"Whose on First? "

You know, getting older has it's good points and it has it's bad points.  One of the bad sides are when you have a conversation with a younger person and you are so out of the realm of understanding.  Herewith follows a conversation I had with my daughter today on Face Book... 

• Sara Meloling

·  "Mom, Evan needs his haircut, he looks like a dirty hippy." #exmilitaryparents

· 

· · Share · 3 hours ago near Corvallis, OR ·

•  

Hal Patrick, Mark Prentice and Sarah Francisco like this.

Jane A. Thompson What?

3 hours ago · Like

Sara Meloling It's called a hash tag mom, google the definition lol

2 hours ago via mobile · Like

Jane A. Thompson Okay; I Googled the #exmilitaryparents and a whole page of military info came up. Yes, I know I'm an idiot, just remember these when you used to ask "why"..lol!

2 hours ago · Like

Sara Meloling I ment google hash tag lol

2 hours ago via mobile · Like

Jane A. Thompson Lol!! I put the WHOLE sentence in Google search; you DO NOT want to know what came up, lol!!

2 hours ago · Like

Jane A. Thompson Hmmph. I still don't get it. You can stop laughing now.

2 hours ago · Like

Sheri Helberg McIntyre Lol! This is the most hilariously cute exchange!

about an hour ago via mobile · Like · 1

Sara Meloling Its a social media trend mom, here, read this:

about an hour ago · Like

Sara Meloling http://www.techforluddites.com/2009/02/the-twitter-hash-tag-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it.html

The Twitter Hash Tag: What Is It and How Do You Use It?

www.techforluddites.com

Once you've started using Twitter, it won't take long before you come across wha...t's known as a hash tag. That's when you see something in a tweet that has a # prefix. (The # is a hash symbol, hence theSee More

about an hour ago · Like

Jane A. Thompson Yes my dear child, I have heard of Twitter. It's that thing you hear in the trees, the link doesn't even come close. Okay, seriously tho', I did go to Twitter how-to but it's not explaining to me why Evan looks like a hippie...?

33 minutes ago · Like

Jane A. Thompson Question: was this a statement that you made up or you found it and you're 'connecting', as Twitz calls it...ooops, sorry, TWITTER.

23 minutes ago · Like

Sara Meloling Oh mom..... His hair was touching his ears. When we were in the military, we used to say if your hair was touching your ears you looked like a god d**m hippie protester, aka you need a haircut. Apparently Bret and I say it enough Eric caught on

21 minutes ago via mobile · Unlike · 1

Jane A. Thompson Ahhhh!!! Gotcha, lol!!!!! I wasn't sure if you'd be rolling on the floor or exhausted trying to explain. I loves you baby girl..lol!!

20 minutes ago · Like

Sara Meloling Love you too mom.

19 minutes ago via mobile · Unlike · 1

Jane A. Thompson Oh thank God...whew...

19 minutes ago · Like

Jane A. Thompson Um...oh my...I GET IT NOW when you added Eric into the equation...

13 minutes ago · Edited · Like

Jane A. Thompson As Jeff Dunham says..."da dadada!"

about a minute ago · Like

Sara Meloling Now I dont get it...

Jane A. Thompson Lol!!!!!!!!!

 

Jane A. Thompson None of it made sense until you said Eric had said Evan needed the haircut, then it all came together, lol!

a few seconds ago · Like

 

 

A Homemade Valentines'

 This year I wanted something different.  I'm tired of all the 'industrial' hoopla over holidays and special days anymore.  I have quite a stash of creative crafting I've collected over the years so there's plenty to work with.
At the beginning of February, I told Kevin I really didn't want a big box of candy (have to work off the Christmas storage) and that I did not want a store-bought card.  In total, we both created 9 handmade cards.  The internet is full of great ideas to copy or recreate.  All we needed was time.  And actually, it was quite fun. 
This card is the one Kevin made for me.  I didn't take any pictures of the others, wish I would have now.
Note to self: take pictures of all the next ones. 
Because this year they will all be handmade...

Catch Up Time!

Oh here it is March! and I haven't written a word since last August.  It's not that I haven't had anything to write about, it's just I either haven't been 'in the mood' or haven't had the time.  I will fill myself in here.  Following the pictures I'll discuss some of the adventures!
Last year I had the great fortune of finding someone to go hiking with, my Path Pal, Terri. 
She and I hunted down and discovered a lot of fun places to put one foot down in front of the other; the Benham Falls trail; a good 7 or 8 mile round trip with a few water falls, "hiking" up to the  Dee Wright Observatory with it's paved lava trail to the "black castle" at the top of McKenzie pass in the snow storm and driving back down 3 miles to a beautiful place to hike in the sunshine.
That day we walked a good five miles round trip with a backpack snack of
hot chocolate and crackers/cookies.  On the return we stopped in Sisters and did some Christmas spending in the quaint touristy shops and topped that off with a nice hamburger. 


