Our Times News Archive

2024


 
December 01/08/2025
By Cheryl and John Schmit

Christmas Decorating
Decorating for Christmas is a month-long labor of love. While putting up the tree and the main decorations takes just a day, adorning the outside of the house and the music room takes a bit more time. We also delight in discovering and adding extra festive touches here and there, making our home truly merry and bright.

Door Cam
Yet again, Cheryl has uncovered some door cam snapshots that capture us in action-no poses here, just candid moments of us coming and going.

Parachutist
It's not every day you see someone parachuting into your neighborhood. As Cheryl was nearing home, she spotted this unusual sight. We never found out where he landed.

Clouds
The Pacific Northwest's clouds continue to paint dramatic skies. Whether capturing the mountain or simply cruising down the road, the scenes are always captivating. Watching the sunset with overhead clouds and fog lingering in the valley is truly a sight to behold.

Bellevue Drone Images
On the fifth, while in Bellevue, I had the chance to take the drone up for a look. I was pleasantly surprised to capture the light rail in action, along with stunning views of Bellevue and Seattle against the backdrop of the Olympic Mountains. The drone flew high enough to reveal the Mountain to the south and the Three Sisters to the north. It was a truly enjoyable day with the drone.

Olympic Mountains
Cheryl made several attempts to capture the Olympic Mountains, and her successful shots reveal the rugged edges and snow-covered peaks. Take a look!

Moon & Sunset
The Moon never fails to captivate, and this winter, despite many cloudy days and nights, we had several opportunities to capture its beauty. Here are a few of our lucky shots.

Santa Visit
Santa made his yearly visit for the annual donations, bringing joy and excitement. It's always heartwarming to see the children's faces light up as the fire truck arrives, adorned with flashing lights and blaring festive Christmas music. We made our donation and were rewarded with a candy cane.

Garden d'Lights
It seems we've started a new tradition. For the third year in a row, we've visited the Bellevue Arboretum for the Christmas Garden d'Lights show. Despite the chill, with temperatures around 40 degrees, we spent about 45 minutes strolling through the grounds. By the time we got back to the car, we were thoroughly cold, but the dazzling displays made it all worth it.

Making Cookies
We had a blast making cookies this year. John got a bit camera-happy, and we ended up with more photos than cookies! Here are just a few of our favorite shots.

Cemetery Visit
We hadn't visited the cemetery in a while, so Cheryl suggested a short visit. We brought some flowers and spent some special time there.

Christmas
Having Allen over for Christmas dinner was a delight. He always shares fascinating stories about his job and his adventures in the mountains. This year, he even pitched in with preparing the food, making the evening even more special.

Fireworks
Cheryl thought she would get some pictures of the fireworks in the neighborhood. There were a few, but overall, it was much quieter this year.


 
November 12/09/2024
By Cheryl and John Schmit

Clouds
November continues the dramatic weather changes as we approach Winter. Cheryl was able to capture some of the more interesting clouds as the storms developed.

Door Cam
Cheryl pulled a few images from the cam again this month. These were pretty good but she included a surprise image.

Moon
Occasionally, there is a clear night. This one landed on the night of a full Moon. Both Cheryl and I had to take advantage of that. You can see the best of what we got posted. This full Moon is called the Beaver Moon. It is called that because this is the time of year when beavers begin to take shelter in their lodges for the winter. Another special feature of this Moon is that it is the last of four consecutive supermoons for the year. As a supermoon it appears larger and brighter than usual because it's a bit closer to Earth.

Power Outage
The power went off about 7:30 in the evening on Tuesday, November 19th. We had been watching TV so we moved to the bedroom, snuggled in with a computer between us and watched a movie. The power came back on at 9:30pm Thursday, November 21st. We were blessed with fully charged devices and Internet was available through cell service.

Grill Cooking
We needed to eat up food that was stored in the refrigerator, so out came the ham we were saving for Thanksgiving. We fired up the BBQ and heated some beans to go with the ham. We were not going hungry either.

Thanksgiving
We replaced the ham with a turkey and had that with roast lamb for Thanksgiving dinner. Allen joined us and we had a great time sharing stories.

Sunsets
Sunset is also a good time to catch dramatic clouds. The Sun will light the clouds from behind or even from below. Evening is best time to catch a colorful sky in the West.

Drone Images
I took the drone up a couple of times during the month to check on construction in the neighborhood. They are building 22 new homes. Almost all of them will be three stories. Some of the infrastucture for this area was put into place 70 years ago. The water tank has been here since 1954. At the time, there was a dirt road there, and it was in the middle of the woods. Got a few nice shots of the Mountain too.


