Life at a "Swell's" pace

Halloween 2020

We decided against our yearly cotton candy spinning this year because of the pandemic, but we still had a good Halloween at home. Skylar wanted to dress up, like he does every year, but he decided against going trick or treating on his own. We answered the door with masks on and washed our hands after each person left. We even sanitized our door often just to help cut down on the spread of germs. It was a foggy morning and because of that, I decided to take a few shots in the local cemetery. I've started an Instagram account on the fog that rolls through the Willamette Valley and you can view it here. But, the fog on Halloween morning was perfect for a photo opportunity. Later in the night the Blue Moon was amazing! It's the first full Halloween moon to shine in all U.S. time zones in 76 years.

Skylar decided to go as the Joker for Halloween this year and when we turned the lights out, he really did look pretty scary. We only got a few trick or treaters and Skylar didn't go trick or treating himself, but it was a fun night. His makeup was pretty accurate and I can hear the Joker's voice, "Why so serious?"

"Let's put a smile on that face."

Five Simple Things (October 30)

Hello.

Tomorrow is Halloween and we normally are getting ready to pick up a commercial cotton candy machine, and organizing our sugars, cones, bags, and Halloween décor to bring the trick-or-treaters in. We found that spinning cotton candy was a lot more fun and a lot cheaper for us. Halloween for the last six years have been us spinning cotton candy and getting a good arm workout in the process. But, with the Coronavirus pandemic and the wildfires here, we have decided to lay low this year and pass out candy. I stocked up on some organic suckers over the past two weeks and have plenty to give out. Hopefully, we get a few dozen trick-or-treaters this year, if not, we are going to be eating a lot of suckers the next few months. We are just in a weird place with everything in the world and I wouldn't blame anyone not wanting to go house to house and collect candy. We will definitely be wearing our masks the whole time, though. Here are five things this week.

1. This Snail.

Slowly seeing more and more animals coming out of their hiding areas. For about a week there was a lot of random animals around the city; deer, a pack of coyotes, geese, birds of all kinds, a cougar, a lot of rabbits, raccoons, beavers, etc. They were running to escape the fire we were told. Then for about three months after seeing all of those it went quiet. No animals, not birds, nothing. We are starting to see them now more. I always feel sorry for animals during intense and stressful moments. They don't understand anything other than danger and try to run away from it. It makes me sad to think a lot of animals didn't make it to safety before the fire reached them. It's nice to hear the birds and see the other random animals out and about flourishing once again.

2. This Ride.

Skylar and I have been riding our bikes out to where Jeff works. It's about a 15 mile ride. Jeff put the bike rack on the back of his car and we end up loading our bikes up and driving back home. Hopefully, one of these days we'll be able to ride there and back, but for now, it's nice to just be able to do 15 miles and not feel like it's a struggle.

3. This History.

Found this interesting information on garden hermits and hedge witches. History is so great when it reveals hidden gems like this. Do you relate more the garden hermit or the hedge witch?

4. These Sunflowers.

We had to cut the beat up sunflowers this week and "save" them from just shriveling up and dying. A placed them in a large vase on the table and for now they will be pampered. It's unfortunately that we've had such a horrible summer this year, but at least they look nice for now.

5. These Prints.

While cleaning the windows of ash inside and outside from this past wildfires season I discovered these nose prints. I haven't cleaned this window since Meia died and those nose prints are hers. I teared up a bit, but it was nice to have a reminder of her in a random place. I miss her.

Yogi Surprise for October:

One last thing: Skylar and I started a podcast on true crime, serial killers/notable murders, hauntings, and ghostly occurrences. It's named Diablic Evil and we'd love for you to check it out. Our first episode aired on October 27 and is on H. H. Holmes. You can listen to episodes on most podcast platforms or from our website here, or our Anchor page here.

Positive affirmations this week:

Have a nice weekend.

Kurt Cobain Memorial Park-Aberdeen, Washington

It took me awhile to figure out what to say here, but I decided to just let the picture speak for themselves. We did find Kurt Cobain's boyhood home, but there's a family living there and it's been remodeled. We didn't feel right disturbing them, or even taking any pictures of it from the outside. Sitting under the bridge where Kurt Cobain wrote songs, played, and hung out with his friends before he became an icon was a surreal and somber experience. Nirvana is one of my favorite bands, but it's so heartbreaking to know that the singer, songwriter, and face behind the band was so sad and fighting with himself in his own head. Depression takes some of the best people from this world. I miss his words and thoughts on the world, especially now that I am in my 40s. I wish he was here still. Long live Kurt and his memory.

"One more special message to go, and then I'm done. Then I can go home..." Kurt Cobain

Five Simple Things (October 23)

Hello.

This week we took a drive through the wildfire areas near Detroit, Oregon. It's devastating. Literally devastating. A few years ago we were thinking of buying a cabin in the Detroit area. We drove up to see if the cabin survived and it didn't make it. It was such a cute cabin, too. Every single cabin in the area is gone. It breaks my heart so much for those people, especially during the time we are in right now. We are finally seeing more and more blue skies here, but it's kind of bittersweet. We lost a few people in the fires here in Oregon and two people died less than 30 minutes from our house. They got trapped by the fire and tried to leave in a vehicle and didn't make it. I always think of the suffering. I hope they didn't suffer. Most of the wildfires are contained now, but it's still a bit smoky here, but not as bad as it was. Hopefully, we get a wet winter here this year so it will help extinguish the rest. A lot of people that were evacuated were able to return to their homes this week. And, people in burned areas were able to get to their homes and survey the damage. It's just awful here. It seems the moral of everyone is depressing. We've seen a lot this year here, but I have hopes that everything will be okay. Here are five things this week.

1. These Skies.

Finally seeing more and more blue skies without the sun or clouds being blocked by wildfire smoke. This moment driving to Corvallis we were able to see the sun lighting up the sky and then the clouds broke through and a few sprinkles of rain came. It was almost like being given a drink of water after weeks of being thirsty. It was a nice and wonderful moment.

2. These Cabins.

I love horror and anything creepy and although this cabin/barn is currently not abandoned, or unoccupied I found them cool and almost horror-movie-like.

3. These Geese.

We've seen more Canadian Geese around the valley lately. We think they've been pushed out of other areas because of the wildfires, and have found refuge in the open fields here. This flock looked worn out, or tired in a way when we saw them. Hopefully, they are finding some peace through everything that has happened this wildfire season.

4. This Animation.