DAN & MARINA GET MARRIED!!!

Our friends Dan and Marina got married on Christmas Eve. Marina's family was here from Germany to visit for the holidays. Family and a few friends hopped into a limo

and headed to the county court house for a justice of the peace wedding -- to make it legal.


There will be a more traditional wedding/reception this coming summer with a wedding gown and cake, etc.

It was lovely to spend the day recognizing the connection & love that these two have.

Family gather @ Solstice

Steve and I rode down to Sutherlin yesterday with my bro Jon for a holiday gathering at cousin Cinda's cozy home. As usual -- heaps of fabulous food and treats. Lots of laughing, some exchanged presents, most played games, and all engaged in silliness. It is always such a treat to share time and food with family.
It is an important time for me as the circle our planet makes around the sun begins to shift its tilt. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, this means that a tiny bit more day light comes with each rise of the sun.

Jon's shop/home

My bro Jon is moving into a new house with a shop. He is really excited! The house and shop are perfect for his business and him. He'll be installing a large heater in the shop but the walls and ceiling are already insulated. The walls and ceiling are going to be painted white and he has to move his work bench in -- -but then it's ready to go.
The house is a three bedroom with an open kitchen & living room space. Very comfortable and well sorted.

We'll be helping him move and settle in over the next few weeks. YEH!!!!

house (left) --- shop (right)
Jon's sign will go on the shop door that slides open

Shop

India's B-day and SNOW DAZE

Yup -- My niece India (jon's daughter) turned 16 this week. She is a bright beautiful creative soul this girl. And it is such a treat to know her. For her birthday she wanted snow.........and she got it.

India - 16th Bday

We (the adults) took her to dinner at her favorite restaurant (Mazzi's) in town. Gramma Penny made the slow and super sketchy drive on ice from Roseburg to Eugene to get to her granddaughter's birthday dinner. That's a Michigan born gramma for ya!


SNOW DAZE
Monday we got our first blanket of snow (3+ inches) here in the southern Willamette Valley of western Oregon. It sun-upped but the temps haven't gotten above freezing. Expecting an ice storm this afternoon and more snow tomorrow. It's like a real winter. After such a mild autumn, it has hit us a bit off guard.

But, as with any full season, it brings it's beauties.
Snow is like the opposite of shadow -- it whitens the sun-side up of everything.

Thesis Land

For those of you curious as to where I have been spending my time -- the answer is "Thesis Land."

Thesis Land is a small corner of my basement I have converted into my work space. There have been times when I feel a bit like a troll dwelling in the under-depths. But, at least I have a window and a wood stove that keeps me cozy.

Thesis Land

I am residing in Thesis Land because I have started writing my thesis (FINALLY!!) for a M.S. in geomorphology. The subject matter is actually pretty interesting (to me anyway) -- Holocene floodplain development of the Lower Sycan River, Oregon.
However, the writing process is slow going and often very overwhelming.

Needless to say -- I am not getting out much.

GREAT news though! The base date for the catalyst of my thesis ..... The Sycan Flood ... just came back from the lab and it backs up my thesis perfectly.
This last summer I dug out an old wetland soil buried beneath the flood event deposits. The soil conditions were just perfect enough to preserve some seeds and other organics. Just think, plants deposited those seeds -- 6,790 years ago -- and then they were buried by sediment from a massive flood and never grew. 6,790 years ag0 (short in geologic time) ........ that's 4,782 B.C. What else was going on in the world when those seeds got buried?