My spastic back

Here is my back. I am leaning a bit more to the front now, and slightly less to the side. The spasms in my back are causing me to have horrible posture. Hitcher, the pound pup, isn't so great at walking on a leash yet, so it is really tough on me to walk him right now. Ted has very nicely taken him for his walks the past two days. Thanks Ted!

Hitcher

It's been a very busy few days here. We picked up the new pup, Hitcher, on Saturday afternoon. He's a very sweet dog, who is content to just curl up in your lap. Considering his background of being lost and starving, and then shuffled around from place to place, it's amazing he's the good fella he is.

I'm still worried about the kitties, but I think it'll all work. Upstairs has been turned into "kitty safe zone," where Hitcher is not allowed to go. The cats can come downstairs if they choose, but he cannot follow them upstairs. Both Shamus and Pazza ventured down on Saturday, but they've been upstairs ever since. On the plus side, they are totally fine with us. When Pazza first came here, Shamus seemed angry at us and wanted nothing to do with us, but that's not the case this time. I'm really anxious for them all to meet and get along.

My back started bothering me yesterday afternoon and got worse as last night progressed. By the time I went to bed last night, I could barely walk! I have absolutely no idea what I did to it, but it is not happy. When I looked in the mirror this morning, I saw that I am totally leaning to one side. I had spastic scoliosis a couple years ago when I crashed, and I have it again now. I look ridiculous. I can barely get around today and feel like a cripple, so I have a feeling today will consist of sitting around. Bummer! I just got a new training schedule and was all ready to go riding today.

Hitcher's curled up next to me. I have to admit that he's pretty cute, and it's really been funny to watch him suck up to Ted. Ted's never had a dog before, but I think he's starting to bond with Hitcher. Tee-hee!

Ted & his new buddy.

Pazza and me.

Best buddies, Pazza and Shamus.

2nd half of Redlands

This is my new TT helmet, as modeled by Dad.

Home from Redlands now and missing the warm, sunny weather we were treated to. The rest of the race continued in pretty much the same fashion as the first part, with me really not feeling so great. I developed terrible stomach cramps, which are still bugging me, along with the regular cold symptoms. Not sure exactly what I picked up because I still have an appetite, but just don't feel "right."

In a surprising turn of events, our landlords have given approval for adoption of the smaller hound. He's in foster care now and I am awaiting a behavior report to make sure I would want him, but if all goes well, I could have a dog soon. I am very worried about our little kitties, as I don't want them to change at all, nor do I want them to be overly stressed. I've emailed everyone I know who would have an idea of how this would/could affect them, and everyone seems to think it should be okay, including my family's long-term vet. We'll see. I have a feeling Pazza won't like sharing her "mom" with a brother.

Ted and I are going to visit Rusty at the end of the month. We bought a ticket for Ted and I'll use the family benefit of flying free via standby. It should be fun to go to Memphis, as neither of us have been there before, and I think Rusty will have a lot to show us.

Redlands so far

This is one of the hounds Ted and I saved. Isn't he cute? I desperately want to take him home with me.

I'm in Redlands, California now, and it's been quite a whirlwind of a trip. Our team is pretty happy just to be here after a wave of questions over whether we would be allowed to start the race. We originally had five of us heading down here, which is the minimum number needed to start, but one of our girls has a nasty hamstring injury and was hoping to cancel her trip. She searched and searched, and eventually found a girl from California who agreed to ride in her place on our team, so we thought all was set.

Monday night, around 10 pm, the California girl decided to bail on us, so we were down to four riders. We all emailed and called, desperately trying to find a replacement, but no luck. I was supposed to be heading to Spokane on Tuesday afternoon for an early Wednesday flight, but I cancelled those plans and waited. Finally, on Tuesday afternoon, the promoter agreed to allow us to start with four, so we were good to go.

Yesterday's stage was brutal for me. It's been a while since I last blew up that badly. I was feeling good and climbing well up the first major climb, but then I blew sky high and all of the women I had dropped began passing me back. I guess it didn't help that I rode the last 15 miles solo in pretty windy conditions. I just got slower and slower as the race went on and finished way, way down. Yikes!

I woke up this morning with a sore throat, congestion, headache, and a cough. I'm not exactly sure what to do about this afternoon's crit. Part of me feels like I should just start it since I am here, but the other part just doesn't feel so great. Hmmmm... not sure.

