Happy Birthday To Me!

I got an extra special present for my birthday this morning. Bravo climbed up into bed with us. . . and PEED on the bed right under my butt.

Poor Kelsey tried to light my traditional birthday cupcake, but as she was carrying it on the way upstairs the flame blew out!

Kelsey & Greg gave me Red Lobster gift certificates, gift certificates to the Movie Theatre, a Merle Norman gift certificate prettily wrapped up in a box with a red bow, some beautiful hoop diamond earrings, and cool V-Moda headphones for my iPod. Plus birthday cards. Quite a nice haul for my birthday.

My friend across the pond, Bernadette (and husband Pete) sent me a virtual card. Which was just beautiful. She is so kind. Thanks Bernadette!

Instead of getting the additional 75gb hard drive that my computer guy has been selling me, Kelsey forced me to research external hard drives – so we got the Seagate ST310005FDA2E1-RK FreeAgent Desk 1 TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive. Can you even imagine? 1TB? Gosh. I could store the whole world on it! This is my birthday present to myself.

Also got several coupons from digital scrapbooking sites. Thank you very much everybody.

The wind is blowing ferociously outside. It is moving the house from side to side.

Our Abercrombie & Fitch order finally arrived after 2 1/2 weeks! The Burgundy scarf that was supposed to be a Christmas present perfectly matches the A&F sweater! Plus, there was a blue sweather that KRL-N just loves.

License'D

After getting pretty this morning - makeup; doing my hair, etc. Went with family & got the driver's license from Priest River. No line. Extra helpful State employee. My picture sucked, tho. Don't all license pics suck? Ugh. But I won't have to renew it for another EIGHT years. Yippee.

Kelsey took the test & passed! Yippee. She will go back later to get her license closer to her birthday.

Greg got the info submitted for the boat, only thing is that he didn't have the info for the trailer. Will have to go back with that.

Had 3 more renters for storage in the building. Hey! Nothing like waiting until the last possible moment. . .

While Greg drove his VZ truck in to town; (he is officially laid-off now until Spring) Kelsey went to visit Amanda. Kelsey picked up her dad, they went for groceries while I stayed home with Bravo & Isabelle.

What a hectic day.

12 Inches

We got another 12 inches of snow here today. Probably more. I put up the yard stick on the back deck so that we can accurately measure in the future.

Kelsey was out shoveling 4 times; and as the snow load fell off the house yet again, she did not do the side or the front deck of the house. Maybe later.

Greg worked with the guys today and came home tonight to plow. It seems we just dig ourselves out of one snow, and there is another right behind it.

I took the dogs for a walk down to see Earl, Chachi & Greg at the storage building. Isabelle chased Bravo & rolled him into snowbanks. They were both out of breath by the time we got back to the house.

Spending hours on the phone sorting out our life insurance maladies, obtaining access to a derelict online bank account, filing and paying misc bills ate into most of my day.

Also ordered a new Columbia jacket & snow pants so that we can all go to Schweitzer for snow tubing soon. I'm excited to see what they have to offer.

After lunch, both Kelsey & I took the dogs down for another walk to get a UPS box that had been delivered. The dogs again played hysterically in the snow. Pooping & Peeing along the way...

Tonight we relaxed in front of the TV to watch anxiously how much more snow has been predicted to fall.

And The Snow Came Tumbling Down

The snow pile slid off the roof of the house last night. (thanks, trusty roof!) It sounded & felt like an earthquake. My poor tree at the side of the house lost several branches. I mourned its loss as it was very beautiful & full. I shudder to think what it might have done to a human or dog had they been standing under the fall!

Today was decidedly warmer - 34.5 degree F; and with a mist-like rain falling. Kelsey & Greg shoveled the decks & walkway so that if we get further snow, there will be someplace for it to go~

Greg also plowed the driveway of the icy slush. The snow pile had also fallen off the shop; but not the huge storage building or our garage:(

There will be lots to plow when it finally does loosen from the garage. In the meantime, it looks freakishly scary. Don't walk under it.

While Kelsey spent most of today working on putting together the snow & deer puzzle, I spent the day in bed lying with my face on my heating pad. My three teeth on my left side decided to all start aching at once. Another visit to the dentist. I need to get them taken care of permanently. Just keep putting it off, tho.

Greg called his dad the day after Christmas to talk a lot to his brother - while his dad had pneumonia. Hope the old guy is OK.

The garage door behind Kelsey's SUV decided to quit working. Hubby has spent several hours trying to repair it, but looks like I might have to call the Garage Door Doctors tomorrow.

After Christmas Specials

The days surrounding Christmas were pretty low key.

Until…hubby hands me his first Christmas list ever. Two days before Christmas. Yep. Dec 23 and I get a Christmas list.

Impossible.

He’s an impossible man to live with.

Now. I am the kind of person that has most of her shopping done at least a month before Christmas. So I don’t have to face the crowds. I hate crowds. And I make complete use of the internet for my shopping pleasure. The UPS, FedEx, and USPS delivery men and I are on a first name basis!

So off the kid and I went to shop on Dec 23.

He wanted a Drill Doctor. And from the Internet, I could ascertain that the local Lowe’s and Home Depot were out of them. So, I got them directly from the Drill Doctor Store. Hubby got an envelope wrapped in pretty paper and within that envelope was a confirmation that he will receive his Drill Doctor (via a $40 web discount) & additional sharpeners at a discount upon checkout…What a deal.

There were also 2 other requests on the list – a temperature gauge & a Red Ryder BB Gun.

Of course, he didn’t get the BB gun- -

But Kelsey and I found the thermometers at Shopko – along with a DUB Chrysler 300 remote car. (which is driving the dogs CRAZY!)

I got quite a nice stash for Christmas

-Panasonic Lumix DMC – TZ5
-Apple IPOD Classic 120GB
-Andrea Bocelli Incanto CD
-Jessica McClintock Eau de Parfum
-Wire Whisks

The current project is to upload all my CDs into my ITunes, which will probably take until the end of 2009; then Sync it all to my IPOD. Then upload all my contacts including birthdays, anniversaries, spouse names, nicknames, etc. So that when my computer crashes (again) as it inevitably will, I will retain all that information on my trusty IPOD - which I will have lost by then!

Done?

Christmas Day was spent snacking on Crab Rangoons, Shrimp, Fudge, Peanut Brittle, Peppermint Bark, Chocolate Covered Cherries, Meat & Cheese platter, Crab Cakes, Bacon/Stuffing Rollups, Mini Quiche, Vegetable Platter, Fiesta Dip, Ranch Dip, Chicken, BBQ Pork, Sugared Popcorn.

At the last minute, we got 2 puzzles to entertain ourselves. Kelsey went to town on putting one together. She finished it today.

After another foot of snow received today and we are sick & tired of this wet stuff. It is now slightly raining with a bit of freeze. There is almost 3 foot of snow on the roof with 4 inches frozen beneath that on the house, the garage, the shop & the building. Hope it all comes off soon as it looks treacherous. Deadly. Brr.

Christmas 2008

Counting down...3 days, 2 hours, 15 minutes to Christmas!


Hope all is going well with you.

After Greg plowed the driveway for the umpteenth time, and Kelsey had taken a shower to wash her hair & then dried her hair, I got dressed and we ran over to Airway Heights again on Saturday to check out more houses. The other places are not working out so well, one subdivision wants way too much for a small piece of land; the other subdivision is not working on delivering what Kelsey wants.

