So much to be thankful for...

Click the photo for a slide show


Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day. We were so fortunate to have my brother and his family and my mother (she'll be 94 next month) and a friend with us for the traditional turkey feast. The dinner preparations are always a joy for me and Jill. We both love cooking and entertaining. I suppose, if there is a shortcoming with our home, it is that we don't have room enough to seat more than about 15 at our dining room table. We only had half that many yesterday (well, there wasn't a half a person, but we did have seven), but we would have welcomed more.

Today the sun is shining and the weather is unseasonably warm. I got out and re-engineered our Christmas lights. I installed gutter covers a couple of months ago, and my lights that used to clip on the edge of the gutters no longer fit. I was able to add some plastic hooks and string the lights through them. We have, for several years had a lighted cross to hang on the front of the garage, but it didn't light this year. I am thinking that I may rework it into a star, which is more appropriate for this season of advent.

Tomorrow, we are picking up the motor home from the storage facility, and Sunday we will take off for a few days. Catch our adventures on my blog, Travels With Sadie. We are so fortunate to have our venerable old coach to whisk us away from time to time. We always feel really close to each other when we are traveling in her. Yes, I know, in 240 square feet we have to be close to each other, but I was talking about emotional closeness. The weather promises to be dry, if chilly, so we are glad the Champoeg State Park has lots of places for us to take brisk hikes and keep our blood circulating. Pogo always gets so tired the first time out that she sleeps the rest of the time we are at this particular park.

I learned that, if I were to pursue the Ph.D. I was considering, the State of Oregon would not recognize it. So, I have decided not to pursue it. We are remaining open to God's leading for where He wants us to be connected to fellowship and ministry. Apparently, further study is not in His plans at this time, at least not that particular program. I can only conclude that He has something even more wonderful in store for us.

I don't know if it is leftover L-tryptophan from the turkey, or the chilly weather while I was outside hanging the lights, or laziness, but I am feeling very sleepy. Thank the Lord that I am able to be retired and take a nap, which is what I believe I will do next. Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving and that the Advent season will bring much joy and the Peace of Christ to you and yours.

What a time we had, Rosie, old girl; what a time.

Jill and I got a crazy notion on Sunday and decided that Monday would be a good day for a trip to the beach. So, Monday morning, we got up and had breakfast, packed up the dog and piled into the old Ford. We were on the road by 8:30 AM, which was, perhaps, an error in judgment. The trouble with being retired is that you forget that those who still need to work have a tendency all to get on the road at once.

Well, the minor annoyance of getting through downtown Portland during the end of "rush hour" (goodness knows why it is called rush hour, when it lasts far longer than an hour and no one is able to rush anywhere) gave way to the joy of being on the road. The weather was not glorious, but neither was it awful. There was no rain, and the clouds were thin enough that we had occasional periods when sunglasses were definitely in order.

When we arrived at Cannon Beach, the weather was actually better than it had been on the way. The first stop we made in CB was at the coffee vendor's. We both had been yawning during our drive. Next, we took a walk on the beach, and Pogo got the run of the month! We spotted a huge flock of birds huddled together along the banks of the Ecola river. It turns out that the flock contained both seagulls and pelicans. I can't recall seeing pelicans this far north before, but there were dozens of them.

The wind, which was not brisk, nevertheless finally chilled us to the point that we decided to get back up among the buildings of Main Street. We visited most of the tourist trap boutiques and finally took Pogo back to the car. Our breakfast had worn off by now, so we made our way to Bill's Restaurant and Brew Pub. Jill had an oyster burger, and I dug into some fish and chips.

Our hunger sated, we decided to make a jaunt to Arch Cape, south on U.S. 101 about five miles from Cannon Beach. Having satisfied our curiosity, we headed north again for home. The ocean was so beautiful, that I decided to pull over at a viewpoint and get some pictures. That's when we discovered that we had left the camera at Bill's.

We made pretty good time on our way back to the Pub, hoping to retrieve the camera, which is not terribly valuable, but it contains our memory chips with hundreds of photos on them, including the ones we took on this jaunt. (Make a note: time to back up the photos!) The barman knew exactly why we had returned, and with a wry smile but nary a word, he went to the "lost and found" drawer and handed us our little friend.

The drive home was beautiful, and since it was Monday, there was very little traffic. We decided to stop at Camp 18 Restaurant and gift shop, a place we have passed many times but never visited. It was not a disappointment. We didn't eat, of course, but the museum of "manly" machinery and the gift shop were charming.

We arrived home before dark thinking that the day had been just about perfect. Click on Sasquatch above for a slide show.

Who needs binoculars and birdcalls?

Yesterday, God put his avian creation on display for us in our own backyard. Between the sheer wonder of the number and variety of birds populating our backyard simultaneously and the fact that I didn't want to miss the show, I didn't go and dig out the camera, so I have borrowed some photos from the internet.

We noticed a flock of tiny yellow/olive birds that I think were goldfinches in their winter coloration. Or perhaps, they were females or juveniles:
There were some black-capped chickadees:
We also saw a western scrub jay:
As usual, we saw lots of Oregon juncos:
There were a couple of house finches:
We even saw a hummingbird, I'm not sure what kind, but it looked a bit like this:
Another frequent visitor is the rufous sided towhee:
English sparrows were in the mix:
Just behind our house, the neighbors have a fig tree which was full of starlings:
Perhaps, our favorite was the red-winged blackbird:
Finally, this morning, I looked out at the bird feeder and saw a dove:
So, I ask you, "Why go to a lot of expense and trouble to do your birdwatching?" Just come on over and enjoy the show. We'll put on a pot of coffee for you!