Reasons why lately I have been a bad blogger...

1. I went out of town unexpectedly last week to attend my Grandmothers funeral.

2. I left my camera in Utah :( but happily I think I will get it back tomorrow.

3. We have finally started harvesting grapes which means that there is lots of extra work to do and lots of overtime.

4. I have been slightly stressed out by certain job changes (I may or may not be employed January 1st).

Reasons why right now is pretty great:

1. Harvest is fun. 2. Its getting cold which means lots of bundling up and wearing big cozy things. 3. Change can be exciting. 4. I am reading a book that I bought at Goodwill, I cant remember what its called but its about magic and its very fun. 5. In Utah I got to see all sorts of cousins and family members I haven't seen in years. 6. The view of the vineyard in the morning. 7. Sweet and creamy coffee. 8. M will be home tonight.

How have you all been??

the last couple days have included:

the realization that coffee really does cheer me up

finally getting to do laundry

a bit of shopping

enjoying the mountains

a Harry Potter midnight showing (I was not disappointed :)

thinking about the future

being happy I know some household repair basics

practicing being mindful

looking forward to home

hope you all

have a lovely

weekend

what my week has looked like

leaving Oregon

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Utah
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moving day
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and lots and lots of painting.

The rest of this week

will hold unpacking,

some favorite restauraunts,

and hopefully sleeping in.

Hope you are all having

a great week!

white Christmas

the night before Christmas eve we stayed in Wolf Creek near Ogden Utah.

There were some beautiful views.

Happy Christmas!

hunting for geodes

One of the things we did on this last long weekend was go digging in the desert for geodes.

We drove quite a ways into the middle of nowhere and then dug some holes.

And this is some of what we found:

And then we washed them and they became this:

I might take some to rock shop to see if they can be cut smooth and polished. Or I could leave them in their unfished, earthly form.

Either way a couple of these babies are gonna make a really cool set of bookends.

what I did in Utah

Adored the mountains
Snapped lots of photos out of car windows as we zoomed past
Saw and felt connected to lots of family
Had dinner with one of my oldest and dearest friends
Had lots of good talks with my sister
Ate A LOT
Attended a funeral
Attended a wedding
Saw almost every family member I have (minus a few cousins who couldn’t make it) on both sides of the family
Adored the scenery and the amazing world around me
Was reminded of how happy I am to be alive and of the kind of life I want to live

the wedding

Quite in contrast to yesterday, today was my aunts wedding (other side of the family).

It was lovely. She was so happy and clearly in love.

I am so happy for them both and its always a bit inspiring to see two people so full of hope

and excited to just be together,

no matter their ages.

It kindof renews the faith a bit.

It was a happy occasion indeed.

the sky tonight in Utah

On another note:

I also would like to say thank you to all who read this.

I have always loved writing but assumed that no one else would every care to read it. It’s just wonderful to know that at least a few people do. I really enjoy it. It’s become a favorite part of my little life, so thank you all for being a part of it.