Sweets

Melting the white chocolate for the peppermint bark:

The finished product before chopping it up into cute little triangle with a pizza cutter.

The "messy" edges meant tasty nibblins for us! So glad my brother suggested adding a baked good exchange to our family gift exchange this year. That reminds me...I have to check to see if the mail has arrived today!

Oh, and I cut all my hair off! I love my long hair, but it always feels good to make a drastic change and offer my locks to another. After all, mine will grow back. And I love my short hair, too.

Festival of the Last Minute

At Christmastime, Portland's Saturday Market defies its name and opens daily from Dec. 16th to New Year's Eve and tons of local artists and craftspeople bring their creations to sell.

The evening was cold and felt even colder because of a stiff wind, but with a little hot cocoa and the occasional stretch of brisk walking, we stayed mostly toasty. For us, shopping one week before Christmas doesn't feel particularly last-minute, and it felt good to find great locally-made items that the people we love will love. I'm thankful that both sides of our family keep things simple. We each have one person on each side whose names we've drawn and homemade gifts (and yummy baked goods) are encouraged. I did just have some recent inspiration for a handmade gift (or two), so I need to sit down at the sewing machine and get crackin'. It's a good thing Christmas isn't about presents; otherwise, I could imagine getting a little stressed out.

Frosty morning

We've had quite a few days of rain since Thanksgiving, so it's exciting to wake up to sunshine. Cloudless skies often mean chillier air, though, so I'm thankful that on this particular morning earlier in the week, I didn't have to leave the house very early. Cold can be so beautiful, especially from inside.

I love the shadows that sunny mornings bring to our backyard.

coastal goodness

Seaside is great! A little touristy, but lots of sandy beach, a long boardwalk, cute shops, good food, and tons of quiet streets with cozy little cottages to adore.

We were given two nights at a beachside hotel for attending a promotional spiel for a timeshare-like vacation home this summer and we finally got repaid for those three hours spent trying to seem interested (but not too interested) in shelling out $17,000 for life-long vacation fanciness. Like we could do that even if we wanted to. Anywho...

We walked a lot, enjoyed breakfast for lunch at the famous Pig'n Pancake, napped on our comfy hotel bed, and watched some movies from the old school Universal Video (where our membership will now be on file for life), and took a trip to the outlet mall to visit Legs Hanes Bali Playtex. Doesn't everyone shop for socks and underwear on their romantic getaways? I generally stay as far away as possible from outlet malls, but my sister, Rose, used to work at Legs Hanes Bali Playtex and got me lots of good underwear for a low low price and it seemed to be the right time to, ahem, update my collection. On a side note, I liked calling Rose at worked while she was employed there: "Legs Hanes Bali Playtex this is Rose."

Some more of Seaside:

The evening view from our hotel balcony.

The next morning. Ahhh...sunshine!

We decided to head home by way of Astoria, which is not on the way at all, but which we discovered wasn't too far from where we were. Astoria is at the northwest corner of Oregon where the Columbia River empties into the Pacific. Cross the bridge north and you're in Washington! Astoria also happens to be where much of The Goonies was filmed. We've visited Cannon Beach several times, where the pirate ship comes out of the big rocks at the end, but Astoria is the town where the movie is set and the first part takes place. We saw a few of the buildings featured in the movie (like the county jail and the old Flavel House museum), but next time we'll have to take the full Goonies Tour!

A great little coffee shop downtown:

There are lots of great old victorian homes in this hilly town:

This street is much steeper than it looks (notice the stairs on the ride side). We stood here for a bit to enjoy the view and catch our breath!

Back downtown:

The Columbia...almost to the ocean!

The Astoria Column, the highest point in the area, I do believe:

Looking southish, toward home:

Looking westish, toward the ocean:

Two rainy days on the coast and one sunny. Not too shabby.

To the seaside!

Eric and I are headed to the coast tomorrow for a few days of rest and play and as we prepare, I am reminded of my last trip to the beach, just a few weeks back. I participated in two different events that overlapped at Camp Magruder: the yearly Deacon's retreat and Immerse, a wonderful time of renewal for camp and church leaders.

The Deacons reflected on our role as bridge-builders, connecting the church and the world, and spent some time getting crafty and creating bridges out of recycled materials.

The Bridge of God, or "Bridge of Goo" as it became affectionately known.

Jeff wanted to find an actual bridge that he helped build at Magruder several years ago, so we braved the rain and growing puddles in the wetlands (no kidding) to find it.

We didn't quite reach it because the water level on the trail kept growing higher, but we did spy it from across the way.

Some of my beach buddies:

It was so windy!

The coast is wonderful, no matter what the weather, but I do hope that this week, any rain we do have will be falling softly down, not pelting us horizontally. We'll be in Seaside, which is a town we haven't yet visited--yay!

So thankful...

I called brother Justin on Tuesday to wish him a happy 34th birthday and he surprised me by saying that he was thinking of flying up from Chico, CA to stay with us for a few days for Thanksgiving. And by 2p.m. Wednesday, he was here!

Not surprisingly, our days were filled with lots of food! Eric's special blueberry pancakes on Thanksgiving morning--mmmm. I was still in bed when this picture was taken.

We had planned to make biscuits for our community Thanksgiving meal, but decided at the last minute to make two of our favorites from last year: vegetarian meatloaf and sage onion gravy. So, it was off to the store (which was surprisingly quiet), then back to the kitchen.

The tender of the stove:

"Meat"loaf in process:

Gravy in process:

The spread:

It was more than enough for the 30-some folks who came, but you've got to plan for leftovers, no?

Our table. I had a great time teaching some of these guys to play UNO after dinner while others lounged below the football game that was projected on the wall. Who was playing again? I can't remember.

Four of the guys we dined with are from different parts of the world--Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala--and they all have partners or children who are far away and some have gone years without seeing them. It was a blessing to be together on this day when we feel thankful and, at the same time, a little less than complete as we think about our loved ones who we can't see in person.

I am thankful for my family--the ones who are close and the ones who are spread out over this country. And I am thankful for the abundance of food and friends that sustain us, and the patchwork families that we knit together wherever we are. Thanks to God that blood is not the only thing that binds.

Walk There: Mt. Tabor

After a day of gorging and guzzling and lounging, it seemed only right to do something a bit more active. So on Friday, Justin, Eric and I, once we finally got going (long after many crazy folks are already home from shopping) pulled out our trust Walk There book and chose a route we hadn't yet attempted: Mt. Tabor in Portland.

It was warmer than the previous days had been, but still chilly and wet. And lush! It was a wonderful walk that ended at a great food cart lot where we enjoyed Korean food and a veggie Rueben--delicious!

From here we stopped at Next Adventure, then it was off to the airport so Justin could get home in time to play a concert the next day, then welcome Lil home from her 10-day backpacking trip!