I hate the wind, but Gem takes a different approach. She has a way of reminding me to look for another perspective.
Last week the wind was still cold, but it was also exhilarating.
Of course, being able to nuzzle into Daddy’s coat just makes it that much better.
I hope this made you smile.
This weekend’s adventure took us to Vashon Island, meaning, with all the emphasis my bouncing 2-year-old can provide, TWO FERRY RIDES. TWO! (That’s round trip to the island for those of you keeping score. I’ve already been questioned on the count.)
Yes, that’s me. I do appear in photo’s on rare occasions (when someone grabs my camera before I can hide behind it). And look – my hair is growing back! I need a stylist, STAT!
Vashon is full of art galleries, restaurants, farms, cafes, and some of the coolest little shops we’ve ever come across.
How cool is that fridge?
SWOON!
And what’s an island without a lighthouse?
And a stunning water view
from a cottage on the beach
On days like this, I feel like I could be an island girl.
“What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know. What do you want to do?”
We could go back and forth for hours, but we’ve found a better solution for filling our weekends with adventure. We just hop in the car and drive. We pick a road and see where it goes, the smaller and more out-of-the-way town that we discover, the better. One of our favorite little local towns to visit is Black Diamond, Washington.
We start with breakfast in the bakery, and maybe even pick up some treats to go on our way out.
Then we wander down the boardwalk to the museum.
I love a small town museum, with it’s antique fire engine
and jail.
Then we stop by to visit the old train
before we head in to the main part of the museum
filled with the details of small mining town daily life,
from the barber shop,
to pen and ink,
and from monkey wrenches (so that’s what keeps getting thrown into the works),
to Hard Hat Harry.
But one of my favorite parts of this museum is their collection of unidentifiable tools.
Any idea what these are for? Don’t worry. The old timers don’t know either.
Do you have any favorite Pacific Northwest towns to visit? Where should we go next?
I didn’t mind the snowstorm much at all. It was a minor inconvenience, combined with a bevy of benefits. My husband at home for a few extra days. Family play time in the snow. A little girl’s first snowman. Soup with grilled sandwiches. Hot chocolate (Gem would be sure to verify that her’s was “warm”). Days packed with guilt-free snuggle time and togetherness.
Until my internet went out. Then it got personal.
Oddly, up until I noticed the outtage, I’d spent little time online. But in the hours, minutes, and seconds that have creeped by since that devastating discovery, I’ve thought of little else. We are all safe and well. We have electricity, heat, water, stockpiles of food, and an ever-deepening wonderland of snow and ice outside. It doesn’t matter.
I’m not connected.
I cannot share my every passing thought on facebook. I can’t pin pictures of food I will never cook, and clothes I will never wear. And since we dropped cable in favor of using the internet for tv, we might even have to break out the boxes of dvds that have been gathering dust in the closet. Even my phone is on Roam.
I’m quite certain I’ll weather this trauma just fine, and I’ll try not to spend my time counting the moments till I can post this message. In the meantime, I hope you are all safe and sound, warm and dry, that your problems are more frivolous than substantial, and that the storm leaves your homes and loved ones unscathed.
It’s not her first snow, but perhaps the first she remembers.
She offers up snowballs as precious gifts, then tosses them up in the air like so much confetti, squealing and laughing as the snow tickles her face.
And when she catches a snowflake on her glove, she blows it away, and says “make a wish.”
I have no idea where she got that from.
She made her first snowman
And she set about playing as though it was her most important work
It is.
Even when seasoned with whimsy.
Sunday, she asked if Santa was going to come back, now that it snowed, so that he could have Christmas in the snow.
She still has the Christmas spirit.
Her favorite toys laid out on a piece of pretty wrapping paper
Carefully wrapped
and topped with a pretty bow…
Berry Christmas, Mommy!
presented with both hands and a proud, beaming smile
It’s not just her toys. She’s used this one piece of paper to gift me with a book, a deck of cards, a shoe, my cell phone, the remote, and a dirty fork. But she has discovered the joy of giving.
