Mellow in the Sink

Having written a BLOG entitled "Cat in the Bag" I feel I must give equal (sort of) time to my other cat. Cuddles posed so nicely in her bag and was quite cute. My other cat is her son, Mellow. He is officially Yellow Mellow Fellow. He is yellow and a fellow, but not always mellow. Most people who visit my home think I have only one cat, Cuddles, of bag fame. Mellow promptly disappears under some large object....like a bed or couch...... until all perceived danger is past. But actually, Mellow is a loving and affectionate kitty. He loves to get a drink from a dripping faucet. Since I don't have faucets that "naturally" drip, I allow the one in my bathroom sink to drip for a short time, just for him. He had his head way under the faucet when I aimed my camera at him. However, being slightly vain, he raised his head and posed for this photo.

The next photo is one I took from the top of the Red Lion Hotel at our office Christmas party. The view looked wonderful from the outdoor patio. The temperature was very cold, but I thought I could get a couple of really nice shots. However, there was a glass (or lucite, perhaps) shield around the outdoor patio -I supose to forbid someone to jump or fall- and my all-too-smart camera focused more on the invisible-to-me lucite than on my subject. However, this is basically what the city looked like from that aspect and it was really very pretty. Our Administrator also tried these photos and failed as I did. He had brought his Canon 20D and I had only my little Canon A640. The photos were equal in their failure! Sometimes bigger is only equal, not better.

I think I may have finally partially mastered this new website format. As of last evening I could not download photos. However, I phoned Rachel, my original mentor in this endeavor, and I believe she "fixed" my problem. She says she only signed in but I think she did something else in the process. This morning when I looked at this site, my toolbar with the photo download was back. Thank you Rachel. You are, once again, a lifesaver. Rachel saves the day at our office with great regualrity. What a treasure she is, both as an employee and as a friend!

Try Again with Photos

Tonight I will try once again to master this new website's format to download photos. So far, as you know, I am not happy. I am considering changing my focus from personal drivel to a political "rant" format that will not require pictures. After reading Mahmood Ahmadinajad's (President of Iraq) letter to president Bush I am convinced that most of us do not get enough "raw," uninterpreted news to even form a valid opinion. I highly recommend reading that letter in full.

So, on to the photos.

The first photo is one of a derelict Ferry Boat that is moored near Goble on Highway 30. We've always thought that this boat was totally abandoned, but it isn't! There is a little dirt road from Hwy 30 that accesses the area. I drove down that road and parked. There was actually a path to the rail tracks, a stairway over them and down the other side. I followed this until I realized that, attached to the ferry, was a neat and tidy float house and two run-about boats. Someone clearly lives there and takes care of that ferry. On the outside of the ferry (toward the river) a large barge is moored. I wonder if that person might one day restore the ferry. Anyway, I did not intrude but took some photos. It was really a very lovely scene.

The second one is of Riley in the rain. Nothing will do but that Riley wants to go for a walk. It was only lightly raining, but the wind was blowing. We got out just a little ways into the clear cut and he realized that there was wind. He turned to me with that guilt producing expression and I asked if he wanted to run down the road instead. He beat me by 100 yards down towards Robbie's. We ran down to Mike and Igraine's and turned back.

The third set of photos is of a double hemlock tree that succumbed to the horrendous winds at the coast. This tree was growing out of an old-growth stump. As you can see, the entire root-ball exited the earth leaving a very large hole! There are several small baby trees growing out of the old stump as well. I wonder if they will re-route their growth upwards again and survive. Mike had to cut the tops of the tree as they were in the neighbor's drive. It seems as if the wind is trying to forge a path through the trees from South to North at that portion of the yard. The newest clear cut has really altered the landscape. I'm sure it has changed what will survivie and what will eventually go away. Nature does prevail and seems especially vengeful when interferred with by man's meddeling.

