Charlie in a Blanket

Flood of 2012

After it snowed it rained...and rained...and rained.

Here is what my work looks like. My office is the building on the left in the first picture. Pictures were taken by my friend Josh who lives on campus with his mom, Patty, who is our kitchen director. They, along with some other staff, had to evacuate their homes that are behind our office and temporarily move into Alder House (one of our cabins). I'm told everyone is ok and the horses are fine. Our church also has flooding all around it. A group banned together last night to make sand bags for the church and the community. Its pretty crazy out here. We're fine and my parents are fine, but some of my friends are not; a few of them were hit pretty bad and are staying in hotels until the water lowers so they can figure out what to do. Prayers are appreciated.

First Snow!

It snowed this first time this winter on Sunday (15th), and has snowed on and off again since then. Yesturday was the most so far, but nothing to worry about yet. Yea snow!

Driving Home

My commute to and from work is sometimes absolutely beautiful. I don't always have time to stop and take a picture, but last week had two sunsets that were worth the time pulling over.

Happy New Year!

Mary-Frances and I didn’t really have much plans for New-Years. I was supposed to pick up a couple of sparkling cider bottles at the store the day before, but I never saw the shopping list, so that didn’t happen. Oops. Well, I think that other than having Monday off, we just hung out at home, played Halo till after midnight and then went to bed. On Monday, we did some shopping and headed over to Mary’s parents home where I played Halo with Dad for several hours, then watched the Rose Bowel Game with the Ducks and that other team. Oregon won! Then it was back to Halo and dinner.

Merry Christmas

Aah, Christmas, here at last, gone so fast.
My work had their Christmas party this year at Redhawk Winery. It was open bar, so I got to taste a few of their wines. I think I had four glasses. They had pre-chosen a wine to go with each part of the meal. They even served a desert wine last. It was good. At the party I was given a coaster for my coffee mug as my Christmas present from the office. It says "Instant Drafter, just add coffee". I was also presented with the 5 years of dedicated service engraved blue glass paper weight. It is a little something-something that is given to those who have made it to their five year mark with the company.
Mary-Frances’ work Christmas party was at the same church where it was held the previous year. They made dinner with appetizers that were delicious. This year they had a secret Santa gift exchange, that went well. Mary-Frances made a crochet golf club cover for her receiver. He loved it.We were invited over to one of our friends parents home dinner for a Christmas get together. We drove up to their house in the fog that was really thick, and since it's Oregon, half the people on the road drive with their lights OFF when it's foggy. Their freakin' nuts. Anyways, we arrived without any problems and got to hang out playing Yahtzee, and eating cookies. Dinner was tastie, and I got to drink a beer with Jason Fumasi. He brought a Oakshire beer with him. It was good.
Both Mary-Frances and I got a couple days off for Christmas Vacation, which always is makes going back to work so much harder. Let's see, well, Christmas day we awoke, made breakfast, opened stockings, went to Sunday service, came back home, opened presents that we got for each other and ones that we got from family. Charlie got a box this year, but not much else. Oh, well he did get a plastic toy that kind of looks like a turkey wish bone.
We then packed up the car and headed over to the Proctors, where we had lunch and dinner and got to give and receive more gifts. Mary’s dad got a new Hi-Def TV for his gaming. Mary-Frances and I were hiding the TV at our place till Christmas Eve, where we snuck it back over to their house, hiding it in the garage. When all the presents were opened, and Dan had left the room to do some computer stuff, I pulled the TV out and set it in his 'man' cave for him to discover. He eventually found it and was quite shocked and surprised, and could not figure where it came from. He loved it. It is great for Halo!
We spent the night and hung out most of the next day. Last but not least, I drew up a couple cartoons that I posted on my Facebook. Apparently it wasn't obvious enough that I drew them, so I am posting one of them here for you to enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving

This year we spent Thanksgiving with Mary-Frances’ parents. It was their first Thanksgiving in Salem. We made the deal that if they did the food shopping, we would do the cooking.
We had all our stuff packed and ready to go Wednesday night so that we could stay a couple of days in their new home. Thursday morning I made pancakes, eggs and sausage, a typical holiday breakfast. We used our turkey cooker again this year, as it as proved to be invaluable. It cooks the turkey just right, and leaves the oven free for me to bake the Block Island Potatoes, Pumpkin Pie, and bread rolls. Mary-Frances picked up a Chocolate Moose Cake for those who didn’t want my Pumpkin Pie. For veggies we had corn on the cob and Mary-Frances made green beans with bacon. Dan made a sweet potato dish for himself, as he is the only one who likes sweet potatoes.
The drink that I made was a new one that I tried once before, with overwhelming succsess…Butterbeer! It was too sweet for Mary-Frances though.
We watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and the Peanuts Thanksgiving specials. Yes, that is plural, there are two Peanut Thanksgiving Specials.
We did go shopping on Black Friday as their deals cannot be beat. We did not however go when stores opened or when sales started, that’s just stupid. Unless you are trying to get the $5 TV that the store only has two of, it’s better to wait till the crowds die down. Everything else that is on sale is typically still there.
We stayed a couple of nights at their house, giving it a great "home for the holidays" feel. On Saturday we watched the Beavers and Ducks Civil War game. Yes, I watched a football game that wasn’t the Super Bowl. Crazy, I know.