May 25, 2013

Early morning start at our house.  The boys needed to be at the drop-off point for a Boy Scout sailing and camping adventure no later than 6:30AM and I was running with the Dirty Girls at 8:00AM.  The boys got off just fine and I was then off to Fort Steilacoom Park for a trial course run before next week's race.  It's not really a race for me, but just a fun trail run to help prepare me for my upcoming running weekend with the girls.  After my run, I got out with my camera to take in some of the blooming foliage.  The rhododendron is the Washington State flower and has a wide variety of sizes, shapes and colors.  I'm partial to the pinks.... and I like the big bees.... from afar.

Lakewood, Washington 

May 24, 2013

My weekly trail run with the Dirty Girls was experienced by Zach this morning.  Since he's thinking about trying out for Cross Country next year and wants to start training he's been running with me lately.  It's kind of fun for me to have someone to run with.  We had cloudy skies with no rain for our run, but as we were driving home we could see the next storm moving in.  We stopped just over the bridge to get some shots of Tanglewood Island and the state park.  Our house is behind this little island on the inside of Echo Bay.
A big congratulations to my beautiful niece, Brianne, who will be walking across the stage for graduation this evening.  We'll be thinking of you and cheering you on. Great job!

Fox Island, Washington

May 23, 2013

Our daily bread.  Since cold weather and heavy rains were forecasted again for today, I decided to do up a batch of sourdough.  So far, this is THE best batch I've done.  The prepping, mixing and baking aren't too laborious, but the rest and wait times are looooooooooong!  To achieve maximum rise, the first rest needs to be 15 hours, a quick beat down, light knead and throw into pans/forms then another 4 hour rest before 40 minutes of baking in a steamed oven.   So worth the wait!

Fox Island, Washington

May 22, 2013

Heavy rains and thunderstorms predicted for today.   I wish we could just hunker down inside for the day.  Unfortunately, we've got appointments to keep and errands to run.  Blah.  I don't think the dismal weather is going to affect this guy much.  The only thing bothering him today was my two soggy poodles barking and jumping at him.  He finally just flew away.

Fox Island, Washington

May 21, 2013

Group French lessons.  It's pretty relaxed.  Each boy has individual French lessons for writing and reading practice, but we do a group lesson as well to help with speaking.   At least once a week I have them read aloud (in French) a paragraph or dialog and then translate to English.  This helps to improve those translator skills that can be used in the future.

I also want to note: the boys recently got short haircuts in preparation for hot weather in Moab and the Cutter family holiday.

Fox Island, Washington

May 20, 2013

California poppies are blooming everywhere! I love how they close up when the sun starts to set and the temperatures drop.
Fox Island, Washington

May 19, 2013

I'm almost certain this is a species of honeysuckle. It's emitting a light, sweet scent and is abuzz with bees. We had a light drizzle all morning and into the afternoon which makes for a quiet, inside day around here. 

Fox Island, Washington