Hot Weekend

What a way to spend a weekend...in the water, floating,wrestling and laughing. It's never a hard fall, when you hit the water...well, usually it's not.

It was a leisurely afternoon on the water.

Thank You

I wanted to make my own thank-you cards. So I got some ribbon with a bit of bling to it. I used some spray-on adhesive and wha-lah!!! Home-made thank yous.

Well, almost homemade....I used notecards that I bought for a buck and then I embellished them.

They turned out pretty cutesy ;D

I'm Floored

I know I've been talking about this remodel project for a LOOOOONNNGGG time but it's still going on.

My husband has been making his own new floorboards out of old wood to create tongue and groove flooring. He used the boards he took out of the walls when he raised the roof.

It's a messy job and he's been working hard to make sure each piece fits just perfectly.

Now, he's working on installing the boards.

It's hard work - especially on his knees. So, he's using my gardening pad to keep his knees from wearing out.

You can see the white one and the half-yellow one. My hubby is such a sustainable fellow, he finds ways to use objects in new and useful ways and you can see that he's making progress. He's even adding venting so the room won't be so hot in the summer and cold in the winter.

Now we're almost ready to paint the walls, refinish the floors and move in.

DIY Shopping bag and tee shirt

Some races give away tee shirts but I don't really like tee shirts that have tight necklines. So, I decided to turn the shirts into a shopping bag and a tank top for my husband.

Here's how I did it.

I started out with the tee shirt and then trimmed the neckline.

Then I cut away the arms.

After I cut one off, I used it as the pattern for the other arm.

Then I ironed down the seams where I wanted to stitch them.

Then I sewed the raw edges.

And the shirt and bag were done.

Simple sewing to turn something I wouldn't use into something I definitely will use and my husband will too.

Happy Fourth of July

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend. If you want to try a treat for the holiday, pop a little corn and throw some blue and red m-n-m's in the bowl for a pretty 4th of July munchie.

Hot Half-Marathon

This past weekend the family all went to Sunriver and participated in the Pacific Crest Weekend Sports Festival.

We all signed up for events. My hubby and son and friend did the Tour de Crest, marathon bike challenge. My daughter and her girlfriend did the 5k, my sis, niece and another friend did the 10k. And I ran a half marathon. It was a HOT weekend.

My run was really hard because of the heat. It wasn't bad for the first six miles but by the eighth mile I was struggling.

I stopped at the "hydration stations" or what normal people call "water stops" and drank one cup of water and poured one over my head. But still my calf started cramping (I was probably getting dehydrated) and had to shake it out and stretch it, but then I was able to finish.

So, I learned something from this experience. . . I need to run in the heat, train in different temperatures. Maybe if I didn't just run early in the morning when it's cold, I would have done better.

Spelunking

I just can't go over to Bend or Sunriver without crawling deep into a few holes in the ground. Some people call this caving, others call it spelunking. 

It's so fun to escape the 100 degree weather and climb down into a cold cavern. These caves are always about 50 degrees so you need to wear a coat, and a headlamp...at least if you want to be able to see and keep your hands free, just in case you trip over fallen rocks.

It's easy to find these gaping openings in the landscape. You can't miss these lonely ladders sticking up out of the ground. And it's so much fun to climb down into the dirt. It always reminds me of Lord of the Rings and Middle Earth.

It's difficult to get any good photos when you're in total darkness but here are a few.

And when you crawl deep enough into the earth your eyes will start to adjust but then you'll turn a corner and you'll see the way out. It's a simple sign...light at the end of the tunnel.

I always try to find new caves to explore. One day I hope to be able to rappel into the Arnold Ice Cave. But first I'll have to build up my upper body strength to hold my own weight as I lower myself down into the cave.

How bout you? Have you ever wanted to crawl down into the Middle Earth? ;D