Lily and Trudy's Birthdays

Last July and early August were busy birthday weeks for us. Trudy celebrated her 14th birthday (on July 26th) and just a few weeks later (August 8th) Lily had her 10th birthday. All our girls are double digits now!

The fireplace is in a bit of disarray at the moment as we wait for

the mason to come out and redo it (hopefully this week!)

Frosty Paws ice cream is always a special birthday treat!

Mitch's 80th Birthday Party

August 2nd was Mitch's 80th birthday party. For several months Mitch's wife (Joy)  and daughter (Michelle) and myself had been planning a huge party for him! It took place at Valley View Rock of Ages, the Mennonite retirement community where Mitch and Joy live. The facility was lovely and the views of the Willamette valley from this place are outstanding! People from all areas of Mitch's life attended: his biological family, his museum family, his model family and his church family. We had such a wonderful turn out and a great time!

I made all the decorations except the balloons

The food was catered in from the kitchen at Valley View

Mitch (the birthday boy) is on the right

Matt and his best friend Bob Carlos 

from the model group and restoration @ Evergreen

Best Way to Get a Job is to be too Busy for a Job

A couple weeks ago I hit Evergreen's website to see if any new employment opportunities had been added recently. Surprisingly I discovered a job in the education department was available, problem was it required a master's degree. At first I was disheartened but decided to talk to the Director of Education next time I was in. She was so excited to hear about my interest and immediately put me down for an interview just two days later. I submitted my application and resume, had my first interview and than was called back in for a second interview. The second interview was terrifying! With just three days notice, I had to develop my own lesson plan for 5th graders that taught the 4 forces of flight. On top of that, I had to present the curriculum in front of the Museum Director who also happened to be a Marine and a teacher! Despite my fear, I really felt like the second interview went well!

Than I heard nothing for 5 days straight...apparently there was some deep discussion regarding whether to hire a teacher with no museum experience, or a museum person with little teaching experience (me). On Saturday, while I was at a model airplane show, I got an email that I GOT THE JOB! 

You, ladies and gentlemen, are looking at the new (full-time) Education Outreach Coordinator. My job will be to get out into the community and get kids (of all age groups and levels) excited about aviation, space, engineering, science and mathematics. I will teach in classrooms and go to community events and perform demonstrations in addition to providing support to the education department at the museum. I am terribly excited, overwhelmed and scared! I am treading into new territory with a lot of autonomy and responsibility. The success or failure of this relatively-new venture for the museum will rest upon my shoulders.

Now the big question is: how do I work full time and still make it to all the Champoeg board meetings??

** Had to remove the image due to social media clause I signed yesterday **

Spruce Goose: Unsuccessful Test Flight (includes video)

On July 27, 2014 the model group from Evergreen worked in conjunction with the model group in Amity, OR to have a fly-in at a reservoir in the area. Our hope had been that we would finally get the Spruce Goose off the water and into the air for the first time! It didn't work. :-(

Unfortunately we experienced a lot of problems with the battery packs and they didn't provide enough power to do anything other than taxi around the reservoir. We are now working on getting new battery packs and conducting another motor test to confirm that was the issue.

Eventually the Goose got stuck in the reeds along the shore line and Cecil and I had to take a row boat out to rescue her. There are photos of this endeavor floating around somewhere...

Teeny Tiny Kitchen: Storage Solutions

I can't really call this post a "before and after" because truly the kitchen has received the least amount of attention since moving into the cabin. Mostly because the kitchen is the most expensive (and overwhelming) room in the house to update. It needs a complete remodel and redesign!

I have been focused on how to get the most storage out of our existing small space. The cabinets you see in these photos are all that we have.

And because Pinterest is my new favorite obsession, I decided to search out creative storage solutions and I found the one below. The person utilized a tension rod and some shower hooks to hang the cookware instead of piling them on top of each other. Brilliant!

Storage idea via Pinterest

The only problem was I didn't have a cabinet that large (and down low where I could reach) that could accommodate all our cookware. BUT we do have a lot of wall space. So Hubby ordered some heavy duty tension rods from Amazon ($20 total) and installed them on our wall. Using shower hooks that came with the Star Trek bathroom curtain we were able to hang all our skillets and pots conveniently where I can see and reach them!

Spice rack that came with us from AZ cause my Dad made it

He up-cycled it from an old teacup display cabinet

Window valance found via Pinterest for $8 on Amazon

Teeny Tiny Bathroom: Before and After

The first thing Hubby did before we even moved into the cabin was rip out the old bathroom. It wasn't intentional -- so to speak -- but once the ball got rolling, there was no stopping it. We had decided we were only going to replace the shower surround, it was gross, broken and in danger of leaking water. Hubby pulled that out and discovered dead mice in between the bottom of the tub and the subfloor!! Yikes!! Once he cleaned those out, disinfected and sealed up where they were gaining entrance, he just keep demolishing. Next he pulled out the vanity. Underneath the vanity, in the vacant space between the bottom of the cabinet and the floor he found more dead mice, their bedding and a bunch of dog food (I spared you the photo, you're welcome). Than he pulled out the toilet, ripped down the mirror/medicine cabinet, and finally took down all the paneling. Behind the paneling he found even more dead mice!! Nasty!! And because he couldn't stop until he was sure, he tore down the entire ceiling, where guess what.... he found more dead mice. He disinfected the entire -- now gutted -- bathroom and started all over. New dry wall, new paint, new shower surround, new toilet, new exhaust fan, new vanity, and a new mirror!

