A couple more hike photos...

Check out "Hiking Roxy Ann" for more photos

Happy Thanksgiving, eh?

For those of you in Canada, Happy Thanksgiving!!










For those of you still looking ahead to Thanksgiving in the US, get in shape - turkeys run faster than you think!








(Clipart courtesy of FreeClipartNow.com)

At least it's digital...

I was going through some of my hike photos and being thankful (once again) for digital cameras. It reminded me of this great video a friend had on her blog. If I can figure out how I'll post it here for you too.




Hmm - that wasn't too hard!

Hiking Roxy Ann

Today we (in-laws, DH, young 'uns and I) hiked Roxy Ann, a mountain peak that has been standing outside my front door for over 7 years. It's probably been standing there a lot longer than that but my front door hasn't.

It's an interesting climb - the trail to the summit is about 1.5 miles but you gain well over 1000 feet in elevation as you hike to the top. And if you take the trail that SAYS its the way to the summit, it's closer to 3 miles to the top. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to hike 3 miles up and 1.5 miles back (by a shorter and more scenic trail) and even on a sunny day, the temps varied depending which side of the peak you were on. Mount Shasta, Mount Ashland and Mount McLaughlin in the distance all had coverings of frost and snow and the wind blowing in from them was brisk. The last stretch to the top was steep enough I wasn't sure my legs would make it and my ears popped a few times as we reached the 3500+-feet-above-sea-level summit. Yep, I'm a wimp but it was a beautiful afternoon.

I'll post photos from the hike later but for tonight I'm really quite tired...



Added 10/14/08...

The peak (from the beginning of the trail) -

The peak (from about the middle of the trail) -
The views...

Hats Off to...

You may remember that my in-laws were coming to visit and it has been great to have them here. But apparently today they were done relaxing.

And by some coincidence, I had a number of undone projects around the house. My MIL pulled weeds and battled rosebushes for the afternoon and completely filled the yard bin. My FIL painted the bit of hallway that has been hovering in a multi-colored testimony to the before and after sections of the addition we put on our house last summer. He also replaced a light fixture, a dud light switch and lit the pilot light on my fireplace. My MIL is threatening to sort out my youngest's room - a daunting task at best. I worked alongside too (honest) and I am feeling months ahead of myself just because they were willing to pitch in for a day.

On top of their hands-on support for the projects, they are hands-on grandparents as well. They've played and joked and walked and teased and created their Miis and generally spoiled the young 'uns rotten. Aren't they great?

So today it's Hats Off to the inlaws!

Truth in advertising

I was going through some vacation photos from last summer (okay, a LOT of vacation photos - we were on the road for a month) and came across this laugh-out-loud sign that we drove past somewhere in Montana. You know, the state where casinos are as generously scattered as the Tim Horton's in Ontario. This particular one is somewhere west of Great Falls and east of the continental divide but it found a way to stand out from the rest.



I suppose no one can claim they weren't warned...

Braggin' a bit

I was hired to paint some menu boards for a coffee shop called "Daily Revival" and after some ISSUES with the board and primer, finally got them installed yesterday. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out, if I do say so myself. I know the picture's not huge but let me tell you the latte I painted on the top right corner makes me wish I was a coffee drinker! I'd post a close-up but I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt in the rush to the nearest bean-o...



And I figured out how to add a bookshelf to my blog so you can see the books I've written. Cool, huh? (That's "Cool, eh?" for those of you still living in my native land.) Anyways, I'm pretty proud of the bookshelf thing. It's just a full-of-me kind of day...

Fortunately my kids get out of school early today and that brings me back to earth pretty quickly.