Sleepless in Renton

Robin left for England on Monday. He'll be gone for 3 weeks. I didn't sleep well on Monday night. Funny thing is for about the first 15 years we were married I slept better without him - maybe a symptom of marrying relatively late. Now I've finally gotten used to the guy I guess. He flew first class on British Airways. Full size bed in private space, turndown service, even jammies! He said it was a very bumpy flight. Poor baby, wonder if his personal crystal bottle of designer label water slipped off the engraved silver coaster?? Such a bother...

Tonight I'm off to my last Landscape Design class. I'm very excited about the design I came up with for our property. It certainly won't become reality anytime soon but now that I have a "master" plan I can gradually work towards it instead of just patching things together as the mood strikes. We'll see what my instructor thinks! The final product would result in an underground garage with access to the basement, our property sub-divided and cut down by about 1/3, and a lower maintenance but cohesive design. Wow, sounds great doesn't it???

When friends become pests

Early in the week the weekend forecast was looking grim - cold fronts approaching from the north and the south with moisture trapped in between. The SIR "Stupid Winter Training Series" ride was scheduled for Saturday morning from Stanwood and going around Camano Island. I was planning NOT to take part. My pals had other ideas. Correspondence with Mark and Peter went like this: me: I'm not riding Camano this weekend. mark: what time are we meeting to carpool to Camano? me: let's meet by phone at 6:30 in the morning. peter: you want us to call from your driveway at 6:30 when we are there to pick you up? me: silence. Later the forecast showed Camano Island might be one of the few places for some dry weather Saturday morning so I caved and went along. It was COLD but the company of Peter, Mark, Robin, Wayne, Bob and others made it all worthwhile. Gotta say, hanging out with a bunch of smart, athletic, fun, and good-looking guys in tight clothing ain't such a bad way to spend a day. Thanks for being pests!

Progress in the kitchen

We spent most of Robin's holiday break installing new countertops in the kitchen. We got a screamin' deal on Paperstone buying factory 2nds directly from the manufacturer in Hoquiam. Plenty of excitement getting the 400 pound piece unloaded from the top of rack on my brother's truck but no injuries to persons or product.

Old countertops removed










testing the new sink fit









sweet undermount sink









fine adjustments











Overall the kitchen is looking good. I especially love my new pantry and wall cupboard.

A Wet But Wonderful Ride

Good news all around. Mom gets to go home tomorrow - just in time for her many children and their families to descend upon her for our traditional Christmas Eve gathering. I know she is looking forward to it and we're looking forward to her continued recovery.

Robin organized a bike ride today with me, Mark, Peter, Bob, Wayne, and Robert. He promised a flat and mellow ride which he delivered. Good thing since my fitness level is at the lowest it has been for years! It was fun to ride and chat with my good riding buddies. It was pretty wet which was the only drawback but I suppose expecting anything else in the Pacific Northwest in December would be silly. We met up at Greenfresh Market in Renton, fueled up on our choice of hot beverage and then headed south to Flaming Geyser Park. A short stop for more hot beverages along the way and yummy soups and goodies in a nicely heated deli at Greenfresh made for a nice social ride. Just the minimum of whining scored me a ride up the hill in Mark's car complete with heated seats and an extra jacket while Robin played the true randonneur by riding back home. A hot shower followed by a nap and I'm nearly good as new - except for the large pile of soaking wet riding clothes I need to deal with...

If any of you usually get a Christmas letter from us and are wondering where it is don't hold your breath. We will be sending some kind of New Year's greetings this year! Of course it was planned that way!

Merry Christmas and wishing you love, peace, and health in 2008!

Mom in recovery

I've been remiss about posting. My mom's surgery on Wednesday was tough but they successfully installed a new valve in her heart. I've been spending lots of time with her and dad while trying to stay on top of things at home and not neglect Robin too severely. It is a hard time but my mom is a strong woman (you don't raise 7 kids if you're a wimp!) and my dad, brothers & sisters, and I are leaning on each other. Thoughts and prayers from extended family and friends have been more helpful than you could know. As of this morning mom is still in Critical Care. The staff there have been terrific but it is not a restful place. Hoping for mom to progress to be able to move to a regular room where she might be able to get some real sleep. Other siblings are with mom and dad over the weekend so I will be catching up with some friends, riding my bike, and putting up some Christmas decorations before heading back to Lacey on Wednesday. I'm very thankful to have the scheduling freedom to be with mom and dad right now.

Home Sweet Home

We've been back home now for about a week and a half and hit the ground running. Two fabulous full-on Thanksgiving blow outs, a couple days of nose-to-the-grindstone-take-advantage-of-the-good-weather yard clean up, a short visit from Robin's parents, sink purchase for the kitchen remodel, practice work with the new countertop material, MAJOR dustbunny eradication program in the house, several Mt Rainier-sized piles of laundry, family time, sorting through 3 months of mail (holy CR*P there was a lot of paper wasted for the recent election!), and various other sundry activities all pointing to the very happy fact that we are HOME!

Braving the predicted freezing weather we'll be leading the SIR "meet the teams ride" on Saturday. Check out more info on the SIR website (linked to the main blog page).

On Wednesday next week my mom goes in for major heart surgery. All prayers, good vibes, and pagan rituals on her behalf are appreciated. It'll be a long recovery but I and my siblings have a time-tested strong tag team to hopefully provide all the support and help needed for mom and dad. There outta be some pay off for raising 7 kids right?

Hope to get a few more pics from England posted soon.

Coming Home update

The test that Robin is on is finishing up early so he gets to come home with me on Monday - yippey!

I've been meaning to do a very witty post about some observations on a couple of things but just can't seem to get enthused for it. I think this ankle/foot injury is getting me down. I'll be seeing the orthopedic doc the day after we get home so hopefully he'll get me straightened out! See y'all stateside!