Getting Ready

Today has been spent getting ready for the trip north. Yesterday we had our early Christmas and opened presents. Last night I spent some time writing thank you letters. Probably the first time in my life I've written my Christmas thank-yous before Christmas!

The weather outside is gloomy, but it's cozy inside and nice to have almost all things ready to go. Bill ironed his shirts, so I wouldn't have to, and now he's getting the Prius ready to load. We won't leave at the crack of dawn, but it will probably be pretty close!

I'm taking a candle (gift) and a two little snowmen (also gifts) to brighten our room at the Admiral Inn. We're also taking a lot of cookies (sugar free) and candy (not sugar free) and nuts. I've packed a good frying pan and spatula. The amenities for cooking are sparse. We'll take breakfast fixings, some cocoa and of course lots of books. Bill will have his camera and I'll have my iPod! We haven't decided if we will take the laptop. I think we can stand to be out of touch for ten days. We will have our cell phones, so won't be completely out of touch.

So - it's off to Victoria and a Canadian Christmas!

Stars

With our cold weather the stars have been eye-popping for the past few nights. When I'm in bed I can look up at the skylight and see them glimmering. A really beautiful way to fall asleep. It got me wondering if parents tell their children about the constellations anymore. When I was in the Second Grade in Oakland our parents put fluorescent stars up on the ceiling in our bedroom - an early sort of nightlight. They told us about The Big Dipper, The Little Dipper and especially Orion and his belt and dagger. We often looked for those constellations at night and there was great excitement when we found them. I still look for Orion. I suppose that now most places are so brightly lit that it's hard to see the night sky.
Once when Sputnik was orbiting we were in Vista, California visiting cousins. One night we all went out on the lawn and lay down to look for Sputnik. My grandfather - with only one good eye - was the first to spot it beeping its way across the night sky.

Brrrrrrrrrr,Brrrrrrr

I shouldn't complain about how cold it is here when I see how cold it is in Lincoln, NE! And we don't have snow hitting us as well. But it was 21 degrees this morning when we got up, and it is still in the mid-twenties now - at 10:30A.M. The sun keeps shining, but the plants are looking as if they won't survive the constant cold.

So today is the day we get a new furnace. So today, with the temps in the twenties, we have no heat in the house. I'm going out to a P.E.O. luncheon, so I'll be warm while poor Bill will suffer.

But the sun is shining!

Brrrrrrrrrrr

It is really cold here! Cold for the coast, anyway. When I got up this morning the temperature was 25 degrees. Now it is 32 at noon. Even my rhododendrons froze last night - and the daphne looks very sad. I hope they'll all come back. The hummingbird feeder was frozen as well, so the poor little hummer had better go south.

We have almost finished the Christmas cards, and next week I'll start baking, and Bill will start making his peanut brittle. This week is pretty busy with a P.E.O. luncheon tomorrow, a trip to Portland to the dermatologist on Wednesday, and a League of Women Voters luncheon on Thursday. Next Sunday is the Holiday Party at the rec center. I have a cheese/cranberry thing for that, and I'll also make a wine cake.

In between we're getting a new furnace tomorrow, and we hope the appliance repair man will be here to fix our refrigerator again - for the fourth time this year. I think we are now eligible for a new one! This one is only two years old and the repair people have been here eight times.

I've been finding a lot of new recipes for cookies, and since I'm in a baking mood I'll try some out next week. It feels like winter outside, but I'm not really into the mood of the season yet. Baking will help that!

Sunshine

Bill's sale at the Eden Hall Craft Show went quite well. He had some fairly big sales, as well as $1 and $2 sales. He had a helper both days - one of the young girls from the Kid Zone, so she was able to tell customers what the Kid Zone was all about and give Bill a lot of conversation!

The League table also did very well for the three hours we were there. We gave out about eight registration cards. Most of them were for change of address for voting in the next election, but a few were to change affiliation - to Independent. Doesn't bode well for the Obama administration.

We were fortunate to have sunny days for both sale days. Even today is sunny, and according to the weekly weather report, we will have sun and clouds all week, so maybe we are finished with rain for a while.

