Dragyn's Fyre Designs

What's new in Meghan's Etsy Shop...

2011-10-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

Meghan has started making "Mix" packages of seed beads in 6 coordinating colors. They come in 10 ounce containers. Above is her Fall Mix. Click HERE to see them.

She has over 70 different colors of seed beads for sale now. Every month we add about 30-40 more colors. So she has a lot to choose from.

This is her own design... A jack-o-lantern seed bead tube. We made it into a pendant and she has it for sale... Click HERE to see it.

Mom's Birthday Bracelet

2011-09-06T00:09:00.000-07:00

This is the bracelet Meghan and I made for my Mom's birthday a couple weeks ago. Meghan made the beautiful beaded tube beads and I made the lampwork beads. The silver beads are made by TierraCast, which I sell in my Etsy shop. Meghan sells her tube beads in her Etsy shop.

Meghan's new endeavor...

2011-08-28T23:57:00.000-07:00

Meghan has joined the "business" with me :) She is making these awesome beads for Pandora style bracelets. They are very time consuming as she weaves the little delica beads into tubes, then hand flares them onto metal tubes for a more stylish look. Plus, they can be used in other designs (see above). She has an Etsy store of her own at http://www.etsy.com/shop/DragynGirl

2011-08-21T23:18:00.000-07:00

I created a "water color" of a sunset photo I took while Chris and I were canoeing the other night. I used a new app I got in the Apple App store, I think it looks pretty neat :)

Negligent Blogger - Again!

2011-07-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

I have been negligent in my blogging, again! But so much has been happening in the past month and a half, I haven't had time - I swear!

First, Chris went to California for a few days to play in a golf tournament to benefit a scholarship set up in Jillian's name. He had a blast! Above is a picture of Dennis, Eric, Chris and Scott at the tournament. It was held at Rancho Vista Golf Course in Palmdale and was a tremendous success. I have a photo album of the event on the left side of the blog if you would like to see more pictures.

Then, in the beginning of July, Jenn and the boys came for a visit. Above is Jenn, Seth and Sam at Koosah Falls.

And then... Brenda and Hailey came up for a week to visit as well. Unfortunately, poor Eric had to stay home and spend his birthday alone as well because he got an exciting new job and couldn't get time off. But steady employment sure beats the on-again off-again jobs he has been used to. Anyway.... Above is Brenda and Hailey at Benham Falls. Aren't they cute??

Well, that is about it... Now we can focus on building Chris's garage, which is coming along well. The cement is nearly done, they pour the slab this week and we are hoping to begin framing the walls this weekend.

My 15 Minutes of Fame...

2011-06-16T22:15:00.000-07:00

A set of my beads were used in a bracelet made by one of my customers in the 2011 edition of Easy Wire Magazine. This is an annual collectors magazine.

Above is a picture of the spread. Lori Anderson created the bracelet. You can follow her blog at www.prettythingsblog.com.

What kind of fool torments a bobcat?

2011-06-10T23:01:00.001-07:00

This little guy does. I got this shot tonight as Chris held the spot light on him.

The raccoons, for some reason, have no fear of Eddie... In fact, they are brave enough to reach in the cage and try to steal cat kibble! But they also like to sit up in the trees around Eddies cage and torment him! A couple times, Eddie has gotten a hold of one, with raccoon fur around as evidence.

North Twin Lake

2011-05-23T21:06:00.001-07:00

North Twin Lake is one of many lakes that are less than 1/2 hour away from our house. This particular lake is fun for me because it has a little shop and cafe, not to mention flushing toilets, hahaha!

This is, what Eric described as, "a little nugget". Chris caught 2 little catfish and that was it.

However, this osprey was in the tree right next to us, just waiting in case Chris DID get a fish. He was poised and ready to swoop down and steal it!

There were lots of pretty birds around to take pictures of.

If you enlarge this picture, you can see this little birds white eye. Kind of creepy!

A couple hours later...

2011-05-22T13:07:00.000-07:00

All dug and ready for concrete.

Nice and level. Chris learned how to use a new tool, now he wants his own level tool thingy.

Carly says "Does this mean I CAN dig holes now, too??"

Richard from his supervisory position... His truck! He just had his second knee replacement about a month ago. He can yell at Chris just fine from here, and if needed honk the horn! Lol! He said it's good to be yelling at Chris again :) Richard taught Chris everything he knows about building right out of high school. Richard has saved our family many a time and it is so weird that we move to Oregon and found out he lives here, too. So, here he is helping us out, yet again. Richard has been a constant in our lives and is more family than friend :)

Let the Garage Building Begin!

2011-05-22T11:37:00.001-07:00

Chris is building a garage on the back of our property. Our property is a long lot that has a road on both ends. So the garage will open to the road on the back of the property. It will be 30' x 36' and will have a room upstairs that is 12' x 36' for Chris to have a pool table and game area. Spoiled man! Today they are digging the dirt for the footers. Richard, our dear friend, will be supervising the project to make sure Chris does it right :)

A couple weeks ago Sean, the excavator (aka "Tractor Guy") cleared the trees and Chris made the area level with some kind of contraption that my dad had that drags behind the quad. The amazing thing is that it did a good job and it is really level.

Eddy is really NOT pleased with the whole tractor situation. The loud noise scares him, so he stays in his den and watches, apprehensively. Proof positive, that bobcats are more afraid of you than you are of them. Poor kitty!

Jeanette & Dennis

2011-05-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

Jeanette and Dennis, our "adoptive" family came up for a visit. This photo is taken in the Lava Cast Forest 9 miles from our house.

We said "Hey Dennis! Go out in the snow so we can take a picture of you wearing shorts in the snow." Well, little did we know how deep the snow was!

Needless to say, I think the warm car was a good thing for him after this!

