by laura beth

Family fun with the Scott side of the family! Kenny has a lot of family here in Orange County and we all try to get together here at Grandma's (where Kenny and I are parked) for various family functions and holidays. It has been a little harder over the years to manage this as people get married and extended families, well, extend. All of the married family members' spouses have family in the OC as well. This year for Christmas, Uncle Brett, Aunt Cathi, Cathi's daughter Jen and her boyfriend Dean, and Kenny's cousin Nathan and his wife Christina all gathered Christmas Eve here at Grandma and Aunt Laurie's house for food and games. We played a game, exchanged a few gifts, and had a ribeye roast and Honey-Baked Ham. Kenny also typed out various Christmas writings (scriputures, poems, some serious, some comical-Dickens, Thoreau, Dr. Suess...) that we each took turns reading around the dinner table, lighting a candle with each reading. I think that this might be a wonderful new tradition for at least Kenny and I. It was a great evening.

Grandma, Laurie, Kenny and I all slept in a little Christmas morning. We watched It's A Wonderful Life and opened a few gifts. Later we had leftovers from the night before. Christmas Day is also Aunt Laurie's birthday, so the rest of the family came in the evening for ice cream sundaes and gifts. Kenny's cousin, his wife Aaron, and their girls, Madisyn and McKynzie, cousin Chase, his wife Carrie, and their 3 kids Caleb, Emma, and Sarah were all there, as were Nathan and Christina. Quite a houseful as usual. It's kind of amazing to me how close in age Kenny and his siblings are to all of their cousins, on both sides of the family. Now a whole new generation is growing up before our eyes!

by laura beth

While in Arizona, we were able spend time with Kenny's immediate family at his sister Erica and brother-in-law Shawn's house in Phoenix. Kenny's parents and sister Elisa had come from Scotland for Grandma Lily's funeral. Ken was pretty sick the whole weekend and Evie wasn't feeling good either, so they spent a lot of time in bed, but we still had a nice visit. It was great to watch the Xander and Ava open Christmas presents and just enjoy the company of each other for an evening.

Shawn and Erica have had a really tough year. They were both laid off this year. A few weeks ago, Shawn's new pickup was stolen from in front of their house. Grandma Lily passed away on Monday December 15th. Erica had recently found out that she was pregnant (which she was ecstatic about) but on Wednesday, December 17th she found out that she had miscarried at 17 weeks. So the grieving that weekend was magnified. However, Shawn and Erica are amazing. He is so supportive of her, an they are both wonderful to each other and their children. Erica has found a part-time job at a toy store and she provides daycare, which Shawn helps with. He also has his own business installing high end car audio systems. I am proud of the way they have handled the hardships in their lives this year. Just being there for the weekend it seemed evident that the rough times are strengthening their family. Being there for the weekend really reminded me of the importance of love and grace.

by laura beth

Kenny's maternal grandmother, Lily Hernandez, passed away Monday December 15th after a battle with cancer. We were able to make the trip to Cottonwood, Arizona for the weekend to attend her funeral and spend time with the family. It was really great to see everyone, and although it would have been nicer under better circumstances, it was also a beautiful time of healing, crying, laughter, and memories. We were able to see Grandma last March and felt that it may for the last time, but hoped to see her again this Spring. However, she was ready to go and it was her time. The following is a combination of the eulogy that Kenny read at the funeral and Lily's obituary:

Lily Sahagun Hernandez was born February 26, 1926 in the mining town of Jerome, Arizona, to Amado and Eutiquianna Sahagun. She was the youngest daughter of 8 children and is survived by 2 sisters, Jane and Hazel. She attended Jerome Elementray School from Kindergarten through the 4th grade. In 1936 the family moved to Oatman, Arizona where she attended Oatman County School from 5th through 8th grade, then she went to Kingman High School. In 1940 the family moved to Los Angeles, California where she attended Roosevelt High and then graduated from Garfield High School.

As a little girl she loved to play with paper dolls and in her teen years she loved to dance.

in 1947 she married Oscar Hernandez at our Lady of Lourdes Church in Los Angeles. Lily was 21 and Oscar was 23. They used to love to have parties at their home and every New Year's Eve Oscar would dress up as either Old Father Time or the New Year Baby in a diaper. Lily worked as a banker in California.

In 1950, their son Oscar was born, followed by daughter Evie in 1952, daughter Terry in 1955, and son Michael in 1960.

In 1974 the family moved back to Arizona. Lily got her real estate license and ran the Jerome Market for several years. She was also a Pink Lady at Verde Valley Medical Center. She loved to paint, knit, crochet, decorate cakes and do all kinds of crafts. She was and avid bowler and loved to cook for anyone that came to the house. She always made sure that no one left her house hungry.

Most of all she enjoyed spending time with all of her grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Lily leaves behind her two sons: Oscar and his wife Deborah and Michael, both of Cottonwood; two daughters, Evie and her husband Ken of Scotland, UK [Kenny's parents], and Terry and her husband David of Cottonwood; 12 grandchildren, and 12 great grandchildren. She will missed greatly. She was preceded in death by her husband, Oscar Hernandez.
I first met Lily when Kenny and I were dating. We made a trip to Arizona for Kenny's youngest sister, Erica's, high school graduation in 2000. I immediately felt a bond with Lily. She made me feel a part of the family even then. Every time we visited her, she was genuinely excited and happy that we were there. She would make us a meal, and force us to eat, even if we had already eaten. She really cared about each of her family members and she really will be missed. I wish she could have been a part of my life for longer.

