Adventures in Cherry Picking

Cherry season is here!  This morning we drove to Harrisburg to Detering Orchards as they are open on Sundays and have u-pick cherries for $1.39 a pound.  We do u-pick stuff often but for the life of me I can never remember to bring a step ladder to pick cherries!  The low hanging fruit goes quickly and so I'm left starring up into a tree full of fruit that I can't reach.  One gal was on the roof of her car under a tree picking.  Another family had their snow/ice scraper out to hit branches. Others were smart and brought step ladders.  Nope.  Not us.

Cliff is pretty great as he is tall and can reach things that other can't.  He did a good job picking on his own as I slowly climbed a small tree and slowly grabbed a few handfuls of cherries.  I quickly realized that I needed to get down as I have never been a tree climber and I didn't need to start while picking cheap cherries.

I had the brilliant idea of getting on Cliff's shoulders to pick some choice fruit just out of our reach.  Let me just say that as an adult I have never gotten on top of someone's shoulders.   It's hard to do!  I was fairly positive that I was going to break Cliff (despite the fact that he can pretty much squat my weight at the gym).  I was very awkward and nervous.

I had one of those moments, awkwardly balancing on his shoulders, where I was reaffirmed that Cliff is undoubtedly the one for me.  As I'm trying to get him to move so that I can reach new fruit, he calming says "I prefer to respond to gee and haw."  Are you kidding me?  We are in the brink of disaster and you are being nerdy and trying to teach me about draft animal commands?  Holy cow.  I love you.  I had to keep myself from laughing as I was pretty sure I was going to crush him/fall to injury at any moment.  With this said, I was so impressed with our efforts that I had to take a photo to document this momentous occasion.

I continued to grab handfuls of cherries without looking to see if they were worth the effort.  With a sweaty fist full of cherries, I had a moment where I could see us filling out insurance paperwork about an incident.  I felt stupid when I had to say we had a spill while I was on his shoulders picking fruit.  With this, I asked to get down.  Now this is where I almost injured Cliff.  First I panicked and put my hands over his eyes/sunglasses.  Then I went for the hands.  I went wobbly. Thankfully,  I made it down alive and Cliff was injury free.

All in all we picked about 6.5 pounds of cherries. We got more rhubarb to make a cobbler tonight. We also got two enormous cabbages for $1.25 (buy one get one free!) so that we have backup when we pull our next batch of sauerkraut from the crock in 10 days.  It was a pretty successful trip.

When we got home we pitted the cherries with straws and chopsticks and now our hands are died red.  We have two full sheet pans in the freezer so I hope we have at least a gallon to put up for later in the year.  Fingers crossed!

Fits and Starts

So this last month or so has been really nutty.  Really nutty.  In fact, I'm not sure how time has flown by so quickly.  We have either been super busy or not doing anything at all.  No in between.  No sense of balance.  Just living it up or being up for nothing.

The push towards the summer really ramped up at both of our jobs.  Cliff's days got a lot longer and after work he frequently went to training to become an instructor for the Spencer Butte Challenge Course this summer.  On top of that he taught Saturday school, volunteered like mad at the climbing wall, and succeeded at keeping a nice workout schedule (lifting weight at the gym, running, and climbing).

The summer is really busy working in Parks and Rec.  I think this is true especially in Oregon as we have all of 12 (well maybe 10) guaranteed weeks of non-rainey weather all year so people make the most of their summers.  With this said, I start to get a little crazy this time of year. I work a lot of non-regular hours.  Plus I've been taking a Spanish class.  Additionally, up until last week, I had been swimming two to three times a week, doing stuff in the gym once a week, and I started jogging  again once a week.  I ran the Bark in the Park 5K and felt horribly slow but it was only a few seconds off my PR from last year.  Cliff and I set out to be healthier when we moved.  By gosh, it looks like we might be doing it.

 Along with all of this awesomeness of doing things comes the need to do absolutely nothing.  Seriously.  I have been napping a whole lot recently again.  I mostly blame it on my terrible allergies. I can't enjoy a sunny morning outside without ending up in a Benadryn coma for the rest of the beautiful afternoon.  There is a fair amount of sleeping going on.  While I sleep, Cliff does a lot of reading about things on the internet to decompress.  When we fall into our times of nothingness, nothing gets in our way of doing nothing.  No dish pile can get too high.  No laundry bag can get too full.  Nothing.  Which brings me to our brief dance with Netflix.

