This week, we did a lot of hiking up at Silver Falls State Park.  We had quite a bit of work to do here at home, so we worked hard, then took off Monday afternoon and camped a few days, and came home Friday morning and started in at home again.  We went hiking every day we were there, except Friday.  Some days, we went on shorter trails, and went several miles on other days.  It was fun, good exercise, and gorgeous.  There are 10 waterfalls in the area, and we hiked to 8 or 9 of them over the course of the week.  We also did the 1 mile nature trail around the campground.

This campground was not near any towns, and we did not have full hook-ups, so I cooked every meal from the camper or on the fire.  Not having full hook-ups meant that we showered in the communal bathrooms, used a lot of paper plates, and did a lot of cooking and dish washing outside.  They had a place to dump our tanks on the way down, when we were finished camping, but we had to be careful while we were there.  I took leftover roast beef from last Sunday’s dinner and made hash one day.  I took lots of garden produce, and other leftovers and only bought a few things like milk before we went.  I also took the opportunity to use many items from the camper pantry (under the bench seat and cupboards) that had been in there for a while.

Rosalie brought Harnet and Danait up for a day.  We hiked, swam, and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for S’Mores.  It was really a fun day.

Little Danait took to Rob like a duck to water, especially when he took her into the water:)  He is at work when we visit them, so she did not know him until this day.  We all enjoyed her.  She is so cute, and reminds us so much of Ja’Ana when she was little.

Gail brought Jake up on Wednesday and he stayed until Friday.  He had a ball, collecting pine cones, hitting things with sticks, roasting marshmallows, hiking and playing Legos.

Patsy, Lovana, Jake and I even did a 5-mile hike.  Lovana carried him for part of it, but he hiked many miles.  Go, Lovana!!!  Go, Jake!!!  It was fun.

There are so many amazing waterfalls there.  I think we saw 9 out of the 10 during our many hikes while we were there.  Then, it was back to reality!

In 2 sessions, I made 4 quarts and 6 pints of dill pickles, total.  My dill has not done very well this year, but I got just enough.  I’m hoping it grows as fast as the cucumbers are growing.  Because it is not plentiful this year, I added a few dill seeds to each jar to make sure they will be “dilly” enough.  I also added the last of the jalepenos I got last week in a big bag, marked down to $2.  I was glad to finish them up, and like the mildly spicy flavor in my pickles.    I made jalepeno poppers one day from a bunch of them that needed to be used immediately, and saved the best ones for pickles.

We got 15 more pints of beans yesterday.  3 rows of plants are finished, and were pulled out.  I have way more beans frozen and canned than I need, but have more coming along.  So, we are eating fresh beans a lot.  It is a great problem to have!

Rob went and picked some peaches from my sister’s farm.  I will freeze these.  We love smoothies and peach cobblers in the winter time, and I’m out.

I hit a wonderful sales rack at Macy’s and got t-shirts for $5.99, with and additional 20 percent off, which made them under $5.  I got several.  I also got the girls some things they needed, all marked down.  I don’t shop often, so I had a fairly long list.  I was delighted to get the girls socks for around a dollar a pair from another clearance bin.  I grabbed lots!

Rob, Ja’Ana, Patsy and I will be leaving later this week for a mission trip to Mexico.  Our van will be filled with teen-agers, as this is a high school trip and we are drivers and sponsors.  Lovana is staying home this time and taking care of things around the house and garden.  We will be gone 10 days and there are no laundry facilities.  I am organizing the clothing so that we have enough for the entire time.  I  don’t mind if people wear the same outer clothing more than once.  Underwear and socks…….that’s a different story!  We need a lot!  We have also been gathering a few convenience foods to take.  There will be food, of course, but as a severely gluten-free person, who also is diabetic, I have to have different food at times.  I anticipate eating from my cooler at times when others are having things I cannot have.  We have a very busy week ahead, preserving foods, gardening, packing the rest of the things we need, and some appointments.

And, last, but not least, Rob performed a wedding ceremony yesterday.  This wedding was for a young man that we have known and loved for many years.  So, Rob had rehearsal Friday night, and the wedding yesterday afternoon.  It was not boring and went off without a hitch. Rob dressed as requested, in Converse, jeans, suspenders and a blue shirt.  I will post pictures in a few days, after the bride and groom and their family have had a chance to post first.