Seasonal Lyrics...

'I'm dreaming of a White Christmas'...or perhaps..'I'll be home for Christmas'...or "Rudolf with your nose so bright, I want you to guide my sleigh tonight' or we could carol, 'All I want for Christmas is..' or even 'Frosty the Snowman had to hurry on his way..' They all fit this really unusual week of Christmas and weather.

Christmas Eve day was a horrid, windy, snowy, stormy day. We were able to get Tony (who flew in to Pendleton), so we were thankful. Then just after 6pm, Athena was closed off on both sides! No one could get in or out!!!! Santa really needed Rudolf! Often our Christmas Eve's were spent putting together one thing or another. This year, however, it was a bit different. Steve located and eradicated ice in our new linen closet!!!!!! I was very glad our linen was in totes and boxes. The one cardboard box was close to the water puddle, but escaped! Lots of houses had leaks show up this year.

Christmas Day was very low key. It was sunny and cheerful, but Steve did lots of snow and ice removal. We even had bent icicles on our heavily coated roof. It took out the bird feeders when it slid off!! The boys played video games and watched movies and helped bring Grandpa and Grandma dinner and presents. (They were cut off for almost a week, all total!)

After Christmas, Steve had the day off, so the boys went out and drove all over the place and eventually bought real live toys. Tony found his Henry and it is VERY pretty. They got lots of other things, too. I would try to blog their Christmas haul, but I would most likely get it totally wrong. So, anyone who is interested will just have to contact Steve or Tony. It would be more efficient that way!!!

My dear little snowman went from the cute little guy in a previous post to this--after I cleared him off--, to a melted blob that recalled that disgusting scene from Raiders where the guys' face falls off. I picked up all the bits, dried them off, and will bring them out whenever we get snowman snow again.

Mum sent me a really cool picture fairy tale book for Christmas which was wonderful and Jon got me a gift certificate, so have read, will read, and am looking forward to reading soon!!!!!

Measuring the snow beats!

Well, in response to Noelle who is in a very snowy Portland, here are some photos of snow in Athena. Well, more photos. I decided to use the ones with the ruler!

December 17, 2008 and the level really didn't move too much for a bit. We had the wind and the drifting, so some snow did get 'pushed' off the railing. I took the ruler down when it was windy and put it back later.

Steve was able to break off ice from the roof and shoveled some snow on Saturday, but it was a gentle day. Cold, but not real snowy. Sunday morning, however, we had more snow. Jon and I walked to church. Steve drove so he could get his parents.

The second photo is looking up third street. Our house in on the left and we are standing next to the old vacant lot where the old school was. It is no longer vacant and has scads of houses on it.

ACC and the parsonage. We are not sure why the icicles are gicky brown!!! Jon said it looked like the church had bad teeth!!!

Then, this morning we got up after watching White Christmas last night and seeing more snow fall, to this! Can you find the ruler??????

Even Teddy, who usually likes snow, was quick to get back inside after visiting one of his favorite bushes.

Not reading much, doing a few holiday things and trying to get Tony home. He is in Washington!!!

Winter Oddities

Yup, we still have winter. I was impressed with the snow last weekend, but now I am truly in awe. There is so much snow we don't know what to do with it. Unfortunately, it is not snowman snow. Just shoveling snow. Lots and lots of shoveling!

View of house from road and view down 3rd street by our fence and past our utility trailer.

However, the very strangest thing we have seen was on our feeder. Jon asked me this morning what kind of bird here is green with yellow underneath. I said, 'None.' He said, 'Well, there is one outside.' And he was right. On our feeder with all the juncos, finches, and sparrows was a totally out of place parakeet!!!!!!!! We tried to catch him, but it flew off. We saw it several times and I called city hall to report it in case someone 'missed' him. However, we have not seen it since noon. I hope it is ok. It is getting colder out and the poor thing looked so unprepared for the snow we were getting.

We had lots of wind the other night and school has been cancelled for 2 days. So, Christmas break started early here. The wind caused the snow to drift and although we got even more snow than before, it is powder stuff and with the drifting, has changed the level. We probaby have more than 8 inches. Steve's parents were so snowed and drifted in they had a road closed sign in the middle of their drive!!!! But, it was really for the road beyond their house. Steve moved it when he took his truck and packed the snow in a path to and from their house. Then, we got more snow today!

Jon-yesterday- with a packed snow clump and today with a 'sword' of ice.

