Spot oh Spot!! Where Are You??

It's once again spring. But wait! Someone's missing. Spot the man of the house. The bird house that is. This is the first year in about four years that Spot has not appeared to stake his claim outside our window. There seems to be a new master of Spot Arms. Maybe one of his many offspring. Anyway the new residence family of spot Arms are now busy at work feathering their new home.
Also this year we have a deranged towhee that has been trying to hook up with our mirrored window. He has been banging "no pun intended" for the last week or so. Anita tried covering the window but he worked his way inside the covering in order to continue his spring quest. The good news is he starts his ritual as it get light out and is an reliable alarm clock.
Well I better go find a good mirror.

Update: After reading up on towhees I think I will drop my quest for the perfect mirror. Seems all this mirror/window action is due to the fact. He is defending his territory. Not trying to mate with himself. Oh Well. Just thought I would save you all from a personal mirror quest.

Palm Springs

 

Day I:Tue. Off to an early start. Getting a ride to the airport with Ann D. We are traveling on Alaska Airlines. Arrived a few min early and had good flight down. After a stop at Costco we headed to our digs for a couple of days at Steve and Liz’s home in Ironwood. Very impressive! Today we just veged out. They have a tangerine, tangelo, orange, and a lemon tree in the yard. Check out the size of the lemons!! All the trees are full of ready to eat sweet jucy fruit. Now I see why people hang out in this part of the country. Especially in winter.

Day II:

    This has got to be the proper way to start your day. With fresh picked fruit out of the yard on a well manicured golf course. It could almost me want to take up golf. NOT! Just kidding “golf is a good game”. The plans for the day looks like some hiking is in store.
Did the hike thing to the top of one of the local hills. The weather was perfect for the hike and other than being in no shape at all it was a good hike that took about an hr and a half. This evening we met up with a couple of friends whom I went to high school. The have a mega motor home and spend the winter here in Palm Springs. Now it’s off to the sack to dream about what adventures tomorrow will bring.

Day III:Today was spent mostly hanging around the compound enjoying the sun and a few walks. Then in the evening there was a little gathering at Chez Zim

Day IV: Today should be interesting. We are starting out by going to visit our friends and check out their home on wheels. Then off to a tour of the area with Steve and Jeff Foot. This afternoon it’s off to a art fair then we will be meeting up with more of clan zim at our niece’s Jackie Guy.
  We made it to Rittervill USA (our friends Dave & Kathy) It was greate seeing them and what life is all about in the mobile home world. We made it to the art fair. Very impressive. It was real art with lots of good and cleaver art. After the fair it was of to Guy’s for dinner with the Guy family. All in all it was another Great day here in the land of sun and old people.

Day V: As normal our day starts around 0600. Today we will be moving to Virginia Browns for the duration of our Desert Adventure. Made it Virginias around noon. From there we just cursed the street of downtown Palm Springs. As always it was very interesting. Sort of an older version of cruising of yesteryear. An eclectic mix of motorcycles generally ridden by old guys, A few classic cars and small mix of today's exotic cars. Then there is the sidewalk cruisers “the three of us included” Every thing from the old old would be movie stars to kids adorned with tats and pricings.
We ended up the evening by dinner at one of the local hang outs.

Day VI: It’s Sunday morning and we are lazing around doing coffee and making plans for today’s adventures.
Today we decided to head up to Joshua Tree Park. As always it was breathtaking and as on our last visit it was cold and windy Mega Windy! It’s really wired to look out of the car and see nothing but cactus, rocks and desert that looks like it must be 120 out there. And then have to grab your coat. All in all it was a great trip and well worth it. When we got home we went to the St Pat’s Day celebration in Virginia’s complex.

