On to Wenatchee

After the Sisters Quilt Show, we headed north to visit friends in Wenatchee. It was a beautiful drive with the sun shining warmly. I guess I'll forever love the golden colors of Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington. That baked in the sun glow is so homey to me.

(These photos were taken through the car windshield and on the move.)

Here we have wheat growing and what's that .. a crop of telephone poles and a crop of electricity generating wind machines? Too fun.

We crossed the Columbia River at Biggs-Mary Hill. Yes, that means STONEHENGE!!

The road was closed going to Stonehenge so we had to continue on our way. I just love standing in the circle of stones, even though they aren't the real deal. I have to go to England for those and I do hope to manage that next year.

We crossed the Columbia again in Wenatchee.

Carmen, (friend for 60 years!), and her husband, Jay, just bought a home in Wenatchee so we stayed with them for two nights.

Sisters.... not the quilt show, the real thing! So where's Ina's gray hair?

Ina and her hubby, Warren aka: bil. It was their 27th anniversary that week.

After Ina and Warren left, we were able to meet Janice, (friend for 57 years!), and her hubby, Blake. We went to dinner at McGlinn's Public House in Wenatchee. Pizzas are great, and I didn't hear any complaints about the other meals either.  (My camera was set wrong ... sorry).

And here we are ... a year older than the last time I posted a photo of us.

Still kickin' and still friends.



How NOT To Blow Out Candles

I had these great candles that I had never used along with a lovely candle holder. We had company for a New Year's dinner last night and I figured it would be the perfect time to light these candles... kinda fancy things up a bit. Nice, huh?

After visiting Kari, I got these ideas for hors d'oeuvres:

Filling Tostitos brand scoops with finely chopped carrots, broccoli and chicken was a hit. Kari used a little mayo in hers with a dill seasoning which has garlic and other herbs in it. I found some in our natural foods section and I used grapeseed mayo. Very easy and tasty.

I got out my fondu pot and made a 4-cheese sauce for crackers or veggies or whatever.

I made what is called "boozy olives" where I soaked green olives in gin then served them. I don't like gin but everyone else who came to dinner does and they enjoyed them.

I found a great recipe for garlic shrimp.

Jack made corn fritters and he made the main dish which was Wild Mushroom and Chicken Stroganoff over pasta. Mmmmm. I made a spinach, feta and cranberry salad.

One friend brought some appetizers as well so we ate a plateful BEFORE the main meal!

What the heck, it was the last dinner in 2011, we can all walk it off in 2012, right? Luckily, the meal was simple and no one became overstuffed.

The other friend made a German Chocolate Pie for dessert. Sounds good, doesn't it? Well, we never got the chance to find out because as she entered the house, she stumbled and dropped the pie which was in a glass pie plate. Smashed to smitherines! Luckily, she was okay.

We were all actually thankful we didn't have dessert or we would have been uncomfortable.

I then made Irish Coffee and someone brought champagne to toast in the New Year.

A fun evening of eating, visiting and playing games with friends. Good times to say the least.

I decided it was time to blow out the candles and I did with gusto. Poof! All out.

This morning I was saying to Jack how nice it was that the candles didn't melt and make a mess. He walked over to them and said, "Well, they DID melt and make a mess!"

I hopped up to see what he was talking about and found wax all over the wood cabinet top and splattered up the wall.

I couldn't believe that candles would splatter...then it dawned on me: When I blew the candles out, the melted wax that puddled near the quick had gone flying out! So I was the one who made the mess.

Next time, I'll pinch those flames out instead of blow on them. (Geeze)

The wax came out okay but the color stained the wood and the wall. Red is my favorite color, but not like this! I have to do some research and see how I can get it out.

Well, Blogging World..... Happy New Year!



Wenatchee, WA

I realize that I have posted photos from trips to Wenatchee before, but somehow, this city just keeps calling me. Eastern Washington tugs on my heartstrings in a way that no other countryside has ever done.

This is Castle Rock. Unless you are looking at it from a certain viewpoint, the castle blends into the hills.

A high school teacher, students, the City of Wenatchee and some businesses teamed up to enhance this area of town with a mural painted by the students. Each panel shows a different activity that the locals can enjoy in and around Wenatchee.

The electric company has built up a gorgeous park along both sides of the Columbia River. Not only are the trails great for walking, jogging, riding bikes, etc.; but the artwork along the way was to me a special bonus.

This was one big cat.

Tall poles were set with plywood on top so the osprey could make their nests. This one was busy hauling yet more sticks into this already huge nest.

There were lovely flower gardens along the way too. If anyone knows the name of this flower, please let me know.

This was looking up river towards where we stayed in Entiat.

It's windy along the river but it felt good to both of us.

