Banff 2009

Sorry Blogspot - Facebook wins in terms of being able to quickly upload and caption photos.

Check out our trip here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=6339&id=100000083513885&l=2d4c73f06d

Or serach for me under "Lia Mey Seattle"

:D

Prayer Works...?

Ok, so Monday was a normal day at work...until lunch.

My boss dropped the bombshell that after 25 years, she is leaving the school.

:|

The above is the expression I had to hold all day, 'cause internally I was thinking

:D


or :DDDDDD


It is true that the devil you do know is better than the one you don't (but how is there two devils I ask you?), but I am SO glad change is not only coming to the country but to my school as well!

:DDDDD

I am seriously happy for her - I think the school is way to big for her and, being a mirco-manager, a smaller school will be better.

But why then did she build up the school to be so large?

:|

Whatever, at least I know next year will be TOTALLY different -- whether I am hired at the all-girls school or end up staying where I am.

I feel very blessed.

Of course I don't know if my job will be PT or FT next year...but is spring break and HOLY WEEK so I can't be bothered to think of that now.

Will post pysanky pics soon - since I now have a lot of time on my hands...

..except for that pesky educational philosophy paper I need to write and my goals.

Oh My Gosh Snow!, or How Do You Know You Have Cabin Fever?

When we moved to Seattle, the hubbster told me the summers would be gorgeous, the fall crisp, the winter rainy, and the spring rainy too.

I was never told about snow.

In college, Zecher told me of a terrible snow storm one winter in his childhood and there is photos of the storm in hubbsters family.

But I never thought I would see it in my lifetime!

The view out the blue room (aka guest room).


The view from the dining room.


In case you can't tell there is about a foot or so of snow around us.

Last Sunday (the 14th) I got a call about a late start. Then a cancellation. (I did a snoopy dance)

Then we went to school Tuesday and Wednesday (and very grumpy about it). And Thursday the storm hit...and school was cancelled for the rest of the week!

Woot!

I got to finish my projects and get some shopping done. And admire our tree...


My mother-in-law bought it for us. I think she was tired of the little one foot tree I had for years. It is quite nice.

In my family, there is the tradition of building a Creche. My grandmother put hers on her sideboard complete with fake snow and a Victorian village (demonstrating that Nativity goes beyond the bounds of time and space).

My mother was the one who decided to put the scene under the tree. Complete with Precious Moments characters and giant bleating sheep.

It was only slightly disturbing -- I turned out alright at least.

Anyway, my mother-in-law had given me a few pieces from Grandma Molly's old set and a few special carved Santa's her father had made. He was quite the craftsman and did beautiful work.

Well, I just put it all together and...

...voila! Instant Creche!

The hubbster says it should be titled "Let All Creation Rejoice". I think Creche is just fine.

So, sometime on Wednesday we noticed our house was quite cold. I mean, it as all of 30 degree outside, but it was rather colder than it ought if one had the heat on...which we thought we did...

To make a long story short, we have singe mark on our ceiling, we made a treacherous trip to Home Depot, and I convinced el hubbster to purchase a ceramic heater for a mere $20 more so that we can be toasty warm. Which we are.

We just hope our pipes don't freeze while we visit mi familia in Tejas.

And my parents-in-law bought us a cellphone.

:|

I swear we will be shoved into the 21st century scratching and screaming. Or at least putting up a well intentioned fuss.

So, we really can't leave (the condo, not the 21st cent). We were somewhat able to Saturday and I ended up lugging up groceries from TJs one block up to where we parked.

Some guy told me not pull a muscle.

Me: "Yeh..."

Guy: "It's cold out."

Me: :| "right..."

And after that more snow came...and now we can't get out.

I have grand plans for cross country skiing around our 'hood and sledding...but I can't seem to convince hubbster to do any of these things. I don't want to go alone because I might fall down and am not yet a master cc skier.

He tried to go to work today -- seriously.

And now we have to go to Houston tomorrow (hopefully) and I have yet to step foot more than once outside since Saturday.

Not joking.

But I am really loving it -- I get to be cozy warm in my house and all is grand :D

So is that cabin fever? Or am I just an introverted homebody?

Sunday on San Juan Island

Sunday was alas our final day on San Juan.  We decided to take a day trip to Orcas and call it a day.  It was a rather early ferry and a really peaceful ride.  I finished up my baby blankets and the hubbster got some great pictures of the archipelago.

When we arrived at Orcas, we had to go off to the left, so we followed the road to a town I think was called Eastsound.  We had eaten breakfast by then, but it was a restless night on the twin bed, so I wanted my soy chai latte.  We walked around to look for a map (and a soy chai) and found a neat kayak place.  The hubby wants to kayak from Orcas to Sousha Island (I am not sure I spelled it correctly...).  After inquiring about rates, we got a recommendation for a soy chai.  There were a beach north of there from which one could view Sousha, so we went to it, saying our morning prayers, ending with saying them on the beach.  It was lovely.

The blob of land in the sea is sousha island. Yep - at some point we will kayak there from the beach and camp on the island. But, on that day, I just had my soy chai and picked up shells. Lance has a rather Pacific Northwestern picture of me:

Those shorts are not mine - they are my hubby's (but they fit...)

