Seattle Bitchfest

"Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh." (W.H. Auden)
I can't fully express how much I appreciate these friends of mine. One thing I know for sure is that I feel wealthy just knowing them. I am starting to see some trends forming around our Seattle excursions. I tend to drive down while Forbes sleeps and lets me listen to my tunes at a "reasonable napping volume". While we're driving, she'll wake periodically to take inventory on her snack supply and make sure I didn't steal her precious almonds. She will grab her blackberry to call or text J (roughly every 30-45 minutes) and undoubtedly ask me immediately afterwords: "Isn't J cute?" And at some point during the weekend Kitty will play an India Arie song and I will tear up. This weekend did not disappoint.
Here are a few of my favourite moments from our visit:
-Running in the beautiful sun around Green Lake
-Walking along the Kirkland waterfront, having great coffee coupled with wonderful conversation. Breaking into laughter as we sat on the pier and Kitty had the misfortune of taking in a deep breath just as Forbes let out one of her classic green clouds. It was a perfect example of Kitty being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I still think Forbes should be air care tested annually. I am pretty sure Al Gore would concur. He may want to add the Forbes factor to his CO2 emissions studies.
-Having a good heart to heart conversation while we waited in the car wash line-up....and realizing that Kitty's $1 tip really didn't go far
-Sampling some great French wine while we dined on Capitol Hill (where we got to treat Kitty for her wonderful promotion - too bad she didn't receive what she ordered) -Kitty and I had fun watching Forbes maintain her composure even though we didn't eat until 8:30
-Meeting Kitty's new friend "B" for dessert where Forbes asked him the best question of the night: "So "B", what do you like to do for fun besides Kitty?"
Some things that cracked me up that weren't funny at the moment, but in hindsight were quite funny: I put my contacts in Saturday morning and my new solution completely fried my retinas- apparently the guys on shift at "Clear Care" decided it would be funny to make contact solution entirely from bleach.
-Forbes' ginormous suitcase - she had packed as if she was traversing Europe when the weekend was over. She received a few tense calls and was in the doghouse for packing J's favourite jeans & earrings. But judging from the size of her suitcase, I'm guessing there weren't any clothes left in the apartment.
The biggest trend of all that I notice from our weekend trips is that I feel completely rejuvenated after. I love the mix of personalities when we're together. Most of all, I love the laughs we all share. I am so lucky.

Winter Wonderland

It's easy to see why we live in B.C. All it takes is one sun-soaked afternoon on top of a glistening local mountain and you feel completely rejuvenated. When we set out to go snowshoeing at Mt. Seymour, I honestly thought it'd be a glorified walk. I should have known that my partner in crime had marathon-sized lungs with a penchant for climbing. While sitting having a water break at a breathtaking viewpoint, Smiley pointed up at the peak and said, "look at those people climbing up there." At first, I thought they were trees. But, with a lot of squinting, I could see tiny dots slowly moving up the steep incline. I knew by his smiling face that we were on a mission. I have to admit, I was excited by the prospect of pushing myself physically and attempting to overcome my fear of heights. On the way up, we were told that it was best to remove our snowshoes as someone had fallen down the slope earlier, miscalculating the ice steps. Climbing up the steep face on all fours, I was on a mission, like a driven mountain goat. I carried my snoeshoes in my hands and used their blades as ice-picks, digging my feet into the side of the hill, one step at a time, never looking down. Smiley got a bit nervous at one point, but with his clown-sized feet, it took him a lot more effort to carve big enough steps into the hillface. During some harrowing moments, I was muttering to myself, "remind me again why we're doing this....." but when we reached the top, it wasn't just the vistas that made it worthwhile, it was our sense of accomplishment. Over four hours of hardcore exercise, fresh air, gorgeous scenery and sparkling sunshine - it doesn't get much better than that. Click on this link if you'd like to see more photos: Mt. Seymour pix

icicles on our back porch

The houseguest

While Chris & Lynda soak up some rays in Molokai, we've got their hairy son -Max. I have fallen in love with Max- he had me at "woof". Like most males I know, Max enjoys long walks, eating whatever you put in front of him, running around after sticks, marking his territory and double dumping. He snores when he sleeps, has taken over the TV room and will stand right in front of you when he wants attention. I'm not saying all males are created equal.....but.........