Crazy Cat Lady

I don't dress up for Halloween unless it is on a work day. Luckily, I've gotten off the last couple of years. This year, however, no such luck. Last year one of our nurse's had told me that her granddaughter was a crazy cat lady for Halloween and they sewed stuffed animal cats all over a bathrobe of hers and did her hair realy crazy. I had told her I was stealing the idea...and I did, this year.

I got a short bathrobe so I wouldn't die of heat and went to like a billion Goodwills and other thrift stores (really, it was only like 13, but still way too many) to find a decent amount of stuffed animal cats. I got dollar store foam rollers and put a few in my hair and teased out the rest...

I feared that I would be combing my hair out for hours, but I didn't have to spend long on it.

Every year Jack-o-lantern (Jack for short) gets made. The co-worker who used to make him every year left and has moved back east, so this year my friend Jenny from work made him. Every year I introduce him to participants as my boyfriend, Jack. They get a kick out of it. He is just around for about a month. and then gets dismantled for another year. He is also dressed differently every year. This year Jenny put a heart on him that said "Stephanie and Jack." We just had to get a few pictures.

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!!

"Behold, children are a gift of the Lord..." Psalm 127:3 (NASB)

You saw a few posts ago that my friends Stasia and Dave and their son Myles had a new little one added to their family. Baby Josie was Baptized in the name of Jesus Christ this morning. I am one of her Baptismal Sponsors (aka sort of like a Godmother-which is how I refer to is when asked or when I am telling someone).

In honor of Josie's baptism I gifted her this cross that reads, "May the Lord bless you and keep you; May His face shine upon you." Numbers 6:24. Along with this cute block version of a piggy bank that reads, "Little Miracle, Big Blessing." Psalm 127:3.

Josie's grandparents (Stasia's parents) got this cake for the celebration and potluck after the church service.
After a few pictures with Josie laying next to the cake she stuck her fingers in the frosting and proceeded to get it all over her face...too cute. You can see Myles and Grandma Janice in the background.

Josie sleeping in my arms before the service.

We arrived early for pictures and this is Josie and me at the Baptismal Table.

During the baptism. Big brother looking on in curiosity.

All bundled up in the pew. I'm pretty sure she slept through the whole ordeal...water on the head and all! Actually, she may have awaken ever so slightly during that part.

Isn't she a precious child of God?!

Keeping Portland Weird

About a year ago I shared this. This year I am sharing this...

Unicorn hood ornament....awesome!

Soccerball kicking leg attached to a house...crazy decore!

Keep it up, Portland!

What constitutes a Giant Pumpkin?!

Apparently, one that weighs 1,431.5 pounds.

After wanting to go for a few years, I finally made it to the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta. It was a blast and I will go again.

I didn't know what to expect at all, and when I arrived there were all these huge pumpkins on display. They were amazing!

In order to move the pumpkins they needed to rig them up with this rope system and use a forklift to manuver them.
After seeing a few of them being weighed I got to see the biggest being weighed that was there that day. It weighed in at 1431.5 pounds...that. is. One. BIG. pumpkin. Wow. The guy standing with it is the grower. His name is Steve. He was pretty proud.

This pumpkin was also grown by Steve and had been at a competition in Half Moon Bay, CA. It had bottomed out, cracked and the "pumpkin juice" running down the sidewalk was sort of interesting.

After the weighing of the pumpkins they put them in this pond, at the Tualatin Commons, and prepared them for the regatta.

This is the moving of the biggest pumpkin to the pond.

Lowering the pumpkin...

Even in water, it must be difficult to push a pumpkin that heavy...

Look at all those pumpkins!

In black and white...

Smile!

I loved the suit that the guy in yellow wore...it said "Seed Extractor" on the back. Sweet!

By the way....I heard some people talked about buying those seeds...I thought to myself, "gee, I wonder how much a seed from a giant pumpkin would cost?" That was then answered by someone behind me, who must have read my mind. A mere $100. Yes you saw that right - 100 big ones for a seed, a pumpkin seed.

Trying to flip the pumpkin so that the flat part would be on top for carving an opening purposes. It took a bit of heaving and hoeing to get it.

Got it! Every once in a while there would be a stray pumpkin and there were these weird this remote controlled boats that would push them back into place.

Making the first cut.

Check out the inch depth of the hunk of pumpkin that is being held. That one piece alone would probably make a whole pumpkin pie.

Digging deep to get all the guts.

Taking away a precious bag of spendy pumpkin seeds.

Don't fall in!

A cute dog in one of the canoes in the pond.

Testing out the pumpkins. Making any last minute modifications.

After having added some fun last minute details.

Getting ready to head towards the start line.

At the start line.

go, Go, GO!

After paddeling down around the pond they were on the homestretch!

One of the pumpkins was a dud and the guy fell out....he swam, while pushing his pumpkin at least half of the race back to the start/finish line.

