catching up

I know. I've dropped out of the blogosphere the last month or so, which so happens to coincide with a major life change -- my new job. So the crickets have been chirping on this blog mostly because I don't share details about work and I really haven't had much free time to pay my bills on time, much less blog about the things that have been transpiring. But I figure there are a couple of snippets to share.

NW Sarcoma Run
Last weekend, Rick and I met up with Josh and his family and supporters at Greenlake for a 3-mile Hike, Bike and Trike fundraiser. It had been over a year since I'd seen Josh, and since then his cancer had returned for a third time. Despite that he's in the midst of treatments, he looked well and in good spirits, and it was so great to catch up with them and see the kids.

Rick and I brought Zoe with us and decided to make the most of the event to run the loop around the lake, while the others took a more leisurely approach to circling the route with their scooters, bikes, walking, etc. I was pretty happy that we were able to come across the finish line in around 35 minutes. I can't remember ever running the Greenlake trail without stopping. Good feeling to know that my morning workouts are paying off. I'm no runner, but I do enjoy knowing that I can do some of the shorter distance runs.

We knew it was going to be awhile before the rest of the hundreds of people crossed the finish line, and so we trekked Zoe back to the car, and then headed over to the Greenlake Bar & Grill for a nice early lunch. It was overcast and chilly, and so sitting inside was a welcome change from running outside. After lunch, we pit stopped at the library where Rick picked out a book on golf (shocker), and I found a book on the life of Sal Mineo that I found to be interesting. So we sat down in the library thumbing through the books for a good hour before deciding it was time to get on with the rest of our day.

Dog Day
The next day, we had plans to meet up with friends in Duvall for breakfast and then head over to their acreage for a walk with the dogs. We'd left Beaux at home since he's a little hard to manage, but we brought Zoe along for some much needed exercise and playtime. If you've ever been out to Duvall, you know it's quite a quaint town with some newer sub-divisions popping up over the last few years. But the Duvall Grill is the quintessential small town diner. Good food, and for the locals, the place that you're known if you're a regular. Always great, home-style food.

The sun had come up -- quite a change from the rain and chill the day before. We all caravaned up to our friends' house and promptly let the dogs out of the cars to play. We were all admiring the great landscaping project underway and after a little while of standing around chatting, we headed down a trail with the dogs leading the way. Three couples and five dogs just enjoying the fresh air.

Zoe and another dog had been at odds when we first arrived, but we figured they just needed to establish their space and territory and it would get worked out. So I think we were all a little surprised when those two got into a brief scuffle a little while later. It takes two to tango...er tangle....and Zoe suffered a few cuts. But of course with the blood, we weren't sure how bad it was at first. We promptly ended the stroll and headed back to the house to hose her off and access the injuries. Road rash on her nose and a cut on her ear. My dear friend and her husband were so helpful and concerned about her well being. I called the vet and we got her in for evaluation. Good news is that it looked worse than it really was. Zoe was completely oblivious to her injuries. Thirteen stitches, some bandages, and a cone, and she was on her way home.

She's been doing well since then. We took her in the other day for a check up and her ear is healing up quite well, and her stitches are coming out next weekend. I can't help but smile when I see her with her cone tied around her neck with a gauze bow. She looks like a little girl with a bonnet. :)

Out on the Town
So yesterday we had plans with Rick's friends Bre and Christoph. We haven't seen Christoph in forever, and he came up with a great idea to spend the afternoon out on an Argosy cruise around Lake Washington. I've been here for 11 years, and in all of my time, I've never actually gone on this two-hour tour. So the four of us piled on the boat with a few other people and promptly saddled up to the bar for some cocktails. Nothing like drinks at 3:30 pm in the afternoon.

Afterwards, we headed over to Fremont to see some of Christoph's friends in a band. The bar was sparse. Expected for a early Saturday evening. A couple of hours later, we hopped over to El Camino for yummy food. Being designated driver, I'd left the wine behind and had graduated to Diet Cokes, while the others continued their bender. Nothing like keeping the party going. After dinner, Christoph wanted to head over to the George & Dragon. Funny, for the longest time I thought it was called "The Georgian Dragon." I finally got to see this infamous soccer bar. Crowd was still thin when we got there, but as the night wore on, it was pretty packed. The band came and joined us and I was quickly fading. By 11 pm, we were ready to head out, and Rick, Bre and I left Christoph behind to continue his evening, while we headed home in search of sleep.