Saturday Sunset

This was Saturday's sunset.

Thanksgiving Day I had a horrible headache by the time I arrived at Jen and Mike's. It was great seeing them and her brother-in-law and his wife and their teens again. It reminded me that I had spent last Thanksgiving with all of them at the time share up in Seaside and what fun that day was.

The food was cooking and smelled wonderful. The more wonderful it smelled the queasier I got. When I ended up visiting the porcelain goddess, I knew that I was going to have to leave.

Before dinner.

The first Thanksgiving Dinner that Jen had prepared.

Big sigh.

Jen was so understanding but I still felt like the Worst. Mom. Ever. I promised her I would come back Sunday and we would celebrate with leftovers.

I stopped ralphing about 30 minutes before I got home. Didn't feel like eating anything the rest of the night. Friday felt better -- headache still there but not any where near as bad and by Saturday it was just a slight twinge over my left eye.

Sunday I was supposed to meet up with my boss, the Really Big Guy, as he vacations a wee bit south of me every Thanksgiving week. He and his wife were my very first visitors after I moved into this place last year. We were planning on a same time next year visit but I called and left a voice mail explaining that I was going to have to cancel our visit.

Sunday I drove to Mike and Jen's and had a great time. We looked at kitchens in a magazine and ate and talked about the type of house they want to buy and what areas. She sent me home with a buttload of leftovers, including the bird carcass and reassurances that I was not the Worst. Mom. Ever.

I'm gonna make turkey rice soup -- a post-Thanksgiving tradition. Think thanksgiving dinner in a soup. Yummy yummy -- and with all that fantabulous herb under the skin turkey, and the yukon gold smashed potatoes with cream cheese and sour cream mashed into them, and the green been casserole (with added roasted garlic), and all the other mah-vah-lous things that Jen fixed in the soup -- this year's turkey rice soup is bound to be a winner.

Sun, Monday and tonight's sunsets were not. They were gray and cloud filled. Fingers and toes crossed for color to go with the clear (and very cold) weather ahead. Gotta bunch of firewood stacked up next to the stove and am wearing layers. Ran into town today and picked up a new coffee maker (mine died) and warm socks. A cold dry air mass is headed this way -- weather dood says no chance of snow since it is dry air but it is gonna be cold enough to snow if that air wasn't dry. Same type of arctic air that brought us snow last December. All the cold and none of the eye candy. Brrr.

You Can Get Anything You Want

You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant*.

I'm headed to Jen's for Thanksgiving but that won't prevent me from enjoying one of my favorite turkey day traditions:



Arlo Guthrie -- Alice's Restaurant.

*waiting for it to come around on the gui-tar again

Hoping you and yours have a great Thanksgiving.

Good Day Sunshine

Woke up to sunshine today! Here is the day in pictures:







Twas a good day with sunshine.


The Beatles -- Good Day Sunshine.

Odds and Ends

Another gray day at the peaceful retreat on the bay. But -- there was no wind blowing and we warmed up into the 50's today. Insert mental image of me doing a modified version of the Snoopy Happy Dance here.

Drove into town and ran errands. All the color has been stripped off the trees by last week's winds and I can see snow on the highest mountain tops. I drove over the Coast Range yesterday and noticed snow at the summit (1500 feet) but the roads were clear. It wasn't a lot of snow but... tis the time of year when weather and road conditions have to be checked before heading out.

Weather dood says the snow levels should stay above the 1500 foot level this week -- a good thing since I have to go over the range to get to Jen's on Thanksgiving. A total role reversal for us this year -- Jen is cooking Thanksgiving Dinner (her first year doing so) and her brother and sister in law and their teens will also be there. Jen promised to send me home with lotsa leftovers.

I love the day after Thanksgiving dive into leftovers. Turkey rice soup (turkey, stuffing, veggies, gravy, yams - basically most of the Thanksgiving leftovers and then add some rice). Open faced turkey sandwiches with gravy and cranberries. Not even going to get started on the desserts (laughing). I've always loved cooking Thanksgiving dinner knowing I will have all those leftovers to play with.

One of my landlord's cats has taken to hanging out on the deck railing near the rose that tries to eat the stairs. She is gorgeous and appears to be in a turf war with Bailey cat. Bailey tries to avoid I-you-me (unsure of spelling) after their cat fight on the deck last week.

Bailey used my taking this photo as her opportunity to streak past us and run inside the open front door (laughing). I'm sure they will eventually work out a resolution.

Patience Rewarded

It has been gray all week. I know there is a blue sky up above the gray blanket covering the bay -- just haven't seen it in in a while.

Current rainfall total since October 1st is 16.16 inches. A wet November, which is fine by me. Around 4pm tonight, I noticed a wee bit of color along the spit:


Wasn't a lot but it was enough to give me hope for something nice to share with my readers. Sunset today was at 4:40 pm -- a wee bit before sunset my patience was rewarded with this:


Within two minutes of taking this picture, the clouds returned for the evening. Another storm forecast to hit tomorrow and we are under another high wind watch starting tomorrow afternoon -- anticipated gusts of 60 mph.

