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BLOG DESCRIPTION:
   Shi Blogs Too: from out of the mountains where I live. I will now be keeping a journal. This is something new for me. I have no idea what I am doing, just that I am diving in. This should be an interesting journey for me. Mainly because I consider myself to be a semi-private person. I live with my fiance and our two kitties, in what I have come to recognize as a small community in a somewhat remote area. Retirement has it's own life style and livelihood. Far away from the norm.       ![Merit Badge in Blog Camping
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Sorry for outbidding you in the [Link To Item #2113623] ...I'm not a fan of bidding wars and feel bad about it. I know this isn't the same thing as the package itself, but it's the least I could do. *^*Smile*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Blog_Camping-1788309_13.gif) If you want to find out more about me...read my Author Bio ~
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You're not going to believe this...all of our snow has melted! There is not a single trace left of it. We had so much rain move into Western Washington with that big storm off the coast, that it melted all of our snow! Including a lot of snow in the mountains; which then turns to water and rushes down into the rivers adding to the already swollen rivers from the rain. The storm brought with it high winds and balmy 60 degree temperatures. When we went to bed last night it was still 60 degrees here! So all that warm air and the downpouring of rain just literally wiped away all trace of any snow around here. We had some pretty high winds here last night. I swear one gust just roared through like a freight train. It could have been at least 60 miles and hour by the sounds of it! They had wind gusts down on the coast of 129 miles an hour! But, that is nothing compared to the flooding that is going on down in Lewis County in Southern Washington. It is just horrible...ten feet of water over huge sections of I-5! They have Major Flooding down there from the Chehalis River at Centralia. It appears that I-5 will be closed in that area for days to come. Especially if parts of the interstate highway have washed away from all that water. My heart goes out to all those people who have homes and businesses under water almost to their rooftops and to those who have lost any loved ones to this record breaking storm. Here at home we have only minor flooding from the Skagit River. We are very fortunate in this area to escape the moderate to major flooding from this storm that is occurring elsewhere in our state. We are thankful that we are safe and that our families are safe also. ** Image ID #1356435 Unavailable ** |
 My last entry was written last night. When we awoke this morning it was snowing again. It snowed all morning here. When it finally stopped we had seven inches of snow! I took some pictures of it before it all melts away. It began raining this afternoon and the snow is melting already. We are suppossed to get even warmer temperatures tomorrow; which will melt a lot of snow in the mountains around here. That may cause some rivers to flood. We are up above the flood plain here in Cedar Grove so we don't have to worry about flooding. Thank goodness. In the meantime I have been enjoying the snow while it lasts. Here are a few photo's that I took today. ** Image ID #1356435 Unavailable ** ** Image ID #1356414 Unavailable ** ** Image ID #1356416 Unavailable ** |
Snow started falling late this afternoon. We now have almost three inches of snow tonight. It is very pretty out there! I should get out and take pictures before it all melts in a few days. They are predicting rain and wind for Monday. That means the snow will not be around for much longer. I think that tomorrow I will put our small tree up and decorate for Christmas. It seems real appropriate now that we have the pretty white snowfall. Our Bentley kitty just loves playing out in the snow. He doesn't want to stay in very long before he begs to go back out again! A different story for Beyonca kitty though. She does not like to get her paws to cold. Looks like the Midwest finally got some snowfall also. That should make for a lot of happy kids I'm sure.  HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE  |
I have been reading Peter Yule's THE BAY ROAD LEGACY
If you love ghost stories as I do you then you must read this one. This is a fine author who has more than one novel to his credit. He would love more reviews on this story I'm sure. No snow here yet...maybe tomorrow?  |
 Still we have no snow here as yet! I can hardly believe it. All of their predictions so far have been off for snow in our area. Today the temperature was even about 48 degrees here! Eastern Washington is a different story though. Ron's sister says the Lake has frozen over and there is two inches of snow on it. She lives at Moses Lake. She says it is really pretty right now. Cold but pretty. Our snow forecast for here was a dud. However, there is another front coming in this weekend that could possibly bring us the white stuff. Stay tuned.  |
