PEACHES!!!

Fresh from the orchard! Aaron surprised me a couple of days ago by buying 20 pounds of fresh peaches from the other side of the state!!! He said he used some of his bday money from my mom and Mary. Thanks Minnesotans!!

I started "putting them up" with five decent bags (quarts???) in the freezer tonight.

Aaron's a smart fella...he knows this means fresh peach crisp in the dead of winter. YUMMY!

The rest? Well, they are totally irresistible so we've been munching away all we can and maybe we'll need to make some pancake syrup or something like that. The big ice cream social is rescheduled for this Saturday so perhaps some of the best peaches ever can be in the best toppings bar ever!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AARON AND SANTA FE

Aaron and Santa Fe share a birthday!! Turns out Santa Fe is 361 years older than Aaron. We had a great time celebrating his birthday with Ed and Brigit -- who are moving away from Seattle (sniff, sniff) and then jetting off to Santa Fe.

Santa Fe claims to be the second biggest art market, second to NYC. Who knew? We was some amazing art and had to buy some for ourselves.

We also did a lot of wedding activities. The wedding was amazing and really reflected the personality of the bridge and groom. It's always extra-fun to attend weddings like that.

We're home again and trying to get back into the swing of things. Here are some pictures!


Aaron and his second birthday cake. Yup! He got TWO cakes this year. This one is a single-layer version of the cake he grew up with. There's still a piece in the freezer that he's saving. The other cake was made with an entire bottle of maple syrup. He loved it. Any why not? It was ALL sugar!


In Santa Fe there's "Canyon Road" which is a long stretch of really nice galleries. We spent more than a day walking up and down it, trying to take it all in. We took lots of pictures of the doors, flowers, and art.


Sunflowers on Canyon Road.


Street in the center of Santa Fe, near the Plaza. (Anner loved the Pop gallery.)

These three pictures were taken in Bandeleir National Monument. There were a few miles of trails and you could climb up into some Pueblos. The last one was 140 feet straight up. It was incredibly beautiful. We spent the morning of the wedding there. It was about an hour north of Santa Fe.

After we did our hike, we had to hurry back to hotel. We got home a little late, showered and changed in half-an-hour and then hurried to the wedding site. This time, just 45 mins north of Santa Fe.

All the hurrying was worth it. Bandelier was amazing and the wedding was amazing. We're glad we could do both.




The Wedding!

Driving to the wedding spot. We followed a school bus full of wedding-goers.

Anner and Aaron. Behind us there's a weird sculpture looking thing. Turns out it's a fireworks machine!!! A wedding with fireworks! I l-o-v-e-d the fireworks! HolyMoly that was cool!


Aaron and the Groom chatting. Drew's suit was made for him in India. Pretty swank, eh? Why is Aaron wearing a scarf? Well, as it turns out, Aaron was not only the jeweler, but also an usher. Drew gave all the ushers scarves from the World Cup to wear. It looked pretty cool all the guys and their sport scarves. It was a fun and personal touch.


You know I love the flowers. 'nuf said.


Here comes an usher! So handsome...



Sunset in Santa Fe.
Ba-bye Santa Fe. Happy birthday.
And Happy birthday to my honey...

No Joy in Mudville

Sadly, there was no choice but to postpone the annual ice cream social. The last week of July and first week of August are statistically the driest, warmest weeks of the year. Unfortunately Mother Nature didn't read the memo.



Yesterday afternoon we had to make a choice. It had been cold and cloudy all day and the forecast said a 40% chance of rain on Saturday. Does Aaron go out shopping for the best ice cream toppings bar ever and hope the forecast is just plain wrong OR do we reschedule?? Finally at about 3pm we decide to postpone a few weeks and hope for better weather.

We were sad and out of sorts Friday night. It was our version of cancelling christmas morning. We were BUMMED OUT! We decided we needed a Plan B -- Le's go to the movies!! We sat on our couch, freezing (because it was so darned cold all day), and said "we should leave in 10 minutes". Then we both promptly fell asleep. Apparently the decision making took everything we had!! After our naps and watched tv and went to bed. I guess that was Plan C.


Totally freezing Friday night....nap time!

