Zoey is ready for Halloween !

Zoey is a busy little bumblebee.

How cute !!

Fall at Lincoln Tower

The fall colors are especially beautiful this year with vibrant multi-colored trees that surround our condo.

It's Roger's and my favorite season !

Sur la table COOKING CLASS featuring APPLES

Yesterday, I enjoyed an afternoon cooking class at the downtown Portland Sur la table that featured apples.

We started with Crostini with sharp cheddar and fresh made apple chutney.

This was followed by an apple and fennel salad with bleu cheese and hazelnuts, then braised chicken with cider, apples, cream and brandy and ending with a fresh baked apple tart drizzled with salted butter caramel sauce.

I am really excited to share some of these recipes with our Thanksgiving Day guests - especially the chutney and caramel sauce.

If any of you have a Sur la table in your city, I encourage you to check out their cooking classes.  They are well organized, high energy experiences with creative recipes and enthusiastic chefs.

Now it's time for me to buy some apples !

MAKE SURE TO VOTE !!

Oregon voters vote by mail.  We've received the ballots so we can either return them by mail or deposit them in receptacles that are located all over the city.

It was a busy weekend doing research on the Oregon propositions and candidates for office - and - success....................... Our votes have been made and ballots are mailed so now we can sit back and try not to listen to all of the last minute campaign rhetoric.

On November 8th we'll be at the Schnitzer watching the Capitol Steps political satire comedy team while simultaneously watching a big-screen that displays election data.  I went to their performance eight years ago and it's a fun way to get some laughs and to celebrate our freedom to elect those who lead our country.

Fall Color at Portland State University

I look forward each year to watching this tree change color.  Today, when I shopped at the Farmer's Market, I realized that it was at its peak.  Even better, it's surrounded with bright gold trees of different shades so fall colors are everywhere.  As I walked home from the market, gold leaves were raining down on my head and it felt like walking through a fall fairyland.

Roger and Daughter, Helia

A Proud Dad With His Beautiful Daughter .....................................

Reflection on things that I love ................

- - Reflection on things that I love - -

Walking through a carpet of golden fallen leaves

Warmth of the sun with a crisp cool fall breeze

Smell of cooked apples and cinnamon

Homemade soup gently bubbling on the stove

Fireplace and candles

Bella and a new book on my lap

Hugs from Roger

Priceless

It's all about ZOEY - ZOEY - ZOEY ....................

 A highlight of our trip to California was visiting with Jordan, Ashley and Zoey.  She is now 19 months old - potty trained - running around like a cute little cyclone - and able to say some words.  The first photo with her mom was shortly after we arrived and Zoey just wasn't sure that she wanted to get to know us.  As the evening progressed, she decided that Roger and I were OK and, of course, Bella got lots of attention.

After leaving Reno Wednesday morning we drove along the eastern side of Oregon to Lakeshore OR (never did see a lake) and then yesterday we drove up through Bend and Salem and then home.  The drive went through desert and culminated in mountains, forest and rivers and streams. 

Dan Rather regarding Donald Trump

The following was written and published by Dan Rather.

We need to think very carefully before casting our ballots this November.  I'm too old for the consequences to affect me either positively or negatively.  My concern is for those of you who are younger.  Please don't be complacent about this important decision.  May God watch over us all ..................................

"The headlines of the moment are in the growing roll call of prominent Republicans who are rescinding their support for Donald Trump. But I am left wondering how his candidacy and those who supported, enabled it, and abetted him until now, will be viewed through the long lens of history. It should be noted that many conservative editorial boards and critics have already come out against Trump long before this latest bombshell in very stark terms.

Apparently everyone has a line, and yet do you feel things would be different if all of these politicians thought Trump could still win in November?
And what should we make of all the other groups who have been insulted and marginalized by Trump and yet his supporters stood by him?
He attacked Mexicans as rapists and murderers - but that was not enough.
He called for barring Muslims from entering the country - but that was not enough.
He incited violence in his rallies - but that was not enough.
He publicly mocked the disabled - but that was not enough.
He retweeted anti-Semitic memes - but that was not enough.
He demeaned a Gold Star Family - but that was not enough.
He insulted the press and railed against their Constitutional freedoms - but that was not enough.
He said that those who suffer from PTSD were weak - but that was not enough.
He had a long history of misogynist and sexist comments - but that was not enough.
He repeatedly lied on issues big and small - but that was not enough.
He refused to release his tax records or health records - but that was not enough.
He joked about violence against his political rival - but that was not enough.
I could go on, and I ask you to do so in the comments section. Perhaps we can tag it with #butthatwasnotenough.

I know some equate Donald Trump with Nazisim - that goes too far for me. But in recent hours I have been hearing echoes of the chilling poem by the German anti-Nazi theologian Martin Niemöller about the culpability of his country's elite in the rise of Nazism.

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."

America's better nature has always been to speak out for the marginalized and dispossessed. It is an ideal for which we have all too often fallen far short. What about now?"

Roger's New Paintings Feature HORSES ..............

Roger's newest paintings feature horses.  Both are acrylic on canvas; the top one, measures 30 by 40 inches and the black and white, measures 16 by 20 inches.

BELLA'S ELEVEN YEARS OLD TODAY

This is a Brodie Jaynes studio photo of Bella when she was only six months old.

Having Bella has been a beautiful journey for the past eleven years.  She has brought lots of joy to my life and to others, as well.

With medication, her congestive heart failure is under control and I'm hopeful that we'll have her for several more years.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR BELLA .....................................................


This is Bella at age 11 so that would make her 77 in dog years.