Washington County Wine Tour

Our Thanksgiving weekend tradition! This year we started out at Tualatin Valley Vineyards (and were the first in the door) followed by David Hill Winery, Shaffer Vineyards (with the largest display of Christmas ornaments at a winery we've ever seen), Cooper Mountain Winery and Ponzi Vineyards. What a great day! We tasted (okay....drank) lots of really great wines.

We topped the day off by watching the taped Civil War game (Ducks/Beavers), grateful the we didn't cross paths with anyone who would tell us the score. Then ended the day with a 4+ hour poker marathon (did some of us really stay up until 2AM).

Stace

MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS

I am not sure if this is Brian's direct view, but he just called me from downtown St. Louis to say that he was looking out over Busch Stadium from the AG Edwards building. He's got nothing on tap for a few hours (before a business dinner) so he's taking a walk outside and over to the Cardinal's team store. Perhaps a little world championship souvenir will be coming my way?

Stace

Let it snow.....let it snow.....let it snow!

HAPPY MONDAY!

Brian's flight to St. Louis looks to be on time and he just made it through security at 7:00 am for his 7:30 flight! Close call!

Track his flight today: American Airlines Flight 0456 from Seattle to St. Louis
http://www.flytecomm.com/cgi-bin/trackflight

I-5 is closed at Centralia, WA in both directions as the snow and black ice is really bad north. Brian said the drive to the airport was "pretty bad".

But.....will we get any snow at Rebecca Lane?

Stace

Thanksgiving Eve

"Happy Thanksgiving" took on a whole new meaning on Wednesday night at Rebecca Lane. After Brian and Steve FINALLY arrived (both over 4 hours by car) the party really got rolling!

The "cook" woke up a little groggy this morning, but the bird is in the oven (11:45) and it's time to open up the champagne. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

WEEKEND at GREENLAKE

Here are some pictures from last Saturday at Greenlake. Brian and I drove up to Seattle for the day to visit some of our old haunts and no trip to Seattle would be complete without a trip to Greenlake. Thankfully there was no rain and enough daylight left for us to snap a couple of shots. Enjoy

More weekend storms

Storm shuts Mount Rainier park

Nearly 18 inches of rain in 36 hours. That's how much fell at Mount Rainier National Park, one of the crown jewels of the Pacific Northwest, and more rain and snow is forecast through the weekend. The deluge on Monday and Tuesday swamped roads and bridges, cut power and sewer lines, and forced park officials to close the gates for the first time in 26 years.

Wedding Bells

CONGRATULATIONS to our good friends, Sonja and Geoff who got engaged over the weekend! YIPPEE! Who doesn't love a good wedding!? Brian and I are so happy for them. They are a fantastic couple. I met Sonja in 1999 and little did I know that Brian had already met her and worked with her employer in Portland. Small World! Anyway....flash forward to 2004 when I met Brian and confided all my "true feelings" to Sonja. Had it not been for her, I would never have had the courage to ask Brian out on a date. THANK YOU! When she introduced Brian and I to Geoff (4th of July weekend 2005) we just knew that it was L-O-V-E!!!!

May you have a long and happy life together!

Stace

Rain...rain...GO AWAY!

Rainfall totals: From Thursday at 4PM to Monday at 4PM

Portland: 4.08 inches
Eugene: 3.57 inches
Olympia: 4.89 inches
Tacoma: 4.18 inches

Astoria, OR set a daily record with 2.8 inches and Portland set a daily record with 1.79 inches on Monday.

Time to Build an Ark

I wish I was going to Cabo San Lucas today! I just took Sandra to the airport for her 10 day Mexican vacation. Lucky girl! It's going to be 90 there this afternoon.

Official weekend rain totals (Saturday and Sunday):

Beaverton 2.03 inches
Tacoma 2.15 inches
Olympia 2.90 inches
Eugene 1.78 inches

Today we are expecting gusts up to 40MPH with over 2 inches of rain within the next 24 hours.

Oh, and Portland had an earthquake at 9:34 PM last night. The quake was initially reported as a 2.6 magnitude event centered at SW 5th Ave. and SW Madison, less than one block from Portland City Hall.

YIKES!!

More Weekend Pictures

I wanted to post another couple of pictures that were taken over the weekend that I really liked. The first one of Brian being his cute and funny self was taken in Port Angeles just "kitty corner" from the Silverwater Cafe.

The Haller Statue and Fountain, located at the base of the Taylor Street stairs, was ordered from a catalog in 1905. "Galatea" was recast by Riverdog Fine Arts Foundry in 1994 after one arm had been broken off. Originally cast by the J. L. Mott Foundry in New York, which made plumbing fixtures, the statue dates from 1875-1919. The artist is unknown. Galatea's sister statue, Venus Rising from the Sea at Kimberly Crest Gardens in Redlands, CA was remade from the original cast after being damaged.

The second picture was taken at the Point Wilson Lighthouse. Someone had created this little driftwood shelter and written "WELCOME" on a piece of wood. I thought it made a great postcard-like shot!

The Word on the Bird

Can you believe that it's NOVEMBER 1st already! With only 23 days left until "TURKEY DAY", I ordered the bird today from www.newseasonsmarket.com. Once again this year we are going with a Fresh Free-Range Medium Hen (14-17.99lbs) from www.diestelturkey.com (Diestel Family Turkey Farm) of Sonara, California. GOBBLE GOBBLE!!!