Ooops!

Sorry, almost forgot! Forests girlfriend had her baby shower the Sunday of "opening season", and the pic's are of the hat I made with the wrapping tissue and ribbons of her presents. (I told them it was our family tradition!) Aren't they sweet? Jessica is due this Tuesday...she is soooo tiny and is soooo uncomfortable! So, that's what's up with those pictures on the bottom of my last post! more later, t

My Summer Vacation...parts of it!

Was able to go to the ocean again, to a sandy beach. We stayed at a condo on Longbeach, took White Pass over there, as you can see my mountain was out to greet us that day! There was so much to see and do there! Got to go to the Lewis and Clark interpretation center; we could have spent a whole day there, was so neat! Also visited the maritime museum in Astoria, also easily a whole day could have been spent there, also! Did lots and lots of walking on the sandy beaches, watching the crazy waves as the Columbia and the Pacific ocean met! Huge waves!!! It was sunny and clear for most of the vacation, the last two days were more typical October days! There are just so many things to do and see, there. There is a paved path that can take you from the start of the penninsula all the way around it. We only took parts of it! Walked and walked and walked. I was feeling pretty good, so we were typical tourists' the whole time! But, as usual it was good to come home. Before we left we were able to go to Margi's the weekend of 'opening day', and got to see all her kids and grandkids; was a great day, only wish we had been able to spend more time with them! Met Jasons wife for the first time, and his new baby girl...they are both so beautiful! Margi, you really did a good job raising those kids! Also, went to Don's house for Heathers birthday last weekend, he was making won-tons, which are my hands down favorite. It was fun rolling those tons, must have made almost a hundred! Good food, good to see Don and Ruth again, too. Well, that's all for now! Hope you feel better soon, Mo! t

Nothing New

I wish I could say there were interesting times here in ML, but not much new to report, except for a case of walking pneumonia.

We are still working on the finishing touches of our home, and it has been a lot of fun. I am working on a wonderful wall in our bathroom, that will have an "art deco" theme, and I managed to snag the most beautiful linen curtains shown here:


I was hoping to put these on the french doors in the kitchen / breakfast nook. Aren't they gorgeous? They have a beautiful lining, and were on sale! Yay!

I am thinking about putting some blinds on the windows themselves on those same doors, along these lines:


Should be an interesting contrast of textures, yes? We'll have to see.

I did pick up a kitty at Big Guy's house, he's a not-so-feral cat, we call him Wildfire. Pictures to follow - he thinks he's a Ninja Cat, he's lovely!

Hope all is well with my sisters - love to all - Mo

Herding Frogs and other things

We are, for the most part, living at our country place.

The picture of the bird feeder is what I see out my kitchen window, but you can't believe the mess they make on the sidewalk! These are Golden Finches, and they are so beautiful. Right now they are changing colors to a muted gray. Actually, I can't stand at the window and see them, because they fly away, so I had to sneak this picture!

A new way to pass the time out here is herding frogs. We get little frogs and toads in our house, and have to herd them back outside. I think moving is a bit like herding frogs....most of the time I am ready, but the other people I depend on are kind of froggy like - hopping this way and that way. I guess I will be moved eventually, but it can be frustrating!

I was pulling weeds the other day, and stood up and was face to face with this interesting growth - we call it "Lips". It is in a very old and diseased elm that needs to come down. I almost had a heart attack!! Sometimes it sneers at me...

I am adding the two pictures of our kitchen because I have a friend who is helping me with ideas for a pot rack. Amy - see the canned light above the island table? I found the table in the shop, and love it. I think it may be too small though. I would like some seating around it, so I am still thinking this one through. Although the kitchen is huge, it needed some landing space from the refrigerator. It's a great spot to make sandwiches on, and I pulled up the high chair for Kharsyn's breakfast yesterday!


This is a picture of the kitchen with the breakfast table. We took the table & chair set I used at Kiefer, and I painted the chairs a rust-color. The table needs some work though, but it's fine for now. The big table is in the formal living room. It just didn't look right in this room, and I could only get the boys to move it once!

