Glorious Autumn Colors

Birthday Bouquet

My friend Christine presented me with this beautiful birthday bouquet and treated me to lunch at Pastini. Rich, vibrant autumn colors and sumptuous, savory pasta. What a way to celebrate my birthday!

I Love October!

Stepping outside I can see blue sky, puffy white clouds, and green trees beginning to turn golden. The air is crisp and cool, and I am filled with pleasure.  I love October!

I'm So Glad . . .

I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. ~ L. M. Montgomery

A Second Spring

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

                        ~Albert Camus

Delicious Autumn!

Time for the annual sharing of one of my favorite quotes:

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. 
                                    ~George Eliot

(photo by Karen Ramsdale)

Happy Autumnal Equinox!

It is the summer's great last heat,
It is the fall's first chill: They meet.
          –Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt




From http://www.almanac.com/content/first-day-fall-autumnal-equinox:

When does fall begin? The equinox brings autumn on September 22, 2013 at 1:44 pm PDT. Enjoy the first day of fall with poems, pictures, and more!

The word equinox comes from the Latin words for "equal night." The fall and spring equinoxes are the only days of the year in which the sun crosses the celestial equator. From here on out, the temperatures begin to drop and the days start to get shorter than the nights.

(photo by Bill Paulino - click on image to see larger view)

Evolving Choices

      

Decalogue

I have enjoyed listening to Jon Meacham's book, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power this summer. One of the things I especially like is hearing excerpts from Jefferson's personal correspondence (a little less formal than the Declaration of Independence!).  The list below is from such a letter.

A Decalogue of Canons for observation in practical life:

1. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
3. Never spend your money before you have it.
4. Never buy what you do not want because it is cheap; it will be dear to you.
5. Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst and cold.
6. We never repent of having eaten too little.
7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
8. How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened.
9. Take things always by their smooth handle.
10. When angry, count ten, before you speak; if very angry, a hundred.

To see this list in Jefferson's handwriting, go to http://www.jeffersonhour.com/decalogue.html.

A Red, White and Blue Wedding

Thursday, July 4, was a great day for celebrating our country.  For our family, it was also a day to celebrate the marriage of Michael and Vicki.  Their beautiful garden wedding was blessed with pleasant weather, good company, delicious food, and the musical talents of Crossing Blue (https://www.facebook.com/charminlynngibson).

(click on photo to see larger view)

Love and best wishes to the happy couple for a fantastic future together!

Up The Gorge

I'm still smiling after spending last week with my son Eric who was visiting from North Carolina.  We chose Friday to drive up the Columbia Gorge and enjoy the beautiful scenery and interesting sights.

Early in the day, we visited Chanticleer Point, the Vista House, and Multnomah Falls. Even in the cloudy, damp weather, the views were spectacular.  As we drove along the Historical Columbia River Scenic Highway, we sometimes felt we were driving through a tunnel of lush green foliage.

Continuing east, we stopped for lunch at Bette's Place Restaurant, 416 Oak Street, in Hood River. My spinach quiche was excellent, and Eric said his clam chowder was better than Mo's.

As we drove toward The Dalles, the weather - and the scenery - began to change.  By the time we got to Biggs Junction, we saw more wind turbines than trees beneath sunny skies.

(click on this photo for larger view)

This dramatic change of scene is what I remember most about our day.  I wondered how the pioneers felt as they traveled west along the Columbia, through the changing weather, without the advantage of a smooth highway.  How fortunate we were to be riding in an air-conditioned car!

At The Beach

Just dropped off my son Eric after his wonderful, week-long visit to the Portland area.  We had a spectacular time, with sunny weather (mostly) everywhere we went.

Early in the week, we went to Lincoln City, staying overnight at the Ester Lee Motel.  Our morning walk on the beach required only light jackets.  Eric even went wading!

We had received a couple of recommendations for Beach Dog Cafe (www.thebeachdogcafe.com) as the best place to eat breakfast - and we now recommend it, too. Be sure to allow plenty of time; it's likely you'll have to wait for a table.

After a delicious and leisurely meal, we made a quick visit to Robert's Book Shop (www.robertsbookshop.com) - a little bit of heaven for all book lovers and the perfect place to visit if your beach trip happens to include rain.

(click on photo to see larger image)

Then we headed south on Highway 101, stopping at Boiler Bay on the way to Newport to enjoy the still sunny but slightly windier weather.  Our beach trip wouldn't have been complete without a shopping trip to Nye Beach and lunch at Local Ocean Seafoods (www.localocean.net) on Newport Bay - they did not disappoint!

