touring CO

Tom's mom came to visit us in Colorado. It was her first trip here, so of course we had to show off... which included a trip to Estes Park & Rocky Mountain National Park.

spring in Colorado

We were happy to have some great weather to share with Tom's mom.

Bolder Boulder 2009

Tom and I ran the Bolder Boulder again this year. (It was Tom's 4th year in a row; I have only run it once before, in 2007.) The weather was perfect: overcast and cool. We both felt like we struggled, but finished without any untoward events. I told Tom that maybe next year I'll walk it....

Skeeter-nip

Our friend Jennifer just sent me a birthday card that had an extra treat in it: catnip from their garden. Their cat's name is Skeeter; we refer to this home-grown-godliness as Skeeter-nip. I put the catnip down on Sable's scratch-pad, and you can see the immediate result!

Queenie & Angus

Our friends' dogs are really stinkin' cute.

funny signs in Seattle

The top photo is of a one-piece baby outfit. Hahaha. The next one is certainly a sign of the times... and the last one was a picture of a menu that was posted in a restaurant window downtown. "Tom's Rub with Love..." hehehe.

lots of great food

We had an excellent week of eating. The top photo is at Salumi's. This is a deli that is owned by Mario Batalli's father near the ballparks in Seattle. They make all of their own charcuterie -- and it was excellent. We had a meatball sub and also a mole-salami sandwich. I preferred the mole-salami; Tom preferred the meatball sub.
Our next adventure was an attempt to go to the Cheese Festival at Pike's Market Place. It was so over-crowded, that we actually decided to leave. (You couldn't get close enough to any of the booths to actually watch any of the demonstrations or taste any of the cheeses.)
So we visited Brauer's, which is a bar in Fremont which has hundreds and hundreds of beers on their menu, probably with 50-100 taps. They specialize in Belgian beers. They offered a cheese plate, which I enjoyed (I decided that even if I had missed the Cheese Festival, I could still happily try cheeses...) Steve and I tried two of their ciders with our cheeses: one was an organic version, the other "regular." The organic cider was decidedly sweeter, which of course I liked.
Our next culinary adventure was to have dinner at the 35th Ave Cafe. This was EXCELLENT. They also specialize in charcuterie, which they make on the premise. They had a big chalkboard, with lists of charcuterie and cheeses to choose from. I ordered two meats: my favorite was the duck pancetta, and also two cheeses (a goat's milk, and a sheep's milk). I was thoroughly satisfied with my 4 oz of meat & cheese for dinner. As they had at Brauer's, they served the cheese with honey as a condiment. I had never tried this combination before, but found that I loved it.
At that same restaurant, Tom (and Steve both) ordered the Halibut. It was served with fresh fennel, orange slices, and northern beans. It was quite tasty, but I think not as superb as my charcuterie & cheese plate.

Circus Contraption night

Steve took us to see a Seattle favorite: Circus Contraption. After performing for 11 years, this is actually their last season. Fortunately, I took this picture of the stage before they announced that they prohibit photography of any kind....

view from our room

It wasn't exactly an ocean view, but I liked the view from the room nonetheless...

night life in Seattle

Our hotel was downtown, near the Pike's Place Market. We enjoyed walking around down there -- both day and night. The rocket, of course, is in Fremont. The bottom photo was a band that Lanie took us to hear. Ironically, Lanie took us to this particular band because her friend Alicia is in the band (and is a great singer). This was my best photo of the band -- and one of the only ones without Alicia in it!

good weather, in Seattle??

We just returned from a week in Seattle. I had a conference (which was quite good) and then we stayed a few extra days to see our friends Lanie and Steve. As luck would have it, we had great weather the entire time. In fact, it started to rain as we were boarding the plane to return to Colorado!

the Whiskey Bottles

Tom has been playing with a new band -- the Whiskey Bottles. They are a cover band, which is a new thing for Tom...
He's been working hard on recording a demo disc for them. The top photos is a recent bar/roadhouse gig. The next three photos are studio work. Mary Caiton in the vocal booth (with Barry giving direction); Barry on the guitar, and Tom looking a bit frightened at the helm.

what a difference 2 weeks makes!

I took the top photo about 2 weeks ago. I was excited, because the grass had turned so beautifully green. Well, as you can see, in another two weeks our trees have started to grow leaves. The tree in the middle of the grass is a maple. You can also see lots and lots of leaves on the aspen trees in the back of the yard, near the fence. [For comparison, go back to "More Progress" from Wednesday, March 4th. Wow.]
Also, Tom has started his garden. He has planted lots of tomatoes and chillies, as well as seeds for cucumbers, spinach, peas, lettuce, cat-grass, carrots & corn. We have also planted blueberry and raspberry bushes.