So that's country living for now! Hope you are well Marge - had a nice visit with Trudy and Matt yesterday. And let me tell you - Matt is a smart man! haha - love to all - Mo

Back From Vacation! Whew!

We made it to Birch Bay and back again. As usual visited the Peace Park, Lopez Island, and Linden. Had Kaylee, Max and MIL Betty with us. Was a good week, and as always are glad to be home! Kaylee and Max are with us for about one month, so get to have some more fun with them! More later, t

Happy Birthday!

I had a really wonderful birthday: Heather, Christian and the boys were here, and we got to play in the lake a lot, eat lots of good food, get sun-burned. Then Forest and Jessica were here the 5th, and we had steak and shrimp, ate too much! Got to visit with my sisters on the phone, share happy family time with Matt, just had a really, really great holiday weekend! Hope you all had a great one, too. Oh, never got to see the fireworks because the wind advisory; man, it was blowing like mad, out there! And, forgot till now, the baby birds are all out of the nest (the robins). Yeah! And the purple finch babies are out, too. Now, we get to take down those nest so no other birds will recycle them! They are great fun to watch, though! More later, t

Back to Normal......but What's Normal?

The mystery of where is Dad's wedding ring is solved after 20+ years.....Trudy, we knew you had it! haha - but it was so wonderful of you to give it to me on Big Guy and my wedding day!

It was a beautiful day, made more special by having my sisters, their husbands and families, my sons and their families, oh and Big Guy's mom and his family.....co-workers, classmates, and just friends in general! But we did miss Jason, Karah & family....

We drove the Durango to Phoenix...what a boring drive that was! After two days I looked out the window and asked Big Guy if we had left ML yet. So similar.....

It was a good thing we went to Phoenix instead of Alaska, because our a/c's were on the blink. It was so hot, if your a/c quits, stuff starts melting..... Also, our drip system decided to leak all over the place. We didn't have much time to look around, but made a quick trip to Wickenburg, where they have a wonderful museum with the best western art, and in the basement they have something similar to the underground in Pendleton. It was great fun....but hot, hot and hotter!

We came home to - well, no home yet! Back ordered carpet, mis-ordered kitchen flooring, painting not complete.....let's just say a huge disappointment for the newlyweds! On top of that, Brady and Kharsyn moved into Malaga during our absence. So life is a challenge these days. But we all look forward to the Road N house complete, moving in, and doing what needs to be done at our other houses.

And Trudy- we did score some nice brown leather furniture for the front room at a garage sale. Three pieces for $200 - delivered! The people we bought the furniture from were moving Monday to Fresno, so she told me to take whatever else I wanted for free. I swear Phoenix should be subtitled "the land of broken dreams".

Hope everyone is well and happy - life is good in ML - love to all Mo

June 19, 2010, at 1:30 in the afternoon...

Mo's big day...she was beautiful! Sorry that my pictures aren't so hot, but poor Matt did what he could with the tools available. And, he didn't want to get inthe photographers way! Got to see so many faces that I haven't seen for a decade, and others like Riley, that I haven't seen since he grew a foot! It was a lovely day for Mo, she was a lovely bride, and everything was perfect for her. Take care of her, Larry!

You will have to figure out who is who by yourself! More later, t

The Best of Times, the Worst of Times....

I can't help but wax a wee bit nostalgic on my last 22+ years as a single woman.

Last night, in the tub, I was soaking and reading and enjoying myself, and couldn't help but ask myself - jeesh, is this the last time I get to tub? I wrote this blog over and over in my head as I lay in bed, waiting for sleep.....

It seems my choices outsmarted me for many, many years. Talking about zigging when you should have zagged. But those choices also resulted in my fine three sons, daughters-in-laws, and seven grandchildren, and I wouldn't trade those away for any time spent doing anything else.

I'm happy to have survived what could have been a fatal divorce, and forever thank Dan for his presence in my life, which I'm sure helped me so much more than I could ever know.

