Attended US Senator Jeff Merkley’s January 2018 Town Hall in Banks<\/a>, Oregon and US Senator Ron Wyden’s February 2018 Town Hall<\/a> in Hillsboro, and US Representative Suzanne Bonamici’s town hall in Banks, volunteered with the local chapter of the League of Women Voters<\/a>, and tried to get people to vote in the November 2018 election.<\/p>\n Got a hand-cranked pasta maker<\/a> from a neighbor who didn’t use it anymore (still struggling to use it correctly) and went on many cooking<\/a> adventures. I started to enjoy it a couple of years ago. Even made my first decent lasagna<\/a>.<\/p>\n Visited Cape Meres<\/a> on a day trip via motorcycle and going up Mount Hebo via Siuslaw National Forest Service Road 14<\/a> TWICE.<\/p>\n Was inspired by Agnes De Mille<\/a>.<\/p>\n Got a tweet from Strong Bad<\/a>.<\/p>\n Took my first ever off-road motorcycle riding class<\/a>. It wasn’t that the experience itself was fantastic – I was terrified through most of it. The reason it was a highlight was how much it improved my riding.<\/p>\n Saw a few hours of incredible riding by police motorcycle riders<\/a> at the North American Motor Officers Association (NAMOA) Annual Conference in May 2018 in Hillsboro, Oregon<\/p>\n Consulted with Afghan media reps & a media relations officer<\/a> and, a few weeks later, with NGO visitors from Kazakhstan gifts<\/a> visiting Portland, Oregon.<\/p>\n Went to Horning’s Hideout for the first time<\/a> (and a wedding together, besides our own, for the first time) and to Dundee Lodge in Gaston for the first time.<\/p>\n Hosted a world traveling bicycle rider<\/a>.<\/p>\n Attended my first ever OMSI science pub night<\/a> in Hillsboro, Oregon (to hear about the SOPHIA telescope)<\/p>\n Camped and hiked at Camp Wilkerson County Park<\/a> in Oregon, at Brooks Memorial State Park in Washington state<\/a>, and at Cottonwood Canyon State Park in Oregon<\/a> – and hiked University Falls<\/a> again.<\/p>\n Helped at a Friends of Family Farmer’s event<\/a> in Portland, Oregon.<\/p>\n Visited Rachel, Nevada<\/a> with Stefan – our second visits, but our first together, and my first via a motorcycle.<\/p>\n Saw Smokey and the Bandit<\/i> on the big screen after Burt Reynolds died and talked about Burt Reynolds instead of politics<\/a> – at least for a few minutes. And seeing Hooper<\/i> for the first time since I saw it in a theater a million years ago and realizing there’s a point where Reynolds, driving through a Western movie set really fast in order to scare an assistant to a director, yells out of the window, “Hey, Jane Ann!” Which is my name…<\/p>\n Finally seeing the entire first seasons of Doctor Who<\/i>. Okay, I get the appeal now – but you really do have to start from the very start of the reboot.<\/p>\n My wonderful neighbors<\/a>, especially Virgil<\/a>, continued to be wonderful<\/p>\n Walked Jaxson the dog most every weekday<\/a> – and even hosted him overnight a few times.<\/p>\n Saw Mark Haffner<\/a> for the first time in almost 30 years.<\/p>\n Every precious moment with our beloved Lucinda<\/a>.<\/p>\n My moment of greatest accomplishment: riding around the Steens Mountain<\/a> before the rest of our incredible trip through Nevada<\/a>. And finally getting a crash on gravel over with<\/a>.<\/p>\n The low point of the year? Losing Gray Max, my beloved cat<\/a>. Every day I miss him and mourn him. Our home just does not feel the same without him. So many moments in the day are empty without him.<\/p>\n Bittersweet moment of the year: Daisy Dog passing away<\/a>. Which was terribly sad… but I take great comfort in knowing just how much she was loved the last 4 1\/2 years of her life.<\/p>\n And the blog I’m most proud of: Storytelling<\/a> – a blog about a dream job and a long lost memory found again.<\/p>\n
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