Thursday, December 25, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
It's still snowing...
I kinda can't believe this snow. Seven inches on the deck railing this morning, and it's still snowing.
Teo had fun playing in the snow with our neighbor Milo. They tried sledding down Milo's driveway but he kept bailing out before it really got steep. Later they came inside and worked on the gingerbread house.
Yesterday we went on a tour of Theo Chocolates in Fremont. Pretty interesting factory tour, and LOTS of samples, mmmm! I actually reached the point of chocolate saturation. Didn't think it was possible. If any out-of-towners want to go on a tour the next time they visit, I recommend Theo Chocolates. My favorites were the Madagascar dark choc, the vanilla infusion chocolate (just means it's got stuff mixed in with the chocolate), the hazelnut infusion and the lemon truffle, or confection as they call it. Evidently it's only a truffle if it has the characteristic round truffle shape.
That afternoon we made our way down to Burien for a tasty prime rib dinner (thanks to John and Mary!) but stopped first at Ballard Market (Joe likes to remind me that there are only two grocery stores for all of Ballard now that they replaced QFC with condos, and what a hair-brained idea that was) for a baguette and cheese to take with us. There was a good old fashioned bank run at the store. The parking lot was packed, the checkout lines ran the length of each aisle, the shelves were bare - specifically the bread shelf. There was one focaccia and one bag of rolls. Guess people decided they should stock up before getting trapped in their houses.
Made our way back from Burien - without chains - and got a call that church was canceled. Woo hoo! Not that I don't enjoy going to church, but come on, how often does that happen? It's better than a snow day! uh, I guess it is a snow day, a snow day from church. nevermind. Drove around picking up/dropping off food for a lady in the ward, then planned the flattest route back to Phinney Ridge. Stopped at Whole Foods (closed) then PCC and hung out for a while and did some stocking up of our own. Got back to our house around 11 and nearly ran through a huge group of people sledding down 65th. For those of you not familiar with the Phinney/Ballard area, 65th is normally a very busy though narrow and steep arterial (howdya like that Amy?) It's been closed to through traffic for the last couple days, but you can still drive across it to get through the neighborhood. We're making our way down 2nd and see a group of people waving their arms. The chains are still off at this point so stopping on a dime is not an option. We stop just in time to see a sledder shooting in front of the car. Joe said, that looks like fun! So after we got home and dropped the groceries we walked back to the intersection and watched people sledding on all types of homemade sleds - toilet seats, political signs, air mattresses, and even actual sleds. The snow was amazingly powdery and still falling.
This morning there was a bit of freezing rain that made a thin crust over everything.
Not quite as fun as pure powder, but even as I type there is another couple inches of powder building up again.
I walked to our friends Shane and Rita's apartment for some brunch and Joe skiied. It's not everyday that you can ski to someone's house in Seattle.
In this one Joe is doing the familiar wedge to avoid going to quickly downhill. The lady with the dog in front told him "you go first, you're freaking my dog out" Ha ha! It's true, dogs don't like the skis. They were all barking at him.
Here are some more wintry pictures
We were listening to Christmas music at dinner and Teo just couldn't contain herself anymore - GOTTA DANCE!
Humongo rolls from Thanksgiving
With a shot of Joe in the downstairs kitchen, to give some scale to the rolls, along with a stalk of brussel sprouts
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for work closure tomorrow. Of course, Joe has to go to work whatever the conditions are. But I don't want to have to put chains on the Hyundai.
Teo had fun playing in the snow with our neighbor Milo. They tried sledding down Milo's driveway but he kept bailing out before it really got steep. Later they came inside and worked on the gingerbread house.
Yesterday we went on a tour of Theo Chocolates in Fremont. Pretty interesting factory tour, and LOTS of samples, mmmm! I actually reached the point of chocolate saturation. Didn't think it was possible. If any out-of-towners want to go on a tour the next time they visit, I recommend Theo Chocolates. My favorites were the Madagascar dark choc, the vanilla infusion chocolate (just means it's got stuff mixed in with the chocolate), the hazelnut infusion and the lemon truffle, or confection as they call it. Evidently it's only a truffle if it has the characteristic round truffle shape.
