Scooby Dooby Do

I might be able to get this kid to do anything if I offered to take a picture of it :-)

Christmas Eve Dinner

Spenser and I had Christmas Eve Dinner at the Fire House.

The guys who have duty crew tonight had dinner for the families.

Since we have no family around we will be at the movies tomorrow, so it was nice to spend a few hours with other families.

While Seattle digs out.

18 months ago when I moved to the DC area, I thought that I was moving TO the snow.

Turns out I was moving AWAY from the snow.

It is still snowing in Seattle, and it was a balmy 55 degrees today.

I've had 2 inches of snow in my time here, while there have been more than 4 feet in Seattle in that time! It's unheard of!

Look at my snow shovels - they have cob webs on them!

To my friends and family ... smile even though you are all stuck in the house - you will get a white Christmas!

We're expecting

Okay - pick up your chin, and put down your phone.

It's not Spenser that is getting a little brother, it's Ripley!

In the first week of January we are adopting a new pointer!

In my life - I've always thought the perfect number of dogs for me was one. However with this crazy life and commute that we have to have now - Ripley spends alot of time alone, and I want him to have a buddy.

Does Ripley want a little brother? I'm not so sure... cause Spenser doesn't!

You can meet our new family member here...
http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=9636870

His name is Shine - we are looking for another name (preferably two syllables) - that sounds like Shine. The only thing I really came up with ...was MoonShine.

Roger's coming home for a few weeks.

Roger will be home for a couple of weeks.

He'll be arriving in Virginia On December 29th, and staying for a couple of weeks.

We are very exicted to get him home - even if it just for a couple of weeks.

Probably woudn't see this in Seattle.

This is what we saw on Monday

Hello Venus and Jupiter.

It was really quite cool.

Probably wouldn't see this in Seattle. Rarely will you even see stars because it is always so cloudy.

In Asia - the moon was under the planets, and it looked like a smiley face.

My espresso tastes like a S'mores

Okay so my new fancy espresso maker arrived this evening.

It's my Christmas present!

I was all excited - and read a few of the instructions. I then loaded the bean hopper, filled the water reservoir - and started it up. I tried a few different things - then decided that I was ready to make myself a mocha.

First of all - I steamed my milk WAY to long. I had more than 1/2 a cup of foam, and it was WAY to hot! I burnt my tongue. :-(

Then I was supposed to figure out the grind, the strength and the size of brew.

What?

I need my neice, she's a barista - who knew this was so difficult?

Its all automatic - so who knows how long it will take me to get it right? And I have to try it all with a variety of coffee beans.

The first one -- tastes like a S'mores. I'm guessing that means too much chocolate - and milk whipped so much it tastes like a marshmallow.

"Vacation Re-Wind" Day - 19

Saying Goodbye

Our personal water taxi (limo) picked us up from the Grand Canal very early.

It was almost surreal to race through a dark and quiet Venice.

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At the airport we had to say goodbye again. I guess we've gotten used to it by now, we have figured out how to travel together from different parts of the world.

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It was a great trip, another trip of a lifetime.

It was amazing to meet up with friends 5500 miles from home, and so the waiting begins again.

"Vacation Re-Wind" Day - 18

Around Venice

We spent the day taking in all that Venice has to offer.

On Foot
Walking around Venice's streets is like a maze. It's easy to get lost - and sometimes you just dead end into a small canal (As you see Roger doing below) This one is just a few feet from our room. Notice the two men painting

The Vaporetto
The Vaporetto is a "Water Bus". Think of it as the Metro. We purchased a 4 day passes, and could take it anywhere within the lagoon. On our last day we decided to spend a few hours just riding the Vaporetto around.

Pay close attention as boats come from both directions - and they slam into these docks (which I think are floating). It's a little concerning the first time.

The Gond0la

Gondola's used to be the main means of transportation on the Grand Canal, but now are just used for tourists.

The Grand Canal



The Piazza Roma is the major station where the buses with wheels (tis what they call them) meet the water buses. Here is where everyone leaves a vehicle with wheels to enter into the lagoon. We arrived at rush hour with all of our bags, and I was afraid as I watched hundreds of people hustle from bus to boat.

They all knew what they were doing - and here I was with my luggage, and having to board this very full (and rocking) overloaded water bus.

Life on the water

This is a DHL delivery boat.

Everything has to be done by boat in this city. We saw people loaded beer, food, and appliances in boats. We saw them with cranes attached to them, and with men dumping building materials from wheel barrels into boats.

"Vacation Re-Wind" Day - 17

Piazza San Marco, Venice

St Mark's Basilica



Doge's PalaceThese are two of Sharon's pictures. This first one may be my most favorite picture from the whole trip.

St Mark's Square is one of the first places to flood during high tide. The water seeps through the rock.

The Rialto Bridge

The Rialto bridge is the oldest (and most famous) bridge on the Grand Canal.

It was built in 1591.

The stones are almost smooth - How many hands does it take to make rock smooth?

The Rialto Market

The market moved to Rialto area in 1097.

They just cut your fish on a folding table - in the middle of the street.

This is a large market (my pictures do not do it justice), and it is broken down and loaded into boats every day by 2pm.

Our B&B in Venice

We stayed in a B&B that had just finished it's remodeling. Just a couple of blocks from the Rialto Bridge.

My Green Volunteer Experience

I volunteered today at the DC Green Festival

http://www.greenfestivals.org/

One of my biggest complaints on the East Coast is that no-one cares about the environment. They call me a tree hugger because I am always trying to get people to just THINK before they use resources or products.

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I commuted 2.5 hours into the city (there was track work AND I took the long route), I was grumpy about it the whole time thinking "I don't have time for this, and no-one cares".

It was a 12 hour day for me - but I was pleasantly surprised at the 15000 people that came through the door TODAY.

There are people here who care - I just was looking in the wrong place.

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I actually had a really good time. It's like being someplace comfortable. After living around these people that have so much money and can only think about themselves - I was so happy to be with people with similar beliefs to my own - strangers even. :-)

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What a great conference, no garbage, no plastic bags and no empty bottles. Plastic cups and forks made with corn - not plastic. I found great opportunities for my next career, and new ideas about how I can do better for my own health and the environment.

One person can make a difference.

"Vacation Re-Wind" Day - 16

Our Arrival in Venice

Here are a few pictures/video of Venice from the lagoon.

Notice the leaning tower, many towers in Venice lean.

The Island of Murano

"Home of the Venetian Glass"

We went to watch some real Murano glass being created.

I was crazy to think that I could afford hand blown glass. All we were able to afford were wine stoppers!

Murano and Burano are only two of thirty-two inhabited Islands in the Lagoon.

The Island of Burano

"Home of Venetian Lace"

What a beautiful Island. The brightly colored houses make great pictures. We were told that the houses were painted like this because when fishermen came home they couldn't tell which house was theirs through the fog, so they painted them so they could pick them out.

If I thought the glass was expensive, the hand-made lace is really expensive. I watched a very old woman making it - it's worth the money, it would take her 8hrs/day for 4 months to make a tablecloth, and it would cost about 15K.