Finally found a subdivision that has nice homes; Kelsey has to talk with the project manager on Monday to find out if he is willing to work with her on changes.

Somehow everybody seems to think that 24-36 inches is a lot of snow; the roads are a mess (they just need to train the snowplow drivers better; and purchase better equipment) nobody was working-they all seemed to think that 2 days after a major snowstorm they get a "get out of work free card". C'mon. It was JUST a little snow! Most roads are open; business should be back to normal by now. Duh.

We stopped at Wally-World over there to pick up a few things. No new decorations; but we did purchase some more green lights which Greg had somehow plowed during snow removal.

Then I picked up a latte at Starbucks. Thank god for caffeine. CRACK!

Dropped Kelsey off at her car around 4:30, then we went to Spoky-Jo to eat Mondo Burritos at Taco Del Mar. Yum.

On the way home, we managed to get in some time for light-viewing. Pretty.

I got a birthday card from my father & some money. Yip.

Also got a Christmas card from Greg's dad. Yip 2X.

Today, I made fudge. Kelsey went over to visit her in-laws this afternoon. Greg got latte for me this morning and marshmallow creme for me this afternoon (i usually have that stuff stored away - a little mouse must have eaten it all this past summer)

Watched Get Smart on pay-per-view tonight.

Lights. And. Snow.

I have decided that when it comes to decorating for Christmas, one can never have TOO many lights. The colors & sparkling just fascinate me. We drove out into the worst blizzard yet this year to celebrate our Christmas spirit. Kelsey had an overwhelming desire to see Christmas lights, so we drove into town after we had already received about 18 inches of snow at home.

Kelsey drove at a sedate speed - 35 to 40; and what with the traction control, the 4WD, and her great new tires we were completely in control. I felt totally happy & comfortable sitting in the back seat with my long fur, Paris scarf & butt firmly planted on the heated seat!

We finally got into a neighborhood where we discovered that a homeowner had synced his music & lights together. Sitting in fascination for over 15 minutes, we listened to Trans Siberian Orchestra's Christmas in Sarajevo while lights jumped & sparkled & highlighted the delightful music on FM 90.5 wherein the homeowner had broadcast the music. It was delightful. And it completely brainwashed my hubby into making our woods into a musical winter wonderland next year.

My goal next year is 100 trees...or more. I now have 38 trees with 100 lights each.More deer. Moose. (if I can find them). Snowmen. I'm enthused. I want my Matty-J to see grandma's yard as enchanted!

Upon awakening this morning, we discovered that most of the schools in the local area were closed. There was an additional 18 inches of snow everywhere. So Kelsey started shoveling; Greg called in for his jobs; I made breakfast of pancakes, bacon & omelette for them. After shoveling for over an hour, Kelsey finally finished to come eat a wonderfully warm breakfast with hot chocolate.

The other day, Kelsey and I got some mega deals on the going out of business outlet sale at Pfaltrgraff. Our poor local outlet mall only has about 2 stores left. So sad. Sure wish they had a Hollister or an Abercrombie & Finch outlet store for Kelsey there...Anyway, I got this wonderful deal for a lot of stuff that might have cost me $350 in the past, but only $50 this time. Too bad they didn't have more of the Yorktowne items that I collect.

I suppose I better start wrapping presents today, so that Kelsey can come into the library again. I have been body-blocking her so that she can't see what is in there.

Here I am sharing some of our Blizzard Dec 2008 pics with you.

Another thing to note. I just adore the song - Shattered by O.A.R. but it is driving Kelsey nuts. She absolutely detests hearing it. Sorry, honey.

After viewing all the beautifully lit homes last night, we decided that Applebee's would be great to stop at for a bit of warmth. I got Kahlua & Cream, Kelsey & Greg tried a new drink hot chocolate with Bailey's & Kahlua & Disaronno which tasted exactly like a chocolate covered cherry!

Isn't Isabelle just the cutest here? She didn't want her picture taken, so I had to hold her still while I snapped a pic of the snowflakes on her nose.

It's Beginning To Look Like...

Christmas. The stockings are hung. Lights are lit. Decorations are up. The tree is up & crooked. Matt's box has been sent. The annual Christmas cards are in the mail. Making fudge & wrapping presents are the only things I have left to do.

Hubby and I went Christmas shopping on Monday night, which had to be the COLDEST NIGHT of the year thus far. Thank goodness it wasn't snowing. It was just bitterly freezing. We went to Costco, Big Lots (for outdoor decorations), Target, Shopko, Macy's, Kohl's & Albertsons. We got some really great gifts. Along with the items that I have already ordered over the internet, I am done with shopping.

Tonight, our new jet boat will be delivered. The price was overwhelmingly low; so we could not NOT buy it! I'll have pictures soon. Happy holidays to us. It's just unfortunate that we won't be able to use it until Spring.

It started snowing this morning and we have a Winter Storm Warning posted via the local weather service. Maybe another 12-14 inches today?

This is the basket full of cinnamon scented pinecones that I made. Too bad I don't have smell-a-vision. It is heavenly. There are blue lights all over & I even inserted cinnamon sticks in between all the pinecones. It is so enjoyable to fall asleep at night with all the delicious smells & lights twinkling.

Kelsey is going to visit friends in CDA today.

Maybe tomorrow night we can drive into town to see the holiday lights.

I hear snowplows going by outside.

Our fucking reindeer fell over in the wind, and I have to make light repairs to them before they can be put up again. Poor little things.

My latest land-line bill came from Verizon. It is due on December 25. Couldn't their computer system figure out that this is an annual holiday? Idiots.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells

I stayed home with the dogs yesterday while Kelsey & Greg went to investigate property over in Airway Heights, WA. The property that she wanted has risen to $63,000 and the real estate agent was very pretentious. Not a place that she wanted to live.

So they went to another subdivision real estate agent and talked to him. She should hear back from them by Monday. Hopefully, things will move along better.

They also stopped at the base to get groceries & a pizza on the way home. This pizza was gi-normous. About 3 feet across. We only had 1 piece each.

While they were out, I decorated more around our property. Brr - it is getting cold! I have a total of 33 trees wrapped with 100 lights each, plus our blue icicle lights that are hanging from the garage & decks - along with the penguins & snowmen & snowflakes- there are a heck of a lot of lights out there. Hopefully, we want to wrap all the trees along the lane & back into the woods some bit. The only problem is that the color comes off the bulbs, some light strings burn out for no reason...I much preferred the large C6 bulbs so that you could screw them in when they burnt out! Some used to come in the shape of pinecones.

Of course, I have to irritate the neighbors by installing my fucking reindeer on the deck. They are so cute. While at the post office recently, we were asked if we were going to put them up again. We are notorious!

After the fiasco of the tree tipping over twice on Kelsey while she was decorating it, nothing much has been going on. Kelsey is not very enthused about Christmas this year, which is entirely understandable. She is away from a loved one. Hope Matt is doing well overseas. We are proud that he is representing our country.

