Merry Christmas

Well, another year is winding down. Hope you're as done with the "Christmas Madness" as I am! We had a WONDERFUL surprise visit to our Daughter's in Colorado, for Thanksgiving. She's always wanted someone to "pop-in" on her.....so we did! (Retirement DOES have it's perks!) A week before Thanksgiving we left here and stayed until the Monday after. What a great start to our Holiday season. I even got to go out on their property and hack down some juniper bows and made a swag and a wreath for her outside decorations. We had juniper berries all over the porch! She's got a pretty good "crop" this year. Too bad we don't know how to make "gin"! Ha! Ha!

We even got to help with the "inside" decorations! There's nothing like being around little ones to put you in a festive mood! Especially a fairly "new" little one. Hannah was so careful not to touch, but she just could resist "pointing"! Ha! Ha!

We got down to Raton while there. This was the first time I've been in New Mexico. The kids live just 11 miles from the New Mexico-Colorado border. There's a volcano not too far from Raton, so we had to go see that.

Good thing they put "resting" benches along the paths. I NEEDED a rest!

But then one of us wasn't so particular where she rested. Any old place worked fine.

Since we've been home, I've been knitting and beading. I found some adorable patterns for earrings at http://www.fusionbeads.com/, but I'm putting them on my Christmas tree. By next year I want to have an entire small tree (table top size) all decked out in just tiny beaded ornaments like these. They're made from Swarovski Crystals and twinkle in the tree something FIERCE!!!

They also had a gorgeous pattern for some drippy earrings, so HAD to make some of those, too. The scan just doesn't do them justice. They're sooooooooo SPARKLY, also made up in Swarovski Crystals!!

Larry's been busy, too. My Sister and her hubby just moved into the country, so my Brother-in-law is getting squirrel feeders for his Christmas present. Larry's been out in the garage building them. They came out so cute! I wish we had squirrels here in town, I'd have MANY of these in our yard! Don't you love the little table and chair for a squirrel! A cob of dried corn goes on the nail in the table.

Well, that's about all that's gone on around here. Wishing you all a peaceful, healthy and HAPPY 2008!

One Didn't Get Away!

Very EVENTFUL trip. As you see, I caught a fish!! It's now resting peacefully (along side the grouse) in our freezer. I guess I should start at the beginning.

We started out at about noon on our appointed day to leave. We got within 15 minutes of our Son's house when I asked Larry if he packed the pontoon boats to which he replied, "No....". So he deposited me, the dog (Tippie) and the trailer at Aaron's house and he went back home (1 1/2 hour drive) to get them. 4 hours later he shows up with the boats. YIPPEEE! We stayed the night at Aaron's and left in the wee dark of the next morning. We had our camp set up and on the river fishing by NOON that day!! Beautiful weather, no fish... Every morning, get up, eat breakfast, suit up and go fishing. The mornings were COLD, so after layering long johns, t-shirts, sweatshirts, 2 pair of socks, pants, jackets, fishing vest and a coat, we looked like 3 stuffed ticks, stumping around on the river, trying not to fall in while flailing our fly lines out to that "perfect spot" where the "BIG ONE" had to be! No fish... Aaron went home on Monday. As he went to get into his car, he noticed he had a flat tire. So, he and his Dad took it down the river to Boggan's (a little restaurant on the highway where we turn off on the river), and got air in the tire. So, now Aaron is on his way home for the week and will be back the next week-end for 4 more days of fishing.

On Tuesday we took the day off and drove up the mountain to where we used to hunt elk. Didn't see any but the drive was beautiful and we ended up at Troy, Oregon, where dinner and a much needed shower were a welcome treat.

On Wednesday we got up to a generator that wouldn't start. Larry didn't bring any tools, so the generator got loaded up and we took that day off, too. We drove 40 miles into Lewiston to get the generator fixed. A fouled spark plug was the only thing wrong, so it didn't set us back financially (only $20). While we were there, Larry decided to get the oil changed on his pickup. The pickup is fairly new and this was the first oil change. He couldn't get it done at home (they were all booked up for a month), so we got right in at a dealer in Lewiston. Since we'd killed the day for fishing, we decided to drive down to Heller's Bar on the Snake River. That's where the mouth of the Grande Ronde is. We'd never been there and didn't think it was too far from where we were, so off we went. An HOUR later, we finally got there! Not much there except lots of campers and fishermen. But no fish.....