Arrested Development is one of the best shows ever made.  Hands down.  Cliff and I own all three seasons and watch them on a regular basis as it is nice to have something funny playing in the background of doing boring things like cleaning, rowing, or doing work at home.  So I think it might be an understatement to say that I was excited about the new season coming out on Netflix after so many years of being off the air.  To prepare for the event, Cliff and I downloaded our free month trial.  Kathy and Jill decided to come down for a viewing slumber party.  Think costumes, banners (like in the show), and an entirely themed menu that featured items eaten on the show (candy beans, frozen bananas, juice, Skip's Scrambles, ice cream sandwiches, club food, bangers, margaritas, etc.) .  It was glorious.  We moved the TV closer to our computer so that we could connect the two to stream the episodes on a full screen.  We did nothing but eat, drink, and eat some more for one whole day as we marathoned our way through the 15 new episodes.  Like I said, it was glorious.

But then all of the new episodes were watched.  Kathy and Jill had gone home.  It was just Cliff and I left with another two weeks of free Netflix and a whole lot of TV available to be watched. We causally decided to leave the TV in it's temporarily inconvenient spot so that we could check out a documentary or two.   This turned into three or eight more documentaries followed by binging on Dr. Who (don't even get me started on how much I love that show).  For those two weeks I substituted my allergy napping for being a couch zombie.

It was a sad yet wonderful night when I selected to cancel our free subscription.  I won't lie.  We were totally temped to pay the $8 and keep on going to finish Dr. Who and watch SciFi/documentaries/crappy TLC shows but we knew that we needed to stop.  Like I mentioned before, there are only 12 (actually 10) weeks of solid weather in Oregon and we weren't going to spend them inside in front of a TV ramshackley wired to our computer.  No sir.  We are going to live!

Otherwise, we have tired to make the most of our weekends.  I spent five hours yard saleing at a huge community garage sale (think over 150 houses) with co-workers a few weeks ago.  I learned how to haggle from a pro and came away with a mini Weber grill, air popper, two lawn chairs, four shirts, three glasses, an iphone case, a DVD of Anchorman, and a bag of fresh caramel kettle corn for only $16.  Victory.  We've also hit up Saturday Market, tried out a new hip coffee bar called The Barn Light, ran a 5K, made two new batches of sauerkraut, climbed, frolicked with Rudy, replanted the garden, BBQ'ed with friends,  processed 20-24 lbs of fresh strawberries, went to an Emerald's game, and found time to play cornhole (I'm terrible by the way) with our neighbors.  Oh and we finally managed to get all of our laundry taken care of.  Not a dirty piece of fabric in the entire house. 

The hope is that things are evening out.  I'm starting to hit my stride at work and am preparing for an exciting event season.  School is out and Cliff has a full time job for next year!  He is already working as a co-instructor for the Challenge Course and enjoying spending time with other outdoorsey cool folks.  Nice weather is here and we are enjoying out new lawn chairs and Weber grill. We are even planning on going camping this weekend with friends.  Summer is fabulous here.  We just need to figure out how to properly enjoy it.

400 Pumpkins

We all know that I love the fall and that pumpkins make me giddy.  Seriously.  I love this time of year.  So imagine my excitement when I found out that my work has a three night hayride to celebrate Halloween and that in preparation I would need to recruit as many volunteers as I could get to carve over 400 pumpkins.  I get to do these things for my job.  Score. 

The great carving party took place on Friday and it was awesome.  Best day of work ever.  Our awesome Parks guys had already cut all the tops off and all we needed to do with scoop (gut) and carve.  I was thrilled as 106 volunteers and about 20 staff members came out to help.  We had several tables set up for the scooping and carving as I took it as my duty to move the pumpkins from our little patch area to the carving tent.  Parks left a sweet gas powered wheel barrow type thing so I deemed myself the moving master.  My at-work-other-half thought it was comical so she documented my process.  Enjoy....

Pumpkin two hundred and three...

Time to pull up my pants...

Let's get this started...

Whoops!  Got away from me a little...

"No worries.  I'm good!"...

Off into the mist I go...