This amazed me: at the County (or State) Park, they have these life jackets near the boat launch for people to borrow and put back when they are done using them! Free of charge; it was the Honor System. One more reason to want to live in Wenatchee.

As we were leaving, a pretty double rainbow graced the sky. It actually got brighter as time passed.

If anyone needs directions, just let me know. I may just want to hitch a ride with you!

Surprise Attack

My BFF, Sandy, just accepted a position as minister in Cashmere. Within 30 days time, she had to pack her lifelong belongings, clean her house to sell, organize the move of about 1200 miles and relocate her two dogs and two cats. Moving with her and helping with the details was her 30 year old daughter, Alyssa.

Their journey took three days and about ten times that number worth of stories to tell along the way. Settling in has been less than pleasant with horror stories to tell about their house! I'll spare you all the details, but one week later, they were both questioning their decision to move.

Enter me and my family and my friends to change Sandy's and Alyssa's outlook! The story in photos:

Before leaving home, I had to scramble to pick the boysenberries from our neighbors' bushes since they were on vacation and left the berries to us. MMmmmmm....

 Then to Washington where we stayed at Mom's one night then took her to Ina and Warren's lovely home in the San Juan Islands.

 It was really tough staying there two nights.

Did I mention that I had taught Ina to quilt not too very long ago? Check out the fabrics in her stash; whereas she had NO stash a few years ago.

She even made this lovely quilt to donate to Friends of Zanika to raffle off. The proceeds go to help rennovate Camp Fire's Camp Zanika Lache. Want to buy some tickets?... just let me know! 

Then over the Cascades to get ready for our surprise.

Mom, Ina and me along the Wenatchee River. It smells so good there. 

Through Leavenworth, which is a Bavarian style town which draws tourists from all over the place. It had grown a lot since I had been through there last.

 We drove through Cashmere and I waved, (just for Sandy and Alyssa!)

Then to the Columbia River headed to Entiat. Notice the trees are gone. It's as if they all fell off the hills and into the river, the change was so drastic.

The view from our house was absolutely gorgeous. The smells here were so different from up the highway by the Wenatchee River. Different and yet so amazingly wonderful.

Mom and Ina enjoying the HEAT!

Jack and Warren enjoying the view and the brew.

Here we all are at the only Mexican restaurant in town.

The food was delicious so we really lucked out.

Heading close to Cashere. This photo is so Sandy's SoCal friends can see the lay of the land where she is now living!

I was so excited, I could hardly contain myself. I was ready to jump out of the car and start jogging. Me, the NON-jogger! "Hurry up, Jack, drive faster!" (I can't believe I actually said those words. I'm usually yelling at him to slow down!)

We got there so early, we had to hide outside the church so Sandy wouldn't see our Oregon plates and figure out why I wasn't answering my home phone!

We all snuck in the back door until Sandy spotted Mom. It confused her at first, then she saw my curly gray hair and knew we were in not only her new town, but her new church as well!

(She would be the short one in green and white.)

From church, we went to Jan and Blake's home. They graciously offered their home for a bbq and our get-together so everyone could meet Sandy & Alyssa and spend time together.

Here the ladies are. Although we didn't post any "Men Not Allowed" signs, it was certainly a segregated group!

This is of the Maringo Road bunch. (Notice our hostess is the only one drinking. I think the stress of me having a party at her house must have forced her to tip the bottle!)

Here we are with three of my BFFs. I've known Sandy 40 years, Carmen 60 years and Jan 58 years.

Sadly, the gathering had to end and we headed back to Entiat. I loved this sign. I couldn't take my eyes off of the hills searching for the wild sheep but didn't see any.

The next day was saying good-bye to family, having lunch with Sandy and spending the rest of the day and evening with Jan and Blake. I'll report on that in my next blog. Wenatchee is such a cool city to visit that it deserves a posting of its own!

In the car on the way home, I discovered loose change at the bottom of my bag. Imagine my surprise to discover they were British pounds! Ina must have planted them in my bag as a hint that we need to plan a trip to England! Hmmmmm, Cornwall? Stonehenge? Doc Martin's village? Soggibottom? Big Ben? Sherwood Forest? Oh dear, this might take some fun sort of planning!, Thanks, Ina.

Outside of Ellensburg, the fields were ablaze with shades of green.

Over the hills towards Yakima and the hills started turning a rosy color behind the sage.

Leaving you with one photo of close to our home. Such diverse landscapes and all are equally beautiful. Dry or wet, brown or green or water blue.... we do live in a beautiful world.

Thanks Ina, Warren, Mom, Janice, Blake, Carmen, Jay, Sandy and Alyssa for a great time. I think I'll just leave my bags packed as we are headed for California in 10 days! Oh my!!