| We are waiting for the snow to start flying here sometime tonight or tomorrow maybe. Just for precautions, we went to town for supplies in case of an accumulation of snow here at home. After the big snowfall last year in November we aren't taking any chances! So far the only form of precipitation has been RAIN. We stopped at a steakhouse on the way home. Not a good idea. The restaurant advertised "The Best Steak In Town". Well, I'm here to tell ya that it just ain't so! Like Ron told the waitress when he took his barely touched rare steak platter back up to the counter and proclaimed" This is pitiful"! He asked for our money back and surprisingly got it too! Mine was just as bad at medium rare it was as if it had not even been cooked! We were so disappointed as our mouths were watering for a good sirloin steak. Oh well, that's not the first time we have been duped at a restaurant in this area. We are now convinced that the only good cooks up here are the Mexicans! The food at El Gitano is excellent. We have always come away satisfied. Of course I'm just saying that about the cooks, because we were so let down again when we tried something new around here. I best get off of here and go whip up something for us to eat...we're still hungry! |
Just another entry that I copied from my email. I hope that you enjoy it! Dust If You Must ================= How many countless hours have I spent cleaning? I used to spend at least 8 to 12 hours every weekend making sure things were just perfect, "in case someone came over." Then one day I realized that no one came over; they were all out living life, having fun! Now, when people visit, I find no need to explain the "condition" of my home; they are more interested in hearing about the things I've been doing while I was away living life and enjoying it! If you haven't figured this out yet, please heed this advice: Life is short - enjoy it while you can! And people don't care if your house is spotless just as long as they're welcome. Dust if you must but wouldn't it be better, To paint a picture or write a letter, Bake a cake or plant a seed, Ponder the difference between want and need? Dust if you must but there's not much time, With rivers to swim and mountains to climb, Music to hear and books to read, Friends to cherish and life to lead. Dust if you must but the world's out there With the sun in your eyes, the wind in your hair, A flutter of snow, a shower of rain, This day will not come around again. Dust if you must but bear in mind, Old age will come and it's not kind. And when you go and go you must, You, yourself, will make more dust. Remember, a house becomes a home when you can write "I love you" on the furniture! ~Author Unknown~ |
Thanksgiving was great! We had a lovely dinner spread. Turkey with all the trimmings and yummy pumpkin pie.There were six of us. Mom, Ron's sister Patricia, his sister Ann and her husband Richard. We all stuffed ourselves of course. Then we played Texas Hold Em Poker till we were all too tired to continue. Ron's Mom just loved the poker game! She even took the pot more than once. What fun that was for all of us and her. They celebrated my birthday also. I was surprised with gifts from all of them! Then of course we did our Christmas gift exchange too. We will not be going back over the mountain pass before Christmas so we did it then. The mountain pass was fine. Only a little compact snow and ice. We had no problems going over nor coming back. We did, however, run into a lot of thick fog in Eastern Washington coming home . That is what was treacherous for driving conditions. Before we ran into the fog situation we were able to see a herd of Mule deer cross the road one by one in front of us! How neat that was! There must have been a dozen of them. Our camera was packed so we did not get any pictures though. We saw a few more deer on the trip also. The Mule deer travel in herds. Unlike the white tail deer. That is really different for deer to travel in a herd. I had thought that only Elk did that. I learned something new there. Got my picture taken with Ron's Mother. Here we are!  |
This is just a short entry tonight. I've got to get off of here. I just wanted to stick in this picture of Ron's 90 year old mother. She is a jewel of a person for sure. She is baking apricot horns for our Thanksgiving dinner. Bless her heart, she didn't have to. Well here she is: ** Image ID #1350800 Unavailable ** |
Finally, after months on WDC I have learned how to edit signatures and have them show up in my email and blog! Yeah! Don't ask me what I was doing wrong before now. I guess some things just take time...or maybe old things need more time.  Thanksgiving is almost upon us. I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. I know I look forward to our trip across the mountain pass to Moses Lake. I do not however, look forward to being one year older on that same day! I really shouldn't complain though as long as I am still breathing. We are supposed to get some form of the white stuff later today or tonight. They are forecasting either snow, sleet, rain and snow mixed, or maybe just hail. Who knows what we could get here. Nothing has fallen yet in any other form other than rain, however. Some snow would be pretty. The forecast for the mountain pass looks dry for our travel days. What snow is up there is compact. So our journey should be a safe one. Got to get off of here and start my spaghetti dinner. |
