BEEN TOO LONG - TIME TO CATCH UP!

GOOD GRIEF!! I can't believe it's been over 2 years since I published anything on this blog! Time sure DOES fly! My last blog was about what I fixed for Father's Day 2012. 

Well, a lot has happened since then! Where do I begin?

September of 2012 saw us putting our beautiful log home up for sale. It was time to start planning for retirement and it just did not meet our needs. Plus the lot was not large enough to fit the shops on that we wanted. If you've ever sold a home, you know you have to keep it halfway clean all the time! This meant I had to come up with some less messy solutions for Christmas ornaments. I don't think I have any pictures, but I had a dozen clear glass balls which I painted each family member's name on and the year and tied bows on to finish them off. I think they turned out okay. 

Selling also meant no more working on stained glass projects - too messy and smelly. So all of my glass work tools, accessories, glass, etc got put on a shelf. 

Well, by September 2013, we had not had even one prospective buyer look at the house! The market is still soft and there aren't a lot of calls for a 2-bedroom log house in a golf/lake community near Shelton.  So, we took it off the market with plans to wait a year or so. We still had a few years before retirement, so weren't in any hurry. 

Christmas 2013 saw my beautiful Aunt Kay and sweet Uncle Alan spending the day with us. We also had my younger daughter, Kellie, and her daughter, Kensi, with us as well as my quirky 2nd cousin Carl. 

 The gals and

The guys!  Carl, Uncle and Tom

This turned out to be our last Christmas in the log house. So glad we were able to spend it with all these loved ones. 

New Years Eve found us celebrating with Tom's son, Bryan and his family including his fiancé's Mom! Fun!!

Kyle, Dillon, Trina and Bryan

The next day, Tom decided to try Craig's list to sell the house. This is the picture he put on. 

A gal emailed him the same day for more pictures. Her 70+ year old father came by on the 2nd to see the place and she, her adult daughter, 11 year old son, father and step-mother came the next day for a 2-hour tour! Well, after a bit of discussion, a good inspection report and a few minor repairs, she bought it!! The sale closed on Feb. 28. She couldn't move in until the end of June, so we made arrangements to rent the place from her until we either found another home or she had to move in. 

We were on the hunt!! First for a rental and then for a house with some property to do what we wanted. 

Wish list:  shop, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, between 1/2 and 1 acre, not far from Hwy 101. Preferably move-in ready and less than $175k. Not easy in this area. But we ended up getting something that had almost everything on the wish list! 

I know, doesn't look like much - but you'd be surprised at how it turns out!! Stay tuned for "How I Spent the last 8 months!!"

That's all for now, thanks for stopping by. 

Jackie

PICKIN' TREASURES!

Hello, everyone! How's your Sunday going? Are you spoiling your favorite father or remembering the one who's not with you? I'm doing both today. Sent my guy one of those silly Jib Jab videos. he got a big laugh from it. Then treated him and our youngest grandson, Dillon who's staying with us a few days, to breakfast at the pro shop cafe. They're watching some Animal Planet programs and Tom is enjoying a back massage using the chair massage unit I bought CHEAP after Christmas last year. He's having a nice Dad's Day, I think. :)

Yesterday, we did one our favorite things - yard selling - looking for 'treasures'. At the first one we stopped at I found some fantastic old lanterns that I just knew my friend, Mimi, from Blue Roof Cabin could turn into something wonderful! Here they are - what do you think? Do you see reuse potential written all over them? Check out the great patina!

I emailed Mimi to see if she wanted them and, of course, she did!! I can hardly wait to see what she does with them!! Check out her new website - www.blueroofcabin.com and see what she ends up with!!

Before heading out pickin', I mixed us some yummy blueberry pancake batter complete with berries from my garden. I picked them the night before and they were sooo sweet!

Don't they look delicious?! They're smaller than the berries you find in the store, but these are native to our state and I have been waiting 8 years for them!! There are more ripening on the bushes, so I expect to get at least one more batch of pancakes with them. Or maybe some scones!?


