i n d r e a n e

I gave Adrienne 8 hearts with letters on them that spelled her name and handed them to her in order. Instead of putting the hearts up from left to right, she randomized the places. No worries yet; it's a good start!

Yes, that is a Christmas wreath in the backyard still up. We're using it as a bird feeder at the moment. Figured we'd do our part to "recycle, reduce, and reuse."

Hot Pie on a Chilly Afternoon

After we brought back the pie from the Cider mill, we put it in the oven and went for a bike ride for an hour. Fall is a favorite season of ours!
This pie is none other than Huckleberry Pie! (Our Huck is looking a little concerned; oh, no, Sweetheart, we're talking about the tiny navy blue, purplish berries that grow in the wild in the northwest.)

Day 2: Biking in the Serenity

The Chehalis Western Trail leads from a few miles north of us going south quite a ways. We decided to ride as far south as we could before trying to loop our way around back home. The problem was I didn't print off a map, so we were unsure of any alternate routes if we ran into any closed roads (which we did). We wasted a lot of miles going way out west and then coming back around to end up only a few yards away from our turn-off point. You can imagine the crushing blow when we realized all that sweat did NOT bring us much closer to our destination.

We drank malted milk shakes when we got home.

The scenery was spectacular! These are fields of daisies. They are gorgeous, but the air wasn't very "perfumey." Daisies don't have a knockout smell, I guess. (Not like lilacs.)

About 2/3 down to the end of the trail, we passed this interesting house that was actually an outdoor art exhibit. New artists apply to be able to live here and take care of the sculptures, creating a few pieces of their own to display and sell. Beth and I parked our bikes to walk around a bit.

River Raiders

We tried to pedal down the Deschutes River. It doesn't work because: a) The water is resistance in all kinds of directions. b) The rocks move. c) Tires have zero traction.

Just another sculpture we saw today.

Doggie Olympics and Beach to Chowder Run

The three of us had vouchers for a hotel and a restaurant in Long Beach, WA. Last month, Jaime looked at a web site for that town and discovered they were hosting a Beach to Chowder Run and a Doggie Olympics this weekend. We planned a trip out here to Long Beach and really enjoyed the getaway!

It started with a 5K run for Huck and me. Jaime opted for the 10K run instead. When he ran the opposite direction as Huck and me, Huck got terribly concerned about Jaime. He planted his feet and I ended up pretty much dragging his deadweight for my own race. He was so convinced we had to turn around and find Jaime! The race was on the beach and ended at the finish line where runners picked up a certificate to go get a free bowl of chowder. It was a nice hot lunch after being in the cold where our sweat made us chill fast.

At noon was the Doggie Olympics. There were 12 events. We participated in one of them--the Babe Ruth Home Run Obedience event. Next year, maybe we'll do more. At the end of the day, all three of us were so sore and cold that the fireplace in our hotel room and the hot tub were heaven-sent!

Link Click to see more pictures in web album

Swing Dance

Jaime and I joined a swing dance class every Friday nights for a couple of weeks. Peitra was here and was a good sport about coming to dance with us. The teacher pulled her aside to be his demonstrator. Swing dance is just the right mix of formality and plain fun hopping around.

Peitra's Visit

My cousin, Peitra, came to visit us for one week. I realized how much I've missed having family around since we've been living out of state for the past two years. It was so great having her here because she is a teenager and so that allowed me to be more girly and silly. She got here in June, which is the beginning of strawberry harvest!

Look here! Doesn't that berry with whipped cream look scrumptious! (Ok, so maybe the presentation isn't exactly perfect, but it's the marriage of the two flavors that counts!)

Not Just Any Old Dog

At first, Huck was only going to get a special treat for his birthday, but then we changed our minds. At the last minute (calls at six; gathering at 6:20), we gave ourselves the libery of celebrating a special day when the Creator decided to send this puppy down. "Oh, why not? Let's call his friends and go for a walk together." The birthday boy was just plumb happy to be with everybody, which made it worth a few pictures.

I hurried and threw together sugar cookies in the shape of a bone to take with us to share with the humans. Everyone was such a good sport by bringing little goody surprises for Huck (aww...you guys didn't have to do that!). I used to laugh at people who made such a fuss over their dogs and now look at us! [sheepish grin. Oh boy!] But hey, before any of you say another word, let us tell you, we had fun and went to bed happy!

The kids and dogs succumbed to the temptation of flowing water. You can tell by seeing Bizzie's wet dress that getting in the water was totally unplanned. Who can resist?

Futbol

Love Carries Us Through Everything!

We went to see Aunt Rachelle's office at the Santa Monica Center where she does her counseling work. See her name 3rd from the top?

Ann and Uncle Norm doing their utmost to remind Aunt Rachelle that she is indispensable to us. Her office is very relaxing and the lighting and decor encouraged us to sit quietly for a while before bursting into silly stress-relieving fits of laughter.