THIS IS A TEST Let's see if you have what it takes. The following short quiz consists of 4 questions and tells whether you are qualified to be a "professional". Scroll down for each answer. The questions are not that difficult. 1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator? The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way. 2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator? Wrong Answer: Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant and close the refrigerator. Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your actions. 3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend? Correct Answer: The Elephant. The Elephant is in the refrigerator. This tests your memory. OK, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your abilities. 4. There is a river you must cross. But it is inhabited by crocodiles. How do you manage it? Correct Answer: You swim across. All the Crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn from your mistakes. According to Andersen Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong. But many pre-schoolers got several correct answers. Andersen Consulting says this conclusively disproves the theory that most professionals have the brains of a four year old. I hope that you enjoyed this test as much as I did! |
We had to go to town today to buy a new yard light. The one that we had was buzzing so badly we could hear it vibrating in the house! Ron says it has something to do with the sodium ones. I'm not sure what causes it. That one went way over my head! It was fun just to get out of the house this time of year. It poured down rain before we left, but by the time we got there it had quit. We stopped at the Jack In The Box outside of Burlington and ate burgers & fries. Then when we got home he had a project with the lights. He was able to take the one that was buzzing down. However, we ran out of daylight for him to begin the installation of the new one. He and his friend Dave are riding bikes tomorrow, so the light will have to wait. I don't like to ride when it is 40 degrees out there! I'm a fair weather rider. |
I'm back to blogging again! Not a whole lot to blog about really. Just my boring life. Going for a haircut and color next week. I've got to get some life back into this head of hair before the holidays! I haven't been coloring it in like forever, and it just looks so mousy and gray everywhere. So I believe it is time for the highlights again. It's always nice to get the new look for the family get togethers anyways.Well, my search for a motorcycle signature is taking me down a dead end. So I think I'll ask Monk if I can maybe get Kiya to make me one similar to his! Do you think that's fair? I'll ask and see what he thinks. I really want one for my blog. Maybe I'll go ask right now. Well, I asked Monk and he didn't mind a bit. Said bikers "stick together". He is so right on that. However, I need not ask Kiya if she can make me one because Sultry Enchantress gifted me this gorgeous one tonight! I just love it and she is so sweet. |
My fiance's 90 year old mother is making these apricot horns for our Thanksgiving dinner this year! I'm not sure if her recipe is exactly like either one of these, but I don't doubt that hers will be scrumptious!!! So I thought that this would be another good recipe to share in my blog today. APRICOT HORNS (RECIPE #1) 1 lb. butter 1 lb. creamed cottage cheese 4 c. sifted flour Blend ingredients together with your hands to form dough. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place in large cookie sheet. Refrigerate overnight. FILLING: 1 lb. dried apricots 2 c. sugar (or use Equal to taste) Cook apricots until tender; drain and puree. Add sugar(or Equal) while pureed apricots are still hot. Set aside to cool. COATING: 1 1/2 c. ground almonds 1 1/4 c. sugar 2 egg whites, slightly beaten Mix nuts and sugar and place in large plate. Roll each dough ball into a 3 inch round. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each round. Roll each into the shape of a horn then brush each horn with egg whites. Roll each in almond and sugar mixture. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Makes about 8 dozen. APRICOT HORNS (RECIPE #2) 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter 3 cups flour 3 eggs yolks, well beaten 1 small cake Fleishman's yeast (or 1/3 of the household size) 1 tablespoon sugar 8 tablespoons cream or top milk 1/8 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup apricot preserves (or more if you like) 1 egg beaten (for glaze) Cut flour and butter together (as for pie) with a pastry blender or fork. Blend in vanilla, the well-beaten egg yolks and yeast, which has been dissolved in the cream and sugar. Handle the dough as little as possible. It will form an elastic consistency. Separate into 3 sections. Take each section, in turn, and roll out in a circle on a lightly floured board or cloth to about a quarter-inch thickness. Spread apricot jam lightly over surface of dough. Cut each circle into 16 wedges, less if you want fewer and larger cookies. Roll each wedge into a crescent shape, starting from the broad base and rolling towards the point. Remember, this dough does not need to rise.) Place on a lightly greased cook sheet. Glaze tops of horns with the well-beaten egg. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until slightly browned. (Pro sets her oven at 325 degrees). Makes about 4 dozen ENJOY!  Thanksgiving Signature made by Bits & Pieces |
Thanksgiving is coming up soon. Here is a great recipe for sharing! Pumpkin Bread 1 ½ cups flour 1 tsp. baking soda ½ Tsp. baking powder ½ tsp salt 4 eggs 1 cup sugar ¼ cup lt. brown sugar ½ tsp. vanilla ¾ cups canned pumpkin ¾ cup oil 350 degree oven. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside. Beat Eggs, sugars, and vanilla in large bowl on high speed for about 30 seconds. Add Dry ingredients and mix well. Add pumpkin and oil and mix well. Pour batter into greased loaf pan. Bake approx 70 min. or until toothpick inserted come out clean. Cool on wire rack. PS. You can use apple sauce in place of all the sugar ( diabetic recipe) Makes it very moist. ENJOY! Thanksgiving Signature made by Bits & Pieces |
Well today is a day to remember for me. Forty four years ago I gave birth to my very first child, a son. That son's name is Michael Ray. So for my blog I'll just say: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!!! ** Image ID #1341108 Unavailable ** |
Okay I'm blogging even if I don't have much to blog about. That sounds so boring I know, but I just can't help how I feel about it today. One of my sister's from Michigan called the other morning to tell me the news that one of our cousins has died. She was getting on in years...but then aren't we all anymore? Not that I was really close to her, but those things tend to have a dull effect on me. Make me stop and think too much I guess. On a brighter side my siggies are selling like crazy! That is so neat. I've ordered one from Sultry Enchantress for my Blog here. I should be getting it soon. I have been trying for weeks to get the custom made one that I want....but to no avail. Sultry says she can do it!! Can't wait to get it and put it in here where it will find a home! ** Image ID #1344644 Unavailable ** |
The wind started howling before we fell asleep last night. Ron said to me " Do you hear that? It's the wind". I was half asleep and replied; "That sounded like a car going by". Then I drifted off and didn't hear anything till morning. It must have been sometime after 8:00 am. when the wind started to howl again. Then it blew the leaves all over till around noon. After that it was a pretty nice day. We headed to town to pick up some groceries, and go to Walmart to get light bulbs. We ended up buying an artificial Christmas Tree! It's a real pretty frosted white one. We just love it and it is just the right size for us. I'll have to take pictures of it when we put it up. That will be after we get back from spending Thanksgiving in Moses Lake. We have two cats in the house and I don't think the tree would fare too well with us gone overnight like that! Bentley the little Russian Blue would have a hey- day with it I'm sure. Beyonca is three years old now, and she's seen Christmas trees before, now she might just ignore it. We'll have fun, anyways, I'm sure when the tree goes up! ** Image ID #1344644 Unavailable ** |
I'm having a hard time getting used to this Daylight Savings Time this year. I'm wanting to sleep later in the morning, but find myself up earlier anyways.. Then by late afternoon it feels like it is late evening to me! Whoever thought of setting back the clocks in the fall anyways? Sure seems like it makes for a much longer afternoon and evening to me. Maybe that was the point of it. It is dark here at 5:00 pm. I don't see where it makes for more of daylight hours to me. Guess my biological clock has to get used to it again. Not a whole lot's been happening around here. We are back to rain again. It's been raining on and off today. There is even more coming in the forecast so they say. Oh well, at least we are not having those horrific storms like last year in November. Last year we had mounds of snow, and plenty of high winds & drenching rain all in the one month. That was when all of the rivers around Western Washington were flooding over their banks. So far this year we are not seeing any of that flooding. Of course we still have over half of the month to go yet! ** Image ID #1344644 Unavailable ** Image is by Undocked |
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