SUMMER OF LORI - A BLISSFUL ENDING

My Dad, Athene and I headed to the Olympic Pennisula for a  few days at Lake Crescent.  Did you know that Lake Crescent is the second deepest lake in washington? It was so beautiful.  The water there is extra clear because there isn't enough nitrogen in the soil to allow plant life.  That means no algae or milfoil. So you can see the bottom of lake even when you are far away from the shoreline.   We wanted to go on a paddleboat (no, I wasn't worried after my Greenlake event) but they were only 2-seaters.  Our second choice was to go out on a canoe.  We have a lot of canoe experience since I grew up with one but they were also 2-seaters. So, we went on a rowboat.  Dad did a great job of getting us out and around the lake. And us ladies just sat there enjoying the view.

This place is loaded with fun hiking trails and after the desserts we had at lunch - walking is a necessity.  Check out the fresh, local, Peach Cobbler and Mud Pie at the lodge.  Wow!!!

We drove around the area and found a great beach on the Strait of Juan de Fuca side and spent a significant amount of time looking for a miniature golf park in a small town named Joyce.  We never did find it but we did find some funny, creatively named elements like a ranch named "Notso Grande Ranch", "Itsa Creek", "Bytheway" street and so forth. I guess when you live in a small town like Joyce, you have to make your own entertainment.

Technically summer doesn't end until next Friday but I'm saying so long to summer now and Hello! to fall.  In fact, this time next week - the first day of fall for the USA anyway - I will be leaving London and heading for the countryside.

What a treat it was to have the whole summer off.  I really had a great time, I will always remember this summer fondly and with no regrets about life changes.  Tootles Summer!  

HAVING FUN IN THE SUN: THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

My Dad & Stepmom are visiting from New Mexico and we are making the most of this great weather.  We had a blast at the Museum of Flight. Did you know that airplanes were first used to transport mail?  There was an extra seat in the plane and there always seemed to be a passanger who needed a ride so the guy who started Boeing decided that maybe they should make mail planes bigger and sell seats to more people.  It grew from there.  The original Airline Attendants were nurses: they felt it was necessary to keep passengers calm and to handle health issues since the cabins weren't pressurized and people did faint. We also learned all about the last B-17 in existance - see below - the plane that basically won WWII on the Europe front.

Learned a lot about the history of the world and Washington state at the Burke Museum. This is a Giant Brazilian Terror Bird.

This is the skeleton of a Mastadon not a Wolly Mammoth. You see the tusks grow differently.  Just so you know...for the next time you see one.

Spent some time at Golden Gardens playing with the dog - Mandy.  She loves the water. 

Check out the 3 turtles sunning themselves on this log. 

Minature golf - a Schumacher tradition.  Everyone else got a hole-in-one except me.  WHATEVER!

WHAT I'M NOT DOING THESE DAYS

I love having the summer off and it's been such a memorable experience.  As you can read my extensive lists of what I HAVE done, it seems time to list the things I'm NOT doing.  For those the know me well and/or worked with me, this list will have more meaning.  Here we go, see below.

1. NOT planning the 3-day, Young Investigators Workshop that included a bunch of big-wigs.
2. NOT taking minutes at the Board of Directors Meeting.
3. NOT planning for the fall Group Meeting: no travel planning, no hotel reservations for large groups.
4. NOT working extra hours for the fall events that are scheduled back to back. 
5. NOT missing out on vacation time in August & September.  This is the first time in 13 years that I've been able to have time of in August and September and it feels great.

LET THE COUNT DOWN BEGIN!!!

It's time AGAIN. Don't resist. Don't act like you don't want to know. It happens at the exact time every year. YES - it's time to begin the Christmas Count Down.

It is 112 Days Until Christmas!  Now that you know - go out there and spread the word.

UP IN THE AIR - ABOVE SEATTLE

My friend Leigh took me on a seaplane tour of the Seattle area last week. Rather, Seattle Seaplanes flew me but Leigh planned it as a gift. We had this great pilot who was really funny and a bit goofy. The view from above was georgous. Here is our basic route (see below). The weather was good and the water was amazingly blue.  I didn't realize that some of the water along the shore and beaches was so clear: you can see right through the water to the bottom far off-shore. It's really not very expensive at all. If you ever get the opportunity - TAKE IT.  Check out the "Up in the Air" picture page.

SUMMER DAY IN DOWNTOWN SEATTLE

I had a blast on Friday downtown with my friend Fiorenza.  We checked out the band "Dusty 45's" at the free summer concert on the Harbor Steps.  The music as great and mostly original songs, people danced, children danced and although I wasn't able to get a picture of it the very last song included the lead singer standing on top of the large Bass, with his trumpet on fire AND he was playing it while it was aflame.  Pretty Cool.

Then we headed down to Pier 66 to see the Russian Ship: Palladan.  Apparently it's a training ship for the Russian sailors. Which explains why they all looked about 17 years old.  The Crowley tug pulled one of the barges into port.

