Of Sleep and Sugar Water

Clockwise from top: Dad, Silas, Lucy, Carla

I'm done apologizing for not posting as often as I could/would/should. There is something funny about this place, this "cabin," that makes one sleepy. I took this picture on the first day -- the first day! -- of our family reunion last weekend. Note the supreme gravity draw on the two dobies and my pop. Carla's only just hanging on.

I cannot be expected to blog in whatever bizarre hyper-relaxatory field is produced here. [note to work: just kidding]

The reunion was a blast, but I won't show pics 'cause I mostly took photos of the kidlings. Carla and I floated the river, my dad and I put new gate posts in at the road, and it was a good turnout in great weather. Grandma was in terrific form, saucier and funnier than I've seen her in a couple years. She's our matriarch, no doubt.

Monique was missed and asked about. Because I have a big ol' head cold, I say this for her sake... I'm glad she's not here right now. My sinuses have a grand capacity, and my head is very thick these past few days. If she were here she'd be taking care of me, and I'd be more focused on plowing through this. As it is, I'm doing well taking care of myself (made a big pot of homemade chicken soup the other day), and sort of "being" with my fogginess.

The birds are keeping me alert, going through two cups of bird seed every couple days, and a cup of hummingbird food every four. The day lily is about to bloom, as are the coneflowers, and yesterday I made it outside long enough to pluck and chomp our first ever raspberry. How cool is that!

In the good ol' summertime

Monique took this photo of a little buck eating dogbane on July 7. Summer is a good thing.

I was in San Jose last week for a productive but long business trip and an excellent reminder of how good it is working from home.

The best parts of the week were:

#4: Mild weather. The week before it'd been over 100 every day; the week I was there, it was mid-80's.

#3: Using the light rail instead of a rental car. Inexpensive, convenient, safe, and very handy. Can't wait until Seattle's opens in 2009.

#2: Seeing giant redwoods for the first time. They're freakishly big trees that grow like weeds. The Big Basin Redwood State Park has some biggies, and this page has a lot of good photos of trees we saw.

#1: Alaska Airlines customer service + my inveterate earliness = a nice long dinner with Monique in Seattle!

I was booked on the 5p flight from San Jose to Seattle, but got to the airport early enough to see the 3p beginning to board. I asked if there were seats available, and not only got on the flight, but got an aisle seat in an exit row... hello LEGROOM! It was a wonderful flight up, Monique picked me up at the airport, and we drove to Spiros in Kent, my favorite Greek restaurant in all of Seattle.

After a great meal, we went for a little walk. It was a totally un-hectic, good couple of hours together.

It's good to be home.

My Early 42's

Last Monday was my birthday, and Tuesday was Monique's. For mine we hiked into the Jewel Basin, a "neighborhood" hiking area with many alpine lakes. This shot is on the way to Black Lake, one of the easier destinations. You can see a little strip of Flathead Lake on the right.

I've hiked into the Jewel several times on my birthday... one year the glacier lilies were in full bloom, the next year there was snow everywhere. This year was in-between, with some snow around and wildflowers blooming on the hillsides.

In the afternoon we went for a float, got pizza, and relaxed, which we're quite good at. Turning 42 means nothing. I'm healthier and happier than when I was 32, and my life is better and fuller. Wisdom -- if I have any -- has come slowly, but then, I've always tried to pace myself.

For Monique's birthday we borrowed a sit-on kayak from my cousin Tom and, with our sit-in kayak, paddled from The "Cabin" to the bridge outside Bigfork. In a little over two hours we saw a huge amount of the river that was new to both of us. There are surprisingly, wonderfully, stunningly large undeveloped areas, so now it's easier to understand from where all the moose might come.

I eventually woulda explored the river, but Monique's wanted to do it pretty much since she first saw it. I appreciate her adventurousness and curiosity, AND the fact that it's responsible adventurousness.

For dinner we went to a nice restaurant in Bigfork and had salmon and garlic mashed potatoes. Garlic + Mashed Potatoes = lovely.

General note to floaters on the river: if you bring refreshments on your float, please think ahead and have a place for the empties. The river and riverbank are really thoughtless, stupid. On a completely unrelated topic that probably deserves its own paragraph but I've already started typing so why bother, I'm thinking of getting a pellet gun. You know, the kind with enough power to puncture... ooh, say, inflatable objects.