The happenings

Where to begin? Ted's grandmother died, so he spent the last week in Chicago and Wisconsin; he's very happy to be back in nicer weather. While he was gone, I did my first mountain bike race, which was actually pretty fun. I raced in the sport category, which is one step up from beginner, and I've been getting some flack for racing there; some people say I should have done the pro/open category! These people obviously have never seen me ride off-road. I've ridden a mountain bike about 5 times ever and I still can't get used to the concept that I can actually ride over rocks and roots. Put me on a rocky descent and I'll most likely walk down parts of it. The climbing portion of the race was the only part where I actually did okay and passed some people - they would pass me back a few minutes later on the descent.

Rusty and I planned last week to surprise Mom and Dad with a visit from him. I picked him up at the Lewiston airport on Monday and we showed up at the front door, completely unexpected. Since Ted was out of town, I stayed down in Lewiston for a few days. We didn't do anything in particular. One day it was 65 and sunny!

We planned to leave yesterday to race in the Seattle area this weekend, but bailed at the last second (the car was packed and everything). I have a touch of a cold (thanks Rusty), so I wasn't super enthusiastic about racing, and Ted wasn't excited to travel after all the time he spent on planes and in cars during the past week. So, Ted's out riding now and I'm just taking it easy at home. I really don't want to get sick before Redlands, so I'm trying to keep this thing from progressing.

The hounds we rescued are still at the Humane Society. They're going up for adoption on Monday. They look so much better. I still would love to adopt them both, but I don't think it's going to happen. It's really tough to find a decent apartment in Pullman that will allow both dogs and cats.

That's the update for now. I have a nasty headache, so I think I'm going to lie down for a bit.

stuff

Last weekend's races definitely got some hard efforts into our legs. The roubaix was incredibly muddy and rocky, and we were both very sore for a couple days after. The time trial was okay for the first one of the year. I may be doing my first mountain bike race this weekend, which should be amusing for anyone who watches. Ted's grandmother is sick, so he may be heading back to the midwest in the next few days.

I am judging an Iron Chef competition tomorrow night at WSU, which should be fun. It should be some good food and some good entertainment. That's about all for now!

Racing begins

Heading west tomorrow for the first bike races of the season. Hopefully their weather is better than ours because it's snowing here - hard! I thought (or hoped) that we had seen our last white days, but no such luck. To think it was 60 and sunny last Saturday...

So, we're doing a short roubaix on Saturday, followed by a TT on Sunday. I'm very excited to do my first TT with my Power Tap and see what my wattage output is. Of course we'll also get to see Ted's family a little bit.

The Cougars are playing the Ducks tonight. Hopefully they win. It's on TV, so I'll be watching. My bread's about done baking, so I'm off.

Lost Pups

We set out to do 2.5 hours on the bike today. Midway through our first interval, I heard Ted say that two dogs were coming at us down the road. Sure enough, heading straight for us were two cute, obviously friendly, dogs. I stopped and they jumped up on me immediately, giving me friendly kisses. That was when I noticed how emaciated they were. I could feel every bone in their bodies. I immediately knew I could not leave them. I tried Ted's phone first, but there was no signal. Ted suggested that we come back for them after our ride, but I couldn't do that. I was too afraid that they would be hit by a car, so we decided that Ted would ride back and get the car, while I would stay with the dogs on the side of the road.

The two dogs were hounds of some sort, and both male. They were all over me, loving attention. The littler one was particularly skinny and kept shaking, so I put my arm around him. The bigger one would occasionally get stir crazy and wander out into the road, so I would call him back and wave at passing cars to slow down. Surprisingly, not a single car asked me if I needed anything. I mean, it was obvious I was on a bike ride and therefore had not brought my dogs with me. Plus, anyone could see they were starving.

I had no food with me, but I did have my two bottles of Gatorade, so I decided to let them have it, which they loved. They were so thirsty and sucked on the bottles until they were dry. The Gatorade also served as my means of bribing them when they wandered out in the road.

Ted eventually made it back after a very hard effor to get home as quickly as possible. We put the two boys in the car and took them to the Humane Society, so I can rest easily tonight knowing those sweet dogs are getting food and shelter tonight. Hopefully someone nice takes them in because they are very nice, cute pups. It would be great if they could stay together since they are obvious companions.

I, of course, had already become attached to them after spending an hour with them on the road, so it was bittersweet when we dropped them off. I'd take them home if I could!

