Finally!

Where have I been?  I'm not sure but the frustration of some silly update that Google did left me exasperated so I went to the garage and started unpacking boxes.  What treasures there were!  The words spoken most often in the last couple weeks are "we have so much stuff!"  Not always in a friendly tone, I might add.  But I start piles of thrift shop donations and Al comes along and takes half of it back!

The other good news is that after all these weeks of Al's painstaking table building, painting, floor laying, caulking, window replacing, and wall repair the sewing Patch is finished!  For three days I've been opening all those project-filled boxes, sorting, organizing, arranging, labeling, rearranging and having a grand time.  It's the best craft room ever!  At least the best I've ever had.  Today my very first project will be curtains for Mom's bathroom window so the glare of the sunshine on the Minnesota snow doesn't blind her.

Digger might have to be the new name for the Man of the House.  He has spent a lot of time with a shovel lately, dealing with drainage problems on the rainy days.  Here he is going under the sidewalk to find the source of the puddle that threatened to creep into the Patch.  After all that time fixing the previous hidden damage it just wasn't going to happen.  He is quick to remind me that in 1965 his first paid job after Cal was digging ditches for PGE, but do you think he was ever sitting down to do the work?  Now there is a bunch of big black pipe waiting to be installed to keep all that water flowing in the right direction.  

The next project is finding the perfect bookshelf solution for the forty boxes of books.  There isn't much time for reading just now, but it's comforting to see them all lined up, just waiting their turn.

  

You've Missed Me!

A thousand apologies if you have been wondering where we've been.  There is still something wrong with the silly google system, giving me a nasty "error 404" message when I try to load some of the great pictures I want to share with you, but I'm working on learning some way to get around that.  I need a teen-ager!  Well, for several reasons - but just how much gardening, painting, housecleaning and cooking can you get from one before they get bored.  Or boring.

We had a wonderful time in San Francisco!  Really.  Friends and family just kept wanting to feed us, making a grand total of 40 scrumptious (mostly) meals away from home in 33 days.  Maybe the flat tire we (okay, Al) dealt with on the way home was because of being overweight.  Remember the flat tires in Alaska and Canada?  This is getting to be very irksome, not to mention dangerous.  Lucky that it happened just before dark, but it's surprising how few drivers move over to the left lane when they see an obvious problem on the side of the road.  Most don't even slow down, even though the flat was on the driver side, right there in plain view of traffic.  Maybe they were all going too fast to notice an old man on his knees beside a gigantic RV.  So we stopped in Tacoma to get bigger and better tires for Homer.  He happily skipped and danced all the way to Sequim, looking very pleased with his new shoes. It was kind of involved to upgrade from an E tire to a G tire, having to learn about load rating and rim capacity and steel valve stems.  I have no idea what any of that means, but Al seemed to think it was entertaining.

Now we're safely home in Sequim, dealing with the unfinished projects and unpacking the remaining boxes. Why didn't the construction fairies swoop in while we were away and finish all that, or maybe the chirping birds and  scurrying chipmunks from Cinderella.  I'm a little bit miffed with them just now.  Let me know if you have the secret for getting them to perform.

Another Reason to eat cake

See what happens when a math nerd gets to be 71?  Marco is so clever.  We had a delightful time celebrating with Teri and Willie - and eating our way through San Francisco.  I'm going to have to walk all the way back to Sequim to burn off the calories that have been consumed since we arrived here.

Cold Enough For You?

Can you believe how cold most of the country has been all week?  There is a tinge of guilt about enjoying the San Francisco weather, but just a tinge then it passes.  We've just been so busy with visiting and eating and social activities that there isn't time to think about the weather much, but it's all been great.  Except there is something wrong with the blog thing and I can't get any photos to load.  I'll keep trying but you'll just have to imagine all the fun we've been having and how fat I'm getting.  We only have ten more days here, so why stop now?

The Party Has Just Begun

 

 

We can't remember for sure, but this is probably the 25th time that the restaurant has been transformed into a balloon wonderland for New Year's Eve.  It takes a lot of hot air to get over 3,000 of those things floating for a few hours.  But how sad yet strangely pretty they look the next day. 

So here we go with another year crammed with excitement.
May all your resolutions be easy to keep and all your wishes fulfilled!

The Golden Sun Will Shine

Here is my new all-time favorite billboard.  Why does the sewer system have to advertise? 

There is continual construction at the approach to the Bridge, but I still never tire of looking at it from any angle.  The bridge, not the construction. 

 

 

We're enjoying our time here with family and friends and are looking forward to more fun in the next three weeks, before we head back up the side of the country.  It's been unusually pleasant weather and they are staring to mumble about water rationing if there isn't some rain but only the weather reporters seem to be whining about it.  Maybe there can be huge storms after we go home.

We are sending big fat Happy New Year hugs to you.  And you.  And you, too. 

'Twas the day before

Very Mery Christmas wishes from San Francsico.
  May your stockings be filled with goodies and may there be plentiful hugs everywhere you go! 

One more day to Winter

 

 

 

 

Thursday was a great driving day along the coast and the Redwood Highway.
We stopped in Garberville/Benbow for the night and now it promises to be another stunning day,
so  we'll hitch up and mosey down to San Francisco. 
Are you ready for tomorrow - the shortest day of the year? 

Searching for Santa's Route

Sunday morning we loaded up all the necessary supplies to live in Homer for a while and made it as far as Olympia for a mini class reunion of AHS Class of '66.  We all look exactly the same.

Shopping in Portland was productive but my favorite part was that they have to tell us that the advertised  and appealing hot dog is not actual size. 

He liked it.  I'm not sure if his favorite part was the hot dog or the fifty cents.

 

Heading toward the Oregon Coast where moss seems to reign over everything.  It's strangely pretty.

A quick stop for lunch and we're on our way.
  If all goes well and the creek don't rise, we'll be in San Francisco on Friday.   It was kind of frustrating to leave the house project, but maybe the house sitters will finish it..  Wouldn't it be fun to return to find everything complete,  all boxes unpacked and the floors shiny clean?
That's what I'll ask Santa for, but he grimaces when I try to sit on his lap these days.

New Skills

My resourceful hubby got a lesson in tile work from a master.  There were a few tiles left from the bathroom project so they decided that the entrance to the sewing room should have a classy spot. This was not his first experience, but this time he was being watched so that made it a bit more interesting.

 

Al loves that one hand has a garden glove, which helps hold the fabric when moving a large hunk (window shades) and the other has a band-aid.  (Don't ask.  Please don't ask.)

Why does my checklist keep getting longer instead of shorter?  Does that happen to everybody?