New Puppy, Steamboating, Summer, Etc.

Once again it's been months since I've written a new post. I'd like to say time just gets away from me, but it's more likely that I'm just not very disciplined when it comes to blogging.

The beauty of skipping several months is that this will be fairly short, and I'll just hit the highlights - because that's all that I remember.

Ok, the highlights -
First we have a new puppy! Maddie is a sweet chocolate lab who joined our family the first week of June when she was eight weeks old. We love her to pieces, but have had to make a few adjustmenst in our household. Maybe I should say the other pets have had to make the biggest adjustments. Baby gates now keep Maddie safe and sound within the confines of the kitchen. Hmmmmm, that seems like that might be something Abbey, Captain, and Tucker are not so crazy about. Used to having free reign of the house, they are now stopped by gates they don't quite understand. Not only that, behind those gates resides a very rambunctious, small chocolate brown puppy. Abbey is very patient when confronted with a small puppy that jumps continually and tries to engage her in play. Captain avoides her at all costs, and Tucker has moved from sheer terror to now stealthily sliding under the gates and into the kitchen at every oportunity. He so very much wants to be friends with her, but puppies being puppies - Maddie is a little wild. Tucker tries his best to be calm and make friends, and Maddie tries her best to engage him in play by chasing him around the kitchen. It's never dull that's for sure!!

Maddie's best friend is her litter mate JJ - adopted by Tim and Lou. JJ is a beautiful, sweet, black lab. The two girls love playing together - and run themselves to complete exhaustion. Good for the pups - and good for the parents. Tired dogs make for happy parents :).

Since Maddie requires a lot of time, and isn't able to go anywhere until she is four months old and has had enough of her shots to keep her safe, we are concentrating on what we are able to do here at home and in Portland this summer. That translates into lots and lots of steamboat rides on the Tortoise. Dave has scheduled two groups of people each Wednesday evening, and three groups on Saturday for the entire summer. Hopefully this will mean we are able to accomodate just about everyone that would like a ride - or we would like to have come with us. We started with a list of about 100 people, but are finding more and more people that would like a ride. As long as the weather holds out, and all is well with the boat, we will take anyone that would like a ride.

This past Saturday was especially nice for us - we were able to have two of our oldest and dearest friends and their spouses on board. Sparky and her husband Glen, and Reineer and his wife Jackie were our guests. Sparky and Reineer had not seen each other since Floyds funeral 23 years ago, so it was a very nice reunion for the two of them. We talked about Floyd, and how much he would have loved the steamboat. We laughed as we remembered his strong opinions and ideas - and he was always right. A good friend who is very much misssed. I'm sure he was there in spirit! Sparky's new husband Glen is a wonderful man - we couldn't be happier for her, or like him any more than we do.

This coming Wednesday we have a group of Katie and her friends on board. Katie and Matt, along with Mary and her husband Charlie, and Mary's parents will be riding. Dave and Myles will be on board to take charge of the engine room, steering, and any of the other mechanics that need looking after.

Saturday's boat ride will be with Greg and Charisse who will be coming from Seattle, along with Charisse's boss Deb and her husband Keith. They will be riding with Charisse's Mom Johanna, Stepdad Sam, brother Dylan, and her Dad Bruce. Sean will be along to crew - can't do it without him! After the ride is over we'll be doing a BBQ at our house. We'll be grilling salmon for our entree, and will probably have a nice salad, good bread, a vegetable of some type, and dessert. Of course wine and beer are usually the beverages of choice to accompany the meal. For those not drinking we'll have sparkling water, lemonade, and some type of pop.

We've been really lucky this summer as far as weather goes. We have had weeks and weeks without rain - and plenty of sun. Yesterday it clouded over and finally sprinkled during the night. Today was overcast most of the day, but is clearing up tonight. The 10 day outlook starting tomorrow is for sunshine and high temps - 80's - all the way. Woo hooo!!! We're all loving that!

I said this was going to be short - and it's longer than I thought it would be so I better close here. I'll try to be better about writing - but I make no promises. Since no one reads this - it really doesn't matter anyway. :)

January, February, March 2009

I can't believe it's been nearly three months since my last post. Oh dear! That sounds like people going to confession "It's been ____ since my last confession." I'll try to catch up on a few of the things that have happened. In January I went to Austin, Texas to be one of three assistants to Wendi Friesen as she spoke at a seminar. I was really excited to be asked to go and help - that meant I would not only meet Wendi, but several other people I had become friends with online in Wendi's chatroom or perhaps twitter. I shared a room with Maggie and Shelly - two wonderful people that I absolutely connected with. Just "picture if you will" :) three women, one hotel room/one bathroom, LOTS of suitcases, and three laptop computers. We stumbled over each other,and around each other, but worked like a ballet in action as we set about getting ready for the day. Somehow we all managed to take showers, do our hair and makeup, and never really be in each others way or have a cross word to one another. We had a blast, bonded as if we'd known each other forever, stayed up too late, drank too much wine, laughed ourselves silly - and just generally had a great time. Some of the people we met were: Joe Vitaly (one of the stars of the movie The Secret), Bruce Muzic, Joe Sugarman (inventor of the Blue Blocker sunglasses), Mr 2020- and his sweet wife Carol, Mindy Audlin - loved her, Jon Biel (Jennifer Biels father), and Miss America 1962 - Maria ? can't remember her last name right now. There were many others, but right now the names are just not coming to me. I had a fabulous time, made some new friends, and was really glad that I went.

Katie has moved back to Portland - is looking for work in the graphic design field - but in the meantime, working as a barista at Al's Garden Center. She's working on her website to showcase some of her graphic design work - and hoping to land something permanent in that field - sooner rather than later.

It's March 15th - and we are still experiencing snow on a fairly regular basis - like today! So much snow this year - I think every week we've had at least one day with snow of some sort - usually more than one day. We're all getting a little tired of the snow and cold at this point - and we're ready for sunshine and nice weather!!!!!

We have decided to get another dog - a black lab of course. We went to visit two different breeders to check the dogs out. The first one we did not feel good about at all. We didn't like the owner nor the dogs themselves. We found another place thru a recommendation from someone Dave works with, that used to raise labs - and where Larry and Edna got their dogs. Tim, Lou, and I went out to Sauvie's Island to see the dogs - and instantly fell in love with the mother dog. We put our names on the list for two female black labs - to be born mid April, and ready to bring home the end of May.

I started this two days ago - but never finished it. Today is March 17th - St Patricks Day. Lunch with my good friends Lynda, Lynda, and Lou - at Gustav's. That's a great place to go for lunch - the booths are large, there is a wide variety of food, and they are so nice about letting us sit there for hours on end and just visiting. We always leave a large tip :).

I'm thinking that the best thing I can do, is to get this finished up and post it right now before I get sidetracked again. So, here goes. I will try to be better about posting on here more often.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Christmas Eve

December 24th, 2008 - Christmas Eve. This will be a Christmas Eve we won't forget. This December holds the prestigous record for the most snow ever recorded in December. I think the last measuring we did showed snow 15 or more inches deep (depending on where it was measured) in our yard - and there was more that came after that. December 23rd it was predicted that we would have another five inches and then freezing rain would begin. Greg and Charisse made the decision not to attempt coming to Portland today as planned - well actually the decision was made for them when they couldn't get out of their neighborhood due to the snowy, icy roads, and the steep hill down to the main highway. We were sad, but much more important to us was their safety - that came first.

