Gee whiz!

Wow, it has been a long time since I've posted. I don't have any excuse, really, except there were other things which occupied my time!
That being said, here goes a post - of sorts.

We had some pretty good snow before Christmas. The birds were at a loss for food - other than the feeders, of course, so I made up a batch of suet. We tried different ways of offering it to them - since we couldn't locate the suet feeder - I stuffed pine cones - gone in no time! I filled little paper cups on the deck so we could watch them - also gobbled up. We filled a pan with water for them, it froze in minutes. We had a heater for the bird bath, but the wires broke - not the best solution.
When the sun returned, it was absolutely gorgeous!!!
While the weather kept us indoors, Dean went to work on projects in the shop. His brother, Larry, bought his lathe and has been creating pens and bottle stoppers, so Dean designed and made a display rack for him. I think he will have to design a bigger one, though, because he has too many to fit in this one all ready!
Dean also made a trivet out of the wine corks we have been collecting over the years. This one was a Christmas gift for Janet (and Jim)There is a story behind this next project. Dean made a name sign for Colin's door when he was a baby. Colin is the son of our good friends Deb and Jill and they are now caring for 3 of the cutest little girls and hoping to adopt them soon. Dean made each of them name signs and also for Larry's grandchildren, Zane and Avril, and our neighbor's granddaughter, Cydnie.
Autumn especially enjoyed her new name sign because, at 7 years old, she was a bit jealous of Colin's. Now she has her very own!! Here, Dean is having fun reading to Colin and being read to by Autumn.
We were in Vancouver for the holiday, during their foot of snow. This is in front of Jim and Janet's house - there is an open skylite above the Japanese maple that created this huge icicle.

It SNOWED!!

I am pretty sure I am glad about it. It snowed pretty much all day, but it was the really light, floaty (is that a word?) stuff. And the "breeze" was blowing, so it's hard to tell how much we have. But it's sure purty to look at.
I remember when I was a kid in Vancouver (Washington, not Canada, not DC...) we had a good snowfall every winter. Schools were never closed or on 2 hour late schedule, things just operated like normal. We kids just bundled up and played outside like we always did. No video games or computers back then, and we didn't even have a TV.
The exception was one winter when we were living near Fern Prairie (it was really in the country back then) and it was the winter after my father died. It was my mother, my sister, who was less than a year old, and I had just turned 5. It had snowed a couple of feet - really!! We had no way to get anywhere and all I can recall is my mother pulling us in a sled to a neighbor's house and how deep the snow was. Remember those old sleds that looked like a wooden box on runners? Or maybe it WAS a wooden box on runners! I just remember that for me it was an adventure, but I doubt if that was what my mother was feeling. After that winter, we moved to town.
This year, with the bitter cold here and unusually cold in the valley area, there are a lot of people who are homeless. And more families than ever before. Unemployment is HUGE and there are people who have never before experienced homelessness. Please think of them when you go Christmas shopping this year. When you can't decide what to get someone because they have everything under the sun, buy something for a stranger. Take toys to your local fire department, clothing and blankets to the shelters, food to the various food banks. I know you can think of something better to do with your money than get someone a toaster that also poaches eggs, or some other gimmick.
Just a thought...........

Yep, I know...

I'm not too good at regular posting. Been kinda busy with gift making since I'm not too flush with $$$ lately :(
I'm not going to spell out what I've been making, but just sayin' - some folks will be surprised!
Weather is going to turn nasty, it looks like. We're supposed to have temps in the single digits by Sunday and a bit of snow, too. If you go back to my earlier posts, you'll see that we were living in a tent trailer while building our house - the upcoming weather sounds very much like what we went through then. It's about time, is all I say. I've been waiting for a snow that I could enjoy!! Went out and got snowshoes after the "big one" and haven't been able to use them yet! Maybe next week, huh!
Well, it's snowing now, so maybe I'll have some fresh photos tomorrow. Until then, I'll just prop my chin on my pillow and look out the window. I'm a sucker for a good snow storm. When my nephew was little, we used to call each other and compare snow depths - we only lived a few miles apart in the foothills, so got more than town did. Now, he's all grown up, has his own home, and I moved 150 miles away. Maybe if he reads this he'll call me tomorrow to see how deep our snow is...........

