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.