A Family Visitor!

Since we came to Oregon in late 2001, we haven't had many visitors from back in Indiana. My parents came out in 2005 and my Mom was here in 2007. This week we have been fortunate enough to have Joseph's youngest brother Jon here to visit as he explores this part of the country on his most lovely motorcycle. Here are the Orr bros, reunited again!

More Books!

It has been a while since I posted any books reviews/comments, so here is what I've been reading in my severely limited free time lately:

1. Zoo/James Patterson . . . . really quick, fun read. If you like fast action and a good story, he is the master.
2. Both of Us/Ryan O'Neal . . . a biography of his years with Farrah. Meh. Mostly skimmed this one.
3. Insane City/Dave Barry . . . . if you like funny and are not easily offended, RUN, do not walk, to get this book. Plan to be a pain to anyone in the room with you as you read it. You will want to read it out loud constantly and when you aren't reading it out loud, you're laughing and falling over. What a delight.
4. Defending Jacob/Landay . . . disturbing, trial/law oriented tale. Worth your time.
5. Mad Scientist's Daughter/Clarke . . . hmmm. . . interesting premise but I felt somewhat let down by it by the end.
6. Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend/Matthew Dicks. . . . incredibly unusual and fascinating read. It is from the perspective of a little boy's "imaginary friend" and what he must do when his little boy is in danger.
7. Lunatics/Barry and Zweigel .  . my second Dave Barry book. I  laughed just as much and ended up reading half of it out loud to Nicole and Joseph. Ludicrously wonderful.
8. NOS4A2/Joe Hill . . . wow. I'm a Stephen King fan but his son may just be taking over his spot in favorite authors list. This novel was fabulous and scary and beautifully done.
9. The Guilty One/Ballantyne . . . didn't think I was going to like this one at first and ended up really enjoying it. Excellent story, but would have loved another chapter or two at the end to tie us some loose ends.
10. Redshirts/Scalzi. . . . If you know the term "red shirts", you will like this book. It's a zany take on shows like "Star Trek" and a lot of fun.

I've read a few other titles, of course, and am currently reading Sisterland (really well written and incredibly intriguing story line) and Forever, Interrupted (which made me cry by p. 10 so I'm in big trouble). What's on your night table to read?

A Beautiful Trio

They are such good friends, these three. Can't tell they are related at all, can you? Taken this June at Maupin VW Rendezvous. 

Random Family Pic

From one of our trips to Seattle. Cas still had long hair, Coryn hadn't dyed his yet and I was pre seizure. But we are all happy and having fun, so I love this one. Not sure how the guy in the yellow raincoat got in the pic.

My Gypsy Children

The Orr children continue to either be on the move, or preparing to be on the move. Nicole leaves in an hour for Tennessee to be a counselor (see below) and then over to Indiana for a week of nostalgia as she revisits familiar places, sees relatives, and reunites with friends and lots of childhood memories. She returns in three weeks.

Coryn is preparing for his upcoming trip to Belgium/Liberia (Africa). Caspian was working for Dannon Yogurt, got laid off and is interviewing for more jobs soon. The house is a'buzz, and I just try to keep up with all of the details. Recently someone told me I clearly had "gypsy" children. I suspect he is right.

Here is Nicole's profile for the unschooling camp where she will be a counselor. (ETUSC)
Nicole Orr, Mentor
If the zombie apocalypse was actually to occur, I’d probably be one of the best people to have in your survival group! Building houses with Habitat for Humanity means that I could help create a zombie-proof town. (Just as I’m not stupid enough to name a boat the Titanic, I’m also smart enough to NOT call our town Woodbury) With a certificate in man-tracking, I could help you chase down lunch without BECOMING lunch ourselves. My First Aid certificate could come in handy, but I won’t be using CPR on anybody! (No kiss is worth getting my lips gnawed off!) While my having been an Assistant Team Leader to a Search and Rescue Unit might make me good leadership material, I wouldn’t want to be your leader against a zombie tsunami. (The leader may not be a Red Shirt themselves, but they get to be responsible for them!) Be warned, however, that if I were a member of your survival group, your ears would soon bleed with my endless Supernatural, Walking Dead and Big Bang Theory references….all in the interest of survival, I swear!

Great Idea . . . Now What?

So . . . I came up with a really terrific idea this week. I have spent a couple of hours putting together lists and brainstorming ideas and getting really excited. I think this business would stay relatively small, but be profitable and fun and provide a great service for all letter writers/penpallers/writers out there.

Now what?

I have the ideas, the prices, the inventory, the name--but I don't know how to follow through. I don't think an Etsy account would work for what I am doing, and I don't have the money to hire someone to do a website just for this. I am checking in with friends for bartering free ads, posted something about it on Facebook and will even create a sales sheet to send to those wonderful personal correspondents of mine.

But, what else? How can I get word out further?

I will figure it out. I will be in bed tonight, trying to sleep and instead making lists in my head of possible avenues.

Hmmmmm. Great idea, Tami . . really. Now what?

Perfect Example

Ok, I admit our family has a perverse and somewhat wicked or illicit sense of humor. I should perhaps be ashamed, but now the kids are all too old for Child Services to come around, I really can say I'm proud of it.

Perfect example.
Last night, dinner time was approaching. For a million stressful reasons, there was nothing in the house to make and the usual cook (Joseph) wasn't feeling his best. Tummies were rumbling, so Nicole went online and got a tasty looking paleo recipe. Together we made a list of the few ingredients we needed and didn't have. She and Caspian went to the store and got them, brought them home, and cooking commenced.

45 minutes later a delicious looking meal was on the table.
We all took a bite and . . . frowned.
We took another  and . . looked at each other.
What was wrong with it? Chicken . . ok. Pineapple .. ok. Red pepper . . ok. Carrots . . ok. It didn't taste spoiled, it tasted incredibly BITTER. EVEN THE TEENAGE BOYS COULD NOT EAT IT. Proof it was inedible right there.
(We finally realized it was the grated fresh ginger. Although we had just gotten it, apparently the store had had it a while and it had turned very bitter.)

So, yes, we were all very disappointed--and still quite hungry. A waste of money, food, and time. How did the Orr family respond, however?

Joseph started it by saying, "It was bad ginger that did it."
Me: Bad Ginger? Sounds like a porn movie title.
Kids start laughing.
Me: Tonight's triple-X feature, "Bad Ginger" .  . . . watch what she can do to YOUR chicken.

Okay, perhaps inappropriate to some. But we finished the meal laughing and sharing a watermelon between the five of us.

It made me smile. Perfect example of the Orr sense of humor.