January's Full Moon

Couldn't resist taking this picture from our front porch tonight.

More stuffed stuff...

Found some old drawings that my son had done in the 4th grade. 

I thought it would be fun to make the drawings into stuffed animals.

Made from old felted wool sweaters and lots of left over scraps.

This one was made for my very great nephew.

Complete with bloodshot eyes.

That little blondie with suspenders is the artist.

Funny, I had forgotten that he went through a suspender phase.

This is the one that I made for Spencer.

He loved it!

Now his sister wants one.

She's 33.  He's 31.

Some things you just don't outgrow!

Feels like home....

Our friend Nanette had a housewarming yesterday.

Seemed appropriate to give her....a house.

The front

The back

The bottom

Made from Pendleton wool scraps.

It was so much fun to make.

Away for the weekend...

We spent the weekend exploring the southern Washington coast.

Stopped at Rainier, OR for fresh crab.

Crossed the Columbia River at Longview,

Then ventured up to Cathlamet, Skamakoa, Grays River, Naselle.  

Drove out to Bay Center.  Lots of birds.  

Our first sighting of a Marbled Godwit.

Spent the night in South Bend, where we had fresh oysters at the Chester Club.

A dive biker bar with a write up in the New York Times.

Ventured on to Raymond, Grayland and then Westport for a walk on the beach.

Up to Hoquiam/Aberdeen and then circled back around to Raymond.

On to Astoria where we spent the night at the Cannery Pier Hotel.

One of my favorite places to stay.

And had dinner at the Astoria Coffee House and Bistro, 

my new favorite restaurant.

I want them to open a new one in McMinnville.

Also written up in the New York Times.

Good service, price and great food! 

When I saw the hamburger that I had ordered.  

I literally gasped.  

It was almost as large as the Astoria Column.

I just really like Astoria!

The next morning we meandered our way back home along the Oregon Coast.

A nice little getaway.  

We have a friend who says, "the problem with Oregon is that you can't eat it all."

I felt that way on this trip, so much good fresh food. 

Yum!

.

January 1, 2013

First walk of 2013

Up the hill.

Libby Dog

Towhee & Winter Apple

Snow from Christmas Day

Woodpecker Silhouette in the Fir Trees

Oak Snag

Oak Leaves Lined with Frost

Oak Down From November Storm

Deer Skull and Partial Backbone

Felt good to take a long slow walk with Libby and the camera.

A nice way to start the new year.

Finding equilibrium

2012

A good year with a rough ending.

Our lives are a little disjointed without Jackson.  

Things are a bit off, a little amiss.

The house feels different, sounds different.

The energy is different.

One dog + one dog equals about 6 dogs.

Yet, when you take one dog away, you only have one dog left, not five.

I swear dog energy is exponential rather than simple addition, subtraction.

It helps to tell Jackson stories. 

Remember the first time that he and Libby met each other at the dog park?

The camping trip when he absconded with the most wonderful smoked salmon in the world?

His hero moment when he stopped the bad dogs from attacking Libby and me?

The way he would sneak up behind me on the porch and lick my face and then laugh?

The hikes where he would carry Libby's food and his own?

The way he loved water and would dive to retrieve a stick or rock?

Hikes where Jackson would take out our knees carrying a big timber down the trail...our logger dog?

Remember when he ate a whole bag of cat food, a whole batch of cookies, 

all of the Christmas desserts, a box of doughnuts?

And, of course, the elk guts deserve a whole paragraph, but I will refrain.

How he would sneak up into an easy chair and when found out would slither off  like a seal, 

lay down, and pretend like he was asleep?

How he loved haying time, all those mousies under the hay bales?

The way he was always happy to see visitors and offer up his best nyla-bone or rope toy?

How he loved a ride in a red pick-up truck even if it was only from the house to the barn?

How much he loved us and how much we loved him?

Jackson at the crest of Strawberry Mountain

So without Jackson we are a little mixed up and goofy.

It will take awhile to find balance.  

Like disturbed atoms we will jostle around until we find a new equilibrium that works for us in 2013.

___________

Thanks for sticking with me on this two year blog-venture through the happy and the sad.

Marilyn

The story of stuff...

Just seems that this might be timely.  Perhaps a new pre-holiday movie.
Not sure if I am imbedding this correctly.  So if it does not work for you, go directly to

 Annie Leonard's Story of Stuff website.  Scroll down to see her interview with Stephen Colbert.