Farmer's Market

One of the best things about summer is going to the farmer's market. This time of year in Oregon the booths are just overflowing with fresh produce. My walk through today netted me some fresh cherry and grape tomatoes, zucchini, red potatoes and fresh bread for my dinner tonight. And there were so many other things: fresh meat (beef, pork and rabbit) different lettuce greens, carrots, strawberries, fresh herbs, garlic and flowers. The fresh basil smelled amazing!

Growing up my family always put in a huge garden. Fresh veggies and fruits taste so much better than canned. That's probably why I'm really picky about them and I don't eat them as much during the winter. Even the best produce department doesn't compare.

Strawberries!

It's strawberry season in Oregon! Mom, Dad and I took an hour of out our day to go pick some. My mother grew up picking in the summers of her childhood and adolescence. It was how they helped to supplement the family income and pay for their own personal extras. Needless to say, mom can still out pick me. Then, as my sister and I got older we went with her. I remember my dad threatening to have us weighted in before picking because we preferred to eat the ones we picked. Of course I still have to sample one or two. And these are so good! We've been picking at Twedt's farm fields for as long as I can remember. Now mom's making jam, and I'm going to go slice some for dessert.

All Packed Up.

It's official. My entire life is all packed up in a trailer that now needs to be unpacked into my parents' garage. I don't know where anything is, so as I unpack, all those boxes need to be resorted. I'm not looking forward to it.

On the other hand, it's nice not to be straddling two different lives. I'm ready to move on to the next adventure. That starts with finding a new place to live.

Central Oregon Weekend

It's a family tradition. We spend the second weekend in June in Sisters, at the rodeo. I'm not sure how this all started. One year my sister and I went, and after that the parents joined us, and so on. Now it's just another one of those little traditions. It all starts with the rodeo parade on Saturday morning. Parades are a little slice of Americana. They don't have to be big and spectacular for people to have a good time. The Sisters parade has cars, fire engines, rodeo queens and, of course, horses. Participants range from hardly more than babies to the Pioneer Queen (who may not be the oldest, but is noticeable in her cape and tiara).


We attend the rodeo on Saturday night. We've tried doing multiple shows, but it's just too much. Saturday night was a sell out crowd. And rodeos are never boring.

Sunday we made a little trip up to the Metolius headwaters. It's a short, easy walk from the parking lot. It's a beautiful view. And then we stopped back at the Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery. For a quarter you can buy a handful of fish food and dropping each pellet into a tank of trout can be very entertaining.

Sand Toys

A couple of years ago my sister and brother-in-law bought quads. We now spend some time on the sand, tearin' it up. For some time Eric has been urging my parents and I to get on board with program and buy quads. We've resisted. At least I have. Yesterday, my parents bought a dunebuggy.



I think that Eric must have been a horsetrader in a past life. He seems to find these great deals on Craigslist or Ebay. I think it's become his hobby. I wonder what he'll come up with next.

Graduation Day

Today the Class of 2008 graduated. Believe me, as I sat their with my fellow faculty members I felt such a sense of relief. Many of the kids who I have come to know slightly or well over the last three years were waling across the stage. It was a huge moment.

One of my seniors, J, finally finished two of her classes yesterday, after rehearsal. For that particular student, the last three years was an ongoing struggle. Her freshman year was a total loss, and to complete four years of coursework in three years is pretty amazing.

A second student, B, has shown so much growth and maturity in the last three years. I first met a very argumentative and narrow-minded individual. I don't know that his point of view has broadened, but he's much better at handling conflict that he used to be.

And finally there was S. She's kind, cooperative, but not very empowered. Perhaps she has made the greatest strides from having no direction to applying for the local community college and tentative plans to pursue early childhood education.

For these three and all the others, it's been a pretty amazing journey.

Simple Thank You

Teachers everywhere will tell you we don't do this for the money. Some teach because they love their subjects. Others teach because they really love kids. And some start out on one path and find themselves on another. Working with kids on the edge--there are many--has caused me to spend a great deal of time reflecting on why I go to work everyday to work with a bunch of surly, sometimes uncooperative teenagers with ever-changing attitudes. There are days when I have actually started a letter of resignation. There are days when I wonder why I keep trying when I'm getting kicked (metaphorically) in the teeth. And then there are days like today. It was our last day for seniors. They will graduate on Saturday. Anyway, today one of my seniors came in with her mother and brought me flowers, hugs and a card. In part she wrote, "You are by far the best teacher ever thanks for everything it means alot" I almost cried. I'm going to miss the kids when I move.

Missing Kitter

I miss my cat. After Memorial Weekend I let him go home with my parents. He's having the time of his life at Mom and Dad's, (they let him outside where he can roll in the dirt, eat grass, and climb trees) but I miss having him talk to me when I come home at the end of the day. Plus he's a great alarm clock. I so overslept this morning. Only a few more days and I'll see him, and I'll get more than a earful about abandoning him. Kit's a typical cat: mercurial.