Shopping Crazy

I have just one question. Does shopping with someone make you crazy? I enjoy just wondering around looking and taking my time. I used to love shopping with my girls, but now that they are older, I feel frustrated when shopping with them. They drag you through the mall and light speed, shopping in stores and looking at things that I would never dream of wearing and don't want to know if they wear them. Oh, Yea! How about when they yell across Victoria Secret. Mom, try this on! Did I mention that it was two sizes too small. That little Santa suit with not enough fir in all the wrong places won't fit me. Those little stringy thing undies. That string will never be seen again. Not gunna happen. Nope!!!

Today I went to the grocery store and Costco with my husband, hate that too. I have a system at the grocery store. I start with the produce, then the bulk, then cheeses, meats and beer, and then I go to the dairy, breads and checkout. When shopping with my husband, we end up going all over the store and back and forth. I was so frustrated and forgot three things on my list. Aargh!!! He could have waited in the truck and I would have been done faster. It's snowing in Portland, Oregon and I may need that stuff. I hate to be stuck in the house and not have everthing that I want.

What if I have a craving for chocolate chip cookies and I have no chocolate chips. I am telling you, the cookies won't be the same without the chocolate chips. Grrrrr!

I am better now that I got that out of my system.
Hope you all have big plans for the New Year!
See Ya.

Christmas 2009

Well, it's been a while since I have posted. There has been a lot going on. I started back to school, have been working part time and hoping to find a new job soon.
We had a great holiday so far. Spent Christmas eve with my side of the family and Christmas day with hubby's side of the family. My family is a little larger and a bit more busy, so a lot of stuff and sillyness happens. Christmas day is quieter and a little less silly, but still fun.

Here are the girls being silly and testing the new camera.



Hope you all had a peaceful holiday and lots of family fun.
See Ya

Painted the Kitchen

Finally painted the kitchen. We remodeled the kitchen a year ago and finaly just got to the paint. I would have done it sooner, but there was a section of hand painted grape vines above the sink that my daughter and I painted several years ago. She and my husband did not want me to paint over so I did my best to paint around it and give a little artistic flare.

All we have left is the moulding around the floor and the laminate floor in the adjoining family room.
See Ya

Freaky Friday!!!

OK, so I had a burst of energy this afternoon and decorated the front porch. We have a country front porch and I always have great ideas that never get done. Like making covers for the chair pads for the seasons and putting up lights.
Well at least I got the pumpkins out and plugged them in. We have this antique desk that I love. It is great for a place to put the grocery bags while searching for the front door key and "oh yea" decorations.



I replanted the pots with fall flowers and gave them some needed attention. The summer flowers died while we were on vacation. Our daughters forgot to water them in 90 degree weather. Yep they were pretty much gone.



I found the cute little wagon for half price today at the store. Love to get bargain's like that.



Here is a shot from the front yard. Looks better than it did, but could use some more sprucing up.



Oh yea, the cat even got some Halloween decorations. Hope he doesn't mind the spider in his bowl.



Just checking in with some spooky cheer.
see ya

Finished a couple of new projects

Made a Halloween theme quilt. It was fun and is soft and warm to curl up and watch TV or read a book with. Every time I curl up with the quilt all the dogs think they need to curl up with me.





My second project was a wall hanging with some of the left over fabric and some I had in my stash. It came out pretty cute.

Hope you all have fun with your various projects.

See ya!

Cool Project

My daughter made this picture board for a friends birthday. Sometimes I am suprised by the beauty of the projects that she does. This one came out realy nice.



Here she is holding the board.



A little closer view of the project.



Here I held it up against the wall so you could see it better. Her friend will love it. I want one too.

See ya

Precious children

Just popped in to share a precious moment with you all.

A few evenings ago I was home with my grand daughter. We were sitting in my room watching TV and hanging out with the dogs. Haylee was laying and talking to Licorice and fell asleep. These are the pictures we treasure for years.
Sweet moments with tow of the dogs sleeping and Licorice watching over them. Got to love childern and our pets.
See ya

20 Things I Love About Fall

Well now you've got me dreaming about the fall.
I love.....

