Michigan

So we were in Michigan last weekend for Lloydfest (the celebration of Lloyd, Mike’s grandfather, and his 90^th birthday).

I meant to have this post up a little earlier, but I’ve been distracted by the fires. For those keeping score at home, my grandparents’ house is fine. My parents’ house is fine, too, although they were evacuated Monday night. Luckily, the winds shifted and started blowing west to east, pushing the fire back. People were allowed to go back to our neighborhood on Tuesday afternoon - apparently, there's quite the clean-up to be done there since the winds blow a lot of ash around. I realize that the change in winds brought good news to us at the cost of bringing extreme misfortune to others. Here are some photo galleries from the local paper, and here are some sites where you can help.

Okay, back to our (semi-)regularly scheduled program . . . .

We got to Michigan on Thursday night, just in time to see the movie “Run, Granny, Run” about a 90-year-old woman who decided to run for public office in New Hampshire to make a statement about politics. The film is great and really inspiring. Also, my sister-in-law is the associate producer of the movie! If you have HBO on demand, you can check the movie out at your leisure.

My favorite line from the movie comes when Granny D is preparing for her debate and one of her advisors asks her what she’ll say if she’s asked about gay marriage. She pauses, and then she says, “I’m for love.” And there you have it.

On Friday, went to visit scenic East Lansing, the home of Mike’s alma mater. While Mike did his thing, I took a walk around the campus and took a few pictures.

Friday night we had a little birthday party for Mike, complete with delicious carrot cake made by Brenda. We even had a special appearance by an out-of-town guest!

Saturday night was the big event – a good time was had by all! The party featured pictures of Lloyd from all his different adventures (military, figure skater, father, grandfather, etc.). There were also speeches by the family, a magician, and super-yummy food.

Oddly, it had been MUCH warmer in Michigan than it was in Seattle when we arrived back on Sunday.

Cupcakes

Are my favorite vegetable.

ah-MAZE-ing fun

Today we went for our second annual corn maze/pumpkin patch trip (well, I guess it was really my second annual trip, as Mike was still in Japan at this time last year; I liked this year better!).

It's a bit of a drive to the farm, but so worth it! Zachary and his parents (and a special Zachary visitor from out of town!) came with us. We were also joined by a friend of ours from Japan.First, we wandered through the corn maze. Last year's maze theme was about Boeing, this year it was something about cars. Whatever - once you're in the maze, it all looks the same.That's even true if you go up on the viewing platform.After wandering through the maze for a while, we found our way out and headed over to the pumpkin patch. Although it's great to pick your pumpkin off the vine (as I did this year), I have to say that those squash stalks are awfully spiny!You can't beat the prices, though.We also bought a few gourds to make a table centerpiece.Yesterday was a bit more mellow, as we stayed at home all day. We did, however, take a walk around the lake. Fall is everywhere, as the leaves are totally starting to turn! Here are a few pictures from our walk.

SFO

I spent last weekend in San Francisco, enjoying the lovely hospitality of my aunt and uncle and spending time with my good friend Marianne.

Since we were both just in town Friday-Sunday, we had to make the most of every day (meaning: we walked so much every day that our feet ached at night). On Friday afternoon, we set out to explore the Embarcadero, the ferry building, and Lombard Street.

We started our walk at the ferry building, which is like a temple to delicious foods. Here is a picture of some mushrooms (yes, there was a store that sold only mushrooms).There was also a great-looking cheese store, but I didn't actually get a chance to sample any of their products.

From the ferry building, we walked along the water for a bit.After that, we turned away from the water and walked up several steep hills to get to Lombard Street (a serious tourist attraction). I think Lombard Street is famous for being the crookedest (most winding) street in the United States. The street itself is pretty long, but the notable portion is actually quite short. Here is a picture (granted, not the greatest picture, but, come on, it's a street).Saturday, Marianne and I woke up early and were off to go to Beserkeley to visit my brother. Actually, it wasn't so beserk at all. Joined by his girlfriend, the four of us had a very lovely breakfast and then Eric, Marianne, and I set off to explore the Berekely farmers' market. This was like the a farmers' market to end all farmers' markets - there were your usual farmers' market staples like basil, flowers, and apples; but there was also fresh pasta, avocados, cheese, himalayan food, chili peppers, more heirloom tomatoes than you could count, starfruit, and edible flowers for your salads. The variety was amazing - and it was all so delicious.After our farmers' market adventure, we rode the train back to the city, rested for a bit, and then went off to the yarn store. Although I like my seattle yarn store quite a lot, I was rather impressed with my aunt and cousin's local yarn store. (We also visited another yarn store duing our San Francisco travels, but I found that one less friendly, less well-organized, and much more overwhelming).

