Too Many Tomatos!

Yesterday Kristina and I started the morning at Brosi Farms in hopes of picking Roma tomatoes, which we would later turn into salsa, and roasted tomato sauce and then can. However we were very disappointed with the lack of ripeness at Brosi and headed out to Lehne Farms. The lady at the produce weigh station told us the pickings for Roma would be slim because of the weather. However, Kristina and I were so happy with the bounty that we kept picking and picking and picking....then other people came out to where we were and picked and picked as well. The farther we got down the rows the larger and riper the tomatoes were! More and more people came to "our picking area," and so we picked faster, hoping to get the best and most. We piled all our work into the car and went to get the fruit weighed, keeping in mind we only needed 32 lbs. total. We were shocked with laughter when we were told we picked not 100 lbs, but 104 lbs of tomatoes!! We were so overwhelmed we laughed so hard we were in tears and people were starting to stare at us! So, starting at one in the afternoon yesterday we made and canned 60 pints of salsa and 20 quarts of roasted tomato sauce. I finished processing the last batch a little after midnight. Thankfully Jason and my mom pitched in to help. We (Kristina and I) have NEVER and will NEVER do anything like this again!After hours of work Kristina was cheerful as every, and I was beginning to peeter out.

Kristina and my mom tasted each batch of salsa for the flavor and added ingredients.

What a guy! Jason put his plans for the day aside and chopped 75 cloves of garlic and was the best salsa "stirrer" ever! Funny side story.....so we needed 89 cloves of garlic for both projects...well, I didn't know that the small individual cloves counted as one clove. I thought the whole "large" clove counted as one clove. So here I am putting the bigger cloves into our box and I turned in all seriousness to Kristina told her that Lehne's didn't have enough garlic cloves, starting to panic at where we were going to get enough cloves......yet, another time we busted out with unstoppable laughter!

Salsa anyone?

Delicious roasted tomato sauce

Finally at the end of a LONG day everything was finished.

Pies and Pianos

My dad is very active in Canyonville's Pioneer Days celebrations. It is a big fundraiser for the students he takes to the coast for the week at the end of the school year. My dad asked my if I would make a pie for the pie auction, and then he would enter them under his name, "MR. J". They even had a professional auctioneer for the event! The money raised goes to the Lions for local community projects. The crowd went wild when they foumd my dad, Mr. J, entered two pies. For my dad, I made a blueberry pie (with my homemade canned filling) and it went for $125.oo. Then I made a German Apple pie which went for $115.00. It was a lot of fun seeing local merchants and families compete against each other during the auction.
I have always wanted to have a piano in my classroom. I do a LOT of singing with my students, and it is so much fun! Several years ago our custodian asked if I had wanted an old high back piano that she was moving out of another classroom. I was in the middle of my graduate work and the logistics of trying to fit it in my room felt like an overwhelming hassle. However, one night last week I could not sleep and I remembered the old piano in storage. However, Susan (my good friend and teaching partner) reminded me that there were 2 pianos in storage. She and I went to look at both if them and I felt like a little kid in a candy shop comparing the sound quality, tone, and overall appearance of each instrument. I finally chose this black one. I am so excited to share my love of music with my students, not vocally, but now by playing the piano too. In time for Meet the Teacher night, my sweet husband bought me a bouquet, as a final touch!

So Sad...sniff..sniff

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sad tonight. One of my very best friends, Kristina Ikola, has taken another job teaching 4th grade at Winchester Elementary! I am very happy for her and she feels like her decision is bitter sweet. She loves our school, the people,and the kids. But, she has really wanted to be in the Roseburg school district. Kristina taught kindergarten at our school this past year. I think when you have a very close friend and get to see them every day, hang out together with each other's families, etc. you kinda take the convenience of getting together for granted. We decided at the least that we will have Saturday morning dates at least 2xs a month, which takes some of the sadness out of things...

S'mores Pie (really!)

Yesterday Jason and I spent the entire day working in our classrooms. Poor guy, at the end of the day and with all the work he had done, his room still looked like a disaster. He is switching grade levels and had to weed through 2 sets of curriculum, and materials. We got home really late last night and had to run into Roseburg for some storage items he needed. On a whim at 10:30, we went on a dessert date the Shari's and I had the MOST WONDERFUL S'mores Pie ( I forgot my camera and asked for a take out menu with the picture of the pie on it but they were out of those). It was packed with chocolatey sweetness...pure s'mores bliss. I think I am a s'mores addict after my fist try this summer. As Rachel Ray would say, YUMMMMO!!!!

Forking Lawns

One evening before Kristina went to visit her family in Kentucky, we had a great idea to give one of our co-workers (who will remain nameless) a hard time by "pranking" them...harmless, of course! She, Brandon, Jason and I bought 250 plastic white plastic forks and put them prong side up in our co-worker's lawn. It was funny because we saw the co-worker walking with their family and we drove right past them on the way to our mission. I didn't get to snap many pictures because we wanted to get out of the area before we got caught. It was so much fun and Kristina and I were laughing uncontrollably on the way back to the car. Brandon and Jason were worried that we were going to blow our cover.
What a girl...she even takes time away from forking for a quick smile! Maybe someday this picture could be incriminating (chuckle-chuckle).

