Oh, and about that weather forecast, I am not sure what the weather folk were thinking. It did not snow, it did get chilly from time to time, but never anywhere near as much as they said it would. We had a busy week without my girl. Of course, she was off having too much fun on her own. We are now down to the last few days to train before Bloomsday. Part of my girl's training will involve taking the SAT on Saturday.
Last weekend was the annual Camelot Yard Sale. For those of you who are paying attention, or my sister who actually came by to visit, we live in Camelot. There are lots of castles and knights or something here. There is also a yard sale the last weekend in April every year. It is a big event. Everyone in town seems to know about it, except the lady who parked in front of the next door neighbor's house and came up to me and asked what was going on. She wanted to know if it was OK to park there, between two other cars. We even imported PortaPotties for the guests. Lots of folks came and meandered up and down streets, ignoring the cars that were doing the same thing since the streets were still open. It is amazing nobody was hit. We put a few things out to sell, but most of the visitors were lookers, not buyers, unless one was selling hot dogs, like my neighbor across the street. She did big business all day.
My Shadow was interested in everyone who walked by, especially if they brought the dog too. Some of the dogs even allowed her to sniff them up close. The only person who really bothered her was the lady who had purchase a fake ficus up the street, and was walking it past our house. She seemed to know, in that intelligent Border Collie way, that trees should stay put. She barked at it until she could not see it any more.
Of course, it is an interesting study in humanity to see what people will spread out on the driveway to share with the neighbors. Even more interesting is what people will buy and carry around with them all day. I liked the lady with the twin bed headboard going past. Smart buyers brought wagons or strollers without children in them. One neighbor had a trash can on a hand truck. She had been out too long, because her dog was so tired it was content to ride in the can with her purchases. My purpose was to get rid of stuff. We moved several things out that were occupying space in the garage when we arrived here. On Sunday we left some boards out leaning on a tree, and someone actually came and took them away. I hope he has a use for them. Now we have a shelf under the work bench.
The real problem for me is that the event coincides with the final training for Bloomsday, which is the 7 mile run (or in my case, walk.) My son and my husband went to the training without me. My son ran the whole thing in 71 minutes and a few seconds. My husband walked it, but I forget his time. On Sunday, we will all be walking, but my son is excited to know he can run 7 miles when he works up to it.
Track and Field starts at his school on Monday. After witnessing his sister's most recent track meet, he is interested in Javelin and Shot Put. They looked like so much fun. I reminded him that he should go for some distance events too, since he is capable of outlasting most kids his age. We will see how that all works out.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Up and away
My girl is off for a week to suffer in Jacksonville, Florida for Awana Summit with friends from her old stomping ground. Her first leg takes her on this nice little plane to Reno to gather with the team. She is excited because she will actually be in California tonight. Tomorrow she jets off for the east coast, and maybe some fun in the sun, but most of the events take place inside.
There she goes. These folks even feed her real food, not just nuts fit for a squirrel.
This plane looks like it is going fun places too. It is difficult to see with the little picture from my pone, but those are golden ears on the tail fin, and the side invites you to follow it to Disneyland. I believe this one was going to Seattle, missing the point by several miles.
There she goes. These folks even feed her real food, not just nuts fit for a squirrel.This plane looks like it is going fun places too. It is difficult to see with the little picture from my pone, but those are golden ears on the tail fin, and the side invites you to follow it to Disneyland. I believe this one was going to Seattle, missing the point by several miles.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Bloomsday training
We have been doing some serious training for the Bloomsday run which is coming up in a couple of weeks. Each week we drive to the local community college for a training session put on by a local hospital and a few other organizations. The first week (which we missed) was one mile. We made it to the second week for two tours of the one mile loop. The third and fourth weeks we opted out of driving across town to train in the snow. Of course the fourth week found me on the other side of the state which was also an excellent excuse for a miss. Last week we traveled 2.5 miles out and back for a total of 5 miles. This week, we went even farther on the Centennial trail for our 6 mile walk. My girl has been doing her training with her head on the pillow, but my boy has been out running. He finished in 61 minutes and 49 seconds. His father and I took about an hour and 45 minutes to complete the same course. Of course the fact that we were taking pictures as we moved along was a major factor in our longer time. We started off down a hill on a major highway looking for a trail.
Here we finally found the trail. Someone wants us to know how far we are from Idaho. We are about a half mile into our walk.
The trail follows the river for most of the route. Sometimes dipping a toe is an option, and sometimes it is just off in the distance.
