Independence Day, 2009

Friday we took off for our Independence Day Holiday at the little ranch-ette of our friends, south of Portland.  It was a terribly hot weekend, but we survived. They are grand people and we enjoy being with them.

We met Rachel in Wilsonville and she treated us to pedicures. We all had such fun laughing and being silly. (it tickles)
After we had pretty toes, we did the shopping for the weekend. We went on to their place to get ready for the Rodeo. I opted to stay home and bake pies with William, Greg's son. We made berry, plum, and strawberry pies and tarts.




Polly and the rest of the gang went to the St.Paul rodeo.



Next morning we ate the cinnamon rolls I had baked Friday morning before we left. After breakfast we went over to the Butteville Store (the oldest continually working store in Oregon) for a BBQ for the Portland Harly Davidson Club. Polly's boss is a member.

 After we got them all fed, we went back to the Leo's to rest and get ready for the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) picnic at the historic Newell House in Champoeg State Park. It was an old-fashioned Independence celebration with speeches, patriotic music, Oregon history bee, pie contest and auction. Just lots of fun.

After the picnic we went back to the ranch to shower, rest, and prepare for their BBQ dinner that evening. They had some friends and neighbors in for dinner and then we watched "Mama Mia" in their movie theater. We brought along feather boas and sang and danced along with the movie. It was hilarious! Next morning we were tired so we just sat around and drank tea and watched Roger Federer win Wimbleton. Around noon we went back to the store for berry milkshakes. We walked down to look at the riverbank where there used to be a landing wharf. After that we came home. Tired, but happy for having had such a great time. Thanks Rachel!

Lovely summer flowers and birds

I've not posted here for some time. Two trips to the ER in a month is just two too many. I haven't been feeling well and just getting my job done and resting up is about all I'm doing. Oh, and a little twittering.   

http://twitter.com/PriscillaWarren

I have been enjoying my balcony. there are several birds who come and visit every day. One is a little humming bird. Polly got me a lovely blown glass humming bird feeder. I hope I can get a picture of him, one of these days.

The other is a Gold Finch. He is so beautiful. Can you find him?

(click pictures to enlarge)

 And one more photo just because the colors are so beautiful.

 

On the first full day of Summer it is 59˚F!  

I love Oregon.

Power to the People

The Conservative Party under David Cameron which has pledged ‘a massive, sweeping, radical redistribution of power’. This, he said, had to be ‘from the state to citizens; from the government to parliament; from Whitehall to communities.
This is, to me, a better "redistribution" than the one of wealth that Obama has advocated. 
I'd like to see the conservatives in this country work for this returning the power back into the hands of the people. Hands which are bound to be less tainted by scandel and greed than those entrenched for, in some cases, decades.

Lazer technology allows voices of the past to be heard

Newly discovered recordings are older than the French recording from 1860 about which I reported last March.