Bravo is doing well after being neutered on Tuesday. He was mopey & tired when we brought him home that night. Isabelle also visited with the vet that night - she had a benign cyst on her left cheek that had to be lanced. Poor dog. She is now on MORE antibiotics. That dog seems to live on meds.

weekend news update

sorry to be so remiss in my blogging. just so much going on this holiday season and time has to edge out something. that something would be my blogging.

i know that i will regret this as i don't have an accurate view of what has been happening this past month. just vague memories. getting vaguer (more vague?) all the time with age...

my take on the thanksgiving trip that shall never be mentioned again:
drive. drive some more. drive yet more.
walk, pee, poop dogs.
stay in motels.
eagles, deer, antelope, moose, elk, birds
snow.
stupid drivers.
get to iowa.
visit with my dad.
drive, drive some more. drive yet more.
what the fuck?
dog vomit.
walk, pee, poop dogs.
get pulled over for speeding.
stay in motels.
eat mexican.
diarrhea.
no fun texas.
the world's biggest cross.
boring.
walk, pee, poop dogs.
stay in motels.
drive some more.
get to Arizona.
starbucks
a&f
pig buzzard
grandpa talk, talk, talk.
sleep.more sleep.
freezer food.
drive, drive more.
colorado snow.
budweiser fresh beer.
walk, pee, poop dogs.
stay in hotel.
drive more, drive more.
fog.
get home.


my experience of the annual Christmas tree adventure:
drive to washington on the backroads.
no snow.
depressing.
get lost.
nobody else there.
“i’m gonna need the hayride”
mud.
wild turkeys in field.
carrying the tree.
no coffee, no cider. no hot chocolate.
150 degree gift shop.
sweating.
no fresh wreaths.
drive.
world’s largest snowman.
disgusting food & bad service at IHOP.
shopping at world market.
starbucks.
abercrombie & fitch.
wal-mart.
drive home.

*snowman by Julie It Is; PDW; Eggnog & Gingerbread

Baaaaack!

I'm back.

Prior to leaving on our trip, Kelsey & I crocheted. I did a rag rug & Kelsey did a blanket. She worked on it during our road adventure, too. For just having learned, she really went to town on it.

A thorough summary of our trip can be found on K's blog - Better Red Than Dead.

I will summarize in short.

Tomorrow.

Tonight I'm too tired to do anything more than just post this.

Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale - of which I drank SEVERAL glasses at the most wonderful place in the world! - The Budweiser Tour in Fort Collins, Colorado.

"A winter ale aged on bourbon oak casks and whole Madagascar vanilla beans."

Yum. Burp!

We also saw the Clydesdales. They turned their backs on us & showed us their asses. Bad horses. Bad.

Got our Christmas tree at Camden's. Will talk about that tomorrow, also.

Tomorrow.

What a wonderful word.

Diggin Up A Bone

What a dirty dog. He dug up an old knuckle bone and wanted to bring it inside.

Take Note

Friday
A. Got my new sweaters from American Eagle in the mail. Kelsey was jealous even though I let her feel the exquisite softness - she is feeling a bit under the weather.
B. Rain

Saturday
1.Rain

Sunday
1. Went to Post Falls High School Craft show. As I have been to so many exhibits like this in my lifetime, it takes something quite exotic & new to affect my jaded appetite. There wasn't a lot there that appealed to me. It was quite fun walking around getting to spend quality time with the hubby & daughter.
2. There was an angel selling Cappuccino Fudge at the craft fair. Oh what heavenly delights. After sampling all she had, I finally decided upon the best of concoctions - a combination of coffee & chocolate.
3. Viewing more Open Houses - Kelsey thinks she finally found THE home.
4. Kelsey begged me to teach her to crochet after seeing a rag rug. Picked up fabric at Lyle's downtown.
5. Rain

Monday
a.Worked on our crochet projects. Kelsey is going to town on hers.
b.Kelsey took me into town to get a latte - also groceries at Spirit Lake.
c. Bravo watches rain moving along the Jeep windows.
d.Rain

Tuesday
1.Bravo bravely sat in the chair this morning by the window & was on "guard dog duty". See photo.
2.Crocheted.
3.Kelsey made potato soup.
4.Washed Isabelle after dinner.
5.Celebrated Veteran's Day
6.Rain

Snew 2008

It SNEWED yesterday! Rain mixed with snow enough to give us a layering on the ground. However, it disappeared overnight as it continued to rain. The showers are to continue all the way through Sunday according to the weather resources. I caught this pic early in the morning to show the gorgeous sunrise.

Bravo has caught Isabelle's sleep patterns. He slept almost the entire day on Thursday. I exercised on the elliptical while Kelsey watched tv & baked all day. She made wonderful cookies & cake. Yum.

Greg had to go to Harrison to do an emergency cut over with the CZTs; then on the way home, he stopped at Papa John's to get a delicious Zesty Italiano pizza. Along with garlic breadsticks. We are truly spoiled.

A New Regime

All I can say is thank goodness that we have a new regime. It gives me hope that maybe the democrats have a shot. President-elect Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Chicago inspired me with optimism. It is my wish that the next 4 years will be better than the last 8. America is not the sum total of its bumbling, inefficient, dim-witted former lame-duck president. I can only express the disappointment that other countires might have mis-judged us when we as a nation are seen through our previous elected officials.

My son is proudly serving in Iraq for his 2nd deployment. The desire to see a quick end to this useless conflict which has taken the lives & health of so many young people is uppermost in my mind with the new incoming presidential cabinet. I don't agree with the war, but I do SUPPORT the soldiers that are serving.

Other concerns that are at the forefront of the new administration will be to address the overwhelming greed & deceit that a certain few have demonstrated to immerse the entire country & world into a debacle of the economic present. It is long past time to stop CEOs, banks, insurance companies & financial institutions in their tracks from abusing the power they were entrusted with by their shareholders. Enough is enough.

Upon arising to a wet, cold morning...I had a certain song running through my head. Neil Diamond's Holly Holy was on a continuous loop knocking on the back of my brain! (probably because I watched Saving Silverman the other day. Long Live Neil Diamond!) So while making breakfast & lunch this morning, I popped in the album September Morn...which does not have the fore-mentioned song. But it did have The Shelter of Your Arms, which is a tune that always brings me to tears.

Dragging the hubby out into the living room, we slow danced/swayed to the music. Until our daughter stomped up the stairs to turn down the volume. Damn kids. Always interrupting a romantic moment!

Bravo was under/around/beside me in the kitchen smiling & happy as he always is in the mornings. Isabelle hears him and comes down from her sleepy-slumber to play for a while...snark at him while for even attempting to take up my time...and go outside for potty. There is no way that one can remain unhappy with all this nonsense going on around.

Here is a pic of Bravo while he is in the kitchen. His ears have outgrown his body.

Burritos, Barf-olomew, and Boting

Yep. Better get out there and Bote. Vote. I couldn't think of a B-word that would tell everybody to exercise their patriotic duty!

Whether you vote Democratic, Republican or Other party, it will be a fun adventure to run to the polls and mark your choice.

In our case, the clouds are dark, it is raining, dreary & depressing. There are even scattered snow flurries...But we will troop to the local school and cast our ballots.

Of course, don't forget. Vote for the winner!

Sunday we got out of our cave to see a new movie - Max Payne starring Marky Mark. Mark Wahlberg. Not a great movie as we anticipated, but it didn't suck as much as Appaloosa. To waste time prior to the beginning of the movie, we trooped through Old Navy which didn't have anything to interest Kelsey. She also successfully returned two tops to Hollister & in the meantime learned about their seasonal work job interviews.

Stopping at Taco Del Mar, we all indulged in their DeLiCiOuS Mondo Burritos. Please, Please, Please. If you ever have a chance...try one of them. They are fabulous.

