A Dog's Life

Brutus has his own blog. You can read his adventures at "A Dog's Life." It's also listed on the right side column under my Friends and Family Blogs. If you know any dog lover, feel free to tell them about his site. I hope you visit his blog soon!

Meet Brutus

Our new baby... a 4 1/2 pound Shima!

I have been wanting a designer doggie for a long time! For the last couple of years, I have been looking to get a Yorkie-Poo. Tonight, DH and I decided to get a Shima, it's a cross between Shih Tzu and Maltese. He is such a cutie!!! Don't you think Brutus is a perfect name for our little fur-ball?

Brutus needs a haircut!

I ♥ Road Trips!

"Life's a journey, not a destination"

Five glorious days of antiquing, wine tasting, cheese tasting, shopping, dining out, relaxing in front of the fire... what else can girl ask for?

DH and I own a WorldMark by Wyndham timeshare and decided to spend sometime in one of the resort in Birch Bay. The resort is about 7 miles to the USA/Canada border and it's about 7 hours drive from our house. We had a wonderful time just relaxing and spending quality time together.

We walked to the beach, visited local wineries and dairy farms. We visited the nearby towns; Bellingham is a seaport and college town, and Lynden, is a cute little Dutch town. I love walking thru downtown, window shopping and looking at old-century brick building. I managed to pick-up a couple of Fenton milk glass to add to my collection at one of the antique shops. ☺

There are several berry farms in the area; there are blueberries, blackberries, marionberries and many others. Some of the berry farms look just like a vineyard, it's beautiful. Berry season was over and missed the harvest.

We drove to Canada one early morning and spend the day in Vancouver. We had lunch at one of the local pub, and walk around downtown and Gastown. I did not realized how big Vancouver is... it's a HUGE city! WorldMark has a resort in downtown Vancouver, so DH and I are planning to go back and spend a few days there.

The fall foliage are so beautiful, I can't find the words to describe it! We drove the farm roads, the coastal highway & byway, and many a long-winding road... it was a perfect time to take a drive and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

On the way home, we decided to take another route instead of our usual Interstate Hwy 90 over Snoqualmie Pass; we took US Hwy 2 and went over Stevens Pass instead. It was a longer drive and more treacherous (in my opinion) but it was well worth it. We stopped along the way to take foliage pictures and we stopped at Leavenworth, a very picturesque German town for lunch. Leavenworth is famous for it's Oktoberfest and and makes you feel as if you are in Germany. I found out WorldMark has a resort there! We're adding this place to our list of weekend get-away.



I am looking forward to our next road trip!

Ode to Autumn

This is one of my favorite times of the year. Green leaves gradually changes color to vibrant reds, oranges and yellows, transforming the natural landscape right before our eyes. What better way to celebrate the season by sharing this poem with you!



Ode to Autumn
by John Keats

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the mossed cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimmed their clammy cell.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reaped furrow sound asleep,
Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers;
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cider-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings, hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,--
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir, the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft,
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.