I left Portland on Friday, two weeks ago, for San Antonio, Texas to help the Red Cross assist those affected by Hurricane Dolly. The first two nights were spent in a staff shelter. I HATED it! It was a first for me, on other disasters, I have always been fortunate to have had a hotel room. There were about 300 people in the cafeteria of a high school, men and women, trying to sleep. There were two sections to the room, one was air conditioned and freezing, so I picked the non air conditioned room with just a fan...well, that fan was not just a fan, I think they got the blade and motor from an airplane...it was huge and LOUD and along with that and all the noise from everyone snoring and getting up and down...it was a sleepless night, and the next night was not much better, although I was so tired from my lack of sleep the night before, I am pretty sure I fell asleep for a little while. Ear plugs were useless. Thinking back, it was probably a good thing for us all to experience what it is like for families that have no choice but to go to one when their home is ruined. It was such a relief the next day when they sent us on into the field to get to our work. First they sent me to Brownsville, then up to a town called Pharr. We shared hotel rooms there.The first day we went to the shelter and helped those staying there and the next day we did outreach, going into the neighborhoods that were flooded. These pictures were taken after the water had gone down a bit already.What a mess, some places were still inaccessible, so we did not get to those, they were the homes of the ones in the shelters, but the other homes that we did get into were a mess! mud and water and mold...the smells were horrible...we were warned that there were five poisonous kinds of snakes there, but I didn't see any live ones...the only snakes I saw were dead on the road. But I sure did keep my eyes open as I walked up to the homes. The mosquitoes were outrageous. They would just wait outside doors and windows for you! When you went out, they covered any bare skin...I think I donated most of my blood there and it was not for the usual Red Cross blood drive. In spite of it all, the heat, the humidity, the bug bites and lack of sleep, I came home feeling like it was worth it all to know that a few people were helped.

They require us to take a day off after we have worked 7 days. Since we were so close to South Padre Island, that was the destination of choice for most of us. Since it is a tourist destination, it is mostly hotels, restaurants and second homes, so there was no Red Cross need there. Some of the hotels had roofs off and a few places were closed, but mostly it was up and running. You would never have known that a few miles away there was such a mess! It was a perfect place to relax and unwind and remember how blessed I am. The last day, I had to be back up in San Antonio for my flight and since my flight was not until late afternoon, I was also able to spend some time at the famous Riverwalk downtown and see the Alamo.

Once again, I go away with a list of new Red Cross friends. Here are a few of us that were assigned to outreach in Pharr.

The Red Cross called me yesterday to go to Texas to assist with Hurricane Dolly. I leave today, not sure exactly what town I will be in yet. If possible, I will add pictures and let you know what is going on.

Emily and Joshua stayed at my house this week. We had so much fun, picking berries, learned to snorkel at Great Grandma and Grandpa's pool, saw the movie WALL E, made smores by the fire every night and even got to ride Aunt Lindy's horse!

Oh No! Before the raspberries are done, all of a sudden the cherries, Marion berries, boysenberries, and blue berries are ready! I'm still trying to figure out what to do with all the raspberries..let's see now...Marion berry crisp, Marion berry ice cream, blueberry muffins...

Today as I ran past the field where I saw the buck yesterday, there was a doe! A man was out in his yard nearby and told me that they even have a little fawn down in the bushes! BAMBI LIVES!!!!!!! (for some reason the pictures won't enlarge when you click on them...it works on the others, but not these, I will try to repost the pictures so you can see the deer better)

Oh man! Yesterday on my workout I saw this really pretty flower I wanted a picture of. Yes, I know, if I was really working out, how would I have time to look at pretty flowers? Well, I didn't really feel like going for my workout today, but because last night I ate waaayyyy too many of those raspberry bars I mentioned before, I grabbed the camera and forced myself out the door. Was I ever glad I went! And especially glad I took that camera becasue as I was running past this field just before those pretty flowers...there was a DEER! Not just a deer but a deer with big horns! I got a pretty good shot, but on my return lap, he had moved even closer to the road...what a treat! Of course I still took the flower picture, but it was not near as good as the deer.

