Our Weekend

When it is a cold and snowy Spring and you are heading out on a tropical vacation, you can pack early. Obviously, we won't be needing any of our shorts, sandals or swimsuits at home this week. I did some ironing, packing and vacation organizing this weekend. Church and dinner at the folks today. We pretty much just stayed home this weekend. Max's friend Tyler is staying with us and Sam's friend, Blake was here Friday night. Nothing gourmet or worth posting as a recipe, teen guys love my tater tot casserole. So, that's what I feed them.

March Madness

Enough said!

Who are Those Ladies?

We aren't sure what to call ourselves, or for that matter what should baby Ella call us. We are her Grandma's friends. Are we auntie Doreen, nana's friend Tami, nanaaunties Shelly, or "those ladies with Grandma"? That was not resolved today. But oh, we had fun with that little pumpkin. A very beautiful baby. It was fun to watch Lisa as a mom, and a great one at that! So caring and relaxed.

This picture is Ella having a break from being passed around. I'm recovering from a cold so I kept my distance this time, but I'll be back.

Mary Janes

I get to visit a new baby today. I told one of my docents, Anna Greta where I was going and she was excited. She had just made these sweet mary jane booties and they needed a home. I'm going to use them as a bow on my gift for baby Ella. Anna Greta is another one of my docents with a great attitude, love these mentors! I also love little girl shoes. Emilyn always has cute shoes, and Emily had the sweetest pair of bright pink shoes from the Gap on Easter. I think for many, many reasons God knew what He was doing when I had boys but I do feel a little cheated when I see sweet little girl shoes.

Going Ape for Bananas...Worst Post Title Yet

When it comes to buying bananas I don't monkey around. My guys eat a lot of bananas. I have to go to the grocery store, Trader Joe's or the Green Barn two to three times a week. My hubby eats 2-4 bananas a day! They have been asking for a banana layer cake with cream cheese frosting for months. I would love to bake one, take photos and post the recipe. I would love to eat a piece of banana layer cake with cream cheese frosting too. Sadly, they can't leave the bananas alone long enough so that they can be made into a cake. Yesterday I bought eleven pounds of bananas, I want a cake too. I'll keep you posted.

Flower Fairies

I have a friend that loves flower fairies. Millie is a painter, she paints on tiles and then fires them herself. The first one she did for me was the heliotrope fairy, very pretty. Then she painted the holly fairy for me because her husband and I share the same December birthday. Later she painted the clover fairy for me. Millie is always looking for a project. Yesterday she called me and is looking to keep busy. I have an idea for a project and so I'll get that right over to Millie.



Millie and her husband volunteered at the museum until last year. Part of my job at the museum is to schedule the docents, all volunteers. One morning I callled Millie to fill in for a last minute cancellation. Those are the calls I dread. She said, "Tami, you're a blessing, Charlie and I just finished our morning prayers and asked God for a purpose today!" Of course, they would work! I have been very blessed by Millie over the years. She also painted tiles of our house, one in the summer and one in the winter.

Millie is 93 years old and still looking for inspiration and purpose everyday. Love her! Oh, and Charlie's birthday is
12/13/14. We just have the 12/13 in common.

Shopping Used to be Fun

Tonight I went shopping with two teenage boys. There are no photos, there are barely any survivors. It is over until back to school in August. At one point I was breathing, totally irritating.

Vacation Expectations

When we go on a trip with our boys we like to talk to them before the trip about their expectations. It's practical and it makes the trip nice because everyone knows what to expect. This started because one time when they were little, about four days into the trip one of them asked how we would ever find our car back. I guess, from our car to the shuttle van from the parking lot to the airport to the shuttle van to the rental car was too much without an explaination. We felt bad that this little guy had been worrying for four days instead of enjoying the trip. So, we started asking them what they expected and what they wanted to do while on the trip and told them what to expect. Of course, things don't always go as planned and some surprises are nice.
When we took our guys to Las Vegas, to visit Aunt Bonnie and family, we had our expectations talk and mentioned that they might see women without very many clothes and that they may even be handed brochures with pictures of scantily clad women. We told them not to stare and not to take papers from anyone. So, we go one morning and take the rental van to Hoover Dam. The youngest says, "I have been here two whole days and I have not seen one naked lady!" The middle child says, "hey, look straight ahead and you'll see one on the taxi ahead of us." Okay folks, so they missed the point of that little talk, we did not mean to LOOK for them just a warning that they are in Las Vegas. There was also some confusion about brochures and 'trading cards'.
Anyway, we try to hash things out before we go. This next trip we are going with friends and so we invited them to "the talk".
We held our talk at Coconut Kenny's, a great sandwich and pizza place that we usually go to during spring break instead of Hawaii. Good food and tropical atmosphere to get us in the mood. Not really any surprises, Sam would like me to not blog on vacation. Sam, Max and Braden want to spend a lot of time in the water. Me too. Mark wants to eat Spam and run on the beach. We all want to visit Pearl Harbor. Karen and I want one day with a cabana boy to carry our chaise lounges to the water's edge and bring us drinks (this can be arranged!) Fred wants to hike up to Diamond Head. Everyone is pretty much on the same page, lots of beach and pool time and good food! Pretty easy to do in Waikiki, so we'll see how we do.

