Christmas was a hoot! S'te woke us this morning so that we could see the kids open gifts before we had to leave to catch our plane to Florida.

Christmas Eve we had our big dinner and then we went ~ en familia~ to Church at the Rock... It was great... I love the feeling of peace that comes over me whenever I enter the House of God.... I was very moved by the entire program. It was perfect.

Each of the kids got several "favorite" gifts. There were lots of squeals and ooohs going on during the openings! Cavelle was the first with a favorite - and it withstood the test of all the other gifts.... a noisy little lawnmower that deserved the place of honor - right in the middle of all the action!! LOL It didn't matter where we "hid" it - it returned as fast as he could find it.... He was definately determined!!

I bonused my own self with 2 grandmother necklaces and a bracelet, as well as a handmade card from Raquel. I would post pictures - but my picture poster doesn't want to work at this time - it keeps telling me that they are busy..... Imagine that!!!

Hope a very Merry Christmas was had by all!

Babysitting

Keith and I babysat for a couple of days during our visit to San Diego. It was a great time. We had some ups ~~~~ and some downs _____ and a misunderstanding or two - but for the most part - we did great!!! The kids are all growing up to be wonderful young adults and little people!! The all have such distinct personalities that I really miss seeing each of them grow during the times that there are so many, many months that I don't get to see them!

I have been so fortunate these last few months!! I got to see them in July, and in November, and in December, and it looks like I will be imposing on them again in January.... Whooppeee!!

So according to Rod and S'te - they enjoyed their little getaway - and I enjoyed having the kids.... so it sounds like we are all happy!!

Packing again!

We no sooner got to Florida than Keith was assigned a meeting back in San Diego! So, after being here 25 days, 10 days at hsome and 15 days (I've counted each and every one!LOL) we are headed back to San Diego! Of course, this is no hardship for me - other than feeling like a total transient, of course!

We have packed up the RV so it is safe and nothing should blow away while we are gone. Our flight is tomorrow afternoon - and we will arrive in San Diego while it is still afternoon! - Boy do I like the East to West flights! We will stay with the kids YIPPEE! until Christmas morning - which will include watching the "babies" so Rod and S'te can do whatever-it-is-he's-got-planned for thier 13th anniversary! A lot has happened over those years!!

I received sad news from Maryland a few days ago. Jeremy's father, Joe, has been suffering with esophageal cancer for the last few years and finally succumbed to it on December 5. I know in my heart that he and Jeremy will become best of buddies up there in Heaven - and I'm hoping that between the two of them - they will find a way to help us find out what happened to Jeremy here on Earth. All thru the years Joe has remained a good friend to our family, and has remained very special even after his death. He definately is a special sort of person......

So off with the sadness - and Celebrate our Christmas Season. Merry Christmas everyone.... No one is getting cards, very few gifts went anywhere, and I am happily wandering along..... "Joy to the World!!"

Sebastian

We've moved into the rv for the 'season'. We are in a little park just off of I95 about 11 miles north of our home in Vero. Some friends from Canada are staying in the house - so we are in the rv. We brought the rv up on Sunday and got it pretty well set up with the screen room and all the little things like water, electric, and CABLE!

We've been here 4 days now and had the rv service people out twice. We got here Monday afternoon and it got a little chilly - so I set the thermostat for 70 when we went to bed.... Keith got up about 5 and the lights were dim and the furnace wasn't working..... He had to start the motor to get the lights brighter and make the furnace work. I didn't think much of it and went on about my business. I put my foot in my slipper (that was outside the bathroom door) and it was WET!! I again thought a few choice things and thought maybe one of the vents is leaking. Checked out the vents and they were dry as a bone..... Tried to turn on the HW heater - and it wouldn't light - so I checked the propane - we are at a little less than 1/2 of a 30/40 or so gallon tank - thought well, maybe the guage on it was wrong and called the office to see about getting the propane filled - we have to unhook EVERYHTING and take the coach up to the office to fill the tank - since it is not a removable tank... one more thing to look at if we ever buy another rv!. I so didn't want to do that!! We only had it all hooked up for 2 days!! - so we went to WallyWorld and bought a small heater, a 2 burner hotplate (I couldn't find the other one {it was under a bunch of stuff - I found it later} that was a 1 burner), and an electric pot to heat water in for dishes, faces, etc. So after we got back another thought came to me and I started the motor and tried to light the tank again - it worked..... So I figured out how to light the hw heater but the stove and furnace still didn't want to work right

