We Are In This Together!

2012-01-19T18:14:00.000-08:00

Our new Frog Prince Valentine decorations join the others on our front porch shelf..Stay tuned over the next month or so for more Valentine happenings.

2012-01-19T18:01:00.000-08:00

Top: Interesting snow accumulation on a wire fence that surrounds our neighbor's garden. Due to the wind velocity, the snow looks more like cotton stuffed into all crevices of the wire fence than snow. Middle: The lattice fence in front of our A/C in back of our house is topped with 13+ inches of snow.. Bottom: Our next door neighbor, looking south down our street. What a winter wonderland....Gorgeous!

2012-01-16T13:14:00.000-08:00

Pretty snow fell in our little Village on Jan. 15, 2012 and now again on the 16th. We got our Christmas decorations put away for another year and now we are decorating for Valentine's Day.

2012-01-14T16:46:00.000-08:00

Sure wish the BRIGHT yellow would show up better on these pictures, but we decided we could NOT live with this circus color it's almost NEON. So this is our new color which is more creamy, yummy yellow and will look great with the Antique White of the cupboards and moldings. These colors are not as they appear and this new yellow is really a nice light and soothing color. If we lived in New Mexico, AZ or places as these, the bright yellow would be a good one but in our 1923 house it's not the right choice. Will keep you posted.

2012-01-13T19:47:00.000-08:00

This is the very, very bright yellow we painted out kitchen....until we bought a different shade... We will paint that nest week and have our fingers crossed that it is a more subtle yellow.... Stay tuned.

2011-12-26T20:18:00.000-08:00

Our little Christmas tree for the 2 of us. We had a very peaceful, quiet day, friends and neighbors Howard and Marilyn came for some Holiday Cheer ~~ and then Al and I sat on our front porch enjoying the clear skies enjoying the clear night watching the stars. It was a bit chilly but so calm that we wrapped ourselves in warm sweatshirts and enjoyed listening to the coyotes howling from the hills, NO CARS or people passing, just the peace of Christmas Day Eve while we counted our Blessings .... we are so fortunate....

2011-12-26T19:38:00.000-08:00

Lots of Christmas cards from our friends and family...enough to go around the doorway to kitchen, plus a few on the ledge of the opening to the kitchen from the formal dining room in our little Village home built in 1923.
Note: We are ready for any electrical outages with 3 kerosene lanterns sitting on my parents old Dry Sink where they will sit until Spring...

2011-12-25T15:07:00.000-08:00

Our decorated front porch shelf wishing all a very Merry Christmas. The "Little Drummer Boy" is on a stand next to the large Santa ~ (see following pictures).

2011-12-25T15:03:00.000-08:00

Groups of Christmas decorations on front porch. The large Santa Clause I bought this year at a "Visiting Nurses Thrift Shop" for $3.00!!!! Real soft fur (not mink!!) on hat and coat.

2011-12-25T14:42:00.000-08:00

This is the last part of our Front Porch Shelf Christmas Decoration.

2011-11-26T17:45:00.000-08:00

Have a wonderful Holiday Season....from Molly and Al too!!

2011-11-23T10:00:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.

2011-10-03T18:39:00.000-07:00

This is what we saw from Hwy 2 and Cole's Corner and turned off to sign into our cabin. It was a great time and brought back lots of memories from the 70's......76er' Diner& Cabins..

2011-10-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

This is our Cabin (Fisherman's Cabin) and it was a great stay. We had a super time in this area and coffee is included in breakfast meals... the coffee is free... Please check out their web page and I posted it later. We had a super time when we were in the area and hope everyone enjoyed this posting...Would love to hear from those of you who checked this out~~

2011-10-03T18:14:00.000-07:00

Kitchen and a peek-a-boo picture of the bedroom.. along with the living room...

2011-10-03T18:01:00.000-07:00

Outside 59'er Diner and also inside the diner.

They specialize in serving EXCELLENT (World Famous) milkshakes and Al did try one ~ but I abstained from all that frivolity!!!!! I chalk this up to remaining on my diet.....therefore, I could partake in all the other YUM-O things like German food, Beer, and a fabulous lunch at Snoqualmie Falls but unfortunately I could not find my camera when we were seated at our table overlooking the falls and, therefore, I have no pictures.) Oh darn....
The Cabins we stayed in are in the back along with an RV Park.....

2011-10-03T17:32:00.000-07:00

The upper picture is inside the Women's Restroom and the bottom 2 are "guess where?" ~~ YUP you got it. Inside the Men's Bathroom at the 59er Diner...., (shhhhh don't tell who took these pictures !!)

