A Mighty Good Read - "Dragon's Fire"

The first Anne McCaffrey book I read was "The White Dragon". The story of Jaxom and his telepathic white dragon Ruth held my attention like no other book had since I read the Hobbit series the summer I was 14 (I spent all summer holed up in my basement bedroom to read those books) - I soon fell in love with the Planet Pern and all of it's inhabitants - (especially Masterharper Robinton - but that's a whole 'nother story -) While these books are not of the epic proportions of the Harry Potter novels - the "dragonrider culture" has a huge following.

There are over 2 dozen books in the Pern series - recently Ms. McCaffrey has collaborated with her son Todd, (I think he was the original weyrling), for two novels - the latest is called Dragon's Fire - a story set in the first "interval". The world of Pern is sometimes confusing, as the story lines of the different books flip back and forth through time - but as with any series, you get to know the characters, and they become like old friends. There are also groupings of books within the series that have the same characters in them - and we're talking hundreds of years involved here, so there is a lot of lattitude for plots.

As with any good fantasy, there is good and evil - as I said, this is set early in the "life" of the planet's colonization - there are few "holds" (cities) and few "weyrs" (home of the dragons and their riders) The Craft halls have not all been established - but the story winds around so you know that the dragonriders will flourish and Pern will continue to exist.

Although Anne McCaffrey has written scores of other books - the Doona series, Pegasus, Crystal Singer and Acorna series' to name a few, oddly I have never been able to "get into" any of her other "fantasy lands" as it were. But, as I said, with over two dozen books in the Pern series, many I have read 3 or 4 times (yes, I find them that engaging and I cry and laugh just like the first time) there is plenty of entertainment to go around.

Doing some of the research for this post, I found that I have something to look forward to, Anne and Todd have another book coming out in January 2008 - Dragon Harper - just in time for my Village Books (our local independant bookstore) Book club Birthday reward - your age or -up to 39% off - any book you wish - isn't that a great deal! I can hardly wait.

Neelix says he doesn't know what all the fuss is about - "There are never any cats in any of those books." he says. "Yes, sweetie, but I've often thought that dragons and cats are a lot alike - telepathic - able to teleport between space and time- yup, you're a lot alike."

If you decide t take the plunge into the world of Pern, it is actually suggested that you read the books in the order that they were written - starting with the trillogy - The Dragonriders of Pern

I hope you enjoy it.

Chocolate, Fruit & Flowers -

Happy Three Beautiful Things Tuesday!

• When a friend fixes you lunch and serves homemade brownie sundaes for desert


• A handful of ripe blueberries right off the bush, slightly warm from the morning sun


• The heady fragrance of the lillies that are blooming off the deck - it floats in the kitchen window on the evening breeze -

Flower Communion (belated)

I meant to share this picture with you earlier this summer, but, life got in the way, so to speak. These are the flowers that were brought by our church members for our Flower Communion.
The Flower Communion Service is a uniquely Unitarian Universalist celebration developed by Norbert and Maja Capek, who founded the Unitarian church in Czechoslovakia. They felt the need for some ceremony which would be non-threatening and would bind the people closer together, and make them feel like a religious community. And so they created the Flower Communion. Our little UU church usually celebrates it the second Sunday of June.

The first Flower Communion Ceremony was celebrated June 4, 1923 in Czechoslovakia. The first such ceremony in the US was held in 1940 in Cambridge, Mass., introduced by Maja Capek as she was in the US to raise funds for the UU churches in Europe.

As people come into the church, they add their flowers to the vase and this beautiful "arrangement" graced the front of the church during the service. At the end of the service everyone gets up and takes a flower to take home with them - the ensuing bouquet is just as lovely, don't you think?

Whenever Dr. Capek conducted his Flower Communion in Prague. he would say this proverb as he "consecrated" the flowers:

Infinite Spirit of Life, we ask thy blessing on these, thy messengers of fellowship and love. May they remind us. amid diversities of knowledge and of gifts, to be one in desire and affection, and devotion to thy holy will. May they also remind us of the value of comradeship, of doing and sharing alike. May we cherish friendship as one of thy most precious gifts. May we not let awareness of another's talents discourage us, or sully our relationship, but may we realize that, whatever we can do, great or small, the efforts of all of us are needed to do thy work in this world.

Dr. Capek was a visionary, amd the Capeks had very intersting lives - Dr. Capek, unfortunately died in a concentration camp during WWII. His memory lives on in the Flower Communion that is celebrated every spring in UU churchs all over the world.

Happy Birthday to Sara!

This is a Happy 10th Birthday message for my Grand Niece, Sara. She lives in E. Washington so we don't get to see her very often (this picture was taken the week after Christmas)

This is the Happiest picture of a flower that I could find - so

HAPPY

BIRDIE

TWO EWES!