By about 10:00 am this morning, the forecast was drastically changed. A warming front was coming thru very soon, temperatures would rise, and it would begin raining - and that's exactly what happened. It rained all day, huge chunks of snow fell from trees, the streets became slushy and deeply rutted - more dangerous than before almost. The ruts would throw cars all over the road - including into the path of oncoming cars.

During the day as the rain fell, I baked and glazed rum cakes, put together Apple French Toast for breakfast tomorrow morning, cut up veggies and made dips for Christmas Eve dinner. I organized as much as I could of the rest of the food for Christmas Eve, and all I could for Christmas Day - for both breakfast and dinner. I finished wrapping gifts, washed tableclothes and dishes for tomorrow, and cleaned up as much of the house as I could - or at least as much as I knew could be done ahead without the cats disturbing things.

By late afternoon it seemed that major highways were becoming clear and drivable, but sidestreets were still a mess. There is the hope Greg and Charisse may be able to make it down tomorrow afterall - yea!

At 4:30 we left for dinner at Margie and Bill's - a fairly treacherous drive as we spun out once, and the deep ruts made driving difficlut and the feeling that we were on some kind of Disneyland ride. We made it to Margie's and noticed as we were driving in that there was no electricity on her side of the street. Sure enough, they had lost power not long before we arrived. We entered to see the house beautifully lit by candle light and a fire in the fireplace. Chris, Jan, and Beth were there - Peter went to Sunriver with his girlfriend - Sean, Kelley, Melissa, and Annie. Lucky for us this years dinner was not something that needed to be cooked in an oven! Chris and Jan brought wonderful sandwiches that Jan had ordered, we had smoked salmon, cheeses and crackers, veggies and dips, salads, breads, green beans gingerbread cookies, and wine and beer to drink. It was perfect. Annie got a call from Santa Clause (Dave) while we were there, asking her if she'd been a good girl this year and what she wanted for Christmas. She was very excited about that!

We opened gifts - Margie got the cow this year - with my added addition of a pig attached to the cow. It will be fun to see what addition she adds to it next year.

Sean and Kelley and the kids had just left, the rest of us were on our way out, when finally, the lights came on! It was pretty funny. We had all done everything by candlelight for the whole night, and now we could see! We came back in, looked at the beautiful ornaments on the tree, the decorations in the house, and could actually see what each other was wearing - including the sweater of mine that Katie was wearing. Jan had the same exact sweater, and had worn it earlier in the day and just changed it to come for Christmas Eve. Too funny.

We came home, organized a few things for morning, and then relaxed and watched old movies on Tv. Morning will come soon - and still lots to get ready. Better stop here and get some sleep!

The Snow Continues to Fall

We made it thru the weekend, as inch after inch of snow piled up. It's Monday afternoon as I'm writing this. I measured the snow this morning - 14 inches - maybe more - depends on where it's measured. Greg and Charisse are stuck in Seattle and may not be able to make it down for Christmas. Greg was going to drive down tomorrow, and Charisse was going to take the train when she got off work on Wednesday - Christmas Eve. I don't think that is going to happen - but we'll wait and see. I will work on manifesting opportunities for them to get here.

Christmas Eve as always is planned at Margie and Bill's, but I'm not sure if that will work or not. Don was going to fly up from California tomorrow, but the airport is a mess and hundreds of flights have been cancelled. At this point it sounds like he will just stay put in California and not even try to make the trip.

Dave shoveled off the driveway, dug out his van, and put chains on his car this morning. We ventured as far a Hagan's for a few groceries we needed. The streets were deep with snow, and the only people not slipping and sliding were people with chains or four wheel drive - and even some of them were sliding. The worst part of the trip was trying to avoid all of the people walking along the sides of the road - some pullng their kids on sleds. Really dangerous for them - once a car started sliding, there was really no way to control where it was going. I hope no one is hurt!

I think we're in for the rest of the day. The Blazers will be on TV at 6pm, so we'll just settle in and watch the game. We have plenty of food, and of course some wine - what more could we want?

I just heard on TV that not enough TSA people showed up to work at the airport today, so all those stranded people are being shuttled thru the D and E concourse. Just something to add to the merriment of the poor people stranded there for days on end. Some people have now been there for four days - with small children- YIKES!

I've taken pictures the last few days, but haven't downloaded them yet. As soon as I do, I'll be sure to add some of them to todays ramblings.

This is supposed to be the worst snowstorm in Portland since 1950 - wow! I'll keep updating as I have news to report.

Snow and freezing rain

Snow continued to fall all day-inch after inch. The weather people from every local news channel were on all day - looking more and more tired as the day drug on. At least once every 15 minutes a 'weather alert" was announced. I'm not sure what was different from one fifteen minute segment to the next - but they sure did seem to take it seriously. Different parts of the city began closing later in the afternoon, chains were required for driving, and various interstate highways were shut down. Dire warnings and predictions began to pepper the airways. At 5:30 we ventured out to the house of friends who live about six blocks away. We had scheduled a holiday dinner, and decided that it was still possible to make it to their home and back. We had a wonderful dinner, and then dessert. Better than anything we could have gotten in a rest aurant. About 10:30 we looked outside and saw that freezing rain had begun falling. We quickly gathered up our things, and headed out for the drive home. We made it just fine until we got to the driveway. Once there we couldn't get in - or out for that matter.

Dave jumped out of the car, shoveled the driveway under the tires, and then climbed back in the car to maneuver it into the driveway. A couple of tries, and in we went - a little sliding, but still - we got in! We checked the yard - snow was at least 2-3 inches deeper than when we had left. Wow!

Off to bed - long day, and probably a longer day tomorrow. Good night.

Snow, snow, and more snow - then freezing rain

It's been snowing off and on here in Portland for the last week. There was enough snow and ice every day that the kids were out of school all week - bet they were happy! It started in again this morning and hasn't stopped - it's about 2:00pm now. The freezing rain will start somewhere around midnight here in the Portland area - outlying areas will begin around 8 pm. Many of the flights at PDX are cancelled - both incoming and outgoing. I'm sure there are a lot of really sad people trying to get home for the holidays, and they have no idea when they will be able to leave.

The weather people are in heaven - they've pretty much been on the air non-stop since Monday. With the ease of the internet, people are able to take videos of their areas of town, and then send them on in to the TV stations to be shown on the air. That does make it a little more fun to watch - not quite as tedious as seeing the same news people saying pretty much the same thing over and over. At this point it sounds like this will stick around for a few more days - at least until Tuesday. This sure isn't great for the stores - people can't get out to shop - less money being put back into the economy. It is what it is, can't do anything about it.

I finished my shopping yesterday, and wrapped all of my presents. Today I made a batch of pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting - yummy! I have a big pot of chili simmering away on the stove - smells delicious. When it's done cooking, I'll freeze it and then get it back out again for Christmas Day dinner.