After washing her hair and dressing head to toe in Hollister apparel, Kelsey will travel the 60 miles to Spoky-Jo to interview today. Hopefully, she gets the job so that I can use her 20% employee discount on clothes. (I like their sweaters)

While out & about on Sunday, Barf-olomew started spewing. Well, just ONE spew. But he makes this weird gagging sound for about 2-3 minutes before he finally erupts. While driving, Greg put his hand out to catch the barf in the truck while I was dying with laughter in the backseat!

PS-Just now Kelsey called me out to see the newest info-mercial that just sucks us in while sucking our brains out Get Snuggie which is just the lazy person's way of having a "wearable blanket". The kicker is that it comes with a FREE booklight. I'm almost seriously thinking of getting one of these for Greg for Christmas. He'd just look so adorable...NOT. The other info-mercial that K&I can't resist is ShamWow - remember they ARE made in Germany - great German manufacturing - Kelsey wants one SO badly...

I've already got one thing for her for Christmas. It is German manufactured. So, if you are reading this Kelsey...Surprise.

Don't want snow this early, but poor little K is amped to get out on the slopes. I think that her enthusiasm for the white fluffy stuff will die out before we get rid of it all.

New Shop

The new shop is done. Here are pics. We are now accepting storage renters. Should be able to sit back in our rockers & watch the money roll in - not!

Friday we ran up to Sandpoint with Kelsey & the dogs to get K's bike fixed; also got some groceries. Greg got the oil changed in the Dodge.

Stopped for a latte for me at Starbucks. Then got roast beast sandwiches for G&K at Arby's - went to the Sandpoint park to eat them. Very beautiful, but overcast.

On the way home, it started to rain.

Friday night Kelsey went to CDA and partied for Halloween with her friends. Hubby & I joked that we needed some time alone. Yeah. right. After I made Apple Brown Betty we both got very sleepy-went to bed late at 2AM. Bravo had to sleep with us. Kelsey stayed in town with her friends.

On Saturday, Greg & I went to get lattes. We got up late - about 830AM. Then Greg worked in the shop & I cleaned house. Isabelle pretty much stayed down in the Dodge at the shop with Greg all day. She is a very lazy dog. Also downloaded some free stuff for National Scrapbooking Day. Which was pretty fun. Kelsey came home later with a headache...hangover! And asked me to make her chicken noodle soup with dumplings. She ate that and went to take a nap. Bravo & I had fun together playing. Then I took lunch down to Chachi & Greg in the shop. By the time I got back, Kelsey was awake again. Isabelle came running back with me from the shop so that she could go up to bed and sleep again...

Dinner tonight was pretty much whatever was left-over.

Sick Pumpkin

Kelsey and Greg totally forgot about getting a pumpkin when we were out apple picking. So we will have to pick one up from the local grocery store.

I wasn't feeling so well yesterday. Body aches & pains. My ribs hurt really bad. Low grade fever. Napped for almost 2 hours yesterday. Took about 3 hot baths as I couldn't seem to get warm.

Today, I am tired. Everything still hurts. I will stay inside today and try not to do too much.

USPS delivered the wrong mail to us yesterday.

Ap-ples

Went up to Green Bluff for apple picking-some Gala & Jonathan. Got thoroughly lost in the corn maze, snacked on carmel apple & kettle corn. Ran into Matt Zahnow & family.

Afterwards we stopped at Longhorn BBQ for Kelsey's sandwich that she had been craving since our Oregon trip.

At home, I baked the chocolate cookies that I had stored in the fridge from yesterday. Greg fixed the faucet in the bathroom. After a brief TV viewing, we all went to bed.

Whoop-di-frickin'-do

Got Kelsey's Jeep registration in Sandpoint yesterday - $2000.00 in taxes for a new car. Plus another $50 in registration fees. Shocking, huh? Where does all that money go?

Picked up my new elliptical at Wally-World. Then showed K the homes over in Dover. She took pictures of some of the aspects and found that she liked knotty alder.

We then drove into CDA to pick up my hard drives at the computer repair shop. (thank goodness they did not "wipe" them clean) Picked up crafting products at Michaels with K while G and the dogs got cheeseburgers at Wendy's. At Borders bookstore, we picked up more home design books. (along with another Maple Caramel latte for me) K & G were starving, so we stopped at Las Chavelas to eat. Then another 1 hour & 30 minutes wasted in my life that I will never get back at the Verizon Wireless store (yes. I am complaining to them in a letter about the wait time) as K had "accidentally" driven over her old phone and had to get a new one.

When we got home & unloaded everything K got into her Jeep for another 30 minutes to program her new Bluetooth cell phone to the car computer; and with her father's assistance, got the garage door programmed to her vehicle's remotes! Now, all we have to do is install the new gates, with the remote openers & she can program the remote gates to her car! No need to ever get out of the car.

DYs

Boo!

SATURDAY

Hubby worked in the shop until 2PM; then we all got ready to go. Drove over to Spoky-Jo visiting the property that Kelsey had wanted to view. It is very beautiful, I was immediately sold on the area when we saw 3 deer run through.

After talking with the sales realtor, we went back to look at the lots Kelsey was most enchanted with at the end of a cul-de-sac. Great views of Mt Spokane in the background. We were all very excited for her to have found a neighborhood like this. The Airway Heights vicinity does not have a lot to choose from in subdivisions. New housing is almost nil. So with an option for one of 60 lots, it will be great!

We stopped to shop for groceries on base, but they unfortunately closed at 6PM; undaunted, we still went to visit with the Kegley's at their home. Saw Maggie (their mastiff) again and also met their new temporary lodger - Nipper. It's odd that in the military, they all call each other by their last names...

After a while, it was time to go downtown Spoky-Jo for Matt's "honorary" birthday dinner at PF Changs. Yum.

Dinner finished, walked back to our respective vehicles (while dodging the drunks wanting to fight, the downtown prostitute, & bums asking for money) & drove to Post Falls for the Haunted House sponsored by the Lions Club. For $6 a head, you can get the bee-geesus scared out of you!

The wait was not very long. The scary part took about 20 minutes. It was great; not too cold. But cold enough you needed a jacket & sweater.

Post scare, we went our separate ways home. Sad to celebrate Matt's birthday without him. Kelsey felt like a 3rd wheel. Next year, Matt will be here for his b-day!!!!


SUNDAY
Woke up late; got morning lattes; Kelsey made wonderfully delicious biscuits & gravy for breakfast.

Then went into CDA to look for french doors to replace our sliding door. Shopped at Costco. Washed truck.

Came home and lazed around.

Tickets

Friday morning after getting lattes went to the garbage dump.

Came home to get trailer, then drove to pick up steel for storage building doors;

Kelsey drove her new jeep to Sandpoint to pick up her registration - it wasn't there yet.

Got another latte for me at Starbucks.

Yes. I'm addicted.

Picked up new driveway entrance gates at Co-Op.

Came home for lunch; Greg watched tv for a while.

Went to Farragut for bike rides.

Isabelle fell over a rock while running. But got up and started running again.

Kelsey accidentally ran over Bravo's foot & tail. But he was ok.

Took Bravo down to the docks for a swim. Kelsey filmed it.

Bravo dug in the sand. Kelsey filmed it.

Went with family to Miller's Grocery to get hot dogs for bonfire tonight.

Had bonfire after it got dark. Roasted wienies & mallows.

Weak fire as wood had moisture in it.

Went to bed early as we were all exhausted.

