"Whan That Aprile...."

With all apologies to Geoffrey, the April showers are leaving me a bit bummed out.  Pilgrimage?  The only place I want to go to is a warm beach, a sun bathed stretch of sand. That, my friends, is where I long to go on pilgrimage.  But anyway, lit references aside, how has YOUR April been?  Ours has been gray with a few sunny days sprinkled in just to keep our chins up.

Sunny days that make it all worth it

Mae had a birthday at the beginning of the month.  She's 2!  That seems like a milestone because when I got her, the rancher who gave her to me said that she would really settle down and be a much easier dog by the time she's 2.  Let's all laugh at THAT!  Sure, she's a bit easier and she's really filled out and is a SUPER athlete.  But Mae, my beautiful Mae, will never be an easy dog.  She is a damned cute girl though hey?

Birthday girl

Have a lovely spring!  Entertain, experience, accomplish, be deliberate, ENJOY.

Spring in the Mountains

Technically , the end of winter, but Spring is on it's way to the mountains.  March started out with  5 feet of snow in the first 9 days and quickly became all about rain.  It's been looking fairly dark and gloomy out there, but we are still out and about, waiting for some blue sky and sun....might be awhile?

Get Away

Last week we had a little get-away to Pacific City Oregon. We have been there several times and Cape Kiwanda is one of our favorite spots.  The weather was fabulous!  So many people around and honestly, just as good as some July visits!   It was so good to be by the ocean, walk and run on the beach, see daffodils! We also saw seals in the water, a free range chicken farm (seriously) and a .....LAMB!!!  Is that the ultimate sign of spring or what? 

The past few Valentine's Days we have indulged in our craft beer love at local breweries.  Since this was close to that holiday we stopped at Heathen Brewing's Feral pub house in Vancouver WA.  Great beer, friendly service and good bites to eat.  We walked out with a growler of a Mojito Sour Ale....yes, Mojito. SO tasty...  Their tap list is impressive and I will happily visit again as there is something for everyone no matter what your taste tends to. They also have bottles available to go and we grabbed a couple "Graveyard of the Pacific" bombers.  Certainly one of the better beers I've had this year and tops my list for Imperial Red Ale .  But the label art?  Damn!  That's fine!!  This is a collaboration with North Jetty Brewing, located in the Long Beach WA area.  When I get to Long Beach, where am I going to go?  yup.

Mae, beach lover

Cape Kiwanda, OR

We also took a drive through Tillamook OR for a second visit to DeGarde Brewing.  DeGarde is an amazing place. Aged beers....  They pretty much blow me away every time I get my hands on them.   Sitting in the sun, drinking DeGarde.  That's a great day!

Of course we also were in Pelican Brewery which is always a great stop for food and fabulous beer!  It was, all around, a lovely vacation. 

February, Season Extender

I haven't posted much lately.  I have no idea why.  NO motivation to do so, honestly. Stuck in a snowdrift perhaps... 

We've had a few breaks in the ice storms, freezing temps and mega snowfall (normal pass weather finally!) and have been out and about around the neighborhood.  Though last week we had over 3 feet of snow in about 4 days, another highway closure, and a small dose of cabin fever. Mae and I have been enjoying our outings.  It's so pretty!! And it will extend the snowboard/ski season!  Hooray!

I finished the '30 day Yoga Challenge with Adriene'...it did take me 43 days, but I did it and am now completely sold on yoga.  What about you??

Two songs on my mp3 player, on repeat:

I am a Rock  Give it a listen...."I have my books, and my poetry to protect me"
I never noticed what a dark song it really is.  But I LOVE it.

And the Jerry Douglas, Mumford & Sons cover of The Boxer .  It's simply fabulous.  

And your February??  How is it?  Possibly no one is enjoying it as much as Mae.

Mountain Life, A Snow Day

You would think, living in the mountains with an average annual snowfall of over 400 inches of snow, that we would get a lot of "snow days", stuck at home, roads closed, no place to go.  Actually, it's fairly rare! But yesterday we had freezing rain in the forecast so I, mentally checked out, spent the day in the house doing laundry, binged watched some Nicholas Cage movies on Netflix (don't judge me man), baked brownies, played with Mae.

Unfortunately, today is a REAL "snow day".  The freezing rain, which came down like a sand, accumulated to about 8 inches or more, and I-90 is closed in both directions for today AND tonight.   Slides and debris have covered parts of the highway and conditions are too dangerous for crews to be out clearing. Trees are across the road and more are falling. It's going to be a long time before they get the highway cleaned up and open!  Locals are saying it's the worst ice storm they can remember in over 40 years of pass living.

