Washington-Oregon-California all in a day.

Well we have had a very busy week and accomplished mucho. I loved being back in Pullman especially with all the college kids gone. What a sweet, pretty little town and the surrounding farms are drop dead gorgeous this time of year. I could have stopped and taken tons of photos with all the beautiful colors and rolling wheat fields with carefully placed old barns. I am sad I do not have one to post but we were rushed to return to Gig Harbor to check our mailbox one last time before leaving again. Our intentions were to leave on Sunday for San Diego but when we woke it was one of those days in WA that no one can resist. We were also just plain tuckered out so we took the day off. I think it reached 85 and we had dinner overlooking the harbor at Anthonys. Perfect...We have the sweetest friend in Ingerlise that welcomed us dog, cat and all into her home and let us simply breathe. I love her friendship and hope she is always a part of my life.
Today we woke to gray skies and upon returning from another great Canterwood walk, it began to rain. Definitely made leaving easier except for my man complaining about his newly washed car! You should see it after 13 hrs on the road..we could barely see thru all the bugs on the windshield. Our poor Westy has done a wonderful job transporting us we figure about 11,000 miles since Jan. Its time to give him some time off when we reach San Diego for sure. Our dear friend Ridgely, the train man, passed away last week and he will be greatly missed. I hope Janiece is able to find her way without him because you have never met two people more in love.
We are feeling pretty excited about the house our friend found for us to rent in Minnesota. Its on the chain of lakes on Lake Darling and it sounds wonderful. We will be there 8/9 until 9/8 and plan to be on the water as much as possible. I keep watching the classifieds for a sunfish to play around on. Hopefully we will have a home when this rental is finished...that is my daily prayer.

I did just buy one of those neck pillows you see goofus carrying around in airports,. After this much time in a car and my numerous naps I decided to give my neck a break. I am here to tell you they work and are actually quite useful.
Here I have my cute model Grace demonstrating how useful it is to even her! Her poor little head gets so heavy while we are driving...
We are in Stockton in a not so nice hotel for the night and off to SoCal in the morning. Thanks for dropping by...

Moving the boy.

PLEASE CHECK BOX #3!

We left Lake Almanor Tues morning to drive up to Eugene to pack up the boy. I know he is feeling a bit sad that his amazing grand plan did not work out. What can I say except it happens to us all sometime. We also seem to be the kind of parents that show up when you hit a rough patch. Pretty sure when its our turn to move SOMEWHERE he will be busy but no one said life is fair.
We then drove from Eugene to Gig Harbor on Wed. and have spent two nights with our dear friend Ingerlise. Today we went thru our four storage units shopping for furniture etc so he can begin again.  I must say I have had a knot in my stomach about giving him so many of my family antiques. Our kids generation seems to be very disposable and lacking a desire to hold onto things. They may be right but I happen to adore pieces with history and the details of the past. I hope he understands that and is compassionate enough to take care of my treasures...or at least return them when he no longer does. I understand I need to have less in my life but its not an easy lesson to learn. I wanted to include a can of Pledge but could tell I was getting on his last nerve.
Grace and I both had a rough time today being surrounded by the bits and pieces we call our life. She managed to lay in most of the dog beds she could find in storage including her favorite chair. Its time for us to find home asap and settle in.
I did realize after 24 hrs or less in OR I could never live there. I am addicted to the idea of buying where there is not sales tax. I look at EVERYTHING as a deal because I dont have to pay sales tax and became the ultimate consumer. Not pretty I must say.
Tomorrow we each jump into a vehicle and head to the other side of the lovely state of Washington. I am trusting my St Christopher keeps all three drivers safe on the road and delivers us to Pullman with smiles. Ok that is pushing my luck but I am really tired and enjoyed the idea of us all being happy again.
G'night~

round and round we go.

