January 10, 2010 - bye bye Walker

We got up at 5:00 a.m. this morning (after staying up til midnight!), and had a nice drive to the airport. The roads weren't crowded until we got really close to the airport. Walker looks pretty happy here doesn't he? He's getting the hang of the airports very fast now. I remember when a boarding pass looked like an official document! Now they are just printed off the computer and look like any old advertisement! We didn't talk to him again until he landed in Michigan. He said he ran into an acquaintance from school on the same flight. When they got to Detroit, something "happened" (no room on the runway?) and the plane aborted its landing and flew up at an angle! they circled a couple of times and then landed. Yikes. I would have been, well, upset.

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Phil and I have just been hanging out at home. I'm cleaning my craft room (see my facebook account) and made pretty good progress. Its actually fun to see all the stuff I forgot I had!

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This photo is of my hokey-pokey, referred to in yesterday's blog. It was good! But today it is less crunchy and more chewy, so I think it needs to be eaten in the first day! It just makes a small amount anyway.

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Back to my craft room - I've got to make enough progress to show something on facebook!

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January 9, 2010

I think Walker is ready to go back to school! He's been spending lots of time creating these intricate scenarios on his mini-etch a sketch! This one is the lair of the Dark Lobster!

Maybe a scene on campus?

For Walker's last day home, I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and he packed and printed out a boarding pass, etc. He had a plan with a friend to hang out at 1:00, so we dropped him off and Phil and I went to Half Price Books. I got these two books - really cool and I didn't really need them, but they were a great price and will give me lots of pleasure!


Here is how I have some of my cigar boxes arranged, at the end of my hall, next to my craft room. I am going to make cute "tags" describing what is in side tomorrow.

Here is Walker packing. He is going to carry on a bag and his back-pack and I am going to UPS everything that doesn't fit in there. We mailed off one priority box with important things like supplements, chocolate from Christmas, dvd's and other small miscellaneous things.

We stopped by the dry cleaners at 3:59 to see if Walker's sport jacket was ready (we had it tailored a little, they said it would be ready Monday and I asked if they could possibly try to get it done Saturday so he could take it with him - they said they would try) Hurray it was done! But I didn't know the cleaners closed at 4:00! whew! I was really grateful for the nice job they did on it. The young man at the counter said his mom did it. THEN, I went to ship two priority boxes and discovered I had NO checks in my checkbook! arggh! I did have some cash, but was short one dollar! The woman in the post office said she would take it out of petty cash, and just bring in a dollar next time! I couldn't believe it - from the post office! So nice! Well, I am in there a LOT, so she probably figured I was good for it.

I made salmon cakes for dinner, with lemon pasta and stir fry vegetables. Very yummy - and I made a new recipe called Hokey-Pokey. Its a Nigella Lawson recipe. Here it is:

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Hokey-Pokey

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

4 T dark corn syrup

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions: Put the sugar and syrup into a saucepan and stir together to mix. You can't stir once the pan's on the heat, though. >>> Place the pan on the heat and let the mixture first melt and then turn to goo and then a bubbling mass the color of maple syrup - this will take 3 min or so.

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Off the heat, whisk in the baking soda and watch the syrup turn into a whooshing cloud of aerated pale gold. Turn this immedately onto a piece of baking parchment or greased foil.

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Leave until set and then bash at it, so that it splintesrs into many glinting pieces.

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Serve as golden shards, or crumbled onto vanilla ice cream. We might serve ours with bits of chocolate as it reminds me of the seafoam candy we used to buy at Cannon Beach. I'll post a photo tomorrow if I can get a shot before it is all eaten!

January 8, 2010 -

Grandpa, Walker and Grandma. We met at the Oyster House to have lunch one last time with them before Walker heads back to school. We had a yummy meal there, Walker shared his political cartoons he's been working on (future blog) and we had a great time.

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Later that day, we invited two sets of neighbors to visit and get a chance to see what Walker is up to. We had a great time, (dilly beans, cheese and crackers, seasoned pecans). So much socializing!

