A transplanted Southern Californian living in North Dakota Idaho, with some insights on life with deaf dogs, a gluten free spouse, and the occasional mischievous garden gnome. Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoy.





Wednesday, March 13, 2024

The View From the Back Porch

 This was our view from the back porch yesterday. 

A day of showers and wind cleared out by the end of the day and left a dramatic evening sky. The lights from the back porch illuminated the trees and made for a spectacular photo. We are very much appreciative of the beauty of the Oregon Coast.

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Double Rainbow and a Beach Stroll

The coast of Oregon is truly enchanting. Rugged and windswept beaches collide with dense forests. There's something for everyone. This morning I was working and looked out my office window to see a double rainbow.

The afternoon prior I had an hour to take a stroll on the beach. The temperature was in the mid-40's and light winds, enough to make your face red and your nose run, but not too chilly. This is the view to the South, footprints in the sand but nary a soul in sight.

The view to the North was equally deserted and no less gorgeous. 

There's something special about feeling like you have the whole beach to yourself. The only sounds were the waves breaking and the gentle rush of the ocean breeze.

Sunday, January 28, 2024

A Scenic Sunday Morning Drive

Sunday was a break in the rainy weather we've had for the last few weeks. A warm front was also rolling through that gave us temperatures in the 60's, balmy for this time of year. 

We piled into the car with Shadowfax for a quick morning trip. We stopped at our favorite coffee stand for coffee and dog cookies and drove about a half hour north along the coast to Yaquina Head Lighthouse. We've been a few times before and it's a lovely spot to watch the waves crash, look out for cool birds, and let Shadowfax mosey along and sniff.

It was a beautiful morning.

Shadowfax did a whole lot of sniffing, peeing on stuff, and barking at threatening Pomeranians. She was tired and spent the rest of the day in her bed-on-a-bed pile. She has a tough life.


Monday, December 25, 2023

First Christmas at the New Homestead

We're spending our first Christmas at the new homestead in Oregon. It's a quiet day inside, with coffee and breakfast, and blustery rainy weather outside. There are lots of family and friends to chat on the phone with, catching up with the Holiday happenings and wishing good tidings.

Shadowfax is pooped from all the festivites. She's spending the morning in her cozy bed with a blankie and some heating pads. We're going to make our Fake Meatloaf (recipe here) and mashed potatoes for supper. It's a holiday favorite around here, the perfect gluten free vegetarian meal for a special occasion. 

We leave you with a photo from last week when we were exploring, watching waves crash at sunset. The official geo-located photo tag location is called "Devil's Elbow". There are a lot of Devil names here - Devil's Churn, Devil's Punchbowl. Some very creative names indeed. 

We hope you have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.


Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Our Big Secret...Revealed!

It's time that we tell you the big secret that we've been skillfully keeping under wraps the last few months. We have have moved to Oregon!

The last several months have been a whirlwind of activity and attempts to find our new normal all while working at our respective jobs. Shadowfax is doing well and enjoying her new surroundings and new state. I'll insert our standard apology here for not posting for months and add the same stock promise to return to regular posting. We think you all know what that promise is worth.

The picture above is from Cape Perpetua, about 10 minutes from our new house.

Saturday, July 15, 2023

No Cookies You Say

"So you say it's not cookie time. OK. This is a nice pink pig you got here, be a shame if something were to happen to it. You sure about that whole no cookies thing?"

Please note that no pink pigs were harmed in the making of this blog post.


Sunday, June 18, 2023

Shadowfax on a Road Trip

We recently took a road trip out to the coast of Oregon. It was slightly longer than usual due to a rock slide that closed a highway and forced us to backtrack and take a longer detour route.

Shadowfax is really good in the car, she generally just lays down and sleeps once the car starts moving. She really only gets up and looks out the window when we slow down and pass through a town. This is her after a nice tour through a rest area, so many good things to sniff. 

We take car safety seriously, so we have her stay in her harness (it's a RuffWear Harness) while she's in the car. It has front and back clip on spots which makes getting in and out of the car easy, and she can stay leashed to the seat belt but still have some freedom of movement.

Sunday, May 21, 2023

Summer Shadowfax

Summer has arrived here in Idaho. We went from pleasantly warm Spring temps to 80's and 90's quickly. Spring has been an incredibly short season here the last few years and we have gone from nighttime temps below freezing to summer-like weather in a matter of weeks.

Shadowfax was perfectly fine with the early arrival of sunshine basking season. There will be a lot more pictures like this.

And where have we been for the last few months? Well we've been busy and we have a big announcement in the works, but we'll have to leave it at that for now. Stay tuned. More to come.