Change the Channel!

At a discussion group last night, someone used the phrase "Change the channel in your brain!" I was intrigued, so I did a web search this morning with thousands of results. Here is one:

"Have you ever been watching television and a program comes on that you do not like at all? You know that if you just sit there and watch it you will not enjoy it and certainly will not be happy. So what do you do? Do you continue to sit there and lament the fact that a show is on which you dislike? Of course not! You Change the Channel!

You can do pretty much the same thing with your mind! If, as you're going through your day, something happens that disturbs you, or someone says something that triggers a not-so-good memory and your mind begins to "change the channel" to a "program" you'd rather not see, you do not have to just sit there and endure the parade of negative thoughts and images that are marching through your mind. You can Change the Channel!"

You can read the entire article by Keith Smith at http://www.straightupliving.com/2011/01/change-the-channel.html.

Marriage Goal

As I prepare for my role in my brother's upcoming wedding, I came across this quote:


The goal in marriage is not to think alike - but to think together.  ~Robert C. Dodds

To Live A Creative Life...

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.  ~Joseph Chilton Pearce

It's National Scrapbooking Day!

   

From My Eulogy- Homemaker Skills

One of the things I talked about at Mom's memorial service back in Febrary was what she taught me about the role of homemaker.  

"I learned so many things from Mom: how to cook, how to embroider, how to set a table, how to make a bed. But not just how to cook - to make a combination of foods that was pleasing to the eye as well as the palate. And not just how to make a bed - to make it with hospital corners, so the sheets and blankets stayed in place."

Some of these things I took completely for granted - until I started meeting those who couldn't cook and didn't know how to make a bed.  Thank you, Mom!

ABCs Of Happiness

(from www.thehappyself.com)

Equal Pay Day

Today is Equal Pay Day.  

As Senator Jeff Merkeley says, "We have narrowed the wage gap over the last few decades, but pay discrimination remains a major issue that must be addressed. Women in America and in Oregon earn less across all sorts of occupations and all educational levels. This is unacceptable. It hurts women and it hurts their families, whose pocketbooks rely on their earnings."

This is a great reminder that it is long past time we make equal pay for women a reality.

Tulips

                                                                            Tulips
                                         by A. E. Stallings

                                                    The tulips make me want to paint,
                                                    Something about the way they drop
                                                   Their petals on the tabletop
                                                   And do not wilt so much as faint,

                                                   Something about their burnt-out hearts,

                                                   Something about their pallid stems
                                                   Wearing decay like diadems,
                                                   Parading finishes like starts,

                                                   Something about the way they twist
                                                  As if to catch the last applause,
                                                  And drink the moment through long straws,
                                                  And how, tomorrow, they’ll be missed.

                                                  The way they’re somehow getting clearer,
                                                  The tulips make me want to see—
                                                  The tulips make the other me
                                                  (The backwards one who’s in the mirror,

                                                  The one who can’t tell left from right),
                                                  Glance now over the wrong shoulder
                                                  To watch them get a little older
                                                  And give themselves up to the light.   

Happy Easter!

Today, Christians all over the world celebrated Easter with stories of the Resurrection.  For many, Easter symbolizes rebirth and newness.  My friend Susan gave me this beautiful Easter egg (another symbol of new life).  

The silhouette of the bunny rabbit is sort of how I see the newness in my life sometimes.  I can see the shape or the outline, but I can't see a lot of the details yet.  As another friend of mine likes to say, "More will be revealed."

Also, I just realized that I had not shared one of my gratitudes from my 7th day of 7 gratitudes. I will do that now, while reminding myself that gratitude is not just for a certain day or week; it is for recognizing there is good in life every day:

I am grateful for my daughter-in-law Sharon.  Even though she and my son Eric live across the country, I think of her every day.  She is always very gracious when her mother-in-law comes to visit.  She frequently sends me helpful information and loving messages via email.  Her support was so precious to me when I called her to say that Gramma Jane had cancer.  I am blessed to have Sharon in my family.

My Education

With a college diploma hanging on my wall just behind my computer monitor, I'm surprised I didn't come up with this before. Today's gratitude is something I appreciate more the older I become.

