Happy Eve of New Year's Eve

I'm checking in really quick because Larry is taking over the computer.  Hopefully for just a short period and all goes well...we are going to Windows 7...currently have XP.  So cross your fingers and I'll be back before the New Year!

It has been really cold, but no more rain and today we had sunshine!  I planted my daffodil bulbs finally...70 more...they were sprouting in the bags.  On Thursday we took a hike...I went 5.5 miles and Larry with Gracie did 6.5, I meet them down at the trail head and shave off a mile.  I have made progress...no adverse aches or pains.  Friday and Saturday morning I did my Pilates.

Yesterday we went to Martinez for the annual Narasaki family and friends gathering.  It was a blast as always and I took nary a picture...sad but true.

So that is it for now!

Merry Christmas!

We had a lovely early Christmas with the kids.  Andrea and Scott arrived Friday evening with 6 of their 7 kids in two cars.  Michelle and her family made it down on Saturday.  Friday's weather was so bad we weren't sure if they would be able to make it.  Michelle was miserable the whole time...poor baby, she has an abscessed tooth, it was great of her to come all this way in spite of it.  Seth had a good time with his cousins and new cousins.

We had presents Sunday morning and Christmas dinner with turkey and ham and trimmings.  I made a huge pan of the best gravy I have ever made...woo hoo!  There was no lack of food during the weekend.  It rained much of the time so everyone was inside but our house contained everyone just fine.  The boys trounced around outside between storms once on Saturday but that was about it for outside activity.  Another 3.75 inches of rain...we are saturated and slopposis around here.

Yesterday morning everyone got their stuff together and then they all pulled out after breakfast around eleven.  Let the Cleaning commence!!!!!  Ian was the only one left for about an hour, then Larry took him over to Auburn to hook up with his other Grandparents who took him on with them to his Dad's place for Christmas and his break.

Connor, 3, Seth, 8 and Ian, 10

Loads of laundry, cleaning and stowing, but we were finished by about 3:30 except for some laundry folding.  We had a lovely repeat of Christmas dinner for dinner and then I had a combo dessert plate...YUMMY!  The sun came out and it warmed up a little yesterday so we were able to open up the house and let fresh air through.  We hardly ran the heater with all those bodies, but with all that breathing and cooking the windows were pretty damp with condensation so it was nice that we could get it dried out again before this next storm!

Larry and I thought we would be asleep in our bed before 8 last night, but we found a halfway entertaining sappy Christmas movie and ended up staying awake later then we thought.  This morning we opened our gifts to each other...which we loved, new camera bag and blown glass ball for me and a headlamp and gorilla light for Larry.  Then Larry and Gracie hit the trail before the rains and I worked on getting pictures organized and posted to Facebook.  They hadn't gotten in a hike since Larry's Aunt was here.  It started pouring again, but we are tucked in tight.  We may go see a movie this afternoon. (NAH, too nasty out there, decided to stay home)  I could have refined this more or added more details, but want to get it posted before I let too much time get by!  Hopefully you could understand what I did write...hahaha!

We have been blessed with a happy wonderful Christmas this year surrounded by our family and a great year...which we give thanks for every day.  I know many are struggling with pain and loss and for them I send hope and love.  Merry Christmas, with love and hugs! 

From Lori!!!  Jeni's ice cream from Ohio.  Arrived frozen solid, dry ice and next day air.

Destiny, Seth, Isiaih, Ian, Brandon, Chloe and Connor.  Nevaeh is the only one missing.

My combo dessert plate!  Cherry, apple, pumpkin pies and a side of rum cake!!!!

My cool new camera backpack bag and blown glass ball

Larry playing with his headlamp

Larry's Gorilla torch and headlamp.  The gorilla has magnets in the feet and bendable legs so can wrap around poles and hang onto steel, plus it is a really bright LED.  Both are LED's.

A Great Visit!

We had a lovely visit with Larry's Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Gene.  They arrived Sunday and pulled out today.  Auntie went on a couple of hikes with Larry and we all visited and enjoyed lovely food.  It rained the first night and was slop-o-sis around here for a day or two, but yesterday we were able to tour the estate.  :)  Looking forward to the next visit!

This was SCRUMPTIOUS!!!

sundog

Whew!

Another eight days since I've last been here...I'm trying to remember what the heck we've been doing.  I think we made another trip to IKEA, but should be done there for awhile.  I have a lovely leather chair/footstool from there that I am loving.  We did the last of our Christmas shopping one day over in Auburn.  We had some sunny days and I finally finished the Christmas decorations.  I have been really busy with all this stuff, knitting gifts and getting all ready for company.  Larry has been out on the trail, I took a little walk and that's all I remember.

