Tonight has been listening to wonderful music, making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, talking to my dad, playing frisbee and football with bryan and milo, folding clothes and watching fargus sleep on the pillow, cozy and warm, still smelling of the outside fresh air.

Yesterday Bryan had to work a little bit and I met a friend to go shopping with her and her almost 11 month olf baby - how good it felt to spend some time with her, chatting and trying on clothes. I brought home a new pot for making hot chocolate and matching mugs that hold lots of warm milk and whipped cream.

I folded clothes tonight while watching Anne of Avonlea, loving every minute of Anne's adventures, just as i always have.

Happy Sunday night dreams..

One of my Favorite places

I've been thinking a lot about this bookstore lately - its one of my favorites in seattle, and it always seems to be such a warm, welcoming place on cold winter days. When my i was younger my dad worked downtown across the street from the Kingdome and on days when i would go into work with him, good behavior was almost always rewarded with a trip to Elliott Bay Bookstore. We'd stop by Dome Burger for lunch and eat upstairs overlooking Pioneer Square, and then we'd head over to the bookstore after lunch, and i'd be allowed to pick out a book. In the evening, before we caught the bus home by the funny triangle shaped building in Chinatown, we might head over to the bakery on Pioneer Square, who sold loaves in the shape of bunnies.

Both my parents always encouraged reading - anytime we headed to a bookstore it seems like i was allowed to pick out one or two things to bring home. Sometimes mom, renick and i would have dinner at Toshi's down in Kenmore and stop at the B Dalton next door before going home and I would get the new Christopher Pike or Fear Street. And bookorders - do you remember those? Oh my gosh, I'd go crazy, picking out 7-8 books and then that magical day when you got back in from recess to find them sitting on your desk, in a nice stack, waiting to be taken home and read! We also walked a lot when we were kids, child abuse at the time, but one of the great Friday night walks was from Koren and dads over on 4th and Latona to the U bookstore, where dad could leave me happily sitting on the floor by the Nancy Drews while he kept an eye on me from a distance.

After Our Walk

Our walk this morning was wet and windy, perfect for trying out my new boots (thanks mom!) that were recommended by Jenny over at Renton for Life! They're perfect, and oh so cute - i think Milo might have been jealous that he didn't have a pair. The rain has been pouring since yesterday afternoon, making milo's walks and runs a little less enjoyable as he tries to scoot along and not get wet. its hilarious to watch him try and fold down his giant ears to keep the water from going in them. Yesterday, as we ran home, i think it was the first time in a long time that Milo has led the way, frisbee clutched in mouth, ears back, soo eager to get back home and dry off in front of the fire.
Ps - i guess i should clip his nails - they look so long!

Weekend Update

I've been slow posting this month, for no real particular reason. I've been spending lots of time reading, being busy at work, and just relaxing in general. This weekend went fast though, so here's some pics of what we've been keeping ourselves occupied with...
We're still in limbo with our master bathroom, and this Saturday Bryan and I drove up to one of the guys' apartments to get some of the supplies they had to finish up ourselves. The picture shows Bryan in the bathroom, installing our lights - i don't know how he knows how to do it, but it pretty much impresses the socks off me. We now have 5 beautiful recessed lights in our previously dark bathroom, and even though it can be a tinsy bit overwhelming to look at how much there is to do, its so impressive and encouraging to see the results of the work he did today.
We also finished up our guest bedroom, as good as its going to get. I have some places on the baseboards that are splattered with paint, but we figure that they're going to get replaced anyway when we rip up the carpet. So besides removing the tape from the windows and getting new blinds, we're pretty much all set in that room. It feels nice, and we both are happy with the way the colors came out, even though their both different than we expected them to be.
Oh, and i threw in a picture of our new wood burning stove insert, basically our Christmas present to each other this year, and a welcome addition to the house. So far we haven't turned the heat on once, and I'll be curious to see how the little guy does when its really cold outside.
We went out to breakfast this morning - there's one little pancake house in our town that gets PACKED on Sundays, but we were able to sit out in the sun and enjoy the morning..the best thing about this place is its hot chocolate, that came out with Halloween sprinkles on top of the whipped cream - i don't think I'll ever out grow my love for sprinkles..
Tonight we're having a last day of summer dinner and watching the baseball game that starts in a few hours. it sounds like a lovely way to cap off the weekend, so i better head to the store real quick to get our ingredients!

here is the mother of mother daughter

So here I am. Now I am not sure just how to get this going but I am sure we will. I am still excited about the idea of a mother-daughter blog and I know it will be good. Thank you, daughter for the invitation and helping the "old brain" with the technology.
I started reading the Alchemist Thursday night and I LOVE IT. I thought I had tried before and couldn't get into it but wow, I can't wait.
mom

We're having an Indian Summer out here in Indiana - so much so that last night, after we had both crawled into bed, we decided it was much to hot and went out to sleep in the hammock on the porch. We were great until about 4 in the morning when i got too cold and hopped back into bed.

Because of the nice weather forecasted this weekend, i think we're hoping to head outdoors and do something fun, maybe rent a boat and float around on Eagle Creek Reservoir or something like that.. until then, I'll just enjoy my oatmeal and raspberries before i head out the door.

Good evening

Hello there. it's dusk here in Indiana, milo and i are getting ready to head out for our nightly walk - he's got a blinking light we turn on his collar so that everyone can see us from miles away.

its been a off beat couple of weeks here, as our daily routine is sort of jumbled - bryan's been traveling the last 3 of 4 weeks and i've been holding down the fort in the interim. tonight im going to try and hit the bed early and get a good nights sleep - i just dont sleep as well when bryan's gone and find myself staying up way past bedtime -then everything's just out of sorts for the following day. so this night will be a little bit of straightening up, walking the pup, and crawling into bed early to read.

i hope this weekend we can head out for a hike or something, even if its close to home and not too challenging - just something to get out and get moving on these beautiful days - its so much different than running, or working out in the gym. my mom called to say that the mountains are expecting snow this weekend and i was surprised to find that the news made me a little homesick for all the adventures that lie outside doors in the northwest. just a little bit.

Not too much new going on in our neck of the woods - milo and i have a doggy obediance class starting in a week and a half which will be good and i've started to get our november 4th football game on my radar - a group of us are meeting in cleveland to watch the browns play the hawks - i've been looking forward to this since last spring when they announced the schedule - we've got the tickets safely tucked in our top drawer where they'll stay until its time to hit the road! Bryan and i are heading out friday or saturday and taking a detour through Ohio Wine Country (Who Knew there was one?!) then hitting Cleveland to meet up with the gang before the game - my face paint and hawks jersey is ready to go!

We finally got our new wood burning stove put in and love it! We started using it the night we got it. I'll post some pictures as soon as the camera (that has all the pics that we took on it!) returns - we're looking forward to winter nights with the fireplace going, and i think it looks much better than our old gold fireplace that was here when we moved in.

So we'll say good night here from our house - the dog, the cat, myself, one spider and one grasshopper that both managed to make their way inside that i couldnt bring myself to kill, but not to live with either - my solution? Towels - lots of towels placed over them - out of sight, out of mind works well for me.