my brother - petumyanon yos yos - taught me how to weave - well, first my nephew Poop (lol yeah...we're pretty big into the nickname game here at home) taught me one saturday morning while everyone was sleeping...i'll never forget that day, i'd had a rough weekend...issues better left alone today and was feeling all raw and hurt and broken...Poop came out of his room and started working on his weaving project. i asked him "whatcha doin' Poop?" and he chuckled and gave me a hug "oh tautsmaywee Auntie" and then he showed me how to weave...that was lesson number one...
I wanted to put a picture of what's left on here but can't find it so I put the sun - why??? - because it's been EFFIN HOT here!
Anywho let's talk about my garding...
You may recall I dug it by hand. I was so proud of this feat! I worked for several days in a row and had sore muscles to prove it...I was happy with myself for the natural burning of calories - I know we've discussed this too - I am not so much with burning calories by exercise, it seems such a dang waste of TIME to me...back to the GARDING...
So my good friend Lydia counseled me to put all my seeds in on Memorial Day - this, she declared was the OLD WAY of doing things so I faithfully went out and my brother even helped me and we put in a BUNCHA seeds...of course you know the drill. I went out EVERY DAY to see if they were coming up and finally gave up and quit looking because they didn't yet. The tomatoes it seemed didn't like the cold and immediately acted like they were dying so we just kinda looked at them with disdain and kept waiting for the other seeds to come up...
NOPE. Lesson learned: In EASTERN OREGON we do not put our seeds in on Memorial Day!!! Okay so on we go, I planted more seeds later and was rewarded with some beautific rich and lush looking squash plants (the psychology here is that squash plants will ALWAYS grow and look lush thus, encouraging my whole "garding" spirit). My corn started growing and some radishes and even carrots! YAY!!!!
GROWTH IS WONDERFUL!!! So I started nurturing this lovely green lushness daily...would go and stand proudly over them and coo at them as though they were a nursery full of adorable Indian babies...
Then the farmers started harvesting. They harvested the peas in the field across the road and that was fun but you know...I didn't account for the fact that Mr and Mrs Pheasant AND their whole extended family had homesteaded over there. When the farmers harvested they of course evicted the Pheasant entourage along with a pretty disgusted hawk...
So one morning I went out to enjoy my garding and THERE THEY WERE...ALL THE PHEASANT KIDS had taken up tipi livin' in my garding! They actually acted like I was being RUDE to have awakened them from their BEAUTY sleep so DANG EARLY!!! I chased them out and they all took off...the next night when Brother and I came home THERE THEY WERE AGAIN! They had eaten the squash plants to pitiful nubs and completely obliterated the carrots and radishes...they left the tomatoes alone and the corn was apparently too big for their tender little mouths...anyway my brother shouted at them and chased them away and you know those little shits sat just out of reach and babbled on all NIGHT about our rudeness! They told on us to their mom and dad and their auntie and uncle, they told on us to that deer that wandered close enough to listen (doubt he'll do THAT again), they tried to tell on us to the hawk but he told them "stop it you're driving me CRAZY" and they told on us to the barn swallows who in turn decided to dive bomb us!
My garding is a sad situation now...a few faithful corn plants standing strong and proud- AND knee high by the fourth of July (YAY) and two stalwart tomatoes.
It was a good experience. I'll do it again next year!
a year or so ago my brother and i went on a drive...i blogged about it, it was called "the toppermost part of the world" we drove to the top of a mountain and saw some amazing and exciting and beautiful and FUN sights...i remember one moment with clarity today and that was my observation of the trees as they whipped by.
i’d chase your sparkles to the end of the earth
On our way to the big memorial and just for s & g let me tell you some of the history as I know it: On March 10, 1957 the Celilo Falls was flooded to give way to the massive steel and concrete gates of The Dalles Dam. Six hours later and eight miles upstream, Wy-am (Celilo Falls), the age-old Indian salmon fishery was under water.
What an honor it is to be an Indian woman. I've only been home almost three years...but in these three years I've learned a lifetime of amazing things...
all i wanted was to make it go away...
When I first heard the news it was Saturday morning and we got the call. My first thought was OMG how can I help this friend of mine? This teacher, this leader, this amazing personification of strength and song? That's all I wanted was to have the words that might help him through this horrific time and I couldn't for the LIFE of me think of what I could say...
I prayed about it and then a memory of an old friend came to mind, John was a friend of our family and was every bit as "there" for us as my husband at the time; he brought my boys treats and toys and would scold them and also praise them when they were good. He drove me to the hospital for the birth of two of my children and was in general just one of us. He moved away to go fishing in Alaska and we missed him a LOT...I had NO IDEA how we would miss him because really, there were times I would get annoyed with him and want him to just go the hell home. While John was away in Alaska, he would from time to time call us just to check in and he ALWAYS asked how the kids were and how was I doing...he lived for awhile when he was back in town with my mother-in-law who was at best a difficult woman and at worst, well...anyway John always said "you know, there's no point in judging her Shawna, she's going to end up judging herself you know..." and I would take hope and move on.
John went back to Alaska and his fishing. He was so happy up there, he would call Greg and I and always had the most amazing stories to tell of Northern Lights and amazing midnight suns...one day we got a call from the fishing company and they told us he'd fallen into one of the processors and had died up there. There was nothing really to send back...for years I would wonder 'what was it like for John in those last moments? Was he scared? Was he hurt? Was he sad? Did he wonder why no one helped him?" I wore myself out with the sadness of it and then gradually it faded until just a month or so ago I was watching a program on the Discovery channel about medical traumas. This gentleman fell into some kind of processor in Wisconsin...also a fish processor. He was torn apart too and it was just amazing that he lived, but he did and in his interview on the program he said something that gave me hope for so many other things in life. He said "I felt pain at first but it wasn't bad, as the machine tore me apart this amazing peace came over me and it was as though I was watching myself from the outside in...That was my body and I could watch it being pummeled...all I could feel was peace and joy and wait for the other side..."
So then I was thinking hmmm, that's not exactly the words I was looking for and then I happened to see a pipebag I'd made for my brother and I remembered how I had carefully chosen each color and the weight of the cord and made sure my design would fit exactly...I remember how carefully I cut the fringe on the bottom and how I chose the beads for my signature to demonstrate our relationship as brother and sister...and I realized this:
As painstakingly as I chose and created that bag how much more attention to detail is given the creation and design of humanity by our Creator; and how do I know this? Because years and YEARS after a sad event in my life, one which profoundly caused questions in my mind, Creator sent a message to give answer both to my questions and to quiet the fears in my heart...Those moments had been PLANNED for...Before we are even given breath each moment of our lives has been carefully thought out and planned for and there is not one moment of our time, not one pain or sickness or horrible sadness has not already been sung for by Creator...
So this afternoon I realized I should tell this story to my friend because it had come to me at this time...I also now know I shared this story at another time when it was right and I don't know if that helps you...i hope so...
