Well ....

That's a deep subject;) I have a computer. I have a connection. I have writer's block. I guess;)?

Nothing is pouring out of the deep recesses of my brain ... probably a good thing.

I'm just waiting to find the usb cable to hook up my camera to the computer so I can add photos.

January has been a rather nice month so far. No snow. No shoveling. No need for snow shoes. No problem walking around the property from snow drifts. No shoveling the roof. No need for four wheel drive. No plowing. Enough positive no's.

Getting ready to visit the 'happiest place on earth.' Nathan is hyped!

The 'Sweeter' Side Of Life

We never did make it over to Banff, Alberta, Canada. The highway was through the Canadian Rockies and snow tires were required ... which I don't have. Next year maybe Mr. Mac and I can make a trip up there for a few days and enjoy some of the famed hot springs along the way.

My friends, Irene & Belinda, were good traveling buddies. We made quite a 'Three Musketeers" group of gabby gals. And, of course, what would a trip to Canada be without a few stops at Tim Horton's for Coffee and goodies, eh? And a few more bakeries ... perhaps ... hey, we're on vaca.



Photos: Mrs. Mac running out of Tim Horton's :),
Mrs. Mac inside T.H.'s
The 'Three Musketeers' glamor shot inside a model
home for sale (a little diversion for the salesman;)
Oh, another 'Blissful' bakery in Peachland, BC

Those Geraniums

... my favorite potted plant ... geraniums .. whether the scented variety, or plain ol' Tango Red, scream summer, white picket fences, sailboats on blue shimmering seas, friendly cats, rocking chairs, porch swings ... you'd think they were some lofty snooty flower from the places they call home. This window flower box arrangement was spied, captured .. and 'enhanced' via computer wizzardry to become a watercolor snapshot of delight. However grand geraniums can be, the winter winds and frosty mornings let them know that they're not the boss :)

Wilted and withered down to a clump of mush is a geranium left out on its own in the winter climate. There's just no reviving them, no mater how sweet you talk. So if you have any potted ones left out on your porch, be sure to tuck them away in a cool dark place over winter to see if they will give you another showy year.


Here are a few more pictures from my
recent trip. As you can see, God has
such talent when he created our earthly home. The beach was all mine for a moment in time. And the waterfall (Hardy Falls) is at the end of a stream used by spawning salmon. The hike to the falls followed a shallow stream with fish ladders. Some fish were still swimming upstream. To imagine the thousands of miles each fish swims .. then to return to the same place it was hatched. Amazing creation!

Photos: Top, 'Geraniums In The Looking Glass' .. taken and enhanced by Mrs. Mac. .. downtown Peachland, BC (10/09)

Middle, Lone beach, Peachland, BC
10/09

Bottom, Hardy Falls, Peachland, BC
10/09

It's Time

... for my annual vacation dream. To be honest, I like to day dream about travel. Last year we WERE supposed to go to Glacier National Park in NW Montana, but alas, practicality won over and we spent the money finishing up our front yard landscaping. I'm honestly trying to remember the last time I took a vacation. It was probably in 2005. A cruise/land tour of Alaska, and a trip to Missouri/Illinois to see family. Then came the whole upheaval of a move, building a home, time apart from hubby until he retired. Now as I sit here in the middle of winter, it's time to start some planning. Since Mr. Mac is a newby at work, he got slim pickins on the vacation calendar. A week in April, and another week around our anniversary in November. This will mean we have to take Nathan out of school for a little 'home schooling' by bringing a few projects for him to work on during our trip.

No grand travel plans are in the works. We will (Lord willing) make a circular loop over to the Seattle area, drop down to the Portland area, head east through the Columbia Gorge, then north east towards Spokane, WA. Here are some of the stopping off points along the way:

Leavenworth, WA a beautiful alpine Bavarian get-a-way.

Next stop along the trail will be the greater Seattle area that encompasses Mount St. Helens, Mount Rainier and the Puget Sound. Family and friends of ours live in this area so it will be tough to settle on just one or two stops.

Check out these awesome pics

Do you have any vacation plans this coming year?

An Early Christmas Vacation

The schools are closed again today ... so now we are officially in Christmas Vacation mode. Sleeping in until 8:00 A.M. and getting dressed at noon. I just hope neighbors don't drop by unexpected before I am put together.

Christmas! 'Tis the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial fire of charity in the heart.
Washington Irving

School Frenzy Morning

Aaaah ... the morning rush is just over (happy sigh). Nathan headed out the door with a full tummy and a lunch box filled with love. Summer is winding down here at the Mangy Moose Lodge. Our guest room has emptied out too and now it's time to sit back, pour another cuppa joe and unwind! DH has one more month of being my man servant before he once again is gainfully employed. That was a short retirement (May - September) ... but alas, he's completed my honey-do list to a "T". With Ann starting college in three more weeks the Mr. wants to "help" with her finances.