Driving in the Snow - Working in the Garden

We traveled over the pass to Salem on Sunday morning so the guys could check out the gold show. Wouldn't you know it - when we got up, it was snowing. We had to drive in it for about 2 1/2 hours before it turned to rain. Tripcheck reported 153" at Santiam Pass on Sunday morning. This was the view most of the way. Our mascot Murphy rides with us in the green Element which is nicknamed Murphy. Our Irish friend, LA named it for us! The trees in the background are from a forest fire several years ago. A very big one. They used to look like the trees in the middleground. :( The ride back was fairly uneventful - other than it took us way longer because of #1 - people weren't prepared, #2 - end of spring break, #3 - people don't know how to drive. The folks going 20 mph need to get out of the way!! Or, put chains on. Or, better yet, get some decent tires.
So, after Sunday, it started to warm up - very gradually. Was 19º the last few mornings for our walk. Thought that was over......... By afternoon, though, has been upper 50's and low 60's. So, time to work on the garden! Yipee!! Dean built a couple of large raised beds.
I cleaned out last year's garden area. This is the retaining wal that was built, then came tumbling down (see Feb 2 post....)
The columbine is beginning to peek through
And the sedums are growing fast.

OK - OK - I know it's been a while......

It snowed! We woke up Tuesday morning with a light dusting, but I didn't take a photo. Yesterday was "town day" and the weather ranged from sunny and cool to a blizzard. We got our chores finished and headed home and WE had a blizzard! The wind was blowing very hard and the snow really came down for a while. This photo doesn't capture it very well, but you get the idea. Most of it is gone now, of course.Easter weekend was spent with Jim, Janet, Denise, Greg, and Jim's brother, Mike. Had a fantastic dinner and great company. After the big meal, the guys did the guy thing and watched TV while us girls did the girl thing and talked and laughed. I will post the group photo later, but here is some of the decor.

Denise and I chatted online for a bit this morning - she introduced me to a new networking site all about books. goodreads.com A great site for us bibliophiles. Now, if I could only catch up on my pile of books!

So, lets talk about Idol - what is the matter with people? I'm not about to spend a buck to vote, so I guess I can't complain, but Simon sure had it right when he referred to it as a popularity contest, didn't he? I'm tired of Paula liking EVERYBODY no matter how bad they sound. As far as talent goes, David C and Carly have my vote (ahem...) and I was sorry to see Chikezie go based on a bad night and not on his overall performance. Kristy, even though you're from Oregon, you have outlived your time on the show. Let's say bye bye next week.

The Morning Walk - and other things........

We took a "short" route today since it was still below 20º. This is Canyon and we like it because we can still get a good hill in the walk. Since it is nice and sunny, it didn't feel as cold and when we were walking with the sun to our backs, it sure felt good!








A nice view toward the Cascade range - there is still a bank of clouds and we're predicted to get at least a little snow every day this week. Because the roads were so icy this morning, Redmond had a 2 hour delay, so we saw kids playing in the snow on our walk.







Coming down the driveway on our way home. The garage door is open, so Dean is out for his morning walk with Abby. He doesn't like to go 3 or 4 miles, so he takes Abby down on our trail, usually about a mile loop. Denise's poor car is sitting in front of the house and our car and Dean's dune buggy are in the garage. His truck lives outside, too.
We ran out of firewood (that we cut last year) already, so had to go and get a pickup load of scraps from Opportunity Foundation in Redmond. With this cold snap, I hope it lasts us long enough.
Now, back to the archives a bit. This is the Deschutes River and a trail we often take, especially in the spring. These photos were taken just about a year ago - February 2nd. It was cold, but no snow. There are several of these rock spires along the river - the eagles like to build nests on them.
Abby and I with Steelhead Falls in the background - our destination for the day. And here are the falls - very frozen! And very beautiful.
In April, since we had worked so hard and the house was pretty much "finished", we treated ourselves and headed south to meet up with Jim and Janet. We spent time at Joshua Tree National Park, Mojave Preserve, through Death Valley (it rained, snowed, thundered, lightninged - not pleasant.....)and a week here on the Kern River in the southern Sierras in California. The weather was quite nice, as was the scenery. The guys spent their time panning for gold, Janet and I read and went for walks.
Jim and Janet headed to a wedding in San Diego and we meandered toward home. We spent a couple of days at the Black Rock Desert in Northern Nevada - home of the famous - or is it infamous - Burning Man which takes place every Labor Day weekend. An interesting place, to say the least! Dean is driving on the "playa", which some say is the largest flat surface on the face of the Earth. The world supersonic land speed record was set there in October 1997.
As the home of Burning Man,
there are many leftover relics of creativity which are displayed along the entrance road. I will only bore you with a few examples.

