SCHWEITZER

Over Mid-winter break the boys and Chuck and I went to Schweitzer ski-resort for a week.  We used one of Uncle Richards' time shares and stayed in a condo near Sand Point Idaho.  The condos are right on Lake Pend O'reille with a great view of lake and snowy mountains. It takes about 40 minutes to drive to the slopes.  We could stay closer, but this timeshare has a lot going for it- indoor pool, 2 hot tubs (one indoors, one outside) indoor tennis courts, pickle ball courts, basketball court,racketball courts, work out center, billiard room, ping pong tables, dvd rentals, video games, small grocery store.  Everything to keep the boys and Chuck entertained when not on the slopes.

View from condo-note ski resort

The view from the ski slopes down to the lake was just as gorgeous!

There was certainly plenty of snow, great skiing- deep powder.  I swear Schweitzer is the best kept secret!!  No one on the slopes- you just ski right on the lifts.  No waiting in the terrain parks, the half pipes,boxes and jumps are just wide open. The perfect place for someone like Sam who is just learning to snowboard.  Wide open slopes to practice without fear of being run over, or running over someone else.

The best part of all was a knock on our door late Tuesday night-

Rachel, Nate and Evelyn came for a surprise visit!!

We were so shocked to see them- Nate took some time off in the middle of the week to drive 9 hours from Rigby, Idaho to surprise us.  It was wonderful to see them.

When we weren't skiing- we were recuperating from skiing

Like sitting in front of the fire doing Sudoku

napping

picking one's nose

checking the blogs that I follow and relaxing

making brownies

playing with Evelyn

and the most important......family bonding

and when we weren't recuperating from skiing, we were prparing to go again

waxing snowboards

Nater fixing Sam's broken binding

We took the time to do a little sightseeing as well, in Dad's new Subaru Outback that got us everywhere we wanted to go, no matter the weather

Sandpoint has two things I dearly love- Starbucks for yummy hot chocolate and the world headquarters for Coldwater Creek clothing store.

With hot chocolate, new clothes and my family around all is right with the world!!

WE HAVE BABIES!! part 2

 

Finally!! these piggies were born on Tuesday 2/8.  The fact that there are 4 of them explains why mama was so HUGE. Mom is a solid red abyssinian (meaning she has cowlicks sticking up all over- crazy hair). Dad was a long haired red with some white stripes. It looks like the black baby (Jamal-according to Jared.  Isn't that racial profiling?)has cowlicks too. I am amzed by how easy this birthing process seems to be for these moms (sows).  I left the house Tuesday at noon- no babies.  I came back 3 hours later- babies. The babies were all dry, no umbilical cords dangling, running around.  Mom was skinny again and not showing any signs of wear.  Even her bottom was pristine, no blood, no redness, no swelling after giving birth to twice her own weight in babies. One would almost think the stork left them! I am still puzzled how an animal who is suppossed to have litters of between 1-6 babies (kits) only has 2 teats.  I guess that is why these piggies are born with teeth and able to eat solid food immediately, cause there is always a line of babies waiting their turn to nurse.

I know this picture is a bit fuzzy but it shows the relative size of one of the babies from this litter when it was 5 days old.

This picture shows the relative size of this litter and a kit from our last litter 11 days before. It is amazing how fast they grow. They are constantly eating- especially once they stop nursing, which they seem to do after about 10 days. They get very vocal right away too.  Although their permanent home is outside, we brought the moms/babies inside due to cold temperatures. The babies have already figured out that the sound of crinkling plastic wrappers or produce bags mean they are going to get a treat.  Even from the next room if they hear anyone rustling around in the refrigerator they start making all sorts of racket, chirps and whistles especially, hoping for a carrot, red cabbage or their favorite is parsley.  But in truth they aren't picky they will eat just about any fruit or vegetable.  The only things they don't seem to like is green beans (go figure) and citrus fruit which is odd because they have really high Vitamin C requirements.

