Birthday Momma

Simple, wise, kind, strong
She is a blessing to us
We celebrate her

Birthday Dinner

It has become a tradition for my mother's birthday to be our segue into fall. As the daylight fades, we gather together with candlelight and fall foods. Tonight we celebrated at my grandparents' house with apple sausage pasta, I Dream of Carrot soup, & for dessert, pear crisp.

Happy Birthday, sweet Momma!!

Summer is officially over

Early Saturday morning we drove up to Bellingham to meet Elyse & JP for a hike. The four of us headed out to the Baker National Forest for a hike along Ptarmigan Ridge, where it basically hasn't dropped below 45 degrees all summer. We caught the season change! See for yourselves!

We even saw two ptarmigans!

Frolicking in a snowfield.

When we headed back the clouds parted enough for a little view.

Alpine blueberries--yum!

A new space

Today was the first day in my new Keystone Heifer office.
I spent the morning setting up my new computer (rather proud that I did it all by myself) & then Alan & I went & got hamburgers at Kidd Valley & ate them down by lower Woodland. I spend the afternoon answering & organizing emails at my new desk. It was such a gorgeous afternoon, with all the leaves beginning to change color--I am so happy to have a window! I didn't really realize how much I have missed natural light all these years at Nordy until I finally have it! It's also wonderful to be in the city. I just love the older houses, the gardens & parks, little shops & restaurants--it feels more like a community & walking is so much more enjoyable. There's still much to be done, but I wanted to give you a glimpse of my new space. :)

My favorite chunk of cheese...

For a few weeks now, I've been attempting to collect my thoughts about the passing of my grandfather, Ed Gowey. Nothing I write in my journal or begin to write here sums up either his life or my feelings on his passing--some things just cannot be expressed in words.
The service was very nice, especially the long essay that my mother wrote & read aloud about his life. He was such a kind, generous man, that devoted himself to the well-being of his family.

I visited Grandpa a little over a week before he died & it was a good day. I stopped by on the way home from a bike ride, as was my habit. He sat hunched over in his chair, but made an effort to look up when I sat next to him. I talked about what was new & told him how Levi & I were going to ride our bikes to Vancouver, B.C. He looked at me, with that playful shine in his eyes that I'd seen so many times before, & said, "I hope it doesn't rain." And, like always, when I kissed him goodbye & put my bike helmet back on, he said, "Glad you stopped by. Love you. Be careful."

Today I sat in the warm afternoon sunshine in my grandparents' garden & thought about them. Death is such a hard thing for the living to comprehend--it brings tears to my eyes every time I stop to think about the reality that both of these extraordinary people are gone from this earth. But their lives & examples live on in their family & in any who were blessed to know them. They both had a strong & abiding faith & I rejoice that they now live eternally, watching over our family.

Gracious Spirit, dwell with me;
I myself would gracious be;
And with words that help and heal
Would Thy life in mine reveal;
And with actions bold and meek
Would for Christ my Savior speak.

Job Transition

Today was my last day at Nordstrom, after over 9 years. My co-workers spoiled me rotten & it was a fun, bittersweet day.
My wonderful Cherie--such a blessing to me.

Some of the treats I got throughout the day--the cow balloon was a funny & perfect way to signify my move into the Heifer job. :)

I fly out tomorrow morning to the Heifer International World Headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Bikes take down bridges

Wow just wow.

I don't have an account with that site but the first two paragraphs is just crazy talk.

Weekend Events

Saturday was my good friend Kristen's baby shower brunch. It was great fun to have all these wonderful ladies together & to celebrate the upcoming arrival of the Gough baby.

The cinnamon rolls from Honeybear Bakery were a big hit.

I couldn't resist making little "G" flags for them.

Friends & mother.

Glowing Kristen opening presents.

The hosts, Aleah & me, with Kristen. We all can't wait to meet this baby!

The rest of the weekend was spent with all the Penick family in town for the Ohio State/UW football game. We visited, ate lots of food, & played with the kids.

Here's me, Levi & his sister Elyse with Grandma.

Favorites from our trip

Days: 12
Miles: almost 3,200
Breweries: 8 (we think)
Showers: 4
Blisters: 1

We headed out Labor Day weekend to celebrate my sister's 30th birthday with the help of friends Jack & Anastasia. We played around in the Portland area, visiting Powell's bookstore, touring gorgeous wineries, drinking beer, camping, & staying one night at the McMenamin's Old Kennedy School House. All photos should enlarge when clicked on & the rest can be found on Flickr.

We toured the Tillamook Factory--here's Levi with the love of his life.

Cheese is sexy.Boo kissing the Tillamook cow.A fun evening on the ocean.

If she's 30, that must mean I'm getting old too! :)

Levi with a toy he found on the beach.

This was in a diner we stopped at for breakfast--I like it.

The whole gang at a winery.

So toot!

It was cool to see the grapes on the vine.

Vineyard acrobatics.

We loved the presentation of this beer sampler.

My beautiful sis.

The awesome theater at the McMenamin's--couches for seating & food & beer for eating!

My milkshake brings...

From Portland the rest of the gang headed home & Levi & I continued south on the first vacation we've taken just the two of us since our honeymoon. Yosemite was our first destination. Below is Half Dome from the valley--we would be climbing it the next day.

Little photo break on the hike up to Half Dome.

Staircase built into the cliffside.

View of the Dome from the base. See that little ladder going up the side? That's what we climbed to reach the top!

At the top-8,836 feet elevation!One of my favorite parts was belly-crawling out to the edge of the Dome to look down into the valley, over 2,000 feet below! I craned my neck out to look straight down the Dome & was thrilled to see two rock climbers making their way up the sheer face! I learned later that the ledge they are crossing in the photo is called "Thank God Ledge." The climber directly below me happened to look up & we waved at one another. :)

We also got to see the last activity of a search & rescue. Two rocks climbers in the face of the Dome got dehydrated & had to be rescued. We missed the actual rescue but witnessed the search & rescue team repacking all their gear & the helicopter making multiple trips back & forth to gather the gear & rescue team. It was awesome to watch the helicopter land on the Dome & then take-off & drop over the edge to the valley below.

Coming down the Dome on the cables.

Levi walking the granite surrounding the Dome. We hiked 16.5 miles that day & gained over 4,700 feet in elevation--it took us all day.

The next day we headed off into the backcountry, hiking to Young Lake for the night.
The lake was gorgeous (& cold), but we were pretty tired out after hiking Half Dome the day before & then hiking up to the lake at 9,980 feet elevation.
We hiked back through Tuolumne Meadows, with the Cathedral Mountains in the distance.
By the end of the week we were pretty satisfied with what we'd seen & done in Yosemite & when the weekend crowds started coming in, we took off south to the Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Parks. We fell in love with Kings Canyon--it had much of the same awe-inspiring features as Yosemite, with towering granite walls & a deep glacial valley, but had a wilder feel & way less people. We only had time to stay for one day, but we look forward to returning & experiencing the amazing alpine backpacking the park has to offer.Logged meadow from 1890s, Sequoia Nat'l Park. The huge, dead stumps made me sad.
This is one of the sixth largest trees in the world.
Giant Sequoia's bark is toxic to fungus, so it takes the fallen trees centuries to decompose. This huge one has been down for over 200 years, natives used it as a shelter, then pioneers, then the calvary for their horses, & it's still much the same. It even spent some time as a bar!
Sunset over Kings Canyon.

Thanks to those that hosted us along the way!