Day VII: After a good nights sleep and a good breakfast al’a Anita we were off for yet another hike. This hike was actually up behind Chez Zim. It was a good hike with lots of blooming cactus and not too damn steep trails. After the hike we stopped by to see Liz and pick up something Anita forgot.  On the way home I spotted a Smart car that I had been eyeing  and decided to call the number in the window. I met up with the owner and took it for a little spin. But I think I will pass. Although it was absolutely like new and the price seemed right and It would not fit under the seat on Alaska airlines. “Jury is still out”

Day VIII: Preparing for our ride home. Actually we made it out for one last hike up behind Palm Springs. We ran out of time so were unable to do the complete loop. Came home for a shower and packed up for our 1:00 Alaska airline flight home. The loads really looked scary, But somehow we made it on and scored on some good seats together. We are now home unpacking and resupplying our suitcases for our next adventure.

Spokane Visit

Off to Spokane to deliver Mary’s new computer.Woke up to snow this morning. First spotting of snow this winter for us. Scored on my new drivers license this morning.

Quick visit to Grandma’s in Portland

Had a quick trip to Portland to visit Steve and Grandma. All went well and the weather was great.

First Dinner in the New Kitchen

Had Bill and Family up from Gig Harbor and Stephanie and Tony over for our first dinner with guests. Everything worked out great starting with Anita’s suggestions for the menu to the mix of the guests. I was really happy and my thanks go out to Billy after arriving home from Sydney the night before proceeded by being away from home since a week before Christmas. Good show bro. You da man.

 

Let the Adventures Begin 2010

We are looking forward to a NEW Year. That will be Filled with many great adventures with Friends and Family.
Wishing you all joyous and great year
Anita and tommy

PS. We will be seeing you

2009 in Review

2009 was another GREAT year. Starting off with a trip to Cabo San Lucus Thanks to Anita’s brother Steve. We spent a week there at one of his super time shares. Then in May the Long awaited event came off without a hitch. Our niece Brooke (Bills oldest) got married in Boise. Then came summer here on Lake Sammamish. It was a hotter than normal summer, filled with water activity. “I sure hope I never outgrow playing in and on the water” But I do find my mornings filled with having coffee on the deck watching the sunrise ,wildlife and the first skiers to hit the lake. I use to be that guy, but hey I can wait for everyone to get their first run in and head off to work then when the air temp warms up a little and the lake gets calm once again it’s my turn.
As usual we made numerous trips to Spokane to visit Anita’s sister Mary. Anita catches up on the ongoing Frey activities while I do honey do’s for Mary.
  In Sept we did a road trip to Glacier National Park. Returning thru Canada. It was great. Lots of little hikes and fantastic scenery.
  Nov was the month of the long awaited kitchen remodel. It went off with nary a hitch and we are very happy with the results.
  My birthday and our 40th anniversary were spent in Spokane. Thanksgiving at Brother Bills. The whole DeLeo family showed other than sister Jane. For Christmas we did our annual Portland trek.
All in all it was another great year spent with friends and family. Everyone in the family from Anita’s 94year old mother to under a year Piper DaGata  (Patty Zimmer’s new baby) are healthy and happy.
Looking Forward to the Adventures of 2010!

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009. Another GREAT Zimmer Christmas. Had a good drive to PDX. Not much traffic, A little foggy but that did not disrupt the trip at all. Thur Night: (Christmas Eve) The whole Dresser family showed up for hot soup and good cheer.
Christmas morning everyone was slow to rise. After everyone attending church we enjoyed brunch followed by time to open gifts. Now everyone has settled in. The normal Zimmer game time, Tommy computer time and grandma and Boomer watching TV.

Spokane December Visit

Day I: (Thur) Headed out to GEG early this morning. Killing two birds with one stone. While enjoying a long overdue visit to the inland empire and Christmas season Frey style we are having our hardwood floors re finished and we are required to be out of the house for 24hrs after the finish goes down. Had a interesting drive over. As we rounded the last bend before the pass everything basically disappeared we were in the clouds or fog or whatever. During the rest of the journey we were in and out of low visibility situations with a few signs of ice on the leading edge of the aerial. Not much snow along the way and some traces of snow at Chez Frey.

Day II: Spent today doing honey do’s for Mary. Now everything is up and running until our next visit. Which will be in 2010. Oh yes almost forgot we met for breakfast with Fran and Barbara Burkhart.
Twas a good day, Still NO snow:(

Day III: Big wheels heading west. Headed out around 11:00. After an uneventful foggy ride home we arrived home around 3pm to our freshly re surfaced smelly hardwood floors.