Autumn Bike Ride

Lorie Davidson-Flitting Fall Faeries Weathered Paper

October-Smocktober

So we sat around lazily doing nothing on Monday. After I had made hubby's breakfast & lunch, I was so tired that I sat in my recliner and almost fell asleep. Kelsey had let Bravo come upstairs and this is becoming a habit...he races up the stairs to see "grandma & grandpa"; begs for droppings as "grandma" is making "grandpa's" lunch; then tears around trying to play with Isabelle if she deigns to come down from her lofty sleep perch!

Then after Greg leaves, Bravo goes back downstairs to paw at the door (or whine) and Kelsey lets him in her room so that they can both sleep for a little while.

Slobbed around most of Monday; worked diligently on my ACDSee organization. I am deleting a lot of files that I really don't want now, but had kept anyway. Probably because I didn't know they were there. LOL! Some were very old. The quality of some were not acceptable to the way I work now. It is very easy to "clean house" with this program.

We took the dogs to the Vet on Tuesday; however - Dr. Mike was not there and instead a woman from the C-word state was there. Not that I have any problem with them. It just irritates me when somebody continuously keeps referring to "this is the way things were done when I was in C..." or "when I lived in C this is what happened..." Well listen. You don't live there anymore. You live HERE. So get used to it.

Arriving promptly for our appointment (Dr Mike is also very punctual about his schedule) we had to wait 20 minutes in the small exam room before she finally arrived. No nurse came in to advise us that the doctor was on an emergency or anything else. I can only assume that she is SLOW. So after about 12 of these references in a matter of 8 minutes about the C-word reference, I was fuming. Then she drags the dog away to adminster his shots & cut his toenails. Now, this is not professional behavior in anybody's opinion. The dog is calmer if the owner helps to hold it. What the heck is the examining room for? So we stood around for another 10 minutes until she brought the dog back-we were not even certain the dog RECEIVED his shots... the receptionist even forgot to schedule a follow up appointment. So we decided to make the appointment when we brought Isabelle in later.

Unable to find her leash, we took Isabelle in; and the office had none of their customary 10 leashes hanging out in the entryway. So I had to ask..."are there any leashes available (all the time thinking to myself that there is no way in hell that 10 leashes would be used at a single time. This is a SMALL town. Maybe one dog every hour visits this doctor...) The receptionist looked at me dumbly and responded..."Aren't there any in the entryway?" No. Lady. I'm. Dumb. I. Wouldn't. Possibly. Think. Of. Looking. There. Duh.

The staff finally found a leash while Isabelle was nervously trying to avoid capture. She followed me into the office sans leash & I attached it once we were in the room! Convinced her to climb up on the weight scale and found that she had gained 3 pounds. Poor dog. We haven't been diligent in biking every night. But it might just be that she has more lean muscle mass which weighs more. (Yeah sure. Tell yourself that, you numb-nut.)

An aside here - on Saturday, we watched a tv program on the BBC America called "Fat Pets"; which showed several poor dogs that could barely walk. After being told by the vet that if a certain dog did not have a serious change of lifestyle including diet & exercise that he would die within one year, the woman went home and stated to the camera while feeding the dog 6 pieces of cake "I know I really shouldn't be doing this". Kelsey & I laughed hysterically. Fat, overweight, waddling dogs. It was so pathetic, it was laughable. We could not believe that people would actually abuse their dogs in this manner. So even tho Isabelle tipped the scales at a little more than what she should have done - we did control her diet & exercise so that the result is that she is, in fact, leaner.

Isabelle did not like the new female fill-in doctor at all. She shied away from her; then the doctor gave us some double-speak medical gargon so we had no idea what she was doing. Finally advising us that the bump on her leg might be cancer and that she needed an x-ray; we made a follow-up appointment for the following day.

After arriving home and finding Greg had started working the plow teeth for VZ in his shop, we told him the story. He advised that he would rather have Izzy visit with her usual doctor that she has seen since she was a baby puppy.

I called the vet and re-scheduled for Thursday when Dr. Mike would return.

On Wednesday we had decided to attend the Linens-N-Things Liquidation Sale after watching on the news that my favorite linen store was going out of business post bankruptcy...We called the local store only to be told they did not know when the actual sale would be starting. They were still selling their things at full price.

Lolly-gagging around home seemed to be adviseable as we had nothing further planned. I ran out of coffee around 11AM, so I had Kelsey haul my fat ass in her brand new Jeep down to the latte stand. Where, they now have EGG NOG flavored lattes. Indulgence. Awww. Sweet pleasure. Egg nog for the next 3 months...

We also ran into my husband and Kelsey's father...who told us that Kevin Reese & his father would be willing to talk with her at the Twin Lakes home they are building. They are agreeable to be the contractors for her if she decides to purchase a lot over in Spoky-Jo/Airway Heights. Arriving to walk-thru the home, we studied the excellent quality work that they had put into building the spec home. So Kelsey was very excited. Now all she has to do is:

1/find a lot

2/establish financing

3/purchase said lot

4/find draftsman

5/decide on house plan

6/pay for blueprints

7/give Reese's blueprints

8/have contractor build home

9/decide on furnishings

10/have mental breakdown

A fairly easy accomplishment. Should only take about 4-6 months! All by herself. Without her husband.

After going shopping at Super One, we drove home in almost total silence. I know that Kelsey was turning over the enormous, overwhelming project in her mind. Advising her that we could talk to her dad, then we would help with everything we could...we unloaded groceries and proceeded to veg out for the rest of the day. I took a late nap just prior to the presidential debates. (Should have taken a nap DURING the debates)

Greg came home - Kelsey made spaghetti for dinner. We watched the new South Park.

Went to bed. Enuf said.

Autumn Activites

On Saturday I managed to do about 8 loads of laundry and re-arrange my closet. There are 9 bags of clothes & shoes sitting on our deck to donate to a worthy charity. Also cleared out the file cabinets from the basement so that hubby can install the new heater on Sunday.

Kelsey left late Saturday night so that she could visit overnight with friends & look at new homes with her in-laws on Sunday. So we were left with babysitting the "Little B" again. He was pretty good Saturday night with sleeping in our room.

Early Sunday morning, the puppy work me at 6AM for potty call. I rolled over and nudged Greg to take him out. After hubster returned to the bed, we both crawled into Isabelle's bed instead to give her some personal time...we slept with her until about 7:30AM. Greg watched his car shows on early morning TV until we went to get lattes.

Then we started in working on the heater. Tearing out insulation, cutting out walls, and making a dusty mess. Finally got everything done. I was also working on sewing up the dog blanket which the dogs have ripped to shreds.

Bravo went outside several times in the sun and played with grasshoppers. He also took a nap while we were working in Kelsey's room. Thought we lost him, but he was at the head of the bed where K had dumped all her extra pillows. He had made a little fort and was in the middle of it!

Once everything was completed, we packed up the dogs & bikes and went for a bike ride at Farragut Park. The sun was shining and it was quite warm at 52F degrees! There won't be many more pleasant days like this until winter pounds us with its brutal temps so we need to take advantage of the great weather!

Kelsey came home around 8:30P and we watched a few shows before going to bed. I also ordered the tickets for Sweeney Todd at the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox in Spoky-Jo on December 14. My daughter said the play is much better than the movie. Tho how anyone could be better at singing & acting that part than Johnny Depp is beyond me~

Woe is Me

Got the computers back from repair, but having to load every darn thing that I ever had on them is such a chore.

Such simple things as uploading a picture to email, and being able to send it. I have to download ActiveX, iTunes, Paintshop, Photoshop (with all the accompanying plug-ins) etc. just to be able to function. It is impossibly boring. and tedious.

