so…

for the first 50 positive reviews we recieve, we will credit your account $20. have more than one person living in your house?…you all can get $20. just go to our yelp page, write the review and when we get notification of the review we will credit your account.

one per person please.

BIG THANKS in advance!

rebecca

it hangs in our kitchen and reminds us to eat what’s in season and stop buying produce from stores that get it shipped in from god knows where.

want one?

they’re only $5 from the Oregon Department of Agriculture and they are beautiful! follow instructions here and get one of your very own…

enjoy!

on a recent trip to sauvie island for some yummy local produce, i was reminded about the corn maize events out there and wanted to highlight a few fun autumn events around our area for your enjoyment:

muddy boot organic festival
september 10th to 12th, 2010
portland
a celebration of sustainable living, featuring workshops and exhibits on sustainable living and climate change, local and healthy organic foods, organic beer and wine, kids’ activities and musical entertainment

location:
st. philip neri church
2408 se 16th avenue
portland, oregon

wordstock book festival
october 7-10, 2010
portland – portland metro
although best known for the book fair, several events actually make up the wordstock festival. wordstock features ten author stages, a book fair with over 150 exhibitors, a special children’s area and children’s literature stage, a series of workshops for writers and for k-12 teachers, a special broadcast of live wire!, the popular public radio variety show, featuring writers from the festival, and more.

location:
oregon convention center
777 ne martin luther king jr., boulevard
portland, or

information:
503-546-1012

annual squishing of the squash & ‘howloween’ at the zoo
portland – portland metro
environmental enrichment – annual squishing of the squash
october 29th, 10:30am

in preparation for our “howloween” event, the portland zoo elephant herd will receive a huge pumpkin to pulverize. great photo opportunity — bring your camera!
howloween at the zoo
most kids love trick-or-treating, and oregon zoo provides a fun and safe setting for this traditional halloween activity. trick-or-treaters will complete an intriguing scavenger hunt leading them to activity stations around the zoo. goodie bags filled with candy and prizes will be given out for completed hunts at the zoo’s exit. free with zoo admission.

location:
oregon zoo
4001 sw canyon rd
portland, oregon

information:
503-226-1561

corn maize
september 4 thru october 31, 2010
sauvie island – portland metro
great fun! with hay rides, pumpkin patch and more. see their new ‘trailblazers maize’ & ‘field of screams’!

location:
the pumpkin patch – sauvie island
16525 nw gillihan rd.
(only 15 minutes from downtown portland!)

information:
(503) 621-7110

the square foot gardening method seems awesome! check out this book for yourself from powell’s books or your local library. oh and make sure to check out the photos of other folk’s gardens on google…very inspiring!

some of the ideas got me thinking about how this could apply to our renters:

• small scale gardening (one 4 foot square box feeds one adult) only 6″ deep
• mobile system of raised garden bed
• raised bed planted directly on top of grass, other – no digging!

more importantly for renters…

when you move, just pick up the bed, dispose of soil and reseed/replace dead grass, bark, etc.

so if you want a garden here are my tips:

• do it!
• keep it clean and orderly if seen by other neighbors
• don’t grow anything illegal!
• share your bounty with neighbors or learn how to preserve for winter use

above all, enjoy it! we have such beautiful weather when it gets warm and you may as well use those rays to help feed yourself and cut down your grocery bill!

happy summer to all!

i keep a monthly to-do list.

i started the list earlier this year because i got sick of saying…

oh i’ll get to that some day or i wish i had time to do that

things like:

• make a quilt
• read a book each week
• try three new recipes

and other things…just average things that i don’t do unless i write it down.

this month, i’m planning on

                      enjoying my summer

yes, just like the rest of the world i have to work, keep house, go to family functions and keep other commitments we’ve made but i want to enjoy and remember this summer for the great times i’ve had. so now that our weather is finally cooperating, here’s a few things on my list:

• lay out in the grass
• have a garage sale to get rid of excess stuff
• make homemade ice cream
• sit by the pool at my sister’s apartment
• make new summery pillow cases for the living room throw pillows
• go on a drive with jomo through the country

all these and more…done.

i am making the time to enjoy my summer so far. are you?

BUT…due to security concerns, as well as some long standing problems I have decided to switch to a new server. While there will be some downtime that evening..but we will work hard to minimize that impact. We will start the switchover at 9:00 pm PST, and anticipate it will be over by midnight. We appreciate your business, and apologize for any inconvenience.

We have implemented this change mainly for security concerns, but the added benefit is that there will be a much more sophisticated backend which will allow for more more detail on the properties that are available. I have been testing the new software for the last couple of weeks, and I’ve been really pleased with the results. I believe you will as well.

Thanks again.

Jomo

it’s an old vintage typewriter and it writes in cursive. i’ve never seen one before or since getting it.

my friends covet it.

this month, i’ve looked back and seen that i’ve been writing a lot about the rain.

rain, rain…then more rain

and then i started making up silly songs about the rain.

it’s may and i so desperately want the rain to go away. i’m ready for sunshine and find myself chiming in with everyone else in portland as we whine about the rain.

but here’s what i will say.

i’m thankful too, for this rain.

this nourishment that makes this one of the greenest places in the united states.

it’s gorgeous here.

so amidst the blur of droplets, i’m choosing to be thankful.

for the rain.

we went here.

a lavish gift from a wonderful husband knowing we were about to enter our busy season. a time to step back and breathe if just for a minute. we did.

i’m a nature nut. love it. love it. love it.

went on a walk and got all these shots and so many more. would so highly recommend this place if you find yourself with a few hundred dollars and a deep need to relax and restore your mind, body, sprit. we are saving away for the next time…

she told me of when she was a girl.

watching the blooms of the rhododendron unfold outside their home.

leaving the house each morning before school, she’d survey these prophets of color just beginning to show the signs of life beneath their protective covering.

until finally one morning, the first full bloom would burst on to the scene and she’d so happily greet this new life and color…

WELCOME BACK RHODA…WE MISSED YOU

and this bloom so new in life – just hours old would be placed behind the ear, amidst the raven black hair as she’d skip off to school knowing her dear friend rhoda had returned once again.

howdy! we hope you are enjoying our spring weather and are getting out in the sunshine a bit! we will be open for short hours this coming week (march 22-27) for spring break. our spring break hours will be tuesday through friday 9:00 am to 12:00 noon. we will be closed on saturday. we will have our mobile line with us and be responding to messages as we are able…but we will be out enjoying life and this new season! we will return to our normal business hours on tuesday, march 30th.

we hope you all have a safe and joyous break!