Cool cubby

I dare ya!

I came downstairs this morning and found Bleu on the dining room table with a look in her eye that said, "I DARE ya to try to get me off this table!"

Braces: Stage Two

Riley got his full set of braces on today!  He chose orange and blue bands - it looks awesome!

One happy kitty!

Sushi!

We thought it would be fun to make California Rolls for dinner, so I went to this awesome Japanese store in Westlake Mall in Seattle and found the bamboo rolling mats, then we bought some fresh veggies and Dungeness crab and had quite the feast!

Jody's:

Oh look!  Costco sells cats!

Cold Bleu

Poor Bleu - I let her out onto the deck, then went downstairs and forgot about her.  About half an hour later when I came back upstairs, she had the most urgent look about her, as if she had been left out for 2 days!

Here Comes the Sun

This sunrise was so gorgeous I got out from under my warm, down comforter to get a shot of it! Beautiful morning, but very cold!  Ed and I went for a walk and it was 33 degrees!  The roads were covered in black ice, so we had to walk on the shoulder to keep from slipping.

The Babes!

Every other month for the past 15 or so years, I've been getting together with these gals!  We dine on wonderful food, play games, laugh, share our life stories, and support each other through life.  They are awesome women I feel blessed to have in my life.  From left:  Mary, Cathy (standing), Patty, Diane (in front) Carla and Stephanie.  

And here they are giving their best "facelift" look!  

Happy New Year!

Jody's:

Happy 2009!  To commemorate the calendar having come full circle, I decided to bake some circular goodies!  Plus, we had a bunch of cream cheese that needed to be used up!

I love the boiling process!

Fresh & hot!

Christmas continues ...

Jody's:

My niece Kial decided she wanted to host Christmas this year!  We had originally planned to get together on Christmas Eve as usual, but due to the amount of snow we had this year, we had to postpone it until the following Sunday.  This is my oldest brother, Dean, and his daughter, Kial, cooking up a storm in the kitchen.  Excellent meal, Kial!
This is me (left) with my nephew, Drew, and his girlfriend Darby.
Here's Riley opening up his new bathrobe, a gift from Grandma.  He needed/wanted a new one so bad, and this one is the softest in the world - he loves it!  Also in the picture is my other brother, Paul, and my SIL Jill.  An awesome Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Early on Christmas morning we were fortunate enough to have our 3-point buck friend come by for a visit.  (Or could it be one of Santa's reindeer that got left behind?)  Here he is enjoying one of two apples we threw out for him to eat. 

Bleu and Rocket just HAD to lay on the wrapping paper after we opening our presents.  

Christmas morning was so JoyFul this year - full of love, good food, great gifts, and snow!  We NEVER have snow on Christmas here in the Seattle area!  What a treat!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!

Jody's:

We got more snow than this year than I can remember ever getting here in the Northwest, except for maybe back in the 60s.  (Yes, I'm old enough to remember the 60s!)  It was perfect snow for sledding and playing in, even for taking late night walks in the silent stillness, with nothing but the sound of an occasional branch snapping from the weight of the snow.  Beautiful!

Jody's:

We got a BUNCH more snow last night.  We didn't quite get the 70 mph winds they were forecasting, nor the 12" of snow, but we got plenty of snow for playing in!  This is our neighbor's house across the street.  Looks like a little winter cabin in the snow!

Bleu Belle just HAD to go out in this strange white stuff.  Usually when she gets out we can't get her back in, but she had no problem coming back in after about 5 minutes.  I'm sure her fur coat kept her nice and warm, but I think her toes got cold.

Jody's:

The sky was so pretty this morning.  I love how the sun shines thru this amber glass.

We got lots more snow last night!  This was taken seconds after the first rays of the morning sun hit the snow on our back deck.

Mmmmmm ... homemade Khalua brewing on the stove!!

Jody's:

We got some snow yesterday!  It looked so pretty at night with the moon shining above it all.  You can see the moon in the background.

Jody's:

There's a bear in our garbage!  No, wait, it's just Rocket, foraging in our recycling container for a scrap of paper to play with.

Jody's:

Our cats, Rocket and Bleu, know that they are wonderful gifts in our lives.  That's why they sit under our tree.  Or, could it be that they're waiting for us to leave the room so they can attack all the ornaments?

Jody's:

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree ...

Jody's:

Some sort of sailboat race in Puget Sound - tons of colorful spinnakers all over the water today.  Gorgeous!

Riley's:

Coolest clouds ever!

The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee

The following poem was on a blog for my cousin's daughter, and I loved it so much I just had to post it here. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I do! (The picture below is not mine, by the way.)

The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee
by N. Scott Momaday

I am a feather on the bright sky
I am the blue horse that runs in the plain
I am the fish that rolls, shining, in the water
I am the shadow that follows a child
I am the evening light, the lustre of meadows
I am an eagle playing with the wind
I am a cluster of bright beads
I am the farthest star
I am the cold of dawn
I am the roaring of the rain
I am the glitter on the crust of the snow
I am the long track of the moon in a lake
I am a flame of four colors
I am a deer standing away in the dusk
I am a field of sumac and the pomme blanche
I am an angle of geese in the winter sky
I am the hunger of a young wolf
I am the whole dream of these things
You see, I am alive, I am alive
I stand in good relation to the earth
I stand in good relation to the gods
I stand in good relation to all that is beautiful
I stand in good relation to the daughter of Tsen-tainte
You see, I am alive, I am alive

Jody's:

Happy Thanksgiving!  Today, I am thankful for MANY things, including this chocolate harvest cake we had for dessert after a wonderful Thanksgiving meal.

Riley's:

Riley took this picture of Rocket as he was going down our stairs (Riley, not Rocket).

Jody's:

Jody's:

Some scenes from our walk down to the beach today. I just love it when the fog rolls in over the water. The sound of the foghorn is so soothing.

Pop!

What do you do with a ton of balloons left over from a birthday party?



You pop them with a BB gun, of course!! We took all the balloons and put them in the back yard, and Riley shot them from the deck. He has excellent aim, too.

Mmmmmmmmm ...

A meal from our favorite place in Gig Harbor, the Thai Hut.