When I Smelled That the Autumn Had Come

The last 2-3 weeks have been 'hot' for the northwest. We finally sky-rocketed to the mid-90s, and I absolutely loved most of it. It was wonderful seeing blue skies and a yellow sun. My garden had a spastic fit, as the vegetables had no idea what exactly they were meant to do with all that heat. I was very hopeful for my tomatoes. The plant became so gargantuan, it broke its cage, and fell over to only grow into a wild tomato forest. There are millions of green tomatoes that need to turn red. Then on Friday, when I walked outside to take lunch to Bryan, I could smell autumn in the air. The sky was still blue, the sun bright and yellow, but the air was cool. Back down to the usual high 60s to low 70s. I woke on Saturday, excited to enjoy the cool autumn air while I stained our brick. It was not meant to be. The rain was back. And I mean BACK. The clouds are thick, billowy and gray, with no end in sight. This type of weather is depressing. No, not the rain, I enjoy the rain, but the clouds. I'm not accustomed to a blanket of clouds that does not change for days, sometimes weeks on end. There are no patches of blue sky, or bits of sun rays shining through. The day is only punctuated by mist, drizzles, rain, heavy rain, and wet rain. *Sigh* I'm hoping this is just the first of many small storms, and that the blue skies and yellow sun will show themselves several more times before the winter rain is back.

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Another lovely drive

Somewhere Wedged Between the Kidney and Olympic is Summer

In the middle is where these stories lie. Stuck in the foggy parts of my brain that keep saying pssst! don't forget us. Yet how do I muddle through the thick web of tales spun? Where do I tell of the Mustang convertible we drove all over the hills of San Francisco. The plane being brought in from the hanger as the 'reason we're late' excuse, then turned out to be a prop-job straight from the movie screen of Indiana Jones. The crazy kid with his girlfriend behind me on Space Mountain that kept asking how his hair looked and caused me to forget most of the ride. MoneyPenny giving instantaneous directions that involved extreme braking and hairpin right turns. Endless amounts of rain that turned into seven straight days of beautiful northwest summer while family visited, just to turn back into raindrops as they drove away. The first cab I hailed on a dark street with a flick of my wrist actually worked. Eating our favorite Greek food every day in San Fran. Preparing for the worst on the back of Splash Mountain when three 200+ pound guys were sat in the front of our log, then laughing hysterically as I watched the 20-foot wave crest our log canoe. Eating Dippin' Dots at the zoo and watching a baby polar bear belly flop into the pool for a fish. The hand of my nephew grabbing mine over and over again dragging me to the garage saying 'doggies' and loving their drool and excitement to see him. Sitting at the park taking pictures of my childhood home that no longer existed, but reliving many happy memories. Taking pictures of bursting tar to have a girl, yes girl, pass mountain-man gas right next to me.




Before and after it all I've been reading, gardening, (which by the way, has exploded since I planted my seeds a few days before June 19th) cross-stitching, watching endless episodes of Sex and the City and eating many ice cream Snicker's bars all to my heart's content.


We even found time to say good-bye to the Honda and hello to the G8.

Olympic National Park

We decided to go to Olympic National Park, as with every weekend I have off, the Northwest weather made sure we couldn't see anything. Heavy rain and fog all day, couldn't see more than 25 feet at any given moment. From the looks of the road there is a good chance there might be some great views but all we saw was dark clouds and rain.... Near one of the parking lots at Hurricane ridge there was a blacktail deer walking around. On the way down the mountain the clouds broke for about 1 minute, we hopped out and shot a pic of the mountains. 9 hours in the car and only two pictures, not a great day.

4th of July

Pictures from the Northwest