Zoo Lights

Each year the Oregon Zoo here in Portland is transformed into a winter wonderland, aglow with a million lights. That is no exaggeration!!! More than 200 animated animals swing through trees, jump across lawns, hide in bushes and appear in places where they're least expected. Displays include swinging monkeys, leaping frogs, flying bats, diving penguins, and a perfect-for-photos light sculpture featuring a dozen animals. George, John and I enjoyed a fun, rain-less evening there along with about 8000 other people. It is definitely 'kid oriented' and will be a great grandkid excursion someday!

Christmas at the Oregon Coast

Our Christmas was a little different this year....we were in a beach house on the Oregon Coast. Matt, John, and Scott brought a few of our decorations to make it look like our traditional Christmas!

Among our activities.....we cooperatively finished a challenging puzzle!

Feasted on the famous clam chowder at Mo's!

Witnessed some spectacular sunsets!

Continued our Real Madrid/FC Barcelona rivalry with the boys Christmas gifts!

And enjoyed some long walks on the beach!

Does it look like I am standing in a hole? Nope, they are really that tall and I'm really that short!

Christmas 2010 was a holiday to remember!

All I want for Christmas....

I told my family that I wanted three things for Christmas:

#1 everyone to cheerfully make Christmas ornaments....

Success!!! And they are perfect memories of our beach Christmas!

#2 A bon fire on the beach

We actually did this twice and were reminded that campfires 'warm the cockles of your heart." There is just nothing like enjoying a big bright fire while sitting on a sandy log listening to the sounds of the ocean!

#3 A Nertz tournament

Even though some of the guys don't really like card games they played and were good sports. If I had won it would have been perfect (and a Christmas miracle) but George won every game no matter who his partner was!

Merry Christmas to me!

White Elephants

Almost two years ago I did this post about 'White Elephant" gift exchanges. http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=6777362347994026791&postID=6774689587272163835

Last night I went to a church 'White Elephant" gift exchange and received a true 'white elephant' in the best (or worst) sense of the term! What do you think of this piece of original ART??????

Does turning it this way help?

Not so much! This will definitely make an appearance at another one of these gift exchanges! Oh and by the way it is 28 inches by 14 inches, not exactly a small size. If anyone has a blank wall that is just crying for modern 'art' I might be convinced to part with it!

The Answer

And the answer to the frequently asked question, "How do you like living in Oregon?".....

But we do still miss Eagle!

Nativity Scenes

I have a collection of nativity scenes from all our travels. I looked in Nepal and India but never saw any for sale. I was so excited when I got home and read an article in Mormon Times about the Hyde Family in South Jordan, Utah. They wanted to do something to help people....well I'll let you read it in their own words.

We wanted to do a little good in the world. While contemplating what we could do as a family project to teach our children about charity and serving others, we had a very inspired thought. We started buying Nativity scenes from artisans in poor or developing countries as a means of helping the artisans generate income in a way that preserved their dignity. We thought we might buy a few Nativities, but now we have many.

Along the way, we started buying extra Nativities from artisans we found via great miracles. We sold the extras to our interested friends. We thought it would be a small project, but the response has been so high that we have sold 2,600 Nativities from 90 artisans since 2005. Profits are given 100 percent to charitable causes and micro-credit projects in Third World countries that benefit the poorest people on the planet.

As I browsed through their on line catalog I found one from Nepal! I'm so happy to add this to my collection and best of all to know I'm helping someone in that poor, developing country. Isn't it a wonderful addition? I especially like Mary's long braid and the crowns on the Three Kings. The figures are made of corn husks and resin. Along with the nativity I received a thank you note:What a wonderful way to involve the Hyde children! I also got a picture of the artisans at work.

If you are interested in knowing more about Hyde family's charitable project, here is a link to their website. http://www.worldnativity.com/

It's beginning....

...to look a lot like Christmas!

No snow, just lots of rain! No big tree! No nativity scene collection! No boxes and boxes of decorations! No kids around yet! But it does look and feel a lot like Christmas!