Update

Mike got home.

Wendy got a call to go to work at a new job.

Mike took Wendy to town.

Wendy had Mike drop her at the wrong place.

Mike went back to get Wendy from the wrong job.

Wendy figured out where to go and Mike took her.

Wendy is at work.

Mike is asleep.

GK is dozing in the chair with the poodles.

I am going upstairs to watch my stories.

Stay tuned....don't go away...we'll be back after the break

No School

We still have at least 4-5 inches of snow today.
Wyatt is still sleeping soundly in his sisters new little house.
It may take the jaws of life to remove him from that place.
Last night he came home looking for groceries.
Not much he said, just enough for a week or two.
Whatever, I sent him back with some top ramon and saltines.

Mike just called.
He expected to be home by 6ish this morning, but he is just now coming down Mt. Hood.
Bad roads=more money!!
He can handle anything, he is the truck driving KING.
Able to throw chains in a single swing and tackle any road, dirt or paved in sun, rain, sleet or snow!
He is............Super Trucker!



I was worried about GK yesterday, but by early afternoon he was back to his normal self and everything seems good today.
He says he's going to town, but we'll see how that goes.....
Ice, snow and eighty year olds in suburbans with poodles on their lap don't mix well.
Stay tuned..

Moving Day

Well, Wendy is on her way to being moved in to the little house.
Lots to do, so until it's down to the finishing touches, I'm just staying out of the way!

We've had LOTS of snow today.
It is so pretty, especially when you don't have to go anywhere.
Everytime it snows I think about Becky coming to get me and taking me all around town in my winter snow layered gear.
As soon as we turned out of the trailerpark, there wasn't really any snow at all. But there I was in the passenger seat ready for an arctic blast being chaufered around town all day.
It was great.

GK is feeling good, his leg and hip still hurts and today he was rumaging through all the drawers and cupboards.
That flipped my pannick switch for a minute, but everything seems to be ok now.

My Sisiter Julie is leaving for a walk around the world on Wednesday.
She will be gone for three weeks.
This is my face when I think about her being gone out of cell phone range.



This will be my face when I see the surprise she brought me from her trip!



Catch ya Later

End of an Era

Well, the coyotes won.
They got the last duck last night who we will no longer refer to as Lucky.
We are so sad, but also understand that's how it goes in nature.
When we start over in the spring we will be sure to build some sort of coop that will accommodate the entire menagerie at night.. But for now, we are no longer the prospering duck and goose farmers that we once were.

Neighbor Nick is moving out of the little house on Friday.
Last night he took the entire family for a very nice dinner to show his thanks for being able to stay these last 5-6 months.
We had to take two cars, so Wen and Y rode in the truck with Nick, and Mike drove GK and I in the Cadillac.
The Cadillac was fresh out of the shop with a tune up, oil change and all over once over.
Everything went great until we hit the highway.
The car lost power, the headlights dimmed and we lugged our way to the next exit at top speeds of around 45.
Since I was fairly sure we weren't going to die it was really fun.
It was just bad enough that I had a really nervous feeling in my stomach and topped off with enough panic and anger coming from the front seat that it made for an all out adventure!
I was glad Mike was driving, because I had decided early on I would have just cried and stopped in the middle of my lane and waited for help.
GK never outwardly showed fear, but you could tell he probably had sweat building on his brow.
Mike was cool as a cucumber as he guided us off the highway and onto the back roads that led us straight to the restaurant parking lot. He barely had enough power to make the turn into the lot, but he did it!
We all had a nice dinner and then all crammed in to the front and back seats of Nick's truck for an uneventful ride home.

What a great night!

GK and Mike went to meet 3XA to have the car towed to town, it will be interesting to see whats wrong with it.

Mike just got a call from his Mom saying his Grandpa hand a heart attack this morning.

Gotta go.

Wyatt

I only have a minute, I'll post more later, but this was to good not to share.

We went to church on Sunday and really liked it.
Wyatt loved it.

He got in the tub as soon as he woke up this morning so he could practice getting "bathtized"

;)

Saturday on Sunday

We had the best day yesterday!!

