Sunday at Gma's

Today was a typical Sunday at Grandma Wrights house in Cedar Hills, Utah. We started out by going to church. It was fun to meet her ward, and have so many people comment on how much they cared about her being there. She has some great friends in the ward.

Paula and Marilyn posed outside her home after church. The flowers are beautiful. Marilyn planted the huge mum's just three years ago august!

Next on the agenda was dinner. Roast, salad, potatoes, veggies and rolls. Classic and yummy. The guests of honor were Corpse Bride and Groom, Alicia and Tucker, fresh from their runner up win at the costume party (no they didn't get the $150 first prize, that went to the couple who showed up in black face as Barak and Michelle Obama, apparently quite well).

Entertainment was provided by Cannon, the firstborn of Ashley and Jarom Becar and the first grandchild of Steve and Heather Stewart, Heather being the 5th born of Marilyn and Darwin. This kid has a great personality. No identity crisis going on in this 18 month old little man's life!


Next it was time to take some group pictures. We wanted to the get the Stewart sibilings, but Whitney is in Virginia at Southern Virginia University in Buena Vista. Through the miracle of Skype, we got them all together. From left to right, Hailey, Megan, Tori, Whitney, Ashley and Brady.


Next it time to herd the cats outside and see if we could get a group picture. Grandma decided she needed a seat and had plenty of help to get one.

The first picture went pretty well, but things soon spun out of control.

Paula started it, but Steve soon joined in.

We finally had to stop and start over to get the unruly crowd under control.


In the end, we got a decent picture of a pretty good crew. From left to right, Jarom, Ashley and Cannon Becar, Tori and Heather Stewart, Rich and Alicia Vial, Marilyn Wright, Tucker Beasley (Alicia's friend), Paula Vial, Brady and Megan Stewart, Aric Wright, Hailey Stewart, Jaron Wright, and Steve Stewart. Fun for all of us. Roving reporter Rich Vial signing off.

The Corpse Bride?

Ok, so we left Scholls at 4 this morning for the funeral of an old friend from Grants Pass, Linda Olson. By later the afternoon however things turned a little wierd as we had the opportunity to see the transformation of Alicia and Tucker. What do I mean? Well, this is a long post but stay tuned, it is worth it!

Apparently, Alicia had decided that she and Tucker would go to a costume party as Corpse Bride, so the first thing she did was talk Grandma Wright out of her 56 year old wedding dress! No seriously, it is the real McKoy! Actually Alicia looked pretty good in it I thought, but wait it gets better.

Of course, Tucker too needed a little work to play the dead Groom, but we had no idea what was about to occur!

First a black Wig! Actually not a bad look I think!

Within minutes however, the eyes showed up and we all began to get scared. Anyone who knows Alicia knows about the eyes, but this particular combination was quite something!


Then things started to go just wrong! Notice the computer screen in the background being used to model this travesty!


Before we knew what was happening, the transformation was complete, and none of us will ever be the same. It is the Corpse Bride!

The Groom, he looks dashing I think. Deserving of a beautiful bride!

And upon seeing him, she seems to be perking up a bit too!

Soon, they are planning the Corpse Wedding, obviously very excited!

Well, at least she is. He on the other hand appears to be getting cold feet or something.

He may be a bit worried about the effects of a kiss from a corpse!


But in the end, they find that bliss is entirely possible when two are united in their attempt to win the $150 prize at the costume party!

Stay tuned! The result will be posted in the near future. For the Corpse News, it's Grandpa Vial signing off!

Rainbow Fall

I feel like I am writing about nothing except Rainbow lately, but even if no one reads it, it is fun to record this stuff for someday. Right now the air is crisp, and I think every day about how I hope we can live this house like we planned. Outside! The views, the feeling, the colors the sounds, the birds, and just the space itself is magic. I love having this experience with Paula, and can't wait to be there with her.


As the leaves begin to fall, it looks like the landscape has been in forever. Hard to believe that it has only been a few days since we got it completed. After taking the picture from the road, I went up to the main floor balcony and took the picture below out to the east. This time of the year, the black raspberry canes are really beautiful.

The view to the east is incredible. If you look closely, you can see Mt. Hood about in the middle just above the berry vines. Click on the picture and you should be able to see it very well.

Out back, the view of the house from out on the river also shows the beauty of the fall colors as how well the house fits into the surrounding foliage.

As the leaves fall on the back lawn, and on the water below, it really feels calm. With all the evergreens, it will stay very private, but the view out across the river and beyond will get more and more open.
As the sun comes around lower and lower, the reflections in the windows, and especially these entry door glasses gets very interesting. We are hearing more and more from people who think that this is some kind of a county building, especially since it sits next to the park. We haven't had even one incident of thievery or vandalism since we started the project, and we are thinking that this may have something to do with the doors.