We woke up this morning to cool and cloudy. We were probably the only Seattleites happy to see the rains come. Our decision was vindicated! As it turned out Aaron's college friend Ben was in town so we went to lunch with him and his wife and friend. We had a GREAT time!!! Everything turned out just fine today.



Anner, Aaron, Ben, Karen

Mark your calendars, August 18th is the day!! Com'mon Sunshine!

One weekend - 11 Jacks

It's been a busy-and-fun weekend.

We had Jack and Anastasia over to grill. We grilled pizza again, but I'm afraid it's a work in progress and still needs perfecting. Maybe I need a pizza peel. Anyway, Anastasia's "fudge pie" is NOT a work in progress. It's a work in yummy-ness. It was delish!


You can see the newly painted stuido in the background.

This is a picture of me in the kitchen window getting ready.


There were some random signs out in the neighborhood that said, "studio sale". I was a little skeptical, but when we got there we found really fun art pieces, and..well... we HAD to buy. Check out these jacks made of RR ties.





The crows still watch from their perch.

Chocolate Garden? Heck Yeah!

As as a bit of a sympathy gift my good friend Karen gave me a chocolate garden, complete with a sign. Everything in it looks like chocolate, smells like chocolate or tastes like chocolate! There are flowers, lettuce and even basil. Although, this being Seattle it's 65 and raining this 4th of July, which means it's still too cold for basil. It's inside awaiting its coming out party...in August.



We also amended the "soil" --if that's what you can call the sandy clay mixture out there, in hope that a few shade lovers will live. In the time we've been here a total of one plant has managed to not die in the front garden...a hosta. We've resorted to planting an assortment of hostas, ferns, and plants that are probably considered invasives. Hopefully they'll catch on.





Sedums.
Aaron's favorite.
Every year or two, we take a chance on these. We'll see if these are the strong variety that will manage to live under our growing conditions.



The pictures don't do it justice but it gives a sense of how it looks.

The 3rd annual ice cream social is just one month away and we have a bit of perking up to do in our yard. This was a fantastic start.

Have a happy 4th of July and Happy Birthday America!

Ready. Set. Walk. ...okay, that's enough walking. Let's celebrate!

This past Saturday was the 3rd Annual Seattle Brain Cancer Walk, of which I'm an organizer. "I'm an organizer" is really no shock to any friends or family reading this. Still, it's good I found a place to funnel that energy.

It was a lot of fun and a big success. The walk started three years ago when Kim Hogle a 25 year old was fed up with brain cancer. She knew several folks who had it and decided she wanted to raise, $100,000. Kim wasn't sure how but she just decided it. Fast forward and they raised $120,000 that year. $275,000 last year and $400,000 this year. Well done Kim!

I was up at 4:30am to catch a ride to help set-up. No one mentioned that part when I signed-up for the committee or who knows what would have happened!! Still, I was so excited it didn't even matter.

We all gathered around 8:00am. Then there were opening ceremonies and then at 9:00 we walked about 1 1/2 miles around Seattle Center. There were muscians and mimes along the way. When we made it back to the starting point, that ended the "walking" partion of the walk. We turned to eating bagels and honoring all the Survivors.

Just like that 6-months of planning is in the bag. Worthy of Hope went to continue the celebration with brunch on the top of the Space Needle.

I was completely, and totally exhausted when it was done. The walk isn't so much about walking, although that is quite the show of solidarity, but it's more about the gathering of 2,000 people who support their loved one's. There are bands and artist everywhere. It's really a wonderful day.

Here's a picture of this year's patients and survivors and all their supporters who were here on walk day.



Several of us from the committee put together the Patient and Survivor Tent, which was a place for patients and survivors to get a little TLC on their special day. We had great decorations -- big bea-U-tiful vases of flowers, giveaways -- like baseball games, football, symphony, dinner...everything, and chair massages. What's not to love?








Then there was the Worthy of Hope Team, in memory of John Norsworthy. I was a self-declared co-captain with my pal Karen. We had a great time and far-and-away the best team t-shirts. We were a small-but-mighty team, with just 8 of us raising over $7,500! Three of our team members flew in from out of state. How's that for dedication!!?!! We're already thinking big for next year. Karen's team was fabulous. They were the funnest teammates a person could hope for. Our local jeweler gave us all blingy bracelets (the types you might give to little kids) to help doll up our outfits. That was really fun. We had a celebratory brunch on top of the Space Needle. What an adventure!!






