We realized this week that we didn't have a summer here in the Willamette Valley. With the Coronavirus pandemic and the wildfires, we completely missed out on a summer here. Everything is so weird this year and we are ready for 2020 to end. Hopefully, the next few month that are left in 2020 give us some positive aspects to end the year with. Since trick-or-treating has been canceled for a lot of people, we've decided to stay at home and just wait out the trick-or-treaters that dare the elements. I ordered some organic candy this year and are still waiting on that to arrive. We hung a few decorations, but it just seems weird this year. We plan on wearing our masks the entire time, hopefully others will respect that, as well. Here are five things this week.
1. This Puzzle.
We've been putting together a lot of random puzzles to pass the time through lockdown and through the pandemic. This puzzle is about our twentieth puzzle to put together, but it's been a fun challenge.
2. This Sticker.
Definitely something I'd had on my car, too.
3. This Sticker.
I got out of my car and it startled me a bit. I've seen a few others since this one.
4. This Player.
Been jamming out to our record collection this week. It's nice to hear some classics on vinyl.
5. This Bird.
This one-legged bird hangs out at Jeff's work. Every time we go there we look for it.
Positive affirmations this week:"Be patient. There is nothing you can't do. Don't think about it too much. It will come to you when you are not thinking intently about it." -Yoko Ono
Also, with the holiday season here, keep these things in mind when dealing with uncomfortable family situations.
With this past summer of wildfires, it's been an extremely stressful time here on the west coast. Loss of life above everything has been hard to hear as the cleanup from the wildfires has been happening here. Wildfire damage and loss of property is one thing, but people losing their life is on a whole new level of devastation. Oregon was literally caught off guard with these fires and the control of the fires was just not there. The winds didn't help and the fire crews literally just couldn't get ahead of the flames. We took a drive through the hardest hit areas near us and it was just heartbreaking. We had plans to buy a cabin in Detroit, Oregon, at one time, and something just told us not to do it. Oddly enough, the cabin we were going to buy was part of the loss in Detroit. That still bothers me. Someone did buy that cabin and those someone's lost it. And, every single one around it is gone, too. There really aren't any words to describe how overwhelmingly scary these past few months have been. I've had to call an ambulance once for everything happening lately. It's just too much. My anxiety has been over the top lately and the recent ambulance call I honestly thought my heart was going to stop. But, me aside, this year has been so hard on everyone around here and thinking positively only goes so far. I am really hoping things get better soon. Here's a look at some of the places around here that have changed since the wildfires.
We are finally in the clear with wildfires here, and the shift now seems to be leaning towards people struggling because of the pandemic. I feel sorry for the people that were struggling before and lost their house and cars in the wildfires. There is talk of a stimulus headed everyone's way here, so I hope that it is enough to help some of these people that desperately need it. We ended up draining our pool completely this week and we scrubbed it clean of all the ash and debris. We are leaving it for now to dry out before taking it down completely. It's a real shame that the ash tore the pump up and if we had known that was going to happen we definitely would have turned the pump off, or at least attempted to cover the pool during this time. But, it's okay. We are going to look into getting a new pump and possibly get a new pool. We haven't decided yet. Here are five things this week.
1. This Ice Cream.
We recently purchased an ice cream maker and have experimented with a lot of different flavors. We made strawberry and it was amazing! Our next flavor is going to mint chocolate chip.
2. This Doggy.
We've been enjoying the snuggles behind this little guy lately.
3. This View.
Because it's comforting in the early morning when I wake up.
4. This Sign.
Because clearly the tuna are biting.
5. These Items.
These items came in my Mighty Nest shipment this month and you can get in on this action by entering this invite code FREEFIX-QLJ3PEAR in the "Promo Code" box at Checkout to save on on your first month. Your first shipment of Mighty Nest will be the Keep Leaf Bags on the right side. You're going to love it!
We also got a view of the moon and mars near each other on the night of October 3, 2020. I have always been in love with the night sky. Since getting a telescope it's made the night sky even more amazing.
Things are clearing up here with the smoke and ash, unfortunately all of the ash falling in our pool ended up tearing up the ceramics inside the pump and breaking the pump. We are going to clean the pool up and possibly get a new pump next year, but right now it sits with ash and debris in the water. We are so looking forward to a more mellow autumn season and a little less stressful. We celebrated Skylar's seventeenth birthday on September 30. He has made Jeff and I so proud lately and we couldn't be more happy with the person he is becoming. He passed his driving test and now has a permit. There's been a lot going on with him lately that has just made us honored to be his parents. I also read that President Trump and the first lady tested positive for Coronavirus. Not sure if that's the truth, or just something made up to convince people that it's not a hoax. Everything in the government is bizarre right now. People are acting so odd currently and it could be the stress of the year, but I don't know. On our own front, here are five things this week.
1. This House.
We closed down our Little Free Library because of the Coronavirus pandemic and this week we decided to sanitize it and clean it to get it ready to reopen possibly before the end of the year.
2. This Doggy.
Hardy has been getting spoiled and being able to be in the house more since the wildfires. He has taken full advantage, too.
3. This Loss.
Clearly, even in a pandemic this guy isn't good at Fantasy Football. Poor guy was even in high heels. ☺
4. This Wash.
Had to take my car through the car wash this week just to get all of the ash off of it. I was afraid it would mess the paint up, so just getting it cleaned made me feel a bit better.
5. These Plums.
Picked up some plums at the local food co-op this week and I'm going to try and bake some plum scones with them this weekend. If we don't eat them all beforehand.☺
We also got a light glimpse of the Northern Lights here in Oregon on September 29.
Life at a "Swell's" pace is a lifestyle and travel blog chronicling the life and travels while living in Oregon's beautiful Willamette Valley. It is mostly written by Shelly HW. Click the image to learn more»
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