Woody

S has been a crafty man this week.  Of course, he's been spending countless hours putting the trim on our 19 doors (actually both sides....38 doors) and 14 windows, not to mention the trim around the great room ceiling, and also not to mention all the staining of the casings before it even goes on.

But besides that, he's been creating woody masterpieces for his office.  An amazing bookshelf behind the door:

And a picture rail for all his photos: (to be continued on the adjoining wall).

Pretty spectacular don't ya think?  We'll just call him Woody. 

Boxing Day

Twas the day after Christmas and all through the house
Not a decorative bird was stirring, there was nary a mouse

(Lisa, see the hummingbird?)

The turkey was eaten, and so was the ham
there was naught in the cupboard, not even some spam

The husband was snoozing, fireplace near
While I had me a swig of some strong, special beer

(check out the new wine glasses!)

Into my new glasses I poured with delight
Some yellow tail bubbles, this will be quite the night!

That's the end of my rhyming, as the drinks have begun
Happy new year to all, each and every one.

Merry Christmas

Nothing like a charlie brown tree to make the season bright. 

Merry Christmas!

Freshly Milled

Our friend Bill has a wonderful machine that mills trees. I want one.  It saws through the tree like a blade through cheese - it's so cool.  

In no time at all (okay, I didn't have to haul the logs into the truck, drive them over, and haul them out) and for the paltry sum of lunch and a couple of bottles of wine, some large fallen logs from our property have been turned into amazing pieces of wood - perfect for making a mantle, or whatever else our imagine can think of.   I think the style is referred to as 'live edge'.  

Now, they just have to sit and dry for about 6 months, and then they will be ready to use.  Finished house, here we come! 

Canyon Lights

S and I were lucky to be invited to the opening night of Christmas Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge on December 1st.  What a lovely way to start the Christmas season.  Holiday baking, hot chocolate with Baileys, shopping at their amazing store, and lights - lots of lights.  

Here are some of the sights.  If you can, go see it live and in person to really enjoy.     

The bridge....that I will NEVER cross

Forgive my feeble photography skills.  It's spectacular in real life.  I understand the lights on the OTHER side of the bridge are great as well.  Sadly, I'll never know.  I've tried to cross the bridge, and made it about 10 feet before I sprinted back to safety.  I wasn't born to be Indiana Jones (you know, that scene where the bridge breaks, and he grabs on and climbs back up....yeah, not going to happen).

Their store is also amazing - all sorts of good things to buy!  Here's S with his new friend (and some hot chocolate) in front of the shop.   Now this I was born to do - shop, that is.

    

Enjoy the lights in your area, wherever you may be. 

I'm dreaming of a .....

Weekend at Cain Lake.  Where is that, you might ask?  Closer than you think.  It's in Washington State, kinda half way between the Joann's Fabrics in Bellingham and the Joann's in Mount Vernon.  It's situated within spittin' distance to lots of quilt shops. In the American Thanksgiving month of November, it's also close to black Friday sales. 

And they do sales the right way at Joann's.  Ask my credit card how well they do it.  In two days, I was there 3 times.  I saved more than I spent. And that's saying something, 'cause I spent a lot. 

Here's Dianne aiding the U.S. economy.... 

With her cart full at Target, and trying to hold herself back at the wonderful Fourth Corner Quilts in Bellingham (she didn't hold back - she bought stuff, great stuff).

It's wonderful to go to Trader Joe's and Haggens, and lovely to get wine for the best prices EVER, but the most fun is hangin' with my Fore Shore peeps at Jan's cabin at the lake. 

Whether we're just a small group of four, like this year, or a bigger group (we seem to recall about 8 of us one year) it's a great weekend of sharing, caring and enjoying. We head down usually on Friday morning, back on Sunday afternoon.  We've braved snow storms and a car accident (the 'excellent adventure' year), spent cold evenings hunting for wood and the front door keys, but always come away with great memories.  And yes, a few shopping bags of goodies. 

We are so fortunate that Jan opens her door to us every year. We think (we're getting old, so don't really recall) that we've been doing this for 5 or 6 years.  Long enough that we don't have to call dibs on the beds - we all know where we are sleeping.  

Some years we've been talking and laughing into the wee hours, with the empty wine bottles and the sleep-ins to show for it.  Other times, like this year, we were in bed early and up early to enjoy the view and get some stitching or knitting done.  To me, there is no better way to start the day than looking at this peaceful view, with nary a sound except for the coffee brewing.

Cain Lake @ 7:30am

A number of projects were started or finished this year at the lake. None were mine. How does that happen every time?  Talking always trumps doing - though I did learn a new way to cast on.  Jan finished the binding on this wonderful quilt for a friend battling cancer.  The words are uplifting and hopefully will bring good karma to the recipient.

I'm already dreaming of 2012.  Thanks Jan.