Month: November 2023

Monday, November 20

E went grocery shopping at the Co-op today and when she came out she had some trouble finding her car.

Wednesday, November 22

We’re going to K and J’s house for Thanksgiving tomorrow and E has promised to bring a blackberry pie. So that was the beginning of today’s business…but you know…if you’re making one pie…why not make a couple of others? So M made a pumpkin one and E put together a pecan one. And then, if you have all these pies…well, you might as well eat some. We didn’t touch the blackberry, but we did put a dent in the other two. It was enough to make a person feel mildly ill. Good though.

Thursday, November 23

K and J put on a very well-organized dinner for twenty-four. People brought sides and desserts; J cooked the turkey and managed everything. Before dinner K brought out his bingo equipment, which was pretty impressive, and we all played a few rounds. Winners received hand-knitted caps. Neither M nor E won any rounds, but K kindly provided a choice of consolation prizes. The food and drink were delicious and the invitees made for very pleasant company. Among the group were Andi and Andy, as well as three of Becca’s old friends, including, of course, K himself. E’s pie went fast.

Sunday, November 26

It’s cold and rainless these days with nighttime temperatures in the low 20’s. Mornings are foggy and the cold hangs around until the fog burns off at around 10:00 or 11:00. Also, there’s lots of frost.

Monday, November 27

We did our grocery shopping early this morning. When the fog lifted, M went over and fetched the Jaguar from its hiding place and we headed off to the coast. Just ten miles from Newport we turned off at Toledo, looking to take the scenic route into town via North Bay Road. We promptly got lost and ended up on the road to Elk City, which was very much in the wrong direction. We turned around and went back to Toledo and found the correct turn at an abandoned gas station. The North Bay route is slow because it winds along the contours of Yaquina Bay, but it’s pretty and when when you finally get there, it takes you right onto the waterfront. We had lunch there and heard lots of sea lion barking somewhere nearby. We went to investigate.

Sunday, November 12th

Lots of work in the yard lately–mostly just dealing with leaves and apples and doing a final round of planting. M has also decided to restructure the sad looking raspberry bed and refurbish the compost bins. E went to the nursery and got two new ornamental kale plants, one purple and one white. She planted in a bare spot near our front door, where they added a nice bit of winter color.

Monday, November 13

E looked out this morning to admire her new kale plants. Oh dear, oh dear. Deer. The purple one was beheaded with its torso half consumed. The white one had just been pulled out of the ground.

Tuesday, November 14

M was really enjoying his berry patch project, so much so that he forgot to go to his eye appointment. Oof! He’s had to reschedule for January.

Wednesday, November 15th

Not much rain today, but lots of mist and low clouds. Cool but not cold. We went for a walk on Road 200 in the OSU Dunn Forest.

Thursday, November 16th

At was another crazy day for E, starting out with a sonacardiogram at 7:00 AM, then exercise class at 10:30, followed by lunch with the THEPAJ at a newly opened restaurant called Odd Bird. In the afternoon there was Laughter Yoga via Zoom plus a visit to Leslie the seamstress. In between times, she made herTurkish soup, which involved a trip to the supermarket to procure the needed kale (non-ornamental), onions, and red potatoes.

M worked outside in the morning and finished up his compost bin project. The compost bins came with the house. They were made with 4×6 posts and 2×8(!) side planks. The posts were pressure-treated–probably in the old way with chemicals that aren’t used anymore. For better or worse, they’re going to last for a while longer. M’s been replacing the side planks. They were not treated and have been rotting away, just as they ought to.

Saturday, November 17th

E has learned that she was exposed to Covid a few days ago. She tested negative this morning but plans to keep testing for a few more days.

Sunday, November 19th

We did desk work this morning, making some plane reservations for a trip in January and, more importantly, dealing with various tasks required by E’s position as Deputy Assistant Gift Coordinator for Santa Enterprises.

In late morning the sun came out and we took a pre-lunch walk up the hill to the Brandis Natural Area. It’s a good year for mushrooms. We saw hundreds of tiny ones in the natural area, many of them growing in the moss on the sides of trees. Then, as we were walking home, we found these large ones next at an apartment complex .

Monday, October 30th

We went up to Vancouver, WA for a formal cake tasting arranged by A.

Out of six cakes, tasters showed greatest enthusiasm for white, chocolate, white chocolate, and red velvet. Banana and pink champagne trailed the field. Among the fillings, marionberry, raspberry and chocolate fudge led the way; the lemon was disappointing.

Tuesday, October 31st

We had quite a number of treat seekers at our house, several dozen all told. It looked like at least one out-of-neighborhood car brought kids to our area, possibly attracted by our neighbor’s display across the street.

Wednesday, November 1st

E grabbed this backyard photo when we had a few minutes of sun.

Thursday, November 2nd

Here’s how E has been showing up for Zoom sessions lately…

Sunday, November 5th

This morning the forecast called for a three hour pause in the rain. We took the opportunity to drive down to the Finley Wildlife Reserve and hike the Mill Hill Loop.

By mid-afternoon the rain had returned, but by then we were safe inside.

Monday, November 6th

Grocery shopping and yoga today. (Yoga of the non-laughing kind.) M worked a little on his memoir. He’s writing about college days now. He says that this sort of work has advantages and disadvantages. The good thing is that when he starts writing certain things down he remembers certain other things, some of them quite nice. Also, some of his remembered failures don’t look quite so bad when examined in detail. So that’s fine. On the other hand, to the extent that he gets lost in the past, he misses out on the present. He doesn’t actually wander around bumping into walls, but it’s close…as E has noticed.

We had a hard frost ten days ago, but since then it’s been warmer and wetter. So we still have a few flowers blooming in the rain. Between showers, E goes out back and rescues them..