Japanese Gardens in Portland

A Lovely Afternoon at the Japanese Gardens in Portland

Welcome November!

Halloween has come and gone. Now it's full speed ahead toward Christmas! Can you believe it? We'll now see the barrage of Christmas decor in all the stores, and be forced to realize that the end of this year is quickly closing in on us.

But, wait...there's more: We still have November! It began with the birthday of my twin sisters--today! Happy Birthday to the two of you! I love you! Next comes the wedding of my son-in-law's sister--this coming weekend. Woo hoo! It has seemed like a long wait, since we've anticipated it for quite awhile. But, it's finally here--less than a week away, and we are so looking forward to another little family reunion because of it.

Next on the calendar will be Thanksgiving--a full house this year with our son and daughter-in-law, and with my brother and his family. I'm so looking forward to that family time as well.

Near the end of the month (the 25th) I will complete the end of my 3-month probationary period in my job. I'm so looking forward to that successful completion! I really enjoy my job, and am so thankful for it!

Wow! As I stop and think through this new month we've just entered, I have a lot to be excited about! And, this new month starts with all the glorious fall colors still in full bloom! Our yard has been bursting with the incredible beauty of autumn, as we frequently stop and reflect on how God has blessed us and carried us through a very difficult year!

God is always good to His children, no matter how hard or how bleak things may look sometimes. Continuing to trust Him is the very best way! We truly have much to be thankful for as Thanksgiving approaches.

A MIlestone Journey

Last week my husband celebrated a new milestone:

THE BIG 6-0 !

It was a beautiful autumn weekend, so his choice of celebratory fun was to go for a hike through the back country of the gorgeous Columbia Gorge. Here's some pictures from our trek:

Larry's birthday was the 21st, so I'm a little late getting these pictures posted.

One year ago, during this very month, Larry was just beginning his recovery from quintuple heart by-pass surgery. I'm so thankful for his complete recovery and return to normal health and strength! That's the biggest reason of all to celebrate his birthday this year!

Just Because

No, it isn't my birthday or my anniversary. These flowers were given to me by my husband, just because he wanted to--just because he loves me! They were simply a continuation of a very nice surprise God gave to me, just because He wanted to--just because He loves me!

On Wednesday morning I received an email that was sent out to all the women in our "house church"--announcing 10 free tickets to the annual Women of Faith Conference. (The conference was this past week, Friday night and all day Saturday.) Wow! I love going to that conference and have gone almost every year since it first started in 1996. This year I knew we really couldn't spend the money on it, so I gave no thought at all to going. However, God had bigger plans for me! Not only did I get to go for free, but I got to spend my time in one of the private suites on the level that is totally off-limits to everyone except the suite ticket-holders. Now, that is true luxury, and truly a wonderful gift from God! As if that wasn't enough already, on Saturday someone in our suite annonomously paid for lunch for all of us. Just one more special gift--so greatly appreciated!

The conference was great, and so was our time together in the suite. When I arrived back home on Saturday evening, I was greeted by a loving husband and yellow roses. This morning he went out and cut some purple flowers in our yard to add to the bouquet--just because he loves me a lot and wanted to add one more special touch to an incredible weekend--just because. What a guy!

The News

First, the weather:

What a beautiful weekend of Indian Summer we're having! I'm wondering if the seasons are all mixed up this year. It certainly has seemed so throughout most of 2008. It looks and feels like summer, yet the calendar says it's autumn. Then there is the fact that it seemed like fall had already begun before the calendar officially announced its arrival. Now, although there is only a tiny bit of the usual fall color, the temperatures are back to being pleasantly summery. But, somehow the feel of fall is here, even with the mixed up weather. It's a bit crazy, but so enjoyable! We spent the afternoon over at the river front in Portland, soaking up the sunshine and savoring every last bit of delicious, unseasonable warmth.

Moving on . . . A little update about my job:
September 25th (Thursday of last week) was my one month anniversary date. Friday actually marked a total of five weeks on the job, so tomorrow begins my sixth week at work. I'm still lovin' it! Every day is a new challenge that really feels like a great puzzle to me -- but, hey! I love working on puzzles! It just keeps me wanting to conquer the next one!

