Sadly, I do not have a cheerful post this time. My older brother, Pat, was diagnosed last week with terminal esophageal cancer plus diabetes. This along with a failing heart valve that he has been living with for 3 years. So my posts will be far and few between for a while.

I have been in Spokane while he has been hospitalized, and will return tomorrow to move him to a family home north of Spokane. It is sad and stressful, but I find some redeeming moments in all of it. And my other brother, Mike, and I simply want whatever will give Pat comfort and solace. Please keep us in your prayers.

We had reservations to fly to Idaho yesterday to spend a few pre-Christmas days with Brian and Sheila, but cancelled that. And I could end up spending Christmas in Spokane with Pat. I am holding on to the thought that we will have Gary and Carolyn and Jeff and Bev here for a few days after Christmas. After that, we will see if we are able to leave to go south with the Ouseys.

I had completed most of my Christmas shopping, and Ken, Colleen and Craig are perfectly capable of creating a Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for themselves.

Last Saturday was fun after I returned from Spokane. Colleen had several of her college friends here for an overnight along with a massage specialist and a foot masseuse. Ummm Ummm. I could get used to a massage once a week.

In case I don't post for a while, a merry and blessed Christmas to all.

Ciao, Helen

At last!! Some progress to report after the more recent postings about nothing getting done. Most of the Christmas decorations are up, and that just leaves the tree - yet to be claimed from a nearby tree lot. I even addressed envelopes for Christmas cards yesterday so that effor is also underway. I have done a small amount of baking, plus made a batch of crepes to put in the freezer, so I feel as if I have made headway. Truth be known, I quite like all of these projects which I did not even attempt when I was working.

The walls and ceiling for the upstairs shower were installed yesterday, and we can use it by this evening!!! It doesn't look like real marble or stone, but it does look new and shiny, and after all this time; I'll take it. Of course there is all the remaining stuff to be done such as taking up the old flooring and installing new, and installling a new sink, etc. etc. etc.

Colleen and I joined Curves last month, and I have been faithful about getting there, although joining an exercise/fitness program the week before Thanksgiving is not very smart. I figure I am just now catching up for all the eating and drinking I did while in Maryland. I do like the Curves concept as compared to a regular gym. It is for women only, so I don't have to deal with the macho men and muscle-bound trainers. Curves provides a circuit of machines with music and voice-over that lets you keep a rhythm as well as tells you when to change to the next piece of equipment, thus eliminating the need to even count. And there are no settings to wrestle with. All the equipment is designed for women and it all works on hydraulics, so again, a no-brainer. To be continued.

We are invited to a Christmas open house tomorrow afternoon and that, along with an open house given by our investment counselor pretty much sums up the social scene for us. We are looking forward to our visitors arrival after Christmas which will be our party time.


Ciao

Here it is Saturday and not a decoration to be seen. By the time we did a little shopping, cooking, and whatever else, we decided to postpone. Now Colleen is on her way to Colorado for 4 days to visit friends, so more time will pass. I'm thinking I will get started while she is gone. All of this decorating requires a fair amount of labor, but I won't have to do any of the dismantling since we will be leaving right after the first. Colleen gets that fun job.

We are hoping Brian and Sheila might have a few days available between now and the first of the year when we might meet halfway for a gift exchange and some Christmas cheer. He is pretty tied down with his job, so it is difficult to find a block of time to be away.

Ken spent the better part of yesterday with the motor home in and out of service sites. ....with nothing fixed. A new radio and speaker and shower head are being ordered from Winnebago. As for the Chevy/Workhorse problems: The instrument cluster (our second one) needs to be replaced, and there is such a run on those as a result of a recall, that we might get one by the time we get to Arizona, and the overdrive switch problem requires a trip to Allison which is located near SeaTac Airport. Our last MH was a Ford, and we never even darkened the doorstep of the Ford service center. Aargh. But we did buy chains for both the MH and the Jetta so we are ready to hit the road.

The shower pan for our upstairs shower was installed yesterday. Now Ken will put up the green board to be ready for next Friday when the walls are installed. Lesson learned: Never, never, never, build an over-sized shower, if you don't want to tile it. Our only other option, short of a natural stone such as marble or granite, was fiberglass that looks like marble. It is expensive and heavy!!

Sarah tells us that the University of Washington application went in the mail this week. We would be thrilled to have her going to school in Seattle. She is also applying at two or three schools in the east; all in Maryland I believe. She is a strong student and has been involved in band and volleyball, so I can't imagine why all those schools wouldn't want her!! Can it be true that we have a grandaughter old enough to be going to college?

It is 6:15 a.m. and I've been up since 4:00 a.m. to take Colleen to the airport, so now I have to decide if I want to go back to bed or want to wait for the newspaper to arrive! Probably read the paper first and then go back to bed.

Ciao

Home again. We had an uneventful trip other than sitting on the tarmac at BWI for an hour while the mechanics worked on the cooling system for the avionics. We arrived home to a warming trend, so we missed the cold days.

Now it is full speed ahead for Christmas and all related fun stuff. Colleen and I are going to start decorating tonight, and finish up on Friday which is a day off for her. The tree will wait for a while so it won't dry out by Christmas.

We used to bundle up the four kids, and along with the dog, load up the station wagon to drive to a tree farm to cut a fresh tree. Now Ken and I leave the house and stop at the closest tree lot. If there is nothing to our satisfaction we drive to the next closest, and so on, until we happen on the perfect tree. Then we cash in some of our stocks and bonds to pay for it (I thought we lived in the Evergreen State) and bring it home.

And the really fun stuff this year will be company and an eggnog party. Gary and Carolyn will be here on the 29th and Jeff and Bev Schuler usually arrive around the 27th. So Friday, the 30th will probably be the annual eggnog open house. I must say that my eggnog recipe has been praised by even those who thought they didn't like eggnog. It is from a military officers' wives cookbook from the 60's:

Eggnog Supreme

12 eggs, separated
1 1/2 c sugar (I have been known to use less)
1 quart whiskey (rye for you Canadians)
2 qt milk
1 pint half and half
1 pint heavy cream
Nutmeg

Blend egg yolks with sugar. Add whiskey. Add milk and half & half. Beat egg whites to a soft peak. Whip heavy cream until fluffy. Fold egg whites and whipped cream into yolk mixture. Chill. Serve sprinkled with nutmeg. 40 small servings.

Helen's method:

Blend egg yolks, sugar, milk and half & half and chill. When ready to serve, place half in punch bowl, beat half the egg whites and half the cream and fold in. For drama, take your bottle of rye to the punch bowl which you have now placed on the table or buffet, and pour it in (with flair and all to see). I place a shaker of nutmeg beside the punch bowl. This method keeps the punch bowl looking more attractive, and you have a second batch at the ready for the late arrivals.

And then after the party, we won't care what we do for the next day or two!!

New Year's Eve has been a tradition with the Schulers and us since 1981. We girls go out on the 31st to shop for dinner for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. We enjoy a nice dinner, and then attempt to stay awake until midnight to enjoy a kiss and a sip of champagne as we watch the ball drop in Times Square. Then by 12:15 we are in bed!! Gary and Carolyn; take notes!

Ciao

We have spent several more leisurely days here in Columbia. Janet, the girls, and I have ventured out on two or three shopping forays, and as expected, we encountered madness. Janet dropped us off at the mall entrance for Columbia Mall, and it was another half hour before we saw her again. That was after at least 20 minutes previous driving around trying to get a parking place.

Yesterday I treated the four girls to pedicures, and Janet treated us to lunch, so it was truly a girls' day out.

We have done some Christmas shopping, so we can leave Keith's and the girls' gifts here. I am all in favor of not having to mail anything to avoid supporting the U.S. Postal Service.

We are going out to Ft. Mead today to take a look at the FamCamp. We are thinking about driving the MH out here next spring for Sarah's graduation on June 3 and the covenants here where Keith and Janet live will not allow us to park it in front of their house. Actually, since they live on a circle, there really isn't room for us.

Sarah is working at Pizza Hut today from ten to nine. Where are the child labor laws? She worked last night so that is where we went for dinner.

Tomorrow is our last full day here. Janet is taking the day off, but I think Keith is working, and the girls have school. We leave about eleven on Tuesday morning. I see where it is 25 degrees farenheit this morning in Steilacoom. We are hoping everything in the MH was winterized as we thought. Time will tell.

I keep up to date with all of the happenings of the Ousey clan. I feel as if I know Gary's brother and sister-in-law, Dennis and Catherine, since I follow Dennis' blog as well as Gary's. Actually Dennis' is a compilation of political satire, prose and poetry, in addition to the latest news from Winnepeg.

It rained heavily here last night, but since the guest room is in the lower level sans sight and sound, we were totally unaware.

