Look what I found!!

Today, my husband Terry and I ran errands which is usually a chore. We are in the process of a kitchen redo, replacing the yucky flooring with wood flooring and counter tops ,With, dare I say it, granite!! yeah! So we Had to pick out a new under mount sink and hardware. Which was pretty painless and I am happy to have these little details done so we can proceed next week.
Silvia from Granite & Cabinets, came to measure everything and she discovered that there will be a nice sized piece left over so we can do our powder room too. It just keeps getting better and better, I had originally wanted to include the powder room in our makeover but my husband pooh poohed it. Now we can have it done too. Anyone living in Salem Oregon or surrounding areas thinking of granite counter tops should check them out the prices are really reasonable! Here's the best part of the whole thing ,I won't have to cook for about four whole days !
After our errands, we had some time on our hands before meeting friends for lunch at the Teriyaki House , so I drug my hubby to Goodwill to peruse the used furniture. We found a antique dressing table and drop leaf coffee table !! Usually it's hard to find one piece that Terry can transform into a cottage treasure but 2 that's amazing. . .. I also found two footed glass and metal vessels and this darling blue pedestal vase.
After that I was ready to have lunch. I ordered the Tempura plate which included scrimp, sweet potato,broccoli, asparagus,cauliflower [all dipped in Tempura batter} rice and small salad. I couldn't help myself but in my defense look at all the veggies!! Any way it was yummy. Terry was much better than I, he had the Spicy Teriyaki plate which is grilled chicken with veggies and white rice. Probably a third of the calories of mine. I ate all my veggies though!! I was hungry that's my excuse and I am sticking to it. I'll have a light meal tonight. Yeah right, I am already hungry again<>
Terry is really talented at bringing vintage pieces back to life, check out the 106 yr. old piano I found at the Union Gospel Mission .It was a steal, even though neither one of us play the piano, hummm maybe I'll take lessons... Yes that will justify the purchase of a old piano. It was in pretty good shape over all but the finish was way gone. At first Terry looked at me like I had lost my mind, he hasn't figured out that happened a long long time ago. Silly Man! Once he resolved his mind that the piano was going to sit in HIS garage for a very long time if he didn't refinish it for me . He finally got enthusiastic about the whole idea. It is turning out so pretty, I can't wait to have it moved into the house. Terry added the pretty trim pieces to the front it was really plain without them. Now I have added to his Honey paint list, I probably won't be seeing him much during the day. However, this works for me because that means I can spend more time in my studio and catch up on my work. It's all good.

Please let College Football be over!!

Let me just start with I actually like football, pro football......Die hard Bronco fan sadly. I am not however interested in the 400 and 44 thousand college bowls that are currently streaming across our TV .... it's been like 7 days of this now .
My husband has been glued to the television set since these games started. Granted television officially sucks right now, there's not a new show in sight and our weather has been horrible, but he had the nerve to question my extended time on the computer!! Ha!
Apparently his 10 hours of back to back football watching is more esteemed than my 10 hours of blog reading! Foolish man....he has no idea about the things I have learned, the creations I've viewed or the dreams I have shared with my sisters in blog world. Aw well , I will continue to ignore his queries about how I spend my free time at least till this weekend , then I retire to my studio, with new sketches in hand and begin to start my new pieces for spring. At which time he will need to start the new tile flooring in the upstairs guest bathroom. Yay! Time to go my fav show Ghost Whisperer is on, even though it's a rerun !

Well it's official this storm is the worst since 1968! For those of you who have lived in Oregon you already know that the snow stays mainly in the higher elevations , but this snow has delivered approximately 24" . Even the beaches have snow! For those living in the East and Mid west this is nothing but to Oregon this is a major event!Most of the city has been shut down and the kids have a 3 week vacation instead of 2. Today is our window of opportunity to run last minute errands before Christmas as another storm is lined up to hit us tonight.
We are loving all the snow, reminds me of Christmas in Colorado, it's been years since we've lived anywhere that has had a accumulation of snow like this. Although the downside is for the people attempting to leave town. The airport has been closed since the weekend , and the highways have been impassible too.
Hopefully stranded travelers will have the opportunity to leave today, the airport has reopened and the rodes are much better today. I pray everyone arrives safe and sound to their destinations!
The new pictures are our neighborhood, and the sky is exactly the color it shows in the pictures. I thought it would be fun for you all to see what we feel is a major snow storm!
Merry Christmas to all ! Susan

