Tired and Cranky

What else is new..??  I think I've been tired and cranky for weeks now, and I swear, I am totally finished with WORK, the new four-letter word.  It seems like this fine-tuning crap is never going to end.  

Thursday we worked on Alan's new desk/bookcase, which for some reason took most of the frigging day--our anniversary, I might add.  And what did we do, besides work..??  Did we go out for a lovely meal, have a long weekend at the coast, fly to Italy..??  Of course not.  We were too busy working, so ended up getting take-out at the burger joint down the mountain.

Friday was more of the same.  Every day starts with me saying: "Okay, I'm not doing any more work.  I need some time for myself, to do things I want to do."  Alan agrees, then somehow, mysteriously, it never happens.  We had a landscaping guy come to give us some ideas on the wretched yard.  He was pretty impressed with the Path of Doom.  We talked about plants the deer won't eat, though mostly that doesn't include flowers...sigh.  Since he's a designer, and local to the area, he knows exactly what the deer will and won't devour.  His visit took a couple of hours, then it was grocery shopping, the Ozzy walk, more shifting and shuffling of things, dinner at 8:00pm, then before I could draw breath, the day was over.  

Part of Friday was also taken up by problems with Alan's British computer, which frankly, we should have left in Scotland.  He bought a transformer the other day, made for converting the electrical current from British to American, and specifically for computers.  Chaos ensued for ages as he/me/we struggled to figure out why everything worked except the internet.  He has the printer, all the computer functions, just not the internet.  What he didn't factor into the equation is our entire system is wireless.  Which means his computer--plugged into the transformer--can't be plugged into the wireless system in our wall sockets.  This would be known in cyberspace as an epic FAIL. 

Notice in the photo below that now, besides his whole computer set-up, he has my old laptop--the only way he has internet access.  This is a very crappy photo as it just shows one corner of the room.  It's really cool to see the "big picture."  Speaking of big picture, his TV looks enormous as I'm standing closer to it than anything else.  In real life, it fits on his bookcase just perfectly.

After the computer/internet fiasco, I finally go to bed and dream of what wonderful, non-working things I'm going to do on Saturday.  Then Ozzy had a wig-out about half an hour after we went to bed and had to go out several times, keeping us up well past midnight...for no apparent reason, other than he wanted to take a middle-of-the-night stroll.  He is still having such a hard time adjusting to this place.  He gets stressed, his stomach gets upset, which leads to eating grass and/or taking midnight walks (probably looking for an escape route out of the wilderness).  I tried to get him to eat some plain yogurt--which settles dog tummies--but he wasn't having it.

So.  Today, yet again, I made an attempt at doing absolutely nothing.  Ha.  First thing this morning I made chili in the crock pot so I wouldn't have to fuss with dinner tonight, picked out a book to read (which is still laying beside the bed, untouched), and damn if we didn't spend another bloody day working.  I just can't believe there is this much stuff to do, day after day..!!  It's now 7:30pm, the cornbread is in the oven, chili is ready, and I will need help to lift the freaking spoon to my mouth.  Or, maybe I could just fall, face-first, into the bowl...that would take much less effort.

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Here's a cool shot of a basket of plants I have in my bathroom.  And, yes, I have my own bathroom, with a toilet seat that is always down, and no...ah...dribs and drabs anywhere.  What a girlie luxury.

I also couldn't resist taking a photo of our two motorcycles.  I love these.  We bought them a couple years ago in Edinburgh and they're two of my favorite things.  They're made of metal, though have rubber tires and leather handlebar thingies.  It's amazing metalwork, with all the motor, parts, spokes, etc.

1922 Harley Indian

Easy Rider

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So, enough with the tired and cranky.  I am so, so seriously taking tomorrow off.  My addiction has not been satisfied in weeks, if not months: reading...!!!  It's supposed to rain, which suits me fine.  Nothing like a rainy Sunday with a good book.  We'll see how that plan works out for me.

Still Here...

Not Much...

...going on today, other than rearranging Alan's space to make room for his new computer desk and bookcase, which will be delivered tomorrow and should look really cool.  

Then we took out this very ugly configuration of outside lights...I think there were about ten of them wandering stupidly around the yard.  Even though we had disconnected the main electric line from the string of wires, there's always that one scary Darwin Awards moment where you wonder if the person cutting through the wires is going to idiotically spark into oblivion.  Luckily, we did our job correctly and all is well, and the crappy lights are now in the trash and out of the front yard.  

