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It seems Halloween is a pivot point when summery fall transitions to wintery fall.  While the increasing darkness and deterioration of the weather are distinct negatives, I love many things about this season of the year, especially the colors.  Here is the view outside my work place today:

This coming weekend we lose daylight savings time, so it will be quite dark for my bicycle commute home from work.  I’ve already had to use my bike lights riding home a few times with the sun setting just before 6PM.

Christmas is another turning point for mid-winter and increasing daylight.  In February we can still get snow sometimes, but also some days with a strong hint of spring, and some trees start to bloom.

Spring remains quite unsettled until July 4, which brings in summer.  The Hood to Coast Relay in late August, and especially the start of school signal signal the waning of summer.

It is nice enjoying the variety of seasons.

Each year we have a goal to avoid turning on our heater until November 1, and I think we have done very well achieving the goal over the years.  October is often very nice, so it doesn’t get too cold in the house until late in the month.  So here is the upstairs temperature this evening:

It was down to 64 on Sunday, so a bit of a heatwave today.  Downstairs it gets significantly colder:

So I really feel it when I work at my desk downstairs for any length of time.

I wear a fleece jacket around the house, as well as wool socks and slippers.  And as it gets colder I will run a small portable heater at my desk for increased comfort.

I’ll hold out a few more days then we’ll splurge and turn on the heat pump.

Happy November everyone!

Today we went to the Furrow Farm to find and cut our Christmas tree.

It was quite balmy, if wet and muddy.  I’m trying to recall if we have ever had snow when getting our tree.  If so, it is rare.

We got the tree perhaps a week earlier than usual because Kristi is in town and we took advantage of her decoration skills and willingness.

Such a nice tree.  Thanks everyone!

Again this year I’m singing in the Portland Choir and Orchestra.  Our Christmas concerts will be December 19 and I’m confident it will be a great program.  It is a lot of work and time commitment with a weekly two hour practice, plus personal practice throughout the week to learn and memorize the music.  But it pays off with joy and satisfaction singing such marvelous music.

Here is a promo video for the concert:

And here is one of several numbers on youtube from last year’s concert:

 

When my son Daniel was approaching his 18th birthday he had to scramble to complete his BSA Eagle Scout project.  He got a lot of help from his mother and others, but it was quite a bit of work.  It involved gathering clothing, utensils, toys, and other usable items to donate to a migrant farming camp outside nearby Hillsboro.  These migrant workers would come up from Mexico (or further south), often with their families, to work the fields here in the summer.  Since they didn’t have permanent housing there were camps set up with living quarters for them to use.

Needless to say, the families were fairly indigent and would greatly appreciate the donations.  First, numerous items were collected from donors and stored in our garage.  Then multiple vehicles were arranged to transport the items to the camp.

Daniel and his mom had worked with county authorities to arrange to deliver the goods to the camp.  What an exciting time it was to see the joy and excitement at the camp.

We were particularly pleased to see our rocking horse, which had gone through all five of our kids, find a new home with a happy child.

We were very proud of our son.

 

 

Over the years we have sometimes used the Thanksgiving long weekend to tackle various projects around the house.  For example, more than once we spent many hours wallpapering rooms during the holiday, often staying up late on consecutive days to get it done.

On Thanksgiving day we had a lightning bolt inspiration to sand and refinish our kitchen table and bench on Black Friday. So we did.

First, some background on the kitchen table, benches, and chairs.  We purchased it in the early 1980’s while we lived in Meridian, ID.  It is made of solid oak, and includes two extender leaves.  Suzanne actually bargained with the factory in Utah during a trip there and we bought it for about $1000, which was a discount of several hundred dollars.  And we have gotten great use from it over the years.  Every few years we sand and refinish it, just using a Danish oil rather than a glossy varnish finish.  On Thursday when we were putting the leaves in to prepare for our dinner guests we really noticed the fading and the various marker writings and stains in various places.

The job was made much easier this time since we made use of a power finishing sander that I bought when we were working on our rental property two years ago.  It is such a dream to use proper tools for a job, and this task is a beast to perform when sanding by hand.

After thorough sanding with medium, then fine sandpaper, and carefully wiping away all the dust, Suzanne tackled the staining job.

We’ll let it dry overnight and add a clear coat of oil in the morning, then enjoy our “like new” kitchen table.

While we miss being with family in places all across the globe, we were pleased to have 13 of us at our home for Thanksgiving day.  Along with Daniel, Suzanne, and myself, we had six from Blair’s family, plus Suzanne’s brother, Dave, with his two sons (from San Diego and Bend), and Suzanne’s sister from Newhall, CA, area.

Later we had the sister missionaries come over to share a short Thanksgiving message, and each of us shared two things we were thankful for, one silly thing and one serious thing.  For the silly thing I noted I was thankful for things that make me laugh, like this morning when I laughed myself to tears from a Facebook post about smart phones doing spelling auto-correction in unintended ways.  And the serious thing was being so very thankful to live in the United States of America where the rule of law prevails.

We also committed to write down each day this coming week five things we are thankful for, with no repeats.  That should be easy.  Our lives are so blessed we could do 50 per day.  I’ll start with five right now.

1. To live in this time in the United States of America
2. To have interesting, gainful employment
3. For my good health
4. For five exceptional children
5. For an incredible, wonderful wife

 

 

Unlike our other children, it wasn’t in the cards for Daniel to earn a varsity letter in high school for cross country, or tennis, or track.  But Daniel did serve as a manager for the junior varsity basketball team for several years.

Among his duties were setting up and taking down team chairs for games, getting drinks of water for the players, gathering up the basketballs, and any number of other helpful tasks during games and practices.

One year the team presented him with a signed team photograph, which he still has on his wall.

After his senior year season we were hoping they would present Daniel with a varsity letter to acknowledge his contributions over the years.  It took a little prompting to the coach to make it happen, but it did.  Here he is receiving his letter.

Each year we attend at least one home basketball game.  The same varsity coach is still there and is excited to see Daniel again, and is so kind to make him feel welcomed and appreciated.

Two years ago I wrote a post about our kids and grandkids going to the Enchanted Forest theme park near Salem, Oregon, over the years.  Here are some old photos of Bridget and Teresa.

And some from this summer with grandkids.

Fun place.  Especially for the memories.

Back around 1994 I loaded up three or four of my kids for a Friday/Saturday overnight with Dad.  First stop was a North’s Chuckwagon for an all you can eat dinner.  From there we took a back road to the Holiday Inn hotel where we were staying.  I guess there were too many curves because Daniel couldn’t keep his dinner down and let loose out the car window.  I took this gem of a photo the next morning.

This might have been the same hotel stay where one of the kids, probably little Steven, had a number 2 escape from his diaper/pants in the swimming pool.  Aw, such fond memories.

In the mid-90’s we visited the Manti Temple pageant in Utah.  Sadly, little Teresa wasn’t feeling well and she lay in agony on the ground where we were sitting.  Stomach ailments seemed a common occurrence when we visited family in Utah.

Fortunately, I have no photo for the next memory.  We had a large Costco bucket of red licorice in our Dodge van for a trip to California.  Daniel must have eaten too many because some licorice came out the other end and left a long lasting red stain on the car seat in back.