by sandra.

a few weeks ago we took schmoo schmoo to the pumpkin maize on sauvie island. this was his first visit and he loved it! we went through the corn maze, walked through the pumpkin patch, and checked out the farm animals — but his favorite was going on a hay ride. he sat contently throughout the ride and loved looking around at the fields and trees. the pup joined me at another farm in vancouver for monica’s 21st birthday and again he loved the hay ride. who would’ve guessed?

you can watch a video of our first trip here.

this past weekend we walked schmoo down the street to “trick or treat” in his pumpkin costume. he received many compliments from adults and many children stopped to pet him. he would’ve been happy just to lick some faces or chew on his costume, though.

by sandra.

with the temperature getting hotter everyday, frank and i wanted to get out of our stuffy house to somewhere cooler. today we headed to the gorge where’s it’s quite shady. first we visited bridal veil falls using a secret shortcut that we discovered. we had visited here before with the pup but this time he was much braver. he enjoyed splashing in the water and even went down the stairs (in army crawl position!)

we planned on hitting up some of the other waterfalls in the gorge but they were too crowded. we decided to visit the bonneville fish hatchery and i’m so glad we did. It was such a treat — large grassy areas for the pup to play, fish to watch, and a nice breeze blowing. we plan on returning another day to have a picnic and hike a nearby trail.

for lunch we headed across the river to stevenson, washington, to visit walking man brewery. we hadn’t been there before so frank was excited. the restuarant had a nice shaded patio area which i appreciated.

all in all it was a great day. frank, the pup, and i all had a lot of fun. it was a great reminder of how lucky we are to live in the northwest.

by sandra.

two weeks ago frank and i drove to hermiston, oregon, to pick up the newest member of our family. he is a 3 1/2 month old pug puppy that we’ve named mr. “schmoo schmoo” magoo.

we are VERY happy to have schmoo schmoo, but definitely feel like new parents. we worry about him when we’re not with him, get up with him in the middle of the night, and wake up at 6 AM with him every morning. oh, and we can’t get over how ridiculously cute he is!

schmoo schmoo is growing and learning every day, though. so far he’s experienced his first hike, learned to sit and fetch, and is getting better at potty training and walking on a leash. he’s also met my parents’ dogs, sugar and angel, and some of our friends’ dogs, millie and tosh. we’re so thankful that he “plays well with others,” although angel and sugar are still a little afraid of him. we still figuring out why, though, since angel and sugar are at least 3 times as big as he is.

we’re also getting to know schmoo schmoo and his quirks. so far we’ve learned:
-he snores when he sleeps
-he loves toys with strings on them
-our shoes are especially tasty
-he’s scared of heights
-he likes eating yard debris like rocks, sticks, bark, leaves, and rose petals
-his hobbies include sitting on the couch, chewing on toys, and sleeping
-he doesn’t like to be left alone

by sandra.

since we’ll be home-bodies (instead of world travelers) this summer frank and i have finally created a garden. we’ve been thinking about this for awhile now, but now have the time and space.

first we built raised beds so we could use the square foot gardening technique. (more about that here.) in short, you divide your garden into square foot sections. then you plant a different plant in each square foot section in a grid based on the size of the full grown plant. so a tomato will take up one square foot while there’s 16 radishes per square foot.

we decided to plant starters for our peppers, tomatoes, zucchini and broccoli. you can see those in the picture below. we planted the bush bean, radishes, green onion, basil, and carrots from seed.

we’ve already harvested some radishes and lettuce, and are looking forward to eating some tomatoes soon. yum!

Here’s the full playlist on YouTube of our 15 minute video, “Frank and Sandra’s Bulgarian Honeymoon.”

Frank and Sandra’s Bulgarian Honeymoon

Chapter 1: Introduction

Stay tuned for more chapters to be posted over the next several days.

by sandra.

frank and i are excited to announce that we just signed a new lease at a house in ne portland.  we hadn’t really planned on moving so soon, but pursued this house when its ad caught our eye on craigslist.  it’s perfect for us in so many ways — bigger kitchen, more space from the neighbors, a working fireplace, and a spacious backyard.  we know we’ll especially enjoy it when we’re home this summer.

below are a few pictures that i stole from the ad:

by sandra.

if you watch the daily show (which you should) you’ve probably already enjoyed the humor of demetri martin.  if you’re up for some more giggles, you should rent demetri martin. person.

here are a few funny quotes from the movie:

“the easiest time to add insult to injury is when you’re signing someone’s cast.”

“my friend steve likes cats. people are always saying ‘oh, steve’s really a cat person.’ no he’s not. if steve were a cat person it’d be, like, ‘hey, steve never goes in the pool.’”

“whenever i’m on my computer i don’t type LOL. i type LQTM : laugh quietly to myself. it’s more honest.”

“hiking is just walking where it’s okay to pee.”

and a few more not from the movie:

“when you have a fat friend there are no see-saws.  only catapults.”

“i wanna make a jigsaw puzzle that’s 40,000 pieces. and when you finish it, it says, ‘go outside.’”

by sandra.

because of snow and therefore snow days i’ve had much more time lately for crafting.  more importantly, though, i’ve been in a crafting mood.

last saturday i hosted the first “crafting night” at my house.  during that time i tried freezer paper stenciling for the first time.  it is just as easy as everyone says and i’ll definitely be trying it again.  here’s a link to the directions i used, along with a link to the flickr group for project ideas.  you can use freezer paper to stencil canvas/fabric bags, aprons, napkins, towels, ties — almost anything!

next i constructed a “let it snow” banner out of cardstock, embellishments, glitter letters, and old christmas cards.  we have ours hanging in our dining room. (sorry about the low quality picture.)

now i’ve gotten excited about using wool felt for constructing.  these cardinal and dove ornaments are delightfully cute (and frank loves it when i fly them around the house).  i also plan on making some coffee cup sleeves for friends and family using directions and a template from somerandomdude.net and then some mitten clips to hang our christmas cards.

my first cardinal ornament on our tree

photo from marthastewart.com

by sandra.

ever wanted to thank your child’s teacher but wasn’t sure what to purchase him/her?  below are some ideas that i have appreciated over the years.

*gift cards for a store or restuarant that almost everyone loves like starbucks, target, or burgerville (love those hazelnut milkshakes!).

*yummy homemade treats like cookies, caramel apples, or cocoa.

*a beautiful but easy to care for plant that s/he can keep at home or at school like a poinsettia or a fern.

*a card describing how much you appreciate him/her and why. (i save mine!)

*a book for the classroom.

*your time.  volunteer in the classroom to work one-on-one with students, copy, or take a project home.  these tasks are so helpful!

*a travel coffee mug. most teachers can’t survive without caffine!