Cat in the Bag

Bringing things in from the car tonight included some stuff I brought home from Mike's in a Trader Joe's grocery bag. I placed the bag on my bed and took most everyting out. I had turned to retrieve the bag when Cuddles made a high, clean, "nothin-but-net" jump and neatly landed in the bag in a proper seated position. She clearly felt the pride of her accomplishment, as is evidenced by her smug expression in these pics. Just thought I'd share. Can you believe she's 12 years old!? She still loves to play paper bag games and will get in them and bat at anything available.
The weather at the coast this weekend was amazing! Sideways rain and 60mph winds were the order of each day. It's amazing that, in the four Fall/Winters that I have been here, that this is the first of the severe coastal wind & rain storms that I have experienced. We ventured out Saturday afternoon to listen to some Celtic music. Leaving the Cookie Company after the music and some delicious Tortilla Soup, we were totally soaked and dripping by the time we reached the truck. Although we were supposed to meet some friends later that evening, we didn't. Waaaaay too much rain!
Poor Riley is really freaked out by the wind. The basement has become his reluctant refuge for this storm. The wind and rain subsided just for a few hours on Sunday and the two of us went for a walk/run in the new clear-cut. I'm glad we got to do that, for the storm has returned full force and will last at least another 24-36 hours. I certainly hope that, next weekend, we can get in a couple of real runs. I think we both need it.
I hope to have some "weather" or at least fall photos for my next post. I really must learn to stop and pull over when I see something I'd like to shoot a picture of. Oregon is such a photogenic place and I actually live in a beautiful part of this state. Perhaps I will even carry my "big" camera with me for a while in addition to the little guy that has performed so well in skiing.
Thanksgiving is coming and I'd like to make my cranberry relish. I made an apple pie this weekend from apples from a co-worker's son's tree. It's probably the best apple pie I've ever made and I really believe it's because the apples were tree ripened and not "poisoned" by insectasides and other modern "aides" to ripening and preservation. Donna promises that we'll have even more apples next year from Doug's tree and I look forward to that tradition. We both cooked with those apples this weekend and she also thought her pies were the best she'd ever done. Hmmmmmm!?