BonFire!

Is it all about the glasses, or is it whats in them?

The Fall Bonfire!

(could this be an annual event only time will tell)

It is so funny how a fire can create this feeling in the air a feeling of Partying!

Where there is fire there are "hotdogs"!

We needed to burn off our yard pile so a few months ago Glenn suggested we have a few friends over and have a bonfire. OK lets do it I said! Well the steps to get to that night will go unmentioned but the actual night was a blast. Now that it is over I would do it all over again. That is only if I wait awhile like maybe 1 year.

Is that Glenn by the door with Lisa, Paul must be trapped inside the lounge will the Ladies ever let him out?

Burn Baby Burn!

Sorry its blurry, long night. Boy was that HOT!

Thanks for putting up with me, you know who you are!

PAELLA

"Paella"

If you like to cook and you like seafood this recipe is for you. Glenn was in Portland last week, he went out to eat dinner at South Park Seafood Grill in downtown on 9Th and Salmonhttp://www.southparkseafoodgrill.com/. He asked about their Paella and wanted to know exactly what it was, they told him it was their specialty. He loved it!

Glenn just loves to use his knifes!

Glenn looked the recipe up online at //www.mediterrasian.com/cuisine_of_month_paella_pf.htm. After we got all the ingredients, which took most of the day because we shopped around for saffron because it is very expensive. So if you know of the best place to get it please let me know.

You know how it is when a man cooks, they think they have to use every pan in the cupboard.

It looked like a fun dish to cook and it cooks up a lot, which happens to be very important to us especially when all the kids come over. As a side note I think it is very important to home cook when you have grown children and they come to visit. It gives them a sense of being home and comfort. Our kids have always been very good eaters and they like most recipes we cook, don't get me wrong we have had "flops" but over all we are pretty successful in cooking for 9 of us and one grandchild, boyfriends and girlfriends so that adds up when you are fixing a meal. A very special lady at work gave me a easy recipe for acorn squash which we served with the Paella;

Put squash in a 9x13 pan in the oven for 2 1/2 hours at 325 degrees, leave whole then after they cook cut them in half, scrape out seeds and stuff baste inside with butter and brown sugar and put back in over on broil for about 5 minutes. Easy and good! Thanks Trudy.

Time to eat!

If you want to try something new and you haven't cook this dish before I recommend you try it. It is really tasty I can't wait to have it again. Another good meal Glenn, Thanks BJ.

Birthday Weekend

Yeah! Nintendo DS, now I can work my mind.


It's funny how you have deep seeded issues or standards from growing up. I was born in October and that time of year on the farm was always corn harvest. Growing up corn harvest took a lot longer then it does now. So my birthday was nice back then but not necessarily a big deal. Now it seems I don't really want it to be deal still but Glenn likes to make it that way, so I just let him :)



We went out on a date Friday night to Bend, we ate and walked around down town then decided to go home, since it was a beautiful evening we wanted to sat outside with a fire in the chimnea and enjoy the harvest sky.
Amanda made the Halloween apron in the back, Glenn got me a silver heart necklace with an onyx skull and crossbones.


Before we went out I opened my presents and enjoy some of the cake Monica made for me. She makes very good cakes I am glad she doesn't make them a lot, I really don't need to be eating that much cake at my age....
1/2 eaten cake.

I took the weekend off, and boy did we have fun really just hanging out I work most weekends so we really enjoy them when we can.

Amanda helps Glenn with jewelry, he tells her what he wants and she creates it. I think it works out nicely for the both of them.

Thank you for all the nice birthday cards, here is to another year of getting older and wiser.

BAMBOO

This post is really not about Bamboo it is about Bamboo jewelry created by Steve King. After you read this post you might want to go to, http://bamboojewelry.com/, to check it out.

I was given this very special gift, unlike anything I have ever received before, Glenn pick out this gift while visiting The Japanese Gardens in Portland, Oregon. Thanks Glenn I will treasure this gift forever....