Shortly after that Kevin and I found a day that was fairly warm (for October) to go boulder hunting.  We invited Mike along as well, figured he'd be pretty good at rolling one or two down for us.  After climbing around our favorite rocky knob for a few hours, we sat down for lunch; navy beans and ham with buttered french bread.  It was the perfect gnosh food for the time.  Putzing around the area, Mike found an old manzanita branch that reminded him of "a Charlie Brown Christmas tree".  I picked it up and took that home along with our 500 pounds of new statue rocks.   Come Christmas time, Kevin cleaned it up and painted it white, I put it in a Christmas paper wrapped coffee can with pretty pebbles, bought two Christmas ornaments and we gave that to him for Christmas.

Christmas 2012 the whole family was invited to spend it together in Portland with mom and dad.  Mike had a new job so he couldn't go but was sending along his present for us to deliver.  Once again the snows came and mom wasn't feeling that well so we celebrated Christmas a week later with Sara and her family and Mike at our house. 


It would have been fun to be altogether in Portland, but you do what you can with what you are given.  I was happy to have them all at my house to share a beautiful meal, open presents and spend a day sledding and playing in the snow.
A wonderful end to a pretty good year.

December 21st was the last day I was able to hike since I've been dealing with plantar fasciitis ever since.

Tomorrow, March 2nd, Terri and I will do a hike; I have all my shoe inserts and gel pads so I'm good to go.  Gotta get out there!!

Mother and Daughter Summit South Sister

Mother and Daughter Summit South Sister

It began early as one of those “I’ll toss this out and see what happens” remarks in early 2011 during one of the visits between my daughter and I. I can’t really place who was where because the statement was what was memorable. “Mom, why don’t we hike and summit South Sister this summer?”

Yeah sure, we’ll do that, I’d love to, that would be cool! Let’s get together and make plans.

That summer of 2011 the summit hike got buried in the daily activities and routines of life, buried behind the lawn mowing, the get-out-on-the-water-and-kayak-cuz-it’s-good-weather days and the other thing; work, and all those other daily mind invasions.

I used to think I was fairly active and would score a 7 on the Activity Barometer, I probably really only rate as a 5 and I came to that conclusion instantly when she invited me to do this climb/hike/camp and summit event.

Later that summer daughter and son-in-law shared that adventure, just the two of them, something they will both memorialize in their lives. I was thrilled for them and also a bit relieved because in the back of my mind I truly thought I was not capable of that kind of trek. And besides, Kevin and I were able to have the boys that three days while mommy and daddy were camping and summiting.

Along comes April of 2012 and there was this phone call:

“Mom; now that we know your heart is okay, I would really like to do the South Sister Summit with you!” to which I replied, “Okay, I’ll do it”...

Over the ensuing three months, I would occasionally wake in the middle of the night thinking, “What have I done???  What was I thinking??”  And now I can say I am so glad I did!

On August 3^rd, 2012, (a Friday) we met each other at the Devils' Lake parking lot around 11:30 in separate cars. While I went and changed from jeans to lighter fabric hiking slacks, Sara went through my pack and fixed it for me; re-stuffed my bag, made it look better than what I had done. "You don't need this, mom, I have this and that and you won't need this either"...

She helped hoist the pack up on my back, all 35 pounds of it, then got hers on and off we went.

Now that I look back on it, I think we left too late in the day and the heat had already begun to settle in and I had stopped at McDonalds' and gotten a sausage McGriddle (yeah, great start).

I don't think we had even gone a whole mile before the effects of sausage, heat and weight knocked me upside the head like a two-by-four! I could not get the pack comfortable and I had already begun to drip sweat. Not only was my heart pounding but my head was throbbing. Poor Sara, she was trying so hard to be a good spirit lifter, "You can do this, mom, just take it easy". But there comes a time when you have to just stop, when you have to realize your limit, I was scared of being where we couldn't get help if this turned out to be more than 'palpitations. When it got to the point where my legs went weak and I was throwing up (about another half mile), we stopped. Sara took my pack off, loaded it on her front (meanwhile her pack is on her back) and we turned around and went back to the cars, a mile and a half away... Not only was I 'heat sick' but I was heart sick about having to stop, we had planned this for months and I didn't want to disappoint her and yadda yadda, you know how we beat ourselves up. Now when we look back, we know God intervened on our behalf because…we were on the wrong trail.