Christmas morning we'll have a whole crowd here for brunch - somewhere between 11 and 15 at last count. I'm going to make a caramel apple spiced french toast, fruit, juice and champagne. I think Kelley will be bringing a strata with sausage to go along with it. When brunch is finished and people who are leaving for other places have gone, we'll do our quick change trick. We'll whisk all of the decorations, dishes, glasses and food off of the table - along with the tablecloth and placemats. We'll pull out a clean tablecloth, new placemats, new decorations - and start all over again with new place settings. We'll be all set for the next group that will be arriving for dinner. By the time Christmas Day dinner rolls around, I think most everyone is pretty full - so dinner will be pretty simple and light. Chili, french bread, and maybe a salad. Of course we will also be serving beer, wine, champagne (my personal favorite)and soft drinks.

Two days after Christmas we will be doing the Larson Family Christmas at our house. It looks like we will be lucky enough to have everyone be able to make it this year. It's hard to get everyone together at the same time with so many committments during the holidays. Dinner that night will be lasagna, french bread, salads, and whatever people bring beyond that. I'm sure we won't go hungry - always much more food than we could ever eat - but it's all so delicious.

Time to go check the snow again and see how deep it's gotten since I last looked.

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem

There is a saying "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." I have to admit this hits me head on this morning. We have a new President, our first black President - Barak Obama. He was not my choice for President - not because he was black, but because I was conerned about his affiliations with known terrorists, his lack of experience, his lack of a voting record, and most important to me - I do not agree with his economic policy. None of these are things that just occured to me this morning - no, these are things I have been conerned about all along. As the days turned into week, the weeks into months, and months into years - the surging tide for Obama became stronger and stronger. I became more concerned as the weeks passed by, one after another. I worried as I heard Acorn was out going door to door registering voters - and urging them to vote Democrat. I worried as I heard the Hollywood liberals - one after another - endorse Obama, and malign Mccain - I knew they carried a certain weight with the young and impressionable voters. I worried as I heard more and more Republicans turn against their party and throw their support to the Deomcratic candidate. Yet, at no time did it coccur to me that there might be something that I could - should- do to counter this rising support for Obama. I realize now that I have to blame myself for part of the McCain loss - I did nothing to ensure his win.

The Democratic Party appeals very much to the idealism of the young. The young are earnest in their support, and energized to act. They don't take "no" for an answer, and they have the drive to work long and hard for what they believe in. The Republican Party tends to be more of an older part of our populalation. We are "too busy, too tired, too jaded, too scared, too apathetic" to act. If the Republicans would like to once again be in charge of running our country, we will have to change - we will have to become involved in a way we have not been in the past.

The Republican party has left many of its supporters behind. The last four years they have ignored the will of the people at an alarming rate. I believe most people are far more moderate than what the party is touting. If they are to regain the support they have lost, they will need to take a serious look at what they have become, and realign themselves with a more moderate approach.

Enough about what was - on to the possiblities that lie before us. A black man has been chosen as our leader - something unthinkable for most black Americans - before today. My hope is, this Presidency will unite the country - that we will finally all feel that we are equal. That the same opportunities will exist for people - no matter what their color. It is also a time that black people will have to step up to the plate - they will not be able to use the excuse of being black as their reason for failure.

I am looking forward to an exciting four years ahead of us. I am looking forward to seeing a country that has been slit apart, begin working together. I am looking forward to seeing a vision that is bright and shiny and new - become a reality. I am looking forward to a stronger, better, healthier America. I will hold these hopes and dreams in my heart as long as I possibly can. I hope that vision becomes a reality.

October - the birthday month

October - the month of my birthday as well as many of my friends and family. Mine is the 8th, Lou's is the 9th, Michael's the 19th, cousin Don the 21st, my Dad's the 23rd, the twins the 26th. These are only a few of the October birthday's.

This year we celebrated my birthday for a whole week - as it should be - haha! We started the weekend before my birthday and continued on thru the week. My actual birthday we went to Acadia for cajun food. Lou and I celebrated together - her birthday is the day after mine - though she is YOUNGER than I am! We had a wonderful dinner. Appetizers, entree, dessert, and wine. All absoultely delicious. Sean was a little upset that we didn't take him - he was the one that turned us on to this restaurant. I promised that we would go again - soon - and take him with us.

Today is one of those days I live for. A beautiful Indian Summer day. It was actually colder in our house this morning when we got up, than it was outside. The sky was the color blue that you can only see in autumn - light in color, but deep in intensity. I'm sure that makes no sense, but that's all I could come up with. The wind was blowing so strong - sometimes it sounded like a freight train coming thru - but it was warm. We couldn't begin to keep up with the leaves falling off the trees - though we tried for a while. We filled bag after bag with crisp, dry, golden colored leaves. It was a pleasure to rake them up, and fill the bags as full as we could. We worked outside all day. We pulled all of the spent summer plants from their pots, and refilled the pots with tulip bulbs. Something to look forward to in early spring - bright, beautiful tulips!

It's nearly 6:00pm now - and still warm and beautiful outside. We are drinking champagne and eating appetizers outside on the deck - smoked salmon and crackers with melted cheese - our last hurrah to summer. These are the summer flavors I long for in the cold, dark days of winter. I wish I could bottle these colors and feelings. Something to uncork in the dead of winter when life is dull and flat. When it seems like winter never ends, and spring will never arrive.

This summer has been good. We had wonderful times with our children, spent two weeks in Paris and Prague with good friends, and in between - enjoyed the best summer had to offer us. What more could I ask for? I am blessed, and I appreciate every single second of the life I am living.

Go USA!

I just finished watching a recorded version of the USA vs. Spain basketball game in the Olympics. Wow! That was the coolest thing ever! I love that all of the players seemed to be playing as a team rather than an individual wanting all of the glory. I have to say - I was even impressed with Kobe Bryant - he seemed to be genuinely moved by the whole experience. I LOVE that our home team coach - Nate McMillan- was one of the team coaches - I think he is awesome. It is really nice to see that some of the players I don't usually think very much of, were real team players - and very humble. The USA is a great country - it was nice to see our players show so much respect and honor. I'm excited for the upcoming Blazer season - Rudy Fernandez is one of our new players this year. He made a great showing playing for his country (Spain) in the Olympics, so we're looking forward to having him on our team this year. Go Blazers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I haven't blogged for quite a while - I guess that would actually be two months. A lot has happened since then. We went to Europe for vacation. We went with two other couples - really good friends that we have traveled with before, and had the most fabulous time ever. We left from Seattle - it just so happens that each of the couples has at least one of their children living there. We had dinner out with our kids the night before we left. We got up bright and early on July 1st and headed out on the airport/hotel shuttle to the airport. We boarded a United flight to Chicago. We were so LUCKY (thank you Tim!) to have business class all the way to Paris - and later onto Prague. We spent several hours in O'Hare airport in Chciago. I think that's where the partying really started - we were in the Red Carpet Club Lounge in Chicago where we first toasted our trip with glasses of champagne - what a thrill! From Chicago we flew to London/Heathrow - where I went to Boots and bought a new flat iron for my hair - that's a long story for another time. From London we flew on to Paris and arrived about 2:00pm. We had hired a car and driver to take us to our hotel - the Inter Continental - what a great hotel. We arrived, checked in, and then went to the Club Room at our hotel and drank champagne and toasted to such a wonderful trip. Hmmmm, seems like we did a lot of toasting - :-). We went to a local place for dinner - nnnnn something recommended by our hotel concierge. We had a great dinner and then headed back to our hotel for a good nights sleep before heading out for our first real day of sightseeing in Paris.