Silver Cloisonne' Enamel with Swarovski Crystals

*bamboo gift box lined with anti-tarnish fabric*

Radiant Gossamer wing, IE, The Dragonfly

Dragonflies belong to the Order of animals Odanata. All Odanates start life as gill-breathing larva living in water. After 2-5 years, they metamorphose into winged adults and breathe through spiracules (holes) in their abdomen. Contrary to popular belief, dragonflies cannot sting or harm humans in any way! In fact, dragonflies are extremely beneficial - for they eat large quantities of insect pest such as flies, mosquitoes, midges and gnats.

Inside the bamboo box there were tiny information sheets about the jewelry, designer, and their company. I thought that was a neat idea, now when I wear the necklace I know what dragonflies go through just to be alive and that makes the necklace unique, don't you think.

Again Thanks Glenn, for such a unique gift. L, BJ

Monica's eye make-up

Created by Monica

Actually her eyes were very pretty made up like this. I haven't seen make-up done like this before I liked the creativity and individuality of it all.

Lake Billy Chinook

This time of the year the Lake is empty but if it was summer you would see boats as far as you could.

Wow what a pretty sight, If you are ever traveling from Mt. Hood to Bend take the turn that says Pelton Dam. You get to see a working Dam that is closed off probably due to 9/11 but you can still view most of it. If you continue on down the road you come to this really cool camp ground and then a park both are positioned up on the rock ledge looking down onto the water, well you would have to see it to understand. Continuing on down the road you have the view I am showing you here in these photos. After a while you will end up in Culver, Oregon. This town reminds of where I grew up in Warden, Washington, so every now and then I like to travel though this town just for that feeling, there really isn't anywhere to stop in Culver but then again there really isn't anywhere to stop in Warden either.
This Juniper tree was loaded with juniper berries so I just had to take a photo to show. If you look off in the distance in this photo we are still up pretty high and the view is amazing..

Chimnea Time!

Fire!

The other night we enjoyed the evening sitting outside in front of our chimnea. We purchased this chimnea 9 years ago when we lived in Oregon City. We used this chimnea allot at the time because the weather was always damp and cool. Here in Central Oregon where it is dry and cold it hasn't been used as much, but this year I think we will be using it allot, because it is really enjoyable to sit in front of a fire while gazing at the bright fall stars in the sky. Glenn keeps repairing this chimnea thinking he can get one more season use out of it. I think there is more liquid nail stuff on it then the terracotta material it is made out of. While we were watching the fire, he noticed another crack he needed to repair, I hope it makes it like we want "just one moreyear".

9+ year old chimnea and Juniper Berry!

My walking partner Yvette and I got a little cold this morning during our walk, the temperature was 28 degrees, so we had to put on our hat, gloves, scarf, long johns and a coat. The sage brush was coated with frost and we saw large frozen bugs on the path we walk on, now that is cold. The dry canyon walk is a great place to start out a fall day here in Central Oregon!

Mom of older ones!

Glenn and I have tried to raise our Kids to be independent and self thinkers, sometimes I think maybe we taught them too well. All 6 of them are very independent, the 5 older ones are all out on their own, raising a family, in relationships, working, going to school and trying to make it in this crazy world we live in. We are very proud of each of them, but with all this said I wonder sometimes if they remember take a few minutes out of the day and think of us, meaning "the parents". I get this way when I don't see one of them or talk to one of them for a while, you know how life is, busy busy and one day turns into the next. Then I get little signs that they do think about us and it sure makes my day. Here are some examples that have happen here lately:


We were invited to see his new apartment, and we did :)



Wants to participate in the Walk For Memory with me and we had a great time :)



I get a text message each morning with how many days it is till my birthday, I think she is trying to remind I am getting another year older :)



Remembers to send me their new address before they move :)




Then I get my very 1st blog follower,I have been waiting for someone to sign in, I am so excited it was you, you know who you are and I thank you :)




It is the little stuff like that sure makes a Mom's Day. If you are a Mom of older Kids you know exactly what I am talking about. So I am going to end here and go call My Mom just to say Hello! Have a great weekend, I am going to.

Mom