Help Grandma's Stuck in a Snow Drift on her AT.V.!

This week when we went on an A.T.V. outting
I got stuck in a snow drift; hubby said
“Well it looks like I’m going to have to winch you out with this ATV. "
A twinkle in his eye and a slow grin comes across his face!
I got to see how the winch comes out
and learned how to use the four wheel drive button
I’ve not used it much before.

The hitch was great to hook to for being pulled out from behind.
The camp ground we were headed for had four feet of snow still great big trees down so we had to turn around there and head back.
I got stung so I grabbed a hand full of snow to put on it;
that helped. It was great weather and perfect for riding.
No not to worry I’m not allergic to bees thankfully.
It’s only like a few miles [maybe four] to the ranger station
but that last four miles was not passable yet;
We had a blast!

Tomorrow is an A.T.V. meeting and I suppose they
will want a report on the roads and the conditions.
The only game we saw was a chicken crossing the road
that almost ended up in the chicken and dumplings pot that
we had for lunch!

Hubby fished a bit as I just sat and relaxed
taking in the view.

The creek is way up and brown from the run off.
Flooding in a few spots from beaver dams and
lapping inches from the bike path.
It’s a good thing that the weather is cooling off a bit.
We came home started watering it was 89* in the valley here;
the neighbor kids were splashing around in their pool.

Collage Graduation

Our son in an interview was on the front page of the
local news paper here is part of it.

A communications major, who is also student body president,
said he’s looking for a job in something that will pay back student loans.”

At 33 he said it took five and a half years to graduate because he
switched from a pre-radiography major early in his collage career.

It’s tough when you come back [to school] as a non traditional student with no saving account to speak of, still his two daughters 7 and 8 said they were proud of their dad and would be happy that he’d have more time to spend with them. “Some times he can’t come to dinner all the time,” the younger one said “He’s really busy.” She's looking forward to family dinners together again!

March is not for Wimps!

My word for 08: equip

In Feb. we staged the house,
it's scary when you have enough stuff to decorate two homes!
More open houses still waiting on a buyer.

March has been very busy here for us.
School spring concerts;
time change;
Easter was here we did a B.B.Q.
Add to the mix a couple of birthdays.

I got some precious solitude time
when Hubby went on a couple of group ATV rides;
one was in the snow at night! The other a day ride.
He went fishing a couple of times too.

Spring bloom has arrived here.
We are enjoying that.

I've been to the eye dr. for a new Rx;
good news my eyes have changed for the better!
I need to get used to these new readers and
see if they work before getting the others.
Readers are not so good for the PC keeping that in mind.
I ordered in cute frames in so that is good.
I'm frustrated at how long this takes.
I've been using an old Rx.

December / Jan.

Me in front of job site house
rock work is done
realtor's tour is over
septic system is in
mid. Jan. open house was a success
another open house will be in 2 weeks
people were out in droves we had great weather for this!

We finally sold this one and took it in the a$$ b/c of the down mkt.

http://www.tb.com/detail.asp?ListingId=312535&Mode=6
pics on inside at above link.

November Progress!

Garage Doors are in!
Kitchen floor is down too
but you can't see that from this picture.
Rock work is on.

Property is listed.
Carpet is down.
Tile is down and grout is sealed.
Counters are in.
Cabinets are done.

House is staged
tree is up.

Still to do
two towel racks
a few shelves
put gutter back up
septic system to go in
some clean up.
Take pics.

October Progress!

The back-hoe has been leveling the dirt digging
the trench for the water line and ready to
dig hole for the septic system to go in.

Most of the laminate flooring inside is down.
and it's looking great!

The flooring is glued down in laundry and main bath room
it looks wonderful; tile is down on the entry way and master bath room
it looks awesome lighting is working now too.

Picked out cultured stone to go on soon as it gets in.
Oct. was a productive month!

Custom cabinet guy hurt his hand so we had a delay
on those they should be done in Nov.
Gutters and doors have been ordered.
Delay on carpets.
Some of the subs. have been hunting!

Siding & Paint Progress to Report

This week:
Siding is to be completed;
sheet rock is up and done;
interior paint is done.
Exterior paint going on weather permitting;
order doors .

Realtor has people that want to see it
so they can pick the flooring etc. they better hurry.
We are getting positive comments about the floor plan;
and the large garage!

Next Month:
Custom cabinets are being built as I type this and
will be done by Nov. 1 that is the target date.

Roses With Roots

I'm doing great did get lots of gardening done today;
roses, berries, bulbs are moved;
and I planted new tulip bulbs in pink white and purple,
and onions by the three new roses I put in yesterday.

Last week I got two more fruit trees planted
a red plum and apricot.
Gardening is great exercise too!

Siding

More progress!
This is a view from the back
with the siding on.
The pluming is in now too.

Dream Home Pics.

Top:
Bay window framing is in and more roof trusses are up!










This is the back view of the house more trusses up over the dining room where French doors will be that open out to the deck patio area.
A patio or deck will be off the master bedroom.
It will be white with med. brown accents on the exterior
and earth tones interior unless some one buys it and
changes that. [People are already asking if the house
is for sale!]

