since I last blogged. But sometimes there just isn't much going on, either around me or in my head!
I will call in this evening to see if I have to show up for Federal jury duty on Monday; if so, Ken will go fishing without me. Not a problem. There are too many people who think they are too busy to perform their civic duty, and I certainly have the time.
We have spent our time catching up around here. Ken worked in the garage this week, and I am thrilled that I have a straight shot from the door to the car without having to jog around a ten-foot-long saw setup. Last week end was the annual 'get rid of stuff for nothing' in Steilacoom so there went some more stuff. Oh but there is so much more that should be dealt with.
Not having ever lived in the same house for more than six years has caused me to realize how easy it is to accumulate over a period of twelve years. According to her blog, Catherine Ousey in Winnipeg has been on the same task, and it sounds like "Got Junk" is another good outlet.
The motor home spent two days at the dealership so it is fairly hale and hearty again. The biggest issue was the broken pantry slide which caused us to have to tie it shut every time we moved camp. But I love those two sliding pantries, so I'll do whatever it takes to keep them in good working order.
I popped into a 2006 38' Adventurer while there, and I loved it. It has a very long slide on each side (about 15 feet) which creates a huge living area. The slide on the curb side accomodates a side hallway and bedroom wall. The slide on the driver's side expands the seating/dining area. There is a second lavatory vanity in the bedroom, and the bathroom has two doors allowing it to be entered either from the bedroom or the hallway.
We have no travel plans at the moment although the Jaynes have a five day fishing trip to Waitts Lake the latter part of May, and have asked if we are interested. Of course! Thanks to the Spragues, we have a place to store the MH should we want to take it to Spokane and leave it if we have more than one trip planned for Spokane and beyond. That would be a huge savings for gasoline.
I am without my sewing machine for the day since I took it in for a tune up yesterday. I might as well take advantage of the warranty. I have several projects in process, but nothing completed. And of course see many many more that I want to try.
Ciao
Friday, April 28, 2006
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Post Easter
We had a great day on Sunday with Jerry, Lois, Curt, Cinda, Jordan, and Cliff. Unfortunately, Linea had to work, but we sent some goodies home for her. It has been months since we have seen all of them, and it has been at least two years since Jerry and Lois were here at our house. With Cinda and Curt in Bellevue, that is usually as far as they go.
We observed some surprised looks on the faces of people at church on Sunday since it has been months and months since we were there. I was struck by how few people were at the 8:15 service. It seems the numbers keep dwindling so I have to wonder how they are managing to pay off the million dollar debt incurred for the major remodel. I wasn’t in favor of it anyway, so I will choose not to worry about it.
Brian has made contact with Greg Kirkwood, Bud and Clara’s grandson, Donny’s son, who is a senior at the Air Force Military Academy. He told Brian he will be at Fairchild AFB after graduation, something to do with medical, I think. He had aspired to fly, but was found to have some color blindness so that took care of flying. Greg played football for the Academy so we watched him in several games last fall. I am happy that he and Brian have made contact since they pretty much trod the same ground, i.e. the Air Force.
We chatted with the Baltimore Kirkwoods over the week end. Janet and Rachel are back at school this week after spring break. Painting Rachel’s bedroom was the project of the week. Sarah has been home on week ends because she works for a tax accountant during tax season. She tells us that she is now training as a bartender at the U of Maryland’s golf course, plus being trained as a banquet manager. It sounds like the money is very good, and it is a pretty controlled environment. OUR GRANDDAUGHTER A BARTENDER????
I have my first Janome sewing class tonight, so I am looking forward to that. Of course that means the start of yet another project………..I must have about six going at the moment, so perhaps I need to think about finishing some of them.
Word of the day: diluvial: of, relating to, or brought about by a flood.
Ciao
We observed some surprised looks on the faces of people at church on Sunday since it has been months and months since we were there. I was struck by how few people were at the 8:15 service. It seems the numbers keep dwindling so I have to wonder how they are managing to pay off the million dollar debt incurred for the major remodel. I wasn’t in favor of it anyway, so I will choose not to worry about it.
Brian has made contact with Greg Kirkwood, Bud and Clara’s grandson, Donny’s son, who is a senior at the Air Force Military Academy. He told Brian he will be at Fairchild AFB after graduation, something to do with medical, I think. He had aspired to fly, but was found to have some color blindness so that took care of flying. Greg played football for the Academy so we watched him in several games last fall. I am happy that he and Brian have made contact since they pretty much trod the same ground, i.e. the Air Force.
