"It's not working! We need more monkeys!"
Bits and pieces of socializing before the holiday. B's dad came through town for a doctor's appointment and we took him to Pine Street Biscuits for true Portland hipster experience (he approved of the food).
and L had a friend's night out in mid-December, heading to Silverton for the holiday lights at the Oregon Gardens. Cold but very lovely.
Our Christmas tree didn't get decorated until the week before the holiday but we got it the week BEFORE that. Very busy. We opted to cut our own, heading south to Wilsonville environs and stumbled on a side-business farm with inexpensive trees. After we cut one for us, one for our friend Debbie and one for Sarah, we decided to cross the Willamette on the old-school Canby ferry -- just cause.
When Jess arrived a week later we did it up right, her first chance to decorate a tree since she started college!
After two years of hosting Thanksgiving (and one spent moving house and home), we opted for a road trip this year. We headed up to Tacoma for Leah's house, with Debbie (boyfriend traveling) and Boo (unemployed) coming along. We stayed all weekend but had to work remotely on Friday.
Brian had a chance to try stand-up paddleboarding on the one day it wasn't very blustery and we took a tour of the art glass museum in town.
We put the Hill Street cabin to bed for the winter in November, making a Veterans Day weekend trip. We didn't work on any projects while there, just the winterizing, so it was a nice calm stay. And we tried a new restaurant! (not a common thing in PC)
We made serious progress on house projects this year, whether by us or others. Travis continued to help us with various landscaping projects and B with re-siding our old garage. We've finally got a garden bed in the back, out of the shade of the walnut tree.
And we hired a contractor to build a small dormer upstairs to bring some much needed light and ventilation to the upstairs. The project took weeks longer than it was anticipated to but wrapped up just before Christmas -- thank goodness.
Our big fall excitement was a minor foot surgery for the female half of the Troutehole duo. It started out just fine but a fall immediately post-discharge prompted a trip back to the hospital -- this time to the ER. $500 later, but no harm done, it was back at home for a week's recovery and some pretty awkward mobility.
Many books were read, pages colored, photo editing done...and Netflix threatened to cancel our subscription for overuse.