At her funeral she requested, "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" by Elvis be played.

by laura beth

This year Kenny and I were excited to go to Knott's Berry Farm (Knott's Merry Farm this time of year). Last year grandma got free tickets and we were hoping to get them again this year but no luck. Instead we took advantage of the awesome deal offered by Knott's and Toys for Tots-free admission with the donation of a toy valued at $10 or more. The line was huge-there were 19,000 people the day that we went (29,000 the day before), but it didn't seem crowded after we got past the entrance. Brett and Cathi went with us. After going last year, Kenny thought that it was just thing to get us in the Christmas spirit. The park is all done up for Christmas with performances, decorations, carolers, a parade, a tree-lighting ceremony and a craft village with all kinds of wonderful handicrafts and gifts. We watched 2 different shows in the Birdcage Theatre: O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi (amazing-it brings tear's to my eyes) and Dickens' A Christmas Carol. We saw a saloon show at The Calico Saloon and then Snoopy's Cool Christmas on Ice. We all went on the Timber Mountain Log Ride and then Cathi and Kenny went on the Xcelerator (Brett and I couldn't handle it).We ate funnel cakes with Boysenberries and strawberries and walked about enjoying the sites until the park closed. I think anyone that lives in Orange County should make it a tradition to visit this festive park during the Christmas season. Knott's Scary Farm is just as good, but we couldn't go this year.

by laura beth

When we came to Buena Park, I had hoped to sell my jewelry and crafts at the local farmer's market. That didn't work out, but I was able to secure a spot at the annual Christmas craft fair. I worked pretty hard to get ready for it, but after paying the $20 booth fee, giving away $15 worth of products for a raffle, selling $10 worth of products, and making a $3.75 purchase from the neighboring booth (her only sale of the day), I came out in the hole. It was a disappointment for the other vendors as well. There were so many talented craftspeople and artists there. Everything I saw was creative, of good quality, unique and affordably priced. Very few of them sold anything at all. There were thousands of people there, but none of them seemed to be spending money on anything but "fair food". I find it interesting that just down the street from the craft fair, the mall that I work in facilitates hordes of people that buy tons of cheap, imported, overpriced crap for Christmas gifts. I see it every time I work. Maybe someday people will change their spending habits and look to their local artisans and crafts people for inspiring, thoughtful and unique gifts. I can only dream...

by laura beth

Since I'm thirty now, I've decided to eat what I want for breakfast. I am never hungry for cereal or yogurt first thing in the morning, but I know how important it is to eat something semi-nutritional for breakfast. So I've been forcing myself to eat yogurt, fruit or toast in the morning with a multi-vitamin and a herbal supplement, even though I usually don't get hungry mid-morning, and then only for really substantial savory food. So today I said, "To hell with breakfast food, I'm going to eat what I want for breakfast". And I had Totino's 3 cheese party pizza (completely horrible for you) with my own concoction of sauteed broccoli, onions, cabbage, peppers, and olives. It was amazing. Tomorrow, who knows? Maybe veggie lasagna, dinner leftovers, or beans and rice...I am so excited about this. I had to document this life-changing event here.

by laura beth

by laura beth

To help make ends meet, I typed up my resume' and filled out applications with the intent of getting some seasonal work within walking distance of grandma's house. My first choice was Michael's, the crafty wonderland, but I also applied at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, The Dollar Tree, Rite Aid, Bath and Body Works, and finally Claire's. I was very hesitant to get a job in the mall, but because it's mid-November, I knew that most places had already done their seasonal hiring. I needed whatever I could get. Claire's was my last stop on Friday afternoon, and as soon as I handed the manager my application and resume', she asked when I could come in for an interview. So Monday afternoon I interviewed and then proceeded to start my first two-hour shift. It's actually a fun job and the girls I work with (all at least 10 years younger than me with the exception of the manager) are sweet and fun. Being a crafty jewelry maker, I didn't expect to tempted by the cheap and trendy accessories surrounding me, but with a 50% discount, and an expectation to wear "flair", I have to admit I have purchased a few trinkets (and Christmas gifts).

by laura beth

Today Kenny and I escaped the heat and headed to Border's bookstore. I got a gift card for an early birthday gift, and Kenny had a gift card from last Christmas. Those, along with 2 coupons, bought us these books: Getting new books is always fun. Although, I was going to get Kenny The Stars for Christmas. Oh well. Thanks Elisa and Aaron & Christine!

