End of the Month Tidbits

Last weekend we saw our last outdoor concert of the season:

Ben Harper and Pearl Jam at the Clark County Amphitheater.

Here is a picture of Pearl Jam.

Although they have been around for quite some time now

(take note of the grey beard hairs)

they still put on a great show.

I am not sure how Ben Harper played because,

following our typical concert tradition of missing the opening act,

we were still in the parking lot during his set.

But we were in good company.

And now for the blurry, super-zoomed picture of the stage,

and the Zawicki family shot (Orin is sleeping on Casey's back),

and, of course, I wouldn't deprive you of your Orin pictures:

I had to pull one from the vault because

I didn't get any of him at the show.

As close as it gets to a polar bear.

Fair well September.

Prepping for Vegetables

So the touch ups on the house are coming along nicely.

Last weekend the boys painted the trim red,
a great step towards freeing our home from its Giant White Cube look,
although greater efforts will have to be made in this arena before
we can truly rid ourselves of Cube Status.
One thing I forgot to mention about the painting of the garage
was that one of my biggest motivators for sprucing up that corner of
the yard is that in a few short months it will be the back drop for
what I am calling the Mega Garden.
After my foray last year into container gardening I have fallen in love,
but I feel I need more space.
Here is the site awaiting transformation:
It may not look like much now, but just wait.
There will be Rototillers, there will be weeding,
there will be raised beds,
there will be lots of stinky compost,
and then there will be plants.
To say I am excited would be an understatement.

I am prepping myself for next season by reading Kingsolver's
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle a book that I highly recommend
to anyone who likes to eat.
The book chronicles the life of the Kingsolver family
during a year in which they vowed to eat only local food,
most of which they grew (or raised) themselves.
This is the famous diagram from the opening page.
The book seems to have found me at a perfect time,
for after conquering my zucchini crop I feel indestructible.
Next year, I plan to plant enough for an army
then dry it, can it, or freeze it so that it will be available to us
through the bleak and vegetable-less winter months.

I have already chosen where I am getting my seeds.
The Seed Savers Exchange is another fantastic site
to check out if you are a garden enthusiast,
or just really bored.

I already can't wait for my catalog to arrive in January.

And don't worry, although I do plan on posting
a great deal about my gardening adventures,
I will still remember to keep the cute pictures of Orin coming,
because lets face it,
its the only reason you read this.
I don't blame you.

The First Fall Days

Happy Fall.
I know, it was actually yesterday, but it hardly seems to matter,
especially because it doesn't feel like Fall at all...
at least not during the day.
The last two days the temperature has been in the upper 80's.
But I suppose in the mornings, you can start to feel Fall creeping in;
Cold, damp air mixing with the smell of the prep-for-winter-to-do-list.

And, yes, that is a smell.

Two days ago it was that smell that prompted us
to install a new wood stove.
The wood stove is replacing a fireplace that we never used
and also, hopefully, will be replacing the totally inefficient
heating system that we have relied on up until now.
Yesterday morning, another project presented itself.
The garage was long overdue for a new paint job and with the
impending rainy season, it was now or never.
But unlike the wood stove, which went in fairly smoothly,
the painting was a little more difficult,
the main reason being that our garage (unbeknownst to me until now)
is protected by swarms of Ninja Spiders.
If you thought spiders were solidary insects, think again.
Although it was hard to catch in a picture, these guys literally covered
(there must have been close to one hundred of them)
the entire bottom plank of the gargage.
A plank that, despite their presense, needed to be painted.
It was a rather scary battle... Ninja Spiders happen to be quite
courageous little garage-panel protectors,
but in the end, the homo sapiens prevailed,
and the garage was able to reclaim its former color.
Other projects await, I am sure,
we will probably catch whiff of them in the morning.

Sliding at Home

The other day, despite the fact that Orin has a

rather horrifying number of toys,

we decided that he needed one more: his own slide.
After discovering his passion for slides in Andover
he has wanted to do nothing else.
Historically, however, he has always needed help with sliding.
The slide that we got him was small enough for him to learn
to climb up and side down on his own,
although it always helps to have a hand the first few times.
Cole and Dakota were glad to assist.

First they showed Orin proper sliding technique:

After several rounds of on-looking, it was Orin's turn.
The boys helped him up the ladder,they assisted in orienting him properly for the decent,

and even spotted at the bottom the first few times, just in case.
But worries were unnecessary,
this kid was born to slide.
(Despite how it might look, Orin does not fall on his head

right after this shot was taken.)

Predators

On Saturday a new exhibit opened at the Portland Zoo.

