Ups and Downs

Johnny has been having vehicle angst. His beloved van, the Roustmobile, is not driveable and may not be fixable. He has had it a very long time and it has been reliable and very handy. But fixing it might entail, near as I can figure, a new motor. 

So we have been using the pickup I inherited from my dad, which has a canopy and is great for hauling sacks of feed, but very awkward to maneuver.  And it guzzles gas. When neighbor Irv rides with me, he comments "You need twenty acres to turn this thing around." That's only a slight exaggeration. And now it seems to be leaking steering fluid. This is worrisome since we need it to carry four of us up into the Coast Range for the Upper Nestucca Christmas Bird Count on the 17th... and hopefully back out. Stay tuned for further developments.

On the good news front, I finished making and sending or delivering all the wreaths. Too bad they seem to fall apart this year even more than usual. But ours are hanging together... and we have four. I had made lots of grape vine "forms" so I could use all the left over greenery to make wreaths for us: one for the front of the house, one for the back door where everyone comes and goes, and one for each of the barn door areas. All made with greenery from our farm. I love wreaths.

 I love Christmas lights, too, but I only strung a few this year. Photos in a later blog. Hopefully.