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!