Hello Sunshine

Fall is one of those seasons where you just never know what to expect. Traditionally, it's a cooling down of the summer and a mellowing of the temperatures before the extreme wet or cold of winter. The crispness of the mornings and the gorgeous colors of the foliage are definitely something to savor and appreciate. Today is no exception. I woke up to another beautiful, sunshiney morning and gave a hearty thanks for the bright light streaming through my window.

I tell myself to enjoy it, because it is after all...November. October is usually a beautiful month in Oregon, but come November first, all bets are off. You just don't know what to expect. For the last couple of weeks we've been experiencing beautiful weather. Bright blue skies, crisp temperatures, you know the kind; where it feels delectable to slip into a warm, fuzzy sweater or a fluffy down jacket and revel in the sensation of a brisk breeze blowing through your hair.
Perfect riding weather if there were any daylight hours left after I get home from work. *sigh* Nothing's ever perfect is it? Business is dreadfully slow, and I detest having to be cooped up all day long in the clinic when there are endless possibilities awaiting me; outside...and at home. But, I am thankful to have a job. Thankful for being able to pay the bills. Thankful. I need to remind myself to have gratitude...always.


This is a picture of a neighbor's Halloween display. There were about 8 very big jacko'lanterns
lining the walkway to their house. I took several shots, unable to get all of them in one shot, but this was one of my favorites. Late, I know. But, too fun not to share.

This is some eastern Oregon Sagebrush in full bloom from the weekend before last when we went to Ritter Hot Springs between Pendleton and John Day. It was a beautiful place and the weather was perfect. Sunday morning everything was frozen, which made the hot tubs feel even better.

Annie went with us, of course. She had a blast hiking across the countryside, flushing out quails, swimming in the John Day River, and of course hot-tubbing. Silly dog jumped right in the hot tub with us. She liked it, for a while until she got overheated. Sure made her hair coat silky for a while. The mineral water is great for the hair, but devastating on silver jewelry. My bracelet turned black almost instantly...very strange. This was the first place I've ever experienced a warming sensation on the bottom while sitting on the toilet. Kind of a nice touch, especially in the middle of the night when it's very cold outside and the bathroom is outside your room and several rooms down the boardwalk. :)

Very cool how the low-lying clouds settled in the treetops.

An old abandoned homestead we spotted on the way to Ritter.

On another subject, we picked out our new woodstove last night. The installation is scheduled for the weekend before Thanksgiving. This weekend we're going to pick out the piece of granite for the pad/hearth underneath the stove. My hubby will cut the stone and do the edgework and that will save us the money we would have had to spend for a ready-made pad. We are putting the woodstove in our kitchen since we already have a pellet stove in the living room. I am very excited at being able to shut off the heating element to the electric forced air furnace which is an energy hog...yippee!!! In the event of a power outage, I will even be able to cook on the stovetop. Cool huh? I've never had a real woodstove before. Now I want to find an old cast iron teapot to put on the top. I'm even excited about going into the forest and chopping our own firewood. I can't wait!! I feel like a pioneer woman.

Hope everybody is enjoying this beautiful fall season. Blessings everyone!!

Cingspots