Life: Week 33

September 3, 2020 Laura Norsen

The bruise colored sky of a welcome summer rainstorm

After the brief retreat of uncomfortably hot and humid weather, summer returned this week with extreme vengeance. Temperatures climbed to nearly 100°, leaving both me and my veggie garden feeling horribly wilted. Thankfully we had a dramatic summer storm roll in Friday evening, followed by a cooler, rainy Saturday. I was so happy to hear raindrops drumming on our covered patio that I ran outside to stand in the dark, soaking up every bit of the rainfall. The one upside of this latest heat wave — it ripened the first tiny but delicious plums from the unruly tree in our front yard. Still no progress on my many green tomatoes though. I may need to start searching for green tomato recipes!

Life: Week 33

August 30, 2018 Laura Norsen

After weeks of hot weather, and many fires burning in Eastern Washington and British Columbia, this week, Puget Sound was beset by smoke. The week started off ominously with our flight home being delayed because smoke at SeaTac Airport was reducing the number of planes that could safely land, and throughout the week, the smoke thickened. By Thursday, it was bad enough to give me a cough and burning eyes after only a short walk to get the mail. Thankfully, Friday morning, we woke to clear skies apparently just in time for the August Alpine Trails Book Club backpacking trip.

Life: Week 33

August 26, 2017 Laura Norsen

I was all over the place this week, quite literally. Monday, I jumped on a plane to spend most of the week in Florida for work. After work, instead of walks on the Powerline Trail, I found myself walking on the beach. They were short walks, since even with the ocean breeze the humidity and heat of Florida were a bit too much for me. Still, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Florida, especially the delicious food, and the Cuban coffee a coworker made for the whole office on my last morning there. Our company is spread out across the country, and this was the first time we got together as a team in one office, and there was lots of good conversation and laughter. No one in the group had ever been to Washington, so they were all curious to know if it's really as cold and rainy as they'd heard. It's so funny to me to leave home and hear how by beloved green state is perceived.

Life: Week 33

August 23, 2016 Laura Norsen

Another ridiculously hot summer week, but I can feel fall creeping in at the edges of things. Leaves are just beginning to change color, and the days keep getting shorter. We spent another laid back weekend close to home. We've got a busy schedule over the next few weeks, so we wanted to give ourselves time to relax. Friday was Andy's mom's birthday, so we met her at one of our favorite local breweries for beer and barbecue from a food truck. Saturday morning, we went to the farmer's market - only the second time we've made it this year! The last time was the first weekend, when we bought all the flowers in preparation for Mother's Day. August and September are always the best time of year for the farmer's market, and we came home with armloads of tomatoes, a honeydew melon, carrots, and ripe, fresh peaches that tasted like summer. So glad we finally had the time to make it to the farmer's market again!

About me

latest instagram

latest hikes

Archive

blogs i read