Randomness!

We were driving home from something recently, I forget what, and we cruise past an open area in our neighborhood to find this fascinating sight. It was one of those double-take moments and we just had to back up and look again. At that moment, we did not have a camera; however, we were undeterred in procuring a photograph. We sped home, I ran into the house (not literally) and grabbed the camera, ran back out to the car, and sped back to the oreo moose who was still at her post. We stared at her for quite some time and Pat got out to get a closer view. She seemed preoccupied with what we figured was another moose cow and calf in the area that we had seen taking a sip from an outdoor pool (a moose-bath, as opposed to a birdbath, if you will, or won't, whatever). We are still unsure of why this stripe is down only one side of her, but she was quite a sight for us.

On a "high" note...
Pat installed the ceiling fan that we have had for 6 months or so. I did not envy this job, so I never nagged for it to be completed. I came home the other day to find my fearless man up on a ladder upon the scaffolding of death. I was unwilling to try it out, though the back of my legs felt like they were waking up from being completely asleep: that needle-sting-tingle feeling. Yeah, go ahead and laugh. I can so relate to my mom. I hate heights. And ladders/scaffolding of death. Fortunately, my fabulous husband completed the task and did a perfect job of concealing the wires and it works marvelously. We are looking forward to having a sauna-less loft this winter, and it looks very nice.

Our recent walk on the beach made us feel a bit concerned. We weren't sure if we should alert the authorities, but it seems there is either an effort to bury the trolls or we have a very alien form of flora arriving on our beaches. It would have been one thing if it were a one-time sighting, but there were two such scenes, about 25 yards apart. It made me a little leery. We turned back soon after. We'll keep you updated if we find anything suspicious.

It's Official

Summer is here.
The return of $3 gasoline. $3.07 to be exact. It doesn't warrant a picture. I won't give it the satisfaction. It will not win over our summer.
Well, maybe it will have a small effect.

Bested!

Lest anyone believe that Pat is at the grindstone all day and all night with home improvement projects, rest assured that he is getting some (much deserved) fun and relaxation! We have recently enjoyed the arrival of our camper guests, Terry and Katelyn (sp?) Maloney from New Mexico. Pat thought he'd take them out to our neighborhood hole, Cabin Lake to toodle around and maybe catch a little trout or two. Apparently, there are large trout in there! Pat reeled in this 22" momma Saturday evening.
This morning brought renewed excitement and the three of them headed out at 5 AM to hit it again!
Yeah, I slept in. I don't regret it, either.
Anyway, when I rolled out of bed at 8-something, Pat was home and busting to tell me about the fishing they had. I thought he was fibbing, but he was serious! After a first flub of a popped off eyeglass lens that was found in the water, the fishing commenced and exploded. None under 12", and the winner this trip was Katelyn with nothing shy of a 24" Rainbow! Hooked-jaw and all!

If I am correct, these three fish were all over 20". For any of you that don't know, that is ENORMOUS for a Rainbow trout! They didn't taste bad, either.

It would appear that Rowdy has his fill, but there was none left for him. I think he's still pretty content. Check out that lip! We get a kick out of those dogs.

Projects Galore

You all know how Pat cannot keep from doing projects. He has been home for a few weeks and has had the opportunity to get a lot done! A week or so ago, he brought a selection on cabinets home from a certain drop off location. Yes, it was the dump. Anyway, they were outdated, but still solid, more than our current kitchen cabinets, so he brought them home. Yes, they are on our front porch. I know. High class. We know you want to be like us.


After a little bit of paint and Pat's penchant for doing things as well as possible, we put a couple cabinets together to form a type of hutch/cabinet for the bathroom. Since there is no storage in the bathroom, this works so much nicer than my shower curtain-covered shelf-over-a-shoe-storage-thing. I couldn't take a picture of that part of the before. It was just too frightening.

Gosh, it looks so nice in there! It's much nicer to open a door to access supplies rather than lift a shower curtain and search through a cubbyhole.

Oh, there's much more!
A few days back, Pat started the project of the stairs to eliminate the ladder of death to access the loft in the garage. He's been diligently progressing on the project, and it came along very well.




The finished product has been a gorgeous sight to behold! He did a great job and the steps have the grating to prevent snow/ice from building up. He was quite the carpenter and made several difficult corners. I think his Grandad would be proud.
While Pat was preparing his steps, I got going on a few of my own. Beware of starting gardening projects. They grow, too! I guess I should've watered less. Actually, it was a fun project of creating a much needed path of steps down our yard.

We plan on continuing the terracing all the way back to the tree in the background. That tree will be gone soon as well. Cottonwoods are not our friends. We love the tree we planted. It is a Thompson Blue Spruce, a dwarf variety, that won't get over 8 feet or so. We got it to commemorate our 7th anniversary! Speaking of that, those stairs mentioned above were used that night to take me to "Frank's Steak House." After dancing, we had a marvelous moose steak dinner with some fabulous ambiance! Alas, Frank's seems to have disappeared as many restaurants do. At least the tree will be here a while!