Easter Favorites

A few of my favorite things today. A large choir singing, Handels' Alleluia Chorus, little girls' Easter dresses, a message of hope and salvation, handbell choir, two big hams, kids and their loot, kids who don't care about the candy, really yummy desserts, 'sisters' that dress alike, friends that feel welcome, a large family, Emily and Luke (five years old) telling me about their trip to Costa Rica, lots of laughs. God is good. I hope you each had a Blessed Easter.

Easter Wishes

Christ is Risen, Christ is Risen Indeed. Wishing all of you a very Blessed Easter. After church we are going to the farm for dinner with lots of family. Just as it should be. Wherever you are, whatever you do, know that He died for you and loves you.

Easter Basket Cookies and Cards

Yesterday, Jerrie stopped by with an Easter greeting for me. This all stems from me using the question, "Do these jeans make my butt look big?" When her husband and my boss, Troy is going on and on about nothing, I throw that question out there and as I've said before it stops him. Or atleast it used to, I may have abused this tactic over the years.
Inside the card- "Do these ears make my ass look big?"

Today I did a variation of the holly basket cookies that my friend Sheryl and I have been making for Christmas for years. Easter basket cookies. Tasty little bites!

A busy Saturday of cleaning, cooking, baking and laundry. Fun!

Easters Long Ago

Love Easter! When the boys were just little guys we would get them new clothes for Easter, church clothes to wear all Spring and Summer. They would get a new bunny from Grandma in George in the mail, a stuffed bunny that is. Later on we had real bunnies, pictured is Lop. He did not like that leash. After church, dinner at Grandpa and Grandma and an Easter egg hunt with tons of cousins, first and seconds. Every year I left their Easter baskets out for them in the morning filled with candy, more candy, a new swimsuit and goggles. And every year they were surprised, I find this a little strange. They must have gotten their memory banks from me. Anyway, tons of fun. Of course, the entire time we were telling them that Easter was really about Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the dead on the third day so that we might live. As parents we tried to keep things in perspective. My guys are older now and they get it, inspite of all the mixed messages we sent them. Sam and Max plan on Good Friday church services tonight and have celebrated Holy Week at school. I look at it as a miracle, they survived all these mixed messages and still get the real deal. Kids are amazing and God is good.

Golden Birthday

Happy Birthday to Dan! It is Danny's golden birthday, he is 21 on the 21st. His Uncle Bill always asked him, when he was little, when is your birthday? Dan would say, really fast, almost in one word, marchtwentyfirst. It always made Bill laugh. Bill would then say, OH, March twenty one! No, Marchtwentyfirst! They would go back and forth.
Now, Dan is an adult, celebrating his 21st birthday, his golden birthday in Kosovo. We can email him but he has not received any of the old fashioned mail that we have sent so far. So, we celebrate in spirit today and give thanks to God for the blessing of Dan but we will have to wait for cake, dinner, parties and gifts until later. Until then Danny Bananny! We love you, wish you the very best and miss you like mad on your special day. Take care, kiddo!

Spring in the Gift Shop

The museum gift shop has a new Spring gift line, natural life. From emery boards, luggage tags, treasure boxes, mugs, key chains, book marks, makeup bags to my personal favorite, bike baskets, this line has it all. It just makes me smile. I am going to have to get myself a hat for Spring gardening, they come in brown which works for me because I tend to touch the dirt and then the hat. Oh, and the baby blankets are super soft.

Snow Shoeing

While at Whistler B.C. last week we had a first time experience. We borrowed some snow shoes from friends and hit the trails. There are certain trails for snow shoeing or cross country skiing in the Lost Lake area. They are well marked and the price is right, $6 for a trail pass. I like to be outside but don't really want to downhill ski anymore. My back gets hurt too easily. We have cross country skied also and I do like it. Really enjoyed the snow shoeing, easy, it is in my talent level. The hubby and I will definitely go next winter in the Mt. Baker area. If anyone else is interested let us know, I already have some good recipes in mind for lunch. What can I say, I am a foodie above all else.