 
October 11/04/2024
By Cheryl and John Schmit

House Chores
While we still have to do chores around the house, fall brings us new chores to tend to. This time, it was gutter cleaning. We were glad to use the same service as before. They did a good job. This time they applied a moss repellant to the roof also. A good job that needed done.

Orion Book
Andy Oppenheimer is a writer from Liverpool, the United Kingdom, has been a follower of John's on Twitter for many years. He has a fun style of presenting information about the sky, especially Orion. He is also an expert consultant in counter-terrorism, security, WMD, bombs and explosives. His latest book, "The Hunter's Story" is a fun read! Andy clarifies the myriad of stories we have heard about Orion. In an eye-opening expose' we find Orion participating in the challenges of life on Earth and not always winning. With all the elements of the best romance novel, you'll hang on to see what happens next. What a rascal he was. Now I can look up and truly understand.

Mt. Rainier
While driving home from Seattle, there are places where the Mountain can be seen if it is out. While the sky was grey and overcast, typical this time of year, the Mountain did present a fairly good outline. So, the pictures were taken. Enjoy!

Door Cam
We bring to you some images in real life as we come home from checking the mail. Here you can see some of the fall color in our front yard as the grey of fall engulfs the neighborhood. At least the grass looks green.

Sunset
The blustery weather of fall can bring awesome clouds to the area. These images were captured looking out the window on Monday, October 21st. The dark, gray, clouds were coming up from the southwest. A hole opened and let a bit of sunshine through. It showed an interesting perspective of the evening storm.

Night Sky
There's a comet out there. Astronomers have been taking lots of pictures of it for a couple of weeks now. John decided to give it a try and setup in our west facing window to get images of the night sky. While he was not successful in getting the comet, you can see these pictures of his attempt. At least there were stars in the images. The last picture shows what others have done. More to learn.

Fall Color
We would be remiss not to include some dedicated fall color images in the October news. Our neighborhood has plenty of colorful trees to bring a festive fall feel to the crisp air. Cheryl made sure to capture some of the best angles too. My favorite shows the early morning fog in the valley.

Panel Replacement
We have to give Kanon Electric a shout out here. They replaced our electric panel in the garage and did some outlet replacement in our kitchen. The two men worked as a team and completed the project in about five hours. The upgraded panel was well grounded and looks super clean. The electric department had to come out and shut off the electricity while they worked. It was a job well done and we appreciated Kanon's follow-up to make sure everything was just right.

Texas Trip Page 1 & Page 2
Our biggest activity of the month was a trip to Rockwall, Texas to visit Cheryl's dad who is 95. The first two days were spent traveling and visiting with Dad at his home in Rockwall. Daryl (Cheryl's brother) and his wife, Jan were already there. Vanna, Dad's wife, cooked up a delicious meal as we sat in the kitchen and visited. We were there for over three hours, just chatting and sharing stories.

On Day 3 we picked up Dad and Vanna and drove to Daryl's for lunch and more visiting. Daryl lives a little over an hour away in Mt. Vernon. He cooked up an awesome pork stew. After we ate, we posed for group pictures. Darryl gave a tour of his place and showed us his chickens and motorhome. We all had a wonderful time and visit.
On our last day in Texas, we stopped by Dad's before heading to the airport. He is looking good and is very active. We had a wonderful visit with him and Vanna.


 
September 10/02/2024
By Cheryl and John Schmit

We began September with the fantastic trip to California for the Wedding. But there was more to the month than that. We still had to collect pictures of our favorite subjects and include some special activities.

Clouds
Clouds can provide a constantly changing dramatic view. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are blest with very dramatic skies. You can see that here.

Moon
With both Cheryl and I now taking pictures of the Moon, we now have a lot more images to choose from. Here are a some of our best in September.

Birthday Party
This year's birthday party was held on the 13th. It was fun to have Allen with us to share the meal. The cake was delicious too!

Sunset
Our view to the west can be exciting. It is an awesome place to catch sunsets. These were taken on the 16th and are a great example of a Northwest sunset.

Chores
While we like to have plenty of fun times, there still are chores to do around the house. John does some and Cheryl does others. We thought we'd include the images to show it's not all play time here.

Mountain
Of course, the Mountain was out. Here are a couple of the mandatory pictures required when the Mountain is present.

Spokane Trip
At the end of September we took a quick trip to Spokane, Washington. We don't get over there as often as we'd like. We did spend some time with Lisa and Jason. It was good to see them. There was a dust storm on the way there that added a bit of drama. We stopped at the Colorado River viewpoint on the way back.


