Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Slowing down

The first snow fell yesterday. And then melted.

It's a transitional time of year for everyone; we're no exception. Shorter days, colder weather and less money coming in during winter forces us to re-think our habits. Whittling down to where we should be, physically, financially, psychologically. 

The holidays are usually not our favorite time of year for a bunch of reasons - one of them being the cultural expectation surrounding gift giving. I am going to try to put an emphasis more on experiences than items when I make my list. We keep trying to opt-out of the family xmas celebration (none of us religious, why do we do this?) but it hasn't happened yet. I may claim to be part of the BuyNothingNew crew. (Bonus reading: How Your Stuff is Killing You and You Don't Even Know It)

Lazlo loves hazelnuts. Look at all that white on his face. Considering the fate of our oldest dog who really only has 2.5 good legs on his best day. Winter snow and ice is not going to make that any easier. Hard decisions coming up.
Mia has a perch where she can enjoy the sun - when it's out. She was a bad dog earlier this year (fighting with a neighbor dog, nothing serious) so the tie-out cable keeps her safe if she feels the impulse to chase marauding canines.
My bedside table was re-purposed into our new TV stand. We move it out of the way (or in the way) as needed and it plugs in to the same outlet (outlets are a new development - yay!) as our new heater which is working fabulously. (The slim white thing on the wall there is the heater.)
Huge mushrooms growing under some trees at the end of the driveway
Keith at Fish Creek on the way home from Missoula where we saw Hank 3 in concert 
We took Mia to The Island for some exercise a couple weeks ago on a gorgeous day
a few more photos on flickr

6 comments:

Chris said...

You take such beautiful photos, April.

I fear hard decisions with my big old dog too, who has a breathing problem that also paralyzes his back legs if he gets excited at all. Just the enthusiasm to go out for a walk makes him about unable to walk. It's rough when they start getting old. . . .

April said...

Oh, thanks. I appreciate that. Haven't been into photography much lately. But sometimes I get the urge.
Your poor pup! They want to keep going but their bodies are wearing out. It's a lesson maybe.

stephen said...

I hope you two are well. There's a new building going up in NW PDX (near Thurman) which will have 56 apartments of 200 sq.ft each. Common kitchen and bathroom. 4 storeys on a single-family lot.

Lazlo is still a handsome fellow....the white muzzle is distinguishing. My old black lab had a totally white face before she left.

They're saying we're in for a cold n snowy winter, if you believe the forecasters anymore.

Be well!

Anonymous said...

More info on the heater please! I haven't seen one like that.

April said...

Steve, I saw that on Oregonlive. Interesting! Thanks for dropping in and saying hi. :)

April said...

Elizabeth - the brand is Envi.
www.envi-heat.com
So far we really like ours. No hard #s about energy savings since we don't have a meter at our house, but it's working well for us - even though the sq. ft. recommendation is smaller than our space.