kitchens and Christmas....

 can't use mine for baking yet, but i am putting it to use finally.  the other day i was making those driftwood gifts for local friends tonight i was using it to prep the decor for the new door looks...below is before....dull, boring doors.

 painted the first one...it still needs some major touch up but it was the trial door. 

 today i added the decor...i think it will look alright.  two doors left to do and touch ups of course. 

 was getting frustrated as the tiny nails i found were too weak and kept bending and they weren't quiet long enough for the edge bits...so i ended up getting super glue...we shall see if that holds. i also bought some wood glue and i may just buy some longer nails to put in the edge bits.

 the pups wore their scarves today for our outing with LS at Rovers Run.  more fresh snow and a beautiful day on the trails. 

 they just look so adorable in their scarves...i cruised over to JoAnnes to look at new fleece for new scarves and maybe to attempt to make my own cool fleece skirt like my friends have.  i think i had just bought my skoops at the time so i didn't want to spend more money.  hopefully i can figure it out.  the design looks fairly easy even for a poor sewer like me. i figured out baby blankets and dog coats so i should be game.

 they are doing a series in the local paper about Olympiad gold medal winner Kikkan Randall, soon after winning gold she discovered she has breast cancer.  what an odd twist of life.  at this time her trademark pink hair is gone.  her strong spirit remains.  the Olympic committee is allowing her to stay on their insurance as she had just decided to retire from cross country skiing after winning gold.  her first treatment cost over $67,000...just another sign that our nation is failing in medicine.  nobody should have to pay such insane fees to get treatments in a nation as wealthy as ours.  when i hear conservatives scream that we have no money for education and healthcare while at the same time screaming build the wall, which has an insane cost for how little it would actually accomplish, it just makes me pissed.

 some are still suffering from earthquake anxiety.  i think I'm doing pretty well at this point.  probably helped that i slept through so many aftershocks.  we had one the other day as we walked among the lit trees but none of us noticed that one either. the big one is the scary one...then the first 24-48 hours, but it seems like i settle down as the quakes do...we have had over 5000 aftershocks at this point....most of those are 3's or less, hardly noticeable. 

 my dogs and the cat climb up and down off the bed.  them just breathing is probably like a 3-3.5.  if they are dreaming or scratching....well that can take the normal bed shake up to a 4 or 4.5...now things really get going if Ivy Rose decides to try and hump the cat!!

 went grocery shopping and put the stuff into the cabinets in the kitchen rather than the garage so that is progress.  I'm sure there will be some shifting as i figure out what works where.  getting closer to a finished kitchen though.  time to shift back into the room.  won't load up the cabinets under the counters until those are in though.  figure it will just get dirty.

 hoping he stops by again in the next week or two to get the stove and dishwasher in and there are still the under cabinet lights and pendant lights to put in...but really not too much left.  so great to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I'm really enjoying the lights in the living area, so bright.  i also figured out which plug in goes with a switch by the door so now the Christmas tree is plugged into that.  easy on and off.

 above is me decorating one of the trees at this Mondays tree decorating dog walk Monday...thanks KR for the shot. 

 we had quite the crew out there.  a few left early.  it was a lot of dogs.  i think overall everyone had a great time though.  these are the rest from the tree walk the other day.

 the Childrens Hospital did a grand job and ended up winning.  not sure their tree was all that stupendous but they did have a movie playing and a lit couch to sit on and this fun tunnel that i saw many walk and ski through.  so many kids on ski's.  they had rental ski's that kids could trial.

 liked the blue.  the place was crazy with cars coming in as i was leaving.

 good news, a moose poacher killed 3 under sized moose and got fined $100K and got 9 months.  he killed them and left most of the meat to rot.  jerk.

 the worst earthquake damage seems to be in the Eagle River area. 100 homes or buildings reportedly deemed unsafe to enter in Anchorage and the School District will be needing $25-50 Million for repairs to schools after the quake.  i feel pretty grateful to have gotten off as well as i did.  it's all luck really. different fault likes, different substrate, different distances to quake, depth...so many factors. within a few miles i  can see a few unsafe structures and several with damage but overall i think our area fared fairly well.

 my eldest brother had surgery today.  so far it looks like he's doing ok. haven't spoken to him, not for a long time.  i generally just go through his wife at this point, thankfully she did a group text.  he'd had pain before, i had suggested he get a CT scan/HIDA.  he had stones so i think they felt it wasn't needed.  i wonder now if it would have given some indication of a partial blockage in his gall bladder.  maybe prevented pancreatitis.  hopefully he heals up quickly and is feeling better.  i know this is probably fairly painful.  even though we have a strained relationship it in no way means i do not care for my brother and hope the best for him. 