A New Format & Address

Blogspot has succumbed to the bigger fish and been swallowed by GOOGLE. While I have always liked GOOGLE I do not like the fact that they have eaten Blogspot. I am having a hard time adapting to google's administration and format of my old, comfortable BLOG. I have tried posting several evenings and failed. My dear friend and mentor in this venture, Rachel, has not had the same problems, but she uses "Hello" (a Picasso product) to download her photos to this BLOG. I said goodbye to Hello because it interfered with my photography programs and wanted to open everything and I am very picky about my photos. Picasso and Hello are very plebeian programs for folks who don't have the "seho" to manage their own photo files and don't use Photoshop to open anything. As you can see, I am irritated with this development and will struggle only until I find an alternative or figure out the path. Perhaps there is anothe BLOG program that can absorb my HTML files and be a bit more user friendly. If any of you know of one please let me know. And don't suggest Myspace. That one is carreer suicide, in case you haven't noticed. Grrrrrrr! I am really unhappy with this.

One of The Reasons

One of the many reason I love Oregon is the beautiful color and changes of seasons. The pictures attached here were taken on my way to work yesterday morning. They are on Highway 30 across from Rocky Point Marina on the Multnomah Channel of the Columbia River. It was raining and the bark of the trees was black against the bright yellow of the leaves. The stricking difference and the contract from the evergreen fir trees is so very beautiful. I can barely drive some mornings for looking at the scenery. I must find a way to stop and photograph some of the scenes I see on the river further south towards Portland as well. The light and fog this time of year make very beautiful pictures against the river and the hills. Unfortunately the road is narrow and there are many trucks making their way to the Industrial area for commerce. The other thing that fascinates me is the "railraod art" on the sides of the rail cars. I know that it is essentially vandalism and very destructive, but some of it is so innovative and creative that I can't help but want to document it. That's the sort of thing that would make me want to work less and play more. Of course. if I didn't work I wouldn't have the $$ to support my "habit" of photography! The old rock and a hard place thing lives on.

Tonight I am sleepy and will leave the BLOG at this. Perhaps tomorrow I will have more. The rains have raised the level of the channel and the river and there are many wonderful scenes out there to photograph. Every season brings a wonder of things here and also the wonder that the next season will come again.

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!?

Look Very Carefully

I went for a walk on Sunday because I felt that, with the weather becoming more and more like Winter, there may not be many more day to just walk around town. The sun was shining but it

was still plenty cold. It had rained while the sun shone and I saw a rainbow. I snapped a picutre of the rainbow above the town, all the while knowing that I could hear geese still flying south on the return trip. When I looked at the rainbow photo on the computer screen I realize I had caught several flocks of geese as well. If you double click on the photo you will see them in the sky.

I realized on my walk that this town take Halloween very serioously. The decorations are wonderful and I took some picutres to share.. I only hope I have enough candy to go around,since I think there will be many ghosts & goblins at my door. I hope you enjoy these pictures. I will leet you know what transpires tomorrow.

The Return Trip & Almost Halloween

On a bright, warm day last Spring Mike & I spent the day in my back yard listening to and watching V after V of geese flying North for the season. It was a never-ceasing flight and we felt awed and delighted to be able to observe this migration. Today I was rewarded with the return trip! I awoke hearing the honking of the geese, and it never ceased all day. In fact, it continues now at nearly midnight. I feel as if I have been invited into the lives of these geese. I wonder if, today, I saw some of the same birds we saw last Spring. I tried, several times, to take photos of the flocks, but they are flying very high in this first part of their journey. I could hear them clearly, but when I looked up, they were just tiny, tiny dots in the sky. Last Spring, by the time they had flown this far, they were much lower. I imagine, when they are closer to their winter home in the South, they will be lower again. What a miracle of nature this is. Because I live so very close to the Columbia River I am able to observe this phenomena. The photo that I include here is inadequate, but, if you double click and enlarge it, you can see the "dots" of the birds.

You may recall that I wrote of planting a rose that was Mike's mother's. I call it Kate's Rose and I have placed it near my back fence. A picture here reveals that
it appears to be repeating history in climbing my fence. It has even grown through the crack in my fence and has insinuated itself into my neighbor's yard. I hope this invasion is well received. From what I can see of that yard, they may appreciate some blooms as they don't appear to pay great attention their yard. I hope it brings them pleasure.

