Wreath Making

When our boys were young, we had a family tradition of making Christmas wreathes from the abundant evergreen boughs in our area. Now that we are in an area almost devoid of evergreen trees but very well supplied with grapevines, we decided to take a class on how to make wreathes from grapevines. We really enjoyed it and this will now be a new tradition for us. Here's the first one we made ourselves! We made several more and they just got better each time. The best part of these grapevine wreathes is that they last from year to year - the evergreen ones dried up and had to be made new every year. We also like that the vine wreathes can be used for several different seasonal events, depending on how they are decorated.

Halloween

Last night we celebrated our first Halloween with our grandchildren. They came with their cousins and we grabbed a quick picture. Of course, I had to get dressed up in my costume, too. I made this years ago when Mark was in second grade and also made a matching one for him. Maybe next year, I can get one the children to wear it.

Autumn

Fall is definitely in the air. The is cold and brisk at night, but the days generally warm up nicely. Late this afternoon, we stepped out on to our deck and just enjoyed the view. The picture at the top shows the view from our back deck.
Then we went out front for a couple more shots. After living amongst the tall trees of Western Washington, we are enjoying the unencumbered views which include the sunrise and sunset.

First Snow!

We are now settled in our new house, although we still have lots of boxes to unpack.
We got our internet and telephone connections today, as well as, our first flurries of snow.
We already love it here - it's great having a brand new house and, most of all, having family right here in town with us. They drop in frequently.
Happy Days !

The Big Move

The movers arrive in just 2 days. It will take another 2 days to pack and load and then on Wednesday everything will be delivered to our new house 150 miles from here.
We were over there a couple of days ago signing papers and going through the house to check for any last minute details that needed to be taken care of before taking possession.
John absolutely loves his new garage. We took some pictures of it so we could remember how great it looked before we put our 'stuff' in it.

Surprise Party and a New House

I can't tell you how surprised I was when one of my dearest friends surprised me with an early 60th birthday party with most of my oldest, dearest friends. There wasn't anyone there I'd known less than 25 years. Each one took a turn and said some kind words to me. I'll treasure that memory forever and am so grateful to those who made the effort to come, even those who had moved away years ago. What a wonderful memory! I know I'm blessed richly with great friends in my life. This party also served as a farewell party, too, since we are moving early next month.

So, day after that big event, we went back to Yakima and bought a new house. We had been struggling with which house to buy. There were several we liked, but finally boiled it down to two and then after a couple of stress-filled sleepless nights, we settled on one and had a great peace about it.

Here's a picture of our new house...............

New House

After the inspections, appraisals, and fixes on our current house, we have finally come to terms of the selling aspect of our big move.
Yesterday, we went to Yakima and made an offer on a new house. We still don't have a response, but will let you know. There are actually 2 houses we like, so we will make an offer on both and just see what happens. When we get an acceptance, we'll post pictures....... fun times!