12/21/2021

It's been so long since I've posted on my blog. I'm not sure what the purpose of my blog is anymore or if I even have an audience. So for now I'm considering it my public journal because sometimes I feel the need to write and put my words out there in the world. Maybe someone needs to hear what I have to say, maybe I just need to express myself.

It's days before Christmas. We are still very much in a pandemic with Covid-19 and many new variants. Wally and I have had 3 vaccinations as recommended over the last year. Wally for the most part stays at home. I continue cautiously with my activities. We have been fortunate to stay healthy.

In August 2020 I lost my sister Nancy to complications from Multiple Sclerosis. She was 66 years old. I miss her very much and I'm grateful for the extra time we had with her. She was on hospice for three years. She was a wonderful example of strength, courage and faith. She was always smiling and loved telling you about movies she had seen or stories about her adorable grand children.

Wally lost his brother Herman earlier this year. Wally is the oldest of the family and Herman was two years younger than him. It's been very hard for him.

We were able to spend time with our family at the cabin in June after being vaccinated. It was wonderful to be able to travel and to see everyone.

I was able to go on some hikes this summer. My hiking/walking buddy moved from Kent to Long Beach in August. We were able to visit her new home and the ocean in September. I do miss walking Clark Lake Park with her though.

In August we had a fun time when my great nieces from Oregon came and stayed with us for a week. We did so much exploring around Seattle and Tacoma. We had a blast. When they went home to Oregon we met up in Independence so that I could visit my Grandma Lulu's grave site.

In September my daughter Natalie and niece Emily flew from Utah for a visit. It was Emily's first time to the area. We had to plan our outings based on whether or not it was going to rain that day. Natalie's husband Scott joined us for some of the time.

We drove to Long Beach and spent the night with Yvonne. Then spent a day visiting Cannon Beach, and Astoria. And getting stuck on the Astoris bridge because of an earlier accident.

We did the Washington State Fair, Space Needle, Ballard Locks, waterfront, Pike's Place market and so much more. It was great spending time with family.

I dearly miss my visits to St. George to see Wayne and Andrea and my four grand daughters. With Covid and Wally's health it's just not been possible to travel for a visit there yet. Hopefully this spring I can make that happen.

It's hard to believe another year has gone by. I have been evaulating my passions and the things I desire to spend my time on. I'm still involved with the ham radio community, love to take pictures, quilt, play my ukulele, I got a Cricut vinyl cutting machine this year too. There is so much I love to do. I especially love to be outdoors which is hard here this time of year. But I will be joining some rainy day hikes in the new year.

Where ever you may be in your life right now, find joy in what you do. Make time for what and who you love and live with no regrets.

Merry Christmas! And here's wishing 2022 brings good things to us all.

~Trudy~

And Then Suddenly it's December!

On Friday it will be December! My last post was in early June. I have now been retired for nine months. I have to say retiring in the spring time was a good idea. Spring and summer were super fun. And now it's fall and we're raking leaves and getting rained on. But I'm still loving retirement.

The end of June we did another 2 week trip, but this time we stayed at the family cabin on the lake. The first week was my regular family reunion, we had a small group and my kids did not get to come this year. But we had fun. The second week my friend and her daughter and family came to the cabin. My sister and her husband stayed also. It was fun to see the excitement of the kids seeing Yellowstone and so many things for their first time. And we made deep fried scones with honey butter and they were so delicious.  

My friends from Sacramento came for a visit in July and we went to Paradise at Mt. Rainier. It's so beautiful there. It was a cloudy day, so we couldn't see the mountain. 

In the summer I did a hike at the Summit at Crystal mountain with a group from the Senior Center, it was a lot of fun. I also took my friend up to Sunrise at Rainier and we did some more hiking.

In September my daughter Natalie and I flew to Boston to visit my niece Lillie and her family. It was a really good trip, seeing the sights, eating, playing in the ocean, seeing the big mansions from the early years of the East Coast.

I just got home on Friday night from spending some time with my son in St. George and meeting my new 7 week old grand daughter, Arabella. She was born early and is so small, but so cuddly. It was fun seeing all four girls. And the weather was beautiful.

Amoura age 3

Grandma Trudy with Arabella

Avea and Annelise

Cedar City Temple

We had our Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday with Wally's family. Christmas preparations are now underway.

Family Time at the Cabin

Sometimes I'm amazed at how many years we've been going to the cabin for our annual family vacation. This year neither of my kids were able to be there. But as always my sister's are great at sharing their grand children.

Wally and I drove Saturday morning stopping frequently. Our favorite lunch spot for many years has been The Smokehouse Restaurant in La Grande, Oregon. Funny thing is though, we usually order breakfast for lunch. Wally discovered their giant hotcakes one year. But this year he passed on the hotcakes.

We then continued on to spend the night in Boise at my sister Sue's house. Before dinner I usually get a quick dip in the pool which always feels great after our 500 mile drive.

This time on Sunday morning, instead of heading directly to the cabin we were able to meet my niece Serene and her family for breakfast. It also happened to be Father's Day. She lives in Sacramento and her and her husband Scott have two children whom I had never met before. Seneca just recently turned 2 and Levi at the time was about 5 months old. They brought along some in-laws and we had a very fun visit. They were on their way to Canada for vacation. We had breakfast in Meridian at The Griddle. It was very good.

Sunday we drove to the cabin stopping in Rexburg to drop some items off to a young couple from her Mom her in Kent. We arrived at the cabin after Sue and Dennis. Later that evening we were joined by John, Sarah, Ethan and Austin.

