Time with LilliAnne.....

Early Friday morning I drove across Portland to Troutdale, where I was greeted by our curly headed Snow White granddaughter, who is three years old. She was so excited to be wearing a princess dress and going on a quick trip with her mommy and me. We drove over the mountains to Central Oregon and the Bend area. Tucked into a charming older neighborhood, we found a park to play at and it was bordered by the Deschutes River. I neglected to jot down the name of the park and when I tried to locate it on a map I surprised to find that Bend boasts 64 parks!
Bend has become the place to live! The sun shines often, rainfall is below 12 inches a year, it snows and the community is well planned. It's a beautiful town and it also has an incredible skiing area at Mt. Bachelor! In the past 30 years people have flocked to the area and make Bend home. It is easy to see why!

This little tug boat was built specifically for children to play on, and that is what we did!

As we left the park, I turned to see the leaves falling from a maple tree. A few leaves hang-on, but not for long.

Our quick trip was delightful!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Meet our new addition!

We have a new addition to our family! Her name is Trudy and she comes to us from Willow. She is hand made from Willow's hand-spun, and hand-dyed yarn! Trudy is just adorable in her colorful sweater set! Her personality is quiet but spunky! She fits right in among the other animals and they are all getting along famously! The goats are quite amazed at this new little creature! They payed close attention when Trudy came to say "hello!"
Maggie is still getting to know Trudy and thinking about taking her on a walk!
There will be adventures......that is for sure!!

Bart is taking his time getting within nose-to-nose distance from Trudy....! :))

It was a good day....

On my walk this day......... the woods were alive with color..............

the paths were welcoming.......

the sky a clear blue,

the wind blew and a rustling could be heard as leaves fell.

Bright hues of color spread throughout the woodland.......

and the floor of moss was covered with a carpet of gold.

It was a good day to notice! Everyday is!

What is taking up so much time?

There isn't enough time to spend too much time with the little girls! We enjoyed some of our weekend with both sweet young ladies. They left us with warm hearts and big smiles!! Several of our big pumpkins made their way to LilliAnne's front porch!! She does look as pleased as can be and dressed for the season!!

A little box of treasures was brought out to inspect while at our house. LA sat back in her chair and said, "I like these things!" The contents came from her great grandma and she would be so happy to know what delight they have given! Tea is big to LilliAnne! See the elephant tea pot? Claire spent some of Sunday with us. It was a nice enough day to walk through the woods and down the driveway! She noticed the pretty trees and leaves. We also had some time to read books. Claire particularly enjoyed the tale of The Three Pigs! We couldn't have found a better way to spend our days than with these angels!!

What is taking up so much of my (other) time lately? Well, I have taken on several hours of classes at the community college. Right now I am buried with homework...and I love it!! One class is Basic Art. I have to write twenty short essays about specified artists and then do a small "work of art" reflected from each of them. That's just for starters. And so, if I am a little slow to get around to visit, you'll understand!

One other thing that has taken my time lately is technology. The kind that is supposed to protect my computer against a virus. So far I have downloaded three programs. Two of them would not launch with my operating system and the other one has slowed down the computer to a very annoying speed! My computer is protected at the present but the scan is not on a timer and that confuses me. I have poked around the operating system but it's not at all clear when the scan takes place and how often. Because of this waste of my time I have seriously thought about life without technology. I would miss all of you and my photo program. I could live peacefully and without the stress every time something goes wrong!! Or, I can wade through all of this "stuff" until everything is working and live on with technology! I'm fairly sure it will all implode on itself one day soon, no matter what I do!

It is the little things that make this life....

At our table is the most lively and colorful Fall bouquet of flowers! They were given to me for my birthday and remind me of the new season of life I am entering...almost, that is! I still have one more year to climb and slide through with youthfulness! After that I intend to live it up until the good Lord takes me home a long, long time later!
Red Sunflowers, yellow mums and fire bush make this arrangement so pretty!

A walk outside in the sunshine brings Bart to my feet. He is on guard and stays right around the house these days. We are glad to be greeted by him each day!

The wood has been cut and stacked! This pile of wood should keep us warm throughout the chilly weather.

Our Vine Maples are turning their colors and this year, especially, the trees are more lively! In years past there has been more yellow to the leaves, but as you can see, there are plenty of oranges and reds showing.

Anemones come out in the Fall and make a show like none other. They would perfect in a brides clutch!

The "wedding lawn" has greened up and the gophers have returned to torment my husband! Even Bart waits for the perfect moment to pounce on a mound of dirt! Red Salvia is in full bloom and tomorrow it may be gone! Drink in the beauty!!

Mushrooms show up in most any season but these two are the Autumn variety! We don't know if they are edible so we leave them for the bunnies to nibble on. Bunnies know.

That is enough for today! The sun is shining and the air is crisp. Tomorrow it will rain and another walk around the farm will be needed to see what has occurred on our part of the earth.

These are the little things that make this life mine.

Update....

It is suppose to freeze in our area soon. There are many chores to do. We have hopes of preserving some of the labor and reward of the summer. The geraniums must be brought into the garage, the last of the garden picked and a big pot of pansies displayed at the kitchen door. Thankfully the little pansies can withstand the cooler temperatures and take us into winter with their whimsy and fair! I bought six pansy plants with the thought of planting them in honor and memory of Simon. We had him a long time and loved him! At eighteen pounds, Simon often jumped onto the kitchen counter and watched us from his perch. He will be missed! We did find evidence of Simon's demise.
Thank you for your kind thoughts and concern! Each of us have our time of loss and it helps to know others care!!

Missing

We have had Simon for fourteen years. He is the kind of cat that is never aggressive. He is affectionate, pleasant and very easy to love. He is missing. He's been gone for two nights and we fear he has been lured into the woods by his curiosity. We will be hoping and praying for his return home!

This will be a long week full of walks in the woods to see if we can find our dear, dear Simon. We will hope for the best!!