Gk, Wyatt, Wendy and I headed for town at about 11:00.

Our first stop was the bank to prepare for our day of fun.

Then we took Wyatt for a haircut. He was almost in tears over the idea of losing his brillo locks.

Whatever, off they came and he walked out of there with the BEST haircut he's ever had.

Off course he still had to act like an ass about the whole thing but that was easily turned around with a threat of going home as opposed to continuing with our day of fun.

Next stop Toys-R-Us.

Wow.

That place is HUGE.

GK slipped Wyatt a twenty.

Wyatt couldn't believe it. A brand new twenty dollar bill just for him.

We went in the store while GK waited in the car. His legs were really bothering him.

Wyatt found the Power Ranger AISLE.

Sweet Mother of Pearl.

You have never seen so many Power Rangers.

Turns out, Wyatt could get TWO Jungle Furry Power Cycles with his twenty.

I thought I was going to have to walk over to the diaper section.

Next stop Boy Scout store.

GK stayed in the car again. He said he would rather watch the weirdo's than try and walk on his sore leg and hip.

That's cool, we were just glad to have him along.

After getting proper Boy Scout apparel we walked down to the Candy Basket for a large box of carmel corn. mmmmmmmm.........

The we crossed the street to McDonald's.

Fortunately GK's leg and hip were able to get him in for some lunch.

When it comes to a Big Mac, Coke and fries, I think GK could have pushed the car to McDonald's : )

After a good lunch we decided to drive through the duck park.

Wow!

There was the Willamette Queen stern wheeler stuck against the current.  There were other boats trying to help but no go.......

They let the boat drift down river a bit and turn the corner to the calmer arm of the river.

I started the car and raced to the other side of the park and got the PERFECT spot from which to watch all the action.

There we were with ring side seats AND a fresh box of carmel corn!

We watched as the Sheriff's boats came and buses were brought in.

They had to do an emergency unload of passengers and we were there to watch.

Wow.

After all that excitement we headed for home with a quick stop at Fred Meyer for some dog treats and a tooth brush for Wendy all her own. I was feeling generous so I sprung for a new tooth brush for everyone.

Everyone except GK. He said he didn't have enough teeth to worry about a new tooth brush, that and the fact that they give him a new one every time he goes into the Hospital.

He felt pretty set in the tooth brush department.

So, then we get home and there's a message for Wendy on the phone.

Someone at her new job has left so she will be getting 40 hours a week!!

Could this day get any better??

Wendy LOVES her new job and to already get more hours?

Are you kidding me?

This is GREAT!

This morning I am taking the kids to church.

I will wait while you get back in your chair................

I really want Wendy to meet some nice people, and I think it would be good for Wyatt to be involved with the kids group.

I feel as though I have been given something very special these last two years, and maybe I need to start acknowledging that.

This will be kind of weird for me though because I have never walked a churchy path... more so just the think nice thoughts, be nice to people and do the right thing path.

We will see how it goes.

There is a Christ the King church here, and that is the only church I have ever gone to. I/we used to go in Burlington and Pastor Dave was great, so because of him, that's where we will go today.

Mike rolled in at 3:30 a.m so he gets a pass to stay home. Maybe he will want to go next week.

More later,

God Bless and go in Peace.

(I'm practicing in case I become a Holy Roller)

YAY!!

Wendy got a job and started TONIGHT!

It was the first job she applied for, interviewed yesterday, and started today : )

I am so happy for her.

Mike is sleeping, he goes out at 10:00 tonight and lays over in Klamath Falls tomorrow.

He had a big dinner and is just closing his eyes for a little while.

About an hour after Jason left, Jack, GK's other nephew from here in Portland rolled in on a BRAND new motorcycle.

He was disappointed he had missed seeing Jason, but still happy to show off his shiny new motorcycle.

The poodles went in to the beauty barn for their prissy poodle do.

I have to say, they really look cute and smell springtime fresh when they get home.

As my dear departed dad Don would say..... New and improved lemon scented. 

GK and Wyatt are having a very in depth conversation about Power Rangers.