 
Wedding Trip 9/10/2024
By Cheryl and John Schmit

A fun five days were planned around the wedding of Braden and Tessa. The wedding was scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Creston, California. By arriving on Wednesday, we could plan on a few days to do the tourist thing. We stayed centrally located in Atascadero.

Morro Bay
Our first stop was a half hour drive to the coast at Morro Bay. The big dome rock was an impressive sight. We started our visit at Bayshore Bluffs Park. There were many canoes and small boats parked there. A short distance from the shore were many sailboats at moorings. After driving through Morro Bay State Park, we went through town and parked at the Morro Bay Rock. Along the way we passed the three 450-foot smokestacks for the seaside power plant. The powerplant is closed down and there are plans to remove the iconic stacks.

The Morro Rock is massive in size. It is 581 feet high and is one of 13 volcanic plugs in San Louis Obispo County. We walked around to the far side and found a garden of stacked rocks. Just a very peaceful place to be.

Dinner at Fran's
Thursday evening, we were invited to a family gathering at Fran's. She provided the place and family members cooked and contributed towards a fantastic meal that included marinated chicken and Bar-B-Qued roast beef. It was fun to get together and see family members, some we had not ever met before.

Hearst Castle
Friday, Cheryl got us tickets for a tour at Hearst Castle in San Simeon. William Randolph Hearst started to build this fabulous estate on his ranchland overlooking the village of San Simeon in 1919. He called the estate "La Cuesta Encantada" or Enchanted Hill. By 1947 the complex included 147 acres of buildings, gardens, fountains and pools. We were glad to share the experience with Daryl and Jan and Doug and Joni.

Dinner at the Park
Friday's Dinner at the Park was scheduled for after the wedding rehearsal. There we met Tessa and her family and friends. There was lots of good food and plenty of conversation. We had the chance to mingle and connect with so many.

The Wedding
Held in Creston, the wedding was outside and there were many who came dressed in classy cowboy wear. There were many attendees and and the wedding its self was beautiful. It was fun to take pictures at this awesome event.

Group Wedding Pictures
Just a few pictures here of the wedding party and the beautiful couple.


 
August 9/01/2024
By Cheryl and John Schmit

Shoe Shopping
Cheryl doesn't go shoe shopping very often, but it was time for new tennis shoes. She has been shopping at SAS shoes for a very long time and we had been to the store in Tacoma a couple of times. So, off we went. The store was well-organized, with rows of shoes neatly displayed, making it easy for her to browse. Cheryl tried on several pairs, looking for the perfect fit. She found several pair and decided to buy them.

Kanaskat-Palmer State Park
When it comes time to go to the park for a walk, we have our choice of fine paved pathways at Covington Park or the wooded trails in Kanaskat-Palmer State Park. This time we chose the state park. The Green River, which flows through the park, was down and the flow was slightly slower, so walks along the shore provided a different view. The rocks and trees along the shore were more exposed. There were even people swimming in the cold water. As always, we took lots of pictures.

Lightning
The weather forecasters had been predicting thunderstorms all day. They were watching them move north from the Portland area. Most of the day was sunny and clear, but by evening the clouds started to gather. Just at sunset the storms arrived. All of a sudden, we were in storms that were producing large amounts of lightning. Time to get the camera out and get some pictures. As the sky darkened, the flashes of lightning lit the clouds. It was best just to hold the camera up and hope your timing was right. After the storm we reviewed our pictures and found we did ok.

Tahoma National Cemetery
Cheryl had been out running errands and decided to go for a ride and take a different way home. As she came upon the National Cemetery, the very large trees turning color caught her eye. She pulled in and drove through the grounds capturing several good pictures of the trees. It's a little early for fall color, but it seems these trees are ready.

Super Blue Moon
A Supermoon occurs when the Moon is at its closest point to Earth (perigee). A Blue Moon occurs when there are two full Moons in a single calendar month or the 3rd of 4 full Moons in a season. We were ready with the cameras, but the clouds initially created some drama. After they parted, we were able to get some nice, clear shots. The next monthly Blue Moon will be May 31, 2026 and the next Super Blue Moon will occur on August 21, 2032.

Clouds & Rainbow
Throughout the month we had taken pictures for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, the clouds were the reason. Interesting weather and just gorgeous skies, prompted us to point the camera up and shoot. The drama of the fog and low clouds and even a rainbow after the storm, were plenty good reason. Sun rays from behind a cloud can be a beautiful sight.

Drone Stills
The neighborhood always looks a bit different from above and it's fun to take the drone up for a look see. You can see how new construction is going and just how we are nestled in the forest of the Pacific Northwest. It was a nice day to fly.

