help paige

you all know that i have a place for the orphans in china. every year i donate in honor of hazels birthday for kids heart surgery. last year i finally convinced my family that i have everything i could ever want and they donated too. my kids think that your family gives you presents on your birthday but the people who come to your party bring a check for someone in china...on my ageny's current list, there is a 9 year old girl hoping for a family to love her. i hope that her family is out there somewhere. but in the meantime she needs her severe heart defect fixed in order to grow to be an adult. she has tetrology of fallot, a complex heart defect that is normally repaired before age 1. the fact that paige has lived this long with out surgery is amazing. i know she will do something special in her life.

in the current economy i know we are all cutting back, pinching pennies and tightening our belts. its hard to support charities in these kinds of times.but i'm going to ask you to consider making a donation for paige. anything would help, no matter how small. imagine giving up a couple of latte's and sending that $$ towards her surgery.

go on , do it . consider it your good deed for the day.

http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/SponsorMedicalChildDetail.cfm?child_id=513&\
mc_id=101

where is he??

there are lots of times i wish i had a husband: when i see old couples holding hands , when i spend time with happily married pals, when the kids do something cute i get a little twinge that there isn't someone to turn to and show a knowing smile. i have a good life, i'd be happy to have someone to share it with, my timing has always been off and when it wasn't, my judgement was bad. but i still wish mr right in carharts would come knocking on my door, or cross my path at the grocery storr or an airport or someplace.

tonight i definately felt my lack of a husband. i came home tired from a day at work. my mom had the kids bathed and in pajama's , the house was picked up and smelled like she had baked something yummy. quite a scene of domestic tranquility . that is until i heard the words " there is something going on in the basement" . uh oh. what is it? "there's water". i ask if its the drain in the laundry room, "where is the drain?". not good i think.

i dutifully head downstairs to the laundry room open the door and am immediately assaulted by a bad smell, not a poop water smell, just a bad smell. there is black sludge all over the laundry room floor. the standing water has drained but theres a mess and it might come back. there is no husband in sight to deal with it. these are the times when i long for a man with a band of gold to help me out.

but hey i'm resourceful and so i made an appointment on line to have mr rotorooter come in the morning.

sixty two pounds

of pumpkins!

end of summer

well after a lovely indian summer, the rain has come. i find it comforting the first few weeks of oregons typical steady downpour: drip. drip .drip. but after a month or so i grow weary of the wet. the pay off of course is that most of the year oregon is paradise and there are few other places i'd rather be.

here's one of my favorite summer photos, ruby , zoe and eva enjoying frozen treats at a village gathering late in the summer.