A Rare Sight

If I don't start writing posts consistently soon, they'll be as rare as this solar eclipse:

Wow!  My aunts had come over in the afternoon and we were headed back from the pool down the street just before 6:30pm when we noticed the light changing.  It occurred to us that, Oh Yeah!  there's a solar eclipse tonight.  It was a partial, not a full.  You can see the form of the eclipse in the shadows cast by the leaves.  Everywhere we looked the leaf shadows were circular shadows.  The lighting was similar to that at sunrise but filtered - hard to describe and it shifted the perception of colors as well.  VERY COOL!

And then it was over.  I think the next one will be 2017?

I promise - promise - that I will post again before 2017.  Hah!

We still continue to adjust and reconnect with life here in CA.  Just tonight we were going through the drive-thru of In 'n Out for dinner after Swim team practice and after our total of $14.72 was announced (4 burgers, 2 fries, 1 drink), Kendra says "wow, I can't believe how cheap it is!"  Considering we paid approximately $36 for the same meal at McDonalds in Wadenswil for years, we are still adjusting to certain aspects.  What I appreciate is being able to wait for sales here instead of just buying what we need because there is no other opportunity as we did on trips home from Switzerland.  That said, we'd all love to hop on a flight for Switzerland right now.

Since I last posted, I keep meaning to post pics from Spring Break - Washington DC - but, but as soon as we returned, swim team practice started.  I'm still trying to get the girls schedule coordinated so I don't have to drive back and forth everyday to the pool but by time it really works, school will be out and practice will switch to 7:30am!  I don't see them going to practice 5 days a week.  Do You?

The garden has also required some work.  I've been planting some perennials and herbs in the regular beds and planting the garden boxes with tomatoes, green beans, squashes, melon, peppers, etc....  I didn't realize how easy my gardening had really been in Switzerland.  Besides slugs and some cool weather issues, there wasn't much I dealt with as far as challenges.  In Iowa it was the deer, rabbits and squinnies (like chipmunks) but here!  I'm going to look like Bill Murray in Caddyshack pretty soon.  There are moles, MOLES!, tunneling under my new plants in the flower beds - eating the strawberries! - and I didn't know we had moles in CA.  Gophers yes.  Moles?

There is also the issue of water.  CA garden watering is an art form.  I've been away for a while and I'm still trying to figure it out.  There hasn't been enough natural water this year so it's a bit of a guessing game as to what portions of the garden need what.  Oh, and there are more 'blights' and 'funguses' and diseases related to temperature!  What was I thinking?  So I am trying to take care of all of this without killing my family or dog with toxic potions.  A castor oil treatment is being used for the moles - non-toxic - and I hope they go back where they came from.

What else?  Oh.  Mr. Eiger.  Latest escapade involved my forgetting some boxes on the garage floor from a Costco run.  I had to run out for just over an hour and put him out, the boxes not in view of the door.  Sooooooooooo, he ate an entire bag (large!) of Cheezits and got into the Swiffer duster box destroying the duster refills and more worrying, I found only a part of the plastic handle that comes with this product.  Worrying because I knew there were two missing Gatorade caps from his interest in a flat of that beverage two days earlier.

So back to the Vet (prior week he was in due to Colitis) because I could not induce him to vomit at home.  Vet was reluctant to induce him at first until the xrays were viewed and we could see not only the plastic but a large amount of Cheezits that had not started digesting.  In the words of the staff "Eiger threw up an impressive amount of Cheezits.  We've never seen a dog throw up that much."  Gee.  My special dog.  Not to mention that he gained 6 lbs from his prior week weigh in - I did mention it was a large bag!  Fortunately, almost all the plastic came up too.  He's doing great now and we've finished the clean up/organizing of the garage not to mention we are working on crate training for daytime confinement - he's already crated at night.  We have to protect him from himself!  That said - he rocked at Puppy training class - having fun with his training.  He's quite smart outside of the ingestion of anything that fits in his mouth!

