Saturday. We have lots to do before our houseful of visitors arrive next Friday. First we'll go out for breakfast to make sure we are properly fortified for the tasks ahead :-) John will finish the raised beds today and maybe even got a small area prepped for tulips. There are also a host of small jobs to do; change the furnace filter, tend to some squeaky doors, and help me with some errands. I have to get in most of the groceries we need for hosting four times the number of people who usually inhabit this house, go to the pet store for supplies, and do some of the mundane weekend chores that always wait for Saturday. Tomorrow I need to be a student and knock out 2 weeks worth of work in advance to allow adequate play time next weekend. And I need to find something purple and formal-ish to wear to an event in 2 weeks. John has the easy task there. All he has to do is locate a tux. They always come in black and there are always places that sell/rent them. It's a charity event and we'll go, but purple? Really?
Zoe had a golf ball size lump removed from her right hindquarter on Tuesday. She's recovering nicely and will have her staples removed in another week. Apparently the lump was cancerous but the vet reassured us that it was entirely removed. For a 12 year old dog, she's hardly changed except for some white fur on her muzzle. She enjoys life with a gusto. We enjoy sharing that with her.
The past week also brought snow back to the mountains. By Wednesday, the Olympics were delightfully white. The landscape is in Autumn palette mode, lots of gold, yellow, reds against the green conifers. Despite a few days of rain, it is beautiful this time of year. The days are getting shorter quickly though. It's not getting light until 7:30-ish and by 6:30 in the evening it's dark.
Well, I'm off to start the day. Wishing you only treats and no tricks this Halloween....
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Small Things Inside a Big Life...
It looks like we're in for some rain. Real Pacific Northwest rain; the kind that stays around for a while. By all predictions, this one's here all week and maybe then some. So, today might be the day to clear the garage space for the car. At least I can start the day in a dry state when I head out somewhere.
Today I will post an assignment for my online course and this afternoon I will have a too-short visit with a friend who's in the area briefly. The rain has squashed John's plans for completing the raised garden beds today. An indoor day might allow for watching some soccer, though. Last night we met up with some friends for dinner and dancing. I think *maybe* we are learning something in those classes we've been taking for the past few years! Mind you, we always take the beginner class, but maybe it's starting to stick. Last night we did some (recognizable) fox trot, waltz, lots of swing, and then some free-form stuff to a Rolling Stones tune. We had a good time.
I've collected all the potatoes that John dug up last weekend and have them in storage in the garage. I don't know how long you can store potatoes. The lesson learned is that potatoes grow very well here. I had no idea. Our other successes were beets, beans, peas, leeks, and the swede (or rutabagas). We didn't do so well with our carrots, winter squash, cucumbers, or broccoli, and the verdict is still out on the brussel sprouts. We had moderate success with kale and lettuce. It was a learning year though and a very late start to planting. The seed catalogs are arriving already.
Zoe goes to her new vet on Tuesday to have a lump removed from one of her back legs. While she's under she'll also have her teeth cleaned and get her nails trimmed. The last item will save all of us a lot of anxiety. I won't have to do it and she won't know it's being done!
The humans in the house will spend the week at work (though John's commute will be a stair climb this week). Unless we go looking for it, Halloween will be quiet. And November is right around the corner and picking up speed....
Today I will post an assignment for my online course and this afternoon I will have a too-short visit with a friend who's in the area briefly. The rain has squashed John's plans for completing the raised garden beds today. An indoor day might allow for watching some soccer, though. Last night we met up with some friends for dinner and dancing. I think *maybe* we are learning something in those classes we've been taking for the past few years! Mind you, we always take the beginner class, but maybe it's starting to stick. Last night we did some (recognizable) fox trot, waltz, lots of swing, and then some free-form stuff to a Rolling Stones tune. We had a good time.
I've collected all the potatoes that John dug up last weekend and have them in storage in the garage. I don't know how long you can store potatoes. The lesson learned is that potatoes grow very well here. I had no idea. Our other successes were beets, beans, peas, leeks, and the swede (or rutabagas). We didn't do so well with our carrots, winter squash, cucumbers, or broccoli, and the verdict is still out on the brussel sprouts. We had moderate success with kale and lettuce. It was a learning year though and a very late start to planting. The seed catalogs are arriving already.
Zoe goes to her new vet on Tuesday to have a lump removed from one of her back legs. While she's under she'll also have her teeth cleaned and get her nails trimmed. The last item will save all of us a lot of anxiety. I won't have to do it and she won't know it's being done!
The humans in the house will spend the week at work (though John's commute will be a stair climb this week). Unless we go looking for it, Halloween will be quiet. And November is right around the corner and picking up speed....
