Author Archives: makielb

The current situation with the Omicron variant of the virus (SARS-CoV-2) and covid. The number of new cases on Wednesday is the most on a single day in the United States since January of this year after the insurgency. While Omicron is easier to catch it appears to be less serious, especially in the vaccinated.Continue reading “Oregon – the rising virus situation”

Oscar had never been to an aquarium, or a zoo for that matter, so we decided to make the trip to Newport to go to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. The jellyfish exhibits was delightful. I was also taken by the goose-necked barnacles. The number and diversity in invertebrates was wonderful. In the piles of sea-starsContinue reading “Oregon – The Oregon Coast Aquarium”

I love this glass dragon housed in the children’s section of the library. Photos cannot catch the wonder of this. Legos are quite important in Alexis’ house as well as Eugene where there are many store that specialize in them. This Redwall Abbey in a case at the library was well done. It was niceContinue reading “October – Books and a visit to the library”

It’s been a steady rain all day. Even the sidewalks are flooded. But the elves are happy playing in the house, after a long night of frolicking near a delightfully decorated Christmas tree. A lemur crowing the tree has been a long-standing tradition with Alexis. Along with Yoda and Snoopy standing side-by-side. With more SnoopyContinue reading “Oregon – getting ready for Christmas”

The weather for the remaining time that we have in Eugene is less than optimal, but we will still enjoy our time here. Now on to the market. The street is closed to traffic, and a great place to find fresh food, or an interesting mural. From the outdoor market we went into a delightfulContinue reading “Oregon – Eugene Farmers Market”

It was time for Oscar and Susan to make twist-twists. Oscar was quite proud of his monkey apron. Oscar was also quite happy waiting for the dough to chill and watching the work on the sewer line in the driveway. Then it was time to walk to the park, seeing some interesting plants along theContinue reading “Oregon – more time the kitchen”

Camilla and I went to Monroe Park before her karate lesson. She was intrigued with the seed heads of the Sweetgum. Ultimately she collected a bunch for an art project. I think of Sweetgum as a south-eastern US tree, but they are quite common in and around Eugene. Now on to karate! The karate lessonsContinue reading “Oregon – karate at Monroe Park”

I like taking pictures around town, here or in Ann Arbor, when it is dark. The cannabis industry is thriving in Oregon. Street art outside of a café, just like the next one. And a pretty wild set of windows with a dancer going across three window screens. And finally a snowman painted on aContinue reading “Oregon – downtown Eugene at night”

First of all, yesterday when it became really cold, the sky cleared and we actually saw some sun. The rascally elves got up in the middle of the night to play Trash Panda, a really fun little game. Today we went to Corvallis to visit our friends Jamie and Taylor. Jamie, who was on theContinue reading “Oregon – a visit to Corvallis”

But first – the elves built a lego train and had fun last night. Getting Milly to school and Oscar to day care during the pandemic. And finally a tea party! We might be able to get out later today. The temperature this morning was 31F and everything was covered with ice. I’m not sureContinue reading “Oregon – helping with the kids”