The volunteers did an amazing job.  We had zombie pumpkins, scary pumpkins, happy pumpkins, and even several pumpkins with mustaches.  It was a fantastic day.  I didn't care that I was wet, covered in pumpkin guts, and starting to get really sore from lifting and scooping (don't laugh at me).  Look at all of them!

Ok, that the end of the real part of the blog. BUT if you are bored and want to see me geek out a little please scroll down to see some photos that document my love for the wonderful orange vegetable.

Pumpkin Fest 2003 in the Boston Common

Kappa Pumpkin

Apple Picking 2004

Kappa Retreat at the Hamptons 2005

Pumpkin Patch in Oregon 2006

Apple/Pumpkin Picking 2007 at Detering Orchard

Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch in Surry, Virginia 2009

 About an hour ago for dinner

Happy Fall!!!!!

Lyddanes in Oregon

Two weeks ago the Lyddanes landed in Oregon for a week long vacation.  We tried to jam pack every day with all of the things we love about this place.  As a result, we ate a whole lot, traveled to the mountains and to the coast, picked fruit, listened to live music, hiked, swam, got up early and stayed up late, and generally just had the most amazing time.  Five flew back after a week and Stephen stayed out an additional week to hang out.  This resulted in more hiking, swimming, picking fruit, baking, canning and pickling, and generally just frolicking around town.  Because it would be hard to put everything into words I am going to have to rely on photos.

After we picked the family up from the airport we went to a Lebanese restaurant to meet Brie.  It was so nice for everyone to visit.  The food was really great.  Look at those happy faces!

 

The meeting also gave us an excuse to take the first of many group photos to come. 

The next day we went climbing at the climbing wall, ate at Sonic (a must anytime you see one) and then went to Detering Orchards to pick peaches, cherries, and other goodies.  It look a bit of team work to get some of the choice fruit but it paid off.  Sadly we were there late in the day so we missed the time to pick rhubarb and blueberries.

The next day we went to the coast as Stephen and Nicole had never seen the Pacific Ocean.  Everyone was a little shocked at how cold the water was.  The Oregon Coast is a far cry from East Coast beaches: not as developed, fewer people, colder water, etc.  The coast is so beautiful and we were excited to show it off.

Second opportunity for a group shot.  The lady who took the photo complimented us for wearing complimentary colors.  She asked if we planned our outfits.  We did not.   Oh, little did she know that we do have matching outfits and that we were going to unleash Team Lyddane t-shirts later in the week.

On Tuesday night we went to a Yanni concert.  That's right.  A Yanni concert.  Actually, Mr. and Mrs. Lyddane went to the Yanni concert and the rest of us set up shop outside of the amphitheater to listen to the music, play board games, and relax.  Everyone was excited.  The Lyddane children grew up with Yanni so Andrea and Nicole just couldn't contain themselves when their favorite songs came on.  They just had to dance.  It was very free spirited.  It was impressive.  It was hilarious.  All in all a very good night.

On Wednesday, we were all over the place on a "do your own thing" day.  Cliff and I had long days at work.  Mr. and Mrs. Lyddane drove to Crater Lake. Andrea, Joe, Stephen, and Nicole hiked, went to wineries, visited chocolate shops, and went climbing again.  We all ended the day at 9:30pm with some delicious Track Town pizza.

Thursday was our trip to the mountains day.  We started the day off right with a trip to Dutch Brothers.  With so many different sugary coffee options to choose from everyone was a little overwhelmed looking at the menu.   It took us a little while to get our order straight. Everywhere we went people made comments about how we were having a party in the mini van.  It might have been because we were all sporting our matching Team Lyddane t-shirts. 

Our first official stop on the mountain tour was Terwilliger Hot Springs.  Cliff and I love going to the hot springs so we really wanted to take the family.  When we got there we found that they were not open yet as the pools were being drained and the rocks were being cleaned (who knew that happened?).  No worries.  We made our way down to the reservoir.  Cliff, Andrea, Joe, Stephen, and Nicole swam to a little island in the middle.  Apparently it was really cold but really awesome. 

After about an hour the hot springs opened up.  I love going there.  It is so relaxing.  The hot water, the minerals, the sound of water falling from one pool to another.  We were all riding on a relaxing, hot springs high when we got back in the mini van and headed up McKenzie Pass.  