I remember hysterical nights dealing with runaway children, psycho ex's, stress, more stress, and a wee bit more stress, more kid worries, duplexes, money worries, and the deaths of our parents and sister - and my not so good solution to that stress. I also remember choices I would take back a thousand times, if I could.

But you can't rewrite this life, you just go on. And for the ability to do so, my health, the friendship and support my sisters and best friend Faye have given me in those darkest nights - I thank you from the bottom of my toes to the tip of my head! I also have to include BIL's Dennis and Matt, and Faye's husband Jimmy.

I know I'm not traveling to from the Dark Side to the Yellow Brick Road, but it seems I've landed in a puddle of grace, and I'm going to enjoy being loved, respected, and accepted by the man I've chosen to be my husband and best friend (and vice versa) - the Big Guy!

Love you all - thanks for being my sisters and friend - see you at the Chapel of Love (haha) Mo

O-K, so this was a few weeks ago; I am having a hard time figuring out how to upload pictures, here. Heather, where are you? But, you can see how Matt has changed the pond, sort of, right? There has been so much rain, and such beautiful weather so early, that my garden has almost bloomed itself out! Hopefully, though, the seeds I have planted of annuals will give us a continuous color show through out the rest of the season. Have just been puttering around the house, doing little things here and there. Spent one week with Heather and Christian in Selah, helping her get the house ready for the boys summer visit. It was good to be able to spend some time with her, I don't get to see her so much since she moved to Yakima! Christian seems to be head over heals for her, too. (The feeling is mutual!)

I can't wait for Mo to get married, and hopefully get to see all the rest of the family, too. Will post more, later! t

Countdown!

The big day is approaching fast! I'm starting to feel like a little kid, instead of saying "are we there yet" I'm thinking "are we done yet"?

Planning a wedding, like any event, is full of little details. More details. Oh yes, and just one, two or three more. I'm more of a big picture kind of gal, details are boring..... At work I can delegate, for our wedding, that's a little harder! I've been busier than I ever could imagine, with the new house and wedding approaching together.

I would like to return from our honeymoon (quick trip to Phoenix) to the new house, and I hope our contractor gets to work soon! We picked out new carpet and flooring, paint and faucets. We just need someone to get started!

My peonies, iris and coral bells are blooming - I love spring flowers!

Hope this post finds you all well - love to all - Mo

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...ette!

Work has started on our new home! Above is a picture of Brady and Kharsyn in the pasture. Brady had to clean the shop in order to store some of his treasures in it. The shop is huge - with shelves about 10 feet in the air....not even Big Guy or Casey could reach them without a ladder.

Friends came by and mowed the lawn and weed-whacked as a wedding present. It was very much appreciated!

We are now in the painting, cleaning, repair stage. This is my first project - I have to strip wallpaper border off the walls in the den. Look at the little slidey-desks they have - and a pencil sharpener too! I plan on painting the room and pulling up the carpet and having the wood floor refinished. We call it the map room because.....

it has this huge mural on one wall! I love it, but Kharsyn thought it was scary....

This is our favorite view in the house. On the left side you can see a little ladder that reaches a kid-sized loft. WITH a light AND a skylight! Oh, only to be young and hide up there and read!

That's your first peak at our new home! Big Guy and I are very excited! Hope to have everyone over for a barbecue before the end of summer. That's all for now - love to all - Mo

Vrommmmm.......

That's the sound of my new jacuzzi tub humming along - it actually works! Yay - you know that's the first thing I would check out.

Big Guy and I received the keys to our new home yesterday, and went out there straight after work last night. It was kind of a rough ride last week - we received the inspection report and Big Guy had some concerns. It obviously suffered from lots of deferred maintenance - you could tell by looking at it, but he had concerns about the wiring and ac unit. We met Thursday at lunch, then he called me later in the day. I finally told him to flip a coin - it's just a house, not a home. So I didn't know if he actually sent the funds until Thursday evening.