Then we went up Mount Constitution. The hubby suggested hiking up it (he has biked up it before) - I said I did not care about our carbon foot print for this event. I was REALLY sore after running the previous day.

So we got to the top and saw some spectacular views. Here is I am trying to cover up my cellulite.


There was a watchtower (or just a look out) at the top, so we climbed up to see what we could see. This is what the hubby saw:


I saw a boy throw a cap off the tower to his sister below. He got a teacher stare and a request to cease and desist his actions.

:|

I CAN'T help it - I discipline children when I see behavior that needs modification - oh what the heck, when a kid is being a chode, I will call him or her on it!

Anyhow, I got a little dizzy looking down and after trying (without success) to take a picture of a swallow in flight, we left.  There are some really cool group tent sites up there and it would be a fun place for a reunion.

We went to Cafe Olga for lunch. YUM!!! Best food on island and reasonably priced - so if you go to Orcas Island, Cafe Olga is your place.

They had a really good salad that took the place of a traditional pasta salad. It was snap peas cut into half inch pieces, mandolined carrots and red onion, small pieces of bell pepper all in some dressing (very light) that had thyme in it. SOOOO good - I will of course work on re-creating it.

After that, we just cruised around the island, which doesn't take long. We walked around, checked out the cost to rent a moped (too much, just bring a car), and reflected on our journey.

"Do you think this place is less cool if you live here?"

"Nah."

Saturday on San Juan Island

The plan was this: get breakfast at a nearby bakery, go to American Camp, go the the lavender farm, go to town to the whale museum, go on whale watching tour, go to British Camp, have dinner in Roche Harbor (I continually called it "La Roche Harbor" much to my hubby's annoyance), and see sunset at Lime Kiln (where the local hippies were having a Solstice Whale Singing which allegedly brings the orcas to the shore line every year).

There was a very important battle fought on San Juan Island for control over the San Juan Archipelago between England and the United States.  There are now two parks on the island called English Camp and American Camp.

My husband wanted to visit American camp; I tended toward English camp.  The hubby said there would not be tea and crumpets at English camp, but I was not deterred.  We however, went to American camp.

Apparently this war between the Brits and Yanks was over a shot pig.

And it was an American who shot the British pig.  I will leave you to create your own joke here.

So at American camp you can hike around on the bluffs of the mostly undeveloped land (the Brits at their camp made a garden, dance hall, etc.  They probably had their own design for a dinner plate.).  It is really quite neat...

I am the little ecru blip in this photo heading for the little cliff by the sea. We saw an otter around here - not close up, just in the cove to the left.


Then we saw a BALD EAGLE - it landed 50 feet in front of us! We had seen a woman earlier walking around with a troop of dachshunds and we wondered if the eagle was scouting them out (it would be good eats). It was pretty cool and we tried to get as close as possible to it. I had control of the camera at this point --


--and was able to capture this lovely shot. Now, shortly after the hubby got this close to the eagle, it took off. It was totally him, NOT me, who spooked the eagle. There was a bit of a silent, eye-brow raising, argument between us, but the eagle settled a few feet from us UP the cliff and that stopped the blamefest. It was closer to my husband, so I took a picture.


He said taking the photo made him feel like an ugly tourist. I told him it would be a great shot should he ever run for political office.

"Our next president has shown himself to be patriotic. If there is a bald eagle around, the symbol of a strong and bold America, he takes a picture with it. It's the American thing to do."

Or something like that - some stupid political mumbo-jumbo that is supposed to satisfy the pleebs.

Then we decided to head up the bluffs; saw some salmonberries and got poked by various thistles. As we reached the top of the ridge, we noticed ships motoring toward the nearby waters. Then we saw little bits poking out of the water - it looked like bobbing sticks from our position.

"Orcas!"

So we BOLTED down there. I know my ancient Mayan and Spanish ancestors might have been runners, but I did not get that genetic make up. Neither did my husband - he is a terrible runner too. But we ran with all of our strength, keys jingling in my pockets, backpack bopping around on his back (he always takes a bag with him full of supplies for cold weather and nuclear disaster).

And we hustled down the path leading to that first cliff we hiked too.

As I was rounding a turn, my eyes downcast to check for rocks or roots that might twist and/or break my ankles, I spied some dark eyes looking at me. I gasped. I thought I was about to run over a little dog and stopped abruptly.

It was a FOX - a large grey fox. Well, he was kinda skinny with a white beard and the had the most delicate black paws. I think I heard him yelp a little - or perhaps scream. An instant later he hopped back into the grass. The hubby thinks we chased him for a little longer, but I am pretty sure he was giving us the paw for scaring him.

And now, for my directorial debut: little one productions presents...ORCAS!
 

I of course have the most amazing commentary. :|

With this little jaunt, the plans to go the lavender farm were cut and we decided to have lunch by the pier near where our whale watching trip was. Then we would go to the whale museum.

But, I insisted on going to the lavender store downtown (products from the lavender farm are sold there) and had a grand time. The hubby sat on a bench outside the store as I spend our money.

