Home

Lynette, Lori and I at the Pampered Chef party. I think I wrote a couple posts ago that the house hunt all started at Lynette's Pampered Chef party in January. So, I wanted to make sure and get a picture of the three of us together for the scrapbook on the house! :-)

Lori brought her adorable almost twosie, L, whom my children adore. L still finds my big black camera with the long lens a little odd and just stares at it! lol I thought this was a funny picture. Boogie on the left, has no problem smiling for the camera whether he is in the picture or not! And Sunshine on the right is being very careful not to get in the picture with L. Heidi, the kitten wants to escape. There's only so much "lovin'" one cat can take! :-)

Here is Sunshine with Heidi again. Sunshine is our little helper girl. She likes to learn things and DO things. So (after putting down the cat and washing her hands), she did get to help a little with the dessert making.

Heidi is the most amazing little cat. She just puts up with so much from the kids. She lets them carry her around the house, one arm under each set of her legs and she looks floppy like a rag doll. Her face always has this non-plussed expression like: It's my lot in life. It's not a lot but it's my life! :-)

Meine Mutti wants to see what the house looks like, so here's the first bit of pics. Coming in from the hallway you look toward the fireplace. Normally we don't have grain bags on the hearth but they are my recent order from Azure Standard and I have not had a chance to put them in storage. The blue blob in front of that is a blanket on top of the cats' toy. Since I haven't had a chance to frame and hang any pictures, I put up some of my Aunt Grace's oil paintings on the mantle. She taught oil painting classes for years at Boeing Arts Club and other places in the Seattle area. Most of these paintings were instructional ones she did in class. L to R, Mount Rainier, Sunset Silhouette, windmills in Holland, Rhein River Castle ruins, a still life and an autumn pastoral scene. My Aunt Grace is the one who taught me so much about color and "seeing" things, as well as photography. She also bought me my first spinning wheel. The one in the photo is "Caris", my Lendrum wheel. On the right of the photo you can see the china cupboard that was one of my Grandma Johnson's.

From the fireplace, looking back to the door you can see our table and school area. Eventually we hope to find a large dining room table that is more useful for hospitality. We are in desperate need of overhead lighting but the beams are not placed in such a way that we can center anything over a table. We haven't figured out yet how or what we will do to get better lighting. Those reading lamps are just there as a temporary solution.

From the fireplace looking towards the living room you can see our lovely bookcases, all but one were housewarming gifts from Mom and Jack. The bookcase on the left was my graduation gift when I finished technical school in 1988. The armoire is where we hide the tv as I hate having it show and we don't watch it that often, mostly in the evenings for DVDs. The love seat faces the armoire and the couch (with the blue quilt over it) faces the bookcases in an L shape.

Another shot since Mom also hasn't seen the love seat/sofa.

Maisy, finding a quiet place to rest away from the kids, on a box under the keyboard!

Our potatoes growing in wine barrels 5/25/09. After this photo we put a few more inches of soil in.

This is the left hand barrel 5/31/09. Look how much they grew in 7 days! We filled dirt up to the top rim now. No flowers yet but they are growing like crazy. We started these from organic potatoes from Trader Joe's, which they told me come from Newman's farm. We planted both red and white potatoes. I think the whites are Russets but I am not certain. Some of the leaves have some yellowish spots on them, so I have to do some research. This is my first time growing potatoes organically.

In addition to the huge black walnut tree, orange tree (we just ate the last of our DELICIOUS oranges!) and grapefruit tree, we have some type of magnolia tree on the side.

Here is one of our raised beds. It's only 75% planted. In front are all peppers and in back is a tomato, watermelon and rosemary. I'm late getting everything else planted but I'm going to try it anyway.

The kids have had a blast eating outside on the table Grandma and Grampa found for them. Princess on left and Sunshine next to Boogie.

We still have much to unload, paint, put up on the walls etc before it's really feeling homey, but it's a start. I still wander through the house at times and think, "Whose house am I in again?" In spite of already having some repairs to the AC and electrical for the W/D and our first house payment, it doesn't feel like "ours". Maybe that's how it should be; the house is really His!

Kittens, Windows, Glasses, Catching Up

Well, it has been awhile since I've posted pictures and a lot of stuff has been happening. These pictures will only represent a small portion of that. Here's Hubby sleeping (trying to) with Heidi. She is a little love bug, gentle, quiet (I've only heard her meow 2x since we brought her home), patient with the kids and very laid back. I am "her person". It's like she thinks I'm Mama... oh yeah, that's right, I AM Mama!

Her sister Maisy is a "dumb blonde". She skids into a room like Kramer on Seinfeld, has no sense to keep away from the "snarly old lady kitty who is not excited about having her domain invaded" and constantly needs the reassurance of her sister Heidi and all the rest of us that she is loved. Last night she was jumping out around boxes at Abbie (the old lady kitty). Abbie just looks at her like, "Listen kid, I know I'm not supposed to eat you because supposedly you belong to them too, but what part of this face looks like it wants to play hide and seek with you?!" lol We now are able to keep all the doors open and have integrated the kittens with Abbie. It seems to be working and Abbie seems to be happier that she is not shut out from "a big secret" behind the closed door. She actually purred today, which she hasn't done for awhile, especially me. I bore the brunt of her anger. I don't think they'll ever be "cozy" but I think it'll work.

