Happy rainy Sunday!

After another late nite ... got one item off the "still needs to desperately be done" list. Thank goodness.

So, on my way to wake up the girls who were "camping" outside ... I snagged the WORKING camera for a Family Circus kind of route.

Although it has been a rainy and sunshine absent week, the zucchini looks a bit overjoyed! Good thing, 'cuz I'm tasting some zucchini bread coming up sometime soon!

Mini strawberry plants that I picked up yesterday. Hoping to get them into the ground on Monday. Next to the rhubarb that is being picked. Strawberry Rhubarb pie all in one flower bed. Yum!

The ferns are opening.

And this stuff is growing everywhere! I didn't know what the immature leaves looked like and mistakenly thought they they were something else. I need to figure out a way to harvest this stuff!

Picked up this handy little book yesterday at Carr's. Wouldn't you think that if the book has a sticker 25% off and the sign on the table says the same ... that it would be 25% off the sticker price? Wrong. The sticker was priced 25% off the manufacturer's price. Got it anyway. And as I paged through I learned something. This lovely blooming purple plant is actually a wild geranium. Okay ... I'll keep them. They are kind of fun and are popping up everywhere.

Now comes my problem. I need someone to come and help me. And make it quick. The cutting board I borrowed from Amber last evening. I don't have enough hours in the next week to do what I'm suppose to be doing with it. I'm on call 2 evenings this week in addition to the 40 spent walking my feet off. Aargh. Will get done what I can get done.

The chalkboard was a garage sale find for $2. Have wanted one for quite a while, just wasn't willing to pay for one. It was a bright orange color that just wasn't going to work in this house. It turned red Friday evening while I chatted with Ronda on the phone. Multi tasking is a beautiful thing! Next come the clip boards. I'll share them with you if I manage to get them done in the next couple of days.

Time to get off the computer. I'm taking 6 girls to http://www.talkeetnachamber.org/ today. It is raining outdoors, but the chuckles inside the warm and dry car ought to be a good time! I'll share later tonite or tomorrow bright and early!

My camera decided to quit working

Not a good thing.

Yesterday I learned where to go watch the Beluga Whales chasing the salmon in. That was at work yesterday. During lunch. I hope I can find the place.

Several hours later I was trying to take some phots of the stinkin' bumble bees again. I give up. The camera decided it had enough as well. Err99 is what it said. No Err99 in the book. Called Canon and they had me jump through a few worthless hoops. Finally told me to mail it in. Then the silly guy asks me if there is anything else he can help me with.

Ummm. Hello???

He didn't have an answer for me when I asked how I was suppose to photograph the Beluga Whales with a nonworking, expensive piece of Canon equipment.

Markus is here for the weekend again ... and he played with the camera for a few minutes.

And. It. Works! :)

Thank goodness. Because this week I'm going to go see if I can find the Beluga watching place. Maybe be a bit early in the season ... but I'll at least know where I'm headed before they get here!

I think it's time to find the volleyball net and set it up. Jari sprayed the yard with Cutter last night after a trip to Wally World. Let's hope it works. It's been raining for the last couple days and Jackie is starting to look like she has the chicken pox ... poor gal.

Today's mission ... I'm running behind schedule. Last oven load of bread is nearly done. If this newly attempted system of mine works ... life may include a regular diet of home made bread. Good bread is so expensive that it makes my heart palpitate! I'd rather have clogged arteries from all the butter I load on top of it than to have palpitations. :)

Strawberry plants are in the Tahoe. Now they need to move into the dirt. I'm in a quandry as to where I should plant them. Hang some in baskets in the greenhouse? Put some in the flower beds next to the rhubarb? What do I do with them? A little in each place and see what happens? Either way ... we're getting a start on the strawberries and I'm thrilled!!

Back to it!

Happy Friday!

Just a little sunshine from cloudy and rainy Alaska ...

Memorial Day weekend camping

I haven't been on here in an entire week!! What's up with that?!?!

A busy life .. that's what!

The other weekend we went garage saling and found this

With an interior that was delightfully clean and neat ... down to placemats for the table ...

and a bed to keep my getting older bones off the ground.

We did have one problem tho'. The 5th wheel hitch didn't work in the back of the truck. Was made for a long box truck ... not a short box truck. Got that one done after much leg work and deal finding by my hubby. Still need to work on these tho'.

The tires have been sitting still for about 3 years and desperately need to be replaced. So for now we are grounded to local travel. Very local.

We did take the camper to a local campground over the weekend. How fun! I didn't have enough time to get organized beforehand. And I love organization. Everything needs a place and I need to know where that place is. Sometime soon. I. Hope. Camping was absolutely wonderful! A great time to just sit and vegetate in the camp chair. Take a hike through some gorgeous woods and watch kids romp in the freezing cold water of the Matanuska River. Can't do that every weekend as I need some sanity time at home ... but sure is fun! Looking forward to spending a lot of time with this camper out fishing. Fish 'til you can't see straight and head in for a nap. Cook inside if the weather doesn't permit it outside. Aaaaah.