A basketball fan I am

I have never been a sports fan, at least not of the big American three - football, baseball, and basketball. I am now an official fan of the WSU men's basketball team. Ted and I went to their home game against Arizona and I was officially hooked, deciding to get tickets to more home games. When all was said and done, I had convinced Ted that we needed tickets to every remaining home game that still had tickets available. It has been so fun to watch them, especially since no one expected them to be as good as they are. Only two more games for us. I think I'll go through withdrawal when it's all over!

Flu and colds are spreading around here like crazy. Everyone seems to be sick lately, including me. I was pretty miserable for a good week, but I'm now back to feeling better. Ted had something a while ago too.

I am starting to get really excited for the racing season. The days are getting longer and Daylight Saving Time starts earlier this year - March 11th! I cannot wait. I think Spring is actually finally on its way. The first big race for me this year is Redlands (http://www.redlandsclassic.com/proStage/proStage.shtml), which I have never done before. I'll be heading there with four of my teammates from Ti Cycles and I think we'll have a lot of fun.

Still working on getting the business going - lots of little things to get done. I'm heading to the County Clerk's office tomorrow to see about getting all of my necessary licenses. After that, I should be able to move on to the more fun stuff - designing a logo.

Rusty and a bike. Hopefully this is something we'll all see again. Notice the pierced ears too!

changes

Today was finally my last day at my job. It seems like forever ago that I gave notice to my boss, so I was absolutely ready to be done. I spent the day "training" the guy who is replacing me, though I use the term training lightly since a monkey could do the job. Okay, so it's not quite that bad, but... Thank goodness for no more 5 am mornings. I actually had to go on sleeping medication when I started this job because I could not sleep with the idea of having to get up at 5. Eventually, after about a month, I got used to the idea (relatively). I will say that Ted got up with me every morning when I was home; he'd make me a cappuccino with stove-top Italian espresso, each morning, along with warming up my car and getting me on my way.

We're heading to Seattle this weekend since our Power Taps are available. I'm very excited for that. Hopefully it'll help with motivation since it has been incredibly cold here this week.

I have a lot of work to begin now that I am going to try to get this personal chef service going. I'm diving into it all tomorrow, beginning with pricing for my service. Lots to do, but it's exciting to be doing something that is actually mentally stimulating.

Ted and I are hoping to go to Memphis to visit Rusty in March or April, depending on everyone's schedule. Hopefully there's a time that will work for everyone.

I came home from work one day recently and couldn't find Pazza, figuring she was sleeping under the covers on the bed... until I heard a hoars meow from behind the refrigerator. Sure enough, she had jumped in her crawl space between the fridge and hot water heater after Ted had left for work. It's her new thing, so we now have to barricade off the refrigerator whenever we leave the house. For longer periods of time, we actually pull the refrigerator out at an angle so she doesn't get stuck with no water - or food, but going without food for a couple days really wouldn't do either cat too much harm.

Wow. It's 12:37 am and I do not have to get up at 5 am. In fact, I don't have to get up at 5 anywhere in the near future. That is nice to realize for a person who hates early mornings and loves her sleep.

Skateboarding Bulldog

This guy is really cute!

Yep yep - Sesame Street Martians

Remember these guys? Tee-hee!!

jobs and snow

I decided to quit my job this week. With training hard, working on my feet during the day, and getting up at 5 am, I simply wasn't getting a thing done with trying to start a personal chef service. More and more people were asking what I had gotten done with my new plan and I always had to say, "nothing." I will have some "down time" between jobs while I try to get this thing going, but I think it will work out okay. It felt liberating to quit actually and I am definitely ready for a change, so I think it will be good. My boss is not happy about me leaving and asked if he could do anything to change my mind. Nope.

The past couple weeks have been so cold here. It has been impossible to ride outside, so I've actually done a lot of trainer time, which is something I do not particularly enjoy. I was getting excited driving home today because the roads were getting clearer, so, of course, it snowed some more!

Check out this video from Portland this week - nasty roads:
http://www.king5.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=114054

My new (and first ever!) mountain bike

Shamus licking the frozen back door

on New Year's Eve.

Pazza and me

Ted with Shamus and Pazza

more snow

My body is a bit shocked from my first week of training. We managed to get outside every day, except today. The forecast called for a "flurry" this afternoon - now we have about five inches! Our plan was to head to Seattle tomorrow, but now we're not sure if we'll be going this weekend. I'm not too happy about this white stuff.

