octopus's garden:

here's a few snaps from our after christmas sea world outing. the last time i was there, i was on a field trip in second grade. i got lost…for a few hours… and i think there were tears involved. this trip was much more successful. :)

*darn water spot on the camera will be a reoccuring theme!mmm...squid!

in hemet:

our new year's eve took place in hemet, a quaint desert town an hour's drive north, where my cousin & her new groom will move after their march wedding. they have been quite busy fixing it up! -it is adorable, but a bit rough about the edges & in need of some elbow grease. there is beauty in its age and its perch among the desert mountain foothills.

*i snapped this little succulent in front of kim’s door step. i just love the color, the pitch fork in the back, and the haphazard pine needles poking here & there. :)

it is so fun to see a place that anticipates such happy times ahead!

lastly, i just had to include this picture! my cousin looks so sweetly oblivious in the forground and there seems to be quite the discussion happening behind her between my mother & my aunt! :)

orange & palm trees:

we are now back to the fresh & blustery northwest, and as i whittle away at my desk job my heart is in the sunny southwest with the many loved ones we visited over christmas. we had such a wonderful time catching up... & at times pretending we never left. here are a few vignettes of taken at my parents little hillside holiday bungalow...

(somehow i really like how this picture of my mother's snow cake turned out so artsy blurry…)

christmas morning began in the we hours of the morning when i wake up and start the excruciating :) process of waiting for my hubby to reach an acceptable level of wakefulness to venture in the living room & greet the tree!

the days at home flew by as a succession of mostly scheduled get togethers over meals. my parents are quite avid early morning risers and as a consequence always on the hunt for the best san diego breakfast. for several years now the blue ribbon has gone to the hash house a-go-go. it has never disappointed. we ate left overs for three days!

. . .

here are a few other san diego memories i pocketed over the past couple weeks:

avocadoes from the gibb's home grove in valley center. we had a lovely visit & delved into the relevance of the entropic principle over eggs, biscuits and honey.
the star of india

we ate dinner at the top of this hotel after chad asked me to marry him at christmas time 2003.

a san diego institution.

dusk, del mar

tile roofs, cypress trees & agaves

getting there:

overall, the first part of december was spent much in anticipation of the last part of december & a trip "home" to california. but as many other seattleites the week before christmas 2008, just getting on that flight was a feat of it's own.

pic taken as the first powdery blanket gave us the first official snow day of the year!

snow! and over a foot of it (!!) dressed seattle in a festive thick white coat and presumptively imposed itself upon all those with air traveling aspirations.

to be closer to the airport and to our delight, we holed up at blythe & david's house in west seattle to crowd about their cozy fire, trudge about together in this seattle weather phenominon, and enjoy their company & gourmet cooking. :) here's a few shots of our snow day & coffee date!

leaving on a jet plane:

after 6 excruciating hours, 1 canceled flight & 3 checked and arduously recovered suitcases, david graciously returned to the airport to retrieve 2 wilted & unsuccessful travelers. when we walked in blythe had loveingly set a beautiful table & had a movie in cue. what a greeting & what dear friends!

we were able to make it out the next morning. :)

pre holiday:

the week before we left is as far back as my scattered memory will take me….and even then it is spotty… so, i will just hit the highlights..

passing unassumingly & photographically under the radar this year was the much anticipated greenlake “art night.” the church sanctuary was opened up and the walls adorned with the much beloved artwork of friends and acquaintances in an amongst the congregation. this became the first public viewing of my latest artistic endeavors.

what is it? well... i’m having a hard time coining a name… it is something between collage work & embroidery?... (tragically, as i just mentioned, i have no photos to prove myself! but i do have a photo shoot in the planning phase to give you a better picture (uh, any picture i guess, other than the one here, of what i’ve been spinning… please stay tuned!) ...oh, and i cannot mention this without emphasizing the huge drum roll & cymbol crash that was played in my head as i hung up my “piece” that night & then stood back to scrutinized the fruits of my labor. a more official “product announcement” will follow in the weeks ahead, i assure you. i realize i’m being vague, but i was not a business major and this process of “launching” my creative endeavor is proving to be very difficult to put into either words or photos! …sigh, ok….i’ll move on.

ah yes…other than art night, that week few by in a series of christmas gatherings & exchanges, parties & merriment. sadly, and yet again, after the gatherings had gone by i had failed to document them! (i think i feel a new years resolution coming on!) the only event to escape the photographic void was the festive rosie thomas christmas concert we attended with a happy group of greenlake goers at the seattle town hall.

run away train:

sorry, i seem to have "gone dark" for the month of december! and so many things happened too! this is the very thing i feared would happen when i started this blog.... the following series of posts are an attempt at a bit of restitution for you and peace of mind for me. these posts have been swirling around in my mind and camera for quite some time now!

*photo of my desk calendar for 2008 by "modern printed matter" & my christmas gloves from chad. :)

thanks & giving:

the holiday weekend has revolved around much eating & gathering as fitting for the thanksgiving season. the girls chat in the kitchen: i spent the day awaiting orders (like carefully placing apple slices & place mats), while the professional (my mother-in-law) buzzed about the kitchen.

the whirl of dinner smell & kitchen action did more than excite the dog… see our little peeper over there on the porch bench?

he got bolder as the afternoon wore on!

meanwhile, the men congregated in front of the black friday newspaper adds and football.

here are just a few shots of the days eats & greets…

our 4 day weekend concluded with a night out to see a full fledged 80’s “rock opera” in columbia city with blythe & david. it was some mash of the band queen meets lord of the rings. hilarious. :)

oh... & here’s a parting pic of our little thanksgiving voyeur…