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Five simple things

Hello.

I skipped out on posting the "Five simple things" last Friday due to the fact that our older dog, Baz, wasn't feeling well and had to make an emergency trip to the veterinarian. He's doing much better now, but has been having a rough two weeks. He is going on 17-years-old and has his good days and his bad days, but we are taking the best care of him as a senior dog. The veterinarian put him on a few pills, one being a steroid, so we have high hopes that they will help him along. He is loved a lot and he knows it too. We hope he sticks with us another year or so and gets back to his good self before too long.


We've had quite a two weeks here, especially here in the Valley. The wildfires burning here are overwhelming and have really wrecked havoc on the air quality here. Although, they have gotten a few of them within some sort of control, it still hasn't made for the best atmosphere here. We think a few of these smoke clouds have added to Baz's health, and the little bit of rain we've gotten here and there has helped. We did get a bit of a breeze through a few days in a row and that has helped, but we hope they clear out all the way soon. Here are the things that are worth mentioning this week.

1. Smoke (picture heavy)

The smoke within the Valley has been pretty heavy lately. Of course, as I type this out for the "Friday things" the smoke has cleared out a bit, but still a little hangs in the air here and there. The Mr. and I grabbed us some to-go oxygen boost cans and have been desperately trying to water our dry grass as much as we can. We are on city water here where we live and keeping things wet and green gets expensive, so we run the water an hour a day in certain areas just to keep things from becoming too dry.


When the fires were going strong around the Valley, with about 12 burning throughout the state during this time, the smoke and ash was was really bad.

Eagle Creek Fire in the Columbia River Gorge. (source)

These images are from the Eagle Creek Fire in the Columbia River Gorge. This fire was completely preventable because it started with fireworks. Unfortunately, they are still burning and have been burning since the first of September.

The Eagle Creek Fire is one that we've been following here in our house because of the threat to Multnomah Falls and the Bonneville Dam area. 


View of the fire reaching the Multnomah Falls Lodge. (source)


The evacuations continued throughout the night of the fire moving through the Gorge area. It was really surreal seeing all of these evacuation reports coming across on Twitter and some of these people are still displaced as of right now. It's heartbreaking to know that this area will take some time to recover, but it's even more heartbreaking to know these people's lives were turned upside down over kids playing with fireworks. Wildfires can take off quicker than people even realize and this fire is proof of that. Not only were the people in this area displaced, there was issues here and there with removing people's livestock and animals. The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office did a great job with posting information and other ways to help people be prepared with removing animals out of harms way. 

This information they posted is a great resource if you are a pet or livestock owner.  Heed their advice and always be prepared.


The ash levels in different area around the Valley were intense. 



Without taking away from the Eagle Creek Fire, but the Milli Fire is another one. This fire is located about 10 miles outside of Sisters, Oregon. The Mr., The Bean, and I got a first-hand look at this fire when we took a road trip over the Cascades recently.

It is terribly sad seeing something like this in person. It breaks my heart to see such beautiful areas of Oregon going up in flames this summer. I'm a tree-hugger and love nature so much, so seeing something like this is emotionally overwhelming. The Millie Fire was started because of lightning, so nature does have a hand in a lot of these fires on the west coast, but the Eagle Creek Fire and other fires created by man can and are avoidable. We continue to take advantage of Mother Earth and her environment and in turn, she fights back. 






The Mr. spotted this twin rotor Chinook Helicopter sitting at the highway department maintenance yard at Santiam Junction near the base of the Cascade Mountains. It's one of the large pieces of fire fighting gear that they have been putting toward the fires around the area. We really do appreciate every fire fighter, especially ones that have traveled across state lines, that have been working these fires around Oregon.

2. Road trip (Christmas Valley)

We loaded up this past week and headed over to an area called Christmas Valley to get out some land options. We were a bit disappointed with the land in the town, but the road trip was a success. We checked out an area called Fort Rock and also took in the areas great history. Christmas Valley is definitely a place for someone that likes the great outback and complete privacy. The Mr. noted that the stargazing in the area, if we bought land there, would be amazing! We have been weighing the pros and cons of the land options there and we just don't think it's exactly what we are looking for right now.

The drive took us along the National Scenic Byway of Oregon's Outback. We only saw chipmunks running around, but it was fun looking for other animals in the area and seeing how different the area is to the Valley.

The smoke from the Millie Fire was pretty thick on our drive and having the air conditioning on we could smell the smoke coming through the vents. The sun was glowing reddish/pink too. So heartbreaking to know that just beyond the trees there's a fire tearing up the landscape of the forest.








3. This reminder

This little bag was spotted at our local food co-op and I just love the message on it. It's a great reminder for when you are feeling down and out. I didn't buy it, but maybe just posting a picture of it here will help you, or someone else, remember that they are perfect, just the way they are. ♥

4. Our brew

Yes, that's right, we are dipping into the microbrew field. This is the bottles from our wheat ale. It's in the small production phase right now, so more on this later. 


5. End of summer

Gotta love the end of summer here in the Valley-dry grass, changing trees, and yellow jackets. Honestly, we are looking forward to some fall weather and hopefully, we will see some snowfall soon. We love the snow in this house, so bring it on!