My "Peacock Feather" European-style slider bead was featured in an Artfire Collection

2011-05-13T22:55:00.000-07:00

Peacock of the Walk

Curated By: summertriangl...

ArtFire.com

Handmade Jewelry

"Challenge" bracelets

2011-05-01T22:26:00.000-07:00

I have been having fun making wooden decopauge focal beads and challenging myself to make the perfect lampwork beads to match. Above is my Sleeping Fairy bracelet for sale on my website at www.dragynsfyre.com
And this is my blue butterfly bracelet, also for sale on my website. They were both a lot of fun, I can't wait to make more!

Lizard Photo Shoot

2011-04-28T16:54:00.000-07:00

This is Axl, the newest member of our animal family (3 dogs, 3 cats, 1 bobcat, and now 1 lizard and an infinite number of woodland creatures that hang out on our property)
Today, Axl had a professional photo shoot in my photo box. Show me sexy lizard!

Jillian Rose Houser

2011-04-08T19:35:00.001-07:00

Jillian Rose Houser

May 16 2002 - January 26, 2011

I have to admit that I have been neglecting our blog on purpose because I just could not bring myself to post about Jill. Jillian passed away on January 26th this year, yes... in the same month as we lost our brother Todd (below). Jillian was a strong little girl, such a beautiful little ray of sunshine. She had so many struggles in her life, struggles that would make a grown adult throw in the towel. She was born with Cystic Fibrosis, then last year found out that she had Leukemia. We will miss her so much.

I also want to take a few minutes to thank people that were there for us in our time of need. Jeanette and Dennis, our dearest friends, who let us stay in their mansion-on-wheels, picked Chris and Eric up at the airport on a moments notice, and played Uno Attack with us in the evenings to help take our mind off of things. Misti and Scott, who not only came to Todds funeral when we called Misti, but came to Jill's service when we just were too grief stricken to let her know. Chris and Andrea Minghelli - it was so great to see you, thank you for finding us at Todds fundraiser!

Thank you to everyone!

In loving memory of our brother Todd

2011-01-11T22:58:00.001-08:00

Our brother Todd passed away on New Years Day. He leaves behind a wonderful wife, Jen, and two adorable twin boys, Seth and Sam. Todd was 32 years young and had a whole life ahead of him. Our heart hurts from his absence and there won't be a day that goes by that we won't think of him. We love you Todd.

Todd Houser

September 27, 1978 - January 1, 2011

If you would like to leave any photos or memories you may have of Todd, here is a link to a website where things may be posted for his family:

http://www.hompalmdale.com/obituaries/tribute.html?url=http://stei-23715.tributes.com/show/Todd-Houser-90466621

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T16:07:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday to Chris

2010-11-23T00:44:00.001-08:00

From Drop Box

Well, we got about a foot of snow today and it's Chris's birthday. He got off work about 9:00pm and there was a head on collision between 2 semi-trucks on the highway and it's almost 1:00am and he's still not home yet. But, since the last thing he wants to do is plow the driveway at 1:00am and I secretly like plowing the driveway with the quad (it really is fun!), I plowed the driveway for his birthday.

The Boys

2010-11-20T02:43:00.000-08:00

In the few years we've lived here, we see lots of Does, but very rarely to we see any bucks (except baby "button" bucks).

But this guy has been hanging around for a few days now. He has 2 does and 2 fawns with him.

And then, this little guy showed up the next day when it snowed.

My Rain Forest beads were chosen in a collection.

2010-10-31T18:53:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Rainforest!

Curated By: designsbysandy

ArtFire.com

Craft Supplies

More horrible crime in Bend...

2010-10-07T21:43:00.000-07:00

http://www.ktvz.com/news/25321650/detail.html

My work was chosen...

2010-09-29T12:09:00.000-07:00

Shades of Gray

Curated By: JustATish

ArtFire.com

Fine Art Photography

The pen I made using my lampwork beads was chosen to be in this awesome collection on ArtFire. Check it out!

New Discovery Channel Show called "Housers -vs- Wild"

2010-09-11T12:43:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night, coming home from work, I saw a deer down the road from our house. I was looking at the deer on the left, making sure she wasn't going to run in front of me, and never saw the deer on the right that ran out! Luckily, I was only going 30-35 miles an hour, but it did this much damage to the escape! I got out and could not find the deer, so it must have lived.
So last night, nature strikes back! A black bear decided that it wanted our trash, and tore the whole wall out to get to it! According to the neighbor, who saw the bear, he got into 3 trash sheds last night. Generally, we don't have bears, or so we thought! The neighbor called fish and game, so they will come out and catch it and "re-locate" it back in the woods.

New window for Mikey...

2010-09-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

When we built the Bobcat enclosure in the carport, Mikey lost the use of the only window in his bedroom. This summer has been miserable with no fresh air, so Chris put a window in so that he can have some light and fresh air. And being that the boy is in his room 24/7 playing video games, he needs all the fresh air and sunshine he can get!

Family Pets -vs- Bambi

2010-08-31T22:19:00.000-07:00

Cookie and Shibby confront the mama deer in our front yard. Brave little animals!

Mini Get-away...

2010-08-24T22:24:00.001-07:00

This past weekend, Chris and I managed to get away for a mini get-away to Washington. It was technically a business trip... I went to the Frantz Art Glass Bash and got to see some awesome demonstrations from Kimberly Affleck and Corina Tettinger. I bought some new glass tools and a really cute dragon bead from a fantastic artist. We also went to Bullseye Glass factory and bought some glass that we plan to use to make fused glass tiles for our kitchen back splash. Chris got to check out Cabela's Sporting Goods - which was enormous and we actually spent 2 1/2 hours in there! It was crazy!

