My mother and my sister live in Tillamook, which, of course, is why we were here for Thanksgiving. The dinner was hosted by my sister and was attended by Jett, me, my sister Lois, my brother-in-law Chris, my niece Kim, my nephews Michael and Scott, Michael’s wife Taylor, family friend Stephanie, Stephanie’s son David and his wife Joanne and, as guest of honor, my mother. The food was terrific (especially Joann’s craisin and walnut salad) and was followed by a spirited game of Apples to Apples, won by Joann.
Apples to Apples is a game in which nouns are matched to adjectives, best noun winning. Each time your noun is picked as the best you get to keep the adjective card. Supposedly your collection of adjectives describes you. My winning adjectives were “spicy” and “eternal.” Hmmm…
Me, my sister and Mom
Three generations
I have already mentioned the crabbing adventure and the trip to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Other highlights:
- A trip to the Spirit Mountain Casino where Chris and I collectively donated over $100 to the Native American cause.
- A hike on Lookout Point. I enjoyed the walk, but Grace had a ball. She doesn’t often get to walk off the leash and to do it with 5 other dogs and to have a beach at the end was an hour of pure joy for her. Cha-Cha, with his bad legs, stayed home.
- Lunch at Brewin’ in the Wind in Oceanside. The weather was miserable but the food was fine.
Grace on the beach
The entire hiking menagerie, plus me
Scott, Lois and Kim on the hike
Coming down from Lookout Point
Kim, Chris and Lois
Brewin’ in the Wind
Oceanside
Between events we spent a lot of time at Lois and Chris’ house, set on a hill overlooking the Tillmook Valley. It had its own kind of beauty, especially in the morning before the fog lifted. We also got to experience the transformation of the Christmas tree from a shapely, fresh-cut evergreen to a misshapen “special needs” tree (thanks to some excessive trimming), back to a holiday beauty.
Morning view from Lois and Chris’ deck
Overly trimmed tree
Trimmed tree