A Kinder Way Wednesday: Don't eat my flowers, or I'll CUT YA!

Here in western Washington we don't have a lot of pesky bugs like they do in the southern states. We get the occasional fly, of course we have a lot of spiders, and Lord knows we have slugs and snails galore.

I have been known to spread a little slug bait in my day to save our flowers and rhododendron, but I've changed my murderous ways. My hate for the slug and snail have given way to a respect for their lives as well, and I use this instead.

All natural, eco friendly and RECYCLED. Egg shells. The slugs and snails don't like to slither across the egg shells, so we sprinkle crunched up egg shells around the flowers to protect them. (As you can see by the leaves on this dahlia, I was a little late getting out there with the egg shells.)

We eat a lot of eggs, and I do mean a LOT. We also have a LOT of flowers and plants around the property. So when we crack the eggs we rinse the shells and let them dry. We keep them in a zip lock bag and crunch them up as we go.

The egg shells also deter cutworms. I'd never heard of these, but they kill seedlings.

A show of arms and suction cups

It was a rare show. We've been to the zoo quite a few times, and yesterday was our first time seeing the famous octopus. Usually we have to really study the tank to get a view of him. He hides under his rock and sits there perfectly still.

Yesterday he suddenly started to move his arms in a rhythmic, rolling motion. It was a busy day at the zoo, so there was quite a crowd in the aquarium. As he started to emerge, a larger crowd of kids gathered, excited to see the show.

He came out, stretched himself on the adjacent rock, and puffed himself up. He hung on there for a few seconds, just long enough for some people to snap a few pics, then he went right back into his crevice. It was as if he came out for the crowd, strutted his stuff, and said, "That's all for now. Thanks for coming folks."

Now the really bad part of this story is that right before we arrived in the octopus area, my camera battery died. I only got a few pictures of this trip to the zoo. Usually not a big deal, because I have quite a lot of zoo shots. But I wanted more this time because Charlie is here visiting from Nevada.

Here's the best shots of the zoo this time around.

Sean and Charlie at the entrance to Pt. Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.

Sean was being stalked by the peacocks. They were making their
calling sound, and we joked they were saying, "Sean! Sean!"

Sharks. 

We invited Shane and Jacob-Joshua to come over and pick raspberries earlier in the day. We have so many of them, and we've frozen a bunch and I'll be making jelly or jam soon. We've already had raspberries and ice cream, raspberries and shortcake and ice cream, and these bushes just keep giving us more. 

After picking, we loaded up and made our way to the zoo. It was the perfect day for both activities.

A Kinder Way Wednesday: Don't Kill That!

I tend to be a let-live person. Whether it's a spider in the corner of a bathroom, or the question of capital punishment, I usually raise my hand in favor of let live.
I won't digress into the capital punishment topic. I'll save that for another day.
There are certain bugs and things that I will kill. The mosquito is one.

It's mosquito season. When the sun goes down there are certain areas of the yard and property that are pretty thick with mosquitos. Some of the windows don't have screens. Sean's room is one, and then there are a couple upstairs that don't have them. I leave the upstairs windows open a lot and don't have much trouble with bugs coming in.

We had a couple of really warm days, and I left the windows open in the evening. We were noticing a few mosquitos inside, and some moths, too. I had been successful in killing the mosquitos--yes, I know. Killing.

As Sean and I sat eating dinner we saw this guy on the ceiling.

Sean knew I was eyeing that big thing that looked like a huge mosquito.

"Don't kill him," he said. "He's not a mosquito. I know he looks like a big mosquito, but he's not. He's a crane fly."

This kid has loved bugs since he was a little toddler. He devours books on critters and crawly things. He read about crane flies in a book. He did think they eat mosquitos, which I took as fact, but upon further research found they in fact do not eat mosquitos. I'll have to break the news to Sean, however, I won't be killing them.

They live here and don't really hurt anything. They flit around sort of like a mosquito, but they don't land on people. I have only noticed them on the ceiling, the window screen downstairs, and sometimes on a curtain.
They aid in the decomposition of decomposing vegetation, like a compost pile. (wow, that's a lot of compos words.)

