Thanksgiving in Portland...and New Family Members

Well, you didn't expect us to do this alone, did you? After scouring the Oregon Humane Society kennels, we found this (yellow) brother (Clyde) and (black) sister (Frieda, for now) on craigslist and this week, they became part of our family.

They are adjusting very slowly to their new environs but are letting us pet them on THEIR terms. Her are some pics of them in the basement (adjacent to the "man room"), where we have them for the time being... http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenristau/ClydeAndFrieda

Thanksgiving Day started with an early morning Turkey Trot (yes, that would be Susan! Stephen doesn't trot, run, or sprint- he walks, jogs, EF-X's). The sky was blue and the temps pretty cold (wind chill around 20) but it was an fun event and Susan not only finished but had a decent time. We're getting her ready for her first half-marathon!!!

Then, we spent a few hours at a local community center visiting with and serving meals to the homeless and folks without anyplace to go (that would be us!)

The next day, we had the full turkey and fixins with the Blooms, our good friends here in Portland. Some more pics of the Turkey Trot, dinner at the Blooms, and the Holiday Lights at the Portland Zoo... http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenristau/Thanksgiving2007

A Return to the Blog...Where Does the Time Go? Thanksgiving 2007
It is amazing what a little work will do to interrupt the flow of a "blogger." Since Stephen started to support the household (Susan couldn't carry us forever, despite his wishes!) with a consulting project with Libraries for the Future and the California State Library on baby boomers and public libraries (www.library.ca.gov/grants/lsta/docs/TransLifeAnnounce.pdf), little attention has been paid to the blog.

Oh, there have been some significant events since September like... a visit from Stephen's mother, Shirley, and brother, Ray...

http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenristau/VisitWithMomAndRay

...two weeks on the NC coast in October (someone's got to live in these timeshares!)...

where we had a chance to visit with Stephen's sister Kathy and her husband Rick as well as Susan's parents, John and Marilyn, who live in nearby New Bern. The weather was perfect with the exception of a little turbulence from Hurricane Noah who churned up the surf. Here are some pics from that trip http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenristau/AtlanticBeachNorthCarolina.

and yes, ANOTHER Red Sox world championship!!!!!!!

Not to mention, the other Boston teams- Pats, the best pro football team ever?! and the Celtics- Big Three Redoux?! and an exciting UConn football team!!! If it seems like the sports stars have aligned since I left town...they have...and I'll stay out here for awhile to assure enough time for a dynasty or two.

But work has been the priority, much to the satisfaction of most of Stephen's friends and colleagues who can't believe that a once-productive, contributing member of society could turn into such a lazy slug so quickly!!! These are the boomer years, people...time to kick back, enjoy life, choose the work you want, and live in a new, exciting place like the Pacific Northwest!!!