Paris is as always - a fantastic city - and we saw as many highlights as time would allow. Without any elaboration, here are some of the sights we saw - The Eiffel Tower, the Champs -Elysees, Notre Dame, a boat ride at night on the Seine River, Montmarte, The Arc de Triumphe, Musee d'Orsay, Musee Picaso, and the Oprah House. In between times we stopped for wine and had wonderful meals at various restaurants around te city.

Next we flew onto Prague - the most beautiful city I've ever seen.

More later - after I have my computer repaired so that I am able to use the letter 'h'.

Summer Memories

It's been a while since I've checked in here - not that there hasn't been anything to write about. Just a few highlights of the past few weeks, and then on to something new.

Let's see, Dave and a crew steamed downriver to a place he had rented where he could have the boat hauled out of the water for repairs. It was pretty quick getting to the place where the boat would come out - but took hours actually getting it out. That was a Thursday, so we had Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to get all of the repair and painting done before it went back in the water on Monday and steamed back to our moorage. All went smoothly, and we were grateful for the help from friends and family.

Yesterday was Father's Day and both Greg and Katie were here for the weekend. We had a great dinner on Saturday night - Dave grilled fresh halibut, asparagus with garlic cloves, drizzled with olive oil and grilled, Dave's famous potatoes on the grill, and a combination of green beans, red peppers, and onions - steamed on the stove. The kids picked out the Hawaiian bread that they have at Uwajamaya to go along with the rest of the dinner. We had a nice chardonnay, and a good pinot noir to go along with dinner. It was delicious. Yesterday morning Sean came over, and they fixed a great breakfast - complete with bacon - mmmmmmm.

So it seems like it's finally decided to act like summer here in our little corner of the world. Absolutely perfect days - these could go on forever as far as I'm concerned. Anyway, I started thinking about all of the memories of summer I have from my "kid" years. Here's a list of them - in no particular order:
Getting up early to go berry picking
Berry fights on the bus
Playing baseball in the street with all of the kids and their parents - usually after dinner
Packing a sack lunch and heading to the woods for the day. We would build a fort at the beginning of the summer, and play in it all summer long
The JoJo man - don't know why he was called that - but he was the ice cream man. Ice cream bars were a dime.
Riding our bikes for hours and hours and hours - only coming home for dinner
Playing lots of games on the front lawn - red light/green light, Mother may I, Statue
Walking around the block on a clear night with my Dad as he pointed out all of the constellations to me
Catching bees at my Grandmas - got stung a few times
Vacation Bible School with all of the kids in the neighborhood
Walking to A&W for Rootbeer floats
My mom taking my brother and I to the drive in in our pajamas
Going to Rockaway beach every summer from the time I was two - just the Mom's and kids - and the Dad's flying down on Saturday afternoon and having dinner with us and then going back home
Going to Welches and staying in cabins every summer - again just the Mom's and kids
Making forts over the swingset in the backyard, and then sleeping outside in them all night
Of course there were always lots of water things - slip and slide, squirt guns, sprinklers, pools
Having lots and lots of sleepovers all summer long.
Sitting outside in the dark telling the scariest ghost stories
So these are some of my memories - what are yours?

A Treasure Found

I guess I had better take care of this weeks poll question before I do anything else. Email has been rolling in like crazy from people asking what the new question is - well, maybe that's not quite true - :-). But I am a day late for this weeks question. So be sure to check it out and vote. Oh, almost forgot. Last weeks question for favorite cartoon character was a tie between, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, and Casper.

What a busy, busy weekend we had. We did yard work, Dave worked on the new bathroom floor, I worked on cleaning all of the parts of the shower doors that Dave had taken off and put out on the deck, and last but not least - cleaned the garage out. It was in the garage that we found our treasure - but I'll get to that. We made an all out effort at clutter reduction and organization. We opened every box, we pawed thru all of the books, the papers, the clothes, and shoes. We took down each and every piece of sports equipment and tried to figure out who it belonged to - did they want it? did it fit? We sorted, we organized, we threw out, we put things in a pile for Goodwill, and finally - regrouped what we had decided to keep. Next came a new organizational plan - well kind of. We put like things together - novel concept don't you think? We consolidated boxes of college books and paraphanalia. Random bags, and boxes of clothing and bedding were once again put together in groups - hopefully their owners will someday come to claim them once again.

Soooo, box after box was opened - most had been gone thru many times before. Finally we came to a box that looked as though it had not been opened in a very long time. We carefully opened it and were surprised to find that the contents were items that had belonged to Dave's Grandma - who had died 28 years ago. There was her Bible, some family pictures, a jewelry box containing costume jewelry, and last but not least, a small old fashioned washboard. Taped to the back of the washboard, and written by Dave's grandma Nevil was the history of the washboard. The washboard had been made by Grandma Nevill's father as an engagement gift for her mother. At the time her father was working in a factory that made washboards. The year it was made was 1870 - almost 140 years old! A true treasure. As soon as I get it cleaned up just a little, it will be hung in a place of honor on my kitchen wall.

The weekend was hot - we broke records both days. Today was in the mid 80's, very humid tonight, and rain is on the way. I think it will be a relief when the rain finally starts - the air is oppressive and heavy.

The floor in the bathroom is looking good! Tonight is applying the first coat of sealer. Dave will also put the shower back together. Sure will look better than it did before. The plan is to be done with the whole project by Thursday - hope that works.

Now here's some really exciting new for the day. Have I ever told you about my mailman? He is a great guy - always has time to stop and visit. He asks about the kids - what they're doing, how are their jobs, are they making me a grandma yet (really - he does!). I ask him about his family - he has two grown daughters "the princesses" - not married - much to his dismay. He wants those grandchildren! Anyway, I'm getting to the exciting part now. Today he came to the door to bring me a package and visit of course. He took one look at me and said "oh my gosh - you look 18! You got your hair cut - makes you look so young". Now, what do you think about that? That just made my day- even if he might have been stretching the truth just a tiny bit.

Happy days are here again

Record breaking temperatures today. It's 7:45 pm - and it's still 82 degrees outside. It's supposed to be hot again over the weekend, and then start cooling down next week. Whatever - I'm loving it now. I worked outside all morning scrubbing and cleaning all of the outdoor furniture. Tonight we had dinner outside - one of my very favorite things in the whole world. I just love to eat outside.
After working outside all morning I came in the house for the afternoon and cleaned out closets and cupboards. I finally combed thru all of my many turtlenecks - and got rid of the majority of them. My own private little summer make turtlenecks totally uneccessary these days. Always nice to get rid of excess things. Goodwill should be very happy. I finally took my shower and got cleaned up about 4:00 this afternoon. About 5:00 I took out my very best and favorite wine glass, poured myself a cold glass of crisp but buttery chardonnay, added a few crackers, and went outside and sat in the chair under the birch tree. I had my newest Coastal Living magazine with all of it's pretty pictures, and sipped chardonnay and basked in the warmth of the late afternoon sun - heaven. That would be the definition of peace and tranquility as far as I'm concerned.

