MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Wishing everyone who reads this a very Merry Christmas.  

May your day be filled with Peace and Joy.

"Today in the town of David
a savior has been born to you;
He is Christ the Lord"

Almost Christmas

Christmas will be here in one short week!! ...so I think it's about time to get something posted from November.

We loved the fact that Kevin and Shannon were able to come and stay three nights with us.  We were sorry that Charlie and Sarah could not.  But they had other (wonderful) plans, so we partied without them. 

Now we are looking forward to next week, when they will all be here together.  We're both recovering from colds, but are trusting that everyone will be healthy and ready to celebrate by then.

October

Kevin, Shannon, Sarah, Charlie

We were so happy to have the whole family together as we celebrated Charlie's birthday.

The next day Mike left for his favorite fishing hole.  He and  his fishing friend Don brought back 19 beautiful trout.  About half of the fish have been smoked and Mike had the pleasure of sharing some with friends and family. 

I got a few photos before it got too dark - most during set-up.

  
The last week of October we were busy helping get ready for our church's "Super Hero Mystery Night".  There were 35 games; 5 bounce houses; Trunk-or-Treat; a cake walk; a fire truck and firemen; 15 Super Heroes, all signing autographs; plus music, videos, a snack bar and of course lots and lots of candy.  It was really fun and the kids were priceless.  We heard one little boy exclaim to his mother, when he spotted a superhero signing autographs, "MOM!, come on, this is a once in a life time experience!"

Vintage

Dresses

On our recent trip to Oregon and Washington we made a stop it Baker City to pick up a car-full of vintage clothes and shoes for our daughter-in-law's Etsy store.  There were more than 60 pairs of shoes and dresses; plus at least that many top, pants and skirts; not to mention belts, lingerie, coats, hats and purses. 

I took pictures of some of what we hauled back. 

 

More Dresses

Coats

 

Shoes, still in the boxes

Aprons, gloves and scarves

 

Blouses

Purses

 

Pants and skirts

Hats

                                                        And a stylish wool dress,
probably from the late
30's or early 40's

Water, Clouds, Trees

Sitting by the upper Sacramento River while Mike fished, I became fascinated by the water and what it reflected.  I had my camera and lots of time...so here are some pictures.

It's been pretty quiet in our alley for a few weeks.

We did take a vacation (road trip) last month, but since we've been home it has been just a lot of routine living.  Work for Mike; housework, etc. for me. 

Our trip was good, we did a lot of visiting and even more driving.  We covered about 2000 miles in nine days; saw 44 friends and relatives and really enjoyed all the visiting.  We spent a night with each of my sisters and my brother; two nights with Mike's brother; and a night with our aunt and uncle; we also were treated to meals in the homes of our dear friend from high school and two of my nieces. 

We went to the western Washington state fair;  spent a night on the Oregon coast; and another night in northern California, where Mike got to fish a bit.  

I had great intentions of taking lots of pictures, but sadly only took a few.  No photos of the people we saw, but focusing on visiting seemed more important at the time.

Thank you to all who fed us and provided lodging. 

Now we are just waiting for some of you to come visit us.

Old Dog - New Tricks

The learning curve used to level out as we grew older, not so in this age of technology.  Constantly changing or updated computers, cell phones, household appliances, and the like, keep us on our aging toes; not to mention Facebook, email and a myriad of other programs that are continuously being "improved". 

So now we've added another new toy to keep our brains stimulated.

For our anniversary Mike and I bought an IPad!  After a slow start (due to a typo in my email address while setting it up at midnight) we are finally connected and proceeding cautiously.  It is FUN!  And it was cheaper than a laptop. One of the best features is the ease of enlarging the display, very important for tired eyes.   

We now have a carrying case just for cords/cables/chargers for our many electronic (de)vices.  We can probably eliminate the GPS, but until we are more confident on the iPad it will continue to travel with us.  The mini iPod shuffle can probably be retired as well; but the music it contains is no longer on our computer, so I'm having trouble parting with it.  Eventually we will adapt, but first we have to conquer the learning curve.

Forty Years Ago Today

Our wedding party
Mike's cousin Lonnie, brother-in-law Bill and brother Dennis.
Mike's sisters Gaynel and Terri, Sally's sister Dianne

Our Families

 Mike, Glenna, Bud and Dennis
Gaynel, Terri, and Bill

 

Wanda and  Glen

Sally, Bruce and Dianne

   Love never gives up.
   Love cares more for others than for self.
   Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
   Love doesn't strut,
   Doesn't have a swelled head,
   Doesn't force itself on others,
   Isn't always "me first,"
   Doesn't fly off the handle,
   Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
   Doesn't revel when others grovel,
   Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
   Puts up with anything,
   Trusts God always,
   Always looks for the best,
   Never looks back,
   But keeps going to the end.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

(The Message)

The House

Saturday, Aug. 28th; first meal in their new home.

Saturday, Sept. 4th

Kevin and Mike working
hard in the kitchen.

The back yard getting
some much needed water.

The newly installed,
bigger and better disposal

I spent much of Saturday
sanding the tiny little
grooves in all the cupboard
doors and drawer fronts.

 









Lunch break; Kevin and Shannon packed a lunch and shared it with
us. They made some great sandwiches
and remembered just how we like them.

Monday, Sept. 6th; we met Kevin and Shannon for breakfast and then spent about six hours at the house.  Progress is being made. 

 hatin' paintin'
(He does NOT enjoy
any kind of painting!)

 

 
We all did some priming and painting.  Mike also got some more yard work done.

and some bright spots in the yard

New digs for Kevin & Shannon

Mike and I have been to Kevin and Shannon's new home a couple of times to help with the remodel.  Their recently purchased home is definitely a fixer and they are going at it full speed. 

<---Shannon and Kevin in the future lounge (aka family room/eating area) just off the kitchen. 

Last weekend we spent a few hours there helping get ready for the contractor to refinish the walls and ceilings.

Kevin and Mike pulled all of the baseboards off and removed light fixtures in most of the rooms.   The next day Kevin and Shannon taped off windows, doors, heaters, floors, etc. 

Shannon and I worked  on removing some wallpaper, (fortunately only one wall had paper) and scrubbing the kitchen cupboards

 Shannon washing 
doors with TSP --->

Yesterday we went back for round two.  A lot had been done during the week. Ceilings had been scraped, walls and ceilings in all rooms (except kitchen and baths) had been textured.

Mike and Kevin tore out the old dishwasher, disposal and the cupboard above the stove.  
 


 I think they really enjoyed demolition. 

Shannon and I spent most the day sanding and preparing the cupboards and drawers for painting.

 Finally, after dark, we were able to get primer on a few of them.

 We did take a couple of breaks for 
meals and to enjoy the surroundings.
More photos to come in the next post.