Sledding!

Ketchum, Idaho
Monday, December 28, 2015

Before we moved on to trying out the more nuanced sports of skating and x-country skiing, we decided to start with sledding. Challenging enough, it turns out! Especially when the slopes have hardened and developed bumps--exhilarating, but terrifying, too!

Snow shoes!

Ketchum, Idaho
Sunday, December 27, 2015

I just gave snow-shoeing a trial run! The snow here is DEEP and powdery which makes snow shoes the perfect thing for not sinking in too deep... Got outside in late afternoon when it was UP to 16F--most of the day it was around 5F. I think I could do more of this!

Echoes of Mongolia

Ketchum, Idaho
Sunday, December 27, 2015

This morning we pulled up the shades, and were greeted by this spectacular sight. It was very cold (about -5F) when we got up, and the dry air and temps reminded me of Mongolia. Spectacular!

Santa Rabbit & friends

Seattle, Washington
Thursday, December 24, 2015

Santa Rabbit gets a careful investigation by one of her more lively relatives. Not long now before Santa Rabbit will be headed back to Siberia...

Final touches

Seattle, Washington
Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Today we added the finishing touches to the Gingerbread Stable. Most importantly, the horses were added to the stable yard, along with some trees and a few other barnyard animals...not 100% sure if we should have added the cougar...

Yalda!

Seattle, Washington
Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Spent a lovely evening with friends tonight celebrating the Persian Solstice. Fruits, nuts, and all manner of delicious food--and a bit of poetry, too!

At last, the days begin to grow longer!

Just in time

Seattle, Washington
Saturday, December 19, 2015

Just in time for Christmas vacation to begin, the library notified us that the new Rick Riordan book was waiting for us. "The Sword of Summer," here we come!

Baking for the New Year

Seattle, Washington
Thursday, December 17, 2015

Tasked with producing some cookies for a cookie exchange at work, I decided to go with a New Year's theme: '16.

I love baking...

Santa Lucia

Seattle, Washington
Sunday, December 13, 2015

Another lovely "Luciatåg" at Our Redeemer's Lutheran Church in Ballard. And then the coffee and cookies...that's a sigh of contentment you hear...

30 hours in D.C.

Washington, D.C.
Monday, December 7, 2015

Spending a day + with family and friends in D.C. Unseasonably warm, but nice weather to walk around in. The scenes of homelessness stay with one...

I take my first ride on Seattle's light rail

Seattle, Washington
Sunday, December 6, 2015

Tonight I took my first ride on Seattle's light rail--a trip to the airport. The Mount Baker station was pretty deserted on a late-ish Sunday evening but it was a mighty smooth ride. Finally!

Food heaven

Port Moody, Canada
Saturday, December 5, 2015

We are spending the weekend with wonderful old friends in Port Moody. Today was my idea of Food Heaven: dim sum for lunch and sushi for dinner. Thank you M & M--it was fantastic!

Arabian Horse Club redux

Amman, Jordan

Seattle, Washington
Sunday, November 29, 2015

In a combined tribute to the Arabian Horse Club of Amman and the horses (both past and present) in A's life, this year we made a gingerbread stable--with stalls for six special horses.

Pre-fab, Stage 1

Pre-fab, Stage 2

Pride, Mabruka, Pooh Bear

Mabruka, Pride, Patchy, Angelina, Santana, Pooh Bear

Light the darkness

Seattle, Washington
Saturday, November 14, 2015

Friends joined us for the holiday a few days ago and brought along supplies for making candles. It was a fun project and maybe some kind of reminder that we can and must do what we can to light a candle in the darkness.

Fruit & veggies

Seattle, Washington
Saturday, October 10, 2015

Almost every week I head over to my favorite fruit and vegetable store in the International District. At first, I was overjoyed to do all my shopping in one place (i.e. our local Safeway Superstore) but now I am a convert. It's small, simple, has good fruit and produce, and I enjoy being there...

Inspector Gamache

Seattle, Washington
Saturday, October 10, 2015

I never really thought of myself as a big mystery reader (at least not since I was a kid and read every Nancy Drew ever written), but in the past year I have read almost every book written by Louise Penny. Something about her Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries is quite compelling--but do make sure you read them in order as there is a story line that goes through from book to book. And her descriptions of various Canadian landscapes are wonderful...

Teachers' Strike: Day 3

Seattle, Washington
Friday, September 11, 2015

Today is Day 3 of the Teachers' Strike. A drew this card illustrating some of the teachers' demands...

Ohanapecosh!

Ohanapecosh, Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington
Monday, September 7, 2015

Ah, the wonderful GREEN everywhere--just what one needed after a long, dry summer in Seattle! Two nights camping in the lovely Ohanapecosh campground was a very nice way to spend the last weekend of the summer. We managed to miss the rain and enjoyed some lovely mini-hikes on the well-maintained trails around the campground. A great find!

A was delighted, as well, to spot a number of marmots during our walk up at Paradise....

"It's a balloon, Thomas"

Seattle, Washington
Thursday, September 3, 2015

A colleague mentioned a neat art installation at the UW's Henry Art Gallery, and yesterday I headed over to check it out: A room full of endless balloons, about 12 feet deep. Visitors get to wander among the densely packed balloons, which is kind of like swimming through giant molecules of water. A and I were both entranced.

A begged to go back again today--this time with her Dad.

