A Month in Summary - November 2023

Elk Falls Provincial Park

Campbell River, British Columbia

September 2023

Just as the bear in the photograph above is preparing for winter, I found myself slowing down in November, curling up with my books more often than I usually do during the summer. We celebrated our 35th anniversary, enjoyed a visit with more relatives mid-month (I think that brings the total number of visitors in 2023 to a whopping 43!), and hosted a few of our neighbors for Thanksgiving. The RV is tucked in at the storage facility for the next few months, and the rainy (and windy!) season has arrived, so I see more time for reading and trying out new recipes in the coming months.

Books Read (click on the title for my review):

Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson (4/5)

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan (4.5/5)

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (3/5)

Count the Ways by Joyce Maynard (5/5)

Bella: An Appalachian Love Story & Jagged Dawn: Logan's Beginning by Valerie Davisson (4/5)

The Betrayal of Trust by Susan Hill (3.5/5)

The Push by Ashley Audrain (4.5/5)

The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls (4/5)

Closer by Sea by Perry Chafe (3.5/5)

Movies & TV Series:

My Texas Rangers' T-Shirt from 1998

Texas Rangers are the 2023 World Series Champions! When we lived in Fort Worth (1998-2000), we fell in love with the Rangers (and their ballpark). It was also the season of Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, so we watched A LOT of baseball. I loved going to games and have always been a fan of the team (which has been around since the year of my birth). Well done, boys!

Unforgotten (Season Five) - Lots of characters and threads to keep track of, but we enjoyed it, in spite of the convoluted finale.

Vera (Season Three) - We really enjoy this series, especially since each mystery is wrapped up in a single episode. I love seeing how the friendship between Vera and Joe continues to develop.

Anika (Season Two) - Lots more (dry) humor in this season than in the first, but overall, I didn't love it. 

Bosch Legacy (Season Two) - Another follow-up season that disappointed us. Actually, the Legacy spin-off of Bosch isn't nearly as good as the original. 

We celebrated 35 years of marriage on the 6th. I am so fortunate to have such a great husband and travel companion! Twu wuv. 💖

Thanksgiving Feast:

Most of our family came for visits this past summer and early fall, so with no relatives coming for Thanksgiving, we invited a few of our neighbors to Thanksgiving dinner. Only because I couldn't find a smaller turkey (from the company I prefer), I wound up with a 24 lb beast! I've never roasted a turkey that large and was afraid it would take all day to cook. Surprisingly, it was finished in under four hours. (It was actually slightly overdone, but that's better than an undercooked turkey, and, with enough gravy and cranberry sauce, nobody cared.) I do a lot of prep the day before and serve the majority of hot dishes in crockpots. I was even able to carve the turkey well before our guests arrived, holding it at a safe temperature in a large crock pot. And yes, we have a lot of leftovers which are in the freezer for future meals. Turkey soup, turkey tetrazzini, turkey enchiladas, turkey sandwiches, and turkey tacos, to name a few. What's your favorite turkey leftover meal?

Christmas Gift Idea:

I received my first item from MAYSON the label and I'm in love! The color is stunning and the cashmere fabric is so luxurious. If you need a gift idea, you can't go wrong with this scarf. It comes in six colors (cappuccino, navy, heather grey, skylar, black, and white sand) and after much deliberation, I ordered the skylar. It was tempting to get one in every color. ;) 

On second thought, treat yourself to an early Christmas present. You deserve it!

A Month in Summary - October 2020

Little Whale Cove

Depoe Bay, Oregon

October 2020

I had hoped to get this posted before the election, but it's been a busy few days and I am only just now able to sit down and reflect on the past month. As I write, I am feeling anxious about the outcome of the election, which has yet to be called. I never expected it to be such a close race and I will never again trust the polls. I'm heartbroken that we remain so divided and that the underbelly of this country is filled with so much hatred and racism. Moving on...

I didn't have a very good month of reading with regard to quantity, mainly because my current audiobook (which is over 22 hours in length) is slowing me down. The two books I did finish were very good and I'm eager to read more by those authors. I also finished the RIP XV reading challenge and did much better than I anticipated. You can find my posts about that event here. 

Books Read (click on the title for my review):

Blood Harvest by S.J. Bolton (4/5)

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz (4/5)

Abandoned:

The Good Daughter by Alexandra Burt

First Lines:

'She's been watching us for a while now.' (Blood Harvest)

A bottle of wine. A family-sized packet of Nacho Cheese Flavoured Tortilla Chips and a jar of hot salsa dip. A packet of cigarettes on the side (I know, I know). The rain hammering against the windows. And a book.

What could have been lovelier? (Magpie Murders)

Movies and TV Series:

DCI Banks - We love this series. I think it's as good, if not better than, Bosch.

Game of Thrones (Season 7) - So good! I loved the last episode of this season and am ready to finally watch Season 8.

The World Series - Yay, Dodgers!! I grew up in Southern California and even though we lived in San Diego (home of the Padres), I was always a Dodger fan. This was such a great series and I was thrilled when we were able to watch the final game on our TV in our RV. If all goes well, there are only 148 days until Opening Day.

Puzzlemania:

We completed just one puzzle this month, but it was very difficult and 1000 pieces (although that's the average size we typically work on). Nonetheless, it was enjoyable and quite satisfying. Pomegranate puzzles have become a favorite brand, with gorgeous images by world-famous artists.

Peloton - We received an early Christmas gift from my daughter and I can't tell you how much I love it! I had no idea that I could not only take cycling classes, but I can also use the app for yoga, meditation, strength training, walking, running, cardio, bootcamp and stretching. This will help motivate me to keep up with my exercise during the long, cold & rainy winter. 

