Happy New Year

AND especially a big thank you to all our service members around the world. We appreciate you and all you do for the USA.

Great Day of Skiing

Beautiful day up on Steven's Pass Ski Area. Went with my sister, Karlyn and her son Caleb. First ski day in about 12 years and it was fantastic. BUT my thighs are burning even after some very nice Pinot Noir.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas

It is so nice to have both Andrew and Nik here for the holidays. It was quiet. Christmas Eve dinner at my mom's with two of my sister's and their families. We came home and watched a Christmas Story. Christmas breakfast at mom's again and then, a few gifts to open at home. Andrew had to work the afternoon and night shift. Nik visited with his cousins. Rich spent the day snow blowing the road as we got another 4 or 5 inches of snow. More coming this week. I told Rich he is going to have to instruct me on the snow blowing technique as he has a lot of work this week and we are expecting snow every day and night.

Finally, A day to relax.

Yes, I actually worked 3 days in a row this week, but now I'm off until Jan. 3rd. WooHoo as some would say. With all this white stuff, I am planning to do some snow shoeing and I'm strapping on the skiis next week. Now, that should be interesting. Rich is doing a awesome job keeping the mile long driveway clear for me to drive it. We have been using the Rhino though, as sometimes the snow takes over and it is quite a job to clear it. I'm not complaining, the rhino is a blast to drive around. Nik arrived Tuesday to spend 10 days with us and as you can imagine it was a very long day in airports with weather delays, etc. He was supposed to arrive in Seattle at noon and his last leg landed at 8pm. Ahhh, the holidays. Thankfully, this was his last trip home on an airplane. After graduation, he will be driving it.

Deck was clear on Friday / the snow on Sunday morning.

Finding our Car on the streets of Leavenworth

After a full day of snowing - 24 inches +

Leavenworth Christmas Lighting

Lewis and Clarke like the snow too.

Snow keeps coming

I'm going to post some snow pictures and ice crystals that form on the pine needles.

Monday night Nov. 21st

It is still snowing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

I love the snow once it finally arrives.

The snow is beautiful!

Winter Storm Warning

Winter might be starting tonight. Heavy snows are expected in the Cascades and we might be seeing some on our mountain. We still have a few things to do to get ready. Today we will be putting the temp. garage up for the rhino. Rich gets his snow blower on the tractor. I have to make a run to the recycling center. By the weekend, we are to be in the Arctic air blast - highs in the teens and twentys. Lows in the single digits.

Yesterday was good.

We met up with friends from the Seattle area at one of our favorite places: the Icicle Ridge Winery. It was wine pick up day for club members, so we enjoyed some hot, delicious mushroom soup and warm rolls along with a tasting, of course. It was a cold, rainy day and the soup was perfect. I would highly suggest the "WHITE MERLOT!" It was incredible. And it will be perfect with Thanksgiving dinner.
Then, Rich and I were off to the Leavenworth Rotary fund raiser. It was a western theme, really fun. We were volunteers helping at, you guessed it --the Saloon.

White Winterland

The first snow and some is sticking. The trees are so pretty with the white snow hanging on the branches. I don't think it is going to stay long, but it is very cold. The high today: 38 degrees.

Sad Day

We had to put our little Brizzy Girl to sleep today. She was 17 yrs old. Andrew got her in the 2nd grade. Nik was 5 yrs old. That was the most difficult thing I think I've ever had to do. Keep us all in your prayers.

landscaping complete in the front

My Glass Display

Designed and blown for me by our friend, Gary, from Oak Harbor, WA.

Rich's Wine Cellar

Rich has finished his wine cellar in the basement. It is so cool, but almost empty! He can store almost 800 bottles of wine, so we have a lot of wine touring and purchasing to do.

West Side of the house and the Puppies

Lewis and Clarke are rarely this quiet and calm!

landscaping pictures

Rich has been working on these stone steps and retaining wall. It will look great once all the rock has been placed in the beds.