Seattle Trip
We went to the big city on the 30th. Seattle is a treat for taking pictures. The city has so much drama and character that every where you look, there is something to take a picture of. This time there was an effort made to catch the stadiums for the Seahawks fans and those that like the Mariners. Cheryl was looking for just the right shot going under the Seattle Convention Center. And of course, if you're outside and the weather is kinda clear, and the Mountain is out, you take a picture.

Stars
They said that the aurora would be visible on the 30th, so we went out after the Sun went down to see. We found the stars instead. Nothing can be more inspirational than looking at the stars. The incredible sight of thousands of stars filling the night sky can take your breath away. It's hard to imagine we can see so many stars right from our back yard. But the cameras that are in the newer phone can see so much more. We found out how to open the shutter for 30 seconds and along with a tripod, we got so much more than the eye could see. Here you can see some of the stars above our back yard, even the Big Dipper!


 
July 8/04/2024
By Cheryl and John Schmit

July is always a busy month. This year proved no different. While squeezing in doctor visits and regular chores, we did manage to have some highlights to share. Enjoy the pictures from these events.

Door Cam
Another fun month to go through the door cam pictures to see how things were. You never know what you will find. There is no posing for these images. Check out images collected from our door cam videos.

4th of July Celebration
This year's 4th of July was a culinary feast. Cheryl did a wonderful job making John's favorite foods. The day was not spent with John stuffing his face. The local fireworks began early and lasted well into the night. Cheryl managed to catch quite a few of them with her camera.

Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls
As if John needed another treat, Cheryl made Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls to enjoy on the fifth of July. She says they are very easy to make, and she likes them too. The batch sure didn't last long.

Moon
The Moon put on a good show during the month. Now that John figured out how to take pictures of it, he is having more fun. Cheryl continues to provide her share with very good orientation pictures. John is still zooming in too much!

Seattle Trip
On one of the doctor visits in Seattle, we got pictures of the downtown area. There is lots of construction and the place changes almost with the seasons. Cheryl got a great picture of Lake Union and the Fremont bridge from the third floor of the medical building. You never know when the perfect view will arise.

Mountains
The Pacific Northwest has the most beautiful mountains. The challenge is to get the best shot. Cheryl worked again with the Olympic Mountains. The houses do get in the images, but it is still a gorgeous silhouette against a setting sun. You have to grab the views of Mt. Rainier when it's "out". So many times the clouds will obscure the mountain. Here is a collection of images from the month.

Allen Visits
It was nice to see Allen stop by. We get to share the latest with him. John had some updates for his radio and Cheryl had a package that came for him. All seems well with him.

Lisa & Jason Visit
Lisa and Jason came to town to attend the 35th Annual NHRA Northwest Nationals drag racing at the Pacific Raceways. It was hot, it was sunny, and they had a great time. Jason shared a drink "smoker" with us. Unbelievable but it did change the flavor of the drinks. So glad they could stay with us for the weekend.

Park Flowers
We like to take walks around the neighborhood and check out what's new. They planted some nice flowers in the main park and it is great to stop and take a few pictures. Well, maybe a little more than a few.

272nd Fish Bridge
Construction has been going on for well over two years now and they are getting close to finishing the 272nd Fish Bridge in Covington. The widening of the road where it crosses Jenkins Creek was on hold for many years while the county negotiated with the Indian tribe that held the rights to the creek land. So, we call it the Fish Bridge. It will be nice to have the new four lane section.


 
Visiting Branson, MO 7/07/2024
By Rick Schmit

The weather forecast looked great. The 4th of July fell on a Thursday, my last scheduled day to work. That’s an extra day off as a holiday! Oh why not. It was time to take a break and just get away. I made reservations at the Thousand Hills Resort Hotel for Friday and Saturday. That seemed like enough time for just a little getaway to relax. After a nice 4 hour drive, I was on the 6th floor overlooking the Aquarium at the Boardwalk.
After settling into my room it was time to take a walk. The holiday weekend brought many to see the sights in Branson. Here are a few of the various attractions that caught the attention of many visitors. I did happen to walk past a steakhouse and the amazing aroma drew me inside. I couldn’t resist a fillet along with a delicious baked potato. Well fed, time to return to my room and yes, sleep! Saturday night I found a little place called Craig’s Crazy Treehouse. Wanting to try “something different” I tried 3 of the Curious Toucan creations. It was a tasty choice indeed! Beautiful weather and a nice quiet ride home on Sunday made for a very relaxing weekend escape.
Enjoy these pictures!


 
June 7/05/2024
By Cheryl and John Schmit

Doorbell Cam
It's always fun to take a look back and check on the everyday look. Here are a few of our favorite doorbell cam images. We cut them from the video images, so they aren't the best, but they are what we have.