We chatted with the Baltimore Kirkwoods over the week end. Janet and Rachel are back at school this week after spring break. Painting Rachel’s bedroom was the project of the week. Sarah has been home on week ends because she works for a tax accountant during tax season. She tells us that she is now training as a bartender at the U of Maryland’s golf course, plus being trained as a banquet manager. It sounds like the money is very good, and it is a pretty controlled environment. OUR GRANDDAUGHTER A BARTENDER????
I have my first Janome sewing class tonight, so I am looking forward to that. Of course that means the start of yet another project………..I must have about six going at the moment, so perhaps I need to think about finishing some of them.
Word of the day: diluvial: of, relating to, or brought about by a flood.
Ciao
Friday, April 14, 2006
Happy Easter
It is drizzling outside, and the weather picture for the next five days does not show one single ray of sunshine!! But everything is certainly green!!
I have done a little work outside on the patio, and Craig and Ken have put in a number of hours just pruning and mowing, but the yard does look better. I have tried to get someone to come out and give me a bid for some heavy duty work, but I guess they are all too busy. Our two big dogwood trees are showing their first signs of life, and they are usually in full bloom by the middle of May. None of our rhodies are in bloom yet, but I have seen a few around town.
Ken just put some gravlax in the refrigerator to season until Sunday. The biggest challenge is to find absolutely fresh salmon that can be cured in this way. Some salt, sugar, dill and a splash of Aquavit is all it takes.
I see our fellow travelers, the Ouseys, are keeping busy with family and grandchildren, but Carolyn called a few days ago, and we were already discussing where we want to go next winter!! They will do some traveling on the Island this summer, and we might do some traveling here in Washington, but the price of gas is causing us to have some second thoughts.
We are sorry to learn that Jeff Schuler’s father passed away earlier this week at the age of 88. These last two Easters and last Christmas have been sad times for us and our friends with the loss of 2 brothers and a father. Jeff and Bev, daughter Debbie and granddaughter, Rebekah, are in Memphis. There was a service today at the Lutheran Church in Germantown that Jeff’s father attended.
I have been doing a bit of quilt work, and a lot of quilt fabric shopping. I have managed to add several pieces of fabric to my collection, and should have enough to finish my current project. Then it is back to the Christmas wall hanging that I abandoned last winter. It needs to be finished for this coming Christmas.
Happy Easter to all. Ciao
I have done a little work outside on the patio, and Craig and Ken have put in a number of hours just pruning and mowing, but the yard does look better. I have tried to get someone to come out and give me a bid for some heavy duty work, but I guess they are all too busy. Our two big dogwood trees are showing their first signs of life, and they are usually in full bloom by the middle of May. None of our rhodies are in bloom yet, but I have seen a few around town.
Ken just put some gravlax in the refrigerator to season until Sunday. The biggest challenge is to find absolutely fresh salmon that can be cured in this way. Some salt, sugar, dill and a splash of Aquavit is all it takes.
I see our fellow travelers, the Ouseys, are keeping busy with family and grandchildren, but Carolyn called a few days ago, and we were already discussing where we want to go next winter!! They will do some traveling on the Island this summer, and we might do some traveling here in Washington, but the price of gas is causing us to have some second thoughts.
We are sorry to learn that Jeff Schuler’s father passed away earlier this week at the age of 88. These last two Easters and last Christmas have been sad times for us and our friends with the loss of 2 brothers and a father. Jeff and Bev, daughter Debbie and granddaughter, Rebekah, are in Memphis. There was a service today at the Lutheran Church in Germantown that Jeff’s father attended.
I have been doing a bit of quilt work, and a lot of quilt fabric shopping. I have managed to add several pieces of fabric to my collection, and should have enough to finish my current project. Then it is back to the Christmas wall hanging that I abandoned last winter. It needs to be finished for this coming Christmas.
Happy Easter to all. Ciao
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Wine Country and home
OK, I'm slowly adjusting to living in a real house again, but I miss the easy motor home life!!
We spent two days at the Prosser Wine Country RV Park so we could visit some of our favorite wineries. It is still early in the season, so lots of the smaller wineries are only open on week ends, but we found plenty to visit. The fruit trees are bursting into bloom, but the grapes are still sleeping. I'm sure they will be showing signs of life within the next few days. One of our favorite wineries is Paradisio del Sol. Their wines are quite good, and you usually have to make your way past the chickens and ducks to get to the house/tasting room. We not only purchased some wine, but a dozen eggs that came in various hues from brown to pale aqua. Tasty.
