Happy Easter from Linda, Creighton, and the boys!

Linda

Pooped out at the Portland stamp show

"Just a little snooze and I'll be ready to shop some more".

Linda

It's been another whirlwind couple of weeks. We had a booth at the ACSM national surveying conference that was held here in Spokane, so had a number of business and friend guests visiting, which meant that we actually had to Clean the House (GASP!). I'm never, or at least hardly ever, going to complain about stamp show hours again. This one went from 9am - 7:30pm for three days. One of the guests was Dave Huff, a surveying friend from Mississippi. We couldn't let him leave without a visit to the snow, so we hauled him and the dogs up to the local state park one not-so-balmy afternoon. Besides the cold emp, it was very windy, so I basically booted them out for the Kodak moment, and then everybody rushed back to the car.

Batman and Cosmos thought it was mighty fine, but you can see how danged happy Creighton and Dave were....NOT! LOL
Then I was off to Portland for an Heirloom stamp show. Portland is always a special weekend -- lots of shopping at yarn stores, of course the mandatory stop at Powell's bookstore, and our favorite fat-filled, sodium-encrusted Guilty Pleasure, salt and pepper chicken. We get it at a quasi-oriental restaurant that Mary Kay and I discovered one year when we seriously budgetted the motel, and stayed at the ThriftyLodge on Burnside. Can't recommend the motel, but this restaurant is next door, and we've been going back every year since. The seats are all cracked green vinyl, with duct tape repairs and tufts of stuffing coming out, and I've never seen anyone else eating there -- big attraction is the bar -- but, man, can they fry up a good batch of chicken pieces.
I'll be posting some of my yarn treasures soon.

Linda

In Memory of Ralphie
1991-2008

When Dakota was about two years old, I was tasked to take care of a neighbor's cat for a couple of weeks while they were on holiday, so twice I day, Dakota and I would check on their cat -- feed, water, etc. The cat's name was Ralphie. Ralphie was a Siamese cat, and not especially friendly, bur Dakota was quite taken with her. When the neighbors returned, Dakota didn't understand why he wasn't seeing Ralphie everyday. Every cat he saw would set off cries for the "Ralphie", so I knew that a cat was in our future. A kitten wasn't suitable for a small boy, so I started looking around for an adult cat...and that's when our Ralphie entered our world. She was a special cat, really more like a dog. She loved to be around people, and she had the patience to let a small boy haul her around all day.
Ralphie left us last week, and made her way over the Rainbow Bridge. She is missed by all that knew her. I hope that she is happily chasing butterflies through a field of daisies, where the sun always shines and the food dish is never empty.

Linda

I'm frantically throwing the last bits together before heading to the San Mateo show in the morning. I'll be swinging past Fresno to visit my mother and the boys, so may not be able to post again till I get back, bu I wanted to toss up this pic of the alien Batman with mountain of rubber. It took most of three days to trim this much. The angle is deceiving because Batman is not big, but the rubber was almost 3' tall, and weighed 90 pounds. Kinda wanted to let it keep growing, but I was getting tired or climbing around it. LOL



Linda

Neither rain, nor snow, nor dark of night shall keep them from their appointed rounds.

Creighton and the boys fetch the mail.

Linda

I've got the yarn monkey on my back. All I really want to do it knit and crochet. I've been to the yarn store three times this week, and I'm pretty sure I saw the clerks giggling when I walked in...not to mention that I took my local knitter/stamper friend, Tina, to the yarn store -- her first visit -- and she, also walked out with considerable purchases.

The search for the perfect crocheted, felted bowl continues. I've given away some before I get pics, but here's my newest experiment...



These are made with a varigated wood yarn from Joann's, and some weird gold ribbon that won't shrink.



I like how the gold just kinda peeks through the colors, but the bowls are a bit fuzzier than I wanted. The experient continues!

Linda

I'm back from the Riverside show. Got delayed in Portland -- flights to Spokane were canceled because of weather. They tried a few flights until a Southwest plane slid off the end of the runway. At that point, everyone gave up and closed the airport. Return flight the following day was uneventful, but the car had 15" of snow, so I had to borrow a snow shovel from the lot attendant to dig out the car. I really need to add some cold-weather items to the car -- boots, gloves, shovel.

Here's a pic of a 4' icicle hanging at the back of the house. Had to knock it off after I took the picture so the weight wouldn't pull down the gutter. Wish the pic was better. I'm not getting the quality I want, but a new camera is not in my near future.


Off to Costco in the morning to get better tires.

Linda

Life can't get much better than a nap in the sun.

Well, another two weeks have passed, and I'm back in an airport again. I'm on my way to Dallas for the Grapvine show, and thus ends the seven weeks of down-time. Back in November I had such good intentions for planned accomplishments -- Gallery for the website, a bazillion new designs, paint bedroom, prune trees, and yes, the Wood Pile. But those good intentions are now just a good, albeit impotent memory. Like all the rest, the Wood Pile still looms in front of me. It's still covered with snow -- Not the SAME snow. Nope, we had one day above 32F when it rained, and then the temp dropped again so the wood all froze together in a big lump. I tried kicking a few pieces loose but really can't recommend this procedure.
At least the Family Visit went well. We cranked the heat up to a blistering 65F, rolled my mother up in a blanket and plopped her on a heating pad, so she was content. Dakota developed a cough, and God forbid I return him sick to his father, so outdoor activities had to be curtailed, but indoor events were a success. It was pretty much a Martha Stewart week. I don't remember when I've cooked this many meals, washed this many dishes, or tried to be such a gosh-danged homemaker. We even made Christmas ornaments and dog treats. The Great Meatloaf Cookoff resulted in a four-way tie (In true Democratic Spirit, we each voted for our own), but all agreed that we'd been suffiently "meatloafed" that it won't be on the menu again for a long time.



Don't know why, but I can't get anymore pics to load, so am quitting in disgust, and will try again later.

Linda