Kitchen Remodle Week III

Day VIII: (Monday) Granite Day :) Things are on track now. Leif spent the day installing cabinet doors and drawer fronts. The boys from Fine Line arrived with the counter tops.  4hrs later we now have beautiful counter tops. Tomorrow the tile guy is coming to do the back splashes. We should finished on schedule, FINISHED this Friday

Day IX: BAD day!! Lot’s of little and not so little details to be taken care of. Thought I would go nuts for a few moments. Anyway we made it thru the day and hoping the resolves we came up with will do the trick. We will see tomorrow.

Day X: GOOD day the details were resolved to our satisfaction. Today the tile was all set and ready for grouting and calking. Dishwasher and disposal installed along with the faucet and most of the door and drawer pulls. Tomorrow the refrigerator , Stove and new doors are scheduled for instlation. Sounds like a big day!!!!

Day XI: Big day Things really started cooking today. In fact we can cook on the new gas range, put stuff down the disposal and keep something cold in the refrigerator. Even though none of the above have been done. They are ready! Waiting for a hose for the dish washer.  The tile is done! Tomorrow (Fri) there will be a couple small trim projects, The pantry door and install our new deadbolt. One of the larger mistakes by Kitchen Plus. Was the put a hole for a dead bolt in the kitchen door. So I took advantage of the mistake to negotiate and share the price of a deadbolt with a key pad.

Day XII: The Final Day! Leif arrived this morning and started putting the finishing touches on the kitchen. It was a full day,But he got her done!! Tomorrow morning the cleaning crew is coming in and then we can start stocking the new cupboards ect. Also next week Leif will be bringing in a couple of door facings that need some mods.

Old	NEW!!

Happy Thanksgiving Bill’s

Picked up Jason and Brook around 1:00 from SEATAC and worked our way to Key Center for a Thanksgiving day feast at Bill and Robins. Not only did Brook and Jason fly up from Los Angles. John came home from school at Washington State in Pullman. So ALL of us were togeather except for Jane and Larry who stayed in Selah. So it was Bill, Robin, Brooke, Jason, Adam, John and Tom and Anita. The bird was a winner. In fact other than eating just too much food it was a resounding success. Thanks Billy and Robin. There was even a little time for Billy and Adam to bond as seen in the picture

Kitchen Remodel Week II

Day I: (Monday) Today we got the cabinets above the stove installed, A bunch of skinning and moved and skinned the bar. It was a productive day. I am thinking things are on schedule. Also got a call from Crossroads Appliance and they got our missing refrigerator in. It will be delivered on Wed.

Day II: The Fine Line People showed as promised. We did have one problem NO POWER! Puget power was working on the main lines on the parkway. So we had no volts. The granite guy needed power for his hot glue gun to make the counter templates. He tried using a torch on the glue, but that got a little scary and we definitely did not to see the Big Red Truck coming down our drive. So rather than re-scheduling I grabbed the neighbors generator so we could power the pesky glue gun. It Worked! Thanks to Dave and Pati Page and their trusty generator. The Granite is scheduled for install on Monday. Yeah!!  

Day III: Today was a good day. Received the new refer this morning. Leif  got all the lower cabinets ready for Monday’s granite install. Also a couple more doors were installed. Look's like there is a little catching up in order as Leif is now planning on putting in a couple hrs. on Friday.

Day IV: (Thur.) Thanksgiving

Day V: Thanksgiving Holiday

Kitchen Remodle Week I

DAY I: Monday Leif our worker guy arrived around 0900. We spent the morning going over the details and he made some preparation for the teardown. Also our appliances minus the refrigerator arrived. Now we have officially moved out of the old kitchen for the duration. We have our necessities (coffee maker and microwave) set up in the cove room off the living room.  Life is good and we are anxious for this adventure to start showing some progress.

