Spring has definitely arrived in the Pacific Northwest! The daffodils are up in our yard and we have blossoms on our trees–there is a fragrant bush in our yard that I never saw in the East.  (Carol suggests that it may be jasmine?)

Outdoor recreation here is incredible.  There’s great running, hiking and biking in the city and among nearby farms and forests.  John can run from home to the spectacular summit of Spencer Butte, 1500′ higher: 

Here’s Mt. Pisgah, eight miles away:
 
Mt. Pisgah rises 1000′ above Ken Kesey’s farm (and magic bus).   Author of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” etc.  I’ve been learning about this local icon and his friends called the Merry Pranksters, who strongly influenced and still live in the area. Very interesting.  They conducted the Acid Tests.  Can you pass???

We went cross country skiing at Willamette Pass –only an hour+ away!  It’s amazing to leave in spring, drive through lush rain forest and raging rivers, and,  in the last 20 minutes, enter deep winter with 100″ of snow on the ground.
            

The ocean is just as close in the other direction.

We enjoyed Molly’s visit and tried some new headgear–
    It’s all about ducks here!

We explored the “Buddhists Visions” exhibit at the U of O museum with Molly.  This is an actual display at our cute little airport!

So it’s not all about ducks.  It’s about ducks and Buddha!   Reminded me of Franco Harris and George Washington side by side in Pittsburgh’s airport.

Peg and Deb came down to help me celebrate my birthday–I didn’t take their pictures but I did take one of the fabulous cake:

Peg’s developing a complex—I only took pictures of the house & Chili when I visited Portland–oops!!!  Molly had problems with itinerary and got here after Peg and Deb left. We enjoyed showing her around town.  She was impressed by John’s knowledge of the area.

We are also enjoying the culture in Eugene: plays-”Proof”, music and dance at the U of O, the Irish celebration with the Black Brothers etc.  As John says, the opportunities are endless!  The Unitarian Church has been a great place for us, spiritually, socially and intellectually.  We helped with their auction last Saturday–a fund raiser and fun, too!

I am taking a Map and Compass Course at Mt. Pisgah this Sunday, so I can continue to be “notlost”.  John and I went to an orienteering meet in Corvallis, an hour away.  It’s a small group, but they are very good.  John and I did not do well but we plan to continue and improve!  From pictures at  http://www.forestrunner.com/orca/

We are networking and testing the waters for employment. I met a social worker who is willing to let me pick her brain re: private practice. I hope to meet with her later this week. 

As you can probably tell, we are certainly enjoying our new location and would love to share it with any and all visitors!  Becky just e-mailed that she has booked a trip in June–hurray!!

So we are a family of three again–and all of our stuff is in one place! We have been unpacking for the last three weeks and are ready to have some fun! 

We enjoyed unwrapping our presents again.  As Carol predicted, some of her duckies hitched a ride back to their true home and they look like they are having fun!

Pigs are flying here, Lyn!

 And we found Judy K’s gift of “All who wander”–and found a spot for it.  Actually it keeps wandering around and we vote on where we like it best! 

We headed to Portland to see niece, Kate–because as Janie says-I’m trying to see everyone in the freaking family! We had a wonderful a celebration at Deb’s new house for Peg’s birthday! Here’s Chili dog in his new living room…

Deb, Kate and I managed to “whip up” a fabulous dinner and I even made lemon cake (Peg’s favorite) with a lot of help–from Carol’s baking hot-line and advice from Deb and Kate. It is good to have family nearby!

We found out that we have been pronouncing our new city incorrectly—we were saying “U-gene” when it should be “u-GENE”. Thanks to niece Debbie for straightening us out before we were terribly embarrassed–although, Deb has really enjoyed ribbing us!

It has been cold here and even snowed a little, but we have had blue skies and sunshine all week–here is proof–Bean soaking up sunshine…

And a picture of the blue sky behind some clouds…

Personal Village

Now comes the “work” of setting up our “personal village”–which is the title of a book that Peg recommended–Jane & I are both reading it.

So far, we have gone to the YMCA, various yoga classes, our neighborhood association meeting, Audubon Society etc.  Also, there is a wonderful outdoor group, the Obisidians, who have regular meetings and lots of outdoor events. Last night we heard Bill Sullivan present “Hiking in Europe”. He has written many books on hiking in the Paciifc Northwest.  Great speaker and wonderful slides –good ideas on how to see Europe on the cheap.

