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Well, since today is a little warmer than it's been the last week or so I decided it would be a good day to get the kitchen extra hot and steamy ! I guess pickles just wouldn't taste right if they weren't made in a hot sticky kitchen.
The garden, by-the-way, is awesome this year. The squash, eggplant, peppers and cucumbers have been pouring in and now here come the tomatoes !! I must admit the tomatoes are my favorite....first thing I usually eat when I get up this time of year is a big, juicy, ripe tomato.....with just a dash of salt !
Yesterday my mom and I had a wonderful day with Tess. I can't tell you how many people stopped to tell her how adorable she looks......about to pop....but so tan, healthy and happy ! I have a feeling the baby may get here before too long....certainly before her due date....August 22....I don't see how her belly can get any bigger.....she's likely to topple over....face first !
Our "little one"....Callie... continues to delight us. She's being such a good girl, trying very hard to please. She and our cat, Guppy, have been working out their relationship and seem to be starting to enjoy each other.
Now hearing the pickle jar lids "pop".....a good sign, meaning they're all sealed up . Now the wait......should be ready to eat around Halloween !
Still missing our "girl", but life does indeed keep moving forward. In that line of thought we happened to see a puppy that we thought could fit in our lives and she so made us smile that we decided to take her home ! Sorry for the blurry photo .....even thought she is a "blur of activity" she was actually lying still for that photo , but camera wouldn't focus for some reason and when I got that worked out , the puppy wouldn't stay still !! Anyhow.....she's a border collie mix , 8 weeks old and we named her Callie Rose. She shows great promise.....already house trained, leash trained and a great car rider !! She fills a huge void for us and is great comic relief !
Seems like we've been running around a lot the past week. We spent one day on the coast hiking the beaches, later enjoying a wonderful dinner and music at Terrapin Crossroads where Ross and Dan were playing.
Yesterday Seth was once again climbing El Capitan in Yosemite and so we packed up Callie and headed down there. We arrived just in time to see him reach the top.......very exciting !! and very much a relief for me ! It was a beautiful day there.....isn't everyday there a beautiful day ??.......and so we spent some time with Callie at the river. On the way home the road was closed for a while because of a fire. We only had to wait about an hour and we had a puppy to play with and cherries and oatmeal cookies to eat.....I actually enjoyed the wait , but glad we were in the shade !
Tomorrow my mom and I are headed up to see Tess ! Not long to go for her now and we're going to pick up a few things for the baby. Getting pretty excited and can't wait to meet the little guy !
I can hardly write this without crying, but wanted you all to know that our sweet Australian mutt, Jenny died suddenly around midnight on Tuesday night July 17. As I mentioned in an earlier post Jenny had been diagnosed with Heartworms a few months ago and we had opted to go with a "gentle treatment" because of her age .......almost 12. Up until a few days ago she was feeling so good .......full of energy . She went downhill very fast and on Tuesday we knew she didn't have long. She died outside on the back deck on a starry, cool evening with all of us around her. We've buried her up here so she never has to leave her beloved home.
We still feel quite heartbroken and miss her sweet face in everything we do......we love you, Jenny.....our precious red-dirt dog.
Wow....busy, awesome week! Time to play "catch- up"........Saturday, July 1, was the long awaited baby shower for Tess and Boyce's baby boy. It was a super fun party.....pretty spontaneous, lots of laughter, good, but casual food and a host of wonderful people. Tess received so many lovely gifts and good wishes.......thanks again to all who made it such a memorable day.
On July 3rd we headed down to Granny's party to watch the Sun City fireworks. It was a lovely cool night with lots of great company. On the 4th we were all up early to trek up to town to watch Foresthill's own parade......the best Americana parade around.....the high school football team, Forest Service trucks......with Smokey the Bear !......lots of candy being thrown to the kids and the "Clampers" a very weird club leftover from the Gold Rush days. We came home....fixed some hot dogs and proceeded to play games in the shade for the rest of the afternoon.
