We went to the aquarium the other day. It was SO much fun. I absolutely love the sea otters and we watched them for quite awhile.



The fish were just beautiful and they have these great new tide pools there where you can reach in and touch things.



They also have a new octopus! They old one that was there before was into hiding but we got to see the new one quite well. Unfortunately it wasn't very active...just snoozing away.

As were the land otters...although with the one eye open it almost looks like she was watching us LOL!

Paperwork still = Hell

Well I finally finished redoing all my papers. This time I downloaded them from the government site and filled them in by hand. Nice and neat and a long torturous evening and next day to finish them. Ugh! I shouldn't complain. It saved me $250 by doing them myself. Now I sit here on pins and needles wondering if I filled them out correctly. Did I forget something? Did I cross every T and dot every I? All of this makes me so nervous :s One good thing though, I'm down to needing to request copies of one more document and getting my passport. Then all I have to do is wait for results and then book my flight! I still haven't began to decide what I am going to take and what to leave behind. We already decided to keep the storage space since it's only $100 a month and if we decide to come back in two years then we have everything to set up a household quickly. I know it sounds sort of silly but there are so many things in that space that I just can't give up and I can't see carting to France. It almost refreshing to start out a new life with only the things from a few suitcases though. I have planned on sending a few packages there with at least a little of my work materials. I spent 10 years collecting my various bits and pieces of every color imaginable of cashmere yarn and such. I can't even tell you how many times those little treasure chests have saved me time. Even when it comes to my work things though, I find it hard to justify spending money on postage to send most things over there. Wouldn't it just be easier and probably cost effective to just replace it all once I'm over there? Thankfully my job requires little in the line of equipment, and two of the main things I WONT be shipping ie a sewing machine and an iron :p Time is running out quickly. Isn't it funny how sometimes it goes so slowly (especially when you just want it to be over) and goes by so fast when you need it to slow down! Well in three months hopefully you will find me in France instead of here...and then three months of RELAXATION! D says he doesnt want me to worry about doing a thing at all when I first arrive except to get settled in, relax and be happy. I think I'm in heaven! ^__^

St. Pat's

I forgot that Saturday was St. Patrick's Day. It didn't take me long to realize it though. Downtown was a mix of people, noise and rain. They had a parade down 4th Ave (which is the street my business is on) and I had a perfect view from my perch up on the sixth floor of $th & Pike. It wasnt that exciting really, but the kids seemed to be enjoying it. Lots of little marching bands and a few floats from the SeaFair.I remember when green was the most important part of that day and you didn't leave your room without it on to avoid the infamous pinch!

Spring is coming soon!

We have this fountain in the plaza right across the street from where I work. Every year they turn it off for most of the winter and I always get excited when they turn it back on cause I knwo it means spring is just around the corner. Well I guess someone else shares my excitement in that but they show it a different way. Yesterday the fountain exploded in a cloud of bubbles. Overflowing and rolling across the plaza. It was really quite funny and I hope harmless to the fountain. I just had to take a few shots ^___^

Relief...for a short time

So the walls were closing in here in Seattle. D and I decided to take a little trip down to Portland and out to the coast. I know it's not the best time of year for this but truthfully, I think spring fever has caught me early this year, or possibly the taste of adventure is too rich on my tongue and I couldn't wait to plunge in? We started out on a rainy day, Wednesday, and lugged our things down to the train...yes, we decided to take a train down. This would be my FIRST train ride ever and D's first in America. We arrived late that night in Portland and rested up well, then the next morning explored the downtown area. They seem very fond of the little food stands and we saw them in many areas. We tried out a little stand selling Gyros and decided that it was quite good...but not quite as good as our favorite here in Pike's Place Market ;) I snapped this photo of some nice little statues...the whole block was full of different animals all playing around fountains.


The next morning we started out early for the coast but it was very cold and rainy. I was not very optimistic about how it would be. As we went higher in elevation we hit snow! I was so excited. I never get to see snow in Seattle, at least to that amount so I had to stop the car for...of course, a snow ball fight :p I have to admit though, D was the only one to score a point in that fight :p When we arrived at the coast my fears were confirmed. Cold, rainy and blowy.

After we checked out a little of Cannon Beach we decided to drive down to Tillamook to the cheese factory. Now D could see how they made cheese here in America...and we could get out of the rain! It really is funny, seeing those huge blocks of cheese. D said he thought one would make a great pillow LOL! We stocked up on Cheese curds and wonderful smoked salmon and adding that to our nice loaf of bread we had a wonderful lunch.


The next morning turned out to be very nice compared to the one before :p Wehad a wonderful day visiting the coast. Oregon has many truly beautiful beaches. There were even a few brave souls out surfing!
On our way back to Salem from the beach we stumbled across this little wayside park with the most enchanting stream. I just love the sound of little mountain creeks. D caught a nice pic of it.

Our last day we decided to take a drive up the Wilamette Valley to see the vineyards there. It was so breathtaking. we would come up on the top of a hill and as we crossed over the whole valley spread out below us. We stopped at a quaint little vineyard and sampled some wine, coming away with a nice bottle of Pinot Gris. I think we will save that for a special occasion ^__^

Paperwork = Hell

Well after all that work and much effort, I received a letter stating that all my forms were out of date and had to be done over again. Now everything is once more delayed. I arrived home last night from our trip and spent the evening trying to redo my forms. This is very sad news. I spent $250 to make sure my forms were done properly and now I'm doing them myself. Well I guess if I had done that in the first place then I would only have myself to blame. The good news is I almost finished them ^___^ I'll post later with some pictures of our wonderful trip this last week.