11-2015 Nov

20151102 113140  This is the arena where I ride on non-lesson days. I like to be outside as much as possible. Lately, I've been riding at least half the time without stirrups. This practice really helps me communicate better with my seat, and be more confident. If I lose my stirrups, it's no big deal. Also good for balance, that's for sure! I've almost gotten launched off Emmy if we don't do a smooth transition down from canter to trot ;) 20151102 123646  Emmy's hoof, treated with Thrushtox to prevent thrush, an infection of the frog (the triangle part which is soft) during the wet months. 20151102 173135  Wheat roosting with Calvin. 20151102 194819  Fires every night now.
20151103 140348  Still rowing! This is a good split for me over 6000 meters. 20151103 162919  Soccer practice for Ben - getting dark early now. 20151104 093255  My favorite little house. I think it's the size of our huge 10 man tent. 20151104 165345  An impromptu Wed night fire and s'mores. Before dinner. Thanks to Larry for pizza - awesome!
20151104 165354 20151104 170115 20151104 172611 20151105 105627  Kris and her "boy" Toby :)
20151106 074951  Huge spider web up in the trees. 20151106 101401  Trying to help organize decisions around funding school grants.I created a matrix to provide a score for each as a way to communicate opportunities for improving the grant if it isn't funded. 20151106 191015  Our family has a long history of NOT winning at Bingo Night! It continued this year! 20151107 084001  The sun is shining somewhere in Seattle!
20151107 102004  Soccer has been VERY wet every Saturday! But this doesn't stop the kids from having fun. 20151107 102010  Thank you, coaches! 20151107 102113 20151107 150211  Sam leading dry land for his team before a game.
20151107 150233 20151107 151345  And sewing name plates on to the jerseys - thank you, Lisa! 20151107 151952  Score sheet training. 20151107 154823  Dave helping with score sheet and clock training, Dan in the penalty box. Every home game has at least 4 volunteer jobs to fill, not to mention helping in the locker room to keep a lid on things!
20151107 155007  Fans! 20151107 164532  Great game, guys! 20151107 081848  A wet November. 20151107 103938  We spotted Sam doing dry land up in the bleachers!
20151107 104025  And a little of the game action... 20151108 083122  Wheat is still around! I'm STIIIIL helping her get closer and closer to eating with the other birds. 20151108 083206  But, each day is a miracle that she's still fine, and working toward being happy. She gets warm soup, oatmeal, hand feedings AND waterings usually every day. If not hand feeding, then private time in the coop with food and water if I'm pressed for time. She does need to take some responsibility for eating and drinking on her own... 20151108 154810  Ben's bag is huge, but he carries it all by himself!
20151110 082728  My campsite in our woods. 20151110 164555  Last soccer practice. 20151111 091736  Out on a 6 mile run with a friend. Then to stick and puck... 20151111 110628  This is our truck with gear for 4!
IMG 3348  Awesome pictures taken by Sharon, the team manager for a team up in Everett. She takes such great pictures. Enjoy these outtakes of Sam. IMG 3313 IMG 3312  That's goalie and friend, Ethan. IMG 3262
IMG 3261 IMG 3247 IMG 2889 IMG 2871
IMG 2872 IMG 2870 IMG 2607 IMG 2521
IMG 2482 IMG 2444 IMG 2387  This is our buddy Carver. IMG 2308
IMG 2307 IMG 2298  Happy Sam! IMG 2283 IMG 2245
IMG 2244 IMG 2201 IMG 2191 IMG 2144
IMG 2143 IMG 2142 IMG 2006 IMG 1957  Sam and his buddy Eli.
IMG 1955 IMG 1942 IMG 1848 IMG 1840
IMG 1837 IMG 1731 IMG 1724 IMG 1691
IMG 1657 20151111 145842  Pizza and hot chocolate. I think there were 9 hockey boys at stick and puck on Veteran's Day? 20151111 145848  Sweaty, hungry boys. They did stick and puck and then stayed for open skate. I think I was there 5.5 hours! 20151111 145904  But - I had good company. That's Dee in the background, in purple, also taking pictures.
