WHAT A NICE DAY

What a nice day.  V drove down to meet me.  A nice, funny and articulate man.  We crossed the river and had a long lunch at a Mexican food restaurant in the town on the other side of Dumb Potter's Hell's bridge.  I had an interesting Suiza enchilada.  It was blue and stuffed with chicken and some sort of sour cream sauce.  Very tasty.  Conversation was varied and enjoyable.  I particularly enjoyed his stories about going to school in England 

and growing up in Tasmania.

Then we crossed the bridge again and drove down river to this great waterfall.  We hiked up this monster.  It is so steep!  Lots of switch-backs and benches to use to rest on the way. It's 611 feet tall.  The spray turned my hair into scary frizzy curls. Oh well.

It made for a lovely day that I enjoyed very much.

This is not the first time I have climbed this falls.  When I was pregnant with my first son, he refused to leave the comfort of mom and enter the world.  They induced labor and even that refused to happen.  Friends suggested all sorts of things and none would work.  Finally a friend drove over, told me to get in the car and drove me here.  She then waddled my unhappy roundness up this waterfall.  Halfway up, it became clear that she had the right remedy and we waddled back down, huffing and puffing.  Even then he had to be dragged out in the end.  But I will always think of his story every time I pass this waterfall... which is with great frequency.  Today on the way down we passed a very pregnant woman and I had a good chuckle.  I hope it worked out as well for her.  


Not a bad day for the climb.  It was cloudy but not too cold.  I should have taken a photo from the top... you can see forever up the gorge and the river was tipped with white caps.  Very pretty.  But I was into the conversation by then, my camera forgotten.


Home again later, good-byes said... I made myself a nice drink and toasted my day.   I don't like to drink alone usually, but DH was there online and we chatted and sipped away most of the evening.  I had a brief call from LA, who is really working down to the wire on his job. Way too many hours for me.  I don't know how he does it.  I got a quite a few emails and that was nice.  Several from C4C.  All in all, I was happy with my entire day and evening.  I have that good kind of tired that comes with exercise and a sense of satisfaction.  I only wish that I could have talked to LA longer, but hey... you gotta do what you gotta do.


What did you do this weekend?  Tomorrow I have big plans... housework and laundry.  Weeeeeee



Now for a bit of Fall Out Boy... enjoy!

Fall Out Boy - Sugar, We're Goin Down

Music video by Fall Out Boy performing Sugar, We're Goin Down. (C) 2005 The Island Def Jam Music Group

SANCTUARIES

There have been only a few people in my life that I have felt that I could count on 100%. I enjoy people and like most people I meet. But you know the kind of people that I am talking about... I've even had "close" friends who do not fit into this category. X never even made it into my exclusive group. (Yeah, okay... should have been a clue but live and learn.)

You know... the ones you know are always there. All you have to do is pick up the phone and in some cases... they actually feel when you have a problem and magically show up. They always know the right thing to say, no matter how terrible the trouble you've managed to get yourself into... and the advice is honest without guile or pretense. They are there, stones against the fire, keeping the flames at bay, willing to get burned in the process if required. Rare treasures. They keep your secrets, they keep you sane and they keep you safe. They do not judge. They accept without question. They tell you the truth even when it is difficult. They share your joys, feel your pain, grieve with you. They hear what you mean, no matter how badly you say it. They forgive your stupidities. God Lord... they actually enjoy you... even when you are a smart ass or drunk as a skunk.



I have been fortunate enough to have two. You know about mine because I post about them. Maybe too much, but you know, they are important in my life. They provide unconditional affection, trust and support. Things I require. I cannot imagine a world without them. I know that someday they will be gone. I hope I go first and don't have to face that.


I don't include my family in this group. Though I get the same sort of thing there. If nothing else, I have reared loyal children. Loyal to me and to each other. Loyal to their dad. I am proud of that. Boy have they put up with a lot of crap too. Not that I believe they are perfect. We all fall down. I fall down plenty... just ask Bear.