I have become dependent on the camera in my phone lately because it is so handy and takes great pictures (go Droid!) but it was taking fuzzy pictures for some reason. I took this picture when we went to dinner in the Port of Olympia and I was angry at the camera, but when I downloaded this picture it really turned out pretty. It wasn't foggy at all, the sun was setting and it was kind of bright, but I love how this "mistake" turned out.

Lava Lake

2010-08-08T18:35:00.001-07:00

This is Lava Lake. It is about 24 miles from our house.

We went up for a couple hours and Chris (and Carly!) fished from the bank of the lake. Unfortunately, he didn't catch anything.

But, there were fish in the lake because the Osprey was having luck diving into the water and coming up with a morsel.

Then he flew over us to brag to Chris about his catch.

Bedding down for the night...

2010-08-07T19:16:00.000-07:00

The Mama deer and her 2 babies chose our driveway to bed down for the night last night!

These aren't the best photos, but keep in mind they were taken from our living room window and we didn't want to scare them away... But aren't they sweet??

We fled California because of Gang Violence - It's finally come to Bend!

2010-07-21T20:27:00.000-07:00

Check out the link below for the terrorfying story! Time to move to Alaska!

Bend Magazine, Vacuum Salespeople Fight - News Story - KTVZ Bend

Past Due Posting!

2010-07-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

I've been so bad about posting things on the blog lately. I will try to do better.

What I have been meaning to post were pictures of Chris's family that came up from California for Meghan's graduation. Grandma, Pappa, Keith and Beaux came up to see her graduate and got to see a little of our beautiful Central Oregon.

Meghan and Michael were so happy to see Grandma & Pappa! And Michael was especially happy to have Keith in person to play video games with (instead of playing Xbox over the internet with him). Beaux is such a cute little boy, it definitely made me remember how active a little boy can be! It's been so long since Meghan & Michael were that age :(

Meghan is a High School Graduate!

2010-06-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

Getting her diploma! And she didn't even trip walking up with heels!

Isn't she pretty?

With the family :)

Pleeeeeeze! Can I sleep with you????

2010-01-29T23:16:00.000-08:00

Chris said "Um, honey... I think we have a problem..."

I blinked and January is nearly over!

2010-01-24T22:10:00.000-08:00

We have had a couple weeks of gorgeous weather - no snow since New Year's Eve. But today we finally got about 6 inches. Generally, we complain about the snow, but today it was beautiful.

This is the biggest set of beads that I've ever made. It is a custom order for a regular customer/friend who is doing a set of 6 bracelets for a wedding. These kept me busy for a few days.

This is the first successful "Pandora" style bead that I made with my silver-coring tool. I am now able to line the hole of the bead with sterling silver. These beads are pretty popular right now, and even the major jewelry store chains (Jared, Harry Ritchie's, etc...) are selling them.

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T15:31:00.001-08:00

Nothing like coming home from work on New Years Eve and getting stuck in your own drive way. I guess it's time to retire the Camry for the winter and break out the Explorer.

Poor Chris... He just want's to come in the house and get warm and have some New Year snack foods.

He tried to pull it with the quad, but in the end, the snow shovel saved the day.

Carly got a snow mustache trying to help Dad shovel out. It's a good thing she has brown spots or we might lose her in the snow.

Little Drummer Ninja

2009-12-25T14:20:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T13:59:00.001-08:00

Meghan got a Barnes and Noble Nook e-reader so she can now buy digital books. No more paper books, she has entered the future of reading. Unfortunately, she won't get it until January 11th so she only has the gift certificate to show for it - poor Meghan. But it will be worth the wait with as many books as she reads. She also got a bunch of other cool stuff and Neema got her several hoodie sweatshirts (her favorite) and other clothes. She also handpainted her a pair of Twilight Converse high-top tennis shoes that are really cool. Neema and Papa sure know how to make Christmas special!
This is Michaels main gift... A set of drums that can be played with his X-box or like a real drum set. Neema and Papa got him a cool stool for the drum set (not in this picture) and some nice clothes and a GameCrazy gift card.
Chris got spoiled as well... Mom and Larry bought him this really cool popcorn maker that looks like a movie theater popcorn maker. He was so excited as soon as he got home he had to make some popcorn at midnight! They also got him a nice nuts, bolts & washer set, and a Harbor Freight gift card. I got him a Blue Ray player and some movies, a new wallet and some books.
I got totally spoiled this year! Although the above gifts look more like something for Chris, they are actually jewelry making tools that I have been wanting for a long time. I will be able to make true silver lined Pandora style beads that you see at major jewelry stores. And, most importantly, Chris got me an Ipod Touch so I can listen to music and go on the internet wherever I can find access.

All in all, we had a great Christmas this year. Hope everyone who reads this were equally as blessed :)

Managing Slush

2009-12-19T14:41:00.000-08:00

Well, last week we had -24 degree frigid weather. This week it is 55 degrees and all the snow has melted and made our driveway a slush pit. So Chris had to get out and move the slush around so that when it gets cold again we don't have an ice-skating rink for a driveway.

Being that we don't have a garage, and we converted 1/2 of the carport into a bobcat habitat, Chris had to get creative to keep the quad dry until we build a garage next year. My parents gave us a chain-link dog run they weren't using and we made it into a make-shift quad garage.

Chris put Carly's jacket on and went in the house to get his gloves and came out to find that Carly was ready to go!

Nothing like a boy and his dog :)

And speaking of bobcat... We have completely finished the habitat. The last thing we had to do was build his den, which we did and it turned out nice.