Token, Bailey Cat, and I are inside with the fire blazing -- tis 41 outside and the breeze has a bitter bite to it. Tis a damp cold that goes right to the bone. I'm off to a hot bath to warm up the inner me.

More Storms And A Bird

Another storm is headed this way -- but the weather dood says it won't be as bad as Monday's storm. The winds are only predicted to get up to 70 mph (as opposed to the 98 mph gust down in Newport Monday night).

Yesterday, in the calm between storms, I spotted this guy out on the marsh below the roses. This is the area that floods when we get really high tides and ya can see it's relationship to the bay better in the below picture. Tis the foreground and the fingers of the largest stand of water in the lower right is where the little guy was hanging out.


Total rainfall to date is 14.48 inches. Weather dood said we could get up to 3 inches between now and Friday.

Saw my dentist today. Dr. A did the final tweak on the palate fit for the new upper plate and selected the tooth color. My next appointment is 12/11 -- Dr. T (the traveling dentist) will be there to remove the 5 remaining upper teeth and Dr. A will then fit the upper plate. I will walk out of the office with more teeth than I walked in with.

A very good thing.

Grey Sunsets

Grey sunsets are on the menu this week with a series of storms forecast. Currently we have a good sized storm developing off the coast and the winds have started to blow. We are under a high wind warning through Tuesday -- Monday night is going to be the worst of it according to the weather dood. We could have sustained winds of 30-50 and gusts up to 90, depending on which weather dood ya watch on tv and how the storm comes in. All agree it is gonna be a wild ride on the coast.

Am all set up for hunkering down other than some groceries I have to pick up tomorrow. Gary the wood guy should be bringing more wood tomorrow afternoon. The winds are predicted to be at their worst tomorrow night around 10pm or so and it looks like I'll be able to run into Tillamook to pick up supplies before it gets gnarly outside.

Total rainfall since October 1st is 12.28 inches.

Thursday Skies

The clouds lifted a wee bit before sunset.

They played chase along the horizon.


And returned after sunset.

Total rainfall since October 1st is 11.94 inches. Got up to a whooping 44 today (brrr) and snow is supposed to fall at the 1,500 ft elevation tonight. Brrr cold!

Mercedes

Was tripping down memory lane on Facebook with my best friend forever from high school, Ami. Of course our trip wasn't complete until we started reminiscing about driving around Pleasant Hill in either her metallic pink caddy coupe de ville (with fins) or the black caddy hearse.

Janis -- Mercedes Benz

Eaten By Clouds

Tonight's sunset was eaten by clouds coming up from the south.

Had one flash of lightning and had to pay attention to hear the slight rumble from it. Pretty boring weather day. The rainfall total to date is 9.44 inches -- the forecast is for bands of showers throughout the rest of the week.

High Tide and Sunset

Had some high tides the past couple of days. Coupled with the high surf warning (with waves of 25 feet or more crashing onto the shore), I'm glad I'm on the bay instead of ocean front.


This is Wednesday afternoon's high tide. As you can see, the tree on the bank separating the creek from the little marshy flat that sits below the roses was surrounded. That marshy area is usually dry in my pictures but the occasional very high tide envelopes it. The creek is on the other side of the tree.


This was right before sunset Wednesday. Love the way the sun's rays are highlighted by the clouds.


And this was Thursday's sunset. Was overcast all day today but the sun made a brief appearance just before sunset. As soon as the sun did set, the lightning and thunder fired up. Had a couple heavy hail bands pass through along with some thunder that made the house shake. Makes 3 nights in a row we've had thunder and lightning.

Token and Bailey no longer panic from thunder and lightning. Bailey doesn't hide under the bed but she is very very alert with her ears perked up and forward. After the huge make the house shake thunder, she turned her back to the storm and faced the sofa back.

Token isn't barking at the wind but he sure did whimper at the hail. That loud thunderboomer made him leap off the sofa and demand some lap time.

Total rainfall to date is 8.82 inches. An inch since yesterday and almost two inches since this series of storms started to move through. Snow falling in the Cascades -- the ski season has begun for those that do that sorta thing.

The eagles are back. Saw one flying on what we call Pelican Point. It is the point with the tilted tree that the brown pelicans love to hang out at. I look forward to spending the non-tourist season at the peaceful retreat on the bay with them.

Chicken And Gravy

John Lee Hooker performing Chicken And Gravy at the Montreal Jazz Festival, 1980. Look who's backing him up :)

Been stormy and I've been enjoying it. Tillamook Head (about an hour north of me just south of Seaside) had gusts of 80 mph (as did Lincoln City which is about an hour south of me) but I only got up to an occasional gust of 58 or so. Not as much rain as I thought -- total rainfall to date is 7.58 inches -- was at 7 inches exactly before this series of storms started to move through. Spectacular lightning shows the past couple of nights. I do enjoy living here.