For lots of money, you too can have a house overlooking the trail.
Just beyond this number, we turned around.
My sister said she is sending us some snow. It did not seem to be in these clouds though.
These clouds look more promising.
Maybe threatening is the word I was looking for.
Whatever the clouds are doing, they look nice in pictures. We did make our way back before precipitation started. In fact, we are still waiting for the promised weather.
Look, a bloom.
Here we finally found the trail. Someone wants us to know how far we are from Idaho. We are about a half mile into our walk.
The trail follows the river for most of the route. Sometimes dipping a toe is an option, and sometimes it is just off in the distance.
For lots of money, you too can have a house overlooking the trail.
Just beyond this number, we turned around.
My sister said she is sending us some snow. It did not seem to be in these clouds though.These clouds look more promising.Maybe threatening is the word I was looking for.
Whatever the clouds are doing, they look nice in pictures. We did make our way back before precipitation started. In fact, we are still waiting for the promised weather.Look, a bloom.Friday, April 18, 2008
Spring was too good to last long
This is what the NOAA thinks we want for weather starting tomorrow:
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOKNATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA651 AM PDT FRI APR 18 2008IDZ001>004-026-027-WAZ031>038-041>044-191400-NORTHERN PANHANDLE-COEUR D'ALENE AREA-IDAHO PALOUSE-CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS-LEWISTON AREA-LEWIS AND SOUTHERN NEZ PERCE COUNTIES-NORTHEAST BLUE MOUNTAINS-LOWER GARFIELD AND ASOTIN COUNTIES-WASHINGTON PALOUSE-MOSES LAKE AREA-UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN-SPOKANE AREA-NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS-OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS-WENATCHEE AREA-EAST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES-OKANOGAN VALLEY-WATERVILLE PLATEAU-
651 AM PDT FRI APR 18 2008
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH IDAHO..NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO...CENTRAL WASHINGTON...EAST CENTRAL WASHINGTON...NORTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON...NORTHEAST WASHINGTON AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON..
DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A COLD FRONT MOVED THROUGH THE INLAND NORTHWEST OVERNIGHT. TODAY WILL BE ABOUT TEN DEGREES COOLER THAN YESTERDAY..
DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY ANOTHER STRONGER COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTHERN IDAHO BY SATURDAY MORNING. UNSEASONABLY CHILLY CONDITIONS WILL RESIDE OVER THE REGION THIS WEEKEND THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK.
SATURDAY...SUNDAY...AND MONDAY WILL BE THE COLDEST DAYS...WITH TEMPERATURES ABOUT 20 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL.SNOW SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED FROM TIME TO TIME SATURDAY...SUNDAY..AND MONDAY. SNOW LEVELS WILL BE UNUSUALLY LOW FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR...WITH ELEVATIONS AS LOW 1000 TO 1500 FEET EXPERIENCING SNOW THIS WEEKEND. WIDESPREAD SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE NOT EXPECTED OVER THE VALLEYS OF THE INLAND NORTHWEST...BUT SMALL BANDS OF SNOW WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE ACCUMULATIONS THAT COULD ADVERSELY IMPACT TRAVEL. SNOW THAT FALLS DURING THE NIGHT OR EARLY IN THE MORNING WILL THE BEST CHANCE TO ACCUMULATE..AND CAUSE PROBLEMS FOR MOTORISTS.
PERSONS WITH OUTDOOR INTERESTS OR TRAVEL PLANS THIS WEEKEND ARE STRONGLY URGED TO PLAN ACCORDINGLY AND STAY TUNED TO POTENTIAL WINTER WEATHER WARNINGS OR ADVISORIES FROM YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
And what did we do to ask for that?
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOKNATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA651 AM PDT FRI APR 18 2008IDZ001>004-026-027-WAZ031>038-041>044-191400-NORTHERN PANHANDLE-COEUR D'ALENE AREA-IDAHO PALOUSE-CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS-LEWISTON AREA-LEWIS AND SOUTHERN NEZ PERCE COUNTIES-NORTHEAST BLUE MOUNTAINS-LOWER GARFIELD AND ASOTIN COUNTIES-WASHINGTON PALOUSE-MOSES LAKE AREA-UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN-SPOKANE AREA-NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS-OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS-WENATCHEE AREA-EAST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES-OKANOGAN VALLEY-WATERVILLE PLATEAU-
651 AM PDT FRI APR 18 2008
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH IDAHO..NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO...CENTRAL WASHINGTON...EAST CENTRAL WASHINGTON...NORTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON...NORTHEAST WASHINGTON AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON..
DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A COLD FRONT MOVED THROUGH THE INLAND NORTHWEST OVERNIGHT. TODAY WILL BE ABOUT TEN DEGREES COOLER THAN YESTERDAY..
DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY ANOTHER STRONGER COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTHERN IDAHO BY SATURDAY MORNING. UNSEASONABLY CHILLY CONDITIONS WILL RESIDE OVER THE REGION THIS WEEKEND THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK.
SATURDAY...SUNDAY...AND MONDAY WILL BE THE COLDEST DAYS...WITH TEMPERATURES ABOUT 20 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL.SNOW SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED FROM TIME TO TIME SATURDAY...SUNDAY..AND MONDAY. SNOW LEVELS WILL BE UNUSUALLY LOW FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR...WITH ELEVATIONS AS LOW 1000 TO 1500 FEET EXPERIENCING SNOW THIS WEEKEND. WIDESPREAD SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE NOT EXPECTED OVER THE VALLEYS OF THE INLAND NORTHWEST...BUT SMALL BANDS OF SNOW WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE ACCUMULATIONS THAT COULD ADVERSELY IMPACT TRAVEL. SNOW THAT FALLS DURING THE NIGHT OR EARLY IN THE MORNING WILL THE BEST CHANCE TO ACCUMULATE..AND CAUSE PROBLEMS FOR MOTORISTS.
PERSONS WITH OUTDOOR INTERESTS OR TRAVEL PLANS THIS WEEKEND ARE STRONGLY URGED TO PLAN ACCORDINGLY AND STAY TUNED TO POTENTIAL WINTER WEATHER WARNINGS OR ADVISORIES FROM YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
And what did we do to ask for that?
What is going on here?
Yesterday morning, after dropping my son off at school at 8:00 for chess club, I stopped by Fred Meyer to pick up a few items that were missing from our kitchen. I found this scene in the parking lot, which made me wonder if there were lots of kids inside for a very early field trip.
Fortunately, the usual sleepy morning crew were there, and no children were evident. 
Later in the afternoon, I dropped by the high school for a track meet. Careful timing on the picture places my girl in a good position there with her black leggings. She jumped the high jump, ran a mile and helped her team on the 4 x 400 relay. I am not sure why we had warm sunshine, being track season, but it was a rather pleasant afternoon. 
We will enjoy it while we can, for snow is predicted for Sunday.
Fortunately, the usual sleepy morning crew were there, and no children were evident. Later in the afternoon, I dropped by the high school for a track meet. Careful timing on the picture places my girl in a good position there with her black leggings. She jumped the high jump, ran a mile and helped her team on the 4 x 400 relay. I am not sure why we had warm sunshine, being track season, but it was a rather pleasant afternoon. We will enjoy it while we can, for snow is predicted for Sunday.Tuesday, April 15, 2008
One sunny day
If we had more sunny days, we might take more walks on this nice trail. 
Given three days of sunshine, everyone was out walking the dog or riding the bike on Sunday before the rain pelted down again on Monday. 
We had a great time. We walked about five and a half miles, which is not bad for those of us who are getting ready for a 12K race (walk) in three weeks. It is also not bad for a little four footed critter who does not usually go that far. We stopped for drinks and swims along the way to stay cool.
We also stopped to throw rocks in the river. There are some things we never outgrow.
After the first half mile, the retractable leash gave out. It made a funny noise and refused to retract. Fortunately, I noticed that it was not doing the usual job of reeling itself in that morning, so I took a spare leash. Yesterday, I purchased a new leash. I do not know how many miles of walking the dog that one lasted, but in almost two years, it has seen good service, and lots of ins and outs as my Shadow wanders around me.
Now the kids are back to school to take their WASLs or not this week. If not, I guess they get away without going to school at all, which makes me wonder why they could not just schedule this optional week for the last week of school instead of this one and we could start summer on time.
Given three days of sunshine, everyone was out walking the dog or riding the bike on Sunday before the rain pelted down again on Monday. We had a great time. We walked about five and a half miles, which is not bad for those of us who are getting ready for a 12K race (walk) in three weeks. It is also not bad for a little four footed critter who does not usually go that far. We stopped for drinks and swims along the way to stay cool.We also stopped to throw rocks in the river. There are some things we never outgrow.
