my favorite tree

Every time I go visit my parents, I take about 1,000 pictures.  I wish I was a better photographer so I could really capture the setting.  Maybe then I wouldn't spend all of the memory on my computer on pictures of trees and moss. You know, quality over quantity and all that good advice.


So usually the first spot I head to when I want to take pictures is at the bottom of the stairs in the back, right by the river, looking upriver at this tree that is sort of split and makes a "V". It's just my favorite and I can't really explain it. I know Orange County (where I grew up) isn't a forest, but there ARE trees. This isn't the first time I've seen one. Still, I'm obsessed. And so here goes. I'll share with you my favorite tree, which has become my icon of the house- every season, angle, and time of day. I hope you can see a little bit of the charm that I see...

These past few weeks have been pretty rainy and the river has gotten very high. Scary high. My parents have been living there for about 7 years now and it is the highest they've ever seen it, and they got a notice on what to do if there is a dam breach. Eek! They kept reporting how high it was, and then my dad sent over a few pics. Not that I didn't trust them, of course, but they have been known to  exaggerate. I was shocked! The water was ABOVE the "V" in the tree! They had to move the bench on the bottom step up. Here are some pictures of the high river by my tree- 

horsies

I recently finished the book Water for Elephants and loved it! And I'm just going to come out and say something that no avid book-reader is supposed to say: I can't wait for the movie!  It looks really good. And I can't imagine anyone playing Marlena better than Reese Witherspoon. 


I'm not going to draw parallels between the circus and the house in Oregon, cause that would just be weird. But the descriptions of the horses and Marlena's love and deep respect for them throughout the story is really beautiful. And then I realized that I haven't shared pictures of the horses in Oregon.


The neighbors on both sides of the house have gorgeous horses. I just think they are the most glamorous and alluring creatures! 

{well, hello there!}

{photo by Damian}

{photo by Damian}

{the mama and the baby!}

desktop background

It seems my desktop background is always a picture of where I wish I could be at the moment. Paris. A random childhood memory. A beach. And most recently- a River. 

{Photo by Damian}

moss and trees...

My mom likes gardening.  I can't say that I inherited her green thumb. I keep trying to grow my own herb garden, but apparently gardens like being watered and I just can't seem to keep that in my daily routine long enough for anything to survive. I think I started to despise gardening as a 12 year old when my list of weekly chores included weeding and pruning. What kid wants to wake up early on a Saturday to prune? I really do wish I liked it more...  I love using the fresh herbs and veggies from the garden up in Oregon.  Maybe its like eating tomatoes or wearing pearls... You don't really appreciate them as a kid, but eventually love them when you grow up? 


Anyway, one of the things my mom loves to do for her garden is gather wild moss to use in flower boxes and arrangements.  It grows on every surface up there and peels off in big patches and long strips.  I didn't understand its charm at first, but now the adventurous kid in me loves climbing over fallen trees and exploring the forest for moss... and the competitive kid in me loves finding the biggest piece EVER to impress my mom. 


There is a park on the other side of the river that is a perfect spot for moss-picking.  When I was up there before Thanksgiving with my girlfriends from college, we helped my mom gather moss in the park and had so much fun making moss beards and filling up our muck buckets with this spongy green substance that is so foreign to us city girls. 

Moss on trees!

Working hard...

and hardly working.

Frolicing in autumn leaves.

The final product. You're welcome, mom. 

go Ducks!!

Eugene is one of the most spirited sports fan towns I have ever seen! Growing up surrounded by USC and UCLA fans, I thought I had seen extreme fans. I knew nothing. In Eugene, everyone is a Ducks fan.  Even on non-game days, 95% of the population is rocking a Ducks sweatshirt.  And on game days? Forget it. Every house on the block has a Ducks flag, there are green and yellow cars on the road, and even 80 year old ladies are covered head to toe in green.  And since the big championship game is tonight, I'm sure the town is littered with green and yellow.   

playing in the kitchen

Besides frolicing in the snow... I did a lot of cooking over the holidays! I just finished taking a short cooking class, so I was really excited to play in my favorite kitchen. Christmas Eve we made Pork chops with a Tuscan Herb rub, sauteed apples, Roasted Potatoes, and Broccoli.  