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Attention! Autumn's Here!
Well, those two weeks of summer that made their way up here (and not all at once, mind) are history. Autumn has "officially" arrived (in an unofficial but clearly evident way) and appears to be staying. Fine with me as Autumn is my favorite season. And a summer that was almost fall-like wasn't too bad either. But leaves are tumbling to the ground as if in a hurry to be free now. No occasionally leaf delicately drifting to the ground. It's more like a spray of leaves coming from some big hose in the tree tops. And the weather is sunny, but with a crispness that wasn't there last weekend. The temperature in the house this morning was 62 degrees and I'm thankful that I don't have to stoke a fire to warm the house as I once did in California. A few pokes on the thermostat and warm air is coming out of the registers. Fall is cozy but lively :-)
I'll make some butternut squash soup (roasted with shallots and ginger) later today. Tomorrow we are having our monthly department lunch get-together at work and the theme is "family favorites". I'll be taking the soup. John will be flying off to Cali in the morning and the week will take its usual shape. I'm up to my ears in a project at work with a deadline that is looming large. That will occupy much of my time while he's away.
We had dinner in the 'burg last night with some friends. They suggested a place we have had on our "we should check that out" list for some time; Tizley's Europub. You enter from a small alley and immedicately go up some stairs to the restaurant. It's not very large. There's a small outside eating area when the weather is nice and since it sits right over Front Street, it's probably a nice way to have dinner. We sat inside last evening what with Autumn arriving like it did. The place serves "European" fare: A few Italian dishes, Shepherd's Pie, but primarily it's German and Austrian. And their other claim to fame are the 100 or so beers that they carry. John had his beloved wienerschnitzel (which is not a wiener at all, but a thinly pounded and breaded veal cutlet) as did our friends, so I ordered corned beef and sauerkraut wrapped in a potato crepe to expand the experience a little. I am not a stranger to German food as some of my family roots are there. John was not as comfortable with the warm, slightly vinegary potato salad, but my expert "comfort food" palate found it quite tasty :-) We ended the evening back at our friends' home for dessert and conversation. Lovely.
Since the weather cooperated, John was able to work on the raised garden beds yesterday. He discovered that he is missing one 12-foot piece of wood (his error, not the lumber yard's) and so he will have to get one before he can finish the project. With a bit of luck, next weekend we might be able to get some horse manure from our friends so it can overwinter in the beds. My task as gardener's mate was to throw stones. Literally. It reminded me of a scene in the movie "Cool Hand Luke". Not the one with the eggs. Or the one where he says that oft-quoted line about communicating. It's the scene where he's part of a chain gang whose "job" it is to shovel out the ditch and then fill in the ditch. Yes boss. Before we had the shiny red tractor and trailer, as John dug out the four garden beds earlier this spring he encountered A LOT of stones. The stones ended up in a pile. Some ended up in the wheel barrow which was then too heavy to move (for months). So yesterday the stones were removed. Many were thrown into the bramble nearby. Many more were thrown into the trailer and the shiny red tractor took them into the woods a little ways and set them free. There were, by my conservative estimate, about 100,000 stones. Maybe. It felt like that anyway. I'm pretty certain there were at least 1,000 in some multiple of 10 :-). At any rate, I started as a gardener's mate and ended up as project manager. The plan for future digging and rock harvesting is that the shiny red tractor and trailer will be present at the job site where the stones will be immediately thrown into the trailer and taken to the woods. No more piles. None.
Today I will be a student. I'll get my homework submitted for this week (right after I do it) and I'll get the reading done for next week and think about that assignment. I don't have much (any) time to delve into it during the week, so Sunday is the designated "get the lead out" day to satisfy my overachieving personality defect. That, and our weekly visit to Starbuck's. Yup, a busy day...
I'll make some butternut squash soup (roasted with shallots and ginger) later today. Tomorrow we are having our monthly department lunch get-together at work and the theme is "family favorites". I'll be taking the soup. John will be flying off to Cali in the morning and the week will take its usual shape. I'm up to my ears in a project at work with a deadline that is looming large. That will occupy much of my time while he's away.
We had dinner in the 'burg last night with some friends. They suggested a place we have had on our "we should check that out" list for some time; Tizley's Europub. You enter from a small alley and immedicately go up some stairs to the restaurant. It's not very large. There's a small outside eating area when the weather is nice and since it sits right over Front Street, it's probably a nice way to have dinner. We sat inside last evening what with Autumn arriving like it did. The place serves "European" fare: A few Italian dishes, Shepherd's Pie, but primarily it's German and Austrian. And their other claim to fame are the 100 or so beers that they carry. John had his beloved wienerschnitzel (which is not a wiener at all, but a thinly pounded and breaded veal cutlet) as did our friends, so I ordered corned beef and sauerkraut wrapped in a potato crepe to expand the experience a little. I am not a stranger to German food as some of my family roots are there. John was not as comfortable with the warm, slightly vinegary potato salad, but my expert "comfort food" palate found it quite tasty :-) We ended the evening back at our friends' home for dessert and conversation. Lovely.