Remember Forest Gump? Remember how many ways he came up with to serve shrimp? Well, that is me trying to figure out ways to use the raspberries. Raspberry shortcake, raspberry limeade, raspberry scones, raspberry sauce over chicken, raspberry smoothie, raspberry crisp, raspberry turkey salad, with of course, raspberry dressing, raspberry ice cream, raspberry iced tea, raspberry jam, raspberry-chicken- swiss-panini, raspberry chocolate cake, toasted mozzarella cheese and raspberry sandwich, raspberry bars, raspberries over pancakes and stuffed into french toast and crepes filled with raspberries and sweetened sour cream, peanut butter and raspberry sandwich, raspberry/peach pie, raspberries just all by themselves in a bowl, raspberries on my granola, raspberry cheesecake, raspberry sorbet…I am sure I have missed a few, but I think you get the idea.

Here is the best limeade!
Blend 3 cups of berries with 1 cup water, strain out the seeds, add 5 more cups of water and 1 cup of sugar and 2/3 cup of lime juice. Serve over ice with a slice of lime and a few whole berries. It is sooooo GOOD!

I made jam!
+=
4 pints of berries + SEVEN cups of sugar = 9 cups of jam X 3 batches is alot of jam.

The jam made a mess...

My favorite Flower, My Favorite Color

My favorite berry.
The raspberries are right on time. I can't wait for some raspberry shortcake. When we were kids we had a field of them and every summer that was our way to earn money to buy school clothes. Getting up early to start picking before it got to hot, Dad would always be up before us and would start singing his "Lazy Old Man" song, I would always race Mom to see who picked the most. Then when we got rid of the berries, we (Lindy and Cyndi and I) went with the neighbor boys over to the Heckles field. After all those years of picking berries, I can't believe I actually planted them on purpose.

From Crater Lake we drove over to Diamond Lake. Finishing off the trip with Tin Can Ice Cream.

Here is the recipe. 1 cup milk, 1 cup whipping cream, vanilla and 1/2 cup sugar. Put that all in a 1 pound coffee can and close it up with a lid. Then put the small can into a 3 pound coffee can and add ice and rock salt all around the inside of the large can. Seal it up with a lid and roll. You will need to stop it now and then to pour off the water and add more ice and rock salt. Roll it on the ground until it freezes up and becomes ice cream. You can add other flavors or chocolate chips or fruit if you want. We had ours with fresh picked strawberries from my garden.

Valley of the Rouge campground didn't have much to do, so we packed it all up and drove over to Crater Lake...it was a beautiful sunny day to see it.

My Favorites

SMORES!

Camping Highlights

We had some unexpected visitors each day...a skunk family of 6 babies. They just wandered around our campsites.



Camping is easy when you have all this help.

Joshua getting the firewood split up.

The guys getting the fire going. Joshua helping with Dennis' birthday cake.



Rachel said she LOVES to wash dishes while camping. Emily made sure the Coke was cold enough.

That left Dad and me to finish off the wine.

John and Rachel went for a run.

Our Anniversary.
Great Grandma demonstrated how popcorn was done before microwaves.
...

Well, I never thought I would ever say this, but I think I will take camping, at least the sleeping on the hard ground with no padding but your sleeping bag, off my favorite things to do list. It has been a long time since I was camping, like YEARS...I still like camping, especially the cooking part of it, but I don't remember it being so uncomfortable to sleep. Just when did the ground get so hard?

Box Oven Cake, otherwise known as Camp Cake
When I first heard this one, I just knew it would be impossible. Bake a cake in a cardboard box? No way! But it is so fun. All you have to do is line a box with foil, then you need four cans to place a baking rack on. Mix up the cake and set it on the rack to bake. Each coal is 40 degrees of cooking heat, so you need 9 hot coals to bake that cake for 30 minutes. Don't peek more than once or it will mess up the temperature in the box. Trust it, it really works. (Oh, and if you try it, don't do like I did in the picture above, make sure your whole cake is over the coals and not on the cans. This time the cake took way longer to bake in those places and the center was a little bit burnt. )

Camp Chicken Nuggets

I learned to make these when I was a Girlscout leader at day camp one summer. They really do not look very appetizing, but in spite of how they look, they are fantastic when you are out camping. It is such an easy thing to make, too. First you take chicken that is cut up into bite sized pieces, dip it in ranch dressing (made from the package, not the bottle), then you roll the dipped pieces into crushed potato chips. Wrap up in individual packages and bake over coals for about 20-30 minutes, turning the packets every 10 minutes or so. I know, it sounds disgusting and watching somebody make it is even worse, but you will be amazed at how good it tastes. The salt on the chips makes the perfect seasoning. I like to bake potatoes alongside of the chicken and there you have an awesome dinner out camping.