Last Monday when it was -24 silly me thought that perhaps it was too cold out there for the bobcat. So at 6:30am I was out there getting him in his travel cage and bringing him in the house to lock him in the bathroom where it was nice and toasty. Later that day, when the kids got home from school, Mikey let the dogs out to go potty and Mr. Fuzzybutt Bobcat reached his paw under the door and grabbed LiLi, our little Shih Tzu, playfully. But playing with a bobcat isn't very smart for a little dog. We thought he broke his leg and he had some nasty gashes from his claws but I managed to doctor him up and he was walking just fine in a couple days.

Just about done...

2009-11-29T23:50:00.000-08:00

The big cat habitat is nearly done. We were able to put him in tonight, we just need to do some finishing touches on his "decor". But as you can see, he has much more room to play. We added his old cage on the outside, so he has a sunroom to play outside.

And this is a shot thru the chain link. We added one tree so far and we will add some more going in different angles so he can climb. Chris is going to build him a nicer "den" that will be high up off the ground.

This is him sharpening his claws on a tree log. He seems a lot smaller in the much bigger cage.

Timmmmmber!!!!!!!

2009-11-25T21:49:00.000-08:00

Well, after making several phone calls over a few months I had to send a certified letter to the electric company to get them to come out and cut down 2 trees that were dead on our property. I sent the certified letter on Friday letting them know that if the tree should fall on our house (or the neighbors) our homeowners insurance company will hold them responsible. So today, Wednesday (just 3 business days later), they were here bright and early to cut our trees down. The power of the written word is amazing.

And these are Mikey's homemade pumpkin muffins for Thanksgiving tomorrow.

Happy Fricken' Birthday to Me...

2009-11-22T13:30:00.001-08:00

Poor Chris... Today is his birthday and we woke up to 9 inches of snow, and it's still falling. So that meant he had to get up and go plow the driveway, shovel the back patio and snow blow our walkways to the workshops.

Here is our patio table.

Exactly 9 inches at about 11:00am.

Habitat for Felinity

2009-11-22T13:23:00.000-08:00

You have probably heard of the wonderful charity called "Habitat for Humanity", well this is kind of like that... We are building a house for a less fortunate cat :) Although he is going from an apartment to a mansion, he will actually be quite spoiled.

The whole family was involved today. Her is Mikey putting in heavy duty staples to fasten the caging down.

Meghan is digging a trench to bury the next wall.

This is the next wall being assembled that will go where Meghan dug the trench next to the boat. Notice the dusting of snow on the ground? It was a cold day but we were comfortable most of the day with just sweatshirts on. It didn't snow, that is leftover from a couple days ago.

Starting the new bobcat habitat, finally!

2009-11-15T20:57:00.000-08:00

As you can see, this is fuzzy-butts current home. A 6'x6' dog kennel. Clearly not what we want for him. He needs something bigger so that he can climb and get some exercise. So he will soon have the whole side of the carport - basically the whole area you see from ground to ceiling. We're going to place logs in there that he can climb on and his current 6x6 cage will be added out the front of the enclosure so he can go out and have some sunshine.

So today we started with the side wall.

We framed the wall out in a clearing - which unfortunately has a few inches of snow. We worked until about 6:00pm and it was dark out when we were done. But Chris got the whole side wall framed and is ready to mount to the side and hang caging on it.

In the mean time, we took the big-boy out of his cage so that the power tools didn't stress him out too much. So he got to have a change of scenery for a few hours today.

Long time, no blog...

2009-11-11T20:43:00.000-08:00

It's been about a month since I posted last. I think we have just been kind of crazy with time change and getting ready for winter. Getting ready for winter is something we never had to do in California. Getting ready for winter means making sure that everything that you don't want buried in snow for 5 months gets put in a safe place.

Chris has made a little bit of progress on the Bronco. He bought a used set of rims off of Craigslist and actually found a nice set of "manly" tires at our thrift shop (of all places!). So now the Bronco looks like it runs :)

And, good news for me :) When Chris was getting our storage shed ready for winter, he found a box I've been looking for that has my antique book collection. They fit perfectly in my studio on the cupboards over my torch.

Autumn Colors are here.

2009-10-22T21:36:00.000-07:00

This is a view down our driveway. All our Aspens are a pretty yellow. Also, it looks as if we have a ghost haunting our driveway?

Our Aspens in the middle of our circular driveway.

This is some kind of Maple that is in our back yard. It's a vibrant red and orange.

This is some kind of exotic pine tree. In the Fall, the needles turn bright yellow and completely fall off. In the Spring, it gets really soft light green needles that look and feel like grass. My dad thought it was dead the first year we lived here and told us to cut it down. I'm sure glad I didn't!

High-tech Dodger game watching

2009-10-16T10:58:00.001-07:00

Chris and Eric were able to watch the Dodger game last night together even though they were 800 miles apart. They linked up with Skype with our computer's video camera's and were able to yell and scream together. The girls were able to sing and perform Uncle Chris songs and it was just like they were in our living room with us. I guess, you'd have to say this is a picture of Eric sitting on Chris's lap - ha!ha! Amazing!

I think the deer are getting spoiled...

2009-09-16T21:28:00.000-07:00

This is the deer we have named Sascha. She is the one that comes running when she hears food. One morning she actually blocked the driveway and wouldn't move for the car. She just stood there and looked at me as if to say "your not leaving until you fill my dish!".

She's ALIVE!!!

2009-09-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

Make sure you're volume is on to fully appreciate this video :)

After much work Chris has been able to determine that the motor that came in the Bronco runs. And she sound great.

My pretty cabinet doors!

2009-09-02T22:07:00.000-07:00

I decided my cupboard doors above my torch were too plain, so my mom painted a beautiful winter tree scene with the Northern Lights in the back ground - aren't they gorgeous?

So now I have just a few little touches to do to my studio and it will be perfect. I am getting a new oxygen concentrator next week, as mine is gasping on it's last breath (literally!).

Meghan as Bella??