There were four different heats of races. The next was a relay. It as a competition between the Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue Department and the Portland Office of the Army Corp of Engineers.

The third heat had to do with people fetching balls that were tossed into the pond by the audience. Racers had to fetch as many as they could and the balls had different point values based on color. The picture below is of the Mayor of Tualatin competing. There was another heat, which I decided not to stay for, but the event overall was a lot of fun. I have been to many fall festivals and events and this was probably one of my favorites. And, like I said, I will go back again another year!

"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero." ~Marc Brown

This little (but big) one...

is now the big brother to this little one...
Isn't she precious!

Stasia and David welcomed Josie into the world yesterday (10/15/11), while I watched after big brother.

I was so blessed to have the time I did with Myles and he was so excited to meet his new baby sister!
He was so excited to hold her, too!

As was I!

Such an adorable family!!

PS: I'm lucky that I get to be Josie's Godmother! Stay tuned for some possible Baptism pictures!

"It is important from time to time to slow down, to go away by yourself, and simply Be." ~Eileen Caddy

After the hub-bub of all the wedding excitement, I retreated to a condo at Snoqualmie Pass, WA. A BEAUTIFUL area. This place was gifted to me for the weekend by my friend and co-worker John via his parents, who own the condo. I had never been to this area of Washington. Now I know I will return.

I had decided to take Ezme with me as a travel companion. She has always done well in the car, but she's never gone on any sort of a lengthy trip...here, we had 3.5 to 4 hours in the car...just one way. She did fabulously. Thank. Goodness. Really. I don't know what I would have done if the trip up had gone badly. I decided I wanted to make the most of my long weekend (I had taken Monday off) and left Friday night. I had planned to leave about 7...wrong...more like 8:15 after loading my car, grocery shopping, etc. But, at least I completely missed any traffic. Too bad I had all the rain AND dark roads at a late hour to deal with. But, alas at about midnight, I rolled in. And then spent a fair amount of time unloading my car. I can't even remember how many times in the last month I've loaded/unloaded/re-loaded/unloaded my car and then did it all over again. Same goes with the number of beds I've made/slept in/unmade. Shesh. Let's stay home for a while after this trip, please?!

Here is Ezme, in the back seat sleeping on the way up. Forgive the uncenteredness--it was taken over my shoulder. In the dark. On I-5....Don't tell my parents.

Shortly after arriving, in the pitch dark, mind you, I went to bed. Only after making the aforementioned bed (the 4th different bed I've slept in during the last 2 weeks)! I really had no idea what was out beyond the edge of where the light stretched into the dark of the night. No idea what was beyond the balcony.

In the morning I awoke, excited to see my view. Though, I couldn't see a whole lot more because of the fog. But, I do love fog and foggy mornings so I loved it! This was my first view...actually a little eerie.

I settled in with a cup of tea and waited for the fog to lift. Shortly, the view above turned into the view below.

There was hope for a beautiful sunny day!! John had talked about having pictures that his brother took from the hill (read small mountain) behind the condo but he hadn't been able to find them. My mission for myself was to get some more for him...and of course for me. You see, this is a big ski area and the lifts were right behind the condo to whisk people up to the top to ski down. Some day it would be fun to be there in the winter...when I don't have to drive and can enjoy looking at the snow from the warm condo! :) So much for being much of a snow lover.

As I trekked up the hill the fog and clouds were still lifting. Made for some beautiful and again, eerie, pictures. Edelweiss Chalet condo from mid-way up the hill.

A little higher up the hill.

I was so impressed by all the miniature vegetation on the hill. Rough climate to live in. Reminds me of what I would think a tundra would look like.

Indian Paintbrush, reminding my of my homestate. Ski lift in background.

Tiny daisy.

Ski lift in black and white~

Beauty~~

I could get used to this view!! I was enamoured with the mountains, rock faces, God's majestic creation in this area.

Fluffy clouds!

Me with beauty behind me!

Butterfly~

Coming back down. After being soaked up to the knee with fog turned dew remnants on the grasses.

Can you see my car? ...It was only one of about 3 there (sometimes only one of two).

The "hill" that I climbed. Invigorating.

I had aken a bottle of wine to open and have a glass for dinner. The wine I picked out was called Edelweiss. I thought is was fun, since I was staying at the Edelweiss. I never even opened it. I forgot a wine corker and didn't feel the need to buy one. So, I just took pictures of the wine with the view behind. Who knows, maybe if I stay at the condo again I can take the same bottle of wine with me, that is the rate that I drink wine at... :)

Ezme loved checking things out on the balcony. And, over the edge of the balcony, through the cut outs.

After my stroll up the hill, down the hill and taking a shower and getting ready for the day, I ventured out for Leavenworth WA. A cute little Bavarian inspired town. I had always wanted to go to Leavenworth, but it's a bit of a drive from Portland. Not as much of a drive from Snoqualmie Pass. Yay!!