Reading Christmas mysteries and making cookies. We decorated some very hard sugar cookies. A friend in Tillamook gave me the recipe and hers are always nice and soft. She tends to make hearts and they are really delish. Our snowmen are a bit....well, odd!!!!

The Weather Outside's 'Delightful'....

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!!!!!

Yup, we have snow. Finally. I was starting to think we might have to have a brown Christmas, but ol' Jack Frost pulled through rather nicely. In fact, it snowed on Saturday and was a nice damp perfect for snowman snow. Sunday, however, it is just a lovely very cold snowy day. Lots of powder on top of the sticky snow and now it is dropping past 13 degrees at 420pm. BRRRRR. But, very pretty outside.

Jonathan made a wonderful snowman over 7 1/2 feet tall, but it leaned a bit too far to one side and now is just a large monument to artistic endeavors of frozen water. He used the extension ladder to roll the balls up the height of snow and the wheel barrow to haul more snow from other parts of the yard. Mine is cuter. I used the snowman parts I made from a craft pattern and is it not just Disney?????

Before church, I took a few photos of the white expanse in front of the house. Are the icicles not beautiful??? However, when the snow starts to slip off the roof it is going to sound like the house is caving in!!!!!

And who needs a television when you have a window feeder???

Just finished a new Brian Jacques book, Eulalia! Totally wonderful read!

Buy De-Solv-it!!!

Yup, that is my new mantra. I love that stuff. It is like Goo be gone, but a little different. Let me explain. We have in our backyard a cute little house. It had been used to store a motorbike..Steve fixed the wall that was missing and we started cleaning. Several of the shelves were used for 'parts' and were very greasy..this awesome product cleaned it up slicker than a whistle! (although, that is an ambiguous saying in itself..I have kids who have had some really gicky whistles!!!) So, either buy the stuff, buy stock in the stuff, or at the very least, marry into the company! It is WONDERFUL!

Photos of our little house:
Unfinished wall Steve is rebuilding.

Shelving in the little house, yes there are built in drawers and cupboards that are super cute! There are larger drawers underneath the shelves and on the right hand side there is a desk unit that slides out of the wall.

These are the shelves that were gicky. I didn't get the camera until I was almost done cleaning them, but the oil slick extended from the end of the shelves (all three of them) to the De Solv It bottle in the right hand photo. The third shelf had been taken down so I could reach it for cleaning. It is a smallish room, but very nifty and perfect for friends to stay in. We have a futon that will sit next to the wall Steve is working on and our old living room carpet and pad will cushion the floor. Eventually, we will get a half bath for it. There is a place that can be used for it, but I want my master bath done first!

Here are the boys and Maxwell. Note, Tony bought an xbox thingy. LOL. I think I have tripped over parts of it, but that is the extent of my experience with it.

Reading Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates, again!

Tony's Home!

We got to the airport and were met by some very awesome friends..actually, there is one not pictured. Mark B was also there, but I did not get a photo of him! It took us a bit to find out where T was going to be at..we forgot that international flights don't come into the terminal! And well, 'Adventures with Katie and Zach'....thank heavens we had cell phones!

The funniest thing was that we had not seen these three in person since Tony left, so it was like a tiny reunion! Katie hugs Nathan, Zach and Tony look on. (remember, spots are supposed to be ghostly emissions!)

Leaving the airport was a race. And that is all I am going to say about that! Cash or Credit???

We went out for lunch. Nathan couldnl't come and we were sad, but we still had fun! Lotsa hugs...These guys are great! I think the last photo we have of the three of them is from their senior prom!

Not reading anything..too content!

Less than 24 hours..or Thanksgiving with Moses

Yup, pretty quick we get to visit the airport and get our baby..OK, Tony. His plane leaves in like 20 minutes!
And as for Thanksgiving. The most photogenic person at the table was, of course, the cat!


Jon took these after dinner..And then Jon played with Moses!

(yes, that is the 'baby'...LOLOL.)

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

T minus Two..or all that is sticky is not secure!

Ages past our eldest took a trip to Hawaii with the THS band. I asked him for a pair of earrings. Well, when he came home he handed me a giant fan! I was very thankful there was only one, I couldn't imagine wearing them as earrings..although, I have been known to use unusual things as danglers....

Anyway, in this new house we have the space to hang the thing. I wanted to have it hung before he came home. So, I tried. I went to a website and it shared how easy it was to hang the things. Another Q and A site had a suggester who suggested duck tape. I had some little sticky tiles that were supposed to be used with some cork squares I had purchased (they were packaged together). So, I was ready. NOT!