Since the weather cooperated, John was able to work on the raised garden beds yesterday. He discovered that he is missing one 12-foot piece of wood (his error, not the lumber yard's) and so he will have to get one before he can finish the project. With a bit of luck, next weekend we might be able to get some horse manure from our friends so it can overwinter in the beds. My task as gardener's mate was to throw stones. Literally. It reminded me of a scene in the movie "Cool Hand Luke". Not the one with the eggs. Or the one where he says that oft-quoted line about communicating. It's the scene where he's part of a chain gang whose "job" it is to shovel out the ditch and then fill in the ditch. Yes boss. Before we had the shiny red tractor and trailer, as John dug out the four garden beds earlier this spring he encountered A LOT of stones. The stones ended up in a pile. Some ended up in the wheel barrow which was then too heavy to move (for months). So yesterday the stones were removed. Many were thrown into the bramble nearby. Many more were thrown into the trailer and the shiny red tractor took them into the woods a little ways and set them free. There were, by my conservative estimate, about 100,000 stones. Maybe. It felt like that anyway. I'm pretty certain there were at least 1,000 in some multiple of 10 :-). At any rate, I started as a gardener's mate and ended up as project manager. The plan for future digging and rock harvesting is that the shiny red tractor and trailer will be present at the job site where the stones will be immediately thrown into the trailer and taken to the woods. No more piles. None.
Today I will be a student. I'll get my homework submitted for this week (right after I do it) and I'll get the reading done for next week and think about that assignment. I don't have much (any) time to delve into it during the week, so Sunday is the designated "get the lead out" day to satisfy my overachieving personality defect. That, and our weekly visit to Starbuck's. Yup, a busy day...
Saturday, October 9, 2010
"Are You Okay?"
That's what no fewer than 6 people asked me as I waited on the side of the road last evening for a tow truck to arrive. I think that's pretty remarkable. And it's consistent with what we have found in this area. People are generally "nice". Well, it turns out I was/am okay. After hearing a "funny noise" (isn't that the professional term for the event which precedes most problems with autos?), and after pulling off the road to do my cursory inspection of the wheel wells and even lifting the hood where all seemed to be in place, I started off again only to feel a moment of relief when the noise stopped. That was followed by a moment of "oh..this is not good...*expletive*" as I realized that the steering had gone. I managed to muscle it over and park it safely off the side of the road, called John (no answer!), called AAA, called the local dealer to alert them I was coming in, called John (he answered), arranged to meet him at the dealer, and waited for the tow truck to appear. It wasn't raining and it wasn't dark so, yes, I was okay. But I really appreciated the concern those strangers showed. Turns out the noise I heard was the steering belt shredding and eventually coming off. They promise to have it repaired this morning.
John returned from California Thursday night. Hopefully he'll have a chance to work on the remaining two garden beds this weekend although the forecast is for rain. Today I will ride along with him to Lakewood for a photo class he is attending. I'll take my laptop, find a Starbuck's, and work on my homework. I am needing to develop some study habits quickly. The course in eLearning Design and Development is off to a brisk start. I'd much prefer to start on a quilt project I have in the wings, but that will have to wait.
Our weather is cooling off. Mornings are frequently around 45 degrees, daytime highs might get to upper 60s. It's dark until just after 7am and the sun sets just before 7pm. It's starting to get "cozy". The long-time residents keep mentioning that it's going to be a more serious winter this year ("worse than the one in '53" is the latest prediction). We;re having discussions at the house about the best alternate route for my commute should it get serious. Trying to avoid the hilly roads. I say the best way to do that is via the Internet. Fortunately, much of my work could be accomplished via telecommuting if needed. My bigger concern is not the conditions outside the house as much as inside. Maintaining power might be a problem. So, we'll just have to see how it goes. It would add to our credibility as real residents if we could say we were here for the one in 2010. Meanwhile, I'll show you some sunrise photos. I actually prefer sunrise to sunset. So, here you go...
