Don’t miss the roar of the motorcycles this weekend at the Siskiyou County Fairgrounds!  They are roaring for Jesus at the Ride in the Light Bike Rally.  Our local Christian Motorcycle Association will be there and Pastor Ray Horst will be giving the Sunday morning message.

Check out their website for all the details.  Ride In The Light Rally

It’s official.  I’ve finally made the move!  Siskiyoutopia is now located here.  Click and enjoy! OR go to www.siskiyoutopia.com

Last spring we had a terrible problem with earwigs in our yard, so we thought it would be a clever idea to get a chicken to eat the little buggers. The kid at the feed store said that these particular chickens are hens but they don’t lay eggs ( I guess they are fryers??) Anyways it was such a cute little chick!!! They are so friendly and fun. It seemed that Saul, our chihuahua, was getting along just fine with the chicken. He would follow it around, sniff it, but didn’t try to bite it or anything. However, when we left him alone he attacked the poor little chick. The little zapper found it in the back yard after school with its wing and leg torn off, but still alive. Scotty had to put it down with a shovel – (yuk!)

The little zapper was sooo upset about the death of the chicken that she said we should get rid of Saul. That made Scotty soooo happy! He’s never really liked Saul. I guess that’s an understatement, but being the considerate guy that he is, he didn’t make us get rid of him. But what an opportunity! Suddenly nobody liked Saul.

But we still wanted a chicken, so we figured we’d just keep Saul in the house until the chicken was big enough to defend itself. So we bought ‘Peep Peep Number 2′. Well this 2^nd chicken was even better than the first one! It was a bug eating machine!!! And even friendlier than the first one!!! We just loved her! She’d come when you ‘peeped’ at her. It was great! Well, Scotty forgot the whole ‘don’t let Saul out’ rule and let Saul out to go potty without supervision – 20 minutes later Scotty went out back and found Saul on top of the chicken merrily plucking its feathers out. Well the wound was pretty bloody and weepy, but the Peep Peep Number 2 was still very alive, so we thought maybe it would be ok. It was still really perky and kept eating bugs like crazy.

Even though we had all agreed to get rid of Saul, we thought it might ease the blow a little if we got the little zapper a chicken of her very own. Scotty and the little zapper went down to the feed store and got a Guinea Hen. They are supposed to be great bug eaters. But there were only 2 left and apparently for good reason. The bird that the two of them brought home was really… umm.. wrong. It had this leg that kind of flayed out to one side and its toes were curled under and when it walked it just kind of spun around in a circle on its knuckles. We called it ‘Jenny‘. She was like one of Jerry’s kids. She was a little slow in the head and couldn’t find a bug to save her life (literally), but I’m getting ahead of myself. I tried to explain to the little zapper that the bird was “special” and would probably need a lot of extra care, which apparently to her meant that she should hold it CONSTANTLY.

So, we have Peep Peep Number 2 with a gimpy wing, running around the yard, eating bugs like crazy. We have Jenny. The little zapper’s holding her. And we have Saul, who’s seen his last days in our house, but for the time being is only allowed outside unless under armed guard until other arrangements can be made.

Then, that fateful day. The weather turned really cold. The wind blew and it rained. I guess the infection from the wound mixed with the cold was too much for Peep Peep Number 2 and she passed away in my hands. That same day, little Jenny met her fate as well and died, you guessed it, in the little zapper’s hands.

So it was kind of a rough day, especially if you were a chicken. Even our chicken dinner was ruined because we cooked it in our brand new oven without a good pre bake to get rid of all the new stove off gassing. It really didn’t seem appropriate to eat chicken for dinner anyways. I had peanut butter and jelly on ritz crackers.

By the way, Saul, the chicken killer now lives in Ashland with the Coster family and goes by the name Raul (to celebrate his Mexican heritage).

Happy Spring!

In loving memory – Peep Peep 2

I haven’t had a chance to post new stuff lately as I have been so busy moving the blog to a new location – www.siskiyoutopia.com. Moving has been a chore!! Especially for someone who has no previous experience with PHP, FTP, CHGMOD, Permissions, editing code…… yada yada yada. This has been like learning a new language in a foreign land. But I’ve made it this far – had to give Internet Explorer the boot after a long and heated battle! Nice try Bill Gates! Internet Explorer would not allow me to download Firefox – it just made the download button not appear! It IS a conspiracy!

Anyways, as far as the new location goes there are still a lot of bugs to work out so please be patient. I will be back to posting as soon as I look up the help text on EVERYTHING, right after I look up the definition to EVERY stupid acronym, right after I download the software the lets me do ANY of this!!! I sit on the couch reading support forums muttering, “what does that mean?” “where do I find that?” “what are they talking about?” “why doesn’t this work?!”. I almost said the ‘F’ word the other day I was so cross! ‘FTP, F drive, download here to Fix, upload File, download File, Free download, error Found, AaaaaGGHHHHH!!!! F F F F!!!!

Ok, back to the help Forums! Have a super day!

The little zapper got to go to a free movie thanks to the generosity of Ron and Gloria Hagerman of the Broadway Twin Theatre.  For a donation of a non perishable food item the kids got to see Enchanted free of charge.  Nice job Ron and Gloria!  This is a real treat for so many kids in Yreka.  We look forward to it every year.

In the meantime, Scotty and I went to check out the Yreka Healing Arts Fair.  Now we are not really into metaphysics by any means, but we did find the experience pretty interesting.  We learned a little about flower essences and were shown how to determine which essences are beneficial to you personally at any given time through the use of a pendulum. 

