Thursday, February 12th
E went to the dentist today. She reports that her cleaning went well but that the cupcake situation was a fiasco. The cupcakes, it seems, are always delivered early in the week. By Thursday, none remain. How did she end up with a Thursday appointment? Clearly, the system failed. Attempting to rally from this setback, E remembered that she had crafted a backup plan for emergencies: there was a Starbucks quite nearby. She was confident that she could find a substitute treat there. But, then, just a moment later, came another thought. That Starbucks had permanently closed, replaced by the new Starbucks in the former Taco Time on the other side of town. Why does going to the dentist have to be so difficult? Finally, she entered a giant supermarket where she was able to purchase a maple donut…with a really thick layer of frosting. A close call, but all was well.
Friday, February 13th
Spring in the Willamette Valley is a long, slow process, which can be frustrating, especially in May and June when most of the country is seeing sunshine and we’re getting the same dull gray clouds we’ve had since November. But it also means that spring starts early here. In fact, it starts about now. Despite the rather nasty weather–cold and rainy–the usual early arrivals are popping out.
In our last Meandering post, we mentioned driving through the New Mexico part of the Permian Basin, America’s largest oil field. By chance we have recently learned more about the Permian. Apparently it’s full of zombies. Not zombie people, zombie wells. Oil extraction in the Permian began more than a hundred years ago. Over that time thousands of individual wells have reached the stage where they no longer produce enough oil to be profitable. When that happens, the wells are supposed to be capped and sealed. “How’s that working out?” you might ask. Well, gee, wouldn’t ya know, it’s kind of a mess. Here’s a nice video about some people who are trying to clean it up.
Saturday, Valentine’s Day
M had a great idea for how to celebrate the holiday this year. Instead of getting just one more heart-shaped box of Burst’s chocolates, how about a drive over to the coast where we could pick up a pound or two of salt water taffy? E said that if M really wanted to go over to the coast and buy taffy in place of chocolate, that was fine; as long as he never came back. To see what transpired, watch to the end of the video.
Sunday, February 15th
Both E and M have just reread The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and found it delightful. Why do we bother with such silliness now, when the world is in such a state? It’s an old book but a good one. The author died in 1944 fighting fascism in World War 2.
Besides reading, we have got ourselves involved with another endless soap opera, this time an Australian one called A Place To Call Home. It is set in a small town in New South Wales during the early 1950’s. Both E and M were alive during the early 1950’s, but we were a little young to be paying much attention to Australia. So this show is a real eye opener for us. Here’s what we’ve learned so far. First, a significant percentage of Australians in that era were unaware of who their real parents were. Relatedly, two thirds of Australian pregnancies in the 50’s were highly inconvenient, potentially even disastrous. The affected women always thought about getting an abortion, but they never actually did so, except in that one case where the poor girl died, but she wasn’t really part of the plot anyway. Third, the above statistics apply only to Australians of Anglo origin. Italian immigrant families did not have these particular challenges, though they did have a few that were uniquely their own. Other issues of the day included how young farm wives really had to struggle to find time to get their novels written and the question of what to do with a small child who kills an abusive adult with a cricket bat. So, you know, it was quite a place.
The clothes are beautiful and very 50ish. Plus, there are many nice period cars, including a 1951 Jaguar Mk. V Saloon and an Australian-built, right hand drive 1948 Buick Super convertible. There is even a period passenger train with a steam powered locomotive.
Monday, February 16th
This year’s Great Backyard Bird Count started Friday and ended today. E made her counts on Friday and Saturday. Her sightings included a pair of Northern Flickers, one of whom was kind enough to allow us to take this video.
Tuesday, February 17th
Today is Tibetan Buddhist New Year. So Losar Tashi Delek to all. We celebrated by having dinner here with J, B and C. In honor of the beginning of the year of the horse, we sacrificed a pig, the peppermint kind.
E has started reading another book by St Exupéry called Wind, Sand and Stars.
Wednesday, February 18th
We went up to Salem today with our friend J, who is shopping for a new car. Her current car, a blue Prius, still runs fairly well, but of course it lacks a number of modern safety features. Also, we see that its floormats have become quite dirty and that there is a fair amount of beach sand in its glove box, so no wonder she wants to replace it. (She will surely miss the car, though, and probably the sand as well.)
Thursday, February 19th
M and J returned to Salem today and this was the result:
Oliver and I just saw a production of The Little Prince! He got to sit in the plane after and get a picture with the cast! 🥰
Send picture!
We also watched “A Place to Call Home”. I haven’t talked to anyone else who has watched it. One side effect of watching lots of Australian shows is seeing many of the same actors appear when least expected.
From dentists to The Little Prince, from Aussie soaps to Tibetan Buddhist new year, from backyard bird counts to new cars (never should an installment miss a car) this stretch of February was another Meandering classic, illustrated with the quality of photos and videos we faithful readers have come to expect! When the moment in history comes to survey this ouvre, so much will leap out as emblematic of the author’s tongue-in-cheek style. Author! Author!