The Pumpkin Patch

Today was not a school day, so we headed out the pumpkin patch at E-Z Orchards for some fun and games. The were slides and peddle tractors, funny cut-outs and farm animals, donuts and cider, and of course, pumpkins. It was a good way to spend a Friday.

A Short Rant....

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."

This is the oath of office taken by our elected congressional representatives. Today marked Day 5 of the Government Shutdown, and I personally do not believe that our representatives are doing their job. I sincerely hope each and every one of them, regardless of political affiliation, is voted out of office at the earliest opportunity!

September....

Went by very quickly. I've spent the last month moving out of my apartment and into my new house. Of course that meant cleaning the old apartment very thoroughly. My family helped, and I have to say some of them are much pickier about scrubbing those mostly unseen corners than I am!

So, everything from the old place is now in the new place. Most of the boxes are sitting in the garage waiting to be unpacked. I need to get it done, but I'm not really enthusiastic about it. I'm so over the whole moving thing.

And since every weekend has been packed busy, I took most of this past weekend off from my very long to-do list. I headed to Corvallis to hang with my family and watch (on TV) the Beavers beat Colorado on Saturday. With predictions of severe weather and flooding, nobody felt like doing much. With the threat of impending weather doom, I headed home before dark. It's kind of hard to see tree limbs falling when you can't see much. Luckily we avoided the worst of the weather.  Portland was hit very hard in some places. Thousands of people were out of power. And my drive to work this morning did encounter some broken trees. Double luckily, none of them were in front of my house.

Labor Day Weekend

A few photos from our family weekend at the lake. It wasn't energetic, or exciting, but fabulous all the same. Too bad it signaled the end of summer.

New Home

I bought a house today. That still sounds kind of surreal to me. It's a old house (older than I am), and I am only the second owner.

Buying a house is an interesting experience. When I first mentioned that it was time to my cousin on Mother's Day, I thought it would be a long process, with hours of showings. That. Did. Not. Happen. Instead, I looked at two houses, and made the offer on the first one I saw. I think that freaked out my family a bit. Of course, they may be thinking about what I missed by not looking further. I was thinking about what I would miss if I passed on this house. Bottom line....it felt right. And it evoked some memories. This house, my house, is very much like the house I grew up in. It's a bit smaller, but it met my very short list of requirements. I can even hear distant trains from my yard. Yes....a yard. I have a lawn to mow and water. Apple trees and rhodys to care for. It's going to be awesome!

The down side....trying to move during the first month of school is going to be ugly.

Willamette Country Music Festival

This past weekend was the Willamette Country Music Festival in Brownsville.  Three days, eleven concerts and some big stars. We had a fabulous time! Unfortunately, my camera doesn't like taking low light photos and I had to resort to snapping pictures of the jumbotron. :)

Hunter Hayes

Carrie Underwood

Cloverdayle

The Ranch

Brad Paisley

Eli Young Band

Darius Rucker

Parents

Israel Family Reunion 2013

This year's destination was Pleasanton, California. Living in Oregon meant we were going on a .....ROAD TRIP! Two weeks and 1000 miles. Here's a few highlights.

Shasta Lake...We used to vacation here when I was a kid. Went back to check out the campground we used to frequent in the O'Brien Inlet and found it gone. There is still a marina, however. And the water level is very low this year.

The Sundial Bridge (Redding, California)....We took some time to wander around Redding and were pointed in the direction of the Sundial Bridge by the cute guy selling tomatoes at the Farmer's Market. We walked across the bridge. It's pretty cool.

Winchester Mystery House (San Jose, California)...I talked the parents into visiting the Winchester Mystery House. I knew they would enjoy it's quirkiness. We invited the Indiana cousins to come with us, taking the Grand Tour. The estate is such s interesting place.

San Francisco, California....We had a fast paced tour of the city. It was a nice overview, but San Francisco like most cities deserves to be explored. We visited Pier 39, had some amazing fish and chips for lunch at The Cod Mother, and finished off the day with dinner in Chinatown at the Empress of China.

The Niles Canyon Railway (Sunol to Niles, California)....We rode the Niles Canyon train from Sunol to Niles, which is part of the original route of the Transcontinental Railroad. This is a great little excursion train. We spent the time visiting and catching up with the cousins. The weather was beautiful.

Reunion Dinner...we were a small group this year, but it was wonderful to see everyone. Dinner was catered by Armadillo Willy's and was very yummy.

Crater Lake (Oregon)....Our trip home included a visit to Crater Lake. We hadn't visited for many years, so it was nice to see the lake. We had lunch at Crater Lake Lodge, and then drove around the rim. The views were hazy due to the smoke from a wildfire to the east.

Collier State Park Logging Museum (Chiloquin, Oregon)...We spent a couple nights at Collier State park, and had the opportunity to visit the Logging Museum. It began as a gift of the Collier Brothers as a tribute to their parents. The museum covers the history of logging from the 1800's to modern day, and also includes a collection of pioneer buildings.

This disc is from the "Clatsop Tree". It lived from 1420 to 1962 when it blew down in the Columbus Day Storm.

Sisters, Oregon....We spent the last couple days of our trip in Central Oregon. We visited my cousins at their new house, and then accidently ran into some other cousins on the streets of Sisters while doing some antique shopping.