Fire!

On my walk today I took this photo with my camera phone
in the distance you see smoke rising from
fire in the area from dry lightening we had last Friday
it's where we where we ride ATV's, and used to go boating
up Hell's canyon.

Garden Wedding

Over dinner for our 34th wedding anniversary was last week hubby and I were laughing because I told hubby I wanted to get married in a wheat field ie [stubble field] remember we are from the hippie days; I wanted a ring of daises in my hair. Hubby's family were farmers I thought it would be a nice touch. Mom vetoed this idea she was right. So I settled on a garden wedding. Boy was that a lot of work! Hubby said he got in on the preparation for that. Mom sewed the dresses and a lady from the church made the cake we used a recipe for the punch from my grandma's and & grandpa's 50th wedding anniversary celebration mom had to get the recipe from my aunt.

It was a simple affair 104 guests very memorable. T-storm the night before had us picking up tree limbs the morning of the event off the lawn.
My wedding bridal bouquet was not what I'd expected and I wept over them my aunts rescued them. Granny grew delphiniums in her garden those baskets were in front of the mock orange in the yard bloomed and were fragrant as we said out vows that we had written. The day was not too hot just perfect! The photographer, was a guy at the church that had been doing it for his work in the basement and the pictures turned out well.

We had a potluck after ward and people kept waiting for us to leave;
the photographer pulled us aside and said we should stage an exit even thou we were staying for the meal so I changed and we went around the block and came back for supper.

ATV Ride

ATV-ing was great fun for us this weekend. Hubby and I got separated and I found an awesome trail to ride on and picnic spot. We saw a dead rattle snake in the road on the way up; on my walk this morning I saw a humming bird; and some wild canaries up in the mountains, hubby saw an eagle some deer. The smell of the forest was great.

When we got home we cleaned up the ATV's and put them away and the stuff that we used for this picnic ride in Washington. Praising God for a safe return trip home after a close encounter with a deer hubby had to swerve to avoid. The huckleberries are not ripe yet but the blackberries around here are just now coming on.

Dear son and dear grand daughters came by for a visit. He loved hearing about our ride!

Dear son in law stopped by to deliver the trailer they borrowed for a camp out in Idaho by the one of the hot springs in the central part of the state. I got paid for some work last month so this is great.

Trusses are here.

Trusses were on time today.
Heat wave here makes morning work the best!
Pic. #1 & 2 are trusses that were delivered and set in place today.

Ground Breaking

pic #1. dear daugther helping to sight in the depth of the first digging.
pic #2 digging with small backhoe;
pic #3 # power is in

We broke ground on the property last Sat. the family was there. Dear daughter was helping with survey equipment. They had a small cat and bob cat to move dirt around.

The guys were excited dear grand son was playing with the water! Guys and gals all sizes love to play in the dirt and it was an exciting day for all of us! They have poured the footings did that last week; and foundation was poured today.

I've been working on the yard at home dug out a smallish apple tree that had bugs in in the trunk so it had to go. Doing granny duty so dear daughter can work at the job site doing concrete work. I've also been painting the stairway too.

What I Love About My Dream Job

That’s one of the things I love about my dream job of home designer the fact that my schedule is flexible and I can call dear daughter and if I need help on this too. It’s great to have family living close by. Riding motor cycle out to check on the water meter and power pole on the lot to see if they were in and seeing 4 deer just across the path!

I'm setting up a note book for this with 1-12 numbered dividers, some color coded ones and others with a-z tabs. We are in the design phase of this still the guys are working on securing the permits and doing paper work. I found a kitchen design note book and hubby and I agree we hate all the ideas in it they are off the wall and funky ideas to weird for around here.

I was hoping we could say we had broke ground by now. Hubby had to draw up another view for the house plans. And one for the floor joists. But those are done now so we are chipping away at the progress. I’m meeting new people and enjoying that part of it.

I’m keeping a log or journal of the progress each day. Adding to the contact list and hoping that helps next time we do this. Some days it like three steps forward and two steps back. But that’s how it is in life at times.

Checking In

Today I promised my self I’d update my blog so here goes!

Last weekend it was cold and we did not do much for the memorial day weekend. Thinking this weekend we could have a family gathering, but the weather is so nice that they are camping! Great idea it might be time for a tree fix for us too.

This week I mowed the back yard for my exercise and the roses and irises are great this year. I weeded the garden last night and the tomatoes are doing great in the new spot we planted them this year.

It was a good week here I marked a mile post three years on my weigh loss journey some thing to celebrate! I was at the local green house produce stand the other day and found a rose bush I will get to mark this occasion. While I was there I also found some peach jam with no extra added sugar I was excited about that! So I’ll get some of that too. The sugar free apple pie is gone, I have a peach one in the freezer. These are great in lunches I have wedge shaped containers for hubby to take in his lunch. He said he was forgetting to eat breakfast, so I tucked a plastic spoon in his Bible cover as a reminder this has been working great such a simple thing too!

I’ve been working on my card file putting verse of the day on file cards until I ran out of them. Making a master list of my favorite inspirational verses for a projects or two.
I’ve been working on outside stuff and the house shows it. I’m not doing as much with my crafts these days.

