Colors of Autumn

Brilliant gold and reds of God's palate
Brilliant beauty of fall leaves

I LOVE this time of year! I drive around town and the trees are amazing with their intense colors. I know it is not as amazing as the East Coast this time of the year. But I think, somehow, that our colors are better because they are mixed with all the Evergreens that don't change color. So the contrast is greater. I have seen pictures of the colors in the east and it is stunning. But I really love seeing the bright reds, oranges, and yellows against all the green here in the NW. I took some photos today to illustrate what I mean by the beauty of our colorful trees.

October in Oregon

Sunrise over the foggy Willamette Valley - Oct. 12, 2008

Sunset over the Snyder Cherry Orchard - Oct. 16, 2008
Sunrise over the Willamette Valley - Oct. 17, 2008
Banana Squash fully cooked - 10 lbs.
16 cups (4 quarts) Banana Squash ready for the freezer
( Dad will sure be happy since this is his favorite squash)

This is my favorite time of year. The air is so clean and crisp. The colors on the trees and bushes are so vibrant. The sunsets and sunrises are amazing because of the clear air. The days are warm, the nights are cool, and there is a nice breeze to keep things fresh. The harvest in the Autumn is abundant, and so the freezer is full of containers with fruits and vegetables to enjoy during the winter.

Getting Ready for Mom and Dad

Since Mom and Dad will be moving to the NW at the end of the month, I am trying to make sure that their new 'home' will be ready for them.

I went over yesterday and spent about 5 hours cleaning. The duplex was supposedly left 'clean' by the former tenants. However, I have learned that everyone has a very different idea of what 'clean' is. I took my step stool, a bucket, rubber gloves, environmentally friendly 'green' cleaner (hey, this is Oregon), some disinfectant wipes, and a roll of paper towels. The first thing I did was to weed the yard. The grass may be dead, but the dandelions continue to grow even when there is no watering done. I got a very large bag of yard debris. Next, I went into the kitchen and washed out all the cupboards, drawers, stove, fridge, and counters. It fairly *sparkles*. On to the bathroom, which was not that dirty........amazingly! But now it is spotless. My next cleaning chore was to clean the windows, troughs, and sills. My last cleaning chore is to clean the kitchen and dining room floors. I discovered that there are little spots of tar on the floor, which I don't know how to remove without harming the surface. Any suggestions? I did talk to the owner about some things that need 'fixing'. One of the keys does not work in the deadbolt and one of the drip pans on the stove are missing. No big deals. I did find a great - over the toilet - vanity cupboard for the bathroom. Got it half price at Walmart and need to put it together. It will give lots more storage in the bathroom. I will put that together today........maybe. Anyway, things are coming together. I talked to Mom yesterday and she actually said, "I am getting excited about moving up to Oregon". Now that was an amazing thing for her to say! I have prayed over and over that she would do well with this move. I know how the weather affects her moods, and we do have a 'few' days of grey in the winter. But being closer to family is something she is really looking forward to. They put their home on the market this week, and that is great. We need to pray that just the right buyer will come along and that the timing will all work out for them. God is in control and He has orchestrated every step of this move so far. I know all the last bits will fall into place as well.

Autumn's Seasonal Bounty

Thursday at the Farmer's Market I picked up some winter squash. One variety was called Golden Nugget and the other was a Sweet Meat. And yesterday I saw an older farmer with his truck in our little town of Amity. He sells produce out of the back of his truck. He had an ENORMOUS Hubbard Squash, and he was selling it for only $5. It was over 20 lbs. And it was 38" around the middle. Pretty cheap. Anyway, I cut the squash up and bake it in the oven at 350' for about 2 hours. ( I had to take Bob's hacksaw to the Hubbard, it was so tough and so big!) Then I let it sit for about half an hour so that the squash pulls away from the rind. Then I scoop the meat out and put it in a bowl and mash it with a potato masher. After it is all mashed, it goes into containers for the freezer. We have 12 pints of frozen squash now. I had a small sample of each left over, which we had for dinner. Our favorites were the Hubbard, and the Sweet Meat. The Golden Nugget tasted a lot like an Acorn Squash. Bob eats his with butter and salt and pepper. I like mine with butter and brown sugar. Delicious!!!



The other benefit of the Autumn Season are the apples in abundance. We have a Gravenstein Apple tree and a Golden Delicious tree. The Gravenstein did not get worms this year and since we love them the very best, that was very good news. Yesterday I spent about 4 hours outside cleaning up the ground under the Gravenstein Apple tree. There were so many good apples that had fallen. I put them into a big tub and it was heaping. The bad apples were tossed into the orchard for the birds, deer, racoons, and squirrels. This morning I made two batches of applesauce from the apples under the tree. Bob came home from Spokane and he also cut up enough apples for two batches of applesauce. We got 19 pints of delicious applesauce in the freezer. We just quarter, core, and peel the apples. Then let them bake slowly at 300' for about 2 hours. Then mash with a potato masher, pour into containers, and freeze.