Some of you may not be aware of the crazy fires going on here in Southern California. We are fairly close to the Orange County fires, but not nearly close enough to be in any kind of danger. We knew about the Montecito and Sylmar fires, but hadn't heard about the Anaheim/Yorba Linda area one. The morning it started I had planned to walk to the farmer's market. I walked outside and immediately took in smoke with each breath. I assumed it was drifting from Sylmar, as the sky was clear. The winds were crazy though and by the time I got back, the sky was all smoke. Then the ash started falling, covering everything, including the inside of the moho. I am more familiar with wildfires in Eastern Oregon where few, if any, structures are threatened. It was bizarre and sad to think that the ashes falling on my head could have been someone's photos, clothing, or furniture. So far there have been no reported deaths. Here are some sites to check out if you are interested in helping out victims of the fires:

american.redcross.org
unitedwaysocalfirefund.org
barackobama.com
goodwillsocal.org

On a happier note, we had went to yet another birthday party on Sunday. McKynzie turned 3 on November 13 and Madison is turning on 7 on December 2, which is also my birthday (she calls me Birthday Twin). They had a joint party at Pump It Up, which is a place full of giant inflatable bounce houses and obstacles courses. Aunt Debbie came from Texas and we all went to Grandmas afterward. It was a great day.

by kenny

by kenny

Our goal when we left Oregon was to make it to Buena Park in time for this multi-person birthday bash. Aaron, Brett, Chase, Nathan, and Laura. We had planned on taking a boat tour of the harbor, but canceled due to rain. Instead we met up at Lucille's, a family style BBQ restaurant, and ate way more than we should. Went to Chase and Carrie's house for presents than hung out at the local park. We were all playing "toss the ball around and see if you can catch it" game. Some neighbor kids decided to play and I threw it at one of them. He didn't catch it and the ball hit him pretty good in the face. He ran crying to his dad and his brother kept yelling over and over, "You did it on purpose!"


Then we played Halo, had Coldstone, and went home.

by kenny

We took a stroll along the beach at San Simeon State Park and picked up some rocks tumbled by the ocean. Laura uses them for crafty stuff. Then we headed towards to Santa Maria to meet up with Daniel and Joelene Wiggins. We had lunch at In-N-Out (yes!), but we never got a hold of them.

We left Santa Maria sad to have not met up with our friends and headed towards Ratface's. We were reminded we were back in California when we came upon traffic.

We arrived safely at Ratface's and spent the rest of the evening at my cousin Chase and his wife Carrie's house for their son, Caleb's 7th birthday.

by kenny

We left the Pilot truckstop early and headed west to Castroville because Laura had heard about a restaurant that specializes in all things artichoke. And Laura loves artichokes. When we arrived at the Giant Artichoke Restaurant we were greeted by of all things... a giant artichoke. We ordered the artichoke sampler which consisted of a steamed artichoke, artichoke bread, and deep fried artichoke hearts. Laura couldn't get enough of the artichoke hearts and I thought the steamed artichoke was clearly the best artichoke I have ever had. There's a "produce stand" next door, which is really just a small grocery store. Don't pass this place up. It has the coolest old school fruit and vegetables display stands, in the shapes of the various fruit and vegetables they are meant to display (bananas in the banana-shaped stand, etc. Check out the photos.




After eating we headed down the coast towards San Simeon. This drive was a lot more pleasant than our first time getting to the coast. Before we reached San Simeon I was pleasantly surprised to discover hundreds of elephant seals along the coast line. They come during the months of October and November to rest before they continue on a circuit near the coast. They start as juveniles and return as adults.





We got a spot at the nearby San Simeon state campground and headed up to Hearst Castle. When Laura and I lived in Lompoc we had always wanted to go to Hearst Castle, but never seemed to find the time or money. Well we found the time on this trip and spent the money anyway. Hearst Castle was made for William Randolph Hearst and his mistress Marion Davies. He got his money from the newspapers and other media outlets that he controlled. And he got a lot of money. He had his own private zoo at the castle. Celebrities and people of note were invited to his place on a regular basis and all attended except 2, Shirley Temple and Katherine Hepburn. Katherine later went on to say it was the one regret of her life.

Hearst Castle gives various tours throughout the day and during certain seasons they offer evening tours. The evening tours have a different emphasis, the people who have stayed at the castle, or ranch as Hearst called it, rather than the amazing art collection. As a bonus, the evening tour, is also a living history tour. Volunteers dress up in period attire and walk around the ranch as if you have stepped into the heyday of the castle. A couple might be playing pool, having a smoke and coffee in a random room, enjoying the night air, an author working on a novel in a guest room, etc. The only down side of the evening tour is that the lighting is bad, and with no flash allowed, photos are hard to get right.



After leaving Hearst Castle, Laura and I were torn on our feelings about the man and his castle. He seems like a good guy, but if crossed, would crush you. He had a tremendous amount of wealth and spent much of it on his friends and protecting art. He removed all the trees that were in the way of building his castle, but went to great lengths to replant those trees nearby. He build this massive castle with every door hand-carved, a pool painted with gold, etc and his dining table was set with paper napkins and ketchup. All my information comes from Orson Welles portrayal of him in Citizen Cane and this tour, so I would like to learn more about his balance of wealth and a decent life. If he was actually able to do so.

When we went to pick up our tickets we met a great guy named Dale who was friendly to us and even commented on our blog. There are two questions I still have and if you are reading this, Dale, maybe you have the answers.

