De's Blog

Time to Catch up...

2011-11-08T02:19:00.000-08:00

Mercy, it has been almost a year and a half since I last updated this Blog... So many incredible things have gone on in our lives the past year and a half... We are starting to get excited about our trip to Australia... We will arrive there on New Year's Eve morning 2011... We will spend that evening celebrating New Year's Eve on one of the "Tall Ships" in Sydney Harbor watching the incredible Fireworks... Then a few days later we board Holland America's ms Volendam Cruise-liner bound for Fiji, New Caledonia, Lautoka, lle des Pins and Noumea. The cruise departs from Sydney Harbor and lasts for 13 days... Then when we return to Sydney we plan to spend the next 4 weeks driving up the golden and sunshine coasts to the barrier reef... It should provide us with many awesome photo opportunities. Stacey and I have been so busy with Ranch Projects that we have drifted away from our photography and are very much looking forward to getting back into it... We will be trying out Canon's fairly new EOS 7D DSLR camera that also includes a video option which will be new for us but should come in handy when filming the fireworks and other ocean activities during our cruise and trip up the Australian coast... Back at the Ranch we have added Peafowl, Guinea Hens, many Chickens and a Borzoi and Bernise Mountain Dog in addition to our Corgi, Shitzu and Pom... We still have the two cats, Sissy and Clyde but they have taken residence at the barn where they have lots of mice to play with... We are in the process of building a Boat Shop where our new Ranch Foreman Jeff Lund plans to build wooden drift boats for the Salmon River... We added a wine cellar that is gorgeous thanks to the carpentry skills of Dallas... My youngest son Matt worked at the Ranch this summer for almost 5 months and was very eager to get back to North Carolina... That's all for the moment... I'll try to do a little better job of updating the blog from time to time, especially with pics from our Australian trip...
Till then... De

Stacey's Home from Surgery and doing fine...

2010-05-27T23:06:00.000-07:00

We brought Stacey home last night after a very successful surgery... She has to be a couch potato for the first week and then she has to be restricted from picking up anything over 8 lbs and not bending over for the following 5 weeks... She also has to wear a soft collar neck brace... Her arm pain is much better but her neck and throat are still painful enough that she needs pain medication but it is much - much improved over what she has been dealing with for the past few months...

Matt surprised us when we returned - he had cleaned up and organized our computer office area and built this huge rustic shelf that is absolutely gorgeous from spare wood lying around the barn... We were really impressed by his visionary and craftsmanship skills... He really did a beautiful job...

We were also surprised when we stopped at Donnolley on our way home to find out that our Guinea hens had arrived and we brought 24 Guinea hen chicks home with us... As a result we had to move our older Americana chicks out of the basement to the chicken proofed Kennel that Matt modified so that we could place the week old Guinea hen chicks in the basement under the heated lamp...

Our main Diesel Generator had failed to start for Matt the night before and I couldn't get it to start when I got home however I was able to get the old Propane Generator to start and the Service technician was scheduled to come by today and was able to resolve the issue which was air in the fuel lines from the external tank...

And so goes the ongoing saga for the Embree's at our off the Grid Lake Creek Ranch home.

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Digital Reflections

Stacey's Surgery went well...

2010-05-25T15:38:00.000-07:00

Stacey's surgery went very well this morning... All indications are that she will go home tomorrow... She has already walked around the halls twice and will be eating a normal dinner tonight... She is still taking morphine but minimal amounts... She is recovering nicely...

Stacey in Surgery

2010-05-25T07:30:00.000-07:00

Stacey and I are in Boise, she is having cervical neck surgery to help rid her of the pain in her neck and arm that she has been dealing with for the past 18 months or so... They took her in around 8am this morning and Surgery began at 08:30 and should take approximately 2 hours and then she will be in recovery for approximately 1 hour after that and then will be in the hospital for a couple of days before we are able to return home... Matt is taking care of the Ranch and animals while we are in Boise... i am a nervous wreck waiting for this to be over - feel like I am going to throw up, Chloe already did this morning...

Arrived Safely back at the Ranch

2010-05-16T07:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a long day... Sarah took Matt and I to the airport at 5am (EST) and after one flight to Chicago and another to Boise we arrived at the Boise Airport around noon (MST). My bag unfortunately was still in Chicago and will be delivered to Riggins Chevron sometime Sunday. United was surprisingly proactive and called our names over the loudspeaker to let us know that our bags had not yet left... Matt and I took a cab to the Motel to pickup the Jeep and then went to Hooters for wings... Afterwards we met briefly with Tony who led us to Lowes so that we could purchase some sanders for our future deck project... Then after fueling up we headed towards Riggins stopping at Ponderosa Sports near Horseshoe Bend for a couple of hours to talk with Cliff regarding Matt's first revolver... After much pondering and discussion, Matt decided on the one he wanted for his birthday... He contributed $160 towards the cost and Stacey and I covered the remainder... We then continued on to Riggins arriving around 8pm... Once we arrived at the Ranch I had to deal with the extremely sad news of informing Matt of the loss of our Dog Max as we stopped by his grave... Matt was understandably very upset of the lost of his friend of almost 10 years... I barbecued steaks on the grill while Stacey fixed baked potatoes, asparagus, mushrooms and corn on the cob... She had a birthday pie prepared for Matt but the news of the loss of Max was too much to bear and after looking at some photos of Max online, Matthew went to bed to be alone and deal with the loss of his friend... It is great to be home and back together with my Stacey... However, it's been a very long day mixed with many emotions... Time will help mend the wounds of the loss of our loved ones but will never fill the void... No doubt in my mind that Max is with Sheri...
Have a wonderful day... De