We didn't do too much for New Year's - just walked downtown to a couple of bars. With all of the students still gone for break, it's pretty quiet around here, which is fine with me. Ted got some Gosling's rum to make a Dark and Stormy, which is the national drink of Bermuda. It's a mixture of dark rum and ginger beer. They're pretty good if the proportions are right.

Tomorrow is my day off and I am definitely looking forward to sleeping in. I'm definitely not setting an alarm tomorrow.

Gretel with Ted

Dad with the wine rack I gave him

Gretel and me

Ted, Blueberry, and me

Dad's somewhat anatomically correct gingerbread man

Shamus, Pazza, and me

Rusty and me

I don't look too excited, but I am. Rusty gave me a trip to Amsterdam with him sometime this year.

Ted opening his stocking

Mom with her stocking

My birthday gift from Rusty. I love warm pajamas.

Rusty with Gretel

Christmas, etc.

Christmas has come and gone and it's almost time to really start training for the season. I received the first part of my training program this week and I'll be ready to jump in on the 1st. My body will be a little shocked at first, but in a good way. I'm excited to start getting fit after taking it pretty easy for a while. I'll be racing with Ti Cycles in 2007 and I think we'll have a lot of fun.

Ted and I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas in Pullman before heading to Mom and Dad's to do a belated Christmas there with them and Rusty. We also celebrated the birthdays of Dad, Rusty, and me, as our birthdays all happened within the past month.

No big New Years plans this year, though I'm sure we'll end up doing something around here. Now for some new photos.

Pazza has grown a bit.

A year ago

Following the sun

Christmas gift for Ted's mom.

Chicago hot dogs

I'm no lady!

Work has kept me pretty busy since I got back from Albuquerque. Getting up at 5 am again, along with having a cold, and actually riding my bike, have made me a bit tired lately. Needless to say, I haven't gotten much done with starting a personal chef business, though I have been brainstorming for names. Any ideas? Send them my way.

I'm done with all my Christmas shopping and almost everything is wrapped and under the tree. I'm usually the one who is wrapping on Christmas Eve, but I'm doing much better this year. Rusty will be coming home on the 26th and will stay here for a few days before going back to Memphis.

Ted's parents sent us some Vienna Beef hot dogs in the mail this week. For those of you who don't know, Vienna Beef dogs are THE Chicago hot dog. I love them. We got all of the fixings and did them up right: mustard, sweet relish, dill pickle, onion, tomato, celery salt, hot peppers, and cucumber (optional). Yum. Thanks to Phil and Ellie for sending them - they were very much enjoyed; yes, that means they are all gone! Oink, oink.

Time to do a little Christmas baking this weekend. I won't overdo it this year. The dessert I made last year kept everyone awake all night because it was so sugar-loaded. I made meringue snowmen with marzipan scarves and hats, filled with homemade pistachio gelato. They were cute, but I don't think I'll make them again. I'll tone it down a bit this time around.

I was talking with my friend Ben on our group ride last weekend. He and I are about the same age and were talking about how we feel so much older now, especially compared to the incoming freshmen who join the WSU cycling team each year. Ben said, "You know, you're known as a lady now." I said, "What?" Apparently, at the recent WSU team meeting, one of the young guys asked who the "lady" is who comes on all the group rides. Ben couldn't figure out who he was referring to until he described me in detail. When did I become a "lady?" I'm a girl! I'm no lady.

Day 5

I am officially a graduate of the Culinary Business Academy, which is a nice credential to have. Today was spent talking about marketing, followed by our final exam. I won't be looking at any of the material from this week for a few days; I just need to step back from it all for a little while.

After class, I attempted to go into Old Town Albuquerque, which is the oldest part of Albuquerque and has lots of shops. Lots of traffic, coupled with a couple wrong turns, found me back at the hotel. By the time I would have gotten there, most of the stores would have been closing, so my plan is to give it another go tomorrow morning. Hopefully there will be less traffic and I won't get lost. Here's also hoping that I don't push the snooze button too many times - maybe I should put the alarm across the room, just in case!

Ted will be picking me up in Seattle tomorrow evening. Our original plan was to do the cross race there on Sunday, but neither of us feels fit enough to race right now. We haven't exactly been riding much lately. I am definitely looking forward to having the weather and the time to start riding again. I'll be back in the northwest tomorrow.