So today I got nothing...threw out the last idea and had them put me back on the Frosty schedule. Cinnamon rolls sales are down so I might as well stay and work the crowds. Seriously thinking about living the RV life and going campground to campground seeing the good ol USA. Too bad Jerry isn't considering it with me.. a tad difficult to do on my own. There is a camper couple staying here that showed up with a Chinook RV which is not that big. On top they have two beautiful kayaks, on the back a tandem bike and two single bikes, on the front a Vespa and we heard they towed a boat. I am impressed and envious all in one passerby package. I was a bit turned off when he changed campsites because he couldn't get reception. Either you are embracing nature and living the life or you are hooked to technology and cant leave home. Cant do both and be respected...but again I wish it was me looking so cool.
Yesterday we drove to a town next to Paradise to visit old friends. I just couldnt live in Paradise because I am pretty sure everyone would envision something beautiful, tropical and soul soothing. This is just another nothingtoospecial town in the mountains and totally unable to live up to its name. The coolest thing happened on the way home though...two spotted baby fawns and I am talking very young, were running full speed next to our car. We were blown away how fast they could go and feel confident our State Farm deer whistle kept them from turning in front of us. We are staying with State Farm Ins people so I felt it appropriate to say their gadget really works. I hope so anyway~

This photo is from our hike the other day and I added it so you would have something beautiful to look at as I say adios and thanks for dropping by.

Oy vay what a week its been.

I had the worse night sleep Tuesday trying so hard to figure out the best plan to make the rest of our summer a big success. I laid awake from 0200 on and upon rising at 0630 in order to get to work I felt jubilant that I had it! I actually strutted my way down thru the campsites to the Frosty anxious to tell Linda my awesome plan. Here's the deal...we want to change out our cars and stuff and the Explorer is in San Diego at friends. We need to help Ky move back to Pullman from Eugene next week and we want to spend the month of Aug in MN on a lake. How to do it all with some kind of flow?! I came up with the brilliant idea that we would leave here this weekend and drive straight thru to SD. Get organized and repack car and then leave on Tues heading up to Eugene. Then we could rent a trailer to pull behind the Explorer and save mucho bucks over a moving truck. Then we would head up to Gig Harbor and go thru storage for furniture for Ky to use and grab MN essentials like our fishing poles and lake toys. Drive thru WA to Pullman...drop the boy off with all his worldly possessions and head out for MN. A friend had found a house for sale that was willing to rent to us for the entire month! Score~flow~happiness!
How can one's life completely change around in 24 hrs and be so devastating? I dont know but it did.
We found out our friend in SD where our car is residing has entered hospice and may die any day. U Haul will not rent a trailer to anyone driving an Explorer due to a lawsuit. The owners of the house have decided they want to use it so the rental is off. My wonderful plan went down in flames. KABOOM~
So I guess I will give you the half ass update as of today...we are still going down to SD and hopefully nothing terrible happens while we are there. We still need to help Ky move so we will head up to Eugene and I guess rent the trailer with the jeep as dumb as that rule is. We will drive to Gig Harbor and onto  Pullman with the boy and then ....I don't know. I guess at this point we hope the La Quinta house comes thru because I am drained trying to be so flexible and adventurous. Fingers crossed this plan is without a hitch and something else comes up by Pullman.

I feel I would be remiss not to mention my middle boy turned 24 yesterday. I can still remember clearly my first vision of him in his bassinet with his sweet widow's peak in clear blond hair and pouty lips pursed at the idea of being rushed to join us. He was perfect and adorable to me and I loved how his name Timothy sounded coming out of my mouth as I introduced him to the world.  I became very sick from the spinal and could not sit up to hold him so his dad took over and they were inseparable. I have always wondered if that time together created a bond that exists even today. Of my boys he was the affectionate one that had to be held and loved the most. If there was an empty lap he was in it.  He was and is a very special person and if I was ever on a deserted island I would choose him to join me. He does anything and everything effortlessly. I am sad he is now just Tim but I smile when I call his cell and hear "hey this is Timothy." To me he always will be~ Happy birthday sweet boy! Hope its a year dreams come true...you are more than due!

Cheers to you!

Gracie's week at the campground~

 Grace seems to have settled down and is starting to enjoy lake resort life. She swam at the lake and loves to bite at the little waves. She has  also made friends with the campground boys and they all ask if she can join in their pick up games. She doesn't need to be asked twice and sometimes I have to tell her ease up missy~ She was moving so fast tonight I could barely capture her on film.  She has chosen her favorite player and pretty much shadows him and I am grateful he likes her so much.  She has taken a few balls to the face and licks her paws when she gets home but all in all she is a basketball queen.

She has always been a finicky eater and skips meals regularly but this mountain life has made her so hungry we caught her eating the cat's food.  She even asks for seconds and down the hatch it goes!

Yesterday we took her into the Caribou Wilderness and we hiked along the river.  It was so  beautiful, peaceful and the only sound was the rushing water. There is something so awesome about letting your dog be a dog and run free in a place like that. No leash and no rules...she had a blast!  She loved running thru the river and we crossed it walking on big logs. I would look back to see how she was doing and she would be ahead of me. I guess I was the cautious one and holding her back!  Hurry up Mom!

