Unfortunately it's been awhile
since my last blog post.
A lot happened in December
that I wanted to blog about.
So, although here we are already
2/3rds of the way though January
and I'm finally ready to get back to
posting on my blog.
I'll try to keep the words short and sweet
but this blog post is going to end up
being very long and possibly the only
blog post I'm doing in January.
In December the grandkids Katelyn and Conner
helped me decorate
home made gingerbread cookies.
Katelyn was concentrating very hard
on just where to add
even more red cinnamon candies.
She ended up washing her hands
several times because she couldn't resist
licking her frosting covered fingers
or popping sugar and candies into her mouth.
We finished decorating the cookies.
Katelyn was more than happy to
finally have actual permission to taste all that
sweet goodness.
I love her green sugar crystal nose.
~~~
Joyce and I made 33 gift baskets for
the Senior's Christmas party.
It took us several days to get that project finished.
Most everything we use including
the baskets are donated items that Joyce
saves year round.
~~~
The owl candy cane holders I sewed for
the grandkids in December.
I think they turned out cute.
~~~
One of the gingerbread houses that
the grandkids built and decorated in
their temporary house in Dunsmuir.
This was another huge temptation for
Katelyn with all those candies to taste.
~~~
The grandkids visited for a couple of
the weekends in December.
While taking Conner back up to Dunsmuir,
we stopped at Sim's road to explore
the river rushing past the bridges.
In November and early December
we had lots of wet rainy weather.
After such a nice wet fall we
started winter with no rain at all
for a three week period.
Grandpa Rick explaining to Conner
how the signal trigger works for the railroad
crossing guards to come down.
Conner recently turned 9
while he was at Disneyland.
His family took a much needed
break to get away from the
worries about losing so much
in the fire at their house.
Living in temporary quarters
with little space, six people,
two large dogs and two cats
can become stressful.
They're finally in a larger
rental home while they wait for
the repairs to get started on their home.
Demolition started Monday.
The fire happened two weeks before
Thanksgiving.
~~~
We stopped at the marina where
we no longer keep our boat,
to check on what the lake looked like
from that view.
The water had been coming up fast
at the time. The marina workers
couldn't keep up with the rising water
that kept coming up so fast
that the gangways to the shore
didn't connect with the shore.
We took our boat off the lake last winter
to save money for the cruise we took last summer.
We didn't put it back on the lake because
the lake had become so low.
It's difficult to walk the hillside
down to the marina with my damaged knees.
So the boat sits at home.
About the only good thing about that
though is that we get a lot more done
on taking care of the property.
The lake has actually stopped filling
and has gone down a bit
since the rains stopped in the last
half of December.
~~~
Italian Anise Cookies
I baked a lot of Christmas cookies
in December
trying several 'new to me' recipes.
Candy Cane Thumbprints
I didn't even take photos of some of the
cookies I baked which included
Peppermint-Glazed Christmas Trees,
Spritz Cookies, Peppernuts, Pepparkakor,
Colossal Cocoa Crinkles,
Double Almond Cookies, and Coconut Meringues.
Our favorites though were these
Sparkling Coffee Stars.
I'll have to make them again sometime
because they're the perfect coffee flavored
cookie to go with a mug of coffee.
Perhaps heart shaped for Valentines.
~~~
My Lyn girls.
Granddaughter Gwendolyn
was up from Los Angeles for Christmas.
She's sewing with a kids
'sewing' machine from her aunt Kristine.
The machine heat melds the sewing projects
together using a special type of fabric
and shielded needles to sew with.
Katelyn with plates of cookies behind her.
~~~
We had a busy, and wonderful
Christmas season.
But then in the afternoon on New Years Eve
we got word that Rick's brother
had passed away.
It was unexpected even though Steve
had been sick for a very long time.
Rick had just talked to him on Christmas Eve.
We headed to Brookings on New Years
day to take care of everything that we could.
Actually we've driven back and forth to
Brookings twice this month with the space
of a day and a half in between trips.
We need to go back again in just over
a week to do some legal business
with the courts to take care
of Steve's estate.
We'll have a memorial service for Steve
in April, the Saturday before what would
have been his next birthday.
The Vietnam Veterans Association Chapter
in Brookings is helping us to plan
the service honoring Steve.
Steve served in Vietnam,
in the 101st Airborne Division.
After the service his ashes will be scattered
on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
The location is on a ranch
that his friend owns in Brookings.
It's what Steve wanted,
and we think it will be a beautiful place
to rest in peace.
~~~
Just to be clear:
These last beach and bluff photos
are from Whales Head, north of Brookings
and not the ranch property.
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