I always improvise with my pancake batter and this time was no exception. I started out with Biscuit's HeartSmart baking mix and then added a 1/4 cup ground flax meal. Someone had used my half & half ( wonder who?) so I found some sour cream that needed to be finished off and put that in with some water. I know, doesn't sound that good, but it really turned out good! With a couple eggs to finish it all off, I mixed it all with a fork and added my berries ( approximately 1 cup worth). I then went for a walk with m y friend Kerry and left the griddling to Tom!! HEHE!! By the time I returned 1 1/4 hours later, the cakes were done along with some chicken sausage links (double yum!) and I sat down to breakfast. Timed it just right LOL!!


Then it was off to search for treasures before working in the yard some more.  Very full, but fun day! How was yours?


Thanks for stopping by,


Jackie

THE GARDEN IS BLOOMING!!

It's almost Summer! Yea!! The days are getting warmer, the rain is getting warmer, the pollen is getting thicker - well, you get the picture! I love summertime, just not everything that comes with it. 


Like today, I'm home feelin' kind of puny. Achy, sore muscles, too hot and then too cold, tummy kind of queasy. Laid around the house most of the morning. Then, I just HAD to get up and get moving and get outside for some fresh air! Know what I mean?! Enough already!! 


So, I threw on some shoes and a sweatshirt and wandered outside to see what Tom was up to. He's been doing some work around the house this week. Cleaned and repaired the gutters, pressure washed the decks, making extensions for the legs of a temporary canvas shelter that he's putting over a boat project. After surveying his work, I visited my yard a bit and lo and behold - I have blueberries!!! Yes, blueberries on ALL my bushes! You can't imagine what a surprise and delight that is! I've been so busy weeding and planting I hadn't noticed all those little blue things growing on those 8 year old shrubs. I had a few berries on 2 of them last year and 3 on one of them the year before. This is the first year they have all produced, even the sickly-looking one! Just look at all those little cuties hanging on for dear life! 

I'd better pick them before the birds find them! They're so sweet!

I decided I'd better check out the rest of the garden and see what else God has gifted me. Like this pretty yellow iris!

Or these lupin

Or the tale end of my snowballs!

And then there's my purple iris! 

And so many more surprises to enjoy! How could I feel anything but joyful!! It's just not possible! 

So, I decided to share them with you. Hope they brighten your day as well! Enjoy!!

HAVE A BLESSED DAY!!!                   COME BACK SOON!!

JACKIE

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND ADVENTURES!

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO EVERYONE!! AND A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL MY FAMILY MEMBERS WHO HAVE SERVED OR ARE SERVING THEIR COUNTRY!!

It's good to acknowledge that this is not just another excuse for a barbecue or watch golf or NASCAR all day. But let's face it, we appreciate those who have given their lives for our freedom, but we also appreciate a nice reprieve from the usual routine of work.  This is a great time to see family members who don't normally have the time to travel or sit around a campfire and laugh and share stories. So, in a way, our doing these things IS honoring those fallen heroes. If it wasn't for their sacrifices, we wouldn't have the privilege of spending these 3 days thanking them and sharing our lives with our loved ones. 

At the Lake, this is the beginning of the weekenders coming and relatives visiting. We had pretty decent weather this year - only sprinkled a bit today after I had mowed the grass/moss in my little yard.  Our neighbors, the Millers, have kids, grandkids, great-grandkids and friends of each camping out in their yard all weekend. It's great! They keep the campfire going all day and sit around it till late at night laughing and teasing each other. It's amazing they have so much to talk about!! The little ones run around - sometimes checking out our yard or using our sidewalk and carport for riding a bicycle with training wheels. The dogs will come over for a quick visit - one decided to check out the pond today. Had to chase him out. All around the lake you can see bonfires at night. I can smell those hotdogs sizzling over the flames and almost taste the marshmallows toasting for the first S'mores of the season. Yep, everyone is truly Chillin' at the Lake!!!

As for me, well, I spent Saturday with my youngest daughter and 2 grandkids checking out the Tacoma Glass Museum. To be fair, I DID ask them for ideas of things they'd like to do and got shrugs and "it doesn't matter to me". 

Darrien, me and Kensi at the Tacoma Glass Museum

Sooo, first we headed to Subway for lunch and then off to the museum. It's one of my favorite places to go! If you're in the area, you just HAVE to visit it!! We checked out the latest project being produced in the Hot Shop first. They always have visiting a artist designing blown glass objects with the help of several apprentices /helpers. It's fascinating to watch them create something from molten glass!

