The Falls...

Last Monday we decided to visit the Snoqualmie Falls with our French exchange teacher. The Falls are only 20 minutes away from our house and this time of year, with the enormous amounts of water that have been coming out of the sky, they are just spectacular!

See that building on the left? That is where they filmed part of the TV series called 'Twin Peaks'. Remember from way back when in the early 90's?

The pictures themselves didn't come out quite as spectacular as I had hoped, but when I played around with the 'cross-process' settings they weren't bad at all....

On the way home we stopped to check out  the beginning stages of flooding of that same river closer to our house and this is what we saw from the hanging bridge. First to our south...

And then to our north...

We're still in the middle of a big rain event so we're keeping a close eye on all the river gauges and webcams etc to make sure that all our roads are still open. So far so good!

It will be a very wet night for Halloween though!

Along The Cow Road...

Fall is always so pretty in our area, but to be honest, so are all the seasons over here. The afternoon before all my abdominal troubles started, Miss M. and myself took our French exchange teacher for a drive along the Cow Road. The views towards the mountains were just stunning, especially with that little dusting of snow on top of them. 

We also stopped at a local farm where Miss M. had bought her pumpkins last week. She knew there were two baby cows (calves I guess they are called!)  <wink>  hiding in a back shed away from all the public. I can't remember their names but they were so sweet and so soft and warm and so happy to see (and lick!) us.

And look, the black & white one had a heart on its forehead!!!  {smile}

We also came across this beautiful little setting in somebody's back yard. Just right for a quick picture...

Today it is rather blustery and wet outside but in between the showers I walked (instead of ran) about half of my usual running route.

It is extremely mild so it would have been wonderful to have done my run today, but I'm being wise and I will just take it easy a little bit longer.  I am doing much better, the pain is just about gone, but I'm still feeling rather bloated and just plain off, not 100%  quite yet. I've got a little cross-stitch project going on (ssssst! it is a surprise for my sister) and with a pot of tea on my side, I think the day will continue just fine!

Pumpkins & Sleigh Bells...

Oh yes, Fall is definitely here, especially now that the front of the house is properly decorated! <wink>

Miss M. and her friend J. went out to the pumpkin fields yesterday and brought back a whole bunch of them in all shapes and sizes. They spent several hours of designing, cleaning, scooping and then carving the two largest ones.  Then they set out to decorate the front stoop. It's looking pretty spooky right?  {smile}

The forecasters had already told us that the snow levels would come down to 3000 feet this weekend, but when we drove around in the Valley this afternoon, the snow covered mountains still took us by surprise, and a very pleasant one at that. (I love the snow!)
I didn't have my camera at the ready but I did find a couple of pretty pics from a local newspaper. Just look at all that snow!

"Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh.
Over the hills we go, laughing all the way!"

Love it! {big smile}

Oh, and in the latest running news: this morning (when I didn't have to run in the first place) I ran 20 minutes straight without any slowing down. I just skipped a whole week of training! Tadaa!

Stray Finds...

Behold all the glory there is still to be found in the yard!

I had to look a bit harder this time, but there is still a bounty out there...

Have a great weekend everybody!!!

Finally Fall!

After 84 days of no measurable rainfall, the rain has arrived and with it all the Fall colors. 

Inside it is nice and cozy. Miss M. is baking brownies with orange frosting and after that we will decorate a little bit for the Fall season. Not my personal favorite to be honest but somewhat fun nevertheless...

Master C. is doing some homework (I hope) and Mr. G. is spending his second day in a row at Century Link Football Stadium in Seattle. His brother from Portland is in town: yesterday they watched the Huskies play (college team) and today the Seahawks (Seattle's professional team) is on the field. (and they won by 1 point!!!)

I ran two days in a row (this morning the scheduled 15 minutes plus another 6 minutes on top of that!) and now my legs are tired...  (a bit like the skeleton above)  <wink>

The Apple And The Tree Etc.

Ever since my wonderful sister gave me a real camera (Canon Rebel T1i) a year and a half ago, my Miss M. (now 15 1/2) has been developing a keen eye for photography. Once in a while I let her borrow my camera and off she goes exploring. I love what I'm seeing...

Our lovely neighbor with her new dog Bodi...

The Proverbial Apple!
(oh no, it's a tomato!!!)

At the river...

Mr. G.'s favorite pastime!

And not only does the apple not fall far from my tree, it also doesn't fall far from Mr. G.'s tree!

Fly Fishing with dad...

What a gal!  {smile}

De Morgenstond Heeft Goud in de Mond...

7:30 am

Officially the English saying would be 'the early bird catches the worm', but if you would translate the Dutch it would say: the early morning rise has gold in the mouth.  I think in Swedish it goes something like this: Morgonstunnen har guld i munnen! That fits much better don't you think?  {smile}

This morning my alarm went off at 5:45 am. I had to drive Master C. to his final SAT test (5 hour college entrance exam) and he had to be there very early. Luckily I had brought my camera because just look at all this glory!!!

Tolt River Road over the Snoqualmie River

And if all this wasn't beautiful enough, I came across this final picture: the road was ablaze with smoke from a wood fire (some houses here still only have a wood stove for heating!) in the early morning sun and fog mixture: amazing!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!  {smile}

Indian Summer Beauties...

Small miracles can feel soooo big...

Enjoy!

And yes, the garden sprinkler system is still working overtime. No rain in over 76 days, all records have been broken! And I am not complaining...  <wink>

PS I've added some more items to the header. Can you spot them?