HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

For those of you who celebrate All Hallows Eve...

BooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOooo

 *H*A*P*P*Y* *H*A*L*L*O*W*E*E*N*!*

BooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOooo 

This is my old paper lantern I found years ago, it's rather huge and Dayle hangs it up for me every year to brighten the dining room as the days grow shorter and nightfall comes early.  It really does cheer me up and it chases the darkness away.  The kids are taking the little guys over to her sister's house for trick-or-treating - it's in a neighborhood, whereas here in the countryside, houses are few and far between.

Yesterday we went to visit Dayle's sister Darlene and her husband Bill.  They moved from Gresham which is on the east side of Portland to Hillsboro on the west side several years ago and we wanted to see their home.  We met for lunch and then headed to their house for a nice long visit.  They have the most fun dog, a Labradoodle.  She is so cute!

I was delighted at how they have decorated their home!  Their old home was traditional with some country elements - but they have decorated this home with wonderful Chinese decor!  The cabinet on the left is antique and just beautiful, my eyes took in each decorative item.. it was beautiful!

It is a great room style, no enclosed areas, all open, very nice.  This is their dining area and I'm standing in the kitchen.  Notice the little photo bomber in the bottom of the photo?  :-)

Darlene even made a lemon cheesecake for our visit.. yum!!  It's the recipe of their sister Eileen.  It's delish!

They have a courtyard out back with room for lawn chairs and a BBQ - they had a potted Japanese Maple which had turned beautiful colors.

There is a story about the cute little Asian figurines below.  Dayle's mother had made these years ago, she was very crafty and made ceramic items for years.  She even had her own kiln and Dayle remembers helping her fire the items in their basement.  When all of his siblings were clearing out their parents home after they had been moved to an assisted living facility, they found these and Darlene said she'd like them and Dayle countered that he'd like them also.  So, they flipped a coin and Dayle won.  After we brought them home, Dayle felt remorseful and decided to give them to Darlene after all.  It was neat to see them in her home where they fit in so well.

We chatted away the afternoon and enjoyed our visit with them immensely.  Below is Hayden's school photo, he has the biggest grin, so cute!

I had to show you something I got a kick out of the other day.  Caleb pulled his little chair up to the TV cabinet and began "dusting".  I thought that was so cute.

Dayle and I are heading out to run some errands later and are bringing some Halloween candy back.. just in case anyone stops by.. and it will be our favorite kind.. just in case no one does come by.  :-)  Have a great day and a fun weekend!!  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

Lighthouse and Trailer Tour

Saturday dawned a perfectly beautiful sunny and cloudless day in Newport, Oregon - our first during our week at the beach.  We don't mind grey days, as we are true Oregonians, but the sunny days are a wonderful gift.  It was our last full day at the beach, so we set out for adventure.  First stop was Yaquina Head Lighthouse.  It was amazing that we hadn't gotten to the lighthouse during the grey days, as this was a perfect day for a photo.  I just love this historic place.

I zoomed in on the Fresnel lens in the lighthouse.. this is a working lighthouse.

Ahhhh.. I love looking at this, it brings me peace.

Then we drove down to Newport's Historic Bay Front which is a working fishing area - I thought it was funny to see the seagulls all along the edge of one of the cannery buildings.

I had googled looking for a good Asian restaurant and we decided to try out a funky little place with a view of the bay for lunch that makes their own noodles.. the name of which is.. "Noodle Cafe".  The menu called it Asian fusion cuisine.  It was so good.. stir fried noodles with fresh veggies and big juicy shrimp and we also had a tempura platter which had more shrimp, red snapper fish and veggies with hoisin sauce for dipping.  YUM!

Then we drove to the northern end of Lincoln City so that I could look around an antique mall I'd been eyeing for years.  Gadzooks... the prices were high.  I found one vaseline glass measuring cup for $12.50 and told the cashier to please get it out of the case for me and he goes.. "You know this is $125.00, don't you?".  ACH.. never mind!  We then headed south and I asked Dayle to pull out at this little park so I could get this shot.  Do you see the late afternoon light with a hint of pink?  This is the Siletz Bay.  In 1700 there was a huge Indian village here and a massive Tsunami came and waves of 50 feet washed it all away, while it was home to many people of all ages, many were lost.  

We then returned to our cozy trailer and relaxed - I snapped this photo of some guys who were surfing off "our" beach.  

I was in awe of the sun streaking through the clouds at sunset.

Yesterday I tidied up the trailer readying for our trip home.  This is our cozy bedroom.  On the left is a wall of mirrored closet doors, there is lots of storage space in our rig. 

The decor in the trailer is all shades of beige and brown, so I crocheted this granny stripe blanket to brighten it up.  

This is the trailer from the bedroom door.. I added crocheted throws to both recliners.

Our kitchen.. which I just love.  I painted the clock in there which says "Home Sweet Home".  

Our living area and TV.

We tried a different spot this time, it was sideways to the ocean and we really enjoyed the better view.  This was looking up the hill from our trailer.  It was nice when the little Airstream Bambi left so we didn't have anyone to spoil our view. :-)

Yesterday we awoke to a rainstorm and we were thinking, oh dear, we're going to have to unhook everything and hook up the truck to the trailer in the rain.  But look, it passed quickly and got sunny/partly cloudy for our packing up time.  

