Snowball

Here's Nate and Barbara Jane at the winter dance. Pretty cute, huh? No, they're not really in London, just another photographer's prop.

Still Alive in Boring Polk County

Today the Oregonian travel section has a listing of the 150 places that should be on every Oregonian's list to see, in honor of Oregon's 150th birthday. You can see it broken down by geography here:http://www.oregonlive.com/travel/ In the newspaper, it's broken down by county. Polk County has one lowly listing - Baskett Slough Wildlife refuge. Only Gilliam county has a shorter entry, and it's for the John Day River, which I've canoed on and is awesome! Some counties have up to 10 or so listings. I am proud to say I've been to nearly all the places listed, with the exception of most of the remote counties, such as Lake and Union. Where have you been?

Also, just finished a book I really enjoyed: "Still Life With Rice" by Helie Lee, which is about Korea and one woman's fascinating life through numerous moves and wars and personal disasters and triumphs. Before that, I read "American Wife" by Curtis Sittenfield, a novel loosely based on Laura and George Bush. Both were enlightening books I'd recommend. Happy reading and traveling!