Who is like that for you? Share what you want or not. I understand that some relationships defy description or are private. I still can't find enough words in my head to explain one of mine.



Well, my voice is sort of back. I won't have to take the whiteboard with me on my date. But my voice still has the appeal of fingernails on a chalk board. Charming! Depending on how it goes and if I get permission, I will share photos. Respecting privacy is a big deal to me.



So is freedom of speech and censorship. Unfortunately, you will now see one of those comment monitors below. I hate to do that! I value people's right to their opinion. Here is the tricky part. Some people's opinions upset others... who have the right not to be offended. So with some upset... an amendment to Oodles of Funch that I never expected to see here... if I feel that a comment will insult one of my bloggers, myself, my family or my rare friends mentioned above... I will decline it. Done and done.


Have a wonderful Saturday. I am hoping to... yikes. First meetings are so nerve wracking. Monday I start doing my Tax-mas dance. That's where I get my W-2 before anyone else and get them done so that we can get on with the festivities... such as the celebration of repaired vehicles... by a freaking real mechanic this time.


The pond is silent now, but hey... just got a missive a bit ago despite the late hour. Cool beans.


Okay... I'm having trouble getting my comment natzi to show up.  Can anyone tell me how to do that.  Sheesh!

Madness - Our House

I had a different plan for today's post. It was intended to be about the house I grew up in.

Yikes. Things have gone amok. I've lost my voice, which is minor. It may even make some people happy. Ha. It has given me 2 days off of work. You cannot read to the kiddies if you can't say the words. Part of the problem with my voice is work. They've been laying new flooring and the glue really irritated my throat and lungs... kicking off my asthma... which rarely happens and before I knew it, my voice was no longer available. Now I'm doing the old hot salt water gargle bit. Gee didn't you want to know that? And I spit too!

Yesterday Max went to the store around 4:30PM and never came back. He was last seen in the company of his notorious drinking buddy.... so my assumption is that he's passed out there.

I would have liked to have eaten the soup he was bringing me for diner. Eventually Lorn and I had polish dogs and chili... not near as soothing to my voiceless throat, but we were not starving.

Then they began to talk about freezing rain in the gorge. Mind you... at this time it was already freaky cold out there and the wind was vicious. I had worried about Max in the cold walking around before I considered he might be doing it crocked. I could see Max deciding that he needed to sit down and have a itty bitty rest... then freezing to death under a tree.

My imagination is so vivid on issues like this that I can tell you what the state cop would look like who shows up to tell me they've found my son frozen to death under a tree. Yet I can't tell you how many times I have done these scenarios with my kids over the years. Under trees... drown in the river where they were never allowed to go alone... and of course being kids did exactly what they were not supposed to do. Bear used to be frozen while making a snow angel and passing out. Totally absurd. My sister Cinderella does the same thing.

Part of me was angry of course. I want my soup! Why didn't he call me? He was with A who has a phone. Oh yeah... I'd thrown a hissy fit about phone minutes. Wow... bad call on that one.

I wasted several minutes trying to find him. Once I learned he was with A, I gave up on it. He has probably had a very good time. But his dad did not give up on it. I kept getting worried calls... is he there yet? Each had its own little tirade about inconsideration. The more I tried to forget it and enjoy what evening I had, the more his dad called.

Well its 10:00AM and still no Max. Not so unusual. He can sleep until 4:00PM if he partied hard enough. I take it as a good sign... no state troopers. My ex-bus driver is going to come get me to take me to get my soup. I will live. So will Max.... though I may kill him once he gets here.

The whole night was not a loss. I had a nice long communication with a new frog who is very interesting and funny. He's not from here originally, so has an accent. Yeah... I wasted a few minutes there and squeaked in my almost missing voice. We are going out on Saturday. Cool beans.

I felt bad though, because I had let other people know that I was not going to be open to phone conversation without my voice. But, I was not expecting that one.

I did email DH back and forth all evening, but that is just the norm. When I go down there, we work on his shop... he's been getting new tools and trying to create space for them. A big deal is this new router that he's been working on making a cabinet for... he got it done last night. I said to take a photo of it and send it to me. He said no... come here and see it in person. I would really like that very much but will have to find a way to work that in... and not this weekend.

