Happy Holidaze from NorthWet Montoya Family

32 Years of Wedded Fun!

Denise and Mushroom are included in this year’s NKC calendar. This photo didn’t make the cut, but we like it the best!

Wei Halmoni Denise and Wei Halobaji, with first grandchild, Edan Isu Yoon on 20 February 2006!

Proud sibs, Bonnie and Orlando, join in congratulating Celeste on her graduation from Kentwood High School. Celeste had an extraordinary senior year:

Diving, swimming, gymnastics, and judo competitions; her senior project; her first full time job working on the primary and general elections (how much overtime?!!!), and bought her first car!

Mushroom officiated at nephew Brett and Jessica’s wedding in Sacramento in June!

“Santa, I can explain…” Denise had a run of bad luck with our three cars. In short: 8/8 – a flat tire in the van, 8/16 – another flat in the van. 8/22 – was rear-ended in the Acura, 8/23 – rear-ended another vehicle in Celeste’s Saturn. 9/15 - Acura returned from the shop, 9/20 – Acura stolen and found stripped 3 days later. GEICO determined it a total loss. Court date for the 8/23 accident is 12/29. The photo above is the front seat of the Acura, with its missing $15k seats (the car was only worth $7k.)

We’ve had record rain (flooding), snow, ice, and windstorms (1 million Puget Sound customers without power) this fall. We can hardly wait for winter to arrive!
Mushroom mentors student shamans occasionally here at our house, and with one of his students in the Midwest, via the Internet. He is quite the high tech shaman! Mushroom recently provided a didgeridoo lesson for a senior high school student for the boy’s senior project. What a teacher!

Denise continues to provide project management expertise to the local nonprofit adoption agency. The annual auction, raised more money and had more reservations than in its previous 30 years. (No, she isn’t taking all the credit!)

Mushroom and Denise continue to volunteer for the NW Kidney Centers (NKC) as their mascot. They attend health fairs as a 7 foot tall blue kidney. Mushroom always wants to be tall!

Denise replaced the grass in the front yard with hardy perennial and annual flowers. The rocks in the foreground were found under the sod, and provide a landing space for errant basketballs. The paver path provides access to all of the plants and allows for safe movement of the hose

Mushroom and Grandma Eda Bea at Thanksgiving 2006 in Kent, WA

We Wish you Joyful Holidays

and a Happy New Year!!!

Denise & Mushroom, Celeste and Ginger

Denise: dhmontoya@hotmail.com and http://denisehmontoya.blogspot.com/

Celeste: kitabird1120@yahoo.com and http://www.myspace.com/crazydiver

Mushroom: iamgodliketoo@yahoo.com and http://mushroom-2005.blogspot.com/

November Bleezard

The morning spirits woke me Wednesday morning. I crept quietly down the new stairs and looked out the kitchen window to see the frozen white snow gleaming in the predawn neighborhood lights. I looked at the outdoor thermometer. Brrrrr. It was MINUS 7 degrees Celsius (19.4 degrees). It is much, much colder than normal. I realized that I would not be going to work this morning because the little hill that ascends out of our neighborhood is too icy to safely drive up.
Two nights ago, we were having dinner at a friend's house. When we were driving to her house, Denise pointed out the snow flurries that were barely visibly in the light from the street lamps. We noticed lightening now and then during dinner. When we were getting ready to leave, I looked out the front room window and in amazed disbelief, I saw a boy slid down the middle of the street in a sled. I quickly went and opened the door. WOW, 4+ inches of snow. There was no snow when we drove into the driveway. I was wearing my Birkenstocks. My socks collected white flakes as if they were cool treasures worth keeping.

We scraped the windows and slowly backed out of the driveway being ever so careful not to slide into the truck that was parked directly across from the driveway.

We noticed that the street that we had just driven up two hours earlier was blocked off because it was far to steep to do anything but slide. Then we headed off towards the West only to be confronted with bright red rear break lights from cars fearing to go down the hill. Denise guided me to turn the car around and try a different route.

We drove east a few blocks then turned south. We got about a 1/2 mile before we started to climb a relatively small hill. But we could see that cars had already slid off to the sides. Denise was begging the cars in front of us not to stop. I started to move toward the center of the road in hopes of going around the cars. Then I saw white headlights coming my way, forcing me to give up my plan and move back behind the cars that were almost stopped. I started to slow to a snail's pace, making sure that my wheels kept moving. Try as I did, the van could no longer hold its forward course. It began to slide backwards. I turned my head to assess the situation, lest I make an ass out of myself and crash into one of the abandoned cars. I looked to my left and noticed a ditch beckoning me to slide into its white toothed mouth. I looked to my right and observed a safe curb adjacent to a teasing easily squishable car.