There was Team HDR which one of the HDR office put together.




If you want to see more picture, check out Aaron's Facebook page or let me know and I'll send you a Snapfish link.

STUDIO UPDATE:
You may have though that the studio was complete at the New Years (remember how we spent the holiday hauling in stuff from the storage pods...happy new year, 2010). ?? Well, turns out we still need to paint the new siding in order to protect it. Aaron's done a great job. Here it is in progress. It either says, "crazy old lady with cats lives here" or "genius artist at work". I'm going with the latter.



FLOWERS:
In spite of 262 days of no sun in a row, our garden is trying its damned hardest to bloom.

First up is a "pineapple lily" we've tried these in the ground with limited luck, but this one in a container is doing great.


Next, this is a container that mom gave us for the wedding. We've moved it in front of the studio so it's a really focal point when we come and go. In fact, someone was over last night and asked where we had gotten it. I'm not sure this is the perfect use for it, but I think it looks really cool...in a chia pet kind of way.



And finally, this is the start of a "chocolate garden". A gift my friend Karen gave me. It's totally crazy. Chocolate lettuce. Chocolate basil. Chocolate flowers. We love it and just need to find a good spot for it to thrive.

Visit to Minn-e-SO-tah!

It's been a whirlwind, but Aaron and I made it back to MN about a week ago. It was a little different without dad. Still, it was a good trip and I'm really glad we were able to go. I've been wearing one of dad's flannel shirts ever since.

We spent a lot of time with grandma. We helped plant her beautiful garden and had brunch with her and invited company to join us. I think she liked it. It was pretty fun, I have to say! The food was TA-asty!





Possibly the highlight was seeing Michael play ball. He did a good job and it was fun to be there until the rain set in. Then we went for dinner together at a great 50's place. Super fun!


We came home and have been non-stop since. Aaron's art opening was last week and we had a great time. This weekend is the big brain cancer walk. Then, I think it quiets down a little.

As a bonus...summer is coming back to Seattle. After 262 cloudy days in a row (technically, days under 75 degrees) we're beside ourselves!

Memorial Day Pizza Party Posting

Last night we had our second annual Memorial Day Weekend Dinner and Game Night. (whew say that three times fast). This year we had planned to make pizza on the grill and when dad said, "find a pizza recipe and stick with it" we were not about to change the menu.

These pictures don't do it justice. Our little house was packed full. Toppings being chopped and diced on every imaginable square inch of the kitchen. Laughing and shouting and a lengthy debate about what toppings on what pizzas and which pizza get grilled and which get baked. Anner and Emma took on the grilling experiment (with good success!). Grace and Aaron baked the pizzas (which turned out just like dad's). I gave them a primer on "dad's way" of making pizza, including the cheese on top and they followed it perfectly. No one got out of the evening without getting some flour on themselves. And ice cream and homemade crisp for dessert. It was just what the doctor ordered.


Pizza on the grill...turning out!


Emma pulling the final pizza off of the grill. She's a natural and can comeback to help any time!


One pizza almost done and one pizza about to go in.


Aaron and Wolfe on oven duty.


Dad making pizzas - 1998

Dad making pizza will be one of the images in my head that will stay there a long, long time. Before dad died he told me to "remember the good times" and pizza dinner is far and away the top of the list of the good times.

Success!! At last.....

After multiple failed attempts, I was finally successful at making grilled pizza. Now, I'm not saying it was the tastiest pizza ever (it wasn't) but it was edible!!! This is a significant improvement over previous attempts over the past year. Last weekend's experiment ended in my curled up in a ball laying around the house in defeat, while Aaron made frozen pizza and spent the rest of the evening scraping dough off the grill (thanks, hubby). Luckily this week went much better.

Next step: Making really tasty pizza! Wish us luck...and we'll keep Red Barron on hand, just in case.

Good dough on the rise:


On to the grill:


Let's Eat!