Sunday, March 27, 2011

EXCITING NEWS!

Okay … I’m back … for today at least and hopefully, I can stay on weekly again for awhile. All I’ve got to say is now I REALLY know why we sold out and moved into 200 square feet and hit the road. I had forgotten how much work it is to stay in one place but it has all come back to me in a rush! If you are like we are, your mind is never idle. I know how boring it must be to listen to my whine about how busy we are (since 90% is self-induced) but dag-nab bit … it is a fact. We just can’t help ourselves. Part of it is because we want to reimburse our “cushion” and fatten the kitty (to finance future projects around the trailer) but most of it is because we LOVE doing what we are doing in spite of all the work. For a lot of people, getting a root canal is more desirable than the idea of mucking around in other peoples castaways at garage sales or sitting in a noisy auction house for hours bidding on undetermined boxes of miscellaneous but for us it is wonderful entertainment! Not cheap entertainment but more like playing the stock market. You win some and you lose some but the stakes are high and when you win, it is a rush like nothing else we have ever done. Where else can you buy something for a quarter and end up selling it a week later for several hundred dollars; buy a small wooden box for 25cents and open it later to find Black Hills Gold earrings and a Sterling Silver pair as well OR empty a cardboard box and notice a sparkle in the corner and pull out a 8.3 ct diamond solitaire stone? These things have happened to us in the past few months and we are having a ball.


Newest news: Our oldest granddaughter, Megan and her husband, Joshua are pregnant again … THIS TIME WITH TWINS!!!! (See sonogram below;) They are due in October but will most like arrive a bit early thanks to modern medicine before they get too big. We are excited but me personally, I am over the moon! All I can say is what a miracle to have survived open–heart surgery in 2010 and still be alive and kicking for this historic event. Three new great grandchildren in one year!!! That will make a total of five I have lived to welcome into the world –to cherish, cuddle and get to watch grow. What did I ever do to deserve this blessing? I guess I will never know but I am so thankful my joyfulness is hard to contain. Speaking as a genealogist, I want to give a big hug and a thank you to my granddaughters, Sara and Megan for giving me this chance to know my descendants.



Daughter, Bobbie is having a giant fir tree taken down in her back yard this morning and called to invite me to come take pictures. I will pause for now and run over there (she just lives a mile away) for a few minutes. Will return with photos and finish this later.



So now, it is lunch break for the tree man. Almost all the limbs are gone but he hit a “snag” (LOL, get it? Oh well I guess you had to be there). He will come back this afternoon and finish up. Sorry Charlie, I can’t wait … need to finish the blog!



As they say in North Dakota … okee, dokee … more new news. We have acquired another fur baby. He is only 11 weeks old and weighs 3.4 lbs. A tiny “party Poodle”, he is champagne and white but of course, we know his adult coat could come in another color. We haven’t come up with a name yet but any and all suggestions will be welcome! Forgot to ask what color the parents are. We got him from one of my grown up kids I took under my wing back a hundred years (well, actually about 45 years ago—she was 12) and he is just adorable. So far, our little Sophie is tolerating him but he is persistent and is insisting she play with him. She is not amused and is trying to avoid him at all cost (which isn’t working btw) but so far, they haven’t come to blows yet (Or should that say bites?) Yes, we have gone a bit nuts up here in the cold and rain but with luck, we’ll get back to normal when the sun starts shining again.



Thanks for stopping by and being patient with me!



Until next time …

My two newest great grandbabies ... Baby A and Baby B.  Beautiful, don't you think?
This is the south facing window in the living room with the same window treatment and more of my eclectic chotskys (sp?) on the second shelf.  Phil built the shelves for me and the swag valances were a gift from our friends, Sandy and Ray who did not have a use for them.  Thanks guys! Notice more greenery in the corner under our clock.  The plants should do well since our living room is bright and light without direct sunlight.
This window treatment on the north facing window in the living room took a long time coming.  I like to cogitate my decorating decisions as long as it takes until the light bulb clicks on above my head.  Fortunately, Phil is very patient with me. The shelf has a few of my favorite things sitting on it ... you know, things that make me smile :)!
Sorry about the quality of this photo???  This is the east window in the trailer (no big screen TV yet but it is coming soon) and I wanted to show you my greenery.  Our friends, Gloria and Lester have closed their store ... and gave me all the live plants.  I have missed having houseplants so they knew I would take good care of them.
This is our carport, literally stacked to the ceiling with merchandise waiting to be loaded into the Red Ranger and  the Windstar for our next sale in Chehalis this coming weekend. It should be a lot of fun!