Keep on blogging,

Ciao

Here I am, surrounded with our two wonderful granddaughters. We had an uneventful flight here on Sunday, and have just enjoyed our time with Keith, Janet, and the girls.

The girls had yesterday off, and only half days on Monday and Tuesday, although Sarah works about 3 jobs so we have seen less of her than Rachel. She is a waitperson at Pizza Hut, and works at a nearby furniture store. As soon as tax season starts up, she will be working also for an accountant. All of that while maintaining a very high gpa. She completed her first college application today for the University of Maryland. One down and several more to go. We are waiting for the application from the University of Washington. Guess what school we would choose for her?

Rachel is a busy social teen. When she is not around she is more than likely on the phone with someone or on the computer with someone. I'm sure she is destined to be an actress, she is very outgoing, and can be very dramatic.

Keith has taken some time off, although he did work last Monday. He was asked to fly to Florida for a meeting, and he said, "No, because my parents are here." So he was asked again if he would go if he were to go on the corporate jet. So rather than a very long day, or two days, he was outbound a little after six in the morning and back here on the ground about four.

We just finished a marvelous Thanksgiving dinner. I made tomato aspic since it is a favorite of Ken's, and I rather like it, but it was soundly rejected by the others. My only other contributions were dinner rolls and an apple pie. And we still have dessert to go!

Craig and Colleen are spending the day with some of the Kirkwoods. Dinner is at Cliff and Jordan's in Kenmore, and Linea is home from school. In additon to Cliff's parents and their friends, Curt and Cinda and Jerry and Lois will be there.

We have no specific plans for the next few days. I think the girls are planning to brave the crowds tomorrow, but probably not me!!

Happy Thanksgiving.

Ciao

We did leave town for a total of about 48 hours. It was my desire to go to the wine country, which is a 4 hour drive each way, and after one day there, Ken felt the need to return home. He said he was worried about the pass, but I have to suspect he wanted to be home the day before the Apple Cup to be sure he was in place at 4 pm this afternoon. So we had a few hours to visit a few wineries in the Columbia/Yakima Valleys and to purchase some Washington wine to take to Baltimore tomorrow.

The snow level on Snoqualmie Pass was considerably lower yesterday than when we drove over on Wednesday, but anything that had been on the road near the summit was gone. You could see a bit of snow along the frontage roads that had been left by a snowplow.

Our flight leaves around nine in the morning with a stop in Detroit. So we will get to Baltimore by dinner time. I plan to do my Christmas shopping for the Baltimore Kirkwoods while there to save mailing packages. Besides, with two teen girls, it is just easier to be there to figure out what will work for gifts.

We have had sunshine and blue skies for the past 3 days, so I guess the threat of rain passed us by for now. It was very frosty when we got up this morning.

Colleen and I have joined Curves. They have a site in the complex where she works at Starbucks, and it is about a 5 minute drive from home. I'll meet her there at 3 today when she gets off work. The workout routine seems pretty easy considering the rewards promised, so we will see.

No results for governor yet, but I think the recount has begun. If the recount comes out as close as the original count, a matter of less than 300 ballots, then I suspect the losing party will be looking at doing something more such as going to court. It is claimed that a candidate who was ahead with the original count, has never lost to the recount.

Only 5 days left to buy your turkey!

Ciao

And now Christine Gregoire has pulled ahead by less than 200 votes..........I see a recount coming. And speaking of politics, with Colin Powell's resignation (read fired), we have lost the last (and only) bastion of sensibility and reason of this administration with regard to foreign relations. I never would have believed I would be saying that about a four-star Army general! Condie Rice is so much not her own person, but Bush's puppet, that we will see even more aggression and complacency; none of it in the right places.

The weather foiled Brian's efforts to come to McChord AFB yesterday, so we missed him both coming and going. We are in the midst of about a full century of clouds, fog, and rain. I don't think the forecast shows a glimmer of sun for the next week.

We have a couple of appointments today, financial planner and then a haircut for Helen, and then we will decide if we want to prep the motor home for a 2 or 3 day outing. As noted in the aforementioned paragraph, it will all be with rain and clouds. But I can sit, with a drink in my hand, and look at the stormy Pacific for hours on end! No need to bother with the grill and charcoal, but better be sure we have the wellies and oilskins!

Ken spent the better part of yesterday slugging away at the concrete floor in the basement to create a well for a sump pump. The entire town of Steilacoom sits on a sidehill that is full of springs, so when the rains come, there is just too much water to be absorbed fast enough. He is installing a proper automatic pump since we will be away for the first part of the year - the rainy part.

Better buy your turkey - Thanksgiving is less than 10 days away.

Ciao

As of yesterday, the governor's race was favoring Dino Rossi for about 3,000 votes. Yay! This is a nail-biter. The count is now down to pretty much the provisional ballots and those that were not signed (with volunteers seeking those voters to sign their ballots). And with both, it is impossible for the pollsters to hazard a guess as to which way they will go.

We were expecting Brian, along with a second plane, to be coming through McChord today on a cross-country, but it turns out that McChord is having a 'down' day that precludes any flying, so there will be no landing here. We are hoping we might still see them on their way back to Mt. Home in a few days.

We have been singing the praises of Tatonka Takeout here in Tacoma which is a little walk-up eatery that features buffalo burgers, and it was going to be the lunch stop today. This little 'hole-in-the-wall' is about the size of a good-sized living room, with one corner cordoned off for the cooking area. It takes a while to receive your order, but the wall are covered with photos and kitsch about bison to while away the time. There are about a half dozen tables plus a little bar at the window with metal tractor seats for stools.

Today is my friend, Elisabeth's, birthday so she and her son who is visiting from the east coast are coming for dinner. I dredged up an old recipe that was a mainstay for me about 30 years ago, but is still pretty acceptable, a chicken and rice dish embellished with mushrooms , bell peppers and light cream. The birthday cake is a sour cream chocolate cake with chocolate sour cream frosting.

Our Thanksgiving plans have changed dramatically from staying here and spending it with the Jerry Kirkwood family. With one small invitation from Keith, we were online booking tickets for Baltimore. We leave on the 21st and return on the 30th. The girls only have half days at school on the Monday and Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving, so we should have a little extra time with them. Janet works half days, and I'm sure Keith has some comp time coming, so we should see lots of everybody. When asked what we could bring besides good Washington wine, Keith answered that we could not bring tomato aspic. No problem, we'll make it when we get there, and Ken and I will eat it and enjoy it. I suspect he doesn't want to hear about mincemeat pie either.

The kitchen is calling me so,

Ciao

And so another week begins.....
We were able to see Sheila for a few hours yesterday. Her sister left around noon, so we picked Sheila up at SeaTac and brought her to the house for a few hours and dinner. She, Lisa, and the other squadron wives had a good time in Seattle. Sheila was a hero for suggesting the Pink Door for lunch. For the unitiated, it is a long-standing restaurant on Post Alley just above Pike Place Market, but it does not have a sign - just a pink door - so you have to be in the know.
We talked to Nolan and Brian on Saturday, and the boys were having quite a good time while Mom was gone - had had pizza at least once a day since Thursday with a promise from Dad for two more days' worth.
The upstairs shower saga continues, but we are getting closer. We placed the order for the fiberglass panels, and set the date for installation. We should have a working shower by the first week of December!!
I have purchased 4 Christmas gifts!! And not a clue as to where to go from here. And I have been collecting some holiday recipes, but haven't created a thing to put away in the freezer. there is still lots of time isn't there?
Still no governor for Washington, but it is looking like Christine Gregoire is holding a slim lead - darn, she wasn't my choice. This state has had enough of the democrats, bring on a republican!
Ciao

.....and the elections are over, even if we still don't have a victor in the race for Washington's governor. It looks like it could be a few days before that one is decided. I just watched John Kerry's concession speech, which was very much a class act. As I've said before, I am not enamored with either one; Kerry for not knowing what he might have done, and Bush for knowing what he has done (and not liking a lot of it).
We have been staying home and doing projects. Up until today, the rain and gray made one want to just hunker down inside, but we now have sunshine, and should have same for several days.
Sheila and several of the wives from the squadron are flying to Seattle tomorrow for a few days of shopping and being pampered at the Westin Hotel downtown. Her sister, Lisa, is flying out from Virginia to spend some time with her. For all the cities Lisa has visited around the world, she has never been to Seattle, so I'm glad we are going to have some nice weather for her.
Brian and Sheila have decided they will stay in Mt. Home for Thanksgiving and hope to work in at least one day of skiing. We will probably be with the Jerry Kirkwood family at Cliff and Jordan's in Kirkland. Both Oregon and Washington wine countries do an all out Thanksgiving weekend of wine and food tastings so I'm thinking we will try to get to one or the other on Friday and Saturday.
Have you had a hankering for some pizza? Try this:

In a food processor, puree 2 cans of artichoke hearts with some garlic, olive oil and oregano and use this for the 'sauce' on an unbaked pizza crust. Top with sliced tomatoes, black olives, onion, green pepper, and spinach. Add crumbled feta and mozzarella cheese and bake. As you can see, you could use whatever toppings that appealed to you, but I must say the artichokes are quite a nice change from red sauce.

