"Wondrous Skies" New Year Greetings

  

     At this time of year, we remember how once Shepherds and Wise Men were in awe of the heavenly sights they witnessed in the night sky.  

     Karen & I can appreciate this to some degree; we have lived in both Yellowstone (1970's) and Grand Canyon (2000's) National Parks. Each is situated at high elevations, away from the lights of any urban areas. This made for some absolutely amazing night skies!

     At the Grand Canyon, one treat was to view the Canyon at night under a full moon. The Canyon actually "glows!" Indeed , the more adventurous employees on such nights would  hike down into the Canyon without using flashlights/headlamps (Park Service does not recommend this, however).

 

Here is a time-exposure photo of the Grand Canyon in the moonlight:

 

     While at Yellowstone, a treat was to watch the geysers erupt at night. Here is Old Faithful Geyser, erupting with a full moon behind it:

      The last two winters while still RVing, Karen & I lived at Park of the Sierras. POS is located only 30 mi south of an entrance to Yosemite National Park. Here is a time-exposure of Yosemite from Valley View Overlook on a winter night:

El Capitan is at left center of the valley. The bright object at the top is Jupiter, which was putting on a show that night.

 

     Finally, I want to share this video I recently downloaded from "Astronomy Picture of the Day." (The APOD site is worth bookmarking, as I have done on my computer.)

 

     Because we are presently at the height of the 11-yr sunspot cycle, the Northern Lights are really spectacular these days. This time-exposure video has several views of the Aurora Borealis ("Northern Lights") over Norway...    Enjoy!

 

--Ed and Karen
 

 

Merry Christmas ...from Sonoma!
 

 

 We are loving our one-bedroom "Funky Cottage" and feeling more settled. 

 

We enjoy the first "real" Christmas Tree in seven years, all three-feet-high of it

 

We are LOVING living close to...

 

...our Kids, Hans and Anne Marie (here w their Mom)

 

 

...Hans' wife, Vickie (on left, w her Mom)

 

...and, of course, the GRANDKIDS!

 

Here are Hans' and Vickie's boys, Jason (l, age 5) and Calvin (r, age 7)

 ...having a fun w their Dad's iPad

 

Annie w husband Aaron and granddaughter Olive (age 2)

 

...and Olive enjoying her Great-Grandmother's (Ed's Mom)100-yr old rocker

 

...which we got out of storage this year when we moved here.
 

 

This Christmas, we join Christians all over the world in proclaiming Good News;
that even in a world filled w contention, loss, and the shadows of strife ---

 

"The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

those who lived in a land of deep darkness--

on them light has shined." 

--Isaiah 9:2

 

"When the magi saw that the star... they were overwhelmed with joy.

On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother;

and they knelt down and paid him homage.

Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts
 of gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

--Matthew 2:10-11

 

 

... We wish all a Merry Christmas and a Blessed 2014 ...

 

---Ed and Karen

 

 

BIG CHANGE !

(...Maybe We'll Have to Rename the Blog??)
 

     Yep... after seven years on the road, Ed and Karen are actually GIVING UP THE RV LIFESTYLE ("gasp!") ...moving into a "stick-and-brick" home! (photo above) ...a place not mounted on Goodyear tires!

     We are locating ourselves just outside Sonoma, California... in the middle of Sonoma Valley wine country (and Ed, a total abstainer!) north of the San Francisco Bay. This location is conveniently close to both our kids-and-grandkids (the ONLY reason strong enough to turn Ed into a Californian).

     For those who have followed our travels, you might remember that 5 yrs ago we were Camp Hosts at a State Park just north of here. So the area is actually familiar ..And it really is a beautiful area. Here's a picture from back then--

     We found a cottage for rent in our price range... a little "funky" (the realtor's own description) and in need of some work ...but then, that's why it's in our price range.

     Why this change?  Well, after tens of thousands miles of bucking down the road, the ol' Motorhome was starting to show some wear (and maybe us as well?). Plus, we were simply feeling the need to sink some roots and to establish ourselves, etc.  (We're not getting any younger, after all).

     Our place is "only" 700 sq ft with one bedroom, but after a 35' X 8' +slideout RV, it's more than roomy! It even has a deck outside so we can feel right at home.

 

     We spent over a month just moving our "stuff" I.E. emptying our Storage Unit in Kingman, Arizona ("Why did we keep all that stuff, anyway?"), sorting, unpacking, more sorting, many trips to Goodwill and Salvation Army, and more unpacking.