Craig and Cooper greeted us upon upon our arrival home. As always, Craig had the house as neat as a pin. However, the yard looks like we need a herd of goats. My goal for the coming week is to find someone who is willing to spend about a week around here getting the ivy, the blackberries, and the grass under control. It is more than either Ken or I want to take on. He will be busy with the raised garden beds, and I'll put some effort in to the back patio and the containers.
Most everything looks the same around town. One of our neighbors down on Birch has her home on the market. I figure it is overpriced by about $100,000, but we will wait and see.
We are having Curt, Cinda, Linea, Jerry, Lois, and maybe Jordan and Cliff for dinner next Sunday. It will be fun to see all of them. I haven't even talked to Craig about it, so I don't know if he and/or Cassie and Greta will be here or not. I haven't settled on a menu, but I'm leaning toward a new pork loin recipe I found, and perhaps Greek-style roasted potatoes with lemon and seasonings.
Our calendar is filling up for the next few months. Of course at the top of the list are the various quilt shows and a shop hop for me, but we are expecting Brian and family and their friends the Hoovers for the 4th of July. Then we will probably take the motor home to Motana to meet up with Keith and Janet at their lake property, after which we will go back to Spokane/Davenport for Ken's 50th (50th?!!!) high school reunion. The first week end of August is my high school reunion (45th) in Spokane, and that is also the week end of Ken's Kirkwood family reunion in Oregon. It looks like we will either go our separate ways or set some priorities. And before all of that, the last week end of this month is the opening of fishing season so Ken will make his annual trek to Spokane to fish with Bob Jayne. Oh yes, Rod and Karen are coming through in about a week.
It was one year ago this past week that we lost Pat. So of course my thoughts were particularly focused on him, our family, and memories. I do miss him, but I am thankful his ordeal is over.
Overcast and cloudy is pretty much the order for weather for the coming week. I need SUNSHINE!!
Ciao
We spent two days at the Prosser Wine Country RV Park so we could visit some of our favorite wineries. It is still early in the season, so lots of the smaller wineries are only open on week ends, but we found plenty to visit. The fruit trees are bursting into bloom, but the grapes are still sleeping. I'm sure they will be showing signs of life within the next few days. One of our favorite wineries is Paradisio del Sol. Their wines are quite good, and you usually have to make your way past the chickens and ducks to get to the house/tasting room. We not only purchased some wine, but a dozen eggs that came in various hues from brown to pale aqua. Tasty.
Craig and Cooper greeted us upon upon our arrival home. As always, Craig had the house as neat as a pin. However, the yard looks like we need a herd of goats. My goal for the coming week is to find someone who is willing to spend about a week around here getting the ivy, the blackberries, and the grass under control. It is more than either Ken or I want to take on. He will be busy with the raised garden beds, and I'll put some effort in to the back patio and the containers.
Most everything looks the same around town. One of our neighbors down on Birch has her home on the market. I figure it is overpriced by about $100,000, but we will wait and see.
We are having Curt, Cinda, Linea, Jerry, Lois, and maybe Jordan and Cliff for dinner next Sunday. It will be fun to see all of them. I haven't even talked to Craig about it, so I don't know if he and/or Cassie and Greta will be here or not. I haven't settled on a menu, but I'm leaning toward a new pork loin recipe I found, and perhaps Greek-style roasted potatoes with lemon and seasonings.
Our calendar is filling up for the next few months. Of course at the top of the list are the various quilt shows and a shop hop for me, but we are expecting Brian and family and their friends the Hoovers for the 4th of July. Then we will probably take the motor home to Motana to meet up with Keith and Janet at their lake property, after which we will go back to Spokane/Davenport for Ken's 50th (50th?!!!) high school reunion. The first week end of August is my high school reunion (45th) in Spokane, and that is also the week end of Ken's Kirkwood family reunion in Oregon. It looks like we will either go our separate ways or set some priorities. And before all of that, the last week end of this month is the opening of fishing season so Ken will make his annual trek to Spokane to fish with Bob Jayne. Oh yes, Rod and Karen are coming through in about a week.
It was one year ago this past week that we lost Pat. So of course my thoughts were particularly focused on him, our family, and memories. I do miss him, but I am thankful his ordeal is over.
Overcast and cloudy is pretty much the order for weather for the coming week. I need SUNSHINE!!
Ciao
Saturday, April 01, 2006
A busy week
We did all that was planned in the last blog. Ernie and Jean Perkins came for dinner last Sunday evening, and along with Rod and Karen, we had a great visit. Ernie is recovering from some complications after nose/sinus surgery, and that on the heels of some aggressive radiation for prostate cancer, but he is on the mend.
