Pineapple express

 date night hearing our friend sing in the men's a cappella chorus Northwest Sound.

 E's violin studio performed Christmas carols at the senior center in our neighborhood.

https://youtu.be/lBF8UBA8x00

 taking dinner to our friends after her foot surgery.
spinach pie (Spanakopita) awesome Molly Wizenberg salad - radicchio, Belgian endive, radishes, avocado, cilantro, goat cheese, and a chicken.

 first time, thanks for C's easy recipe. love Borsch full of veggies.

 swimmers at Alki!

 festive decorations in the condos.

 sunrise

skype FHE, thanks M&D!

good thing we got almost all the yardwork done, before the rain started.  I'm SO glad we don't live in our first house where we first experienced the Pineapple Express and resulting flooding followed by installing the sump pump which continuously runs and leaves you wondering when will it fail?

https://komonews.com/weather

We're used to a little rain around here, but there is nothing "little" about this. As of now, December 20th, 2019 is in the top ten rainiest days EVER in Seattle history (3 inches and counting as of now at Sea-Tac). It is also the rainiest day of the decade. Impressive!

Less impressive are the road conditions. It's Friday night, it's nearly the holidays, and there are likely Christmas and Hanakkah celebrations galore planned around Puget Sound. However, with so much water coming down on the already flooded streets, getting to your festivities and fun could be hazardous. Watch for ponding water on the highways so you don't hyrdro-plane and ruin your weekend, and don't drive through severely flooded streets. Some Washingtonians had to abandon their cars already today as the flood waters overcame them when they attempted to drive through the high waters. As the adage goes, "turn around, don't drown."

Not only do we have dozens of problems with urban flooding, we're also dealing with high waters on the rivers. Many are still under a flood warning tonight, including the Snoqualmie and the Skokomish, and with continued rain all night long, cresting won't happen until at least Saturday.

The one bright spot in the super sogfest? It's been much easier to cross the passes tonight. With rainy rather than snowy travel, getting across the mountain routes won't be much harder than just getting around on the soaking streets down at sea level.

So: when will the rain finally wrap up? Not until mid to late day on Saturday. At that point, the atmospheric river responsible for the relentless rain will finally sag off to the south, leaving drier weather in its wake. We officially head into winter with the solstice arriving at 8:19 p.m., and thankfully, it will be a much nicer night for getting around as the rain relaxes.

a little hustle and bustle

 E's winter recital. He played Chorus from Judas Maccabaeus very well.

https://youtu.be/9wBhbRhvsU4

decorating cookies at an open house with our friends.

 E's carrots

 removed some rush grasses, phew.  in will go the hellibores.

 teaching Daddy multiplication and division.

 pottery enrichment. he's eating a "carrot"

 Polar Express, cozied up on the school cafeteria floor.

tis the season

 we did pretty well this month keeping the calendar relatively clear of events and instead home with relaxing and catching up. 
we had a load of compost and crushed rock delivered. felt good to not fill the garbage with plastic bags.  the weather was mild and i was excited to weed and spade and then distributing the compost around the yard.  R helped me get the rock into the potholes before the rain came.  he also helped choose plants to fill our new front door bed, which now is complete, and looks great.
i don't regret skimping on yardwork during the summer when instead we camped and hiked.  now is a perfect time of year to garden!

 e and i attended a couple a fun movie nights. Arthur Christmas at the Y.

 pinto gallo from the blue zones. always trying new recipes, especially love the healthy ones.

 mantra for this Christmas season. downtime. enjoy. take care of ourselves.

 we loved these little grasses in the summer, with their red tips.  surprised to see how they change in the winter. still nice. we may still get some.

 E harvested his carrots.  very tasty!

 junction night festival and tree lighting. 

body love Kelly LeVeque. simple shredded brussel sprouts, apple, grapes.  add in kale, nuts, cheese, etc, yum.

may your life be full of Thanks and Giving

 We used my Israeli glasses!

 R's Thanksgiving hosting was a total success.
Our two family friends, not previously acquainted, got along well.
the food was awesome. R rocked the Alton Brown turkey, his mom's potatoes of doom, and cranberries, as well as stuffing.
my favorite was two types of rolls :)  i had 5. yep.
another favorite was the desserts.  ice cream pie, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and bread pudding!

 1000 piece puzzle in 3 hours.  it was great!  the kids could come in and out to help. :)

 the annual day-after-Thanksgiving cookie bake. 

Christmas ships.  we were all in bed, but we heard the singing start.  R is a good dad!  He got E out of bed and dressed warmly (it's cold!), and they got down to the beach for the last 2 songs.  I stayed in bed.

Nov 2019

Reading the dictionary by the fire... he knows how to party

 Friday night rollerskating.

 For Veterans Day, we had a really cool opportunity to help put up 60 flags in our little neighborhood business area.

 This season, we kept practicing until the end, but we had to move to a lighted field, which was shared by about 20 teams.

 E was the MVP of the week, taking home the championship belt.

 R and I haven't previously attended the poetry readings, but we got guilted into it this year, so we made it happen, and it was great!

 R has energy for house projects! the stone floors look many shades lighter (and cleaner) after his hours of scrubbing and sealing.

 Thanksgiving break camp.

 a turkey

Thanksgiving morning zumba filled up the whole gym!