I Failed the "Are You a True Pacific Northwesterner"

The picture attached was taken in Gig Harbor, WA where my friend Jill & I had lunch on Monday. It was such a beautiful day! We walked w/ Ru on the beach, had a seafood lunch and more - I felt like a tourist!

However, a few days ago was my '5 year' anniversary for moving to the Pacific Northwest from the Chicagoland area.

I have to laugh because Facebook has a test called "Are You a True Pacific Northwesterner" and my score indicated I was exactly how I felt yesterday - like a Tourist! In a lot of ways I don't think that's ever going to change.

Pacific Northwesterners (PNW's) are unique. For example:

• They don't wear bright colors, instead they tend to go for the colors of nature - browns, greens, blues, etc. I have embraced that part of living here!
  
• PNW's rarely notice the mountains. On the other hand, I never get tired of seeing them and the photographic opportunity.
• PNW's really do like their Birkenstock sandals...with socks. You will NEVER catch me wearing that combination!!!!
• PNW's think of moss as their state flower. The state flower is really a rhododendron.  Since I have about 15 of them on my property and had none in Illinois, I really like them : )
• Now how can I not be a PNW when I'm one of the few that knows the native fern needs to be trimmed back in early spring in order to promote fuller growth? Many native PNWs don't even know that one
• Now here's one against me...I own a snow shovel and understand why one should shovel if the snow isn't going to melt in a few days. None of my neighbors have a snow shovel, none know how or what road salt is and my neighbor asked me "now why should you shovel your driveway?" I was told it doesn't snow in Seattle, but for the last few years, that hasn't been true...
• PNW's don't generally have A/C - at least not on the west side of the mountains.  I did bring two A/C units with me when I moved from Chicago - better safe than sorry!
• Most Seattle folks loose their sunglasses since we only tend to need them about 4 times a year. I always keep my sunglasses in my car in the sunglass case provided. But, I used to have quite a few more pairs and now can't seem to find any of them...

I hope I never become bored of the PNW, it really is beautiful country and I love the mountains, the water and everything in between.

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The Pork Steak War - Human vs. Dog

Some days things just don't go along as planned and then snowball from there. 

You know what I'm talking about, you wake up, have certain expectations on what the day is going to look like or what you're going to get done....and then wooosh....you're swept off in a different direction and can only watch as your plans for the day disappear in the flood behind you.

Yesterday started off like that when I realized my freezer plug had somehow come undone. Luckily the food was still very cold, just fully thawed. As I began my massive meal preparation undertaking so that I could save my loot, the dogs were sniffing around like buzzards on a not yet dead meal. That should have been my first clue, but trusting me was sure they'd know their boundaries.

Later, in the midst of a meal baking in the oven, 2 full pots stewing on the stove and several already prepared items heading back to frozenland, I begin unwrapping packages of pork steak from the butcher. Beth, my mum-in-law, came over to claim a few potentials for her kitchen (thank goodness or that would have meant more cooking for me!) and we took a moment to sit and catch up. 

Within a few moments we spot Ru, my young Dalmatian, chewing on something and quickly realized it was one of the pork steaks! I scurry over and as I am just about to take it out of her mouth, Burton, our young Lab, spies her treasure, takes advantage of her submission, comes in like a parana on a fresh kill, grabs it and begins a gulp in hopes of capturing the prize for himself.

Unlucky for him, I'm not a good looser and am hell bent on getting that undeserved treat back! In true Selthofer fashion (read the Great Tumbleweed Adventure if you need a refresher), I tackle Burton and shove my hand down his throat, retrieving the bone-in pork steak before he has a chance to suck in another breath and attempt a second gulp. I promptly proceeded to toss that steak in the garbage having felt like a winning warrior in a battle to the death. After all, I showed him! who was boss!

Silly me to think it was over! A few hours later, I have to run out to teach a class and after putting away what I thought was all of the dogs, left with little Ru for some practice time. It wasn't until my return home a few hours later and found the garbage can knocked over, did I remember that Burton had been sleeping quietly on our bed and his stealthiness earned him some unsupervised time around the home.