The kittens are getting bigger by the day. I have named them all - the Mom is Jasmine, the black kitten is blackie (original don't you think?) and the lighter colored one is shylo. Oh - did you think I didn't spell Shylo correctly? Really it is - he/she is named shylo because he/she is the shy one of the two kittens. Jasmine is quite happy to see me when I come out, and always wants me to pet her. Blackie is a little reticent about getting too close, but this morning I picked him up - twice! Shylo usually runs and hides. Jasmine is now wanting me to pick her up also. Oh, what a dilemma this all is.

I just love looking out my bedroom window on a sunny summer day. Seeing the shades of blue in the sky, and all of the colors of green in the trees in the yard - it is just the most peaceful feeling in the world. I'm so glad it's May, and I have about five more months to enjoy all of this. I wait all winter for these first glorious days of summer.

Time to get off the computer and go outside and enjoy. Bye for now.

It finally arrived - THE SUN!

It's 8:15pm and it's still 83 degrees out - now that's pretty amazing considering that we were having snow just two weeks ago, and so far this year I don't think the temperature has been over 70 degrees. Tomorrow is predicted to be 96 - the air conditioning will be going on for the first time tomorrow morning. Funny, there is usually some time between when we quit turning the heat on in the morning, and then finally turn on the air con. This year, we were still turning the heat on two days ago.

Today was one of those days where, no matter what I did, it just didn't seem to work. I spent most of the afternoon doing errands, and returning home with almost nothing. My prescription has been a problem for the last two days. It was supposed to be filled and ready today - but when I got to the pharmacy, the Dr's. office had not called it in as they had told me they had. I waited while the nice pharmacist called and got it straightened out. They filled it fairly quickly, but I still had to be in the store with the always odd and strange people. From there I moved on to Target. Maybe I should rephrase that. I tried to move on to Target - but was stopped for 30 minutes waiting at the train tracks as workers had the crossing arms going up and down and up and down. Grrrrrr. Finally on to Target - I had a list of about 10 things - they had none of them. They did have dental floss though - I had forgotten I needed some, so that was my major purchase. A really nice clerk tried to help me find something - only to lead me to the place "it used to be". After much discussion with other clerks it was concluded that the item was no longer carried. They suggested Fred Meyer.

I needed to go to Home Depot - toilet shopping - again . I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to be looking for and finally gave up. The measurements I had made no sense to me - at least as far as the toilets were concerned. Next - sinks. Hmmmm - that was pretty easy - there were three to pick from. Wide range of prices - not sure why. I looked at towel racks and faucets but decided I needed to wait until the floor was actually in before I picked those things out. I brought home some samples of things to replace the bathroom counter tops with - not sure I like any of them now that I have them home.

On to Fred Meyer. Now this was the really frustrating part. I was looking for a product that is used to wash windows. You attach your hose to the container, and spray away on your outside windows - and it does a pretty darn good job of cleaning the windows. The first person I asked just stared blankly at me and said there was no such product. The second person had heard of it, but didn't think they carried it at that store. The third person said they had it and it was back in the outdoor and garden area - no it's not. The forth person said she would call the manager - she did and asked for an attachment "like a wand" to clean my windows. I was waving my hands trying to get her attention to tell her that was not what I wanted - no luck. She got off the phone and told me where to go to get the wand. I explained that was not what I was looking for and tried again. She called the manager once again - he said it was in the grocery department with the cleaning products. I trudged across the store to the cleaning aisle. Up and down I went - nothing. I found a clerk, asked for help - he couldn't find it either. Enough - I give up on the damn window cleaner!

On my way out of the store I found Sun Tea jars on sale - "buy one get one free". I could use that - I picked up two, stood in line for a loooong time, got up the the register, and she charged me for both. I explained they were on sale - buy one get one free. She had to call someone to go check. Of course that took quite a long time. When the person called back the said it was buy TWO get ONE free. I didn't think that was right and said I would go look - oh boy did that make the people behind me happy. Well, the person who checked was right, but of course it was one of those displays that you need to look at VERY CAREFULLY. There were several things on sale in the same display - very hard to figure out which was which. Oh well, I picked up a third one and called it good.

I was tired, it was hot, and I was done trying to shop at this point. Back home I went - or tried to. Road construction made me miss my street, non functioning traffic lights sent me off in a direction I didn't want to go, and a car that wouldn't let me change lanes all conspired against me to keep me from getting home. All that and three hours of my time and all I came home with was - my prescription and dental floss - hahahahaha. Too funny.

I forgot, I did go to the fabric store today - now that was a definate high point for me! Just love those fabric stores. I was good - didn't buy too much - well, I didn't buy too much fabric. I did buy patterns and handles for a purse.

Time to be moving along here. It's gonna be HOT tomorrow, so I'm going to go to the early exercise class - maybe even the really early class - 5:40. Hope I get some sleep tonight.
Good night everyone.

Summer is on it's way

Just when you think you can't stand the rain and the cold and the gray skies, the temperature goes from 40 degrees to the 80's and 90's overnight. What is up with that??? We were still having snow just two weeks ago, and tomorrow it's supposed to be 89 degrees. I'm not really complaining - I just don't get it. Oh well, at least I'll be warm. I think it's still 70 degrees out right now at 8:00 at night. With the windows all open it's impossible to even think. Every person in the neighborhood has decided that NOW is the time to mow their lawns, use their weedeaters, and get out their damn leaf blowers to blow every blade of grass off their property. Talk about NOISE. Who cares about air pollution - I care about NOISE pollution. Make it stop.

The kittens are getting bigger by the day. They are feral cats - and at this point a real dilemma for me. I guess until I am actually able to catch them, I can put off doing anything about them. Sad.

The bathroom remodel is coming along. The floor is gone, the toilet is gone, the walls have been spackled and textured and partially painted. Cutting and placing the backerboard comes next, and after that Dave will begin marking and cutting the tiles. Apparently my estimation of how long this would take was about a week off - shows how little I know. After the bathroom floor is finished, we can move on to replacing the counter top, sink, and faucet. After that - it's DONE.

Katie will be home this weekend - we will celebrate Mother's Day with Sean. Greg and Charisse are off to South Beach, Florida on Saturday for a few days, and then on down to the Keys. I'm sure they'll have a great time.

I think that's about it for tonight. There's more going on, but not things I really care to write about. Until next time - ta ta.

Mother's Day

It's Mother's Day today. I'm not so sure about this holiday - I think for a lot of people it just brings up bad memories, or makes them unhappy for other reasons. I'm lucky I have three children who were thoughtful enough to acknowledge the day - though were not able to be here. One brought me a beautiful hanging fuchsia - my traditional Mother's Day gift since I celebrated my very first Mother's Day 28 years ago. The other two were out of town, but both called, and sent cards. We will celebrate with a nice dinner next weekend when they will be able to be here in town. Another Hallmark created holiday.

The sun is out, the sky is blue - it gives us hope for the promise of summer - I think we've given up on spring. It is cold out - feels more like a day in November than mid May - global warming? I think I will work on my flower pots this week - pull out the weeds, dig up the dirt, add some fertilizer. Next weekend I can plant some flowers - not too many, but a few. My yard is so overgrown with trees, and so shady, not much grows in the way of flowers. I'd love to get at least one of the big trees taken down, and get the photinia trimmed back by at least half - we'll see.

