happily random

Three Mountains & a River

Due to the unseasonably cool and rainy weather we have been having here in Coeur d'Alene up until now, we finally set out for our first family camping trip of the year this past weekend. We ventured toward the head waters of the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River with our trust camper trailer (that's nearly as old as I am) where we managed to find a secluded location right on the river.

While I love that cooler weather has drastically reduced the swarms of wasps we have around this time of year, the flies and mosquitoes seemed to have flourished with all the rain and standing water. The whole weekend was spent in a haze of insect repellent that I am now trying to banish from our clothing. On the bright side, no one got stung by any wasps and we came home with only a handful on mosquito bites -- each.

As they never get to do this anytime except on camping trips, one of our kids favorite camping activities is stick burning. Nothing makes them happier than to find a stick in the forest, settle in by the campfire and attempt to light it -- and in turn their siblings, their clothes, the chairs and the forest -- on fire. What child isn't a pyromaniac at heart? I must admit, they get it from their mom. Oh, we roast marshmallows and make s'mores too, but the stick-burning is the highlight of the trip for the kids.

All day Saturday we spent doing our kids second favorite activity: hiking. I think Joel was trying to make up for lost time in one hike as he led us on a voyage that took us to the top of three different mountains, waded across a rocky, knee-deep river and ultimately was at least 15 miles and took us five hours to complete. Completely worth the effort though, not only in the time we were able to spend together, but in the sheer beauty of our surroundings. The kids especially enjoyed all the wild strawberries we found along the trail.

While camping is always fun, coming home to shower off all the insect repellent, sunscreen and grime is a joy all of its own. That, and the after-camping nap. No one really sleeps that well during our camping trips due to our oldest son, Luke's, nighttime conversations. That is, he talks in his sleep. A lot. And sometimes shouts too. As we are all snuggled into our little camper, he has a tendency to wake up everyone several times during the night, with the exception of himself of course. The not-so-distant future may see him out in a tent with his siblings and the dog.

What camping traditions do you have with your family?

Hunger Games Awesomeness

The Hunger Games is one of my all-time favorite books, so of course I am looking forward to the movie release next year with great anticipation. That is why when I came across the first movie poster for the movie today, I just had to share it.

Miracles Do Happen

When I woke up to find my six-month-old iPod Nano that my husband gave me for Christmas in the bottom of the full water glass that I had by my bedside, I figured it was a goner. I often listen to my iPod in bed when I have trouble sleeping -- it gets my brain to shut up -- and sometime during the night in my grogginess I take it off and place it in a bowl that I keep on my nightstand just for that purpose. I don't usually keep a glass of water by my bed though, but the sealed water bottle with straw that I usually keep there was in the dishwasher. Somehow in my near-sleep state, I dropped it in the glass of water instead of the glass bowl that I keep it in. Yikes!

When I made the watery discovery in the morning, I fished it out of my glass and I watched water pour out of my little device in horror. I just knew it was a goner, but I figured burying it in a bowl of rice couldn't hurt. I've heard of many people saving their electronics the same way, so there I left it -- for two weeks. Honestly, I didn't think it needed that much time, but I was not eager to find out that my little Nano was toast.

Ultimately my husband bit the bullet for me and turned it on this morning. I can't tell you how shocked I was to see that little apple on the screen as it fired up. Then after a full charge, it continued to work. If you had seen the amount of water that dribbled out of it, you would be just as surprised.

Lessons learned: (1) Don't ever leave a glass of water by the bed. (2) Rice is a miracle grain. (3) Apple makes a very durable product.

Latest Recommended Reading List: Summer 2011

What books have I been devouring lately? I'm still on a fantasy kick as you can see, although I threw in a couple of novels for good measure. Pretty much all these books I checked out at the CdA Library using the most awesome library database. It's so easy to just to reserve the books I want from anywhere in North Idaho & Washington and have them delivered to my local branch and set aside just for me. It makes me feel oh so special. But I must admit, some of them I was impatient to read and bought using my Kindle app on my iPad. I must say I absolutely love reading books on my iPad and if I could check them out for free, I would do it all time. Such a luxury.

1. Divergent by Veronica Roth
This book is the first in what is supposed to be a trilogy and I must say: so far, so good. If you are a fan of The Hunger Games Series, this book is right down that alley. It centers around a girl named Beatrice who must choose a faction of society to train in to become her own. Each faction values different character traits and highlights them in their sociatal interaction above all others. This one I blasted through in a day as I couldn't put it down. Truly looking forward to reading the second book of this talented author. Oh, and I thought I would mention, my 11-year-old daughter enjoyed this one too.

2. The Desden Files Series by Jim Butcher
Looking for a book to read while at Borders one morning, the manager recommended Storm Front, the first in a series of twelve books (it'll be 13 this month) about a modern-day, smart-mouthed wizard detective named Harry Dresden. I have been working my way through them this year and love the watching Harry solve crimes while getting himself in and out of trouble.

