2009 - A Year In Review

I can't believe it's almost the New Year already.

A lot has happened this past year. LOTS!

Lots of home improvement.

Lots of travel.

Lots of work.

Lots of play.

Lots of ....

Some of these things I've posted about in depth. Some I didn't. I either didn't have time, couldn't find my camera to download the photos, or just didn't because...well, in the words of my boys when they were little - "just because...."

So, in NO particular order, things I want to remember from 2009....

Phillips 1st, but hopefully not last, trip to Indy 500. He got to meet and have breakfast with Rupert of Survivor fame. Had an ALL-ACCESS pass and used it to it's fullest. Had fun with the camera crew AND was within arms reach of the INDY 500 winner when he drank "the milk".

 

Our master bathroom remodel. No more sharing a bathroom with boys and guests! Privacy is a wonderful thing.

The new-to-us motor home and camping with friends.

Going to McMinnville to see the Hercules, most commonly known as the Spruce Goose. This plane is GYNORMOUS!!!! Can you see the guy up on the platform???

The "flattening" of the front yard. Well, it's not actually FLAT - FLAT, but it'll be a whole lot easier to mow in the Spring.

The small side of the garage all "dude'd" up. NO more sagging loft. No more gross, spider-web infested window. Newly poured, level floor (even if it cracked because the contractor did it wrong!) Painted floor and walls. Ceiling insulation. New lights & door. Shelves. New power. NICE!!!

Brunch on the Hellgate Boat Trip. Even though we ALMOST missed the boat, we made it - more like, they waited for us!!! Fun day together.

KILZ! Lots of KILZ....Kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms, office, dining room, scrap room, entry room, hallways....Whew! No wonder my arms, neck and shoulders are sore....

Hallway closet shelves. At last.

The front porch. Still not finished, but a whole better porch than we NEVER had....

Aaaaah, yes! THE motorcycle. The first one I ever rode for real. On a real dirt/gravel, mountain road. THE motorcycle that I fell down on and skinned almost my whole right side on. THE motorcycle that is fairly easy to ride on pavement, and fairly easy to ride going UPHILL, but is very scary (for a first-time rider) to turn around on a dirt/gravel road whilst on a descent with a mountain drop off to the right - thus my nervous sweats (yes, girls do sweat!) and "herky-jerky" movements that caused the clutch to pop, the bike to die and roll downhill towards the drop-off, until, finally, I let it fall upon myself to avoid the embarrassment of scratching the bike the first time out. FIRST RIDE. LAST RIDE SINCE. I'll stick to the Automatic Honda Ruckus that does not require coordination of both feet and both hands. My mind just doesn't work that way! I can't dance either. Jr. High Aerobics was like watching Elaine from Seinfeld dance!!! Oh well.

Manx Dunebuggy rides. Lots of them throughout the year. TOO much fun. Yes, I can drive this baby. Clutch. Shift. Gas. NO problem-o. FUN, FUN, FUN! Like driving a street-legal go cart.

Stumpy-the-Rooster! A most unique Kauai bird. We saw LOTS of chickens in Kauai. Weird! But he was by far my fave.

Lots of fun with my girlfriends. Lots of creating. Fun retreats. Lots of laughs. Lots of good food. A good time was had by all.

Trip to Maui. Beautiful Sunsets. To-Die-For Snorkeling. Time Alone. Lots of Relaxing. Lots of Energy. Lots of Great Memories.

OMG. This car ROCKS!!! O.K., so Phillip bought it in 1993, and it was finally completed in 2001, but here it is with new, and I DO mean NEW (designed by a friend of ours) wheels. Truth is, this was for a test-fit, and the Classic CenterLines are back on it, but these wheels look awesome on the Impala.

We brought a TON, well, actually, SEVERAL TONS of stone onto the mountain this last year. These walkway stair slabs were so heavy, they required heavy equipment to move!

AND FINALLY, a little something that I'll always remember, in honor of my three boys. A three-sea-turtle tattoo. I got my first tattoo while we were in Maui this last Summer. I love it! Even if some people I know can't believe I actually got a tattoo. It was really easy and not nearly as painful as I always imagined. I may even get another, someday....

There were a TON of things that happened in 2009. Kyle moved to Idaho and back again. A.J. got his scooter license. Ty worked FULL-time at the shop all year! Went to Las Vegas for the SEMA show. Lots of home improvement. Lots of Treasure Hunting. Lots of work. Many adventures. Many firsts. Lots of Love, Happiness, and Goals Achieved.

Here's to another GREAT year. Welcome 2010!!!!

Now, I'm linking up to The Lettered Cottage. Go check out all the other links too!

Cold Weather. Company. Hot Tea.

So, why didn't I think of this before?

Our cupboards are full of several tea varieties. A.J. is very into tea. Actually, he is very into all things culinary. Blender concoctions. Italian sodas. Teas. Baking up all sorts of goodies - some good, some, let's just say, different. All sorts of kitchen experiments.

