Having a great time! Rockin out to Super Diamond! Gina took some awesome pictures! 

Me and the Hilberts! Gina & Elaine 

Super Diamond on stage! Saturday night at the Crystal Ballroom! 

They're playing my song! Sweet Caroline! woohooo! 

3 blondes and Brian. At the Super Diamond show Saturday! 

At Madison's for dinner & pitchers before the show on Saturday. 

Gina & I at Sassy Jacks on Friday night. 

Jimmy Robb, Wampler on accordion and Dave playing at Sassy Jacks on Friday. 

Me and the birthday girl Erin! Friday night at Sassy Jacks. 

the rain has returned and I'm done unpacking boxes

Hello everyone! We had a rainy, windy weekend around here. Winter seemed more like summer and spring seems more like winter. That's okay though because we desperately need the rain. Friday night Gina picked me up. We went to O'Malleys to meet up with her cousin, Garrett who was celebrating his birthday. We had a drink and they played some pool before the three of us headed over to Sassy Jacks to catch Dave and his friends playing. There were lots of people at the show including Elaine & Gina's parents. I had a great time and was so happy that I could just walk 5 blocks home to my place at the end of the evening.

Saturday Camille & I finished the last of the major unpacking in the house. We got the kitchen all set up and even the sunporch. The house is looking really great and I promise to take pictures soon. Saturday night I went over to Elaine & Gina's house and we drove down to Madison's for some dinner and beers. We were out celebrating Erin's 29th birthday. From there we called our cab driver friend who drove us to the Crystal Ballroom where we had tickets to see Super Diamond, the greatest Neil Diamond cover band EVER! The guy sounds EXACTLY like Neil Diamond! The story is that even Neil Diamond thought he was lip synching he sounds so good! We had tons of fun dancing and singing along. I have a special place in my heart for Neil since "Sweet Caroline" is the closest thing I've ever had to a song with my name in it. They played it and I had a blast! It was so much fun!

Sunday was rainy and cold out. I burnt some banana bread...first time ever!! I redeemed myself by making a huge vat of yummy chili. I watched movies and read the paper and did the crossword and talked on the phone with people. That night Camille and I watched Finding Neverland and we both loved it.

So that was my weekend! Let me know what you've been doing and how you are!

xoxo,
carolyn

how many books can one girl own?

Hello hello!

My weekend was dominated by moving of course. Camille and I got the keys on Thursday so I moved some things over Thursday night and even Friday before work. Friday after work I got help from Elaine, Gina and Dave Wampler (visiting from Trout Lake and with his truck!!!) We filled Dave's truck, Elaine's Subaru and my car and headed over to the new house. After that Jess helped me move all my plants and I took another load of boxes in my car. I was amazed at how much we got done so I decided to relax the rest of the evening. I went down to Sassy Jack's to see Dave & Wampler play. There was a new mandolin player with them who was really good. Gina and I decided to head down to the Nocturnal to see our friends' band CD relese show. We waited for a bus that was only running every hour so we walked the few blocks to my new house & just drove down to the club. It was great to see some friends at the show that I hadn't seen in a while and everyone got a free CD that went! Gina and I headed back to Sassy Jacks and saw the end of Dave's show then we all crashed at their house. My bedroom was not fit for sleeping anymore as it was filled with boxes.

Saturday I woke up early and started moving stuff. Gina came over with her sister's Subaru and we really went crazy getting stuff over to the new house. We stopped for a beer and lunch late in the afternoon. We were pretty pooped and wet from the rain. Why does it not rain for weeks and then rain the one weekend I have to move everything I own??? I tried to take a nap at Gina's house but I couldn't really sleep so I just went back to the apartment and moved more stuff. That evening I got help from 4 people to move my furniture! Yeah for friends with trucks! I picked up some pho for dinner and I crashed at Gina & Elaine's house.

Sunday I went to my place and finished cleaning it. I put Fluffy in her kitty crate and we packed up the very last items. I had just one table that wouldn't fit in my car. I spent the afternoon starting to unpack. Later in the afternoon I borrowed Elaine's car again to move my table. I met up with Elaine and Dave at Thatcher's, a local bar that has bingo on Sundays. I enjoyed a beer and a few rounds of bingo. We picked up Camille and Elaine treated us to sushi for dinner. It was wonderful!

