Back in the High Life Again

My Internet Explorer browser was all messed up by the Trojan Horse virus. So I just downloaded Mozilla Firefox and I am now able to access my Blog once more. Aren't you delighted?

It is a beautiful Fall day and I am headed out to do some yard work. Next Tuesday the new roof will be installed. Getting ready for the winter that is closer than I would like to think. I am enjoying what may be the end of the sunshine for a few months.

Two weeks until my trip to California and I will be seeing some of you. Others I saw in July on my trip to Missouri. If you live in a place I haven't visited, maybe you can come see me.

Yesterday I stood in line for ONE HOUR to see the baby elephant at the Zoo. It was worth it to see these wonderful creatures. Momma and two Aunties were very protective of the tiny little guy who is probably the cutest animal I have ever seen. He is named Samudra because of his love of water. PETA would disapprove, but how else would I ever "see the elephant."

Trojan Horse

My computer was infected with a vicious virus. Clean-up continues but has interfered with my access to my blog from home. Be patient. I shall return!

Happy Mabon

The autumnal equinox was on Monday, September 22, 2008 at 08:44:18 a.m. PDT, causing weather geeks, neo-pagans, and people who simply enjoy the change of seasons to break out the sweaters or druid's cloaks and have a little party.

Also known as Mabon or Alban Elued “Light of the Water,” this is the Celtic celebration of the wine or fruit harvest. It marks the official end of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. And the wheel turns again.

Tree colors are turning, leaves are swirling down, winds are rising, and rain is falling and Autumn has arrived here in the Pacific Northwest. The new filter is installed in the furnace, the box of sweaters and wool scarves brought in from the storage shed, and summer smoothies for breakfast gives way to hot steaming Irish Oats.

Saturday I led a hike to view the historic Petroglyphs at the Columbia Hills State Park. The most famous (and largest) is Tsagagalalal or She Who Watches. This mask-like carving watches over a section of the river where Indian tribes have lived for thousands of years. Fall was much in evidence as we traversed the narrow trail with our Ute Indian guide. Everything was brittle and dry and bedraggled. Mt. Hood was hidden by smoke from the massive fires burning there and in Central Oregon. Perhaps today’s rain will dampen that dry earth, put out those fires and prevent further combustion. The carvings are quite impressive and tell many stories of life by the river and document sky events. The area is closed to the public to prevent vandalism.

Lipstick On a Pig

Big stir in the political campaign today. Seems Sarah Palin made a comment about lipstick being the difference between a pitbull and a hockey mom. Now Barack Obama has made a comment about putting lipstick on a pig. For reasons I can't explain, an old song started running through my head and I can't get it out. Do you know it? Three Nights Drunk:

The first night that I come home
So drunk I could not see
Found a horse in my stable
Where my horse oughta be.
Come here my little wifey
Explain this thing to me
How come a horse in the stable
Where my horse oughta be?

You blind fool, you crazy fool
Can't you never see?
It's only a milkcow
Your granny sent to me.

I've traveled this world over
Ten thousand miles or more
But a saddle upon a milkcow's back
I never did see before.

The second night that I come home
So drunk I could not see
Found a coat a-hanging on the rack
Where my coat oughta be
Come here my little wifey
Explain this thing to me
How come a coat a hanging on the rack
Where my coat oughta be?

You blind fool, you crazy fool
Can't you never see?
It's only a bedquilt
Your granny sent to me.

I've traveled this world over
Ten thousand miles or more
Pockets upon a bedquilt
I never did see before.

The third night that I come home
So drunk I could not see
Found a head a-laying on the pillow
Where my head oughta be
Come here my little wifey
Explain this thing to me
How come a head a-laying on the pillow
Where my head oughta be?

You blind fool, you crazy fool
Can't you never see?
It's only a cabbage head
Your granny sent to me

I've traveled this world over
Ten thousand miles or more
But a moustache on a cabbage head
I never did see before.

Remembering My Mother

Winifred Ember(zetta) Barnes Anderson
February 21, 1895 – September 7, 1957

Gone too soon. Still remembered. Always loved.

She would have been so thrilled to meet the little great-granddaughter Ember who has joined our family and who carries her middle name. And she would have been very proud of her namesake granddaughter Winifred and the wonderful mother she has become.

Saturday Chores

It’s a pretty mundane task…a repetitive chore…that keeps coming around again and again and again. Laundry. For years it has been a Saturday Morning Chore for me. All the years I was working, it was the default time; and since retirement, it has continued to seem like the normal time to tackle it. There were times I lived in places that required a trip to a Laundromat, and I have memories of loading baskets in and out of the car and sitting around hot steamy rooms on hard uncomfortable plastic chairs reading tattered out-of-date magazines and watching the socks go round in the dryer.

Now I am blessed. I have a washer and dryer on my mud porch, and this morning I tossed in a load on the way out to get the paper. I love this set-up. In the past, even when I have had on-site facilities, they have not always been so accessible and comfortable. Basements, garages, the building out back, the kitchen. Having the machines on my heated back porch is a luxury. One of the nicest features of my little home here in Oregon.