Oh Christmas Tree…


Does size matter? Well, when it comes to Christmas trees, maybe.
This year we got the big one…biggest we’ve ever had. I gota, tell ya It looked a lot smaller out in the woods. After we trimmed off about two feet we were able to stand it in the tallest corner of our little house. Now at 13 feet it is dressed for the holidays. Believe me it was quite a job on my part. I mean my gosh, can you just imagine this 60+ year old grandma teetering on a twelve foot extension ladder twisting and turning to reach those elusive branches in an effort to place the perfect ornament in the perfect spot. But the look on my little grandson’s face as his eyes scanned to the top of this big one was worth all my effort. Using his new favorite word he whispered, “Amazing.”
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We found our perfect tree in the midst of a snow storm in the Cascades. What Fun!!!
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In the middle of the project…
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The results…

~HAPPY HOLIDAYS~

Every year there is Christmas or in our house maybe we should call it Christmess…I have so darn much Christmas decorating stuff that I could easily stock a small store. And…every year I get more, go figure.
My husband halls the boxes down from the attic and as I unpack them the mess grows on my floor, on my dining room table, on my kitchen counter…every flat surface in our little house is buried in a cluttery, cheery jumble of holiday ornamentation. Then….as if by magic, all this stuff is put into place. And once again, as in years past, the Christmas Season can begin.

*This year I even hung stuff on my kitchen cuboards*

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*Even our faux fire place looks Christmasy*

To The Memory Of John

Sometimes I feel emotions so strong that if I try to describe how I feel the words only get in the way like clumsy shoes that are many sizes to big, but I still try.

When I heard from his fiancé that a dear old friend from my youth had taken his own life…..it simply hit me up along side the head! I just didn’t see this giant wave of emotion coming. After all I hadn’t even talked with this friend in almost 27 years yet when I heard he had picked up a loaded gun and aimed it to his heart and pulled the trigger this heartbreaking news opened up some doors in my past that I had not expected to walk through ever again.

Oh the sweet memory that was the 60’s. Sgt. Pepper was loud, rock concerts were our reverent gatherings, pot was clean and pure, wine was cheap, and like young children free from guilt or sin we explored the sexual revolution with a reckless abandonment that will never be duplicated ever again. We were young and innocent and to us the peace and love revolution was our own unique creation.

As I remembered those far away times I searched through my photos for pictures of my friend. But there were non….somewhere along the trail of years they were mistakenly discarded.

Then it dawned on me that I had saved a very special item that had belonged to my friend. Through the years, as I moved from place to place and as my life turned it’s many corners, I had carried with me a hand-made quilt that my dear friend’s grandmother had made. Now is the time to return it.

I look forward to meeting with his fiancé and handing over this lost treasure.
Maybe doors opened into my past because of this tragic event will in turn open doors in the present and help create a new friendship


I hope so.




The quilt John's Grandma made...

A Rod Show...

When you think of a hot rod show you might picture a field full of shiny restored cars. Well, last weekend we went to a hot rod show that fulfilled this order and a whole lot more. Let me tell you, there was every kind of car there your little ol’ heart would desire.
My sweetie pie and I drove out to Long Beach, WA on last Friday morning to attend the 25th anniversary of this event. The weather going out was drab and dreary…gray and drizzly but when we reached the coast the sky cleared; still a bit cool but not raining.
On Saturday I stayed with my girlfriend to help her with a garage sale and my sweetie pie went with the guys to the big show. (pics. below) That evening we walked out to the main street in town to watch all those cool cars cruise up and down the drag. Oh what fun! If you can imagine a two lane road lined with small shops, bars and restaurants, music drifting out the doors, people of every kind walking the sidewalks, and vintage cars galore cruising along revving their engines, sometimes honking and the crowds waving and calling out words of praise and encouragement.
This was a true American small town phenomena. I told my sweetie pie it reminded me of the movie American Graffiti.
We already have plans to make it to the 26th next year.
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Just one of the many vintage beauties,










and another....













and another....















and another...

