"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! 

fall back...

As I look out the window right now in So Cal, I can hardly tell it's Autumn, BUT I WILL BE ABLE TO IN 3 DAYS!! I'm finally going back up for the first time this Fall! I'm packing rain boots, sweat pants, and a coat. And that's probably it. And my camera, so I promise that I'll have more inspired updates soon. And I've requested my mom have the ingredients for pumpkin bread and wine. Nothing sounds better. This trip is simply just what the doctor ordered for me at the end of this dreary week. Stressful last 2 weeks. Last month? I don't know when exactly the chaos started and an impending nervous breakdown slowly, but surely, crept in.