Ciao

Sometimes, there just isn't much to say!

We have spent most of the week at home with Ken working on the upstairs bathroom and/or talking to and waiting for contractors to give their 2 cents' worth. But there is progress!! We have such a large shower area that it requires tile or custom acrylic. We are going with the latter since we have never had good luck with the integrity of tile and grout in a shower. It will probably be a gray granite look that should be neutral enough to work with most any colors. And while Ken is in the process, he will install a new vent fan since the old one was vented into the chimney........somehow that just doesn't seem right. And since the bathroom is already torn up, we might as well replace the fixtures and install a big cabinet on the wall, and replace the vinyl, and...........! Perhaps by Thanksgiving?

It is has been dark and cold for days, and right now it is so dark outside that I am sure the rain will come at any moment.

Colleen has called a time or two from Australia. She did see 3 kangaroos from afar and has seen 10 dead ones on the highways. She loved New Zealand and is already talking about going back, maybe even to teach. She has visited Bassim's family and met his parents whom she says are very nice. She saw his sister, Gigi, whom she had met when Gigi was here in the states last July. Colleen gets home midday next Monday.

Maybe next week we can get out in the motor home for a few days since our dog sitter will return on Monday. Speaking of dogs, read this: http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/10/29/canine.caller.ap/index.html
Pretty amazing!!

Have a good week end, and keep on blogging!!

Ciao

My birthday, yesterday, was uneventful and enjoyable. I was gifted with flowers from Ken and the Baltimore Kirkwoods and the Idaho Kirkwoods tell me there is a gift on the way. I love it when the celebration goes on for days. Craig came by with 2 bottles of very nice red wine, so of course we had to try one. Woodward Canyon 2000 Old Vines Cabernet - a HUGE wine and outstanding! Ken and I went to Ft. Lewis to renew my ID card and then we made a stop at the commissary. That was the uneventful part. Ken cooked dinner for me, so all 'round, it was very nice.

I am meeting my friend Elisabeth for lunch. She and I met each other when entering the real estate game about 10 years ago and we have remained fast friends. She is a lovely, thoughtful person, and I enjoy seeing her. She lives in Gig Harbor so I must admit I don't go over to see her as often as I should. She is German, but has lived in the US (and is a US citizen) for at least half her life. My ideal trip would be to go to Germany with her!

Rainy, rainy, rainy, with a bit of sun tomorrow accompanied by: RAIN. Winter must be here.

We still have made no plans for the MH outing I mentioned in my last blog. We like to be spontaneous!!

I'm off for lunch.

Ciao

I'm back in Steilacoom after an uneventful drive across the state. I stopped in Ritzville for a cup of coffee and meandered off the Interstate to 'downtown'. I went into the Whispering Palms which was named the Whistlin' Pig many years ago. It turned out to be worse than a pig sty. One or two straggly men and the "waitress" were all at the counter puffing on cigarettes. Before anyone could get to me, I turned tail and ran. Continuing on my quest for something folksy in this farming community, I stopped at Jakes, which has also been there forever. Not much better. Not quite as many people smoking, but there didn't seem to be any separation of smokers from non-smokers. This place is frequented by truck drivers so you can imagine how bad the coffee was!! Enough!! Next time it is McDonalds.

On Thursday night, I met Mike, Mary, Joel and Pat for dinner at a new restaurant on the north side of Spokane. It is a rustic log style and very well laid out. And the meals were all good. For the uninformed, Pat is my brother, Mike is my brother and is married to Mary, and Joel is their son.Joel at 6'3" and almost 300 pounds (he is big, not fat (and still cute) was almost slowed down by the one-pound buffalo burger, but he mastered it. Pat is thin and does not look like he feels well. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do for him. A weakened heart valve leaves no alternatives at his age.

I arrived home about 4:30 yesterday, and Ken had proof that he worked on the bathroom and took care of the dog. The bathroom shower has a relocated drain, and the dog is still alive!!

We are planning to head out the middle of next week for a few days in the MH. The excuse is that we just had the shocks replaced and we need to see how it handles on the road. Besides, I want to get out and about before all the fall color disappears. I'm thinking north to the Skagit River area or Port Townsend and Fort Worden and Ken is thinking the ocean. We'll see.

I have sealed my absentee ballot so the deed is done. Enough said.

Speaking of politics, I find it absurd that this great country of ours doesn't see fit to import drugs from Canada, but now is ready and willing to accept flu vaccine from Canada. Of course, having lived in Canada for 2 years and having an affinity for our friends to the north, I am all the more embarrassed.

Today was quite a nice day with a fair amount of sunshine, and that is contrary to the weather report. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Ciao

Here is my one and only blog from Spokane. I drove over on Monday and have been so busy playing and chatting that I haven't had time to blog. Lois and I have been out and about most of the last 2 days with lunch being a major item on our itinerary. Yesterday we ate at Mizuna's downtown and I had the most spectacular appetizer of melted Brie with some sauteed fall mushrooms and slices of crusty bread. That along with a cup of squash and pumpkin soup swept with a wisp of curry. Outstanding. Tonight Jerry and Lois treated me to Thai food at a small restaurant nearby. Wonderful.

The weather has been around 50 during the day with a splash or two of rain but otherwise quite uneventful. There is snow on Mt. Spokane, and I noticed a layer of "powdered sugar" on the higher peaks of the Cascades on my drive over on Monday.

Lois and I stopped at Calla and Sam's new office today and enjoyed a few minutes of visiting. They have downsized their architecural firm and have moved to a very unique and intriguing suite of offices. And the best part is that there is a great little bakery/eatery in the same building and just around the corner. Then we headed out to Liberty Lake to look at Bob and Sharon Jayne's new house that should be completed by the end of November. It is a lovely 2 story with awesome views of the lake. And the guest room and bath on the main floor is referred to as the Kirkwood Suite. I'm afraid it will be spring before we get over to try it out.

I am meeting Mike and Mary and Pat tomorrow night for dinner at a restaurant nearby on the north side. Then I think I will have seen and visited with most everybody before I go home on Friday.

I left Ken to mind the dog and work on the upstairs bathroom, both of which he says he is doing. I think Craig has been by a time or two to see what he is up to.

I'm off to bed to read and rest up for another day of play.

Ciao

It is a drizzly Saturday here in Steilacoom, and I can't understand why Cooper thinks he needs to keep going outside. As for me, inside is the best.

I regret to report that I have nothing to report, but I am committed to 'keep on bloggin'. Ken is off to get new tires on the Jetta. We have had it for one year, doubled the mileage, and have worn out the tires at 40,000 miles. I understand the tires 'role' with regard to safety, but I can't get on a 'roll' when it comes to spending the money. So much money for round, black, smelly objects!

I had a long chat with Sheila last night to get caught up on all the Idaho Kirkwood activities. Brian should return from Las Vegas next week and should be home for a while. Both boys have soccer games today which signals the end of the season. And Sheila remains breathless with her contributions to help out the squadron families whenever she can.

Warren's birthday is next week and he will turn 9; our youngest grandchild!! He informed his parents recently that he intends to be a film producer so would like a video camera for his birthday so he can get started. His first work is going to be about cats (he insists that he was a cat in a former life) and the challenge is to decide if it should be live or animated, which would be much easier than trying to get a live cat to cooperate. He is not very forthcoming with what goes on in his head, but I love it when he does decide to share.

Nolan, age 11, recently completed a school project creating his family tree. I understand it is very well done, and once finished, he made the observation that he has a very strong military background: his maternal great grandfather was a POW during WWII and his paternal great grandfather was aboard the Jacob Jones when it was sunk during WWI. Both survived. Grandpa Rich O'Lear is retired from the Air Force and Grandpa Ken Kirkwood is retired from the Navy. Nolan's Uncle Keith Kirkwood served in the Army after he completed college. Dad Brian is an Air Force aviator and Mom Sheila was an aviator when she was on active duty and is now in the reserves. And off the top of my head, I can think of at least 6 other relatives within those generations who have served or are serving in the military. That is quite a heritage.

My next blog will probably be from Spokane.

Ciao

Well, we woke up Monday with nothing to do, and now it is Thursday and we still aren't finished!

We have spent a quiet week doing the routine: laundry, grocery shopping, and 'putering. We have had glorious weather the past few days, but the forecast says the rain will be here tomorrow.