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On the way home... it was a gorgeous day, a beautiful drive!!!!

A tasty treat...I don't think so!

*~VIRGIN CAMPERS~*

Heaven only knows why it took us so long to discover camping…well…I think I might know why …
My dear sweetie pie has always had an aversion to every kind of flying or crawling bug you could imagine. So even though we live in one of the camping wonderlands of the world (the great Pacific Northwest) we had NEVER camped. That is until some dear friends of ours talked us into spending a week at Lake Roosevelt with them. OMG we had fun! We went tubing for the first time, we rode jet skis for the first time, we bathed outside in clean, clear, cold water for the first time, we slept for seven nights in a row in a tent, we saw bear, dear, snakes and lots and lots of sun. We are hooked. I’m absolutely positive that more camping trips are in our future! This marvelous adventure far outweighed any nuisance the bugs presented.

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Hot Sun and Sand/Cold, Clear Water/Crystal Blue Sky

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Just one of the hundreds of secluded beaches on Lake Roosevelt.

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Our tent is the one on the right.

"Float My Boat"

My youngest son and my sweetie pie have been working on restoring a boat. Actually the boat was given to my son minus the outdrive or the motor and the boat has sorta turned into a money pit. They have spent a lot of time on this ol’ thing without even knowing if it would float. Well….yesterday they took it out on the water for the first time. Guess what???? It floats!!!! Not only does it float but it runs and really, really fast!!!

We had a ball!
When we first launched it was a little over-cast but when the sun came out so did the tube and before I knew it my son’s girlfriend was in her wetsuit and life jacket and had jumped into the tube ready for a tow. What fun, she’s such a little tomboy…I love her! Then my son gave the wakeboard a try…well, sorry to say… he never made it up this time but said next time he would and I’m sure he will.

Next week we’ll be taking the boat to Lake Roosevelt in eastern WA for a whole week. Now that should be a REAL adventure!
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"Well son...keep your fingers crossed."



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"Ahoy mates"
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You go girl!!

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The Crew

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"Moving" Crochet

I’m going to make a confession… “I’m a furniture mover.” It seems I get the urge to move furniture at least once a month but I have been known to change things around a couple times a week. I know this must sound strange to those of you that might have furniture in your home that seems to have taken “root” in the very same spot you placed it the day you move in.

Now to the reason why I have revealed this not so well kept secret about myself.
In an effort to get the most out of our small space I moved the dining room table to one side of the dining area and made a place for sitting and crocheting. As you can tell from this picture my stash in growing…..

Also I wanted to share the pictures of my competed “school marm vest”. This is my beautiful daughter modeling it. It ended up just her size! The next one will need to be bigger to fit me.

A Sunny June In The AM

This morning I took my camera along on my bike ride.

I’d like to share a few of the images I captured along the way.
Just for the fun of it I gave each of the photos a title.

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“Nature Conquers The Blacktop”

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“The World Above My Head”

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“Glowing Seeds”

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“A Playful Child’s Art”

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“Happy Little Fungi”

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New Wheels For An Ol’ Gal

The summer of my 10th year I managed to earn enough money picking strawberries to buy my very first bike. It was a used boy’s bike with a big ol’ wide leather seat, a very soft cushy ride and big fat tires. I loved that bike and I was so proud! It cost me all of $15!
Now fast forward to yesterday…I got a new bike. It cost a little more than fifteen dollars but it has a wide leather seat, big fat tires and a soft cushy ride and I love it!
After my dear sweetie pie put it together I scooted out the door so I could get a quick trial ride between the rain showers that have plague us here in the northwest. As I flew in the wind on my new bike I was ten again.
I was so excited while he put it together that I shook the camera!

I think I was about eleven when this picture was taken.