In addition to all this, Kelsey is forcing me to organize and installed ACDSee for me. What a chore. Now, I only have to re-establish my computer AND organize everything on it. Oh, depression.

After having a fun day out with the family...Greg had the day off after working 4/10s; we took Kelsey to Riverstone Cinemas to see Appaloosa. The movie had been rated A or B+; it was not even an F in my opinion. Kelsey repeatedly kept whispering in my ear...it's night...it's day. Obviously the director decided to show the passage of time by showing one tiny little thing happening and then move on...The movie was boring, cliched, and impossible to believe. Dialogue was extremely stilted. Movie sets including the whole town was too brand new; why could they not hire more actors to indicate a populated town; how stupid can two cowboys possibly be; how ugly can we make an already ugly actress?

Save your money. Go to something else. Sorry Ed Harris.

We picked up a heater for Kelsey's basement room at Home Depot. Then returned home. Kelsey had to attend the homecoming game at Timberlake with the in-laws while we babysat the puppy. We also got a chance to watch pay-per-view movie The Happening. While Kelsey was gone was the first time that Matt chose to call. We had an enjoyable 29 minute talk to our son. He is doing OK.

The dogs settled down enough last night to decide they actually LIKE each other. See them lying down side by side~

Update-R

Monday 15 Sept –
Kelsey & I had a quick stop at Jamba Juice for Kelsey to pick up a drink, then went to get our nails done. Picked up some groceries on the way home.
Greg went to work for VZ, then came home to work in the shop.
Kelsey made Italian crusted chicken & stir fry veggies.
Bravo dug up Isabelle’s bone in the planter by the deck then had a bath after Kelsey went to visit the in-laws.
Isabelle slept all day.

Tuesday 16 Sept –
Kelsey’s shelves came that we had ordered from Bed, Bath & Beyond. We put them together.
Kelsey made spaghetti & meatballs for dinner.
Received first email from Matt. Unfortunately, he reported that he had lost his bag on the flight over to Iraq.
We all biked down at Farragut. Bravo kept up with the bikes fairly well.
Later that night, I got stung by a bee on my inner left knee. It swelled up pretty badly.

Wednesday 17 Sept –
I went to Spoky-Jo to get my hair redone. Wasn’t quite happy with it the first time. Too much highlight blocking. Quincy made me happy and got me out of there quickly!
Kelsey stayed home today with the dogs. She was sick later, so took a 2 hour nap. Then went to Applebee’s tonight with Amanda.

Thursday 18 Sept –
Kelsey got email from Matt again; and a special delivery box in the mail.
Greg & I went to CDA, then brought Wing Stop home for dinner.
My bee sting was getting progressively larger and was hurting badly. I overdosed on Benadryl.

Friday 19 Sept –
Greg’s day off – we all went for a ride on the Hiawatha Trail in Idaho at Lookout Pass.
We rode through 10 tunnels and 7 high trestles, stopped for lunch on the 17 mile route observing the Bitterroot Mountains between Idaho and Montana. The best part of the trip was riding through the Taft Tunnel for 1.6 miles and getting completely soaked.
Stopped at WalenMart to get Rocky Racoon for Bravo. We were all exhausted by the time we finally returned home.

Saturday 20 Sept –
I stayed home all day and doped myself up with Benadryl because my bee sting was swelling over my whole leg. Greg wanted me to go to the doctor, but when I called, the doc was out and would not return for a week. Bah humbug!

Sunday 21 Sept –
Went to Spokane to go house hunting for Kelsey & Matt. Visited Kegley’s – met their mastiff mix dog named Maggie. Very sweet dog. We got groceries at the base.

Long Time No See

My absence from blogging has been due to unfortunate computer problems.
Both my computers bombed. With a nasty virus.

The laptop & the desktop were both wiped clean to clear anything bad from happening again. So I will have to rebuild everything that was on the computers. So sad. This will take months.

In the meantime, I cheered myself up by deciding to update to the all new Photoshop CS4 and Paintshop X2.

But having to find and re-load all my filters will not be fun.

However, we are back from our week of vacation. Oregon was lots of fun. Jet Boat on the Willamette River, 4WD on the Coast, Dune Buggy in the Dunes, Laser Light Show at OMSI, Sea Lions Cave, Beach Campfire at Brookings.

I am having to do LOTS of laundry, LOTS of dishes, and CLEAN. Already finished 9 loads of laundry, 2 loads of dishes, and cleaned floors. More to do, tho.

Kelsey got to pick up her brand new Jeep at the dealership in Gresham. She is extremely happy. Giddy. Delirious!

More info & pics to come...

Llama, Llama, Llama

Saturday 13 Sept
Arose early, got drinks at the Starbucks in Sandpoint. Drove up to Bonners Ferry for the 16K Bonners Ferry Rotary Annual Kootenai River Ride.

Very restful. Beautiful river alongside us. Goody bags for participation included hats, pens, sunglass clips, suckers, koozies, & beautiful red t-shirts. Kels' put hers on right away. I wore mine under my sweatshirt as I was a bit chilled. We returned to sit in the park beside the Fairgrounds to wait for the feed-instead of the predicted Potato Bake which Kelsey was looking forward to, they fed us spaghetti, garlic bread & salads instead. Got to listen to some lovely folk music as we ate outside in the sunshine. Not a cloud in the sky!

Came home so that Kelsey could have one last phone chat with Matt before he leaves on deployment to Iraq.

Greg went down to the shop to work until 7:30P; Kelsey and I cleaned up around the house, then walked the dog several times.

I got the dogs playing with each other around 9:00P and they were both panting & tired afterwards!

Sunday 14 Sept

Sunday morning we arose early as the dogs would not allow us to sleep in; I made waffles, bacon & eggs for breakfast…just like in the bygone days when we were a family. The proverbial Sunday morning breakfast!

We loaded up the bikes to take a ride.

Got lattes at the stand before we went – Kelsey got a mixed berry green tea slushee! Yum.

When we arrived at Farragut Park, we unloaded and got ready to ride. It was hilarious to watch Isabelle prance nervously around the truck, whining to go on the bike ride. Running by our side she was more than eager to start out. Greg lead out first with her, Kelsey was riding with Bravo running bravely alongside on his leash. After a few false starts, she let him off the leash and he kept up quite well. Always looking up at her on the bike, his little legs pumping twice as much as the big dog!

Winding our way through the trail, I tried to get a few shots of them but it’s hard to bike & film at the same time!

A quad of Llamas appeared on one of the other trails. Fascinating creatures-all of them were pulling surreys!

We drove around afterwards, letting little Bravo stick his nose out of the truck in the wind, showing Kelsey some of the newer subdivisions around the area. Bravo fell asleep under her arm...

Stopped at Joanie & Chachi's house to visit for a while - then went home to give the dogs a bath. The kid blew dry her dog; then hubby & kid rested while I went for another bike ride.

Kelsey made Banana Nut Bread with a wonderful streusel topping; then went over to her in-laws to visit.

Update 101

Thursday, September 11
We stayed close to home today for relaxation. Went for the 10.1 mile bike ride. Kels' legs were cramping up, so we had to stop for long rest & rehydration periods.

Took showers after we came home as we were very sweaty! It was a warm, wonderful, refreshing day.

Dogs down at the Loop tried to attack us. Hubby said he will get Mace for me to use on them. I did 20 minutes on the elliptical once we returned home.

