Marsbarn Designs...

The circle be unbroken: The Tank gets an abscess

Okay this is a quick interruption of the road trip journal for a Tank story.

While Big E was painting the bathroom, The Tank escaped outside twice. While we were gone we had a friend housesitting, he and The Tank reached an accord which essentially was this:You don't rip my arm off, I don't rip yours off. Our cat hid for two weeks, only to emerge complaining when we returned.

Yesterday I found the abscess between his rear toes from his folly outside. Today he went to vet to have the injury opened, cleaned, and medicated. After his treatment, I had to go back into the kennels to retrieve him (he had already attacked one of the techs). He hissed at me twice, yowled, and then walked into my arms. Our unflappable vet, who has seen it all, was very impressed. For the next week The Tank will be locked in the bathroom being pilled and having antibiotics irrigated into the wound twice a day. And the best part? Next year we will do it all over again.

Chester had it all; fabric, cotton candy, and coffee.

On the fourth day of our trip, we headed from Susanville to Camp Elwell. Our day started well, with a trip to a used bookstore. (Is there a better way to start the day?) Adding to our bolstered spirits was a feeling of having mastered little e's car sickness with a combination of half of a dramamine and a baggie of oyster crackers. Who knew that "I'm hungry" translated into "The chunks are about to blow."? Our route took us through Westwood (which harbored a statue of Paul Bunyon, which we couldn't find) and to the town of Chester. Ah, Chester. Up until Chester we were on target and under budget. (By "we", I mean myself, and by "budget", I refer to my fabric allowance.) I had visited a fabric shop in Canyonville on the first day of our trip, but that particular stop was paid for by pocket money. Now the fabric shop in Chester... well it was dangerous luckily I was fueled with an excellent iced coffee. Mountain Maid Quilters even lured Big E from the safety of the car. After the thrill of the fabric hunt, we needed some serious sustenance. On the other side of Chester, we found the Cotton Candy Diner. Um... hello.. why not just call it the "Child Magnet Eatery"? After an hour wait, our food came (Ya, it was long. We were grumpy. How long does it take to make hot dogs and sandwiches?) and then came the hot smell of melting sugar. Every child's meal comes with complementary, fresh blown cotton candy. It was like a magical balm of sticky joy. I tell you if I had a cotton candy machine to go with my blow torch I could take over the world. (Of course the world would be covered in sticky wisps of burnt sugar, but it would be MINE.)
Whoops, I think I digressed. On with the trip, we paused in Greenville (which is a sweet old pioneer town with great old downtown buildings and the world's smallest yarn shop), drove through Quincy twice (it looked like a great place to walk through, but time was short), and then motored the last 26 miles into Graeagle. In between Quincy and Graeagle, there are beautiful canyons and rivers with amazing railroad trestles, tunnels, and tracks arching over the winding highway. These lines are part of the Feather River Route and were amazing to see. (Of course I have no photos... sigh..) From a brief stop in Graeagle for basic supplies (milk, butter, bread, bacon.), we were 1,000 feet of elevation away from our home for the next week.

And as we trundled our way into camp, I had to send my best wishes to my dear friend Meegs on her wedding night. Darn my inability to be in two places at once. Damn and double damn.

Do you think the mountain noticed when I waved hello?

A long time ago, I was a little girl who lived on the East Coast with her mother in an apartment over an eyeglass shop. But, for 8 weeks during the summer, I would stay with my Dad on other side of the country.
He searched for a place for me to spend my days while he worked, and found a wonderful camp for me. The Synergy Summer Program (later called just The Summer Program) was a godsend for the lonely little girl I was. I spent 7 summers totally absorbed in their unique mix of songs, crafts, adventures, and companionship. It was essentially a day camp, but once a month we would trek out for an overnight camp. Mt Lassen was my nirvana. The Program, about 45 children, would spend 5 days camping in the shade of Sequoia Redwoods. It was an adventure I lived for every year. I had hoped to be able to venture onto Lassen this summer so I could share it with my little monkeys, but the smoke was so thick I could not even get a photo of my favorite mountain. Hat Creek was the closest I was able to come.

Into California we go

Toeknee (delightfully wicked woman that she is) made us monkey bread to fuel our continuing journey south. It was a good visit, but too short. In addition to spending time with family, I visited with a dear friend I hadn't seen in way too many years, Big E found a new gaming store to feed his model habit, Foz schooled Big E in video games, and we had great pizza at Kaleidoscope, twice! (Bacon, real bacon on pizza... do I need to say more?)

We headed toward Susanville, CA with stops to take in the sites along the way. Near Mt Shasta, we stopped at the upper and lower falls of the Mc Cloud river. The big splash? That would be Big E.
There were an abundance of beautiful places to visit, but the air was heavy with smoke. I found myself plagued by heat, wheezing, and headaches. We lunched at Hat Creek.