I wish I could relay the words...

But it goes something like this.

WJ: Look Grampy, it's a blue Jaguar that makes into a gun anda warrior anda flashlight anda...

GK: A what, oh it's blue, makes into what..a stabber, oh ya, he's a sawyer? Oh I see.. a flashlight, is the power out?

Now they are planning a trip to town tomorrow to go view all the Power Rangers at Fred Meyer and K-Mart. Wyatt has assured GK he can inform him of any Power Ranger secret information he may need.

GK has promised to repay his kindness and reward his knowledge with a Happy Meal.

This should be fun.

I will be sure and take pictures of our impending adventure

Mmmmmm

Jason just left.
How sad.
I feel like I did when Jock and Hudsy left.

We had a GREAT dinner last night.
Six dungeness crab and one drunk chicken.
Mmmmmmmmm..............



After dinner GK really got in the groove and began telling stories of way back when.
About when he and his brothers and sisters were kids.
I love those stories.


Jason and Mike had a good trip to the coast and Jason took some really good pictures and some video.
GK was able to see it all on Jason's computer.
The coast, AND Jason's trip to Cowgirls in Seattle and see video of all the cowgirls dancing on the bar ; )

GK and Mike just left to take the girls (poodles) to the beauty barn.
Should be a quiet day around here.

Wendy is waiting to hear back yes or no about her job at Brodskis.
Wyatt is home with a gut ache.

More later

Exciting!!

Wendy got a call back on one of the jobs she really wanted!
She went in for an interview and said it went really well and she hopes to hear back this afternoon or tomorrow.
keep your fingers crossed!!

We all stayed up to late visiting last night, GK didn't even get to bed until after 11:30.
Wow, was I tired this morning.
Jason and Mike went to the coast so Jason could see the ocean
I'm sure they are having a good time.
They are bringing back crab for dinner, so I think Jason will maybe stay over one more night.



John came over this morning after going in to see the doctor.
He looks like he's feeling good and said the doctor had nothing to report.
He and GK were being sneaky about something... maybe their planning a surprise party for me!

OH!

The neighbor Rick came up this morning.
First time since May.
I didn't say a word to him and he didn't say a word to me and the dogs barked at him the WHOLE time he was here.
I made him take his shoes off. ;)
He was here to kiss GK's ass... er, I mean bring him some deer meat.
Thats nice, GK loves to feed it to the dogs.
Needless to say, he was very uncomfortable and didn't stay long.

Thats all for now.

Fun Time

What a fun day.
GK's nephew is here and we had a great afternoon and dinner and then watched a movie.
3:10 to Yuma.
Good movie.

Anyway, everyone is getting ready for bed.
See you in the morning.


One other thing.
Val is starting a Motocross publication.
I got a peak at it tonight.
VERY cool.
If anyone is interested in Northwest motorcycle sports you need to check it out.

Valerie@northwestmotocross.com

myspace.com/northwestmotocross

End of the Day

We had a great day today.

Wendy, Wyatt  and I went to town to buy cake mix.

GK wanted a lemon cake so we went and got a mix.

We were going to have oysters for dinner, but by the time we got home GK had decided he wanted chinese.

So off to town we went for chinese.

Mike had been called to work so we took two cars and Mike left for work from the restaurant.

We finished dinner came home, I frosted the cake and Wendy and I took Wyatt to Cub Scouts.

He was so excited to go.

He hasn't been since November  because every meeting night something was going on and then they didn't have any meetings the last part of December.

It's fun to see him so involved with other kids.

GK's nephew from Minnesota is coming for a visit tomorrow.

He just called tonight while we were gone and has been in Seattle visiting other friends I think.

GK is excited to see him.

I'm not sure how long they will stay, but I think they will be here around noon.

I figure I'll make pan fried oysters and bbq steak for dinner.

Fun.

Well, I think that's all.

For now anyway.

See you tomorrow.

OH!

One other thing......

I was thinking about Gina today, and I think she looks a lot like Diane Sawyer.

Below are photographs of Gina and Diane.

