Autumn sunshine...and rain

Today is the first day that it has felt very fall-ish! I'm sitting on my favorite (and only) green chair with the breeze blowing in my little living room and the sounds of people chatting outside and the music of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash is drifting up to my apartment. The sun is peeking out between the clouds this evening. It rained this morning and reminded me that fall is indeed approaching in the pacific northwest. I am already planning ways to approach my second winter here. A raincoat is the first part of my plan. :) I made the mistake of not getting one last year and it is very hard to get motivated to go out in the rain if there isn't a way to stay dry. So look out wet winter!

Glorious Sunshine!

I spent a fun and restful summer weekend with my friends Becky and Dave Dow and their four kids. It isn't always restful when there are four kids, but I had some calm moments. It has finally gotten warm out...very warm! I think a record was met..95 degrees! The mornings were cool and refreshing, but by late morning the sun was beating down and a trip to Target was made just to feel the air conditioning.
On Saturday evening we all walked across the street for grilled bison and a bonfire with the neighbors. It was just what I needed after the last week...laughter, fire and a s'more!
Today after church we all drove up to Dave's parents' for an afternoon of sitting in the backyard watching the kids slide down the slip n slide. So much laughter with water!
Overall...a very good weekend!

An Unexpected Trip

Sophia

Natalie

Ten days ago a coworker was talking about her move home to Chicago and how she was wishing for a traveling companion for exactly the days that I had off! So in a matter of 24 hours I went from not knowing what to do with my eight days off to planning a trip to Iowa with an overnight visit at my sister's on the way! It was a busy trip, but I had so much fun visiting friends and relaxing with family! I love the unexpected surprises that show up!

I enjoy living in a city with everything at my fingertips. While I was home I enjoyed the small town/country life where everything moves at a much slower pace, but it is so much fun to walk down the street and see friends and family. I went to West Bend several days to have lunch with my sister and sister-in-law and nieces. We walked down to The Villager where they serve old fashioned sodas and ice cream. Ethel, who has worked there for many years, asked if I was the oldest Fuerstenau girl. "I'm your babysitter" she said. Fun times in small town USA!

Bite of Seattle

On Saturday I met up with some friends from work at Seattle Center for the yearly Bite of Seattle. Many restraunts in the city come and for a small price provide a "bite" of their dishes. We walked around amid the crowds of people and dogs, with live music in the background, trying to decide if we wanted Vietnemese, Mexican or BBQ to name just a few. After making our selections we found a place to sit by a huge fountain and people watched. It is a very interesting selection of people who came. Overall it was a fun way to spend a Saturday evening!

Hiking

The views were beautiful!

Oliver had the best seat!

Ben loved collecting flowers on our hike.

While I was in Montana the Zerbes and I drove down to Wyoming to go hiking in the Big Horn mountains. It was so beautiful hiking up there! Thankfully we did not see any mountain "wions" like Ben insisted he saw, but we did see a female moose and her baby. They were a safe distance away, but the mother looked pretty nervous and we tried to act nonchalant and uninterested in what they were doing while I was snapping pictures with Rachel's camera.

Ben and I went on a little hike further down the trail while Rachel, Dwight and Oliver rested in a little meadow. Ben would run on the trail then stop suddenly, look up toward the big boulders on our right and say "Wion"! After doing this several times I was getting a little nervous looking at the boulders and thinking that it is very possible there were mountain lions that lived up there. I finally convinced Ben that we needed to turn around and when he was safely in my arms he shook his arm at the boulders and yelled, "Go away, wion, go away"! That's exactly what I want to say when the worldly lions try to attack....go away, wion, go away!

Montana

I woke up at 4 am this morning to drive 14 hours to my sister's house in Montana. It's a long drive, made longer by summer road construction, but the views are beautiful! Seattle was rainly, foggy and cool when I left. After driving over the Cascades into eastern Washington the sky cleared and the sun came out. Ahhh...the sun! I've missed the sun! This summer has been cooler and wetter than some year...or so the natives tell me.
After a walk in the pasture with Rachel and the boys I am sitting on the couch watching the local fireworks store shoot off some fireworks. Every night the week before July 4th the owners advertise their wares with a mini fireworks display. You don't get this kind of service in the city!
We are going hiking tomorrow then dinner and fireworks with the neighbors! Happy July 4th!!!

Code Pink!!

I finished a stretch of six out of seven work days this morning with a near Code Pink thanks to a little 5 year old boy clad only in a diaper and nameband (thankfully!) in search of his mother. He looked very innocent as a surgical nurse brought him back in hand asking if we were missing anyone. We weren't until we saw him!
"Where's my mom?"
"We called her and she should be coming soon."
So I left him in the next shift's hand hoping along with him that his mother would soon show up!
(BTW, a Code Pink, for those non-medical, is what we would call on the overhead paging system if a child goes missing in the hospital. Everyone who works there knows what it means and gets information on who went missing so they can be on the lookout. This is not a good way to end your shift!)

Aromas...good ones!

This morning I was climbing the stairs to my condo after a 12 hour work night and smelled the fresh aroma of coffee in the stairwell. It was heavenly and inviting! I have recently become a coffee lover refusing to resist one of the popular past times and revenue builders of my adopted city, Seattle. I don't know any of the statistics, but I see many people walking around the city with steaming coffee cups now made of recyclable material that you can recycle. Someone is making money with this business! I will drink my coffee hot or iced with cream and sugar....and caramel. My friend, Becky, and I enjoy visiting a little coffee shop in Tacoma and chatting over a Caramel Macchiato. There is something comforting and cozy about a warm cup of coffee and conversation with a friend.

It's the Little Things

On my third night of work it is the little things that make all the difference. For example, the Starbucks kiosk was open when I got to work...yay for coffee to start the night! I worked with one of my fellow float pool nurses for the first four hours. We had a great chat and listened to music as we charted. Overall it has been a busy, but good weekend. Only three more shifts before I head to Montana for the July 4th weekend.

Oldies but Goodies

Last night at work someone brought their iPod out to cheer up our end of the hall. It wasn't that we didn't want to chat with each other; we did when we could. It was the kind of night that we needed something extra to boost our working spirits. She put on a mix of oldies from the 50s, 60s and 70s. It was so much fun to sing along! "California Girls", "Mr. Sandman" "Lollypop", "L-O-V-E"...just to name a few...were in the mix. It was amazing to see the transformation in our attitudes when we had another unpleasant task to perform. Such power in a small little device!

Procastinating

I recently moved to a "new" condo that I am renting. My place has been in shambles and since today is the last day of my seven day stretch off of work...today is the day to tackle the boxes and plastic bins that I have been trying to walk around and ignore. I always wonder why I continue to procastinate the jobs that I just don't want to do when I know that if I just finish them right away I will enjoy living in a peaceful and CLEAN environment. It is kind of the same when the Lord is convicting me in a certain area of your life. I know that if I just confess my sin and repent I will enjoy the peacefulness that I can have afterwards. So, on to a peaceful home and heart!

Resurfacing

I've decided to unearth a passion for writing that I believe I still have, but just haven't brought up to the surface for a few years. I love to read friends and strangers blogs with thoughts about life, listening to music they share and read recommended articles or books. I hope that I can do a little sharing of my own. So...my blogging journey begins.