Break (and fix) Time!

I survived my crazy semester, and now I have two weeks off before summer classes start!

The first task on my to-do list was to fix my laptop, which had been broken since we went to Boston for the AWP conference.

Have you ever unscrewed all the tiny screws in your computer, taken off the keyboard, unplugged little plugs with little wires, replaced a weird looking piece of something you've never seen before, put it all back together, and then watched your computer actually turn on? It's terrifying, and fascinating, and empowering! Who needs a computer specialist when you have the internet (and a genius gnome)?

Anyway, I know I haven't posted much this last semester, so I made a short animated video to give you an idea of what we've been up to.

Bloomsday!

Joe ran Bloomsday today, along with 50,000 others. Here he is before the 7.5-mile run!

Cedric couldn't resist joining in.

I watched the race from my friend's front yard (someone has to take the pictures). It started light, with the elite runners.

The elite wheelchair racers.

The elite women racers.

Here they come!

Like last year, we saw a lot of bright and interesting outfits/costumes: two bananas, Mario and Luigi, two gorillas (how do you run 7.5 miles in a gorilla suit?), tons of tutus, Dorothy with red sparkly tennis-shoes, and two Waldos (THERE'S WALDO!), a pack of bumble-bees, the Power Rangers, and several sombreros.  A couple of ladies even jingled by with belly-dancing belts. 

And there was one tiny dog with his own race number. 

Cedric didn't even break a sweat.

 Joe was happy with his finishing time. I was unhappy that the moment he ran by my camera's memory card decided to be full. Oh well!

Distractions

I've been trying not to worry, not to let the daily job-search/application process get me down, not to worry about whether or not we'll be able to move back home this summer.

So when I'm not teaching or grading or planning for class or applying for jobs (which is most of my time), I'm  keeping my mind off of the unknown by admiring what's around me.

Last Monday, I rode up to Sandpoint with a couple of friends.

It was a really pretty day. 67 degrees!

This semester has taken away most of my usual cooking/baking time, but I managed to try out my first fruit tart last weekend.

And now that spring has started to creep into Spokane, there's plenty of distractions in the form of bright new colors. 

I love these yellow bushes.

And some green is starting to poke out of the trees. This is my view on the walk home from school. Not too bad. 

I also pass by a little hill on the edge of the river, which I like to call marmot mountain. 

One day I walked by and a marmot stuck his head out of his little cave. The next day there were three. And last week, I walked by to find six marmots all standing on their hind legs, front paws drawn in front of their faces, their wide eyes staring at me. They make me laugh every time. 

Of course, the day I came by with my camera they had all gone on a little field trip. I saw them hanging out further down the hill, but unfortunately none of them gave me their signature stare. 

They are still pretty darn cute.

Dear marmot friends, whatever you're doing in your secret little caves, I hope it involves working some marmot magic and getting these long-lost Michiganders some full-time jobs.

Things Are Happening!

Spring-type things, that is.

You have to look closely, but you can see them.

And I've got a five-day weekend, so I have some time to wander around outside without feeling too guilty.

Microscopic flowers are sneaking out.

Even the bike path is blooming...

 Everything is waking up! Even this tree.

Can you see it's goofy tree face? 

Unfortunately the net on the tennis court has yet to make an appearance, but it shouldn't be long!

Okanogan

...is a city and a county.

This Saturday we hopped in the truck and drove three hours northwest of Spokane.

A friend of ours needed a ride to a beautiful chunk of land he owned, and we needed to leave the city. Here they are enjoying the non-citiness.

We also needed to see the Grande Coulee dam, which was on the way. There it is, all 12 million cubic yards of concrete.

Overlooking the dam is a little visitor's center.

When they opened the dam, they had 48 princesses pour in water from 48 states out of these jugs. There's good ol' Michigan. I think they should have specified where the water came from. Lake Superior? Lake  Michigan? Lake Huron? C'mon!

What else did we see? A lot of dry land and rocks and mountains and telephone poles and abandoned buildings.

And quite a few red trucks:

Cedric also really needed to test out his new kite:

There wasn't quite enough wind for mine, but his seemed to work just fine. 

Sea-Food Gut

The AWP Writing Conference was exactly how I remembered it from the last time I went: so many panels to sit in on, so many old friends to reunite with, so many new places to visit, so much food to eat, and only a few days to do it all.

It's both unbearably exhausting and incredibly inspiring.

And now, somehow, I'm supposed to tell you about it without overwhelming you with photos. That's not going to be possible, so get ready.

Our quick trip started with a pretty flight.

We got to Boston late, but met some friends for dinner anyway. When you've got 4 1/2 days to see a whole city and attend a conference with 11,000 people, you try not to worry about things like sleep.

Food trumps rest.

Especially when there is so much to try: lobster bisque, lobster rolls, calamari, Boston creme pie, crab towers with avocado and mango, martinis with cucumber and mint, clam chowder and clam chowder and clam chowderrrrrrrr!


Here's Cedric and his first Lobster roll.

A friend and I ate falafel at a Mediterranean restaurant.

I couldn't get over their lamps. 

          

The first morning there, it was raining down some thick, sloppy snow.

Wet socks for everyone!

But we didn't mind. We just hid inside places and watched out the window.

Actually, gazing out windows is how I spent a lot of spare moments during the conference. The convention center overlooked some pretty views.

And even with the snowing and blowing, we wandered around to see some more.

One day, the sun even came out.

I hope the people who live in Boston appreciate their public library:

Look at it!

In one of the library's rooms, Cedric found a set of shadowboxes with people just his size.

Before we had to leave for the airport, we finally managed to find the bakery I spotted our first night. I was determined to see what pastries a place called flour might have.

The crowd inside prevented me from taking pictures of the case, but it was a glowing masterpiece of the most beautiful French macarons, tarts, cookies, croissants, etc. 

Here's Joe after eating a delicious BLT. He's been positioned strategically so you can see their adorable logo on the cup's sleeve. I love that the o is an egg yolk.

Can you see the sadness in his eyes? We ate in front of a window facing the city and its collection of neat old buildings. 

We agreed Boston is our favorite city so far.