Just checking in to say hi. Lot's of changes have taken place since I last posted. The biggest change being that Bob retired and after living in the same house for 39 yrs, we up and moved in April of 2014. We put the house on the market on April 29th and had two offers within 15 hours. We took the highest offer, and the changing of title etc. went very smoothly. We moved to our little cabin up on the river in Index WA. on April 29th and lived there that entire Summer while Bob remodeled the double wide MH we bought just up the hill from the cabin. It took him 4 months to finish the new place, so we were in by the first of September. Just in time for Winter! We've been here 2 yrs now, and it really does feel like home now. The only thing I miss about our old place is the location. We were so close to shopping, dining and the theater. I miss being 2 minutes from all of those amenities. The trade off is being up here in the mountains near the river, and all of the recreation this area has to offer. Recreation like hiking, swimming, skiing, bike riding, snorkeling and fishing. We're also close to a major pass which makes it very easy to get to points east. The kids come up quite often, and we always love having them here. The cabin down on the river is our official guest house, and we also have a spare bedroom here and a new trailer with plenty of beds. All in all it's been a good change, and we look forward to many years enjoying our new home and our new way of life in the land of retirement.

Many new things happening in our world. Updates as I can. Bob working on a 5 week project in West Seattle, and I don't expect to be seeing much of him during that time frame. Once he's through with that we can get on with finishing our home remodel.............we only have some minor things to do to our master bath, and the entire garage needs gutting. Bob will clean out the garden shed and get rid of a lot of stuff there, as well as cleaning out the other shed and removing it completely. We bought a .73 acre piece of property with a double wide mobile home on it up in Index Wa. that is within walking distance to our river property. We have plans to move there next Summer. Our tentative plans are to rent out our house in Woodinville for a year to see if we're comfortable living in Index. We'll gut the mobile home and completely remodel it to our liking. We'll live there for a Winter and make a decision whether to stay in Index or not. If we do stay, we'll replace the mobile home with a permanent structure and spend our remaining years there. If not we'll move back to Woodinville and see what develops. All very exiting and some thing we look forward to experiencing. Not sure how it will all turn out for the best, but we're willing to try it and see.

Funny Christmas Picture

We got together with all of the kids a week before Christmas to get a few family photos together so we could add one or two to our Christmas letter. We decided to be a bit zany on the last shot and the results are above.

Crazy kids!

So sorry.................too Long!

Oh.........dear...........I've been gone for way too long.

Just to catch you up, everyone in our family is doing well and all are healthy and happy. We're having Bobby and his lovely bride Nico over for Thanksgiving supper tomorrow night. Dale, Tera and Austin will be spending Thanksgiving with Tera's family.

Bobby started a sales job with a company that contracts with Comcast several months ago and has steadily worked his way up to a managerial position. He seems to like his work and we are so glad he's found his niche. Dale, Tera and Austin spent a week in Florida last week and made sure to spend a few days at Disney World. Austin was very excited and a real chatter box on the drive home from the airport..........I don't think I've ever seen him so animated. And from what I hear, he is now an avid Mickey fan.

Because he had a remodel job in Goldbar, Bob and I spent several weeks living up at our cabin in Index last Summer. It is so beautiful there, and we both really enjoyed the slower pace you find in small towns like Index.

I hope to start adding family information to my blog soon, so dear friends, please forgive me for ignoring it for so long. I hope some of you have been checking in to see if I've posted anything new. And please check back soon for new entries.

Berry Robbing Robin!

I found this image in a local newspaper this morning and just had to add it to my blog. I think it is stunning and only wish I had the equipment and talent to take such a photo.

Weekend at La Push

Bob and I spent a long weekend at the town of La Push a few weeks ago. I spent several summers at La Push when I was a child and wanted/needed to go back again. Despite the fact that it rained most of the weekend, we managed to get out and do some sight seeing. We went to Forks to see what kind of impact the "Twilight" series was having on this normally depressed area. There wasn't much to see in that regard, but we did pass Billy Black's cabin several times. I had forgotten how starkly beautiful it is at La Push. I really hope we can go back again soon, but I would hope the weather is a bit less wet. The sculpture of the boat at left is a bronze in front of the new Coast Guard station at La Push and it is quite good. (click to zoom)

 

It has been absolutely ages since I blogged, so I knew it was time when I downloaded the picture above. We went to Westport Washington to visit our good friend Lani and also to do a bit of clam digging in March. Thanks to my Grandmother, I have been digging Razor clams since I was a little girl. She dug Razor clams during the depression to make ends meet, and there is actually a post card at the coast with her picture on it that is still available for purchase. I love the taste of Razor clams and I love the digging environment. Bob hadn't seen Lani's new home, and both of these things created the perfect excuse to visit Westport.

We went out and participate in the dig both of the days we were there and came away with our limits each time.

The official recipe for preparing Razor clams is this:

Crushed saltine crackers
Razor clams
A couple of beaten eggs
Hot oil

Clean the clams. Heat oil in skillet. Dip clams in egg wash, then in crushed crackers. Fry approx 4 minutes on each side and eat.

Simple!

And thank you again Lani. Thank you for sharing your beautiful home with us. We had a wonderful time.

;)