Happy Birthday Ben!

DSC_0607
Originally uploaded by geoff_dalgas

You are such a funny Daddy and a wonderful son! We all love you very much. We can't wait to see you and hear all about your adventure in Guatemala. Our hope is for a year ahead of love and happy times for you and your darling family.

we can't stop

Seems that once we get started on a project, we keep thinking of ways to make it more and more complicated. That is why we are still fixing the house up 20 years or so after we moved here. I like that it is always a work in progress, as I hope our lives are. I heard about a concept called "slow design" that is related to the slow food movement. I think our home construction progress might fit in well with that category. I hope it is a nice change for Pops from the speed of his regular job pace

Yesterday we were thinking of ways to make an area where we could wash up veggies and fruits after they are harvested outdoors. I have a table that we salvaged from Pinky's last year. It works great both in the greenhouse and later outdoors, but I have to keep moving it around - ( remember the picnic table??) So, here's a drawing of our idea. It will be built over a small concrete pad. The framework will be iron, and the cover will be shadecloth. There is an outdoor faucet that is right next to it. The work area will be metal mesh.

By the way, my team lost. Kansas fell to Michigan last night in a tight game. The funny thing was the channel we were watching kept showing the North Carolina vs. Gonzaga teams playing who had really a not very exciting score differetial. I fell asleep. But I am still in first place in the Dalgas Pool! I know someone else will ultimately beat me though. Won't they?

Tomorrow Ben, Amy and Neli come home! And it's Ben's Birthday!!!!

Road Trippin'

Cam and I are going on a little adventure! More exciting news on ruthiesuniform.com!

More News from Guatemala

I hope that Ben doesn't mind me passing on this email, but I'm certain that all of us are thinking of our little family in Latin America. Here is the latest -

"Mom,

Thanks for emailing. We are doing very well. We have been working long days with the teachers and staff here. I have been mostly translating - gathering information about the culture of the school and the teachers' methods and practices. I also translated for a doctor for a small class. Amy has been hanging out with the preschool teachers - visiting homes and sharing stories with the young mothers. She also led a women's health question and answer session. Tomorrow is our last day here in Santa Avelina and then we drive back on Friday. I am not sure if we are going to stay in Guatemala City or where we are going to stay Fri and Sat night. Maybe we can call you tonight or tomorrow. Neli is doing great, she is having a lot of fun with everyone. love, ben"

email from the travelers!

Yay! Today my day will be filled with thoughts of Ben, Amy and Neli on a faraway tropical Shangri-La. I received this email and thought I would pass it on so all of you could share. There is also a comment from them on the previous story. Much love!

"I'm emailing you while listening to a class of children singing beatiful songs to start the day. Before the teachers arrive the students sing to start their day! The kids are truly amazing and so are the teachers. So much humilty respect, and kindness. Today we might have a chance to walk to a waterfall. We have internet so tonight we can email again. I am attaching geoffrey to the email becuase we have a computer lab that is down and there is a man trying to fix it, we were wondering if you could give us any advice. We cant make changes on the computers because we dont have the administrator password for XP. Is there a backdoor you know of or do you have to reinstall everything. Ill send you an update tonight, I think they will be working on it today. Love and peace, Amy and Ben"

Where in the world are Ben? Amy? Neli?

So far, I haven't heard more from Ben and Amy since they were in LA, so I am hoping that I will today. I did a search for the town are going to in the Ixil Triangle region of Guatemala. It must be very small, but I finally did find it on google maps. Here is a link to an article in Spanish about the education center they are going to be visiting.
Centro Educativo Privado Experimental Willam Botnana

Here is the translation:
In Santa Avelina, Cotzal in the department of Quiché, is the William Private School Experimental button, level of pre-primary and primary materials by developing and implementing bilingual (Ixil / Spanish) using the method Thomas Collier. With satellite technology with Internet capability in order to expand educational capacity, and eventually be able to take distance education. HELPS International organization founded this school in 1999 with the purpose of giving opportunity to children in the region so that they can compete for jobs with anyone in Guatemala. The school takes full account of the people and their culture, and works with committee of parents. Educators are Cotzal region and are continuously trained in modern techniques of teaching bilingual education experts.


Here is a link to the HELPS organization.

Caleb is Rollin'

Happy Birthday Jennie Bug!

We hope you have a super day with your two boys. They are both so lucky to have such a beautiful sweet wonderful mama and wife. It must be your magical kisses that make them such handsome princes! We are all very lucky to have you as our Jenniebug. We love you very much!

Welcome Home and Bon Voyage!

The Oregon Dalgas families are either coming home from a journey, welcoming those who were away back home, or leaving home on a new adventure. Thank you for keeping them each in your thoughts and prayers, and wishing them all good things in the coming days. We love you all!!

Big Gulp!

Don't you wonder what's in This Big Drink?!

Caleb the Great

Looking at this picture of our beautiful baby boy has made me miss him even more so I thought I would share. I will be home soon!

