As the end of the year approaches, I rely on candles and books and quiet walks close to home to get me through the short, dark days. I've been knitting up a storm recently to get all my Christmas projects finished, which means I've fallen behind on my reading. Luckily books don't go anywhere, and slowly working my way through the towering pile of books on my nightstand has been a marvelous way to spend the rainy days and nights of this early winter. A friend once told me of an impressive woman she saw knitting and reading a book at the same time in a cozy little corner of a yarn store. Since hearing of that, I haven't been able to decide if that should be my new goal, or if that level of multi-tasking would take all the fun out of each activity. For now, I'll happily stick to just one at a time, even if it means forever falling behind on my list of projects or books. At least winter is the best time for catching up on both!
Read moreLife: Week 45
As the days grow shorter, it becomes more of a struggle to find the motivation to venture out of my burrow of knitting and books for some time in the woods. Thankfully, even when I can't commit to a full day of adventure, there are plenty of beautiful trails to visit close to home. Over this past weekend, Andy and I returned to a trail we hiked over the summer on Squak Mountain - Margaret's Way. Blanketed in a multi-colored carpet of leaves, the trail was truly magical. It had been a stormy week, with multiple power outages, so along with the thick layer of leaves, the trail was littered with storm debris, including a couple of freshly downed trees for us to climb over. Since it rained throughout our hike, we decided to keep our outing short, and made it back to Issaquah in time for a late lunch at our new favorite bar off I-90. Hopefully we'll have a few more weeks of this beautiful fall before the long, cold grey of winter in Washington settles in!
Read moreLife: Week 40
Since last week, the golden trees around our apartment have already lost most of their leaves. While I miss their brightness out the window, many of the other trees around Redmond are just beginning their transition into fall. Late in the week, my sister delivered her second daughter, and I was able to join my mom and niece in visiting the hospital to meet my new niece when she was just a few hours old. Seeing the amazement of my two-year-old niece when meeting her baby sister was especially adorable.
Read morePark Butte
The Alpine Trails Book Club hasn't had much luck with mountains this year but I had high hopes for a crisp, sunny fall day with clear views of Mt. Baker for our September hike to Park Butte. Driving north to the trailhead, the weather looked promising, but the closer we got to Baker, the cloudier it became. By the time we hit the trail, the mountain was shrouded in a dense layer of cloud that refused to budge all day. Even if Mt. Baker refused to make an appearance for us, there was plenty to enjoy on our hike.
Read moreLife: Week 32
Week two of smoky, hot, stifling weather. If I was feeling ready for fall before, now I'm practically ready to move to the southern hemisphere for legitimate winter! After letting the poor air quality keep me indoors most of last week, I finally gave up and decided that I needed to get outside, weather be damned. I had a busy weekend, so I didn't make it out for any hikes, but taking a short walk in the afternoon a few times over the week was about all I could handle with the smoke. Finally, Saturday night we got some rain to clear out the smoke and restore the mountain views I'd missed so much!
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