This is my side of Rignall Hall at our last garage sale.  We shared the grange space with my sister, Dixie and we were both happy with our sales.  For three days we were never without a customer.
And here he is ... Mr. Gorgeous on his blog debut.  We love him already and little Sophie after only a couple days is beginning to tolerate his antics.  He is relentless and wants her to play with him.  She is not amused but warming up to him a bit more each day. 
Tony the tree man busy cutting limbs off this giant fir tree in daughter, Bobbie's back yard.
See the fork at the top?  This is where he stopped for lunch and to get more equipment designed to take out the two forks safely.   We figure sometime in the distant past, this tree lost its top, probably in a wind or ice storm then forked.  Bobbie is happy to finally have it removed before it comes down on top of her house. 
Our grandson, Joe helping the tree man by untying the limbs and releasing the rope as Tony lets them down to the ground after cutting them off.  Tony has agreed to haul off the limbs but will bring down the main trunk is sections the right size for daughter, Bobbie's wood stove in the family room.  Next winter she will have plenty of wood to keep her whole house warm.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

ANOTHER UNEVENTFUL WEEK!

Just a couple things of note. Phil and I are gearing up for the garage sale season and have attended one auction and several garage sales last weekend and this weekend.  We found some great bargains for ourselves and for resale.   Our first sale will be this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the grange hall (can't remember the name) located seven miles out Steamboat Island Road.  We will be sharing the space (and the cost) with my sister, Dixie and hopefully we will both move a lot of merchandise and we can clean out our carport, daughter, Bobbie's garage and clear out the house a bit.

I went to my cardiologist this past Wedmesday and he has scheduled another echo cardiogram.  He says it is routine and he doesn't expect any changes but wants it done every six months.  Also, Phil has been working on several "honeydos" for me and when he is finished I will try and remember to take some pictures.

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time ...



Phil helped Bobbie and Joe recover her new dining room chairs and this is two of the finished project.  She bought this yardage years ago and it is just beautiful.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  There were only four chairs with the set so we will be on the lookout for two chairs with arms that have the same or similar style.

Sunday, March 06, 2011

LATEST NEWS ...

More family stuff so if you are not interested, try again next week.

Update on Sara ...

She is fighting prenatal diabetes. Watching her diet closely and testing her blood sugar four times a day. To me (a long time type 2 diabetic) her sugar seems just fine but they want it no higher than 99 before eating and no higher than 120 after eating. They are keeping an eye on it because the baby is growing very fast and they estimate he/she is two weeks ahead in size. If he/she gets too big is could force a C-section. Last ultrasound was still not difinitive. Baby was not in a good position to determine sex... darn!

Went to basketball game to watch Carly on Thursday and then the Belfair auction on Friday. We are gearing up for another garage sale and will share the space with sister, Dixie. This breaks my usual precedent (we usually do our sales alone) but we are needing to sell a bunch of inventory and she found a grange hall between Shelton and Olympia that rents for a reasonable fee so we decided to go for it.

Update on Megan: Babies are doing fine but mother is suffering from morning sickness big time. She sailed through pregnancy with Sean-Michael three years ago but this time it appears to be a whole new ballgame.

Bobbie went garage saling with me this past Saturday. Found a dining room table, chairs and china cabinet for $275 which she haggled down to $225. She's learning! Phil and Sara's Jason moved it home for her. It looks nice ... forgot to take picture ... what else is new lately, right?

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time ...

Carly is focused! She barely took time to give us a tiny little smile ... she LOVES basketball!

On the run to defend the apposing teams basket. Their defense is excellent. Great job coach!

Carly's team has learned to scramble for the ball. The ball went in BTW :)


The final score!! Yahoo Pioneer!