2009-08-21T17:10:00.001-07:00

I think she'd definitely do it, but who would she choose? Edward or Jacob? Only Meghan knows and I'm sure she's not going to tell us!

I got new flooring!

2009-08-08T22:44:00.000-07:00

Not exactly our "plan" for the weekend (especially for poor Chris). But I got a good deal on it and I was getting tired of looking at my plywood floor.

So, we had to move almost all my stuff into the backyard.

This is my ugly old floor - yuck!

This is it when it was almost done. We managed to get it done in 4 hours - not bad. Now we have to run to town tomorrow to get the molding and I can start putting everything back together. Except I'm going to stain my work-bench, I have been planning on doing it and I might as well as long as everything is all torn apart.

Stormy Weather Canoeing!

2009-08-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

I like to take the canoe out in the early evening because all the animals seem to be out at that time and there usually isn't anyone else on the river. We've seen deer, owls, blue heron, otters, beavers, pine martens, osprey, hawks and more. Last night we took the canoe out at about 6:30 and we saw about 6 baby deer up at different places. But, about an hour into the 2 hour paddle it started to thunder and lightening. So, we paddled rather quickly and made it an hour and a half paddle!

You can see the stormy sky. By the time we got the canoe out the winds were making waves in the river and the sky was dark and it was rumbling with thunder. We got out just in time!

Towel Warmer??

2009-08-01T00:29:00.000-07:00

Went to get a clean towel out of the dryer this morning... It was nice and warm, but not from the dryer heat! Crazy cat. Luckily I didn't just shut the door and turn it on to fluff them up!

Here deer deer deer!

2009-07-30T20:43:00.001-07:00

Tonight, we noticed a deer across the street. Remembering that there was no food in the feeder I rushed out front to fill up the bowl. The deer was standing across the street looking at me down the driveway. When she saw me coming with the food bowl, she actually came running to me as if I just yelled "Here deer deer deer!". She got as close as 2 feet from me as I was putting the bowl down. Then Shibby (our little orange tabby cat) decided she wanted to get a closer look at the deer. She has been known to actually chase deer out of our driveway - crazy cat!

The Quest is ON for the Bigger Fish!

2009-07-22T18:39:00.001-07:00

Chris can't let his little brother catch a bigger fish :) He caught this beauty this morning at the same spot that Eric caught his beast a couple weeks ago (see post below).

This big guy is 24 inches long and weighed in at 6 pounds. In the event that this is the biggest fish Chris ever catches, he wants to get it mounted by a taxidermist. Plus, it will look good with our cabin decor in our living room.

Camry is like new again!

2009-07-19T20:27:00.001-07:00

Well, the poor Camry has been sitting for 2 years. We have been battling to get a copy of the title with California DMV since we moved up here. We finally got it, and I got her registered to in Oregon. Other than a dead battery that quickly charged, she runs like she did the day we bought her in 1995. So, you can imagine how bad she looked after 2 hard winters and being covered in pine pitch and needles. Mikey's best friend's dad is a car detailer in Sunriver and he did an awesome job getting her looking brand new again. I was amazed at how clean he was able to get her and to even make her oxidized paint shine again. So, if you are in Sunriver and need a car detail go see Casey at Sunriver Auto Detailing in the Sunriver business park.

This ones a LITTLE BIT better :)

2009-07-07T12:19:00.001-07:00

Eric caught a 27 inch 10 pound German Brown. There were Forest Service workers collecting river samples at the river and said that they estimate this fish has lived in the river for 7-8 years.

And here's Chris's little fishy :)

Here's a size comparison :)

The fish could eat a Shih Tzu! Poor Belle!

Eric's Big Deschutes Fishing Experience

2009-07-04T18:45:00.001-07:00

3 hours of fishing, and this is dinner :)

Goin' Fishin'...

2009-07-01T13:40:00.001-07:00

Portland Road Trip

2009-06-21T20:43:00.000-07:00

Chris had to work in Portland this weekend. On the way home we stopped at Timothy Lake along the way home and I got some great flower shots.

Rainy day picnic

2009-06-13T22:22:00.001-07:00

It was rainy and gloomy today but we were determined to enjoy it anyway. We drove up to Lake Paulina, about 30 miles south-east of our house and was able to have a picnic at this gorgeous camp site. It was only sprinkling so it was really kind of nice.

The fish were biting, Chris was catching them 2 at a time! Too bad they were too small :( So they got released.

Even I managed to catch a mini-fish. This was at East Lake which is right next to Lake Paulina. So another fishy got to live another day.

Tonight's Michael's Night! 8th Grade Graduation 2009

2009-06-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

Here's Mr. GQ himself. Isn't he handsome :)

Here he is on the Catwalk with his Graduation Certificate watching his feet so he doesn't trip :)

Here's the 3 Musketeers - Michael, Casey and Christian. Michael has really good friends, really great boys.

And... Heres the BIG SURPRISE! Stephanie. Our little Michael has a date for the graduation dance. Aren't they adorable???

Tonight's the Night! Prom 2009

2009-05-30T18:07:00.000-07:00

And what a stressful day it was! The salon that was supposed to cut her hair at 2:00pm told me they didn't have time to do it!! So, my mom (what a trooper) was able to pull off a cute hair cut with a pair of Friskar Fabric sizzors! Then she got a vibrant blonde coloring and she just looked stunning!

Isn't she gorgeous?????

Then Nick picked her up at 5:00 and they were off to the Prom after the exchanging of flowers :)

It looks like Meghan pinned the flower, but behind the scenes we had to do it :)

Aren't they cute? He seems like a very nice boy and I think they really like each other. He sure was stunned when he saw her. I don't think he knew what to say :)

Some days it pays to look up!