This week we're moving on to the second bathroom re- do. I think we'll paint on Tuesay, rip up the floor on Wednesday, start setting the tile on Thursday, finish setting on Friday. By Saturday we should be ready to put in the new toilet, and then put the first coat of sealer on the floor. At least that seems like the way it might go . . . . . .

A lot has happened in the last few weeks - most of which I have not written about - and I don't think I will now either. They are the kinds of life changing events happening to other people, that cause each of us to look at our own lives. Some have been terrible tragedies, some magical events filled with joy. I am grateful for all that I have, and will pray for those in pain.

Tribute To Jorjah

You were a wonderful dog, a faithful companion to your family, and we loved you like one of our own. You gave many people some of the best times of their lives. You were too smart for your own good sometimes - but you sure made us laugh. We loved seeing you in your various getups for each and every holiday - and you seemed to enjoy the costumes you wore, and the attention you received. We'll miss seeing how happy you were running on the beach, swimming in the ocean, and chasing seagulls.

You may be gone, but you will never be forgotten. Thank you for all of the good times you gave us. We will love you always.

Tucker Comes Home

It's Saturday, and the first nice day we've had in ages. We took advantage of the weather and worked outside most of the day. At this time of the year there seems to be an endless amount of yard work needing to be done. This year we had some extra work to do that we normally wouldn't have. Tucker moved back home this afternoon. We would like to keep him as an indoor cat - however, he has other ideas. At any and every chance he gets, he makes a run for the great outdoors. He's actually made it out three times - and what a chore it was to corral him and return him to the house. Some of today's chores involved repairing any places in the fence that he could easily slip thru, and blocking any places that would allow him to get under the deck. That should help us a little if he escapes again, but I know he's resourceful and I'm sure he could find a way out of the yard given the opportunity. We'll just keep our fingers crossed that doesn't happen.

Have you ever wanted to travel somewhere just because you like the way the name of the place sounds? Maybe it sounds totally exotic, or romantic, or the name evokes some feeling that you can't quite put your finger on. Here are the names of some places that I have wanted to visit - just because of the name. Some I've actually been lucky enough to have travelled to - and was never disappointed!
In no particular order - here they are

Zanzibar, Kenya, Morroco, Marrekech, Siam/Thailand, French Polynesia, Tahiti, Moorea, Casablanca, Ceylon, Tanzania, Bangkok, The Saychelles, The Nile, Egypt, The Amazon, Santorini, The Silk Road, The Galapagos Islands, Singapore, Bali, Hong Kong, Provence, New Orleans, Sante Fe, Kauai, Cape Town, The North Pole, Copenhagen, Vienna, Nova Scotia, Antarctica, Machu Pichu, Tuscany, The Amalfi Coast, Buenos Aries, Borneo, and of course there is always Shanri-La - the mythical and mysterious setting from the book The Lost Horizon. I know there are many others, but these are the ones that come to mind right now. Maybe I'll add others as I think of them.

Six Word Sentence

Do you know about the thing where you write a six word sentence that describes your life? That is what I will write about tonight - nothing more - just that one six word sentence.

Dogs, cats, kids, remodel, I'm tired.''

Now you try it - whatever works for you. I did mine just for today and the way I feel right now. You can do yours anyway you want to - something that conveys the feelings of a lifetime, a year, a month, a week, a day, or an hour. Make it yours and personalize it.

Life At The Zoo

Two dogs, one indoor/outdoor cat, one outdoor mother cat and her two kittens, and another indoor cat to be added on Saturday. These are the current residents of the zoo. All is going well at this point - everyone seems to know their place and just kind of goes with the flow. Jorjah is an EXCELLENT medicine taker! I wasn't so sure how that was going to go - it's a fair amount of liquid to get her to take - but no problem at all. Pills - takes them like a champ. Food - she might just be a tad bit finicky - seems she much preferes chicken over rice - imagine that! She will pick out all of the pieces of chicken, and try to leave the rice. I am trying to outsmart her by cutting the chicken into teeny tiny pieces and then mixing it well with the rice. Makes it harder for her to pick out just her favorite parts of the meal. Haha

Uh oh, just talked to Katie. She says she feels bad that she just can't deal with the cat and is bringing him back home. She's a little worried about having kids of her own - wants to know where she would return them if it doesn't work out and they keep her up at night. I need one of those little emoticon things to insert here - the one where the eyes and mouth are wide open in surprise (and maybe consternation!).

The weather has made just a little improvement today - not much, but a little. That's lucky for Dave and Sean who are now out fishing for salmon. If all goes well, there will be fish coming in the door later tonight, and on the grill for dinner tomorrow. Mmmmmm - I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Today was the second anniversary of the day Lynda and I joined Jazzercise - and we celebrated by going out to lunch (I wonder why we don't lose any weight???). We went to The Cheesecake Factory - and actually for the first time ever, I had a piece of cheesecake there. It was pretty tasty - some sort of chocolate cheescake recommeded by our waiter. I brought half of it home to have for dessert tonight - way too much to eat in one sitting.

Ok, speaking of food - I think it's time to go rustle up something for myself for dinner. I think there is a whole refrigerator full of all kinds of things - not sure what I can make out of them, but I know I will come up with something scrumptious and wonderful. Besides, I'll have a nice glass of chardonnay with it - that will make it perfect no matter what.

I should have been a Vet

I'm working on figuring out my schedule for tomorrow - hmmm, let's see how it looks.

5:30 am - feed Abbey and Captain - Dave will actually do this
7:00 am - give Jorjah her medicine
7:30 am - feed Jorjah some breakfast and give her a pill (remember to cut pill in half)
8:00 am - feed kittens and mama cat
10:30 am - feed Jorjah
2:00 pm - give Jorjah her medicine
2:30 pm - feed Jorjah
5:00 pm - feed Abbey and Captain
5:00 pm - give Jorjah her medicine
5:30 pm - feed Jorjah
5:30 pm - feed kittens and mama cat
8:00 pm - feed Jorjah and give pill

That just about covers it - piece of cake! Oh yea, somehow I need to fit in exercise at 8:30, lunch at 11:30, a trip to Costco, and possibly make an apron for Katie's friend for her birthday. I guess I won't be wondering what I'm going to do with my time tomorrow :-). I'll let you know how it all worked out.

The weather is crazy today. We've had winds of 40 plus mph all day long - along with bouts of torrential rains. It's the end of April, we should have blue sky with puffy white clouds, and a big yellow orb shining down on us. My flowers should be reaching up to greet the sun, instead they are huddled up and shivering. We still have our water turned off in the backyard to guard against freezing temperatures. Global warming???????

The bathroom remodel should be finished up tonight - yeaaaaa. When Dave gets home we'll go pick out the new toilet and then come home and install it. There are a few odds and ends that may need to be taken care of, but the major overhaul will be done. We'll take a little break for a few weeks, and then we'll start on our bathroom. I guess as long as the weather is so bad outside, we might as well be working on these inside projects. As soon as the sun comes out, there will be plenty of yardwork to keep us busy - lots and lots of yardwork.

Move to Seattle, Tucker, and the Kittens

Last weeks poll question is now over, and we're on to a new one - be sure to vote. Results from the favorite dessert poll - creme brulet was the winner with 44% of the vote. Second place was a tie at 22% each for bread pudding and cheese and port. I LOVE all of them - but then I like dessert in general - at least good ones. Wish I had some bread pudding right now!

