I'm forever yours....faithfully.

Here is our backyard in Washington State. No, really, this is what I see out the kitchen window.

See the little shrimplings down at the bottom of the picture? That's Thomas and Bethy out prowling for huckleberries. The huckleberries are a wonderful surprise for us. I thought we wouldn't be here when they were ripe---but there they were! The kids were stoked. They plowed up the hill and through the woods to hunt down the berries like the little bears that they are. Thomas is particularly good at the rapid pick-and-shove-into-the-mouth technique. The huckleberries are, in fact, what made Bethy (and her cousins!) decide that this was the house for us.

I have no idea how tall the trees are back there, but they surely will exceed by hundereds of feet any palm trees we might encounter.

The rain has been another treat for us: one more time to be good Northwesterners and get out there and get soaked. We're off to the zoo to eke as much as we can from our membership before we get on a plane. And to stop at Trophy Cupcakes for what Thomas calls"bupcakes!"