The Unitarian Church here is great!  They have a new young, impressive minister.  A very smart, active community.  (John enjoyed their Big Bang Xmas pageant.)  I brought apple/cranberry cobbler–Carol’s famous recipe– to a potluck, and they gobbled it up.  John & I didn’t even get a taste! (recipe to follow)

And Molly is coming to Eugene for my birthday in February!!!!  Yeah!   And also Peggy & Deb–a real party!

***We have an open door policy (and a hot tub).  Please visit!!!

1/27/08: Update: major snowfall in Eugene–4-6 inches –the most in more than 10 years! 

They don’t have many plows etc.  Luckily it was on a Sunday, and everyone was out playing.  Neighbors built an “Easter Island Snowperson”
and had a good old fashioned snowball fight. 
John and I went around the neighborhood on our cross-country skis.
What fun!

As promised: 

Peach Crisp     

Serves 8 (@ 1/2 C each)

2/3 C brown sugar, packed
1/2 C flour (all purpose)
3/4 t cinnamon
1/4 C butter or margarine
3/4 C oats (quick cooking)
1/2 C pecans, coarsely chopped
1/2 C sugar
3 T cornstarch
5 C peaches, peeled & sliced

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter an 8 by 2” round baking dish. In a
medium bowl, mix brown sugar, flour & cinnamon. With a pastry
blender, cut in butter until mixture is coarse crumbs. Stir in oats
& nuts. Set aside.
  In a large bowl, mix sugar & cornstarch. Add the fruit. Toss
gently until evenly coated. Spread in baking dish. Sprinkle with
the oats mixture.
  Bake for 45 minutes, or until filling is bubbly and fruit is
tender. Serve warm or at room temperature. If desired, serve with
ice cream.

Some alternative fillings & modifications I’ve tried and liked:
· 3 C peaches & 2 C blueberries (fresh or frozen)
· 3 C peaches & 2 C apples (peeled & sliced)
· 3 C apples & 2 C cranberries (especially good in winter!)
· Less sugar is OK—lightly pack brown, cut white by up to half.
· Rolled oats work fine, especially with moist fruits.
· Use other kinds of nuts, either individual kinds or mixed.

We did it! We are here in Eugene and unpacking!

Bean, our cat, and I had the easiest part. We flew to Eugene from Las Vegas at 2:00 A.M. on Jan.5th. Luckily, the airport has a wonderful door-to-door shuttle for $20. I had registered earlier, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when I approached the shuttle desk and the driver looked up and said “Sally?” I felt like he was welcoming us home. Bean was an excellent passenger–only a little meowing about 2 hours in to our flight across the USA.  She was a little uncomfortable due to cramped conditions under the seat.  So were all of the human passengers, Beanie!  Anyway, it was pouring rain (duh!) when we got in the shuttle with four others passengers. I told the driver that I couldn’t help him with directions as I had only been to the house once and that was in the daylight! He gave me a strange look, but he was able to find the house with no problem.

So Bean and I arrived on our porch at 3:30 AM (in the rain) and fumbled with our keys. We got in and I let Bean out of her carrier–ahhh! and kept her in the bedroom for the first night. I unpacked some kitty litter and found a cardboard box. I also unpacked her kitty food and made myself some calming tea (from Lyn) in my new mug (from Quinn)–thanks, guys!  I turned up the heat and settled in for a long winter’s nap with kitty at my side!  The landlord had left us sheets and I carried a fleece throw with me on the airplane–off to dreamland we went…

On Saturday, I walked to the nearby market—on my first shopping trip.  I bought a litter box and a bottle of wine and a corkscrew–necessities, right?  I was on the phone with Colleen and complaining about all of the walking I was doing–she said, “isn’t that why you chose Eugene?”–kids, I hate when they point out our inconsistencies!!!

The next day, I walked to the library and got my library card and picked up “After This”, by Alice McDermott–they are reading this in my old book club in Pittsburgh.  All about an Irish Catholic family–my story!

Meanwhile, John was driving across the country in a 16 ft. Penske truck, towing our Honda! He encountered some cold and snowy weather, including ice/wind in Wyoming, and he camped in a snowbound rest area in eastern Oregon.  But he was very patient and made it here Monday evening, after leaving Pittsburgh Wednesday. 

