Speaking of...

Fort Clatsop Lewis and Clark landing

Long time no see (write, post, whatever). I can't believe it's July already!
And speaking of July, I hope you all had a happy 4th! I hope you had a nice break and got to enjoy some down time, or rousing fun, whichever you prefer!

Speaking of down time, last week we went to visit my folks. Had coffee, went to Fort Clatsop, had some nice dinners, just relaxed and hung out.
It was nice not having to field a bazillion 911 calls about fireworks. They are illegal here (for about 18 years now), except in a couple incorporated areas in the county and the Indian reservations. But people light them off anyway, and all their neighbors seem to have to call them in. [Personally, unless someone has caught something on fire or blown off an appendage, leave 'em alone! It's the 4th for goodness sake!] So it was nice not having to take the calls. I guess a plane landed on the freeway near here, though, so that was probably exciting, but I just really needed a break. And a nice long drive has always been a good break for me!

Speaking of nice drives, on the way there we drove over White Pass, which is always lovely. Plus it takes us by the best burger joint ever: Mrs. Beasley's. It's in Toledo and I think it was put up in the 50's. It's been added on to and remodeled a couple times, but it's still just a little funky diner with awesome burgers and handmade fresh fruit milkshakes. We had such a good burger, we even drove back by on the way home and had another!

source

Speaking of on the way home - we decided to take Chinook pass instead, which apparently I have been over but not since I was a kid. It was lovely. Secret Agent Man was literally giggling about there being so much snow. (We have previously established that he is certifiable when it comes to snow!) SAM took a couple neat pictures:


Once we got home we just relaxed for a day before going back to yuk.
I mean, work.
We ordered pizza. Had a beer. Took the kitties outside for a bit.
Speaking of kitties, they like the new garden. Buster thinks he's a tiger in the jungle or something.




Missy likes it, too. Although, to be more accurate, I think Missy just likes to eat the new garden. She likes the tall grass we planted. We still have some work to do, but my wrist is still bunged up so it's on hold for a bit. I'm sure it will get better just in time for the 100 degree weather we get in summer!

Speaking of my stupid wrist (sprain and torn ligaments) it's has hampered my drawing a lot. (I knew I should have learned to draw left-handed!) But I have been slowly working on some new stuff. I am working on the new logo/business card project for Crooked Stamper. Here's a sneak peak:



And I have some new little guys I'm slowly working on as well, based on various "fears". My intention is to have a series of them and then hopefully make some little stuffed versions to go along with them. We'll see...my ambitions usually outweigh my realities! But here's a couple of them:

fear of spiders

fear of broken hearts

Now that I'm back in the groove, I will be making the rounds again to visit you all in Blogland. Hope this find you well and that you are enjoying your summer!

Local Beautification Project Complete After Seven Years

That sounds nice and official, doesn't it?


See, we have lived in our house for seven years now and have never really done anything with our front yard other than let the HOA people plant a tree in it.

We have talked about putting in a flower bed several times but just never got around to it. It didn't really bother me much, but Secret Agent Man hated our boring front yard. So this year we finally bit the proverbial bullet and got it done.

We started by digging out the area we thought we wanted to put it - right in front of our porch.

This was easier said then done (although, what isn't, right?) The grass had seven long years to root, plus the ground is mostly clay instead of dirt. Fun fun fun!
Not.

We had a pallet of landscaping bricks dropped off in front of the house and started hauling them over one at a time to place around out dug out area. We leveled and dug, leveled and dug. Then we discovered we were going to have to dig out the end more because, as you can see, there is a wee bit of a slant. We stopped where we were and started in again the next day because, frankly, I was tired of playing in the dirt.
But after much trial and error we finally figured it out.

(Secret Agent Man maintaining his secret identity)

I was so proud when we got that done, and it actually looks half-way professional! Maybe we should quit our jobs and become landscapers?
Or not.

Anyway, we had to wait a couple days after that because it rained and rained and rained... And just when we thought we were going to have to build an ark next, it stopped for a couple hours, so we ran to a local nursery and bought a bunch of plants. Of course it rained all the rest of the day, but the next day we were able to get out and plant stuff.

All in all, I think it turned out quite nice. I'm sure we overcrowded the bed, but so what? We can deal with it as it spreads. What a project though! I have new respect for people who do this stuff on a daily basis.

