Some pictures ... Thanksgiving in Woodinville

Thanksgiving in Woodinville

A Great Thanksgiving ...

Next year when I sit around the Thanksgiving table and I am asked what I am thankful for I think I will need to start with ... I am thankful for Woodinville, WA and the people at Willows Lodge. What a great trip .... and that would lead me to my second thing to be thankful for, well actually it would be my first, Laura who planned the trip. We had a fabulous time. The hotel - beautiful; the staff everywhere - fantastic; the wineries - wonderful; the food - fabulous. Ok we did have a hiccup with some dairy induced pizza crust but outside of that we had a great time. I even got to get out and run 3 days and two of those I saw bald eagles as I ran.

The area is great. It is still maturing but it is getting there quickly. In the picture we stayed at the green star. All the dots are wineries. The furthest on this map - a couple of miles - most walking distance. The weather was cooperative. It rained Sunday but not the whole day. It was cool and damp but hey it is the northwest coast.

Will we do this again - ABSOLUTELY!

Thanksgiving in the Northwest

Thanksgiving Day myself and Laura headed out to the Northwest. Laura had booked this as a combination anniversary/Thanksgiving trip. We had found this wonderful hotel in Woodinville on our honeymoon last year and that would be our destination for this trip. We arrived in Seattle Thursday afternoon and were in our hotel by 4. Our first night was a great drink at the hotels bar followed by a great dinner at the Barking Frog. The service there is wonderful. We let them know about Laura's intolerance to dairy and they went out of their way to make sure we had a wonderful meal of duck and pork - ok not traditional Thanksgiving fare but delicious in every sense. The next morning I woke and headed out for a quick 6 mile run while I let Laura sleep in. The trail was a bit slick but it was a great run and I even got to see a bald eagle in flight. We spent Saturday touring 3 local wineries and had lunch at the Red Hook Brewery - all of this a 5 minute walk from our hotel. The Chateau Ste Michelle won the "best of" contest of the places we visited. We will be posting some pics on our Picasa site when we can. When we arrived back at the Lodge they had finished decorating the lobby for Christmas and it looks wonderful. Today has been a day to relax, for me that meant a 4 mile run where I saw two black eagles and one bald, but outside of that we are just laying back until 4 when we hit the spa. It has been a wonderful couple of days with another couple left to go.

Happy Thanksgiving

A brisk but sunny Thanksgiving here in Virginia so it was good to go out for a quick run. I needed it after such a great meal last night with all my girls. We celebrated an early Thanksgiving with the girls as myself and Laura will head out in a couple of hours for our Thanksgiving in Wine Country.

We did have a great meal last night. Laura had suggested that we should do a vegan meal as normally we do a regular meal and make a vegan dish for Tika. So this time we switched it around - except no carnivore food. I was a bit nervous as Sam enjoys here lamb and beef but she also always picks at Tika's plate. So I picked up a vegan roast, and I would recommend it - it was fantastic - Field Roast Stuffed Hazelnut Cranberry Roast. With it I did a platter of roasted root vegetables, potatoes, squash, carrots and onions; added some sauteed green beans and made a mushroom gravy. I was surprised to look down the table and not see any food left on any plate. Tika only had a couple of slices of roast as leftovers. I surprised the girls with some Red Velvet cupcakes - vegan for Tika and Laura but regular for the other girls.

We did have a lot of fun as - a lot of laughing and story telling. The girls had helped prepare things or helped clean up, so it was truly a family affair - the way Thanksgiving should be and I am thankful I have such a wonderful family to share it with.

Happy Thanksgiving to all from Gary and Laura

More Art

Last year when we were in Dundee on our honeymoon Laura saw a beautiful painting that she immediately fell in love with. We both love art and since this was something that caught her eye right away I had to buy it for her. We had it shipped back to Virginia and it came a few weeks later.

Almost a year later I decided that this painting, that Laura so loved, needed to be somewhere other than the original packing so I took it to a local framer who Laura has used before for wedding photos. The framer loved the piece as well and we worked together to find the perfect combination of frame and mat. I wanted to float it since it has rough edges and is on this wonderfully heavy material. Well it is a big piece and it took longer to frame than I thought so it turned into a late anniversary present. It is now hanging in our bedroom - right where Laura wanted it.

Balancing Exercise

Many people do not know this but I have had to really try and balance exercise. This has become even more true as I have gotten older. My best shape has been when I was competitive in Karate or Triathlons. Those days I was hovering 170-175, very fit and very healthy. Before that I could easily get to better than 200 lbs and since I have had to give up both Karate and triathlon I have gotten up to just under 195.

Running has helped in the last few years but to get running well I need to lose weight and I have a hard time starting slowly so even with my running layoff I have been very good about getting in cardio and watching what I eat. I am back under 180 so that has me happy but it is a lean 180 so now the other side of the balance comes in.

