You're probably wondering why you have your Xmas cards etc. so early. The thing was, we needed to mail them before the end of November to make sure they would get over the border and be delivered before Xmas. Then Marsha found that there was an exhibit of memorabilia, costumes, and props. from the Harry Potter films in Seattle. We'd been thinking about making a run to Seattle to pick up 'essentials' (Tilamook Cheese, American Grape Nuts, Mountain Bars, Pearson Nut Rolls, Mounds and Almond Joy. You know the staff of life.) so we decided to take a couple of days, run down there, see the exhibit, and pick up what we can't get here. Being we were going anyway we decided to mail everything at the same time. It worked out much better than we planned. US postage for all the cards and eight boxes cost <$100 vs ~$250 if we had sent them from Nanaimo. We figured that we paid for most of the trip right there. This years Xmas card is also now on the web at http://web.me.com/geoduck/Site/Xmas_Pix/Xmas_Pix.html

On the way north we passed Safeco Field where the Seattle Mariners play. Marsha wants to go to a Mariners/Twins game. I told her just as soon as I see the Vikings in the Superbowl. We stopped for lunch at the Tulalip Casino. You have to understand we're not a fan of Casinos, but this one is very nice and the restaurant we went to was wonderful. A great buffet with soups/chinese/tex-mex/pasta/fish/meat/salads/and a mongolian barbecue. Next to that was a whole row of desserts ice cream/cakes/pies/pastries/cookies/truffles and finishing up with an assortment of sugar free pastries. Best of all the whole thing including drinks cost $23 FOR THE TWO OF US. A heck of a deal by any measure. 

At that point we realized we'd seen and picked up everything we wanted so there  was no reason to stay another night. It was only 4:30 so we made a run for the border and got on the the 8:15 ferry and were home and in bed by 11:00. As it turned out that was a very fortunate thing.

Friday we bumped around, picked up a few things but due to the bitter wind we headed home before lunch and stayed there. Saturday we woke up to 2" of snow (the picture from last week notwithstanding). Sunday we got more. I shovelled the driveway so Marsha could get to work Monday morning. After she got home it started snowing again. In the afternoon I cleared another 4 inches off the driveway. Tuesday the bottom fell out with temperatures around -10 in the morning (Remember, that's Celsius which is bout +10 Fahrenheit). A clear cold Yukon airmass had taken over. Thursday I shovelled another 2 inches and then the cold spell broke. The temperature returned to normal and all the snow went away. So much for winter. 

This week Marsha also started volunteering at a local school. She's helping a 2nd grader with his reading. This is something she's been trying to get going for at least a year and finally it's started. He's a bright kid and it'll be a lot of fun for her.

This morning we were slow to get up. After battling snow and ice (it lasted FOUR whole days but it's all gone now) we decided to sleep in a bit. The cats were amazingly patient, not nibbling on our noses or anything. This is what made what happened next all the more surprising. About 5:00 we got up (yes for us that IS sleeping in). We went out, fed the cats and grabbed a bit of breakfast. They ate and then wandered around for a while and Marsha and I flipped through the sales flyers and watched some bad TV.

(OK, let me say up front the film Return to the Lost World with John Rhys-Davies and Eric McCormack is not a terrible movie. It's just that we'd spent this week watching the latest Discovery Channel Walking with Dinosaurs specials. After seeing their great CGI, guys in rubber dinosaur suits just don't cut it any more.)

Suddenly there was a loud hiss and a growl. We looked over and Momiji was at her food dish. Geiger had been walking toward his dish when she wen't ballistic. Ears back, hissing and growling. She was seriously pissed at him. He was walking around completely confused. We had to hold her for a good half an hour before she calmed down but the rest of the day they voluntarily kept away from each other. We have no idea what sparked her reaction, and neither does Geiger.

Doug & Marsha

Pix: It DOES snow in Nanaimo occasionally


But by Saturday the Yukon air had blown through. Temps were back in the 40s, the sun was out and it was a nice day at the beach






I'm afraid this is the closest thing we have to a portrait of the two of us. One or the other of us has to take the picture..