(THAT'S HAPPY BIRDIE TWO EWES - GET IT?)

NEELIX SAID IF HE HAD TWO DEAD MICE, HE'D GIVE YOU ONE!

SO, HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SARA! MUCH LOVE AUNT TINA & UNCLE JOHN

Oooh, dead mice -

And nothing says happy like a field full of sunflowers!

Mommy, Wow! We are big boys now

The little boys got moved into their own pasture on Monday when Marsha was here to shear Loreena. John had just enough energy and she helped him move them. Thank heavens for a wonderful shearer! Of course, they missed their sister & their mommies and all that comes with that... Loud wailing and gnashing of teeth - but they have finally calmed & quieted down - Doesn't look like they are going to starve, does it?

Arlo is now officially an "it" - as beautiful as his fleece is, his horns were growing straight back and would have threatened his health soon. So, as a wether, his horns will probably not grow any more, or grow so slowly as to not be a danger to him.

Here is a present for all you purple loving people. Before the heat wave hit, I went out and took a few pictures of some new iris that The Shepherd got last year, and a picture of this years bed - not much more to say - just enjoy.

Have a nice weekend!

Too much hot-

I Need Orange reminded me of some pictures that I wanted to put on my blog this week. Just to remind us that it's not always 80 degrees out- sometimes it's a little cooler -






I love this picture - the color has not been changed to black & white - that's just what it looked like that day in March - It was before The Shepherd had his surgery & he was very nervous about me wandering around out in the snow (I tend to slip and slide a lot) but I had his big barn boots on - they were like wearing snow shoes - good grip!
It was quiet and calm that morning - I enjoyed my walk.







This is our Camperdown Elm - If I was a little kid, I'd make the inside a fort to hide in during the summer - it would make a cool green secret place as the big heart shaped leaves go all the way to the ground.

We now return to our regularly scheduled toasty day - hope these brief reminders of winter help to cool you down.

Crazy days, crazy night!

Just a quick post at the end of my lunch - remember in the story of Neelix's big adventure over the 4th of July that I said that the Shepherd had come home from work on the 5th because he just didn't feel well? So things got worse from there - he did go to the dr. on Friday, but they just said it was a virus and to wait it out. Well, 3 days of 102 fevers and then Sunday it seemed to break, but by then, he seemed to be kind of congested - called the Doc on call for our clinic -"Oh, this stuff just takes 3-5 days to go away" she said.

Monday, Marsha came and gave Loreena a haircut -(That's a whole 'nother story to follow later this week) - & with the hot weather we've been having (high 80's - it's 92 degrees right now) he just hasn't been able to pick back up where he left off - and last night he kind of went into a respratory distress - couldn't breathe, etc. - so I called the doc on call again(different guy this time) - he said "load him up and take him to ER - chances are that he'll only get worse over night" OK, fine - at 10:00 pm I loaded him into the Jelly Bean (the affectionate term for my 91 Ford Festiva) and set off for St. Joes. I must say, a middle aged white guy with breathing distress gets pushed thru pretty fast - I think they might have thought he was having a heart attack or something, cause when we left, there were still a lot of people sitting in the same places they were when we went in.

Well, long story short? He's got pneumonia. They started him on antibiotics last night and he's feeling better - he slept on the couch so he could sleep sitting up - every time he lays down he starts to cough. "Dr Mom" says he will not go back to work til next week - that's for sure -

So everybody send us LOTS of healing thoughts OK - and speaking of work, I'd better get to it.

Blessings, Coming & Going

Happy Three Beautiful Things Tuesday!

• The blessed silence on the morning of the 5th of July ~
  
• Seeing Mt. Baker, brilliant against the blue sky, popping through the trees and above the hillls on my drive to work ~
  
• Bright orange and yellow nasturciums peaking out of the green folliage to greet me when I get home from work ~

A "Gift" from the Scottish Shetland Sheep Society

Actually the pictures were a "gift" from Debi Schaibly, Oak Hammock Farm, in Florida. She is working in Ireland right now (wouldn't that be hard to take?) and made a trip to Scotland to go to the Cockermouth Wool Fest. She saw all kinds of sheep, but of course, found the display of the Shetland Sheep Society from, as John would say "the Motherland". And, I knew that several of you (Leigh & Vicki?) would absolutely love to see this color wheel so I asked her if I could post it on my blog & she was happy to share. Isn't it grand!

(And as my furriends Rascal & Catzee would say: "If you click on the picture, it will biggify and you can see each individual thread!"}

And, what would you give to have this knitted sampler - gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.

Debi also met Lenice Bell of Todhill Coloured Shetland Sheep. Lenice was one of the keynote speakers at the 2003 NASSA AGM that was held in Eugene, Oregone the weekend of Blacksheep Festival. She was a delightful speaker and very knowledgable about Shetlands and the different types of wool.

