After falling into a working-from-home slump late last year, and hardly ever managing to get myself out of the apartment during the week, I’m aiming for more weekday walks in 2019. This week, I managed not one but two - a significant improvement considering I managed only one in the entire month of December! We’ve had sunny skies and bizarrely warm temperatures lately, with only the bare branches to confirm it is in fact still winter. Andy is still ridiculously busy at work and wound up working both Saturday and Sunday. While I’d considered a solo Saturday hike, I wound up sleeping in, then spending the afternoon baking and cooking in preparation for my upcoming long weekend at the cabin for the January Alpine Trails Book Club. Sadly I’m sure there will be another full weekend of work for him in the future, so next time I’ll just have to rope a friend into an adventure so I have someone to hold me accountable for getting out of the apartment!
Read moreLife: Week 34
Reaching the tail end of summer, things at work are beginning to get busier, an ominous sign for the busy season to come after Labor Day. Thankfully, the tail end of summer also meant the oppressive smoke that's plagued Puget Sound over the past weeks has finally begun to lift, and I took full advantage of the improved air quality with several walks around Redmond. This time of year, the Powerline Trail smells so strongly of ripe blackberries, you almost get a sugar rush from the air. Among the more exciting developments at home this week, Andy finally completed our new queen size bed frame, so we have a new bed! So far I've slept terribly on it, but I'm hoping I just need some time for the memory foam to break in. Andy absolutely loves the new mattress, so I'd feel terrible if we had to swap it out for something more expensive on my account.
Read moreLife: Week 33
After weeks of hot weather, and many fires burning in Eastern Washington and British Columbia, this week, Puget Sound was beset by smoke. The week started off ominously with our flight home being delayed because smoke at SeaTac Airport was reducing the number of planes that could safely land, and throughout the week, the smoke thickened. By Thursday, it was bad enough to give me a cough and burning eyes after only a short walk to get the mail. Thankfully, Friday morning, we woke to clear skies apparently just in time for the August Alpine Trails Book Club backpacking trip.
Read moreLife: Week 27
Summer has officially arrived in Seattle! While we've had a few hot summery days already, it never quite feels like summer here until the 4th of July. This year, the 4th fell on a Wednesday, making for a strange work week. Since Andy decided to work for part of the day on the 4th, we had a low-key holiday, and with the heat I was pretty happy to spend the day inside in the comparative cool. Our official 4th of July celebration wasn't until Saturday, when we spent the day on Whidbey Island. Even on the hottest days, the deck at the cabin on Whidbey is a wonderful spot, with a cool breeze coming off Puget Sound. We only stayed for the day, and our short visit had Andy and I itching to get back for a longer stay. Every summer, we talk about how nice it would be to spend a full week on Whidbey Island, but we can never seem to find the time. Somehow there's never enough time in the summer!
Read moreLife: Week 15
It was another soggy spring week, although typical of spring in the PNW, there were passing moments of sunshine throughout the week. Rain or shine, there are flowers blooming everywhere! Even though my work days have been getting longer, I managed to find the time for a long walk along the Powerline Trail and down to the Sammamish River, a walk that started in sunshine and ended in a downpour. By now, I should be prepared for unpredictable weather in the spring, or almost any time of year, but I was complete unprepared, and wound up drenched by the time I made it home. I couldn't help but laugh at myself for being ridiculous enough to leave home without a rain jacket in April. Maybe eventually I'll learn, but at least when I got home there were dry clothes and a mug of tea to warm me up!
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