20151111 145923  We had a VERY funny time watching the boys take up "figure skating" because they kept getting in trouble for being boys out on the ice. Thankfully, the figure skater they were teasing had a good sense of humor. Dee and I were sitting in the lobby laughing our tails off watching the boys do some excellent synchronized figure skating maneuvers! 20151111 154321 20151111 154325  They'd go off ice and convene by the door to strategize - a figure skating huddle - then come back on the ice and follow the leader with graceful movements. One of the boys held court with figure skater, chatting and chatting and chatting her up. So funny... 20151111 163445  Then to PetCo to check out snakes. Sam would LOVE a snake for Christmas.
20151111 163527  This one. It only gets to be 4'-5' long. It's much cheaper than an Xbox. And it's not an Xbox. Which has me totally on board. Dave - not so much. I can see my life now - stopping at PetCo for feeder mice, then Taco Del Mar for feeder burritos for boys, on the way home from the rink. Think that mouse would stay in the box? The little box it comes in, by the way, looks like a Chinese food take-out box. ICK! 20151112 072029  I learned Morse code this fall, so every morning the boys give me a pop quiz. 20151113 174144  At the rink...again! 20151113 175501  Josh is in goal tonight.
20151113 201051  This is the week of missing equipment for Ben. I was chasing and chasing elbow pads and gloves... 20151114 091355  Back at a wet soccer game 20151114 172340  Caden manning the penalty box for us at a game in Lynnwood. Thank you, Caden! This was our toughest game yet. In fact, our only loss so far. It was an excellent opportunity for the boys to see some good hockey and step up their own game. We did well against this team, holding them to three goals. 20151114 183618  Eating donuts after the game. Then to dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory.
20151114 183628  Our score sheet. I email this in to the league after the home games. 20151114 200952  Dinner...madness...loud...but fun. 20151114 201020 20151114 211040  Group wall sits!
20151114 211048 20151115 100050  I made soup. Actual soup. Not from a can. It was delicious...enjoyed that for a week! 20151115 121539  And pot roast. I'm actually cooking. Can you believe it? 20151115 152237  Happy Ben with his buddy Sam. (not his brother!)
20151115 152244 20151115 160238  Getting to see snow-covered peaks on the drive home from the rink. We do an awful lot of driving for hockey, but thankfully there are great views to had 20151115 172154  A trip to the commissary - this was $397! Isn't that AMAZING? I love shopping with the boys. They are very helpful and really pretty good shoppers! 20151115 172756  Ben was in charge of the $5 tip for our helper who brings the cart to the truck (a custom). We're asking him for the money. He said "huh?" We're like "WHAT?" It's late on a Sunday...time to get home and eat. And the $5 is buried UNDER a bag? He thought it would be fun for the lady to find the money and wonder if it was hers. Cute...sorta ;) Sam's face says it all!
20151115 144824  A game for Ben... 20151116 091156  This little fence was made by the same person who made ours, years ago. I can tell that each slat in the fence is hand carved - each one is different. There are about three of these on the north end of the island. I wonder who the carpenter was? 20151116 072338  I'm reading a biography of Teddy Roosevelt, and find passages of his life out west very interesting. He is a fine example of someone who seizes life by both horns. Ben second grade  Ben - second grade picture.
20151117 180638 20151118 110448  Emmy getting her teeth floated. 20151118 110733  She had to be sedated for this. 20151118 111328
20151118 140001  Last berries of the season! 20151118 183141  Ribollita cooking. 20151119 074036  Also teaching the boys some new words while sharing some Economist articles. I like defenestrate. To throw someone out of a window. You can use that every day, right? Or to depose someone from power. 20151119 080502  Feeding Wheat is an adventure. This particular morning she JUMPED onto my hands!