Mud Mountain
Taking a few back roads out of Enumclaw, we ended up on Mud Mountain Road. It was quite a twisted and narrow road in the hills, just south of the town. We followed it as it went up the hill, but we could not see anything to orient where we were. Suddenly, we found ourselves at the gate to Mud Mountain Dam. There is an excellent area for kids to play and for events to be held there. It is a very nice place. We will go back there.

Snoqualmie Falls
It isn't often that we get to Snoqualmie Falls when the water is up and the Falls are full. Even though the peak of the water level had passed a few days before, we enjoyed a view that was more than we had seen in a while. The park was busy and the Falls are more popular than ever.

Carkeek Park Video Published
We took a day trip to Carkeek Park in North Seattle in May but had no time to process the video. It finally got published on June 10th. Views include entry, beach area and even a surprise train visit.

Enumclaw, Washington - Stills - Video
We took another day trip to Enumclaw to check out the town. The idea was to see the downtown, shopping areas and neighborhoods, and get some video. John also wanted drone video of the city. It sits at the foot of the Cascade Mountains, near Mt. Rainier. The Mountain was hidden behind the clouds when the video was taken.

Moon
The Moon is always an attractive target for both Cheryl and John. While Cheryl has more sophisticated cameras, it is still fun for John to get a pretty good view once in a while. With a little processing, Cheryl can really bring out details.

Vantage Trip - Stills - Video
We took a ride to the Columbia River at Vantage, Washington. John wanted to get video of the Wild Horse Monument there. He also wanted to get footage from the overlook on the other side of the river. Every time we go out to do drone videos, John learns new things. It's always a challenge to get interesting views. We also caught a view of Mt. Rainier on the way back.

Pinnacle Gym
Cheryl has been anxious to get back in the gym and get some exercise. She had to wait until she was well healed. Finally, she went in and is now regularly scheduled to work out. Being a rehabilitation facility, they are not as crowded as other gyms.

Clouds
Look up! You have to look up to see the clouds. We get plenty of them here in the Pacific Northwest, but that's the price we pay for the moderated weather patterns here. At times, you can really see some interesting clouds.

Mountain
If you can see the Mountain, you will take a picture. That's the rule. So, here are a few.

Plants
The garden is growing wonderfully. The colors in front of the house are brilliant. Cheryl has done an awesome job of creating a warm and welcome site in our front yard. The plants are doing very well.

Washington State Tour - Stills - Video
It was time to get away, just for a few days. We drove from the Seattle area across the mountains to Yakima and spent the night. Then across the Yakima Indian Reservation to Goldendale and checked out the Observatory there. Then, down to the Columbia Rive to Mary Hill to see the Memorial there. Then we went on to Vancouver and spent another night. The next day was the drive up Interstate 5 to home. What great fun it was to put together the still pictures and the video of the trip. John also prepared his Ham radio to check out repeaters along the way. While published repeater data is one thing, it's interesting to find what is really there. John verified 36 repeaters in the three days.


 
May 6/02/2024
By Cheryl and John Schmit

Gnome Walk
A while back we discovered that Maple Valley has set aside a hill in it's Legacy Park for people to donate Gnomes. We knew we wanted to come back and take a little more time to check out the displays. It seems that people found, not only interesting Gnomes, but creative ways and places to display them. It was fun to revisit the park and collect an abundance of pictures. Here are just a few.

Kanaskat - Palmer State Park
One of our favorite parks to visit is Kanaskat - Palmer State Park, about 10 miles east of us. We visit several times a year and it's fun to walk the trails. This time we explored a trail that led to a southern portion of the river where we had seen a sandy beach. We found the beach to be much smaller than we had seen before. This was due to much more water in the river from spring runoff in the mountains. We checked out the rapids on the North end of the park and found many of the rocks overflowing with water.

Aurora Night
It could only be classified as a "Once-in-a-lifetime" event. The Auroras have been known to come as far south as the Seattle area, but never so bright. Our adventure began as we headed to West Seattle and Alkai Beach where we thought we would see the Auroras over Seattle. Unfortunately, the city lights prevented that view. We stayed for a while after the sun set but ended the evening there quite disappointed.
When we got home Cheryl stepped out into the back yard and hollered for me to come. Overhead was a display like we had never seen here. I had seen the Northern lights over Lake Michigan, but this was just as amazing here. We ended up going back and forth in the back yard looking in several directions as the lights flickered and danced around the sky. The colors were changing from green to red over the houses in the neighborhood. What a fantastic display.