Greg got home at 5PM so we ambled on over to Spoky-Jo to go to the Fair! There were railroad ties burning near the fair and the fumes were SO toxic.

Got pork tenderloins & foot long corn dog (greg says Porn Dog) and walked around looking at exhibits. We also picked up some mini donuts to snack on. Watched a woman in the sheep barn pet a sheep & almost put it to sleep. It was so darn cute.

Wandered through the art, quilting & photography exhibits. Kelsey was very emotional without Matt, so we decided it was time to leave. Smoke outside was billowing through the parking lot. Scratchy throats & burning eyes. Ugh.

Stopped at Wally-World to pick up a small kennel for the new puppy. I drove home as everybody else was exhausted.

We all fell into bed as soon as we returned home.

Friday, 12 September
Called the lady to pick up the dog, but she volunteered to stop at our house to drop him off on her way to work. Kelsey was just busting a gut with fevered anxiousness to get the puppy.

Debbie stopped and dropped off the little Schipperke, along with a dog rug & food. We had already made an appointment for him to visit the vet at 2P; then took Kelsey into town to visit the chiropractor at 3P; we shopped at Petco for toys & a brush.

The new dog is dubbed "Bravo". He is a ball of energy. Kelsey plays with him all day. Several times outside for potty.

Greg comes home late - around 5P; works in the shop until 8P when he returns home as Kelsey made dinner - shrimp in alfredo sauce. Yum.

Settling In

Monday 8 Sept
Went to purchase bike and an IPOD clock/charger for Kelsey in Sandpoint. Stopped at the bike store to talk with a great guy named Doug who fixed my bike and helped get Kels' ready to ride. Afterwards, we went to Round Lake to bike. It was very quiet and peaceful, but at the end of the ride a hiker with an unleased dog came upon us. The dog was running wild and tried fighting with Isabelle. She got away unscathed, but it was not a very pleasant experience for her.

Returning home, Greg went to work in the shop as this was the first week of his 4-10 hour days. Which will be a pretty short schedule as daylight-savings begins soon and they will not be able to work in the dark.

Kelsey & I relaxed at home. She settled in some more. Called Matt & talked to him for a while.

Tuesday 9 Sept
Hubby and I both did not feel well after having slept restlessly last night. I had a stomach upset, but not enough to really complain.


>While hubster went to work, Kelsey & I went for a 13.1 mile long bike ride. A little long for her first day on pavement, but she did quite well. We stopped to rest & hydrate several times.


When we returned home, I started feeling sleepy and took a nap later. Kelsey read her history book in preparation for testing.


In talking with Matt on the phone, he revealed to Kelsey that he did not feel well either. He thought he had PARVO. So Greg and I think we got it from Kelsey as a carrier.


Greg came home to work in the shop for a while, however the electricity went out due to a short/fire in the local town's electrical substation and he came up to the house. We broke out the candles to play Yahtzee and Trivial Pursuit (in which Kelsey whipped our butts!).


The lights came back on. Fortunately, the kid had been able to watch the season premier of her favorite show - Entourage on HBO.



Wednesday 10 September
Kelsey and I started out early at 9:00 this morning in order to wash the car. I ran the car through the auto-wash after dropping off Kelsey to purchase some Jamba Juice (for which Kelsey overpaid) along with a small lemon/blueberry coffeecake. Delish. She shared it with me when I got on the interstate.


Ran over to Spoky-Jo to get my hair done. The hairdresser had to run to a friend's house while I was color processing. I think it came out bad. Will have to go back.


Kelsey got her bangs re-cut and some body/framing put into the rest of her hair. It looks great! We finally left there at 1pm and then shopped at Target for a laundry basket for K's room.


While feeling hungry, we dropped by Taco Del Mar to purchase the yummy, scrumptious burritos for dinner. After that got me a cold drink at Starbucks.


Greg finally arrived home at 5:30 so we could share dinner.


Packed up the bikes to go for a short ride in Farragut on a trail there. Isabelle ran with us. When Greg & Kelsey packed up their bikes after our short journey, I went into the park for a little extra exercise. Saw 4 deer on the road directly in front of me. They ambled off, but were still hanging around by the time the truck caught up. Piled my bike into the pickup while the kid went off in search of a pic of the deer.

Hubby mentioned seeing a cute little dog when he was installing phone line today. The Kelsey has been thinking about getting a small dog while she was here. We drove over to Spirit Lake to see the dog as the lady indicated she would be home. However, nobody answered the door when we knocked. Driving away, Kels happened to see a van going down the street and asked "is that the lady?" and it was! We rolled down our window & hubby said we would follow her home. We met the little tornado named "Turbo" because he operates on all cylinders plus some. He is a Schipperke & Alaskan Eskimo mix. We agree to take him for the weekend on a trial basis.

Returned home for some late night tv & bed.

Baby Home!

Friday 5 September
I cleaned house getting ready for the kid to come.

Saturday 6 September
G & I went to get lattes, took the garbage to the dump, and then he came home to work in shop.

I cleaned the house from top to bottom again. A real spring cleaning in the fall. The only thing that looks horrible is the windows. Will have to call the window cleaners again. Why is it that the birds use that ONE window as target practice?

Afterwards, I still had enough strength to go biking. Not quite my regular 13 miles, but enough to make it count.

Tonight we washed the dog and after she came inside with wet paws, I had to Swiffer the floor again.

Hopefully, the baby comes on Sunday as I don't think that I can keep the house white glove clean any longer than that!

Sunday 7 September
We get up early to get lattes, then clean house some more. Elliptical gets transferred to the basement. More garbage gathering. We go to Wally-World to pick up some groceries. Then rest for a while. Leave at 3PM to go get kid. On the way, we stop to wash the truck & get Wendy's cheeseburgers for the dog.

Arriving at the AF Base around 4:30P, I checked hubby's cellphone to find out if he received any calls. Rachel had called at 3:16, but the vibrate was on and we did not know anybody had called. Calling Rachel back, we learn that K's flight is not due until 7:30!!!!!

So we drive around aimlessly as there is not a lot in Airway Heights. Took the dog for walks, got another Starbuck's latte, and waited. Hubby had a snack at Taco Time to prevent going hypoglycemic.

We finally amble over to the base around 7:20P Rachel & Kegley have us jump into their truck to meet the kid. Entering the base easily through security while riding with the Kegley's, we go to the flight deck and wait. and wait. and wait. and wait some more.

Around 8:30P a set of stairs is finally rolled up to the plane. We later learn that the stairs were called for while the flight was over 30 minutes from landing! Then they had to wait an additional 60 minutes for it to arrive! Not very efficient. Kegley's said that "somebody" is probably going to have their butt reamed!

A joyous reunion. But sad without the Matt-ster! Kegleys hug Kelsey a lot. They are glad she is here.

We stopped at Sonic on the way home for the kid's favorite hamburger. I walked the dog around for potty break.

Kelsey calls Matt in the UK to advise him that she arrived safely, after we listen to his message on the answering machine. He already sounds lonely.

While talking & catching up on news, we catch the last part of "Sin City".

The kid falls asleep - with her "oooh" face & her left hand raised...just like when she was a BABY!

Absolutely Nothing To Report

Wednesday 3 September 2008

Absolutely nothing happened today. Boring.

Thursday 4 September 2008

Cleaned house.

Got a delivery from Victoria's Secret via UPS - talked to Bill for a few seconds about his Hiawatha Trail ride;

Re-arranged my files on my computer for a while.

Paid bills.

Hubby came home early and worked on VZ plow blades in the shop for an hour.

