BIRDS OF A FEATHER TWO

My backyard bird feeders get busier every day as the neighborhood birds discover them and the snow on the ground gets deeper. It is fun to watch the activity out my kitchen window.

Increased traffic at the feeder has resulted in me noticing a broader range of bird species. I am happy to announce the addition of  the following 3 bird sightings to my bird log.

The ubiquitous Sparrow

The dark-eyed Junco

And my personal favorite of this group- the House Finch.

In Bellevue sightings of House Finches were infrequent. In Park City, they seem to be my most common visitor.  I love colorful birds!  With a back drop mostly of white, it lifts my spirits to look outside and see flashes of color!

SKI DO TWO

I finally got Chuck on cross-country skis!

He was cleared by his doctor post knee surgery to ski, but he suggested starting out with classic skiing as opposed to skate skiing.  We went to the club house and rented him equipment....

He was really nervous about falling and tweaking that knee (with good reason- he sees me falling constantly!).  But he did great, only falling once.

We went out twice that day, in the afternoon and again in the evening after dark.

We often watch people skiing after dark with headlamps on and it looks so fun we wanted to try it. So we went to Walmart and picked up some really bright headlamps and headed out. It was super cold!

The nice thing about cross- country is that you don't stay cold for long. It is such an aerobic activity that soon you are shedding clothes. It is interesting to see your own breath turn into ice particles in those low temperatures.

There was no moon that night, but we were accompanied by the sound of coyotes in the distance. Kinda spooky.

Chuck decided that cross-country skiing was a lot of work and somewhat boring.  Which, of course, is true when you are first starting out.  The fun part is gliding on your skis, and there isn't a lot of that going on when you are first learning.  The next day his calves were so sore he could barely walk, and this is a man who works out 6 days a week- both cardio and free weights.

I enjoy this sport because I love being outdoors and reveling in the beauty of nature. Even if I use the same course every day there is something new and different to marvel at. The best part is it is right out my back door- I don't have to drive anywhere to participate. It is a sport that I can do at my own pace (which is slow) and still get a workout. I am always dripping sweat by the time I get home. 

Now if I just had a big fluffy dog to keep me company life would be perfect!

TEMPLE SIGHTING

As I was leaving the Salt Lake temple last week after attending the sealing of Colleen Deputy and Evan Thompson (Greg and Mandi Deputy's daughter), I was walking past the visitor's center and I spotted someone I thought I recognized. I wasn't quite sure, because I had never met her in person, and I was on the outside of the center looking through the glass at someone on the inside.  Besides, it would be such a coincidence that I would run into her.  What are the odds?? But I couldn't just walk by- I had to investigate.

Sam had a friend he had made in one of the wards in Indiana while he was on his mission there. A darling girl that was getting ready to leave on her mission to- guess where- temple square.  I had met her once on skype, I knew her first name, but couldn't remember her last name.

I quickly texted Sam to get the information I needed, then headed indoors to check out her name tag- Sure enough!!  Sister Mark!

I introduced myself, and we spent some time chatting and catching up.  Ever the missionary, she even took the time to share a scripture with me.  Exactly the kind of conversation I needed on a cold gray day.

THE LOVE CONTINUES.....

Being a wedding weekend and Valentine's weekend, our home was practically soupy with love!

Chuck gave me flowers (tulips- my favorite!), a ginormous card, a cross-country ski pass, and a set of new pots and pans (that I picked out).

How can you not feel loved when you are spoiled like this??

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

I love this girl! Mandi Roper Deputy has been a huge part of my life and our family. She came into our lives right after she moved to Bellevue from Lubbock Texas as a teen. She moved into our home and hearts and has been our daughter ever since. She helped me raise Rachel and Becca when they were little. She was living with us when she started dating Greg Deputy, her future husband. They have now been married twenty plus years and have 5 children. Their oldest Colleen, was married in the Salt Lake Temple this weekend to her sweetheart Evan Thompson.

Mandi, Colleen and little sister Atalie in front of the temple. They are smiling bravely through chattering teeth for photos, even though it was FREEZING!!

A happy mother of the bride!

It was such a pleasure to have Mandi and Greg and their kids stay here at our house all week. Mandi and Greg have always had a special place in our heart. Chuck just adores this girl- his Mandi Pandi! We were honored to be a part of the wedding festivities. 

