little black journal

I am often on the look-out for a reason to gather our friends for a little par-tay, and when I realized that my birthday, Shane’s birthday, and our good friend La Verne’s birthday all fell within just a couple of weeks of each other, the scheming began.  Shane and I were into the idea of a little celebratory getaway with the gang, and when we casually mentioned the idea to Jack and La V, they nodded their heads, their eyes got bright, and I knew:  this would be good.  Very good.

We all started scouring the internet for ideal party-house rentals, and Jack stumbled upon a sweeeeet water-front home on Whidbey Island with ample room for all of us.  Thus, Schnell-La-Palooza was officially booked!  And after much anticipation, we all boarded the ferry on Friday afternoon, ready for a weekend of eating, game-playing, hot-tubbing, and generally livin’ it up.  I will admit, I feared that the house might not live up to our high expectations, but I was wrong to worry – nestled into the woods, perched just above what felt like a private stretch of beach, it was perfect.

The entire weekend was fabulously chill, as we strolled on the beach, soaked in the hot tub, and got some serious mileage out of La Verne’s new X-Box Kinect (imagine Dance Dance Revolution meets Nintendo Wii, then triple the awesome-ness).  There were times when I enjoyed the quiet of curling up in the sun-room and reading Harry Potter, and there were times when all 14 of us sat around the dining room table together and laughed hysterically.  It felt very much like being on a family vacation – we were all free to do our own thing (a tree pose on the beach, in Shane’s instance), but at the end of the day, we all really wanted to share a meal together and just enjoy each other’s company.

Shane, Jordan, and Bees did a little beach-combing, and came back to the house with a dead jellyfish and a piece of driftwood shaped like a Moses staff.  One ocean’s trash is another man’s treasure, I guess…

The hot tub was a favorite hang-out for a few of us.  102-degree water with a view of the ocean and a beer in hand – life does not get much better…

I think La Verne took the X-box prize as dancer with the most style.  Jason took the prize for ‘most animated’.

When Jack mentioned that he had something special in mind for our birthday dinner, he wasn’t joking – hand-made pasta, topped with a perfect ragu (imagine little strands of heaven wrapped around a fork…).

After our perfect meal on Saturday night, we sat at the table for another couple of hours, playing a rousing game of True Colors, where we pinned people with title’s such as ‘best character for a scorchy romance novel’.  It’s been awhile since I’ve laughed so hard for so long.

We awoke to rainy skies on Sunday morning, which I suppose was appropriate, as I was seriously bummed to be packing up our things and bidding farewell to our cabin in the woods.  **Sigh.**

And so…Schnell-La-Palooza (dare I call it the first annual???) came to a close…  As if the weather gods knew I needed cheering up, the clouds parted as we crossed Deception Pass, giving us one final, beautiful view of the island.

I’ve been in a bit of reading slump for the past couple of months – it’s been awhile since I’ve had something in my hands that I couldn’t put down.  A Gesture Life by Chang-rae Lee was beautifully written, but I found it hard to truly invest in any of its characters.  Little Bee by Chris Cleave was intriguing, but its ending left me feeling frustrated and unsatisfied.   And so, after years and years of somehow missing the boat, I am embarking on a new literary journey – all seven Harry Potter books, read start to finish, back-to-back.  My dear friend (and book club confidante) Nancy has lent me her well-loved set and has assured me that I will not be disappointed.  I have just started digging into book one and am already reveling in the vision of rainy Sunday afternoons spent curled up on the couch with Harry and Hermione, being whisked off to faraway lands full of wizards and witches, where reality is temporarily forgotten and my imagination runs wild and free.  Yes, I suspect this may be just what I’m looking for…

Whoa – where have the past two days gone?  It was a busy-but-fun kind of weekend, as we hung out with friends, cheered on our Giants, and partook in Halloween festivities.

Shane and I spent Friday evening at Lounjin Cafe up in the U-District, hanging my artwork on their walls for a month-long showing.  It was a last-minute request, made through a connection from my show at the Q Cafe last July, but I was happy to oblige, and let a few of my pieces see some daylight after months of being stuck in my upstairs closet.  Check it out if you’re in the ‘hood – and order a glass of Sake!  Art is often best paired with a drink.

