The View From Here

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Christmas 2008 (Continued)

Will, mom and dad playing Cranium.

Dad and his beloved fruitcake. Yuck!

Diana at Christmas dinner.

Dad at Christmas dinner.

Christmas 2008

Mom peeking out from behind her presents.

Diana and Will

Mom and dad in their new matching jackets!

Diana and mom

Sunday, December 21, 2008

December 15-20 - The Great Winter Storm of 2008

The view from my living room window.

The icy and forbidding road that could not be conquered
unless you had four wheel drive and chains.

Sadie

Oso (the neighbor dog), Sadie and the rear end of Zoe.

Mama and Dakota - FYI: Goats don't like snow.

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It appears that the great winter storm of 2008 is over. I was stuck in my house for 4 days and was suffering from cabin fever. On the 5th day I braved the elements and ventured out. I put the chains on my 4 wheel drive pickup and when I saw a break in the weather I drove it to the bottom of the hill. In the morning, I bundled up and started the mile trek down the hill. Just as my truck came into view, I thought to myself, "hooray, it's still there and it doesn't look like anybody's crashed into it!" In that momentary lapse of concentration, I lost my footing and the ice took me down. It didn't hurt all that much, but I quickly looked around to see if anyone had seen me fall. It didn't appear that anyone had. Once I got to my snow and ice covered truck I attempted to put the key in the lock. It was frozen over and I had to warm it up with my hands. Once I finally got the key in, the inside of the lock wasn't budging. I had to spit on the key and then insert it into the lock to try to loosen it up. After a couple of minutes, I was finally able to get it to turn over. Then I tried to open the door. No such luck, it was completely frozen shut. I had brought a broom-like tool with me and I started to brush the crevices of the door. After about ten minutes of trying to get the door open, a woman walked up to me. I had been so busy with the door that I didn't even see or hear her approaching. She had apparently also walked down the hill. Her vehicles weren't able to navigate the icy roads so she had walked down the hill the last four days and has been able to hitchhike to town. After about 15 minutes working together, we were finally able to pry open the door. Success! I got in and turned the defroster on then we both scraped the ice off of the truck. One hour after leaving my house, I was finally ready to go. I dropped off the hitchhiker in town and was on my way. I arrived at my final destination (40 miles away) one and a half hours later safe and sound and grateful that I don't have to go through this very often.

December 8, 2008 - Decorating Gingerbread Houses.....Again

Yes, I decorated gingerbread houses again. This time I did it with

two foster kids that I represent. They were so creative!

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Isn't this great?

It took this kiddo awhile to get started, but it turned out beautifully!

December 12, 2008 - A Blustery Friday

The view at Cape Foulweather.

The cute little visitor's center perched on the edge of a cliff.

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I had court over in Lincoln County this morning. It was a storm watcher's dream because it was so rainy and blustery. I decided to take 10 minutes and stop at Cape Foulweather in order to feel the power of mother nature. Ever since Barb's passing I have been trying to take the time to see the beauty that surrounds me. It was awesome! The wind was gusting to 70 miles per hour and I felt like I was going to blow over the cliff. If you've never been I highly recommend it.