Oh, sure, they come and go. And come back again with a vengeance and waaaaahhh-where’s-my-mommy??.

So, here’s my perfectly and desperately reactionism thought out answer to grappling with these Godforsaken, incessant tempests:

1. Go to google.com
2. Click images
3. Enter these words, in this order, “baby animals.” (I will not, repeat, not be responsible for what may turn up if you flip the order.)
4. Sip Grey Goose with twist of lemon while scrolling down.

You’ll get the likes of this:

We’re all good, now, yes?

No guarantees, but it might work for fights with spouses, filing taxes, enforcing bedtimes, cancellation of your soap opera, crash of stock market picks, running out of coffee, school field trips, flight cancellations, and shrinkage of your favorite cashmere sweater.

Yes, I feel better already. *sssslllllurp*

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Kids rejoiced; parents, not so much.

But this island sits in a funny little spot between ocean and mountains. We’ll get a dash of snow often followed by a high-speed melt-off.

So, when it snows, this is the protocol:

1. Yell “SNOW“!!!!!!

2. Children everywhere, day or night, north, central or south end, stampede outside like Fred Flintstone when the factory whistle blows. Ya ba da ba doooooo!

This week the forecasters said it’d warm up within a day, and shockingly they were correct.

So that big temperature shift left the Kid building snow creatures in mud.
Exhibit A, the snow dog sitting in mud puddle:

Photo courtesy of Kid (Our dog would like you to know she would never sit in mud; roll in it, possibly.)

The Kid even screamed from the front door things like, “Mom! I need raisins and carrots!! Hurry!! Mom!!”

Yes, doctor, right away! Anything to help with the snow births! That mud was gaining on us.

Granted his raisins blend into the mud, but the Kid was nonetheless pleased.

More snow people were created throughout the yard. So what if these snow people preferred to sit in mud?

That’s just the way of the Bainbridge Island snow people.

Perhaps most of Kitsap County snow people, as well.

If you’re getting slammed with snow where you live, and schools are cancelled and the commute is a nightmare and you’re plain tired of it all, just think of us and try to appreciate your lack of mud.

At least, for now, before the slush comes.

Have you been playing in the snow?

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I have been resisting. I know, I know. You thought I was a go-with-the-flow kinda gal, free spirited and fun if you’re not a regular reader.

Au contraire! I have been resisting the arrival of fall. Not the pretty, crisp fall day. No, I have been resisting the REAL fall, the dark, the wet, the leading into a darker, wetter winter fall.

Which, of all things to resist, is pretty stupid. I mean, it’s coming. Period.

Resist arrest. Resist a mall shopping spree. Resist a flourless chocolate cake (Well, not that. That would be stupid, too.).

But resisting FALL?

In my defense, this summer pretty much sucked for our family, what with all the hubs-breaking-his-leg-and-needing-surgery and coldest summer weather and whathaveyou.

Also, spend a few years in southeast Alaska like I did, and that will train you to dread fall. The Rain. The Dark. The Beer.

And it wasn’t until Halloween had almost arrived that I realized I hadn’t even opened up that little box of turtleneck sweaters crammed in the back of the spare room closet. Hmmm, let’s see….it’s October 30th. What’s more useful, a jazzy, ruffled sleeveless top which I never wore cuz it was too freakin cold or a black turtleneck?

Not that I didn’t need those warmer clothes. No, I was layering all my lightweight shirts at one time, and topping my marvelous bag lady look off with the cardigan that had escaped the sweep of that winter box.

And yet, each year I still cannot predict the Project Runway winner…

So, I want you to know that I have pulled out that winter clothes box, I have put away the useless and only kept around for our fantasy of a PNW summer sleeveless tops, and my closet shelf is now littered with wool, with cashmere, and with a rainbow of turtlenecks.

Goodbye, exposed skin. Hello, fall. I no longer resist you.

I see you there, staring at us in the dark morning time and early dusk.

I acknowledge the fungus in my house among us.

Fall, you may now proceed with your falling business.


How are you doing out there? Ready for fall? Ready for…ugh…dareIsayit…winter?

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The sun shone, the cormorants murmured, the water sweetly ebbed and flowed.

It was the Perfect Fall Day.

It looked like this:

Calms you down, doesn’t it?

These pictures were all taken at Fort Ward State Park, on the south end of Bainbridge Island, WA.

I’m gonna return to this page as this La Nina fall proceeds and breathe deeply and slowly as I review the scene….

And get some Herradura.

If you live in a northern clime, how do you handle the winter darkness?

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It’s like the oven is my only heating source. Baked goods are my weakness, so warm, so fluffy, so sweet.

Tell me you are diving into comfort foods, too? Do tell!

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We have clouds and rain forecasted this week, but that just means we can reflect fondly on our sweltering, record-breaking hot days a week ago.

And love our clouds today.

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It can be a dangerous situation for all the folks (and pets!) without air conditioning or fans. Glad to hear of all the “cooling centers” around the county.

Be cool and share your cool if you have it, everyone!

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