Hello everyone! This weekend Peter and I have started to gear up for the holidays. We went to a couple craft stores to get some ideas for decoration and for gatherings this year. We have decided that we will put up the Christmas tree early because we are going up to Seattle for Thanksgiving, and we want to be able to enjoy our decorations for a little longer this year. We are thinking that next weekend we will put up the tree. This will be a little odd for me to put things up before Thanksgiving, but it's all about holiday cheer this year.
The other part of of the weekend that was fun was we did what is becoming an annual biscotti bake. Had lots of fun with some of our lady friends. Thank you Donna for getting the space at your church! We made chocolate chip, blueberry, and almond varieties, and they are so delicious! I would like to have a similar day and make ginger bread houses, or maybe a craft day to make ornaments. Also, we will need to make some time for our annual Christmas Vacation movie night. That was so much fun last year. I would like to know from our Facebook friends if you would like to have a craft day at our house this year? let me know in the comments. We can make it like a potluck. You got to have fun food while you are making ornaments. Last but not least we started a photo project that I think will be a lot of fun in our back TV room. We have decided to fill up one of our walls with fun pictures of our friends, family, and travels. I can't wait to see how it will turn out. We have decided to make it an ongoing project. I think it will be fun to change them out as we please. We are also figuring out a color for the wall. Looks like we are going to choose a nice vibrant color that will make the photos pop. I guess we will have to get printing. Happy start to the holiday season.
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Last weekend Peter and I went to the Chinese Garden in downtown Portland. I wanted to post some pictures and I'm just now getting around to it. so here you go. Enjoy! I was a really lovely day. Thank you Peter for going downtown with me and having afternoon tea.
Tonight I get to sleep in a show bed. You know when you go into a department store, and you see all the beds made up perfect and you just want to get in and fall asleep? Well, today Peter and I went into Ikea and bought the show bed. We bought the sheets, the duvet, the duvet cover, the coverlet, and the pillow shames, and I get to sleep in it tonight! I have never done that before, and I'm so excited to go to sleep in that bed tonight! It has to be the most excited that I've been in a long time. I know it might sound a little silly, but deep down I've always wanted to do that. I guess I can check that one off my bucket list.
It is my birthday next week, and I'm not sure why, but I'm not really looking forward to it very much. It's not that I'm feeling like I'm getting old. I'm just not into it this year. On the way home from work this past Friday I was thinking about birthdays in the past. One of them stood out in my mind. It was my 27th birthday. You might think why was that on so nice? It wasn't a birthday that you would think as monumental like your 21st or your 18th. It was just what would normally be one that was run of the mill birthdays, fun but not over the top. In fact the day started as run of the mill in a way. Not that it was bad start. I got love eyes from Peter, and a very nice happy birthday wishes, but I wasn't expecting anything special. In fact, as I remember I was a little annoyed with the day in general. I new there was something up, but I didn't know what. As it turns out there was a surprise party planned. It was the regular Idea. The people involved tried to make me think that something else was going to happen, and when we got there I was surprised by people in my life that I deeply cared about. I think what touched me the most is two of the key people who helped plan the party had just had there house burn, and yet they found time to organize a gathering in there temporary housing situation. I will never forget that. The night was perfect being around the people who I cared so much about. There was much laughter, and carrying on, and the perfect cake. One of my favorite cakes is red velvet cake, and the perfect version of that cake was made for me. It instantly gave me the memory of my grandmother, and the times that she made me that cake. It was the perfect thing for that moment in time. There is something special when you are surprised by people who really want to be with you on your day.
There are certain moments that you never forget, and that was one of them. It was fun to look back on it, and it made me remember some of the other great times in my life. Like the first time I met a very good friend in my life. The first time I saw him he was wearing a Batman costume in the middle of summer. He was so proud of the the outfit his mother had made for him for Halloween. That would have been 1980 and I was 5 year old. I can't believe I remember that date but I do. It also sparked the memory of sitting up in a friends cherry tree for half a day and just shooting the breeze. That would be in middle school. On the train and coming home I remember half my life I think. Some of the memories more vivid than others but still there. I guess what I'm trying to say is that sometimes we get so busy in our live that we forget to sit back and daydream about old time and times to come. Even though I'm not to keen on my birthday this year it was fun to remember. Thanks to everyone for the memories I will never forget. We finally got our solar panels installed, and it looks like they are generating a good amount of power. We will see when we get our next couple of bills from PGE. I'm hoping that PGE will get out here soon and install our new meter. Also, our contractor still needs to get out here and do our final walk-through of the system that includes telling us how to monitor the power we are generating online and with an app for our phone. That will be really cool!
