weekends at the coast

In the last two weeks I have spent two great weekends at the coast. With good friends, clear skies, amazing food, and walks on the beach. Its been nice.

Now its time to start wrapping Christmas gifts. ;)

xo

a walk through the woods

Mushroom hunting.

This weekend M and I took an hour or two to wander through the lovely Oregon coast woods. The rains have started, but its not too cold.

It was a nice weekend, though it went too quickly, and I am finally really feeling ready for fall (but I am NOT quite ready to put away my flip flops yet... :)

weekend

I had a lovely weekend spent partly at the coast and partly at home spending time with M, listening to the waves, and flying a kite we found in the grass on our walk to the ocean.

Hope yours was fantastic! xo

weekending at the coast

It was unusually and fantastically warm for one day last weekend at the Oregon Coast, and I just happened to be there on that day. It was wonderful. We went to a great little local place for lunch, napped on the beach and hung out with some of M's new work friends.

I also was lucky enough to get to accompany him to work that night, which entailed being on a boat in a river from about 9pm to 5am catching, tagging and releasing fish. I of course had never done anything like that before and had a great time.

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend.

~S

lava lake and some glorious green

This weekend we went camping near Sisters Oregon. Saw the Metolius River (it begins seemingly out of no where, from the side of a hill - it isn't there and then it is. Its lovely and intriguing), helped a stranger and his car out of a ditch, slept amazingly well in the back of a van and explored the most amazing meadow I have seen in a very long time.

I took a nap in the soft grass and we swam in the (very) cold water.

We walked and walked from one end to the other and back again.

I read while he fished.

I felt more connected to the world around me then I had in a long while. It was fantastic.

I hope your weekends were just what you needed them to be.

home and a smattering of green thoughts

Well, here I am, home again after only a few days away. But even though it wasn't long this trip did a few things for me.

First being anywhere else makes me really, really appreciate here, and all the people and things I have here. A couple of months ago I was sort of presented with an opportunity and a reason to move away if I wanted to. Being faced suddenly with the idea that moving was a real, current option, it became incredibly clear to me that I don't want to leave.

And after a taste of California dessert (and oh was it a lovely taste), the Oregon green was a much needed gulp of water.

Growth wise, the vineyards in Napa were about a month ahead of ours here in Oregon. So in that way it almost felt like a glimpse into our future.

I got to see where we will be, to see some of the troubles they have had and take note of ways to avoid those problems. It was like those plants were warning us of wrong turns and gently encouraging us to go in a better direction.

I have also been having thoughts on hope. About how much we all need it, even when a hoped for thing seems unlikely or unrealistic. Maybe that is when we need it the most. Even when hope seems downright silly.

Having hope in this world is an act of bravery.

And, I think, a safe bet.

Another thought. Sometimes it feels easier to be alone.

And now suddenly I find myself not at all alone. At first I bask in it. Soak it all in. Enjoy it fully. And then I start to notice a lack of balance. I see important things being neglected, not because I don't care, but because I cant seem to turn away from the togetherness.

I begin to miss the comfort of solitude. The safety of it. Of not having to ask for so much from another person, but instead knowing that I can provide what I need myself. I find joy in creating, joy in nature. I alone decide where I spend my time and money. I love and need my friends and family, but there is another level of need that I alone fulfil.

I feel and think these things and a part of me wants to turn and run. To return to this way of being that is comfortable, that I know I can do.

But I don't.

Instead of running I allow myself to be pulled by some force of the universe towards this other person. I keep my eyes open and allow myself to move freely with it.

Because it might sometimes feel easier to be alone, but its not.

Its not easier and its certainly not better.

I don't know exactly what I want to say, or if I have said it. But whatever it is is asking to be said, and so I hope that my attempt will be enough for now.

Happy Thursday birds.

I hope the sun is shining where you are.

a really amazing weekend to start the summer

Last weekend I took Friday off work and spent Thursday and Friday night at an amazing beach house in Cape Mead Oregon. The weather was absolutely perfect, the beach was amazing and the company was wonderful.

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The house was just lovely. Rustic and comfy and stocked with all the essentials.

the view

This amazing stained glass window was hand made for the house when it was built. It's just lovely.

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Then on Saturday I got to meet up with my sister in law and 6 nieces and nephews who I hadn't seen in a long time. It was amazing to see them and starting now I am going to make sure I do it more often.

We went to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, and let me just tell you if you are a cheese lover this is a wonderful place to be, then drove up to Seaside and played at the beach for a few hours before I ran home to attend a birthday dinner.

How were your weekends dears??

soul soothing

I had been craving a trip to the ocean, so over the weekend I took a drive to the coast. It was lovely and hardly rained on me at all. Something about those waves and wind shaped trees just soothes the soul.

a mini journey