Putting Away Christmas

It's always kind of sad to start putting away all of the lovely Christmas decorations, many of which have been in my family for three generations. But today I got started by plugging in the tree lights one more time, putting on my favorite Christmas CD's, and making a cup of tea to fortify myself!

Here's a picture of about 200 of my 350 Shiny-Brite ornaments in an old antique egg basket.  They look so festive, and I plan to hold this image in my mind until next Christmas rolls around.

Christmas Day for a Dog and A Child

My granddaughter Kaila had two days of Christmas, beginning on Christmas Eve.  She still believes in Santa, so it's fun to hear her talk about what he is going to bring her this year.  From the looks of what she brought over to our house on Christmas Day, Santa brought her everything she could ever want!

Nala the dog had a good Christmas, also, and was busy trying to open her packages of dog biscuits a few days before the big event. We finally had to put the biscuits up in the closet so she would not get into them.

It was a wonderful Christmas for our family.

Christmas Mice

Many years ago, as a child, I was fascinated with mice, and while in the fourth grade, I wrote a full-length novel (14 chapters) about the adventures of a family of mice.  It was called "The Dancing Mice".  I even did all of the illustrations, and I still have my 'book' to this day.

Over the years, I've collected handmade mice both large and small, and each year, they end up somewhere in the house in a tableau.  Here's a picture of all of them, posing in the snow, with one sitting in a little doll's chair.  They always bring back my childhood.

Christmas is Here!

Christmas morning finally got here, and we had a nice breakfast of Praline Pecan French Toast, bacon, orange juice and stollen--what a great way to fuel ourselves for the day!  Mom and I cleaned up breakfast and then started thinking about our 2 p.m. dinner.  We took it easy in the morning, reading the paper and putting the last-minute touches on the dining room table.

Dinner at Italianissimo in Woodinville

We had my birthday dinner last night at Italianissimo in Woodinville.  This was the restaurant where we went for our first date in 1994.  It's changed locations since then, but it's still the best place on the Eastside for Italian.

I had the ricotta and spinach ravioli with a light red sauce, and a wilted spinach salad with bacon and viniagrette.

More Holiday Baking

So far, we've made stollen, sugar cookies, fudge and now these holiday coconut bars.  They are very rich, with gumdrop 'holly' atop each one.

Birthday Flowers

My best friend Liz sent this lovely basket of flowers for my birthday, and it will make a lovely centerpiece for my Christmas dinner on Tuesday.

A Christmas Birthday

I love the holiday season and my birthday three days before December 25!  Yesterday, I started out the day with lunch with my neighbors at Preservation Kitchen in Bothell. We had a lovely brunch which provided a break from the busy days leading up to Christmas.  We had lovely omelettes with smoked duck and creme fraiche and dill, with homemade rustic wheat bread and Yukon Gold potatoes.

Food and friendship make for a good pairing, and this lunch was a good substitute for our spring and summer days visiting over our picket fence or spending time in each others' yards.

Christmas Stollen

Look what just came out of the oven!  There are two lovely loaves of stollen that are decorated and ready for the holidays.  I hope at least one of them makes it to Christmas!

Nala the Dog

Nala loves to ride in the car and go to various local parks to sniff and play.  Here she is in her winter coat, on her way to her next outing. 

Molbak's at Christmas

Molbak's is the place for beautiful poinsettias at Christmas time.  I found two red ones and some smaller peach-colored ones for the table in front of the living room window.

Jerry Wilmot Park in Woodinville (Gateway Park)

We took Wally to Wilmot Gateway Park in Woodinville today--it was a new location for her to walk and explore.  It's a lovely park, and I while I had driven by it many times, I had never stopped there.

The dog loved it!  Here she is in her Thunder Shirt and her new Christmas bandanna!  Looking good, girl!

Day Two of Vacation

Great day!  Slept in, had a spa day, went Christmas shopping for all of the dogs and cats in my life, and took Wally to the park.

Here are two great chairs outside of my favorite doggie boutique, "Knicknack Paddywack" in Mill Creek, and two dog treat dispensers.

The Maltby Cafe, Best Place for Breakfast in Washington

After shopping in Monroe this morning, I ended my 'walkabout' at the Maltby Cafe around 2 p.m. and enjoyed a Turkey Club sandwich and a green salad.  That will certainly tide me over until dinnertime.

The First Day of Vacation

I have a whole week off in the month of December!  I have so many things to do that I scarcely know where to start.  Christmas preparations are underway!

Actually, I DO know where to start!  I showed up at the Clearview Starbucks bright and early, and had an artisan veggie sandwich and a Pumpkin Spice latte.  I sat and savored the meal, and enjoyed the ambience of my neighborhood Starbucks.

Farewell to Grace

We said our goodbyes and shared our memories Saturday of  the life of Grace Ross Brandis, 1918-2012.