Hearst accomplished and acquired so much... what, if anything did he still want before he died?

Did he see a purpose for his life?

When we got back to San Simeon park we celebrated Halloween with nachos, pumpkin pie fudge, and questionable wine we bought from Trader Joe's.

by kenny

Teedee (today) we branched (left) Mendocino early in the morning and headed to Boont (Boonville). Located in Anderson Valley, which is now becoming known for it frattey (wines) and steinber (beers). Before we hit Boont we japed (drove) thru Barney Flats (The Hindy Woods State Park) which is a little known mini version of the Avenue of the Giants. It is the southern most redwood forest in the US and just as bahl (good).

We were headed towards Boont because we had found out the boonters (locals) have created their own language over time called Boontling. It started in the 1880's as a way for parents to talk around their tweeds (kids) without the tweeds knowing what was being said. And over time it became a boontling. It was even taught as a second language in the heese (high school). The whole town made Boontling a part of their lives and bits were picked up in the neighboring areas. Johnny Carson had boonters on his televeef (television) show as guests and some went on game shows that were popular 40 years ago. All the words come from actual experiences the boonters had, all the words have history. There was a man named Zachariah Clifton Blevins, or Z.C., that was known to make a bitter cup of coffee. So the word for coffee is zeese. A couple in town were caught having sex on burlap bags. The word for sex is burlap. The local doctor had buck teeth. The word for doctor is shoveltooth. The first man to own a phone was named Walter. The word for phone is Walter and a payphone is buckey walter (a buckey is a nickel). Essentially what usually stops with a nickname of a friend, they took it one level further and used the nicknames as adjectives and nouns.

So we stopped in to Boont to see what info we could find. And there wasn't much to be discovered. The local museum was closed. The Horn of Zeese (local coffee shop) is now a mexican gorm sale (restaurant). All that was left was two books about the language in a gift shop. Heads hung low we went to the local gorm sale and chiggled (ate) some breakfast. As we were chiggling, I heard some strange sounds coming from the corner of the gorm sale. Soon those strange sounds formed words, words I had read but never heard. They were speaking Boontling! So I went over and introduced myself and had a really intriguing shattaquaw (conversation). I learned that I had shagged (stumbled) upon and was harpin (talking) to Ite and Deekin, 2 of maybe 6 boonters still alive who speak Boontling. As the codgy (older) crowd pikes to the dusties (die off), so does Boontling. Most of the tweeds think it's hangin' higher n' bolley's fiddle (no longer of use), but apparently Ite's daughter is fluent. I learned that in addition to the televeef appearances, books and audio recordings have documented part of the language, but no documentary has been filmed about the language. Both Ite and Deekin thought is was a bahl idea to do so and in the near future I plan to do just that!

We eventually left the gorm sale and were told to "pike easy". And so we did with thoughts in our head of when we could get back and put the language to film.




As we headed south we kept our eyes at for the first In-N-Out Burger on our route. We had a little difficult parking the moho, but we would not be deterred. 3x3 animal style. It was so amazingly good. I love these burgers!


After our delightful lunch we crossed the Golden Gate bridge and drove through Lombard Street. Downtown Santa Fe, the 1, and San Francisco. The moho can drive through anywhere. Well, not anywhere. We skipped this part of Lombard Street.

by kenny

Up and at it early (9am) today and after a quick stop at Trees of Mystery, it was on down the 101, through the Avenue of Giants and then down the 1 towards Fort Bragg. We drove this route, along the Oregon and California Coast 6 years ago for our honeymoon. Although we are now driving it the opposite way, its been fun to stop at familiar places and remember what it was like then, when we were just married. There's that motel we stayed at. Remember how awful Mo's clam chowder was? Hey look, there's that cool little town we ate lunch in...


We left Princess Leia inside a redwood tree along the Avenue of Giants near one of the first west side pull outs north of the Immortal Tree. She was a replacement for a Leia I had since I was 19. This Leia has been with us since just before our wedding in October 2002. She stood up as one of Laura's bridesmaids. But she is old and tired so we left her there in Endor to live out her remaining days surrounded by beauty. May the Force be with her.





We cut off towards the coast again on highway 1. Not the most RV-friendly route, but very pretty. If I can drive that route, I can drive the motorhome anywhere. We ended up parking at Harvest Foods in Mendocino for the night. Nice little town.

by laura beth

We took our time in Bandon today, perusing the art supply store, where I found some creative inspiration; visiting a candy store and a cranberry shop, where we found some Christmas presents; and eating fish & chips on the jetty. Kenny really likes Bandon. We headed down 101, stopping along the coast to dip our toes in the surf. Kenny likes to say, "What a nice little sea-faring village!" as we drive through small coastal towns. The Oregon coast has incomparable beauty.

Kenny pulled over when we saw him on the highway and waited for him to make his way over to us. Kenny asked, "So what's the story?" And he replied, "Show Business! That is the life for me!" He came over and they talked some more. Apparently he has walked this stretch of highway off and on for 4 years, waving at cars, and letting his stick do the talking for those that do the asking. Hands were shaked and pictures taken. If anybody has more information about "El Bone", please pass it our way.