Summer found us taking a 'staycation' (stay at home vacation). Visions of traveling to Glacier National Park have been put on hold. The opportunity to reclaim the weed patch surrounding our fire pit arose and stole our vacation funds; dipping into savings so early in our retirement was out of the question. Bon fires this autumn will be all the more enjoyable minus the weeds.

I'm off to the farm and the hair salon this morning. The fruit of my labor (garden) will not sustain us this winter ... and the 'gray hair' experiment is still in progress ;)

ttfn

A Trip In the Making

It's been years since I have had a real vacation. The type you pour over travel books, chat with travel agents, book tickets, and board planes. Well, on our penny pinching budget these days, any trip we take will have to be closer to home, and be of a shorter duration. I'm not totally blowing off a nice far away destination, but any more of those far from home trips will have to be budgeted a few years in advance. Living in the Great Northwest affords lots of opportunities in about as many directions. Such trips can be done in less than a week if needed. A five hour drive will land you just about to a hundred or more great locals ... from the Pacific Ocean ... to the Rocky Mountains; east and west. From beautiful British Columbia to a place called Hell's Canyon in North Central Idaho (north, south). While throwing darts over my shoulder at a map last week ;) ... the dart landed at Glacier National Park in Montana. Having only briefly visited the park as a teen (and I mean brief) ... I'm anxious to get on the road. If you have any suggestions about sights to see along the way, please do share in the comment section. Oh Happy Trails!

Glacier Park slide show

Shown Photo website and information

Summer Swing Of Things

Summer is finally here in the great Northwest. Spring appeared and disappeared in about a week, paving the way for the exploration of warm weather get-a-ways. Mr. Mac spent his first month of retirement putting a dent in his honey-doo-doo-list ... but I've caught him taking a nap several times a week in the hammock. My soldier boy is home on leave ... having arrived on Father's Day! The graduate is discovering that summer fun and no job leaves quite an empty hole in one's wallet ;) ... and that a full college class load this coming fall might mean having to work extremely hard. A parents dream is when their children have a light bulb moment and discover that money doesn't grow on trees. We will have a full house by Thursday when company arrives so I will again be away from my computer. Hopefully ya-all are enjoying your vacations and are not suffering from the foul weather as of late. Hugs to all.

Summer Vacation At Home (part 2)

More pictures of our adventures at home and and around town.











Photos:Stopping by the "Snake Pit" for lunch; my oldest children and my folks @ TGIF's; grandson fabulous Jake (age 4 months); Nathan off to camp; Patrick BBQing; Mom and Pop goofing off.

How I'm Spending My Summer Vacation (at home, part 1)

Who says you need to travel great distances, board airplanes, trains and buses to explore this great land of ours? The past few weeks my visiting family and I have gone to places in our own backyard (of course they have traveled great lengths to get here). First to arrive was my soldier boy on military leave ... and overlapping a few days of his visit my parents made their way here for a stop over on the way to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Needless to say, we've been a coming and a going ;)

In two weeks DH arrives and boy, do I have a list a mile long for him to work on! Our basement and storage room were carpeted; the ensuing mess from this project is nearly cleaned up. Of course when hubby is here, he's sure to rearrange stuff again.

My dad has been a tremendous help with hauling decorative rock from a large pile to the various flower beds. All the sprinkler lines are hooked up ... the dog's wireless fence is working its magic keeping Miss Holly on our acreage.

The rhythm of summer is hectic at times ... I have worn many different "hats" the past few weeks for the jobs at hand; but having the time to spend with my family has been great!

Little Nathan has been kept busy around town with his day camp activities. He comes home tuckered out from swimming, field trips, field games, and making new friends.

The a/c was finally fixed the day before my parents arrived (thank you Lord).

I look forward to catching up on everyone's blogs.

Blessings,

Mrs. Mac

Photos: Patrick and his grandmother (my mom); truck bed filled with perennials to plant; flowerbed after plants and rocks added; Mission Of The Sacred Heart; Mrs. Mac and Elizabeth (daughter) inside the mission ... more photos soon.

City Mouse Visits Country House (conclusion)

Being city suburbanites you may wonder what would occupy us other than sittin' 'round watching the grass grow during a trip to Grandma's house out in small town USA. Oh, there were many new adventures in our summer path ... most of which were purely invented with a good 'ole imagination! Squirrel! Did someone mention squirrel? Oh, I do recall on my first trip to grandma's that she went about fix'in us a squirrel dinner the first night we arrived. Being that she wasn't too sure how we'd take to that idea, and also being that she wanted to fix a tasty meal to please her son (my pop), she prepared an alternate meat entree of country style sausage patties too. I quickly informed my dad that I was opposed to eating anything in the rodent family and promptly opted for the sausage (I have a feeling she may have used the same black iron skillet for both meats now that I think longer).