A Little Distraction

I was trying to post more pictures of our weekend here and started playing instead. Oops. But nonetheless, it's fun to be called creative. Makes me want to get up and paint the house or something. :) This is a little motivator for those of you who care to try the link.

You Are 78% Creative

You are beyond creative. You are a true artist - even if it's not in the conventional sense of the word. You love creating for its own sake, and you find yourself quite inspired at times.

How Creative Are You?

Just like Tacos de Beisbol!

This place is a local favorite and we ate there for a lunch date one time, then a couple more after that. The menu items here mimic very closely the ones we ate from Tacos de Beisbol in Isla Mujeres last Christmas vacation. That's a sign that this is authentic!

"Wait...Deaf People Can Drive?" and Other Inside Jokes

Jaime and I and some friends went to Seattle Central Community College where Keith Wann (ASL comedian) was performing. It was time to laugh, so we went to the show and we got a chance to do exactly that!

Our favorite part was Wann's description of deaf people driving. The driver wants to take part of the conversation, so he turns himself sideways so he can see. The passengers' job is to notify the driver of anything going on behind him that might be important, like maybe the driver is signing and doesn't see the tree that is straight ahead. The passenger in the back, who is facing the tree, is responsible for announcing "Tree in Path." If another car is about the make a lane change, the front seat passenger, who is facing the side of the car, sees this blinker going off on this other car. He announces to the driver to look over there to the left and make way for the lane change.

When Jaime and I were dating, my mom, who was in the car behind us, said to me later, "Jaime's head was turned sideways the whole time! How did you guys make it here safely!" (hmm...read the above paragraph.) [wink]

Who's who?

Remember Duke from a previous play time? Who can guess which one is Huck and which one is Duke?

Answer: Huck is on the left. Congrats to all those who guessed right!

Gingerbread Dog

Gingerbread Man in the children's story: "Run, run as fast as you can! You can't catch me! I'm the gingerbread man!" Looks like Nikki can do the same running in circles around Huck.

It was below freezing and Nikki actually jumped in the ditch filled with shallow water! She was warm underneath her coat because she was so active, but the ends of her hair were enveloped in icicles. Huck loped like a pony now and then, but stayed away from the ditch. Huck and I were trying to wear out Nikki before her flight home at 12:50. On a plane, a tired dog is a good dog!

Visitors!

November 12-15th

My parents came to visit Jaime and me, to see where we are living. It was great to be able to show them the countryside here. We went on a long bike ride one day on the Chehalis Western Trail. Another day we went to Lattin's Country Cider Mill and Farm and then to Ft. Lewis to take a tour of where Jaime works. I think they enjoyed the stay here because it helped them to see what we're really up to these days. It gave Mom and Dad a chance to bring up Christmas gifts, too. Mom and I bought a few housewarming gifts and got our nails painted!

Dog Dayz in Destin

Huck meeting a little lady Dane! Don't you love the pearls she's wearing?!
This sweetheart is a reading dog. He goes to various schools or tutoring centers and kids read to him. A dog is less intimidating and less critical than a human adult is.
Jaime, Huck, and I showed up at the Dog Dayz festival and got some socialization for Huck. He was plenty thrilled to be among other dogs!

Rainy Day Activity

There was a nasty storm outside. So what did we do? Jaime and I went to Grandmother Tina's house for pizza and a movie! We ordered pizza from Jordano's Pizza and More. Jaime and I thought it was the best local pizza we'd ever tasted. We watched Ultimate Gift, which I thought was good enough to see again a second time later with a friend. (Jaime is behind the camera and should have gotten his picture taken too!)

Sushi Party

We all wanted a delicate, but filling meal, so we were brave enough to make sushi at home! We all agreed to have a sushi party two nights later.

Dad bought some fresh, cooked King crab legs (mouth drooling)! He also cooked some steaks on the grill for the Cowboy rolls. The rest of us started the rice early afternoon and before serving chopped, chopped, chopped for about an hour for all the fixins. The rolls looked tempting by the time we were done and we had a moment of sitting there, none of us wanting to be the first to start making all our work dissapear.

Mary and Dad in the kitchen making the first sushi rolls of the evening.

Chris and Roxie sampled some, too.

Harry Potter Party

Just for the fun of it, Jaime and I joined the local craze at the Barnes and Noble Bookstore when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was unveiled
This teenage boy won the costume contest for the best Harry Potter look-alike. We also saw a pretty convincing Dumbledore and Moaning Myrtle. There were many Professor McGonagalls, but we didn't hear which McGonagall won.

Ann-Sorting Hat: "Hufflepuff!"
Jaime-Sorting Hat: "Hufflepuff!"
The sorting hat put us both in the same house. Yaay! We'll knock Slytherin house out of the competition!