As we crossed the border we sang "California" a la Phantom Planet. Tonight we are staying at The Redwoods RV Resort near Crescent City, California, parked among giant sequoias. It's nice here. We ate crackers, Port-Salut cheese, smoked salmon & kalamata olives for dinner. We eat this meal pretty often. Tonight Kenny asked if I thought we ate like kings when we eat like this, sitting on our bed using our fingers and I said yes. Poor, penniless, kings, but kings nonetheless. Listening to Elliot Smith, blogging, and planning our drive tomorrow, rulers of our own little nomadic kingdom. I'm getting a glass of wine now. Or is it a chalice? Goblet? What do kings drink from?

by kenny

We left the Cottage Grove Wal-Mart parking lot and headed back up to Eugene. I recently was informed about some RVers from the Living Lightly Tour who had their motorhome converted to run on veggie oil and I wanted to see what it would cost to do the same. The RVers that had the conversion done recommended Green Eye Auto in Eugene, so we paid them a visit. Clark Tippin, the co-founder/co-owner of Green Eye, pulled in just as we did and approached us drawn by the allure of the Airstream moho. Good timing. He gave us a rundown on what he would do, what it would cost, how he makes bio-diesel, veggie oil, and everything else associated with it. $3500 total to have a veggie powered moho in about a week. Sometime after being in California we may be coming back to Eugene to have this done.

We then headed to the coast and saw our first glance of the ocean somewhere south of Florence. In Florence I saw a familiar site from when we were going up the coast on our honeymoon 6 years ago. Target Golf! We stopped here before and were greeted by a wonderful lady and led to the driving range where we could hit golf balls at TV's, pictures of Saddam Hussein, and the like. I thought due to the political season I might be able to get some shot off at Obama or McCain, but sadly, it was closed for the season.

We had dinner at a German restaurant named the Blue Heron Bistro in Coos Bay and tried to get a hold of our friend Janell Winegar, but no luck there. Strike 4 on the friend front. No Kristine Stinnett, no Kevin & Chrissi Wright, no Silver Mogart, no Janell Winegar. So we drove on to Bandon-by-the-Sea and camped for the night.

by laura beth

We left Saturday afternoon after saying goodbye to the family. Mom, Dad, and Hannah were on their way to Tim and Ashley's (my brother and sister-in-law) so we said goodbye to them really early. Melisa, Melanie, and Olivia came bye later bringing us breakfast and Dr. Pepper for the road. We stayed the first night at Crystal Crane Hot Springs, about 2 hours south of John Day. $18 a night for RVs includes full hookups, wifi, and unlimited use of the hot springs pond. There is also a club house and nice kitchen where I warmed up our leftover homemade tortilla soup for dinner. We soaked in the springs when we first arrived, right before bed, and first thing in the morning before leaving. It was a perfect first day and night. On to Bend and Eugene.

We had no luck getting a hold of Kevin and Crissy in Bend, so we kept going west towards Eugene and passed through Black Crater. It is the second time we have been there but still just as jaw dropping. It's a large land area that a volcano did a number on and turned it into a black wasteland. But now there are signs of life as trees are growing and such. I am sure many Star Trek scenes were filmed here.


Had no luck getting a hold of Silver in Eugene so we spent the night in Cottage Grove's Wal-Mart.

by kenny

by kenny

If you purchase anything from Amazon or Ebay, you can help support our adventures. At the bottom of this blog are links for Amazon and Ebay. Click on the link, go to the item you want to buy and purchase as normal. Since you clicked on the link at the bottom a portion of the price you paid for the item will be sent our way. It's around 3% to 5%.

If there are other businesses you buy from online, let us know and we can add them. Thanks for helping us out.

by laura beth

Although we've been here all summer, we still find ourselves scurrying to say goodbye to everyone. We have a lot of friends here and will miss them.

Monday, Nate and Athena Moline, family friends and future RVers, had us over for dinner.

On Thursday we had lunch with Grandma Willey at the Senior Citizen's Center. Beef stew, salad, rolls, chocolate cake, orange juice, coffee, tea, buttermilk...

On Friday we had dinner with Mitch Saul, a dearly loved friend from high school and an accountant who moved back to John Day a while back.

We briefly saw Dan & Karen Benson at the Fall Market on Saturday (I was there selling my wares). The Bensons are friends that we used to have a fellowship group with. Dan is the pastor of a United Methodist church and Karen is a substitute teacher and full time mom to twin 3-year-old boys, Nathan & Jeremy, and one-year-old Peter. We house-sat twice for the Bensons this summer.

That night we had dinner with Andrew and Andrea Janssen, friends also from our fellowship group. They are both doctors at the local hospital. They have an almost-3-year-old son, Isaac, and recently adopted a daughter, Titaya, from Ethiopia. She's almost 6 months old. They gave me a housecleaning job this summer.