Cleaning Up Zoom Zoom

We are going on another trip; this time Montana. On the 24th we are driving with our corvette club to an event put on by the club in Boseman.
My Sweetie Pie has ordered a shield for the wind so I can enjoy the top down without blowing my hair. Not that you could really tell the difference in my “do” before and after time in the wind. I got my hair cut rather short last week. But he is always thinkin’ ‘bout me that’s one of the many reasons I love him. Along with the shield he is detailing the red Zoom Zoom and adding those new bright, bright tail lights and a few more gadgets, he will be busy next week.




Some of the “stuff” my Sweetie Pie uses to clean up Zoom Zoom....


Zoom Zoom herself......

Sun, Sand and Food

Near the end of last month we embarked on our first ever cruise. Oh what fun! Oh what food! Oh what sun! Can you believe this: during the time we were raising our children we only treated ourselves to three vacations, get this…only three vacations in more than 20 years!!!! So, needless to say, this little get away was a real thrill for both of us. When we left Long Beach California on the Vision of the Seas the weather was a hot 98 degrees and it stayed warm almost to the end of our 7 days out. Along the way we visited Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta Mexico. We played in the sand, snorkeled and swam in the clear blue waters of the Mexican Riviera. We felt like kids again!!! Yes, I felt like a little kid paying on the beach!

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My Sweetie Pie. (before his sunburn)

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Just one of the formal nights. (after both our sunburns)

All good dogs...

I used to think I was a cat person until I got a Yorkie. They are about the funniest dogs in the whole darn world, especially our little Grover. He reminds me of a little puppet I know. We named all our Yorkies after Sesame Street characters; Burt, Ernie, Zoë and Grover. Yes, we once had FOUR! Unfortunately we lost Ernie but before he went on to the big bones in the sky he gave us Grover. So-o then there was three....



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Grover, Layin' Back



**************Burt, His Favorite Pose



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Zoë, Beauty Sleeps

The Heads Go...Water Flows

This was one corner of our backyard before.
….The ceramic heads just had to go!




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I had great plans to build a custom water fall in the corner of our back yard. I even went to Lowes and bought the pool liner and dug a hole for it, I thought I would get some large rocks and place around the pool. Well….this ol’ back fought back and when I spotted this light weight man-made water fall complete with little pool and built in light. It reached out and grabbed me! It was so simple and the exact look I was going for, simply “plug and play.” I mean, how could I pass it up? I went to Fred Myer bought some plants and sat them around, put a few potted evergreens around and “Wa La” a little bit of the northwest in our back yard….





Trickle, Trickle, Trickle........

MUNOZ AND IKEA

Today I took some pics. of our master bedroom and my dressing area just outside the door. I mixed the paint myself that I used on the back wall in the bedroom and hung a Rei Munoz print we found at a Value Village above our bed. I think my mother's handmade quilt blends in well with the earth tones of the oak furniture and wall color. It's the same 70's bedroom furniture we have had for years, after a while it sorta grows on ya.

This was the last quilt my mother did before she died.

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My little dressing and makeup area.

If you recognize this look....well...then you are probably very familiar with IKEA. LOL

Little Places and Creations

When we moved from “the big house” I left behind this huge attic studio....

Now this is what I have claimed for my sewing space; a little piece of heaven carved out of a closet in my husband's sudy...

My passion for crocheting has bloomed since moving here, partly because I don’t need all that much space for a ball of yarn and a crochet needle. Below is a picture of just some of the little treasures I’ve crocheted for my new granddaughter.

I am now working on a little hand-held afghan for her.(below) I made one for my grandson; a small one he can carry around with him. He likes it; in fact he seems to have become quite attached. See my daughter’s blog ( http://lilmamakaren.blogspot.com/) it looks like his afghan has even found a place on his highchair tray.

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Take a look at the under the stairs closet I turned into a grandchildren's little hide-a-way, now that was fun to do! Gota use all the space in this little house of ours!