Hang on to your Top Hat!

Guys, guys, guys.....here are some I forgot!!!


Oh, and Art..... I Love You!

Ten Packages in Ten Seconds

Hey guys...the Package Shark arrived and I am happy to report...IT WORKS!
I've been shopping like mad for things in those annoying packs....CD's... DVD's....cables....batteries....adapters....just to be able to slice them open with "the shark." Well, not really...I already had those things.........

The battery operated shears, on the other hand.....not so much.........but they were a freebie with the Shark, so I don't feel bad.....

Once there was a Snowman, Snowman, Snowman...

It occurred to me today that in the thirty years since Mark and I have spent Christmas away from Idaho Falls, not one member of our family has been to our house to see it all decked out for Christmas....Now, we ain't Martha Stewart, but we do our best to make our place as festive as possible...and our desecrations are fraught with tradition.....some things we have had since our our first Christmas together...we still have the same stockings to hang by the chimbley with care, the same tree skirt (no bare naked trees in THIS house!)and the original Frosty and Mrs. Snowman I made in Relief Society before we even had kids.....trust me, they've seen better days, but they will NEVER retire.....they started my Snowman collection. This house has a space over the fireplace for a television...kind of a box type thing that most folks would use for their T and V....but our screen won't fit in there, so we use it as a display box of sorts.....depending on the season, it holds Hallowe'en, or Easter, or Patriotic stuff....when there's no particular season, it holds a lot of my Rooster and Chicken collection. Right now it is Snowmen....



Now, I love all my snowmen...every year there is a new addition, and this year beats just about anything we've ever seen...our dear friends, The Boersmas found this little beauty, and immediately identified these folks as Debbie and Mark!!! We totally agree and couldn't be more delighted with this very special addition!!! Watch this little video, and you'll see the remsemblence, yes???

Now, don't you feel like you have been to our house....ALMOST???

Tradition, You Say????

If you know me at all, you know that tradition patterns my life....I love keeping traditions...and the Taylor family has many. We once started to list all of them, and it was really cool to see how many wonderful traditions we hold........

One of my favorites is The Annual Ladies Luncheon and Ornament Exchange with the women that work at our parent company, Hinds Instruments. I am the only female employee at Columbia Weather, so I get to plan and coordinate the drawing of the names for the exchange, and make arrangements with the Tea Room for the luncheon.
If you step into Judy's Parlor very often, this may be dejai-vu all over again....last year at this time, Miss Five posted pictures from the luncheon, and it is very difficult for me to believe that a year has come and gone since then............the ladies are the same, the Tea Room is the same, the HATS are even the same.......the only difference is the ornaments we exchanged.
This group of ladies have excellent taste, and the gifts are always wonderful.......and this year was no exception. By now, we are familiar with each others collections and styles, so we generally receive an ornament that we truly will enjoy....especially for me this year...I received a really lovely snowman to add to my collection........
Have you seen my collection, by the way? It's bigger than my Santa Claus collection by only a bit....
The best part is that everyone always thanks me for "Putting the luncheon together," but all I do is make the reservation, hold the drawing for "who give to whom" and make sure they all remember to wear a special hat! That's all I do....traditionally....

Are we done yet?

I'm so glad Christmas is over.....now I have 360+ days until it rolls around again.....
Don't get me wrong...there were some really great things...........
Talking to Geoff was the very, very best.......he even went Renegade Caroling with us early Christmas morning......through the magic of cell phones, he sang along with us....and even had a solo at the end......it was, as one friend put it...AWESOME!

Here Comes Santy Claus....

HO HO HOLY COW!!

Last Friday night was my company Christmas party. Although Columbia Weather is very small...just 5 of us...our parent company, Hinds Instruments employs about 35 people...we went to the Oregon Zoo, which is a great place for a Christmas party, as they put up bazillions of lights and lighted displays...there is a steam train that runs through the zoo to get a great view of all the pretty sights....but the best sight of all was an appearance by Santa Claus! And wow, what an appearance he made! He was happy and jolly and full of cheer! EVERYONE wanted their picture with Santa, and here are a few favorites... oh yea....I owe Santa....Big Time!

I've been a very good girl all year!

Santa and his favorite little girl

I think the BIG BOSS has a BIG WISH for Santa...and Santa looks like he wishes he had a BIGGER LAP!

The room was dimly lit, but I think you get the idea....even with an "Angry Gypsy" ringing the jingle bell tamborine to signal that Santa was on his way....

Gee, What a Peach of of Pair!

