks while we walked around and played near the water.  I don't blame them though, it was bitterly cold.

After the river play we headed on into Sisters, Oregon.  We decided that we didn't want to drive back in the dark, so we booked a room at the Ponderosa Lodge for the evening.  Funny enough, the Mr. went back to work on Monday and learned of another friend of ours-that he works with as well-he and his fiance stay the night, the same evening, at the same motel, but our paths never crossed.  It's a shame that we didn't know that each of us were there, or we could have gone to dinner, or even sat and chatted it up a bit.

The Ponderose Lodge is on some pretty land.  It's surrounded by the magnificent Oregon trees that everyone always talks about in my family.  These pines are pretty close to the ones that grow in Arkansas-the state tree-, but they are known as the Ponderosa Pine.  Get it now?  Ponderosa Lodge, Ponderosa Pine?  The pines that grow in Arkansas are a mix between the Loblolly Pine and the Shortleaf Pine.

It was a beautiful day in Sisters the two days we were there, and I loved how there wasn't a hint of wind.  

I fell in love with the natural wood beams on the Ponderosa Lodge.

The Mr. photo-bombing my picture efforts.

Before The Bean could wreck the room anymore, I snapped a few photos of the natural wood furniture.

Check out the mirror and the beams!  

The lodge even had an area where they kept lamas on the property.  The Bean went to grab some kibble for them to munch on and we learned that the ones held at the lodge are all males, while the females are separated on a different plot of land.  

Hardy (PITA) was very curious about what this "thing" was.

Both of the dogs were interested in knowing what the giant, white things were standing in front of them.

The lodge grounds had a lot of covered wagons about.

We checked out of the lodge at about noon and drove around Sisters for a bit.  We stopped to take in the beautiful view of the Sisters Mountains.  I still can't believe, after living in Oregon for 12 years, that I am within driving distance of breathtaking views like this.  I always appreciate the fact that I can hop into my car on any given day and drive less than two hours to see this.

Sisters, Oregon, is bright and sunny with only a few inches of snow in some areas. North and South Sister Mountains are gleaming today. #cascademountains #roadtrips-See it on Instagram

We drove a bit down McKenzie Pass up until the road block.  This time of year it's too dangerous for the highway department to clear the road, so they block off the road for through-traffic.  If you remember, we took a trip to the top of McKenzie Pass to the lookout tower at the top called the Dee Wright Observatory.

Mount Washington was looking rather bright and snowy too.

It's such a fun mountain to take candid shots with at the view point.

The trees along the Cascade Mountains still show signs of the wildfire that hit here in 2003, called the Bear Butte Fire and the Booth Fire-or better known as the B & B Complex Fires.  They were two separate fires that started/reported on the same day and ended up coming together and burning in one solid fire across the Cascades.  The two fires ended up lasting for over 30 days and burning more than 90,000 acres of land and forest.

As we headed back down the mountain range we stopped off at Hoodoo Ski Area to see how well the snow pack was for the season and check out the Autobahn.

As we were pulling into the lodge parking lot we noticed a parasailing skier on the top of the mountain taking a leap with his skis on.

The lodge parking lot was pretty busy and the skiers were lined up at least 30 people deep.  The snowfall this year was a good one, so the skiers came from all around the take a jump from Hoodoo.

  

The parasailing guy was having a good time and ended up missing his target of the mountain side and flying right over our heads.  I really like this shot a lot.

The Bean couldn't leave the area without taking a dive into the side of the snowbank.  

My legs were antsy watching the skiers coming down the mountain side.  

We were going to hit the Autobahn while we were there, but the line went on for days.  We decided to make it a special trip next year and plan on staying a few days while we snow ski and tube.

The Bean found him some steps up the side of the snowbank and was able to climb over the top of the huge snow mound at the lodge.

The snow steps lead at the cabins that are privately owned.

Three Finger Jack.

Mount Jefferson in the distance.

It was a great road trip and a nice "get away" to Sisters, Oregon.  You can check out our other road trips on the right-hand side of the blog under labels, or subscribe by email and stay on top of new posts straight from the blog.

What happened this time last year?