Hanis holiday

We went home for the holidays, Ptown visit with all the Hanis Kids. Chris came from Seattle, Jenny from Chicago and we drove up. We had our Christmas early to avoid the holiday traffic. While we were there we went to Zoo lights, a blazer game, and lots of hanging out with the most beautiful little girl I know, ADRIENNE....

We have Internet!

Who knew we would miss our internet so much. After much waiting and anticipation, they came and connected us to satellites in outerspace. It was really expensive to get connected. When I asked the sales rep why it was going to cost so much to set it up, he replied, "hey lady this is some Nasa #@$%" Well, there you have it, we have our own little Cape Canaveral in our back yard. So, we can surf the web again.

We found our camera, and lots of other stuff. It was a secret before, but now that we have new pictures to post, the truth is, all the previous pictures were from last year when we visited. I was affraid if I was honest, you might not believe that we lived here, or something. The new pics are of the brand new deck that Zach built, for the hot tub. OK the focal point may not be the deck, but if you look close, you'll see it in the picture. The white spot up in the corner isn't dust either, it's the moon rising. (More impressive in person.) So, we have the deck ready for the hot tub, now we just need to find 5 strong guys to help us move it.... HELP!!

Life on the farm has been lots of work. We started to clean the garage on thanksgiving. It sits under miles of dust that span decades. I shop vac'd countless pounds of rat poo and black widow's webs. It was gnarley. Covered head to toe, including mask, we spent the day, only to have scratched the surface. We did find 2 beautiful antique glass knobs, a cool handblown glass light fixture, and some really old handmade metal hand tools. We also found pounds and pounds of junk. We have a dumpster outside that they dump everyweek and we are never have a problem filling it. Zach has insulated the house so we are toasty. We cut out some bushes, so we can see the mountain out the window from our bed. It's so nice to wake up to. There are so many birds outside the windows, I can't wait to become the birding geek with books to look them up and learn their songs. We already have a set of cheap binoculars next to the front door. The other day on our drive down the driveway we passed a hawk on the fencepost that must have sat 2 feet tall, not even 5 feet from us. Ignored us totally as we gawked at it's size. 2 more circling in the sky above. I found out that the big owl in the barn is a great horned owl, although it's fickle, just like nature. It's never there when I make my special trips out to say hello, and then when I just happen to be in there for something else, there it is. So pretty.


There is finally snow on the hills around our house, but not enough to snowboard yet, though it is finally getting cold. It's not cold like Bend though. We are still planning on having a big party for Zach's 30th this year. Keep us posted on what is a good weekend for everyone. Our friend Sol, who lives in the valley near us is a Reggae DJ, with PA's and everything, so we have our first act booked. He bring's us green eggs from his chickens. They are so pretty, and yummy. We are getting our chicken coop together so we can have some of his chicks.

We miss all of our friends, it is pretty quiet out here, but at the same time, birds make a lot of noise. Here are some pics from the sunrise the other day. Oh yeah, Come Visit!!!

We've arrived!!!

After a long journey we arrived. The night we left Bend for the final time.... was a Sunday. Our house finally rented, we began our drive at an early 9:30 PM. The two of us, two cars, three dogs, and sailboat in tow. We had finally reached the halfway mark, when the road got really bumpy. I decided to just ignore it and hope that it would smooth out, but it didn't, it got worse. Then out of my periphery I see what looks like my tire roll past me on the road, as the car screeches to a halt. OOPS, It was my tire, or rather, I had sheared the tire off of the rim. So, in the dark barely off the road, Zach put the spare tire on for the remainder of our journey. The directions said not to drive over 45, but I drove on that donut for the next 2 hours at 70mph. Home 2:30am, off to sleep.
The next morning I called my new employer, Fairchild Medical Center, in Yreka, CA. "Can you come in tomorrow for orientation?" My new life had begun. I worked the next 4 days in a row. 12hour shifts. Talk about into the fire, I barely had my toothbrush unpacked. At Fairchild you do a little of everything. I work Med-Surg, ICU, and Recovery room. The best news of all is that they offered me a day shift position. The week before I arrived a long time ICU nurse, retired early and somewhat unexpectedly. Wow, funny how things work out.
Zach has been really busy weather proofing our turn of the century farm house. He has also been building a deck in front for the hot tub. It has been fun, but a lot of work. We have some orchards that need a lot of TLC that we have been unable to attend to, and the list goes on and on... We are still waiting to get satellite internet hooked up, so our internet access is limited. It has been a big change, living out in the country.

So.... I could go on and on, but I'll try to wrap it up. The weather has been beautiful. Walking out onto the porch and seeing the mountain right there in our front yard, I still laugh a little each time unable to believe I live here. We have a huge owl living in our barn. There is a family of deer (around 30) that hang out on the lower 40 acres. When they lay in the grass all you see are their big ears. The dogs think they have died and gone to heaven. It's so quiet here. We are on top of a hill, at the end of a dirt road. Right now all I can hear are the wind chimes on the porch. (Thanks Kyle and Corey) The water has no chlorine, so my skin feels so good after a shower. We have a wood stove that keeps the house so warm. The ceilings are vaulted, with oak floors, and marble door knobs. The house was built in 1909, and according to neighbors and friends. In it's history, it has housed a coven of witches, a bootlegger and a Buddhist. The Buddhist was the most recent inhabitant and the property has been balanced with crystals. There is a Buddha surrounded by crystals up on the hill that watches over the property.
We are happy. We miss a lot of different things about Bend, and living in a town, but we miss our friends the most. Come visit.