Our Cutie Patootie!

OK, I know the whole world is waiting with bated breath to hear the final details on our new grandson, Vance. He was 6 lbs 4 ozs and 21 1/2 inches long.

Vance Ryder-Lee has arrived!

Vance Ryder-Lee

Baby Vance made his arrival via C-Section today at 2:47 AM. He is darling.  I have no firm details because all info is coming from Uncle Lee and his stats are quote - 21 inches and 6 pounds something mom - unquote. MEN! I wanted all the details but healthy baby and healthy mom are details enough right now. LOL Wish we could have been there :-( but so happy everything is fine :-)

At the hospital waiting for baby

Lumara and Uncle Lee

Well, Lumara has checked into the hospital to give birth to our first grand baby. We are anxiously waiting for baby boy Vance!

Flooding

Flooded

Not Flooded

Well, it has been steadily raining here in the northwest (duh!) and the water level of Stone Lagoon has been rising and rising.  Laton worked with a crew yesterday adding 200 more sandbags to protect the cabin foundation and septic tank on the property. Last night, the sand bar between the lagoon and the Pacific Ocean broke and the water level went back down. Check out these before and after pictures. The pictures are at different angles but you can see the same fence corner in both pictures

S'Mores

I got the cutest cook book from my special sister in my on line non-college sorority, Beta Sigma Phi, Online Beta (I love being part of this group). It is a book of S'More Recipes by Becky Rasmussen published by Adventure Publications in Cambridge, MN.  It has directions for roasting the marshmallow, alternative heat sources (if you don't have a campfire) and how to build the S'more. There are kid friendly versions and adult version. In honor of March...check this one out!

Irish Cream S'Mores
Marshmallows, Graham Crackers, Chocolate Bars, Vanilla Frosting, Irish Cream Liquor

To 1 cup of vanilla frosting add one shot of Irish Cream Liquor. Mix until smooth. Chill

Building Instructions: Frost half of a graham cracker with the frosting mixture. Place chocolate bar pieces onto the frosted graham cracker. Toast marshmallow to the desired level. Place marshmallow on top of chocolate pieces. Sandwich the marshmallow and chocolate bar pieces together with another half of a graham cracker.

Are you tired of our Elk Pictures Yet?

I know I post a lot of Elk pics but they are all over around here and are our closest neighbors so I have lots of photo ops! We think they are really majestic animals.  Here is our latest pic...they are bedded down in the meadow in front of the old red school house at Stone Lagoon RV Park. This location is about 1/4 mile south of us on US Hwy 101.

Rain, Rain Go Away!

It has been raining a lot here in the Pacific Northwest. I know, that is not a real surprise here.  It takes a lot of rain to grow the Redwoods in this area.  The lagoon has been steadily rising and today Laton and the maintenance crew had to put sandbags along the back and bottom of the cabin behind us. Check it out!

Socks!

Adult Socks

I have been having fun making things.  I can knit but I am not an accomplished knitter, I am much better at crochet.  Socks require 4 knitting needles and that is a bit beyond my expertise.  I found a book of crochet socks and am thrilled at how they turned out!

Baby Socks

The pattern was so easy I was able to convert it into baby socks on my own.
Check them out...I will be sending them to AZ for our new grand baby that is on the way.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

And here is an Irish Joke!

Father Murphy walks into a pub in Donegal and says to the first man he meets, "Do you want to go to heaven?" The man said "I do, Father." The priest said "Then stand over there against the wall." Then the priest asked the second man "Do you want to go to heaven?" "Certainly, Father" was the man's reply. "Then stand over there against the wall" said the priest. Then Father Murphy walked up to O'Toole and said "Do you want to go to heaven?" O'Toole said "No, I don't Father." The priest said "I don't believe this. You mean to tell me that when you die, you don't want to go to heaven?" O'Toole said "Oh, when I die, yes. I thought you were getting a group together to go right now."

Crescent City harbor wiped out after 2011 tsunami

Tsunami Advisory

We spent the night at Patrick's Point State Park. The highway was opened back up to Northbound traffic after 6pm so we drove up to Stone Lagoon and were relieved to find the water never came up high enough to breach the sand bar between the lagoon and Pacific Ocean and all was fine with our camping spot. Yea! Unfortunately, Crescent City, CA and Brookings, OR harbors did not fair as well. It appears they were severly damaged and many boats were lost.  A sad blow to the depressed economy in these areas. This article says it all!

Tsunami Warning

Well, we woke up around 3 AM to a voice mail message from the ranger that there were Tsunami Warnings and we were required to evacuate by 7 AM. We are 1/4 mile from the beach across Stone Lagoon and our elevation is about 5 feet above sea level.  So, the good news is all of our possessions are movable. Laton hooked up the 5th wheel and we were settled in at Patrick's Point State Park 15 miles south and at 280 feet above sea level by 6 AM. It was a beautiful, sunny day and we spent the day watching the surges continue for most of the day from Patrick's Point (a nice high cliff). I checked in with my family in Crescent City and all were fine. My sister was at a conference in San Francisco, CA and she said she was fine. A couple of her sons and their families had to evacuate and are spending the day at her home. It has been a scary day. Here is a link to a map of the areas affected by the surges.  On the first map, we are located approximately by the fourth red bar from the top. Another map on the page shows Crescent City and we are about 50 miles south of there.

Happy National Crafting Month

Wishing everyone a wonderful month of crafting. Here is my latest card:  Inside it says:  EVERYTHING YOU CAN IMAGINE IS REAL - Pablo Picasso

Adopt an Orphanage Fundraiser

Laton & I are going to a fun evening presentation tonight. Check it out...
Team Redwood

The community has decided to support an orphanage in Haiti!