December 9, 2013
Here it is December already. We had the most glorious Autumn in the Northwest....a long, warm and dry season with the most amazing fall colors. I took a few pictures of some of the trees in the neighborhood as I was driving around. The photos do not do the trees justice. Colors of magenta, burgundy, gold, mustard, hot pink...truly amazing colors. In fact, it was quite dry, which is unusual for the Pacific Northwest. It seems funny to be needing to water the trees, flowers and bushes in October, but that is what I actually did. And shortly thereafter a drenching rain came and got all the trees watered. So, we were sort of back to normal. Now we are in December and it has also been very unusual. We have had unseasonably cold weather for the past week. The temperatures last night were around 13 degrees. That is extremely unusual for us, as we seldom get below freezing; maybe 28 degrees, but that is rare. Needless to say, we have all been grumbling because we are not used to real cold weather in western Oregon. However, a 'warming trend' is heading our way. Things will be back to normal by Wednesday, with some showers and temps in the 40's - that's what we are used to. When it is cold here, it's clear. When it's rainy and cloudy, it's warm (30's and 40's). So we hardly ever see snow. Most of us would love to have a white Christmas, but that is very rare.

 

Because of the extreme cold, we did not go out looking to purchase a Christmas tree to put in the house. That will be later this week.  Oregon is one of the largest growers of Christmas trees in the United States.

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Book recommendations:

On another note: I have been reading a series of books by Alexander McCall Smith. He is the author of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series of books. If you have not read that series, I highly recommend you do so. It is a delightful series, and will give you some wonderful insights into life in Botswana, Africa. Humorous, poignant.
The series I am presently reading is The Isabel Dalhousie Series.
The series of novels includes:

1. The Sunday Philosophy Club (2004)
2. Friends, Lovers, Chocolate (2005)
3. The Right Attitude to Rain (2006)
4. The Careful Use of Compliments (2007)
5. The Comfort of Saturdays (2008); U.S. title: The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday
6. The Lost Art of Gratitude (2009)
7. The Charming Quirks of Others (2010)
8. The Forgotten Affairs of Youth (2011)
9. The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds (2012)

 The series deals widely with “everyday moral and philosophical conundrums” through Isabel’s work as the editor of a philosophical journal. Many interesting moral, philosophical and ethical questions are raised in each book.  The main character, Isabel Dalhousie, a financially secure single woman, living in Edinburgh, Scotland, finds herself enmeshed in the lives of others, trying to solve their dilemmas. She might be called an 'intermeddler'. As you read about Isabel, you will be drawn into life's moral questions that face her. For example, she thinks in Book 6: "Treat everyone you meet as if it's their last day, and while you know that, they don't.
I love McCall-Smith's use of language. He is a Scotsman, well educated, and knows how to tell a story. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinbugh in Scotland has served on many national and international bodies concerned with bioethics. Read the books in order, as they are a continual story.

To be continued...........