For example, a recent cell phone call - "Mom! Can you get me some peanut butter, vanilla ice cream and bananas? I want to make you and Dad something!"

Every one of A.J.'s cell phone calls begin with "MOM!" In a voice SO urgent and matter-of-fact, that I've made his incoming ring tone, on my cel phone, an ALARM - much akin to that of a sinking ship. So realistic, that it prompts all sorts of "alarmed" looks, every time I'm in public, from anyone within ear reach. I admit, I sort of get a chuckle every time A.J. calls me. It's twice-fold fun for me. Sometimes, I even let it ring a couple of extra times...just for fun...!

Anyway, we have so much tea (in bag form), that I decided to bring some out of the pantry for our New Year's company. I have this vintage Kraft Cheese wooden box and guess what? It's the perfect size for tea bags. So, I cut a piece of parchment for the inside bottom - makes a clean surface for the bags. Yeah, they are sealed, but I just felt better doing it.

Next up, are honey sticks displayed in one of my Honey Jars. They were close by. You see, I had sprigs of fir in my three Honey Jars and then the Honey Jars were displayed in the Kraft Cheese Box. The sprigs were a little "dead", so after I washed them out, I put the sticks in.

Of course, the little wooden Honey Bee wanted to join the fun. And so did some Scrabble Tiles....

Simple. Cheap. Fun. AND of course, every bit of it is Second Hand Finds! Well, except for the Honey Sticks and the Tea.....

So, Maybe, I Spoke Too Soon....

This afternoon, it's SNOWING!!!! Pretty, pretty white flakes. This was taken from my front door. I opened the door. Click. Shut the door. Baby, it's cold outside.

This morning, I went outside and took some after photos of the new house stone: walls, walkway, retaining/planter walls and stairs. It looks SO much different than it did when we bought this place in July 2004.

We still have a lot more to do, but that list is growing shorter each season we are here.

Here's the story, so far....

This is the house on the day we "found" it. A beautiful Summer day with a crystal clear, sunny sky - July 3rd, 2004. Take note of that HUGE oak tree on the right of the photo. I'll be referencing it later in this post....

The house was barn red T-111 siding with bright white trim. TONS of single pane windows - well some were actually just panes of glass sandwiched between 1x2 wood strips with silicone. (we happened to figure this out in the Winter of 2004 - after the new carpet was installed!) You see, rain water has a way of weeping in "windows" that have dried up, shrunken silicone beads....

Any who, that prompted the removal of several windows and replaced with two 5 x 7 picture windows - all the better to see the distant views. AND THEY NO LONGER LEAK!!!

We don't have central air - as it really only gets super, unbearably hot a few days each Summer. So, we've opted NOT to spend our $$$ there, at this time. Thus, the window air conditioner to "condition" the family room on those HOT days. The rest of the house is bear-able.

The front entry room (I guess that's what I'll call it) has been completely re-built and a REAL front door and FRONT porch added (it will be completed in the Spring), but for now, at least there's a designated entry to our home. Whereas, in 2004, we had FOUR doors to choose from. A bit confusing and not so welcoming.

****A fun footnote: Today, when I went to the door to look out at the snow, there was our FIRST package left by our post-person on the porch at the door. It was a box of Christmas presents from my mom in California. OH, it felt so good. I FINALLY have a PORCH!!!! I'm SO feeling warm and fuzzy inside.....

This is DUDE CAT enjoying the porch too. And that little blue wheel peeking out to the right, is my Radio Flyer wagon. I plan to keep it as a staple on the porch year-round.

Here is the house as it sits today. Many windows gone. Old rock pond gone. Larger garage over-hang. New lights. New porch. New walkway. New stairs. New entry. New shingles. New stone. New doors. New windows. LOTS OF TIME!!! LOTS OF WORK!!! This transformation DID NOT happen overnight. NOT even in a year or two. We have been living in a state-of-disarray since WINTER of 2004.

I've always heard the jokes about how a married couple risk divorce during a remodel. Not the case here, but I can certainly see how, unless both are willing to live in a CHAOTIC and MESSY and TEMPORARY environment for many, many months and even years, this could push some over-the-edge!!! Well, maybe, if you are a bazillionnaire, it wouldn't be so unbearable, because you'd be living in another place whilst a crew of hundreds made things happen in little to no time at all, but....for the rest of us....

The original roof-line was a squashed "W". Not so good for water run-off. So, we've completely changed the right side, so far. We plan to change the left side someday, but for now, we've just had it re-roofed and sealed up tight!

This is a close-up of the garage door, trim, stone, and new down-lights under the over-hang. There are three of them. They still need to be wired into the motion sensor and the shingles are STILL not stained. It's been too wet and cold.

This is the retaining wall/planter area. It will be filled up more with soil so that red and gray area won't be visible.