Christmas in Pittsburgh 

We had a lovely Christmas and New Year celebration in Pittsburgh–we shared Becky’s and Lyn’s nests for almost 3 weeks.

I arrived with “the cold of the century” and Lyn wrapped me up in her herbal neck wrap and sent me to bed.  Ahh! Nice to be home with my good friend!  My other good friend Mary, in Walnut Creek, was also suffering from the nasty virus–I caught it at her house—we had taken every remedy known to man, but couldn’t shake it!

I got to see a lot of my family and friends during my Pittsburgh visit–I apologize to those of you that we didn’t see; the time flew by! I also apologize for not taking many pictures!

Highlights of Pittsburgh visit:

Lyn treated me to Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre’s rendition of  “Pride and Prejudice”–it was lovely!   Lyn and I love Austen (who doesn’t?) and it was really well done.  And we ran into Mary L. at the play–so nice to know people around me after being “on the road” for 4 months.

Molly arrived on Friday and we went shopping!  It is really fun to shop with Molly–she knows what to look for and how to find a good price.  I, on the other hand, hate to shop alone–Molly & Colleen have both worked in retail and they have spoiled me by buying clothes for me for the last several years–it’s great, no decisions!

Celebrating Becky’s solstice birthday at Station Square–Buca de Pepo–wonderful Italian food with family.

Christmas visit at Nancy’s with all local family and Robyn and Jim who were visiting from out of town–we had a great time, but it was over too quickly!

Colleen arrived on Sunday early AM– so good to have all of my daughters with me again! 

John was came Christmas Eve morning –so everyone was in Pittsburgh for Christmas!

We had a sweet Christmas morning at Becky’s and exchanged many terrific gifts!  Thanks, girls!  Becky, Molly and Colleen headed to their Aunt Kate’s house. It was sad for them to be without their Dad this Christmas–I know they were all missing him terribly.  Luckily, they were able to spent a lot of time with his family.

John and I headed to Lyn’s for a fabulous Christmas dinner with Lyn, Quinn, her lovely daughter, and Nica,Quinn’s cute little dog.  Nica loved to chase Lyn’s cat, Jake, around–including under the Christmas tree! I never got a picture of Lyn or Quinn in front of their enormous tree, so we got one of me with Jake.

Lyn, Carol and I did manage to get in dinner (Mediterranean Grill, yummm) and a movie (“Juno“, really good, a must see!).  Good to hang out with girlfriends again!

Brother Tom was available to come over and watch the Steelers  (sorry, Stillers) game with us on Becky’s new flat screen–it didn’t help the Stillers, though–no Super Bowl this year!

Then, the work started–John and I had to face the dreaded storage unit–ugh!  We spent all day New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day packing the truck and praying that everything would fit.  John is an excellent organizer–so it did!
            
Of course, Pittsburgh decided to have a cold spell at this time and we were freezing on the loading dock.  Lyn was sweet enough to have a get together on New Year’s Eve and we were able to forget about packing for a while.  She also had cooked her traditional pork dinner on New Year’s Day, so we had good food waiting for us when we got home.

There was snow in Pittsburgh while we were home—here is a picture of Lyn’s street when we were leaving—lovely!

Of course, it was 70 degrees in Pittsburgh after we left! No one in Pittsburgh complained about global warming then!

On January 2nd we finished packing, hooked up the trailer and then John was on his way! Well, almost–he got off to a most perilous start, thanks to me–I gave him faulty directions at the beginning of the trip and he was in the maze of narrow streets in Morningside–but he was still “not lost”! he managed to get out of there and was on his way!

All that I could do was worry and pray…

And… go to dinner at Christy’s with Becky.  Christy is glowing –she’s expecting in May! Christy & Ed and Josh have a lovely new home–they just moved in before Christmas and it looks terrific!
      
And …go out with my girlfriends again—Linda C. said we should have Mexican food–and a pitcher of Margaritas, thank you very much! (Luckily, Lyn was able to meet us and so we shared with her.)
      
And…go to lunch with Carol at the Frick Cafe. I had yummy beet soup–it matched Carol’s  hot pink sweater!
             and she was enjoying showing me her new iPhone!

Then came the parting is such sweet sorrow time! As Lyn said, I was ready to start building my own nest, but saying goodbye to Becky was very hard— I am so glad that I had Bean with me, but I felt sorry taking her away from Becky!  Thank you, Becky, for taking such good care of her!