2009-05-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

I was walking out to my shop this morning and something made me look up at the side of the building and look what I saw!!

At first I thought it was a weird lizard because I didn't have my glasses on. So I went and got my glasses and my camera and came back and was surprised to see it was some kind of giant moth and even more surprised to see there were 2! So I looked them up on the internet and it appears they are ceanothus silkmoths. Every day I am just awed by the beautiful things I see in my own yard in Oregon :)

Opening Day of Fishing Season...

2009-05-23T21:10:00.000-07:00

Chris caught this nice 18 inch, 2 pound German Brown at the boat launch down the road from our house. Pretty good for first day :)

This is how Carly assists in her fishing duties. Nothing like a boy and his dog!

Here's the poor fishy before he becomes dinner.

Exciting Day for Chris and Meghan...

2009-05-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

Chris got to bring home his new baby - a 1967 Ford Bronco.

Looks like he's going to be a busy boy...

And here's our little Meghan holding a Prom dress!! Yep, she got asked to Prom. Not only that, it's the Prom for a different high school. Chris is not to happy, but she's got to grow up someday I guess :(

What A Beautiful Weekend!

2009-04-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

This weekend was fantastic, in the low 80's the sun was shinning and the river water is returning enough to take the canoe out. Chris got home about 5:30 Sunday evening and it was still beautiful so we threw the canoe on the top of the truck and canoed from the boat launch by our house to the bridge in Sunriver. It was so nice :)
On Saturday, Mikey had a baseball game in Christmas Valley. He did quite well, but the team lost :( For two at-bats he got a single and walked. I got a great shot of his hit with the ball just coming off the end of the bat.

Wedding Pictures

2009-04-04T21:13:00.001-07:00

They wouldn't let us bring camera's in the chapel, so I stood outside the chapel while the photographer took his, I took a few of my own! Good thing my camera's got a good zoom :)

This is the "Thousand Mile" wedding cake. It got damaged in the fridge, but they fixed it up as good as new and it was incredible. Around the base of the cake an on each tier are hand dipped chocolate strawberries - Yummm. And for dinner before the wedding, the guys made an incredible prime rib dinner that was to die for. I have never had so much delicious food - not to mention all the fresh sea food. They did a great job :)

On the "right" coast...

2009-04-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

I am currently in South Carolina for my sister's wedding.

After growing up a California-girl it "felt" different being on the beach on the other side. First of all - no sunset!

This is the happy couple - my sister Cariese and her fiancee Casey.

This is the beach house they rented for their wedding stay at Folley Beach, South Carolina. The deck on the roof has amazing views and it's just steps away from the beach.

And for dinner... Crawdads. And yes, I ate some! The guys did a fantastic job with them and I was pleasantly surprised that I liked them, but I'll stick to lobsters :)

Chris's Man-Cave

2009-03-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

These are the really cool cabinets he found on clearance at Lowes for $28.00 each (originally $130.00 each!).

This is the new air compressor he got for his birthday. Luckily it's a good one, I just bought it because I liked the pretty blue!

Every Man-Cave needs a stereo, flat screen and dvd player - right? At least that's what Chris told me :) You can't see by the picture, but he has a complete Nerf foam floor. Underneath is our well pump, so if he needs to get at it, his floor is foamy puzzle pieces that he can just pull apart and put back together. It's soft on his knees and a good insulator.

All he needs to do is put door trim around the door, touch up the paint and he's about done.

Finally making Jewelry again

2009-01-31T01:47:00.000-08:00

Chris's Workshop - Get'er Done!

2009-01-25T23:12:00.000-08:00

Chris thinks this is the best part of his work shop... Where the TV is going.

This is the door in the floor to the well-pump.

These are the cool light fixtures he found at our Nature Center thrift shop. They are from a restaurant, and although you can't see in the picture... they are Dodger blue.

Maybe in a couple weeks he'll be done and can start hanging cabinets and get his tools all organized.

Something YOU may not see every day...

2009-01-18T16:41:00.001-08:00

But we do. Last year there was just one Eagle at the nest, but this year there are 2! This shot is taken on the 14th hole of the golf course right by the bridge where we get out of the river when we float.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T23:54:00.000-08:00

Wishing all our family and friends a really good New Year.

2008 was a pretty good year for us and 2009 is looking even better :)

Dreaming of a White Christmas...

2008-12-25T13:42:00.000-08:00

Not as fun as it sounds for poor Chris. On Christmas Eve we got about 6-8 inches of snow added to our foot-and-a-half we already had. So Chris spent Christmas morning plowing and snow-blowing ourselves and our elderly neighbors out of our driveways!

This is a cool shot of the lamp-post Chris put in the center of our driveway. I knew it was going to look really Chronicles of Narnia-like when it snowed. There is about a foot of snow on top of the lamp and I took this photo about Midnight on Christmas Eve.

Here's Mikey's trampoline as of Christmas Day. Check out the amount of snow and ice-cycles on our roof. And for a contrast, check out the picture below of Brenda, Meghan and the girls jumping on it this past summer.

As warm as it's gonna get for a while.

2008-12-15T17:04:00.000-08:00

I got up at 6:00am to take Meghan to the bus stop today because it was 0.5 degrees outside, but the bus never came. This was odd because the road, even though there was snow, was clear. So we came home and the phone was ringing and it was the School Bus Company letting us know that there would be a 2 hour delay for the buses coming, and that probably they wouldn't come at all, because the diesel fuel had frozen! This was odd, because there have been many days, and I'm sure many more to come where the temperature is well-below Zero. So, the kids didn't have school today - they were thrilled. 3.2 degrees was about as warm as it got today at about 3:00pm. It's supposed to get colder tomorrow. Brrrrrrr!

Still Snowing...

