New Blog!

After months and months and months of not posting I've changed some things about the way I do things; trying to find my voice as well as a new platform.  So head on over to my new blog hy.poth.e.sis at ahypothesis.com!

New Shoes

Snowshoes that is.  This week I took up snowshoeing, two outings down and I can't wait to go again.  It's like hiking but in snow, go figure, except you feel like a duck and have to consciously avoid stepping on yourself.  Geez.

For our first venture our friends Michelle, Derek and their dog Colby showed us the ropes.  We went to Gold Creek Sno-Park down I-90 about 50 minutes SE of Seattle.  Our original intent was to take the easy hike to Gold Creek Pond but it was Saturday and the place was hella packed so we did a little off-roading, just us and the dogs, and didn't see a single soul.  

A few things I learned that trip:   

-Eat a bigger breakfast, snowshoeing is hard work.

-Drag your feet!  I almost broke an ankle disregarding this advice while stepping down a steep slope.

-Make the dog wear shoes if the top layer is crunchy from rain, poor Sagan had some raw pads by the time we finished.

The second trip was on a weekday so that left  Michelle, Colby and I.  We again went to Gold Creek Sno-Park but tried out the Kendall Peak Trail and this time almost no one was there.  Kendall Peak Trail is a 9-mile round trip hike but seeing that I am sorely out of shape we only completed a 5-mile hike with an elevation climb of 1000 ft.  I hope to do the whole thing when my snowshoeing (and cardio) skills improve.  The snow on the trail was really packed in so we did some off-the-beaten-path snowshoeing on the way down.  It's much more satisfying to crunch along untouched snow. 

Stripes of Satin

Satin stripes.  Lots of satin stitched stripes.  Three months ago I started this project and after weeks of working on it (and not working on it) it's finally complete!  I find myself both ecstatic and deflated.  On one hand I see all the little imperfections and ill spent stitches but on the other it is so gratifying to see the completion of an idea and pattern.  Cheers!

My camera has died, actually, it died a few posts ago and I have been using my phone's camera ever since.  Therefore this blog may be infiltrated with more Instagram photos.  Here goes one now.

How much does a hipster weigh? 

An Instagram of course.

So please forgive me for my square photos and in the meantime crochet this snowflake; the pattern can be found at Better Homes and Gardens.

Found

I found this lovely little girl in the thrift store today in a frame that I purchased.  I wonder where she is now.  This picture has notes on the back about what the colors should be.  Could you imagine having to manually add colors to your photographs?   I love it when I find items with notes on them, especially books with inscriptions.  It makes me feel connected.

Have a wonderful day, I hope it includes bubbles ❤.

The Many Faces of Discovery Park

This weekend I was able to experience another park of Seattle with Aaron and Sagan.  This one may be my favorite yet.  Discovery Park is a 534 acre public park with 11.8 miles of hiking trails and many beautiful faces.  Located in the Magnolia neighborhood just 5 miles away from downtown Seattle it is quite the oasis.

There were forests,

fields,

bluffs, beaches,

 spiders,

and even a decommissioned lighthouse.

It was a lovely place.  Next time there will be a picnic.

One Year

Going about my daily activities I have been experiencing many deja vu moments; most have been centered around approaching fall events.  See I have been a Seattle resident for a year now which I find almost unbelievable, but the coming of fall and familiar activities bring me back to our first fall in the Pacific Northwest.  There were memorable moments of apple picking, stumbling upon The Noble Fir of Ballard for Fresh Hop Night, hiking up to Heather Lake for our first trek through these drastically different forests or a cool bundled day on the beach at Golden Gardens.

As we enter our second year I'm reflecting on our lives here and whether this is where we want to be.  Our original intention was to live in Portland, OR where we had a stronger base of friends but opportunities led us to move 3 hours north instead.  I have no regrets about the change of plans and found in Seattle something I hadn't known I'd been missing, my connection to the waterfront.  I grew up in a small coastal town where the waterfront was a part of everyday life, then for 7 years I went to school and lived in the Appalachian mountains where my love for those mountains almost made me forget about my love for the coast.  Now I find myself on a new coastline with a new set of mountains and having a connection to both in one place is a wonderful feeling.

Am I a Seattlelite yet?  I would say no but with a sidebar of 'maybe one day'. Being a country girl city life is still a bit daunting, I miss all my friends back home and I have a hard time fighting the urge to just read a book all day when it's overcast (200 days of the year).  But Mount Rainier still takes my breath away every time I see her, new friendships are forming with time and it's incredible to have all the options a city has to offer. Slowly but surely Seattle has won my heart and as our lease ends with it comes the decision to stay or to go.  Do we give this city the chance to make us fall completely in love or move on to another possibility?  For now I'll be happy with the fact that I have a choice and I'll see where that takes me.