I know Diane is older, but I think there's a pretty good chance Gina will look like her when she's old.

Arts and Crafts

Since I wasn't doing anything I thought I would show you some of my winter crafts.

This is  one of the rugs I made for Julie and Kelly for Christmas.

It is made from material that Grammy bought YEARS ago and I am fairly certain she bought all they ever made.

There are BOLTS of this fabric around and she made everything from dresses to purses to quilts and bed sheets from it.

It was sentimental and kind of funny to give these rugs at Christmas.

I also took two plates of Grammy's Desert Rose china pattern and made clocks.
Mike went to Home Depot and bought a diamond drill bit to drill the hole and we bought the clock guts at Joann Fabric.

Cool huh?

I made this Afghan for Wendy.

A late Christmas present and early house warming gift

This is a blanket I made for Mike and Julie's 25th wedding aniversery.
It's called "waterfall" and I finished it with a little fringe on each end.
It's made with Liond Brand Home spun yarn so it's REALLY soft :)



This is the afghan I'm working on now.
It's six giant granny squares in two repeating yarns.
Julie calls it my "camo" afghan, but she's dumb.
It's a "variegated earth tone" and bright white.
I think it will not only be pretty, but also handy when hiding in the woods during a snow storm.



I'm also working on another rug.
It's a T-Shirt rag rug made from t-shirts I bought at the good will.
I love the colors, I call it the "chicken rug".

Brrrr

Super cold and icy here today.

Wyatt is home from school and Wendy had to postpone her plans of going to town.

Mike got home about 6:30 or 7:00 this morning and said the traffic was horrible, accidents ALL over and he almost didn't make it in the driveway off New Kirchner.

For Mike to say HE had a hard time driving is really saying something.

GK is up and about and feeling good.

I sure wish he could get rid of his cough though.

Ciao' for now.

All's Well

A quiet day today.

Mike came in at about 4:00 am only to find we had forgotten him and locked the door.

Oops.

He didn't have a key :(

He went around back and was stepping over the dog fence when he fell over and tumbled down the concrete steps into the grass.

I'm glad I was asleep, because by 11:00 when he woke up, he was kind of over it.

I found him a key for the front door, apologized for locking the door, and then told him he was dumb for not just using the garage door opener and coming through the other door.

The door that wasn't locked.

GK woke up feeling good and felt good all day.

He got a call from Betty this evening and enjoyed talking to her.

He went to town  for lunch with the "girls" and then came home and spent some time with Judge Judy and Judge Marilyn.

Mike and I went to Costco and found all kinds of good deals.

Whole chickens, buy one get one.

Turbo tax FIFTEEN dollars off.

It was mostly a meat run today though which KILLS me.

I know it's less than the grocery store but still, OUCH.

We had BBQ flank steak for dinner. 

I also got some ribs, a pork loin, a few roasts, hamburger, chicken, oysters, blah blah blah......

Wendy went to check back on all the jobs she has applied for.

They all said they would be calling in a few days.

Whatever.

Is there anything more frustrating that applying for jobs?

I like a job that falls in my lap, one I don't have to put much effort into getting.

Applying for a job is like going on a bunch of first dates.

Do I have bad breath?

Do they think I'm fat?

Did I say the right thing?

Then you go home and wait for the phone to ring......

If you don't get the job, that must mean they had a better time with another applicant.

What do they have that I don't?

Were they cuter? Smarter?

Oh my gawd, I'm going crazy and it's not even me trying to get a job.

Whatever, I don't want to talk about it anymore.

I'll let you know how things turn out.

Wyatt had a good day at school and remembered to give the Lunch Lady his lunch money check.

Big accomplishment.

Now if he could just remember to brush his teeth and zip his fly.

Good Night.

Sunday Night

Well, another fairly uneventful weekend has come and gone.
Mike drove down to California on Friday and was home by late yesterday evening. Just in time for dinner.
He is working again tonight and should be home by 3:00 or 4:00 this morning.

Gk had a rough day yesterday with very high blood pressure and all around not so hotness.

I think he was almost as worried about his condition as I was.