Saturday morning brought book club, and some quality time with the ladies.  Books are often best paired with coffee, so I was content to sit around a table at Espresso Vivace and sip my perfect latte, while discussing Little Bee and watching the rain fall outside.  One of those I-love-Fall kind of moments…  After book club, I jetted home to finish up my costume preparations for that evening’s Trunk or Treat party, taking place at our church.  We had volunteered with our community group to decorate a couple of cars and dress up for the mobs of sugar-hungry kids that would be attending.  The rail foiled our plans for being outside, but we took over the cafe space adjacent to the church and made our vision come to life indoors.  We had agreed on a Wizard of Oz theme, and were proud to have all of the characters represented, from the Tin Man to the Good Witch to Dorothy herself.  I was the Cowardly Lion, and Shane and Jason rocked their Lollipop Boy outfits – it was certainly an evening to remember (though the image of those two Lollipop Boys might be better off forgotten…).

Today was surprisingly, wonderfully sun-shiny, so we took advantage of the weather and headed over to Discovery Park after church to take a walk with the Rust clan and enjoy what may be our last moments of clear skies for awhile.  The G-man played in puddles, Shane and Jason chatted it up about taxes and the latest ballot measures, and we all shuffled through the fallen leaves that served as reminder that November is just around the corner.  Hard to believe how fast the past couple of months have flown by.

And tonight was spent at home, taking in the Giants win with our fellow fans, eating bowls of hot soup and slices of pumpkin pie as scores of Trick-or-Treaters came to the door in their costumes.  Kinda sad to see October come to an end, but it is definitely going out on a very, very good note.

It was a cold, wet weekend in Seattle, but, in true Northwestern form, I didn’t let that get me down.  We spent Saturday night keeping tradition alive, taking part in our third annual dumplings-making/pumpkin-carving party. I believe I may have eaten more dumplings (as in, 15?) than I actually made (as in, 0), but I had a good excuse for my lack of participation; I was in the living room watching THE GIANTS WIN A SPOT IN THE 2010 WORLD SERIES! There was much celebration as Wilson struck out that very last batter – I believe I even witnessed a joyous embrace between Shane and Jack at some point, though they will likely deny it. With our stomachs full of dumplings and our faces plastered with victorious grins, we were ready to focus our energy on our pumpkin-carving bonanza. I spent the next hour elbow-deep in pumpkin guts, but ended up with a nice little haunted house jack-o-lantern to show for my efforts, while Shane basked in baseball glory with his SF logo. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang worked on the props for our Wizard of Oz-themed car decorations, for next weekend’s ‘Trunk or Treat’ (stay tuned for photos of the group decked out in our scarecrow/lion/tin man/Dorothy outfits).  It was a lovely, cozy evening among friends, complete with hot apple cider and long bouts of laughter. I love Fall…

Today I tried my hand at being one of the guys, and spent the day with some fellows from work, tailgating and then cheering at the Seahawks game. Not gonna lie – when the guys mentioned drinking at 10 am, I was hoping they meant mimosas, but it turns out I can drink Coors Light for breakfast with the best of them. The game was fun (much credit to Shane for teaching me how to hold my own in a conversation about football), and I was incredibly thankful for our covered seats as we watched rain pour down on the field.  It was cool to see the Seahawks win, and surprisingly easy to get swept up in the energy of the crowd.  Still, it felt dang good to get home, slip into my sweats, and curl up on the couch with my hot cup of tea.

And that’s the stuff that Fall weekends are made of…

Happy birthday to my favorite person – a man that grows a little more studly, a little more wise, a little more loved each and every year…

Shane and I just returned from a weekend with my parents at their home in Central Oregon, enjoying a perfect dose of relaxation.  Mornings spent sleeping in, afternoons spent enjoying the great outdoors, and evenings spent cozying up by the fire in the living room and watching baseball on TV.  Lovely.  Some highlights:

After doing a little shopping and eating lunch in Bend on Friday, we headed over to Tumalo Falls to take a stroll and enjoy the scenery.  The waterfall was beautiful, as were the glowing-gold aspens set against full, bushy evergreens.  Shane skipped stones in the river, I found a perfectly seat-shaped rock to perch on and soak in the sun, and we all thought to ourselves how there’s nothing like a sunny, crisp Fall day in the Pacific Northwest.