1) A cool evening sitting on the front porch.
2) The beautiful leaves turning colors.
3) The smell in the air (you know every season has it own smell).
4) Coffee on the back patio in the morning. '
5) Fresh baked scones.
6) Pumpkin pie.
7) Lots of apples at the store.
8) Afternoons watching the neighbor kids walk up the hill home, excited about school.
9) Evening walks with my dog.
10) All the new shows on TV.
11) Love the fall flowers.
12) The stores have squash (my favorite vegtable).
13) All the ripe pumpkins in the pumpkin fields.
14) Watching my husband rake leaves into big piles.
15) The last trip to the beach before it gets stormy.
16) Pumpkin scented candles to light in the evening.
17) The kids go back to school & the neighborhood quiets down.
18) Time to quilt, knit and bead.
19) The smell of rain after a long dry spell.
20) Last of all HALLOWEEN!

The leaves haven't turned yet here in Clackamas, Oregon. I am waiting patiently.
Well I am off to go through my quilting box to see what I have. The fall makes me feel domestic and ready to curl-up under a quilt, next to the fire and read a good book.
See Ya

Anniversary at the Beach!

On our way to the beach to relax in the sun and play in the surf. Licorice & Junior were to lazy to walk.



Hurry up, lets get rollin. We need some beach time.



Beautiful views and walks on the beach. The dogs had a great time chasing the birds and running in and out of the surf.



Everyone contributed to the sandcastle and had a great time hanging out on the beach.



Ok, so they had to sneak the beer into the shot somewhere.



Bought some crazy hats at the hat store in Long Beach. Silly guys wearing the hats and more beer.



Stole a kiss for my anniversary. We have been together for 24 years of fun and love. Here's to many more.
By the way, Hubbies sister and her husband had their 13th anniversary on the same day. Yes they got married on our 11th anniversary. Strange but cool to have someone to share our day with.



A few days of beautiful sunsets and long walks on the beach. We had a great time and lots of silly fun.

Day at the beach

We had a girls day at the beach. Hubby was going to come along but woke up with a sore throat and decided to stay home. So just us girls made the day trip to the beach. We had a great time just hanging out and relaxing.



After sitting in the sand and digging, the three of them had wet butts. They thought it would be funny to save a picture of them looking at me while showing their wet butts. Gotta admit it is pretty cute and silly.



They decided to document their day with their names in the sand.



They are just adorable.



Our pretty toes in the water. The water was warm for Oregon beach water. It is usually so cold your toes go numb, but not this day, it was great for wading in the surf.



On the way home we stopped at Cooterville. We thought the sign was so funny, we had to stop and get a picture.
We had not done that for a while and had a great day together. We should do this more often.
See ya

Made tiny bit of progress....

We did some re-arranging in the family room, but no progress on installing the laminate floor. The room looks better, but we need to get rid of our Oak corner unit. We hate to give it away. Would like to try and sell it. We had it custom made to fit the corner in our family room. Since we bought a new TV that is too big to fit, we need to find it a new loving home.
As for the kitchen, I have all but the last 5 tiles cut. I will be working on getting that finished, hopefully this week. Then it is on to the next project.
See ya soon.

Dust everywhere!

It's been warm for a few days and we have enjoyed the windows open and the fresh air throughout the house. I started to look around and realized that there is a layer of dust everywhere except the kitchen (the one place that I am constantly wiping the counters). I feel like a terrible house keeper. Hopefully I can get to it this week and bring my house back to the clean and organized that makes me feel good.
I do wish that we could get this remodel project done. I have almost finished the kitchen. One last row of tile to go on the back splash and then it's grout. Then all we have left is to refinish the entry, install the laminate flooring in the family room and install the pendant lights over the cook top. I see the end, just can't seem to get there.
Outside we are putting in a patio, fire pit and storage shed. It always seems like there is so much to get done that I just can't keep up. I think the hubby is overwhelmed and needs to just step back and finish something.
On a happy note, we did clean the garage and have a garage sale. Sold a few things, took a lot to the Goodwill and a truck load to the dump. Still can't fit a car in there but it looks better.

Lazy summer days

Here they come. Yep it's the lazy days of summer. The days when it is hot and the only thing we can do is sit on the patio with a glass of ice tea (ok, lemonade will work too) and a book. But Joey has a good idea too. Find a good soft spot and take a nap. Dosen't he look so peacful and sweet.



I hope you all find your place to sit and enjoy the lazy days of summer. They will be here before you know it.

See Ya

Secret Garden

Have you ever seen a big open driveway that needs something. Well this one has a beautiful secret garden . There is a pond on one end and 3 entrances to the garden. This actually is the house I grew up in. My brother & sister in-law live there now and they created this wonderful hidden garden.



On one end there is a entrance with a wide spot for a small table and chairs and leads to the middle where you can make a decision to leave or go past the pond.



Here is another shot of the same entrance.



It is a nice middle of the driveway with beautiful and private spots to sit and just enjoy the moment.