The little sticky tiles I was pretty sure would not work. Heck, they didn't even work for the cork! (The bullet board I had made and the comic board I put up in the bathroom both were made of cork..I used adhesive spray to hold those on.) I tried anyway, and it didn't. Well, the site for oriental fans (mine was from Hawaii, but I figured they were the same idea) said to use double sided sticky tape you could pick up in any discount store. OK we are in Athena and from Tillamook. My double sided sticky tape had been very expensive and I had used it for photos. After a bit of wishy washy-ness, I used some. It did not work at all...I had forgotten, it was removable. So, I then graduated to the duck tape. I did 'strengthen' the tape with little thumbtacks inside every roll. It looked pretty good. The fan site also suggested if it might need more support, to put a picture hook under the last rib of the fan. My picture hook did not work, so I used a hook thing I had around. I was pleased, but nervous, so laid all kinds of thick cloth under the thing, in case it fell.

This morning I found this:

The fan was hanging from the little hook! Note, the removable tape DID stick to the wall..but not the fan. Nothing stuck to the fan!

So, I then went out and bought some of that really sticky stuff..

I made tons of little x's on the back of the fan and peeled off all the backing on the tape and with Jon's help securely mounted it to the wall...it is off center, but it is really stuck. I tried to move it and heard the cracking of bamboo..Jon said it has character and fits the house. So, now my fan is hung for the first time! Or the second!!!!! One problem might have been the shape of the ceiling, it is at a slant.

As for the Eyrie, Steve is working on the doors still. Saloon doors are not all Hollywood! And the eagle is up. The words on the papers are from Isaiah 40. And the sheets I bought for his bed (I had to get new sheets. I couldn't find anything but Bambi, Holly Hobbie, and flowers. LOL. sorry, no photo.) were silly. Beds must be smaller in Pakistan where the sheets were made. They were very soft, but didn't fit at all! Not even close! The top sheet was more of a table cloth than a sheet!

Reading new Handyman that came yesterday!!

Almost time!!!

We get him in like THREE days!!! And the link below is still up. So, keep being thankful and have a great holiday! Will post some more pix tomorrow after even more gets done! Today we would have done more, but ended up shopping and paying a LOT of money for perscriptions. The funny thing is that we finally made the deductible...until Jan. I hate new insurance cards! And has anyone done insurance for pets???? You gotta be kidding. How much for goldfish???

Have a happy day!

T minus 5!!!!!

OK, this is a super short note of Thanksgiving..you gotta go to the Tillamook Headlight Herald site and read the article about A Night of Faith and Courage. It will do your heart good!
The website changes articles every Tuesday, so you don't have much time to read it!!! LOL.
I think it is at http://tillamookheadlightherald.com and under the 'news' section. Scroll down to find it. And God bless us every one!!!

T minus 7?

I must have been off last time..Whatever, in one week we will have our son home with us!!! Yippee!!!!

OK, on another note, this one is potatoes and projects!

These photos are of the very last of the purple potatoes. I put them in our stew the other day. I liked having red, white, and 'blue' potatoes. It made eating very patriotic! NOTE: Purple potatoes are not good to use for potato soup. It makes the soup look rather gray and forbidding!!!! Although, if you close your eyes, it tastes just as good as any other potato soup!

Here we have a bulletin board I made on the back of our shelving unit...the one I am NOT done with yet! Notice how the 'wild things' are nearest the computer???? And yes, that is my apron on the edge. I have not gotten it moved yet. (and YES, I do wear it..I have two different ones that I like to wear and I don't need any more.)

Last, is our flag bench. It was a table from a friend, but it needed work. So, J and I chipped off the tiles, took the table apart, and I used the flag part here. The rest of the colored bits are going to be used elsewhere. The base was poured at the same time as our concrete for the addition..I just hadn't done much since we got all the tile chipped off the table. I still have to fill in the spaces..grout, I think it is called. It should look pretty nice when it is all done. I am not sure when I will get to 'finish' it. It is getting really cold out now and I covered it for next spring. I had to fiddle a lot to make the flag stripes look ok. I think the original flag was wider or something. I ended up using white dots for the stars instead of the white tile and I wanted to use red and blue dots, but then I wouldn't have any use for the tile! The red was hard to match, so I just left it. The other dots were iridescent, anyway, and didn't look right at all! The black edge is to make is nicer to sit on. I hope!

Books reading. Still This Old House and a Loring one.