it was an early morning – 5:30am. though i have a busy-ish day ahead, i rather enjoy these randomly-spaced early morns … it’s kind of like me time. which you might think is strange given that i can pretty much arrange my schedule any way i choose … but mornings for me are different. early mornings for me are probably what late nights are for others … those wee hours where it’s quiet and peaceful. my mind is more relaxed and open … these are frequently the times when something i’ve been pontificating about comes to resolution, or the spark of a creative idea bursts into flame, or i simply discover something new … about myself, the world, the language, the web … anything.

this morning 2 things were juxtaposed: i have been spending too much time on the computer/in front of a screen (tv or monitor); and, there are a lot of great websites/blogs out there to do with design (home, body, plants, etc.).

currently i’m in that slightly-sweet-but-muddled spot between visitors/time off and getting back into the swing of things with work. after christmas 2009, i found myself waist-deep in ICF and struggled with it for a while, but finally found my footing despite the waters rising to my chest by mid-feb. when march rolled around i was still chest-deep in ICF, but had prevented the overflow by being active in several developing friendships, making travel plans, getting back into cooking, reading a few good books, and plotting (what seemed like) distant travel plans. life was the absolute best it has been since we started this epic journey way back in … well, seems like forever

when i stepped out of those roles for a few weeks while my mom was visiting, it was great too. it was nice to spend time with her and show her where we live. i think it helped to finally put visuals to the seemingly endless, random descriptions of things. we had a mixed-bag of weather, but none of it horrible. [for those nay-sayers about switzerland's cool spring weather this year, i'd like to remind you that our positions were reversed in 2009, thus proving that these days you never can tell ... plus, in canada you don't have exploding snowmen to tell you whether the summer will be long and hot or not!] all in all it was a very nice visit. but now it’s “transition” time and, predictably, it’s random (heheh … still with me?).

the ‘hallelujah’ of it all is that i am still enjoying what i do. it’s not forever – and more and more i see all the ways that this is a life-mantra – but for now i am good at it and very happy to do it. part of the art is finding the balance once again between ‘work’ and ‘play’ … but quickly, because in 2 weeks i’m on holiday again … for a whole month!

aaaand, can’t wait for mornings like this again:

fresh morning mist over the aletsch glacier

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 ….

Ahhhh … the Carr/Taylor clan has landed (well, half of the clan anyway … the remaining ladies are sorely missed!). It all went off without a hitch. Wednesday morning I finished tidying and laying out beds (Andrea let me borrow a mattress because I just couldn’t bear the thought of anyone sleeping on our couch – the cushions slide off if you just look at them sideways = not very comfortable). I vacuumed and baked coffee walnut scones while intermittently looking outside at the SNOW (I think we’ve actually time traveled back to Canada or something). Then I headed off to the airport at 1pm. The plane was early for once (it wasn’t Air Canada) and they all arrived in good spirits along with their luggage. We toodled off to the car and Tony and Matt did a fantastic job of cramming everything in (there were two seperate cringyness moments when they slammed the car door shut only to find that it _wouldn’t_ shut).

We oohed and ahhed at different things – greenery, homes, mountains, clouds, etc. Then everyone settled in nicely. Vic is sleeping in the t.v. room on the twin mattress. Tony has let Matt sleep in the queen bed in the green room, while he sleeps on the camping queen air mattress on the floor in the green room. We played bridge while waiting for Tim to get home from work and it felt so much like a genuine ski trip . After dinner we sort of moseyed before turning in … all the while it SNOWED and SNOWED outside! We woke up this morning to a totally transformed landscape. Duvall hasn’t seen this much snow since … well, since about November actually, but before that it was years! Global warming ….

All the lovely snow though made our first day of skiing fantastic. It was sunny and cold for WA but not for us Canadianites. About -7 or so celcius. It took a while to get there from all the snow on the roads, but it was virtually deserted … awesome. We arrived home just in time for the guys to show up for Tim’s bible study group which we both had forgotten about. So now Matt and Tony are upstairs with the other 3 guys having a little group. Very nice as Vic and I are getting some downtime …

Which leads me to the title … I’m going to Vegas baby! From March 27 to 30 inclusive I will be enjoying a suite at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. I’m so excited! I’ve always wanted to go. I have zero interest in gambling … I just want to see all the extravagance and the gaudiness side by side. Maybe run into a few sketchy celebrities … take in a show … just sort of hang out. I’m going to try to remember the video camera so I can record things like the mini eiffel tower, mini statue of liberty, the bellagio fountains … crazy bums or tranny’s doin’ their thang …

So … anyone want in?