Changing Seasons

Pictures to follow, but first, Happy New Year!! Yes, I'm a day late, but I think I have a few more days before the year no longer qualifies as "new." I'm squeaking in the sentiment before the last of the Christmas fruitcake turns to brick on the kitchen counter, so I think I can get away with saying it a bit longer. My theory is, as long as the fruitcake is edible the holiday season hasn't really come to an end. (That's assuming that the fruitcake was ever edible to begin with. I happen to believe mine was, and it's merely the superfluity of sugary treats from the three parties we've thrown in the past week which has prevented said fruitcake from garnering the attention which would otherwise have assured its complete consumption.)

Anyway, it's 2008, and I hope that this year will be notably benign to us all, especially those of you who faced many hardships and difficulties in 2007. I can't say that 2007 was unkind to me. In fact, in many ways it was a model year for the Meow household, but still, I struggled to keep my usual good humor through much of it. Some changes take their toll far beyond their initial impacts, and one's perspective and attitude can never be the same again. The last few years have had some moments like that for me, and I am more wary of the world at large than I ever was before. That's probably a good thing. I have always been too naive, and my natural optimism sets me up for the occasional fall, and, really, the more I age and gain experience the more I recognize the need for an eternal perspective. This life simply can't be all we want it to be. There are too many flawed choices from too many flawed people (myself definitely included) all interacting at once for everything to flow along all smoothly and predictably. My hope is in the day when the flaws of mankind will be transformed through truly seeing Christ to perfect understanding, and thus the chaos we now create with our imperfect choices will be transformed as well, to harmony and peace. I know not everyone reading this will agree with me here, but that is my belief, and that is what keeps me from the dark side as I wander my way through this crazy and often difficult world (a belief supported, in my opinion, by history, science, philosophy, and reason, but on this topic, as on many others, reasonable people may agree to disagree.) I don't have much hope that 2008 will hold fewer challenges than other years; it may, in fact, hold many more, but I do have hope that I will continue to learn and grow through them all. I hope that for you as well.

Of course, this being a presidential year, I have almost no hope for that eternal harmony and peace I mentioned earlier to hang out much here in the real-time world. People will continue to peck and claw their ways toward whatever goals and desires fill their "to do" list, especially those whose list includes "become the leader of the free world," and some of us will watch in combined amusement and disgust as this spectacle plays out on the national stage. (I don't know if I'll be commenting at all on the show. I really meant it in October when I said I don't have anything more to say--although, as the fact I'm posting this little ramble proves, that doesn't mean I will never have anything to say. I may, indeed, get inspired to spout occasionally and add my voice to the giant muddle of thought that is our beloved blogosphere. Then again I may not. Who knows? Who really even cares, eh?) In any case, 2008 should, at the very least, be an interesting one for the political junkie, as well as the science junkie, things changing as rapidly as they are on the medical and scientific frontiers. There's something new to be learned every day on this topsy-turvy planet. May you have pleasant companionship with which to share the lessons this year brings.

Okay, all this random chatter came from a completely unrelated reason for posting. If you've been here before, you might have seen the pictures of Mount Hood and Mirror Lake that I posted last summer. I thought I'd give you a glimpse of them both in their winter splendor. Just to refresh your memory, I'll show you the summer view again, and then move on to the frozen version that Ked and I saw as we strapped on the snowshoes for a winter excursion on New Year's Day, okay?

Is that beautiful, or what?

What a difference a few months can make. It's still beautiful, but oh so different.

With at least five feet of snow on the ground, Ked and I weren't sure part of the time if we were walking on water, or bushes. The lake behind him had ripples of snow drifting across it as "the frosty wind made moan." (Bonus points to anyone but Su for knowing in which Christmas carol that frosty wind was so vocal.)

The lady with no face is me. Despite all visual evidence to the contrary, the tree behind me is quite a bit taller than it appears. Here it looks like the perfect flocked Christmas tree, but its summer stature is significantly more impressive.

Well, that's all for today. Feel free to check back at the end of the month for new Disney World photos. I may not be really writing the Meow anymore, but Disney World is always inspiring, so I'm sure there will be posts aplenty from Orlando. If we can, we'll be taking in Sea World and the Kennedy Space Center too, so the camera shutters should be flying. See you then!

How I'm Spending My Summer Vacation

Hello again, World (she says pretentiously, since The World in general is quite unaware of her existence.) I thought it was time I checked in to tell you how the Meow hiatus is going, and share some pictures from Ked's and my latest adventure. I'll get to the pictures soon, since they're the good part, and just give you a brief summary of the summer thus far.

