Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Delayed Heat Loss

A lot of people lost heat a month ago in the ice storm. Ours is a little behind - we lost heat Monday night. It's all right, though. We built a roaring fire to stay warm while we played cribbage in the living room. The oven kept the kitchen warm while I made dinner, and a lot of blankets made sleeping warm. The worst part has been getting up in the morning! Getting out of bed is usually hard enough, but when the house is freezing, it's oh so much worse.
Oh well, we're making it, and I hope to get a hold of the landlady today so we can get it fixed. It's another little adventure, I guess.
Other highlights from the week: I shredded my body weight in paper. No lies.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Christmas Miracles Abound in Oregon

One of my favorite things about Oregon is heading into Portland and going through the tunnel on 26. Before you go in, you're surrounded by trees and it looks like you're driving through the forest. Then, when you come out of the tunnel, suddenly you can see the city - the skyline where there used to be trees. It's like Dorothy leaving black-and-white Kansas, going in her house, and coming out in colorful Oz. I love Oregon.
Here are some other highlights:
A lot of snow came down on Christmas - for the first time in Portland since 1937.
Bryce (my cousin's baby) likes me and dances when I beatbox.
Powell's downtown is always a highlight, but fitting 15 new books into a suitcase without going over the weight limit was a little challenging.

There was a night when we were walking in my neighborhood and the ground was frozen. There was enough of a frozen layer for us to slip on. But even though it was cold enough to freeze, we could walk without hats and scarves, with coats unbuttoned because there was no wind. It was still and pleasant and not too cold to be outside although it was in the 30s. Oregon is miraculous.

I always get jealous when my friends talk about seeing, eating with, and shopping with my parents. I can't wait to be in Oregon so I can do those things with my mom and dad and my good friends and not have to hear about it from a thousand miles away. That's what I liked best about being home for Christmas.