Walking in Circles: Weather or Not

Are we going walking today? Here are our rules:

Sunshine? Rejoice!
Clouds? Great!
Cold? Add a scarf and gloves.
Wind? Zip up and fasten your hat securely.
Rain? Get used to it.
Wind AND rain? Think twice about it.
Snow? I don't think so.
Ice? Forget it.

We live and walk our daily circles in the Pacific Northwest. We rarely have snow or ice, and temperatures below 25-30 degrees is uncommon. Having experienced a scary slip or two through the years, we have ruled out walking in the snow and ice for safety reasons, and we have also been known to skip the rainy, windy days because it's too difficult to hold onto our umbrellas!

What? You thought Oregonians didn't use umbrellas? (That's a joke out here...) Well, some of us do! We've experimented with the different types of wet weather wear, and always go back to our favorite umbrellas when it is raining. The long rain ponchos and jacket/pants ensembles that repel the water are just awkward to wear when you're walking fast. Kind of feels like treading water while walking down the street. And then all that rain runs down the clothing and into our shoes! Not really fun.

It does rain a lot here, so we have learned to simply get used to it. We carry our umbrellas and use them whenever needed. There have been a few times that, even WITH our umbrellas, we have gotten so wet that when we got back to our own homes we had to strip down before walking through the house! (Checking first to see if anyone else is at home...)! We laugh about those days, knowing it doesn't happen that way very often. Here's a little known secret about where I live:

For all the rain that we get in this part of the country, there's something magical about the hour between 7 and 8 AM. Many are the nights when I have listened to the rain pounding on the roof and anticipated a WET walk in the morning, only to have it stop just before I go out the door. Or we'll have a great walk under cloudy skies and then just AS SOON AS we get back inside, it pours! Sometimes we can hardly believe it ourselves, but we are very, very glad it happens that way!

In looking for images on the Internet to use with this post, I found some very cute umbrellas that I would love to carry around. Wow! They're Flowers!

Recipe for a Milkshake

Yesterday several comments to Marae's post referred to the Chocolate Milkshakes I used to make for my children. Get ready to laugh or squirm, because here's the sneaky mom recipe:

1. Open a can of peas and carrots and dump it in the blender.
2. Add milk. Or water and powdered milk. Add extra powder for more nutrition.
3. Stir in enough Nestle's Quick to make it look chocolaty. (or a generic brand)
4. Blend. Thoroughly. As in Liquify! The mixture should be thick and frothy.
5. Make sure the kids don't see you do this. :)
6. Pour into tall glasses, add a straw, and smile as they slurp it down happily.

I started making these when my first couple of children were toddlers and continued through the years with the addition of three more kids. They all loved it. When my oldest was in her mid teens she finally demanded to know how I made them.... and then never wanted it again! (The others, however, enjoyed the portion she didn't take.) How did they taste? I have no idea. Honest. I NEVER tasted it. :)

This “recipe” has been laughed about at many of our family gatherings, and my children's spouses shudder when they hear the story. But if they ever get desperate enough....who knows what might happen in their kitchen someday?