My grandparent's home was a very modest three bedroom one bath place probably built around 1900. Now being that Mom and Dad got one bedroom, Grandma and Grandpa had one, my brothers once again got to share a double bed in the third room ...that left me (pouting with my lip out) to sleep in a single bed out on the back porch (it was enclosed with windows and screens). Directly next to my bed was the cellar door in the floor... and directly behind the head of my bed was a window to my brothers room ... not one curtain was hung on said porch... To my dismay, there would be an occasional thunder and lightning storm roll through at night. The visions in my head of that cellar door creaking open, my brothers' hands often popping through the window to scare me, and the flashes of lightning were enough to give a gal a heart attack! I also afforded every mosquito a free meal at night on any uncovered body parts and would frequently awake with my eyelids swollen shut or my bottom lip out about three times it normal size from bites.

Come Sunday morning we headed to church. Now in a town of 800 everybody knows everybody and their business. So as would be the NORM, the minister would announce that we were visiting and make us stand up before the congregation. There would even be a blurb in the local paper about our arrival.

For a leisurely Sunday after dinner stroll, it just wouldn't be complete without a trip to the local graveyard to checkout the headstones and imagine what the occupant's lives were like. Many were from the 1800's and there were rows and rows of baby graves ... and off in one corner we found a huge monument size marker for the burial of a horse. These haunted walks would be fodder for my brothers' imaginations to spook the life out of me at night as I slept near their bedroom window out on the porch.

Now since Grandma was a lady from a different era, and being that her laundry facilities which consisted of an electric wringer type washer (down in the creepy earthen cellar) ... and a clothes line outside, we opted to use the laundromat. It was another excursion to pass the time, so come evening, we would load up our car with dirty laundry and head two blocks to town. For fun, we would walk through the thousands of crickets hanging around the entrance, watch the dryers spin, grab a Dr. Pepper float at the DQ, and pitch pennies all in the same evening.

One summer the town opened a public swimming pool; heaven to me! This would be the only way to cool off during our hot sticky stay. Off to the pool my brother's and I would walk. Swim to our heart's content ... and trek back home. As a young girl, my mother always taught me to put TP down on the seat in a public restroom. This is a fine idea unless your legs are still wet from swimming. Down I sit ... and out I go ... yes, walking home through town with toilet paper stuck to my backside. To make matters worse, my brothers were walking behind me and never once mentioned that I had ten yards of paper trailing behind my behind!

Oh, the fun of it all ... my children have gone on many nice vacations, but I bet they never had to use their imaginations as much as we did on a trip to Grandma's house.

"Take Me Home, Country Roads" (part 3)

No, not quite yet ... those lyrics by John Denver (1971) were played over and over competing for the likes of "Good Morning Starshine"and "Jean", by the singer Oliver ... let's not forget Jim Neighbors, Percy Faith ... and Glen Campbell too! Imagine the chorus of five out-of-tuners singing as we rolled along open highways. STOP RIGHT THERE ... now back to the story ... Once we were past the city of no return, Albuquerque, Dad lightened up a bit on his lead foot. There were sights to see, wide open spaces, new freeways to navigate, and a few side trips to places such as Four Corners, Dog Patch USA, Nashville and even some caves. To wile away the hours, we kids would play Auto Bingo, read comic books, doodle on our magic erase pad, count mile markers, be assigned a certain color of car to spot, and saw some zzzzzz's. Mom would be the navigator and for the most part kept Dad on the right path. But sometimes he thought she was wrong and would chart a new course taking us out of the way, driving on fumes, while we were all a pray'in that we wouldn't run out of gas in the middle of nowhere. The baby of our family, my brother Kevin, would have his own way of amusing himself and annoying the heck out of the rest of us. His self assigned job was to inspect each public restroom for cleanliness giving it a grade. My older brother, Chris, didn't escape oddities; his job was to keep track of how much food everyone ate.

By the time we finally reached Grandma's we had to peel ourselves out of the car and stand upright for hours. Shake if off, Shake if off!