So I'm all moved! My phone number is the same and I'll send out an email with my new address. Camille and I are so excited about are new place. It is HUGE and great. We can't wait to barbecue in the backyard! yeah!

hope you are all doing well! Please let me know how your weekend was!

xoxo,
carolyn

At the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver. 

View of the water from the University of British Columbia. 

Totem pole at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. 

The city of Vancouver with the snow dusted mountains surrounding it. Beautiful!! 

The bald eagle hanging out in the marina!Vancouver on Sunday 

The waterfront at Granville Island, Vancouver. 

Where Sara & I spent much of the day on Sunday checking out shops and galleries. 

Aiyesha & her baby sister Arianna...Sunday morning in Vancouver. 

Just over the border into Canada....the exchange rate currently sucks. 

Me and baby Arianna....Sunday morning in Vancouver. 

At the border...going through Canadian Customs on Saturday night. 

Sara and the crazy rocks...Bellingham Bay. 

Sara and I soaking up the sun on the beach at Bellingham Bay. 

Our view onto Bellingham Bay as we ate our lunches Saturday afternoon. 

Micah and I ate cereal and watched Saturday morning cartoons. I can't remember the last time I watched the Smurfs! 

the sisters have left the country

Hello everyone!

I had a wonderful time visiting Sara this weekend. My friend Chris picked me up on Friday evening & we hit the road. Chris was going to see his sister in Vancouver BC and Sara's place in Bellingham is just a few minutes off the freeway. I got to Sara's house at 11 PM or so and hung out with her & her roommate Micah.

Saturday morning I woke up and ate cereal and watched Saturday morning cartoons with Micah. Sara and I grabbed some sandwiches from the local co-op and drove to Bellingham Bay. We ate our lunch in the woods overlooking the water and then walked down to the beach. It was windy on the water but incredibly sunny and beautiful. I love the crazy rocks there and the islands off in the distance. Heavenly!!!

We went back to the house & got ready to go up to Canada. Unfortunately Sara had a flat tire (discovered at 5 PM Saturday evening). Her only option to get it replaced that night was a long, long wait at Walmart. It was eventually fixed and we hit the road a lot later than expected. It's only 50 miles and there was no wait at the border so we got there pretty quickly. We went to her friend Raj's house. She's who we stayed with at Christmas also. We all had some wine and talked before heading off to bed. In the morning I hung out with Raj's kids. Aiyesha made pancakes for the first time and they were great.

Sara & I spent much of the day at Granville Island in downtown Vancouver. There's lots of shops and galleries which we checked out. We got lox and cream cheese with capers on croissants for lunch which we ate on the waterfront looking at all the skyscrapers across the water. As we were walking back to our car we walked over a bridge next to a marina. We saw a bald eagle land on the top of one of the sailboat masts. Incredible...a bald eagle downtown in a major city! It was really cool to see that!

We drove around and by sheer luck found an incredible viewpoint that Sara had been too a while ago. The city was in front of us with the mountains surrounding it and the water sparkling in the afternoon light. Vancouver is a spectacularly beautiful city! From there we drove to the University of British Columbia campus. We walked along cliffs on the water and checked out the huge totem poles at the Museum of Anthropology. It was gorgeous! Afterwards we drove back to Raj's house where we had dinner with the whole family before heading back to the States around 8:30 PM.

We got into Bellingham and met up with Sara's roommates. He wanted to take us to Boundary Bay Brewery for some clam steamers. Unfortunately the kitchen was closed by the time we got there. Sara & I went back to her house and picked up her growler to get beer at Boundary Bay to bring back to her house. We enjoyed the tasty beer and watched a movie.

Monday I was picked up by Chris and we drove back down to Portland. I had such a great time visiting Sara. She took me to some really incredible places.

Now I'm busy busy busy with packing and moving. I found a place to live last week and Camille and I are so very excited about it. It's the 1st floor of a big old house. We have a sun porch, a huge basement and a back yard!! We'll get the keys and start moving this week. I will be completely moved by the end of this weekend. My phone number isn't changing (it's a cell) and I will send an email letting you all know my new address. We have an absolutely HUGE living room so we definitely have room for guests! Please come and visit me!

I'll be posting tons of pictures today and tomorrow so please take a look!

Let me know how you are and what you've been doing!

xoxo,
carolyn

My photo from Mt Tabor Park at about 5:45 Tuesday evening. Mt St Helens itself isn't visible in this photo. it's just behind those branches on the far left side where the steam is initially rising up before drifting to the east. You can click on any photo to see it larger.