Classes are over and I've had some extra time on my hands as my summer internship has not started, but I can't say I've been accomplishing much with my time. I had my loft windows replaced so now the bright sunshine that Seattle has been enjoying for 28 days straight can shine on in. It's a huge improvement!
I also got away over the weekend and enjoyed some country time in Mazama, Washington. This town sits just in the foothills of the North Cascade mountains, on the east side where things are sunny and dry and just beginning to show signs of a desert climate. It's small. Smaller than my good ole hometown of Cranberry Lake, New York. The "downtown" of Mazama consists of a kickass convenient store that stocks some select Patagonia clothing, bakes its own amazing savory scones and even makes a decent mocha. In addition to the store there is a real estate office and a yoga studio. That's downtown.
Mazama also has some amazing architecture for a sleepy river town. We're totally staying in a Rolling Hut when we head to Mazama in the winter for some cross country skiing. I have a feeling my architect brother may want to tag along.
Winthrop, a bit further east of Mazama is a old West town complete with wooden sidewalks, lots of tourists, and every flavor ice cream you could possibly imagine. We enjoyed a little stroll down the two blocks that make up the town, tried to help keep the local bookstore in business by buying a full priced novel, which I never, ever do because the Seattle library system is amazing. (Wanted to buy the most recent book by the author attending our annual 826 Seattle fundraiser this year - Michael Chabon. I believe the book, The Yiddish Policemen's Union, is being turned into a movie as we speak by the Coen Brothers.)
While in Winthrop we couldn't help but splurge on a pre-dinner ice cream cone. The shop was making their own waffle cones and the fresh, sweet smell was filling the streets. I had been craving butterscotch for days [for the first time in my life] so was excited when I saw Butterscotch Fudge. Unfortunately, it turned out to taste more like maple than butterscotch. And I hate maple. It was a sad turn of events. The only thing cheering me up was watching the TMF eat black licorice ice cream. I had never heard of such a flavor, or maybe just never noticed considering the concept is disgusting to me. But seeing it was even more unappetizing - dark black ice cream. It does wonders to one's lips and teeth let me tell you. I was cursing the absence of my camera. And I deeply apologize to you, the readers, who may have never witnessed such a sight.
We headed back to the city brainstorming how to skip that home-ownership-thing and jump right into vacation-cabin-in-the-country-ownership-thing. It's a little tricky considering I have no income at the moment.
In other news... I have gotten very involved with the grad school program. I've been working with the Admissions Office so soon I will be starting a blog for prospective students by current students. I will also be showing up on the website in a month or so. We had a little photo shoot a few weeks ago and I was not psyched with the results but I'm hoping it'll just be a tiny box on the side.
Along with that I've decided to move this blog. I've been paying money to host this blog for many years now and have found a free site which appears to be just as good. So keep an eye out for a new address in the coming days. I know that's super annoying and I hope not too many people lose track of it, but it seems best considering that no income thing. I'll try to keep this one up with the forwarding address for a month to help with the transition.
I guess that's enough updating for now... although I could go on. I'll save it for tomorrow.
That rolling cabin is the strangest piece of architecture I have ever seen! I guess you can get away with just about anything nowadays. It certainly gives the "mobile home" a whole new look. I assume there are no bugs in that part of the country.
Posted by: Mom | Friday, June 19, 2009 at 06:12 AM