Before…

Our living/dining room covered with camping gear...wait till SKB gets home!

Backpacks, sleeping bags, bed rolls, a tend, TOILET PAPER, emergency kits, two ponchos, and rejected items scattered all over the Nain (rug); cooking gear, directions, a map and a camera on the (made by SKB and I) coffee table; food (note the apples) on the kitchen table ($50 at the Mercantile); a water bottle, two water bladders and our packing list on the counter; *we’re going camping!*

Tomorrow we debut with a retirement breakfast for Marilyn, SKB’s previous (wonderful) supervisor, then take a 5.5 mile hike into Silverlake in the North Cascades. It’s supposed to be 80 degrees and gorgeous, so we’re looking forward to it! It’s our trial hike to get all of our gear situation and tried out before our hike up Long’s Peak in two and a half short weeks. I’m taking a break in the packing (and waiting for SKB to get home from work) to post a pre-trip blog.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m all about the food, and while lunch is hiking food (PBJs and trail mix), I’d say that I’ve assembled a tasty meal for dinner and a basic, but delicious, meal for breakfast. Dinner will be a lentil/bean dip (courtesy of Tasty Bite), palak paneer (courtesy of some Indian food company), whole wheat flat bread, a veggie mix (yams, shallots, carrots, olive oil, salt & pepper and dried rosemary, accompanied with chardonnay bottled in tiny travel boxes (a surprise to SKB, I guess that means she shouldn’t read this) and finished with Hostess chocolate Donettes. Breakfast is oatmeal (not the envelopes) with Maui Gold Cane Sugar and walnuts, plus apples. Maybe I’ll save the Donettes for breakfast…

If you can’t get a hold of me by Monday, would someone mind hiking up to Silver Lake and carrying me home?

JMB

Happy Independence Day!

Yes, I know I’m two days early, but Sun Healthcare let me me have a few extra enjoys to celebrate the birth of our nation. Or, more correctly, the celebration of the Declaration of Independence (of the 13 existing colonies of Great Britain), as the Constitution that serves at the foundation of our country wasn’t signed until September 17th, 1787. Yes, I’m a huge fan of random facts.

SKB and I are currently entertaining our two young nieces, J and G, who are visiting from Taiwan and leave on the 12th. So far we’ve swam in the pool, cooked Malaysian-style satay (SKB vouches for the authenticity, though she says the peanut sauce was comfortably mild in comparison), baked Texas Sheet Cake (in two round pans instead of the Jelly Roll pan we don’t have) and put on a small concert with the guitar from my last post. Right now it’s Merlot (for me, not the girls), The Velveteen Rabbit movie (for the young girls) and cleaning (for SKB, can’t figure out what she’s cleaning at 11:15pm for Edit: SKB says she was folding laundry. Yay! Clean clothes!).  Tomorrow has a few surprises we haven’t quite planned, but it will include Texas Sheet Cake cupcake samples!

It’s looking like a busy weekend for us- A BBQ tomorrow with friends, hanging out with family after that. We’re thinking about squeezing in some shopping somewhere in the middle (see below), possibly a Sedro Woolley Rodeo, more BBQ, and who knows what else! Sunday is a day of rest (Thank you God! And I mean that), but we’re heading down to Lisa’s to check out her new place. And Monday, back to the grind! We were planning on a hike and camping from Saturday to Sunday, but in the interest of our sanity, we decided to postone, hopefully until the weekend of the 18th. We need to get in a practice hike before Long’s Peak, CO, the first week of August. And on the 11th, I got suckered (ok, that’s an exaggeration) into running a 5k in Mill Creek. I’m actually looking forward to that, but don’t tell anyone!

Oh, for the shopping: SKB and I have a curious dilemma; she just finished a 35 day Nutrisystem diet and I’m in the final week or so. And I’ve lost about 17 pounds (make that 14 after the 4th of July BBQs) and SKB is down about 16. And here’s the dilemma, neither of our pants fit! So, we need to get some shopping in sooner or later. And on that note, good night!

-JMB