Thursday, back at camp, the wind kicked up on the river and we quit fishing early. We got back home to find the wind had torn the canopy half off the trailer. That will get fixed next spring! Friday, Aaron and a couple of his friends showed up and off we go fishing. His friend, Mike, got a nice steelhead, so we had that for dinner that night. It was sooooooooo GOOD!!! When they went to leave on Monday, their pickup wouldn't start...dead battery. No big deal except........ nobody had any jumper cables!! So the guys take off for Boggan's or anyplace they can find someone with jumper cables. Wouldn't you know it, the only person on the river with jumper cables is the guy who knows EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING!!! He would show up at your fishing hole and procede to tell you how to fish it, and how many fish he'd taken out of there in past years, and come over to your camp site and help himself to your wood while telling you all about the great fishing in Alaska he done and how he's traveled all over the WORLD catching HUGE fish and blah, blah, blah!! He was camped by us for a couple days and then finally moved on down to Troy. THANK YOU GOD!!! So........Aaron and his buddies are finally on their way home and we return to fishing. No fish..... The day before we left, Larry caught a nice Chinook salmon (which he released) and that afternoon I caught my fish (which I DIDN'T release). All in all, it was a great trip. Never a dull moment, as they say. I say "no fish" meaning no BIG fish. We caught lots of small steelhead and trout but no "keepers".

We saw LOTS of deer. Larry even watched 2 big bucks get "harvested". Deer season opened while we were there and there were lots of hunters around.

AND........the sheep were down, so we got to see a couple bands of them. A ewe and a ram even came up behind us while we were fishing and got drinks of water from the river. They couldn't have been more than 6 feet away from us. I had my trusty walking stick to ward them off if they decided I belonged out in the middle of the river, but Larry only had his fly pole. Of coarse, I didn't have my camera with me!!

The river was beautiful, as it always is and on the whole, the weather was great, so until next year we'll just remember that we left LOTS of fish for future trips!

Retirement

Well, retirement has set in, I think. The above is a picture of the "main retiree", my DH. I'm wondering if this is going to be a new natural pose for him, eating Bar-B Que! Seems like we've had the "Man's Staple of Life", Bar-B-Que, every day for the past week!! The guys at his work gave him a really nice "sending off" party at the local pub and so many people showed up to honor him. Actually 5 times MORE than expected. Our Son even got up for it, which was a BIG surprise for both of us!

They took up a collection and yesterday we went into Spokane to spend some of it getting his new pickup dueled off, (the pipes). Monday he'll spend the rest getting a new bed liner blown in. So he's as happy as a pig in you-know-what! We're now ready to get ready (for fishing). Going to spend a couple weeks on the Grande Ronde River in Southeastern Washington, steelhead fishing. We go every year but this year we don't have to come home in a week. We can stay as long as we want. Feels kind of strange.

My retirement didn't last long! I'm working Saturday for a couple hours to help out with the new help! Ha! Ha! I think my retirement won't be as abrupt as Larry's. I'll still go back to give quilting and fabric painting lessons and such. My work wasn't a necessity, just something to do to keep busy, so I'll probably still need to keep busy every now and then. :-) But at least now I can plan our "fun" first and if I'm around, choose to work if they need me.

So, now it's off to the grocery store to stock up for the trip. Got one week to get everything ready, then Watch Out Fish, here we come!!

Labor Day Campout

Well, another Labor Day campout has gone by. That must mean I'm almost another year older! I know fall is just around the corner. It's so dry here, it's hard to tell if the leaves are starting their descent or if they're just falling off the trees because they've all dried up! The mornings are beginning to "snap" back at you. We haven't had a freeze yet, but I know it's coming.

Larry and I spent 5 days in the "wild" in our trailer. Hunting season opened and he went bird hunting every day. The birds seemed to be in fine fettle this year and their flying skills have improved. Only one decided to commit suicide and is now resting peacefully in our freezer. It will travel with us on our last camping trip of the year to the Grand Ronde River in October. We'll have a cremation ceremony there for it. Hopefully there will be another to Lay in State with it. The ceremony should be beautiful. They'll be snuggled under a thick blanket of heavy cream and cream of mushroom soup with potatoes nestled around them. The actual cremation should only take about 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

As for me, I finished the above necklace and started another one, only white with blue crystals. I finished that one here at home and it came out real pretty. Both look like winter to me. This one has deep red crystals, green leaves and seed beads. Brings to mind Christmas. I also finished a knitted purse, started and finished a Stephen King book and watched 8 dvds! Can anyone spell "BORED"!!! I was really glad to get home, which is unusual, I LOVE camping! Guess I just have too much to do here. I am looking forward to our October fishing trip.