Beautiful moments and places create moments that help you enjoy the peace and quiet. You can stroll through the garden and there are places that urge you to stop and enjoy the moment or views.

Hope you enjoyed the garden.

See Ya

Beauty in my backyard

Thought I would share some of the beautiful blooms that are in my backyard, right now. I love flowers and planters full of flowers. The bright and beautiful blooms can almost always bring a smile to my face.

This rose was a birthday gift several years ago. It is a tree rose that we planted in a big planter.



This is an Exbury Azalea that we bought at the Rhododendron gardens annual sale, 4 or 5 years ago.



Here is a gorgeous pink miniature rose that I got as a gift for mothers day.



This old wheelbarrow was just sitting around for a couple of years and I finally got around to planting some flowers in it. I hope in a few weeks it will fill in and be overflowing with beauty.



And of course every yard needs a little bit of whimsy added. I got the Moose for Christmas a couple of years ago. There wasn't a place to store him so we decided to put him in the yard. We move him around so that he is watching from a different places and it's fun to see where he comes up next. We even plug him in during the summer and get all kinds of laughs from family and friends that are over during the summer. He also provides light in dark parts of the yard, when needed.



Well, those are my ideas for you all to try in your yards. Hope you enjoyed them.

See Ya

Back from the sick bed...

Well, sort of. I am not 100% yet, but I am working on it. Went to see the Doc and got some meds today. Hopefully within the next few days I will be back stirring it up in good ol Happy Valley. We had a busy weekend even though I was suffering from allergies and sinus problems. Attended a wedding and a family birthday.
Oh well we gotta do what we gotta do and I did.

I took a couple of pictures of mopey little junior. He just didn't want to get out of bed on Sunday morning.



Dosen't he look pitiful?



Oh, the tuff life of a dog......

See Ya

Hi! from Happy Valley...

Just popped in to say hi. I've been under the weather for the last few days so I haven't felt like doing anything but sleep. I am still exhausted and achey, so I am going back to bed to get some rest before I go to work for the week.
See Ya

Projects that we finished, I think....

We created this patio a few years ago. It is one of our favorite places to hang out.



Just imagine yourself sitting there on Saturday morning drinking your coffee listening to the birds waking up and watching the dew drops drying on the rose petals.



Light the candles, sit with your sweet heart and listen to the frogs croak on a warm summers evening.



My favorite projects are creating my little planters filled with flowers. I think that the hardscape needs a little color and softening.



This is where I go to escape from all the kaios going on inside the house. The family room and kitchen are almost done. Just need to finish the backsplash and put the flooring down in the family room. Then we are done.

Projects to complete...

I think sometimes that we get in too deep. We start the next project before we finish the ones we have. So here it is, the list that is nagging me.

1. finish the tile backsplash in the kitchen.
2. Paint the kitchen.
3. Install the laminate wood flooring in the family room.
4. Finish the new patio area.
5. clean the garage (you have no idea how bad it is).
6. Gravel the RV parking.
7. New bark dust for the yard.
8. Fix the lawn mower (the John Deer doesn't run like a deer).
9. Build a garden/storage shed.

So, now I have written it. That means that I (we) have to finish something. Right?

See Ya

Patio Project

The long weekend is over and the hubby got some work done on the new patio. Here are some pictures of the progress.



Day one progress.



Day two.




Day three, the wall starts.

I can't wait to sit out ther with a glass of wine and roast some marshmellows.

Licorice helps.

Here I am, sitting here trying to type while Licorice keeps dropping her ball on my keyboard & waiting for me to throw it for her.
Well it has been a long week before the 3-day weekend. Hope we can get some time in on the new patio area. I will be nice to finally have the yard somewhat complete. Now that the kids have grown we don't need the trampoline and have decided to level the area and put in a fire pit. Some place where we can hang out and roast wienies and make smores right here at home. It will be like camping without even leaving the driveway. No long drives to the camp grounds and everything we need in the kitchen. We can have mini staycations all summer long. I will take pictures of the progress as we go.
Licorice finally gave up and is now sleeping with her paw on the ball. I guess she wants to be ready just in case I want to throw the ball.
See ya

Awhh.... To be Loved!

After an evening of dinner on the table with candles and wine. Kind of Hallmark, don't ya think? I have forgiven him. We sat and talked and just spent time being together. No computers or TV. It was wonderful to just be together. After almost 24 years we can still just be. For me he makes room to take up space. An opening in our hearts for each other. In this day and age of technology, it is nice to have some nice music and wine. Just sit back and know that my baby loves me and I love him.
See ya

Men are amazing!