FOOT RUBS

We moved into this house in mid-September. We noticed a lot of mole-like tunneling in the lawn and asked our neighbor about it. He explained here on the Wasatch back we have voles, which can be very destructive. Our house backs to a golf course fairway and the golf course is constantly waging war with them to keep the course pristine. 

However, every time the golf course puts down a
treatment on the grass all the voles leave the golf course and move into everyone's back yards (ours included). Coyotes, hawks, owls and cats keep them in check during the warm weather seasons, but they don't hibernate in the winter and just tunnel around under the snow protected from predators. So when the snow melts in the spring, usually your lawn is a mess. Our neighbor suggested getting cats which would control the vole population, at least in your own yard.

Chuck was convinced that we needed barn (garage) cats. I was more than happy to accommodate with a trip to a nearby pet adoption center where I found two darling 12 week old kittens.  Ivy is a grey tabby that is super affectionate and has the loudest purr I have ever heard on a cat. Sonja is a black and white tuxedo kitty with 4 white socks and the coolest white mustache. Sonja is very shy and spooks at the slightest noise.  It has taken 3 months for her to get close enough for me to pet her.

I took these pictures in the garage, so they are pretty dark, but you can see Sonja's mustache.

Ivy, the affectionate one, is constantly rubbing up against your feet. She has this cute/annoying habit of getting in between your feet as you are walking to rub her head on first one foot, then the other with each step you take.  It's adorable unless you are in a hurry, then she either trips you or gets stepped on.

Its wonderful to know I can get a foot rub anytime I want just by walking into the garage.

SLEEPING IN SEATTLE

Chuck needed to go to Seattle for 5 days for work, I jumped at the opportunity to join him so I could spend time with Jared and Becca.  It was such a great trip!

The weather was so accommodating on both ends of the trip. Even though we have had lots of snow in Park city recently, we had four gorgeous days of sunshine through the day we left, then it snowed the whole time we were gone, but greeted us with sunshine on our return.  And Sam was nice enough to have our driveway cleared for us when we got home.

Seattle has been inundated with rain this winter, but did not rain while we were there. It was mostly overcast, but dry. However we did see the sun a few times, especially the day we left was clear blue skies and Mt. Rainier was out to remind us why we love Seattle/Bellevue so.

The trip coordinated with my kids days off work perfectly, so that I got to spend Saturday and Sunday with Becca, then Monday and Tuesday with Jared, all while having dinner with both kids every night after work.

The first night we arrived all four of us met at the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate being together!

Everyone had to work on Friday but me, so Jared was nice enough to meet me for breakfast, then let me have the use of his car all day after I took him to work. I had the whole day to myself, so I did my favorite Bellevue things.  Went to my favorite place for a massage, went thrift store shopping, and visited with friends I hadn't seen in a while.

Saturday I spent with Becca, starting with lunch at our favorite place Belle Pastry.  They make the best hot chocolate ever! (and I am a connoisseur). We passed the day hunting through thrift stores and antiques galleries. In the afternoon, we met up with Chuck and went to Seattle to go to some second hand stores where Becca found some very nice used cross-country skiing boots.

Sunday we attended our old ward and got to visit so many good friends that I miss. Jim and Marie Davidson let us stay at their home Friday and Saturday night. After church I got to spend some time with my brother Rick and his wife Janet, who live in Bellevue.  We weren't around for the customary family Christmas get together, so it was nice to touch base. Then on to our good friends Glen and Juli White's house in Sammamish for an amazing Prime rib dinner.  It was so wonderful to connect with people who have been so important in our lives over so many years!

Monday and Tuesday were spent hanging out with Jared. It was fun to get to see where he works (Audi Dealership in Bellevue) and visit him at home (Renton). We met Becca for lunch on Monday at her work, went out to dinner and to the movies.  Jared came back and spent some time in our hotel room on Lake Union watching the Iowa caucus results come in.

Seattle saved her best weather for last- this is the view from our hotel room on Lake Union, right across the street from the sea plane "airport". With this kind of weather, it makes me want to visit often!

We spent 5 days with dear friends, family and my two amazing kids. It doesn't get any better than that!