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Dec. 20th Snow Storm
Winter has finally hit Salem Oregon. Normally we have gray skies and rainy weather. on rare occasions a small snow storm will wander our way and leave an inch or two of snow that quickly melts by the next day. But this week something unusual happen. The Pineapple Express [that's warm moist air from Hawaii ] met fridge cold Arctic air from Canada and decided to dance together right over Oregon. We have snow, real snow, that has been piling up since Monday. This new storm has decided to stay awhile and Oregonians all over the state are sliding across rodes in entertaining fashion. Those intrepid souls that venture out after dire warnings of black ice,slick frozen roads, and the need for chains before getting out on the highways. Now I have dealt with snow having lived in Colorado up in the mountains near Pikes Peak, and I have seen lots of strange things. People abandoning their cars in the middle of the highway, people stalling their cars when driving up the pass, which of course causes everyone to then slip and slide in the most undesirable ways, but I have never seen people slide sideways up and down the rodes quite like we Oregonians do, and to add to the mayhem are our fearless news media standing in the streets to show us all how hazardous the rodes can be . As a vehicle slides pass them slamming into the curb or guard rail, the reports are always shocked ! Really?? Do you think by standing in the middle of the street there might be ,oh I don't know, maybe cars coming down a slick hill might have an issue with reporters in the street? We live in the hills in West Salem and it's beautifully snow covered, there's about 8 " on the ground now, and it's beginning to look alot like Christmas. Everyone has their Christmas lights on, kids are sleding, inside our house is dimmly lit by sparkling tree lights ,ribbons and my favorite Santa's. Sipping on deep chocolate cocoa and freshly baked cookies, the fireplace has a nice warm fire burning and all is right with the world! Merry Christmas to one and all. May God Bless this Nation and all who believe in Him! Susan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxqVYcdFD20

Dec. 20th Snow Storm

Winter has finally hit Salem Oregon. Normally we have gray skies and rainy weather. on rare occasions a small snow storm will wander our way and leave an inch or two of snow that quickly melts by the next day.
But this week something unusual happen. The Pineapple Express [that's warm moist air from Hawaii ] met fridge cold Arctic air from Canada and decided to dance together right over Oregon. We have snow, real snow, that has been piling up since Monday. This new storm has decided to stay awhile and Oregonians all over the state are sliding across rodes in entertaining fashion.
Those intrepid souls that venture out after dire warnings of black ice,slick frozen roads, and the need for chains before getting out on the highways. Now I have dealt with snow having lived in Colorado up in the mountains near Pikes Peak, and I have seen lots of strange things. People abandoning their cars in the middle of the highway, people stalling their cars when driving up the pass, which of course causes everyone to then slip and slide in the most undesirable ways, but I have never seen people slide sideways up and down the rodes quite like we Oregonians do, and to add to the mayhem are our fearless news media standing in the streets to show us all how hazardous the rodes can be . As a vehicle slides pass them slamming into the curb or guard rail, the reports are always shocked ! Really?? Do you think by standing in the middle of the street there might be ,oh I don't know, maybe cars coming down a slick hill might have an issue with reporters in the street?
We live in the hills in West Salem and it's beautifully snow covered, there's about 8 " on the ground now, and it's beginning to look alot like Christmas. Everyone has their Christmas lights on, kids are sleding, inside our house is dimmly lit by sparkling tree lights ,ribbons and my favorite Santa's. Sipping on deep chocolate cocoa and freshly baked cookies, the fireplace has a nice warm fire burning and all is right with the world!
Merry Christmas to one and all. May God Bless this Nation and all who believe in Him! Susan

Hans Zimmer Cry (Holiday soundtrack)