Drove to the dump to drop off our garbage.

We went to Farragut to ride around. Saw several deer. One seemed to be following us. Isabelle found a rabbit, but had no energy to run after it...

Went into CDA so that hubster could exchange a tool at Sears; Izzy & I waited patiently in the truck for him.

Ate hot wings at WingStop; also got drunk on Alaskan Amber Ale. I'm just not the drinker I used to be. Can't hold my ale!

Got Wendy's cheeseburgers for the dog as a treat.

Shopped for some misc. groceries at Super One in Rathdrum.

Labor Day 2008

MONDAY, LABOR DAY
We got up early and rode the Stewardship Trail at Round Lake State Park again. Hubby was tired of Farragut Park after the long, long ride yesterday.

Didn't see any wildlife - except for ground squirrels. Isabelle did really well on her accompanying run as she gets stronger every time we take her with us. I can even see that she has more lean muscle along her flanks!

On the return trip home, we drove the scenic way west along Priest River to Spirit Lake. Very beautiful landscape. Lots of people out walking & biking.

Hubby worked down at the shop with Bronco Jonathan to finish up his "rig".

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
Got up to pee early morning and found Aunt Flo had come to visit. I will NEVER forget that South Park episode! So weak that I slept in until later. Excruciating pain. Heating pad placed directly on the point of torture.
At 10:00AM, the dog came downstairs and barked quietly (how a dog can bark like that, I just don't understand) she saw 2 deer outside in the woods and I caught them on film (digital)!

UPS flew down the driveway later to deliver my new biking shoes-Skechers Work Bikers-Hobbie! Wonderful fit. Great for gripping the bike. Yippee.

Hubby got home around 1:00PM to have lunch with me.

Got the mail later, then decided to run into town to mail box for kids, deposit check, and ride bikes in Sandpoint.

Jason Miller called and talked to hubby while we were on the road to Sandpoint. They had a nice conversation. Eva, Jason's daughter, is walking!

After going to the banking institutions, we headed to Dover to ride around at the Resort. Climbed up the small mountain there to see the beautiful views. Of course, I forgot my camera again - still haven't gotten that chain piercing in my wrist to secure my camera with...

But we did check out the cabins & the SeaPlane Tours- maybe an idea for when Kelsey FINALLY gets here -

Stopped to grocery shop at Safeway in Newport, WA. This very annoying family kept following us around all the aisles - blocking the way to shop. They had a very horrible, nasty little boy which they would not watch or reprimand. Finally, we just stopped in one aisle and waited for them to leave. Meanwhile, another VERY young girl who was obviously anorexically skinny yet about 6 months pregnant was looking in one aisle while she had left her cart & purse unattended two aisles away. I alerted an employee to it as I did not want to touch the purse to be accused of stealing it - but just as I pointed it out, the girl returned to her cart. What stupidity abounds!

When we got home, Greg had Salisbury steak for dinner. Watched The Royal Tenenbaums on television.

Wild Ride

Not only did I break a toenail, but I broke my shoe. Probably doesn't pay to wear sandals (FitFlops) when riding bikes. But they are SO very comfortable. Anyway, I have to order a new pair.

We rode our regular trail with the puppy for about 30 minutes. Then took her back to the truck. After drinking, she rested so that we could continue our ride without her.

Riding along the surrey trail for a while, we headed north along Perimeter Road and then east deeper into the park. When we finally trekked back, we had been gone for 2 hours!

The predictions were for rain yesterday, today, & tomorrow. But we were able to ride without one single raindrop on us. Pretty much blue sky & sunshine.

This is a picture of the panoram from the top of one of the bluffs in the park.

Silver Mountain

Friday, 29 August 2008

Hubby got me a card for our wedding anniversary. The kids sent us an e-card. Needless to say, we have been married a very long, long, long, long time.

We got up early on the morning of Friday, 29 August. Packed lunch & water bottles.

Loaded up bikes and drove east to Silver Mountain in Kellogg, Idaho. Stopped at Wally-World to pick up some snacks & another backpack as hubby forgot to bring ours along.

Purchased tickets at the base of the Gondola & had potty stop. We stopped to talk to a younger couple with hard-bodies who had gazillion dollar mountain bikes. They had just come down the Alhambra trail and they were both sweating. Looked like quite a workout. However, we wanted to start out gradually and decided to take the easiest trail – The Sierra Nevada Road. Which was an actual road that is used to go up the mountain.

Isabelle was great loading up on the gondola, but it is SO very hot once you are inside for the 20 minute ride up to the top. There are two very small windows and absolutely no cross ventilation.

Once we reached the top, we re-hydrated and started out on the trail. The dog was doing pretty well so far. We were braking a lot as it was all down-hill. Duh. I thought it would be more of a trail so that we could actually bike. Though the views were absolutely breath-taking, the sunshine warming us considerably, and wildlife abundant; it would not be something I would want to do again.

Stopping several times to hydrate the dog, eat snacks, and absorb the view – Isabelle finally started showing us that she was slowing down. Her leg was bothering her. We came upon some deer in the road that froze absolutely still to watch us for several minutes. I got some great pics.

After the deer sighting, I decided to bike on ahead as it did not seem we had far to finish…leaving hubby & dog to wait for me to return with the truck. It was farther than I had thought as I traveled 5 miles – including having to go on pavement thru Wardner & around the town to Kellogg. Finally arriving at our truck by cutting through the paved bike path.

I returned to pick them up and I don’t think the dog has ever been so happy to see me. She barked when I came around the corner on the edge of the mountain road – and wiggled her tail voraciously!

Greg purchased ice cream for himself & the dog in downtown Kellogg – while I ate a healthy apple!

We drove back to CDA, bought Wendy’s bacon/cheeseburgers for Isabelle (as a reward) and stopped at Sportsman’s Warehouse to buy pads & oars for the new canoe that hubby was going to pick up on the way home. He bought it for me for our anniversary as a surprise gift.

However, when we got there, the man had already sold the canoe. Boo hoo. So we will be stopping at Costco to pick up a brand new one.

Saturday 30 August 2008

We arose early and drove to Farragut Park. Got lattes at the (bad) place as our regular stand was closed. Biked around for about an hour down at the State Park. Hubby dropped me & the dog at home while he went to help Chachi build the rest of the doors for his shop.

I worked on the basement bathroom, finished faxxing history paperwork to the kid, and played with the dog while he was gone.

We watched tv when he finally returned home, then went to bed.

Farragut Park Mountain Biking

It rained quite a bit this morning, but by the time that hubby came home, it was slightly clearing. There were still heavy, dark clouds everywhere.

We stopped to get lattes on the way to Farragut Park around 2:30P. By a little after that, we were on the HighPoint Trail, then headed down the treacherous Shoreline Trail where we saw some ducks paddling up to us on the trail, then eventually meeting up to the Lynx Trail which was straight up from Beaver Bay Beach - quite steep and following the Highline Trail through the meadow to the Filmore Campground. I left hubby and the dog there and went to pick up the truck (a further 1.2 miles along the South Road) Poor puppy couldn't make it any further - so she just collapsed. Hubbster said that she whined the entire 8 minutes that I was gone.

Once we returned home, Isabelle drug her poor little body up to bed. I gave her a pain pill as her leg seemed to be bothering her. Greg worked down in the shop with Jonathan & his brother until 8:45P - whereupon he came home to Salisbury steak for dinner. I collapsed in a bath at this point - then went to bed.