Ken and Rod spent many hours at the air museum at Hill AFB last week end which is considered one of the best in the country for vintage aircraft. It is fun for us to be able to offer some of these 'little-known gems' to friends. Karen and I made a valiant effort with regard to quilt shops, but had little success.
Last Monday we drove from Hill to Mt. Home AFB which is where we are still with Rod and Karen having left last Wednesday to make their way home. Brian and Sheila had the four of us for dinner on Tuesday evening plus Brian was able to offer another plane opportunity for Rod by taking him over to a hanger for an up close and personal view of the F15.
The trip to Mt. Home proved costly. We discovered one of the duals was flat as we were stopped at a rest stop just east of Mt. Home. In fact, the same dual that went flat in Yuma. But this time it was damage, not a faulty valve, and at the moment, Ken is at Les Schwab getting a new tire. Oh the fun I could have had with the money spent on that one big round black ugly piece of rubber. But again Coach Net, our roadside service, came to the rescue and changed the tire at the rest stop so we could come on in to the base.
On Wednesday, we drove to McCall to spend some time with Brian, Sheila, and the boys at their condo. They went skiing yesterday, and will again today before coming home. We drove up to the lodge yesterday to see the boys on their snowboards. They are quite good except Warren just needs some more weight in order to get up more speed.
Last night was a local hockey game between the Mountaineers of McCall and the team from Sun Valley. This is a sideline for all the players, and in fact there are one or two on the McCall team who are in the Air Force here at Mt. Home. What amazed us was the quality of hockey they played. No fights, just hard and fast skating and checking. McCall won in the last minute of the game!!
Between the last two periods, we were able to chuck a puck. We purchased numbered rubber pucks to be thrown at a small spot on the ice, and if it were to land, and stay on the spot, the thrower would win $150, but no one did. It was fun!! The arena is very nice, and we liked the whole small-town feel of the evening.
There are huge piles of snow all around McCall, and when we got up this morning, our car had about six inches of new snow piled up from the early morning snow. We hurriedly left for Mt. Home, and with some very slow driving in places we made it back. By the time we got to Eagle we were seeing green grass and spring flowers.
We are down to the last few days on the road. We will leave here either tomorrow or Monday and proceed on to the wine country in Washington before we go home. Again, weather will dictate how long we can tarry.
Ciao
Ken and Rod spent many hours at the air museum at Hill AFB last week end which is considered one of the best in the country for vintage aircraft. It is fun for us to be able to offer some of these 'little-known gems' to friends. Karen and I made a valiant effort with regard to quilt shops, but had little success.
Last Monday we drove from Hill to Mt. Home AFB which is where we are still with Rod and Karen having left last Wednesday to make their way home. Brian and Sheila had the four of us for dinner on Tuesday evening plus Brian was able to offer another plane opportunity for Rod by taking him over to a hanger for an up close and personal view of the F15.
The trip to Mt. Home proved costly. We discovered one of the duals was flat as we were stopped at a rest stop just east of Mt. Home. In fact, the same dual that went flat in Yuma. But this time it was damage, not a faulty valve, and at the moment, Ken is at Les Schwab getting a new tire. Oh the fun I could have had with the money spent on that one big round black ugly piece of rubber. But again Coach Net, our roadside service, came to the rescue and changed the tire at the rest stop so we could come on in to the base.
On Wednesday, we drove to McCall to spend some time with Brian, Sheila, and the boys at their condo. They went skiing yesterday, and will again today before coming home. We drove up to the lodge yesterday to see the boys on their snowboards. They are quite good except Warren just needs some more weight in order to get up more speed.
Last night was a local hockey game between the Mountaineers of McCall and the team from Sun Valley. This is a sideline for all the players, and in fact there are one or two on the McCall team who are in the Air Force here at Mt. Home. What amazed us was the quality of hockey they played. No fights, just hard and fast skating and checking. McCall won in the last minute of the game!!
Between the last two periods, we were able to chuck a puck. We purchased numbered rubber pucks to be thrown at a small spot on the ice, and if it were to land, and stay on the spot, the thrower would win $150, but no one did. It was fun!! The arena is very nice, and we liked the whole small-town feel of the evening.
There are huge piles of snow all around McCall, and when we got up this morning, our car had about six inches of new snow piled up from the early morning snow. We hurriedly left for Mt. Home, and with some very slow driving in places we made it back. By the time we got to Eagle we were seeing green grass and spring flowers.
We are down to the last few days on the road. We will leave here either tomorrow or Monday and proceed on to the wine country in Washington before we go home. Again, weather will dictate how long we can tarry.
Ciao
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