Stream of Consciousness Saturday, cel-

Per Linda:Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “starts with or contains ‘cel.’” Find a word that begins with or contains “cel” and use it in your post any way you’d like. Have fun!

Cellphone ready. While others share the cellular leaf changes resulting in reds and gold’s, here in the Oregon Outback, in a high desert town called Christmas Valley we skip Spring and Fall and move from Summer to Santa’s Winter.

Poor Kali can’t go out and play. It’s so deep she wouldn’t be able to move.

Well, it’s beautiful! Celebrate!

It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas Valley!

Happy Christmas Eve, Eve. Be glad for indoor plumbing.

See those footprints? Yeah. Kali wishes she wasn’t the only one who uses outside.

But she uses Dad’s chair more than Dad! Much contemplating on coming back as a cat or human.

From my dog and house to yours with love!

My Kind of Monday

I have to admit to getting the blues from Facebook and my cloud-sharing memories. Since we moved to Christmas Valley, we have enjoyed the snow.❄️It flurried on Halloween. We looked the Hallmark Thanksgiving with snow on the proper day. Then there had been my birthday snow. A kindness that didn’t show the birthday that my daughter and partner brought Kali to me. (Wow, four years ago.) And Christmas never disappointed. Hallmark wished they knew Christmas Valley!

Then last year, as if isolation wasn’t enough, the snow was stingy. This year it seemed almost as wrong. But on my birthday I got flurries. 😁

Yesterday, I decided to try my Diamond Painting. My friend sent me a Doctor Who. So I spent the day transferring the gems to the organizers. I had Pandora on the Bing Crosby Christmas music and Audible playing Les Miserables.

My brother heard the Christmas music playing, ‘Let It Snow’ 🌨️ and decided it was time to put up the trees. Knowing Rosey will be tearing it down as often as gravity demands, it is what it is today. Sorry. I’ll try to take a nighttime picture.

Notice outside? Yep! That is what gave us the energy.

SNOW!

It’s windy now, but another batch of snow is on its way!

Yay!

🌨️

❄️

What is wrong with this picture? No mailboxes on homes in Christmas Valley. Drive (or walk as we used to before the truck) 7miles to the post office.

Bus Ride

Well, today was fun and different. My honey and I got to go to the senior lunch in the little town of Summerlake. Town? Well, maybe smaller than a hamlet. It is only half an hour from our place, and it is beautiful. The ride itself is gorgeous.

Though this isn’t our bus. It is similar. We have a couple little busses like this to give rides to “town” an hour and a half to two hours from here for doctor appointments or grocery shopping. These busses are for seniors or the poor or disabled. Our town is small and comes under the county rule. There is a lot of political garbage that goes on that seems to imply that Christmas Valley is nothing but the red-headed stepchild (cliche –I love red hair and stepchildren are valuable people!) that shouldn’t have the significant needs we have.

Still, we do have the busses, and many of us enjoy the driver and her husband and consider them our friends. They help the people getting on and off the bus. That care goes far beyond driving. Once, they even helped us get a television when ours gave out. They help with food and clothes for those in need when they can. Good people, ya, know? On the bus, they get the conversation started on the long rides and keep us all light and comfortable.

My own disability makes the rides so painful I rarely go. The seats have such little padding that every bump is jarring. I know I am not the only one that finds the ride painful. By the way, on other trips, our driver tried everything she could to help me get comfortable. That touched my heart. I have brought pillows and blankets and my coccyx cushion. But the ride is so long that I just can’t get comfortable.  I prefer to drive our truck when we can afford to take it. It seems our driver’s side is the softer of the two seats. Even still, I have to take pain relief and play my music loud to get past the bad roads our county doesn’t find it necessary to fix.

Ah, but I stray from the point. Today’s ride was bearable partly because of the company on the bus. (And did I mention it was a short trip?) Our driver was fun and kept the conversation going. The lunch itself was exceptional. I am the only vegetarian, and the team that set up the lunch made sure there was food just for me. Wow! I was so touched!

We didn’t know most of the people at this lunch. But everyone was friendly and fun. At the end of the lunch, when we thought we were going to get up and ride home, a guy got up and made a loud whistle. That got our attention. What a fun speaker, this character with a long beard. The bin held the items of his stories.

