Vacation 2012

We had planned on camping at Shadow Bay on Waldo Lake, but one step out of the truck led us to believe that someone had called ahead and alerted the mosquitoes to our arrival, "wait until you taste S!". So we drove down the road and camped for 2 or 3 nights on the north side of the lake. There were still mosquitoes, but only half as many. We decided that was long enough to be held hostage to the indoors at night and went to look elsewhere. So many campers up there, we had to settle for the big La Pine State CG. Not my favorite. It's like a small town with everyone outside, but we were glad the huge group across the street (and most everyone else) were courteous during the sleeping hours. We went out exploring in the truck during most days. S even ventured out on three short trails, which surprised me. I'm sure the trip was good for her, in many ways. I finally made a leap and bought some aluminum liners for our dutch oven. What a gift to the resident dutch oven cleaner! He was skeptical when I talked about them, but no longer. Funny thing is that Jack's Country Store up by Susie's beach house, is where we bought them online.

Fireplace on Thursday

Here's what the brick looks like after F applied a thin coat of paint using a rag and sponge.

One step closer

No, we're still not finished. The beadboard has been done for several days, but we still have decisions to make.

We're leaning towards adding this mantle: http://www.pearlmantels.com/111gallery.html

Another decision that's holding us back, is whether to paint the brick or not. We've read about a few different ideas that appeal to us. One is sponging or spraying watered down paint until you achieve the desired lightness. The other is priming the entire brick area, adding either a light or dark color and then sponging on the opposite color to add interest. Maybe three colors total for more depth.

The question we're discussing now: would dark colors on light go better, or the opposite? {sigh}

What we found behind the paneling . . .

It's all Franny's fault. :>)

We're finally getting rid of the paneling in the living room. We'll be putting up bead board (over that mess of a wall) and painting it a complimentary (or so I've been told) color to go with the new paint on the other walls.

Funny to see writing on the wall and signs of past 1" tile. It appears to have covered the wall above the fireplace and on the right hand side. I can only guess that maybe there was a floor to ceiling bookcase on the opposite side. Why else would the tile not be over there?? More questions we can't answer.

This evening, N began to pull the facing surrounding the woodstove insert. Not sure why. Curiosity I spose.

"Let's Add a Little Dirt to Our Diet"

Franny and I were painting our little hearts out, when we heard a word (on OPB radio) that always makes us perk up our ears, "micro-organisms". I've long had a problem with the belief that people can never bleach/disinfect our environment enough. So glad there's more and more science to support the opposite.

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Dirtying Up Our Diets

By JEFF D. LEACH

Published June 20, 2012

"OVER 7,000 strong and growing, community farmers’ markets are being heralded as a panacea for what ails our sick nation. The smell of fresh, earthy goodness is the reason environmentalists approve of them, locavores can’t live without them, and the first lady has hitched her vegetable cart crusade to them. As health-giving as those bundles of mouthwatering leafy greens and crates of plump tomatoes are, the greatest social contribution of the farmers’ market may be its role as a delivery vehicle for putting dirt back into the American diet and in the process, reacquainting the human immune system with some “old friends.”

Increasing evidence suggests that the alarming rise in allergic and autoimmune disorders during the past few decades is at least partly attributable to our lack of exposure to . . .(click here to read entire article) "