Colleen left for new Zealand yesterday, and we received an email from her this evening saying the flight was uneventful and she was at her destination. I think she got there tomorrow, or left here day before yesterday?

We had Jerry and Mary Ellen McKain down for dinner tonight. They live just above us on Walnut Lane. Jerry was Ken's boss when he first started at Western State Hospital and Mary Ellen and I have played together in a bridge group. And I use the term 'played' very loosely. Since it is that time of year, we had rouladen, red cabbage, spatzle and German white wine. The only thing that would have been better would have been for us to be in Germany to enjoy the food and wine. We made it two times in 2003 and 2004 has been a big zero.

I am going to drive to Spokane on Monday for a few days of play with Lois. It has been a long time since she and I have had some 'girl time'. I think she is going to send Jerry on a fishing trip and Ken will stay here to keep Cooper company. Truth be known, we probably won't do anything more exciting than to sit in her lovely studio and drink wine and solve the problems of the world. She is a sister-in-law who has always been as close as a sister to me. She is a cool lady.

I think Keith is in Florida this week, and I think Brian is in Las Vegas. I know where Colleen is, and we saw Craig today at lunch time, so we know where he is. So please don't ask if I know where my kids are.

Ciao

We are having a wonderfully drippy soggy end to the week. The rain started lsst night, and it has been pretty persistent all day. Fortunately, the leaves on the trees are still fairly green and securely fastened so we can still look forward to some fall color. Actually, we are supposed to be back to sunshine by the middle of next week.

Colleen is taking care of last minute details before she leaves for New Zealand and Australia next Wednesday. She and several friends are attending a wedding in New Zealand and then she will travel to Canberra to see Bassim. He is taking her on to Sydney to meet his family. She will be gone for three weeks. Wish it were me!!

We have accumulated a few nice bottles of wine over the past year (it is difficult to accumulate when one continues to consume) so Ken spent some time streamlining the storage and tracking. Our basement stays at a consistent 62-64 degrees so he has hung long slim shoe bags from a crossbar, and each pocket is good to hold one or two bottles of wine. Then we set up an Excell spreadsheet to list what we have. Actually this all sounds rather elaborate for a mere three or four cases of wine, but at least we know what is down there.

We have not watched any of the debates, but my sense is that Bush could be in trouble what with Iraq and job losses here at home. And from what I am seeing and hearing, I think he is being out-maneuvered by Kerry and Edwards in the debates. Actually, I am uneasy with both candidates, but I guess those are my only choices.

We attended the Tacoma RV show yesterday and I am confident the sales staff outnumbered the buyers. I did an informal survey while driving back from California this week by counting Bounders, Winnebagos and "other" class A's. For every Bounder there was a Winnebago (4 each over the course of about 150 miles) and for every one of those there were 5 "other". Since we are Winnebago owners, we decided we wanted to see why the popularity of the Bounder. Two dealers at the show were Bounder dealers - but neither had one to show!! Go figure.


We have our confirmation for the month of January at Cocopah Resort in Arizona. It is an RV park surrounded by golf links - or golf links surrounded by RV parking spaces. Should be fun! Gary, do I need additional comprehensive insurance against flying golf balls?

Have a good week end and keep in touch. Ciao

We spent Wednesday through Saturday with Jeff and Bev visiting botanical gardens near UC Berkeley, driving to Monterey to check out the fam camp (not impressed), stopping in Hollister to visit Jeff and Bev's son David and family, and visiting a 100 year old estate and gardens in Woodside. And through it all we did our fair share of eating and enjoying the fruit of the vine.

Sunday morning we headed north to San Francisco and across the Golden Gate Bridge to drive through some of the wine country and then make our way out to the coast. As was the case during our entire trip, the weather was beautiful. We spent Sunday, Monday, and half of Tuesday driving along Highway One up the coast of California and Oregon. Is there anything more beautiful?

We stayed at Fort Bragg on Sunday night and upon departing on Monday morning, we drove through McKerricher State Park which is where we tent camped with the Schulers and the Mendozas about 23 years ago. I have never been so cold!! After 3 days of camping there, bundled in coats and blankets, we drove inland and were welcomed to the valley by scorching temperatures approaching 100 degrees!! That was a long time ago, but I still remember.

After staying in Brookings, Oregon on Monday night, we continued north to Florence where we cut across to Drain, Oregon to pick up I-5. That was a beautiful drive with the first part of it paralleling the Umpquah River and Mother Nature providing a palette of fall colors on the trees.

As we were traversing this route, we noted a campaign sign for Representative Bruce L Hanna. Now I have relatives in that part of Oregon named Hanna, and upon getting home and checking the internet, sure enough, Bruce is my cousin's son. He was appointed to the House of Representatives to fill a vacancy and now is running on his own. I don't know of any other relative who is/was a politician so I will wish him luck.

We both slept well last night and were glad to be home. That will last about 2 days and we will have itchy feet again. I do want to get out in the motor home for a few days just because this is such a lovely time of year and the campgrounds are virtually empty.

Ciao

We are back at the Schulers in San Jose after a very fun time at the reunion in San Francisco. We stayed at the Marine Memorial Hotel on Sutter Street which put us within walking distance of most attractions such as Market Street, China Town and lots of good restaurants. Our reunion coordinator did a great job with everything.

We spent lots of time reminiscing with friends we had not seen in almost 40 years - Joe and Marilyn Gareffa, Winnie and Gary Larson, Ken and Ruth Larsen, and Dick and Ramona Lynch. Actually there were about 40 couples in all, and almost all were in the squadron at some time while Ken was there. The reunion reinforced my ongoing belief about the military being family and nothing changes that no matter the years. We discovered that at least a half dozen folks live in the greater Seattle area so we are looking at our own mini-reunion.

There was a wine tasting tour on Tuesday that took us to two wineries in the Napa Valley. The first was Robert Mondavi, but we were given a more exclusive tour of their latest facility that produces some of their more handcrafted upscale wines. And the second was in Carneros; a sparkling wine facility.

Gary and Winnie returned us to San Jose yesterday, but not before we attempted to visit Allied Arts in Palo Alto (closed for remodeling) and Sunset Magazine in Menlo Park (only the gardens available for touring). But the highlight was to visit the apartment complex (Moffett Manor) in Mt. View which is where the Larsons and we lived while with VP46 at Moffett Field. It looks pretty much the same, except there are now grass and shrubs where the swimming pool used to be.

Moffett Field is now a NASA facility, although there is still an exchange and commissary and a Navy Lodge. Hanger One has been painted white, but many of the buildings are in need of paint and repair. A bit sad to see it like that.

We are now waiting for Bev to arrive home from work to proceed with a day of play - whatever that may be. We will probably leave for home on Sunday with a drive toward Bodega Bay to check out RV sites, then on to Brookings-Harbor, Oregon just because we like it, and then head up the Oregon coast. Then we'll head northeast through Oregon wine country and home.

Ciao

Here we are in the land of sunshine with the temps hitting the high 70s. Our drive down on Friday was uneventful, as usual. And it took 13 hours as usual. Mt. Shasta looks quite pathetic with just a few showings of white........and I am always shocked by the increasingly lowering levels of Lake Shasta.

Yesterday was shopping and manicures for the girls and beer for the boys. Bev and I spent some time at Valley Fair Shopping Center which is now about 10 times bigger than when we lived here years ago. It was bustling and crowded; sort of like we might see at Tacoma Mall the week before Christmas. There just seems to be a lot more money to be spent here in Silicone Valley.

Ken and Jeff spent the afternoon at Los Gatos Brewing Company celebrating Octoberfest with 'The Internationals', a local oompah oompah band that is a favorite with the Schuler clan. The two guys came home jovial and grinning so either the music or the beer was good.....or both.

Debbie and Peter (Schuler daughter and son-in-law) pretty much took care of dinner last night: Tomato, bacon, and blue cheese salad, two London broils each with a different marinade, Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and broccoli and brussel sprouts. Accompanied by several bottles of good Northern California red wine.

We are going to church this morning and then will hop on Cal Trans to go to San Francisco for 3 nights for the reunion. We are looking forward to it.

Time to dress for church. Have a great day. Ciao

What was I saying about the beautiful weather? Today has been cool, cloudy, and rainy. So goes fall in the Northwest.

The motor home spent the night at Gilchrist Chevrolet last night while they tried to figure out a problem with the dash display - ordered a new one. The main reason for the trip to Gilchrist was to get the shocks replaced which is a concession by Workhorse for any chassis that was built prior to 4/04. Ken hasn't been able to test it at 65 miles an hour on the freeway, but he said there was a world of difference in the handling on the way home in traffic. I don't know what it came with, but now it has Monroes on the front.

