Remodel - Making Progress

Luke's bedroom had a super low ceiling. It seemed okay when he was younger...and shorter...but now that he's about 6'5" tall, he could sure use a little more height - at least in his room.

So, the boys pulled out their flat edges (small crowbars) and ripped out the lathe and plaster then they pulled down the boards, which was tongue and groove wood (which is usually used for flooring but here it was all over the walls and ceiling - hidden behind the plaster).

Now that they've got the room destroyed, it's almost time to start rebuilding...at least I'm hoping, after all, this isn't much of a room, now is it?

Romance Mavens

Most of the time I feel like a bit of a loser - but not today! When I came home from work, look what I found in the mail.

For one day, thanks to the Romance Mavens, I was a WINNER!!!

And with a mug for my coffee and some chocolates, what could be better?

Happy Halloween with Creep Cakes

A cross between a Cyclops and a creep = creepcakes


I did a little baking this weekend and thought I'd share the creepcakes I made with you

I used green sugar sheets and white fondant then I used twizzlers for the mouth and jelly belly beans for the yetllow eyes


I hope you all have a Happy Halloween that's yummilicious

Rin Tin Tin

I went to the Hollywood Theater (Portland's Historic Nonprofit Theater) on Thursday night to listen to Susan Orlean speak about the Life and Legend of the Heroic Dog Rin Tin Tin.

I didn't remember much about him but I found out things that made me respect this animal actor even more than I did before. He was an amazing dog. No wonder Dogs are woMans best friend. Rin Tin Tin was found in France right after WWI in a bombed out dog kennel. An American solider was clearing the area when he found Rin Tin Tin in a pile with his mom and brothers and sisters. The soldier, Lee Duncan, adopted RTT and one of his sisters. He parceled out the other puppies to his soldier buddies and his captain.

I haven't read the book yet but I'll be working on that this weekend. After I finish, I'll do another post about my impressions.

If you're a dog lover or an animal activist, this might be just the book for you. It talks about the love and loyalty of animals and the legend of this one awe....mazing animal.

Halloween Cupcake Ideas

Here are some fun ideas just in case you want to do some baking this weekend to have a wickedly fun Halloween.

Movie Review - The Ides of March

The Ides of March was the movie of my weekend. I went with a gfriend and was hoping for a little bit of political humor or something caustically witty. This wasn't.

It was a very cynical (perhaps true to life) portrayal of the political arena and the people caught up in the game. I was left feeling . . . disappointed. I prefer to look for the good in people and this movie shatters that hope--at least while you're sitting in the theater watching everyone behave badly.

I don't mind horror - just not true-to-life horror stories.

Unfortunately, I've seen George Clooney in three movies I wish I'd never watched: From Dusk Until Dawn, Up in the Air, and now...The Ides of March.

This might be a perfect Halloween horror story, if you want to walk away depressed. I'd prefer to watch the New Underworld movie when it comes out, at least in that movie I expect people to suck.

A Ride in the Columbia River Gorge