Another exhausting, wonderful week! Monday and Tuesday were spent in California, relaxing and soaking up the last of our visit with family. Flying in to SeaTac, especially in the evening, never fails remind me how lucky I am to live where I do. Who else gets such beautiful views descending to their city airport? Once we were home, most of our free time during the week was spent planning and preparing for the weekend. We had plans to finally go backpacking, but once again a forecast of a nearly state-wide chance of thunderstorms almost made us cancel again. Ultimately we decided that instead of hiking a nearby trail I had picked out the previous weekend, we would go to the Olympic Peninsula where there was a possibility of rain, but no thunderstorms.
Read moreLife: Week 27
It was another marvelous week, starting with our annual 4th of July on Whidbey. On the 4th, the tide was extremely low, and while there are no tidepools on our strip of beach, there were still all sorts of interesting things to see. My dad, a marine biologist, was with us which meant we were actually able to identify many of the creatures we found. Early in the morning, Andy set out the crab pots and managed to catch two crab, which we took home and ate on a delicious caesar salad. Midweek, we finally managed to squeeze in a short post-work hike in a nearby park neither of us had heard of - Soaring Eagle. The trails were lovely and well-maintained, and if I lived a little closer would make an excellent place for evening trail-running. Even with the 30 minute drive, I'm sure I'll be visiting the park again soon!
Friday morning, we were up bright and early for a flight to Oakland and a much needed visit with Andy's sister Erika and her family. Most of our weekend was spent relaxing at their house and playing with our niece, just the way I like our visits. The exception was our Sunday afternoon, spent at a Sonoma winery with a group of Erika's friends feeding the resident fish, playing games, sharing a picnic, and drinking some (almost certainly too much) excellent wine!
Read moreLife: Week 47
Stocking up on candies for the Norwegian mitten advent calendar I finished just in time!
This week was packed with delicious meals, sunshine, and family. After work Wednesday, Andy and I hopped on a plane to spend a long weekend with his sister in the Bay Area for Thanksgiving. While there, I did a lot of reading and catching up with family, but most of my time was spent reading to and playing with my two year old niece. We had so many adventures!
And the food! Before Thanksgiving, by brother-in-law cooked some of his wonderful Texas-style chili, then there was Thanksgiving dinner itself, with two turkeys, four pies, and all my favorite sides. The night after our Thanksgiving dinner, we mixed the leftover chili with leftover turkey and sides, something I would highly recommend. Overall, it was an absolutely wonderful way to spend the holiday.
Life: Week 43
This was a very busy, exhausting, and fun week. I spent most of the first half of the week with my sister-in-law and niece, who were visiting from California. We went to the pumpkin patch and carved pumpkins. We had brunch at one of our favorite local restaurants on their first day of brunch service. On her last night in town, Andy and I went out with his sister to one of our favorite local taprooms for dinner and beers.
Thursday, I left very early (at an unspeakable hour) for a two day trip to LA for some training for work. I was very pleasantly surprised by LA, or at least the area of West Hollywood I was in. It was very clean for such a big city, the people were all very friendly and laid-back, the architectural design was all so distinctive and fun, and the food, and even coffee, were excellent. I'd definitely like to go back in the near future for an actual vacation!
Summer fun: so far
Rose and sunshine make for a perfect summer evening
After weeks of hot, dry weather, we've finally had a few cool rainy days in Seattle. It feels like I finally have my home back! The cool, wet weather has reminded me that summer will be over before I know it, which made me think I should check in on my summer to-do list.
Read more