Winding down for shorter days and cooler nights

Fall means pine needles. Everywhere you look, there is a yellowish-brown carpet of pine needles.

There are pine needles in my love-lies-bleeding. It is kind of funny looking. It can't stand up any more. It is all bent over, heavy from the weight of all those cascading plumes of red.

There are pine needles in all my potted plants on the patio. The harvest has come on strong, and I am putting up food in the freezer constantly. We can't eat it fast enough. There is NOTHING like a fresh tomato off the vine. I am really going to miss my tomatoes when they are done.

We cleaned all of the pine needles off the patio this afternoon. Tomorrow they will be back. I don't like them.

And Friday finally comes...

It has been a long week...

Break time!

Need I say more?

Rylee sure wanted in on the slo-mo action. But once he was in my lap, he totally did not get the relax concept, so he jumped out to chase the UPS man.

Ahhhhhh... it's a dog's life!

To hell and back

More birthday surprises!

Anne and Allen surprised me yet again with a jet trip in the heart of Hell's Canyon on the snake river in about the middle of Idaho. The biggest part of the surprise was when we met for breakfast, I thought we were just the four of us... but "OH!" Chris and Daniel, Sinnead and Vanessa popped in! What a great surprise! They had a stressful time trying to keep that secret, but I apparently didn't have my radar up, thinking all the surprises were done.

So all 8 of us set out for our new adventure... from a little town called Whitebird, we turned off the highway and proceeded 17 miles going up, over the summit, and then almost straight down a gravel road into the canyon to meet our boat.

To tell you this trip was amazing would be a huge understatement. It was absolutely gorgeous with the bluest of skies as the backdrop to the rugged canyon walls. The water was surprisingly warm.

We met our boat about 30 miles downriver from the dam. Our destination was the deepest part of the gorge, which is the deepest canyon in the U.S. at Gravel Creek, and about 5 miles downriver from the dam. We packed our lunches… there are no accommodations on this journey except for a few places with outhouses, including a couple of parks created from old homesteads. Pretty amazing to think that folks actually lived down there. No roads in, but on either side of the river are trails. One side of the river is Idaho, and the other side is Oregon.

Our big excitement, other than blasting through class three white water rapids, was stopping to watch some fishermen who had snagged a sturgeon. We waited for them to bring him to the surface. That was amazing! A HUGE fish… so prehistoric looking. It is all catch and release there, and they only use barbless hooks. It was wild watching the guide stick his arm down the fish’s throat to remove the hook.

Chris, Daniel, Vanessa, and Kevin all took the challenge to climb Sturgeon rock in the middle of the river and jump in. They provided the entertainment for everyone on board.

I would highly recommend this adventure into the beautiful wildlands of Idaho!

I didn't think you were lying...

I was just hoping.

A week ago Tuesday (Aug. 25) was my 50th birthday. I was whisked away on a winetasting adventure by my wonderful husband, and surprised by several of our friends, Lynne and Don, Kent and Becki, and Anne and Allen. I knew something was up, but all I knew was that we were going somewhere with Lynne and Don, and the name "Canada" had come up several times.

We ended up in Walla Walla at the historic Marcus Whitman Hotel. We tasted some of the most amazing wines to come out of this country. We laughed and laughed, drank and ate. The best part, of course, was spending time with the great friends who accompanied us. 

Kent kept track of the funny things we said over the course of the trip. Here are some of my printable favorites:

Ali (on Chardonnay):  "Last night I though I had enough."

 

Kevin:  "I've never been to Walla Walla."

Kent:  "I was once...but I was drunk."

Ali:  "I LOVE menopause..."

 

Lynne, talking about the Marcus Whitman Hotel:  "Back when it (the hotel) was old..."

Ali, on Kevin eating crab (Kevin is allergic):  ".....because he WON'T die, and he WILL throw up all night."

Ali, on another surprise:  "OH!!!   Oh, I've been saying that a lot...."

Lynnie, on Kevin's struggles to find a restroom at the Marcus Whitman:  "Oh, I'm sorry, Kevin.  I thought you were an idiot."

Bec, one cool morning:  "I think I'm getting a bit chilly."

Ali:  "Well then, just have a hot flash."

Lynne:  "Here, have a sip of my wine.  That should push you over the edge."

Bec:  "If you can't wait in Waitsburg, where can you wait?"

Waitress at Patit Creek Restaurant, to Allan:  "Salad dressing?"

Allen:  "Yes, please."

Kent, on breakfast at the Marcus Whitman:  "There was no pineapple on the fruit plate when I was at breakfast at the crack of dawn."

Lynne:  "I see the crack of Don every morning."

Anne:  "I wish I had me skimpy jammies on."

Lynne:  "I am officially not going to worry and stress out about this work project today."

Don:  "Then officially shut up about it...."

Ali:  "OK, now I'm ready for bed.  (Pause).  Oh God, it's only 8:30...."

Here is a sampling of our trip in photos:

Hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.