This week was uncharacteristically hot and sunny for May. With all the hot weather, I didn’t make it out for lunchtime walks as often as last week because I’m a complete wimp when it comes to heat. Still, on my one midday walk during the week, I managed to discover a park that I drive by every day to get to work, but had somehow never noticed. It looked like a lovely, shady spot to sit outside and eat lunch, and with only a 10 minute walk from the office, totally doable! For the weekend, I had a May Alpine Trails Book Club outing to keep me busy. After the success of last years’ trail work party with Washington Trails Association, our May event was another round of volunteering, this time on Little Mountain in Mt Vernon. Checking the forecast throughout the week, I’d been worried that the heat would make for a tough day, but happily the day was cooler than forecast and a wonderful time was had by all! After our day of hard work, we stopped in Mt Vernon for a well earned beer at Skagit River Brewery before heading home. Since Sunday was Mother’s Day, I joined my mom and sister for an afternoon in Snohomish, mostly so that I could finally visit Retreat - a plant shop that my mom, sister, and several friends have all raved about. It definitely lived up to the hype, and I came home with several new plant babies, including one for my desk at work! My lovely weekend was rounded out with a celebration of my niece’s 4th birthday, including several rounds of Guess Who - one of my gifts for the birthday girl.
Read moreLife: Week 19
Right now, work is getting dangerously close to taking over my life. Thankfully, the end of the busy season is in sight, and I know that soon I'll be back to a less hectic schedule. When I wasn't at my desk, I was busy knitting in an attempt to finish a birthday gift for my niece by her party this Saturday. I didn't quite manage it, but I was at least able to get it into a state presentable enough to gift temporarily so my niece could try it on! It was a mostly rainy week, with a couple of particularly intense storms, but by the weekend, it felt like summer had arrived. I even wound up with a sunburn from an afternoon spent in the sunshine catching up with family on my sister's front porch during the previously mentioned birthday party! Before I know it, the long busy days of summer will be here. I'd better start remembering my sunscreen!
Read moreLife: Week 19
If April shower bring May flowers, May showers bring only loud complaints. Especially if it should dare to rain on the weekend! Meanwhile, I'm still loving this stormy spring. Maybe it's because I'm still so busy with work that I hardly have time to get outdoors, but I can't get enough of the rain drenched views out my window. All this rain just makes the few days (or hours) of sunshine all the more enjoyable. Between the many showers this week, we did have a few brief bursts of sun at times that I was able to make it outdoors. All the rain has certainly made for a green and flower-filled May. Maybe it's the grey skies, but blooms seem more vibrant than usual this year.
Read moreLife: Week 19
One of the new additions to my May calendar compared to previous years was the first birthday or a certain adorable niece of mine. Saturday was her birthday party, to which I contributed a delicious funfetti cake made using this recipe. I don't think it's possible to go wrong with funfetti, but this one definitely didn't disappoint! While it's hard to tell from the photos I have of the week, most of it was hot and sunny, continuing to feel decidedly un-springlike. Still, I managed to make it out for a few runs to break in my new running shoes! I'll have to hope for some good wet weather soon so I can start building up a good solid layer of trail mud on my new shoes.
Sunday, we finally had time for a hike, and we were going - rain be damned! Luckily, while it was overcast all day and rained the entire drive to and from the trailhead, it never rained on the trail. While there were absolutely no views there were plenty of wildflowers blooming, and I certainly got my fix of cloud-obscured ridgelines!
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