We had little time for the whale museum, but went to check on the cost ($6 - not bad) and perused the gift shop. I was SO tempted to buy a giant squid stuffed animal for Kate and Odious' little boy...the hubby was concerned about getting it in the luggage.

This was shortly before the whale watching adventure - if someone wants to photoshop away my chub I would greatly appreciate it:)


Then it was off to whale watching adventure. Here is one of the examples of my cinematic genius - I think there is even a dork in the video. The word "dork" is (allegedly) the Yiddish word for "whale penis" - which we did see a lot of since the orcas were mating. Look for a bit of pink on the belly of the whale - one of our guides called it the "Pink Floyd". Ew.

**Technical Difficulty - I can't get the video to load**

Ah well, we had a great time whale watching and we had dinner at a lovely restaurant. Then we went for drive in that sort of golden light just before sunset. We stopped by San Juan State Park and saw orcas in the ocean from the shore. A seal in a nearby cove took advantage of our distraction and was flipping about in the water (I saw him:). One of the guides on the boat said that the whales might call our tribe the "OOOOoooo and click" tribe which I found funny cause it is TRUE! On the shores of the state park one woman said "this is better than fireworks!"

I would say that whales and fireworks by themselves are equally cool - now whale + fireworks would be a spectacular show.

Then we drove toward Lime Kiln to see how the singing was going. We took pictures near Lime Kiln (I was wearing my new Dansko Sandals which are not great for hiking) --actually just above Dead Man's Cove and watched a lovely sunset. My hubby got some nice shots of me.





Then I wanted to get some pictures of him with the Olympic mountains in the background. So, the hubbster complied, but as I was directing him, he got a little annoyed.

And I started laughing because the picture pops up after you take it and it was a VERY "annoyed hubby" picture and he starts laughing because he knows that picture must have looked stupid and I was able to get this great candid shot.

So my one lesson learned in the photography session is ''Get the hubby mad at you, then he will start laughing because he is being ridiculous, and then he will give you a good expression".

Then we went the hostel to sleep on a twin bed. NEVER AGAIN will I do that.
On to Sunday!

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted...

...it has been SO dreary in Seattle. It was a wet and muggy spring with no sunshine at all. So the hubby and I were super anxious to get out of Dodge to a place that might have some sunshine.

We chose the San Juan Islands - ok, the hubby chose the SJs and planned the whole trip.

First off, I would just like to say that islands are expensive. So, if you do plan an island vacation, prepare for island prices. We were warned ahead of time and planned accordingly. We only ate four meals out over three days - so we did pretty well. We stayed at a hostel, which would have been ok, except we booked a room with two twin beds.

Let me just say that once you are married, you should never sleep with your spouse on a twin bed. It is not fun nor romantic - it is cramped and you wake up with your hip hurting.

We left on Friday for the islands, well, just San Juan (Friday Harbor), and right away we had an activity. I did mention my hubby planned the trip? That means that EVERY moment is spent in ACTIVITY, unlike most vacations where the trip is spent in activity and spurts of inactivity.

No, not us - we were full tilt vacation. I came back sore - and not from hanging out on the twin bed.

So we took a kayak trip about an hour after we got onto the island. It was merely ok - our guide was a part-time organic farmer and had some interesting ideas about the world. However, we had to point out the baby seal that was nosing a buoy and were left to contemplate exactly what kind of fish were leaping out of the water (they were cute little things that reminded me of the "Kiss the Girl" scene in the Little Mermaid - except we were in a kayak with PFDs on).

So, the kayak trip ends (hubbster and guide talked about solar panels for an HOUR...) and we check into the hostel.

I won't even start with some Seattlelites we met there - it could be a REALLY long rant, so I will just say that these two families traveling together took over half the hostel. Seriously - if you are taking a joint family vacation, get a house or condo rental. This ensures privacy for the whole party and you will not have to constantly tell others that your kids are taking a nap or shunning people away from the one of the two kitchens or bathrooms. Those six people took over a kitchen and a bathroom - the rest of us (TEN adults total) were left with one kitchen and bathroom. These people -agh!

Like I said, I should just stop and move on.

So, after settling in the hostel, the hubby wanted to go to Lime Kiln State Park where visitors can view orca from the shores. Honestly, from any of the shores of SJ visitors can view orca (in the early summer months) - they are all over the place.

But we had been kayaking and I was hungry and not in the mood for bluffs and views. So...I got a little goofy.



I was trying to go for a summer on the beach in the Pacific Northwest shot. The Cote de Azur it is not - you wear fleece and hope the rock beach doesn't poke your bum too much. Gosh I am chubby...the cove is called Dead Man's Cove. I do not know why it is called that, but I was not really keen on hiking there.


As you can see from my expression, my thoughts were "Can we eat now?" and "It's kinda cold out here.".  I am often the subject of photos as hubbster only trusts himself with the camera.


Can we eat NOW?


I am off to look for fish and chips - it is really beautiful there, I was just not in the mood.

Then we went to eat at an overpriced pub. The fish and chips were merely ok - the salmon chowder much better. And then we planned out what to do the next say and that was Friday. The next will be SATURDAY - most exciting:)