Knitting. This week, that's what my life was. Outside the time I spent working, nearly every waking moment was spent in a desperate scramble to finish all the handknit Christmas gifts I'd planned. I knit in the morning, I knit at night, and on a couple of days I even knit through my lunch break. In between all the knitting, I did manage to find time for a well timed brunch with one of my oldest friends. The weather was even nice enough to walk - at least at the time we left home. Andy and I definitely found ourselves walking home in some unfortunately cold and soggy conditions. Then again, we did find some pink blossoms on a poor confused cherry tree in our apartment complex, so perhaps the weather has been more vernal than I’ve noticed.
Read moreLife: Week 49
While I loved our non-traditional Christmas tree last year, I’m so glad that this year, Andy and I once again had time for our annual Christmas Tree Hunt! It’s one of the few holiday traditions that Andy enjoys, and even with him working crazy amounts of overtime, he was able to make time for our snowy expedition. While it had dumped snow in the mountains after Thanksgiving, it hadn't really snowed much since, so Andy and I weren't sure what to expect. It turned out that the snow along Smithbrook Road was so well packed that we didn't even need snowshoes. Our tree hunt was much quicker than usual, even with Andy's stepsister's young kids in the group, because it turns out it's much easier to pick a tree when you don't have to shake off tons of wet snow off multiple trees to find the right one! After we all had our trees securely tied down for the trip home, we headed just a little further east for lunch at the newly reopened 59er Diner. After hauling our tree home, getting it into the stand proved more of a challenge than we’d expected, since our tree was a good foot too tall! After some careful trimming, we managed to get the tree in place, and made a careful note for the future that with 1-2 feet of snow on the ground, any tree taller than me should be avoided!
Read moreLife: Week 48
After a year full of epic adventures with Alpine Trails Book Club, Ashley and I decided to end the year with a low-key get together, especially since December can be such a hectic month. Last fall, the two of us had spent a relaxing day walking through Seward Park, followed by brunch and some book browsing at the Seward Park Third Place Books, and we agreed that a repeat of that trip would be the perfect outing for our group. I gave my friend Ingunn a ride into the city, and as we waiting for the rest of the group to arrive, we were confused to find flowers blooming abundantly as if it were early May and not early December. We even spotted a few hummingbirds darting between the flowers. Even after the group arrived, we took our time swapping stories of recent travels and plans for the holidays before setting off on our short loop around the park. After our walk, there was still plenty to discuss over an absolutely delicious brunch before it was time to head home with a pile of new reading material. I can never resist picking up a least one new book when I’m in a local bookstore!
Read moreLife: Week 47
As usual, fall has absolutely flown by, and somehow Thanksgiving completely snuck up on me! Happily I at least found the time to make my chipotle cranberry sauce and brussels sprouts in time for the family dinner. I’ve only been making them for a few years, but it already feels like it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without them! After stuffing ourselves on the holiday itself, Andy had to work Friday, while I’d had plans to get an early start for a short hike in the morning. After a terrible night’s sleep (probably due to the huge amount of food my body was struggling to digest!) I decided to take it easy for the morning, burrowed into a nest of blankets, knitting, and books the couch. Saturday, Andy and I packed up and headed east, through the recently snow-dusted mountains. The frosted hills and marshmallowy trees made me itch to run home and dig out my snowshoes. With a second Thanksgiving to celebrate in Wenatchee, there wasn’t time on this trip, but fingers crossed for a good snowy adventure soon!
Read moreLife: Week 46
As usual, I have some catching up to do around here! Over the past year, I’ve continued to fall further and further behind on my weekly posts. It’s reached the point that every time I make a little headway on catching up, I exhaust myself in my flurry of writing, then fall even further behind in a creative rut. You wouldn’t believe the amount of time I’ve spent staring at an empty text box, the unmoving cursor blinking aggressively at me. Even though the guilt I feel over falling behind occasionally fills me with dread, I love these posts and definitely don’t plan to quit any time soon. Basically, this is a long winded way of saying that I’m still trying to catch up, so don’t give up on me yet! Maybe by the end of the year…
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