A few pictures from the past weekend to share with you.

Congratulations to Anna and Anna!

I missed Anna's 8th Grade Promotion today as I had to work. Dad, Alyx and Brock all attended and brought me home a camera with pictures. What an exciting time! Anna moves on to High School and we are left with only one child in middle school. How did that happen?

Congratulations to the Annas as they head off to High School next year!

Laundry room update

One shelf has been up for a while ... and just that one shelf feels like I have sufficient organization in the laundry room for the time being. Some things have a place. :) Have more to do in the "where to put stuff" department, but it's a start!

In my previous laundry room I had the coolest laundry sorting system. I don't have that here and I pitched all the my tall kitchen trash cans. I used those for sort and only had 6 of them ... which at $11 a piece ... I wasn't going to replace. One day I was at Fred Meyer and actually found these things that were called "Laundry Sorters". They do snap together so that they don't wander off, but I can't use that feature and be able to dump clothes into the dryer. (It's early in the morning right now, but I really do dump them into the washing machine first!) They certainly make life simpler. Each basket holds a load. Works great.

The laundry chute is working great ... have only had one hanger come down with something still on it that was clean. Nearly had a fit when that happened, but it hasn't happened again. I've found that if I spend 10 to 15 minutes down there every day ... it stays looking like I LIKE IT to look. I can find things. Skip a day or two and I pay for it!

Does anyone else have projects/ideas that niggle at them forever? More than a few years back, I saw a magazine picture of a bathroom that was done with wallpaper mapping. They had recycled maps for the walls. I started saving maps. I had old state maps, maps from Nat'l Geographic magazines, maps from looking at property up on the Mogollon Rim, maps that really had no relation to anywhere I'd ever been. Have been wanting that wallpaper wall for a long time.

So, the other week I hauled out the maps and started playing with getting them one of the laundry room walls. Initially, I was going to try and do 2 walls, but one ended up being more than enough ... and I ran out of my maps. I tacked them to the wall after moving them over and over again. (Isn't my ironing board cover just a dreamy one!?)

Ken had suggested that I use wallpaper paste to attach them to the walls. Remember that the wall behind these maps is plywood. With all the ridges and grooves of plywood. In order to use what we had around here and avoid a trip to the store, we used the glue we had from adhering linoleum to the floor. Jari and I did the first 1/3 together and then he finished it all one day while I was gone.

After looking at the wall ... I was highly disappointed. This was not the way I wanted the wall to look. Maps, yes. But this look was just not right. I wanted them to look like they had been there forever ... and aged along the way.

The only stain I had was VERY dark and I was scared to use it. So I tried tea. I tried coffee grounds. I tried coffee. I tried watered down craft paint. I tried anything I could find ... without going to the store. Still wasn't doing it. Liz happened to stop over. She'd been sharing my dilemna and went for that dark stain. Maybe 15 minutes .... and the wall was done. The lighting in this room just doesn't do much for these pictures. It really looks neat. :)

The edges curled a bit with the moisture from antiquing and need to be tacked down. Isn't this super? This particular map is one of northern Arizona. They certainly look aged. Next comes the poly coating. And .... I found 2 cans of that in the basement! Hopefully in the next week I'll have a few minutes to ruin a paint brush and get the wall done.

Feels downright good!!

Whew! Another weekend!

As promised ... just a few days late ... we had HAPS over for a shared birthday party for Blayde and Natasha on Friday evening. Like my dining room window? Gift from Alyx. :) Thought it was really cute. Any bets on how long it will stay there?

Blayde turned 22 years old! Voi, voi, voi. Time is a flyin'.

Natasha turned 19 ... I'm guessing her mom has just as many voi's in her mind! I have MANY pictures of this young lady ... most with her eyes closed. Don't know how that manages to happen.

We had a bonfire and roasted hot dogs, sang songs ....

Maija enjoyed perfectly roasted marshmallows ... courtesy of Stan.

Of course, never one to miss an opportunity, my Anna was in the camera lens! We had a very enjoyable evening and aim to make these bonfires a regular part of our summer. Camp the weekends away .... and bonfire whenever we can. Kind of wonder when I'm going to get laundry done. We'll have to figure that one out. I got it! The kids are out of school after Friday. I work all week long. Want to head out Friday evening? Means that everything will be done ... right??!!?

Saturday I made my normal pulla dough and headed out to find some garage sales with Jari. We only made it to one and had to quit. I'll share pictures of what we found at the first garage sale in another post. We are going to have some fun this summer.

Pete Lever was here for the weekend. We had a discussion on Saturday evening and got home about 10ish. Had to run up to the road and get a picture of this. Summer is definately here. Look at that green. Seems to me that after Friday's rain it just exploded green everywhere. It was certainly out, but now seems to be just so much more vivid.