Pop, Please, Oh Please, Get a Hotel With A Pool

.... and so went the first day of our yearly trek on one of numerous family vacations (continued from yesterday) ... Now being cramped in the backseat of Dad's Delta Jetstar automobile, sandwiched intermittently between my brothers without my own window, is it no wonder that I begged Dad to PLEASE, PLEASE GET A HOTEL WITH A POOL and a slide if possible? (Bare legs against the vinyl seats for 15 hours required something refreshing to cool a girl off.) You can bet that I had my swimsuit packed in my purse so I didn't have to wait to get first dibs on the bathroom to change. My parents made this allowance and would let us get a good hour of swimming in before we went to dinner, after which we'd do a little trinket shopping before bed. Now here's where I always felt cheated. Dad would get a room with two double beds. He and Mom got one, and my brothers got the other ... that left me to sleep on an uncomfortable roll-away or in a sleeping bag (pouting with my bottom lip out)! The following morning would find us up and out the door early after a quick bite ... heading further east to spend the night with family in Oklahoma ... then off through the Ozarks and by the third day we were at Grandma and Grandpa's in the quaint little town of Pleasant Hill, Illinois, population 800. (A city mouse visits a country house ... whatever shall she find to do?) ... to be continued.

Photo: Yours truly & my dad about 1969

Vacations of Summer Past

During the late 60's and early 70's our family summer vacations included trips east to visit my dad's parents and extended family in Illinois. I don't recall whether or not we had air conditioning in the car, but I do remember leaving in the wee hours of the morning after only a few hours sleep. Albuquerque by dinner time was the first leg of the trip (along historic Route 66) approximately 900 miles from home ... quite a stretch of road to travel ... and the early departure meant we would cross the desert in the cool of the night. Some summers the back seat contained three youngin's ... my two brothers and myself. Of course there were the usual squabbles about the window seats, and "he's touching me", "I've gotta go potty", and oh, "I'm so thirsty." Dad would often find us (including Mom) fast asleep before we even got out of town. This was a sore subject with him. He thought we should stay awake and enjoy the stars. On would come his 8-track tape player and between that softly humming and the rushing air alongside the car, one would find it nearly impossible to stay awake. By morning we were hungry and in need of a potty stop. By afternoon, we were thirsty again ... and soon in need of another rest stop. Only in my dreams though, for more often than not, the only stop we'd make would be for ethyl (gas for you youngsters). Once in a while we'd stop at a "Stuckey's" and get a cold cola ... and oh, sure, we'd pass all sorts of signs claiming the best lemonade was just ahead at Aunt Fanny's Orchard ... or some mystery cave that sounded intriguing. Thirst or no thirst we had miles to put behind us. Albuquerque by dinner was our mantra. ...to be continued

Day Tripping

Since a lot of you Canadian and Mid-Westerners are deep in a snow drift, or hibernating during the deep freeze, why not day dream about a few mini trips you can take during the warmer months that lie just ahead? The day dreams have to be of a semi local nature, and perhaps some place you've never visited, but always meant to see; in your own backyard, down the street around the corner, 20 ... 50 ... or ... 100 miles from home. Somewhere you can go and come back the same day or spend the weekend. I'm not talking about the save for ten years type of two week vacation, just the affordable, do-able on a shoe string budget type of trip. Here's my top three:

1. International Selkirk Loop: North America's first and only scenic byway. We can catch this about 45 minutes north of our home and will probably have to be a weekend jaunt. Too bad dh and I don't have Harley's ... vroooom, vrooom! Travels through Washing, Idaho and British
Columbia. Check out the link above.

2. Route Of The Hiawatha at Lookout Pass: This section of the bike route is an easy downhill grade of family friendly trail through some of the most scenic stretches in the country. You only have to ride it one way (I'm all for the easy downhill part :) This too is a day trip.

3.Cataldo Mission: This beautiful historic building is about a thirty minute drive. It's in an unspoiled area and boasts the oldest structure in Idaho.

Your assignment should you accept is to report back with your top three summer destinations in your own back yard. I can't wait to check out your areas.

Photos: Rout of the Hiawatha and The International Selkirk Loop

PS: You southern belles are welcome to day trip along with your northern pals. Share the wealth :)

I'll even post a link if you provide enough info:

Cheryl's Top Links: Tybee Island, GA; Nantahala Forest; Dahlonega, GA
Miss Terry's Links: Banff, Alberta; Golden, British Columbia; Alberta; Prairies of Manitoba
Gramma_s Links: Leslie Gulch, Oregon; Silver City, Idaho; Balanced Rock & Shoshone Falls
(near Twin Falls, Idaho)
Pat's Top Links: Frankenmuth, MI; Frankfort, MI; Greenfield Village & Henry Ford Museum, Dearbor MI (metro Detroit) You can't forget Mackinac Island & Fudge Shops
Margie's Links: Cedar Point, Sandusky, OH; Put In Bay, Lake Erie