Thursday morning the carpet in the bathroom was soaked....the carpet in the hall was wet, and the carpet around the toilet was dripping..... so guess what! We called Indian River R.V. and believe it or not - the serviceman, John, was already in the park!! He appeared about 2 hours later.... The foot valve was leaking - the toilet is to old to get parts for... and while he was here he checked out the electric issue. Well that was an easy fix!! He checked the circuits - all were working and then started crawling on the floor looking in the cabinets.... I asked him what he was looking for and he told me "the converter box". I have absolutely no idea what one looked like so he described it to me. I knew right where that thing was and I had often wondered what it was - since it had the cord still wrapped around it and in that 'plastic' sort of stuff. He looked at us like we just flew in from Mars and had a great big chuckle. The converter box - which, by the way, is what keeps the batteries charged, wasn't plugged in - so it couldn't charge the batteries, which is what the HW heater uses to light, as well as the gas stove, the furnace, and the overhead lights, etc. All of that sort of stuff.... He plugged it in, put all the covers back on the pertinate openings that he'd uncovered - and Keith and I are wondering if it was ever plugged in. Maybe that is why the previous owners gave up on it with only 8,000 miles on it. So today... we have hot water, I can cook, the lights stay bright, and we have a new toilet!! Thank you Indian River R.V.! And John was so nice - he just chuckled when he could've had a big belly laugh about Novice RV'ers and thier issues! And I still have an electic "pot" and a 2 burner hot plate that I didn't have before...... Yippee!!

My Thanksgiving Dinner!

I have yet to figure out why EVERY SINGLE time (at least it seems so) I try to cook a "nice" or holiday meal - something goes horribly wrong.

Since we didn't have any plans for joining anyone for dinner - I cooked. I got my turkey in, my stuffing and potatoes done, simmered my giblets for a couple of hours, and made a great looking giblet gravy. The gravy and stuffing is what makes the meal - at least to my way of thinking. And I need gravy to eat turkey. A deep fried turkey doesn't seem to need so much - but oh well, I roasted the bird - it came out beautifully! I didn't do the fruit salad or green bean casserole - but we'll have that at Christmas with S'te and family (oh, yes!, we get to spend Christmas Eve with them!)

I put it on the table and took a picture - for those who think I've forgotten how to cook, LOL I took the picture and realized that the bowl of gravy was still sitting on the stove.......

I started to pick up the bowl and realized it was still really, really hot - grabbed the potholders and picked it up and WALAAH, the bowl broke into 4 pieces. I put the potholders down, thought (I think) a few choice things and immediately tuned into a blubbering mess.

Keith came running in to see what the CRACK was and met me 1/2 way down just as I was grabbing a dish cloth. The gravy was to hot to wipe up and to big a mess to even look at right then....... so we had dinner....... after dinner Keith helped me clean up this mess......

We realized the gravy had gotten into the vents at the top of the oven and I wondered out loud about taking off the handle to clean them out.... Keith "helped out" by asking if there were screws on the inside of the oven door..... I looked, yes, there were.... so I unscrewed them... the whole oven door came apart!!!! Well, I got everything all cleaned out and we began trying to reassemble it. One screw had hibernated, the molded fittings on the sides of the door had broken, the bottom 'thing' had bent, and nothing wanted to fit again. Keith, with his infinate patience found the missing screw (in the rail to the underneath drawer), and got it all back together - minus those pretty plastic pieces that you see on the sides. The bottom of both had broken off.

So the oven is back together, we are still eating turkey (I froze a lot of it), the floor under the stove is very, very clean, and I am minus one of my cut glass bowls.

That is my story - I am over it now..... I can almost point out the appliance that fits to most of the meals I have tried to cook..... That is my story - and I'm sticking with it!

I took this picture in Orlando when we got home. I never believed we'd ever see $2 gas again. Boy, don't ever believe anything that I believe in 'cause the gas here is down below $1.80 now!

Here also is a picture of our "shrubs" after neighbor Jessie finished cutting them down to size. She was afraid to cut them more than 1/2 way. Things do tend to grow around here. I planted this Hibiscus about 3 years ago and it was a little bitty $5 plant! Same with the others that I planted - and the rubber trees are over my head and still going strong!!

Today we are finishing the load up part for the RV. Boy have we got a lot of "stuff"! And it's all good stuff - stuff that hasn't been used in years and stuff that we've never used but it came with other "stuff" that we got! The thermometer says 80 degrees out and I'm hot. I have to keep reminding myself that it is winter here - when I see neighbors with sweaters and jackets on!!

So, we will be on "cell phone" only for the next few months as we wander our way around.....

Back East!

