Thanksgiving at the Beach:Lincoln City, OR

Snow Days! Warren and I were able to leave for Oregon earlier than planned because both our school districts were closed on Wednesday. We set off on our trek, along with a million other intrepid souls.
We finally reached our destination in the early evening, right along with the Ward, the Maguire JR, and Hopkins families. Friend Randy arrived soon after. Then, the Wells SR family arrived, followed later on by the Wells JR and GrGrandma Marianne. Early Thanksgiving morning saw the arrival of the Maguire SR family. Roll call: Warren, Devon, Britt, Mark, Laura, David, Brian, Katharine, McColley, Brayton (Brady), Jean, Susan, Roberta, Randy, Tim, Patti, Laurie, Timmy, Arianna, Marianne, Dennis and Gail.

We gathered all together in celebration of our many blessings. We shared many walks on the beach, LOTS of food, a dynamic cribbage tournament, adventures in shopping and tons of fun with the little boys.

Warren was a darling and got me a ring we'd had our eye on for 30 YEARS! It's a beautiful sapphire and diamond creation from Jan David jewelers at Salishan. What a surprise it was after hearing "Not this year" 29 times...

Here are some memories we will cherish! I only seem to get pictures of the little boys as blurs - but then again, that's pretty much what they are like 24/7...unless they're asleep. It was SO MUCH FUN!

Arianna, the inspiration behind the Cribbage Tournament, and her father-in-law Tim ended up winning the whole shebang! It was a really fun way to work off a turkey dinner.

We went to the Aquarium, where some fish swam around McColley, Patti and Laura. Then, a mighty seahawk tried to capture my mother! But, she was saved in the end...

Tough guys! Brady and McColley adore David, who shared some muscular tips with them.

 "Thank you, Honey. I LOVE my new ring!!"

After swimming in a torrential rainstorm, it was time to say goodbye to the beach. A fabulous time was had by all...but, not before we get ice cream in Tillamook! So many things to do before the Maguire family moves to England - but, we fit it in.

Happy Holidays! TTFN.

The Fishtine Chapel is no more...

My handy dandy wallpaper remover also serves a purpose in the kitchen!

It's a pancake turner.

It's definitely been useful over the past few days -

One last look at the Fishtine Chapel...

Then, out came the ladder and the spatula and the water and the cursing...

 Not as much cursing as when the wallpaper was being put up, though!

Notice the lack of paper on the walls and the humorous sponge painting in the insets.

I'd forgotten about those. 

Then, on to the downstairs bathroom.

This paper is no more, either...

 Sigh.

Warren is now in the process of covering up all the pink and blue.

He said this room feels like he's painting the Kingdome, size-wise.

 See? All the fish are gone...

Here are a couple of pictures from Tim's birthday - we had a great time!

TTFN!

Walla Walla Weekend-October 2010

We enjoyed a wonderful weekend with terrific friends! 

We had the best time staying at Fischer House with the Moore and Campbell families. 

Friday through Sunday were filled with adventures, great tastes and excellent companionship. 

We arrived in the evening.

This was our room - very French and musical. 

That's Lori with Warren - she runs Fischer House. 

Lori's husband, Dennis, teaches piano and serenaded us both evenings. 

He even cranked up his antique Victrola for us on Saturday night!

Fischer House is a great place to stay! 

Lori also does fabulous wine tours.

The Wine Divas had a great time - everywhere we went!

 We had lunch with the man who made Tim's Cascade potato chips famous: Tim Kennedy.

His wife Lori is an up and coming wine maker.

 The wineries were ahhhhh-mazing! 

We learned a lot from the teaching Lori does during her tours.

This is Garrison Creek Winery - what a place!

 Here's our crew with Lori, the Leader, at our tasty restaurant.

Dinner was yummy delicious! 

I chose the mussels and we all shared the Chocolate Mousse.

The time flew by and then we had to go home.  

All in all, the weekend is one we hope to repeat on a yearly basis!

Warren's Work in Progress...

Here's an update on how the house painting is coming along - oy vey. I have to give Warren a lot of credit for tackling this project. He's determined and dedicated! Note the ladders, plastic, and orphaned chandeliers lying around...

 Our handpainted one-of-a-kind hallway is going bye bye...(bring me some kleenexes, please)...

Arianna, Laura, David, Katharine? and I painted the individual sections (below) one summer when David and Laura came to stay with us for a week. I surely do miss having them come to stay with us - they did it for many years. Who let those kids grow up? I just want an explanation for them being in college...Britt? Mark? 'splain yourselves!

 The lights in the hallway are relatively new and much brighter than the old ones!

More details of our unique group painting project:

The box below represents how the chandelier in the foyer is supposed to look:

Here is is this morning - we plan to hang it tonight.
Sing with me (from West Side Story): Tonight, tonight, we'll hang it up tonight and the stars will stay right where they are!

Oh, let's have a moment of silence for the trusty gold chandeliers. They gave it their all! Did I share how the one with the lampshades set itself on fire - twice? Needless to say, it was pretty scary.

So there you have an update of our messy chaotic project. Hopefully the downstairs will be done in the next couple of weeks. It won't be such a noticeable mess when Warren is painting the upstairs.
I hope you can come and see our beautiful interior sometime soon!
TTFN