Halloween fun

Pumpkin Carving

Choosing a face for her pumpkin

Trunk or Treat Party - the San Francisco 5th/Samoan Ward invited us to join with them again. there were lots of visitors so it was pretty huge, and held a real sense of community. They showed movies, we contributed snacks and a spook house, and they provided pizza, chili, nachos, more snacks, coco rice and prizes for the costume contests. The main event of trunk or treating happened just as the sun was setting. 

Samantha bought me these leggings which made the perfect costume!

Don't know how I got the double exposure, or whatever it is, above, but look at how the 4 kids closest to the camera are really just 2 kids!

Potions class at school

Last year my family threw me a Harry Potter birthday party. We had leftovers from our "potions class" and so I took them to school and let the 6-8th graders make and take some home. Well, I overheard the 5th graders, who were working with another teacher, ask how come the big kids got to do fun things. It was flattering, but made me feel bad. Now those kids are in the 6th grade with me, so I did a whole potions class for them. They enjoyed it so much, and were sincerely happy and grateful. Did my heart good! 

Lots of Harry Potter listening during our work-day commute, and lots of Halloween movies in the evening.

I'm not so sure I am ready for this fun month and holiday to end. In fact, maybe it won't until I get pics of all my grandkids in their costumes from across the miles! On the other hand, I am so looking forward to November!

2023 Primary Program

 Well, the weekend is finally here - that of our annual Primary Sacrament Meeting Program. The kids at church have been working long and hard, learning more than a dozen songs to sing and stories to share for this Program, all about Jesus. It's been an exhausting, but fun journey for them, and myself. We have had quite a bit of turnover in adult help along the way, but just a few weeks before the program we were finally "fully staffed" you might say, with enough adults to successfully put it all together. And, of course, I want to give a big shout out to Reggie for his moral support and listening ear all year long, and for his help with the activity yesterday. 

And . . . another big shout out to our Dobbins family for coming to help with the program!  We are a small primary group already, but then some kids couldn't make it. We had some adults set to read their parts (I didn't want to skip the talks because they were stories about Jesus life that went along with the songs) but then they couldn't make it either (unexpected surgery). So the Dobbins came for the weekend and their oldest 3 filled in for the speaking parts, and helped with the singing. It was wonderful, and I think they had fun as well. 

We had a larger than usual congregation, with lots of family of the children visiting. We passed out lyric-sheets and had the congregation join in on 3 of the songs. You could absolutely feel the spirit and the love the whole congregation has for these children.

After Sacrament Meeting we had an especially fun Primary hour. The Bishopric came in and had donuts with the kids, our Primary secretary, who is moving, made them all leis, and we had stories for the lesson. For some reason I was able to get these pictures loaded onto the computer, which gives just a glimpse into the wonderful weekend it was.

gentle light

 I really planned on sleeping in this Saturday morning, just because I knew I could. It's going to be a busy day, but not one that necessitates my getting up early - which is a rare treat. But either my body, or my mind, just wasn't having it and I was wide awake before dawn. I couldn't decide whether to fight it or not, but then came up with a good compromise. I opened the curtains, to a full moon, and decided to lay in bed with that gentle light coming through the window. I told myself to stay there through the gentle light of the sunrise. I am very happy and content that I did.  And hurray for the possibility of a power nap later on  today!

I've been thinking a lot about my parents lately because my Aunt Bonnie is currently at home, bed bound, with only a few weeks left to live. My cousin Kelye is sharing their journey on facebook which I so appreciate. I think about them every day. I know what they are going through. I have messaged Kelye with a few tips of what helped me endure that difficult and priceless time of life and death.

But - just as I couldn't stay in bed, I can't stay in those memories. I still cry often because of those experiences with my parents, and because of missing them. But as some songs and poems say, I've got miles to go and a lot of living to do. My parents certainly were busy, lively, productive people in their late 50s and hopefully so am I. 

So Happy Saturday, Happy Autumn, Happy October, Happy Halloween on the horizon and more Happy Holidays in the near future!

From Robert Frost's poem "stopping by woods on a snowy evening":

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep."

One of my favorite songs celebrating that gentle light of the moon, which I probably share just about every autumn!

Spooky Old Lodge

For our Crater Lake trip we stayed one night at The Crater Lake Lodge, in the park.  It was especially fun to do this during the Halloween season because it had such an old, classic, comfy but almost spooky atmosphere.  Built in the early 1900s, this lodge was re-furbished in the 1980s. However, they tried to keep the look and feel of a classic building. You could see this in the decor, windows, walls, hallways and amenities. I must admit, it did feel strange to not have a tv or thermostat in the room. They must have had a central switch for the entire hotel. 

What I really loved was the lobby which consisted of 2 huge, roaring fireplaces and big comfy chairs and couches.

Best of all was the sitting area on the back perimeter of the hotel, overlooking the lake. It was beautiful during the day, but even more so at night.  Reggie did some stargazing by himself while I went back to the room. When he got back he described it to me while we got ready for bed. As we laid there, all warm and comfy, he told me he’d go back downstairs with me if I wanted to see the stars. I decided yes, so we went down and outside, and I was shocked - it was so much more than I ever could have imaged and more than he could have ever described. I’ve never seen such a starry sky! We sat in the chairs, all wrapped up in coats and blankets and watched for a while. The lobby was mostly empty, but I think it just stays open all night, with access to the chairs outside and the roaring fires inside, and someone at the desk to offer help, if needed.

The view from the chairs

A small walkway below the sitting area

You could feel the end of the season with the nip in the air, and the lodge preparing to close up, or “hibernate” until late next spring.  I’m so glad we did this! And I am so grateful to Reggie for how hard he works and how much he goes through with the ins and outs of traveling for business that makes all of this possible for us.

Crater Lake

 To tell the truth, I hadn't expected it to be so beautiful - which is ridiculous - of course it was beautiful!  But something about it only being fed by rain and snow, and the fact that it is literally the top of a volcano is just so amazing - and the still-blue is indescribable. 

Though the national park is open all year long - and I've seen some beautiful pictures of it in winter - some of the "things to do" closed down for the season a few weeks before we arrived. I hope we go again someday when the boat ride across the lake is available.  

Driving around the rim of the lake gave many different views. The ones below show a small island in the middle that looks like a phantom ship.

There were many hikes we were interested in, but only had time to do two, in the late afternoon. As if they weren't peaceful and beautiful enough, we were treated to the most amazing sunset on the opposite side of the lake!

Colombia River Gorge

 Reggie has been to Oregon a few times this year and had some waterfall areas to suggest along the Columbia River. It was such a BEAUTIFUL view driving past the huge/wide river. I don't know why I hadn't heard of this river before.

 Our first stop was Horsetail Falls I just loved it, because the bottom just looked like one of those pools in movies where people go swimming under a waterfall. No-one was swimming here, and it was just so peaceful.

Our next intended-stop was not possible. Multnomah Falls looked beautiful, but there was absolutely no parking. Thankfully we had time to go back Monday morning, before our afternoon flight, and found parking. What a beautiful area!

We also went to a lookout house along the Gorge which offered beautiful views and a nice gift shop,  where I was able to do some Christmas shopping. 

And finally, though I am blogging out-of-order, our 4 hour drive to Crater Lake National Park took us past an Old, Covered Bridge. We stopped for a short walk, and enjoyed the atmosphere and reading about the history of this place.