Finally, a new bag

Seattle, Washington
Sunday, August 30, 2015

Alas, we did not make it to Lake Chelan for Quilt Camp this year: the wild fires were far too numerous and terrifying. We decided to make a go of it in Magnolia and, at last, I have a new bag. Good fun to see everyone!

Flood of Fire

Seattle, Washington
Saturday, August 22, 2015

I just finished reading Flood of Fire, the third book in the Ibis Trilogy by Amitav Ghosh. It's been long enough ago since I read the second book that I could barely remember all the (many!) characters. Consequently, it took a while to get into this third book. But it was worth it. He really is a master of the historical fiction genre. Now I am seriously considering going back to the beginning to read them all again...

Omak Stampede

Omak, Washington
Saturday, August 15, 2015

This weekend we made it to Omak to visit former colleagues from Mongolia. Although the Stampede was not our primary goal, we had a chance to watch the horses and riders depart from the top of Stampede Hill--quite a scene! It was also fun to head down to the fairgrounds and watch some of the Native American dancing. And, of course, a taste of our first "Indian Taco"...

Now, if we can just manage to get home past the wildfires...

Mercer Slough berry stroll

Bellevue, Washington
Sunday, August 9, 2015

Went for a wonderful walk along the Mercer Slough marsh walk this morning. A lovely 2+ mile walk with stray blueberry bushes dotting the edge of the trail--and blackberries, of course. Bring the kids!

Summer reads 2015

Seattle, Washington
Saturday, August 8, 2015

It's been a busy summer in the Reading Department, and I am ready to make some recommendations. Herewith:

The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh. This was my favorite book of the summer. This is a wonderful modern tale set in the Sundarbans--tigers, mangrove forests, and a dolphin specialist from Seattle... Read it! (from Wikipedia: "The Sundarbans is a natural region in the Bengal region comprising Bangladesh and Eastern India. It is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world.")

All the Light We Cannot See by Athony Doerr. This was one of those books that I could not put down--both from the pleasure of reading it and the suspenseful plot. Set in World War II era Germany and France. I only found the movement back and forth in time a bit confusing--though maybe that was one of the goals...

Eight Months on Ghazzah Street by Hilary Mantel. I enjoyed it but found its portrayal of the Middle East a bit too one-dimensional--and I was quite disappointed with the ending...

The Coffee Trader by David Liss. I enjoyed learning about that period of Dutch/European history but found the plot a bit over-convoluted...

A Delicate Truth by John le Carré. Wow, that was a fun read!

"Sassy Salmon" sushi

Seattle, Washington
Thursday, August 6, 2015

Tonight was Parents' Night Out and we celebrated at Seattle's oldest Japanese restaurant in the International District: Maneki. It was jam packed but we squeezed in at the sushi bar--and enjoyed sushi and a few other delicacies. Frank's favorite was the "Sassy Salmon" sushi and mine the California roll. We'll be back--this time with a reservation!

Berries, beaches & art

Lopez Island, Washington

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Just finishing up a lovely week at Lopez with friends: lots of beach time, berry picking (yes, blackberries, too), and lots of art for kids of all ages. Thanks again, Mom!

Barnacle domains

Lopez Island, Washington
Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Beach combing with the kids today when I came across this miniature barnacle compound on a palm-sized shell. The shape of the barnacles reminded me strongly of Dirichlet domains. Do barnacles indeed grow according to the principles of Dirichlet boundary conditions?

Bumper crop

Lopez Island, Washington
Monday, July 20, 2015

The yellow plum tree is laden to the breaking point with fruit this year. It's been at least 30 years since Dad planted these trees...

World Art

Inspired by Australian aboriginal art

Seattle, Washington
Friday, July 17, 2015

This year's World Art camp at Pratt was a big hit. A came home with fun projects inspired by art from around the world...

Inspired by West African mudcloth designs

Japanese indigo

Whistle Pig Korean

Bozeman, Montana
Friday, July 10, 2015

This afternoon we emerged from a wonderful week of camping in Yellowstone to the wonders of Bozeman, MT. Even if we hadn't been ready to get away from the monotony of my camp-stove cooking, we would have been delighted to find this fun (and tasty!) restaurant. Next time you're in Bozeman, don't miss it! Heck, I even bought a t-shirt.

Yellowstone bus

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Friday, July 10, 2015

Finally got a close-up of these iconic old buses that roam the park filled with tourists...

Spotting for wolves

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming  
Friday, July 10, 2015

Got up early early this morning and headed to the Lamar Valley to watch for wolves. We had no luck in seeing them BUT we did hear them howling from either side of the valley. And the early morning light was fantastic.

Camp-stove cooking

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Sunday, July 5, 2015

You've got a one-burner stove, one pot, and one spoon. No oil and no dish washing liquid. What'll it be? Yes, beans & rice! With some green chilies thrown in for flavor. Good thing this is one of our favorite dishes...

Big furry beasts

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Saturday, July 4, 2015

Our first day in the park, and we are treated to our first sighting of these magnificent beasts. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that they are the number one reason for traffic jams in the park...

Fractal flowers

Seattle, Washington
Monday, June 29, 2015

Every time I look at the buds at the tops of these flower stalks, I am reminded of fractals. Okay, maybe not exactly fractals, but something close. And the flowers themselves are delightful--and they seem to bloom all summer long, ever taller and taller...