After the first half mile, the retractable leash gave out. It made a funny noise and refused to retract. Fortunately, I noticed that it was not doing the usual job of reeling itself in that morning, so I took a spare leash. Yesterday, I purchased a new leash. I do not know how many miles of walking the dog that one lasted, but in almost two years, it has seen good service, and lots of ins and outs as my Shadow wanders around me.Now the kids are back to school to take their WASLs or not this week. If not, I guess they get away without going to school at all, which makes me wonder why they could not just schedule this optional week for the last week of school instead of this one and we could start summer on time.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Where to go for news
Yesterday, I stopped by a local grocery store with a post office in it to send a few things to my nieces that appeared at my house by mistake. I looked at the paper rack and found this picture of something that looks close to where I grew up, despite the fact that it is being reported by the New York Times from the other side of the country. My brother discovered the same thing on the web, so you can read the whole article. Maybe they should let SF have the Olympics some year and they will stop protesting. I doubt it, but it might be worth a try.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Spring break
My daughter and I went on a brief college tour for Spring Break. We drove east on a Blue Star highway to my sister's house.
We crossed big pointy mountains.
We collected my sister and her daughter for one of the college tours. The instructions said to wear comfortable walking shoes. It is important to select the ones that show off your nail polish.
UW has grown so big, the buildings grow into each other. 
I am not sure which architectural style is represented here. The pictures above and below these words are the same building. They just keep adding on and pretend it was always supposed to be that way, I guess.
The tour guide suggested that this part of the library looks like the great hall at Hogwarts. It needs some floating candles.
Where are the books?
Oh, there they are.
Really serious books for really serious students.
Two very serious students.
I will leave it up to you to guess which one asked what the fine was for swimming across this pool. The guide said it was strictly off limits, but that the University cleaned it out every fall before the students arrived and challenged each other to the swim. If caught, it costs $35 and earns one a picture on the front page of the school paper. Both girls thought it would be worth it.
Where my girl wants to go to school.
Happy cousins.
The cherry blossoms were blooming.
After eating in the cafeteria, one must watch one's fork go all the way around the bend, very slowly.
After taking a picture of the fish, watch out for the table when you step back.
This is where the big boys play football. They were practicing when we were there, and lots of people were heading in to watch. We were looking for the pool. We found the building, but could not go inside. We found the rowing shells though. We could not go inside the boathouse, but we could see through the windows.
These structures have several purposes. One is to hold up the handrail. Another is to provide an exhaust vent for the garage under the large expanse of bricks.
They also provide a cozy spot to sit, until the lights turn on.
Someone turned on the snow machine while we were on the coast. Fortunately the road was bare and dry when we went through.
After about 75 miles, we were through the mountains, with this lovely vista for the rest of the trip.
Interrupted very briefly by a very large river in a very big ditch.
We were chased out of the ditch by a lovely sunset.
We crossed big pointy mountains.
We collected my sister and her daughter for one of the college tours. The instructions said to wear comfortable walking shoes. It is important to select the ones that show off your nail polish.
UW has grown so big, the buildings grow into each other. 
I am not sure which architectural style is represented here. The pictures above and below these words are the same building. They just keep adding on and pretend it was always supposed to be that way, I guess.
The tour guide suggested that this part of the library looks like the great hall at Hogwarts. It needs some floating candles.
Where are the books?
Oh, there they are.
Really serious books for really serious students.
Two very serious students.I will leave it up to you to guess which one asked what the fine was for swimming across this pool. The guide said it was strictly off limits, but that the University cleaned it out every fall before the students arrived and challenged each other to the swim. If caught, it costs $35 and earns one a picture on the front page of the school paper. Both girls thought it would be worth it.
Where my girl wants to go to school.
Happy cousins.
The cherry blossoms were blooming.
After eating in the cafeteria, one must watch one's fork go all the way around the bend, very slowly. After taking a picture of the fish, watch out for the table when you step back. This is where the big boys play football. They were practicing when we were there, and lots of people were heading in to watch. We were looking for the pool. We found the building, but could not go inside. We found the rowing shells though. We could not go inside the boathouse, but we could see through the windows. These structures have several purposes. One is to hold up the handrail. Another is to provide an exhaust vent for the garage under the large expanse of bricks. They also provide a cozy spot to sit, until the lights turn on. Someone turned on the snow machine while we were on the coast. Fortunately the road was bare and dry when we went through.
After about 75 miles, we were through the mountains, with this lovely vista for the rest of the trip.Interrupted very briefly by a very large river in a very big ditch. We were chased out of the ditch by a lovely sunset.
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