i suppose i should have gone to the store when it was brilliantly sunny and warm an hour ago, instead of now when it’s overcast and cool with a thunderstorm threatening imminently … but instead i was reading lazily in my bed with my toes basking in that gorgeously-warm sunspot … nah, i would definitely do it the same again

moving on … we survived! 5 days of spring motorcycle riding, to and from tuscany. spring = rain, so yes, we did get some of that. but the torrential downpour only happened the first day, and near the end, so all in all it really wasn’t so bad. just a bit of a pain to keep putting on and taking off layers of clothing. the routes were a bit muddled as there were a few unexpected road-closures (accidents and cleanings), but there were lots of twisty bits and rivers and forests and hills to keep us entertained. the pasta was excellent and the coffee was marvelous. to me there seemed to be a higher number of incidents than last time, but nothing out of the ordinary in and of themselves. nothing happened to us, other than an inconvenient toll-booth ticket mishap – so that was great. kevin (who joined us all the way from vancouver) seemed to really enjoy himself on the transalp, and it was great to visit the peeps from last year’s corsica trip, minus a few faces, but plus some new ones. i really enjoy their company

now there are a few short days until we leave for canada. laundry to do, packing to organize, some shopping lists to formulate, and inbetween a fair amount of rest. of course packing will be a little annoying because spring in ontario is basically like spring anywhere … rain + sunshine + cool + warm + humid + frost … take your pick of combinations for that one. luckily i’ve got some closets i can raid

and now that it has started to rain swimming pools, it’s time to go and get some groceries

ahhhhh … it’s sunday. the day for rest. the day for pontification. the day for writing/photography/editing/movie-watching/baking/cleaning and any/all of the other millions of things you didn’t have time for the rest of the week …

wait – wha …?

yeah, that’s how i feel. earplugs are an awesome thing. i have taken to using them every night because timmy has been snoring a bit lately and i’m a light sleeper. because of them, i was able to stay sleeping while he stole out of bed to head off to ICF this morning – didn’t even hear him go! BUT, they interrupt the “normal” progression of things, like being roused gradually from sleep by the sounds of the city waking up around you … so, my eyes popped open around 10ish (my random guess), and then shuttered closed again. eventually the thoughts of “you must, i gotta, i need to finish … ” crowded in and i got up ’bout 11. that felt rrrrrrreally good .

so now it’s 12:30 and i’ve accomplished: tea, cake (yes, i am a fully grown adult and capable of making healthy choices, but darnit, i wanted cake for breakfast!), email, gourmet popcorn recipe copying (another story), and watched an awesome 20 min. flick called, “The Story of Stuff” by Annie Leonard. It’s great. I know what I want to do .

BUT, those moves are gradual and not for sundays. i have a laundry lists of “to dos” that i just don’t want to. i have been hyper focused on churning out beaded everythings for the last 2 weeks. every available free moment has been consumed by making pieces, and in the end, like the fool i am, i hate everything i made . i was feeling like this was it. my first and last opportunity to “get rid of it”. it’s for a charity event, so i decided that 50% of the cash will go towards the cause (a needy family in zurich: hospital bills, rent, christmas, etc.) and the rest will go towards a sewing machine. i have not even begun to think about what kind or whatever, but that’s the next thing. i’m gonna glaze over knitting for now. i still think it is an awesome skill to have, and crochet as well, but i’m keen to get going on trying my hand at needle and thread … i’ll leave the extreme ideas i have for another blog … .

yesterday tim and i took the last chance at a warm(ish) sunshiny day and went out on the bike. it was glorious. i felt released from my tunnel vision and just enjoyed the beautiful scenery that is now my home (!). trails of mist wove in and out of valleys and over the hills as far back as the eye could see. in the distance over-seeing everything were a few hot air balloons, and the sun glinted off of snowy mountain tops. with, obviously, a beautiful, calm lake supporting it all. when we stopped the bike to take a pic, the sound of cow and sheep bells carried out their dull clanging … what a wonderful sound! in the summertime, while hiking, i can remember that those bells are sometimes so loud that you have to practically yell to carry on a conversation! it was definitely chilly with the winter wind, but just such a release of the soul … i had you all in my pocket to peek out and see for yourselves …

in the evening we went to see 2012. it was exactly what i thought it would be, so i was not disappointed. it was really heavy on the father-son theme though, which is interesting to me (perhaps another blog?). the CG was great, and overall fast-paced enough that you didn’t really dwell on the stupid mistakes … like the head of geology asking what on the planet is at 29,000 feet … duh, everest.

