Weekend Tidbits

I love Oregon, I love Florence, darnmit I just love life. This past weekend was the 13th annual Florence Home & Garden Show. It’s an event that my boss started, duh, 13 years ago. A small to-do that draws vendors from across the state and always offers the inspiration to kick start my gardening season. This year I bought pots from down under – way kewl, one for me, my mom, and my sister-in-law’s birthday next week.

You know my dear, dumb dog is a retaliatory pisser. There is no other way to say it. So I always worry about odors between carpet shampooing every four to six months. I bought an Eco egg. That’s my name for it at least, so far so good. It’s a little oval plug in thingie that whirls quietly purifying my living room air. I smell something I can’t put my finger on, but it’s not my dog or vacuum cleaner. Possibly $50 well spent, time will tell.

One of my clients for the Home and Garden show is a little nursery south of town that specializes in Rhododendrons (the city’s blossom of choice,) Azaleas, and their companion plants – that includes Camilla bushes. My mom bought me one years ago, which I promptly killed in ignorance. I’ve no clue why it died but I’ve always wanted one since. So I spent $20 and bought this beauty. One of my few warm memories of my grand mother was the water bowls of floating Camillas she had all over her house.

Florence has a few claims to fame: the movies Sometimes A Great Notion, Four Seasons, and portions of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Five Easy Pieces we filmed here; we are home to one of the most photographed lighthouse in America, Heceta Head – a haunted one at that n(really it’s the Keeper’s House that is haunted.) And whales decide to beach themselves here on occasion, 41 in 1979 and of course the infamous exploding whale of 1970. So it was no surprise Friday night to find that a undersized, juvenile Fin whale was caught in the surf just north of Florence. My heart always breaks for whales. My love of cetaceans made me erroneously believe I would grow up to be a Marine Biologist (no one told me it would take eight years of zoology – and a boat load of money and ambition.)It was the dream that died right before the I’m going to be a professional dancer dream bit the big one.

Jonah (as he was named prior to his impromptu burial) Sunday morning was interned in an eleven foot deep trench on the beach below that haunted lighthouse, the third and final place the ocean brought him on his three day death trek. Marine Biologist from OSU took their tissue and organ samples to determine what killed him. Backhoes and bulldozers dug the trench and then rolled Jonah in. A wife of one of the crew created a make shift cross and quietly wished Jonah a happier afterlife.

And then it snowed.

Sith,
Cele

Heceta Head Light House

Son of a Bun Hugger, It was one of those days. You know the type where - everything that could go wrong does, UNEXPECTEDLY. Freddies (a pacific northwest Krogers) was definitely crowded yesterday morning. But that is to be expected, sheesh it’s only 7 shopping days till Christmas. I am not a Safeway shopper and in my tiny burg that is the two choices you have. I’ll be going to Safeway later. With two more (maybe three) batches of Kahlua to make I was in need of vanilla bean. Freddies was out, or so I thought when a row of previously unseen bottles flashed before my eyes. $20 friggin bucks for dried up, clinks when shaken Vanilla Bean. $20 bucks. If that is what I will have to pay I will quit making Kahlua.

I came home, put the groceries away. And went out to put out the icicle lights for Ducky to hang. WTF! We bought them at the end of last season. They are half the length and somehow one of the six boxes is not white lights, but multi color. Where six boxes had done the entire house before, I’m thinking six strings of these lights wouldn’t even do the front of the house. And they can only be strung together in sets of three. Bummer dude.

After I put the lights back into their box and thought about who I could dump them on, I went inside and thought I’d work on my candy bowls that I need to ship. I’d bought six-packs of Original Chocolate Sins hand-dipped truffles and thought this year I’d make coconut haystacks to finish off the bowls.

This year’s bowls are beautiful. Every year the Florence Food Share has local artist create bowls and they are sold off one night for $10 each. All money raised goes to the Florence Food Share to fill the shelves of the food pantry. I get some great bowls, make a bit of an extra donation (I mean I get some great bowls and they need the money, WTF) and I give them as gifts. So I placed my coconut under the broiler (yes I remembered to take it out of the bag,) put the chocolate chips into a bowl over boiling water to melt, and went and divided my stocking goodies into individual bags so I could keep track of what I’d done.

Soon my attention was drawn back to the kitchen by the roiling smoke billowing up from the sides of my flattop. I’d forgotten the coconut. I quickly grabbed the dish and took it out to the deck so the smoke would dissipate. Black coconut does not haystacks make. Which is fine because my chocolate chips refused to melt and instead just turned grainy. WTF? (this is possibly my new holiday greeting.)

So on my score sheet for the day No Vanilla Bean –1, No Christmas lights – 6, no coconut (well I have coconut but I’m not going there) –1, grainy chocolate lump –1. For a grand total of minus 8 on the day.

Heceta Lighthouse (pronounced Ha-sea-ta) for the last eight years has held a Victorian Christmas. I always mean to go. So earlier in the day as asked Ducky for a date. We drove up to Heceta Head (the man is night blind I swear.) As we rounded the rounder at Sea Lion Caves you could see the lights on the Light keepers house gleaming in the night. Beautiful, but not the lights that I’d expected.

The highlight of the night was the short trek from the light keeper’s house (in pitch dark) to the light tower for a guided tour. I’ve always wanted to do this. Ducky didn’t even know you could do this. It was awesome.

Our tour was led by a volunteer who was quite knowledgeable about the tower and the history of the light station. Only four tourists are allowed up the tower at a time because of the deterioration of the structure. Brick work needs repair, the stairs are even breaking down, the government has given up and pays nothing for the up keep of Heceta Head Lighthouse. Surprise! (btw this is me not ranting about the cost we’ll fork over in the billions of dollars for one man’s war on the world, but nada for the strongest beacon on Oregon Coast) every cent that keeps the light house going is through donations. I’m sincerely thinking about donating $10 a month, I know it’s not much, but it’s what I can afford.

We learned about the Fresnel lenses that powers the beam 21 miles out to sea. We now could figure out which light is the Heceta, the Umpqua, the Charleston and the Yaquina by their timing and series of lights (I mean if we were out at sea – which ain’t going to happen anytime soon if Ducky has his way.) We learned that the 2 ton lens is put together with putty and so well balanced that it is run by an itty bitty little 4 horsepower motor – 2 tons. And in the days when the lamp was powered by kerosene lantern, it was seen 21 miles out to sea. I love knowledge like this. Fabulous!

Following our tour we walked back down the hill chatting with the other lady in our tour (she is from Yachats – pronounced Ya-hots.) The three of us went into the light keepers house to be greeted by warmth, Christmas music by a small combo set up in the corner of one room and cups of delicious hot apple cider and cookies.

As the holiday’s go, my day was a total disaster. But the night was awesome.

Merry Christmas.
Cele