You guessed it, that pork steak I'd fought so valiantly for earlier was gone! Not only that, but Burton had taken several pans used to make lasagna, brought them onto our bed (his apparent place of comfort) and licked them clean. Of course there were now tomato stains on our comforter as well as those sparkling pans!

Yeah, he showed me who was boss! LOL - resourceful little demon dogs, aren't they?!?!

The Great Tumbleweed Adventure

After Sunday's high wind experience on the West side of the Cascade Mountains in Washington State, I can now say I'm experienced in Tumbleweed Tag (more on that below).

Pictured here is a real tumbleweed I've named Turmoil, or Turmi for short.  The name just seemed fitting with it's whip-around lifestyle!

After judging at a spectacular trial in the area, my-in-laws came over to drive me back. The plan was to hit a few wineries on our return trip and make an afternoon out of it.  Well, we hadn't planned on the 40-60+ mph winds that flew in a few hours prior and so the adventure began.

It started immediately upon entering the highway and the Suburban could barely maintain a straight path on the road - forget sticking to just one lane! Not to worry, Dad's a great driver, which is a good thing because not long into the trip, LOTS of rolling objects began to cross the road. You guessed it - tumbleweeds!

There were dozens of them at any given moment. The funniest site was an older Buick that was "hit" by a tumbleweed the size of a bail of hay! POOF! As the tumbleweed stuck to the front grill and in the driver's front wheel well and branches went flying. The driver soon pulled over for tumbleweed extraction and we decided that was a 75 pointer.

The Tumbleweeds continued, some big, some small and all were on a cross-country mission. After hitting (or being hit) by a few smaller tumblers, we weren't able to dodge Turmoil II and POOF! It embedded itself into our front grill.  Dad pulled over and told Mom to get out to clear the debris - that's when the fun really began - just because we stopped moving didn't mean the tumbleweeds weren't still crossing the highway!

A few moments into our extraction process, Mom gets wiped out on the side of the road by a rogue tumbler. She's a hearty soul and doesn't go down, but later reports "those things are prickly!" We laughed that a tumbleweed would be able to suck up a hairy dog of any size and keep right on rolling across the open spaces without stopping.  Personally, I think it's true!

Next, we decided to stop at another winery and I get to thinking that a picture of a tumbleweed is needed for this blog. I mean a picture is so much better than a verbal description! So I tell my Mom she needs to get a tumbleweed. As I mentioned earlier, she's a hearty soul and is always willing to jump in on a good story.

As we pull off the highway and onto the side road leading to our next destination, a huge tumbleweed goes flying by. With just a little bit of prodding, Mom is jumping out of the barely stopped vehicle (thank goodness for Dad's quick reflexes), jumps a culvert and is racing up a hill chasing this tumbleweed. As I sit in the car laughing, I'm amazed at how successful her two partial knee surgeries were last year and that her climbing skills are almost comparable to that of a billy goat.

The winds were a bit faster than she was and the tumbleweed got away. But as she turns around, I have just enough time to say "here comes another one!" and she yells "I've got it!" and puts herself in a linebacker crouch where she's preparing to block & grab the oncoming tumbleweed! Guess she doesn't remember they're "prickly"...

Now I'm not as fast as she is or I would have thought to get the camcorder running so that all of us could witness this event together. Fortunately for her, the tumbleweed veers left and her tackling skills aren't put to the test - instead, she's able to grab it - bare handed. 

We manage to wrangle it into the back of the Suburban where it proceeded to block Dad's view all the way home. These are family moments that just can't be bought!

Turmi is now comfortably sitting in our garage. Mom says I need to put him in a crate and not forget to feed him. My husband was surprised by his presence when he came home from his own judging assignment late that night, but only shakes his head as I tell him the entire story of how the tumbleweed got into our garage.

And that my friends, is my Tumbleweed Adventure.