More Exterior Pics

Xeriscaping Project

This landscaping project is coming along nicely. I love the "features" and all the plants. I am also including the block steps and retaining wall that Rich has been working on. Only a few pictures at a time. Enjoy, especially the view. I do: every single day!

Wow, I'm way behind on posting!

Labor Day weekend, we had very good Navy friends visit us from Virginia. Rosey and Charlotte Rosenberg. We loved having them here and really enjoyed showing them our valley and mountain we call home. We spent Sunday afternoon at the Icicle Ridge Winery tasting, of course. Monday we toured around Leavenworth, the Little Bavarian Village. The German Pretzel and Beer at Munchen House was a highlight. Can't wait for them to return.
Lewis and Clarke are taking advantage of the cooler weather and are venturing farther on the mountain than we would like. Rich and I spend a lot of time hiking around the mountain, calling them. Since they are now "teenagers", they don't always come when called. So, now it is Invisible Fence time. That gets installed in a couple of weeks. Hopefully, that will calm our fears a little bit.
The landscapers for my Xeroscaping project haven't arrived yet. I'm getting anxious, but I think they should be starting soon, since they plan to be finished October 1st.
I'm afraid to say "Fall" as I don't even want to think about "Winter" yet, but it is cooling down and getting rainy. I am praying for a lovely October!

Xeroscaping

I have met with 3 landscapers to discuss making the area on the west side of the house, down the slope to Rich's retaining wall and the area around the grass and between the road. Because we are on a well, Xeroscaping would work best and look fantastic. I have selected the people I want to work with and they will start in about two weeks. Just after we return from RENO for Tailhook. I'm really anxious to get the area done as we look right out on it towards the mountains. I will share some pictures with you as well.

Great Wine Weekend

Friday, Rich and I drove west to Woodinville just east of Seattle. Some wineries and many tasting rooms. Wineries in eastern Washington have tasting rooms on the west side of the mountains. We were particularly interested in Goose Ridge Winery. The winery is located in Richland, Washington down on the Columbia River in SE Washington. Some excellent wines. They sell a label called Stone Cap at some grocery stores with "wine stewards" such as Wegmans.
Yesterday was the Annual Wine Fest in Leavenworth which supports the NC Washington Growers Assoc. I tasted quite a few wines I had not had before. Some were DELICIOUS, some were not. But it was fun and I also won a bottle of wine in a raffle. I traveled alone for this one, as Rich and Andrew were actually working this event.
Last night, Rich and I went to the Icicle Ridge Winery here in Peshastin for Jazz A MaTazz. It was a catered buffet dinner and then, Jazz by Darren Motambo + more It was an excellent evening.

Any Day is a Great Day for Fishing

Especially when you catch one. Up at Brewster Lake, 1 King Salmon and 2 Sockeye Salmon. Of course, leaving at 2:30am is a downer, but on the lake by 4:01am and fish are biting by 6am. It was a blast. Home by 1:30, so most of the day is left. I needed a nap.

Wednesday to LA

I'm heading down to LA to visit Nik for a couple of days. He was hired recently for an internship with Universal Studios. He plans to stay in LA thru the first week of August and then drive back up to Washington. He will go back to Ithaca College in NY to complete his senior year. Where has the time gone??

Patriot Point Resort

I've added an area to cool off in during the hot summer months. As you can see I also have a little shade area for reading.

Mama Elk

This elk decided to spend her morning watching us drink our coffee on the front porch. She didn't seem at all concerned about the dogs running around. And speaking of dogs, I had Rich take a picture of me with Lewis and Clark. They are getting so big.

I made Strawberry Freezer Jam last night

Now that my "walking boot cast" has come off, I feel like getting back to normal and staying busy.

More view pictures from the hike.

Hiking with Rich

Yesterday, Rich took the pups on a 2 hour hike around the ridge tops. He took pictures of our house "down below" and of a blue grouse.

