Happy Halloween

Today was our annual Mt. Rainier Counseling Office Halloween Party. We invite the staff for hot apple cider, pumpkin bars, and other yummy treats. The highlight of every Halloween is our secretary, Janet, who always dresses up as a hospital patient with a "cool breeze" on her backside. Her fake booty with blue thong looks so convincing at first glance that we spend the whole day laughing as we watch the reactions of students and newbie staff. Some people laugh hysterically, others do a double-take then sigh with relief when they realize it's not her real butt, and still others turn bright red and giggle nervously or pretend like they haven't noticed. It's hilarious!

I dressed up as "Miss Alaska" which turned out to be a very practical costume since my office is once again freezing! My ears were warm with my favorite hat, complete with tiara!

Go Cougs!!!

I'm not a domestic goddess, I just play one on my blog

I woke up this morning feeling inspired to get things done around the house. I worked outside on my favorite new pastime-- watching the grass to grow. Almost 4 weeks ago, I re-seeded a 6' x 8' section of grass that needed to be ripped out. I fertilized, scattered seeds, covered the whole thing with peat moss, watered daily, and waited. And then waited some more (I'm not very patient). As you can see in the picture, the new grass is finally coming through, but it seems like it should look a little thicker by now. This morning I scattered some more grass seed to help things along a bit.

After my lawn maintenance, I made a pot of Borscht, which is a Russian beet soup (from my mom's cookbook; thanks mom!). Warm soup on a crisp fall day seemed like just the thing. It turned out great; just like mom used to make. Yum!

By noon, I had had all the domestic bliss I could handle, so I went to my hair appointment and got a mani-pedi. Now I'm going to meet some friends for a drink (or two). Who knows...maybe I'll feel like a domestic goddess again next month.

Granite countertops and Granite Mountain

This weekend was all about Granite!

On Saturday, I went to an open house at Carrie and Ben Middlemiss's to see the remodel work they have done on their kitchen, dining room, and living room. Since DIY home-remodeling is a topic of great interest to me, I went eager to see what they have done (and to enjoy the sushi and sake!). Their house looks BEAUTIFUL! It was hard to take a picture that does it justice, but you can see the spectacular kitchen island and stainless steel appliances. I hope my kitchen looks even half as good when complete.

On Sunday, I went hiking with Wenmei and Cowboy to the top of Granite Mountain. We couldn't have picked a better day for hiking, with clear skies, fall colors, and amazing views of Mt. Rainier to the south, Mt. Baker to the north, and Lake Katchess to the east. It's been two days and my legs still aren't fully recovered from the steep hike, but it was worth it!

Mini Winnie Weekenders

My brother bought an RV at the end of summer. It's a 1987 Mini Winnie with less than 15,000 miles. It's in great condition, but it's taken some updating to get rid of the cutesy, dusty rose interior. New area rugs, shades, picutures on the wall, modern linens and shower curtain have improved the decor tremendously! Keith has only made one improvement to the exterior, but it was a BIG one...he removed the license plate holder that said "I heart Dixieland Jazz."

Luckily we've had nice weather so far this Fall, so Keith and I have taken 2 weekend trips. At the end of September we did the Cascade Loop, over Steven's Pass to Leavenworth, north to Winthrop, then over the North Cascade's Highway. It was beautiful! Last weekend we went to La Conner (why stop at 2 little tourist towns when you can go to 3!) and then put the RV in Winter Storage. No more Minnie Winnie fun until the Spring.

My first ever blog

Well, I'm finally joining the technology age.

Here's my first ever Blog!!! Unfortunately, I don't have anything to write about yet, but stay tuned.