Saturday night we cooked a delicious dinner from our farmers' market haul. We also made apple pie.And Eric joined us.Sunday, we had to cram in a few last minute San Francisco must-sees. We began the morning with a trip to get my new favorite coffee cake at one of my aunt's favorite coffeeshops. Then, we headed out to see a view of the city.Then, we headed down to Chrissy Field to take their dog for a walk near the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather this weekend was absolutely beautiful, so we had a nice, warm, sunny walk. Here are some pictures from the walk.
The bridge:Alcatraz:Marianne and me:My relatives' dog, Jake:A puppy we encountered (I couldn't resist!):After the walk, we went for super-yummy burritos. I love burritos!

And then I flew back to Seattle - where I've been exhausted all week. I wonder why . . . .

A wedding!

Since the trend in blog posts lately seems to be news about others, I thought I'd oblige with some wedding pictures from my friend Karen's wedding. Karen was married in late September in Florence, Italy. Alas, sadly, we couldn't be there - but the the bride looks beautiful, the groom handsome, and the couple ever so happy! A big congratulations to them!

Next, Everest!

You know how when you watch the Olympics and the figure skaters are all, like, thirteen? On one hand, I find this kind of appalling, since it implies that anything older than sixteen is way over the hill. On the other hand, I find it kind of liberating - since I'm not an adolescent, there's no possible way I can be expected to do that, so no need to even feel guilty about not trying.

Well, I'd now like to share with you the story of some friends of ours. They had a baby in April 2007. Then, eight weeks later (eight weeks later!!) they set out on a three-week long bike tour of Europe. Not, you know, the Flanders lowlands, but the Swiss and Italian Alps. That's right: they biked through the Alps while towing an eight-week old baby in a car seat in a bike trailer behind them. They also camped most nights.

I find this to be a herculean endeavor - on par with having the baby, but, you know, lasting for three weeks and involving bikes. And mountain passes in Switzerland. (And something, I suppose, that someone my age could *theoretically* do).

I'm amazed - go on, go read the whole thing!
(And their baby is pretty cute, too!)

Exploded eggplant happens

Or, why you should poke holes in your eggplant before roasting it.

Scenes from the weekend

So, on Friday night, we went to our friend Elias' sukkah. A sukkah is little hut (built according to specific rules) that Jewish people build to commemorate the holiday of Sukkot (so that should pretty much clear things up for the non-Jews that read our blog!). A sukkah can have many meanings, but, basically, I think of it as a sort of booth that you build and invite your friends to to honor fall/ the harvest (as you can see, I go in deep for the theology!).

Anyway, it was really fun - even if temperatures on Friday night did deep into the high 30s.When you're in the sukkah, it's traditional to shake the lulav and etrog. We weren't so prepared, so we did our best improvisation.Saturday-day I headed over to the yarn store for some help on Mike's socks. I started these socks in January, but it's been slow going since then. Last week I found myself stuck on the heel, and I realized that no amount of reading the directions was going to help me. I needed some real, in-person help. And I got it! I wish I could say that that the heel on the first sock looks great, and that the heel on the second sock is coming along swimmingly. Alas, while the heels are serviceable, they're not really perfect - I hear that takes practice . . . .

Saturday evening we went to see baby Zachary and baby Zachary's parents. Zachary is getting big!And then we played with Zachary's gifts.When we came home, we made a small batch of apple cupcakes with a variety of cream cheese frostings (regular, maple, and ginger). Even though we couldn't really tell the difference among all the frostings, the cupcakes were yummy!

(Mini) goats rule the world

They're taking over!
Legally speaking, of course.

Also, the Goat Justice League? For real?

Japan Reunion, part II

This afternoon we went to a little party where we got to see our friends Daniella and Diedrich. Daniella and Diedrich are actually from Seattle, so they were back for a little visit and to take care of some business. The party was in their neighbor's yard and was held to celebrate the new landscaping/design of the yard (which was totally beautiful and very magazine-worthy!).

It was great to hear how our friends were doing, what they're doing next, and just generally to catch up. The more we settle back into our lives here (if things are really ever settled, that is), the more I realize what a special time Japan was and what special people we met there.

Like I said above, the party was lovely, the yard was beautiful, and the food was sooo delicious (at one point they even made s'mores! I gotta get me a yard!).

Here's a picture of the four of us:

If I had a hammer

Today Mike and I built houses with Habitat for Humanity (and the YLD). We put siding on a house - it was hard work, but satisfying. The work site was right near the foothills of the Cascades, so the view was beautiful. Also, unlike the last time we volunteered, it wasn't pouring rain.

If we weren't so busy with school (and school associated things), I'd really like to go more regularly.

The Windy City

I just got back from the gigantic annual conference from my academic field. The conference was really large and overwhelming but also productive, and the best thing about the weekend was that I got to spend time with Andy, the originator of the days of power, his wife Kate, and their dog Dexter (he also answers to "Richard Gere").

In addition to that, I got to see my old high school friend Leonard (he also answers to "Leotard"), his girlfriend Ester (she also answers to "Hector"), and Renny, his friend form college.

Here are some pictures:

Goats gone wild!

What is it with the goats around here?

For the record, I still want a puppy.