{The amazing apple peeler-corer-slicer!}

{Sauteed Apples}

{Tuscan Herb Rub}

{Searing the chops}

{Pan Sauce}

{The Roasted Pork Chops with the Sauteed Apples}

{the finished product}

White Christmas!

I am SO behind on blogging, so the thought of jumping back on the wagon has been a little daunting. I mean, where to even begin? But what is more inspirational to start it up again than SNOW! I finally had a White Christmas! It was the best present ever! Especially because I got to extend my vacation an extra day :) 

{The start of the snow on the driveway}

"it lies across a river"

"Oh, Aslan," said Lucy. "Will you tell us how to get into your country from our world?"

"I shall be telling you all the time," said Aslan. 

"But I will not tell you how long or short the way will be; only that it lies across a river. 

But do not fear that, for I am am the great Bridge Builder..."

~Ch. 16, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Chronicles of Narnia

One of my greatest loves is reading. I cannot think of a better way to spend some down-time than cuddling up with a good book.  C.S. Lewis said "Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again". So true! The Chronicles of Narnia were classics as a child. It was so easy to believe that there was a magical land where animals could not only talk, but be heroes and kings, a little boy could be transformed into a dragon, a witch could use magic to make candy, and ships could sail right up to the end of the world.  Re-reading the books in college made me, once again, appreciate the magic of being transported to the fantastical world of Narnia.  I no longer searched for a portrait or wardrobe to take me there... I only had to open the pages of a book. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was my favorite in the series. I think mostly because of my love for that little, but valiant mouse Reepicheep.  As kids, we saw the Pevensie children grow up and out of Narnia. And now as adults, we close the book and return to our own reality. But we will always need a way back...


I think that our hope for the house is that it will be a glimpse of that place across the Great River. A place where we can escape from this world of harsh realities, and experience reprieve.  Experience something fantastical. Or peaceful. Or adventurous. Something so that when we go back to reality, we are refreshed and a little bit restored.

just up the road

Living in LA, I don't have much contact with real farm animals. Now in Oregon, my parents have horses on either side of their house, alpacas across the road, sheep, goats, and donkeys galore! One of the most enchanting activities of my visits has been feeding the farm animals up the road. One of my parents' neighbors rescues old or abused farm animals and lets them graze and meander in her yard.  So compassionate of her! So instead of a vegetable compost, we take the leftover produce up the road to feed the animals- pumpkin, watermelon, apples, celery, lettuce... 

I'm sure this pastime won't make it on the activity menu Bed & Breakfast since it isn't the most glamourous of "chores" but it is still one of my favorites. It is just so fun to see the little donkeys and goats come bounding up to score some veggies. They pretty much know my mom's car and voice now.  Just look at 'em! How can you not fall in love? 

{Mr. Don Quixote looooves apples} 

{Billy, the goat}

a short drive away

Some of my favorite places to visit when I go see my parents include- a hiking trail by a waterfall about an hour up-river, Leaburg Lake for calm kayaking about 20 mins up-river, the neighbor's farm to feed the goats, donkeys, and sheep, the coast, and probably at least 5 more fabulous places that I'm forgetting right now. So this is going to be the first post in a series to show off places that are just a short drive away from the house and are such fun places to have an adventure! 


May I introduce you to Leaburg Lake... 

I also have a fun video of my dad falling out of the kayak that he's climbing in... but I won't post it for public viewing. At least not yet ;) 

orange!

Last night's weather forecast for the house was SNOW!! It always snows the day after (or in this case, week after) I leave. At least this means I'll have a white Christmas up there :) Until then, I am satisfied with seeing every shade of orange from my weekend up there for the final days of Autumn. We had 1 day with sunshine with a definite chill in the air, and another day of gray skies, rain, and bitter cold. These are from the first day...  

{the ground in the backyard}

{the path from the Barnage to the Riverbank}

{My dad's "project car". It doesn't run now, but someday... }

{Vintage train on a lot across the river. So cool! I'd love to build a fort or camp in there, right?!}

{This is where we gathered moss from the trees while it rained leaves around us... moss hunting pictures will be posted soon}

{A little park about 1/4 mile down-river from the house}

Countdown till my next trip up: 28 days!