Since I left off on the last post with the kittens missing, I should let you know they are back - actually, they were probably never gone. I think they were just inside napping every time I was going out to look for them. I go out every morning and evening with a bowl of food. Mom is usually right there waiting. The kids are getting braver - they used to run under the house and hide the whole time I was there, but today they were actually out the whole time. They stayed close to the opening under the house, but still were brave enough to stay out the whole time I was there.

We moved Katie into her new apartment in Seattle yesterday. We went thru rain, hail, and snowstorms on the way up - crazy for the end of April! Her apartment is quite cosy and cute. She's on the third floor with a view of Ballard and the water. Very nice. The sad part was leaving Tucker with her - I've grown to love that little guy and will miss him quite a bit. He is quite a good traveler though - hardly a peep out of him all the way to Seattle - so Katie promises to bring him down every time she comes to visit. That will be nice. Sad as I am to see him go, I know that he is Katie's cat, and I know how much she missed him. I'm glad she'll have him with her - he's a good companion.

We're getting closer to being done with the tile on the bathroom floor. We put the first coat of sealer on this afternoon, and will add the second one later tonight. After that, we wait for 72 hours and we're done - yeaaaaa! We'll finish up the rest of this bathroom and then move on to the one in our bedroom. Always something to do when you have a house.

Where Are The Kittens?

Kind of a sad day today - no sign of the kittens. Actually, there was no sign of them yesterday either, but I thought I was just going out at the wrong times. Today - nothing again. The mom was around the yard - but not near the place the where the kittens were hiding under the house - that was weird. She was a good Mom from everything I could see - she wouldn't just leave them alone. Not sure if something happened to them, or maybe she moved them to another place she thought was safer - maybe even her owners home - if she has one. Katie is very sad - she had already claimed the lighter one - even named him. I was ready to take the black one. I will keep looking - and hoping!

Katie has her new apartment for sure! She will come home Friday night, and then we will help her move on Saturday. We will stay overnight to help her get as much done as possible. She will be taking Tucker with her - :-( I will be very sad - so will Captain. The two cats love each other so much - I'm not really sure this is a very good idea. I tried talking her into taking the two kittens instead - of course that was when I still knew where the kittens were! She didn't go for that idea.

Rain again, also snow and hail! Too crazy - it's April - should be warm by now - not 32 degrees when I get up in the morning!!! The rest of the week looks like more of the same. Global warming my ass!

Tonight was the last night of the Blazers home games - and we won! I was awesome - all the players worked hard, and played the best game they could. Channing Frye is my new favorite Blazer - don't ask me why - I just like him - and he's doing GREAT! I think he scored 15 points tonight - can't complaine about that. They are just such a nice group of guys - we've needed that for a while. They play like they really care - and I don't think the fans really care that much if we win or lose - as long as the team is really trying. I loved every game I went to this year!!!

Kitten Pictures

Here are some pictures of our kittens

Change Is Good

Change is good - or so they say. For me, it's more like I just get bored with the same old thing - so I change something. Today I decided that I was bored with looking at the same old things on my blog. Changing the colors seemed like a good idea, and the easiest thing to do. I played around with a few different combinations - nothing really stood out like WOW - I really like this. So, for the time being, these will be my new colors. They seem a little fresher - a little more spring like.

We're working on the bathroom today. Laying the tiles is kind of a BIG job. First, just laying out the tiles in a pleasing order could be kind of an ordeal. I think it's one of those things that a person could work on for hours if one were inclined - or extremely picky. I had to stop myself from getting too involved with how the whole thing was going to look. We laid them out, changed just a few, and then called it good. In the end, there will be rugs over most of them, and the only person who will probably even look at the floor is - well, I'm not sure. I was going to say me, but that's probably not true. I had lived in this house for over 15 years and had no idea what color the floor was in that bathroom until a friend mentioned it to me. Decorating, is really not something I spend a lot of time thinking about. I can usually tell you if I like something or not, but beyond that - it's all just kind of background "noise" to me. Not too meaningful. Anyway, back to the floor, I'm sure we'll all love it when it's done.

The kittens are getting bigger by the day. I swear they have quadrupled in size since we found them a week ago. They were out playing again today - with Mom in close attendance. The black one is a little more adventurous than the other one. Both pretty darn cute! I got out my camera to take pictures, but by the time I got back they were pretty much in the shadows and hard to see. Maybe next time.

First Day of Real Spring Weather

The kittens are still here - only they are back under the house where we orignally found them. The Mom must have decided that was a safer, quieter place for them. I have been putting food out, and have watched from a safe distane as the Mom has come out to eat. Today is our first absolutely gorgeous day of spring - 70 degrees today - and I'm loving it. I have checked on the cats several times, and the kittens have been out playing - with Mom in close proximity. They really do have the perfect place to grow up - it's nice and warm and safe under the house, and when they come out to play, they have quite a large area that is fenced in on all sides. They have grown a lot since we found them at the beginning of the week. I have a feeling they had been under the house with no way for Mom to get to them for quite a while. As soon as they were able to get some food in themselves, they just doubled in size practically overnight. I guess we'll just have to keep an eye on them and see what happens.

It's such a beautiful day out - perfect temperature, deep blue sky with just a few puffy white clouds, the spring flowers are in bloom, and the trees are beginning to leaf out. There is nothing as lovely as all of the shades of green as new plants begin to show themselves. I put on shorts, a tank top, and flip flops. I got out the sunscreen and slathered my body, then threw on my lime green baseball hat, and my sunglasses. I drug a kitchen chair onto the deck ( no lawn furniture is out yet), grabbed a book - The Twelve Little Cakes - and read for an hour. OMG - it was heaven. There was just the lightest breeze that carried the scent of flowers blooming in the yard. If I had had a cushion for the lounge I would have layed down and been asleep in about two minutes flat. In the list of things I am grateful for today - this will be at the top!

Dave is Flying with Alex today - his first time up with him. What a perfect day - I'm sure they'll both have a great time. He took the video camera so I'm anxious to see what turns out. They were planning a trip out over the Red Barn - and then on to Gaston to fly over Michael's house.

We have a game tonight, and plans to eat something afterwards. We have a list of the places we might try, and phone numbers to give them a call and see how busy they might be. Should be fun.

I was really good about working on my recipes for the kids - for a while. I've kind of put off doing any more, but need to get back to it. I also would like to begin writing down some of the old stories of grandparents and their lives while I still have the chance to ask my aunts some questions about things I'm unsure of. I'm sure I'm never going to run out of things to do!

Ramblings of the Day

No sign of the kittens today :-(. We're not sure if the Mom really took them away this time, or just moved them to a new hiding place in the garage again. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Katie is sad - she was working on picking out a name for one of them.

Nice lunch today with friends. We try to have lunch about once a month - more or less. This time I think it was a little more, so we had lots of catching up to do - four hours worth. It's nice we've found a restaurant that has good food, comfortable booths, and they are very nice about filling and refilling our drinks as we while away the afternoon. Next time we will try out a new restaurant, and visit the nearby quilt shop afterwards. Looking forward to that. Four friends, nine kids, and three parents give us plenty of topics to converse about.

