Recent Hobbies and Other Things I Have Been (or Plan To) Fiddle With

Well, I sure have let this go for a while. I have started many new projects and have maintained most of the old ones.

Been thinking a lot about life the universe and everything lately. Where I have been and where I am headed. This has been a difficult year, lots of life altering changes. Guess as one ages you start to loose some of those friends and people close to you and perhaps that is what has put me into such a reflective mood. On the other hand I have made many new friends, so I guess it all balances out.

I think about where I have come from... one of the most desolate places on earth, the middle of the Mojave Desert, 25 miles to the nearest neighbor, living in a house made from used rail road ties wraped with chicken wire with plaster applied to it for walls. No water, we had to go buy water at the train station in Chambless or Caadiz (?) and bring it back in a truck, no electricity except that produced by an old one cylinder generator. Mom and Dad worked hard to support my sister and I and to this day my Mom still struggles to make ends meet. We have come a long way though. All of us are still what would be considered lower income bracket but we are comfortable. Things could be a lot worse. And for this I am greatful.

I often think of the desert and would like to go back. Maybe after I retire build a small 1 room shack there and spend a couple monhts of the year there continuing to explore. All my memories of the desert are pleasant and there is so much more I want to know, learn about and do there.

In Oregon this has been the summer that wasnt. Very cool/mild with intermittant scorchers. Early rains. Strange.

The economy is very scary. I am one of the fortunate ones who is still employed. Talk about lucky and thankful. I am working hard to get out of debit. As you get older one begins to more appreciate the wisdom of this. If I were to loose my job it would just take a couple months of missed payments and I would likely loose all I have. I would just have to carry on. If nothing else the hardships in life have taught me it is to survive. Maybe not always comfortable but one just carrys on and does the best they can. It would be a very different life/world but I would survive. There are those who would not. Again I am lucky. I need to keep reminding myself of that. And help others who I can. Perhaps that will turn out to be my purpose.

GARDENS:
Well my new obsession is my garden(s). Three of them now, all 100% organic. My asparagus, Jereselum artichokes, horseradishes, rhubarb and garlic were prolific. For the 2009 season I plan to grow radishes, beans, cucumbers, hot peppers, beets, swiss chard, cantalope, lettuces, broccoli, cauliflower, kholrobi, brussels sprouts, cabbages.... and... I started digging a root cellar but still need to cover it. Started 2 compost piles.

CHICKENS:
Yes, 14 of them. 13 hens, 1 rooster. Had to build a chicken house. Turned out pretty good. Chickens are very happy. Getting around 10 eggs a day. They are a lot of work, and fun, but one of the reasons travelling and exploring has become difficult. They require daily attention. I dont know anybody to take care of them so I have trapped myself.

BEES:
Probably a garage project this winter. Not so much for honey, more just to have around for pollination. Nothing fancy, going to build a cheap top rail system (right, everything I do gets expensive and will out last the pyramids). We will see how this goes.

ANTIQUE TOOLS:
Love their practicality and functionality. I have had a ball going to some of the garage and estate sales at some of the old farms and homesteads in the area. Been collecting plain old non-electric hand tools. Having thoughts about peak oil lately. The US Economy has gone to hell. I am up to my eyeballs in debit. Thinking survivability, security in a post peak oil world. How can I maintain at least a reasonably comfortable lifestyle without fuel. I think this was also a subliminal thought when I started the gardens a few years ago.

CHEESE MAKING:
Been making my own cheese. Mostly feta. Has worked out well. Sometimes it turns out being something else. Not sure what, kinda smells like blue cheese, tastes good and has not made me sick, so it must be ok. Very inexpensive and easy to do.

OTHER FERMENTED FOODS:
Kind of the old fashioned way of preserving foods. Been making pickles, sauerkraut, malt vinnegar, sourdough starter, kimchi and misc other foods.

SAUSAGE MAKING:
My latest adventure. Bought a meat grinder a few weeks ago. Expecting the sausage casings and other spices/ingredents to actually show up today. Want to make home made sausages. Brats, knockwurst, beer sausage, Kielbalsa. I love sausage. And it will fit right in with my other meat smoking and preserving projects.

