A Wonderful 2012--So Far

Lou standing next to the big snowball that rolled down the hill one day.

Thus far 2012 has been a fine year for Dom and I.

The ski season was good (lots of snow!) with some really fabulous moments. Those include several weekends of powder skiing at Alpental plus more weekends that were fun even if the snow was challenging. As always, the Alpental social season was loads of fun. We also made it to Whistler Blackcomb for the first time in about 15 years. It was a great trip--good snow, good weather and great friends. Both of us skied well this season. Dom got new boots early on and I think my regular yoga made a big difference.

I especially enjoyed skiing with my nieces and nephews. The youngest, Peter, finally started skiing at age 12 and the oldest, Emily (20), has turned into a terrific skier who kept up with us on the most challenging runs on a great powder day in March. I love skiing with all of them.

My consulting project (developing a competency assessment and training program for a pathology laboratory) went well. I enjoyed working with my partner and we got the project completed about two weeks ago. Our client was really pleased with our efforts. It was so much fun working again that I am now hoping to get involved in more projects.

Dom made progress on his racecar project. He spent a lot of time pefecting his aluminum welding techniques.  He thought he might get it done before our departure but he took time out to make the cabinet for our bathroom. He also spent time at our commercial building in Issaquah and signed a tenant for one of the vacant spaces.

In contrast to last year, this spring in the Pacific Northwest has been great. While we had a rainy March, so far April has been quite nice. Both last weekend and this weekend were sunny and warm. Today the temperatures in Seattle were over 70! Nonetheless, we are looking forward to getting to Italy where the weather should be even better.

More about that in the next post!

Recap of Summer 2010

FINALLY, I am getting around to another blog post.  It is the afternoon before we leave for our fall trip and I feel compelled to catch up.  So here is a quick recap of summer 2010.

We stopped in London for two nights on our way back to Seattle/Whidbey Island. It was a fun visit and quite relaxing after the hectic few weeks selling and moving out of our house.  We visited the Imperial War Museum (fascinating!), the Victoria and Albert (saw an exhibit of Princess Grace of Monaco's clothes) and rode the London Eye.

The London Eye is a giant ferris wheel. Each "car" holds 25 people although there was only about a dozen in ours. The views were spectacular and it is really something different.



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We were only back on Whidbey Island for a week before we headed to Wenatchee for my niece's high school graduation.  She is the oldest of the grandkids so it was a big deal.  Here is Emily with my parents, Marion and Jack.

It felt like we were hardly home in June because less than two weeks after we were in Wenatchee we took a five day road trip to Sonoma, CA.  The purpose was to see the NASCAR road race there but we also managed to stop and see friends in Eugene, OR (formerly of Italy) and two of my dad's cousins and their families.  The race itself was loads of fun. This picture shows the aftermath of a crash that happened right in front of the randstand. Overall the racing was very good. The weather was sunny and cool but that was a lot better than the cool, rainy weather in Western Washington that lasted until July.
 
 

July 4th weekend we drove to Kent, WA to see the Vintage car races and look at all the cars on display.  They were featuring Alfa Romeos and lots of other interesting vehicles. 
 

In mid-July I went hiking near Snoqualmie Pass with some of our skiing friends.

On the hike we passed two lovely alpine lakes. Of course I have totally forgotten their names.  You can see that the weather was lovely and warm.

On the weekend we usually have our big summer party (that we skipped this year) we went to Enumclaw for the annual Northwest Scottish Highland Games.  This photo shows the massing of the bands that is held each day at 12:00.  All the bands competing parade out and play together.  It is quite spectacular.  Dom is a real pipe band fan.  We checked out all the exhibits and booths, met up with friends and listened to all of the band competitions.  Several of the top bands in the world were there including Simon Frasier University from Vancouver, Canada.
 

There was a break in activity until late August when I went on a three day kayak trip with my sister, Patty, and two friends, Deb and Cindy.  The first day was somewhat overcast but we never got rained on.  This picture of Patty is not bad considering I took it blind over the top of my head!

Here we are at lunch our first day.  Our guide, Wyatt, was very good and lots of fun.  We also had a Canadian couple with us, Brian and Kim.  They hailed from Smithers, BC which is pretty far north. 

Our second and third days were sunny and warm.  The kayaking itself was fun (although rather hard work) and it was fascinating being right down on the water.  We spent most of our time close to shore where we could see down into the shallows as well as the beach activity.  No orcas swam by but we saw porpoises, eagles, sea otters and many other creatures.  Our camp site on Cypress Island in the San Juans was visited by racoons and mice.
 
 

We enjoyed the beach camping.  Tents, sleeping pads and pillows were all provided by Anacortes Kayaking.  Wyatt proved to be an excellent cook.  We brought along plenty of wine and the company was excellent.  The scenery was beautiful including this view of the rising moon at sunset.

Our last day was the sunniest and warmest.  This was our view of Mt. Baker from the kayak as we made our way back to Anacortes.

