Visitors from DC!

Last weekend, our good friends, Bonnie and Joe, came to visit from DC. Bonnie and I went to law school together and Joe and Ryan used to be part of an informal "Beer and Ideas" inventing group along with another friend, Byron. Bonnie and I also went to law school with Byron's wife, Amy.

Actually, this could get confusing, so I'll break it down.

Law School Pals: Amy, Bonnie, and me

Beer and Ideas Geeks: Joe, Ryan, and Byron

Byron and Amy are married and Joe and Bonnie are married.

OK, now that we've got that straight, check out this movie that I made of a hiking adventure on the Snoqualmie River. But before you do, let me just say that record companies are LAME for many reasons one of which is the fact that they are now blocking all audio from home movies uploaded to YouTube that include clips of songs they own. As you will see, music is essential to a story and to convey emotion on film. Ugh!

And now, a clip from the garden.

Last fall, a friend shared a bunch of plants from her garden with me for my new house. For a couple years, I've admired her evening primroses, which open every night at dusk and have blooms that last only one day.

I took a video of the flower blooming and tried to make a movie out of it. Soma has a cameo at the end. Enjoy!

John and Ellie's Big Day!

Congratulations to John and Ellie! I'm happy to have yet another sister-in-law from the great state of Wisconsin.

To see the captions in the slide show below, click on the text bubble in the lower left corner of the pictures. You should only have to click on it once to see the captions for the rest of the pictures.

Montana Road Trip

Ryan and I just got back from a trip to Montana for my little brother's wedding. I will post pictures from the nuptials asap. In the meantime, here are some photos from our road trip and an afternoon float on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River. We learned a few things from our trip: (1) Soma likes the car about as much as Ryan likes the Jonas brothers; (2) Soma likes rafting about as much as he likes the car; and (3) I've reached an age where wearing heels is about as fun as using a cheese grater as an exfoliant.

Soma losing his marbles after only a few hours in the car.
The drive from Seattle to Kalispell is about 9 hours including stops for the dog.

This is how Soma rolls.

The amazing color of a glacial-fed stream.

A beautiful view of the river.

More scenic beauty.
The Middle Fork of the Flathead meanders along the southern border of Glacier National Park.

Looking upstream toward Glacier Park.

Do you feel more relaxed just looking at this river?

As I said earlier, Soma didn't like the raft. He jumped out a couple of times. In this shot, I'm sure he's thinking about jumping again.

Soma may look relaxed but don't be fooled. He's ready to blow this popsicle stand.

Apologies to our blog followers (our parents and about 3 other people)

Clearly, I have not done the best job keeping the blog up-to-date and fresh for our legions of fans. My apologies. If you ever decide to start reading this blog again, I promise -- but don't hold me to it -- to provide more timely updates.

Next week, we head to Montana for my "little" brother's wedding. We should have some great pictures and stories since we plan to spend a day on the river (yes, Soma will be wearing a doggie life jacket), drink excessively, and hang with family that I don't get to see often enough.

Now for a June update. Summer has arrived to Seattle. In fact, we've tied a record for consecutive days without rain. Our garden, which is in its first year and isn't quite established, is looking great and growing like crazy. Here's a peek:

Woodland garden under a cedar in our backyard.
The grass is going to be a multi-year project. Ugh! I hate grass!

I'm sad to say that I don't know what kind of shrub/tree this is, but it's gorgeous and covered sounds like a beehive with all the honey bees flying from flower to flower.

First lily of the season!

Nasturtiums! Ready for salad!

Crocosmias just waiting to bloom!

Front garden with the path we put in last fall. Next year, the garden should be fuller and more established, but it looks pretty good already!

The garden path with mature roses along the house.

One of my favorite plants: Himalayan Honeysuckle

Allium and other plants around the bird bath.
In case you are wondering why the water is dirty, I change it every couple of days but the neighborhood crows keep using it like a toilet. So much for my nice urban habitat.

Allium close up.

Rhododendron bloom in the backyard (this picture was taken about a month ago).

One thing that I've learned about gardening is that vegetable gardening is hard. Unlike perennials and a few annuals, it requires thought and planning and continued maintenance. First Lady Obama makes it look so easy! I guess it is when you have a staff.

Anyway, we grew arugula, kale, and two different types of lettuce but without a ton of success (except for the arugula). Luckily, my tomato plants are doing well and some pepper plants are blooming already. We'll see how it goes, but I'm a little pessimistic about my chances of lowering our grocery bill by growing our own food.

Until next time!

Maui Part 3, Road to Hana and East Maui

We put together a slide show of the second half of our trip to Maui. You should be able to see captions if you click on the word bubble near the bottom of the slide show screen. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Maui Part 2, Snorkel-mania!

Enjoy some photos from our snorkeling adventures in Maui!

Ryan's either waving hello or trying to point to the shark that is coming up from behind me.

Ryan is one with the ocean.

It may be tough to see, but this is one of the many sea turtles we hung out with in the water.

Turtle diving for food or fun.

Ryan acting like a turtle.