20151119 080509  I'm like - Ok! Here we are? 20151119 080541 20151119 115656  Soup is done! Yum. 20151119 190350  Testing out doing ice cream floats for a fundraiser. I think the kids like them!
20151119 203026 20151120 075019  This is our first hard frost. 20151120 124700  Emmy hates selfies, but this one isn't bad! 20151120 130448  Time for a blanket (she's clipped, Dad!). Horses that work hard and sweat benefit from being clipped so they dry off sooner. But it also means you need to keep them blanketed.
20151120 160926  Moon over the roller rink during a parents vs. kids soccer game. 20151121 094655  Taking end of season pictures for Ben's soccer team. Look who's photobombing! I didn't even notice Sam in the back. He's so funny standing there in his hoodie, quietly. 20151121 094709 20151121 094719
20151121 094724 20151121 094728 20151120 204116  Tincturing rosemary in vodka. If you ever do this - it tinctures in 30 sec. It's very fast. Pull that rosemary right out or it will be very very pungent. 20151121 170423
20151121 171604  Beautiful sunset from the rink parking lot. 20151121 181103  This is made of caribou, folks, FIVE caribou, hunted by this man on the North Slope in Alaska. 20151121 141922  Dave on the way to a hockey game. 20151122 141251  Ben played goalie for a game!
20151122 141416 20151122 155332  The rink lobby as the sun passes through during a peaceful late afternoon practice. Yes, we're there a lot. It helps to find beauty in the place :) 20151123 153813  Doing some more wood chopping for my friend Sara. We made it through her whole pile in the rain, and made kindling, too. The boys were a big help. 20151123 153829  The boys do kindling while I do the big stuff. I think we chopped a cord of wood over two afternoons.
20151123 153900 20151123 154347  Good kindling, Sam! 20151123 155142  I really got stuck in this one! 20151123 155209
20151123 170143  We bring a wide variety of axes for the job. 20151123 171946  Hmmm...another head lamp is out. 20151123 173710  I saw these at Jiffy Mart after chopping wood and had to buy ALL THREE! I am such a sucker. These three are me to a T when hungry. The boys would say any time...they are just me always. Maybe they're right ;) 20151124 163759  Huge wind storm on the island a few days ago toppled trees and shut down power to this signal on our road. We decided to go to practice anyway because we didn't have power. Turns out the worst part of the drive was the .5 miles from our house to the signal.
20151124 214414  Back at home for candles, fire, martinis and some music before an early bedtime. 20151125 112323  Riding the next day - thankfully the wind had calmed and power came on for Thanksgiving. 20151125 113123  I love Emmy's soft nose. Should I confess my Thanksgiving wish? Early in the morning, before power came on, I found myself awake around 4:30am. I was thinking about how epic it would be to have a Thanksgiving without power, with friends and neighbors popping over to use propane cooking stoves, grills, fires, my turkey on a spit, or in a deep fryer, and all the fun that would be. Just as I was thinking that, the power came on! Darn! 20151125 114001  Emmy in her new cooler.
20151125 114823  The little paddock I muck after riding. 20151124 190401  The boys got extra stick and puck time after practice because the next team after us decided to cancel practice. 20151125 122703  Taking the boys to frozen yogurt - in the winter - for lunch. Turns out no one really does that. We were the second customer of the day, at noon. 20151125 125511  Going shopping at Safeway, on Thanksgiving Eve, to get all our stuff. We did really well! The boys had specific things to find, and their own carts. No one got a hairy eyeball, no fights, no screeching, and Ben only ran Sam down from behind once. (Ben tears around stores with his cart.)
20151125 130239  Sam chasing me down so he can find a bathroom. 20151125 132022  Looking for Whoppers to make Whopper pie... 20151125 133022  At the checkout - we survived! 20151125 143956  Mom and Richard arrive to a royal mess!