This afternoon we took Oz to River Forks park, and had a great time in the perfect 70s temps, watching him run with wild abandon through the grass.  When we got back home it was very warm in the house, so I propped the front door open with his doggy catch-all basket (leash, harness, poop bags).  I had an old pair of leather gloves in the bottom of the basket, which he snagged when I wasn't looking.  Alan and I were out dinking in the garden when I realized Oz was diligently digging a hole to China under the deck.  As soon as he saw me watching him, he grabbed the gloves and ran off to find another secret burial ground.  I will now have to figure out where he stashed them, though it's a good thing they were an old ratty pair because I just might never see them again.

Mom sent me an email today with photos of human figures painted into flowers.  It was very cool, though I couldn't for the life of me figure out who had done the work.  There was a website (sort of) printed on the photos, but when I tried to go there, it turned out to be totally not related to the art.  Below is just one of them...in my mind, a Scottish Thistle.  I couldn't get the photo any larger without distorting it, but if you look closely, you might be able to see that it's made from painted women.

I signed up for NaNo yesterday, and the butterflies began immediately.  I'm not sure if it will be harder, or easier this year.  I'm committed to write Book Two, rather than coming up with a whole new story, and I can't decide if that's a good thing, or a spectacular mistake.  My sister is almost done reading Book One, and loves the characters and the plot (her words...and without thumbscrews to get that response), so I'm encouraged that my writing isn't total crap.  Now, can I continue the adventure with the next book, weaving threads from one to the other...??  November is looming, so I guess I'll find out soon enough.

Basically, it's just been an "ordinary day in the life" today.  I will sign off with this most adorable photo.  I've been saving this one, for the right moment, and since I don't have anything really noteworthy to blog about this Wednesday, maybe that makes this the right moment.

Courtesy of Amolife

Turkey Dog

 I saw this funny dog video today on YouTube.  Is it a turkey, disguised as a dog..??  What in the world is Daphne dreaming about..??  The expression on her face at the end is priceless.

 

Snagged from the brilliant Arbroath site

The Great Pumpkins

Last Friday we took Ozzy to River Forks park.  Next to the park is an Oregon State University Master Gardeners garden that we keep saying we will visit, so after Oz's walk, we did.  We wandered through the various areas: kids, butterfly, Zen, roses, vegetables, etc.  The veg area was really cool, though what captivated me totally were two gigantic pumpkins growing under some trees.  And I really mean gigantic.  Of course, I don't have my camera with me, but no problem, we'll just come back the next day.  Well, what with the picture hanging and the final organizing of stuff at the house, we didn't make it back to the park over the weekend.  Today, I make sure I have the camera, and we head off to the park/garden.

To discover:  The pumpkins were gone...!!!!!  Aarrgghh.  I stared in total disbelief at the two gaping holes under the trees where just three days ago were Great. Big. Pumpkins.  Nothing to see now except empty vines.  How cranky was I..??  I don't even know how they were moved without a crane or a team of oxen.  How could they disappear in just a few days..??  Buggers.

So, to compensate (not), for the missed pumpkin photos, I took these instead.

View of the Butterfly section of the garden.  Things aren't nearly as bountiful as they would be in the summer, but it's still colorful.

This part of the garden was called Recycling Resources.  They had several different alternatives to pots, including this great old claw-foot tub.

Really vibrant oranges and yellows, and all still blooming in October.

Cool archway leading into the children's section.  There were lots of garden-related things for kids to do and/or learn about gardens.

A large and very vivid dahlia.  It made me miss all the ones I had in the Edinburgh garden.  They are such brilliant flowers, though I bet at our new house, the deer would enjoy them just as much as I do, so no growing these in my garden, I guess.  Drat.

As we drove towards home, we decided to stop at Kruse Farms, which is right on the way.  I figured if anyone knew where I could find a pumpkin patch, they would.  I was just determined to get some October pumpkin photos.  Alan was very agreeable, though I suspected it was not to find pumpkins for me to photograph, but to snag a freshly baked, homemade pie from Kruse's bakery.

What we saw as we drove in confirmed that Kruse's would indeed know where I could find some pumpkins.

Turns out, the pumpkin patch is about half a field away, behind me as I took this shot.  The girl at the register told me I could just drive into the field and take as many photos as I wanted.  Woo hoo.  It might not be the Great Pumpkins, but it was better than nothing.

