I'm Dreaming of a...

White Christmas! Rick's first in fact! And only the sixth time in 67 years that it has snowed on Christmas day in the Portland Metro Area! Don't we feel special...

Yes, it was just like the ones I used to know. But the best part was, we didn't have to go anywhere, had a few friends travel to us, and filled our bellies with good food, good wine and good laughs!

Speaking of laughs - Rick, with his inexperience in the snow, became one with the snow. He had gone outside to turn on the Christmas lights and had to walk across our snowy front lawn. While he was gingerly traversing the downward slope of the yard (in flip flops no less!) his footing gave way and he ended up, as they say, a** over tea kettle! Luckily he was okay, other than his bruised ego as he exclaimed Merry Christmas to the neighbors watching across the street.

We've attached a slide show of some pictures of the day. Enjoy!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=18x6hh3p.3mht44z1&Uy=-k2zj0c&Ux=0

The Nutcracker?

This weekend Rick and I immersed ourselves in all that is Christmas tradition, got dressed up and headed out to the Nutcracker. After alleviating his concerns on the 'story' of the ballet, we settled in at the Keller auditorium in Portland and watched the spectacle with big eyes and a sore head (Rick, that was).

See, the evening before we had some friends over for some early Christmas cheer, and Rick decided he had to really make a go of it. Well, he paid dearly yesterday, but persevered and we rewarded ourselves with an amazing dinner at El Gaucho, a steakhouse downtown where Nike likes to take all their athletes they're trying to wine and dine.

Well, wined and dined we were - rounded out with the most amazing espresso martini I've yet to come across, and a Mississippi Mud Pie for the ages! Unfortunately, we were so stuffed and tired we ended up foregoing our planned party hopping and headed home.

Right now is like Rick's Friday night as he has both tomorrow AND Christmas day off, so it only makes sense that he'd be dancing around the room wearing a Santa hat with Ripken to the Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Extravaganza. Looks like that head might be sore again tomorrow!

I'm looking forward to a shortened day tomorrow (markets close at 10am PST) and a fun, quiet Christmas with my two favorite boys. We hope our Christmas cards have gotten to you in time for Christmas Eve. Until next time...

Ripken Goes to Work

This week was a bit of a switch, Amy came down with a wicked cold, and was home sick for 2 1/2 days. Now, this may not seem like that big of a deal, but she has never been out sick from work for more than 1 day ever before! So while she was home recuperating, Rick took Ripken to work for the day!

Ripken had been to Rick's work once before, but not for very long. Friday, he was there from lunch till end of the day. While Rick's coworkers were pleased that such a furry and cute visitor was around, Ripken was generally bored and wished he was somewhere else. To keep him occupied (and quiet) Rick hid treats under a blanket for Ripken to try to dig and find. It was fine until the UPS and FedEx guys came and rang the doorbell, setting Ripken off on a barking fit. Still, Rick's coworkers were not too bothered by the ordeal and asked if Ripken would be back.

Rick's attitude of having Ripken at work is more along the lines with his thoughts on trips to Las Vegas: fun for a quick visit, but it gets more and more annoying the longer it goes on.

The Saga of Sparky

Well, Sparky is up and shining. And what a journey he's had!

Here is a link to some pics to show our decorating and effort we've put into making Sparky's new home warm and welcoming!

Just click on the link below or listed under our 'Slideshow Links' to the right and you'll be able to see all of our latest photos!

kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=18x6hh3p.9gmircsx&Uy=-agisnu

Merry Christmas!

Hello to all.
The Devereux household was feeling very festive this weekend. Rick put up outside Christmas decorations while it was snowing (he has a new appreciation for the song "White Christmas") and then Amy and Rick took Ripken to a Christmas tree farm.
Amy wanted a "big" tree since the living room has a vaulted ceiling. After wondering around in the snow for about half an hour (Ripken started to shake, he was so cold!) a tree was finally deemed acceptable and felled.
At more than 10-feet tall, it is easily the biggest tree on the Chateau Devereux property.
The tree farm did not have a tree stand and the only available stand at the local hardware store accommodated trees up to 10-feet tall. Amy had hesitations regarding the tree stand, but Rick insisted a few inches wouldn't make that big of a deal.
Monday evening was spent cleaning up the excess needles in preparation for the big event Tuesday night -decorating the powerful pine.
Rick left for lunch Tuesday afternoon planning to grab leftovers at home.
When he got home, the tree had fallen over!
Water had splashed on the hardwood floors and needles were strewn wildly, but luckily nothing was severely damaged.
Amy immediately found a tree stand for a tree up to 12-feet tall, but there is still discussion if the tree (nicknamed 'Sparky') has lost too many needles or if too many branches were broken in the fall.
The fate of Sparky is unknown, but Chateau Devereux is starting to look a lot like Christmas!