Carkeek Park
Carkeek Park was on my list for drone footage since we saw the park several years ago. It's located about 30 miles north of us. The park features a walkway over railroad tracks and down to a beach that has wonderful views of the Olympic Mountains. The weather was nice and Cheryl said "Let's go!" All I needed to hear. As we got closer to the park, I was taking video. The road was very winding and twisted and turned as it came closer to the beach.
After parking on the cliff above the beach, we walked across the bridge over the tracks and down to a quiet area of the beach to fly the drone. I flew around the area and got the pictures that I wanted from out over the water to above the railroad tracks. When I was finished, we were walking back when a train came northbound along the curving shoreline. Cheryl hollered out and I yelled back for her to take video as I was totally unprepared. She got the train. That made the day.
The Carkeek Park video is the next video project that will be worked on. In the meantime, check these pictures out.

Covington Park
It's Local. It's easy. So, what's not to like about our own city park. The trails in the woods are dirt, stone or paved. There's lots of equipment for the kids. This day, they appeared to be replacing the surface on the soccer fields. Parking near there was closed. A quick walk through the woods and we were happy to move on for the day. It was a nice lunch hour break!

Neighborhood & Drone Views
I took the drone up several times during the month. Once, I was trying to get that sunset look. That didn't really happen, but there were some nice pictures of the mountain and the surrounding area. Cheryl came with me to get some pictures of the construction area for phase 5. That will be a steep addition to our complex of 22 houses. Pictures of the pit indicate where the "lake" is going to be. Just looks like a run-off pond to us. They appear to be starting to fill it.

Door Cam Images
Cheryl likes to go into the security videos and capture stills from the door cam. It sure shows us as we were when getting the mail or at least coming and going. Real everyday stuff.

Memorial Day Flags
It has become an annual event for us to visit cemeteries that display a lot of flags for Memorial Day. This year there was a very long line of cars waiting to get into Tahoma National Cemetery, so we moved on to Greenwood Memorial Park in Renton. We spent some time there and John got out at the military area and took pictures. From there we moved on to Mountain View Cemetery in Auburn. They have a wonderful display of flags at their military section. It was good to get out and reflect upon the sacrifices that were made.

Cheryl's Radiation Treatment
After having surgery in late March, Cheryl was due to start radiation treatment in May. First, they did a CT scan and placed tattoo dots on the skin as 'landmarks' to be able to later position the radiation machine in the exact same place for each treatment. It took about a week for the Radiology department to do the programing. Then we had a 'dry run' to make sure the programing was correct. Then five days of radiation treatment commenced, every other day. The treatments seemed to go well and so far, no ill effects. The machines were interesting inside where Cheryl received her treatments and outside where the tech's ran the program and watched to make sure everything went as planned. They even issued a certificate at the end.


 
Memorial Service for Barbara Lawrence 5/29/2024
By Cheryl and John Schmit

The video of the service has been completed and is now posted. Please use this link to view.
A PDF transcript of the video is available here.


 
Michael Graduation 5/28/2024
By Heidi Cardona

Michael graduated from Fifth Grade. He achieved the Honor Roll and Pefect Attendance awards.


 
Rachel Graduation 5/23/2024
By Heidi Cardona

Rachel graduated from Second Grade. She achieved the Honor Roll and Perfect Attendance awards.


 
The Ballerina 5/10/2024
By Heidi Cardona

Rachel had her Ballerina recital. All went very well. She performed wonderfully.


 
April 5/07/2024
By Cheryl and John Schmit

Easter
We delayed our celebration of Easter until Tuesday, April 2. That was Allen's day off and we wanted him to join us for dinner. John has been learning to help Cheryl with the cooking. The dinner was great, and we got the Easter group picture too.

Eclipse
While we couldn't see the eclipse in the cloudy Pacific Northwest, we did watch it on the Internet. Both Cheryl and John had NASA's nationwide coverage on our screens. We snapped a few pictures to remember the event.

Moon and Jupiter
On the 10th of the month, Cheryl got some good images of the Moon and Jupiter, together. There were some clouds coming in, but she managed to get the shot. Jupiter was playing hide and seek in the clouds.

Saltwater Park
Cheryl was looking for a day when the tide would be very low. On the 12th it was, so off we went to Saltwater Park to take some pictures and enjoy the spring day. There were daffodils in bloom, and we walked way out from the shore. We took pictures of the scenery and Cheryl even took a picture of a crab. It was a wonderful day at the park.

John's Moon
John is excited to be able to take pictures of the Moon. On the 14th, 16th, and 17th, there were clear skies and John gave it another try. It seems the easiest way is point and shoot. He will have to try using a tripod next.