I took a load of pictures, though really, one patch of pumpkins looks pretty much like another, doesn't it..??  Now, two gigantic pumpkins, growing under a stand of trees...that's a photo.  Sigh. 

Oh.  And why were we standing in line, talking to the girl at the register..??  I knew Alan had an ulterior motive for going to Kruse's...and it wasn't to find me some pumpkins. 

A Strawberry/Rhubarb pie for dessert.  My mouth is watering in anticipation.  Must go get dinner on the table.

Bits and Bobs

Wow, I lost three days in there somehow.  Can't believe I haven't blogged since Wednesday..!!  We started "fine tuning" the last stuff from the move--hanging pictures--and the time just...went.  

It took us two days to drag everything out, assess what we could hang (too many windows, not enough wall space), then do all the measuring, leveling, arguing and figuring out where things looked the best.  Just kidding on the arguing bit.  We did pretty good, all things considered.  I'm an "eyeball it" picture hanger, Alan's more Stephen Hawking on crack: measure from the ceiling, the sides and the floor, then take 45 minutes to align the frigging nail.  Hence, why it took us two days.  Still, today was the final push, and we hung all the pictures we've got at the moment.  We also spent the better part of yesterday getting some other pictures professionally matted and framed.  I'm going to do a wall that's just Scotland stuff.  In two weeks, when all the pictures are done, it will look really cool--and will no doubt kill me every time I walk down the hall.

Here are some photos of our handiwork...

This is one of my absolute favs.  It's an oil painting I bought at the Cramond Kirk jumble sale in Edinburgh, a few years ago for L2.00.  It changes with the light and is just mesmerizing.  You really feel like you're standing across from the loch in the Highlands.  It's now hanging in the living room, under one of the skylights, which adds to the hourly changes.

I couldn't take a photo of this one straight on because my shadow kept showing up in the glass.  Alan's cousin John is a brilliant watercolor artist and we have two of his pictures.  He is now ill with Parkinson's and can no longer paint, so these have even more meaning to us.  It's a beautiful piece.

This is a huge painting of a promenade in Italy.  It now hangs at the top of the staircase going down into the lower part of the house.  It was very, very hard to hang.  I was teetering at the top of the ladder, trying to balance the heavy weight, while Alan was struggling below (far, far below) to keep the ladder steady.  It's a miracle we managed it.  Too bad there's light reflecting back from the windows in this photo, but what can you do with windows everywhere..??

I forgot that we also hung some drapes in the bedroom.  Course, after that four hours with Stephen Hawking, I was ready to rip them from their moorings and stick with the Venetian blinds.  It didn't help that after all our work, the bastard things only partially close.  There's something wrong with the pull cords, or something.  We decided to deal with it another day.  The two pictures over the bed were another find at the jumble sale.  Two original pieces from the 40s.  One is Loch Lomond, the other Hielan' Coos (Highland Cows).  I love these.  Too much light to get close-ups.

Over the bureau we hung another oil painting (and yes, again from the jumble sale...and damn am I going to miss that spring sale in the future.  I got so many bargains and cool things.)  This is an original, and looks just like a place Alan and I went to in the far north of Scotland some years back.  I love the stormy seas and the decrepit castle on the cliff.  Unfortunately, the painting took a hit during the ocean voyage when our stuff was shipped from the UK--the canvas is a bit warped--but once it was on the wall, it looked okay.

In the study, we hung the Chinese silk thread picture, and two cubby boxes filled with my treasures, over the futon couch.  I am so pleased with the boxes as I've never had all my favorite little pieces in one place before.  Being a hunter/gatherer, I've always collected things from all over.  It's a joy to have them on view.

I had to take the photo below while I leaned sideways--reflections again--but you can see into the little cubby holes.  Left to right, top to bottom:

A piece of coral from the Red Sea, bought from a street vendor down a little cobbled alleyway in London; a stone, about the size of a walnut, that is magnetic.  You roll it between your palms to realign your balance; a rock from Stonehenge; a netsuke from the British Museum; Rabbit Staring at the Moon figurine from the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; a raven from the Tower of London; Pyrite from the Highlands; shells from the beach by our house in Edinburgh; blue crystal shard from the Cairngorm Mountains in the Highlands; a handmade ceramic bell from Capri; a holy stone from the Holy Isle of Lindisfarne; hand-blown glass globe from Caithness, north Scotland.