Here's a picture of Maisy snuggling up with Heidi. I think they were taken from their Mommy and I think that Maisy is more needy because of that and may be why she is so persistent with Abbie, trying to make friends. I thought this was cute.

The cats aren't the only siblings snoozing together! This is Sunshine and Boogie - last Sunday when we came home from church we were sick and all the people and cats took a nap! These two joined Daddy in bed, so there was nowhere for Mommy to nap.

Yesterday we had our new vinyl replacement windows installed. It went pretty smoothly. One window was off by 3-4 inches and a new one has to be made, but all the rest were fine. It was a factory mistake. This is the bathroom window which has "rain" patterned glass. We still have the aluminum window frames. Yuck. Before we paint, I'm going to have to find out about spray primers for metal, tape off the window and prime and paint the aluminum white. That won't be a fun job, but should look much better.

I got new "windows" yesterday too. This is just so my Mom can see. The old were silver and turquoise. These are burgandy. There is such a huge change in my RX this time that I am still having a hard time adjusting, but I see so much better! My computer screen is really clear now! Today I have a 'normal person's headache' from the glasses though and sometimes the ground rises up to meet me and swirls around a little bit. My brain has to get used to the huge increase on the bifocals.

We went to my friend Lori's house last week to watch her little girl L, who is a 22 month old human replica of a Precious Moments figurine. The girls and I played the piano for awhile. I miss having one around. Mom and Jack found me a keyboard at a garage sale and I'm hoping to find a place for it in the living room so I can at least play that.

There were kittens about palm sized and FAST! That's why this one is blurry as it is running back toward Mama!

Boogie had fun petting this one that we nick named Skunk. He's the runt.

The girls on the tire swing. Sunshine in the orange and Princess in the pink. I thought this picture was interesting because it really portrays the differences in their personality. Sunshine is quite shy and Princess screams "look at me!" with every cell of her being! :-)

Sunshine and Sooty - look at the little feet sticking out! :-)

Poor Skunk! I thought this was a sweet pose though.

Boogie loved playing with L at her sand/water table and Sunshine was fascinated with this wind spinner.

Boogie and Princess were having so much fun in the tire swing. They pretended they were airplanes and every time L's "airplane" came near they screamed "RETREAT!"

"I got a cat! Whatcha want me to do with him now?" :-) We had to practice not holding poor Sooty by the neck! lol

Princess and Skunk

Skunk - ready to face the world!

Who could resist this face? Sooty looks pretty distressed! Save me from this orange beasty girl!

Orange beasty girl loves Sooty! Isn't he stunning with his coloring and those eyes?

Being the diva that she is, Princess got first brother and then Sunshine to pull her around in the wagon with her "parisol" After a few rounds Sunshine got tired and left her out in the yard. Princess called out, "Who's going to pull me back?" in a particularly whiny voice! I laughed, "Pull yourself!" While still sitting in the wagon, she tugged at the handle "Ugh! Grunt! It doesn't work!" Me - "Well, get out and then pull Silly!" LOL We had a good laugh over that. Just like her Grandma Ginger... there are times when she acts as though all of life were meant to revolve around her! Hopefully we can temper that trait before she leaves the nest!

Sunshine decided to check out the "parisol".

I thought her expressions were funny! They've never held an umbrella before!


Well, that's a little glimpse into our lives... not overly exciting but you know, Grandma and Grandpa need to see their faces once in awhile.

I'm hoping I find my knitting soon... I miss it!

Change...

2009 has definitely been a year of change. The house is a BIG change, that is for certain. Between migraines and fatigue and so much to do in unpacking, I haven't had opportunity to post many pictures or really write much lately. So today, I thought I would give it a start.


This is our black walnut tree... or I should say about 3/4 of it. I took this photo on April 11. Today you can see no sky through the branches. It is droppy yellow sticky "helicopters" at the moment and is an amazing site. Every time I look out that window I think, "This is God's gift to me for not balking at staying in the smoggy city!" I do have some anxieties as the power lines run through it. In August or September the power company is supposed to come and prune. However, we are responsible for the branches over the wires coming to our house. About 1/5 of the tree may have to be removed at our expense because it lies right on the wires going to our house and the neighbor's house. This photo doesn't show how big the trunk is. It would take all five of us holding hands around the base to go full circle! On the left is a grapefruit tree that is taller than Hubby, so more than 6'3".

And these are grapefruit blossoms!

Our orange tree is budding as well. It doesn't have as many blossoms as I would like to see. I'm hoping more are coming. I need to do some reading on the care of citrus fruit.