Outings:

Rod met with the orthopedic surgeon and she recommended shoulder replacement surgery. Once we had that surgery on the calendar, we decided to take the RV out for a little trip up to Nehalem State Park, which is only a couple of hours north of us. We spent 11 days there (which is the longest we've stayed in a single campground) and we had it pretty much to ourselves, with the exception of the first weekend. Even then, it was maybe only 10% full. The weather was great, with temps in the low 60s and only one day of rain and one overnight shower. It was perfect for sitting outside, reading in the sun, or taking walks to the bay or along the beach. In addition to the wonderful weather, we were treated to multiple visits by a herd of elk, many times right in our campsite! We've experienced this before at a campground in Washington, but never at Nehalem. We probably won't get back out for another camping trip until next spring, so we're very happy we were able to manage this one.

That pandemic continues to rage on. To date, we have seen daily numbers reaching almost 100,000 new cases, which is astonishing. Please, wear your masks, wash your hands and stay 6 feet apart from those outside of your household.

Bandon - Day Four

October 25, 2017
Bandon, Oregon
Bullards Beach State Park

Another slow, lazy morning. I caught up on social media while Rod did a little freelance work. The campground was quiet and the sun was shining, giving promise to another beautiful day.

A room with a view. Sort of. Our site had plenty of shrubs, providing a decent amount of privacy.

We decided to go into town for lunch and went back to the Bandon Fish Market, a spot we tried a few years ago. Sadly, it wasn't nearly as good as that first visit.

We had planned to drive over to the beach, but the clouds were rolling in, so we headed over to Face Rock Creamery for ice cream. These are "small" servings! We were definitely not disappointed with this treat!

After indulging in all of that ice cream, I decided to go for a little bike ride. Sunshine, no wind and warm (but not hot) temps made for a beautiful afternoon ride. I could ride for hours on a stretch of road like this one!

I spotted a coyote in the field and quickly jumped off my bike so I could get some pictures. 

He was a little skittish and started to run off after he spotted me.

Once he found a safe distance, he stopped and looked back at me before heading toward the ridge. I should have brought my good camera with the telephoto lens!

Ah, back to my favorite lighthouse.

I love this huge piece of wood. I can't imagine it washing ashore, but in a winter storm, anything is possible.

A view of the town of Bandon from the lighthouse.

Evening glow.

No wind, so the river was very calm.

Another fun evening listening to Game 2 of the World Series. It was actually a very thrilling game. The Astros beat the Dodgers 7-6 in extra innings after five hours!

Bandon - Day Three

October 24, 2017
Bandon, Oregon
Bullards Beach State Park

It was 48 degrees when we woke up, but the sun was shining and it warmed up to 74 later in the day. After breakfast, I decided to take the truck and drive over to Bandon (about 10 minutes from our campground), while Rod worked on an editing project. I parked at the Coquille jetty and got some shots of the waves crashing over the rocks, as well as some pictures of the lighthouse. (You can never have too many pictures of a lighthouse!)

The waves were really big, with lots of spray blowing as they crashed against the rocks.

The South Jetty was built in 1906 to stem a rash of shipwrecks on the Coquille River bar. When the Oliver Olson rammed the jetty so hard in 1953 that the ship couldn't be pulled free, the South Jetty was extended by building right over the ship's hull. Now sailors complain the uneven lengths of the river's two jetties make the bar more treacherous than ever. (Oregon.com)

Signage about tsunamis. I pay attention to escape routes, but don't spend any time worrying.

There were a lot of huge trees and logs rolling in the surf. These can be quite dangerous to people in the water or along the shoreline.

I like this view of the Coquille Lighthouse from this side of the river. I wrote about here, as well.

I could live in this! 

I headed over to the Bandon Beach Loop and walked along the bluff trail and then down the path to the beach. The sun was shining and it was absolutely gorgeous!

Table Rock

My granddaughter and I have walked through some of these openings in the rocks at low-tide. It's interesting to see them from up above on the bluff, with the waves covering the sand where we walked a few years ago.

Face Rock State Scenic Viewpoint

Do you see the face of a woman looking skyward?

According to a Coquille tribal legend, the face in Face Rock belongs to Ewauna, daughter of Chief Siskiyou, who had traveled here to a great potlatch feast in his honor. Ewauna had never seen the ocean before, so one night she sneaked to the beach for a moonlight swim. In the water she was grabbed by the evil ocean spirit Seatka. But she refused to look into his eyes, knowing that this was how he controlled his victims. Instead she fixed her stare on the North Star, and defiantly gazes there even today. (Oregon.com)

How about now? It's a profile and the mouth, which looks slightly open, is on the right. The nose is in line with the horizon.

This beach looks otherwordly!

The Southern Oregon Coast is composed of rock that began a billion years ago as a volcanic island archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. The drifting of the continents has since "rafted" these ancient islands and reefs onto the Oregon shore. Many of the islands at Bandon are composed of blueschist, an extremely resilient rock prized for jetty construction. (Oregon.com)

Photo Credit: Oregon.com 

These are the cottages at Windermere On the Beach, which we've stayed in a couple of times. They are quite nice, especially the furthest one on the north end.

After I returned from my long walk, I puttered around getting ready for dinner and Game 1 of the World Series. 

It was fun to sit by the campfire and listen to the game on the radio. (Well, actually a radio app on my phone.)

An all-American evening. All that's missing is the apple pie!

Click on photos to enlarge.