Mmm Good, Good for Me, Good for You

I bought a new smoker. I wore my old one out. This one is very nice but it does not have a thermostat for regulating temp....... which is handy but oh well I did not want to spend $ 199 again. So Home Depot hooked me up for $ 69

I have always wanted to try a whole chicken.

I salted it and sprinkled on some herbs. I sliced the yams.

I used a little red cedar and twigs from vine maple from our forest. I put it in little alum foil trays I made on the bottom near the elec coils.

Wowzer............. The skin got a kind of candy coating from the smoke and slow heat. I put them on the top rack for a few hours.

The underside of the chicken after I turned it over. Man such a beautiful golden color.

Here is the final feast. The chicken was insanely delicious. Very moist with a hint of smoke flavor. The skin itself was inedible for the most part. I might try cooking some with no skin in the future so I get a chance to eat herbs with the chicken.

The yams were funny. They looked tasty like big chips but they were kind of dry. The inside was delicious and cooked perfectly. Maybe doing them whole would be better.

You may now like your computer screen............ yummmmmmmmm.

Oregon Coast Photo Safari - Elk, Rhodies, Mary Lake

On Sunday, Darion, Janai and I took a trip over to the Oregon Coast. It was such lovely weather. Darion and I did a Photo Safari. Later at Mary Lake, Janai joined in. It is sooooo nice to let your mind unhinge from the daily grind and just play creatively.


Okay this is doctored, but I thought 3 totems looked better than one.


We ate at a new Thai place in Reedsport. Nice meal, lovely people.



Oh look Darion that bug has 2 sets of legs.......... doh, bug sex.


Mmmmmmmm skunk cabbage. So pretty and soooo stinky.

Mary Lake is next to the lighthouse at Winchester bay. There is a wonderful walking trail around it. The Rhodies were in bloom along with lots of other plants. So very pretty.


I like the contrast of the lake, firs and the flowers in dappled sunlight.

DArion braving the wind and going for the photo shot. Brrrrrrrrr He is standing on the levy at Winchester Bay.


Strange sea creatures.


Here is the ONE totem...... okay.


The male elk were right next to the road off the viewing area. Darion goes down for the shot.


Stretch one, 2, 3, 4 - those new horns itch.


Lordy look at the power in that body.


Just haning on a purdy day.


What gas shortage, global warming???


We Americans love our toys. The sand dunes were a sea of orange flags on ATVs.


Wowzer and they sing so pretty.


Great contrast shot.
It was a very fun day.

U must hunker down below the jetty at Winchester to survive the Oregon wind off the cold ocean. Then it is toasty and pleasant. And yes, someone is awake and watching the ocean.

Good Morning Belgan Waffles - organic wheat and strawberries

take some Organic Red Spring Wheat.



Freshly grind it in a grain mill. This one spins at hyper speed so the grains have all their wonderful nutritional value.


This batter recipe calls for 3 eggs. You whip the egg whites separately to get a nice flully Belgian waffle. So light and delicate for a whole wheat waffle.



this griddle sits on a burner on the stove. It is easier to regulate the heat and get a really nice waffle each time.

Belgian waffles as you know are much thicker than a normal waffle. oh yummmmmmmm

I make a fruit compote with organic strawberries sweetened with honey and some organic sugar.

oh myyyyyyyyy soooooooo gooddddddddd

mmmmmmmmmmm hot strawberry sauce.



and finally I put dobs of a coconut milk sauce on. WOWOWOWOWZER

The batter keeps well for several days. I cover and put in frig. Just add a bit of baking powder before cooking another waffle on the next morning. Freshly milled flours are so moist, sweet and tasty.

Cheap Cell Phone - trac phone - $ 9 a month

For some a $84 a month cell phone bill for 2 phones is a bargain for all that you use them and $18 of that monthly bill being taxes does not really matter. I rarely use mine as I leave the property for one or 2 days a week and the phone does not really work here on the timber farm. So for me a cell phone is a big waste of money. I have had friends who have Trac Phones but when I looked into it last time a year or so ago, it did not seem to be all that great a deal.

Well they have changed in a big way.

# 1 Now your minutes do not expire, they roll over to the next period as long as you buy new minutes to keep your phone active. So you have buy minutes to keep your phone active. I plan on buying a One Year Card so I just have to buy each year....... or if I run out of minutes, then I will buy more for that year. The phone is active for the whole year.

