A little friend hopped into our kitchen today. Dale caught it and released it outside. When I told Melody the story during our video chat today, she wanted to see a picture of the frog. Alas, I didn't take one.
But I did recall taking a frog photo early in the summer. This tiny one was on the front porch. I couldn't find the photo right away to show our granddaughter. But I promised her I'd look for it and ask her mommy to show it to her when I found it.
Julie, please share this with Melody!
I have nothing to offer from my life today. It was quiet and restful. Dale and I super happy to be in each other's company again after a week apart.
So I'll share a funny video instead. Enjoy!
Look who's the newest resident in the greater Eugene/Springfield, Oregon area.
Our eldest daughter, Jeanne, moved here today!
It's going to be awfully nice to have her within shouting distance, again.
For the first time in months, the lights are shining onto the new turf. Male voices are calling, yawping, chanting and coaching. Balls are thrown. Overgrown boys huddle and run. It's the sound of normalcy just beyond my back fence.
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Oh, how I've missed this music and the bright field lights shining through the windows at sunset!
I amused myself with a bit more Fall decorating today. A pumpkin patch by the fireplace.
More Autumn color on the shelf
Some old friends by the front door. This photo is for my granddaughter Melody.
Happy Fall, Y'all!
Jodie and I took a short ride into the countryside, close to where I live. We pulled onto some gravel between a field and the road to watch the sunset. Two other cars full of people had the same idea. It was stunning.
I need to do this more often.
Our new coffee table for the living room arrived today! It's ... unusual. Very modern. Stark bright white with a laminated finish, so it's easy to clean and resistant to water rings from glasses being left on top.
It's low to the floor, so is the perfect height for putting our feet up to relax. The space-age lines are a great juxtaposition to our "granny couch and love seat." The coffee table softens the lines of the chrome and glass side tables by helping them look less modern in comparison.
But the part we giggle about the most is that at night, it lights up! So far we're enjoying a steady white light. But if we ever get in a dance mood, the lights can change colors, fade in and out, blink, or strobe.
One of these days our granddaughters will get to visit and we'll get to have a Dance Party in person instead of only on video chats. I'm positive Melody and Annalee with get a huge kick out the lightshow.
Rain!
And thunder, meaning lightening, not so good. Please no more lightening strikes. But ...
RAIN!
Today I made two more steps toward my 20 Goals in 2020. They're both in this photo.
The first is getting all the bins placed in the cubes. The alcove is one step closer to organization. So far, I've only filled one of the bins, so there's still lots of work ahead.
The second goal is up here in the corner. I learned to make a watermark for my photographs, using my own handwriting as my signature.
Though I'll use it less often, I also learned how to add a watermark to the entire image.
Go me! Check that goal off my list!
Dale and I dodged the smoke and ash by spending the day constructing some cubicles. We've got three 9-cube cubbie units built and set up in the alcove. They'll hold some of my crafting, sewing, and photo supplies.
We enjoyed the process, partly because we like working side by side, and partly because we watched Season One of The West Wing as we worked.
We used to have a practice of watching the entire series once a year, starting each January. But ever since the present administration took over in 2017, we couldn't bear to watch. It was too painful to see fictional folks who care about governing while, at the same time, watching in horror the reality of governance being stymied due to so-called "businessmen" profiting from their time in those hallowed halls.
Watching The West Wing now helps us hope that some decency, respect, and civic responsibility will soon return to the White House.
The smoke is so thick that it looks like fog outside our back door. The school behind our home is barely visible, only a block away.
The spider is catching more ash than flies these days.
It's bad here, yes. But we were out in Thurston today, east of Eugene and Springfield. Thurston is on the edge of a phase one evacuation area. The air is thick.
You can taste the smoke and chew ash out there.
This week of forest fires is getting to me. I'm unfocused and tired. My eyes hurt from all the smoke and falling ash. I can't breathe deeply. Exercise is out of the question.
In the last two days, this ash congregated on our doormat. It's also gathering in the cracks of the sidewalks in front of the house.
Even more is collecting under the bistro table on the front porch, which is covered. I'm grateful there aren't big gusts of wind. The ash is quietly floating in.
This afternoon, the following was posted publicly in a local group on Facebook. These are good reminders. I've been cycling through quite a number of these feelings.
Oregon Fires 2020
It's perfectly natural for living beings to be unsettled or even outright frightened by fire, ash, smoke, etc. It's a very deep, inherent and primal reaction. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Let’s be kind and understanding.
This is a time of immense loss surrounding so many that are being hemmed in or displaced. These are normal reactions and clearly affecting the mental health of some within our community. I feel the effects too.
It’s okay to feel any way you feel.• It’s OK to feel helpless.
• It’s OK to be concerned for yourself and others.
• It’s OK to feel paralyzed or arrested in how you are able to function.
• It’s OK to feel panicked, depressed, have high anxiety, etc.
• It’s OK to not even be sure how you feel.
• It’s OK to be downright exhausted.
• It’s OK if you’re still in your pajamas.
• It’s OK if you can’t stop scrolling or checking in (However, please consider taking a mental health break).
• It’s OK that you have not slept well.
