Little House On The Prairie

Sitting on our back patio and looking into the canyon, I somehow envision Laura Ingalls Wilder running down the hillside, reminiscent of the Little House On The Prairie show.














Here are a few more April pictures of our canyon view. Right now there is a carpet of yellow Balsamroot (an Idaho native plant) nestled among the base of the pine trees on the canyon floor.












Soon, the hillside will be a mix of white and green from blooming serviceberry trees mixed throughout the pines.

Another Before and After

These are chairs Dad Rex made for us several years ago. They looked great when we first got them. However, after years of sitting in the sun, being thrown into the moving van and bumping over 1000 miles of hills and dales, sitting in a dusty storage unit for over a year and several lame attempts at painting them, they just got sadder and sadder looking. So, with renewed zest, I scraped them, primed them and repainted them this fun, spring green, threw on a couple cushions from Pottery Barn and viola! Instant happiness. Sounds like a Chinese dish.

They are accompanied by my cute, new, farmer bunnies, courtesy of Dad Alan.

We're Movin' On Up

We get a kick out of watching the quail in our back yard. We're hoping these guys are actually looking for a new neighborhood to hang at and pick ours. Maybe our new bushes with their berries will entice these cuties to come back more often.

Sentimental Journey

Joel's and my first date was Easter Sunday in Nashville, Tennessee. His mom and dad and two sisters came from Kansas to visit him and Joel invited me to go with them to church and lunch. Easter has always been a special day for us because of that. This is a picture Jeanette snapped of us that day.

For my birthday last fall, Joel bought me five trees...two of which were flowering cherry trees. Yesterday, Joel said seeing the trees blooming reminded him of our first date and the flowering trees where we had our picture taken.

Springtime in Spokane

At times this winter, it seemed like spring was never going to arrive. Joel and I have remarked to each other on several occasions that this seems to have been the longest winter we've ever known. Spring is still not quite here yet, except if you look closely, you can spot small signs...a daffodil here and there, that fuzzy green look a tree gets before you actually start to see leaves...and these beautiful flowering cherry tree blossoms...a birthday gift from Joel to me this past October. We planted two of these trees. These are flowers from the one in the front yard. The other is on the side of the house and can be seen from the kitchen window.

I Blame Stacy and Clinton

I promised Tyson I wouldn't go there ~~ that is, to the dark side of pointy shoe world but it happened. Not only did I go there, I ran there with arms wide open, ready to chuck out my heavy, clunky, sturdy standby shoes that TLC's What Not To Wear hosts Stacy and Clinton assure us are the most unflattering thing to wear since the polyester leisure suit.

With the goal of becoming more trendy, I set out to find the pointiest, most pinky toe squashingist, Wicked Witch of the West shoes I could find. It wasn't hard. Not only was it not hard, it came in multiples of colors. Ever the practical type, I stuck with black.

However, to make the transition less traumatic for Tyson (I say it was for Tyson but I suspect my underlying motives are suspect), I balanced the pointy pair with a pair that would be less lethal should I decide someone needed a good kick in the rear.

I'm not sure what my excuse is for buying these nose bleed height wedges. It probably has something to do with reliving the past and my wedges from the 1970's now that this trend is back. I'm pretty sure these cost three times as much as my wedges from high school and they'll probably last one third as long.














So, the proverbial monster has been made. I've never had a shoe fetish...happily subsisting on my tennis shoes, a pair of summer sandals and/or flip flops and a pair of black and a pair of brown "goes with everything" shoe. This has also been my trend with purses. I carry the same one for numerous years. Thanks to Stacy and Clinton, I find I can't stay off Zappos.com and the mall keeps calling my name. Thanks a lot Stacy and Clinton and...sorry Tyson.

Dr. Rootlittle

It's true, Joel says the plants talk to him just like the animals did to Dr. Doolittle. I don't know if they tell him where they want to be planted or if they scream at him as he's tearing at their roots and thrusting them into the cold soil. Whatever it is, it seems to keep him happy and occupied. I won't call for the straightjacket yet.