  

The hot springs high did not last long as McKenzie pass is long and really windy.  Two of us get car sick so we sat up front.  Even sitting in the front seat my stomach wasn't happy.  Andrea and Nicole were in the back and kept yelling as they thought they were going to fall over the cliff edges as we went back and forth up slow switchbacks.  It was a stressful (yet pretty ride) to Sisters, Oregon.  We stopped at the lava fields for another group photo.  

I think this is a great time to talk about the matching t-shirts.  They were a surprise.  An awesome surprise. They had made Oregon 2012 team Lyddane t-shirts.  On the front was a color version of a Lyddane drawing where a cartoon rabbit exchanges carrots with a cartoon squirrel who is offering acorns.  Adorable.  On the back is your number that corresponds with when you entered the Lyddane family (ex: Mr. Lyddane 01, Mrs. Lyddane 02, Andrea, 03, Cliff 04, Stephen 05, Nicole, 06, me 07, Joe 08).  They are awesome.  We sported them with pride all over central Oregon.  It was amazing.  Seriously.  Cheesy amazingness.

We stopped at a watch tower at the summit of the pass.  It was so beautiful.  You could see the north sister and the middle sister, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Washington, Black Butte, and several other peaks.  Andrea's camera has our group shots from the tower.  You bet we took a great photo of all of us showing off our numbers.  The Lyddanes were in central Oregon and everyone knew it.  After the photos, we ate lunch in Sisters and headed back home.

On the way home we stopped at Sahalie Falls.  I have a hard time explaining how beautiful it is.  As you walk down to see the falls you feel the cool mist, the sound gets louder, and you can't help but be in awe of mother nature.  Honestly, so much water falls every minute of ever day.  It's spectacular.

Sahalie Falls gave us one final opportunity for a group photo.  Our green shirts help us blend in with our natural surroundings. 

We got up bright and early on Saturday morning (4:00am) to take the crew back up to the Portland Airport.  It was so sad to see them go.  We had such a great time.  I hope they all did too.

Saturday started Cliff and Stephen's fantastic adventure.  We stopped at the Danner boot factory so they they could try on shoes (in preparation for their big labor day sale).   Back in one of our first posts, we mentioned that Cliff got over a $300 pair of boots for $50 at their labor day sale.  He loves them and wears them all the time.  When we go back up this year we will be on the lookout for some boots to send home as now we know sizes.   Look at those two!  Honestly it is pretty ridiculous how alike Cliff and Stephen ended up.  They could sit all day and talk about boots, orchards, gardens, dog training, bird specifies, and pretty much anything else.  They even wear matching colors without planning.  Really, its pretty funny.

I talked them into taking a "quick" drive down the coast.  I wanted to go to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, Rouge Brewing, and see if we could find one of those cool outdoor  fireplaces that are shaped like animals (I'm on the lookout for one for our house and they have them in Newport!).  We stopped at the Tillamook Forest Center and learned how the Tillamook Forest burned down several times and how tree planters are responsible for every single beautiful tree that we see today.  It was a really nice center with pretty impressive interactive, kid-friendly exhibits.  Nice work Tillamook Forest folks!

When we got to the Tillamook Cheese Factory it was packed.  It was overwhelming so we quickly walked through, got our ice cream, and headed outside to escape the crowds.  We headed south on the coast for hours and finally ended up in Newport.  We visited the Rogue Brewery, their new distillery (Cliff got fancy spruce gin) and saw lots of fisherman cleaning and gutting huge fish.  Let me tell you, it was smelly by Rogue because of all of the fish cleaning.  I tried breathing only through my mouth and it still didn't work.  The smell infiltrated my senses.  I couldn't walk fast enough to get away from it.  Besides the smell, Newport is pretty solid. 

Cliff and Stephen spent the next week hanging out all day and doing fun stuff (climbing, hiking, picking fruit, etc.)  Because of their efforts I got to eat three different crisps/cobblers over the last five days (peach and rhubarb and two blackberries varieties).  We also now have canned Oregon blackberry jam, refrigerator pickles, and blackberry infused whiskey.  We will have a little bit of summer each time we open one up this winter.  It's exciting.

We dropped off Stephen yesterday morning (another 4:00am day), ate breakfast with Kathy and Jill (to catch up on the wedding) and then drove home to take a nap.   We had a really great time with family.  I hope this is just one of many trips to Oregon.