I am thankful for my education. I didn't realize it at the time, but I received a superb education in Corvallis, Oregon, at Washington School, Garfield School, Highland View Junior High School, and Corvallis High School. I had parents who valued education. My father was a teacher. Our community, as I was growing up, centered around Oregon State University, where I eventually received my B.S. and M.Ed. Not until many years later did I really start to grasp that I took for granted something that was not available to all - even in my own country. I am very fortunate to have grown up in the time and place that I did and for the benefits I received from its educational system.

Moon and Stars

I guess this item on my list of 7 gratitudes today could also be entitled "Looking Up," because it's all about what I see when I look into the sky.

I am grateful for the moon and stars and clouds and rainbows and jet streams and all the interesting things that can be seen in the sky above. I still remember seeing a rainbow over downtown Seattle when I was preparing to move there. I still have pictures I took of two jet streams intersecting to form a cross when driving home from visiting Mom. I still recall lying in sleeping bags on the lawn on Bainbridge Island watching for shooting stars. Sometimes it is just good to look up.

My Fingers

I am never quite sure what is going to come up when I sit down to write my 7 gratitudes.  It sometimes feels like "Of course!" and sometimes feels like "Where did that come from?"  Here is one of my seven gratitudes for today:

I am thankful for my fingers.  I like that they can type on my keyboard as I write these words.  I like that they can shampoo my hair.  I like that they can hold a knife with one hand and a zucchini with the other, cutting the squash into slices.  My fingers can touch, snap, grab, caress, and many other things.

I wonder how the decision was made for us to have two hands with five fingers each.  It seems to have worked out rather well.  Wouldn't you agree?

All My Chocolates

My "7 Days of 7 Gratitudes" practice seems to always include this particular item.

I am grateful for chocolate. I love to eat - and drink - chocolate of almost any variety in almost any form. Hershey bars were one of my first loves - they were my favorite part of the s'mores we made in Girl Scouts.

Nowadays, I enjoy dark chocolate, cafe mochas, and many other chocolatey treats. Hot fudge sundaes, hot cocoa with a dash of peppermint schnapps, chocolate mousse - the list goes on and on.

I sometimes joke that every meal should have a "chocolate course." Mmmmmm. Maybe that's not a joke after all.

Autumn Splendor

Why am I writing about autumn splendor when we have just entered the season of spring?  Why am I thinking of colorful leaves when beautiful blossoms are displaying themselves?  I can't say for sure, but autumn leaves are one of the things that appeared on my list of seven gratitudes today.

I am thankful for autumn leaves.  The array of colors, the range of sizes, the very abundance of them during the fall season all appeal to me.  I enjoy seeing the colorful trees in autumn even more than in the spring.  It seems like Nature has somehow proclaimed itself in all its glory, saying "Look at me, look at me!"  Sure, there are drawbacks, especially for people who have to rake leaves, clean them out of their gutters and drains, etc.  But the vivid splendor of them every autumn cheers me year after year.

Palm Sunday

Once again, I began my "seven gratitudes for seven days" practice today.  While I hope I am grateful for the blessings in my life every day, I usually dedicate a seven-day period two or three times a year to write down what I am grateful for.  Sometimes it seems like pretty standard stuff (my family, my home, etc.), and sometimes I come up with some surprises.  Here is one of my gratitudes for today:

I am thankful for my 13-year-old Toyota Corolla, which unlike some 13-year-olds, is extremely reliable and dependable.  It goes when I want it to go, and it stops when I want it to stop.  In these times of higher gas prices, it is reassuring to know that I can drive a very long way on a tank of gas.  It is reasonably comfortable, although not exactly ergonomically correct, but that is easily remedied with a cushion.  And, the car's CD player that my family gave to me a few years back, helps to make even commuter traffic more pleasant.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

(photo from http://beta.photobucket.com/images/shamrock/)

101 Years of Girl Scouts

Everybody has a birthday - and so do Girl Scouts!  Juliette Gordon Low, after visiting England, saw the positive affect Lord Robert Baden-Powell was having with his Boy Scout program. She was inspired to start a similar program for girls in the United States. From www.girlscouts.org:

"Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low assembled 18 girls from Savannah, Georgia, on March 12, 1912, for a local Girl Scout meeting. She believed that all girls should be given the opportunity to develop physically, mentally, and spiritually. With the goal of bringing girls out of isolated home environments and into community service and the open air, Girl Scouts hiked, played basketball, went on camping trips, learned how to tell time by the stars, and studied first aid.