Mt. Rainier
We took pictures of the Mountain. Yes, we did it again! The Mountain was out and we have the proof. You don't want to miss any opportunity to get a picture of Mt. Rainier.

Family Gathering
Heidi was the first of many family members that came to attend the memorial service for Barbara Lawrence. After Doug and Joni arrived, we went to the train station to pick up Ron. The girls went to the store for food, drink and flowers as we prepared for the ceremony.

Memorial Service
The Memorial Service was officiated by Dr. Dan Lloyd. He did a great job and everyone was moved by his words. Lisa, Lexi and Jason joined us from Spokane. Allen was there also. Both Doug and Cheryl put the box of ashes in the niche. The service was about fifteen minutes. A video will be available soon.

Family Reunion
You can't get this group of relatives together without celebrating a family reunion. There was plenty of good food, a variety of drinks and an awesomely fun time together. It was hard to say goodbye as Lisa had to get back to Spokane.

Birthday and Goodbye
We celebrated Doug's birthday on the first. With Ron, Heidi and Allen joining in, we ate a lot of cake and had a good time. There was a very off tune singing of Happy Birthday, but no one seemed to notice. The party was the end of our get together. Allen had to go back to work and Ron boarded the train to Oregon at the Tukwila station. Heidi had to get one more picture of John playing the piano before flying back to Artie and the kids. Doug and Joni headed to Florida the next morning. It was wonderful to see them all.


 
Thank You! 4/10/2024
By Cheryl and John Schmit

A Special website THANK YOU to Wes Miller and Richard Schmit for adding webcams to their respective cam pages. Wes is providing a live view. Click on the link for the "Live Street View" near the bottom of the Niagara Falls Cams page. Richard's cam takes a picture every 5 minutes and posts to the top of the St. Louis Cams page. Thank you both for these contributions I know we will enjoy!


 
March 4/05/2024
By Cheryl and John Schmit

Snow
The weather has been wonderful for us this year. However, we haven't had much snow. So, when it did snow, Cheryl was right there to get the pictures. Enjoy these images. That's all we got!

Hail
A little later in the month we got some hail. Since it started to collect and turn things white, we had to get some pics of that. Almost like snow, haha!

272nd Construction
For quite some time we have been negotiating construction on 272nd street towards downtown Covington. The work is to widen the street and put in a new bridge over Jenkins Creek. Now it looks like they are getting close to paving. It will be very nice to have more lanes in the area.

Moon
It is kinda fun being able to take better Moon images. Yes, Cheryl still can get more detail. Glad to be able to post better images.

Sunset
You never know when a good sunset will occur. Cheryl keeps a close eye on the horizon for them. It's a special time to get an outline of the Olympic Mountains too.

Seattle Ride
Tending to Cheryl's health, we had to go into Seattle. It was a good time to get some pictures of the downtown area. On the way home is was clear enough to capture the Mountain too!

Planting Plastic
It has been a difficult time trying to keep the East side wall looking good outside the windows. Plants come and go, they need a lot of attention and it all still looks messy. This time, Chery found some nice planters and with John's encouragement, planted plastic plants, for that good look all year round. We will see how long that lasts.

Entrance Trees
The trees are in bloom. It was time to go get pictures. Our entrance way has some nice trees and we could walk over and take some good images. John even got the drone out for that too.

John's Radio Station
Back in January, John got a new handheld radio. The radio had lots of features and John began to work with them. In the following months he found new stations to work with and lots of new settings for all his radios. Now he needed a new base station. It's all complete now and by March 31 at 9pm he was connecting to the K7LED repeater for their evening net. He's good now!

Mt. Rainier
Ya know, ya just can't go too long without some pictures of the Mountain. Sometimes, when it's cold, it wears a cap.


 
Happy Easter from the Cardona's 03/31/2024
By Heidi Cardona

Happy Easter to everyone. Here are some Easter pictures!


 
Rachel Gets Yellow Belt 03/30/2024
By Heidi Cardona

Rachel earned her Yellow belt today!


 
Barbara Lawrence Passes 03/07/2024
By Cheryl and John Schmit

Cheryl's mother, Barbara Lawrence, passed away Wednesday, March 06, 2024. It has been a busy and emotional time as we tend to her end of life activities.
Please see her obituary here.


 
February 3/12/2024
By Cheryl and John Schmit

Clouds and Sunsets
While there were many days that presented awesome clouds and photographic sunsets, we had to make a choice as to what to present. Here you'll see some of the most dramatic. From the peaceful, easy sunsets to the glaring reds of the evening sky.

The Mountains
Our favorite targets are the mountains. This month you can clearly see the snow-capped peaks of the Olympic Mountains. Mt. Rainier was on display again with blustery winds across it's snow-covered jagged edges. The setting sun gave an even more detailed look.