Cancel the Pity Party

My dear, sweet youngest guy, has been whining, "there's no baked goods." 'Baked goods' is, I believe a section in the grocery store, where I don't shop because my guys get homemade. Not enough for Max, he wants/needs his Mama to bake for him and wants it to look like a bakery aisle in his own home. It's true I have been on an 'eat less, move more' however; people, no one is suffering on account of me! I have baked, maybe I have cut back and so there isn't a choice of bars, cookies, cupcakes and cinnamon rolls, but I have NOT deprived my children of sugar! We have a drawer, a large drawer, it is 12 inches deep, I measured this morning and it is filled with Junk food. Emilyn and Caleb refer to it as THE drawer and use reverent tones when speaking of the drawer. It is full of candy, chips, fruit snacks, licorice, nuts, cookies, M & M's in several forms and all available for eating. So please, people cancel the pity party, my guys do have sugar available.

Sunday Dinner

After church today we went to my folks for Sunday dinner. Bill, my brother-in-law BBQed pork loin and with it we had scalloped potatoes, corn, cauliflour with cheese sauce, rolls and a salad. This salad is one of my favorites-romaine, craisins, red onion, cashews and poppy seed dressing. Dessert was Grandma Jo's Birthday Dessert, it is a chocolate concoction that Gandma Jo used to make for birthdays. We had a lot of laughs and a good visit too. I don't have any photos to share of Jay and Max sharing a chair, I'll just tell you, those guys are close. Good times!
Mom busy cooking.
Bill at the BBQ with nephew, Alex and Max.
Katie doing some prep for Grandma's planters.
Eileen is getting a photography lesson from Jodi. I call this pic' A Bump on a Log"
In the garden.

Singing in the Rain

Photo is a little red, could be the raincoats in Begonia at eddie bauer, sharing their hue. My sis Kathi and I both picked out this coat in the catalog, I made reference to this in an earlier post. Here we are in Whistler Village both trying on the coat. I bought it, I love it! She is going to order it so that she can get it in tall. Not sure if you saw the Oprah episode where we were given a list of must have apparel, but the bright colored trench coat is now covered. I still need the white jean jacket and the large bag/purse which will make my bum look smaller. But the coat is a start and I love it! The lines are great and the color is a wow factor. Check it out online at eddiebauer.com.
Edited: The coat looks better without long underwear, sweaters and a down vest under it. Really!

A Little Ski Trip

Sam skis and Max snow boards, but they go together. Both had a really good time. The condo is 'ski in,ski out' so they swooped up to the balcony for lunch. The hubby, myself, Kathi and Wyatt went snow shoeing, all of us loved it and would definitely go again. Nice trails around Lost Lake.
We spent time in the village too. Wyatt is posing with his Olympic gold medal. Whistler has many photo opportunities for us tourists.
Sam took it in the chin, literally. Spring skiing can be icy and Sam will attest to this. Inside his lip is pretty bad too. But he still had fun.

Three Glorious Days

One snowboarder, two skiers, four snow shoers and a ton of luggage! My sis, Kathi and her husbnd, Jeff have a condo at Whistler B.C. Lucky for us, no renters this week. Kathi and I come from a long line of quick vacationers, our Dad was very fast to say, "let's go, three glorious days." So, of course, we're going! Some snow activities, relaxation and good food, it is all coming our way. Whistler is the 2010 Winter Olympics site and so things are popping there. It is one of my favorite places and their condo has just been remodeled and updated. Can't wait to see. Hoping the forecast is true and that we will get new snow!

Finished

Happy dance! Our taxes are done! Sam's 1040EZ too. Since I am the one that does them, yes, this is a big deal! Spent the whole day tax figuring, bill paying, appointment making, appointment cancelling, reservation making, emailing, calling. The eye doctor, Little Bit's farrier, possible dog/house/horse sitters, museum docents, nearly everyone got a call or two from me today. Then made a list and ran those errands too. A regular secretary. That's me.

This Really Grinds Me

We lost an hour of sleep and the coffee maker died this morning. Enough to tip anyone over! Our coffee maker has been very moody for three weeks now and this morning just wouldn't turn on. We had an old one for just such an occasion as this and used it instead. I guess we need a new one. The old one is just for emergencies, it's kind of old and icky. But it will do in a pinch. We have bought inexpensive and expensive coffee makers over the years and actually it doesn't make any difference. They just do not last around here. This does not sit well with me, because I don't want to be part of the 'throw away society'. But I need my coffee. Any success stories with coffee makers would be appreciated. I don't need much, only option that must be included is that I need to pour before it finishes brewing. Impatient, that's me. Especially when I didn't get enough sleep and haven't had my coffee.