bah! the voices are crowding in again … random “i can do this” and “i should do that” … so i guess it’s time to move on … but first, a clementine!

it’s sunday, 9:30am and after 1 hour of debating whether or not i have time to take the dog for a walk before church at 11 i’ve decided to drift off into blog world – something i often dream of but rarely take advantage of (as those actually reading this will testify). i peeked out the window this morning and saw some sunshine so i bolted out of bed (what is with that term any way … bolted?) but by the time i tripped over my dog backing his rear end into me to be scratched, went pee, had a drink, and made it to the back door it was gone. what was left in its place is cold, cloudy, damp unfriendliness that after two weeks of (plus one in vegas!, below) and another week coming up i am sick and tired of it. where’s the sunshine? where’s the warm breeze with the promise of summer? where’s the bugs? oh wait, i actually don’t mind that one. the first few warm sunny days we had brought out the wasps in full force. tim mowed the grass & i thought i was going to suffocate with all the wasps that came out to check the disturbance – scary! this is one thing i will definitely NOT miss about the house … bug control. at least in an apartment you can sort of point, jump around, shriek and it becomes somebody else’s problem to deal with (although i know you might have to be persistent and put up with it for a while, at least you don’t have to research sprays, find a reputable company, get an estimate, etc. etc. etc.).

anyway … yesterday was ryan and michelle’s wedding. you may remember one or both of them from such episodes as: ryan is the worship & arts leader at the duvall church, he is also in a small group with tim, michelle is the preschool teacher at duvall christian, she is also in a small group with daneille, she is also on the worship team. they are young, attractive, and very much in love. i had a lovely time at the wedding (aside from the general freezingness of the building). it was in a whole converted barn type place. upstairs was were the ceremony was, so high vaulted ceiling, big window (which unfortunately made it hard to take pictures as they were basically black silhouettes against it), dated sound system, but beautiful candles, rose petals, greenery, bridal party, etc.

(pause for wyley ass scratch)

downstairs was all the tables and candles and finger food tables, etc. the theme was red, white, black. the cake was red velvet with white fondant (?) icing with black trim/designs. it was delicious. the ceremony was officiated by duvall’s senior pastor, chris hill. michelle’s grandfather did the vows and ryan’s father did the prayer and sermon. as a symbolic gesture to seal their vows (in addition to the rings of course) they sang a song together while ryan played the piano. it was glorious. this is the first time i have been to a wedding ceremony where so much has centred on God. i mean, He is always acknowledged, praised, etc. as you would expect, but in this ceremony it was clear to me how strong their faith is – He was everywhere … it was very beautiful to witness and i felt like i want to be tied to these two forever in the hopes that it will spill over into my life and be like a bond that keeps us all together … sounds corny, don’t it?

afterwards tim and i went to seattle with another couple we’re getting to know, aaron and crystal. crystal is canadian (born and raised in newfoundland) and aaron is from duvall. but, they met in africa … how cool is that?! right now crystal works for the king county elections office, and aaron is doing construction, but their passion is missions so they’ve got all sorts of plans for that.

(pause for what the heck is that on the carpet?! yuck!)

tim is really excited about this whole motorcycle thing. he’s been spending his free time (and not so free time) looking up deals and such for bikes, helmets, gloves, etc. he’s already been to cycle barn and tried on stuff. i am glad i told him about the class instead of keeping it a surprise until the last minute, but … i guess it’s just that all my energy is being poured into thinking about selling the house that i don’t want to detract from that with something i don’t even know if i can do yet … but i don’t want to get ‘left behind’ in it either … i really want this to be our dream come true (it was mine first actually, but i’m happy to share, i just don’t want to give it away). i know tim enjoys having something to look forward to though … something to drift off to when work is going poorly or the weather is bleak. i get it.

it’s about time to get ready for church. i’m really looking forward to the next visitor – sue. i’m already thinking about things we can do (short and long in case we need to vacate the house on short notice for showings). and, i’ve also started investigating the *perfect* spot to visit the ocean for when my mom comes in july. tim and i were also hoping to arrange something for canada day … a cottage or something, but i’m not at all convinced that others would commit to it (at least financially = where it counts for something like this). we shall see ….