tilly jane

for the last five years colleen has done the fabulous job
of organizing an annual tilly jane snowshoe trip!

finally, joel and i were able to make it this year!!!

day one was the hike up to tilly jane,
wood burning warmth,
some of my favorite company,
wonderful conversations
and watching snowflakes fall
[i honestly had no idea they were so beautiful]!

balu

a short respite from the climb.

... and another. this was no walk in the park!

joel. alisha. erica. steve. colleen. leah. becky.
kianna licking my hand. balu. cyrus. brett.

jen. jeff. allyson. tim. and lollie met us up there.

for those of you lucky enough to experience the glory of the pacific northwest,
you too have met the furry old men!

this is the man responsible for the 8 mugshots with mustaches.
the fame only seems fitting!

though this isn't the clearest picture, i wanted to give you a sense
of the sweet little cabin we had just to the 12 of us.
[it's free for all, colleen and brett have been accompanied by as many as 30 people and 10 dogs]

there was a LOT of snow!!! you are looking at the second story of the cabin!!!

tim. allyson. erica.

day two.
a short jaunt up to the ridge for a view of eliot glacier and the pacific northwest peaks!

is there anyone who doesn't love being in old growth forest?

a playground of mountain hemlock and pacific silver fir
is what we got to enjoy here on the north side of mt. hood.

brett skating down the mountain.
there are about 5 shots to this series... totally brings the fun back to view them in sequence!

frosty staghorn moss.

colleen. allyson. erica.
... and despite the open playground, the dogs wrestled on erica's lap!

this view of my favorite nearby playground, mt. adams,
made my worsening blisters worth the further ascent!

lunar eclipse

yet another thing to love about our wonderful city

...the midweek, just after work, lunar eclipse from the back porch!


there won't be another total lunar eclipse until 2010,
but there are partial and prenumbral eclipses upcoming.
in case you're determined not to miss the next one!

a surprise romantic getaway

joel took the initiative to plan a needed weekend getaway
from our incredibly busy days in portland!
i packed prepared and pretty much just showed up.
he did a fabulous job
with the help of one super travel elf named arlene!

our trip began with a glorious drive along highway 101...

we stayed in some sweet cabins along the big sur river...

and had some magnificent sunset meals,

breath-taking hikes,

fun in the sand and sun...

... and even took the time to stop and smell the succulent flowers!!!

it's a good thing...

someone
loves
our
laundry!

the year of the rat

happy chinese new year!

being a student of chinese medicine it's hard not get excited about the lunar new year [4706], which begins today! perhaps most similar, in my mind, to our american thanksgiving holiday, the chinese new year is a time to gather friends and family, share meals, appreciate, and reflect. throughout asia, and much of the united states, chinese new year celebrations began last week and will culminate with a festival of lanterns carried under the light of the full moon on the 15th of this month. as joel and i witnessed, having had the inadvertent experience of being part of a chinese new year celebration in thailand a couple years ago, red is the color of the festivities... as it symbolizes fire and thus drives away bad luck in the new year!

today begins the year of the rat, which is the first in the cycle of the 12 animal signs that make up the chinese zodiac. legend has it that the rat was the first animal to win the race, so he was given the honor of being first in the chinese lunar calendar! in chinese astrology it is said that individuals born in each of the chinese animal years will have some of that animal's personality in their own. those born in the year of the rat are considered leaders... honest, respectable, social people.

joel and i celebrated the chinese new year with fabulous dinner at oba! and an evening celebrating the teams of portland, 'an exhibition of bikes, kits and maps'.