Solo Performance

Last night we attended the Bel Cantos Concert and really had a great time. When Candice graduates, I've decided that I'll be very sad. For many years we have gone to baseball games, orchestra concerts, track events and Bel Cantos concerts, kindergarten performances, graduations.....sheesh, it's been a lifetime of this! It's been 22 years of going to these events!!!

Now what are we going to do??? I'm not sure Howie and I are exciting enough to be entertaining without children.

Is this what is called an empty nest? I must ponder on this for awhile.

I'm not sure I'm going to accept this part of my life. I may boycott empty nesting or have an election to campaign against having a nest devoid of creatures that eat you out of house and home......but I digress.

Anyway, we went to the Bel Cantos Concert and listened to Candice sing a little solo in one of the songs they were doing. She did such a great job. Her voice is a beautiful clear soprano...where did she get her talent? She looked as cool and calm as a cucumber.



She said she was scared and shaking like crazy, but it didn't look like it.



There were two other kids from our ward that performed that night. Janeal is in a womens choir and Jake is in Bel Cantos too.

Can you see her amongst the other choir members?



Anyway, I'm not sure that I'm ready to give up this part of my life. I think I'm going to go eat a bowl of fried chocolate!

Is Fall really here????

Can it really be close to the end of October? Where did this year go? My garden should now be called "the garden of freezin" or the "garden of weedin'" The leaves are beautiful but I think I would rather see green. Fall is a beautiful time of year, but I think I need to slow down a little and enjoy it more. How about you?

Don't Feed the Bears!

Last year Howard, Matt and Nick cut down a tree in our yard that was a true hazard. I have no idea how tall it was, but when they cut the first part of the tree down it reached to the fence line in the backyard. It was a messy tree, dropped nasty seeds and just yucky, basically served no purpose except for the firewood we are burning now. (see post below to get a glance of the firewood stacked up)

I was glad to see it go, as were our neighbors....except for the part of some "minor" damage to their roof in the process of cutting. A great friend Mike came to the rescue when we realized that we weren't going to be able to safely remove the rest of the tree without taking out the neighbors house. Thanks Mike!!!! By the middle of December all we had left was a 10 foot "stump" that Howie said he would take care of in the Spring.

I argued with Howie to let me do something fun with the stump instead of him cutting it down....in all his spare time. I felt that his time would be utilized better repairing or building a bathroom....that's a story for another time. Suffice it to say that it's been a year on January 1st since we've had a second bathroom.

Anyway, back to the story...Howie is practical, I'm not. I wanted a bear carving, he did not. So the "stump" sat all summer. On a few occasions we would have people come over for a barbecue in the back yard and they would comment on how cute it would be to have a bear carving. Hmmm....I'm not the only one with cute ideas. After about the 4th person mentioned this he started thinking that maybe I should do something cute with the "stump".

So.....I didn't waste time. Searching and asking around I found a bear carver. Meet Barry Topham! He turned my "stump" into the cutest bear I've ever had in my backyard. I can step out the back door and here's this bear mischievously getting into a beehive. What a cute personality!



From different angles the bear has a different look...he's naughty and it makes me laugh.



Anyway, I think I'm going to have fun with the bear, but he needs a name. I need your help in naming him. He's about 10 feet tall and he's getting into the beehive. He looks totally innocent, but you can tell he's not. Matt is kind of a mischievous name, but it's already being used....

Help me name this little creature! I recommend putting your curser right on the picture so you can get a close-up view of how cute this bear is!

Getting Ready for Winter

Last Saturday Howie spent the day splitting wood from the elm tree that had lived in our yard long before we bought the house. Last November was spent cutting it down...with a few mishaps. Anyway, that's another story. So, this elm tree was cut up last fall and stacked in the back. Well, those logs aren't burnable in my fireplace so they needed to be split. I called some neighbor boys and they helped stack and split. Thanks guys! So now it looks like this:


Monday Howie flew to Chicago. He did call me and tell me how hot and humid it was....rude! I've had the fireplace going nonstop and my feet are still cold. I guess I'm going to have to go put some socks on.

Anyway, I've enjoyed two days off and I've managed to have fun...canning. Yes, it is fun. Howie asked me the other day as I was so tired from peeling or blanching or pressure canning if I was having fun. I thought about it for a second and decided that yes, it is fun. Of course, it's awesome having a "spare" kitchen to can in. I can mess up that one and walk away...except when my kitchen upstairs is dirty too. Then it's not so awesome. Two kitchens to clean...yuk.

Well, my dear friend Judy has been bringing me quart jars from her mother's old stash. She was just going to send them to DI. I volunteered to take them off of her hands. I had no idea was I was volunteering for. I've probably been the recipient of about 12 dozen beautiful canning jars! But now I feel the urge to fill them all.




So, I've been making some chili, stew and today I did some baked beans and some pork and beans.



I'm kinda running out of ideas, but I am excited to have "convenience" foods to come home and eat after a long day of work or when I'm so lazy I don't want to cook a thing.

I work tomorrow but I think I'll come home and do up another batch of salsa. I can't seem to keep people from eating it. I'm still in the "you can only look at it" stage. Not the eating stage. I can tell from the furtive glances and guilty expressions that the salsa is being eaten, covertly and behind closed doors. I wasn't born yesterday and I know they are eating it....besides I can smell their salsa breath!

Anyway, I hate seeing empty jars so I'm pouring over cookbooks and racking my brain to see what I can come up with next. Linking up with Homestead Revival

Why do I live in Idaho?

OK, it snowed yesterday. Albeit, briefly, it was still white stuff coming down from the cold cold dreary sky!
No I didn't take a picture of it....I'm going to pretend it didn't happen and maybe it will stay away for a long time.

This is why I live in Idaho

Many may wonder why we are crazy and live here when it's cold in the winter and winter doesn't end forever. Well, I'll tell ya! Yesterday after enjoying a nice day at home watching General Conference, we went for a drive. In less than 20 minutes we found ourselves in heaven. Beautiful fall colors!



The drive was quiet and I kept having to stop to get more shots.



Or these colors....



It was a feast for the eyes.



So, these are the reasons I live and love Idaho



Of course this is a real bonus too!