cherry tomato

the arborists...

My grandfather simply could not have chosen a worse day to plant trees. It was raining in Seattle on Saturday morning, but by the time we got out to our property it was snowing and obviously had been for awhile. By the time we went out to start planting, the snow had turned to rain. A lot of rain.

My grandfather is turning 80 in just over a month, but there he was, out planting 300 douglas fir saplings on his property. Here he is looking a bit like the Gorton's fisherman:

And here's his assistant, Eric. We worked as a team: he did the digging, and I did he planting.

And finally, here's on of the saplings we planted:

Isn't it adorable? I'm looking forward to seeing these trees mature and look back to this day when we planted them as tiny baby trees. 

While out at our lake property, I spotted some new goodies I had never seen before. My grandmother had several little birds sitting on the window sill. She told me a friend of hers was trying to get rid of some of her things and my grandmother selected these:

I was so excited to see her new friends, and I'm glad she brought them out to the lake for us all to enjoy.

so, so cute...

Now that the busy weekend is over, I'm looking forward to getting back to some projects. I have been working on a quilt for my friend's two month old daughter. I'm hand stitching the top, so it's a little more time-consuming, but really, I just haven't been steadily working on it. I had some ambitious plans to hand-quilt it too, but I think I'm going to just do it with the machine. I am determined to finish it this week though.

I have finally gotten my studio set up to a point where I am happy with it. I won't say I'm "finished", but I'm really happy with it right now. I'll be sure and show you some pictures this week (probably tomorrow). I'll have to snap some photos before I mess it up again. It never takes too long, does it?

Oh, and by the way, Eric and I tied to win the Oscar contest! That's two years in a row for me...

the most wonderful time of the year?

I went out and took a few photos of the bulbs blooming in the front yard. Once I got down on the ground, I realized the photo was much more than just pretty flowers. I love how the bulbs force themselves through the dead leaves of autumn and winter to bring color and life to the ground. Add some sunshine, and you have a little scene that is sure to bring a smile to your face.

Message to Spring: Bring it on!

Eric and I are heading to the family lake property this weekend to plant some trees for my grandparents. Of course, it's supposed to be a beautiful day today and rain tomorrow for the tree-planting. It's a bit disappointing, but it shouldn't really matter too much. I'm just happy to have the opportunity to help my grandparents.

As you may be aware, the Academy Awards are on Sunday. It's the one day of the year that I always make a point of having a party. It started out very simply nearly ten years ago now, and over the years it has become a bit of an event. I love movies, but the Oscars can be a tad long and boring. To make things a little more interesting, I print up ballots for everyone, and everyone has to place their votes before the start of the show. I decorate the house, get gussied up, and make a variety of finger foods for the guests/competition. By the time the show airs, most people vote pretty much the same way for the major categories, so it ends up being the other categories like Cinematography, Documentary and Foreign Film that separate the winner from the losers. The prize is , of course, bragging rights, custody of the Oscar statue for the next year and usually something  else. I haven't decided on the gift yet.

Despite my love of films and being the host every year, I lose. Every year...and usually to the same person (ugh!). However, last year was the first year I won, and I plan to hold on to my Oscar statue this year.  I will  keep you posted. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

getting back to normal

Is there anything quite so delicious as a cup of hot chocolate with fresh whipped cream on top? I think not. This was my little treat today in the middle of a day of cleaning. It was a gorgeous, sunny, frigid day here, and I was quite happy to stay inside, listen to some music, clean and, of course, sip on some hot chocolate. I'm really not supposed to eat dairy, but non-dairy whipped topping just doesn't cut it for me.

I have been a horrible blogger, and for that I am sorry. Between my ailing back and trips to visit my mother and my sister, my schedule has been quite full. I took the train to Portland last Friday morning.

and spent the weekend visiting my sister. We awoke to clear blue skies on Saturday, so we headed to Cannon Beach for the day. The weather held up nicely until precisely 1 mile from the beach, where it started raining.

I couldn't have cared less. We are well aware that going to the beach in the Pacific Northwest means bundling up from head to toe and preparing for blustery conditions. I actually think it adds to the beauty of the beaches here. There were very few people on the beach, and Amy's dog, Cody, had a blast running along the beach.

Amy and I walked the beach shooting photos. Amy was using one of her Brownies.

It was a lovely day, and a great weekend. ..

love and pain

I never meant to be away for so long. Life can be unpredictable. That's one of the great things about it, right? Since I last posted, I've had a birthday, my first wedding anniversary and hurt my back. Yeah, I feel old. I had a lovely birthday, and two days later, I was hit with terrible back pain for the first time in my life. Not fun. Not at all. I do feel much better though considering that a week ago I couldn't even walk. 

Thanks to my mother for the darling birthday card pictured above. I think I was around 4 years old in the photo she used for the card. I just cracked up when I saw it. It's so me - right down to the pink mary janes. Thanks, mom.

I'm feeling a bit loopy from pain medication right now, so I'm not going to write much. I just wanted to pop in and let you all know I'm still here and wish everyone a wonderful Valentines Day. I'm sending out much love to you all. I'm off to watch Marie Antoinette...

xoxo