Friday, December 30, 2011

Happy New Year!

The views down at the coast were to die for...



**Ahem...*** I meant this view. ;) That bright orb is the sun, and it was suspiciously out nearly everyday I was there. Odd.


Well, 2011 is swiftly drawing to a close dear friends. It had some highs and some lows, for sure. During my extended stay on the Oregon Coast caring for my heart patient, well, the power port on my trusty laptop finally gave up the ghost. All that classwork we did together...all the blogging we did...I feel like I should have it bronzed. So trying to e-regroup, but wanted to send out a happy new year!


During my time in Oregon I was lucky enough to spend some time with some old school Oregonians...lunch with my Great Auntie Irene, age 94...and one of her 11 children, Marilyn. ELEVEN. She made lunch for six of us -- turkey noodle casserole, a tomato balsamic salad, and apple cobbler... and upon setting it on the table barked "Starin' at it ain't gonna make it taste any better. EAT!"


And also some time with one of the newest Oregonians! And on the occasion of her second birthday too! If little Lena knew how much I love mac and cheese she would not likely have been so generous with it...


And her Momma too! Welcome back to Oregon, we missed ya!


I love Lena's independent spirit! She calmly communicated that she really had to have her own yogurt cup. My kinda girl.


And after exactly a month away from home, Doctor Amy gave the heart patient a clean bill of health and hit the road! It was lovely hanging out on the coast. More pix to come...when I can figure out my electronics situation in the new year. Bon voyage, 2011! Long live 2012! xoxo

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Our First Adventure Out...

We snapped this lovely. Dad art directed ("pull over here, there's some nice vistas from here..."), I did the technical work. :)

Away From the Hustle and Bustle...

So kickin' at the river estate is nice... it has all the aesthetics one could desire...

Lush greenery.

Flora.

Fauna.

And let's not forget this...

It's Pastoral Living for Me!

Sooooo....instead of a bird with all the trimmings, we decided to go with Thanksgiving dinner at the Clackamas mall Chevy's...complete with cranberry margaritas. ;) Heh! We were happy to have our quesadillas and whatnot, then return to the heart ward where Dad got got a new valve!

After 5 short nights in the hospital, BLAM! they sent him home for rest and recovery...with me! Recovery includes 2 to 4 four daily walks...

On one we discovered this dead cat.... NO! That's Lucky, throwing himself in Dad's path so as to keep him from walking by without a petting.

We have some of the most lovely options for walks!

So I'm caretaking for most of this month! Whenever we leave our rather remote location, we try to do something social, like coffee at the little cafe where sister and I worked through college. Dad is a stellar patient and will be 100 percent in no time!

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Ride

Well...it finally happened. As much as we loved Old Truck, we are particularly hard on trucks... And there came a time when we just didn't trust Old Truck. So we himmed and hawed, planned and shopped, and finally pulled the trigger. Meet: New Truck! Yay!

New Truck feels enormous to me. I feel like we've borrowed one of our parents' truck. The console is huge. I have tried for years to get my husband to buy a truck that would allow me to sit right next to him on the bench, country style... to no avail. Now he's got this giant console between us! :(

It's the perfect accessory: it goes with approximately 98 percent of my husband's clothes.

He's so gangta in our new ride.

And it safely transported us to the Willamette Valley! Welcome new truck!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Really...SNOW?

O.M.G. Mark it on the calendar kids, the first snow of the winter, November 5. CRAZY.

We got 12 trick-or-treaters this year! A record! I think they were attracted to my scary jack-o-lantern!

It didn't last the afternoon, but everything was definitely white!


A few days ago I spied these fatty-fatty-two-by-four quails. Then they flew away...

On my way back into the house I discovered they had snuck up behind me on the garage roof! Trickster quails!!

Chair arm horns! Hee hee! Happy first snow!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

I Want a Job, Not a Party!

You may remember that at this party last year, the Red Bull girls showed up in their Red Bull Mini Cooper and their Red Bull backpacks, passing out chilled cans to the masses. This year these two clever fellows came dressed as last year's Red Bull girls... and actually passed out cans too! So clever! Pictured here with "Buzzed" Lightyear, who might have had some paraphernalia on him. ;)

Award for the "most committed to a character" for the evening was this 99 percenter, who occupied Irving Street all night, picketed the party, and stole firewood and drinks from the 1 percent. Hahahah! He was so committed, that's even his trailer in the background... "I bought it back when times were good, and I earned a living wage... now I gotta live in it!"

I maintain a costume doesn't have to be timely to be excellent. This horror flick duo killed me... Carrie (under that coat the dress was PERFECT) and the creepy dude from No Country For Old Men. So clever!!

On to our second party of the eve, more fabulous costumes on display...
...including ABBA. Hahahah! I'm still coveting those sparkly boots.


Lastly, this is blurry, but this guy's date was the black swan (she looked amazing, her costume was immaculated!) and he was the white swan. Hahahahah! Dudes in tights, never not funny. Happy halloween until next year! :)

Costumes and Fun!

Ginger Ninja was part of a group costume -- a roller derby team! Hee hee! We agreed they should watch my copy of "Kansas City Bomber" some time. ;)

I love halloween. People come up with such clever ideas. By the end of the night my little white gloves were tarnished with bbq sauce, diet coke, Red Bull, and lime Jell-O, among other filth.

I might have to add this to my favorite halloween pix. With this one, and this one, of course.

Goodness! Such a look! Someone must have unfastened their seatbelt without permission! Or forgot to use their little armrest ash tray. Hahaha. Remember smoking sections on planes? I barely do. So gross!

I loved my husband in the captain's costume. So debonaire. He couldn't see anything all night, but I love that sort of commitment to the character. I ran out of gold ribbon after the three stripes, so he was a First Officer, not a full-on Captain (four stripes). Sorry honey...but you've got four stripes in my book.

The host and hostess of this 9th year halloween party have an older house (and plumbing) with only one bathroom. Every year it gets overused and a plumber has to be called. :( Last year I might have had something to do with planting the seed for having an outhouse brought in for the party. And it was! So all night long I called it "my outhouse."

I love the motion in this photo!

Halloween Prep!

Ya'all have been so complimentary of our 2011 halloween costumes... thanks! These were easily my faves ever. Such fun!

I downloaded pix from eBay of authentic Pan Am ensignia, printed them out, and made them into little pins for our uniforms! I ran out of pin backs or I would have made us both a handful of Mile High Clubs to pin on partygoers throughout the night. ;) Hee hee!

And of course, no stewardess is ready without her Pan Am bag. Again, just a printout stuck on a navy blue bag I have.

The most labor-intensive part of the get-up was my hat, which I made from navy blue felt and white piping. Custom hats are really the way to go...I could wear this hat everyday! In fact, the hat left last night on a girls' weekend adventure, so maybe it won't end up in the Halloween box after all ! Safe travels, little hat... And if you end up at Forester's Club, stay away from the purple vikings.

Everyone thought the martini glasses were the perfect touch. And after Halloween I don't mind putting them in the china cabinet! So cute!

With our roller derby date, "Ginger Ninja," (Miss G kept muttering "I'M the original Ginger Ninja!")...

And the rather dapper captain at the wheel, we were off to Halloween parties!

Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween from the Flight Deck!

Fasten your seatbelts everyone, we are hoping for clear skies, but we might hit a little turbulence en route. The refreshment cart will be through in a bit, and thank you for flying Pan Am.

Happy Halloween!