Good people

Jeff and I headed to Reno for Thanksgiving on Tuesday.  We like to take the bus to the airport so we don't have to pay to park there.  So Tuesday morning Jeff dropped me off at the bus stop with all of our luggage, drove home, then ran back on two inches of ice to catch the bus.  Despite the weather and road conditions the bus was only 1 or 2 minutes late.  But that's not really what this blog entry is about.

It was freezing outside while I waited for the bus stop - I think it was about 17 degrees!  So I was standing there shivering with two large suitcases and two backpacks waiting for Jeff and the bus when a car pulled up.  A women leaned out the window and asked if I wanted a ride to the airport.  They were on their way to the airport to pick up her parents for the holiday and saw me waiting at the bus stop with so much luggage and thought I might need a ride.  It was such a kind offer.  It was a great reminder to me of just how many good things and people there are in the world today despite the many not-so-good things in the world.  I thought it was a great expression of Thanksgiving on their part - they had a nice warm car to transport them and to show gratitude for that blessing, they were willing to share it with me.  It was a very good reminder to me that sometimes the most simple expressions of kindness are the most important.    
  

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Every now and then I don't mind being wrong and yesterday was one of those times.  Jeff and I thought the forecasts of snow were fake - a ploy by local businesses to get people to buy snow tires and winter attire.  We're so glad we were wrong!  Yesterday a very significant winter storm came through dropping only 2-3 inches of snow at our house, but turning the roads to sheets of ice.  We needed to get to the airport the next morning and were worried that the buses wouldn't be running, but we got out of town just fine.

Oh, the first snowfall of the winter!

I absolutely love living in Seattle - it's so beautiful here!  Spring is more colorful, summer is more temperate, fall is more wonderful, but the winter is slightly disappointing.  A typical winter here consists of cold winds, gray skies and rain.  The first two I don't mind, but I've always been of the opinion that if it has to be cold, then it should be snowing.

My first winter here I saw about 7 snowflakes on my first day of work at Deloitte.  That was enough to cause at least 5 people to stay home from work.  The rest of the winter was snow free.  The next winter, just after Jeff and I were married, we experienced a Christmas miracle. Feet of snow fell in just a few days!  The whole city shut down because people are terrified of snow here and there are only 3 snow plows in the whole city so you really can't get anywhere in a car.  My office closed for several days in a row - it was delightful!  It was also an anomaly.

The next winter was back to usual - snowless.  It was cold and it was wet, but there was no snow.  If you read Jeff's blog, you know that there's been a lot of talk about Seattle having a "bad" winter this year.  I'm still trying to figure out why they say "bad".  I see nothing wrong with having to stay home from work because the bus can't get up Seneca St and being able to go sledding in my front yard without the fear of being run over by cars because the street is closed to traffic.  To me, there's absolutely nothing bad about that situation.

Anyway, Jeff and I decided not to get our hopes up about having a bad winter this year so we've been ignoring any forecasts of snow.  Just imagine our delight when it snowed for a solid thirty minutes today!  What a wonderful day!  Never mind that it didn't stick, never mind that the flakes were tiny, never mind that my office is still open tomorrow and the buses are running (although they are running on snow routes since they're predicting snow tomorrow) - never mind all that!  It's not even Thanksgiving, it has already snowed and that is all that matters!  

See the almost invisible layer of white snow?

Maybe Jeff and I will have a happy winter after all!

The Seattle Symphony

On Friday night Jeff and I went to the Seattle Symphony for the first time.  We've seen lots of performances in this city, but we still hadn't made it to the symphony. So when a Groupon came out for tickets to a performance of your choice we jumped on it!

They played two pieces - Prokofiev's Symphony No. 3, which I found to be a little too intense for my taste, and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, which was fantastic.  I love Tchaikovsky, but this number is particularly beautiful to me.  It's one of those pieces that everyone loves - proven by it's popularity since it was first written in 1874.  Isn't it wonderful to know that the so many different people from all walks of life and various time periods can be united in at least one thing - good music!

The pianist for the piano concerto was Stephen Hough - he was pretty incredible too!  Half of the time you couldn't even see his hands - they were just a blur as they raced across the keyboard.  I can't even imagine being that talented!

We really enjoyed the performance.  Afterwards Jeff announced that he prefers the symphony to the ballet.  I suppose we'll have to take a break from the ballet for a while and focus on other musical expressions.  Gratefully Seattle is full of wonderful music!  

Ingrid Michaelson

Jeff and I recently went to a concert with our friends Cameron and Lisette.  I hadn't been to a concert in who knows how many years, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to see one of my favorite artists - Ingrid Michaelson.  I just love her music!  And now that I've seen her in concert, I just love her!

It was an incredibly entertaining concert.  Ingrid was incredibly funny - she told great stories and kept the crowd rolling with her wise cracks.  She and her band also did a dance to Britney Spears' "Toxic" - not sure why, but it was fun to watch.  She really is an amazing musician and love almost all of her songs.  Unfortunately, she didn't play my favorite song - The Hat.  Oh well, guess I'll just have to see her next time she's in town!

If you don't know Ingrid, check her out now before you miss out on anymore great music.  You can listen to all of her stuff for free on Grooveshark.com.  Here's a few highlights from the night.

Us in front of the "Stop arresting medical marijuana suppliers" sign

Ingrid in all her glory

Ingrid at the piano

Happy Halloween!!!

We went for cute rather than scary this year!

I loved Halloween growing up!  It was one of my more favorite holidays (just behind Christmas and my birthday).  Of course in Nevada, it's more than just a day for dressing up and eating candy - we also celebrate Nevada Day!  October 31st is the day Nevada became an official state and, thus, we never had school on Halloween.  Talk about a sweet treat!  Imagine my disappointment on my first Halloween at Utah State when I realized Nevada was the only state where you didn't go to school on October 31st.  This holiday has never been quite as exciting since then.  In fact, in now ranks pretty low on the totem pole.  But, as everyone who truly knows me knows, I love any reason to celebrate!  So each year we carve pumpkins, light luminaries, hand out candy, dress up in costume...the whole nine yards!

Merry Christmas! Like the presents taped to my feet?

Last year Jeff and I dressed up as a Tootsie Roll and a Tootsie Pop.  We won the costume contest a friend's Halloween party and at the church Halloween party.  This year we dressed up as a Christmas tree - I was the tree and Jeff was my lights.  We got lots of compliments, but won no contests.  Jeff's absolutely positive that if we'd been on time to the Halloween party more people would have had a chance to vote for us and we would have won!  Since the costume contest was really for the kids, I don't think it would have made a difference.  Either way, it was a cute costume.

Yes, that's our real tree skirt!

As a kid, I never got to go Trick-or-Treating when Halloween fell on a Sunday.  For some reason dressing up like ghouls and goblins and wandering the neighborhood asking for candy didn't seem a very good way to "keep the Sabbath Day holy". Since Halloween fell on a Sunday this year, I figured that most of the kids from church wouldn't be Trick-or-Treating.  So Jeff and I, made some treats for the primary kids and went "Reverse Trick-or-Treating" this year...we knocked on their doors and handed the goody bags to them.  It was a lot of fun, and many of the kids seemed excited to have a visitor.  One cute kid, Rune, even gave us a piece of candy in return - it was pretty cute!

Last year's award winning costumes