My husband made a comment this last weekend that I have been thinking about for a couple of days. He told me that I was the only person that he knew that let the laundry pile up in the utility room. Since I am the only woman he has lived with other than his and my parents. I'm assuming that he is comparing me to our mothers. The mothers that were stay at home moms. Moms that's only job was to take care of the family (wonderful moms might I say) They took care of the home and all that was and lived in it. I have always had to work to help with the bills. If I hadn't worked we would never have been able to afford a house. We would still be living in a run down apartment.
Still, that comment hurt and made me feel inadequate. I think of all the plans I had when I was younger and how as life happened the dreams have either gone by the wayside or changed altogether. When I leave the house by 7:00 AM and return around 5:30 PM. My evenings are filled with cleaning up the mess in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning it again, doing our laundry and putting it away, cleaning bathrooms, grocery and gift shopping, and other things as they come up. We have 2 daughters, a grand daughter, 4 dogs and 3 cats. All of these need to be cared for in some form or another. There are days that I feel lost in kayos. I go to bed at night exhausted and aching.
I think that men today forget that the wives of today have careers and jobs as well as being home makers, we have a lot more on our plates than our mothers did. As far as I am concerned, we are Wonder Woman's. I don't want to say that our mothers who stayed at home had it easy, they had their hands full also. My mother took care of the pool, made sure that all the neighborhood children were looked after, took care of the home, had dinner on the table at 5:oo every night, planned vacations and camping trips.
When the day is done, I feel like I should be doing more. Why is that I feel guilty when the house is not perfect. They just point out that it is a mess and act like we are over reacting when they tell us.
Come on guys, you put the garbage out once a week (and need to be reminded), mow the lawn once a week 4-5 months out of the year, other yard work periodically and repair jobs as needed. Think maybe you should do a little more to help out? Then you have the nerve to have a mid life crisis. Are you kidding me! Get over it and do some laundry.
Sorry to complain, but I needed to tell someone how frustrated I am. Oh yea, did I tell you that I gave up on waiting for him to do the tile backsplash and I am doing it myself. Another thing for me to do, while he watches CSI, House and plays video games.
See ya

Back with progress on kitchen!

Woo! hoo! Got 2 rows of the back splash tiles installed in the kitchen. Working on cutting the tiles around the receptacles and switches. then the last row needs to be cut to fit. Got interrupted by Mothers Day and my birthday. That is out of the way and now I can get back to it. Hopefully I will get it done this weekend. I will post pictures. It is going to look awesome.
By the way I didn't get the family room flooring done for my birthday. I still have 400+ square feet of mahogany laminate stacked in the family room. Been there since August. 2 1/2 months away from a year. Can you believe it?

See ya

Craze day!

Have you ever woke up to one of those days when you know you should stay in bed. That was yesterday. I think (I hope)it was PMS. I'm sure that my panties were too tight and squeezing the mean out of me. I could not help myself, everything hubby did irritated me. He made me breakfast and after that it was on. I complained because he was sitting in the couch watching TV instead of working in the yard. I complained because everywhere he went there were dirty dishes behind him to pick up.

I knew my claws were out all day, but I could not pull them back in. Why can't we be nice. Sometimes I feel like if I don't act like a b-t-hy little brat once in a while, he will take me for granted. I wish I could do yesterday over and be nice. I will be working on what I can do to make it better.
See ya

Totaly creeped out

Watching The Fringe and totally creeped out. I should change the channel but I can't. I need to make sure they get rid of the monster. Enough of the creepy.

I still have not been able to get motivated to start something. I keep looking but don't seem to be able to find a project that moves me. I think maybe I need to work on the kitchen and finish painting and tiling the back splash. Hubby asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I told him I want the laminate floor in the family room done. I need to feel organized and in control. I hate the stuff stacked around and the dis-organization of the house. I think I will go crazy before we can put everything in its place.

Oh well. Another day and another project. I hope to get some of the tiles on the back splash this weekend.

Easter

I just finished Crazy Aunt Pearl's book. Great story. I laughed, cried and cheered her on through out the whole book. My husband would look at me as if I were crazy at times. I just told him that he wouldn't understand. There were times that I was angry at her x, but sounds like she is much better off without him.

Well Easter is winding down now. The Girls have gone to bed and I am not far behind them. the three of us have early morning for work. The man unit works tomorrow night, so he will be staying up all night so he can sleep tomorrow.

