Happy Holidays from Oregon!

Moving from the city to the country really has been fun. At Christmas time the contrasts are pretty obvious. In LA things were bigger and brighter but the holidays just didn't feel as personal as they do in the country. People that are already very friendly go into hyper-drive in the country. Total strangers stop and wish you a wonderful holiday with huge smiles on their faces. Talk about holiday spirit! The historic downtown of Grants Pass is decked out with a huge 40 foot tree, Santa's workshop and quaint lighted hisoric buildings. Strolling the streets is like going back in time. 

Now that's a big Christmas tree!

 Historic downtown is all decked out!

 In neighboring Jacksonville it's even more old-fashioned.

 A Christmas horse drawn wagon!

A country girl at heart, I love every minute of it of small time holiday fun. But I don't have to totally miss out on some of the high-tech lighting displays I used to see in the city. I stumbled on one that can rival anything Los Angeles has to offer and it's right here in little old Grants Pass. 

The display changes as music plays. Check it out! 

I hope you've been enjoying the season as much as I am. With a big county smile, I wanted to wish everyone a wonderful holidays! 

Bear Crazy

I'm finally settled into the lodge and had a chance to explore my new home town. On the drive into town I began to see signs of a major invasion. Bears! Whimsical painted bears had taken over Grants Pass. Eighty in fact. Starting in May the bears roll in to town and stick around until late summer. Thankfully I have plenty time to see them all. 

Turns out there are some very talented artists in Grants Pass. The bears range from farmers to Egyptian Pharaohs. Here's a few of the ones I've seen so far. 

 Farmer bear waiting for a ride

 

Backpacking Bears

Kung Fu Fighting Bear

Portrait Artist Bear

Sphinx Bear 

King Tut Bear Cub

I can't wait to discover more bears in the coming weeks. Makes going to the grocery store an adventure. Just another thing I love about my new home town. 

Change is Good!

 I’ve been MIA from the blog for far too long but I have a good reason. I’m making a huge life change in 2014. I’m moving to Southern Oregon! In the spring my husband and I are packing up our antique filled Victorian home in the big city and moving to the country. 

We’ve lived in Pasadena California for over 15 years and we’ve been itching for a change. We went up to Southern Oregon on vacation in September and it’s been a whirlwind ever since. We fell in love with the friendly people and the beautiful countryside. We went up again in November to look at houses and flipped over a beautiful lodge home high in the hills of Grants Pass. We put in a low offer not expecting the seller to accept it but she did!

I’m a country girl at heart so the move is something I’ve been dreaming about but never thought would actually become a reality. The last couple of months have been filled with a few “OMG we did it” moments, and several major to-do lists. During the holidays I’ve been squeezing in time to say good-bye to some wonderful friends. It’s tough to leave a place I’ve enjoyed for so long but I knew it was time to do something big. From the moment we drove around the countryside of Southern Oregon it felt like home. Parts of it reminded me of Colorado, where I lived for seven years, and the other of upstate New York where my family is from. It also has a little bit of California thrown in so there isn't a ton of rain like in the northern part of Oregon and the winters are mild. Southern Oregon seemed like the perfect place to start a new chapter in my life.      

I have a lot of work ahead of me purging years of stuff tucked up in the attic. I also have a house full of collections and antiques I need to pack. But I wanted to let my faithful blog readers know I’m alive and well. I’m crazy busy but I’m looking forward to my new life in the country. My office has a view of a small stream with a waterfall. It’s going to be a wonderful place to write.

My husband will be in heaven in the huge barn aka ultimate man cave.    

 

2014 is going to be a great year!