To my surprise, Russian angels showed up, out of the mist. They began to shake the van as it started its downhill slide, forcing it to turn as if it were a stubborn donkey. The van turned perpendicular to the street. Denise was at the point of tears, maybe beyond, as we slid sideways down the road. The angels kept pushing the left front and right rear of the van, in opposite directions as it continued to slide. I turned my wheel downward and when the van was almost parallel with the road, I gingerly compressed the gas pedal. I rolled down the window and said, "Spaceeba." (thank you in Russian) as we drove away, back down the road we came up. Denise was shaken. I was relieved. I told her that I was going to drive back to Debi's

Debi was

delighted that we had returned. I mentioned that when we were kids, we did overnighters with our friends, even if they only live next door. Why did we stop doing such a fun thing when we grow up?

The following day, we left Debi's and drove home, only nine miles away. It took us an hour to drive over the icy roads and through the heavy snail paced traffic.

Celeste was waiting for us. She had been at work, counting ballots until after midnight. Her boss's husband drove his 4 wheel drive

Jeep to bring Celeste and his wife home. It took him almost 3 -1/2 hours to drive 18 miles home. Celeste didn't get to lay her tired bones in her bed until 3:30 AM. Celeste was so tired, pobrecita (poor little thing). Then to add insult to injury, my brother, John's, phone call roused her out of bed at 8:00 AM. He was trying to find me to conference in for a happy belated birthday wish to my brother, Rick. The morning trickster would not let her sleep soundly because she kept getting phone calls from people looking for Denise and I.

I am working from home. Denise and I drove 4 hours to get my lap top. A new

storm was supposed to blow in. So we decided to at least make the attempt to retrieve my lap top so I could work from home in case I became ice bound and unable to get out of the neighborhood.

Thanksgiving 2006

Chef Denise created some delicious waffles for Thanksgiving Brunch, Yummy!
Then we played Scrabble and Tara won!!!

Mother & son (in-law) It has been wonderful having Eda Bea here for Thanksgiving.

WACAP Auction

We all had a great time helping to raise funds at the WACAP Auction

The forest creates its annual autumn carpet

Autumn's blustery winds and heavy rain have stripped our forest to the nude. Brrrr. You can almost make out the houses in the neighborhood behind our beautiful illusory forest and stream. Yes, there is a flowing stream hiding amongst the trees. For contrast take a look at spring.

Tigerboy is having fun.

Tigerboy challenges Sugar Booger.
Tigerboy is having fun in his new outfit.

Go to Bonnie's blog to see more great pictures of me.

Such FUN 

Calendar for the NW Kidney Foundation

Yesterday the NW Kidney Foundation sent a talented photgrapher and a their charming Public Relations guru to our house to shoot us - with the camera, silly. They will be including Denise and I in their 2007 calendar. We are delighted. During the shoot, I suppose that I was being a bit too talkative. Can you imagine that;-) So Denise put her hand over my mouth to quiet me down a bit. The photographer caught it. Denise said that it looks like I am going to talk as soon as she puts her hand down. She knows me so well ;-)

The Forest still lives in our Autumned backyard

It may be Veterans Day 2006, but Autumn is still keeping the beautiful illusion of our forest in our backyard. If you continue down my blog you will see the digression of Autumn from Summer in the photos below.

Autumn rains grow mushrooms

We found mushrooms growing at the tree base in the Northwest corner of the backyard.

Denise found the butter mushroom and the tree trunk mushroom growing on fallen tree limbs in our illusory forest. Beauty abounds everywhere for our eyes to feast.

Autumn Winds Tossed a Surprise

The wind spirits surprised us with with a tree that appeared as if it had no bottom and no top. They suspended it over a much smaller tree's limbs The spirits of nature bless us with such beauty and delight. And they do it behind our house.

November 2nd 1977 was the day our not so little pumkin, Orlando Shashi Montoya was born. Denise baked him a brownie which we lit with 29 candles, thus signifying the termination of his twenties. When Orlando was not much more than a tiny tot, he would refer to a group of grownups as dults. It there was only one grownup, he would refer that that person as a dult. Now he is a dult, himself, fancy that. 

We celebrated Debi's birthday party here recently. She is such a joy. And that hat she's wearing is so celebratory! 

Ginger in Raincoat

Ginger (Kimchee Dog) has turned her eyes on once we dressed her in her raincoat. Did you notice that she is looking through her visor? Now she is ready to go for a walk in the great wetness of the North Wet. 

The Autumn rain is here and the leaves are carpeting the ground. 

Halloween conjured up pirates and candy witches. 

November First Brings the Falling of Leaves in our Illusory Forest. But not before the Little Witches and not so little pirates invade the neighborhood. Celeste was busy casting her magic spell which compelled people to give her candy. 

