So fall turns to winter.  Not a whole lot of photos being taken this month, but I did manage to get in a few from the back window as I was recuperating.  

 The squirrels didn't know how to use the feeder at first and gnawed a little on the plastic before they figured out how to lift the lid.  It makes a perfect place to sit and look around according to this little guy.  He does this all the time.  Eats a bit, then rests.

 So when the feeder is being used as a home, the bird feeders are taken over but not by birds. 

Another Happy Thanksgiving 

 and a Happy Birthday to Mom and Matthew!!!

We had a little dusting of snow...  and then it slid right off the slide.

 Snow is exciting, but sometimes it is not such a pretty thing to have around.  The freezing rain and wind in Salem caused the oak tree to fall on John and Rachel's house.  Emily and Joshua were at home when it happened, but thankfully they were on the opposite side of the house when it crashed down.  Glass flew clear across the room from the crushing window.  They were overwhelmed by the overflow of help and offers of anything needed from their neighbors.  Insurance is on the job and it will be better than new in a few months.  

 When we first heard the news, we headed to Salem to help them out.  The biggest conflict for them was that John had been nominated for the Crystal Apple award by the parents, students and staff in his school.  It is a district wide award.  He was one of 56 nominees out of over 4,000 school employees who are eligible.  A few years ago he was also nominated.  Well, the award ceremony was just hours after the tree fell.  He was torn, should he go or not?  Rachel had a pretty dress all ready for the televised red carpet.  She decided she had to stay home, but pushed for him to go ahead and go.  It is a big honor to be nominated and those doing the nominating go to a lot of work to get their candidate nominated.  He could not let them down.  One of the neighbors opened up their home for us to warm up while the tree company was taking the tree off the roof.  We could not help out there until the tree was off the house, so we watched the ceremony on TV.  The above photo shows the TV screen and his two proud kids and wife recording him when he is being interviewed on the Red Carpet.  Well, we were so happy he went!  He was one of 10 to win the Crystal Apple!  Such a day of twists...from a falling tree to a crystal apple.

Josiah turned 4 on November 12th.  No longer a toddler, he is turning into a little boy now.  He still loves his garbage trucks and drums. I have not seen a little kid play drums the way he does. I know I am sounding like a Grandma, but it will not surprise me to do something in the music field someday.

November 6 was Joshua's 13th birthday!  He is becoming a pretty awesome young man.  I know this is not the best photo of him, but it is the most recent shot of how much his little cousins adore him, Josiah especially is his shadow.  Joshua is definitely a terrific role model for his little cousins and is so worthy of being imitated.  

November began with a big surprise.  My yearly exam showed that I had endometrial cancer.  Had.  I went in for a complete hysterectomy and was so happy to hear the results that nothing had spread out of the uterus.  I will need a couple of radiation treatments in a few weeks just as a precaution. I am thanking God for a doctor that was persistent in getting me tested, even though I was thinking it was all a little over board for her to test when my symptoms seemed so harmless.  Thanking God for her referral to an amazing oncologist who is top notch in robotic assisted surgery,   It is pretty amazing to live in an age where cancer is not a death warrant as it was just a few years ago.  I also am so full of praise for the family and friends who began praying for me from the first day they heard the news.  I can truly say that I was never in a horrible panic over it.  I felt a peace and confidence right from the start.  

 Emily and Joshua both had their big meets of the season last week.  Both of them did fantastic!  

Josh came in first place in his division and is the All City Champ.  Not only that, he beat his own best time. He is 7th grade and ran in the 7-8 graders division.  Pretty awesome to see him beat those bigger guys.

Emily came in second place for her school  She ran with the varsity team, even tho she is a sophomore.  It was the rainiest day!  Which made for the muddiest meet ever!  Those runners were covered in mud.  Part way through the race, she lost a shoe, but she continued on without it.  Her sock is forever brown now, I am sure.  It reminded me of when her Dad was a little runner and did the same...as he ran into the woods and out of our sight, they hit a mud hole and he lost his shoe, when he came back out of the woods at another point, he yelled "I lost my shoe in the mud!"  He was running along with only one shoe on.  It was hilarious. He just kept on going to the end.  Afterwards, we had to go and search the mud for his sunken shoe.  This time, it was her Dad going back to where Emily had lost it to retrieve it for her.  How time repeats itself.   

Home again!

5 loads of laundry!  and we even had it done once while we were gone.

My sister Lindy had taken good care of my cat and he was alive and well. 

Jessi and Ariel had been here and delivered milk for my morning latte and Arianna and Josiah left me some pumpkins and flowers as a welcome.  

Santorini

The reason this whole trip began...to shoot Santorini.  I finally was here!  First thing after getting our bags to our room we headed for the bus stop to get to Oia to get the shots of sunset that I had been dreaming about.

I found a spot that I thought would be good and got my tripod and camera all set up. Then waited.  While waiting, I turned around to see the town behind me...turns out...everyone else was there for the same reason.  This shot really makes me laugh.

Once I was set up, I took my camera off the tripod and walked around.  John was happy to just sit by the tripod and wait for me to return.  

And then it began. I was elated!  Especially when the sailboats came into view.

The next day we rented a car and drove the island as we had on the other two islands.  This time it was a little more scary as the roads are narrow and full of traffic, especially huge tour buses.  

We stopped at a port town for lunch and enjoyed the view of the fishing boats.  They were all busy cleaning their nets and unloading fish.

This is called Red Beach.  There is also a Black Beach and White Beach but I couldn't see anything different about them from any other beach to shoot.

Here is how the grapes are grown there!  Seriously, this is a vineyard!

Do you see the two hearts on this dog?

The next night we went back to Oia for sunset.  It was cloudy and the sun set high in the sky.  I only took one photo and we walked away.  Everyone kept rushing past us towards the water.  I kept thinking that they were nuts to be in such a hurry for a sunset that was way done with.  Then a woman bumped me hard in her rush past me.  I turned to watch her and was stunned with what I saw!  How did that happen and I didn't even notice?

The next day we walked to Firostefani and Fira, two other popular towns there.  This is where the donkeys are for the cruise ships to bring up the tourists.  

We walked down the donkey stairs and by then it was pouring rain.  We found a place to sit inside and have a cappuccino while we waited it out.  we had one, then another, then John ordered a beer while I went into some gift shops.  When I got back, we ordered lunch.  Finally we made a break for it and got on the funicular to the top.

And then we did as true Oregonians...we walked back to our hotel.  In the rain.  Without umbrellas.  Sure we could have hopped on the bus or taken a taxi, but by then we were already wet.  It was a fun day!

Our last day.

sunset from our deck.

I have never been able to take a decent shot of a crescent moon.  Pretty happy with how this one turned out.

Oia at night from our deck.