Rain, Rain go Away...

I've lived in Seattle for 5 years and I've never complained about the weather. Well, my friend at planetdanika put it really well - thanks D.

Winter Wonderland

We had more snow last night. The roads were just beginning to get back to normal and we get hit once again. It's been really cold in Seattle, an unusual winter. However, I must say that I have enjoyed the beautiful white powder on the ground.

My sister-in-law, Mary Jo, lives in Fall City and she's been enjoying 10" of snow since last week. Cross country skiing and snow shoeing around her property - FUN!

Snow in the City

Too lazy to get the flash

It began in the morning as a light dusting of snow or what the weather man calls a trace however, by 5:00pm we ended up with about 1" of snow fall. Ever since I moved to Seattle we get at least one day of snow in the city during the winter season and I like it. It was early this year so we may get another one later on. Hey man, we don't have to worry about shovelling it on a daily basis so the change is nice.



With a substancial snow fall comes a beautiful white layer on our lawn and trees, giggling kids, snowmen, snow angels and SNOWBALL FIGHTS. Along with the 14 kids in our neighbourhood, Tim and Scott, our neighbour, were the two biggest kids out there. While the kids were outside having fun I was inside, warm and cozy trimming our tree. Tis the season..
Happy holidays everyone.

Two Weeks Of Fun

Mummy and Courtney (my 11yr old neice) visited Tim and I in Seattle. It was non-stop fun. Here's what we did:

July 26th - Arrive in Seattle - Yeah, I can't wait to show them around.
July 27th - Shopping (a part of every Jamaicans trip)
July 28th - Traveled to San Juan Island, Stayed at Juniper Lane (highly recommended), Dinner at Madrona Bar and Grill in Roche Harbor
July 29th - Whale Watching with Captain Carli's Charter, visited the Lavender Farms
July 30th - Returned to Seattle, drove on the famous Chuckanut Drive
July 31st - Woodland Park Zoo with Friends and more shopping
Aug 1st - Courtney went on the climbing wall at the YMCA. Visited the beautiful Japanese Garden and discovered Pike Place Market. Dinner at the Penny's home - thank you!
Aug 2nd - Mount Rainier (Paradise). Courtney and Tim climbed to about 6400-ft and she got to hike through snow.
Aug 3rd - Mummy went shopping. Courtney and I went to Wild Waves/Enchanted Village. Dinner with our friends the Deys - always a good time.
Aug 4th - Tim, Mummy, Courtney and Simon went to Fall City to visit Mary Jo. They had lunch and rode the horse. I was at a training ALL day. We all enjoyed the Mariners Game in the evening.
Aug 5th - We headed to Olympia and spent the weekend with Donna. Marie, Paul, Courtney and Tim swam and drove the boat while Mummy and I did a little more shopping (what can I tell you).
Aug 6th - Enjoyed Eld Inlet. Walked to the cove, swam, drove the boat, taught Courntey how to go clamming, Tim swam across the inlet (about 2-miles) and had lunch with the rest of the Dugaw family. It was a fun weekend.
Aug 7th - Mount St. Helens: Mummy really enjoyed this visit. We had dinner with Paul, Marie and Claire.
Aug 8th - Goodbye Mummy and Courtney, thank you for visiting us. We had a whole lot of fun and we look forward to your next visit. We love you!

Check out the 382 pictures: Album 1, Album 2, Album 3

Soltice Parade

I've lived in Seattle for 3-1/2 years and this was my first time going to the parade. Not so bad since my dear husband has lived here all of his life, except when he moved to Philadelphia, and this was his first time at the parade.

What a fun event and a must see for anyone visiting at this time of the year. It's the beginning of summer and the longest day of the year so why not celebrate with a parade and the annual Dey Soltice party.

Renee's Visit

It's been a fun, filled week with Renee in town. On Monday when she arrived she had the honor to spend her first day watching me put about 25 kids up a climbing wall. Tuesday we headed over to Port Townsend, Wednesday I took her downtown to enjoy Pike Place Market, Thursday Tim and I took her to Mt. St. Helens, our second trip in a month - third trip in a year. On Friday we went back downtown, enjoyed a movie and then went to the Mariners game for some good American fun. On Saturday we spent the entire day in Fremont enjoying the Soltice Parade...lots of naked people to be seen.

She has to go home today and I will miss her. It has been nice having her around.

Orcas Island

If you come to the great NW it is important that you make your way to the San Juan Islands. Lucky me, once a year I have the opportunity to go to Orcas Island, a place I would like to explore with a little more time. However, every year as a part of my job at the YMCA I get to go to Camp Orkila with our Adventure Guides group. It was a fun experience, as usual, but this year they have added a new chanllenge. It's the giant swing and it is fun, fun fun. Check out the pictures of me on the swing with Lydia, one of the kids in the program. The next time I'm going it alone.

Suiting up for the big ride and Lydia and I hanging out

It's Cold Out There

Tim and I had a wonderful time in Jamaica and although it is nice to be back home, it's always hard to say goodbye.

The moment we departed the plane the cold hit us, we had gotten so use to the warm sun beating down on us that we had to pull out the warm coats and get into bundle mode. It's wonderful to be home, sleeping in our own beds and having a different pair of shoes to wear (limited clothes when you travel) but our trip was really jam packed and fun. My next entry will have pictures and a review of our time in our second home.

A Little Snow Fall

Our Front Yard

We have had 3-4 full days of beautiful clear skies and sunshine. Last night when I went for my run it was so cold that at 2 miles I was still freezing my butt off, literally. That cold brought us a little snow last night, certainly not an east coast blizzard, but it's always nice to wake up to a little white on the ground. I've been told that Saturday we should expect more... and we thought spring was here.