May the Fourth Be with You

We made the traditional July 4th pilgrimage to the Johnson, WA parade.  You never know what you might come across...

Han Solo, giving new meaning to "this thing is a piece of junk!"  Ok, well maybe not actually, but it is made of a trash can!

Han Solo, frozen in carbonite, accompanied by the green skinned dance hall girl.

Whoever came up with this AT-AT idea deserves a medal!

Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?!?

Being a Jedi Master is hard work, and sometimes you need to take a little cat-nap when being toted around by Jedi's in training.

In addition to what I felt was the most creative group in the parade, there was the usual mix of classic cars and restored tractors.  Some were quite impressive!  Altogether, I felt it was one of the better Johnson parades I'd seen in a while!

 

Mother's Day

We had a really lovely Mother's Day.  An absolutely unplanned afternoon, spent exploring in the back yard near the creek.  My son was all prepped for it this year, as he had been doing crafts all week at preschool.  He told me "you should give your Mother hugs and kisses all year, not just on Mother's Day," but also "on Mother's Day, I want to buggle a lot!"  After dinner, we had the pleasure of watching him play "firefighter" with the hose.

It cooled down again to a comfortable Moscow spring.  Rain.  Wind.  Flowers.  Just the way I like it.  In May and June, I am convinced I live in the most beautiful place on the planet.
 

 

Easter Weekend

Happy, happy Easter weekend.  We've been blessed by beautiful spring weather...way better than we usually get for Easter, especially when it's early in the year.  So today we spent outdoors:  gardening, riding bikes, visiting neighbors, decorating our eggs.  So much fun.  I worked in my perennial bed, trying to get it under control.  I'm working in sections, and it's looking so much better.  Then I cleaned my garden shed.  Perfect for working now!

Oh happy weekend!  I love it when our little family gets to be outside so much!  Even though we were a little low energy after a week with some sickness and rough nights, we  still had such a nice day.  I'm looking forward to tomorrow!

My native honeysuckle, budding!

Happy Bulbs!

We did a little excavating in the garden!

Rhubarb!  Transplanted!

Beautiful cutwork from my grandmother.

Eggs!

Knit eggs!

Sun and Snow

It's the first week of spring and it has been f-f-freezing!  Except when it's super sunny.  Which is usually followed five minutes later by sleet.  We've managed to get outside, usually running back in for extra hats and mittens at periodic intervals.  The cold weather has kept me knitting, as my hat obsession continues.

The neighborhood Great Horned Owl has been roosting in our tree and leaving owl pellets--very exciting!  As soon as I get them sterilized, we will have a dissection party.  Our bulbs are coming up, and today my son and I planted out the lettuce.  He also went around the yard taking pictures, and took some of these!  He's learning so many things right now, it's pretty amazing.  Baseball, for instance.  I'm sure the ball sport thing he did not inherit from either one of us!

Despite the cold, we're so excited that it's spring.  Easter is almost here, and today we got the decorations up!  I love love love spring, and get so giddy this time of year!

Owl Pellet

The artsy fence photo taken by my son.

The fact that I finished this is pretty amazing in and of itself.

Merry Christmas!

Winter Solstice

 

To keep back the long winter's night, we had a solstice party with the neighbors.  We made sun cookies, and bright colored play dough.  Then, we turned off all the lights, and turned on the sun!

Lights and Whites

Every day from now until the winter solstice we lose two minutes of light per day.  This week we've had wonderful unseasonable sunny-ish November weather, and it's been great.  This sunny weather has corresponded with a full moon, so it seems unusually bright.  

We spent a little bit of time decorating this weekend.  Not the tree yet...that is still coming.  But a few things.  White linens, paperwhite bulbs, lights on the house.  Enough to make it a little brighter.

Still too dark to take pictures!

 

Turkey, Off the Grid

We were invited to spend Thanksgiving with some friends at their cabin on Lake Coeur d'Alene.  In a tiny little cabin filled with the noise of laughter, we weren't really off the grid for Thanksgiving, since we had electricity and plumbing.  But we didn't have wireless or cell phone service, so the kids had to entertain themselves the old fashioned way...playing Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders, Battleship, and Uno.  Oh, and they had to do really boring things such as go on hikes and canoe rides and all bunk out together.  We ate really, really well on a locally raised turkey and all the fixings (have you ever heard of Mama Stamberg's Relish)?!?

Perfect.

 

Thanksgiving

From a family roadtrip...next year's promise of winter wheat, already planted in Benewah County, ID

Thanksgiving is just about my favorite holiday.  And this year, Garrison Keillor summed up the essense of Thanksgiving better than anyone else I've ever heard:

"We should give what we do not have.  This is the meaning of generosity....the thing you do not have is certitude, and so you should give certainty to other people, as a gift.  Life is good....be grateful for everything that has happened up to this point, because everything combined to bring you to where you are right now, and you should be thankful for it."  -- Garrison Keillor, 17 November 2012  [listen here]

Americana

We went to the Johnson parade this year.  It is the only parade in the area and it attracts thousands.  The "town" of Johnson isn't really anything more than a grain elevator and a few houses.  I have no idea how this parade got started, but it's been going on for decades.  

It isn't something I really feel called to go to every year, as it is one of those "you've seen one, you've seen them all" slices of America.  However, election years are always fun, as candidates from both Washington and Idaho make their appearances.  Sometimes we even get candidates for the U.S. House (though I've yet to see a Senate candidate).  

Here are some pictures with commentary:

Every parade needs a Ranchero.

This is an awesome farm truck!

The tractor-pulled Ferris Wheel, partially obscured in this shot by a man in a purple sombrero.

Old Army jeeps are cool!

I don't know where all these classic cars hide out during the rest of the year!

Note the shotgun and jug on the Model T.

Idaho House Representative Ringo.  I sat next to her on the Boise-Lewiston commuter flight once.

It is a Jubilee year after all!

And there's the Royal Couple!

Another super cool farm truck!

Ah, the Lentil Express!

Mustang!  And where's Waldo?!?

Surprisingly, this vehicle was not bringing up the rear.

In case you forgot we were in Cougville.

Obviously, this guy has a point to make (you should have seen the other side of the sign!)

My favorite parade entry!

I like the star on the grill!

Where are these coming from?

Back to the Thingamajigger!

 And finally, the train!