Flying away....

One final wave.....

testing his wings....

My boy is leaving Sunday.
He is going to Shanghai.
Going for 11 months teaching English.
Half way around the world.
Living in a communist country.

I am:

Sad
Anxious
Terrified
Happy
Thrilled
Excited

Isn't it amazing that we can experience all those emotions at the same time?

I have been asking myself these past few days, "How can this be? Wasn't I just feeding him a bottle and rocking him to sleep?"

But oh, what an opportunity for my child, who is ready to take the world by the tale. I am excited to see how his experiences this next year will continue to mold him into the man God wants him to be.

I love you Andrew Layne.
Child of my heart.
Godspeed and hurry home to us, who love you most.

He is keeping a blog while he is gone. It can be found here.

Anniversary

26 + 1 = 27
27 Years
Olive Juice to my best friend

stress reliever

Because of this:

I set up a corner in my room to sew.

To relieve stress.
To get away from the collateral damage the project in the first pictures has meant for the rest of my house.

So far I have finished 5 of these little burp cloths.
My granddaughter will be a stylish burper!

(I have a dream one day to be able to have a sewing spot that does not include a 1950's era card table!)

Burp cloth pattern was found at My Longest Year blog. Thanks Crystal for sharing your tutorial!

The days of my life...

Where oh where has the summer gone???

Aside from our horrific heat wave in July, the rest of the summer has been gorgeous. No rain, since May, (until yesterday), and temps in the upper 70's and 80's!

New in our life....

**My boys were supposed to start school last Monday, but due to a very lame and bogus teacher strike, they have not. Five days missed already, and despite a court order to return on Wednesday of this week, there is some feeling the teachers may defy the order and stay out longer. Even if they do go back on Wednesday, they will have missed 6 days. That is 6 days to make up at the end of the school year--a school year that already doesn't end, in a good year, until the last week of June sometimes! Blech!

(the day before school didn't start, at Wendy's for lunch)

**My beloved husband celebrated another birthday. I love this photo of him.

(Sam baked the cake--chocolate with raspberry jam filling!)

**We took a fun little mini-vacation to Moses Lake with the boys a couple of weeks ago and had a blast. Good times playing in the water, reading, and relaxing. We would have stayed longer or gone somewhere a bit more expensive and thrilling, like Great Wolf Lodge, but we have booked a vacation to Disneyland over the Christmas break!

**I am ten weeks away from being Grandma! Well, technically I already am, but since she isn't born yet, there are times it doesn't feel quite real. I have had a fun summer watching my daughter's belly grow, buying little girl clothes, knitting a couple of little pink things, and best of all came last night! Sarah and Jesse finally revealed her name to us and I love it. It is very sweet and girly, unique and a touch old fashioned.

** Yesterday, daughter and I canned the Italian Plums that were on our tree in the backyard. Um, we managed to get 53 jars!! It will be delightful and yummy to pull those off the shelf, heat them up, and serve them with our dinners this winter.

**Fall is just around the corner here--the flowers in the yard are showing it, the last of our garden is showing, and yesterday I saw the first geese practicing the V shaped flying pattern as they prepare to leave soon. (Sarah actually took the geese picture)
Our days are cooler as well as our evenings and the it is dark before 8:30 pm. I am in the mood for some pumpkin bread and think the Fall decorations may make an appearance in my house next weekend!

So, another season already passed. I have many great memories and have so much to look forward to!

Really, can I cry?
I hate to sweat.
If I wanted this kind of weather I would move away from
Seattle to some (god-forsaken other state) mid-western/southern/eastern state where I would expect this kind of heat and humidity.

But seriously.

What is up with the weather this past year?
Where is the mild Seattle I have known and loved my whole life?
Can I make it until NEXT weekend when a cooling front might make it in from the coast?
I guess I have to.

But it won't be easy.

And it won't be pretty!

But when did I move out of Washington state???

Now, please, before any of you mid-westerners or southerners begin to scoff or laugh at me, remember that almost none of our homes have central air conditioning. Most people only have window fans, but more and more each year I am seeing people buying window unit AC's. They are nice, but not as effective as central air with this kind of heat.

Okay--complaining done! Have a wonderful Monday everyone!

Puget Sound Weather Outlook

The Heat is ON this week!

Updated Monday 6:45 a.m.

After a glorious weekend, the heat will crank up several notches around the region over the next couple of days. A thermal trough (warm, dry pocket of air at the earth's surface) will nose up the west coast today, forcing temperatures to climb into the middle 80s around Puget Sound for your Monday afternoon. This hot trough surges right into Puget Sound on Tuesday, making for highs in the upper 80s and low 90s.

A weak disturbance will traipse across the Northwest by mid-week, bringing both some high clouds and a rush of low morning marine clouds into the Sound. This will serve to shave back some of the heat, with highs dropping into the 70s and lower 80s Wednesday and Thursday.

The thermal trough roars back with a vengeance late this week, setting us up for what could be the warmest streak of the season. Highs will climb into the low 90s on Friday, middle 90s by Saturday, and upper 90s on Sunday. Some spots around the Sound could hit the century mark. Not only will it be scorching during the day, but overnight lows will stay mighty warm as well, probably making for one of those rare spells where us Western Washingtonians wish we had air conditioning!