And, trust me...there's a story for each and every piece.  Did I mention that I have three of these cubby boxes..??  I have two in the study and one in the bedroom.  I won't go into detail about the other treasures, though I have to say, I really love these boxes...

This is another cool painting, though technically it's not a painting as it's made from silk thread.  An amazing piece of work, too bad the minute detail doesn't show in the photo.

So, there's a brief glimpse into our three days of "fine tuning."  Doesn't seem like it should have actually taken three days, does it..??  There are other pictures we hung that I didn't take photos of, plus factor in Ozzy walks and half the day at the framers and...Oh never mind.  It took us ages, I'll admit it.

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On a different topic...here's a strange thing.  There's a cricket in the bathroom.  For the past two nights, I've been maniacally serenaded for hours.  I'm suffering major sleep deprivation.  And I can't find the damn thing because the minute I get close and/or turn on the light, it stops cricketing.  I feel bad for him/her, and wish I could find it to set it free, but after two nights of relentless chirping, I'm ready to flush it down the toilet.  Assuming I can ever figure out where it's hiding.  I don't mind wildlife outdoors, but I just have to draw the line at my bathroom.

Last, but not least.  Just before we left this evening to take Ozzy on his walkies, I took this photo.  This is also my view from the study.  Think I'll ever be able to concentrate on NaNo or writing the second book with this going on outside the window..??

Roots

I decided to change my main photo this afternoon.  As much as I liked the Kew Garden lily, I felt like something new.  The road to this viewpoint was steep, long and winding--as the photo shows--and just seems to fit the "meandering" theme of the blog.  Or my mood today.  Whatever.

Those of you who followed the "Blog America" road trip posts in June, will perhaps remember this photo.  It's looking east, up the Gorge, after scaling the mountain road to the viewpoint.  Shortly before I took this photo we had crossed into Oregon.  I remember breathing a sigh of relief to once again be on familiar ground.

This looks to the west, the direction we were headed.

There's no question I have misgivings about leaving Edinburgh--and fight the urge to return almost daily--but I have to acknowledge, totally and absolutely, that Oregon is one of the most unique, diverse and beautiful places in America. 

That doesn't mean I don't find it strange to be back here.  After spending an early childhood in Alaska, my parents decided it was time to return to the Lower 48, so the sibs and I were raised in Oregon.  In my twenties though, I left for good.  Since those days, I've lived in many places, and over this last decade, I developed a deep and abiding love for another country...Scotland.  

Maybe because of the memory trip to Diamond Lake on Monday, thinking of Dad, and my sisters, and my growing-up years, I'm realizing that, when all is said and done, regardless of where I've been, or where I've lived, my roots were somehow planted here.  If that's the case, I guess it's really not so strange that my winding road has led me back here after all.

Excellent Adventure

We had the best day yesterday. The weather was just perfect, and the road trip was equally so. It was a long drive (over 200 miles round-trip), though we stopped so often, it didn't seem long or grueling. I took many pictures, then had to spend some serious time last night sifting through them all to select the better ones. Be warned though: I will be posting a bunch.

On the road by 9:30am, which was a miracle in itself. We drove along Highway 138, a beautiful road through miles and miles of forest. It's called the Crater Lake Highway as it eventually leads you right there.

Not long after leaving Roseburg, we stopped at a viewpoint for Colliding Rivers.  During the spring, the Little River collides with the North Umpqua and at that point, they make a spectacular display of...well...colliding rivers.  The rivers are very placid in late September so there wasn't much action, though that didn't detract from the beauty.

The colliding part comes from the left where the Little meets the Umpqua, then they both swirl around and merge, exiting to the right. I will have to come back here in the spring to see it. The water was so very clear and blue.

There are a multitude of waterfalls on Hwy 138, though we opted not to hike to the first few we came to. They were both easy hikes (less than a mile), but our goal was Crater Lake, so we put them on our To Do list for another time.


After a little over an hour from Roseburg, we came to a waterfall just off the road that didn't require a hike. It was early in the day, so the light was muted and soft. No one was there and all you could hear was the rushing of the water and a few birds in the trees.

Whitehorse Falls

We were standing on a viewing platform several feet above the water; very cool to be hanging over the froth.  The woodland around the falls was very dense and quiet, and smelled wonderful of fresh pine, clean water and damp moss.