20151125 145251  Richard and I are going to hit it hard outside to clean up from the storm. 20151125 152553  I think I'm ready for company? 20151125 153805  Wheat eating the last of the ribollita. 20151125 160616  I'm splitting wood - enough will be in this wheelbarrow for a few days.
20151125 164636  After an hour of splitting. Maybe less. I don't know - Richard and I were talking about projects, like blowing the stuff out of the gutters, fixing the headlamp on the truck, etc. IMG 2987  Trying to get a holiday hug from Sam. GOOD LUCK! IMG 2988  This is as good as it gets! 20151125 192016  Full moon :)
20151126 100017  Red leaves ready for Christmas. 20151126 102701  On a beach walk midway through a run. It was cold, but warm in the sun. I was hoping to find some picture jasper or agate. 20151126 103344  I really cannot take a selfie to save my soul. So why try? 20151126 104926  This little trailer is cute.
20151126 141940  Richard and I are burning the downed pine limbs from around the property while turkey cooks inside (THANK YOU, DAVE!) 20151126 142120  Kinda smoky when you put green stuff on the fire. 20151126 143002  Mom is a huge help! 20151126 145159  Richard and Mom by the fire...first full day visiting up here. They're starting to get used to the cold.
20151126 145842  Dave visiting our "camp" and inspecting the shenanigans. Also hoping I will come inside soon to set the table ;) 20151126 145903 20151126 145907 20151126 145922  Off to fix the truck headlamp...before setting the table. Dave is saying "It's sooo not time for that." But - I think since I know what I'm doing now, it won't take 35 min. It only took 12 min.
20151126 151808  Done! 20151126 154021  Good embers there. 20151126 155255  Turkey done! IMG 2995  I did throw on some earrings and took off my filthy jacket for dinner. Oh, and put my hair up. I came out to ooohs and aaaahs from mom, but then someone noticed grease on my face. I kept it on through dinner to see if the kids would notice and they DIDN'T! Dave's assessment - it's just par for the course for them to see something odd on me. ha! Maybe he's got a point.
20151127 100411 20151127 171704  Here we are at the Thanksgiving weekend tournament - playing PeeWees! We're a year or two younger, and playing Canadian teams, knowing full well we're going to be whooped. But, it's ice time! And a good chance to raise some money selling baked goods! 20151127 171708  Lisa is baker extraordinaire! 20151127 173725  Go ladies! Thank you so much for pulling together on this!
20151127 184042  Getting ready to hit the ice. 20151127 184621  Checking in with Mark to see if he's ready to take the reins on the bake sale table while we watch the game. He had an epic shift! 20151127 184623  Testing the goods, Mark? 20151128 085431
20151128 085841  Ok - the Canadians had 66 goals to our 1 so far! 20151128 093434 20151128 095014 20151128 104505
20151128 104654  After-game snacks! 20151128 110953  Hi guys! Thanks for taking a shift between games! 20151128 110956 20151128 123930  These guys are less than energetic salespeople!
20151128 132148  A game of hockey shuffleboard? 20151128 133333 20151128 133440  Boys can always find a way to have fun. 20151128 153344  We killed 6 hours at the rink between games, selling baked goods and playing outside.
20151128 153349  This is a nice view, isn't it? 20151128 160112  Dry land :) 20151128 161449  Sunset over the Olympics. Wish I were out on them! 20151128 175232  Sam chasing a puck down.
20151128 175242 20151128 181009  Standings! 20151128 182153  Root beer floats were a big seller at the end! 20151128 175255
20151128 180455 20151129 192810 20151130 093416  This is how Emmy greets me! Ears back. 20151130 093625  Kinda dirty.
20151130 100514 20151130 122403  I got rear-ended...bike rack can't be taken off. USAA very good to us. 20151130 144258  Getting teeth repaired. I think this story is online. Look up Thanksgiving weekend. It was a whipped cream fight! 20151130 152155  In the dentist's office. Also a Roosevelt fan! And a whipped cream fighter!