So that is all keeping me busy.  That has really filled up May.  We are looking forward to some fun things coming up and I'll be sure to share.  Until then, I wish you all a wonderful Memorial Day weekend if I don't get back here.  Remember those who have served for our freedoms!  Take time to thank the veterans and servicemen/women who are arround us now.  :)



It's changed!

Wow! Leave off posting for a month and come back to find Blogger has changed its publishing platform and I'm soooooo confused. I'll get there. I can learn something new. One example is that pictures load opposite of the prior version. So - I'm going to write my post backwards! It will work. I'm too lazy to take the time to delete and reload. I'm just glad to be sitting and writing!

I will start with the "little man" as he is often called. The girls really enjoy having Eiger around and he is still my shadow. He continues to behave like a toddler and eat and eliminate things he should not be! This makes life interesting and we are getting really good at keeping floors and the garage cleaned up.

Here he is in what was supposed to be in my little reading corner in the bedroom. A nice little bookcase, lamp and our oversized chair w/ ottoman. Now? He turns it into his own little party pad by dragging all his stuff onto the chair/ottoman. Since it's the ONLY piece of furniture he's allowed on, he's taken full claim to it:

I spend many a day taking Eiger out walking. He is like a naughty and smart toddler - best handled when tired out a bit. Daily exercise is important for him and turns out, for me too.   The view from up the road is really nice.  We are in a valley near the base of a local Mountain.  Not a Swiss mountain but it is a coastal mountain. 

One thing I always love in the foothills of CA is the lupine in Spring. It grows wild along with the poppies and is just naturally beautiful. I'm waiting for seed pods on these to mature so I can throw some into the field on the other side of our fence.

There are a lot of Heritage Oaks in the hills here.  Not much grows under them and they are a provider of shade to the cows, deer and turkeys as well as a roost for the hawks, jays, magpies and crows.  This one is pretty old and will soon look like........

this one.  The kids all call this the Spooky Tree.  It does look pretty cool though. Those hills should be green, green - it will be a dry summer.

My shadow.  Can you see the stick he's carrying?  Going straight out to the left.  He loves to pick up sticks to carry on our walks.  Or pinecones.  He has to play with the pinecones first.

So how has he helped me?  A short and sweet on the "back" story which I've mentioned before.  Prior to leaving Switzerland and on our arrival, the pain in my mid-back became a constant companion.  I've done massage therapy for years as well as Chiropractic care when living in the States and kept things fairly reasonable.  I resumed seeing a Chiro in August and after several months with the muscles continuing to freeze up (along with nausea and hunching over) on recommendation via the Dr. during Physical.  Was prescribed muscle relaxers - didn't really do anything.  Had X-rays, MRI and then recommended to a Spinal Orthopedic.  I do have a healed vertebra compression fracture from a horse fall 25 yrs ago and they found a couple hemangiomas (enlarged blood vessel tissue but benign and commonly found) but none of these explained the pain and muscle seizures.

A non-narcotic pain medication and high dosage anti-inflammatory do help but due to long-term side effects, I use them as needed.  And then we got the dog.  And I went to see the physical therapist guru from Sweden.  He said the problem I've been having is caused by one of  two things:  direct muscle trauma or stress.  "So Mrs. Olson, what is going on with your life?"  Me? Stressed?  To which I had to confess my back tension had decreased dramatically since we got the puppy (who stresses me out but for different reasons).  He concurred and proceeded to observe that I held my breath when I was speaking and that I needed to take time to relax and get "present" with where I am and not where I was.  OH - and that if I believed so strongly in God that I needed to let Him take care of things and not worry about doing it all myself.  I'm also making sure I do regular deep breathing exercises.  I didn't tell him I felt like I was holding my breath most of the time.  It was hard at first to admit he was right!  I decided this Swede was as direct as a Swiss in their observation and approach - no punches held back. 

Sigh......  So the back is definitely improving as is my outlook.  Just last night I made "Spargelcreme Suppe" (asparagus creme soup) as part of dinner since we have wonderful fresh asparagus available and I know that it is on every Swiss 'Fruhling Menu' right now.  I remember my first Spring in Switzerland and looking at the wilty asparagus and seeing that it was from CA (early season before Euro stock was available)!  Well, it's not wilty when you get it fresh..... :)

This stand of olive trees at the entrance of our little part of the world reminds me of Italy or Southern Portugal.  Nice memories in a new place.