DAY II: Destruction Leif(the guy) arrived around 0730 and started gutting the old kitchen. The process went fast. The fun part was the discovery of lost treasures. Like price tags on the old cabinets The one I found was $22 for a cabinet base. The best one found on my wiring job was while changing outlets and switches I found one I put in when we remolded in 78 which was a outlet with a 3 for $1 Pay & Pack price tag. The ones I am putting in now are about $3 apiece and not as good. INFLATION! The destruction was complete around noon. Now we are waiting for the new cabinets to arrive tomorrow morning

DAY III: Waiting for the cabinets. Waiting,Waiting , WAITING! I hope this is not a sign of things to come. First the truck with the cabinets were scheduled to arrive around 0730 then 11:00 Now tomorrow morning. Waiting Waiting

DAY IV: Let the Progress begin. The truck with the cabinets and supplies just arrived. Good progress today. We now have the gas plumbing to the kitchen ,The sink plumbing is also ready for the new sink and dishwasher, And a few of the new cabinets are in. A couple of discrepancies in two of the cabinets but there should be no problem in working them out. Twas a good day.

DAY V: Friday Things should get a crackin around here soon. I believe today. will be spent putting in a few more cabinets and the pantry door.
The pantry door will wait to be installed so it does not get marked up hauling out the old and bringing in the new. All the drawers were installed today and some under counter skinning and more cabinet prep. This will all have to be finished up before next Tue when the granite guys come in to measure.
Starting Monday on Week TWO will be in a post above this one

Kitchen Remodel

Our Kitchen remodel is on track. After living with the same kitchen for over 30 years. Anita convinced me we should bite the bullet and redo the kitchen. We have been planning and checking out our options for a couple months now. The adventure is about to start. The people from Kitchen Plus are scheduled to arrive Monday Nov 16th. The new appliances should arrive the same day. Anita and I have been running around gathering electrical supplies as we are doing a little bit of rewiring (outlets, switches, and some lighting). It’s  going ok other than trying to figure out exactly how I wired the house 30 years ago. When I had to add new wiring to the existing original wiring. (No shocks or fires yet)
  I plan to follow this adventure through the process on this blog. Complete with pictures. More to come. Probably starting Nov 16th. 
ENJOY the Mess.

It’s now the eve of distruction. We are READY to rock

Happy Birthday Jane

Happy Birthday Lil Sis!! 
Love tommy and Anita

Spokane Oct.

Day I: Early start to GEG. Arrived around noon and headed up to Diamond Lake cabin to do the final season shutdown. Last min pickup and turning off the water and draining the pipes. DONE!

Day II: Doing my tommy to do list. Anita and Mary are off for Mary’s cataract surgery. Surgery went well.

Day III: (Fri.) This morning Anita will be taking Mary back to the doctor to have her patch removed. And I will be doing the Isabel school shuttle and finishing up some chores around here.

Day IV: Starting out the morning as a Starbucks rat. Headed out just before 6 this morning for some putering and nasty strong coffee at Starbucks. Good coffee and I don't have to disturbe any of the 4 sleeping beauties at chez Fre. I am thinking the Rav-4 wheels will be spinning west sometime this morning. Somehow I would like to figure out how to catch the USC Notre Dame game today. My fav team vs the team I love to hate. "the one with divine luck" Who knows maybe a Selah stop is in order. After a munchie and hello stop at Sowder Farms (Selah) We continued out trek west arriving home around 5pm..

Glacier Adventure Begins

Glacier Adventure Begins The pictures in the slide show will grow as pictures are added. Click HERE to follow on map. Also If you click on the lower right corner of the slide show you can check out or download any of the pictures.

 

Day 1: Sunday September 6th Getting off to a late start. After a brief stop at Costco for a Spokane we proceeded to have a uneventfull good drive to Mary’s. Celebrated Karen’s 48th birthday.