That night I recuperated from the shaky legs and head throbbing but not the overwhelming sadness. I woke up crying in the middle of the night, even though we had decided that rather than try to haul in the overnight packs, we would make a day hike out of it on Saturday and our goal was to make it to Moraine Lake, about halfway up. Now, South Sister is 10,358 feet up so Moraine Lake is 5,000 something or at least 3-4 miles, the round trip hike is a 12 mile trip.

Yesterday morning, August 4th, we got up at 6:00, left the house by 7:00 and were on the trail by 8:15 a.m., a much better head start and I was wearing a Camelback (3 pounds?) instead of the backpack. We each had an MRE and our water. Sara and I reached the lake and a wonderful plateau about 2 and a half hours up, all the way she kept asking me if I felt okay, “Let’s make it to the next shade tree”. She WAS my cheerleader. I felt so good I told her we'd keep going, one step at a time.

We made it all the way to the False Summit, which technically is only 300+ feet shorter than the Real Summit. I was THRILLED to have made it as far as I did! It was grueling, it took me an hour to walk a mile uphill and then we hit the 75 degree angle loose rock and shale. That was terrifying, I could NOT look down. There was no designated trail since it changed with every climber. There were some boulders and that turned out to be the easiest way to ascend, at least they didn't move. We reached False Summit and we hugged each other and cried! I did it, I did it, I did it! I high-fived Sara, too. Now if we were to have attempted the True Summit, that was nothing but straight up and loose, red cinder (worse than the shale) and I was done. My feet would not have made it, or my thighs. I was happy with where I was, 10,000 feet. On the other side of the False Summit was a glacial pool, Lewis Pond, which we hiked down to, removed our socks and shoes so we could stick our feet in it—yes it was COLD but oh so refreshing. We refilled our water bags (they were pretty much EMPTY!) So, yes we summited. No regrets, no resignations, just pure joy that I could share that with Sara. I will tell you the hike down was much faster and a bit shorter with two 'glacier rides' but just as painful; other people had already paved a few butt trails and so I graciously rode down hollering, "Yahooooo!!!" no skis or toboggan needed there. And the very last part of the trail was extreme switchback with foot deep drops and tangled roots rising to catch a boot when you're not looking. Lots of old knobs sticking up and I remember thinking, "How many trekkers have you caught unaware?"...but each and every step was painful on the toes, the knees, the thighs and the hips, and it wasn't just me that was hurting. We were so glad to hear the sound of cars on the highway and we knew we weren't far from the car. Finally, we got to the car, peeled off the Camelbacks and jumped in, Sara knocked down the seat and went to sleep (remember, she's a mother of two young boys) and I drove us home, about 45 minutes.

We each took a shower, Sara made us a wonderful light dinner and salad and we toasted our success with Champaign and cherries!

Whew...

Now today, no blisters on my feet but they are terribly sensitive and I can't sit for too long or I won't be able to walk.

“So Mom, you want to do this next year, only we’ll camp, too?”

One year at a time, baby girl, one year at a time. But oh how I will treasure this memory forever!

Mother and Daughter Summit South Sister

 

It began early as one of those “I’ll toss this out and see what happens” remarks in early 2011 during one of the visits between my daughter and I. I can’t really place who was where because the statement was what was memorable. “Mom, why don’t we hike and summit South Sister this summer?”

Yeah sure, we’ll do that, I’d love to, that would be cool! Let’s get together and make plans.

That summer of 2011 the summit hike got buried in the daily activities and routines of life, buried behind the lawn mowing, the get-out-on-the-water-and-kayak-cuz-it’s-good-weather days and the other thing; work, and all those other daily mind invasions.

I used to think I was fairly active and would score a 7 on the Activity Barometer, I probably really only rate as a 5 and I came to that conclusion instantly when she invited me to do this climb/hike/camp and summit event.

Later that summer daughter and son-in-law shared that adventure, just the two of them, something they will both memorialize in their lives. I was thrilled for them and also a bit relieved because in the back of my mind I truly thought I was not capable of that kind of trek. And besides, Kevin and I were able to have the boys that three days while mommy and daddy were camping and summiting.

Along comes April of 2012 and there was this phone call:

“Mom; now that we know your heart is okay, I would really like to do the South Sister Summit with you!” to which I replied, “Okay, I’ll do it”...
There were a few nights between April 27th and August 3, 2012 that I literally woke up wondering, "What have I done??"