2011-10-03T16:09:00.000-07:00

These are just a few of the other cute cabins at the 59er Diner.

If you want to see more of this place out check out http://www.59erdiner.com.

2011-10-03T15:53:00.000-07:00

The first thing we saw on our way to Plain, WA was this covered wagon.... CUTE! Of course, we had to check out "Plain,WA" which was a quaint little town with an incredible Hardware Store filled with all sorts of gifts, sweatshirts, T-Shirts, knick-knacks, jewelry, novelties, as well as all the normal hardware store items. Neither of us had ever heard of "Plain" Wa.!!!!

2011-10-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

The Cove at Fish Lake which is an RV park, little store and lots of big fish tales...

2011-10-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

This is Lake Wenatchee and it shows the beauty of the area but was taken at the Lake Wenatchee National Forest Campground not the Nason Creek Campground.

2011-10-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

Leavenworth, WA is a great little Bavarian Village surrounded by tree covered high mountain forests an over 4,000 Ft. pass so it is in the perfect area to find an authentic Bavarian Village. This coming weekend Oct 8 & 9, 2011 is their Oktoberfest so check it out on Google....

2011-10-03T11:26:00.000-07:00

Icicle Brewery in Leavenworth has a fabulous "Sampler Tray" filled with EXCELLENT beer.. Every glass of their beer was great and it is unusual when we find we like all the different varieties which included authentic German varieties. Al and I definitely recommend this great Brewery and Pub.

2011-10-03T09:55:00.000-07:00

Leavenworth, WA has been converted to an adorable and authentic Bavarian Village and is now a destination town which 'saved' it from financial collapse due to the Railroad being moved. It is now a fun UMM-PA-PA town that attracts thousands of tourists yearly. Check out the Jagerschnitzel, red cabbage, German dumplings (forgot the German name) I had and the 3 German sausages, red cabbage, sauerkraut, and something else (Al is going to the Post Office right now or else I would ask him and include here), plus we each had another beer. Hey what's the National drink in Germany? BEER!!

2011-10-03T08:55:00.000-07:00

We stopped at this enormous fruit stand and spent quite a bit of time there as Yakima fruit and vegetables are excellent. From Swan squash, to a huge selection of pumpkins, peaches, pears, apples, tomatoes, etc., to all the preserves and such inside..... They even have a B&B ~ can you imagine the breakfasts? YUM-O

2011-10-03T08:20:00.000-07:00

The beginning of the gorgeous Yakima Canyon from Ellensburg to Yakima on Hwy 821.

2011-10-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

Al and Callie went down to the Yakima River where they met a guy picking up his Pontoon boat that had been beached on the shore after he returned in his pickup truck. Cool boat. Then as we were back traveling along the Yakima River Road we saw numerous fisherman who were surprised to see us taking their picture.

2011-10-02T18:06:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Pacific Northwest mountain lakes and great rocks that offer a wonderful story of geology!

2011-10-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

Top picture is heavy steel mesh to keep rocks from the hillside off the highway. Next picture is even heavier reinforcement to keep rocks off highway and more stabilization for the hill. Next picture is what we saw towards the top ~ mostly there is just wire netting dropped over the rock. The construction was mostly at the top of the pass. This is all good as it is a long way down to the bottom.

2011-10-02T16:09:00.000-07:00

Up and over White Pass to get back home... Great trip....

2011-07-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Cougar, Washington...

Travel with us as we explore a few more places in Washington.

2011-07-25T15:22:00.001-07:00

Cougar, Washington has the best ol' Bar and Grill with an incredible French Dip....YUM-O!

And Al was extremely impressed with their Fish & Chips too not to mention their great selection of Microbeers!

2011-07-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

I just had to post this picture without any others to emphasize (highlight) what this building really is. This is actually the Ariel Tavern where the infamous D.B. Cooper supposedly landed after he jumped out of a jet with his embezzled $200,000.00..... He was never found (they did find some dollar bills in the Columbia River but no way the whole loot). Every year the Ariel Tavern (in Aerial, Washington) has the D.B. Cooper Days...

2011-07-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

Thought I would post picture of both ingress and egress through the covered bridge. The Grist Mill is located on the Lewis River in Woodland, Washington area..

2011-07-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

Waterfall at top is the water flowing above the Grist Mill and the bottom pix was taken looking down out the window of the mill to the water coming out from underneath the building....

2011-07-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

Top to bottom: Sign at the Grist Mill telling a little about the operation and restoration of this 1876 building, pencil drawing of Grist Mill, close up colored picture of mill and then the picture I took from the Covered Bridge.

