While the rest of the country has been experiencing extreme winter storms and cold over the past few weeks, the PNW has been unseasonably warm and sunny and amazing. If you don’t believe in global warming, look at that picture above, of 60 degree weather + Hood River, OR, and Mt. Hood, and the Columbia River Gorge in JANUARY. Proof.
Two weekends ago I spent the weekend in White Salmon after getting terrible news that Katie’s grandma was diagnosed with advanced terminal cancer. I spent most of the weekend at her house, hanging out with Katie and her dad who flew up from Ecuador, her uncle Steve and of course Grandma Bev who has been like a grandmother to me. She knew both of my parents when they were kids, and I spent a lot of time at her house growing up (she raised Katie) and even as an adult (when Katie and I were home from college for summers and every time we go back to visit). Grandma Bev, who is 87, seemed to be totally ok with the diagnoses and she seemed like she was ready to go when the time is right. So that made things (only) a little bit easier to deal with.
That Friday, after Grandma Bev was asleep Katie and I went on a mission to get drunk, because neither of us deal with stress well, apparently. We went to Henni’s for a drink (or 3 in Katie’s case :) and then I ended up in Hood River with Josh and Sarah and Kory taking all the shots #dontjudgeme. The next morning I woke up in Josh and Sarah’s spare bedroom spooning Kiva #somuchlove
Saturday I spent most of the day with Grandma Bev. My mom went with me to visit for a while and after she left Grandma Bev kept telling me that my mom looked “SO YOUNG” and saying that she even looked younger than me. Well, gee, thanks! Ha!
I snuck away for a bit while Grandma Bev was napping and Katie was picking up food from her mom’s house to have lunch in the sun at Feast with Beth. At one point I got too warm and had to take off my sweater. IN JANUARY!
Later that evening I went to watch the Gorge Roller Girls play their roller derby Bout in The Dalles with Josh and Sarah. Kory and Karen were also going so we sat together and gossiped and it made my heart happy. Plus the girls did an amazing job!! Double bonus.
The warm, sunshiny weather was so, so welcome. It boosted my mood a million times over. It has since started raining again but I’ll take what I can get. Plus I have a trip to California planned next week, so fingers crossed it will be nice while we’re there!
This past weekend I went to a Friday night Zumba class, I finished ALL OF GILMORE GIRLS! Have you guys watched? It was one of the best things ever. On Saturday morning I cleaned my apartment and did things I’d been neglecting for the past 2 months (because I spent all of that time watching Gilmore Girls). Saturday night Dustin and I went to Indian Vegas and I won $10 #ballingSOhard. And Sunday my heat broke in my apartment while I was at Yoga and I came home to a 80+degree house and couldn’t get it to turn off. So that sucked. I made Superbowl Mac+Cheese and brownies with all the windows open and the heat on blast. Eventually my landlord called and talked me through how to turn the circuit to my baseboard heaters off. Dustin and I went to our friends, Ben and Katie’s house, for the Super Bowl, which I’m sure you heard/saw, the Seahawks lost in the last minutes (ugh). And during the game Grandma Bev passed away. It was a devastating day. Dustin was super wonderful though and took me home after the game and put on Forgetting Sarah Marshall and let me drink a whiskey and fall asleep on the couch with tears in my eyes.
Last night I hung out with Katie and her husband Josh as they got ready to head to White Salmon for the week. They showed me how to take care of their cats and eventually Katie and I talked Josh into taking us to get FroYo by milking Katie’s sadness. Apparently it was national FroYo day yesterday(?!) and we got free FroYo. So I guess not all was bad yesterday :)
I will also be heading down to “the homeland” this weekend and I’m really trying to look forward to it. I love it there, so I’m sure it will be good.
1 comment:
I'm so very sorry about Grandma Bev. I hope you (and Katie!) find comfort in knowing that she was at peace with the diagnosis. Cancer is just the worst...
I really want to go to a roller derby bout one of these days! They look so awesome! Also, free froyo for the win!
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