This creature goes in the let live category.
During my research I read that there are areas where they are very prevalent in this state and people are using spray to kill them. Most of them are harmless, although there are some species that cause a problem to vegetation and lawns, etc.
The spray is causing a problem for other things. If you're interested in some information about the crane fly you can find it here.

Stuff I don't need

That title could generate a really lengthy post. There are so many things I don't need. But I'll stick to the original point.

We're getting ready for a yard sale. We've gone through each cabinet, each drawer, our closets, and are down to only a few more closets and we'll have a complete inventory of things to keep. We've made a pile of things to sell, and we're making progress on things to throw away. We've made one trip to the dump already.

We've been going through the bigger items, like dishes and ratty furniture. Today I started going through my jewelry box. I have a lot of jewelry that I just don't wear anymore. Some of it really isn't that old. I bought it thinking it was pretty, then got it home and realized it just wasn't me.

I pulled these items out to decide if I should keep them or sell them. None of them are fine jewelry pieces, and most of it is stuff I've had since the 90s. There are a couple of those cheaper charms for the Italian charm bracelet that I had about eight years ago. The pink and brown circles are a set of earrings that I got last year. Cool as I thought they'd be, I put them on and they were way too big. I'm petite, and they just looked weird on me. I have some big hoop earrings that I think look fine, but these were just too much.

It feels good to methodically go through this stuff.
I've been able to let go of a lot of things, and then there are some things that I decided to keep. I tend to keep some things that have a strong emotion or memory connected to them. I've noticed that some of those items I kept during the last go-through are now in the give away pile.

We really enjoy looking at stuff, shopping at thrift stores and yard sales, and we like unique old things. But I've been able to avoid going to the thrift store or stopping at yard sales this summer because I knew I had to get rid of a bunch of stuff first. I typically have a pile to take to Goodwill on a weekly basis. I kept thinking the house should have been empty by now, but it is unbelievable how much stuff we have.
Which do you enjoy more, getting stuff at yard sales, or selling stuff at a yard sale?

A boy's paradise

This week Chuck decided he really didn't have the time to devote to the dirt bike he and Sean bought from a Craig's List post. The thing didn't run, and they had big ideas of finding the problem and fixing it. They worked on it one afternoon, but summer will be winding down soon, so Chuck decided to look for another one that would provide some immediate enjoyment.

Watch out. Here comes trouble and his sidekick,
Emma.

They found another one on Craig's List and we drove about an hour to get it. The man said his son had no interest in it, and it sounded like he was not real comfortable riding it. He said the boy wouldn't go fast enough on it to keep the front wheel steady. Chuck looked at me and said, "I'm afraid we'll have the opposite problem."

It was late in the evening when we got it home, and they were ready to take off on it. They didn't get far. Sean came back into the house, shoulders slumped, and said, "Needs a tube." I wasn't sure what that meant. He explained the back tire tube was bad. He was pretty disappointed. Chuck had to work the next day, which meant a possible 24 hours of sitting and staring at this newer motorcycle and not being able to ride it.

I agreed to take Sean to the nearest motorcycle store the next day to get a new tube, and Chuck said he would try to come by on a break and get it trail ready.
Once we had the new tube, Sean immediately called Chuck to let him know we were on our way home and he should meet us there to install this new tube. I think he texted him a couple of times, too. He was so anxious to try it out.

Chuck stopped by on a break and they put the
new tire tube in, pumped it up and it was
ready to go.

This property is perfect for it. His feet barely touch the ground, and it's a pretty heavy bike for him, but he was rarin' to go. He hasn't had it out of first gear yet, but he's pushing first gear.

His toes just touch the ground, but he's not afraid.

He's getting the feel for it, and each time he gets on he learns more about it. He's dumped it a few times, but seems to know how to let it go and hop out of the way of it.

Chuck is having a good time watching Sean enjoy it.

I can't even describe how this kid loves this motorcycle, and this property. He has always loved being outside. He loves being here, and there's plenty to keep him busy.

Here he goes through the gate to the lower property.