Andrew got his salmon limit today

I had to go to work today, but Andrew got down to the river and had his line in at 4:14am. Within about an hour he had caught two beautiful 15 pounders. I'm going out tomorrow morning. Hope it is a good biting day!!!!

Salmon are running

The Icicle River opened for salmon a couple of weeks ago. My foot is healed enough now (but I'm still in the boot for two more weeks) that I can maneuver down to the edge. My friend, Cindy who I've known almost my entire life, and I met at the river this morning at 4am. Lines in the water at 4:07 am. Not a bite, not a roll or a jump. But it was a beautiful day, so it wasn't a bust. I'll make another go of it tomorrow night.

Black Bear

Thursday night right after dinner, we had a black bear stroll onto the yard. We stood out on the deck and watched it watch us. He hung around for about 15 seconds and then, took off like a shot over the hill. Those bears can run really fast. I guess I'll be packing heat when I'm outside now. Never know when I'll get company.

One small setback!

As usual I was trying to do too much in one day. Last Saturday, as I was wrestling with some railroad ties, one took a little bounce and hit my left foot. It broke my first metatarsal (bone connected to the big toe.) I have a walking boot which lets me continue to work at the dental offices, but I'm not very fast at getting around. I can also take it off to sleep and take showers. So, I guess I'll have to take it easy and sit on the porch and enjoy some wonderful Washington wines or beer. We are discovering some very good brews. One of my favorites is Mirror Pond. Anyway, I'll get the boot off in about 6 weeks and be fully in action again. Is anyone coming to visit soon?

Lawn is coming in nicely.

And you will notice on the slope I have planted some ground cover. It is called kinnickkinnick and Indian term for "bearberry." No, the bears won't be here eating the small pink flowers or the red berries in the fall.

The Green Sheen

YES!!!!! The grass is growing. It is amazing what a little water, the sun and some decent temperatures will do to get some grass growing. It was 78 today - perfect. We are expected to be in the high 70's and low 80's for the next week so I think I'll soon have a little color up here and less dust. I also got a few plants in some pots for the front of the house.

Will the Seed Grow?!

Between the snow, the 2 puppies and the deer tramping through my seeded top soil, I'm not sure how long it is going to take to get a nice lush lawn. Once I get something growing, it looks like I will have to fill in the "hoof and paw prints" with soil and reseed - several times! Oh Well, we do live on a mountain!

Seed is planted!

Well, I did it. I got up early this morning, which is not too difficult with the sun shining in the room. I spread the grass seed, the fertilizer and topped it off with a layer of peat moss. Once the watering began to soak it in, the winds erupted again. I'm getting tired of the winds and they are usually absent by now. We are having gusts of up to 50 mph. Way out of character for this area.

A Morning of Excitement

As I was heading into the kitchen for coffee this morning around 6am, I happened to look out the front door. I had to do a "triple take" because standing about 100 feet from out front door were a dozen elk. They were enormous and so beautiful. They were grazing and making their way up the slope. Later in the morning, Rich and the puppies went on a hike following the elk trail and watched them higher up. Rich also spotted a blue grouse. We have a plethora of wildlife and it is so fun to spot everything.
We also have "checkered mallow" blooming which is a blue lupin type of wild flower. They are found only on our slopes following Peshastin Creek down from Blewett Pass.
My 48 yards of top soil is almost all spread. I purchased grass seed and fertilizer today so I am hoping to get it out for the rain later this week.
No, I didn't get pictures of the elk, because I was so busy watching them I forgot to grab my camera.

OK, here is the office w/cabinets

Andrew is working on his computer at the new cabinets. He will soon be moving into the basement again (carpet comes tomorrow and then it is done!) I also included an up close picture of the desk top and the tile surround on the basement fireplace. Can't wait for guests.

Puppies in the Rhino

Lewis and Clark love to ride in the back of the rhino to get the mail. And they are so cute.