Family Wedding

Yesterday was the wedding of Kendall's cousin.  A good reason to have 9 house guests!

Pickles

I got home from The Cleveland Clinic yesterday where Dad had his heart surgery is well on the way to mending.  Kendall and I added 8 pints of Bread & Butter Pickles to our pantry with cucumbers from our garden. 

Post-Op Day 2

Today is Dad's second day after his cardiac surgery on the 9th.  He is doing better than we anticipated.  The last chest tube was removed this afternoon and he took a short walk in the hallway.

The balloon sings "don't worry, be happy" which seems to fit as his theme song

The entry to the unit that is home for awhile

The patient back in bed

Baby Birds

Today we bought a pine tree for the front of the cabin.  We found a bird's nest with three little babies nestled inside.  The nursery said they will hold the tree for us until the babies are ready to be on their own.  No extra charge for the nest.

Harvest

Produce from our garden

Peaches

This week was for processing peaches from Palisades, CO.  They are juicy and oh so yummy!

Lois even got in on the action when she was here for a night.  What a great job when you are able to spend time with family while on the road!

Camping

This past weekend we went camping in northern Arizona.  It was relaxing and good to get away from the usual routine in a beautiful setting.

Wet Weekend

We spent a quiet weekend at the cabin watching the rain fall on the trees and our garden. Such a nice change of pace.

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Beautiful part of the country

Recent Activity

Our garden is beginning to come to life

Berry Bushes

Flowers

Lettuce, Carrots, Potatoes

A tomato on the vine

The Weekend of the 4th of July in a small town...

Gazebo at the town square

Parade with Cowboys

Cotton Candy!!

Fireworks

Last night we had great seats for the annual fireworks display in our adopted home town.

TV Appearance

I was asked to return to the show that I was on this spring talking about the nursing shortage.  This time I was a "Home Chef".

This is my friend Janne who has also published cookbooks and appears regularly on the show (we also work together).

This is the set where we cooked and baked.  Our cookbook was off having its picture taken so isn't on display here, but it was for the show.

I demonstrated how to make a Torte.  The hostess and host of the show seemed to enjoy it and I've been invited back!

Birthday

My sweet husband surprised me with roses, an ice cream cake and a streamer proclaiming it's my birthday.

Family Reuniion

This family reunion focused our memories on Aunt Esther who passed away in April.  These are a few of her items that now take their place in my home.

Time for reconnecting

Time for some soccer action with Emma and Rachel

Time to stop and smell the flowers

Time for reflection and worship Sunday morning

Time for singing - a long standing family tradition

.

Mom, Joanna, Ruth, Dorcas

Time with imaginative children

Bunko

It was my turn to host Bunko last night.  We had a Slumber Party theme and all guests wore pajamas.

The menu consisted of breakfast items.

Memorial Weekend

We took an extra day off and were able to spend Thursday night through this morning at the cabin.

The Irises were almost all past.  We had a few hanging on for the weekend.

We got our garden planted: basil, rosemary, lemon thyme, lavender, tomato, chives, sweet corn, lettuce, carrots, cucumbers.  Kendall did a great job with the irrigation system, now we just watch it grow.

We also had lots of visitors from our bird and squirrel friends. The weather was perfect and relaxation was in order.