Just to show that we do in fact participate in non-hiking activities once in a while (although I do tend to stay attached to the couch for most of the day, cough cough), here are some photos from Tuesday afternoon.

We’re lucky enough to have a great friend who just happens to be a member of a sailing club so he can whisk melting Norwegians out on the lake during heatwaves. Thank you, Cap’n Andreas!

Yeah, that’s right – another heatwave. Luckily this one is not as hot and not as short as the absolutely brutal, suffocating scorcher we had in July, but I say it’s still a good excuse to get out on the water. Sailing is fantastic, especially when my only jobs on the boat are to relax and to duck when big beams come flying directly at me (that’s what she said).

Back pain update – I’m feeling so much better after taking some codeine (left over from the wisdom tooth extraction), stretching and going for a swim. I think the painkillers let my back muscles relax enough to loosen up whatever it was that was hurting so much. I went to the doctor today and he gave me permission to go backpacking (huzzah!) as long as I bring drugs (huzzah!) and don’t carry too much weight (huzzah huzzah huzzah!) – he thinks the back pain will subside within a couple of days, so I hope that’s true.

I really need to start doing some sort of core-strengthening program so this won’t happen again. Maybe it’s time to get back on the yoga mat.

Doggie update: Wellie is fitting in perfectly with our family – apart from a couple of little snafus (all involving feces, hooray!) the first weeks, he is doing so well. He’s even bringing Bobby out of his shell! We keep catching them snuggling on the couch…

…and, *shock* playing!! Bobby never plays with other dogs, so this is a big breakthrough.

Unfortunately Bobby broke a bone in his paw two weeks ago, so he’s been wearing a humongous cast and has been unable to play or run around. We’re going back to the vet today to hopefully get the cast off so he can go back to doing all his happy dog things.

Luckily for Wellie, he has another new playmate while Bobby is off-limits – we’re dogsitting little Rocco! There is officially too much cuteness in our house!

On Saturday we decided to forgo skiing so we could stop by the Iggy Ambassadors meetup in the dog park. We didn’t know at the time that this was to be one of the better decisions we’ve made in our life…because there was a 7 month old foster puppy who was looking for a forever home!

Even though JK and I have been talking about getting a second Italian Greyhound, we had pretty much given up on the idea since we go hiking and backpacking so much now. Still, we saw him, looked at each other, commented on how big and muscular he was (he’s already bigger than Bobby!), looked at each other some more, and then we just couldn’t resist those puppy dog eyes anymore. Huzzah!!

His name is Max, and so far we’ve been calling him Maxie, Maxi Pad (just once before I realized what I was saying), Maxwell, Max Wellington and Wellie. AND WE ALREADY LOVE HIM SO MUCH. Yesterday we took him for a short hike up to Rattlesnake Ledge to slowly get him used to trails:

Both pups got rather muddy on the way down, so the poor little guys had to endure the tub – I love how proud JK looks of his new furry son:

Max is doing so well in the house, with us, and with Bobby. Luckily he seemed comfortable with us right from the start, and he’s ridiculously snuggly. The only problems so far have been some indoor poopage and a bit of humping (but Bobby schooled him on that pretty quickly). I am very happy so far in my brand new role as puppy mom! How could anyone not be happy when they get to play with someone this soft?!

We’ve entered monsoon season here in Seattle, and even though I’ll admit the weather has been surprisingly good so far this November (then again we live on a hill and didn’t get flooded), it’s still getting harder to get up in the morning. In the spirit of staying positive, here’s a list of randomness that’s making me happy right now.

Snoqualmie Falls roaring after the storm | Obamarama

1 ) The election: wow, have I really not updated since the election? See, it’s getting harder to do stuff. Anyway, we had a wee party to follow the election results and there were huzzahs all around. Even though I’ve spent most of my life in Norway, I’ve managed to be in the U.S. for three presidential elections – 1992 (success!) when my family lived in New Jersey, 2004 (FAIL) when JK and I were going to school in California, and 2008 (great success!) now that we’re being all grown up and stuff in Washington.

2 ) The holidays: I absolutely love Christmas, and now that we live in the U.S. I absolutely love Thanksgiving. Anything that gives me an excuse to start celebrating earlier. This past weekend Tom and Amy hosted their annual Fakesgiving Feast. Since so many people in this area are transplants who go home to wherever for real Thanksgiving, Fakesgiving gives everyone a chance to celebrate together here. And to eat twice as much.

The Fakesgiving table | Candy Cane Lane
3 ) Candy Cane Lane: this is the best tea ever. Trust me. Try it.

4 ) My happy lamp – I’ve been talking about buying one of these for years, and I finally got around to it last week. It is amazing. It ACTUALLY WORKS.

5 ) Ingrid Michaelson: we finally got to see her live last week. I love her. I just want her to come live with us so she can entertain me all day. I think JK has a crush on her too, so it would totally work.

6 ) More music: Me and Armini by Emiliana Torrini (Birds is my favorite song at the moment) and Winter Songs, a Christmas compilation from The Hotel Cafe.

7 ) Idea books: Quick & Easy Photo Albums is freakin’ awesome – even if you’re not a scrapbooker. I am so full of ideas after reading this!

I’m also really looking forward to Month by Month Scrapbooking by Amanda Probst – I love Amanda’s style and I’ve been waiting for this one a long time!

Ok, this one isn’t actually an idea book but rather a collection of humorous scrapbooking tales: Snippets by the awesome Lain Ehmann. To whom it may concern, I want this one for Christmas!

8 ) CKC Seattle: I got to take two perfect classes with Stacy Julian on Friday (ugh, I am really starting to feel like a stalker) and met some great people (*waves in case they’re reading this*). I love CKC.

I am so bitter right now. Naively believing that I was out of the woods flu-wise, we planned a trip, well, into the woods. We were going larch huntin’. I tried to ignore the fact that I was feeling worse and worse on Friday, but then I woke up today with an awesome fever and a perfectly congested head.

THE SKY IS BLUE AND THE SUN IS OUT AND IT’S A BLOODY PERFECT AUTUMN DAY AND I HAVE TO STAY IN BED WITH BOOKS AND YOUTUBE.

Hrrrrmmmmfffff.

Tea and sympathy (and baked goods) are encouraged.