This is the view of the walkway.Colored, stamped concrete walkway. Huge, heavy sandstone slabs for the stair risers/landings. Once we have it all back-filled and planted, the sides won't be as visible.

Close-up of the porch and stair walls. Keep in mind, the porch is still not finished. That's a whole other project.

Stairs. For some reason, they look really butterscotch here and the grout looks white. But really, the grout is light brown/taupe color. I can't wait to have the "flats" topped with seasonal goodies....pumpkins, miniature evergreens, pots of springtime flowers, galvanized tubs of American Flags....Oh, I can't wait....

Look, it's starting to snow..... Our new porch. We put up the porch lights, well, for light, but it still needs the cladding, gable trim, wall caps and trim, post trim, ceiling wood, ceiling light/fan, door trim. AND let's not forget the flag bracket. Lots for Spring.

These are our porch lights. The same as our side door, only bigger.

Our simple door knob. Simple. I like it that way. I like it even more, that it's installed and can be used. It's amazing the little things we tend to take for granted in our daily lives. Door knob. Who knew such a simple, little luxury could make such a difference....?

Remember that HUGE oak tree in the original photo? Well, here it is today. I just love the leaf-less silhouette it creates against our white winter sky...

On a side note, ever since moving here, I've daydreamed about having a tree house up in this tree. The view of the valley and the river would be absolutely stunning from up there.

...BUT, I have to finish THIS house first!!!

A Bit of 2009 Treasure...

....and a picture-perfect holiday morning mess.

And you thought I was kidding about the Christmas Morning Paper Flying Frenzy, but I know you can relate. It's been at your house at least once or twice on Christmas morning. Maybe even on Christmas Eve. Right?


Well, this is what my family room looked like at about 11 a.m. last Friday. Man, I feel deeply sorry for the landfill and the poor trees that gave their lives for all this paper! At least Ty (maybe due to lack of funds or maybe because he was playing "green") wrapped all his gifts this year in newspaper. Way to go, Ty! Plus, I guess, technically, all this paper makes for great fire starter. O.K. I don't feel guilty any more.

Moving on.

2009 proved to be a fun time treasure hunting. Over-night trips to Eugene, Springfield and all the little towns along the way. Day trips to Medford and the surrounding areas. On-the-way-back trips from La Pine with shops in Shady Cove and Eagle Point. Portland, Las Vegas, California. Local yard sales, garage sales, rummage sales, second-hand stores. Lots of hunting. Lots of finding. Lots of fun on my own, with friends and fellow treasure hunters.

So here are a couple of those finds....trust me, there are too many to post, but these are a few of them I have

on display right now....

A very cute, vintage Mother Goose Songs For Little Ones book. I have plans for the "guts" of this little gem. Rest assured, I won't be ruining it in any way. The little silver fork is just one of many I have been collecting this year. Forks. Spoons. Ladles. Platters. Dishes.

Speaking of...

This VERY HEAVY serving tray was garish to say the least when I found it. It was heavily tarnished and the detail was all but hidden. It was at a pre-holiday bazaar at our local fairgrounds. There were a few on the table for sale. All the others were cheap-o stamped silver-ish metal. None of them were priced. The vendor-woman said she'd take $10 for the cheap-o ones (that I wasn't interested in) and I was secretly cringing to hear the asking price for this really nice, heavy, silver-plated, potentially beautiful tray.

Then, she dropped the bomb on me! "Oh, that one is $5.00." SOLD!!!. Got it home. Polished it up and created the gem you see here. I didn't take a "before" photo, but you've seen these. All dull, dark gray, and ugly.

 

Next up, is my heavy, cast, black mailbox. I'm sure it's a reproduction, but given the condition it was in, it must have been reproduced a long time ago....? I can't imagine it is a 1930's original, but I'm no expert on these things.

The Coronet Dominoes box lid is, well, I just liked it. Of course the dominoes housed in the original box were long gone when I found the tattered old box, but I really liked the graphics.

 

Lastly, I just found this little Mikasa, Made In Japan, off-white dish. Again, it's probably just a little piece from 1990 or something, but the fact that it's not marked Made In China and looks good with the other pieces I collected this year, and it was .99 cents! I was all but happy to bring it home!!!

Plus, I don't know about you, but I'm really very concerned, deep down, that dishes manufactured in China these days may contain lead. Am I just paranoid, or is this a real issue? And what happens when you add heat? Say in the Microwave or the Oven? Does the United States or CAN the United States regulate all that inexpensive imported product? I guess, I'll have to either do more research or stop worrying already.....

Finally, here is today's Scrabble tiles.......

Snow....none here yet.

Play....you bet ya!

Cold....is 30 degrees (today's high) considered cold? (I promised, when it was 8 degrees outside a couple of weeks ago, I wouldn't complain about 30 degrees EVER again!!!)

Happy Monday......The NEW YEAR is just around the bend.......Let the Party Begin!!!!!