After work yesterday, we immediately ran out there, and oh joy! it is SUCH a great place for us!! I am so happy I'd swoon if I knew how. The shop is PERFECT, two spaces for him, and one for me..... The people who moved out even cleaned the place - how wonderful is that? Carpets are vacuumed and the cabinets were wiped down.

We are concerned about watering the pasture. The pump works, but the irrigation system doesn't. But I'm sure we can figure that out.

Man, oh Man - the house is soooo darn wonderful!! It has these mysterious little nooks and crannies......under the stairs, up above the closets (it has vaulted ceilings in the addition part). It also has some closets like Kiefer did - with the drawers under them. Jeesh - imagine closets - I only have two here! There is a huge patio for barbecues - and it's right off the dining area next to the kitchen. Lots of room for my patio furniture, benches, planters.......

Big Guy's agenda today is hoses and sprinklers. I have our special event tonight, so I think I'll skip church and weed some flower beds......and plant......and make ours!

Don't listen to me next week when I'm grumping about moving - I am so deliriously happy I work up at 3:00 a.m. grinning from ear to ear. Love to my sisters - Mo

Update on the New House....

After waiting so long for a written acceptance on our offer on the new house, Larry dropped the offer considerably a week ago. Last Friday we got written acceptance on the lowered offer, and have to close in a week.

I can't help but wonder if we will get all of that done. We need a house inspection, a well inspection and a septic clean-out (or proof it has been done within the last year).

Moving will be such a considerable chore, but thankfully there's lots of interior painting to be done, and I think the pink carpet has to go! I'm hoping there is wood flooring underneath the carpet in the older part of the house - I guess we will see! After the big wind storm, the yard needs a lot of cleanup, and I'm still spraying weeds around this place!

I'm hoping moving will be quite liberating, in getting rid of lots of stuff I don't need anymore. Then there's new gardens to develop, and pasture to take care of. At least all the grass is in, so I won't have the chore I had here. But I so want to move a couple of my trees with me! And flowers too.....

I hope my sisters have a wonderful Mother's Day tomorrow - love to all! Mo

Ziggin and Zaggin....

I thought this was THREE sisters blog.....where are you my dear sisters?

Life is continuing here in Moses Lake, wedding plans are ziggin and zaggin. Got a new best lady, her name is Marilyn, she is in our blog two years back when BGF Kate left Moses Lake. Marilyn is kind of a mom to me, she serves on the board at work, and we have become good friends. She's a firecracker, leaving the house every morning by 8:30 a.m., off to Jazzersize, lunch with friends, community meetings, etc.

FINALLY got in touch with our pastor, he is unable to perform the wedding ceremony because of VBS, which is a very big event in our church. Kind of like me taking time off for a haircut before CB which is fast coming up. He suggested the new pastor, who is big on the bible, which I thought would make Big Guy uncomfortable. So, yay! I asked a former board member, who did the service when Chris and Deena renewed their vows, to perform our marriage ceremony, and he agreed. I thought he did a nice job at C & D's vow renewal, and he is also a member of our church.

I've had dismal success in losing weight, so started a new exercise program at the T-Zone, which basically shakes your, ummmmmm......jiggly spots........into shape. I thought I could throw a few bucks at them for a month, and see what - well, shook out, so to speak! I've been pretty successful in losing some inches where I very much needed them, so I am back into wedding dress #1. Yeah, the sexy, showy one. I have the name of a seamstress to change the neckline, maybe add some sleeves, so we will see what happens.

Other than needing some addresses from my sisters.....life is so darn good. Especially when I think of my life two years ago. I keep thinking - is this really happening to me - I feel like Cinderella at the ball. Twenty two years of single life, as a woman and parent to three sons, really changes a gal. I know you can't relate - take my word for it. I am SO looking forward to being a real twosome with Big Guy - he's the best thing that has happened to me in a very long time.