We are back in Florida - for a few weeks anyhow! We got back last Wednesday - did the red-eye - So got very, very little done on our first day back. We've started cleaning out the stuff to put into the RV, got the bushes trimmed back (with the much needed assistance of neighbor Jessie), have piles of brush for the recycle to pick up, and went to the grocery.

That's what I've done in 5 days. Not much. But I'm getting there!
Just wanted to check in.

Will do pictures in the next day or two!

Me and my Pity Party!!

Woe is me!!

My 'puter is back in the shop again! It's been there for 2 weeks now! Hope to get it back before we leave San Diego on Tuesday!!

We (at least I) had a wonderful time getting to know the babies (from 18 on down) again - I live for seeing them grow! What a blessing! They all are so different, so individual, but at the same time they are all so sweet and giving. Shows what great parents Rod and S'te are!

I am using Keith's 'puter to type as he and Dad are 'napping'! We drove up here to Bullhead City yesterday. We've had a great visit.... Boy the winds do blow!! Dad said these winds are the ones fueling the fires in California. Those poor poor people!!

Anyhow, wanted to let everyone know why my emails are few and far between and that we are doing great. We will be headed back east on the red-eye on Tuesday.

So, join me in my pity party!! And pray for those who have been displaced and are endangered by those horrible fires.... when I think of them - I feel so totally and completely blessed~ in so very many ways!

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon. It was an ok flight for me but I think it may be a lot easier to come down here via Portland. At least that way the longer portion of the flight is on a plane that Keith's legs will fit into the seat. He was really cramped throughout the entire trip. The second flight was between San Francisco and San Diego. The airlines had switched our seats to a middle and aisle - so I took the middle - since the would've had absolutely no place to put his feet if I hadn't!
We got here in time to help celebrate Ladaria's 17th birthday. She has matured so much!! Hasn't she turned into a beautiful young lady? I certainly think so!!


And then next came Halloween!! There are certainly lots of children here! I stayed here with Cavelle and handed out the bushels of candy that S'te left behind before she went out with the "troop" to do thier own Trick or Treating. I had 3 pieces of candy left when they returned!!! Cavelle had a blast waving at all of the really cute costumes that came visiting. It is sure different from the dozen or so that would come by in Vero or the 3 that visited last year. There sure won't be a bundle of leftover candy left here!! Anyhow, here are this year's goblins.....
Cavelle actually stayed here with me but I wanted a picture anyhow~


Jaleel was a "dead" football player~




Brayana was a "granny football player"~
Makkiah was a member of "SWAT" ~





Destini a Cheerleader ~

Taniyah was a Geisha ~ in the dress that Daddy brought back from Singapore ~

Ladaria, Raquel, and friends were Candy Bandits~~

And I think they all had fun!

~Happy Halloween to you too!~

Frannie

Happy Birthday Frannie!

There was a birthday party held at the Eagles for Frannies' 80th Birthday. Clint, Sallie, Keith, and I went and, tho' I can't speak for the others, I had a great time! There was lots of great company, I saw many old friends and renewed acquaintenances, and ate until I couldn't chew another bite! We listened to stories and tales of Fran's life via her children, friends, and many customers of the Cabin who've know her during her many years there.

Getting ready to get ready!

Wow!! S'te really put a post on her blog!! Not any real info - just a sign of
intent to put real info LOL!!
As we pretend that we are actually getting ready to head south (I wonder sometimes) - we have a new project started. Don't know just what the actual completion date will be...... So anyhow - here is the new "chicken shed" - or actually lack thereof. Keith, Clint, and Tim had it down and burnt in just 2 days. The ashed actually are still smoking - but for all intense purposes....

It is down.... And here is the new pile of materials that should replace it at some point.....


And someday we might actually do something to the house!! Keith has been working really hard on getting the washer and dryer re-plumbed - since the vent had to be moved for the new and improved "chicken shed". Not such an easy job!! As with everything else - a "simple" job has turned into a nightmare!!

And amoung all of this - I am trying (without much progress) (but I do have oven cleaner in the oven!) to get things cleaned up to close up to head out!! Not an easy job either.....

TUNA!!!

We didn't get our fish on Monday as planned - but on Tuesday - WOW - boy do we have fish!!!!

We filleted one - so that I could get some loins to BBQ next summer. I love BBQ tuna - It's sooooo yummy!!!! Then Clint, Sallie, Tim, Keith, and I went to work. We have 16 fish to "process" ~ for lack of a better term. hehee




Here we have the tuna in the ovens and are taking our lunch break before starting up the CANNER!!! It's in caps because until recently - I've never seen such a big canner!!! It will take 51 half-pint jars at once!!