Goodbye Pacific Ocean!

When we got home, look what was waiting for me!  My iPhone 5S - gold 32GB!  

Wow, I love the gold color!  I got it all set up myself and transferred all data myself and it's working great!

I thought I'd take some photos with it to "test drive" it.. here is Caleb with my colorful swim goggles on.  :-)

My miniature rose is still blooming!!  Keep in mind, this bloom is only as big around as a silver dollar!

Our vine maple turns pretty colors.

And my hardy Hibiscus is still blooming!  I think I'll bring this in for the winter.

Well, I'm pretty happy with the camera in this phone!  And the phone in general.  I like to get a new iPhone every few years when my contract is up if only because the batteries wear out so it's a fresh one in the new phone.  Well, sorry it was such a photo heavy post, but hope you enjoyed them.  Have a super week!  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

Birthday Boy at the Beach

Friday we celebrated Dayle's birthday with lunch at one of our favorite places, "Tidal Raves" in Depoe Bay.  My older siblings had headed home already, but I called my younger sister Denise to see if she was still in town and wanted to join us, so she did.  The views here are spectacular and the food is fresh and inventive, it was her first time here and she just loved it!  Here is the birthday boy with his complimentary warm chocolate chip cookie with ice cream on top.  :-)

Denise ordered the "Seahawk Bread" to share with us.  I might try this at home sometime - it's smoked salmon, shrimp mixed with cream cheese, spread on French bread, and a slice of Havarti cheese on top, then put under the broiler.  Yum!

My sister and I both ordered the grilled wild salmon with fingerling potatoes, veggies and shrimp salsa.  :-)  

The view is amazing.  We saw kayakers heading in to the bays on the right.

We actually spent the evening enjoying the comfort of our cozy trailer - the dog likes it when we do that.  :-)

Here is Buddy in "I see a dog!!! mode".  :-)

Is he as cute to you as he is to me?  LOL!

We had a lovely sunset.  

The ocean was like liquid copper and gold!

Amazing, isn't it?

The best sunset all week.  

I have some neat photos to share with you of yesterday, but for now, it's time to stow all our things and hook up the truck and head home.  I hope you've enjoyed sharing the Oregon coast with me.   ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

Family Beach Adventure

It's officially Dayle's birthday today and we have a nice day ahead of us.  I have a few photos to share from the last few days.  On Wednesday Dayle and I met up with my 2 sisters and one brother and two of their spouses for lunch at Georgie's Grill in Newport, Oregon.  It has a great view of the Pacific ocean and really good food.  After lunch we led everyone on a little view drive - 1st stop is the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse in a park just south of Georgies.  I always snap a shot of this tidy and pretty little building.

Across the road from the lighthouse is a viewpoint deck where I snapped this shot of the Yaquina Bay Bridge.. I think it's very pretty.  We've sailed our sailboat Stargazer under this bridge and out into the Pacific ocean several times when we had our boat moored for one summer at the Embarcadero Marina.

We then all drove down through the historic bay front part of Newport and then parted ways to run some errands.  I took some of the group to see the stone house that I'm in love with that is on the north end of the Otter Crest Scenic Loop drive.  Isn't this the coolest house ever?

This beautiful waterfall over the cliffs is right in front of the house and it sits with a view of the ocean.  Amazing place.

My sisters and I walked out on the bridge to get this photo of the house, waterfall and the bay and ocean.  What do you think of this place?

Yesterday morning my brother Rob invited us all over to his trailer for breakfast - he made a big batch of sourdough flapjacks.  My younger sister Denise brought Irish butter and real maple syrup, and my older sister Roberta (twin of Robert) brought some fruit.  They were yummy!

My siblings.. all of us together.  :-)  The twins in front, lil sis "Nene" in the back right.

After breakfast, Denise and SIL D'Ann went for a walk on the beach together, looking for agates.

Looking south from our camp.

Our trailer, up the hill sideways.. a better view from the side.

I zoomed in on a fishing boat off our camp.. nice flat water for them!

D'Ann's agate finds.

Yesterday we all voted to try a restaurant we'd never been too - inside the Surfrider Hotel.  It's just a few miles south of here.  We were all thrilled when we were served the best cup of clam chowder we've found so far here.  I also had a crab Louis.  Yum!

After lunch we went to Depoe Bay to get some caramel corn and salt water taffy.  My SIL D'Ann got an ice cream cone of Umpua Ice Cream - the flavor?  BLACK licorice!!  You have to be brave to eat it as it turns your teeth and tongue blackish green!

We stopped back at the stone house park to show Rob and D'Ann who'd missed it the first time - and I'd forgotten to get a shot of the bridge.

We've had a cloudy time here, last evening was the first time we'd seen a glimpse of the sun.  

I have to love you and leave you as we have a birthday lunch reservation at Tidal Raves Restaurant in 1/2 hour!  Gotta run.  Thanks for visiting!!  ((hugs)), Teresa :-)