Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Better late than never! I guess I've taken a Christmas break, of sorts, from the blog. For more pictures check our our winkflash link below...

http://jasoncaroline.winkflash.com/

Rynn and a neighborhood snowman- first snow in Portland on Christmas in 70 years.

Nana is here!

Jason learns to knit AND completes a scarf.

Grammy and Pops are here for Christmas!

Pops in rare form

Our friend Anna gets attacked by some floor monkeys.

Breakfast out with Nana


a visit to the Parkers

Hope Presbyterian's Advent Service

Thank you to all our friends and family who prayed for Hope Presbyterian's first Advent Service. It was a wonderful evening with many more people than we expected! Gathering together outside of our homes with music, the Lord's Supper, and a sermon was exciting and gave us hope (no pun intended) for things to come.

Muscians practicing...

Rynn eyes Anna Roach on the way downstairs to the kids program led by singer/songwriter Dana Dirksen.

The whole family- caught on camera!!

Our own Chef Berkeley of Sydney's Cafe prepares some savory treats for after the service.


Is that a heavenly glow over Pat and Jason's heads?

Sugar (Mary Roach) and Spice (you know who) -the bow in her hair lasted about 30 seconds.

Light Shines in the Darkness

Running through our neighborhood this morning I found my thoughts drifting toward the subject of light. I found myself anxiously awaiting December 21st, the Winter's Solstice, when the days will no longer be getting darker but rather bringing a few more moments of light with each one. I've never really been aware of the Winter's Solstice, or cared enough to wait for its arrival, until moving to Portland. Living here I have felt the dimming light of the winter days. I've watched the sun desperately try to peek its head above our next door neighbor's roof as it makes its low arc across the southern window of our house. I've felt the sleepiness that three o'clock brings as though it were almost time to prepare for bed. Running and watching the sun struggle to rise only to stop short of its summer height, I began to feel a physical yearning for light and an excitement that the Solstice was not far away. And then I thought about Christmas, and how appropriate it suddenly seemed that the season of Winter's Solstice, in which the return of light is celebrated, was chosen by the church to remember and celebrate God entering the world in human flesh- light piercing the darkness. In Genesis 1 God pierces "the darkness that was over the face of the deep" with the words "Let there be light." The promise of the coming Savior, the hope of all men, is fulfilled as John records in his Gospel, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made..in Him was life, and the life was the LIGHT of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:1-5). Israel yearned for their Savior. The church now yearns for his return when "night will be no more. They will need no lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light" (Rev. 22:5). We celebrate the Word being made flesh and dwelling among us. Light shining in the darkness. This is our hope.

And for any of you out there looking for Christmas present ideas...a sun lamp might be a nice choice.

Houses (Gingerbread, that is) and Headlines

Jason as the ghost of Christmas Past

(No, he hasn't left the ministry for a traveling actor's guild, but rather he is just sporting his new kayaking fleece changing dress-made by the ever so talented Oma- so he can strip off his wet undies by the river and no one will see his bum)

Are you sure these aren't for eating, Daddy?
Life in the Little clan has been full this week. Fortunately, I found a quick moment to read the front page of our Sunday paper, The Oregonian, where I found great enlightenment from the following FRONTPAGE headline. No joke.

KILLERS HOOKED ON CROCHETING AS 'SMALL PART' OF ATONEMENT...Convicted killers in state prisons find meaning in a plastic crochet hook. "This is just a small part of not being a jerk my whole life," says Rivas, who is serving a life sentence for killing an ice cream man. And later in the article, "I've taken from society," says Holloway who murdered three men, "this is my effort to give back. It's good to know I'm balancing the scales a little bit."

Did you know a crochet hook could wield such power? And they say Knitting is Knotty...

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Price of:

Three gallons of gas to drive to Mollala, OR to pick up a stranded Jason: $9.45

Two MacDonald's Happy Meals along the way: $6

One TEN FOOT tall Noble Fir: $35

Chance to make fun of Jason for dropping his car keys into a whitewater river: Priceless

A tired mommy. A tired, grumpy two year old who finally falls asleep. The feeling of relief as silence descends upon the house and I can sit with my cup of tea and new found knitting hobby. The dread as the phone rings, and Jason says, "uh, caroline, can you, uh, come get me down here in Mollala? My keys fell out of a hole in my pocket while portaging my kayak around this really nasty strainer."