As most of you know, I am addicted to RV.net which is an online forum for all things Rving. The moderator from Spokane Valley has suggested a little rally in October in eastern Washington. So I have given my input and we will see what comes together. We won't be available until the 2nd week end so we will see what the dates are.

Ken has been pouring over old slides to see if he can find any from the days in the 60's when we were with the folks we are going to see next week at the reunion. The few that he has found show all of us as being slim, the guys have crew cuts and we all have dark hair and few if any are wearing glasses!!

We stopped at Costco today to pick up a printer cartridge so we cruised the food aisles for the demo tables to supply us with lunch. I took note of all the Christmas displays. In fact, I think every store I have entered in the past week has had the full gamut of Christmas stuff already. Isn't this just a bit early?

We received the October issue of Sunset magazine today, and there is not even a nod to Octoberfest (nor was there in the September issue), so I igonored their ignoring and prepared sauerkraut and bratwurst for dinner tonight! Last year at this time we were in the land of Octoberfest enjoying all that Germany has to offer along with Brian and Sheila and the Schulers.

Colleen has finished her 2 weeks in the office at Fuller Seminary in Colorado Springs, and is now in Pasadena for a leadership conference and then will be home on Sunday........for about 2 weeks before she leaves for New Zealand to attend a friend's wedding and then on to Australia to see Bassim and meet his family.

Ciao

I think I am attempting to take up the slack while Martha Stewart serves her time in jail. I've been so domestic I can hardly stand it. I have all the ironing caught up, and some of it has probably been waiting in the linen closet for a year, and that includes all the tablecloths and napkins I am apt to use between now and the first of the year. And Ken keeps bringing peppers and apples from the garden so that calls for kitchen duty!! And Martha would be proud to see me cruise through the house, removing and rearranging and going from a summer to a fall look!

We just made our reservation for the month of January at Cocopah Resort in Yuma. We are scheduled from January 7 to February 7 so let's hope we can get out of Dodge and down through the Siskiyous in a timely manner. I have been reading some on-line journals from folks who have spent time in Puerto Penasco, Mexico, which is where we plan to spend the month of March, and it all sounds quite appealing. I am amazed that these folks freely go out for margaritas. What happened to the concern about ice in Mexico? I would be a happy camper if the water and ice are not a problem!!

Gary & Carolyn Ousey will be arriving in our area on the 29th of December, so they will join us for our annual New Years Eve/New Years Day festivities with the Schulers. News Years Eve amounts to a good dinner followed by a valiant effort to stay awake until midnight and New Years Day is a full day of football for the guys and a full day of Boggle for the girls.

Keith made his usual Sunday evening phone call last night. Since I had just spoken to Janet and Rachel earlier in the week, and Sarah was at work, Keith was the only conversationalist. They have been in a holding pattern to close on their lake property in Montana, and I think the next day or two will be the day. All the paperwork is signed so it is just a matter of waiting for it to record. Hmm, perhaps Mom and Dad should wander on over just to be sure the lake is still there. Nothing like having a free parking spot! Well, sort of. I'm not sure there is a place for the motor home as it is now, but with a few modifications, it should fit just fine!

This was a beautiful fall day with lots of warm sunshine, but we couldn't see the Sound until the fog lifted about 10:00 a.m. Fall is in the air. Keep on blogging!

Although nothing terribly exciting to report, I'm making a valiant effort to KEEP ON BLOGGING!

Ken is replacing the flooring/toilet seat in the downstairs bathroom - and it has not been fun. If you come to visit, be sure to tell him how great the floor looks!! It is times like these that make me wonder if we shouldn't consider a nice new little bungalow or condominium. This Old House where there is always something that needs to be fixed.

We are finalizing some plans for our winter trip down south. We are going to spend a fair bit of time with Gary and Carolyn Ousey, at least in the same general areas of Yuma, Casa Grande' and Puerto Penasco, Mexico. We spent time in the Casa Grande' area last winter while staying at Picacho Peak, but Yuma and Mexico are new to us. Woohoo! I think I have figured out that the RV lifestyle is made all the more enjoyable by the fact that there is no lawn to mow and nothing to fix (take it to a repair shop) - See paragraph 2 above.

We have been cool and rainy all day today, and I think that is the expected norm for the next few days. Fall is here!!

Keep on bloggin'

I love this fair! That is the mantra for this year's Puyallup Fair, sixth largest in the nation. Ken and I took advantage of military appreciation day yesterday and attended. This was our first visit, and we have lived in Pierce County for about 12 years. We rode a special Pierce Transit bus from Lakewood Mall and were dumped right in front of the gates. We walked through the livestock sheds and saw cows, sheep, goats, chickens, doves, horses, ducks, geese, and pigs. Speaking of which, we supported the Young Life booth by having BBQ sandwiches for lunch, then moved on to scones (a fair must) and coffee, and then I topped it off with a double-dipped caramel apple (not very good).

We watched a demonstration of draft horses which was great fun. Their were Belgians, Clydesdales, Percherons, and even Shetland ponies, but I have to say I love the Clydesdales with their furry hooves. Each horse weights about 2000 pounds, and his harnessings cost about the same number. We saw the award-winning pumpkin that tipped the scales at over 900 pounds, and I always love to look at the fruit and vegetables mosaics created by the area's granges - yes, there are still a few. Ken made the observation that there were not many folks in the animal barns, but the exhibition halls full of commercial booths were packed.

We received the attendee list for the upcoming Navy reunion in San Francisco, and we are excited to see folks whom we haven't seen in 40 years. It looks like there are only about 40 attendees so we should have a good chance to visit with all over the 3 days. We will combine the trip with a visit to the Schulers in San Jose.

We are in a head to head battle with the ivy around here. Any good ideas on how to eradicate it? I think sweat is the only answer. We have been told that there is a product called Caseron that is an emergent, meaning it will prevent new growth, but won't do anything to the existing stuff. It is a granular product so it is easy to control the application, and I don't think it has harmful side effects.

I am going to forward this web address to all of you who might be interested in our activities. I would hate to think that Gary and Carolyn Ousey in Victoria are the only ones following our exciting lives. Ciao

Believe it or not, here we are sitting at home watching television on a Saturday night. Will wonders never cease? We are even considering going to church tomorrow!!

I called and talked to both my brothers this past 2 days and both are doing well. I am pleased that Pat has managed to get on board at the VA hospital in Spokane for some of his medical care. And he will be able to receive his medications through the VA at no charge.

Mike and Mary are fine. Mary flew to Texas last week to visit Becky. And she doesn't really like to fly, but Joel said she just announced that she was going to fly to Texas, bought her ticket, and didn't even ask if anybody else wanted to go!! Joel says Becky is much happier teaching at Texas Tech than she is being a student. I'm not sure where she is in the process, but I believe she is working on her thesis for her master's degree.

I spent several hours at the Lakewood Mall today - shopping is a good way to get one's walking time in. I purchased a new saucepan for the MH kitchen as well as some pieces to create a floral decoration for the dashboard of the MH when we are parked. I half-heartedly bought 2 or 3 tops that might work for our trip to San Francisco later this month. I always buy with the attitude that I can (and probably will) return it.

Three years ago today we were just settling in to our hotel room in the south of France when Ken turned on the television and stared in disbelief at what he was seeing. We found all the French and Germans we encountered on that trip to immediately express their sympathy once they learned we were Americans.

Curt and Linea flew to the midwest yesterday as the first leg of her journey to start her college days at Columbia University in Chicago to pursue her singing. Cinda will join them next Thursday and she and Curt will return to a very quiet house on Sunday. We are hoping we will have a week end in October when we can go camping.

I ran across a recipe today that I can't wait to try..........and from the looks of it, I should wait a long time!!

Holy Cow Cake

1 box chocolate cake mix (devils food)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 jar carmel syrup
1 large bowl Cool Whip
1 block cream cheese
4 Heath candy bars (crushed)

Prepare cake as directed and bake in 9 x 13 pan. When cake is done and still hot, poke holes in it. Pour condensed milk over cake. Then pour carmel syrup. Sprinkle 1/2 of the candy pieces and refrigerate. When chilled, mix Cool Whip and cream cheese together. Spread the mix over the cake. Top with remaining candy pieces and keep cold until ready to serve.

And if you would like something with a little less guilt, we tried this this week and it is pretty good:

Crustless Apple Pie

Vegetable oil spray
Whites of 2 large eggs, or egg substitute equivalent to 1 egg
3/4 cup sugar (I will only use 1/2 next time)
2 Tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup flour
1 cup diced, peeled apples (1 to 1 1/2 medium)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 inch pie pan with vegetable oil spray and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites, sugars, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, lemon zest and nutmeg until smooth and fluffy. Beat in flour until smooth and well blended. Stir in apples. Turn into pie pan and sprinkle with nuts. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Pie will puff up as it cooks, then collapse as it cools. 151 calories for 1/8 pie.

