Of course after my last post, I realized that I should have taken some pictures of the kitchen before we packed most of it into boxes. I took some that afternoon but you won’t see the decorations that were on the wall or the clock or the pots that hung over the stove. But here’s what I’ve got.

The sink is staying where it is. The pantry that is on the far left of this picture is coming out as is the chimney behind it. That will allow us to have cabinets all along that wall. The frig will move over to the right and we’re getting a new one that is cabinet depth.

In the next picture, you see the sink and the dishwasher and the edge of the stove. The wall behind the stove is coming out and we’re adding on in that corner. You can see better in the next picture.

See how the stove juts out and there is a small peninsula next to it?  That is all coming out and the corner of the kitchen behind there will be added onto in order to square off the room. That will enable us to have tons more cabinets. The old built in on the right side of the picture is coming out and that area will be opened to the dining room. The range will move over to that wall with a hood above it. There will be a small island next to it and the opening will have the curved edge like the other ones in our house. I could go on and on and tell you about the materials we’ve chosen but it will be easier to just show you as the process continues.

We got confirmation today that the concrete guy is coming on Monday to dig and then pour the little corner of new foundation. Then they are supposed to start demolition on Thursday. I sure hope so. I am ready to get this show on the road.

We’ve already put in quite a bit of work to get ready for the kitchen construction to start. First we had to make sure we had the money. We had to work with the kitchen designer to come up with a plan we loved. We had to interview contractors to find one we felt comfortable with and confident in. We’ve had to look at appliances, countertop materials, lighting, tiles, hardware, cabinet styles and paint colors. And I’m sure I’m leaving something out of that list!

Now it’s almost time for the demolition to start and we realize we have to pack up everything in the kitchen and find somewhere to store it all while the remodel is going on. Okay….. But before we do that, we have to decide what to leave out for the temporary kitchen we are setting up in the basement.  I’m starting to panic because with me having surgery Christmas week, I’m not strong enough to do this all myself. And who comes to the rescue, my Thursday knit group! You’ve seen them on this blog many times over the years. They all offered to make a day of it and just get it done.

The kitchen was an absolute mess. We had two packing stations set up, lots of packing paper and what I thought was enough boxes.

We packed twenty boxes in about an hour and a half and had to stop because we ran out of paper and boxes. We got all the dishes, glasses, pots, pyrex, baking stuff and those miscellaneous weird items we all have. I definitely found my item for next years white elephant exchange!

There was much laughter and joking along with the hard work. So afterwards we sat down to a lovely lunch and then birthday cake for Elaine. Rick and I thank you angels from the bottom of our hearts. There is nothing as wonderful as good friends.

It’s been a really long time since I wrote on this blog. I contemplated restarting it several times last year and have finally decided it’s time. Why now? We are getting our kitchen remodeled (!!!!!) and all our families back east want to see what’s happening. The construction is starting on Jan 25th, (wow, next week!) and we are busy getting things moved around, taking stuff to Goodwill, consigning old furniture with an estate sale dealer, and selling books to Powells. Basically we are doing all those chores that you usually put off forever. There are walls coming down and furniture that won’t make the cut, so stuff has to go.

If you’re wondering what I’ve been up to since last April, well there have been trips, surgeries, a quilt retreat, meetings with my regular knit group, sewing days with the monthly sewing group, Tuesday afternoon knitting at Happy Knits, and many happy days spent with friends. If you were breezing through that last sentence and noticed “surgeries” in there, yes, there have been several surgeries in the last nine months. My cancer is not going away, but we try not to dwell on it after the initial surgery-recovery time and instead try to dwell on having fun, loving our family and celebrating the small stuff.

I invite you to check in and come along for the ride. I will keep you up to date with pictures of the remodel along with pictures of any crafts that happen along the way.

This should be fun. (Remind me that I said that about two months in!)

When I had kids of my own, I finally realized how wonderful she is and how much wisdom she has to share. I came to rely on her for guidance when things got difficult with my kids.