About that time his evening began to go haywire and he started having issues to deal with on his end like my Max problem. Time to call it a night there too. We wished each other luck.

So went my yesterday. Some nice ups and some stress I did not need... which led to this post.

My ride will be here in a few and I have not begun to think about putting on clothes yet. Maybe I should do that huh? Ta!

What are you doing this weekend?

ROADS

Does not look like much of a road does it? Curves off into a pleasant looking country area. A nice choice perhaps for a family drive on a summer evening. That it once was not. It has an tragic history beyond my personal ability to comprehend. We could have taken that turn, and gone to see for ourselves, but opted silently just to look at it as we passed by.







This one has meaning too. Here a Blazer slid off the top of this road to land upside down on the lower road.



A broken collar bone and other injuries. Six months of painful recuperation. He could have died, maybe should have, but did not.
Left him with questions and gratitude.







Think of all the road metaphors and sayings you hear. Road to ruin. Road to riches. The road to hell is paved with good intention.

The thing about roads is that you think you have a choice and if you are at a crossroad, you do. But not in the photos up there. The people who suffered in the photos above really did not have a choice beyond being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Take my word on that.

There is a mystery to roads, even the ones we choose at the crossroad. What will happen if you go this way or that. Make an educated guess, but there are no guarantees. There are no explanations when the tragic occurs. No one on either was intoxicated. The roads were not bad. What causes stuff like that to happen? Certainly bad judgment was present. One was deliberate, the other a big surprise. Lives were changed forever.

Normal looking roads for where they are. But I imagine that most roads have their tragic events. Most of the time we drive right past and never think about it
unless you see a small cross or other marker left by someone who cared. We get so lost in our own journey that we miss what was a significant event. I guess it is better that way. But both these roads gave me a good deal to ponder last Saturday... not to mention a darned creepy feeling. Eventually I decided that WHY did not matter in either case. It just was.

So, with that mess to consider... the top road is where Diane Downs drove her children with the intention to killing them. Doesn't look like that kind of road does it?

Crash Test Dummies: God Shuffled His Feet

A good song for today's post. Hope you enjoy it. I have not heard it for a long time.

GETTING A BANG OUT OF LIFE

Back to last Saturday's fun. You can see what this is.
See that greenish oil bottle... my enemy! The object of my aim and by golly, as DH promised by the end of my first lesson on
how to shoot... I was able to hit it and make it dance. Weee

Okay... not every time, but often enough to please me.

He showed me how to load and unload it, how to sight and taught me the safety rules... safety first. He is a real stickler for that. I was in those good hands up there.

A patient man and very calm. A good teacher. Do I need to tell you that I had an absolute blast? Pun intended. He laughed at me when I collected all my spent shells for keepsakes. I have every single one. I don't know why I didn't stop to get a photo of the holes in the bottles. Too excited I suppose. I was too.

I have never fired a hand gun before. This one is a
Colt 6. I took every single thing he told me very seriously. Listened as he watched and told me "low" or "right" and adjusted accordingly. I could not believe how easy it was with good instruction. Not that I am a good shot. But I was able to be successful. This one is a .22... not very large. Light in my had compared to others.


DH said that my aim was close enough, even when off a bit that I would certainly hit a heart if I was aiming at it. That is the idea. I will soon live alone and I often travel alone. Not that I have been a big gun fanatic. But I see nothing wrong with them either. A bit of protection if handled with responsibility and caution is fine. I am interested. Funny how that has come about of late. Not that I ever want to harm anyone or anything. DH pointed out that if you are willing to point a gun at someone... well, you have to be prepared to use it. So there is that. A huge responsibility.

He showed me the firing ranges for hand guns and rifles. Also fascinating to me. Noisy. I like the smell. I am going to get my license. Ha... can you imagine that Bear? But that is the point here. This is the first time its been a possibility in my head. I haven't known anyone who would teach me... and never thought to ask before either. Next time I get to fire the .357 and some others. YAY! My second lesson depended on how well I did this one and kept the safety rules. I was a careful and serious student.


