Life at a "Swell's" pace

End of June 2021 (1 Second Every Day)

Jackite Flight

Have you heard of Jackites? These paper kites are used as kites, but also used as a stable pole flyer, too.

They are made of Tyvek, which is a synthetic material that is water-resistant, tear-resistant, and withstands a lot of "abuse" over time. The Jackites are durable and can be left out in the rain, or even the worst wind conditions. We picked ours up at the local Wild Birds Unlimited in Corvallis, Oregon, but there are several other retailers that carry them.

Ours is placed on a fiberglass pole with braided fishing line, with a swivel hook attached to the pole and the kite's top. There is a fiberglass rod across the back of the kite to keep its wings out-stretched. When the wind picks up the kite takes flight and actually flaps its wings as if it were really flying.

Even in the strongest winds that we get here in the Willamette Valley the Jackite flies strong.

We mainly got ours for a companion for our ducks, but unfortunately they are wise and knew it was a decoy. Other birds seem to enjoy it, though. The Starlings will land near it and chatter away with it, or the Doves will perch on the pole and when the wind picks up they fly with it.

Ours is the Mallard Jackite, but there's several others that are just as cool. We didn't get the birds of prey because we didn't want to scare our ducks, or backyard birds. A few of our favorites are below. You can get your own Jackite by clicking on the image of the one you like best.

Five Simple Things (June 25)

Hello.

Last Friday evening we were in an accident. We were on our way to the coast to surf and a woman hit us on the driver's side towards the back and spun us around. In the process I hit my head on the driver's side window and had a concussion from it, as well as a bit of whiplash. I don't remember much after that, but I recall clearly before. I had gone to do a U-turn to see if something had fallen off the top of our car from our surfboard, and a woman coming down the road behind us wasn't paying attention and hit us. I still have no idea how she hit us other than she just wasn't looking. There aren't any obstructions or blind areas on that area of the highway. I never saw her after the wreck, but was told I kept asking if she was alright. Even in my worse position I was asking about someone else over myself. I do hope she is okay emotionally from what happened. Skylar and I still have some issues, but we are getting better. My car has damage on the diver's side, but it's still drivable and Jeff has been helping out a great deal with everything. He has dealt with the insurances back and forth, the Benton County Sheriffs that have called, as well as helping me get up and down and be able to remember things again. I've been having memory issues, but they seem to come at weird times. I forget if I've eaten, or what I ate, if I showered, or if I did a simple task like change my clothes, or where I put something. My head is painful on the side that I hit and I can't brush my hair right now. Jeff, Skylar, and I have been talking about it a lot just to get it all out. Skylar had seatbelt marks across his chest, but otherwise physically he is okay. Other than dealing with that this past week, we are all alive, the people in the other car are alive, and we are all okay. That stretch of highway sees a lot of car accidents that don't have good endings. I am glad to say we aren't one of those statistics and everyone involved is able to walk away. I wish I could say thank you to every single person that stopped to help us that day. No one cared about race, religion, political views, or even gender that day-everyone just wanted to help. I don't remember anything that day after the wreck, but I do remember a woman named Jane holding my hands and talking to me. I don't know if I will ever see her again, or if she was even real, or it was all in my head, but I want to say thank you to her. As well as, thank you to all of the people that stood with Skylar and comforted him while I was being cared for and taken in the ambulance. If for some reason anyone that was there that day sees this blog post, thank you so much for everything you did that day! I an forever grateful. Here are five things this week.

1. This Sunset.

Sometimes the evening sky here is amazing. We've gotten to naming this pink/red sky at night to Meirezsky and this week is was beautiful.

2. This Detergent.

I received Seveneth Generation Power+Laundry Detergent free for testing purposes from Seventh Generation as part of their Generation Good Advocate program. We normally use Purex for sensitive skin because Skylar and I have extreme sensitivity to certain perfumes, dyes, and even certain soaps. Most of the time we are fine with using Purex for sensitive skin, but we still have a few issues from time to time. We decided to give this detergent a try and the best thing about it is the fact that it does deliver on claims of being a powerful cleaning agent. It gets stains out that are normally stubborn or hard to remove even with scrubbing. The detergent is derived and powered by plants. The smell is less harsh than most detergents and has a light scent that doesn't linger on clothing. I've used it to wash out bed sheets, jeans, and even delicates and haven't had an issue with sensitivity. Only thing I didn't like, the giant plastic container it came in. Although it can be recycled, I would prefer something more environmentally friendly. There are pros with this detergent, though. It uses enzymes and surfactants to really get rid of some stubborn stains, it has 97% bio-based ingredients, and it's EPA Safer Choice Certified with 0% dyes, brightener, or artificial fragrances.

3. This Sun.

From the morning sun to the evening sun. The sun hits the east windows around 6:00 a.m. and sets in the west windows around 9:45 p.m.

4. These Edibles.

Another edible I'm trying out for sleep. I can't take these for too many nights in a row because I don't seem to be able to shake the sleepy feeling the following day. I found using them on nights I am having a hard time falling asleep is when they work best.

5. Summer Solstice.

June 20 marks the beginning of Summer Solstice and we are feeling the heat already. Our hottest day this week was today at 97 degrees, but we are supposed to get up around 100 this coming week. I love the heat over the cold, but too much heat is miserable.

Positive affirmations this week:

Staring at the ocean puts everything into perspective and makes my problems seem so small. The ocean-whether you love it or hate it, it remains the ocean. That is where I want my mind to be. At peace knowing that I am either loved, or hated, but overall I am just going to be.

Have a nice weekend.

Five Simple Things (June 18)

Hello.

This week as been a mix of rain, gray, and chilly. Oddly enough I mentioned to Jeff that it's weird to wear a jacket still in June here. We were hoping to be able to head over to the coast to do some surfing, but we got caught up in other things this week. Our life is pretty simple, but sometimes everything seems to come at once. But, that's okay. It gives us some excitement from time to time. Last weekend though, we took some time to go over to Seaside. We haven't been there in awhile and it was a nice day trip to get out and about for the day. We rode a prom bike around the city and as many times as we've been to Seaside it was the first for all of us. It was fun, and there were other people on them, too. They were either riding with us, or would pass us going the other way. It was an interesting view of Seaside and we are definitely going to do it again. Here are five things this week.

1. These Strawberries.

Since the wildfires last year our strawberries have been struggling. But, this week we saw a little bit of red. We like to refer to the first fruit on our plants as the first gift of summer. It was nice to see a bit of life still left in our plants. Hopefully we can keep them going through all of the heat we are about to experience.

2. These Nachos.

We've been eating nachos this week every night. They are not only filling, but also a quick go-to meal for dinner. We have added random things each time and this night we had tomatoes and black olives. The night before it was avocado and onion. There's so many different varieties that you can make to mix it up.

3. These Ducks.

Just a few weeks ago we saw these same Canadian geese and their babies were smaller. It's nice to see them making it all in one piece. People like to harass the animals around the city and especially in this park, so it's nice to see them all together still.

4. This Cleaner.

This is the best cleaner for shower and bathtub cleaning. It smells great, environmentally friendly, and actually gets the job done. Meliora products are some of my favorite cleaning agents. You can pick this cleaner up here.

5. These Selfies.