Next we hit the galleries and saw some of the most amazing pieces of molded, blown, and painted glass you'll ever see.  There was one exhibit that, at first, I just didn't get. The pieces were sort of bell-shaped or ovals or globs - beautiful, but other-worldly. Then, the more I looked at them, I realized how peaceful they seemed. The rounded shapes sort of took the edges off my mind as well. I felt I could just sit there and do something zen-like, like contemplate my navel or something!! Wish I could afford one of them for my garden.

They have a hands-on workshop where, for a fee, you can create some art yourself. They're doing fused glass coasters or pendants now. My granddaughter, Kensi, wanted to make one, so I paid the $32.00 and watched her draw and put pieces of glass on a glass square and then change her mind and come up with a totally different design in the end that I think turned out quite nice. They will fire it in a kiln and mail it to her next week. She's very excited to see the end product!

After we were done there, Darrien, a 17 year old male, decided he had spent enough time with us gals and was ready to head home. We women still had some exploring to do, so we dropped him off and headed to the town of Gig Harbor. It's a quaint, water-front town with lots of local artist galleries and gifts shops and other fun places to check out. We visited several establishments and then had some delicious pizza at Spyro's toppi it off with some decadent peanut butter pie! Kensi and I shared a slice - thank goodness!! I asked one of the waitresses to take our picture afterwards - 3 generations of beautiful women! Me, Kellie and Kensi!! 

 On the way back, we came up with some ideas for future outings. Go carts, Point Defiance, shopping, etc! Kensi and Darrien have both promised to come visit their sweet, old granny this summer. We'll see. Hope so!!

Today I got to go out for my second round of golf this year! My friend, Kerry, invited me to join her and a couple other local gals. The weather couldn't make up its mind what it wanted to do, so we were either taking a layer off or putting a layer on most of the day, but it didn't rain and we had a ball! I so enjoy playing with people who try to do their best, but still have fun just being out on the course with others having a good time. I actually had a terrific round for me - 63! That's for 9 holes, but I don't care - it's great for only my second time out this year. Last year I only made it out 3 times due to an attack of shingles. It was definitely better than last week's 74! My chipping and putting really improved - only 3-putted one hole and had a couple 1-putts. Makes a big difference! We ended our outing with some soup at the pro shop cafe and then I headed to the store to get some food stuffs and lawn mower oil. Spent the rest of the afternoon mowing, weeding, cleaning the waterfall and moving some fire pit seating around. Kerry called me later and invited me over to play a card game with several couples. Fun day!!


Tomorrow I do some cooking and baking, clean the downstairs bathroom and read some more chapters in the Bible. And remember, again, those brave men and women who have fought or supported the fighters in battles around the world in the name of peace and liberty.

So, I will end as I began with a rousing THANK YOU!!  And a special Thank You to God for having me born in this country in this time where I have been witness to so many changes in our lives socially, technologically, governmentally and spiritually. We are truly blessed!!


Now, go start up the barby!!


Later!!


Jackie

JUST STUFF!!

Hope all of the mothers out there had a fantastic day last Sunday! I know I did! Started out with the early service at church, then Tom and I met my Auntie Kay and Uncle Alan at a restaurant in Olympia for brunch. The place is called Budd Bay Cafe (www.buddbaycafe.com -if you're in the area!) because it sits near the Budd Bay Marina. We've been there before, but my aunt and uncle hadn't been and she wanted to check it out. We were thinking of it as a nice place as well. We didn't realize they were only doing a brunch and especially didn't realize that brunch was $30 a person!! A little spendier than we normally go for since none of us can eat that much food at one sitting. But, we went dutch-treat and it IS only one time a year and we ARE worth it. We'll do a little shopping around next year though! The food was delicious and they had a great variety, so no complaints there!

This is a picture of us all in front of the marina. Another couple traded taking pictures with us. So nice! The yellow flowers are roses I brought for my aunt. She brought me a huge, gorgeous hanging basket that is now gracing my front porch. I moved the basket that was there over to the back deck to join a matching one. They are both smaller, so it balances out the view from the road nicely - not that I was terribly worried about that, I just didn't have anywhere else to hang it!! LOL!! Isn't my auntie just adorable?! She is so precious to me! A true gift from God.