Day 2:MondayToday was tommy to do day at Mary's. Headed up to Daimond lake for our nights rest at Mary's cabin and a last good bye to Sue and Judy. Mary’s naibhrors at the lake before they headed back to Maui for the winter. Went into Newport for dinner only to find out that most places were closed due to it being Labor Day. We did manage to score on some Mexican food. It was either that or McD's. PS. Summer at the lake must be over. Not a sign of any WIFI to leach off :(

Day 3:Tuesday Breaking base camp. woke up to some pretty major fog on the lake. There goes my morning photo shoot. Today we head out towards Glacier.
It’s now evening and we made it as far as Whitefish and are now bedded down for the evening. Had a GREAT drive. The weather has been perfect. And I once again have connectivity (WIFI) We did dinner at the Tue. Whitefish farmers market. Then drove up to Big Mountain  to check out sunset. We were totally amazed with a housing development near the top of the mountain. The views were spectacular and the houses matched. Mostly multi million dollar log and rock homes. Tommorow we are planning on heading into Glacier park. Looks like it’s going to be another great day:)

Day 4:Wednesday Into the Park. Made it into the park this morning and was happy to see that my old Natiional golden age pass works. (My favorite “FREE”) After checking out the visitors center it was on and upto Logan Pass around 6000ft, One beautiful drive. At the pass it was time to head out on our first hike to hidden lake about 2mi in. Some Pretty spectacular scenery. We passed a small group of mountin goats along the trail. They really did not pay any attention to us or the other ten or so gawkers checking them out. Shot lots of pictures, but won’t be able to post them til I get a better internet connection. We made it to the east side of the park and found our diggs, Then it was out to find some munchies. Found a place at Duck Lake. Very quaint but the burgers were great. All in all it was a very good worthwhile day.

Day 5:It’s Thursday morning and I am sitting by a big log fire at the East Glacier Lodge. Computer on my lap and hot coffee in hand. It’s 6am mounting time and still no sign of sunrise, but what the heck. This morning we are planning on heading to Many Glaciers. About 20mi north of here for some more hiking adventures. Then probably up into Canada to the Canadian portion of the park. Waterton. Even though it’s still dark out I stepped outside and the skies looked clear. Time to go fill my cup. Made it to Waterton around 10am after waiting for the boarder to open. Scored on a great place on the lake to spend the night then it was off to stretch the legs on a couple more hikes. We just missed a bear spotting on the trail. As some people walking 3 or 4 min behind us spotted one walking across the trail. Maybe next time. We did see a mom and cub running across the road the night before. Tomorrow we are planning on heading out early for Banff about 4 hrs north of here. Spend the night there and then our path is still up in the air. So far the weather has been nothing but perfect. And we have been sharing the pilot navigator duties. My only frustration is trying to stay connected to the outside world on our stops. Our cell phone has had no bars since we left Whitefish. No big deal but it would be fun to blog and check out stuff on the road. When I have made Internet contact I bandwidth is so slow I get a little frustrated. In fact I am typing this in the middle of the nigh and having a little problems using google maps due to the low bandwidth. The GREAT news is we are having a GREAT time. And are in no hurry to head west other than to enjoy that part of the journey. Still don’t know our route. I had better catch some Zzzzs

Day 6: Friday On to Banff “OOP’s” After heading out of the park we came to the conclusion that a 5hr drive north would not be that bad but then realised that another 13hrs of driving home from Banff would pushing it a little. So we decided to head west across Canada. The trip was filled with great views. WE headed up Kootenay lake to catch the free 1/2hr ferry ride across the lake. Very cool. Then on the other side of the lake we headed south ending up in Castlegar for the night. Which was fast approaching. After a Loooong shower we settled in for the night after 370mi of driving. Oh yes that’s tommy standing along side One BIG Dump Truck. “No Photoshop trickery” Ir was a real big truck!!

