Saturday, March 6, 2010

No, I didn’t leave the country!

It’s been forever since I posted an entry.  Everyday I feel more guilty and everyday something new pops up and I get distracted.

I know many of you are still experiencing really horrendous wintery weather.  My buddy DB and I share temperatures and weather conditions several times a week….so I know what’s happening in PA.  Western Washington has had a very mild winter.  Some rain, some wind and lots of days in the middle 40’s to middle 50’s.  Not bad for winter.  The winter of 2008/2009 saw snow from November thru April.   We only had one little dusting so far and that was back the first of December.  I now have daffodils blooming and everything else is either sprouting or in bud. 

daffodila

I have this huge cedar tree in my front yard & the branches have been inching towards my house for a couple years now.  Two falls in a row I’ve asked the park manger about having that tree trimmed.  Well, they finally came and trimmed it last month. 

trimmed cedar tree4

trimmed cedar tree1

trimmed cedar tree3

They left behind the bigger branches which we dragged over under the carport and then Bob cut them up & they are now stacked & drying ~ a good start to next winter’s wood supply.

trimmed cedar tree2 

I think they got a little carried away with the branch trimming but they were the professionals.  At least I won’t have to worry about the limbs ripping the gutters off my house.  And the mail man can pull up to my mailbox and not have the lower limbs rubbing on the roof of his truck.

The big event we’re looking forward to is my son’s wedding on March 12th.   The afternoon/evening of Wednesday March 10th this groom’s mother will be cooking dinner for between 50 & 60 people who will be at the rehearsal.  There’s only two people in the wedding party~my brother will be the best man and her mother will be the matron of honor.  But she’s had so many people helping out and when you start adding spouses and significant other’s the number of people start rising.   This is their official engagement picture, taken at Point Defiance Park here in Tacoma, WA last September by my one and only grand daughter.  She did a beautiful job with their pictures…..this is just one of a couple hundred she took that day.

jim and jearalyn

Besides Bob, two of my girlfriends and my sister in law will be helping me with the dinner preparations.  All this is taking place in Olympia which is about 25 miles south of here.  Then on Thursday I’ll be making the cake that they will be cutting at the reception. Jeralyn is gluten intolerant so we’ve been testing different gluten free recipes and I finally found a good one on “Bob’s Red Mill” web site.   Thankfully, I was able to find all the ingredients at my local favorite grocery store so have everything on hand to make their special cake.   They have ordered a regular cake for the wedding guests to enjoy.  Then Friday is the big day.  Their wedding starts at 6:30pm Friday evening and promises to be a blessed celebration! (Pictures to follow after I rest up from Wednesday, Thursday & Friday)

I found this really cute picture, taken in December 1971….the best man (my brother) holding the groom (my son) with my brother’s girlfriend (who became his wife a year later) sitting nearby.

steve, joan & Jimmy december 1971

We’ve all gotten a lot of chuckles out of this picture.

Besides his wedding, my son has also been blessed with a new job.  He’s been working at a large print shop for 17 years.  He’s done well there, but was looking for something new and something in Olympia where he’ll be living.  A couple weeks ago he got a call from the State of Washington offering him a job he’d applied for in the Department of Revenue.  So Friday March 5th was his last day of work at the print shop.  He’ll still need to commute to Tacoma a few days a month (thru June) while he finishes up the IT Tech course at Tacoma Community College.

In other news, the plans for my August 7th 50th class reunion are in place.  The venue has been selected, deposits paid and all the mailings have been sent.  The checks are coming in along with the completed bio questionnaires. I’m going to be creating the memory book and I’ve received the first batch of 9 completed bios.  (We mailed out 240, so it will be interesting to see how many come back).  I can see that this is going to be a tedious job. When I created the questionnaire, I put across the top in bold letters “Please write or print legibly”  Well, out of the first 9, I can read one clearly and part of another one. Can’t people read instructions?  I may end up having to call folks for an interpretation of the form they filled out.  Meanwhile, I’ve put those first 9 away until after the wedding.  I’m not going to worry about them now.  