Okay, don’t judge. From this angle, I can see how it sounds a little hokey. But we do live in the country so…  The bin contained furs. The vegetarian in me just shuddered. But it was more like the informative campfire talks we used to go to on our family camping vacations. I loved those. I learned a lot about nature’s fauna and flora from those talks. Our speaker made it a bit of a contest as to who’s fur is this. He’d hold up the coat and treated us like he did the school kids where he did the same talks. There were stories included to keep it going. He was delightful, and it made a fun day even better.

Because this restaurant was so close, my pain levels weren’t nearly as high. It helped to get out and enjoy our beautiful scenery and camaraderie.

And when we got back, I got to go to my favorite place in town, the library. I renewed my card and turned in my knitted donations and yarn cakes. That was the icing on my day. I couldn’t say cake because they were yarn, you see?

The moon was shining in the backyard.

In the front yard.

 

I know all the fires contribute to the beauty. So it is a bittersweet scene.

Did I mention, I love the sunsets here!

1-Liner A-Z Plus!

Sorry. Thanks! Understand? Verbose?

 One-Liner Wednesday meets A to Z Challenge.

 

Okay, to explain the above line. Sorry it has been so long since I wrote here on the A to Z or otherwise.  After the long trip to town and back last week my back decided it hated me. I couldn’t find a comfortable place to type. I’m feeling a bit better now, thanks. Not ready to run any marathons–or walk any farther than the end of the driveway. I hope you understand. I hope that wasn’t too verbose.

But today I got out to take pics of the library, the surrounding golf course, and the lake. Here ya go!

This is from the parking lot. See the wheelchair ramp! And the bike rack?

Maybe you can see it better here.

 

There’s a nice shady spot at the end of the building with a picnic table and a view.

Kali made sure to walk the playground and golf course with her ‘uncle’. He makes sure Kali and I get out and enjoy the world.

There is also a playground and baseball diamond in this area and the park is not far from here, so nice grassy areas to enjoy.

The lake from two different angles.

 

Kali is happy she got out for a while.

And she earned her ‘cookie’!

 

Quack

After our walk today we decided to go for a drive around the lake. My son didn’t realize we had a lake so I had to prove it. It’s small but chocked full of ducks and geese. I was driving so I wasn’t able to take pictures.

 

Even better, we went to the library. My favorite place in town. My son is now official and has his own library card. No, he’s not 4. Add 41 years to that. But I believe you aren’t real until you have the local library card.

I really need to get out my cell phone and take my own pictures around here. This one is very old. It is so much cooler than this!

I’m on ‘Q’ on my A to Z challenge. Time to get some Quiet!

The Groundhog Was Right

Just when you thought it was safe to go into the water…

See the buried gas can?

Front porch

Front steps and where the ladder bridged that small stream.

Should have gotten out the ruler–I think it is about 3″ just since 4 AM.

So that was our wake up this morning. Kali loved it no need to carry her over the water. She ran around making trenches before settling on a new spot. Brother managed to get to work but came home within a couple hours.

As pretty as it was this morning, the wind is back with a vengeance. Clouds in the west are heading this way… probably rain. My rainboots come tomorrow–if the UPS guy can get over the coming creek!

Mariah Keeps Blowing

So this ark is still surrounded by more than a foot of water and snow. The wind is blowing in the next rain/snow storm. Here are some new pictures I took this morning.

See the red gas can (empty)? It used to be under the kitchen window. It is either the tide or the wind that carried it to the far east of our property. And you can still see lots of snow. In fact, we have to carry the dog to higher snow to do her business.

Anyone who would dare to come visit or even the poor UPS guy will have to walk on the ladder then to the bit of snow to get to the first step of our front porch. We are taking care of a poor stray cat and usually feed him under the front porch. But now have to feed on the steps. Somehow, he is getting to the food. But how he does it without swimming I can’t figure out.

I just ordered some knee-high rainboots. My brother has some and has been the main person to carry but when he goes back to work (which isn’t tomorrow as the whole town is going through this) I will be able to carry her out.

Though this place has the happy name of Christmas Valley, the county name is LAKE. Now I know why!