Everyone else arrived on Tuesday, or was it Wednesday? This year we had Becky, David, Joe, Nikki, Tristan, Kali, Taylor, Nancy, Emily, Scott, Sue, Dennis, John, Sarah, Ethan, Austin, Wally and me. The big focus for the week was building a deck on the lake side of the condo. It was fun watching the progress and so many people helping out. We got to take family pictures on the deck before everyone headed home.

It was the first time in a long time we had all five of us kids together. And as always we ate well with everyone pitching in. I have to say breakfast is probably my favorite meal at the cabin. It's cooked on the grill, bacon, eggs, pancakes, fish, potatoes. It was always delicious, cooked mostly by John and Sue. Dave even made us sourdough crepes with berries one morning. Delicious. And of course we had caramel corn one evening.

We adjusted to the fact the younger generation enjoys their electronic games. And it was cute to see them sitting together so focuses. We had fun playing Rummikub which always makes me think of my Mom playing that with the grandkids.

The weather was very hot this year. There were mosquitos and there were bug bites. There were some fish caught. Most of us went home on Saturday morning. I missed seeing the moose across the water that morning. Sue and Dennis stayed another week and enjoyed the 4th of July fireworks from the deck.

Wally and I decided to drive home on I-90. We went to Ennis and had a great breakfast including Indian fry bread with honey butter. It was a very hot drive home. Each time we stopped to take a break or get gas we were blasted with heat. It was actually 112 degrees in Wallace, Idaho where we stopped for a late lunch of burgers.

When we got to Spokane and it was only 5 pm we decided to just keep driving to get home. I can't believe I drove 750 miles in one day. It was a long stretched out day with lots of stops and walking around. It was another great family vacation at the cabin.

Oh, and I won a quilt and Natalie won the other quilt!

Austin

Found a food truck at the laundry mat that sells Indian Fry Bread Tacos!

Emily and her fish!

Taco Bar Night

Grandma Becky with Taylor

Kali

Ethan and Tristan

Five

Five. The number of pairs of shoes I feel the need to take with me on vacation. There are the tan sandals I'm wearing on the road trip, the flip flops for around the cabin, my grounding flip flops to walk around outside, my old, comfortable black Lands End slip on shoes and my gym shoes. To be exact I'm packing a 6th pair, which is a cute pair of blue sandals that I never wear that I'm hoping to give away to someone.

Normally I could get out of town with 4 pairs of shoes, but I'm splurging this time. That's the advantage to driving and having plenty of room.

Tomorrow we head to Boise on our annual trip to the cabin at Henry's Lake. Wally and I have been going since we moved to Washington State in 1988. We always go the last week in June which was when my kids got out of school. Everyone else was out of school weeks earlier. School would end on Wednesday or Thursday and we'd leave town on Saturday.

The first day we drive to Boise and spend the night at my sister's home. There we load more items in the back of the truck to help haul over to the cabin.

This year Sunday is Father's Day. I'm luck enough to get to meet up with my niece who is in Idaho on her way to Canada on vacation. She has a 5 month old and almost two year old that I'll be meeting for the first time. Needless to say I'm very excited.

This has been a busy couple of months. I'm happy to report for the most part we are packed and ready to go in the morning. The only thing I haven't been able to find is Wally's National Park Pass. That let's the car he's in get into the park for free. We last used it in December and I looked in my old purses and have no idea where it is. We generally don't go into the park much anymore, but it would be nice to have it.

I watered my orchids tonight and set the blinds just so in their room. I can only hope the house doesn't get overly warm being closed up tight.

Pictures and stories upon my return.

Here is a photo from last year.

July 27, 2014

I must say a few things have happened in the last two months. The end of June was our annual family vacation to the cabin. Even though neither of my children attended this year I was able to enjoy a lot of family. We had a really fun week. And before heading to the cabin I was able to see more family at Sue's house.

It's quite the road trip for Wally and I. The first day we go 500 miles to Boise and spend the night. The next day is about 350 miles. We then stay six nights and repeat the process on the way home. It's a good thing I enjoy driving.

This year the weather was great. It wasn't quite as hot as it normally is when we are driving through Idaho.

A couple of weeks after returning home from the cabin I was able to fly to Utah to meet my newest little grand daughter, Amoura Emilene. It was so wonderful to spend time in my son's home with his sweet little family. She was born on July 6th.

July and August will continue to be very busy months. Summer is going by so quickly but I'm loving it all.

The Gaytan's

2014 Cabin Crew

Avea, Amoura, Grandma Trudy and Annelise (3 of my 4 grand daughters)

Three generations. Daddy Wayne, baby Amoura and grandma Trudy.

Vacation Anticipation

It's time again for our annual road trip to Island Park, Idaho. I put in my vacation request early in the year. The weeks just prior to the trip keep me very busy. There are meals to plan, shopping to do, packing, laundry, hold the mail, kennel the dog, solicit the neighbor to water the plants, water the indoor plants, clean out the fridge, pack snacks, etc. I don't think there is any end to the list of things to do prior to going on vacation.

But once the truck is packed and I'm in the drivers seat the attitude then becomes, "whatever we forgot we can either buy it or we'll survive a week without it."

I packed sewing projects, knitting, books, my Nook, and a notebook for writing. We'll drive one day to Boise and spend the night. Then Sunday is a little bit shorter drive and we'll arrive at our cabin before dinner time.

This year if the weather cooperates we have been promised a super full moon over the lake Sunday night.

There will be lots of fun with family, great nephews, fishing, sewing, eating, lounging, sleeping, and more eating.
I'm looking forward to it all.

Henry's Lake in Island Park, Idaho