OREGON LIVING

Health, religion, travel, family and lifestyle news from around Oregon

I knew I was in trouble the minute I got in my car. Something was gripping my ankle. I looked down and saw a morning glory vine wrapped around my leg with the rest of the vine trailing out the door into the small border along the driveway.

After freeing myself, I started driving to work and felt an itch on my neck. I smacked it, and my hand came away with a smashed aphid.

Continue reading "Ominous forces in my garden are plotting revenge" »

A restored ranger station from Nevada will open July 1 at the High Desert Museum, six miles south of Bend.

The historic High Desert Ranger Station will be used to interpret the role of forests in Western American life and the policies that shaped the high desert forests of today.

During the last five years, the museum staff worked with the U.S. Forest Service and Nevada's state Historic Preservation Office to save the station, moving it from a remote location in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

Continue reading "Restored ranger station at High Desert Museum" »

At first, Ruth Cabezas chalked up her son's behavioral issues to an early case of the Terrible Twos.

Evan, about 18 months old, would occasionally throw tantrums at family gatherings or in crowded places, yelling and running around. At other times, in similar settings, he would instead become very withdrawn and demand to be held.

But the behavior continued into age 3. And age 4. And age 5. Cabezas had also seen this kind of behavior before in a previous job teaching deaf students. Could Evan have a hearing problem?

Continue reading "Kids' hearing losses often go undetected" »

Coffee, micros, bikes and hikes.

That pretty much defines a Portlander (notice that umbrella is not on the list).

Here's a new book that doesn't deal with the first three subjects, but it has the fourth covered in spades.

It's "Take a Hike Portland,'' by well-known local author Barbara I. Bond, a 264-page description of the best hikes close to Portland. It sells for $16.95 from Moon Outdoors Travel Guides.

Continue reading "Take a Hike Portland (have fun doing it, too)" »

Continue reading "YOU CAN HELP: Volunteer opportunities in Clackamas County, June 25-July 1, 2009" »

Lately, my preschooler has asked about a piggy bank. She's drawn more to the idea of having a ceramic knickknack than the money-saving virtues it might instill.

Still, it got me wondering about allowances: When to start them, how much to give, whether they should be tied to chores.

Continue reading "Teaching kids about money can start with an allowance" »

Portland has been drawing positive national attention lately for our food, culture, urban planning and bicycle-friendliness. Carye Bye loves bicycling, to be sure. But this 33-year-old North Portland resident otherwise thinks much of our city's charm lies hidden from the recent trend-story spotlight.

Bye's idea of a good Portland time is exploring local attractions such as the Wells Fargo History Museum, a pocket of the Old West in a modern high-rise office building. Or the Portland Police Museum, tucked into the top floor of the Multnomah County Justice Center. Among Bye's favorite things at this under-the-radar spot is an original, late-'70s-vintage figure of McGruff the Crime Dog, the trench-coat-wearing cartoon Great Dane who encourages kids to "take a bite out of crime."

Continue reading "Chronicling Portland's kitschy collections" »

I suppose owning the state's only wine cave has exposed Steve and Gloria Reustle to their share of bat and vampire jokes.

But one thing you learn quickly is that their winery's cave, which they believe is the only one in Oregon, is no laughing matter.

The cave is an expensive, first-class way to store and experience wine. They believe it has the feel of a Roman catacomb.

Continue reading "Visit a rare cave on Umpqua Valley wine circuit" »

The afternoon light in Lauren Hall-Behrens' garden is enough to make you cry. It streams through the tall-as-trees banana plants and fractures into a thousand laser beams, each one alighting on a thread of feather grass. Impossibly, the effect stops and starts the heart at the same time.

The 1904 house on the 60-by-100-foot lot in North Portland is a big, two-story Foursquare that blends the characteristics of Victorian and Craftsman styles.

Continue reading "Dramatic foliage and hardscape blend in an exotic Portland garden" »

Here's another "must have'' book for anyone who loves Mount Hood.

And hey, don't all Oregonians love their tallest mountain.

Timber Press of Portland has published another beautiful book on the mountain's famous lodge, working with author Sarah Baker Munro and photographer Aaron Johanson.

Continue reading "Making Timberline Lodge look good (an easy job)" »