At this very moment I am in watching my mother-in-law decorate their Christmas tree, I am eating five red and green M&Ms (yes, just five), my hands are numb (par for the course at their house, or in Oregon, for that matter), I am listening to one of Eric Daub’s Christmas CDs, and Kabob and I are heading out for a date in just a few hours. Yesiree, life’s pretty good right about now.

We took Chickpea to the park yesterday, and while Eugene probably has one park for every 20 in Austin, this park was darn cool, if I say so myself. So cool, in fact, that has soon as we pulled into the parking lot, Chickpea recognized it as the very park her daddy took her to a few weeks ago, and she started squirming with delight. I think I heard the phrase “Wow! Park! Fun! Play! Yay!” no less than five times before the car stopped. She escaped as soon as those pesky carseat buckles let her, and she ran nonstop for 20 minutes, when I had to carry her away in my arms. My numb arms, I should say, because my dear goodness, it was COLD. Crazy cold. Too cold to be outside watching toddlers run around, in my opinion. We went because the weathermen on TV said it would be “clear and sunny,” which – for you southerners, in case you ever visit the Pacific Northwest – does NOT mean warm. It means not raining. Because it wasn’t raining, but it was a balmy 40 degrees. There were parents there in shorts – I kid you not. It was weather that, in Austin, would keep us inside next to a fire with a board game. In Eugene, it’s time to shed those layers and run on the ice-tipped grass.

So… This is a roundabout way of telling you that I’ve finally uploaded some new photos, which include those we took at the park. I haven’t posted photos in awhile for three reasons: 1. we just haven’t taken that many since we arrived in Oregon – sorta like our “vacation” time ended and work began, 2. those that we have taken haven’t been very good (you’ll see what I mean), and 3. I’ve been lazy, plain and simple. Our computer’s been on the slow side lately, which might mean an “emergency” trip to the Mac Store in Portland, wherein we might need to “inconveniently” take a day trip and enjoy my favorite Oregon city. Ahem.

Hope you’re all having a relaxing, Christmastime kind of Sunday.  I’m off to dinner and a movie with the Man I Love.

posted: 06 December 3
under: family