Here sitting snugly and somewhat smugly on the beautiful southern Oregon coast, we really dodged a bullet this past couple of days. A winter ice storm hit the central Willamette from Portland down to Roseburg. Hundreds of huge old trees loaded with ice were crushed with the weight. They fell on cars and houses, uprooted sidewalks etc. There thousands of power outages. Power crews from all over the state came in to help restore power.
In the meanwhile I have been faithfully cranking out my eighth of a mile per day walk around the block. I look for a break in the rain and occasionally get stunning sunshine. Now sunshine here in Oregon can be dangerous. While driving the light strobes through the trees as we fly by and it can be extremely distracting. Kind the visual version of running along a picket fence, dragging a stick along the fence for the noise.
On my daily walk, I always walk by a neighbors yard. It has been semi-feral for years, no weeds mind you as ever square inch is planted with grape vine, fruit trees, giant ferns, a gingko tree, an yellow delicious apple tree, all sorts of begonias, huge Rhodies, one extremely large Douglas fir. In the summer it is so overgrown that the sidewalk is like walking through a tunnel. Most of the leaves drop off the trees in the winter and the sunshine shows off a rather handsome bird bath that is a large porcelain and just might be a spend McCoy or something. There is one house on my route that has six or seven Trump signs in the front yard, they went up shortly after the election weirdly enough. Oregon was a blue state for all the good it did us.
Also the annual Robin migration has arrived for them to Winter over. A huge chattering flock descended to strip the red berries off my backyard Holly tree and they liked the tiny tine pine cones on the fir tree.
I like to listen to Splendid Table, one of the guests was complaining about how Delicious apples had no taste. Hmmm, I then wondered if he had ever had a water cored Delicious. That happens rarely and the growers curse it because that bin cannot be sent to market as they rot so quickly afterwards. But water core happens when the fruit is still on the tree and then there is a frost. The freezing forces juices to concentrate in veins near the core of the apple and is extra sweet and crispy. I pity the person who has never tasted this financially unfortunate sometimes seasonal tasty miracle.
I haven't felt like cooking much lately but yesterday I had all the ingredients for Tamale Pie um except I used cut up corn tortilla shells instead of corn meal and I used a packet of Sloppy Joe seasoning which just left it faintly sweet, not overpoweringly Sloppy Joe like. Husband left rave reviews. The roasted peppers were spot on and so flavorful.
News on the kitty front. Our newest black cat, Charlie, has discovered my lap. Not only that but he will paw at the covers to be covered up. And he is very good at holding me down in the chair. He also likes to come to the bedroom and crawl under the top blanket where I have a heating pad, Bingo!!! The oldest cat member, Braza, is 17 and 7 months. She still gets around pretty well.
So, stay warm people, it's an extra chilly El Nino winter here and there.
In the meanwhile I have been faithfully cranking out my eighth of a mile per day walk around the block. I look for a break in the rain and occasionally get stunning sunshine. Now sunshine here in Oregon can be dangerous. While driving the light strobes through the trees as we fly by and it can be extremely distracting. Kind the visual version of running along a picket fence, dragging a stick along the fence for the noise.
On my daily walk, I always walk by a neighbors yard. It has been semi-feral for years, no weeds mind you as ever square inch is planted with grape vine, fruit trees, giant ferns, a gingko tree, an yellow delicious apple tree, all sorts of begonias, huge Rhodies, one extremely large Douglas fir. In the summer it is so overgrown that the sidewalk is like walking through a tunnel. Most of the leaves drop off the trees in the winter and the sunshine shows off a rather handsome bird bath that is a large porcelain and just might be a spend McCoy or something. There is one house on my route that has six or seven Trump signs in the front yard, they went up shortly after the election weirdly enough. Oregon was a blue state for all the good it did us.
Also the annual Robin migration has arrived for them to Winter over. A huge chattering flock descended to strip the red berries off my backyard Holly tree and they liked the tiny tine pine cones on the fir tree.
I like to listen to Splendid Table, one of the guests was complaining about how Delicious apples had no taste. Hmmm, I then wondered if he had ever had a water cored Delicious. That happens rarely and the growers curse it because that bin cannot be sent to market as they rot so quickly afterwards. But water core happens when the fruit is still on the tree and then there is a frost. The freezing forces juices to concentrate in veins near the core of the apple and is extra sweet and crispy. I pity the person who has never tasted this financially unfortunate sometimes seasonal tasty miracle.
I haven't felt like cooking much lately but yesterday I had all the ingredients for Tamale Pie um except I used cut up corn tortilla shells instead of corn meal and I used a packet of Sloppy Joe seasoning which just left it faintly sweet, not overpoweringly Sloppy Joe like. Husband left rave reviews. The roasted peppers were spot on and so flavorful.
News on the kitty front. Our newest black cat, Charlie, has discovered my lap. Not only that but he will paw at the covers to be covered up. And he is very good at holding me down in the chair. He also likes to come to the bedroom and crawl under the top blanket where I have a heating pad, Bingo!!! The oldest cat member, Braza, is 17 and 7 months. She still gets around pretty well.
So, stay warm people, it's an extra chilly El Nino winter here and there.
1 comment:
I forgot to mention my munificent raise on SSI, a staggering 0.03 percent which was exactly zeroed out by the raise in the deductible. Thanks Unca Sammy. However this is the first raise in two years? So there ya go.
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