Next up - the light post area at the curb! Yee haw!

So, what have you all been up to?

HAPPY EARTH DAY

It's raining here today, and everything is really green. The plum trees in my backyard are in bloom and everything else is leafing.

I don't mind the rain. It's a nice background sound for the day.

I have a window open just enough to smell how green it is.
Have you ever noticed that? That things can smell green? It's really nice. It's a happy smell. A "new" smell.

It's a good day for Earth Day.

I have this phone...

...that I really hate. But, as is the way with cell phone companies, I'm not "eligible" to get a new phone until next October. I may have to accidentally on purpose lose mine in a lake or something.
It is one of these, and they look fun, and they look stylish, but it is - in actuality - a giant pain in my patookis.
It is a touch phone. This means that every time I touch the screen (digging it out of my purse, setting it on the counter, trying to make a phone call, pretty much any time I'm anywhere near the damn thing) I accidentally activate something I don't mean to. Sometimes it's a program I didn't even know was on the phone!

This includes the camera feature.
Why do they set the button for the camera right where you always (always!) put your thumb when you pick up the phone?! Consequently, I have numerous accidental pictures. I discovered these a couple days ago when I was looking for one I actually intended to take.

What happened to a plain old cell phone that makes/receives calls? That's another thing! This phone, for whatever reason, often does not ring, so I get all these voicemails from people wondering where the heck I am that I'm not answering my phone...when it's been sitting right there next to me. And then when I grab the phone to find out who called, I take more pictures! Yea!
So anyway, I thought I'd share with you some of my accidental photography, while I'm still trying to finish up some earrings.

I think this is my laptop.

One of my bead boxes?
My bathroom floor.
My car.


(While I was trying to figure out how to email these to myself, I discovered that I have a "task" feature on my phone. ? I don't even know what this is! I may have to investigate further...)

A little personality goes a long way...

Sorry I've been MIA lately...I've got way too much on my plate it seems, and I just can't keep up.

I had a class for work all week last week. It was about personality types (and this chart is really interesting...), learning what your type is (I'm an "expressive", go figure) and how to figure out who the idiots are work with other types ("driver", "analytical" and "amiable") and how to convince everyone else I'm right resolve conflict. I think what I actually learned is that other call centers (we had several participants from around the state) have similar issues and we all love/hate our jobs.
And that all the other expressives in my group wear a lot of jewelry, have their nails done and flip off other drivers in traffic - just like me!
(Although, I probably shouldn't flip drivers off in traffic when I have a Jesus fish on the back of my car... sends mixed signals, don't ya' think? "Jesus loves you, asshole!" Ha!)

Anyway, done with that and back at my regularly scheduled work day.

I have been trying to get some jewelry done since Artbeads sent me all those lovely crystals, but it's not going so well because I just don't have enough time! I need at least 4 more hours to my day. If anyone has some spare time I will gladly take donations, preferably in the form of winning lottery tickets.

Also this coming weekend is Secret Agent Man's birthday. I have his presents, and dinner reservations at a swanky restaurant we had Valentine's dinner at, in this hotel:
This is also the hotel we got married in, in one of their lovely ballrooms, so that's always kind of neat.

And my parents are coming to town. I am going to make a killer chicken recipe for dinner for them. (The recipe is "killer" not that it is made with a "killer chicken"! Wouldn't that be awesome though!) Secret Agent Man thinks I missed my calling and I should be a world-class chef. I'd probably hate it then, though. Or I'd be like that really angry British guy that has that restaurant tv show where he screams and cusses at everyone and makes them cry.

And then, on top of it all, I have to take Ms. FluffyButt to the pet groomer and the (shhhh) "v. e. t."
I think she may have feline diabetes. I feel like such a bad mom. I hope she's just fat and not that she's sick. (Not that that is a whole lot better...) She seems happy, though, so I don't really know what to think.


I have to share, too, that I was asked to partake in a giveaway by Midtown Girl when she re-vamped her blog. She wanted to give her winner a "makeover" as well, via a drawing by me of the winner. Like I did for Otin. A lovely girl named Ali, who has this blog, won! She is all about Carrie Bradshaw and fabulous fashion stuff, so I was inspired by one of Carrie's girlie-girl dresses and drew her like this.

It was fun, and she loves it, so it was a win-win!