Mom is older now but she is still as full of life and adventure as ever. She is on the go a lot, I’m sure her social calender is much fuller than mine! She is active, eats well, and is so healthy, she is on no medications. Rick says she is our role model of how to grow old with grace and fun.

Mom has visited us here often over the last 11 years. She has come to help out when we’ve needed her and she’s come just to have fun. Last time she was here, we made her a new quilt together. And seeing how she was instrumental in encouraging my enthusiasm for sewing, how appropriate.

I am grateful for every day that she is still in my life.

Mom, you are the best and I love you so much. Happy Mother’s Day!

These are lemon ricotta cookies, recipe care of my friend Cyd. I’ve also made pecan pie squares, cream cheese brownies and Heath Bar cookies. We now have a bazillion sweets in our house!

I’ve put some decorations in Liza’s old room so it looks festive too.

And in this cold weather, I’ve been wearing one of the first sweaters that I ever knitted. It’s a wonderful hand-dyed yarn and is very soft wool. Keeps me warm on these blustery days.

This afternoon is the secret santa party at Happy Knits. I’ve excited and nervous. I always stress over whether the person I have will like her gifts. I’m taking my camera and will try to take some pictures. There is sure to be much merriment there.

I’ve been very bad about remembering to take pictures lately. Our Christmas party was Saturday night and I only took three pictures, Three! That’s pretty bad. I will try to do better. Merry Christmas!

Rick does all the cooking at our house and it’s my job to set the table. I love how the table looks when it’s all ready to go. There is that great feeling of anticipation of the meal to come.

Of course I also love it when all the food is on the table and you get to dig in. We had so many delicious things to eat this year. Del made rolls and his lovely bagettes. And Viv made the most gorgeous apple pie and homemade cranberry sauce with candied ginger in it. I could have eaten it by the spoonful.

There was also turkey and stuffing, mashed parsnips with sauted brussel sprouts, gravy, a potatoe/cabbage gratin and a salad.

I took this one picture of the food, but then I got so busy eating that I totally forgot to take anymore. The apple pie was so perfect that it really deserved it’s own picture. Oh well, that seems to happen alot with me and food. I do love to eat!

Rick took a few pictures of everyone relaxing after dinner and this is my favorite.

Devon contemplating Jasper. What a pair.

Amazingly, the man who hit the car stopped and gave our neighbor all his information; license, registration, insurance info and phone number. We live down the hill from a very big curve that is banked wierd and we’ve had at least 10 accidents on this street since we’ve lived here. Most are hit and run. It renews my faith in the basic goodness of mankind that this man chose to stop.

So I’ve been dealing with insurance people and mechanics and everything is moving along well. It’s just taken time away from more enjoyable pursuits.

Thursday was knitting day and everyone came over to my house this time. I love having people over in October because the house is all decorated for Halloween. You KNOW how much I love Halloween. I’ve posted lots of pictures of Halloween decorations in previous years but here is a new one.

This haunted village was a kit from Martha Stewart. I got it a couple of years ago and finally finished it last fall. It’s up on the dresser in the guest room and I love how it looks with the light coming in from the side.

Whenever we meet for knitting, everyone brings food. In honor of Halloween, Jeanne brought these great cupcakes and cookies. Aren’t they awesome?!

Jeanne’s daughter made the cupcakes and they were delicious. The cookies are basic sugar cookies formed in a finger shape, and the fingernail is a sliced almond painted with food coloring. They so make me smile.

And finally, Lynda is taking a class at Holly Hill Quilt Shop called Wednesday Woolies. They make small projects out of wool. This past Wednesday, they made these two cute things and Lynda stayed up late that night finishing them so she could bring them to put on our table.

She says she’s going to stain the stands because they look too new, she just didn’t get to it yet.

I’ve been working on a couple of new things for Halloween but nothing is quite finished. The stitchery is almost done. Probably just an hour of work and I’ll be done with the last embroidered block. I’ve been sewing the nine patches that go in between the blocks and they should be finished tomorrow. Maybe I’ll get the top done by the 31st but it definitely won’t be quilted until next year.