This weekend we will be replacing the floor in one of the bathrooms. That will require removing the old vinyl, and then cutting and setting the new flooring. We picked a Travertine in kind of a neutral cream color - should be fairly versatile. I will be excited to have it finished - it's a job we've been putting off for a very long time - years in fact. After we finish this first bathroom, we will begin working on the one in our room. We'll use the same flooring, so that means I won't have to do another round of trying to figure out what I want to use, and what will work best. Yeaaaaa - I really don't like picking these things out. I'll let you know how it works out.

Kittens rescued

Monday night we rescued two hungry kittens from under our house. We think the mother cat somehow found a way under the house and had her kittens there in a place that was safe and warm and quiet. Something must have happened and she was unable to get back under the house to feed and care for them. For two days we had heard the cries of the kittens, but had mistaken the sound for a bird. Finally on Monday night we made another search and discovered the sound coming from under the house. At first we were sure it wasn't a bird, but were not really sure that it was a kitten. Was it possible it was a squirrel or raccoon? Listening closer we heard what we thought were two different animals making the sounds. We opened the vent that went under the house near the place the cries were coming from. It was too dark to see anything so I got a flashlight. Shining the flashlight down under the house I saw a flash of eyes - but nothing more. We had figured out by now that the cries were coming from two kittens. It was several feet down to the ground under the house, and there was no way the kittens were going to be able to climb out without help. At this point we became aware of a black cat hovering around nearby - probably the mother. We tried putting a board down under the house and hoped they would walk on the board and come out from under the house. Nope, that wasn't going to happen. No enticement worked - no food, or calls, or laser light. We decided we would have to go to the garage and go thru the opening there that led under the house. That proved to be a much better idea. We uncovered the opening, and got the flashlight out to shine around and see if we could spot them. It wasn't long before we saw the two sets of eyes begin to work their way from the other end of the house and come toward us. The first one out was a furry little black fluff ball about the size of a tennis ball. The second one was a little lighter in color. They were so tiny! We saw the mother had followed us and was hiding in the garage watching what was going on with her babies. We decided the best course of action would be to open the garage door a little, and leave them all alone to see what would happen. We left food and water for them, and then came into the house. Before bed Dave went down to the garage to see if they were still there and close the garage door. He found no sign of them, so we assumed the mother had taken her babies out of the garage to a new hiding place.

I was a little sad the kittens were gone, but we really didn't need any more animals anyway. That was probably for the best. The next night when Dave was in the garage before coming up to bed - he heard the hiss of a cat in the garage. The mother and babies were there afterall - just in a new hiding place! We left more food and water for them, and in the morning before Dave left for work, he lifted the garage door enough for the mother cat to go out if she wanted to. Later in the day, I went down to check and found no evidence of them and assumed she had really taken them this time. Wrong again. When Dave came home, he went on a search and found them in a new hiding place. So for the time being, we are housing and feeding the mother and babies.

Katie has claimed one for a companion to Tucker, and I would like one myself. We'll see what happens, and if they stay around long enough for us to actually claim them. They seem to belong to no one the best I can tell - but I'm not sure.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

April has started out true to form - showers - lots and lots of showers. Of course that beats the snow, hail, snow, cold, snow, hail, snow, and well, you get the picture, that we had last week - every day. Latest snow in 57 years last week. This week we had the coldest recorded temperature for this time of the year. Today - just rain - and more rain. I'm hoping that all this rain really will bring those May flowers!

Last week Sean and Dave and cousin Steve went salmon fishing on the Columbia one morning. Sean was lucky enough to catch a 14 pound salmon - and then shared some with Dave and I. We both agreed it was the best salmon we'd ever eaten. Dave grilled it with just a little butter and lemon - oh yum! Yesterday one of the people Dave works with caught a salmon, and since she had no idea how to fillet it, Dave did that for her. His reward - a really nice piece to bring home and grill for dinner. Delicious. Sean and Kevin went out this morning to try again - hope that the luck holds out and they both catch a fish.

We're at Cannon Beach today - went to A Pacific Way Cafe in Gearhart for lunch. I love that place! Great atmosphere - an old house converted into a restaurant. They have done a great job keeping all of the character and ambiance of the old house. There is a warmth and charm that resonates throughout the restaurant. The menu is modern and up to date with so many things I'd like to try - I'll have to go back often. Today I had a hard time deciding between the turkey sandwich and the quesadilla - I settled for the spicy quesadilla. A nice cold glass of Kendall Jackson chardonnay added very nicely to the meal.

It's evening now - still raining - I have a nice glass of Erath Pinot Noir by my side. Time to go for now - need to enjoy my wine.
Ciao

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday and we're still at the beach. Slept late - 9:00! - and enjoyed every minute of it. Woke up to what sounded like gale force winds, and rain that was coming down in torrents. Breakfast in bed - toast and coffe - lovely, and then a nice long bubble bath lit by candles surrounding the tub. Doesn't get any better than that. Finally was dressed and ready to go by noon. We went to the cute little bakery that not only has fabulous breads and treats, but makes wonderful sandwich wraps for lunch. We ordered up several each of the vegetarian and southwest chicken wraps. Of course we (or maybe I should say "I") had to have a couple of their soft and chewy home made cookies for dessert. Oatmeal raisin, and molasses - it's a toss up for me which I like best.

The rain continued thru the afternoon, as we amused ourselves watching funny videos on utube. Finally at 5:00 we decided to go to Happy Hour at Bill's. We got there, sat down, and were ready to order when we found out that the nacho's that were on the menu the day before - were no longer on the menu. Since we (or I guess I should say "I") had my heart set on nacho's - we decided to go to Warren House instead. We had FABULOUS nacho's, wine, and visited with our favorite server. I think it was a total win for us!

It's almost 7:00pm now - the rain has stopped - for just a few minutes - the sun is out, and life is good. I'm at the beach - don't you wish you were me? Does that sound snotty? Don't mean for it to - I'm just happy where I am.

Easter Weekend

We're at the beach this weekend - lovely weather today. The kids were all going to be gone when we decided we might as well not stay home. Of course, kids being kids, that changed. Several days before the weekend, Kat called and said she would be home to do the invitations for Katie's wedding. When I said we would cancel our plans and stay home, she said "actually, it would really be easier if you guys - and the dog, weren't here". OK, we can take a hint, and I'm not offended. We totally understand, and just resumed our plans for the beach. Kat did get home Friday night, so we were able to see her before we left for the beach on Saturday morning. That was nice. She was pretty excited to see Tucker (her cat), and talked about how soon she would be able to take him back to Seattle to whatever apartment she would rent. I was sad - I LOVE that cat.

We had a fabulous dinner tonight. The freshest halibut imaginable - on the grill, delicious flakey cheese sticks, marinated artichokes I cooked the other night, carrots - cooked on the grill, and potatoes - cooked on the grill. Along with those delicious things, we had a salad filled with the most wonderful things - lettuce, onion, grape tomatoes, blue cheese, chopped walnuts -fabulous. Of course we had wine with our dinner - a nice chardonnay to compliment all of the flavors in the dinner. Dessert - two wondrful homemade cookies - one ginger/molasses, and the other, oatmeal/raisin. I am so full, but happy about every single bite I ate.

More tomorrow, but now, I'm tired and think it's time to call it a night. Good night.