Two Thousand Eight

A new year filled with good health, world peace, and lots of laughter to ye!

Today has been a quiet beginning to a new year. I felt like sleeping instead of doing anything today. My alarm went off at 6; then at 7; finally got up around 8. Took the first cup of coffee out for a walk with Blue. It was 39 degrees, but SO windy it felt really, really cold. There's still snow on the ground. We haven't seen any deer since hunting season and I've been worried about them. But today we saw their tracks. I'm glad they're here. Also tracks from a really big racoon, I think. Cute little hands and feet with long toes went from the back birdfeeder half way down through the pasture. H-m-m. I'll have to check with Mr. Beachy. The tracks ended right about his house.

I made an attempt to write my Christmas cards out, but only finished one. I've been working on a couple paintings, but I'm not pleased with them. I thought I'd work on one of them a little more before pitching it, but I never got out the paints. I did start 3 more mouse houses! It's an obsession. I love thinking up the little tiny things a mouse might need in his house.

We did go somewhere new for new year's mass. Blue and I drove up to Kalama, Washington which is up the highway two towns. The parish I go to sometimes in Woodland has a church in Kalama, too. Same priest. Later mass. I'd been past there along the highway, but never into the town. It reminded me so much of Mount Adams in Cincinnati. The little church, St. Joseph's, is a miniature of Immaculata. It sits at the top of a hill, lots of steps winding up to the front door. The view from there was amazing. Just like Immaculata looks out over the Ohio, this little church looks out over the Columbia River at a point where you can see the river curving up into the mountains.

In my mind,Oregon looks like a rectangle and the Columbia River goes straight across the top of Oregon to the Pacific. But it really doesn't go straight across. At Portland, the river turns right (North) for maybe 50 miles, then turns left (West again) until it gets to the ocean. When I drive to the farm, I drive North to La Center, and really I'm driving parallel to the Columbia River, but that's easy to forget because at this point the highway is more inland. After La Center comes Woodland. There's still a port in Woodland and the Lewis River comes in there. After Woodland is Kalama. By the time you are past Woodland, the highway starts running along the Columbia River. The exit to Kalama is right on the Riverfront where large barges are coming in. It's all uphill from there. We drove around the town and it looks like every house has a view of the river and Oregon's hills, and some have incredible views of mountains rolling into more mountains and the river winding through. This section of the Columbia had really big boats going down river toward Portland which I don't get to see much because they dock before getting to the North East side of Portland where Sie lives. Kalama is such a sweet little old town. I could be an old lady there. Just sit in the window with my binoculars all day and night, and walk to church, too!