Game Room Curtains

I've been wanting to make some window coverings for the windows in the game room for a while now. I had thought that when Carli came to visit we could work on them together. But alas, that was not to be. We were able to go to the fabric store and browse the fabrics though, and I did finally find something I liked. It was rather pricey though. Good thing I had a coupon for 40% off!

Once we got home I decided I wanted to make them wider. One panel would have covered but I like to have the folds all the way across when the curtains are closed. I think it looks a bit classier. Since I had bought the last of the fabric at Joann's I had to go on-line to order more.  Good thing there was a sale going on at the time I ordered. It was 60% off!!

And of course as I suspected, once I got the order the dye lots were just a little off. So I forged ahead anyway and put the ever so slightly darker panel on the outside.

I mentioned before that I am anything but a seamstress but I thought how hard can it be to basically sew straight lines. I did a little online research and realized I needed to match the patterns. Oh bother...

I tried to figure out what several web sites were describing (they all were saying the same thing) and finally I just said screw it and pinned the pattern together the best I could. It actually didn't turn out too bad. So the worst thing is everything isn't exactly square and straight. But you can hardly tell!

I didn't use a liner either. I didn't want to spend the extra money and I figured since the top is open the light is going to come through anyway, no matter what. 

Here's a closeup view of the seam of the two panels. Not a bad pattern matchup if I say so myself. You can kind of see the dye difference too.

Now I am thinking about the two side windows. Hubby thinks they should be shades rather than curtains because even pushed to the side the curtains may block some view and light. He's probably right. That means I'll probably have to call a professional. Unless I attempt Roman shades...

The Wickiup Place And Devils Lake

After our trip up the mountain on the chair lift we decided to go see how the teepees I built a couple years ago were doing.

They were still up.   

Maybe a few pieces fell down but for the most part it was still all there.

Then we went down the river to see how the other one was holding up.  

It was doing maybe a little better than the other one.

The scenery looking down the Deschutes River.

Can you see something inside?

Look closely!

This is the second teepee like structure.

Hubby near the second structure.

Looking up river.

A couple of cuties. 

We spent a little time enjoying the river and the putting a few more branches on each of the teepees. On the way home we stopped by Devils Lake to take a few pictures of the beautiful lake.

The lake isn't all that big but the water was crystal clear.

One day we'll have to spend a little more time exploring this lake.

Up The Mountain

Last Thursday after my morning mammogram appointment (I like to call it "getting my breast pressed") we loaded up the car and headed for Mount Bachelor to take the ski lift to the top and have lunch at the restaurant there.

Some things have changed since the last time we were there. There is now a frisbee golf course that you can play once you get to the top. As you play you make your way down the mountain. 

I didn't get a picture of it but there is also a dog sled ride. When we were there, two teams of dogs were waiting to pull a small SUV-like vehicle along the trail. Apparently one team takes the vehicle out (usually about 4-6 people are on board, including the musher) while the other team stays put and rests. It looked like it might be fun but I would want to know more about the price and length of the ride first.

If you look at the ski lifts here every third chair is a bike lift. There is (are? the grammar nazi is confused) quite a network of roads going down for bmx bikes. Is that what they're called? Anyway the bikes are set in the bike rack and the riders are in the chair behind. 

It's nice that they came up with a few ways to make extra money during the summer months.

Looking down at the parking lot.

Looking waaaaay down!

Heading up!

Once we got to the top we went to the restaurant and had lunch. I don't know if it was an off-day or what exactly the problem was, but it was less than stellar. The ice tea for the baby was bad and she requested a change out to orange juice (found out later the batch had been brewed with only one tea bag); my hot wings were so vinegary they were inedible; plus I had to remind them to bring the blue cheese dipping sauce that was supposed to come with it; the onion rings should have been taken out of the fryer a minute sooner (they were rather dark); the Kid's Menu mac 'n' cheese was more of an adult fare so that it was hardly eaten (kids want the stuff that comes out of the box with the fake orange cheese, not "gourmet" stuff for adults!); my margarita wasn't fantastic (it was made using "home made sweet and sour mix" and had to be on the rocks only--really??? No blender???). The only things half way decent were the burgers. We got there around 1:30 pm and it seemed they didn't have enough wait staff. Everything took just a little longer than it should have. After all that they still charged us for the tea, which I felt we should not have been charged for since it was their error (the waiter told us what had happened).

So how's that for a restaurant review?

After our mediocre lunch we headed out for a patch of snow and some photos.

Some flowers up there. If you look closely you might see the bee in the middle.

Beautiful view.

Look closely and you can see a plane in the middle of the picture. Very weird to be higher than the plane!

I took a bunch of shots of the girls sliding down the hill. I only included about half here. Scroll down the pictures fairly fast and its almost like a video.

The lodge at the top.

Posing on the rocks.

Time to head back down.

And here we are back at the parking lot. We were way up there!

After this we went to our "Wickiup Place" where I've built the little teepee like structures. I'll have that for the next blog.

Shooting Pool

A couple of nights during our vacation time we decided to make use of the game room and play a little pool.

Even the little one got in on the action, with a little help from Gwampa.

Watch out World. Pool Shark in the making!

Baby Chair & Momma Chair

I think a couple days ago I mentioned we were going to make some more Adirondack chairs while my daughter was here on vacation. 

I got the Ana White's plan and also found a plan by her for a child's Adirondack chair.

So we went to work and here are the results.

These are going home with them. 

A Day At The Reservoir

We went to the Prineville Reservoir for a little kayaking and picnicking yesterday. We launched from a little spot on the south side of the reservoir. In the winter the water is almost to the parking lot. Here you can see in the background how far the water has receded.

On the way. Carli was on the single ride-on-top and Bill, Siena, and I were in the double.

Here's our favorite little spot.

It's at the end of that inlet so we have a great view of this end of the reservoir.

On my backside is the reservoir, and in front of me is the pretty little meadow.

It has many of these pretty little yellow flowers.

And its carpeted with these very fragrant tiny white flowers.

These little guys were flitting all over.

Only one of these flying creatures was there.

Then it was time to start heading for home. The sheriff's boat was constantly cruising the lake to make sure all was good.

Some of the wildlife.

And finally we reached the end. I let the hubby and young person drag the kayaks up to the truck parking.

Okay, this is the third time I have attempted to post this particular entry. So this actually was from a few days ago!