What to do?? Well, Netflix is out right?  I mean how many bad movies can you stand?  (A lot actually).  I'm not making any more brownies, cakes or pie.  Maybe I will make an apple crisp though.  I've already done yoga and a weight work out....I've been out walking Mae twice .  I think we should venture up the mountain, do a little skinning, take a few turns.  

What does Mae think?  She might have the right idea....

2017, The Universe, Yoga I Can Stand

Hello and Happy New Year!  It's 2017!  Can you believe it?  When I was a kid I used to calculate how old I would be in THE FUTURE...Well, I don't think I ever went past the year 2000.  And here I am, in 2017.  No hover car, no personal robot, no trips to Mars....But it's close, right?  I have the mars curiosity rover on instagram and that just blows me away!!  Pictures of Mars, the red planet, on my phone?  Way cool!

Ok enough of my ramblings....here's the photo of Mae you've all been waiting for, waiting in the snow for snowballs.

I have a couple of things to share with you....remember the Altras?  The shoe to end all mountain running shoes?  Well sadly, I ended up returning them after about 3 months.  They were perfect, great shoe, scrambling around the mountain, running , hiking.  they kept me comfy and dry through October, the wettest October on record in Seattle.  They were warm and great into November.  And then, one day, my feet were WET!  They were leaking at the seams and also had really broken down after only about 100 miles of use. No cushion, dead shoes.   I spoke to a rep at Altra and he confirmed that because they are new shoes/boots for them they didn't really know what to expect.  The "neoshell" is not actually neoprene but a gortex like material.  Anyway, they went back....I couldn't justify the $160 retail price (I paid $140 thru Road Runner Sports and they have an excellent return policy).  I got a really ugly pair of Asics that are doing the job well enough for half the price.

Ok, The Universe....so I don't mean this in a Carl Sagan way, though I LOVE Mr. Sagan.  I am talking about all that Karmic stuff, you know, things working out in the end?  squaring up the score. settling accounts.... My daughter was complaining about how she didn't get a discount on her rent after a friend said she referred her AND a manager called and told her she would get $300 off rent....a different manager told her NO.  Because the friend didn't fill out the referall form correctly.  What??  As my daughter was telling me the story, the Boston Irish in me came out and I wanted to call said manager and tell her what a *#@! she is, but then....and this is pretty amazing for me....but then I thought "no, the UNIVERSE can handle this".  You know why?  Because the Universe can dole out some really nasty shit!  What can I do?  Swear into the phone?  Use my wit and language to come up with some mean, but to the point, derogatory insults?  sure...But the Universe....the Universe takes care of revenge and getting even in a BIG way. I have seen this first hand .  I have seen some terrible things happen to people that have not been very nice to me.  Really awful, life changing things.  And that's sad.  So, I am letting go of anger (yeah right, at least this month ok?) letting go of righting wrongs.  I'm not using my life energy on that pursuit.  I'm gonna just let Good ol' buddy Universe do it's stuff.  I will stand up for my rights, take matters into my own hands when it's logical.  Ask me how this is going in a few months though!

Yoga.  So I have always tried to do yoga and have literally hated it!  Hated the often false, mumbo jumbo breathing crap (all that breathing!) and the little outfits and mats and the stupidly presented calm.  Plus, physically it kills me!  And I am no slump when it comes to athletics.   But....I have this friend.  He is a really awesome person, the 70 side of 60.  I met him in grad school more than 25 years ago and, well, he's one of my favorite people on the planet.  He's an antsy one.  Always on the move, he runs, works out with weights, swims and DOES YOGA.  So, if your friend, a friend whom you love and trust, tells you something is good?  That's right,  You gotta check it out.  I managed to find YOGA I CAN STAND!!  Yoga, I will admit, I actually LOVE!  It's Yoga With Adriene, and I am 10 days into the 30 day yoga challenge.  She's real!!  She's like "yo, dude, we are gonna DO YOGA".  Well, maybe not quite like that, but the presentation fits me, fits what I look for in any fitness instruction, honest, straight forward, no nonsense guidance.  Fabulous personality,Yoga with Adriene works for me.  If you are thinking of adding yoga to your life, check out her youtube channel .  There are a lot of sessions to choose from and they are short and so do-able!  

Happy 2017!  Hope the year is filled with all good things for you!  We will be out playing in the snow, enjoying this beautiful mountain day~ ciao!