Within a few years, Daisy's dream for a girl-centered organization was realized. Today, Girl Scouts of the USA has a membership of over 3.2 million girls and adults, a significant growth from its modest beginnings nearly a century ago. In fact, more than 59 million women in the U.S. today are Girl Scout alumnae. We invite you to learn about our robust organization and its rich history. From our willingness to tackle important societal issues, to our commitment to diversity and inclusiveness - Girl Scouts is dedicated to every girl, everywhere." (graphic from www.squidoo.com)

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.  ~Marianne Williamson

Heartbreaker Daphnes

A friend gave me a few sprigs of daphne from her garden this morning, and its sweet fragrance now fills my living room.

Innocently looking up "daphne" on the Web, I found it can have not only rhinological but emotional consequences.  In "The Temptations of Heartbreaker Daphnes," Valerie Easton says:

To have loved and lost is to have grown a daphne. Gardeners fall for the intensely sweet scent of daphne's pretty little flowers...Many bloom early enough to waft heavenly tropical perfume around a cold garden as early as mid-February. Others flower for most of the year, or obligingly re-bloom. Daphnes grow slowly and rarely need pruning. Some are evergreen with showy variegated foliage.

Yet despite all these virtues, daphnes are heartbreakers. No other plant up and dies so unexpectedly and often. How many of us have gaps in our gardens where ghosts of daphnes linger in our memories?

Easton then goes on to enumerate the varieties of daphne that have gained - then spurned - her affections before stating, "I'm not sure if gardeners who keep pursuing daphnes are masochists or optimists."

I had no idea that daphne could be so disappointing and even tragic.  I'd better go write a thank-you note to my friend.  I want her to know I appreciate the risks she took in cultivating daphne.

(For more information, go to http://seattletimes.com/html/pacificnw/2014961905_pacificplife15.html.)

A Harbinger of Spring

For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come...  (Song of Solomon 2:11-12a)

Those of us here in Oregon know that winter is not necessarily past, and the rain definitely is not gone.  But it was tremendously cheering yesterday to see some little crocuses poking their heads out into the sunshine.

(photo from www.fotosearch.com)

There Comes A Time...

Someone didn't respond to a question I emailed them.  The florist couldn't get all the right flowers.  My sister's computer developed a major problem.  I've started wondering if my son's flight will arrive on time. How will I survive all the busyness of preparing for this weekend?

STOP!  This is not the truth.  "Forget the bad, and focus on the good."  The truth is that everything will come together and this weekend will be a time of celebration and love for our entire family.  "Life is too short to be anything but happy."

There comes a time in your life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Forget the bad, and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living. - José N. Harris

If You Love Your Sister

The Wolf Creek Tavern

Mom always enjoyed talking about her birthplace, the Wolf Creek Tavern in Wolf Creek, Oregon. Now known as the Wolf Creek Inn, it was a family-owned business in Mom's time and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Mom has been reported as saying the "outhouses" were not used in the evening; the guests used the supplied "chamberpots." The reason why no one dared venture out: wolves! While the evening meal for the Tavern's guests was prepared, the wolves started gathering on the lawns.

More interesting information and photos about the Inn can be seen at: http://activerain.com/blogsview/1725304/josephine-county-historical-society-s-passport-to-history-wolf-creek-inn-wolf-creek-oregon

Bye, Mom!

In memory of 
"Gramma Jane"

Martha Jane Dougall Spitznogle

April 21, 1926 - February 2, 2013

Devoted wife, mother, grandmother

Little Willie

As my mother passes her final days in her bed, we are cheered by remembering some of the funny things she used to do and say.

This rhyme (we think she learned it from her father) always brought a smile to her face:

Little Willie had a mirror;

he licked the back all off.

Thinking, in his childish fancy, 

it would cure the whooping-cough. 

On the morning of the funeral, 

the neighbor said to Mrs. Brown, 

“Twas a chilly day for Little Willie 

when the mercury went down.”

A Thought From Schweitzer

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.  Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. - Albert Schweitzer

MLK Day

Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars... Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. 
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Credit: "[Rev. Martin Luther King, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing right, speaking at a rally in Crawfordville, Georgia]." United Press International telephoto,1965 Oct 11. Prints and Photographs Divison of the Library of Congress.

Before You Speak...

Happy New Year!

Fireworks erupt over the Naples skyline in southern Italy on January 1, 2013 to mark New Year's celebrations. World cities from Sydney to Dubai rang in the New Year with a spectacular global wave of firework displays. (AFP)