End of November

Last day of November---tomorrow starts the big holiday month---birthdays galore, Christmas, the return of my daughter from college, holiday traditions, the race begins! The main thing is to not panic, to remember to sit and enjoy the season, the lights, the music, the warmth of family and friends.

Thanksgiving was the jump-off point to this upcoming month. We happily spent it on the Oregon coast, connecting with family for a couple of days---rare sunny November days to boot! Most years of coastal Thanksgivings in our past it was impossible to venture outdoors without getting drenched from the torrential rains! Not this year---an abundance of sunshine softened the jump into the holiday season, giving us all a chance to run off energy ahead of the game.






Meals were fabulous over Thanksgiving---we were on for dinner the night before so brought a Chicken Noodle soup that was actually Minestrone with chicken added. Everyone loved it---even the kids since we called it chicken noodle ;)! The following photo is a favorite from TG dinner, and the last two were from our first night. Minutes after we arrived at Brad's aunt & uncle's house Wednesday, we were hustled to the beach to catch the sunset. We did.





May this next month have some unexpected treasures of extra time and peace tucked in with the race towards the end of the year!

I love autumn

It's a good day to organize the house, declutter my office area, and reclaim the upstairs watercolor studio---but I think I'll go paint in my pastel studio instead...

The Oregon Gardens

Well, last weekend we finally visited the Oregon Gardens, a place I've always wanted to see, especially now that it's existed for a few years. We tried to go a few weeks ago, but the clouds never lifted until almost 4:00---which is when the Gardens close! We had fun that day exploring Silverton instead, choosing to go to the gardens when we'd have sunlight and more time.

It was a beautiful afternoon, sun pouring through the leaves, warm, and we had the added enjoyment of including my parents in our wanderings! Highly recommend going sometime if you're ever in Oregon. I'm sure, mid-summer is even more spectacular, but maybe in a different way---we saw so many lovely colors of leaves, and the feathery grasses were constantly catching our eyes---so many varieties! When we arrived we hopped on a slow-moving tram that drove around the gardens, with the driver talking about different bits of history, and plant info to give us a bit more insight into what we were seeing.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the day: