back to posting

I have finally decided it is time to pick this blog back up and continue with it. If you are a reader, I do apologize for the absence. It seems since our grandson was born in early July (yes he is a doll) life got to a crazy pace and simply has not slowed down until this weekend. I am actually impressed that I got a post on here about our trip to Alaska.

Since July we have been either gone or busy with one thing or another every single weekend. August flew by with an annual trip to our great friend's cabin to celebrate a 50th (sadly Bill was stuck in airports and missed just about the whole weekend). We went to a Mount Hermon Family Camp and had a great time with the kids and Joe's parents. Wil & Kris moved across the country and are now in Portland where he is attending Culinary School. Michael has moved back to Central Oregon (for a time) and is becoming a wonderful Web Programmer & Designer at BrandNavigation. I went on a surprise trip for my sisters' Bday. We went back to Italy for one wonderful week of friendship and culture. Laura moved twice. We went to LA for a swanky red carpet event (that we were a bit out of place at, but it was fun!) The following day I began the collection of 5920 gift filled shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child for 10 days straight. Then it was Thanksgiving! All this while BrandNavigation was as busy as usual; Bill designed one of the best Branding Campaigns he has ever done and I frantically tried to stay somewhat organized with things at work along with now being the Area Coordinator for OCC.

Then it was topped off with an offer on our house in Sisters; one week before our contract was to be up! Then a frantic pace of trying to find a new house in Bend, since the one we had hoped for became suddenly unavailable. Upon not finding any other house (in our price range) we got extremely concerned that we had made a grave error accepting a very low offer (something I had gently but firmly push for) i yi yi. THEN: we were leaving for Italy in one week, wala the house we had wanted for so long magically came back onto the market (at a 40% price reduction) and the night before we left for Italy we found out our offer had been accepted! So after 3 years of thinking about it, trying, praying and waiting; we have moved to Bend, OR and yes, we love it!

If I can quickly tell the story of this house... Two years ago we looked at the house across the street (at least 3 or 4 times). We liked it but we always said when we walked out front (but that's the house we really like). We had never even seen the inside. We did know who the owner was and when we had heard that he was closing his businesses in Bend (he was a chef of 2 restaurants) last Christmas we wondered, "is his house for sale." It was, we looked decided we wanted it before even going up the stairs and made a full price offer, put our house on the market then THUD! Nothing, no response on the offers and no offers on our house. As they went through a bankruptcy mess we eventually realized (after 10 months) that maybe it was just not going to be and resolved to life it Sisters. (We felt very much it was time for a change but thought it just wasn't meant to be). It is somewhat emotionally hard to sell a house you built for your family but we had finally decided a house is a building and a home is when you are, regardless. We were ready to emotionally let go of that home a find a new one.

Then just by a series of pretty much miracles, with the worst timing in the world (it seemed) we somehow landed the house we had always admired at a bottom dollar price. We are so humbled and blessed. What your money gets you in Central Oregon these days is a bargain! Although, like today it comes with WEATHER!

So my return to the blog is a bit of sharing our new home. So far it is very unfurnished and will be for awhile. We did downsize quite a bit but with the style being so very different, we are starting in some areas from scratch! It wouldn't be an understatement to say, the house is modern in design. We love it but it's a challenge for me, my style is much more... Tuscan Villa! So we have asked our daughter in law (Kris) to help with the process and she is doing a fantastic job. I promise to share the results of all her efforts as soon as we have it! But for now:

This is our front courtyard which is quite cool. I have great summer plans for an outdoor front room. We get the most beautiful sunrises in the front of the house and I know we will be having coffee out here every weekend. As for today... We yeah, it's basically a blizzard.


The living room is empty except for Bill's chair and the built ins. We do have the Christmas tree here and it will be filled with sleeping bodies in a few weeks. With the downsize we have no guest rooms for now. Although we are confident our 2 other young adult children will again someday be out on their own. The color scheme of this room is all in that lovely pillow on the chair. (A Kris find) I think it will be my favorite room when it is done, I already sit in here every morning and enjoy my morning peace. Bill has dubbed this room the 'New York' room. It will have photographs that Michael took last year when the boys all went there for his birthday.


We brought the conference table from BrandNav because it was a perfect fit for the house and the dining area. Kris helped us with the choice of these chairs, which we love but are so worried about getting them dirty. Seriously it's nuts!


I have tried very hard to 'edit' my decorating style and make it fit here. This is my attempt at 'Christmas'. I know the place looks somewhat empty; it's a work in progress and I am trying to find a balance with it. After all I keep joking that we are Fred & Wilma because we have dark grey stone floors, grey walls and hardly anyplace to sit. We are slowly getting it warmed up and I won't being wearing bones in my hair forever!


The family room has this amazing built in area. We love the cool factor of it but realized it was so much bigger than we had realized. What we thought was a very nice big TV is somewhat dwarfed now. We are considering painting the inside back wall of the shelves a darker color to balance the size a bit. They were painted a bright orange before! POP! Maybe a wee too much for our tastes.


Our bedroom (well and the kids too) actually is furnished and we were delighted how good our set looks in it. The wall color was picked by Bill and I love it. We feel like we live in the Ewok Village, we love waking up in the trees everyday. The views here are so beautiful. One of our favorite things about this house is the setting. It is amazing even though it is in a neighborhood.




The 'over the top, unnecessary' room is our bathroom. It is beyond awesome and we love it but if we would've built this house... We would've used the square feet for an office space. It is simply a spa. Quite cool but.... over the top.





We have a couple back decks. The entire back of the house is windows (sliders) that opens up to these decks.


The view is so great, so peaceful and private.


This one has a built in wood burning fire pit (it is just filled with snow instead today). That hot tub in the distance is ours. We've yet to use it... not filled yet. Buying a bank owned home came with many little issues. We are knocking them out one by one. Bill successfully got a real door knob on our front door yesterday!




So as always I've written way too much. I just felt a need to get caught up and share life again. Thanks to Wil for telling me he checks this blog daily and that it is time for me to get back on it! I appreciate the encouragement son.

x
~ L

awesome Alaska

we went to Alaska. it is not a place i would ever have imagined i would be able to visit. well life is unpredictable that way: lovely baby daughter dates really nice commercial fisherman; she decides to live in Alaska for a summer to be somewhat nearer to him; mom & dad miss daughter & realize it is the perfect opportunity to visit Alaska!

Laura has been living in this adorable cottage in Sitka all summer long; working, having visitors & a bit less time than she had hoped for with Stefan (the handsome fisherman). the cottage is about 2 minutes from her work and was about 1 minute from our hotel. it is super cute and a great location; directly across from the police station which makes this mom feel at ease... a little.

Sitka is a pretty small town... a wee bit bigger than Sisters but other than tourism, that is an obvious industry because of summer cruises they also have a real industry. yep; fish!

just the charm of a true fishing village makes Sitka a quaint lovely town all on it's own. then you add the backdrop that you are in Alaska; seriously it is phenomenal! so beautiful that it is impossible to describe with words (but i will try) so my over 20 pictures will help with that. (hint: if you click the pictures they get bigger and much better (o:)


we spent our first afternoon\evening simply exploring Laura's world\town. i admit i made a checklist for all of the shops i wanted to revisit to pick up a trinket or two.

the next morning we set out on a wildlife cruise, delighted to wake up to no rain and a pretty nice day. we were also delighted to find the boat had inside seats realizing quickly the weather in Alaska is not quite like to weather in Hawaii. Laura choose this cruise saying it was the one thing she really wanted to do before she came back home to Oregon.


well we were not disappointed in the least bit! if i had to pick a favorite thing i suppose this would be it; we saw so much wildlife. it was pretty exciting to feel so close to creation\nature. very cool!

if you look very close at the wall of this island we visited you will see some pretty amazing sea life. look closely at the purple.


the captain quickly caught on that we all saw these guys in the distance and jetted over to them. we were all excited, i admit though... it was very hard to get a picture of them! rocking boat.... then when they did surface it was so hard to predict when they would show some skin! it was exciting to see them so close, we think there were four in the pod and they were beyond magnificent!





we saw thousands of wild birds and learned a lot about each of the different species and why they choose Sitka waters as their home. again they were hard to capture with the camera (next time i am bringing Michael!) i was happy to see i had a pretty decent shot of a Puffin. kinda cute i think.


again hundreds of Sea Otters. wow now these are one adorable animal! they would just poke their heads up and check us out. we learned that they actually tie their self up into the kelp to keep from drifting away. also they are something the Russian's quickly realized they could profit from in Alaska. that fur!


our captain noticed a float plane circling overhead and figured they had spotted a brown bear (grizzly to us) so here Laura & Bill are scanning the shore in hopes of getting a glimpse (Bill's main goal for the weekend). it didn't happen here though.


this guy is keeping watch over his or her nest that is on the island across (they can see amazingly well... like can read a newspaper from across a football field if they could actually read)... so yeah super good eyesight...


watching out for this little guy. a baby eagle still living in his nest. you have to admit you do not run into this every day!


our view driving back, it was just so pretty!



after our cruise, my goal for the weekend... for Laura & I to share a bucket of crab! yummy


next we decided a QUICK and i mean QUICK venture through the woods. they have been having some bear problems all week and this made Laura more than nervous. living there she understands the severity of the warning... on the other hand all her dad wanted was to SEE a real bear... we walked pretty briskly on a trail to go to the Raptor Center to see the birds up close.


on our way we past a stream filled with salmon trying to get back to their place of birth (the creeks\streams are so low) they were so determined but with so little water they were basically stuck )o:


the woods were so beautiful. almost like magic. you could imagine a fairy jumping out at any moment; really!


salmon berries, i ate a lot then drug my family everywhere till i could find jam to purchase. sheesh...


we did find out a the Raptor Center that Laura is basically the same size as an eagle; well maybe a little taller.


this is a great place where injured birds of prey come to be healed and hopefully rehabilitated to go back into the wild. some of the injuries are too severe but they do provide a wonderful home for them here. the habitats are open at the top and separated by the netting to keep them safe from one another.


why oh why do owls look wise; Bill's question of the day....


and yes; here he is! Bill's wish fulfilled! he was down the steam below the Raptor Center (so the netting you see is for the birds not him, he is in the wild) he was having a heyday down there with all that salmon. one happy grizzly (o: grrrr


on our way back we stopped at the local hatchery. these poor guys were trying so hard to return to their place of birth... kind of perplexing because apparently they had found it. the next step was egg harvesting... we all 3 wondered did this mean they were farmed... not sure really because they were right there on the ocean. regardless it was amazing to see.


okay so the one hokie thing we did. the Russian Dancers, i mean it was good and all... just a bit cheesy. you see the Russians took the land from the Natives (Tlinkit's to be exact, Stefan's heritage) so there is a very strong Russian history in Sitka along with the Native. it's actually interesting... well it's history can't really change can it.... Bill really disliked that women danced the men parts. it is what it is...


i never got tired of this view. seriously if you have an opportunity to visit Alaska do it. there is just so much beauty! there was a ship in port every day we were there. i liked it, i would've enjoyed it as a port if i were on a cruise. there was so much to do and see.
we did so much more than i show here... i could only post so many pictures you know!
but really were else can you have....


a 'Reindeer Dog' for lunch (no lie here)


and fly home on a fish!


it was by far one of my favorite trips ever! spending time with my daughter who i adore and miss already and seeing some of God's creation that is by far his finest work!

as always, i am so blessed.

i don't bake

i used to, when the kids were young, when i didn't live in the mountains where anything you BAKE acts the elevation here effects it somehow! seriously what is it with that. i gave up long ago.... i do think i am a decent cook. i really enjoying layering simple flavors and think i am pretty good at it.

i made up this yummy dish last night. Bill enjoys pork a lot and Charlotte needed a bone. it was quite tasty for our first almost real summer night.


i admittedly spend too much time stumbling here. if you are not familiar with stumble upon, it's simply a website that you push stumble and it takes you to random web sites. some bad, some interesting, some really funny and a few good foodie sites. i came across 'the best chocolate cookie recipe ever! so i decided to save it and maybe try it someday soon.

i leave work around 2:00 and other than laundry, hmmmm how to spend my time this afternoon. i quickly check the recipe to see if i even have the ingredients (shopping in Sisters OR way to $$$$ and i am not driving to Bend again already, 3 times over the weekend!) well i almost have them... i can fudge here and there, right! probably why i suck at baking.... it takes exacts, cooking does not. insight here but i thought i'd try anyway. seriously, the best ever.... i can compromise a wee bit.

so it begins. i admit my brown sugar was super dried out. very hard to measure accurately and this recipe was into precise measurements! 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons 'cake flour'. luckily i did have that (because i always dream of making a perfect batch of cupcakes...) i confess for the 'bread flour' i substituted 'flour'. okay and on the butter... mine was salted and i was 1|4 cup short, dang! added 1\4 cup of the stuff in the fridge.... soft butter, spreadable.... what's a little canola oil mixed in, it is hardly any!


for the 60% or more cacoa i used NESTLE, oh you dark chocolate people, wake up and smell America! sheesh! seriously there is nothing better than a box of See's Candy Mixed Milk Chocolates, how you have all forgotten! i also had to use my Mexican Vanilla rather than the 'Natural' called for, i am sure though, my stuff from Mexico is 'natural', whatever.....


okay all mixed, ready to go!
refrigerate 24 to 36 hours, this gives the cookie the perfect level of moisture before you bake the cookies. (according to the New York Times). gosh, there are a lot of instructions for this cookie. so my great idea just to try, stick 8 in the freezer for an hour. i see very little difference here......


freezing away... i mean quick chilling.


i am thinking, these are actually looking kinda good.


as they bake (i should insert here, please tell me why recipes never say when they say the temp if they are talking about a convection oven or a standard oven. i always wonder.... i have know idea and i have both. i know a convection bakes more evenly so i always think i should use it but i never know if i am supposed to adjust the temp!)

as they bake.... i sit out back dreaming and reading about a place i will most likely never live but always wish i did. well other than those hurricanes they have. it's a perfect day here anyway, so there; oh white and blue decorated beach house! who needs you (o:



oh my gosh they are not flat; i am surprised and delighted!
this is the first of two cooling stations (told you... lots of instructions).


so cooling station two. i could tell when i moved them... i overcooked them a little, they look nice though.


well for taste... they are good but not great in my mind. i think they needed salt (i put less in then called for because of the 'salted butter' i used. but then i admit it could be this last little step i forgot: Sprinkle lightly with sea salt (your best)! sheesh....details.... i think they have a kind of a funny taste, most likely either MEXICAN VANILLA or REGULAR FLOUR. don't get me wrong they are not bad; but the best ever.... still Otis Spunkmier i think. i don't know.... Depot Deli here in Sisters used to have an amazing cookie also...

maybe it is simply that i am more of a cupcake girl these days. i just wish i knew how to bake them!

all the while Charlotte was just as cute as could be while i was attempting to bake away.


she just reminds me of a cute little lamb all curled up and cozy.


she is cute and i really don't bake too well..