Day 4

The first part of today was spent in the kitchen, fixing sweet and sour pork and a southwestern vegetarian shepherd's pie. Our lunch break found us all outside, as it was an absolutely beautiful day! It had to be in the 60s here today, and was sunny and calm. I was definitely wishing I could take off for an afternoon bike ride, or at least a run, but I'll have to wait until I'm back in the cold, gray NW for that.

Our afternoon session answered a lot of questions I had... and also created a whole bunch of new ones. We talked about the legality of starting/having a business. Licensing, tax issues, insurance, financial planning, business planning, and accounting were all talked about. There are so many things to look into. Everyone in the class seemed a bit daunted with it all, but many of us also found this portion particularly educational since we know nothing about starting a business. Thankfully I did at least take some accounting, marketing, finance, and business classes in college.

I woke up with a sore throat this morning and it has gotten worse as the day has gone on. Hopefully it doesn't become a full-blown cold. Thank goodness tomorrow is the last day of class. While I've enjoyed the course and it has been very worthwhile, it will also be really good to get home. Rumor has it that Pazza has been a tad destructive while I've been gone. Pieces of a Santa Claus ornament have been found all over the apartment in recent days; a pedal from Santa's tricycle was found upstairs. A three inch hole has also been chewed in a box of Christmas presents I ordered. As long as the Christmas tree is still standing when I get home, it's all okay with me.

Day 3

My head is officially spinning with all of the new information and ideas floating around in it. There is just so much that goes into starting a new business, much of which could not have been learned by looking at websites or reading books; our instructors are current personal chefs themselves, and thankfully are very willing to share all of the things they have done right, and wrong, along the way.

I've realized that many people don't fully understand what a personal chef does. Many people seem to confuse a personal chef with a private chef, the difference being that a private chef cooks exclusively (often daily) for one client. A personal chef, on the other hand, can cook for numerous clients, usually on a monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly basis. The clients often do not have the time to cook, or simply do not enjoy cooking. The personal chef adapts recipes to be freezeable, allowing the client to use them when they choose. Many people cringe at the thought of frozen food, but these are not Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine; these are high-quality, healthy, gourmet meals built around the client's preferences and needs.

So, today included more cooking, more demos, a test, much more business info, and lots of questions. Tomorrow will be our last day in the kitchen, with Friday spent in the classroom. I may join some of my classmates tomorrow evening for a local holiday celebration in Albuquerque that's supposed to be a lot of fun.

That's all for now.

Day 2

Another long, informative day in New Mexico. The day began in the kitchen, where we had a few demos and then cooked our lunch to be eaten a few hours later; we will be cooking our lunches for the rest of the week. Today we made pan-fried chicken breasts in a basil, lemon, white wine, cream sauce. A sauteed vegetable medley, green salad with numerous dressing choices (made by us, of course), and polenta cups with roasted red peppers, pesto, and mozzarella were the accompaniments. All in all, everything was pretty good.

We had a meat demo after lunch, which was particularly useful to me since I am not the biggest meat fan. Flank steak, round steak, and sirloin steak were all prepared and tasted, not only to show how they should be cooked, but also how they should not be cooked. Let me tell you, some of the meat was like leather.

Pressure cookers have been talked about a lot here and a large chuck roast was cooked in one today - 35 minutes and it was done. I've just heard the horror stories about old-day pressure cookers exploding, but they are apparently much safer today than the original versions. The thought of being able to make homemade stock in 20 minutes is very appealing!

The business portion of the course has been very helpful, bringing up many things I would not have considered on my own. I will definitely need to make my notes a bit more concise when I get home.

The days have been beautiful here - perfectly clear skies and temps in the 50s, but the mornings sure are cold. We're at about 5000 feet here, so I guess it's not surprising that it's been around 20 when I have headed to class in the morning. The worst thing is how dry my skin is here! Ugh.

Okay... off to unwind some more.

Day 1

I'm sitting in my hotel room in Rio Rancho, NM with the first day of the personal chef course behind me. It was a long day and I feel a bit "brain dead" right now, as a lot of information is being crammed into this week. I can tell the class is going to be very beneficial.

There are only six of us in this class (a full class is 12), so we get to interact a lot with the instructors and each other. It's definitely an odd mix of people. I am the youngest and the only one from the northwest. The other two women are from California and Maryland, having previous careers in the corporate world and as a preschool teacher. The three men are from Arizona and Illinois. Half the class already have degrees from culinary schools and are seeking the personal chef lifestyle after working on the restaurant scene.