Next week I’m on carpool duty dear for grand daughter. That’s one of the things I love about my dream job of home designer the fact that my schedule is flexible and I can call dear daughter and if I need help on this too. It’s great to have family living close by. I went through the books in the book cases in the basement and weeded out a few and found one for kindergarten teachers addition that dear daughter can use for dear grand son. I’m glad I found it before he had out grown it! Dear grand daughters are past that phase now.

Progress on the house building project but it is a bit slower than we had hoped.

Books

My new book shelf is full! I've read half of a book, a novel last evening outside under the big shade tree in the front yard. It was very relaxing.
Now that the weather is warmer I can do that again!

I'm reading "The One Minute Millionaire" by Mark Victor Hansen co-author of "Chicken soup for the soul" and Robert G. Allen author of "Nothing Down" and "Creating Wealth". Lots of info. in this book is review if you've read any of the rich dad series. I love this book the right side of the pages are a fiction story that teaches, the left side is the info. and formulas graphs visual aids etc. my brain loves this format!!!!

I just finished reading "Driven to distraction" riveting reading! I have another A.D.D. book to read later on maybe in the fall called "Understanding Attention Deficit Disorder". It is fascinating learning how the brain works.

I have "Positive Thinking For a Time Like This" by Norman Vincent Peale in my T.B.R. pile, I enjoy his work. I have some Debbie Macomber light fiction novels I want to get to this summer in my TBR pile, I started Daily word prayer journal found it at a yard sale this weekend. I have one chapter left to read in "The Secret".

I ordered a Joyce Meyer Book and teaching series "Habits Of Highly Effective Christians" I'm looking forward to getting that. I've seen these on TV not really new info. in them but I"m looking forward to review and seeing if I can glean any notes tips and pointers from them. Last week I got T.D. Jakes "Reposition Yourself Living life without limits". There is a work book that goes with this book too.

I'm in the middle of "Prophetic Evangelism" by Sean Smith; and found "Elements of the Writing Craft" by Robert Olmstead at the thrift shop so I had to have that one too! I am about half way done with "Time Out For Prayer" by Julie Baker this one is excellent!

I have started reading "Einstein's wife" to read a bio. I enjoy biographies!

New House Plans

We got the closing papers signed on the lot last week. Hubby drew up the plans for the inside of the house yesterday took longer than we anticipated, today he has to do the outside plans. He had some architecture in collage so he knows what he’s doing and learned some fun tricks to help with this. This week getting the plans drawn up is the goal and then getting a material supply list together and submitting them for approval. To make sure they are in accordance with the stipulations for the new subdivision. Hubby will be back to work this week after a week of vacation he his rested up and doing better.

Last night to relax I colored on a print that was some sepia brown and white and some color so it’s all colored now! That was fun! I’ve been reading and enjoying that. I’m reading one minute millionaire going now. I have a print to frame up also.

Dear daughter has an open house today. Dear son begins his new job tomorrow. Grand kiddos will be here tomorrow I’m excited as I have some new crafts to do with them.

I finished crocheting up a prayer shawl last night and have yarn for another one in lavender and white I’m looking forward to working on it. I have yarn for a larger project in aqua blue and sea foam green colors! That will be fun I’m wondering if I should knit or crochet it! I’m looking forward to discussing this with my friend we knit together and met every other week. Seems to be helping us both to discuss stuff going on in our lives. These days we both seem to have quite a bit going on.

Busy Week

I mowed yesterday for my exercise. It was 86* great weather. My plants trees and bushes are all still alive I’ve been watering them I need to get the sprinkler on the grass today. I felt great after that! I've been doing great at maintaining my weight loss.
Mowing was my exercise yesterday!

Last night we took a short motorcycle ride over to the lot and stopped by to see the grand-girls. That was fun! Went to the lot and saw a bull snake he lives there we’ve seen it there twice now. Hubby is getting stuff lined up to build a spec. house to sell. He wants to do that for his job/work after this fall. I’m over the fear part of it now. Yea that took some time.

We grilled patties in the carport last night. It was a bbq for two had family over for a pizza party on Monday for mom's day. The car is in the shop so there was extra room! Used my smaller folding craft table it worked great. I made scalloped potatoes from
a mix and they were awesome my new favorite dish to make for a b.b.q. now it’s much easier than potato salad.

My gratitude journal helps, and doing a card file or using a planner, or pc reminders helps with A.D.D. the book Driven to Distraction said, so I’ve already found what they suggest helps.

I got an unfinished book case six foot tall and I’ve been gotten it oiled and loaded with my books note books journaled mags. etc. help me making less clutter of books around and that has been my progress this week.

Dear son has found a job working for a pest control place. A guy he went to school with. They are excited it’s pretty good money.

Dear daughter had a Realtors tours twenty five Realtors were through the house on Tues. a.m. she brought Joey over they hung out here. The have their house listed and are excited to move again in the the new one they have built a one level home in a new subdivision with great views on some of the lots.

We watched the movie “cowboy up” it was good. Kiefer Southerland the guy in 24 was in it.