Lotus with Flying Horse

A last nod to the holidays. The further I get behind, the faster I go. I'm going to jump on that Mobil horse for 2011, not to go fast so much as to have a good seat as another year speeds along.

Squiggly Tree

Been trying to snap a pic of this tree for years, but there is so much traffic and not much room to put a tripod. Got there early yesterday morning, but the lights were not on, so went back in the evening in the wind and rain and took what I could get. Maybe tomorrow . . . .

Christmas Cormorant

Does the clever title drive the blog or is the picture the real reason? A beautiful, calm, cold winter day.

Cute Prop

Loved seeing this at the Pittock Mansion during a tour of the place all decorated for Christmas! Loved it because I did so little cooking and baking and cleaning this Christmas, I surely saved lots of dish soap as well as time spent prepping and cleaning. Nonetheless, I should stress the small amount of cleaning done around here lately in general. AAAAGGGGHHH - It's a mess! Turns out it doesn't matter how much or little you entertain, you still make a big mess.

Merry Movies

These stars surround the little movie theater in downtown St. Johns. Tomorow we will partake of the honorable Christmas pastime of a movie in the afternoon. Perhaps True Grit.

Lorna's Lights

Every morning I see Lorna's little house all lit up. I sit in the right corner of the blue couch with my coffee and gaze at her lights and watch the sky lighten up.

Hot Toddy and Twigs

Wishing you many ways to take care of yourself like some warmth for the inside and for the outside.

Glitter and Warmth

Staying away from the malls; finding the holiday spirit in friend's and fancy.

Done Sweeping

We split and chop and sweep. We carry and stack again. We burn and dream of mornings like this.

Pins on the Wire

Early pink morning with forgotten clothespins waiting out the winter.

Wheelbarrow

Little of the red and a little of the green. Had a break in our heavy rains yesterday and we mucked out the chicken coop and redesigned their roost and nest box - turns out 5 is too many hens. Now that wheelbarrow is filled with scrumptious straw and chicken poop - I mean scrumptious if you are a plant.

Concert Season

Tuxedo as work clothes: this time of year Eric seems to always need another clean white shirt.

Back to Back Boards

Seems like I operated better in my kitchen with a number of the same oft used items: measuring spoons and cups mostly, but I manage to keep three small chopping boards going at the same time, too.

Savory Kitchen

The savory cheesecake turned out tasty even though my stomach fell as I watched it fall.

Garlic and Rosemary

Decided to make a double batch: two cheesecakes, so twice as many of everything. Stressful, but fun.

3 dc, 4 minutes on low heat

Multi-tasking my way through the holidays. Crocheting yet another dishcloth while waiting for the chocolate walnut tort topping to cool for 30 minutes before going on to the next step. Then it's back to 3 dc in the 4th ch . . . something like that!

Warning

The sign tells you to hold your stomach in, keep a smile on your face, and act like you love going to the gym. If you don't, you have to start right over again. Also, it wouldn't hurt to hold the camera straight.

Maple Wreath

Is Nature getting into a holiday spirit by making a wreath?  Continued strange weather: These leaves have already been covered once with snow a couple weeks ago and now they look like October. Same with our yard; we had a very light snow one day, and today I raked leaves off my lawn.

All I want to be is a Christmas Tree!

This fern seems to be flocked and ready for some very small ornaments; a little red bow next to the greenery would do just fine.

Green Machine

Fading light and a neighbor's pride and joy.

Fly Away

Away with November and welcome to December. It takes a month before I am acclimated. This morning outside with no hat or gloves even though it's as cold as anything all week. You just get used to it. A great flock of robins settled into the walnut trees; I guess it no longer surprises me to see any bird at any time. Aren't robins supposed to go south?

Frosty Green

Another morning of frost. Continued strange weather; leaves falling while still green. Green leaves and it's almost December. Almost December. Almost December?! Can another year have almost slipped by! Wait, we still haven't cleaned the basement! I still haven't smelled the roses - let alone plowed through a pile of leaves.

Ripening

Lined up and waiting. Haven't mastered the tricks for ripening pears and persimmons: put them in a bag, or put them on a shelf where you can at least see them.

It was Frosty

Our first wintery weather has come and gone. Lovely and short lived.

Museum Warming

One way to keep your heating costs down is to spend a very cold day at the art museum. That's what we did yesterday. We rode the train to town, shopped at REI, had lunch, spent an hour and a half at the museum, then rode the bus across town to pick up the newly repaired Honda. Ate warmed over chicken for dinner and made pie crust dough using lard. (I'll keep you posted on that one.)

Tulip Bakery

The Tulip Bakery is the only bright spot in a cold and dreary day. How long will it take these kids to gravitate toward it, it certainly caught my eye.

Umm, that was good!

It was breakfast of eggs, greens and a bit of sausage. Then we finished our Bananagrams game, I took pictures of it, and then of my empty plate.

