Christmas church service

The Sabbath before Christmas – as always – was our congregation's Christmas service. (We don't eschew celebrating Christmas because of it's origins, but neither do we revere it just because it 'converted' to Christianity; therefore we celebrate on the Sabbath of the Lord and not on the actual eve or 'holy day.') After church, and dinner at home, we headed to the Wheatland Ferry. Parking our car, we rode the ferry over the Willamette River on foot, then enjoyed a walk through Willamette Mission State Park. The sky was grey and didn't give up much light, but it didn't give up much moisture, either, thankfully. Rick took his 'big boy' camera and lens and I had my iPhone; together we got some nice pictures along with exercise and family time.

But back to the church service. Our youth leaders, their adopted daughter, and another young lady had an interesting story to tell. Very recently they had learned of a short term mission trip coming up this spring, but pretty much dismissed it because of cost. The husband did say, perhaps facetiously, that if someone gave them $2000 they'd go; the next day they learned that a sponsor was willing to cover the $1900 cost for their daughter to go. Shortly after that, they were notified that another sponsor was willing to give $500 towards the young lady's cost. The couple took the hint, sent in their applications, and let the congregation know that they would be doing some fundraising – as well as putting out a final call should anyone want to join them. I immediately thought of Brian.

My parents have talked about taking Brian with them on a mission trip with them for years, but life has conspired to limit their availability to do that since Brian has been old enough. That afternoon I sent a tentative email to my parents, just in case they might want to help sponsor him. My mom called within minutes with an enthusiastic "Absolutely!" With an application deadline of December 26, though, things had to happen quickly. Brian wrote the requisite short (surprisingly encouraging!) essay about why he wanted to go, we got the application filled out with necessary signatures and faxed it in. Now we wait to see if it is accepted, and pray that it is a positive, life-changing experience.

Looking up

Since I'm without a 'real' camera and distance is not the iPhone's forté, I'll have to describe this morning's fascinating skyscape. The eastern horizon is starting to glow a dull, faded red. The moon hangs low above the silhouette of firs, its full, round body visible, but only the barest sliver illuminated bright. Venus, now high in the southeast sky, has left her moon man; just two mornings ago she was practically in his arms.

Yesterday morning when I got up, the fire was struggling and the house was cool. I opened the damper and sat down on the hearth to benefit from the flames now gulping oxygen. Casting my eyes toward the windows, I noticed Venus and the moon separated by the star on our Christmas tree. I snapped a photo out of habit, not expecting a worthwhile result.

Surprises never cease! At least this was a good one....

Rick left Saturday afternoon for some meetings in San Francisco that started the next day. After driving him to the airport, I drove Brian to his school for their talent/variety show in which his bell choir played a number.

Afterwards we decided to try one of his teacher's favorite food treats, me not realizing that the bread pudding is served at a coffee house and bar. We had just enough time to order, eat (oh, it was amazing!), and snap each other's photos before time was up for minors in the establishment.

The next morning, Sunday, Rick called. He wasn't feeling well and was worried (ha – what an understatement) it was his heart. After countless calls throughout that day and the next, interspersed with calls to a doctor friend of his and also his cardiologist, he flew home Monday night, two days early. Yesterday we spent six hours in town, seeing his cardiologist, getting bloodwork done, visiting the pharmacy repeatedly until scrips were finally filled. He's been feeling pretty much back to normal since he woke up in his own bed (of course), but I am taking him to the regional cardiac center tomorrow – Brian's birthday – for an angiogram and probably another stent.

I'm trying to bite my tongue and be pleasant, but sympathy is beyond me. Rick's lifestyle set him up for a heart attack eight years ago, and he's done nothing of significance to better his chances of avoiding another one since then. (I'd like to think I would do everything in my power to LIVE for my loved ones if I were diagnosed with a lifestyle disease!) We have no financial reserves to weather this latest storm since Rick had to replace two expensive pieces of diagnostic equipment this year, so that's added stress.

But such is life during this crazy last month of a crazy year. (Oh yeah; happy December!) I am following a Leader that will not fail me; no matter what happens, He can use it for good. The friends – two- and four-legged – He has surrounded me with do much to share the load. (A shout out to my mental health mustang, the most loyal dog a woman could have, and the amazingly therapeutic effects of a warm, soft, purring kitty on one's lap.)

That's the short report from . . .

Country life collection

One night last week Brian came up from the barn rather breathless. When he went down to do chores he surprised a raccoon eating Oreo's food. He said it attacked him, he whacked it with a big stick, and it ran off into the woods on three legs. I instantly got upset, because 1) I left the barn light on, so he would have seen the animal before inadvertently cornering it if he hadn't been his usual teenage space-cadet self; 2) I don't believe the raccoon attacked him so much as reacted in fear of being cornered, and would have left willingly if given opportunity; 3) Brian has a penchant for domination that worries me; and 4) injuring an animal and leaving it to suffer in pain, perhaps eventually succumbing, is inexcusable to me. A family brouhaha ensued, the animal-loving female against the two testosterone-poisoned males, leaving me further emotionally drained (there has been a LOT of family drama lately). Ever since, I've kept my eye open for an injured raccoon, praying that it recovers, leaving out extra cat food as an easy source of nutrition, hoping that it isn't hurt so badly that it needs to be destroyed but knowing that an end to that much suffering is better than a slow death. One day I walked out in the wooded lot to scan the trees, and spotted this at the base of a big Dougfir:

Wondering if it was raccoon poop, I looked up to find– no easy resting spot as far as my eye could see!