2011-07-25T14:17:00.000-07:00

The Grist Mill is only open on Saturdays and Sundays but if near by it is a fun place to visit, very interesting and educational. They grind and sell different flours.....Bread flour, pancake flour, corn meal and you can donate $ if you want but it is not required.

2011-07-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

We drove down this steep hill to the Lewis River (close to Merwin Dam). This area is so pretty and excellent fishing!! Wish I had a fishin' pole!!!

2011-07-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

Thought I would post other pix of our 'family'. Cally Lilly our pound rescue Border Collie who just loves to be on our front porch, looking for stray little friends (chipmunks, kitties, raccoons, deer, rabbits) ~ You name it and they are here. The porcupines seem to stay closer to the woods, not coming into town, thank goodness.
Our adorable kitty is Samantha Jane (we call her Sami) and she turned 20 years old last March. She has a little growth in the corner of her right eye, VET checked it out and not cancer!!!!
We are so fortunate to have such fabulous 'family members' as these two!

2011-07-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

We change our porch decor every holiday and this is our 4th of July porch decor!!! Pretty fun!
Those things in the window look like gummy bears! I love my house!

2011-07-25T13:08:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I grew these!!! Gorgeous if I do say so myself....

2011-07-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

What a Great 4th of July we had.....love all those old cars...There were lots of them made in the same era as our town. Pretty Cool...

2011-06-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

Dr. Elroy A. Briggs ~ my dad! This picture is from U. S. Grant High School's 1929-1930 yearbook.

2011-06-12T20:02:00.000-07:00

This is just part of the NEW D.N.R. Band of Ryderwood, WA. They were definitely a hit at the 3rd Annual Ryderwood Blues Festival!! Check this out!!
Left to right ~ Howard Replogle, Daddy Tree Tops (Guest), Bob Valet (hiding in the drums) and Jerre Bullen.

2011-06-12T19:58:00.000-07:00

TOP: AL CARSON.......

Al and Daddy Tree Tops opening act for the 3rd Annual Ryderwood Blues Concert. This year, Al decided that there are so many wonderful Blues players in town that everyone would enjoy hearing a variety of talent. I am sure this is a true statement. At the end there was a jam session with many of the performers and it was fabulous.

2011-06-12T19:50:00.000-07:00

TOP: Al and Terry having fun playing some Blues!

Terry Teschner playing his Washtub Bass. Made out of a large wash tub, an oar and a crutch... He sure played lots of wonderful music.. His main instrument is the piano that he plays blues, country-western, rock n' roll and most anything else you would want to hear.

2011-06-12T19:40:00.000-07:00

DADDY TREE TOPS was the guest artist and he did an awesome job. He is extremely talented and has a band in the Seattle, Port Townsend, WA called the HOWLIN' TOM CATS and is one of the top players in that area plus has a large following in Montana and Portland, Oregon where he frequently travels. He has been a great friend of Al Carson's since the 1980's

2011-06-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

Jerre Bullen a fabulous musician who plays a wonderful variety of music on his guitar. He alone can put on a super show using his talents with the guitar and then adding instrumentals to sound like a full orchestra. (THIS IS IN LAYMAN'S TERMS). He was also the audio person for the Blues concert and always does a great job highlighting making sure each performer is heard to the best of his ability.

Howard Replogle who was a great addition with his harmonica to all three of Jerre's songs. He carried the songs and everyone in the audience truly enjoyed his talent. (*again, sorry for the dark photos)

2011-06-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

Top pix: Bob Valet our incredible Ryderwood drummer who was happy to get back to the drums after a long hiatus from a 20+ year professional career as a drummer for Rock n' Roll bands. He was awesome! (sorry for the dark picture).
Boone (Above) extremely talented musician who is a tremendous Bass Guitar player.

Alan (Above) who plays the guitar, mandolin and a truly talented entertainer.

2011-06-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

Dirk and Betsy with their 2 cute doggies (I only have pix of one) on May 28, 2011 on their way North. We served them dinner and had just an awesome time (we always do!) They were happy to stay here at 'CARSON'S BEER, BED AND BREAKFAST'.

2011-06-12T18:18:00.000-07:00

Italian Caprese Salad, Roasted Fresh Spring Asparagus, Matt Lauer's Favorite, Mediterrean Chicken Marbella and for dessert Swedish Apple Pie with French Vanilla Ice Cream. (not shown)

2011-05-30T16:30:00.000-07:00

Al playing the Blues on May 28, 2011 at
"The Matrix Coffee House" in Chehalis, Washington.
Our friends, Dirk and Betsy were there with us and Betsy took this picture on her IPHONE.

2011-05-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

Our gigantic redwood tree stump before and after...
Now it will be blooming all summer again!!