"Are you kidding?, " I reply in disbelief. "Wake up Eleanor, pick up Rynn, and drive down to get you?." I mean, how far does a wife's love go??? After gathering my thoughts, I realized that Jason could indeed wait a few hours for Eleanor to wake up, for Rynn to finish her school day, and for us to make the journey down to retrieve our wet river rat. As mild irritation brewed to the surface it occured to me, "Hey, why not turn this into an adventure and get our Christmas tree!." Oregon, after all, is the birthplace for most of the nation's Christmas trees. So, it was with great excitement that we stopped on the side of the road and bought a TEN foot tall tree for a mere $35 from a kind man with no teeth. There are some advantages to living in an evergreen state....and to losing your keys in whitewater.

Knitting is Knotty

I am woefully not crafty. I can't make things. Or perhaps it isn't that I can't make things, it is just that I can always find something else that might take my time. So, I was a bit timid when I was asked to join the "Craft Summit," a gathering of six incredibly talented women to work on their various crafts at the Oregon coast. Laurie (see October's entry Green) convinced me that I was not hopeless, and that even I could learn to knit. So, two days, several glasses of wine, lots of relaxing, coffee, and food later I can proudly boast ten knit rows (haven't learned to pearl yet) of my first ever scarf. And despite the knots, the curses, and my ten thumbs I left quite inspired. Perhaps it was watching hurricane strength winds blow the waves of the Pacific, perhaps it was being around such creative, smart, dynamic, and interesting women, perhaps it was conquering my knit stitch that left me inspired. I now know all the best thrift stores in Portland, that it really is better to reuse and recycle, and that there are some incredible people who have chosen this damp, mossy place to call home. One of the things I really love about Portland is that it has some soul, that people would rather have that thrill of discovery at the thrift store than go to the mall (I admit, I haven't been so Portlandized as to not enjoy a mall trip!), that they would rather buy something handmade and local, and that there are people who believe that even me can learn to knit. Which, let's be honest, is a great leap of faith. Enjoy the pics of where we stayed, the view from the window when the sun came out for two minutes, and follow the links below to see some fellow crafters wares.

view from the loft...crafters at work...

Christina's site for cool things (purses, bibs, scarves..)

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5018174&order=&section_id=&page=1

Shannon's metal jewelry..

www.indievolve.com/metal

Jessica's jewelry..

http://www.jewelrybyjessica.com/

Laurie (organizer extraordinaire) working on her quilt.

Waiting for chocolate chip cookies? No...that was later. These anxious crafters were watching Jessica 'bake' her jewelry in the oven.

Let the Season Begin...

Did I miss something? Am I late on Christmas? Did it somehow sneak up on anyone else this year? With a solid week left of November our neighborhood is already ablaze with Christmas lights. Taking my trash out this evening I watched my neighbors struggling in the rain to illuminate a light filled reindeer. Perhaps it is the darkness here which settles heavily by 4:30pm that draws Portlanders to lights- lots of lights. Illuminated reindeer, rainbow lights, and houses neatly trimmed in white lights all seem to defy Portland's self righteous environmentalism. It is though all blue state moralism is suspended for just a few weeks so that maybe we can believe in something, something brighter than the early darkness and holiday bustle.

So, it was no surprise when Rynn and Eleanor began begging for our own Christmas lights and stockings to be hung. Dragging my feet, hoping to at least make it to December, I was thrilled when a box from Nana arrived today with a Fisher-Price Nativity set inside. We played on the floor for over an hour reading the Nativity story and playing with plastic camels and a baby Jesus. We had all the lights in the house turned off so they could see the star light turn on and hear Away in a Manger when we pressed the angel. I guess I could say I'm in the spirit. So...let it begin. Fa la la la la la la la la.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving in Eugene with the Parkers...

Rynn wrestles with Uncle Kyle and LOVES it!

Brotherly and Sisterly Love and Gretchen sporting her Indian Princess Headress

Aunt Caroline getting attacked by Jack, Rynn, and Molly

An Indian Headress "Cat Dance"

Rynn and "Jackie" (as Rynn kept calling him) bonding over a little football.


Waiting for Aunt Gretchen's French Toast

Watching the Macy's Parade with Daddy...I think Jason has some chips in his teeth :)

Molly says, "WHY?"


And the quote of the day...in response to Aunt Gretchen's comment, "Eleanor, you are so tiny," Eleanor says, "I'm not tiny. I know 'cause I saw my shadow, and it is really BIG."

Arch Cape, OR

Buyers. Sellers. Home prices. Not usually words that conjure up happy thoughts, good relationships, much less friendship. One of the great and wonderful surprises of our life here in Oregon is our new friendship with Lenny and Farooq, the former owners of our home on 55th Ave. Little did we know back in August as we negotiated with those faceless "sellers" that three months later we would be spending a weekend with them and a few of their friends in an absolutely amazing beach house hanging on the edge of Oregon's stunning coast.

