Oregon | Katja Patersonová

Climbing

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 10:52:00 +0000

Climbing at skinners butte

Went with friends to skinners butte. Hugh absolutely loved it…. Katja did too.

Hugh V was the first to summit.

Skyjo

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 16:15:00 +0000

Hugh V and Katja playing Skyjo

Birthday on the beach

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 19:33:00 +0000

Just turning six

A family birthday celebration at the Oregon coast.

The coast

Fencing

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 16:27:30 +0000

Katja has been a big help getting the new fence in place.

Earlier this year I stained the boards

I needed a hat in the sun.

I dug the post hole

Stablized

I taught her how to use a clamp as a third hand.

We used the level to create an even bottom.

Inside completed.

Then she hung the outside boards.

Blueberries

Sat, 06 Jul 2024 21:38:09 +0000

So I buy blueberries for my kids and they leave them til they mold. The neighbors’ bush goes ripe and they pick three quarts and eat nothing but blueberries all day.

Here is what’s left

Remaining blueberries

Christmas in July

Thu, 04 Jul 2024 19:10:00 +0000

Our original Christmas plans were interrupted this year and we developed new Christmas plans on the fly. We had selected these tricycles for our kids and I didn’t wanna put them inside and I wanted to build a enclosed area for bikes and such but that has not happened. Nevertheless, we waited and waited and waited with the gifts on our fireplace hearth. So we decided to have Christmas in July, probably should’ve had Christmas in June.

Fireworks on the fourth

Thu, 04 Jul 2024 10:34:59 +0000

Hugh and Becky

Becky and Katja

The Hughs

This was the first year we have gone to see 4th of July fireworks as a family. Hugh V likes them more than Katja, or at least he has in the past. Oddly I was excited to go. Other than being beyond tired the kids fared well. We went down to the Springfield bridge.

We went to see a fireworks show which was simple and for its type, well done. However, as I take my family to observe the fireworks in the present, it makes me wonder how many Americans really connect the 4th of July celebration to the events and social context of over 200 years ago. That is, do they associate the fireworks with the rocket’s red glare, with the bloody cost and toll of human suffering? How many know and understand the story of our country’s origin–all of it–not just the “freedom from England” part? I noticed people of different ethnic origins enjoying the fireworks. People speaking different languages. People with different social values and personal itineraries. It made me wonder do people understand this country–really, especially first and second generation nationals. Can people in Junior High really articulate the story of this country and what would they say. Or is this festival of fireworks understood through the lens of understanding fireworks and their social context as experienced in other parts of the world, e.g., East Asia and Latin America? It occurs to me that unless the oral history of our country’s origin is repeated that the origin story can’t be heard by the next generation regardless of their origin. How is that history supposed to be passed down by playing the 1812 overture–a masterpiece of music–but one that celebrates France’s defeat at the hands of the Russians? And while the 4th of July seems to celebrate the freedom from the British Royal Crown, is it in some way the consummation of a continuing policy against the peoples who lived in, on, upon, and from the land? And if this is the land of the free, home of the brave what freedom was being granted in the same breath that freedom was being claimed. At some level I still believe in the Constitution, especially when I say we need some additional amendments and to clarify some points via an act of Congress. However, is the foundation of that Federal organization morally valid–either as secessionists or oppressors?

As I think back to my childhood, the history of our country’s origin was not hid from me. It was specifically narrated through events, monuments, and military history. I wonder how should or can I narrate that for my kids. Frankly, the challenge is that if I don’t valorize one side of the story, then it looses its novelty. And yet, sometimes I wonder if the colonialists should have rather marched on London to overthrow the king! How different would our world be today, India, Australia, Canada, South Africa, and even the Middle East?

Rockslide

Sat, 22 Apr 2023 21:16:00 +0000

There was a rockslide on the way up to Willamette pass on OR58.

Swimming and not

Wed, 30 Oct 2019 18:51:00 +0000

Being a solo parent is hard. Sometimes it can mean taking your kids with you to do the thing you do.

I Swim in the mornings to keep my sanity. But this means figuring out what my little girl can do without me while I swim. One particular cold morning I helped her with her bag of things to do including drawing and music and my warm sleeping bag.

Katja and her things

Frozen deck at the pool.

Camping with Katja

Sat, 31 Aug 2019 13:26:00 +0000

Moriah joined us.

Mt Hood

Camping food

My little girl!