White Friday!

Let me begin this by saying that I hate being around crowds. People tend to become more rude when in a group setting, or it at least seems that way to me. It just makes me crazy. So me, Danny and family friend Mike decided to get away from crowds and take a trip up to Hurricane Ridge at Olympic National Park. It just so happened that Friday was the one really nice, sunny day of the week, too. Good planning on my part! No rain on the trip, and the roads were good right up until the trip up to the visitor's center. Nothing a little four wheel drive action couldn't conquer.


Today - assemble the Christmas tree. We spent last year in a rental house in San Diego, so it will be nice to see our own ornaments on the tree!

No lifts, but plenty of snowboarders.

Looking down into the valley from Hurricane Ridge.

The roads were not too bad.

Danny and me.

Mike, Danny and me.

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, the family was home for the holiday for the first time in a couple of years. We spent last Thanksgiving in a rental house in San Diego last year, so it was nice to be cooking and cleaning my own house this year. I love this time of year, and it is much better at home. Mike came up to spend the holiday with us this year. He drove up Tuesday during a very wet storm - even by Seattle standards! It is always good to spend time with him.


This is the time of year that people usually tell you what they are thankful for. My family knows what I am thankful for already. I am thankful to have them in my life. It is what makes me, me. And I am thankful for butter. Without it, Thanksgiving would have less flavor. Dinner turned out great!


We are going out to enjoy a little bit of dry weather today. No shopping for this guy - I do not enjoy crowds on a normal day. Trying to shop today would likely result in incarceration for me.

Melissa took this on campus at UW.

I do enjoy making cranberry sauce from scratch!

I ask you - what would the day be without butter?

I am also thankful that a turkey named Tom gave
his life to make mine more enjoyable!

Holidays at Home

I am so looking forward to Thanksgiving! For the first time in a couple of years, I will be living at home for the holidays instead of "visiting". This is my favorite time of the year and the whole family will be together this year. Stephanie and Melissa are coming home, and we even have one of our closest friends, Mike, coming up to join us. Throw in the fact that the San Francisco 49ers play on Thanksgiving day this year, and it is on!


Jeannette and I attended Danny's cross country awards banquet (read potluck) last night. It was neat to see the kids together and enjoying themselves, but the coach was very long winded and it went three hours! He had to speak a couple of minutes about each of the kids. I suppose it was good for them and him, but it just dragged on and on after Danny went up there. And I missed the Big Bang Theory last night. Thank goodness for a DVR.