While I was over at her blog today I saw she got an award for her "Over the Top" blog. It included a really neat one word answer meme. So I stole it. Here it is, with my answers. I'm not going to use it as an award, and therefore am not going to make anyone else do it, but if you like it you can certainly steal it from me, too! I thought it was another fun way to learn you a little about me. If you decide to do one, too, let me know!

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Your hair? short
3. Your mother? soft
4. Your father? joker
5. Your favorite food? pizza
6. Your dream last night? weird
7. Your favorite drink? Pepsi
8. Your dream/goal? travel
9. What room are you in? work
10. Your hobby? sarcasm
11. Your fear? mediocrity
12. Where do you want to be in six years? elsewhere
13. Where were you last night? bed
14. Something that you aren't? tall
15. Muffins? sure
16. Wish list item? Lexus
17. Where did you grow up? Boringville
18. Last thing you did? work
19. What are you wearing? sweater
20. Your TV? big
21. Your pets? spoiled
22. Friends? great
23. Your life? better
24. Your mood? snarky
25. Missing someone? yep
26. Vehicle? clanky
27. Something you're not wearing? toupee
28. Your favorite store? Nordstrom
29. Your favorite color? black
30. When was the last time you laughed? daily
31. Last time you cried? movie
32. Your best friend? hubs
33. One place that you could go to over and over? Vegas
34. One person who emails you regularly? dad
35. Favorite place to eat? home

New Crystals

So I got my new Swarovski Crystals from Artbeads.com. Remember? I agreed to blog about Artbeads and their products and they agreed to give me free stuff? I love me some free stuff!

I tried some different colors and sizes than I normally would, usually I use about a 4mm crystal (I found out the 3's are way tiny, after accidentally buying a bunch, but I'll figure out something to do with them, I'm sure.) But this time I thought I'd try some larger ones to use more like a bead than an accent, so I got 5mm ones. They are quite nice, and the colors are just like they looked online, so that's a bonus! I hate it when you order something on line, beads, shoes, sweaters -whatever- and they look completely different in person than they did in the catalog or online.
Well, these are great. I'm looking forward to having some time this weekend to make some stuff. I think I'm going to do earrings. I, personally, wear more earrings than I do necklaces. But we'll see where it goes. Sometimes I start with one idea and go somewhere completely different. My drawings often work that way, too.

I do have some time this weekend, too, because Hubby, aka Secret Agent Man, is off to Michigan visiting his folks. I couldn't get any vacation time, so I get to stay home and work. And clean house. And make jewelry!

Here's some pix of the crystals I got this week. They are colors like Indian Sapphire, Indian Pink, Rose, Peridot, Padparadscha, Blue Caribbean Opal (which is interesting and opaque, I haven't used crystals like that before), Jet, Black Diamond,and Silver Shade. In a couple days hopefully I will be posting more jewelry.










And don't forget, all my posted jewelry is available at olivehue2 on Etsy! If you want to buy something, and you include in the message to seller that you saw it on my blog, I will give you a discount and free shipping!

Barns and Gremlins

So last week Secret Agent Man and I took a much needed trip to see my folks on the south west Washington coast. We took the long way there and back, by car, because we like road trips and the weather was nice. We had lots of snacks and an iPod with 12,185 songs on it (I know, crazy, right?) on "random play".
We went through a little farming community called Lamont that has this sign as you come into town. I love how they keep track of their population!

We then took a dirt road through some farm country for a while and saw lots of old buildings, some standing, some not so much.We found this little building we think was maybe an old schoolhouse at one time.
(I tried a couple different "actions" on it (courtesy of the Pioneer Woman). Hmmm, I may still have to play with it a bit, but I kind of like the middle "sunny" one.)



On the way home we drove a different direction and found this neat old covered bridge, the Grays River Covered Bridge, which is being preserved by some hysterical historical society. It's in really great condition and was kind of fun to drive through. I warmed up the photo a bit to try and make it pop a little more.

We also found, on our way home, a great big wind farm near Vantage, which was really cool, those turbines are freakin' huge! The picture, alas, is not mine, as I was tired and did not want to drive on up in there, but next time, for sure!