Peter and I have been working on the yard the last few weeks. It is really starting to shape up, but I haven't done this much manual labor since we lived in the Fairview house, and I realize I'm not in my twenties anymore. Today I woke up and was more sore than I think I have ever been. For the first time I feel like I imagined what forty feels like. That is such a silly statement. How would you know what forty is supposed to feel like? The only bit of reference that I had was other people talking about it. I guess descriptions can be very powerful. Still, the idea forty years of age being some type of barrier to getting things done is a little silly, but I guess I have to work a little differently. I feel better now though.
Anyway, we are very excited about how things are turning out. I will post some pictures when we get further along. Even with all the hard work that we are doing, I have had a lot of fun doing it. The satisfaction is enormous, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. There is something wonderful about sculpting the land that you have worked so hard to get. Peter and I went to Kingston this weekend to celebrate the birthdays of Peter, Peter's mom, and his dad. They are all around the same time. Also, since we were down in Portland for Easter we celebrated that as well. We had a wonderful time. So, thank you very much for giving us such a wonderful time while we were up there with you. We love you very much, and look forward to seeing you in June.
While we were there we mainly spent time relaxing, but we were able to spend some time with Peter's brother and our nephew on Saturday night. Together we enjoyed a wonderful turkey dinner with all the fixings. It was like having Thanks Giving all over again. Extremely delicious! We also had time to squeeze in a nice nature walk, and a walk the park. Thank goodness those two events helped to wear down our crazy dog that night. Today after breakfast and getting a new shower fixture and installing it, we went to a bonsai garden museum. It was really nice. One of the plants was around 2300 years old. We were all amazed that after all that time the plant was still thriving with nice new growth. Just great! What a great collection. We finished our time there with a lunch at a small airport , and spent a about on hour and a half eating and watching the small aircraft take off. That was very fun too. Here is some pictures of our day today. Thank you again to Peter's parents for a wonderful time! Hello everyone! We have been very busy lately with the house, and with work. This weekend we were able to get the paint for the exterior of the house at Metro paint. The total cost for the paint was around $60. So cool! I have fallen in love with Metro paint. You just can't beat the price, and we have used it for other things and the quality of the paint is great. You just don't have the color choice that you would have if you went to one of the big box stores. Also, I have painted the bathroom. We decided to go with Victorian Pewter. It is a very nice rich grey color. I love it with the white moldings we have. I just have to do some touch-ups, and I have to paint behind the toilet.
In other renovation news, we found a great treatment for one of our walls in the living room. It is a molded panel produce that has a slightly retro look, that we think will go great with the look and era of the house. It will be a while before we can afford it, but I will post some pictures when we get that done. I love making progress on our house. It is fun to see this house transform into something even cooler than what we have now. I've said this before I think, but it really is the perfect space for us. Ever since we moved in I've felt at home in this space. Normally it takes quite a bit longer to feel settled when we have moved into other spaces. Solar update: The roof of our house has been installed, and the large spruce tree in the front yard has been taken down. That in itself is huge, but in the next couple of weeks we will get our new electrical panel to accommodate the solar panels, and about that same time the panels will go up. We are very much looking forward to that. I can't wait to start seeing some savings with that. Also, I can't wait to get the government rebates. That looks like it will pretty much cover the cost of the solar panels, not to mention it will help with our taxes. Love that! One more thing. I just planted my tomatoes for the year. There are heirloom, and according to the package the tomatoes will come in several different colors. This year I have also gotten multi-colored carrots, and I have English cucumbers. I will be planting those seeds soon as well. I would also love to grow some different types of lettuce and corn. Fun planing ahead. I hope it all grows well. Take care everyone, and I will talk to you soon. I've had a little fun today and created Rocket Dog. He is new on the store. Come check him out at http://www.just0indesign.com/store.html#.VLxfEMZD9PI
Just a quick note. I have removed the skeleton image from the store, but there are some new items up, including more of the goldfish in the tropical fish section. I think the goldfish is my personal favorite. Come take a look and see.
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April 2018
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