Tia went for a stroll with me and the camera. I looked down and couldn't believe it. Any wonder that the socks have holes in them?! "I can run faster", she says.

I am such a cheap mom. I have never bought wheelie shoes until now. Only bought them now because Fred Meyer had an awesome shoe sale the other weekend. 60% off clearance prices. Tia got her wheelies. They drive me a little nuts when in close proximity, but she thoroughly enjoys them.

Oh, my dear girl. I wonder if this is who she will be for the rest of her life. I hope so.

The wheelies make for some interesting hair don't they? I have no clue how many pictures I took, but I absolutely adore digital photos. Delete ... delete ... delete ... oooh, love that one ... delete. Should have had these when my mom was paying for developing my film when I was a wee one.

Sunday we had a delicious brunch/lunch. Spent the late afternoon at services. Came home and visited with Kevin & Renae for a while. Then ... off to set the coffee pot for Monday morning. The last Monday morning of this school year. I think I'm ready. I think they are too.

Happy Saturday morning!

Last evening we had HAPS over here and celebrated Blayde's and Natasha's birthdays. Fun evening. I was feeling a little like it was Friday ... needing a nap ... but was rejuvenated very quickly. Probably had something to do with the text I got when I was leaving work. "What are we doing for dinner .. pizza?" Aaaah. Great idea! Gave me another hour or so! Perfect! So Blayde's favorite Green Chili Enchiladas got tabled for another nite. Maybe this evening I'll try those. Will share bonfire/birthday pictures later today.

This morning ... my pulla dough is rising. I don't bake bread. On a rare occasion I'll make bread, but am not a good bread maker ... and it just isn't appreciated enough for all the work. Fact. Of. Life. But pulla. That stuff is appreciated. So I buy the 50 pound bags of flour so I can make sweet stuff. And my hubby absolutely loves it.

He doesn't eat it by the slice ... he eats it by the plateful ...

and at least has the grace to look a wee bit sheepish when doing so. :)

It is one thing that he thoroughly loves ... and I love making it for him. Wait until you see what he did for me this week. I started taking pictures and need to finish. Finish the photos ... and finish the project. Maybe I'll find an hour today to get it done. Cross it off that self inflicted project list ... and share it with you!

This morning my computer is so quiet I wonder if it is even running. He tore the box apart yesterday. Am assuming the shop vac is now full of dust ... 'cuz my computer is working and quiet. Yes!!!

Gotta go wake up hubby ... we're heading out to scout a few yard sales ... it's a date morning!

*** Blogger drives me crazy sometimes. It will not start new paragraphs in the post .... even if I go back 10 times and redo it ... adding paragraph spaces.

My beautiful Alyx

I have been wanting to do a photo session with my daughters for quite a while now and it never seems to get done. The other evening, Alyx was standing in the kitchen and I took one look. The moment had come. She was home. I was thinking of it. The camera was within reach. The daylight outside was a special gift.

Don't you just love those freckles? I giggle when I see them. This is Alaska. It has been winter until not long ago and she has more freckles than we when we lived in the land of sunshine. Amazing what a tanning booth will get you!

This young lady works at an Assisted Living facility. The residents are very fortunate. She has a heart of gold. Her plan is the medical field for her life's work.

Hard to believe that in several months we will be looking at senior photo proofs. I remember my first ultrasound when we learned that she was coming into this world. I made announcement cards and sent them out to friends and family. We waited a long time for her to join us in this world.

She is quite a mix of a young woman. She has certainly inherited a temper (don't know where that came from!) and a wee bit of stubborn (?!). Thank goodness she is balanced by a gentle nature that holds hands of the elderly. She will stand up for anyone who is the underdog. And ... there will be no wavering in her support. She can organize in a flash .... yet can dig through clothes, leaving piles behind, faster than I ever dreamed of! :) She is a giver. I wonder where life will take her. I hope and pray that it treats her well.

It will certainly be an interesting journey!

Our world this Wednesday evening

is definately green. The trees still need to fill out a bit more,

but they are green.

So gorgeous!

The tulips got moved or the rhubarb would be burying them already. Yikes. I still have rhubarb in the freezer from last winter. I could cut it already and use it.

Unbelievable!

Upper Michigan has lilacs already in full bloom. Don't know about Minnesota. Haven't seen pictures from there. Ours are a little behind the times. The buds are opening tho' ... won't be long and at least the "trees" will be green.

Jari has taken up archery and thoroughly enjoys target practicing. A nice few minutes of relaxation in the evening.

The things that give us mental peace. Quiet moments with the earth ... and a shovel.

Flower beds getting prepared for the flowers that I'll plant in the next several weeks.

And, yes, those are snow white legs in capris and flip flops. :)

Maybe I'll wrinkle less in the long run??