Ked and I have been getting a lot of project work done, although not as much as we would like, of course. (I'm not sure that "as much as we'd like" is even remotely possible, since I can construct some pretty long and detailed project lists.) Our master closet is almost finished. The flagstone patio is just a few stones short of a barbeque, and the gutters are still hanging over our heads, as is fitting for gutters to do. We've got several things that have to get done before the weather shifts toward the perpetually rainy here in Oregon, including finishing the outdoor painting we started last year, but we're making good progress in general, so I have high hopes that we'll get the crucial stuff done before the Oregon soggies render such outdoor accomplishments obsolete.

After the summer projects get put to bed, I think I'll be coming back to the Meow with some fresh zeal. We won't be taking on many home improvement projects for a while after the ones on our current list get done, because we have a project of an entirely different kind to tackle. The exciting news-of-the-moment, is that the musical version of The Screwtape Letters that Su, Ked and I, with the help of a couple of friends, wrote has been approved by C.S. Lewis' estate, so we can begin working on that production soon. That's a GIANT project, that will involve lots and lots of to-do list-making, but for now lets just leave ourselves at the joyous "Hurray, we've been approved" stage, and I'll fill you in on the production progress once things get rolling. No use letting the cheerful glow wear off before the work can actually begin. I won't be able to rope Ked into remodelling my sewing room, putting in a new bathroom, building a gazebo, or probably even changing a light bulb for quite some time, since he will be busily composing accompaniment tracks for the many songs with which we have crammed our musical. I'm sure I've mentioned before that Su is a complete genius, and the songs she's written deserve lavish attention from my wonderfully gifted husband. He'll be happy to give them such attention since he loves that kind of work--much more than building closets and adding bathrooms.

Okay, now on to the pretty portion of our post. Ked and I took a brief break from our labors yesterday to head up to Mirror Lake, on Mount Hood, about 50 miles from Portland. Hiking in about 1 1/2 miles from the highway, through a lovely forest, you come to the lake, and a spectacular view of Mt. Hood. If there's one thing we love here in the Pacific Northwest, it's our mountain and ocean views, and the scenery at Mirror Lake is one of our local treasures. On calm days, when the lake is at peace, the mountain is perfectly reflected in the still waters (thus the name), and the sight is so worth the drive and the climb to get to it that you ask yourself why it's been so long since the last time you were here--even if the last time you were here was last week.

Even before you get to the lake, the views start to lure you onward.

Of course, you do have to work a bit to earn the reward. (Not really that hard. This was just a photo op kind of scene.)

The reward is ample, though, wouldn't you agree?

You also have that whole self-satisfied "I did it" thing to go along with the view.

Not being satisfied with "I did it," Ked and I had to tackle Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain, which adds about 3 miles round trip and 1,500 feet higher in the air to the hike. We knew that more wonderful views awaited us up top, and so we started on our way up the ridge.

We had to stop along the way to take lots of pictures. It had nothing to do with needing to breathe. Really, I just love the way the clouds dapple the forested foothills.

Getting to the top, we had to pause for a He-Man, Masters of the Universe moment.

Kedley being Kedley, he also stopped to put on a jacket. Global warming, indeed. (If you look closely, you can see Mirror Lake, looking like a little puddle there to Ked's left.)

By contrast, I'm still perfectly comfortable in my tank top and shorts. Alas, temperature is the only topic upon which my Kedley and I cannot come to a near complete agreement. It is the tragedy of our life. Don't you feel terribly sorry for us? Nah, me neither.

Mount Hood isn't the only beauty up there. Besides wildflowers in abundance, there are plenty of other mountain views, and forests rolling on forever. We saw what we assumed were Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Adams, and if it had been a clearer day, we suspected we'd be able to see what's left of Saint Helens as well.

Behind Ked is the ridge we climbed. Aren't you impressed?

I mentioned beach views, so I thought I'd toss you this bonus photo from a trip we took on a Sunday jaunt a few months ago. That's Boiler Bay behind me. The Oregon coast is just chock full of the picturesque and charming. I highly recommend a visit.

Well, there you have it. How I'm Spending My Summer Vacation: Work and play. I'm getting in plenty of reading (I don't think I'll ever take a vacation from reading--such is the life of an information addict), sewing, movies, long walks and a few good hikes. I hope your summer is going well, and I'll see you again sometime soon. Head on up to Mirror Lake if you're in the neighborhood. It really is lovely this time of year.

Note: I'm very frustrated with the spacing of the photos and captions, but Blogger is being maddeningly uncooperative and won't let me fix them. Maybe it will let me later, but for now this'll have to do. BAD Blogger!