My little town seems to celebrate holidays with great enthusiasm. Most folks have Halloween decorations in their yards and some are quite amusing. I stopped and snapped photos of some inflatable decorations on my own 4th street this evening. This are puffed up and lively all day and into the evening. However, when I drive to work early in the AM, they are deflated and rather sad. Tonight they were full and lively and I have included mt pictures of them here. From this, I am deducing that I will have "Trick-or-Treaters" and have laid in a supply of candy.

On my patio I have a "baby" of Mike's large Maple tree. It is showing me Fall Colors now. The leaves have turned red and, I'm sure, will soon drop. But right now it is very pretty and a miniature of our entire area. I love the seasons here and the changes in the weather.

Today I picked some almost-ripe tomatos, pulled up my hot chilis to hang in my shop and pulled some radishes. I still have cuccumbers and carrots that are growing and some lettuce as well. But the night temperatures are close to freezing now and it wont be long before the veggies are done for the year.

My roses are still blooming and I purchased some 'mums to supplement the fading Asters in the front yard. I chose to mow the lawns today, while there was no rain, but tomorrow I need to plant those 'mums, finish my yard work and plant the bulbs to bloom in the Spring.
Have a Happy Holloween and a good Autumn.

Beautiful Falls and Fall

When we returned from Kahneeta after Labor Day and it rained for two weeks, we congratulated ourselves on beating the odds and having good weather for our annual vacation in the heat. Then we had an Indian Summer with warm (even hot!) days in the sun. But, being Oregon, the rain returned and we said, "Oh, see, the weather has turned, it is Fall." The beautiful red and orange leaves bore us out and we prepared for the "wet" season. But Saturday and Sunday at the coast we were rewarded with two more gorgeous days once again. What beautiful weather we had!! We ate breakfast on the porch and shed our jackets in the sun. I ran with my running buddy, Riley, and he headed straight for the waterfall to drink as soon as we hit the yard. Mike suggested, on Saturday, that we should try to find the remote and beautiful waterfall he and Jeremy had re-found (after 15 years) in August. We drove out to Highway 53 and through the gates opened for hunting season. After many "left-turn" detours without success, we decided we needed more direction from Jeremy. We tried again on Sunday (no left turns necessary) and were successful. Peter and Kathleen followed us, but bailed out barely short of the goal. Something about a gas gauge! Right!!! The reward was great, even though I thought once (and maybe twice) before I followed Mike down the hidden rope and then a slippery slope with Vine Maple hand holds, to where we could see, hear and feel the falls. I have included photos here of the waterfall as well as of some of the beautiful fall foliage we enjoyed. This lovely waterfall is in a sort of slot canyon on the Grassy Lake Creek that flows from the coast range down towards Hwy 53 and Nehalem. There is a hidden rope in the trees off the side road leading to an old quarry. I would have never seen the rope but for Mike's sharp eyes. The first part is steep but entirely possible with the rope. The rest is less steep, but one can easily grab the Vine Maples and the Deer Fern to steady the descent. Unfortunately, at this time of year, the large boulders surrounding the falls are slick with wet moss and cannot be negotiated to reach the rocky beach below. But the falls were large and vigorous due to the recent rains and very, very beautiful!
On the way back we discovered springs trickeling from banks and some lovely fall foliage. All in all, it was a fine day and we hope to return to the falls when the rocks are not so slippery and we can explore more of the little, narrow canyon. We'd also like to see if Peter can go the route and actually see this beautiful, hidden treasure.

A New Workbench!

One of the things I liked most about my little house the very first time I saw it, just a year ago last week, was that it had a little shop with a rudimentary work bench. I have never actually had my own "shop" and I was very much looking forward to setting it up. However, when I moved I had to use that area, along with my carport, to store things I hadn't had time to go through. At last, at the end of this summer I was able to sort through most of my stored boxes. I was also able to apply some snowroof (thick, white goo) to my shop roof and stop the leak that was so persistant everytime it rained. After getting rid of and rearranging a lot of "stuff", (read junk) I was able to address the actual bench. It was AWFUL! There were three parts to it, none of which matched, were the same level or were anywhere near even remotely clean. I measured, planned, talked to Mike about what to get and went looking for counter tops........ without success. So, we settled on 3/4" AC plywood ripped to 25" X 97". I did manage to purchase a 4X8 sheet of white pegboard. I should have gotten two sheets. Now I will need to wait for a time that it isn't raining to bring home the other one in my truck.