Bill is busily working on his latest project - his memoirs. He's been at it for several years in a rather sporadic fashion, but now is engrossed, so will get far this winter. I think the Kid Zone project will gradually close down. It's a lot of effort for not much reward.

We've sent off the packages for Christmas, so my next project is Christmas cards. I could send an e-card to everyone, but I still enjoy getting cards in return! As a child I frequently sent off for things advertised "free" in magazines just so I would get mail. "Mail Call" has always been an important part of the day for me, and I really regret that most people don't write letters anymore. Maybe if I start writing instead of sending emails, I can start a new trend!

Thankful

Bill and I have much to be thankful for today. Our health is pretty good considering our ages. We live in a beautiful area, in our "dream home" and have enough money to feel fairly comfortable. We are still able to travel, and have certainly done so this year.

We have a wonderful family, and have been lucky to visit with most of them during the year either here or where they live. It's not always easy to get together, but great when we're able to do so.

We are spending today very quietly reading and watching football, while the rain pours down outside.We can't complain, however, as we've had three sunny days - and it is the time of the year for rain!

Bill has been resting up for his big sale tomorrow and Saturday. This will be the last sale of the year, and we hope he'll make lots of money for The Kids Zone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey Early

Today we celebrated Thanksgiving early with some of our neighbors. Since we have no plans for turkey day, this worked out well. I made stuffing and two pies. The pie recipes were from Southern Living magazine and were quite good. I'm not brave enough to make my own pie crust, so used the ready-made from the grocery. I just have to remember to let it come to room temp before unrolling! I am feeling very full and uncomfortable, so will head to bed to read instead of sitting up.
The wind was ferocious last night. It started about 2 A.M. and didn't let up until late in the morning. Some trees came down on Walking Wood north of us, but we just had branches and cones hitting the roof over our heads. I'll be interested in seeing how strong the winds were. Seemed worse than last week.
" Hurrah for the fun, is the turkey done? Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!" Part of a song my grandfather used to sing :)

Friends and Shopping

In Oregon you never let weather stop you from having lunch with a friend - or going shopping. A few weeks ago we had a terrific storm - hail, wind, driving rain and road awash - but my friend K and I had planned a trip to Pacific City to shop at one of our favorite stores, and then have lunch at the Pelican Brew Pub. We got in my little Prius and headed into the storm. It got worse the farther we went, but we persevered. I was a bit nervous, but kept going, and we arrived at our destination forty miles away. The wind blew us into the store dripping puddles of rain as we walked about looking at all sorts of treasures. We bought some Christmas gifts, paid and were about to leave when the clerk reminded us that if we spent a certain amount we could come back at one o'clock and have a Wheel of Fortune spin - "Everyone wins something! You can't lose!!!"
We left - after spending a bit more - and had a leisurely lunch looking out at the 'storm-tossed sea' and the brave souls getting lashed by wind and sand as they walked up the beach.
Back to the shop where we each had a spin. K won $2.00. Then it was my turn. I (drum roll) won - wait for it - $1.00. That's right - one big dollar bill.
Then it was back into the storm and the trip home. When we reached Lincoln City K yelped "Snow!!!" There definitely was white stuff all along the sides of the road. The road was clear, however, and we got home with our gifts and our big wins.
A day of fun - and terror - with a dear friend.

A Little Windy?

Well, last night was more than a slight wind. Waldport registered 95, and I'm sure it was much the same here. Things kept bouncing off the roof, but no tree fell on us this time. We also got about 3/4 of an inch of rain over night, with more predicted all week.

I'm now beginning to look at recipes for pies for our potluck dinner on Sunday. For the potluck dinner tomorrow night at the rec center I'm going to make the corn bake I used to make when we all gathered in southern California. I never make it any more since Bill doesn't like corn, and it's really good.

I'll make Nan's sour cream apple pie and a pumpkin pie for Sunday.

Windy Day

The wind started last night, is growing stronger now. No rain today, but it's expected for tomorrow. We've begun winter weather very early this year. Rather gloomy days and a lot of rain.
With the weather change I've started to get the Christmas wrapping and posting done early. But then I'm always early! I love buying gifts all year long, and then getting them off to my dear ones so that I know they'll arrive in plenty of time for shaking and peeking!