New Ways for the Lewises to Eat Beets

The beets were plentiful this year.

One day, I made beet chips.  Very fun and tasty.

The beet chips are beautiful, too.

  This is the recipe that I used.  It is for beets and sweet potatoes, but I only made beet chips.  The rosemary salt was really great.  I've been using it on other items, also.  Pork chops, chicken, french fries...

The Bounty of the Summer Brings Comfort

After a long, emotional 2012, the bounty of the summer garden brings a sense of comfort.  In 2011, our beloved Grandpa Bruce began to lose his fight with multiple myeloma.  During the holiday time, Thanksgiving to Christmas, we spent a lot of time at the hospitals and the nursing home, praying for Grandpa, trying to alleviate his pain, and lift his spirits.  We surrounded Grandma Sandy with our love, sending her as much strength as we could.  January 1, 2012, Grandpa went to heaven.  His passing left us sorrowful and vulnerable.  We continued to help Grandma and find solace and comfort in daily life, but the road has been twisty for us.

I definitely felt comfort planting the garden in April and May.  The bounty of the garden has reminded me of the magic of God's earth.  Sometimes when I harvest, I thank God not only for the beautiful vegetables, but for loving Grandpa and holding him close.

Many of the posts from here on will be retro posts - things I wanted to blog about, but couldn't find the motivation to complete!  I dedicate my garden posts to Bruce and Sandy; they often gave me new ideas during our discussions of the many gardens that they grew together during their 51 years together.

Hurray for Snow!

After an usually dry and mild December, the Northwest was ready for some snow.  We've had about 4 inches in the last two days. It is the best kind of snow - packable for snowballs and snow people, and slightly icy for sledding!

We found a small hill to sled down in the woods.

Our great neighbors invited us to sled down the drive way in their backyard. Steep and fun.

If you are afraid you might go over the cliff at the bottom, you can bail into the snow!

A snowy Aloha from Montesano!

Ingredients for Christmas Spirit

Beautiful Table Settings

Tree, Lights, Manger Scene

Boxes that had presents or decorations in them, sitting around for the cat to get in.

Mom is Not Always Strict

Life cereal and Doritos for breakfast.

Remodeling the Tree House

Arnie tore down the tree house this summer and is rebuilding.  Bigger, Better, Faster...no wait. That was the bionic man.  The tree house is definitely bigger and better, though.  It has the coolest ladder/staircase on the back wall that leads to two loft spaces on either side of the eaves.  The deck on the front is gone so that the inside is bigger.  The kids love it.  He's not finished with it yet.  The roof and siding still needs work, but wow is it a popular place around here.  Katie brought her whole soccer team up to see it. The12 girls poked around in it, sticking their heads out the window, climbing the back stairs, and sitting on the lofts.

I like this picture because the zip line is still attached.  The infamous zip line.  The day that Robby and Arnie tested it, Robby ended up in the ER.  He fell from the line about 3 feet from the tree house. I don't think I'll ever measure it to find out exactly how far he fell, but I estimated 12 feet for the ER. He once again escaped his accident with a minor concussion and soreness.  Amazing.  Needless to say, the zip line came off the tree house the next day.

I started this blog last summer, before Weyerhauser started logging the forest behind our house.  Here is the tree house today, in the snow, with no trees behind it!  Arnie now has a roof on it and is putting paper on the walls.  I know, I'm not very technical.  Hopefully he will help me with my vocabulary!

The tree house is cool!  Arnie and the kids tried to sleep in it during the windstorm in December this year.  They made it to midnight before coming inside.  Pretty fun.

New Years Party at the Lewis's

My table decorations.

I love New Years.  It is a new beginning - a new look on life.  The years go by and I try to be a better person every year.  There is something inspiring about celebrating a new year with family.  I was so excited that Cathy and her kids, Erik and Mara, and Mom came down this year to celebrate with us.  The Lewis tradition continued.  Everyone brought an appetizer, we put together a puzzle (this one saved from Grandpa Bruce's garage sale), and watched TV.

Grandma started the appetizers with freshly marinated mozzarella balls and Ritz crackers.  I forgot to pull the camera out before they were all gone!  Katie and I followed Grandma with little smokies.  Katie made Pigs-n-a-blankets and I made smokies in BBQ sauce.  I used my peach preserves from the summer to sweeten the sauce.

Katie's Pigs-in-a-blankets.

She made a special sauce for them.

 Next, Mara made fruit smoothies for us and Cathy put together a tray of veggies and dip.  Yum.

Look, you can see tomorrow's breakfast behind Mara's smoothie!

Queen of the blender.

Erik made his specialty for us.  We ate toasted bagels with peanut butter, cream cheese, or jam.  He even brought my old fashioned strawberry jam to use on the bagels!  I love that they love my jam.

Arnie and Robby prepared chicken for us.  Arnie smoked drumettes with a mixture of wood chips and Robby made hot wings for us.  Robby would like to work in the restaurant business when he grows up.  I think he's got a good chance.  He is quite a chef.

Coating the chicken parts.

Brushing on the delicious sauce.

Arnie's smoked drumsticks.

We had a great time and wish everyone a happy new year.  Hopefully we can make the party a tradition from now on.  Maybe next year the Floyd clan will join us!

After a game of Banana's, Katie and Mara wished everyone a Happy New Year!

Cheers!