Hello everyone,

Chrissie has been feeling a bit under the weather since last night and is completely incapacitated on our couch right now.

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The animals, sensing her weakness, have allowed her into their territory to recover.

So, for the near-future I will be taking over Chrissie’s Blogging duties…

It’s been incredibly windy here in Portland. So windy, in fact, that when Artie and I, upon our morning walk, turned a corner and the howling gale crashing down from the Columbia Gorge hit us square in the chest Artie’s floppy ears shot out from his head and I thought he was going to be swept away flying-nun style.

But, the best thing about a chill wind is it necessitates a fire! I love making big roaring fires. Our neighbors gave us a load of seasoned cedar and oak and it crackles and burns with a fierceness. It is truly grand. But I’ll save the tale of the smoke detector for Chrissie to tell. Hopefully, by the time she’s recovered the strength to type, she’ll have forgotten the incident, but I dont think so.