For the last few months, I have been having a knitting dry spell. I haven't been able to get into any projects. I just can't find any projects that have drawn me to them. Hopefully I will find one soon. Well I'm off to get some sleep.

See Ya

Wow!

Have you ever wondered where some people get attitude. The in laws have decided to go golfing and out to dinner by themselves for Easter. I guess we are officially the plague. I was brought up in a family that spends holidays together. Though the last 23 years we have spent every Easter with them and I am just wondering if there is something that we have done to upset them and now they do not want to come over on the holidays.
On another note the man unit has now bought a 50" TV and a surround sound system. We are doing our share to help the economy. I wish we could have put it in the savings instead of spending that much money on something that is not necessary right now.
I will continue to be bewildered with men and their idea of what is important. I do not have any toys that have ever cost that kind of money and if I did want something that expensive (quilting sewing machine)it is considered to be too expensive and not necessary. Oh well some day I will get my dream sewing machine.

See ya

Can't be mad at me...

My hubby was being a grump this weekend and it reminded me of several years ago when we were first married. I had done something that made him mad at me (I was always in trouble for something)and he was giving me the silent treatment. So being my ornery self, I decided to strip and do the house work naked. After about 15 to 20 minutes of him trying to ignore me, he asked me why I was naked. I yelled "made you talk" and all he could do was laugh. I went and got dressed and every time he looked at me the rest of the day he would just crack up.

Throughout our 23 years of marriage, I have used silly antics to get through without a yelling match. One time he was complaining that the laundry wasn't done so I accidentally put one of the girls red socks in with his tidie whities. Oops. That is a bummer when you change into a uniform in the locker room at work.

Once he complained that I don't do anything for him. So I didn't. After a couple of weeks he started looking for his clothes and other things he had left laying around. When he couldn't find them, He asked what I had done with them. I told him to look in the room that was his (garage/back room. There was a huge pile of dirty clothes. He spent the next couple of days doing his own laundry. It took us a few years, but eventually, we figured it out and now we share the chores and have become a team.

Just to be fair, I have not always been the easiest to be with either, but only one of us can act like a child at a time. The other has to even it out until we get a chance to get even. I guess I got that from growing up with brothers.

Life has been fun so far and I hope there is many more years to come and we can keep working it out. So take note, there are other ways to work things out, you don't have to fight out loud. You don't have to yell and scream at each other. just let everything calm down while you plan the counter move. Just remember if it is something that you need to be serious about, take it serious and don't do anything that will hurt the other person. No mean hurtful things, just silly things that will make them think.

Funny Girls

Wow! mom you will never guess who we saw at the Space Needle in Seattle. It's Gloria Victoria and her best friend Bloddy Mary. Can you believe it, haven't seen them in forever. Ha! Ha!
Sometimes my girls are so funny. That Alex is always doing silly things. They found the sun glasses in the gift shop and had to pose. I still crack-up every time I see the picture.

Do you ever wonder why you are snapping and snipping at the people around you. Lately it seems that no matter what I do, everything irritates me. I just want to relax with peace and quite. I want my house finished and all put back together. I hate that the kitchen is all done except for the paint and tile backsplash. The floor in the ajoining family room is still just grey painted sub-flooring. I am so tired of cleaning around the pile of flooring and waiting for someone to just do it.
Everytime I bring it up, he has an excuse for not working on it. I would do it myself, but that would create a big fight. I hate the procrastination. I just want to get the stuff done and the house put back together. The undone is making me crabby and frustrated. Well I'm better now that I got to tell someone how I am feeling.
See ya

Wow! February is almost over. We are almost into March and it looks like we may be going into it like a lion. Today was a chilly one in Happy Valley, Oregon and the weather man says tonight is going to be down around 27 degrees, Coooold. Andi is sick and stayed in bed all day, Alex is grumpy and hubby is at work. Somebody help me, I think I am going crazy.
Uh Oh, cranky pants is home and wants to go to the grocery store. Better go before she chews off one of my arms.
See ya

Tme fly's

I can't beleive how the time flys by. We have been busy working on the house, celebrating holidays and loving the family. The 11th will be our oldest daughters 23rd birthday. It seems like just yeaterday she was born, and now she's going to be 23. I feel like I've grown older without realizing it. We have been working and trying to survive. Where did all the time go. It is amazing to see our daughters become beautiful young ladies. Here is the young ladies of our house. They sent this pictures to us from the Seattle Space needle last saturday. The one on the right is our Andrea. The one on the left is our Alexandra, the younger sister.

I'm so glad they are ours.