turtle+mole on vacation

Much time on vacation + delinquent contractors + tiredness = not much done on house.

I managed to do some of the interior finishing around the skylight, but because it’s still not properly installed — “next week” we keep hearing — I couldn’t finish it. I’ve put in the insulation, and patched up most of the damaged plaster.

Misha came to visit! My dad, Eva, and Leo also came by, so we had a Bit’ family gathering.

While Misha was visiting, I had to do some work, so Misha and Dad went for a walk around the Mission. At some point, they walked into a place that had one of the robotic arm games where you try to control the arm to grab a stuffed animal. Needless to say, Misha won.

He decided to call it ‘love monster’ and sewed the knitted hearts Janeen had given him onto the eyes of the stuffed animal. Creepy? Cute? Funny?

On Balmy Alley

Janeen went to visit her ‘other family’ up in Washington. Wiley was graduating from University of Puget Sound. mole here: i got a kick out of it every time wylie introduced me to her friends or professors as her babysitter. hard to believe the toddler who was my BFF when i was 20 has now graduated from college.

the day after wylie’s graduation, she and i made the long drive to forks, washington, where the twilight series was based and filmed. the rain, drizzle and fog looked just like the movies. la push beach was our favorite part of the visit.

during my washington visit i even got to see some old friends. (left) high school friend, maile and i spent an afternoon in seattle, which even included a horse and carriage ride! (right) and on the way back from forks, wylie and i had dinner with my foothill college friend erik, who now lives in snohomish.

(back to turtle…) And since we seem to be people of leisure, that vacation was promptly followed by almost a week in Yosemite. We heard that the previous week was hot and sunny, so Janeen and I brought shorts, swimsuits, and a spare pair of pants, just in case.

It snowed while we were up there!

The waterfalls were glorious. So much water, it appeared to turn to powder as it flowed over the cliffs.

Every waterfall was an opportunity to get drenched in the mist.

Above left: we took a photo in front of a wood elf! I love old machinery.

In Mariposa grove, the ‘kids’ took off for an extended hike up into the snow.

…Relaxing after the hike…

Last weekend, though, I finally finished polyurethane and stain on all the wood trim in the office. It’s almost ready for paint.