A Summer Weekend

Summer has been a long time coming to Western Washington. In fact, we turned on our furnace mid-week. On Saturday, however, the tides seemed to change as temperatures finally started feeling more like summer. It was good timing, too, as I had a pedicure on Friday night. Ahhhh, there are worst ways to spend a Friday evening than reading your Kindle for an hour while getting a pedicure and then meeting your man for sushi.

Today, we had a very grown up (and fun) day, and it's the perfect example of why we love living in the Pacific Northwest. Our day started with gardening. We've both been avoiding our bi-annual animal poo and mulch extravaganza, and we finally decided to tackle it. A few hours later, our garden looked soooooo much better. If summer decides to stick around, our plants will be better prepared to handle some extra warmth and sunlight. And if summer doesn't stick around, it'll still look better. I believe the phrase is "a good job done."

After gardening, we cleaned up and headed out to test drive a few cars. We're slowly beginning to shop for a replacement for my Cavalier as our service guys tell us that her engine is on its way out. She has been a good companion for the past 10 years. The local Toyota dealership was remarkably tolerable, and I managed to narrow my Toyota preference to Camry. We'll see how it holds up to the other brands.

Then, we came back to our neighborhood for some wine tasting. We're really enjoying the Woodinville wine country this year. It's just a few miles down the road, and we're making a point of trying one to three wineries most Sunday afternoons. Turns out, there are some really tasty wines right in our neighborhood. Today, we tasted Dusted Valley, Lanchini, and William Church. We preferred Dusted Valley, but the viognier at William Church hit the spot on such a warm day.

It has been a good weekend, and tomorrow morning is sure to be a tough one.

Miscellaneous Fanciness

Last weekend, we made our anniversary pilgrimage to Canlis. We know that Canlis is always going to be good, but I think we were particularly blown away by our food this visit. There is a reason the Peter Canlis prawns have been on the menu using the same recipe for 50 years - so delicious. I had perhaps the best steak of my life to date. And I can't even describe the way the staff knows how to perfectly space courses, allowing enough time to enjoy every bite and moment yet preventing boredom. Each time we leave Canlis, I leave wanting to go back more often, but there is something so special about it that I never want it to become ordinary.

Last night, we celebrated the wedding of our friends, Kim and Darren. They had a fabulous celebration overlooking a gorgeous Seattle sunset. These two have been together for what seems like forever...and it was really neat to see their joining the marriage club.

Life is too short.

I can't seem to find the right words to say what I want to say.

I have gotten a whole lot of bad news over the last few weeks. My high school science teacher (who is only a handful of years older than me) lost her 30-year-old husband and became a single parent to a toddler and infant twins. My stepfather's cousin was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. My aunt's father was diagnosed with advanced terminal cancer and her sister-in-law with breast cancer. My brother's best friend took his life. And, tonight, I learned that a high school classmate's husband has been given a matter of months to live due to the return of cancer.

I've been extra full of complaints lately, and all of these terrible things make me realize that, in comparison, I should have no complaints. Life is so precious, and I have been given so much of it. And now, I think I'll go spend the weekend adoring my amazing husband.

Old Habits

I know that this is not the typical Independence Day post, but this one is for my mom. She spent the better part of the 18 years that I lived with her picking up my shoes after me or reminding me to pick up my shoes. So, when I was straightening the house before having guests over this weekend, I thought of her. It seems that some of my old habits are still with me.