the rain has returned

Hello...so the weekend has passed & I'm back at work & my office is freezing. It is rainy & cold here. Friday night I went over to Elaine & Gina's house. The plan was to eat at Ye Hala's, a lebanese restaurant down the street. We were thwarted by remodeling & had to go to Canton Grill for chinese food instead. There was a group of seven of us. It was lots of fun . After dinner we went back to their house & played a round of Shanghai Rummy. It's a card game that we have tons-o-fun playing. Erin beat her husband 7 or 8 rounds in a row. It was hilarious. I was home early & slept well.

Saturday I bought some items for my Halloween costume. At noon Camille picked me up & we went to Jess' house. The three of us drove down into the Willamette Valley to get pumpkins & cider & gourds. We could easily get these things at a grocery store in town but it's become a tradition for Jess & I to get out of town & find a pumpkin patch. From there we drove into wine country & stopped at 2 vineyards, Lange Estate & Rex Hill. We tasted some really incredible wines & saw some great views despite the clouds. It was a lovely way to spend the day.

Later that night I went with Gina down to O'Malley's & hung out with some friends. I saw some people that I haven't hung out with in months so it was really fun. I left a little after midnight in the pouring pouring rain.

Sunday I went to the musuem for my volunteer shift. I walked through some of galleries to look at their permanent collection more & also went through the Edward Weston exhibit again. Going there makes me very happy. Sunday evening I met up with Ryan at the Bonfire. We hadn't seen each other in almost 2 months so it was nice to connect with him again. It is strange & difficult to be "just friends" with someone I dated for so long but I definitely think it's worth the effort. I'm feeling very tired right now so I'll pass on further description. I hope you all had a great weekend & please write me back & let me know how you're doing.

much love,
carolyn