Later that night we went to the local honkytonk to hangout with Tonia Seebart and Mitch Saul. Tonia, a friend since the 5th grade, is a science teacher and volleyball coach in the nearby town of Unity. Out of the blue, Janell Winegar, and her husband Sam showed up at the bar, in town from Coos Bay for deer hunting season. Janell is also a friend from high school. She arranged a limo for us all (it was the night of the high scool homecoming dance) from the Grubsteak to the Branding Iron. I've never had limo service between bars. We also got to say farewell to Shannon Taylor, the bartender at the Grubsteak, and her boyfriend Joe Radinovich. So it was a big day for goodbyes. We love you all.

Sunday at church we said goodbye to friends there.

Monday I went to Old West Federal Credit Union to say farewell to Katie, Christy, Pam, Jeanne, Julie, Susie, Johnna, Karen, Cindy, and Jeremy. I'll have to come back to see Tabitha.

Friday we visited Maryann Blem. She is a wonderful woman, friend, and mom to our friends Maggie and Ben. She also gave me a job cleaning her house this summer. Many wonderful meals and conversations have been had at Mama Maryann's house.

There are a lot of good folks here in Grant County. We will miss you all!

by laura beth

My word, the fruits and veggies we've encountered this Summer and Autumn have been amazing. First of all, my mom plants a mean garden. This year she had strawberries, rhubarb, broccoli, peas, lettuce, green beans, swiss chard, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, carrots, onions, cabbage, pumpkins, and peppers in addition to basil, parsley, cilantro,dill, chives, rosemary, thyme, and mint. We canned green beans, tomatoes, and pickles from the garden. Mom made strawberry freezer jam and hot pepper jelly. We picked plums from a tree across the street and Dad dried them. Mom and Dad picked peaches and pears at a nearby orchard, which we canned. Grandma Rosella let us pick her apples and blackberries. We dried apples, made applesauce, pies, and cobblers. Grandma Willey gave as pears and some friends gave us apricots and grapes which we dried, canned, and made grape juice out of. Right now Mom is making sauerkraut. Kenny helped and really enjoyed learning how to can. I wish I would have taken photos of the fruits and vegetables as they were harvested, and different preserving processes, but I got a few photos of the finished products. It is so rewarding to look at a pantry full of delicious food that you grew, harvested, and canned. And a lot of it was practically free.

by laura beth

Yesterday was our wedding anniversary. 6 years and still best friends. We didn't really do anything eventful, just spent the day in our PJs and watched The Story of Us (something we do once a year). I've been painting little river rocks lately and an inexpensive addition to my jewelry table at markets. Kenny made me 2 of them for our anniversary. They feature his signature doodles: a turtle with teeth and a bird. Thanks Kenny. I love you more each day.

by laura beth

Almost 6 months we've been here. And soon we are leaving again. A few more of the things we have enjoyed while in John Day:

• family time camping, having big meals together, and just being, well, a family.
• friend time eating together and having drinks.
  
• the newest Willey family additions, the chicken ladies: Pepper, Beatrice, Foghorn, and Leghorn.
  
• harvesting, canning, drying, and eating fresh fruits and vegetables.
• movies at the Grantville Theater.
• the distinct Eastern Oregon weather this Spring, Summer, and Autumn.
• hanging out in the yard, surrounded by beautiful flowers, trees, and a wonderful vegetable garden.
• having time to work on the website, the blog, and my jewelry.
• Olivia, our 2 year old niece. We don't necessarily play favorites, but Olivia was possibly our biggest source of entertainment. So smart, so precocious.
  
• drives.
• watermelon Arctic Rushes from Dairy Queen.
• the UMC Ye Olde Thrift Shop.
• mom's coffee.
  
• I'm sure I'll add more...
  

by laura beth

Two years ago in October, for Hannah's 10th birthday, she got a dwarf hamster. Earlier that year she had taken a cross-country trip with Mom and Dad. While visiting friends in Kentucky, she saw a dwarf hamster for the first time and wanted nothing more than to have one of her very own. So for her birthday she picked one out, and thus Skittles became a part of the family. The pet store employee told us that their lifespan is usually about 2 years. Today, roughly 2 years and 2 months after Skittles was born, she was found lifeless in her sweet little hamster pad. This wasn't unexpected, for over the last few months she had been less active, unable to climb, and her fur had turned from tan to completely gray and white. Skittles had a small plastic ball that she could run around the house in. The ball was so small and transparent, it could easily get underfoot and you always had to be on the lookout for it. Mom would often burst out,"Don't kick the squirrel!" Skittles was placed in a tiny box with a flower and was given a simple burial under the apple tree in Mom and Dad's backyard next to other family pets that had gone to glory, Parsley Jane, Pretty Freddy and a couple fish.

by kenny

I decided to watch the Gambler series because I remember as kid that my dad was an extra in the film. And I love Kenny Rogers. The films are hard to get through, but 5 hours later we did it. And at the very end of the third Gambler installment laid our reward. My dad, ass up, grabbing all the money he can get his hands on!

by kenny

One of acting's finest, Paul Newman, died of lung cancer on Friday, September 26th, 2008. It is possible you only know him fof his not-for-profit salad dressing line. If so, as soon as possible you owe it to your soul to rent Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or any of his other amazing works.