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Digital Reflections

Almost done with apartment

2010-05-14T11:05:00.000-07:00

Well, Matt and Sarah are almost done with packing and cleaning their apartment... We should be on the road to Chapel Hill by 5pm and arrive there between 8pm and 9pm... Then off to the airport around 6am or so... Can hardly wait to be back home with Stacey... I hate being away from her and the ranch and our animals...

Packing Up Matt's apartment in Boone

2010-05-13T16:10:00.000-07:00

Well today Matt and I managed to get all of the big items moved out of the apartment and over to the Storage facility. Now the hard part for Matt and Sarah, getting all of the little stuff put into boxes and taken over to the storage or packed for their summer locations or given to friends, etc. Then tomorrow is the big cleanup and that will for sure be a chore... I am back at the motel working on the website and leaving the packing of the small stuff and cleanup to Matt and Sarah... Late tomorrow afternoon we are scheduled to leave for Chapel Hill and we have a very early morning flight on Saturday to Boise, Idaho...

Stacey and I got to actually talk on the phone last night - it was good to hear her voice... I miss not being with my soul-mate and I miss not being at the Ranch and I miss the interaction with our animals... However we will be home soon... Looking forward to being back together with Stacey...

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Digital Reflections

Birthdays Party

2010-05-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday's party for the two new 21 year olds had it's ups and downs... Sarah started a little early with mimosas in the morning and Justin was passed out 3 hours before the actual advertised start time of the Party... Sarah threw a trash can in Matt's face because he wouldn't get up and get it for her due to the fact that she was standing next to it so she picked it up and threw it in his face... Matt went outside upset over the incident, Sarah stayed inside and continued to play the drinking game... Will came to the rescue by bring fresh blood to the party and all was well until Matt woke up sick after from a wee to much of the liquid entertainment... Pictures soon to be on FaceBook show that Matt was tortured on the couch while being passed out - instant karma from Justin who was tortured earlier in the evening when he was passed out, as again pictures on FaceBook will display... Today everyone is back to normal, Ryan is headed back to Asheville and Sarah, Justin and Matt are at the movies watching IronMan2...

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DigitalReflections.

Boone, NC

2010-05-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

Well I am here in Boone, NC, the home of Appalachian State University... Matt's 21st birthday was yesterday and his Fiance' Sarah's 21st birthday is today... They are having a party at the apartment playing games like beer pong and landmine or commonly known as drink and puke... Ryan and Justin are here from Asheville... Several other friends will be arriving as the evening continues... Too bad Matt won't be able to remember it... ;-) Still missing my Stacey and will be glad to be back home this weekend... I go down to the party from time to time to check in to see if everyone is still alive...

Chicago

2010-05-08T10:35:00.000-07:00

I have arrived at the Chicago Airport... Have about a 2 hour layover... Looking forward to seeing my son and missing my Sweetie... Next stop Raleigh, NC. Sarah will pick me up as Matt is in Asheville for Mother's Day with his Mom... More to come... Bye4Now...
De

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Digital Reflections

Boise

2010-05-07T23:42:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone...

I have arrived in Boise and leave for the airport at 6am... I am looking forward to being able to spend my son's 21st birthday with him and having him spend the summer with us working on the ranch, however I am already missing my soul-mate Stacey - She is the Love of all my lifetimes and I am already eager to return home to be back with her...

Bye4Now... De

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Digital Reflections

Packing

2010-05-07T10:06:00.000-07:00

Good Morning...
No, the "Packing" isn't referring to the pistol that I am normally packing on the ranch, it is referring to my packing for my trip to North Carolina... Matt will be 21 on Monday and Sarah, (his fiance'), will be 21 on Tuesday so I am flying there to be with them for their significant birthday... Then Matt and I will fly back to Idaho at the end of the week as he will be spending the summer with us working on the ranch...

Our Digital Reflections website development is coming along fairly well... We have published several of Stacey's photos in several categories... If you get a chance take a look and share some feedback with us...

Have a great day... De

De's Blog

2010-05-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone...

Well since I have been into computers most of my adult life I guess it is high time that I give this blog thing a shot...

Today I am working on our DigitalReflections website and I have come to the part of our web page for our personal blogs...

Stacey is out in the greenhouse doing her thing with the veggies and flowers, you will have to check her blog for more about what she is doing...

So, that's it for the moment, just need to get a flavor for how to set this up on our website...

Have a Great Day... De