When I say high, I mean the 200's over 100's.

We were both relieved when he woke up feeling better this morning and back to his round the house ways.

He and Mike went to town to get pellets and a quick visit with John after the basketball game, so I know he's feeling better.

Wyatt has spent the better part of the weekend working on a rug.

I bought him a latch hook kit which he has cut up and dismantled to suit his own design.

I'm sure it will really be something when he's finished.

Wendy has enjoyed a weekend full of not muchs, but is excited about getting a job and getting into her house so she can VISIT us instead of living with us.

I think she thinks were boring.

I offered to teach her how to crochet, and I have tried to bring her up to speed on Judge Judy and General Hospital, but she just really isn't that interested.

Whatever.

I went to the hatchery website today and have my order ready for spring.

It is as follows....

1 fancy black rooster

1 large white goose

1 Huge Tom turkey

1 mallard duck

1 fancy bantam hen for Wendy

I am sooo excited.

Wendy is freaked out about the turkey and it's lumpy oogy red skin, but I told her she will just have to deal with it.

GK says if I get mad at her I can tie the turkey in front of the door to keep her out ; )

I need to go smoke and shower.

Ciao

OH!

Do you like the music??

Time Fly's

So much has been going on....

Wendy moved down last Saturday.
It is the best to have her here.
I know it sounds dumb and that she is 23 years old, but I feel like everything is as it should be when we are all together.
I am content.

She has been busy doing LAUNDRY and looking for a job and Wyatt consumes much of her time, because as he says himself, he can just never tire of hugging her (he is SO dramatic).

Mike has been very busy with work.
he is in California tonight and will be home late tomorrow afternoon and then back out again Sunday.
He hardly sleeps, but says it doesn't bother him.
I would be the biggest bitch EVER.

GK has been trying to kick his cold, still........
He saw the doctor yesterday and was told of some other kind of over the counter medicine to try.
Mucinex cures all, you just need to get the right dose.
He is very quiet, but happy.
I know how much he must miss my Grammy.
More than the big t.v or two poodles can ever replace. (but those things do help)
I sure do love the guy and wish there was more I could do.

I have two new projects I'm working on.
One is a groovy afghan and the other is a t-shirt rag rug.
Both will be SUPER cool.
I will post pictures ; )

OMG

Britney Spears is having a friggin melt-down!!

Sad Day

I think the coyotes got Don and Lucy last night.
Our boy duck and the goose.
We are so sad.
Something got Ilean by the neck, but she got away and seems to be ok, but both the girls are sad and depressed.
Even the chickens are sad.

Wyatt had his first day back to school today and GK and I both did the happy dance ; )

GK made a couple trips to town and I took all the Christmas decorations down.
Why is it so fun to put the decorations up, but such a pain in the ass to put them all away?

Wendy comes Saturday :)

Back to the Blog

Hmmmm.
Christmas is over.
The new year is here
I will be 40 this year.

We had the best Christmas EVER!
GK loved the season, the ornaments, the food, the presents, the family and the fun.
It was really a great Christmas.

Wendy moves into the little house this weekend.
I am so happy.
It has been really hard being away from her for the last almost two years.
Wyatt is counting the MINUTES till' she gets here.
I don't know if you know this or not but she is an out of the closet alcoholic.
I'm glad she figured out the problem before she was married and hiding booze in the baby bottles, but I also understand it makes for a rough go of things.
I hope we can help her by supporting her and her efforts to stay off the hooch.

Mike is back to work.
Excuse me for a moment while I get down on my knees and THANK God for that.
We are all happier people when Mike is working.


Here are some things I want to accomplish in 2008.

Finish my trailer park love story.
Learn some new recipies.
Raise a turkey (not for eating)
Walk.
Inspire.

Here are some things I learned in 2007.

I don't like all old people. I mostly I just like GK, Grammy and those I casually meet in waiting rooms.
Don't put frozen chicken in the deep fryer.
You can get through anything one minute at a time.
I am blessed.

Wyatt just told me he feels like he may puke, so I better go.

Happy New Year.