What was I thinking? March

I never claimed to be a good thinker. Maybe I wasn't thinking at all. Scheduling a kid for braces, another for oral surgery and the dog for neutering all in the same week. I was calling the Vet for doggy sedatives feeling like perhaps the one in need of a sedative was Mom.

March was expected to be a blur and all expectations have been met so far.

Bart has had a challenging busy season, travel and a scheduled minor surgery to complicate his 12th month back in the US. As of April 1 it will have been a full year for him. Hard to believe.

Rachel had some teeth pulled and a medieval device (chain & screw) implanted in order to straighten out her very exciting orthodontal issues. One worries when Dr. W says he's "looking forward to presenting her case at a Forum." Glad we could help Dr. W! She has done well post surgery too. Needless to say, she did NOT like going under general anesthesia and I'm sure to be on vacation if it happens again........ Seriously, I soaked in every minute of her crying and needing me - it doesn't happen very often anymore.

Kendra also got a portion of her mouth metal set. She will indeed have a mouthful of metal when all is done - pallette expander, bottom space bar AND braces - all at the same time. She's also been attending rehearsals for the musical Oklahoma! which they performed for the first time today. There are performances through this weekend and next. I'll be quite adept at getting that long, thick hair curled by March 31!

Eiger is doing well and recovering. He was not happy about his special head-gear (cone of shame, satellite dish, hood ornament - take your pick) and being a 5 month old Lab mix, did not understand the Dr.'s request to "keep calm" for two weeks and thus the need for a little sedative in his diet. His "crazy run" did not qualify as calm. His crazy attempt at playing in puppy class was not called for. Nor was scaling the indoor 3 ft fence the day after surgery. Yeah, we've chucked the fence as a prevention measure. It's merely a deterrent. Apparently his long back legs are for jumping. Who knew?

Me? I'm making sure everyone gets to their appointments and takes their! meds at the right times and has enough soft food to eat. Did not anticipate the culinary challenges that would accompany two kids with sore/pulled teeth. Who like variety in their diet. Sigh...... I'm finished with my appointments and still have an achy back but less achy than it was - more later.

I've really been trying to wrap my head around the fact that I permanently live here now. Where church bells don't ring. It is not easy for me to take pictures or look at pictures right now but I'm trying. Sounds crazy but it is a familiar pattern when I look at each move. I am trying to look at the positive things about where I am at this time - especially those I could not have if I were somewhere else.

I leave you today with this treasure (may seem trite but hey! I'm happy about it):

I was very, very happy to get cheap and tasty Mexican food for lunch - a carnitas burrito. That is something I could NOT get in Switzerland.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Hi! Tired of my puppy yet? I'm not. He's a big baby as you can see:
Our last dog (Max) of similar mix would NOT let me hold him like this. Eiger is a mellow (for a Lab puppy), sweet dog who is very attached to his human mother (I did nothing on purpose to encourage this in spite of the photo op). This is good and bad - depends on who you ask and how many times I've tripped over him in the kitchen. We are working on staying "on the rug" while I'm in the kitchen. He prefers the mat under the kitchen sink. Go figure.

My birthday and our anniversary fall in the same week and this year we were able to get away for a night in Napa. I convinced my Dad to come stay with the girls. He asked if he had a choice. Hahahaaaa..... Thanks Dad! He chose to come a few days early to get started on a project we had talked about since we bought the house.

Long ago when we lived in San Ramon and had our first house, I focused my garden on flowers and a couple berry plants on the side. I wanted more of a veggie garden but working full time and then having new babies didn't really allow much time. Then we moved to Iowa and had to spend our limited budget on actual landscaping vs garden plots. There was a house I would drive by every couple of days that had beautiful garden plots in their backyard - easy to see as few houses have fenced yards in that part of the country. I finally had a garden bed made in Switzerland and enjoyed a couple years of corn, green beans and zucchini - weather took it's toll the last full summer we were there and we didn't have much of anything except the green beans which are pretty hardy with low sun/cool weather.