3. The Black Prism by Brent Weeks
I love the Night Angel Trilogy and this first book from the Lightbringer Series by the same author does not disappoint. It takes place in a world where people can draft or create items out of the colors that they see, but even that description doesn't do it justice.

4. Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison
This book is what I would call a summer-read as it's a story about women who form close friendships because of their love of shoes.

5. Abandon by Meg Cabot
Definitely what I would also call a summer read, this book is also the start of a series that is a modern-day telling of the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades. I have always loved Greek myths, which is why this story was so appealing. Meg Cabot, writer of The Princess Diaries, has several new books out that have branched off into mythology and fantasy.

How Not to Host a Garage Sale

It's garage saling season, the most wonderful time of the year if you ask me -- at least one of them anyway. I love the idea of people selling off their unwanted junk and making it my wanted junk. It's the ultimate in recycling and greenness. But for the most part I just love getting a good deal on the things that I need.

Only thing that drives me batty though is poorly organized garage sales. I am by no means the queen of organization myself (just ask my husband), but even I notice when garage sale wasn't well thought out. Don't want me to come to yours? Here's how:

1. Don't Put Up Signs. To be sure that no one visits your garage sale except those that happen to stumble across it by accident, don't put up any signs to lead people to your home. Who knows, they may just think you're cleaning out your garage.
2. Don't Make Your Signs Easy-To-Read. If you do decide to put up signs, be sure to include so much information on them in thin, light, hard-to-read writing so that a driver has to actually stop the car to be able to take them in. You may even get a traffic accident or two out of them. 
3. Don't Take Out An Ad. Your house isn't hard to find. "If you build it, they will come," right?
4. Don't Start On Time. If you do take out an ad and your ad says 8 a.m., it's okay to start putting out your stuff at 8:45. Garage salers aren't early birds anyway. Besides, they'll wait while you do it. Or come back.
5. Don't Wash or Clean Anything. Everybody has a washing machine, don't they? They're just going to take it home to wash themselves, right?
6. Don't Organize Clothes. A big pile of clothes to sort through is fun. It's like a treasure hunt. They will soon discover on their own that you don't have anything in their sizes.
7. Don't Empty Out Purses. It's like an added bonus when people buy your old purses and wallets because there may be money or car keys inside.
8. Don't Have More Than 10 Items To Sell. People don't mind coming to a garage sale that is just selling a used ice cream maker, a puzzle with missing pieces and three articles of clothing that are 40 years old. Who needs variety?
9. Don't Label Anything. People can just ask you the price if they want something. That way you can assess their car and what they are wearing and price the item just for them.
10. Don't Reasonably Price Anything. It's just junk you don't want, but it's your junk. You paid $10 for those kid's jeans, so asking $5 for them is like giving it to them for half-price. So what that they have two holes in them, that just means they are broken in.
11. Don't Take Down Your Signs. You hosted your garage sale three weeks ago, but never took down your signs because you don't want to be bothered with it. People will figure that out when they see your garage door shut. The sign will rot away on it's own eventually anyway.
12. Dont' Have Your Garage Sale. Sure, you put an ad on Craigslist and the Nickel's Worth for your garage sale, but the weather is nice and you want to go camping instead.

Apples and Apples

I do not by any means have a green thumb. Every year I am inspired to have a garden -- more in rebellion of the cold weather as opposed to a joy in growing things -- only to have it die because of some reason or another (you mean you have to water it every day?). Even houseplants quake when they see me coming, which is why I currently have only a succulent and a polka dot plant that are still surviving by mere tenacity --not including the plastic ones.

Which is why I'm shocked to report that the apple seed that I planted and sprouted back in April has continued to grow. I'm amazed, so say the least, that I planted a tiny seed and here it's done it's seed thing and grown into a plant. Someday, I might be lucky enough to get apples from it. Yep, amazing. Currently my apple tree is measuring just over a foot in height. After spending it's first two months of life in a tiny pot, I gave it some more root room today by transplanting it in to a larger pot. After having such roaring success with my first apple seed, when I found several more sprouting apple seeds in another Gala apple I was coring to eat, I planted four of those too. I may just get a whole orchard out of this.

Speaking of Apples, I planted another Apple into a cup of water last night. Unfortunately this one wasn't an apple seed but instead my Apple iPod Nano that my Sir Knight bought me for Christmas. Apparently I fell asleep listening to it -- which I often do when I'm having trouble falling asleep -- and in my mostly asleep state, took it off and put it on my bedside table. Usually I plunk it into a bowl that I have sitting there just for that purpose, but I must have missed because we discovered it at the bottom of my glass of water this morning. Yeh, it doesn't grow well that way. I don't have a lot of hope as it dribbled out more water than that I thought that tiny thing could hold as I carried it to the kitchen. I planted that particular Apple into a bowl of rice hoping that a few days might dry it out. Keep your fingers crossed.