So who shat that scat? Did it poop from the heights, or sit at the base? (BTW, Brian thought it saw the same raccoon a few days later and said it was fine; I can only hope he's right.)

I shared this photo on Instagram Monday:

Bogie, one of the last three sheep left to be sheared, was flaunting his VM (vegetable matter). That got him a long-overdue date with the scissors yesterday:

Yearling Bogie has been a shy scaredy-cat since birth. But once I haltered and started working on him, first on the ground and then up on the blocking stand, he was an absolute GEM, quiet and cooperative (I told him repeatedly what a good boy he was). His fleece came off easily, too (probably because I waited so long!), and looks much nicer than I thought it would based on his mid-side sample. I was going to tackle either Bridget or Bernadette this morning, but decided to take a personal day and update my blogs instead (see vague comment about "family drama" and add in a sore neck from stacking hay).

During supper yesterday, what we thought was a female bluebird landed on the deck railing. A bit later, a male bluebird with a fat grub landed – and fed the first one! So exciting to know that bluebirds successfully fledged in one of our boxes for the first time; it's been a delight to watch them around the house this year.

Hay acquisition continues. Last night we stacked two more loads; 108 bales from this producer remains to be picked up and stacked. SO thankful for the dry, cooler weather we've had in which to do this heavy chore!

The intense profusion of spring color has ebbed, but there are still flowers around. My Stella D'Oro daylilies are really coming into their own this year, and the dependable white flags are in full bloom:

While I water and wait for the garden to come into production (and the weeds to recover from Rick's assault and launch a comeback), the fruit trees are doing their thing:

Looks like I'll have a bumper crop of prunes to dry and can this year! Hopefully there are plenty of apples, too, as our applesauce supply is getting low. (The cherries we eat fresh, as the canned ones aren't well loved.)

We're also working at restocking our firewood supply. Rick has access to more wood to cut, but first we needed to move the seasoned wood cut last year into the shed:

It's starting to look like this may be a "snake year." This gopher snake was crossing our driveway Sunday, and didn't take kindly to my efforts to save him from getting smooshed. He coiled and hissed quite aggressively!

This big doe was in the sheep's woodland alleyway this morning, watching me do chores. When I stopped to take her picture, off she went to the neighbor's side! (The iPhone 8 camera is great for close-ups, but I sure miss Mr. Lumix's much better zooming capabilities.)

That's it from our little slice of country at . . .

Insistent little bugger

You'll never guess who woke me up from sleeping in this morning by tapping/scratching at my window – the bluebird of happiness!

I raised my iPhone and snapped a few photos before dressing and heading down to do chores. When I mentioned to Rick that a pair had claimed the south birdhouse, he got downright serious, breaking out the tripod and his big-boy camera, and removing the window screen!

I took the second shot on my way to the barn to show the relative locations of our house and their house; Rick definitely had a good vantage point. I asked him to share some good shots with me/us; here they are:

This pair appears to have not only claimed the birdhouse, but ours as well! I think it is the female that perches on various windowsills (this morning was the first time at our bedroom window) and the hummingbird feeder. She doesn't seem to be attacking her reflection, just checking out the real estate – and being the harbinger of happiness!

That's it for today from . . .

Joy

It was a heavy-hearted weekend. The shock of losing my dad so quickly, hours on the phone making necessary calls and decisions from afar, not being able to get ahold of Rick for HOURS, going to church and facing all the condolences, family conflicts rearing ugly faces; I tell you, the business of death is HARD!

But by yesterday afternoon, we finally learned it is all out of our hands. What my dad and his financial guardian intended as a will isn't, and wouldn't hold up in a court of law. Others are taking control of memorial service details that I figured would be my domain; so be it. To me, nothing in this is worth fighting for, if it would damage relationships; I've held that position all along. Thankfully, a key other seems to be there now, too. What a relief!

My old iPhone has been glitching lately, and the problems reached a peak on Friday when having a functioning phone was critical (of course). Rick decided we needed to remedy that, so on Sunday we did some research and then went to Costco. Having a phone is a necessity; having a new "camera" to play with is dessert! (I've almost abandoned my digital cameras because all they all have dust inside the lenses that create spots in my photos.)

Monday I took some flower pictures before leaving for work; the new phone captured some nice detail (I encourage you to click to biggify):

On the way home from work, I had time to stop here and there to shoot what caught my eye – a luxury I rarely have. I kept my four favorite photos and played with various filters, choosing a different one for each photo. Fun!

This morning while we were eating breakfast, a bluebird landed on the bracket for the hummingbird feeder. We watched a pair flit between bird box and house, the female seeming to favor our house over the little wooden box. I waited for a chance to document her interest, figuring I would get a silhouette, and was surprised the camera actually captured some detail. I posted this photo on Instagram with the caption, "I kid you not; the bluebird of happiness is knocking on our window this morning – repeatedly!"

Later in the morning, from a different position and with better light, I captured these:

Thank-you, Lord; I haven't felt this light-hearted in weeks! "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Psalm 30:5 I'm sure the tears aren't over, but joy is here, too.

P.S. Thank-you for all YOUR condolences!

That's it for today from . . .