That afternoon we made our way down to Burien for a tasty prime rib dinner (thanks to John and Mary!) but stopped first at Ballard Market (Joe likes to remind me that there are only two grocery stores for all of Ballard now that they replaced QFC with condos, and what a hair-brained idea that was) for a baguette and cheese to take with us. There was a good old fashioned bank run at the store. The parking lot was packed, the checkout lines ran the length of each aisle, the shelves were bare - specifically the bread shelf. There was one focaccia and one bag of rolls. Guess people decided they should stock up before getting trapped in their houses.
Made our way back from Burien - without chains - and got a call that church was canceled. Woo hoo! Not that I don't enjoy going to church, but come on, how often does that happen? It's better than a snow day! uh, I guess it is a snow day, a snow day from church. nevermind. Drove around picking up/dropping off food for a lady in the ward, then planned the flattest route back to Phinney Ridge. Stopped at Whole Foods (closed) then PCC and hung out for a while and did some stocking up of our own. Got back to our house around 11 and nearly ran through a huge group of people sledding down 65th. For those of you not familiar with the Phinney/Ballard area, 65th is normally a very busy though narrow and steep arterial (howdya like that Amy?) It's been closed to through traffic for the last couple days, but you can still drive across it to get through the neighborhood. We're making our way down 2nd and see a group of people waving their arms. The chains are still off at this point so stopping on a dime is not an option. We stop just in time to see a sledder shooting in front of the car. Joe said, that looks like fun! So after we got home and dropped the groceries we walked back to the intersection and watched people sledding on all types of homemade sleds - toilet seats, political signs, air mattresses, and even actual sleds. The snow was amazingly powdery and still falling.
This morning there was a bit of freezing rain that made a thin crust over everything.
Not quite as fun as pure powder, but even as I type there is another couple inches of powder building up again.
I walked to our friends Shane and Rita's apartment for some brunch and Joe skiied. It's not everyday that you can ski to someone's house in Seattle.
In this one Joe is doing the familiar wedge to avoid going to quickly downhill. The lady with the dog in front told him "you go first, you're freaking my dog out" Ha ha! It's true, dogs don't like the skis. They were all barking at him.
Here are some more wintry pictures
We were listening to Christmas music at dinner and Teo just couldn't contain herself anymore - GOTTA DANCE!
Humongo rolls from Thanksgiving
With a shot of Joe in the downstairs kitchen, to give some scale to the rolls, along with a stalk of brussel sprouts
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for work closure tomorrow. Of course, Joe has to go to work whatever the conditions are. But I don't want to have to put chains on the Hyundai.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Snow, snow, snow, snow
I want to wash my hands, my face and hair with snow!
Seattle finally got its share of the snow that's been falling all around us. We must have gotten 4 inches today on Phinney Ridge. I know, I know, you people out in Utah are saying 4 inches is nothing ( I eat pieces of crap like you for breakfast! - You eat pieces of crap? -Happy Gilmore) but when nothing gets plowed and no one has snow shovels, you start to feel a little incapacitated. Schools are closed and federal offices are closed (hospitals are open so Joe had to chain up and drive to work - Boo!) so Teo and I had a fun time today. She got to play in the snow with Milo and work on the gingerbread house. I got to sleep an extra 45 minutes this morning.
If I knew how to upload pictures on a Mac I'd show the copious amount of snow around our house, and the awesome gingerbread house. But I'm not a savvy Mac user so I don't know how to preview pictures from the thumb drive before uploading them (Mac users feel free to send tips!). I'm working on the laptop because the internet doesn't work on the desktop. Something about an IP address conflict (PC users feel free to send tips!)
So rather than spending time looking at email or silly websites I guess I'll have to read a book or the newspaper or go for a walk or clean the house or some other productive activity.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Teo's Corner
Remember a time before digital cameras, when each shot was carefully rationed out and only used for really important things (because you wouldn't want to waste $0.20)? Then came digital cameras where you could actually see how your picture turned out before developing the roll, and if necessary, erase the picture and take it again. The only problem -- maybe it was just my problem -- was a shortage of space on the memory card. I only had a 128mb (or maybe it was kb) card so it was always filling up. Then came the 2 gig card and I could shoot as many pictures as I wanted to, without the worry of using up precious memory. Also made me a little more relaxed when other people wanted to use my camera. I think I may have been a camera nazi in the past.
Teo loves to take pictures, and although you get the occassional off-kilter shot of someone's rear end, they often turn out surprisingly well and even artistic. In this new weekly picture series I will showcase some of the more memorable shots taken by Teo. Now maybe beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I like giving her the camera and seeing what catches her eye. BTW, my profile pic is courtesy of Teo.
