One Year

It's been a year....

since I became a one mrs. swearinger and so much and so little has happened. we just got back from a weekend in Coupeville on Whidbey Island. I love living so close to Washington's little get-a-ways. I really don't feel like i've relaxed since this last January when I started up school again, and summer quarter has been much more taxing than I expected. But this weekend was a break from all that is reading, discussing, analyzing, lab-ing, quizzing, and stressing.

The roads on Whidbey wind through tall dry grass, curl around coves, dip through pastures and crops and suddenly burst into cute little towns with shops that close early on sundays. Our first stop was the Coupeville Arts Festival where we mazed our way through streets stuffed with white tents and treasures. We bought a basketfull of hazlenuts, touched organic soap bars, handled hand-carved walking sticks, peeked in the shops that took a back seat to the festival and of course eavesdropped and people-watched. The increasing raindrops led us to a tiny tea room inside an old yellow house, in which we sipped on chamomile and iced peach tea and filled our tummies with scones, jam and clotted cream.

We spent the evening in Langley and were dissappointed that Sean's favorite clock shop was closed. But we had a great time perusing a rare book store and striking conversation with the owner about Sean's latest fancy of ES Curtis's photography. Dinner at the Edgecliff Bar and Grill was fantastic, and we were even given a complimentary orange chocolate mousse with a single candle to blow out in celebration of our anniversary. This morning we woke up and made our way to Oak Harbor for coffee and breakfast, and then headed for a hike at Deception Pass. Were it not for my wasp bite toward the end of our hike, we would have reached perfection. Following the trail along the waters edge, brushing up against the madrones, and climbing huge rocks to sit atop where one could try to determine where the water changes from green to blue were lovely.

To close out our weekend we are having a patio dinner with candle light, our french cafe cd and the bottle of Syrah that we bought from San Juan Vineyards on our honeymoon last year. We thought about keeping it until our 10 year anniversary, but in truth we don't know much about aging wine.

This week is Sean's birthday and I have a beautiful recipe for a banana cream pie (his favorite) as well as some other adventures planned involving the olympic peninsula. I am ecstatic that school will be ending in less than two weeks. We will then be heading to Lake Chelan for a week of swimming, reading, napping, kayaking, going to Stehekin, hiking, vineyard dinners, and other assorted good things. Then I have a month off which will probably fly by as I hopefully meet with people to catch-up, try to organize our place, do yard work, sew a table cloth and drapes, read, relax, do yoga and spend time at the beach.

Other than the aforementioned, life has consisted of homework, work, cleaning, various iced tea concoctions, my 2 month puzzle, local raw honey, sean's new position as Trail Steward of the Hansville Greenway Trails, central market, lychee mojitos, violet-green swallow calling, baby birds, bald eagles, salmon caught by sean, and enjoying the mint, chives, lavendar, thyme, strawberries, rhubarb, roses, delphinium, sweet peas, tree mallow, flowering tobacco, jasmine, irises, and dwarf snapdragons that are living with us.

This is getting long and it's getting late.-au revoir. pictures someday soon.