Happy Halloween!!

The Pumpkin Patch and Gas Works Park

Whew - I've been told that I've been a bit behind at not posting regularly enough, so I will try to post multiple times this week to catch up.

Well, Katie and Emilie (Mike's sister and niece) came to visit, so we drove to Monroe, WA out to Baylor Farm to pick up some pumpkins. I should note that we first stopped for a picnic along the Skyhomish River. We then arrived at the farm, were greeted by a bassegle (beagle basset cross), and then got behind a tractor for a hay ride down to the pumpkin patch along the river. There we picked out 3 pumpkins totaling 100 lbs which we brought home. The next afternoon Marc, Katie, Emilie, and I carved our pumpkins. They certainly turned out well! Marc's already posted a pic (see post from 10/31/07).

That Sunday, Katie, Emilie and I took a trip on the bus (Emilie's first trip) down to Gas Works Park. It's an old refinery/SUPERFUND site at the edge of Lake Union. Emilie snapped a pic of Katie and I on the hill north of Downtown.

All in all, a great visit!

A Low-Car Diet

OK, OK, so I took the term "Low-Car Diet" from the city of Seattle - it was a promotion sponsored by the City of Seattle - http://www.seattle.gov/waytogo/onelesscar.htm. Basically, once Marc and I knew that we would be moving to this house and that we would be in a location where we could take the bus frequently, we decided that we didn't need to have two cars anymore. Thus, after 9 years and 100,000 miles of excellent service, I retired the Accord - I listed it on craigslist, and within a week, it was sold to a woman in Tacoma who was delighted to have it. Marc and I are sharing his Volkswagen now, which seems to be working just fine. We both take the bus to work everyday, and drive the car only 1-2 times per week to do errands, etc. I anticipate that we will only drive about 5000 miles this year. I subscribed to FlexCar, which is a car-sharing program. One of the neat things about the City is that they will give me $600 of FlexCar credit for selling my car. We rarely need a second car, but what is handy is that FlexCar has a Toyota Tacoma pick-up truck. We use it periodically to run errands - especially when purchasing furniture, etc. from craigslist! All in all, it has been an easy thing to do, and we enjoy being able to walk and take public transportation everywhere. Goodbye Accord - you were my second car ever - thank you for so many years of service!

October is Visitor Month

Well, October is here, and now that we have a spare bedroom, the guests are coming in droves! First to come was my dad - it was his first time to Seattle since the 1960s. We walked 10 miles on the first day - down to the University, etc. Our photos highlight some of our adventures. One is taken at the main fountain on the UW campus. The remainder are snapshots from Snoqualmie Falls, which is about 30 miles east of Seattle. We had a great time together!!! Later on in the month we had Molly and Aaron, Marc's parents Dennis and Ruth Ann, and then my sister Katie and my niece Emilie. It was great to see everyone!