I truly was surprised how sad I got when I heard this news. Tears formed. I was close to this sad when Robert Altman died, but at that time Laura and I had just finished a Robert Altman marathon that took place over months.

by kenny

When we came into town I got a job right away with my old employer, Figaro's, as a normal employee this time, not the manager, which I did previously for 3 and a half years before we left on our moho journey. And I really don't want to go into the long details of what happened next, so here is the short story. I got hired by the manager as a new employee. A week later I was fired. 3 weeks later I was given the manager's job (and paid for the time I wasn't employed). The store had completely entropied out in less than a year after I had left. Three months later I completed my job which was to put the store back in order, get it to a place where it made money again, and to train the owners how to manage their store. There were some good times, but mostly drama. I am appreciative for the respect that was shown to me by the owners and the opportunity given me, but I am glad the job is over and completed successfully.

by kenny

I have been watching and have become a fan of a Travel Channel show called "Cash and Treasures" hosted by Kirsten Gum. One of the shows was about Star Garnets and she was digging for them only a few hours away from where we are in John Day. At the end of the show, when she had the stones cut and sold, she had made $700 for a day's worth of digging. So we decided to plan a weekend of traveling, tent camping, and digging for star garnets. Garnets are the Idaho state gem as well as January's birthstone.

Star Garnets are only found in two places. India and northern Idaho. When the stones are cut they reveal a 4 or 6 pointed star. 4 pointed stars can be found in both locations, but 6 pointed stars can only be found in northern Idaho, and are more valuable.

There is a commercial mine at the Emerald Creek Garnet area (the garnets are used commerically in jewelry, sandpaper, and other things). The area is called Emerald Creek, apparently because the prospectors that discovered the gemstones in the 1800's were blind. There are no emeralds there, only garnets.

The Forest Service has set up a digging site for the public. You pay $10 per permit (each person can take 5 pounds of garnets per permit) and you can dig all day long. It used to be that you would go in the creek bed and dig 6 to 8 feet down till you reached the rock bed, but that has been declared an environmental hazard. As a solution, the Forest Service decided to do controlled digging themselves. They dig down to the rock bed and bring the rock bed layer up and dump at the "digging" site. For your $10 you are supplied with shovels, buckets, and everything you need to get the garnets. Here's how it works. You get 2 buckets. You fill one up with dirt from the huge pile (from the rock bed layer). Next you go to the sifting area. You sift your entire of bucket of dirt through a sifting box, losing the dirt and keeping the rock, which you put in your second (empty) bucket. Lastly you take both buckets to the sluice area. You dump small batches of rock into sluice boxes. The water washes away the dirt, and you sort through all the rocks to find the garnets. They are smooth and shiny, and almost black. The garnets you keep, the rocks you put in your now empty first bucket, and add to the tailings pile which, will then be put back in the rock bed by the Forest Service.

I did most of the digging and sifting and kept Laura supplied with rocks as she did most of the sluicing. The site is open for 8 hours a day and although we had a really good time, we left after 5 hours (we should have brought up a lunch). At the end of your time there, you have to get your garnets weighed. You can take as much sugar garnet you want. They don't even weigh it (it's not valuable, but still pretty). We left with 12 ounces of star garnets--a couple hundred dollars in value once we get the stones cut. We plan to tumble the small pieces and get the good size ones professionally cut. We stayed nearby at the Emerald Creek campground. It was a great campground, and only $6 a night.



We decided to leave a day early so we could check out more of northern Idaho as I had never been in the area. We took our time driving lakeside by Lake Coeur D'Alene and then started moving up farther north. We were looking for a cheap place to stay, as we were driving a friend's car, and we just had no luck and were not willing to pay so much for just a place to rest our heads. So we ended up pulling over somewhere and sleeping in the car. I really appreciated the moho every time I woke up due to being uncomfortable.

When we woke up we realized we were now close to friends we had been missing, so we decided to stop by Joseph, Oregon. Joseph is a bit of an artist town and we couldn't spend all the time we wanted there. Think Sedona before it sold out and ditched the local artists for high priced galleries with no soul. We got to see our friend Adrian, but not Rhonda, McKenzie, or Owhyee (sorry Rhonda), at his place of employment. He works in a bank covered with dead animal heads, full bodied stuffed animals (a zebra!), and even a real mammoth tusk!

After visiting with Adrian we saw some more of the town. Laura really liked beecrowbee, a spa, and soap shop started by a young guy who grew up in the area. His stuff was top quality, and some of the best handmade soaps Laura's seen. I don't really know about that stuff, so I'll take her word for it. He seems to have carved out a great little niche for himself though, epscially in a small town in eastern Oregon.We came across another shop, To Zion, that Laura liked because of the jewelry. I liked it because of one particular book, "Moonlight Chronicles" by Dan Price. I have been a fan of his for a few years now and I was taken aback when I discovered he lives in Joseph. In an effort to live more simply he lives in a 8 foot round hole in the ground and travels by bike, tryke, or foot and journals everyday. The journals contain his thoughts, pictures he has taken, and his unique drawings. He published those journals and turned them into a business. Somewhere along the line Simple shoes discovered the journals and decided to sponsor his travels. We saw some more of the town, and Wallowa Lake, but headed home with no signs of Dan. Maybe next time.