Next subject . . . our house:
No, it has not sold! Not even one offer has been presented! We are content with that, since we really don't want to move anyway. Now that both of us are working, our financial crisis has passed. Just barely breaking even isn't easy, but neither is uprooting, packing, and settling into a very small apartment--which was being considered for awhile. God has provided just enough, and for that we are extremely grateful and feel very blessed. Yes, once again, God has taken care of us.

Well, let's see now, did I leave out anything that you've been wondering about? Feel free to let me know if you want to know anything else. I may or may not tell you, but you can ask. :-)

And, now for the rest of the story . . .

Click here to read the finale to the Government Island saga.

The Story Continues . . .

If you've been following this story, click here to jump back into my adventures on Government Island.

Or, if you haven't been following the story, simply scroll down a bit to: "A Trip to Government Island".

Another Continuance . . .

Perhaps "ditto" would be in order--ditto to what I said last night. I'm tired and I hear my pillow calling for me, so I'll have to delay my "Government Island" continuation once again.

Tonight I worked a little bit later than usual, so, of course, got home a little later than usual. Since arriving home late, I have:

1. Picked up the mail
2. Put away stuff brought home with me
3. Eaten supper
4. Read and answered email
5. Refilled all the bird feeders (5) and squirrel feeder
6. Cleaned and refilled the bird bath
7. Watered some flowers
8. Visited with a neighbor
9. Played with the neighbor's kitties
10. Emptied all the waste baskets (9) and replaced liners
11. Took trash bins out to curb
12. Cleaned up the kitchen (left messy from the weekend)
13. Did the ironing from Saturday's laundry

Now it's 9:20 -- now can I go to bed?
I'm too tired to get up and go.

Too Pooped to Participate!

Hi All!

I know, in last night's post I said I would tell more "tomorrow" (today) about our trip to Government Island, but, as I also said, we spent today over at the coast (the Pacific Ocean), and now I just don't feel like working on my blog, so I'm going to put it off till "tomorrow" again--tomorrow night after work, after supper...if I feel like doing it. (How was that for a nice long, run-on sentence?)

Oh, the beach was

A Trip to Government Island

This is where I was exactly one week ago, to celebrate my birthday. It was decided that we should take a little trip over to Government Island, which is in the middle of the Columbia River, which separates the states of Washington and Oregon.Our son had taken our canoe across the river to camp on the island several times, but Larry and I thought he was crazy to do such a thing! The Columbia River is a very big river with very fast current, and people drown in it every year! Not exactly my idea of a fun time, let alone a great way to celebrate one's birthday. However, that little adventure is exactly what was decided on my birthday.
We loaded up our gear and piled most of it into the canoe, since a kayak doesn't have much cargo space. The trip across the river was actually a very enjoyable ride--not at all scary, like I thought it would be.

I loved it!
The benefit of carrying most of the stuff in our canoe was a nice surprise to us:
The extra weight causes the canoe to sit a little lower in the water, which results in a much more stable ride.

We decided to explore the island before eating the dinner we had brought with us. The first thing we discovered was the abundance of blackberries. Make that--an explosion of blackberries!
It was amazing!
They hung on the bushes like clusters of grapes on heavy vines! Some of the berry bushes were more like trees! We really got sidetracked there for awhile--yum! (Who needs dinner when you have all this luscious fruit?

Next came our big, scary adventure--a close encounter with a mad cow! She came on the run, rushing right up to us, with big eyes full of rage, looking just like a bull ready to attack! I was truly scared to death!

All I could think was, I survived a canoe trip across the mighty Columbia River, only to die on this serene little island--killed by a mad cow!!

More about this tomorrow -- I need to get to bed to be well rested for tomorrow: church in the morning, and then a trip over to the coast.

Close Encounter With a Mad Cow

Now, back to my story . . . When we first landed on the island and surveyed our surroundings, we had noticed a herd of cattle grazing quite a ways away from us. So what? Who's afraid of cows, right?

We set out on a walk, paying no attention to the cows that we were walking toward. We were simply intent on reaching the other end of the island, as we walked, talked, and enjoyed ourselves in this special place. The herd of cows was nowhere near us, and we had not noticed that one cow was apparently stalking us--keeping an ever-watchful eye on us as we came into her territory.

