Christmas in the Northwest

Enjoy a little taste of the Northwest...this is a  video spoof of a song that

bombards the radio stations there this time of year. We'll be enjoying a

Northwest Christmas ourselves this year!

Cabin Perspective

The garden post was going to be a joke---sort of a spoof of my garden obsession, but by the time I took the pictures and started posting them I was lost in garden craziness and the beauty of nature and the wonder of delicious food growing out of the dirt and it didn't turn out the way I planned...

So, moving on--here's a little summary of our family time at the cabin:

I had forgotten that I glued googly eyes above the red lever that sticks out
of this little door in the laundry room. I don't even remember what the lever is for--
I just thought it was funny that a hole had to be cut so it could stick out like a tongue!

I just crack myself up.

This kind of sums up the personalities of these two brothers.
This was at the beginning of one of our forced death marches
 (as they affectionately call our awesome family hikes).

I gave Shane the camera and it looks like he found something to enjoy
in the midst of the suffering.

The youngsters fed this chipmunk my Natural Soy nut Energy Mix--

after mocking me for even considering it edible.

More of Shane's view of the hike.

They did make it to the top.

Now we come to a portion of the blog we'll call: Family Vacation Through Shayla's Eyes
She took these pictures as we were driving around town:

Delicious and environmentally conscientious!

BURGERVILLE!
(This picture was first-- then, suddenly blogspot decided to switch it around.
She likes to feel like she's the boss sometimes--whatever)

Yummmmm

The Paper Mill: The reason for Camas' existence.

Young's Deli? Hmmmm

FOREST HOME ROAD!

Prune Hill Chapel...

As per tradition, I let her practice driving in the church parking lot.

Now, the conclusion:

This bat was outside of the cabin...a positive change from last year.

That was it for pictures...we were so busy having fun and relaxing--this was all we took!
All the ones I took were on the first day there--then I didn't see my camera again until the end.
So, let's just say,
We swam and
waded in the river--
and threw lots of rocks in there too.
Some went to the Lake and
paintballing.
There was a Nerf War.
Shayla went to Girls Camp
I enjoyed my Stake YW Presidency Reunion
and luncheon (I cooked our fave: Salmon!)
We spent time with friends and family
We enjoyed church with our old ward.
We watched movies and
The Middle
We read in the comfy nooks of the cabin.
We played Redneck Life.
Dad worked hard on maintainence and repairs and
got everything ship-shape.
He found some time to read and relax too.
A Good Time Was Had By All

Apples and Oranges

Gentle Reader,
This week marks the one-year anniversary in our new home, in our new state. The three weeks preceding mark the one-year anniversary of overstaying our welcome in a somewhat seedy hotel waiting for our bank to give us the OK on our house. My how time flies!

So, here we are after so many years in the rainy, damp, moist forests of the Northwest, living in the sunny, warm, dry desert of SoCal. From time to time I get asked how we are liking it here, are we getting acclimated, fitting in? It's a funny thing--the places are very different--it's like comparing apples and oranges: crisp, delicious Washington apples and juicy, sweet California oranges. For so long I thought apples were the best--only apples for this gal. I figured I'd just live out my life eating apples and die happy--and damp up there in the great Northwest. But clearly, the Lord had other plans for us.

At first, I kept looking for apples here. Where are the apples I know and love? I'll live in this new place but give me what I am familiar with. In fact, the first thing I did, before we even finished unpacking, was visit the local garden center. I asked the proprietor if they had apple trees. She informed me that apples do not grow here. It's too warm and dry. But, on one of my first trips to Costco in California I saw ORANGE TREES for sale. Well, if I can't have an apple tree,  I thought, by darn I'll plant an orange tree. So I did.

The orange tree has a way to go before it puts down roots and settles in enough to produce oranges. But it blossomed this spring and it's getting there. I'm feeling the same way.

An Ode to Apples and a Restrained Shout-out to the Old Home State

Autumn in California may not be the cool, crisp, rainy Fall I had grown

accustomed to in the Northwest,

But Washington was good enough to export their delightful apples

to share one of the great pleasures of the season.

So I stood in my kitchen in shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops,

the sun blazing in the excruciatingly blue sky right outside

my windows.

And I bit into a Honey Crisp apple.

Autumn comes at last to the Golden State.

Note that these apples EXCEED US EXTRA FANCY...

Just plain old FANCY is not good enough for them.

Oh, and I've said it before:

They are better than candy.

Trust me.

Morning Constitutional

My favorite morning workout here in Washington is a good brisk walk up the road
by our cabin.

Come along and I'll show you why I love it!

This is the gate that leads to our road, I don't think it has ever been closed--hopefully
the sign will keep the scofflaws out.

It's hard to keep a brisk pace when there is so much to look at...

The road is VERY steep!

This place is for sale--we could be sometimes neighbors.

Looks like the blackberries will be coming on soon.

This sign is to discourage the unauthorized partiers from trying to get to the river from here.

There actually is access, but SHHHHH, don't tell anyone.

Right about here, my calves are really feeling it.
Also right about here, I often see deer--but never when I
have the camera with me.

The road ascends so quickly that I come out of the trees to views like this.

Soon, I'm up where the farmland begins--these grapes are part of
what was once a tidy, well-kept farm. The owner is now
elderly and things are getting overgrown.

Back past the farms and down the road. It's just as
hard a workout going down because it's hard to
keep from tumbling forward on the steep road!

And home again, home again, jiggety jog!