2008-12-14T14:29:00.001-08:00

The making of the Houser Family Christmas Picture - Out-take

Here's Chris trying out the new snow blower. Sure it's fun the first time, but ask him how fun it is in another month or two!

The First REAL Snow of the Year

2008-12-13T21:17:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we got about 4 inches of snow and it is supposed to keep snowing until Monday. Michael and Carly had fun in it today. You would think a Boxer wouldn't like the snow, but Carly thinks its a blast. She loves it when Michael throws snow at her.

Camp Run-A-Muck

2008-12-01T00:03:00.001-08:00

Chris and I went and walked around Sunriver Village this weekend and bought this sign for our entry way... Isn't it adorable?

My Studio / Work Area

2008-11-13T00:59:00.000-08:00

Chris just hung these handy spice racks behind my torch to hold all my glass frits.

Also, he put magnetic strips on my work bench to hold my glass shards and my tools. It has made my space more "user-friendly".

You can also see to the left of my torch area the cool shelving unit I built to store my beads. It's not full (yet!) but each slot holds a standard size jewelry display tray. To the right of my torch, you can see (kinda) the glass storage that I built to go over my oxygen concentrator.

Honey... Could you tell the Bobcat to get off the kitchen table?!?!

2008-11-12T00:12:00.001-08:00

Well, it's not like telling the housecat to get off the table, that's for sure. When Edward decides he wants to nap on the table... We let him!

Kitchen Before Pictures...

2008-11-09T18:44:00.001-08:00

Kitchen After Pictures

2008-11-09T18:39:00.000-08:00

Camping Trip

2008-06-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took the boat and camper and spent the weekend at Crane Prairie Resort. Silly me left the memory card out of the camera so I could only take a couple pictures. But I got a couple of good ones! Here are a couple of bird shots I took from the boat:

We thought this was a bald eagle, but he is a beautiful bird anyway... But later we saw this...

Our friend Shawn from California (who moved to Oregon as well) joined us on our camping trip. He and Chris did some fishing, but despite my demand for a fish dinner, they didn't catch anything.

Happy Fathers Day!

2008-06-15T20:34:00.003-07:00

On this fine Fathers Day we took the dad's out fishing on the new boat. We have had the boat now for 3 weeks and this was the first nice day we've had due to our freakishly weird weather. Here is "Captain Chris" driving us around Crane Prairie Reservoir, which is just 20 minutes from our house.

Here's Putt's. I don't know much about fishing, but I don't think he's watching his pole very too closely.

Here is a shot of the boat from the dock.

We had a picnic at the camp ground that is on the lake. We could actually pull the boat on shore right up to the camping spot and hop off and have a BBQ and then get back on the boat and continue fishing. Plus, to camp right on the lake here is only $12.00!

Edward

2008-06-14T22:59:00.001-07:00

This is the newest member of our family. Edward is a 4 year old bobcat who was needing a loving home. He was bottle fed and raised as an indoor cat for most of his life. He is just like a giant, lovable house cat. He loves to be petted and loved and is very playful. He weighs about 45 pounds and is the size of a medium sized dog. He eats a raw chicken leg-thigh piece a day and we give him little chicken drum-ettes and gizzards as snacks.

Edward came with his own little friend, Itty-Bitty (a grey tabby cat). The picture below shows Edward and Itty-Bitty jumping off the kennel at the same time. It's a cool shot because it shows how fast Edward is and it also shows how much bigger he is than the average house cat.

Michael's Opening Day of Baseball

2008-04-12T21:43:00.000-07:00

Today was opening day for Michael's 8th year of Little League. He is now in the Majors and playing for the Devil Rays. Today was opening ceremonies and the first game. Although they lost, Michael was 2 for 2 with a single and a ground rule double which would have been an in-park homerun. This picture is his first hit, a single. Way to go Michael!!!

A Cat's Life!

2008-03-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

What can be sooooo interesting to keep Shibby staring out the window for hours? Well, I have to admit that I, too, could watch the bird feeder for hours. Here are a few critters out there today:

I really need to get a bird book to identify all the pretty birds that come to visit our feeder. I think this is a sparrow?

And this is one of our bushy-tailed grey squirrels. We give them Peanuts and they are happy.And this is poor little Scrappy. He SHOULD look like the pretty grey squirrel above, but apparently the other animals hate him because he is totally beat up. He has no tail and he is covered with boo-boos. Chris wants to kill him to put him out of his misery, but I won't let him. Poor little squirrel.

Try Looking Up

2008-03-23T23:05:00.001-07:00

You'd be amazed and some of the really interesting things you can see when you just look up...

Enjoying the family on a beautiful day...

2008-03-09T21:13:00.001-07:00

We were able to get out and enjoy the sunshine today. There is an archery shoot next weekend that we plan on going to, and since we haven't shot our bows in about 5 years, we figured we'd better get out and practice so we don't look foolish out there. Here is Meghan and Michael looking like they've not forgotten a thing. The nice thing about having a big driveway is that we have plenty of room to shoot. And here is Carly, enjoying the sun while taking a dog nap.

Yet another reason why we moved to Bend...

2008-03-07T14:10:00.000-08:00

THE BALD EAGLE

We have seen him perched on top of this tree by the nest for a month now. This tree is located on the golf course that we drive by every single day on the way to and from work. We have tried to get his picture and we either don't have the camera with us, or when we have the camera he is not there. Finally, this morning at 6:30am Chris called me from the cell phone to tell me he was there! So, I put on my snow boots, grabbed the camera and headed down. I had to jump the fence of the golf course, that was clearly posted "NO TRESPASSING" and I got as close to the tree as I could without scaring him away and this is one of the shot's I got. If you have ever been to our house, this is taken right next to the boat launch on the river by the bridge on the way to our house (Spring River Road).

Skies of Blue...

