Santa's Checking his List.......

Santa, the reports aren't true....I'm a GOOD PUPPY, see?
Really, I am....

Yes, they do have Christmas trees in Bolivia........
How beautiful!

Christmas won't be Christmas without any Presents

Wishing you the gifts of:
Unconditional Love...Selflessness...Trust...Faith...Forgiveness...
Wholeness...Second Chances...Comfort...Joy...Peace...Reassurance...
Rejoicing...Generosity...Compassion...Charity...Wonder...Acceptance...Courage...
Merry Christmas to all!

Beecher's Cheese

............Emily, was thrilled (not!) when her mother showed up at her place of employment with camera in tow. I thought that's what tourists do in Pikes Market. I took pictures of many other working folks that day, and they seemed happy to have their photos snapped. Now, a little about Beecher's artisan cheese. It's made right there at the corner of Pike Place and you cn watch them hard at work through the window. It brings me back to my childhood days when we would go on field trips to the local cheese factory in Zittau, Wisconsin. They are happy to provide you with samples and their knowledgeable staff will direct you to choosing just the right cheese for the occasion. Their Mac and Cheese is the best--after a taste you will never go back to Kraft. I would highly recommend a visit if in the area.

3/4 of Them Have Arrived

We are getting closer to a full house. Uncle Neal arrived last Wednesday, followed by a successful to Seattle on Thursday to retrieve Emily (we stayed thru Saturday). Then Uncle Jerry had pack his pilot's hat and experience flying in coach like the rest of us as he made his way from Nashville to Spokane courtesy of Delta and Horizon. It can be a little rough when you're used to being the person behind the cockpit! (Just a thought: why is it we all have problems giving up control? We are told we have little control anyway but it seems we sure like to think the opposite.) Next to arrive is Zachary, later tonight, and then Uncle CB will fly up from Roanoke, Virginia to complete the package on Christmas Eve. We sure are going to miss Alicia, Owen and our grand puppy Cedar. That would have made the prefect Christmas for sure, but at least we will be able to Skype them into our home on Christmas Day.

This House is going to the Dogs

Aunt Pam showed up on the scene last Wednesday and all hell broke loose on Lochsa Lane. Dogs are on the couch and sleeping in her bed. She is forced to hand out twin-treats on demand and even provide them with doggy massages. The question now is what can we expect when the children show up next week? It's too bad our new grandpuppy can't cash in on some of the attention. Cedar will be spending her 1st Christmas in Bolivia. It's best she doesn't know what she'll be missing.

Catch-up time

How time flies when you are doing things you enjoy!
Blogging is not at the top of the list. Sewing, baking, working in the yard, hanging out at the gym, spending time with family and friends and walking Maggie and Delilah in the woods are all more appealing to me then blogging. But Christmas is around the corner so I thought it was time for an update.
The first hurdle was to remember my password. I set the blog password long before I came up with my one and only password that works for everything. I finally broke the code last night with a little help from Ike. OK, when it comes to computers I need a lot of help, and he always comes to my rescue. What would I do without him? Plus over the weekend I watched the movie Julie and Julia, with Meryl Streep as Julia Child. It inspired me how Julia made everything she cooked look so easy. The next time you are in Washington, DC check out her kitchen in the Smithsonian.

VOCABULARY WORD FOR THE DAY

LIQUIDITY
Definition: Liquidity is when you look at your retirement funds and wet your pants.

Sunsets in Maui

You can't beat the beautiful sunsets in Maui

Lavender Farm

This Lavender farm was beautiful even though the lavender was not blooming.

Nasty words on Facebook

One of our favorite hikes along the coastal shoreline of Poipu
Anyone out their with a need for a wedding in Kauai?????

This fruit was much tastier then the Poi...

Can you guess the name?

This is for all my Bantam Friends I made the mistake of throwing out some crackers crumbs

He was definitely the king of the Roost

These guys just roam the island

So we have return to reality several weeks back with much to do and little time to update the blog. Many of you may not be aware but it is March...

Which means MARCH MADNESS

After two night of disappointing performances by the Washington Pac 10 schools I've decided to give it a break today and post a few pics.

Valentine's Greeting

May your hearts bleed with

Love, Joy and Peace this

Valentine's Day

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

Wishing friends and family a week of LOVE

May you find the true love that Gods word has

promised to all his children.

GREAT WINTER WATCH

If your looking for a good reason to snuggle up on the the couch in front of a roaring fire I would highly recommend watching the John Adams mini series. How did I miss this part of history? Was I daydreaming in class? Did they even try to teach it to me? Now more the ever I sure do appreciate all that our founding fathers and their families went through for our freedom. I believe all US citizens(young and old) should be aware of courageous events that some went through so all us can enjoy the wonderful freedom we have today. It's long 3DVDs

MOOSE ON THE LOOSE

One of Mother Moose's children

I thought Delilah realized her tiny size a few weeks back when she decided to chase some deer down into the gully, which had up to 3 feet of soft, fluffy snow. Going down wasn't the problem, but when she realized she had to come back up she started to panic. She was begging, "Mama! I need help! Please, mama, come down and help me out! Please, mama, please!" Well, that morning we practiced tough love. "Delilah, you got yourself into this mess, so you need to get yourself out!" (I wasn't totally heartless...after 20 minutes I coaxed her back up the hill.)

Well this morning Delilah was out in the front yard when I heard a lot of commotion . I went out to investigate, and that's when I saw Delilah and Mother Moose nose-to-nose. I tried to negotiate: "Delilah! That's a moose! Leave her alone!" At that moment I decided she was on her own. Mother moose chose not to read the neighbors "NO TRESPASSING" sign and headed through their yard. Delilah knew she wasn't allowed past that sign and she headed back to me. I grabbed her and brought her into the house before she was tempted to change her mind.

Once again, she got herself out of a mess.

THE GANG'S ALL HERE

Zachary and his girls

Aren't they adorable???

Returning from the photo shoot

26 years of practice and still a painful process ......

GIRL TROUBLE

LOOKS LIKE TROUBLE BREWING

Should Have Bought More Toys

That's mine, no it's mine

Ha, Ha, I won

Plotting revenge

Our Architecture Student

Emily's

Attempt at designing a house after one quarter toward a degree in

Architecture.

You better stay in school a little longer dear.