Celeste and Bumble Dog to the rescue of Halloween Candy. Trick or Treat! 

We had a freezing night and a little hail but the illusion of the forest is still here. The clouds were kind enough to allow the sun to shine on our little illusion of a forest back yard. Anyone out there want to camp out in our illusory forest?

Autumn has arrived in Denise & Mushroom's backyard, thereby maintaining the illusion that the forest is still there. 

Mushroom shares an ice cream cone with his son, Jeremy 1971 

Jeremy Visited Us

23 October 1992 is the night that Jeremy died. Every now and then he lets us know that he is still around. The first 23 October after he died, all of the exterior locks on our house broke. The second year, one light bulb in each room of the house burned out. The 3^rd year, Denise caught on fire while she was barbecuing. and she was unharmed. This year, I found two of the missing California flags under a photograph of me feeding Jeremy an ice cream cone when he was about 18 months old. We display the flags of the states or countries in which we were born in our front room. Jeremy was born in California. Orlando and I were born in New Mexico, Denise was born in Wyoming, Bonnie was born in South Korea and Celeste was born in Siberia. (Russia). We bought a California flag, years ago and lost it. A few years went buy and I bought another one and lost it too. Last year we bought the 3^rd one and I hung it right away. So having the two missing flags show up under his photograph is, for me, a sign from Jeremy just saying hi.

Dr Chuck Checks Tigerboy

This summer we visited Dr Chuck in Grants Pass. He was such a delight. Harmoni Denise is holding TIgerboy as Dr Chuck gives him a physical check up. Tigerboy was good for Dr. Chuck.

The Celestial Being earned her first paycheck

The Celestial Being earned her first paycheck in which she garnered some overtime. She was so jazzed. She never made over a thousand dollars before. She is working for the elections office counting absentee ballots. Denise and I are so proud of her. Just think, in the 50s and 60s we were building bomb shelters to protect ourselves from the Russians. Celeste is from the Russian city in Siberia where the Russians created their nuclear bombs. Now we have come full circle with Celeste working in the elections office. We are so proud of our not so little anymore Siberian daughter.

Tara & Orlando create a new life

Orlando and Tara came for dinner to join us in celebrating Debi's 57th birthday. Then they brought out the ultrasound photos of their baby. It is about 12 weeks in gestation. The photo looks like a superman symbol when looked at as a whole. Life is so precious and so awesome.

Denise's Gardening Magic

Denise's garden is in full bloom

Denise’s front yard garden is in full bloom as Autumn comes knocking.

Tigerboy having a ball!

THREE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

I have been asking people to answer a few questions. 
There are no wrong answers because these come from
your innermost feelings at the very moment that you
answer the questions.

Who are we, really?
Why do we exist?
What is our purpose?

Please do not write down what you have been taught.  I
want to know what is in your heart at the moment you
answer the question.  It may be completely the
opposite from what you were taught to believe.  And
that is just fine.  I find that when I allow my "soul"
to have a voice, new insights emerge and my
understanding of those questions gets clarified a bit
more.
What we were taught is a model, an attempt to answer
those questions.  But what we were taught is some
else's answer, someone else's model of thier reality. 
I want to know that your answers.  Perhaps, when we
all put our answers together, our own understanding of
our own answers will spark an enhanced awareness of
who are we, really, why we exist and what is our
purpose.

Don't be surprised if your answers begin to change as
you start answering these questions.
I will be answering those questions myself, for myself
and posting them.

Denise's Gardening Magic

Denise had been saying that she wanted to improve our front lawn. Since she has a green thumb, I asked Ben (our neighbor) to take out our lawn, altogether. This afforded Denise a "canvas" upon which she created a lovely growing work of art.

NW Montoya Family at the Midori Teriyaki Restaurant

The whole family visited the Jeong's at their Midori Teriyaki restaurant. Poor Jiho had to stay in Korea. He had just been promoted to Captain and thus could not take vacation.
It was so wonderful having Bonnie and Tigerboy visit us from Korea. Bonnie spoke with the Jeong family in Korean. Mr Jeong used to grow mushrooms when he was in Korea. Now he and his wife own the Midori restaurant.

Kangaroo Denise with Baby Edan

The Celestial Being was the caller for her Dragon Boat Team again this year. Bonnie and Edan (Tigerboy) were there to cheer Celeste on. Harmoni (Grandma in Korean) Denise was thrilled to play kangaroo with Edan.

Tiberboy celebrates his first 100 days

Tigerboy was over 100 days old on 11 May 2006. We took lots of photos to celebrate the event.





We visited with Rui and Dr Chuck on the way to Brett & Jessica's wedding. Dr Chuck gave Tigerboy a checkup and showed us that he was at the top of the chart for his size and weight.