I still stop and say prayers for the family of my friend A who passed away last year - they have so many challenges and stresses in their lives. Also, a friend and classmate who broke his neck a month ago.......so I guess we grow our gardens while we can. Love you both - please post - Mo

Bridezilla I'm NOT!

I'm happy to report that I am NOT a Bridezilla - at least not yet. Hopefully, never....

I did an inventory on my silk flowers I purchased months ago, and discovered for the vases I planned on using, I wouldn't get the bang I was looking for. Time for Plan B - but I didn't have a Plan B for a day or two. I really needed a seriously skinnier vase for the flowers I had. Talking with my co-worker Kay, I decided to use milk glass vases. A quick trip to the thrift stores in town, and I found a total of 9! After a trip to Spokane tomorrow, I think I'll have that problem ironed out. In case you find any, they round out at the bottom, are about 7 inches tall, and you can stick at least a thumb in the top. I found six at the Calico Cat, and they gave them to me for 49 cents each! Thanks Twyla!

I want to have two arbors - one at check in, and the other one where Big Guy and I get married under. The hops are here, and they are so beautiful! I'm borrowing two arbors from a co-worker who just got married, but they are the simple kind you have to put in something to hold them - or the ground. I wanted to put them in a planter filled with hens and chicks, and thought I would add an annual to give them a bit more color. But I didn't have enough h & c's, and SOOOO didn't want to go begging friends, sisters and neighbors for more. Enter the Calico Cat - when I walked in they had a whole box of them sitting by the front door! Twyla gave them all to me for FIVE BUCKS! Okay, I'll be a little short, so I'll come begging soon.

The flowers for the cake came today, and they look very nice. I added some BURGUNDY (not red, sorry Kate) and it will be quite colorful - big green orchids, burgundy calla lilies & a bit of burgundy baby's breath, then pink roses & pink baby's breath, with maybe a few white orchids and baby's breath. Wooo, (hand wiping the dew from my forehead) I'm glad that's all been decided! I'm using ribbons instead of pearls in the cake I showed you earlier, and no fondant.

Also, I walked through the Peterson Gallery and decided we could have the wedding in there in case of bad weather. So I'm starting to feel pretty good.

Big Guy has a best man, I have a new best lady, and life is SOOOOO good I want to pinch myself!

The flower beds still need to be whipped into shape, I have purple tulips blooming in the front (north side), the phlox and candy tuft is beautiful also.

That's my week - how was yours? Love to all - Mo

Closer and Closer

Just a short note to let you know wedding plans are still flowing around here! Invitations are printed, Trudy I'll give you a call and we can get together next weekend to write them out. I have to invite the whole foundation board - we may have a quorum! I need addresses from you two!

Faye is getting cold feet about standing up for me - she's afraid she will fall or something. I find out this morning if she's changed her mind.

Small details - here is the vine I'm using for the arbors - it's hops, pretty fitting right?

Haha, we'll have to keep Dennis, Casey and Larry away from them. They are silk.

I have to make the final decisions on my cake this weekend - I have two sides of me, formal and elegant, and kicked back and colorful. Hmmmm......

I think I kinda like this one the best....it will be pretty for an afternoon wedding. Thoughts anyone?

Gotta run - love to all - Mo

Interesting Times!

Big Guy and I have been talking about buying a "house-in-common" to live after we were married. Maybe I was talking a bit more, and he was nodding his head - big mistake on his part. Of course, I was visioning something like our Phoenix home - pretty new, granite counter tops, all on one level.

Instead.....I found a house in pre-forclosure (short sale). I showed Big Guy the information, we made an appointment, long story short - the bank accepted our offer. It is subject to inspection, but I think I may be moving in a month or so!

The house sits on 5.44 acres, with about 4 acres in pasture. Can you say Horses! Goats! Maybe more like "race-track" for four-wheelers or go-carts?

It's an older (1953 - hey the same year I was born!) house that was added on in the 80's. Four bedrooms, 2 baths, a den, an office, a great-room, a formal living room, and get this - TWO kitchens! They left the original kitchen intact! It has a sink and is very small, but I'm thinking it will make a great walk-in pantry and will be helpful when the horde comes over for those big family dinners.