Too bad we are already packing up now that she finally feels at home. Time for a few more walks and another game of basketball with the boys. Life is good.

Over the moon with excitement...

I had my blog today all planned and then I received an email this afternoon I have been waiting for 6 weeks to receive. My heart hurts I am so excited and grateful for the opportunity coming my way.
 We are members of this sweet family winery in Walla Walla WA and we always try to support them because honestly its a tough business. They opened a tasting room in Woodinville to attract the Seattle folks and be a part of the westside wine action. They are always attempting to change it up to entice more loyalists and they started an artist of the month. You show your work on their walls and during your time frame they have a wine tasting/artist showing. Guess what? I am the artist of the month for March/April 2012! The really amazing thing is that this is when wineries have their spring releases and everyone has parties to share their new wines. My work will be on the walls for everyone passing thru to see! I cannot wait to begin sewing again and feeding my soul. With all this moving around and living out of a suitcase being creative is what I have missed most about being me.  If you have any favorites shout em out as I need at least a dozen pieces and what if something actually sells? I need to fill the space...I am so excited at the thought!  I hope you are all able to come hang out with ME... the artist of the month...did I mention there will be free wine?!

road tripping

The other day we went out exploring the area and attended a very small arts festival. The volunteer firemen had a raffle and bbq in a beautiful park on a creek. How crazy that both of us have now won something ( wine bag and cutting board) from their raffle. I am not feeling so lucky at the moment but yea us no matter what!
 There is a ranch half way between Lake Almanor and Susanville that absolutely takes my breath away its so beautiful. It should be in a Hallmark movie or something it is so perfect and peaceful. We also came upon a few abandon buildings and I couldn't resist capturing them on film. What is their history and why were they left lonely and forgotten?

 Yesterday I drove to Reno to drop Tim off at the airport and to meet a cousin I have not seen in at least 50 years. Our grandmothers were sisters and Karen was very close to mine since she had never met hers. I had the best time visiting with her and finding out about the history of that side of our family. She is researching the ancestry and I did learn something very cool. One of our relatives is part owner of Coors in Golden CO and from my grandmothers siblings there were over 50 first cousins. Geez louise!!! We have agreed to share photos and info with each other and who knows what we will find!



I 'borrowed' a board on the ground from this shack and hope to use it on our garden railway...its aged to perfection and has rusty nails and dried moss to embellish. Love it!
The weather seems to be cooling down but feels just right to me. Business is slow however in the campground and Frosty and the only thing we can think of is the economy is keeping families at home this summer. The lakes have never been so high and everywhere you look is lush green with sprinkles of wildflowers.

I mentioned the mosquitoes have been enjoying me~ I woke up with a 2 inch swollen bite on my forehead yesterday we think was a spider bite. Now the swelling is dropping into my eyes and I look puffy/squinty. A few days ago I stepped into the tub to wash my feet and slipped. I fell backwards landing on the floor with my head hitting the toilet and my arm hitting the vanity. So now I have purple bruises and a puffy forehead and eyes. I am thinking my mojo has taken a walk and left me hanging in the wind.Its been a good weekend and I have enjoyed seeing more of the area and reconnecting with Karen.

Thanks for dropping by.

Family.

Brothers. This photo always makes me smile.

Last night I was being reflective about the fact that my two oldest sons have lived together longer than they did with us. This fall Timothy will be moving to Calif. and that bond will change. Will they still remain friends and talk often or will they simply go their own ways. I have wanted children my entire life and couldn't wait to start a family. While being a parent has been the biggest challenge of my life I would not have missed it for anything. However, I never visualized they would grow up and we would become so distant and uninvolved in each others lives. I take full blame because we are the ones that keep leaving and perhaps we unknowingly created this detachment. I have friends with grown children and grandchildren and their lives are completely intertwined.  I have resolved myself that we may never have that with our boys and its a shame. We even have two granddaughters we never see even though we have surely tried. Families are such a wonderful relationship because you can be yourself and they still have to love and care about you. Maybe we are all in a transitional phase right now trying to find ourselves and when we do, we will become a close family again. In the meantime I hope our boys realize friends come and go but they have history and blood together. That is worth any effort to nurture and hold each other close to their hearts. You do not have to live in the same town or have anything in common to be brothers. You simply have to care enough that you are.

