New Years Eve!

We’ve been loving our home routine these days. It’s just so nice to be home!  

Tonight we all did favorite things:

Chris played with all his new knitting accessories that he and Kevin picked up in Pasedena a few weeks ago:

He finished a hat for Rachel that she requested for her 40th birthday.  

He is just steaming it and finishing it now (thank you Marg for the steamer, he’s used it a ton already!);

She LOVED it:

Elliot played video games upstairs most of the night with a bunch of kids and played with Mittens:

Chris finished my fingerless gloves too:

I love them!!!

Isaac watched Mr. Bean and Groundhog Day:

And me?  I drank wine, ate a lot of appies and toffifees and completed my very first puzzle with the help of a couple friends: 


All done!!!!

Bye 2018 ..... you weren’t a bad year ....but you weren’t my favorite. ;-)

Saturday night sleepovers and stuff!

We decided to get rid of the dresser under the tv so it would be less cluttered. So here is Chris tearing the walls apart to hide all the cords!!

Elliot did a little creating this evening while I detailed the kitchen.  

Zalinko’s were at their family Christmas up island today so we inherited a dog.  I love having him, mittens and the other 3 boys don’t ..... he’s so sweet but they think he stinks. 

Isaac got a call from Isaiah’s parents tonight asking if he’d like to sleep over.  Apparently these 3 boys were already there and were asking for Isaac.  So that’s cool.  

This picture makes me happy for many reasons. One that he has some fun friends who love to laugh and seem to be good kids.  Two - I’m ok enough to let him go despite I worry about his seizures.  Isaiah’s parents texted when he took his pills tonight and have set an alarm for him in the morning.  And three - I just like who I see him turning into. 

Cristin and the girls come over ....

It was a nice day together.  

Made a chicken dinner with Yorkshire’s, mashed potatoes, beets, peas and gravy.  Cristin and I watched ‘Crazy, rich asians’ and mostly enjoyed it but felt really poor after.  ;-)

Raclette fun on Boxing Day !

We got a pretty cool new kitchen appliance.  As with all my other large appliances that I never knew we always wanted, it was a generous Christmas gift from the Burdges.  We broke it in tonight. 
And just for fun, this mornings picture of our huge teenager;

Christmas 2018

Christmas Eve was a repeat of a few years ago according to Facebook memories. Home Alone 2, lost in New York.  

Christmas morning was quite lovely.  Elliot was up first and not long later both boys were in our rooms opening their stockings: whoopie cushions, silly straws, those weird little shark forms that grow in the water, silly putty, tic tacs, and of course oranges in the toe.   Fire made, coffee in hand and we all sat down to open gifts.  Both boys got everything they wanted -  Elliot’s was video game based and Isaacs was harmonica and woodcarving based. 





Christmas at the Burdge’s started around 1:45. They had a raclette going so we could all make our own food at leisure. Fire was on .... it was a really nice low key afternoon.  We were all spoiled with gifts as usual.  We have a really nice family.  I didn’t get many pictures ....

Dinner was lamb and turkey and lots of veggies as usual.  Faten and her family arrived around dinner 



Mohammed and Elliot playing video games together - in their happy place. 













After eating too much and getting spoiled, once home Isaac starting sharpening his new chisel set from the Inch’s with the new sharpening slope from the Burdge’s.  This was 11pm. ;-)

And this was also 11pm. ;-). He loves his cat onesie from Jenny. 

I got Jenny a cat like this from Thailand last year and I may have (off handedly) mentioned that I struggled to give it to her because I wanted to keep it ;-).  And suddenly, I opened one yesturday!!!  It’s a great one .... it’s a lucky cat and it’s been waving to me since I took it out of the box. 

Welcome home to the biggest wind storm seen in decades.

Well, we had one night of warmth and power before the wind decided to show us what it could do:
We’ve been without power since Thursday morning and it’s currently Sunday night.  Elliot and I are just getting a little reprieve at the local grocery store for some power and wifi.  
It’s actually been quite low key and everyone has just been keeping busy whether it’s been with knitting, movies, or reading.   It’s getting a bit old but we are cozy and warm with the generator and a whole cord of dry wood that we had delivered before we left on holidays.  
Before the Zalinko’s left for their family Christmas on the mainland, we had dinner in the dark down at camp on the propane stoves. 
Spent the afternoon with Jenny and Trent.  I arrived and knocked on their door this aft and Trent opens it and says “what do you want?  Power?”  Lol. I said “yup, and tea”.   It’s been an adventure but we are ready for some power.  It will be a big Christmas gift!!

The drive home ....

We left the inch’s on Monday morning. Betty and I got up early to squeeze in one last walk together with Bentley.  The last few days with her have been so special.  
We did a little Christmas shopping together and bought each other matching mugs. Aren’t they cute?  We took them on our walk ...





“Do NOT post this anywhere public” She says to me ...

Kevin was a little giddy getting some gifts ready for our departure.  For the boy: a bag full of menthos (their favorite and he bought them some pretty much every day), and for Chris, a beating stick with the boys names on it. You know, for the ride home.  He thought he was pretty funny. Lol

Twelve hours on the first day and we ended up back in Medford, Oregon. The first place we stopped on the way down. Except this time, we chose a Holiday Inn that had just opened a few days earlier!!  We were the first ones to sleep in this room!  Super fun!!

Another 12 hour day of driving 


Chris was aiming for the ferry but by Mount Vernon the rest of us were ready to get out of the car. So we headed for reprieve at Mike and Susans.  

She and I stayed up until almost 11. I think both of us were pretty excited for the spontaneous extra visit we got to have!!  I know I was ....

So a couple hours later, and we finally purchased something that didn’t fleece us with the exchange and something he’s been missing all month. Happy guy. 

Almost home!!