DH is a marksman with experience in teaching others how to shoot and care for the guns and ammo. He has many interesting items. I enjoyed seeing them and touching them. Now that sounds weird, but you know you see them in photos and it's not the same. I got to feel how heavy they were or not. Got to look at the differences in how they are loaded and unloaded. We watched a couple of good videos on the development of guns over the years. Very interesting. Yes, he is licensed. They are kept locked up in a safe when not in use. No way a child could ever come across one. That is what matters most to me. He is a careful man.

But I have to tell you this much... hope it doesn't piss him off. Naw... he has an excellent sense of humor too... his gun room is pink with white lace curtains with embroidered butterflies on them. I raz him without mercy about it. But I also promised to help him paint it when time and weather allows. He has not lived in his house for long. But isn't that a hoot?

DH can also use two bullwhips at one time and handle them with skill... other weapons too. What fun. But you cannot meet a nicer or more gentle person. Well you know I'm a fan of the man. He's added a great deal of fun to my life.


So that was the middle of my Saturday... and I was tickled pink to be able learn. Thrilled to be able to take the photos that I took and have shared... as well as those that I won't share. DH's privacy is an issue that I respect.

But I have more to share for tomorrow too. Roads. Yes, roads and their stories.

So come on now... here is controversy... how do you feel about guns? Hand guns? Rifles? Hunting. Self protection? You cannot offend me. All opinions are welcome on Funch... you know that. Speak your peace... or is it piece?


Below, because it refuses to be moved up... is a stump that has had the holy heck shot out of it by many. I thought it looked interesting. I loved the experience and learning something new. Very cool beans!

I have a thing about covered bridges. This was our first stop last Saturday... much to my utter delight. There are more covered bridges in the area that I get to see another time. But for that day, this was a real treat to me. These photos were all taken Saturday of the same little lovely bridge.


Here you can see it's age and how lovingly it has been cared for. I have never seen this one before. But I do have another that is a favorite of mine called the Mackee Bridge outside of Medford Oregon. It is not as well preserved as this one. In fact, it is closed to traffic... and when you walk across it past the big wooden posts that keep cars out, you can look down through holes in the floor to see the rushing water of the river below it.




This wonderful bridge is outside of Springfield Oregon... I believe he said it was in the Mohawk Valley area. But it is very similar to my Mackee bridge and it would not surprise me to find that the same builders had built both, so alike are they. Under this bridge, you can see how full its river is below. Rain is good for more than watering flowers. I love to watch the water rush past.




How amazing that it has lasted as long as it has through storms, traffic and time. ( DH was very patient with me and in fact, found me amusing with my camera clicking away at all the things he showed me. "Silly rabbit!" )












Yet you can see how well it was built. Someone has loved it through its years, sure enough... so it yet stands in use today.








Bridges of all shapes and kinds have played parts in my life. I have one now... though it is more of a giant erector set version... in Dumb Potter's Hell that confuses the heck out of tourists. There used to be a "natural land bridge" here a bazillion years ago. Time, erosion and volcanic activity knocked it into the Columbia River long ago. But it is part of our history and used as a lure for tourism.


Time is a bridge of sorts. I think of the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate, many, many more that have been landmarks in my life... from the great ones to the underpasses that house my favorite words... "Rebecca Scuddles is oodles of funch!" ... which gives my blog its name. I wonder if any of those words still remain in faded fashion somewhere in time? I hope it endures.


Ha! For a time I left another message... C4 C do you remember these words? "The clouds are so beautiful that I could bite my toes!" Hahahaha... okay, so there was a time that I felt I had to leave words everywhere... the world my book, my blog... before there were blogs to leave my words on... before I ever contemplated writing a real book.

