Catching up in a picture post

Happy Holidays!  Lately other priorities have kept me from updating this regularly, but don't give up...when time permits, I promise I'll drop in a post. The easiest way to give you the latest is to do it with a smattering of pictures, so here-goes.

How spoiled are we in this country to have everything to create a fantastic, over-the-top Thanksgiving? Family was scattered this year, so we had 2 neighborhood couples over to celebrate with a tasty bird. I'm kicking myself for not taking more pictures.  We were missing a couple people here, but it was time to carve the bird, so I grabbed the camera.  It's the only shot I took that day, but I'm glad I got at least one.

Next up, was a semi-spontaneous trip to the Big Island of Hawaii with a friend/neighbor.  She was flying solo for a week until her husband arrived, so invited me to join her.  They have a condo there, so lodging was covered and as luck would have it, frequent flier miles were available.  All the stars aligned and I was on a plane escaping Seattle rain before I knew it.  We got into all sorts of trouble together.

One day we visited a seahorse farm, which was amazing.  I completely fell in love with those creatures.  We learned that they mate for life and if you take a partner away, they get very sad, stop eating and die.  Also, the males carry the eggs- yes, they get pregnant and get big bellies. What a weird twist of nature, right?  The farm also creates seaweed and sells it to restaurants for various dishes (sushi, etc).  Lisa dove in for a snack.

At the end of the tour we were able to hold a seahorse. 

Dorks!  On our walk we snuck onto the golf course. 

My sand turtle sculpture.

One day we went exploring the coastline and found this amazing place which was abandoned due to permitting issues with the State.  This building was supposed to be the office of some luxury cabins, but the permits were pulled due to conflicts with the land managers and native Hawaiians.  With the strict building issues in Hawaii, it's remarkable anything gets done.

On my way home, I couldn't believe my eyes!  I guess it takes some time to get across the world and he had to get a head start.

The week went by quickly and I came back to a winter wonderland.  It was so beautiful!  There is still snow on the ground and there's talk now of a white Christmas.  "In the meadow we can build a snowman..."

The game trail camera had a few deer visitors. They've been coming around a lot more now with the snow on the ground;  presumably looking for food.

Summit is really showing his age these days.  He turned 9 years old on November 11th, and since he's 105 pounds and a large breed, he's in his twilight years.  He's recently started getting a little grey beard and old-man elbows.  He still loves his rides in the truck and is just in bliss when he can stick his head out and sniff the air.  Before the snow really hit the mountains, I took him hiking on some easy trails over by Yakima.  He was such a good boy and I loved having him along with me.

Lastly, on Friday night I had a few girls over for a cookie baking party. It had been way too long since we'd seen each other and there was no shortage of laughs. By the end everyone left with a giant platter of sugary goodness. 

And that's that!  My next post will likely come poppin' up on here next year. In the meantime I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas and a really fun, safe New Year!