Debi has been blessed with an invitation to visit Lenice's farm. I can hardly wait to see her photos from that visit - ahh, vicarous living. You never have to pack a bag and you get to sleep in your own bed.

AHEM...

Can't you see we're busy?

Glad THAT'S Over!!

Whoa baby - yesterday I felt like we were living in a war zone! We are very close to the Lummi reservation and they have a lot of fireworks stands out there. So that's where the neighborhood kids go to get their fireworks. They are, of course, not the wimpy legal kind - we're talkin M80's and bottle rockets, folks.

I was very surprised, because both Sinda and Mr. Neelix seemed to be taking the day fairly calmly - even tho there were lots of BIG booms, and hisses & shreeks, they didn't seem to be running around nervously or anything. Til just before dark.

They BOTH disappeared!

I didn't really notice until after we watched the Seattle fireworks on TV. So, I waited until after all the booming had slowed down (11:30 or so) and called and whistled - they normally will come very well to my whistle - No Neelix - No Sinda. By this time, I'm fit to be tied and ready to write letters to the County Executive and all the County Cuncil members demanding that they ban ALL personal fireworks - there's got to be a better way for people to have fun!

I go out the back door and call & whistle - I go out the front door I call & whistle - DH has gotten too much sun, (probably heat stroke, judging from how he felt today) and has gone to bed early. No kitties -

Now, there's one thing I don't know if I've ever mentioned - but Sinda talks alot, and is very loud - you can hear her coming from a ways away. Neelix, on the other hand, had a very bad cold when he was a baby, and he doesn't meow - he kind of trills. Not very helpful when you are calling and calling - listening very carefully for little trills - Pretty soon - out the front door -MEOW! Here comes Sinda - her eyes are about the size of saucers. She runs and has a little chow (some of our cat friends would call it "stinky goodness"), scolds me like crazy - after all, all that booming WAS my fault, you know. She finally calms down, and I decide, that I need to get to bed, as it is almost 12:30 and I have to work in the morning.

I console myself with the fact that he stays out late quite often. (It's like having a teenaged son, with an attitude...)

Sinda stuck to me like glue all last night - a 12# deadweight on my hip all night long. At least I knew where she was.

This a.m. when I got up - still no Neelix. I put out their breakfast, called, whistled, clanged on the cat food can with a spoon - no Neelix. It's getting late, I'm going to be late for work. I get a call from John that he's coming home from work, he still doesn't feel well. It didn't even occur to ask him if he'd seen Mr. N. - I go to work with a heavy heart.

Tonight when I came home from work, Neelix did not meet me at the front gate like he always does. I came in the house and asked John if he's seen Neelix today - "No," he couldn't say he had. Hmmm - I had a bad feeling about this. I stand on the front porch & call - I stand on the back porch and call. I start dinner. The phone rings and it is Kathy from Sheep Thrills Farm . "I can't find Neelix, he didn't come home last night" I told her. We talk for a few minutes - "You better go & keep looking" she says and rings off. I'm still alternating between front and back yards - suddenly it occurred to me -

THE SHED

(with appologies to Marsha our shearer, this was the only picture I could find - See the door that is out at the corner of the barn-)

"John, did you have the shed open yesterday?"

"Well, yeah, it was open all day - I shut it at about 8:30 or so, why?" I open the cupboard, grab the key and race out the door - it's been really hot today (OK, so, not over 80 degrees, but there is no vertilation in the shed, it's just not a nice place to be when it's hot. )

I opened the door and Neelix shot out like he was propelled by one of last night's bottle rockets.

"Hey buddy - how are you doin?" I ask - he doesn't even wait for a head scritch... "Mom, where have you been? I'm Hungry & Thirsty" - he trills as he's headed for the house - dinner and a drink of water.

Whew - he may not have used up one of his nine lives, but I think he used up one of mine. I'm so glad you're safe, little pal. NOW, STAY OUT OF THAT SHED!

Happy 4th of July!

HOORAY FOR THE RED, WHITE & BLUE!

I love the fireworks that look like big yellow flowers!

And the ones that look like waterfalls -

And especially the ones that have little stars that sparkle after the big boom is over!.

Hope you have a safe & sane holiday!

Wings

Welcome to Three Beautiful Things Tuesday! I have been thinking a lot about "Wings" the past few days -

• The lacy irridescence of dragon fly wings as they zip around our pond;



• The sounds of the drums and singing at the services on Friday and Saturday that gave wings to send my brother-in-law's soul home;



• The happy wings of the little barn swallows as they took their first flights last week. I think there were several families learning to fly that evening - the air was full of swooping birds!

Mt. Adams

A "Taste" of Things to Come

I went to the post office at noon today to pick up this package - luckily it was taped together in some places, because it had reached the end of it's journey, to be sure -

Our friend Kathy didn't have enough to do before her surgery so Skittles sent her on a little shopping spree!