Oz and I walked up the forest road a ways, then took a small trail to the water's edge above the falls.  Isn't this just a great shot of the wilderness..??

Clearwater Falls

Our next stop was about 15 minutes further down the road.  We were able to walk right to the bottom of the falls.  We were even deeper in the forest so the light was very dim; the sun had a hard time getting through the canopy.

Walking downstream, I took this amazing shot of the water below the falls.  It was so crystal-clear, every stone and pebble was visible under the surface.  Again, no one around for miles, and such a peaceful, serene place.  (You might have to click on the photo to see this as more than a jumble of trees.)

We got to Diamond Lake just at lunch time.  I have many memories of this place, so it was wonderful to find it completely unchanged since my childhood.

We  drove to the South Shore and found a picnic spot where we had lunch.  I came prepared, so we had a great lunch right at the water's edge.  Ozzy spent more time staring up a tree where a very irate chipmunk kept up a running commentary on his opinion of our presence in his territory.

I spent some time here thinking about my Dad.  I have so many memories of him here when I was a kid, loading his three girls into the boat and teaching us to fish.  We were his surrogate boys until the Golden Child my little brother came along when I was ten.  Most of the time I loved being out on the water, though none of us ever learned to put that wriggling worm on a hook.  Yuck factor to this day.  I felt closer to him, sitting at Diamond Lake yesterday, than I have since he passed away. It was really good.

After lunch we walked Oz along the lake.  Our trail opened within the trees and as I looked up, I couldn't believe that Mt Thielsen was framed so perfectly.  It is affectionately known as the Lightning Rod of the Cascades.  Understandable, as it spears into the sky.

And then.  The purpose of the whole adventure.

I want to say, first and foremost: I didn't alter these photos at all.  In fact, the reality was even more amazing than my pictures show.  I don't know if it was the atmosphere (we were nearly at 8,000 ft), the perfect mid-70s weather, the clear skies, or the time of year, but I have never seen Crater Lake look more beautiful in all the times I have been there over the course of my life.  Stunning, spectacular, brilliant, amazing...none of those words even come close.  There should be a new word to describe such a sight.  It makes total sense why this is one of America's Wonders.  The surface of the lake was so still, it created a perfect mirror effect.

I wish I could line these three photos up in the panorama I saw.  Unfortunately, my blog format won't accommodate three pictures side by side.  I'll try to get them as close as I can, but to get the full impact of the mirror thing, click on the photos.

Nature, at its most profoundly beautiful:

We drove the 21 miles from the North Gate entrance to Crater Lake National Park, to the South Gate, then back again, taking pictures in both directions.  The sunlight changed the colors of the water and the sky depending on which way I was facing.  What a day to be there.  

We stopped at the Rim Village and while sitting on the stone wall, this cheeky little chipmunk wandered over.  Course, as soon as I tried to take his picture, he turned away.

After a bit of coaxing, he gave me a look, then jumped over the wall and raced down the crater..!!  Must be nice to be fearless.

This is the view we were looking at while sitting on the stone wall, chatting up the chipmunk.

These next photos are of Wizard's Island, the actual top of the volcano that formed Crater Lake when Mt Mazama blew up.  The color of the water around the island is astounding.

Closer views, with me hanging over the abyss to get the right angle.  Can you believe that water..??

Now, as if these lake views weren't enough.  This was the scenery behind me.

To my left.  (Somewhere up there, though barely visible in this photo, is a little ranger's station at the top of the ridge. How much would I love that job..?? Just air-drop me books and food, and I would be a happy girl.)

To my right. 

On our way home, we stopped again at Diamond Lake to check out this new viewpoint area that's just been built.  It was very pretty, though I was shooting straight into the sun.  Still, it was another, different view of the lake.

And one last stop on the return drive.  Watson Falls.  We were thinking it would be an easy hike, but when we got there, it was more rigorous than we had the time or energy to attempt.  It has been added to the To Do list.  Definitely click on the photo as you won't be able to see the waterfall way up that mountain in the distance.

What an amazing, breath-taking day.  Even disregarding the lakes and falls, you can't imagine the magnitude of the forest.  We drove for well over two hours and never left the trees.  Nirvana for a tree-hugger like me.

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P.S.  Ignore the gaps between some of the paragraphs and photos.  I think the Blogger site is having a bad day.  No doubt they wished they had spent such a wonderful day out yesterday.