Category Archives: Family

Friday Finale

While I was back in Colville recuperating from my solo drive home from the “Coast” it was Russian cooking day in Bothell. (October 9th, 2020)

The gals had fun cooking up a big pot of Borsch and making Blintzes in sister Lana’s kitchen.

Later in the evening the crew gathered for this classic Russian meal at Steve and Lana’s.

The night before was Italian night at Josh and Laura’s and these family shots were taken.

The oldest in our family and the youngest, twins.

Our Father’s dying wish…“Stay together, love each other.”

Sweet Hodgepodge

Sweet Southern livin Jo has come up with questions for Wednesday Hodgepodge.
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1. Let’s start things off right…Wednesday is National Dessert Day. What are we having? How often do you  make/serve dessert? Store bought or from scratch?
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We can have my signature Creamy Cheesecake, pictured above…
or a family favorite; Peanut Butter/Butterscotch Rice Krispy bars
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or in the cake realm; Another family favorite, Applesauce Spice Cake.
We added a new favorite in 2020, Strawberry Ice Cream Cake.
Lately I only make a dessert when we are having company. I made this Ice Cream Cake yesterday for dessert after our Raclette meal that we introduced to my brother’s family.
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I like scratch desserts but am not opposed to store bought. In fact see question #3 for something I always buy instead of bake.
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2. Slow as molasses, icing on the cake, that’s the way the cookie crumbles, have your cake and eat it too, half-baked idea, that takes the cake…which phrase might be applied to something in your life in recent days? Explain.
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I’m going with icing on the cake. Since my brother’s family (originally from Texas) landed in the Pacific Northwest on their RV journeys around the USA some other members of our family gathered here, too, and we were able to have a mini family reunion of sorts.

My sister Kathy sitting to my left is now our matriarch. Four out of 8 siblings plus two spouses and eleven cousins rounded out the group for a few days of food and fun.

3. Something that’s ‘easy as pie’ for you to do?

Sticking with the pie theme here I’m confessing that making pie is not in my wheelhouse. It is not something easy for me and I choose to avoid it by buying good quality pies in the frozen section of the grocery store and popping them in my oven! So ‘easy as pie’ is not a phrase that pertains to me.

4. Are you someone who likes to ‘sugarcoat’ news you think might not be well received, or are you more of a tell it like it is and let the chips fall where they may? Do you like to receive your news the same way you give it?

Please don’t sugar coat it. Get it out now and let me know what’s up! I’m a tell it like it is person. Don’t beat around the bush, either.

5. Something you did recently that made you feel like a ‘smart cookie’?

Driving for over 6 hours by myself from Bothell to Colville with stops at the Home Depot and Costco in Spokane. I was smart to bring a book on CD to listen to. That makes the hours go by quicker for me and keeps me awake. For this trip I listened to “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe read by Michael York, delightful.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

 

Looking forward to our Western Larches (Tamarack) to turn golden.

October is a busy busy month here at Our Country Bungalow. Still ahead is our annual family hunting weekend and this year we are throwing in our first professional family photo shoot. It’s been fun coming up with a clothing theme so we look a bit coordinated. For the majority of the days in October all of our guestrooms are full to the brim.

Market Day

On Tuesday some of the crew had a shopping day in Woodinville and then we re-grouped with a couple carloads going downtown on the way to deliver Melissa to the airport. She had to fly home on Tuesday for work responsibilities.

My sister Kathy and I stayed behind. We picked up Katie who was done with her workday and enjoyed lunch together at La Corona our favorite Mexican joint on the west side of the Cascades. Sadly because of COVID our favorite waitress only gets 3 days of work and Tuesday was not her day. After lunch we shopped for some dinner items and headed back to Josh and Laura’s to relax before we started cooking dinner. Taco night with pies for dessert.

A very random shot of the clean up after dinner.

On Tuesday night I was feeling under the weather so I made the decision to stay away from the rest of the family gatherings on Wednesday and planned to drive back home on Thursday morning instead of Friday. Even though I didn’t get the chance to see Liliana at La Corona on Tuesday I was able to see her on Wednesday and it was good to get caught up with her and the owner of La Corona. It’s not an easy time for restaurant owners and their waitstaff.

It was good to see Lily!

Wednesday was pumpkin patch day for the rest of the crew.

Are you going to a Pumpkin Patch this year and do you have a Corn Maze near you?

Back in Colville we had our first good frost and this week is bringing more freezing temps so we’ve disconnected all our hoses, closed the crawl space vents, and rolled up the patio cover cloth. On a dry day I’ll be clearing out all the beds and our burn pile will be stacked and ready for the burn ban to be lifted.

Happy Thanksgiving Day to our Canadian neighbors and Happy Columbus Day here in the USA!

Over the Columbia and Through the Cascades…

…to fa-mi-lies homes we go.

We arrived at sister Lana’s and BIL Steve’s house about 5:30 in the afternoon on Monday the 5th of October where dinner would be delivered by the family crew staying at our son Josh and DIL Laura’s.  My sister Kathy’s family was staying at Josh and Laura’s home. My brother Leonard’s family would be staying at Steve and Lana’s for their time on that side of the mountains. I would be staying with our daughter Katie and her hubby Andrew.

