It sure has been a long time since I have posted here. I have been once again taking care of Mom who ended up in the hospital with psneumonia, then had to go into a nursing home for recuperation for over a month.  Since she lives an hour away from me, I spent alot of time at her apartment. So my red hatters had to do without me for quite a spell.

Now that she is back home in her apartment, I'm once again going to gather my gals together and do something fun!  We'll have a meet and greet lunch where we can plan a picnic time and date.

I only have about 4 really active members so it will be nice to see them again.

I have been so busy. First I had to take care of Mom's party, which turned out very nice.  Then shortly after her party she ended up in the hospital.  Her pancreas and heart were acting up.  After a week in the hospital, and me staying in her apartment, she was released.  Her energy was low but spirit was good. 

During all of this I had to scoot home and babysit my granddaughter during two weekends.  So I'm tired and need a break. 

Next up to plan for March Red Hat Event. 

A few of my members and I went off to see Marley and Me at a new mall theatre which they built in Renton.  The movie was really good and I recommend it for those of you who like to go see comedies. 

After the show we went over to have a light meal at Kidd Valley hamburger joint. I was able to use my purple perks, so I shared it with our driver who is one of my members. 

Today I was saddened to hear that the musical Hats has been postponed.  We were looking forward to seeing the musical in March.  Oh well, I'm sure that we can think of something else to do or celebrate.

Many areas of the Pacific Northwest were flooded caused by what we refer to as the Pineapple Express.  A direct hit of Washington State caused by the Jet Stream from the Pacific Ocean.  In addition to that we had so much snow in the Cascade Mountains that the run off couldn't be handled by our dams and rivers.  It was a mess to say the least.  Roads became impassable.  Our own interstate highway which links us with Oregon and Canada was closed for a few days.  All of our mountain passes were closed which linked us to Eastern, WA and beyond.  Thankfully, the dreadful closures only lasted about 4 days.  Schools, obviously were closed for most districts.  Thank goodness stores were open. 

As for me I weathered these storms pretty well, as I live on a hill.  We call a hill 500 feet high.   I had one and a half foot of snow and it stayed for a week and a half. Then came the rains so I mostly stayed home and enjoyed my leisure time. 

Now it's time to get out and meet my group and have some fun.

My goodness did it ever snow here.  We were literally snowed in.  We had 16in. of snow on our rooftop and it was worse in Eastern, WA.  Our dead end street was almost impassable to drive on.  Thank goodness they sanded the main highways.

Well unfortunately for my girls we didn't have our annual Christmas Party.  I was kind of under the weather, but now am thinking of planning next years events.

I hope all of my friends had a very wonderful Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 09.

Dancing Queen

Linda

Happy Thanksgiving:"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Mom, (Lady of Leisure) had surgery and came through it fine. She is in beginning stage of cancer so her survival rate is 90%,  Next up is to see oncologist, have a colonoscopy (Ugh) and more test.

She has really been through the mill but her attitude is hopeful and she is up and getting around once again.  It was amazing that they did the surgery and the next day she was sent home.  She is looking forward to going to our next event which is the Snoqualmie Casino.

I haven't posted in so long so I thought I'd catch up.  My Sisters and I have not been too active with our group lately.  We did get out to lunch in Sept. and added our first Pink Hatter to our group.

Our next event will be a Halloween party at Round Table Pizza in Issaquah.  I reserved the room and am presently trying to figure out a costume for myself.  I decided upon a game to play and hopefully will figure out one more.  We will have a prize for best costume. 

I was going to hold the party at my home but Renton decided to put sewers down my street and I live on a dead end street.  So I called all my gals and informed them of the change.

In November we will go to a casino that is opening soon.  I'm saving up for that one.

I still don't have the Christmas event down yet but I will soon.  In the meantime I must take care of Mom who has just been diagnosed with breast cancer and is getting a masectomy soon after the Halloween party.. 

Leavenworth, East of the Cascade Range, is a town well worth the trip.  It was hot, just a little bit too hot, for my comfort, but it was joyous.  The Cascades moutains provided a back drop to seeing The Sound of Music put on by local performers.  Those actors and actresses did just about everything.  They even changed the scenery during the performance.  We were greeted by Nuns who took us to our seats.  The Mother of the Nuns came and talked to us and said, "We Love Red Hatters" .  All the players put on a marvelous performance and the singing was outstanding, especially the girl who played Maria and Leasil.  So was the Mother Nun.

We didn't have much opportunity to shop in this Bavarian Village but we did get to indulge in stopping for lunch and dinner.  We traveled over two passes. The Snoqualmie and Blewett pass. 

Next up a picnic at Lake Sammamish State Park