On August 3^rd, 2012, (a Friday) we met each other at the Devils' Lake parking lot around 11:30 in separate cars. While I went and changed from jeans to lighter fabric hiking slacks, Sara went through my pack and fixed it for me; re-stuffed my bag, made it look better than what I had done. "You don't need this, mom, I have this and that and you won't need this either"...

She helped hoist the pack up on my back, all 35 pounds of it, then got hers on and off we went.

Looking back now, I think we left too late in the day, the heat had already begun to settle in and I had stopped at McDonalds' and gotten a sausage McGriddle (yeah, great start).

I don't think we had even gone a whole mile before the effects of sausage, heat and weight knocked me upside the head like a two-by-four! I could not get the pack comfortable and I had already begun to drip sweat. Not only was my heart pounding but my head was throbbing. Poor Sara, she was trying so hard to be a good spirit lifter, "You can do this, mom, just take it easy". But there comes a time when you have to just stop, when you have to realize your limit, I was scared of being where we couldn't get help if this turned out to be more than 'palpitations. When it got to the point where my legs went weak and I was throwing up (about another half mile), we stopped. Sara took my pack off, loaded it on her front (meanwhile her pack is on her back) and we turned around and went back to the cars, a mile and a half away... Not only was I 'heat sick' but I was heart sick about having to stop, we had planned this for months and I didn't want to disappoint her and yadda yadda, you know how we beat ourselves up. Now when we look back, we know God intervened on our behalf because…we were on the wrong trail.

That night I recuperated from the shaky legs and head throbbing but not the overwhelming sadness. I woke up crying in the middle of the night, even though we had decided that rather than try to haul in the overnight packs, we would make a day hike out of it on Saturday and our goal was to make it to Moraine Lake, about halfway up. Now, South Sister is 10,358 feet up so Moraine Lake is 5,000 something or at least 3-4 miles, the round trip hike is a 12 mile trip.

Yesterday morning, August 4th, we got up at 6:00, left the house by 7:00 and were on the trail by 8:15 a.m., a much better head start and I was wearing a Camelback (3 pounds?) instead of the backpack. We each had an MRE and our water. Sara and I reached the lake and a wonderful plateau about 2 and a half hours up, all the way she kept asking me if I felt okay, “Let’s make it to the next shade tree”. She WAS my cheerleader. I felt so good I told her we'd keep going, one step at a time.

We made it all the way to the False Summit, which technically is only 300+ feet shorter than the Real Summit. I was THRILLED to have made it as far as I did! It was grueling, it took me an hour to walk a mile uphill and then we hit the 75 degree angle loose rock and shale. That was terrifying, I could NOT look down. There was no designated trail since it changed with every climber. There were some boulders and that turned out to be the easiest way to ascend, at least they didn't move. We reached False Summit and we hugged each other and cried! I did it, I did it, I did it! I high-fived Sara, too. Now if we were to have attempted the True Summit, that was nothing but straight up and loose, red cinder (worse than the shale) and I was done. My feet would not have made it, or my thighs. I was happy with where I was, 10,000 feet. On the other side of the False Summit was a glacial pool, Lewis Pond, which we hiked down to, removed our socks and shoes so we could stick our feet in it—yes it was COLD but oh so refreshing. We refilled our water bags (they were pretty much EMPTY!) So, yes we summited. No regrets, no resignations, just pure joy that I could share that with Sara. I will tell you the hike down was much faster and a bit shorter with two 'glacier rides' but just as painful; other people had already paved a few butt trails and so I graciously rode down hollering, "Yahooooo!!!" no skis or toboggan needed there. And the very last part of the trail was extreme switchback with foot deep drops and tangled roots rising to catch a boot when you're not looking. Lots of old knobs sticking up and I remember thinking, "How many trekkers have you caught unaware?"...but each and every step was painful on the toes, the knees, the thighs and the hips, and it wasn't just me that was hurting. We were so glad to hear the sound of cars on the highway and we knew we weren't far from the car. Finally, we got to the car, peeled off the Camelbacks and jumped in, Sara knocked down the seat and went to sleep (remember, she's a mother of two young boys) and I drove us home, about 45 minutes.

We each took a shower, Sara made us a wonderful light dinner and salad and we toasted our success with Champaign and cherries!

Whew...

Now today, no blisters on my feet but they are terribly sensitive and I can't sit for too long or I won't be able to walk.

“So Mom, you want to do this next year, only we’ll camp, too?”

One year at a time, baby girl, one year at a time. But oh how I will treasure this memory forever!