After seeing this shadow coming in from a reflection off a car in the parking lot of the park two days in a row, I couldn't resist the picture. Once again, it is the lower angle of the sun that makes this happen. This is showing on the wall off to your right after you enter the doors.

The Newest Grandson!

This is Samuel Jeffrey Vial. First born of Mike and Christine Vial and the latest grandson of Grandpa Vial. He (Grandpa Vial that is) rarely leaves his driveway, much less Grants Pass. But yesterday he called late in the afternoon, and said they were coming today to see Sam, commonly known as Moose in the family. So this morning, he and Leslie got up, drove up, and we spent about 6 hours together! They then got back in the car and were back to Grants Pass! But we did get a few good pictures. This really is a cute kid!

He rather likes his Grandpa. It was clear that he was excited to get to know him.



He seems to be a thoughtful young man. Not long after this however he did let out a pretty big yelp. Takes after his father in more than one way.

Rainbow Update

We are getting close on the outside. Some wrought iron, a few pavers and we are in business. A lot more to do on the inside however. Granite, floors, interior doors etc. Maybe Christmas!


Paula is a bit pensive as she looks out over the front yard. It is hard to believe we are really doing this.



One of the three types of heat, the woodstove is in and working. Vermont Casting soapstone, it is really a beautiful and functional addition to the home.


Grandpa Vial came to visit, primarily to see Moose (brother Mike's new son) and we got a chance to show he and Leslie the house.


Some great memories are already being made.

Ode to Craigslist

So last week, Paula and I spent about 4 hours and a lot of shoe leather (or rubber as the case may be) haunting the local furniture stores. looking for a table for the new house. Some of you may remember that we found a 14 foot long piece of reclaimed bowling alley, solid maple, that we wanted to build a base under and use for the dining table in the Rainbow house. After we got the cabinets in however, 14 feet was 3 or 4 feet too long. we thought about cutting the table down, but then decided that we would save it for another use, like a conference table or a dining table in another bigger house? We just couldn't bring ourselves to cut it shorter!

Anyway, we just couldn't find anything we liked, so on Friday evening it was back to craigslist! After looking at about 40 tables on the Portland site, I ran across one just a few miles from home that looked interesting. This morning Paula, Nate and I went to take a look. It was in a huge home in the Ladd Hill/Parrett Mountain area which really looked like it had been neglected. We weren't even sure it was occupied when we drove up. Turned out to be a home which had been built for and occupied by the author Jean Auel (Clan of the Cave Bears) and her husband. About 13000 square feet, now occupied by a young couple and two children. It appeared they were losing it and selling off the furniture.



The table was clearly built for the house. If you notice the row of marble down the center of the table (cool idea to avoid having to use hot pads huh!) it matches the marble over the fireplace just to the right of Nathan in the picture. The marble is standard 12 inch square pieces which can be replaced. We are planning to match our countertops if possible.


The table is beautiful. The 10 chairs are very high quality. I am pretty sure that the table is high quality cherry veneer over something very hard! The base is extremely well built and detaches from the top. We measured twice, and are confident it will be a perfect fit at Rainbow.


Another interesting story! Whether it be doors, tables, cars etc., where can you get the item and the story better than craigslist. And to top it off, instead of paying upwards of $10k or so for a high end dining set we made this new acquisition for $850. Both buyer and seller were happy, we have the table of a famous author, and the spirit of our new home is growing by the day! How fun is that! Go here to read about Jean Auel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_M._Auel

Peace Out!

Progressing

What the heck? Yes indeedee, we have ourselves a manhole in the backyard. What is it for you ask, well read on.......and yes that is Paula inside!



The love nest for Gma and Gpa is actually a playhouse for 20 plus grandchildren! And every modern grandchild needs a manhole to play in.....in the sandbox! Good thing we had about 7000 landscape workers around to get the thing in the sandbox!
And then when we actually got to the sandbox, there was this little problem that the thing weighed maybe a couple of tons, and the sandbox had its timber frame lip.


But it was ultimately carefully placed and we have one very happy grandma! Admittedly, I can already hear the sounds of the kids playing there, and it sounds great!
The wrought iron installer showed up in a Mercedes Unimog! Which was good because the only way into the front yard was through the ditch! If you look close you can see the beer keg gas tank!
Definitely getting excited about how it will look. This is Paula with our friend/artist/lighting consultant Don beginning to visualize the glow!


Next time this picture comes up we should see the cobblestone circular drive, the plants, the fountain........

Progress on the house is both maddening and exhilarating. We are really excited about how this is coming together, and it really fits the dream we had. We haven't had one disagreement about how to do things, and we really are having fun.