Have a great weekend!

Five simple things

Hello.

I am a bit late on this post today because we've been bottling up our beer. Let me tell ya, what a fun experience. The Mr. was pleased with the taste of it when we did our tasting glass and I think it's going to carbonate and be a wonderful wheat ale when it's done with it's last sugar fermentation. With that said, I have to hurry and post this due to the fact that The Mr. and The Bean are loading up the back of our Compass for a impromptu road trip to an area in south-central-eastern-ish, Oregon, to look at some land we've had our eye on for the last two months. It's about a three-hour trip to the area, so we are planning to camp and check the land out well in the morning. The wildfires in the mountain area might make it a longer trip, but we'll see when we reach that point. If you follow me on Instagram, be sure to check out my Instagram Story above my profile to see how the brew bottling went today. We are extremely excited about it! So with that, here are the things that made this week great!

1. Birthday!

So of course, I have to add that Monday was my birthday. It was not only my birthday, but my fortieth birthday at that. I had an amazing day, seriously, it was one of the best days I've had in a long time. I woke up feeling extremely nervous for some reason, and then as the day progressed it got better. Turning forty really hit me hard, but it wasn't the hard that I was expecting. I cried a little, but over all, it's not that bad after all. I am so grateful for the friends and family that wished me happy birthday and some of them went above and beyond to make the day extra special for me.

My mom and dad sent me this beautiful bouquet of flowers. They were a wonderful surprise!  I love the mix of colorful flowers and they fit perfectly on the table as if they belonged there.

The flowers were accompanied with some chocolates from the Candy Basket Incorporated in Portland, Oregon. If you aren't familiar with this company, they are worth your time. Their chocolates are to die for! 


 And of course, no birthday is complete without some birthday cards. They topped the day off just right!

2. The Mr.

 The Mr. added to my special day by surprising me with a few of my favorite things. The cupcakes above are one of those things and these definitely top my list! They are from the food co-op in Corvallis, Oregon, and are buttercream and chocolate. The berry ones are just as great, but the chocolate with the buttercream are my guilty pleasure. He also got me some organic cotton socks I've had my eyes on too. The best part is the message on the socks. I love buying things guilt-free and feeling good about them. The Mr. knows me well!

3. Front door

There's just something about the front door that apparently makes for a good place to nap.


4. Flip Flops

Being from the south a new pair of flip flops go along way. These were actually The Bean's and they didn't fit him anymore, so now they are mine. I have broken them in and they are so comfortable because of the memory foam sole. Perfect for these last few hot days we've had and great for a pair of quick slip-ons and out the door-type shoes.

5. Eclipse stamps

Have you seen these? I just can't get enough of them and think they are so cool! The heat of your hand turns totality back to the moon. 


Have a great weekend!

Five simple things

Hello.

Hope you and yours had a wonderful eclipse Monday and enjoyed either totality or partial. We here in Oregon got one heck of a show! Honestly, I've told many people already, it doesn't matter what words I use to describe it, it will never be enough. Seeing total eclipse in person was amazing! I am so glad The Bean, The Mr., and I got to experience something so great and for some people, a once in a lifetime experience. We have always been stargazers and this just adds to our bucket list of things we want to experience. For the rest of the week we were all on eclipse high and had a great week. Although, nothing else seemed to compare to the eclipse, we did have a pretty groovy week. So here are the things that made it great!

1. Prayer flags

With so much hate and hurt happening all over the world lately, we hung our prayer flags outside again. I had taken them down and this time decided to put them out and leave them out. These flags wave in the wind and send prayers where needed from the script written on the flags. Hopefully, if only one prayer, it will help, or heal someone out there that needs it.
You can get yourself some prayer flags here.


2. Golf practice

The Mr. invited The Bean and I to go play golf with him and a coworker. The Bean has been working on his swing and lineup coordination lately and I needed to work on my driving. We had a great time and The Mr. was able to get some practice in before his annual company golf tournament.


3. Solar eclipse

We enjoyed the solar eclipse here in the Willamette Valley, along with many others that were along the path of Totality. We couldn't have asked for a better show and the fun we had in our own backyard will go down in the books! Check out our experience here.


4. Mightnest's Mightyfix

Mightnest this month was a bit on the "need" side instead of the "want." We actually did need new cloth dinner napkins and some probiotics to flush out some of bad bacteria in our guts lately. Of course, those two things were an addon, but the actually item for this month's shipment was the Full Circle dish brush. Definitely can always use a dish brush, so this was a nice addition. As for the dinner napkins, when I ordered them I didn't realize they were from a company based in Albany, Oregon. Oh, Little Rabbit is a husband and wife team that make home goods and apparel in small batches. The dinner napkins are handmade, and eco-friendly-with 100% cotton, so that is a plus. We love them already and used them with dinner last night. The print on them fits in nicely with our dinning table too.



5. New carpet

We got new voc-free carpet for our area in the back of the house we like to refer to as, "the tv room," "den," etc. This new carpet has low vocs and feels great under bare feet. It's just what this space needed and The Mr. has already taken a nap on it and can vouch it's a win!

Have a great weekend!