Weather dood is predicting between 20 and 30 inches of snow up on Mt Hood this weekend -- already received 14" up there today. I hear the ski slopes open tomorrow -- not that I ski -- just additional confirmation that I won't be headed up there until spring.

Coming Ashore

Didn't get as cold as predicted last night -- only 46 instead of the 37 of the night before. Today was sunny but it was a filtered sunshine instead of the bright sunshine of yesterday. No wind at all as I took this first picture about 20 minutes before sunset. Notice the mirror like bay waters reflecting the sun.

The the winds started to blow and the scene was instantly changed.


Within five minutes the sun was completely hidden by clouds. The storm's leading clouds rode the wind in and raced across the sky.


Weather dood said there is rain forecast every day for the next 7 days. Ah, November has finally arrived in the Pacific Northwest. I love standing out on the deck -- the wind whipping my hair and clothes. I feel so alive standing out in the elements -- arms outstretched and welcoming. Makes me think of the women of yesteryear, with long hair and long skirts standing on this deck watching similar storms come in.

Cold Sunset

Got up to 63 today but temps started to drop towards sunset. Tis currently 52 outside -- sunset was about 15 minutes ago. I took this photo about 10 minutes before sunset.

Got down to 37 last night and is supposed to get a few degrees cooler than that tonight. Lots of sunshine expected tomorrow before the Thursday storm. That one is predicted to be a wet one. Thursday's storm already has a Severe Weather Alert:

..STRONG COLD FRONT TO IMPACT REGION WITH RAIN...WIND...AND HEAVY SWELLS ALONG THE BEACHES LATE THIS WEEK...

A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS BEGINNING TO GET ORGANIZED IN THE GULF OF ALASKA TODAY...AND WILL RAPIDLY STRENGTHEN INTO A POWERFUL STORM TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. WHILE THE CENTER OF THIS LOW PRESSURE
SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN IN THE GULF OF ALASKA...IT WILL PUSH A STRONG COLD FRONT ONSHORE INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST THURSDAY.

WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT MAY GUST AS HIGH AS 50 TO 60 MPH NEAR THE BEACHES AND COASTAL HEADLANDS THURSDAY...AS WELL AS ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE COAST RANGE AND CASCADES. THE FRONT WILL LIKELY BE ACCOMPANIED BY A PERIOD OF HEAVY RAIN... ESPECIALLY IN THE COAST RANGE WHERE UP TO 2 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN ARE POSSIBLE THURSDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT.

SNOW LEVELS WILL START OFF WELL ABOVE THE CASCADE PASSES EARLY THURSDAY...BUT ARE EXPECTED TO FALL QUICKLY AS THE FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE CASCADES THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. BY FRIDAY MORNING...ACCUMULATING SNOW IS POSSIBLE AS LOW AS SOME OF THE CASCADE PASSES. WITH COOL UNSETTLED WEATHER EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL DAYS BEHIND THE FRONT...SNOW SHOWERS MAY CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS LOW AS 3000 TO 4000 FEET IN ELEVATION.

ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT ASPECT OF THE GULF OF ALASKA STORM SYSTEM WILL BE THE VERY LARGE OCEAN SWELL EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AS THE STORM STRENGTHENS WEDNESDAY. THIS SWELL MAY BEGIN IMPACTING THE SOUTH WASHINGTON AND NORTH OREGON COAST WITH HIGH SURF AS EARLY AS THURSDAY MORNING...WITH THE STRONGEST WAVES IMPACTING THE BEACHES THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY. THE HEAVY SURF MAY PROVIDE THE POSSIBILITY FOR MINOR COASTAL FLOODING DURING HIGH TIDE...AND THE LARGE BREAKERS MAY PRODUCE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS ALONG THE BEACHES.

Gary The Wood Guy came by yesterday and stacked a buncha wood next to the wood stove and left after telling me to call him when I ran low. Don't have to do much to stock up ahead of this storm -- maybe a grocery store run for a few items but my hatches are pretty well battened down already. Brought in a few tender plants -- they will stay indoors this winter. When the hired girls come this weekend, I'll have them move the tender plants in heavier pots in.

After Thursday's storm another is forecast to come ashore Saturday. The November storms are only a few days late arriving in the Pacific Northwest this year.

Saying Goodbye Is Hard To Do

Woke to the sad sad news that my buddy Katymine passed. She was a relentless advocate of health care issues and a good friend. FDL asked me to write about her -- that post is at this link.

There is a hole in my heart.

Temptations

Can't let Sunday pass without some Temptations:

Aint To Proud To Beg:



I Can't Get Next To You: