2012: Shaping up to be a winner

Ok kids, you heard it here first: We have concrete evidence that 2012 may ACTUALLY a pretty awesome year. I mean, don't count any unhatched chickens or anything, but all signs point to positive. For example, I will (hopefully!!) be starting a Masters in Teaching programme in October. This is Very Extremely Exciting, and I can't wait. AND my dear friend, whom I have now known for 20(!!) years, is going to be living with us in Seattle for a couple of months over the summer! AND another dear friend (this one a hilarious, marvellous, super fun lady from college) just came and spent Monday-Saturday hanging out with me! We did lots of fun, touristy Seattle things, and had a blast. I'm absolutely determined to go visit her in Hawaii some time this year, as well as to make one or two other sorjourns to visit long-lost friends. (Well, not lost, exactly-- but certainly out of reach.)

Aloha was here just for a few days, but we were determined to enjoy the time we had! We went on a whirlwind tour of Seattle, making sure to hit all of the Important Locations. That meant that between Monday and Saturday we went to the Space Needle, rode the monorail, went to the Elliot Bay Book Company, ate honey lavender ice cream at Molly Moon's, got lunch (her) and french fries (me) at Dick's (hey, I may be vegetarian-- but I do know Dick's is an institution!), made tamponimals (ie animals made out of tampons-- yes, really), walked around Green Lake, explored Archie McPhee, got lunch at Tutta Bella, made friends with the Fremont Troll, climbed on old machines at Gasworks Parked, played to our hearts' content at a playground on MLK, got hot drinks at Starbucks (of course! Even though neither of us likes coffee...), took a ferry to Bainbridge Island, rode a carousel on the waterfront, and went ice skating. It was a really, really fun week!

Windswept on the ferry!