We survived the weekend

Many of you saw photos posted by Arlene and others of the fun gathering at the Pruitts in Tempe. These are girls I went to camps and teen activities with many moons ago! P.J. Soderman, Nancy Ezell Branch, Betty Laos and Lynn Grimes.

Jim and D'Ann courageously planned the events, gatherings of Arizona Bible Camp friends and family, at their home every Friday night in February. It was a lot of fun to catch up with them again.

Arlene and John Mills were there, bringing memories of the first years after I moved to Tucson in the early 1980's.

Tim Laos brought his guitar and we had fun singing old camp songs, some of which I hadn't heard in years! Alan and P.J.'s son, Alan Jr., joined the group and especially enjoyed the humorous stories of our youth.

Nancy and I were in the same cabin at summer camp at the age of eight and became fast friends. It's a big deal at that age! I wish she lived closer, so we could renew the friendship.

After that fun evening, Sam and I stayed a couple nights with our friend Karen in Phoenix. She has 4 dogs -- these 3 and Marty, a big black shaggy mutt with a big bark. Plus 2 cats and 2 toddlers!

Sam had a few home repair projects he wanted to do for Karen, and he enlisted the help of Seth, who's three. First, they read the instructions.

Then Seth had the important job of holding the flashlight while Sam installed dimmer switches. That's usually my job, so I was happy!

Karen and I also took the kids to a gymnastics class, where Seth expended some energy. He has a lot of it!

And this is the other munchkin, Ethan, who's also a real cutie. He's two.

We got back to the ranch late last night after dropping by Becky and Juan's to pick up Ma. This morning there's still snow in the shady areas, but it's melting fast.

Welcome to your week! I hope you have a good one.

Another Birthday Week

My Mom's 85th birthday is coming up next week, so we celebrated early with a spontaneous ice cream outing a couple days ago. Fun!

Ma and I got some yard work done last week, too. It's probably her all-time favorite activity. She even insisted on using the small tree saw!

Now it's Friday, Sam has the day off, and we're headed into Tucson to drop Mom off at Becky's. The PPR had a good 6 inches of snow by the time we left. Thanks to Sam's safe driving and persistence, our little Honda got us safely out almost 3 miles of dirt road and up several hills.

Looks like the trains aren't running much.

The freeway was a little tricky. Sam cut back his speed, but some vehicles were speeding by. We saw 2 semi-trucks, one box truck and an SUV that slid off the highway.

It's really coming down out here!

But it sure is pretty!

Have a great weekend, everyone.

UPDATE: We made it safely to Tucson, where it's still snowing, but only about an inch on the ground.

Unwelcome visitor to PPR

I don't mean Dingus, who of course belongs here, despite his disguise as a really cool dude in Sam's tuque. Dingus was so happy we came home from Seattle, he was willing to put up with a lot from his Pop.

I also don't mean the colorful flowers Sam brought home on Valentine's Day for my Mom and I. We each got a bouquet. What a great guy he is!

Our unwelcome visitor appeared on Friday in the trap we set weeks ago under the deck, right next to the house. I smelled him first, that unmistakable scent of skunk. I was only about 10 feet away. Sam wasn't due home for several hours and we were having friends over the next day, so I decided to try to get him away from the house as quickly as possible.

I found a 3-tined hoe, then tied 30 feet of rope to the handle using a lashing technique Sam taught me a few weeks ago. I held a tarp in front of me, and snagged the tines into the wire trap, then tied the rope to the back bumper of the truck. I felt like a real ranch girl when the whole contraption worked, as I slowly dragged the trap and skunk a couple hundred feet away from the house.

When Sam got home, he covered the trap with the tarp.

I held down the ends, then we loaded it in the back of the truck.

We drove to an uninhabited desert area about 4 miles away on the other side of the freeway.

Sam unlatched the trap door and pulled back the tarp.

Then we spent the next half hour trying to convince the skunk to vacate! Sam beat on the other end and poked sticks through the sides. Evidently Pepe le Pew (as Sam named him) liked the dark better than the unknown freedom.

Sam finally called Dennis, who had loaned us the trap and lives nearby. He had a few ideas, which also didn't work, and he finally just yanked the tarp off, dragging the trap with it, and we all ran the other direction! Pepe was last seen running through the grasses to freedom.

Maybe he caught a glimpse of Dennis's final backup plan, a .22 rifle in the back seat. Good choice, Pepe le Pew!

Regarding our totally welcome guests on Saturday, Mom, Sam and I had such a nice visit and lunch with Jackie and her two daughters, Sharon and Linda, and their husbands. Jackie and her husband Stu were part of the Bible Chapel group in the '80's and visited Immanuel Mission long before that. We have been friends through Christ Community Church for many years, and through Far Horizons East, where we all have lived. Linda and Gord are now good friends of Sam and I, and have helped us out here at the ranch.  Sharon and Ewen are becoming friends, when they have time around their many activities. We are thankful for the many connections over the years!

You may have guessed that once again I forgot to take photos. Am I getting old, or what? I should set a reminder before every event.

I hope your week and mine both improve! Have a good one, everyone.

Seattle, part 2: Snow Day!

The day after the wedding, most of the Staleys got together for lunch, giving cousin Jeff, the genealogist, a chance to arrange a four-generation photo. Thanks for thinking of this, Jeff! From left, we have dad Alex, great-grandma Vae, baby Nola (age 5 months), mom Hannah, grandma Kathy, and grandpa Ben.

Nola was definitely the belle of this luncheon, as she was passed from hand to lap. Here she's with great-aunt Becky and grandpa Ben. (It's SO weird for me to say that!)

Snow was falling as we ate lunch, and by the next morning, 7 or 8 inches had  accumulated.

Fortunately, Sam flew out the night before, and Ma and I weren't leaving till tomorrow. This kind of weather is unusual for Seattle area, but they're more well prepared than Tucson.

Alex and Hannah dropped by and Alex shoveled snow from the front walk, porch, driveway, and my rental car! What a guy! Then we set out to discover the winter wonderland.

The gumdrop trees were right next door.

We wandered the quiet back streets.

And ended up with the smallest snow angel.

I so seldom have an opportunity to enjoy a winter day. It was worth it, in spite of cold, wet feet at the end.

The rest of the day was spent snuggled inside in front of a roaring fire. Perfect.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Seattle! Family time!

Last weekend we flew to Seattle for a very special occasion, the wedding of my nephew JC (Chester) and his beautiful bride, Stina. I'm sure many of you saw this gorgeous photo earlier, posted by JC's dad, my brother Tim.

I flew up with my Mom, and the first special time was meeting Ma's first great-grandchild, Nola. What a sweet baby! You'll see her parents later.

We stayed with my brother Ben and Kathy. We always love their hospitality and home, and the entertainment this trip was the neighbors' free-range chickens. They literally ranged freely right into our yard!

On Saturday morning, I drove back to the airport to pick up Sam, who could only come for a couple days.

Doesn't he look handsome in his tuxedo?! The wedding reception was held at Chihuly Garden and Glass in downtown Seattle.

They started with a traditional Chinese tea ceremony, a wonderful and personal few moments when we could give advice to the newlyweds.

During the evening we had time to roam around the spectacular museum and studio.

We were directly under the Space Needle, Seattle's most famous landmark! It was an amazing evening, a wonderful dinner and a lot of good times with family. (Unfortunately, I once again neglected to bring my phone/camera, so thank you to family for sharing their photos!)

I will continue with the rest of the trip later today. Breakfast with Ma takes priority these days!