 my niece and her husband went to the remains of their home in Paradise. she posted pictures.  just looks unbearably sad, it was raining while they were there, which seems somewhat ironic.  her photo's were just taken with an iphone but they are amazing in how they convey the emotion of this journey they have been forced to take. i am so proud of she and her family in how they have been able to move through this disaster, focus on what needs to be done next and do it.  it will no doubt be a roller coaster of emotions for some time to come but they are so strong and brave.  another niece had gone through a hurricaine and flooding not that long ago.  she was amazingly strong in dealing with the disaster that life dealt her as well.  i got some pretty cool family members.

 a local dental office decorates with toothpaste and toothbrushes

 the iitoo is under the microscope and he is not liking it.  becoming POTUS may turn out to be the biggest error he has made in that it has made folks look at how he has lived his entire life, run his businesses and his so called non-profit. they are having to shut down the non-profit as he and his family apparently just used that as another source of income. he probably would have just gotten away with everything corrupt he was doing but he got greedy and hopefully it bites him in the arse big time.

 while many still seem to ignore all the corruption in the current administration while still screaming that Hillary did this or that, or Obama did this or that, the train is rapidly heading off a cliff.

 Flynn got slapped by the judge today.  faux news and the administration try to act like he was railroaded into lying.  the judge put him under oath again and he admitted he lied, he knew the consequences.  what happened to that guy?  he had a long and seemingly strong military career.  people screw up, they get in over their heads.  why is the iitoo being so nice about him despite his talking to Mueller while calling Cohen a rat?  it boggles the mind.  who knows what? 

 no point having any discussions with those who continue to make excuses for this pathetic wreck of a POTUS, the truth is out there, the facts are out there.  if they continue to believe the lies it is on them at this point.  having absolute, faith in a religion is one thing, acceptable, understandable. this should never be granted a politician or a government.  one should not be lulled into trusting because a few items on their agenda go their way...it's called bait and switch. just when you think you have won, it will all come crashing down on you. 

 these were cool.  artificial limbs create climbers decorating the tree. impressive

 so much to do, i need to make another list

 the rest are from tree decorating on Monday.  lots of happy dogs out there.

 pups wore their sweaters yesterday and the day of the sledding.  they just are so cute!!

 they were not the only well dressed pups on the trails that day.

 will have to head this way tomorrow for a walk and check on the trees. 

 hopefully the dog toys are enjoyed by many. i always fear some one will just come with a bag and scoop up all the toys...that would be sad.

 a bill to help start the path towards prison reform has passed the Senate i believe.  now it must pass through the house.  haven't looked too closely but it does sound like it's a good start.  we have too many in prisons and there must be a better way to deal with our many social issues than just locking up people.  they aren't productive and cost a lot to house and care for.

 it was a bit of mayhem getting the trees decorated.  we all just opened our bags of goodies and fanned out.

 it's become a fun annual tradition though.

 i suspect the kitchen has been a good distraction for me.  maybe the quake too.   life gets put in perspective for you some days.  stuff just has to be remembered for being stuff. 

 relationships that matter carry on.  people who want to be in your life stay in your life, those that don't, well, you just have to accept that they have moved on. that maybe, you never really meant that much to them after all.  you can't force people to be friends or family for that matter, but it's true that friends do become family and family become friends...it just depends on the individuals.

 some members of my family are also my close friends, while others are barely acquaintances.  it's just how it goes some times.  i think i had more hope with some family because you expect more from certain people but people only give what they want or what they can.  i had to look at the the long view.  accept what others were willing to be. 

 Christmas has become a time of peace for me.  i don't get invites to big parties or many parties, I'm not a huge joiner, but i do have my people and we do have our traditions and we are there for each other. 

 and i have the pups. 

 i always love the words in that one song..."you don't always get what you want, but you get what you need"  it's just up to each of us to find a way to accept what we are given and not spend our lives wishing for more or feeling we are less or have less. 

 find the laughter where it is, don't hold back.  live, love and laugh. 

 this day we laughed

 dogs are the best teachers some times.  they could care less what others think of them, what others have that maybe they don't.  they simply enjoy each moment they can.  they roll in the snow, they chase balls.  they live life.

 we humans find so many ways to complicate our lives, simplicity saves us some days i think. 

 i try to get the business of Christmas done and then just enjoy the basics, music, lights, decorations, food...the season where most folks are just a little kinder to each other

 here is to the season of Christmas, the grand memories of past and the memories being made in the present.  may the future be bright for us all. 

 i should probably turn in. tomorrow i really need to focus on my cruise coming up.  getting organized, tickets bought....will be a fun time with family.  it's been awhile. 

 many group shots attempted...some didn't turn out half bad.  :-)

 enjoy the holidays....

thankful for: A.  friends and the Monday walks.  B. cheap fixes to ugly doors  C. fresh ice from my ice maker.