Fair weather means FAIR TIME!!

Today we went to our County Fair here in town. The good weather is bringing out LOTS of people! Around here the Fair is a pretty big thing. We don't have a lot going on, usually, so the County Fair is the time everybody shows off their "skills". Guess next year I'll have to enter some things.

Have to see all the animals. The sheep and......

the cows.

The dogs and.....

the cats.

The goats and.....

the llamas.

There's also pigs...but I'll pass them for the CHICKENS!!!

The pretty ones...........

And the fluffy ones and wild ones!

But my all time favorites are the babies!! All sorts of them!

Chickens,

goats,

ponies,

cows,

And even little people!!!

I have no idea who this little one is, but she's "stylin" with her pretty dress, pink shoes and sunglasses on, all dressed up for the Fair!!

Wish all 7 of mine were here, (with their Mom's to ride herd on them). They'd have so much fun!!!
So, one more Fair is done, another year gone by. Guess that means school and Fall are just around the corner. Larry is getting antsy for hunting season to start. Fall is "his" season. Spring is mine. It brings out the Morel picker in me!!

Hope you all take time to go to your local Fairs and celebrate the changing of the seasons.

Finally up and running

Well, I finally got my computer back from the "Dr." Too bad there isn't a pill you can use to clear up wicked "viruses"!

Thank you Rachael, Michelle and Lana for your kind comments! Also, It's nice to meet you (Michelle and Lana), too. I read all your "Rachael" blogs. You know how a snoopy old Mom is! :-)

We just got back from a camping trip with our 3 Granddaughters that live close to us here in Washington. Good thing it was only for 2 days. The kids may not have survived "Grandma"! I find the older I get, the quieter I like it around me and 3 little girls ages 10, 9 and 7 just don't know the meaning of quiet! Maybe it's just that my mind is going and I can't remember what it was like to be that age (it was a REALLY long time ago for me!).

I'm sort of in the middle of things around here.Trying to get classes over with at the fabric shop (I've got one more to give, a fabric painting/dyeing class), get my husband and I "retired", and do all the fun stuff I want to get done! I did get one little project done, though.
Here's a couple of pictures of some silk ribbon I dyed for Rachael. Hope she can use them. I still have a roll of 1 inch and a roll of 3/4 inch ribbon I want to try some things on. She gets all my "experiments". :-)

I'm working on a felted purse that I may sell. Got to figure out how to do a store on ETSY first. That may be a while as I need to make up some things to put on there. Probably going to be hand dyed fabrics (cotton and silk), hand painted fabrics, baskets, felted purses and slippers, beaded bracelets and necklaces, and of coarse, quilts.

So, I guess this will do it for a while, at least until I get all my programs loaded back on to my computer. Hope everyone is enjoying the tail-end of Summer. It really feels like Fall here today!

You're never too old to learn.

I'm trying my hardest to believe that!! This "blog" stuff is so new to me, but I'll give it a go. My husband and I are within weeks of retiring, so this is going to become an obsession with me, I'll bet! Nothing like a new hobby! As if I needed another one. Presently I'm giving a class on painting fabric for clothing, wall hangings, quilting or anything else you'd like to do with it. I work part time (for 8 more weeks) at a fabric shop that also has the most awesome yarn and bead shop in it. So I'm stocking up now, preparing for a winter of needing things to do to keep me married. I know my husband will be pacing trying to figure out what he's supposed to be doing, (besides getting in my way!).

Here's a picture of one of the quilts I designed. It measures about 40" x 60" or so. I made it for display at the big Houston quilt show. I help Marjie McWilliams, of Fabric Designs.com, test the new Dylon dyes and dyed all the fabrics for this quilt with them. Marjie did a demonstration for Prim Dritz (makers of Dylon dyes). She hung my quilt in her booth along with one she did and Prim Dritz bought them both. This quilt is now hanging in the Board of Directors Room at their head office. I'm very proud of this one!