In spite of the unusually cold weather...the strawberries have made their appearance!

MMMMMM......................now how do I want to eat them? I'm glad I beat the birds to them.

Red Cross Work

I was called to help out in Casework for a huge apartment fire that happened late Thursday night. Check out this picture! We helped 9 families with temporary shelter, food and clothing. One family was out of the country on vacation, can you imagine coming home from a vacation to THAT? One was in the hospital (unrelated to the fire) and one unit destroyed was vacant. The other 6 families did not want assistance.

Update: Fire wrecks Beaverton apartments; 40 left without homes

Posted by David R. Anderson, The Oregonian June 13, 2008 16:47PM

Categories: Breaking News, Washington County

Tualatin Valley Fire & RescueThe remains of the west end of the Birch Pointe Apartments following a three-alarm fire early today.

BEAVERTON -- A three-alarm fire tore through an apartment building early this morning, displacing about 40 residents and killing a dog.

Investigators were examining whether a discarded cigarette caused the fire after a resident calling 9-1-1 said that might have started the flames he saw from his back deck, said Walt Peck, a Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue spokesman.

The blaze damaged 18 units, and Peck said it was "amazing" that no resident was hurt given the amount of fire and height of the flames.

"This was a pretty spectacular fire," he said.

Vigilant police officers, working smoke alarms and a fortified firewall helped prevent injuries and more extensive damage, officials said. However, the apartments were built before sprinklers were required in 1999 in such residential buildings, which would have prevented much of the damage, Peck said.

The fire began shortly before 1:30 a.m. when Hillsboro police -- in the area during a slow night -- responded to the Birch Pointe Apartments at 1770 N.W. Cornell Road, Peck said. When officers arrived, they saw flames shooting from one of the buildings.

Firefighters from Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue and the Hillsboro Fire Department arrived within 4½ minutes of the 9-1-1 call, Peck said.

Lt. Ronnie Mason's crew from Station 64 was the first to respond. As they pulled out of the station on Northwest 185th Avenue north of U.S. 26, they could see the flames more than a half-mile away. Mason called for a second alarm even before he got to the fire.

About 80 firefighters controlled the fire in 40 minutes.

Rebecca Lester said she heard pounding on the door of her apartment and saw the reflection of emergency lights.

"I thought, 'Oh, no, there's neighbors going at it,'" she said.

Then she heard someone yell, "Get out! The building's on fire!"

She woke her 13-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter, then fled from their second-floor apartment.

"It was the most frightening thing I have ever seen," she said. "It was this huge roar. There was popping and cracking and embers flying everywhere."

Mike Hull, who lived in the second-most damaged unit, was at work in Milwaukie when the fire started. He retrieved a few soot-covered belongings from his apartment Friday morning, but said there wasn't much left. "It's totally gutted," Hull said.

Hull, 55, fought back tears as he talked about his beagle, Bailey, who died in the fire. (I assisted this man...I could not keep back the tears when he told me how he and his son had just returned from burying his dog on Mt. Hood where the dog loved to play. )

"I'm glad everybody got out. Thank God the humans got out, for sure," he said.

Hull said he can live with his son until he finds something permanent.

"At least I have a better opportunity than some of the folks," he said.

Of the 18 units in the building, residents of seven units might need emergency shelter, said Tom McCann, public affairs manager for the American Red Cross Oregon Trail Chapter. The organization set up a service center at Oak Hills Christian Church, 2800 N.W. 153rd Ave.

Residents of five units can return to the apartments, and tenants in five others are staying with family or friends, McCann said. The resident of the final damaged unit was in the hospital for unrelated reasons, he said.

Lester said Birch Pointe managers found her another apartment there because her son has special needs and wouldn't do well in a shelter. Firefighters told Lester that her apartment had light water damage.

"I don't know what that means," she said. "I don't know what's going to happen."

-- David Austin of The Oregonian staff contributed to this report.

Yesterday was the first day out of school. So I went to celebrate with the grandkids.

First we went shopping, then picked their Dad up from work and had lunch in the park, then took him back to work and once we got back home,

the neighborhood kids met up and we went to the neighborhood park and played some more.

Well, as you know the Iris Gardens really impressed me and I was so inspired, I set right to work on my own gardens at home.
Kinda looks the same, right? OK, so it has a long way to go!

How come...


a snail is cute...but a slug is yucky?

Is it just because one carries his own cute little house on its back? I guess we would say the same thing about a turtle, too, huh?