Upgrades

There were several contributing factors to the reconfiguration of our entertainment unit set up that happened over the past few weeks. 1) we are on rabbit ears, no cable, satellite or any other fancy channels for us; which also means we need either a converter box or a TV that can handle the new digital broadcast. 2) we don't have a TV that can handle digital broadcast. 3) (which was the final straw) our 14+ year old TV was finally on the fritz, it was starting to require "being warmed up" to get the correct screen size...I remember a TV like that when we were growing up... ya had to turn it on 30 mins ahead of time to have color.


At any rate, Russ found a bargain price on a new fancy flat screen TV. We have to admit, the clarity is quite impressive. Though of course, it didn't stop there. The new TV required new cables, a new receiver to get the clearer sound, a new DVD player that could speak the same language as the TV, and so on. Technology sure has gotten considerably smaller, all these new components take up 2/3 less space, it is amazing!!

Tea Party

There was a major deal on airline tickets from Portland to Atlanta right after Christmas so I took advantage of the sale. I wanted to spend some time with the family. I really had no agenda while I was visiting, mostly the plan was to just hang out with the family. However, one thing I did want to do was get Molly, my American Girl Doll, out and play with her. Then I got to thinking more and decided why not just have a tea party with all the dolls and family! Mom and I started prepping a menu, and I sent out invitations and before we knew it, we had a full blown tea party in our sights. Friday, Mom and I made the highly esteemed Raspberry bars and then Danielle and I figured out how to put the frosting on the pound cake for Petties Fours. We had a marvelous time in the kitchen! Saturday morning Danielle made tasty cucumber sandwiches and by that afternoon, we were ready for tea!

One by one our guests arrived with their dolls and childhood memories in store ready for an afternoon tea. We had a marvelous time snacking, chatting and sipping tea. Kay shared a story about the local swimming hole in her childhood neighborhood and how her poodle would "tattle" on her whereabouts when she was going for a swim. Honey shared a fun story about her disappointment as a youngster when she learned about the arrival of her new baby brother when all she really wanted was a bicycle. The plate of cucumber sandwiches made many trips around the table and soon they were gone. The strawberries, Raspberry bars and fudge were a close second in being cleaned up too. All the food was wonderful and the gathering was quite enjoyable!

Tuned In

With all the hubbub about broadcasts switching to digital, Russ got a "box" for our antenna receiving TV. (We are one of the few households that has the basic network channels coming to our house, we have no dish and no cable). Reception was pretty good but on a windy day instead of static we'd get annoying mosaic screen and broken record type sound instead of the general static and lines in the screen. So Russ decided to make a new antenna. He figured out which direction all the broadcasts were coming from and made a custom antenna for our TV. Now we get all of our stations loud and clear, no matter what the weather!

Rock Crawling

On his way back from the gun range, Russ met some fellas playing with their curious looking RC vehicles on the rock outcroppings around the old quarry. So he stopped to see what they were up to. It turns out they are remote control rock crawlers! Just like R/C cars, but these micro trucks are are built to crawl over boulders, mounts and anything else that happens to get in the way. Of course, Russ was completely fascinated with the engineering and the technology that goes into theses little machines. So after a week of researching and meeting people involved with the hobby, Russ purchased a crawler of his own. He assured me that he will not get into it like some of the other enthusiasts who compete and have a myriad of tools, accessories and parts all over their house. In the few days he has had it, the crawler has driven countless miles and over numerous obstacles. Rock piles beware, Russ is always on the prowl for a new challenge to climb over! I have even taken the truck for a spin, it is pretty fun figuring out how to turn the wheels and angel the approaches so you don't flip the truck or get high centred.