Here is Mr camera shy himself - and you thought I was bad........And finally, a momentous occasion - another photo of myself on this blog! Always with trusty dog at my side. All these photos from last years vacation make me wish we were going again this year, but the price of gas has kept us pretty close to home - as you in Vancouver may have noticed!

And, last, but not least - BUSHISM
"We thought long and hard about what to propose. We proposed a bold initiative, an initiative that takes equities out of the system, so people are treated fairly."
Lee's Summit, Missouri, January 2007

I just know you've been waiting for this.....

Yup, it's snowing! I know, I act like a little kid when it snows, but, hey, it's one of the reasons I moved here! It started here a bit after 7 this morning and has been going at it ever since. It is now 10 something and it has just started to snow in Bend and Redmond - one of very few times that we got it before they did! Even 5 miles away over on Hwy 97 it wasn't snowing until just a while ago. Trust me, dear readers, I mean "reader", I will keep you up to date.

IT'S SNOWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well - here it is - finally! After hearing about and seeing on TV the snow they have seen in the valley, we finally have our own. It started around 6 this AM - right on schedule, according the the forecast - stopped for a short time and has been going strong ever since. And it is as beautiful as I remember. Now, I'm in a better mood. And Gary and Teresa are coming for dinner, so life is just grand!
Now, if anyone ever reads this thing, it would be perfect. Either my counter is not working, or no one has read it - let me know, folks!

We had a White Christmas - sort of........

I didn't get a picture of the snow on Christmas - I thought it would last longer than it did so I put off taking the photo. I should have known better...... It has been snowing a little in the morning, then evaporating. I took this photo this morning as we were coming back from our morning walk. Abby was loving it! Right now, it is partly cloudy, the sun is shining and it is snowing. Go figure.
Aahhhh - life in the High Desert!I'm getting ready for our "famous" New Years Eve party - Kansas style - those of you at FUMC know what that means! We'll be thinking of you.

And the cold weather arrives with a vengence!!

This photo should have gone with the last bunch, but I was tired and just kinda ended it.......
This is the view of the crane from down below, placing a panel over the dining room area. That was a REALLY big crane!!Well, this is what we woke up to on December 1st. Remember, this was 2005 - we have barely had ANY snow since then, of course........ The first few days, it was really pretty.
One of our little friends is standing in the driveway - a little hard to see. We shoveled the whole driveway - 3 times, I think - with the help of neighbors, Bill and Joyce. We would shovel out theirs, then do ours, then down the street and do some other neighbors. It wasn't cold - during the day when the sun was warming us.
So, you can see that on the 15th, some of the snow was melting in the sun and things are looking pretty nice.
Then, on the 19th, it did it again!!!
This is our poor "home" - this is the end of the tent trailer that we slept in - the heat from our bodies momentarily melted the snow/ice, then froze again - well, that's my story anyway - but we had icicles hanging from all the corners of the trailer off the canvas. It is really amazing that we did so well in there. You could see in previous photos that we placed straw bales around the "foundation" (ha!) of the trailer to try to hold some of the heat in underneath so the water lines wouldn't freeze. We also had a small heater under there for the cold nights - they all were, though! It didn't always work, but none of the water lines burst. We had to wait for it to warm up some days and there was often an icicle hanging from the faucet.
Well, all this talk of cold is depressing me, so I think I will go down and make a cup of tea. Saga to be continued................