An hour and a half from Portland lies some of the most spectacular and majestic scenery I have ever seen. Unfortunately, I left the memory card to my camera at home and missed out on a million photo opportunities, so you'll have to use your imagination and hopefully a million words can come close to being worth a picture. Just as my hike in the Columbia River Gorge left me with an overwhelming sense of being washed in green, our trip to the coast left me enveloped in gray. Even though the dark greens of the giant evergreens boldly assert themselves right up to the water and the mighty power of the Pacific ocean continually pounds a rocky coast, the landscape is quietly subdued in a gray both peaceful and beautiful. Walking down the short rocky path to the ocean I felt lost in an antique black and white photo in which all color is translated into a language of blacks, whites, shadows, light, and contrast. Eleanor's hair twisted and turned as the wind wrapped her curls around its finger. Rynn's bright pink bucket seemed oddly out of place in this world of subtle grays. Cliffs rose up beside and behind us as we listened to the sea pull the rocky shore pebbles back into its churning waters. With the sound of a child dropping marbles down a wooden staircase the rocks helplessly slid back into the ocean as the churning foam rhythmically pulled them back to itself. Huge statues of rocks stood proudly in the ocean unaffected by the persistant waves competing for more and more dramatic ocean sprays. I felt so small in this landscape, and yet I found it both powerful and quietly soothing at the same time. Even the architecture on the Oregon coast seems to be quieted by the power and majestic beauty of its foundation as though an ostentatious and colorful beach mansion would only look foolishly proud against such greater beauty. The homes are a gray clapboard with tidy white trim, similar to the ones I saw in Nantucket, nestled under windblown trees or behind a hedge of twisted dunes. The house, which was the home of Lenny and Farooq's realtor, was filled with windows making it feel like we were one wave shy of being soaking wet. The kids, four of them, had fun playing together, and yes, I missed a million awesome photo ops. The picture above is pillaged from the web and gives an idea of what Arch Cape looks like. And if you haven't ever seen the Oregon coast....COME VISIT.

Birthdays, Barbershops, and Baghdad

Hair. Must be talked about, stewed upon, and agonized over. I've worn my husband out with my hair woes, agonies, and desires for opinions, so now I must blog. Hair in Portland takes on a whole new personality. What you think you've done to it at home you can pretty much forget about it when you walk out into what is affectionately known as the "Oregon dew." In my case, it curls. So, for the last five years the nice, tidy stacked bob I've sported is now becoming more of a poof head tragedy. In light of this I've decided to grow it out. So far, this has been a painful process. Without enough hair for a ponytail and not little enough for a short styled cut I'm left in hair limbo agonizing over how to handle this new found CURLY hair that asserts itself despite my best intentions. So, with dreams of long wavy brown locks I persevere. Any encouragements? Hair stories or woes? For the sake of my marriage I must find an outlet. Hair. Hair. Hair. Oh, so back to those long wavy brown locks. I decided yesterday that what better way to celebrate my birthday (Yes, 33 years, scary) than to get a trim. I had what turned out to be quite a cool hair experience. I went to Rudy's Barbershop (check it out @ http://www.rudysbarbershop.com/), and got a wannabe comedian/writer cut my hair for half the price I usually pay. Turns out he used to cut hair for $175 in LA. He was awesome. So, with Camel cigarettes and candy bars behind the counter Rudy's has a unique West Coast 'hipster' feel. Mike, my barber (or more accurately stylist), told me fantastic stories about his life in LA. The best one was his account of the "AIR CUT." Haven't heard of it? Nor had I, but then I've never lived in LA. Apparently, the AIR CUT is for women who are convinced they need a haircut- even if it has only been two weeks- and demand that the stylist cut their hair to "freshen it up." So, for $175 the stylist will fake a haircut by pulling the hair and doing some dramatic snip, snip with his scissors. Crazy. So Mike and I began pontificating on beauty and what sort of delusions folks will stir up in order to convince themselves they have it. Caroline, long hair? Perhaps I, too, am deluded. Time and humidity will tell.

So, my birthday celebration continued with a coveted night out with Jason. We saw a great movie which I recommend (very intense and sad, though) called The Valley of Elah. Part of what made the movie fun was seeing it at the Baghdad theater, a renovated 1920's theater that lets you eat and drink beer while you watch a $3 movie. Check it out at http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=9&id=176.

So, happy birthday to me and here's to long hair :).