2011-05-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

The gorgeous yellow finches come back each year at this time. They really chow down on thistle Al hangs in these little bags from the trees in our yard. They're all over the place and so much fun to watch.

2011-05-30T15:22:00.000-07:00

Our Spring/Mother's Day house flag..

2011-05-30T15:19:00.000-07:00

Flowers on our front porch..

2011-05-30T15:05:00.000-07:00

Spring is just around the corner and we started planting flowers in our yard and on our porch....

2011-05-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

Another great picture of our Little Village Ryderwood taken by our neighbors, Howard and Marilyn .
Double click on picture to make larger!!

2011-03-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

Our new neighbors, Patrick, really got right into the 'heart of the party' wearing his party hat and his adorable wife, Judy, was enjoying her pizza so I didn't snap a picture of her just then!

2011-03-09T16:49:00.000-08:00

This turned out to be the 'mode of transportation' which took us to Portland, Oregon (instead of an Amtrak train) due to a massive mudslide. By law the passenger trains must bus passengers for about 48 hours after a slide to ensure the hills are stable as safety rules. I think I agree with that 'smart' ruling. We rode this Seattle University bus which packed full but a real luxury!

2011-03-09T16:40:00.000-08:00

We arrived at the Amtrak train depot and found out that there had been a mudslide that cover the train tracks just north of Vancouver, WA so we were going to be bussed from Kelso to Portland where we would then catch our train for Sacramento....

2011-03-09T16:24:00.000-08:00

Our friends and neighbors, Guy and Joanne, drove us to the train station. We took them out for a Vietnamese meal before leaving town.

2011-03-05T16:36:00.000-08:00

Willamette Falls which is located in the Willamette River, by Oregon City, Oregon. The water falls down into a large pool that has waterfalls on all 4 sides. Very pretty and quite a recognizable site for hundreds of fisherman who fish for salmon in the Willamette River....

2011-03-05T16:30:00.000-08:00

Beautiful mural inside the Sacramento, California Amtrak station. We had an 8 hour layover in Sacramento which gave us time to go have a great dinner, take in a show and check out "Old Sacramento (Old Sac)"

2011-03-05T16:20:00.000-08:00

Enjoyed out time in Reno even though it was snowing, icy and cold. The good thing is that I believe it kept lots of gamblers at home....

2011-03-05T16:15:00.000-08:00

Saw this amazing show at the Eldorado Hotel and Casino and guess what? Almost all of he people in the audience were over 60 years old!!! (loved it and felt right at home).

2011-03-05T16:02:00.000-08:00

When we entered our room what a "super surprise"..... a huge tray of snacks....."how nice". Then after Al removed some things from the tray, he saw a sign that read "IF YOU TOUCH ANYTHING ON THIS TRAY YOU WILL IMMEDIATELY BE CHARGED FOR IT'. I have never seen him put something back as fast as he did these "nice snacks" because the tray was WIRED!

2011-02-27T17:46:00.000-08:00

First night we had dinner here at The Brew Brothers which is inside the Eldorado Hotel and Casino.
Great food and beer and we had a nice time.
Check back soon for more pix from our Reno trip.

2011-02-27T17:42:00.000-08:00

Yum Yum Yum ~ really great Beer Battered Fish and Chips.

2011-02-27T17:39:00.000-08:00

Our two pints of Microbrew that went extremely well with those Fish and Chips.

2011-02-27T17:35:00.000-08:00

View from our room at the Eldorado Hotel and Casion in Reno. This is the International Bowling Stadium and you can't miss the HUGE Bowling Ball on the roof.

2011-02-27T17:24:00.000-08:00

When we travelled through Truckee they had received heavy snow and cold temperatures pretty massive icicles (spelling?)!

2011-02-27T16:53:00.000-08:00

It was an eerie train trip to Reno as we travelled on Donner Pass and saw Donner Lake. We were lucky enough to have 2 retired Train Museum volunteers traveling with us narrating the whole trip, pointing out the historical and intersting places along the way. The Donner Party story is one that remains a testiment to man's survival.

2011-02-27T16:27:00.000-08:00

It was interesting to watch the train's engine pushing snow off the train tracks as we were heading into new territory, Fun, fun, fun.....

2011-02-27T16:16:00.000-08:00

This rainbow was an incredible sight from our train window. It was HUGE and beautiful.

2011-02-23T19:13:00.001-08:00

I ran out of space.. will try to add more later.

2011-02-22T16:58:00.000-08:00

We had a great dinner at River City Brewing in Sacramento during our 8 hour layover, took in a movie and checked out Fanny Annie's in Old Sacramento where I found this 'interesting' Molly Pitcher's Rum...

