Oregon and Iraq

Monday, 12/24, I took the train up to Berkeley, then drove north to Eugene, Oregon the following day with sister Karen and her husband Peter. The train ride was long, but the drive was great. The Siskiyou range is a formidable barrier. There was a lot of talk about chains for the tires. We were lucky enough to just see snow, lots of snow, but never had to pull those chains out of the trunk. I kept thinking about my friends in India who surely haven't seen snow unless they have gone to the Himalayas. But chains? What the...? We wrap chains around our tires so they won't slip on the snow and ice. But who am I to tell anyone that? I've never seen chains; in use or off the car. SO, snow beautiful, but not educational. Pshew.

Our goal was the home of niece Julie, her husband Adam, and kidlets, Palmer and Torin. Julie is holding the beautiful mask that Kevin and Natalie got them in China. Julie cooked a great dinner and then presents were opened.

The next day we went to the local science museum. We had a great time inside. But before we did, Peter and the boys played with the hit toy of the season. It was a missle launcher that propelled these objects when you stomped on a bulb. Too cute. They couldn't play with it in the house, at least not the missle part. Torin was "poofing" everything in sight. Very clever.

While they shot off rockets, mother and daughter chatted about the joy of raising two boys. Or something like that. It was pretty cold out there, but we would have stayed for hours except it started to drizzle. Maybe they were discussing the weather.

I had sent the family stuff to make and decorate cupcakes. Can I just say now that not everything turns out like it's supposed to. We had a lot of fun doing this and the cupcakes tasted good, but they were all over the baking sheet we put under the silicon cupcake holders. And the frosting was too stiff to hold all the pretty decorating stuff I'd sent.

But we had fun. And that was the whole thing. Everyone got something to lick, spoons, paddles, bowls. That was always a favorite part of baking when I was growing up. The tradition continues. I hope Julie make more perfect cupcakes in the future with frosting that is stickier.

We stayed at a bed and breakfast that I found the first time I went up to visit Adam and Julie. It's called The Campbell House. Very cute. I had the littlest room with the tiniest bathroom. Just what I like. This was my view from my bed every morning.

We drove back on Friday and then had all my older brother's children over for dinner on Sunday. We had another wonderful day. Karen and I perfected a chicken dish that I first made in India and then attempted in Eugene. It was okay in Eugene, but we added my favorite smoked paprika in Albany. Best of all was the company. Tara is married to Ivan and he is a great addition to the family. You can see how happy they are together. Mark and Trina are neck deep in planning their wedding. We decided on the wedding present. Very cool. Chris and Gabriella are a tight couple. She is so lovely. She wore the pashmina I gave her for my birthday. It looks fabulous on her. I wish I had that flair. Great evening.

And I've been reading. Next blog will be about all that, except for

this last one. My friend Maggie sent me a picture of her son, Matt, who is a seabee in Kuwait. He is the leader of those men on their bellies. I wonder if he was my own sweet boy would I have "enjoyed" reading The Assassins' Gate as much as I did. It starts with explaining who those damn Neocons are then takes us to the first election. Along the way is some pretty discouraging history. How'd we do that, folks? How'd we let those fools run our country? How'd we let them send brave men like Matt to do such a thankless job in the cesspool they created. Poor Iraqis. Poor us. If you have the stomach for it, this is a great book.