Stop and smell the scotch broom

Then in April, on one of the first really nice days, we had a all-day picnic at Cline Falls. It doesn't sound like much but it was great. It was one of my first full days off since finishing the book, Aunt B was there and Granny Gram (B's grandmother, for those of you on the other side of the family) and both the younger kids. We ate and played, and relaxed. Then repeated.

Don't underestimate the small stuff.

B & I finally got a real break in May, taking a weekend to explore Hood River and area. I squeezed some work in but mostly it was a time for us to enjoy each other's company and remember what it's all about. Certainly most of this year seemed too crazy for that.

A demon on ice

As for as adventure goes, the skiers in the family got a chance to hit the slopes several times this year and I...well, I went sledding. Some. Mostly they sledded and I took photos.

Hey, it was cold.

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore

What else? Oh, we went to Hawaii. Our fifth wedding anniversary coincided with B's work conference on the Big Island - not bad huh? We didn't have the time or the funds to add more than a couple of days to the conference but it was great nonetheless. Got a chance to visit with my brother Stephen and his wife Jana, and kick back for a while. Weather was...okay. The leeward side of Hawaii is odd, lots of vog and strange changes in climate. But it's still the tropics, so how bad can it be? We stayed in a bizarre Disneylandish resort that wasn't to our taste, we'd have rather had something simpler and smaller but then again...we weren't paying for it.

Back from the Undead

No, we're not dead, we haven't been sent to Siberia or locked in a dank basement.

We've just been really, really busy.

B had a huge project at work towards the end of the year, then my big project at work took off and I've been working nearly every weekend since -- but now I'm done! A co-worker and I have written a book on the first 100 years of our town and our newspaper, and we just sent it to the publisher. Suffice to say even though it is a very photo-heavy book, it was a lot of work. Tons of research and fact checking, lots of archive digging. We really enjoyed the work, but found it tough to get it done and our regular jobs, too.

But it's done and hopefully life will return to its normal chaos.

Let's see, what has happened in the last six months?

The Cliff Notes version: Kristin came home for Christmas but nearly lost her life getting here (Portland shut down by storm), J & J received skis and accessories from Aunt Leah for Christmas and were thrilled, Mom caved and allowed B to buy the family a Wii. I have now crossed over to the dark side. Oh, and the holiday was remarkable because we had a store-bought tree. Long story, but understand that B still got to do his favorite tree-hunt expedition, its result just didn't make it in the house.
Then I joined a knitting club, ironic 'cause I suck at knitting. But as small gesture as it is, it has saved my life because it's the one thing I do for me and only for me and there are precious few of those.