Christmas Recap

Not many pictures to show from this Christmas. We went to an early Christmas Eve service at the community center, celebrated by the Rt. Rev. Cabby Tennis, and notable for its relaxed atmosphere including wandering dogs. Afterwards, Boo and Evan played guitar while Brent cooked dinner. Then we watched White Christmas, all of us on the sofa gathered around the laptop.

The stockings were hung on the closest pillar to the woodstove, and Christmas morning they were full! Brent and I use our childhood stockings, made by Mom. This picture was prompted by Ann sending a picture of her stocking recycled for her new grandson, Noah.

Boo has her childhood stocking made by her grandmother, and Evan has a patchwork one I made when he was a baby.

We opened present after present, ate lots of bacon, eggs and sweet rolls, and enjoyed the day. That evening, we had a wonderfully tasty and laugh-filled dinner at the Kings.

Thanksgiving Recap

Another Thanksgiving in Mazama is past. There was so much snow this year that it looked like Christmas. Nikki really loves rolling in the snow, but it was so deep and heavy that she had a hard time plowing through it. Arthritis in her hind legs is starting to slow her down.

 

Thanksgiving afternoon (and all day Friday) it rained, and then it got really cold, so the snow hardened up and the dogs could walk on top of it.

 

Jon Fewster carving the turkey (cooked by Victoria) while Evan checks his phone?

 

The feast spread out, ready for piling on plates.

 

Brent and Evan.

Thanksgiving Update

So what happened to November? Slipped away in a daze of rainy spells alternating with clear, frosty spells... ending in a trip to Mazama for Thanksgiving. Nikki and I rode over with BT and Boo, enjoying a rare early winter sunny day with the North Cascades pass still open. Evan and David had driven over the day before, to spend some extra time with Annie.

Diablo Lake from the lookout.

Mountain at Washington Pass. BT and Evan met to ski here. The flare is from the camera's flash reflecting off the car window.

David making pie crust.

Annie relaxing.

Annie's hearty salad, before being tossed together.

Pies!

Family Time in Mazama

Spending a long weekend at my brother's cabin in Mazama. In addition to Brent, Boo and Evan, my sister Jill, BIL Bob are out here from Iowa, and their daughter Annie is just down the road in Twisp. We've had a couple of nice dinners out at the picnic table.

One of the things I wanted to do this summer was make room for making new quilts by giving away some of what has accumulated. I brought this stack over, and we looked them over last night.

Then, for fun, laid them all out in the grass. The grass is uncut, so the quilts look a bit lumpy, but it also kept them off the ground. Boo got up on a ladder for the birds' eye view photos.

I had come up with a picking order, and Jill got to go first. She chose the September Light quilt, which was just finished this year. 

Brent chose this older, traditional looking quilt. He said they were looking for a light weight summer cover.

Bob picked the Autumn Braid quilt, which has such nice color blending.

Boo picked this medallion. She like the huts on one of the borders and also on the back. Plus it looks really good on the sofa here.

Annie got Blue Ridge Mountains. Blue and white are Luther College's colors, and she said a lot of the fabric prints reminded her of India.

Jill and Bob picked this one out for David, who is currently enjoying playtime in Alaska. The Amish colors should remind him of Kalona and Iowa, now that he is a convert to the northwest.

Evan picked this jungle kaleidoscope lap quilt. I think the designs will keep him intrigued.

The group with their quilts.

There are still some left, and the Swede Turners will receive theirs later this summer.

Christmas Eve at the Cabin

I didn't take too many pictures this year - snow-covered cabin, Christmas tree, all about the same as previous years. But here are a few for future reference:

The tree at night, decorated and presents waiting.

The view from the river-side loft.

Brent in the kitchen. Wonder who took this one? Wasn't me...

Day After

Woke up to several inches of snow on the ground and it's still snowing. It seemed like it might switch to rain midday, but it just kept going. This was all bare and dried grasses yesterday. And the picnic tables were bare.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving in Mazama this year. Leaving the rain behind in Seattle, it snowed on both passes, but cleared off by Wenatchee. Thanksgiving day itself was dry, with a few sun breaks. A day of constant activity in the kitchen, as people and courses rotated in and out. Dinner was around 6.

David and Annie making pies.

Annie's hearty salad, before being tossed.

Brent carving the bird.

Boo's rolls.

The feast displayed.

Pie-makers and their  results.

More Weekend

"Mom, why didn't you pack this better?" Not to worry JK, the bottle wasn't broken, and the leaked ink was all inside the baggie. 

On Saturday, Annie started sorting through her art supplies, and experimenting with techniques. She sat in the sun on the deck, and used pine needles to apply ink and moss to apply gesso. Her test pieces looked really good to me.

Birches, by Boo.

I liked the layering of colors here.

Sunday was quite a bit cooler, there was a light dusting of snow on the mountain tops and even a few flakes in the valley. Driving home, there was fresh snow in the passes and the trees were all frosted with it. Looked like Christmas, or at least winter! 

Fall Color

Drove over to Mazama with Boo for a long weekend. The North Cascades were beautiful, and we only had a few sprinkles at the top. And it's lovely once we're here.

Still sunny at the cabin when we arrived.

The river is really low, but clear. Nikki went swimming; she just loves water.

Annie came home from work and made dinner: eggplant-almond enchiladas. It rained heavily during the night, and off and on all day. I've never been here before when it's rained so much.

Weekend in the Methow

Brent picked Nikki and me up late Thursday afternoon, and we drove across the North Cascades. We made pretty good time, and the sun was just fading off these peaks on the eastern side.

Yesterday Boo and I went to the Twisp Farmer's Market, and then a number of other stops to run errands. It's been pretty hot over here for a week, but yesterday afternoon there were scattered thunderstorms and then a really good rain that cooled things down. Good sleeping weather. 

Morning sun across the dewy meadow. 

Their garden is thriving, and we've been eating the radishes and lettuce. 

The Methow River, from the trail crossing. 

 The dogs enjoy the water in different ways. Peco prefers to stand only ankle deep, and take delicate sips. Nikki thinks its too shallow, and flops down for full immersion.

I think this tree is really an Ent!

Christmas 2011

Happy belated Christmas! I went over to Mazama and got back late last night. I was mentally preparing myself to drive alone, but then Boo said that Brent would be driving over on Friday, and I could get a ride back with Jeremy. It was quite a relief not to have to drive all that way by myself.

Brent's latest project at the cabin is building a sauna. He found a guy on Craigslist selling cedar boards, so we made a side trip to Enumclaw to pick up a load of wood, which filled up most of the inside of the van in addition to quite a bit tied to the roof racks. It certainly smelled good!

Little Sauna in the Big Woods

The cedar is to panel the inside and make benches. I think the outside of the box might get some finishing siding as well.

Christmas posting is not complete without a picture of the tree, even though it's mostly blocked by Brent, wearing the Santa hat to hand out presents. Evan and Jeremy on the couch.