Saturday we pointed the car south toward Crater Lake, in hopes of deepening our love affair with beautiful Central Oregon.  Success!  We ate lunch at the lodge (French onion soup in a cozy, log-walled lodge on a cool Autumn day = mmmmm…), then slowly wound our way back around the lake, stopping every few minutes to absorb the breath-taking view, snap some pictures, and marvel at how the color of the lake seemed to change with each viewpoint we stumbled upon.  I found it impossible to capture the magnificence of this collapsed-volcano-turned-lake in a single photo, so you’ll have to settle for these snippets of greatness.  Really, though, it was stunning…

(this photo courtesy of Shane’s iPhone handiwork) :

We spent Saturday evening at the house, watching the Giants crush (ok, barely squeak by) the Phillies in game one of the League Championship.  Bam!!!  Shane was so jazzed after their win that he challenged my dad to a 5-game ping-pong dual, which proved to be quite the aerobic workout for the both of them.  It was a battle to the end, but eventually they both emerged from the game room, sweaty and out of breath, my dad grinning and Shane hanging his head low (ok, it wasn’t quite that dramatic, but still, it was rather intense for a ping-pong game)…

I also spent much of the weekend cuddling with my parents’ lovable Mini Australian Shepherd, Bernie.  He is a total sweetheart of a dog, and if not for our busy work schedules and Shane’s unfortunate dog allergy, I would be scouring the internet now for a puppy to call our own.

And now, we’re home – bags unpacked, laundry in the washer, and preparations for another typical week underway.  The weekend was so very, very good while it lasted…

Back into painting, squeezing globs of nearly-dried-out acrylic paint onto my palette, mixing these colors with a little bit of collage, a little bit of drawing, a little bit of a mess…

lit up (2010.09.28):

bubbles (2010.10.04):

island (2010.10.09):

gridlock (2010.10.13):

When Shane told me last Spring that he wanted to buy a subscription to MLB-TV, so that he’d be able to watch all of the Giants games from the comfort of our living room, I cringed a little bit.  I imagined the countless Sunday afternoons we’d have to spend parked in front of the TV, rather than getting outside to enjoy the summer weather; the evenings that I would have to escape upstairs to get away from Shane’s post-loss funk; the fabulous pair of shoes that money could buy me…  But much to my surprise, the more I saw of the Giants, the more I fell into fan-dom.  I’ve always liked baseball, and if I’d ever had to choose a favorite team, the Giants would have been it, but it wasn’t until this year that I truly got behind them.  I learned all the players names and knew their trademark accessories and rituals; I cheered for Buster when he made his stunning debut and shouted at Sandoval throughout his steady decline; I found myself putting the game on even when Shane wasn’t around, checking standings on my iPhone and daily wishing defeat upon the Padres.  I was hooked.  And so I was stoked when the Giants made it to play-offs – what a year to become a fan!  We haven’t been able to watch the last few games at home, since we cancelled our cable, but have found an awesome little sports bar called Auto Battery in Capitol Hill where we can spend our evenings cheering on our team.  It’s been a lot of fun – Jack and La V have joined us there as fellow Orange-and-Black fans, and we’ve found instant camaraderie with the handful of other Giants supporters that frequent the bar.  Tonight was a big night – we all jumped to our feet, cheering and shouting and clinking our beers as we secured our place in the National League Championship Series.  Woot!!!

I’ll leave you with this video, currently making the rounds on YouTube – Let’s go Giants (clap-clap, clap-clap-clap!)…

Yes indeed, I turned another year older yesterday – I am now the big 2-9 (the number some how feels smaller if you insert a hyphen between the digits).  We have a big weekend-long birthday bonanza planned a few weeks from now, in celebration of Shane’s, La V’s, and my birthdays (all in October), so I was happy to lay relatively low yesterday and save up my party energy for a later date.  But still, the day was filled with several special moments, much to the credit of my thoughtful husband and very special friends.