Maisy and Heidi are doing better. Abbie does NOT want them in the house! We haven't let them out of the master bedroom yet. We are waiting until the boxes in the main living areas are more unpacked because we don't want them to get hurt or corned by their bullying big sister who likes to HISS at them! :-) This is Maisy in one of the bookcases, before it was loaded with books!

Here is Sunshine laying on our bed with Heidi. Both are affectionate but Heidi demands eye contact and is very sweet. Not only does she want affection from us, but she also gives it back! Both kittens have attached to me as their "mama"! Heidi is laying across my chest and arms as I am typing right now and her favorite place to sleep is next to my monitor! She definitely has the Siamese eyes and body shape (though obviously not the points) and Boogie keeps telling me, "I really think you have a parrot Mommy!" because she often likes to sit on my shoulder. Maisy was afraid of us at first but then one day it was like a switch was turned and she started purring and loving us and demands her affection time! lol There is no way that these kittens were strays. I think the owner just said that when he relinquished them so that he wouldn't have to pay. Four month (now 5) old kittens that are strays are not this affectionate or wanting to be with and on people!

Here's Hubby painting my kitchen for me. I couldn't get the orange out of his skin on this photo... sorry he is not orange, though he was this scruffy, being a "bum" on his time off! :-) The kitchen is a light custard or buttery yellow. I have chosen a blue and white patterned quilter's cotton from Hoffman to make valances and accents. Pictures coming later. We haven't done any more painting because 1) $$$ 2) time and 3) we are having our windows replaced on Cinco de Mayo. We have the original 1961 aluminum frames with non tempered glass. Since we essentially have a whole wall (140" of sliders and another 42" of window) in the living room going out to the back that is non tempered, we felt we should replace it before any bad accidents happened and the children were hurt! The new windows have Solarban70. I am not thrilled about having vinyl because pvc definitely has fumes. However wood windows are definitely cost prohibitive! It's bad enough with what we got, but it will be an investment in the house and hopefully our future. I'm a little apprehensive, we'll see!

I bought some plants for the yard but haven't planted yet... a hydrangea.

I wish I could say this was our yard, but it's not! This is our neighbors. The photo is taken from our front walking looking over the property line. It's so beautiful and I would love to start working towards something like this at our home.

Blogger won't let me rearrange the order of the pictures, so this little Princess face is out of order! Princess begged to have her hair cut, so we got it in a bob again. It's kind of scruffy here because we just had it cut, but it has more body now and looks adorable. It's odd that they are identical and yet Sunshine looks funny with short hair. Hers is still long, just got the bangs cut as she decided she was tired of growing them out long. It's nice to see her face again! :-)

I also bought two rhododendrons. Rhododendrons are my home state's flower... this is so I can have a piece of home at home. I love these kind with the speckled throat!

This is the second one. The sun was really intense. They are a little bluer purple than these photos show.

On the 14th I went for my biannual eye exam. I had been telling Hubby that it was getting more and more difficult to read and that I could see my floater. Everytime I read the floater moves back and forth over the page as my eye roams. Annoying! Fortunately it doesn't hurt. I think he thought I was just being melodramatic or looking for a reason to go get new frames! :-) Turns out, it IS more difficult for me to read. My nearsightedness and astigmatism are improving. That's not uncommon especially for people like me who have extreme nearsightedness from childhood. As we age, the changes that cause the need for bifocals tug and pull on the eye to shape it another direction. So, tomorrow I go in for my new glasses... he told me I may feel sick the first couple days like when I first got bifocals because they are 3 levels stronger on one side and 4 levels stronger on the other. But, get this! I have cataracts! Okay, maybe I am getting old... it dawned on me that possibly I blogged this earlier?? LOL How can I have cataracts at 42? Well, he said could be hereditary (all my Grandparents had them but not until their 70s and 80s!) and that because of all the environmental polutions out there in today's age that he is seeing it younger and younger. Wear sunglasses! The sun also causes them. And he advised me to take Vitamin C and lutein. They are just beginning so hopefully will not progress too quickly. And I will probably quilt seeing the floater once I get the new glasses. I see it now because my eyes are working hard to find the right focal length. Okay... if the gray hair in the mirror and the bum knee didn't already make me feel old... that did!

Jack just had his second procedure to widen his esophagus and it went well. He's home sleeping it off today. The chemo and radiation is going okay. Naturally it is quite exhausting. Please pray for him... continued prayer for healing and also the stamina that it takes to go to his appointments. I know I get exhausted when I have two or three appts in one week's time.

I've been thinking about writing some of the thoughts that God has been giving me lately. His message repeatedly has been "emptiness". How odd I thought at first, but the more I have meditated on Him and this topic, the more I feel He has been changing me.

I still haven't been able to deal with the comments... I may just switch back to the regular blogger comments, but I'm not sure. I hate it when all these companies buy and sell each other. It was working so well and I got your email address with the comment and I could click, write, send. Now I just get a name. I have thought about switching to Word Press, but they are not as easy to use as Blogger for designing and they don't allow much picture usage, which is obviously a big issue for me. We'll see... I hope to be blogging more soon! I miss you all!