After cajoling Patrick and Anna to spend the night with Riley, Mike came here this weekend to help-like I really did much! We found the appropriate plywood, finish nails and moulding right here in St. Helens. The sun shone most of the afternoon while we set up sawhorses in my driveway to cut plywood and the pegboard. I actaully got to try out my jigsaw for the first time to cut the hole in the pegboard for the electric outlet. It's a good thing for that experience because I'll need to do it myself for the end wall where I want more pegboard.

I think the whole project just turned out beautifully!!! I just love it and can hardly wait to get more hooks and put my little hand tools up where I can use them. I already have my yard tools on the opposite wall where the window is. I'll probably need a heater to be out there this winter, but it will still be fun. I have a whole new list of "I wants" to deal with, but it's so much fun just anticipating and collecting those things. Mike left me some polyurethane to put on the bench after I sand it......that means I'll get to use my new sander too! But then, perhaps I need a shop-vac to clean up from sanding. Hmmmmm!! Or shall I say $$$$$$$?

The weather has changed. It is truly Fall now. My yard still looks good but I imagine it will "go to sleep" for the season soon. I still have fall flowers and roses and my tomatos are struggling to ripen, but I suspect that, before long, I will need to bring them indoors to hang for the last ones to ripen. I have lettuce, several more cucumbers and many chilis. The cucumbers I share with the folks at work and the chilis will last by drying them in my shop, as I am my remaining Walla Walla onions. The lettuce will be salad, as it was last night for our dinner. I have fed my lawns the "fall weed and feed" thing and mowed again this weekend. But at 4:30 this afternoon it was 47 degrees so I don't imagine I will mow too many more times this year. As the days grow shorter I am planning a which room I will paint next and other inside, winter projects. Seasons are such a good thing. They allow us to vary our lives according to the calendar and always look forward to the next one. As Mike is fond of quoting, "If winter comes can spring be far behind?"

October is Here

A lot has happened since the Race For the Cure!

Cheri has opened her Tavern that has replaced the Cannon Beach Cookie Company. So now it is "Eat More Cookies and Drink More Beer." The wood work in the tavern is outstanding, thanks to Mike & Jeremy Capper and Peter. The tables, the bar and the other wood is just beautiful! This will be THE local hang-out for sure. There is a photo to document this.
I have a new running buddy. His name is Riley. He has reddish hair and is always up for a run. He is part Chow and part Shephard and part ???. But he is a love (insatiable really) and a great running partner. I have included photos of him as well.
Last Sunday Debbie came down to the coast. It seems as if we only walk on the beach when Debbie (and family) arrive, but this time we had Debbie to ourselves and it was very cool. We marched up a long way on the beach, talking all the time. Eventually, we turned around and walked back...with a tail wind... and BBQ'd our dinner on Capper Mountain.

The sunsets were beautiful this weekend. When we returned from our Kahneeta vacation we thought summer was done. But we have been rewarded with two more weeks of Indian Summer and it is great! I am sure that Fall will prevail and the rains will come, but, for now, I still have tomatos and cucumbers ripening in my garden and lettuce ready to eat. My radishes are almost ready an the carrots are looking good.

We (Eric and I) are deciding whether to run the Hood to Coast or the Rainier to the Pacific Relay next year. Eric has volunteered to be the "bad guy" if I will be the "figure-head" captain. That works for me and we will most likely run the HTC again. We'll see. Hopefully, most of my core team will join us again in Four Decades Running.

