Chronicles of the Willi

A panorama of the lake

Ahhh…. Our old friends know that we Willi LOVE canoeing! So, a couple of days before Joy and Katelyn flew home, we visited Lake Watauga!

Although it is an hour+ drive from Providence Glen, Lake Watauga is well worth it. View the pictures to see for yourselves!

It was so wonderful to be back in the canoe again, gliding faster and faster over a wide lake with each paddle stroke. There is nothing more exhilarating! It brought back memories of White Pond, of Wappinger Creek paddle races, of all-day canoe trips and island camping, of several-miles-long midnight paddle trips, and many more canoe adventures!

(And I am of the opinion that there are more such adventures ahead of us….)

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I leave you with a shot of something that Angie and I found by the Watauga Dam. What do you think it is? I think that it’s the abandoned set of a “B quality” sci-fi film….

- Walter

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Filed under: Photos on August 4th, 2008 | 16 Comments »

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalm 30:5b

I remembered this verse as I was snapping “art” pictures early this morning. The golden glow of sunrise made everything look splendid!

:-D. Enjoy seeing parts of our home in a new light. (pun intended!)

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Filed under: Uncategorized on August 2nd, 2008 | 8 Comments »

Ah - such a splendid nine days these last have been with Joy and Katelyn! As promised, posts and pictures are on the way for you all to see. But first, our weekend:

Last Thursday 7 of us packed a few suitcases, overnight bags and games into Homer, and were off to Virginia to visit Jason and the gang - Dad was to join us on the following day. We stayed for three nights, leaving in the afternoon on Sunday, and let me assure you that our weekend was filled with lots of activities, relaxation, games (of course!), conversation and sweet fellowship!

Angie and I had much to anticipate for Friday since our dear friend Emily was to sleepover that night and remain with us until the following afternoon (upon which she went with Jason and Karlyn to a wedding). We had an absolute blast! After a half viewing of the Princess Bride (no time for the rest!) and a few rounds of “Apples to Apples”, Nate joined the three of us downstairs before we went to bed, and there we played many games of Catch Phrase, laughed ourselves silly, and in the end were a very hyper group indeed! (but perhaps I should only speak for Nate and myself:-) Us girls talked late into the night before we finally went to sleep at about 2 A.M. It was great!

Karlyn and I share the same birthday, so we held a double celebration on Saturday evening - cakes, ice cream and all! It’s been many years since we’ve been together to enjoy our special day together, so it was lots of fun.

There were of course, a variety of many games going on during the weekend. At the request of our nieces and nephews we brought along with us “Settlers of Catan” and “Killer Bunnies,” and played rounds and hands of Hearts, Spades and O’heck. We love card games! (just in case you haven’t noticed yet)

On Sunday we all joined Jason and Karlyn at their church and enjoyed a lovely morning of worship and teaching, as well as catching up with friends we had made during our stay in Virginia. It was great to see them again! And after a lunch and many goodbyes and hugs, we traveled back home in time for dinner, and a warm bonfire that night. We had a simply splendid time!

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-Kasie

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Filed under: Photos, fun on July 31st, 2008 | 11 Comments »

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Filed under: Uncategorized on July 30th, 2008 | 31 Comments »

Wondering why our posts have slowed down a bit? That’s because our sister Joy and niece Katelyn are visiting us from Colorado!

More pictures and stories will follow soon….

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Filed under: Uncategorized on July 28th, 2008 | 6 Comments »

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Filed under: story of the land on July 26th, 2008 | 3 Comments »

We finally found a swimming hole!

Sure, it’s not the wide expanse of water that we’re used to at White Pond - but it is more than sufficient for a good, cool wetting. Although the water was deathly cold, it was fun to be swimming again! I dare say that’s the one feature of our old house that we really miss - the pool.

It’s really beautiful in the Cherokee National Forest, so enjoy the photos! This is definitely a place that we’ll be coming back too.

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Filed under: fun on July 21st, 2008 | 9 Comments »

Anyone want to join me? ‘Cause I’m going for it! (I know there are some buff young men out there…) Hit the link:

One Hundred Pushups

- Walter

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Filed under: Micro Blog on July 20th, 2008 | 3 Comments »

This is our all-time favorite recipe I made of granola that I thought I’d share with y’all.  We eat it for practically everything! snacks, breakfast, or something to hold you until dinner.

6 cups old fashioned oats

2 cups quick cooking oats

1 cup wheat bran

1 cup whole wheat pastry or all purpose flour

2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 cup earth balance or butter

1 Tbps. vanilla extract

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups water

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients together (oats, flour, bran, salt, cinnamon). Melt butter in a small saucepan and pour into a small bowl; mix in vanilla and sugar and add to dry ingredients. Pour water and stir well. Divide granola onto two baking pans, no grease (I use round pizza pans); use a spoon to flatten and even out the batter. Preheat the oven while the granola is inside at 350 degrees; bake for 32 minutes, turn oven off and let granola sit for 4 - 6 hours. (do not open oven door!) When ready, remove granola from oven and with a hard spatula (sometimes also a butter knife), break into pieces and store in a container. Enjoy as a breakfast cereal, snack, or whatever else you can think of!

I can’t tell you exactly how much this recipe makes, but it makes a pretty large batch, and in our family lasts about 3 days, depending on how many of us are in a mood to eat it for breakfast. If this if your first time making granola (and depending on the size of your family) you may want to “half” this recipe until you determine how much of it you need to make. Also if you like your granola sweet you may need to add more sugar (and a little more water).

*You can also make this an hour or so before going to bed; after the 32 minutes are up, let the granola sit in the oven all night and enjoy in the morning!

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Filed under: Odds and Ends on July 19th, 2008 | 3 Comments »

It’s so exciting to see the progress being made on our back porch/deck! We’ve been blessed with some gorgeous weather the last few days, so the contractors were able to get a lot done

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Filed under: Family News on July 15th, 2008 | 16 Comments »