Stained Glass Ceiling

Here is a shot of the stained glass ceiling of the First Congregational Church in Vancouver, Washington.  Many of the panes of stained glass were removed from the old Portland Congregational Church and installed in the newer church that was built in the 60's.

Christmas Trees and Christmas Cookies

Here is the Christmas tree, up and decorated! And here is a decorated Christmas tree cookie from Panera Bread Company!  I love this season...

First Poinsettia of the Season

While I was at Flower World yesterday, I bought one poinsettia to get my holiday season launched.  The large salmon-colored ones are my favorite.

We also bought two red poinsettias, Don's father's favorite, to take to Vancouver next weekend to place on his parent's grave.

Flower World and Christmas Trees

I had to check out the trees and poinsettias today at Flower World.  Here are some lovely trees grown locally, and I hope someone takes them home soon!

Giving Thanks

We had our whole family together for Thanksgiving this year, as always, and we also celebrated Dave's 38th birthday.

The Cabbage Patch had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with 7 entree choices, which allows the men in the family to have prime rib if they like, and the 'girls' can have their traditional turkey dinner (with no cooking!).

We came home to Maltby for dessert, which was homemade apple and pumpkin pies.

Parkhill Cemetery

As a family, we visited Parkhill Cemetery today, where Grace will join her husband after 25 years apart.

Linwood Brandis created the calligraphy for the joint headstone, and seeing his strong, vibrant letters brought back many memories for brothers Don, Craig and Ross today. Not only was their father an Army Chaplin in World War II, and an Army Chaplain at the VA Hospital, but he was an amazing folk artist and calligrapher.

The headstone will be cleaned up before the memorial service on December 1, and Grace's ashes will be buried in a turquoise urn next to Linwood.

Totem Pole and Canoe

Here is a totem pole and a canoe set on the property of the Heathman Lodge in Vancouver, Washington.

The Heathman Lodge, Vancouver, WA

The Heathman Lodge is a rustic retreat in Vancouver, and brings modern amenities to the Pacific Northwest architecture.  The grounds have lovely landscaping and sculptures, and the Lodge boasts a great restaurant (Hudson's).

Fort Vancouver, Part II

Here is the sign at the entrance to Ft. Vancouver, and a lovely gazebo that provides a contemplative place to view the Columbia River and many acres of the fort.

Fort Vancouver, Washington

Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District (which covered the northern half of the region known to Americans as the Oregon Country). Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of the Columbia River in present-day Vancouver, Washington, near Portland, Oregon. Today, a full-scale replica of the fort, with internal buildings, has been constructed and is open to the public as Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.

For more than 150 years,  Ft. Vancouver housed thousands of Army soldiers and their families.After World War II, my husband's father was the Army Chaplain for the VA Hospital at Fort Vancouver.  This weekend, after the death of Don's mother Grace, we traveled to Vancouver and met with family to plan the memorial service in December.  After the arrangements were made, we had brunch, and then went to the cemetery together, and finally visited the old family home on Ft. Vancouver where Don and his family lived for many years (until their father's retirement from the Army). They lived in a large old house on Officer's Row, just a few houses down from Grant House, where Ulysses S.Grant was stationed on September 20, 1852. Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), then a 30-year-old Brevet Captain, later a famed Civil War general and United States President, arrived with the 4th Infantry regiment at Columbia Barracks (later called Vancouver Barracks), a U.S. Army base on the Columbia River.

Christmas Anticipation!

My granddaughter Kaila can't wait for Christmas this year! She and Dave put up their tree today.  I can't wait to see it.

A Trip to Flower World Today

October and Halloween are past, and November is well underway.  I stopped by Flower World today to see what they had growing, and much to my surprise, there were hundreds of poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima)!  There were red and salmon-colored varieties that stretched the whole length and width of the indoor portion of the public greenhouse area.  They were small, but I'm assuming that they are in place to be tended during the next two months while they grow to their mature size.  I can't wait to shop next month and make my selections!

I did buy a pink and white Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera), which will join the one I already have at home. It should burst into bloom during the first few weeks of December.  This trip to Flower World was enough to catapult me into the Christmas spirit a month early!  I can't wait!

Carving the Pumpkin

It was a good weather day today, with warm temperatures in the mid-50's and no rain.  We carried our large pumpkin out to the picnic table in the pasture, and the carving began!  Kaila's job was to pull out all the pumpkins seeds so they could be roasted and eaten later.

Here is the process as it unfolded.  Even Nala the Dog was out there, cheering us on!

The Search for the Perfect Pumpkin

Well, today the search was on for the perfect Halloween pumpkin, with just three days until the big day!
Kaila and I always take this challenge seriously, and we spent much of the morning looking at literally hundreds of pumpkins--big ones, small ones, white ones, orange ones, and ones that weighed over 100 pounds! With her little shopping cart, Kai picked a great pumpkin that had plenty of room to carve a big, smiling face on it.

Here she is with her prized gourd, and we even had a few minutes to play in the corn stalks before getting our pumpkin in the car.  She named it "The Pouting Pumpkin".