Remodel

Close to two years ago I posted a picture of Rogers Bakery & Cafe, one of my favourite places to eat in the valley. Last spring a fire starting in their attic caused them to close due to fire damage. While the roof was repaired relatively quickly, the rest of the building needed some work, and unfortunately they ran into several complications, forcing them to keep their doors locked for seven months. Yesterday morning they opened their doors for the first time since April, and wow, what a difference! They took advantage of the need for fire repairs and completed a much-needed makeover. I am impressed and excited to eat lunch there today. (This picture was taken yesterday morning when I went for coffee and a bagel.) Oh Rogers, how I've missed you!

Update

Some of you may recall my post last spring of my daughter at eight months old. It's one of my favourite pictures to this day and hangs in large version on the wall in my living room. I also posted a picture of when she was only three days old, taken back at the beginning of August 2009. Here is an update shot...she's now walking everywhere, dressing like a big girl and growing slowly but surely. She can say a few words now, and understands almost infinitely more than she did even a month ago. This is her walking with her daddy to the car after church this past weekend.

Good Morning

I just love the view from my front window on days like this. The snow makes everything clean and quiet, and the sunlight on such a scene makes me warm inside. In America it is now officially the Christmas season, now that Thanksgiving is over (though all the stores and many homes put up decorations at the beginning of November). This scene is quite fitting for that time of year, as all of us in the northern hemisphere imagine white Christmases! (Sorry, Aussies...I just can't imagine a Christmas on the beach!)

Fire & Ice

This was taken through my kitchen window earlier this week. The sun was just peeking out over the Blue Mountains and was making the icicles look as though they were glowing.

Frosty Morning

Earlier this week it got down to about five degrees (F) at night. When we woke up there was not only frost like this on the kitchen window, but in our bedroom there was ice on the inside of the window. Our house is old and not well-insulated, and the windows are old and drafty. The frost did create a pretty scene through the window, though.

Snow, Snow and More Snow!

It snowed practically all day yesterday and we had several inches by the time dinner rolled around. (I'm not sure what the official count was.) I took this photo from my (warm!) car; the central building on the Walla Walla U. campus is the administration building and the campus seems to fan out from this central point. It was, indeed, still snowing when I took this picture yesterday morning.

Tangled

The first thing that catches my eye about this photo is of course the bright red berries in contrast with the dark branches and white snow. But the next thing I noticed was the incredible woven "pattern" of the branches of this beautiful bush. This was taken at Walla Walla U. yesterday morning.