This one's a little creepy
the aforementioned rear. Notice how it takes up the entire frame.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The purple cast
So last month Teo was bouncing around one day like any sensible 6 year old when suddenly she took a tumble and cracked her elbow - ouch!
Depending on how "active" a child is, with this type of break they can either wear a sling for a few weeks or get a hard cast. She got the cast.
The cast was very popular at kindergarten and soon it was covered with signatures and well wishes.
She got used to the cast in no time and before we knew it, the three weeks were up and it was time to cut it off. Apparently there was excessive giggling while the saw was cutting.
Everything seems to have healed nicely.
Depending on how "active" a child is, with this type of break they can either wear a sling for a few weeks or get a hard cast. She got the cast.
The cast was very popular at kindergarten and soon it was covered with signatures and well wishes.
She got used to the cast in no time and before we knew it, the three weeks were up and it was time to cut it off. Apparently there was excessive giggling while the saw was cutting.
Everything seems to have healed nicely.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Utah trip
Once I've got the blog rhythm down I'll post pictures in a more timely manner, but for now I'd say a three week lag time is acceptable. Here are pics from our Utah trip.
Teo had a great time at the playground near Grandma and Grandpa Ohsiek's house.
Swinging on the bars
Whistling soulfully
We got to meet Joe's cousin Marcie and her husband Lee, and the dogs
Then we took a trip down memory lane (to Provo) and went to dinner with Joe's nephew Keegan. Apparently the Brick Oven used to be called Heaps. Who knew? Obviously not me. I forgot about huge drinks with free refills. People are very thirsty in Utah. I had two 64 oz. apple beers, aka Martinelli's. mmm, sugar.
Chris took us to the downtown SLC farmer's market - very cool, I didn't know SLC had that kind of thing. Ate jerk chicken skewers and some sort of organic tofu breakfast burrito. Joe got an awesome farmer's market t-shirt that I'm just a little bit jealous of.
Stopped at Chris's place to look at his Halloween decorations.
Saturday night we had a yummy dinner with about 4 kinds of barbecued meats, salads, veggies, chips, spinach dip, dessert - the usual Ohsiek smorgasbord, followed by the inevitable food coma in the family room. These are not pictures of comatose people. At some point I'll remember to take pictures that go along with the narrative, or maybe only post pictures that support my story. Whatever, just look at the pics.
It was a quick, fun trip and we got to see lots of family, and everyone got to know each other a little better.
Flew home just in time to carve a pumpkin. Teo has never been one to shy away from pumpkin guts.
Teo had a great time at the playground near Grandma and Grandpa Ohsiek's house.
Swinging on the bars
Whistling soulfully
We got to meet Joe's cousin Marcie and her husband Lee, and the dogs
Then we took a trip down memory lane (to Provo) and went to dinner with Joe's nephew Keegan. Apparently the Brick Oven used to be called Heaps. Who knew? Obviously not me. I forgot about huge drinks with free refills. People are very thirsty in Utah. I had two 64 oz. apple beers, aka Martinelli's. mmm, sugar.
Chris took us to the downtown SLC farmer's market - very cool, I didn't know SLC had that kind of thing. Ate jerk chicken skewers and some sort of organic tofu breakfast burrito. Joe got an awesome farmer's market t-shirt that I'm just a little bit jealous of.
Stopped at Chris's place to look at his Halloween decorations.
Saturday night we had a yummy dinner with about 4 kinds of barbecued meats, salads, veggies, chips, spinach dip, dessert - the usual Ohsiek smorgasbord, followed by the inevitable food coma in the family room. These are not pictures of comatose people. At some point I'll remember to take pictures that go along with the narrative, or maybe only post pictures that support my story. Whatever, just look at the pics.
It was a quick, fun trip and we got to see lots of family, and everyone got to know each other a little better.
Flew home just in time to carve a pumpkin. Teo has never been one to shy away from pumpkin guts.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Change Has Come!
To all my Republican friends and family, I promise that this will be my first and last politically slanted post, but I felt the occasion was worth it. I won't have to move to Canada.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/
I guess the stories on that link will only last for one day, but just go look. Amy, I know what you're thinking-- Christine Gregoire looks like the Grinch. And while that may be true, I'm still so happy that Barack Obama won!
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattlepolitics/archives/153526.asp
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