"Predators" had been under construction ever since our first zoo trip,
and each time we walked past the promotional sign,
our anticipation mounted.
Orin was particularly excited about petting the lions
(I haven't bothered to break the news to him yet)
So on Monday (the first day we figured the crowds would be bearable),
we set off for the zoo with our neighbor Jon and his son Dakota.
Instead of rushing straight for Predators, we instead paced ourselves
first working through the Northwest
where we saw birds, fish, bears, wolves, and mountain goats;
the Amazon, where we saw snakes, turtles
and (Dakota's favorite) alligators;
the Antarctic where the boys got
up close and personal with two sea lions;

and the Arctic,
where the got to hang out with some polar bear cubs.
Finally, after are long trek around the world,
we arrived at the Predators.
On the way in, there was a lion statue that begged for a photo-op.
As it turned out, it was the only photograph of a lion
that we would get to take that day.
Apparently, we missed the real beasts by about a half an hour...
they were down for an afternoon snooze,
sprawled out behind a hill at the back of the exhibit.
Much of the rest of the exhibit was still under construction,
so it looks like we will be making another trip to the zoo pretty soon.
The only bonus to missing the predators was that
it looks like I will be able to delay my "petting lions" speech
a little bit longer.
I am anticipating heartbreak.

Orin Updates

Sometimes I forget that the purpose of this blog is really

to serve as a scrapbook for Orin,
and therefore should be full of little bits of information
about all his various developments,
not just those that deserve a full post.
With that said here is an update on the main man:
Orin is currently 15 months old.

He has 12 teeth.

I am guessing he still weighs 20 pounds.

He does not have much interest in real food
although he can be persuaded to snack from time to time.

His favorite toys are his ride-on cars,
his puzzles, his kitties, and his ball.
His spoken vocabulary consists of:

juice, pop(sicle), bird, pig, uh oh, dada, mama (finally!),
doggie, puppy, more, babu (his stuffed bear), pee pee,
butt (I didn't teach him that), hi, bye-bye, ball, keys, baby, kitty,
bats, bike, out, (ba)nana, fish, book, and happy

He is capable of signing:
bird, fish, milk, cookie, juice, book, Tails,
popsicle, doggie, kitty, turtle, and all done

His favorite thing to do is empty his bookshelves.

Some of his recent skill-set additions are:

Learning how to take his diaper off on the run (not fun for me)

Walking down stairs facing forward (also not fun for me)

and jumping (still being perfected)

He is also beginning to play around with the concept of throwing

temper tantrums to get what he wants
in the check out line of the grocery store.He is keeping us on our toes to say the least.
Goodnight.

The weekend in Washington

We left for the DMB concert late Saturday night,

figuring that Orin would be on his best behavior for the 4 and 1/2
hour drive to the venue if he was not awake.
I am not sure if you are aware of this,

but lately our docile little infant
has undergone a striking transformation into a Terrible Toddler.
(Orin claims that he sees no point in waiting until he turns two
to begin his career as a demon child. "I am close enough," he asserts.)
Anyway, the driving plan worked pretty well.
Orin slept soundly for the first 4 hours of the trip.
But when he woke up, he wasn't happy, and we weren't
sure that there would be a camping spot left when we arrived
so instead of continuing on we slept here:
A rest area ten miles away from the show.
By now I am sure that you have noticed
that October is back in action.
After several months of being stuck in the driveway
due to a small hold-up with DEQ
(she was blowing hydrocarbons at concentrations about 12 times
the legal limit... sort of a problem)
she is back on the road and running like a top.
Orin was certainly glad to have her back.
October is his favorite car because the steering wheel
is big enough he can actually step through it and sit down,
which is apparently a fun activity for a baby.
Casey and I were equally happy to have the van back
on the road again, especially after we pulled into the campground
to be greeted with near-hurricane-force winds.
Casey pulled the van in sideways to block most of the wind
and we spent the afternoon hanging out in the sun
playing with Orin, drinking margaritas, and watching
our less fortunate neighbors trying
to keep their stuff from blowing away.The van also proved essential when it came time for Orin's nap.
I just threw a blanket and some pillows in the back and presto:
an instant crib.
When the sun started to set, we packed up the van and drove
the 10 extra miles to the venue.
There we were greeted by Casey's cousin Morgan,
(who worked very hard to get this pose right)
and friends Kyle and Steve.
The concert was better that I ever could have imagined.
I think they played every one of my favorite songs
and we all danced the night away.
Orin stayed awake for the entire show
but was pretty mellow and didn't even show off
any of his aforementioned dance moves.
Maybe next year.
The next day we woke up and hung out at the river for
a couple of hours before packing up and driving home.
It was a long drive back to Oregon,
especially with Orin driving,
but it was all well worth it.
Until next time.