It was nice having the drive time with S.A.M. We always have stuff to talk about and he loves maps and odd routes so we usually end up seeing some interesting sights.
I wish we could go back to the beach, however! It's hot hot hot here! It's very nearly 100 today, which makes me glad I'm sitting at my air conditioned desk, but I'd rather be looking at waves, even if it's chilly and rainy. The one good thing about my shift is that with being off late, my car has a chance to cool down before I get in to drive home. Which brings me to the other half of the title of this post.

Yesterday I was driving home from work and as I pulled off the highway and onto the street that runs up my hill I heard this horrid hissing noise. My first thought was that something was wrong with my stereo - sunspot interference or some such.

So I turned the radio off.
No good. I could still hear it. For a split second I thought there was a snake in my car, but then my common sense kicked in and I decided the chances of that were slim to none (thank God!). Marmots maybe. But not snakes.
So then I thought maybe I had a flat tire, but I wasn't noticing anything odd with the steering or that the car was listing to one side or anything. At this point it's getting dark and I'm kind of freaking myself out a little, so I called S.A.M. and told him to meet me in the driveway, which, being the awesome hubby he is, he didn't give me any guff about. I pull up and he gets in and that's when I notice it: I cannot hear the hissing any more.
Just to be safe, however, I back out and we drive around through the neighborhood.
Nothing.
We drive around some more.
Nothing.

At least S.A.M. is not laughing at me. In fact, when we pull into the driveway again he gets out and checks my tires for me.
Nothing.
So I'm starting to think I had Gremlins in my car.

Not this kind:
This kind:

Then S.A.M. says to me, "Did you have a bottle of water in there or something?" I said, no. Then it dawned on me. Remember the aforementioned "snacks" we had on our drive? We had some sodas (and chips and cookies) in the backseat. *head slap* I had forgotten one partially empty soda back there. In the 90+ degree heat we've had here, it all but exploded , with the soda hissing out all over the upholstery.

Phew!
I'm so glad it wasn't really Gremlins. I hate those bastards.

Tutu Cute

Evelyn is having a fairy tea party for her birthday at the end of the month. I think she's ready.
Not sure about Finn...
I'm thinking he'll have some words for his mama when he's about, oh, 15 or so.

Home Sick/Leftovers

So I'm home sick from work today, which I hate, but I also hate it when co-workers show up sick and spread their germs to the rest of us (we have recycled air in our building so it happens FAST), so I figured I'd better play it safe and not go in.
I don't feel like really doing much of anything including making myself lunch. Luckily I have leftovers!
I made a Mexican "lasagna" the other night for my folks when they were here and it was fantastic, if I may say so myself.
I hate to bake.
But I can cook like crazy!
So I started with a recipe I found in one of my 7243 magazines and altered it to suit my own tastes. I'm sure there are tons of recipes out there for this kind of thing, but I'm going to share mine anyway. Because it's my blog you all might like it!

1 lb hamburger

Taco seasoning to taste

1 can corn

1 can pinto beans

1/2 jar salsa (I used Mrs. Renfro's black bean salsa)

1 medium onion

1 medium poblano pepper

2- 10oz cans of enchilada sauce (I used medium)

1-2 pkgs shredded cheese (I used a four cheese Mexican mix)

Tomatoes for garnish

Sour cream

Chop and sauté the onion and pepper.

Brown the hamburger and add taco seasoning to taste -DO NOT add water like you would to make tacos.

Stir in the corn, salsa and beans, cook until hot.

Add the onion and pepper.

Stir in one can of the enchilada sauce.

I used an oblong cooking dish, I'm not sure what size, maybe 9x13? (I don't keep track of those things very well, I just grabbed one I thought looked right. Hey, I don't bake, remember?)

Grease the pan and lay 2 tortillas side by side.

Ladle some of the meat mix onto the tortillas.

Sprinkle with cheese.

Repeat until all the mix has been used.

Put two more tortillas on top.

Pour the 2nd can of enchilada sauce on top.

Cover with the remaining cheese.

Bake at 400 until the cheese is good and bubbly.

Garnish with diced tomatoes and sour cream.

I realize my food picture isn't up to some standards, but hey, I was sick today and didn't feel like digging out my camera, so you get a cell phone picture...

For desert we had this:

Don't let anyone tell you that cats can't taste sweet or that they don't have a sweet tooth. Oh yes they do! We made the mistake of leaving this out on the counter and my Buster Kitten decided it must have been all for him. Luckily the Hubs had to stop at the store on the way home anyway, so it was all good.