At the end of Day 1 we had 120 1/2 pint jars. Some oil packed with peppers, some with garlic, and the rest was baked whole and then canned. Keith had a bowl of tuna for breakfast this morning before he helped me get the next 5o or so jars ready for the canner.

Look at our fillets! Can't beat that for waste!! I don't think we will run out of canned tuna anytime soon!!

End of day 2

I SMELL LIKE FISH!! EVERYONE SMELLS LIKE FISH!!! Keith and Tim went to Sears looking for a tractor part..... The salesgirl told Keith ~ "You smell like fish!" it was funny.... then when Keith had to call her back ~ he just said ~ "it's the guy who smells like fish" ~ and she knew right away who it was..... heheee!!

We now have 217 1/2 pint jars of tuna and 5 more fish to "process"!!! Think we have enough>>>> I haven't had the urge to make a tuna casserole just yet - but soon I'll have to! ROTFL

Family

On Saturday we went to Robin and Rick's for dinner. It is the first time I've ever seen or been in a geothermal house. It is great. The floor heating and the solar hot water. Truly amazing. McKaley and kids came down from Philomath, Kerry and Mat brought Aunt Peggy out and we had a wonderful dinner of ham, criossants (McKaley made them), all sorts of other goodies, all topped off with one of Robin's cakes. We had a great time catching up and renewing our ties with relatives that have been far apart for a really long time.

Here is Kerry with her little granddaughter of 4 months

On Sunday, Grandaughter Amanda brought her two georgeous babies up to see us. Here is Danica, Amanda, and Koby! We went got acquainted again here at the house and then took the kids to the Outdoor/In to play and eat.

We had a wonderful time and I look forward to keeping all of my family a little closer........

Tomorrow is Tuna Day!!

Keith's Birthday

We (at least I) had a blast for Keith's birthday. On Wednesday morning Keith, Tim, and I hurried around and got our "chores" done. I finished moving most of the gardening and yard "stuff" up to the barn and got that set up and organized. I thought I had most of it out before - but you know how it goes! Every time I moved something around - I found some more!!




Tim ready for hot tub (shorts, sweatshirt, jacket, boots, and hat)

Then we got into the car and went down to the Mill for Keith's birthday - we got into the hot tub (ahhh! it felt so goooood!) and I swam for a bit in thier new pool. We had a room there for 2 nights so I headed up to get ready for dinner while the guys soaked some more. Clint and Sallie met us and we headed for dinner ~ somewhere in the transition from the pool to the restaurant we lost Tim ~ but that isn't all that unusual. LOL
We had a great dinner - good food, great company, and a lot of laughs. Sallie and I both hit little jackpots on the way into the restaurant ~ so all was great going. After dinner, they went on home but we stayed around for awhile. I hit another little "real" jackpot and now am invited to the "Winners Circle" buffet at the end of the month. Tim later hit one - so he has an invite too! Looks like I know what we are doing a couple of days before we leave.

We spent out 2 nights there while enjoying the wonderful weather we've been having. Oh, it rained on Thursday, but soon the wonderful sun came out and we had another great day!

Happy Birthday Keith!!

The Shed is DONE!

After finally getting a pro to complete the building part - IT IS DONE! Tim and Keith are now doing the inside part of the completion. I hope it gets done in time to "move in" before we head south!! It is a very, very strong building - It'll be there long after our house falls down :-)

In other news - Cousin Robin called today with the news that our tuna is going to be available for pick up on Monday so we will be canning tuna next week. It will be the first time I have tried to do it myself but I plan to "practice" by helping Sallie this weekend with hers. Everyone needs to wish me luck!!

I hope to see Amanda and her children sometime this weekend - if not - at least before we head south! I haven't seen her since Brayana was a baby - so it will be a wonderful thing to see what a woman she has grown into and it is so hard to believe that she is a Mom herself! But I do know that we have all grown up (or in my case - out) in the last 11 years! Yeah!!!

Rod will be home from his deployment tomorrow - I know that S'te and the kids are all waiting as impatiently as they can - It will be great for them to have him home again. I know they all missed him very much.

We will celebrate Keith's birthday tomorrow - we will have dinner with Clint, Sallie, and Tim so fun and laughs will be had by all of us. I am looking forward to it.

Since we are "short timing" it right now - I doubt that we will have any other guests during the rest of our time here this season. I have gotten all the "kid stuff" cleaned up and put away for the remainder of this year. We had a total of 9 littles stay with us - 3 for respite and the rest either returned home or to relatives. What a blessing!! Some have trouble understaning the reasoning behind having our guests with us - but are very supportive during the acutal processes. We all really enjoy "our" kids!

