We LOVE getting together to play with our toys. Some call it making messes, but we call it fun. And you can’t create and make rubber stamped cards without the creative process, and that means messes are made. Also mistakes, but we use mistakes as opportunities to be even more creative with our oops.
It’s not just rubber stamping.
It’s crafting
chatting
applying (or ignoring) theories of art composition
using our imaginations
sipping tea (or coffee or a special dessert drink)
solving world problems
singing the oldies, sometimes badly and off-tune (me, always with the wrong lyrics)
sharing life
telling stories
listening to music
keeping cats off the table
playing games
getting older
sharing resources
enjoying fine literature (or just literature on a CD)
making goals
going for walks
building from each other’s ideas
paving the way to send snail mail messages to friends and family
making gifts to share
eating too much
recycling (saving rubber stamps from the landfills and reusing paper and craft items down to the tiniest scraps)
storing memories (and collectively attempting to recall long ago events)
It’s official. This writer/editor/crafter/Nana is a bit out of shape. At least for what my phone termed as 55 flights of stairs.
Our afternoon hike yesterday on the Cowiche Canyon hike was gorgeous. Pretty nice on the way across the uplands and down the steep hill to the canyon floor. Pretty sweaty and filled with loud gasps and burning muscles on the way back up and over.
But a good time was had by all two of us.
We started on Summitview Extension, parking in the last available spot. It is a small lot, really a parking pad. Then up, over, and through the sagebrush and blooming spring flowers we went.
Yes! There were so many desert flowers blooming-purple, yellow, white, chartreuse. Because we had lovely, sunny weather, the lighting was quite overpowering for taking photos, but try I did.
We followed the Summitview Trail. Since the trail loops and swirls all over, it’s possible to wander for hours. We decided to hook left on the Radio Flyer Trail. This really does wind through the sagebrush but leads all the way down to the Cowiche Canyon floor by way of the Lone Pine Trail. Do note, the trailhead at the bottom headed up the hill looks deceptively simple. That’s where we managed to rack up flights of stairs. I wore regular tennis shoes, but hiking boots would have given me more traction in the slippery dirt and ankle-twisting rocks. (I avoided the rocks, but did slip a few times.)
Our hike was over 3 miles and took us about an hour and 20 minutes to complete. I’ll say it’s because I stopped often to take pictures. But I also stopped often on the way up the hill to breathe.
We even had an “attempted” Sasquatch sighting! Oh, the silly things one does to have fun.
The Cowiche Canyon is a great location for exploring close to home (Yakima Valley). Once we were up over the hill of Summitview Extension, traffic noise disappeared and we could hear only ourselves and the occasional fellow hiker. NOW is a great time to visit. Mud was not an issue at all, wildflowers are blooming, rattlesnakes are sleeping, and heat and ticks are not yet an issue.
Go. Now. Just please. If you are a dog owner, clean up the poop.
Look at the cute guy! He asked me to marry him back in the days of Polaroid pictures. He took this picture and had to mail it to me (snail mail). 1981! What a great year.
We graduated from high school in 1981 and I went off to college. Poor fellow. He thought he would never see me again, lost to one of those studious university boys.
Four years later, after too-many-to-count phone calls (ring twice and hang up to let the other know we were thinking about him/her), boxes of letters and cards, miles and miles traveled to visit each other (I chose a university that was over four hours away from home), and alternating weekend visiting schedule, we were married at our home church.
After a honeymoon to Disneyland (yes, we are a COOL couple), we settled in the lower Yakima Valley to raise our children and pursue our careers.
How long was our dating and engagement period? The total is about seven years. We met in high school, started dating, took a year off, then got back together for good. 35 years later, we are still best friends and more in love than ever.
And they said it would never last.
Take your time, youngsters. Be patient. Wait for the right person. Make sure you are best friends first. And then commit for the rest of your life.
LOL. Old lady Quantrell giving marriage advice. Best ever piece I can give? Base your relationship on faith in Jesus. God has kept us going through good and bad times, and we’ve had plenty of both.
Foo-Foo. Not technically our rabbit. Though I have recently informed my honey that this is my rabbit. Not rabbit soup. (No guarantees for others in the bunny market, as it were…coyotes, hawks, eagles, and other larger predators who roam freely. Like the playground cougar sighting at the school where 3 of my grands attend.)
Poor bunny Foo-Foo. Someone released him. Or he escaped. He is quite the digger, as evidenced by the ditch beneath our Mabel Gate. Or she. I feel like it is a he though.
Charcoal. Again, not our pet. I can’t even claim him, because he really belongs to the neighbors on the east side of the pasture. They would know if we adopted this funny guy. Also thought he was a she and hoped for a random egg now and then. But she began crowing all hours of the day. This daily visitor will either help our garden grow (by eating pests and fertilizing) or keep it from growing (by nibbling greens and digging up tender shoots). Either way, not our chicken.
Speaking of…just as I was finishing this post, who trots in from the pasture with a fresh snack?
Monet. This one is really our pet. She adores pasture life and voraciously hunts other pasture pets of the rodent and avian varieties. By our pet, I mean she sleeps in at night (to avoid cat/dog/coyote fights in the wee hours), we feed her on a regular basis, and pay her worming and vet bills. We used to have her twin sister, Mabel, until a pack of dogs decided she was snack worthy. Those dogs were definitely NOT our pets. And they are the reason we now have a Mabel Gate.
Ginger. Not our pet. Though we are doggy grandparents. She loves visiting us in the pasture. More for chasing the ball and occasional cat (Monet) or jumping in the ditch filled with mud and water. But still. If we would let her, she would visit inside the RV. What fun that would be! So. Though she is not our pet, technically, we have adopted her as a family member. Neighbor. Just over the fence.
Other “not our pets” include (but not restricted to) hawks, eagles, coyotes, skunks, goats, ducks, quail, geese, voles, mice, rats, woodpeckers, blue jays, magpies, doves, cats, dogs, frogs, snakes, water rats (I really don’t know what they are…but they are big and swim in the irrigation ditch), crows, worms, slugs, song birds, and lots and lots of insects.
Need a trip to the pasture zoo? Come spring, we will be open for business. I mean, the hibernators will be out and about, the frozen will thaw, eggs and litters will hatch, and who knows what else will spring to life. Bring a lawn chair and a camera. We’ll treat you to the habitats and adventures of Pasture Pets.
building from each other’s ideas
recycling (saving rubber stamps from the landfills and reusing paper and craft items down to the tiniest scraps)
Love, Laughter, and Life 