Our crew that drove the 400 miles brought a special cabbage salsa our Daughter in law Jamie made for our meal together. We all enjoyed it with chips as an appetizer. Sadly our Colville kids could not make the trip this time around. Addy was disappointed that I would be seeing Auntie LoLo but she could not. Everyone found a spot to sit and enjoy their chili, cornbread, honey butter, and fruit salad.

This was the beginning of several days packed with activities, meals together and many good conversations.

Family on the Trail

I’m posting some of our gatherings in order of happenings here for the sake of history.

Before we headed to meet up with extended family on the Westside of the mountains we had some good times together in our neck of the woods with my brother’s family who are Wholly Rollin around the USA. On Saturday the 3rd of October we enjoyed breakfast together and after breakfast we hit the Rotary Trail to get some exercise.

We were still experiencing smoky skies this past weekend and the beginning of the week.

Jaymison warmed up to my brother in record time for him.

After naps on Saturday everyone gathered at our place again for dinner.

On Sunday we enjoyed dinner at Dan and Jamie’s and had a tour of their garden.

On Monday morning the kids had their home schooling (History Lesson outside) before we hit the road to the Western side of the Cascades to meet up with more family.

My brother’s family is still on the West side of the Cascades and I’m back home on the Eastside. Hope to catch up with your blogs soon.

Regrouping

Back home after spending a few days on the “Coast” with all these loved ones. It took me seven hours to get home on Thursday with a couple stops at Home Depot and Costco in Spokane. I’m a bit slow in the brain but I hope to be refreshed soon to share some of the joy that has been experienced this past week.

At the RV Park

Last Thursday we met up with my brother’s family at the Tamarack RV Park in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho for an overnight before we guided them up to our home. It was so good to finally see them in person. The last time we were together was at our Pop’s funeral in 2018.

We were impressed with all the steps that need to be taken to settle a RV in.

Andrew was excited to show me his skateboarding skills.

We made a quick trip to Costco and brought in a meal of Rotisserie Chicken, Mac n Cheese, Caesar salad and fresh baked bread. We had the meal together in the cabin that Dear and I rented in the same RV park.

Me and my brother.  I’m #4 in our sibling order and my brother Leonard is #8. There’s a twelve year difference in our ages.

We all made it safely to Colville and the Reflection will be parked in our front acres for a few weeks before my brother’s family leaves for their journey south through Oregon and California.

While they are in Washington they will travel without the RV to a couple of our National Parks and of course get their obligatory family selfie photo in front of the Capital building in Olympia. They are trying to see as many National Parks as they can and they are also trying to make it to the capital of each state they visit. While on the West side of the Cascades they are staying with our sister Lana and her husband. Leonard and Lana are twins.

More to come from our time in Colville and the Western part of Washington.

I’m on the road again today so I won’t be participating in the Wednesday Hodgepodge.

Where in the World…

…is our traveling family?

My youngest brother and his family are having an RV adventure around the USA (Wholly-Rollin) for who knows how long. My sister Lana and her hubby Steve met up with them in South Dakota the 16th through the 19th of September and here are a couple photos I “borrowed” from them. Leonard, Mandy, Hope and Andrew will soon make it to our neck of the woods the beginning of October. Hope and Andrew are being RV schooled enjoying God’s amazing creations around the USA. They have just left the Yellowstone Area and the Grand Tetons heading to Montana.

Leonard and Lana, the babies of our family. They are twins. The Black Hills of South Dakota.

Meanwhile back in our neck of the woods,  Jaymison and Addyson enjoying the beginning of Autumn.

Addy is enjoying a carrot fresh out of the garden and JJ is always pleased to be seated on any piece of machinery!

After I got the framework of the puzzle done and a lot of the interior done, Dear helped me finish up this Matryoshka Doll puzzle. He did leave the final pieces for me. It was a tough one but satisfying to see it completed. This is our 7th COVID-19 puzzle in the books!

Have you taken up puzzles lately? Do you grow carrots in your garden? Are you part of the RVing world? What’s the favorite place you’ve traveled to in the USA?

Farewell to Summer…

…with a look back starting in June and Father’s Day.

Father’s Day on the Eastside and then on the Westside…

On to July…

Visitors of the critter variety and…

…wonderful human visitors from California.

We ended July with cherry picking.

On to August…

Parties with Addy’s first Lemonade Stand!

Outdoor projects: Painting the deck and filling in the pond.

All our kids gathered together on the Westside.

Long time friends of the family with our kids.

Back on the Eastside and fun with Baba while Daddy and Gramps worked on the shop.

Grand finale for August was getting the last panels on the shop roof!

In September…a little rearranging of the furniture.

JJ got to come over to Baba and Gramps without his big sister.

We celebrated Gramps’ birthday twice.

The last week of Summer all across the state of Washington we had smokie skies and we stayed inside and limited our activity.

Today I’m happy to report that this is what our skies look like just in time for the end of summer. We are all so thankful to have clear blue skies with white fluffy clouds.

What a relief it was to be out and about in the wonderful weather. We won’t take it for granted anytime soon.