The next day we all piled in a couple of cars and drove over to the coast. We stopped in Fairfax, the lovely town Ross and Molly live in, picked them up and headed to Stinson Beach. Despite the fact that it was a cool, windy day the 4 youngest kids jumped right in ......even doing a little Boogy Boarding ! After a long bout of shivering we got them back in the car and off we drove to Point Reyes National Seashore......a true treasure. We hiked down to another beach there and the kids stayed somewhat dry.....no shivering involved ! From there we drove up to a high cliff with an overlook . Tia and I got there first....we looked out and there was a whale below us !! It was such a sight to behold in this glorious, wild setting and we all were transfixed for a good hour. Back in the car....now we were all shivering, it was cold !.......we drove back to San Rafael just in time to see Ross preform at Terrapin Crossroads. Wonderful show.......great time !
Next day , it's off to Chucky Cheese.......Granny's treat! The kids had a ball and came out with all sorts of plastic junk !
Yesterday was another day of adventure. We met Tess and Boyce at their favorite swimming hole on Oregon Creek. It's pretty much right in the middle between their house and ours. It was like a water park , only it was all natural......jumping off rocks, swimming under waterfalls ......even secret passages under water.......it had it all ! We left in the evening hungry, exhausted and thrilled to have spent the day in such an awesome place.
Josh and family left this morning and it seems so quiet. They are such a wonderful family. Thanks for making the long drive, Josh.........we love you all .
I just got word that Seth and his friend Jon are climbing El Capitan in Yosemite ! They started out early this morning at sunrise. It's been a dream of Seth's since he was about 12 years old. It will take them 2-3 days to complete the climb , sleeping on narrow ledges or in slings tied onto bolts.
They also will be hauling up their food, sleeping bags and warm clothes......all that and still be able to literally hang by their finger tips. Am I a little freaked out........I sure am ! I know Seth sees this as the pinnacle of his climbing career and will certainly secure his place as among the elite of climbers, still ......no mom wants to think about their son spending 3 days on the granite face of a huge mountain.
That said.....I'm so proud of you, Seth......your love of your sport and the amazing grace and talent you bring to the world of climbing is nothing short of incredible Come home safely.......my precious Blackman.
Tomorrow's the day ! Jill, Anders, Johan, Espen and Espen's girlfriend, Malena will be here from Norway ! They'll be boarding their plane in Oslo about 11pm tonight our time and arrive in San Francisco 3 pm tomorrow.....it's a long, long flight! They're picking up a rental car in SF and will get up here about 9 or 10 tomorrow night. I've promised them homemade pumpkin pie when they arrive
I've spent the last week getting Jilly's room ready and I hope it looks pretty inviting to her.......a bed of nails would probably look inviting after that long of flight !!!! Tomorrow we'll spend the day getting the pool up and running .......
ugh.....a real pain, but well worth the effort. Yesterday was a Costco run, today a trip down to Raleys......I hope I have enough food stockpiled for at least a couple of days !
Josh, Melanie, Taige and Tia arrive on Friday......after a grueling 12 hour car trip across Utah and Nevada......that's when we start playing musical beds ! I think all kids under,,,,,,hmmm.....18 .....will be outside in a tent . I think Molly, Ross and Tess may be showing up around then also.......maybe we'll make it 30 and under !!! Well, actually, Tess will get a pass in the tent this year, she's mightly pregnant and I doubt she can get up off the ground ! I'm sure we'll figure something out and I know we'll be having a blast !
Big change in the weather since last post.....it hasn't gotten above 60 for the last couple of days and last night we had quite a bit of rain !! It's supposed to stay nice and cool for most of next week and possibly on thru the 4th of July. That would so wonderful since we'll have at least 11 people staying here that week , possibly more. Lots of years it's super hot while everyone is here and it makes cooking and cleaning so much harder.
I spent today getting the extra bedrooms in tip top shape. Jim spent the day taking apart our bedroom and dusting the whole place.....ceilings, under the bed, behind the dressers......the whole nine yards !!! I ran up to Wortons for a few things and then sat out in the sun and finished the baby blanket I'm making for Tess and Boyce's baby. I did the stitching by hand.....so relaxing ......gives me lots of time to think about our new baby grandson !
Molly's driving over from Marin to finish cleaning out their apartment in Auburn . She'll be staying up here tonight . Barbecued pork, baked potatoes, salad and cherry pie for dessert.....no doubt some strange streaming movie on Netflix !
