Friday Night Pizza (Sep '08)

Album | Slideshow

Friday I sneaked out of work a little early and we performed our ritual of pizza at Pegasus followed by a walk on the seawall and beach at Alki. It was drizzly and misty out, but the temperature was in the high 60s and it was comfortable out. The girls took their shoes off to walk in the wet sand and splash in the puddles. We were going straight home, five minutes away, so we didn't care if they got wet and a little cold. We had the beach pretty much to ourselves.

On these evenings at the beach Carol and I always look at each other and express our appreciation for each other and the life we have.

Carol's 40th Birthday

Album | Slideshow

Carol attained the Big Four-Oh in mid-September. I was not completely mentally present after my crash and didn't think about a big celebration until her birthday was getting really close, but she had her own ideas for a party anyway. We wanted to have a garden party as a first celebration in our new back yard.

Carol invited her entire family to dinner on Saturday evening. Of course, it poured rain. But we had a very pleasant gathering. Carol's niece and nephews are getting old enough that we can all sit around the table and talk and we really enjoyed their company, as well as that of Carol's brothers and parents of course. Audrey and Charlotte love having their cousins over.

The main gift Carol wanted from me was a garden consultation from a local nursery. The gardener came over for 90 minutes Saturday morning and Carol got a lot of the kind of information she needed: how to organize the garden and which types of plants would go in which areas. Looks like we'll have some huckleberries and blueberries as well as vegetables.

We didn't get our vegetable planters built until mid-July but Carol and the girls threw in some seeds for fun. We got a couple of heads of lettuce, some miniature carrots and now we have three or four small zucchinis.

On Friday night of Carol's birthday weekend my parents took the girls overnight and we had a real date. We had a nice dinner and a movie and, the best part of all, no one waking us up in the morning.

Back to School

Album | Slideshow

We enjoyed a splendid Indian Summer in Seattle this year. The latter half of September was warm and sunny. Audrey and Charlotte love the new lawn and play together in it. Audrey loves to tumble. She has determined that the lawn is 7 somersaults long.

Beginning of Fall brought the annual spider invasion both in the house and outside. It seems to have subsided now, but for two weeks there was a spider everywhere we looked. Audrey would ask us to clear the swing set every day but the next day the whole collection of webs would be back. We also had one spider who took up "permanent" residence on the outside of our kitchen sink window. Carol got to watch him/her devour more than one large insect. S/he disappeared when we had a pane in the window repaired.

Audrey goes to preschool for half day four days a week this year and Charlotte goes two days (at the same time as Audrey). Carol works one day in each class, has one afternoon alone with Charlotte and one morning all to herself. Audrey's class has 12 boys and 8 girls. Carol reports that the energy level can get pretty crazy.

I'm 95% recovered from my bike crash. Still occasional pain in my chest after exertion but for the most part I'm fine. I've ridden my bike to work every day for the past two weeks. It was a shame to fall so quickly from my peak condition of the year, but I'm slowly building it back.

Getting Back on the Horse

It's been almost 5 weeks since the big crash and I continue to slowly improve. I started getting itchy to get back on my bike, mainly because riding the bus was getting tedious. Biking to work takes 25-30 minutes each way. Riding the bus takes an hour including the walking on each end.

Seattle is enjoying its typical Indian Summer. We often have beautiful weather for at least the first three weeks of the month before the rainy season (which lasts until July) begins. Sometimes the nice weather lasts into October.

Anyway, today is a gorgeous day and I felt pretty decent so I got out my bike and rode to work. It worked out great. Not much pain, just lots of paranoia. My friend and neighbor Jason gave me an escort.

Unfortunately, my good bike was terminally damaged in the crash. So it's back to my steel Lemond until I can afford to buy a new frame. May the Kestrel rest in peace - it was a great bike.

It's nice to be back in the saddle. Don't worry, I'm taking it easy.

'End of Summer' Vacation

Album | Slideshow

Carol and the girls spent the week before Labor Day in Richland with Carol's parents. As usual, the girls had a fantastic time.

There is a small playground within walking distance of Dennis and Mary's house and a large playground a short drive away. Both are on the river bank. The smaller playground has a small sand beach as well and the girls spent a fair bit of time in the water. Carol was so relaxed she didn't even bring a camera with her but she used her camera phone to get one good shot of Audrey lounging on the boat.

Speaking of the boat, the girls went out on it for the first time. They've always been afraid of the noise. But Carol worked on them psychologically for a few days and eventually they both agreed to go. Carol had purchased life jackets that had cartoon characters on them - that was part of the attraction of the boat was they got to wear their cool new life jackets.

They ended up crossing the Columbia from the launch near home, to a beach that is usually empty. The girls got to swim more there. Audrey got to play with the boat controls a little too, with Grandpa's supervision.

The girls never want to leave Grandma and Grandpa's "river house". Audrey kept asking if they were going to still be there the next day.

Our friends and neighbors Jason and Pam had invited us to spend Labor Day weekend with them at Pam's family cabin at Loon Lake near Spokane. On Saturday I rode over with them while Carol drove up from Richland to meet us at the cabin. I was really missing my family and looking forward to seeing them after being home alone all week.

The Allen family cabin was built right after World War II so it's more than 60 years old. It's a classic lake cabin. It has three bedrooms and two comfy living rooms, plus a decent kitchen. It has a great beach and dock. They are currently building a shed/bunkhouse. Jason roofed it while we were there.

Jason and Pam's son Alexander just turned six and he and Audrey get along well. They had fun playing together all three days, and Charlotte joined in some of the time. There are bunk beds in the kids' bedroom. Our girls both love bunk beds.

The weather was cooler than normal - around 70 for a high each day. The water temperature was probably in the 60s or low 70s. Audrey really wanted to go swimming regardless and showed us all what a fish she is. She swam twice every day. She'd stay in until she was mildly hypothermic. Then she'd get out and I'd wrap her up in a big towel and hold her on my lap and rub her limbs until she stopped shivering. She liked the sound of her teeth chattering. Alexander joined her a few times. So did Jason a couple of times while he was practicing swimming in his triathlon wetsuit. He said he was cold even with the suit.

I was happy to indulge Audrey's desire to swim even though everyone thought she was crazy. I hated cold water when I was a kid (well, I still do!) and I love the fact that she doesn't seem to even notice it. When entering the water she wasn't at all ginger - she just plowed right in every time.

We stayed until Tuesday morning and then hit the road about 9:30 am. Carol and I decided to return to Seattle via Highway 2 over Stevens Pass instead of the faster route via Interstate 90. Stevens Pass is a lot more scenic. We stopped in Leavenworth for lunch and had a good break from the car. Plus ice cream. Then the final 2 1/2 hour push for home.

We all had a fantastic time, but it was nice to get back home. It was a wonderful way to spend the symbolic end of Summer. Thanks to Jason, Pam and Alexander for their hospitality.