I took some photos of the apple tree before and after the cleanup. And also the huge tub of apples, and the gigantic Hubbard Squash. I put a can of soda in front of the tub so you could get a perspective of exactly how many apples there were. What a project!!! But I am so happy that we can experience the bounty of this, my favorite season - Autumn!

No More Babies

Monday I went over to Jenn's to see Jacob and Abby. I had not seen them in a month due to my trip to AZ, and all the time spent finding a place for Mom and Dad to live up in OR. When I last saw Abby, she was still crawling and not at all motivated to walk. But all that changed and she is all over. Lots of bumps and bruises - big knot on her forehead. She is chatting up a storm and the only time she is not talking - and loudly - is when she is asleep. Jacob is using so many more words and making sentences now. He loves his sister so much and he is so affectionate to her. He has such a sweet little personality. Here are some pics from my time with these two. I put Abby's hair in little pigtails and she looks sooooo much like her Mommy at the same age. I love those babes so much!

Little Comedienne

Miranda sent me some recent photos of Elsa. She is 4 1/2 months old now. This baby is so cute and funny. It is as tho she knows the camera is on her and she plays to it. I don't think I have ever seen a funnier, more comedic infant. She makes the goofiest faces and looks like she is enjoying herself immensely. We will be seeing her in 2 weeks and I am so excited. I can't wait to kiss that little bald head and just hug the stuffin's out of her. She will be 5 months when we see her this time. Our first and only visit with her was in Toronto when she was just 5 weeks old. What a difference! Her little personality is really coming out and she is very personable. She makes me laugh out loud when I see her photos. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Season of Transition

It has been too long since I posted my thoughts and adventures. I will 'catch up' here and now.

The end of August, I flew to AZ. Drove my Dad from the hospital in Phoenix home to Yuma. I helped Dad get settled in at home. He had been away from his home for 130 days. Mom had a lot to do to get things back in order. We got home health care set up for two weeks, as well as two weeks of home rehab for Dad. Their church brought in meals every other day for two weeks, and that was great since there were usually a lot of leftovers for another meal.

We started the long and very stressful job of sorting out years of paperwork, files, bookshelves, cupboards, etc. We are going to move Dad and Mom to the NW to be nearer 4 of their children who live here. Mom needs some help and 1500 miles is just too far for any of us to be able to give them the help they need on a regular basis. Anyway, we gave an enormous pile of 'goodies' to the mission, two very large boxes of books to their church, lots of knick knacks to the AWANA store at church, and still had several large trash cans full of garbage that went out. It is amazing how much a person accumulates over 57 years of marriage. It was very difficult for Dad to pare down his treasures, but I got him a huge box for all the things he could not part with. He spent hours reading old letters, newspaper clippings, and lots of things he had saved.

Mom and I spent hours going thru old photo albums that had lost all their 'stickum'. We threw away hundreds of photos of scenery that no one knew where it was taken. I put all the photos of us six kids in piles and we sent them to the appropriate sibling. We had such fun laughing at the way we all used to look. We honestly thought we looked good with those awful hairdos! It was a time of nostalgia and reminiscence. Mom kept all her albums of all the wonderful cruises they took over the years. Those will be for the "remember when" times.

I was blessed to be able to be with Mom as she celebrated her 80th Birthday on September 3. She was given a delicious carrot cake, which we enjoyed for days. And lots of beautiful flowers. Barb gave her 2 dozen mixed roses that were stunning! It was a lovely birthday.

Now that I am home, I have spent days looking for an appropriate place for Mom and Dad to live in. It must have no stairs, and that is a problem. Most of the nice apartments that are ground level have an enormous waiting list. Literally years in some cases. There are just a lot of seniors that can not use stairs and not enough places for them to live. I finally found a little duplex that is ground level. It is in a nice, quiet, residential neighborhood in McMinnville. I think it will be perfect for them for a few years or until they need to have more care.

So this is a time of transition. Mom and Dad will be transitioning to life in the NW and being close to their children and grandchildren (and two great grandchildren). And I will be transitioning to a life where involvement with aging parents will be a regular part of my week.

I look forward to having them closer, so that holidays will be shared with them. And I am very thankful that I am able to help them in this 'winter' season of their lives. It will be exciting to see how God blesses our family having Mom and Dad here.