I think I have done enough damage for now. Ciao

Well, I was wrong about being home for a while. We just spent a wonderful Labor Day week end with Brian, Sheila, and the boys on the Washington coast at Pacific Beach. It was rather last-minute, but we were able to get a site at the Pacific Beach Conference Center which is owned by the U.S. Navy and is available to all military. We were fortunate, because the park was full! The sites are very nice with lots of green grass and a few trees.

Nolan and Warren dug up about half the coast of Washington as they proceeded to create 'the world's biggest clam farm'. It was only a few hundred yards down a hill to the beach from our campsite, so it worked out well. We were able to drive the car down so we denied ourselves nothing for a day on the beach: wood for a fire, a dutch oven chicken dinner to cook over the fire, lawn chairs, wine, wine glasses, and wine holders and extra long roasting sticks for the marshmallows for s'mores. It was a good time. The down side is that it is a ten hour drive each way for Brian and family.

So now we should be home for about 2 weeks before we leave for California. We have decided to drive instead of fly, so we will be leaving about 9/22. The Navy reunion is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and then we plan to spend a day or two with the Larsons who were also our neighbors while we were with VP-46. In fact, since Ken was in Hawaii, it was Gary who drove me to the hospital when Colleen was born. They live in Virginia and we haven't seen them for at least 10 years.

We were delighted to have Gary and Carolyn Ousey come through for a week end. We were able to sponsor them so they could stay in the Fam Camp at Ft Lewis and that put them close to our house. We enjoyed some good wine and some good company - and Gary was able to utilize our internet connection and get his on-line fix. We are beginning to talk about a rendevous this winter in Yuma, AZ at a resort where they stayed last year, plus a trip across the border to Puerto Penasco which is about 60 miles south. I have been to San Miquel de Allende, but that is the extent of our Mexican travel, so Puerto Penasco should be fun. I understand one can simply while away the time by eating fresh shrimp and sitting on the beach. Sounds good to me!!

Our warm dry summer is coming to an end. Today it turned cloudy and rainy, and I'm sure this is only the beginning. Although I suspect we will have a few nice fall days. I do love the fall with the chill in the air and all the wonderful produce that is available. We still have a bit of corn in the garden, along with herbs and some strawberries. The dahlias in front are still blooming, and I want to get some flowering kale for the flower pots on the back patio.

The ivy and the blackberries are about to take over everything so we have a young man coming tomorrow to do some clearing in exchange for some money to augment his college fund. Those 2 weeds are insidious and it takes a Heruclean effort to get rid of them.

Ciao

We are finally home for a few days to catch up. Since the last blog, we have been to the Tri-Cities in Washington, Victoria, Canada, Kalispell, Montana, southern Idaho, and San Jose, CA.

We met Brian in Prosser the week end after the 4th to 'hand off' the boys. I would have loved to have kept them longer, but Mom was due home from her 3 weeks of active duty in Arizona, and I think they were all a bit anxious to see each other. The boys and Brian swam in the pool, we went out for pizza, and we adults did a bit of wine tasting over the week end.

Jeff and Bev Schuler spent a few days with us during the week of the 19th of July. We took the motor home to Long Beach for two of those nights and enjoyed the sea breezes. We dropped them at SeaTac on Friday, 7/23, and drove directly to Port Angeles to get on the ferry for Victoria where we spent a very fun week end with Gary and Carolyn Ousey. We were thoroughly wined and dined and spent hours just gabbing. There was a vintage car show on the waterfront, so we took that in on Sunday. We were given the tour of Gary and Carolyn's brand new Monaco motor home and it is lovely. In fact they are traveling in it at this moment and we are hoping to see them here tomorrow.

While traveling back from Victoria, Keith called to say they were in the process of purchasing lakefront property in Montana and would be in Kalispell on Friday if we wanted to join them. Of course! So left here Wednesday afternoon, stayed overnight in Ritzville, and arrived in Kalispell on Thursday evening. Checked out the property (1 acre with 145 feet of frontage on Little Bitteroot Lake) and we all declared it to be wonderful. I believe as of this week, they now own it, and will wait for 20 years for retirement to live there. But this trip was a bonus to see all of them a second time since they were here at Easter. And that lakefront lot will very nicely accomodate our motor home!!

Our next commitment was rafting on the North Payette River with the Idaho Kirkwoods. So we saddled up the motor home and headed south. The day on the river was great. We encountered about a half dozen class 3 rapids and Nolan sat on the front of the raft through all of them. Warren wasn't so sure but what his parents and grandparents had lost their minds and we were all going to drown. We headed back to Mt. Home AFB on Sunday and stayed for a couple of days to continue our visit.

On Monday, August 16, Sheila and the boys, and their friends Pam Hoover and her 3 daughters came to Steilacoom for a quick visit and a day of shopping at IKEA. We had just about every bed filled including the motor home and the treehouse, and we had a great time. On the following Friday, Ken and I drove 13 hours to San Jose and arrived in time to have dinner with the Schuler family as the start of a week end to celebrate Jeff and Bev's 40th wedding anniversay. We spent Saturday at a bocce ball court trying to master the game while enjoying wine and food. We got to see several of our friends from the days when we lived there. We spent Sunday and Monday nights with John and Carol Nicoletti who were our neighbors across the street from us in our old neighborhood. We took a more leisurely drive home by dividing it between Tuesday and Wednesday. And here we are on Thursday.

We don't plan to leave town again until the week end of September 24 when we will fly to San Francisco for a VP 46 Navy reunion for Ken. So if any of you want to catch us at home, now is the time to do it!! We need to stay put and do some yardwork and catch up with the garden output.

Colleen is going to work at her old job in Colorado Springs for 3 weeks in September while they have a change in personnel, and then she goes to New Zealand and Australia in October. We see Craig once in a while when he comes by for lunch or after work, but his job is very busy at the moment. Ciao

I could have sworn I blogged sometime during July!!!!  We have had some busy times.  There were 12 here for the 4th.  Steilacoom does a full Fourth starting at 7 in the morning and ending with fireworks at 10:30 in the evening.  Brian and the boys arrived on 7/2, Brian drove back to Mt. Home to go back to work on Tuesday, and we got to keep the boys for a few days.
 
It was all just fun.  We visited the Seattle Aquarium, the Boeing Flight Museum, and the Tacoma Zoo.  Along with Aunt Colleen we spent one afternoon digging in the sand and building sand castles at Sunnyside Beach in Steilacoom.  All meals were tailor-made for the boys to include cold cereal, grilled cheese sandwiches, macaroni and cheese and pizza.  Not a green thing in sight, just an occasional apple or carrot for vitamins!!  We loved having them and they were just about perfect the whole time.
 
The tree house was well-used.  They slept in it every night except the evening they watched the History Channel with a program about UFO's.  Nolan was in the motor home with us and Warren was in bed with Aunt Colleen.  We took the boys to the Tri-cities in the motor home where Brian met us on Saturday.  Then it was off to Mt. Home on Sunday for the 3 of them.
 
Now we are anticipating the visit of Jeff and Bev Schuler.  Bev says Jeff will be emailing me to tell me when they arrive next week........but so far no email.  I suspect they are at the San Jose Giants game tonight so we should hear from them later on this evening.
 
Tomorrow is my last day of work.  The office has a new person hired so my services are no longer needed.  Yeh!!
 
Colleen flew to San Francisco for the week end where she will meet up with Bassim.  He is on his way back to Australia to take on his new assignment:  the Iraqi desk for the Australian state department.  He would like to see Yosemite, but I wonder if the fires are going to preclude that?
 
Keep cool!

Maiden voyage completed. We returned today from 6 days of travel to and from the wine country in eastern Washington. The new motor home performed very well, and at this point we have a pretty short list for the service department. The air conditioners kept up with the desert heat in Prosser.

We stayed at a very new very nice RV park in Prosser called Wine Country RV. I highly recommend it. Easy access from I-84, grassy sites for all and concrete tracks with gravel between for the premium sites. They have an underground sprinkler system so the grass is green and there are no sprinkler surprises since the grass is watered from underground. Immaculate restrooms, pool, spa, and grounds and friendly staff. What more could you ask for? Wi-fi? Yes. Store? Yes.

We dutifully visited as many wineries as we could manage. Our vote for most fun was Piety Flats in Wapato, WA. My favorite tasting room was Chinook with a little cottage whose tasting room looked like someone's living/dining room. And L'ecole 41 near Walla Walla which is housed in an old restored schoolhouse. All of the above wines were also very good. I find the wines that get my highest reviews are those that are poured by friendly, talkative, knowledgeable folks. We added a couple of cases to our wine supply during the visits.

