New View from the Kitchen

Just wanted to share this picture with all of you. We are really glad the construction is done and we are enjoying the new patio very much.
How soft everything looks with the snow covering it and making everything look clean. And how glad we are not to live with it more than we do.

ENOUGH ALREADY!

OH MY, OH MY, OH MY

I think it would be OK if it quit snowing and we could get out and about for a while.

Even though we couldn't believe the beauty of the view and the amazing things that snow does to trees as it piles on the tiniest of branches. Giving the shape of the trees weight and shape that they so seldom have.

And this morning there is suddenly the sound of dripping water as the temperature rises above the freezing point and the ice starts to melt. I am so glad we don't have to be anywhere for a couple of days. Not so many Christmas presents ready, maybe a lot of coupons under the tree this year. But totally loving the reason for it.

Love you all.

Ma

The man cave

This is the working section of Dans' office. He has what seems like an acre of desktop and equally large areas for filing and books.

This side of the office has the TV and he is organizing all the church books in the book case. How nice to be able to find something we are looking for.

I wanted to post pictures of Dans' new office sooner. He asked me to wait till it is cleaner, the waiting is over and I am posting what I have. It doesn't look bad at all.

Dan has so much more storage and filing in this new man-cave. He assures me it will be easier to keep looking neat. It will seem odd not to have all the piles around the floor like in his previous filing system. He does like working in this space better than the old one.

Love you all

Nicolle

Snow, and Snow

Oh my, it was falling from the sky.


Yes, the great Northwest got a dose of snow this last couple of days. We had been hearing the predictions and worrying how bad it would be. It wasn't bad around here, but trying to get to the cabin was quite the adventure. It was so wet and slippery and trees were down all around. I finally got too scared to go any further and turned around to come home. If the heat isn't on enough, or the water freezes in the house, we will have to deal with the problems another (warmer)day.

Today, on the other hand, is so crisp and cold! One of those days that is so clear you can practically hear how blue the sky is. And the sound of the snow as it crunches under my shoes, is a wonderful squeaking crunch that you hear seldom in this wet, moderate area. While driving around on errands this morning, the temperature didn't get above 27 degrees.

Don't get me wrong-I wish it was warmer. But you gotta understand how some people love the snow and cold on beautiful days like today.

Love ya all,

Nicolle

Aleas' birthday dinner

This was the centerpiece for the dinner. It is a cocconut cake with candied pecans on top. It was fun to make and a great new recipe to try.

Here is a current picture of Alea and Zach and babygirl. We love seeing how the baby is growing and Alea is such a cute little preggie.

And here we are for the grand finale. All of us so stuffed we can hardly move.

We wish the best of life for everyone and hope to be with you soon.

Aunt Sara's Birthday

Here we are with Aunt Sara and Loya for her birthday dinner. We had a great meal and fun chatting and catching up.

New Front Doors, Patio, and Driveway

Here is a picture of the new garage doors. It is amazing how much difference a door that goes up and down makes. They are straight, clean and work like magic.

We love the front patio! We are hopefully getting the grates for the strip drains this week. What you see now is just the plastic covers used to keep the cement from setting in the drains.

And this is the driveway and front of the house. How nice to have it done!!!