Mid-summer update

Well, it's not quite mid-summer, but the nights are cooler, the days are shorter and football season is just around the corner, so it must be close. Besides, so much has happened since the last post that it's just time for an update.

Since the end of May, I've been on several hikes, including one over-night trip, but the snow has been so persistent that the high-country isn't even close to opening up. Still, my excursions have all been very enjoyable and I'm looking forward to another trip this weekend.

Not too much to report around the house. I'm tearing out all the wall to wall carpeting and will be refinishing the pine floors under. The summer at times seems interminable with Tiana and Savi constantly underfoot and unwilling to undertake any activities or interests. Savi is the bigger offender--she has Ultimate Frisbee once or twice a week, but that's about it. She spends the rest of her time in the basement playing video games. She did go to CE with Tuuli last weekend, and the week before that She and Tuuli went to Finland for 9 days, so at least that's something.

Tiana has been going to summer school at Ballard High and I don't think she's missed a class yet. The new medication is helping, I think, but she has such a long ways to go from where she was that I sometimes wonder if her true, wonderful nature will ever fully develop. She and Tuuli have been getting into more and more fights lately, with a real doozy occurring last weekend. To make her feel a little better, I took her out for her first driving lesson last night (she got her permit Friday). She did pretty well and seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. Unfortunately, we haven't seen her today since she went to school, and it's now 730, so I'm a little worried she may be having a set back. Up until now, she's been pretty good, hanging out with her friends on weekends, but otherwise being quite responsible during the week, getting up early in the morning, etc.

The attached video is a little waterfall I found, off-piste, on a recent hike. It emptied into a shallow pool and was the perfect height for a shower, which I took shortly after I snapped the picture. It was very brisk, but felt very, very nice after a hot, dusty hike.

Work is going fine, although it has slowed down very much since 4th of July. I'm working a little bit on my boat, which I hope to sell before summer is over.