The Hour

You know, the hour, the short hour, the hour when the house is clean. The last load is in the dryer, the freshly laundered rugs are on the clean floors, the dusting is done, the bathroom is sparkling, the hour when you are finished cleaning before they all come home. The only hour of the week that the house is clean, no dirt, hay or straw on the floor. Yep, I'm in that hour. Hardly know what to do with myself. A walk, think about dinner, read a book, do some yard work, finish our taxes or maybe I'll just enjoy the clean, for one hour.
And speaking of an hour, remember to spring forward for daylight savings time tonight. ;)

I Finished Russo

Speaking of books. I am trying to read some different books this year. It is all part of my 2008 goal of NOT going through life on auto-pilot. So, I read 'Nobody's Fool' by Richard Russo. A story of a man who for years has avoided any regrets, he has to start taking a hard look at his life. Russo is witty, sometimes I chuckled, not really laugh out loud but witty smile inducing literature. I think it actually could have depressed me a bit but the sun is out so I was able to keep that from happening. I felt like I wanted to discuss it with a Lit. class of college students. I guess I enjoyed it, just felt bad about all the miserable, dysfunctional characters.
Anyway, I need a light read. I picked up Carole Matthews new book,'The Chocolate Lovers' Club'. She is one my favorite authors from across the pond. And it's about chocolate, so that is a can't miss.

Will Power

Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors. She has a new book, 'Change of Heart'. I have it. I am trying to save it for vacation. So, I hid it from myself. That way I won't keep seeing it and thinking about it and want to start reading it. Love her books. I hope I have the self control to wait. If you are reading it, do NOT tell me one little thing! I am not even reading the book jacket, lest I'm tempted.

Spring is Coming

Spring is coming! In our small town all of the planters get changed to reflect the season. I forget that they do this. It always makes me happy. Such a simple idea-primroses and pussywillows for height. The winter green boughs are gone and the transition to Lynden's stunning summer show is now in place. I walked to work today. In the summer I try to bike to work. Take a walk downtown and check out all the color combinations. It will make you smile :)

Goody Two Shoes or More

Our nephew, Derek is attending BTC, studying physical training and fitness. My Hubby went into Derek's classroom this morning to be measured, tested and analyzed. He goes back tomorrow and the class will give him a plan. Then he gets to stick to it. Fred works out at the gym, runs, eats carefully but has a few things he'd like to work on so he thought this would be a great way to get some suggestions.
While he was at BTC, I was at Fred Meyer's looking for a pair of shoes. Somehow, three pairs came home with me. The thing is that the really comfortable ones are kinda "old lady". Jerrie and Cheryl were there too. Cheryl had seen these sandals in the flier and came specifically to buy them for her trip to Hawaii. They didn't think they were too "old lady" but I'm not sure. Guessing though, that comfort will win out. The other two pairs I may have to keep also. My hubby always asks, "will you wear them?" Yes. "Then keep'em." Easy answers for guys.
PLEASE NOTE: In the Blogs I Browse section to your left I have added a new blogger! Dan!

Walkin', Yes indeed I'm Talkin'

I spent the afternoon walking...all afternoon and talking too! First I called around for a walking buddy. Kathi wanted to go later, Karen is ready to go, then before I leave Jodi calls and wants to go later. Fine, I can do both, combine the sisters' walk later and go with Karen first. We took a long walk because we are highly motivated. Maybe motivated is a strong word, but we are pressured. Hawaii+swimsuit = 30 days. So, Karen and I take off and walk really quite far. We are on the homeward stretch when my sis Kathi gets dropped off at the curb by her husband, Jeff. So, we take the long way home so she can get her walk time in too. We get to my house, Karen goes home, Kathi and I have some water, pick out identical things in the eddie bauer catalog because we're sisters and that is what we do. Then we realize we haven't walked with Jodi and she maybe thinks we're coming. So, we walk to Jodi's house, leash up Eddie and walk. Jodi hasn't really walked so we walk with her, by this time we are at Karen's sister, Colleen. Jeff drives up and Kathi heads for home. The dogs visit, we meet Colleen's birds and head out again. We get back to Jodi's and I have a water break, visit with neice Hana and then, yes, you guessed it, I walk home. By now I have been gone for three hours. Next stop, the hot tub! If anyone didn't get their walk in today-DON"T call me.

Samson Estate Winery

Last evening the Hubby and I were invited to a wine tasting at Samson Winery by our friend Scott. Samson uses raspberries and blueberries that they grow and they bring in grapes from Eastern Washington. Scott had bought the tasting at a benefit auction. We had many tastes and they were each served with food-yummy food! Good pairings. Samson winemaker, Rob has another label, Delilah. Clever. Samson Winery has a nice facility but we had never been in the back room where they make the wine so that was a first. We learned something about wine making and had a good time visiting with a nice group of people, a perfect way to spend a rainy Friday night.