Tempt me with donuts

Okay. Wanna make me love a town where it is 95 by 9 in the morning? Take me to a farmers market that makes The Best Flipping Donuts in the world. They were blow on your fingers hot, perfectly spiced, wonderful heavenly rings of golden dough... and they still aren't enough to make me move to Southern Oregon. But throw in Foz and Toeknee... and well... it is a close thing. We love them so much, and it is very hard to be on opposite ends of the state. The girls loved being with their aunt and uncle.

It was Child Day at the market, so the girls were able to ride ponies and get their faces painted. And then.. it happened... Big E stole my camera. His innocent: "Can I have the camera so I can take a photo of the Darlingtonias?" turned into my chasing him about for the next 2 weeks trying to pry the silver box out of his paws. Hmph. These photos are all his.

Boba Fett... where's Boba Fett?

You know that moment in Return of the Jedi where Han Solo gets thawed and he's totally out of it. His eyes don't work, he's all shaky and pale.. I feel a bit like that. I think I've got the post vacation bends. Maybe this is just the sleep depravation catching up with me. Sleeping in the same room as my children for 11 days left me somewhat muddled. Sweetheart G? She talks in her sleep. A lot. Little e? She moans and does backflips when she should be under the peaceful effects of dreamland. Last night I slept in my own bed and it was like magic. Eyes closed, eyes open... 8.5 hours gone. Woh.

The trip that started with a sizzle

When we left home on the 9th, it was hot. We lunched in Eugene with Grandma R and Papa J, and obtained the magical oyster crackers to stave off Little e's nausea.We drove south, and it got hotter. Oh, then there was smoke in the air from forest fires. Big E wanted to start our trip with an homage to our Road Trip 2007, with a stop in Elkton (a mere hour out of our way). This sounds grand now, but then, with a 5 hour planned drive, and a girl who had already vomited once, and a headachy grumpy wife... well.. we did it. The river was as beautiful as last year, but about 20 degrees hotter. Yep, I was miserable, but everyone else had a lot of fun.
That night, destination reached without further incident (meaning I recovered from being grouchy and Little e didn't need the yick bucket again), we were welcomed by the wonderful Toeknee and Foz.. into their lovely, air conditioned home. Ever feel like kissing someone's foot?.... Okay, me neither, but this was pretty darn close...

And Sparkly Blue brought us all home again!

"Mrrrraoooowww! Mrrraaaooooow! Meh!" This translates loosely as "Stupid hummies what were you thinking abandoning my furry wonderfulness for two flea bitten weeks!" Ah yes, we are home (and the the Tank is even pissier than normal)! We've come home with mosquito bites, new freckles, about 1,000 photographs, lots of stories, and about 20 pounds of new fabric. There are tales waiting to be told about cotton candy, fresh donuts, bloated marshmallows, old friends, new friends, the wonders of family, car sickness, butterflies, frog eating snakes, butt skiing, anthropomorphic horses, and blog withdrawal.. plus so much more all contained in the wanderings of a family of four in a station wagon called Sparkly Blue. So hang on in the coming week, 'cause there will be no more canned posts for you my friends!

rhubarb, my tasty treat

I am the only person in my house that will eat rhubarb. I have become a rhubarb loner. Now, you can only be caught in the corner eating a whole rhubarb pie by yourself so many times, so I came up with this little treat.

I take 2 stalks of rhubarb (only the firm stalks will do), slice them up into 1/2 slices, and throw them into a little sauce pan. I add 1/8 cup of sugar (more or less, depending on my whim), a teaspoon of instant tapioca, a sprinkle of ground ginger, and 2 or 3 Tablespoons of water. And then I cook that puppy up. I let it simmer until the sugar is dissolved, and then I taste it (carefully it's hot.), and add a bit more sugar if I want. When the rhubarb is tender and melty, and it is starting to thicken, I turn off the pan. Then I try to let it cool, and not just eat it out of the pan. I put the stuff I don't eat right away in a jar and spoon it virtuously over lowfat plain yogurt.

rhubarb, my sweet

Rhubarb. Yummm. It feels strange to swoon about a sour vegetable whose leaves are toxic, but... oh, there is just something about it. When Sweetheart g was a teeny girl in swaddling, I had a thing about these rhubarb handpies at our farmer's market. The problem was that they made my wee breastmilk drinkin' girl projectile vomit. (It was AMAZING, but.. well.. I won't get too graphic... but the words "fire hose" come to mind..)
I was so bummed. I pined.
And then, I started to pump and dump so I could have my rhubarb and not upset the balance of Sweet g's gut. I love me some rhubarb in a serious way.