Driving

We do lots of driving out here.

In good weather it's 45 minutes to church.
45 minutes to a gas station.
45 minutes to a grocery store.
45 minutes to a library.
1.5 hours to a bookstore.
1.5 hours to the doctor's office.

That's a long drive with a sick child (and a sleep deprived parent who's been taking care of a sick child).

There are a few good things about the long drives. We encounter very little, if any traffic. The road up to Bickleton used to be gravel and was paved only a few months before we moved here. And the long drives let me see something besides the view outside my window. I don't really like the views in Bickleton itself, but there are many areas close by with lovely views of trees, mountains, the Columbia River, fruit orchards, green fields, and wind turbines.

The Return of Winter?

A couple days after we returned from our trip, it looked like winter had returned to Bickleton. But then the snow melted. And then it snowed. And then it melted. All day long.

The last couple of days have been dry but cold. Give me one or the other. Either really snow and stick and give us something beautiful to look at and play in. Or warm up already so I can go outside, walk to the post office, and use our new wagon.

As it is, we're stuck inside all day every day with nothing but a dry, blah landscape to look at.

Where Nobody Knows Your Name

We took a trip to our old stomping grounds this week--Portland, Oregon. I've definitely missed the landscape and the family and friends we have here. It's nice to be surrounded by the familiar.

But it's also nice to go out to the store or go out to eat and be completely anonymous. Nobody knows you, nobody looks twice at you, nobody comments about watching you walk down the street earlier in the day (note to self: do not scratch your butt when walking down a street in Bickleton, you are most likely being watched).

I'm not a hugely social person, so it's nice to go out and not have to make conversation with every person I pass. My husband on the other hand is one of the friendliest people I know and he loves the fact that you talk to everyone you see and wave to every car driving by in the tiny town of Bickleton.

Coyotes

We have only seen one coyote since we moved here, but we’ve heard of and heard many more.

A few weeks ago our neighbor invited us to bring our daughter up to see their kittens. She adores cats so we took him up on the offer and got to see the cute little kittens (well, cute until they started attacking my leg). They were living in a sort of mud room between the garage and the house. Our neighbor said that they are going on a trip in February and when they get back the two sweet little kitties will be neutered and put out in the barn. (Cats earn their keep around here by keeping down the mice.) And then he said that he just hoped the coyotes wouldn’t get them.

*****

Last week my daughter started turning on the baby monitor that was hanging over her crib, which made it hard to hear her crying on the other side of the hall, especially when we’re sleeping. So we moved the monitor out of her reach so we would always be sure to hear her crying in the night.

Last night as we were trying to go to sleep, I thought I heard crying in the distance, but I couldn’t hear it on the monitor. I finally jumped up to check on my daughter when my husband figured out what we were hearing: coyotes.

A Taste from Home

Every winter when I get a little blah, I start to get homesick. And just as that was hitting me, I got a package from my sister in Utah filled with Stephen's hot cocoa.

I've heard people question aloud why Utahns are obsessed with Stephen's hot cocoa. I'll tell you: because it's delicious. If I search I can usually find Milk Chocolate and Chocolate Mint Truffle in my stores, and if I'm vigilant I might find Belgian Dark Chocolate. But that Cherry Chocolate I've been drooling over? Definitely not. Toss in some White Chocolate and some Caramel Apple Cider and I'm set. I will survive the winter one warm and tasty cup at a time.