I should have a couple of smaller projects to show next week. Coffins and skulls and a spooky banner. Wait and see!

Tomorrow morning I head into the hospital for my eleventh surgery battling this cancer of mine. It’s been five years since I was first diagnosed and as much as I didn’t want it to be, cancer has been a life altering experience. It’s made me realize that I have a wonderful life and the best family, the best friends and the most loving community here in Portland.

Just start with my husband.  If you had ever said I would love this man this much for 26 years, I would have been the first person to tell you you’re crazy. We are so right for each other that sometimes it’s spooky.

I have two children who support me, love me, tease me, laugh with me and have grown up to be independent, fascinating, responsible, fun people. How did that happen!? And so fast.

I have friends, both old and new, and we laugh together, create together, share food together, and hike together (well only some are willing to go that far!).  They are so important that there is no way to express it.

I don’t have pictures of everyone I wanted to put on the blog even though I’ve certainly been annoying enough with my camera. There are many amazing women who have given me so much just by being in my life and there is no way to mention them all. Quilters, knitters and crazy soldering crafters who all inspire me and make me laugh. What would I do without you? And you KNOW who you are!

I have wonderful neighbors who have become much more than just the people who live across the street. We have a dinner group that gets together to share food, wine and laughter every month and they just couldn’t be any more fun! We had a great time this past Friday night, some of us even had a little too much fun!

We have our surrogate family in the Gulch who are constant sources of both warmth and fun. How would I survive the winter without the annual groundhog’s day party?

My South Carolina family lives far away but we stay close with calls, emails and facebook posts. My older brother was here recently and we did some hiking together. It was so much fun teasing him about my superior physical condition! I have all those years of our childhood to pay him back for. So Mardy, more fun on your next visit.

This stupid cancer may never go away, but I will keep on hiking, creating and filling with my life with joy. All those cliches you read and hear are absolutely true. Love, people, laughter and the beauty of nature, that is what matters.

Oh, and let’s not forget Jasper. He is a snuggle bug who keeps me company whenever I need a soft loving kitty.

See you in a few weeks, and until then: joy and laughter.

I left South Carolina after my sophomore year of college and since then, our lives have gone down very different roads. We have kept up with each other all these years, but the only spent time together is when I’ve been back south to visit family.

This week Kitty came out to Portland for work and stayed an extra three days so we could hang out. It’s been just great. There is so much warmth and history between us and we’ve just picked up right where we left off.

When I asked Kitty what she wanted to do while she was in Portland, her response was “Eat and Hike” Request granted! Yesterday we went to Pok Pok for lunch. If you live here and haven’t been there, it’s a must. Pok Pok serves Thai food and was voted Portland’s restaurant of the year in 2007.

Delicious coconut cocktails! I mean, it’s vacation, right?!

Full and happy after a great lunch.

Today we headed out to the gorge to satisfy the hiking request. I decided on Eagle Creek because it’s the quintessential gorge hike. We got there early and had a perfect day.

After our hike, we headed back to Portland and stopped at Fleur De Lis for a sandwich. It’s one of the best bakeries in the city and it didn’t disappoint today. And tonight for dinner, the whole family was here and Ricked cooked a great dinner: green beans with heirloom tomatoes, fennel and apricot salad, roasted potatoes and grilled pork loin chops. Everything was locally sourced and delicious. We all sat around the table until well after dark chatting and laughing. Perfect ending to a great day.

Still silly brothers. Rick is the oldest of five and John is the youngest and it’s been a blast to hear all the stories that John tells from when they were kids. Funny how Rick’s never told us these stories!

We headed out to the beach and got one afternoon of sun. John and Spencer are from Miami and get sun all the time, so they thought the cold and clouds were pretty nice.

Father and son at Multnomah Falls. Look at those beautiful curls!

And can’t you tell that Liza looks like the LePage side of the family?

I really love when family comes to visit. We’ve lived far away from both sides of our family almost our entire marriage, so it’s such a joy to spend time with them. I love the eating and laughing and sharing stories. It’s the best.