No. 3

I finished another Joanne Fluke culinary mystery while relaxing this weekend at the coast.

No. 3, Lemon Meringue Pie Murder, was another fun one. Simple and entertaining - but the mystery kept me guessing until the end.

Now, at the harassment prompting of my husband, I am working on a non-fiction title :)

In the tiki tiki tiki tiki tiki room!

During his college years, Dad's parents lived in Villa Park, CA, just 5 miles from Disneyland (which meant lots of Disney trips when I was a kid!!). So on breaks from school, Dad worked the overnight shift at the Happiest Place on Earth, cleaning up and prepping the park for the next day's guests.

At some point, his duties included cleaning the Enchanted Tiki Room. He always said that the music ran all night and drove him batty. It scarred him for life, and he still won't go inside.

I recently saw this article online about all the after-hours work that goes into the park. It's really fascinating! You should read it :)

And it mentions the Tiki Room:

"The work can often be tedious and occasionally bizarre. At the Enchanted Tiki Room, a 17-minute musical show features 225 robotic birds, plants and singing tikis. Patrick Pendleton, the show's primary mechanic, has seen it more times than he can count. To make sure the characters work properly, he plays the show repeatedly, watching each closely. 'It's hard to catch everything in one show,' he said."

So Dad wasn't exaggerating! If the cleaning crew is in there when the mechanics are testing, they probably still go batty! 

 

:)

An all-we-could eat birthday

Brad wanted to celebrate his birthday Tuesday with Round Table's buffet: all the salad, pizza, breadsticks and cinnamon twists we could eat!

First, I had to go for a run to offset at least one piece of pizza :)

It was a beautiful, warm night:

Then we got down to business:

We managed to do some damage - look at all those empties!

Then we went home to open gifts and watch the premier of  Marvel's Agent Carter.

Happy birthday, Brad!!!! Thanks for spending it with me :)

No. 2

Second book of the year - woohoo!

Joanne Fluke's culinary mysteries are just fun. This one's about a murder in a small-town health club. And cream puffs. YUM!

I should make some of the recipes in her books... they all look so good :)

No snow = beach trip

After our whirlwind Christmas, our adventure continued with a trip to the coast.

Since we couldn't take Jill, Maroof and mom-in-law Donna snowshoeing, they opted for Cannon Beach. We decided huge breakfasts at Camp 18 would be a great way to educate Maroof on the ways of Oregon (since everyone thinks we're all lumberjacks here!)

And... the obligatory pictures with the carvings:

Then to the beach. It was Maroof's first visit to the Oregon Coast, and he took tons of pictures. He also commented how strange it was that a beach town was open in the winter (compared to East Coast tourist towns that are shuttered in the winter). We explained that the weather's not much different summer versus winter here :)

After visiting Haystack Rock, we did the short hike from Ecola Point to Indian Beach. It was a gorgeous day - so warm and calm on the day after Christmas.

 

Donna took a little tumble and ended up covered in mud. We knew someone was going to fall ;)

Because Jill and Maroof were due at dinner in Portland and we were running short on time, Brad and I left them to watch the surfers at Indian Beach while we speed hiked back to the car. We picked them up and had just enough time to get some taffy and caramel corn and drive to a couple more viewpoints.

It was so great to meet Maroof and spend some time sharing our beautiful state with him. Next time, hopefully we can get to Mount Hood.

:)

Christmas with the fam

When folks ask about my Christmas plans, I always say we're doing the family circuit. And I mean it! We have lots of family close by, and we spend the holidays partying with everybody!

Our Christmas Eve kicked off with German pancakes and bacon (for Brad) - why didn't I get a picture of that loveliness?? - and then final preps for our annual snacks with the Wood family.

Donna and I served up plates and plates of cheese, crackers, dips, veggies, treats, etc. So much for keeping it simple this year ;)

And of course, a group picture:

Grandma Wood, me, Donna, Jill, Aunt Louise
Brad, Uncle Dick and Steve

Then it was time for me to scoot to Newberg for our next Christmas Eve tradition: handbells!

Dad brought Grandpa:

I also remembered to run outside and see the luminaries. I always mean to but forget because I'm so busy inside playing music and eating snacks with my musician friends between services.

Since my notes were few during Silent Night, I snagged a photo from up front as everyone held up their candles. So beautiful.

Mom snapped this pic of Dad and Grandpa:

Gregg shared these powerful words:

May this act of lighting candles bring honor to Jesus, who on a silent night long ago entered our world and our frame of reference so that we would not be alone in the dark.

May our caring for the light of these candles remind us of the need to pay attention to what God is doing in our lives each and every day of the year.

May the ease with which we share the candle light with our neighbors remind us that Jesus lives to be shared with everyone!

And, may the light that will soon illuminate this entire room remind us that however dark it seems in our world, however dark it seems in our lives, there is NO darkness great enough to overcome Gods supreme and ultimate light, Jesus Christ.

Brad's family attended the first service, then Brad headed out on his annual Christmas Eve run. It's a great way to see the lights and get some alone time during a hectic few days.

Meantime, we finished up three services, packed up all the bells and drove to Eryn's house for a little snack (noticing a theme?!) and decompression after a long day - and preparation for another long day.

Christmas morning, we gathered at 7 at Mom and Dad's house. Good looking tree!

Mom had a yummy oatmeal bar and other snacks to fuel us for the morning. And as always, we took turns opening presents until the piles were gone.

Dad got a high-viz helmet cover... and had to demonstrate:

Wait... here's the whole waterproof cycling outfit... and new grips:

Like our matching shirts from the Ugly Sweater Run? We planned this cuteness :)

Then it was time to go to Ma and Pa's for more family, food and presents. We ate a yummy brunch and then got down to it. (Presents, I mean!) And a group shot:

Liz, Brad, Pa, Dad, Aunt Kari, Eryn, Mom, Ma
Cousin Jessie, Cousin Kayla, Aunt Vicki and Matty the dog

Vicki! (Go Ducks!)

Next up, we drove to Vancouver for Christmas time with Brad's family.

While we were up north, Mom, Dad and Eryn went to Cousin Amy's house to celebrate with the McKee side of the family. Unfortunately, they gather every other year on Christmas afternoon, so we miss out. Looking forward to seeing all the aunts, uncles and cousins this next year. And I'm thankful I saw Grandpa on Christmas Eve.

Vancouver selfie:

Brad's sis, Jill, was in from NYC - as was her boyfriend, Maroof! It was the first time meeting Maroof, as well as his first time in Washington/Oregon and his first time doing a traditional American Christmas with gifts and all that. WOOHOO!!! We showed him how with his own pile of presents :)

After, we ate a delicious meal of Christmas burritos and sat around chatting and getting to know the newest member of the family. Then Jill, Brad, Maroof and I took a walk around the neighborhood before hitting the hay.

Maroof was only in town a short time, and Jill really wanted to take him snowshoeing on Mount Hood. Unfortunately, there was no snow in Government Camp, so they opted for his first trip to the Oregon Coast instead.

Those pics up next...

No. 1

My first book of 2015! Actually, I started Joanne Fluke's Fudge Cupcake Murder the last week of 2014 and hoped it would be my final book of the year. But I couldn't quite stay up long enough on New Year's Eve, so I finished it on Jan. 1. (I hit 53 last year!)

I really like these simple murder mysteries - easy to read and entertaining. The main character, Hannah, owns a small-town cookie shop and solves mysteries in her spare time. She also includes recipes for the mouth-watering cookies and other treats she whips up in her home and commercial kitchens. I always get hungry when I read these :)