L'aventure américaine

I have regularly been showing Randal my biceps. "Look!"  I say enthusiastically.  "They have some definition!  Look!" He dutifully compliments them.  The Popes have been exercising more than we're used to lately.  Our friends here in Klamath Falls are extraordinarily fit, so we have to kick it up a notch if we want to keep up.  And we do.  Because there is so much to do. Last weekend, I went cross-country skiing at Crater Lake National Park with my friend, Lindsey.  It was my first time cross-country skiing, and like every athletic endeavor of mine, I was NOT a natural.  A short descent, no matter the slope, was treacherous, and I fell more times than I can count.  But, I got back up because the scenery, the company, and the adventure was not to be missed.  It was simply spectacular. I don't look awkward, right?  Right? Lindsey challenged me again yesterday as we loaded up our canoe and took to the Uppe...

Bored?  Never. Randal and I continue to fill our days with new projects and friends.  We did have a discussion recently that perhaps we should not take on any new projects for the time being and we held to that for about five days.  Then he saw some old ladders on the side of the road that would make a great table. Controlled and delightful chaos is how we roll. Heather and Andrea came to visit in February for Valentine's Day and it was a wonderful visit.  Heather has now left Oregon and is working in Arizona.  We miss her in our beautiful state and are looking forward to our next visit together.   After our dear Baltimore friends left, we [we being the operative word...  I hammered about 10 nails] scurried to finish our chicken coop.  Our friends had three grown chickens that they couldn't incorporate into their flock, so handed them over to us.  They had just started laying, happily, and we've been enjoying their eggs....

It's been almost six months that Randal and I have been married and I have to say, I love it.  Life is so much fun with him. We needed another adventure in January and it happily coincided with a workplace wellness conference in Orlando, Florida.  Perfect!  Unfortunately, it was unseasonably cold and rained nearly every day that we were there and I missed most of the conference due to a nasty stomach bug, but by the end of the week, we were happily toodling about Florida. We visited Randal's Grandpa Jack in Panama City and saw their beautiful house on the water, eight dogs, and two cats.  He is a picture of wellness, having had 4 heart surgeries about 15 years ago, before switching to a mostly vegetarian diet.  He is 77 and still works, as does his wife, who is 70.  They're pretty remarkable people and it was great to meet them. On our last day, we spent a perfect day in Epcot Center from 9am to 9:45pm...  riding nearly all of the ride...

Happy New Year! January was an eventful month without a blog update, so we'll pretend it's mid-January and catch up.  So much news continues to pour forth from Klamath Falls, but we'll take it one month at a time. Snow has been dismal in Klamath Falls this year and our county commissioners have already declared an emergency state of drought for the year.  Ranchers and farmers are already in trouble as much of the water comes from Crater Lake snow melt and we're at less than a fifth of average rainfall.  This means that Randal and I really have to take advantage of any snow that we get.  Hence our two-faced snowman.  One face so that the cars could drive by and see him.  The other so that our neighbor, Betty, Randal and I could say hello to him.  Incidentally, he lasted for several weeks...  Longer than the rest of the neighborhood snowmen.  Until when he was only about a foot tall, two neighbor boys kicked him in.  We kno...

I love Christmas.  I do.  It's my very favorite holiday and I love that it brings people together...  that you express your love and affection...  that you spend time with your family, biological or not. I was far from my family this year and I missed them.  I really really missed them.  But, I am so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life here, who although they might not normally celebrate such a Christmas carol filled, ornament adorned, festive holiday, put on quite a show for me.  I am so appreciative! On Christmas Eve, we celebrated with the Van Dykes (Stephanie and her parents).  We all decorated the tree together and Papa Van Dyke made a delicious dinner of eggplant parmesan after some decadent cheese fondue.   Ice cream sundaes and plenty of wine made for a festive party, filled with excellent conversation and much laughter. The newly decorated tree, the Popes, and the Van Dykes! The beautiful tab...