• It’s OK if you are having a hard time eating (please try to hydrate and nourish yourself!)
• It’s OK is you feel like pacing or running down the street just to escape.
• It’s OK if you’re worried about wildlife, nature, parks, historical buildings, and spaces.
• It’s OK to be sad, mad, angry, feel like crying or even laughing, or to feel confused.
• It’s OK for your feelings to change min by min.
• It’s OK to want to hide under a blanket.
• It’s OK to feel alone.
• It’s OK to feel sick to your stomach just watching it all unfold while feeling utterly helpless.
• It’s ALL OKAY TO FEELNone of this makes you weak, it actually makes you human - a real, alive, breathing, and sentient and caring being.Know that you will be okay and you are not alone. No matter what. You are strong and there are people here to help. We got this - together
wishing all the best,
Aunia
"MacroDay" sounds a lot less threatening than "Hoping the Fire Doesn't Burn Down Our Town Day."
The smoke is so thick from the nearby fires that the air resembles pea soup fog. Ash is falling. We stay inside in an air conditioned house so that we can breathe. The fires are only a half-hour drive away. It's bad. Dale and I have our "go bags" packed, should we need them, unlikely as it may be. The fire would need to eat through two biggish towns, Springfield and Eugene, before it got to our house.
So to distract myself, I watched a lot of YouTube videos today. This was one of the best.
Think good thoughts and mumble some prayers of protection for all of us, OK?
Our wonderful new next door neighbors grew a vegetable garden this year. They've been sharing their bounty with us.
We used one of their green bell peppers in our zucchini pizza casserole (they gave us the zucchini, too!) When I cut into the pepper, I noticed the "teeth."
So, what's a person to do? I had to give them eyes, too.
They are such happy fellows!
They taste good, too.
I found this beautiful card of hearts and flowers near a check-out counter. I couldn't resist it. The original painting is by Laurel Burch.
The back of the card states:
Her vibrantly colored images are whimsical creations from a mythical world of her imagination ... Laurel created art that is timeless, joyful, and uplifting. The passion of her life was to emphasize our connections with the earth and all living things.
Gosh, that sounds a lot like me. I may have a new mentor.
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Last week we had a few dramatic sunsets. I shared several on my other social media, but I saved this beauty from September 1st for my blog.
Yowsa!
I spent most of Saturday backing up my computer. While waiting for files to transfer, I decided to try a zendoodle. I grabbed a piece of scratch paper (you can see print showing through the back side). I used objects found in my studio to make various sizes of circles: rolls of tape, bottle caps, pencil holders, etc. I overlapped the circles. Then started filling them in with small designs.
This activity got me through most of the double-backup. Glad it's done, because on Sunday I get a new,
f-a-s-t computer!
'Tis done!
This afternoon I framed Jeanne's stitchery. It looks sharp. I used a black wood frame with no mat. I added a thin layer of batting under the stitching. I wrapped the ground fabric around foam core.
I added a label on the back for posterity, because, why not?
Now all I'm waiting for is to have our daughter move here! Soon. Soon.
Bonus: This is part of an alternate goal on my 20 Goals in 2020 list. I've now completed five projects that were started or kitted. I'm hoping to complete 20, so I'm a quarter of the way there!
I stitched this piece for my mom in 1995. Her favorite prayer was The Serenity Prayer.
I love this pattern. I love the color pallet. I love the depth it has from full cross-stitches in front and half-cross-stitches in the background. I love how the pine trees, the lupines, the foggy sky, and the bird in flight all remind me of north Idaho where we lived. After Mom died, this piece came back to me.
After twenty five years, the stitching is still in good shape, but the cherry wood frame was pretty beat up. So this week I took the piece apart and gave the frame a nice coat of black acrylic craft paint. The final result is beautiful.
The Serenity Prayer now hangs in our living room in the corner where the couch and loveseat meet, over our new square glass & chrome table.
It's a happy accident that the grey mat board surrounding the stitchery coordinates so well with the wall color in our new home.
I feel the need for a crown.
No. Seriously. I need a crown. The one on my molar snapped in half on Monday night. I about ripped my tongue open on my tooth's jagged edge. Thankfully, Jodie hooked me up with her exceptional dentist and I got an appointment yesterday. The temporary crown is in place.
In a couple weeks I'll get the permanent crown and a teeth cleaning. Yeah! I'd been waiting until the pandemic had run its course before trying to find a dentist. But this broken tooth moved the timeline forward. I'm actually very happy about that. Not only am I six months overdue for a cleaning, but now I get to cross another goal off my 20/2020 list!
Dale dropped me off in downtown Springfield to get me started at the dentist's office. But he had a presentation to give at work, so left me there until after my appointment. I had about an hour to kill before he could pick me up, so I decided to take a walk around the shops and city buildings.
I had the opportunity to walk by many of Springfield's murals, including this one of The Simpsons.
Fun fact. The Springfield depicted in The Simpsons had its origins in Springfield, Oregon.
Another fun fact. There is a geocache associated with this mural. It's a puzzle cache that will take some working out of clues to find the cache, so I didn't try for it today. I'm looking forward to nabbing it with Jeanne and Jodie in the not-too-distant future.