Cedar River at Landsburg Bridge
Taking the drone out to shoot specific locations has been in the plans for some time. The Landsburg bridge area is located about three miles behind the shopping center where we do our weekly grocery shopping in Maple Valley. There is a dam there that generates a small amount of electricity and has a fish ladder attached. The Cedar River Trail goes past it as you climb higher into the Cascade foothills. Cheryl got some good pictures of the river close-up, while the drone was wonderful for some higher location shots.

Moose
Coming home from the store we passed our neighbor and saw something in his yard. We turned the car around and went back to find a moose grazing in his yard. While we could see what looked like a bicycle wheel and rope in his antlers, we found out later that sometimes moose "acquire" things in their antlers to look bigger. The fence doesn't go all around the property thus inviting animals into the yard.

Moon
With an almost full Moon rising into the sky, Cheryl was pushing John to 'get the shot' while she drove. In doing so, John fiddled around with his phone and found a way to really zoom in. This in turn led to John finally finding settings on his phone camera to get much better pictures. You can enjoy these Moon pictures by both of us as we wait for clear skies once again.

Snoqualmie Falls
We finally took a day trip up to Snoqualmie Falls. Cheryl was sure that springtime weather would have the river flowing well. Unfortunately, the river was down, and the flow was weak as there wasn't much snow melt this year. We took pictures anyway and managed to get to a different viewpoint than we had used before. We walked around the park and saw many changes since we were there last. Still, a pretty sight.

Snoqualmie River at Fall City
After the visit to the falls, we drove the back way home and passed through Fall City to fly the drone. The stop was quick. We both got out and took pictures.

Federal Way Drone view
After Barbara talked about the lake near Brookdale, John thought it might be a nice idea to get some location pictures with the drone. We put them on a tablet and shared it with her on our next visit.

Visiting Barbara
It is always interesting to visit with Barbara. The real trick is getting pictures of the visit and trying new angles. Lately, John has been using an action camera to get remote shots that include him in the picture. This month we took a number of pictures that included both Cheryl and John assisting Barbara. One thing for sure, if she knew the camera was on her, she smiled.

Snow
Just because, that's why we took these snow pictures. In a desperate attempt to photograph snow in this no-snow year. Yes, it got cold enough, but there was no snow. A little flurry here and there, but nothing added up. Maybe next year.


 
Michael's Braces 2/29/2024
By Heidi Cardona

Michael Get's Braces Michael got his braces on Thursday February 29. He'll have these on for a couple of months and then transition to the Invisalign trays. He picked blue and green for the Seahawks, woot woot!


 
January 2/05/2024
By Cheryl and John Schmit

Visiting Barbara - Lisa, Lexxi and Allen, Cheryl and John
Barbara returned home from the hospital on New Years Eve. Most of January was spent getting her settled in and set up with the new services provided by Hospice. It took some time to get the room organized and comfortable for her. It was wonderful that Lisa and Lexxi could visit with her and help her adjust to the new surroundings. It was even more special when Allen showed up with them. He even took a picture.

Christmas Decorations Down
With the weather turning colder and rain moving in, we decided to do chores at home. While it was still dry, we grabbed the ladder and got the outside lights down. The next day we took down the tree and other Christmas decorations while it rained and got colder outside. In a couple of days we were back to normal.

Snow
Sure enough, it got cold enough for us to get our first snow of the year. It wasn't much but it was there. This was the only snow so far this winter. When the weather cleared a couple of days later, Cheryl got some nice pictures of the Olympic Mountains to the West of us. The snow-capped peaks stood out very well.

Icy Conditions
While not cold enough to give us snow, freezing rain came down a couple of days after the snow. This caused some slipperiness on the streets. We decided it was best to just stay home. Sure enough, someone was driving too fast and slid off the road and knocked down a street tree across the street.

New Candles, Camera and Radio
Since we were staying in and playing on the computers, Cheryl ordered some stuff. With the Christmas decorations gone, she wanted something new for the living room table. She got three electronic candles. They varied in height and had a remote control. A little something different to try. John picked up two new toys, a 4K action camera and another hand-held radio. It'll be fun playing with the camera and seeing what new angles we can take pictures from. The new radio added the 1.25 Meter band to work with. The radio is a tri-band and also has the 2 meter and 70 Centimeter bands. This radio upgrades the memory channels available from 127 to 999 for John. The new radio includes the Air band from 118 to 136.975MHz.

Clouds and Sunsets
We just couldn't leave the January news without a couple of pictures highlighting the dramatic skies and the colorful sunsets. Enjoy!