We had our chakras read – again, using a pendulum.  It was a ‘chakring’ experience! hee hee   Actually, it was interesting and the interpretations would fairly accurate.  I was thinking about this experience this morning as I was getting ready to go to church.  The pendulum is interesting but I believe there is a better source, THE source – the one who created us, created our energy, and our spirits – Jesus.  I’m not being critical.  I appreciate the information gained from the pendulum; however I realized it’s like going to ‘middle management’ when you could just go straight to the ‘President’.  I dig Jesus!  I dig the gals down at Yreka Healing Arts too!   

THEN – the little zapper and I went to the Kanybl Kaow concert at the Greenhorn Grange.  I really didn’t know what to expect.  I had checked their website and the lyrics to their music – just to be sure the little ears would not be hearing stuff that was in the ‘official nazi mom dictionary of bad words’.  They passed that test.  Even though Kanybl Kaow paint a kind of ‘dark’ image of themselves on their website, in person they are clearly a group of girls that have pulled together an identity that defys those preconceived notions of what an alternative rock band should be, ie:  screaming, angry and defiant.  These girls sing about what is important to them, simple truths that are both deep and uncompromising and sometimes just silly.

I had the great pleasure of meeting their mom.  A tiny lady with a sweet and friendly demeanor.  She came right over, asked if we were enjoying the show, told us all about her girls, their progress, and their plans.  So far Kanybl Kaow has only held free concerts to benefit local fire departments and tonight to benefit Breast Cancer Research.  They are working on their second CD.  I can’t help but want to see them do well.  They are just darling! – Really!  I hate to admit it, but I have to say, this concert was more fun and wholesome than the “christian” concert that was put on at the YMCA for New Years!  Now that’s an interesting commentary, huh?   The volume was tolerable, the lights were left on and the audience was full of families and friends!  I’m so glad we went. 

Kanybl Kaow’s new fan!  Girls ROCK!!!

Yikes!  I hope none of our friendly tourists get a welcome like this!  Better not shop for more than 2 hours …. or else!

After lunch yesterday Scotty and I walked up Miner St. and stepped into Surroundings to see what was new.  There is one thing you can count on at Gerrilee Shinn’s home decor and gift shop – there is ALWAYS something new.  As a matter of fact I went back today and the store was completely rearranged!  It was like little magic elves had been working through the night!  

I have to say, if there is one example of a couple stores that are run well in Yreka it HAS to be Surroundings and it’s ’conjoined twin’  Natural Selections.  The merchandise is top quality, the stores are both pristine, frequently updated and the customer service is unmatched!  By the way, I am not paid to say all this!  Anyone who can do what these ladies have done in Yreka deserves a little PR.   

Their shops are in the “Coca Cola” building at 331 & 333 West Miner Street. 

So, here’s the brief low down on how these gals got together.  Ellen Janson opened a boutique in a building down the road from where they are now.  Gerilee worked for a interiors shop and the two would visit with each other often during the work day.  When Ellen heard about the ‘coca cola’ building coming available she asked Gerilee if she wanted to open shop and share the rent.  That was 8 years ago and the arrangement has proven to be nothing less than brilliant!  These gals share the rent as well as great taste and business savvy too.

Gerilee not only runs Surroundings but compliments her business by doing interior design at most any level from redecorating a room to new construction interiors from the ground up.  She is really talented and has done a lot of work in Redding in recent years!  Busy lady!!  What strikes me about Gerilee is her overflowing, bubbly, contagious enthusiasm for what she does.  She’s just darling!

Ellen is noted for not only running a high quality boutique but also for creating Yreka’s 1st Annual Septemberfest last year.  Miner and Broadway were closed off to traffic, nearly 50 vendor booths were set up and the band played all day.  It was a successful happening for Yreka and the plan is to do it again!  Hey vendors – keep checking back for details!

It seems to me that these two shops are pretty much the retail foundation for downtown Yreka.  They both attract visitors from all over the region and are a welcome reprieve for our wondering tourists.  I am so glad we have them and glad they are here to stay!

A rock band from Montague??!!  Check out this group of spunky youngsters that are taking their love for music and running amok with it!  According to their profile on myspace, this is a group of sisters that have always wanted to be a band.  Dreams do come true.  Cute story – you can read it here.

Anyhoo … this group is playing this Saturday at the Greenhorn Grange Yreka 6pm and 9pm shows.  No cover charge.  All donations go towards Breast Cancer Research.  So, if you like it loud and want to support a good cause, head down and check it out!  Click here for Kanybl Kaow’s website.  Rock on!

I was just realizing that I didn’t have a link for the Tulelake Chamber of Commerce and I stumbled across this website – Tule-Lake.com.  The photos of Tulelake and the Klamath Basin in this photozine are incredible!  Anders Tomlinson has done a great job of capturing the very best of this region.  I can’t wait to visit this area again.  Last time I was there was for the Potato Festival in Merrill, Oregon!  Now that was some fun! A little corny… I mean ’spuddy’, but fun!  Click here to see Tomlinson’s pics of the Potato Festival. 

I have been noticing Corn-digz all around Yreka lately.  We picked up a couple bags while waiting in the check out line at Price Less Foods for only 84 cents a bag!  Those little buggers are addicting!  According to Ed Harris of Corn-digz, they are in every market in Yreka, and most markets across Siskiyou County now.  Since their meager beginnings this little company has been marching on full speed ahead.  I am so excited to watch the progress and will keep you posted as we see more.  Check out their website here to get the 411 on Corn-digz.  Or better yet zip down to the local market and buy a few bags for yourself (trust me, one bag is not enough)!   Yea for local enterprise!