Gazebo

So, I'm going back a ways here to try to catch up. Last spring Roger woke up one morning and said, "We need an open covered area to be in the back yard and sit or do work and our fabric gazebo is wearing out." So he built a new gazebo. This picture was taken last spring right after we moved the chairs in. He has lights and an outlet in there and we've moved the Big Green Egg and my gas grill into the back. We can have a table in there for small wood working projects. The portable fireplace gives heat without too much smoke. My shade loving greenhouse plants enjoyed the summer there.  It's nice

Fall Winner 2017

Every year I choose a tree to be my "Most Beautiful Tree." This year the winner is in a neighbor's yard. I saw it bathed in afternoon light and went back to take this picture, but it isn't the same. Well, it is the quest, not the destination.

Notes from the Bad Blogger

Y'know, it is time for an update! I have so much to say. I'm going to try to make this a habit again by dragging you along on what I've been up to in 2017. I'll try for once a week.

Above you can see what Dear Hubby has been doing - electrocuting wood! He calls it "fractal burning". I'm in the workshop with him when he does this and he has put lots of thought  and safety equipment into it. But isn't it cool? It looks really good on a coffee mug and one gal wants one each for her father and brother who are linemen.

Uncle Dick

 I just got news that my Uncle Dick passed away this week. He was the last of his generation in my family. He is in the white shirt on the right in this picture. Next to him is his dad, Ted Welling Sr. Ted Welling Jr. is holding my hand. The building behind us is Paradise Lodge on Mt. Rainier. This was probably taken the summer of 1955.
My first memories of Uncle Dick were that he was a cool bachelor. He was always dating a different girl. He went skiing and had a neet car. Then he met Aunt Teddy. Then I got some more cousins to play with under the dinner table. Uncle Dick was always patient and asked me how school was going. He listened and was interested. I haven't been connected with him in a while, but I have always believed that if I ever needed something, he would be there for me. He taught me about "family" and now I'm carrying that on.

Waldorf Toys

 I've gotten a little off track this summer. While looking at toys I can make for our new grandson, Lincoln, I saw "Waldorf toys." The idea is to use natural materials to make open ended, imaginative toys. So I made some wooden trees, that I would have used a lot growing up, then a bear and a berry bush (he has to eat.) Then I noticed the needle felted play mats.  This one is about 11' square - made to fit on a chair in the kitchen or Dr. office. It is made of felt material and wool roving (which is the last step before spinning yarn.) A very sharp barbed needle is used to press different colored roving through the felt. Needle felting is a new art form since the 1980s. It is also used to make appliques, dolls and wall hangings.

Here is a close up of the corner with "rocks" and "fish" (for the bear to eat.)

Here is everything all together including a peg person and a bonfire.

I spent so much time thinking about this that each tree and the play mats went together very fast. Its just too bad that Lincoln will not be ready to play with it for at least a year -  maybe 2 1/2 years.

Catching Up

Well, after my last post you should not be surprised for me to have gone this long without posting here.  Roger and I have been having a blast. Our only problem is that we keep distracting each other and talking and don't get as much done as we'd hoped.

The picture above probably looks like there is a lot to be done. It was taken April 26th when he had been retired for about a month and a half. Most of those vegi garden squares had been overgrown with herbs and weeds and blackberry brambles. At that point we had torn out and replaced the herbs, planted peas, lettuce, tomatoes and squash and some onions.

In the picture below taken May 23rd you can see some growth. We now have potatoes, broccoli (mostly eaten), beans, and cucumbers. We have cut out and/or dug almost every blackberry cane in the back yard. We've replanted the worst blackberry area with raspberry, sweet peas and dahlias. (Next year the potatoes go there too!)

I'll get you some more pictures as I can.

Roger has been fiddling with gutters and also cutting out low hanging limbs and chipping them.

Inside we have donated or sold 15 feet of books.

I TOLD you we are having fun!

Retirement...

We knew this day would come, but how can it be here NOW? Roger retires today. WOW!
Boy, are we going to have fun!