I have written three books, but never dared to try and publish them. For my boys, when entertainment was too expensive and words were all I could afford to give them. Should you ever meet my boys, ask them the story inside. All boys should have heroes and when your hero falls, someone must take up the job. I was not hero material, but I could give them some to follow... ethics and rules to live by. It is right that these heroes live in their hearts and none were published. Elden Kempt and tiny Twitter belong to them alone. We all need heroes. Especially boys reared by a woman alone and one very tough Bear... she's one of my heroes.

Writing is a bridge for me. A way to give passage to my thoughts and stories. A way from here to there and back again. A path from my experiences to yours... opens the way to trade. I love that.

What bridges do you love or have taken a part in your life? They can be real or imagined. You tell me what they are and what are they made of... tell me anything you like. All opinions and ideas are welcome here at Ooodles of Funch... its all funch you know. Big grins.

The pond is fairly quiet tonight. My favorite one is still working very long hours. But I do hear from him when he can. Nice. I enjoy that and other conversations... those these others are lesser. (Okay favorite frog... no jokes about grandpa now!) None other on the phone. It keeps life interesting and fun. All is taken with a grain of salt.

Here is to people and their stories! Bridges that bring us together. Cheers!

Now for another favorite "bridge" thing... Led Zep with Over the Hills and Far Away / The Crunge.

Led Zeppelin Over the hills and far away with lyrics

This one because a young man once built a bridge to my heart by playing this for me. Too bad it was built over a river of sh*t. ;-)

Now where's that confounded bridge?

Led Zeppelin- The Crunge (STUDIO VERSION)

YOU CAN HAVE MY HUSBAND

I had to use this one! Gave me a great giggle under my particular circumstance with the frog pond and new divorce.

"WELL, MY MAN HE'S LITTLE
AND HE LOOKS LIKE A FROG
BUT WHEN HE STARTS TO LOVE ME
I HOLLER, OOH, HOT DOG"

New Years Eve was fun. Mostly spent watching other football games and getting revved up for the Rose Bowl. Good company and happy spirits. I may have tipped my elbow a bit too much... but hey, it comes once a year. I was not alone and no one drove anywhere. It was a hoot.

Well... the Ducks lost to the Buckeyes... congratulations Buckeyes! It was a good game. The Ducks played well enough to have earned those Rose Bowl rings... and are still #1 in the Pack Ten. I'm proud of them. I had a lot of fun watching all the Duck fans who made the trek in the stands. Mosuli and others will be there next year... there is always next year.

Saturday was actually the best day on my visit to DH's. I'm going to tell you about that over the course of three posts. Yeah... 3 posts worth of information and photos. Imagine that! We managed to pack quite a bit into the waking hours of that day. Fun stuffs! DH has a wonderful Stevie Ray Vaughan collection. All the CDs and a bunch of DVD of performances. We spent a lot of time watching those. I've put another Stevie Ray Vaughan clip at the bottom for you. But that was our evening fun... I'll start telling you about our earlier in the day tomorrow.

For now, I am a bit exhausted. My car was not up to snuff... so I got a brain storm and took the bus. Cost about as much as gas one way for a car. Should have thought of that sooner! The trip down was a breeze! Less than two hours on the bus and only one stop inbetween. Zap... I was there!

Unfortunately the trip back was more of a fowl wind. Weird-os like me, as I have pointed out before... and sure enough, one found me. This old guy reeked like road kill. YIKES. And he spit when he talked... which was almost non-stop, though to be fair, he was just talking in general, not really to me. Babble babble. You can't have everything. Of course not stopping at every possible town between would have been nice. My return took over 4 hours.

I was never happier to see my oldest in my life. Save me! Take me home! He did. Tomorrow its back to the grind at work. But I return refreshed and happy. I had a lot of fun at the end of my vacation and thats the way it should be... weird-o aside.

How did your New Years go? Did you do anything special or fun?

Now for that other video I promised... Stevie Ray Vaughan and his big brother Jimmy Vaughan of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Woot! Yes... they are both playing the same guitar at the same time. How fun is that? You might want to give it time to load first by pausing it until it finishes loading.

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmie Vaughan - Pipeline