I spent the whole day in the classroom today, but should get some time in the kitchen tomorrow. I'm sure it'll be another long, informative day!

I stopped to take a photo of this little tree this morning on my way to work.

Full view of the Christmas tree. It didn't look nearly this big when we picked it out. Pazza thinks ornaments are toys and pulls several off each day. She was carrying an angel by the head a couple days ago.

Ted made this for me for my birthday. I came home to find it in the refrigerator. Nice surprise!

Under our new Christmas tree.

Yuck.

Pazza eats breakfast with me every morning

Ted, surrounded by cats

Challah I made for the first Thanksgiving dinner

Me at Steilacoom

Ted racing at Steilacoom

November

Well, my first big cyclocross race went fairly well. I would have accomplished my goals if I hadn't flatted with one lap to go; my goals were to not get lapped and not finish last.

Ted and I were lucky enough to have two fantastic Thanksgiving dinners this year. We spent Thanksgiving Day with his aunt and uncle near Spokane, and had a second dinner on Saturday with my parents. Needless to say, we have a lot of leftovers in the refrigerator.

I'm heading to New Mexico on Sunday to take my personal chef course, so I've been studying all of the materials they sent me. I can tell it's going to be very intensive, with class running all day long. I'm most excited about the business part of it, as that is what I know the least about. I'll be flying in and out of Seattle, so hopefully the drive over/back won't be too treacherous.

I may be leaving at a great time, as it is cold here. The high for tomorrow is going to be 21! Yuck. And, it'll be even colder on Wednesday.

I turn 26 tomorrow. I feel old when I think that I'll be 26.

The cutest kitties ever

What was left of my poor pumpkin

Someone just woke up

Just relaxing

Ted and Pazza

At the start of the state cyclocross championship

Weak Westsiders

State championship titles in bike racing used to seem like a bigger deal. The turnout last weekend in Spokane for the WA state cyclocross championships was piddly. Only eleven men did the men's 1/2 race, and only four women did the women's 1/2 race. Even the (often largest) men's 3 field had only 10 racers. For a state championship? Now, I know some of the more elite cyclocross racers were racing at the UCI race in Boulder, but surely everyone cannot use that excuse. So, where was everyone else?

Westsiders are lame when it comes to making the effort to travel to races. They whine when they have to drive more than two hours to a race, often simply refusing to make the effort. Horrible weather surely cannot be to blame, nor can westside races, as there really were none. Over 500 people showed up for the September 24th race at Steilacoom, so where were they for the state championship? Do state championships not matter anymore?

I now have the honor of being 2nd at the state championship for 1/2 women. I should not be 2nd! There are many women who would easily have beaten me down last weekend, yet none of them showed. Weak.

I've been kind of lazy lately, taking it easy for sure. Soon I'm going to have to give myself a little kick and get going again. I'm actually going to have some coaching help for next season (first time since 1998), so I think that will help my motivation a lot. Until then... I'm off to take a little nap with my kitty.

Walla Walla

The racing in Walla Walla this past weekend was fun, largely in part to our beautiful October weather. I raced in shorts and short sleeves both days, and actually got some color on my arms and face. Unfortunately, the fields were a bit smaller both days since many of the regulars from the Spokane area opted not to make the drive, but it was still good racing.

Both courses were pretty bumpy and my back seems to be complaining because of it. Standing at work for seven hours today sure didn't help at all, but a heating pad and some Aspirin has helped.

We tasted wine at five wineries Saturday afternoon, buying a bottle from each. We both really liked Russell Creek a lot. The nice thing about tasting in Walla Walla is you rarely find the pretentiousness you sometimes encounter in Napa or Sonoma. With over 80 wineries now, Walla Walla is definitely becoming a wine destination. Many of the locals we talked to are happy with the growth, so long as it is done in the "right way." Many cars have bumber stickers saying, "Don't Bend Walla Walla," though a major developer from Bend is apparently already doing some planning. Hopefully it does not lose its charm.

There is a great patisserie in downtown Walla Walla now that is well worth visiting - the Colville Street Patisserie. The desserts are almost too beautiful to eat and taste just as good. Check it out the next time you are there.

One more that I just had to throw in.

An old photo that I love of the cats.

I carved a pumpkin tonight for the first time in years.