So that's my update for this month. What's yours?

The Shed

The Shed

Click here for slideshow

After almost a month, 2 sides are done and the plywood is on the roof. At this point we have given the project over to a "pro" who will complete it. Hopefully, next week will see it all done. The guys have worked hard and with only a single "indident" when Tim left a hammer on the top of the 8 foot ladder and it came off and hit Clint. This completed the part they are doing! I sure wish that Sharen's son Caleb lived close enough to come do the work for us - but alas, we are in the little town that every one leaves to find work.....

The garden is coming to an end - things are ripening and I've blanched, frozen, and eaten all sorts of fresh veggies!! Next will come the apples that are ripening as I type.

Sister Sharen came to visit last weekend and we had a wonderful visit. She took some lettuce and apples back with her - as well as one of the cauliflowers. I sure had more than enough of all 3!! We went to visit Powers with a stop in Myrtle Point to see if we could catch up with any of our old acquaintenances there and we found one to give us an update of many of our old friends. We spent a little time at the Mill and then it was already time for her to head home. They are planning to visit us in Florida next April and it will be wonderful to show them around that area!

We now have 2 new little houseguests. They are only staying with us for a short time - as our time in Coos Bay will be coming to an end shortly. Keith has planned for us to visit S'te and family before heading back East.

I spent several days following Ike and have heartfelt sympathy for the victims of that horrible storm. I remember all to well waiting for the "all clear" back in 2004 after both Francis and Jeanne and again in 2005 waiting for Ivan to clear out and the infrastructues to be repaired enough to go "home" again!! It is for the newest victims that I pray that all the missing be found and the necessessities to be repaired enough for them to return home safely.

The "Shed" Progresses

I'm not sure what day we are on now... We had a couple of days when the wind was blowing to bad to work on it and even a couple of days that rained pretty good - not big time rain - just enough that they didn't go out! Clint came by yesterday morning and they worked out how/what they were going to do with the roof. This being a learning experience (hmmmm) there has been a lot of "re-building" going on. Anyhow, Clint will be done for the next few days so - who knows what is happening.

It is pretty going pretty well, the framework is up, the windows are in... Time is cutting the boards for the roof.....

Labor Day

On Labor Day we actually took part of the day off (giggle, giggle) and took Tim on a mini tour of the area. Of course, after checking all the news and weather stations for any word on the hurricanes. After I was satisfied that there wasn't anything I could do that would make a difference, we set off...

We took him down to the "Basin" for lunch - He had a cheeseburger (smiley!) while Keith and I both had fish. As usual for the ocean - the breeze was getting really into it..
Afterwards we took a drive out to Bastendorf Beach and then over Seven Devils between Charleston and Bandon-by-the-Sea.
After that, we stopped by the Halfway and introduced him to Flo before heading back to Coos Bay.

I told Keith we should have really gone on a tour and took him to Powers to meet Aunt Nita and Uncle Jim ~ Keith didn't think that Tim was quite ready for that just yet!! Go figure!!

Shed Framework

Shed Framework
Originally uploaded by Amah

It is off and running!! Like a herd of turtles..... Keith and Tim decided that the lawn tractor and the mowers need a place to rest... and the cistern and pump need a "house" before winter.... They got this far and then today they decided to take it apart and lower it 3"!! It will be really nice when (and if LOL) it gets done!!

We had a couple of days of rain - about a week of cloud cover (normal in Coos County!) and yesterday afternoon the sun came out beautifully and it is out this morning already!! We will definately enjoy the sun while it is here!

I pulled a couple of carrots and picked a few cherry tomatoes this morning - I've been cutting lettuce for a couple of weeks now - and it is showing no signs of going away.... Hopefully it will last until some of the big tomatoes get ripe - some huge ones on the vines but still really, really green! Come on sunshine - ripen those babies!!!

Not much else going on - just enjoying each day as they come...

Nocturnal??

8-4-2008 11-42-57 AM_0001
Originally uploaded by Amah

Click on photo for more!

Each morning I go out back and check out the roses and the trees (we have some new fruit trees just planted) to see how much damage our nocturnal visitors have done... Since we live within the City limits these beautiful creatures are protected and they seem to know it~~

So they don't even wait until the cover of dark!! I took these from my front yard after driving by them, parking the car, going in the house to get the camera, and walking to the edge of the yard! They didn't move until the Baby squealed with delight ~ after he finally noticed them. LOL