PARENTAL ADVISORY





Jared and Sam have a lot of things to keep them entertained here at home.  They have the computer, xbox, airsoft rifles, cell phones and their ipods.  The latest addition to their stash of toys is a dart board given to Jared by Nate and Rachel for Christmas. I noticed that it has been hung in a number of different places in Jared's bedroom in an effort to find the perfect spot that gives them just enough throwing distance.  It somewhat worries me that it is so close to the light bulb on top of the lamp, but on the other hand, it shows their prowess that the bulb is still intact. Jared did, however, come and ask me a couple of days ago if we had any more dark blue paint........

WE HAVE BABIES!

One of our guniea pigs, Peaches (short for Peaches and Cream) had 2 babies!  They are adorable!  The mom is the white and red piggy in the background. Unlike any other rodent that I am familiar with, baby piglets, known as "kits", are born with hair, eyes open, already have teeth, and running around. Although they do nurse for the first couple of weeks, they don't need to as they are eating solid food from the first day.  They are totally self-sufficient newborns.

The other piggy named Tulip has not yet had her babies, and she looks like she is about to explode.  She is huge!  It is almost painful to even look at her. She is nothing but belly. She has gotten to the point that her back legs can't support her weight independently, so although she can walk normally on her front two legs, her back two work together and hop like a bunny. Poor thing is ravenous all the time and eats night and day.  She will push everybody else out of the way to get to the food.  She is also the most vocal of all the guinea pigs I have ever had. She can get really loud to let you know she is out of food.

We have been keeping the two moms and babies inside for the last week, to monitor the deliveries and try to keep the babies warm as the temperature is getting down to freezing at night.  The other 4 pigs are just fine outdoors in cold weather- we just make sure they stay dry and have lots of hay to burrow into. I'll post pictures when Tulip becomes a mom.

ROAD TRIP

This last weekend, Chuck, Jared and I took a road trip to Portland.  I had gotten Jared tickets to see the stand-up comedian Brian Regan as a Christmas present and we have been planning this trip ever since. Brian is such a funny guy.  The kids introduced me to his Youtube clips a couple of years ago, and I love his type of humor. He had another comedian from Seattle as his opening act by the name of Kermit Avelo (spelling?) who was good as well. It is so hard to find stand-up comedy that is family friendly, most comedians these days seem to use a lot of profanity and off-color material.  These two guys were squeaky clean!

We had fun riding Portland's light rail system "MAX" everywhere we needed to go and not have to worry about parking.  We visited lots of funky shops, art galleries and restaurants. We had good weather for sight seeing (no rain) and walked until our feet ached. I visited Benessere Olive Oil and Vinegar Shop and came home with some luscious souvenirs.  I bought two bottles of basalmic vinegar: a black balsamic flavored with black cherry, and a white balsamic flavored with peach. Both soooo yummy!  I also picked up a bottle of olive oil flavored with lime.  It will make the best salad dressings.  I am looking forward to experimenting with them all.

Jared has been having fun with the new Nikon camera Chuck got him for Christmas and takes it every where he goes. He took lots of amazing pictures down in Portland, including the ones above.  He has advanced digital photography this semester at school and is excited to have a new camera to play with.

It was a great weekend, but it was nice to get back to my own bed.

US AGAINST THEM

Us girls have got to stick together!  Kitty (K-2 or Kitty 2.0) and I are feeling overwhelmed in our male-dominated household. The week before Christmas, Sam, one of Jared's good friends from school moved in.  Now, because 2 of the "posse" live here, our house has become "party central" for most of Jared's friends.  Most afternoons I will find 4 or more 17-18 year old boys downstairs killing zombies on XBOX.  Now that Becca has gone back to college for the winter, I have reclaimed my "office" (actually her bedroom), and Kitty and I spend most afternoon/evenings holed up in there in my favorite Papa-san chair against the testosterone onslaught. Notice Kitty is sticking out her tongue, showing her disgust with the situation.