Seems he overheard us talking about the fact that John and I are planning to pay Kathy & Ralph a little visit in the fall, so he wanted to make sure we had the right info for our visit.

The box was full of all these cool brochures about the Flagstaff area and the Grand Canyon.

But the box was REALLY heavy - "what is she sending me, I thought, a box of rocks?" No, it was a box of HATCH Chilis & Enchilada sauce (all very carefully sealed in plastic bags in case one of them should leak)

Everyone who has lived in the southwest, or if you are a Food Network fan knows about the Hatch Chili Festival in New Mexico. (See those two itty bitty cans on the right? - those are Jalapenos - hmmm - they might have to be a gift for Johns comrades at work)

But I am anxious to try the green and the fire roasted tomato enchilada sauces, and this gigantic can of green chilis has a very appealing recipe on the back label, or maybe some chilli rellenos -I shall start looking through my cookbooks!

Thank you Kathy! Hope your convalescence from your surgery is very speedy! And keep an eye out for that UPS man - there's something comin' your way too.

Iris in bloom, close up

The batiked petals of Salmon Koi

The tiny white stripe on Japanese Pinwheel

The slightly colored petals of Hagoromo

Two Jewels

The Countdown is over! We stopped at Donna & Tom's farm in Bow and picked Jewel on our way home from Yakima. Doesn't she have a pretty face?



We stuffed her little butt in a dog crate and headed up the road. She was none too happy, and now she is in a big pasture with her new sister Luna, and neither one of them are happy - we are talking big time wailing and gnashing of teeth here folks.
















(An unsuspecting Luna eating dinner)



The other jewel is this strawberry rhubarb pie I made last week while I was on vacation. I found a recipe on the Land'o Lakes web site -and changed it to our liking - (I have been trying to use 1/2 Splenda & 1/2 sugar in my baking recipes), and of course, how could anything on that web site not be good - everything is made with butter!

CRUMB TOP STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB PIE

Preparation time: 40 min Baking time: 50 min
Yield: 8 servings

Crust Ingredients: (OR, use your favorite crust -Pillsbury & I get to be pretty good friends sometimes)
1 cup all-purpose flour 1/3 cup cold butter
1/8 teaspoon salt 3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

Filling Ingredients:
1 cup sugar (I use 1/2 cup sugar & 1/2 cup Splenda) If the strawberries aren't very sweet add another 1/4 cup of sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups sliced 1/2-inch fresh rhubarb
2 cups sliced strawberries

Topping Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup cold butter


Heat oven to 400°F. Combine 1 cup flour and salt in large bowl; cut in 1/3 cup butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in enough water with fork just until flour is moistened. Shape into ball; flatten slightly. Roll out ball of dough on lightly floured surface into 12-inch circle. Fold into quarters. Place dough into 9-inch pie pan; unfold, pressing firmly against bottom and sides. Trim crust to 1/2 inch from edge of pan. Crimp or flute edge. Set aside.

Mix chopped strawberries with the rhubarb; Add the rest of the filling ingredients toss until well coated. Let sit for a few minutes to get the juices mixed while you make your crumb topping.

Combine 1 cup flour and 2/3 cup sugar in medium bowl; cut in 1/2 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Now spoon your filling into your prepared crust and sprinkle the crumbs over rhubarb/strawberry mixture. You can kind of press it down if you want to - makes the crust a little "firmer". Cover edge of crust with 2-inch strip aluminum foil. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until topping is golden brown and filling bubbles around edges. Remove aluminum foil during last 10 minutes, if desired. If you have made this with 1/2 Splenda you should store it in the refrigerator (that is if there is any left to store)

On a sad note-

My brother-in -law passed away this morning.

Rest in Peace, James.

Oh Joy!

UPDATE on Kathy - I just talked to Michelle from Boulderneigh and she had received an email from Ralph (Mr. Kathy, so to speak) - Kathy's surgery went speedily and when she woke up in recovery, she could tell it was successful at lessening the pain in her leg. The PT will be in this evening to get her standing and she should be walking tomorrow. Michelle will have more details on her blog.

Kathy is at Flagstaff Medical Center - if you'd like to email her some good wishes - here is the link to their website: http://www.nahealth.com/pp_fmc/fmc_email_patient.htm . Her full name is Kathryn Lefevre. I know she'd love to hear from you!

Thinking Good Thoughts

We are sending good, healing thoughts to our friend Kathy of Sheep Thrills Farm. She will be having back surgery tomorrow in Flagstaff, AZ. Kathy we wish your surgeon the best surgery of his career! And that you will be up and pain free VERY SOON!

Stop by her blog and leave her an encouraging note (NO stories about your Aunt Ethel's horrible surgery!)

This big bouquet of flowers is just for you Kat!