So, after lunch, they headed home, Tom headed to Wenatchee to work and I headed downtown to do a little shopping - after all, it WAS Mother's Day and I AM a mother!! My oldest daughter had sent me a gift card for Vera Bradley. Now I had never heard of Vera Bradley, at least not that I remember, so I went to their website - www.verabradley.com - to check them out. Seems they make some retro-looking cloth handbags, carry-ons, notebook covers, etc as well as some stationary and other funky items. I was able to find a shop in Olympia that carries their product - Popinjays on Capital - so checked them out. I'm glad I did! Some of the bags were much larger than I imagined and others were more for the younger set. But, I found several handy bags that I really liked. So now I can go on-line and get a cute bag for summer as well as an accessory!! Thanks, again, Carman!! You are so sweet!!! 

After shopping a bit, I headed home to hang my basket and do a little weeding and transplanting. Can't decide if I want to try tomatoes again this year or not. I may just let the garden go fallow this year, compost the heck out of next winter and try some veggies next Spring. 

Have you been to see "DARK SHADOWS"? Got off early Monday and made the early show at the local theater. A little campy - on purpose - but Johnny Depp was perfect as Barnabus Collins. We used to get off the bus and rush inside to watch the tv series everyday when I was in high school. I had a crush on the David character who was a werewolf back then. (Must be why I was on Team Jacob for the Twilight series!)They changed some of the characters for the movie, but it was still entertaining.

So how is the weather where you're at? It's raining today, but we can't complain because we've had a week of lovely weather. One day it was nearly 75! Yesterday was perfect for GOLF!! YES! I finally was able to get out and see how rusty I am at teeing off, fairway shots, chipping and putting! Pretty near every aspect!! But, I had fun and was with some other gals who, even though much better than I, were out to have fun as well. After all, it's just a game, right? (wink, wink!)Anyway, I definitely need to practice all of the above. A few lessons probably wouldn't hurt either. HA! 

To finish off the week, I invited myself to dinner at my good friends' - Caroline and Dean. They are such sweethearts! Caroline mentioned at church that Dean was cooking up a pork loin roast and dinner was at 5:30 so I said I'd be there!! I was joking, but, Thank Goodness!, they took me seriously. HE HE!! So, with 2 types of homemade applesauce in hand - I couldn't go empty-handed - I showed up promptly at 5:15 and enjoyed a wonderful family dinner and had a great visit with these special people. I am truly blessed!!

By-the-way, both applesauces were from Jonagolds that Tom picked a couple years ago and make excellent sauce! No sugar needed! We added some of our huckleberries to one of the batches and they add just a little tartness to make it good with pork, chicken or beef or just by itself! Try it sometime!

Well, with the warmer weather coming, I think I'll finish some glass projects I started last year. I can set up the soldering iron outside for some good ventilation. Maybe next weekend? HMMMM - keep tuned!!

God Bless You all and a special Thank You to all the veterans here and gone for serving your country!  

Till next blog!

Jackie

I'VE BEEN BUSY!!!

I can't believe it's over a month since I've been here! I either haven't been doing much or haven't been doing much that was blog worthy! Well, that has all changed this month. Not only have I finished a project I started last Fall, I've been working in my yard and had a great visit from my oldest grandson, Derric, and his friend Josh. 


First, here's the finished project sitting on my front porch next to my rocking chair!

It's that cute little table sitting between the plant and the chair.  Here's what it looked like when I picked it up at a yard sale last summer - 

I stripped off the old paint - ugh!!! And then painted it with some of the yellow house paint I used on my potting shed door last summer. It doesn't look as yellow in the one picture. I traced some grape vines on the lid and painted them in and then put it all back together.     

I think it turned out kinda cute! I don't know that I'll keep it on the front porch, I really need a little table on the back deck between my chairs and the green will go with my wicker footstools I painted last summer. We'll see. 

Like a said, I have been doing some work in my yard the past few weekends whenever the sun would peek out. Mostly clean up, trimming, weeding and replanting. I did break down and buy some annuals to put in baskets - I'm a sucker for hanging baskets! They just really dress up the deck and the arbors. They're hard to see, but there's a basket of pansies hanging over the deck railing and a basket of petunias and other pretties hanging on each side of the front arbor. The arbor will be covered with purple clematis in a couple months. Doesn't the front entry look pretty and inviting? 

