The Hunter/Gather of Surburbia

Are we where we live?

April 29, 2012

Trash

I get really annoyed when on our walks around the apartment complex I have maneuver around dog poop. It is even more annoying now that the management has sprung for two poop stations so you don't even have to bring your own bags with you anymore. I really don't get people.
I know trash is a big a deal, I see it all over the place here in Hermiston. Today on our walk at the dam, there was a lot of trash everywhere. Like people came out to fish or picnic and just left their trash behind. I think I am going to start bringing grocery bags with me and pick up what I see. It's bad enough that people don't pick up after their dogs, but to just drop pop cans and sandwich bags along the trail or by the ponds is ridiculous.

April 21, 2012

Turtles

I think that one of them is hiding inside its shell. The walk was wonderful and I met Maureen and her dog whose name escapes my puny brain. We met last Saturday in nearly the same part of the park. Weird, and weirder still a guy fishing in the same spot that he was last Saturday. Ok, a fishing spot repeat really isn't that weird, just weird that we were all in the same place at the same time, again one week later.
Two posts in one day! Yep, I may be doing somewhat better.

I would like my family with a side of bacon

There is a blog I subscribe to that is named something like, "I'd like cheese over my entire family please." My really bad, for not being able to hold the name in my head with any type of certainty. I do love cheese, but I also love bacon. Ok, I love a lot of different kinds of food. Right now I am cooking, in my oven unfortunately, a beer can game hen. Since I still haven't forked over the cash for a BBQ at my new home, I have heat up my apartment. The good thing is the aroma is wonderful. I use Kona Brewery's Pipeline Porter when I can. It is only produced between October and January so I have to stock up. Which isn't hard since I am not a huge ale drinker. I think I have touted Pipeline Porter before, two of my favorite drinks a dark ale and COFFEE in a nice smooth ale. Yep you got it! COFFEE! I am not a fan of their ale with coconut, I do not like coconut at all. But hey, if anyone is reading this and they love coconut, Kona's ale for Spring is the one to buy. I don't the name but their website is, www.KonaBrewingCo.com, just in case your mouth is watering. Mine is not as I am drinking the rest of the ale that I didn't pour into the Pepsi can, so I guess it is actually Pepsi/beer can game hen. No, I rinsed out the can so no Pepsi in there, though now that I think on it.
We went to the dam today, it is so nice and warm, perfect for walking. I saw my very first actual wild turtles, pictures to follow after I download them from my phone. They were sunning on a log in the middle of um... I think it is "Social Security" pond, don't ask me I was wondering the same thing. There was also a kid's fishing derby happening at one of the other ponds. A very populated park, but they still don't have Spillway Park open for the season. Weirdness.
Since my apartment is already steaming I think I will make some mashed potatoes to with the game hen. No bacon today. Sad.

April 18, 2012

Hump Day

It is another beautiful day here in Hermiston and the other good part of this Wednesday? One week until payday! Yeah! My trip home for only two days sucked the money right out of my bank account. Not because I lavished presents on my beautiful grandchildren, but because of the darn gas prices! Here in Hermiston, at that time, gas was about 3.87. At Biggs junction 2 hours away it was 3.99. In Portland it was over $4. In Salem, hometown, it was 4.06! Craziness! When I drove through Hermiston to the dam over the weekend the gas at the Chevron station was 4.16 and the gas at the Shell station just down the road was holding steady at 3.99. According to my son Chevron has the "best" gas, but at nearly .20 cents more a gallon I'll stick with Shell or the Space Age station on 84 where, I think, the price was 3.89 last week.
Argh! The good thing is, I don't really have to drive anywhere other than work so I don't have use my minuscule remaining dollars on gas. To the dam this weekend, avoiding the ticks if we can, and then the slide to payday.
One of my colleagues asked me what I thought about working at Hermiston High School yesterday. The easy response, "A dream," with the qualifying how horrible my last year at Willamina really was. Having administrative support, even if it is a polite "no," is far superior to the feeling of no support but increasingly more time consuming demands with no training.
But enough of the dark thoughts. I have found Hermiston School District to be very supportive, the community too. I relied on DonorsChoose.org to fund my classroom library in the past, as soon as I posted a project on the website I got a call from the principal that a school board member had seen my post and wanted to know why the school wasn't giving dictionaries and thesauruses. I was amazed, and also chastened by the concern, how very refreshing! But that is why I think I have found my dream position, now nearly at the end of my first school year, I feel invigorated to expand how my program works next year. I am not overwhelmed by mandates, I am motivated to do ever better by my students. As I always have been.

April 15, 2012

Lack of writing

I really have no excuse why I haven't been writing lately. Just lazy. I am loving the Spring here in Hermiston! I am sitting here with my sliding glass door open and in a sleeveless shirt, how cool is that? I have just finished reading a wonderful book A Silence of Mockingbirds the Memoir of a Murder by Karen Zacharias. Ok, the subject matter isn't all that wonderful, but the read is.
I am also reading meeting faith An Inward Odyssey by Faith Adiele. Also a good book, not as wonderful as Karen's, but the kind I like. It also has a whole different take on religion and faith, for me that makes it a good read.
I am sitting here watching Mouse sink into the carpet face first as he falls into a deep sleep. As my colleague Becky says, "He is getting under my skin." I wanna squeeze that black pudgy guy every chance I get. Emma is splayed on the couch dreaming of going after some critter. Today we went to the Dam. I am leery of some spots there after our encounter with a horde of ticks on one of the trails. My head still itches when I think about it. Today we walked up to Spillway Park, which is still closed to cars, but seems open to those walk in. I really love walking up to the dam and seeing the water crash from the spillway to the river below. I let loose of Emma and Mouse, though they trailed their leashes. Emma went nuts dashing around the trees and Mouse. Poor guy can't keep up with her, his legs aren't designed that way. He finally gave up and laid down and panted as Emma dashed around. It was a great walk and we encountered no hordes of ticks.
I always say this, but I will say it again, I am going to try and discipline myself to write more. Every day would be good, but probably won't happen. So until then, happy trails and eating and reading and writing.