After Chuck went back to work, and Sean had ridden around a bit, we came back up to the house and I talked to him about privilege and responsibility. I explained that he is fortunate to have a nice home, a room filled with the toys he loves, and now this motorcycle. With that comes the responsibility to act like a gentleman, with a good attitude of being thankful for all that he has, and good manners. We talked about how important it is to behave well, and to be a role model for others. I don't want him to get to a point of feeling entitled to things.

I'm happy for him to have fun things, and I'm so thankful for Chuck. He's so very good to both of us.

Peace, love and ice cream

= Ben & Jerry's.
We finally had some warm days here. Two in a row, I think. I was loving it but the natives tend to get the vapors, as we call it in the South. We had been in the car a while and Sean was suffering and had a headache. I suggested a stop at Ben & Jerry's for some ice cream.
We got the Fish Food flavor. It has chocolate ice cream, marshmallow and little chunks of fair trade chocolate in fish shapes. It was sooo good. I don't usually like stuff in my ice cream. I find it odd to be chewing on something so cold that it hurts my teeth while I'm really trying to enjoy something smooth and creamy. But the chocolate fishies were not freezing cold, and they were delicious.
They aren't paying me to say any of this. We didn't even see Ben or Jerry anywhere.
I realize it does sound like a pitch, but honestly, we just really liked it.

Fish Food ice cream and a cup of ice water.
It was exactly what we needed.

I've been to the Ben & Jerry's in San Fran, but the Gig Harbor B&J is pretty cool. They have a foto booth that takes a few frames of photos and uploads to Facebook. If you become a fan of them on FB, you can share your pics with your FB friends. We enjoyed goofing off with that for a few minutes.
I didn't get a picture this time of the cows outside, but they are big, and black and white. I was hoping this car outside was a VW van, but we had to settle for an old VW Bug. Still fun.

Sean liked the peace sign spray
painted on the hood. We had a '74
VW Bug when I was a kid. I drove
it when I was old enough. Ah, them
was the days...

Yesterday was about 82 degrees here and I guess God realized these natives just can't handle that kind of heat. Today it's gray and currently 59 degrees. (Some people say cloudy, but I say gray. Cloudy means you see patches of blue sky between clouds. There is no blue. It's just gray.)
High of 72 expected today. Whoo hoo. Summertime in western Washington.
Hope you get some peace, love and ice cream wherever you are today.

Date Night continued

On Saturday we got to be very grown up and attend a fun party. Stephanie and Rick hosted a backyard party complete with lots of food, lots of beverages, a big fire in the fire pit, two live bands, and a bunch of great people. There was a mix of age groups and backgrounds. It was so much fun. We stayed out late and slept in a little bit on Sunday.
Chuck reported for duty as a judge at our community's charity croquet tournament. It was the second year for the event, and the judges were all local celebrities of one type or another. Some were elected representatives in state or local offices.
I stopped by and took a few photos.

Derek Kilmer, a state senator, and Terry Lee.
Lee used to represent our district on the
county council. They were having a great time.

The angels came to play dirty.

Not sure how I did it, but I neglected to take any of Chuck. Probably trying to avoid favoritism for the paper, but now I wish I had one for my own archives.
The judges were all dressed in striped ref shirts and nice tan visors, and they all carried clip boards. An unscrupulous lot, they all were easily bribed with croquet money. Missed a shot, no problem. Give the judge a $5 croquet bill and all is OK.
All of the money went to a local Communities in Schools program this year.
The teams came dressed in all manner of costumes, and these were some of my favorites.

This guy was on the Mad Hatters team. Love
his bow and that huge drink glass.

I don't know the name of this team,
but they came in plaid and had huge mallets.
I snapped this shot just as this guy was thumbing
his nose at someone on the opposing team.

There were some others great moments, but I didn't get good pics of them.
It was our last horrah before welcoming the kids back. Sean arrived Monday, and Lilly got back yesterday afternoon.
This week has been work, work, work. I expect the weekend will prove to be very full of work as well. Tomorrow we will welcome Chuck's nephew Charlie, who is coming from Nevada for a music school at a local university for a week.