2011-02-22T16:50:00.000-08:00

These are some of the gorgeous views from our train room crossing the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

2011-02-22T16:24:00.000-08:00

Every afternoon Amtrak would have a wine and cheese tasting. This day we tasted 4 wines from Washington State.

2011-02-05T16:41:00.000-08:00

Thought I would post a picture of my grandmother's house in Portland, Oregon mostly for my old grade school friends. Many will remember us visiting her for sleepovers. Even though she was in her low 80's, she would walk us down to Oaks Park for a day at that amusement park. The reason I said 'walk down' was because once we walked about 6 blocks, then across Sellwood Park grounds to the edge of a cliff that dropped down to the Willamette River and Oaks Amusement Park. She really was a trooper and definitely quite the pioneer yet a wonderful 'modern' Grandma.
Dad and I sold that house in late 1970 after Grandma passed away and since then new owners have added the new front porch with a seat, railing and the fence. The color now is yellow but it was always white when Grandma owned it. What a wonderful bit of news when I saw this........the old Sellwood neighborhood is being well maintained... YIPPEE!

2011-01-23T17:48:00.001-08:00

Al's cute cousin, Sue and her hubby Wes. They stopped by for a few nights and we had a marvelous time.

2011-01-23T17:31:00.000-08:00

Al with Wes and Sue at our Shrimp Scampi dinner.

2011-01-17T21:11:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN,,THIS IS ONE OF AL'S PUMPKINS!

2010-10-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
These are the knucklehead pumpkins Al grew from seed!!!

2010-09-28T22:54:00.001-07:00

2010-09-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

So cute of a place and they had the most adorable waitress with a fabulous bubbly personality.

Had a wonderful breakfast at this adorable little cafe in Dayville, Oregon. We'd definitely go back!

2010-09-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

I just about fell over when 'Daddy Tree Tops' came through the door at the Dayville Cafe and the waitress yelled out "Heah Daddy".... I knew right then that it was DADDY TREE TOPS....So I also said "what are you doing here?" to this man.... Thank goodness he had a wonderful sense of humor especially when we told him he looked exactly like our dear friend the Famous Daddy Tree Tops... (he thought that was kinda funny too!) He didn't have any problem with letting me take a few pictures of him either.

This guy really looked like "DADDY TREE TOPS"....

2010-09-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

Make-shift old west town on the premises of the Dayville Mercantile property.

Dayville Mercantile has lots of 'stuff' including antiques, food, gift items, and even rubber tomahawks!!

2010-09-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

I noticed a bunch of buildings with bright blue roofs along a hillside, so we went off to find what all those blue roofs were about. We found that they were houses built by the same contractor and were 'cookie cutter' houses ~ all with bright blue roofs... This picture does not do it justice as the blue is no way the bright navy blue as it is in person. That contractor sure had an interesting sense of humor...

We almost stayed at the Fish House Inn but decided on the Riverbend Motel in Spray, Oregon.
The Fish House Inn was really cute and they have a great RV park on property too...Maybe next time we will stay here.

2010-09-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

When the post office says "Rural Delivery" this must be it....

We drove around in Clyde Holliday State Park to check out the RV space we stayed in a number of years ago and it still looks the same...

2010-09-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

Prairie City was a really interesting old town and we enjoyed it's charm and friendly people.

Very interesting stone house on the prairie.

2010-09-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

We crossed another pass and really enjoyed the beautiful scenery, gorgeous trees and fresh mountain air.

2010-09-27T11:11:00.000-07:00

Looks like this home owner made some upgrades....the town of Whitney information below.

Most of the abandoned homes were little one room houses...just like Ryderwood's once were. It sure was a gorgeous setting for this town...

2010-09-26T20:29:00.000-07:00

We were driving to our next destination and found a Ghost Town by the name of Whitney, Oregon. It was an old town that was deserted due to the collapsed industry that was keeping it alive.. Al and I were in awe because this town could be our little town of Ryderwood, WA where we now live..

2010-09-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

Some more homes in the Ghost Town,.

2010-09-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

Some more old houses that are now part of the Ghost Town!

2010-09-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

Some of the old homes of the town,.

2010-09-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

And this continued to point out the fact that Ryderwood could have looked like this.. a ghost town..!

2010-09-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

Sumpter, Oregon is a wonderful "pull off the main drag" to see and old time mining town and the history that goes along with it... Oregon was built on gold mining.fishing and lumber money so be sure to take the off beat side trip to check this out....

2010-09-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

Sumpter Black Market & the Museum of Mining are places that need to be checked out..