Today is my parent's SIXTIETH Wedding Anniversary...in a day and age where Sixty Months is considered an achievement, this milestone is pretty doggone remarkable...unless you know my parents...they are pretty doggone remarkable people...still going strong, healthy and active into their mid-eighties..
In 1947 my mother was a young, very pretty housekeeper working in a rooming house in a little town in Utah...the boarders were mostly railroaders...and when Wavie caught the eye of a handsome new dispatcher, the other workers made sure Ralph got the word that she was pretty special...and not to be trifled with! Wisely, he took their advice...he pursued her until she let him catch her and they were married December 9, 1947...
It's not possible to write a fraction of the happenings during the next sixty years...five children, lots of grandchildren, and now double digit numbers of great-grandchildren...and while that is all wonderful and noteworthy in itself, it is the relatioanship between the two of them that is most remarkable...they have truly become "one."
You know how they say that couples start to look alike after awhile? Well, I don't think that is necessarily the case...but I do think they are on such the same wavelength that they don't really need to say things out loud that much anymore....which probably good, because some of the things they hear...or THINK they hear make for some pretty hilarious situations.....and maybe laughing a lot it one of the secrets of a long, happy marriage.....whatever the key is, these two have found it....so today I say...CONGRATULATIONS on your Diamond Jubilee...I guess it's true............Diamonds are Forever!

Sometimes really horrible disasters happen, and as just a regular person you have absolutly no control over anything involved.....this I believe to be true when it come to that Fickle Mother Nature...
You ALL know how I feel the about the wind...and have made no secret of my desire to NEVER live in a high wind area...when I was a little girl growing up in Idaho Falls, the wind would whip and howl up and down the Upper Snake River Valley....it was scary and uncomfortable, especially when I would be awakened in those dark nights as the house slightly shuddered and shook with strong gusts of wind whistling around around the corner...I didn't like it then....and I loathe it now...so you would likely assume I was most uncomfortable with the disastrous weather in the Northwest this past weekend...
Brutal, Unrelenting,and Indescribably Destructive....that has been the wind this weekend....wind that has driven unrelenting rain all the way from the north coasts to the south coasts of Washington and Oregon...Massive ammounts of rain...over 13 inches in 2 days left the more inland town of Vernonia completely submerged and isolated.....no roads in, no roads out...certainly one of the hardest hit communities........and then there is the Coast.....so much rain fell so quickly...a two day sustained downpour, that all the mountain streams and rivers overflowed and inundated all the towns and communities....people will be without power for days, they say....they have no place to live....no place to recoup.....all the reports show folks pretty much devastated and in shock....no one foresaw the flash flooding.....why, even the Chinook Winds Casino where we vacationed with the delightful Don and Missus Berg last year sustained heavy damage when the wind blew away the siding on the south side.......that now is considerd minor damage...people are losing their homes, businesses, jobs, hopes, desires, dreams, keepsakes, souvineers, sentimental things.....just here one day, ruined by a fickle Mother Nature the next....Right now they say the best thing we can do is stay out of the way of the National Guard as they bring in other relief workers....our time will come to assist, I'm sure when they can assess what needs to be done...my coworker Jeff's brother and family live in the abovementioned Vernonia....right square in the middle of the abovementioned disaster....tonight Jeff and his Brother were able to get everyone out of town and to safety at Jeff's....and it looks like an extended stay until they can figure out how to clean the muck up....and salvage......and fight mold and mildew...what a daunting task...BUT!!! All this to say that we Taylors are safe and dry in our home....we saw lots of downed debris and limbs and even a number of big trees snapped right down...and we heard about the loss of a beloved icon passed on every single trip to and from the Coast...I admit it was sometimes a rest stop....but mostly it was a National Landmark

We're so glad we took time during the last few years to visit the world's tallest Sitka Spruce just outside Seaside and Cannon Beach...it wasn't a healthy tree, and Mother Nature put it out of it's misery, breaking it off at about 75 feet....But I'm most worried for our friends Rick and Grace Henry...they own an adorable bungalow just over the dune at Sunset Beach....you know...the turn off to the beach access road is just before you get to Camp Rilea...just before the Fort Stevens Cutoff....It's a lovely, cozy, welcoming home they have had for the last 4 years....it's in a slightly protected area....emphasis on SLIGHTLY...and they are anxious to get to the coast to assess any damage...the only problem is that all the roads and highways are still closed!!! And the Power is still out! It's just a flat out MESS!!! We pray for The Henrys and for the Maxwells who live out north of town in a more isolated area...we also give great thanks from the depths of our hearts for the safety and security we feel...No ill effects, except driving through a little high water on our way to work...........It's ugly...really ugly...But we are safe, healthy, warm, dry, powered, fed, and comfortable.....now I guess we better get on to helping those who aren't...

Have you seen this thing???

So...I saw this gadget for opening those doggone plastic sealed packages I hate so much...and today I ordered me a couple for the office...It's the first time I've ever ordered off an infomercial.............as far as you know...
So, when it gets here, if it works we can all get one and make ourselves happy......just think, we can open 10 packages in 10 seconds.....the very thought makes me dizzy...and positively giddy........sure wish the mailman would get here!!!!

So Far....So Good

Okay...I got Maxine back on my profile for today...but I can't guarantee she'll stay....I have no idea why she disappeared.......but if she goes away again....she's history.....Also, may I say, I love that, of all the things to notice in my own picture....no clothes, an obscene number of medicines next to the bed....and who knows what else, Granelda homed in on the ring.....That's My Sister!!! Goon on ya! I don't know anyone who loves hand jewelry more than she does....which is only one of the bajillion reasons I love her..........so keep your ring fingers crossed that Maxine hangs around....

Well, CRAP

Gone again........Kyle is getting frantic......must...............get..........(kaff, kaff)......................help........