And then, the icing on the cake - the visit from my grandson! Here he is all dressed in his "blues". I am standing on one of my steps - he's 6'5"!! Isn't he handsome?! He will be spending the next few years in Oahu, HI in the Air Force. So guess where Granma and Grandpa are headed next year?!!!

This is Derric and his friend Josh who is even taller!!

So, I have been kinda busy. I think I'll just enjoy my yard for a while now before tackling my next project. Thanks for stopping by and here's a flower for all you proud, supporting and hard-working Mothers.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

JACKIE

THE EASTER BUNNY AND RELAY FOR LIFE!

Good morning! Well, like most people in my neck of the woods, we are wondering if the predictions for sunshine and warmer temperatures for the weekend will come true! I'm looking at gray skies out my loft window right now. Doesn't look very promising. It can change at any minute though. One of the wondrous things about our area - if you're bored with the weather, just wait 5 minutes!!

So, while I decide what to have for breakfast - rolled oats or scrambled eggs with spinach - I thought I would share my latest "project" and wait for the sun!

Many years ago - about 20 - I was living with a girlfriend who was very crafty, in a good way. She painted, sewed, knitted, crocheted, you name it! Seeing her sewing projects inspired me and so I bought a pattern for a bunny doll and proceeded to make a few bunnies to give away or keep. They needed clothes and the pattern included some basics which I adapted and added to. The most fun was making a wedding outfit for one of them! My friend had some left over slipper satin from a dress she had made and some tulle. I bought some lace and ribbon and mini silk flowers to finish the decorations. I was thinking that one day I might have granddaughters that I could give them to. I did, but by then I had packed them away and forgotten about them and then the girls were more into softball, soccer, LaCrosse, swimming and other sports and not so much into dressing up bunnies. So, for many years, except for the occassional Easter showing, they have been in a quilt bag in a large tote in whatever storage area I had at the time. Well, it's time to do something with them!

That brings me to the Relay for Life part of this blog. Like many of you, my life has been touched personally by cancer. My grandmother, mother, ex-mother-in-law and ex-sister-in-law all lost their battle with varous cancers. My partner, Tom, has lost his mother and 3 sisters to cancer and a fourth is currently in remission from a virulent form of blood cancer that could come back at any time! And then there are my neighbor friends who have fought and won or fought and lost in the past few years. Like I said, it has touched many of us in different ways. Because of this, I joined my first Relay for Life team back in 1993 while working at a credit union in Raymond, WA. Since then, I have either walked, helped with fund raisers or both every year and a few times I even walked in 2 of the events. The past 2 years I offered one of my stained glass angels to anyone who donated $25.00 or more. I'm not able to make those this winter, so I'm just asking for any donations. You can go to my page at http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY12National?px=2099460&pg=personal&fr_id=39022 and make a donation on-line if you'd like! It's easy!

 Although I'm not doing the angels this year, I am co-captain for my Peninsula Credit Union team and helping with fundraisers. With Easter around the corner, I thought it would be a good time to donate one of the bunnies with a few outfits for an inter-office auction. What do you think? I took these pictures of the one I'm donating in her different outfits.   

Golf, anyone?

 
    

Here comes the bride!



I hope that others like her just as much as I do

So, even though it's not a recent project, I thought you'd like to see some past things I've done and maybe check into my Relay for Life page and see what it's all about if you don't know or even make a donation! It's for a great cause and any amount is welcomed.

Oh, update on my visit with my daughter - I loved it!! We had the best time just visiting, watching a movie - The Descendants with George Clooney - watch it if you haven't! - dinner at the Inn and then the ride to the airport in the morning. She is so beautiful! And she and my handsome son-in-law are such hard-working devoted parents and business owners. I just admire all they have accomplished in their young lives!



So, I decided on old fashioned rolled oats with a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Yummy! The sun peeked out for a minute.  Gone right now. Time to eat my oats and head to ZUMBA! Yes, Annette, I still do ZUMBA! Haven't lost a bunch of weight, buy I have a bunch more energy and get through the whole hour without dying!! I figure that's an accomplishment in itself! HA!!



Hope you have a fun, blessed weekend!

Jackie