Our winter weather has been more like spring, especially the last few months. I know many of you have been “dumped on” by old man winter, over & over again.  While here in the Pacific northwest, we’ve had sunny days with temps in the middle 40’s to high 50’s.  Yes, we’ve had some rainy days too but far less than we usually have.  I guess after the winter of 2008/2009 where it snowed off and on clear into April ~ the old man decided to give us a break this time.

This next week also marks the anniversary of my little Gabi’s trip over the Rainbow Bridge.  It was March 11, 2009.  I still miss her a lot but have decided that I will remain “pet free” for now.  A great little terrier moved in next to me and when we’re both outside at the same time, I get lots of loving from him.  And some neighbors have a cat that comes calling frequently and loves to sit on my lap if I’m sitting out on the porch.  And with this wedding, I’m acquiring two step grand cats~Eddie and Smudge.  The only problem is, they live in Olympia . 

Sorry this is so long but I feel so guilty that I haven’t posted in awhile.  I’ll be back with a regular entry in a week or so with some pictures from the wedding.   Until next time……..Linda

13 comments:

DB said...

You sure are going to be busy. Good luck with everything and best of all wishes to the happy couple.

DB

Marlene said...

Linda....Looky,looky, you already have a comment. I got your email that you posted so I clicked right over. I have not posted either. Just too tired after work and then I am in bed early. Poor Gabi, gone a year already. Have a great wedding, and we will be waiting for the pictures.

Barbara said...

Sounds like it will be a very busy week. Hope the wedding is fantastic and the couple live happily ever after. Enjoy your week and have a good rest afterward.

Jimmy's Journal said...

Nice to see you post anew. Looks line you'll be pretty busy with the wedding and the class reunion, Good luck!

Happy to see the new spring early arrivals coming out of the ground. I tired of winter.

Jimmy

betty said...

wow what an undertaking to make dinner for the rehearsal dinner, but glad you have help Linda

sounds like lots of busy fun activities in the days ahead

best wishes to the bride and groom!

betty

Jan said...

Dear Linda ,It is no wonder you havent (like me ) been posting,how busy you have been ...and are going to be ,so pleased to hear you are all ok ,the picture of your son and his fiancee is lovely ,and yes my what a differance it must make now the tres have been pllarded (good old English word that hee hee ) I am easing myself back into blogging ,and did an entry last week ,and have plans for another quite soon take care ..love Jan xx

Jan said...

PS;The word is pollarded ,I missed the O sorry ..love again Jan xx

ADB said...

Congratulations on your son's upcoming wedding; that always seems to be a time for looking back and unearthing embarrassing pictures lol.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

Thanks for sharing your bit of Spring there with us. Snow is still on the Ground here in Ohio. It is melting though. My best wishes for your son and his wife to be. I love the picture of them with all the roses all around. It will be a very busy time for you but a wonderful one too!

Jeannette said...

I've been remiss at posting too, I think we all have since we left AOL! It sounds like you have a busy spring ahead. Good luck with the wedding, my best wishes to the happy couple! Well done to Meghanne for taking such a lovely photo too!It doesn't seem like a year ago that you said goodbye to Gabi, I remember it as it was also Nina's birthday on the 11th. I'm glad you were let off of a bad winter. I think the rest of us got your share of snow this year!! I'm glad you got the tree cut, although they're beautiful they do need to be kept under control. Jeannette xx

Joann said...

Well, it's understandable why we haven't seen a post from you... you've just been busy getting ready for this wedding, I'm sure.

Congrats to your son and his new wife, I wish them many happy years together.

Have fun with the wedding, glad you'll have help with the rehearsal dinner cooking.

TARYTERRE said...

You have a real good photographer in the family. ENJOY yourself at the wedding. It will be a wonderful day. And... tree trimmers always get carried away. My backyard was a real mess after they visited me. Glad you had help and were able to get things cleaned up quickly. Take care.

Lori J said...

I think I am commenting on the wrong place Linda, but wanted to thank you for the lovely wedding pictures.

Blessings

Lori