Today I made a lovely roasted chicken in our halogen air cooker, smashed yukon gold potatoes, gravy and peas for our company.  Larry's Aunt and Uncle arrived today and will be staying for a few days...it is always fun hanging out with them.

Our weather turned really cold for a few days, but it warmed up a little today to rain.

Great dinner, three glasses of wine, coffee and a killer chocolate dessert and I am a very relaxed, brain dead blob....I'll try to check in again before the end of the week.

Uh, WRONG baby puppy, I did not put this lovely blanket down on the floor for you...off!

My Momma's knitted legacy...she made us the skirt in the late 70's and added the girls names as they arrived.
My sock is about 50 years old and Larry's is 35...the fuzzy parts on the socks are pure angora...precious treasures.

We bought some of those cinnamon pine cones and I gussied them up with  some cedar branches and coffee berries from the yard.

Gracie is requesting that our next home is nearer the equator OR that the floors be heated....she was cold the other morning.

the rest

Here are the last two pictures I couldn't post last night.  Today was sunny and cold.  We spent the afternoon rearranging stuff and getting the tree up...decorations tomorrow.

Last weekend we lost our satellite signal in the storm with our mounted dish....I figured it would be all weekend without internet, but Larry got out in the storm and set up our portable dish and we were connected once again.  Gracie went out with him, but as you can see she was back at the door...saying let me in, let me in.

Our IKEA unit finished.  My books are like old friends...it saddens me that books as we know them may go away.  I love the colors of the spines and the fonts and knowing I can pick one up and start reading...no batteries required.  I sold and gave away hundreds before we hit the road nine years ago, so my collection is very small now.

Me Again

I almost didn't get yesterday's post published.  Just as I was typing the last word and ready to push the publish button...the computer froze up!!!  ACK!!!!  I was very cranky, but at least after the computer rebooted my draft was still there.

Today was sunny, not windy and was close to 60...a lovely day to....clean the bathrooms...woo hoo!  Here are the pictures I didn't get posted last night.

Seth and Larry playing in Seth's room.

Gracie made herself right at home.  She liked Michelle.

She liked Seth too.

The last of the leaves before last weekends storm.

The leaves are raining off the tree in the wind.

I had to get out in the gusting wind and rain and prune back my rosebushes.  I got out there just in time, a couple were starting to go over.  The deer loved the treat after Larry hauled all the canes up to the burn pile.

Heavy rain and wind.

I am in computer hell...now I can't post the rest of the pictures....oh well, tomorrow.

We are still alive!

Ever since we returned from Oregon over a week ago I have intended to blog, but have gotten busy and thought...first thing tomorrow.  Well a lot of tomorrows have gone by.  I finally sat down this evening to resize the pictures I intended to post and the program wasn't working...so I thought...tomorrow.  But I decided I had better check in without the pictures.

We went to Michelle's for Thanksgiving, we went up the Saturday before and was up there for one of their horrible windy rainy storms with flooding and downed trees everywhere. It being Oregon...even after the storm passed, I think we only saw the sun for several hours the whole time we were there.  We had a great time.  Michelle cooked many dishes for our Turkey dinner and it was all wonderful.  There was so much food she didn't have to cook the rest of our stay....hahahaha.  We headed home on the Monday following Thanksgiving.  

We had one or two decent days since we've been back where Larry and Gracie got in a hike, but for the most part we have had rain and clouds.  We had three big storms go through last weekend and we have gotten well over seven inches and there was four or more in our rain bucket during the week we were gone.  We are pretty saturated here and our little creek has been running.  We didn't get much sleep on the stormy nights!

I haven't taken a ton of pictures this past month.  But I have some to share...hopefully tomorrow.

We have been to West Sac a couple more times since getting back from Oregon getting the rest of the pieces to complete our big bookcase for the living room.  So we have been real busy with that.  Larry got it built and then we've been getting all the books and other stuff from all the rooms and loading it up.  This then has started a domino effect of rearranging furniture and pictures and plants and will eventually get to the kitchen cabinets and pantry.  We are getting the nest more efficient and add to it all we have gotten to it during the holidays.  So we have been hurrying to get done with the biggest parts so we can get the tree up and decorated.  

Then we'll take a break from all that while enjoying our family that will be visiting and staying with us for the week or so before Christmas.

I have been going to Pilates three times a week now that my garden is done for the winter.  I'm not getting the exercise I was so have to ramp up my workouts.  I am continually amazed at my progress.  I notice improvement every month still....YAY!  What I love though is that I deal with less pain every week as I've gotten stronger and am working harder.  I have regular soreness in my muscles now and not the horrible pain I would have after challenging myself.  I was a real wreck.

So all is good in our world.  I have stayed up past my bedtime so ta ta for now!