Oh, Theo loves his Christmas gifts!

Theo was very busy with his new gifts! He didn't exactly open the package, but he enjoyed the contents!

Theo Likes Spaghetti!!

Boy can Theo eat! ...he's learned how from his Daddy!

More Christmas 2007 .....

What a day we had! Family fun, food and gift exchange. I got SOCKS! and a wallet, (no cash though..) and some interesting reading in books! Then today, the day after Christmas I got ...MORE SOCKS and some Vermont items including YES, MOXIE. Oh what fun it is!!
Tonight, Sarah and Andy drove to Seattle to see/hear an "Alligators" gig. The benefit for Sandra and Me (and Danny) is we have Theo!! We've gone shopping with him and we're back home.

Christmas 2007 ...the Start!!

We're up! Ken, Tyler, and Danny are here with Sandy and myself. We've had Sticky Buns for breakfast... a treat we were introduced to by Sarah Arnold last year. Oh, she's Sarah Lewis now. Theo and his mom and dad will by here later today. We've chatted with Bryan on the phone and it sounds like he's got a houseful! We're enjoying good weather with a threat of snow for later... let's hope so!

Christmas Village 2007

Always a nice feature at Christmas time is Sandras creation of a Christmas village. It's always fun to see what gets added. This time we have a 'bridge'!! and lots of bikes.

Ornaments of the Ages....

Here's a closeup of some of our fine ornaments!

We be Decoratin' .....

Hi all. Today I was given the task of selecting a Christmas Tree. This is no easy task. Last year I had the assistance of Tyler and Naoko. This year no one helped me so it was a difficult task. Sandra had many specifics of which I could not fail,"a good looking tree from all sides, tall, capable of hanging lights and decor on...no missing branchs, straight.....etc." Dave (here visiting with Lydia) didn't want any part of the selection... a wise man. Lydia was supporting me, but she is Sandra's lifelong friend so I was concerned. To protect my delicate situation I drew up a Contract stating my position. Sandra signed, with conditions, but I felt protected... The first place I went to was where we found the tree last year. The selection was not good this year, the trees were sheared like little fat men! Ever see a chubby fully round Christmas tree? Well, these didn't fit the bill for the new house or Sandra! I found a "U-Cut" on Fagarud Rd. that had a great selection. There were so many I froze at one point and couldn't distinguish one from the other! I strolled a bit on my own and finally saw one that fit the requirements. I measured the tree, ahhh yes, a good clean balanced 8 Feet! The tree, a Noble fir, didn't look tall enough, but I reminded myself to 'trust the measurement.' So I began cuttin and thought, I hope it's not too short!! So, I took that tree home in the back of my van with the door open and went in the house through the back laundry room. I realized then it was big. It was difficult to get in and after drying it some I placed it into a stand and at that time Sandra and the others arrived home and were please with the tree I selected. It is a good tree after all! We've decorated it with white lights and our ornaments of the ages! Have a look!

It's Been a Year!!

I'd like to say it's gone fast but this past year since the tree impacted our house AND our lives has been a slow year. Though it has been a long year it has been a great year as I look back. It started with a windstorm a year ago blowing a Hemlock tree over onto our bedroom roof and putting an end to our sleep! From that terrorizing moment Sandra and I have readjusted our lives for the past year. The oddest part of that moment in the middle of the night is that we had to pick up Naoko in the morning. While we were moving furniture from our messed up bedroom into other parts of the house we had to get creative in our limited space for entertaining a special guest. Not only did we lose the use of our bedroom, we also lost the use of the dining/computer room since we now stored our mattress and other bedroom furniture there. And so it would be for almost 10 months. Seven of those months we lived in the old house, the next two we lived in the fifth wheel while we had our old house demolished and land cleared and new house put in place. But alas we now have certificate of occupancy. It all seems so new that we still expect the owners to show up at any moment telling us to leave. It's been a year of watching Theo grow as well! I think he made the year go quickly! From that amazing windstorm, we have had quite the amazing year. It was great having Naoko here for her first Christmas experience! Theodore sure enjoyed her 'domo! domo!. I've included a photo from last Christmas of us all.

From Sailing to Snow in Two Hours

This has been a very interesting day. I took Danny to Magical Strings to work and as I came home off the hill, I saw sailboats with spinnakers flying as they sailed north through Colvos "west" Passage on a semi-annual "Round Vashon Island Race." There must have been a hundred of them. I could see them from one end of the Island to the other from the high vantage of Olalla "highlands." I couldn't help but stop and view them from an opening in the trees. If it were a bit clearer you'd be able to see Mt. Rainier in the background of all these photos.
But the day had more interest in store. About an hour later some snow began to fall, and more, and more, and before you know it we were all white on the roof of our house and in the yard. Most interesting! I began to fear for a power outage and the resulting long time of waiting to be put back on one. I went to Home Depot and picked up a moderate, actually quite small, catalytic heater. It runs and propane and is safe indoors, and has a CO montitor with shut off if needed, even an anti-tip shut off. Anyway, I put it on and have heated the house for some 4 hours now to see it's ability and the temp in the house has gone up two degrees and outside has dropped a degree! Pretty convincing.