                                        Before                                                                    After

New vanity and mirror that Hubby picked 

out while I was out of town. Quite lovely!

No reason to buy overpriced Star Trek towels when 

you can just buy regular towels in the right colors!

No bathroom is complete without a little Kirk

Lily wants to be "beamed" up

The Star Trek bathroom is by no means complete. 

I still have a wish list of things I want to do:

• Change out the hardware so everything is oil rubbed bronze
• Replace the gray floor mat with a black one
• Add molding to the floor and ceiling
• Sand and refinish the wood walls
• Change the paint color to be more gray and less purple 
• Replace the flooring
• Eventually we would like to remove the false ceiling so we can take advantage of the vaulted ceiling

Madam Vice President

A few months ago it came to our attention that the Friends of Historic Champoeg non-profit group was thinking about dissolving. With the dissolution would likely be the end of the Promise Program I had been teaching with. There was an emergency meeting where people from all over offered to help and contribute and thus created a new board of directors -- of which I was one. Last night we had our first board meeting with all the new board members and I was voted in as Vice President. So, in addition to being a teacher with the organization, I am also an executive officer. I am humbled, worried and excited about the year to come!

9 Amazing Years!

July 24, 2005 was absolutely, hands-down the best day of my life... 

I married my amazing husband on the bridge of the Enterprise D!

Happy Anniversary Hubby!! We are awesome!

DIY: Felt Flower Pots

My sister had a really good idea the other day -- take the felt flowers that I have been making for the wreaths and -- create a flower arrangement out of them. So, I went to Joann's and for less than $7 was able to make two different arrangements. The pots were less than $2 each and using my 30% off coupon was able to get the styrofoam balls for $3.84. I already had the felt ($0.33 per sheet), hot glue sticks ($6.00 per pack) and pearls ($1.99) in my crafting box so there was very little extra expense. None the less, this was very fun and inexpensive way to create two gifts on a budget!

You can see all of my creations on pinterest: 

http://www.pinterest.com/danafox24/

Homeownership is a Nightmare (sometimes)

To say that the past few months of been a nightmare when it comes to our house might be a slight exaggeration but it has tested our resolve and our patience.

Issues started back in March when I got a sinus infection. Considering it was Spring in Oregon, we didn't think much of it. I was on a dig and exhausted and just didn't get better. So 10 days of antibiotics later, I was feeling good. Several weeks after the antibiotics, I was sick again. Strange but not uncommon. 14 days of antibiotics later, I was feeling better. We went to California and had a wonderful time. We got home and I immediately started to feel terrible. On a hunch, we hired a mold company to come out and do some air quality tests. They discovered black mold. I went to the doctor and he ran some blood work which confirmed that I had antibodies for black mold in my system. I got sick for a third time, this time they tried 21 days of antibiotics and ordered a CT scan of my sinuses. While I laid in bed too ill to function, my amazing hubby tore this house apart. Window casings -- gone, our newly remodeled bathroom -- holes in the drywall, the fireplace -- completely gutted, furniture -- every piece inspected and cleaned, rugs -- shampooed, kitchen cabinets -- taken down and inspected. You get the picture...

We never did find anything conclusive, not once did we find something and say "AH HA, that is black mold!" but hubby did find some suspect wet insulation which has been stuffed in the fireplace cavity (WHY??). After this extensive search and cleansing of our house, we had the mold guys back out to test the air again and NO MOLD! Hallelujah!

The CT results are also in with some interesting results: I have an itty bitty teeny tiny maxillary sinus on the left side of my face and a deviated septum! The right side is normal -- the left side, not so much. When I get a sinus infection (as I did three times when we had the mold) the left side isn't able to drain the way it was meant to making it so much worse. Doc and I have a plan of action which includes allergy pills, nasal sprays and a neti pot every single day to keep the symptoms at bay and stave off any infections from happening in the first place. If that doesn't work, surgery might be necessary wherein the doctor will create a new sinus for me. Crazy, right? Doctors can make sinuses, it blows me away.

I think this has been the longest four months of our marriage. A lot of money, kleenex, worrying, sleepless nights and waiting for results to come in. A lot of illness and suffering on my part as I fought the symptoms, knowing that getting better was not going to happen until we found the problem. So much stress for hubby as he combed over this house after work EVERY night, desperately seeking out the mold while I coughed uncontrollably from another room. Situations like this can make or break a couple...I love him more today than ever!

Daisy Duck is All Grown Up

Last week I visited Mitch and his wife out at their house where I also had the opportunity to visit Daisy. I cannot believe how much she has grown! In just a few short months she has gone from adorable yellow duckling to a beautiful full grown duck. The family is still debating about what to do with her as they have grown rather attached to her and she to them. :-)

DIY: Monogrammed Neutral Toned Yarn Wreath

I finished and mailed this wreath to my good friend in Tucson about a month ago. The palette of her new home is neutral so I stuck with earth-tone colors and added the "L" for her last name to give it a personalized touch. She has two cats and two dogs, so I also added the animal paw prints so everyone who walks through her front door will know she is an animal lover.

You can see all of my creations on pinterest: 

http://www.pinterest.com/danafox24/

Hepcat Model: Second Flight

Not much to report regarding the second flight of the Hepcat. She still wants to climb! No matter how much down thrust we give her, she just wants to go up! We have changed the propeller and the angle of incidence on the wing to level her out a little but it hasn't helped. Next we are going to add some weight to the nose, that should force her to even out a little. Once she is flying correctly, I will finally get to take over the reins and fly her by myself.