Snow and Steam Trains

Last winter my husband rather wistfully said he wished he could play in the snow on his birthday (in July). Circumstances beyond our control prevented us from celebating on the day, so I took a day off work yesterday. I refused to tell him what we were doing for the day. I programmed our destination (Mt Rainier) into the GPS and he drove by the directions. It was particularly fun as he began to guess where he thought we might stop. ("Are we going to ________?") He guessed about two hours into the drive (when we saw the first Mt Rainier 23 miles sign).

Shortly after that we saw a long row of cabooses. Of course we stopped.

It was a hotel! The Hobo Inn in Elbe, WA. Sleep in a caboose. What an idea!

I took pictures. That's when we learned a nearby steam train took trips on Thursday - Sunday. (It wasn't running on his birthday. Hooray for circumstances!)

We still went up the mountain. Eric got snow for his birthday.

Then we hurried back to the train (made it with seconds to spare!). Eric had a lot of fun.

And I got to take some good pictures.

All in all, a fun day for everyone.

My Dream!

I have a dream! Nothing as lofty as peace on earth or equality for all men (and women!), but a dream none-the-less. I dream of being so fiscally sound that I can afford to leave it all behind and travel around the country. Not permanently. Maybe a year or two and then we will buy a farm.

It is a fun dream - one that can involve endless planning as well as the hard work of becoming fiscally sound. I confess - I care a lot less about whether I achieve the dream as I do about whether or not I can dream it. Besides, I want to spend at least 10 years at my current job, and I've only been there a little over 2 and 1/2 years. So I have lots of time. Why am I even talking about it? Good question.

You see, I get stressed. And when I get too stressed I send my brain for a vacation. A very short vacation. But when I don't actually have to think about what I'm working on at that moment, my brain gets to think about other things. Like what I need to do at home to have a clean house. and when that is too stressful (and it has been many a day), my brain goes off into think about things I do not want it thinking about (bad, bad brain!). So this dream is one I can have endless fun thinking about, without having to worry about actually doing anything about it yet.

Well, almost anything. You see, part of my dream is to be fit enough that if we want to walk or hike or bike around the country, we can. (Of course, I'm taking my husband along!) So I want to get fit. And what more fun way to get fit than to take a virtual journey! I am going to be starting a new blog for my virtual journey. I'm really just sort of introducing it here. If anyone has any place in North America you can suggest I should add to my trip, please post a comment. It's all fair game on a virtual tour.

Still making progress

I had a huge pile of laundry. Every time I did laundry it was a major hassle - sort the clothes, have piles of clothes sitting around until they all got done. I did not want to spend every Saturday doing laundry. I'm way too busy for that. So I needed a sorted laundry hamper. So I made one.


Actually - this is a triumphant result of my organizing efforts. I sorted through my stuff enough that I had room to pull out my sewing machine and use it - plus I had actually found the bags Eric had already made for me. So I added buttons and put it together and it works, just like it's supposed to! Hooray!

NOTE: I'm still looking for the right kind of material to make the last bag - it's for bright colors. That's why there's a gap.

This is more effort of my organizing

It's a simple concrete block bookcase, but I painted the blocks. Eric has since strapped it to the wall (the picture is a whole 5 days old) and I've put doodads in the holes. Keepsakes and mementos from various things. I like it so much I want to replace myother bookcase with one. In fact - when I have more room someday, I think I want to do my entertainment center this way. Yeah!

The best part about this is that now all my books are on bookcases. No more boxes, no more bookcs I can't find. It's a good feeling.

Out of the Maze

Remember last month? Okay, last month plus a few days (April). I was making some progress on removing the maze of stuff. Well . . .

I have floor space!!!!!

I removed and sorted all the boxes from my office area. And then, to top it off, I sorted all the papers I had tubbed and now have a filing cabinet with actual papers in it, in category. Okay, they're rough sorted, so medical records and financial records are all mixed up. But I know where to find them now! That's a major step forward.

I even have room enough to get out my brand new sewing machine (a Christmas present that stayed in its box until yesterday). Today I'm going to buy the last item I need to finish a project I've been working on since last summer (or was it the summer before?)

Anyways, I have room! It is the beginning of a real liveable home! Hooray!!!!!

Daily Progress

Okay, it's confession time. I live in one of those houses. The kind they tell horror stories about. I have stacks of boxes of stuff, and have to thread my way through like a maze. I'd post a picture but then I'd have to change my name and move away to hide from the shame.

Today I made progress!!!! I sorted through stuff today, pretty much all day (except for taking a nice long walk this afternoon). I have a set of matching tubs, and sifted through 10 of those, cataloging everything I kept from them. I also emptied at least another dozen boxes (I know, because they are now in the recycle bin, waiting to go away). There was some condensing of half-filled boxes and a lot of getting rid. Garbage bags, recycleables, and give aways. And the best thing - an entire section of the maze is gone!!!!! Life is looking up.

And now I'm exhausted. 'Night, all!

Eggsactly

Eric's parents have chickens. The egg on the left is one of theirs. The egg on the right is from the store. Make your own choice.

(Hint: free range eggs, along with being brighter in color, have more nutrients and better flavor.)

Funky Bananas

From the same message board (and the same thread) as my wonderful full meal from last week, I got a recipe for fried bananas. I made them. Double yumm (they'd be really great with ice cream after Easter). So when I was shopping yesterday for vegetables and I saw some plantains I thought they were related to bananas, maybe I could make something just as yummy.

I know enough to know plantains are not the same. So I found a recipe to fry plantains. they're cooked. And bland and blah!

Anyone want some fried plantains?