Looking back at 2008 and Forward into 2009

It seems like every year about this time I reflect on the past year and think "golly, where did the time go!?" It seems like it has flown by. The beginning of the year we were wedding planning, which turned into a lovely garden party in the Sautee Valley in April. The summer was slow in arriving but finally brought the typical beautiful Northwest weather and lots of fun eventing opportunities with Warren. The ladies, Fern Hazel and Scratch also came to live with us. And I created more garden space in the front yard! The fall lasted a long while into October, we had sunshine and warm temperatures to make up for the slow coming Summer. It was also back to Georgia for Ben and Danielle's wedding on the coast. How fun was that!? And then the winter months brought the crazy "arctic blast" with record low temperatures and snowfall on the valley floor. Now here we are and 2009 looking forward to the New Year and waiting to see what will be in store...... Welcome 2009!

After Christmas thaw

The temperatures are finally staying above freezing, the snow is melting, just very slowly. It seems like the weather is getting back to normal now; mid 40's and rainy by day and mid 30's and rainy at night. I felt comfortable enough to drive to work today as the roads were clear though it is odd to see all the mounds of snow piled in parking lots. I'm just not used to seeing that much snow!!

The ladies have even decided it is safe to emerge from their box, they have been pretty much hibernating since the snow started getting above their ankles. Now they can at least maneuver from one bare parch of ground to another and dodge the snow piles....

It was like a second Christmas when Santa's second delivery arrived. Phoenix got to open her rawhide bones, which she has been exuberantly thrilled to gnaw on all evening and Russ and I love our various items from the Sautee-Nacooche area! Phoenix even took a moment to pose for the camera with the bone hanging out of her mouth... I thought it made a pretty funny picture!

Merry Christmas!

We woke up to a white Christmas... well, that was no surprise, considering there is darn near 1 foot of snow on the ground and temperatures have not gotten above freezing for the past 2 weeks. We have been enjoying all the snow. It is a novelty for the Georgia gal but mister for Alaska it is a refreshing return to normalcy.

A Christmas memory for me is trying really hard to go to sleep Christmas eve night and then waking up really early Christmas morning to view the loads of presents under the branches that Santa had brought. The most difficult part was lying in bed watching the clock at 5 am and debating if it was a reasonable hour to wake up anyone else. One year my brother and I agreed to wake each other up, no matter what time it was, just so we could turn the lights on and look at the tree before Mom and Dad got up. No matter how quiet we were, some how they seemed to know we were stirring and would be up not long after we were up and about.

Well, Christmas morning is not all that much different in the Schuchman household. We have two kids... furkids as we call them... except they don't really concern themselves with being quiet or not waking us up in the morning. And they don't save it for Christmas day, it is every morning they are anxious to get up and get moving. We slept in till about 6:30 and then the pacing began. So we got up and got some breakfast for the furkids and then marveled at our little Christmas tree and all the brightly wrapper packages underneath. After Max and Phoenix went through their morning routine of eating, going out and coming back in, they realised the tree looked different and Max in particular new what was going on. He remembered Christmas last year, both puppies got treats in their stockings and packages to un wrap. Max will actually help open a gift, if you ask him too. He was ready to dish out present for us, that morning! And some how he knew which present was for him. He carefully pulled down the one with his name on it and looked at us for the okay to take off the paper. He thoroughly enjoyed his new chew toy, it was his focus all morning.

Phoenix had some cookies she could enjoy while Max happily chewing away on his new toy. Part of Santa's delivery got held up due to the snowy/windy/icy conditions and her package was in the second box. She is a pretty easy going dog, though, edible things are just as exciting to her (or maybe even more so) than a new chewy toy.

Russ and I continued to enjoy opening presents and chattering about the things we'd received and then goatherd our selves up to head to Lucky and Jade's for Christmas dinner. They are to the north of us and had received even more snow so we took our snow shoes and sled just in case...

It was a good thing! There was a little path worn in the snow from the back door to the car, and that was it. The path was about 2. 5 feet deep. Russ and I put on our shoes to go anywhere other than the path and we needed them. The stuff was powdery and deep! It was fun trekking around in it. Jade and I even built a substantial snow man and went for a little bit of sledding down a small hill. The toughest part was getting back up the hill in the deep snow! Lucky and Russ built a snow pile of their own and we even had a small snow ball skirmish.

It was a very enjoyable Christmas Day!