I'm still in shock over the results of the election yesterday, but I can talk about that later. For now, I'd like to share the wonderful week I just spent with my family and try to focus on how lucky I am to have so many positive things in my life.
Read moreLife: Week 43
This was a whirlwind of a week! At home, the nights are getting darker, which we've been combating with lots of candles. By Thursday, well before dawn, I was on a flight bound for California for a business trip. After two busy days in Sacramento, and a busy week leading up to the trip, Friday night I caught a train to the Bay Area where Andy was waiting for me for a much needed visit with his sister and her family. We hadn't seen them since April, and especially with a new nephew to meet, I was overjoyed that work provided the perfect excuse for a visit!
Read moreLife: Week 42
Last week I was sick, so naturally this week was Andy's turn. After a dark, rainy week, I was a little disappointed to spend the beautiful, sunny Saturday at home, but I did manage to make significant progress on my Christmas knitting. Thankfully by Sunday he was feeling well enough for a trip to the family cabin in the mountains to gather some wood to feed his latest addiction: woodworking. While he was busy sawing and chopping, I spent a few hours wandering the woods surrounding the cabin. One of my favorite things about Washington is that you can see dramatic changes in scenery with just a short drive. The ponderosa pine woods around the cabin are so different from the dense, mossy forests around home. Being in those woods reminds me of happy memories of childhood trips to Lake Almanor in California, where we used to spend at least a week every summer.
In other news, I finally managed to get some photos of Andy wearing the sweater I finished for him over the summer. I'm so happy with how it turned out, and I think he'll get a lot of wear out of it! Like the last Brooklyn Tweed pattern I used, this one was easy to follow and absolutely beautifully designed. Once I've finished all my Christmas projects, a new Brooklyn Tweed sweater is next on the to-knit list for me!
Read moreSnow Lake - Gem Lake - Wildcat Lakes
On this cold, dark, autumn day, the trip Andy and I took on one of the hottest weekends of the summer seems forever ago. Normally, I plan all our hikes obsessively, especially overnight ones, checking weather forecasts daily for the week leading up the trip. Somehow I managed to avoid reading a single forecast in preparation for this trip, but I'm glad I did! If I'd known how hot it would be, we never would have gone, and even with all the extreme crowds, dust, and heat, it was such a rewarding trip!
I realized on the drive from home that I'd forgotten my paper topo map, but knew the trail was well marked to Gem Lake, and figured we could find our way based on the WTA description from there. I didn't want to turn back and delay our early start - an absolute necessity for the Snow Lake trail on a hot summer day. By the time we reached the ridge above Snow Lake, the sun was high above us, and the heat and sun were almost inescapable! Thankfully there was a little more in the way of shade as we skirted around Snow Lake, but as we began the climb up to Gem Lake, we were once again roasting. We took our time climbing to Gem Lake, taking water breaks any time there was a good patch of shade. Gem Lake was absolutely worth the climb, and we stopped for a leisurely lunch to admire the view. By the time we'd finished eating and refilling our water bottles, it was already 3:00, and according to the mileage listed on the WTA description, we were still 3.3 miles from our final destination for the night!
Read moreLife: Week 41
Between a miserable cold I had all week and a major storm forecast for the weekend, I've been a major homebody lately. The storm turned out to be much less apocalyptic than forecast, but the cold has really hit me hard. Luckily we are well into soup season! As usual for this time of year, I've been cooking tons of soup - this week it was chicken noodle early in the week, followed by tomato with grilled cheese. There's nothing like a bowl of homemade soup on a cold fall night. Even with all the stormy weather, Andy and I managed to squeeze in a walk in the Redmond Watershed Sunday afternoon during a brief gap in the torrential rain. After a week cooped up inside, a short walk in the woods was the best medicine I could ask for!
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