On the drive over and up, I drove through the mountains and then all of a sudden found myself in this valley. I have no idea what it's called, but I call it Hidden Valley, and only for the sheer reason that there was a street sign for a street named Hidden Valley Lane or something to that effect.

There were some beautiful fall colors through the passes. Love Aspen yellow, backed by pine (or douglas or evergreen) green.

And then, I arrive in Leavenworth. The sign is just the beginning of the quaintness of the cute town.

The surrounding mountains. Leavenworth is located in Cashmere Valley.

I can't even describe my delight when I realized that this town is not just a sad attempt at Bavarian-ness. It is truely Bavarian-esque at its core.

I inadvertently was coming into Leavenworth during their annual Oktoberfest. I wouldn't have even though about it, except that one of my co-workers had mentioned it. And, there were lots of people. A popular event!

The tall building below is the Kris Kringle shop...Christmas year round! It was intense, too!

Notice the guy with fire and a clown nose. (Yes, I wish that was a sentence I could say on a regular basis) He had this torch and would put gas (crazy) in his mouth. Okay, maybe it wasn't gas, but it sure as heck was flammable and then he'd spit the liquid and this ball o'fire would come out. The audience was in awe.

Great ball of Fire~~

Crazy, I say!

After the street show, I headed into the shops to look around. There was this "Made in Russia" shop with SO MANY nesting dolls. Someday, I will buy some. But not this day.

So many wonderful colors!

On to an antique shop...with wine tasting. Who would have thought to have tasting rooms (yes, there were like 3 or 4) in an antique shop. There are two alone in the picture below.

Back outside. Since I can't drink beer, I didn't want to pay to go into the official Oktoberfest area. There was plenty to see outside of the secure area, so away I went. This building was behind the fence, but I couldn't not take a picture! All the buildings were beautifully painted. I was in awe and took a ton of pictures (not all are posted here--you can thank me later)!

Beautiful area, beautiful day!

This building was cute! The paintings are dipicting Aesop's fables. Great idea!

Right behind the flag you can see the fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper. Next to it the fable of the Crow and the Pitcher.

There were all sorts of people walking around with a string of pretzels!

More beautiful paintings!

One of the things I LOVE about this town is that all of the town is "in character." It isn't just part of it. I'm sure that there are some Rule or even Laws about signage, both style and height, but I love the quaintness it all creates. I took some pictures of signs that don't appear as their more modern and recognizable symbols and trademarks.

Exhibit #1: Starbucks. Not your typical Starbucks sign.

I LOVED the fall colors. No wonder this is my favorite season!

There are even these trees (I don't know what kind they are) but their leaves amaze me every year. They almost seem translucent when they are changing. Pictures don't portray this so well, but the colors are still wonderful!

Wells Fargo!

Met with Bavarian Village behind me! I WILL go back here! I will! Maybe for their Christmas Light Festival some year!

All the street names had German names also...Strasse!!

Fun times!

From higher up!

76 Gas Station! Yes, $3.99 for regular. That's when gas was $3.44 ish in Portland the night before.

McDonald's!

Safeway comparisons!

Goodbye beautiful and fun Leavenworth and Cashmere Valley. I will return to you soon! I hope!

Whilst I was gallivanting around central Washington, my travel companion was holding down the fort, or rather, holding down the bed, back at the condo!

I made dinner and hung out. "Planned" the day for Sunday. I knew alredy what was on the docket, but mapped things out. John's dad had died while I was preparing for Danielle's wedding, and the memorial service was in Bellevue on Sunday. Since I was so close, I had decided, without telling him, that I was going to go. On the way I was going to stop and see Snoqualmie Falls!

Foggy morning, again!

The falls were barely visible because of fog and mist from the falls.

On the left, behind the tree you can sort of make out the Salish Lodge.

I loved that there were these words in the cement steps and walkways. Verbs about the falls.

My favorite set...

Felled tree at the top of the falls.

Snoqualmie Falls is taller than Niagra Falls and houses power plants (2) under the falls. After my first views of the misty falls, I left and came back a bit later after killing some time in the neighboring towns of North Bend and Snoqualmie and the fog had lifted and mist settled a bit. I could then see the falls more clearly!

Not the greatest picture, but it'll do~ Proof I was there!

Salish Lodge and fall colors!

More mist when I stopped on the way back to the condo for the night!

I enjoyed my time away, though I must say, it was a little too quiet. I was itching to get home when I woke up Monday. I packed and once again loaded my car and took a few last pictures!

My travel companion and me!

Ezme looking out the window saying goodbye! She hadn't seen this view since we arrived in the dark three nights before!

Goodbye, Edelweiss, until we meet again!

~~The End~~

Oh, wait...the post script~ Ezme on the drive home, hangin' out in the back window. Good thing I didn't have to slam on the brakes with the Seattle traffic at all, she would have come flying. :)

~~