Cold!

Mark and I went into Portland Sunday.

It was COLD!  Can you tell by Mark's stance? He wanted me to take the picture quickly so we could get moving again.  And come to find out there was a power outage that morning in several blocks.

Mark and I love Portland.  I mean, how could you not love a city that dresses their statues?

Cari faces....

Cari was in an ad!  Here is a link to the video.  That's my girl!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_bSWebYWFA

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Mark and I ventured out yesterday to look for a Christmas tree.

We didn't find one we liked (at the places we went they only had big ole trees, and we wanted a four foot tree or such), but we did take some Christmas pictures, and Mark bought me a poinsettia.

Al's Garden Center had some amazing poinsettias, and it was hard to decided which style I wanted.

One of the varieties was a pink flower and I went with that (yes, the plant in my hand is really a bright pink).  But the more I think about it the more I want to go back and get a couple more.  They were so beautiful.  And the really HUGE plants are sending me wave lengths to come back and take one home.  But I have to admit a really huge poinsettia will probably not make it's way here.

 

It was a fun day.  A cold day, but fun.  I love the holidays!!

Portland Revels

Wow, I only have two more weeks of working at Hands On Greater Portland. Where did the time go?

Each week I've volunteered at a different non-profit.  This last week I volunteered to help set up for the Portland Revels.  Portland Revels celebrates the seasons through song, dance, story and ritual of the past and present, creating community across generations and cultures. 

My friend Capi and I have gone to a couple of performances, and so the chance to help set up appealed to me.  We basically spent all day Thursday setting up the gift shop, food table, will call, and volunteer check in tables.  Their storage area is across the street, so lots of going back and forth.  Thank goodness traffic was light!

This is a mock up of the stage. 

I will be an usher one night next week, and I'll see the performance that night.

I really enjoyed meeting the folks that run this, and the other volunteers.

One of my favorite work days ever!

For the love of a wog.

Sometimes we still find ourselves looking for Deacon when we get home.

Or Wog, as Mark called him. 

Or when some food falls on the floor I've found myself calling out for our living vacuum cleaner to come take care of the problem. Unless it's chicken or hamburger Lire is not interested.

Deacon's Dr. touched our hearts by making a donation to the Oregon State Vet School in Deacon's honor.

Dr. Christensen is a kind man, and his staff are supportive and friendly.

I'm so thankful there are people who are willing to do a job to help folks at a time like this.

Deacon went very gently and we will always take our pets to these wonderful people.

Go TIgard!

We had our last game at Forrest Grove.  They are going to a different league and so we won't play them any longer.  I went along for old times sake.  Here Mark (on the left) hangs out on the sideline with the other coaches during the game.

 

Tigard won, so that was a great way for us to end our time with our Forrest Grove friends.

Thanks to them for all the memories throughout the year.

Oregon Humane Society

Wednesday my workday was spent at the Oregon Humane Society.

I was taking part in socializing dogs and cats, to help with their efforts to be adopted.

We first had a short introduction to the organization.

Our team leader was kind and informative.

This young man was very quiet during the class and the tour,

but he was extremely animated when spending time with the animals.

This is where I met my new friend, Shiloh.

"Say Hello Shiloh!"

He was very nervous at first,

but we hit it off right away and he seemed to enjoy himself.

After hanging out with Shiloh I then spent some time with a few cats.

It was a great experience, and I'm looking forward to the next time.