Before we headed off our last morning the guide for the other group that camped near us took a picture of all of us and our kayaks.
 
Although we enjoyed the trip the paddling got to us by the last day.  I am glad we did not do the five day trip!  Next summer we have plans for another girls' trip that are active but not quite so intense.
 

The week after Labor Day Dom and I tore out our bathroom in preparation for a total remodel this winter.  This is the view of our bedroom looking into the bathroom area.  As you can see we did a pretty thorough job.

There is not much left of the bathroom and dressing area that were there before.  Our plan is to convert this area to a walk-in closet (rather than a dressing room) and make the bath area larger.  It will all be very nice when it is finished sometime in March.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Those are the highlights of our summer.  Tomorrow we are off to Italy to look for a new place there.  At the moment we are leaning towards an apartment but we will see what happens.  We will also spend most of October in Rome.  This is something we have wanted to do but was not practical when we had a house three hours away.  Now that we are between houses it seems like the perfect opportunity to immerse ourselves in the Eternal City.  It will also provide lots of new material for the blog. :-)

Long time, no blog!

I know. I know.  Blogging has gone by the wayside for quite some time.  I never even finished up our fall in Italy.  Here is the condensed version.

We arrived back on Whidbey Island on November 17 and immediately dove into our U.S. lives.  The house and Mocha Kitty were both fine. 

We did suffer some damage to our front path as a result of a heavy rainstorm in October.  It is compressed gravel and so much water flowed down it that there were deep channels cut into the ground and a big pile of gravel at the bottom of the path.  Apparently about 5 inches of rain fell in one day.  We thought the  fall was wet in Italy but it seems it was not much different back here.

Thanksgiving was spent at my parents' ski cabin with Mom and Dad, my sister, brother and their families and my cousin John.  It was a very relaxed day but we noticed that the nieces and nephews are almost all adult size.  They no longer go downstairs and watch videos  Instead they sit in the living area and chat with the adults. Well, actually they seem to listen to the adults and text their friends.  It makes for a very crowded living area.

In early December Dom and I made a trip to Florida.  We went to Tallahassee first on business and then to Orlando for the annual Performance Racing Industry trade show.  Dom's brother Frank and his wife Ang met us there.  We all went out to Kennedy Space Center one day which fulfilled a life long dream of mine.

I was not into Christmas this year. Decorating seemed like and awful lot of work but I did put out all the decorations. The tripod for the high powered binoculars was wrapped in white lights and hung with multi-colored balls in lieu of a tree. The Lenox nativity set was arranged and most of the rest of the odds and ends were placed around the house. No outdoor lights but I did put my string of white lights on the deck on a timer so they came on every evening.

My father and I arranged our annual trip to the Space Needle for lunch followed by an afternoon at the Seattle Children's Theater.  Before setting off I took this picture of the nieces and nephews, my parents, sister and sister-in-law.  Peter Pan was the play and I was worried about what the young teen boys would think but they all declared it one of their favorites.  A grand time was had by all.

Christmas Eve was spent at my parents' houseboat for our family tradition of Papa Chuck's salmon chowder, salad, bread and cookies.  Brother Charlie and his family as well as a few friends joined us.  Afterwards Dom and I headed up to the ski cabin where Mom, Dad, Dom and I spent a quiet Christmas Day.

On New Year's Eve Dom and I joined neighbors Dick and Helen Francisco for a fabulous dinner at the Captain Whidbey Inn.  We really enjoyed the evening even if we did not party until midnight.

Since then we have been working steadily on business issues and house projects.  Dom is still busy with his race car.  It is coming along but slowly.  I have several upholstery projects started but far from finished.  The weather here has been quite mild so I have also been trying to get the yard in order.  A few leaves have been moved and the pots are all cleaned up but there is still loads to do.

We have been skiing a number of times although the conditions have not been good.  Nonetheless it has been a lot of fun mostly because we are usually with friends and the cameradery is great.  More snow was falling last night so I am looking forward to next weekend on the slopes.

That is about all for now.  We are heading back to Italy about April 1 so more Italian fare will be forthcoming.  In the meantime I will try to blog a little more often...

TGI September!

August was an INCREDIBLY busy month. Unfortunately, it was mostly business issues that kept us occupied. Nonetheless, we managed a lot of fun as well. Here are the highlights:

Soon after our weekend at the races in Wenatchee, Dom's brother John, his wife Vicky and their daughter Schuyler came to visit for a week.



In between conference calls and too many emails we managed to take in quite a few of the local sights.


One of the booths at the Bayview Farmers Market.



One of the decommissioned guns at Fort Casey




Dom and John on the boat tour at Lake Diablo in the North Cascades.

The Seattle City Light tour of the lakes and dams was something we have wanted to do for some time. Guests in town is always a good excuse so off we went one day (with reservations and a picnic) to Newhalem on Highway 20.



The boat travels up Diablo Lake to the foot of Ross Dam.


Really spectacular scenery but almost no wildlife sighted.

After we got off the boat we walked back across the dam where the bus picked us up to take us back to Newhalem. The tour was well done and well worth the long drive there and back.

