Winter Refugee

Snow in Seattle is always such an event. While at school on Monday we watched it snow throughout the day, but there wasn't much accumulation on the roads. Then, late afternoon it began snowing...hard. Snow + a layer of ice on the roads + rush hour traffic = zero movement on the roads. By the time I got to I-5, traffic wasn't moving at ALL! I decided to abort my attempt to get home and headed for my friend Karen's house (who lives just blocks away from my high school). I finally made it there at 8:00p.m. after 2 hours.

Karen took pity on my refugee status and gave me food to eat, wine to drink, pajamas to sleep in and my regular spot in the guest bedroom. On Tuesday, school was cancelled and we had a great day. We walked to Starbuck's for breakfast and spent the afternoon hanging out at Karen's sitting by the fire, exercising on the treadmill, watching trashy afternoon TV, etc. We were even able to get to a store in the afternoon so I could buy some clean clothes. I stayed at Karen's on Tuesday night in anticipation of a nasty commute the next morning, but school was cancelled. Predictably, the roads were fine, so I drove home (I didn't want to wear out my welcome at Karen's; this could be a dreadful winter and I might need to bunk at her place again).

THANK YOU KAREN!

Thanks for everything Karen!!!

Giving THANKS for...

...the opportunity to share this Thanksgiving with my Aunt Patti, Uncle Randy, Cousin Whitney, Aunt Genie, Uncle Greg, Brother Keith and Grandpa Irv.

...turkey, gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, brisket, warm rolls, shrimp salad and pie!!!

...the health, love and happiness of my family, both near and far.

...that I didn't have to endure too much ridicule from my uncles for the Cougar defeat in the Apple Cup.

...for stuffing and gravy. Did I mention that one already? Yum!

Thirty Something

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEITH

On Thursday, Keith turned 36! He's now officially on the downhill slide to his forties. I'll refrain from making any disparaging remarks because I'm next. Yikes!

To mark this special occasion, we got together with our cousins Whitney and Nate, and cousin-in-law Regan for dinner at Jak's in Seattle. The food was delicious (great steaks), but the company was even better! It was really great to catch up with everyone.

Let's do it again soon (the get-together, not the birthday).

Got Caffeine?

When you work at a public school, fundraisers come with the territory!

I am the school counselor and co-facilitator for GES, the Global and Environmental Studies Academy, a 'small school within a school', serving 180 ninth and tenth graders. To earn money for student field trips, we are selling shade-grown, fair-trade coffee through Cafe Humana.

If anyone is interested in a pound of coffee, just let me know, but place your order by November 27th. Options are dark roast, medium roast or decaf, and either whole bean or ground. Regular is $10 per pound and decaf is $11 per pound. I'll get the orders on Dec 6th (in time for the holidays) and I'll gladly deliver to friends in the Seattle area (and I can bring to Tucson, too). For each pound sold, $4 or $5 goes to the students. Okay, now I sound like one of those annoying "Save the Children" commercials.

http://www.cafehumana.com/index.php

November Rain

The 10-Day forecast for Seattle

Today- heavy rain, 61 degrees
Tomorrow - showers, 55
Wednesday - showers, 49
Thursday - partly cloudy, 47
Friday - rain, 46
Saturday - rain, 46
Sunday - showers, 45
Monday - showers, 44
Tuesday - showers, 45
Wednesday - partly cloudy, 47

One of the great luxuries in my life-- garage with automatic garage door opener!!!