# 2 Right now they have a special on certain phones. When you buy minutes for these phones, you automatically get double the minutes.

Here is a good article about Trac Phones.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/57906/5_reasons_to_own_the_trac_phone.html?cat=15

The coverage seems to be really good. I mainly use cell phone time to call back Home, call a business or call Google 411 to get the number for a business [toll free directory assistance]. So I do not really need that many minutes.

http://www.google.com/goog411/

This is the phone that will get Double minutes for life every time you buy air time. It costs $29 it has a phone, bluetooth, camera, etc. Seems decent. Works well so far. Not as rugudly built as a $ 500 blackberry or something.

I found WalMart as a good source for Trac Phones. There are for sale at Target and other stores as well. Janai found Sherry in Electronics at Wal-Mart in Eugene. She was SUPER helpful. We bought 2 phones there and cards for airtime minutes. Sherry has activated phones before and it took her over a half an hour to get the 2 phones up and running - thank heavens it was not me..........

Sherry - in Electronics

Wal-Mart Store #2538

1040 Green Acres Road

Eugene, OR 97408
(541) 343-6977

You can buy the phones and cards at walmart.com

I bought the card above. My phone is now active for 1 year. I got 800 minutes. There is another card next to it for 1600 minutes and only costs $ 40 more.... I should have gotten that one as it is a better deal.


Janai got 2 of these cards. Her phone is active for 6 months now.

You can buy more cards in various stores or do it online or I think via phone. If you goof around talking on the phone all the time and want to send/receive photos, it may not be a good deal.

So if you want a cell phone for safety and security but do not want to pay the horrific monthly fees and taxes, I highly recommend these phones. Well that and the fact that there are no pay phones any where any more.

So for us it is a HUGE savings.

Expansive Oregon Country Birthday Party

There are a number of us who have moved to this rural Oregon area over the years. It was an intentional move to enjoy the beautiful countryside and the wonderful life that we can create here. We have banded together over the years and formed a kind of intentional extended family. We gather to celebrate events, trade stories, joke about the old days and so on. These photos are a birthday party started for Janai but she was too sick with Hay Fever and Migraine that it triggered. So it expanded to anyone in the group with a birthday within a few weeks.

An insanely beautiful Oregon afternoon. We all have slug eyes as the past weeks have been gray and rainy for the most part. So the full sun is a bit brutal on the eyes.
Note slugs are the creatures that slime their way around the dark spaces in the forests of Oregon.




This in the lovely backyard of Mike and Maya off a little side road a few miles outside of Drain.

Being old Hippie types who know how to cook good food from scratch, the meals are a delicious blend of yummy food. The potlucks are not to be missed.

I love digital cameras. This is photographic evidence of a certain someone who jumped in front of line for food............ Mister........... haha

I put a twice baked potato in his back pocket for a little surprise on the ride home...... hehe, not really.


Mike got our attention and stopped us all from talking so he could take this picture. He said something like Hey you #$@!#$, !#@$!@#$ so I can take @!$#@!#$ @#!@#$ picture. Ah the power of the English language spoken by a college educated English graduate is a beautiful thing.


Note to self - Do NOT party with a school teacher. Lordy Maya made a pop quiz for us to take. Nothing like a foggy alcohol brain casting back 30 or more years for trivia.

Haaaaaaaaaaa You thought I was kidding.......... here is the test.

Nice thing about taking a test with old people, they say the answers out loud. I guess as you get old your mouth speaks what your brain thinks as you right down answers.


Mr. Mike finished his test early and decided to finish his afternoon nap? The house and land looked beautiful so they had worked very hard to spiff everything up.

Ah yes, desert - as tastey as it looks. Plus Dana drooled a bit of chocolate over the plates before serving. I have never been in a commercial kitchen so I did know they squirted the chocolate out of their mouth......... gave a very different consistency.


Oh you are soooooooooo busted, Wendy. I see you eyeing that desert. Actually she was very well behaved while someone appearing to look a lot like her mom kept stealing raspberries off the top.



In prepartion for the future and in honor of Jeanne's and Michael's funny story, I offer the following.



So this is how we entertain ourselves in the coastal mountains of Oregon on a beautiful spring day. Living as we do on The Edge of the World - thank you Richard B. from Germany.