finished kimono quilt

I am so happy that Liz and Marla like the quilt (I went fishing for compliments after most of the guests had gone and asked Liz if she wanted to see the quilt, which I'd finished just that morning).

hike: monte cristo

South Fork Sauk River, from the Monte Cristo Town Site Trail, mile (approx) 0.75.

To celebrate the Fourth, we decided to go hiking. On Frank's advice, we went on a hike to the old historic silver mining camp of Monte Cristo. Off the Mountain Loop Highway, a two-lane scenic highway that winds around Granite Falls, Darrington and Arlington (the latter two being near where I hiked last weekend with Elise). We also used our hiking-with-dogs book, which was apparently published before 2006, when we understand some winter storms did a number on the trail.

Finn sporting his new threads.

Decked out with a day pack (with first aid kit and emergency blanket, our lunch and snacks, extra clothes, and water), and Finn with his brand new dog-pack (with his lunch and snacks), we hit the trail at 12:01pm. We got to the trailhead just fine (the Mountain Loop Highway has also had it's share of trouble over the last few years), but the trail (Monte Cristo Town Site Road/Trail) had issues. It had some mass wasting damage that we couldn't identify, it just looked like a five-foot-deep canyon cut into snow and forest slash (the WTA trail report calls it a clay slide), and then the bridge that the book refered to has been washed out completely by the South Fork of the Sauk River. We talked to a pair of outbound hikers who informed us that the only way to cross the river was via a log crossing.

Eric and Finn, post log-crossing (we took Finn's pack off to let him dry and regain his composure).

Now, incase you weren't aware, our dog Finn -- once he figured out how -- loves to swim. I think he might think twice about swimming in swift, cold current though. He got close, too close, and fell in for a short, heart-stopping moment. Fortunately, his dog-pack has a handle on the back so you can grab the dog as though he were a piece of luggage, which Eric promptly did. We had to hand Finn to each other to get on and off of the fallen log that was passing for a bridge that day, which was a little nerve-wracking for me, who naturally lacks the upper body strength that Eric has (I hike faster to make up for it... where did we put that medicine ball anyway?).... to say nothing of how Finn was feeling about the whole ordeal. But we managed to get to the other side and get our hike back on track. I must say, regarding the river, that it has some of the clearest water I have ever seen in a mountain river. The road continued on the other side, but was laden with issues there too....

Trail washout (or river expansion, depending on your perspective). The trail consists of an old railroad grade, though we marveled at how they apparently buried the old rails instead of pulling them up as is usually the case.

There were many trees down, which Finn lept over without a second thought, and a few that provided me with camera fodder....

Interesting lichen on a fallen tree. Looks like a sea coral to me....

The undersides of fir needles, taken from above.

We reached the town site of Monte Cristo, a cluster of five one-room cabins, some mining artifacts and a rail car turntable. The trail continues to Silver Lake via Poodle Dog Pass, but we decided that that would be a hike for another day. We had our lunch of PB&J, sunflower seeds, carrots, pluots and nectarines, and Finn had a half-sized meal of kibble (he usually doesn't get a mid-day meal). We took advantage of the solitude, scenery and the auto-timer on the camera and took some family portraits. Then we headed back.

Family portrait at Monte Cristo.

Dicentra leaves with water droplets.

Gratuitous scenery shots....

Eight miles total, 500-foot elevation gain, out-and-back hike. Not bad for our first of the summer. Next up: Taylor River or Mt Rainier (Sunrise area).

munro wedding photos

Hooray! I've finally gotten some wedding pictures from Emily and Miles! Here are just a few of my favorites....

the happy family...

pre-wedding jitters....


down the aisle....

the groom and his best man, Tate....

the bride and yours truly....

aawwww...

group shot....

and that blue dress I mentioned.....

a tender moment...

the reception....

mom gave a fantastic toast!

zoe: i have frosting on my face... i have frosting on my hand... i have frosting on my toes.... i wonder where else i could put frosting....

mazel tov!

Elise's wedding was absolutely lovely. Held at Temple Emanu-el in San Francisco, it was filled with tradition and elegance. The bride was completely gorgeous, and her groom just as handsome. The temple still has me in awe (I tried to find pictures online of the jaw-droppingly beautiful stained glass windows, but to no avail. The best pics I could find were here, [wait for it to load, at the bottom, scroll to the right and go to scene 2]). I loved all of the Jewish tradition -- and the fact that the program and the Rabbi explained it all to those of us who weren't familiar. My favorite part was most likely the chaotic circular dancing at the beginning of the reception. Bride and groom in the center, and everyone holding hands and dancing around them. It was spectacular.

As Karen and I had arrived a little early, we went for a short walk up to the Presidio, where I took this picture:



Then, much to my dismay, the camera--my wonderful, tiny, easy-to-use camera friend--succumbed to gravity and fell to the rocky earth. It was a beautiful place to die -- a view of the San Francisco Bay, surrounded by trees, amongst friends. But die it did. When I picked it up and saw it's dented lens all askew, I knew it was over.

So unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from the wedding, you'll just have to take my word for it.

dispatch from the old stomping grounds II

Went out with Karen, Liz and Marla last night. We had a lovely time catching up and enjoying some lovely wines at a wine bar in South San Jose called Unwined. I tried a flight of unique reds and ended up liking the Castillo de Sajazarra from Rioja, Spain (1998) from Spain the best.

(self-portrait and not a single red eye. damn, I'm getting good at this).

Afterwards, Karen and I started reminiscing about our old hometown of Sunnyvale, and decided to try the night scene in downtown Sunnyvale, just for shits and giggles (and a beer). We watched all those young whippersnappers in awe -- what drew them to Sunnyvale? Why did they chose to be here? I missed Seattle.

Today is Elise's big day! Karen is picking me up in about 40 minutes, then we head up to The City for what I'm sure will be a lovely ceremony and celebration of two people, very much in love. Mozel tov!

the big day!

I finally got my hands on some wedding pictures, so here we go....

First of all, you can't have a wedding without pre-wedding chaos. Emily, Eric and myself hit the farmer's market on the way to the wedding site and collected some fabulous flowers. At the "staging area" Eric and my fabulous Aunt Janice got to work arranging them in about a dozen teapots that Miles, Emily and I had collected during the previous two weeks, while I worked on Emily's bouquet....



Then we wrangled Dad, Aunt Jan, my Uncle Leonard, Eric and Mile's-sister's-boyfriend Heath into filling the kid's wedding favors with jelly beans....




(grown men have never had so much fun with colored paper and ribbon, I swear)


Grammy and baby took care of each other....


The ceremony was outside and lovely. Kristen (sister-in-law) served as officiant, and presented the story of Emily and Miles very lovingly. Best Man Tate read from the Velveteen Rabbit, and I read from The Irrational Season, by Madeline L'Engle. Kudos to Emily and Miles for giving completely extemporaneous vows -- quietly and to each other. I cursed my dressing for having to pockets to stash a hankie in!




I love this family shot....



....and there was cake for all!

Congratulations, Emily and Miles -- we are all so very happy for you!

mountain and baby

Wedding post to come soon, but for now I have a couple of non-wedding pictures (so many people were taking photos that I didn't bother, but nowI have to wait for them to circulate).


Both of my flights featured spectacular views, including a up-close-and-personal encounter with Mt. Rainier....





And upon arrival at the beach house, I was handed a 17 pound napping Zoe....