Life in the Northwest

Exploring new places, meeting new people, and discovering a few brew pubs along the way.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

The Many Adventures of Life with Jacquie


























































DWNTWNimages.me

Sunday, September 25, 2011

September 24, 2011 - Freshly Painted Bedrooms







- Posted by DWNTWN

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Last Day of Summer 2011











Steppin' out with DWNTWN
DWNTWNimages.me

Monday, September 12, 2011

September 12, 2011 - Sabra

Luxuriousness in a bottle.




- Posted by DWNTWN


Saturday, September 10, 2011

September 9, 2012

Camping with my kids!


It's AMAZING!
I love this!
I wish you all could be here!
Turning my phone off and will check in later, MUCH later!


- Posted by DWNTWN

Location:Silver Falls Hwy SE,Silverton,United States

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Homemade Pizza is a treat

When I was little, before 4th grade, I remember having pizza nearly every Friday night. Most often, homemade pizza, and on occasion Pizza Hut.
(Pizza Hut originated in my hometown of Wichita.)
I remember the wonderful smell, getting to eat in front of the TV, watching the Brady Bunch followed by the Partridge family, and having my own bottle of Coca Cola.
Mom and dad bought 1-6 pack of Coke a week, on Fridays.
Pizza night must have been pay day as well.
And we all knew that pizza & pop was a real treat.
Tonight, I treated myself to

homemade pizza, made MY way, thin crust, Italian Sausage, ground beef, onions, and Of course, GREEN olives.
It was delicious. The only problem is I made enough pizza for our family of 10 and we are a small group of 3.
Some day I might learn to scale down the volume of food I cook.
Maybe!

- Posted by DWNTWN

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Mowing, trimming & getting dirty!

I bought a mower today!
We've had an old fashioned 5 bladed push mower since we moved here.
Do You know the kind?
The kind of mowers' they used in 1947!

Well that's what we had.
It's just getting too tough to push that darn thing up our steep hill fast enough to cut the grass.
Add to that we don't have as many kids living here which leaves less kids to delegate to mowing...
meaning I have to mow more often!
I thought it was time to break down and buy a real mower.

So I spent the morning, first trying to FIND a push mower.
My second criteria was to find one that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg.
Third, I thought I wanted an electric one. (It's better for the environment, and all.)
However, it seems I am trying to do the impossible, find a small inexpensive push mower, either gas or electric, at the end of the summer mowing season.

Finally!

I found one.
Top Shelf in fact!

No, by Top Shelf, I don't mean expensive....
I mean Literally on the Top Shelf!

The guys at home depot were awesome and helped me get it down, wheel it out, and load it in the car. Not that I am not capable, but the extra customer service was nice.

After a quick 10 minutes of assembly, and 10 minutes of mowing, my new Briggs and Straten Mower has completed it's maiden mowing venture!

Next up... Manicuring the yard.
I grabbed the edger/trimmer to make it all look pretty.

Even though it's been hot and dry for the past week, that damn trimmer still flung mud on me from head to toe. Caroline thought it was funny!

After all that yard work,
I need a manicure.
No wait,
I think it's about time for a beer.
Or better yet,
something cold and refreshing from my Top Shelf!








- Posted by DWNTWN


Location:Debra Ct NW,Salem,United States

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Willamette Canoe Adventure

I love canoeing. My first canoe experience was 4 decades ago. I went to camp the summer after my 4th grade year, wait...
Maybe it was after 5th grade.
Anyway, we took canoe lessens in the pool first.
Learned how to tip a canoe over,
How to utilize the air pockets in an overturned canoe,
Learned to upright a canoe in deep water,
As well as how to climb back in without re-tipping it.
Those lessens have stuck with me for decades, I think because I was so afraid of water then.
But along with learning how to canoe, I also had my first experience with learning to overcome my fears.
I suppose that is why I also HAD to learn to skydive.
But that is another story.
Last Saturday, after a long day of cleaning, sorting, and re-organizing the garage we headed across the Willamette River to run errands and I noticed all the water toys out playing. I mentioned to my husband, "another summer is nearly gone and once again I have yet to canoe the river."
He commented on how busy we had been and how much yard & house work we had accomplished this summer; leveling the yard, building the rock retaining wall, and putting up a fence.
While those are things we desperately needed to accomplish, at that moment my thoughts were of spending a relaxing day floating down the river.
DWNTWNimages.me
I asked, "so what do you have going tomorrow?"
He said, "nothing."
I followed up with, "why don't we go canoeing tomorrow?"
He said, "sure."
"My one stipulation...,
I want to be in back."
He agreed.
And the rest is history!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Time: past, present, and future

I left work today in desperate need of an escape.
Since escaping wasn't in my plan for the day,
(let alone something I had scheduled with my husband or children)
I opted for a shady place to enjoy a bit of 'Happy Hour' before heading home and facing my other job.
I have been meaning to do some yearly calendaring for the family since the beginning of the fiscal year.
Okay, to be honest,
I have been wanting to do this since the beginning of 2011.
The idea of yearly planning might sound like an odd thing to do for a household, but with a family as large as ours I find it necessary.
I have learned over the past 31 years,
if I don't schedule 'It',
and plan for 'It',
most likely 'It' won't happen.
As I opened up my folder containing my paper calendar,


(I'm 'old school' that way)

Random photos cascaded out.
And there was my dad smiling up at me.
So here I sit...
thinking about him...
Not getting a bit of planning, scheduling, or calendering done.
But I don't mind one bit.

Miss you daddy!





- Posted by DWNTWN