Day 7: Saturday It’s now morning in Castelgar and we are getting started. Now comes decisions decisions decisions “What route should we take, and where too” Maybe after a couple cups of coffee and breakfast the decision will be made. Probably we will stay somewhere in eastern Wash. Oh I hear the coffee pot burbling.
The morning had one hitch. I lost the GPS. Sort of ironic. After totally searching the hotel room and tracing my steps to the car. We finally gave up. It was gone. Then I took one last look thru my mini computer bag and even though it was not in sight I felt it in one of the hidden compartments. NOW we were on our way. It is funny how you start relying on that little gps. Especially after discovering our map libary was a mess as it was comprised of a selection of maps from both sides of the border. Unfortunately all in a differnt scale so that made it hard to follow. Next time I definitely will spend more time preparing maps which is hard when you really don't have any spafic destinations. Now underway we headed west along the canadian border trying to decide which crossing we shoud go for. We sort of had decided on Osoyoos and head down into the Republic area on the US side. Then we spotted a sign that said Spokane. Knowing that Daimond lake was between that sign and Spokane We stopped and gave mary a call who was at the lake. She said "Come on down" Hey 3hrs to a familiar place on some road we had never traveled. We did a quick turn around and headed south. Sure was nice to be back in familiar place where distances were in miles and gas was sold by the gallon. Arrived at the cabin around 1:15 to a beautiful sunny day on the lake. It was great to be able to sit back and just relax. Mary and Isabel headed into town around 5 we just veged out and enjoyed the evening.

Day 8:Sunday It's now morning and I am watching the sunrise over daimond lake sitting in my favorit recliner whith a hot cup of coffee and listening to the tick of the clock. Life is GOOD! It was a good idea heading back to the lake as I am feeling rested after a great nights sleep in a familiar place and 1300 mi of driving and memories of great sights and experiences behind us. As for today the plan "At this moment" is to head into Spokane with a load of stuff from the cabin as it is in the final processes of closing it down for the winter. There is no hurry. Anita is still sacked out and I am feeling rested as well as excited about our drive west wether it be up thru the north cascades or the same old route following I90 home. Either way I am up for it. Did a semi cabin shutdown and headed to Spokane. Where I am now posting. Next Stop????
Turns out I-90 Mary’s to home was the choice. I guess the homing pidgin instinct took over. When all was said and don we put 1,661 miles on the Rav4 with only one maintaince stop “a car-wash” and the usal windshield bug clean at each fill up.

Day 9:Monday September 14th Back Home. Great Adventure! Today will be filled with unpacking, car washing, and just general catching up. Or maybe not

Glacier 2009

NOTES

Sep Road trip to Glacier National Park
Click HERE for Active Map
My Maps

 

Portland for Liz’s B-day

Day:1 We are now on the road to PDX (Portland) I am connected via my cell phone and enjoying the wonders of technology. Just got off of a conference IM with Bill in Maine and Jane in Yakima. Anita is driving  and I am living large. Jane you can click HERE to see Bills Maine pictures.

Day:II Fri Sitting in Starbucks. Checking out yet another Portland Starbucks. We had a great evening last night (Liz’s actual birthday) dinner with Liz, Steve, Grandma, Anita and I. Today I will be doing a Fry’s run this morning to score on some goodies for my newest computer build. Then this evening we will be going out to Liz’s friends for her birthday dinner.

Day:III sat Heading home day. Had a good evening with a bunch of Liz and Steve’s friends. Their friends the Grubbs had us over for a BBQ and lot’s of talk about fine wine and golf. That sort of left this geek without much to contribute. The Grubbs house was a remodel showcase. Very nice. Steve is now out playing golf and Anita and Liz are still sacked out. I am fairly confident that Rav wheels will be turning north as soon as Anita get,s up. It is still overcast but much brighter than yesterday.

Lake Living

Another perfect morning. It is suppose to be the start of a hot spell. So I am taking advantage of my favorite time of day. The sun has yet to clear the horizon but the temp is just right, I am sitting here on the deck doing my morning computer reading. In this case watching a techie podcast. I know the picture is small but if you look carefully you can see a pre dawn skier just above my toe. and as always I have my trusty Parker Store coffee cup full of hot coffee. So far I have seen blue herons doing their morning fly by, also a flock of Canadian honkers going by, A couple of eagles. One of which is now hanging about 60 feet away in the top of the tree. There is no wind so I don’t have to worry about being whitewashed by mr eagle. I really don’t have much to say other than the only thing that would make this any better would be having someone to share this experience with. Most people just are not willing to haul themselves out of the sack. Which I have always found so hard to fathom as fore me this is my favorite time of the day.
GOOD MORNING !!
PS. Finishing this post up Just in time. The sun has cleared the the hills to the east and my screen is disappearing before my eyes.