Race for the Cure 2006

I promised you something from the Race For The Cure and here it is. I, for some reason, signed up with a Team this year. Usually I run this race by myself and for myself and just go home There is a new radio station in Portland, KIJZ-Smooth Jazz 105.9. I very much enjoy smooth jazz and was delighted to discover this station. Janine Wolf, the DJ from 9:00am to 2:00pm, is a breast cancer survivor, as is her sister Kathy. She formed a team, Janine's Team, sponsered by KIJZ. I joined. There were 38 of us, but only partly "survivors" and the rest were supporters. I got up really early (5:15am) and ran the Co-ed 5K and then joined my team to do the 5K Walk at 9:00am. Since there were almost 46,000 walkers, it took until 9:45 for us to even approach the start line. It is very inspirational to see so very many pink hats and pink shirts in one place. Every "pink" person represents a survivor. One of the members of our team, very recently diagnosed and treated, had never met anyone who had cancer and survived. It was a real boost to her to meet those of us who were survivors from 5 to over 25 years and were very much alive and very active. This is why we do this. We want to share that there is life after a cancer diagnosis. It can be lived with, in spite of and after. Sharing our experiences is sharing life and hope. I know that is why all of us continue to do this. For most of the year our history of cancer is just that....history, and we don't really dwell on it. But this is an opportunity to give hope and encouragment to those people, men and women, who are recently facing this challange. It is also a message to not ignore regular checkups or symptoms. It does not need to be fatal. There is hope and life to be lived.

I hope you all enjoy these photos. Some were taken by my new friends on Janine's Team and some are mine. If you want to view a gallery of our photos, go to kijz.com and enter the keyword "team" and you'll be able to see all of them.

Hood to Coast

I know I haven't been here for a while. The Hood to Coast Relay Race ate up all my time and energy for a long time this year. While I love the event and the relay, being Captain wasn't as easy and rewarding as last year. The last three weeks before the race I believe I went through 6 or 7 alternates to try to maintain a complete team. I have a "core" of totally awesome folks from last year who stood by me and I love them dearly. If we are to do this thing again next year, there will be some changes in procedure and recruiting. I think Eric may Co-Captain with me as well. The amount of hours devoted to getting this all together was significant. However, all that said, we eventually put together a really great group of folks. We drew a runner from LaCamas Sport's matching service-Lynn Phillips- and she fit like a glove into Van #1. We'd all like to have her back for another year. Great sport, wonderful person and a real trooper on three very difficult legs.
We had more family on the team this year. Eric & Cathy ran again, but, in addition, we had Cathy's cousin Hettie running. Her "SO", Adam, would have run but for that fact that he broke his leg and had the pins removed the day before the race. Cathy's neice, Kristin, took digital videos of us. I'm really not sure I want to see all those. I think I probably looked like an overdone tomato at the end of my first leg. The heat really got me...in addition to not being as well trained as I was last year. Next year it will be lots more training in the heat, no neoprene knee sleeves, no baseball cap and a singlet rahter than a T-shirt. Live & learn, even at 62!

We met up with Van #2 at the end of the race in Seaside and actually were able to all run through the finish line together this year. Unfortunately Jeremy Meyers and Lynn Phillips missed that as they had immediate committments in the city. We took a photo of them before they left. I have included that here with the "finish" photo.

So, that is the story of this year's race. We all want to do it again...perhaps we're all just nuts. But last year a fellow employee volunteered for our team. Rachel was so enthused that she put together a Portland to Coast Walk team for this year. Much of the team work at BMC. Everyone did very, very well and many of them are so inspired that they continue to participate in more walks and want to do this again next year as well. It is rewarding to see other folks, that do not ordinarily get involved in sporting events, become interested and gain considerable fitness in the process. Rachel alone has lost nearly 40 lbs doing this and others have lost weight and become more fit as well. I hope everyone continues to be inspired and energized by this.

Next weekend is the Susan Komen Race for the Cure. I have signed up to do both the Women's 5K run and the 5K walk with a local team. A patient of ours (whom I now consider a friend) called me today. I was able to guide her into a free Breast Cancer detection program this past year. She has completed her treatment, is healthy and is walking in the Race for the very first time as a survivor. I want very much to walk with her and perhaps get some photos. I will share them with you all next week.