With the move, I had a summer off but in looking at the new backyard and surroundings, I knew I needed some veggie garden beds/boxes. My dad built his and I wasn't going to ask but then when he drew out such nice plans I said "you're hired! If you're willing to take the job?" He said he'd do it and his own sense of timing coincided with our weekend away. He showed up with tools and equipment and after some trips to Home Depot, we (he) went to work. May I quickly interject - Don't go to Home Depot shopping for lumber with my dad 1 hours before school pick-up. You will not get back in time. Deaf ears, deaf ears........ :) Fortunately I have big kids and a neighbor with a key!

He first had to dig around the rock-hard clay to find our where the water lines were. None were broken in the construction of these boxes - of which 14" of the posts are cemented below ground level. Checking a frame:

Rachel is stylishly working the post-hole digger:

Rachel helped Dad out quite a bit. She helped him move the frames, dig holes, level the boxes and how to use some very useful tools.

The boxes are finished and ready to be set in:

Taking a break with Eiger before the fun starts:

We (yes, we all helped move the finished product as they were a bit heavy) moved the boxes into the holes and dad and Rach worked on leveling them before the concrete was poured.

Kendra joined in on the concrete - she pretty much left the rest of the project alone!

The finished product!

THANK YOU DAD!

I just had them filled with dirt yesterday and look forward to seeing what veggie fun we'll have this summer. Are you wondering why they resemble covered wagons a bit? I'll put netting over the beds to keep the turkeys out! Steel mesh lines the bottoms to keep the ground squirrels and gophers out. We shall see, we shall see......

I'm looking forward to another good year.

Another Change....First Day of School ?

I suppose a "first day of school" isn't exactly what anyone was thinking when I mentioned we were making some adjustments in life. For this young lady, that's just what was in order:

There she is in her "pseudo" uniform. Today was her first day at a Christian school nearby. No - we had no problem with her current public school. Things were going along fine.

This change is an investment in her Middle School years - 6th through 8th grade. It's a result of her desire for a biblical education, smaller class sizes, a nurturing educational environment and some interesting experiences with the Middle School as we are experiencing through Rachel.

Rachel benefited from 2 good years at Middle School in Switzerland and while this year has certainly not been bad, it has been different. Not what we all expected and we've had a few "OMG" moments. And we have to launch Rachel off into the High School next year. I'm soooooooo NOT ready for that. I'll send her with prayers and the knowledge that she is God's first and entrusted to me - what a responsibility.

So Kendra had a good first day - complete with nice girls who came up right away to welcome her. She enjoyed the day and although it was hard to leave some friends behind, felt good about the decision. I dropped her off and stayed for the initial start of the day - pledge of allegiance and morning prayer - felt like I was back in school myself. It felt good.

I never did attend public school. I'm thankful for the sacrifices my parents made for my education. I'm willing to do the same as much as possible and as needed. I must say - it was great to pray for the kids before the start of their day.

The move mid-way through the year was a strategic move - if not now, there's a waiting list for Middle School at the new location. Kendra was willing to make a change to guarantee her place for next year. It's been a process and all I can say is that girl has a strength of character to be admired.

Talk about characters! Check out this "little guy":

He's kept me busy along with everything else but oh, worth it. He's keeping my feet warm right now. We had a good weekend with family in West Sacramento and he got to meet everyone! Short of a cousin who moved recently to Colorado. I was a bit concerned that all would go well and he's young enough that one worries still about the potty training but it went great.

All were in agreement that our breaking the "sleep in bed with the humans" habit is a good move for future dog sitters. He really would like to crawl right up in bed with me ( I admit it happened once in a moment of tired weakness) but the crate is the only place he should really be. There aren't many other bad habits we have to break although I should share the stomach obstruction issues we've had - or not! Needless to say - life has been full and while very, very Blog-able; little time to do so.

Enjoy your day! Take time to smell the daffodils - they're blooming in our neck of the woods already.