Red Wings win in Vancouver B.C.

Colby and I headed to Vancouver for a weekend of hockey, food and power shopping as a way to retroactively celebrate our birthdays from October and November. As you all know those months were sort of a bust for us so this was a great way to make up for lost time.

Being a fan of the opposing team is not the ultimate way to see your first NHL game, but the Wings won so who really cares? It was not the most thrilling game for the first two periods but the Wings came out in the 3rd and showed 'em how it's done and ended up beating the Canucks in OT/shoot out style! And only in the Pacific Northwest does one go out for late night sushi after a hockey game.

On Sunday we met up with friends, who live in Vancouver, for brunch. It was the perfect ending to a whirlwind weekend.

Ya just gotta love Canada, eh?!

Snow Food

Wintry weather calls for hearty food. The first crockpot beef goulash with mashed potatoes of the season was perfect for watching the snow and wind blow around on Monday night. Looks like lots more of these meals to come this winter.

White Thanksgiving

Just a few days before Thanksgiving and the snow was howling. Only about 3 inches fell on Monday, but the winds were blowing up to 40 mph and it looked like a blizzard outside for about 8 hours. Cold too -- 19 degrees when we woke up Tuesday morning. Clear, cold, and sunny on Tuesday afternoon, but another storm expected on Thanksgiving Eve with potentially more snow. What a way to start the season...

All Aboard the "Get Well" Train

As I head into week two of recovery, I have no shortage of elementary school-style activities to keep me occupied. My fabulous co-workers were so kind to provide coloring books, crayons, puzzles and paper dolls for my crafting pleasure. I think I may even crack open that glow-in-the-dark jigsaw puzzle tonight.

My first week of recovery has gone well and nurse Colby has done an extraordinary job of keeping me comfortable, well fed and appropriately medicated! And he has done all of this while working feverishly on his dissertation. He really is the one who deserves all the extra TLC at this point.

A Different Island Vacation

Jim & Danielle came out for a visit that took us to Orcas Island. The weather a little different than Maui as it rained like cats and dogs much of the time, but also broke apart and gave us some welcomed sunshine and nifty fog that clung to the Sound. Naturally, we got a few days of power shopping and dining under our belts in Seattle before setting sail to the Island. What a great, easy going time we had!

Paradise Found

Seattle has been terribly unforgiving this year and hasn't produced anything that resembles summer. So off we went to Maui in search of sun and warmth. Luckily we found exactly what we were looking for! Taking advantage of a great airfare and off-season rates we stayed for a week in a nice little condo right on the beach in Kehei, Maui. We happily spent mornings and evenings on our lanai watching sunrises and sunsets and long lazy days at the beach. We did drag ourselves off the beach a few times for some sailing and paddle boarding.

It's a good thing we got our year's dose of vitamin D, since we returned to rain and temps in the mid-50's. What a homecoming. It's a good thing we have a trip to Austin coming up in October to keep our spirits up.

The Greatest Gift

When you dog sit one of the sweetest dogs on earth (Hardy), you receive the coolest gifts in thanks. Hardy's parents, Michael & Brennan, know us well enough to give the gift of fresh and safe food storage! The timing couldn't have been better since, just today, Colby participated in the second annual sausage making festival. This time he came home with 12 lbs of spicy italian sausage.

I wonder what will be sizzling on our grill this summer? Wanna come over?