Bike Shop

Looks like blue is for girls and the boys get all the reds, yellows and greens. Or, maybe I don't know my bike shapes.

Oh, O!

Here's the real reason we found ourselves at Freddie's the other night. Eric has a new green sweatshirt. I asked him if he was going to wear it today when he went out, but he said he's saving it for the Opera. Add that to the growing list of useful uses for the letter O. Olson, Opera, Oregon - can you think of one?

Chef's Envy

That's what it's called.They used to call them Veg-o-Matics and you used to see them only at the State Fair. She was demonstrating them between Automotive and Toys at Freddie's. It was so fortunate that we happened along just then, too, because you could only get one if you stood there and listened to the entire pitch and then made your decision within just a few minutes! But, it was an easy call. I mean, you'd be an idiot not to buy one: they threw in a FREE kitchen shears. And, those little orange plastic tubes in the oranges - they were free, too.

Lined Up at Just the Right Spot

Here's hoping they hit the exact spot. Sending waves of strength and calm and love to add to all the good waves tomorrow.

Flamenco Bird

Here's a bird with flounces that move with flash, not as flashy as her mate, but just as standoffish.

Green and Pink

Spent the day at home. Mostly upstairs, but I'd run down to put more wood on the fire and each time the light was so different. Here's a quick shot of a fading bouquet.

Flakes and Greens

Fall leaves always make me think of Wheaties, so droll. So this is a bizarre breakfast: Wheaties and greens with water. OK, maybe it's time for lunch. Can't quite figure it out.

Vine Lines

What a little water will do. Grapevines along the Columbia River, east of the Cascades. Without the irrigation the whole place would be sagebrush and snakes.

Is it really that cute?!

Yes, I reckon it is. And I still think it'd be cute in a kitchen stood upright where the refrig goes.  The front seat could be for veggies, the back seat for things in bottles, the glove box could be the freezer.

Riding our Bike

Zipping along the Springwater Trail between Gresham and Boring, Oregon. Twelve miles of beautiful leaves. It's been gorgeous here and I've been grateful - it's due to rain tomorrow.

Wow!

Never have so many awesome cars been so dramatically displayed. Located in an upscale mall, the Black Hawk Museum is filled with em. I told Eric they know what they're doing: the men get to long for very expensive cars while the women are free to shop and shop.

Wide Angle Friends

This captures the warmth, sunshine, and long stretches of happiness while I was in California last week.

Our Winner

After purposely ignoring all media since the election, I reached for the morning paper on the porch this morning noticing right away that it wasn't wrapped in plastic and was wondering why since it could rain today. Then I saw the big KITZ- letters and slowly turned the rolled up paper to read -HABER WINS and felt a flush of good feeling from my toes to my head! Ahhhhh! Not all the news is droll. California had good governor news, too! (That rubber band is like a hug and would've been a strangle had the outcome and picture been different. How we choose our meanings!)

Little Ladies

Feeling a little like these French designers who had lots of ideas but no resources right after the war, so they sewed their creations on wire dolls. I've had lots of pictures and lots of ideas, but just haven't found the long, deep breath needed to settle down and resume my blog. This might be where the extra day comes in as I may just try to catch up.

This is from an exhibit at Maryhill Musuem that we visited Monday on a retired teacher field trip. All day up the Gorge near The Dalles to an out of the way museum. Have you been there? They also have a replica of Stonehenge.

Mr. Turtle

Turtle in the San Lorenzo River.

Squirrel Lunch

We found Mr. Squirrel on our way to our own lunch. Squirrels eat with their hands.

Sleepy Cormorant

Or maybe the sun was in her eyes. The Sun!

And More to Come

Here is the first of the Monarchs on our first day in Santa Cruz.

Winners!

Obama came to Portland to give John Kitzhaber some support in his run for governor. We stumped for Kitzhaber and got real good tickets for doing so! Very, very cool! Obama said all the things the papers never print. So disgusting. What a thrill though. Last post until we arrive in Santa Cruz!

Looking at the River

On our bike ride the other day, we ate our lunch at a viewpoint overlooking the Columbia River. Looks like the sky, but it's the river. And maybe a little scary, too?

Dinner at Marjorie's

Marjorie baked a chicken and made a wonderful apple pie in a skillet. Marjorie doesn't get out as much as she used to - health issues, so she invites us over and seems to enjoy hearing of all the busy-ness in our lives. Maybe it's a relief to know you don't run around as much as your guests.

Betting on a Buick

At the official grand opening of the car museum on Saturday! Suddenly it's officially a museum with many cool cars to see.

I'm excited to be seeing lots of different cars, too. Soon. On the freeway. On our drive down to Santa Cruz!!

Funky Chicken House

We stumped for Kitzhaber on Saturday in a cool, inner southeast neighborhood. Most of the houses were splendidly displaying their pride of homeownership, and this one had a display quite its own.