     We are finally starting to get settled. After some rough bumps in the process, we sold the ol' RV, though for less than of what we originally hoped.  ("It really was showing some wear.")

     We 'll keep you posted, but in the meantime, we'll be sending out an "blanket" Email with our new contact information... though our phone numbers and Email will remain unchanged.

A Blessed Thanksgiving to all!    ---Ed & Karen

KAREN HAVING FUN !

This past week was "Stagecoach Days" at Park of the Sierras, where we are presently located. This was 4-days of entertainment, music, special events, fund-raising auction, catered meals, etc.

One event was Country-Western Line Dancing. And Karen --who grew up a sophisticated woman on Seattle's Queen Anne Hill-- discovered that she likes to "kick up her heels (literally) with the rest!

It was no real surprise that the next morning Karen's leg muscles were "talking" at her!  ...but it was worth it...

"Big Trip for Karen"

 

Olive (Karen's Mom),  Karen,  Vickie (Karen's Sister) at the Tulip Fields

 

Last week, Karen made her first trip in years to Seattle to visit family there.

While there, they visited the "Tulip Fields" about 100mi north in the Skagit River Valley. They were blessed by the one day of sunshine they had all week! 

As you see, the tulips go on for mile after vivid, colorful mile...

Here they are again in the actual fields..

 

 

 

She had an exciting, colorful time.

We'll share more about her and her "Northwest" family
over the next couple days... so keep posted!

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WEEK MAKES!
 

Compare this photo with the post ("Snow") from a week ago...

...And our temps today are approaching 70 degF...

And here are Karen's crocus blooming in the pot outside our Motorhome door...

...Spring coming soon?  Hope so.

--Ed & Karen

SNOW (again)

We woke up this morning to this:

Taken from the deck outside our front door...

The worst part of it was the 8+hr power blackout the night before (!), BUT...
Happy to report that the propane furnace blower
operated just fine from our backup RV batteries (yea!").

Just HAD to share this...

 
This is our 21-mo old Grandaughter, Olive Rose, enjoying life!
She was at China Beach (northwestern San Francisco), Sunday Feb17...

...and yes, that's the Golden Gate Bridge in background.

SAN FRANCISCO VISIT
 

Highlighting our week's visit to San Francisco was our time with our Grandchildren, which gives us the excuse to ask:

 

"...By the way, have we shown you pictures of our grandkids...?"

Here are Calvin (left, age 6) and Jason (age 4)
wearing shirts of their favorite baseball team.

Here, Calvin shows off his very own Baseball Mitt he got for Christmas...

did we tell you that he starts Little League this summer?

While he may be half-Chinese, Jason loves to eat Mexican quesadillas!

 

During our visit, Karen took grandaughter Olive Rose (age, not-quite two years) to a playground in Golden Gate Park.

Her parents live within walking distance of the Park. Now, isn't that cool?
(note San Francisco Victorian townhouses in the background)

At the Park, Olive loves to drink from the water fountain...

Here, Olive clutches two votive candles that she loved to smell...

(Karen brought them for her mama, but Olive claimed them immediately...)

As you can tell, we loved our week in San Francisco!

SNOW! (actually, Hail)  ...Part 2

 

 

Here is a picture taken out the window by our dining table today.

 

Just thought you might like to see it....

 



Check out the "Park Sierra" heading in the lower right corner...

SNOW! (actually, Hail...)

Today, Thurs, Jan 10, a big dark cloud came over and HAIL poured down in sheets for nearly a half-hour! ...Hailstones the size of mothballs. First, it melted as it hit, but eventually it began to "stick'.

I took these photos right after it stopped, thinking it would quickly melt. However, it's now a couple hours later, and it still is on the ground. While it may appear as a snowfall, it is actually slushy hailstones.

Presently, it's 38deg F. It's predicted to get cold -- staying down in the 20's & low 30's for a couple days.

This our shed where Ed has his model work-table set up ...his "Man-Cave"(?)

So it might just be a real hazard getting around for awhile! Our Motorhome, while cozy and heated, does not have an abundance of insulation (which expains why over half the Park Sierra residents have left for southern, warmer climes).

Still, we are stocked up on blankets, groceries, etc., and we just "cuddle-in" more! So "no worries."

Here are our 2 dogs "cuddling in", staying warm on Karen's lap!

We realize that compared to other parts of the U.S., we have it pretty mild, but we are in California, after all!