Thats what comes to mind right off hand. Its been a difficult year. The economy going belly up. I lost my job but was fortunatey re-employed. Still extremely stressful, especially being in debit and all. In the past I almost never got sick except an occasional sinus infection. Dr. visits were usually for injuries like falling off ladders or roofs, hammering a nail through my hand... you know, normal stuff. This year I had to have 2 surgerys, one for cancer which was an eye opener and back surgery which I am still recovering from. Drs. are great, but sure expensive. Maybe my getting older is partially fueling my restlesness to get back to the desert and re-connect to my roots. All in all I am greatful to be as fortunate as I am. There are may people far worse off.

Old hobbies entries

Don Levy Boxing Articles and Pictures

My Grandpa on my moms side, Don Levy was a professional boxer before going to work for Hughes Aircraft. He fought representing the Navy in the featherweight division... and was apparently VERY good! My Grandma Violet kept an album of newspaper clippings documenting his fights. Looks like another project... I will find out as much as I can about Grandpa Don and post it here. When I get enough materials I will seperate out the sites a little better. For now, I have scanned the Albums that contain the articles. Sometime in the future when I have time I will pull the individual articles and scan them seperately. Unfortunately the documents are pretty fragile, so I dont want to rush into it... I will take time and do it right. Reading the articles is very interesting, noticing all the slang used by the reporters to describe the events. This link will take you to the 2 albums of articles, about 20 pages each.

HULL OAKES LUMBER COMPANY BELLFOUNTAIN OREGON

Just a few miles up the road from me is Hull Oakes Lumber Company. It appears they are the last remaining steam powered lumber mill in the country. They specialize in very large pieces of llumber that is mostly used for restoring old sailing vessels, masts and buildings. This weekend (Oct 30, 2005) I took a quick drive to their place to take a few pictures (Happy Snaps with the digital camera that someday I will learn to use other than in the AUTO mode). Anyway, the place is like a big historical junk yard of old interesting vehicles and equipment. Since they were closed I stayed on the road and took these pictures. I will have to see if I cant get permission from them to visit someday while they are open and see if they will give me some leeway to wander on the premisis and take some *real* photos. In the meantime, here are the happy snaps: Hull Oakes Lumber Company Pictures . Here are some links to other sites that have pictures of the place inside while operating and information on the company in general

Family Reunion News and Information

Eagle Cap Chalets at Wallowa Lake in Joseph Oregon

This is a resort that two of my Cousins familys, Debbie and Brian, and Ron and Dianne purchased a few years ago. Since they have fixed the place up we have had several family reunions here. As you can see from their description we never run out of things to do.

Eagle Cap Chalets and Park at the River Deluxe RV are located on the edge of the Eagle Cap Wilderness where you can enjoy the beauty of the mountain ranges and all the nature that lives there.  Deer wander freely as people stare in amazement.  In the summer there are shops, restaurants, and lots of fun things for the kids to do from miniature golfing to horseback rides.

The Wallowa Lake Tramway is located right next door where you can take a ride up Mount Howard to an elevation of 8,241 feet.  From that point you can marvel at the sight of the Eagle Cap Mountain Range, the Seven Devils, and Hells Canyon.  You can pack a lunch and hike one of the many trails at the top or enjoy the wonderful food offered by the Summit Grill.

Wallowa Lake is located 1/4 miles from our front door.  Fishing is a good idea any time of  year or, you could rent a boat, swim , or just grab a book and sit under a tree.  If you are lucky, you may even get to see a family of eagles soar over your head on their way to gather food for their babies and dive for fish.  It is a great sight to see!

You do not have to wait until summer to enjoy the wilderness.  They are open year round and have an indoor pool and hot tub.  After a breathtaking day in the snow, nothing feels better than taking a quick dip in the pool followed by a nice warm up in the hot tub.  There is snowmobiling, snow boarding, down hill skiing, cross country skiing, and sledding within minutes of our facility.  Take a look at Wallowa County's calendar of events and check out our photo gallery.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.