2008-02-03T17:52:00.001-08:00

Today, for a short while we had a glorious blue sky... Isn't it pretty?Now we have to try to get some of this snow off our roof before the roof caves in on us! So, guess who is the best man for the job? Mikey. Here he is on our front porch shoveling away. After he was done, he "fell" off the roof in a giant pile of snow. It was so much fun, he did it three times.

Goliath!

2008-02-02T22:58:00.000-08:00

This is the Goliath Icicle that was hanging in front of our living room window. Tonight we noticed that it was leaking into our window so Chris went out to slay Goliath.

Here is Chris "riding" Goliath (but I think we all know he's having some wishful thinking!).This is how big around Goliath was at about the middle.And this is what happened when we put the flashlight at the top of Goliath.

More snow pictures!

2008-02-02T21:07:00.000-08:00

Chris got home from training and he has officially taken over my duties as primary snow remover - thank goodness! Today we have gotten atleast 8 inches of snow, added to the 3 feet we already have on the ground.This is the poor Camry. It hasn't been driven since it started snowing. Hope we don't need to get into it in an emergency!

Ice Curtain and Studio Pictures

2008-01-30T22:16:00.000-08:00

We have many icicles around our house, but today this is what appeared outside our back door. The Ice has formed on our outdoor party lights (that we should have taken down before winter hit!). It looks like an Ice Curtain, pretty cool, aye?And here are some better pictures of the inside of my new studio. Chris and my mom went together for my birthday to buy me a really awesome new digital camera. My old one was really on it's last legs. So I went from 4 megapixels to 8 megapixels.

This is my work area. It's a mess right now because it's not nearly complete yet. We just got it done enough for me to start working again. I am going to add more wall cabinets and also I am going to add pegboard with special loops to hold my glass on the wall to the left of my torch area. And when Chris get's home from training he is going to move my propane outside for the torch. It's a dangerous "No No" having it inside like this, but I couldn't wait to start making beads.This is a shot of the pretty aspen scenery picture that my mom painted for me. It matches my walls beautifully. And the curtain on my window I made about 10 years ago. I just love the fabric so much that I have kept the curtain that long!

This is my propane space heater and my other window that is very dirty. I really need to put some kind of window treatment up soon because at night it gives me the creeps because it's like a giant black hole in my wall. We have the propane run outside for the heater, as we will with the torch propane. In the spring, we will have a large permanent propane tank installed. Then I won't have to lug propane cylinders to the gas station anymore - they will come and fill me up.

More friggen snow!

2008-01-29T21:46:00.000-08:00

I am really getting tired of blogging about snow... I just wish it would go away now - it's not magical when I have to get on a quad and plow it away!! But, I took a cool picture of my house today with some awesome icicles. It kinda makes my house look like a Swiss Chalet. Keep in mind that the snow below the window is about 3 feet deep!

Have you ever actually SEEN a snowflake?

2008-01-24T17:15:00.001-08:00

I always thought to see a snowflake, like they are always shown in science books, you would have to look at one under a microscope. Well, today it is snowing a very strange light snow and when I got in my truck you could actually SEE each individual snowflake. They kind of looked like tiny little dandilion seeds that you blow on to make a wish. And when they stuck to my windshield, you could see each little arm and all the little branches. It's too bad I have such a crappy camera and couldn't capture it better :(

BRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!! Does not begin to describe the cold!

2008-01-23T23:02:00.001-08:00

Please note the - negative before the 14.6!! It was 14.6 degrees below zero when I took Meghan to the bus stop this morning. The truck just made groaning noises when I started it. Well, I think I have had about enough of winter and I am ready for spring.

Withdrawals got the best of me tonight...

2008-01-15T00:11:00.000-08:00

I finally got to make a few beads tonight. It has been about 2 months since I last made beads and I have been going nutts! Chris got my torch and ventilation hooked up this weekend for me. I finished painting it (deep wine on the walls and golden yellow for the ceiling - looks better than it sounds). So tonight, I grabbed a few rods of glass from the old trailer/studio and tried everything out and it worked like a charm! Sadly, my bead-making-skills aren't what they used to be and I will need a lot of practice! So, this week I will start bringing all my glass and tools in and I'll be back in business.

You've got... SNOW?!?!

2008-01-11T19:03:00.000-08:00

Yes, we have snow. Lots and lots of snow. Chris is away training for his new job and of course that is when Mother Nature decided to have a major winter storm. I got home from work on Tuesday to find that the Snow-Plow-Man had plowed a 5 foot wall of snow in front of the driveway! I couldn't get the truck in so I had to wade thru it. Then, when I tried to plow it, the Quad chose to die. So I gathered the kids up and we spent the night at Mom's house. The next day I was able to get the Quad running and plow the driveway so I could get in and out. Meanwhile, Chris is having fun at the beach!

New Year - Lots of Snow!

2008-01-01T18:39:00.000-08:00

Well, it is officially 2008. We are bringing in the new year with a major change for our family... Chris is going back to Staples. After leaving Staples, he realized rather quickly that the grass truly was NOT greener on the other side. He will finally have his own store. He will go back to working hours that allow him to actually enjoy his family and be able to live life a little bit. There will be significantly LESS manual labor - his knees and back were really beginning to become an issue for him. And as an added bonus (but wasn't his deciding factor to leave BB&B), more money.

My glass studio will be done by this weekend. Chris will be spraying the texture on the walls tomorrow night and I will be able to paint Thursday and Friday and can start moving in Saturday. Finally! I have been going through major glass withdrawals.

And here is what our weather has been like... This is Chris plowing (or is he playing, hard to tell!) the drive way. We currently have over a foot of snow on the ground.

And this is what happens when the ice melts a little bit... Icicles! How would you like to have this one fall on your head???