Luke is 3!

October 5, 2006, we were blessed with our first grandchild. Luke turned 3 yesterday. Wow! Time sure passes quickly. He is getting taller and learning a lot. He told us he was 3 and it was his birthday. He went to Disneyland. Thanks to Skype, he opened his presents while we watched and was excited to get new trains for his Thomas the Train set. Rich and Luke read their favorite book together. Leah was fascinated by everything Luke did. She watched him closely and touched everything in her reach. We can't wait to be with them at Christmas.

Chef Richard

Rich loves to cook and I love the fact that he loves to cook. A simple weeknight dinner might be a whole chicken done on the BBQ spit with buttered, parsleyed potatoes and fresh limas from the garden. Fridays are usually fish nights and shared with our good friend Barbara, who insisted we take pictures. These are photos of some of his recent dishes - a bistro meal of beef filet with pommes frites and breaded steelhead trout, mango salsa and green beans. Yummmmmm!


Rich also likes to grow roses, so most of the summer and early fall our table is graced with aromatic roses like the ones pictured. Life is good. We have much to be thankful for.

A classroom at last!

My classroom is finally finished - the Smart Board is working, the cables are all properly run, and the unpacking is completed. There are still a few minor things - new tables and a longer run for the drape behind the newsdesk - but other than that the room is finished. And only twenty days into the school year!

The control room for the studio...used to have original orange carpet from when the building was first opened in the early 70's.

Why was my room finally renovated? The Assistant Superintendent noticed the fake skylights I had installed because the room was so dismal it depressed me to the point of not wanting to return to school last fall. She started the process rolling so that my room would get renovated this summer. They skylights are still here - and I have a great space in which to work. Wish I had taken "before" and "after" pictures. The renovations took out a wall, ripped out wooden cupboards, and made the room at least 300 sq ft larger.

Check it out at www.instantskylights.com!

A view from a hammock

School is going well - in full swing. Susan should soon have photos of her finished classroom (once it is actually finished!).

On Friday we had a lovely evening with good friends who all share the experience of having lived in Germany at some point in their past. We have been talking about having a German meal for some time and finally got together. We have so many ideas about what to fix that we will probably have three separate meals to get in all the different dishes! The first installment was beef rouladen with Black Forest ham, red cabbage kraut, hot German potato salad, and Black Forest Cake with some nice German wine. It was fun to talk about our memories. The next installment will be sauerbraten with spatezle, then a meal of schnitzel. I'm sure each dinner will be as tasty as the first with great company so we are really looking forward to it.

Although this is not a picture of Rich's plate, it looks exactly like what he cooked. It was fabulous! The recipes (and photo) came from a magazine called "Cuisine at Home."

On Saturday we had great weather so Rich did yard work and Susan got cleaning done. On Sunday after church we had a leadership meeting for our class and had lunch together. Once again we had great fellowship. After a busy weekend, it was time to spend some quality hammock time. So, late Sunday afternoon Susan relaxed and at one point, while looking at the sunset, she noticed that she had company! A praying mantis was hanging upside down on one end of the pergola.

Playing with Daniel

Kat and Jason were here this weekend for a brief visit at the end of their vacation and to pick up Roxy from Dog Camp. We had the joy of spending time with Daniel, who is getting more interactive each time we see him. He is now 3 1/2 months old.