It was a great day downtown. It's easy to forget how pretty Seattle can be in summer. I hope this was a good reminder.

WEEK 8 - SUMMER OF LORI

FUN SUMMER ACTIVITES

Hey, when was the last time you went to the Zoo?  I went to the WoodlandPark Zoo a week ago or so with my pal, Tamora.  We saw and heard many wonderous things including Tapir (never heard of that animal before), Hippos that needed to keep cool in the pond, cool birds saved from death (a near blind Hawk and a lame but still flying Paraquin Falcon.

The Anacortes Arts & Crafts fair is well worth the drive, believe me. If the food booths don't have enough of a selection for you check out the restaurants, grills and bakeries right along the path of the fair.  This iron worker makes birds and other flying things of all types.  Check out this Dragon.

Ice Cream, Ice Cream, we all scream for Ice Cream.  I've had more than my share of ice cream this summer.  But don't despair, I've balanced that out with at least 2 walks of 5 or more miles per week. That specifically includes walks with hills.  Gotta get in shape for Europe: a lot of walking.

WEEK 5 - SUMMER OF LORI

It's hard to believe that I quit my job almost one month ago. It's even harder to believe that I've actually be somewhat productive during that time. Somehow I've managed to keep a nice blend of relaxation & rest with productivity.

Have you ever felt like there way too many obstacles for a project to ever be completed?  Like the "project gods" were against you?  That's how I feel about this first painting project.

After an appauling degree of difficulty (5 trips to the paint store) I finally finished painting the hallway. I liked the color so much that I decided to paint one of the walls in the kitchen. The yellow color is a shade or two darker than expected and I'm glad. It's cheery and welcoming, and will be especially nice in winter time. This picture doesn't really do the color justice.

The inspiration for this project came from some paintings I purchased at an art fair a year ago.

Once and "if" they ever get framed they would look great on this yellow wall. But of course I ran into another obstacle.  Although the artist assured me that they were a standard size for pre-made frames; they aren't at all. In fact, the measurements are really strange in inches (but make sense in cenimeters). So, there aren't any pre-made frames in these sizes. I won't bore you with the details about what I'm going to do about frames.

Onto happier news.  My beading class was a blast and much easier that I expected. We made 2 practice bracelets and 1 necklace using "mixed cheap beads". They turned out pretty good for practice pieces.
It was so much fun that I signed up for another class.

If you're wondering how I'm spending my time, and I know that you are on pins and needles every day just wondering about my schedule (NOT), I spend most of my time watching Rick Steves' DVDs and reading his books. 

NEWS FLASH: I just found out that 7-11 gave away free SLURPEES on July 11 this year. Mark this on your calendar for 2012.

BLUE ANGELS COUNT DOWN-21 DAYS UNTIL 1ST PRACTICE

Look out Seattle, the Blue Angels come to town on Wednesday, August 3. And on Thursday, August 4 they will have their first practice over Lake Washington and surrounding areas. For more information regarding the blue angels see the official website.

Schedule
http://www.blueangels.navy.mil/show/

FAQ

http://www.blueangels.navy.mil/show/faq.aspx

On Friday, August 4 in addition to the practice they will do the waterfront fly by. It's a great day to be up in the Space Needle for a great view or on the 20th floor deck at CRAB as well.

Snack on some cake while watching the air show.

BALLARD SEAFOOD FEST

Unkown to most people SEAFAIR is the name of an entire 6 weeks of summer events around the Seattle area. The culmination is the big "Seafair Day" of Hydroplane races and Blue Angel air show. One of my favorite events is the Ballard Seafood Fest. Not becuase I'm a fan of Vikings or anything but because I'm a fan of Seafood and handmade goods by local artisans.

This is the Halibut Taco with chiptole mayonnaise, mango lemonade and garlic fries I had. Not as good as the Bacon Wrapped Scallops I had last year but very good.

The weather was perfect, sunny but not too hot, ice cream cones - double scoop - only cost $3.00 and plenty of hot & fresh Kettle Korn in the vacinity. I hope some of you made it out to summer events this past weekend.

WEEK 3 - THE SUMMER OF LORI

My Independence Day holiday was very traditional: grilling/cookouts, a day on the water with fishing, family all around, kids playing, secret popsicles, strawberry picking, warm sunny weather (I was in Deer Park, WA near Spokane so it was warm with blue skies), fireworks right there in town and of course, no summer holiday would be complete without mosquito bites.  Huge, red, ugly mosquito bites.

My niece and I painted our toenails and used those cool nail stickers I got at Sephora. 

Tess' Toenails

THINGS TO REMEMBER

SCHUMACHER SUMMER RULE #1: Summer must begin with a Slurpee regardless of the weather. I prefer the classic Coke. After a 5 mile walk - I have to be able to do some long term walking if I'm going to Europe - I got a cold, sugary, yummy Slurpee. Get one today.

SCHUMACHER SLEEPING RULE #1: Don't read travel guidebooks just before bedtime; it's just too hard to fall asleep after getting all revved up about travel.