Sunrise from Kingston (about 2 miles from home)
Sunrise from Princeville, HI (about 2700 miles from home)
John returned from California Thursday night. Hopefully he'll have a chance to work on the remaining two garden beds this weekend although the forecast is for rain. Today I will ride along with him to Lakewood for a photo class he is attending. I'll take my laptop, find a Starbuck's, and work on my homework. I am needing to develop some study habits quickly. The course in eLearning Design and Development is off to a brisk start. I'd much prefer to start on a quilt project I have in the wings, but that will have to wait.
Our weather is cooling off. Mornings are frequently around 45 degrees, daytime highs might get to upper 60s. It's dark until just after 7am and the sun sets just before 7pm. It's starting to get "cozy". The long-time residents keep mentioning that it's going to be a more serious winter this year ("worse than the one in '53" is the latest prediction). We;re having discussions at the house about the best alternate route for my commute should it get serious. Trying to avoid the hilly roads. I say the best way to do that is via the Internet. Fortunately, much of my work could be accomplished via telecommuting if needed. My bigger concern is not the conditions outside the house as much as inside. Maintaining power might be a problem. So, we'll just have to see how it goes. It would add to our credibility as real residents if we could say we were here for the one in 2010. Meanwhile, I'll show you some sunrise photos. I actually prefer sunrise to sunset. So, here you go...
Sunrise from Kingston (about 2 miles from home)
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Viva Las Vegas?
So, we went to the local casino last night for dinner. It expanded our knowledge of the "territory" a bit. It was like a little bit of Vegas right here in our back yard! Bright lights and valet parking outside. LOTS of slot machines going inside. And there were people filling those seats. Amazing! Where do they all find the time? Or the money? Well, we made our way through the casino to the restaurant only to find that the reservation John made "wasn't". They only take reservations from "Diamond Club members" which we certainly aren't (even if I knew what that is). So we waited. We had hoped that the restaurant would have a nice view of the Sound since it sits on the water, but casino strategy dictates that they actually use as little real estate as possible for a restaurant and not encourage people to linger because they want you back out in the shiny lights, staring at those slot machines while you hemorrhage your last bit of money. (Someday I'll tell you how I really feel about gambling). So, the restaurant was pretty small (hence the wait), and absolutely no windows to be found. Like a dark box. The water views are reserved for the guest rooms. There is also a buffet per standard casino culture, but, hey, this was John's birthday and we like a real sit-down, wait-staff service meal. The food wasn't bad. I had a nice fillet of sea bass on lentils with braised leeks and John had a mushroom crusted bit of halibut with roasted potatoes and asparagus, We shared some mint cheesecake for dessert. But it wasn't enough to make us want to go back. And did I mention the smoking? While there is no smoking anywhere else in the 'burg (or in WA state), the Reservation is exempt from that. So there's smoke. They try to extract it, but that never works. I can't remember the last time I saw an ashtray publicly. So, we'll leave that little bit of Vegas to the slot machine groupies and I'll get my coat dry-cleaned.
John is building the raised garden beds this weekend. It'll be good to have them done and ready when spring comes. He'll also dig up most of the rutabagas. The leeks and the potatoes can stay in a little longer. I plan to tackle the weeds along the driveway today. Our weather is quite nice this time of year. Next weekend he is scheduled to take a photography class in Lakewood for a couple hours. I'll go along for the ride and see what I can see in Lakewood. I don't even know where that is yet :-)
I begin a certificate program through UW on Tuesday. It's for eLearning design and development. The program will take 9 months. Most of my knowledge and skill in eLearning comes from some good mentors so I'm looking forward to a more formalized understanding. I've got my textbooks for this first quarter and like the look of them. So, the week is taking shape and will probably fly by as they often do.
I'll leave with a photo of a Pileated Woodpecker in our woods. He's about 12 inches long (maybe longer) and I'm relieved he's not the one that attacks the house. Wood chips were flying as he worked on that tree!
John is building the raised garden beds this weekend. It'll be good to have them done and ready when spring comes. He'll also dig up most of the rutabagas. The leeks and the potatoes can stay in a little longer. I plan to tackle the weeds along the driveway today. Our weather is quite nice this time of year. Next weekend he is scheduled to take a photography class in Lakewood for a couple hours. I'll go along for the ride and see what I can see in Lakewood. I don't even know where that is yet :-)
I begin a certificate program through UW on Tuesday. It's for eLearning design and development. The program will take 9 months. Most of my knowledge and skill in eLearning comes from some good mentors so I'm looking forward to a more formalized understanding. I've got my textbooks for this first quarter and like the look of them. So, the week is taking shape and will probably fly by as they often do.
I'll leave with a photo of a Pileated Woodpecker in our woods. He's about 12 inches long (maybe longer) and I'm relieved he's not the one that attacks the house. Wood chips were flying as he worked on that tree!
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