Sickie

When I was recovering from surgery last week, Kristina came over and sat with me in the afternoon while I was doped up on meds. It was such a nice surprise.....I was felling like I had "cabin fever." She made this painting and gave it to me with a get well card. It brighten my spirits and touched my heart!

S'mores Anyone?

When we were little kids we always went camping. However, I had never made s'mores ever before. So we made s'mores on the last night we camped....I must say they were scrumptious! Last week Jason and I were in bed at about 11:00pm and we both had a sweet tooth. So, he had this idea to light the gas stove burner and we still had left over marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate. We had our own version of s'mores at home....although it wasn't a "safe" way to have them, they sure were good!

Florence

One of our favorite places to eat on the Oregon coast....Once our camp at Honeyman campground was set up my mom and Jason rested and enjoyed reading the paper.

Later my dad and Jason tried to start a fire....which was pretty amazing seeing how the night before it rained there too.

We got some fish at a local fish market. I am not a fish eating kinda girl, but my mom cooked it on the camp stove and I LOVED it!!! So much so that I needed to take a picture of it (hee-hee-hee).

High Rise Tool Shed

Part way through our camping trip it rained one day and full evening. We couldn't get into a yurt, and so this cabin was then next closest, and dry place to sleep for the night. I was, however, very displeased with the temporary living conditions. As Jason teased, this cabin was basically a tool shed on stilts. It was tiny, not the cleanest, and the bathrooms were outhouses. The showers were about a mile walk away. I would have rather slept in the car, but I was a good sport and bore the evening in the cabin....and I might add that the electricity went out due to the rain storm too.
A peek inside the high rise tool shed/cabin
Boy was I glad when morning came. My cold body was comforted by my morning cup of Joe....ahhhhh. All was well now!

Fort Stevens

Fort Stevens was a working fort used from the Civil War to WWII. It is the western most point of the entire Pacific Northwest (or so I heard). The fort served as a base during WW II for armed forces. In walking through the fort we saw cement bunkers where the military prepared to defend in case the Japanese attacked from the ocean, and huge missiles and machine type guns....it was kinda cool!

Do you "Truffle Shuffle?"

This last spring the movie, The Goonies, became very popular with the students in my room. They were constantly quoting the movie, doing the truffle shuffle, and it amounted to a lot of silliness at times! I had never seen nor heard of the movie. The kids thought I was crazy and one of them asked if I grew up on another planet. So, one of my kiddos brought the movie to school and I took it home to watch. Fortunately Jason loved the movie as a kid, and enjoyed seeing it again. The next morning I understood the kid's jokes from the movie and I was able to get in on their fun. So, in Astoria we found the original house that was used in the movie. It was a bit tricky to find with all the older roads and neighborhoods. As we approached the dirt driveway that lead up to the house there was a BIG sign that read something about a private drive, no cars, pictures, or trespassers. I think the people who now live here got tired of all the tourists. So my dad and I ran up the hill, quickly snapped some pictures (trying to get as close to the house as we could without being spotted) and ran back to the car. I felt like I had broken a law and gotten away with it!

Next we ventured to the John Jacob Astor Elementary school where the movie, Kindergarten Cop was filmed.
Do you think our "Arnold" poses would scare away naughty students?

The Column

When we went to visit the Astoria Column it had been closed! I was so disappointed, as Jason had never been there. Apparently the stairs, which were 83 years old, were being replaced for safety reasons. It will reopen in January 2009.....maybe next time! The pictures on the Column are beautiful. They tell the history of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

From the top of the mountain where the Column sits, you can see all over the city of Astoria, the Columbia River, and the in between mountains and valleys. Picturesque views like these make me love Oregon more and more. The views form the very top of the Column are similar to these, so we weren't entirely disappointed.

My dad and Jason were admiring this topographical map of the area. Secretly I think they were also looking for directions to the next place we were going to visit!

The Ship

After the Maritime Museum we got to tour a ship that used to frequent to waters of the Columbia river.
Jason is washing up in the kitchen of the ship....
I am at the oven checking things out....
While I am in a bunk, my dad gets ready to sneakily whack me with a pillow in the head!
Jason and my parents on the deck of the ship.

Columbia River Maritime Museum

The Columbia River Maritime Museum offered a "hands on" look at the history of Astoria from the beginnings of the fish canneries, to war ships, and training grounds for the US Coast Guard. It was very interactive. There was so much to see and do in the museum with so little time. Looks like Jason found a new toy!
What an interesting gun......
Jason enjoyed sitting in the Captain's seat on one of the ships.

Hangin' with The Colonel

After visiting Fort Clatsop we stopped at KFC in Astoria for lunch and couldn't resist snapping a picture with Mr. Sanders....geez, what a guy!

Fort Clatsop

My dad loves Oregon History, as it is part of his 5th grade curriculum. We couldn't visit Astoria without spending time at Fort Clatsop. Here we are on the trek down to the newly refurbished fort. It burned down several years ago after several embers in the fireplace started a fire.

Fort Clatsop was the location where Lewis and Clark nearly ended their journey and stayed for much needed rest for a season.