We started the day with breakfast at Geraldine’s, feasting on French toast and eggs and bacon and endless cups of coffee with several friends.

I decided to set aside the afternoon for some ‘me-time’, and headed up to Lynnwood to check out a spa I’ve heard lots of good things about.  I spent almost three hours moving from the soaking pools to the tea room to the various heated rooms, repeating the cycle multiple times.  It really felt like relaxation in its purest form, and I headed home feeling rejuvenated and cleansed.  Turns out I may have been wrong all these years, when I told girlfriends who were making time for facials and massages and pedicures that “I’m not really a spa person”.  Shane’s birthday present to me was a generous gift certificate to a different Seattle spa, so I’ll be digging further into my “spa philosophy” in the weeks to come.   I’m always looking to become a more well-rounded person, after all…

Saturday evening, we dined on Thai food in Capitol Hill with Jason and Nancy, and then headed right around the corner to meet up with several other people at our friend Karen’s dessert party/fundraiser.  Karen is quite possibly the most talented dessert-maker that I know, and so it was a double-bonus to be able to feast on her “chocolate profiterole topped with red wine raspberry sorbet and a blackberry compote”, while also contributing to her upcoming trip to Tanzania to visit Brian and Nicole.  Well-done, Karen!  The look on La V’s face says it all…

Enjoying so much goodness all in a single day had me beat by the time 10 pm rolled around, so I was happy to spend the remainder of our evening at home, catching up on Project Runway and cozying up on the couch with my very favorite person.  Being spoiled is exhausting!

Jason asked me at dinner last night to list my three biggest highlights of the past year, and I feel so blessed that it was hard to pick just three.  28 was good to me.  And I’m thinking/hoping/planning that 29 just might be even better.

As I walked home from the Light Rail station this evening and heard the crunch of fallen leaves under my feet, I realized that I could no longer deny it:  Summer is officially over.  My initial reaction is to cringe/pout/sigh/book a trip to sunny Mexico, but instead, I will take a positive spin on things and be thankful for just how jam-packed with fun the past three and a half months have been.  I’m in the process of cleaning out my photo library, sorting through pictures of our Summer adventures, and I’m realizing:  Wowzers!  We’ve enjoyed some seriously good times, especially with our gang of favorite Seattle peeps.  A few highlights from our adventures together…

June brought our second annual c-group camping trip, just outside of Leavenworth.  These photos from Jon will forever make me smile…

And one week later, we celebrated the Hickory ‘wedding’ with this same group of lovely people.  (Short version of a long story:  Brian and Nicole one day mentioned to Shane that they were unhappy with their wedding photos, and nearly one year later, after much scheming, we got Brian and Nicole into their wedding wear, decked ourselves out in our own finest threads, and threw one hell of a party for them, which was photographed by some of our uber-talented photographer friends (thanks, Jordan!!!) )

I look back at what we have noted on our July calendar, and I smile – seeing Eclipse with the ladies, sharing my art show with the crew, checking out Cirque du Soleil for Nance’s birthday, our weekend spent hangin’ by the lake in Chelan, our romp through Portland with Jack and La V…  I imagine I also went to work and ran errands and did the usual house stuff, but I’m not sure when or how that actually occurred (nor does it matter).

August was much more mellow – my pictures from that month are mostly of our p-patch garden and glasses of white wine set next to a plate of cheese on our back patio table.  Not too shabby…  Oh, and let’s not forget our little ‘slice of heaven’ at Mission Lake with the Rust clan.

And then September came, with its rain and teasing bouts of sunshine (during which we did things like eat burgers on Brewpub patios and play driveway baseball with the neighbors…).

Indeed, it was one heck of a Summer.  But Fall has its perks:  comfy sweaters and knee-high boots, the start-up of another year of weekly get-togethers with our community group, the return of my favorite TV shows…I guess those Northwestern clouds do in fact have their silver linings…