After leaving Joseph, we came across an Airstream motor home for sale in Elgin. This is the only other Airstream motorhome we've seen and it was huge compared to our little 28 footer.

by laura beth

Each year, my mom says, "I'm going camping, and if anyone else wants to come they can." This year my older sister Melissa planned the campout. It was at Magone Lake, only about 20 or so miles from John Day. Everyone camped-Mom, Dad, Melissa, Melanie, her friend Rachelle, Hannah, her friend Alea, Olivia, Kenny, and I. Due to scheduling conflicts, Kenny and I could only spend one night (a day and a half) but it was well worth it. Beautiful, peaceful, and just nice to spend time with the family in the woods. We are thankful to the Janssens for giving us a wonderful old tent that we absolutely love.

by kenny

I was introduced to morel mushrooms while living in John Day and at the time had no idea they were a delicacy. But besides being really tasty, I learned they are a pretty big deal. A pound of morels on Ebay can easily fetch $100 dollars. There are tales, most of them tall, about people protecting their secret morel locations with gunfire. Every time we find them, we toss around the idea of selling them, but somehow they all end up in our bellies rather than packaged and sent to a corner of the earth sadly deprived of these God-designed mushrooms.

I think we went three times this year and got over 5 pounds each time. And I wish we had the time to get more. There are many others like me who have caught the mushroom fever. In Michigan and Wisconsin their are morel clubs where people gather to hunt for the mushrooms together. There are morel festivals with contests to see who can catch the most, find the largest morel, and so on. I hope as we travel we get hunt for morels in different states where they are available. This fall, shaggy manes.

by kenny

Our friend, Ben Willis, turned 25 on Tuesday and yesterday we celebrated at his house with a StreetFighter II (or any video game) theme. Ben was E. Honda. Jen was Dhalsim. Brandon was M. Bison. Jayme was Mario. Laura was the game Pong. I was Ken. Kevan was Chun Li. Brian was Vault Dweller from Fallout. StreetFighter II was played and watched (the movie). Food was eaten. Good times were had.

by laura beth

My niece, Melanie, is a 13-year-old 7th grader. Her science teacher planned a 3 day field trip, but was short one female chaperon. No chaperon, no trip. My sister Melissa (Melanie's mom) would have gone, but she had to work (she's a nurse and it was too late to change her schedule). So with the sacrifice of a long-planned girls trip out of town, I said I would do it. I couldn't stand the thought of those kids missing out on a fun field trip at the end of the school year.

The trip was to Malheur Field Station and surrounding area. Michael Cummings, a professor at Portland State University and geologist, not only spearheaded the grant that enabled the kids to go, but he came with us. He organized the whole thing. Some of the main areas of study included using a GPS device, geology, and wildlife. I got on the bus around 8:30 AM. By 9:00 I was ready to go home. We met Michael in nearby Seneca for some GPS activities. During the 45 minutes we were there, the extremely patient and mild-mannered professor threatened to send the entire busload of kids back home. Twice. So started 3 days of hell.

It wasn't the typical 13-year-old kid behavior. It was the complete and total lack of disrespect and manners, the open defiance, the flippant vulgarity. They talked over the professor, turned their backs on him while he was talking, took off without telling anyone. They broke all the rules and didn't care about consequences. There is only so much you can do as a chaperon. You can talk, guide, instruct, but when the kids are indifferent, you can't beat them. And the thing was, it was actually interesting stuff. Michael talked about water systems, volcanoes, geographical changes, plant life. We visited a wildlife refuge with hundreds of amazing bird species. We explored lava flows and caves.

The kids were concerned with their cell phone service ("I only have 2 bars!") and members of the of the opposite sex, but not much else. The girls opened the windows in the dorm bathroom so the boys could watch them shower. They complained about wanting to go home from hour one, yet they drug out every activity by not showing up on time or by goofing off way too much. I am very much into kids being kids and having a good time, but come on! I have been around kids of all ages my entire life. I've been a Young Life leader and even worked with inner-city homeless youth and predatory gang members. I have never seen such terrible creatures as these kids. I am actually afraid of the adults they will become. Utter self-centeredness and manipulation.

I held it together until I got home, and then I lost it, crying for an hour. I told my mom to pull my 11-year-old sister, who will be in the 6th grade this year, out of public school solely because of the horrific peer groups at the Jr. High. I wasn't even angry so much as sad at the idea that it will take nothing short of miracles for these kids to change their altitudes and habits in order to become anything resembling endearing adults. Take it or leave it-my advice as a non-parent: Instill in your offspring, in any way you can, the basics of decency. Or don't get pregnant. Believe me, I am far from perfect, but I find the Fruit of the Holy Spirit in the Bible, Galatians 5:22 & 23 to be a great place to start. Wikipedia actually has a good explanation here. And it wouldn't hurt to throw in some lessons on mercy, grace, and wisdom to boot.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

On the bright side I love owls and other various birds, so I was super excited to see a great horned owl in the tree above me in broad daylight. We also toured a museum of dead birds and although I dislike taxidermied (is that a word) animals, It was great to see some of my favorites close up.