We visited with Bill & Sammie Bourn on Thursday and Friday nights. Sammie and I met the year I graduated from high school when we were working for United Pacific Insurance Company. I was a bridesmaid in their wedding in Metaline Falls in 1962. Bill is a retured school administrator. They have 2 children, Joy and Scott, and 6 grandchildren.
Yesterday we spent a couple of hours with my cousin Ellen Jean who is 83 years young and is adored by all of her kids and grandkids. She lives in a 'mother-in-law' apartment at the back of son Larry's house.

And this week end the fun begins. Brian and the boys will arrive Friday night. Brian will stay until Monday and we get to keep the boys until the following week end when we will meet up with Brian and Sheila in the Tri-Cities. We have a Rainiers game to attend on the 3rd, and Steilacoom does the 4th of July from morning to night.

It is back to work for me tomorrow, but the office is advertising for a permanent employee so I think I will soon be able to go back to the life of leisure I had been enjoying before I went back to work. We plan to visit our friends, the Ouseys, in Victoria this summer and the annual Kirkwood family reunion will be the first Sunday in August near Hopewell, OR. Plus whatever other fun things come along.

I just started reading "Cold Mountain".

Oh oh. I had no idea it had been so long since I last blogged. Well we have been busy making a decision and taking delivery of a new motor home. We stayed with Winnebago, the 2004 32' Brave. We are still in the process of 'moving in' and I continue to be amazed at how efficient and well-planned our little 24F was. This one has more space, but not laid out nearly as well as our old one. We plan to go to eastern Washington for some wine tasting the latter part of next week. And if the schedule works, Jeff and Bev Schuler will join us.

Colleen has completed her odyssey from New Jersey to Steilacoom with a stop in Colorado Springs. Bassim flew to the Springs and traveled the rest of the way with her. She is now settled into the guest room until she finds work, a place to live, etc.

We have had several days of very warm sunny weather with temperatures in the 80s. There have some been a few freakish storms in the area, but for the most part we have had great weather. Is this the extent of summer?

I have been reading a series of Alaskan mysteries with the protagonist being a woman in a motor home. Sue Henry is the author and they are very easy reading. I would say they would appeal to women more than men.

Keep on blogging.

I have returned to work for a few weeks. My former boss called to say the office was overwhelmed and would I work for a while? I agreed, negotiated a nifty raise, and reentered the working world. I have the luxury of pretty much working when I want, and I also have the luxury of quitting any time I want. It is fun to return to the office but not feel the sense of responsibility as when I was the senior (and frequently lone) staff member.

No further progress on the motor home except to have our salesman call today to say one of their banks is raising its rate by 1/2% tomorrow. Too bad we are not independently wealthy so we could just pay cash!! With the price of gasoline, we are in no hurry to do much traveling for the time being.

We enjoyed the company of Jerry and Lois (Ken's brother and wife) and Curt and Cinda (Jerry & Lois' daughter and son-in-law)last Saturday when they came for dinner. Lois' birthday was in April so I gifted her with a hatbox and a wine bottle holder filled with a bottle of Beefeaters. Our decadent dessert after dinner was chocolate peanut butter pie. I'll share the recipe at the end of this blog.

We are thrilled at the prospect of having Warren and Nolan spend a week with us after the Fourth of July. Never have our grandchildren lived close enough for us to enjoy frequent short visits. Sheila will be on active duty for a few weeks in Arizona and Brian and the boys will come here for the Fourth. Then Brian will go back to Mt. Home, and we get to keep the boys. The treehouse, Boeing Museum of Flight, nad American Lake fishing top the list of what we want to do.

Speaking of granchildren, Sarah went to her junior prom last Saturday. She and Ben made a very handsome couple.

Travelog:

Upon approaching Zion National Park from the southeast, we came in at the 'upper' level which contains a mile-long tunnel that was built before the advent of motor homes. So for a fee of $10, traffic is stopped in both directions so the motorhome can traverse the tunnel down the middle since the outside walls are not high enough to accomodate 12 feet of height. The views were spectacular as we wound our way down and around the sheer red rock cliffs.

Joan drove us into the park another day going via the one main road that covers its floor. We were treated to beautiful sights, particularly the red rock, at every turn of the road. Being a born and bred Northwesterner, I never would have imagined I could be so enamored with rocks!

The towns of St George and Ivans were quite appealing, but I must admit to feeling oppressed by the influence of the Mormons in the area. There is a stakehouse every square mile, and sometimes there are two stakehouses side by side. We asked Joan, a Lutheran, how she managed to move in and settle down and she said she almost left. But getting involved in her own church and one or two social activities made a change for her. We observed a family in a restaurant that obviously practiced polygamy based on the women's dress (dowdy), their hair style (braids), the women not talking, and one more woman than were men!

Candace's Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie - The New Basics Cookbook

CRUST
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
8 T unsalted butter melted

FILLING
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup heavy or whipping cream

TOPPING
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
2 oz good-quality unsweetened chocolate
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees

2. Prepare the crust: Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter in a mixing bowl, and stir together thoroughly. Press the mixture into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate.

3. Bake the crust for 8 minutes. Then set it aside to cool completely.

4. Prepare the filling: Mix the cream cheese, peanut butter, and sugar together in a large bowl until well blended.

5. Whip the cream with an electric mixer until stiff, and fold it into the cream cheese mixture. Spoon the filling into the cooled crust.

6. Prepare the topping: Combine the sugar and cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, without stirring, for 6 minutes.

7. Remove the pan from the heat, add the chocolate and butter, and stir until melted. Then stir in the vanilla.

8. Carefully pour the topping over the pie, and refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 4 hours. 8 portions

Note: I used only 1 cup sugar in the filling, and I used super chunky peanut butter. The food processor reduced the peanut chunks to just little bits of peanut which was a nice surprise in the smooth filling.

Another expanse of time has passed, so I can bring you up to date on the success of fishing and RV shopping. So far the fishing has been more successful.

As usual Ken and Bob caught their limit every day, but Helen made the news with 2 large Rainbow trout out of Liberty Lake. One was over 2 pounds and the other 2.5+ pounds. The price of the license was well worth it, and I'm ready to go again.

We have shopped long and hard for a class A, and we know what we want (Winnebago Adventurer or Brave), but we can't quite come to an agreement on price. Ken is ready to buy, and I want to hold out as the season progresses, the gas prices rise, and the 2005s start to hit the showrooms. Maybe there will be some inventory that the dealers are ready to move.

Travel Notes: New Mexico

Must admit we were not as impressed with the New Mexican desert as we were the Arizona desert. We stayed one night in Truth or Consequences, a town of not much significance except its name, and then drove on to Santa Fe for a stay of several days. We visited Old Town Albuquerque and Old Town Santa Fe. The art is the draw for both as is the case with Taos. Since I wear silver, I saw lots of stuff I liked and did succomb to a few things.

We visited the Los Alamos museum which does not charge for entrance, and is very well done. It contains dozens of exhibits and interactive displays - more than can be absorbed in a matter of one or two hours. We toured one pueblo which was known for its black pottery - the Taos pueblo was closed as is the case every winter for several weeks.

Jeff and Bev Schuler met us in Santa Fe while we were there so we enjoyed their company while sightseeing and eating good Mexican food.

We left Santa Fe and headed northwest with our next stop to be to visit Joan Von Ohlen, a friend from San Jose days, who lives in Ivans, Utah. Much of the drive was quite scenic, and we fell in love with the red rock that became more and more prevalent as we approached southern Utah. We stayed in a beaufiul state park, Snow Canyon, which is just outside the city limits of Ivins. If you are ever in the area, try to camp there. The lower tent sites are more appealing than the upper sites with hook ups. More about Utah in my next blog!

Sorry about the almost three-week hiatus, but family and Easter seemed to take up most of our time. Brian and Sheila and the boys were unable to join us for the holiday weekend but Colleen was here and we had the joy of having Keith and Janet and the girls with us the entire week leading up to Easter. We spent Sunday wine-tasting in Woodinville, a day at Safeco watching the Mariners opening game, and two nights at Pacific Beach where we enjoyed the sights and sounds of the Pacific. It was on the cool side, but Keith and his dad built a roaring fire on the beach both nights so we were fine while we roasted marshmallows and ate s'mores.

We are going to LIberty Lake on Thursday for a few days of fishing with the season opening on Saturday. Ken and Bob will continue their annual ritual of opening day fishing, and Sharon and I will await their return with the cooler full of fish. I buy a license every year, and every year I fail to use it. We'll see if this year is different.