Suddenly, she charged right at us, but stopped just a few feet away from us. Her face (especially her eyes) and her stance told us she was not happy with us! Yet, we had done nothing to provoke her! Larry and Jim managed to shoo her away, and we continued walking further away from her, more toward the woods on the other side of us. Although we thought she would calm down once we moved further out of her territory, she only seemed to become more agitated and determined to charge at us. She did this several times, and each time Jim and Larry worked hard at scaring her away from us, even throwing sticks and stones at her. However, she was not about to be deterred, and finally charged us one more time in the most fearsome way yet, getting very close to us--stopping just short of being within arm's reach. It was at that moment I thought sure I would be killed on the spot. It seemed to me that she was looking straight at me. I cried out to Larry and clung to his arm, as he and Jim broke away from Patti and me, and charged the cow. She finally moved back away from us and we continued our walk, totally shook up!

A few minutes later, when I finally gained enough courage to turn and look back, I saw her come out of the woods with a tiny calf at her side. My trembling heart melted at the sight. She was simply a distraught, new mama, concerned for the safety of her new baby.
Isn't that just what any good mother would do for her child?
What a joy to realize the reason for her strange behaviour toward us!

More about this island get-away tomorrow night . . .

Continuing Our Adventure . . .

We came upon this delightful little meadow of yellow daisies.
What a pleasant sight to behold! Especially, so soon after our frightful experience with the mad mama who had challenged our proximity to her baby hidden in the woods. We just had to stop and soak up the cheerfulness here.
Just beyond the meadow of yellow daisies, we arrived at the other side of the island, coming into full view of water again.

Looking across the river from here, you can see Vancouver, Washington.
It was somewhere between the daisy meadow and this spot that we spotted an eagle flying directly overhead, low enough for us to realize what huge birds eagles are! We stood there in awe of such an amazing sight! During most of our walk we saw no other people. The island is uninhabited (except for wildlife), and is accessible only by boat. (Who knows how the cows got there!) Boaters are allowed to camp on the island. (Our son enjoys doing that).
The bridge you see in the background is actually a freeway that spans the Columbia River, connecting the states of Oregon and Washington.
Government Island is in the middle of the river--a place that has always intrigued me.
On our way back across the island I found a machete! One side was completely covered with rust. Jim offered his neck to see if it would still be able to cut.

Right next to the machete was someone's driver's license.
The next day Larry was able to locate a phone number for him (on the internet), called him, and then mailed his license back to him.

It was also on our way back that we spotted the eagle. While I was busy looking up, I didn't realize that a small snake was crawing right next to my foot! It was about the size of a garter snake, but was black with a red stripe down it's back. Yikes! Fortunately, the scare was mutual!
By the time we got back, we decided it was getting too late to cook supper, so we just did some snacking while we enjoyed the beginning of twilight. Jim went to get us another bunch of fresh berries from the blackberry "bush".
Larry and Patti got a few more goodies from our cooler in the canoe, while I just sat "like a bump on a log", assigned to birthday girl status.
What a treat for me to just sit and look around at my favorite time of day, watching the sun set over the water!
We enjoyed the time of twilight and sunset, but finally decided we better get back across the river before darkness set in.
Time to "hit the dusty trail"! (Perhaps "the wet and wild river road" would be more accurate.)

What a delightful way to celebrate my birthday!

Finally it Makes Sense!

It felt so right to turn the page on the calendar this morning! The month finally matches the weather! What a wierd summer we've had--a huge disappointment to what one normally expects for summer weather! I hear it's supposed to warm up during the week. Who knows? Maybe we'll have summer instead of fall.

It's Labor Day, but so far, there is no labor happening at our house. Outside it's gray and unappealing, so it would be a good day to be busy inside, but neither of us seems to have any enthusiasm for much of anything.

The deck is still covered with little puddles of water from yesterday's downpour. The sky looks like a lumpy, worn out mattress, ready to lose its old, matted stuffing any minute--as soon as there is a slight tearing of the ugly, tattered covering.