House Willis - Life In Washington Archives

"Life In Washington" archive

Monday 17 November

Lucky to have Crossed Paths (22:01) - Toni and I had someone baby sit the kids yesterday evening so that we could go out - something we've been trying to do more of, now that Porter and Fallon are a bit older. We decided to head out... | 0 Comments

Saturday 4 October

Home Coming (11:48) - Toni, Porter and Fallon visited their grandparents at their mountain home in North Carolina a few weeks ago. I stayed here in Washington in the meantime. I have to say that I've never slept better...but on the other hand, it... | 0 Comments

Sunday 1 June

So Quiet (13:16) - This weekend started like most others. We talked about going kite flying with the kids on Saturday, I picked up a few items at the grocery store for a big Sunday dinner, and we generally began settling in for... | 0 Comments

Wednesday 30 April

Anniversary (21:09) - Toni and I celebrated our 8th (or was it 9th?) anniversary this weekend; though officially our Anniversary isn't until tomorrow (May 1st). We had a great time. Our baby sitter/nanny, Gail, came over around 2pm on Saturday to watch the... | 0 Comments

Thursday 3 April

Alby's Birthday (21:57) - Alby had yet another birthday this April Fool's Day. He acts exactly like the puppy we brought home eight years ago. It's appropriate that he was born on April Fool's Day since it totally fits his personality. For his present,... | 0 Comments

Tuesday 1 January

Winter Vacation 2007 (21:01) - We just returned (a couple days ago) from our Winter vacation in Victoria, BC, on Vancouver Island. This was our first trip into Canada, and I, at least, began the trip thinking that the culture in BC would be basically... | 0 Comments

Wednesday 19 December

Winter Solstice 2007 (21:38) - The days are so short now. It's amazing how little sunlight there is, especially with the greyness of these winter days. Winter Solstice is just three days away, fortunately. The days will begin getting longer as the sun returns.... | 0 Comments

Sunday 29 July

A Taste of Seattle (22:01) - For the last 36 years Seattle's Fremont neighborhood has celebrated each Summer Solstice by "throwing" a big parade with food, music, and other events. It's known as the Fremont Fair. Of course, the event doesn't just celebrate the solstice,... | 0 Comments

Monday 23 July

Seattle Beach (22:48) - Though the first day of Summer passed about a month ago, we typically don't get hot weather (relatively speaking, of course) until late July. This year it has been especially mild and much less dry than the past two... | 0 Comments

Thursday 15 February

Real People? (20:35) - 86000 miles and already having transmission problems. Our 2000 Passat is quickly becoming a maintenance nightmare. Over the past two years we've probably spent a couple thousand on repairs; and now this. Fortunately the power train is still covered under... | 0 Comments

Monday 22 January

A Difficult Winter (21:28) - This is my second attempt to make this entry. Some how I lost the first one when I accidentally closed my browser tab containing the entry prior to saving it. What a pain... This has a been a tough winter... | 1 Comments

Tuesday 28 November

Snowy Transformation (18:14) - I went into a work meeting yesterday evening around 4pm and came out an hour later to find an inch and a half of snow covering the campus. Wondering whether it had begun snowing in Issaquah I called Toni. She... | 1 Comments

Sunday 19 November

Winter Walk (20:43) - Our neighbors, Jeff, Katrina, and Sydney (and dog, Amy) invited us to go up to Snoqualmie Pass with them this weekend to try sledding. We hadn't been up to a snow-covered Pass since last year when we took the kids... | 0 Comments

Tuesday 7 November

Now the Rain (20:42) - It has been raining unusually heavy and consistently for the last week here in the Puget Sound area. A number of rivers have crested. On my way back from an appointment yesterday I noticed that Issaquah Creek was only a... | 0 Comments

Sunday 8 October

Salmon Days 2006 (15:03) - This weekend Issaquah celebrates the return of the salmon to Issaquah Creek. Each fall they block off all of the streets around downtown for two days for the Salmon Days festival. Last year we got rained on which the kids... | 0 Comments

Saturday 26 August

Rainier Trip Summer 2006 (15:33) - I hadn't actually had the opportunity to visit Mount Rainier National Park since we moved to Washington. Toni and her parents had taken the kids a while back for a quick day trip while I was at work. I... | 0 Comments

Sunday 2 July

Japanese Garden (21:37) - Our Japanese Garden has been completed for a couple months now. So far everything seems to growing really well. It turned out really well and I think Junji and his sons from Zen Japanese Landscape Design designed and built a... | 2 Comments

Wednesday 21 June

Longest Days (22:06) - Happy Summer Solstice. It's a little after 10pm here in Washington and I can still read the license plate on my truck parked across the street from our house. Summer is here...... | 0 Comments

Sunday 5 February

Bright Thing in the Sky (10:06) - I'm sitting upstairs in the computer room typing this entry. Amazingly, the sun is out this morning (and it's 50 degrees) and is pouring through the skylights. We haven't seen the sun like this for a couple months. Every now... | 0 Comments

Friday 23 December

Happy Winter (17:54) - Winter soltice was a couple days ago, marking the shortest day of the year and the beginning of Winter. So far the weather here hasn't been too bad...much more sun than we expected; and from here on the days will... | 0 Comments

Sunday 11 December

Wintery Christmas (21:09) - It's beginning to feel very Christmasy around here lately. Ah yes. Makes it sound nice when you put it that way. What I really mean is that it's been damn cold. In fact it snowed last week. It was beautiful... | 0 Comments

Saturday 5 November

Almost Legal Again (17:20) - The Land Cruiser passed emissions finally. Amazingly, after investing only $163, the 20+ year old beast, lacking any emissions devices whatsoever, easily made it. I got a new insurance policy for it (only $200/six months) and now all I have... | 0 Comments

Monday 5 September

Floating Above Tiger Mountain (17:19) - On my drive back from work today (I went in for half a day to get caught up on some work I've been trying to do) along NewPort Way in Issaquah, I noticed the usual ten to fifteen parasails floating... | 0 Comments
Fall 2005 (17:14) - I woke up Saturday morning and stepped outside to walk to the downtown butcher and grocery store for breakfast supplies. It was cool and dry outside, and the smell of a wood fire was in the air. The sound of... | 0 Comments

Friday 12 August

A Different Sort of Bum (23:15) - I've noticed that the bums out here seem to be a lot smarter than the ones in Florida (though I did see a lot of bums in Tampa's downtown library - probably just there to get out of the heat).... | 0 Comments
Thanks (23:09) - Well, my "Stepping Off the Wagon" entry got lots of interesting comments. Nick, I think your suggestion for word substitution works really well; especially with the part where I describe that stout beer I tried as "Chocolaty and smooth." So,... | 1 Comments

Monday 30 May

Everyone's Here (21:40) - Time to get caught up on what's been going on the last few weeks. Toni, Porter, Fallon, and Alby are finally here. The first few nights were really rough. But now they seem to be getting a little more adjusted... | 0 Comments