Today i'm at Dad's. Last night my friends Allison and Thomas had me over for dinner . It was yummy salmon and other stuff that tasted good despite my stuffy nose. This morning i had buttermilk pancakes made by Dad though mine weren't in a Mickey Mouse shape like my step-niece's. She "yiked" how "Papa Dude" made pancakes. The we spent part of the morning doing super size "yegos" cuz she didn't want to play with the "yincoln yogs." After that we played puzzles until it was time for them to go to Portland. The house is suddenly very quiet.~w

After another full day at the school, last night was dinner at mom's. Dinner at mom's included mom's apple pie. I'm happy, even if it is too foggy to see the mountain this last morning at mom's house. I'm off to Issaquah this evening.~w

Ever been to a corn maze? The Poetry Alive! team and i tackled the maze down the road from my mom's place at Maris Farms last night. We almost completed the Ultimate Challenge by finding 23 of the 24 hidden items before sunset sent us hurrying toward the exit so we wouldn't be left in the dark. Despite the sniffles from allergies and chilly weather it was a lot of fun. I think we deserved the tasty Thai extravaganza we had for dinner. Now i'm off to play with kids again!~w

The day went beautifully yesterday. The weather has been gorgeous and sunny to prove me wrong about the rain. However, the lake level shows that this area is very short on rain overall this year. Despite strange rumblings from the office in Asheville that are rumouring to have me working on Halloween this year (i'm trying to put a stop to that), work is going very well.

Last night i had dinner with my dear friend Darlene who is trying to dodge the axe of budget cuts to King County Programs. So far all of her after-school and summer programs for kids at the community centers throughout the county have been cut, but so far, unlike the rest of her staff, she hasn't been handed a pink slip. Times are tight in these parts. I also finally after 2 years caught up with another dear friend and had a lovely chat before driving out of the city and back to the country. I guess that's why i live in a small town right now...i never could decided between city and country living.~w

My boss thought i was getting some time off, but that hasn't happened yet. I'll have to go home for vacation. Does that make sense? Probably not. However, my schedule here has me busier than an average day in Asheville. It's okay though because i get to see the sunrise and the moonrise over Mt. Rainier and it's gorgeous here. The mornings are misty and cool, but the days are still warm. I wish i had the time to spend another week or so here.~w

Okay, so i'm posting a little late today. I didn't get set up in time this morning to get online before heading off to the school. I'm at mom's for a week, but still working. I must admit its really nice to be back in the northwest.

I flew in yesterday and immediately drove down to visit my newly married friends in Olympia. They fed me food and showed off the new house they built in the woods. They we threw the stick for Buddha the dog and went for a walk in old growth woods past cedar trees too wide for two of us to throw our arms around. One such tree had long ago lost it's top and sprouted four news ones so that it looked like a goblet for the gods. At another point a sunbeam shot down through the trees highlighting a spiderweb spread through the branches. Our walk took us to a bluff that we climbed down to the ocean and then continued our walk along the beach skipping rocks, gathering shells and giving the dog a bath by throwing the stick in the water. Then it was time to head back to Sumner and meet my co-workers and plan the week. I found the school before finding my mom's house and went to bed tired but happy.

Today went smoothly at the school and it looks to be a rather relaxing and fun week.~w

I'm off to catch a 8:30am flight. So gotta be quick. Yesterday we got a standing ovation. I walked around Riverfront park in the sunshine afterwards and spent a good deal of time listening to and watching the Spokane Falls.~w