Staying in Touch

Hot

I shouldn't be complaining, because it could be worse.  It could be 60 and raining.  But instead it is 90 degrees and sunny.  Why can't it be somewhere in between?  The summer here has been one or the other...I really wish it could be the average of the two. 78 with a few puffy white clouds would be perfect.

I hate being hot.  And I don't mind sweating when I'm exercising, but I don't particularly enjoy sweating when I'm sitting on my couch.  Aaron and my apartment is oppressive on days like this...so hot that when you take off your shoes, the carpet is hot.  There is one good thing about being hot, though...I haven't been hungry all day...good thing 'cause I had a cardomom pretzel and a gruyere and onion puff pastry for breakfast which probably took up the allowance of both my daily calories and fat.

Here's to 78 and sunny...maybe next week?

Something to make you smile

Feist + a great song + counting + monsters + penguins + birds + Sesame Street = CUTENESS!

Definitely put a smile on my face and hope it will do the same for you!

 

Lonely in Bozeman

One week ago I was watching a new husband and wife take their first dance on a summer evening in Montana.  It was a perfect, the sun was setting and casting a glow on the Bridgers and I was getting sad that I had to board a plane to return to reality in the morning.

My week vacation had gone slowly and fast at the same time...is that possible?   For the bulk of my trip I hung out with Mom and Dad, which was great...helping mom with laundry, dinner, quilting...just trying to make hobbling around on crutches a bit easier on her...golfing with Dad...and yep, I beat him. :-)  

Being at home this time was different from all my past trips, though.  I haven't quite been able to put my finger on it, but I definitely realized that I want to have Aaron along with me...to go hiking, camping, swimming...whatever.  The parent hang out time was great, but for the first time I felt very lonely while I was there. I have some very good friends still in Bozeman, but we all have different schedules, vacations planned, etc. and I ended up with a lot of time to hang out by myself.   This time I really noticed how few faces I recognized around town, how many new stores and restaurants have opened that I've never been to.  It's weird to come to the realization that the place you spent 25 years of your life didn't feel like a comfortable place anymore. I have a feeling that if we moved back, it would feel like home in no time, but this feeling I had was new and weird.

The funny thing is that everything else was so familiar and comfortable...sitting on the deck watching the rain fall from afternoon thunderstorms, hiking to the "m", the smell of the mountains and the fresh rain, so many things that I love and miss...such a weird mess of feelings.

I've now settled back into the routine in Seattle...wishing that I could pick up Aaron on Wednesday and go on another Montana vacation with him...

Here are some pics from Bozeman...

Golfing with Dad

MacKenzie River Pizza
 

Wildflowers

Watch out for the bikes

Almost 1 week ago to the hour, I was arriving in Helena, MT after a 10 hour drive from Seattle.  My legs were a bit stiff and I was starving.  Thank goodness Jane was motivated to make us a wonderful dinner of salmon, salad and barbequed corn.

My body was having a bit of a freak out session, not quite understanding that I wasn't going to make it pedal a bike any further after riding 206 miles over the previous 2 days.  Yep.  I did it.  I rode my bike from Seattle to Portland (STP).  All at once it sounds like some crazy and fun...and it was.  I had a great time pedaling with my sis, seeing all sorts of body types and bikes complete something that for some was easy as pie and for others was one of the biggest  physical feats of their life (I think I fall a little more towards the latter).

Here are a few pics of the great journey.  I still don't think I've fully comprehended that I rode my bike to Portland...weird.

Start of Day 1:

The "honey bucket" lines at mile 53:

Our "campsite" on Saturday...complete with all-you-eat spaghetti dinner and pancake breakfast:

End of day 1 and beginning of day 2 (I'm a little tired...can you tell?):

Day 2...into Oregon to the finish line!

Thanks Dad for all your support! Couldn't have done it without you!

Missing Aaron

I'm jealous that 25 strangers get to spend the next 25 days with him.

I started missing him the minute I drove away from the airport. 

Hopefully 5 weeks go by quickly.

NYC, Chicago and More

The month of June has been a bit of whirlwind for me (hence no posts...).  When I first made all of my plans for June I was excited at the prospect of traveling so much...a weekend in NYC to see one of my very best friends, a trip to Chicago to celebrate Julie's graduation from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and a quick jaunt down to McMenamins Grand Lodge for a wedding in Forest Grove, OR.

It was a hectic month and I'm not sure if I would choose to cram all that into one month again, but I had a fantastic time on each of the trips.

NYC

 
Chicago
 

McMenamins

Goodbye Shea

To call him a dog hardly seems to do him justice, though inasmuch as he had four legs, a tail, and barked, I admit he was, to all outward appearances. But to those who knew him well, he was a perfect gentleman.

--Hermione Gingold

A perfect quote for a nearly perfect dog (his only flaw was that he squatted when he peed...not very manly).  I'll miss him terribly.

Long Weekend

This past weekend, after accepting the invitation to join some friends on a camping trip, Aaron and I packed up the car and headed to the Olympic Peninsula.  After a late start (and a last minute trip to REI to buy the biggest tent ever) we somehow acquired good ferry karma and got on the 12:20 boat to Bainbridge Island.

So nice to get outdoors...it had been awhile since we had gone camping and I forgot how much I enjoy it.   The weather was unexpectedly beautiful and we were able to get in a good hike with some views of the Olympics as well as explore the Dungeness spit.
 












And our campsite was perfect (thanks Bess & Josh!)...next to the river...





With a built in cooler...


And good friends...

Bike to Work Day

Friday was National Bike to Work Day and as you might imagine, a big deal at REI.  After leaving my house at 6:00 AM, I met up with 17 co-workers to make the 26 mile trip to work.  The ride was beautiful-- perfect temperature and sunny!  Very serendipitous that the first summer weather day happened to coincide with Bike to Work Day.  This was my second ride into work (my first was Tuesday)...amazing how much better my butt felt yesterday than it did on Tuesday.  Thank goodness! The goal is to do this 3 times a week, one of them being round trip (52 miles).  And yay for my new bike...I love it!

Weekend with Quinn

Life is different when you have an 11 year old in tow.  On Friday afternoon I went to the airport and signed for (like a package) Aaron's little brother for a weekend of big city fun.  So interesting to see what interests him and bores him.  And it's amazing to see how much he looks up to Aaron...which makes it hard to strike the balance between being the corrupting big brother and the good example.

Fun in the big city involved...a 3 1/2 hour trip to the Pacific Science Center...the Space Needle...Game Works...and a tour of a local organic and free trade chocolate factory where both Aaron and Quinn had enough samples to be a bit sugar buzzed for awhile...

And I can't forget the random pick-up game of dodgeball Aaron joined in on Friday night...interesting scene to say the least...look for a YouTube video in the near future...