Lead Me Not

Lari White -- Lead Me Not.

On vacation from Firedoglake backstage duties -- no flippin' of levers or twisting of dials behind the curtain this week. Will still be hosting my Late Late Night posts Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights -- all of the fun and none of the responsibilities!

Am hoping to do some sightseeing this week. Have a buddy visiting Portland this week and I will be headed over the hill later in the week for lunch and catching up. I am hoping to be able to drive up to see Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood but this latest storm (its predicted to rain through Friday -- naturally -- can ya tell I am Irish) is expected to bring snow down to pass levels. I have managed to avoid driving in the snow since I came up here and I see no reason to break that streak. If I can't get up to Hood this week, I'll just go another time.

Tis a week to recharge my batteries and get my mojo working again. The nice thing about having no clocks to pay attention to this week is that it allows me to be flexible -- if it is raining and I don't feel like going out, I can putz around the house and do nothing -- magnificently.

Saturday Sunshine

Saturday was a lovely day until a chilly breeze blew in late Saturday afternoon ahead of Sunday's rain. Before the wind cooled it off, I got up to 65. Nice to have a day of warm before today's chilly rain. Weather dood is still saying snow levels down to around the 1,000 ft level Monday night, Tuesday, and maybe even Wednesday. There is a good chance there will be snow on the valley floor and possibly even in the Portland metro area. Already down to 39 here and am keeping an eye on the temperatures in case I need to move some of my potted plants on the deck indoors. The really cold air mass from Alaska is supposed to arrive Monday evening.

My creeping rosemary is in bloom (middle picture) as is the lemon thyme. The chives also survived the winter's freeze and are doing well. The rest of the plants in those two planters are still iffy. The peony bud is getting bigger but there still are not many leaves on it -- just those around the bud up top with nothing sprouting yet further down the stems. The fuschias are way overdue for a repotting -- another chore to add to my spring list. Bulbs (daffs and maybe tulips?) are coming up in another pot but no blooms yet.

I'm headed to the grocery store Monday afternoon to do some long overdue stocking up on basics. Tis one of those times when it seems I'm out of everything -- I am not looking forward to carrying all those grocery bags up the stairs but I am looking forward to a fully stocked pantry again.

Am thinking of taking some road trips. Want to drive up Mt Hood and see Timberline Lodge and then do the same with Mt. Rainer and its Paradise Lodge. Have some friends to visit in the Seattle area and I also want to drive across the border into Canada to get the first stamp in my passport. The biggie road trip is wanting to drive to Colorado and see Stephanie and then swing south to Arizona to see my mom, stepdad, and sister. Got wandering fever again and I'm way overdue for a roadtrip.



Dion -- The Wanderer.