One week down and still no where to go.

I cannot believe we have already been here one week. No word from the bank except that they are in disagreement with the lenders about the tax lien. If I am honest with myself I don't think I even want the house anymore. We are only two weeks away from the 5 month mark of waiting and I personally can't just keep killing time. After spending a week by a lake I really think I want to return to MN for my summers. It would be going home and where we are most happy. Mostly though I want to be creative again and feed my soul and that wont happen until we have a place called home. We spent the night in Medford OR on our way here and while taking a walk with Grace I came upon a Bernina sewing store. My machine is a Bernina and that baby has done nothing but performed without a complaint. It was too early for them to be open so after breakfast I asked my man if we could please walk thru. He surprised me completely when he said yes and then didnt even rush me. The owner spent quite a bit of time discussing the machines and all the new technology that has so surpassed my baby. I walked to the back of the store and the owner's wife had made an award winning wallhanging that took my breath away. I could not believe how beautiful and detailed it was. Now I want to spend a week or so there taking her classes and hanging out trying to be in her league. This is just one part of it and do you see why I am in such awe? Wowie zowie!
The 4th of July was rescued from becoming just another day when Tim's cousin invited us on their boat for the fireworks. It was a beautiful evening, good company and Lake Almanor did itself proud with  wonderful explosions.

I decided I could not stand another day of lake life without a boat so I headed into Chester, the only town, about 7 miles away.  Grace could not stand being left on the shore so she endured our inflatable yacht without one hole poke! Good girl Gracie!

The past three mornings I have set my alarm (no easy feat since its never used!) and headed down to the Frosty to work. I mainly make the cinnamon rolls and help out where I can so that I don't feel so guilty about staying here for free. They are delicious no thanks to me and on an average day we sell 8 to 10 dozen. Seriously they are big business and big in size and people line up for them...
For me the best part about working here is they have an ice cream machine like DQ and there is nothing I like better. Yum!

Tomorrow there is an arts festival with bbq going on somewhere close so that is the big plan. Sunday I am driving to Reno to meet a cousin I do not know. We reconnected on FB and our grandmothers were sisters. We met when we were very young and felt it was time to meet again. Always room for new relatives in my life!  I am also dropping Tim off at the airport so he can fly back to GH for a couple of weeks. I am kind of hoping we might make plans to move on to San Diego area next week but we shall see.... Linda might need us more than ever.
I hope you have not all dropped off this was so long...can I ask fellow bloggers...do you ever wonder if anyone is reading your page or does it simply not matter??
xo

What's new from Lake Almanor California!!

I am sure you have been wondering what happened to me and I will tell you. No internet. I forget how 'hooked' I am on internet until I am forced to go days without it. Right now Jerry and I are sitting outside the B and B looking at the lake and borrowing their wireless.  Nature and technology all in one...

I am including a photo of the cabin we are so fortunate to live in for the next week or so. Notice how nicely the Westy is blending in.. Our friends have so much going on here we feel guilty we don't know how to help them more. I did make dinner last night and had them come sit on the deck under the stars. A beautiful evening for sure but wish the mosquitoes had not found me quite so tasty.

Yesterday Jerry got a taste of running a campground and I think any chances of us doing so in the future were eliminated. He helped a family back their rented RV into a site and then when it would not reach the power they insisted he provide the necessary extension. They refused to move the RV so it would be in range because then it would not be level. We have done extensive camping over the years and never has it been the campground's problem if we didn't reach power or water or were not level. Some people just seem to think they are special and deserve to be taken care of.

As I mentioned earlier Gracie has been having a rough time alone and I felt like I had finally gotten her to relax a bit. So when we arrived at the cabin I kenneled her so we could go to the grocery store. Lake=Beer=munchies! Well I guess she absolutely went over the deep end with fear and here is the result. I am not pleased at all but I guess she simply had to get out at any cost.

I am not sure what we will be doing for the 4th of July but there seem to be several festivities going on.
 Yesterday we went to the Firemens Pancake Breakfast and it was delicious! We could not believe how many showed up for it. Yea firemen!  Jerry was looking forward to the big breakfast and I was looking forward to the firemen serving me!  We both came away happy! Just always have had a soft spot for those good looking men....or is it the big trucks?!

Seems like a great time to take a hike around the lake and see all the sights. Wishing you all a wonderful 4th of July and grateful hearts to be an American. I know I am~
Thanks for dropping in!