We have been haunting the RV dealerships looking at Class A motor homes to see if we want to move up to something with more room, particularly closet and storage space. And the configuration of a Class A versus the C affords more living space by being able to utilize the 'cockpit' area. We have looked at a number of manufacturers and have decided we will stay with Winnebago if we do get a Class A.

Winter travelogue

After leaving Mesa, we drove all of about 1 1/2 hours south to Picacho Peak which is about 20 miles north of Tucson. We were there for 6 days and it afforded us an opportunity to see some sights in the area such as Bosphere 2, the Desert Museum, and the Karchner Caverns which were just discovered within the last 25 years. Our campground was at the foot of Picacho Peak, and right outside our door we had hundreds of handsome Saguaro cactus. They just fascinate me, and it seems every one of them has its own unique personality.

We drove to Sierra Vista and looked around Ft. Huachuca where Keith was stationed a number of years ago. We quite like the Arizona desert and its outcroppings of mountains, and Sierra Vista has a good representation of both. It was a leisurely 6 days, and the first time we had been by ourselves since leaving Steilacoom. Next stop: New Mexico

Travelog: The Mesa Market

Visualize 4 tented rows, each about 2 blocks long, filled with stuff to buy -- that's the Mesa Market. It was located just a matter of minutes from where we were staying, and was open for business Thursday through Sunday. The intriguing part about it is that 99% of the goods were new, and only about 10% was junk!! "So what did you buy?", I hear you asking. After one day to just walk most of it we decided to return to purchase a number of things we couldn't live without, i.e. golf clubs, Arizona T shirt, sink strainers (it's an RV thing), Mexican Train Dominos (another RV thing), salsa maker, a carved roadrunner, turquoise chips, a mini-muffin tin, a leather belt, and a $2 pipe wrench. We passed up such wonders as Mexican metal art, silver jewelry, dashboard covers, red hats and purple boas, and baskets.

Another wonder of Mesa was Organ Pipe Pizza - a 2 story restaurant that could accomodate about 1,000 people. Yes, they did serve quite tasty pizza, but the drawing card was a gigantic organ, front and center on a mechanical stage that could be raised or lowered. The entertainment ran the gamut from old favorites such as "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" to the national anthems for both Canada and the US. And it played to a sellout crowd every night. If we didn't want pizza, we went down the street to the Mexican restaurant for $2 margaritas.

Remember I mentioned buying a salsa maker? It is truly a great gadget, but more important than the salsa maker is the recipe that came with it. This is awesome salsa:

Juice of 1/2 orange
1 or 2 cloves garlic
1/2 dry onion
3 or 4 Roma tomatoes
1/4 c cilantro
1 chopped jalapeno
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp salt

Process briefly in food processor and enjoy.

Ah, at last there is a bit of sunshine for us. Now if it will last long enough to dry the lawn so we can mow it!

We were running errands this morning so took advantage of the time to stop and visit the Winnebago motor homes again. And they are all still where we found them several days ago. Now we will wait for some more models to arrive within the next few weeks to see how interested we are.

We are excited that all of the children and grandchildren will be with us for Easter, so we are busy making some preparations. With limited bedrooms, we will have bodies sleeping in everything from the guest bedroom to the motor home and the Westfalia. The next challenge is arranging the living room and dining room to seat 12. The last time we were all together was the Christmas season of 1999 when we met up at Keith's in Baltimore. And now that Brian and Sheila are living in Mt. Home, Idaho, we expect to see more of them and the boys.

Travelogue: After our week in Las Vegas and having avoided losing wads of money, we spent a hard day of driving to Mesa, Arizona where we met up with Daryl and Jan Ziemer, Glen and Nancy Reinbold, and Bobbie and Brian Ziemer - all from eastern Washington. The Resort is limited to the over-55 crowd, and Daryl and Jan have stayed there in previous years. It was all new to us. Bob and Sharon Jayne and Chuck and Janet Hafner caught up with us our second week there, and we were delighted to have Gary and Carolyn Ousey spend the week with us.

Many of the sites contained permanent park models which are short, one bedroom single-wide manufactured homes. And
interspersed among the park models were we RVers. There was everything from shuffleboard to ceramics available to fill one's time, and you could start with coffee at 6:30 in the morning. There were lots of rules and everyone was very nice, except the office staff that tended to be pretty short and demanding, but we don't think we are quite ready for that scene yet.

We found the Phoenix area to be very sprawling and quite congested with traffic. We stayed in Mesa, and it took us an hour to drive to Peoria to watch the Mariners practice. They had only been in town a matter of days, and not all the players were even there, but it was fun to see some of the players up close. I could have reached out and touched Bret Boone. Unfortunately, we left before the games began, but based on what I was hearing, I think many of the games were already sold out. So much for the image of a laid-back ball game while sitting on the grass.

Next blog: Mesa Market

TGIF - Oh, I forgot that that doesn't apply to our lives anymore!!

The past three days found us moving stuff in and out of the motor home doing laundry, replenishing food supplies, and catching up on the mail and the bills. Craig kept correspondence and bill paying in good order for us. Now we just have to settle a disagreement with Sprint with regard to a rebate for a new phone. That is addition to the shock we received while on the road. We logged on to our Sprint account which should be about $35 per month, and it had a balance in excess of $400. Seems they didn't pick up on our 2 months of free Vision when we changed our plan. Sprint, probably like lots of others, makes it almost impossible to resolve an issue. Even if you do get out of a never-ending telephone loop with automated answers, there is never a live person available who can correct anything. After about 5 days and at least as many phone calls, the bill was resolved with a balance of -$5.00. I share this just in case you are considering Sprint. For the most part they have been pretty good over the past 4 or 5 years.

The motor home is at South Side Motors to determine why we have lost 8 gallons of capacity in the gray water tank. When you only have 35 gallons to begin with, that is a significant loss. While there, we took a look at the RVs that were available. They did not have a 32 ft. Brave, but assured us they have one coming in very soon. So far, that is our favorite - IF WE WERE TO BUY ANOTHER!

Travelogue - Our first week was spent in Las Vegas to attend the wedding of Bob Jayne's daughter, Kristi, to Sam Marusich. The Catholic church was awesomely spacious and very modern. The bride was beauiful and the flowers were distinctive in that there were just two low arrangements at the foot of the altar. They were stunning with white and maroon colored lillies accented with greenery with a contemporary upswept look. The reception was at The Anthem which is a Del Webb golfing facility high above Las Vegas. We had a glass wall affording us a view of the entire valley below. The dining room was bathed in white right down to covers on the chairs. the bride and groom had been taking dancing lessons, so their first dance was choreographed by their dance instructor. Favors for the guests was a CD of romantic ballads.

We had cool weather the entire week in Nevada, but the guys did get some sun the day they played golf in Summerlin. We stayed in a Sam's Town RV park so we were walking distance to the casino. I was more interested in eating than gambling. I think I spent fifty cents on gambling and ate there twice. We spent one afternoon downtown with a brief stop in Fremont, and I mean brief. Perhaps because it was during the day, but I felt like I was on skid row in Spokane. We briefly breezed through the Venetian on the strip and then hopped the shuttle back to the RV park.

Here is a great version of spanish rice that I learned from the groom's mother who is German and Spanish. It is basic spanish rice minus meat and with the additon of chicken stock and cumin. This worked very well in a slow-cooker:

Rice - 2 cups
1 onion, diced
Minced Garlic (2 or 3 cloves) and peppers (if desired)
Tomato Sauce - 1 large can
Diced tomatoes - 1 small can
Enough chicken stock added to tomato products to equal 4 cups
Salt and pepper
Cumin to taste

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until beginning to turn translucent. Add rice and stir to coat with oil. Place in a slow cooker with the tomato products and liquid. Season to taste with cumin (lots) before serving. As it cooks, you might choose to add more liquid, but I found it cooked to where it was dry enough for every kernel of rice to separate. Note: there is no meat called for, and it isn't missed because the cumin adds so much flavor, however, you could certainly add bacon or sausage if desired.

Next stop: Mesa, AZ

Here is my latest attempt to keep family and friends apprised of our daily adventures and whereabouts. Mind you, for the next few weeks the adventures will be based in Steilacoom since there are no immediate plans to wander. But then again, that could change on a moment's notice.

We arrived home yesterday afternoon after 45 days on the road traveling from Steilacoom to Las Vegas to Mesa to Tucson to Santa Fe to St George to Mt Home and then home. In the days ahead, I will regale you with highlights from our journey. It was a great trip, and I am ready to sell the house and hit the road, but I'm not so sure that Ken is fully on board with that idea yet! I will continue to work on him.

One week of the trip was spent with friends from Navy days in Nova Scotia, Gary and Carolyn Ousey. We can't match their time on the road - they returned to Victoria last week after having left home last September, but it was wonderful to see them, and it is thanks to Gary that I have been introduced to blogging! More later.