When I start to go to the gym to lift, to tone and strengthen the auxiliary muscles, I end up putting weight back on. Now do not get me wrong - it is muscle weight so not a bad thing from a health perspective, but it does make running more of a challenge as more weight to carry and thus more risk of injury running. So I am back to trying to figure out the balance between weight training for fitness so I can do other things and making sure I keep a healthy and efficient weight for running.

I guess I could have worse problems .... but to me it is still a problem ... and one I will eventually figure out.

Nice to be ...

running again.

I started back nice and slow the weekend before Halloween. It had been 9 weeks since I had been running. People who are not runners or who do not enjoy the outside will not understand how hard that is. Yes it is 34 degrees out when I go out - and yes I am still wearing shorts when I go out. It is hard to describe how relaxing it is - the fresh air - the fall leaves - the sky - the sun when it shines down on you or as it makes that silhouette of you running - these were all things that I missed.

Of course I do need to be careful - so no I am not doing 40 mile weeks - in fact they are more like 10 mile weeks right now until I make sure everything is ok.

It was weird starting back the week before Halloween as that was the week before the Marine Corps Marathon. MCM was something that was hard to give up this year. I was 90% ready to run it with the leg fracture and Lyme disease. But common sense got the better of my desire and I gave my bib to a young Marine who was just finishing up basic and had just gotten to the area from Parris Island. Since I did not ask if I could use his name I won't but the Pfc did a great job in what was his first 26.2. He sent a picture of himself and his Marine buddies that ran together - he is in black and when I see him I think of an old quote by Rear Admiral Stark, USN: "Marines I see as two breeds, Rottweilers or Dobermans, because Marines come in two varieties, big and mean, or skinny and mean. They're aggressive on the attack and tenacious on the defense. They've got really short hair and they always go for the throat."

I guess it was timely to get this picture from him on Remembrance Day weekend. It is a good opportunity to thank him, and all the Marines, Captain Ashley Lincoln (I am told it is now Commander Lincoln - Congrats), and all the Air Force members and all the other service members here, in Canada and in the NATO countries who serve.

I am so lucky........

Some would say that I am lucky to have a career that allows me to travel. I certainly would not argue- driving the autobahn in Germany and touring cathedrals in Switzerland were amazing opportunities and working in China was hands down the most unique experience I have had on many levels, both personal and career-wise. However, none of this compares to stepping off of the plane to the sight of my sweet husband waiting for me, eyes anxiously searching the crowd of arriving passengers with a look of anticipation that still makes me tear up. My coat tucked under his arm, my gloves in his hand. Protective. He didn't want me to be cold. Yes, I am so lucky.

The weather changed while I was away. So much changed while I was away. The leaves- the color snapped into place in what felt like a blink and a quick breath. I missed winter's arrival- the first snow. It felt unfair that the leaves didn't wait, that the snow forgot I wasn't at home and fell anyway. Tucked carefully into the jeep, bundled up on the drive home I sensed the same longing from him, without words. So much had changed. He wanted the moments I opened my eyes wide, covered my ears, explored, laughed, scrunched my nose, awkwardly wielded chopsticks, and hid away from the rawness and the newness tucked into bed eating oreos and drinking wine from a teacup. So much changed while I was away- I could tell that he felt the same unfairness that the world didn't wait, that the world forgot that we weren't together and life happened anyway. I am so lucky...........so lucky to find someone who also wants the snow, the leaves, the wine and oreos.... together.

I am so lucky.

Laura

Happy Anniversary .....

or should I say Happy Pancake Day :-)

So today is the anniversary of mine and Laura's first date. I call it Pancake Day as pancakes is something that we had in common - one of many things. For those of you that know - Laura shares the appreciation of pancakes as engraved inside my wedding band is "Pancakes Forever".

This Anniversary is especially nice as Laura has just gotten back from a week in China and even though she came back to a substantially colder Virginia I know she is happy to be back .... and I am happy she is back home.

So today being the anniversary of our first date Laura made sure to make it special having two roses and a bottle of our favourite Amarone to greet me when I went downstairs this morning. It is those things that she does that make every day special. And I do not mean the things that she does for me - but the things that she does - her caring for others - her generosity - her efforts to make sure her work moves ahead - her diligence to things around the house. They may seem like small things but they are small things that I notice and they are things that make me see how very special she truly is. All of those things also make me work to make sure that I pay attention to the little things as well - taking care of myself - my work - the things around the house that will make her life more enjoyable and easier.

The day that Laura asked me to join her for breakfast changed my life and that November 1st, when I first sat down across from her, sealed the deal for me. I know she will tell the story to the kids on "What not to do on a first date" and it is even those stories that make me smile.

I love you sweetheart - thank you for all you do for me :-*