We also took our guests to Deception Pass. Dom and John walked out on the bridge while Schuyler, Vicky and I admired the view.

I spent one weekend with my brother's kids. We went to the acquarium in Seattle, had fish and chips at Ivar's and explored Pike Place Market.

Last weekend I helped sister Patty celebrate the big 5-0!

Here she is with the birthday cake.

It was the wild and crazy women celebrating at Alpental.

The next day some of us hiked to Snow Lake.

It was a brilliant day but the hike sure seemed easier the last time I did it.

I have to say I am glad September is finally here. The business stuff has calmed down some so hopefully this month will be a tad more relaxed before we leave for Italy on September 29. However, the calendar is awfully full so maybe in October...

An Evening at the Races

Last Saturday Dom and I drove over to Wenatchee (located in the eastern part of Washington State) to visit my sister, Patty and her family. Her son Thomas raced that evening at the Wenatchee Valley Super Oval in the Youth Hornet class. Another friend of ours, Ron, raced in the Legends class.



We left Whidbey Island at about 11:30 and arrived at Patty and Scott's house just before 4 pm. The drive over Stevens Pass was gorgeous except for the heavy traffic through Sultan, Goldbar, etc. We stopped at Zeke's for burgers for lunch.



After an early dinner at Patty's those of us not involved in the pits headed over to the track. It is a 1/4 mile oval located in the hills of East Wenatchee at Fancher Field only about 10 minutes away. On Saturday the temperature peaked at 110 degrees F. and at the start of the races it was not much cooler. Luckily we found seats in a patch of shade and there was a slight breeze. All in all we stayed as comfortable as can be expected given the heat and the hard bleacher seats. I chilled out with a raspberry shaved ice and a bottle of water.



Earlier in the day Ron called and asked Dom if he wanted to help out in the pits. Dom agreed to do so and had a lot of fun. His expertise was much appreciated.



In the stands I sat with Patty, Ron's wife Arlene, our mutual friend Deb, and a variety of Patty's in-laws. For a while my niece Emily was there but she had to go off and console a girlfriend who broke up with her boyfriend. Ah, the pangs of adolescence!



All of us watching were either motorheads ourselves or had spent enough time in close proximity to some that we really enjoyed the races. Like most sports if you don't understand the nuances it can be a little boring. Patty's mother-in-law told me that sometimes she had brought a book to the races. There was a time I would have done the same but no longer.





Here's Thomas looking very racy with his dark shades.





Ron and Thomas in front of Ron's car. Thomas got fast qualifying time in his class and Ron won one of the trophy dash events in his class.





Here's Ron receiving his trophy from the trophy girl.

The chief flagman was incredibly enthusiastic. He was as much a show as the racing! It turned out he raced against Ron years ago in the Tri-Cities.

I kept getting lost in the action so I did not take many pictures of the racing. It is awfully hard to do that well in any case.

Here is Thomas pulling up in front of the flagstand after he won the main event in his class. He has six firsts out of six races this season. Way to go, Thomas!!!

Here is Thomas receiving his trophy.

Here is video of the post-race interview with Thomas.

We had a great time in Wenatchee (in spite of the heat). The next morning we had breakfast at Patty and Scott's and then headed home over Snoqualmie Pass. We stopped briefly at Alpental and then continued on. It was about 4 pm when we got back to our house on Whidbey Island.

Al Mare - Deception Pass Kayaking

I went sea kayaking with my sister, Patty, last Friday morning. We drove up to Deception Pass State Park for a 90 minute tour with Anacortes Kayak Tours. We did the 9:30 am early bird special--only $25 per person. The tour company provided everything and it was fabulous. The morning was calm and a little foggy--probably better than sunny because we did not get too hot in all our gear.


This was my view straight ahead!


Lots of other scenery too.


This picture does not do our guide, Ben, justice.



We rounded this headland before the fog rolled in.

At the top of the headland we could see three people. They set down a bag and took something out of it. For some reason my first thought was that they were scattering the ashes of the dearly departed. Patty thought the same thing. We hoped they would wait until we were a little farther away. On our way back the fog had rolled in and we could not see the headland. However, we did hear a bagpipe rendition of Amazing Grace. A little eerie.

Ben showed us a sea "cave." We could paddle right inside but it narrowed quickly. Along the rocks were loads of different sea life including bright purple sea stars.

There was lots of kelp all along the rocky shore. Ben told us it was edible so I tried a little. I thought it tasted like salty peapods but Patty thought it just tasted like grass.

In this picture you can just make out some of the purple sea stars. If you click on this picture it will enlarge it and you can see it better.

On our way back we could see this slot in the rocks. By this time the fog was moving in and we paddled along like we were wrapped in cotton wool.

On our way home we stopped at Deception Pass bridge. It must have been slack water because lots of boats were heading in and out. Much of the time the tides are too strong for small craft to safely navigate the narrow pass.

The kayaking was loads of fun and we hope to do it again soon.