Entertainment

Here is a good photo I got of Jonny and John.

Jonny asked me to get some good shots of her, and John had to get in there too - cute aren't they? At first you couldn't see John's eyes because of his hat, but he tipped it back so we could see him.

And Walker found his old pocket etch-a-sketch and this was his first project...

And then more complex...

And then he really got crazy!

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I am surprised sometimes how well these photos come out!

Looking back...

I don't really have a photo for today, but I've been meaning to blog about my fabulous year - 2009! Here are just some of the things that occurred in 2009:

Walker accepted at PLU, Hillsdale and Central Washington University

We tour PLU and Central

We attend a program put on by Hillsdale in Bellevue to talk about Hillsdale

Walker chooses Hillsdale

I stared working at Capital City Storage (very part time)

I continue working 10 hours a week as bookkeeper

I work 5-10 hours a week with A.J.

I continue to be a member of Rubbermaids (once a month)

I join a book club (homeschool mom friends, Rubbermaids friends, others)

My sisters and I go to Ocean Shores for a 3 day sisters getaway

I participate in Northwest Paper Chase (visiting LOTS of scrapbooking stores)

Phil and I take the train to Bellingham and stay two nights.

Walker goes to Olympia H.S. Prom

My sisters and I go to Long Beach for two nights (July)

We attend a fancy wedding- Walker's friends

We went to a Hillsdale intro bbq party and met other students and parents

I sang in a choir and discovered I am a soprano!

We went on a Road Trip to Hillsdale

Visited Yellowstone

Visited Mt. Rushmore

Visited Badlands

Visited the Blanchards in Minnesota!

Attended Tony and Sam's wedding

All day Rubbermaids "retreat"

Started my own blog!

Opened a facebook account

Attended several programs where Tori dances

Did lots of paper art!

Survived our empty nest so far!

And Phil's first full year of retirement

Had the biggest Christmas tree ever!

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I really enjoyed looking back at my 2009 calendar and seeing all the different things we've done - even movies and lunch with my mom and dad, classes with Jonny and movies with Claudia - I keep my planner calendars every year, and I am starting to write more and more in them because I know how much fun it is to look back and remember all the fun times I've had.

Sunday January 3

Today we celebrated Jonny's birthday with cake at mom and pop's house. We also had Chamomile tea! Jonny is always so animated, it is hard to get a good shot of her, but I think this one shows her personality very well.

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We had a yummy treat there, and then headed off to the movie theater. We invited Angela and Sara along! That was really fun. The movie was a good one for a group of girls to go to. It's Complicated. The guys would have hated it! Steve Martin was in it, in a pretty serious role. Definately a parental guidance movie though!

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I undecorated the tree tonight and have started packing up all the decorations. This is the longest I have ever left them up, but I think we got a slow start in putting them out this year too.

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Walker's last week at home before he heads back to school. I know he's looking forward to his new classes.

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Walker spent the afternoon at Alan's watching a Seahawks Game!

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Back to work tomorrow. . . the long weekend has been nice.

January 2, 2009 Once in a Blue Moon...

Do you know what a "blue moon" is? That is a month that has two full moons...very rare, so that is where the saying comes from "Once in a Blue Moon" meaning "not very often". Not very often is how often I win Scrabble against Phil and Walker! But...once in a full moon - I WON! They were pretty good sports, but oh it hurt them to give me points for their left-over Z's and Q's...heh heh heh. I won with putting the Y on ARM! Well, and getting enough points too!

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January 7 is Jonny's birthday! I bought her a Starbucks gift card, and decorated up this coffee sleeve to present it in. Cute huh? The back has yellow rick-rack hiding the staples from the ribbon, and a vintage-french sticker.

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We are celebrating her birthday Sunday by having cake at mom and pop's and then going to see "Its Complicated" at the movie theater.

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I also went shopping yesterday to use my JCP gift cards I received for Christmas. I bought myself all new underwear! I thought about taking a photo of that but decided against it! I got a lot! everything was on sale and I had a $10 off coupon to go with the gift cards.