Here's the kitchen - blue countertops, blue floor..... but great big windows looking over the backyard and pasture. And we know I can paint countertops, and laminate flooring is pretty inexpensive.....

Unfortunately, they painted the cedar beams and ceiling, but I'm hoping that can be undone fairly easily......
This is the "formal" living room - I'm putting the Cook family table there. Guess I'll have to rename it after June 19th, huh?
Upstairs, there are two bedrooms that share a bath:


JETTED TUB!! YAY!! Finally, after all these years, I get a jetted tub. With lovely skylights to watch the stars at night!
This is the shop - it is really big, over 1500 square feet. I think Brady and Larry will be fighting over it. I'm hoping they leave the truck - I can see it planted in vines and things.

It also has a great play area for the kids! And a fort! I am SO looking forward to family times here. The lawn is already in, so I just have to plan the gardens. There isn't very much landscaping, so it will be easy. And there is a big patio off the french doors that will be perfect for barbeques, maybe an outdoor kitchen? Hmmmm........

Believe it or not, I am looking forward to moving, I have TOO MUCH STUFF and it needs a thorough editing. I'll have to invoke the 45-minute rule (okay, originally it is the 15-minute rule, but I don't think that will work in this case) and start sorting and editing right away. I'm looking forward to losing a couple hundred pounds of stuff, maybe more.

It appears Brady will be moving in for a few months, and this house will be perfect for that - he can have two of the downstairs bedrooms for bedroom & sitting room, and also the downstairs bath. We'll have to make rules about the bathroom though...

Enjoy your Easter - and remember the reason we celebrate please! Love to all - Mo

The Beat Goes On.....and on.....and on....

Wedding Color Board

I know I've been a little behind in posting to our blog sisters - sorry! I have been busy planning a wedding you know! June 19, 2010 - at 1:30 in the afternoon. It will be an outdoor wedding at the BBCC ATEC Building courtyard. I rented white chairs, because the college has blue - and you know how I feel about blue. Funny thing, green hasn't been a favorite color, and this year I'm all over green. I ordered chair sashes in willow green. The pictures above show a "color board" which includes the shades of colors, ideas, etc. I wanted to incorporate in our wedding. Pink and green....hmmmm, like I said, green hasn't been my favorite color, and I'm finding I'm ordering LOTS of things in green.

Don't tell Myriah and Rhyan, but I bought the dresses below for them. They will meet and greet the guests. They both wanted purple dresses, and how I handled that will be a secret for now.

I guess a wedding isn't a wedding without a cake. I have downloaded about 20 pictures of cakes, gosh by now I know what I want and don't want. Isn't the cake below beautiful? I guess we would need an engineer to figure out how to cut it - hope Jason and Kara can come!


This is a cute "cat in the hat" wedding cake - I love the different designs on it - NOT so much the very different colors. Ok, if I thought I could get away with it from the wedding police, MAYBE..



This is more what I'm leaning towards - different designs in a subtle color difference. And I love the picture of the cake at the top, but can't drag it down towards it proper spot.

Enough of cakes already, here is a tux I bought Kharsyn - I bought one similar for Big Guy's grandson Basil:

Because it's an outside wedding, I'm guessing they will be green before the reception is over!

I have three flower girls - my granddaughter Kesiah and Big Guy's granddaughters Veda and Bethany. Veda and Bethany are wearing green dresses and will carry this basket:

Here is the link to the dresses if you are interested in seeing them - they will walk on either side of Kesiah:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=120528512436


Here is Kesiah's dress - we are adding some beautiful handmade lace flowers from etsy.com:



This is Kesiah's basket:
and this will be Kharsyn's pillow for the ring:


I'm planning on having Kharsyn walk with Big Guy's grandson Emmet, and Jeremiah. Kind of keep him on track, you know.....

Lots more stuff going on - but you will have to check back. I love you all - Mo