Home Depot

How to install tile and how to dry wall were very informative seminars so now I’m ready to go to work building houses. There were also 8 college students there who were heading to the Hurricane Katrina site during their Spring Vacation. One student came late and as soon as she sat down she began discussing her new shoes so I missed some of the dry wall lecture because I couldn’t hear. It was sort of a cut and paste thing from what I gathered, kind of like sewing so we should be fine with it.

I’m thinking that once I practice this handy woman trade on the homes in the Gulf, I should be ready to tile and sheetrock my bathrooms and basement. Just think of the money we can save on remodeling once we can get this carpentry stuff down.

A foot of snow or more landed on Spokane last night and it’s still snowing today. It is very nice to be bundled up inside looking out especially when there are nice neighbors with snow throwers. This gives me another reason to look forward to going to New Orleans.



Here Lucas is helping me shovel the walk in front of the Japanese Maple. (I added this fact for Shizuo). This is one of the few times he did not have the L-Max handheld video game in his hand. It’s nice he can learn from it but I’m not sure it’s the best way. It does mean he’s growing up and it seems too fast for me.

Hope you are acquiring all the necessary building skills to help make new homes. And your candidate, Obama, is looking great.

Palm Desert

This place was delightful this time of year and the company made it even better. Your nieces were entertaining, of course, and I also learned many new things, like what to call a guy driving a standard-sized pickup truck with a huge lift-kit under it for instance. It's fun to learn new vocabulary from people in their thirties, though Barb will soon no longer be in that group.

We all hated to go home but personally I couldn’t afford to stay much longer. The lifestyle there is many notches above my customary level. Nancy counted 7 Rolls-Royce autos but I didn’t want to take my eyes off the traffic as using the cross walks could be very dangerous with the handicapped parking tags swinging back and forth from the rear view mirrors of oncoming cars.

It’s a beautiful place but there are plenty of empty homes everywhere. Maybe some retirees visit a few winters and then just think about visiting any additional years. There are still many new homes and businesses being built so more people must still be planning to buy there. We liked the sun, wine, spa, and walking in warm weather the most.

The snow is giving us a good showing this year in Spokane. Lucas and Miles stopped by for a visit this morning and they had party plans the remainder of the day. I’ve written to Todd with my regrets for the organizational meeting for the Hurricane Katrina build as I know you’ll keep me informed of any new details.

My mom was happy to see me yesterday. She is enjoying this latest red cast I guess because it’s still intact and on her wrist. Tomorrow we will visit her doctor again.

Maybe things are settling down in Kenya. It surely has changed many things with Earthwatch being canceled for some sessions. The dedicated staff depend on these groups for income so hope things get back to normal soon.

Old Maid

Don’t take this title personally as I’m referring to the card game that Lucas recently played. He is a poor loser so he hated this game until yesterday when he suggested that we change the rules slightly so the person left holding the Old Maid wins the game. Claire, Anna Marie and I played the game with him after Sunday dinner and he really enjoyed winning.

He and Miles spent a long time in the backyard shoveling and throwing snow. Today we have more snow so tomorrow will be the day I take Alberta to get her third cast on her arm. She loves removing the casts by herself but this new one should go over the elbow so maybe she won’t be able to get the best of the cast clinicians, Bruce and Richard, who are now close acquaintances competing for the cast application that stays on the longest.

My registration forms for the Katrina clean-up effort are in the mail. Diana said if she were retired she’d be interested in helping and your sister felt bad that she couldn’t go since you would be there too.

Nancy phoned from sunny Palm Desert this morning and we’re all excited about going to CA for a few days. I wish you were joining us so you’d better sign up early for next years session now. We might decide to stay longer then if all goes well during this year’s visit.

Here are the twins sharing a trike for a change. Walker can’t pedal yet so he lets Peyton ride him around.

2008

It was great to get home from Seattle and have the Apple fire up after its coffee bath. Lucas and Miles even gave me an external drive so now Solitaire will back up daily in case one day this laptop decides not to start. We spent Christmas morning from 7-8 a.m. with Brett and his family and then arrived in Seattle at noon to spend Christmas day with Peyton and Walker.

It was a busy week ending with the twins’ second birthday party on Saturday. They are both talking all the time and amazing their parents with their knowledge. Walker is the leader and Peyton the follower but each has their strengths. Peyton likes balls and trikes and Walker likes organizing, arranging and doing things independently.

We drove to visit Betty and Brice one day. They looked so good and it was nice to see them and their grand dogs they were babysitting while Ken and Mary Jane were in Arizona. We then visited with Linda who lives just minutes from them and had lunch with her. We timed it all so that we could drive home while the boys napped and it worked. Mostly it worked because Grandma sat between the boys and read stories, sang songs and narrated the videos. They like to loudly sing Christmas songs.

My mom came over to help me take down the Christmas tree. We had a long conversation about whether I would plant it outside or put it in the basement for next year. Even the sight of the cut trunk and the fallen needles couldn’t sway her mind to the fact that it was very dead. It was so nice of you to send her a card. Someone had put it outside her door on her name sign.

Oh, isn’t the Walking with Rhinos DVD awesome! I have watched it several times and it is so nice to see it all again. I wondered why Shizuo wanted to run that video camera so much. I see he had a plan in mind. Now I have to round up some friends and neighbors and make them watch it. Too bad for them, but I may fast forward through some of the spots, like me reading the book at the museum. Shizuo has so much energy for accomplishing many things.

Yesterday my friend and I worked at First Night, the New Year’s Eve Celebration in downtown Spokane. We helped with the children’s program early in the evening so we got home early. Mostly we sold tickets and helped with directing people. It is great fun to see everyone out having a good time celebrating safely. I hope Santa was good to you and that you have a Happy New Year!