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!