Superdalgas Tournament Challenge

Alright, anyone who wants to join the Superdalgas NCAA basketball tournament challenge click the following link and fill out a bracket. I made a group for us. This is just for fun and bragging rights, there is no money involved. UW, Gonzaga, and Portland State are all in the tourney this year so it should be fun to watch. http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/register/joinprivategroup_assign_team?GID=130272

Oh, you may have to register for a yahoo account if you don't already have one.

Sleepy Leprechaun

This little leprechaun is very sleepy after his mischievous all-nighter. (His mommy is a little sleepy too). I think little green misses his daddy. Hope everyone has a happy and lucky St. Patrick's Day!

RU Blogs!!!

Heyya Family!!!

I'm going to try to "really" blog! Help me to stick with it by reading my blog at ruthiesuniform.com and leaving me comments. Also, please tell everyone else you know who might like it to read up.... the idea is, if I know I have a few readers, I wil keep going. If you have any good ideas, please let me know, or if you would like to write a post as a guest, consider yourself invited! I'm excited! Happy blogging to me!!

How do you coon-proof a coop?

Last night we had a bit of a scare. Well, Amy and the hens did. Around 1:30 am we heard a loud bump, bacock, and a flutter out in the coop. Amy, our brave hero, darted out the door to check on the chickies. I was just coming to, when I heard the shriek that jump started my heart and wouldn't let it rest for hours. Amy had bent down, and found herself face to face, eye to eye with a large coon. She came back faster than she went. Shaking and shivering, she said, "It's one of those animals with a snout!" No chickens in sight, we laid awake thinking about how we would tell the world of their final hours. Then, when the morning finally came we got a call from the group home ladies. "We have your chicken..." They were huddled under a tree about 100 feet away. So, although we live across the street from a mall and in the center of fields of asphalt, we still have coons.. in fact we suspect they may be livin' in the group home attic. Just wondering if any of you can help us with ideas to coon proof the coop.

Granny's newfangled fancy compost bin!

Here I am mixing concrete for the post holes

Pops in front of the halfway completed system of his design

The finished bins, just waiting for compost to arrive!


In the first few days of warm enough weather to work outside, we built a three bay compost bin large enough to contain all the leaves, coffee grounds, kitchen trimmings, and anything we can gather to let decompose into black gold. I have yearnings to ask all of the neighbors if they would save their leaves and kitchen scraps for me, but I am a little shy about it. I can remember when Rebecca and I knocked on the door of the Morrow's house after I had lusted after his bags and bags of leaves and asked if we could have them. I was a little embarassed, but we did it - even though we had to separate the dog poop from the good stuff. I still feel a little bad about not saving all of that compost we made and saved from the weddings. Shoot, I could have added a couple of giant bags to my heap! But now that we have such a wonderful system right at the front of the garden, I think that the dream of compost heaven is just within reach. As the saying goes, "If you build it, they will come" - or in this story, "If we build it, compost will happen."

Pink Beauty

DSC_0198, originally uploaded by geoff_dalgas.

There's a few more pics on Flickr - Neli, your soo beautiful (AND SMART!)

The Green Beret

I am sure that everyone has been waiting for the final chapter in the story of the green beret.  Here it is.  

blue skies?

Last weeekend, the skies opened up to a gorgeous day that had Pops and I exploring the banks of the Columbia. This view may once again grace the heart of Entiat, as it did before the dam flood. At waterfront envisioning meetings, the pillars of our community gather to lament the old town, and to dream up the new one. I have been several times, but being less patient with talk, I haven't attended for a while. But wouldn't it be lovely? Recently,I suggested round-abouts on the highway to slow traffic. Surprisingly, I wasn't laughed at. Now what if I were to suggest we fashion our new town after a little Provencal village? Buildings all stucco, with pastel shutters, tile roofs, and curlicue iron railings?

Today, all of the little buds on trees, and the bright birds' songs are muffled beneath more snow and cold. Surely under this thinnest coat of frosting, a beautiful spring morning is yearning to wake us up any moment.



For now, these silly boots came out of hiding from where they were forgotten, but I'm wondering - which foot is which?!

Happy Birthday Amy!

Amy, you must have been the most wonderful little girl, because you are such a wonderful lady! We hope that your day is filled with love, and giggles, and all the happiness that your heart can hold. We love you.

c'est fini!

I can't wait to see this on you, Jessi!! Watch for the mailman! (by the way, if you think that this looks a lot like the last post - notice that the hat is now felted!! it worked! )

The Green Hat

There was an old granny knitter,
whose hat looked more like a sweater -
but there's hope in the plan,
that with soap and a pan
it will shrink until it just fits her.

(this hat is really for Jessi! I just had to make the rhyme work :) - but with a little a experimentation with felting and a little luck o the irish - it will be a perfect fit for our blue-eyed lass by St. Patrick's day )


or if unlucky - Larry Leopard will be stylin'



or I could make it into sort of a snood for trixie, like this style.



P.S. I did shrink it, and I really like it! I hope that you do too, Jessi.