While I am known to grumble and complain, I actually love having a lot of teenagers around.  I love to feed them and give them a chaperoned place to hang out.  When they all start to call me Mom, it feels wonderful. However, I do have my days when it feels like this:

 Sam has been very enjoyable to have around.  He appreciates having a roof over his head and regular meals on the table.  He is the type of kid that will load the dishwasher without being asked. His bed is neatly made every morning before he leaves for school.  If he finds clothes in the dryer when he wants to use it, he will take them all out and neatly fold them into stacks on the counter. So far, he has been a joy to have around.  He and Jared have started taking my dog route every Wednesday afternoon when they get out of school early at 12:30 to earn money. 

Sam loves animals and is lobbying Chuck persistently to let us get another dog, (he doesn't yet realize just how hopeless that is).  He has taken over the care and feeding of our 6 guinea pigs (3 male/3 female).  Sam has spent a lot of time and energy building them a bigger enclosure outside, after the piggies started to tunnel out of the cage that I had made.  Two of the ladies are pregnant and getting bigger by the day. All of us are anxiously on "baby watch".

A Backwards Look

Today I am sick in bed, actually I have been sick in bed for two and a half days.  Right after I finished my dog route on Wednesday I started to get a sore throat and feel achy all over.  Yesterday was the worst, I slept most of the day, with fever and chills and annoying sore throat.  I hate to breath through my mouth, but I was so congested that it was required so I wouldn't suffocate. Today I feel better, but sound worse.  Froggy throat, blowing nose, and continual coughing.  I have stayed in bed all day (just because it is fun) but I haven't slept.  I have finished a couple of animal books I would recommend to all:  "You Had Me At Woof" by Julie Klam and "Homer's Odyssey" by Gwen Cooper.  I am a sucker for animal books, even though I know the animal usually dies at the end (not the case with Homer's Odyssey however).  Books about animals usually have a riveting storyline (at least for me), are inspiring, have no profanity, lurid sex or violence- in essence a "clean" read.  Not too many of those out there.

While I have been keeping myself entertained in bed today, I perused some photos that were taken at Thanksgiving that I have yet to post on my blog.  I thought I would give it a try all by myself with out having to ask Chuck for technical assistance (he is downstairs watching a football game) or calling Rachel in Idaho and getting her long distance help.

This  is our main dish for Thanksgiving dinner- split cornish game hens on a bed of stuffing.  We have done cornish games hens instead of a large turkey for the last 3 years running. We love them! they don't take days to defrost, only an hour to cook , they don't dry out like turkey, taste great with all the traditional accompaniments and BEST OF ALL- no leftovers!! We always use Grandma Elaine Bishops stuffing recipe with the golden raisins (a family favorite- we make sure to have plenty of that left over).  We fill the roasting pan half full of stuffing and set the game hens right on top to cook, so the stuffing gets all the juices- it is to die for and only dirties 1 pan.  Becca came up with all the accompaniments this year as usual. We tried a new recipe for roasted sliced yams (in the picture) with cumin and lime juice: so good! Will definitely do that one again.  Fresh steamed asparagus with homemade holladaise sauce (another new experience neither Becca or I had ever made our own Hollandaise before- so simple and yummy).  Then Becca's specialty relish- ciproline onions in a basalmic vinegar with craisins and pomegranates.  This entire meal came together in about 2 hours! and it was scrumptious.

As always, the Saturday after Thanksgiving is the day we put up the Christmas decorations- both inside and out.  I love to do it then because Becca is always home from school and she enjoys the decorating.  We even got Jared to help with the tree this year!  Usually Dad does the out side decorating, and Mom and the kids do the inside. Chuck got ambitious and put the new LED type lights on a tree in our backyard. It  makes me feel all warm and mushy inside to be able to sit in the house and look outside on a winter wonderland!

p.s. I posted these pictures all by myself!